#you can just tell the creators love their anime classics too | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

williamshamspeare · 10 months

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You like all the Papa Louie customers eh? Name one good thing about every customer (currently)/lh

*slicks back hair* It's showtime.

Akari - Her coolness factor is unreal. Love the motorcycle, love her whole biker getup, and it's reasonably possible she might be a reference to that Akira anime thing. Which would be pretty sweet

Alberto - BRASILERIO NUMERO UNOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Also him hating dentist appointments is quite the amusing fun fact. I like how his favorite holidays have had a general consistent pattern in all the games (favor SJ in the sweet games, SL in the savories)

Allan - Love his pompadour! Also glad that Flipline wasn't ever afraid of keeping his unibrow and missing tooth throughout the years... Also that one Brody's Gallery fanart probably awakened something within me. Sideburns are hot, y'all

Ally Kabam - They just revealed her so we don't really know all too much about her, but that doesn't mean I can't sing her praises! And by design alone, I can tell you that she's a STRONG customer: Brimming with both style and personality! Definitely setting the tone for the rest of the lineup, let's hope the rest of 'em live up to the hype

Amiria - They did throw quite a curveball revealing her to be a Tacodale local, but I dig it! Also great to have an official dental worker around! Designwise I absolutely adore her coat in the Style B, fuzzy thing that it is

Amy - That color scheme is a real treat, I say I say. And she's something of a fine art appreciator according to the little info snippet we got out of her creator on the forum, love that for her too... Plus the whole romance novel aspect adds to it quite well!

Austin - His design is straight up just a bottle of awesome sauce and I love that for him. Also shoutouts to him being autism rep, even if it was an obscure post from Tony... He's got that sauced up special interest swag

Bertha - Underrated queen. The fact that she's umpired 856 consecutive games calls to mind the image of her personally swimming to the mainland and back during the events of Freezeria Deluxe so as to not break the record, that's entirely headcanon but still it counts! It counts. And her Halloween costume is BOTH Jason Voorhes and Freddy Krueger at the same time, which is just. LOL

Big Pauly - An icon! His golden confidence as a salesman shines bright as the sun, and he's one of the very few characters to appear in every Papa Louie game/platformer if that means anything. I like to imagine he's one of those fast-talking infomercial type salesmen, the Billy Mays of the Flipverse. Can you imagine, in-universe Big Pauly YTPs

Boomer - Her entire design screams "America" but America doesn't exist in the Flipverse so she straight up came up with all that by herself. Amazing. Plus you gotta love how she lets all her hair down in the Style B

Boopsy & Bill - They absolutely SELL the ventriloquist gimmick. Y'know, to this day I still wonder how they managed to get the mouth animations to work... Also the style swap they do is a wonderful visual gag. They've got a boatload of personality

Brody - A greasy disheveled mess of a man. Everyone's favorite character archetype! Kinda crazy how active his flipdeck details him to be: Switched majors multiple times, an active caricature artist in Powder Point, lover of cult classic movies and friend of Skyler... He's a lot to work off of, he is

Bruna Romano - Looking at her orders over the games, you notice she tends to order dark rich flavors more often than not. Rather interesting... Also I love that she manages the band on top on playing in it, not something you see characters do every day

Budwin - Honestly kind of surprising how quickly his flipdeck made me feel for him. Suffering from chronic drowsiness, had to drop out of college, barely even making a living... And he still manages to make it to the Papa's establishments with a smile on his face

C.J. Friskins - What a weird little man (affectionate). Bro straight up wears a cat tail on his BUM at all times and made his debut as the Lunar New Year guy (a holiday which has yet to reappear), he's got this really offbeat, perhaps even offputting charm to him

Cameo - Or DrydenTH3Cultivar, as you know him online. The man is a VIGILANTE GAMER what's not to love about that!!! Also his whole outfit is kind of ridiculous in its own beautiful way, what with the whole peanut necklace & wristband combo. And the Crocs! Oh, the Crocs

Captain Cori - I do wish we got a little more info out of her flipdeck, but what we have to work paints a hell of a vivid picture! With her Pirate Bash getup and her wonderful new Halloween costume, she's just brimming with what I can only describe as "tough girl swag" (also she has popeye arms and that's amazing)

Carlo Romano - The fandom's favorite twink. Most people don't seem to talk about how he jumpstarted Marty's career in SatS, which is honestly kind of incredible to me... Also his Mocharia order was freaking hilarious with how much he hates coffee

Cecilia - There's just something about the way she existed for 11 whole gamerias without any info, then Matt & Tony basically building her entire backstory into the Bakeria plot (or vice versa, who knows what order it happened in)... She really is the flagship Bakeria character. And that's not bad at all

Chase - Has got to have had one of the most incredible flipdecks of all time. I think about the Oilseed Springs Reptile Extravaganza and Petting Zoo a whole lot more than I bet most people do, especially what the pyrotechincs and stunts entail... Also Smokie's one of the cutest pets I have ever laid eyes upon

Cherissa - Finally, an essential oil saleswoman who's trustworthy! Her whole cherry theme is honestly rather captivating, 'specially how the Style B transforms her into a cordial-based entity. I can tell they had fun designing her! I also adore the way they did her hair

Chester - There's something about this old man I can't help but find as a guilty pleasure. He's cranky, he's a gossip, he hoards doomsday supplies and has a permanent expression of contempt... Irresistible!

Chuck - I used to think that he was a Calypso Island local, kind of hilarious to think that's he's just a model (a stock photo model even) who happens to be associated with the island's trademark Surf Shack. Nearly all his outfits so far have been Hawaiian shirts, I wonder what they'll do for his Halloween costume

Clair - Love the family dynamic, but this is about each character as an individual. So! Clair's really fun to imagine and build headcanons around. Her being a physician with hectic hours, on top of being a loving mother... There's like so much you can do with a character base like hers! Plus her Style A is as classy as it gets. I've always been just a little curious about that button belt-thing she wears

Cletus - People seem to find him off-putting at best, with the whole sleeveless look and the bunny costume, but frankly I don't care. Let the old farmer man have weird eccentricities! He loves going antiquing at auctions! He operates a scrapyard where people can pay to find goodies! He's one of the most interesting characters in the whole cast if people just care to look into him deeper!

Clover - The back of her hair kinda looks like an explosion, which you gotta admit is pretty badass. Putting that aside, the checkerboard fit really suits her! Puts the ska into the ska-punk that is Scarlett and the Shakers, heh. I also like how she always carries drumsticks in her dress like a prop, more customers should carry props as part of their outfit honestly

Connor - The people of the forum really like to dunk on him, but frankly there's no one as much of an underdog as he is! I gotta hand it to Maz for helping me find the potential within him, there's so much that can be done with his character if you just look. I also really enjoy his orders in savory gamerias, that chicken sandwich would be LEGENDARY

Cooper - Sometimes being basic can be a good thing, and I think nobody else displays this as well as Cooper does. He's a simple man! Cooks his pancakes in the morning, looks out for his brother in the afternoon, he loves his family & his cat, and most importantly he's HAPPY. He is content with life!

Crystal - Oh how fabulous! Oh how decadent! Crystal is one of those customers that truly lives up to their name, I simply adore her gaudy aesthetic. Especially that sparkly texture on her shirt! Love it when they go for that kind of shading. Gotta give a shoutout to Cannoli too, love how he's like a cross between a mink and a feather boa (no limbs in sight)

Daniela - The theorizing about her military-based design choices was WILD before her flipdeck came out. Even afterwards, Daniela has always been something special! I do like the way she's consistenly ordered caramel & chocolate, and she's a top contender for the most GORGEOUS hair in the whole Flipverse when she takes down the bun

Deano - He's always been one of my favorite customers, really. Hell, I wear my own boater at an angle because of him! I also do like the hints towards him having some kind of connection with space, what with dressing up as an astronaut for Halloween and favoring Comet Con a couple times. Subtext is awesome!

Didar - Hell yeah! I loved his connected design with Simone from the get-go, but he really came into his own after the flipdeck came out. An amateur filmmaker, sasSugarsquatch hunter, AND a Maple Mountain resident all at once! Like I said with Brody, I love when characters are multiple different things at once. And there's the fun fact about his name translating to vision in Hindi, genuinely nice touch from the boys at Flipline

Doan - I don't know why people use the "exists in real life" excuse to leave out customers who are as much a part of this universe as any other character. Doan's got a pretty good deal going for him! I love the fact that he's canonically the artist behind Papa's branding and his posters, which means he's likely the one responsible for that Mousse poster in Mocharia (lmao)

Drakson - I've posted about it before, but the most charming part about him has to be the contrast between his dark and brooding design & his colorful cheery Hello Kitty-esque orders. Flipline knows how to implement a hilarious gag here and there! And as it stands right now, I really like how mysterious and edgy the band itself seems to be. I mean, on-stage argument and offstage fights? Sign me up!

Duke Gotcha - The face of Nowtime News has been getting a lot more popular as of late, and honestly it's all deserved! The Breaking News segments in the new games are probably my favorite new feature of the post-Flash era, and his expressions are a huge part of what sell 'em, so good on him for that! Duke... Gotchaaaaaah

Edna - She's like the patron saint of the X-Zone, if you think about it. Seriously though, I really find it interesting how she was tied to the X twins and the overarching lore of the Flipverse (properly honored in her fantastic Style B)! And her being an old seamstress gives her a great pinch of flavor on top of that

Elle - We may not know anything about her or even who her creator really was, so there's not much to go off with her... But that's kind of her charm, in a way. She could be anything! She's a mystery about herself, and that's pretty cool if you ask me

Ember - Spicy one! People don't really talk about her also being a scoutmaster, which is a shame because that's one of my favorite aspects of her character. Every day I pray Camping Season becomes a holiday just so we can get her in her official scoutmaster uniform

Emmlette - She's a drama teacher, how can I not love her? Being a student of the performing arts myself, I really do see a lot of my past acting teachers in her. They really did do their research when they made her! Also if you don't love her egg motif, you're just lying to yourself

Evelyn - Every time I think of her, I think of that one fanfic that accurately predicted her to be a retired movie star. Like it actually blew my mind when they revealed her flipdeck, that was a crazy day in Flipline history if you ask me. And they did hint that she'd be Olivia's grandma with those black olive wristbands, I always like to see design hints like that!

Fernanda - I often think about how she's the one who convinced Franco to take the risk and start Fernaco Architecture. There's something frankly so sweet about how the name of the company would also be their ship name. Plus, everyone loves a good poncho! And her jewelry's pretty great too

Foodini - Showing up at the end of every ingame day, it's probably safe to say Foodini's one of the most iconic characters to the whole franchise, up there with the ranks of Papa Louie himself! I really dig the whole game show host aesthetic, sometimes wonder if the hat design choice was a reference to the late Chuck Barris

Franco - He's absolutely rich with lore. Moving to Burgerburgh for his architecture job, starting a family there, then moving back to his hometown to chase his dreams and become an architecture magnate... He's made a veritable mark on the Flipverse as a whole! Also he has a really fun bodytype

Georgito - Honestly, Tony was goddamn hilarious for this one. Imagine being the original George friend who was insistent on being added as a specifically wealthy customer, and then getting depicted as the leprechaun of the Flipverse. Godspeed, Tony! Georgito himself is a rather dapper individual on his own, and I will say he's probably one of the very few cases where "smooth shading" hair has looked genuinely good

Gino Romano - My favorite Romano! I always do love an underdog. The way that he's a repeat fan of St. Paddy's Day and Bavariafest does paint quite a vivid picture of his flavorly tastes, and the fact that he was one of the founding members of the band is an interesting tidbit! And one more thing, I think it's pretty heavily implied that he has gigantism—making him another member of the disability rep crew

Greg - Kids usually hate tomatoes, so it's refreshing to see one that can't get enough of them! Also the fact that the sentient tomatoes from the platformers became one of his core personality traits. lol

Gremmie - The classic Freezeria closers have a soft spot in my heart, and Gremmie's no exception! There's plenty to be said about his uniquely crooked posture and his face-covering hair, but what I really like about him is how threatening his general vibe is. Wish he was a closer more often...

Hacky Zak - Yeah yeah, his old hair wasn't any good at all. But it does go to show that Matt & Tony listen to the fans, I really started to like Hacky once they changed it up! He rocks that hoodie, you have to admit

Hank - As short of a flipdeck that he has, Hank's definitely made his mark as a remarkable customer. I enjoy the way he's had very brief moments of being a closer, and the fact he hates night shifts does stir the imagination quite nicely. Plus, it's kinda funny how they always reach for him when they need a policeman character even though he's literally just a highway patrolman

Hope - There's something about her that's particularly unique. I think it's the unnaturally wide eyes, the resting grin, and how messed up some of her orders can get (WHAT was that BTC Freezeria order??) that makes her come off as vaguely unsettling... And I wouldn't want to have it any other way. Honestly it's great that they can go so wild on a KCP customer, goes to show that everyone has a place and a personality in this universe

Hugo - DJ Honey Buster is in the house! Him and his Warped Records record store have quite the history in the Flipverse, what with that one Travel Trout post designating it as the last of its kind. Hugo's a fighter! I also love how he modeled his DJ persona after his favorite kind of sauce. You'll never catch him eatin a burger with no honey mustard

Iggy - Every series with an ensemble cast of characters has to have at least ONE nerd, let's be real. Iggy sure does deliver! I love his color scheme, the way the highlights of yellow contrast the purple is really striking! And his flipdeck info is a lovely window into the in-universe sci-fi situation, I wonder what a show based off of Meteor Blaster could possibly look like

Indigo - Lots of forum FCs fall into the "fashionista" category, but frankly I don't think anyone does it like Indigo does! She absolutely KILLED it with Volcano Gala, I imagine that it was her and her alone who designed all those special outfits (even Pally's). And we love her for it!

Isadora - If you read between the lines of her flipdeck, it seems that she's another member of the implied disability crew! Honestly her flipdeck info pretty accurately aligns with the experience I had in middle school, so I did find the thing personally relatable for what it's worth. Also I like to imagine she made her Style A by cutting up the school uniform that was her Style B and turning it into a brand new outfit

Ivy - She's really so much more than a funny hairdo, if it weren't for her we wouldn't have Travel Trout! And who doesn't love her outfit? I've seen plenty of people lobby for her scarf in PLP and I couldn't agree more, she's fashion

James - Don't be grossed out that he uses a plunger as a weapon, it's clearly a drain plunger and not a toilet plunger. He's not swinging around a toilet pooper or anything. I'm getting off track, James is great! Love that he's one of the few customers to tout a name tag, and his unique facial proportions leave quite the impression

Janana - They literally couldn't have exaggerated the banana motif more. And that's what I love about her! On the other hand, I like how her flipdeck info couldn't have less to do with bananas. Most of the outsiders seem to be surprised when I tell 'em she's actually a music agent. I also like how the bands she manages have slowly started to show up more in the games lately

Johnny - Another character who has a whole lot going on under the surface. Behind the whole "attractive werewolf lumberjack" thing that most people fixate on, the man sells Christmas trees he chopped himself & consistently earns medals in the annual Woodchop Show! More people should talk about the Maple Mountain Woodchop Show if you ask me, tbh

Jojo - What can't be said about Jojo? In terms of gameplay, he's probably the most unique customer in the series! And there's the mystery on whether he's balding or has a luscious head of hair, since we never see him without some kind of head covering—I love seeing everyone's different takes (I'm a balding truther myself)

Julep - She comes packaged with some fantastic lore about Cornelius Poweder and the history of Powder point, and that flower dress in her Style B is frankly gorgeous. Also her whole name/design is a play on mint juleps, which is great

Kahuna - He's got a great contrast with Gremmie as the island's two surfer dudes, him being the native Hawaiian to Grem's Californian surfer dude, but he's also very much a force to be reckoned with by his own merits. Like his surfboard craftsmanship and surfing prowess! By all means, Kahuna is indeed the best surfer on Calypso Island at any given time! That's just canon, we all know Gremmie's an amateur at best...

Kaleb - I liked him ever since I laid eyes on him, the mystery behind what his deal is was probably his biggest draw at the time. And they revealed him to be the Hot Topic manager Funko Pop collector... I can earnestly say I did NOT see that one coming. Also his familial relationship with Trishna is pretty cute!

Kasey O - For some reason she's also one of the less popular customers, which is frankly a crime because good GOD she's badass. Like, she straight up leads a wrestling stable! She WON the Women's World Championship!! She has a charity and visits kids in hospitals in her own time!!! And to think that some people are so shallow to relegate her to the "dorito girl" with unconventional facial proportions, god knows how that's measured... Sometimes the fans disappoint me beyond what words can describe

Kayla - Whatta lady. There's something about her rise in the acting world that I aspire to achieve, rising from commercial work to Windie acclaim... That's how my wildest fantasies play out, isn't it the way. There's also something to be said about her fantastic choice in jewelry! I always prefer to keep her in her Style A because I love that bracelet so very much

Kenji - Another underrated customer to shine a light on! While his flipdeck info practically boils down to "he eats (wow!)", there's some hidden depths in his goofy little alternate outfits and the fact that he hates dining etiquette more than anything else. Man does NOT bother with the cutlery I can tell you that much

Kenton - A character created by someone I'm acquainted with, that's a first for this list! I was very hyped to see Kenton rise up to the top, all the way down to seeing his Style B be designed before it made its appearance ingame. Did you know that according to his creator-made bio, he didn't see his parents hardly ever growing up? (just his dad specifically, mom died at age 7)

Kingsley - Hail to the king baby! This guy's been through a lot of different suits throughout his career (I specifically remember him touting the all-yellow suit throughout my whole childhood), and every time he serves it on a golden platter. Even without the Customerpalooza thing in his name, the man is one of the most iconic characters of the franchise, and a solid character in his own right! He doesn't like hecklers, which I find amusing

Koilee - That koi dress seriously BLOWS ME AWAY, I cannot get over how good it looks with that scale detail. Like genuinely, the way they drew that blows me away... Peak Flipline artstyle. And as a character, I love how she lives so peacefully in Sakura Bay while balancing a job over in Oniontown. I like to imagine there's a sophisticated train system that gets her there, and that she got fired from the aquarium before vacationing in Oniontown to get her mind off of things

LePete - The first of the three baddie fans, LePete definitely stands out in the trio. He comes off as more serious than the other two, which I really like to lean into in my ongoing Life in the Flipverse comic... And also he wears a COCONUT on his HEAD that's amazing come on! I do like how he's the only one to never have actually been to Munchmore before, at least canonically speaking

Liezel - WOohoo! People have sung her praises plenty before, so I'll take the time to appreciate the lesser-pronounced aspects of her character, like how she didn't favor the same holiday twice until Mocharia or her undying dedication to spumoni. Spumoni's great! Wish it was more widely available... Also the whole "parmesan kiwi" thing in sushiria was one of her more memorable moments, especially before her flipdeck reveal

Lisa - A fantastic Burgeria era customer, one of the best even! That unique hairstyle really makes her stand out in the grand scheme of customers, and I find that they did a really good job establishing her role in the Fernaco family while making sure she was her own person as well.

Little Edoardo - It's definitely easy to see why he is (or was) Tony's favorite character! The elder of the Romano Family Quartet, this man is a notably unique addition to the family in multiple ways. His early streak of having weird gameria orders was fun, even if that title was later relegated to Xandra and Xolo. And of course, the Pastaria story was really adorable to see unfold! Edoardo and Olga make such a cute couple, which I know is something of an unpopular opinion but it's my opinion nonetheless

Lloyd - FINALLY, they let an old man be athletic for once! Lloyd's one of the characters that admittedly weirded me out the first time I saw him, but ultimately grew on me as the time went on. And it's also pretty neat how they let us have a centenarian customer on the official payroll, too

Maggie - From aimlessly drifting through life to Taco Mia worker to accomplished politician, Maggie's got one of the most comprehensive character arcs in the whole series! There's also something to be said about her representation of Cinco de Mayo, which I'm hoping to see possibly return in Paleteria (I know it'll go hard in this game I just KNOW it)

Makaila - Well, there's always gonna be one character you struggle with... She may be a landlord who rubbed capitalism all over the shores of Calypso island, but I do have to admit that her hexagon motif & Style B dress-coat combo really do strike a fantastic design! And I guess that in a meta sense, it is nice to have a more morally ambiguous customer in the mix

Mandi - I'll admit it's a bit harder to distinguish where the line is between real life and in-universe for Mandi, even more so than with other IRL customers, but nonetheless she makes it work! The owl motif is really really cute, especially with that Wendy's Wheels kart! Wouldn't be surprised if she dresses up as an owl for Halloween, heh.

Marty - Scarlett and the Shakers just wouldn't be the same without him! Marty's diamond motif doesn't come up as much as the other members' respective suits do, but I think that kind of adds to his own offbeat style in a way. He's definitely more of a free spirit with the burguitar and all, I just know he brings a unique flavor to the band. Outside of that, I like how one of his more noteworthy traits is having a beloved hatchback

Mary - MarySue is one of the fandom's most decorated ships, and for good reason! Mary is one of those characters who is completely brimming with personality, from her flipdeck all the way down to the design of her kart. Painter by day, bagpiper by night, full-time pug enjoyer! She's like the sun to Sue's moon in that sense, with her enthusiasm for life meshing with Sue's hard-working demeanor

Matt - While I know this is about the customers as characters and not real individuals, I have to give a shoutout to Matt for being one of the most genuinely pleasant people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. As a customer, I really dig how he goes full sports fan in his Style B! And for one of the hockey teams no less, you don't see those get much rep in the Flipverse

Mayor Mallow - As far as politician characters go, you have to admit this guy's inherently one of the funnier ones. I mean just look at him! The way is posture tilts so far back, the rosy cheeks he always has, having a big letter M for a belt buckle... I can just tell they were having so much fun when they designed him. Also he loves parades and hates debates, lmao

Mesa - Another no-info KCP winner, so we have to go on design alone for her. And her design really carries her far! She just oozes style, from the top of her mini top hat to the bottom of her fiery patterned dress! And the color orange really elevates the red-black color scheme of her outfit! Dare I say it, her design is strong enough to rival those of the official customers. She deserved her KCP win through and through

Mindy - She's quirkyyy. Love her evolving look throughout the years & how her hair color is always fluid... I wonder if she's ever experimented with being a redhead. Wonder what other hair experiments she's done on herself and her boyfriend, I bet that man's mop was nasty before he met her (honestly the more I think about their dynamic the more I realize just how fun it can get)

Mitch - The funny man!!! Mitch and his messy mess!!! Big fan of how he contrasts with his coworker Maggie, while she's made big things of herself and is very accomplished all Mitch wants to do is eat food like Kenji and go outside. And eat hot chip and lie. The outdoorsman aspect is something I realize I kinda gloss over in my head more often than not

Moe/The Dynamoe - Again, fan favorite characters! I already posted that long and comprehensive speculation on Moe's possible Moe-tivations and the creation of the alter ego Dynamoe, so let's focus more on his design: It was a real stroke of genius to have him turn the color scheme on his head between outfits! Compare that to Joy/Ninjoy, where the red/blue of her work outfit can combine to be the purple of her hero costume... Neat stuff innit? Love his spiffy white gloves too

Mousse - Oniontown's definitely one of the more dingy locations in the Flipverse, and Mousse provides a pretty comprehensive window into that seedy underbelly that hides under the surface of tourism and history. I'd do anything to get official backdrops of the Gingersnap Lounge... The twins also really make themselves known in their orders, always keeping the light/dark food theme consistent between games. Or is it whipped cream/choco mousse theme? Hm

Mr. Bombolony - His name is DOB for crying out loud... He writes PARODY SONGS and SINGS THEM for the morning announcements... And even just his design, that goofy oversized shirt he proudly wears... There isn't a single aspect about this man that isn't absurdly hilarious, and I completely adore him for it. A walking legend. Dob Bombolony, destroyer of worlds and purveyor of DadCringe

Nevada - If I were a member of the Flipverse, I would ABSOLUTELY stop by her storefront and grab me some genuine ocean jewelry. One of the things that I've always liked about Nevada is the way she accessorizes her head specifically—the feathered hairpiece, those tinted glasses, and the double braid of her hair are what make her an icon!

Nick - I've always had a soft spot for Nick. He's just a sorta clumsy kid who loves life on the rapids, sometimes he wears his safety gear and sometimes he doesn't. What you see is what you get with Nick, and that's what I like about him! Also I wonder how he ended up being friends with Mitch, though the two of them being outdoorsy types seems to lead to an obvious conclusion

Ninjoy/Joy - Ahh, what would the Flipverse be without her? I always found it downright fascinating that the vigilante hero of the Flipverse is related to Papa himself by blood. And her distaste for Nowtime News is incredibly interesting too, for all the questions it raises about what the tension is like: Do Duke Gotcha and Shannon have the same beef as the rest of the corporation? How does Nowtime depict The Dynamoe? And what does Joy think about the corporation when she's not busy being Ninjoy? All very intriguing questions that just wouldn't be possible without her, you go girl

Nye - He canonically has a sugar daddy. Straight up, his creator has confirmed that he has a sugar daddy & has created a design for said sugar daddy. That is INSANE especially for what this series is... But enough about that, Nye stands quite well on his own even without that aspect of his character. The Style B he wears does an incredibly excellent job of balancing two different patterns without it becoming overbearing on the design, which is pretty tough to pull off well!

Okalani - Even after the hotbed of controversy that was her flipdeck, I find that Okalani's really a great customer through and through. I just know she has the most wonderful friendship with the other island locals... And you can't deny that her hairstyle is beautiful

Olga - Like I said with Little Ed, the marriage and relationship has gotta be one of the cutest things Flipline's done! And the fact she still wears that wedding dress as her Style B outfit is both amusing and adorable, if I do say so myself

Olivia - They managed to strike a beautiful compromise between goofy and stylish in her design, a trait befitting of her status as the party girl! She's also quite a shining example of how to properly execute an offbeat color scheme, everything comes together really well in both her outfits (and the holiday ones too, but those ones switch the colors up)

Pally - Never gonna be able to forgive the fans for how they treated Pally at first. There isn't a better representative for PLP out there! The gimmick of having outfits from the ingame holiday clothes selection was great at displaying the lesser-used items, but I think Pally really found her true potential when the flipdeck hit the pages—she might just be the most powerful optimist in the whole Flipverse! And I mean the WHOLE Flipverse, across every dimension they have

Papa Louie - The man himself. The FACE of the series. The Italian mustache monopoly man with the pizza procuring prowess... And we really do owe it all to him, Flipline Studios wouldn't be what it is today without him! As a character, I have to say that he's surprisingly versatile. Some depict him as the friendly lovable chef that the universe paints him as, some show him as a despicable greedy crook who throws anyone under the bus at the drop of a hat... And frankly I'm glad that he gets this much variance

Peggy - Country girls make do. Peggy's design might not be the flashiest, but she really does feel authentic as a cowgirl. And it's quite charming how she's like the flagship character for spicy foods, even more so than Ember the firefighter and Mesa the, uh... Fire motif! On top of that, her hairstyle is an interesting one to pick apart as well. I always imagined that her cowgirl activities kick up enough dust to make her hair go stiff, which is why it curls up against gravity like that

Penny - Love her or hate her... Who am I kidding, why would anyone hate her! Even the most jaded of us have to admit that the whole flower motif she has is adorable. And there's also something impressive about her being present in every game in the franchise, all the way back to the original WPA! I wish some of the Youtubers were more normal about her, though... But bemoaning the weirdos isn't what this list is about

Perri - I must say it's quite bold for a cyclist character to never be seen wearing a real helmet, but there's so much more to Perri than just her looks. She lives in a WINDMILL! She bought a windmill and turned it into her HOME! One can only imagine the whimsy that she lives through every day

Petrona - If anyone in this universe deserves the title of girlboss, it's Petrona without a doubt. Her flipdeck may not have been the longest, but it got the job done quickly and efficiently. Much like herself! I like how even her design reflects her no-nonsense attitude and determined work ethic

Pinch Hitwell - Sometimes I think about how the only named baseball player we know of so far is a substitute batter. And how he's apparently a good enough substitute batter to appear on a poster for oatmeal cookies... Also how he doesn't even order oatmeal cookies in that game, despite being on THE POSTER FOR IT alright enough of that tangent. I have to be genuine here, I really consider Pinch one of my favorite customers! There's just something so charming about his looks, his new outfits for each town, and the way he always keeps finding new ways to surprise us

Professor Fitz - Again, no ensemble cast of characters is complete without at least one eccentric scientist! Professor Fitz delivers on every front, from his bow tie to his lightning bolt hair, and the notable tinge of green in his outfit really helps him stand out in the realm of scientist characters. And we can't forget that his title of professor isn't just as a scientist, but as an academic too!

Prudence - People rag on Flipline for having weirder names as the games went on, but she goes to show that odd names have always been at the heart of the series. Her relationship with Pickle is really nice too, very fun to see someone who carries a dog in a bag! For some reason I've always associated her with Elle Woods of Legally Blonde (and vice versa)

Quinn - And here she is, the reigning queen of the closer lineup! Her constant presence as a closer marks her as a familiar face to even the most fledgling greenhorns of the franchise. The vast amount of differing headcanons I've seen for her do well to stimulate the imagination, from the divorce scenarios of the forum to the rom-com fanworks this site has to offer! Whether they revolve around Timm or not, it's always a pleasure to see people's takeaways on such a unique customer

Radlynn - Radish girl radish girl radish girl. As far as the baddie fans trio goes, her position is unique in that she personally MET Radley, and that iconic knit hat was a gift from him to her! There's also something special about how her Style B is literally Radley's very own outfit from his own debut appearance, down to that wide brimmed hat and goggles. That's dedication

Rhonda - Glad to have a real trucker on the character lineup, and as far as trucker characters go, I don't think I've ever seen any quite like her! I don't express it often, but she's definitely one of the higher tier customers in my personal rankings. And her relationship with Rico is by far my favorite official canon pairing!

Rico - Byeah incarnate. His character arc happened humourously quick, with him being a rough biker in his intro and then immediately mellowing out once he hit the shores of Calypso. The chili arc was a great one too, with his recipe making it all the way into the ranks of Papa's very own restaurants! His chili even gets served up at the Pastaria, and they're a very high class establishment so you KNOW his chili is god tier

Ripley - We have a customer directly tied to Munchmore! Hell yeah! Her expeditions were by far one of the most interesting things to happen to the blog since, well... Ever! I really do miss those posts, they were a great way to get a better look at that dimension & Ripley's quirky way of speaking was a sight to behold too

Rita - The forumers have a bad tendency to sell Rita short. While her Burgeria job may be a noted part of her personality, she's also got some extra depths of her own! Like how she straight up moved to Burgerburgh when she won her job, or the way her outfit's slowly evolved over the years. I'm not kidding, that outfit progression is genuinely a sight to behold! And of course how can I not mention the film buff aspect of her personality, considering she's basically the FACE of Sugarplex Film Fest

Robby - This man was stranded on an island for 3 years. It's highly likely he was the only survivor of the shrimp boat capsizing... And how did he emerge from this experience? As a PIRATE! I dare say that's one of my favorite takes I've ever seen on a castaway story

Rollie - Oh, how I love him. There's just something I personally find so charming about Rollie... It might be his outfit, maybe it's his detailed backstory, the Halloween costume definitely factors into it... But one thing is for certain: His status as my all-time favorite customer isn't going anywhere! Keep rollin' on, you magnificent man

Roy - I'd argue he's just as important to the series as Papa is, if not more (at least for the mainline gamerias). The perpetually exhausted heir to the franchise's name, Roy really is much more than a mere delivery boy—he's the wheels that keep the original Pizzeria moving! And I really like how much of his personality comes out in the Style B, he clearly knows how to rock outside of work

Rudy - He's definitely the one who keeps the punk in ska-punk, that's a given. And he also goes to show how even a bassist can be a standout member of a band! Even outside of Scarlett and the Shakers, he's got quite a unique set of circumstances. His flipdeck establishes his deep connection to Powder Point as a town, as well as showing how much he absolutely despises Guy Mortadello above anything or anyone else... It's always funny when a flipdeck lists a character's hates as another established character

Santa - Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night! Figy Pudding! While it's incredibly funny on its own that Santa is real and casually eats at restaurants in broad daylight in this universe, it's also really funny how his existence means that every customer in this series now has a Ryu number of 2, if you're familiar with that at all. I've known people who want Santa Claus carnally

Sarge Fan - What I find fun about him is that while the other two baddie fans at least have some connection to their respective bosses, Sarge Fan kinda... Doesn't. Radlynn met Radley when she was young, LePete found a crumpled poster of his hero, and Sarge Fan... Nothing happened, he's just like that for some reason! Love a guy who's just an inexplicable little freak. Also he runs the Pop Dart stand in Powder Point when Foodini's off the clock, which is its own little mystery in itself

Sasha - She's part of the school's marching band and debate team, she's an apprentice cheesemaker, she's always got a loving family to fall back on... We have a pretty clear picture of what Sasha's life is like, don't we? And of course there's her notable obsession with the creatures of Munchmore, which seems to imply that her memories from her time there were deeply cherished, formative even

Scarlett - And of course, the face of Scarlett and the Shakers! I really like how it's listed that she hates Pop Music (girl would NEVER be a Swiftie, in fact I bet none of the SatS members are) and how she wears so many different hats as a member of the band, metaphorically. She's the lead singer, she writes all the songs, and she'll even bust out extra instruments when the show calls for them! Talk about a renaissance gal!

Scooter - I remember back when playing the platformers in my youth, she became my go-to character pick because the skateboard was just THAT fun. And I also really groove with her cherrybomb motif! Plus, she's a strong contender for the hardest pose anyone's ever hit in a flipdeck

Shannon - She was Nowtime News before Nowtime News was even a fleshed-out thing! I've always been fond of her eclectic style. Especially how her sweater used to have a mismatched button, I wish they didn't patch that out... Team Gotcha just wouldn't be Team Gotcha without her

Sienna - She is REALLY dedicated to autumn! Even if Thanksgiving gets replaced someday (hopefully), I'll never be able to see her favor any holiday outside of that three-month bracket... She just straight-up is the season of fall incarnate, see? Anyways she's also got quite a backstory on her back, having grown up in Toastwood only to find a new beautiful home in Portallini! Something about the detail that she's struggling to make friends also makes me feel for her, like a window into her personal life

Simone - She's THE lo-fi girl and don't you forget it! One thing I always liked about her is how her outfit and hairstyle look like something straight out of the Sims future expansion pack, if that's anything to go off of. Gives her a really pointed vibe, it does! And let's not forget how the meaning of her name is "listening", to go alongside Didar's meaning of sight and vision—they did their name research!

Skip - There's a lot of things I like about Skip. His ever-present love for pistachios, his trait of being a tailgating football fan, heck even the way they designed his stubble... But above it all, what I really think is the best part of Skip is the tenderness that he has deep down, shown by his care of Pastrami. Rat owners tend to be mistreated by their peers, just as the animal itself is strongly associated as being a pest to be eraticated, so the fact that he proudly carries Pastrami everywhere shows that Skip has true compassion that shines beyond the hatred and intolerance of the world around him... And for that, I can't help but love him

Skyler - Remnants of Skystone may be long lost media at this point, but I'm glad that we got Skyler out of it! On top of being references to the now-gone MMO, her outfits are absolutely stunning on their own, quite unlike anything any of the other customers have. There's also the touch of her being a jewelry student who uses her talents for steampunk cosplay, which is a fabulous way of making it make sense in-universe!

Sprinks the Clown - I've always had something of a deep respect for those who pursue a career in clown performance, even having dreamed of such a thing as a youth myself. So I may have something of a soft spot for a working clown like Sprinks, sue me. I quite like how they explained her Style B as her dedication to the craft even on her worst days, which I also find really admirable! You have to be strong to be a clown, and she's certainly stronger than I could ever be

Steven - While his looks are deceivingly simple, his creator left a paragraph that really defined how I perceive the man. I believe it was implied that he plays in a punk-metal band at night, which is already pretty badass on its own! Seems to be supported by his consistent favoring of Groovstock, which is pretty good attention to detail from Matt and Tony. Steven's bio also mentioned that he has a "hot chest" multiple times, for whatever that's worth...

Sue - The second half of the whole that is MarySue, Sue is a true powerhouse of a character. I have to compliment how well they work as a couples dynamic, with Sue's irritability and Mary's general exuberance, I can easily imagine how Mary helps to relieve the daily stress that Sue endures while Sue helps keep Mary grounded in reality... Even if we don't explicitly see it, they really do have great chemistry!

Taylor - Taylor's probaly one of the best classic customers in the set, franky speaking. I do appreciate how his outfits contain remnants of bygone eras, such as his walkman in the Style A and the power glove in the Style B... Really goes to show how long this series has been around, hm? And I really love how they accomplished the earbud effect by utilizing the back hair sprites!

Timm - I'll be damned, he's fantastic! He's definitely made his mark around here, what with the association with Quinn & all the baggage that comes with that. And I do often think about his "very manly perm" alongside his prominently displayed chest hair... Put that in your pipe and smoke it, eh?

Tohru - While I may have had my qualms with her general reception, I cannot deny that Tohru is a very solid character in her own right. I gotta respect the fact that she's a stage crew member, of course, and her being a let's player opens up a world of possibilities for fun gaming scenarios to put her in. And her design, of course! I really do adore the button motif they gave her in the Bakeria refresh, and her updated pigtails are honestly a real treat to look at. And the color scheme's great too

Tony - Aside from being the creative genius behind all these characters, Tony's a pretty fun customer to have around himself! Love love LOVE that Mothman costume, and how it pushes the boundaries of what can be done in the Flipline artstyle. I also find it fun how you can customize the length of his hair once you unlock both his styles

Treble - They were a star ever since they first appeared! Gotta say that them receiving their flipdeck in the eleventh hour of pride month was one hell of a clutch. Flipline did a really good job on the characterization front, I don't think any of us were expecting them to be an auto shop high schooler but I'm not complaining! Only makes the alt-punk outfit more poignant, really

Trishna - Fashionista! As a customer, she adds distinct flavor to the Whiskview Mall employee lineup while still managing to fit in with the general vibe. She also absolutely nails the fashionista angle, from the casual Style A to her over-the-top elegant Style B! And you gotta love that custom phone case she touts in that flipdeck pic

Utah - Being the only non-closer Calypso Island native in the original Freezeria, Utah definitely had an important impact in her debut appearance. I theorize that's how she became such a popular customer in the first place... One thing I like is how pink lemonade quickly became one of her defining characteristics, I mean just look at her Wendy's Wheels kart! Oh, and she absolutely killed it in her Summer Luau exclusive outfit... I dare say it's even better than her regular styles

Vicky - It's been said before but I have to reiterate it, Vicky haters are the weakest link. She's got impeccable style, she's got mom cred with Mindy, and she maaay not have that much talent as a makeup artist but we still love her just the same! I really do find it wholesome how she and her daughter both run the salon, a true family business that it is

Vincent - And speaking of family business! Always ready with the customer coupon and Style B deliveries, it's easy to get familiar with his recurring face. And apparently vice versa, considering he goes all across the globe for his deliveries & remembers EVERYONE'S name that he meets... Honestly that's kind of insane when you wrap your head around it! One thing I found surprising is that the bag he wears is entirely removable with the right tools, and doing so reveals that his jacket had a secret zipper all along... The intricacies of the character models never cease to amaze

Wally - The Mayonnaise Man himself, where do we even begin... Well, how about his fishing history? Ever since his debut, he's always had an association with fish, with the whole anchovy thing kind of being the entire basis of his flipdeck. Fishing is clearly in his blood, with what we see in his Style B alluding to either a hobby or a history as a fisherman, probably both... Yeah yeah I know, I've said it a thousand times already, but the hidden depths of these characters really do go a very long way.

Wendy - She's so cool! Even the two-tone plastic frame glasses start looking a little badass when she sports 'em, not easy to do that! And we gotta give her the respect she deserves for being the driving force behind all these Wendy's Wheels updates, which remain to this day the greatest ongoing blog feature (not counting sneak peeks)

Whiff - He may have bad posture and an odd expression, but that shouldn't get in the way of his worth as a customer, should it? For what it's worth, the man's outfit really compliments his character, and you're just flat-out lying if you deny how hard he rocks the tattoos! Like come on, they're gummeels! And considering the artstyle, you have to admit that it's pretty funny that he hates leg day when nobody has any legs

Whippa - The other Oniontown twin, let's see. I talked about the twins' info with Mousse, so let's shine more of a spotlight on their designs this time. Love 'em! Love how their opaque shades build them up as threatening people from the get-go, love how their outfit patterns are shared between styles, and it's quite good how they're both essentially the skinniest twigs to walk the Flipverse so far. Whippa in particular really goes above and beyond with her outfit, that slick white hairstyle absolutely slams down! And the Style B, oh good LORD that is one hell of a slick Style B

Willow - There's always gotta be a goth girl, hum? As far as goths go, I appreciate the unique angle they went for with Willow! They weren't afraid to go all out with the teal, and her Style B only goes farther with the bright colors! Her flipdeck info serves a good deal too, she's a very shy poet and she cares for her pet tarantula Jackie very dearly. Speaking of, Jackie! The greatest pet in the whole Flipverse, bar none, even past the likes of Smokie and Pastrami

Wylan B - Y'know, there's some kind of subtle nuance in the way both he and his dad try a little too hard to be seen as "cool" that comes back around to being cringe, but both in generationally different ways. A neat touch all things considered... Also that Style B goes absolutely INSANE

Xandra - Weirdgirl representation! While there's plenty to be said about her and her brother's place in the universe, this is still about their strengths as indiviuals. One thing Xandra has over her brother is her fabulous tutu and the makeup to match! Plus, her clown costume is kind of just generally better than Xolo's

Xolo - As for things that Xolo leads the race in, one need not look farther than his magical fantabulous scarf! Really, I think that it's one of his best features, alongside those rockstar-like torn sleeves. Definitely paints him as the rougher, tougher side of the family... Also, his pants being all patched up with patches connects him to his foster mother Edna in a really cute way

Yippy - Cookie Scouts! We know about them thanks to her. She's really a lot more hardworking than she seems on the surface, given how she somehow makes enough money as a cookie scout to visit the restaurants as often as the grown-up regulars do. And her Creameo belt buckle wass a very inspired choicie to go along her cookie theme

Yui - I'm not entirely sure what official information for her is out there to be honest, but even without it, she's a very strong customer! Her orders certainly make a strong impression, and that Style B of hers might just be one of the greatest Style Bs ever put to a KCP contestant!

Yuko - Hey, the first customer to carry around a prop! That parasol of hers is probably one of my favorite design decisions done to a recent customer, especially how it makes her Style B shine like the sun! Her info was also quite full of surprises, such as how she's the mother of Prudence and how she was one of the original Pizzeria apartment residents. Can't wait to meet Espen!

Zoe - Last but certainly not least, my favorite hippie! Speaking of props, I really love the way that she always has her guitar on her. And that beautiful paisley pattern that decorates her outfit really adds to her design too! I do like how her dream in life isn't anything overly ambitious or grandiose, she just wants to own a coffee shop and support the arts with it. Truly a good person to the core, she is! And her fear of heights is a very interesting cherry on top

That took a couple days, but it was fun! Really worth the effort. Can you tell how passionate about this series and all its characters

#papa louie #flipline studios #flipline #papa's pizzeria #I really hope I didn't miss anyone #also I intend to share this to the forum too so I had to pull the reins on the swearing a little #also the keep reading cutoff goes down a paragraph every time I edit this. I have to readjust it

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yellowocaballero · 1 year

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SHAZAM SHAZAM SHAZAM pls tell us about billy batson. ive only ever seen the movies o great comic knower

Very very very VERY far from comic expert (that's brawltogethernow) but I have read a lot of Shazam. His history is actually really, really fascinating and involves more than one lawsuit that really defined very early comics. I'll focus on one thing, though.

There are two Captain Marvels: One from the 1940s to around 2013, and one from 2013 til now. The Captain Marvel you're familiar with (who is named Shazam) is from 2013. He's a more realistic, grounded character. He was created to be pretty much the polar opposite of his original version. The best summary is to say that the Wizard chose Billy Batman 1940 because he had the purest heart, and the Wizard chose Billy Batson ~2013 because he was there. My personal 'best' Shazam story is the "Shazam: The Monster Society of Evil" graphic novel by the guy who made Bone. It's good because it's for elementary schoolers yet acknowledges this small child as homeless. Which, don't get me wrong, you shouldn't always do. My personal favorite is the 1970s ones.

As some background: Otto Binder was the creator/main writer of the very early Captain Marvel comics. He was by far and away the best writer of the early Superman Silver Age comics, because all of his comics were batshit insane. Shazam has a complicated and legal history with Superman, so the 1970 run was a super fun high camp tongue in cheek reinvention of the best Silver Age stories.

So the 1970 Captain Marvel comics are insane.

I can't even summarize them without sounding crazy. Basically the conceit is that Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr, and Mary Marvel (Billy, Freddy, and Mary) are having 1940s Golden Age Adventures when they get somehow in suspended animation and are basically time travelled to the 1970s. This don't bother them too much. Why would it bother them. Nothing bothers these people. Nothing. I don't think anybody experiences a negative emotion in these comics. Not bc they were twee. Bc they were insane.

Many of the comics basically had three shorter comics inside it: one Billy story, one Mary story, one Freddy story. Interestingly, they all had different art styles, artists, types of story, genre, etc. Billy's stories had a cartoony art style with very over-the-top and silly plotlines that involved supervillain bad dudes. Freddy's art was slightly more realistic and was slighty more grounded, but still had some classic Marvel indescribable scifi that can best be summarized as that one meme panel people have seen where Sivana recites a science equation that lets him walk through walls. Mary's stories were much more realistically drawn and featured the most banal shit, like her starting a club with her friends. Somehow Mary Marvel gets involved in those.

Sometimes they worked together and did superhero things and fought bad guys. The average fight looked like this:

Billy was a twelve year old who lived by himself, in his own apartment, had his own radio show, a full-ass job, a whole thing as Captain Marvel. He paid fucking taxes. Everybody knew this and nobody cared. He's the most affable, good natured kid on the face of the planet. Nothing bothers him. Nothing. Nothing bothers any of these people. Sivana shows up and he's BIG MAD so he's creating another death ray and Captain Marvel shows up like "Oh you rascal! Time to punch this and go back to helping my friend eat his infinite Jello."

He has a friend named Talky Tawny, who is a talking tiger wearing a suit. He also has a friend named Sunny Smiles, a person of indeterminate gender who everybody falls in love with, for unexplained and unknown reasons. Not to be confused with Freddy's friend Gregory Gosharootie, the "World's Dullest Mortal", who is so boring that nobody notices him and he keeps accidentally comitting crime. There is also an old guy named Uncle Marvel who pretends he has superpowers, which they all find funny so they just roll with it. Freddy is a disabled orphan who has to sell papers on the street corner to make a living. Mary lives in a middle class suburban home with loving foster parents. It never once seems to occur to Mary's parents to adopt Billy, for Freddy to live with Billy. Everybody is happiest this way.

I do think this is partly why a good Shazam comic has to be aimed at the 6-12yo demographics. They have to be for small children, because Billy is living a complete and utter power fantasy that only a ten year old would think is a good idea. He's a kid, and he doesn't have drag parents or a lame family, but he can turn into Superman, and he can also do magic, and everybody loves him and thinks he's the nicest person, and his supervillains are Dr. Doofenschmirtz and a worm, and his supporting cast is like okay my sister if she HAS to be involved, but also my best friend who is a paperboy! but cool because he's disabled, and….

Look, you could engage with that seriously. You could go "holy shit this is a homeless child". That's fine. That's what they do these days, and that's what they did in the movies. Nothing wrong with that. Take the story more seriously.

But also they don't give a worm the electric chair in those stories, so.

To actually give some commentary on these comics: these comics really love people. I've never seen comics that were so entrenched in their community. The kids just know everybody they meet on the street. Freddy delivers paper up and down every block, so an average story for him is just talking to a butcher or baker or old man or grumpy housewife and helping them out with some batshit problem. Mary's a sweet girl who's always starting clubs with her friends and taking on neighborhood projects. Many Billy stories involve one of his many friends falling into some trouble and Captain Marvel helping them out - or just exploring some fun with Billy hanging out with Sunny Smiles, who is a person of indeterminate gender who for some reason has magic love brainwashing powers -

This isn't the biggest #Shazam take, but I think a good Shazam story stays grounded in that. These are poor street kids who love Fawcett City so damn much. They love fighting their supervillains, but they love helping out the random guy off the street with their problems even more. Way more so than Spider-Man or a lot of other guys, I think of the Marvel family as the friendly neighborhood superheroes. They're both larger than life and street level. They're Superman level powers but they just use the powers for wrapping up their hijinks. Isn't that nice? Aren't you tired of going apeshit? Don't you just want to be nice?

#captain marvel #shazam #mary marvel #freddy freeman #billy batson #captain marvel jr #mary batson #i pulled open the old comics to review to write this #and as a kid I was like.#“hah! silly old silver age comics! they don't know how dumb they are!”#but reading it now im like #“holy shit i think they're doing it on purpose. holy shit. i think this is the most sarcastic comic ive ever read.”#“I don't think this is the funniest thing ever on accident. I think these were jokes. This comedy is sublime.”#genuinely they hold up SO well. they're fucking delightful.#high camp.#my writing #my asks

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hxhhasmysoul · 5 months

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Im pretty sure that killua took gon saying ‘lets stay together’ on whale island as a agreement to commit shinju,because shinju is dying together so you can be together in the afterlife or in the next life,so does that mean that killua didnt want to die with gon out of his non platonic love for him but just because of that agreement,and it wasnt romantic??

Well, in Japanese "staying together forever" is a pretty romantic kind of declaration, even more than in a language like English. And in English it already is a more romantic kind of sentiment than a platonic one.

I mean it's not impossible for people to have a platonic relationship and tell each other such stuff. Of course I have no statistics on something like that, but I would imagine it's much more often expressed in a romantic context.

The way that Gon and Killua speak about/to each other has a lot of romantic subtext. Even if you don't know Japanese, these things sound pretty intense in English too.

I don't know that much about shinjuu, maybe it's formalised, but I personally don't think there has to be an agreement of both parties to a lovers' suicide. At least in the most classical western example of "Romeo and Juliette" there wasn't any such agreement. My biggest exposure to classical Japanese literature was to Heian nikki, I haven't really read that much of the later stuff, and I think shinjuu as a theme was popularised later. Still, I don't think that shinjuu is the same as a suicide pact, just for loved ones. But I might be wrong.

The word shinjuu in itself is very dramatic. 心中 means literally something like "through the heart", so whether romantic or not, the act seems to be very emotionally loaded, not just some agreement.

To me Killua's actions read more as him not wanting to live without Gon, so if Gon has entered a path to suicide, Killua wants to follow. Maybe so they can stay together forever, even in the next life? That dying together would make it easier for them to meet in the next life?

If anything, the shinjuu would be Killua defying Gon openly. When they were capture by Nobunaga, Gon openly tells Killua that only Gon's allowed to be suicidal.

If you prefer to think of the relationship between Gon and Killua as platonic, then you should. Togashi uses very romantically loaded language between them and for instance the anime creators have been outspoken about noticing that, but there has been no official statement of Togashi's that "yes, they are definitely in love with each other". So you can interpret it however makes HxH more fun for you.

#hxh #hunter x hunter #gon freecss #killua zoldyck #answering asks #thank you for the ask

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celleryeller · 7 months

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Game design thoughts- Superliminal

I’ve decided, for shits and giggles and bettering my analysis skills, that I’ll write and post some thought about the game design of games I’m playing for the first time. Not a rating or anything, just a sort of what I learned from it

I just finished Superliminal on the Xbox. Only took around 2 hours for a solid first playthrough. Made in Unity, released 2019.

The main mechanics were around perspective. Unfortunately, this playthrough wasn’t completely blind, because there was a gif set or promo trailer floating around Tumblr a couple years ago, and it showed the mechanics before I got a chance to figure them out myself. But, the premise is picking up objects, and their size depends on the actual perspective when you drop it.

I think those mechanics are pretty fucking cool. I would love to see how the idea was originally prototyped. Or how they came up with the idea. Honestly tomorrow morning I might look into if the creators have done any interviews or anything.

The tutorial was pretty sick though. Instead of ui elements floating and telling you what to do, everything was written on objects in the game. My favorite was “press a to jump” being on a wet floor sign.

Narratively, it did make me ponder about brute forcing puzzles, and trying the same thing over and over. There was one puzzle I was stuck on near the end that I only decided to change perspectives on after I noticed the classic game trick of teleporting the player to create a feeling of infinite looping. While I didn’t walk away fundamentally changed, I did gain a new perspective on how I do puzzles.

The juice was pretty good, too. It got me giddy to pull every fire alarm and use up every fire extinguisher just because the option was there. There might also be achievements for doing that each level? Idk. Superliminal also had some good (although a little too loud) controller shake when an object was made huge and dropped on the ground. There was text I couldn’t read on papers that I wanted to read. The loading screens were great too, and while the bar animations weren’t accurate, the variation and weirdness for each one made up for it.

The limitations, unfortunately, were a touch obvious. The edges of light could shine through objects in a way that initiated something was up. Too many objects bumping around (which didn’t happen often) made a god awful sound. Screen hiccups happened a lot. Honestly, all of it was bearable, but the first one in particular just made me think about how light does that and it pisses me off as a developer that I can’t control it.

Other thoughts:

The walking around and setting felt very reminiscent of The Stanley Parable, especially in the repeated opening segments.

Music cutoffs were well placed and heavily affected the tone.

Late game played heavily with dream with dream sensation, and so perfectly emulated the dream feeling of looking at everything right side up while it feels like you’re laying down.

Played with the medium. I mentioned earlier that it used teleportation for infinite hallway tricks, but at some point it just started teleporting you for the purpose of being jarring.

On a similar note, it loved to play with the first person camera. It knew that you couldn’t look behind you, so it had complete free range to silently change whatever you weren’t looking at. Then when everything was breaking down, it started fucking with you and changing things as you looked at them, so you only saw the change once you moved

There was one level intended to be eerie, and it did that so well it made me google “is Superliminal scary.” The answer is no. I’m just a bit of a paranoid fraidy cat. It ended with a joke so good I instantly forgave it for making me scared.

The humor was also pretty good. It’s a good reminder that games can bet serious AND a little bit silly with it.

The piano music was superb

The options menu was simple and bland. It didn’t need to be anything else. Everything it had could simple fall under “gameplay” or “audio” settings.

Conformed to the wonderful idea that text to speech voices are evil. Fuck tik tok.

Overall, it was a sick game! I might do a couple more replays tomorrow. Or I’ll move to something else.

#yelling #game design thoughts #I’m not sold on calling these ‘game design thoughts’ but eh. it’s true at least #superliminal

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popculturebuffet · 1 month

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Pirate Month III: Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold!

Ahoy me hearties and welcome back to pirate month, my celebration of all things piratey! Today's review is a bit special. See this blog was founded on duck rviews: I started with Ducktales Season 3, seeing it thorugh to the series end, and never really stopped covering other classics like life and times, recently finished and with a look at the extra chapters and other related works next year

but until this year it'd slowed down. But with both the end of said retrospective and donald's 90th birthday I got my fire back, and thus when it came to said birthday I had a few ideas. Ultimately I went with mr duck steps out, my faviorite of the classic disney shorts , the debut of daisy and one of many masterminded by Donald Duck's real dad Carl Barks

But it wasn't the first Carl Barks work I considered. Given how much the comics shaped donald and how much barks defined him I had another idea in mind at first before pivoting to Mr Duck Steps Out. See there's something I simply never thought about, something so basic to cover for a creator yet i'd never looked it up: What was Carl Barks FIRST Donald Duck Story? The Answer? Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold. And since I just so happened to have pirate month every year, I decided to save this treasure. It's still one I was fascinated to read though both for starting one of the best careers in comics.. and for being the first american donald duck adventure story, yet never really being talked about. While Don Rosa went all over scrooge's story he didn't , as far as I can tell at least, refrence Donald's own adventure stories often. It's somethign that dosen't get as much love and something I was all too eager to give some to since my reaction to almost anything iwth donald duck is

Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold actually started as an idea for a shot, then starring Donald, Goofy and Mickey, who'd go up against pete in a quest for pirate treasure. For whatever reason the short didn't happen, but the materials found their way into the hands of Del Comics. Del was allowed to use Disney's research materials, per disney historian Jim Korkis, he's quote din a story done for mouse planet you can find here, and thus tapped Jack Hannah and Carl Barks, animatiors at disney, to draw the story as they wanted a big 64 page comic for their four color series.

As Hannah Recalled via interview in said article: " Story Research Director at the Disney Studio, "took us to meet Eleanor Packer who I believe was in charge of Whitman/Western Publishing. They wanted us to draw 64 pages of a Donald Duck story. I suspect the reason we were chosen for this assignment was that it was a more story related project. We were doing all the Donald Duck stories for the shorts and doing all the story sketches at the time so I'm just guessing that they probably felt we could work out this story as well, maybe even add in a few touches to help it flow properly."

Barks would reflect on the process of making that in another interview " "Jack and I looked the script over and decided which pages we would like to draw. After we had drawn a few pages, we decided that I should draw all of the stuff that was involved with the ducks outside on the deck of the boat or on the island, and Jack would take care of the inside stuff."

The result is a gorgeous story light on words at times but heavy on expression, with both Hannah and Barks bringign their a game. Hannah would continue in comics but unlike barks never went full time, staying with animation but it's the combination of these two titans and a solid script by Bob Karp that makes this something special. Pirate Gold may be one of the first Donald stories.. but it's also easily one of my favorites and i'd like to share with you why under the cut

We begin with a shot of the Bucket O Blood Seafood Grotto, donald's latest hustle and I find it fun that even just starting his career, even in a plot he didn't come up with... we still have Donald working a random odd job and still have a lack of money being a major plot point.

In this case Donald is catching his own fresh fish with the boys during a big wet rainstorm when they nearly die and loose their nets.

I love this little gag though it points out something neat about this one: the boys often finish each others sentences. This feels like the biggest giveaway this was supposed to be a short and barks and later writers woudl do away with this gimmick in print.

The boys find another way to be annoying though: pestering donald about loosing their nets... while he's trying to batten down the hatches so they all don't die in this massive storm.

They get a knock at the door.. thankfully i'ts not dave bautista and rupert grint trying to get them to murder themselves to prevent the apocalypse, but Yellow Beak, a character I don't see much in disney comics but had heard of and i'm shocked was in first carl barks story. Yellow beak is a diminutive parrot with a bossy attitude and a craving for Slumgullion. Slumgullion is a type of goulash, an american based one using pasta, red sauce and ground beef that honestly sounds delightful. I only know it exists thanks to this comic and now having some is a personal dream of mine.

For now though i'll just have to watch Yellow Beak have some as he thinks he's safe

I'm going to get SO much use out of this panel. I love a good goofy golden age panel, a love I recently discovered binging 80 pounds of batman.

Anyways BUT OUTSIDE is Pete. Yes that pete. As for why he's the antagonist for this : He was born to cheat and lie, he's a mean rotten guy, if you ask him why he's nasty here's his reason why: at a stork delvery his mommy screamed "Woe is me, such a dork hey mister stork behold my misery! Peteys Ghastly, pete's a blob, pete's a nasty nutty slob" can it sister because he's the mister who will get the job. In this case it's sadly not becoming king of france, but it is trying to become king of the pirates, which is even better and means you get to fight a rubber man who can become a rubberhose cartoon god if your lucky.

For now though Pete is trying to find yellow beak and we get one of my faviorite panels of the comic, only second to one i'll talk about more later.

I really wish Barks got to draw pete more often. His pete is incredibly expressive , meanacing and when neeeded hilarous.

Pete knocks on their door and Yellowbeak hides the map he's after with donald, agreeing to cut him in for the treausre. Donald only agrees after A) Being assured this isn't the police as he'd happily turn him in and B) being reminded about those gosh dang nets they need.

WE get a fun scene of Pete going around the place, even going into the kitchen because he's "very hygenic"

God I love that line.And hannah's art's also great nice and expressive.

Pete leaves but makes sure to listen in real good as Yellow Beak, thinking the coast is clear confides in the ducks

Pete in this story is just such a delight. He had me thinking about something i'd considered before when I thought about a fanfic adapting the quackshot video game but following donald , daisy, and the twins on their world tour. Donald and Pete.. are good mirrors to each other. Both are impulsive, prone to chasing an easy buck, hot tempered, and in some versions family focused. But Donald tends to barely scrape by as the underdog, while Pete tends to find or steal his way into authority. Donald is batted around by the system while pete either makes it work for him selling used cars or what not, or slips into the cracks doing crimes. Donald's tiny yet scrappy, pete's big lumbering and imposing. I honestly wonder WHY the comics dont' have them throw down more often: Yes Pete is one of mickey's arch villians, but I don't see the need to so evenly seperate the Duck and Mouse comics. In the comics Pete was born to steal and lie he's a mean rotten guy, a criminal who engages in various schemes.. so him alternating between mouseton and duckburg when it one gets too hot makes sense and he makes a good foe for Donald and for Scrooge, being the kind of skeezy criminal Scrooge fights regularly.

Yellow Beak reveals the map is actually in the restraunt, retracing steps he hold from an old mate who talked to the ghost of captain morgan who had nothing but wisdom for him

They find the map.. and not knowing their evesdropping Yellowbeak reveals they need to buy a boat. Why not just rent one is beyond me but i'm not up on 1942 economics. So pete goes off to plot

After a breif comedy bit of donald buying a fancy hat and Yellowbeak not letting him be captain, which I thought was harsh at first but honestly fair.. I mean he shoudl've let him keep the fancy captains hat, but I get that since Yellowbeak brought them the mission, he should get to lead.

I also get shades of their future dynamic with scrooge: a curmudgeonly seasoned adventuere, a frequently complaning donald as the lancer and the boys as eager assitants who are oftne key in saving the adults necks with their canny observations. The script wasn't by barks, but I wouldn't be suprised if he remembered how well it worked from before, with Scrooge being easier to squeeze into stories. After all Donald's rich dynamic uncle who always is after another rainbow is a bit easier ot set up adventures for than "a pirate parrot donald knows and dosen't like all that much"

SO pete's scheme is clever. He actually bothers to disguise himself as a greeving widow, shaving up nice and putting on a wig. As per 40's cartoon logic this works perfectly and he cons them into renting the boat instead of buying it by pretnedin gher husband the captain died. I again like seeing pete like this: he can be short sighted but I like him with a good scheme: it's part of what made Goofy Movie and Three Musketeers work so well: he CAN plan or think he's a master of psychology, but he's too arrogant to win.

We get a LOT of good gags in this comic as pete's goons, two mice wheel in tons of heavy ordanance while Donald is understandably worried. He brushes it off as a hobby but their undrestandably not convinced.

We get another fun sequence as Pete tails Yellowbeak after he gets a letter.. only to find it's agrocery list. This leads to my favoirite panel of the whole comic

Everything about that panel to the right is perfect, from the facial expression to the clouds that weren't exactly necfessary but add to the scene. It's just such a perfectly donald expression, so "what the hell did I do" so baffled. While it was only his first comic... Barks already got how to perfectly put donald in panel. It's expressive, funny and great to look at.

The next two pages are some antics as Pete tries to get the map since it's hidden. And their good antics: he goes in at night to try and find it and gently hangs donald on a hook

His minons suggest he just "cut dere throats and take the map" but pete TRIES to play it subtle and just get it when they take it out to plan.. but it's their plans for AFTER they get the map.

Finally Pete decides to take their advice to heart and just cut dere throats. Luckily the boys spot him and dump him aboard. While there's some good dialoge in this one, a lot of the comedy is more slapstick, as this WAS supposed to be a cartoon and it's easier to animate actions rather than talking. It still works in comics just as fine and Hannah and Barks art is super expressive, it's just neat to contrast to Barks more heavy use of dialogue in the rest of his career.

They dunk Pete and call "Woman overboard".. so Donald and Yellow beak see him sans disguise. The gig is up and a fight begins, with some beautiful actions and the boys being thrown in the brig..w hich they easily escape. This comes in handy as whlie putting up an impressive fight, complete with a little sword action as any good pirate adventure needs, Donald and Yellowbeak are cornered and forced to walk the plank.

Thankfully the boys built a raft offscreen so our heroes ar esaved by plot convience and a daring rescue and are already off in the distnace by the time pete realizes> he plans to just let the sharks have them.. only to find out Yellowbeak cut out the center of the map, the part both parties need next.

So out to sea Yellowbeak doles out rations

Now to be fair we don't KNOW that shark had self respect. I mean most people love pringles, but I woudln't cal lme wolfing down a can of all dress pringles in one sitting self respecting. I would call it delicous. Their new to the US and their a delight. Need to get me more. THEY CONSUME ME, THEY CONSUME ME

Anyway our heroes reach the island with yellowbeak having remmebered some steps and not letting the others eat because he's a bit of a dick. They find the cove.. and pete monotring it so they break into his boat at night.. only to find he's already out searching for treasure. If this sounds a bit circular that's because.. it is> This small section feels like not a lot happens.

Thankfully it picks up soon as our heroes head to a pirate cave and find a ghost! Before donald can deal with it in his usual way

The ghost gives them the rest of the mask and they ask no followup questions despite it obviously being pete in a bedsheet, who gave them the map back to lead him to the treasure.

So we're at the climax: our heroes dig it up, the boys make themselves scare and pete understandably waits until the two idiots have done all the work for him to strike. The boys once again prove to be the only compitent ones here, and strike back with some coconuts

Once again Pete is cruelly denied becoming knig of france. They quickly take out the two mooks and since this is their swan song I love the designs of these guys, the buck teth, big ears. Reminds me of mortimer. Maybe he has a twin brother or two, who knows.

We end with our heroes taking the bad guys back to the ship. Donald and Yellow Beak argue about whose the captan now only to get a rude awakening to end the comic

You know I never thought I'd see a story that ended with the boys holding Donald Duck and a modern day pirate who still acts like a goldena ge one at cannon point but i'm glad I lived to see it.

Donald Duck Finds Pirate Gold is a fun story, expressive, full of great jokes, and with a nice sense of swashbuckling adventure. I wasn't sure how much of a pirate story this was going to be but I was delighted that it kept the feel. Pete tends to be the real star with tons of great expressions, gags as he tries to outwit the heroes and some genuinely clever planning. While it was barks first story and he didn't get to write it, I was shocked by just HOW good it is. While some comic writers artists do start firing on all cyllenders, most take a bit to really lock down their style. And while barks did have some stuff to figure out, when it came to drawing comics he was fantastic and got the medium from the start. True he'd been an animator for this so he wasn't a complete newbie.. but it's still a hard medium to get just right snf hr killed it on his first try. Jack Hannah's work also can't be understated: a lot of the great pete art is his and he gets the slapstick down to a science.

It also feels like, as I mentioned before, a blueprint to barks other stories: while yellowbeak would be swaped out for scrooge a lot of the comedic beats, the skeezy protaganist of the day, and the comedic ending all fit his scrooge adventures. This comic is utterlyf antastic and since Disney hasn't repinted it recently you can find it here on archive.org

Thanks for reading and happy pirate month. Yarrgh

#donald duck finds pirate gold #donald duck #pete disney #huey duck #louie duck #dewey duck #yellowbeak #carl barks #jack hannah #disney

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noxthesleepymoodyoverthinker · 4 months

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Disney's Live-Action Movies are AU

I am an old Disney animated movies fangirl and I'm certainly not as enthused about the live-action movies they have been putting out of the same. (I might have had a different opinion if the live-action movies were actually different stories instead of remakes, tho.)

But despite being "remakes" the few live-action remake movies I have seen make no sense to me: As in, it's like they rewrote a lot of the old lore and plots completely, or didn't understand a lot of the nuances of the old scripts and plots, and that didn't sit well with me at all.

(I mean, OK, there were some changes that didn't miss the plot-point that I liked or were fine with --

(and some that I didn't like at all --

(which a lot of movie-goers and Disney fans also felt like in varying and respective levels, I presume.)

But, I mean, if, after the characters and movies went into the public domain, and other studios re-told/remade them, it would be understandable. Like how a bunch of writers -- old and new -- redo/retell old fairytales. And that's fine, cuz different entities, different creators with little to no access to the original creation process.

But Disney redoing all their own old animated classics into live-action kinda smacks of lazy writing as well as arrogance. And they're not even that good...More like doing well because the movies' old reputation encouraged people to go see it.

But I digress.

What I meant to mainly say is that Disney has twisted their own lore so much with these remakes that now, the only way my plot-concentrated brain can reconcile them at all, is by firmly thinking of the live-action remakes as AU (alternate universe) stories.

To me, the animated movies -- Cinderella, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, 101 Dalmations, The Lion King, etc. -- all happened in different alternate universes to the live-action remakes.

Which would also explain a lot of the varying plots and different details -- like additional characters, differences in storylines and character behaviors, and extra details that would not have fit with the original storyline.

Cruella, to me, is a prime example of this.

(It's also about the only Disney live-action remake movie that I actually enjoy, love, and rewatch. <3)

Because you cannot tell me that the Cruella who adopted a dog she found in the trash -- someone who had her mother's (Catherine's) murderer's Dalmations captive (Dalmations who assisted in said murder, no less) but trained those Dalmations to listen to her instead of making a coat out of them, even though a lot of people thought that's what she did anyway -- would actually decide to buy and steal 99 Dalmation puppies just in order to make a coat out of them!

Horace and Jasper had their own dog too, before Cruella joined them with hers. And they treated those dogs like partners, like family. Quite a jump from that to what we saw in the animated 101 Dalmations movie.

I mean, come on. There are evil villain origin stories, and then there are origin stories of anti-heroes or chaotic characters with the potential-to-be-evil but not turning out that way.

And 2021's Cruella, Jasper, and Horace are definitely the latter.

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tonberry-yoda · 2 years

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hello may I request a romantic matchup for final fantasy vii?

my pronouns are they/them and I don't have a preference for the gender of my match^^

my mbti is intp. I'm a very shy and reserved person in public, I try not to cause too much attention but also express myself openly. I suffer from anxiety ( I don't take meds or anything so I'm usually on edge) and overthink about people/other things. If you get to know me, im a huge extrovert and cheerful person. I love making jokes and laughing <3 I'm airheaded and clumsy. I'm a very random person too, more eccentric for sure. I do the most offwall things because I'm bored ( like jumping off things or asking off-putting questions). I love talking! About anything I'm hyperfixated on atm ( as in old interests or new ones!) and I can go on for hours . I'm pretty childish, but mature and mother like when I need to be. I love physical affection (even tho I say I hate it) anything like hugs is nice for me! I'm a caring person and mostly a listener. Very sassy (which people say it's "cute" from me) and sarcastic, with a whole lot of blunt. I'm a flirt too, but anything flirty from someone else gets me shy. I get very bad mood swings and it is causing trouble for me to make friends or keep them, since I'll just isolate myself from them- I also have insecurities regarding my looks (particularly my body) so I get v sour when I think about that. Alot of the times you can tell when I'm in a mood bc I get quiet. Anyway I'm a lazy, procrastinater and plainn lmao.

I love playing the piano, anime/manga, true crime (i rlly wanna be a forensic scientist), horror/gore, sanrio, videogames (i'm ur classic gamer, mt dew and doritios), oversized clothings

I dislike insects, hot weather, exercise, any bright neon colors,crowds/parties, people telling me what to do , injustice , and mornings

my music taste consists of everything (exepct country or rap music) so like Deftones,Slipknot,Korn,Ethel cain, lana del ray, HIM, tyler the creator, any vocaloid or anime songs (specially nightcore) or i love video game music

as for my fashion i dress very alternative (ihaveaseptum), kind of like a pinterest board but mostly black or like chainsaw man (power style lol). I'm a big metal head so band t'shirts or recently scene emo is my favorite

hi there! you are my first person to request from any final fantasy games and I am so over the moon about it!! i didnt know how many people actually enjoyed the series on here or wanted writing from it so thank you!!! <333 i have the perfect character for you!

the character I chose for you is...

AERITH!!!

now consider

your more dark style contrasted with her more bright style

i think it'll work beautifully

she helps calm your anxiety and truly does love you

she laughs at all your jokes and will definitely bring out that cheerier side of you when she's around

she will answer all of your weird questions honestly and surprise you by asking one too lmaooo

she will listen to you talk for hours

loves to hear what you're passionate about

you and her are both very similar by being childish and mature at the same time and you both annoy Cloud because of it lmfaoooo

you'll flirt with each other, but get flustered when it's the other person's turn lmfao

play the piano for her

she loves the piano

supports you in your dream to become a forensic scientist, thinks it's amazing that you want to do that

she will sit on your lap and hug you while you play videogames

is a literal sanrio character, so you're all good (she will buy you hello kitty merch tho frrr)

you and her both beg Cloud to be the one to kill any bug in the house lmfaooooo

lots of cuddling and just being by each other's side in your perfect little contrast :)

~~~~~

matchup rules --- pinned post

@tonberry-yoda

#i hope you enjoy!#thanks for the ff content #writing #fanfic #fanfiction #my writing #<3 #matchup #matchups #final fantasy #final fantasy 7 #final fantasy vii #final fantasy x reader #final fantasy 7 x reader #aerith #aerith x reader #aerith ffvii #ffvii x reader #ffvii

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goose3gg · 2 years

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Why can’t I commit [to a new Nintendo Switch Game]?

Recently, I’ve been on a mission: find a new Nintendo Switch game to distract myself from the games I’m avoiding playing [Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, both come to mind] and I’ll tell you exactly why I’m avoiding those games. In my opinion, it’s a huge challenge trying to find

As a female gamer, sometimes it’s challenging digging through the buzzwords of the gaming community. I hear one end of the spectrum is “Cozy Games” and on the other side is... Rogue-Likes? First person Shooters? Street Fighters? Puzzle Games? Why is the only descriptor I can find of cutesy, organization, relaxing games default to this weird code word of “cozy?” Trying to find games that I’ll like based on this weird criteria, where unless the game is overtly cutesy on the outside, a single creator must deem this type of game “cozy” for it to be labeled as such. I’d love to get into a feminist, gendered debate but the subject at hand is still myself, attempting to find a Switch game I’d enjoy, digging through countless reviews of different types of games.

Why can’t I play Animal Crossing? Although I did purchase the Animal Crossing themed switch, I am not a historical Animal Crossing player. I actually grew up playing Pokemon, the card game and the DS/Gameboy games. I will admit, I am currently avoiding my current Pokemon Diamond Victory Road victory, I know I need to make my team stronger but alas I just don’t feel the commitment for it at the moment. Many game reviewers discuss how they believe that this current edition of Animal Crossing is the weakest, the least structured, and laziest, is the term most often used. I don’t hear many positive reviews of this game, due to its lack of consistent updates, and in my opinion, lore and add ons. Nintendo didn’t put much effort into the downloadable content of Happy Home Paradise, and in my own experience, I didn’t have fun in the game until I used the only two available cheats that Nintendo has somehow allowed to slip by, being; the ability to use other people’s designs for pathways, buildable objects, etc, and treasure islands. Both reminded me of the Sims cheats I used to use, bb.infinitemoney, etc, to allow for things that crutched the game, or allowed more of a freeplay version. I quickly acquired every item I could ever want, and after furnishing my house, I got bored pretty quickly. Because everyday is time synced in Animal Crossing, meaning that everyday you log on, whatever time of day it is, it’ll be the same in the game. I know a lot of people that time jump, meaning they change the time and date on their Switch to unlock things in Animal Crossing, I personally thought this was a little excessive, but to each their own. I just didn’t find the villagers interesting enough to keep me coming back, to be honest I never understood how turnips worked, and I just wasn’t convinced to keep playing the game. The last time I played Animal Crossing was about 3 hair colors ago, if that gives you an idea.

Why can’t I play Stardew Valley? Stardew Valley has lower stakes than Animal Crossing, and is definitely easy to get back into. Again, I didn’t grow up on years of Stardew Valley, so I know very little about the lore and the long term actuality of the game. I enjoy going into cult classic games like these two cold, so I can be surprised and enjoy the game to its fullest. I also find it a big challenge, however I know if I look too hard into gameplay advice I’ll get stuck on how to perfectly play the game which is simply impossible. Stardew’s days are much shorter than Animal Crossing, and the game is also a fraction of the price. In my experience, playing Stardew can feel slightly rushed, and challenging to get everything done right. Right now I’m entering Spring of my 3rd year and I am not very proud of my farm or my organization in game. When I see how well organized streamers are I definitely feel as though I’m playing the game incorrectly. It’s an enjoyable game but because I haven’t researched the lore sometimes I feel like I’m missing the bigger direction or meaning in the game. Because Stardew takes itself a little less seriously than Animal Crossing, I find myself more easily coming back to a less intimidating game.

Finally, what games am I considering to avoid these Cozy Gaming classics? To give you a more rounded idea of the games on my Switch, here’s some games I’ve bought/downloaded.

I just finished Coffee Talk and Cozy Grove, working on The Lego Harry Potter Collection, I couldn’t get stuck on Garden Story, Life is Strange: True Colors [I might’ve watched too many streams of this one.. I don’t wanna larp. I’m sorry], CatTails, AER, The Last Campfire, Danganronpa/Doki Doki Literature Club [I just haven’t gotten around to it], Scott Pilgrim is just a tad too challenging for me alone, I’m working on it as well. I’m so tired of reading these same titles over and over again, and I refuse to download the organization games just because they’re so short. I was interested in Inscryption, so I started watching some streams of it to see if I’d like it and I’m still unsure. If anyone has any recommendations, I’d love to hear some but I don’t know if the problem is just me. I enjoy these games, I just would love something fresh and not a super huge commitment. I’ve been watching some Breath of the Wild streams which inticed me, but I’m also not a Legend of Zelda person. Maybe I need to branch out, maybe I need a kind stranger on the internet to recommend the perfect game for me.

#nintendo switch #nintendo #girl gamer #cozy game #cozy games #animal crossing #animal crossing new horizons #stardew valley #coffee talk #cozy grove #aer #cattails

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dans-den · 2 years

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My Top 5 Best Shows of 2022

Hey how's it going everyone its Dan here and today I'll be giving you my Top 5 best shows of 2022!

Just like my Top 5 worst shows list, this is all my opinion, you can agree or disagree with me and that's okay! are we clear? lets begin!

Number 5 goes to Primal Season 2 on Adult Swim/HBO MAX (8/10)

Now this was made by Genndy Tartakovsky the creator behind classics such as Samurai Jack, Dexter's Laboratory, Symbiotic Titan (that show deserves to be brought back), and the limited Star Wars: The Clone Wars series from the early 2000's. When I heard he was bringing this show out, I was interested and I watched the first season and it slapped! This show will give you unfiltered nuts to butts action and make you sad at the same time despite that the characters don't actually speak, the facial expressions, tone, body language tells the whole story of the show. Season 2 kept that momentum going with expanding on the world and the characters Spear and Fang. Even the introduction of Mira was a great inclusion into the series as she developed a friendship with Spear and Fang, especially with Spear. They gave a lot of side characters such as the Vikings, Celtics, Witches, etc. The end of the season was action packed to the brim however ended with the loss of Spear which honestly made me sad. However, the season concludes with a time skip to where Mira and Spear have a daughter (they conceived one before his death) and with Fangs children grown as well. I don't know if were getting a season 3 for sure, but even if we don't this is an overall good conclusion to our main characters. I'd recommend watching Primal, it's one of the best in adult animation today.

Number 4 goes to Spy X Family the anime on Hulu/CrunchyRoll (8/10)

This anime was hyped up and it definitely deserves and lives up to the hype. With anime being more mainstream and honestly saturated nowadays, it's hard to watch them all and figure out which ones are good or bad or which you should invest time into. But Spy X Family stuck out to me because of its plot and the main characters. People compare Loid and Yor to Mr. and Mrs. Smith but I feel that it's quite the opposite, I find Loid and Yor's relationship to be wholesome despite their professions and how they have to fake being a couple with a child. Despite the plan being a setup, they do slowly grow to care and love each other as well as Anya their daughter. Anya truly is the glue that keeps them together bringing out the human side of both Loid and Yor and hoswing them theirs more to life than their work. The situations they get into are hilarious and can be action packed at times. I definitely like the Spy and Assassin elements in this show and keeps it from getting too stale or mundane. I'm sure it'll get a second season, in fact I don't think season 1 is over just yet but even so, 25 episodes means were eating good.

Number 3 goes to CyberPunk: EdgeRunners on Netflix (8.5/10)

Now this is what I consider to be the apology of CD Projekt Red after the disaster that was CyberPunk: 2077. After that games disastrous launch, CD had lost money in both revenue and even made their stock go WAY down! They did fix the problems with the game but the fans were still upset (and rightfully so). Luckily someone at the HQ had the brains to bring CyberPunk into the world of anime and my god, it's a banger! I literally binged this show on Monday and it was quite a ride. It's a ten episode limited series and surprisingly Netflix picked it up (smart move on their part). The show gives me cowboy bebop vibes only more futuristic and a lot more...mature content shown if ya catch my drift. Despite its limited ten episode run, it does an amazing job immersing you into the world and showing you the characters and the struggles of living in such a corrupt city. Reminds me a lot of a Neo Gotham City from Batman: Beyond and it has a surprising amount of Hispanic culture in it which I personally appreciated. I would have enjoyed two more episodes since there's a time skip between episodes 6 and 7 where months pass and Davis goes through character development and appears bigger and stronger than before but it is what it is. It is sad that the main cast gets killed off one by one, reminds me a lot of Akame Ga Kill where it happens to one out of nowhere and slowly one by one, each member gets killed off leaving one of the main characters left. It's a bittersweet end but that's also what makes it a great series.

Number 2 goes to Demon Slayer Season 2 aka The Entertainment District Arc on Hulu/CrunchyRoll (9/10)

Now I know technically it started in December 2021 even when you cut out the Mugen train movie being chopped up into episodes at the beginning of the season. It still didn't finish its season run until February of this year so I still count this as more of a 2022 season to a show. I love Demon Slayer and Season 2 did not disappoint, it started out with the events after Mugen train, we got more depth for one of the pillars which was Tengen, more depth about Muzan and his plans, battling one of the upper moons and all action in it! The final battle was intense and the animation was on point! it was so beautifully done and while I'll admit some of the battle scenes felt dragged out, it didn't take away from the animation and visuals we were getting. The ending gave us a hint of what's to come next season and I cannot wait!

Before I go into Number One, I want to shout out some honorable mentions

First mention I want to shout out is Sonic Prime on Netflix (7.5/10)

Netlfix has truly been getting it together if I have more of its shows on my top 5 best shows list than my top 5 worst shows. I wanted to put Sonic Prime on my actual list but unfortunately it only has 8 episodes released at the moment despite it being slated for 24 episodes. This is Netflix still using that binge model that hasn't really worked since the pandemic due to people not being trapped in their houses anymore. It is what it is but despite that, Sonic Prime shows a lot of promise and is entertaining to watch. As a Sonic fan, its great to see him doing well this year with a successful movie, successful game and a potentially successful show! Were truly in the Sonic Renaissance right now. I love the multiverse idea for Sonic, there is plenty of potential for great storylines but again we'll have to wait until the other 18 episodes get released for a real verdict. It said to have three seasons with eight episodes a pop so we got season 1 with a cliffhanger and hopefully we will get the other two complete seasons. But so far, going strong, going fast!

My other honorable mention will go to The CupHead Show on Netflix (7.5/10)

Why can't Netflix just keep giving us good shows like this instead of cracking down on password sharing? I do enjoy this show but it also used the Netflix binge model. This show had all three seasons come out this year and while I do find Netflix's binge model annoying, I still enjoy this show. I love that old rubber hose style of animation used back in the early 20th century. The game itself is fun and they made a great adaptation with the show just like CyberPunk: EdgeRunner and hell even Sonic. I don't know where the show goes from here but I will say its had a great run up to this point.

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for, the Number One Best show of 2022 goes to....

Number 1 goes to Smiling Friends on Adult Swim/HBO MAX (10/10)

This is how you do adult animation that everyone can enjoy! I've mentioned each of these shows have plots or storylines they follow, but the thing with Smiling Friends is, there is no set story or plot. The main purpose of the show is to make people smile not only in the show, but also the viewers. Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack are internet content creators/animators and they managed to something that no one from the internet space has been able to do, make a great TV show! Many have tried and failed to bring internet content to television, but these guys managed to do it thanks to time, effort, proper budgeting, and overall great understanding of what makes this transition possible. Smiling Friends is a simplistic show with various animation styles, realism, great writing, hilarious humor, and overall is in touch with the audience its going for. It never feels like something huge or complex, its a simple show that makes it feel like you're having a fun and relaxing conversation with your buddies and I think that's where the charm and appeal comes from. The best part about this show in my opinion is how it's able to subvert your expectations. Now people thought the first episode was weird but as they watches it, it grew on them. The first episode came out in 2020 and people were waiting for the full series. The first season came out this year and left fans wanting more. Now the crew gave us a little surprise with the Brazil episode and if you read the description, you'll think "oh it's just a nice beach episode" but when you actually watch it, it throws a complete curveball at you. They spent the entire episode in an airport just arguing with each other and it was the funniest surprise anyone could have asked for. No one saw that coming and everyone loved it. I'm so glad this show is getting another season, this show is a perfect example of adult animation done right as well as transitioning internet content to mainstream television and that's why I believe Smiling Friends is the Best Show of 2022!

Thanks for sticking around till the end, I'll get my Top 5 Best/Worst movies out starting tomorrow.

See ya!

#dans den #2022 #reviews #best shows #top 5 list #primal season 2 #spy x family #cyberpunk edgerunners #demon slayer #sonic prime #the cuphead show #smiling friends

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magical-illune · 2 years

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I just realized that I’ve done something very silly! I named myself Magical Illune, but I never talked about what magical girl anime I like!

I’ll talk about it right now, then. I love all kinds of magical girl anime, from the light to the dark. I know that some people think that dark magical girl anime are Bad And Wrong, but I have to disagree. Yes, some dark magical girl anime are crappy, but not all of them. But that’s not what this post is about.

Anyway, here are some magical girl anime that I like!

1. Pretty Cure/Precure

Who could talk about magical girl anime without mentioning Precure? It’s a magical girl megaseries from Toei Animation. Each season (with the exceptions of Max Heart and GoGo, which are sequels to other seasons) is its own continuity, with its own setting and characters. While the seasons do share some similar elements, each season has its own themes that make it stand out. There are funny moments, awesome moments, emotional moments... It’s awesome! Each season is about 45-50 episodes long, and there are 19 seasons as of right now. Yes, the series is still ongoing! And the fights aren’t just about magical attacks - they usually have a ton of punches and kicks! I like all the seasons, but my favorite is Fresh, with Smile being a close second. Two seasons, Smile and Doki Doki, were dubbed as Glitter Force, but we don’t talk about that.

2. Nurse Angel Ririka SOS

This one is kind of obscure, but I love it anyway. This anime is from 1995. It’s about a ten-year-old girl named Ririka who is given a nurse cap as a birthday present by her crush, Kanou. It is soon revealed that the cap is a magical item that can transform Ririka into the legendary guardian known as Nurse Angel. Ririka winds up having to fight the evil forces of Dark Joker, who laid waste to Kanou’s home planet (yes, he’s an alien, albeit a human one) and have now turned their sights toward Earth. The series has a healing theme and some memorable aspects, such as Ririka having a limited power source that she must find more of. Also, there’s Dewey.

Just look at him! He is the best character in the entire show. No, I am not taking criticism. Anyway, although the anime still has that 1990s cheesiness to it, it gets surprisingly dark for a show aimed at young girls. That may be why it didn’t sell enough toys and wound up being cancelled. Still, the creators managed to bring the show to a conclusion at 35 episodes.

3. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

This anime was released in 2011, and it’s the one responsible for a slew of dark magical girl anime and manga in the years that followed. Some of them were good, others were not, but I’ll get into that later. Without spoiling too much, I can tell you that unlike the previous two entries, Madoka is definitely not for kids. It’s quite dark, with a storyline that explores the consequences of its magical system. While it’s not the first dark magical girl anime, it’s undoubtedly the most popular. The soundtrack is beautiful, the animation is (mostly) beautiful... I really recommend this anime!

4. Sailor Moon

Ah, a classic! This anime has two versions - the 90s anime, and the ongoing remake (known as Crystal) that follows the manga more faithfully. I like both! This is probably the most iconic magical girl anime among English speakers, so you probably know the basic details, but I’ll explain it anyway. The story begins when Usagi, a rather annoying crybaby, is given a mysterious brooch that she can use to transform into the magical warrior known as Sailor Moon. She is tasked with fighting various bad guys, assembling her team of planet-themed magical girls, and finding the missing princess of the moon (whose identity is rather obvious). Along the way, she is frequently aided by the mysterious Tuxedo Mask (yes, his outfit is as silly as it sounds). The 90s anime is generally more lighthearted and has quite a bit of filler, but I like it a lot - it’s got this nostalgic charm to it, you know? Crystal is also great, though it has less episodes. I’ve also been reading the original manga, and it’s awesome! There’s even a two-volume manga focusing on Sailor Venus’s adventures before meeting up with the other Sailor Guardians - it’s called Codename: Sailor V and I highly recommend it. Actually, I highly recommend all of this franchise!

5. Yuki Yuna is a Hero

This one is another dark magical girl series a la Madoka. Basically, three hundred years ago, a virus killed off most of humanity, except for those living on the island of Shikoku (a real place, might I add), who were protected by the Shinju - an amalgamation of gods in the form of a tree. Shikoku is at peace now, and it is run by the Taisha, a religious organization dedicated to serving the Shinju. The eponymous Yuna is a member of the Hero Club, a school club that does volunteer work for the community. However, it is soon revealed that the Hero Club is more literal than that - the girls have actually been enlisted to transform into Heroes and fight the mysterious Vertex that threaten the Shinju. Though the battles take place in a spiritual realm, the damage that that world takes affects the real world, and if even one Vertex reaches the Shinju, the entire world will be destroyed. The first season has some elements that I don’t like, especially considering the representation of disabled people, and there’s quite a bit of fanservice, but I still like the show. It has three seasons, and the second season is my personal favorite. There are also some prequel/interquel light novels, but I haven’t read those yet. Overall, Yuki Yuna is an interesting watch for its take on religion and child soldiers.

Okay, now you know of five magical girl anime that I like. I also enjoyed Uta~Kata, but for some reason the GIF thingy isn’t working right now, so I’ll just say that it’s good, albeit fanservicey.

I’ve also watched quite a bit of the original 2000s Tokyo Mew Mew, but to be honest, I find it a bit mediocre. I especially don’t like those two guys who run the cafe - it seems like they’re just using the girls. Still, I’ll finish it, and then I’ll watch the reboot and hope that it’s better.

Now, some dark magical girl anime are good, but others are not. After watching Day Break Illusion, I determined that it was one of the latter. Though the premise sounded interesting, it was not well executed, and it got quite creepy near the end - and not in a good way.

There are also some magical girl anime that I refuse to watch - Magical Girl Site, Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka, Prisma Illya, and any ecchi or hentai works.

There are other magical girl anime that I haven’t finished yet. I’ll give my opinions on them once I’m done. I’m also hoping to read some more magical girl manga, especially the ones that haven’t been adapted into anime yet. Any suggestions?

All in all, I really enjoy the magical girl genre, and I hope to add to it someday.

#magical girl #mahou shoujo #sailor moon #puella magi madoka magica #pretty cure #precure #nurse angel ririka sos #yuki yuna is a hero #anime

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geoffreytoday · 2 months

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Star Wars and Me, and You, and Ourobor-Us... Once more

Time marches on, as it always does. When last I visited this ouroboros, It had been almost two and a half years since the release of The Rise of Skywalker. That dark event is now over four years in our past.

There have been quite a few new productions since then. The most recent, The Acolyte, has just wrapped up. Time then, I think, to revisit the franchise and reassess. Where do things stand now? What's changed? Let's find out.

As always, I am including all Canon Star Wars movies and shows that I am familiar with on this list, and of course a number of classics that have been excised from the canon as well. As before, and as it ever shall be, I have not watched Resistance :p

The opinions expressed on this list are solely my own and should in no way be considered authoritative*. Your mileage may very, and my opinions are in no way meant to reflect poorly on your own. Different strokes/different folks.

Ranked in order from Worst to Best:

Number 31!

Attack of the Clones.

AotC has reclaimed its throne, and is once again securely seated on the bottom spot of this list. It isn’t only one of the worst Star Wars movies ever made, it might be one of the worst movies ever made too.

"What about The Room? What about Manos: The Hands of Fate?"

Here’s the thing: Those were never going to be good movies. They had nothing going for them. AotC is a Star Wars movie, made by the creator of Star Wars, with essentially an unlimited budget. It's one of the worst movies ever made because it should never have been allowed to be this bad.

Number 30!

Revenge of the Sith.

Marginally better than AotC, with more naturally delivered dialogue and acting, RotS is probably the easiest of the prequels to digest. However, it beats out The Phantom Menace on the lame-o-meter because it does the most lasting damage to the Saga.

The monumental mishandling of Anakin’s fall to the dark side, the betrayal of Padme’s character, and the sheer laziness of the writing all come together to make a truly disappointing entry in the Star Wars saga.

Number 29!

The Phantom Menace

TPM is a pointless movie. The story is bland and uninteresting, the performances and writing are wooden and dull, and the way the Jedi Order is depicted just makes me sad. If you can honestly tell me this is what you had thought the Jedi would be like before the prequels were made, well... I don’t have a good way to end that sentence. You could skip TPM entirely and it would not impact the rest of the series.

Number 28!

The Rise of Skylwaker.

TRoS is a mess. For a movie that is nearly two and a half hours long, hardly anything happens. The pace of the movie is ludicrously too fast. It legitimately feels like an attempt to obfuscate the lack of coherent narrative. The hope seems to be that if we zip past all of this stuff fast enough, no one will notice the utter lack of substance or sense.

The film does not live up to the final trailer, nor does it deliver on the potential of The Last Jedi. The Rise of Skywalker feels like it was generated by AI. It lacks any legitimate understanding of the material, and instead relies on remixes of familiar imagery and scenarios to pacify the audience.

Number 27!

The Star Wars Holiday Special

The holiday special is bizarre beyond reckoning. I love it, but there is no doubt that it is a truly ludicrous thing. I watch it two or three times a year around Xmas time. It’s like The Room, but for Star Wars fans.

Number 26!

The Great Heep - Star Wars: Droids – The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO

This is an hour long special that takes place within the timeline of the Droids animated series. It’s an odd thing. Distinctly kiddy-er than the rest of the Droids animated series, it’s most interesting feature is that it was written by Star Wars sound designer Ben Burtt, who also has story credits on a number of other Droids episodes.

Number 25!

Ewoks

This is an animated series about, you guessed it, Ewoks. It’s cute. It follows the adventures of Wicket and his friends on the forest moon of Endor. The series, if it is to be fit into the chronology, takes place between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It lasted for 2 seasons and is a perfectly inoffensive addition to the Star Wars universe. Not truly worth seeking out unless you are an absolute die hard fan, and even then you’re likely to think it’s worth passing over.

Number 24!

Star Wars: Droids – The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO

This series follows our favourite mechanical odd couple in the period between Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars. Like Ewoks, it’s pretty cute. I loved it as a child. It holds some nostalgia for me, and it has a certain charm, but like the other animated efforts of the 80′s, it’s not terribly noteworthy. Certainly there are some interesting parallels between Kea Moll and Rey, and it can't be a coincidence that one of the villains is named Kybo Ren :p

For the hardcore fan only, more here to enjoy than Ewoks, but still pretty forgettable.

Number 23!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Movie)

A mediocre entry in the Clone Wars animated series. It should never have been released to theatres. It’s not bad per se, it’s just several episodes of the series cobbled together into a single film. They weren’t the best episodes of the series.

Number 22!

Ewoks: Caravan of Courage

A made for TV movie that came out in the years following Return of the Jedi. It’s pretty silly and the acting is mostly awful. Still, this movie has more charm than all of the prequels put together. I can’t truly recommend it to anyone who isn’t a die hard fan, but if listening to Burl Ives narrate a Star Wars story is the kind of oddity that piques your interest, this has that.

Number 21!

Ewoks: The Battle for Endor

Somehow, this movie is even more ludicrous than the original, which is probably why I like it. It’s much more fun than the first attempt, and it stars Wilford Brimley! That’s weird enough to be worth the price of admission right there. Some fun creature effects and a surprisingly dark opening make this one kind of worthwhile.

Number 20!

Star Wars Rebels

I truly wanted to love Rebels, but I don’t. It has a lot going for it: Excellent designs, great villains, terrific ideas, but the problem is execution. The writing on Rebels is a mixed bag. When it's good, it's very good. It's just not good as consistently as you'd want. A frustrating series that had the potential to be so much better.

Number 19!

The Bad Batch

A sequel to The Clone Wars, following a squad of "defective" clone troopers after the fall of the republic. I've never been much of a fan of the clones or the clone wars, so this series did very little for me. Like Clone Wars and Rebels, the writing feels uninspired and contrived. Episodes stop rather than ending, and it leans heavily on standard storytelling tropes we've seen countless times in Star Wars at this point. If you dig the clone wars, you'll probably enjoy this series, it just wasn't for me.

Number 18!

Star Wars: Clone Wars

Clone Wars was a micro-series commissioned by George Lucas to fill the gap between AotC and RotS. It is slightly cooler than the CG animated series that would follow years later. On the down side, Anakin is pretty much terrible like he is in the films, so that’s a major strike against it. It would almost beat out the full animated series on the strength of the Mace Windu short, but shitty Anakin is too great a hurdle to overcome.

Number 17!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Series)

TCW did an admirable job of trying to salvage the ruined foundations the prequels gave us, turning them into something marginally workable. They made Anakin a nuanced and actually likeable character. They made the friendship of Anakin and Obi-Wan feel believable and warm. Unfortunately, there is only so much that can be done with the dumpster fire of the prequels.

Number 16!

The Book of Boba Fett

Not as well written or thought out as The Mandalorian, but still relatively fun. The series would have benefited from considerably more clarity regarding the timeline of its events. It definitely divides fans of Boba Fett. Personally, I think Boba Fett was ruined back in AotC, so I'm not really invested anymore.

Number 15!

Rogue One.

Rogue One is pretty. It is also an endless parade of continuity errors and fan service, stretched over a thread-bare plot. The movie needed at least 3 more drafts before it was ready to film. It’s okay, but it’s not great.

My personal head-canon is that Rogue One is an in-universe propaganda film made by the rebel alliance to sway people to their cause. Viewed through that lens, all the cheesy moments, musical cues, continuity and plot inconsistencies all make sense. It saves the movie for me.

Number 14!

The Acolyte

I was hopeful for this one. I've been curious about the High Republic era, so getting a show set there was quite appealing to me. IN the end, it's okay, not great, but not bad either. I was surprised and disappointed in the portrayal of the Jedi. I've never been happy with what the prequels did to the Jedi, and I was bummed out that somehow the High Republic Jedi are even worse.

This is supposed to be the golden age of the Jedi, before their fall, but you'd never know it based on how truly awful most of the Jedi are. Normally I'm all about stripping away copaganda from cop shows, and the Jedi of The Acolyte are very much the ACAB portrayal of the Jedi order, but that's not what I come to Star Wars for. Star Wars is fantasy, and I'm here to see noble Jedi knights fighting the good fight against the forces of darkness.

I'm also not a fan of the force being transformed into standard fantasy magic. The night sisters, force witches, the mortis gods, and all that bullshit is absolutely not what I want from my Star Wars. It's been cropping up more and more frequently though, much to my great disappointment. The Acolyte is probably the least offensive version of that I've encountered (up until episode 7 that is), so that's a small plus, but I'm still not a fan.

Number 13!

Solo

Nonstop fun from beginning to end. Alden is perfect as a young Han Solo. He may not look like Harrison, but he looks like Han, if that makes sense. Unlike Rogue One, the fan service in Solo is rooted in the characters and feels natural. Now I just need a Calrissian movie and I’ll be all set.

Number 12!

Ahsoka

Ahsoka is pretty mid. Visually impressive, the writing is unfortunately shallow and uninspired. It's reasonably entertaining, but it's nothing special. A more accurate title for the series would have been Sabine.

Number 11!

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Kenobi is decent enough. It does some interesting world building. The actress playing a young Leia Organa is terrific, and it's always a joy to see Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan. The series failings are largely a matter of padding. This was originally meant to be a movie, but after the box office disappointment of Solo, it was retooled to be a streaming series, to its detriment.

Number 10!

Star Wars Visions

A series of animated vignettes from famous anime directors. Visually impressive, very stylish, and more often concerned with being fun and interesting over being strictly adherent to canon. I fully approve of that approach. Worth checking out if you're a fan of anime, or animation in general.

Number 9!

The Mandalorian

A solid show with a lot going for it. It plays things pretty safe, but I don’t mind playing it safe so long as the product is good, and this one is for the most part. Season 1 is good, Season 2 is better. Season 3 is a disappointment and fails to maintain that trajectory.

Number 8!

Tales of the Jedi

A six episode anthology series that follows a few characters from pre-clone wars through till establishment of the rebel alliance. This series is a little looser than the Tales of the Empire series which came after in its narrative structure, jumping around more and involving more characters. Still, it's a very solid effort. Nothing in it quite lives up to the last episode of Tales of the Empire, but it's still pretty good.

Number 7!

Tales of the Empire

A six episode anthology series following the stories of two characters. The first three episode follow Morgan Elsbeth, the second three follow Baris Ofee. I have never been a fan of the night sisters, or the inclusion of standard fantasy style magic into Star Wars, so those first three episodes weren't really for me. They're fine, just not to my tastes. The Barriss Offee storyline is considerably better, and the final episode is terrific, exactly the kind of stuff I'd like to see more of in Star Wars.

Number 6!

Return of the Jedi.

Gasp! One of the sacred Original Trilogy NOT in the top 3?!?! “Blasphemy!”

Listen, I sincerely love RotJ. If you had asked me when I was 8 which was my favourite Star Wars movie, it would have been Jedi without me even thinking about it. But then I grew up, I learned about storytelling, pacing, editing, production design, and a million other things that, sadly, lowered RotJ in my esteem. It's still great, it's just not the greatest.

Number 5!

Andor

Wow, now this is some quality Star Wars content. Atmosphere, drama, sharp writing, and great performances. This is the level of quality all Star Wars content should be aspiring to. Considerably better than the movie it's technically a prequel to. A story of rebellion and political intrigue, cool stuff.

Number 4!

The Force Awakens.

I love TFA. Where RotJ’s reuse of tropes from Star Wars felt clumsy, lazy, and too soon, TFA’s homages to the themes and beats of the original trilogy work beautifully. The whole film feels simultaneously familiar and fresh. It’s not without it’s flaws, but none of the missteps can diminish the joy it brought me.

Number 3!

The Last Jedi

TLJ is a movie that took a while for me to warm up to. I was initially torn: I loved a lot of it, I disliked many other things. I liked the movie, but I wasn’t as in love with it like I had been with TFA. My experience since has been that the more I watch TLJ, the more I like it. I love that I never knew what was coming next. This movie constantly surprised me, which I loved. And that final act… Wow! Luke Skywalker is forever my hero.

Number 2!

Star Wars

Star Wars is a terrific movie. Some have called it a perfect movie, and it’s hard for me to disagree with them. The only thing preventing Star Wars from taking the number one slot on my list is that, for me personally, the pacing drags in a few places. Star Wars was the first of its kind though. This movie literally changed everything. The impact of Star Wars can not be overstated.

Number 1!

The Empire Strikes Back. I’m sure I’m surprising precisely no one when I add my name to the impossibly long list of people who think ESB is the best movie in the Saga. This is what I call a perfect movie. ESB is Star Wars firing on all cylinders.

And once more we've reached the end of the line. Some new stuff, a few shuffles, but not dramatically different than the previous update.

As always, future adjustments to come as needed.

*except, of course, that I'm right.

#star wars

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carebearmareee · 2 years

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heyyy <3 here for a matchup?? i remember trying to do one once, but hopefully you aren't the same person 'cus that'd be embarrassing 😳

ANYWAY. heres my totally aesthetic bio <3

— ( main three horoscopes ) cancer 🌞 gemini🌜& cancer ⬆️

— ( clothing style ) ( preferred since i can't rlly dress the way i want until i move out 😃 ) mixed?? a lot of fairygrunge. mmm fairygrunge <3 also punk vibes? kinder whore is VERY cool!! id like to look like a beat up babydoll who vomits black goo. 🥺

i also really enjoy regular fairycore, too!! victorian goth is gorgeous, and dark toned corsets r hot.

sometimes i like to wear lots of makeup, sometimes i just do thick mascara, babydoll lips and falsies <3 it's way easier since i burn out a lot.

not really a clothing thing, but i discovered this new (?) aesthetic that's called starflesh and OMG ITS COOL!

i don't have any piercings other than my ears, but when i can decide what to do with my own body, i plan on getting these ::

smiley

septum

both nostrils

snake bites!!

maybe dimples? ( is that what they're called? )

double eyebrows <3

tongue? ( kinda scared tho )

and some other unmentionables 😃

probs gonna get every ear piercing known to man

— ( shit that i LOVE ) hiking. as long as im not tired, and in the mood. crystal hunting is cool, whether it's in the stores or out near creeks. never find any pretty ones out in the wild, though :(

thrifting is cool!! i love going to my local mall and getting myself dolled up so i can flex on the old (bigoted)people.

most of the time im sulking in bed, though :') i also love going for drives!!! i usually end up listening to music though, and not wanting to talk. but maybe that's just with my dad, idk 😳

i consider myself spiritual? idk, it's been a while but it's been rotting my brain lately.

— ( music genre? ) like.. literally anything. nu metal, indie, dark and classic pop, rap and more. talking about music artists would be easier, sooo i really love all of these artists and maybe more!! ::

Tyler the Creator

Doja

Incubus

Korn

Slipknot

Limpbizkit

Lady Gaga

Citizen

Tame Impala

Evanescence

MAC DEMARCO (pls ilhsm)

Steve Lacy

Pink Pantheress

i don't want this to be too long, but yeah go figure :')

— ( extra ) my favorite crystals ( mostly in color ) are amethyst, citrine, tigers eye, jade and rose quartz!!

my favorite yuuri boy is probs seth. ( atm, i love almost all except jack. sorry jack.. :< ) i really connect to his character..

but obviously it's cus we both have mommy issues HSHSHS.

tbh tho, yan!finn has been on my mind as of late though. mmm <3 obsessive witch man.

my fav animals r bats, deer, frogs (i feel like most queer ppl do), foxes, BARN OWLS, cats, dogs and probs way more.

SORRY THIS IS RLLY LONG i have the urge to literally tell everyone everything abt myself sometimes.

no because i wanna be ur friend like what u seem so cool. dhakrhajfaisj ok i just need to know what fandom this would be for i don’t think u said it on there but maybe u did and i’m just being a little bozo lmao

HAVE A NICE DAY :))

#no one asked u mare 🤭

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wormliness · 2 years

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i was really digging belos and the collector’s aesthetic choices and then it hit me

#i absolutely adore how toh makes these references; it’s always so tasteful and refreshing and new. great to see in an era of bland remakes!#the owl house #the owl house s2 #emperor belos #the collector #toh #belos #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #fmab #dwarf in the flask #selim bradley #ive seen lots of people see the parallels betwene toh and atla and i LOVE them but #you can just tell the creators love their anime classics too #so so so cool & fun #anime #wrmls #toh spoilers

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dawndelion-winery · 2 years

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The People's Princes

Ft. Thoma, Gorou, Itto

Thoma:

It was hard not to love him, he who was so much like a classic fairytale prince

Thoma was the typical "born of commoners origins" type of prince who only discovered his birthright later on, giving him an air of humility no nobles could feign

Sometimes you'd joke about how he was a princess, with Taromarou as his animal companion

He took jokes surprisingly well for a royal, and it was always easily to fall right into place with him

Which was why you were rather confused as to how you didn't know where you stood with him

He was sweet, ever considerate, and always happy to see you

But that's just how he was

Were you foolish to let your heart flutter when he smiled at you so attentively? Or when he caught you, pulling you against his chest for support when you'd slipped and nearly fallen?

But so comforting was his presence that you hadn't even realised you'd voiced these worries to him

Who would've known that they could be dispelled so simply with a soft kiss and his forehead against yours, reassuring you that he'd never lead you on like that

Gorou:

Always ready to help, and always ready to take action himself

He's incredibly dependable despite his age and you can't help but worry he's shouldering too much on his own

But he only ever smiles at you, assuring you that it's all fine, and that he's managing it perfectly

You know he's pushing himself, and maybe that's why you still stick so close to him

You can tell he's exhausted by the way he slumps against you when you hug him

Or how he grumbles but does nothing even when you pet his ears

He's exhausted but he's happy. Happy that he can look out for his people

You're proud of him, of course, you just need to force him to rest every now and then

He loves cuddling with you, and will tickle you with his tail sometimes, he says it helps him relax best

He'll take you with him on patrols when he's checking up on everyone, and holds your hand if it's crowded

Can't have him losing you in the sea of people, y'know?

Itto:

Lowkey a menace but still well-loved solely because he tries his best

He's just really out of touch with social norms, but he's so cheery and it's obvious he's doing his best to make everyone happy

He's already sweet to everyone, but with you? He's a whole ass overgrown puppy

Following you around, cheering you on for every little thing, and just constantly reminding you he thinks you're awesome

He's the prince that everyone forgets is actually a prince (understandable)

It's ok tho, he reminds everyone every so often, and the student body would be more annoyed with him if not for the fact that he's got that sort of charming idiot's charisma that makes him impossible to actually hate

That and noble lady Yae finds him amusing and since no one really dares oppose her,,,,well,,,

You might wanna watch out for what he says because one day he's gonna get carried away and announce that you're his royal consort that same obnoxious way

Taglist[send an ask to be added]: @myluvkeiji @pluvioseprince @altair-ation @teyvattherapist @euphoric-author @paradise-creator @favonius-captain @tiredsleep @raincxtter @serenenation @loverofthe-stars @gensimping-for-all @irethepotato @almond-adeptus @mx-kamisat0 @yuzuricebun @chaosinanutshell @howlantic @codename-hiraeth @andreiling01 @callmemeelah

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maverick-werewolf · 4 years

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Modern Dragon Designs - Where they came from

Your regularly scheduled werewolf facts will return soon. For now, we provide this special, because you may not realize this, but I love dragons. There’s a reason one of my protagonists is basically obsessed with dragons.

Once upon a time, there was a movie - I don’t see anyone talk about it, I’m not even sure how many people are familiar with it...

It’s called Reign of Fire.

This movie shaped the modern Hollywoodian concept of dragons. Seriously, it did. Hear me out.

Released in 2002, Reign of Fire was a movie about - essentially - dragons as that age-old trope of “let’s take one monster and turn them into an overpopulated zombie plague so we can use them to tell a story about humans and make the monster just this brainless evil locust swarm backdrop.” This has happened to a lot of monsters by now.

But wait, these dragons aren’t like the dragons you might be used to: these dragons were completely redesigned from the ground up by the filmmaker(s) in order to make a more “realistic” and “animalistic” dragon that was acceptable by Hollywood, who generally views “dragon movies” (like so many other fantasy things...) as cheesy and silly. Market your movie as a film about dragons and you probably won’t get a deal. Well, turns out, coming up with your own gritty dragon designs worked!

Doesn’t this remind you of every other dragon you’ve seen in a movie for the last, you know, 18 years? Although it actually looks quite a bit cooler than those other ones that came after it

Please note that while I may sound sarcastic, jaded, and often maybe a bit scathing, I mean nothing against the creators of Reign of Fire or director Rob Bowman. I watched the movie in theaters when it released. I applaud Bowman for coming up with unique and interesting dragon designs, in order to have a different take on the creatures, so that they fit the story he wanted to tell, instead of doing what so many people do and completely co-opting concepts without trying to alter them to fit anything and... yeah... okay, I’m not going to talk about werewolf things in this post. Getting back on track:

What I don’t applaud is everyone ripping off Reign of Fire for their own dragons, doubly so because most of these people didn’t even take into account the reasons why it was designed that way. They should have left his dragons alone and come up with their own thing, but at least I guess Bowman can go down in history as the man who designed every Hollywood dragon for over a decade to come - with no signs of stopping - even down to the tail shape.

On Vice, you can find an article and interview with Rob Bowman, the director of Reign of Fire, discussing how he came up with this dragon design and how influential it has become. I highly recommend giving it a read.

Please note the Vice article is clearly written with the bias of someone who “can’t take dragons seriously,” so it’s also a good look at the Hollywood mindset about dragons and how much Hollywood treats fantasy in general like garbage (jerks).

It’s impossible to pretend this movie didn’t basically reshape modern dragons. Let’s get to the details...

Animalistic Design

Dragons in popular culture are generally - or at least they were generally - assumed to be powerful, intelligent creatures, often of a higher nature than humans and other mere mortals. They may be good or evil, but one can’t understate that traditional fantasy dragons are regal and majestic either way.

Reign of Fire wanted to usurp the majestic, intelligent dragon image, creating a smaller, hunched, knuckle-dragging sort of dragon that looks more like an animal - like a pteranodon. This is because the dragons in Reign of Fire are not exceptionally intelligent, noble beings that speak and hoard gold and have the wisdom of the ages. They are brutal hunters that set things on fire and eat everything smaller than them. So this design choice was a conscious one and a smart one.

The dragons in Reign of Fire are meant to be more scientific, more plausible, and also simpler, in a manner of speaking. They are not colorful, magical, ancient fantasy dragons...

Trouble is, everyone took cues from this design for their talking wise noble fantasy dragons, and it... doesn’t really work, at least if you ask me.

The dragon design in Reign of Fire looks like an ancestral throwback, an evolutionary ancestor to the intelligent, talking fantasy dragon, although they are smaller. They’re hunched, they haven’t evolved forelegs independent of their wings... you get the idea. Take a look at the “proto-drakes” in World of Warcraft versus the ordinary drakes, which have tiny dangly T-rex forelegs that haven’t fully developed yet, so they walk like the Reign of Fire dragons.

A proto-drake in World of Warcraft - also say hi to my worgen warrior

So many things taking this design for their intelligent, “higher being” dragons seems kind of... odd to me, to say the least. Unfortunately, Hollywood decided that’s the only way moviegoers can “take dragons seriously,” so here we are.

“Wyvern” - Two Legs vs Four

Municipal arms of Stjørdal, Norway

In medieval heraldry, there came to be a creature called a wyvern. Now, the etymology on the term “wyvern” is a little shaky. It originally didn’t specifically refer to a “two-legged dragon.” It is thought to mean/be derived from words meaning anything ranging from “asp” to “light javelin,” and essentially boils down to a flying serpent. It is noteworthy, of course, that the word “dragon” basically just means “serpent” too.

In heraldry, though, “wyvern” came to refer to a two-legged dragon - at least, if you ask the English, Scottish, and Irish; elsewhere in Europe, they may not be so picky. And now, in modern pop culture (such as Dungeons and Dragons), we often use it in the same sense.

Wyverns weren’t really a “thing” in folklore, just as dragons in folklore didn’t look like our modern idea of a dragon. It’s debatable whether the father of our modern concept of dragons, Fafnir (from whom Tolkien drew inspiration for Smaug), even had wings at all; he was essentially a serpent, perhaps with legs. Point is, wyverns come from heraldry, especially the specificity of two legs versus four.

So now you know why you might see a lot of people (myself included) referring to this design as a “wyvern design” for a dragon.

Dull Coloration - Grey and Brown over Red, Blue, Green...

There’s something else - something very important - that Hollywood took from Reign of Fire... the concept that dragons aren’t pretty colors and are, in fact, various hues of grey and brown, and any more contrasting colors are just vague indications instead of bright red scales.

Now, Reign of Fire obviously did this because - again - they were going for the more animalistic, natural look as opposed to the mysterious majestic magical being look. Okay, that’s fine. But then Hollywood decided that fantasy, too, has to be devoid of dragons with bright colors.

The green dragon in Game of Thrones

There are countless examples of this in modern media. Any dragon that was previously brightly colored has been dulled pretty much to an extreme. Sometimes you might catch a fleeting glimpse of them looking like a brighter shade, but it was probably just a trick of the light. Why? Because all dragons are desaturated to the point of being almost indistinguishable by color.

The golden dragon in The Witcher Netflix series

This is also why you see so many mods on the Skyrim Nexus called things like “true red dragon.”

There are plenty more examples of this - I’m sure you can see the difference when you look at those dragons and other modern film dragons over, say, something like this...

Red dragon in D&D

And now we move on to...

The Fire Breathing - Chemicals, not Magic

Bowman insisted on ditching traditional fire breathing (you don't want the audience wondering whether the dragon's mouth is being burnt up with every flame) and again looked to the animal kingdom for inspiration. The king cobra, once again, was a great starting point. It doesn't spray fire, but it can spit its venom. Even more useful was the bombardier beetle, which shoots two chemicals from its abdomen that, once mixed, create a hot, burning spray. Bowman used these real-world examples to inspire his own dragons. They don't breathe fire exactly, but rather spit chemicals from two different sacks in their mouths that, when combined, ignite. "That's anatomy. That's already been designed, so we're going to draw from there," he said.

(quoted from the Vice article linked to earlier in this post)

The Hungarian Horntail in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - fire is streaming from two separate organs in the mouth, but they aren’t chemicals mixing together like in Reign of Fire...

The director of Reign of Fire wanted his dragons to be more natural in that they breathe fire through organic means, based on chemical reactions, instead of the usual dragon magic. But lots of people loved this “mouth flap”/”mouth organ” design with “streams” of fire coming from the mouth instead of fire flowing directly from the dragon’s throat, so now you see it pretty dang often.

Horns? Brow Ridges!

Another thing that is basically out now in dragon designs is the real horns of many traditional dragons, like Spyro, and like the dragons in Dungeons & Dragons used to have.

These days, it’s all about brow ridges and big spiny scales that aren’t separate horns, they’re just big pointed scales or piles of scales or bone ridges - and they aren’t a different color than the dragon’s scales, either, pretty often. And, in general, dragon’s horns have become much smaller and far more numerous, and more like spines/ridges, as opposed to the great, sweeping horns of classical dragons.

Firkraag, the red dragon, in the D&D video game Baldur’s Gate II, from 2000

Firkraag is a very traditional dragon. Now, while Dungeons & Dragons has generally kept more traditional dragons (yay!), they did fall into the brow ridge horn thing - although they, thankfully, didn’t make the horns smaller and subtler and more numerous little spikes, like so many other modern dragon designs. They also went with the brow ridge horns for tieflings (once humans with demon blood, then some weird thing in 4E, and now I think they’re humans with demon blood again), as opposed to the ordinary horns of the tieflings in previous editions of D&D.

Skyrim dragon head concept art

The Desolation of Smaug(’s design)

Here is... a big one. Here, we’ll talk some about the production of The Hobbit films over time, so we’re going behind the scenes.

Alright, so we all know Smaug, probably, by pop culture osmosis if nothing else. He is the quintessential dragon. He’s basically the founder of all Western dragon concepts: he’s big, he’s red, he hoards gold, he’s extremely intelligent and talks, etc. You get the picture. Every dragon that we have borrowed at least something from Smaug. And, in turn, he was inspired by Fafnir, the father of all our dragon concepts, from Norse mythology - but Tolkien took it all a step further and created the concept of dragons that we have today. Or, well, the not Reign of Fire ones. The fantasy ones.

A map drawn by Tolkien: notice the winged, four-legged Smaug over his mountain

During the first Hobbit movie, An Unexpected Journey, we see Smaug attack the Lonely Mountain...

In this clip, you can plainly see that Smaug has four legs. This was actually edited slightly for later editions of the movie, or so I’ve heard (I haven’t watched any later editions).

I can tell you for certain that when I saw the theatrical release, it was like this, too. It is apparent throughout the scene that Smaug has four legs and wings, separately. I know because I was paying very, very close attention, because I was going to be very upset if Hollywood turned Smaug into a wyvern.

Well, they did - later.

Smaug the wyvern looking like just another slightly different take on the bog-standard Hollywood dragon

Apparently, some studio exec decided that having a traditional fantasy dragon, even if this dragon happens to be frelling Smaug himself, would not be okay in this modern Hollywood world. So we ended up with a dull reddish spiney hunching knuckle-dragging wyvern with an angler mouth (I’m sorry; I really am sorry if you like the design, that’s totally fine, it’s a fine design, I am glad you enjoyed it, but Smaug shouldn’t have looked that way IMO and forgive me but I am still in pain over it) in place of a more traditional dragon that held more to things like, I dunno, how Tolkien himself drew Smaug. Smaug’s movie design flies right in the face of that and destroyed our chance to finally see a proper traditional dragon done justice on the big screen.

Tolkien’s art of Smaug - note the position of the forelegs, separate from the wings, like in the earlier map

This is all just one big example why we should be thankful that The Lord of the Rings films were all shot in one go, so no one could alter important things like the design of the fantasy genre’s father of all dragons, in the middle of production. Of course, the production on The Hobbit movies was a nightmare at best, as you can read about in assorted other articles, and Peter Jackson was very unhappy with what the studio had him do to the series. All of that is just another story, I suppose.

Dragons Redesigned by Reign of Fire: Example List

Now that we’ve gone over just a few of the talking points about Reign of Fire’s dragon designs (although I didn’t even get into the flat, spaded tail look in detail), here’s an undoubtedly incomplete list of several examples that have either entirely taken the design and/or were massively influenced by it...

(please note that not everything in this list held entirely to Reign of Fire’s design, obviously; some have the fire, some don’t; some have horns, some have head/brow ridges; but all of them are wyverns and most are darkly-colored)

Skyrim - Obvious influence with the general design, skin/scales and ridges design, as well as coloration; however, it is noteworthy that the Elder Scrolls has had dragons with no forelegs since at least 1998, in the game Redguard - though that dragon was also very brightly-colored (also of note: Peryite, while technically a Daedric prince and not a dragon, had four legs at least as far back as Daggerfall in 1996)

The Hobbit films, specifically The Desolation of Smaug onward - as mentioned before

Harry Potter movies - Wholesale. Two streams of fire from mouth flaps in Goblet of Fire, generally dull greyish and/or brownish colorations, no forelegs, short/simple horns that are mostly ridges...

Gods of Egypt - The giant fire-breathing cobras have the mouth flaps

Game of Thrones - This one’s pretty obvious too.

Disney’s Maleficent - In the new live action Disney movie(s), the dragon falls right into this design (though the fire doesn’t come from mouth flaps)

Netflix Witcher series - Villentretenmerth is very much a wyvern design and a dull shade, and he in fact has no horns at all, even though dragons weren’t portrayed this way in any previous Witcher adaptations

Stargate SG1 (season 10) - In the episode series “The Quest,” a dragon appears and... well, it looks just like all those other dragons, though the fire does come from its throat.

Beowulf (2008) - I try not to ever talk about or think about this film, but I have to just throw out there that the dragon is very much Reign of Fire, especially with that wyvern design.

Seventh Son - If you can call Malkin a dragon - she was called one, I think - she definitely also has the same kind of dull-colored wyvern design.

Sucker Punch (movie)

Lots and lots of B-movies and direct to DVD/streaming films - Dawn of the Dragonslayer, Dragon (2006), Dragon Crusaders...

Something to note, also, is that cartoons, anime, and other non-film media is mostly - but not entirely - free from this influence. Cartoons especially are free from it, partially because they aren’t influenced by Hollywood producers who want “serious” and “realistic” dragons. Cartoons are allowed to have magical, colorful, four-legged dragons. Unfortunately, we are deprived of those in live action film and television, by and large.

There are still other exceptions - most notably things that were created before this influence, like Dragonheart and its spinoffs and sequels, which have thankfully kept their dragon designs consistent instead of erasing their forelegs.

Of course, why dragons are depicted as four-legged and winged in the first place - and when this depiction arose - is another topic entirely. I’m not going into that right now, seeing as how this post is already preposterously long.

Long story short, I was rewatching the movie Gods of Egypt and, when I saw the giant cobra monsters breathe fire, I was possessed to write this article. Because Reign of Fire’s influence is something I have always noticed ever since its release, and something my brother and I talk about a lot (and everyone who knows me has surely heard me talk about it, too) - because, frankly, it’s always bothered me. My favorite dragons are traditional dragons: four legs, bright colors, wings, horns, breathing fire, the works.

So, although the original creator of these design ideas did something cool and different because he wanted to do his own take on dragons, Hollywood decided that these design cues should be taken to dumb down all dragons forever, the same way that Hollywood has dumbed down so many monster designs so that the only acceptable ones just a bunch of near-replicas of each other, including werewolves.

I think it’s very sad that film producers think you can’t take something like dragons or werewolves seriously unless they are dull, nontraditional, and ugly. And I say ugly in the sense of these are not pretty, majestic fantasy designs - they are, many of them, intended to be ugly. Though I personally also hold the opinion that most of them are ugly regardless of if they are intended to be ugly.

So - now you know! If you haven’t seen Reign of Fire, go check it out to meet the father of modern dragon designs, from the color of their hides to the shape of their bodies, the smaller horns, and - sometimes - even their tails.

(Special thanks to everyone on my discord who helped me compile this list, as well as of course my brother and all our ranting at/with each other on this topic over many years)

If you like this post, maybe you’ll enjoy the rest of my blog, where I post a lot about folklore and all kinds of monsters (especially werewolves)!

Werewolf Facts --- Patreon

#dragons #pop culture #dragon #reign of fire #creature design #folklore #wyvern #wyverns #game of thrones #skyrim #harry potter #the desolation of smaug #the hobbit #movies #film #hollywood #long post #EXTREMELY LONG post

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