#This is a scene from be cool scooby doo. Btw watch be cool scooby doo.

[four-bastard-bustle]

Wrath of the irony hat

[nayialovecat]

The Ink Demonth 2023 - Day 6. Machine

Day 6. Machine Crossover: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (and later series) "Scooby-Dooby-Doo, where are you? We got some work to do now. Scooby-Dooby-Doo, where are you? We need some help from you now." I cannot wait for the scene when they take Sammy's mask off :3 I'd watch an episode like that. Btw. in case anyone is wondering, Shaggy checks whether bacon soups are 20 or 50 years after expired, because it depends on whether he decides to heat them before eating or not :D

Am I a fan of Scooby-Doo? Well... yes and no. As a little kid, I loved the show, I even had VHS tapes of the episodes... But then my lil brother got hooked on it and watched it so obsessively that I hated the whole show (especially since his favourite was that damn Scrapy-Doo, so he was tormenting me episodes with him, and Scooby-Doom, the other son of the b*ch, which I hate). However, I still enjoyed the full-length movies, and to this day I still enjoy watching some of them (for example: "Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf" or "Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy?..." by the way, the former was made in the year of my birth, so he's older than me, yay!) But then came the era of weird Scooby-Doo series that delighted me again and stole my heart, like "Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue!", "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated" or crazy one  "Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!" (I love self-ironical, self-parodying shows). So... yeah, I guess I'm a Scooby Doo fan now. What's more, I will now say something that will probably make some people hate me: I like the "scandalous" show "Velma". Uuuu! Everyone will stop following me now, what a drama.

I have to admit that I had fun - although it was probably one of the most difficult Ink Demonths so far (counting the future ones I've already drawn). Scooby-Doo is damn hard to draw, because he has very caricatured features while having quite a dog's build, and when broken down into simple shapes, he's... just plain ugly to draw. Shaggy was a bit of a challenge, but it was a real pleasure to draw Velma. By the way, these two are my favourite characters - and I ship them in their youth (in their mature life, I prefer Shaggy with that cool alien from one of the movies). I used, of course, the background from BATIM - and choosing the right one and then framing it the best took me a lot of time and frustration too. I originally wanted a setting from the first chapter, but nothing looked right with the characters on it. I finally made it to the second chapter - and I think it turned out really nice. However, I am extremely proud of how cans turned out, the expiration date of which is checked by Shaggy.

If anyone doesn't understand why this entry is for "machine" theme, let me remind you that the Gang drove a cool, colourful van called... that's right! The Mystery Machine! If you didn't know that, you can't consider yourself a Scooby-Doo fan :D

Bendy and the Ink Machine (c) Joey Drew Studios Inc. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (c) Hanna-Barbera Sammy and the Ink Machine (c) Nayia Lovecat

[franki-lew-yo]

You know, I had a mutual who mentioned to me that Coraline was a disappointment and I actually understand that -- you get hyped up as an adult horror fan ready to see some horror for kids and it's like "well it IS THERE, but it's not Poltergeist-level of 'this is a horror film for kids'-level scare meter. This is a scary movie for kids about kids but I don't know if I'd call it horror in the way I'm used to horror" (their definition of horror being Jordan Peele, Robert Eggers and David Lynch). This isn't someone who was really uptight abt what is and isn't horror btw like I am, they simply were expecting to be really scared and Coraline didn't scare them.

I totally get all of that.

The thing that makes Coraline and Monster House horror as much as they are very much for kids, is that these aren't just 'creepy' or 'horror adjacent' stories like Scooby Doo, TNBC, Corpse Bride, Halloweentown or Hocus Pocus. They aren't just 'kid-friendly version of horror'-films like ParaNorman and Frankenweenie are. Those movies are 'spooky' and have horror elements to them. They may have scary moments in them, but unless you are a little kid I don't think you're ever really scared by them and that's the point. They are built around horror archetypes but they aren't built on scaring you AS MOVIES. Meanwhile, stuff made for adults about children -It, Five Nights, Babadook- those things creep our adult senses out and that is in turn engaging and 'cool' to especially older kids who the movie's not made for but who absolutely are in their 'I can handle it'-phase and like testing their scare-levels.

Poltergeist, Coraline and Monster House aren't horror movies because 'it a thing that scary; kids b skared'. They aren't NOT horror movies because the main characters survive and there's no blood*, as if sad endings and gore is what makes horror 'horror. It's because they are built around the suspense, thrill and genuine feel of dread and fear of you being in the way of something dangerous (Poltergeist), you coming across something dangerous (Monster House), or something dangerous actively trying to get you (Coraline). Fear, suspense and escape is part of the story.

And really, that's what you ought to know in the case of Coraline specifically: if you were a kid, even an older kid like I was, used to the scariest thing you've seen being Oogie's death in Nightmare Before Christmas or Emily first rising and chasing Victor in Corpse Bride; if the scariest thing you were used to was being uncanny and 'creepy looking' but otherwise harmless like Jim Henson or James and the Giant Peach...you were NOT prepared for Coraline. You just weren't. You thought you were cuz you were all 'eugh I saw Corpse Bride when I was 8 in the theater' and 'I watch Goosebumps reruns I can take it-' and then suddenly this happens

and it all gets worse (BETTER) from there? That was a shock. A good shock.

Baby's first legit horror film is so important, provided they're at that age where they're ready.

*yes I know there's the scene with the guy tearing his face off in Poltergeist; you know what I mean.

[daretosnoop]

The Final Scene Review:

Atmosphere/Layout:

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the Nancy Drew games do a stellar job at placing the player within the game. FIN is often given the due credit of being one of the best atmospheric games. The artists effectively portrayed a theater that is long past its prime. Everything is tattered and dusty. Things are old and rusty. How long has that popcorn been sitting there? Or that bubble gum? Who knows? It’s gorgeous! It’s incredible how they manage to make the theater so nostalgic to the player despite it being fictional. It really reminds you of old buildings that are destroyed to make way for corporate offices or businesses. It’s one of the few Nancy Drew games that sets the tone right from the start – dangerous and fast-paced. Maya’s kidnapping sets in the urgency, but right from the start players are required to navigate through an abandoned and creepy backroom only to pop out of a closet. It’s these two scenes that really hammer into the reader that this game is playing no nonsense. It’s like that moment in all horror movies/games where the characters realize this is for real. It really makes sense for the stage rooms to have a bunch of junk lying around here and there because it’s been abandoned. Allowing Nancy to look at them just continues to hammer that in. I mean, did anyone else feel slightly grossed out at the sink with a plunger in it? You really resonate with Nick Falcone’s commitment of protecting America from becoming Generica. Despite its dilapidated state, I’m pretty sure we all can agree that the theater commanded a presence. This game reminded me of the old Scooby Doo episode where they go to the puppet theater and are haunted by that creepy puppet master. And just like the Scooby doo gang, you always felt like someone was watching you—especially in areas like the underground basement and the main theater room.

Music:

Another stellar masterpiece. I don’t think there is a single track I hated. Each title retained the jazzy elements of the theater’s ritzy days, yet there is always something creepy intermixed within it. It really set in the feeling that someone was following you around. Tracks like “Lobby” and “Maya” really brought this feeling home, especially at end game when the danger music is playing and it intermixes with Maya���s theme. OMG, when that music started playing, I really got chills and started to become frantic. I forgot that the axe and hammer don’t work on the ice cube cupboard, which made me waste time. I actually finished this game with seconds to spare because I didn’t know that time didn’t stop when you read the letters.

In terms of little noises, I loved the sound of the doors as you opened it and the rustle of the curtains as you moved them aside. The noise the key make makes and the papers on Nick Falcone’s desk!

Characters:

Nancy: I think everyone agrees that FIN Nancy is a Nancy we rarely ever see. She is taking no crap from anyone. Not only does it reinstate the sense of urgency, but it also shows a Nancy who refuses to be pushed around by others. I mean, not one character dumps their chores onto Nancy! Well Nick Falcone sort of does, but Nancy has the option of calling him out on this!

Simone Muller: Ah, who can forget the best introduction lines ever, “I’m going to have to call you back, someone just stepped out of my closet”. That one line gives you everything you need to know about Simone. She’s busy, has no time for strange occurrences, and doesn’t let anything get in the way of her plans. I love her rudeness, especially when you combine it with Brady and the book he’s reading on “being your own self”. The fact that she refuses to talk to Nancy until the end of day one enforces that “I’ve got no time for you” managerial, Hollywood attitude. One thing this game does well is in making each character suspicious. There is no object or goal the characters are trying to attain, but rather, the game focuses on the lengths they would go to in order to satisfy their desires. Simone wants to make Brady famous because that would make her rich. Thus, from her dealings with Brady’s fans and the floral card, it makes sense that she might kidnap Maya. BTW, I just want to say how amazing this game is by making all the suspicious evidence be everyday items. For Simone, it’s messages and a floral business card. In other words, the suspicion is put on the character’s motives and their personality, as in, how they would achieve said goals.

Brady Armstrong: Total Hottie, am I right? Oh wait, wrong game. Out of the 4 suspects, Brady is the weakest because he really has no reason to kidnap Maya. Even if it was a publicity stunt it wouldn’t be him doing the kidnapping, Simone would make sure of that! But the plot twist they gave to his character was really cool and unexpected. It did bring some new questions, but within the context of the game, it was really great because it took the character with the lowest suspicion rate and made him super suspicious! I know some people might feel like it’s random and came out of nowhere, but I disagree. Brady is shown to have qualms with the amount of control Simone has over his life, not to mention his own fears of a waning career (which btw, nicely ties in with a theater past its prime theme). After Joseph, he shows the most amount of concern for Maya but it feels superficial, like it’s for a press. Later you see him reading the assert yourself book which builds his confidence not only to get out of Simone’s grasps but to go down a different path. Finally, he keeps everything in an office briefcase. It’s a subtle growth, but it’s there.

Nick Falcone: Probably the person the game wanted you to think is the most suspicious because Maya’s kidnapping falls right into his plans, and his past borderline illegal activates to preserve the theater. Honestly, even knowing the true criminal, I think the game did a good job at making Nick suspicious. He gives off the aura of one of those people who make you feel included and then next thing you know you helped someone out in a crime. One of those I’ll be nice and make you trust me, but I have ulterior motives and don’t trust you types. And yet, the game did something so clever with his character that connects him to the real criminal. You see, Nick is relatively nice to Nancy and actually works alongside her a bit, kind of like someone else we know. It’s a clever trick to make Joseph’s eventually reveal seem less jarring because the game has already shown a nice character who is extremely shady.

Joseph Huges: One of those tragic yet scary villains. You really sympathize with his desire to save the theater and his desperation. I felt really bad when the note about his brother’s death was discovered. He’s nice, but the game uses his niceness against you. He’s always there when you need help (he’s watching you). He tries to help you find Maya (he’s making sure you don’t find her before the demolition is due). He’s definitely one of the more dangerous villains because of his desire to be your friend. And yet, I kind of felt like they weren’t intentionally trying to hide this side of Joseph. One of the most obvious things about Maya’s kidnapping is that it would require someone to have intense knowledge of the theater’s layouts, and out of all the characters, Joseph has the most. So from the start, the finger was already on Joseph, but either his “kindness” makes you forget it or makes you deny it because it’s hard to believe. I still wonder if his denial confrontation is intentional or not, or a mix of both. It’s hard to say, he’s definitely a villain that’s exhausted. But it certainly made him one of the best, if not the best, villains in the series.

Puzzles: This game had a nice balance between the puzzles and game. The puzzles weren’t super complicated but they nicely integrated with the theater. I mean, it really wouldn’t make sense for a theater to have complicated puzzles here and there. I think the most complicated puzzle would be the one to get access to the magician’s room. The only puzzle that was a disappointment was using the keys in the attic to get past the door. There were so many keys and they were of similar colour which just made everything chaotic. The end game puzzle was hilarious because it wasn’t a puzzle at all. It was just a magic trick, yet it worked because of the setting! Simone’s phone was a little daunting because I didn’t know what the objective was. I knew you had to put the number from the lipstick card, but where and how wasn’t clear. I kind of guessed a few times then got it.

This game really hammered in the magical phrase “Appearances can be deceiving”.

One funny thing was with the electric door. I forgot to look into the chest to get the rubber gloves, so when I came to the electric door I started to improvise. Instead of going back to get the gloves, my brain went “Well, wood isn’t a good conductor of electricity so if we use the magic wand which is most likely made of wood as a stick and press the numbers with it, we should be good”….. I had to hear Nancy’s scream 3 times before I remembered the gloves.

There were a lot of phone calls, but I like talking to people and gathering bits of clues here and there and having to put everything together. Also, I loved Houdini’s cousin’s morbid humour, LOVED IT!

Graphics:

They show their age here and there, but like the theater, sometimes old is gold. This game doesn’t have little animations that are unique to the character. You could argue for Simone and Joseph as they both had something that was related to their work, but neither revealed much about their character. Graphics is something you can only talk about with the later games, but this game still provided unique angles like Joseph’s head peering into the trap door/magician’s room area.

Plot: It was fantastic. Everything is high stakes and instead of receiving help, Nancy receives reluctance and incompetence. No wonder she tags alongside the villain, he’s the only one who tries to help.

The only thing that I don’t completely get is why Brady felt threatened by Maya. So what if she exposes the fact that he’s the owner of the theater? How does that affect his popularity? If anything, planet Tinseltown would make a bigger dent in it.

Overall, loved this game. 10/10

[jq37]

The Report Card -- Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 1

Sophomores and Spring Break 

Note: Hey guys! I decided to try something a little bit different and slightly more structured than my usual recaps for FH: Sophomore Year. I’m hoping this will be a little easier for me and a more useful tool for keeping up to date since there will be a lot more eps to keep track of and they’ll be easier to miss. Lemme know what you think and if you want raw, unfiltered opinions on anything specific, feel free to send me an ask. I’m always down to go off about literally whatever. 

We’re back, baby! It is Sophomore Year at Aguefort and the gang is on Spring Break. A lot is going down so lemme break it down. The Bad Kids, having defeated Kalvaxus last year, are all entitled to a share of his hoard and all the red tape is finally cleared so they all get 20k gold each (which is an insane amount of money converted to USD if you use the WOTC conversion rate of a gold coin being around $145 (circa 2006 when they answered the question)--which would be close to $330 with inflation). Jawbone and Sandra-Lynn are moving in after less than a year into a profoundly haunted house and it’s kind of a Full House situation because Adaine, Fig, Kristen, and Tracker all officially live there (plus it seems that Zayn has also anchored himself to Adaine’s tower--btw, Adaine took the tower that the haunted house obviously has) and you know all the other Bad Kids are gonna be there on the regular. 

More importantly, Aguefort gives the gang their big project for the year--finding the crown of the Nightmare King which was stolen at the end of last season--which is worth 60% of their grade (Adaine does a full Hermione at this information). Each of the gang has info about the NK but the trail has mostly gone cold. Luckily, Fabian just got a hot tip about where Falinel is keeping Aelwyn and she seems like a pretty good lead to start with since she was super tied up in the bad side of all the messiness of last year. Adaine is displeased to say the least. 

Going off to find the crown is super exciting story-wise for two reasons. First of all, it means the gang gets to hire, well, hirelings to help them and temporarily join the party! They ping basically every cool NPC they can think of (except for Tracker for some reason which is BONKERS because (1) she probably would have done it for free and cutting her in would still be keeping the money in the family, (2) she’s dope as hell, (3) she’s a cleric and the party can always use more healers, (4) she’s a werewolf so presumably she has skills that would help in the woods, and (5) they’re t r a c k i n g down a crown and the girl’s name is literally T R A C K E R, but I will not backseat D&D) and eventually end up with Ragh (who has been without an adventuring party all year, poor guy), Sandra-Lynn (swayed by a nat 20 rolled by Fig), Cathilda (!?) ,and, for some reason, Gilear (which Fabian is happy about, mainly for the opportunity to maybe bump him off on the way). Second of all, if you recall, Elmville is a pretty modern town but the rest of the continent is less fantasy high, more high fantasy. Horses and lanterns and all that pseudo-medieval goodness. They are gonna stick out like a sore thumb. I am very here for it. 

Everyone goes home to rest up but, after some ominous dreams, only four of them wake up. Riz and Fig are left asleep and then Brennan mic drops and ends the episode which is a power move and I am extremely upset about it but also, respect. Right for the jugular immediately. I heard Murph and Emily are on tour in the UK next week which probably has something to do with this but, in the moment, I did not know that and I really felt the hammer drop in my heart. It was wild. Cannot wait to see where we go from here. Plus, who doesn’t love watching characters freak out because their friends are in danger?

Random Thoughts

I have no idea what the title of this episode is or if it’ll even have one and not a number but I gave it a placeholder one for now. I also don’t have access to the stream yet so I didn’t get to include some info I wanted to (like a record of nat 20s, and nat 1s so I can track their stats for the school year) and I probably missed some stuff because my brain can only hold so much info guys. I’m not Brennan. 

I mentioned this yesterday during the stream, but there will never be anything better than the pure D&D joy of everyone, in character, talking over each other to clown on each other. They get the friend-group banter that’s a hair breadth’s away from bullying so true to life and it’s so fun to watch. On the flip side, the opening scene with everyone introducing themselves and affirmatively claiming each other as their best friends was also peak D&D. Found family= best trope. 

Fig and Adaine burn spell-slots at basically the same time to try and beat each other to the best room in the (Scooby-Doo ass) house--which is exactly the kind of thing that would happen in this world. It’s such an intuitive setting. I love it so much. (BTW, Fig ends up staying in the false space under the revolving grand piano because, of course).

Fabian and Gorgug went to recruit Ragh, who assumed they were propositioning him for a three-way. In his defense, they did do it in a super proposition-y way and they were in the middle of the LGBTQ student union.

Also, Gorgug gives Ragh an inspiring speech about thinking you’re your own dad which makes him burst into tears. 

Speaking of, Jawbone offhandedly says he’s poly but, like, based on some of the stuff he’s said, I feel like that’s not really a reveal. He also gets along well with Gorthalax and would be down w/ a three-way if Sandra-Lynn wanted to which, again, totally checks out. 

Arthur Aguefort uses Chronomancy to rewind time and catch a snide comment Adaine made under her breath, which is exactly the kind of frivolous use of God-like power I’d expect from him.  

I really love Adaine’s energy coming into this season. She’s in therapy. She’s in a good home environment. She’s comfortable enough with her friend group to do stuff like prank Fig (love that they’re gonna be living together now). And she’s good friends with Zayn now which I want to see more of based on their one interaction in this ep which was very cute. I am already on record as saying I would be down with her getting a ghost boyfriend--I mean, for the aesthetic alone--but I’d be happy with just more friendship. 

Fabian is also hilarious this season because you can tell he’s gone a bit soft from having friends and leaning into that (the friendship necklace with Riz) but also he’s fully aware that it’s happening so he’s, like, ping-ponging back and forth like, “These are my friends,” and, “What am I saying? I used to be cool,” and it’s very funny. Very happy the Aelwyn storyline is happening right out of the gate, both because I think Aelwyn is a very interesting character with a lot of potential for nuance but also because Fabian reacting to her and Adaine reacting to Fabian reacting to her is always gold. 

Prompted by an offhand conversation from Fig about rock and roll, Brennan--earning another feather for his Cap of God Tier DMing--goes on an impromptu five minute long improved diatribe about a bard who played such a good concert that it instantly impregnated everyone in attendance (dudes too) who gave birth to kids with sick rocker hair and denim jackets and ascended to Rock Heaven on their 18th Birthday. You truly have to watch it to believe it. At a certain point I thought he was gonna drop it but that was the moment he doubled down and kept going. Amazing. 

Watching Murph, in real time, make up a girl/boy/whateverfriend in Fantasy Canada was a gift. 

I don’t have access to the stream yet but best quote of the night that I can remember is Kristen choosing her room: This is triggering and I’ll take it. (Her line about her lesbian starter kit and the one about wanting a horse were also bangers). 

The group talks about what they’re going to do for transportation outside of Elmsville since they don’t really use cars out there and they somehow get from “disguise Fig’s tour bus” to “commission Aguefort to create a brand new animal that can hold six people plus hirelings, one of which is Fabian who is also riding his motorbike”.

I love that Sandra-Lynn’s Mom Powers work on Tracker. 

Basrar doesn’t accept the invitation to come with on the quest, but he does give Kristen a bag of infinite ice cream sandwiches, which is basically just as good, IMO. 

Oh Gilear. The man is sleeping in the Seacaster garage, being bullied by skater kids, and now he’s stuck on this quest with his ex and Fabian who actively wants him dead.  

Speaking of, I’m psyched to see more of Sandra-Lynn. She was kind of a sleeper badass at the end of last season. 

Ragh is keeping secrets which I hope the cast doesn’t forget because it could be nothing serious (like the high school drama happening with Skrank and the 7 maidens--maybe he’s just crushing on Gorgug who did full kiss him during Promocalypse) or it could be Serious Business that will blow up if the don’t stay on top of it. We’ll see. 

Oh, almost forgot. Adaine wants an emotional support frog. Every time I think I can’t love her more.   

Detention

Fig for Not Respecting Personal Boundaries

Fig goes full Emily right out the gate and, after finding out that Skrank (nerdy bird dude who apparently can get it) was not only dating Ostentasia (rich, popular dwarf) but also dumped her in pursuit of Danielle Barkstock (one of Ostentasia’s party members, the scandal), disguises herself as him with Danielle to figure out what’s going on. And, wouldn't you know it, when she gives herself away, Danielle immediately is shocked and appalled, as you would be, obviously. We also learn that she’s still catfishing Dr. Asha which is, how you say, for sure a crime. Fig, please, I’m begging you. Cease. 

Honor Roll

Fig, Riz, and Adaine for Researching the Nightmare King

Fig made both lists, look at that. Wasn’t my plan for this to be a three-way tie (also didn’t expect to use the word “three-way” this many times in this writeup) but I think their contributions were pretty much equally valuable. Rainsolo on the Discord wrote up this summary of the lore dump Brennan gave them.

[bilgisticallykosher]

Selfishness vs. Selfishness Redux

Pre-episode thoughts. I don't think they're going to address the dark side Everybody-already-knew-that thing right away. I'm still thinking Deceit's gonna be Virgil, but I'm also not so certain that's going to wind up going down. Because there's a lot of other stuff to get into. We know from the first Asides that stuff between Virgil and Patton is growing, and simmering. It's coming, and while that's in the future, there's probably going to be more build-up here. Is it that Patton knew about Virgil's past? Is it something else entirely? This is going to be a two hour episode, geez. 

Also, I can't believe he's actually going to the wedding. Idk. All those people saying he got the date wrong, though? First of all, Logan is in charge of the schedule, he'd never let that happen, how dare? And also, I always double check dates and invitations for stuff. I really doubt Virgil wouldn't have looked at the invitation and checked the information again. Watch me be totally wrong now. 

I don't know who I think the cloaked figure is. Could be Deceit ("like a freaking Scooby Doo villain"), could be Thomas himself. Probably not Organization XIII, but I'm not completely eliminating the option, let me have this. 

Things I'd like, but am 99% certain won't happen; Deceit's name (which I'm both hoping and expecting to not start with D), a new side, Remus and Deceit interacting on camera, or really Remus at all. Except for that green score of BOOBS, I maintain that's Remus's contribution. 

ALRIGHT, LET'S GO, I'M NOT READY!!!!

First impression of the thumbnail. You vs. Yourself???? Oh my gosh. Ohhhh, I'm freaking out. Patton looks so apprehensive, and I don't know if that's on general, or because of Roman or in response to Roman, because Roman looks so annoyed at Patton! He's so angry oh my gosh. I mentioned I wasn't ready, right? Okay. Okay. So their sprites are different styles, which is cool. Patton's looks risk-based stroll around town type of RPG, Roman's looks fighting style. 

The options for the character select???? Oh my gosh, that's. Hi, Remus. Anyway, uh, I don't know what this means, but there's three character options on top and- DARK SIDES ARE SEPARATE FROM LIGHT SIDES! Oh gosh, I was thinking maybe it was something to do with specifically Logan. Ooh, Deceit's in his lawyer outfit, nice touch.  THERE'S AN EXTRA BLANK PLAYER OPTION. I don't know if that means he'll be revealed this episode, or just that he exists. I mean, we just had Deceit's logo, Remus's reveal and name reveal… here goes.

IT STARTS WITH THE VIDEO GAME??? THIS IS THE INTRO????? THE WEDDING??????!!!!!!! Oh hey word crush. Oh hey, it's the couple! Starting to think this is a dream or fantasy, btw. Also, Lee and Mary Lee sound like...Esteban and Valerie? Maybe? Idk. Omg, Life is pain. 

This is awkward, beautiful. Pfft, hence the marriage. Photographer is great, no idea who he or the emcee are. Ooh. Crushed. 

INTRO??? EXCUSE ME??? Oh was SvS originally on 3/31? Yeah, good, play a review like all of us haven't been obsessing over what happened last time. "APRIL 13" I'm just going thi pause forever now. Oh this is going to be the angry walk in that was previewed in the bloopers, I can tell. Oh no. OH NO! And it is at night and he seriously freaking actually went to the wedding????

Oh my gosh he's so angry. Ohhh, Patton rethinking his phrasing, nice. You should never→I'm surprised that you etc. Oh Roman! Oh, maybe we should… not review. Oh boy. 

Oh there's Patton's avatar. In then guitar hero thing. Oh, Thomas is associated with the color white, confirmed??? I like how they did the notes there. So much detail. The talk sprites are great, but the expressions on the dancing sprites are worth paying attention to. Okay, Patton's still very, um, defensive, I guess is the word? Thomas is angry and bereft and confused and full of doubt, and Roman's heavily on the confused side (ha) about him aligning with Deceit. This is why he stole his hat. Great animation work, everyone, that was fantastic, artists! 

"Why didn't I just talk to them before the wedding?" THOMAS. Also, because Deceit specifically prevented Logan from being too close to the courtroom scene by benching him and not asking him what his idea of a compromise was. "I brought that up," well, you did, but Deceit kinda made it seem like you were suggesting lying to them, so you got shut down. Sorry, Ro. Listen, I love Deceit, but the boy's a manipulator. 

We learn to predict the future!!! Roman, no. Woah, Patton's just being completely dismissive. I mean he's been through some hard times the last few episodes, minus LNTAO, but damn. Oh. Roman's very much defending Patton. This forebodes very badly. This is going to explode terribly. Oh no. 

Okay, so, the thing with the feral cats. Is Roman okay? Did someone do this to him? More importantly, did he do this to me? Also, on a serious note, I'm super shocked Deceit hasn't come in yet, because he (and Thomas, and arguably Patton) is obviously regretting going to the wedding. I mean, Virgil's not coming in right away because of the reveal at the end of DWIT, but- hey where's Logan?! Logan and Deceit should both totally be here! *gasp* Except in the one on one episodes (Heart vs. Mind, My Negative Thinking, Logince; the argument) it's always primarily been the two sides that are featured with the others either not there or off-screen or making small cameos. But Deceit was and is an important part of this decision past, present, and going forward! 

Oooh, I like the Lee and Mary Lee backstory. Hm. Patton does bring good points, but. I still agree with- oh, Thomas just solidly saying no made me snort. Okay, so speaking of the coin bleeping, why the video games? I know there's more to come with it, how do they come into play? Oh okay metaphor. 

That was clearly not the good ending, Roman. Bringing up Is Thomas A Good Person again. OOH xylophone, is he a-comin'? Oh he's directly blaming Patton. Wow, Roman. 

A BAGEL?! Oh, game sssssssstore. Really? Frogger, Pat? 16 graphics. Oh there's the hotdogs. OH and there's the cloaked guy! Smashing our theories. That does not seem like Sondheim. 

The puns, oh my gosh, brilliant. Getting to the meat of them here. Gosh these graphics are fantastic. 6AM dull. 

Oh. Hm. Technically, he does not have to give him the 'dog. The building tension is fascinating. 

HI, LOGAN! Patton looking real uncomfortable at "regret." I mean, they all know they regret it now, right? Roman making fun of behoove, that's so funny, I have no idea why. Seriously, whoever's doing the art, I'm dying at Logan's expressions. Woah good thing viewers have the pause button. I'm all for not buying X-mas decorations. I'm doing my part, goyim. 

I'm counting "it's not like Kingdom Hearts" in lieu of that having been Organization XIII. Oh boy, Patton. Right thing vs. Feeling good vs. Feeling good about doing the right thing. This is falling apart. Patton's noise. 

BOOBS omg Deceit is Bowser. I love that painting in the background! Scutes! Time went from limited to being lost to poorly spent to wasted! I'm standing by the purple being Virgil. Fyi, in Judaism, doing a good thing for the wrong reasons doesn't matter, because you're still doing the good thing, even if it's just for the reward. There's a thing about it with Avraham and a King.

Roman's getting close to breaking. Reptilian rapscallian guy. And who's to say he can't be doing it for the reward and to help people? 

"... an individual's happiness and the amount of selfless acts…" that should be number, not amount, Logan! Can't judge good deeds only by how good you feel when you do them. 

Okay, here we go. How do we know what's Right? Killing and stealing is illegal everywhere, yes, Thomas, what are you doing, Thomas???

Oh my gosh, not the trolley problem. They're referring to Deceit as Denial and Roman as Passion! Oh gosh, that looks like Joan, Talyn, Dot, Valerie, and Terrence, and Leo by himself, maybe? Oh geez, I jolted. Logan index carding for trolley problem. 

Unus Annus is right, the trolley problem is stupid. Oh my gosh, Logan's giant wall of text physically pushing Patton back, I spit all over my screen. Skip All. 

Roman's… blaming himself? Oh!!! Are we getting Roman's insecure arc???!!! This is a complex issue, and Patton's having a hard time backing down, and everyone's feeling bad.

Scared?! I hear music! NO. Why is he scared, oh my gosh?????? That's not a tired metaphor. Oh! I've heard of hypoxia! It was hypothesized (and disproven) to be the reason for a specific Bermuda Triangle incident. 

Good point, Logan. Regarding theory and in the moment instincts. Remus mention with intrusive thoughts! Shocked that Logan is arguing for leisure time. Logan's self satisfied smirk at the self-sacrifice. GLITCHY! Oh he's a frog. Lilypadton. 

Oh my gosh I'm getting so stressed. Yes, thank you, Logan for the scream. I… don't. The conscientious comment. No, it's not. This seems… Deceit-y. IT IS! SHARP SIDE OH MY GOSH! Oh, he didn't rise up, he popped out in the freaking dialogue box, NO, FRICK IT WAS RIGHT THERE! And the Nietzsche and the specific examples that he used!!! I'm so angry! I DIDN'T THINK HE'D TAKE LOGAN'S PLACE AGAIN! I MISSED THE SIGNS! 

Hey guys, look, it's Deceit. Bull… frog. Lord of the lies. Oh! 8-bit Deceit theme. Okay, the first thing Deceit said about him not doing it on purpose was nice, but yeah, those words striking him is accurate. Yeesh, harsh. 

Is Patton eating his own words? Oh, uh, is anyone going to acknowledge he hit Thomas? Is that telling of the situation instead of just being a funny background event? 

The crick in Thomas's neck is so funny. SNAKES ON THE PLANE!!! ...Hm. Happy that he brought that up. Oh my gosh, Deceit's spluttering, he's like so bad at things sometimes, I love it. 

Logan! No, don’t do that, everybody appreciates you! Double curse? Pffffft, Logan. Deceit…definitely smiling at Logan's logic. Deceit is interesting here. Oh wow, yikes. He's really fascinating here. Legitimately complimentary? Oh, no, kind of not, maybe. Roman looks distressed.

"...Trees?" Roman's super pumped up. Good for him! Ha, his imitation. Deceit looking confused? Patton looking all sorts of things, I really think that Deceit is being genuine here- NAME?! I'D THIS HAPPENING? Why is he stripping? His, no, what does his glove have to do with his name? 

………. Janice? Did he say Jenus or Janice. It sounded like Janice. Deceit. No. Oh, burn, Roman. Damn, he almost got me. His name is not Janice. No. It's not. Don't even. Deceit was being so straight(ha)forward for the past couple of minutes. Awww, Roman. Insecurity addressing time? Wait, why is Deceit nodding at the hero thing? His lip is trembling, his voice is cracking and oh no! Roman just sank out.

Don't call him Janice, that's not his name. Oh he's being genuine again. Patton's talking about himself. WAIT WHAT. He had a five second cameo, omg. 

Yeah, those are the easier questions. No, Deceit, bad Deceit. Man, his facial expressions in this episode. Fractionally fiendish fibber. Oh, I like the reasons for Deceit being a part of him! That's… cute? Oddly cute, maybe. So, freaking how far in the future is the Asides? 

Stop calling him Janice, that's not his name. Oh, Deceit and Thomas bonding. That snort, oh my gosh. Oh, serious Deceit again! That reaction to "you're right" is oddly similar to that fake laugh at the end of Embarrassing Phases. 

………. Virgil's not here yet. His reveal isn't being addressed. Accepting Deceit. That's why he's so pissed at Patton in Asides. The next episode proper they're going to reveal that Deceit's accepted, more or less, and Patton was a big part of that, hugely changing his mind, that's why he's so pissed at him!!!

April 30th? Oh is this Lee and Mary Lee? I was wrong on the voices. Door-yelling! Hm. I mean. It's nice that they're acknowledging him, but I really don't think that sways the situation one way or another. Cute more background, and Thomas being awkward. They. This could have been instead of the wedding. Kingdom Hearts again! 

Oh hi, Patton and Deceit. He seems annoyed at the situation. Patton and Deceit bonding. Hi again, Leslie. Wild. 

This video really didn't go at all how I thought it would. Roman was barely miffed at Patton. Oh man, this was intense. I. Oh man. I need to process a lot. But I think we're on the right path, here. Janice is not his name!

Okay, I went on tumblr and two seconds in, I saw Janus, which I looked up and that makes way more sense. Another, more condensed post to follow. And several thousand reblogs.

[matriiiarch]

How do you feel about some of the less popular and newer addams family adaptations namely: addams family reunion, the 90s tv sitcom, the musical and the 2019 movie? Btw i absolutely love your writing. You and the person that does gomez portray the characters gomez and morticia so well in your roleplays that i'm obsessed! You both should consider posting the roleplays as fanfics if that's cool with you.

FIRST OFF, I WOULD LIKE TO START BY SAYING: thank you, for taking the time in sending in this question as well as your comments. I honestly never thought about posting our threads as fanfic but (biased opinion) YOU’RE RIGHT THEY SHOULD BE! definitely something starry ( @patriiiarch​ ) and i can discuss at some point. maybe with our finished threads since we wouldn’t wanna spoil any surprises in our ongoing ones. to answer your initial inquiry though, i honestly think my writing companion and main gomez said it all quite perfectly in their response here. since we first started writing with each other we have gone off on each other about our opinions regarding each addams family adaptation and part of why we work so well together is because we share the same viewpoints - and are both extremely protective. i became obsessed with the original 60′s addams family tv show when i was a child and my mother would put it on to keep me quiet and situated. that and the munsters were the only shows i’d sit still for. then i watched the first addams family movie with anjelica huston and raul julia and my obsession grew to a whole new level. i would rewind and watch scenes with morticia over and over again, especially the graveyard scene of her walking away from fester saying “rest in peace.” i don’t know why, i just remember that being a thing and i thought she was the most beautiful person i had ever seen. which definitely had an effect on my current aesthetic. since starry already basically stated everything in their response, i don’t feel another rant is necessary (lol). because believe me, i could write ESSAYS on just my review of each and every addams family adaptation. but i won’t. to sum it up: addams family reunion was entertaining for what it was and i’m in love with tim curry but... the movie itself was just a definite no. it just seemed too forced and not natural. the musical (in my opinion) is the worst thing to have ever happened to the addams family franchise. IT MADE NO SENSE AND EVERYTHING ABOUT IT WAS WRONG SAVE FOR A GOOD FEW ONE LINERS AND LIKE TWO SONGS! but i cannot stand by the story line, again with my protectiveness, it just didn’t make sense and it wasn’t right. i know they’ve changed it up a few times and i’ve only seen one variation but it was enough to anger me. this is why you will not see the musical version as a separate verse on this blog, although bebe is fantastic and i love her and she did an amazing job - it’s not her fault the storyline sucked - she is the PERFECT morticia for a musical that’s actually accurate and good. the only cartoon version that i appreciated was honestly the 90′s cartoons. everything about each episode seemed spot on, funny and all together well thought out down to the voice actors they chose. the 70′s cartoon we could’ve done without although the scooby doo episode will always have a place in my heart. now quickly onto the 2019 movie - i liked it. i was skeptical and was concerned that i wouldn’t, but i did. there were some parts about it that made me question its entirety but in the end it wrapped up really well. i’d buy it and see it again. although i do want to point out that i thought Chloë Grace Moretz‘s voice seemed a bit too forced for my liking. i think that about covers it. any other questions you may have, please feel free to always ask!

[canonicallysoulmates]

I watched this years SDCC panel. I learned nothing new about s14. 

Let’s jump into it; this are just going to be my opinions on the panel btw, I’ll do a separate post about some of the sdcc interviews later once I get the chance to watch them. So if there’s anything “big” that was discussed at the panel but is not mentioned here (ie. Sam’s leadership role) it’s most likely cause I already know it was discussed with more info in an interview.

Before the panel there was a teaser clip of s14 that I have not come across, if you know where I can see it let me know, and there was also a montage before the panel and that I did see.

It was actually pretty well done, they managed to make s13 look good...with the exception of the Dean/Lucifer fight scene but there’s no saving that scene. The song they used is beautiful, I loved it. 

And I really liked the...I have no idea what exactly it’s called I guess it can be considered a poster that they showed at the end, I find it pretty, and I love how Sam looks in it with the scruff:  

(this should have been the poster for s14 lbr) 

It almost makes you think s14 is going to be good don’t it? 

The panel itself, just like last year barely had any information relevant to the upcoming season. I will be fair and say if you don’t watch regular j2 con panels and follow the fandom then perhaps the little information given will be new for you but for someone like me, who does watch the regular con panels and follows along, the information given is not anything I didn’t already know.

I believe I had commented this before, but I was really hoping that SDCC would give me some sort of information of s14 that would make me excited and look forward to it, and I still have to check out the interviews so maybe I’ll find something there, but this panel did the opposite, I want to watch s14 even less. Dabb, Singer and BuckLemming sound like they have no clue where they’re going this season; I actually still don’t know why BuckLemming were at the panel when they contributed so little, and Dabb even looked as if he didn’t want to be there, which I completely understand because I didn’t want him there either. 

Speaking off, I hate the way Dabb and BuckLemming answer questions, they answer without answering in the most annoying way.

Like near the beginning of the panel Dabb was asked what it’s like crafting the show, balancing what Dean is as a character vs. what he becomes possessed by Michael and his answer is: “I think when he was possessed by Michael he is Michael. Dean is there and he’s aware of what’s going on but he’s not really coming to the fore so Dean’s Michael”

That to me is not an answer to the question he was given, and it’s a repeat of what Jensen said as an answer to a previous question: that Dean is riding shotgun, Michael’s driving the car. 

(I did like Richards follow up question, and I feel like he pointed something out Dabb might not have realized: “But in terms of the rhythm and like the word choices when you guys are working with the writers and developing that character there’s obviously- Michael’s gonna have a different entire pattern of speech and word choice than Dean I would assume; so that goes into a struggle does any of Dean ever seep out? is there ever a mix of the two in this creation?”)

BuckLemming [and Dabb-Singer] were asked: what’s michael’s plan? what’s his agenda? 

Buckner tried to pass the question on to Lemming then Lemming passed the question back on to Buckner and I’m gonna rough summarize his reply and leave a timestamp if you want to listen to the whole thing cause he gave a long-ish answer and I am not going to listen to it 20x just to transcript it:

That Michael’s agenda was in a long list of do not reveals. That we saw what he did to his world and that he’s curious as to what humans want and that we’re going to see him recruiting people for his team and that it’s going to unfold very quickly in the first few episodes.  TIMESTAMP

You really gotta listen to it to understand why I say this man sounds as if he has no clue what Michael’s agenda is; and I’m calling bs on that being on a ‘do not reveal’ list cause these questions are pre-approved. And he pretty much revealed what Michael’s plan was going to be anyways: Apocalypse!world 2.0. 

The panel was asked about the longevity of the show: about what they think it is that makes the recipe still work, still stay fresh (they’re re-doing a storyline from s5, oh yeah they’re real “fresh”), and still engaging fans.

Lemming’s answer:

“we bring everybody to the brink of something, we push all our characters to where they think they can’t go any further and somehow on the other side of that they are redeemed. i think there’s a lot about redemption and loyalty. Whenever you see loyalty you see betrayal, so this are sort of time honored themes that we play with in the bodies of real likable and available characters that everybody loves.”

Lady what the fuck are you talking about? Since when is this show about redemption? If anything the whole betrayal schtick is one of the most tiring things of this show, also ‘whenever you see loyalty you see betrayal’ what kind of bs...

And ‘likable and available characters that everybody loves’? I can think of a good number of characters from this show that I don’t love. 

By the way Buckner’s answer to this question was also 🙄.  TIMESTAMP

I did like Alex's and Jensen's answer to this question.

On a more positive note cause I don’t hate everybody’s ways of answering questions, y’all already know I absolutely love the way j2 do it and yes j2 were wonderful but I actually want to talk about, Alex! I am liking this kid more and more, and I really liked the answer he gave when asked about how his characters relationship with Sam and Dean will change now that Castiel will (supposedly) be taking on a more parental role in the absence of Dean:

“Well what’s really cool about this show is you know I guess kinda like Scooby-Doo is you can break up the relationships and you guys can kinda like have different people go on a journey so you know investigate this part of the...you know the mansion- I don’t know. But for me and Cas it’s very cool that we get to have this kinda sustained celestial bond, but I think the ultimate thing is getting Dean back, that’s I think everyone’s kinda drive and motivation we wanna get him back into the fold.”

That is such a professional way to say Jack wants his other dad back 😂 

But really I did like how he answered the question and I like the way the question was worded too:

“Your relationship with Sam and Dean last year was very much-they were very much paternal figures to you since you sorta come into the world. Castiel  seems to be falling into that role a little bit as the season begins here, especially in the absence of Dean so where do you see your relationship going with Sam and Dean now? How does the Cas parental role change your relationship with Sam and eventually Dean?”

There was talk of the 300th episode, Singer is set to direct it, Jared said Jensen wants the 300th episode to feature the boys in togas, which would be a hell of fun to see but that’s all the info that was given. It seems Dabb is going to be the one writing it, which god help us; I will say I was not amused by Singer saying Dabb has a plan but he hasn’t told him what it is yet cause I don’t trust that man and I already think there’s a severe communication problem in that writing room. 

Random thoughts:

Jared saying Jensen’s Michael performance gave him chills ❤️

Jensen’s coat flip 😂

I hope the writers don’t ruin Sam and Jack’s relationship simply to squeeze in Castiel 

"the show hasn't lost its energy, it hasn't lost its steam, it hasn't lost it's unique energy that attracts the fans" - Richard before asking about the show’s longevity.  I disagree with this opinion. 

Dabb has got to let WS go. You tried, you failed, let it go!

Overall, I found the panel boring and kinda forgettable, it wasn’t even funny like last years was; if you’re looking for s14 information, you can find it summarized online and there’s more info in the interviews. I don’t think you’re gonna lose much if you skip on this panel, but I also don’t think you’re gonna lose much if you do watch it.

Supernatural 2018 SDCC Panel

Supernatural Montage