#that but it's more feral and less cartoony

[citrine-elephant]

haven't played re8 yet, got some spoilers, knew about the werewolves already

suddenly thinking of leon and chris, but chris is a fuckin werewolf and they are boyfriends

[zondearts]

Nox ( I haven't drawn him in 4 years...ough... my son)

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for using IRL references for my feral art.

I (27M) am an NSFW feral artist, a furry artist who draws characters that are much less anthropomorphic than most furry art.

Obviously given my profession, I don't think what I'm doing is intrinsically immoral, but for a while I was just referencing 'bits' off of other furry users work, since I've heard the advice that no one uses irl animals as reference and everyone just uses "artistic telephone" by looking at other art. But I found that none of my art looked 'right', especially since my style isn't very cartoony.

I would never willingly watch exploitative content of animals, so I looked at CLINICAL, NON-SEXUAL references and diagrams for my art. I've become a lot more confident in my art because of it, and my tips have even gotten larger because of it (I haven't talked about it in public, I guess the change in anatomy was just that noticeable)

I'm not hurting any animals, or giving any views to animal abusers by doing this, but I still feel iffy because I'm technically using IRL references of animals for sexual gratification. Because I feel like if a lolisho artist did the same thing for medical images of children, I'd personally think it's irredeemble, but the situations aren't that different... AITA?

[amerricanartwork]

Scavengers!! Which one is your favorite?

But yeah, here's a collection of some (female) scav sketches from the past few days, partly as as general studies of scavenger anatomy (man, I love that Disney anthro anatomy for these things)! Figured I'd try my hand at drawing scavs since I've actually never drawn them seriously before, and practice making/compiling anatomical studies for fictional characters. Quick thanks to @everyscavever, whose posts I used as direct references on scav designs!

And here are some other notes and headcanons for this down below!

In addition to general anatomy, with these sketches I also tried to focus on exploring designs for female scavengers specifically, since the overall scav design always struck me as pretty masculine with the large chests and top-heavy rhythm, and because I haven't seen many more feminine looking scav characters. However, for verisimilitude's sake, a bit of a design challenge, and because I really like the general scav design, I still wanted to keep the overall anatomy/proportions the same and retain that mangy, feral, yet goofy appearance that I find iconic to scavengers!

Thus, I headcanon for females the limb proportions are the same, the horns are slightly smaller and less ornate on average, and the shoulders, though still wider than the hips, are less so compared to males. Otherwise, my depictions of female scavengers likely won't be that visually distinct from the males, besides the more visible eyelashes (which to me, is a design trait simple enough I think I can get away with it on almost any creature with eyes, especially with my relatively cartoony style).

I find the scavenger design pretty nice in this regard, since it's humanoid enough that I feel I can add a bit more human-like sexual dimorphism without it looking too uncanny or too different from the general species design. In contrast, slugcats are so simple and animal-like in their physiology that I feel the most I can do is just draw visible eyelashes when I want a feminine appearance, lest I risk overcomplicating the design or making something that doesn't look believable given the setting and canon slugcat designs. Of all the RW creatures, however, I actually think iterators would have the most human-like sexual dimorphism since they're very humanoid visually, but I headcanon it's for very different reasons that I'll explain later.

But anyway, that was a lot. I hope you like these scav sketches!

[coconutmilkyway]

i think the more "cartoony" or unrealistic a disney story was, the less they gave a shit about movement accuracy particularly with animals lol. with bambi & the lion king they brought animals in to study. i dont think they did that with great mouse detective haha

it took me a minute to remember the reference this is to lmao i really do just forget abt a post the second i reblog it (feral ratigan running like a fool)

but yea no ur def right lmao. Also him and all the mice pretty much have human anatomy, so bringing in a reference animal just for one small scene likely wouldn't be worth it (also p sure disney was going through financial dark ages around that time so if they couldnt afford a rat i understand)

But also rats run like idiots and ratigan hopping after basil would look so silly and not threatening in the slightest lol

if i made the movie i would make that man HOP

little hopping fools

[unacctmango]

Have you ever wanted your very own horse commission? Do you like realistic, detailed and highly rendered ponies of all sorts??

Then I have good news for you!!!!

Please commission me to draw your horses and ponies, I promise I will love them dearly!!!

More info under cut

I only accept Paypal and Zelle! Payment is due up-front after sketch is approved. Prices are negotiable based on your budget and ideas!

I will draw:

Pretty much anything! All types of horse, ponies and equine related creatures are ok!

Realistic and cartoony styles

Horror and gore

Color AND black and white

Traditional AND digital art

I will NOT draw:

NSFW/Feral/Zoo

Turn around for commissions is usually a week or less!!! DM me if interested or if you have questions!

[tladb]

2 Dec 2023 - NY Times headline selection - Midjourney

Reason for why particular images where selected for the Reddit post.. The headlines were chosen for their topicality and image creation possibilities. The /imagine prompt is just the headline with no stylistic guides.

The contact sheet numbers are : 1 2 3 4

Israel Strikes Southern Gaza as U.S. Renews Calls to Protect Civilians

'1' selected for having civilians watching the destruction of their homes in the foreground. Fire often lacks realism.

A Plan to Save a California Island? Shoot All the Deer.

'2' has a closer look at good looking deer on an island. Are they the right kind of deer and is it the right island? It could make the deer look more sympathetic. (It happens in Australia when feral horses need to be killed in the high country.)

2023 Hurricane Season is marked by Storms That 'Really Rapidly Intensified'

'3' with the dramatic and human scale impact of a hurricanes. The satellite style pictures and generic.

Drunk and Asleep on the Job: Air Traffic Controllers Pushed to the Brink

'3' does illustrate the headline even if the tech may not be current. The headline is problematic in that it puts the blame on the Air Traffic Controllers rather than the funding and staffing cuts actually in the story.

A quick alternative : Budget and Staffing Cuts Push Air Traffic Controllers and Safety to the Brink produces less dramatic images but has a better focus.

Sam Altman, Sugarcoating the Apocalypse

The images of Altman look a bit cartoony so '1' which has the apocalypse aftermath and a less distinct Altman. Midjourney did not pick up on the sugarcoating:

sugarcoating Apocalypse

[goatlingsvent]

🎏

Well to start, these characters are anthropomorphized. Yes we're beating a dead humanoid horse here but take a picture of a lion from national geographic, no, better yet, Lion King 2019 and compare it to a character from Lion King 1994 (or its sequels). The 1994 characters have very human-like traits and mannerisms. They have bigger expressive eyes, eyebrows, and their manes are drawn in a way to sort of simulate a human-like hairstyle. And more importantly, they act like people. They have distinct personalities that place them closer to being like people than like animals.

Similarly, the recent goatlings designs look significantly more like people, and they have been looking more and more human-like in the face area since around... I dunno, 2016ish? When were people complaining and comparing AD designs to Fire Emblem? Anyways, if you go to the archive and look at the earliest goats, you can see the older ones looked a lot more like standard cartoony semi-anthro goats as opposed to Human Person Face (With Human Hair) Slapped Onto Goat Base. WRT character, yeah most goats are pretty sparse in it, but honestly the face will do a lot of heavy lifting in attractiveness. That's why some people tend to check out of monster fuckery if the face looks too much like an actual animal instead of a person/fantasy monster. And that's not even taking into account people projecting their ideal personalities and traits onto a design they already feel is appealing to them. People just make shit up.

In the case of the Phantom Maestro (that's the source of contention right? IDR this convos has spiralled so far out of control) it looks, well, like a pretty abstract ghost/"demon" and less of a goat I guess? And based on what I've heard he has some more characterization than most goatlings (if it isn't obvious I've been completely checked out this entire MM, so I barely know this guy.)

To cover my basis if the goat in question is the Deathly Growler then uhhhh, he's got very human hair, eyes, eyebrows, facial piercings, and is the rockstar archetype or whatever. Idk him being a goat aside I'm not big on rockstar characters so I sleep.

Anyways, I hope this made any sense. TL;DR the faces on goatlings (and other anthropomorphized feral characters) carry.

🥡

[rosetyler42]

I feel Simon and Lucy would try going Pascifist route, but might end up in Neutral, especially the first time. They wouldn't want to hurt monsters given they both are half monster themselves and, thanks to their mom, wouldn't want to go the path of genocide. But that route isn't easy and I could see them killing if they thought it was nessecary. They aren't as ruthless as their parents, but...they're still Addams-esque (and Popeye-esque) There's some of Drac and Ericka's slyth-ness in them. Simon especially is the dangerous one when pushed too far. Not to mention they're more cartoony anyhow.

Lizzie and Jaren would probably be the same. They'd want the pacifist route as much as possible. Possibly even more than Simon and Lucy as they're not as Addams-esque or Popeye-esque. There's less of the Feral "We gladly feast on those who would subdue us" Underdog thing going on with them, and alot more discipline and seriousness. Lizzie has her father's feistiness, but...her and Jaren I think would be better able to resolve things without violence, I think.

If your OC played Undertale, what route would they play first?

[hydri-ibn]

I always wondered what a slightly less cartoony version of Daxter would of looked like. A more “feral” aesthetic.

[orion-is-dreaming-about-frogs]

Boxman is one of those characters that is goofy, seems oblivious, but knows more than people think.

Oh yeah he is totally feral but he’s also incredibly genuine and I think that’s interesting, it makes for more hard-hitting moments, better comedy, and a more rounded character.

Boxman is literally a villain cliche that is notoriously flat, but somehow he isn’t a flat character. That’s why it hurts real bad sometimes when he cries. The easiest way to make an audience care is to make a quiet character loud or a loud character quiet. Boxman is loud and cartoony. When he cries loudly, it comes off as funny. When he cries quietly or shows subtle emotion, THAT is when the audience goes “oh shit”

In Villain’s Night Out, we get a more three-dimensional view of his character. He’s not entirely oblivious. He knew the other villains didn’t like him and he used it to his advantage. So, Boxman isn’t actually stupid. That’s not it. He has a habit of being oblivious and brash but he’s capable.

In Lord Cowboy Darrell we got some of the aforementioned “oh shit” effect; he spends the entire episode being angry and loud, most of the times when he’s in pain it’s just comedy, but then he gets sent down to attack the plaza. You see some of the scenery from his point of view. Then he gets so genuinely overwhelmed by the whole situation that he starts crying.

That’s part of what I find so interesting about his character.

The writers and storyboard artists are really good at conveying that kind of thing, because Boxman doesn’t start crying because he’s sad necessarily, in that situation he cries because he is frustrated and overwhelmed to the point of tears. And he does it quietly, it’s out of place and fairly serious. That’s an important part of the episode, and yeah it’s just a cartoon, and the episode is wholly comedic (I laughed when he started crying because it was so unexpected, that was oddly serious), but it really is well done.

Additionally, y’all know the scene, the one where the camera pans over to Boxman when Shadowy gains control. OUCH. That was painful. That was the pinnacle of “loud funny character quiet”. Less is more there. That was a subtle emotion, like, he expressed not pure anger, pure frustration, or pure sadness—he expressed uncertainty, fear, and regret. All very grounded emotions. Not cartoony.

Since Boxman comes off as so oblivious and extravagant, that happening goes to show that he is affected and he is actually suffering. He’s good at hiding it. He’s not just an oblivious cartoon, he is a character, he reacts like a person would. It’s a huge contrast from his regular state and it’s super unexpected at that point, so it takes you by surprise. He doesn’t even cry in that scene, where Shadowy takes over. He’s just sitting there. And somehow it’s still hard to watch.

So yeah this has been a needless and disorganized character analysis, I just had to put into words why Boxman is one of my favorite characters ever. OK K.O. does a great job of subverting expectations. I love the feral green villain man.

And I don’t wanna sound like I’m trying to make him out to be this huge serious character but his extravagance and cartoony nature really do make the somber moments hit hard. I always find that cool in a character.

[godlessondheimite]

@baking-accident will swenson was an amazing guiteau. feral, rabid, twitchy, frenetic, manic, absolutely captivating and terrifying, the man on the street you know to avoid, and a highlight for me (other than his being my favorite assassin). i really like steven pasquale’s booth, iirc he had a little more hammy flair than when he was in city center. tavi’s fromme was wryer and less cartoony than most other portrayals and that really worked for me, and she and judy kuhn were a lot of fun. brandon uranowitz and adam chandet berat had real I Could Fix Him vibes for me. the actors were great, idk why but the book scenes were a lot more enjoyable than usual. and the ensemble of five people were troopers. since it was a john doyle show they also doubled as a little orchestra instruments. john doyle made some decisions, like he incorporated putting on american flag masks at pointed moments in the show and i had no idea what point he was trying to make. also i think emma goldman had a jamaican accent?

[skeletalheartattack]

*Reads tags of the recent post*

*stops*

*reads line again*

Ok, ok. Well, honestly i understand why, how but the what is still strong. Was not ready for the "King K.Rool is fail malewife" take. You surely mean the cartoon one, but someone who plays smash and see him as a fucking feral animal bruiser that only borders on cartoony that was a fucking whiplash.

Like, the croc runs on all four and makes kaiju noises in game, so the idea of someone pointing at that and calling him malewife after getting brutally manhandled by him into several matches kinda fucking froze time for a second.

Honestly, *thumbs up* you a funny creature. Thank you for the discourse and commended for the amazing taste in cartoon men.

gehehehehe >:}

yeah! im primarily referring to the DKC cartoon version of him, though i also mean K Rool from DKC 1 and 2. bastard fails at capturing dk and his banana hoard. though now that im properly awake now, i... don't know why i classified him as a malewife. i think i was too distracted by men in general that he kinda just slipped in there, but the cartoon adaptation of him? yeah no def pathetic male wife.

i kinda forgot how different K Rool is in Ultimate, he's less of a goofy final boss type dude and more of a beast. i will simply still classify him as such because i think its funny. thank you anon :)

[themattress]

OUAT AND ME: IN WONDERLAND

Story - Because this spin-off series only lasted for one season's worth of 13 episodes, its story is simply the Wonderland Saga and nothing else beyond that, which is for the best given that the story reaches far too complete an ending for anything beyond it to make any sense. The story is about Alice and what transpired after she returned from her original journey through Wonderland as a little girl, leading up to her romance with a young genie named Cyrus as a teenager, their tragic separation, her commitment to a mental institution, and her return to Wonderland in order to reunite with her lost love alongside her friend the Knave of Hearts, all while facing threats from the Red Queen and Jafar who seek to use Cyrus’ genie powers to break the laws of magic in order to accomplish their own secret goals.

The Wonderland Saga is as tight as tight can be, with one chief setting (Wonderland), a relatively small cast of characters, and a 4-episode beginning, 4-episode middle, and 5-episode end. Of course, this wouldn't matter if it wasn't an engaging story with enjoyable characters, but thankfully it very much is. This series is the brainchild of not just Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, but also of Jane Espenson and Zack Estrin, and because of this fact combined with its limited length, it actually surpasses the original Once Upon a Time when you stack the two completed shows up against each other. Sometimes, less is more.

As I said, the story is divided into a clear-cut beginning, middle, and end. The beginning focuses on the early part of Alice and the Knave's journey and establishing who they are and what their deal is, while Jafar and the Red Queen's goals and motivations are kept enigmatic and Cyrus is trapped in a cage for the whole duration of the time. The middle lets Cyrus escape, sheds light on Jafar and the Red Queen's goals and motivations, and explores the darker sides of Alice and the Knave as we see just how badly their past traumas have affected them. And the end is all about the alliance of Alice, Cyrus, the Knave and the Red Queen as they fight Jafar and his new ally the Jabberwocky to decide the fate of Wonderland. It's here that all lingering questions are answered and all character arcs are fully completed.

As far as stories go, this is top tier OUAT. I think I like the Dark Curse and Neverland Sagas slightly more, but the Wonderland Saga comes in at an incredibly close third place.

Characters - There are less of them than in the main show, so this will be easy.

* We start with Alice, played by Sophie Lowe as a teenager and by pre-Stranger Things Millie Bobby Brown as a child. She is a wonderfully multi-faceted heroine, capable of great love and great hate, great kindness and great cruelty, great ingenuity and great gullibility, and always treading the line between holding to hope and giving into despair. While her romance with Cyrus is the focal point of the story, I love that it's not the only important aspect to her character. We also delve into her fractured relationship with her father; her initially unsteady but eventually rock solid friendship with Will; her hate, fear and distrust of Anastasia up until she finally sees the girl behind the queenly mask and how very much alike they truly are; and even her internal mental and emotional conflicts with herself on various matters that sometimes go external due to how Wonderland works. And no offense to Emma Swan, who is great in her prime, but I feel like Alice is ultimately the stronger and more likable lead.

* Cyrus really impresses me, because being the romantic male object of the heroine's attention and a guy who spends the entire first third of the story stuck in a cage, he could have very easily been a boring character. But very quickly, he shows that good looks and magic powers aren't all there is to him - this guy is smart. His cleverness and ingenuity that allows him to affect the plot even when inside his cage is something to behold, and he only gets better once he's free from his prison and gets to play off other characters with more frequency. Add to this a backstory where we see he used to be a selfish con artist, and it being his love for Alice that changed the selfish part while repurposing the con artist part for the cause of good, and you have a character you can enjoy and a couple you can root for.

* The show's breakout character, for better or for worse (no, it's definitely for worse, as we'll see in the next post) is the Knave of Hearts / Will Scarlet. Played excellently by Michael Socha, Will was formerly one of Robin Hood's Merry Men but is now an outlaw all to himself in Wonderland. He's sardonic and quippy, selfish and yet reliable at the same time, eerily muted in his emotions due to having his heart removed from his chest and yet clearly possessing deep feelings within his soul that occasionally bubble to the surface. We watch him go from an untrustworthy, cowardly cad who refuses to accept responsibility for anything to a brave and loyal friend who will sacrifice his own well-being for those he cares about. And his love story with Anastasia honestly steals the show from Alice and Cyrus', as it's full of betrayal and heartbreak and fights and truces and reconciliations before its happy ending, and that honestly feels more human than Alice and Cyrus' entirely plot-based separation.

* Speaking of the Red Queen / Anastasia, she is the female villain with a redemption arc that Regina (and Zelena, to a lesser extent) wishes she was. When she first appears, the Red Queen seems to be a chillingly calm and poised sociopath without moral scruples, but she quickly starts displaying vulnerability, and kudos must be given to Emma Rigby for conveying this through her amazing performance. Her cool, haughty face is like a mask, with more and more cracks beginning to show until we see who she really is - Anastasia, a peasant girl who was misled into a life that was full of power and privilege but that was also lonely and way over her capability to endure in the long run, and who desperately wants to take it all back and return to who she used to be. Once she realizes that she won't be getting the magic shortcut she seeks and that in the process of seeking it she'd wrought even more damage to Wonderland, Anastasia fully commits herself to doing better by everyone that she'd hurt. Even horrific torture, temporary death and mind control doesn't stop her from aiding in the cause to save Wonderland! She's amazing and more than earns her happy ending with Will.

* I could gush about Jafar, the Big Bad of the story, all day long. Jafar has always been my favorite Disney Villain, but he's the villain of an animated musical comedy, so I guess I've always had the question in the back of my mind as to what he'd be like if applied to something with a more serious tone? Well, this version of the character, played to chilling perfection by Naveen Andrews, answers that question. Stripped of most of his caricatured and humorous elements, Jafar is a psychotic, power-hungry madman who will stop at nothing to get what he desires. There is no-one he won't manipulate or torture or murder in his quest to become all-powerful. And the show also gives him a feasible, compelling and incredibly dark backstory (he's the bastard child of an Agrabahn sultan who rejected him to the point of trying to murder him) that explains why he is the way he is but is never used to excuse him or entertain the slightest notion that he might be redeemable.  This version of Jafar perfectly embodies what Roy Disney and Jeffrey Katzenberg said about the original: “Jafar is just pure evil. He wants to take over the kingdom and kill everybody in sight or enslave them, or whatever suits his fancy." "This is the guy that wants it all. You know right from the start that he is a desperate character, capable of doing anything and everything to get what he wants".

* The White Rabbit / Percy is a purely CGI character, and you'd fear that this wouldn't work, but the show embraces how cartoony he is and so it actually works perfectly. He's a very appealing character as well: very neurotic and cowardly, but also a family man whose heart is in the right place and who can be very brave when push comes to shove. A lot of his likability also comes from the fact that John Lithgow (yes, I'm surprised they were able to get him too!) does his voice, and I can't think of anyone else who could voice such a character better.

* In terms of side characters, we have many Wonderland staples reimagined for this show, such as the Cheshire Cat who is now a feral beast voiced by Keith David, the Caterpillar who is now a Jabba the Hutt-esque crime boss voiced by Iggy Pop (who sounds nothing like the voice from the main show, but I digress), Tweedledee and Tweedledum who are the Red Queen's manservants (one being undyingly loyal while the other is a spy for Jafar), the sleazy Red King who tempts Anastasia into becoming his bride, the Carpenter who is trapped in a drug-like haze in the Boro Grove, the White Knight who stands guard over an important pair of doorways, and the Jabberwocky, a monster in the form of a humanoid woman whose power is being able to see a person's greatest fear and use it to psychologically torture them.

There is also mention of Alice having met Jefferson the Mad Hatter when she was a child, and Cora the Queen of Hearts herself appears in the flashback that shows how she manipulated events so that Will became the Knave of Hearts and ensure that Anastasia remained the Red Queen, whom she taught magic and villainy to and treated like a daughter. Regina, Zelena, Anastasia...is there no young woman that Cora won’t attempt to ruin?

Other side characters from other realms include Alice's highly flawed yet ultimately repentant father Edwin, his bitch of a new wife Sarah and her precocious young daughter Millie, and the cold-hearted Dr. Lydgate all from Alice's Victorian world; Robin Hood, Maleficent (voice-over only) and Anastasia's mother Lady Tremaine all from the Enchanted Forest; Nyx the guardian of a sacred well, Cyrus' mother and Jafar's teacher Amara, Cyrus' brothers Taj and Rafi, and Jafar's father the Sultan and half-brother Mirza all from Agrabah. The Sultan, by the way, is a particularly interesting character, as he's introduced as Cyrus' kindly old cellmate and you really get to thinking of him as a good guy, only to then learn who he really is and just what an utterly horrible person he was in the past. His tale is a tragic one, as while he sincerely commits to repenting, it’s not good enough and thus he cannot escape fatal poetic justice.

And then there's one side character that just really gets my goat: Elizabeth aka the Lizard, a cute young thief who has a crush on Will. She appears in the 4th episode and doesn't really do much of anything, then disappears for a while. I thought maybe she was going to end up paired with that "Mr. Darcy" suitor of Alice's from her world and it was going to be a big Pride and Prejudice reference...but instead, she reappears in the 9th episode, becomes the now genified Will's master, and makes a wish that accidentally kills her in order to give Will man-pain. And then she isn't really spoken of again afterward. What was even the point of her!? You could cut all of her scenes and actions from this story and miss absolutely nothing!

Atmosphere - I would describe this show's atmosphere as light and dark, back to back. When it's light, it is much lighter than Once Upon a Time, being very whimsical and romantic and fluffy and hopeful to an even higher degree than its parent show at its best. However, this kind of lightness helps to make the dark elements come off as that much darker as a result. And while there's certainly some dark stuff where Alice in concerned, from an intended lobotomy in the premiere episode to the intense clashing she has with her father, and in the troubled pasts of Will and Anastasia, nothing comes close to the darkness of everything Jafar-related. It's a guarantee that he will do something horrible to someone at least once per episode, although it's usually more than once. The nature of his backstory as a bastard child whose father attempts to drown him plus the intensity of his depraved power-lust also make him a particularly dark character, as is his eventual partner, the terrifying Jabberwocky. Personally, I have always appreciated stories that can balance light and dark in this way and am able to handle both of them, so this show's atmosphere is very appealing to me.

Episode Quality - All I can say here is that there is only one dud in this series, and it's not hard to spot which episode it is. Like I said, while the beginning and middle portions of the show are 4 episodes each, the end is 5 episodes...and the first of those 5, "Nothing to Fear", is incredibly awkward and poorly executed. On top of being where the aforementioned death of the Lizard occurs, the plotline with Alice, Cyrus and Anastasia is also botched. Alice clinginess to Cyrus out of worry that he might become separated from her again and she wants to savor the time she has with him now doesn't really work in the context of needing to find where the freshly genified Will went ASAP, and it makes Alice look bad - Will went through "Bloody Hell" to help her reunite with Cyrus, and now that she's been reunited with him at the direct expense of Will, she doesn't give a fuck? She feels no urgent desire to pay her friend back and be as dedicated to helping him as he was to helping her? Also, the way she verbalizes her issues sounds too ripped off of Emma Swan from the similarly clumsy episode "The New Neverland", and what works for Emma doesn't really work for Alice.

Alice's distrust of Anastasia and dislike of working with her is also badly written, in literally every other episode the tense dynamic between these two has been handled with more care and nuance, but here Alice just comes off as a bratty child. Again, Will is missing and you need to find him quickly, so being able to put aside your differences with Anastasia maturely would go a long way in helping make that happen, Alice! Also, there's a sequence with angry peasants tying Anastasia, Alice and Cyrus to stakes to be eaten by nocturnal wolf-like creatures, and it's so thoroughly mishandled to the point of coming across as comical (Anastasia really can't fight back or escape her binding despite the skills we've seen her have before? Cyrus really thought an eloquent speech was going to instantly convince the peasants to do what he wants of them? The peasants act like they're righteous people who are getting justice against their oppressor and yet then tie two completely innocent people up for daring to go against the grain on the matter? And oh my God, those wolves look awful!)

The only good parts of the episode are the very last scene between Alice, Cyrus, Anastasia and (finally!) Will, plus all of the scenes with Jafar which lead up to the Jabberwocky's debut. Otherwise, this was a transitional episode that needed a lot of fine-tuning from its makers.

Overall - Once Upon a Time in Wonderland is now on Disney+, so if you have that streaming service and haven't watched it, please do so. It's a very well-made limited series that features a great story and great characters played by great actors, and is a definite part of OUAT in its prime. And again, when both completed shows are compared, this one wins hands-down.

[iguessishouldbethankful]

Sly Cooper 1 Review:

As in, I recently completed the game and since I was asked to, I will give my review on it. I’m a little nervous because this is the first time I’m doing this, so hopefully I’ll get this right.

KEEP IN MIND: I did not grow up with this series, and I am going in after @oroanillado gifted me the entire series for the PS3. I am a new fan who basically grew up on Nintendo products, so my views might come off differently.

ALSO: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Onto the review.

0. Initial Reaction:::::::::::::::::::::::::

I was pretty surprised how the game collection required no download or installation. So that was a good little bonus as I could immediately sit down and play it without much of a wait. As for the starting point on top of the roof... lemmie say that Sly is adorable at first glance. His movements are fluid and it’s very satisfying to control him--especially the fact that he has a bass sound to his steps that is beyond addictive. I love it.

Not to mention the music is nice. Not exactly as memorable, but I can listen to it and it does give the area a feel.

And then Bentley opened his mouth. Whew boy. Okay. Rok heard my live commentary every time he opened his mouth, so it’ll be a theme. It wasn’t that bad at first though so it’s mostly me wanting to explore the Police Station. It’s mostly a tutorial level so it’s nothing impressive, just giving the feels.

When Carmelita showed up, like expected, I was stunned by two things: she owns an extra fancy taser gun, and that slow as fuck taser gun is able to cause the destruction of public and private property as a massive scale. Ma’am, can we talk? Can you not blow up the cars?? LADY-

As for the comic style animation? Yes, perfect. I was looking forward to it and was not disappointed. I love the cartoony look it gives to the whole world. Which is something else I noticed--the feel and look of the game is very much like the love child of Banjo Kazooie and Psychonauts. The colors and collectathon.

Also the character motivations for Sly, Bentley and Murray are believable. All are orphans, and Sly saw his family get killed but the bad guys and the family book of thieves stolen. Carmelita? Eh, wish I had more context to her but good cop trying to catch the robber is good enough.

Note: I had no idea Carmelita was actually someone that worked for Interpol. My dumbass thought she was just a French cop. The more you know.

As for the hub safehouse area, it’s simple and direct to the point.

Okay. We good? Now onto the levels.

1. Tide of Terror:::::::::::::::::::

Sly dies in one shot.

Sly dies in one shot.

Sly dies in one shot.

No. This was okay. I was determined to find out how I could get around this. I explored the initial open area, collecting the coins and trying to get the bottles because I knew that the point of the games was to collect all pages, right? So I needed the bottles to get the clues so Bentley could give me the code. Thing is, I ran into a few problems on the get go. BESIDES SLY BEING A ONE HIT WONDERBOY.

I didn’t know I could pimp whack enemies with the cane. So I see this walrus looking mofo just hammering away on a boat and I’m like... How do I not aggro this dude. Keep to myself, reach areas I new I could jump to, and... OH FUCK THERE ARE BOTTLES ON THAT BOAT GOD DAMN IT! Fine. Let’s sneak in. By sneak I mean run around the walrus and realize that the guy just sees me and hammers harder. What? Okay then he doesn’t chase me. Get the bottles, realize after 5 minutes that Sly’s pimp ass cane can in fact obliterate the ship’s pole to get the last bottle, before trying to confront the walrus.

So I died the first time. Then I smacked him. You know, for a one hit wonder as Sly is, I appreciate that the enemies are the same as well. That balanced everything out and not made it a colorful furry version of Dark Souls. So off I go. Up the ladder and jumping right into the second area where there are search lights. I’m like okay, let me go around these and--

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE ROSE BUSH KILLED SLY?!

GOD DAMN IT!!

Yes, a lot of this happened. It has been a while since I played a colorful game like this and I a lot of this is simple designing that is obvious, but I am also someone that enjoys finding other ways to get around them. So many choices in the game seems nonsensical. A raccoon unable to brush by some thorn bushes was rather hilarious. I was basically fussing at full volume while Rok was laughing at me. Which was good, I meant to be hilarious.

I discovered the wonders that were the search lights and that they are easily turned off in the small sections. That I could in fact dodge most attacks from the minor enemy characters. Realized that this damn raccoon cannot swim to save his damn life. LITERALLY.

kjsdbkjsd And then I realized that I was missing quite a few bottles once I got to the end. I was frustrated. I wanted to get them all already. So I went back and tried figuring out how to get them and I SWEAR TO GOD I CANNOT EVEN LOOK AT THE SAFE WITHOUT BENTLEY GOING “YOU DON’T HAVE THE BOTTLES NEEDED TO OPEN IT U-”

Bro. Bro I know. Bro please.

Shut the fuck up.

Got the bottles and moved on. Found out that I absolutely adore Sly being in a barrel and wanted to take that barrel with me everywhere but I couldn’t. Realized that Sly puts come paper cuts outs of his emblem in opened up safes and--can we talk about this? Does Sly just sit in his room with colored craft paper and cuts these out every night? Does he redo them if one comes out funky? Does he get glittery paper or is it like the kiddy kind? Does he do them in the van? Is it with scissors or an x-acto knife?! How do you make these bro you don’t simply walk into a FedEx’s Kinkos to print these out!

Anyway, I’m learning more tricks as I go along, getting all of the keys and bottles and I do go back to each stage to get all of the damn bottles because I am not leaving one behind because I really want all of the pages. I am also seeing all of the death animations Sly does and honestly, the humor in each of them is not lost on me at all. I adore them. The first time I saw him just realizing he’s gonna fall to his death and he just-

I busted laughing so hard and Rok got to hear me lmao oh my god-- But for real, most of his death animations are strangely adorable in my opinion. Especially when he just falls and his little leg twitches. They never made animations like that for other games I played so far (not even for Banjo Kazooie). And the lightness of everything makes it less frustration in my opinion. As though I had no problem if Sly died along the way. Whereas I would get way more frustrated with how Mario or Banjo would die.

Anyway those are my tidbits. But lemmie tell you something.Once I got to the last stage where I needed to get the 7 keys to access the final boss? There’s a treasure chest with crabs mini games.

FUCK. THAT. GAME.

The only reason I got through it was because I’m stubborn and I distracted my frustrations in my chat with Rok as I had this damn raccoon swim around in a submarine, killing about 100 crustaceans just for 40 chests!! 40! Not a normal number like 20 or 25. No. 40. That drove me nuts for some reason.

Anyway, finally got to the final boss after I collected all the horseshoes and lives around the main hub of the level, and then yeeted Sly from the canon ALA Wind Waker style.

Raleigh is freaking gross. Not in voice, but his animation made me feel really nasty with looking at him, which in my opinion was a good visual design and motivator to get rid of him faster. It was also easy to sort of find out what the boss fight was requiring from me in the end--making it so much easier as well. I guess for a kid it’s a bit more difficult and I can understand that. I just enjoyed the fights for having a repetitive nature that was satisfying. Like even if I died many times, the game didn’t throw me all the way out of the level at all. It restarted the fight from the beginning and that, to me, was a good way to introduce me to the entire function of a Sly Cooper 1 boss fight.

I felt happy when I defeated Raleigh. And of course, Sly isn’t a “killer” so froggo dude is still alive, just in prison after “HOT LATIN FOX LADY” caught him. Of course. Can someone tell me where Carmelita is from? Is she Spanish or Mexican or..? Like was that defined by the games or was it thrown up in the air?

Anyway, onto the next level.

2. Sunset Snake Eyes:::::::::::::::::::::

Lemmie just say that I actually enjoyed Mugshot’s backstory? It made me feel really sympathetic towards him in a way.... Despite him being a murderer but you know. It was a nice touch.

Okay so, are any of you familiar with the whole “Mickey Mouse is taking his dog Pluto for a walk” dilemma? Well, I had a moment like that as well in this section. Why? Because Mugshot has feral dogs all over his turf and that messes me up a lot for some reason. Like I always wondered how, evolutionary wise, can an anthro dog and a feral dog look so similar? I had a moment like that as well when reading Farewell, Beloved Falco. There was a feral pig in that comic and it bother the fuck out of me. But it didn’t impede me from playing the game.

The look was very much classical American desert wasteland in the middle of nowhere. Possibly southwest USA if I were to guess, and I liked the feel of the casinos and run down RVs, trailers and cars. However it made me question why this place was a junkyard almost if he kinda has a functioning casino. For Raleigh I could understand because it was a hideout, you do what you can right? Even if you have a fucking floating metal blimp over your hideout, like that won’t catch military attention at all, nooooooo--

But like, an abandoned casino suggests that it was once owned by the mafia or a mob, and just--Okay. Police regulations and gun control. Etc etc, I’m rambling on about things that have nothing to do with the game. Back to the design.

Again, collecting all the bottles like a desperate AA member that needs a hit for old times sake and running back to open up the safe. Can I just say that the names of each Cooper ancestor is rather amusing? Like some have the most dumb but adorable names. Huckleberry Cooper jfc--

And once I got into the main hub, I got my first taste of the “Murray can’t think without his stomach thus gets himself in trouble and needs to race his Moon Rover turned into a Van to win one of the keys” mini game and “Bentley told me I gotta keep you alive as you run through this area full of trigger happy criminals, Murray, plEASE STOP RUNNING IN FRONT OF MY BULLETS MURRAY-” mini game. Nice. Not as bad as the 40 treasure chests crabs.

Also, why would Mugshot or his minions just leave a red sports car running on reverse for days on end?? Anyway.

The inside of the casino was a nice section to play ngl. I enjoyed that a lot. The platforming too, despite some of the bottles being utterly difficult to get without having to die and do the entire section again to get them. And then comes the level when Carmelita decides to destroy private property because she’s after this dumbass raccoon. I wonder how she felt seeing him jump around back and forth breaking bottles and dodging her SLOW AS FUCK TASER GUN.

“Could you stand still?!”

“Nope. Not my fault you couldn’t get a license for a firearm.”

Finally I got to the Mugshot boss fight and like the first one, it was a very satisfying fight. Mugshot had me in stitches because he walked around with his long ass arms instead of his legs at first like lmao! Also once I got to the final third stage, I was all cautious and excite to jump around the wires. Yessss.

Defeated, all bottles collected, Carmelita caught this villain as well, and off we go... stealing shit from the USA before coming back to the Safehouse? Alrighty then.

3. Vicious Voodoo:::::::::::::::

Let me tell you something about myself. I have an intense love for Voodoo in video games. Started with Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Father, Princess and the Frog and I had an intense call back to one of the swamp areas of Banjo Kazooie in this level.

So basically, this is my favorite level.

I think it’s also the level where I argued the most with Bentley as well. Or at least the second one because, since the very first game, he keeps repeating the same obvious commands all the time with a constant reminder of press the O button. Sly? Sly?? SLY! PRESS THE O BUTTON! Bentley? You’re cute, but you gotta stop my dude.

The sliding effect on the long branches was a lot of fun, the tree enemies that had more than one hit kills were also satisfying to beat the shit out of. I also enjoyed the general murky color of the level in general. Just the spooky was definitely my aesthetic. You know what wasn’t my aesthetic? The first mini game I ran into, which was the candle mini game where Bentley would repeat himself all the time right at the start of if you had to restart the level. I muted the entire thing and had Sly mindlessly killing the fishes to turn on the candles while blabbing to Rok on the phone so it was easier for me not to get nervous about the time limit or the amount of candles I had to turn on. It was the same thing with the Chicken Gumbo mini game, but I didn’t mute that one. Because Bentley stayed quiet.

Also, @oroanillado​ is the biggest troll. I was on the beast section of the game and they did not describe to me what it was like. So I’m honestly not expecting much at all, just wanted to grab my bottles and go. Once I’m halfway though, and I already saw the water moving around I’m having Amnesia the Dark Descent flashbacks like OH SHIT OH FUK O Shi- But no. No. What got to me was... This intensely huge serpent coming out of the water and chasing me and my camera kept pointing BACK instead of pointing forward so I could navigate Sly out of that mess while also getting the fucking bottles along the way!!

I was shrieking!! I have an acute fear of things that are larger than normal (it’s connected to my Agoraphobia). I have that with whales and sharks and fish, so I usually avoid big mobs if possible in any game. Yes, including the 3 mythical dragons from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. @thekursedone-lylat​ was present when I was freaking out about saving Naydra and how huge it was. But at the same time I have a big fear of these sorts of creatures, I was laughing and cursing at the end of the level because honestly, Rok was having a good time and so was I.

Oh yes, also the other mini game where I had to navigate the same speed boat thingy and shoot down the on coming ghosts and flaming rocks was pretty annoying until I figured out I needed to destroy the pillars where the ghosts came from. Then it was easy.

But my absolute favorite section of this whole level was the Green Water Full of Body Parts and Bones. Bentley was losing his shit at the beginning of the level and I would accidentally yeet Sly into the water of decomposing bodies like yeah, yeah the turtle won’t like the smell of this. It was just a well designed level, so I had no problems having to redo it to get all the bottles again and again.

Now, the boss fight? I was warned about this ahead of time so I had to unfortunately put Mz. Ruby on mute so I would concentrate on her attacks but apparently they were supposed to go with the rhythm of the song and the Sly Cooper Collection messed that up? I think she was the only Boss I was really wanting to listen to as she talked because she was giving me good “yeah I’m bad, probably not the best one in the group, but I don’t care I’mma own up to it so try to dodge my attacks as best you can” vibes. It was also entertaining to see Sly go Neo with some of the commands.

All bottles collected and onto Winter in China.

4. Fire in the Sky::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Oh hey look, fireworks!

.....oh.

Surprisingly, this entire stage was rather meh to me? It worked like the others, felt like the others, but I really wasn’t as wowed by it. It might also be just the fact that I mostly saw white in general due to the snow, and spent most of my time looking for a few bottles on one section that really irritated me. Like I legitimately got mad in one section and didn’t want to deal with it because of the noises some of the monkeys were making.

This section. I hated it so much because I thought the bottles I was missing were in here and 2 of them were but I needed hints for it. Argh... Everything else in this section was pretty much a blur for me besides the two mini games with Murray, and the one level where Carmlita came back again, destroying more private and ancient property with her taser gun--and the main reason I remember this was because:

Carmelita saying she was going to catch criminal scum Sly and Sly just went “you really need to get woke, I’m not the bad guy here.”

I collected all the bottles but Bentley told me I had to defeat Clockwerk before I could open this damn safe, and it was the only one requiring this!!

Carmelita went down with the dragon statue, into the hypothermia levels of cold water while shaking her fist into the sky.

I will say the part of Sly and Bentley discussing the whole mechanics of Sly taking the rockets into Panda’s lair was pretty funny tho. Just,

Bentley: Hey you might be able to reach the top of the tower before these explode.

Sly: Okay but what if they explode before I get there?

Bentley: Then I guess you’ll blow up into many pieces.

Sly:

As for the Panda King boss fight, it was okay. I just kept running in circles around the arena while approaching the dude. Defeated him and was like okay, I really need to go and defeat Clockwerk now so I can open that safe.

5. The Cold Heart of Hate:::::::::::::::::::

Look.

I get Sly probably weighs next to nothing, Murray, but could you at least break once Sly gets knocked off the top of the van? Or when the rocks are falling down towards us, maybe also step on the breaks so not everyone is being driven to their ultimate death?

No?

Okay.

I will say, I headcanon that both Bentley and Sly were getting an intense case of whiplash when Murray was driving that van around at 120 MPH collecting all 60 computers because... Bentley needed those to hack into something??? It wasn’t as bad as the 40 crabs and treasure chests but man. And then of course there’s the section where, oh surprise surprise, Carmelita is in an obvious trap, slamming her fist on the glass, needing to be saved. Bentley warned Sly it was a trap. But of course Sly is like:

OH THANK GOD THE BARREL IS BACK.

Anyway, obvious trap is an obvious trap. Carm just bitches at Sly right as he gets stuck in the glass chamber and is sprayed with RAID. So Bentley has to save his ass. This is possibly the mini game I dislike the most. I just put Bentley on constantly circling mode as he shot down the targets.I died about 9000 times before I won.

Carmen is all Oh I was wrong about you the whole time Sly!

Sly: Duh.

And off we go to the next section where Sly lost his cane and he needs to recover it with Carm’s help. So I’m controlling Carm’s taser gun. Guess how many times I purposefully killed Sly? Many. For funsies. Because the gun magically got faster once I was behind the trigger.

Next section was the whole climb up the beam tower as it’s being consumed by lava! I very much enjoyed this whole climbing bit. It was fun. Again, died a lot and I actually glitched through the walls because I jumped somewhere I wasn’t supposed to and had to kill Sly along the way. But still very fun.

FINALLY.

CLOCKWERK.

Are we serious? Are we actually serious right now? Clockwerk had absolutely no motivation beyond ultimate hate? WHAT?! That’s just... not a satisfying reason ngl. Anyway, the jetpack flying section was probably the easiest thing ever and I loved it. What I didn’t like was the laser section that came after it... I kept dying. Again. FUCK. THOSE. LASERS.

Clockwerk speaking random little words while malfunctioning was super cute those. I don’t why, but I loved it. I was shrieking by the end of everything though because once I got right at the back end, where I’m supposed to jump on this mad owl, I was not expecting the head to jump on me. HHHHHHH!!!

Anyway, I killed Clockwerk dead. Back into the lava you go. Witnessed Sly give Carmelita the slip of the tongue and handcuffed her onto a railing over an active volcano before yeeting himself. Classy. Then back to his old tricks again with the gang. End credits.

NO WAIT.

The last chest. In the Panda section. Yeah I went back for that and got the extra ending.

0. MY RATING::::::::::::::::::::

Honestly, 8 trashcans out of 10. If Clockwerk actually had a believable motive besides hate, I’d give it a higher rating. But the game is satisfying and I love the mechanics of it.

Bentley just needs to chill the fuck up tho. God.

[cosmopoliturtle]

How did you come about thinking of the Proto Remoraid + Octillery to be different from your original redesigns? As the main difference to the real ones is that the prototypes were much more directly guns. What themes did you use?

I think my original design was a lot “smarter” while the proto design is a lot “funner” I guess. I would never ever in a million years say that my redesign project is aiming for any kind of realism, but I feel with the original design I was trying to make the trasition between animals a bit clearer-- I don’t think they really need to be for the canon Pokemon but that’s what I wanted to do so I made Remoraid more of a cuttlefish while trying to keep the pistol shape so that the larger Octopus shaped Octillery looked more natural.

I feel like even though the proto designs are much more clearly weaponry based I made my redesigns less so because what I got out of it was they were more willing to go over-the-top with them so I tried to make the proto designs a bit goofier then the originals. I was less focused on a “realistic” body transition and more on one that carried over that sort of cartoony, octarok energy so I made Remoraid a trumpet fish and kept Octillary’s original mouth shape and gave them the smaller eyes to try to get across that these one’s are a lot sillier and friendlier then their original counterparts, which could be seen as maybe a bit more feral.