#glad to have made this though

[threephantomrey]

February 5th 2024.

here we are. it’s officially been 5 years since the release of my comfort movie, my 2nd favorite Scooby movie, and my 2nd favorite movie of all time. Scooby Doo and the Curse of the 13th Ghost.

if you follow me or at least see me online on a regular basis, you probably know that i LOVE this movie. i always loved it more than most people. (i would also call myself a curse of the 13th ghost stan. and i think i’m the only 13 Ghosts stan that loves it lol) i remember watching it at midnight when it came out because i was so excited and couldn’t stop thinking about it i literally couldn’t sleep that night until after i watched it. (that’s why this post is going up at midnight tonight) and well, this movie had a big impact on me for the past 5 years. seriously, it means a lot to me on a sentimental level, and i’m going to get into that with this post, and also me thinking about this movie all the time and my opinions on it. today is probably going to be an emotional day for me, filled with many different feelings and a lot of love.

anyways this is going to be talking about the topic of mental health so just be warned if that’s a sensitive topic for you (cause i know it is for people and i get that)

sentimental stuff & me thinking about this movie all the time:

so let me paint a picture for you of my life around the time that this was announced and coming out. i was having the WORST mental health of my life. WHEN I TELL YOU IT WAS SO BAD OH MY GOD!!! i hated myself SOOOO MUCH. and was REALLY anxious a lot. i was dealing with a teacher that negatively impacted my mental health (she commented on my body sometimes, which made me feel even worse than i already did about my body back then, and did some other stuff that really pissed me off but we won’t dive into that right now) i was also living in deep regret of bad things i did online in 2018 and it was eating me up inside. i dreaded everyday. i had some pretty dark thoughts and couldn’t really see myself having a future. this movie was really the only thing that i looked forward to at all. (sounds dark but it’s true) because of my never ending hyperfixation over it and over the 13 Ghosts series, (which was caused by the release of the movie’s trailer, congratulations to my autism for that!!🥳😁) (though i was a 13 Ghosts fan before that, i actually started being a fan sometime in early 2018. i thought it was November 2018 up until a few months ago idk i was just misremembering) it was a distraction from my terrible mental health. it was an escape from the life i was living. this movie made me feel better. it’s not the ONLY thing that got me through that rough time in my life, there was music too. and one of my childhood friends that i still talk to on the regular is a person that got me through that rough time. she’s always there for me and i’ll forever be grateful for her, i love her so much❤️ but to say that it didn’t help me at all would be a lie. i didn’t realize that this movie got me through that rough time until last year, but im glad i realized it and i’ll always be grateful that it did. i’ll always be thankful that it provided comfort for me in a time where i really needed it. it gave me hope when i didn’t have much. and since i’ve lost friends and things that were important to me in recent years, i have related to how upset Vincent felt when he thought he lost Mortifer forever. plus, this movie gave me my Vincent and Asamad hyperfixations, and those two are big comfort characters of mine💙❤️ im not kidding when i say this movie changed my life.

i think about this movie 24/7. and it’s because of how much i love the artstyle, Vincent Van Ghoul and his outfits, Daphne and her outfit, Asamad Van Ghoul + him being the 13th ghost and Vincent’s ancestor. (top 3 Scooby reveals ever if you ask me) Velma telling Vincent that Asamad wanted redemption and was watching over and protecting Vincent and now that he’s safe, he can rest. (thanks Velma and Vincent! it’s your fault that i never stop thinking about Asamad!) Vincent’s plane, Vincent and Mortifer flashbacks. Mortifer impersonating the 13th ghost and betraying Vincent. (which i think there should be more jokes about in the fandom cause it’s funny to me) Mortifer’s car getting destroyed and it being implied to be Asamad who destroyed it in an avalanche when he appears to Vincent in a cloud of smoke and snow, (LMAO) turning back into his human form, proving that the supernatural IS real. and Vincent feeling at peace with Asamad after🥺 (THE scene that changed my brain forever. i honestly think it’s cinematic, along with the scene where it zooms into Asamad’s portrait and then zooms in on Vincent’s face and he looks down in shame. two of my favorite scenes in this whole movie and in the franchise in general) Mortifer causing avalanches with his car and just being a terrible driver in general. Castle Van Ghoul. the banger that is the song “Scoobystition.” Velma almost opening the chest at the end but chooses not to after everyone tells her no, making her question her doubt. teen Flim Flam. the chest of demons merch that Flim Flam sells. Vincent reuniting with his kids. Flim Flam reuniting with his old friends. you get the idea.

i’ve had criticisms about this movie before that a lot of the fandom has. hell, i made a video with some of them in 2021. and i will admit i remember ranting to an online friend back in 2019 that the Velma explanation thing felt like a big FU to 13 Ghosts fans. and i remember being disappointed with the ending after i watched it for the first time but i don’t believe that anymore and am not disappointed anymore. and i said i had sort of a love/hate relationship with this movie around the time i first watched it. but i don’t have those criticisms anymore and i just have a love relationship with this movie now. but no matter what, i could never bring myself to full on hate this movie. my love for this movie is too strong. stronger than any mass hallucination from high altitude oxygen deprivation in the Himalayas or any swamp gas😭

and it’s not that i don’t understand why people don’t like this movie/hate it/have those criticisms, because i do. also i get why people don’t like/hate return to zombie island. but i also like that movie and i don’t think it’s insulting or that the flashbacks shown there are lifeless or bad. and i think it doesn’t retcon everything about the original or too much. and i think it’s a good movie and i don’t think it’s a bad sequel and i also consider it canon. (plus the gang run monsters over with the Mystery Machine which is awesome and makes the movie automatically better. we should talk about it more because it’s hilarious!) even though i agree that the flashback scenes look better with the artstyle of the original ZI movie and that RTZI is not AS good as the original. i think no matter what would’ve been done, people in the fandom would’ve still been disappointed with any ZI sequel because they still would’ve said nothing could live up to that movie. even though i don’t think a ZI sequel is destined to be disappointing, im just saying other people still would’ve been disappointed with any ZI sequel. shocking, i know right? and i recently realized i only said i hated RTZI before because of how most of the fandom hates it even more than they hate 13th Ghost after i rewatched it. but i love the original Zombie Island movie too and always have) but starting sometime in 2022, i’ve started to see some things differently. (a good amount of my opinions change quite often)

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now i’m going to talk about my opinions since a lot of them i’ve been DYING to say for the past year. (yes that’s a Vincent pun) before i begin, if anyone is like “you have a very poor understanding of 13 Ghosts you’re a fake fan😡” or makes jokes such as “do you work at WB?” or “ok Jim Krieg lol” or anything like that in the comments, reblogs, or my ask box, you’re getting BLOCKED. i am NOT in the mood today. or any day really, but ESPECIALLY today. and no, i am not joking. i am 10000000% serious about everything i have said in this post so far and am about to say. and as much as i disagree with a lot of people’s opinions on this movie + RTZI, im obviously not going to defend WB or any of their executives. i fucking HATE WB for a number of reasons and i could not give LESS of a shit about Jim Krieg. (the guy who demanded no magic or real monsters in this + RTZI, and i heard that he had more creative control over RTZI. i don’t think he was involved in Happy Halloween though i’m going to assume he was not) i actually hate him because he was one of the writers for Scoobynatural in which Dean Winchester, a grown man, tries to get with Daphne, a 16 year old, throughout almost the whole thing and Sam Winchester, also a grown man, kisses Velma, a 15 year old, than for his insistence to keep the supernatural out of this movie. (not that i think him trying to remove any supernatural elements was good or that any of the studio meddling behind the scenes was good cause i definitely don’t, i’m just saying i hate him way more for contributing to what happened in Scoobynatural and i feel like he should get more hate for that. that’s a bigger problem) and i also hate him because he was the writer for Scooby Doo Frankencreepy, which has a gross amount of fatphobia. he is responsible for that and we should recognize that’s also a much bigger problem than his mandates on 13th Ghost and RTZI. we should hate on him more for the fatphobia in Frankencreepy too.

i know some people are like “oh if he doesn’t like supernatural stuff in Scooby, then why did he work on two sequels to versions with supernatural elements?” which i get and i don’t disagree with! (though i do disagree with the way people go about it. and what i mean by that is them being like “that’s why they shouldn’t have been made”/that’s why these movies are bad. or say that the mandate ruins the movies or when people say that’s why we shouldn’t be doing sequels) i don’t know if he specifically made any other mandates for 13th Ghost or RTZI that wasn’t the no supernatural stuff one, and there were other decisions made by WB that most of the fandom were upset about. but regardless though, i’m still suspicious about him being a writer for Scoobynatural. and sure, the Scoobynatural episode is only canon to Supernatural + being one of the writers is different than being a co-producer + that episode was not for kids (the guy says he doesn’t like supernatural stuff in Scooby cause he thinks it’s too scary for kids) + they probably had to put supernatural elements because the show is called Supernatural obviously. and yeah sure, it’s not a sequel to a Scooby series or movie with supernatural elements, but it’s literally a crossover between Supernatural and Scooby Doo Where Are You. (the guys get sucked into an episode of Where Are You by a magic tv) and yes, you could also argue that Scoobynatural was about real ghosts not belonging in Scooby Doo, but there WAS a real ghost there that the gang saw!!! even though at the end of the episode, the gang went back to not believing, everyone else + the viewers know it was real. it is 10000% confirmed in the episode. (also Castiel, a literal angel in the Supernatural show, was there too) and that episode came out only a year before 13th Ghost and Return To Zombie Island. (and after doing a little research, and by research i mean looking on Scoobypedia, i found out that he was one of the writers for the series Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated, a Scooby show from a decade ago that ALSO has real monsters. he was one of the writers for two episodes, both in season 2, so i’m also suspicious about that) basically what i’m trying to say is that i think something’s not adding up here/there’s something we’re not being told. and i read somewhere on the ScoobySnax blog that in an interview, he said he believes the message of Scooby Doo is that monsters being people in masks symbolize things not being as scary as they seem, and that there’s really nothing to be afraid of. i will admit, i don’t think that belief is bad at all nor do i care about him not liking supernatural stuff in Scooby either, but that’s not what the entire franchise is about. like we can still have fun with non-supernatural stuff in the franchise and then also have some fun with supernatural stuff in the franchise and some fun with ambiguity too! (i think he has this belief partially cause he probably grew up with only SD stuff that doesn’t have magic or real monsters) the way he goes about his belief? incorrect. the belief just on its own? neither correct or incorrect.

while i don’t think he should’ve worked on these films, i think if he really had to, he should’ve just not put those mandates on them and should’ve just pushed his belief to the side. sometimes, if someone’s working on something, there are some opinions that shouldn’t get involved in it. and this was one of those times. but yeah the other things he did that i mentioned earlier are definitely worse

AND ONE LAST THING!! this post was originally written in late November 2023 and has been edited many times since because i knew i wasn’t going to write this whole thing on the day of the anniversary + i kept thinking of things to say over time. just thought i’d let you all know❤️

okay here’s the opinions:

• i think curse of the 13th ghost is an amazing movie and was fun. i love the movie just as much as i love the series! i could never choose between them the same way i could never choose between Vincent and Asamad

• about its reputation specifically: this movie + rtzi gets too much hate from the fandom. now don’t get me wrong here, i’m not saying these movies don’t have flaws or that they are perfect because i don’t believe that. (i don’t think any Scooby movie is perfect or above any kind of criticism, not even Zombie Island) and listen, there are some problems i have with both and i won’t deny that. but i’ve been bothered this past year at points by the hate because of how much of it is there. not ALL of it but definitely a lot of it in the fandom. (i was bothered by only the hate for 13th ghost originally and then towards the end i started getting bothered by the hate for RTZI too) i just feel like it’s overwhelming, ya know? and im not saying people CAN’T hate them or not like them!! i’m not mad that people on the internet don’t like this movie!! (to be honest, i also feel like i have been too harsh on these movies at some points, especially RTZI) it’s just that almost everytime this + rtzi are brought up, there’s people who will jump at ANY chance to hate on them and sometimes it just feels like negativity for the sake of being negative and it bothers me. hell, sometimes they aren’t even mentioned at all in conversation like people will be talking about something else that’s Scooby related and then someone will bring them up randomly JUST to hate on them. like bro we GET it, you don’t like these movies. and i’m not saying that everyone does that cause obviously it’s not everyone, (and i am not bothered by anything my mutuals or people that i follow or people in the same discord servers as me have said at all i am not talking about them <3 im talking about some people in the fandom in general) but it REALLY pisses me off. like you don’t understand how much this shit gets me heated. i’ve been feeling this way for the past year and UGHHH it sucks because i don’t WANT to. but i do. anyways i think this movie deserves more credit for the good things it does. (same opinion applies to the other one, and i feel like these are underrated and misunderstood. not in a “you just hate fun and don’t get the complexity of this cinematic masterpiece” way, but in a “it’s not invalidating the originals or trying to invalidate the originals and the magic isn’t completely removed from them” way) and i know people are going to want to say “well, these movies were shitting on things that we loved so they deserve it!” but i disagree in every way possible 10000%. and regardless, it still hurts me to see a lot of people shitting on something that i love, especially since 13th Ghost means a lot to me on a sentimental level. not implying that it’s a personal attack on me cause obviously i know it’s not. don’t get me wrong, movies shitting on something you love is obviously terrible and does hurt. im just saying seeing a lot of people in the fandom shitting on something i love hurts and is terrible. the hate for 13th Ghost hurts me on a more personal level since that movie means so much to me on a sentimental level, but the hate for RTZI is more annoying to me since it gets more hate.

but ALSO i wish people would criticize 2 parts in RTZI more: in one of the flashbacks where they lightened Chris’s skin color (that was a mixture of a saturation issue and them actually lightening her skin color) and that part where a grown man tries to be romantic with Daphne, a teenager, and no one says anything about it. but this isn’t the first time a grown man was involved with Daphne or someone’s skin color was lightened in SD, so every time that does happen, that should ALSO be more criticized, not just in RTZI. we should bring more attention to that every time it happens, especially since we don’t do that enough. it’s wayyyyyy more of a problem than the things most people will hate on that movie for/criticize. we gotta focus on that more in the future. i also wish people would criticize the whole “confederate zombies being said to be the good guys” thing in Zombie Island more, but that is another conversation for another day. and i also am really annoyed when some people telling others not to watch these movies because they themselves don’t like it and think it’s bad or insulting or whatever reason they’ll say. and it’s mainly because i think people should be able to watch whatever they want and have their own opinions on it.

but yeah i definitely think these movies are hated on too much especially for the same reasons and i just wish they had better reputations i think they don’t deserve the hate they get. they don’t deserve the reputations they have. (i feel bad for these movies because of how much hate they get. i think it’s sad) the conversation around them is reductive. the conversation around these movies most of the time is “oh they say the originals didn’t happen,” “they retcon things from the originals,” “13th Ghost didn’t conclude the 13 Ghosts series/the gang didn’t capture the real 13th Ghost,” skeptic Velma, etc. it’s wayyyyy too much of that and not enough discussion about all the good things these movies do. they don’t get enough credit as much as they should. and there’s a lot to say about these movies. they’re definitely not movies that most people watch and then have nothing to say about them and they’re not forgettable. my feelings are complex okay guys😭

• Vincent’s plane is BEAUTIFUL when am i going to get to be on that plane????? this whole movie was GORGEOUS visually like they really made the backgrounds and literally everything look so beautiful. they did not have to go that hard but they really did. and everyone had GREAT winter outfits but tbh the gang always has great winter outfits so i can’t be too surprised. but yeah the winter outfits were amazing here, literally some of their best. and the Rubber Ducky being referenced was iconic

• i consider this movie to be canon and a good 13 ghosts sequel and finale, but just in the way most people didn’t expect it to be. i really love the Asamad redemption thing and i think it’s lovely that it brings peace to Vincent and now he’s at peace with his ancestor. and i know what you’re thinking: “Velma said she lied about it” and like yeah, she did say that. but because we saw Asamad appear to Vincent + because of her not opening the chest at the end because of everyone insisting for her not to, i believe that was her doubting herself and that Asamad really did get redeemed. she was like “ok i won’t open it because these ghosts might be real and i don’t want to risk that.” so i think it’s either she THINKS what she said about Asamad is a lie, but actually it IS the truth. or that, again, it is the truth and deep down, she actually does believe it but she’s just not admitting it because of her insistence throughout most of the movie to not believe in the supernatural. so i think the Asamad redemption thing is canon. and listen, i get that people wanted to see the gang capture the real 13th ghost in the chest. (it’s what i wanted too when the movie first came out) i get why people aren’t crazy about the Asamad redemption thing, that’s fine. and hey we ever get another sequel where Asamad is actually still evil and he does get captured, i would also love to see it. i still love the idea of him still being evil. (in general, i think there’s always more to add to the 13 Ghosts universe, so if they also expand on more 13 Ghosts stuff in general in a future piece of media, i would also be down to see it 10000%) though, ever since September 2019, i’ve been loving the idea of Asamad seeking redemption more than him still being evil. so i actually love this ending. (and especially if they ever expand on him and Vincent and the redemption thing in a future piece of media, i would be 10000% down to see it) (he’s the ONLY ghost from the chest im good with being redeemed, everyone else has to remain evil imo) and i think it’s a good ending for Vincent especially, now he doesn’t have to worry about his ancestor anymore and gets to have peace and move on, and the others don’t have to worry about finding him and capturing him. to me, it’s symbolic of letting go of the past/what haunts you and finding some sort of peace and moving on, now knowing that everything is going to be okay. and you’re starting to heal. and it’s very comforting, especially since i’ve been feeling that many times in 2023. so i’m content if this is the last time they bring 13 Ghosts back. i think it ended beautifully. it’s sweet and beautiful. (i can write fanfics as a way of expanding upon it, so i win either way lmao) i also get why people have a problem with Velma in this movie + RTZI. (im sorry i keep bringing up RTZI but i kinda have to since these are in the same trilogy and because of my feelings) but i personally don’t anymore? i used to, i even called this version of her insufferable a few times iirc, but after watching this movie like 483947384783378 times, i feel nothing towards her attitude at all now, and she’s not that annoying. even though i still agree that this is not an ideal version of Velma, it’s not an irredeemable or insufferable version of her either. and her character wasn’t ruined in my eyes at all. and she doesn’t ruin anything. but her explanations will always be fun to joke about! and i feel like people have been hating her more since these movies came out, which i think is really sad because Velma is an amazing character in general and has SOOO many lovable qualities.

also i cannot be a 2019 Velma hater because she gave me the Asamad redemption explanation. like she cooked with that and i am eating it up!! and i think the whole Vincent and Asamad thing fits 13 Ghosts so well because to me, 13 Ghosts as a show and the universe it takes place in is about family, whether blood related or not, and they are family since they’re blood related. and the gang is a family (found family, not blood related) and would do anything to protect each other and Asamad was protecting Vincent. so i think it’s actually a great ending to both the movie and the show. the story is wrapped up. but we can always go back to it and add more if we want. and i think that’s an ending that wraps up the plot of 13 Ghosts well. like i said, there’s always more to add to 13 Ghosts.

• ok for this next part im about to be so “well actually☝🏻🤓” with. Velma’s explanations are not her or the movie erasing the series and we weren’t supposed to take her explanations seriously. (sounds hypocritical of me to say i know cause i just said i believe in her AVG explanation but im just talking about the explanations that she used to try to disprove the supernatural now okay lol) she’s TRYING to “prove” it wasn’t real, but literally nobody else is agreeing with her and of course they know she’s wrong just like we know she’s wrong. the movie is saying she’s wrong. i feel like the whole sequel trilogy (that’s my new name for it) is saying her behavior is wrong. and there WAS a point in 13th Ghost where Velma believed in ghosts too before going back to not believing at the end. also in Happy Halloween, she kinda thinks about how’s she been acting and is like “ok maybe i should stop” and also says she trusts her friends more than science which is very cute. everyone else knows she’s wrong and she starts to realize it in Happy Halloween. and again, she refuses to open the chest at the end after everyone tells her not to. she CAN’T erase the events of the series or the events of Zombie Island, she doesn’t have the ability to do that, no matter how many times she screams “mass hallucinations from high altitude oxygen deprivation!” or “swamp gas!” so i think because of this + Asamad appearing to Vincent + Vincent making the cuffs that Mortifer put on him disintegrate + Mortifer’s illusions not really being explained + Vincent’s crystal ball teleporting the others outside also not being explained + the flashbacks, it’s proof that the series did happen and that magic and ghosts ARE in this movie. are there as much magic and ghosts as there are in the series? no, obviously not, but they’re still here. i think it’s the writers finding a way to work around the mandates and being like “we were told not to include magic, but this is literally magic right here.” (also i am of the opinion that real monsters in Scooby should be special and happen sometimes but not all the time, but that is somewhat different than what we’re talking about here. still always going to love real monsters in SD though!) (there was also a real cat person at the end of RTZI. again, still not as much real monsters as the original, but it’s still there) so Krieg TRIED to get rid of all the supernatural elements, but he didn’t actually succeed at it. this movie is not avoiding being supernatural, it’s just that there’s not as much magic here as there was in the original. i think this movie was done well even though yeah studio meddling is bad and i will always want things to be fair in the studio! (and it’s not the first time there’s been studio meddling behind the scenes of Scooby movies. even the ZI era had some) i really don’t think that this movie ruins the original, and the studio meddling did not ruin this or the entire trilogy it’s a part of. the original still exists people can still watch it whenever they want, it’s not gone. even if i did think the movie was bad like most people do, i still wouldn’t believe that it has the power to take away from the original or to ruin it. and it does not ruin people’s childhoods/poisons their childhood memories. this is also how i feel about any sequel or reboot ever made tbh. anyways im done talking about Jim Krieg i will not be talking about him anymore. so basically no, these movies never said or implied or tried to say or imply that the originals didn’t happen, they are not invalidating the originals at all. and they DO have some supernatural stuff in them, just not as much as the originals did.

• i love cheerleader Fred :)

• i like Mortifer being the villain because it creates some good angst between him and Vincent. and like i said, it’s funny to me

• the scene where Vincent tosses the chest aside tackles Asmodeus when he tries to attack Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby is one of the best scenes in the entire movie like omg he really loves them🥹❤️

• Shaggy and Scooby were good at flying the plane idk maybe we should let them fly more planes in future SD stuff

• i think this movie is an important part of the franchise. and i think “Scoobystition” is an underrated Scooby song that should get more love.

• no this movie is not a nostalgic nightmare/nightmare in general or an insult/mockery to the franchise, the original, or the fans and i do not think that it shouldn’t have been made. it’s not pointless or a joke or disservice or disrespectful or cringe or disappointing/a letdown or that it’s a mess/doesn’t make sense or boring/mediocre. and the ending is not a slap in the face to the fans or bad or insulting or disappointing/a letdown or spitting in the face of the OG. and i don’t think that that the other 2 movies in the trilogy are all those things either or also shouldn’t have been made. the 3rd act of this movie is not bad/ruining it and is not the weakest part, (3rd act is actually one of my favorite parts) and these movies do not treat the audience like fucking idiots, etc. and i really also do not think that this is the worst Scooby trilogy or that 13th Ghost and RTZI are the worst Scooby movies. and i do not think this trilogy overall is not good/is bad and i do not think it’s a failure or a mess/doesn’t make any sense or that these movies are incompetent or unwatchable or irredeemable or frustrating/infuriating. and it doesn’t hurt for me to remember any of them, especially not this movie. im actually really glad this was made and like i said, it changed my life with the impact it had on me and how it got me through a rough time. like now i talk about Asamad and Vincent a lot. i ship Vincent and Mortifer. and the debut of Asamad led me to create an OC of mine who is his wife and i get to make fics about Asamad and his redemption thing. so i just CAN’T agree with people who say those things for those reasons alone. it’s crazy to think how i would be without it. i would still be hyperfixating over Shaphne, which isn’t a bad thing at all btw. im just saying, i wouldn’t be who i am right now if this movie hadn’t been made. and im glad the other two in the trilogy were made too. and i don’t feel insulted whenever i watch this movie or those. (i liked the sheriff being the villain in HHSD, i think it’s a good reveal and i think HHSD is a great movie too) tbh i also think 13th Ghost is the best out of the trilogy with Happy Halloween as a close second though i do think HHSD is the one with the best opening, and i definitely prefer this trilogy over the 80’s one and always will. i think it’s better. i like Ghoul School though it’s a cute movie <3 (i like Ghoul School better than RTZI and do think it’s better than that movie but i like this trilogy as a whole better than the 80’s trilogy and think it’s better) i also can’t look at this movie as a standalone film like my brain just associates it with 13 Ghosts automatically (same applies to the other one but with ZI of course) and i don’t think this movie would work better if it was standalone. (same with RTZI) i wish this trilogy got more love🥺 and i don’t understand how some people consider the first two some of the worst Scooby movies ever. also i don’t understand how some people think 13th Ghost is “just as insulting/bad” or worse than RTZI. and it also bothers me when some people will joke that they don’t exist. and no, the 13th ghost (Asamad) is not nothing or disappointing compared to the other 12.

• i don’t think the avalanche scene was too long or that there was too much of it. it didn’t bother me at all.

• i think Vincent couldn’t do magic for the most of the movie because he has trauma caused by his ancestor so whenever he sees him or someone that he believes to be him, he becomes powerless because his ancestor made him feel so powerless, like he couldn’t do anything. so it’s his body responding to whatever he was put through. this is based off him saying “ever since Asmodeus showed up, i haven’t been able to cast a single successful spell” (in-universe explanation)

• Flim Flam’s shop is one of the coolest things i’ve ever seen. also teen Flim Flam is awesome and so is his design! he still feels like the same guy but just older. and im happy that he’s doing well.

• i love Vincent’s puns they are funny and adorable. and also when he calls Flim Flam “his boy” OHHH MYYY GODDDDD THAT IS SO CUTEEE🥺🥺🥺🥺 im gonna need another sequel where he calls Daphne “his girl” NOW. and i hope he does see Flim Flam in town when he attends his coven’s next meeting.

and yeah, i know Daphne and Vincent aren’t exactly the way they were in the OG. like there’s been a few changes made. but i love the changes and they’re both amazing characters and well written and i love them so much in both the series and the movie! and i don’t think the movie was saying/acting like that’s exactly how they were in the OG, just that it’s how they are in this movie. and it’s not ruining Vincent or saying/acting like Daphne was or is exactly like Fred and could do everything. and im not at the point where im like “WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE???” like that one Spongebob meme. they both don’t feel too different to me like i don’t think there’s been too many changes made. and im just going to headcanon that Vincent got more comfortable around the gang which is why he’s more zany and lets them call him Vincent and that Daphne changed a little because of her fighting the demons. i still get enough 13 Ghosts vibes from her hair and outfit and this movie in general so it works well. there’s just a little new vibe added. it fits 13 Ghosts well. (i think there was always going to be a new vibe added/some changes made and part of why is because this was made at a different time than the series + this is a DTV movie + made by different people than the series was) but yeah i think the changes were good and i don’t have any problems or criticisms with them, i don’t think they were bad at all. and im going to headcanon Daphne wore that outfit and had that hair offscreen back in the days of the OG. (and yes i know one of the writers said that they were aware Daphne wasn’t exactly like that in the OG, but that’s how they saw her while watching it. im just saying i don’t think the movie was saying she was exactly like that in the OG)

• speaking of Daphne and Vincent, the scene where Asmodeus attacks them and she protects him? SUPERB. also her doing a spooky pun for him and he gets so happy about it is so🥺🥺🥺

• the 14th ghost joke is fun i love it

• i’m fine with Bogel & Weerd and Scrappy not being in the movie because there were some episodes of the series that Bogel and Weerd weren’t in. (obviously Scrappy was in every episode) yeah, it would’ve been interesting to see them brought back and im not saying they weren’t important characters in the show, im not against the idea of bringing them back and i don’t hate them at all. and im not saying the mandate to keep him out was good cause i don’t think that. i get why some people wanted them to come back, they are valid!! i remember wanting Scrappy to come back very much too around the time the movie was coming out. but im okay with them not being here. also Bogel and Weerd probably knew about Asamad’s redemption thing, so they were like “well, we’re not working for him now.” (in-universe explanation for why they aren’t in this movie) where was Scrappy during the events of the movie? Bogel and Weerd captured him and he went missing, but the others don’t know that and just think he’s still with his mom. why is he not included in the opening credits? Bogel and Weerd casted a spell so he wouldn’t be, they’re trying to erase any trace of Scrappy’s existence. (another in-universe explanation) (yes i know that the real world explanation is that WB mandated for him to not appear, and originally Flim Flam wasn’t allowed to be included either but they included him after a writer found a way to make him work in the story, but i just made my own explanation in-universe) and im not bothered by the “What’s A Scrappy?” joke it’s just whatever to me. like obviously i don’t love it but i’m not going in a seething rage over it. (i think i used to be bothered by it a few years ago, but im not bothered by it anymore and haven’t been for a while)

• about continuity: gonna have to talk about this for a bit. i don’t think there’s too much of what people will call “retcons” or “continuity errors.” i don’t think that the movie retcons everything from the original. and i think there’s enough references from the series to make the movie fit in the same timeline as it. and that’s all i have to say about that. (i do have this theory that Time Slime controlling time is why Flim Flam aged but the gang are teenagers though if anyone wants to read it)

————————————

you might be wondering who this movie and the entire trilogy it is from is for. the answer is me. i am the target audience. seriously, even if it is bad and im wrong about everything i just said, i still had fun with it! and i think that’s one of the most important things to me: to have fun with a movie. so if it’s trash, it’s MY trash and IM LOVING IIIIITTTT!!!!🥳🥳🥳 like that meme of a woman saying “what? i love garbage.” (also im the type of person that when i like a movie, 95% of the time i will genuinely think it’s good. and i will like something more after i rewatch or re listen to it lol) and i’ll take a bad movie ANY day over no movie at all. i definitely think there’s things in 13th Ghost that you might not notice on the first watch but notice during rewatches. and you know what? i really do love the mass hallucinations from high altitude oxygen deprivation in the Himalayas and swamp gas. sometimes they are just what i need.🤷🏻‍♂️

fun fact: i learned the term “criminal negligence” from this movie.

in conclusion:

here’s to Vincent Van Ghoul, Asamad Van Ghoul, Mortifer Quinch, teen Flim Flam, the avalanches, Mortifer’s car, and the jokes and memories and posts that were made along the way by me and my friends. to the never ending theories. to all the daydreams i’ve had influenced by this movie, to the growth i experienced these past 5 years. to all the demons i conquered and am still conquering today. to all the other Scooby fans out there who like/love this movie. to that 3 month period where i and so many other people were excited for this movie. (even though i would never want to go back to that time period, it was fun getting excited and coming up with theories and seeing the clips drop, and i look back fondly on those memories) sometimes i’m still surprised by remembering that this movie is real and was made, like i almost can’t believe this is an actual Scooby movie.

as Vincent was healed by Asamad’s redemption moment, i was healed by this movie in some ways. there’s no other movie i would choose to lose my sanity over in a fun and cool way! happy 5th birthday my beloved <3 thank you for everything. im glad you won that “best nostalgia era movie” poll last year on tumblr. i’m always going to love you and i think you will be remembered regardless of whether the general fandom opinion of you changes or not. i’ll never let go of or get tired of you. i think it’s beautiful how a piece of Scooby media in general can have impact on a person❤️

[balleater]

despite being more often than not a "rules as written" fan over "rule of cool", i really do love me a good "rules be damned, i'll give you this awesome moment" call. like matt giving fcg the otohan kill despite what her hp was at or brennan giving cerrit an extra mage slayer reaction attack at the end of calamity. honestly, if anything, i think the fact they mostly play by the book makes these moments even better because it really has that extra weight towards those decisions to put the rules aside.

[flickering-nightfall]

[citrlet]

the townies of san myshuno

[sweetandglovelyart]

I saw a meme about Spider-Man being bi and felt inspired to draw this lol

[celestialrealms]

Diavolo's 2022 birthday UR is such a comfort read for me. Not even just the romantic content with Diavolo (which is great too!) but just... I adore Barbatos and Diavolo's familial relationship tag this as ship and meet my blade

Diavolo spending the whole thing wanting to paint Barbatos's portrait to show his gratitude to him, and then them both ending up doing the same thing? 🙈

And the part at the end where they're all drinking together and it just feels sort of like MC is joining their family and has big "drinking with the mother-in-law" vibes?? 😖😖

[softsapphicvibes]

Victoria De Angelis for Radio DeeJay's Chiama Italia (2018)

[uncanny-tranny]

This might be controversial to some, but you cannot "tough love" your way to preventing suicide. You cannot have the attitude that people who complete suicide are selfish or are ungrateful or immature. If your mindset about suicide isn't coming from compassion rather than judgment, it won't help suicidal people. You will never help us with a slap on the wrist and a lecture about how we're awful for even thinking about completing suicide.

Suicide intervention starts with compassion and care.

[shikai-the-storyteller]

AWH... I'm skipping through Roier's QSMP Day 1 VOD because I'm looking for a specific thing, and I just noticed that when Jaiden stands in front of the group to do her introduction and her mic isn't working, Mariana laughs (not in a mean way, I laughed too) and Roier immediately smacks him and tells him off for laughing.

[Timestamp ~36m 50s, volume warning for Quackity's awful mic]

It's such a little thing, but I think it's really sweet in retrospect, especially considering how Roier and Jaiden have become such good friends in recent weeks :')

[skitskatdacat63]

Hey, do you remember that really homoerotic scene from Skyfall? No? That's okay, here's a Vettonso version of it :)

- explanation & w/o text:

Hi hello, finally my weird psychosexual relationship with Casino Royale has come to fruition. Yeah this is directly based off a scene from Skyfall, but I def envision the vibe as being more like Casino Royale hehe. I can't believe I made that inspo board for this AU almost 4 weeks ago, and then ended up drawing a four panel "comic" about it. Ahhhh proud of myself, a bit, a tad. I think this took 20+ hours across the span of a week? God. Anyways I digress! The AU!!

First of all, their Bond song would be "My Way of Life" by Frank Sinatra. It's so toxic, codependent and obsessive, I'm in love with it. And it really suits Fernando and his motivations and outlook in this AU. Basically, MI6(in the context of James Bond) in this AU is an analog for Ferrari. It picks theses guys up, tells them that they're Ferrari MI6's most special boy, chews them up, and then spits them out when they're finished extracting all their talent and skill and life force.

Much like with Ferrari, Seb in this AU replaces Fernando after Fernando loses favor and becomes undesirable. Now Seb is the new golden boy, and Fernando has turned to a life of crime! Fernando resents Seb for this of course, but also becomes obsessed with him and the idea of him , and how they are connected. It's weird to watch someone else basically go down your exact same path and unknowingly make all the same mistakes(buying into the mysticism of it all too much, being overly cocky, having naive beliefs and goals, etc.) He is caught between wanting to doom Seb even more but also wanting to "save" him, by corrupting him and convincing him to work together.

Basically: He's both a Bond girl and Bond villain.

Fernando is in such a weird place in this AU. I think he's just very dramatic. Seb is just casually living his best 007(005?) life, and Nando is watching him with binoculars, whispering to himself: "DOESN'T HE UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE NARRATIVE FOILS!?" Yeah he hates Seb, but like the song lyrics say, their lives and dreams are inherently tied up together. He would feel lost without Seb, because Seb basically, unknowingly, destroyed and then took over his life. Maybe he'll feel satisifed if he manipulates Seb into going down the exact same path a bit better.

About the drawings themselves. Still can't believe this scene is a real thing that actually happened, insane to me. But in this AU, after the events of these drawings, Fernando definitely kicked all his henchman out of the room, and fucked Seb in the chair. And then against the wall. And then on the floor. Hey man, Seb is already looking mighty delicious with his unbuttoned attire and being tied up.

I think the general plot would be that Fernando keeps trying to seduce him to the dark side, and Seb keeps making him think it worked, only to escape at the end of the encounter. Leading Fernando to just come up with increasingly more violent and kinky traps. Seb goes along with it(read: enjoys it), leaving Fernando satisifed, only to somehow escape and wink and make kissy faces at Fernando in the process. (Fernando smoking cigarette in bed: "How do I make him stay. Sigh.")

I like to think though that Fernando does win in the end, by realizing, ah wait shit I do need to actually explain my motivations to Seb. And Seb is so worn down by his job, not Fernando, and how he's being treated, that he listens, really actually listens, and realizes Fernando does really have valid reasons. And then they become evil crime husbands yayyyy. Wow you thought this was a espionage AU? Well it is, but just not the outcome you'd expect.

[ivan-fyodorovich-k]

I only knew four other people who had read or seen Scott Pilgrim and consequently I missed that apparently this film--featuring a thoroughly whatever dude ending up with, let's be honest with ourselves, a bog standard "scene" girl--somehow has caused unimaginable human suffering

[magnapanther]

FINISHED WORK?? on MY page??? it's far less likely than you'd think. and yet, somehow, here we are. :D

(well, finished enough to post and call "done", i should say. i may yet meddle with some details when i inevitably notice ten more flaws immediately after posting :D)

good old moss knight, such a devout follower of big slug. surely no wandering knight would ever end such a noble creature's life before he had the chance to speak with a certain fellow at a nearby bench! :D

this was essentially just me testing the waters with digital after some time avoiding it, and especially colours/lighting. it's been a while since i actually tried to make something fully fleshed out like this. i don't know, i feel like it could have come out worse :)

[best-enemies]

Got to season 7 on my CSI rewatch and I need to talk about the final scene in s07e11, where Grissom is saying goodbye to Sara before leaving to go on his sabbatical. I mean, look at him. Look at what he does with his hands. *Agressively* Look at himmmmm. He's just a little puppy in love. And he does this right before whispering, "I'll miss you". I'm afraid I'm not gonna make it y'all

[witheredbouquet]

drawn for the dragonyule gift exchange on twt, so glad that i could join this year! thank you for hosting, saint starfall ♥

i hope that everyone has a wonderful dragonyule & a happy new year!

[todayisafridaynight]

whatever og text i had in mind for this post about ko shibasaki looking like sayama in this movie is completely cancelled on account of utsumi (this character)'s first name being kaoru and i only found this out cause i was looking up her name just to be sure when making this post

like jesus christ i legally have to make this post now

[the-raging-tempest]

🌹 Love on the Bloodstone Rose - Ophenia Thwait 🌹

💕 Lariel and featuring @aelyosos’ lovely lad Ocean 💕