#rabbit! dragon!! best match indeed!!!

[rrotostap]

Starting off 2024 with a lil doodle of these fellas 🐇🐉

Happy New Year (of the Dragon)!!!

[mxdotombra]

Bloom! So I am indeed rewriting season 1 and honestly Bloom is one of the more changed aspects so to suit her I changed her style! This is not set in stone at all, well her fairy form at least.

More notes on outfits and how I’m portraying her under the cut! 

Bloom is a very flat character to me, or season 1 really. While yes she is a good character, she seems to respond to situations weirdly to me, her whole returning home and just abandoning school comes out of nowhere to me and I literally had to read about her tendency to run away from the wiki. As well, hobbies are mentioned in ep 1 and a little in ep 2 and completely abandoned! Like?? My rewrite is sticking to the plot, so I changed her to make it make more sense.

Bloom is incredibly family oriented, its her everything, especially in a town that slowly began to turn against her for how strange she seemed to become over the years. She’s anxious but curious, willing to face the world yet is seated deep in a pit of fear and only willing to open up to those she trusts. Even than, she is compassionate and protective of her friends, and can grow angry and emotional when those she cares for is threatened. She’s also incredibly stubborn to a fault, strong willed and willingly to get angry if she trully thinks its whats best for her family, friends, or herself though is often strangely a mediator between friends. She’s a fish out of water and afraid of the world of fairies, largely due to her obsession with traditional folklore and belief of them being like traditional fae, and as well, she’s afraid of herself. 

Still, she’s an artist true and true and adores her strange little friend who looks like a rabbit but acts to smart to really be one. She once preferred to spend her time in the woods drawing where the people of her town who hated her wouldn’t find her, yet now she just adores being with her friends, who, while she is deathly homesick, become her home away from home.

Bloom is based in issues of identity and family connections.

ALRIGHT SO AS A NOTE: Bloom is a bit tanner because she spends more time outside in my Fanon! She also has a bunch of freckles because of this! Also she has lizard eyes, and I’m not going into detail with this cause spoilers for ch. 1 lol though its not big. Her hair is still long and that red thats so shocking into almost impossible, I like to think it moves like fire in the sun. She’s also got sharp teeth! She isn’t very used to them and bites her tongue a lot and its just generally annoying in general. I think this is also pretty obvious, but I have a big issue with the original body types of the characters/how they’re drawn. Now, I won’t go into it today (I may one day because reasons), so I’ll go into the reason for her specific type? I like to think fairies are generally lighter in order to keep airborne and have less strain on magic, BUT I also think that their kind of magical attacks can affect their body type. Bloom is large shocks of power and getting away. She also draws a lot, bikes, helps in her mom’s shop so she is also active but apparently she also really likes baking? So idk. She needs to get hit a lot but I also wanted to display that and her having a softer frame, obviously having meat on her bones, especially one who isn’t acrobatic or working out constantly. I hope that makes sense?

Her outfits reflect her past really, she isn’t the richest of families so her clothes are supposed to be interchangeable yet still comfortable. She just likes feeling safe. 

Outfit 1 is what I wanted for ep 1 really, the sweater is handmade from her grandmother and yes she wears it in the summer. The little hair pin I like to think is from Stella who decided it matched Bloom’s eyes. Mainly I like Bloom wearing pants because she literally bikes everywhere in my fanon and chases Kiko in the woods. 

Outfit 2 is just what I wanted for fun! Her favorite colors are white, blue, and pink and gosh dangit she can wear her favorite colors! The locket (not that you can see it lol) says Daphne as a small nod and honestly I just like baggy shirts.

Fairy Form? I had no idea what the fuck I was doing with this. I wanted a more armored princess effect with shorts because. She. Is. In. The. Air! Gosh dangit! She also has scales (thanks fuz!) because dragon motif, they offer armored resistance because she hits hard and takes hard hits, she’s a tank basically. I wanted to keep a few key points, the jem on the chest, the crown (symbolism lol), and arm pieces, but I altered them a bit and darkened the colors because it looked weird originally on my design. Her wings are meant to mimic the bones ones of dragons and I like to think they’re stronger than an average fairies but she can’t fly as quick with them. She gains a bit more gold in her eyes. 

A few fun facts?:

-She runs at a hotter temperature and isnt affected by hot temperatures, as well cold doesn’t bother her as bad. 

-She can’t see auras but she is an empath. 

-She’s bisexual in this, because my friend likes the alliteration of Bisexual Bloom.

-She has a few hobbies! Drawing and reading mainly though appreciates baking.

-She likes the little magic creatures around Alfea that are more like the traditional folklore, even if they are a bit more cutesy and strange. She’s friends with the brownies and little sprites and such!

-She and Sky would break up Season 2 fight me. They also wouldn’t bond with pixies because I hate them with a passion.

- A lot of her clothes have burns on them and she refuses to let anyone magically repair them, especially her favorite sweater which she’s waiting to get her grandma to get.

Oh and you should know in my rewrite she somehow becomes really attached to Tecna? Like they bond a lot? And I’m so down because its Stella, Bloom, and Tecna and its an odd dynamic but I adore it. 

[flamethelamer]

26 and 27

The parents -

Who first brought up having/adopting kids? A wonder indeed~ Hm, hm. 32. Or perhaps with them all having children in pairs, it was only fitting to finish the circle.

Which parent is most overprotective? 26 by a landslide. Again, not overbearing and trying his b es t but wanted to make sure the kid doesn't end up in anything he's gotten into

Which parent is most supportive? 27, in his ways. 26 in his. Depends on the kid's mood, hm?

Which parent expects the most from their child? 27, in this case. Sometimes a similar spark is noted but one kindled of their two flames and it draws some high expectations of such a match~

Which parent is more likely to spoil their child? 26. Can't beat that 'I didn't have it as a kid so I want you to have a better life' babey

Which parent does the child go to to get their way? 27. He allows too much~

Which parent is the best at singing lullabies? Again 26 is a coward so 27's hum

Which parent finds it harder to let go? Does a little dance. Points at what I've said before 26 babey

The kid -

What the kids name is and the meaning behind it. ... 27 thought of Birch, to go along with your theme of trees~

What traits the kid has that doesn’t reflect their parents. ... Well, he has a thing about bugs-

What the kids favorite clothing style is. Turtlenecks, jackets, scarves. All nice quality, though. You won't find him in one with holes. He feels like stuff could wiggle its way in through holes, even if he has an undershirt on. No thank you.

What their favorite cartoon is. ... The how to train your dragon movies.

What skills their parents try to pass down to them. Magnifying jellyfish is an all-important skill, 27 believes~ ... He liked to learn to paint from 26.

What their future might be. :>>>> :333333333

The family -

Who the child’s godparents are. Well, 32 is mom really so guess all the usual suspects.

Do their parents plan on giving them any siblings? Already got Hazel and Other Baby TM soooo...... no more, thank you

What is the child’s first pet? ... Rabbits look nice. But they seem messy. He's good without.

How do they get along with any extended family members? ... Their dads don't really have anyone like that, huh? Mom's brother is nice, though. Kinda loud for him but...

[forestfanders]

Birds of a feather - pt 3 Emoticons

A long list of injuries on the page, and a longer list of potential responses to their trauma. Working out how to treat the pair of tiny humanoid avians was going to be a challenge, but it is one Logan and Patton are determined to meet. Pt 2: Roman tests the boundaries of this new place. whump, hurt/comfort and dehumanisation <3 wingfic tw: animal abuse, mention of burns and neglect AO3 link

chapter 1/ chapter 2/ 

The bird man had given Patton the most adorable little wave, and the therapist had felt his heart break a little more.

The pair had been a mess. Their tiny bodies were swamped with bandages, but most harrowing was the wariness in their postures. Princey’s eyes had been clouded with fear, but held a longing to interact, to answer Patton’s questions. Patton just knew there was an outgoing free spirit under there, just waiting to be given permission to shine beneath the fear he had been subjected to. And Anxiety had lived up to his name. The poor kiddo had been practically catatonic in a dissociative fugue, but Patton knew that with a good environment and plenty of reassurance, he too could find peace.

When he looked at them, Patton knew he wanted to protect them.

And he had a plan.

Step one was to get them feeling a bit more secure. Remy had mentioned the pair weren’t eating, weren’t speaking, weren’t doing much of anything in their frightening new surroundings filled with uncertainty. And so Patton had talked gently to the other sick animals in the room, reassuring them, and carefully laying the groundwork for a conversation with the avians. And it seemed to have worked: while not exactly comfortable, they were able to pay attention to what he was saying.  

Step two was to get them actually eating and looking after themselves. After what had seemed a gargantuan feat of bravery, Princey had managed to eat some chicken. Logan had stealthily wandered past a couple of hours later and had sighted Anxiety tackling a large piece of spinach, so there was hope that he too was now eating.

The next steps were to find a temporary home for them, work out some habitat enrichment to keep them entertained, and finally, to introduce enough human interaction to help them on their way to long-term psychological recovery and a forever home.

Patton had been picking at ‘creating a welcoming home for your avian’ and ‘cute toys for bird bois’ articles since he had got home. He put another round of notes in the haphazard googledoc he was compiling. He wanted to do the very best he could for them, but it was starting to get overwhelming.

-88888-

It was only 7:58, but Logan couldn’t wait the extra 2 minutes to text Patton tonight. His brain would not switch off from the events of the day, could not be swayed from the conundrum that was the animal rescue’s latest arrivals. He may be breaking his standard evening routine texting early, but tonight it was necessary.

Logie Bearry Jam: Good evening Patton, how was your dinner?

He sent the text, and picked up the blanket he was crocheting, trying to lose himself in the movement of the hook and the weaving of the wool until Patton replied back.

Pattoncakes: tofu and carrot stir fry with rice 🥕🍚😍🥰😇🍽️✨👻😽

Logan smiled internally at Patton's enthusiastic use of emojis. While in others the behaviour may have been grating, with Patton, it was just another outlet of the man’s effervescence.

Logie Bearry Jam: that sounds delicious. I had pasta with tomato sauce. I liked it.

These texts were a ritual, the same kind of message Logan sent every night. Peace washed into his veins.

Patton shot off a gif of the spaghetti scene from Lady and the tramp.

Pattoncakes: Spagooto🍝👨🍳sounds good! What are you up to tonight?

Logie Bearry Jam:: I am crocheting a blanket. How about you?

Pattoncakes: 🐥🐥💞🤕I have been reading a lil bit about our newest arrivals <3.

And there was the perfect opportunity to sway the conversation in the direction of his current worries. It was understandable that Patton would also be worrying about the same subject, and yet he suspected Patton knew he was worrying about the avians as well. Logan knew many people saw him as unfeeling. But Patton understood. He was good like that.

Logie Bearry Jam: I too have been thinking of the avains. Have you read anything interesting?

Patton sent a link to a google doc filled with links and notes.

Logan threw himself in.

For such delicate pets as humanoid avians, the information on how to look after them was muddied and mixed up, torn between the reality of what they were and what owners wished them to be. Dolls, children, highly-trainable, simple animals, held to the behavioural standards of adults, there was a mishmash of conflicting ideas.

Patton’s notes were in the early draft stage, filled with questions and ideas. He was not as focused on medical concerns Logan, instead choosing to consider a wide range of issues. He outlined every issue well, and had the therapeutic knowledge to challenge false behavioural information.

The document was beautiful.

Logan and Patton’s work rarely intertwined, and so it was rare that Logan got to see this side of the therapy worker. The side that was intelligent in his kindness, the thought process behind his ability to make people feel safe. Logan marveled anew at the incredible man his co-worker was, how capable, how eloquent...

What a joy to be a friend to a man like that.

Logan abandoned his crochet hook in preference of giving his laptop his full attention. They sent back and forth all manners of articles from owners tips to scientific studies. Taking in data, and weaving it into a usable care plan, evaluating all with a vets knowledge and a therapist’s experience.

They danced between information together, shifting through articles. It was so much more fun with Patton (metaphorically) by his side.

Logie Bearry Jam: Perhaps their enclosure can be moved to the vet’s office so that they can get used to humans coming and going, and so we can keep a close eye on them.

Pattoncakes: the vets office is pretty busy! Maybe once they settle a bit more. But right now i think that would be a bit scary

Pattoncakes: maybe the small animal room?

Logie Bearry Jam: It is the correct conditions in there for them.

Pattoncakes: aww and they can watch the bunnies playing!

Pattoncakes: I always find them fun to watch when i am sad

Logie Bearry Jam: Watching the rabbits would also be restful enrichment.

A gif of a happy rabbit running wildly around a room appeared on his screen, before swiftly being superseded by a barrage of twitching noses, floppy ears and bouncing bunnies.

Pattoncakes:  i also like taking my laptop in sometimes for paperwork, so i can pop in for a lil lovin socialisation too

He smiled at the mental image of Patton camped out on the floor of the rabbit room, trying to focus on work while Ted Bunndey ate his notebooks. Logan sincerely doubted much work would be completed. But Patton did indeed make for the very finest socialisation.

Pattoncakes: aaaw there are so many cute toys on the market for Avian humanoids!

Pattoncakes: so expensive though

Pattoncakes: look at this!

He sent a photograph of some over-the-top prince outfit aimed at owners with more money than sense.

Pattoncakes: Princey would look so cute in this!

Pattoncakes: I don’t suppose it is the kind of thing the avians would actually enjoy though *a sticker with a confused looking pink bear*

Logie Bearry Jam: It is doubtful, though some do enjoy it the way many children enjoy imitating their parents. I believe it to be unsanitary at this stage in their recovery, but if they do express a wish to wear garments it is not unhealthy to do so.

Pattoncakes: you could crochet them matching jumpers!  ;P

Logan and Patton wove a plan together. A shining roadmap, flexible but comprehensive. Something that accounted for their physical recovery and mental capabilities. Rules on how to treat them to build trust, further the concept that they were safe. Ways to let them confirm that they would not be touched without permission, that play did not warrant punishment, that there would always be food.

Their web of plans completed, Logan picked up his crochet hook and resumed working on his blanket, the weight gone from his chest. Their conversation pooled into its regular comfortable flow, chatting back and forth about their respective days at work and discussion of mundane things. It was with regret Logan initiated his goodnight messages and deployed his customary goodnight sticker of a sleepy light blue bear with glasses that reminded him a bit of Patton. Patton sent his customary bombardment of illogical stickers and gif which tonight included a pair of canaries hopping around a bowl of water, a dragon with hearts for eyes, and a psychedelic goat.

-88888-

In the recovery room of the Animal shelter’s vet clinic, Virgil sat holding a peanut.

The room was almost dark now, the only light the soft glow of a nightlight in the corner that had been left on for them..

He had eaten 6 peanuts, several spinach leaves, and 4 ½ cubes of glorious chicken.

Roman was asleep behind him, his own hunger sated. Opposite them, a pair of rabbits munched hay. The mewling cat had been returned to her owners. It was quiet in the vets now.

Cautiously, he touched his stomach over the bandages. It gurgled happily beneath his fingers.

Virgil smiled.

===

Aaaand the emojis have not worked for the second half of the fic. Oh well, imagine Patton as the emoji fiend he is.

masterlist    next chapter

But Virgil eats a peanut! Yay XD This chapter is a lil shippy for you <3 Patton's texting is inspired by my girlfriend who is just the cutest emoji-wielding dork to walk the world. And while the fic will not focus much on romance, the carers deserve some soft times.

[quirkycombatants]

Headcanon: Snake Style

So, we’re going to get detailed up in here. I’ve talked before about Snake Style Wushu, but I really want to get in depth with it, and also explain how it works and where it comes from. 

First and foremosts, Wushu, or as you might know it, Kung Fu, encapsulates dozens if not hundreds of martial arts styles that exist in China. Generally speaking, it’s first divided into Northern and Southern styles, which are then divided into various schools and techniques and styles. I should point out that ‘Wushu’ as an idea is a new one, having only come about in 1949. It was an attempt to try and standardize the extremely decentralized martial arts traditions in China. 

And I do mean decentralized. There are entire styles that exist only in one place or were taught by only one person, were noted, and then disappeared or became absorbed into other styles. There’s also the fact that martial arts is more than physical in China, it’s also philosophical. This is where the notion that there are harmonic or chaotic styles, virtuous or demonic. Martial arts are an expression of the self, and cultivating them cultivates the self. I’m not going to get into the practice and philosophy of Qigong, because that’s a post in and of itself. Suffice it to say that martial arts are as much philosophy as they are combat arts.

Wushu is also notable because the techniques are often associated with and modeled after animals or things, such as mountains or rivers. This gets us into the five animals of Wushu, which at least in the south are the Dragon, Crane, Tiger, Leopard, and Snake. And that’s just the south. Different styles might have other animals, and debating which ones are the correct ones to model your techniques after is the source of much debate. 

But we’re not done yet. Because yes, Southern Snake style is indeed a style, but there are dozens of different versions and styles of that. The five, yes five, main styles of Southern Snake style Wushu are green bamboo viper, water snake, shadow snake, king cobra, and Golden snake. If this sounds confusing, it’s okay. Just understand that all of these make up a system of different styles and ideas. 

That said, they do share similarities, and we’ll focus on that rather than go down the endless rabbit hole that is understanding the whole of chinese martial arts. 

First, Snake style focuses specifically on the fingers, utilizing pinches, pokes, gouges, grabs, and thrusts. This is combined with a focus on the weak points of the body, specifically on armored targets, targeting the groin, throat, armpits, and face. 

As you can probably imagine, this style is often associated with assassins, even though it’s used more widely. But a style which focuses on gouging the face or tearing the groin, is often associated with killing techniques. If we start going down the rabbit hole of the mythology of snake style, you end up with legends that practitioners would dip their hands in poison or sharpen their fingertips to be able to cut things like blades.

In case you were wondering about the intent of this style, or how it got this reputation, one of the most famous techniques is called flaming eye gouge. 

If you need some ideas of what it’s like when stylized in popular media, it’s used by Ty Lee in Last Airbender, and Lei Wulong in Tekken, and Rufus in Street Fighter. 

So, now that we’ve covered all this, we can get into the mythologized version and how it relates to Noburu. 

First and foremost, Noburu learned his style from his father, who learned it from his father. Noburu’s grandfather was in fact an assassin in china, who practiced Snake Style prolifically. In addition to the aforementioned dipping his hands in poison and being immune to poisons, he also replaced his fingernails with poisonous blades that could be replaced easily. 

Noburu’s grandfather married a japanese woman, and Noburu’s father was raised in Japan by his mother after he completed his training with Noburu’s grandfather. With quirks now more prolific, and having a quirk himself, Noburu’s father altered the snake style to make it his own. 

This was called the orochi style after the giant ten headed snake of japanese mythology. It was focused on making it less about assassination and more about one on one combat. It kept many of the same techniques as the original, but added in a focus on countering and bleeding opponents. Ripping and tearing became a focus. The idea was that you could win not just by striking the weak points, but through a death of a thousand cuts. From there, he began participating in underground fighting matches, and altered the style still further to make an almost matador-esque style that was stylish as well as useful. The goal was to not just defeat an opponent, but make it look good.

Of course, the style was modified still further when it was taught to Noburu. Added in was a focus on using the hands as whips and lashes, and it incorporated techniques that allowed it to mimic weapons. Using Noburu’s natural physical advantages, things like the fa jin or one-inch punch were mixed with the snake styles focus on piercing and gouging, creating a style focused specifically on killing one’s opponent. Noburu’s father, throwing Noburu to the wolves, essentially removed many of the nonlethal techniques from the style, as he refined it further to be a style meant for killing opponents in the arena. At best, the techniques would wound, but the intent was always to cause lasting damage. 

Noburu, on his own, added in his ‘venom’ though this actually existed in earlier styles as practiced by his grandfather. Essentially, this idea of an ‘afterimage’ or ‘illusion’ focused on confusing the senses though distorted or unnatural movements, allowing it to overcome other fighter’s attempts to foresee and defend against attacks. 

Thus, does Noburu’s version of the snake style come together. A style focused on killing an opponent or causing grievous harm while confounding the senses. This allowed him to survive his upbringing in the arena. Of course, this makes it only somewhat useful for heroics, which is currently what he’s trying to do. Thus his own arc of trying to refine his style yet further to bring back the nonlethal techniques he needs to use. 

[raijinhasverybigpecs]

God Concept: Tu’er Shen, the Leveret Spirit 🐇

“While other gods may proclaim endlessly over the power they have over their domains, causing no end of trouble for their fellow pantheon members and their followers as a result, Tu’er Shen patiently and quietly tends to those who request his services with unmatched loyalty and dedication.”

(in-game appearance notes, voicelines & other links below!)

introduction (this part’s in the photo but it’s a lil hard to read so it’s here as well!)

this concept is super inspired by kaios’ concept for tu’er shen (which you’ll find linked below), i loved his ideas for rabbit lad and wanted to add more to the concept. my final kit concept is a lil bit similar but i think i’ve changed enough for it to not be a copy lmao. anyways, i’ve wanted a hunter support since i played tyrande a while ago in heroes of the storm. she was super fun and the mix of dealing strong consistent damage and still being able to support allies is something i’d kill to have in smite

tu’er shen is also a really cool god, and recently I’ve been provoked by my mutuals making lots of god concepts when i haven’t made any in a very long time lol (if you remember my other smite oc you’re a real stan). obvs i don’t think hi-rez would do him justice and gamerbros would totally complain about the Gays™ shoving their insatiable need for Representation™ down their throats and what not but it’s still a fun concept regardless!

the stats may not be perfect bc i have no idea about that stuff but best rabbit boy is here and now i can say i put effort into making something for myself lmao.

(also i know tu’er shen wasn’t THAT closely associated with rabbits as it was a slang word for the Gays(tm), hence the joke reference lol)

in-game appearance

bc i can’t draw I just made my boy in the sims lol BUT in-game he’s gotta be stylish as all hell. it’d probs be a cute red changshan embroidered w/ a rabbit pattern but I also want the outfit to have kinda magical girl vibes and also be Horny™ so I think something like this could kinda slay.

add a few changes like so:

fuck dragons, let’s get some rabbit detailing up in this bitch

make that boob window BIGGER and make it into a love heart shape ;^)

give it a sleeve on one side, cut it to reference ‘the passion of the cut sleeve’

probs make the shorts longer lol.

add some iconique high heeled boots and sexci stockings

and add a mask bc statues of him show him w/ a mask...

...and there’s nothing more gay than a good mask lmao. i think he’d wear the mask at first at then take if off as his introduction animation :) and now we’re basically done! just in general make tu’er shen’s in-game appearance thotty and semi-traditional (it worked for nu wa and daji lmao).

voicelines

god selection

“Tu’er Shen!” (duh)

introduction

“Is anyone in need of my services?”

“Let’s see what I can do.”

“Wonder if there are any cute gods around? Wait, no! Work first, then play later!”

“In their own ways, everyone here is fighting for love.”

(this isn’t an official one but as a joke it was highly entertaining) “Come on Season 6 let’s get sickening!”

abilities

ability 1 - passion arrow

“Fallen for me yet?”

“I’ve got you!”

“Coming for your heart!”

ability 2 - matchmaker

self/ally match - male gods only

“Our connection is strong.”

“Let your heart speak to me.”

self/ally match - general

“Together we’re stronger.”

“I’ve got your back.”

ally/ally match

“You’d make a good pair.”

“Another successful match.”

ally/enemy

“Swipe left next time!”

“This’ll end badly.”

ability 3 - bunny hop

“Excuse me!”

“Coming through!”

ability 4/ultimate - romantic rush

“Feel the love!”

low health

“I will not give in just yet.”

“I don’t mind playing rough, but this is a bit too much even for me...”

items

when placing wards

“Reveal their hearts to me little ward.”

“Any romantic confessions I should be aware of?”

when buying consumables

“Isn’t this interesting?”

“The colour is lovely.”

when buying offensive items

“I don’t want to harm others but if I must.”

“Love hurts indeed...”

when buying defensive items

“Will this protect my ears?”

“Hope this won’t slow me down.”

“Even the gods have to use a little protection.”

kills

when in a killstreak

“I can heal them later on, right?”

“Love never misses its mark.”

when killing a jungle boss

“That creature was awfully big...”

“Thank you for your sacrifice.”

when destroying a tower

“Love conquers all, man and structure alike.”

“Ack, that’s so loud!”

death

“You’ll never kill my spirit...”

“Love is eternal...”

links/resources

kaios’ super cool concept for tu’er shen you should check out as it’s cooler than mine lol. his art of tu’er shen goes full furry and it’s kinda cute ngl

other links you can read for more information about tu’er shen: 1, 2

a beautiful short film about tu’er shen helping a guy accept his sexuality, gore warning towards the end

(also thanks for reading this if you cared enough to get to the end lmao)

[krokodile]

buffy summers - 

house: hufflepuff (i mean i would’ve said gryffindor but ok)

wand: laurel, phoenix core, 9 3/4 in, rigid

It is said that a laurel wand cannot perform a dishonourable act, although in the quest for glory (a not uncommon goal for those best suited to these wands), I have known laurel wands perform powerful and sometimes lethal magic. Laurel wands are sometimes called fickle, but this is unfair. The laurel wand seems unable to tolerate laziness in a possessor, and it is in such conditions that it is most easily and willingly won away. Otherwise, it will cleave happily to its first match forever, and indeed has the unusual and engaging attribute of issuing a spontaneous lightning strike if another witch or wizard attempts to steal it.

This is the rarest core type. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike.

Phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won. - garrick ollivander

patronus: occamy (very rare)

Aside from the unusual bird-serpent cross in appearance, the most distinguishable feature of the Occamy is its choranaptyxic ability. For this reason, it’d be understandable to believe that those who have the Occamy for their Patronus are flexible and willing to compromise depending on the situation. Flexibility here could easily come in any form, not just in body but also in mind, heart, and soul. Occamy Patronuses may seek and thrive on attention but are also commonly very defensive, especially around those they don’t know.  - mugglenet

Only those with a pure soul can conjure the Occamy patronus.

Those with the Occamy patronus are thoughtful. People with this patronus can often be found reflecting on previous events and on profound ideas.

Those with this patronus often have a creative side too, excelling in creative subjects.

Those with the Occamy are very protective of their friends. They are also adaptive and can fit into most situations with ease.

The Occamy patronus is most common in Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. - patronusmeaning.tumblr

willow rosenberg - 

house: ravenclaw (through season 4, definitely; slytherin beyond that)

wand: fir, unicorn core, 10 in, unyielding

My august grandfather, Gerbold Octavius Ollivander, always called wands of this wood ‘the survivor’s wand’, because he had sold it to three wizards who subsequently passed through mortal peril unscathed. There is no doubt that this wood, coming as it does from the most resilient of trees, produces wands that demand staying power and strength of purpose in their true owners, and that they are poor tools in the hands of the changeable and indecisive. Fir wands are particularly suited to Transfiguration, and favour owners of focused, strong-minded and, occasionally, intimidating demeanour.

Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts. They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard.

Minor disadvantages of unicorn hair are that they do not make the most powerful wands (although the wand wood may compensate) and that they are prone to melancholy if seriously mishandled, meaning that the hair may ‘die’ and need replacing. - garrick ollivander

patronus: field mouse

Generally small in size, field mice have to rely on their speed and wits to survive. Their senses are sharp so as to easily detect their predators, which are abundant. Field mice are incredibly adaptable, able to live wherever they can find shelter and food. You’d be wrong to underestimate the adorable little field mouse Patronus; it will surprise you with its ingenuity and resiliency.  - mugglenet

xander harris - 

house: hufflepuff (i’d put him in gryffindor; he’s way too much of a “nice guy” to be a hufflepuff)

wand: sycamore, dragon core, 12 1/2 in, unbending

The sycamore makes a questing wand, eager for new experience and losing brilliance if engaged in mundane activities. It is a quirk of these handsome wands that they may combust if allowed to become ‘bored’, and many witches and wizards, settling down into middle age, are disconcerted to find their trusty wand bursting into flame in their hand as they ask it, one more time, to fetch their slippers. As may be deduced, the sycamore’s ideal owner is curious, vital and adventurous, and when paired with such an owner, it demonstrates a capacity to learn and adapt that earns it a rightful place among the world’s most highly-prized wand woods.

As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner.

The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental. - garrick ollivander

patronus: wild rabbit

Wild rabbits may seem more predator than prey, but in Patronus form, they make Dementors look like fluffy bunnies. Wild rabbit Patronuses will throw themselves into the fray and create a barrier between the Dementors and the witch or wizard who cast the spell. They may be small, but they will never back down from a challenge, and this drive and passion keep their caster safe from harm. - mugglenet

[kiruuuuu]

Requests are indeed open, @dragon-celtic-chan! Thanks for this request, I actually like writing AUs :) Hope you like it ♥ (Rating M, fluff-ish, ~1.6k words)

.

The first time Timur sees the beast, he’s petrified, drawn bow useless in his trembling hands while he cowers in the undergrowth of the forest he knows better than the back of his hand. His familiarity even extends to night time, he knows the sound the soft ground makes under his boots when he’s on the correct path home, can tell which cardinal direction he’s facing at any point, navigates the thicket almost silently even if pale beams of moonlight are all that allows him to see. He’s a skilled hunter due to his patience and impressive marksmanship, always wins any archery competition in his town to the point where he refuses to accept any prizes and graciously lets the second best earn the glory.

He’s a skilled hunter but he’s never seen anything like this.

Dark fur renders the silhouette nearly invisible, great paws tread lightly, its gait dainty when compared to the brute strength that Timur knows sleeps in the long limbs – he was lying in wait, not knowing yet what to expect when the creature dropped out of a tree, must have been climbing around in the thick branches for reasons unknown. The fall was graceful, calculated, the landing gentle and allowing Timur a good look at the slim flanks, pointy ears and long snout. His heart stopped, his stomach dropped and his breathing ceased when it happened, trying not to draw any attention to himself as the monster’s head swivelled around curiously.

Tonight, he’s breaking the one rule his parents have enforced all his life: don’t go hunting during a full moon. They gave no explanation and he never needed one, figured there’s a good enough reason. Now that he’s come of age and is expected to take a wife soon despite not having any inclination to do so, he’s started to subtly rebel against all he thought set in stone. It seems he’s made a grave miscalculation, however, and his parents were right to punish him as severely as they did the first time he stayed out longer than necessary with his friends while a full sphere adorned the night sky. The blows he received are no match for the razor sharp claws digging into the earth.

Eventually, the beast seems satisfied, darts away and leaves behind a light-headed, frozen, shaking hunter. It’s indescribable.

He has to track it down.

.

He gets caught in a trap. It’s not an ordinary one, not meant to ensnare smaller or even larger animals but devised simply to harm humans, makes Timur bleed and curse and turn back immediately. The creature has led him here, to a remote area in the dense forest where no one dares to tread usually, quiet voices alluding to wolf packs and bears, a valley without much game to hunt as it is. It’s never been of any interest to Timur yet now that he’s followed the strange animal over the course of several full moons, always aware of how close he is to being ripped to shreds, he’s literally stumbled over evidence of someone’s presence out here.

Stubborn and resistant to learning from his mistakes, his mother once called him – and she may be right for he comes back the next day regardless of the fact that whoever placed these traps clearly doesn’t welcome visitors. He pushes on, looks for footsteps or other human traces yet finds only more snares and other mechanisms which look too complex for him; he’s not confident enough to try his luck in disarming or simply manoeuvring past them. Then he remembers the beast dropping from a tree.

He climbs the nearest one and follows the trail of makeshift ropes and weapons waiting to strike an unobservant trespasser. They’re arranged in a wide circle, so what he’s seeking must lie in the centre. Once he’s navigated the branches to a point where the ground looks safe, he returns to it and sets out to try and hunt down the one being who might be an even more proficient hunter than he is: he’s found its slain prey, elusive animals killed purely for sport, deer, rabbits, badgers, foxes and even a bear clawed and bitten to death, bled dry on the leafy forest floor. Timur has yet to slay a bear by himself, even in a small party.

There’s a hut. It’s small and built shoddily, the craftsmanship inferior to everything Timur has seen, even compared to the rickety shed his uncle constructed. Yet it’s not what attracts his gaze: there’s a man outside, chopping firewood and thinking himself unobserved. His upper body is free from the furs that clad his legs, his arms stronger than even Timur’s and glistening with sweat. There isn’t supposed to be anyone living here, not if this is the beast’s territory. Timur sneaks closer but the man’s hearing is excellent – his head whips around and he fixes the young man with a piercing gaze from light eyes.

“What are you doing here?”, he barks, adapting a defensive stance.

“I got lost”, Timur replies for lack of a better option. He can’t disclose his fascination, elaborate on the fact that he wants to bring the creature down. “I’m from the nearest town, at the northern edge of the lake.”

The man frowns, sceptical, though he ultimately nods. “Alright. I’ll escort you back.”

They barely talk, the stranger offering no explanation for his isolation though he discloses his name at least. Upon reaching the traps, they don’t need to halt as the man called Maxim disables them with a few practised motions and leads them safely through the belt.

When Timur returns the next day, they’re armed again, so he climbs once more.

On the fourth day, Maxim teaches him how to catch fish with a spear in a nearby river. Timur is clumsy with the weapon, too slow and ends up disgruntled and wet whereas Maxim impales enough for the two of them so neither ends up hungry. They tentatively speak a little more, exchange their knowledge about areas of the forest with which they’re most familiar and Timur shows him how to use a bow. Seeing as Maxim favours traps, he’s never had any use for it so his technique is atrocious, bad enough for Timur to chuckle and correct his stance. He straightens Maxim’s wrist, lowers his arms, drags his fingertips down Maxim’s back and even grabs his thigh despite it not being entirely necessary. His body is warm and his muscles hard to the touch. Maxim just watches him with an attentive gaze.

Timur returns unfailingly every day.

They wash themselves in the river after having spent an afternoon gutting various animals and Timur can’t help but stare. He shouldn’t and in town he’d never dare to, yet with Maxim it’s different, he can tell him about how he carves sceneries into wood, collects flowers and insects to create his own paint. There’s a peace between them he hasn’t felt anywhere else, and so he stares.

Eventually, Maxim returns his gaze and they’re in the same state, balancing on slippery rocks while standing up to their knees in the refreshing cold water and simply looking. Maxim’s hand is warm and his body solid, so when he steps up to Timur, the young man leans against him and melts, kisses salty skin and breathes deeply as he’s being worked to completion. Afterwards, Maxim wipes his hand on the insides of Timur’s thighs, turns him around and uses his legs to satisfy himself, mixing his own milky liquid with Timur’s.

Weeks pass. Timur’s parents speak more insistently of marriage now and show concern about him disappearing at the break of dawn, only to return at sunset. He never appears empty-handed, always presents enough to feed all of them and even more to sell. He trades part of it for clothes he never wears, sharp tools no one sees him use and good-quality ropes that vanish into thin air.

Nowadays, they spend a portion of each day in bed, sometimes just revelling in each other’s warmth, sometimes more, and the day before the next full moon Maxim tells him to leave early, stay away. Timur’s hands glide over every part of Maxim’s body they can reach, softly stroke over his cheeks and through his hair, and he nods with a smile. He’s figured it out a while ago and finds amusement in the fact that the creature he meant to hunt down ensnared him instead, took him down mercilessly.

.

He waits outside the hut till sundown, hidden from Maxim’s keen gaze and waiting. Unholy sounds reach his ears, screaming and howling and though it weighs down his heart to hear his beloved suffer alone, it won’t last for long. When he hears muffled footsteps, he gets up, reveals his presence to the huffing animal.

The impact is harsh, claws tear into his clothes and warm breath is on his face, a low growl coming from the horrifying face above him. He’s defenceless, on the ground, yet hasn’t been torn apart. Slowly, Timur reaches up, strokes over the paw on his chest, smooths an ear back and tentatively scratches the back of the creature’s neck. It’s still tense, ready for attack.

“Let’s go hunt together”, Timur whispers.

A pause. Then muscles relax, the heavy paw lifts from his body and withdraws. And maybe Timur can take on a bear now, with the beast by his side.

[lookbackmachine]

Disney Afternoon History Part 1

Disney Afternoon Part 1

Transcript of: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-look-back-machine/id1257301677?mt=2

[music]

0:00:06 Speaker 1: Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, The Fonz, was the pinnacle of cool for a generation. The leather jacket, the jukebox and "Ayyy". And in 1981, he hit the cultural height of fame with his own Saturday morning cartoon show. Unlike, say, Mork & Mindy in which Robin Williams was limited by the constraints of reality, there's nothing inherently animated about Happy Days, but that wasn't a deterrent for the Academy Award winning studio Hanna-Barbera, when they created this.

[music]

[video playback]

[music]

0:01:19 S1: The animated Fonz didn't just jump the shark, he time traveled so he could ride a brontosaurus. Jumping the shark seemed baked into the premise of many of the cartoons from this period, because they started as a gimmick and only kept gimmicking. Besides a big hit with The Smurfs, this period, for Hanna-Barbera, was littered with Scooby-Doo knockoffs.

[video playback]

0:01:49 S1: The studio that once produced The Flintstones, Quick Draw McGraw, Huckleberry Hound, Yogi, Snagglepuss and The Jetsons was producing uninspired paint by numbers replicas. The parity was at its peak when the animated Fonz had a supporting role in Laverne & Shirley in the Army. The cartoons essentially amounted to barely animated fan fiction. For years, art and commerce clashed on Saturday mornings and commerce had a far better record. And yet, only four years later, a cartoon would raise the artistic bar for the medium, and strangely, it would be based on the currency of kid commerce, candy.

[music]

0:02:34 S1: Animated television started in 1949, as it should, a talking rabbit wearing a suit of armour, riding a horse toward camera. It was the spectacular opening of Crusader Rabbit, whose other animation wasn't nearly as good as the opening. It was designed, with little to no movement, by Alex Anderson, who was inspired by Baby Weems, from Disney's behind the curtain feature, The Reluctant Dragon. In the Baby Weems segment, there are story boards with a tiny bit of motion included to keep it from being entirely static. There are quick cuts, camera movements, and narration to carry the short all the way to the end. After seeing this, Anderson believed he could use this barebones style to have notoriously expensive animation make financial sense for television. He partnered with Jay Ward and the two created The Crusader Rabbit shorts for NBC. The shorts were successful and ran for several years, which sparked Anderson and Ward to create the cartoons that they were famous for, Rocky and Bullwinkle and Dudley Do-Right. Despite their massive success, their partnership didn't end well. In fact, it got worse, even though Ward was already dead. Alex Anderson, animator.

0:03:45 Speaker 2: I was surprised that... To discover that my 50% equity in the characters had disappeared and was not being honored. Yeah, I went to court, sued, got them to acknowledge that I was the creator. I learned about it at his funeral, when I was doing a eulogy and the names of several of us who were doing a eulogy were indicated, and it said Alex Anderson, creator of Bullwinkle and Rocky. And somebody had scratched it out and said, "An artist who worked for Jay Ward." And I thought, "Well, what's this? Why is this in?" Then I started checking and I found that, indeed, Jay had registered the characters in his name.

0:04:31 S1: The show's limited animation technique was taken by Hanna-Barbera and updated with better animation to produce several hits like Ruff and Reddy, Huckleberry Hound, and eventually the Flintstones, a primetime hit for ABC in 1960. Hanna-Barbera went on to an unprecedented run of hits and non-hits, but when it came to television animation, Hanna-Barbera was in a class of their own. However, things fell off in the 1980s. In those years, The Smurfs were their only big hit. This left a gaping hole in the market that was filled by cartoons based on toys, like GI Joe and He-Man. But their ratings were drooping as well. And then something happened that had never happened before. During the entire history of television animation, from 1949 to 1984, the most famous animation company in the world never produced a single animated television cartoon. That was about to change with a single brunch, but the events leading up to that brunch showed an American titan in peril.

0:05:36 S1: Walt Disney was dead, to begin with, he died in 1966. But he was still running the company from his grave. After all the company's internal motto was, "What would Walt do?" But hypothesizing about what a genius would do is not the same as having the genius actually there. Because when it came to the question of "What would Walt do?" the company wasn't guessing correctly. Even though it was 1984, its last motion picture hit had been The Love Bug, in 1968. And so, because the company no longer had Walt, it figured the next best thing was Ron Miller, an ex Ram quarterback and Walt's son-in-law, who became CEO in 1978.

0:06:16 S1: The best quote to describe Miller's tenure was his own, "Because of Walt, because of his influence, I second-guess myself all the time." Miller wasn't only contending with Walt's legacy, he was also dueling with E. Cardon Walker, who was the chairman of the board. Walker had been one of Walt's right-hand men. He was in charge of advertising and public relations. And in his tenure, Walker launched the Disney Channel, opened Epcot and Disneyland Tokyo, but he also had peccadilloes that were killing the company. Walker was not in favor of a $1 parking fee. "The parking lot is the first thing the guests see. We have to keep our prices low." And despite having been in charge of advertising, Walker did not believe in advertising or marketing. The Disney parks did not run ads or commercials. For some perspective, the first American newspaper advertisement was in 1704. In 1922, Queensboro Corp buys airtime from AT&T to create the first radio commercials in advertising history. The first TV ad was aired for Bulova watches in 1941, which cost $9. Advertising was not new, and yet, E. Cardon Walker wouldn't do it.

0:07:26 S1: In fact, Walker was even stingy on advertising when it came to the motion picture division. Budgets for advertising were growing since the big blockbuster Jaws. ET had cost $10 million in ads alone, but when Disney's TRON came out, they gave it such a minuscule advertising budget that no one knew the film was even out. The film took a $17 million write-down. While all this was going on, there was another heir to the Disney throne who was dubbed the idiot nephew by Uncle Walt himself, who once said, "My nephew will never amount to anything." Thanks to Walt-think inside the studio, Roy Disney was considered the village idiot. It didn't help that he wasn't the most charismatic individual. John Sanford, director, Home On The Range.

0:08:11 Speaker 3: He had this legacy kinda handed to him, and I think he really took it seriously. But on the other hand, he was just a normal guy who happened to have a ton of money. We were in La Verne, California, I think it was, at this movie theater. Doing a preview for Home On The Range, and there was a Bed Bath & Beyond, and Patty suddenly turns to Roy and says, "Oh, Roy, they've got glasses on sale. Do you mind if I go looking?" "Eh, go ahead, Patty." And Patty runs into the Bed Bath & Beyond and he says, "You know, we need to get new glasses. You know, you've got kids and they break all the glasses. And suddenly, it's 20 years later, and you don't have one glass that matches. So Patty wants new glasses." And he's just talking very frankly like that. And I said, "Yeah, I know that. I know how that goes." And then Patty comes running up. "Oh, Roy. They've got a wonderful set of glasses that are on sale. Let's go in and get them." And Roy goes, "Well, I don't wanna carry them all over the goddamn mall." And she goes, "Okay. I guess we'll get them later." [chuckle] It was just fun to watch them, 'cause it was like... Reminded me of watching my grandparents bicker.

0:09:12 S1: Roy didn't like his role at the company, nor constantly being at odds with Miller, so Roy left in 1977, but remained on the board. From afar, he watched the animation division go to hell, which was once the company's crown jewel. On Miller's watch, the Fox and the Hound was almost torpedoed, when soon-to-be-legendary animator Don Bluth left the studio after run-ins with Miller and the executives, and Bluth didn't leave alone, he took 15 animators with him. At the time, Ed Hansen, the head of the animation department, said this, "The whole animation department could have gone under at that time. As it was, we made it, but the release of the film has been delayed, and we lost half of our creative staff." Bluth had his own thoughts. "The thing that would help Disney the most is to have a living profit, not a committee. They need somebody who knows and cares about animation. They won't roll up their sleeves and plunge in like Walt did. They wanna hire somebody to do it. It just doesn't work that way. I think they've found that out now. It was a matter of constantly bumping up against Ron Miller and the older guys, people who wouldn't relinquish authority and who wouldn't make a decision except by committee. It just doesn't work that way. They had some of the best talent in the world there. But if a production head doesn't have talent or push, you won't make it."

0:10:29 S1: In spite of everything, the company did have some good news. Miller had gone against the Disney Brain Trust and was making adult fare with his newly-created Touchstone Pictures, and he had a huge hit on his hands with Ron Howard's Splash, on March 9th, 1984. It just also happened to be the same day that Roy Disney decided to resign from the board. Roy Disney's resignation set off a chain reaction. Corporate raiders tried to take over the company. Miller was forced out. Walker retired. Roy took a vice-chairman and chairman of animation role. Michael Eisner became CEO and Chairman of the Board. Frank Wells became President, and Jeffrey Katzenberg took the role of Walt Disney Studios chairman, and the corporate raiders were turned away. Eisner and Katzenberg had blazed a trail at Paramount and became the talk of the town for their track record and by throwing their names into the press as much as humanly possible. Meanwhile, Frank Wells had been vice chairman of Warner Brothers. They set about using their industry experience to transform a company that was run like a mom-and-pop shop.

0:11:33 S1: The fourth member of their team was assets, and there were assets galore that Disney simply wasn't utilizing to their full potential, or at all. The Walt Disney Company was like the drowning man in the flood who doesn't accept help from a rowboat, motorboat, or helicopter because he believes God will save him. The man dies, and he meets God and asks, "Why didn't you come to my rescue?" God says, "I sent you a rowboat, motorboat and a helicopter. What do you want from me?" Now, Eisner, Wells and Katzenberg would take the rowboat, motorboat and helicopter to the promised land. Under their leadership, the company began advertising its parks. Attendance rose 10%. They raised the price of admission, which led to hundreds of millions of dollars into the company's coffers. Eisner releases Disney classics on home video. It was initially sacrilegious in the company, but money talks. Cinderella alone made $180 million in revenue. Animation was losing money, so they thought about shutting it down. But Eisner didn't wanna piss off Roy, so they kept it around. It was a smart choice because Roy was a little bit more cunning than he seemed. He was no Richard III but he'd just usurped his own brother-in-law. And because Eisner would later fail to keep him happy, Roy would take out Eisner decades later. Roy might have been treated like Fredo, but he was secretly Michael Corleone.

0:12:57 S1: But that was a long way off, now Eisner was simply basking in his good fortune. "Such a bounty has fallen in my lap. Every day a new asset falls out of the sky. The real estate is just gravy, there are 40 unused acres next to Disneyland planted in strawberries." To re-emphasize his life on easy street, he was drinking a milkshake when he said that. And of course, there was another blue-ocean opportunity for Eisner to slurp up, animated television. On Eisner's first day at the studio, he announced he wanted to have a Disney TV cartoon on the air in 10 months.

[music]

0:13:35 S1: Willie Ito, animator.

0:13:41 Speaker 4: We knew internally at Disney that things are gonna start happening. And so, one day, they had all of the Burbank employees meet in the backstage set, we had a big open set area and everyone from the studio was there. And Michael Eisner was introduced and the whole bit. Then he gave us the overall picture as to what to expect in the future now that the new regime is here. And one of the things he commented on was we're going to alt Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera.

0:14:20 S1: According to the New York Times, he asked someone to find them the six most creative people at Disney to figure out how to make Disney TV animation work, which leads to the aforementioned brunch that started it all. One of the creatives brought to the table was Jymn Magon. Magon had produced story records for Disney music for eight years. Why bring a record producer, with no animation experience, to the table?

0:14:41 Speaker 5: I ask myself that every morning when I wake up, [chuckle] it's a bit amazing. Well, one of the things that Michael Eisner did before he was at Paramount was... I think he was head of ABC children's programming, I think he told me that he was the guy who actually bought the Scooby-Doo franchise from Hanna-Barbera, which of course, is still running after all these years. So, that was very successful, and I think he always had a soft spot for TV animation, and so when he took over the company in '84, one of the first things he wanted to do was to start a TV animation department. So, being new to the company, I think he just looked at different departments and said, 'I wanna meet some of the bright people that are doing things here at the company.' And we had just made a lot of money off of Mickey Mouse disco and a lot of projects that were new at the time in the record business. And so Gary Krisel, who was the president of Disneyland records, and myself, were invited over to Michael Eisner's house on a Sunday morning. Michael Eisner invited a bunch of people... Not a lot, I think there were about 12, in all, that were at this meeting in his living room on a Sunday morning in Bel-Air. And I had never been to Bel-Air, never been invited to someone's house up there, [chuckle] so, it was very fancy-shmancy for me.

0:16:01 S1: And there was also Tad Stones, who began his work at Disney in 1974. He was an uncredited animator on the Fox and the Hound as late as 1981. Now, he too was at the brunch.

0:16:13 Speaker 6: I was in Features, I eventually moved into Story, went to Imagineering and help design rides for Epcot Center, and back in charge of some Epcot Center documentaries that then never happened. Eventually ended up back in Features, I'm not sure they knew what to do with me. And that's about the time management changed, with Michael Eisner coming in and Jeffrey Katzenberg and those guys. And I was... Along my trials through the company, I had done some animation development for the guys over in the merchandising side of things 'cause they felt like the only way to really sell toys is to have some cartoons on TV. You can't wait for these features that come out every four years, or so, 'cause that's what it was at the time. Anyway, those same guys were pitching TV animation to Michael Eisner. I was actually on vacation, but I got a call that said, "We know you're on vacation, we know it's gonna be Sunday, but would you mind coming to Michael Eisner's house to talk about television animation?" So I was like "Yeah [chuckle], I think I can make time." Went there with like 10 people. These were the guys who basically I had worked with before and they were impressed with what I had done. And from the beginning, Michael Eisner felt like Disney is the top in animation, and it should be in every area that animation is in, it doesn't mean that television animation is going to look like feature animation, but it should be the best TV shows in animation on TV.

0:17:39 S1: Jymn Magon.

0:17:40 Speaker 7: Michael revealed that he wanted to start this new department, he wanted us to come up with some ideas and whatnot, and he actually came up with an idea himself, which was his kids who were in the other room eating cereal in the kitchen, in their pajamas [chuckle] on Sunday morning, had just come back from camp and I guess they had told him that they were eating these really cool candies called Gummi bears. And he said, "I just like the sound of that." And he looked at me, which was really weird, 'cause he didn't know me at all, and he said, "Make me a show called Gummi Bears." And I thought, "Why'd he pick me out?" [laughter] And I said, "Oh yeah, cool, great."

0:18:20 S6: So I pitched an old project, Mickey and the Space Pirates, they liked it a lot, but then they said, "No Mickey... We wanna make sure we can pull this off. Mickey is too precious." So there was a lot of respect there going in. No one was prepared to actually pitch shows. I had that artwork left over from stuff I had pitched to the merchandising guys, who were in the room, but it was kind of more feeling what Eisner wanted.

0:18:43 S7: But Tad was at that meeting, and he didn't come over for probably a full season to TV animation, but he eventually did, and thank God he did, because we worked on so many shows over there. But yeah, he was at that initial meeting, and he had a lot of great ideas. But he didn't come join us right away. And afterwards, we all met at a coffee shop, in Brentwood, and I remember us all kind of looking at each other, like, "This guy's crazy. Who wants to do a show about characters that get eaten every week?" [chuckle]

0:19:15 S6: And I remember saying, "Well, he seemed pretty sharp and respectful of animation, except for that idea about Gummi bears, that's like doing pepperoni people, or something. I don't know how to do that".

0:19:25 S7: So I think we all kind of felt like, "He's a busy man. This will all go away". It was about two weeks later I got a call, "So where's my show?" "Well, I'm writing it now", [chuckle] and I typed up something and it was horrendous, but it was the beginnings of development. And so I ended up, at one point, doing two jobs, I was still doing my record producing, but I was also developing two shows, both Wuzzles and Gummi Bears for Disney. And we didn't even have offices for the department back then. I remember we went over to a fellow named Lenny Ripps. Lenny Ripps was responsible for creating Full House and he was under contract at Disney for the time, and Lenny said, "Come on over, let's talk about this." And so there was Gary Krisel, who was going to be the president of the new division. So he was doing double duty at the same time, with records and TV animation. And Michael Webster turned out to be our office manager, and there was me. And that was the four of us sitting there around a card table in Lenny's office kicking ideas around. And that's how that department started, very bizarre and very humble.

0:20:47 S7: I remember having to take pitches from people and we were discouraged from doing that, because Disney became a big company and had deep pockets, and of course, people would come in and pitch, and then say, "You stole my ideas." And so pretty much kept to ourselves and almost all the development was from inside, from people on staff. So we didn't... It was in the time of [0:21:10] ____ and other people pitching their ideas from outside. There was a travel office for Disney across the street from the studio in Buena Vista and it was just a crummy old office building. And I think that's where we put Art Vitello when they brought him in to run Gummi Bears. And they were just sort of makeshift offices, they put some of the artists on the back lots, above the tea room. We were just spread all over. So we all became sort of bastard children.

0:21:41 Speaker 8: This is the great book of Gummi.

0:21:45 Speaker 9: What's in it?

0:21:46 S8: Well, we really don't know.

0:21:49 S6: Well, they actually developed Gummi bears kind of on a candy basis with a villain called Licorice Whip, I think. And they were actually gonna have the Gummi bears give dental hygiene messages at the end of every show. That went nowhere, and they threw it all out and came up with what was on the air.

0:22:06 S1: Instead of candy, the show got a complicated 500-year-old plus mythos. The Gummi bears were descendants of the great gummies, tasked with protecting all things Gummi from human greed and exploitation.

0:22:18 S7: I was very fortune that I got to work with two of my childhood heroes, which were Rocky and Bullwinkle. I found myself staring at Bill Scott a lot because besides doing all the voices of George of the Jungle and Tom Slick and Bullwinkle, he was a fantastic writer, and he had written all of these commercials for Quaker Oats, Quisp and Quake and Cap'n Crunch, and stuff like that. He once said to me, "You know the old story, Jymn, about how do you make a statue of an elephant? Well, you start with a block of granite and you chip away everything that doesn't look like an elephant". He says, but writing a script is different. You start with nothing, and you chip away until you have a story. [chuckle] And I thought, "Oh, that's interesting. You don't even have the rock to work with." [laughter] And I just thought he was a delight. He died after the first season of Gummi Bears and that was just devastating for us.

0:23:16 Speaker 10: Welcome to the land of Wuz, where nobody is like anybody you've seen before. The people who live in Wuz are called Wuzzle, naturally. And as you've probably guessed, Wuzzles are a little bit, you know, different.

0:23:33 S7: I didn't stay on Wuzzles. Once we got the two shows sold, I stayed exclusively on Gummi Bears. But in the early days, we were trying to put together these shows to pitch to the networks. And we had a show called Jumble Isle, the idea was that there were these animals that were jumbled up, and there were two of each animal. And, lo and behold, it turns out Hasbro has... Already has a project called The Wuzzles, which they had plush animals at the time. And, again, I don't know the ins and outs of the business side, but it was decided, "Well, why create these things when they already exist and let's just do a deal with Hasbro to take our development and put it with their characters." which I'm not even sure they had much of a back story. But once the deal was made, then we'd develop them into talking, breathing, and living characters. [chuckle] And so what happened was that Wuzzles then went on to have its own production department, just like Gummi Bears had, but like I said, my involvement at that point, I had dropped out after it sold to CBS.

0:24:39 S1: Besides Wuzzles and Gummi Bears, Disney television animation had one more venture in its early years. Fluppy Dogs was the first animated Disney feature for television. The show revolved around the Fluppy Dogs going through an interdimensional portal to Earth. It got a 5.3 rating on November 27th, 1986. The numbers were so low that it killed off the idea for a television series based on the special, and with that, Fluppy Dogs was over before it even really got started.

0:25:08 S7: Fluppy Dogs was sort of the... I kinda call it the albatross around the neck. [chuckle] It was a cross to bear. And I think everybody in the department worked on it at one time or another. And so what happened was that we were gonna do this Fluppy special and it was going to be the kickoff for a series and it just never took off, it never... It just never happened, and I think we were all kind of glad it didn't go any further. I mean, they were cute, but I just remember it being like, "Oh crap, I don't wanna go on another meeting about Fluppy Dogs." [chuckle]

0:25:49 Speaker 11: We've been to so many worlds. I don't know how long it's been since I've seen my family.

0:25:55 Speaker 12: You can talk!

0:25:56 S1: I wish you wouldn't keep saying that, I've been talking since I was 3.

0:26:00 S1: I'm sorry, but I mean, talking dog? Fluppy, and doorways to other worlds? I just wanna find one world, my world.

0:26:12 S1: Disney was going in cheap in terms of the price for pristine Disney Animation. Disney knew they couldn't afford movie quality animation and expect to make a profit. But Disney still spent $285,000 on each episode of Wuzzles. That was double what Hanna-Barbera would spend. It was so much, in fact, that it was $35,000 more than it was being paid by CBS. Why spend so much? The reasoning was simple, if it looked better than everything else on TV, then the characters could become part of the parks, and because of the success rate of their recent films, Disney needed characters more than ever. Willie Ito, animator.

0:26:51 S4: When I was at Hanna-Barbera, Michael Eisner was the VP of Children Programming at ABC. So when we were doing presentations and they would fly out here to review what we were working on, Joe would ask us to come in on a Saturday, sit at our desk as if we're busy bees and then bring Michael Eisner and his people through, and says, "Hey, here, look, they're all working on the new show idea," and then see the presentation. So I knew of Michael Eisner. And so, when he says he's gonna hop Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera, I'm thinking, "Oh my gosh, I came back to Disney to get away from this rat race, and I hope we're not gonna be all caught up in the middle of it." Well, to make a long story short, a few months later, a fellow named Michael Webster, who I worked with in animation, was hired on to be production coordinator for the newly forming Disney TV Animation. Michael got with me and says, "How would you like to come back to animation?" I said, "Michael. No, please don't, don't do this to me. I'm perfectly happy. I'm actually in my new career back at Disney." And he says, "Well, we're gonna have a little boutique operation. All we're gonna do is be responsible for the scripts and we'll do story boards and maybe character design, but otherwise, everything is going to be farmed off to a production house. So we're just gonna have a little boutique operation and let me dangle this carrot in front of their view."

0:28:29 S4: What it was is, he says, "I know you used to make a lot of trips to Japan and Asia, and you know a lot of the production houses over there. So I wanna send you there and meet with these different companies and talk business." And he says, "Well, we'll be sending you first class. You'd stay at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo." And then all that. How could I resist? Plus, the fact that there was a handsome increase because of my position, would be like an executive thing. "Michael, I'm gonna give you three months. That's what I could promise you." So, "Okay, that's a deal." I did the pilot storyboard for a two-minute pilot. The soundtrack was recorded. They cut the exposure sheets, and the whole bit, and with those two copies under my arm, I flew to Tokyo. As I was registering, this American gentleman approaches me, "So are you Mr Ito?" I say, "Yeah." And he says, "Oh, hey. I understand you're here to make pilot films for your fledging Disney TV animation." I said, "Yeah, I am. You could talk to me initially, but the decision will be Michael Webster, who will be arriving here in about half an hour."

0:29:50 S4: So we sat in the lobby, having a cocktail, and then Michael shows up and he's at the desk and I said, "Well, there's Michael now." So, well, we flag him over and he says... The fellow talking to us says, "What we wanna do is we wanna throw our hat in the ring. I understand you're gonna be talking to people at Toei Animation in Tokyo, then you're gonna be flying to Korea, and you're gonna be meeting with Steve Hahn at the Korean studio." I said, "Well, we only have two sets of soundtrack, exposure sheets and copies of the layouts and storyboards." He said, "No problem, they can make copies of all that." "So, okay, what do you think, Michael?" And Michael said, "Yeah, sure, why not?" So we awarded them to also do a pilot. Three months later, the three studios submitted their two-minute pilot. So the three pilots came in. We all go in the sweat box, all the executives are there, I think even Roy Disney Jr was sitting in on it, and all of the newly-appointed executives of the newly-formed Disney TV Animation.

0:31:02 S4: So we sit there and, number one, okay, number two, then number three, then the lights go on, and then now we have to say which one we liked, and it was unanimous. We liked this one, say, number two. Well, it turned out that that was produced by a company named Tokyo Movie Shinsha. It had nothing to do with the other two that we submitted, but this one had the rich, full animation and all that. So they got the contracts. So TMS is the producing company. TMS, they later did the Little Nemo in Slumberland feature also, and so they had access to a lot of young Disney animators with full animation training to work on their project. As a matter of fact, even that two-minute pilot, they sort of farmed out some of the animation to Disney animators, that's why it showed such quality and it beat out the Koreans and the Japanese studio.

0:32:08 S4: They cheated, but, in essence, they... Disney kept striving to get the utmost in animation quality, which is good, because that was one of my concerns. If Disney gets into TV animation, are they gonna lose their integrity by just schlocking it on, doing limited animation, and all that, but the quality is there.

0:32:34 S1: Jymn Magon.

0:32:35 S7: I remember we did a lot of tests with other studios. We ended up with... At least for Gummi Bears, we ended up with TMS, Tokyo Movie Shinsha, and I had to remember, when I was really used to looking at hamburger sort of animation, which is you move across the proscenium left to right, the background that keeps repeating, and that's sort of what we grew up with and were used to. And I remember the first episode of Gummi Bears, I saw Sir Tuxford ride his horse into camera. The horse came to camera, he did a full turn around, which you'd never saw in TV animation, it was like, "Holy cow! Look at what just happened!" And it was a real leap in the animation quality, and I remember talking to Karl Geurs, who was working over at, I think he was at FilmNation at the time, and he eventually came over to Disney to do the Winnie the Pooh show. And he said everyone in other studios was talking about, "Did you see what Disney did on Saturday morning? Oh, my God!"

0:33:38 S7: So the quality really raised the bar. Now, true, it wasn't feature animation, but it was a big jump in quality. Finally, they put us all together over at the Cahuenga Building, which was on Cahuenga, near Universal Studios, and it just got bigger and bigger as we added more and more people. So, on the one hand, we weren't on the lot anymore. The sort of good news was, nobody was looking over our shoulders, so that department started and grew and made its success sort of off by itself. Nobody was actually sitting down reading, our scripts, and saying, "Gee, I don't think this is very Disney, or I don't think... " There just wasn't any interference because they had other and bigger fish to fry. We went off and sold our first two shows, Wuzzles and Gummi Bears, to CBS and NBC respectively. And it just took off from there.

0:34:29 S1: Willie Ito.

0:34:30 S4: We had our own growing pains within the studio, getting people together, finding a crew, a good animator, story, bit people. And before that three months was up, I could see the frenetic pace. We were moving from office to office because it was like we move in and then they say, "You know, it's not enough room because we're expanding our staff." And I'm thinking, "What happened to the boutique operation? Now we're gonna have a whole staff. And then am I gonna have to do what I did at Sanrio, is manage this crew of people and all that." So I started feeling the pressure of that position, but in the meanwhile, I went back to Carson. And Carson van Osten, who was my boss in consumer products, and I said, "Oh, Jesus, it's the same old thing. Before I get too caught up into it, can I come back?" So he said, "Oh, yeah, there's always an opening for you to come back." So I came back to consumer products, but I stayed with the Disney TV, as far as merchandise and by-products and whatever else, but I was now out of the production rat race.

0:35:55 S1: Tad Stones.

0:35:56 S6: Anyway, I went back to Features, and pitched some stuff, and actually was considering leaving the company, and maybe just freelancing and then going into more, actually, science fiction short stories and novels. I met one of the guys who was then the head of the TV department that was just starting, and mentioned, "Hey, do you have any freelance opportunities?" And he said, "Oh, I don't know if you wanna do that, why don't you come and visit?" And I came to visit their very small building and he introduced me around, he said, "Yeah, Tad may be coming over here." Actually, he said, "Tad would be coming over here." And I just was quiet. I didn't know what he was talking about, but they ultimately brought me over to be the creative manager of the department, in which I was supposed to take pitches and come up with stories, and actually, I was supposed to take pitches more than come up with stuff, but I wasn't geared that way.

0:36:50 S6: And we had a gong show coming up with Michael and Jeffrey, which is you do like a two cents description of a show and they either like it or not. And I think we pitched 22 ideas. I think 18 of them were mine. And it's not like they were fully developed, it was like, "Hey, Trojan Birds and Legionnaire Cats, the city of Troy is up in trees, like Roadrunner and Coyote," and they gong. Anyway, Gummi Bears had been through two seasons, it was run by Art Vitello and created by Art Vitello and Jymn Magon. And Jymn had had no animation experience before that, Disney just said, "Hey, if you want the show, this is the guy who's gonna do it." So there was always a contentious relationship there. And by the third season, NBC said, "We want to change," and they tapped me and Jymn went on to, I think, DuckTales development at that point. Anyway, so that's how I got to Gummi Bears, it was just kind of like, "Hey, you, over here". And that started me story editing and producing.

0:37:51 S1: Willie Ito.

0:37:52 S4: But the question always was, "Well, how come Wuzzles and Gummi Bears, when Disney has such a stable of great characters that they could work from?" But I think initially, they says, "Well, we're gonna be making cartoons for Saturday morning, and that's a lesser market quality-wise, and we don't want to ruin Disney's image by turning out the limited animation with Mickey Mouse and all that, so let's go with new characters." But then the shows were a hit and it started to see that Disney TV was getting some recognition, and so Roy Disney said, "Well, come on, let's... Let's use some of our own characters, that way the market and the kids will gravitate to it knowing it's a known Disney character." So we did DuckTales.

0:38:52 S1: Jymn Magon.

0:38:53 S7: After two seasons of Gummi Bears, I moved over to work on DuckTales, which was a big deal at the time, we were doing this as a syndicated program as opposed to a network program, and it had already been developed, Tedd Anasti and Patsy Cameron were always creating episodes.

0:39:10 S1: Patsy Cameron-Anasti and Tedd Anasti, writers.

0:39:14 Speaker 13: My career in writing really started when I met my future husband, Tedd.

0:39:19 Speaker 14: That would be me.

0:39:20 S1: I was 18 and I auditioned for Walt Disney's new Mickey Mouse Club as a performer, and Tedd was a writer for Walt Disney and chose me at an audition, and I appeared on the new Mickey Mouse Club singing and performing sign language, and then I fell madly in love with him, Tedd, and started writing him love letters...

0:39:42 S1: Didn't spell my name right, though. So, during a union break, I'm sitting on a bench back when I did smoke cigarettes and the guy from the mail room comes by and goes, "Is your name Ashy?" I went, "No, no, it's Anasti." He goes, "Well, I think somebody's been writing you a bunch of letters, we've got in the mail room, didn't know where to deliver them." I discovered that she has an interest in me.

0:40:08 S1: Yeah, and he said... When he called me, he said, "You're really funny." He thought my love letters were funny, and he said, "I think you could be a writer." And Tedd showed me Micky Mouse Club scripts and taught me how to write scripts, and then I moved up here to Los Angeles and my first job was a freelance for Hanna-Barbera on a show called Casper and the Space Angels, and I freelanced for a couple of years and then became a staff writer on The Smurfs, and I was the first woman staff writer at Hanna-Barbera, as well as their youngest at the time at age 23. And then a little bit later, Tedd started writing for The Smurfs and we became story editors together. Margaret Lush, who approved my very first cartoon episode on Casper and the Space Angels, Margaret Lush, noticed that we had fun together when we wrote, not knowing we were dating or anything. And Margaret, she teamed us up as story editors on The Smurfs and then Tedd and I wrote on The Smurfs for three years, in which it won one Emmy. And then the next show that we did was DuckTales for Walt Disney.

0:41:16 S1: DuckTales was based on the Carl Barks comic book stories about the world adventurer ducks of Duckburg, Scrooge McDuck and his nephews. The comics were a hit back in the 1940s and '50s, and their comic adventure styling seemed a perfect fit for what Disney envisioned for its television programs. Barks was never really consulted, said Tom Ruzicka, associate producer on DuckTales. He continued, "Although the show was initially based on the concept of doing Scrooge McDuck and the nephews, we discovered that a lot of stuff that made wonderful comics wouldn't translate into the '80s, or into animation. So we started evolving new characters and other things to contemporize the show. As we did that, the stories got further and further away from the comics, although a few episodes are lifted right out of them."

0:42:03 S1: We had a meeting with Gary Krisel, where he showed us two projects, DuckTales and a special called Fluppy Dogs, and we chose DuckTales. That was a good choice.

0:42:16 S1: They hired us because they knew it would be a big show with lots of episodes. We got known as people who could do 65 half hours in a season and stuff like that.

0:42:25 S1: Or 90 minutes on The Smurfs. Our first year as story editors, we'd never story-edited before, it was 90 minutes, because it was such a hit, or on DuckTales, it was 65 half hours. People would say, "How come you're not freaking out?" Well, I just knew we would get it done, but Tedd, his energy and his dedication, I credit a lot of it to him.

[video playback]

0:43:18 S1: They were definitely based on the Carl Barks books, but the main thing we had to do was, again, bring the heart, bring heart out.

0:43:26 S1: Well, one day, certain executives said, "You're not following the books very closely." And we said, "We have 65 episodes to do and Carl Barks only wrote 16, and they're not that different from one another."

0:43:41 S1: Jymn Magon.

0:43:42 S7: The idea came up, "Why don't we do a mini-series that we can cut into a movie we can then show as a pilot, a kick off to the series?" So what was really fascinating, for me, anyway, was, even though the show was already in production, was to do the episodes that set the tone for the series. So the first thing that the public was gonna see was this five-parter, and we just had so much fun putting that together, because they had to work as five separate episodes, but it had to work as an overarching big story as well, so that it could be shown as a movie. And I have a picture of Mark Zaslove and Bruce Talkington and I standing in front of this chalkboard, we have this gigantic story outline in front of it of all five episodes. It was like, "Are we gonna be able to do that?" And it turned out spectacular, I was very happy with it.

0:44:32 S1: A lot of the episode went to Japan, the earlier ones, and the animation was just exquisite. It was so exciting to have the films come back, especially the earliest episodes. Wow, dazzling animation, like A-team animation. They had a party and they showed one of the fully realized episodes, it was called Duckman of Alcatraz, it was really, really sensational. But I remember even Tedd saying, "I didn't really realize how good this was." I think that no one really understood that, I don't think I did until the episodes started to come back with all the music, fully-animated, everything, and then when it debuted, it was a really, really big smash.

0:45:16 S1: Meanwhile, the LA Times' Charles Solomon was not impressed by DuckTales. In fact, he found it rather distasteful. "Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and other Disney cartoon stars owe their popularity and longevity to the fact that they were so well-animated, they ceased to exist as drawings on screen and emerged as clearly recognizable characters. By breaking with that tradition in DuckTales, the new management at Disney Studio is risking far more than the $20 million it has invested into the series. At stake is a name that has been synonymous with the best in animation for 60 years." But the risk of ruining their name in animation was well worth it, because the show was gigantic. DuckTales was big, really big. The series was in 56 countries and seen by 25 million kids each day. It went so far that it doubled the ratings of kids shows that it was in competition with. Even though each episode cost $275,000, Disney more than made its money back, and Disney television animation had finally truly arrived. Tad Stones.

0:46:20 S6: Well, DuckTales was a huge thing, because a Saturday morning show is just... Your first order is 13, and then maybe 10 the second season, and eight, and eight, and then you're lucky if you're still on. DuckTales, suddenly, it was like, "No, we're doing 65 episodes." George Lucas told us once that DuckTales was to syndication as Star Wars was to movies, I mean, it was huge.

0:46:43 S1: Patsy Cameron-Anasti and Tedd Anasti.

0:46:46 S1: We finished DuckTales and they didn't pick up our contract. The figured, find somebody cheaper, I guess, I don't know.

0:46:53 S1: Well, actually no, let me... I would like to differ with that. It was a smash and that was a wonderful thing for our career. They offered us Aladdin, actually, and we... I think we had always wanted to develop, like kind of be in developing new shows, and when Nelvana offered us vice president of development, we took that, and they were just starting out, kind of, they had done some things, but Beetlejuice really was their first big blockbuster. So I think they did offer us Aladdin after that, and then later, The Little Mermaid.

0:47:28 S1: I was sitting in a restaurant and here are the guys from Disney, the executives, end up sitting behind us, and we were with ABC at the time. When the girls from ABC went to the ladies room, the guys from Disney leaned over and said, "We need you back. We need you back on our show 'cause we can't get anybody that's doing a good job." So we went back and...

0:47:49 S1: Yeah, we spent three years on The Little Mermaid, which was, again, a very, very wonderful experience.

0:47:55 S1: They wanted us for five years, but we said, "Well, maybe just one year at a time." So we stayed there for 14 years, just one year at a time.

0:48:02 S1: Jymn Magon.

0:48:03 S7: I know that I was a big Carl Barks fan growing up, just as a kid, reading the comic book, and so we owed so much to Carl Barks, creating the Beagle Boys and Gyro Gearloose and Magica de Spell, and all these characters. And I felt bad that he never got any credit on the series. So one of the episodes I wrote was based on one of his comic book stories, I actually gave him credit as "Story by Carl Barks, script by Jymn Magon." Because I wanted his name in there somewhere on the series. There were two things that were key to DuckTales. One was Scrooge McDuck was torn between the cold, hard cash and the warmth of his heart for his family, his nephews, that's what was always driving the series, was this man caught between the cold and the heat. The second thing was, young children don't understand money, it's just like the coins, built different sizes, and paper, and they honestly don't have a concept of how money works. But Carl Barks was a genius when it came to, "Well, what do kids understand?" Well, they understand the tactile quality of coins. And so to have a money bin full of coins that you were able to dive into and just swim through like a porpoise, just that's what kids could understand and appreciate. And the fact that he gave Scrooge McDuck that childlike quality to be able to enjoy his money in a very tactile way, I think, was a real breakthrough for the character.

0:49:31 S1: Carl Barks, an except from The Duck Man, an interview with Carl Barks, 1975.

0:49:37 Speaker 15: The office, I think, wanted me to do a Christmas story and so I'm casting around for Christmas stories. I began to think of the great Dickens Christmas story, about Scrooge. It is the classic of all Christmas story. All I did was just peep enough to sort of steal some of the idea and have a rich uncle for Donald. Well, he had turned out to be kind of an interesting character in that first story, and so I began thinking of how to use him again. I guess the fact that he was rich was the thing that triggered all further developments, is just how rich, and the showing of his wealth. I found that that was quite a fascinating subject, just piles of money. It seemed to appeal to a lot of people.

0:50:33 S1: And I just gradually made him richer and richer and then I had to develop a place where he could store the money and all the time, there were the Beagle Boys trying to steal it from him. Those things just grew like building brick walls, you just lay one brick on top of another, and finally, you've got a whole thing built. You can't dive into a pile of money like you would into a snowdrift, so he had to have a trick by which he did. And I don't explain that trick because I don't understand it myself. And he can go out in the desert, and he can smell the presence of gold. Other prospectors would have to dig mountains of dirt before they could find any nuggets, but he can smell them. I think he represents something that nearly everybody wishes they could be, some time in their life, just a little bit too rich.

[music]

0:51:25 S1: Disney had another project that was budding at ABC. Disney had a long, strange history with this character, with lawsuit after lawsuit, but the character was about to become part of Saturday mornings in 1988, with an unlikely candidate to help lead it. Mark Zaslove, writer.

0:51:53 Speaker 16: What happened was I went to Cal Berkeley as a eventually theoretical astrophysics person, but I was also writing at the time, and I had a buddy, we were doing live action. So every summer, he was in UCLA, I was at Cal, we'd come back and we'd write a script or something. And then I wrote my first novel over there, and then it was like, "Well, what am I gonna do also for money?" I was doing magazine work, I worked for Larry Flynt for about seven months, meteoric rise and fall on Hustler and a couple of magazines like that, which was fun.

0:52:25 S1: I used to say, though, I was karmically balanced 'cause I did Pooh and Hustler. By the time anybody even asked about it, it was never a big deal, no one cared, I mean, it wasn't like I was posing or anything, or it was gonna come back and bite them. Not that I couldn't have. Oh, sorry. [chuckle] And I got my first gig in animation while I was there as well. But basically, I went, "I got to make some money." It's like, "Oh, yeah, animation. They need writers." My dad said, "Yeah, maybe try that." And it's like... So I went in, not thinking anything of it, really, and it was very easy to do, and so I was doing some freelance work and I had sent in something... Oh, GoBot, a GoBot script to Jymn Magon, and he went, "Oh, my God, it's the only funny GoBot script I ever read." So I went in, and he'd probably tell you better.

0:53:12 S1: I just had this sort of full of himself attitude, not in a bad way, according to him, but I just look back and it was just kind of funny, 'cause he saw it and he went, "This is really good writing." And I was kind of like, "Well, yeah, of course it is." It was like, "Well, it's animation." I never thought much about it. I learned to very much respect it. I always liked the product, but I was never like a fan of animation because I grew up around it, so it was always the discipline. But you have to understand, my dad was an animator/producer/director, so when I was growing up, animators were guys who were drunk on my living room floor. So I get to Disney and they're all teetotallers, except for a few people. I'm like, "You're not animators. I know what animators look like, and none of you are animators." I had gotten some bad raps there that I didn't do, I was always upset later when people say blah, blah, blah, and you were being blah, blah, blah, and I went, "I didn't do that. If I'd just known, I would have done that." I would have been much more obnoxious. I would have actually caused these problems.

0:54:10 S1: I think I could rub certain people the wrong way, although everybody could. But there was one day where, I don't know why, it was just one of those things where maybe we'd been working too hard, too long, and you're near the end of something, and I started taking tape and I started taping across the hallway. And then somebody threw something on it. It became like a giant spiderweb that stopped the hallway up. And then people started throwing items onto it, so it stuck. And so suddenly there's this whole blockade hallway, and people have thrown knickknacks and this and that. And suddenly, Michael Webster or Tom Ruzicka came by and they just look at me, like, "This is your doing, right?" It's like, "Ah, leave it." And then they walked off, 'cause they knew it was a way to blow off steam. But it was one of those almost MASH moments where you start off doing something silly, and the next thing, the entire place is sort of doing it. But I got nailed for things that other people did a lot. Where they were nicer, and I was more like, "Ah, whatever." I was certainly tolerant.

[music]

0:55:08 S1: And I think ABC wanted a Disney show. And then it became, "What do we give them?" And then Pooh, because they had mechanical rights, I guess, was a safe thing to do. So it was above my pay grade, but I remember that it was ABC wanting, but I think the machinations were, "What can we do that's very Disney that we have?" And then it became Pooh, and then it came down to us. It was funny. I knew it could be really good if we didn't screw it up, and they didn't think I should do it, 'cause I was young and I wore long leather jackets before Matrix. I was, theoretically, a dark character. And so they were questioning me. And I remember sitting at a table. I had to do the entire Bible premise pitch in a three-day weekend, and then go have lunch with Gary Krisel and some other people and explain why this show would be great.

0:55:53 S1: I remember going, "Look, I will bet you a year's salary," and fortunately, they didn't do it. "We will win our time slot, be number one, we'll win an Emmy, I guarantee it. I bet you my whole year's salary." And we did. We were the only show to do that at that time. But it was one of those where you just go, "If you don't screw it up, how can you miss?" The designs are good, great characters. Just don't be stupid. Write really well, and it'll be a good show. I never used anything from the books, because it wouldn't have worked for me. It was always, "How can I become Mill?" And then, "How do I expand that?" For whatever reason, they previewed it on the Disney Channel and then it went to ABC. And then ABC changed their order from 13 to 20-something for the first season. So we were all kinda cranking. That was actually a lot of fun. I loved that show.

0:56:41 Speaker 17: Why thank you, Piglet. It's perfect. What is it?

0:56:47 S1: That was the first time I was in charge of anything, and actually had to have responsibility, and scheduling everything. And Karl Geurs, he was very much pro-what I was bringing to the table. And that was a great learning experience. And it was about professionalism, and a way of looking at things that Karl had without being blighted or too jaded about it. Karl was Winnie The Pooh, just had that sort of attitude. As much as people used to say that he'd walk by and we'd be shouting at each other, I don't think we were ever ever ever angry. We were just loud. We'd circle, "What about this? No, this!" And then suddenly, I guess our voices went up. And people would go, "We walk by Karl's office," and it'd be like, "We hear you guys shouting. Is everything okay?" And I'm like, "Yeah, why? What's going on?" But you couldn't ask for a better person to take you in on your first day. We fell through the cracks at that time. They didn't know we were there, really, 'cause DuckTales was getting up to speed, and I remember, Karl telling me vividly, he goes, "You know, if we're a hit, they're gonna suddenly start caring about what we do, and give us all sorts of terrible notes".

0:57:49 S1: And he was right. Suddenly everybody wanted a finger in it the second season, and we got a ton more notes. "Well, we gotta do this. Is this good? Should we do that? We don't understand this." Anytime you try to do something, whether it's cutting edge, or just very truthful, and I thought the Pooh characters we handled extremely truthfully, they weren't just saying gag-lines. They were saying a line because that's what Pooh would say, or that's what Tigger would say, which is the essence of any kind of good writing, is, "Are you telling the truth?" And so we get people who wouldn't necessarily understand that, so we get notes, and then you'd have to explain it. And then that wouldn't necessarily work. And then it would be weird. I always had a really good relationship with standards and practices, but I remember I wanted Gopher to have a huge cask of black powder, 'cause he's a miner, and he digs, and I wanted to blow the side off of a mountain.

0:58:44 S1: And of course, ABC standards and practices says, "No, you can't do that." And I try to explain why, it's like this, and then kids'll do that. And I go, "I don't think they can get all the dynamite, or black powder." And they're like, "Well, you can do it in fire." And so I thought for a while, and just as a joke, I said, "Well, could you use a thermonuclear device?" And they thought for a while, and they go, "Yeah, that's okay." And so then I brought it to Karl, and Karl thought for a while. And he went, "You know we can't make the bomb look Pooh-ish, so we can't use it." But at least I feel like, "Okay, I got a thermonuclear device approved of for Winnie The Pooh."

0:59:15 S1: There's only one thing left to do.

0:59:18 Speaker 18: You mean?

0:59:20 S1: Yes, Rabbit. We must give Piglet a "staying inside" party. It's like a going away party, only different.

0:59:31 S1: While Pooh was doing well at ABC, DuckTales remained the number one kids show for two years. Luckily for Disney, when the show was finally toppled, it was by Disney's Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers.

0:59:44 S5: We didn't know this at the time, but I think in Eisner's mind, or whoever was in charge of that, felt like, "Let's see how the department goes first, before we start putting our flagship characters on the television." Because when you look at characters like Mickey, and Donald, and Pluto, and Chip and Dale, and whatnot, they were always on the big screen. So to suddenly take them and put them on the small screen, I think it's, you know, "Woah, we've got a big star. Let's not put them on TV, let's put them in movies," kind of thing. So yeah, we needed papal dispensation just to put Donald into DuckTales as a cameo to explain why he wasn't in the series, [chuckle] because he went off to join the Navy and left the nephews with his uncle. I remember we had to get permission to put him in to explain that.

1:00:29 S1: Tad Stones.

1:00:30 S6: I pitched Miami Mice 'cause Miami Vice was on the air. They liked that a lot because of the name. We called it Metro Mice and did a script for it, never went past that, although the villain of the script was a character called Fat Cat. We brought back and the idea of mice detectives came back as Chip and Dale's Rescue Rangers.

1:00:49 S5: We had two characters, two little mice called Kit Colby and Colt Chedderson. They were the original rescue rangers. And every time we would meet with Eisner and Katzenberg, they'd say, "That just is not a home run yet."

1:01:01 S6: And then later on, it was like, "Okay. DuckTales is a huge success. Are there any other Disney classic characters that we should be developing for?" And Mickey was still too precious. Donald made an appearance in DuckTales, he's very hard to animate. Goofy, yes, Goofy has always been the every man, definitely develop a bunch of things for Goofy." And then when they got to Chip 'n Dale, it was Michael Eisner who said, "Put those guys in that show," and Jeffrey said, "Home run." And that was Chip 'n Dale's Rescue Rangers.

1:01:29 S5: And that sort of broke the ice for, "Oh, now we can start to put other characters."

1:01:35 Speaker 19: I guess there's only one thing to say then. Rescue Rangers, away!

1:01:41 S6: I felt like, on Rescue Rangers, we lost a lot from script to screen because, one, we were working way too fast, throwing things together and not being able to follow up on stuff. The schedule was the same. The problem was, on the story side, there was just two of us editing. I literally was working 13, 14-hour days, except for Saturday, it was an eight-hour day, and then Sunday, my day off, was four hours. Those hours were at the studio. It wasn't like working at home.

1:02:10 S6: There was this particular point of contention that when it came time to do the multi-part pilot, we were told that we had slipped the schedule in some way, that we had less time to do the four episodes that were supposed to kick off the show than doing any given four episodes, which made no sense to me. It means we were rushing through the most important thing. So we took our shot at it, and we did what we could. And then they took me off the show and I said, "You know what? That's fine. There's only 15 episodes to go. I got to do the pilot, to set things up, so that's good." But then it turned out they were having people rework the pilot, rewrite it, and they were being given more time to rewrite the pilot than we were given to write it the first time, and that was too much for me, and I was out the door. [chuckle] Disney had certain landmarks in your career, give you a plaque or a ring or a statue. And the two statues I really wanted were Mickey as the Sorcerer's Apprentice and Tinkerbell. And Mickey was at... Hold on, I have it right here... I wanna say 15 years. Yes, I was about to get that. I was two months away from it, and it was like, that was somehow stupidly enough to make me calm down, and went back to work.

1:03:29 S1: Jymn Magon.

1:03:30 S7: It was a very strange time. I was busy trying to develop TaleSpin and we got this call that Buena Vista Television wanted someone to look at the pilot show that he had done. I think it was a four or five parter, just like what we'd done on DuckTales. I think they wanted someone to come in with fresh eyes and punch it up or do whatever, and it was like, "Well, I'm in the middle of doing TaleSpin and whatnot." Okay. So I said to Mark, "Look, I'm not gonna be here to help with TaleSpin. This'll go a lot faster if you help me." So he and I both jumped in and kinda reedited the pilot movie. And then I think we edited a couple of individual episodes that had been in the works during that time. And finally, just threw our hands up and said, "Look, we gotta get back on our project." And I think it went to Ken Koonce and David Wiemers next. So our time on Rescue Rangers was very brief. But, again, I never understood why Tad didn't follow through on that. I think it was some decision high above our heads, and I'm not sure why, so it was just like, shrug, "Okay."

1:04:32 S1: By the year 1990, Disney had invested $150 million in television animation, and by 1995, had plans to invest $400 million more. At this point, the output of television animation was prolific. Katzenberg was quoted as saying, "Each year, we are now producing as much animation as was done in the years 1920-1950 when all the classic Disney cartoons were made." These television animation shows had 22,000 full-painted cels per episode. Other shows at the time, of good quality, were averaging 15,000. Once Chip 'n Dale was another bona fide hit, Disney put plans in motion for television domination. And that plan was simple. It would have a two-hour block of cartoons when kids got home from school. Gummi Bears, DuckTales, Rescue Rangers, and their newest offering, TaleSpin. The shows were expensive, and yet, Disney wasn't even charging the networks for the shows. Instead, the deal was that Disney would retain the six minutes of advertisements to sell themselves. And this worked like Gang Busters. Despite the cost of production and advertising, the Disney Afternoon earned the company $40 million a year for a period of time. But this incredible run almost didn't happen because of one pitch. Jymn Magon.

1:05:46 S7: It didn't last long, but we had a process by which Tad would be developing a show and I'd be producing the show. And then I'd be done, so I'd go into development and he would go into production, and we would sort of flip flop as to what our duties were at TV animation. I was at a point of development, and we were creating this show called B players, and B players, I thought was kind of a clever idea. Came out at the time of Roger Rabbit. So the idea of all these cartoon characters mingling with live action people was popular at the time, so we said, "Well, who's the one character who is a star in motion pictures and then never worked again?" It was Baloo, so he said, "Oh, here's a guy who should be doing more movies, and he's not, he's stuck on the back lot. And along with him, is this kid who turns out to be a nephew, I think, of Mickey Mouse, his name was Ricky Rat, and Ricky had stars in his eyes, he wanted to be as big as his cousin or his uncle, whatever it was. And so the stories were all about Baloo and Ricky trying to convince the powers to be, specifically Michael Eisner, as a character in the show. "But it's too Western. Hey, let us do a space show. Hey, let us... " And then every week, they would be... Try in some way to get into the next gig, in that part of the cast, where all of these other people that weren't working anymore, like Horace Horsecollar, and Clarabelle Cow, and whatnot.

1:07:07 S7: Everytime we pitched it, it just never seemed to stick. And, at one point, Kaztenberg said to me, "If you say B players one more time, I'm gonna throw you out the window."

[chuckle]

1:07:18 S7: Well, it's like, "Well, I guess that project's dead." Everything I'd pitched there had pretty much gone. And so we were thinking, "This is gonna go", but it didn't, we'd stopped dead, and we were stuck, as we had to pitch the next series to all the department heads in Florida, and we had no show. And we had to get into production for the next 65 episodes. And on top of which, it was going to be the linchpin of the Disney Afternoon. And I remember Michael Webster, who was not a fan of mine, poked his head in my room and he said, "You better come up with a new show real quick or it's gonna be Tumbleweed City around here," meaning, we're gonna fire everyone."

[music]

1:08:01 S7: And I thought, "How did this fall on my shoulders, that everyone's future depends on me? Am I that important? And if so, let's see a bigger paycheck, [chuckle] if I'm that important." So it was like, "Oh, scratch head, scratch head, what am I gonna do?" And one of the guys that I had hired at TV animation was Mark Zaslove, and Mark had gone onto fame and fortune by story-editing the Winnie The Pooh Show. And so Mark and I did a lot of talking, a lot of collaboration on ideas and whatnot, and I said "Mark, come in here, I have an idea that I wanna chat with you, I wanna use you as a sounding board. "So what had happened was during DuckTales, one of the early ideas about Launchpad McQuack was that he had a courier service, and that he would fly anything anywhere overnight, or something like that, was his slogan, and so, Scrooge McDuck would use him to send things to crazy places like, 'I need a whale sent to Sea World', [chuckle] in Dubai, or something.

1:09:01 S7: And that never went anywhere, because, eventually, Launchpad became Scrooge's private pilot. So I said, "What if we took Baloo from B players, who's a really good character, I believe in him, and we took this air cargo service of Launchpad McQuack's and kind of glued them together so that Baloo is the pilot and he's got this company, and it's failing because he's a jungle bum bear, and he's got this kid, the typical Disney orphan, like Mowgli, who he's gotta look out for." I said "Now, we're starting to get the dynamic of what drove Jungle Book so well, which was here's a guy who is torn between being a big kid himself, and being a father figure." And I said, "I think there's something there." And so Mark and I kicked it around and we had some drawings made up. And in three days, we had TaleSpin. And we went and pitched it, and it was like home run. [chuckle] So whereas we could pull our hair out over B players for weeks and months, TaleSpin came together really very quickly. And so Mark and I ended up as the producers on that show.

[music]

1:10:12 S1: Mark Zaslove.

1:10:13 S1: He had pitched B players and that got shot down and they didn't have that fourth show to put on, which became The Disney Afternoon. I gather it was a $2 billion pitch, eventually, that's what they made off of it, off of TaleSpin. I remember walking in sort of in the middle of something, on Pooh, or on a break or something, and it was like, "Yeah, try this. What can we do with these characters?" And then, three days later, we had TaleSpin.

1:10:35 S1: Tad Stones.

1:10:36 S6: Gummi Bears, it was just... I mean, it was cool. We were a very small team, we were still trying to figure out things. It was just a lot of camaraderie in the studio, there was only... I wanna say like, two shows going, or on a special like, Fluppy Dogs and gummies and Wuzzles had just one season, and development was going on, so it was a very small group and a lot of energy. It was a lot of fun. And then when we got into the Disney Afternoon, it was even better because we didn't have to have network approval for anything, it was basically, if we could sell Michael and Jeffrey on an idea, we then did it. [chuckle] Buena Vista Distribution had to take it, they didn't have any input, and we got a lot of close scrutiny for the first three scripts from our president, who was Gary Krisel, of TV animation, and then he had stuff to do. So you were on your own. You'd come up with anything and then when first footage came back, there was kind of like a little more scrutiny, 'cause is it going the way we expected? How is it looking? What adjustments do we have to do? You went back to doing whatever you wanted, until it's about time to go on the air.

1:11:41 S6: At which time, it'd either be good times or panic, depending on what they thought of your show. I couldn't have done Darkwing Duck and had the show we ended up with under any other situation, because I was just trying all sorts of crazy, goofy things.

1:11:57 Speaker 20: I've just gone crazy!

1:11:58 Speaker 21: Come on, dad! It's not that complicated. Cabbages from outer space are duplicating everybody in the world, so they can take over the planet. And this cow, who's really an alien, has come here to recapture them. Just deal with it.

1:12:13 S6: It started as Jeffrey saying, "Hey, you did this episode of DuckTales called Double-O-Ducks. I want a show called Double-O-Duck." Again, I thought it's just a spy parody, there's no Disney heart to it, but boss said I gotta do it, and that's all I presented to him, and he said the same thing, he says, "There's no Disney heart to this. Do it over. Thank goodness. [chuckle] He should have said, "Get me somebody else, " but instead, I went into, "Okay, what about the Shadow and Doc Savage had a team of guys who worked in secret?" And ideas like that bubbled around Silver Age of comics and he really turned into more of a superhero, a non-super superhero than a spy, but you could look at that pitch and really do a normal show, [chuckle] I guess. And then, as we got into it, it was like, "No, I'm pitching, what if you take Warner Brother shorts and gave them heart in 22 minutes instead of seven minutes of just gags?" And that's what I was chasing, and some hit it better than others.

1:13:10 S6: When I was doing development, they wanted a new character, so I came up with Double-O-Duck, who, at the time, wasn't much more than... Visually, was Donald Duck, white tuxedo mask and a little hat. But, anyway, when we were developing him, Launchpad was not in it. In my head, was Doc Savage, who had a team of guys who worked with him, who were specialists, and then that shrunk 'cause it was like too many people. And for a while, he had a sidekick who was a little guy who wore derby, so it wasn't until Gosalyn entered the picture that we really had a show based on the idea that what if Batman had a little girl who refused to stay at home? Although I don't think we said it that concisely at the time. And we still felt like we needed a guy for Darkwing to talk to. And Launchpad, because he had been there in the beginning, and we knew him, just seemed like that personality is great. So we brought him on to Darkwing, but really changed his design and subtracted many an IQ point from him. [chuckle] So he's a lot dumber in our show.

1:14:10 Speaker 22: I got a whole scrapbook, a few newspaper clippings. Of course, it's not a very big scrapbook.

1:14:16 Speaker 23: Wouldn't it be easier to fly if we were facing the other way?

1:14:20 S2: Oh, yeah, sorry. [chuckle] I sometimes have trouble with that.

1:14:25 S6: The real pilot for Darkwing Duck is an episode I wrote called, "That Sinking Feeling", with Moliarty as the villain, this guy who is based on the mole man, basically, except he really was a mole, stealing objects from the surface, bringing him down to the center of the Earth where he'd reconstruct them into this giant ray that was going to pull the moon out of orbit to block the sun so it would be darker on the surface, and Moliarty and his minions could all live on the surface. That was the first one written, and the first one boarded that we went into and act three of that, for no reason at all, they're in a baseball stadium, and suddenly, everybody's in... Except for the villain, is in baseball outfits. It was that thing where Bugs Bunny would go off screen, come back with a whole new costume.

1:15:07 S6: We actually didn't get that level of breaking reality in the show a lot, although we went crazy in different ways, but that was the one that was testing out everything, it really set up Gosalyn's relationship with Darkwing Duck and how close they were and her relationship to Honker. So that was our pilot. That's the first thing through. Then what everybody considers the pilot, which is the four part, Darkly Dawns the Duck, that story, again, became a little straighter. But the main thing is, everybody always asked about the origin of Darkwing Duck, and I said, "You know, he's basically a Batman, what am I gonna do? Have him sitting in his mansion and a duck breaks through a window and he goes, 'That's it, an omen, I shall become a duck'"? Wait. There was nothing to tell there. I certainly wasn't gonna kill his parents, and have him have this life of seeking revenge. So, I said, "No. Let's address the heart, let's bring Gosalyn." This is the story of how he adopted Gosalyn, and then that story got a little darker, dealing with what happened to her parents. But that's what made you really care about her, so... And care about her predicament.

1:16:17 S2: Yeah, once again, saved by my buzzsaw cufflinks.

1:16:21 S6: Some of the things with Darkwing were very not formulaic, but I had orders for my editors, and I said, "Every show, he has to say, 'Let's get dangerous'". The secondary thing was, "Suck gas, evildoers" when he used his gas gun, and too many people didn't hear the G, and it just didn't come up as much, that one kinda fell away. Originally, he just had one thing that he said, he said, "I'm the terror that flaps in the night." And I, frankly, forget the second line, it was like the third script in, it was an episode where Launchpad had to play the part of Darkwing, and he could never get the line right. He said, "I am the road salt that rusts the underside of your car." He continually screwed up throughout the episode, and we all thought it was hilarious. And I said, "You know what? Rewrite the scripts we've already got done. Let's give that to Darkwing. That's too good to just leave on this one episode," and that became his ongoing thing.

1:17:15 S2: I am the terror that flaps in the night. I am the jailer who throws away the key. I am feeling really stupid. Boy, I hate it when I'm early. You'd think criminal masterminds would be more punctual.

1:17:35 S1: Dean Stefan, writer.

1:17:37 Speaker 24: So, throughout the entire office, everyone from secretaries to producers and everything, they ran a contest. "Name this character", "Name this star" "Name this guy", and out of all the names, out of all... You know, we each put in dozens. They picked Darkwing Duck, and of course, it was Alan Burnett, who came up with the name and he got the 500 bucks. I would never conceive the name "Darkwing Duck", it just doesn't make sense. But now, how could it be anything else. Actually, Wiemers and Koonce, who were my story editors, who by now, had left Disney to seek their fortune in sitcoms, they sued Disney because they said they had written that Double-O-Duck episode of DuckTales and they thought they should be recompensed or whatever the word is.

1:18:19 S2: Of course, anything to do with Disney, they own anyway, but they did see some kind of settlement, I believe. I don't think it was huge. Then they later came back to Disney, so I guess there's no huge bad blood, or maybe that was part of the deal. Tad really had the whole thing down first, he was really into Twin Peaks at the time. I remember our first meeting, where we all go in to pitch stories and stuff, he had two bagels or donuts in front of everyone, which was like a thing from Twin Peaks. I wasn't a fan, so I didn't really know, but I knew it was sort of an iconic thing and he was very into the whole Twin Peaks thing, and very artsy stuff. And I would later make fun of him, because he would... I guess, it became such a big deal, the show, that he would start giving notes.

1:19:05 S2: Everybody would write out notes and give it to the story editors and stuff, like, he would start cassette-taping his notes like from some undisclosed location, like Howard Hughes, or something, and then the cassette would arrive at the story editors, and then they would play the cassette for you, and I would put this cover under... A lot of that may have been because of his hours, he liked to get there like five in the morning and leave at two or three in the afternoon, 'cause he had kids, and he was an early guy. Most people like me, I'm probably the worst case, but before 10:00 AM, forget it. So I never worked directly under him, where I had to report to him directly as a story editor, but he liked to run a tight ship, I think. But the cassette notes were a bit much.

1:19:49 S2: I am the thing that goes bump in the night. I'm the neuroses that requires a $500 an hour shrink!

1:19:55 S6: I know, when we started Darkwing, they wanted to do a Darkwing Duck movie, and the studio in Paris, that later went on to work on features, they did a bunch of development that was totally ignoring what the show was. I took one stab at it. Again, this is the opposite of being left to do whatever you want. I had to pitch this, and it didn't go, and I just said, "You know, I can't do both. I can't do a movie and get this show up and running. So I'm just gonna do the show". I only found this out recently, they thought that maybe that should be a musical. Jymn Magon was actually gonna have meetings with Barry Manilow, ended up having meeting with another big music guy, not a name you would know as a star, but that was just crazy. And that really showed that, man, they don't understand what Darkwing Duck is, so thank goodness that didn't happen.

1:20:41 S2: I am the terror that flaps in the night. I am the weirdo who sits next to you on the bus. I am the swan prince?

1:20:52 S1: With the Disney Afternoon well on its way, it was time for the first of the fab five to get his own vehicle.

[music]

1:21:02 S5: I think they were going to originally do it as a scout troop to the show, and that's why it's called Goof Troop. I was not there for that development, but when it finally came around who... Goofy's gotta live in Spoonerville, and have a next door neighbor, Pete, that's when we developed the show in earnest. We looked at those old cartoons of Mr. Geef or Goof, or whatever his last thing was supposed to be, and he was always... Lived in the suburbs and would wave bye-bye to his wife, as she would get in a car and drive off, and he was in charge of the kid for the day. Goofy would make mistakes, and the son would just go along with it, and I remember thinking, "Well, we've gotta kinda make it more interesting than that." And you look for the key to the series. And the key to Goof Troop, for me, was, "I don't wanna grow up to be my dad," and I think we felt like, "Yeah, that's what we want. We want this guy who's a single dad trying to raise his kid right, and was next door to this bad influence, Pete and his family." That, to us, was where all the comedy gold was to mine, skateboards and school and working in town, and commuting, and stuff like that.

1:22:11 S5: My forte was always in the comedy [1:22:15] ____ is in Rescue Rangers and TaleSpin kinda thing. Goof Troop was more of a sitcom, [chuckle] more Laverne & Shirley, that kind of thing. Feels like adventure to me because Goofy found a way to mess everything up.

1:22:30 S1: Michael Spooner, artist.

1:22:32 Speaker 25: I was a principal layout designer on the project. We decided to go with the style of 101 Dalmatians, where it was line art, the painter would actually do a watercolor under a cell line, so my line art would be transferred to Xerox to cel, like traditional animation was, and then they would do a watercolor. I had done so much design on the town in which he lived. The studio decided to name it Spooner though.

1:23:00 S1: Jymn Magon, original pitch for syndicators to buy Goof Troop.

1:23:05 S7: So, I wanna introduce you to Goof Troop. And, in it, Goofy is now a man of the 90s. He's a single dad living in suburbia, with his three phones, two TVs, one cat, and a very contrary 11-year old son. Let me take you through a day in the life. An alarm fire goes off. It belongs to good old Goofy, that good-natured klutz whose motto is, "A day without sunshine is like night!" Goofy embraces the dawn like every other obstacle in his life, with boundless and fondling enthusiasm. Now I wanna show you the difference, here is his son Goofy Jr, or Max, as he likes to be called, because he hates being silent with an adjective, like his father. Anyway, as you can tell from Max's enthusiasm, this is a school day. Now, Max loves Bo Jackson, Goofy thinks he's one of the Jackson Five.

[laughter]

1:23:50 S7: Max loves Mario Brothers, Goofy's pretty sure they'd beat him off in the third grade. Max loves his VCR. Goofy can't spell VCR.

[laughter]

1:23:58 S7: Anyway, Goofy heads downstairs to make a nutritious breakfast, or more to the point, a nutritious mess. "Junior, food's on!" Well, Max heads downstairs, shaking his head, wondering, "How does such a radical kid like me end up with such a goof for a father?" And so it would appear that the fruit seldom falls far from the tree. However, this is a curse that Max is determined to break. He desperately wants to swim out of the deep end of his father's gene pool. But you know, through all these crazy escapades, the one thing that Max learns is, "Just when you're convinced your folks are totally useless, they're there for you when you're totally useless." So relax, Max, your father ain't so bad. He's just Goofy. Hell, let's face it, kid, you're a little goofy. Welcome to the Goof Troop, kid.

1:24:47 S7: Yeah, I had done an episode called 'Have Yourself A Goofy Little Christmas', which the idea of the father-son going off and father wants to do one thing that's traditional and the son wants to do something different. That, to me, felt the most like a booby, and kind of set the tone. And, at one point, we were gonna do, I think, a two-parter, that was Goofy and his son on vacation, and somehow, that two-parter turned into the idea to do another... Well, it was called "Movie Tunes" at the time, when we did the DuckTales movie, and that was driven pretty much by Mr. Katzenberg, who told us a really interesting story about how he was losing touch with his daughter, and he decided "We're just gonna take time off and she and I are gonna get the car and just go somewhere." And he says, "I don't know where it happened or how it happened, but we connected on that trip, being trapped in a car together. That became the gist of The Goofy movie, which was father wants it the one way, the son wants it another way, then they finally find each other along the way. That was very rewarding for me, to be able to move from the TV show into a feature film.

1:25:57 S7: Well, I sat by myself for a long time, and then they finally brought in Kevin Lima. Kevin just had a whole plethora of people he trusted, and they were great. The film took off from there, and I think, of all my experiences in animation, that was the most... I want to make sure I say this right, kind of the most disconcerning, because it was so different from writing for episodic television, 'cause in episodic television, the writer becomes king. I'm not sure that that's the correct position for the writer, but just because of the time limitations, you had to have something written and, basically, directed on paper, and then everybody followed it. That's whether you could get it done in time. But when it came to a movie, it was a very flexible thing, and lots of people are involved, and they're changing their sequence, and that sequence is so powerful that it changes that sequence. And suddenly, the writer's, "Huh? I think I recognize one of my lines in here." [chuckle] I think Moss Hart said that. I would come into work and I had written a sequence and then it would be storyboarded, and I look at this and say, "This is genius! I wish I had written this!" [chuckle]

1:27:05 S7: It was terrific. It was such a new way of working for me. So it was disconcerning from the standpoint that, gee, I don't have the kind of control over the project that I used to have on TV, but that's not to say that they weren't doing spectacular work and that I was such a lucky guy to be a part of it. While I feel like I brought the essence of 'I don't wanna grow up to be my dad', I really feel like so much of all the clever little things and the sort of Kelly moments, that was Kevin and his team coming in there with their stuff, and it was just such a delight to work with them, and that's why I think I was upset, because I didn't get to follow through on the movie. I was told in... Go over here and work on DuckTales. We went to lunch as I was leaving the series, we went to Sizzler, of all places, and I just said, "I feel so bad, Kevin, because I wanted to be so helpful and such an important part of this and I feel like so much of what I did didn't end up on the screen." And he said, "But Jymn, we wouldn't be doing what we're doing, if we weren't standing on your shoulders", and it was like, "Oh yeah, I guess so" [chuckle] Made me feel better. That's just a part of the creative process. The first link in the chain sometimes doesn't look like the last link in the chain [chuckle], it's painted a different color along the way.

1:28:33 S1: After the company had dabbled in its most famous IPs, the next show would be a wholly original character, well, sort of. Bonkers was loosely based on the idea of Roger Rabbit, he was a former cartoon star who had fallen on tough times after his show had been cancelled, and became a cop, teamed with a human partner. But its production was mired in reboots and dissatisfaction. Greg Weisman, creator, Gargoyles.

1:29:00 Speaker 26: Well, I mean, Bonkers is complicated. Bonkers was a show that I developed, and got Duane Capizzi, the producer, story editor, Bob Hathcock was chosen to be the director, producer on it. We had real high hopes for it, but, unlike Gargoyles, that was a show where I got it up and running and then I walked away from it, and other people were supposed to be paying attention to it, and the very first two or three episodes that came back didn't look very good, from an animation standpoint, not sure that, initially, the show's art directed very well. We had humans and quote unquote "toons", even though the whole thing was animated.

1:29:37 S2: And I think there should have been a distinct, more kind of realistic art style, not Gargoyles, necessarily, but something, even from a color palette standpoint, that felt a little less cartoony, so that the quote unquote "toons" on the show, like Roger Rabbit, and Jitters Dog really pop, because they were toons in a human world, and I don't think that art direction ever quite came off, but I think we had a really smart show which featured Bonkers partnered with Miranda Wright as a cop. Bonkers drove her crazy but he was her partner, so she'd back him no matter what, and ultimately, they were friends, and we did a lot of smart sort of clever things about what it would be like in a Roger Rabbit vein to live in a world with toons and humans.

1:30:25 S2: And then I think, honestly, that some of the executives, when the first stuff came back and didn't look very good, overreacted. There were certainly problems, maybe even some problems with the writing, but I don't think the problems were quite as problematic as some people thought, and I think, frankly, most of it could have been fixed by fine-tuning the art direction. But I wasn't in charge and I was also in the process of trying to move over to Gargoyles and all this stuff is sort of happening simultaneously. I did get dragged back into it, and at some point, it became clear that... To Gary, that he wanted some real wholesale changes here and neither Duane nor Bob were giving him that, so both of them wound up getting booted off the show, and a guy named Bob Taylor, who had done Goof Troop, was brought in, and Bob made some very drastic and, I think, unnecessary changes to the show.

1:31:19 S2: He did get the art direction better, but Bob didn't think girls were funny, so he ditched Miranda and put in a character who, in essence, was Pete from Goof Troop, and was voiced with Pete's voice by Jim Cummings, and Jim is great. Jim voiced Bonkers. I love Jim. But it was just a dynamic that we had seen before. The story lines were, I thought, way less interesting, and I was really not happy with the change in direction on the show. And then, of course, they wanted this stuff first, so it all got very rushed and they couldn't throw away the dozen or so episodes that featured Miranda, so even though that stuff was made first, it aired last, and they actually created an episode where Piquel joins the FBI and moves away, and Bonkers is partnered with Miranda for the last dozen episodes, which again, were the dozen or so that were made first. But they created a new pilot and basically played it as if the Piquel stuff was first, and the Miranda stuff was second, when it was really the other way around. And so, it became a show of...

1:32:31 S2: It makes me sad, [chuckle] but... 'Cause I think a lot of potential was squandered there, and I think a lot of the changes were unnecessary, and, to be fair, Taylor and I didn't really see eye to eye on anything, and I finally just begged off, and asked Gary to take me off the project, 'cause I didn't think I was helping Bob, 'cause we agreed on almost nothing. And so I was just in his way, and Gary had gone with Taylor, and it was his show now, so I had to let it go, and so Gary said, "Okay." And I sort of stepped away from the project, and had very little involvement with all but the first couple Piquel episodes, which I didn't care for, which doesn't mean they're bad, it just wasn't the show I had developed, and wasn't the show that I wanted to make.

1:33:30 S1: Bonkers hit the air in 1993. It had almost been a decade since the brunch that started it all. In that time, Disney television had gone from nonexistent to the standard that everyone else had to chase. The problem was, by the time Bonkers hit the air, other networks had already caught up and would even take the lead, and now Disney television animation would have to decide if they were going to chase by rebranding, or stick with the girl who brought them to the days.

1:34:00 S2: Here were all these people from different studios, there were people like me that had never worked for any studio, in animation. I was a record producer. So I think it was [1:34:09] ____ and I, we're talking, and we said, "Are we doing this right? Are we doing a Disney TV show correctly?" And then we realize, there's never been a Disney TV show, at least a Saturday morning style TV show. And therefore, because we work for Disney, and we're making these shows, we are Disney [chuckle], what we're doing is Disney. And that, whatever we were doing, whether it was right or wrong, would be a Disney show.

[music]

Subscribe: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-look-back-machine/id1257301677?mt=2

[furederiko]

The month of November 2017 had the show toying around with the idea of Blood Stalk's true identity, as well as Ryuuga's ascension to hero status. Was it successful?

I'll start with my classic note. This was meant to go up yesterday, and it could even be done Sunday night since I saw the recent episode live. But as usual... a 'Best Match' combination of my unreliable internet and my swaying health condition (yours truly and his limited internet have been both under bad weather for a good while) jeopardized my wonderful plan. Hmmm... IllBandwith form then? ;D As I've stated on my previous recap-view (that was posted earlier this month), starting with this one I will cover a batch of episodes that aired throughout one whole month. Since this one's for November, you can expect episode 10, 11, and 12. Enjoy!

10 - "Scheming Snake"

- Let's get one annoying bit out first. That scene where the three Prime Ministers meet and reveal their Lock Cards? One of the poorly-acted piece I've seen in the show so far, if not in ANY Tokusatsu. Come on, must they behave like disciplined robots, all lining up like school boys... when it's pretty much a casual meeting and not a televised event? And that over the top response by Midou and Tajimi? Those didn't feel natural. FAKE even, thus they grated on my nerves. - Thankfully, that's the only bad thing about this episode, as the episode picked up to better things almost immediately. Hmmm... so Sawa is indeed a traitor? That made her motive became... unclear. More than Gentoku who could easily tail Sento and locate where he lived, Sawa ALREADY knew about Misora's location. Heck, she has gone on and off to the secret hideout. If she IS working with Faust, why not hurry up and bring her back to the organization? I hope the answer to this mystery won't be as dumb as the way the writer handled Gentoku. It would be such a wasted potential. - Situation at the Touto building was intense too. Thanks to Stalk controlling the mechanical soldier (note to governments, don't rely on robots for security), there's so many human casualties! Intriguingly, it's too obvious he wanted to betray Gentoku as well, and used the Pandora's Box for his own scheme. I'm surprised that Gentoku didn't see this turn of events coming, when Stalk has been defying his command over and over again. LOL. Night Rogue vs Blood Stalk! - Of course, Ryuuga just had to ruin the moment. After knocking Smash-ed Kawai down, Ryuuga just had to hunt Stalk to the rooftop and became a third wheel. Yep, Sento called him out of the blue to inflitrate the building. An act that felt... forced now that I think of it, because soon after Sento arrived by air to rescue him. Why not just FLEW there right away, then? *sigh*. I guess the episode wanted to see them make up or something. - Double Battle Redux. Ryuuga dealt with Stalk with his glowing fist, and actually almost defeated him, while Build used FireHedgehog to press Rogue. It didn't end well for the latter, as Sento was broken out of his transformation... a condition that sly Rogue immediately capitalized to... take most of Sento's Full Bottles. Apart from one on his hand, the rest filled up the Pandora's Panel. So it's ELEVEN of them. Ain't that a bummer! - Does this mean, Ryuuga is going to become the second Kamen Rider?! Nope. Sento still has the Lock Full Bottle. And with Ryuuga's consent *grins* over his Dragon Full Bottle, Build's new form "The Security Fantasy" KeyDragon debuted. Cool design with great color scheme and neat finisher move aside, the Dragon side overwhelmed Sento that he just had to take them off. That's what you get from shaking that hand-sized Bottle too much too often, Ryuuga! Yeesh, that sounds... dirty somehow. LOL. - Stalk performed a twist, by using the TranSteam Gun to actually free Kawai from his Smash influence (turning it back to the webby Bottle form)! I did NOT know the gimmick could be used for that. This means Sento doesn't have to become a Kamen Rider in the first place, because all he needs is that gun to revert back the Smash. - Before Stalk presumably killed and did something creepy to Kawai, the scientist calls him... wait for it... Katsuragi. Yep, CALLED IT! *grins*... Stalk is INDEED Takumi. At the very least, that seemed to be what the writer wanted us to believe. If poor Kawai's words to be believed, then Takumi possesed a certain technology to 'fake' his death. Not really a tech though, because that creepy thing Stalk did to him? He used his hands to turn Kawai's face into Kuwata's. Yeeessh. How he could even include the glasses is beyond me (filming mistake IMO), but this fit with a snake's ability to... change skin. But wait, what does this mean? Is Sento the real Takumi with a different face then? Probably not that elaborate. I think Takumi killed someone else, and altered the deceased face into his. Suffice to say, he might be the Kamen Rider version of 'Kaijin Nijuu Mensou'. - Another bit that seemingly further hinted that Stalk is Takumi, was that clash of scientific ideals between him and Sento. Goodness grace, I LOVED this argument because both sides have a valid point. The Rider System as a military tool can be used for defense, but it's also designed to 'spill a lot of blood'. Science can be optimized to help people and bring joy, but on the other hand, it has also been used for mass destruction and humanity's decline. This dual-edged function is nothing more than a real life fact that we have witnessed throughout history. - This time around, Rogue got to ruin the fine moment. Mr. Pickpock... er, I mean Gentoku snatched three more Full Bottles from Sento's sleeve (Rabbit, Tank, and Lion). Our hero could no longer transform into RabbitTank, or used his Lion-powered motorcycle. Gentoku also had another win. His father Taizan had a heart-attack after Tajimi and Midou put him at a corner (a MUCH better scene for them compared to the intro). Gentoku has been made the Acting Prime Minister, which would easily put Faust's and Nanba's plan into motion. Dang... that hideous smile. - Oh, and yeah, Misora discovered a bug in the HQ. Should we even wondered who that belongs to?

Overall: This episode went back and forth with distractions, but really, the core of the story was pushing a theory that 'STALK IS TAKUMI'. I admit, it WAS my initial prediction when I started writing this essay too (after I've seen the episode around two weeks ago). But then our next episodes would slowly counter that notion, forcing me to change my tone. I have to hand it to the writers this time, because they somehow managed to fool me. Anyway, the episode was also intense. It had amazing action sequences, and ignoring Gentoku's sinister albeit slightly cheesy maniacal smile (that last shot was completely unnecessary, because it's a little over the top silly to be taken seriously), an excellent choice of cliffhangers. So it's another good one, albeit not as great as the previous two. Why? Because the whole theory was spoiled ahead of time so it wasn't as effective (obviously I had to compare this to Kyuranger episode 37 that aired the same day), and the whole 'bad guy snatching all good guy's collectible' twist was a repeated plot that we've seen... pretty much every year in the franchise. No originality there.

11 - "Hero at a Cross-Z Road"

- "Katsuragi is Stalk?", asked Ryuuga who just couldn't buy it. And after that, we got a new video of Takumi demonstrating... the TranSteam Gun and *drumrolls* Blood Stalk. Oy oy, apparently Stalk was created to be a 'perfect rival' to encourage hazard level's growth. It had a voice altering feature too, which is convenient. As in, ANYONE could become Stalk, even female characters like Sawa (turning into Smash ruled her out) or Misora. Hmmmm... - New Acting Prime Minister wasted no time to piss off the other Prime Ministers. I guess that's what you get when a deranged psychopath and sexual harrasser became a country leader, huh? Nope, I'm not trying to throw a shade to a certain... real life person here. Or am I? Hmmm. Now that he's on top, he's pissing off Stalk too, who used to be his partner in crime. Is that a wise thing to do? Probably not. - Sento's stuck with one Full Bottle, so the only solution to fight Faust was by relegating his Kamen Rider duty to Ryuuga. Well duh, wasn't it too obvious? After all, the Cross-Z gadget's CM has already aired since the previous episode. Problem is, Ryuuga needed to sync with his Cross-Z Dragon first... and that would require a whole episode to accomplish. LOL. - Birdwatcher? Ryuuga's costume cosplay joke already got VERY tiring to see. Can't the writer think of a better joke, or at least ditch this running gag entirely? Anyway, Night Rogue trapped Sento and Ryuuga so he could steal the remaining Full Bottles. Aaaah, the Rogue-Stalk feud has gotten VEEEEEERY tiring too. Felt like it's being dragged out a little too much. - Oh hey, even if the Lock and Dragon Best Match would malfunction, Sento still transformed on the scene. Very briefly *sigh*. You don't think a show entitled "Kamen Rider Build" would let Ryuuga entirely steal the spotlight, do you? Ryuuga tried to follow, but he hasn't had the 'desire to help', so it didn't work. - Sawa totally planted the bug, but instead of capturing her or telling the others, Misora confronted the culprit directly. Not a smart move, girl! Because it ended up causing problem... to Sawa herself. You see, Chairman Nanba is a world class prick. Since Sawa could no longer provide information, he put her for another use: turning her into Smash! That's the price of working and then become useless for bad guys, I guess. By the way, if she could become Smash, that means she didn't have the Hazard Level fit to become a Kamen Rider. Too bad. - Sento tried to deal with her, but couldn't hold his KeyDragon form too long. And Night Rogue has been waiting to snatch the other Full Bottles, because he still required 3 more. For what? Who knows. That's when Ryuuga came to the rescue. Again, predictable much? Turns out, Ryuuga visited Kasumi's grave (it's in Tatsuoka Cemetery Area A5 if you feel like giving tribute too... XD), and discovered a letter written by her encouraging him to help other people. Heeeey wait a sec, WHEN did Kasumi have time to write one? Aaaaah, I see what you did there... Sento! Thank goodness Ryuuga's head a little slow. Oh well, at least we got to see her memory again. - With a new spirit, Ryuuga lit up Sento's Build Driver, combined it with Cross-Z Dragon and transformed into... Kamen Rider REDACTED. Hold on, we already know his official name, right? Well, the show did NOT think so, and would prefer saving it for another episode (NOT kidding! *sigh*). He had a neat transformation, and this new Rider possibly became one of my most favorite second Rider thus far. I really dig his dragon kick attack/effects, and how the dragon part served as some kind of outer armor for the clawed interior. I'd argue he didn't need that Beat Crosser sword, but oh well... the "Million Slash" was cool, and Japanese kids need their toys. - Sawa has been saved, and revealed to the two that she's a spy. Naturally she would change side after this. Which was too bad, because the show could've played around with this potential much longer...

Overall: Aside from several important moment (Sawa x Misora, Ryuuga's reluctance and followed by his bromancing moment with Sento), this episode irritatingly felt dragged out. With a predictable story, it's as if it's a filler or some sort, eventhough it's supposed to be a grand debut for its official second Rider! I'm still a fan of Ryuuga's REDACTED form, but I also think the episode could have been better written and executed. Oh well, I have nothing else to say, so let's move on...

12 - "An Act of Conspiracy"

- Hey... no opening sequence? Was the episode meant to be 'special' then? Hmmm... I honestly can't see how, but let's just play along. Perhaps they need to retool it to insert the new Rider somehow... - Sawa admitted to be a spy for Nanba Heavy Industries, the biggest and influential industrial operation of the country. The company's good label is just a cover up, because they have secretly been doing shady military stuff, including controlling Faust. Turns out Faust has known about Nascita's true nature, but didn't do anything to let the Build team work freely. Was that really the main reason though? - Surprisingly, Sawa had no idea that Gentoku is the government guy who is connected to Chairman Nanba. Turns out, she became a spy in order to prove this link. Why? Her father was a researcher at Nanba General Research Laboratory, and was killed in the explosion set up by the government three years ago. So the whole espionage movement is personal to her too, huh? Well, at least we got a backstory for Sawa... who became the chained one now (goodness, this show sure loves its SM angle). - Thanks to Sawa's lead and Utsumi's leak, Sento and Ryuuga headed towards the abandoned lab. Apparently that's where Faust kept the stolen Pandora's Box. But of course, Night Rogue was in the vicinity, so a fight broke out. Since Sento could only shake off that one yellow Full Bottle, cocky Ryuuga (who got himself his own Build Driver! Aaaawwww ;D) got to be the leading hero. LOL. - Until Stalk showed up and... attacked Rogue, that is. AGAIN. Seriously, the whole riff between the two has been TOO PREDICTABLE that it's not even fun to see anymore! Stalk punched the wall, and what's hidden inside it? Pandora's Box and its Two Panels. One set was filled with Full Bottles (the ones Rogue stole from Sento), with seven others lying around. Ain't that mighty CONVENIENT!!! That means... Sento got to transform too! After all, Bandai still need to sell more toys... - Aaah yes, "The Scheduled Renegade" PirateTrain form debuted. Neat shoulder parts! It's still lacking its own weapon, but Band... I mean Sento would fix that up in the jiffy with the Pirate Platform. The arrow-shaped weapon has four levels of attack, and you can purchase one at.... uhmm, never mind. - Sawa decided to report her findings to Prime Minister Taizan Himuro who has been hospitalized. But the sickly old man was stubborn as always, so there's no way convincing him that someone in the government has been in league with Faust. She was forced to perform an acrobatic move instead! Seriously, that's a gutsy move jumping out of the window like that. I won't be surprised if Marvel Studios' Black Widow is her role model. LOL. - This was where Utsumi became the star of this episode. And by star, in an actual act. After spending 11 episodes basically serving as Gentoku's shadow without being given any distinct personality, things immediately sped up when Nanba old creep turned towards him for help. In an effort to clear both Gentoku's and Nanba Industries' names, Utsumi took on the mantle of Night Rogue as the Faust facility (hidden neatly under an actual dam!) got ambushed by the Touto Government. Oh come on, don't tell me you're surprised by this?! The whole affair was obviously staged, and the turnout was pretty much predictable from the get go. Pawn-boy Utsumi was merely used as a scapegoat, and seemingly got 'killed' in the operation. Sawa got her due last episode, this time it's Utsumi's turn. - Oh wow, that scene at the bridge was... silly. I basically rolled my eyes when Utsumi started monologuing, because the show somehow forced him to showcase emotions like... out of the blue. It's not working, and felt out of his usual stoic character. A great example to how this show LOVES to over-dramatized its moments ("You and I are both inside the same cage"... he said earlier. Yeesh!). Also... I think it's pretty clear that he was only sniped by Gentoku in the shoulder. His fall was NOT that high, so we totally would be seeing him more in the future. Beside, if Utsumi could transform into Rogue, that means his Hazard Level is high enough to become a Kamen Rider. - Sawa wanted to leave Nascita because her role has been completed. Sento said that's not the case, meaning she has been forgiven and now a full-time member of the team. Ryuuga also received an official name for his Rider form. Kamen Rider Cross-Z. Now where have we heard that before? What a real shocker this was!!! LOL. - This episode ended with Nabeshima calling Sento, saying that his memory has started coming back to him. He also secretly mentioned the name of the guy who told him to frame Ryuuga as Katsuragi's murderer... as the camera panned towards the coffee bean jar. - Really? Was that a hint of some sort? Another mere redherring? Because if it's indeed a hint, then it must be foreshadowing the one and only character related to coffee: Souichi Isurugi. By elimination only, who else among the series regulars with a mysterious shady past? Frankly... I'm not too sure I would enjoy this twist if it turns out to be the case. Unfortunately, I realized the signs are all there too. Remember how he had that startling magical ability back in episode 2? Just compare that to what Stalk did to poor Kawai just two episode prior to this one. Both involved... 'ALTERING SHAPE'! Uuugggggh. Let's just say... though it's sad to admit, I'd be completely surprised if Souichi is NOT the mastermind behind all things.

Overall: The last episode for November was a peculiar one. Aside from that sweet ending with Sawa, the entire episode felt... staged. Yes, just like poor Utsumi's sudden change in character. Does this mean Faust has been disbanded? Where would the show go from here now? Will it continue playing circles among its regulars? In a way, it's getting a bit hard to predict. But then after one stops and thinks about it, some things just feel too obvious and predictable. I'm starting to realize that I've developed an unhealthy love-hate relationship with this series. After it got better, the trajectory has gone south all over again. It's not bad, it has its devoted fans, and I will probably keep watching at least until 6-7 episodes. But I also want to be pleasantly surprised, the way "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" has succeeded in. Is that too much to ask for? Next Episode: Meet the Mind-Master... *mindblown*

Episode 10 Score: 7,9 out of 10 Episode 11 Score: 7,7 out of 10 Episode 12 Score: 7,2 out of 10

All images are screencaptured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Kamen Rider Build" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

[beastlygrizzle]

RaiZ-R’s September 2017 Pro-Wrestling FAVE FIVE Honourable Mentions

Best of the Rest: Lucha Underground – Matanza Cueto

While Lucha Underground may have ended its last set of tapings well over a year ago and no new ones have been announced as of yet to my knowledge, I’m still managing to enjoy the product they’re putting out and I’m finding it very interesting that a show centred around the highflying and fluid style of Mexican lucha libre has some of the best monsters on the planet right now.  Mil Muertes has been my favourite part of the shows twice now and Matanza’s September was jam packed full of him beasting the ever loving crap out of people.

 Whether he was destroying the Rabbit Tribe, ambushing El Dragon Azteca Jr. after a match and crushing him as a message to Rey Mysterio Jr. or putting in a wonderful performance against the aforementioned veteran luchador, Dario Cueto’s big-little brother has been a consistent and constant highlight on Lucha Underground’s television this past month.

Although the future of Lucha Underground is currently in doubt, the man behind Matanza Cueto seems to be going from strength to strength; becoming a mainstay in PWG and wrestling all over the world, if rumours are to be believed he’ll be tagging with Matt Riddle in New Japans World Tag League come November. We may be about to lose Matanza Cueto from our screens, but for Jeff Cobb the future looks very bright indeed.

 Match of the Month: vs. Rey Mysterio Jr. (Lucha Underground TV, S03E35, “Cien”; filmed, 12th June 2016 – aired, 13th September 2017)

[tenderlystupendoustale]

😉TALES & TRIVIA: Same Zodiac Couple ~"Match made in Heaven"?

In terms of Chinese Astrology, same Zodiac Couples are either the same age, or one Zodiac Cycle apart with a large age-gap of 12 years. It is commonly believed that people of the same Zodiac Sign are most compatible as they share the same characteristics and world view.

Indeed, people of the same Chinese Zodiac Sign are considered “Allies or Best Friends” but is this enough for a lasting, romantic relationship of the live-happily-grow-old-together kind?

To find out, here’s a quick CHECKLIST: ⚀ Are you in the same Life Star/KUA GROUP? ▪️EAST GROUP: 1, 3, 4, 9. ▪️WEST GROUP: 2, 5, 6, 7, 8. ⚁ Do your Life Stars/Kua No. form a “HO TU” combination? ▪️1/6, 2/7, 3/8, 4/9. ⚂ Do your Life Stars/Kua No. add up to 10? ▪️1+9 / 2+8 / 3+7/ 4+6/ 5+5.

[Life Star/KUA No. Formula:- If born before February 4th, subtract 1 year from date of birth. FOR MEN: Add last 2 digits of Year of Birth and reduce to single no. Deduct this no. from 10. If answer is 5, then take 2 as the Kua No. (NOTE: For Boys born in year 2000 and after, deduct from 9 instead of 10). FOR WOMEN: Add last 2 digits of Birth Year and reduce to single no. Add 5 to this no. If answer is 5, take 8 as Kua No. (NOTE: For Girls born in year 2000 and after, add 6 instead of 5)].

SUMMARY 🔸Same Age Couples. ‘83🐷Boar/ ‘84🐀Rat: ❤️❤️ ‘85🐂Ox/‘86🐯Tiger/‘87🐰Rabbit: ❤️ ‘88🐉Dragon / ‘79🐑SHEEP: ❤️❤️ ‘80🐒Monkey/‘89🐍Snake/‘90🐴Horse❤️ ‘81🐓Rooster/ ‘82🐶Dog: ❤️

🔸Older Male with Younger Female. Rat:▫️'72🐀 +‘84🐀 = ❤️❤️❤️ Ox: ▫️'73🐂 +‘85🐂 = ❤️❤️❤️ Tiger: ‘74🐯 +‘86🐯 = ❤️ Rabbit: ‘75🐰+‘87🐰= ❤️❤️❤️ Dragon: ‘76🐉+‘88🐉= ❤️ Snake: ‘77🐍+‘89🐍 = ❤️ Horse: ‘78🐴+‘90🐴 = ❤️ SHEEP: ‘79🐏+‘91🐑 = ❤️ Monkey: ‘80🐒+‘92🐒= ❤️❤️❤️ Rooster: ‘81🐓+‘93🐔= ❤️ Dog:▫️ ‘82🐶+‘94🐶 = ❤️ Boar:▫️'83🐷+‘95🐷 = ❤️ ~~~~~ [Rating System: ▪️Same Zodiac only: ❤️ ▪️Same Zodiac + Same Group: ❤️❤️ ▪️Same Zodiac+Same Group+Ho-Tu or Sum-of-Ten: ❤️❤️❤️]

How to add more “Hearts” : 🔸WESTERN ZODIAC: An additional ❤️ if you and your partner are highly compatible. 🔸 BAZI or Four PILLARS BIRTHCHART: More hearts ❤️ if you both “appear” in the “Spouse Palace” of the other’s Chart, and if your respective Self-Elements/Daymasters are in positive relationship to each other with the Timing just right. (NOTE: This would require some skills to interpret).

LAST WORDS In the final analysis, Same Zodiac Couples understand each other intimately because both share common character traits and temperament. In fact, they are so alike there is a tendency to shut out alternative interests and viewpoints, and it is this lack of diversity and challenge that could stiffle and stagnate a long-term relationship. Falling under the influence of the same set of Stars every year also means both would go through bad patches the same time together, with neither having the mental energy and strength to help the other person pull through. Nonetheless, who am I to say what’s right or wrong in matters of the heart. Like they say, LOVE can conquer all, so for Same Zodiac Couples, if he/she is truly THE ONE & ONLY, then so be it and f*** off to everyone!!

[laureviewer]

Pokémon Sun & Moon: A Review

As a lifetime Pokémon fanatic, I couldn’t wait to walk into the local Game once again to pick up my very own copy of Pokémon Moon, even at 24 years old. After the explosion that was Pokémon Go causing a bigger stir than Team Rocket “blasting off again”, the shop was decked out with Poké merchandise, including hats, shirts, keyrings, and cards, and Pokémon was proved more popular than ever. And the icing on the cake? It came out on my 7 year anniversary, so my boyfriend and I could be geeky together (we would have been anyway, but hey, Poké-versary it is).

The concept is very much the same as the first Generations Red and Blue: you are given a pocketable creature from the local Pokémon Professor, and set off on an exciting adventure [with little more than a phone and backpack] from your mum. The aim, of course, is to train your cute little lizard into a mighty dragon of destruction to defeat eight gym leaders and become Pokémon Master, all whilst thwarting your rival and Teams of evil trainers along the way.

Even the basic concept of Pokémon games as outlined here is challenged right from the outset. In Sun and Moon, you move from Kanto, where Red and Blue are set, to Alola, the new Hawaii-esque region. Here you experience a whole new culture in the Pokémon universe, where instead of Gym Leaders and the Pokémon League challenge there are Trial Captains, Island Kahunas, and the Island Challenge, where trainers have to undergo all of the islands’ trials and battle Totem Pokémon, the guardians of the respective islands. Indeed, the region has a very tropical feel to it, with palm trees, warm and friendly people, and rituals that one feels would emanate typical Hawaiian practices if the world of Pokémon existed, such as worshipping the great Pokémon spirits called Tapu which protect each island and serve as deities for the islanders. This brings a fresh new feel to a franchise that could very easily become dull after over 20 years, and makes the game really stand out from its predecessors.  

The starters are what everyone gets excited about when new Pokémon game is announced – how they look, their evolutions, and their types (although they’ll always be some variety of water, fire and grass, of course). While the first few games’ starters hold a special place in my heart, probably due to the originality that the first generations could have as the franchise was so new (eh, who am I kidding, it’s nostalgia through and through), there are a couple of gems in Sun and Moon. It was a toss up between the grass/flying Rowlet and fire-based Litten, but I eventually gave into my kitten-loving self and chose the latter. Though a grass/ghost final evolution was a tough one to ignore, as that match-up is so rare and original. On a replay, that would be my pick.

But oh my Arceus, what was the water starter? It starts off cute, fine, has potential, though it looks a lot like Pokémon X and Y’s Oshawott, which also looked like some sort of clown for some reason. Then its second evolution really does look like a clown with a skirt and pompoms on its ears, and then its final evolution, while slightly better, is just a weird sensual mermaid water/fairy type. Not a fan, and once I traded it over to my game just to ensure a water Pokémon made it into my party, it’s also not that exciting to battle with either.

All in all, the starters were okay, but nothing can ever beat my lovely fave Cyndaquil. Or, you know, freaking Charizard.

The main difference between Sun and Moon is as their names suggest: while Sun is a ‘normal’ Pokémon game, insofar that during the day according to your DS it is also daytime in the game, Moon is set 12 hours behind. Having got Moon, I have to say that the time difference didn’t make as much difference as I thought it might. In Pokémon Crystal, my favourite Pokémon game of all time, playing at night meant you could catch a wide variety of Pokémon that you couldn’t during the day. In this new generation, however, the time of day didn’t seem that much different – useful if you only tend to play at a certain time during the day. So, while I was worried about getting Moon in the first place, don’t worry – though if you want an Alola Vulpix, like I did, you may want to consider getting Sun instead!

This brings me to one of the biggest pulls of the games: Alola Pokémon!

Pokémon Sun and Moon, much like Pokémon Go, obviously wanted to draw in old fans as well as new. Alola forms are Generation One Pokémon, but like we’ve never seen them before – Alolan Vulpix is now an ice type, while Alolan Marowak is a ghost/fire type, while Alolan Meowth looks slightly seductive with his dark upgrade. All-in-all, it’s a clever way to engage the older generation in the new game, although it was quite difficult predicting the type advantage if a rival trainer threatens to bring one out, as both the old and the new Alola types exist in this game, and so you’re never quite sure if you’re going to be facing the old favourite or the new Alolan Dugtrio with its luscious head of locks.

Ever since Generation VI (X and Y) the item Exp Share has reverted back to its original Generation I function, which means that if you turn it on, all of your Pokémon receive experience points (EXP) regardless of which Pokémon you are actually using to fight. While for some this feature may be very useful as it means you only need to use one Pokémon in theory to level all of them, it really messes with my OCD. I want to use all of my Pokémon, regardless of strength or type, and Exp Share negates that purpose. Also, Exp Share seems to make all of your Pokémon level at a very fast rate, meaning that towards the end of Moon I was finding that the big battles such as the Pokémon League, rival and Island Kahuna battles seemed incredibly easy compared to early games. However, this may be less a problem with the games and more the fact that I am a 24 year old adult playing a game intended for children…  

There are many more incredible and exciting new features in this game, including the Rotom Pokédex which is a Pokémon database with a Pokémon trapped inside it (a bit horrendous when you put it like that), which talks to you and also guides you around the map of the region, which is big enough to definitely get hopelessly lost in. Not only this, but there is a market in the map now so you can see where you’re meant to be going, which if you’re awful with directions like me (even in games), this is a massive advantage. The updated Pokégear, your display, also introduces new interesting features not seen before in past games. Festival Plaza, for example, lets you interact with friends or players around you, allowing you to chat and battle over Wifi or direct link. Pokémon Polago is a bit redundant after you have enough beans, but they allow you to gather enough said beans in order to feed your team in Pokémon Refresh, which is by far the most useful aspect of your Pokégear (obviously other than your actual Pokémon, and the items, and the map… shhhh). I recently had a battle with James, and learnt its incredible advantages – he had never touched Pokémon Refresh, while I consistently made sure to go in periodically to feed, stroke and ‘love’ my little guys, increasing their happiness, satiety and enjoyment. In battle, this means that your Pokémon really feel a strong connection with you, and every so often they will dodge a move in time with my shout, refrain from fainting to stop me worrying, and perform critical hits to be praised. Not only did this give me a really annoying edge over James (and I WON!), but it also encompasses all that the Pokémon franchise has been rabbiting on about throughout all past and present games: love your Pokémon, rather than use them simply as tools for fighting, and you will become ‘the very best, like no-one ever was!’. Plus I now get to gloat, muahaha.

Ride Pokémon are also a fantastic new feature in the game. Throughout the game, you can get a (SPOILERS) Tauros for charging, Lapras for surfing, Machoke for, uh, carrying you and pushing things, and a Charizard for flying, amongst others. While this is a great idea, I did actually miss the level of strategy that came with HM moves. The Hidden Machines that you couldn’t remove from your Pokémons’ movesets meant that you had to ensure you had a diversity of different types of Pokémon or ‘HM slaves’ that could learn a few of the moves that were necessary to navigate the whole game, such as Whirlpool to get rid of whirlpools in your way and Strength to move obstructive boulders. The graphics are cool with the new Pokémon though, which have definitely graduated from the default Lapras sprite you got with ANY surfing Pokémon.

God knows what Pokémon this was...probably a Feraligator.

The gameplay actually divides me as a seasoned Pokémon player. The animation, while of course utilising far better graphics than games gone past, actually takes ages in comparison, meaning that battles that shouldn’t take very long take ages watching the Pokémon charge up their moves, shake their tail, or . This is particularly apparent with Z-Moves, another new feature in this game. The Z-Moves are extremely powerful all-out moves you can only use once per battle, mediated by Z-Crystals which you can find or earn throughout the region by doing the Island Challenge. These moves, while graphically impressive, take ages to complete – for example, Litten’s final evolution’s Z-Move involves the Pokémon taking their rival to a boxing ring and charging at them with all its power. It’s useful in those tough battles, but hard to decide when the best time would be to use your only Z-Move, especially when you don’t know whether the Pokémon to come out next is stronger or weaker than the last.

Finally, I must talk about the one thing that really affects my opinion of any game: the story. The story is kind of a mind-screw at this point, with (SPOILERS) a fashionable woman, Lusamine, with an overly fanatical love of beauty unleashing Ultra Beasts, Pokémon from an alternate dimensions, into Alola and wanting to enter Ultra Space, said dimension, herself and stay there with the only things she’s attached to. Throughout the game, we learn that she has abused her two children, Gladion and Lillie, by abandoning them and neglecting them throughout their lives. This brings a very interesting dynamic to a Pokémon game that we haven’t seen before – many children and even adults playing this game may find this storyline particularly harrowing due to their own neglected childhood, and so could prove to split opinion with how Lusamine is treated by her children at the end of the story. All in all, it’s interesting, and her motivations are understandable but not so much that they are devoid of mystery.

As a veteran Pokémon player, I’ll always be biased. But this game is a lot of fun, and benefits from all of the interesting new features such as Z-Moves, Pokémon Ride and Alolan Pokémon. The new Pokémon themselves are interesting, without the ‘running out of ideas’ feel of some of the new Pokémon from other generations, such as Trubbish and Klefki (wow, a pile of garbage or a set of keys as your animal friend, who wouldn’t want that?).

The only massive thing I would change is the Exp Share function. I hate having to use it to be powerful enough, but when I do, I’m completely OP and don’t get to use some of my ‘weaker’ Pokémon as much – and for some reason, I feel bad if I don’t use all of them at least sometimes. This may be put down to how I also play games such as Skyrim and Final Fantasy XV – I must complete all of the side quests as well as the storyline, no matter how many I get. Maybe I’m just a perfectionist like that.

My badass team. 

[ayma-nidiot]

In the White Light - Prideshipping fanfic Chapter 23

Also on AO3.

Chapter 23 – Awakening

“Ugh… Too dark,” was Kaiba’s initial reaction to the ethereal space in which he floated. “So all my enemies were right. I did end up in hell after all.”

“That’s a little mean, Kaiba,” spoke a voice Kaiba had only heard once or twice. “I don’t think Atem would be happy to hear you call his bedchamber ‘hell.’”

“You are-” Kaiba awakened, and suddenly his surroundings changed to the royal bedchamber. To his sides were Mahad and some elderly man. At the foot of the bed stood a man who looked like Kaiba, except his chestnut locks flowed down his chest, and he had darker skin. “Mahad. And…” Kaiba tried to make out the other two men, but in his sleepy daze, he had a hard time doing so. “I think I remember you guys from the vision quest… Wait! You’re Atem’s father, Aknamkanon, aren’t you?”

“It feels nice to be remembered,” replied Aknamkanon with a warm smile.

Kaiba gave his doppelganger a sidelong look. “Okay, this is weird… You’re… um…”

“Seto. My name is Seto – just like yours.”

“Well, nice to meet you all.” Kaiba pulled the covers over him, leaving only the upper half of his head exposed. “Now, if you would be so kind as to let me have some sleep. In fact, I feel no shame in telling you that I plan to spend the rest of the day sleeping.”

“…Is that really what you want, Kaiba?” Aknamkanon asked. “Wouldn’t you rather go see my son, instead of spending the rest of your life with three people you hardly know?”

“…” Kaiba remained speechless for a spell as he slowly peeled the covers off. “…Am I dead?”

“Yes and no,” Mahad answered. “Right now, you are teetering on the edge of death. Even as we speak, your allies are calling to you.”

“My… allies?” Kaiba fully sat up and listened for voices beyond.

“Hahahaha!” sounded Zorc’s voice. “So much for the ‘power of Horakhty!’ Now… After I kill you, pharaoh, the royal bloodline will be no more!”

“Eyaaaaaah!” screamed Atem’s voice. “Unhand me, dark one! … Raaaah!”

“Ah, you’re just like a fish, struggling right before it gets gutted. You won’t be free for long!”

“You’re wrong…” spoke Rex. “Come on, Kaiba, don’t go extinct now! Not after I was just considering you a friend!”

“Hah! I don’t recall giving the so-called ‘ultimate’ rival of the pharaoh permission to die!” exclaimed Weevil.

“Sniff… Sniff…” Mokuba cried. “Big bro… You’re my only family. You’re all I got left! Don’t die…”

“If you die, I’m gonna kill you!”

Tristan’s words were answered with what sounded like a slap – and a scolding from Joey. “Tristan, come on! Kaiba, don’t listen to him! If I, the person you hate most, want you to live, then damn straight you better live!”

“You saved me from being killed by that Rare Hunter! Please, let me return the favour!” shouted Téa. “I know you don’t like the concept of friendship, but can you believe in it just this once?”

“Blue-Eyes White Dragon… Lend Kaiba your strength…” Kisara appeared to be praying with Isis and Mana.

“I know you and the pharaoh beat me handily during Battle City, but that’s in the past now,” added Marik. “Right now, I – and all of my home country of Egypt – need you.”

“My other self.” Seto spoke to his future incarnate sternly. “I can no longer return to the world of the living. But you can. Go be with Atem again and be his hero. And if you see my father, tell him I wish things didn’t have to end up like this.”

“Can you tell my brother that I wish the same?” Aknamkanon requested. “That if I had known how hurt he was this whole time, that I would have done something about it?”

“Seto…” Kaiba wiped a tear from Seto’s face. In so doing, the priest – along with Mahad and Aknamkanon – faded, and imbued their ba into Kaiba. After a moment of contemplation, Kaiba leapt out of the bed. “Everyone… Thank you. But this will be the last time I do something generous for you all!”

_________

“I… I…” All this time, Atem could not think of a proper thing to say to Kaiba – until now. “No. I refuse to believe the man I love is dead.”

“Well, pharaoh, as you say in the modern world, ‘the proof is in the pudding!’ The only thing better than watching Kaiba die is watching you-” Zorc’s good mood dropped in an instant. “No… No, it can’t be!”

“Ah… My love?” Atem watched as Kaiba arose from the ground in half-shifted form, bathing the surroundings in a warm light. “He’s… Kaiba has revived!”

“HAHA!” Zorc cackled. “I can just as easily send him back from whence he came!”

“…” Kaiba, enveloped in a magical barrier, easily repelled the attack Zorc launched at him – as well as the many more after that.

“Impossible! How can none of my attacks harm you?”

“Because I have the support of my friends, as well as some… help from beyond.”

“Father… Mahad…” Atem shed a happy tear.

“I’ll not let history repeat itself…” Without fully transforming, the sapphires across Kaiba’s body glowed to generate a Shining Neutron Blast. “Not on this day.”

“Gaaah!”

Zorc relentlessly sent out a flurry of attacks at Kaiba, but all were in vain as the Shining Neutron Blast consumed him. “These wounds… No! I refuse to accept death! I refu-”

Rex waited a while to speak, almost as if to make sure Zorc was really dead. “Huhuhu. We won’t be seeing him again.”

“Yeah. Hehehe. That fartknocker’s history. Hehehe.” Weevil laughed – that is, until Kaiba suddenly fell on top of him. “Y-Yeowch!”

“Now you know how it feels…” Joey remembered well the first time he learned of Kaiba’s shapeshifting powers. “Bet he’s even heavier than back then.”

“I can still hear you, Wheeler,” Kaiba responded while still laying supine.

“So. Is he really gone?”

“Yes, Wheeler, Zorc is really gone.”

“Then…” Yugi turned to Atem with a sorrowful look. At this point, the pharaoh picked Kaiba up princess-style and led everyone back to the palace. “Now that ancient Egypt is at peace, we have to go now, don’t we? Back to our own time?”

“Aww, man, I wish I could have at least stayed for some more free food!” Mokuba whined.

“And maybe for a few cute girls, too…” Tristan thought aloud.

“Actually… It’s not time for you to go just yet.” Atem’s words quieted everyone down. “There’s one thing left for me to do before you all leave.”

“Ooh, do we get some souvenirs for the ride home?” Rex asked excitedly. “Like food?”

“And rare cards? Er, I mean, artifacts?” Weevil hoped.

“I’ll see to that before you go, but I had something else in mind.” Atem turned back to Yugi. “Yugi, I am not entirely confident that you can fare out in the world without me. Not after we’ve been together for so long.”

“What? But you saw me in that fight against Zorc’s army! And I’ve dueled plenty of times without your help! Doesn’t that duel with Bandit Keith ring a bell?””

“If you are that confident, then…” After laying a barely awake Kaiba on the throne, Atem picked up his DiaDhank from the table nearby. “Duel me, right now, in this sacred throne room.”

“What? Pharaoh, that’s crazy!” Joey would have none of it. “Don’t you think we should rest first? We kinda just fought a climactic battle against-”

“Very well.” Yugi took his deck out of his pocket and attached it to his Duel Disk. “I accept this challenge, pharaoh!”

“Yug, are you sure about this? You’re not tired? Not even a little?”

Yugi tried to hide the fact that, indeed, he was so tired he wanted to take a nap right there on the ground. He could tell from the look in his eyes that Atem felt the same; he had to be, after singing the Pharaoh’s Incantation for so long. “No, I’m fine. Just because I’m barely 150 centimeters and 40 kilograms doesn’t mean I can’t handle a bit of rough work.”

 “It will not be a Shadow Game,” Atem spoke. “Nevertheless, you should know that I expect nothing less than your best strategies.”

“Oh man…” Rex watched curiously as the duelists readied their dueling devices. He perked up his rabbit ears to hear the words they exchanged. “Watching two Yugis dueling is a bit… uh, weird.”

“We’ve seen a guy with a dragon head for a dick, and you’re calling this weird?” Weevil poked Rex with a spider leg.

“Now, Yugi, hit me with what you’ve got!”

Yugi assumed from Atem’s valiant declaration that he would have the first move. He had a mediocre first hand, but believed in the heart of the cards anyway. “I summon Celtic Guardian in attack mode! I’ll set a card face down. That’s about it.”

“Oh, Yugi.” Kaiba groaned from the throne. “I know that Celtic Guardian is one of your symbolic monsters, but that’s all it is: symbolic.”

Unlike his boyfriend, Atem knew better than to underestimate Yugi. “I activate the magic card Double Summon so that I may Normal Summon twice this turn. I call forth Light Effigy and Flamvell Magician!”

“It doesn’t make sense… Why would Atem have a Light Effigy in his deck when most of his monsters are of Dark attribute?” Joey commented.

Atem continued, “If the levels of my monsters are the exact level of the monster I want to summon, and the materials are correct, then I can Special Summon a Synchro Monster from my deck.” He looked to Rex. “I’m sure that you of all people know what a Synchro Summon is.”

“Huhu. Thank you, thank you.” Rex did a mocking bow, then sat back down.

“Using Light Effigy and the Tuner Monster Flamvell Magician, I Synchro Summon this monster! Avenging Knight Parshath!”

“It’s beautiful!” Téa said of the armoured fairy that appeared in the arena.

“Avenging Knight Parshath! Attack the Celtic Guardian!”

“Not if I can help it! Here’s a card that has helped me – us – time and time again!” Yugi revealed his face-down card. “Swords of Revealing Light! I don’t think I need to remind anyone here what it does.”

“…Go ahead with your turn, then.”

This will help! Yugi drew Silent Sword Slash. But even if I equip Silent Swordsman with this card, he’s still no match for Avenging Knight Parshath. I just hope I can last as long as the Swords of Revealing Light does. “I tribute Celtic Guardian so that I can Special Summon Silent Swordsman in attack mode!”

I remember that card, Atem thought as he drew Thousand Knives. His special ability allows his attack to go up by 500 points during each of Yugi’s standby phases. If I can summon Dark Magician before his attack gets too high… then I can use my Thousand Knives spell. “I summon Berry Magician Girl in attack mode! Turn end.”

It’s tempting to use this card, Yugi spoke of his newly drawn Change of Heart. But if I gain control of Avenging Knight Parshath and attack Berry Magician Girl, Atem will just summon a Dark Magician. “I’ll just end my turn, then, while my Silent Swordsman’s attack goes up to 1500.”

“Oh my gods, the tension is killing me!” Rex whined. “Come on, where’s the action?”

“Watch it,” Joey warned. “Many of these guys’ duels are like this, Rex. Just be patient, and the action will come.”

“Hmm…”

Yugi had to squint, but he could see a hint of a smile in Atem’s face as he set a card face-down. It was now his turn again. Cost Down isn’t going to help me right now… But at least my Silent Swordsman can defeat the Avenging Knight Parshath now! “I equip my Silent Swordsman with Silent Sword Slash, giving him an attack boost of 1500 points! Then… There goes your Avenging Knight Parshath!”

“And there goes your Swords of Revealing Light! Oh!”

“Pharaoh? You okay?” Yugi asked with concern, as Atem stared at that card with wide-eyes for a good two minutes.

“…I reveal my trap Magician Navigation! I can Summon Dark Magician from my deck, as well as this card… Say hello to Palladium Oracle Mahad!”

“Goodness…” spoke Yugi. Golden armour covered most of Mahad’s body, and only a hint of the High Priest’s original beige robes could be seen.

“My friend… You live again.” Atem knew it wasn’t necessarily true, but he didn’t care. “Now that I have a Dark Magician in play, I can use my Thousand Knives spell to destroy your only monster on the field – the Silent Swordsman!”

“Yeah, go ahead and do that. Because you’ve just activated my Silent Swordsman’s special ability! If he’s destroyed, I Special Summon any Silent Swordsman card from my deck, and I choose Silent Swordsman Lv. 7!”

“Very clever, Yugi, very clever. You could have easily used Silent Swordsman’s ability to negate the spell altogether, but you were wise enough not to.”

Yugi smiled at this praise, then summoned Silent Paladin in defense mode, and could thus add Silent Swordsman Lv. 3 to his hand from his deck. “Pharaoh, forgive me for this, but… My Silent Swordsman Lv. 7 will attack your Palladium Oracle Mahad!”

“…You are forgiven. Especially since I can Special Summon another Dark Magician from my deck, thanks to Palladium Oracle Mahad’s special ability.” Atem spoke no more as he simply set a trap face-down, then turned it over to Yugi.

This duel is going in my favour, but knowing Atem… I’m sure that he’s got a card in his deck far more powerful than Dark Magician. “I will now attack the Dark Magician you just Special Summoned!”

“That was not smart, Yugi. Reveal Trap Card, Shield Spear! My Dark Magician’s attack power is raised by 400 points for a turn! You can’t take back your attack once you’ve declared it, which means that your Silent Swordsman Lv. 7 is destroyed.”

“I’m… I’m fine…” So Yugi said, but in his mind, he knew he wasn’t. Silent Paladin was his only monster defending his Life Points now, and she didn’t have very good defense.

Atem sighed upon seeing the card he drew. “Well, you won’t be… after I summon Skilled Blue Magician and activate the spell Magicalized Fusion! With this card, I can even use monsters from my Graveyard – namely my Flamvell Magician and Palladium Oracle Mahad – for a Fusion Summon! Dark Magician may be one of my strongest monsters, but I have one that is mightier still…”

“Oh my gods… What is that?” Tristan spoke of this new spellcaster monster, with four arms that generated four magical circles.

“This is the greatest of all spellcasters… Quintet Magician!”

Weevil rubbed his eyes. “Am I reading that attack counter correctly? That thing’s got 4500 attack points? It could squish my Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth in an instant!”

“My new monster’s special ability is even more fearsome, Weevil. You see, I used five different magicians for its Fusion Summon – Berry Magician Girl, Dark Magician, Flamvell Magician, Skilled Blue Magician, and Palladium Oracle Mahad. With his four arms, Quintet Magician destroys all of your cards, Yugi!”

“All… of them?” Yugi finally gave in to his weak knees.

“Since all of your cards are destroyed, I can attack you directly and end this at last!”

“…No. You will do no such thing.” Yugi fumbled with the card he set on his Duel Disk. “Not yet… Thanks to our good friend Kuriboh.”

“Hehehe…” Kaiba couldn’t help but chuckle at this surprisingly weak but useful monster. “After all this time, you still keep that puffball in your deck. You’ve got more cojones than I thought, Yugi. But can you get yourself out of this mess? You got more Kuribohs in that deck of yours?”

“No.” And I don’t have a single card in my deck that can overpower that Quintet Magician…

[letsastrologyspecialist-blog]

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The name "vedic" is gotten from Vedas'. As the Indian astrology are additionally gotten from Veda's. You could conceivably have confidence in Indian astrology, yet stars and planets having thousand miles away can impact our life occasions well indeed. In India vedic astrology is a piece of Indian culture and society. Individuals are utilizing these vedic framework from hundreds of years to access their own future forecasts and to evade the mis-happenings. So, avail free astrology services to avoid these types of problems.

What is Chinese astrology

The Chinese astrology or Chinese Zodiac depends on 12-year cycle and every year in that cycle is identified with a creature sign. There are absolute 12 creatures speaking to these Chinese zodiac signs. They are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. There has been a connection among human and the 12 zodiacal creatures. It is accepted that the years spoke to by the creatures influence the characters of individuals similarly like the western crystal gazing signs. Snap the accompanying signs to know the characters of people under various signs. Realities like years, qualities, shortcomings, best matches and fortune of 2020 of each sign are presented.

Uses of Indian Astrology

As astrology is developing famous step by step, it is as yet known for adequacy. It can foresee future occasions adequately just as it can likewise help us in taking care of the issues that may come in our future. Our free vedic astrology predictions can help you in many fields. That are:

Future forecasts

Career Prediction

Health issue arrangement

Love and Marriage related issue arrangement

Kundali making and coordinating

Child issues arrangement

Muhurta

Gain insights to your future with the help of astrology

Knowing the future can help us to lead a happy and effective life. Along these lines, it is also necessary to take suitable actions at the perfect time to be fruitful. It is the fantasy of each individuals to turn into an effective person in their future. However, not all have the karma to accomplish that. Therefore, our best astrologer online free service, provides exact future predictions that can help you in taking correct decision that will assist your vocation with growing.

Get a successful career with free online astrology consultation for career

Obtaining services online are currently a snappy and bother free-way and it additionally encourages purchasers to get to the merchandise and ventures without heading out to the shop or office genuinely. So as in the field of astrology, there are numerous astrology sites offering types of assistance on the web. But at Tabij astrology, our free online astrology consultation for career service can help you in building a better career. Here you can simply transfer your date of birth, time and spot of birth and in only hours you can get to your free professional vedic astrology birth chart report whenever the timing is ideal.

Hope this article helps you in understanding more about astrology. For more details you can contact @(+91) 9776190123 or visit our official site TABIJ.IN

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Best Quotes From Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

“ ‘Sorry’, he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn’t seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passerby stare, ‘Don’t be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even muggles like yourself should be celebrating this happy, happy day!”. And the old man hugged Mr. Durlsley around the middle and walked off. Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was.” 

“Hoping he was imagining things which he had never hoped before, because he didn’t approve of imagination”. 

“’A lemon drop. They’re a kind of Muggle sweet I’m rather fond of’. ‘No, thank you’, said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn’t think this was the moment for lemon drops.”

“’It’s lucky its dark. I haven’t blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs’”. 

“ there will be books written about Harry- every child in our world will know his name!’” 

“’Even if I could, I wouldn’t. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground.’” 

“While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things; people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank and Harry were just a few of his favourite subjects.” 

“’ They stuff people’s heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall’, he told Harry. ‘Want to come upstairs and practice?’ ‘No, thanks,’ said Harry. ‘The poor toilets never had anything as horrible as your head down it- it might be sick’”. 

“Harry didn’t trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from  trying not to laugh.” 

“’ Oh, these people’s minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they’re not like you and me’, said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.”

“’ Do you mean ter tell me,’ he growled at the Dursleys, ‘that this boy- this boy! - knows nothin’ abou’ - about ANYTHING?’ Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school after all, and his marks weren’t bad. ‘I know some things’, he said. ‘I can, you know, do math and stuff.’” 

“’Funny way to get to a wizard’s school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?’”. 

“’ Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?’ said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. ‘You should have said something, we had no idea.’ ‘Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it’ said the other twin. ‘Once-’ ‘Or twice-’ ‘A minute-’ ‘All summer-’.” 

“ ‘Now, you two- this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you’ve- you’ve blown up a toilet or-’ ‘Blown up a toilet? We’ve never blown up a toilet’ ‘Great idea though, thanks mum.’”

“So we’ve just got to try on the hat!” Ron whispered to Harry. “I’ll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll.”” 

“If only the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for him”. 

“When it finally shouted, GRYFFINDOR, Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to MacDougal, Morag”. 

“Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!” 

“”Ah, music,” he said, wiping his eyes. “A magic beyond all we do here””. 

“Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, “GOT YOUR CONK!”” 

“The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick”. 

“Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him”. 

“At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry’s name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight”. 

“”Another Weasley, eh?” said Hagrid, glancing at Ron’s freckles. “I spent half me life chasin’ yer twin brothers away from the forest.”” 

“Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?” Wood? thought Harry, bewildered: was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?” 

“I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can’t bend the first year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn’t look Severus Snape in the face for weeks...”” 

“’And what if i have my wand and nothing happens?’ ‘Throw it away and punch him on the nose’, Ron suggested.” 

“ You don’t use your eyes, any of you, do you?’ she snapped. ‘Didn’t you see what it was standing on?’ ‘The floor?’ Harry suggested. ‘I wasn’t looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads.’” 

“Now, the last member of the team is the seeker. That’s you. And you don’t have to worry about the Quaffle or the bludgers-’ ‘-unless they crack my head open.’ ‘Don’t worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers- I mean, they’re like a pair of human bludgers themselves.’” 

“From that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.” 

“’Wonder what’s wrong with this leg?’ ‘Dunno, but I hope it’s really hurting him.’ said Ron bitterly.”. 

“Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides. ‘So-after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating-’ ‘Jordan!’ growled Professor McGonagall. ‘I mean, after that open and revolting foul...’ ‘Jordan, I’m warning you-’ ‘All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I’m sure” 

“The lake was frozen solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban”. 

“Harry played with chessmen Seamus Finnigan had lent him, and they didn’t trust him at all. He wasn’t a very good player yet, and they kept shouting different bits of advice at him, which was confusing. ‘Don’t send me there, can’t you see his knight? Send him, we can afford to lose him.’” 

“Fred and George were wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F on it, the other a G. ‘Harry’s is better than ours, though,’ said Fred. ‘She obviously makes more of an effort if your not family.’”

“’You haven’t got a letter on yours’ George observed. ‘I suppose she thinks you don’t forget your name. But we’re not stupid- we know we’re called Gred and Forge.’” 

“Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you”. 

“’Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is’”. 

“’This mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible’”. 

“’It does not to to dwell on dreams and forget to live’”. 

“’Don’t play,’ said Hermione at once. ‘Say you’re ill,’ said Ron. ‘Pretend to break your leg,’ Hermione suggested. ‘Really break your leg,’ said Ron.” 

“He’s used to walking all over people, but that’s no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier.” 

“’no wonder we coulnd’t find Flamel in that Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry,’ said Ron. ‘He’s not exactly recent if he’s six hundred and sixty-five, is he?’” 

“’I’ll show them...itt’l really wipe the smiles of their faces if we win.’ ‘Just as long as we’re not wiping you off the filed,’ said Hermione.” 

“’So you mean the Stone’s only safe as long as Quirrill stands up to Snape?’ said Hermione in alarm. ‘Itt’l be gone by nect Tuesday’, said Ron.” 

“Harry suddenly turned to Ron. ‘Charlie.’ he said. ‘You’re losing it, too, ‘ said Ron. ‘I’m Ron, remember?’” 

“’ I tell you, that dragon’s the most horrible animal I’ve ever met, but the wa Hagrid goes on about it, you’d think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me he told me off for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby.’” 

“’jus playin- he’s only a baby, after all.’ The baby banged its tal on the wall, making the windows rattle. “

“’The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenceless to save yourself, and you will have but a half life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips.’” 

“’so light a fire!’ Harry choked. ‘Yes- of course- but there’s no wood!’ Hermione cried, wringing her hands. ‘HAVE YOU GONE MAD?’ Ron bellowed. ‘ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT? ‘”

“’What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic and confiscated it’”. 

“’To the well organised mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all- the trouble is, human’s do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them’”. 

“’Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.” 

“The truth.’ Dumbledore sighed. ‘It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution’.”

“’There are all kinds of courage,’ said Dumbledore, smiling. ‘It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.’”