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an-aura-about-you · 2 years

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I've been planning out a plated dessert based on Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, because of course I am.

So it's been a while since plated desserts class, but I've got the basics drilled into my head to give me ideas on what to do as well as my taste in flavor profiles to guide me. If you want to make a really nice plated dessert, you want to go with roughly 3 or 4 elements to it, which I'll outline here:

-Main Dessert: this is the centerpiece of your dessert, the thing everything else should be building up to. It's the pie, the cake, the ice cream, whatever your main element is going to be. And while there are some exceptions, just about anything could be a main element.

-Secondary Dessert: this is the optional bit, the fourth, but it's worth bringing up both because the dessert I'm planning IS going to have a secondary element and because some desserts have expected secondary elements. For example, apple pie a la mode is such a standard phrase that some people believe "a la mode" means "with ice cream." If your main dessert is apple pie, the ice cream is the secondary element. Ideally, your main and secondary elements should either be complementary or have some kind of connection like a common flavor.

-Sauce: oftentimes this feels like the part restaurants cheat on, just a little something drawn on the plate to zhuzh up the dessert with minimal effort. oooo I did a Hershey's chocolate syrup drizzle on your plate before slabbing a brownie on top of it. But the sauce is a way to tie things together and push the boundaries of your flavor profiles. In desserts with two elements, the sauce needs to go with both of them.

-Garnish: this could be just about anything to finish it off. The dollop of whipped cream, the cherry on top, a chocolate cigarette, I've seen tuile cookies and macarons used this way

-And a guideline for the dessert is, ideally, each element should only incorporate at max about 3 or 4 flavors. By this I'm talking dessert elements. The sauce and garnish should either be one of the flavors set by the main and secondary desserts or be used to prop those flavors up. If you get more than 4 flavors in one dessert, it can be harder to differentiate between them. Sometimes that's the point, such as certain spice mixes where the parts make a different whole like everyone's seasonal darling Pumpkin Spice. But in that situation, I consider Pumpkin Spice to be 1 flavor, though with one that complex you probably don't want to push much beyond 2 flavors.

For Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course, I know for certain my dessert, naturally, is Chef Saltbaker's Wondertart and cookies.

I'm working on a run of the cookies tonight and tomorrow. The type of cookie isn't specified, so I'm using this as an excuse to make one of my favorites: cowboy cookies. I think they're hearty and delicious enough to knock one right into or out of the astral plane, so that's enough of a qualifier in my book. I toasted the ingredients that require toasting and the house smells so good, y'all.

For the Wondertart, I don't actually know all the ingredients for it yet. (I mean, I can look it up, but I've been watching one of my favorite Let's Player's go through the game and frankly I wanna see if I can figure it out as he plays.) But I have pulled out one of my culinary history books to get me in the mindset of the Cuphead era of food.

So, having said that, what is going on with food during the era of Cuphead?

To start with, the book I have is specifically about turning points in the history of American cuisine, which is fitting since Cuphead is a tribute to classic 1930s American animation. And what was going on around then was the last handful of years of Prohibition, the Great Depression, and the events leading up to the start of World War II. This is already giving me some ideas:

-Due to the double whammy of Prohibition and the Great Depression, fine dining restaurants were tanking, especially French restaurants which had been pretty popular at the time. But basically, if you were the kind of restaurant to have a wine list, you were in trouble.

-In fact, once the economy recovered, a lot of Americans would vacation in France for relatively cheap and part of the allure was the simple but exquisite French cuisine.

-Once World War II rationing hit, it hit sugar hard, and cheap salty snacks became much more prevalent. We're talking the rise of popcorn at movie theaters and establishing the norm of having free salty snacks at the bar so people will sit and buy more drinks.

So, this is already hitting a lot of stuff I like: French recipes, something that has to do with alcohol, and what will probably be an excuse to make some kind of salted caramel sauce since that will go well with just about anything I put out here. I might rethink my cookie choice since cowboy cookies already have chocolate, coconut, and pecan going on with them. That or I could do a chocolate ganache for my sauce instead and marry the elements that way.

Having said that, I only know two ingredients for the Wondertart so far. One of them might be getting used as more of a flavor enhancer than a star in the flavor profile, but I'll just have to see what comes up next and be ready to adapt. I don't exactly have my full basket yet, so I can't finalize a flavor profile for the tart until I do.

And as far as a garnish goes, I might do a little chocolate chess piece for the top of the tart for all the parry checks. (In fact, that'd be a fun excuse to buy some ruby chocolate since it's pink.) Well, I say that, but do I really want to temper chocolate for this? I'm not Chocolate Guy over here. Still, a little chess knight would be awfully cute. But realistically, I can't really think of a fitting garnish until I know what the tart's going to be, so I'll just have to sit tight. Or spoil myself on it.

#food

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axes-and-ashes · 2 years

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Under the cut is my 71st Games Timeline! This is a lot of headcanon and my own reading of Jo’s character so!

- July; Johanna’s name is called and she breaks down live on air. Her fellow tribute, Aspen Ridley, tells Blight he does not want to work with her. Blight tells her she has to think quick or she won’t survive a week in the Games, advice that ends up saving her life. Her and Aspen never repair this relationship.

- Late July/Early June; Johanna makes barely a splash as a tribute going mostly unknown and crying whenever the camera is on her. She scores a 3 in training after fumbling her axe so hard she nearly dropped it on her foot. She stops speaking to Aspen outside of public appearances which he is not upset about. They do not openly berate each other, what’s the point, but their interactions are few and cold at best. He starts flirting with the Careers. Blight tries to giver advice and she tells him to fuck off.

- July-August; 71st Hunger Games;

The arena: A massive jungle like setting that it turns out is completely and absolutely dead. The water is salt water, the trees don’t flower or fruit, and what exists are thin starving animals that aren’t worth the effort to kill. It is a game of supply management and most die from hunger and thirst (Johanna does the condensation trick her father taught her during an especially brutal summer. It does well enough. As for food, she manages the best she can but this is the closest something comes to killing her and she eventually starts to kill to steal their rations)

The bloodbath: Healthy and organized Careers split off, half going hand to hand stopping most Tributes from even making it out of the opening. Johanna took off but got tackled by a boy from 6. She killed him with a rock before sprinting into the woods and up a tree. 1/3 are dead by the end of it.

1st Half: Jo keeps to herself balancing on trees and slipping away. Aspen works with the Careers whose style is more find, raid, kill, repeat, and are pretty organized. The favorites were the girl from 2 and a boy from 1 who are both good at hand to hand and a machete respectively. Donors also decide a lot with Aspen getting what goes to Seven since Blight realizes that Jo’s method of hiding will be ruined if someone spotted a box heading her way. The game breaks down to the final 10 with the 11th place going to Aspen himself.

They decide to test him by having him try to get Jo to come out of hiding since she’ll be an easy kill and maybe even trigger a desperately needed Feast since their food was dwindling. Aspen failed to bring her out (He couldn’t climb high enough to find her) and eventually they turn on him. She used his death to slip away but this is the moment she realized what it would really meant to get out of here.

Feast: Johanna did not go to the feast but used it to lightly raid the Careers. She was hoping for food but they knew better than to leave it behind. She does find an axe, likely picked off of Aspen, and she makes a choice.

2nd Half: She made her first kill on a sleeping boy from 4. She stole his rations and kept moving. This would become her MO finding people who were alone, killing them, taking their supplies, and moving on. She has little memory of this time because dissociation and trauma and hunger are a hell of a mix. Blight still refuses to give her supplies realizing what this could be twisted into and fearing she’ll stop if she got food or supplies otherwise.

Finale: The girl from 2 kills the boy from 1 which triggers a massive chasm to open in the center of the Arena. Johanna woke up feeling trembles and jumped down just in time to watch her tree fall into a pit. She ran leaving almost everything save for her axe behind and the Gamemakers used this to force the two girls to meet. Their final fight was on top of a crumbling hill with 2 going down and Johanna winning.

Blight smiles, Johanna screams, and Aspen is mourned by all who knew him.

#photos #» ⍋ —Verses | Ashes and Roses (Canon) 🪓#» ⍋—Johanna Mason | MUSINGS 🪓

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girlfriendsofthegalaxy · 2 years

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tuesday again 2/22/22

what a pleasing date! a twosday, even! one of my favorite coworkers is getting married today in a botanical garden and i send good wishes from afar!

also, lots of short things this week bc a bitch is having some Medication Side Effects i need to tough out a bit longer before this doc will be convinced they are adversely affecting my life

listening orville peck has a new EP out but none of the songs have really latched themselves onto the black matter of my brain yet. my sister sent me a tiktok that had me in hysterics and ended up having a full version, great beeps and bloops, we sing “pull up a stepladder and give me a peck” when her cats are yelling at her from the floor now

reading fallow week

watching the cuphead show. my boss and i keep very close tabs on video games media efforts, and i’m not like contractually obliged here on this blog or in my actual dayjob (thank god) to watch every piece of video games media, but boy do i love to give opinions on it.

my dad’s side of the family has very strong subspecialities and opinions about different areas of film history, bc they’re all engineers and designers and married other engineers and designers. my favorite uncle veered really hard into the history of animation, like The Thing To Do when you visited him was sit in the pool until you got unrecognizably pruny and then huddle under a blanket in the air conditioning watching looney tunes in chronological order. so i cracked this childrens show open like WHEE a fun tribute to early animation!

in general, i find the first episode of the cuphead show to have a really unnerving combination of some of the rubber-hose early-animation style with modern adult animated american television facial expressions and dialogue. it has shot sequences, shooting angles, and moving background elements that felt very modern and jarring to me. the opening titles are killer (probably bc they’re done by an entirely different team)! the watercolor backgrounds are lovely! the devil’s song and dance number was fun to watch! everything else i don’t really care for and so i will not be giving it the ol three-episode try. the second episode has a “whoops some irresponsible kids have to take care of a baby!” shit and i fucking hate that trope. if anyone’s watched it straight through, let me know if it’s worth gritting my teeth to see the cab-calloway-inspired character’s walk cycle or nah

reading interviews it sounds like it was underfunded, a lot of “well here’s where we had to lean on the magic of netflix technology to cut corners”, which is a real shame- it could have been a lovely throwback and tribute to early animation and a really interesting intro to new generations without insane uncles. IF they got the money to really lean into the 2D aspect of it, given that the game was so lovingly hand-animated and is still memorable years after release in a very crowded genre FOR that art style. shame this childrens show was not the thing i, a sophisticated adult, was looking for, glad studio mdhr got that fat fat netflix check even if i think it’s a poor likeness of uhhh Their Game. always fun to keep an eye on netflix’s newest video game transmedia efforts, even if it’s weird that both castlevania and arcane have been widely praised for their animation and this one simply doesn’t hold a fuckin candle imo. part of that is different teams, part of that is they’re less willing to spend money on their more explicitly kids stuff, wish it was different, what can ya do

playing junk shop telescope by cephalopodunk, a free short in-browser bitsy game tagged not-exactly-sure-how-a-telescope-works with exactly one mechanic, and it does glorious things with that one mechanic. it’s so clearly signposted, i never got lost or turned around or stuck, mwah. love space, love pixels, the ending screen actually made me gasp so i’ll forgive it for straying very close to a specific conspiracy theory i had to debunk constantly at the astronomy tour internship.

how did i find this: on the itch.io recs page of a different game maker i like, after i struck out sifting through the free + browser + recent + popular intersection of tags. do wish itch let you exclude tags. i will never want to play a horror game in my life. bio/shock was pushing it

making i’ve been thinking a lot lately about how difficult any given long-running podcast is to get into. there’s an expectation of prior knowledge about injokes and references by episode 100, i think, and it’s hard to know what a good entry point is.

so i’m going to explain what the fuck “the wives” and “the boys” and “cowboyblogging” is, since i spent a good portion of last year in no fit state to do much of anything and it’s been kind of iffy so far this year also but i’ve looped back all the way around to productive procrastination on hobbies instead of productive procrastination on life shit.

coming up on three years ago, i watched the entire dollars trilogy movies (for a fistful of dollars, for a few dollars more, the good the bad and the ugly) with an upsettingly high fever and wrote a fic where i put the horrible men (angel, blondie, and tuco) into the postapocalyptic roleplaying video game fallout: new vegas (where in my version, the best version, the player character “the courier” is married to a pair of butch mechanic assassins veronica and christine). i have almost no memory of writing that original first fic, but it did spawn a much much larger fic (”The” cowboyfic, if you will) unpacking what exactly happens post-game and what happens when you get everything you think you want and some stuff about the fall of empires and capitalism.

this fic assumes some degree of knowledge of at least one of these properties. there is a dramatic difference between my writing ability of three years ago, when the tuesdayposts weren’t even a thing yet, and my writing abilities now where i give opinions about data for a living. there are only like half a dozen people i shout to about this thing. this is purely to amuse myself. i encourage you, the reader, to block the “cowboyblogging” and “ain’t that a kick in the head” tags if you’ve been reading this like “okay now i know what she’s talking about and i’ve decided i do not wish to see this content, why have there been no textile crimes yet this year”. i’m dealing with clothes moths right now it gives me the serotonin to make the horrible men pine and the bisexual/lesbian trio be disgustingly happy.

if you’d like to dip in anyway, good news! i didn’t put out a new chapter but i did double the length of the previous chapter and am working on this whole fucking project in a much more serious and sustained way (i say, knocking on wood).

#tuesday again #tuesday again no problem #Spotify

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pain-in-the-butler · 3 years

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The time has come once again

The Bloodbath

“I’m simply one hell of a butler” says Sebastian as he starts cleaning as usual

Okay so Agni’s taking no prisoners

Work Nerd, Science Nerd, and Jock Nerd team up to form the Nerd Trifecta

Team One Brain Cell joins up with Phipps, who is quite possibly their only chance for survival

Ran-Mao remembers how Harcourt beat everyone in the unfortunately deleted round and said “Not in my backyard”

So far, everyone else has simply run away unscathed or grabbed a weapon they won’t use because the game doesn’t record weapons. Rip Tanaka

Day 1

Ran-Mao bringing the canon energy by adding a second weapon to her arsenal

Phipps somehow always turns into Team Dad during these, so I’m glad to see he’s finding time for his favorite hobbies

Undertaker up to his usual Sneaky Antics

It hasn’t even been twelve hours yet. Kind of impressive honestly

Considering Harcourt lost his mace, I’ll just assume the attack Grell “escaped” from was the vicious stabbing of his trim little schoolboy fingernails

Bad vibes

It appears that Lau also brought his canon game

Sebastian in the most recent chapters be like

I’ve actually never had this event come up before and it has to happen between two of the more innocent characters in the series;;;; god Lizzie you deserve better even in the Hunger Games Simulator

Where’s a Safety Nerd when you need one

What’s better than this? Guys bein dudes

This is probably what happened after Ciel left Weston

Sebastian will take care of this for ya, huh bud

Other events:

Agni practices his archery

Wolfram goes fishing

Othello finds a cave

Soma goes ‘splorin

Edward goes huntin

Day 1′s Deaths: Tanaka, Sieglinde, Lizzie, and Macmillan. Someday one of the ladies will win

Night 1

Butler slumber party in the woods, BYOYM (bring your own young master)

It takes a lot of energy to be this blond

I’m happy for her :)

Yeah I’ll bet you probably do Lau

A tonal shift so abrupt I got mental whiplash

Can we go back to when Grell was looking at the sky pls

Thought about science too hard. Got a concussion

Thought about Ciel dying too hard. Got an infection

Aww dad :( Hope you caught some fish tho

Looks like Harcourt won’t be winning this one, gang

I stg the hunger games simulator is misogynist because the ladies always DIE /j

Ran-Mao is hopefully here to prove the previous statement wrong

Other events:

Bard gets a hatchet

Undertaker also passes out from exhaustion

R!Ciel goes to sleep in a tree

Day 2

Oh you five are SO going in my burn book for this. It’s what Grell would’ve wanted

Ahaha just like in the real manga... right guys (;

Idk about you but I’m rooting for her

I don’t think the simulator could’ve picked four people who were less likely to team up than this

I would too if I saw my best friend was palling around with an opium dealer, a grim reaper with a lawn mower, and another grim reaper that the first grim reaper doesn’t like

Other events:

Othello chases Wolfram

That’s the only other event actually

That means today we lost O!Ciel, Mey-Rin, Harcourt, and Grell. ffs, I hope Ran-Mao kills all of you

Night 2

I’ve missed you, rare pair simulator

The “unknown sponsor” was Undertaker and the “fresh food” was O!Ciel

Confirmed: Lau doesn’t get high off his own supply

Once again a ceasefire between the strong hungry boys is formed

Girl, you don’t have to do that

“Did you kill Ciel?” Sebastian asks

“No that was William,” Othello says

Sebastian punches a tree so hard that it combusts. “God damn. Fuck” Sebastian says

Wolfram just realized I put him in the Hunger Games simulator

Other events:

Phipps thinks about “Are you winning son”

Undertaker gazes at space

Ronald becomes Lost Ronald

Soma passes out

Bard gets some water

Day 3

Damn Agni who haven’t you flirted with

Finny sees that Bard has water and thinks Bard cooked it himself, so he wants no part of that (might be burnt)

What did he even have that was worth stealing? A fish?

Well I can tell you who isn’t creating that smoke: Lau

“What’s worse than two young masters? No young masters. Now get over here and make a contract”

Everything about this sentence is a fever dream

Other events:

Undertaker decides he wants a slingy shot too

Edward chases Dad I mean Phipps

Othello gets some ouchies from picking berries

Night 3

When your young master dies, you just get an infection apparently

damn Finny’s playing hardball

I don’t think anything bad has actually happened to Bard yet. It’s just been a grand frolic the whole time

I barely remember reading the first Hunger Games but Ran-Mao’s the Foxface of this journey: she deserves to win and I just know she’ll die in the stupidest way possible

Sebastian’s like a cat that can’t reach the bird it wants to attack, so it attacks the nearest other thing instead. Poor Dad

Two white-haired anime boys and a not-white-haired anime boy talk about who will die tomorrow. Anime doesn’t exist yet so the white-haired anime boys don’t know their hair color automatically spells their doom

Other events:

Edward starts a fire, which means he’s capable of smoking opium

Ronald gets some medical supplies

Othello gets a hatchet

R!Ciel thinks about winning

Lau gets an entire explosive, but he won’t be able to light it, so no it’s no big deal

Day 4

In Soviet Hunger Games, white-haired anime boy kills you

But why murder someone when you could just mess with them

Other events:

Grey scares Bard

Finny goes hunting

Night 4

Have you four even killed anyone yet

The list of “people who didn’t start the manor fire and also don’t smoke opium” now consists of Lau and R!Ciel

The mood is too light now. Someone needs to die and it better not be Ran-Mao

At last, Father Phipps has chosen his son for this round

Agni gushes about all the hot guys he’s simultaneously in love with, giving Ran-Mao a clearer idea of who’s still alive

Day 5

Girl, it’s about time, go claim some trophies

Finny’s easily got the longest kill streak and it’s a little unnerving

Father Phipps finds a new secret fishing hole

Othello doesn’t

Lau continues to put in all the efforts of a kindergarten bully

Oh no. He’s a yandere

Other events:

Sebastian fucks around and explores the arena

Bard fucks around and hunts for tributes

Undertaker fucks around and sleeps

R!Ciel fucks around and picks flowers

Night 5

I’ve never met anyone who ships Sebastian/Undertaker but I know you’re out there

Okay, maybe these four are even less likely to team up than Phipps, Ronald, Undertaker, and Lau

Edward sees I’m making jokes about people who build fires and stays hidden

Day 6

Canonically, that is the only way R!Ciel would win a fight, so

I probably could have predicted this

I hope these are the faces they made when it happened

The “unknown sponsor” is R!Ciel and the “fresh food” is an ear that fell off his own head

I’m not sure if I should be concerned or unsurprised that Bard’s Hunger Games life is more chill than his canon life

the “unknown sponsor” was the fish and the “clean water” was “fish water”

Other events:

Ran-Mao gets her third weapon that she doesn’t want to use, which is a hatchet

Finny finds a river

Agni practices archery again, but he doesn’t kill anyone because he wants this to go on forever

Night 6

Ran-Mao I beg you please. Release us from this purgatory of mediocrity

And suddenly we’re back to canon Bard

I guess not everything can be canon

Other events:

Both Agni and Phipps pass out from exhaustion. It’s 2:50 a.m. so I should really be taking a page from their book, but unfortunately everyone refuses to die

The Feast

Finny has been a stone cold killer this entire match, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the girl I wanted to win would get eliminated by him, but it still hurts ✌️😔

If you cheat on Othello, he will overpower you, killing you

Everyone else decided not to go to the Feast. Honestly, I don’t remember what the Feast is, but everyone who did go either murdered someone or got murdered, so I guess that was probably a good call

Day 7

I’ve had enough of this dude

Jesus Finny I can’t wait to see how many kills you got, I feel like you and Agni were the only two who took anyone down

Bard, Undertaker, Sebastian, and Phipps all hunt for other tributes but they’re useless and don’t kill anyone

Arena Event: Volcano Eruption

In one fell swoop, we lose Sebastian, Undertaker, R!Ciel, and Finny, jeez. But... that means it comes down to.............

FATHER PHIPPS VS. BARD

FATHER PHIPPS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow... Unlike his manga counterpart, this boy coasted the whole time and won... He basically went on vacation and he actually won... But then again, it’s Hunger Games Simulator and nothing is sacred

Well I hope you learned a valuable lesson today. I hope you did at some point before you read my post, because you sure as hell learned nothing from this. Thank you for wasting precious minutes of your life with me 😏

#black butler #kuroshitsuji #kuroshitsuji hunger games simulator

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crusherthedoctor · 3 years

Note

Out all the eggman boys he pilots for battle and what not like the egg dragoon or death egg robot, what are some of your favorites? And do you have any ideas you wish he would employ in the future?

It should be mentioned that, being the Eggman fanboy that I am, I love many of them, even the simplest or shittiest ones (ie: Egg Dealer), because the aesthetic of Eggman's style really appeals to me, and the way his machines can range from goofy to intimidating, or both simultaneously, can be seen as an extension of how versatile the doctor himself is.

Still, I do have my favourites. Most of them are the ones you'd expect, but here goes:

Well you gotta start with the classic, don't you? The first of Eggman's king-sized monuments to his own visage, and more than deserving of its iconic reputation.

This one's a fan favourite when it comes to his smaller scale Egg Mobile attachments, and it's easy to understand why. It's an undeniably brilliant design that doesn't have any obvious weaknesses for armchair intellectuals to point and go "Why does this video game boss have that? That's stupid, IQ of 300 my ass, I'm such a clever internet person, please give me all your praise".

The Death Egg Robot may be the one everyone knows, but the Great Eggman Robo is the one we all strive for. Both phases of the fight may be straightforward, but the scale of the behemoth cements the tense atmosphere, and it happens to be smack dab in the middle of arguably the greatest finale in a Sonic game, which is as wonderful as it is in part due to Eggman never, ever giving up.

A more unconventional choice here. There may not be much to these two fights in particular, but I just really like the general concept of Eggman taking ancient statues or other such structures, and weaponizing them. It's a nice spin on his usual motif of converting Mother Nature to his own preference, as well as defacing ancient histories and legacies for the sake of his own.

Both of Eggman's final mechs in SA1 are awesome. The Egg Viper is a really cool design and gave birth to a certain meme, and the Egg Walker marked the climax of one of Eggman's best moments and one of Tails' best moments.

Speaking of Egg Walkers, I like this one too. Yeah, it's no secret that I don't like how Eggman - the guy known for making all sorts of crazy crafts - is stuck in one tiny thing for a whole game's duration (even though I'm aware it's for gameplay's sake, but still), but on its own merits, the Walker itself is still cool in my book.

Putting them together because they're more or less the same mech. Nothing special here, I just think they're cool "modern" interpretations of the Death Egg Robot-style humanoid mech. And yes, I know Eggman technically didn't pilot the Egg Emperor in Heroes... but he did in Generations 3DS, so get it up yee.

Another one you knew was coming. Don't we all love the Egg Dragoon? So do Sonic Team, it seems. The Dragoon is one bad mothafucka, and the way Generations added to it by incoporating an Egg Viper tail and the Egg Wyvern's wings made it even more badass. Unleashed may not be one of my favourite games in the series, but I'm thankful that it gave me this winner right here.

These two don't really have much in common (aside from the colour blue), but I put them together because thanks for nothing, Tumblr image limits.

Anyway, I've always felt the Egg Wizard deserved more recognition. The design is interesting in itself and keeps to the nautical theming of Rush Adventure, but what REALLY makes it stand out is the way it uses the power of the Jeweled Scepter, and how we get to see some crazy magic that you don't often get from Eggman robots. Like giant dragon heads made of lava, for example. And the fight is plenty enjoyable too.

As for the Time Eater, it may not have gotten much if any story to its own nature, which is a shame, but at least we got a nice clockwork motif out of it, and the way it jitters gives the impression that it's trying desperately to fight back against Eggman's control, but can't. And speaking of, Eggman FINALLY controlling a monster successfully is worth celebrating... unless you forgot like Ian Flynn apparently did, since Worlds Collide claimed he lost control of it. Typical Flynnanigans, eh?

I'm absolutely in love with the idea of Eggman being crafty enough to store a second mech inside the first one in the event of the latter's defeat. It's the perfect way to cap off Eggman's consistent display of brilliance and foresight in Forces. The designs themselves are pretty sweet, with the first one taking cues from Alfred Molina Dr. Octopus, and the second one being an eerie mess of wires and tentacles, as if it were the "heart" of the first mech. And say what you want about the so-so execution of the fight itself, but the sound design that went into it is seriously overlooked.

Just a shame they're collectively known as just Death Egg Robot, seeing how they don't have anything in common with the actual Death Egg Robot. Neither of them are even fought aboard the Death Egg. They deserve a more unique name IMO, but ah well.

Other examples I really like but couldn't use images for because of Tumblr being Tumblr:

- The Final Zone/Egg Pistons from Sonic 1, cause even though it may be smaller scale than the Death Egg Robot, I like the unique scenario of the room itself being your opponent. The final bosses of Sonic 1 and 2 on Master System have a similar appeal.

- Brass Eggman from the 2013 Sonic 2, because weaponizing an organ of all things is perfect for a man of Eggman's pride and swagger.

- The Egg Totem from Advance 2. No special reason for this one, I just like the simple yet effective design.

- The Gachapandora from Mania, because it's a great way to pay tribute to some older Eggman contraptions, and it suits his manchild personality to a tee.

- The Phantom Egg from Mania (again), because even though it looks like a romper suit mixed with a Pokeball, I really dig the concept of Eggman using a suit of robo-armor to go mano a mano, which this boss comes close to doing, if not entirely.

- The Klepto Mobile from Mania (three time's the charm), because a literal rush job still being able to go toe-to-toe with Phantom King is both incredible and hilarious at the same time. Even Eggman's shittiest efforts are his best! Is there no limit to this man's brilliance???

- Metal Robotnik/Black Eggman/Brak Eggman/Bruh Eggman from the OVA and Sonic Robo Blast 2. I don't know what the doc was thinking when he decided to give a robot based on himself some dragon wings and a spiked mohawk, but I'm glad he went through with it. The final fight with Metal Sonic may be the one everyone talks about (understandably so, it's an awesome scene), but the battle with Bruh Eggman is great too.

- The Eggpod from the movie. As far as translating the doctor's style into live action goes, it's a worthy first attempt, and it's understandable that they didn't go for something bigger since they probably want to save that for the sequel, so as to organically raise the stakes (wink wink, nudge nudge). It also reminds me of the Egg Hornet from SA1. I don't know if that was intentional, but it's something I appreciate all the same.

#Crusher's Asks #Opinion #Dr. Eggman

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yamithediaperdork · 3 years

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Let’s Make A Star! (MHA)

Let's make a star!

To the surprise of no one, Mineta was spending his Friday night doing what he did well, just about every night in his room: Looking at porn online. the shameless pervert was proud of his status though even if he was finding increasingly weird porn to look at, and tonight he'd decided to look into a fetish to spice things up. 'Man does not exist on tentacle porn alone' He thought with a little giggle, going to his favorite my porn site. Hmm'ing and ha'ing for a second, he decided what the hell and typed in adult diaper and soon was browsing the kinky world of grown women and men acting like babies and crapping themselves, though it wasn't quite getting him the thrill he was looking for. Not ready to give up the fight yet (he prided himself on being able to get off to almost anything after all) he went into a chat room for the ABDL's and asked if anyone had any good video's or pictures to recommend, saying he was looking for a super red faced or embarrassed diaper boy or girl. the response's lit up and he was showered with links, though most of them he had seen already to his disappointment. the last link however was one he'd have to pay to unlock, but since it was only 5 bucks and the title of it was 'super embarrassing diaper mess while cleaning the potty' Mineta figured it would be worth it. As the video started and he saw who the star was the pervert grinned ear to ear, this was WELL worth the five bucks!

Katsuki was in a bad mood Saturday morning. Not only had he had to go to class despite it being the weekend to do a stupid make up test for one he'd flunked, He'd been getting non stop text messages from grape head about wanting to meet up. 'Because THAT'S what I wanna do, hang out with a pervert.' Katsuki thought, just ignoring the texts, and having to turn his phone off while taking the test anyways. After handing the test in Katsuki was free to go and found the fucking perv waiting for him outside of the classroom. "You know, Ignoring people is rude." The little shit said, wagging a figure at Katsuki. "all the fucks I give about what you think are in my hand.. Oh look! there's nothing there!" Katsuki said and kept walking. Mineta apparently wasn't to be ignored, and dashed to catch up to him. "You know, you should be nicer to someone who could get you expelled." He huffed. THAT caught Katsuki's attention, and with it being just the two of them in the hell he turned around and looked at the pervert. "Really? and how are you going to get me expelled? By pissing me off so much I blow you up? I'd likely get a god damn medal." Katsuki pointed out with a smirk. "well as i understand it, Hero's aren't suppose to have pay to see porn out there, though yours is more interesting then most." Mineta said, a evil smile on his face. The smirk instantly dropped from Katsuki's face and his jaw dropped. "I-I don't know what your talking about." he stammered. "Really, so your NOT 'stinky little diaper boy for pay'?" Mineta asked, a mock look of surprise on his face. "That's odd, you must have a twin out there then, but hey, maybe I'm wrong, let's bring up a video an-" And the little shit was bringing up his phone and indeed was going to his saved video's folder. "W-wait!" Katsuki whimpered, his cheeks bright red. "Ok ok it's me, what the fuck do you want?" "Well what I want is a few things, but I think we should go back to your room and talk in semi private don't you?" Mineta asked, a smug look on his face. "..Yeah ok." Katsuki huffed, and lead the way.

Coming into Katsuki's dorm room Mineta was shocked at how pleasant it smelled in there when about 70 percent of the blond's video's had him taking a dump in his huggies. 'then again he would of been busted long ago if he hadn't of learned how to take care of it.' The pervert thought. Strolling over and taking a seat on Katsuki's bed, Mineta pointed at the floor for Katsuki to take a seat, and chuckled as he meekly did so. "So I think it's clear by now that I could destroy you with little to no effort on my part. the higher ups don't want anther pervert hero out there making the hero community look bad." Mineta started, enjoying the look of worry on Katsuki's face. "But before I make my list of demands, I'd like to know what exactly prompted you to start crapping yourself in huggies for pay." "I uh..I.." Katsuki was turning SUCH a cute shade of red and Mineta found himself loving his power over the much bigger and deadlier boy. "yes? Go on.." Mineta chuckled. "I needed to make some money fast for a bike I wanted, and my mom was refusing to help. then some pervert old guy said he'd buy the bike for me if I crawled around in a diaper and sucked on a pacifier for 2 hours. I figured I could always blow him up if he tried to cheat me or do anything weird but the deal went off. After I realized they had to be A LOT of people like him, and it was easy money..S-So Next time I got some money from mom I got a pack of diapers and well.. You know.." Katsuki trailed off. "Set up a pay to view porn channel where you crap your diapers and do walks of shame. And your saying nothing you do is really YOUR fetish, just doing it for the money?" Mineta asked. "Well um..I.." Katsuki whined big time and was poking two fingers together. it was so unlike him that Mineta was having to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. "I Might of semi kinda come to MAYBE like it a little...but it's mostly for the money. A lot of what I do is actually fan submitted requests and I only do the ones that come with a tribute attached to them." He finished up. "well I think if your gonna keep charging as much as you do, you're gonna need to step up your game and your camera work. I know it's tough for you to film yourself so I'll be helping you with that from now on." Mineta said, and seeing a argument starting to form on Katsuki's lips he stopped it in it's tracks."That's part of my demands to keep quiet so don't even think of fighting unless you wanna be famous around school. Second item on my list is that half of what you make though being a diaper filling perv goes right into my greedy little hand. I'm not helping you and keeping my mouth shut for free after all." Katsuki glared but then huffed and pouted, crossing his arms and glaring at the floor. "Third part of my list of demands is that you wear a diaper to class at least twice a week, we'll get you some thinner ones and you won't have to use it but I think it'll keep you from getting any big ideas. That's all, for now." Mineta finished up and gave Katsuki a look that dared the diapered for pay boy to just try and argue. "Your a fucking bastard you know that?" Katsuki growled. "Just for that, whenever we're in private from now on you'll call me daddy. go ahead little boy, keep mouthing off." Mineta said. "..Fine you win.." Katsuki huffed and slumped, knowing he was beaten. "I'm sorry, 'you win' what?" Mineta asked and leaned down and cupped Katsuki's chin, making the blond look him in the eyes. "..You win..Daddy." Katsuki whimpered. "Good boy! Now let's go and get you all padded for a new video." Mineta laughed and gave Katsuki a condescending head pat.

Katsuki was thankfully allowed to pick his own outfit and diaper himself as Mineta was busy going though the fan requests that Katsuki had been giving, using Katsuki's laptop and also copying his login information. "If I go to log in later and you've changed the password.." The purple haired bastard had said, trailing off but his threat clear. "I won't daddy." Katsuki promised. Katsuki went with one of his teddy bear print diapers, with a blue back round and then picked out a tank top that was slightly too short and showed a little bit of belly so the diaper wasn't covered at all, Blue back round and a big teddy bear on the front. 'I might as well look stylish if I'm gonna be blackmailed.' Katsuki reason, and then opened up a locked drawer in his desk. inside was a selection of 5 different pacifiers and of course each one went with a outfit/ and or diaper print he had. So naturally he had a blue paci that had a teddy on the mouth guard and had a string of darker blue cord so he could wear it around his neck. (he'd tried using paci clip's with ribbon but had almost gotten busted when he'd caught his nipple with one and shrieked out in pain.) Finishing up the outfit was to no ones shock a pair of blue socks with a smiling bear on the ankles. "heh, adorable. So how much have you actually sunk into this? because getting a outfit that cute couldn't of been cheap if you had to get it mailed in." Mineta asked. "The uh.. first half dozen or so shows were all about shocking up supplies." Katsuki admitted then added. "There was one outfit a fan sent me along with 300 bucks to do a private video but I got nervous and trashed it." "Tsk, naughty naughty! what was it?" Mineta asked. "...A fairy costume, with winks and everything and a really short tutu. I just.. I wore it to do the video and then got rid of it, lying and said my mess had leaked on it while changing. the customer got mad and hasn't talked to me since and actually blocked me." Katsuki said, wishing he had kept his mouth shut. Actually he was wishing a lot of things at the moment to be fair. "I See, well thats a shame they blocked you. we'll have to get you a replica at some point so you can do a free video to make it up to them. I assume it's too late to go and get it out of the trash." Mineta said with a disappointed look on his face. "Y-yeah, that was 2 month's ago." Katsuki squeaked. "Hmm, do you have the video saved somewhere? I'd like to see it." "N-No..I just sent the clip to him and then..like i said, got paranoid and deleted it from my computer. I doubt he even kept it." Katsuki whimpered. "heh, actually I bet he just went and uploaded it onto a free porn site to show everyone the naughty sissy baby..But I'll look for it later." "I-I don't think he'd of done that! It would be breaking a rule an-" Katsuki started, he'd never thought of that possibly before and now was going semi pale. "If it's on the net, I'll find it. but as I said that's a matter for latter. for now I've picked out one of the fan requests that's been sent four times already but you've turned it down each time." Mineta said with a evil grin. Katsuki's gut dropped and he whimpered, already knowing what request it would be. the fan in question was offering a tribute of a extra 200 bucks if the clip got made, but what they wanted was one of Katsuki's limits. A stroll in the halls in one of his baby outfits during the day. "W-We can't you have t-" Katsuki started to whimper but Mineta just gave him a evil smile. "Relax, if we're nice and fast about it, there's no way anyone will catch us..they're all out having fun, visiting their folks or studying in their dorms. Trust me, I don't want you busted and outed, then i lose my hold over you and end up a scorch mark on a wall." Mineta said. Katsuki huffed but had to admit Mineta had a point and they started to plan out how they were gonna do it.

25 minutes and one diaper change later (Katsuki's nerves had gotten to him) and the pervert was out in the halls, his camera phone set and gave a gentle cry of all clear to the door, then started to record. Katsuki poked his head out of his room, and looked around, then slowly walked out holding a series of smallish pieces of white cardboard and waddled down the hall closer to the camera and with his paci in his mouth, held them up to the camera. 'Hi! I'm a big silly stinky diaper boy, and right now I'm at school.' Katsuki counted down from 20 in his head then switched to the next card. 'I've been getting requests to show off my diaper butt in the halls during the day. it's Saturday so almost no one is here but still..' And he grimaced and suckled loudly looking around as he counted down then swapped card. 'I REALLY hope no one see's me in the halls like this! I'm kind of a bully and this would RUIN me!' ruin had 3 underlies under it and Katsuki scrunched up his face and squirms, and when it was time... 'But I feel so excited and naughty out in the halls like this! Thanks Meaniesitter_345 for the request!' putting the cards under one arm, Katsuki used the other hand to rub the front of his diapers and then walked away from the camera, going down to almost the end of the hall and coming back. He was gonna go and do the same for the other side of the hallway when some loud voices were heard. "Mannn i can't believe you got us kicked out of the arcade Hanta!" grumbled the voice of Mezou. "hey, that little bugger was hogging the machines, Somebody had to do something!" came Hanta's reply. Katsuki's eyes went wide in fright and he shot a look at Mineta who nodded and pointed for Katsuki's door, both of them rushing and barley getting in and slamming the door before the other other boys could round the corner and see them. laying against the door in case they tried it and both the baby and the perv panting, they could hear the boys keep arguing, only pausing to ask if the other smelled baby powder. "nah, we have to be imaging it. I mean, who wears baby powder around here?" "I dunno, Izuku cries a lot soo.." Both boys laughed and kept going.

'Almost busted in the halls' was uploaded a hour later after some minor editing and with in the first 15 minutes it had been viewed 70 times. with the clip only being a dollar and shot much better then his others it was going like hot cakes and the comments were pouring in, Katsuki was more popular then ever. 'LOL bet baby crapped himself when he was almost caught!' 'Boooo! you should of stayed in the hallway and let them see you!' 'Was anyone else hoping his door was gonna be locked? LOL' 'OMG your so cute!' 'Hey, how do I request a clip? do I just PM or what?' It was that last one that Mineta answered first, telling people to send all and all requests to the inbox, Blondie baby had a new manager who would make sure as many of them could filled as possible, though tributes would help push certain ideas over others. Katsuki for his part sat on the floor, hugging his stuffie and rocking back and forth a bit, hoping that Mineta wouldn't notice the slight smell coming from that wasn't going away. when he'd almost been caught he'd started to mess himself but had clamped his bowels down, and had been told to wait till 'daddy' was finished with the big boy computer stuff before asking permission to use the potty. His tummy was gurgling and it was getting harder and harder to hold his back door bomb in and he whined and whimpered around his paci as he suckled it, then waved one arm trying to get Mineta's attention from where the perv sat up on the bed, using Katsuki's laptop. "-Sigh- what is it Baby butt?" Mineta asked, a slight tone of annoyance in his voice though mentally he was delighted. It was pretty clear that the blond diaper bitch had at least started to fudge his huggies, even if Katsuki shook his head no every time he was asked if he had. 'just like the fucking big baby your dressed up as.' Mineta mused. "I-I gotta go poo poo!" Katsuki whined, having taken his paci out and whimpered. "it's gonna be a BIG one! Please let me use the potty!" Dropping his teddy bear, Katsuki knelled forward, both hands pressed together. "..Allllright..but only because I don't wanna change a shitty diaper. off you go." He said, smirking and jerking a thumb to the bathroom. Katsuki nodded and smiled and relaxed a bit, and moved to crawl into the bathroom.Sadly as it would turn out, relaxing was the last thing he should of done. He barley moved when a loud gurgle from his tummy was heard and Katsuki gasped and whimpered. "N-Nooo!" he whined and grabbed at his tummy while going face down and ass up in front of the bathroom door, about to load his diapers. Never one to pass up a opening like this, Mineta grabbed the phone and started to record as Katsuki loaded the seat of his diapers, blorting out the back of the teddy bear diaper and making them vanish. 'heh, This is gonna be SUCH easy money." Mineta thought, then the smell hit him and he wrinkled his nose. 'Maybe not as easy as I thought...'

the end for now.

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aaronmaurer · 3 years

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TV I Liked in 2020

Every year I reflect on the pop culture I enjoyed and put it in some sort of order.

Was there ever a year more unpredictably tailor-made for peak TV than 2020? Lockdowns/quarantines/stay-at-home orders meant a lot more time at home and the occasion to check out new and old favorites. (I recognize that if you’re lucky enough to have kids or roommates or a S.O., your amount of actual downtime may have been wildly different). While the pandemic resulted in production delays and truncated seasons for many shows, the continued streaming-era trends of limited series and 8-13 episode seasons mean that a lot of great and satisfying storytelling still made its way to the screen. As always, I in no way lay any claims to “best-ness” or completeness – this is just a list of the shows that brought me the most joy and escapism in a tough year and therefore might be worth putting on your radar.

10 Favorites

10. The Right Stuff: Season 1 (Disney+)

As a space program enthusiast, even I had to wonder, does the world really need another retelling of NASA’s early days? Especially since Tom Wolfe’s book has already been adapted as the riveting and iconoclastic Philip Kaufman film of the same name? While some may disagree, I find that this Disney+ series does justify its existence by focusing more on the relationships of the astronauts and their personal lives than the technical science (which may be partially attributable to budget limitations?). The series is kind of like Mad Men but with NASA instead of advertising (and real people, of course), so if that sounds intriguing, I encourage you to give it a whirl.

9. Fargo: Season 4 (FX)

As a big fan of Noah Hawley’s Coen Brothers pastiche/crime anthology series, I was somewhat let down by this latest season. Drawing its influence primarily from the likes of gangster drama Miller’s Crossing – one of the Coens’ least comedic/idiosyncratic efforts – this season is more straightforward than its predecessors and includes a lot of characters and plot-threads that never quite cohere. That said, it is still amongst the year’s most ambitious television with another stacked cast, and the (more-or-less) standalone episode “East/West” is enough to make the season worthwhile.

8. The Last Dance (ESPN)

Ostensibly a 10-episode documentary about the 1990s Chicago Bulls’ sixth and final NBA Championship run, The Last Dance actually broadens that scope to survey the entire history of Michael Jordan and coach Phil Jackson’s careers with the team. Cleverly structured with twin narratives that chart that final season as well as an earlier timeframe, each episode also shifts the spotlight to a different person, which provides focus and variety throughout the series. And frankly, it’s also just an incredible ride to relive the Jordan era and bask in his immeasurable talent and charisma – while also getting a snapshot of his outsized ego and vices (though he had sign-off on everything, so it’s not exactly a warts-and-all telling).

7. The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)

This miniseries adaptation of the Walter Tevis coming-of-age novel about a chess prodigy and her various addictions is compulsively watchable and avoids the bloat of many other streaming series (both in running time and number of episodes). The 1960s production design is stunning and the performances, including Anya Taylor-Joy in the lead role, are convincing and compelling.

6. The Great: Season 1 (hulu)

Much like his screenplay for The Favourite, Tony McNamara’s series about Catherine the Great rewrites history with a thoroughly modern and irreverent sensibility (see also: Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette). Elle Fanning brings a winning charm and strength to the title role and Nicholas Hoult is riotously entertaining as her absurdly clueless and ribald husband, Emperor Peter III. Its 10-episodes occasionally tilt into repetitiveness, but when the ride is this fun, why complain? Huzzah!

5. Dispatches From Elsewhere (AMC)

A limited (but possibly anthology-to-be?) series from creator/writer/director/actor Jason Segal, Dispatches From Elsewhere is a beautiful and creative affirmation of life and celebration of humanity. The first 9 episodes form a fulfilling and complete arc, while the tenth branches into fourth wall-breaking meta territory, which may be a bridge too far for some (but is certainly ambitious if nothing else). Either way, it’s a movingly realized portrait of honesty, vulnerability and empathy, and I highly recommend visiting whenever it inevitably makes its way to Netflix, or elsewhere…

4. What We Do in the Shadows: Season 2 (FX)

The second season of WWDITS is more self-assured and expansive than the first, extending a premise I loved from its antecedent film – but was skeptical could be sustained – to new and reinvigorated (after)life. Each episode packs plenty of laughs, but for my money, there is no better encapsulation of the series’ potential and Matt Berry’s comic genius than “On The Run,” which guest-stars Mark Hamill and features Laszlo’s alter ego Jackie Daytona, regular human bartender.

3. Ted Lasso: Season 1 (AppleTV+)

Much more than your average fish-out-of-water comedy, Jason Sudeikis’ Ted Lasso is a brilliant tribute to humaneness, decency, emotional intelligence and good coaching – not just on the field. The fact that its backdrop is English Premier League Soccer is just gravy (even if that’s not necessarily represented 100% proficiently). A true surprise and gem of the year.

2. Mrs. America (hulu)

This FX miniseries explores the women’s liberation movement and fight for the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and its opposition by conservative women including Phyllis Schlafly. One of the most ingenious aspects of the series is centering each episode on a different character, which rotates the point of view and helps things from getting same-y. With a slate of directors including Ryan Bowden and Anna Fleck (Half-Nelson, Sugar, Captain Marvel) and an A-List cast including Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Uzo Aduba, Sarah Paulson, Margo Martindale, Tracey Ulman and Elizabeth Banks, its quality is right up there with anything on the big screen. And its message remains (sadly) relevant as ever in our current era.

1. The Good Place: Season 4 (NBC)

It was tempting to omit The Good Place this year or shunt it to a side category since only the final 4 episodes aired in 2020, but that would have been disingenuous. This show is one of my all-time favorites and it ended perfectly. The series finale is a representative mix of absurdist humor and tear-jerking emotion, built on themes of morality, self-improvement, community and humanity. (And this last run of eps also includes a pretty fantastic Timothy Olyphant/Justified quasi-crossover.) Now that the entire series is available to stream on Netflix (or purchase in a nice Blu-ray set), it’s a perfect time to revisit the Good Place, or check it out for the first time if you’ve never had the pleasure.

5 of the Best Things I Caught Up With

Anne With An E (Netflix/CBC)

Another example of classic literature I had no prior knowledge of (see also Little Women and Emma), this Netflix/CBC adaptation of Anne of Green Gables was strongly recommended by several friends so I finally gave it a shot. While this is apparently slightly more grown-up than the source material, it’s not overly grimdark or self-serious but rather humane and heartfelt, expanding the story’s scope to include Black and First Nations peoples in early 1800s Canada, among other identities and themes. It has sadly been canceled, but the three seasons that exist are heart-warming and life-affirming storytelling. Fingers crossed that someday we’ll be gifted with a follow-up movie or two to tie up some of the dangling threads.

Better Call Saul (AMC)

I liked Breaking Bad, but I didn’t have much interest in an extended “Breaking Bad Universe,” as much as I appreciate star Bob Odenkirk’s multitalents. Multiple recommendations and lockdown finally provided me the opportunity to catch up on this prequel series and I’m glad I did. Just as expertly plotted and acted as its predecessor, the series follows Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman on his own journey to disrepute but really makes it hard not to root for his redemption (even as you know that’s not where this story ends).

Joe Pera Talks With You (Adult Swim)

It’s hard to really describe the deadpan and oddly soothing humor of comedian Joe Pera whose persona, in the series at least, combines something like the earnestness of Mr. Rogers with the calm enthusiasm of Bob Ross. Sharing his knowledge on the likes of how to get the best bite out of your breakfast combo, growing a bean arch and this amazing song “Baba O’Reilly” by the Who – have you heard it?!? – Pera provides arch comfort that remains solidly on the side of sincerity. The surprise special he released during lockdown, “Relaxing Old Footage with Joe Pera,” was a true gift in the middle of a strange and isolated year.

The Mandalorian (Disney+)

One of the few recent Star Wars properties that lives up to its potential, the adventures of Mando and Grogu is a real thrill-ride of a series with outstanding production values (you definitely want to check out the behind-the-scenes documentary series if you haven’t). I personally prefer the first season, appreciating its Western-influenced vibes and somewhat-more-siloed story. The back half of the second season veers a little too much into fan service and video game-y plotting IMHO but still has several excellent episodes on offer, especially the Timothy Olyphant-infused energy of premiere “The Marshall” and stunning cinematography of “The Jedi.” And, you know, Grogu.

The Tick (Amazon Prime)

I’ve been a fan of the Tick since the character’s Fox cartoon and indie comic book days and also loved the short-lived Patrick Warburton series from 2001. I was skeptical about this Amazon Prime reboot, especially upon seeing the pilot episode’s off-putting costumes. Finally gaining access to Prime this year, I decided to catch up and it gets quite good!, especially in Season 2. First, the costumes are upgraded; second, Peter Serafinowicz’s initially shaky characterization improves; and third, it begins to come into its own identity. The only real issue is yet another premature cancellation for the property, meaning Season 2’s tease of interdimensional alien Thrakkorzog will never be fulfilled. 😢

Bonus! 5 More Honorable Mentions:

City So Real (National Geographic)

The Good Lord Bird (Showtime)

How To with John Wilson: Season 1 (HBO)

Kidding: Season 2 (Showtime)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Vs The Reverend (Netflix)

#tv #television

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my-muses-in-op · 3 years

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Grand Party

“Are you sure? You know that we dont’ mind having two parties in a row, son.” Whitebeard looked at the brown haired commander, who smiled back, nodding. Haruta had just told that he wouldn’t mind celebrating his birthday one day later than usual. Since his brothday was just the day before Blamenco and Vista, he often felt like the family wasn’t really giving the two just as much attention and love as hhe got, since most were hungover already. Besides, the kitchen worked overtime to have enough food for two parties right after each other.

Whitebeard smiled softly, understanding where Haruta came from and such love and care for his brother’s were admirable. The young man was so selfless and who was he to deny such request? “If you truly wish that, you better tell Thatch, Izo and Marco.”

“Thanks, Oyaji.”Haruta smiled and rushed off to tell the three to wait a day with his birthday party. As expected they tried to change his mind or at least be sure it was what he truly wanted. He didn’t waver and all three agreed to wait another day and celebrate all three of them together.

Haruta grinned and when his birthday came, he did get happy wished, but told everyone that the party was moved a day and it would be grand. Some pouted, having looked forward to a party, others just accepted it, while others went to make sure it was okay and that he hadn’t been pressured to do this. He assured them it wa shis idea alone. Both Vista and Blamenco had mixed emotions, partly feeling guilty, so Haruta had to keep asssuring them it was all good and that way he himself wouldn’t bee too drunk to proper celebrate them, as they had celebrated him so many times.

He did get a small cake and some gifts, it was his birthday after all. Most of it was spend with Vista and Blamenco, as the three of them weren’t allowed to help with any party preparation. Not that it bothered them, they used it to just relax and repare themselves for the huge party the next day.

The next morning there was a big brunch table with a lot of the favorites of the three men in center. Haruta’s face split into a huge smile, seeing how much effort had been put into decoration and the food. Vista and Blamenco wasn’t used to such a nice setting on their special day. They thanked Haruta again, saying it was the best gift he could give them.

“You know, seeing your happy faces is totally worth it.” Haruta grinned and dragged them to ‘the table of honor’. Since everyone was sober, well more or less, there was a lot of chatter and life from the morning, setting a great mood for the day.

Brunch took a few hours and afterward there were games and exchange of gifts. Since Haruta had gotte his the day before, he stepped aside to let Vista and Blamenco soak in the spotlight,which was a little brighter than they were used to. The two really enjoyed it.

Rakuyo was in charge of the games for the day and with as many as sober as possible, it was different, but still fun. He’d planned so many games that everyone could play one or two games. There was something for everyone to enjoy and you would think it was just a large kid’s party. However, booze was central part of most of the games and even at the games where it wasn’t there was booze.

Evening came and the furth division set up tables for a huge buffet. They were the some of the few ones that hadn’t been able to play games all day, but they didn’t mind, since they had a passion for food and loved to see the faces of their brothers, when bringing out all their favorites. Thatch had of course managed to surpass himself again. Even the dish Haruta had asked him about earlier was part of the buffet.

There was enough food for two days, but that was just a smart trick. After all, everyone would bee too hungover to do their work probably, with a few exceptions of course. With leftovers, it was easy to satify the crew the next day, without needing to cook all day with a bad hangover.

“This is so weird, you know.” Vista sat next to Haruta. “I see all this on your birthday and other’s, but now it’s all for me too ... I’ve gotten used to a hangover party on my birthday. Thank you, brother. It’s really special.” He smiled and handed Haruta a more expensive bottle of rum. “A toast to the best brother I could wish for?” He held his own boottle high.

“A toast for the best family.” Haruta smiled, feeling quite embarrassed to be called the best brother. All he did was to give Vista and Blamenco a chance to get a celebration like the one he and others got. They too deserved it.

“Aye.” Vista grinned and toasted with Haruta.

Whitebeard watched how happen both Blamenco and Vista were and made a note to give Haruta somethign special the following year. He did often see his sons beign selfless, but this was definitely on another level. It made him feel like he had raised Haruta the right way.

“Haruta did not only make Vista and Blamenco happy, bug he also lifted a huge burden of Thatch’s shoulder, yoi.” Marco smiled softly, seeing the cook enjoy himself, less stressed as he usual was on this date. If there was anyone trying to make all birthdays special it was Thatch and having three birthdays in two following days were tough.

It was then said cook jumped up and announched that desserts would come soon and disappeared. This also meant that the birthday cakes would be presented and everyone was curious. It was one of the most kept secrets on the ship. No one, except for Thatch and Jessica, knew what the birthday cakes looked like. The other cooks knew what taste they had, but they didn’t help decorating them. Only Thatch and Jessica did that.

The eyes of everyone was on the door, as it opened. Ten cooks slowly moved forward to reveal one huge cake on a table, they were carrying. It was as tall as Whitebeard and actually very simple. The bottom was white, the rest green with red roses falling down from the top. Some felt slight disappionted, while others knew that there had to be more to the cake than what they saw. After all, the cake was representing the birthday person or in this case, the birthday men.

Taking the sword Thatch had brought to cut the cake with, Vista gestured Blamenco and Haruta to come. All eyes were on the three, as they together cut the cake, revealing that inside there was cupcakes, candy and lots of colors. Laughing the three thanked Thatch and Jessica for the surprise. The outside was definitely Vista and Haruta, while the inside was a tribute to Blamenco. It surely was a cake unlike any they had before.

Soone everyone had their share of the cake, which was not only rich on colors, but also flavors. The cake that the two had cut out, were also brought to the tables, molded to look like animals. nothing went to waste after all.

As the night fell upon the sea, the party continued with music and more booze. people danced, played poker or tryied to win a drinking game. It kept going until people passed out where they were. The party sure had been bigger than usual even bigger than it usual was on Haruta’s birthday and the commander actually felt amazing and praised himself for coming up with this idea. It sure had been fun and even those who usual held back, so they could be somewhate fresh for Vista’s and Blamenco’s party, had giving everything they could.

That night everyone slept well and while they had a grand hangover the following days, it was definitely worth it and the birthday would be one they kept talking about for months to come.

#little gremlin (haruta)#flower sword (vista)#pocket brother (blamenco)#the greatest treasure (whitebeeard family)#grand party #my drabble

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captainswanbigbang · 4 years

Text

CSRT Promo: spartanguard

Today’s promoted CSRT story is Once Upon a Time in Panem by @spartanguard! Read it on Tumblr, AO3, or FFnet!

When did you start writing this story, and what inspired you to write it?

I started writing this in early 2015, not long after I started writing fic in general. I love the idea of crossovers and it seemed logical to me to combine two things I loved: OUAT and The Hunger Games. Somewhere along the line, I drew a parallel between Killian and Finnick, and Emma and Johanna, and thought it would be cool to write a story that worked around CS from that angle—not as the younger tributes (Katniss and Peeta), but the people behind the scenes (and eventually in the Arena, a la Catching Fire).

What is it about this story that made you feel like it was worth rewriting?

Every now and then, I get a comment or kudos on it. And when I read back over it not long ago, I realized it wasn't as bad as I thought it was; my writing has definitely improved, but the general bones of the story were good. I just bit off way more than I could chew (considering I hadn't touched an MC yet). Now that I've got more experience writing and plotting long stories—and with building universes, even if they're inspired by preexisting ones—I thought it was time to give it another go. (That and the fact that they're FINALLY releasing a THG prequel.)

What is one detail about your story that you're almost definitely keeping?

CS, obviously, and where they're from. Emma is still in the Johanna role, and Killian is in the Finnick position. They're still going to end up in the Games again, and I'd always intended for them to fall in love in the background of the main story events (even if this story is mostly focused on them).

What is one detail about your story that you're almost definitely throwing out or changing?

The star-crossed lovers in my original story were Aurora and Philip. Part of why I stopped writing was because they ended up being pretty boring to me. So now, that part is going to focus on Alice and Robyn, which allows me to play with them as well as the KnightRook relationship (both of which were among my favorite parts in Season 7).

What has the rewrite experience been like for you so far?

It's been fun! I'm finding I have to rewrite/add a lot more than I planned, but I know the story will be stronger for it in the end. And reworking the universe has been fun, too; in the first, I basically just dropped the OUAT characters in Panem, but this time around, I've reworked it as the United Realms of Pomem, so it's been interesting to plot that out, come up with its history, and figure out who comes from where. The hardest part, which I'm still struggling with, is figuring out who to kill—I want to save everyone!

What would you like readers to know about the original version if they decide they're going to read it?

It's VERY unfinished and a bit bare bones. I jumped around a lot, even though only 3 chapters got published. It was a good start but definitely a juvenile effort. We've all gotta start somewhere, though, right?

#csrt #captain swan rewrite a thon #Captain Swan #csrt promo #spartanguard

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pgoeltz · 4 years

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NAPOLEON MURPHY BROCK

VOCALS & TENOR SAX & FLUTE & STYLE ICON

Napoleon Murphy Brock, front man for Frank Zappa in the early seventies, was first discovered by Frank on a day off in Hawaii. Frank and his band stopped into a club where Brock was leading his band through a set of originals and contemporary funk, rock and blues hits. Zappa was immediately struck by Brock’s voice and sax playing, but was particularly taken by his commanding stage presence.

Brock soon hit the stage and studio with Zappa, first appearing on the breakthrough album, Apostrophe (‘). By 1974, Napoleon had learned and memorized the Zappa Song Book (including new material written specifically for Napoleon) and recordings from the 1973 concerts were soon released on what many consider to be Frank’s penultimate live album – Roxy and Elsewhere. To this day, the all-star “Roxy Band” is commonly considered one of the greatest bands that Frank ever assembled.

The release of One Size Fits All followed which, like Roxy, became hugely influential on not only Zappa fans, but fans of progressive rock, fusion, and bluesy jazz-rock in general. In 1975 Zappa released the iconic Bongo Fury, a live album which documented the collaborative tour that year with the last Mothers lineup (including old friend and co-conspirator, Captain Beefheart).

After the 1975 and 1976 Zappa tours, Brock went on to tour and record with fellow Zappa alum George Duke in his

hugely popular George Duke Band. He went on to make several albums with Duke including Master Of The Game,

Follow The Rainbow, Dukey Treats, and Don’t Let Go (which spawned Duke’s huge hit “Dukey Stick”).

At the end of the 1970’s, Frank again called on Napoleon to provide vocals on the recording of Sheik Yerbouti – which went on to become Zappa’s biggest selling album worldwide. The fact that Frank called on Napoleon to lay down vocal tracks (including the lead vocal on “Wild Love”) speaks volumes about Frank’s continued respect and trust in Napoleon’s vocal prowess.

Since 2001, Brock has worked with several Zappa tribute bands around the world including Project/Object, the longest continually touring alumni-based Zappa tribute band in the world. In 2007, Napoleon received a Grammy Award for his work with Dweezil Zappa on the live album release from the inaugural tour of Zappa Plays Zappa. He continues to perform, record and lecture around the world.

THE STINKFOOT ORCHESTRA

In the early months of 2019, South Bay musician Nick Chargin (keyboards and vocals) got a wild hair up his ass. Best known for his work with the successful Bay Area cover band, the Houserockers, Nick had the idea of assembling an ensemble to give a tip of the hat to one of his greatest musical influences – Frank Zappa. The goal he set was to perform a handful of shows in the Winter of 2020 in celebration of what would have been Frank’s 80th birthday.

But it couldn’t be just any band… There had to be horns. There had to be a mallet player. There had to be backup singers. This had to be more than a band that was capable of playing “all the right notes” – it had to be a band that was capable of performing Frank’s music with accuracy and integrity.

The first two people he contacted were Victor Manning (a guitarist with whom Nick had played music with for well over 20 years) and Jon Hassan (a Baritone/Tenor Sax player and fellow member of the Houserockers) – who were both rabid fans of Frank’s music. With their buy-in, Nick quickly filled out the rhythm section with friends and fellow Zappaphiles Michael Palladino (drums) and Josh Baker (bass). It took some time to fill the mallet player slot, but after scaring away multiple Bay Area orchestral percussionists, they found a musician willing to take on the enormous challenge of covering Ruth Underwood’s impossible lines in Dillon Vado (tuned percussion). The 6-piece horn section came together by enlisting Mark “Dbone” DeSimone (Trombone), Kevin Kono (Trumpet, Flugel Horn), Jo Major (Tenor/Soprano Sax and Flute), Mike McWilliams (Trumpet), and Paul Degen (Tenor/Alto/Bari Sax and Flute). The ensemble was eventually rounded out with 3 dedicated vocalists – Suzi Baker, Amy Barnes , and Mike Boston,.

A couple months into rhythm section rehearsals, the group was hit with an enormous loss when their guitarist, Victor Manning, passed away unexpectedly. After a month of grieving and waffling on whether to scrap the project altogether, Nick came to the conclusion that Victor “would have kicked my ass” if he did not see this project to fruition. After a significant search, the band found the perfect replacement in Tomek Sikora (guitar) and they began the daunting task of learning some very difficult music. But it could still come up a notch…

Nick and other members of the band had worked with Zappa alumni Ike Willis 15 years previously, and Nick thought the one thing that would give this band a real sense of authenticity would be to front it with one of Frank’s dynamic male vocalists. So, with the help of his friend André Cholmondeley (leader of the legendary East Coast Zappa tribute band, Project Object), Nick was able to enlist the legendary Napoleon Murphy Brock – a San Jose native who served as the iconic voice of Frank’s music throughout the early 1970‘s.

When asked what songs people can expect the band to cover, Nick responds “Well, given the fact that we have Napoleon on board, we are naturally incorporating a large amount of material from his era with Frank. Roxy and Elsewhere (Zappa’s 1974 live double album) is one of my favorite albums of all time, so there are a number of songs we pulled from that. Apostrophe, One Size Fits All, Bongo Fury…folks can expect a sizable amount of material from those albums. At the same time, Frank’s catalog is so immense and diverse that we can’t properly present a snapshot of his work without delving into everything from his earliest days with the Mothers through the 1980‘s. We have an amazing 6-piece horn section, so we are able to do justice to stuff from albums such as The Grand Wazoo and Waka Jawaka. We have 5 great singers, so we are also tackling some more vocal-intensive stuff from You Are What You Is and Joe’s Garage…really, there is something for fans of all periods of Frank’s music. I don’t want to give away too much more – we want to keep a certain element of surprise to the performances, ya know?”

Given the amount of work required to perform much of Zappa’s material, one might question what motivates this group of musicians to dedicate themselves to such a huge undertaking. Nick’s response is simple… “Frank’s music has had such a huge influence over my musical development. It actually makes me a little nuts when I think of the fact that his virtuosity never really received proper accolades here in the States. This music is historically important – and I feel it is the responsibility of those who ‘get it’ to help keep it alive and, hopefully, introduce more people to it. On any given night, I realize that we may serve as someone’s first exposure to Frank Zappa – and I don’t take that responsibility lightly.”

“It has been a tremendous amount of work, but I cannot even begin to list the ways in which it has been fulfilling for me as a musician”, Nick continues. “Yes, getting the lines under our fingers has been a challenge, but that merely scratches the surface of what it has taken to bring this project to the stage. Most of the horn charts were transcribed by ear from various (Zappa) ensembles by Dbone, Hassan and me – but I had never created a horn chart in my life – quite a way to cut one’s teeth…” he says. “Never mind the logistics involved with getting such a large group of working musicians together and dealing with all managerial aspects of the band. Yeah – it’s been a full-time job for me for the past year, but well worth the effort. I can’t wait for people to hear what we have put together. Perhaps I’m a bit biased, but I think people are going to be blown away by this project.”

NICK CHARGIN

KEYBOARDS & VOCALS & VISIONS & POODLE GROOMING

Nick began studying piano at age 5, later picking up guitar at age 15. A California native, Nick moved to San Jose in 1984 to study music production, keyboard synthesis and performance at SJSU under Dan Wyman and Alan Strange. He has been playing professionally since age 17 with the majority of his time spent writing, playing and recording original music with such Bay Area bands as Swing Party, BlissNinnies, Elephino and Corduroy Jim. Over the years, Nick has shared the stage with such acts as the String Cheese Incident, Leftover Salmon, Zero, the Kantner Balin Cassidy Band, Steve Kimmock, KVHW, JGB, the Radiators, Merle Saunders, Eddie Money, Starship, Firehose, Wang Chung and Jonathan Richman. For the past 15 years, Nick has been a vital part of the critically acclaimed South Bay band, the Houserockers, has backed the legendary Zigaboo Modeliste and at one point assembled a short-lived band playing Zappa music backing Ike Willis.

NAPOLEON MURPHY BROCK

VOCALS & TENOR SAX & FLUTE & STYLE ICON

After the 1975 and 1976 Zappa tours, Brock went on to tour and record with fellow Zappa alum George Duke in his

hugely popular George Duke Band. He went on to make several albums with Duke including Master Of The Game,

Follow The Rainbow, Dukey Treats, and Don’t Let Go (which spawned Duke’s huge hit “Dukey Stick”).

DILLON VADO

TUNED PERCUSSION & IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBILITIES

Dillon Vado is a professional drummer and vibraphonist in the San Francisco Bay Area, and a graduate of the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley. He grew up in San Jose, where he played many small club gigs on drums and marched snare drum for the Santa Clara Vanguard. He has recorded at Fantasy Studios, and played with many musicians at The Freight and Salvage, Yoshi’s, and the SF Jazz Center. He has also performed overseas at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy. Dillon has performed with Art Lande, Hafez Modirzadeh, Royal Hartigan, Marcus Shelby, Erik Jekabson, Jeff Denson, Alan Hall, Jovino Santos Neto, Marcos Silva and Kate McGarry. In 2014, Dillon won 1st place in the Jazz Search West competition on vibraphone. Dillon was also acknowledged as the Most Promising Young Jazz Artist of 2017 from the Buddy Montgomery Jazz Legacy Awards. He regularly performs on vibraphone with Alan Hall’s Ratatet, on drums with The Jeff Denson Quartet, and Erik Jekabson’s Electric Squeezebox Orchestra and leads several of his own projects, including Never Weather, The Table Trio, and Beyond Words: Jazz and Poetry.

JOSH BAKER

BASS & RANDOM SCREAMS

Josh started his love of music with the Piano at age 8 and was hooked. The bass came into focus at age 12. Josh’s early years on bass was in the Abraham Lincoln High School Jazz band for 4 years where he had the privilege of playing many in High School Jazz band competitions and even playing in Hawaii for the Aloha Bowl. Josh also received the Louis Armstrong High School Jazz Award for recognition in his Senior year. After High School, Josh spent his summer at the Berklee College summer music program in Santa Fe New Mexico. Josh studied 2 years with bass player Keith Jones( Santana, Flora Purim,and Andy Narrell)

Josh has played with local bands Sporadic Greetings, George Heagerty & Never the Same, Soup, Grampa’s Chili, the Sliders, Black Sunday RoadShow and Levi Jack

MICHAEL PALLADINO

DRUMS & SPANKINGS

Michael has been drumming professionally in the greater Bay Area for over 25 years. He studied various rhythmic styles ranging from jazz to West African and afro-Cuban under the tutelage of San Jose State professors Dan Sabanovich and Royal Hartigan. His band credits include Soup, Sporadic Greetings, Mescalito, Corduroy Jim, Grampa’s Chili and Tricycle Side Project, for which he had the opportunity to perform with Ike Willis from Frank Zappa’s esteemed list of previous band members. He has performed at hundreds of venues up and down the entire West Coast bringing his unique style and energy to every performance he gives.

JON HASSAN

SAXOPHONES & MEGAPHONES & STANK

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JO MAJOR

SAXOPHONES & FLUTE & PUNCTUALITY

Jo Major began playing professionally in his teens and has played with a variety of groups, including the Jimmy Dorsey band and the University of Illinois Jazz Ensemble. In the local area, he has been featured with A Touch of Brass, the KA Wonton Little Latin Jazz Big Band, Bug Horn Rex and the Chabot Jazz Ensemble.In settings ranging from salsa to swing, he has been featured with Ernie Watts, Bobby Shew, Eric Marienthal, Wayne Bergeron, Francisco Torres, and Geoffrey Keezer.Jo has studied with Ben Torres, Kristen Strom, Charlie McCarthy, Bob Reynolds, Chad Lefkowitz-Brown and Chris Cheek. He is a member of Bob Reynolds Studio.

MIKE MCWILLIAMS

TRUMPETS & CRUMPETS

Mike McWilliams started playing the trumpet back in 1974. In 1986, he began performing with cover bands and performing all over the SF Bay Area. He currently is a member of the Houserockers horn section, and teaches private lessons as well as public middle schools with the School Spirit band program.

Mike believes that there is no substitute for real horns, and his influences include Tower of Power, Earth Wind and Fire, Maynard Ferguson, and Doc Severnsen. Mike heard his first Zappa cassette tape in 1977 while on tour with the Santa Clara Vanguard and, many years later is enjoying playing this amazing music.

KEVIN KONO

TRUMPET & FLUGLEHORN & MASTIC ADHESIVES

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PAUL DEGEN

SAXOPHONES & FLUTE & HYDROHYPNOTHERAPY

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TOMEK SIKORA

GUITARS & ALL THINGS POLISH

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MIKE BOSTON

VOCALS & GUTTURAL UTTERANCES

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MARK ‘D-BONE’ DE SIMONE

TROMBONISMS & EVER-CHANGING FACIAL HAIRS

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AMY BARNES

VOCALS & ASTRAL PROJECTION

Amy Barnes began studying piano and flute at the age of 8. After a fateful move to Santa Cruz at the age of 16, she joined forces with the Musical Group World Entertainment War for 5 very entertaining years. Increasingly fascinated with the human voice, she embarked on an obsessive vocal discovery mission; earning a B.A in Voice Performance from UOP Conservatory followed by an M.A. In Voice Performance from UC Santa Cruz. She has prepared works in more than a dozen languages, and has enjoyed teaching singing as much as the singing itself. Amy has travelled thru many different musical galaxies over the years, and is currently very much enjoying her visit to the Zappa Constellation…

SUZI BAKER

VOCALS & KALE DISTRIBUTION

Suzanne Baker began her singing career touring with Plum Tuckered, a children’s musical performing group under the direction of Lynn Shurtleff, musical director and composer from Santa Clara University. While growing up, she enjoyed singing in many school and church choirs, but she honed her skills at Abraham Lincoln High School for the Performing Arts in the sixteen member Swing Choir, under the voice instruction of Connie Lukien, musical director of the San Jose Civic Light Opera. She went on to be lead singer of the innovative band, Sporadic greetings from 1990-1992 and sang back-up vocals in various other bands over the years. She is very fond of her time directing her own elementary school choirs and currently assisting with her classroom musicals.

Victor Manning

Guitars

#frank zappa

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everlarkedalways · 5 years

Photo

THE HUNGER GAMES

Hey. Just back from ToastCon and it was just one of the best things I’ve ever experienced. I didn’t think I could love The Hunger Games more and I actually do! It’s crazy. I hope you can join us next time. Thanks for being patient with me as I pushed back the reread. Everything will just get pushed back a week. So, let’s get started!

Week Six: Ch 16-18

Canon:

🏵️ One of the most fascinating things we talked about during ToastCon were the key characters. We all agreed that SC uses threads and themes to get her point across–including characters to echo the other key characters. What character(s) is Rue a representation of to you?

🏵️ There’s a twist in the Games and two Tributes from the same District can win the games together! How convenient!? Do you think that was all contrived right then for K & P? Was a twist in the Games a normal occurrence?

🏵️ We address the subject of humanity and why THG has an important and poignant message. Read this passage and share your thoughts.

Numerous animals have lost their lives at my hands, but only one human. I hear Gale saying, “How different can it be, really?” Amazingly similar in execution. A bow pulled, an arrow shot. Entirely different in the aftermath. (CH. 18)

Fanon:

🏵️ Peeta is HURT and I mean, hurt. Almost dead. We said this many times and I even yelled it at the movie, “LET HIM DIE!” Peeta sacrifices himself over and over again during the Games and we don’t see or feel the weight of that during the movies. In the books, it’s a different story. As Peeta is hurt, infected and hiding before K finds him, what do you think was going through his mind? Post a drabble or share a fanfic you’ve read on this point in the story. What was Peeta’s POV?

🏵️ Let’s honor our girl Rue by reblogging posts, posting art and other fics about her. Queue it up.

🏵️ I love that Katniss screams Peeta’s name when the rule change happens. Like, she needs her Peeta. Let’s fill our dashes with our favorite Everlark THG posts.

Anon:

🏵️ Send an Ask about where you’d like to see ToastCon next year and if it’s something you’d like to be a part of.

🏵️ Send an Ask to a Retired Everlarked One and just tell them how much you heart them. I got a little message from sponsormusings and yeah, I love Sarah. There could be a fanfic writer or Everlark fanperson out there that could use a boost.

🏵️ What was your favorite part of ToastCon–either as an attendee or a spectating supporter? Send an Ask to me telling me all about it!

You guys make these rereads amazing and so worth the time and effort. I love reading your comments, your posts and I love hearing about the impact it has made on your lives. Thank you for joining me on this journey. Don’t forget to reblog, blog, comment, like and share your posts. Tag everything with #toastedTHG. If you haven’t checked out the #toastcon tag yet, I promise it’ll bring you joy. We have audio files, videos and more to share with you from the weekend! So, be on the look out!

HEART YOU ALL!

#toastedthg #everlark #toasted #toastcon #everlarked #the hunger games #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark

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sockablock · 6 years

Text

Up on the Roof of the Wagon

a tribute to Molly, 3,636 words, gen, Read on AO3

• • •

“Do you ever think about dying?”

Yasha turned her head slowly to the lazy shape of Molly seated beside her, up on the roof of their squat, weathered travelling wagon. He had his arms out behind him, leaning against his palms and gazing at the sea of stars above. His coat was draped across his lap like a blanket and his posture was peaceful, pensive.

“Why?” Yasha asked. “Are you...er…considering dying, any time soon?”

He laughed, and shook his head. “No, no gods, of course not. I was just...curious. I mean, you always run headfirst into battles with bandits and highwaymen. And while all of us are forever appreciative of your fighting capabilities, sometimes I wonder if you’re ever worried about yourself.”

Yasha considered this for a moment. Then she shrugged. “Why be worried? We are only alive for so long anyway. I seek the thrill of battle, the energy of a fight, and if I am protecting my companions at the same time then why concern myself with fear? All it can do is hold you back and distract you from the things in life that you are trying to live for.”

Molly was quiet as he let her words sink in. He turned to her, and grinned.

“You really are quite clever, aren’t you?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Not many people have said that to me before.”

Molly scoffed, and pointed a finger under her nose. “Then not many people have ever really gotten to know you, dear! Luckily,” he added, thrusting a thumb towards his chest, “this tiefling has. And he’s pretty sure you’re his favorite.”

Yasha chuckled at that. “I am quite lucky then, aren’t I?”

“Don’t worry,” he grinned. Under the moonlight, for just a moment, his eyes glowed a soft, fading red. “I think I’m pretty lucky too.”

•

“Gods,” Molly sighed as he collapsed onto the bed. “That was a rough day, eh?”

Fjord nodded, raising his foot onto the chair by the door to unlace his boots. “It sure was. Did you even know scorpions could get that big?”

“Absolutely not,” Molly said. “Nice of the town to let us stay the night for free, though.”

“It was the least they could do,” Fjord shrugged, and moved to his other shoe. “That was way too much effort for a bunch of random folk out in the middle of nowhere.”

“Aw, Fjord, don’t you believe in doing kindness for kindness’s sake?”

Fjord snorted and turned to face Molly. “Sure I do,” he said, “but I’d prefer it if we also got paid for it. Especially if we almost died fightin’ the damn blighters.”

“Ah, but we didn’t die,” Molly said, waggling a finger. “That’s the important bit.”

“So you don’t care that Nott got tossed into the air by a giant set of pincers and that another one almost ate me?”

“Sure I do,” Molly grinned, echoing Fjord’s tone from before. “But she did a flip and landed on the thing’s head and shot a crossbow bolt through its eyeball right afterwards, and you’re still standing here, aren’t you?’

Fjord rolled his eyes. “I suppose that’s true. Though I still think we could stand to be a bit less reckless.”

“Ah, that I agree with,” Molly nodded. “Next time we shouldn’t let Jester run ahead like that.”

“Definitely.”

Fjord made his way over to the patch of floor next to Molly and spread his bedroll down on the wood. He stretched, and in an instant went from vertical to horizontal and eyes closed, spread-eagle on the ground.

“I’m exhausted,” he muttered, and turned over onto his stomach. “G’night, Molly.”

“Good night, Fjord,” Molly called from three feet up. “Don’t let the scorpions bite.”

“I don’t plan on it, thanks,” Fjord replied. And soon after, they both fell asleep.

•

“Bullshit,” said Molly as he sat at the back of the wagon with Beau. “You can’t just change the game like that as we’re playing.”

“I didn’t change it,” Beau said, though there was an element of satisfied smugness in her tone. “You just didn’t ask.”

“So you mean because I didn’t ask if there were any hidden rules, it’s my fault for not knowing that horses were worth twice as much as cows?”

“Exactly,” Beau agreed. “ 'My Cow' is a traditional, time-honored, travelling classic. I’m surprised you’ve never played it before, what with being on the road so much and all.”

“Usually we have better things to do while we’re travelling,” Molly said. “Like making sure there aren’t bandits, or practicing our shows, or playing games that aren’t dumb.”

“This game isn’t dumb,” Beau said defensively, “it's childhood.”

“Oh? I thought you said you didn’t have a childhood?”

“Nah, I had one, it just wasn’t mine.”

He gave her a long, long stare. The sprawling hills of the countryside slowly rolled by.

“One day we’re going to unpack all of that,” he said. “I don’t care about your past but every once in a while you say something that makes me start to.”

She shrugged, and smirked. “You can try, Tealeaf, but I ain’t openin’ up to you. Beau’s story is for people she likes.”

“People you like? So what, you mean Yash—” Molly began, but was abruptly cut off as Beau slammed a hand over his mouth and glanced panickily behind them at the rest of the group.

Everybody else was napping peacefully under the bright afternoon sun. Except for Fjord, at the reins, who grinned and winked knowingly at them both before turning back to the road.

“Fuck you,” Beau grumbled. “Not cool.”

“Why not?” Molly asked. “You’re both adults, aren’t you? What, you can’t admit you have a crush?”

Beau sunk lower in her seat. “So what if I can’t?” she asked. “What’s it to you?”

“Yasha is my best friend,” Molly shrugged. “I have a personal stake in this.”

“I wish you didn’t,” Beau muttered. “That would make this so much easier.”

“Just talk to her,” Molly sighed, and fell backwards into the cart to stare up at the blue sky and the trailing clouds. “It’ll make this so much less awkward, and so much less painful for me to watch.”

“I can’t just do that!” Beau hissed. “Are you crazy? You never tell a girl that you like her.”

“Who said that?” Molly demanded.

Beau shrugged. "Dunno. It’s just common knowledge, I guess.”

“I don’t think it’s knowledge so much as stupidity,” Molly snorted. “You have to tell people these things, don’t they have a right to know? And if you never do anything, you could miss your chance.”

“Miss my chance? What, you mean lose her to some other chick?”

“Or man, or neither, you don’t know what Yasha prefers. And anyways, I was referring to the fact that we could die tomorrow.”

Beau gave him an incredulous stare. “That’s...that’s a joke, right?” she asked eventually. “Right?”

“Of course not,” Molly said. “Have you been paying attention to our daily lives? We’re always running around jumping into battle and we fight anything and everything that crosses our path.”

“That’s kind of morbid, isn’t it?”

“It doesn’t have to be,” Molly shrugged. “I just meant it as more of a…of a seize the moment and live your life sort of thing. Don’t let any opportunity pass you by, no matter what. Live as much as you can, as quickly as you can.”

Beau took a second to consider this. “Nah,” she said. “I’m good. I’m gonna live fucking forever, Molly.”

He burst out laughing. A couple of the others stirred, before turning around and continuing to snore.

“That’s hilarious,” Molly sighed, rubbing at the corners of his eyes. “Sure, Beau, sure.”

“Well,” she grumbled, “Not forever. I mean, not really. But it’s not like I expect to drop dead at any second. What the…what the fuck? Why do you even think that?”

Molly briefly glanced back to a large shape sleeping near the front, her massive black shawl drawn tightly around her shoulders.

“I think you should talk to Yasha,” he said again, closing his eyes. “You two would really get along, if you didn’t always act so weird.”

“Uh...thanks, I think?”

“Don’t mention it,” he mumbled, putting his hands behind his head like a pillow and letting the sun warm his skin. He took a long, slow breath, and waited for sleep to take him.

•

Molly saw a pair of bright yellow eyes shine back at him through the darkness, and sighed.

“Nott, what did we say about going through people’s stuff?”

He saw the eyes widen, and then narrow, and then they started getting closer. A few seconds later, Nott appeared in the clear patch of grass where the group had built their campfire for the night, the flames illuminating her small form. She clambered onto the log next to Molly, who was keeping watch by himself.

“See anything interesting?” she asked in a shrill, conversational tone. “Anything worth noting?”

“It’s the strangest thing,” nodded Molly, “but I think I just saw a goblin about to rob us. Isn’t that odd?”

“Oh, fuck off,” she sighed. “We said I could steal from grumpy people, and you said Beau qualified, didn’t you?”

“Okay, point taken, carry on.”

“Thanks. And anyways, I meant if you saw any danger, or anything.”

“Nothing that isn’t three feet tall and green,” he shrugged. “Why?”

“Why?” Nott raised an eyebrow. “You’re supposed to be guarding us, aren’t you?”

“Yes, dear, but there isn’t anything that needs my guardianship, at the moment.”

“Do you know for sure?” she pressed. “Have you really been keeping a keen eye out? Making sure we won’t get ambushed by a terrible ogre or crazed troll or a mad necromancer or a...a...swarm of coyotes?”

“I don’t think they travel in swarms, Nott.”

“Are you a scholar?”

“Alright, fair.”

“I just don’t want to get killed in my sleep,” Nott said, swinging her feet off the side of the log. “I’ve got too much to live for.”

“Like what, dear?”

“Oh, lots of stuff,” Nott shrugged. “I’ve got to keep Caleb alive, and you all alive by extension. There’s a million shiny things out there I haven’t stolen yet, and I bet there’s so much more alcohol I haven’t tried. Plus I still don’t know what it’s like to live a normal life. I don’t plan on dying before I get that.”

Molly tapped his chin. “I agree with keeping us alive,” he said, “and with getting shiny things and drinking my brains away, but I don’t know about that last one. I think a normal life is overrated.”

“Of course you’d think that,” Nott said, rolling her eyes. “You’re a normal person.”

Molly opened his mouth, and then cocked his head, and then closed his mouth. He considered this.

“Am I?” he asked. “Take a real, real good look at me, Nott. Am I?”

“Well, more or less normal. More normal. Normal-adjacent. Whereas I, Mollymauk, am 100% not normal. My people live in caves and eat children, remember? That’s not even a stereotype or a misconception! We literally eat children and literally live in caves!”

“But you don’t,” Molly said.

“No,” Nott sighed, “I don’t. And I almost got killed because of it.”

“Well, don’t worry,” Molly shrugged. “If that’s what you want, we’ll make sure nothing happens to you before you get it. And then when you see how stupid conformity is, us normal-adjacent people will be right behind you.”

Nott snorted at that. “Alright,” she agreed. “That sounds good to me. And if you ever figure out that you want to know more about your past—”

“All I want, Nott the Brave, all I want, is to see as much of this world I can, get laid as much as I can, and enjoy life as much as physically possible.”

“Alright then,” sighed Nott. “Alright. I suppose we’ll make sure that happens, then.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome.”

•

Molly watched in amazement as the flames in Caleb’s palm suddenly turned a bright blue, then faded to green, then yellow, then violet, before fizzling out and dying in his hand.

“Brilliant!” he laughed, and clapped. “Do it again!”

Caleb sighed and shook his head. “It was not complete,” he muttered. “I do not understand what I am doing wrong. This should be so simple, Jester does it as easily as breathing.”

Molly shrugged, and leaned back against the boulder they sat beside in this open field. Every once in a while the wind would drift by and skim the surface of the tall grass.

“I thought it was marvelous. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

Caleb ran his fingers through his hair. “I should be better, though. This is mere child’s play.”

“Now, now, that attitude is pointless,” Molly sighed. “How is dwelling like this going to help you?”

“It’s not,” Caleb muttered, “but you cannot deny that something as, as trivial as changing colors should have come to me like that.” He snapped his fingers.

“So what?” Molly asked. “So what if it is? Why think about it?”

“Because it is the truth!” Caleb snapped. “How much of a failure I am, how pitiful that attempt was, it is pure and uncut fact and there is nothing I can do—”

“Wrong.”

“What?”

“Wrong!” Molly cried, and threw his hands up into the air. “So what if that’s true? Lots of things are true! Lots of terrible, awful, downright bloody horrible things are true! This country is at war and the government is corrupt and there’s violence and terror everywhere! But you can’t let that get in the way of living! You can’t just think about the negative, or else there’s no point anymore! The point is what you decide to do despite all the garbage everywhere. This world is a fucking mess and that’s the truth but it’s the one I crawled into and by the gods, Caleb Widogast, I’m going to do everything in my insignificant, meaningless power to make sure I leave it better than I found it. And if that means beating into your thick skull that you aren’t as much of a failure as you think you are, then so be it! I don’t care if you think you’re terrible at magic, I care about you getting better. And that starts with you shutting up, and not worrying so much about what you should be, and thinking more about what you’ve already done. Fuck the truth.”

A cool breeze blew across the valley, over the grass and through their hair, before fading into the distance.

“I do not agree with everything you said,” Caleb mumbled eventually, “but I suppose some of that has some merit.”

“That’s a start, isn’t it?”

They sat there in silence for a few more beats.

“What was the problem with it anyways?” Molly asked. “You got a bunch of colors, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Caleb sighed, “but I did not get them all. You saw, I missed orange and—”

He stopped and hit his forehead.

“What did you miss, dear?” Molly asked again, sweetly, with a shit-eating grin on his face. “Which colors?”

“Orange and red,” Caleb grumbled. “I missed orange and red.”

“And what colors is fire naturally, Caleb?”

“...orange and red.”

“So therefore in truth, your spell really is…?

Caleb sighed deeply, and closed his eyes, and leaned back against the boulder with Molly. “...complete,” he muttered.

“No,” Molly said. “Perfect.”

•

“I am very happy we met, Molly,” Jester giggled as she braided a trail of tiny blue wildflowers into his hair. They were seated by a slow-running creek in the woods off the Amber Road, where the party had just completed a day of travelling. Somewhere in the distance, Beau and Fjord were trying to catch fish for dinner.

“I’m glad we met too, dear,” Molly said cheerfully. “It’s nice to see someone colorful around, for a change.”

“It is weird, isn’t it?” Jester agreed. “I mean, back home there was everybody of every kind! People that looked like giant cats or had six eyes or bright green hair or sharp pointy teeth! It was so much more fun.”

“I’d love to see that,” Molly sighed. “It sounds wonderful. You know, I’d never seen another tiefling before, until you.”

“What?” Jester blinked in surprise. “Never? Not anywhere in your travelling or in taverns or on the road or not even you par—”

She faltered, and her hand fell to her side. “Oh,” she said. “Right. Um...sorry.”

He chuckled, and passed her a sprig of lavender. “It’s alright dear. I’m not bothered by it.”

“I know you always say that,” Jester sighed as she accepted the flower, “but do you really mean it? Really-really? You don’t care at all?”

“Maybe I care a little,” Molly admitted, “but I’m not going to think about it. What’s the use? It’s not like I need them.”

“But you do not want to know where you came from? Who your family was?”

Molly shook his head, which dislodged a few small petals. “I know where I came from,” he said. “A hole in the ground somewhere up north. And I know who my family was too, it was the circus. Now it’s you lot. Right?”

Jester giggled at that. “I guess so,” she laughed. “I have a family, you know, my momma and my dad, wherever he is. But I also think I have another family now. You, and the rest of the Mighty Nein. I like you guys a lot.”

“Good,” grinned Molly. “I happen to be quite attached to the group as well. And I don’t plan on going anywhere, so I think you can count on us sticking together for a while.”

Jester pushed a tiny flower between his curly locks. “I’d like that,” she said with a faint smile.

“Me too, dear. Me too.”

•

Smoke curled up from the grass where Caleb’s blasts had scorched the ground, sent embers up into the night sky and dark trails of ash in the dirt. One of the tall carts lay in ruins to the side, the felled tree still creaking dangerously from its position half-smashing the tarp over the wagon.

All around them, the battle raged on. Beau was a whirl of fists and flash of blue, Nott sent crossbow bolts like vengeful rain across the field as she sprinted to find and unlock the cages. The half-orc druid had fallen quickly, blood pooling around her, and some of the others had taken hits, but mostly, their enemies, these Iron Shepherds, hardly had a scratch on them. The sorcerer thrust her hand out, trying to pin them down as the barbarian raged across the field. The thugs swam sluggishly through the air, but their weapons were still drawn and glinting evilly with rust and blood, slowed but still lethal. And their leader, the towering, brutish, bald figure, stood virtually untouched while the chaos continued.

Molly yanked his sword back, glinting gold in the low firelight, and looked up. He saw Lorenzo wipe at the corner of his mouth, saw the freezing storm of ice still chilling the night air. His horrible tattoos curled around a hard, sharp jaw. He slammed his glaive against the ground as the wintery burst faded, and turned to face Molly. He wore a smile—jagged, and cruel, like a feral dragon ready to pounce.

Molly glanced around, saw Nott reeling from the wave of cold, saw Beau shake a bleeding fist, saw a crossbow bolt soar through the air to where Caleb was hiding.

He clutched his swords and grit his teeth and burst forward, scaling over the upturned cart, dashing across the blood-soaked grass and lunging for Lorenzo’s form.

He thought about Beau, pointing at some cows from the back of a cart.

His first strike found purchase, cut deep into the man’s flesh, and he spun around again with his other hand.

He thought about Nott, swinging her legs of the side of a log.

With a sickening, wet tear the blade sliced through Lorenzo’s chest.

He thought about Caleb, out in the meadow, holding a purple flame in his hands.

Another attack, another frenzied whirl with his weapon, and as he backed away and readied himself he saw Lorenzo raise that awful, glinting glaive, and instinctually, Molly did what he always did—

—he called upon his own blood, dug into his body for an unknown power, ripped one last fragment of vitality out of his soul to twist like a weapon and blind his attacker and save his friends—

—and suddenly in a sickening burst realized he had nothing left, had nothing left—

He sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes went wide. He felt the life drain out of his body, and he collapsed onto the ground.

He looked up into the face of his killer, and saw a flicker of confusion, then the smooth, quiet satisfaction of victory on its knees before him.

Lorenzo took a step forwards.

“Any last words?”

Molly thought about Jester with her wildflowers by the river, thought about Fjord asleep on the wooden floor of their room, thought about Yasha glowing in the starlight on the roof of their wagon, Yasha, his closest friend, Yasha, Yasha, how lucky he had been to know her, to know them all, really—

Molly thought of all that he had seen, and all that he hadn’t. All that he had known, and all that he wouldn’t.

Do you ever think about dying?

Yes, he thought. But he wouldn’t let this fucker know that.

He looked up, and spat into the cold face looming over him.

Lorenzo nodded. “Respect,” he said, and lifted the glaive.

In the dark, for just a moment, Molly’s eyes glowed a soft, fading red.

And then, nothing.

• • •

<3 ☕ ☕ ☕

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epen409 · 5 years

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My Top 18 Favorite Movies, TV Shows and/or Cartoons of 2018 (in no particular order) Part Dos

10. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Ignore the neckbeards who have nothing better to do, so they complain about reboots of cartoons from the quote on quote "golden age of animation, the 80's". She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is a really great show, that yes, is better than the original 80's show. It's able to create a more fun and engaging story, while also having a lot of memorable and likable characters. It also has a theme that I found very interesting, where the villains aren't born evil, they are just misled in the wrong direction and don't truly know wrong from right. It's quite a bold theme for the show. If there is a kind of big flaw, the animation is a little wonky. Some shots and scenes look great, while others are very easy to see where the animation mistakes are. That said, it's still a great show that takes advantage of all of it's fun and interesting characters, and brings them together in a new show that blows its predecessor out of the water. And yes, LGBT fans. It's very, very gay.

11. Spider-Man Into the Spider verse

What a comeback story. Who would have thought that the studio that made the whole world of animation cry last year would end up making the best animated film of the year? But anyways, Spider-Man into the Spiderverse is not only able to live up to all the hype it's been getting for the past year, but it also blew our expectations away. First of all, it looks GORGEOUS. It's able to make a visual style that's not only very beautiful and interesting, but it also happens to create a loving tribute to the original medium of comic books. Second, they put just as much effort in the story as they did with the visuals, which is not only a very fun superhero film, but also manages to be a very engaging emotional story as well, with lots of fun, interesting and memorable characters as well. If there is something to say isn't perfect, I did notice at least one plot hole that left me a bit confused, and they kind of blew the wad for putting in a few too many characters, where, while fun and memorable, don't have that much screen time and don't leave as big of an impression as the main characters. But still, it's one of the year's best movies, so go watch it NOW!

12. Flcl Progressive and Alternative

The first anime I ever saw was FLCL. It was insane, had gorgeous animation, memorable characters and I loved every minute of it. Do its sequel series' live up to the original's legacy. Well, let me put it this way. I very much enjoyed both shows, equally too. I thought they were very fun shows, and their themes, while sometimes a little hit-and-miss, still got their points across, the new characters were very fun and memorable, and the action scenes were also animated very well. With all that said, they still don't hold a candle to the original show. But that's okay, because I imagine it'd be very hard to. I still think that both of these new shows were very good, and although not as great as the original FLCL, was still lots of fun, and somewhat worthy successors to one of the greatest animas of all time. I still recommend both, since they still were good in my opinion.

13. Hilda

Miss Gravity Falls and Over the Garden Wall? Then have I got the show for you. Hilda is a great show from Netflix that manages to capture the spirits of both those shows, but also having its own identity and voice. One thing I appreciate about the show is that not only can it be calm and laid back in more character and establishing moments, but it also can be equally as exciting and fun for its more adventurous and action scenes. The characters are all very charming. Hilda is a free-spirited and adventurous young girl, but she's not a pushover or overly cheery either. Her friends both regular and supernatural, can sometimes fall into familiar tropes, but also are very fun and enjoyable to watch. (Alfie's my favorite). It's a great show to watch, especially on days you want to cozy up with a cup of hot liquids of some kind, and take it all in. It's a great show, and I highly recommend giving it a watch.

14. Christopher Robin

I missed Winnie the Pooh. Yes, an 18-year old male misses the adventures of a talking teddy bear. Deal with it. But anyways, for a while it seemed that Disney had somewhat given up on the bear with little brains, but they've given him another chance with this new film, but this time, mainly focusing on his human friend, Christopher Robin. One thing this movie gets right is the feeling of Winnie the Pooh. Pooh has never been known for incredibly convoluted stories, just mainly simple tales that it's colorful cast of characters can bounce off of, and this movie nails that feeling down. It's also close to the original cast of characters, since deviating away from their personalities would be considered a form of blasphemy. Also, the performances here are great too. Evan McGregor makes a surprisingly good Christopher Robin, Hayley Atwell is charming as his wife, the girl who played their daughter was pretty good too, and of course, our friends from the 100 Acre Woods are played very well by the new cast, especially the one and only Jim Cummings, the only modern voice for both Pooh and Tigger. Now it does have flaws, like the story is kind of the typical "Dad's too busy for the kids", and although I've grown to like it over time, but sometimes it got a little too dramatic for some scenes, and at time Christopher Robin himself came off a bit as whiny and unlikable in some scenes. With that said, it's very easy to see that the whole film is a big love letter to Winnie the Pooh. No, it's not the best movie of the year, Or anything like that, but if you want a nice, enjoyable and cute movie to watch, then Christopher Robin is the perfect film to watch.

15. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

I'll break my rule just this once to include a video game here. Super Smash Bros Ultimate was the biggest game from Nintendo this holiday season, and boy did it deliver. The last Smash Bros. game, was lots of fun, with it bringing all of our favorite (popular) video game characters together for a huge brawl. This next one, takes it up to 11. One thing I walkways admired from the games is that it's not the world's most complicated fighter game, while also still being oodles of fun. Only one big flaw: no Waluigi. Nah, just kidding. It's a great game, and a great farewell to the world of Smash from it's director, Masahiro Sakurai.

16. The Dragon Prince

Here's another show that didn't get that much attention on Netflix, The Dragon Prince. Made by the head writer from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the creator of the Uncharted games, comes a massive fantasy epic focusing on the Battle between humans and fantasy creatures like elves and dragons. One thing I really love about this show is just how complex the characters and their morals are. It's a show that takes a lot of advantage from this theme. It's also filled with lots of fun, yet also very interesting characters. You will probably get attached to them by the end of the show, which may break some hearts too... But yeah, might as well address the elephant in the room, the animation. In fact, I do think that maybe the reason it didn't immediately catch on was because a lot of people were turned off by the animation style. But I still recommend it and ask that you give it a chance, because not only was it lots of fun, and very interesting, but the story and characters help redeem the animation, plus it does improve itself over time. Please, please, please give The Dragon Prince a chance, it's a great show.

17. Ralph Breaks the Internet

Don't worry. It's not another Emoji Movie. Ralph Breaks the Internet is not only a worthy successor to the original film, but it also manages to expand a lot on the heart from the original. This time, instead of arcade games, it plucks our characters into the Internet, and unlike the Emoji Movie, manages to make more clever and creative ideas while being on the Internet. And yeah, maybe the scene when Vanellope visits the Disney website might be Disney patting themselves on the back a little too hard, but it's still a very funny and enjoyable scene that also helps move the plot forward. But one thing the movie was amazing at was expanding on its characters and their development. It even manages to avoid the typical happy ending, which, without spoiling anything, actually makes a change in the characters lives. If there is a flaw, like I said, it's 10 times better than the Emoji Movie, but I will admit, between the cameos from Youtubers and the one scene where Ralph becomes a meme, did kind of make me roll my eyes, but thankfully, unlike the Emoji movie, it doesn't dwell too much on these scenes all that much, and knows when to move the plot forward in the right direction. I still say it's a worthy sequel that's worth your time.

Also, Yesss is my new waifu.

18. Mary Poppins Returns

Here's one of the few live-action Disney films in recent years, I feel are very worthy to the legacy of their original film. Mary Poppins Returns is just a complete and utter joy of a film, not unlike the original classic. The performance of Emily Blunt as the titular nanny is a worthy successor the original by Julie Andrews, and character in general. Lin Manuel-Miranda not only does a great job in continuing the spirit of Dick Van Dyke from the first film, but also in writing a plethora of great songs that are amazingly performed and choreographed by the cast, while also giving tribute to the Sherman Brother's original songs. Even the kids, who I kind expected to get on my nerves, are actually pretty likable and fun, and are given, eh passable performances by their actors and actress. The animation sequence brought a tear to my eye, not only because it was lots of fun, but because I'm just happy to beautiful 2D Disney animation on the big screen again. If there is some flaws, yeah, the story is yet another Dad needs to spend more time with kids plot again, and it does bring some more action/suspenseful moments that I don't feel are completely in spirit to the original film's more laid back tone. But regardless, it's an overall great and very charming new film from Disney, and although I would like them to try doing some more original stuff with their live-action movies, I hope can keep the spirit of both this film,and a lot of the classic live-action Disney movies (like the original Mary Poppins, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Treasure Island, Darby O' Gill, Swiss Family Robinson and some others you guys probably never heard of).

So that's about it. Thank you all for sticking around listening to me talk about all these Movies and TV shows are worth remembering from this year, and there's a lot I'm excited for next year, and I hope that this next year can be an improvement, with more kindness and joy from the world and from people. Yeah, it's wishful thinking, but it's not a bad wish to have. Thank you all for supporting this page for the last year,and I'LL see ya in 2019!

#she ra #spider man into the spider verse #hilda #Super Smash Bros. Ultimate #flcl alternative #flcl 2 #Christopher Robin #The Dragon Prince #ralph breaks the internet #Mary Poppins Returns

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antiquatedfuture · 5 years

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New for the Holidays

NEW ZINES

All Together: A Primer for Connecting to Place + Cultivating Ecological Citizenship- All Together asks us to think about our relationship with community, place, plants, climate, food, and land, helping us figure out how we can know the place we live more intimately. ($5) Buried: A Zine About Grief and Digging Out- Both a memoir of losing parents and a guide to dealing with grief, Nicole Worthington's Buried is tender, heartbreaking, and uplifting, all at once. ($5) Clock Tower Nine #14- In an attempt to figure out the last record he would ever sell, Danny Noonan writes the story of a skittish teenager’s discovery of punk that leads him to house shows and eventually a move across the country. ($2.50) The Complete Speculative Red Hot Chili Peppers Fan Fiction (Second Edition)- After a long absence, the second edition of Chase Kamp's TCSRHCPFF is finally here—a gloriously odd collection of interlinked short stories based on the lives and careers of past and present members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. ($6)

Drink More Water, Be More Honest: 30 Lessons From My 20s (Second Edition)- A brand new printing of this fabulous zine from the ever-wise Sarah Mirk. A must-read zine for anyone, at any age. ($4) Fear, Safety, & Femmes- In a series of interviews with queer women and non-binary folks, Fear, Safety, & Femmes examines what safety looks like. ($5)

The Hid Are Out: A Tribute to The Breeders- Told through short personal stories, the zine is a heartfelt tribute to the band and an example of how music can change the course of a person's life. ($3) Offerings of Grace & Mischief #13- Part of our ongoing effort to stock everything Rachel Lee-Carman. Art studios, nettles, crows, good friends, the year of the horse, folk bands, a survey of winter vegetation, and so much more. ($5)

Proof I Exist #28- Juxtaposing his brother's substance abuse issues with his own aversion to substances, Proof I Exist #28 becomes a short memoir on family and addiction that's heart-felt and curious. ($2) Sword Loser- The new game from story-game creator Jackson Tegu. Sword Loser is the story of a lovable rake named Tyngauld who has a bad habit of losing swords. With a group of friends, you create the stories behind his recent acquisitions and losses. ($5) Tattoo Punk- The second issue of this high-energy, full-color cut-and-paste tattoo fanzine. The latest project from Ben Trogdon, editor of the legendary Nuts! fanzine. ($10)

Things Men Have Told Me About My Body- A collection of anecdotes and stories from 30+ anonymous contributors who have had men make wildly inappropriate statements about their bodies. ($5) Tranquility, or The Virtue of Realizing Your Self-Worth- In Tranquility, César Ramirez takes on a wide array of life experiences in a small amount of space. Within: the day John Wayne shot his dad, being a teacher of color, and finding pride in a name that no one can quite say. ($5) Under Pressure: Herbs For Resilience- Looking at the physiology of stress, the zine is a holistic guide to surviving an unhealthy culture. ($10)

Wanderer, Issue #5: A Perzine About Home, Mental Health, Self Care & DIY Music- Within: road trips, house shows, gender identity, zine mazes, and odes to initiators of fun. As well as finding ways through depression and panic attacks and hard times. ($5) When Death Knocks- A personal zine written by Death himself. Or, more specifically, written by a lowly "Transition Officer" working for the agency of Death. A morbid and tender piece of writing from the postmortem zine scene. ($3)

Where You From #6: Home Is- Combining her long-running Keep Writing postcard project, a community art grant, and a zine series about the idea of home, Hope Amico asked people in the summer heat of New Orleans to write about how they define home. ($5) Women in Sound #1- The issue that started it all, in stock here for the very first time. The highlight: a conversation with the legendary home recording artist Linda Smith. ($5)

NEW BOOKS Everyday Mythologies by Joshua James Amberson- A sideways glance at the mundane myths that make up our lives. Or: three personal essays about collecting, cars, and dads (that are also about gender, masculinity, and strength). ($8) The Frustratingly Insufficient Gatsby by Jackson Tegu- Playful, absurdist, and description obsessed, this is a wild and bizarre ride through the mind of story-game writer Jackson Tegu. It's weird fun for fans of Italo Calvino, Gertrude Stein, and Alejandro Zambra. ($10) Stranger in the Pen by Mohamed Asem- The latest from Perfect Day Publishing, Stranger in the Pen "examines the burden of being disconnected from one's homeland, unpacks the emotional toll of racial profiling, and illuminates the quietly surprising ways in which grief can change one's life." ($10)

NEW PAPER GOODS & MISCELLANY

2019 Lunar Phase Calendar Poster- An annual favorite. The lunar phases among night-blooming flowers by Nina and Sonya Montenegro of The Far Woods. ($18) Curtains Sticker- A cat with a knife, sneaking out from under a curtain of leaves. From Deth P. Sun. ($1) Metallic Eagle Owl Notepad- The latest from Eberhardt Press' legendary bird pad series: An eagle owl, metallic and properly intimidating. ($4)

NEW MUSIC

Sabriel's Orb & John Atkinson- Split Tape- Two sides of textural ambient synthscapes from some masters of minimalism. Sabriel's Orb is the latest project from Willow Skye-Biggs (Stag Hare, ariel) and John Atkinson is a film composer, formerly of the Brooklyn hypnogogic-pop group Aa. ($7) The Washboard Abs Tape Pack- All three full-length cassettes (w/ download codes) from The Washboard Abs, for only $10. Part of a month-long benefit for Real Rent Duwamish. ($10)

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