#this series is so hilarious and irreverent

[thequietesthing]

i’m sorry but KAOS is like a greek mythology fanfiction AU on steroids and i love her for it.

[sunnys-sonnets]

The Norns: Your other half is your fate, is your life, and can be your death at the peak of Ragnarök where you will meet and decide each other's end with your own hands. The sum of you choices is your destiny

Atreus, who hasn't slept in days, currently wanted dead by more than half of those living in Asgard including the King of the Aesir: stop fucking calling me gay

[thesargasmicgoddess]

Happy Birthday!!!! 43 looks great on you :)

Thank you so very much!

I think sometimes it's just hard for a woman to age because our society has consistently idolized and prized youthful beauty in a woman. Hence, as I've aged, I've really had to redefine what beauty and success mean to me. I've also had to do the work to find my 40's identity.

There has been an elegant fierceness to being in my 40s. It wasn't how it started, but that's where it's been going, and I'm ALL for it. During this decade of my life (so far), I've had this capacity to do things that scare the shit out of me, and I'm really proud of that. 😂

At 40, I worried about the loss of youth--both aesthetically and mentally. The pandemic had reminded me that life should be lived FULLY, because, things can shift in an instant. I wasn't getting any younger so I said fuck it, and tried OF to check it off my bucket list. It was a hilariously fun, irreverent, and thrilling 6 months of random nudity and smut 😂

At 41, I was restless and thought I wanted to retire from work work to travel the world, but then my brain got bored 😂. Then, a series of events happened that led me to decide to apply for a PhD program, just to see if I had what it takes......😂🤷🏻‍♀️

At 42, I worked, got into and started my PhD program (LOVE it!), and traveled the world.

And HELLO 43, I can't wait to see what's in store....😉

[venusin-aries]

SJM made Gwyn so likable and so damn hard to hate that it has people reaching to astronomical lengths to make her villainous or -insignificant to the rest of the series- and I think that is. Fucking. Hilarious. 

Like she KNEW people were going to hate Gwyn so she decided to make it as difficult as possible and I think that is Iconic Behavior. 

I am going to laugh when Gwyn is revealed to be everything she’s projected herself to be. Which is, so far,

Kind and sweet. 

Feisty. 

Brave. 

Smart as all fucking hell. 

Charmingly irreverent. 

As beautiful as Mor and Merrill. 

A talented singer. 

Strategic and observant. 

Loyal. She’s such a good fucking friend, we should ALL be more like Gwyn. 

Resilient. 

Adaptable. 

I could go on and on.  

When Gwyn is revealed to be a good person, no matter if she’s a lightsinger or some other miscellaneous creature, and she doesn’t have to ~lure~ anyone or force someone to do something against their will (which is a really weird thing to accuse an SA victim of, call me sensitive or whatever, I don’t care she’s not real, I find it weird and gross and oddly telling of the people who came up with that theory) and her friends still adore her, I am going to laugh. my. fucking. ass off. 

Full offense, I think just having a glimpse into Gwyn’s recovery, her being willing to sacrifice herself to protect the kids, BECAUSE SHE VERY MUCH WAS READY TO DIE FOR THEM, what was going through her mind when she refused to tell the general where they went, how she feels about losing her sister in such a brutal way BECAUSE she refused to tell him, the attack that followed, her nightmares, the guilt she carries, and the aftermath of the blood rite from her point of view would be so much more interesting than anything Elriel as a whole has got going on right now. I would read an entire book about just HER.

I find her so admirable and I find it so odd people dislike her because there’s a chance her and Azriel will end up together. 

I genuinely laugh when I see how odd some takes are and how angry people get about her.

Go listen to some synth music. Go on what I call a Final Girl walk and breathe some fresh air. You’ll be okay if or when your ship does not end up together. 

[from-a-legends-pov]

Star Wars Legends Highlight of the Week: X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar by Aaron Allston

In this feature, a fan will share one thing they love from Star Wars Legends — a book, a comic, an author, a character, an event, or anything else they want to highlight — and tell us more about it.

If you, too, love Legends, follow @from-a-legends-pov and check out our upcoming Star Wars Legends fanfiction event, From a Legends Point of View, HERE. Signups open THIS SUNDAY, April 28, 2024 — please encourage your favorite Star Wars writers to participate!

Today’s Legends highlight is X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar by Aaron Allston, a 1999 Legends novel, and we’re talking with @alwaysstarwars.

Tell us about your Legends highlight. What is it, and why is it a highlight for you?

X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar is technically the 9th book of the X-Wing series, but it functions as a standalone novel. Set in 13 ABY (about nine years after Return of the Jedi), the book focuses on Wedge Antilles and his friends and fellow pilots Tycho Celchu, Hobbie Klivian, and Wes Janson, as they travel to the neutral world of Adumar and try to negotiate its admittance to the New Republic. The plot itself is relatively straightforward, but it’s really just an excuse to get Wedge, Hobbie, Tycho and Wes out on a mission together. And that quartet is the reason the book is so good. The four of them had been featured heavily in the previous X-Wing books, but there were always other characters and a larger plot with which to be concerned. This book gets rid of all that and just gives the reader Wedge, Tycho, Hobbie, and Wes getting up to assorted hijinks, pulling pranks, and being generally hilarious. It’s a buddy comedy in book form and it’s just fun. Aaron Allston is great at capturing the spirit and humor of Star Wars that some authors struggle with, and Starfighters of Adumar is a delight because of it. All of the X-Wing series is great and worth a read, but this is by far the most flat-out entertaining.

Any favorite moments or quotations to share?

A lot of the humor is context-specific, but this quote gives a good sense of the irreverent tone of the whole book and the fantastic relationships among the four main characters:

“Leader, this is Three. Are you crazy? Acknowledge.” “Three, Leader. That’s affirmative.” — Wes and Wedge

To learn more….

If you’d like to read more about X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar, you can check out its page on Wookieepedia or find the novel at your local library, new through a few outlets, or used through independent booksellers or your favorite used bookstore.

And be sure to check out @from-a-legends-pov and our From a Legends Point of View fanfiction event; signups open April 28, 2024!

[tobiasdrake]

Any love for the beginning of the anime, the Dragon Ball run? I just started and it's pretty charming honestly.

The original Dragon Ball hunt has its ups and downs. The biggest down, of course, being the uncomfortable handling of Bulma at times (as well as Chi-Chi's entire character design).

But setting that aside, it also serves as the foundation for the series to come. Dragon Ball wouldn't be what it is if it hadn't built on top of this goofy little Journey to the West parody that started it all.

When I think of iconic Dragon Ball relationships, Goku and Bulma's friendship is the number 1. Everything Dragon Ball is, has ever been, or will ever be, all started right here with a teenage girl shooting a little boy in the face with a gun.

Goku is unmistakably the main character of Dragon Ball. Characters come in and out of the series based on who is in his orbit at a given time. Even when the series tries to be about Gohan later on, it still winds up being about Goku. The universe revolves around him.

Bulma was the first to enter his orbit, and remains arguably the most important to this day. Characters compete over and over to be the other important Fighty Guy or Guys in a given scene, battle, or storyline. But there has never been another character like Bulma. In the Dragon Ball mythos, she is irreplaceable.

The strength of their lasting relationship is built on the foundations set up in this arc. Bulma is the driving force of the story, with much of its interesting character development coming from the growing dynamic between the self-absorbed and amoral Bulma, and this feral creature of a child she manipulated into accompanying her.

The later context that Bulma's a privileged heiress to a megacorporate fortune explains a lot and only makes things like Goku offering her centipede-flavored roast wolf even funnier.

Seriously, I know I'm harping on about this but I cannot stress enough how much the interplay between these two characters carries this arc.

But it's not just Bulma. This arc also sees the introduction of the Muten-Roshi, or "Old Heavenly Master of Martial Arts" - and the source of Sun Wukong's Somersault Cloud, Kintoun aka the Flying Nimbus in the dub.

Bulma laughs, but Greatest Heretic in the Universe fares little better when it's her turn.

Bulma, you're the best. But you are right this moment manipulating a naive and unassuming child to trick him out of a family heirloom. You have about as much chance of getting on that cloud as Tony Stark has of ever being worthy to lift Mjolnir.

...of course, in about a year's time, she'll have an answer for that. It wouldn't be Bulma if she wasn't using her genius super-intellect and irreverent science to bypass your mystical buddhist gunk. Bulma once managed to fly to God's Temple in Heaven in a plane. Fuck you.

It's hilarious that the character she's based on is a monk.

This arc also sees the introduction of Yamcha and, by association, our first real glimpse of the martial arts battles that the series would become known for.

Yamcha has the distinguished honor of being the first person to ever seriously threaten Goku in a fight.

Granted, it doesn't last long before Goku breaks him so hard he bounces Yamcha's face off of the fourth wall.

Though it's ultimately Bulma who vanquishes Yamcha.

Between the Muten-Roshi and Yamcha, everything that is the Tenkaichi Budokai and the martial arts crew grows out of these early introductions.

The mini-venture to Mt. Frypan sees the introduction of the fearsome barbarian Gyumao or the "Ox Demon King", terror of the realm, famous for looting and pillaging the surrounding territory.

It goes surprisingly well. We also get what may be the biggest and most far-reaching moment for Goku's future from this arc. He doesn't even know it at the time, but Goku takes a critical step at Mount Frypan in defining the course of the rest of his future. After this moment, his life will never be the same again.

He learns the Kamehameha. The biggest staple of his martial arts career, and something he will carry with him for years to come.

Also he gets engaged.

But that's less important. Goku doesn't even know what they're talking about. Some thirty or forty years later, I'm still not sure he truly understands what they agreed to here.

Sorry, Chi-Chi, but Goku is an ace. Despite Toei's best efforts to heteronormalize him in anime filler.

Toriyama had no real long-term plans for Dragon Ball when he was first writing all of this. But he laid the groundwork of so much that was to come. Mind you, not everything that happened on this journey would ultimately carry future weight.

This is just about the only time Oolong is ever relevant to the story. For the rest of the series, he winds up hanging out as an artifact of the first arc, but rarely amounts to much ever again.

Puar doesn't get off much better, but he does get a moment of relevancy at the Uranai Baba tournament so that's something, at least.

Though while his time in the spotilght is slim, Oolong does serve to give us a solid moment of characterization for the vastly more important Bulma.

That is, of course, when Bulma one-ups her previous manipulation of Goku by enslaving a sentient being. Holy shit.

It's easy to overlook this because Oolong's a little terror. He was a ten-year-old kid masquerading as some sort of ancient monster beast in order to kidnap village girls.

A story, I should note, that the dub does no favors to on account of Oolong being voice-acted like a forty-year-old man. One of the weirder consequences to come out of Z getting dubbed before the first anime. He is actually supposed to be younger than Goku.

So there's a punitive angle to Oolong being karmically forced to come with Goku and Bulma. But. Still. Y'know. Bulma.

The final mini-arc introduces us to the closest thing this arc has to a villain: The utterly ridiculous Pilaf-Daio or "Great King Pilaf", ruler of approximately two subjects.

Pilaf doesn't have a lot of staying power, but he does come back from time to time simply because... Well, he's Dragon Ball's most harmless villain. Pilaf is effectively a self-important child with delusions of grandeur. Aspiring to world domination via Shenron and yet surprisingly innocent and naive.

As an aside, I've always found it funny how much Mai sticks out like a sore thumb in their group. Pilaf is a weird little monster elf clown boy. Shu is a dog boy who is also a ninja. And then Mai is an utterly normal woman wearing a trenchcoat.

There's this thing in character design where male characters can be anything under the sun, any sort of eldritch or monstrous or cool or glamorous or wicked design under the sun, but then female characters are often just things like "Woman with hat" and "Woman in skirt" and "Woman in plate armor".

Like you'll have male orcs who are these huge beastly monsters with sharp tusks and grotesque bald heads with horns. And then female orcs who are female humans but green.

The Pilaf gang shine a bit of a spotlight on that dynamic, don't they? XD

But I digress. Point is, the Pilaf Gang are goofy fun. So much so that the anime tried to give the arc more connectivity by adding Mai and Shu to a lot of the preceding mini-ventures too - Although, since they were filler, they weren't able to influence the plot in any meaningful way.

These characters keep coming back because there's something that's just fun about a set of recurring troublemakers. They're the Team Rocket of Dragon Ball.

Of course, this opening arc also has one last piece of groundwork to unknowingly lay for the future: A major hint at what will become Goku's Saiyan heritage.

This is one of the biggest recurring plot points in Dragon Ball. If Goku looks at a full moon, he becomes the Oozaru; A horrifyingly powerful monster that killed his Grandpa Gohan.

Goku doesn't even know that the monster is him; That he, Goku, killed his beloved grampa is a piece of information that dangles over him like a Sword of Damocles as the series progresses.

Though there's also a really interesting implication here buried in the fact that Gohan warned Goku about this in the first place.

Gohan used to warn Goku against ever looking at the full moon. The implication being that one day, Goku messed up and saw it. Then he became the Oozaru, destroyed his home and the surrounding area, and killed Gohan.

But it's interesting that Gohan knew about the full moon and could warn Goku in the first place. The only way he could have known is if it had happened before. The day Goku killed Gohan must not have been the first time he saw the full moon and turned. Gohan had survived at least one Oozaru incident before the one that killed him.

I dunno, that's just interesting to think about.

When Goku does finally turn, this is the most serious the arc's ever been.

FURY OF THE MONKEY KING, THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING

The fight with the Oozaru is short-lived but will have far-reaching ramifications for Goku going forward. This is probably the biggest thing to be set up in the whole arc.

It's a goofy little tale through a silly little world, that unknowingly planted so many seeds and laid groundwork for so much of what Dragon Ball would become. The (failed and yet sort of succeeded) mission to get Bulma a magic dragon-granted boyfriend almost feels like a minor footnote compared to all the storylines that would follow in its wake. But Dragon Ball would never have become what it did without this opening act.

[nikethestatue]

Plot Twist

for my darling beautiful hilariously funny kind and irreverent @impossiblescissorspeachpaper

Happy birthday, my love! I hope you find this familiar and enjoy this gift. This also goes to @tswaney17 because she is the star of this. And all the girlies!

Based on a true story

There he was. The most beautiful man in the world. 

Strong and lean. Muscular. Powerful legs steadily pumping the pedals. Thighs of a Greek god. Arms of a Roman god. Face worthy of a Raphael’s painting. 

He was so handsome, she wanted to cry.

He also paid her exactly zero attention.

She loved this trail and has been jogging around the pond, the hilly slopes, the grassy knolls, and the paths shaded by massive cypresses and oaks for two years now. Bicyclists, frankly, were usually nothing but a nuisance. They sort of tried to stick to their side of the path, but it was like they were just so very important they expected everyone to move and give way. 

Well, she was Elain fucking Archeron, and she wasn’t moving for nobody!

Beep.

Beep-beep.

Beeeeeppp.

She pretended not to hear the annoying sound of the bike bell, but then someone was shouting ‘On your left!’ and she made a panicked swerve to avoid being hit by the cyclist. 

“Dipshit,” her sister Nesta muttered next to her, throwing daggers at the cyclists’ backs, as they rolled smoothly past the two sisters.

“T!” Elain muttered in turn, blushing. 

Nesta, who usually went by T, because she felt that her name was too weird for an average American to comprehend, was sharp and bristly, and would’ve been perfectly fine getting into a shouting match for a bunch of muscular bikers. Elain was…well, not cowardly exactly, but she preferred to think of herself as rational. Yes, she was a rational person who did get into fights with strangers.

She just ogled them.

This one particular stranger.

Pulling her AirPods out of her ears, Nesta threw Elain a withering glance and said, without slowing down, while Elain was beginning to pant.

“Why don’t you just approach him?”

“No way!” Elain exclaimed in horror. “I am not approaching strange men in parks!”

Nesta rolled her eyes and then gritted out,

“Can’t you think of something? Not weird, but just…friendly?”

“No!” Elain wiped her brow, as she attempted to keep pace with her more athletic sister. “Because it’s always weird. It’s like that scene from ‘Get Hard’, where they go to the gay bar brunch and Kevin Hart is instructing Will Ferrell on how to approach a man and ask him to suck dick! And Will Ferrell is like ‘Oh hi, hello. Can I…uh…can I suck your dick?’...”

Nesta was laughing. Elain was ridiculous, but also adorable in her inability to approach men, have conversations with them, or even look at them without being painfully obvious. Elain, her sweet sister, who was pretty as a peony, smart and funny, who wrote excellent fanfiction for her favourite series ‘A Court of Thorns and Roses’ and was a superstar on AO3, who volunteered at dog shelters, and dreamt of brooding dark dominant men, who’d come into her life and sweep her off her feet–Elain had no game. None. 

Nesta wasn’t exactly surprised that the idea of approaching the biking hunk was abhorrent to Elain. She’d never even consider it. 

“Well, it’s that, or Tinder,” Nesta shrugged, her expression somehow fatalistic.

Elain shuddered and shook her head vigorously.

“Why?!” she demanded. “Why can’t I just meet a good man and fall in love,”

“You don’t want to fall in love with a good man,” Nesta argued. “You want to fall in love with a bad boy with knuckle tattoos!”

“No I don’t,” Elain argued prissily, though she was blushing ferociously, and Nesta knew that she hit the spot. “Why would I want someone like that?!”

“Why? Because you think that Zade Meadows is a romantic. And your Pinterest is filled with hot dudes with knuckle tattoos. You literally have a board named ‘Hot Dudes with Tattoos’.”

Elain stared at her sister in abject horror.

“You snooped??!?!” she screeched. “You snooped on my Pinterest?!!?”

“Simmer down. It’s not like I went through your PornHub history! Jeez,” Nesta shook her head.

“I don’t have a PornHub history!” Elain exclaimed.

They were standing in the shade, and Nesta was stretching her long, slender limbs. She didn’t need to stop, but her less fit sister definitely did. Therefore, Nesta pretended like she needed to massage her hamstring and roll her shoulders. 

“El, you need to go after what you want,” Nesta insisted. She knew the conversation was pointless and Elain never would, but it didn’t hurt to remind her. “Listen, you are a 30 year old virgin,”

“I am not a virgin!” Elain’s eyes popped out of their sockets in righteous indignation.

Nesta cocked her brow and put her hands on her hips.

“Uh-uh,”

“Yes! No! I am not a virgin! Also, I am not 30!” Elain yelled. “I am not a virgin!”

Two things happened.

The hot cyclist, and his posse, were just below them, resting and drinking, parked at the curve of the road. Elain’s shouting about the state of her hymen to the whole world solicited sniggers and chuckles, and the hot dude lifted his head and looked up. 

Nesta could see the appeal–he was handsome indeed. Excellent body. A smirk on his lips–which she felt was warranted–as he looked at her sister, while Elain was about to explode where she stood. The rest of the cyclists saluted them, grinning and laughing, and got on their way, while the Hot One lingered behind. He was staring upward, his eyes skimming over Elain’s voluptuous body, gliding over her ample chest and her long slender legs.

The second thing that happened was Elain scrambled backwards, gasping like a fish out of water, staring at him in horror. Before Nesta could make a snide remark about hoping that the Hot One was up for the challenge of deflowering a virgin, Elain tripped on the rocks, slipped and fell on her ass. Her leg shot out in front of her, pushing on a large rock, which skidded down the path and bounced against the dry slope. It was like watching a murder in slow motion. They all saw it. Elain–arms outstretched in silent horror. Nesta, her hand flying to her mouth, while screaming ‘look out’ and then the Hot One being knocked on the head by the rock.

“OHMYGOD!!!!!!!!” Elain screamed violently. “I killed him!”

“Shit, shit, shit,” Nesta took off at once, running as fast as she could down the path, with Elain flailing her arms and hurrying behind her. 

“Is he dead?” Elain wailed loudly, “I killed him!”

“Fuck, I hope not,” Nesta muttered to herself. 

They finally reached the man, who was splayed on the dirt path, arms out, head bleeding.

“Oh my god, oh my god,” Elain clucked incessantly, watching him in horror.

“Yeah, he is gonna need some help,” Nesta decided.

“Am I going to prison? For murder?” Elain cried.

“Well, let’s see if he is dead,”

“He can’t be dead!”

Callously, Nesta murmured, “could be dead…”

“T! What the hell!”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have been announcing to the world that you are a freakin’ virgin and none of this would’ve happened!”

Elain dropped to her knees in front of the man and pushed her face to his chest, and her fingers to his neck, feeling and listening for his heartbeat.

“I am not a virgin!” she grumbled angrily.

“Yeah?” Nesta demanded. “And what are you?”

“I’ve had sex!”

“With who?”

“Men! With lots of men!”

“Yeah, okay Mata Hari,”

“He is alive!” Elain declared excitedly, while Nesta was dialling her phone.

“Well, thank god for small miracles. Guess you aren't going to prison after all.”

“Shut up,” Elain pouted.

Smirking to herself, Nesta turned away from her sister and then tossed over her shoulder, “I think he needs mouth to mouth.”

“What?!” 

“Yeah, you know, CPR. Give him CPR. Revive him.”

Unsure, Elain looked down at the unconscious man and murmured,

“But…I…but it’s like kissing…”

“Okay, well, it’s not really kissing, but you’ve had sex with many men, so kissing shouldn’t be an issue for you,” Nesta noted. 

“T!”

“Elain! You might save his life!” Nesta cried out dramatically. The things she had to do to get her sister a boyfriend!

Then, she added, “911 is telling me to give him CPR!”

She was lying of course. 

Reluctantly, Elain crouched over him and wincing, pressed her lips to his.

Someone somewhere was having a good laugh at her expense.

Ha.Ha.Ha.Ha.

This was just hilarious. Her first kiss should be with an unconscious guy who probably got brain damage because of her.

“Deeper!” Nesta urged her on. 

“Deeper?” 

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what 911 is saying. Put some…you know…muscle into it!”

Elain frowned, but breathed more air into the man’s lungs. She didn't want to think about how soft his lips were and how he smelled nice–something earthy and citrusy. He definitely took good care of himself, and even clad in all spandex, she could smell the cologne on him. 

“They are on their way,” Nesta said, placing the phone back into her arm pocket. 

She looked down at Elain who was still trying to revive him, and then commented,

“His package is…moderate.”

Elain’s head jerked up and she stared at her sister in disgust.

“What is wrong with you?!” she demanded, “he is half-dead and you are looking at his…his…”

“What?” Nesta teased.

“Penis!”

“Yes. His modestly moderate penis.”

“You are gross!”

“Why isn't he waking up?” Nesta crossed her arms on her chest. “What a wimp.”

In the distance they heard the wailing of a siren.

“I hit him with a rock!” Elain exclaimed, “a boulder!”

“Please. It was a pebble.”

Elain gently smacked his cheek, and then dipped back in to blow more air in his lungs.

“Please wake up…”

With a moan, the man twitched and groaned, and then hissed,

“Who the fuck are you?!”

Taken aback by his tone, Elain quickly explained, “We called an ambulance…I am sorry…I am just trying to revive you,”

“Trying to revive me?” he grunted menacingly. “Maybe don’t fucking throw rocks at me in the first place. No wonder you are a virgin!”

Elain blushed profusely and gasped, “I am sorry?”

Nesta frowned at his tone and stepped forward.

“Simmer down, bud,”

“Don’t fucking tell me what to do,” he snapped, “she threw a rock at me,”

“It was obviously an accident,”

“Yeah, an accident where I have a rock embedded in my head.”

“It’s a scratch. Calm down,” Nesta argued lazily.

“Can I get you anything?” Elain offered softly.

“Yeah, step off, missy,” he suggested and then tried to move, but moaned loudly instead.

“This guys sucks,” Nesta whispered, “I wish we didn’t help him,”

“T!”

“What did you just say?” he glowered at Nesta but she ignored him.

Thankfully, the tense moment was interrupted by four brawny paramedics who were running up the path.

They surrounded the man, asking him questions, taking vitals, looking at the gushing wound on his head which was spewing blood.

Nesta shrugged and said, “Head wounds always bleed a lot.”

“Nesta, he got hit in the head by a rock!” Elain reminded her crossly. “Come on, let’s go. We’ll follow them to the hospital.”

“We have to go to the hospital with him?” Nesta gritted indignantly.

“Obviously!”

The drive to the regional hospital was only fifteen minutes long, during which Nesta was silent, but rolling her eyes excessively.

…”It’s been almost two hours. How much longer do we need to sit here?”

It has been almost two hours. They’ve been sitting in the waiting room, surrounded by some ‘shady people’ in Nesta’s words. She kept trying to guess what was wrong with each individual, proposing things like “definitely herpes!” and “you think a bear attack?” and “oh god, this dude is hacking out a lung!” and “I think the clap!” and “jeez, I hope it’s not ebola”.

Elain was chewing on her nail, her head jerking every time the door opened, as she waited for the cops to come in and arrest her.

“Miss?”

She looked up at the sound of a deep, gravelly voice.

The first thing she saw were big, scarred hands holding an IPad. Large male hands, covered in tattoos. Each finger and knuckle has a symbol of some kind inked into the tanned skin. Looking up, Elain was faced with a man dressed in civilian clothes, but in a blue scrubs coat, which, it seemed, he wore out of expectation, rather than necessity.

“Miss…?” he repeated, and she just stared at him.  Because he was breathtaking.

“Elain,” she answered, her voice hollow, her eyes roaming over the man’s imposing physique and enormous height.

“Mamma mia,” Elain heard Nesta’s breathless whisper behind her.

Mamma mia indeed.

“Miss Elain then?”

“Yeah. Elain,” Elain repeated stupidly.

He smirked and said,

“I am Doctor Azriel King. You came in with Mr. Nolan?”

“What?” she mumbled, unable to tear her eyes away from the stunning beauty of this man, who was all sharp angles and gorgeous hazel eyes, which were a dreamy combination of gold and earthy brown and emerald green. Thick black hair, stylishly cut, crowned this exceptional specimen of raw, aggressive masculinity. Even his neck had tattoos. Elain was beginning to hyperventilate. If she fainted here, would this Dr. King give her mouth to mouth? If she knew he was a doctor here, she’d come here every day to faint!

“Mr. Nolan, Graysen Nolan,” he glanced at the IPad, “you came here with him? He said that you hit him with a rock?”

“Is he going to be okay?”

“Yeah, no concussion. Just a bad cut on his forehead, for which he received stitches.”

A smirk played on his beautiful mouth.

“Mr. Nolan doesn’t tolerate pain very well it seems.”

“Did he cry like a little bitch?” Nesta huffed, standing behind Elain.

“I would say…” he pretended to think for a second and then grinned. “Yeah. Yeah he did.”

Eyes back on Elain, he asked,

“Why did you hit him with a rock?”

“I didn’t!” she said defensively. “I mean, I did, but I didn’t do it on purpose.”

He looked her over, something dark and desirous flashing in his unusual eyes and said sternly,

“You shouldn’t be hitting people with rocks, Elain. Especially your boyfriends."

“Usually I don’t. And he is not my boyfriend! You are a doctor here?” she blurted out and then blushed furiously.

He gave her a slow, languid look, and then drew his thumb over his lower lip, sizing her up in the same manner he would a delicious, sinful meal.

“The hospital is low on staff. I am filling in. I usually travel during forest fire season with smoke jumpers,”

“Oh my god, that’s so dangerous!” Elain gasped.

“Yeah, tell it to my brother Cassian. He’s been a smoke jumper for 7 years. I head their medical team.”

Abruptly, he changed gears, and looked at Nesta.

“Are you seeing anyone?”

Her eyes bugged out and she cried, “Excuse me?!”

“It’s just that you are exactly his type–sharp and beautiful.”

For once, it was Nesta who was out of things to say. She just glared at him in shock.

“She is available!” Elain piped in right away. “She is not seeing anyone. Does he look like you?”

Dr. King laughed softly, and Elain fell in love with the sound at once.

“He sure does. Just brawnier.”

Elain turned to her sister and hissed at Nesta, “his brother looks like him!”

“I…I…I am not going out with a smoke jumper!” Nesta protested feebly.

Dr. King popped his lips and said, “well, you are in luck! This is his last season. We are both done, and he won’t be smelling like a smoked mackerel anymore.”

Elain giggled. That caused him to look back at her, and he drew the tip of his tongue over his lips.

She swallowed. Loudly.

“And you?” he asked.

“What?”

“How serious are you about Graysen Nolan?”

“Who?”

He smiled a savage smile.

“That’s what I thought.”

Extending his scarred hand to her, he ordered, “phone”.

Wordlessly, Elain handed him her phone, courteously unlocking it for him.

He took it and quickly typed something into it.

“Cassian’s number. And mine. Your name, miss?”

“Nesta,” Nesta breathed.

“Perfect. He’ll love it.”

He handed the phone back to Elain and said,

“You and I are going on a date tonight. Seven PM."

She just stared at him in shock.

"I am not a stalker," he assured her lightly, those eyes sparkling with mischief. "Unless you want me to be a stalker?"

"Ummm, not particularly."

"Alright then. Just a bit then. Not Zade Meadows level stalker,"

The expression of shock and bewilderment only intensified on her face.

"You know Zade?" she gasped.

"Well, not personally. He is a character in a book. But I am familiar. So. I shall see you at seven tonight. And every night after that.”

[sepublic]

I've noticed that among the original Space Pirate trio, Kraid is the only one who's been completely left out when it comes to characterization, relevance, and impact on Samus' backstory. Mother Brain's role is obvious, she's the leader; Ridley's evolved, it seems, from his role in capturing the Infant Metroid and kicking off the game's events; The game needed one of the bosses to successfully escape, which also meant being defeated afterwards.

Between Ridley and Phantoon as the only mobile ones, Ridley is brought back to show how the series has begun to evolve, and these recurring appearances and importance make him a speaking character in the Super Metroid comic... Cue him returning in Fusion and being shown in flashbacks attacking Samus' family, and with Mother Brain retconned as a Chozo supercomputer who betrayed them to the Space Pirates, Ridley naturally filled in the spot of their previous leader.

Kraid? Alas, poor Kraid! He was also meant to be in Prime alongside Ridley, since it was essentially meant to be a 3D Super, but his fight was too difficult to program in their time crunch! So Retro resorted to a giant version of the Elite Pirates they'd already programmed, called the Omega Pirate, and had him replace Kraid in the Phazon Mines.

Anyhow, it makes me consider a Metroid show or fanon or whichever in which Kraid is given actual relevance just shy of Ridley and Mother Brain themselves, and is part of that trio. And my point on how even Other M discusses Ridley and Mother's relevance to Samus' psychology, even if this idea is executed in a very flawed manner, makes me also realize: Kraid has no personal relevance to Samus either.

Now, all of this does lend well to Dread's portrayal of Kraid as someone who was never as important or meaningful to Samus as those other jerks, which leads to her hilarious, badass irreverence towards Kraid. But I do have to consider a story in which Kraid IS made relevant, and the difference between him and Mother is that he wasn't as much of a horrific, longstanding trauma, and is someone Samus gets to see chained and shackled; Plus, Kraid isn't as much of a fight.

So how do Ridley and Mother Brain play into Samus' backstory? I realize they basically kill off two separate families of her, mark the end of two different lives in two different homes; Ridley kills Samus' human family, he ravages K-2L. This leads her to Zebes... Only for Mother Brain to betray the Chozo to the Space Pirates, causing Gray Voice's death and for the remaining Chozo to flee the galaxy. Zebes is no longer a home for Samus to return to, and eventually it's destroyed because of Mother.

So what 'third' family, backstory, home does Samus have? The Federation. She had her time in the Federation, she had the Malkovich brothers and Anthony. Samus eventually left that home too, in order to become the bounty hunter we all know and love today.

We even have someone in the Federation who dies; Ian Malkovich. His death is introduced in Other M, which is admittedly about Samus' relationship with the Federation when you think about it. And since Kraid is a member of High Command, it might make a lot of sense to make him responsible for the Lusitania incident.

Granted, this isn't as huge or traumatic a thing as losing her parents or the Chozo she was raised by being gone forever; So that could also match with Kraid not being as much of a specter in Samus' life. He could be more of a casual Space Pirate arch-nemesis to Samus, in-between Ridley and Mother Brain; With those two, their moments have to matter, they need to have weight, etc. But with Kraid, it's way less tense, which in some ways leads to more creative freedom, and of course culminates in the Dread fight.

Of course, there is one criticism I've considered; That having Kraid be part of Samus' backstory and growth as a character, influencing the incident that made her finally leave the Federation, could be... ludicrous? That all three Space Pirate commanders are involved with Samus in some way. Granted, Kraid is a Space Pirate commander; Samus inevitably comes to fight him anyway, and her time in the Federation was part of that revenge against the pirates. And making Kraid less directly involved with Ian's death, but still a component, could make the whole thing just understated enough... Idk.

In the case of Kraid, Samus kind of WAS asking to fight him and risk losses of some kind, and I don't mean that in a victim-blaming kind of way, but in a "We're avoiding a third coincidence of having this enemy just happen to cross paths/be involved with Samus, by having Samus be the one to take initiative to find this guy" kind of way. It represents her growing into the hunter who fights back, which then culminates in her finally becoming independent from the Federation after being dissatisfied by its handling of the nevertheless successful Lusitania mission.

Samus’ conflict with Kraid begins with her conflict with administrative handling of situations, and this could be reflected in Kraid’s antagonistic role as a commander who acts through others and even decoys to direct troops against Samus; Seeing Kraid sacrifice his own soldiers cements her hatred of him. He’s the most extreme example she learned from that informs Samus’ distaste for working within larger systems; Adam not getting everything right was also a minor part of it. But Kraid illustrated just how bad this could get.

So it matches with Kraid being less of a directly personal deal to her, compared to Mother Brain who has less appearances and didn't spark PTSD, and Ridley who caused everything afterwards and did lead to a suicidal panic attack. Plus, it kind of goes with Kraid being a starter boss in Zero Mission; He’s not this big emotional hurdle, just a physical one so it’s a good place to start off and show Samus’ growth throughout her first big adventure.

I’ve had this concept for a hypothetical show to give us the backstory, but then a few episodes of Samus fighting Space Pirates and building up her fame before the Zero Mission begins. And part of this is Samus trying to track down Kraid and defeat him, only to then find out the twist of his smaller doppelgänger. Because if Zero Mission no longer leaves room for that, the only place left is to put that before the Zero Mission itself!

And with Kraid as someone Samus fails to defeat after discovering how huge he is, it makes him a Goliath to her David to come back to and surpass, on a more casual first boss level. So next time, Samus is prepared and has actual upgrades with her, which allows her to have the big first moment when she downs a major Space Pirate for the first time; That makes her feel more prepared to then take on Ridley in Norfair. She succeeds, Samus is feeling better, Gandrayda gives her a thumbs up, and then she defeats Mother Brain…

Only for the Zero Suit segment to ask the question: Did Samus only get this far because of her upgrades? Or is there more to her and her growth than that? And this is confirmed when she passes the Ruins Test, and deemed just as worthy of the Power Suit as she’s ever been. Maybe anyone else could wear it like Samus does, but Chozo tech would not be enough to accomplish her feats; That is owed more to Samus’ strength of heart and ingenuity as a warrior.

[mermaidsirennikita]

hi! i recently watched brandy's cinderella and fell in love with it. been craving something with it's vibe to read - could you please rec some books (histrom or otherwise)?

Ooooh what a charming movie!

Automatically, my thought is India Holton books, because she writes magic and adventure and sweet flirting and self-aware humor so well. I would start with her Dangerous Damsels series, beginning with The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels and going from there. You have defiant heroines, you have pluck, you DO have sex on the page, though it's more in the 6/10 range on my heat scale. These are books I would genuinely call delightful.

If you're open to queer romances, I would also recommend Alexis Hall's Mortal Follies and Confounding Oaths. They're both set in a magical fairy tale world (with some Austen and Shakespeare mixing) and their books are honestly hilarious but also heartfelt. Mortal Follies is my favorite of the two, it's an f/f romance where the heroines (one of which is a very Elizabeth Bennet type and the other is a mysterious, hot lady duke) meet at a ball when the Lizzie type has been hexed and her dress is unraveling. This one is very low heat, and Confounding Oaths (which is m/m and about a gentleman whose sister ends up with an evil fairy godmother, which prompts him to ask a hot soldier for help) is very much closed door. But they're super lovely.

On a less magical but just as funny and irreverent side, Alexis's Something Fabulous series may also be a good option! All the books are queer (the third and last? is out this December) and include many hijinx, found family things, and romantic longing. Anachronistic and very unapologetic about it. Fully open door.

On a historical end, what about Julie Anne Long's Palace of Rogues series? Long is always very funny, but I find this series a bit lighter than her Pennyroyal Green books (EXCEPT for You Were Made to Be Mine, which is a good book but has a very dark backstory for the heroine). There's a lot of humor, a big cast of quirky characters, lots of sniping and flirting between the heroes and heroines. My FAVORITE is After Dark with the Duke, but the ones that have more of the vibes you're looking for are probably How to Tame a Wild Rogue and My Season of Scandal. Not without some edge (and they're a 6/10 open door, generally, with After Dark with the Duke being a little hotter than the others imo) but overall very sweet and playful.

To that end, there's always Tessa Dare! She does dabble with darkness, but her books are super funny and on the higher end of the heat scale for tradpub historical romance (of their day). Very sparkly and romantic. The leads do tend to have their issues, but it's all very sweet, and again, funny. I think When a Scot Ties the Knot could be a good way to try her out if you haven't, and maybe A Week to Be Wicked? They're on the lighter end and super fun.

[translationandbetrayals]

クレヨンしんちゃん

Shin-chan, whose original name is Crayon Shin-chan, is a Japanese anime that has won hearts for its irreverent humor and absurd situations. Created by Yoshito Usui in 1990, initially as a manga, this work tells the adventures of Shinnosuke Nohara, a five-year-old boy with a unique personality that mixes childlike innocence with behavior that is often outrageous and funny.

The story takes place in Kasukabe, a Japanese city where Shin-chan lives with his family: his mother, Misae, his father, Hiroshi, and his little sister, Himawari. Throughout the episodes, Shin-chan interacts with his group of friends, his neighbors, and his classmates at daycare. His outgoing nature, his desire to imitate adults, and his ability to get into trouble make him a hilarious and endearing character.

One of the characteristics that make this series special is how it combines seemingly simple humor with social commentary and cultural references. Although the main focus is comedy, the episodes also show everyday aspects of Japanese life, which gives an unexpected depth to the stories.

Among the cast of characters, my favorite is undoubtedly Shin-chan’s adorable dog, Shiro. Shiro is a small white-furred canine who stands out for his loyalty and tenderness. Although he usually seems calm, he has moments where he proves to be as unique as the rest of the Nohara family. Shiro is often the voice of reason in the midst of the chaos that Shin-chan creates, taking care of the house or even protecting Himawari when no one else does. His expressiveness and gestures make him an endearing character, capable of stealing the spotlight in any scene.

Over the years, Shin-chan has maintained its popularity thanks to its unique style and its ability to make people of all ages laugh. It is a series that, despite its humorous tone, manages to capture moments of tenderness and life lessons through the interactions of the characters.

I really like Shin-chan because he has a unique and charming visual style that has always attracted me. When I was little, I watched him mainly because he made me laugh and I found it funny how everything in the anime was so colorful and simple, but at the same time full of details that caught my attention. Now that I’m older, I appreciate him even more, especially because of Shin-chan’s attitude. I love how he doesn’t care what others think, he just exists in his own way and does what he likes without worrying about fitting in or following rules. It’s a way of being that, even though it may seem chaotic, has something inspiring about it, because it shows the freedom of being yourself.

Sofía Guzmán

[thealmightyemprex]

Muppet Movies Ranked

I've recently marathoned all 8 theatrical Muppet movies ,and these are my rankings.Keep in mind I think all 8 are good movies,I just prefer some to others

8.The Muppets

I like the nostalgic look back stuff.....But the peoblem is I dont like Walter or the human characters .This film is the most meh to me

7.Muppets From Space

ITs diffrent,being the only non musical in the series ,and I do like that the film focuses on my favorite Muppet Gonzo and doesnt showcase just the Muppet Show guys but the Muppets Tonght guys as well but the story isnt all there,I dont think Jeffrey Tambours villain has the right ending and it is painfully 90's

6.Great Muppet Caper

Oooooh for putting this so low I might get some hate,but I shall explain .This is the most irreverant ,silly and funniest Mupppet movie,if you just want to laugh this is great .THis film is pure Henson wackyness,the film is not taking itself seriously at all.....And while I enjoy that.....I prefer a Muppet movie to have a bit more heart and story to go with the silly FOr me the characters,story and songs are a bit lacking .Again jokes are brillaint,performances are good (Charles Grodin looks like he is in LOVE with Miss Piggy and it is amazing) and it may have my favorite cameo in any Muppet movie .I do like the movie,I just like 5 others better

5.Muppets Most Wanted

This film is VERY similar to Great Muppet Caper ,and while not funnier,I think its more solid .I adore the songs,especially the Big House ,I think the story is really good ,I love Sam and Ty Burrels chemistry ,the cameos are top notch ,Tina Fey as the Russian warden Nadya delivers one of the best human characters in all the Muppet movies and the film has possibly the best villain in all the Muppet movies in Constantine who is good mix of hilarious and threatening .Not all the effects worked and....I really wish someone else other then Ricky Gervais played the secondary villain Dominic Badguy.Overall though its an enjoyable film

4.Muppets Take Manhatten

The one that surprised me .Of the orignal three its the one people dont talk about but ....I love it,its a bit more of a low key Muppet film ,ITs a much more character focused film. .The Dabney Coleman scene cracks me up,Saying Goodbye is tearjerking and the finale is spectacular

3.Muppet Christmas Carol

A legit really good take on a Christmas Carol,possibly one of the best takes .The first film without Jim Henson ,and I think it showed the Muppets could survive .Less about the jokes and more about the heart and artistry while still having fun and humor . the Muppet performers are on top form,especially Gonzo and Rizzo as the narrators ,but the highlight of the film is honestly the phenomenal performance of Michael Caine as the coldhearted Scrooge ,giving off a legit good dramtic performance while talking to Puppets .Also the songs by Pqaul Williams are just top notch

2.The Muppet Movie

The one that started it all,a heartwarming story about a bunch of weirdos coming together in pursuit of a dream,its sweet,its funny ,Paul Williams songs are great (Especially Im Going to Go Back There Some Day and Rainbow Connection),theres some fun cameos (Mel Brooks steals the show ) and Charles Durning gives an underrated performance as a psychotic fast food mogul

1.Muppet Treasure Island

This....WAs one of the first movies I ever saw,and I have never stopped loving it .The muppet mayhem is funny(DEad Toms Dead always gets me ),its exciting ,the songs are all top notch ,and it has the best human cast with Kevin Bishop as the adventurous young Jim .Jennifer Saunders asa bombastic Inn owner,Billy Connolly as old drunkn pirate Billy Bones and the legend himself Tim Curry hamming it up as the villainous Long John Silver in perhaps his greatest performance ,cause he is equally great with the comedy as he is at delivering tender softer moments with Jim as a sort of surrogate father

@amalthea9 @angelixgutz @theancientvaleofsoulmaking @ariel-seagull-wings @themousefromfantasyland @the-blue-fairie @princesssarisa @greektragedydaddy @filmcityworld1

[davidcampiti]

FANTASY FEMALE FAILINGS

I've been reading quite a bit of negativity about current fantasy films with female leads failing, with the prevailing belief that audiences don't want to watch female lead characters.

I'll venture the opinion, as a publisher and a content provider for other publishers, that guys do NOT hate women in leading roles. They hate 1.) poorly-written movies about 2.) women who aren't sexy. (After all, these movies are fantasies.)

Look at the comic books themselves: Sexy variant covers sell like crazy. As mainstream publishers phased out "sexy babe" comics in recent years, that audience -- a big audience, because comics are still mostly read by guys -- found their sexy babe comics on Kickstarter, where they thrive. (I've published a few there.)

I believe it's the same with movies and TV shows. Silly shows like She-Spies and Pamela Anderson's VIP thrived when playing up the sexy and nothing depressing. Think Xena, Wonder Woman, Baywatch, Charlie's Angels, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Nikita, Alias, Charmed, and so many others.

The super heroine movies of recent years have none of the sexiness and joy that the main audience wants. Halle Berry's Catwoman was poorly written and nothing at all like the audience wanted. Black Widow and The Marvels just sat there, not even trying to be entertaining (yet not as bad as Eternals, which wasted Angelina Jolie and Gemma Chan).

She-Hulk was a slog to get through; its fourth wall-breaking was self-conscious and unfunny, the opposite of Deadpool that revelled in its silliness and irreverent, bawdy humor. She-Hulk's twerking wasn't well done and seemed forced, and the bad CG work hindered it further. Deadpool's dancing proved hilarious and consistent with the character. She-Hulk seemed to be a series that hated itself, so it's no wonder much of the audience hated it.

[theoriginalmarke]

SUNDAY SUMMATIONS

I've been taking advantage of the Disney Plus trial offer this past week, trying to catch up on the numerous Marvel offerings. Kitten has been happy about all of the classic Disney movies like 101 Dalmations, That Darn Cat, Mickey Mouse Meets Frankenstein, and Flesh Gordon.

First up for me was Guardians of the Galaxy 3, which was awesome. Better than the first one, even. Then the GotG Holiday Special, with Kevin Bacon as a Christmas present. Lots of fun. I Am Groot is a series of cute six minute vignettes, kind of like Minions with an attitude.

Thor: Love and Thunder. It was enjoyable. So was Dr. Strange and Multiverse of Madness.

Speaking of multiverses, it seems like half of what DC and Marvel are putting out lately involve them. What's up with that?

Anyway. Next I started catching up on the miniseries. WandaVision was really good, but it seemed like her character completely changed in the Dr. Strange movie. Maybe it's just me.

The Falcon and The WInter Soldier was really good, too. I just finished Loki and enjoyed it. Next will probably be either Black Widow or Hawkeye, then Secret Wars.

I think my favorite is still DC's Harley Quinn animated series over on Max. Irreverent and hilarious.

Another favorite? Persian cucumbers with Trader Joe's Gochujang Sauce. Delicious! Try it, you just might like it.

Now if you'll excuse me, Tales of Wells Fargo is on INSP and I have to find out if Jim Hardie is going to catch the bad guys.

I love you, baby. Even more than a good Groot movie. MWAH!

Y'all have a great day.

[snowberry-crostata]

Summer Reading/Writing/Arting Tag

Tagged by the wonderful @thequeenofthewinter and @late-nite-scholar, thank you both!

1) Describe one creative WIP project you’re planning to work on over the summer:

I’m going to cheat and say two things. The first is Sundered, Kingless, Bleeding, my ongoing Dragonborn quest line novelization (chapter three is almost there - if I can make it through my in-laws’ visit this weekend I’ll have it up next week). I’m hoping to get at least one new chapter up in both June and July, and then start spending more time with it after my dissertation defense is over. I’ve also got a couple of miniatures busts (this one and this one) that I’ve been itching to paint but haven’t had time for, so I’d love to be able to carve out some time to work on those.

2) Rec a book:

I’ll always recommend Mary Roach’s books for anyone looking for hilarious, irreverent, and informative science nonfiction. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers was my first, but a lot of people like Packing for Mars too. I’m working my way through Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law right now, and I’ve had to stop reading it in public because I keep cracking up every few pages.

3) Rec a fic:

There are lot of amazing stories out there, but I've been particularly into in microfics recently. Jiubilant's stories are so evocative; this one with Lydia and Viarmo sticks in my brain, and I love this series of vignettes about an East Empire Company clerk who becomes archmage.

4) Rec music:

A while ago I put together instrumental writing playlists for each of the Skyrim holds and I listen to those a lot while writing, but this week I’ve been catching up on Eurovision and have been playing Lord of the Lost’s (they were robbed, their song was so good) cover of the runner-up song on repeat.

5) Share one piece of advice:

This is as much a reminder for myself as it is advice for other people: if you’re feeling frustrated or stuck with your writing, walk away for a few days (or weeks…) and re-read it later. It’ll be better than you think, and with some time away you’ll be able to catch and fix the things you didn’t see when you were deep in the trenches. Also, read your drafts out loud, not just in your head! It’s a really good way to catch typos, skipped words, repeated words, awkward phrases, etc.

@stormbeyondreality and @sylvienerevarine, if you haven’t been tagged already I would love to see what y’all have planned (no pressure though!).

[strangepeacewasteland]

Exploring Hilarious Anime Comedy: A Blend of Laughter and Entertainment

Anime, the vibrant and diverse world of Japanese animation, encompasses various genres that cater to a wide range of audiences. Among these genres, comedy holds a special place, providing viewers with moments of laughter, amusement, and light-hearted entertainment. Comedic anime series often utilize witty dialogues, absurd situations, and clever visual gags to tickle the audience's funny bone. This article delves into the realm of hilarious anime comedy, showcasing some notable examples that have successfully brought laughter to millions of fans worldwide.

The Essence of Anime Comedy

Comedy is a universal language that transcends cultural barriers, and anime comedy is no exception. The genre can take various forms, from slapstick humor to satirical social commentary. It thrives on exaggeration, unexpected twists, and relatable characters placed in comically outrageous situations. Anime comedies often exploit cultural nuances and references, making them a unique blend of humor that resonates with both Japanese and international audiences.

Notable Examples of Hilarious Anime Comedy

"Gintama" "Gintama" is renowned for its irreverent humor, anachronistic setting, and eccentric characters. Set in an alternate-history Edo period where aliens have invaded and taken over feudal Japan, the series follows the misadventures of Gintoki Sakata, a lazy samurai-for-hire, and his quirky companions. The show's self-awareness, parodies of other anime and pop culture, and the seamless blending of comedy and drama contribute to its comedic brilliance.

"One Punch Man" "One Punch Man" flips the superhero genre on its head with its protagonist, Saitama, who can defeat any opponent with a single punch. The comedy arises from the stark contrast between Saitama's overwhelming power and his lack of excitement due to the absence of challenging fights. The series is filled with epic battles, absurd villains, and Saitama's deadpan reactions to the chaos around him.

"Nichijou" (My Ordinary Life) "Nichijou" captures the everyday lives of a group of high school girls in a hilariously exaggerated manner. The show employs surreal visual gags and absurd situations, such as a deer attending school or a girl engaging in epic battles with household items. The juxtaposition of mundane settings and extraordinary occurrences contributes to the show's unique brand of comedy.

"Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!" This isekai comedy follows Kazuma Sato, who dies in a comically embarrassing way and is offered the chance to be reborn in a fantasy world. He forms a dysfunctional party with equally flawed adventurers, leading to a series of comedic misadventures. The show thrives on character dynamics, witty banter, and the characters' hilarious flaws.

Hilarious anime comedies offer a delightful escape from reality, providing a good dose of laughter and entertainment for viewers of all ages. Through their clever writing, eccentric characters, and creative use of visual gags, these shows create memorable moments that stay with audiences long after the episodes end. Whether it's the absurdity of "Gintama," the unconventional hero of "One Punch Man," the surreal occurrences of "Nichijou," or the quirky adventurers of "Konosuba," anime comedy continues to captivate and charm fans around the world. So, if you're in need of a hearty laugh, dive into the vibrant world of anime comedy and let the giggles commence! read : anime and otaku

[albertanimation]

The Dover Boys at Pimento University; or, The Rivals of Roquefort Hall (1942) - Dir. Chuck Jones

In recent years, the cartoon most commonly known as The Dover Boys has reached a level of popularity that is fairly unusual for a cartoon from over 80 years ago, becoming a fairly well-known meme and even receiving a lavishly produced fan re-animation. I think in no small part this is due not only because of its release into the public domain, but for its irreverence, its unique animation style and of course, the patented hollering of Mel Blanc's vocal styling.

The Dover Boys parodies the now long defunct "Rover Boys" series of youth novels, a series of books written by Edward Stratemeyer under the pseudonym Arthur M. Winfield. Similarly to the short, the books feature three young students of a military boarding school as they cause pranks and mischief for authorities and criminals alike. Though long since passed from public awareness now, the Rover Boys books sold over a million copies and left an indelible mark on American pop culture at the time.

Despite its recent popularity, information on the production of The Dover Boys is surprisingly hard to find these days, likely due to the fact that it was produced fairly quickly and cheaply. Allegedly, Chuck Jones was expected to produce 10 cartoons a year and had "run out" of good ideas by the end of 1942. Thus, The Dover Boys was animated in order to be made as efficiently as possible, most notably through the use of an animation technique called "smear frames".

In order to "cheat" the effect of a rapid movement of a character, simulating motion blur in a real camera shot, characters were smeared between key poses to make pose to pose animation seem more lively and snappy, utilized in this cartoon through dry-brushing. Although this technique existed in cartoons in the 1930s, The Dover Boys was the first cartoon which used it so notably and frequently. This, combined with other cost cutting measures such as long panning shots of the stylized painted backgrounds by uncredited artist Gene Fleury with no visible characters, and the "sweet Dora Standpipe", the Dover Boys' supposedly dainty object of affection, whose slim-fitting dress causes her to glide comically through her scenes, conveniently not requiring expensive-to-animate walk cycles. This reduced style is now known as "limited animation", and while controversial at the time is now widely utilized by most modern animated productions to help reduce costly animation budgets.

My personal favourite aspect of the cartoon, however, is its preposterous and hilariously animated villain: Dan Backslide, described by the unctuous narrator as a "coward, bully, cad and thief". Visually based on Warner Bros animator Ken Harris, his wiry frame, slicked hair, effeminate cigarette holder and inexplicably green skin make every scene he is in a delight to behold. It may also be my absolute favourite Mel Blanc performance in all of Looney Tunes history, and considering the breadth of the man's career that's really saying something. There's just something about the particular cadence of his screams that put me in hysterics every time.

However, reaction to the cartoon at the time was slightly less glowing than modern views. According to Jones, Warner Bros. studio executives were displeased with his innovative animation techniques, stating "They hated it, and if they hadn't been block-booking theatres, they would have withheld it and thrown me out." Their attempts to fire him were curtailed, however, by a labour shortage stemming from the ongoing war at the time, and so Jones continued directing for Warner Bros until 1962.

In modern years, The Dover Boys is regarded as being hugely influential for its unique, stylized look and innovative animation techniques, and it was included in the 50 Greatest Cartoons of All Time. Rediscovered by a younger generation after it was released into the public domain through the internet, it quickly became a brief online sensation for its bizarre non-sequitur humour and rapid-fire pacing. In 2018, a collaboration of independent animators reanimated the entire cartoon as a celebration of its 76th Anniversary. Though viewed as a relatively disposable parody at the time, it has since gone on to long outlive the subject of its mockery.

Sources:

The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals - Jerry Black

Frame by Frame: A Materialist Aesthetics of Animated Cartoons - Hannah Frank

http://likelylooneymostlymerrie.blogspot.com/2015/08/383-dover-boys-at-pimento-university.html