#this is all i have seen of sot

[shellymarshdaily]

194. defeated

[riacte]

I wasn't thinking of doing this because we got overwhelmed recently but I feel this surely deserves a poll

Links (thank you @orangeocelotmartyn for all the clips and transcripts, o7 strongest soldier):

Ren to irl Martyn dressed as Velma: I would take you on a date immediately!

Ren commenting on the length of character Martyn's Velma miniskirt

Ren saying he spat tea all over the keyboard when he saw Martyn's costume

Martyn: Today we are…just two dudes, chilling in a hot tub, playing MCC, and—it might be gay, who knows? I dunno, does playing MCC make you gay?

Ren taking a photo of Martyn against the sunset on Wild Life

Ren: I'm here to soften this man this season. You see I've come back with love and and goodness in my heart and hopefully I can get rid of the evil that is within this one's soul.

Martyn discusses building a throne for his captain Ren in Rats

Ren in Rats: I've seen every corner— I've seen more corners of that man than any other human on earth

Ren says Martyn looked "absolutely fabulous" doing SoT

Ren: I'll have to sleep with the man tonight (sharing a hammock with Martyn in Rats)

Martyn calls Wild Life Renwood Mound "romantic"

Ren: Me and the Hand used to do a fair bit of tickling

[ravennaortiz]

Hello my lovey!!! I’ve come on my knees asking if you could please write for our beautiful Juice with the prompts from Fluff #44 and one from Angst #11? I’d love one from them all but I’ll start with those 😊 Thank you!!

Confiding

Summary: After picking up Juice from the police station. You demand to know what is happening with him. A fix it fic! As always 18+

Neither of you spoke as Juice slid into the passenger seat of your car. This was the fourth time this week you had been called to the police station to pick him up. Each time he looked more and more beaten down. You glanced at him as you put the car into drive but he quickly turned to look out the window. You frowned because as quick as he had been you had still seen the shine of unshed tears. You tapped your fingers nervously on the steering wheel as you waited to turn out of the parking lot. Words stuck in your throat. Desperately wanting to beg him to tell you what was happening.

Between the random phones calls and messages, the caginess about his phone. Disappearing for hours sometimes days. Coming back bruised and beaten with no explanation. On top of the issues with the club with missing drugs and dead members. Things were starting to feel too intense even for you. Which is why you had been making plans to get you both out of Charming. You at first had been pleased with Juices distracted mind. It had allowed you to do what you needed to guarantee both of yours safety.

But now. Now you needed to know what was happening. You couldn’t risk Juice being locked up before you both could leave. Which is why without any warning you whipped your car across oncoming traffic. Horns blared, wheels screeched and Juice was screaming as you skirted off onto a side road only you and the local cops knew about. It used to be your brothers favorite sot to run radar at before he was gunned down at a SAMCRO funeral a few months ago.

“What the fuck babe?” demanded Juice as he stared at you wide eyed. Arms paltered to the door to keep from hitting his head, chest rising rapidly as he tried to calm down.

“You tell me” you demanded annoyance in your voice as you slammed the car into park.

“I can’t “started Juice as he shook his head before you cut him off

“You can and you will. Now Juice” you shouted making him flinch as you slammed your fist down onto the center console. You felt bad but pushed on. “I have been the picture of good Old Lady. I’ve let this shit go for a bit. Trusting you. Now I need you to show me that you trust me and tell me what the fuck is happening. Tell me if I’m going to lose you. I deserve that much”

Juice turned to the window his own fists balled up as he tried to fight back the emotions that were ready to burst from him. He leaned forward as his chest tightened. “I ….I… baby please” he sobbed out as he reached for you.

“I’m here. I’m always here, never going anywhere” you soothed as you undid your seatbelt and moved to hold him. Squeezing his hand as he cried. “Please just tell me Juice” you begged as your own tears fell onto him.

Once he had calmed down he told you everything. From Roosevelt pushing up on him and threatening to tell the club about his dad. Then to stealing the coke and shooting miles and a slew of other things. “I didn’t want to tell you because I was scared of you getting hurt. Clay wouldn’t hesitate to have you killed and neither would Roosevelt. Are you ashamed of me? For being a coward and traitor?” he asked softly as his brown eyes met yours.

You shook your head as you smiled softly and rubbed his head before leaning down to kiss him. “No. No baby I’m not ashamed of you and you are neither of those things. I meant it when I said for better or worse Juice. We will get through this. You trust me right?” you replied as you continued to rub his shoulders and back.

A Few Days Later

Clay, Jax, Chibs,and Tig stood behind the yellow caution tape. Trails of smoke still curling into the air as cops and firefighters shifted through the debris of what was once a house.

“Sorry Clay. No survivors.  Don’t think they even knew what happened, looks like they were asleep on the couch when the explosion happened.” Stated Unser as he and Roosevelt walked over to the group.

“Accident or no?” inquired Clay as he rubbed his face.

“Unclear at this time. But seems to be a freak accident” replied Unser as Chibs phone went off.

-Safe. Thanks-

Chibs deleted the message before coming back to the group

“Thanks Angel” you called as you and Juice stood on the porch of your new house as one of your new employers drove off waving good bye.

“We are going to need to have a discussion about the company you keep” chuckled Juice as he shook his head. Never had he thought he would be getting smuggled into Mexico nor that his wife would end up having ties to the Mayans and Cartel.

[kobebibebi]

I’ve seen your art around a few times, and it is stunning! How are you able to create such distinctive character designs (I saw the sot ones and they’re beautiful, especially Kenny)?! It’s incredible

Thank you friend :-)

OMGDHDGG#&$&-$&$&#&&$&$ HIIIIIIIII 💖💖💖💖 I LOVE UR MULTIVERSE FIC/AU <33333 UR AWSOME??????#-_?#&!;#&#&

sorry about thar,, anwyay

THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!! 😭💖💖💖

about my character designs especially for my fantasy au, i wanted to make each of the main 4 shine (and at least basically make each of them equally the main character,, tho i think i failed a bit since its obvious i liked princess kenny more lol)

in context they're all pretty important figures in the story, each leading their own faction so i think it just made sense that i would make them all have their own distinct fashion styles and vibes,

and since they're the first designs i made for this au i wanted to establish a style/vibe for each faction so i can have a guide on other characters belonging to those factions,

-like kyle's design having floral patterns and intricate clothing to show the long standing culture of the elves, i wanted to make him look the most traditional so i opted to give him A LOT of detailed patterns than he did in canon

-or a very simple and practical design for stan to show that unlike the others he (and his faction) focuses more on fighting and combat than being fashionable and presentable to the public, so i gave him simple clothing that isn't really too far from his actual canon design

-for cartman i wanted to emphasize his star motifs more and push more on his individuality as a wizard, in my au kupa keep is a freshly new faction in comparison to the elven kingdom so I really went hard on making his design focus on himself rather than his faction (which is honestly pretty in character now that i realize lol)

- and lastly princess kenny, i wanted to make a design that screams "i will go to war for her" considering her famous reputation for gaining followers simply for her looks and charms, and obviously with a very anime fantasy inspired design

im really glad i could share these 😭, i put a lot of thought, time and effort for these designs so thanks so much for asking this literally !!! i could go on for days on how i designed them 💔

(also sorry if this isn't the answer you're looking for 😔 this is the first thing i thought of lol)

but rlly tho tysm im glad to hear that especially from u oh my goodness i actually freaked out and almost screamed in my classroom when i saw this ask 😭😭

and fr tho 😭 I really love your Top 3 reasons to not open a multidimensional time rift: number one will surprise you fic💖💖💖 i genuinely read it everyday and it's also stuck in my head get them out please /j, i love it so much and you're a really amazing writer + artist and i love ur works so this ask is so awesome for me (also we're mutuals now omgg)

[1moreoffkeyanthem]

Aight here’s a few of my favorite SP fics that no one asked for

I’m generally more of a one shot kinda lad but since getting into South Park I’ve read SO MANY GREAT longer ones so here’s just some highlights: (all on ao3)

Ship In A Bottle FayOfTheForest. One of the first sp AU’s I read, we got PIRATES. HOMOEROTIC SWORD FIGHTING. WLW CREEK. SLOW BURN STYLE. (Injured stan my beloved) KENNY. BUNNY. The parents SUCK. Literally such a kickass story!

This House of Mine by OrcaTimes. VIOLENCE. GANG ACTIVITY. CREEK. I really love the characterization of everyone in this fic, especially Craig. Seriously man. Also THE K2 IN THIS SLAYS (we got some PRIME Kyle injury too god I love him) THE ENDING IS SO SATISFYING TOO!!!

Peppermint by boxwinebaddie. Bro. Literally my all time favorite style fic. I’m so serious. The writing and story are BEAUTIFUL LIKE SO FUCKING AMAZING The PINING. THE HEADCANONS. I COULD GO ON FOR HOURS. Pls if you check out any of my Recs READ THIS ONE.

Maybe For Real This Time & The Kids Are Alright by WeirdBBQDad. Dude. I have no words other than KENNY FUCKIN MCCORMICK. Also Style. Also families. Just- just check it out.

Hang ‘Em High by littledeathsinmusicalbeds. Cowboy au. Creek. Established Style. Bounty hunter Kenny. Massive slay.

The Thief Trilogy by wintergrew. WHEN I SAY IT LIVES IN MY HEAD RENT FREE. The world building is PHENOMENAL literally my favorite SOT AU OF ALL. Long as hell, but SO worth the read holy fuck. I adore Stick Of Truth.

You’re The Prettiest Boy I’ve Ever Seen by burnt_pancakes. CREEK. STYLE. MISCOMMUNICATION. BUNNY. KENNY IN GENERAL. the friendships in this are PERFECT.

Your name written upon mine by sooduhnim. SOT STYLE. Soulmate au that’s INCREDIBLE seriously I love this one and can’t wait for an update.

How We Began by PastorCraigEnjoyer. Ok yes I’m cringy as shit for the self promo but this is my favorite long fic that I’ve written. Slow burn SOT STYLE, no war just fantasy gays falling in love, injury, sickfic, all my favorite bullshit and I loved writing it ok.

N1SM by kiritila. A classic in the fandom. Style. A masterpiece.

Between the Sinners and the Saints by KaiterTot. Oh. My. God. When I say this one altered my brain chemistry… THE ENDING DUDE HOLY-

A Few Last Wolves by Jwink85. Yes, I am a resident of the State Of Style by way of Creek Nation but this is Cryle. And it’s a slay. If y’all liked Frank and Bills episode in TLOU, it’s kind of an au of that. It works man.

Winter Butterfly ALSO by Jwink85 and ALSO Cryle. What can I say it’s incredible. The Style in the beginning is CUTE until shit hits the fan, too, and I thought this fic was a really interesting take on all the characters and relationships. I adore Tweek in this one too.

Something Sweet Like Honey by bluebryy. Ok this one is unsettling and creepy Craig makes me feel icky but I cannot WAIT for an update on that fic, I got my fingers crossed for Style endgame. Also CHECK OUT THEIR ART ON HERE they converted me to a short king Kyle truther and it’s a slay tbh.

Ladies and Gentleman We Are Floating In Space by gremlinteeth. A classic. The first sp multi chapter I read. THE LORE BRO. CREEK. STYLE. STANS CHARACTERIZATION GOES SO HARD HES MY BOIIIII

Ok. That’s all my recs for now. Sry for being insane.

[florianniss]

Coin, Peace, and Quiet

RatedE

“Jaskier,” he tries, collecting the man’s boots and crouching to shove them on. “Get up. I’ve got something to make you feel better.”

Jaskier does not get up. Instead, his hand appears from inside, just like the foot, palm facing up.

“Give it ‘ere,” he mumbles from deep within. “I think I’m going to throw up.”

Smiling despite himself, Geralt hands over the vial, waiting as Jaskier scrabbles and untangles and his head is finally freed. His long hair is mashed against his cheek on one side and sticking up on the other. Blue eyes hide behind lids stuck closed with sleep. He downs the tonic in one go. Grimaces. Tips his head back and howls.

“Oh, Gods! Can’t you add some sweetener of some kind? Any kind? I’ve seen honeycombs in the lab! Don’t tell me you bastards literally have no taste.”

Geralt may have chuckled. Impossible to tell over the man’s caterwauling. He pushes to his feet and flings aside the furs. 

“Get up. I’ve something else that will help.”

Jaskier complains, loudly, as he follows Geralt out of the castle. He shields his eyes from the sunlight, throws his cloak over his face like a toddler woken from a nap. The tonic has cured him of sickness, both in stomach and head (mostly). Geralt doesn’t allow the man any pity as he hoists him onto Roach’s back.

“You expect me to be able to ride in my condition?”

Geralt mounts Vesemir’s horse, collects the reins, and clicks for Roach to follow. He says nothing other than ‘Hm’ as they trek across the mountainside.

His patience has begun to grow thin by the time they arrive, but he knows he will never lose it again. Jaskier is annoying and chatty and dramatic and foolish. But he is also brave and loyal and strangely alluring.

Geralt dismounts and ties the horses to a tree, then pushes Jaskier off Roach to the ground with a smile. The man lands in a pile of snow, surprised and disgusted. But as Geralt loosens the animals’ girths and removes saddles and straightens rugs over sweaty coats, Jaskier catches sight of the unfrozen water.

“Is that —?” He struggles to his feet, mouth wide open and blessedly silent. He takes a step away from the horses, then looks back, stunned. “Is that —?”

Geralt cannot help but laugh. “Take off your clothes and get in, you boozing sot. It’ll do you good to have a bath.”

Jaskier blinks for a few long seconds before enthusiastically ripping off his cloak and boots. He strips none too gracefully, nearly falls face first, naked, in the snow. But soon he’s tiptoeing painfully across the icy rocks and into the volcanic heated water of the hot spring.

Geralt does not shy from studying the man’s arse. It’s soft and jiggly in all the right places, hard and muscular everywhere else. This isn’t the first time they’ve bathed together, and it won’t be the last. It’s just the first time since Geralt’s epiphany.

“Oh, oh, oh, oh,” Jaskier moans as his tall, lithe body disappears beneath the surface. He sinks to his knees and water flows over the deep crevice in his back. “Oh, Witcher, you cruel, cruel monster you.” He turns. Water pools and eddies around him. “Why haven’t you brought us here before?”

Geralt pulls off his boots, discards the cloak and slides the shirt up and over his head. He collects Jaskier’s clothing into one arm with his own, following the trail to the water’s edge. The rocks are covered with thick layers of ice. Steam lifts from the spring’s surface. It slows as it rises, curling white around Jaskier’s head and shoulders. It causes his eyes to appear even more blue than ever, and halts Geralt’s forward progress for the pool.

Jaskier smiles, looking half-drunk still, taking in what he can of the Witcher’s exposed skin. His gaze ends at Geralt’s feet, bare in the snow, sunk to the ankles. It lingers there for a few moments before drifting back to Geralt’s face. His expression grows serious.

“No need for modesty, Geralt,” he says, averting his eyes. He swipes long fingers just under the surface of the water. “We’re friends. Aren’t we.”

It’s not a question, it’s a statement of fact. Jaskier has unequivocally forgiven him without Geralt saying the words aloud. 

The Witcher removes the rest of his clothing, lays everything out over the spread of his cloak in the snow. He joins Jaskier at the deepest part of the pool, keeping enough distance between them to allow Geralt to think. The acceptance in Jaskier’s voice is something he wasn’t prepared for. It will require taking a different path.

Ripples radiate outward from the former Bard’s body, chest heaving above water. A tentative smile returns to his face and he meets Geralt’s eyes without fear.

“Yes. Of course we’re friends,” the Witcher affirms. Something flutters inside his chest. Something else closes his throat.

Suddenly Geralt is very aware that what he feels for Jaskier is definitely not what he thought.

Read on AO3

[shushmal]

Eddie only just was able to get the barman's permission to perform this night, and glad he is for it, as his pockets have weighed lighter than ever before in his life. He'd be pleased to find pay in a tankard or loaf tonight, anything to fill his aching belly.

But he's lucky as the men and women here seem to be in high spirits. The land has long been in war since the king's death, rotten bastard he may have been. Eddie hadn't been sad to see him go, but the chaos that followed had ruined the smallfolk in consequence since their coward prince had fled the scene of his crime. The king had been cruel, but still he'd been their king, and the common people spit on the prince's name still, even when some new royal's been crowned and brought peace with him.

And that kind of ire is what feeds Eddie on nights like this.

"Kingslayer, kingslayer, little Prince Steven has run," he sings, bawdy and loud as the crowd of men around him sing along. "Run up the hills and past the sun, took our king Phillip and gutted him plain, our kingslayer Prince Steven, a coward more than a maid!"

They sing along with him, hooting and hollering all to the end of it, and pay him in copper coins and ale that Eddie takes happily, slurping it down as he rests by the fire.

It's then he sees the table in the corner, the cloaked figures surrounding it, and the woman glaring daggers at him. But more interesting than that is the most beautiful man Eddie's ever seen, smiling at him wearily, eyes bright and interested and a little sad. Eddie's got no fear of a quick tumble with dangerous men, so he takes his gittern and his ale and makes his way quickly to them.

"Fair night, weary travelers," Eddie crows as he wiggles himself between the woman and the beautiful man. "What brings you so far out from the capitol?"

The lot of them regard him with mixed interest, the older man not even looking up and a girl with firey hair treating him with a sign of boredom.

"What business is yours to know, bard?" she says, already turning her nose off to watch the rowdy tavern beyond their table.

"None at all," Eddie says, leaning into the man beside him, slinging an arm over his broad shoulder to feel the heat of him beneath his cloak. "I'm here to do nothing but entertain tonight, and I fear I've bored your table to tears! I do take requests you know, for the right coin."

This he says to the man under his arm, leaning in closer to get a good look at those pretty brown eyes in the dim light of the fire.

"We have no coin for you, sot," says the woman beside them, ire evident in her tone. "Be gone with you—"

"No coin, that's true," says Eddie's beautiful man. He smiles at Eddie now, pearly teeth and pretty lips, and Eddie would sing him any song for nothing more than to keep those eyes on him. "You'll have to forgive us, we're not good company I'm afraid."

"Richer company wouldn't be as sweet as yours, dove," Eddie tells him, watching the pink of his cheeks darken.

There's a gagging sound from across the table, and its then that Eddie realizes he's in the company of striplings. Two girls in men's clothes, both of them are young in the face and barely past their majorities. Yet still they are travel-worn, all five of them: the two girls, the woman and the dour man, and the beautiful budde under Eddie's arm.

Chuckling, he says to Eddie, "A wag you are, bard, with such empty words. Do you flirt so with all poor men you find?"

"None are poorer than me, sweeting, and none are more enchanting than you. It is payment enough just to look at you, and I would sing for an age and fill my empty stomach with just your smile, or your taste if you'd grant me—"

"Gods damned!" the woman Eddie's other side gusts. "I cannot hear another foul word." She stands then, and the two girls follow, one rolling her eyes and the other giggling quitely. The woman leans past Eddie and hisses into her companion's ear, "Be done with this fool swiftly, or I'll leave you to the wolves."

"You'd never," he says back to her, smiling at Eddie, face flushed pretty and dark even as he speaks.

"Hopper would never," she says tilting her head at the remaining dour man still sitting at the table, deep into his cups and paying no mind to any around them. "But I would sell you for tanner and a duck to the first bidder."

"I'm worth at least an ox," he tells her with a cocky grin, and Eddie might want more than just one tumble with this man. "Find a room and I'll find you when I please to."

She huffs and stomps off, the girls on her heels.

"So," Eddie breathes, leaning even further into this beautiful man, until his voice is a secretive whisper, just for the two of them to hear. "Tell me, sweeting, what shall I call you when I write songs of your beauty to sing across the land, until kings beg me to their courts to recount your grace, your smile and your laugh?"

This man, to Eddie's displeasure, seems to wilt, to grow weary once more, even as he smiles and leans close, his words scarcely a breath against the shell of Eddie's ear.

"If it pleases you, and I'm sure that it won't," he confesses. "You can call me Steven."

[nogoodsheepstealing-greatgrandma]

On Rosby and Stokeworth

There is one particular matter that I don't see brought up a lot whenever Rosby and Stokeworth are used against Rhaenyra. And that is the matter of Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White:

Their deaths left her with a nettlesome problem of succession, however. As it happened, each of the “faithless friends” left a daughter; Rosby’s was a maid of twelve, Stokeworth’s a girl of six. Prince Daemon proposed that the former be wed to Hard Hugh the blacksmith’s son (who had taken to calling himself Hugh Hammer), the latter to Ulf the Sot (now simply Ulf White), keeping their lands black whilst suitably rewarding the seeds for their valor in battle. But the Queen’s Hand argued against this, for both girls had younger brothers. Rhaenyra’s own claim to the Iron Throne was a special case, the Sea Snake insisted; her father had named her as his heir. Lords Rosby and Stokeworth had done no such thing. Disinheriting their sons in favor of their daughters would overturn centuries of law and precedent, and call into question the rights of scores of other lords throughout Westeros whose own claims might be seen as inferior to those of elder sisters. It was fear of losing the support of such lords, Munkun asserts in True Telling, that led the queen to decide in favor of Lord Corlys rather than Prince Daemon. The lands, castles, and coin of Houses Rosby and Stokeworth were awarded to the sons of the two executed lords, whilst Hugh Hammer and Ulf White were knighted and granted small holdings on the isle of Driftmark.

TG always presents the Rosby and Stokeworth issue as Rhaenyra choosing between daughters vs sons - fighting for women's rights vs thinking of herself as the exception. They ignore of course the situation Rhaenyra was in - that situation being in the middle of a civil war and needing to keep the lords on her side. Plus thanks to Tyland Lannister stealing the treasury, forcing Lord Celtigar to raise unpopular taxes, she was in an even worse position to start promoting radical reforms that would alienate the lords of Westeros. TG love to claim moral relativism in a fantasy-medieval patriarchy to justify calling Aegon the rightful monarch, yet they weirdly demand that Rhaenyra be a radical third wave feminist.

But not only do they ignore the situation Rhaenyra was in, they miss that the decision presented to her - by her Hand and her husband - was really between either the Rosby and Stokeworth sons... or Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White. On one side she had her Hand, Corlys Velaryon, warning that passing over the sons would alienate the other lords. On the other hand, Daemon was proposing that two very young girls get married off to Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White. Aged 12 and 6. To two grown men who were, by all accounts, violent rapists.

So the choice was between the sons (and their castellans, till they came of age) or serving the daughters up to be child brides to reward two dragonriders.

And in retrospect, had she gone with Daemon's plan and given Hugh and Ulf the much bigger reward of Rosby and Stokeworth, they might not have gone over to the Greens. All it would have taken was the sacrificial rape of two girls, and maybe Hugh and Ulf would have been sated.

Now, as Queen, could Rhaenyra have taken a third route, ignoring both her Hand and her husband, and just given Stokeworth and Rosby to the daughters in their own right?

Well perhaps, but

A) The realities of alienating the lords still stand.

B) You've got two angry dragonriders to contend with.

Two dragonriders, expecting rewards. Well they can't be angry if it's out of her hands, can they? If Rhaenyra is just respecting custom and giving the lands to the sons, Hugh and Ulf can't argue they were refused. The lands aren't up for grabs, the girls aren't valuable prizes, they'll just have to be happy with their smallholdings on Driftmark.

If GRRM simply wanted to make the point that Rhaenyra was choosing between sons and daughters, why throw Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White into the mix at all? Is it not then reasonable to theorise that Rhaenyra might have wanted to protect these girls? I'm not saying it was her main consideration (again, there is the political reality of, repeat after me TG, alienating the Lords when she could not afford to), but I think it was a factor GRRM intended for us to consider.

Plus, TG love to call Viserys a 'tyrant' for changing the laws of succession and 'forcing the lords to accept his daughter'. (As if the Grand Council hadn't already established that the laws of succession can be ignored to crown a man, so why not ignore them to crown a woman?). By that standard, wouldn't Rhaenyra be a tyrant for ignoring her Hand, for giving two highborn girls to two bastards, for overturning tradition?

Rhaenyra’s flight from King’s Landing had been beset with difficulty. At Rosby, she found the castle gates barred at her approach, by the command of the young woman whose claim she had passed over in favor of a younger brother. Young Lord Stokeworth’s castellan granted her hospitality, but only for a night. “They will come for you,” he warned the queen, “and I do not have the power to resist them.”

This often gets presented as karma for Rhaenyra not backing female succession. And maybe this 12-year-old girl was rightly angry at getting passed over. This can co-exist with the reality that Rhaenyra was not in a strong enough political position to risk alienating the other lords, and I don't blame a 12-year-old girl for not seeing the bigger picture. It could also have been revenge for her father getting executed as a traitor and turncloak (again, fair enough, her anger co-exists with the reality that turncloaks typically face execution in this world). And it could also have been the same consideration as Stokeworth's castellan - this 12-year-old could have feared reprisals for sheltering Rhaenyra.

But that aside, it is so so funny that TG cackle at their supposed victory, at proving that SEE RHAENYRA ISN'T A REAL FEMINIST... as though Rhaenyra not being a perfect feminist somehow makes their own position more feminist? As though the Greens would recognise the daughters rights? As though Lady Tyrell didn't send them an iconic fuck you letter saying "well I could send my army to help, but since I'm a mere woman..." As though Lady Jeyne Arryn didn't recognise that her own rights would be called into question if the Greens succeeded?

The Grand Council at Harrenhal came for what little inheritance rights women in Westeros had - that although a son may come before a daughter, a daughter comes before an uncle. Vaemond Velaryon used the precedent of the Grand Council to put himself forward as heir, Arnold Arryn did the same to try usurping Jeyne Arryn. The Grand Council established that Andal law can be overturned to crown a man. Whatever you think of Viserys and his motives (hypocrisy, favouritism, guilt), he almost established that Andal law can be overturned to crown a woman too. That crucial baby step of rectifying the Grand Council was almost made - it would have been made if Rhaenyra sat the throne unchallenged. The Greens sabotaged Rhaenyra from even making a baby step, and then judge her for not overturning the entire system.

[kifu]

On her way down the hallway, Rogue heard the front door to the mansion open. Remy’s voice, laced in surprise, greeted the guest. Curiosity getting the better of her, Rogue ambled down the hall to the balcony over the entryway. A young woman, around the same age as the high schoolers that all resided there, shivered before Remy. She wore long sleeves and pants, but no coat. Her blonde hair was done up in braids, but it somehow added to a fearsome air rather than young.

“Dis where you been hidin’ out an’ avoidin’ responsibility, eh?” the woman asked Remy. Her accent nearly matched Remy’s, but it was much thicker. Rogue had to strain her ears and concentrate to make out the words.

“Should’a known one’a yas was gonna find me sooner den later,” Remy replied with resign. Rogue blinked. Suddenly, his accent that she already had a difficult time understanding at times, was just as thick as the guest. He shrugged his coat off his back and wrapped it over the blonde’s shoulders, leaving the sleeves dangle at her sides. “Ya must be cold. Whatchoo t’inkin’, comin’ up nort’ wit’out no coat, ma chere?”

“Came ta get you, sot,” the blonde scoffed. She stepped forward, inches away from him, angling her face to his. “Dat gonna be a problem?”

Remy stared at her, refusing to relinquish his ground. “I ain’ doin’ it, Belle.”

Her expression immediately flashed to one of anger, though it whisked by in an instant. The next thing Rogue knew, her mouth was on Remy’s. She kissed him with furious passion, and Rogue was certain that he kissed back. Rogue threw herself to the floor, her back against the banister. She shoved her fist against her mouth to quiet herself, and then leaned over to continue watching through the balusters.

In the short time Rogue worked through her crisis, the woman had pushed Remy back, slamming his back into the nearby wall. She gripped his wrists and held them tightly against the surface. Remy’s coat remained perched precariously on her shoulders. “I t’ought you love me, Remy,” she mewled. She pressed herself against him, her lips brushing against his face as she spoke. Rogue could barely hear her words.

Either she had some unseen super strength, or Remy didn’t care to fight back against her. His chest rose in a deep breath, and then he let it out in a strong heave. “I can’ keep doin’ it no more. It all a ploy doomed t’ fail. I go back, da bot’a us only gonna have more targets on our backs. Our guilds, dey meant ta stay sep’rate.”

“I ain’ afraid, mon amour. T’gether, I know we make it work. You fight like an assassin an’ you’ll have me by your side.” Rogue’s brows knitted together. She wasn’t sure she’d ever actually seen Remy fight. What did she mean that he fought like an assassin? That sounded like a terrible thing.

“I not afraid, either,” Remy rumbled. “I tired.”

“Dat why you ran away?”

“I di’n’t - ” Remy pursed his lips and held a tight breath. “I left ‘cuz’a somet’in’ completely dif’rent.”

“Like what?” the woman demanded.

Remy’s eyes finally slid away from her and any fight he had left in his posture disappeared. “Needed help. Mah mutant powers, I coul’n’t control dem. Found someone dat could help. Turns out, dat came at a … steep cost.” Rogue leaned into the spindles hard enough to hurt. He had enough history with this woman to be more open with her than anyone else around the mansion. Than with Rogue. How could Remy say that he was serious about them when he seemed to keep everything from her?

“What dat gotta do wit’ N’awleans?”

“Da cost brought me a job – up ‘round here in Nawy’rk.”

“Den why d’in’t ya come back?” she asked with mounting frustration.

Remy didn’t answer, but his breathing became more ragged. Rogue realized in the entire time she knew him, she’d never seen Remy in distress. Even when situations could have called for panic, he managed to stay cool and level-headed.

“Remy?” the blond prompted tersely.

His name was enough to snap him back to regain control of himself. “I join up here,” Remy said noncommittally. While this entire exchange was making Rogue realize that she hardly knew Remy at all, she did understand him enough to know that this was … a lie. Rogue wasn’t sure why, especially since it ultimately did end up being truth, but joining the X-Men was not the reason Remy stayed in New York. She believed him that he didn’t want to go back to his home in New Orleans, but obviously things were a lot more complicated than he made it out to be when he first explained his disappearances.

“So ya jus’ drop everyt’in’ ya had goin’ for ya un’er Jean-Luc. Ya abandon him an’ me. Our marriage an’ da union ‘tween da t’ieves an’ da assassins. An’ you what? Decide ya ain’t t’ief no more? Dat ya better’n us?” Rogue pressed her fist back against her mouth, processioning the accent-garbled words she’d just heard. Marriage? That assassin word again – and thief? Rogue understood none of it. He was married? Tears tickled her chin before she realized she’d begun to cry.

“Nah, ya got it wrong,” Remy sighed. “I ain’t fit da be da prince’a t’ieves. I ain’t Jean-Luc’s protege. I jus’ le Diable Blanc from da streets. I gone back t’ help Jean-Luc here’n den, but I tellin’ ya da plans our guilds had t’ unite ain’t gonna work.” When the majority of the X-Men told Rogue that Remy was sketchy, she didn’t think they’d meant it so literally. Remy as a thief explained so much, but Rogue couldn’t comprehend the extent of it all.

The woman snorted and finally released Remy’s wrists, but she didn’t step back to unpin him from the wall by proxy. “He got plans t’ disown ya or somet’in’? What ain’t ya tellin’ me?”

“Ain’t important,” Remy said with dangerous conviction. “But no. Jean-Luc don’ know. He want me back. Him’n Henri jus’ short’a beggin’ me t’ stay e’ry time I down der, but … ma chere, ma amour, it ain’t home no more.” Rogue’s heart skipped a beat, jarring her entirely. She’d caught the pet name earlier, but he called most girls “chere”. He was adding possessives with this lady. She was his love? His wife? He really was playing Rogue like a fiddle and she was bending to his every move.

“Da hell it ain’t, Remy LeBeau!” the woman snarled. “We ruled da streets’a N’awleans as kids, an’ we’ll rule da un’erground as rightful guildmasters, cher.”

“Bella Donna, enough,” Remy said, his tone back to level reason. “Da t’ieves, I know dey all stan’ behind me an’ follow me if I ask, but dat ain’t da life I lookin’ for.”

“Why not?” Bella Donna demanded.

“Je t’aime toujours, ma amour,” Remy replied dismissively. “But I beggin’ ya t’ leave dis ‘lone. Me an’ da t’ieves, we been workin’ t’ings out - ”

“It ain’t workin’, Remy,” Bella Donna cut in firmly. “We know da stupid li’l plans you been concoctin’ wit’ Jean-Luc, but short’a you comin’ home, da assassins guild gonna kill your entire family.”

Remy’s posture broke, his head smacking against the wall behind him. Rogue wiped the tears from her eyes and stared at him intently. “Okay,” he said softly after a lengthy pause.

“Okay?” Bella Donna echoed crossly.

“I go home wit’ you. I don’ need der blood on my hands.”

“An’ me? I ain’t somet’in’ in dis?”

Remy peeled himself away from the wall and grabbed her hands in his own. “Ma amoure, don’ you go believin’ somet’in’ silly like dat, hmm? I love you since da day we met an’ stole candy from dat shop owner.” His face was so close to hers, that Rogue felt hot fury burn away the wetness of the tears off her cheeks. He wasn’t the one to initiate the next kiss, but he didn’t push Bella Donna away when she kissed him again.

Rogue had seen enough. She rolled off the banister spindles and crawled back to the hallway she’d come from. She stood once she was sure she was out of eyesight. The tears came freely again, angry sobs threatening to betray her eavesdropping.

“I gotta tell someone I leavin’ first,” she heard Remy say. This came more clearly and loudly to her ears than any of the other bayou words out of their mouths.

“What for?” Bella Donna asked.

“I promised,” Remy explained simply.

“Oh, so dis personal an’ not professional, hein?”

“Yeah. Dis one is.”

He was coming for Rogue, Rogue realized. He’d promised her specifically that he’d make sure to tell her that he was leaving for home when the occasion arose.

She tore down the hall, masking her footsteps as best as she could in her haste. Hiccups interrupted her muffled cries as fury swirled heavily in her chest. He’d been leading Rogue on all along, but he had the audacity to continue playing pretend for when he came back? He’d lied and charmed her the entire time he’d known her. She was a game to him. And for what? He couldn’t touch her. Rogue couldn’t fathom why her, of all people. There was nothing she could give him. Bella Donna was a much better fit.

[oathkeeper-of-tarth]

hello, your datamining posts are fascinating! i was wondering if you came across any info on the other thorm family members and exactly how they're related to each other?

Hi, and thank you! Glad you're enjoying the posts. Here's another excessively long one, because I love contemplating the disaster that is the Thorm family.

To start with, a quote from Isobel that isn't in the game anymore, from when you could have a conversation with her post-abduction and post-tadpoling:

I grew up in the village below here. A place built by Thorms, with aunties and uncles and cousins down every laneway.

So there was a whole lot of them. And it sure did rub some people wrong that the Thorms had the cushiest jobs around Reithwin. Sadly, on the matter of the Thorms' actual family tree, the answer is going to be disappointing, I'm afraid. I haven't found anything much about them that isn't in the game, and the game itself stays vague. (Bonus: writing this up when I've just gone through Act 2 in my honour mode run so this is nicely fresh in my mind.)

The Thorms are but collectors: collectors of coin, glory, blood, and more yet.

The only relationship that is explicitly defined is that Malus Thorm is Ketheric Thorm's uncle, as the head surgeon bemoans his displeasure with his nephew and the way he seems to favour now-openly-practicing necromancer Balthazar in the Tissue and Organ Register.

As for Thisobald, the one I, along with I imagine most other people, am most curious about - not much luck with EA stuff. A model for the "Brewer" shows up mid-2021, as seen in this datamining thread (note also the "Necromancer" who is very recognisably our gross ol' pal Balthazar). That's about it. There's files in the current game that explicitly describe him as Ketheric's son in the meta info bits, which have no reason to be untrue:

In Town in Act 2 we meet the Brewer that is son of Ketheric and shadow-curse mutated. This one is played when we defeat him. The brewer was once an ordinary person, but has been twisted by the shadowcurse and is now a huge, bloated monstrosity. He speaks in fragments, and is menacing but with an air of melancholy. He wants to drink until he forgets everything, and would like to bring everyone into oblivion with him.

As does he himself, beyond all those "Father Ketheric" references that I've seen explained as a potential title for a religious figurehead:

Son of Thorm. Sot of Sword Coast. I am Thorm. My father's tower grazed the new moon. Yours means zero, nothing, naught.

So yeah, a real head-scratcher, that one. Unacknowledged/mistreated bastard son before Melodia is something I've seen suggested, which might work. But then, he's very adamant and proud and pretty open about being a Thorm. If you choose to tell him about the owlbear mother as one of the tales to impress him, he only offers this:

[SUCCESS] Mothers. Commiserations. This place is my mother. Its teats are copper. Its milk is barrel-aged. [FAIL] We all have owlbear mothers. Mine was a lush. Unimpressive.

So was his mother an unnamed local drunkard, or is he speaking metaphorically again? Isobel, I am begging. Please explain.

What we do know is that they were all three alive and contemporaneous with Isobel's death and Ketheric's war (much love to the BG3 Wiki for having pretty much all of the in-game book/documents graciously transcribed, btw), and are in fact not ancient Thorms raised during Ketheric's Myrkul days and his "desecrating my family's mausoleum" phase, as I've seen theorised.

Gerringothe was banned from the Waning Moon (SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE DID). She was also in her secret logbook complaining about Ketheric's brewing war ruining her profits.

Malus is interesting - he has the big, extra-pointy elf ears (and so does Thisobald?) and he seems to be really old. Reithwin Necrology has him listed as the head surgeon in 986 DR, which is a little over 500 years before the events of the game take place, and so about 400 years before Ketheric's fall. Interestingly, the document lists the casualties of a battle between Dark Justiciars, Selûnites, and even a druid. I wonder if this might be a conflict taking place during the original Sharran occupation of Grymforge, which lasted for 800 years - and perhaps this is how Ketheric came to know of its existence. We also get to hear about some of Malus' atrocities thanks to sister Anna Lidwin, a tragic figure in her own right.

The Waning Moon: Consignments, written by Thisobald, is an extra spicy bit of text, talking about the entire family, and the way they operated before it all became an open conflict:

The ale she fed me was poisoned - and by my own hand! My truth serum was all too effective. I professed the lot: the poisoned drinks, Malus' 'treatments', the interrogations - all of it. She means to reveal our 'schemes' to the Baldur's Gate authorities. Unless, of course, I grace her palm with more gold than Gerringothe could muster. Father would have my head if he knew - or worse yet, donate me to Malus.

The document concludes with this very, very interesting bit:

The Harpers came too close - they poisoned Father Ketheric himself, yet he professes no ill effects. Malus insists it a fluke. Doctor he may be, but he is no less a fool for it: Father has achieved that of which I can only dream: immortality. I have long suspected. I can guess Father's purpose, but I cannot fathom the means.

If you beat all of the checks while drinking with Thisobald a century later, it turns out he did find out the means after all (and Ketheric was aware, threatening him into silence):

Player: What can you tell me about Ketheric? Thisobald Thorm: Father. Father is father. Eternal, invincible, forever, except not. Player: What do you mean? How can I defeat Ketheric? Thisobald Thorm: No, must not, can not, will not mention her. You want father's personal mysterious - (secret) - secret. No, not, never! Father said, ordered, commanded. Don't say it, don't say it! The cage. Her cage. Talk and… perish, die, buried. Buried in Thorm tomb. Father told me. I can't perish - no, nay, neither. Too strong, too…

After all, he does describe himself as a collector of "that which holds the most value: information".

Going back to Early Access, the quests leading to lifting the shadow curse evolved a lot, with one iteration being you needing to find "anchors" for the curse. Madeline (now of He-Who-Was quest fame) was a long-dead Harper and the sister of another Harper character called Callie you could meet. She died fighting Ketheric and, disillusioned with the Harpers as an organisation, hated that she'd inspired her sister to become a Harper too.

Madeline? But she died back in Ketheric's day. Madeline. Her name was Madeline. And she died fighting Ketheric with her last breath. But that's not enough is it? Madeline didn't want Callie to be a Harper. Nothing. What you saw was the truth. Madeline died hating the Harpers - and her darling sister Callie has no idea. Indeed. Madeline died realising she was just a name on a tally, and she hated the Harpers for it. Indeed. Madeline died hating both the Harpers and herself - for she led Callie down the same path.

She - or a keepsake of hers, her Harper pin - was one of the anchors for the shadow curse. You could also "witness her last moments" somehow, which I assume grew into the post-mortem "trial" we have in the game now.

The darkness emanating from that... it must be an anchor for the curse. What, I know not, but it torments this Harper. The memento is the key - the anchor. Do you have the fortitude to retrieve it? This Harper's soul is trapped in an endless cycle of pain, fear and regret. Her soul is trapped here - and a memento she gave you is doing it. If you give me that pin I'll put her soul to rest. I promise. But I don't know you. And I'm not gonna trust you with Madeline's Harper pin. So be a good egg, and bugger off.

It seems you'd do something like this several times. Isobel and Halsin were the main NPCs involved here - you'd find the anchors, and then presumably one of them would do something with them.

I've been studying the curse ever since, searching for answers. Trying to restore the damage my father has wrought upon this land. My life is devoted to unravelling the torment Ketheric inflicted on this land. So please, find the anchors, and bring them to me. I spent years researching the curse, trying to put an end to it. Nothing has worked - yet. The Shadowfell itself pours through this place, but there is no single portal or anchor. Ketheric was a brilliant general, but not a mage. He must have anchored this corruption and opened a path for Shar. This cursed land is ripe with grief and regret. Find the dead filled with such agony - find what anchors them here. The anchors would be infused with Shar's blessing, concealed where the curse of the Shadowfell is strongest. |Please do. For now, focus on finding the anchors, it's the only way we can understand the curse.| These are both anchors. Yet I believe there must be more. Bring back another anchor, and I will tell you.

You would progress after gathering all the anchors, and learn that you needed the "blood of a Thorm":

Yes! The anchors alone are not enough to end the curse. We need blood from the Thorm family line. That makes sense. A Thorm is the one who made it. How do I get the blood of a Thorm? By bleeding Ketheric. The rest of his family... is long dead.

I bring all of this up because at one point the anchors became the "Bones of Contention", and "the Thorms" were what was sustaining the curse. This is also where we get the full trio of "Distillery boss", "Hospital boss", and "Tollhouse boss", who you'd need to defeat to get the bones. A great writeup of this version of the quest, highlighting Halsin's part in it, can be found here in a post by @merrinla. And as you can see in the post we once again have Isobel on research duty. These are from Patch 6:

How do the Thorms sustain the shadows? [NEEDS FLAG]

Interestingly enough, that line survives to release, and is now answered by Thisobald during the drinking game with "the spirit of the land".

|Please do. Come back to me after the night, hopefully I'll be done researching the bones you brought me.| |We know about the bones and we know we need the blood of a Thorm...|

I also found these tidbits that seem to imply a "sacrifice Isobel" option was at least something that you could discuss in the game:

But you have all the bones. Can't we end the curse at Moonrise? Does that mean your death could end the curse? Perhaps. I fear my sacrifice alone may not be enough. / It's possible I may have to sacrifice myself. But this is my father's crime.

Funnily enough, behaviour scripts for Aylin and Isobel that are still in the game include references to the bones, such as:

[Nightsong] "Stand with Isobel while she's researching the Bones of Contention"

receivedBonesFlag = Flag([[SCL_ShadowCurse_Event_GiveBonesToIsobel_26c0ec08-561f-411f-9053-458341c6a7e9]]) finishedResearchFlag = Flag([[SCL_ShadowCurse_Event_BonesResearchProgressed_91936c5f-a3f6-741a-3f1f-ac956ee649f5]])

But I haven't found much beyond that.

And with that, I'll conclude this giant word soup. Hope it was at least slightly interesting!

[spirkkock]

Life Update Tag Game: tagged by @sunlaire and also @lostinsnow (although they were slightly different so I just mashed them together lol) (i also think someone else also might have also tagged me but I lost it deep in the likes.....)

🎧 last song: Let it Happen - Tame Impala (I started listening to the DJDollEyes playlist but it wasn't the right time)

🖍️ favorite color: ohhhh probably green but I also really like orange.

📚 last book: I'm currently reading The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker, but the last book I finished was Authority (Book 2 of the Southern Reach Series) by Jeff VanderMeer

🎥 last movie: I think the last movie I watched was Come and See (1985) directed by Elem Kilmov - which is considered by some to be one of the only (actually) anti-war movies ever made. I highly recommend it but I will warn you, it is one of the most brutal movies I've ever seen. (warning - even the trailer is hard to watch)

📺 last tv show: The Boys (Season 4) - ehhhhhh it's okay. Gratuitous sex and violence. I do think it's funny that when this season came out everyone said "Oh, its too on the nose!" but now that Trump is back in office everything that happens in the show feels absolutely plausible lmfao.

🍜 sweet/spicy/savory: Spicy!

💕 relationship status: Recently ended a long term relationship and we are still living together! So I'm currently single and dating around... coming to the conclusion that I'm gayer than I thought I was... casually in love with one of my best friends (who is a straight man) so that's fun... also hunting this nonbinary twink who got really blushy after jokingly telling me I should "wear less clothes" at a performance they invited me to be in.... sot that might be promising....

🌐 last thing i googled: "hasan ethan klein" - I'm very interested in this drama that's happening (I'm on hasan's side tbh. I don't fuck with liberal zionists or their ex-IDF spouses)

💓 current obsession: Come on..... we all know it's The Terror, and more specifically.... joplittle and soljoplittle and if we're being very specific Solomon Tozer and his fluffy hair and snatched waist. but also I've been very into that cutie Tommy Armitage.

🔮 looking forward to: THE SUPER BOWL BABEY!!!!!!! GO BIRDS! 🦅 🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅 FUCK THE COWBOYS CHIEFS!!!! I can’t wait to get that sweet sweet victory and go party in the streets!!!

No pressure tagging: @helpthebeatles @lust-lizard @ilmapatsas @loycspotting @marshmallow--galaxies- @dykeredhood @sailon-ishmael @holisticghost @palfriendpatine66 @lieutgore @fitzjamesbulletwound @that-gay-jedi @falling-through-a-trapdoor

I'm really bad at tagging people (i just went through my notes and tagged moots) so if you see this and wanna jump in please do!

[moghedien]

Okay so to be clear I have no stake in this since I haven't seen any of the shows you mentioned in your post and I'm not asking you to defend your point. That being said, because Legend of the Seeker has been on my "to watch" list since I was like 16, I have to ask - is there an extra bad reason why it shouldn't be compared to Wheel of Time or is it just general "just because it's middle fantasy doesn't mean it's similar" vibes?

Gonna answer both your asks separately just to avoid going too long on either

but yeah, there's reasons not to compare Wheel of Time to Legend of the Seeker, and its because the guy who created Legend of the Seeker is a piece of shit

basically Legend of the Seeker is based on a book series called the Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind. Terry Goodkind was a libertarian shitbag who definitely seemed to plagiarize a whole lot of other fantasy series of the time period, including of Wheel of Time (which was published first), but at best just happened to write a lot of things that were very, very, very, very, very, very similar

Now you can argue that both series have inspiration from Dune, and sure, they do. But there's a difference from being inspired by stuff (which Wheel of Time upfront is) and outright stealing plot points and worldbuilding aspects and pretending like they're wholly original and groundbreaking (which Terry Goodkind tried to do). And its not just that Goodkind didn't acknowledge that he was inspired by things like Wheel of Time. He outright talked shit about fantasy as a genre and hated his books being called fantasy because he thought they were elevated literature that should be held above fantasy. He didn't just deny that he was inspired by other fantasy works, he was outright offended at the suggestion and called people stupid for pointing it out. Also if you asked him who his favorite author was, he'd always say Ayn Rand and basically no one else.

But the absolute worst thing with Wheel of Time specifically is that when Robert Jordan (the author of Wheel of Time) was literally publicly known to be dying and unable to make convention appearances he was scheduled for, because he was literally dying, Terry Goodkind decided that the best thing he should do as an author was show up at those conventions and make fun of Robert Jordan's health and talk about how he personally as so healthy and his heart was great (Robert Jordan died from a heart disease)

He was also just like massively disrespectful to everyone, including his fans who he thought were all idiots if they did things like had simple questions about his work or categorized his fantasy books as fantasy. And one of the last things he got attention for before he died was mocking the art work for the covers of one of his books publicly online for being poorly done (it was literally fine) only for the artist to come out and point out that they did the cover exactly as they were directed by him and his representatives.

So yeah, fuck Terry Goodkind and Legend of the Seeker and Sword of Truth. There's a bad history between WoT and SoT and its all because of Terry Goodkind being a shitty excuse for an author

[e-adlirez]

The art style of Cloud Castle is absolute ass bro why are their eyes so big

Idk man it just looks.... off

I wish they brought back the og art style like Blue Scarab Hunt because that was gorgeous

Well if you’re referring to the book's artstyle as a whole, then calm down buddy the illustrations as a whole are pretty good all things considered (believe me some of the illustrations in the later books are waaaaayyyyy iffier)

But if you are referring to Danilo Barozzi’s illustrations in the book then uhhhhh… yeah I don’t blame you, I didn’t like the big anime irises either, she didn’t cook with this one,,,

The interesting thing is Barozzi also did pieces for Secret of the Snow and those looked fine (she did well enough that I have to squint to determine which ones were done by her). My guess is either she did a lot of the illustrations for the latter half of SotS and we just got used to it, or it’s because the artstyle of special editions 2 and 3 were more… experimental? Books 4 onwards developed a very specific… look for the artstyle that adhered very closely to the main book illustrations of Spanish Dance Mission onwards, thus the illustrators had to follow suit, resulting in whatever looks off to look especially off.

(Even with this set of pictures, I’m only about 70% sure these are Barozzi’s because of how alike yet different the styles are from each other in the book. The first one could be Barozzi’s, but it could also be Giuseppe Facciotto’s, since he also did illustrations for SotS and his stylization means he sometimes puts the eyes really close to each other in a way that’s weird but still makes sense somehow.) On the contrary, books 2 and 3 (and I would probably even include book 1 there) had a more experimental look to the illustrations, which seems to be based more on (and this is just a theory of mine) Giuseppe Facciotto’s iconic work for the covers of Mouseford Academy books 2-12, 14, 15 and 17 in the English books (he did waaayyy more covers for the Italian Mouseford books— he was basically the cover guy for the Mouseford books for a WHILE) as well as the books from Spanish Dance Mission to Lost Letters. If you’re wondering why those covers go as hard as they do, then now you know why.

(These aren’t all of Facciotto’s works for the covers we know in English but you can see that he popped off <3)

But yeah as you can see with special editions 2 and 3, the art direction seems to be heavily inspired by Facciotto’s artstyle.

However, when Barbara Pellizzari’s works became the aesthetic poster child of the books’ brand, that was reflected in the illustrations and how their aesthetic changed, as seen in the main books and how they look currently, special editions 4-9, and the Treasure Seekers trilogy.

This new profile thing of the girls? This was done by Pellizzari (coloring was done by Flavio Ferron), and thus it became the main reference for how the girls look in the book’s illustrations.

And it’s not just in the general direction to the artists for how to draw the Thea Sisters, but also in the direction given to the colorists. Alessandro Muscillo was the colorist for the special edition books since book 1 and the Treasure Seekers trilogy, and you can see that the direction for the style varied through books 1-3, like maybe direction was experimenting with the mood the illustrations were to convey, beginning with the cartoony and bright colors of book 1, easing into the more grounded and layered palettes of books 2 and 3

Then book 4 was when they transitioned to using digital art /j

I jest, but seriously book 4 was the debut of the coloring style we end up keeping for the rest of the special editions and for all of Treasure Seekers, which is very… bright :D

(I would show more picture examples but I manually took pictures of my physical copies for the Cloud Castle and SotS illustrations and gwuh I’m too lazy to grab my entire collection just to take pictures,,)

Bright as in like… the colors are very defined and saturated. I dunno how to describe it, but when you see it, you get what I mean. It’s very bright and pretty and colorful and it stands out. There are still variations that happen on occasion (Star Fairies in particular uses a good dose of airbrush for the lighting and shadow effects, and Crystal Fairies looks like someone had a bit of fun using sparkle brushes), but other than that, it’s very bright. I don’t hate it, but I do acknowledge that yeah, if I was introduced to the series when it had fully transitioned to the new style, I never would’ve gotten into the series in the first place, because the older books had something that didn’t make it feel specifically catered to girls. The colors were bright, but not too bright. Colorful, but unified. They weren’t that complicated, and they didn’t have to be because the colorists (plural, there were at least 3 per book once upon a time) were popping the hell off with the colors they were given. But y’know, the newer books’ consistent style did give me a good spot to practice drawing mouse furries so I’m not complaining too much about the newer style, haha.

(Tiny baby E’s (it’s literally from 2020 what’re you on about mate) her first mouse Violet drawing using Barbara Pellizzari’s artstyle in Treasure Seekers 1 as an anatomy guide!!)

With that said tho, yeah I miss the old books -m- dunno if it’d fit the aesthetic of the special editions but m a n we could’ve had it and it probably would’ve looked cool

Also the illustrations go way harder in the older books, like Prince's Emerald? I've talked about Prince's Emerald and how it goes hard before, and I still stand by it and say that it does in fact still go hard

Maybe it won't fit the uh splash of color they gave the hardcovers, but imagine they grabbed Giulia Basile's coloring work for the graphic novels and used that as sort've a basis for the coloring style of the hardcovers. Not exactly the same-- would probably still add a touch of whimsical watercolor and/or paint to the very cel-shaded style, but we could've had something pretty dope -m-

Anyway that's my ramble simultaneously defending the hardcovers' artstyle and reminiscing on what could've been haha

[sp-growingpains]

Hi hi again!! I havent gotten around to answering your ask yet, but in the meantime let me ask about your girl Jean once more 🫶🫶

1. How would you define Jean's style and aesthetic? What kind of clothes does she wear: is it more form or function? What clutters her room?

2. Does she have pets/would want pets in the future? If so, what kind of pet?

3. I'm not sure if you've answered this one before, but what kind of job would Jean have? And do you have a Post Covid design for her?

4. Since I asked about her SOT AU last time, can you tell me about her TFBW/superhero version?

Hi you!! I'm so glad you're back! You genuinely brighten my day! When I get over my crippling fear of being annoying, you will be bombarded with love back!

LET ME COOK CHAT!!

What an Ass-testic!

I've always seen Jean as a person who prides comfort over style.

When she's a kid, she's all about overalls and things with pockets. The front pocket of her overalls has any cool bug she finds and/or a cool lizard! The freakier looking the creature the more likely it's going to stuffed into the pocket, at least until someone makes her put it back.

Middle school turns to gym clothes mostly. Jean is 100% that fucko who's wearing basketball shorts in the cold, the baggy kind that come down to your knees. But this is also where she starts wearing more band shirts! Dio, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Black Sabbath...the whole nine yards!

High school, there's not much of a change. The only difference is that she starts to embrace the fact that she is in fact a woman. It's around this time where she begins the uphill struggles of accepting her body. Jean honestly thinks for a long time that she's a lumbering, giant. (I won't go into this too much because I'm working on a tiny fic that goes into her inner monolog). Long story short, through the help of the other girls, she begins to wear skirts. She starts small, putting shorts under them and if it gets to be too much she carries a pair of jeans with her. But this era of Jean is what I could only lovingly describe as "Tony Hawk Underground 2 grunge."

When she's an adult, she grows a little more and gets comfortable in her own skin. She realizes that her height shouldn't restrict what she wears and rocks the punk/80s rock style.

If we had to pick a defining clothing item, the "poof ball hat" or the "orange parka" for her, it would he her blue jean jacket. The one with her patched all over them. That jacket she keeps as long as she can, each patch she has on there is for someone special to her. (I plan on redrawing that soon!)

Her space!

Oh man, is it embarrassing to say that I've redone her room like three times in the sims? Her room is what most can relate to where it's an ADHD mess. Like, she understands where everything is because it's in its own little special place. If she cleans it or organizes it, it might as well be gone. That's not to say her room is insanely messy... just well lived.

For starters, lots of posters and pictures. The picture with her and Stan gives a good little look. Jean has those lights and printed photos along her walls, hanging from her ceiling. Posters of horror movies and different bands she's seen live! Beside them are her different instruments. Guitars of different sizes and colors, a few bases, maybe a few records.

The only guitar that isn't up on the wall is her purple one. That stays beside her bed or on her back. When she's bored or feels the need to practice, it's within arms reach. I can see her also having a few energy drinks within reach as well.

She chooses sentimental over material value. The only thing she really splurges on is her bed! She's a tall lady and treats herself to many blankets and pillows. On it is her old stuffed rabbit. You know the kinda plushy that's old as hell and has clearly been patched up too many times, so it looks kinda creepy? Yeah, that's just sitting there in her room, sometimes on her beanbag chair.

Pets~!

While Jean would have loved a dog, especially when she was younger, she's not really responsible enough for one. She neglects herself quite often, and even though I just went into detail about her room, she's not home if she can help it. Jean understands that it's not fair for any pet, so she doesn't really get one until she's an adult. Though she does live vicariously through Stan with Sparky. Or Cartman with his cat!

I can see her doing some research and getting a snake when she's an adult! Probably a Western Hognose Snake! She'd fall in love with their goofy little faces. Letting it rest on her shoulders and neck when she finally gets comfortable with being home. That little guy makes it easier to want to be home!

Poss-Cauvid

I do have a design for her! Maybe once I finish the mountain of projects I have, I'll post an actual picture! I don't see Jean changing too much!

This one is pretty close, though! Jean keeps up with her body, growing to really love it! The only real difference that I would add is that she kinda ditches the braids and starts putting her hair up in a bun. The only time she cut her hair was when she was a kid, and she looked a little too much like Tweek and swore never again. So she keeps her hair long, and the braids just get to be too much. That and she gets a few tattoos! But those are on her back and on her calves, and I'm still debating an arm one for her. (One of them will be a call out to Rhea Ripley because that's who I based Jean's body type off of!)

Professional Dumby

I have talked about it before, but it never hurts to say it again! I kinda said it in passing anyway!

Jean stays in South Park her entire life. That mountain town is her home, it's a part of her. It's something she loves with all her heart.

So, of course, she centers her career around the very thing that made her who she is. Music!

Jean is a high-school music teacher full time! It isn't until the very last minute of high school that she figures this out. Teaching some younger kids how to play guitar because she got roped into volunteer work, and she finds that she's pretty good at it!

The music and arts are very important to her! Especially in such a little town!

Fractured, Broken Even

Oh baby! You know AUs are my favorite thing to ramble about! So yeah, I have a design for her Superhero!AU design. I scrapped it a few times and I've got to work on it again but I based it heavily off of Pizzaz from Gem and the Holograms!

She's not a hero, just like her TSOT!AU, she's an antagonist!

If we're talking about them being kids: She puts on this 80s glam wig, paints her face these vibrant colors of orange and green. Grabs her stupid little guitar and causes problems! Why should Professor Chaos have all the fun? He shouldn't be the only one! Besides, it's unfair that South Park has two superhero teams and theirs only like one antagonist (and Cartman). She's goofy and plays up wanting an arch-nemesis so bad it makes her look stupid!

As for the AU: Jean Wellman only wants one thing in life, the consistency in every universe, and that's to be remembered and loved. What better way to do that than to carve your name into music. So she takes to the stages and gives the people all that she is.

That is until a fight between The Freedom Pals and Professor Chaos crashes into one of her shows. Electricity from the Professor goes haywire, hitting the wanna be Rockstar. Stage lights, wires, amps, the screams of the crowd. It's all she hears before things go dark.

Wires

Amps

Sound

...

Wires

Amps

Sound

...

Music

She hears it. Feels it thumping in her veins. She's not carving her name into music, it's carving itself into her.

And fuck does it feel good. It makes her feel alive. More alive than she's ever felt on stage.

That's when those buzzing fluorescence lights pry her eyelids open. When she comes to, her body feels like energy. Feels like a power cord.

Her hair's changed. A single bolt of blue through her raven locks. It's puffed out just like those 80s glam rockers she grew up loving so much. It won't go down anymore, but why would she want it to?

It's when she checks herself out of the hospital, her legs taking her back to the stage where it happened, that every step feels like she's walking on air. It's when she pulls her guitar out of the wreckage, seeing how it's still in great condition. It's when she slams her nails across the metal strings, and it plays the perfect note; that it all clicks and makes sense.

She cackles, it crackles.

She laughs, it echos.

She's a star baby, and everyone is gonna know it.

Name: Hologram

Class: Blaster/Support

》 Hologram uses a mix of short-range attacks mixed with long-range support moves. She is by no means an ally to anyone, however. Constantly playing both sides. She's a hero when it's convenient and fun, a bad guy when she thinks the tides are a little unfair. Her favorite thing to do is to get the crowd going! Order has no room in her life. It's all about the show!

○ First Move: Catch The Rift- Hologram pulls a cord on her trusty guitar, and in a straight line, enemies are staggered back by the sick rifts. (Causes enemies in a straight line, up to 3 spaces, to get knocked back. Causes confusion.)

○ Second Move: Amp Up- Hologram strums her guitar, and the music heals the soul, rejuvenating her allies. (Small AOE heal in a cross pattern from her location. Cures debuffs)

○ Third Move: Punk Tactics - Hologram brings down the axe crushing legs and hitting below the belt. (A front melee attack that deals massive damage, Causes stun. Can be used every other turn)

☆ Special: Backstage Pass- Hologram steps up to the stage and demands the attention of the crowd. All eyes on her, her song causes the crowd to get lost in the music! (Attacks the entire battlefield. Enemies are charmed and shocked. Allies get an attack up. Does no actual damage.)

How Well She Plays With Others

Fastpass: Is her favorite hero, one of the only heroes in her eyes. Not only is he a true hero, but he's fun! He's so much fun! His speed makes every fight a challenge. Less a game of cat and mouse, and more like two lighting storms going at it. Flashy, hard to predict, charming. What's not to love?

"Fastpass! Can I get an autograph!? Wanna sign the guitar? Come ooooon buddy! Surely you have the time?"

> Will most likely team up with

> More likely to quip with (which she loves)

> Will try to outrun just because it's funny

Captain Diabetes: Her second favorite hero. This is the other true hero to Hologram! She knows that when it comes down to it, he will always do the right thing. Which means he's perfect for the show! Hologram often puts him in a predicament where he's forced to choose. Chase her or save the victims? Knowing him, he always chooses to save civilians. Hologram then makes a scene about it.

"Look at you! You'll do anything for these people! God, you're amazing! You're my favorite superstar!"

> Will never team-up with him, despite really wanting to.

> Loves getting him riled up, even though it's incredibly bad for her

> It's absolutely a game of cat and mouse with him

Toolshed: The fix it hero. He was the one who brought her to the hospital. The reason she can hear the music. The reason why the electricity hit her in the first place. If he hadn't dodged that attack. If he hadn't been there. Well, she wouldn't be the main event. He made her. So she owes it to him to make him a real hero! Hologram knows if she breaks it, he'll always fix it. Make it better! Like he did her!

He's a hero, sure, but he's not a real hero. Not yet. He's got some imperfections, little kinks that she's more than happy to work out! The day she knows she's won is when he acknowledges her as his arch-nemises.

"Look at me! You made me a star! You made me something! It's the least I can do for you, Toolshed! You need me to make you a hero!"

> Will never team-up with him

> Wants more than anything for the city to love him like they love Mysterion

> Acknowledgment or not, she's gonna make him a hero

Human Kite: An alien? From the stars? How fucking rad is that!? At least Hologram thinks so. Her favorite thing to do is to knock him out of the sky. It's a game to her because, in actuality, no one flies higher than her. No one is ever allowed to make her look like a stage hand! She's the main event, and no one from this planet or the next is gonna take that from her! If he remembers that and stays out of her way, they can work together. She'll even let him play alongside her...if he's good.

"You never fucking learn, maybe you need another lesson. Call for backup, I want them to watch me knocking you outta my sky."

> Will team-up with him sometimes, but she'll be pissy about it.

> She does think it's really fucking cool that he can shoot lasers out of his eyes and that he's an alien, it's all jealousy really

> If she successfully knocks him out of the sky, she'll make a show of catching him, smirking the entire time.

Professor Chaos: What a funny guy. What a perfect opener, like those small bands that open for the main event! He's got plans that are beyond her understanding, but they're fun! If they leave room for her and they don't get in the way of her goals, then he's fine! If the city starts to love Mysterion a little more because of him, though, she's gonna have some words for the Professor.

"Look Proff, I owe ya. You're part of the reason I'm like this...but lets not pretend you're the only one playing games. Some of us want a turn too."

> Will team-up with him with no complaints, even follow orders to a degree

> If she thinks it's funny, she'll turn the tables and go rogue

> Is a pain in the ass for both sides, it's only fair!

Callgirl: The last and final true hero on her list. This woman can do no wrong in her eyes! This woman's presence both online and in person leave Hologram star-struck. She's the one person who's allowed to share a stage with her. If only the female hero could see that!

"You're her! You're Callgirl! I'm a huge fan! Can I write your theme song?"

> Will always team-up with her unless Toolshed is involved!

> Constantly tries to get a photo with her. Often photo-bombing if she can help it

> Was a fan of Callgirl before she became Hologram, still follows her social media!

As for the others? She's not really concerned about them. They're small stuff. Boring. Or at least they haven't given her a reason to give a shit. Although, Wonder Tweek's lightning is fun. She loves the feeling of it, tastes like coffee for some reason?

[riacte]

i ve seen some people say that the games in this mcc will probablby be very team focused, so like buld mart, sot, grid runners, bingo will all be in, and the more difficult games for newcomers like rsr will be benched. and like, with this many newcomers, i guess that makes sense? but 1 i feel like they are kinda fitting the hermits into a box in regards of their capabilities 2 watching newcomers struggle in rsr will never not make me laugh :3. also i don t watch him, but from what i ve heard xisuma will absolutely panic in grid runners and i really want to see that

They are absolutely seeing the hermits as a monolith and this may be the case in terms of sportsmanship, being chill laidback adults, and the hermity “herding them is like herding cats” vibes, but skill wise? Nah. Let’s stop assuming.

It’s perfectly fine to not know everyone but the general assumption of their skills because of their identity as a “hermit” is just straight up inaccurate. Like I don’t know how to appraise the skills of everyone and I watch the hermits, because I know some hermits better than others. It’s fine to admit it. It’s fine to suck at predicting things. It’s fine to not know everything.

Just because Grian is good at BM doesn’t mean everyone is good at BM. Just because False scored an ace in DB doesn’t mean everyone will do it. Just because Cub is a parkour champ (relative) doesn’t mean everyone is. Just because Ren is a good sandkeeper doesn’t mean everyone else is (flashbacks to Bdubs).

In the nicest way possible Xisuma in Grid Runners / SoT is a fate I do not wish upon False. I remember the Twitch Rivals. I do not trust this man with sandkeeping. He needs to run around and cry a bit or something.

I appreciate the enthusiasm of trying to type the newcomers and integrate them into predictions team discussions chemistry analysis whatever, but also… it is simply not interesting and almost disrespectful to fit them into a hermity box.

All of this skill talk and barely any talk about the true thing that defines the hermits which they have spoken about— they follow gentlemen’s rules and aren’t sore losers. Does this mean they can’t be competitive? No! Cub’s style is different from let’s say, Scar. But they are all friendly and respectful. They practice gentlemen’s rules always and they emphasise their games are for fun. Now this is the “monolith” people should be seeing the hermits in. Not skills, not styles, but their general attitude towards playing games, their teammates, and fellow competitors.

[twistedtummies2]

Top 6 Portrayals of the Grinch

“You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch. You really are a heel…!”

Anyone who knows me knows that I love the works of Dr. Seuss: I am very passionate about and very protective of them, and very critical of many adaptations/reimaginings of the same. Tied to this, most of you probably know that while my favorite Seuss CHARACTER is the Cat in the Hat…my favorite Seuss STORY, and by extension my second favorite Seuss character, is that of the Grinch. Fun fact: the Grinch originally appeared in a very early Seuss story he wrote for a magazine, called “The Grinch and the Hoobub,” where he was depicted as a diminutive con artist. This Grinch scammed a gullible and lazy creature called a Hoobub into buying a simple piece of green string for a ridiculous fee. Eventually, Seuss revisited the idea of the Grinch: frustrated with his own feelings of bitterness, isolation, and general annoyance with the holidays, Seuss decided to essentially vent his feelings, and thus created the story of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” This was arguably the character closest to his heart: Seuss himself often said that he felt his own personality was “part Cat in the Hat, part Grinch,” and he even once drew a self-portrait of himself looking in the mirror and seeing the Grinch’s face staring back at him. The Grinch was an outlet for all of his inner irritations: a grouchy, nasty, reclusive character who took delight in taking folks down a peg when he felt needed. Since then, the Grinch has become one of the most iconic villains of children’s literature, and while he’s especially prominent during the Christmas season, he’s managed to wiggle his grubby, fuzzy green fingers into all sorts of other places. Now, contrary to popular belief, I actually have NOT seen EVERY version of the Grinch there is to see: for example, I have not seen the recent horror film parody “The Mean One” (and I have absolutely zero intention of seeing it EVER, thank you very much), and I also missed the telecast production of the stage musical, which starred Matthew Morrison. (I actually wanted to see it for the sake of this countdown, but couldn’t find the full show anywhere in time.) Still, I’ve seen more than my fair share of screen takes on the Grinch, so - this Christmas Eve - I decided to give the King of Sinful Sots a spot in the limelight. Therefore, I present to you all my Top 6 Favorite Versions of The Grinch!

6. Walter Matthau.

This is by far the most obscure Grinch on the list; out of all the people who might be reading this, my guess is that only…five of you, at best, have heard of this hidden gem. In the early 90s, Random House - the company that still publishes many of Dr. Seuss’ stories - began releasing a series of direct-to-video adaptations of some of the books. The series was originally planned for TV, but when that scheme fell through, it instead became “Dr. Seuss Video Classics.” The productions were very similar to the earlier work of another publishing company, Rabbit Ears: creating what were essentially motion comic versions of the stories, with minimal animation, some music and a small number of sound effects added in, and with celebrity voice actors telling the stories and playing the character. In 1992, they released their own take on “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” (paired up with the totally unrelated “If I Ran the Zoo”), and called on Walter Matthau to handle the vocal chops. Considering Matthau had played Ebenezer Scrooge decades before, and was also a major character in the film “Grumpy Old Men” a year later, I’d say this casting makes perfect sense. This is basically just the book brought to life in the most bare bones sense of things, but it’s not necessarily done badly; as a kid, before the advent of the Jim Carrey version, I used to watch this take on the Grinch almost as often as the more fondly-remembered Chuck Jones cartoon. It had, and still has, a unique charm on its own.

5. Hans Conried.

In 1977, eleven years after his first animated outing, the Grinch returned to television not for Christmas, but for Halloween. The resulting special, “Halloween is Grinch Night,” has gained a cult following all its own: it’s not as well known or popular as the original story, but it’s certainly interesting in its own right. While ostensibly billed as a prequel, the special seems to take place in its own continuity separate from the book or the original cartoon, and features arguably the most evil version of the Grinch created within Seuss’ own lifetime. Keeping with the tradition established by the earlier cartoon, the Grinch and the Narrator of the special are played by Hans Conried: a lifelong friend of Dr. Seuss, now most well-known as the voice actor for Captain Hook in Disney’s Peter Pan. Conried was famous for playing villainous characters with a melodramatic, often comedic side to them, and his work as the Grinch is no exception. He’s clearly having a blast in the role, and from getting brickles in his britches to doing a funny little dance routine, there’s a lot of typically Seussian humor to the character…but in the scenes where the Grinch shows his teeth (both literally and figuratively), Conried actually does succeed in making him effectively creepy. As much as I love him and the special, however, I think I just prefer other portrayals that are a little more complex, like the character from the original story; the original Grinch wasn’t just a monster, he could change and ultimately did. This Grinch doesn’t seem capable of that, but he’s certainly a lot of fun.

4. Anthony Asbury.

This version of the character hails from the now-often-forgotten TV series “The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss.” Made by the Jim Henson company, the show was an attempt to bring the style and sensibilities of Seuss’ timeless works to TV, but with all new, original content. It’s big gimmick was that most of the backgrounds and various other elements were made with CGI, while the characters, props, and small bits of the sets were accomplished with physical constructs and puppetry. The show was a mixed bag, but it gained a decent following in its time, and is still home to a small but loyal fanbase…and I suppose I’m among those fans. I loved this show as a kid, and I even still have merchandise related to it, including two Christmas ornaments and a Grinch puppet. On that note…the Grinch was a recurring antagonist who popped up throughout the show. Among his many dastardly deeds, he pilfered a rare bird’s egg, went on a rampage of destruction at a popular theme park and resort, and tried to steal spring itself (I guess he figured “been there, done that” with winter), just to name a few. We also got a story introducing us to how the Grinch and Max met up, and to this day it’s still my personal favorite way to imagine how they became partners-in-crime. (Reluctantly, on the doggy’s side.) In typical fashion, the Grinch would frequently be defeated either by someone worming their way into his two-sizes-too-small heart, or just being beaten with some form of karmic punishment. Like the show, this Grinch is often forgotten nowadays, but is definitely worthy of a look if you ever get the chance.

3. Bob Holt.

Long before the days of the MCU and “Puny God” (though NOT before the publication of the original Avengers comics), Marvel helped to produce THE GREATEST CROSSOVER EVER KNOWN TO MAN…the Grinch vs. the Cat in the Hat. (Yes, I’m being sarcastic, but admit it: you weren’t sure.) In the cartoon “The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat,” the Mean Green One starts off actually apparently redeemed. He’s happy, he’s cheerful, and all seems well…but then, haunted by a split-personality he sees in the mirror…(looks towards Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin)...proof that this is DEFINITELY a Marvel movie, he quickly goes back to his fiendish ways. A chance run-in with the Cat in the Hat gives the Grinch inspiration, and he proceeds to devote all his time and resources into trying to ruin the Cat’s mood and make his life a living Seuss-Hell just for the sheer fun of it. The cartoon actually takes a very odd direction, as it depicts the Grinch as…well…frankly insane. It’s hinted that something in his childhood is to blame, as he seems to deeply care for his late mother, and his reflection actually addresses him with the same tone you’d expect a scornful father to speak to his disappointing son. (I MIGHT be reading too deeply into things, but the Cat LITERALLY imagines putting the Grinch on the psychiatry couch at one point, so take of that what you will.) As usual, by the end of the special, he sees the error of his ways, and this time he change seems to be for good in more ways than one. Holt was a wonderful Grinch, bringing of sophistication to the part that called back to Boris Karloff’s portrayal, and gave the Grinch a sort of old-timey villain vibe in his evil antics. I’m honestly sad we never got to see him play the character again, but que sera sera.

2. Jim Carrey.

Yeah, I bet a lot of you thought this would make number one, didn’tcha? While the Jim Carrey movie has its fair share of detractors, the majority of people around my age, and a bit younger, seem to enjoy it. I am no exception, BUT…the older I get, the more I DO see flaws in the picture. It actually reminds me a lot of another movie, “Hocus Pocus”: I feel the 2000 Grinch is to Christmas what that film is to Halloween. They have a lot of the same faults…but I also think they have a lot of the same values. The biggest value of all being the insanely quotable, delightfully over-the-top, but still incredibly powerful performances of the lead actors. Carrey’s Grinch might be annoying to some, and I guess I can understand why (especially for people who were longtime fans of earlier Grinches well before the film came out), but for me, he’s still hilarious, and you have to admire the sheer amount of dedication, determination, and outright bravery it took to do everything he did while forced to wear some of the most intense and all-encompassing costume and makeup options of any film to come out within the past couple decades. It’s telling that, ever since this film, most versions of the Grinch - onstage, at theme parks, in cosplays, and so on - all seem to take their cues primarily from the Carrey version beyond all else, in terms of how the character looks, sounds, and generally behaves. I actually debated for a bit whether I would put Carrey at first or second, and while I’m 99% sure most people who read this would have made the opposite choice I did…hey. Second place still ain’t bad, right?

1. Boris Karloff.

As much as I do enjoy the Jim Carrey movie, and for all the soft spots I have for other Grinches…in my opinion, the original cartoon from 1966 is still the best interpretation of the story, even better than the original book that inspired it. It takes all the stuff that made the Dr. Seuss story great and pluses it, but doesn’t really go too far beyond the call of the source; it sticks true to the ideals Seuss had in mind, and simply makes them even better. It’s proof that sometimes less is more, when compared to the mad spectacle of the Carrey version, but it’s also proof that you can take what was not broken and still make it better, when compared to the later Matthau version that is comparatively drier in tone. Karloff’s voice, both as the Narrator and the Grinch, set the standard for basically every person who would play either role in later endeavors. He actually can be legitimately menacing and unsettling at times (heck, it IS Boris Karloff), but he can also be funny, and at times very heartwarming, in both roles involved. Chuck Jones’ animation of the Grinch helps out a lot, giving the character a ton of personality and impact. As much as the Jim Carrey rendition has influenced popular culture, that movie - and likely all other versions of the character - probably wouldn’t EXIST if it hadn’t been for the success of the original cartoon. Heck, a lot of things we now recognize about the Grinch - the color of his fur, the songs that accompany him, the style of his world, etc. - really start with the cartoon more than the book. For all these reasons and more, Karloff’s Grinch and the cartoon he hails from take my top spot. "Welcome Christmas," everybody.

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

Benedict Cumberbatch.

I’m not really a fan of Illumination’s Grinch from 2018, nor of Cumberbatch’s work with the character, but a.) I don’t think the latter is the actor’s fault, and b.) the movie isn’t ENTIRELY without merit. I basically just prefer the earlier Grinches more. I include him primarily because I feel somebody would complain if I did not.

Patrick Page.

Page was the original Broadway Grinch for the stage musical - the same one that would later be telecasted with Matthew Morrison in the role - and this was my introduction to the actor. Unfortunately, while I’ve heard the soundtrack with Page, and watched a few clips, I’ve never actually seen the show proper, with him or any other performer, so I didn’t think it was fair to include him in the countdown.