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filthgarbage86 · 2 years ago

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The List: Dominant!Eddie

(this is part of a series that I've been writing but the general idea is that you're trying to figure out which nickname makes Eddie go crazy for and in that attempt, you prove how naive you still are as well)

Part 1

Part 2

CW: daddy kink, daddy!eddie munson, bunny!reader, dom!eddie, submissive!reader, smut smut smut and did I mention smut, trying out different nicknames, dirty talk, fingering, pentration, rough but caring? squirting, etc.

Name 1

You were so nervous to start but you were too excited not to start as soon as the first bell rang and you were going though the hallway at the high school getting to your locker. He was already there, waiting for you like he does everyday. He does a "morning check in" which is seeing how you slept, seeing what you've got going on today, and getting one more kiss before going to his English Class. It was one of the many things that he did that made your heart melt.

"Good morning princess, how my sweet bunny doing?" He immediately has his hands on your waist and is greeting you with those kisses.

"I'm good, sir, and how are you?" "Sir? What am I, a warden?" "Yeah, you're right, not a good match" "What?" "nothing, don't worry about it" Okay, not the reaction you were hoping for. Noted. Moving on. To be fair, you weren't a big fan of it either. Eddie is looking down at you with a quirked eyebrow and then a sudden realization, and his eyes squint down into a knowing grin. You were going to be such trouble for him. Name 2

It was lunch time and you were all sitting together at your table, listening to the freshmen talk at length about some alien in one of the new horror movies you're assuming and how "inaccurate" they are as if they've ever seen them. You soon figure out that they were talking about a part of the campaign that you missed out on while you were talking to a teacher. While they continue talking in length, Eddie is paying close attention to everything they're saying, taking mental notes. He's definitely trying to figure out how to control the game from this naïve information they're giving. He does look like he is in his element. Fully scheming, knowing exactly every move that they could make and how it would impact the players and the game as a whole. He really was the...

"Well it is up to our generous dungeon master, isn't it?" you pipe in, last minute, emphasizing master. You look Eddie directly in the eye as you say it almost as a challenge. Eddie looks at you again, daring you to try that again. It's finally his turn to blush, cough in attempt to hide his face. He focused back on the table, every now and then glancing at you. Okay we're getting closer.

Name 3:

The last one, you didn't even really fully mean to do it. it was like your name all over again, a slip of the tongue and a moment of realization. You were at his trailer, it was after hellfire again but this time, you're both a little high and listening to music.

You're sat on his couch, already curled up into him, and he just looks delectable. Delicious even. He is a little blissed out, head back on the couch back, and nodding along to the song. His haze is a beauty to you and you just want to be so good for him again.

"you're so pretty" "Thank you bunny, I think you're stunning" you whine. you wish it was easy for you, that you were some sexy vixen that he seemed to take you for but the truth is that you don't know how to do this. it makes you a bit sad honestly.

"Where are you baby? What's that pretty head thinking about?" "You" "Oh? In what way?" He turns towards you, propping his head on his hand and propping himself up. "You make sexy look so easy" He lets out a laugh "Sweetheart, I'm flattered but you are just by design" "Not really though" "What on Earth do you mean?" "It's just... you were able to figure out what name I liked so easily. You knew exactly what you were doing and everything you do just makes me go crazy like a puddle-" Oh no, you're rambling. You tend to get like this when you're high and sensitive. It makes it all the more embarrassing and arousing, it's very confusing.

"I just want to be good to you too, I just want to be good for you. I want to be able to say something and it makes you really excited and flips that switch for you but I don't know how to figure it out. I went through like 20 different videos trying to find suggestions-"

"Wait a second, videos? What kind of videos are you watching, princess?"

Shit. You spoke too much.

"You know... videos that could give me ideas of what to call.. you.. in a.. hot, sexy way.."

Eddie is trying so hard not to crack a smile. He is actively fighting down a little laugh, not in a mean way, of course. His sweet, kind, caring, very literal girlfriend had decided to research how to dirty talk in an attempt to please him too. He was just teasing her by saying she needed to try his way. In reality, he had no idea what he was doing either, he was just trying shit. His heart melts at the idea of how much effort you were putting in for his benefit. He really didn't know what he was going to do with you so he just smiled and leaned in giving you a warm, long, deep kiss.

He's holding the side of your face/head and just leaning in ever so slightly. He made you melt in a moments notice. "You mean to tell me..." he starts kissing you gently all around your face and you're blushing from the tenderness of it all. "That you went out of your way to go rent some half-assed, fake-orgasming porn just to try to figure out how to dirty talk to me?" it sounded so silly when he said it like that. You were so embarrassed. Fuck, of course this wouldn't work.

"Bunny, that is the cutest and hottest thing I've ever thought of, you're going to kill me"

"Wh.. What?" You're on the brink of tears, you're so sensitive and so high and you're recognizing so, SO needy.

"There's no right or wrong way to do this as long as we're talking to each other about it. I can teach you things that you don't know yet, don't be embarrassed about it."

"Really?" "Yes baby, of course. It's not an issue or turn off in any way, in fact its literally the opposite. Just let me teach you and let me help you out okay?" You were blushing, you felt hot with want. You were steaming already and all he had done was tell you how much he cared about you. In that moment, it made sense to you. It wasn't the words, or the names, it was feeling and desire. And the way he made you feel was so cared for, so loved, so dominant and strong, and so... daddy.

Eddie breathed in and dropped down to a low whisper "What did you just say?"

The cassette player started to rewind itself, whirling as you started spiraling. You are zoned out enough to where you perk up a big at his acknowledgement and you realized you must have spoken aloud what you were thinking.

And it seemed to have worked, but you weren't sure how yet.

"I didn't mean to say that, Eddie" "No nono no. You said something that definitely was meant for me to hear." "I don't know what I said, I just said it and I'm just a little buzzed babe-"

He straddles you on either side of your cushion, leans in slightly, and gentle grasps onto your throat. He applies a light, barely-there amount of pressure on the sides "Now bunny, you and I both know that's not what you just called me, so I will ask for the final time, what. did. you say?"

Your eyes are glazed over and your breathing goes shallow "um.. I.. I.. said.. daddy.. BUT I don't know why and it was just a thought in my head and-" You're cut off when he squeezes a bit more and your airway is blocked. His strong hand chokes you upwards and he takes another draw from his joint he had been holding. He blows the smoke into your face and smirks "that's about to be the only thought in your head."

He sits right down on you and you immediately feel the bulge that's already formed. This was just from calling him daddy? You were definitely going to play with this later. He starts by motioning you to take off your shirt and you quickly comply. Since it was Friday night and you were in for movies and joints, you didn't have a bra on, meaning Eddie instantly was greeted by your sensitive tits from sudden exposure. You both gasp, you from the temperature change and speed, him from want.

He looks down at you and grabs the right one and holds it all in his hand, while his mouth is latched and sucking on your left tit. You're creening at this, just choking down moans before he moves his hand back onto you throat and you exhale the noises you were trying to hold down

"Don't you dare hold back those sounds, you filthy, dirty, needy bunny. You take that pleasure away from me and I'll leave you here high and dry until you're screaming and begging me to finish you off"

"PLEASE"

"Please what?" He's stood up long enough to slide your sweatpants off and everything off, leaving you completely exposed to him, while he's still completely dressed. You have never felt more naked than in this moment.

"Please daddy"

He growls "good bunny. Now stay still, I need teach you how to say my name properly".

He hoists your legs up and over his shoulders. He places his fingers in front of your mouth, "suck. Make them as wet as you bunny." so you take them into your mouth and start giving him a show. You're sucking, swirling your tongue, and at one point even deepthroating his fingers until he's taking them out of your mouth and into your pussy. The squelching sound that followed had you both moaning again.

"Fuck meeee"

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear that, did you say something? Address me when you're talking to me"

"fuck me pleaaasseee daddy please finger me, get me ready"

He does, he starts moving his fingers at a consistent pace, one that starts to bang out a rhythm, and has you groaning. He starts to do the 'come here' motion to start hitting that gummy part inside you that makes you see stars. Your eyes go glossy.

"yes yes yes fuck me daddy, yes, thank you thank you, wanna cum-"

"don't you fucking dare, you will cum on my cock and when I say, you've got that?"

You're nodding, too fucked out to fully listen to him until he's pulling his fingers out and you whine at the lost of sensation. He stands up to undress himself and boy it's like a show for you. Seeing him with such a radiant energy to him, all his tattoos on display, his hair as frazzled as he was and his cock, oh my gods, it's just as pretty as it always is. It's already leaking and begging to be touched. You sit up a bit, just about to give it some attention when your legs are being hooked around Eddie's waist and he's giving it a few strokes

"Not today princess, we got other things we need to focus on first" He starts sliding into you and inch by inch just groaning as it goes. He leans down to offer more kisses along your jaw and neck line, as well as playing with your nipples to try to relax you. Eventually, once he bottoms out, he all but grinds into you. His crotch is robbing up into your clit, while his cock is deeper than you could ever imagine it. You almost wonder if you're drooling over his cock right now and just as you start to imagine that, he pulls back just enough to where just the tip is there and re-enters you with a bit of force.

He starts a slow, steady, pace that is highlighting how deep he can go. It doesn't take long until your cunt is so wet for him that he's sliding in and out with ease and you're both making sounds that if the neighbors could hear, they would be blushing too.

"Who makes you feel this good? Who's the one that can fuck you this dumb?"

"You daddy! Always you! You!"

"That's right, because you're mine. You are my girl, my little fuck toy, my good, needy, perfect bunny. This is my pussy, you are my girl, and nothing. is going. to change that."

Your head is going all the way back into the cushions, you are so far in the clouds, he's fucked you beyond well, he's fucked you dumb

"My dumb little bunny, my good bunny"

He doesn't show signs of giving up when he's puncturing every thrust with a whispered chant of mine. mine. mine.

You're whining, you're so close and he can feel it

"Just a little longer bunny, you can do it, hold it.. hold it for me, don't you dare cum, I'm almost there."

You're holding on so hard, the knot in your stomach seeming to be climbing more and more and more until you can barely hear when he finally does give you the confirmation "cum for me, bunny, cum all over me. Take it. Take it really good." and you're just a string of daddy daddy daddy daddy until you're both limb from each other. You're both cumming harder than ever before and wetter than ever before when you realize you're squirting all over Eddie's cock and over the couch.

He gasps and chuckles at it before falling forward and turning over to the side so you can curl into his chest and he can slip out of you slowly.

You're both out of breathe, sweaty, and covered in marks and different bodily fluids. You're disgusting and you've never been more starstruck than you were right now.

"Thank you daddy"

"Anytime bunny"

He holds you for a little longer until you both go shower each other off and start trying to figure out how you're going to clean off your couch. So incredibly worth it though.

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A/N: Ahhh this is already so long so I'm going to cut it off here but if you want more daddy!Eddie or dominant Eddie just make sure to leave a comment or to ask in my ask box! I'll be looking for writing inspo through those two ways! I hope you liked this!

#eddie munson #eddie munson smut #eddie munson angst #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #daddy!eddie munson #sir!eddie munson #dom!eddie #dominant!eddie #dom!eddie munson #dominant!eddie munson

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justenjoythegossip · 11 months ago

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CHRIS WILL BE JUST FINE…

A portion of Chris’ fandom is really mad at him for accepting to be part of a shitshow with such a problematic girl. And rightfully so. But it’s important to keep something in perspective: Chris is going to be just fine.

Stars have gotten away with much worse

I saw this article this morning about celebrities being involved in big scandals. https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahmarder/wild-forgotten-celeb-controversies

There are many more that didn’t make the list and definitely could have. Even recently, Greta Gerwig’s partner left the mother of his unborn child to be with her. It’s awards season so of course, it has been buried. Same situation with Claire Danes’ sordid affair with Billy Crudup a long time ago.

So many of these Hollywood folks are problematic and have gotten away with it and continue to get away with it.

Their behavior range from the problematic to the horrific and criminal.

Casey Affleck allegedly assaulted a woman sexually and settled his case out of court. He won an Oscar for Manchester by the sea anyway. If people are curious, look at how Brie Larson handed his awards. She knew!

According to Rose McGowan, his brother Ben Affleck would have told her after she had confessed to him that Weinstein (let's not even discuss him) raped her: “I told him to stop doing that”.

Allegedly a former girlfriend of Fassbender pressed charges against him after he violently assaulted her. And I could go on and on.

Many have done much worse than being in a PR relationship with someone problematic and have gotten away with it. So in the grand scheme of things, Chris will be just fine. His “relationship” with Abba will be buried and soon it will be a forgotten memory, only remembered by a small portion of his fandom.

Chris’ darker side

Chris’ history is rather tame compared to all those super problematic people and or criminals that are still on the loose.

But yes, he has made mistakes in the past like everyone else and he has done his fair share of problematic stuff as well. In his younger days, there were rumors of fights and being thrown out of bars. There has been rumors of drug use. There was that messy affair with a married costar during the shooting of Gifted. Also let’s not forget the more recent papwalk in London with Lily James during Covid Lockdown to clean her sniffing cocaine in the park. The pairing of Captain America and Cinderella was a good idea on paper but the execution was atrocious and tactless. It was already a sign of his team’s gross incompetence and miscalculation. There was also the leak of the screenshot of his phone. The d..k pic was all people talked about but some of the other pictures were even more problematic, not as embarrassing of course but more problematic.

Also Chris’ friends and family and Chris himself have trolled his fandom for years. A day before he left for Portugal at the beginning of this shitshow, he tweeted a pic of himself and wrote something like: “I love my fans and Dodger loves you too”. He then hopped on a plane and purposefully filmed a video for that teacher from his hotel room in Lisbon so that his fans (plants?) could place him there. And surprise surprise, there was some backlash on certain platforms and just afterwards he or his team tweeted a picture of him with a bald kid with cancer. It was actually the low point for me. Much worse than anything he did with Abba. I think the picture was 2 years old and I know celebrities use charities to make themselves look good all the time. But using the pic of a sick child for damaged control was as low as you can get. I am not sure he promoted Christopher’s Haven ever since.

And of course, there are still the ongoing shenanigans with the Nazi sympathizing yacht girl…

But like Chris said in an interview the past year, the industry makes you do things you don’t want to do. Hollywood is indeed a snake pit where they sometimes force you to compromise yourself and play certain games if you want to be successful. That is part of the price to pay.

He needed a change in his PR image

Chris was at a good place in his career after Endgame. Knives Out was a huge hit and Defending Jacob got good reviews. He seemed to have diversified but Covid happened and derailed a lot of stuff. Little shop of Horrors was canceled. He didn’t have Marvel to fall back on and he seemed to be at a crossroads career wise and PR-wise. He couldn’t remain the perfect internet boyfriend and play Prince charming waiting for the one forever. He had to evolve into more adults parts as well: husbands, fathers etc.

This is probably why his team came up with this PR relationship and those kinda of weddings. Again it was a good idea on paper because it enabled them to change his image in a natural and organic way. But the execution was again as disastrous as it gets. Abba was not a good fit for him and she was not a good choice especially if they wanted to rebrand him as a family man.

The question remains whether she is the only one who agreed to this charade. Indeed the contract’s terms seem rather drastic. She has never been able to even post anything about him (just his dog) or about marrying him. She has mostly hid for the past years and just popped up for PR events or reasons. And given the GQ event, it's likely she is not even allowed to speak in public. Remember the articles saying she was rude and refused to talk to the media. Who would agree to this kind of contract but a desperate clout chaser with little prospect?

An artist’s career is full of ups and downs. Hopefully, once this is over, Chris will get opportunities to expand on his body of work with more diverse roles. I think Pain Hustlers was supposed to do that for him but even if he was rather good in it, the movie wasn’t. I do think he has the acting chops to do it. Whether or not he will get such opportunities is another question… I am not sure this shitshow would have helped him at all in that regard but time will tell.

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finnban · 10 months ago

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youtube

Hello, Everyone.

So this video is just based on the original Netflix series, SONIC PRIME. I'm pretty sure everyone has watched it already. I did too. However, I've gotten the word from a viewer telling me the whole story was not as clear as all the Sonic fans think. This Sonic doesn't match with the other Sonic's we knew over his franchise history. Many would probably think whatever they've expected while watching it was gonna be included in, like on the posters for example, but nothing ever went through. Some of us also went sad or ill right after watching the whole thing as well, only mentally in this case.

This version of SONIC PRIME is somewhat of an idea that I made, like I made it as if it were to be a sequel series. I don't think any of you understood what a sequel series is; it's like when like in the Harry Potter series is just based on movie-limited time recordings, but this way is different. This sequel series I'm expressing is based on tv-show-limited time recordings. Or it can just be a two hour 30 minute animated movie. Anyway, this version explains Shadow the Hedgehog's side of the story, but not in the format that follows the original's story. Everything was back to normal, but this time, the adventure takes place all in the Green Hill dimension.

But first, before we get into the little informative synopsis of Shadow's story, I want you to take a look at the cast of characters here:

0:15 Ian Hanlin as Shadow The Hedgehog

Shadow is a black and red striped hedgehog, also known as the ultimate lifeform, whose air shoes allow his speed to rival Sonic's. He wields the Chaos Emerald around to control space and time, and can also use it to drag him up to higher speed. He crosses paths with Rouge The Bat, and hooks up with her, going on day-by-day dates that last very quickly having their bonds form into romance. He suddenly realizes Sonic and his friends were blasted into the sky after a big ground rumbling explosion. All of Sonic and friends were thrown up into the sky out of Green Hill. He assures Rouge, Umbra, Blaze and Omega to join him to save Sonic, his friends and the crystals in various other unfamiliar areas.

1:15 Kazumi Evans as Rouge The Bat

Rouge is a jewel-loving anthropomorphic bat who works as a spy. She crosses paths with Shadow and starts going on day-by-day dates with him until she has completely fallen in love with him. She teams up with him, alongside Umbra, Blaze and Omega to save all the crystals in Greenhill, Sonic and his friends.

1:51 Finn Ban as E-123 Omega

Omega is Eggman’s formally abused red robot whose intent was to annihilate him and his evil schemes. He is given a chip which activates him to interact with others acting and sounding like a regular person would. He joins Shadow, Rouge, Umbra, and Blaze to Sonic, his friend’s and all the stolen crystals. He is considered to be one of the strongest robots he is when fighting all of the other robots he comes across.

2:08 Andrew Francis as Umbra the Wolf

Umbra is an anthropomorphic wolf who has the ability to use red-colored, static electricity to control the strength of any opponents’ powers and weakens them. He can glide in thin air and the sky, wearing a wingsuit, and hover boots to boost controlled speed. He can snap his fingers to stop and start time. He equips with his team with a couple of gadgets he made. His booster items are amethyst crystals, which he plunges them into his chest, and then he grows more strength. He can also use his power to make various electrified weapons, such as, whips, nunchucks, and big red explosive overhead bowling balls, etc.

2:52 Britt McKillip as Blaze the Cat

Blaze is a purple cat princess from an alternate dimension. She has been appointed as guardian of the Sol Emeralds. She ends up, finding herself, not having any other gems left in her dimension and discovers a cloak figure passing through. And into another dimension through a dark purple whole. She travels through to Green Hill and teams up with shadow and the rest of his crew to save them.

And now for the synopsis:

Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Umbra & Blaze bark on an adventure to save all the stolen crystals, Sonic and his friends. All of Sonic and his friends have been blasted into the sky by an explosion and separately land in various unfamiliar areas nobody knows about. All the crystals were stolen by a cloak figure who dimensionally teleports into other worlds, and other land areas.

Furthermore, if any of you guys want to help make more ideas for the story, the link is here:

https://www.icloud.com/notes/065rMcc64djg5j3U7Z_zcu4sA#SHADOW_PRIME:_Team_Dark_Upgraded_(Netflix_Original)

Also, subscribe to my other social media platforms down below:

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Just remember, have a great day, and good luck finding ways to make your miracles happen. I wish you all the best.

#shadow the hedgehog #rouge the bat #e 123 omega #blaze the cat #team dark #sonic prime #sonic series #sonic franchise #shadouge #shadow and rouge #amy rose #sonic the hedgehog #miles tails prower #knuckles the echidna #dr eggman #chaos emeralds #green hill zone #Youtube

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kenthenugget · 7 months ago

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Dear Watcher....

This is going to be about the youtube channel Watcher and a recent video that they released earlier today, so if you dont watch the channel, or older content produced by Ryan, Shane and Steven at Buzzfeed, this is not going to make sense to you. This only going to be for those who are a fan of Watcher, or are fans of Buzzfeed Unsolved so if you are, that's great!

Earlier today, I got a video notifcation from the channel titled, "goodbye youtube", and it was definitely not something I wanted to see. There is a recent trend this year of youtubers retiring or taking a break this year and I was scared this was that scenario. And it kind of was but way worse. Basically, the guys over at Watcher are going to be posting on their new streaming service called....Watcher. And, no, it is not a late April Fools joke, that's actually what their doing. Initially, I was in a state of shock after I watched through the entire video. I, no joke, went through the 5 stages of grief upon viewing this announcement and was thrown through a loop to where I struggled to focus on sketching one of my comic pages. So much so that I actually made a deviant blog post about it the moment I finished watching the video (most of the content from this post will be copied and pasted from that blog so declaimer I guess). After having some time to absorb this information, I have to say that Im really disappointed with the guys over at Watcher. Like Im not mad to where Im completely done with their content but.......WHY!?

I think at this point in time that a lot of people, myself included, are burnout with the whole streaming boom we've had for the past 5 years in no part thanks to those greedy bastards at Disney....but thats another story. I miss the days when there were only 2 to 3 main streaming services and not 5 billion other services that you need to buy in order to watch a show you like that was on Netflix but it now locked behind a pay wall. Streaming services used by a novelty concept but are now not looked upon in the best light. So for the them to announce a streaming service now is definitely a bad look, especially because the content before was free to access. I feel like creators will always have an uphill battle when it comes to content that was initially free being locked behind a paywall, because you're potentially isolating your audience and bringing up the question of weather your audience if loyal enough to give you money to enjoy your content. Now, like I said, I love and respect the people at Watcher, but I dont know if I'm willing to take money out of my wallet to watch the next season of Ghost Files. Especially in this economy, where in some parts of the country a big mac now costs 20 fucking dollars, and with inflation going out of control.

Now its not like I don't understand why they're doing this. Ever since its founding in 2019, Watcher has always had troubles with money, with most of their shows not being profitable enough to make ends meet (I know that sounds bs because most of their vidoes get millions of views but this is coming from one of the founders Steven, in an update video from a while ago so idk, views probably mean jack shit in the grand scheme of things). And the fact that they started around the pandemic didn't help things either. Unlike Buzzfeed, Watcher is a much smaller company so any loss that happens is felt much more than if it was a larger one. In the video itself, they mentioned that most of their money came through youtube ads and sponsorships, which, while alright if you're an independent creator, may not be enough for a company. And then there's the fact that YouTube can remove or demonetize videos out of nowhere and for the dumbest reasons so its not a very stable sight to base your income off of. So I can understand why they felt moving on from YouTube was a good idea. But..........I think there were better ways of going about it than creating their own fucking streaming service. Like, in one of their update vidoes, they said most of their shows werent making ends meet so maybe cutting back on the production of said shows to make them not as expensive to produce would be a good solution. In their announcement vid, they talked about wanting to maintain their high production value for their shows without going under but (and I dont mean this to slight them) I dont think they understand why they popped off in the first place. For me, Im not watching Ghost Files or Mystery Files for high production value and fancy graphics, Im there for Ryan and Shane. Same reason I loved Buzzfeed Unsolved, which compared to those shows is much more bare bones. I get wanting to step up your production value from what you had at Buzzfeed but if you have budget out in certain places which would entail having a season that doesnt look as good as the previous season, that's completely fine. Im sure me and the rest of fans wouldn't have minded a downgrade because at the end of the day, the fancy sets and graphics are window dressing to why we're truly watching.

I also thinking letting us know ahead of time would've possibly softened the blow. Watcher is in a very interesting situation because there's a much closer relationship between them and their customer base as opposed to traditional companies. So they really could've been like "hey! We're thinking about having future content be on our own streaming service because doing business through YouTube is fucking us over. What do you guys think?". One explanation as to why they waited until now instead of a few months ago when this idea was sparked could've been because they knew they would get backlash and they were going ahead with the streaming service idea regardless of fan input, which might be the reason. But if that's the case, they probably would've had the comments and likes disabled from the start. Right before I started typing this, I checked the video to see if the comments were disabled and they are thankfully still there. Im someone who always wants to see the good in people (which is definitely a character flaw of mine and while defiently lead to me being at the end of an abusive relationship........another abusive relationship but lets not go there), so I think this might be the case of Ryan, Shane and Steven, thinking the streaming service was a good idea and not reading the room properly.

At this point, Im hoping that they dont do things that could make this situation 10 times worse: a) removing the existing content (Mystery Files, Puppet History, etc) off the youtube channel and having it on their streaming service. If you are going to have new seasons of those shows behind a paywall, at least have that content still up for those who want to support but cant purchase the service......b) respond to the critism in a negative way. I think things would be made worse if they lumped genuine fans who are concerned with the new direction with the trolls and haters, and double down on this new direction. Im hoping this situation ends up being a slip up that they can learn from and not being the beginning of the downfall of the Watcher gang. No joke, I think Ryan and Shane are the only youtubers who have avoided any sort of drama up to now. Youtubers I once respected over the years from Tobuscus to Leafyishere to H3H3 to Idubbz to even fucking Dream have all fell from grace in one way or another, and Im hoping the ghoul boys dont join that list....

#watcher #shane and ryan #ghoul boys #buzzfeed unsolved

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masquayla-the-splendid · 2 years ago

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Here's a fnaf headcanon I've had since forever that I think might actually be canon.

Ennard is his own character, separate from being an amalgam.

This claim brings me back to pre SL, post SL teaser era where people thought Ennard was actually this puppet master character who was only a head that moved like a spider with a few skrangly wires.

I've seen many fan interpretations on what animatronic his mask was supposed to be for, but do you ever wonder why it fits his face perfectly?

Yes, I do believe that the rest of his body was just a big metal knitting session between the Funtimes. There are some parts that are obvious from what came from who.

But his face? They couldn't have put that much detail into making his head look so unique that it doesn't line up with any of theirs.

To compare, I brought up Ballora and Funtime Foxy, as I thought they had the most resemblance.

I used a more polished version of the Help Wanted model in SFM for Ennard.

Not only that, but when making these renders, I just now realized that his right eye is shoved way further back, and has a pretty bad overbite.

(It's also really obvious how Scott models here. His head is completely made of clipping errors.)

Speaking of his eyes, he has 3 eyes of the same color. Usually it's assumed that his left eye is Funtime Freddy's, but the half closed eye, and the eye dangling below that are the same color as the left one. Ennard has one eye of each of the Funtimes, so that means Funtime Freddy's is the one that's off to the side.

Yes, there can be multiple animatronics with the same eye color.

The eye on his torso is commonly mistaken to be Ballora's, but as you can see, her eyes are tiny. Who else has pink eyes? BonBon. Who doesn't have eyes in the scooping room? BonBon.

Then where are Ballora's eyes? Somewhere in the mass of wire that you can't see. He's saving them for when he gets his skin, because they're same size as human eyes.

Okay so if that was his own head, what level of consciousness or awareness does he have?

This is where the headcanons come in.

It's unknown how he "thinks," but one can only assume he works as a hive mind.

My personal headcanon is that he has his own conscious, and was probably just chillin where Funtime Chica would've been if she wasn't rented out. Either that or the Private Room. He'd be the one that controls the body, and the rest of them are just spectating. Maybe having more of a say on what limbs move that belong to them.

The SL robots seem to have their own conscious, since Baby tells her story in her perspective, but at what stage of programming awareness comes in, I have no clue. I'd guess it would have to be at the head?? Depends on where the main computer is?

(On a side note, they must have a lot of know-how on robo physiology, because they were able to wire up their individual abilities, like the voice mimicking, to a separate body without flaw. I mean it ain't like the Funko toys that snap on, they had to like actually tie things together. How did they do that without soldering anything? Were the Funtimes programmed to be able to fix themselves, or did they have the bidybabs/minireenas snoop through all the drawers to find the blueprints for each of them?)

Then what does the "there's a little of me in every body" mean?

Could be teasing the real ending, but "every" implies multiple. Maybe there's was more done to him than just a head, and had to get dismantled for the Funtimes. I've seen that theory tossed around a few times.

HEY HEY THE BOOKS.

I can't remember which book it was, one of the Fazbear Frights I'm sure, but it described a Clown-like animatronic that has a green/yellow color scheme. He wasn't a whole robot though, he was attached to a separate attraction, and had spring for a body from the chest down. I think he had hair. I'm pretty sure it's name was like Coils or something. I thought it was Coily at first, but that's the snake from Qbert.

Edit: In Ultimate Custom Night, Scott only uses "he" when referring to Ennard. There is a completely valid reason for the use of "they" or all pronouns, considering he is literally multiple robots. Now if you're a new age Scott hater, you may chalk it up to generalizing him as whatever phobic, but this is the same guy who uses "he" AND "she" for Mangle. (Not to mention designs "boy" animatronics with blush/lisstick in 2015) Why would "He" be the only pronoun? Because it's his head. Wherever his main computer is, it's somewhere up there. This would mean that all unpossesed animatronics have their "conscious" wired to a motherboard somewhere in they noggin. They're just a piece of plastic with transistors and diodes melted to it at their core.

So you can't just attach Chica's arm to Bonnie, and have Chica control everything he does. You'd have to swap their heads. But when you got remnant infused metal, it's a bit different. Hence, Ballora would have a say in moving the arms, because they're hers.

Anyway that's my rare fnaf rambling.

#Fnaf #five nights at freddy's #sister location #fnaf sister location #Ennard #circus baby #ballora #funtime foxy #funtime freddy

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miloscat · 25 days ago

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[Review] Sonic Adventure (PC)

A highly successful revamp.

Before getting to Frontiers and Shadow Generations, I decided I should go back and finally complete my Sonic homework by checking out the Dreamcast era properly for the first time. Adventure was a big revamp for the series after several false starts. Sonic Team struggled to bring Sonic to 3D, but in the end as a Dreamcast launch window title Adventure made a splash and is still remembered fondly. But what did I think of it as a certified Boost enjoyer?

I have played a bit of Adventure before during a stream. Loaded up with mods I sampled parts here and there, and played Gamma's story. This time I wanted the full unmodded experience. That's not to say it's the original experience, mind you: the version available for sale on Steam is regarded as a shoddy port of a shoddy port, as it's based on the Gamecube "DX Director's Cut" version, which changes a lot of textures, lighting, and graphical effects. Many fans consider these changes for the worse (some alterations even messed up intended gameplay or lore), and there's mods to revert the look of the game to the cleaner Dreamcast appearance. I didn't think it was a huge deal while playing but looking through comparisons afterwards, I reckon the reversion mods truly are the best way to play.

Regardless, Sonic Adventure is impressively ambitious. I now understand what games like 06 and Unleashed were striving for and missing the mark! Yes it's janky and the camera sucks but the characters generally control well and the level design suits their playstyles. The cutscenes and voice acting are awkward and stilted but there's a cinematic pretension that comes through anyway. Most importantly the game passes the vibe check with flying colours, this thing has heart!

The story plays out over a series of six (plus one) campaigns told from different characters' perspectives. There's a nonlinear storytelling thing going on and you (the player) piece together the full events by playing each one, even if the characters themselves never really get together to work things out. It all revolves around the watery monster Chaos and the lost history of the echidna people, although Robotnik/Eggman's scheming is the primary motivator. My favourite parts were the surprisingly touching story of Gamma, and Amy's role which is maybe her strongest appearance in... any Sonic game ever? After her campaign in this game I'm even more baffled how the writers could have gone so wrong with her for so many years.

Between stages the adventure hubs serve as a little breather, and flesh out the world without being overwhelming. Mystic Ruins is the standout here being large and fun to get around, taking great influence from the dev team's research trip to South America (they even took reference photos that were converted to textures in the game!), while Station Square feels like a good approximation of a lively city street within Dreamcast limitations. Talking to NPCs gives you little snippets of flavour that advance as you progress the plot... I just wish they'd actually used the face buttons they had instead of binding interact on the same button as "attack", which makes things awkward. By the way, Sonic has a spin dash in this game although you rarely need it.

Sonic's speed feels well balanced with the environments; it's a wonder what decent level design can do. His story is the longest, while the others remix the existing levels to various degrees. Tails gloriously breaks the level design by flying, and his stages play out as races against another character to get to the goal. Knuckles is more of a collectathon in enclosed arenas; I really liked the pace of his gameplay combined with his climbing and gliding powers. Amy sadly feels clumsy to control but her levels have an interesting idea in trying to escape an invincible and implacable robot. Big the Cat debuts here with a goofy storyline and a fishing minigame that I didn't find that fun but is mostly optional.

Gamma rounds out the cast as a defecting badnik with a lock-on gun, and of course Super Sonic finishes things with an epic setpiece fight which is thankfully quite breezy (later Sonic games make this kind of fight overly difficult or complex, to their detriment). Occasionally a subgame like car racing or snowboarding will break up the action, but they're pretty shallow. The casino level has you playing janky pinball to earn rings, one with a slot machine theme [cringe] while the other is a pleasing love letter to Sonic Team's previous game Nights. The Panzer Dragoon-like rail shooter segments have incredibly twitchy controls for some reason which rather ruins them, but like most things they're not too difficult; with this game I never found myself in a spiral of dying and having to repeat sections (a notable exception to this is the awful final boss of Sonic's story, a long and boring fight with janky difficulty spikes). Again it's odd that the balance is well considered here when it is so out of whack in some later entries.

The game feels very free and open, and you're able to easily revisit prior levels just by going there from the hub. Sometimes it's unclear exactly what to do next but talking to wandering folks (we're in a world of humans for the first time, but they're cartoony enough that they feel natural) or the helpful glowing orb (it's in fact Tikal, please bring back Tikal) will usually get you back on track. It really feels like an adventure, which was a totally new approach for Sonic at this time.

There's a lot more to the package than the story modes too. They tacked on Missions and Trials to extend the playtime if you want more, but I didn't feel I needed to. You can do extra objectives for emblems or find them in the hub, and there's even optional equipment that enhances your abilities to reward exploring. Between levels you can also visit the Chao garden, a popular feature that expands on Nights's A-Life system by letting you raise cute critters and race them or something? As with Nights, it's completely optional... I found it too fiddly and unrewarding so I just ignored it! To its credit the game never forced me to engage with it.

I already praised the vibes and recommended the Dreamcast graphic mods, but aesthetically the game does look very good. Well, apart from the character animation in cutscenes which is quite wonky. The soundtrack is pleasant and spans various genres; special mention must also be made of the vocal themes. Every character gets their own, from Sonic's buttrock to a goofy duet for Big and Froggy. My favourites were Tails' upbeat poppy number and Knuckles' famous rap, but all of them are fun especially when you hone in on the lyrics which describe the character and what they're about. It's silly but so charming.

I was honestly dreading going back to these older 3D games after the rollercoaster ride I've been on, but Adventure was a pleasant surprise. It's true I've used the word "jank" several times in this review and it can't be denied, this game is a bit messy at times. But compared to some other Sonic games I've played it's a stone cold masterpiece! Either way, I do get why it's beloved, it's a soulful game, a deserved killer app for the Dreamcast (RIP), and a worthy 3D debut that successfully revamped the franchise and set the tone for the next decades.

#sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic adventure #sonic team #review #pc #dreamcast

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itsana004 · 11 months ago

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10, 12, and 14 for Droite for the meme!

Ahhh thank you so much for the ask 💞💞💞

10. Could you be best friends with this character?

Oh gosh definitely not, it's like asking if celebrities could be best friends with their fans and I would be that fan worshiping her and having fan pages dedicated to her so definitely not

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

Oh my gosh I actually have a lot hehe

1-One headcanon I have is I think she has a really cute sneeze no matter in what situation, she can't control it and the worst part is it's not expected of her since she's serious most of the time, so she tries not to sneeze in front of people whom she doesn't want to look at her differently, especially enemies, but terribly fails in front of long-term friends and people she sees and visits often like Gauche, Haruto and Kaito.

2-I personally do not believe she's from Spartan City and the idea Mr. Heartland travelled that far from Heartland City to Italy to pick up orphaned children, and Gauche himself says the city they were born in was “terrible” and did not mention Spartan City by name. Even looking at the flashback, just looking at the surroundings it feels the buildings are a bit modernised, more like the outskirts of Heartland City. Gauche and Droite probably travelled to Spartan City due to the Championships being held there and they just travel around living in hotels and don't have a permanent home yet except Heartland City, but I really like the idea of her and Gauche sharing some Italian ancestry and connections to that place I just like the idea of them being Italian since I grew up in Italy. I like to imagine Droite's innate Italian spirit being stereotypically Italian that hates food crimes such as pineapple and fruits on pizza or ruining pasta, she's very defensive of that and even more so after staying in Spartan City in those couple of months. Never show her a Hawaiian pizza ever or she’ll get crazier than how Chris is when he teaches dueling. Haruto found out the hard way and he will never ruin pasta in front of an Italian ever again.

3-Droite is good at many things, but drawing is not one of them. As an orphan who was living in the streets she never really got the practice as a child, and once she was picked up by Mr. Heartland, art wasn't really a big focus in her studies, especially during training. She's insecure about that especially in front of people like Kaito where he needs to make detailed geometry and references in order to build something, she's bad at anything that requires art, whether it is a flower or an architecture. She tries to hide that though.

4-Just as drawing, she's really bad at whistling, she can't whistle for her life, just imagine Haruto trying to teach Droite how to whistle the same he learned from his brother so adorableee 😭💞

5-Droite is incredibly good at board games like chess or Go, she's good at any game that requires and tests one’s ability to think critically and defeat the opponent completely unnoticed, it's just one of those fields where she's almost unbeatable. She's so good that it rivals Chris. She has incredible muscle memory compared to the average and can play chess while blindfolded.

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

I think she's a Chic Modernist

with the colour scheme of Barbiecore with the pink, grey, purple and white combination

I would absolutely love her to wear darker colours since her normal outing dress is too much pink for my taste, she would kill it in black the ones with nets, and outfits with corset!!!

She already wears a huge belt in canon which kind of acts as a corset

I can also imagine her having a light textile dress like this one

in an open field filled with flowers and butterflies near a seashore - this is not too far of as the first one is the same as her regular outing fit if you remove this

And the second photo is similar to her nightgown

I think for Droite the animators wanted to fit her dress to match the colour scheme of her hair but I think she would rock so many other colours than pink, grey, white and purple/violet combination.

#zexal #ygo zexal #yugioh zexal #droite zexal #sorry for making this post longer than shoul have been 😭😭😭

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popculturebuffet · 10 months ago

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Top 25 Ed, Edd, N Eddy Episodes: Top 25 List of the Ed (Comissioned by Weirdkev27)

Hello all you happy Eds and happy late anniversary to one of the best showss Cartoon Network ever put out. A few weeks back Ed, Edd n Eddy hit it's 25th Anniversary.. which makes me feel old, but still proud.

For those less familiar, Ed Edd, N Eddy was a series by Danny Antonucci. Antonucci was a huge fan of cartoons of the 40's through 70's, the wobbly style and chaotic energy, and , basing it on people he knew from his children with two of the ed boys to himself with Rolf. He tried pitching it to Nick, but wisely didn't want to give up creative control, something cartoon network gave him, leading to 5 seasons and a movie of handrawn wonder. Yes i'm aware of the 1 technically 6th season episode, but like HBO Max I just lump that in with season 5.

For those less familiar with the show, a quick primer: Ed, Edd, N Eddy follows the titular ed boys: Imaginative cloudcukoolander dum dum brick house Ed, neurotic genius inventor voice of reason Edd, and scheming egotist jerkass Eddy. The three would reguarly try to pull "Scams" to get the kids quarter, a combination of buisnesses, out and out schemes to get money, and ocasinally buliding an ENTIRE CITY. Their targets were the other 6 kids and plank of wood inhabiting their Cul De Sac: Rich kid asshole treat him as the villian Kevin, nice girl and sorta love intrest Nazz, son of a shepard Rolf, Ed's abusive shouty sister Sarah, Sarah's best friend and sensitive kind boy Jimmy and the weird, wonderful Johnny and his best friend Plank. Typically the schemes would fail either due to Eddy's hubris, an unforseen thing or if the writer's were feeling a tad lazy, just having local bullies and sexual harassers the Kanker Sisters end the episode.

The series stuck to it's small cast, a handful of settings, yet used those for all they got, getting 4 seasons out of a nearly endless summer filled with fantastic slapstick comedy, nice adult nods sprinkled in there, and fluid and bouncy animation, with a 5th shifting the setting to school for a decent enough season that's barely on this list but wasn't too bad, ending in a finale movie.

So i'm honoring this fine series with it's 25 best episodes: once kevin pitched the idea and clinked the money in my jar, I went through the series, picked out my faviorites, narrowed it down to the 25, then rewatched ALL of them. I was stuck in bed with tubrculosis, what else was I going to do. I COULD have gone off memory, but it just felt right to rewatch them all and at 11 minutes an episode it was fesable. I am willing to do more lists on comission and will rewatch any episodes I put on said list if possible, but I have limits. Overall though it was remarkable how I not only had TROUBLE pairing it down to 25, but how awesome these episodes still were all these years later.

So these are the good, the great and the weird of Ed , Edd N Eddy across 5 seasons and celebrating 25 years, 25 scams and 25 cents. Join me under the cut.

25. Ed, Pass it On aka The One With Eddie's Brother Allgedlys Coming Back Home

Ed Pass It On.. is okay. The opening set piece is an all timer and rewatching these reminded me just how much this show loves it's opening set piece scams and how good it was at them. A restraunt is great and the way it derails being ed putting hhimself naked on one of those fancy serving tray things is brilliant. I didn't need to SEE a naked Ed, but that's half the joke.

The actual episode.. is less enjoyable than I remember. The idea of Eddy lying his big brother coming back is great and it has some nice foreshadowing for the big picture show, but joke wise it's just not funny watching everyone be terrified a serial domestic abuser is going to come back. it is intresting seeing how each character interacts with the idea and Sarah easily derail it, but it didn't hold up as well possibly due to SAID big picture show hammering home just how bad a person Eddy's brother is taking Kevin and Rolf's reactions from kinda funny to "Okay I see why jesus". Not a terrible one, just one that didn't age well.

24. Stop Look and Ed aka The No Rules One

The titles for this series.. aren't great. Some fit okay, but the chaotic title cards meant I didn't read them clearly half the time as a kid and their so generic. Thankfully the episodes are still good> This one's got a strong premise: Edd is , as you'd expect, neurotic about a keep off the grass sign, and Eddy and Ed defy it, then decide to break all the rules they can, leading to the neighborhood goign into chaos in hilarous ways with Rolf taking a break for once, Kevin destroying dishes and Sarah and Jimmy's ice cream mountain. We also get the iconic line "Save it and use it for ammo when I need to double d". Otherwise.. it's flimsier than I remembered, with Edd's solution being entirely assholish and eddy being a dick the whole time. It has enough memorable moments to land it here, with the jawbraker satilte, the off screne double d reveal, the ice cream mountain, it's just not the series best. That won't last long on this list thankfully.

23. An Ed Too Many aka Sarah gets a crush on Double D

Season 1 was a tad more relaxed than the seasons after, a bit more chill and that shows here. There's no scam in progress, our heroes just hit up Double D, try to make pizza then work on what the next scam will be while the conflict is simply Sarah getting a crush on Edd and stalking him.

That part could easily ruin the episode: Ed, Edd N Eddy has held up in a lot of ways, but it's use of the Kankers.. is not one of them ,being the embodiment of "HA HA THIS SEXUAL HARASSMENT IS FUNNY BECAUSE IT'S HAPPENING TO A MAN. LAUGH LAUGH AT HOW UNCOMFORTABLE THIS IS LAUUUUGGGGHHHH".

So it's a plesant suprise that when it comes to this episode with Sarah.. they get it right. Sarah is obsessively following Double D around, but the episode makes it very clear in how she acts this episode she's a kid: She dosen't understand this isn't okay or Edd isn't intrested because she's.. well apparently 12 according to the middle school seasons but clearly supposed to be younger than that even in those seasons? This show is weird with ages.

Point is you get an innocence in Janynse Jaud's performance. She's just a kid following around the older boy she has a crush on and not understanding that him giving her a flower, entirely innocently, didn't make him his boyfriend but you understand why from her perspective she is. Not only that Sarah's entitlement as a character and tendency to not be told no , as anyone who does usually gets their teeth misplaced soon after, makes it clear WHY she doesn't get it and why Ed gently trying ot tell her to leave or eddy being.. eddy about it don't work. The episode dosen't make Sarah's behavior okay either, as it's clear Double D is massively uncomfortable, but it's on such a low scale, the worst we get being "hello trapped boyfriend" and her acts mostly being following him around, asking him to play and making paper art out of the paper used for their dinosaur.

The episode is low on jokes, but ones it has are great. We have that great shot of Ed and Eddy carrying edd, "Get Lost", an all time great joke of the series, and of course Jimmy's heartbroken reaction to everything, foaming at the mouth and trying to pick a fight with eddy in the most hilarious way possible while Eddy just boggles at it and has ed kidnap him. The ending solution, the two playing together is also really sweet. All in all a solid, shockingly wholesome episode.

22. Over Your Ed aka Cool Ed

Another season 1 episode and once again I like how relaxed it is: our heroes are simply running an "eno-g-drink" stand, a smaller hustle than normal, ed being ed and also extra smelly ruins it, so the eds decide to fancy him up and then profit off it. Simple plot. This one is here entirely for ed's transformation, a classic design from the fun wig to the neat jacket, and the fountain of nearly incomrephnisble 70's and 80's catchphrases. Cool ed is a delight and would easily get this episode higher. The problem is one MANY an episode have: Deus Ex Kanker. The writer's can't figure out how an episode ends, so the Kanker Sisters show up. There's less HARASSMENT in this one, so it's not as bad, but this one wreaks of them not knowing how to end the scheme and just letting the Kankers do it for them and it ends the episode on a sour note.

21. Laugh Ed Laugh aka Eddy looses his mind due to a Pandemic

Yeah this one aged well for obvious reasons, but even beyond the obvious parallels to the hellscape we all lived through, it's a well done character piece that shows why EDDY does this. Sure we know other reasons, greed, a need to live up to his brother, etc, but this one makes it clear he's addicted to it. He's given a chance to just hang with his best friends, let the storm pass.. but it's just not as fun. He can't play games like kick the can when there's no money in it, no thrill to it. He may get constantly frustrated at his constant losses... but this ep adds the subtext that that the possiblity of loss, the possiblity of not winning... is part of it. Eddy.. is a gambler. He lives for the thrill of the chase as much as the thrill of those quarters jingling in his jar. IT's why he ends up playing one of the oldest scams in the world with a bunch of squirrels for a prize he dosen't care about. He cares about the money.. but he needs the game too and goes mad without it. Tony Sampsons performance is also a large reason this one's here as it's one of his best. Truly great hilarious stuff. A solid episdoe that really cracks Eddy open as a character.

20. This Won't Hurt an Ed aka The Needle One

This is also the only one from Season 5. Now despite this I DO like Season 5's attempt's to do something new with the formula, putting the Ed's back to school and giving us new outfits for most of the cast that still echo their familiar ones. I particularly like Eddy's jacket. I also get why it dosen't work for some as the show still wasn't back to full speed despite this refresh, some of it's worse habits stuck, and the minimalist cast is a lot more noticable in a school setting, if still working for me. But I get why it wouldn't work for everyone.

That said it still gave us some classics and this is the best of them. It's also an episode that makes me feel bad for Kevin something hard given that he's an arrogant jerk. The episode does this well without really changing his character: he's still arrogant and he's largely nice to Jimmy at the moment because Jimmy's feeding his ego.. but you also get WHY the other kids are showering him for winning a sports ball as he has genuine charisma and is in a good enough mood to not be a sarcastic jerk to them, as he often tends to be.

The other half is Eddy. Eddy starts shit with Kevin this time not because Kevin disrespected him.. but because Kevin's getting all the attention. Eddy is genuinely in the wrong here and uses private medical information to torture Kevin with his fear of needles while also causing a panic in the school and making Double D's job as a nurse's assitant harder. Eddy... is a bad person a lot of the time and while he has a damn good reason WHY he's this way, it dosen't change the fact a lot of the time he's just a jerk for petty reasons.

The various torments are hilaroius but what gives the episode extra charm is the creepiness added as Kevin tries to avoid the eds as they stalk him. The short takes on a horror movie vibe. And again the episode dosen't forget Kevin is who he is: his response to the boys con being outed by Double D.. is to try and beat their heads in. But what clinches this one as a classic is Double D finding anothe rway around, one that remidns me of the aformentioned grounding episode... but instead of having kevin beat them.. he gives EDDY the shot to help Kevin with his own fear. A perfect payback ending to a damn fine episode.

19. Floss Your Ed aka OW TOOTH HURT

This is just a fun gag fest, plain and simple. The setup is simple: Ed's tooth is loose , Eddy puts a bounty on it to try and get that tooth fairy money and we get a lot of fantastic hyjinks from the rest of the kids as they try to get it loose from fishing lures to the fake jawbreaker above. It's a bit low thanks to it's ending not being as fun as everything else, but the payoff of Ed eating the teeth still works.

18. For The Ed By the Ed aka The Election One

A fitting one for this year, and not the last election episode i'll be going with. And what a concidence it's also between a blatant criminal who tries to steal an election and a plank of wood whose still a far better choice. Eerie.

This one's here partly because I really like election episodes, but mostly for it's murderer's row of jokes: We get things like the shovel, Eddy's over the top electionaring, Ed literally digging up dirt, and Eddy's blantant election fraud so obvious and ineveitble Edd already planned way ahead. Simple premise but damn if it ain't fun. It's also cathartic as hell to see Plank beat up the Kankers. He's got my vote.

17. Rent An Ed aka The Eds leave Johnny Homeless

This is another quick one to talk about: it's just gag after gag after gag as the Ed's destroy Jimmy's house then Johnny's. Plank telling them what they did, the design of Johnny stuck in a tree, Chez La Sweat, this one is just nonstop slapstick gold , concluding int he glorious delivery of "IS THAT THE SUPPORT BEAM TO THE HOUSE?!"

16. Dear Ed aka Johnny and Plank Break UP

This one thrives on a great concept, as do most great Ed Edd N Eddy Episodes: Johnny and Plank have a fight and while Jimmy takes the poor hunk of wood in, Eddy tries to captlize on Edd's well meaning attempts to find the kid a new best friend. What foils it is especially clever: it's not Eddy's usually impulsivness or greed, it's simply Johnny's imagination: Johnny gave Plank life, so they can't really contorl how he reacts to the other friends with a Traffic Cone being a perverted jerk and a Boot nearly killing him. Add in a fun as heck party with the whole neighborhood showing up and a wholesome ending with the boys dancing with Jimmy and you have one of my faivorite episodes.

15. Dueling Eds aka the Duel One

Okay some of these titles are pretty transparent, but you name an episode off the top of your head by title. Go on i'l wait.

Anyways, I love Rolf, easily tied with Johnny for my faviorite of the kids, so it's a shock only one of his episodes is on here, but damn does he make it count. The premise works well: It simply let's Eddy be his obnoxious self, disprespecting Rolf's culture then refusing to see he did anything wrong despite how obviously upset Rolf was and how obvious it is to anyone with two eyes that he was an insenstive little dickhead. Thus while Eddy goes through it this episode.. you don't remotely feel bad for him: He had every chance to apologize and even the cupcakes would've work but his stubborn refusal to admit he did anything wrong gets him beat. It's also aged remarkably well with many a person disrepscting people's personal cultures for being diffrent They all deserve a fish slap.

The duel itself also climbs it up here with the striking colors and some good gags like Rolf wanting eddy to fight back even though really this fight is one sided and Eddy has been trying. We also get a rare kevin compuance, as he tapes the fight, clearly is only into it because Eddy's getting beat.. and clearly gets beaten up afterwords. Also Ed becomes an eel. That sure did happen. I also love the guys eagerness to walk on Rolf's face. What a guy.

14. Look Into My Eds aka the Hypno Wheel One

Look into my heads is a weird one. As you might have noticed from the other season one eps on this list, Season 1 , like most season 1s, experimented a bit, trying to figure out the show's rhythm, having a more relaxed tone in places. The show hadn't quite settled into it's scam of the week format (with the ocasional breaks to keep it from getting stale of course).

So we get this episode where hypnotism is outright real and a lot of fun transformations , paticuarlly monkey Kevin and frog sarah. It's just some fun nonsenes. It's only real issue and what keeps it this down low despite such great animation and physical comedy .. is the Kankers. Their barely on this list for a reason, and while the ending isn't AS bad as usual, their use still feels like they had no ending thought up when they came up with the hynowheel. The reason it dosen't completely derail the ep is it is at least CLEVER why their resitant and the hair gag is hilarious. So a unique ep that could've been better, but still is solid and memorable thanks to it's designs and comedy.

13. Dawn of the Eds aka The Space Ranger One

Dawn of the eds is another season 1 experiment and one I wish they'd done more of: it's just a chill hangout episode outside the usual premise where the guys collect money for jawbreakers, plan to sneak into a movie then spend the day roleplaying in the junk yard. It's just pure fun to watch the kids have so much fun dressing up junk, hanging out in an old van and playing spaceman, and the ending of them throwing shit at sarah and jimmy and leaving for dinner while dragging ed away is a perfect capper. It's not joke dense like later entries on this list, but it's just so much fun and nice break from the pattern the show would fall into later.

12. Avast Ye Eds aka the Steel Pedal Guitar One

Another vibes episode.. at least for the first half and one of my faviorite scams of the series: The ed's simply take Johnny and Jimmy boating which fits first, the former loving adventure and the later being a perfect foil for how dinky the boat is with his fussy nature and seasickness. It also has that steel pedal guitar bit, from how much Edd hates the thing to how GOOD he is at it while being utterly bored. It's one of the series best and elviates this episode by itself but even without it it's still a lot of chill fun on a boat.

Then the Kanker's show up.. and the episode gets even better. Yeah, probably the only time anyone's ever said that but unlike other examples of their inclusion in season 1 they feel more part of the plot: of course they'd do this and the pirate thing helps esclate it giving us great stuff like "kick my feet faster", johhnny's badass sail ripping, and walking plank. I"m shocked they got that obvious joke out of the way so soon and wouldn't be suprised if they entirely wrote an episdoea round getting there. The usual sexual harassment keeps this classic down a few pegs, but it's still one of my go to episodes for a reason.

11. X Marks the ed aka ATTACK THE WIG.

LIke the last entry on this list, X Marks the Ed gets a lot of mileage out of having one of the series best gags, in this case my personal faviorite ATTACK THE WIG, from it's randomness, to Ed's tender reveal of "wigs scare me double d" as well as how it takes the easy solution to this dillema out of the plot.

X Marks in general is just funny. Yes Eddy probably dosen't deserve his suffering even with his giant pile of horrible deeds before this, but while the Zit on his head isn't his fault, his making it bigger by poking at it is. And the antics the kids get up to, from Johnny running a scam himself to the expertly crafted photo bit, is great. Rolf is also in top form here, happy to help, treating making the cure like a cooking show and somehow srhinking eddy while running away from his actions. X Marks the ed is just pure laughs the whole way through and sometimes that's all you need to make a good episode of this show.

10. They Call him Mr Ed aka Up

This was one of my faviorites as a kid (as most of this list is really, they held up well) , and for good reason: the simple idea of Eddy building a company dedicated to going up with no actual goal this time is genius. It's very clear his understanding of buisness is what tweens would be, with him just thinking it's about board rooms, hiring people and going UP. The sheer amount of up puns is mindboggling as it is incredible and I salute them keeping this schitck up. Everyone fits into the corprate setting really well: Eddy as the corrupt ceo, Edd as the Smithers, Johnny int he mail room, Nazz as receptionist given her people skills, Jimmy as the style person, Rolf on security with his strength. Though I don't think had the fight got on Kevin would've lived much longer. It also uses kevin well to derail the scheme: it's a tricky arct finding a way to end it that isn't TOO ashoolish, and Kevin simply wanting to talk to Nazz, not respecting the game their playing and leading to Eddy tipping his hand on not paying anyone is perfect, as is Ed's elevator runner paying off in such a surreal way.

This episode is truly in the up-er echelon and a perfect way to start UP the top 10.

9. Fa-La-La-La-Ed aka the first Christmas One

This one gets to the top 10 on sentiment: it's a genuinely heartfelt christmas episode... even as eddy keeps reminding us "it's July!". Remember that for July this year. It's just so nice to see Ed's delusion it's christmas lead to the kids deciding "fuck it let's go ahead and celebrate christmas" and just enjoy themselves. It has good gags too including the caroling and the piggy bank scam, as well as the whole idea of piggy bank day, but it gets here entirley just by being sweet and with Ed being at easily his kindest and most selfless.

8. One + One = Ed aka the Really Fucking Weird One We All Love

This one was a shoe in for a list the second it was pitched to me. It's one of both the msot memorable episodes and the funniest and now having learned more about animation than I did as a kid, gags like Eddy going into the background or taking away Jimmy's line are even better. It's also hard not to love Jimmy's comeback later "don't spill me!" or the three headed Rolf. An episode simply about learning things work sharply swerves into an absurdist masterpiece, and I love every second of it. It plays with the animation, breaks every rule and has a damn good time doing it. It's certainly the show's weirdest episode.. but it's also certainly one of it's best.

7. Urban Ed aka Edtropolis

This is one I loved as a kid and I was delighed, again like most of these, that it held up REALLY well.

The setting is what makes this episode both such a classic and such a nice break from the usual: While Eddy's still trying to milk money building an entire, fun looking city of cardboard for it while introducing various city scams, from beginin stuff like shopping or shoe shines to a tatoo parlor the episode finds a LOT of fun stuff to do with an urban setting. This thing is crammed with joke after joke from the anvil gag to the boy with the snake on it's face, and once again threads the needle just right; Eddy's punished.. but given he hit johnny up for money earlier and built the city LARGELY just to make money off people, I can't feel too bad. The opening scam is also one of the series best. Just try to confuse them into money. I'm shocked it didn't work.

6. Robbin Ed aka the Superhero Episode

Look I love superheroes. I'm not shy about that so this one always had a place in my heart. But it's a dang fun superhero episode and what I hold up as one of the gold standards for "one of the cast becomes a superhero" episodes. It helps it has a unique hook to it compared to most: it's not our main characters becoming masked vigiliaintes, but Jonny, whose upbeat nature, kindness and already shown bits of heroisim (See the pirate episode from before) make him a perfect fit, with Plank being a natural sidekick.

It also puts Eddy in the perfectly fitting role of supervillian. He's already a crook, has ego issues and gets pissed off easily: have Jonny ENTIRELY JUSITFIABLY wreck his latest and most scammy scam (selling people a device they only had one of and filling the boxes with nothing), and Professor Scam is born. The rest of the episode is Eddy just.. perfectly sinking into the role, from his hilariously dumb setup scheme which made me laugh at a butt joke for a change, to his scam ray to that all timer gag of his getaway bike floating away without him, it's a perfect 60's batman style showdown, and Ed turning face at the end is the perfect way to resolve it. Robbin Ed is a good time and stands out for good reason.

5. See No Ed aka The One Without the Eds

See No Ed is a clever inversion of Laugh Ed Laugh: We've had an episode without the other kids, seen how the Ed's deal with that. I'm amazed it took till season 4 to get to this given they did the inverse so early on but it was worth the wait.

It also neatly shows the stages the kids go through: their curious, then throw a party not having to deal with Eddy's shit for a day, then are genuinely worreid and finally go to a scam WITHOUT the ed's there to opperate it which still goes well. It's all logical but also creates a sense of intrigue as to WHERE they are.

Helping this is Kevin, the lead of the episode and given how much Kevin can be a jerk, putting an episode on his shovel chin is a risk.. but it pays off here. Just as the other kids absence rattled Eddy, Kevin finds he's off ballance without his nemisis. He assumes the absence has to be s cam, that the eds ar ewaiting for him, devolves into parnoia. It lays bear what Kevin is: a bully that needs a target to fuel his massive ego, the same way eddy needs to pull scams, win or loose, to stroke his own ego: Eddy scams because it get shim money and makes him feel sharper than the sharpies. In turn Kevin hutns eddy so viciosuly because hunting Eddy and whaling on him gives him something.

Something that dosen't come up often but this episode makes clear is that Kevin's place among the kids.. is fragile. He's postiioned himself as the alpha dog, the big boy, the one others respect.. but his closest friends are the ones nice to everyone: Rolf and Nazz are just unbelievably Kind. And Even Nazz gets annoyed by him at times and is the one most likely to call him out and Rolf likely woudln't be as close if he knew half of what Kevin said. Kevin needs Eddy because Eddy's presence assures he won't become just like him: an outcast whose ego, selfishness and need for attention isolate him from everyone else. Kevin falls apart because he can't accept the eds aren't some boogey man to make him feel better and their absence isn't some scheme and it's glorious to see.

4. The Day the Ed Stood Still aka He's a Literal Monster

The Day the Ed Stood still is another format bender, and a clever one as it's a bait and switch: it starts with your standard cold open scam, Ed decides he wants to be a ,onster, Edd wants to help because he's a kind soul and Eddy does because he can sell this.

Then.. things go off the rails in the best way possible. This one asks what happens when two of the ed's biggest assets, Edd's inventivness and Ed's unstoppable strength, ran rampant: Double D builds Ed the perfect monster suit.. and Ed BECOMES the monster and a nightmarish force Double D desperatley tries to stop while Eddy encourages because he's a sick bastard. IT's one of the few times he's not punished for being the worst.

What follows isa fun tense monster movie as Ed slowly picks off the neighborhood. The deisgn on the monster is awesome and the slow reveal of it is brilliant, as is Ed making his layer in his basment with chewed up chunky puffs. Gross AND horrifying. The ending, with Eddy naturally having a bunker ready under his bed and Ed going wild to not let him get away THAT easy with his actions, is a lot of fun.

3. Once Bitten, Twice Ed aka The Never Ending Scam

This one is helped by having the series best cold open. Easily. It's not even a contest: Baron O Beef Dip is just pure comedy gold, from how Shoddy the prank is, to using Ed's iconic little monster pal, to fo course ED EATING HIS MATTRESS, not to mention the fact this isn't the first time, and ending on "devour the non belivier and Eddy having to get eddy to CALL HIM OFF CALL HIM OFF. This alone would get the episode on this list.

The rest though is also excellent and while a bit overshadowed by the opening set piece, still slaps with a simple concept: Eddy has a scam he won't let go of and instead keeps lazily rehashing while the kids get tired of it and by the end aren't falling for it. Eddy uses a random object, lures them in, it's a hunt, Rolf tries to participate witha blunt object, Johnny objects. Rinse, repeate, comedy gold. I also found a joke I didn't get as a kid that i loved here, Great Nano's kidney stone. The fact Rolf has that and the fact Nazz is the only one to go "wait waht". It's brilliant. Replacing that later wtih Kevin just.. giving hi ma hammer, this time KNOWING it's ed is also good. This one takes a concept and runs with it and unlike Eddy dose'nt run it into the ground. It's a perfect eddy plot too: he's so prideful that of COURSE there'd be that one scam he thought was great and refuses to admit was halfbaked from the start. Of course. This one never quite ends but it certainly leaves us on a high.. and a toilet for some reason.

2. Little Ed Blue aka BIG TROUBBBLEEEEEE

We all remember this one: Ed gets upset, chaose ensues. What I noticed more on rewatch though is two key things that made this epiosde good: it's densely packed with jokes and ahs a well done plot: the opening with the theater is genuinely nice: the movie is entertaining, we get the steel pedal guitar again, a clear seal of quality, and the food fight is wholesome: it starts as a fight btu the kids just have fun and Eddy gets an honest day's profit.

The main event though is one of the ages: ed is upset, kicks everyone out and gives sarah her just deserts for a change. And what works is that Ed.. just wants to be alone> He's dealing with a pebble, he's having a crappy day and the episode only keeps going because Edd, misguidedly, want's to cheer up his best friend instead of letting him just have a poopy mood, especially since outside of the theater thing, he's not harming anyone> He just sits on a stump moping and only gets agressive when Edd and Eddy won't leave him alone. The worst he does is hurt Edd's feelings.. but he tells him to go away. They don't listen, so what happens next is on them.

It allows the episodes slapstick to be hilarous as Eddy is his usual self, not wanting ot help because he dosen't care and screaming at edd or othe rhalf assed things. Hence the glorious shit he gets done to him from Ed making a toy breathe fire, to the comic book face to my faviorite him being turned into a bat to bean kevin after both are dicks to ed, it all feels deserved> it also makes johnny solving it work: Jonny did nothing wrong, and thus is the one who actually fixes ed.. with planks help. It's a masterful episode with Matt Hill's best performance by far.

Shoo Ed aka Annoying Johnny

Many an episode on this list is good.. but at the end of the day one was #1 in my heart for years as I didn't realize till getting screencaps a year or two back a LOT of my faviorite gags were int his one episode and even amnong all these rewatches, only one king of the cul de sac could be crowned.

I like Jonny a lot as a character, inconsitent spelling of his name here or not, with plank also being great. His innocense, his weird sidekick, but this is the peak of his moutnain. Johnny is unteitonally a pest to kevin, and Eddy weaponizes it for his own means. The result is the funniest episode of the show and the best version of it's standard formula.

Johnny's the star here with his unteiotnal annoyance, the glorious purple suit, and Paul David Grove's great enthusasim. But everyone gets a chance to shine: Double D's growing bafflement with this and eventaul freakout with "i glued a block of wood to johnny's foot", eddy at his scammiest and hammiest as he enjoys this, and Ed .. well he glued a block of wood to johnny's foot. We get so many great jokes from Eddy and Kevin's argument, to "I glued a block of wood to johnny's foot", the suddne ye haw, provoke our creation, Rolf natually loving new johnny "What does that mean I ask you" and of course

So many great lines and performances I could spend all day listing them but I won't. It also , like most eps here, avoids the usual pitfall of the series: The ed's punishment is proportionate, trapped by the monster they created and eddy's own cheapness. A fitting end to the series best episode.

Thanks for reading Ed boys.

#ed edd n eddy #cartoon network #ed #edd #eddy #jonny 2 x4 #sarah #plank #jimmy #nazz #rolf #kevin

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not-poignant · 2 years ago

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hi! i'm a really big fan of yours and i want to thank you so much for sharing your talent with us. i was also so pleasantly surprised when i found out you did some of the really wonderful art for juliet marillier's books? which is so insane to think about because it's like two worlds colliding! would you ever talk about how that came about?

Hi anon!

So, Juliet Marillier got in touch with me, because she'd seen some of my animal artwork, and asked if I could do a hedgehog based cover for Prickle Moon, an acclaimed and award-winning anthology of really awesome short stories, being published by Ticonderoga (whose owners I know and who are also lovely people, and who I've also been published through re: short stories), the owners of Ticonderoga gave Juliet Marillier control over who she picked for the cover art, which is very rare! She was really polite and lovely, and we organised to meet in person because she only lives about 25 minutes from me.

I went to her house and we hung out and talked about many things, I met her lovely rescue dogs (she tends to rescue small elderly dogs, and gives them so much enrichment and love and care), and I showed her some of my original sketches and thoughts re: colour schemes, she picked what she liked and I got started.

After that, the cover was approved, we did a book signing together at Swancon one year (both of us signing the same anthology, which was amazing for me, because that was my first time signing anything), and then a short time later I joined a writer's group that she was a member of, along with many other published speculative fiction authors. We were all a part of Write Club for many years, but it sadly disbanded at the beginning of 2020. Though we still have a small chat group for the core members.

Juliet Marillier is a lovely person, an amazing writer, and she's also a member of the same spiritual group I am (the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids - OBOD). You'd never guess from meeting her that she's one of the most acclaimed women fantasy writers of the last few decades, or that she's travelled the world doing book signings etc. She's very humble, wry, funny, caring, and a little shy in social settings. I feel very fortunate and humbled that I got to spend time with her, and every time I see or think of hedgehogs I will forever think of Juliet Marillier. :)

Here's the full cover. It was done entirely in ink, watercolour pencil, and coloured pencil. I gave her the original artwork once it was done.

And here's some of my original sketches that I did, that I showed her at her home (including an illustration of different monochromatic colour palettes, Juliet chose purple/violet):

So yeah!

Tbh long before I wrote fanfiction and did things the way I do them now re: writing, I was actually a professional artist and award-winning author doing quite 'Serious' writing etc. I don't work as a professional artist anymore, but I do still sell some of my art and sometimes share it here. I've done a couple of other book and magazine covers over the years, and an internal illustration for the World Fantasy Award winning She Walks in Shadows anthology edited by the amazing Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

I've had some very cool experiences through my writing and my art, but being in a writer's group with Juliet Marillier and many other very excellent writers is definitely a highlight. :D

#asks and answers #my art #stuff i do as #pia ravenari #juliet marillier #prickle moon #juliet's writing is incredible #her personality matches #i really miss Write Club #but covid and some of the times of the sessions made it really hard #still for a while there #it was a lovely group where we all got a lot done #and chatted in a university cafe afterwards

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tokyogirl07 · 1 year ago

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*Deep Breath*

I personally think Rise of Skywalker is the worst Star Wars movie ever made. There are many reasons for this, some of which I will grant you were not in the filmmakers’ control (IE: “SHIT! CARRIE’S DEAD! REWRITE! REWRITE!”), but one of the more minor ones in the grand scheme of things is the reveal of Rey being Palpatine’s granddaughter.

For the record, I like Rey as a character and actually thought things were going well in the first two movies (the Reylo stuff not withstanding). I really liked that she wasn’t connected to some lineage (though I do kinda wish if she had been it would have been Obi-Wan’s if only to confirm that Korkie was indeed his son. And if Kylo HAD to be redeemed [which he SHOULDN’T have been, but that’s another rant] it would have been more like: Obi-Wan couldn’t save Anakin, but his granddaughter saved his grandson.). I even kinda like her being adopted into the Skywalker family (even if only symbolically) at the end. It’s a family she chose and who supported her over the one she was born into.

But the Palpatine angle just gives me a visceral negative reaction on a fundamental level and not just because they clearly only brought him back because Leia was going to have a bigger role and had to be cut back, not to mention the change in director around the same time. (Abrams is good at first films, but never at follow ups. Just look at his Star Trek films) Kylo should have been the irredeemable villain to contrast Anakin. Sorry, fangirls.

Back to the point the reason for the negative reaction is simple. I know officially Rey’s father was a clone, but the moment anyone hears the words “Palpatine’s granddaughter” all anyone’s gonna think is:

And no one wants to think about that.

And don’t come at me with something from the EU, okay? I’m not that big a Star Wars fan. My interest is limited to the movies and Tv shows and maybe KOTOR.

For those curious: the second worst Star Wars film is Attack of the Clones, but it’s biggest sin is that it’s just kinda boring and is still leagues better than ROS. Also, Phantom Menace (3rd Worst) is many things, but boring is not one of them.

#Star Wars #Rey #Rey Palpatine #Rey Skywalker #Rise of Skywalker #Disney #Movies #The next two of the bottom 5 are The Clone Wars movie and Solo #Don’t come at me Star Wars fans. I’m a Whovian first and a Trekkie second.#The nerdiest I’ve gotten with Star Wars is I have the theatrical cuts on VHS #Science Fiction #SciFi #Science Fantasy #There both tags are we all happy?#How It Should Have Ended

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primaphomet · 2 months ago

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Are YOU 🫵 a fan of seeing how other people's characters change over time due to style and design evolution? Well, you're in luck! I happen to be sitting on four (4) redraws AND redesigns of old TMNT characters that were created around 2014 and never saw the light of day ever since! Below are the images and my general thoughts!

For each redraw I tried to reference the general shapes of the original drawings while still using my current artstyle. For the redesigns I gave myself full creative control with the goal of still maintaining the original concept/soul of the characters. I basically wanted them to look better in every way but still recognizable :D

First up is Cynthia!

- I'm 90% sure she was a blue-lined skink. As far as I know none of these characters were ever colored, I couldn't find any old drawings of them that weren't anything but pencil, but I somehow have their general color palettes engraved into my brain?? I remembered her being blue with blonde hair and stripes, so I rolled with that.

- Going into this I had the idea of making them a DnD-esque team, each with specific roles. I later decided to lean into a steampunk aesthetic, so Cynthia got to be a mechanic! She would provide support to the main fighters, while also providing items through crafting. She could also, like, throw a wrench or something idk

- Her design may or may not have been inspired by Helga from the Atlantis movie 😳

Next is Kaida!

- How did I even come up with these names? I must have scrolled through a baby name database until something jumped out because there's NO cohesion 😭

- Also wow a green snake how original 😑 We're just gonna go with the smooth green snake for simplicity's sake. I hung onto Kaida a bit longer than the others so she might have made it to digital art, but I sadly have nothing from before 2016 saved. I kept the redraw color bright because what teenager didn't go crazy with the saturation? For the redesign, however, I desaturated the green to make it go better with the brown. I also turned the hair into gorgon-like locs, as well as giving them light green "eyes" and "underbellies" to mimic gorgon hair

- Now I love snake people as much as the next person, but the biologist in my heart always hated that they just have. arms. You know what fixes that? SICK ASS BIONIC ARMS!!! ALSO, since snakes are know to be very stealthy and good at getting in and out of tight places, Kaida would excel at sneaking around, possibly to set traps or plant poisons? 👀So she obviously needed a wicked gas mask to pair.

Next is Sage!

- Idk why but she was the only one to have a mask?? Anyways she's a horned lizard that I distinctly remember having red hair. Overall her design changed the least because it honestly looked the best out of the four of them.

- If this were a fantasy universe Sage would have been the team magic user, but since this isn't that I leaned towards a researcher/archivist. She would be the one in the academic trenches, digging up clues and utilizing information in dungeons. I'm debating whether to have overt or even subtle "mysticism" in this universe (like ROTTMNT), so maybe she'll pull a Luz Noceda and use scrolls to channel powers.

- For her outfit I was getting big "mid 1900s academic craze" vibes, so I went with Fallout-esque active wear. Look out men, a woman is wearing pants!

Last is Asya!

- Asya went through the most drastic change by far. Not only did she have a fuck-ass hairstyle, but I genuinely could not remember her species or color scheme. Like wow a lizard with spots? What a marvel! I only remember her having grey-brown hair 😔 Looking at her pupils and round fingers/toes I THINK she might have been a tokay gecko? But I heard the call of the leopard gecko and I answered it willingly... So she got a cute crop, a chunky tail, and actual leopard marks instead of uniform dots.

- Having a long-range hitter would complete the team balance, so I went with a gunslinger to keep up the steampunk vibes. I was most inspired by fantasy western fashion and also maybe Ada Wong 😳 My brother actually helped me design the guns because I know fuckall about them. My original design referenced Bayonetta's guns because double barrels sound sick as hell, then he pointed me towards Nero's gun from DMC to make it look actually functional.

Aaand that's it! I hope you enjoyed this little analysis; I think it's useful and also a little fun to justify my choices made when designing a character, sort of like an art critique without the stress! Let me know your thoughts!

#myart #design analysis #redesign #oc redesign #I personally love hearing the reasoning behind design choices so I hope you like this too >_<#tmnt #tmnt redesign

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grazhir · 1 year ago

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Hogwarts Legacy

So, okay, what I don't like.

Game was rushed? Right. So we're missing a lot of what could have been. Though I, for one, do not miss the idea of being forced onto a quidditch team to be the star player, just to fill out my field guide. But other stuff? Relationship stuff? Yeah, that's annoying. (No, I don't mean romance, because I've not met anyone aside from Ominis I'd even consider, and he just might be gay, and I was playing as a girl.)

I feel like the devs were players of Skyrim. Like that, many dungeons have the quick access back to the start, whereas the odd few make you walk. So no different, really. But what we're missing is local maps. I despise not having a local map. Finding my way back out in the backtracking dungeons is just fucking rude with only a mini-map to go by.

[Even the respawn thing makes me think of Skyrim. That's a fuckton of poachers, devs. And loyalists. (Still talking like they're gonna take over because Head Evil Goblin is all that, as there's no flag to alter their dialogue post-Big Blowout Battle at the End.) Where the hell are they prior to Camp/Mine XYZ having the MC go scorched earth on the place? They must bring them in by the truckload to continue operations, with literally no explanation as to why they're still there post-main content—because you can get your combat props on other things, like hostile critters, or in the battle arenas.]

Flying for records/Ismelda (whatever her name was). Mind you, I've only done the initial one. Flying around the countryside is mostly just fine, except when my fingers get confused and I hit Caps Lock instead of Shift, or Ctrl or Tab or whatever is over there, or Alt instead of Ctrl (because I'm randomly confused about what game I'm in when it comes to control schemes). Yeah, fuck me actually doing balloon popping at speed. Pfft. I am so not that coordinated, and I find broom controls to be dodgy and unresponsive. I can never tell how high I am and constantly misjudge where I am in relation to a hoop or balloon or what-the-hell-ever. Not a fan, really.

What the hell was that scene at the end where all the students are doing exams or something? They have a Ministry, so why weren't these done the way I expected them to be. Students sitting right next to each other? No cheating avoidance measures?

Very few meaningful classes. The hell with learning the spells in an actual classroom setting. Mercy no! I'll just go waltz into an enemy camp and whip out my venemous tentacula, mandrake, and Chinese chomping cabbage to earn the right to be taught a spell completely unrelated to Herbology! Sure!

[Though, let's be real. Dropping a cabbage or three in an enemy camp is fucking hilarious in how brutal the things are against hostiles. On my next playthrough I totally have to set up enough pots for those, budget allowing, and get the perk to double the fun. Can you imagine it? Harry Potter just happens to be carrying around 12 cabbages, and springs those fuckers on Death Eaters and Voldemort. Most embarrassing death ever for a dark lord or fearsome minion?]

Some of the Merlin Trials. Okay, I've seen all the configs, I think, but I recall two of them... One was the three sets of five small spheres to be dragged over to a receptacle. Yeah... Where did that third set go? Fuck if I know, and that's after Revelio-ing the shit out of everywhere nearby. Skip, move on. Or the one with the large sphere you have to guide to the well? And you want me to trek halfway across the area to get that sphere to guide back? Skip, move on.

Bugs. Mind you, I've only found one (if you don't count the missing sphere set)? A moth mirror thing. I get the picture, I go to the place, and … no moth. I looked everywhere in that area, and no moth. Rrrrr. So much for getting 100% field pages in Hogwarts. Maybe it'll be there if I check back again?

#hogwarts legacy

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pixeldashblog · 1 year ago

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Sonos Era 100 review: the only good "smart" speaker

The Sonos Era 100 may not have gotten all the hype its big brother, the Era 300, received, but it's arguably the most important speaker Sonos has released in years.

The Era 100 is a thoughtful update to the iconic Sonos One speaker and, like that speaker, offers the advantages of a smart speaker without having to sacrifice on terrific sound quality. It brings a brand new design, meaningfully upgraded audio quality, and modern touches to Sonos' tried and true hardware features.

While any of Sonos' microphone-equipped speakers can be installed with Amazon Alexa for smart home control or asking for the weather report, I'm not sure how many people are planning to run their smart homes off an Era 300 or Sonos Arc.

The Era 100, then, finds itself alone in a crowded field of the smart speakers that do make sense to run your whole home from. This is the only smart speaker that actually sounds great, and that goes a long way.

Smart speaker prowess

I'll start by clarifying I am not the biggest fan of Amazon Alexa on principle (I use Apple HomeKit despite its limitations). The company's record on privacy and police compliance is abysmal, and I'm not keen in giving Amazon an ear to my home. But if you are deep in the Alexa ecosystem, the Era 100 will be a great tool for expanding your voice-enabled access points.

The Era 100 lacks a thread radio and isn't Matter compatible yet, so you will still need an Alexa-enabled device that can also act as your smart home hub, but the 100 gives you the choice to make sure the rest of the ways you interact with your smart home are also great speakers.

The Era 100's microphone array was easily able to pick up my voice from across the room and requests were processed by Alexa without issue. If you want to hide your Alexa hub away and fill your home with Era 100s instead, you shouldn't have an issue.

When I concluded my testing with Alexa, I fell back to relying on Sonos' in-house voice assistant for the remainder of the review period. The Sonos voice control requests are processed locally on your speaker and the assistant is rather limited in functionality, although it makes up for it in speed. All you can do is ask for music and timers, plus controlling your whole Sonos system if you want to move music around the house. If you don't care about smart home control, or use another platform for that purpose, Sonos' solution is simple, secure, and incredibly fast. Requests for songs are handled without issue and playback starts immediately.

Design

The Era 100's design, while not as radical as the Era 300's is perhaps its most welcome upgrade. Gone is the blocky look of the Sonos One and in is this slightly ovular cylinder. It's one of the cleanest looking speakers Sonos has ever made and it looks great just about anywhere in my home.

I prefer the soft white color to black, but if you do get an Era 100 in white I suggest wiping of the rubber feet of the speaker before setting it down. My dresser has quite a few stains on it now from the Era 100, similar to those the white Apple Homepod was leaving on unfinished wood surfaces. It's a preventable issue but still a minor annoyance.

The speaker's top is adorned with Sonos' new control scheme: a play/pause button flanked by skip forward and back buttons, plus the new volume slider also found on the Era 300. There's also a button to quickly disable the speaker's voice assistant. The top is certainly busier than the Sonos One's but it also makes the controls easier to understand for first time users.

Around back is the switch to physically disconnect the 100's microphone if you'd like to totally cut off access for any reason, which is a welcome addition.

Upgraded sound

Inside the Era 100 is where the real magic happens. The Sonos One was a mono speaker with a single tweeter and woofer. The Era 100 adds a second tweeter for true stereo playback, plus a new mid-woofer that's 25% larger according to Sonos.

While the added tweeter doesn't mean you'll get real stereo separation from the single Era 100, it's no longer downscaling tracks to mono like the One, thus bringing a noticeable uplift in clarity. I noticed female vocals to be the greatest beneficiaries of the 100's new hardware, with a great sense of sparkle and detail the Sonos One just couldn't provide. The twin tweeters are also equipped with waveguides to better disperse sound evenly throughout the room, and Sonos utilizes them well here. There's definitely still a sweet spot the closer you get to the front of the speaker, but songs manage to fill out the room without too much loss in detail that I've experienced with other waveguide-equipped speakers.

The results from the new mid-woofer were less dramatic in comparison. While low-end capability is expanded here, the 100 is by no means outputting bass you can feel in your chest, much like the Sonos One.

Due to some cosmetic issues with my first Era 100 review unit requiring a replacement, I briefly had the chance to test a stereo pair of the speakers while I waited to return that initial unit. Much like the Sonos One, this is when the Era 100 turned from a great to a downright amazing music experience. Two mid-woofers working together is always better than one, which is what made a twin pair of Sonos One speakers such a treat to the ears. With an extra set of the Era 100's new tweeters in the mix, plus some distance between the units for true stereo separation this is going to be a very popular choice for people wanting a barebones audio setup that doesn't sacrifice on quality. I can also see them being a dream for amateur vinyl collectors who want a simple way to start listening to their records.

Better wireless and new features

The 100 packs in some new tricks for overall usability along with the Era 300. The most welcome is sure to be Bluetooth, which can easily be activated at the press of a button. Sonos pitches this as a quick way to let guests play music on your system without having to join your WiFi network.

Much like any Bluetooth speaker, once you connect your device it will reconnect automatically the next time you turn it on. It can also only maintain a single Bluetooth connection at a time, but does retain memory of previously connected devices. While the Era 100 was paired to my iPad over Bluetooth, all it took was tapping on the speaker from my iPhone's Bluetooth settings to quickly reconnect. Adding new devices is also really quick, with the speaker showing up in devices' Bluetooth menus as soon as I long-pressed the 100's Bluetooth button.

Sonos has also shipped the Era 100 with WiFi 6, and with it dropped support for SonosNet, a long-standing protocol that allowed Sonos devices to create a stable mesh-network when one speaker was connected to Ethernet. Even products as new as the Sonos Arc and Beam (Gen 2) supported SonosNet. Those soundbars released in the 2020s but only supported WiFi 4, which was adopted in 2008. SonosNet was needed to provide stability and multi-device support that WiFi just couldn't before WiFi 6. While the change is controversial I don't think users will be missing it when they grab a new Sonos speaker and have a sufficiently modern router. WiFi 6 is incredibly stable and finally offers the functionality Sonos had to handle itself for ages.

Frustratingly limited USB-C

I'm giving the USB-C port on the Era 100 (and 300) its own section because I find Sonos' use of the port to be extremely frustrating.

As of today you can use the type-C port for playing music over line-in with Sonos' $20 adapter accessory, or for connecting the speaker to Ethernet if you need to.

Basically, Sonos only wants you to use the type-C port for connecting a record player (or anything else you'd want to use line-in for) today and pay an extra $20 for the privilege. While you can connect your phone via an aux cable using this adapter, there's no real added convenience here over streaming or Bluetooth.

The Sonos Five ($550) has had a 3.5mm line-in jack for years, no adapter required, and adding one to the Era 100 and 300 probably would've been cheaper than a USB controller, if only by a few cents per part.

It's frustrating to see Sonos install such a versatile port to this speaker without taking full advantage of that versatility. The Sonos Combo Adapter ($40) allows both line-in and ethernet signals to be fed to the speaker? Cool, but there's so much more that could have been done here.

Instead it seems a waste that you can't connect a computer or tablet via a standard USB-C to C cable to the Era 100 for low-latency audio. I can easily see customers buying a pair of these to add music to their home office and upgrade their PC's audio. Why not connect a tablet to a pair of Era 300s over USB so you can experience hi-res lossless audio directly without worrying about streaming compression?

Right now it seems the Era 100 and 300's Type-C ports exist to sell customers more dongles, but I hope to see the option to use these speakers as USB-audio devices unlocked in a future update. While there is a lot of work needed to build the right drivers to allow these to interface with any computer over USB, it would be a genuinely useful upgrade if that functionality ever arrives.

Smart, but a speaker first

The Era 100 is the speaker you should fill your home with if you want the music you ask your smart assistant for to actually sound good. Whatever parts-bin Echo speaker Amazon churns out next won't come close. The aging Google Nest Audio has been seemingly abandoned by Google, and comes nowhere close to the Era 100 in depth and detail. The Era 100 is more expensive than most of its rivals' offerings, but that cost is directly reflected in the quality of the product.

On the higher-end, Apple's $350 full-size HomePod puts out noticeably more impactful bass, but costs $100 more and the Era 100 still wins out on overall clarity and detail to my ear. You're also limited to Siri with the HomePod.

If you're looking for a great Alexa-enabled speaker, or just something that can quickly play the music you'd like with Sonos voice control, the Era 100 appeals to the widest breadth of music listeners and smart home enthusiasts without compromising it's appeal to either camp. This is the speaker you buy to last and love for ages.

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