#After all a lot of people refer to Disney as ‘the mouse’

[nuttersincorporated]

No Strings Attached

As midnight struck, Mickey felt his strings snap and he immediately crumpled to the ground. He tried to get up but only made it as far as his knees before he collapsed again.

Lying on his back, staring up at the stary night sky above, Mickey became aware of a strange whimpering sound. It took him a few moments to realise he was the one making those noises. Tears rolled down his cheeks.

He distantly wondered if he could lie there forever; just stay there until the ground claimed his bones. It seemed so much easier than the alternative. He was so, so tired.

“Mickey!” the voice sounded far away but he recognised it instantly. “Mickey!”

No, he wouldn’t give up. He couldn’t. He wasn’t the only one who’d had his strings cut.

Angry with himself, Mickey scrubbed the tears away. Then he balled his hands into fists and with a great effort of will, pushed himself into a sitting position.

“Mickey, where are you?”

“Min…” he started to answer but that was all he managed before he started coughing. He tried to stop but it only seemed to get worse.

“Mickey!”

She must have heard him because he could hear her running towards him. A moment later and she was there, flower in her hair and worry on her face.

“Oh Mickey!” She dropped to her knees beside him and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He continued to cough and she rubbed circles on his back until, at last, his body relaxed and he could breathe properly.

“It’s okay,” she reassured him, still holding him. “It’s going to be okay.”

Mickey hugged her back. He realised he was crying again and made an effort to stop. He opened his mouth and tried to speak for the second time. This time he managed it.

“Minnie.” Mickey stopped. He didn’t recognise his own voice. It was horse from all the coughing but it was more than that.

His eyes widened is shock as realised it was the first word he’d ever spoken. Oh, words had come out of his mouth before but he’d never been the one making the decision to say them.

“Minnie,” he said again. “We’re free.”

[kairithemang0]

Disney is such an interesting company, the way it's evolved over time to what it is now. Apart of me is disappointed, another part of me feels as though the current drought of good Disney content was inevitable.

I think about right after Walt died, how the company struggled then. However, even then I think their movies were still good, Robin Hood, the Aristocats, Great Mouse Detective, they're still good movies.

That's the era my parents grew up in, sure looking back on it now you can see the flaws in some of the movies, how the animation wasn't as polished as it was before Walt's passing, but then I compare it to the movies now.

The 2020s haven't been a good decade for Disney, Raya, Strange World, Wish, they all flopped. Encanto only made waves on Disney+, which is a good thing but that's one movie out of 5 that have come out of Disney in the past 4 years

Then you have to look at the remakes, how much money they're getting from those. However, their recent ones are flopping. The public knows what they're doing now, just remaking their old movies isn't going to keep bringing in money. The Lion King, Aladdin, they made over 1 billion dollars, The Little Mermaid? Under 600 million. That's still a lot of money, but Disney is also putting in so much money into these movies just for them to fail. People are sick of the remakes, they're sick of the sequels, but their original products aren't causing any excitement.

I don't know if Disney is still dealing with lost time and profits from Covid, but it's sad to see other studios doing so well only for Disney, who reigned supreme last decade with Moana and Frozen and Wreck it Ralph, to fall behind again

Disney seems to do this a lot, actually. The 80s were bad, the 2000s weren't great, the 2020s are bad again. Maybe the 30s will bring us something good, if Disney gets their act together and figures out what people want again.

People ask for 2d, for that old disney feel to come back. An obviously evil villain. Villains don't need a tragic backstory, they don't need anything, but this twisted foulness, a catchy song, and to be memorably evil.

Scar, Ursula, Lady Tremaine. You look at them and you go "oh yeah, they're evil". Which not to say Disney can't do twist villains, but it fails more often than it succeeds. Turbo was a great twist villain, his motivation was there and he was fun. But Hans? And Yokai? It felt random, out of place, like they were lacking the motivation to be good villains.

Scar wants power, so does Ursula, and Tremaine more of enjoys torturing her adopted daughter. These three are so iconic because they're so unashamedly evil and cruel, they're these powerful figures that spark fear into people who get what they deserve in the end.

But Magnifico? He's so painfully boring, he's so underdeveloped. It's sad, disheartening the way he could've been so interesting and yet fell flat in such a pitiful way.

I sometimes think about once upon a studio, this gorgeous mix of all pieces of disney animated history, every movie in there. No pixar or marvel or star wars, just everyone who started this, who made disney disney. It's such a lovely short, and it just radiates this pure disney energy, vibrant and colorful and magical. That's what disney is missing now, maybe that's me growing up, maybe it's just not for me anymore.

but honestly, i don't think this generation is going to have that nostalgia for disney the way me or my parents did, it's lost that because it feels so manufactured, this charm that only disney could do gone.

a weird way to say this is the new intro that plays at the start of their movies, it just feels so manufactured, like all it wanted to do was slide references into it to remind you of better movies. that 2000s/2010s CGI intro? that's my shit. the basic 2d intro? it's a classic, it's memorable, but this new one just doesn't have that affect

this is one man's opinion on something he once loved, but i'd love to hear other thoughts on what disney has become

[science-lings]

more info for each option below

1- I just think it's funny if everyone knew who Sherlock Holmes was (Phoenix's 'Sherlock Holmes 2 baby!' moment) and it's a popular belief that he wasn't real but he was, just under a better name.

2- I can't help but look at these guys and point at them. Kazuma's concept art where he has his hair back is so Phoenix-coded and one of his thinking sprites looks a lot like Phoenix's and I think that in the afterlife whenever Phoenix is kind of a bitch Ryunosuke looks over at Kazuma and blames him for it. I don't know which one is trans and neither do historians, it's knowledge that has been lost to time. Though it would be funny if Ryu just popped out of nowhere to go to university where no one knew him so no one would know anything about him. Did he forge government documents to do it? who knows he's just living his best life memorizing tongue twisters.

3- It would either be something badass like a snake winding around her arm or something symbolic like a fleur-de-lys which is the flower-based symbol in TGAA for European prosecutors. I also think it's funny bc it's apparently based on an Iris (or a lily), and the iris has the connotation that it 'prevents fire' which would be funny subtle anti-phoenix symbolism.

4- as much as the fan renditions of scruffy beanix absolutely fuck, this guy has the most pathetic facial hair I've ever seen, he's trying so hard to look like a homeless rundown stoner but can only manage a sprinkling of stubble. In addition, Miles can grow facial hair and he tried to grow a mustache for a week in Europe but it was a sensory nightmare and he will never do it again.

5- idk there's a reason his little mascot is a mouse, I just think it's funny if he just appears next to people and they have no idea how he got there. quiet little guy (unless he's thinking loud enough for it to leak out of his mouth). If he was a little more chaotic he would make an excellent thief/ pickpocket. The closest he gets is making snacks disappear from the 221b pantry.

6- All the animals as evidence and his first defendant in seven years being an Orca, he has that disney princess vibe. He was buds with Polly the parrot during the trial and even Money the monkey warmed up to him, especially in the anime where he just chills on Phoenix's shoulders during the court demonstration. I also think eventually Taka would also warm up to him due to his immaculate bird vibes. Trucy's doves and rabbits love him, he does not know how this happened. He regularly has pigeons following him around during investigations. He accidentally makes friends with a crow when throwing out popcorn kernels, it regularly gives him things now and more than once it has retrieved evidence for a case he's working on. He names it Kay and refers to Human Kay accordingly.

7- A little detail I noticed was that a lot of the information Mia got on Redd White was from conversing through the spiritual veil which seems to be her strong suit even as a spirit herself. She can talk to Phoenix without having to use a medium. I think it would be interesting to delve into all the nuances of the Fey's spiritual abilities outside of channeling. There's definitely a whole lot more to it than we're provided. How does that magatama work? how does Pearl charge it with 'spiritual power' and why is she the only one that can do it? I'm a hoe for magical worldbuilding so I would love to get my grubby fingers all over the Fey's.

8- Just two haters who can't have the job that they worked so hard for and are bitter about it. I like to think that Ema visited America at least once a year to visit Lana in prison and she stayed with Phoenix to save money on hotels. It just means something to me that it's her pin that's on his beanie and she gets included in the Wright family (+ Apollo) new years official art, and he keeps the investigative tools she gave him for nearly a decade. They aren't the best influence on each other but they understand each other more than nearly anyone else. They send each other pictures of Edgeworth whenever one of them is hanging out with him so the other doesn't feel left out. Also, they both think it's funny to catch him in the middle of talking or making a weird facial expression.

9- Some guy can't just change how trials are done for everyone without a lot of political bs, Phoenix is famous in law circles and even outside of law circles but he needs to convince a lot of important people (and expose a lot of corrupt important people) before it can go through. At some point, Edgeworth is going to pick him up and they're going on a private plane to talk to the president. It's important to me that he has trouble grasping how important he has become and is surprised every time he's invited to speak at some fancy event even though he's literally important enough to have statues made of him. He is the most iconic defense attorney, he solved the deaths of the two most notable defense attorneys before him in some of his first trials. He is going to be in history books and that is unimaginable to him.

10- Obviously since his canon ancestor is Japanese he's at least part Japanese but I mean like, in my mind, he's fully Japanese American who can speak the language and was raised by immigrants, but I also think that so many other hcs are fun. Is he latino with his black daughter? love that, inject some melanin in these attorneys please. I see the ensemble artwork and am blinded instantly.

[adrianasunderworld]

Okay so I'm sorry for word vomiting here but I've got this AU that I've been developing in my head for the past few weeks. I call it my Disney Crossover/House of Mouse/When I say everyone loves Yuu, I’m talking about the entire Disney animated multiverse AU.

(I’m going to be referring to Yuu as she/her because of my own pronouns)

Basically, Yuu ends up working at the House of Mouse every night for extra money because Crowley sucks. She travels through a magic mirror in Ramshackle. Everyone there loves her: the (human and animal) adults think of her as their daughter, the animals love her (she’s not a beast tamer for nothing), the kids constantly want to hang out with her and even the villains have a soft spot for her (mainly because she treats them like normal people and not as villains. She’s super kind and sweet to them even when they try to scare her). Somehow, they realise that they don’t really know who she is or how she got there or anything so they ask her about it and she’s like “it’s a long story I don’t want to explain the whole thing.”

So due to either Disney Magic™ or one of Professor Von Drake’s inventions, the entire Disney theatrical animated universe watch everything that’s happened to Yuu so far in Twisted Wonderland. So obviously this would lead to lots of questions and everything but that’s not what I want to talk about. Oh no. What I’m getting to is this:

Ship Wars.

Everyone sees how Yuu has got each and every boy at NRC wrapped around her little finger and she’s literally so dense and oblivious to how positively smitten and whipped they are for her so they play a little matchmaking. Obviously The Great Seven™ would want Yuu to get with their own Twisted versions. It was unprecedented. Normally every villain knows not to get on the bad side of the Mistress of all Evil but the second she’s like “she’s my future granddaughter, my Malleus has been courting him the day they met” WWIII breaks out.

The Heroes™ are at first like “why villains though?” before realising that the boys would rather chop off a limb before they would ever think about letting Yuu get anywhere near harm and they’re like “so for their wedding, I’m thinking…” Because what’s the biggest bragging right than having the beloved Yuu getting with someone that’s based on your story.

Listen, because I have ideas™ of villains trying to get their kid (yes, they see the boys as their kids, sue them) with Yuu and the heroes being like “Are you married? No. Move over.” Simba and Nala helping Leona with ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight 2.0’ whilst Scar and the hyenas scheme in the shadows (the hyenas love Ruggie by the way. He’s an honorary member of the cackle), Aladdin and Jasmine hardcore shipping Kalim with Yuu (Aladdin to the other princes “they rode on a magic carpet and had an elephant parade. Perfect first date material right there.”) whilst JamilYuu shippers Jafar and Iago seethe, Alice may not know much about relationships but she’s got an imagination, an older sister and sees how invested the White Rabbit, card soldiers and the Queen and King of Hearts are with RiddleYuu so she’s going to help. The Dwarves hate Vil. Snow White loves everyone. She just wants Yuu to be happy. Lovable himbo tries to get Idia and Yuu together but Meg just rolls her eyes and Hades yells at him for ruining his plans. Ariel and Eric see Azul, a mer who’s fallen in love with a human and they’re like “our time has come. Sebastian, get your voice ready.” and Ursula’s like “that might be the one good idea you two have ever had”. Maleficent has been MalleYuu Shipper No1 from the start (a title that Lilia had to give up to her after a one minute stare down). She already has a room prepared for the prefect for when she visits the Valley of Thorns. Aurora, Phillip and the three good fairies think that Malleus is a sweet boy and are rooting for him.

Of course, there will be ship wars.

And don’t get me started on the battles that the villainous henchmen/sidekicks get with each other. If I have motivation, I might write something for this AU but I have a bunch of headcanons and scenarios for it. Also, Yuu is an honorary Disney Princess. She gets to sit with them at their table and has a personal invite to visit their castles whenever she wants so that they can have some girl time together. (Mulan and Merida mainly want to teach her how to use weapons and are 100000% ready to hunt down any of the boys that try to mess with her).

Listen, I love everything about this. House of Mouse was one one my favorite cartoons as a kid so i'm all on board for this. (It is an affront that the series is not on Disney+, but at least its on Youtube.)

Mickey tapping on the glass of the Ramshackle mirror: Hey, hey kid. Wanna work at my club?

All i'm thinking of is the episode where Max has a date with Roxanne and everyone swears not to embarrass him, and then proceeds to embarrass with their well intentioned attempts to make it perfect. Like dedicated Sebastian's Kiss the girl performance and setting up a Lady and Tramp style meal for them. That, but with the NRC boy of the week.

Miss Yuu: I'm going to be bringing my friend Azul this Friday. When he heard about the club he was interested to check it out for ideas for his lounge.

The entire cast of the little mermaid:

There is not a speck of chill in that establishment. Sebastian's going to perform Kiss the Girl. Ariel and Eric get the bright idea to invite them to sit with them like a double date. Ursula and batting the other villains from interfering with a stick. It's a mess.

Rinse and repeat every other week with a different student.

Imagine Hades trying to teach Idia how to be a quick smooth talker to get Yuu to go out with him and its just failing miserably. Or Yuu just glaring at the Magic Mirror in the lobby.

Or ladies night at the House of Mouse, and all the princesses insist Yuu sit them and enjoy the show, and Minnie assures her she can take a break for a while. Then upon Clarabells suggestion in the episode, they do a bachelor auction, Only the Bachalors are Vil, Malleus, Leona and whoever else they could rope into it. Only all the princesses are bidding on their favorites and then giving the date to Yuu.

And like you said, everyone sort of adopts Yuu in their own way. But Goofy especially is going full dad mode for Yuu. Just comes to her defense at any moment like he does with Max and its very sweet.

[universe-of-peoples]

There’s a lot of different opinions about what went wrong with Wish (2023), and i think a lot of them are missing the point.

So here’s my take on what was ACTUALLY wrong with Wish (2023).

Let’s start with what the movie was. It was a cute little movie, just 1 hour 35 minutes long (for reference, about as long as Encanto and a little shorter than Frozen). It had a cute story and a powerful message about working to make your dreams a reality, with a side message of the will of the people is more powerful than one corrupt ruler. It had good music; not as popular as other movies’ music, but I added the songs to my Disney playlist and I genuinely enjoy them. The whole movie was just a fun time.

Now let’s talk about what the movie was expected to be.

Fans expected this movie to be the next big Disney Princess movie, the big important Disney 100 movie, because that’s what it was marketed as. More important of those two was the latter - this was THE Disney 100 movie, the “when you wish upon a star” movie. Yeah, THAT movie. Disney fans were understandably excited. After hits like Frozen, Tangled, Encanto, Moana, and others, Disney had proven it was capable of producing movies that were big emotional hard-hitters that could also be funny and entertaining.

Then let’s shift over to Disney. The eyes of the world turned to them as they advertised their biggest anniversary yet. They had a lot of ideas for this movie (as everyone keeps talking about), but they also had a lot of pressure on them. They probably had story ideas that would have cemented this movie in the ranks of Frozen, Encanto, Tangled, Moana. But you know what it feels like to me?

It feels like Disney got scared.

This movie was supposed to be THE movie that represented their brand. They would have to find a message, an emotional journey that fit their brand but didn’t deviate from the brand’s central theme. Other movies got to tell their own unique stories with diverse emotional journeys because while they were A Disney movie, they weren’t THE Disney movie. Not like this one was supposed to be.

So they watered down any emotional journey the characters went on, relied more heavily on the overly-relatable main character archetype (with her job interview jitters, big group of friends, quirky personality, etc), and threw in the nostalgia bait (that’s a given. It’s the 100th anniversary movie.) Compared to the other Disney movies that could be big emotional hard-hitters, but could also be funny and entertaining, I’d say this movie landed at definitely funny and entertaining, with a smaller emotional journey that definitely wasn’t hard-hitting. The story was just a bit smaller than some other Disney movies.

The thing is, none of these things are inherently bad. It’s ok to tell a smaller story. Other studios do it all the time! Heck, Disney has done lots of them in the past! It’s ok to want your main character to be relatable, it’s ok to put in some references to past works in your movie, it’s ok to have songs that are good but not good enough to break the charts.

So what’s the problem? The problem, as I see it, was the disparity between what was expected and what was delivered. A good part of that expectation came from Disney’s advertisement of the movie, and a smaller part came from fans’ expectations of any Disney Princess movie given the company’s track record. It was a perfect storm of This Movie Isn’t Going To Be Well Received.

IMHO, the movie isn’t bad. It just isn’t what it was expected and advertised to be. So please stop hating on the movie and direct your anger instead to The Mouse, the one who really deserves it.

[twistedtummies2]

Top 10 Looney Tunes Characters

This year is truly an auspicious one indeed. It marks the centenary of not one, but TWO of the greatest film and animation studios that have ever been. One of them, as many are doubtless aware by now, is Disney, and I do have some things planned for later this year to celebrate that. However, another studio that’s been getting less attention than I think it deserves for its own 100th Anniversary is Warner Bros.! WB started the same year as the Disney studio, and they’re still going strong. When one thinks of WB Animation, chances are good the first characters and cartoons that come to mind are the Looney Tunes. These cartoon classics were a staple of theatrical animation from the 1930s all the way into the early 1960s…and since those days, the characters have continued to pop up in all sorts of places. Movies, TV shows, video games, comics…you name it, the Looney Tunes have been there. These toons are some of the most recognizable characters in the history of animation, more than on par with Mickey Mouse and his allies, and I’ve always loved them. So, I decided it was time to pay them proper tribute! With that said, what better way than to talk about some of my personal favorites? That’s what we’re here to do today. So let’s waste no more time! Mind you don’t slip on any banana peels or similar slapstick cliches: here are My Top 10 Looney Tunes Characters!

10. Speedy Gonzales.

Speedy is one of a few Looney Tunes characters who has sort of faced some controversy over his career (I refer you to Pepe Le Pew, for example). Some people have complained he’s a negative stereotype, but thankfully, the majority of people seem to really love the character. I think the reason why so many love him is because Speedy is one of the most positive and genuinely good characters in the Looney Tunes canon: he’s a character whose able to be heroic while also genuinely being really funny and interesting to watch. The self-proclaimed Fastest Mouse in All Mexico loves to race, loves to play, and isn’t afraid to shoot down the absurdity of some of his more bonkers co-stars, just as he isn’t afraid to outrun and outsmart any cat that tries to harm him or his friends. He’s a lot of fun himself, and he loves to have fun, and that’s probably the best type of cartoon hero there can be.

9. Sylvester the Cat.

Sylvester is one of several characters on this list notable for his sheer versatility. Most of his cartoons do focus on the same basic setup, mind you: Sylvester is hungry, and trying to catch something to eat…but inevitably gets foiled at every turn. Sometimes his prey is the aforementioned Speedy, who - in Coyote-and-Road-Runner-esque fashion - Sylvester is just never quick enough to slow down. He’s also occasionally gone after a kangaroo named Hippety Hopper, whom Sylvester somehow keeps mistaking for an oversized rat. (My comments on him “not being quick” stand here, too.) Most famously, of course, he’s the “Bad Ol’ Puddy Tat” constantly trying to gobble up Tweety Bird…who you will NOT be seeing on this countdown. (I’ve never actually liked Tweety, save for a few appearances. I WANT that super-cutesy little PSYCHOPATH to be cat food someday, and I don’t care how heartless that makes me sound.) While all of these did follow some similar patterns and formulas, each of these opponents offered a different kind of conflict for Sylvester to overcome, and therefore a different set of gags that could be utilized, and a lot of different scenarios to allow for comedy to happen. He also popped up in a few cartoons with Porky Pig, which brought a new dimension to the character: in these appearances, a mute Sylvester is depicted as Porky’s pet cat, who constantly has to save his oblivious master from all sorts of dangerous situations. Whether he’s a well-meaning scaredy cat or a greedy predator, he’s always fun to watch.

8. Yosemite Sam.

One of the most renowned villains in the Looney Tunes catalogue. I like to think of this loudmouthed little cowpuncher as the WB equivalent to Disney’s Pete. Both are characters who are versatile in how they have been fitted into just about every sort of time period and setting imaginable, with just about every antagonistic role you can think of. He’s most famous as being a Wild West outlaw, naturally, but Sam has also played a Black Knight, a Hessian Soldier, a Space Invader, a Crooked Politician, a Pirate, a Prison Guard, and many, MANY other things. Each time, his personality is the same: wild, hysterical, ornery, scheming yet somehow gullible, and eternally frustrated, usually due to the efforts of “that lowdown, long-eared, carrot-eatin’ varmint,” Bugs Bunny. Sam’s personality is just such an easy one to handle, and so fun to play with, you can put him into just about any type of situation, and without needing to change him much, he can work just as easily. I actually feel really bad placing him so low on the list, but hopefully those above him won’t disappoint.

7. Elmer Fudd.

Elmer is another character, sort of like Sylvester, who can play either protagonist or antagonist just as easily as the other. In fact, he’s been both more often than Sylvester has! We know him best, of course, for his many attempts to hunt down Bugs Bunny (and Daffy Duck), and these stories already have plenty of fun reinventions, twists, and overall moments. Everything from putting Elmer in different time periods (like the Stone Age), throwing him into different settings (like chasing Bugs into an opera house), or just changing up his role in some crazy way (like making him a viking with a magic helmet). No matter what you do, these always end the same for Elmer: either he never gets Bugs, or he THINKS he does, and then immediately regrets it because he’s just too softhearted and slow-witted for his own good. However, Elmer’s played other parts as well: sometimes he’s not even hunting Bugs, he’s just the victim of that “Wascawwy Wabbit’s” cruel pranks. Sometimes he’s just trying to get by, and Daffy Duck starts causing chaos for him. Poor Elmer just can’t catch a break, and that’s kind of why we like him: even when he IS the bad guy, he’s far from the WORST guy. Add to that his iconic voice and mannerisms, and it’s no wonder he remains one of the most recognizable characters in this group.

6. Porky Pig.

Believe it or not, Porky was the first real superstar character in the Looney Tunes library. That’s one of the reasons the classic ending line we all know and love was given to him (it’s also why Bugs would later take it over a couple of times, when HE became a star). Much like Yosemite Sam, Porky is one of the most versatile characters on the team, but in a different way: while Sam is a versatile antagonist, Porky is a versatile protagonist. Porky is essentially the straight man to all the other totally bonkers toons around him. He’s sort of the Kermit the Frog of this universe: a guy constantly trying to keep his cool and be civil, but forever aggravated and tormented by the world around him. With that said, the way he bounces off different characters already has a lot of different ways of working: his most famous co-star is probably Daffy Duck, and even just with that one character, they’ve had a relationship that has gone in just about every direction it can go. Sometimes Porky is Daffy’s sidekick, who always proves to be more competent and level-headed than the vain and over-the-top Daffy could ever hope to be. Other times, Daffy is actually HIS sidekick, forever frustrating Porky with his goofy antics. And still other times, there’s no “sidekicking” involved, Daffy just…kind of shows up to totally ANNOY the pig until Porky inevitably snaps and goes berserk. Even Porky cartoons that don’t involve Daffy (and there are plenty of those) usually follow one of these three patterns: Porky is eternally an Alice in the Wonderland of the Looney Tunes…you know, if Alice had a stutter. And was a pig. And was no longer female-okay, that analogy didn’t work, but you get the idea.

5. Taz.

Taz, a.k.a. The Tasmanian Devil, is a rare example of a character whose star has risen over time since his initial appearances in the Golden Age of the Looney Tunes. Back then, Taz only showed up in five cartoons, between 1954 and 1964; the twilight decade, many would say, of these great cartoon stars. No one would have likely guessed that Taz would take off to become one of the most iconic and popular characters in the Looney library, with tons of merchandise, a TV show with him as the main protagonist, several major video game and film appearances, and so on. For some reason, however, this wild, ravenous, spinning-and-slobbering devil just kept being used, and the public kept eating him up just as fast as he ate…well…EVERYTHING up. He went from a pure villain who would devour anyone in sight, to suddenly becoming a slightly more heroic, albeit not always terribly bright, character. He can, could, would, and WILL just as easily play the role of an ally to characters like Bugs and Daffy, as much as their adversary. It’s hard to say exactly why Taz caught on, but I’m certainly not complaining about it, since he’s a ton of fun to watch every time. And again, that’s really all a great cartoon star needs to be. (Also, for anybody who may be curious...I do have a mild crush on this guy. I’m weird, shush.)

4. Wile E. Coyote.

It was actually really hard for me to choose between Taz and the Coyote, and I’m not honestly entirely sure if I made the right choice. It was essentially a tie between the two characters; on any given day, my mind could change. But, in the moment of making this list, I felt Wile E. deserved slightly higher placement, and thus here we are. (Also, yes, much like Taz, I do have a mild crush on the Coyote. Again, I’m weird, shush.) Having said all that, I imagine this self-proclaimed Super-Genius hardly needs an introduction. Much like Sylvester, Wile E. mostly spends his time trying to get something to eat. Usually, he’s found chasing the Road Runner and trying to trap him, but on a couple of occasions he’s bedeviled Bugs Bunny, and once in a blue moon he’ll have encounters with other characters. In most of Wile E.’s appearances, he’s a silent character, communicating solely through body language, facial expressions, and the occasional random sign he pulls out of nowhere. Whenever he DOES speak, he speaks in a smooth, slick, uppercrust English or Mid-Atlantic dialect. Whether silent or speaking, this Coyote’s basic trouble is always the same: despite his own confidence in his supposed superior intellect, a combination of clumsiness, shortsightedness, and his bizarre obsession with relying almost entirely on the ACME Corporation’s clearly faulty products always leads to him getting bamboozled. Over time, animators, writers, and directors have found new ways to spin off of Coyote’s usual formula, with stories like him taking the Road Runner to court, or turning into a fat slob due to an over-reliance on his own inventions. It’s the bizarre blend of brilliance and determination against poor planning and overconfidence that makes him such a fun character to see in action. He may never win…but I think a lot of us wish he could.

3. Daffy Duck.

While Porky was the first superstar character among the Looney Tunes (and Merrie Melodies), Daffy was really the first breakthrough character that was TRULY befitting of the title “looney.” In the early days, Daffy was a wisecracking, wild character, zipping about and causing trouble; a constant trickster who was a bundle of energy, causing mayhem for various hapless boobs. Most of the characters who followed suit on this idea - including his future rival, Bugs Bunny - essentially took their cues from Daffy’s book. Over time, the character crystalized into the mad mallard we know today. Daffy is still zany, but what he’s most known for today is his ego. Daffy is practically a narcissist, selfish in just about every way, as well as frequently quite greedy. Everything he does is for either the spotlight, cash, or both. He’s yet another character who has been the villain just as often as he’s been the hero…but even when in a more protagonistic role, he’s ALWAYS a flawed character, whose self-serving attitude leads to disaster for himself, and usually for many others. Just like Yosemite Sam, he’s also a character who has played many roles: any time the Looney Tunes want to parody a particular genre, it seems like Daffy is always the character who gets chosen. Whether he’s imitating Robin Hood or Sherlock Holmes, or going on high-flying escapades as the incompetent space hero called Duck Dodgers, you can go on a lot of different adventures with him. He’s been partnered up and pitted against nearly every character on the crew, and each and every alliance, rivalry, and so on is fun to see in action.

2. Bugs Bunny.

Just as it was hard to choose between Taz and Wile E. Coyote, it was also hard to choose between Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. In the end though…maybe it’s too predictable, but I ultimately did feel I preferred Bugs SLIGHTLY over Daffy. What’s interesting is that, in the early days, Bugs was pretty similar to Daffy: in a lot of his earliest appearances, they’re almost the same character. Both were madcap tricksters who seemed to exist just to drive other characters completely insane for the sheer sake of it, and both had big egos that needed to be satisfied. (In Bugs’ case, this was most evident in encounters he had with the character Cecil Tortoise, who might be the only character in all of Looney Tunes to truly outmatch Bugs on the cartoon battlefield, over and over again.) Over time, however - mostly thanks to Friz Freleng and Chuck Jones - Bugs began to evolve. While still a trickster with a wild sense of humor, the character became more laid back, casual, collected. He was someone who went into situations with the confidence that he could come out okay, if he just thought fast and didn’t let it all faze him. And while he could be downright cruel in the ways he would trick and toy with people, the attacks became unprovoked less often: it was usually a case of others doing something wrong to Bugs, and he would finally lose patience and declare, “Of course you realize THIS means war.” That’s essentially the Bugs Bunny we know today: he still faces conflict and such, but it’s his approach and the way he reacts to situations that makes him such fun to watch. Once again, it also makes him quite versatile, as he can be anywhere and play just about any role, from the star of the show to more of a narrator or similarly peripheral character. He can be the everyman, the superman, and as long as it always sticks to the traits he started out with, it will always work. In fact, the only real question about his placement on this list is…why isn’t he number one?

1. Marvin the Martian.

I don’t know WHY Marvin is my favorite Looney Tunes character, but he is, and really always has been. He’s not by any means the funniest of the Looney Tunes, but there’s something about this little world-destroying gremlin I find endlessly endearing. Much like Taz, Marvin started out as a small fish in a big cartoon pond; in fact, just like the Tasmanian Devil, Marvin the Martian (originally called “Commander X2,” and later “Antwerp”) only showed up in five cartoons during the Golden Age of the Looney Tunes. He fought Bugs Bunny in four of them, and Daffy Duck and Porky Pig in another. And while he hasn’t become the merchandising mammoth that Taz has, he’s still got a very loyal fanbase and following, and has remained a mainstay among the Looney Tunes ever since. Just like Taz, creators just kept using him, and fans kept asking for more; somehow, this little martian never faded away. What I love about Marvin is that he’s essentially another straight man, much in the way Porky is…but now, he’s a straight man on the opposite side of the fence. He’s usually the bad guy, while Porky is almost always the protagonist: whether Marvin’s trying to abduct people, conquer worlds, or blow up the Earth (because it obstructs his view of Venus), he’s always an obstacle the other characters have to overcome. Yet he’s depicted as so loveable and so mild-mannered, it’s hard to be scared of him or dislike him. It also means the moments where his inner rage gets the better of him, and his temper flares, become all the more hilarious: seeing that pomposity and stiff-upper-lip nature get blown apart at the seams is always a ton of fun. It’s difficult to describe my reasoning, but regardless, Marvin the Martian will always be My Favorite Looney Tunes Character.

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

Foghorn Leghorn.

Michigan J. Frog.

Rocky & Mugsy.

Road Runner.

Lola Bunny.

Gossamer. “Th-The-The E-THAT’S ALL FOLKS!”

[alanshee-keeper-of-realms]

hey I like your ideas about metafiction n such! how do you think anime would exist in toontown? for me I feel like maybe its a chinatown typa deal where they have a section of the town to themselves and some of them live in toontown itself! also my friend morse from amino suggested a really funny idea related to it: Underground. Magical Girl. Fighting ring.

I glad you do!

Actually no they live over in Japan like you said having their own sect of People it's a lot like the American Studios

So Studio Ghibli characters stay with Studio Ghibli, Mario and them stay with Nintendo etc etc

Unfortunately, Toontown hasn't existed since the 1980s, Judges plan finally worked with gentrification the humans were able to finally basically chase the Toons out for that Highway,

The only thing that can be counted as Toontown in the modern day is Disney World and Mickey's city of Epcot. If you look at the original plans for Disney World Walt was planning on a literal functional City for people to live in,

This is what Mickey completed it started out as a little town, but a lot of Disney Toons moved in and slowly he built onto it and continues to build on to it, as of 2024 there as well over 2 million residents of the City of Disney as it is called,

This is also where you will find some of the more adult Disney Tunes as a result of the fox merger, they do have a South Park land however you have to sign a literal contract stating we are not responsible for your death if you step in here and yes they have a record of three people they've killed. Matt and Trey literally just run around with cameras to capture the insanity of this group,

The Muppets same exact thing except for they've never actually hurt and or killed people however the insanity that is the Muppets, they also have a contract Statler and Waldorf are the worst when it comes to people trying to lawsuit because they Heckle From A Balcony and they do not have a filter

" I thought that was a beached whale for a moment"

" you idiot the beached whale found out how to operate a scooter so they aren't beached anymore!"

But the thing is these two don't even care when Mickey shows up he gets heckled too,

" is that a mouse or a rat I think its confused!"

"I think he's got an identity crisis either way he's ugly" and they start cackling

But as for California a lot of the Toons are just scattered throughout LA and Burbank in various housing made for Toons,

Except for the Disney Toons, Disneyland does have a whole area that is housing for Disney Toons that work at the Parks,

But again for the Anime Toons yeah they typically stay over in Japan and hilariously Japan is actually the most forward when it comes to taking care of their Toons because over in their country they are considered either Shinto Deities like Mario or Yokai,

Toons in Japan are seen as Good Luck it's like whenever Mickey comes to visit for Tokyo Disney, the Imperial family literally lets him stay at their palace to protect him and his Family, actually calling him offically the King of Disney and referring to his family with official titles.

But I will confirm that just like American toons, Anime toon's get up to trouble.

Mario is one that's known to literally talk in Japanese if he doesn't want to talk to you Mickey will also do this by the way he's omnilinguist,

Godzilla does exist and yes his home is the Bay of Tokyo but they have a decoy City that he can play around with and he's basically treated like local wildlife, he has a whole care team that keeps an eye out on him he also gets to help destroy buildings in Tokyo that need destroyed, like his own wrecking service it's a tourist spectacle haha. But people can go visit him in the bay he's pretty much like a giant golden retriever all his caretakers need to do is call out for him and he'll pop his head up after a few moments for treats and pets hilariously,

The Studio Ghibli Toons are known to be some of the most down-to-earth Toons, Mickey is actually great friends with Miyazaki, they both have that nonchalant I wish I didn't have to do this attitude in the modern day. In their world Hayazao actually had Mickey help him a bit on his Museum and a couple of characters and he returned the favor.

The Ghibli Museum is basically a giant terrarium of different worlds for the tunes to live in comfortably, this is what Mickey helped with

Because fun fact Mickey can literally warp the fabric of reality

But like Kyo Ani a lot of those Toons perished with their creators in the fire, because they didn't want to leave them. However the survivors were taken in by fellow studios and found new homes and helped as best as possible

Japanese Anime Toons are some of the most loyal as well to their creators who love them dearly, because seriously the Shinto Gods help the stupid idiot that abuses their Toons over in Japan you will get into big legal trouble and be a social pariah they are that protective.

[moveslikeanape]

i actually don't play disney magic kingdoms myself, it's just not really my type of game, but i've seen some gameplay of it and read a lot of the little dialogue from it online and it's always seemed really charming and cute! so it really is too bad we might never get to see tarzan characters added to it. i do play disney dreamlight valley on the switch, which is sort of a life sim game like animal crossing but with disney/pixar characters all living together, and a lot more of a story to it with quests you get to do for everyone. it's a lot newer and doesn't have nearly as many characters in it, but a recent update added a jungle biome that would've been perfect for tarzan and jane. i know they'll probably never be added, but if they were then they could live together in the treehouse and we could see how tarzan would feel about living in the valley among so many other humans! there would be so many new things that jane could teach him about.

i recently started collecting lorcana cards after seeing one of rapunzel wearing a green dress, which i found really cool because that was what she had in so much of her concept art! i was also pretty excited to be able to get cards from the emperor's new groove, the great mouse detective, treasure planet, and hercules. i bet they could make some beautiful cards for tarzan... but yeah, that copyright issue is incredibly frustrating. some of my favorite movies may be a bit overlooked or underrepresented by disney, but at least they don't have the legal problem that tarzan has. i guess with once upon a studio they must've wanted to really go all out to make sure every single walt disney animation studios feature could be included! i'm grateful they did, because it would've been a huge shame to see tarzan not even allowed into the special 100th anniversary short. the new movie "wish" also has a tribute to past WDAS films during the credits, where gold-colored drawings of characters from each movie appeared across the screen in chronological order. strangely they actually left out a handful of movies including the black cauldron, but they did include tarzan!

also, i'm sure you already knew about this haha, but just the other day i came across an article from a few years ago where several of the people who worked on tarzan were interviewed and talked about the production. and i learned for the first time that it was originally planned as a direct-to-video movie which would stick closer to the source material with tarzan going to england. i'm obviously very glad that that didn't happen and we got the movie we have now instead. -🌟

Sorry, was out of town for the weekend visiting family.

That's fair about Magic Kingdoms not being your type of game. I think the only real reason I play it is because it's something I can play casually and more of less keep up with, with out it taking too much time.

What I've seen of Dreamlight Valley looks like so much fun! And that would be amazing to see Tarzan and Jane in that game. Probably will never happen, but we can dream!

Ooo, I haven't seen that Rapunzel one, will have to look it up. I've always loved the concept art. So insane to think there's actually even Treasure Planet art in them!!!

Sadly we may never get Tarzan in Lorcana, but I found this artist during the Disemeber challenge on instagram, and he's actually done art for Lorcana. Looks like it was just the one card, Chief Bogo (which he's posted if you go though his stuff). May not be official, but at least here's a Christmas themed idea of what could be if they included Tarzan

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Adam Bunch (@adam_is_arting)

OMG, I never expected any reference to Tarzan in Wish!! I haven't seen it yet (live in a small town, starting to think we may not even get it in our theatre), but now I'm even more excited to see it!

Oh wow, I actually didn't know that! That's so interesting (definitely so grateful they didn't go that route though). Would have been interesting to see how close Disney would get to the source material… don't know if you've ever read the books, but there's a lot of not so family friendly stuff. Also would have been such a waste, given the quality of D2V animation, would have been such a shame to only get Tarzan & Jane quality animation.

[once1upon1a1wonderland]

I Wonder What Ramshackle Is Based Off Of..... Part 2

Okay, so back to the pictures....

(Still may contain Spoilers for book 6....)

Contin. with pictures of ramshackle after a good scrub down:

And now finally, after the redesign:

(I know the bedroom is not really redesigned but rather just an image created by the magical projector, but I'm including it anyway.)

Alright, so yeah ramshackle and the main school building have a lot of similar colors going on. Same with the library. Which I guess makes sense..... Anyways, my point with these posts are simply that; what if the only reason for ramshackle originally existing was simply to just have a place to house students while the other dorms were being built?

I agree that there are still some mysteries surrounding Ramshackle. Like, I don't entirely buy Crowleys reason that he gave for the dorm becoming abandoned in the first place..... And honestly dude.... why on earth did you let it fall to such disrepair......

But at any rate, perhaps ramshackle was just the temporary dorm at one point. After the dorms dedicated to the great 7 were finished, would ramshackle have still been in use? Maybe. It's possible..... and would ramshackle have had students assigned to it? Again, perhaps..... It's interesting to think about. Like, what if someone came to the school and didn't really match up enough with any of the great 7? What if they had a soul that could hold a little bit of each of the great 7? Like ramshackle could have been a place that was continued to be put to use for a time even after the other dorms were completed. And could have been used as a place where certain individuals represented all of the great 7 as a whole. (Considering that no one has been assigned to this dorm again for years, my guess would be maybe the dark mirror knows to not assign anyone there anymore.... I don't know.) Or maybe it was just the temporary dorm building. Still, it's fun to speculate.

Now our little building is just this abandoned place that no one goes near.... well except for Malleus. Hey, if you want a guaranteed spot to hang out and be alone where no one will find you, Ramshackle is perfect!

Anyways, there is the obvious elephant in the room that could point to what Ramshackle represents symbolically.

What about Mickey?

Well, I don't know the significance of that yet.... I don't know if he's there largely to just pay homage to the character that helped build the Disney company, or if there really will be a bigger reason as to why he's there in the mirror.... I mean I would hope so.... otherwise it would be too random.... (I swear if there is any information on him for book 7, DO NOT COMMENT IT, please. I want to go in blind when book 7 releases. I started the game blind and that's how I'll continue through it. When I first found out about this game I had only seen like two advertisements for it..... and it was teaser stuff. Well, one was a teaser. The other I believe was the main music video. At any rate, I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. Didn't know who the characters were or anything.... Yet somehow, I was intrigued. So please, I would appreciate no spoilers... I know, it's exciting to share stuff... I honestly dont know how I've actually managed to avoid seeing things on social media so far....)

Okay, tangent aside, the room that we sleep in with the mirror, is largely based off of an animated short called: Thru the Mirror.

I think a lot of people know that by now right? Either way, here are the comparison pics:

Very reminiscent of the animated short. It's a nice homage to that animated short. Even if in the end story wise, Ramshackle doesn't represent Mickey Mouse directly, it's cool that they loosely base it off of him...

Actually, you know what? Maybe Ramshackle, or whatever the dorm used to be referred to as, is loosely based off of the mouse.... This is where the symbolic representation comes in. The story starts when the main character is brought into this world right? And then the dreams starting when we're getting close to someone overblotting and after spending that first night in the room..... So Actually, it's fitting that Ramshackle be based off of Mickey. After all, it was all started by a mouse.

And as a side note: Fitting that Pomefiore was the first dorm constructed. For Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was the one that started them all. (Referring of course to it being the first of many feature length animated films to come.)

That's all I have to say about ramshackle for now. Let me know what you think about the significance of Ramshackle (unless it gives way to chapter 7 spoilers....)

But yeah, until next time!

[the-dark-mirror-beckons]

Cookie, The "Lucky" Housewarden

Our next character is Cookie, the Housewarden of Ramshackle Dormitory. You may be wondering, what are Housewardens? Well, sit tight, very curious one, allow me to enlighten you. 

In the original game, each dormitory has a Housewarden to keep control of the students within and a Vice Housewarden to assist the Housewarden. 

In our story, Cookie is the first character that David interacts with when he is first transported into the world of Twisted Wonderland. They are known as the Housewarden that is very energetic and cheerful, but is more calm and observant than people can imagine.

This character is actually based on myself, so I had a lot of free range on what I can do for them (and some of those ideas I had were denied by Datura). I wanted to make them more outgoing to the public eye and seem harmless until things got serious. However, I never expected for my character to be chosen as the Housewarden. 

It was during a discussion I had with Datura after we developed all the characters on who shall be chosen as Housewarden and Vice Housewarden. That was when they explained that because I brought up this idea and they wanted to help make it happen, it would be logical that my character would be Housewarden and their character would be Vice Housewarden. 

For their reference, I decided to make Cookie based on Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who was originally a character created by Walt Disney that was given to Universal Studios. Since the main character interacts with Mickey Mouse in the original game, I wanted to base Cookie on a Disney character that has some sort of resemblance to Mickey Mouse, however keep that somewhat villain theme.

Unlike David, the rest of the characters have magic, and each one has their own unique ability that represents who they are. In Cookie’s case, they have a unique ability called "Limitless Nightmare," in which they summon ink-like creatures with little to no magic. This is more in reference to a Disney game known as Epic Mickey, in which Oswald is featured.

However, that is not all. When creating these characters, me and Datura wanted to add more into this story. For instance, curses! I will not go over the backstory of it (possibly in the future), but the main gist of it is that these curses are from an individual that most of the characters we’ve created have interacted. In Cookie’s case, their curse is known as “Unlucky Nightmare,” in which they turn into a little ink creature. While in this form, they lose the ability to speak and are reduced to speaking in sounds similar to cartoon bubble popping sound effects. The only way for them to turn back is to eat something sweet. This curse is referenced to Oswald being known as a Lucky Rabbit and a mix to their own unique ability. 

Now you may be wondering, how did you come up with the name Cookie?

…

I like cookies. 

NO, COME BACK, THAT’S NOT THE REASON-

The real reason lies upon who Cookie was originally going to represent, which was Alice from "Alice in Wonderland." However, since there’s a dormitory in the original game based on Alice in Wonderland called "Heartslabyul," we didn't want to conflict with that. The name Cookie was based on the “Eat Me” cookies that Alice ate. However, because of the change in reference character so suddenly and lack of inspiration, I didn’t make a new name. However, the backstory of Cookie involves them having memory loss, including not even remembering their name. So they used the name “Cookie” as an alternative name. 

Now that we’ve discussed the Housewarden, it’s time for the Vice Housewarden!

All images used in this post are from the game "Twisted Wonderland" and is not owned by me.

[reefer-reelz-n-reviews]

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010)

 

Smoking: Papa Smurf {I had attempted to rolls some jays for the movie but for some reason they wouldn’t stay sealed 😥}

 

Here is the little description from Disney+ “A modern-day sorcerer must make his seemingly average recruit into the ultimate apprentice.” I feel it sums it accurately. Now for my high mind to write this week’s entry 😊

We start off with a background on the 3 sorcerers that worked under Merlin, James A Stephens, and the evil Morgana, Alice Krige. We have Nicolas Cage playing Balthazar and Alfred Molina playing Horvath the dueling for good and evil. Then we get a glimpse a little more into the future of a young boy named Dave who is found out to be the Prime Merlinean.

Now we go 10 years later and adult Dave is played by Jay Baruchel. The voice of Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon. I love the relationship Dave has with Bennet, played by Omar Benson Miller. Bennet wants to help him not be by himself and spend time with friends so he doesn’t get stuck in his science projects alone.

Nicolas Cage coming into save the day by turning wolves to puppies while riding a giant metal eagle. I mean can you talk about an entrance!

One of my favorite parts is coming up. The fight in China Town, and on top of that during a festival! We have the fight between Balthazar and Sun-Lok played by Gregory Woo. He has this really cool power where he turned one of the festival paper dragons into a real dragon and chase Dave around. I love how they use the confetti. Its just floating down gracefully, and then they use magic to manipulate it as well.

I’m watching the movie right now on Disney+, but I also have the DVD as well. In the special features they go into details about how they made the Merlin Circle because they didn’t want it to be put in but have it be real. Now I don’t remember a lot about what was said, okay okay, any of what was said ahahah, but I remember thinking it was interesting lol.

Watching Jay try to make a plasma bolt is hilarious! It’s like a whole training sequence where he is basically failing, and failing hilariously.

Now we have Horvath trying to get some more help by reaching out to Drake Stone, played by Toby Kebbell. He uses his sorcerer abilities to be a magician and make money by doing shows. Very good looking and killer accent 😍

There is a Star Wars reference in this movie. Thinking about it. I wonder if in some how Disney new that 2 years after this movie came out they would take the Star Wars franchise?

Then they is the wonderful scene where Dave leaves his lab to be cleaned by his magic. This scene was done with a lot of people in green outfits being different kinds of cleaning supplies. It is an ode to the scene in Fantasia where Mickey Mouse puts on Merlin’s hat and does the same thing with the brooms and mops. They did a REALLY good job putting it all together.

And I just got a 10min interruption by a cat. Calcifur apparently needed my attention for a little while lol.

Snack Break!

I got this way too huge slice of cake. Its soooo good and coconutty 🤤

Can’t believe I’ve gotten almost 600 words in and haven’t even mentioned Dave’s love interest Becky, played by Teresa Palmer. They have a very cute relationship that buds throughout the movie.

Now we get to the last battle. Morgana has been brought back through the 3rd sorcerer Veronica, played by Monica Bellucci. Morgana’s soul is connected to Veronica’s and she is trying to complete the ritual she was stopped from in the beginning of the movie.

We have Balthazar and Horvath battling each other while she is shooting fire balls up in the sky and no one in New York is paying any attention to it. Nor was I for the last 5 mins lol. I got distracted on my phone for a minute there.

Dave gets to battle Morgana in the end, and you know, stuff happens. Once again, trying not to ruin stuff here lol!

Hope you enjoyed this week’s review! Till next time ��

 

-RRR

[wiria-lae]

A Yuu Masterlist

To help keep track of all the Yuus I've thought of.

I've been playing around with different Yuus bouncing around in my skull, so I thought it might be appropriate to get them all down somewhere.

Disclaimer: In Japanese, kanji characters may have multiple pronunciations, which can especially odd with nanori names (for example, Hatsune Miku's name miku is a nanori of 未来, meaning distant future, and typically pronounced mirai). There's no singular way to correctly pronounce a character if it's used as part of a name (afaik it'll depend on the name in a case-by-case basis), so I took some liberties with trying to make Japanese names. Apologies in advance.

Not every Yuu will be of Japanese origin. This list will exclude any second-person Yuu stories (we can pretend I will write stories), since I treat those Yuus as nameless and refer to them by “you” (or named Yuu, if necessary).

Xiao (霄)

The Yuu-equivalent for a specific re-imagination of Twisted Wonderland (the version tagged as wiria’s cosmos). Doesn't know anything about Disney, which is how I assume Yuu in-game is like. Prior to Twisted Wonderland, Xiao didn’t have many close friends, but given some time to settle at NRC, they slowly realize that as much as they want to go back home and actually go to their intended college - they’ve formed friendships with people here and they don’t want to let that go.

霄 is pronounced xiao in Mandarin Chinese. It means clouds, sometimes referring to the sky or the heavens.

Haihiro (俳優)

A Yuu who catches on that the world is based on pre-existing fairy tales and myths. As a result, he makes many assumptions about NRC, and occasionally, he’s right about them. He blends into the world mostly seamlessly, with the exception of a few hiccups along the way. Haihiro comes armed with no knowledge of the movies and knowing vaguely only of the original source material. This also means no expectations for Savannahclaw (as The Lion King was an original movie) and that he is very confused why Hercules isn’t pronounced Heracles when all the other Greco-Roman gods are going by their Greek names.

俳優 is pronounced haiyuu, and means actor/actress/performer. It contains the characters 俳 for haiku/actor, and 優, meaning excellence (in terms of academics), elegant, or skillful. I doubt any Japanese parents would name their child haiyuu (it's the equivalent of naming your child Actor), so I changed the pronunciation to something I thought was more fitting.

Yuusuru (悠越)

The Yuu who throws everything into trying to go home and keeps getting jump-scared by Mickey Mouse and the ghosts. It is a futile effort. He’s been trying to walk through a lot of mirrors lately (targeting anything that should have a surface), and Yuusuru gains a reputation around campus for being odd around cameras. If this does get written, the story will be told from various perspectives who aren't Yuusuru.

悠 is pronounced yuu. 悠 means permanence, distance, or leisure. 越 is pronouned yue, which can be used in verbs to mean to get over (distance/hardship), to exceed, or to pass time, among many other meanings. Placed together, the meaning would be something along the lines of "to continue for eternity".

Yarona

Yarona accidentally brings back home an Ace and Deuce. She has to deal with housing them, feeding them, and her everyday life beyond them. She is 24, working 9-5, and does not have the time or money to play family. Features reverse transmigration, taking place sometime after Vil’s overblot and branching off from the Tanabata-inspired event.

Chose Yarona because it sounded nice. Apparently it means “she will rejoice” or “she will sing”.

There’s more that I’ll add as edits to this post as I think of them, but for now, this is what I’m willing to share.

[frankhightower]

Disney’s Wish

Today I have to write about the movie everyone loves to hate… but, in my view, it’s for all the wrong reasons. On the one hand, it’s movie made to coincide with the 100th anniversary, it “had” to come out on the 100th anniversary day which meant parts of it would be rushed, what did you expect? On the other, people keep echoing a single word: soulless. There’s a lot of little things in this movie that make me disagree. Now, sure, I can already hear the counterargument that an overworked inbetweener pouring their soul into an animation sweep does not compensate for the lack of effort from the higher-ups, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Firstly, the only reason I was able to watch it was that someone finally put it up for pirating, so no yelling at me for giving Disney money to see it, I’m still too poor for that. Secondly, friendly reminder that when I watch movies, it’s as therapy. Did this movie fulfill that role? It’s debatable.

To start, no I do not find the “quirky Disney princess” to be a tired trope as literally every review I come across points out. I could see it working in some scenes. If anything, I’d argue our “princess” (whose name I can’t remember and that’s a problem other people are way more qualified to talk about) is not quirky enough, and that’s why it feels like it falls flat. Secondly, no, I did not catch the “her seven friends are the seven dwarves” reference. Not even with the blatant “I’m grumpy” line. So everyone pointing out the movie is too obvious and heavy-handed, I’m living proof it’s not.

I also had no problem with the multiple references. The movie is clearly trying to seed a “grand unified Pixar theory” for the Walt Disney canon. When the Disney Princesses line was created, one of the main rules was that no princess can ever acknowledge the existence of any other: if two or more princesses appear in the same image, they can’t look in each other’s direction nor interact with the others’ items in any way. I’m sure you just said “that’s stupid” aloud; because I did, too, when I first read it. If this realization has finally reached the Disney higher ups, I’m totally here for it and can’t wait to have The Great Mouse detective nervously negotiate a safe passage past Lady and the Tramp because his latest case involves Peter Pan since these are all set in about the same time period.

And yes, I liked the dancing chickens ...and the star

My problems

My problems with the movie actually start with the “I want” song. If you haven’t watched it, the song that plays during the trailer (“This Wish”) is that song, and is a bit of a unifying theme to the movie. Most people fault this song for “so you want …what exactly?” I found it strangely fitting that the protagonists wish is incredibly open-ended and vague; after all, it’s what our villain faults her grandfather with. Slight spoilers for the first 10 minutes but, the grandfather’s wish is to write a song so heartfelt, it inspires an entire generation. The villain says “inspires them to …what exactly? To create or to fight? It’s too vague!” So having vagueness run in the family works for the movie.

The problem is that this never affects the movie in any way. How fitting would it have been, for “This Wish” to have been the song the grandfather wrote? (Spoilers for the ending, but it is revealed that everyone in the town knows this song! If the grandfather wrote it, he had already succeeded! Everyone in his generation clearly taught it to their kids and them, in turn, to their kids! It would’ve been a beautiful message for the movie to say “you don’t need a billionaire to buy your idea off you for it to come true, nothing can take that drive away from you!”)

Then there’s the talking goat (he talks in the trailer, so this is not a spoiler). Yes, I know everyone complains about the goat, but the goat, too could’ve been a beautiful message. Expanding on Tangled’s “Well that's the good part, I guess. You get to go find a new dream.” Our protagonist clearly has more than one wish, and the goat being able to talk is explicitly stated to be one of them. Society tells us to focus on just one thing, which is something modern media is questioning (see the Kung Fu Panda series). So the villain asks you to give up a wish, your deepest driving desire. So what? You can have multiple deep driving desires. Even if we accept the premise that there are some wishes that can only be granted by essentially winning the lottery, you can still be, pun intended, fulfilled by chasing your other wishes.

My second big problem

Which brings me to the second big problem with the movie, and here’s where the more serious spoilers start: the protagonist’s magical ability. She clearly must have some, otherwise why would she have made it to the interview phase to be The Sorcerer’s Apprentice? Yet she goes from being an amateur to being able to create intelligent life with no effort on her part. We’re told it took the villain a lifetime to achieve that level of ability. This seems to be a very bad message to give, and as one YouTube commenter wrote, runs directly against the message of The Princess and the Frog (which I interpret as referring to “the star can only take you a part of the way”). Sure, the magic star refuses to outright grant her wish, making her work with the new ability, but it’s still a bit of an overkill ability to give her for nothing.

But my problems with this don’t end there. The villain feels the need to stop this new power …but doesn’t know what the power is. If he was upset at precisely what I’ve just described, the conflict would feel earned, and it could be a commentary between people who just “get it” (i.e. they’re “naturals” at a certain skill) versus people who have to struggle to consciously remember all the little quirks.

What we instead get are pieces that hint at “I made a law that made magic illegal. No one in my kingdom would break my laws because they love me so much. Therefore, the only logical conclusion is someone in this kingdom is a traitor!” I mean… no? You could be getting invaded, the move does state it’s an island in the Mediterranean. And is it the policy of this kingdom “people show magical ability, they get interviewed, rejected and then are expected to never practice magic again”? That’s just not human nature …or have all the magic users given up their wish to get good at magic to him? He does state no one ever wished to be his apprentice, so the problem is they wished to harness their magic without the villain watching over them? I have so many questions!

My third biggest problem: the Mediterranean

But I did mention the Mediterranean, and this is my third biggest problem with the movie: no “once upon a time in a small kingdom” Disney movie yet has chosen a real place to set that kingdom in. Even Frozen which is “obviously Scandinavian” hasn’t explicitly said they’re Scandinavian, just that it’s a kingdom that has “southern isles”, which could very well mean an alternate history Alaska, if we want to get creative with our interpretation.

…and then they go and put a raccoon in. Which are animals that are not native to the Mediterranean. Forget the bear which is not native to the Mediterranean but could have wandered there or escaped a roman circus – raccoons belong to the new world. For a movie that’s trying to be consistent about being the ur-prequel to all other Disney movies… why, just why?

(You thought I was going to complain about the weird character names, didn't you?)

Fourth problem: the wishes themselves

My fourth big problem is the fact that the villain keeps the wishes and I just have to ask… why? He doesn’t discover that wishes can augment his powers until later, so that clearly isn’t the reason. He doesn’t even like to look at them so an “obsessed collector” theory doesn’t work either. And, unlike Fantasy Island (70s TV show this movie is clearly ripping off), he gains no money from this and the people learn nothing.

There’s also no indication of him considering the problems taking people’s driving wishes can bring, such as making the citizen unproductive (though it’s suggested that, when he reviews them, he grants those that would keep the citizen from being productive, but we don’t see that, in fact the opposite!)

Several reviewers have suggested it’s because it keeps the population complacent, but again, what happens when someone has two deep driving wishes, and only the second-deepest is a problem? We don’t see any villainous hubris of that assumption (like we do in, say, Snow White with the evil queen repeatedly dismissing the power of true love). Has this simply not happened yet? Why isn’t this part of the message of the movie?

5th Problem: The queen

My fifth big problem with the movie is the villain’s wife. When the villain goes into full villain mode, she remains calm and collected and queen-like, and that’s fine. But when the villain is defeated …she just smiles. There is no sense of loss coming from her, ever, that the man she’s loved for her entire life… is so “far gone” in every sense… she’ll never feel his cheek against hers …ever. Forget realism, what kind of message does that send?! We hear from the protagonist’s mother “oh this is grief, I know grief” presumably referring to the death of the protagonist’s father …is there no grief from the queen?!? Is there only grief in this world for the loss of wishes?!?! If this was supposed to tease at her becoming the “evil queen” later… where are the other hints earlier in the movie?!?!?

Other problems

I mentioned the protagonist’s father, and a lot of people have complained that we never see this father. I guess my brain went “oh this is another ‘no Disney dad’ movie” and that’s fine. The mysterious missing Disney dad is practically a running gag by now. Modern movies have started adding them, but if you need proof it’s not really necessary, consider, again, The Princess and The Frog: for a long time, my only way to watch it was when it aired on TV, and I would always catch it late …but I never knew I was catching it late. The entire movie worked for me without the “little girl Tiana” scenes.

…But the villain clearly knew him, and he was clearly some kind of astronomer, and the protagonist clearly used the knowledge he taught her to pick out the right star to wish on …but we don’t see that! It would’ve been just a few more lines of dialogue, possibly something along the lines of “my father always told me to wish on the second star to the right, for it is always the first star you see tonight” would have sufficed, but we don’t get anything that comes close. And there are clearly some lines they only added because they were rushing production …Why was something like this overlooked?

Another thing people seem to have problems with is the fat boy’s wish to be a knight. This seemed to me to be a pretty realistic wish for the time, especially considering how old he was. And the fact that he had nothing else in life once this was taken away also to be pretty realistic: not everyone is creative or ambitious or has easily-transferrable skills.

I’ve also seen criticism on the fact that the protagonist’s grandfather is 100 years old, most of them assuming this means he’s been waiting for his wish to be granted since he turned 18. I, again, take no issue with this, because the kingdom is established in the opening narration to be a nation of immigrants. For all we know, the family arrived in the kingdom a year ago, possibly because the king needed an astronomer, and the fact that in the grandfather’s vision of his wish he looks as he does now, hints at the wish having been surrendered rather recently. (The alternative of the vision aging up as its owner ages à la Dorian Grey is a little uncomfortable and I don’t think Disney would go there.)

You’ll notice I didn’t number these last thee, and that’s because I consider them pretty minor.

So what’s left?

The movie, however, does have an important message, and it’s not “everybody has a wish” (though that’s a good message too). The problem is we only see it twice: It first crops up with the baker friend, who bakes beautiful cookies that look like portraits. Clearly, this wasn’t her wish, since you have to give up your wish in this world as part of the social contract, but the movie does not go into details here. We later find out her wish was to make beautiful dresses …and this is never really addressed again. Later, we see the protagonist ask everyone in the town to make a wish, and this is so powerful it helps defeat the villain.

The message, then, is that you can always make a new wish (this is distinct from my earlier “you can have multiple wishes to begin with” because the new wish here comes after you’ve lost your old one). Yes, you will feel grief when you lose your wish. You will feel empty. (And in fact, if you see someone that looks like that, this is probably why!) But you can make a new wish and become an excellent baker, because losing your wish does not make you lose your abilities, your personality. A wish drives you, but the wish isn’t you. And that makes you and all the other wish-makers more powerful than the billionaires.

Sounds beautiful, doesn’t it? Almost as beautiful as the messages I proposed earlier. But if that was the movie’s message, why do we only see it twice?!

[productsreviewings]

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum of Solace's arrival on Disney Plus is a query we predict lots of people will likely be curious to know. Nicely, individuals all the time need to know when the newest Marvel film is coming to Mouse's streaming service, however this time — very like Ant-Man — is just a little totally different.Important response up to now, even our personal Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania overview, has been much less constructive than common. Proper now, Ant-Man 3's Rotten Tomatoes rating is a lowly 53%. (opens in new tab) — which fakes that ugly inexperienced splatter graphic.After all, the Marvel motion pictures will be critic-proof, as those that observe the collection will certainly need to see Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) battle Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), particularly because the villain can have an enormous position within the upcoming Marvel motion pictures. There may be actually an Avengers film referred to as The Kang Dynasty.In truth, Kang hype continued to develop because the summer time of 2021, when the Kang variant He Who Stays (additionally Majors) Loki appeared within the finals. All of those lackluster evaluations and hype, nevertheless, imply that some individuals will in all probability run into the film second-guessing. Others, although, will in all probability need to rewatch Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania on Disney Plus, so they do not should spend the total ticket worth to see it once more. For these people, we will break down all the small print on when to anticipate to see Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania on Disney Plus — utilizing the previous as a information.Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania has a month-long Disney Plus launch windowUsually, many motion pictures take about 45 days to go from theaters to streaming providers. That is evolving, although. Whereas The Batman on HBO Max had such a good window, High Gun: Maverick had a theatrical date 209 days after its Paramount Plus launch. That movie, although, is extra of an outlier than something. So for now, let's deal with the Disney (and never Sony + Disney, so Spider-Man: No Means Residence) Marvel motion pictures that hit theaters earlier than streaming.The story famously started when Disney CEO Bob Chapek mentioned Shang-Chi would have a 45-day theatrical exclusivity window as "an fascinating experiment". Star Simu Liu gave just a little shake to excite the gang, to tweet (opens in new tab) "We aren't an experiment. We're the underdog; the underrated. We're the ceiling-breakers. We're the celebration of tradition and pleasure that can endure after a conflicted yr. We're the surprise. *To make historical past..."After which, as you may see on this chart, Shang-Chi took 70 days to achieve Disney Plus:Swipe to scroll horizontallyEarlier Marvel Film Disney Plus Launch DatesTitle, (Theatrical Date)Disney Plus DatesDays earlier than Disney PlusWorld Field WorkplaceShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (September 3, 2021)Friday, November 12, 202170$432 million USDEverlasting (November 5, 2021)Wednesday, January 12, 202368$402 million USDPhysician Unusual within the Multiverse of Insanity (Might 6, 2023)Wednesday, June 22, 202347$952 million USDThor: Love and Thunder (July 8, 2023)Thursday, September 8, 202360$760 million USDBlack Panther: Wakanda Endlessly (November 11, 2023)Wednesday, February 1, 202382$855 million USDGreatest case state of affairs for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum of Solace Disney Plus launch dateWanting by means of the information above, you may see two tendencies: Disney appears to favor Wednesdays, and it usually drops Marvel motion pictures on Disney Plus inside 60 to 70 days of launch. Curiously, there isn't a longer a wait for large field workplace numbers (which one would anticipate).However this historical past of Disney Plus launch dates, it appears Wednesday, April 5, 2023, is the very best Disney Plus launch date for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum Mania. Why? It is the primary Wednesday,

about 45 or so (technically 47) days after Quantummania's February 17, 2023 theater date. That mentioned, Disney cannot bear in mind Disney Plus demand With Quantummania in April, The Mandalorian Season 3 will nonetheless air that month. Though it's unknown when the season will finish.Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania on Disney Plus - Worst case state of affairsAfter all, Wakanda Endlessly proved that Disney was keen to attend. On this occasion, although, it may very well be attributed to the corporate desirous to launch the film on-line in February as Black Historical past Month.If, for some purpose, Disney decides to take the lengthy route, we may very well be ready 82 days for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania on Disney Plus, with a worst-case state of affairs of Wednesday, Might 10, 2023.Early home field workplace estimates (opens in new tab) As for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania under the aforementioned Black Panther, Physician Unusual, and Thor sequels, we're not feeling obsessed with choosing up the lengthy finish of the Disney Plus date.Outlook: When We Suppose Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania Hits Disney PlusIf I needed to choose a date I really feel assured based mostly on all the above, I would say I would anticipate Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on Disney Plus from April 28, 2023. This will likely be just a little after The Mandalorian Season 3 ends, and it is 70 days after the film's launch, which is true within the candy spot the place Disney Plus normally places Marvel motion pictures.Immediately's Greatest Disney Plus Offers (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

What’s your opinion on the Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers Peter Pan controversy?

Wow, Disney trying to whitewash their own history in order to make themselves look better? Who would have thought?

Yeah, here’s the context in case anyone reading this doesn’t know. Bobby Driscoll was a child actor during the early days of Walt Disney Studios, starring in films like Song of the South and Treasure Island. You might recognize him more as the original voice actor for the titular character of Peter Pan in 1953. However, just a few weeks after that movie hit theaters, his contract with Disney was terminated due to Driscoll hitting puberty around that time, and it was hard for makeup artists to cover up his acne. Afterwards, his life really went downhill, as he struggled to find ends meet, developed a drug addiction, and on March 30th, 1968, two boys found his dead body in an abandoned apartment. He was only 31 years old, and his family didn’t even know he was dead until almost two years later.

And then 54 years later, some people writing the semi-reboot/semi-sequel to Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers thought, “Hey, you know that child actor who was abandoned by Disney as soon as his voice cracked and died alone at a very young age? Let’s make him the villain of this movie!”

The main villain of the movie, Sweet Pete, was a toon who was cast in the lead role of Peter Pan before being dumped by the nameless studio after getting older. Obviously, this is meant to represent the same treatment Driscoll received from Disney, but obviously, they couldn’t put the Mouse’s name in a bad light, so they make him genetically modify other toons to make bootleg movies of Disney classics. In addition, his character design was basically Peter Pan (iconic green jumpsuit and all), except he’s noticeably out of shape, has a very hairy chest and arms, has a visible five o’clock shadow, is clearly balding underneath his cap, and has the gruff voice of Will Arnett.

And it’d be one thing if this was an attempt to shed light on the terrible treatment Driscoll got, but outside of his backstory, he isn’t portrayed in a sympathetic light at all. The fact that the movie went out of their way to make light of a story about a child actor being abandoned by the very same company funding them is unbelievably insensitive. They try to do something towards the end by comparing him to what caused Chip and Dale to break up, but that doesn’t work because A) Rescue Rangers was cancelled because Dale wanted to try starring in his own show, and B) Chip and Dale were at least adults when their big break was cancelled, while Driscoll/Sweet Pete was basically a teenager.

Hell, there wasn’t even any reason Sweet Pete had to be the villain, because after his backstory, outside of a handful of references to the 1953 movie, he could be replaced with literally any other character. You could have at least had fun with the idea of an evil Peter Pan, as a lot of people agree he was an asshole in the movie. You could have made the Lost Boys his henchmen instead of the original characters created for the movie. You could have given Pete a pet crocodile to feed the hands of his enemies to. You could have made Captain Hook and Smee police officers trying to catch Pete in a subversion of their dynamic in the original movie.

Instead, this movie went out of its way to make the villain’s backstory eerily similar to what a real person went through, and instead of making this about how poorly Disney can treat its talent, they instead use him to represent the cheap bootleg movies ripping off Disney films, as if Sweet Pete isn’t like any of the “real” animated movies Disney has made. I may believe that Astruc based the character of Chloe off someone he knew, but I am positive that even he wouldn’t stoop this low to start portraying her in as negative a light as what this movie did with Driscoll.

In fact, part of me likes to think that Thomas Astruc and Jeremy Zag were approached by the producers of this movie to ask them about including Ladybug, saw the plans for the movie and how classic cartoons like Peter Pan were treated, laughed like madmen, and had their unexpected guests thrown out by security.

[theinkymystery]

Hey so I've been looking at your post about half breeds in the story, I've noticed that it's mostly about half demons and that got me thinking about your average toons (human and animal toons specifically) half breeds.

So firstly I want to ask about Oswald's race. I've personally interpreted him as half rabbit, half mouse but like rabbit passing? (Like how someone can be half black, half white and be white passing so you wouldn't know they are half black unless you asked) since he's often referred as Mickey's half brother in the source material or are you taking the approach that he's adopted and full rabbit?

Further on that thought would Oswald's kids be triracial or just biracial? I know that the kids look very bunny passing now but the artwork from thebbros older versions of the kids has some of the kids tails grow out into a cat's tail. And I think some of them have fangs if I remember correctly.

I also wanted to touch on the possible discrimination around half breeds in IM if you're taking that route. On that, did Oswald and Ortensia ever get any rude or backhanded comments about being a cat-rabbit couple? Also would kids with parents of different races be picked on or discriminated against for it especially the ones who don't pass as one race? Again with my example of Oswald and Ortensia would their kids that develop more cat-like physical traits be discriminated against?

Also since appearance plays quite a big factor on the surface would it be a factor in the way half breeds are discriminated against, like maybe for example some half breeds that are seen as attractive being sexualised and fetishized?

(Sorry for the lengthy ask, I'm just curious on the take IM has on half breeds since it can be seen as an allegory for people of mixed races)

Okay! There’s a lot to answer. First, I’m gonna address Oswald. For IM they are full brothers. I’m not playing the half brother/adopted junk. Oswald already gets so much flack in the Disney company, I am determined he receives all the respect of a fully developed character in my story (I have similar feelings for Fanny Cottontail). 

Though there are some parallels between race and species in Inky Mystery and they share important themes, I wouldn’t say they are interchangeable or a perfect parallel. After some research I had to make some choices and I went with the logical ones. The bunny kids will stay bunnies despite thegreatrouge’s art. The reason for this is because most, if not all, the animal toons’ families are mixed. Donald has some geese as blood relatives. Minnie has a few rat relatives. Mickey has some rabbits. But they are all distinctly those species. If I made the bunny kids half-cat, part-bunny, and part-mouse with physical traits reflecting that, it’d break the continuity of the rest of the cartoon world I’m working with. The one Disney and a number of other studios built up over the decades. Since I’m working from so many sources that have this in common I will go with their information and not the webcomic artist’s because it would break that. If the bunny kids have cat features, why doesn’t Oswald have a mouse tail? Why doesn’t Minnie have rat traits? If it was just Oswald, maybe, but I have too many mixed species characters that don’t reflect that mix physically. That’s where the parallel between race and speices breaks in the story and in cartoons in general. 

That being said there are still similar themes. Wolves and other predators are seen as threatening. Rabbits are seen as cute. Raccoons are seen as untrustworthy. People are unfairly judged for what they are instead of who they are. 

Regardless of toons not reflecting physical traits, I still think there would be people that would take issues of certain couples and families. There would be some that would find Ortensia and Oswald’s relationship as a problem. Same with Holly and Finley or Fanny and Brute (not for the obvious problems there but them being a wolf and a rabbit) and so on and so forth. 

For the halflings and the demiangels and others, they do have those sort of mixed traits. Demon halfings have traits that show. Demiangels too. Half gorgons and so on. Mostly in terms of magic. But the other parent can be a human or a cat or wolf or a bear and they’ll have those physical traits. Like Cala Maria or Demencia or Leila’s wolf nieces and nephews. But not every magical species does that. Dishes at more like animal toons. Either the child is born a dish or they aren’t. 

I hope that clarifies some things. It isn’t perfect and doesn’t reflect the world and it’s issues perfectly, but it’s what I’m working with to tell a story with consistent rules.