#which is a lot of slapstick comedy

[fefairys]

MAN!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!

[nazumichi]

i don’t think shirou is the type of person to make dad jokes (simply because that’s not their sense of humour), so naturally that role is taken up by pingua, who will insert “wingman”, “on the fly” and “birds of a feather” into any conversation through extreme means. the fabled “uncle jokes.” 

[paragonrobits]

some important calvin and hobbes facts in case you haven't read the original comic strip in a long time or only absorbed stuff on it from memes and out of context bits on here:

Calvin's last name has never been given, and neither has any of his parent's names. This was actually why his uncle Max only showed up for a brief storyline; the creator of the comic, Bill Watterson, ultimately felt that while it was fine to have him as someone for his parents to talk to, it felt far too awkward to never have Max refer to them by name and he never made a return appearance.

The general tone of the comic is fairly light-hearted, with a big emphasis on goofy slapstick comedy contrasted by clever wordplay and often surprising adult-centered jokes that'll hit you like a slap. A big part of the comedy is, as Watterson put it (paraphrased) "It's really funny to me when people express deeply stupid ideas with really fancy terminology." One notable example you might have seen is that one bit where Calvin asks his mom for money to buy a Satan-worshiping rock album and his mom replies that there's nothing genuine about them and they're just putting on the attitude for shock value, and comisserates with Calvin as he deplores that mainstream nihilism can't be trusted. He concludes that childhood is disillusioning.

There is a LOT of criticism of the extreme materialism and selfish mentality of the late 80s, when the comic was initially written. This may go a long way to explain how its aged so well; much of what it criticizes resonates well with people today.

Bill Watterson views comic strips a legitimate form of artwork, and repeatedly fought to have more space to draw more beautiful and artistic backgrounds, which was a very hard fight and unpopular even with other comic strip artists. He eventually did win some compromises and a lot of Calvin And Hobbes' artwork shows it, with the use of space to indicate time as well as a sharp contrast between the often plain environments of mundane life contrasted by the wildly beautiful imagery of Calvin's imagination (which often sports realistic depictions in an art shift of sorts).

Hobbes is explicitly not an imaginary friend, by word of Watterson himself. We don't know WHAT he is exactly, and Hobbes is apparently unaware of the strange nature of his reality; people look at him and only see an ordinary stuffed tiger plushie, but he has a tangible effect on the world that would be physically impossible for Calvin to do on his own. He's apparently been around for a while, and was apparently around when Calvin was a young baby.

On that note; Hobbes has implicitly killed (notably treated as both a gag and also with the vibe of 'he's a tiger, duh') and while he doesn't do it again on-screen, he doesn't have any moral issues about it. Calvin claims that he's never had trouble bringing Hobbes to school because the last time he did, Hobbes killed and ate a bully named Tommy Chestnut and simply comments that it was gross and he needed a bath. Calvin's tried to repeat this again, but Hobbes was grossed out at the thought having to eat a kid raw and not being allowed to use an oven first, or complaining that children are too fattening.

Hobbes became gradually less human-like in body language and more like an actual cat in both body language and behavior; this was due to Watterson drawing more inspiration from his cat, who also inspired a lot of Hobbes' running gags, such as pouncing on Calvin when he got home. Several years into the syndication of the strip, Watterson's cat passed away, and he did a tribute to her with a comic strip of the two of them agreeing to try to dream together so they can keep playing when they have to sleep; Watterson's commentary (if I recall right), remarks on his cat: "We can see each other again in dreams."

[astranauticus]

not to beat a dead horse but im watching todd in the shadows' debunking james somerton video and for some reason the one that really got to me was him disproving the 'detective chinatown 3's box office numbers were faked' claim with just .... no? it was just a really popular movie?

[sp00kymulderr]

Cherry

Chapter one - Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl

Series masterlist

Pairing: Dieter Bravo x ofc, bi!f!reader x ofc (eventual dieter bravo x reader x ofc)

Warnings: Nothing major for this part. Breakup angst, alcohol, jealousy, pining, cursing, not enough Dieter in this part sorrrry.

Word Count: 2.3k

Summary: After a bad breakup, a phone call with your newly married best friend leaves you with an interesting opportunity.

A/N: This one goes out to all my bi babes. There's a lot of set up here, but stick with me and I promise this story gets interesting real quick.

The third glass of the bottom shelf wine you’d picked up a few hours ago goes down a lot smoother than the first two. A bloom of flavour in your throat that warms what otherwise feels numb.

Your fingers twitch as you glance down at your phone, aching to look at Charlie’s Instagram one more time - just to make sure she’s okay, you rationalise. Make sure she’s not fallen into a well, or been abducted by aliens or something. 

You kind of hope she has been.

Stevie Nicks sings Landslide through the tinny Bluetooth speaker on your coffee table, and you hum to the song that makes tears well in your eyes. Charlie hates this song, but since Charlie is now your ex and all her belongings had vanished from your home this morning it doesn’t really matter. She’d hate the wine too. You have to remember it doesn’t matter.

An errant tear slips from your eye - definitely because of Stevie and not Charlie - and as if on cue your phone buzzes loudly making you jump. A splash of wine lands on your couch. This week really isn’t working out for you.

A look at the phone screen makes you roll your eyes. The photo that comes up with the call is of you and Eva, your best friend for longer than you can even recall. You’re both wrapped in each other's arms and smiling wide, stupid toothy grins as you pose outside the modelling agency in LA that had signed her on for her first big break.

Eva was destined to be a model, really. She’d always been ‘pretty’; all curves, warm beige skin that practically glowed, entrancing chestnut eyes and long dark hair that fell in natural waves. But in high school she’d transformed from pretty to gorgeous seemingly overnight. 

From that moment on no one ever forgot Eva.

She was more to you, though. To you she’d always been beautiful. Always. For a long time you’d passed the twist in your stomach when you looked at her for too long off as jealousy, but how could you ignore the stutter of your heart when she smiled at you a certain way? The more you two grew together, the more perfect she seemed to become. The more you wanted to look at her, spend time with her, be in her radiant presence. 

Not that her looks mattered. Eva was kind, fun and a little goofy. She liked stupid slapstick comedies and she crocheted silly little animals in her spare time. You had a frog on your dresser she’d made for you years ago. She cared deeply about so much, and she always fought for what she believed in and what she wanted. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone when she’d jetted off to LA several years ago to live her dreams out, then.

Of course no one is truly perfect, which is why you’re currently staring at your phone as it rings again and again, debating whether to pick up. Eva had always been drastically spontaneous and had a history of bad decisions. Usually harmless to anyone but her (the name of a one night stand permanently etched on her hip comes to mind), but two weeks ago she’d made what you could only see as the worst decision of her life.

You sigh, place down your wine glass and finally answer the phone.

“Hi Eva” you grumble down the line, turning the music off so you can hear her.

“You didn’t call me back last week” She offers instead of a greeting. You can hear something in the background that makes your eye twitch, a man’s voice and the clink of a glass.

You'd found out about this particularly bad decision not from your best friend, but from the noisy article on some dumb celebrity gossip website that had somehow made its way onto your timeline.

And you'd scoffed when you looked at the caption because of course Dieter Bravo had gotten married on a whim in some corny Vegas chapel, but then you had to do a double take upon seeing the picture of his bride; dolled up in a simple white dress that made her skin glow, platform white heels, dark hair in a bun atop her head and the same bright smile that had made your heart flip so many times in your life.

It was Eva.

Your Eva.

Eva the model who was leaving the chapel leading on to the Vegas strip with a wedding ring on her finger and Dieter fucking Bravo by her side. And they were smiling, laughing. Paparazzi shots of the two of them kissing in the street after the ceremony flitted behind your lids every time you closed your eyes for the last two weeks. 

You could only assume it was a drunken whim that had turned your best friend from your Eva to Mrs Dieter Bravo.

So you were mad at her right now. Mad that she’d married some trainwreck celebrity she barely knew. But the real gut wrenching pain you felt was that she hadn't even told you; you'd had to find out after the fact through stupid papped photographs that made you want to claw your eyes out. You weren’t jealous, absolutely not.. You just wanted Eva to be happy. How could she be happy with a guy like that? You had heard plenty about Dieter Bravo; he seemed to have often been the subject of some ridiculous Hollywood gossip in the past, and then there had been that god awful Cliff Beasts documentary you'd watched for a laugh that certainly didn’t paint him in a great light. Sure he was an Oscar and Emmy winning actor now but jeez, from what you’d seen he wasn't exactly what you'd call marriage material.

Yeah, you were hurt. 

"What? Say what you want to say” Eva sighs when you remain solidy quiet for a long minute.

"I don't have anything to say"

Her breath huffs down the line and you can practically hear her roll her eyes.

"You got married, Eva” You finally speak again, voice coming out quiet and more bitter than you’d wanted it to.

“I did, cherry” She responds. 

The nickname she’d given you in grade school was never going away.

“You got married! To fucking…to Dieter Bravo!” It makes you laugh a little to say it out loud, and Eva can’t hold back her own small giggle at that.

“Yep”

You can tell she’s smiling, there’s that cadence in her voice that lifts when she’s really happy. Usually it’s your favourite thing in the world but right now it makes you fucking ache. Reaching for your glass of wine you take a big gulp before speaking again.

“I just…you didn’t even tell me. I’d like to know if my oldest friend is getting hitched, you know?"

“I do know, I do…I-” She stops and there’s a rustle of noise on the line as she shifts, “I wasn’t trying to hide it from you, it just happened so suddenly…we didn’t exactly plan it. He made a joke about it and the next thing I knew we were on a flight to Vegas”  

So it really was a spontaneous decision. You couldn’t even pretend to be surprised.

"I could've....Eva, I wanted to be your maid of honour if you ever got married, isn't that what we always said?"

"You can be my maid of honour for the next one" Eva offers.

Ok, she got you there, you can’t stop the laugh that comes. At least until you hear a man's gruff laugh in the background. For a moment it makes you see red at the thought that he's involving himself in your conversation even in the smallest way.

"Ev. This isn't a joke. You get why I'm mad right? And to Dieter Bravo of all people - look, is this a PR stunt?" You mutter a little meanly, taking another sip.

“Wow, screw you” She retorts, but it’s playful. “He’s nice...really nice. He’s fun. You told me to have all the fun I could have in LA, remember?”

“You weren't supposed to marry the fun, Eva!” You protest, but her happiness in the face of the ridiculous situation makes it so difficult to stay mad at her.

"Wait til you meet him, cherry pie. Just wait, you’ll get it. And…I am sorry, okay?” The line is quiet for a moment and you hear her moving presumably to a different room “I really am. But I didn't call to tell you about my married bliss. I heard about Charlie"

God, your stomach twists in knots at the mention. Being mad at Eva had been a good distraction from the breakup even if only for a moment.

"Oh, right”

“You wanna talk about it?” Her voice is gentle now, sympathetic. You wish she could hug you like she used to when you were sad.

“I’m fine” You lie, “I mean I thought she'd be my... doesn't matter. I’m okay" Massive lie.

Eva says some comforting words that you barely register. 

You feel like you’re constantly standing at the edge of what your world could be. Maybe it’s why the marriage riled you up so much. You can’t pretend she doesn’t sound happy. And here you are broken up with again, alone again. Before she’d left to live her dreams, you’d had visions that maybe it’d be Eva you’d end up with. Maybe if you could just let yourself be fully real for once…Maybe she’d realise, and you could have been something bright and glowing and joyful too. 

A whole lot of maybes that meant nothing in the end. 

It’s just you now.

You zone back in to the call at the words ‘Bora Bora’ and ‘Don’t worry about the cost, cherry’

“Wait, what?” You stutter, trying to understand if you’re hearing her correctly

“Take a few weeks off, come with us. The hotel is paid for, we have one of those fancy bungalows. We’ll sort the flights. You need this and I miss you”

"I..." you hesitate nervously, biting your lip “I miss you too. But…”

Eva tsks at you, familiar with that tone even down a phone line.

"What are you going to do instead? Sit on your couch for three weeks and scroll her instagram for hours on end? I'm not letting you do that. Come on, cherry pie, we'll have so much fun. It'll be like old times" Eva gives as much enthusiasm as she can, but that hint of concern has notched in her throat. She knows you too well and she’s right.

"Like old times?" you huff  "Except it'll be me, you, and your husband"

"You'll like him, I promise"

The call ends with your promise to think about it.

And think about it you do. All night, all of the next day. It’s a stupid fucking offer for them to make. It’ll be so awkward. What if he’s a nightmare? What if she’s not the same with you now she’s got a ring on her finger? You should say no.

You should really say no.

Two weeks later, after a day of sitting too long with not enough leg room, the little Air Tahiti plane lands in Bora Bora.

Your legs shake as you step off the plane. It’s possible you’re still in shock that you even agreed to this. Your stomach knots with nerves, as your bags are unloaded and you head over to the arrival area to find-

There she is. Your breath hitches in your throat. Your heart beats faster. God, you really had missed her. It’s been months, and she’s still so her it makes everything suddenly feel okay.

“Cherry!” Eva squeals gleefully, dark glossy hair bouncing as she runs up to crush you into an insistent hug. You laugh, you can’t stop laughing as you hold on to her. 

Your Eva.

“Oh my god, I missed you” You feel like you might cry as she utters similar sentiments into your ear.

When she finally lets go and steps back you finally notice the man behind her. Not that Dieter Bravo would ever be easy to ignore. 

He's what you'd expected; The mess of brown hair sticking this way and that, the too casual clothes, scruffy facial hair. But he’s also…well he’s gorgeous, not Hollywood good-looking like the waxwork movie stars in all those big action films. You’ve seen his face before on screens and in pictures and yet you’ve never fully understood that this man is pretty, he’s different. He’s enthralling, even just at first glance. 

Dieter tilts his head so you can catch his big brown eyes beneath the sunglasses he’s wearing and you have to stop yourself staring too hard. He’s what you expect, but he takes you by surprise too. He raises his left hand to scratch at his chin, a glint of the rings on his fingers catching your eye as you observe him before stepping forward with a friendly smile which he returns with a wry one of his own.

“You must be-” You start before he cuts you off.

“The fun, yeah” Dieter pushes his sunglasses down his nose and gives you a wink, followed by a grin before he turns towards Eva.

Your stomach flips, a twinge of jealousy as he takes hold of her hand and they share a glance at each other. You’re still processing the interaction with him but it’s impossible to ignore the way Dieter's face lights up when he looks to her - a brilliantly bright but bashful smile like he can't believe she's there, his eyes snapping up to meet hers like it's the first time seeing her.

Like he's desperately in love with her.

At least the two of you have something in common.

Tagging those who asked and those I think might be interested (pls tell me to remove if you want!):

@morallyinept @tightjeansjavi @covetyou @i-own-loki @bastardmandennis @tinytinymenace @chronically-ghosted @party-hearses @perotovar @schnarfer @5oh5

[ordinaryschmuck]

David Zaslav is on the phone as he enters his office.

David: It's nothing personal, it's just business. But don't worry, once another buyer offers eighty million, you'll have your property back. Okay? Okay. Goodbye, Mom. Love you.

He hangs up and notices a package left on his desk.

David: Huh. That's peculiar.

He walks over and sees that it's addressed to him. With a shrug, he opens it up.

*WHACK*!

And gets hits in the face with a springy boxing glove.

***

A burlap sack is ripped off David's head. He looks around and sees he's in a form of a warehouse, with the only light being the shining above him. In the shadows, he hears a crunch of somekind.

???: Eh, *tsk-tsk* What's up, Doc?

Out from the shadows comes Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, and even Foghorn Leghorn. They do NOT look happy.

David: Who...Who ARE you? WHAT are you?

Sam: OOOOOOOOOOOH!

He pulls out his guns.

Sam: Now I KNOW y'all didn't just say that you--

Bugs waves a hand in front of Sam.

Bugs: It's okay, Sammy Boy. Can't blame da poor, dumb, foolish suckah. (To David) Do ya know who Mickey Mouse is, Doc?

David: Is...that who you are?

Daffy: Doeth he look like a MOUTHE, you buffoon?!

Bugs: Daf. (To David) Mickey's the mascot of Disney, YOUR competitor. Fer bettah or woise, he represents da company. And to dis day is the backbone dat made Disney what it is. As for me and my compatriots, dat's who WE are for Warner Brudders.

David: I-I'm the CEO of Warner Brothers DISCOVERY.

Foghorn: Which is, I say, which is the result of merging with WARNER BROTHERS, ya dumb pig! No offense, Pork.

Porky: N-N-No-No-No offense taken.

Bugs: (To David) Ya see, Doc, we're da Looney Tunes. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn, and Yosemite Sam. Ya see, while Walter was makin' the mouse dat would rule the world wid a goofy cartoon mouse that entertained the kiddies, we's was making some CLASS. Cartoons dat dee adults AND kids could appreciate, wid witty dialogue and cartoonish slapstick. Me and Daf, here? We made bank off a short where we discussed who got shot by Elmer Fudd, where da joke was ALWAYS Daffy getting hit.

Daffy: Took a lot of shotth to make that comedy gold. LIterally.

Bugs: And it worked. Wid a poifect simple premise dat people always remember, wid people going "Wabbit Season, Duck Season" to dis day. Dat's who we are, Doc...And ya messed it all up.

Sam: Ya messed with the WRONG pardners, Davie!

David: H-How? How did I mess with you?!

Bugs: Hey, don't feel too bad. Warner Brudders' have been messing wid us for years, but we always took it on the chin. Dey want us to do TWO basketball movies? Dey want us to get rid of Pepe Le Pew? Why not. He stunk anyway and we wanted him out for years. Dey want our iconic image for an animated sitcom? We did it. 'Cause we're da Looney Tunes. We can sell ANYTHING.

Porky: I-I-I actually l-l-li-lo-li-lo--Really enjoyed the sitcom.

Bugs: Okay, it can be argued dat da sitcom is criminally underrated, but dat's besides the point. What I'm getting at is dat we're willing ta sell anything just as long as we get some of dat green ourselves. But ya made a mistake, Doc. Ya see, you went after one of our own.

He makes a "come here" gesture, and both Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner come out from the shadows as well, with Road Runner comforting the Coyote.

Bugs: Pepe Le Pew is one thing. We understand that his sense of humor doesn't fit well wid dis day and age. But Wile? Oh brudder, why did ya have to mess wid him?

David: What did I do to him?!

Bugs: Coyote Vs. ACME. Ringin' any bells?

David: That...movie no one wants to buy?

Bugs: A movie ya overselled for a quick buck. A movie dat people worked night and day on. A movie written by James Gunn, yer golden boy who you have fixin' yer DC franchise.

Foghorn: Which is, I say, which is a whole DIFFERENT can a worms.

Bugs, ignoring him: A movie dat stars our very own Wile E. Coyote. A character who's toons and silly antics are timeless and, I'll admit, makes bank better than me. Wit no dialogue, just expressions and goofy signs, him and da Road Runner are characters where the possibility is limited by da power of imagination. And a movie where he sues ACME over their failed gadgets? Well, I'd watch that. Wouldn't you, boys?

The others all murmur in agreement.

David: Well, it might not make a profit--

Bug: Space Jam 2 made TWICE of what yer trying ta sell Wile's movie for. Ya would think that a man desperate to make money would release a film featuring their most iconic brand to get him MORE money. But, no, that's what a GOOD business man would do.

David: Please! I-It wasn't anything personal! I didn't even WATCH the movie!

The Tunes all stare at him.

Bugs: ...Ya didn't WATCH it?

David: N-No?

Bugs: You were willing to sell, shelve, and even DELETE a movie from existence because ya don't think it won't make a profit. Except ya nevah THOUGHT ta watch it yerself and make yer judgment?

David: ...Running a business is REALLY hard--

Bugs: You MAROON. You marooniest maroon that's ever marooned. I can't even comprehend how not only did you get yer job but how ya STILL have a job despite all da STOOPID decisions you've made in--How long has he been in charge?

Porky: A-A-A--Nearly t-two years, boss.

Bugs: TWO YEARS. Ya've been in charge for TWO YEARS and managed to cost da studio so much money that ya could compare it to da GREAT DEPRESSION! If Disney loses dat money, dey can make it back wid anothah Marvel movie or a live action remake of Moana! WE ain't Disney, Doc! We need every dime we get and we're losin' it because a YOU!

David: ...

Bugs: Honestly, we was initially thinkin' a beatin' the snot out a yous and leaking da movie to da public. But now? Woof. NOW I know yer as dumb as an animal. And an animal needs to be treated as an animal.

He pulls out a dog whistle and gives it a blow. Within seconds, a small, brown tornado bursts through a wall in the warehouse and zooms over to the group, stopping its spin to reveal The Tasmanian Devil.

Bugs: Have ya heard of the Tasmanian Devil, David? Who am I kidding, of COURSE ya haven't. Well, let's just say that he'd be happy to meet you.

Taz looks at David, licks his lips, and starts jumping for joy as he heads over to him.

David: No. No! NOOOOOOOOOOOO--

***

David stands before a press conference, clothes torn up and his body bandaged.

David: I am now announcing that I'm stepping down as CEO of Warner Brothers Discovery...And as my last act, I will release Coyote Vs. ACME to the public.

Reporter: And are you going to release Batgirl too?

David: Well, no, that movie's unreleasable--

A batarang lands in front of him.

David: ...Batgirl and Coyote Vs. ACME. Both coming soon...to a theater or streaming service near you.

[everettswritings]

All my posts keep blowing up! Anyways, my mom’s letting me stay home from school today so… yeah. More headcanons!

Sucker for slapstick and physical comedy. Even the simple “getting hit in the face with a rake after stepping on it” routine is enough to make him die laughing!

Not opposed to pulling a childish prank every now and then, and most certainly not a stranger to it. But that’s just canon, you can’t change my mind

Literally never stays in place, if you look away for a nanosecond and look back, they’re already elsewhere

Honestly, you don’t even need to look away! They’ll just move around regardless

Owner of a slide-whistle, and uses said slide-whistle to annoy everyone. You can’t do anything without having to hear that godforsaken instrument

You know how some people immediately drop everything whenever someone turns on a baby sensory video to watch it? That’s him. I’m not elaborating.

I have a lot of headcanons for their other usages of the puppetry thing, the list is quite long in all honesty. There are some I’m saving for the more specific headcanons, but I will say right now that he definitely orchestrates little comedies for himself to enjoy(even if the cookies being used as puppets hate it)

They may or may not draw often, but whenever they do it kinda looks like childish scribbles.

And the funny thing is, they’re more than capable of creating high quality masterpieces! They just won’t out of spite

Makes too much eye contact. Nobody knows if it’s an intimidation tactic or if it’s because they’re neurodivergent, but it’s still scary either way.

Probably annoys cookies by giving them absurd nicknames they hate, ESPECIALLY the other beasts.

And that’s the last of it! I’ve got some more specific stuff planned, but I think I’ll wait till the weekend so that I can have more time to work on it. It’s definitely really fun to write for him, the more I do it the more I love it! Shadow Milk Cookie is definitely one of the most fun characters in the game and I dream of the day he becomes playable(which will probably never happen; but a man can dream, can’t he?). Have a good one 🫶

[toon4thought]

Adam Sandler's "Leo" was just plain NICE.

It takes a simple, downright silly idea about a talking pet lizard helping the kids of a 5th grade class, and even the long-term substitute teacher herself, with their problems to help bring out the best in them - and ties it into stuff like finding new purpose during a mid-life crisis; all the while constantly sprinkling in so much wholesomeness that with each new kid he visits, you instantly feel the bond being formed. It can feel a bit segmented, but it allows for multiple situations to be covered while giving the audience something new to look at.

Gotta compliment Adam Sandler's performance as Leo himself here; it's such a cartoony voice, but he delivers with such a commitment that I am never hearing an actor. He gives Leo the sweet balance between his old, tired side and his wise, experienced side that is needed for this story to work. It shines best whenever he has to belt a quick number, though granted that's unsurprising for Sandler. Everyone else, including his own family, seamlessly slip into their roles too.

The humor quite caught me by surprise too, considering Happy Madison. While the slapstick can get a bit much, and there are one or two truly gross gags, most of their infamous hallmarks are surprisingly subdued. Much of what we get is more observational, or is otherwise done in credit to the characters, such as how Leo name-dropping old movies (which sounds lame on paper) doubles to show how old and behind-the-times he is. It's not like there's some big comedy gold, but there's a lot of little moments that left me smiling and charmed. In general, this film really knows how to establish character with dialogue alone; the snarky, tired comments from Leo and Squirtle at the beginning being a highlight.

There are some turns near the end that can feel a little forced or half-baked (especially with Ms. Mirkin), but the heart remains to the end and it still manages to finish on the simple note it should. Animation is also pretty standard, but that too is elevated by some smart staging choices and a few scenes that mix up the style.

Overall, while it's by no means a film that *excels*, it sure hit a lot harder than it had any right to, especially from a company like Happy Madison, and they deserve big props for that. Like Leo himself, some much-needed comfort can come from the most unexpected of places.

[quinsixtridrupled-k]

Disney TVA Platform Fighter

Last December, I thought it'd be neat to have a Disney-focused platform fighter especially since Nick had some success with Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2. So I figured... why not a Disney one? For those who don't know, platform fighters are a sub-genre of fighting/party games - the most famous and primarily example being Super Smash Bros.

And so, with that idea, I asked a friend to assist me in aiding with creating a graphic for this hypothetical game's roster, lo and behold:

Pretty neat, eh? Now you might be asking... why Disney TVA specifically? For one, focusing on the animated tv production side might be more feasible compared to the whole Disney library, that, and it allows some spotlight on very interesting and varied roster choices.

And for another... I just like the animated series side of Disney better. Now, the most important thing to remember is that this encompasses strictly the Disney TV Animation production label only, so any animated series not created under that studio will not be included (more so to keep consistency). I've also elected to choose some more unconventional picks (Yzma, Genie, Bonkers, for example) just to give some variety.

And what's a fighting game without DLC characters, eh? So here are the three waves of it:

(Wave 1, featuring Stitch, Wasabi, Kick Buttowski and Shego)

I'll admit that Shego's placement as DLC over base roster in favor of Drakken is purely thinking from a marketing standpoint, but it does make sense on the long run. In Stitch's case... I mostly forgot Lilo & Stitch had an animated series while making the base roster lmao.

Wasabi was left out of base roster because of limitations, and I felt Hiro, Go Go, and Fred offer a more balanced variety of size and playstyles but I still didn't want to leave him out, so I figured DLC is his best bet.

(Wave 2, featuring Mike Wazowski, Marcy Wu, Spinelli and Zurg)

Color me surprised that Monsters At Work is a Disney TVA production - Mike was chosen over Sulley or Tyler as the main rep for that series because he feels like he'd have a lot more interesting potential and material to work off of with his general slapstick and comedy routines.

Figured I'd complete the Calamity Trio with Marcy as DLC - just like Wasabi, she was left out of base roster because of limitations.

I figured people would want a Recess fighter, so I chose Spinelli since she's one of the more popular character and she'd serve as an analog to Helga in the first Nick All-Star Brawl.

Zurg was originally meant to be a boss character only, but I opted to put him as DLC because well... it is Zurg. I feel like you could incorporate a lot of Dr. Doom's MvC moveset on to him and they wouldn't feel out of place lmao.

And finally, they're here for you - they're the third wave of the DLC crew!

(Wave 3, featuring Oscar Proud, Simba, Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur and Oswald)

This is... definitely the most experimental of the DLC waves. I think I've exhausted a lot of the picks I wanted at the time so I figured we could do with a more different direction.

Oscar is definitely there to ride on the coattails of Hugh Neutron in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 1 as a funny joke pick. I haven't actually watched The Proud Family so I don't think I would know if there are better picks, but still... I enjoy the wacky picks, they make a fighting game a fighting game.

Simba was gonna be in as far back as Wave 1, but I held off because... I'm not really sure why, but I forgot about him until I was making the third wave, so there he is now!

Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur are definitely there for being the main Marvel series under the Disney TVA label (alongside Big Hero 6, by technicality), and would definitely make an interesting choice considering Devil's size - you'd probably have to shrink him down to a point where he still manages to be big, but not... gargantuan big, which may seem like a disservice to a character who is a large T-Rex but I think you can still make it work (it worked for Ridley in Smash, and Iron Giant in MultiVersus).

Oswald is included by a mere technicality, due to having a small cameo or two in the Paul Rudish Mickey Mouse shorts, and I figured he has a big enough fanbase to warrant an inclusion, so yeah there he is.

And just for fun, we also have a bonus character:

Powerline! From A Goofy Movie!

Powerline seems like a very out there choice, but I figured you could make a moveset for him entirely out of his theming of electricity! And if you think he'd overlap with Megavolt... then, yeah I guess you are right on that part. But I figure you can differentiate them with how they play (Megavolt being a zoner, Powerline being a rushdown). Note, this doesn't mean he's only available through pre-order, but you'd get him free with it - otherwise you'd have to pay, but he's separate from the DLC characters.

So yeah that covers the playable roster. I understand that there are still a lot of series I didn't rep mostly because of limitations, or I forgot to put them in (Fish Hooks, for one) but I'm only human in how I make these, mistakes do happen so please understand...

I do hope that Disney takes a dabble on this someday, although I'm not sure how keen they are on their characters fighting each other in a silly fighting game. Still, it'd be an interesting thoight, what do you think?

[skeletonpunching]

Buddy Daddies director interview

Interview with Asai Yoshiyuki (director)

Interviewer: Director Asai, how did you first get involved with "Buddy Daddies"?

Asai: At first, I had the idea that it was a "parenting story", but when I got to meet the scriptwriting team and read the plot, I found out for the first time that it was a "buddy story". (laughs) And so I wondered what sort of worldview I wanted to have for this "buddy story" - if it was going to include parenting elements, I figured it might be better to go for something a bit more comedic. From there, together with the rest of the production staff, I developed the characters' personalities, the overall worldview, and so on.

Interviewer: I hear that you had very clear images of Kurusu Kazuki and Suwa Rei, right from the start…?

Asai: I spent ages pondering Kazuki and Rei as characters - what sort of thoughts they'd have, how they'd talk and behave. That's how fascinating I felt they were as characters. So, rather than my image of them being fixed from the beginning, I'd say that I kept randomly fantasising about how Kazuki and Rei's story might unfold, and figuring out how that might tie in to the plot… I guess. They're in the assassin line of work, and at the same time, they're raising a child - so how can I make that enjoyable for the audience? I thought about that a lot.

Interviewer: Did you have any specific suggestions for the design process?

Asai: Kazuki and Rei's appearances were developed through discussion with the character designer, Enami Katsumi-san, but I also drew a rough sketch of my own early on, just for fun. I wanted to go for the vibe of a contrasting duo, so the sketch was along those lines. I requested a design from Enami-san based on that. As for how much of it carried over to the final version - honestly, at this point I don't remember my own sketch. (laughs)

Interviewer: Was there anything you paid special attention to in portraying a "buddy story"?

Asai: Personally, I think in a "buddy story", it's important for the two people to have a finely calculated balance of contrasting aspects and complementary aspects. For example, they may clash verbally, but they have little gestures which are perfectly in tune - it's great to show that sort of thing. And besides, this series "Buddy Daddies" focuses a lot on how the roles of the duo change going forward, as they "play happy families" with (Unasaka) Miri. How does the Kazuki-and-Rei duo grow through meeting Miri? It was important to keep that in mind while depicting the two of them.

Interviewer: This series contains contrasting elements of hard-boiled stories and sitcoms - was it difficult to maintain that balance?

Asai: That was incredibly tough. They're cool assassins, but the fact is that they're still criminals. At first, I struggled with how to handle such a worldview, where guys like that would end up raising a child, even just by chance. The fact that they deal with matters of life and death, versus the slapstick comedy of Miri jerking them around - I feel like I had to fret over that and make up my mind again with each episode. You could say it's a worldview where "anything goes", but I wanted to be conscious of the significance of "life and death", and to not make light of human deaths too much. Otherwise, the parenting thing also gets a lot less convincing. So I drew a line for myself.

Interviewer: Amidst all of this work, was there anything you personally got hung up on?

Asai: When producing animation, I essentially place a lot of weight on the characters' expressions. This time, I especially wanted Rei to have distinct "on" and "off" modes - he's "on" when he's being an assassin, but when he's "off", he's just a shut-in lazing around at home. So it was vital to have those differences in his expressions and gestures. And there was also the question of how to portray Kazuki's subtle expressions whenever he's tenderly doting on Miri. We had to be careful with that during the storyboarding process. How do Kazuki and Rei's expressions change during their family roleplay? I really enjoyed myself, coming up with the depiction of their emotional states.

Interviewer: Speaking of Kazuki and Rei, what do you think is appealing and interesting about them?

Asai: They're an assassin duo that first start out as simple roommates, but after a child is added to the mix, they basically get cast in the roles of mother and father - and as the story progresses from there, their relationship becomes more than just a duo. I think that's what's interesting about them. Since we always wanted the series to have comedic elements, we made Rei and Kazuki quite clear-cut yin and yang character types, but in fact, the yang-type character has a deep inner darkness, and the yin-type character has all sorts of problems. Ultimately, both of them are outlaws, so we also wanted to bring out the charm of this duo when they're being uncouth and slinging insults at each other. I found myself surprisingly fond of these characters, so I'd love if the audience looks at them and goes, "What the hell, are you two a married couple?!"

Interviewer: Toyonaga Toshiyuki-san, who plays Kazuki, and Uchiyama Koki-san, who plays Rei, are both perfect casting. Were your impressions of the characters enhanced by the cast's performances?

Asai: For sure. After the casting was decided, the instant I heard the first words of the recording session, I thought, "So Kazuki's that sort of person," and "So Rei's that sort of guy." It reconstructed my internal conception of the characters. I produced the animation materials with a thought process of "give them such-and-such expression; have them talk like this", so in that sense, the cast members were a huge help. I really got the feeling that these characters were being made to grow and develop in various ways.

Interviewer: Miri is the key to this story. How was she developed?

Asai: It was a process of trial and error - both with whether to make her a shy girl or a lively one, and with her appearance. I figured that if she was going to be brought up by those two, it'd be better for her to be a lively girl, but after Enami-san's character design came in, that was when I could really see what direction I wanted to take this character in. That was all due to how incredibly powerful Enami-san's design was. But Enami-san went through countless attempts before settling on Miri's final design - that ended up taking the longest. We'd decided on "a 4-year-old girl", but we tried all sorts of different things for her hairstyle, the look in her eyes, and so on. We really spent ages coming up with that.

Interviewer: And what about the performance of Kino Hina-san, who plays Miri?

Asai: When it came to Miri, we requested that Kino-san not speak in the usual style of anime child characters - we wanted a performance that was a little more true to life. During the audition, we ran through a number of different styles, and in the end we asked Kino-san to read the lines in her own voice, without trying for a child's voice. Somehow, that came closest to my impression of Miri. We didn't use that exact same voice in the show itself, but when playing a pure and innocent character who believes firmly and with zero doubt that two hitmen are her dads, that's the level of expressiveness you need - or else it won't be convincing at all. Kino-san was a real help in that way.

Interviewer: Please tell us what you think are the selling points of this series "Buddy Daddies".

Asai: Speaking as director, I'd love if the audience can fully take in the entire series, but simply put, I'd like you to pay attention to the characters of Kazuki and Rei. If you observe their little gestures and behaviour, I think you'll find a lot to love about these characters, no matter how things play out. If you're amused by these two men who aren't cut out for parenting at all, that would make me very happy as a director.

Interviewer: Finally, please give a message to everyone who is anticipating this series.

Asai: Miri is going to get even cuter going forward. As the story progresses, there'll be more of Kazuki and Rei and Miri acting as a trio, but there are still some mysteries about Miri, so please watch how she gets Kazuki and Rei wrapped around her finger from now on. I hope you'll enjoy seeing how our one and only heroine, Miri, manifests her cuteness.

[gothicprep]

alright, I’m giving you all some homework. this blog gives homework now. watch mike cheslik’s “hundreds of beavers”. you can rent it on prime. it has a very, very limited theatrical release because they couldn’t land a distributor, but if you can swing it, see it in a theater.

maybe april is too early to make a judgment call, but this is truly something special.

it’s a black and white silent slapstick comedy. the budget was something like $150k, and it really uses those constraints to its advantage. I’ve seen it described as “live action looney tunes” but that’s doing it a massive disservice. even the trailer does a bad job of communicating how brilliant this is. it’s much closer to chaplin and keaton at their best. even though movies without dialogue are an instant “no” for a lot of people, this is incredibly well-paced, both in terms of plot and comedic timing, which makes it really easy to stay engaged with. it’s the perfect length, and the final act is just masterful.

the one thing I will say is that this is a movie that’s meant to be watched with a group of people. watching it with just my wife was fun, but i should have had the foresight to invite a few other people over. “well i don’t have any friends” okay, fine. still watch it with your dog or something. it’s one of those movies that makes you remember why you love movies in the first place.

[gaykarstaagforever]

The 1999 Mystery Men movie is now free on YouTube, I guess because Universal finally realized that if no one paid to see it when it came out and so no one remembers it, no one is going to pay $3 to rent it.

Which is a shame (for the people who made the movie, who gives a shit about Universal), because it's good. Based loosely on the Flaming Carrot / Mysterymen indie comics of the 1980s (I'm only familiar Cerberus the Aardvark, which the same company published around the same time), it is meta superhero parody in the style of Gunn's Suicide Squad / Peacemaker, just 20 years before any mainstream American audience would give a crap.

This is a universe where there is one real superhero, who is so effective that crime is basically non-existent, so that the sole superhero himself is getting bored. When he comes up with a scheme to give himself something to do, it goes badly, unleashing a notorious supervillain on Champion City. When the Mystery Men, obnoxious wannabe heroes with virtually no powers, try to help, they typically fail, but so badly this time that now they are the city's only hope. Will they put petty grievances aside and learn to work together before Cassanova Frankenstein destroys the entire city?

Well, of course they will. It's a superhero movie. The point is watching fun wacky characters bounce off each-other for 2 hours, and this certainly delivers on that. The cast is a who's-who of 1999 charisma, with notable turns by Geoffrey Rush as the scene-chewing, disco-themed Frankenstein, Wes Studi doing Batman if Batman was doing Yoda, and Tom Waits as a benevolent mad scientist with a grandma fetish. Paul Reubens doing a lisp and Kel Mitchell in blonde Sisqo hair are especially fun as a team within a team, farting and getting naked on their path to victory.

Ben Stiller is the lead, playing a typical Ben Stiller-is-the-lead character, the kind of well-intentioned but self-absorbed incompetent that is charming when Ben Stiller plays him in movies, but everyone would despise in real life. And if you are a person who also isn't a fan of him doing this in movies, you'll also not like it, here. I like Ben Stiller doing this, but Roy here really is a useless pain in the ass until the very end.

There are lots of Gunn-type sitcom jokes about superhero tropes and general goofiness, and similar tonal shifts between slapstick comedy and people being slowly melted. Fans of The Boys will enjoy Greg Kinnear as a G-rated Homelander, complete with product placement on his costume.

It is about 20 minutes too long at 2 hours, and has way too many annoying closeup 90s fight scenes with mediocre choreography. More scenes of just the cast improving should have replaced a lot of this, because this is what the movie is really about. And there is some amazing 1998 CG that is used well, but man. It looks like what it is, certainly.

Props on someone greenlighting a superhero parody movie in a world where the only things to make fun of were the Schumacher Batman movies (Blade, the first "real" Marvel movie, came out the same year as Mystery Men). But it is obvious that only hardcore comic book nerds were going to connect with this, and there were not enough of them, outside of the big mainline "event" comic speculator market of the 90s, to make up for a $68 million budget.

This was made specifically for a movie-going public that has fallen in love with good superhero movies, then gotten sick of them, and appreciates someone making fun of them in a smart way. That is a thing we barely have now, in 2024. Mystery Men the big budget movie really is a thing that was just 20+ years ahead of its time. Watching it feels like watching an episode of Peacemaker that is intentionally aping the style and production design of Batman Forever. I suppose it is worth seeing, just for that.

Also the 90s Hollywood cameos. Dane Cook shows up, unfortunately. No, he isn't funny. He is a "superhero" who burns people with a waffle iron. I realize that may sound funny, but believe me, it isn't when Dane Cook does it.

See for yourself. That scene is in the original Smashmouth video for "All Star". Because that song being from the Mystery Men soundtrack before Shrek is literally all most people know about this movie.

And that's not fair to it. Go watch it.

[centrally-unplanned]

Something that hits the sweet spot for me about FLCL is that it's between two worlds on its level of ennui. A lot of anime have depressed characters, either dramatically so or at least afflicted with the "endless everyday" variety. But what the large majority will do is externalize this emotional state into an outside, typically causal force. Abusive parents most commonly, but it can even be other things, even sci-fi stakes and crazy backstory plots. Which is fine ofc but is normally pretty shallow; the emotional interiority of the character is flattened by the simplicity of the external causes. Seems like I can resolve the ennui by just having them change their address.

Naota is an archetypical "endless everyday" protagonist (he isn't depressed), and he does have a complicated home life. But as much as his dad Kamon is a jerk and all that, he and his gramps at their core love him and will take care of him - they are only the 'cause' of his angst in so much as he projects his problems onto them. His primary source of drama is the fact that his brother moved out, a universal experience. Mamimi clearly has a much more troubled home life, but we rarely if ever see it - her damage is communicated to you entirely via her own emotions, not via the short-hand of concrete depictions of say abuse.

A lot of this is probably done because FLCL is 6 episodes long! They had to be incredibly efficient, and so anything that isn't core to the experience (which includes the slapstick comedy ofc) had to be cut. Mamimi's family is never even seen because no one has time for that. And from that necessity far more relatable and realized character arcs were crafted - chalk another one up to that old adage I suppose.

[aobabes]

I've noticed that Clear gets beat up a lot in his route. Aside from the Clearao slapstick comedy and the android/human love story + angst, the rest of it was Toue indirectly abusing Clear; he allowed his associates to beat up Clear and to pour sulfuric acid on his face and programed the alphas to beat up Clear multiple times and each time it's just uncomfortably long? And he's incapable of fighting back every time unless Aoba is in immediate danger. And it's only when he destroys his key lock, which directly leads to his death, that he's able to defend himself. I love Clear's route, but I have to always skip those parts because it just gives me the ick. Speaking of things that give me the ick, I don't think anyone has talked about this throughout my time being in the dmmd fandom. In his bad end, Clear is enforcing the trauma Toue gave him onto Aoba as a means to make them more alike.

When you put into perspective the way Clear is talking about how Toue makes him feel and how he can't fight back against him, you start to realize that Clear is basically treating Aoba like how Toue impliedly treats him and his brothers. You can tell because the way Aoba feels about Clear's treatment of him is exactly how Clear feels about Toue.

Clear wants to make Aoba like him, like how he sees himself, like how Toue's abuse has made him perceive himself. He takes Aoba's sight to remove his window to the outside world and to deny him of any unnecessary knowledge because all Aoba needs to know is Clear. He removes Aoba's limbs to take away his sense of freedom, his free will, and to make it impossible for him to escape. He removes Aoba's vocal cords because, to Clear, he doesn't need something that allows him to make any choices and he's quite literally silencing him. Since being reprogrammed, for two months all Clear knew was Toue and the inner walls of Oval Tower before he finally granted him permission to see Aoba. Clear, being a machine created by Toue, has no freedom, no free will, and cannot escape considering he's physically incapable of defying Toue. Clear was never allowed a choice, given a say in anything, nor allowed to voice what he wanted, unless Toue approved of it first. Clear is taking Toue's place whilst Aoba has taken Clear's place.

Clear wants to make Aoba share the same pain he's endured, and more than anything he wants Aoba to be a "living doll" like he is. He wants to turn Aoba into a mirrored image of his trauma so that he doesn't feel completely alone.

Even Clear begging Aoba to say his name and wanting to hear his voice in the r-word scene mirrors Toue being so obsessed with Clear denying him as his master and wanting to know why. Clear knew that if he applied enough force/pain onto Aoba that he'd eventually give him what he wanted in that scene. That always stood out to me because Clear is an android and androids are learning ais given human-looking models. Clear's grandpa and Aoba taught him how to be human and what it means to have emotions, to be alive. Toue reprogramming him, taking all of that away from him, what does he have left to learn anything from other than Toue's abuse? How else would he know that denying Aoba the hope of ever escaping, the freedom of choice, and the free will to fight back would eventually make him give up and submit to him after being reunited with him after two whole months of being separated? Who else would teach him that, if not his master, Toue?

I know this isn't my usual dmmd rambling post, but I can't only talk about the positives of dmmd without bringing up the bad ends sometimes. Because they're unfortunately just as beautifully written as the good ends. Taking a character like Clear, who's entire character arc was about claiming free will, the freedom of choice, and what it means to live only to witness all of that taken away from him in the form of watching him victimize his lover the same way he was victimized really portrays abusive power dynamics, Stockholm syndrome, unhealthy coping mechanisms, and trauma responses so perfectly.

[mdhwrites]

I saw a post a while ago lambasting Amphibia for having its characters 'do the most horrendous shit imaginable' for the sake of comedic plots and get off far too easily for it. In their view, Amphibia took slapstick comedy way 'too far' sometimes. I thought this was quite hyperbolic; the protagonists made serious mistakes, but rarely anything I'd call unforgivable, especially since they'd almost always show a level of remorse. But it did make me think about the way immoral acts are portrayed in comedic shows, and how we, as viewers, can tolerate and forgive things we probably wouldn't in real life because of the way these acts are presented to us.

I mean, think about Hop-Pop using mind control on Anne, Sprig and Polly in Children of the Spore. If anything like that happened to you in real life, chances are you wouldn't react to someone violating your body and mind by shrugging your shoulders and going 'well, guess we pushed you pretty far.' You'd probably beat the shit out of HP and never talk to him again. But that episode is kinda self-aware about the awfulness of it all (which I love). Polly flat-out says the old frog crossed all kinds of ethical and moral lines XD

Going back to the whole 'too far' accusation, though, I'm pretty sure we're smart enough to understand the difference between a silly frog show and real-life crimes. I don't think there needs to be super realistic consequences to everything (as the post I mentioned was suggesting) when your focus is on writing a slice-of-life fantastical comedy. I guess the only real argument you could make is 'but it's teaching kids to forgive absolutely atrocious, unforgivable things!' And...maybe? But I'm pretty sure any kid with their head screwed on straight understands not to replicate or forgive immoral behaviour too easily.

I guess what I'm trying to ask is, do you think characters doing awful things for the sake of comedy or plot can go too far, in that they can unintentionally make characters far too heinous to sympathize with, or do you think complaints like those of the post I mentioned above are a result of taking something far too seriously? Is there even such a thing as 'too far' when it comes to slapstick comedy?

So let's talk about intent, tone and framing because these things REALLY matter to a story. It's actually part of the problem with fandoms wanting everything to be realistic, darker, etc. because they're really asking for one thing: For them to all be the same. To not be what they are because, you know, the fact that these are comedy cartoons for kids MATTERS.

But first let's actually shift gears AWAY from cartoons for a second to talk about things being genuinely irredeemable for comedy. MANY people are really against prank style reality tv because it preys so completely on human suffering. Because these people are doing terrible things to just normal people. I personally don't like the premise... But I like Impractical Jokers. That show frames it DEMONSTRABLY more about terrible things happening to these four friends, by these four friends, and usually the worst they do to others is leave them a little confused or a bit uncomfortable. One of the big elements to changing this is that all the challenges are effectively dares. Someone either commits to the bit or if it becomes too much, they dip out but they are ALLOWED to dip out, minus the final jokes which are always pretty much purely at the Joker's expense.

Are these four people bad people? No. But part of why we also know that is because it's television and they're doing it to entertain as part of being comedians. Bizarrely enough, a lot of modern cartoon fandoms seem to want to act like fiction IS reality. It's where you get people going "Oh, you're being so cruel to a 14 year old, nuerodivergent girl!" and me going "I'm being critical of a character in a narrative. Can you please stop telling me, an actual human being in the real world, to kill myself because of a fictional character?"

Because shock of all shocks, PEOPLE CAN TELL REALITY FROM FICTION! In fact, even kids can! The fucking video game industry had to go through this hell HARD to prove that killing people in a video game is not the same as having psychopathic tendencies in the real world. Do you know how many kids play CoD? And those kids are fine. At least most of them.

So with all of that preamble out of the way: When can a morality focused show fuck up?

It's actually incredibly rarely in the terrible things the characters do because the show USUALLY addresses these elements as part of the moral of the day.

For the example given of Hop Pop's mind control, it is shown as... Eerie to put it mildly. Even from go, Hop Pop only enjoys it so long as he doesn't have to interact with it. It is never framed as a positive besides a bit selfishness. However, Hop Pop is a good enough person to show genuine remorse and try to fix this. He puts in a lot of effort, is admonished as the lesson of the day is learned to not try to control people and to potentially compromise and then it MOVES. ON. Because they live in a fantasy world where anyone could die at any second. A day of none thoughts is not actually that big of a deal, especially since it wasn't done out of malice or even really on purpose. It's a part of the fun of the setting and of the fantasy genre as a whole that you can just do these weird concepts like this and move on because magic happens sometimes. You might grumble for a day or two but hey, at least it was your neighbor and not the king, am I right!? Hail King Andrias.

A big part of this though, and why so many morality driven shows can have characters do terrible things without imparting the wrong lessons, is because it's addressed. Pretty much explicitly. It is framed as wrong, addressed as wrong and then fixed because it was WRONG. Even if it gives momentary gain, that gain is almost always also included in being wrong.

It's actually a formula that Amphibia purposefully breaks for an episode, carrying it over from directly the one before, because there genuinely was one crime committed that hadn't been addressed and by the time it was, that sin had grown to a point where it was too reasonable to have a character still be mad to ignore it: The music box. Hop Pop hiding it is actually an AWFUL thing to do because it dooms Anne, it means her parents will never get closure, dooms the rest of Anne's friends, etc. etc. Hop Pop has to be okay with Anne never quite being fully happy because of always wanting to go home while also living with this false hope that he implanted into her. A trust he has not earned because of the lie.

So even after they theoretically have their morality episode about the box, Amphibia takes this time for such a PERSONAL attack on Anne to stick with her for another episode during The First Temple. It actually acknowledges that you don't get over everything immediately. That sometimes you need space. I don't even like that episode but the break in formula is actually meant to make the message more powerful, and does so successfully, especially because the crime was different. It wasn't of indifference or something quickly fixed. It was of long term AGONY and a complete breach in trust that would make one question what relationship they can have with another person. There's pretty much zero other crimes in the show like that besides Sasha/Marcy's betrayals, which aren't treated as easy fixes, and Andrias' betrayal is the heel turn that makes him the primary antagonist. These crimes, these personal, genuinely awful things to do to other people that could be replicated, unlike so much of the fantasy violence, are usually seen as something you do have to work on. It's a great, nuanced take on being a morality one off show while also being able to elevate some issues to being dealt with more seriously and consistently.

Also, quick note from someone on my Discord: They NEED to do bad things in order to teach! They are meant to be the bad example so when their actions lead to things going wrong, you understand not to copy that behavior. This is honestly storytelling 101 for most... Plots. Not just morals but plots. If the characters do NOTHING, nothing happens and nothing will be learned.

You want a show that will teach kids bad lessons and then reinforce there are no consequences for those? WELCOME TO THE OWL HOUSE! Specifically: The show that tells you to lie and keep secrets because your fear justifies keeping them!

I know that sounds shitty but like... Luz is the main character. For half of the show, she is portrayed as the second most moral character in the show behind Willow. She admonishes stealing, cheating, etc. as her contrast with Eda. Then after Yesterday's Lie... She literally can't stop lying and never faces consequences for it.

The closest actually comes in Falls and Follies where Amity at least forces a promise out of Luz to be more open with her. This actually though doesn't fix the problem, it just makes it WAY WORSE because one of the main targets of these lies, that kids can easily replicate, especially because Luz is almost always lying about things that might upset others which is the most common thing kids will lie about, is Amity. So now we have both lying and breaking promises. You know, two of the most basic morals any kids show should impart on the audience!

In Reaching Out though, Amity gets a little mad but then it's excused because of her dad! In Thanks to Them, no one gives a shit that Luz has been keeping secrets and lying for months. Camila makes sure Luz DOESN'T tell her friends the truth either about her plans. You know, Luz's MOM who should want her daughter to be an honest person. The show then constantly keeps cutting Luz off from telling anyone anything because it literally can't without revealing how bullshit what she's doing is until by the end of the show... Luz hasn't been punished in any way and the lies just... Drift away.

Completely unaddressed.

This causes a problem because while the lies theoretically hurt Luz... They hurt less than losing her friends. Hurt less than disappointing a parent. Hurt less than making her look bad. And this is the main character. The one kids are supposed to connect with the most. The one who usually most explicitly defines the morality of a show. And she is never punished or stopped from all. Of. Her. Lies.

(As a note: This is also how you get a lot of guys taking the wrong lessons from anime perverts. Sure, this guy gets smacked but he never loses his friends. Never faces real consequences. In return... He gets way more ass than the main character does, doesn't he? *gags violently*)

THAT is how you impart bad morals. It's not surprising to me that the fandom for TOH hides behind excuses so much for their show because their literal main character was justified, in fiction, to have all of the terrible things she did, all the choices she didn't have to make or the people she discarded, because she ALWAYS had an excuse. And so long as you have an excuse, by what TOH says, you can get away with fucking anything.

And mind you, that last part is NOT Luz specific. Have a bad uncle? Don't worry Hunter, the fact that you literally hunt, oppress and potentially kill wild witches can be entirely forgotten and ignored. Have a mean mommy? Don't worry Amity, we literally never have to properly address the literal years of bullying you did to another character or even how attempting to kill Luz was wrong. Collector? COME ON! You just had bad friends/family so now you just need good ones and we can forget all about you oppressing people for fucking months!

This isn't addressing these problems. These are excuses. And excuses can seem REALLY appealing to people. After all, how many hide awful acts or statements behind: "Come on, it was just a joke." Shields are useful for trying to avoid criticism after all. If you never acknowledge you were in the wrong, you don't have to feel bad for having done something mean, let alone terrible.

Just to bring it back to Amphibia: Sasha tries to do this. She believes she knows best so she feels justified in all she does because it will make everyone the happiest, at least in her own eyes. Then in Turning Point, she realizes the folly of her ways, addresses that she was a terrible person and plants her foot down FIRM. No more acting the part of protector while actually being a tyrant. She will risk her very life in order to right these wrongs. And we see it also in Commander Anne where she is taking the change seriously. These are two half episodes, a single episode in full, that lets us know that her actions were inexcusable and that they were wrong and now she is allowed to be a part of the good guys now that she has made sure the audience knows that they can look to her as an example.

One full episode to ADDRESS the fact that what Sasha did was wrong and to not excuse it but to learn from it.

That's why all these terrible things protagonists do in shows is fine. They learn from it. They genuinely regret their actions. They show the audience why they shouldn't have done it. It's never okay to the show that they did. Not that it can't be forgiven, because people should be allowed the chance to grow, but that it still wasn't okay.

For a kid's show, that is pitch perfect. It's why moral of the day storytelling exists and I can't really think of any huge errors in this department on Amphibia's side. It's pretty damn good at smacking someone over the head when they act like a jackass. At bare minimum, there are WAY worse examples out there.

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This is absolutely one of those criticisms that has me look at the person making it and go "Just admit you don't like cartoons. Or children's media in general probably." Admittedly, there's actually plenty of adult stuff just as childish, no one stays mad in Family Guy, so it's probably just "You don't like cartoons." It's the sort of bad faith criticism that just reveals you as not having actually wanted the product but whatever you thought the product should be.

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[vaggietheangel]

Could some heacanons when Alastor was alive?Please

Hey there hun! 🩷

Alastor was an only child and a mamas boy. He spares women that remind him of his mother. His mom had no idea that he was killing people. She thought she raised a good man.

Alastor had his own radio show. He was pretty well known for his charming voice (which ladies loved) He mainly played jazz music and even did covers of some songs.

Alastor was not suspected in the least for any of the murders he committed. Who would suspect a friendly gentleman? He even covered the local crimes on his radio show. Telling people to stay safe until this person was cought.

Alastor didn't kill people who had the same "refined" tastes as him. If they enjoyed Jazz, venison, good manners and fashion he left them alone.

Alastor went to a lot or Jazz clubs in his time. He smoked cigars while he was there. Not because he enjoyed them but because it was considered gentlemanly.

Alastor hated aniamls, he thought they were all filthy.

Alastor showed affection to friends by cooking for them. He only does it for people he cares about.

Alastor was a big fan of Charlie Chaplin. He liked slapstick comedy. He did enjoy silent movies, but preferred radio and books.

Alastor didn't like going outside and getting dirty when he wasn't hunting. So he played a lot of chess.

Alastor met Mimzy when they were alive. They were very close friends. They went out dancing together a lot.

Alastor was well off enough to get new suits a lot. He also bought a lot of dresses for Mimzy.

Alastor loved Luis Armstrong. He was his favourite Jazz singer, and always took Mimzy to see him in concert when they could.

Alastor knew he was going to hell. So he made a deal with Lucifer. He offered his soul up early in exchange for power once he arrived in hell.