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looneyllama-archive · 2 years

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Echo: a Shin Moomin Comic

A scary Moomins story for Halloween! TW: animal death, animal corpse (only shown on page 2), guns. ID under the cut.

[Start ID: this is a 6 page comic, drawn in greyscale, featuring the Shin Mūmin versions of the Moomin characters.

Page 1

The top left corner of the first page says “Echo,” subtitled “A Shin Mūmin comic.”

Page 1-Panel 1: Snorkmaiden, Sniff, Little My, Moomin, and Snufkin are sitting around a campfire in the woods at sunset. Snorkmaiden (mischievous): “Know what we should do? We should tell ghost stories!” Sniff (scared): “Do we have to?” Little My (annoyed): “Don’t be a wimp, Sniff!” Moomin (enthusiastic): “Snufkin, do you know any scary stories?” Snufkin (eyes closed, thinking): “Hmm.”

1-2: Snufkin (eyes still closed, smiling): “Yes, I’ve got something to tell. It’s not a ghost story, exactly…”

1-3: Snufkin (narrating): “It’s a memory.” The panel shows Snufkin several years younger, his eyes open, scowling. He closely resembles the Mūmin 1969 Snufkin design, except he has no scarf, his hat is undecorated, his dress is a big too big, and he has a rifle strapped to his back. The background has changed to daytime, with distant mountains.

1-4: Snufkin (narration box 1): “This was a few years before I found Moominvalley, and Moomin found me. I was wandering inland, trying to get to the other side of the continent, but I didn’t dare try to cross the Badlands by myself.” There are 3 cowhands on horseback and a herd of cows, with mountains in the background. Snufkin (narration box 2): “I met a band of cattle drivers, and offered to work in exchange for passage across the desert. Fortunately, they cared more about my night eyes than my age, so I got the job.”

1-5: Back in present day, with Moomin and Snufkin by the campfire. Moomin (excited): “Wow! So you were a real cowboy!” Snufkin: (chuckling) “You could say that. It was hard work, but I learned a lot from the cowhands.”

1-6: Snufkin takes out his pipe and looks at it. Snufkin (smirking): “Including a couple of bad habits.”

Page 2

2-1: Returning to the flashback, a scene in early morning. A cow bucking, with cowhand 1 straining to hold onto her rope, and cowhand 2 ducking away from her hooves. Another cowhand and the rest of the herd are in the background. Snufkin (narrating): “We were in the roughest leg of the journey, the longest distance to cover with no access to water, when one of the cows went wild.”

2-2: The cow runs off. Cowhand 1 has fallen on the ground, cowhands 2 and 4 pursue her on foot, and cowhand 3chases her on horseback, whirling a lasso. Snufkin (narrating): “A few of the cowhands tried to chase her down, but they had to give up before long. We needed to get the rest of the herd as far as we could before the sun rose to its peak.”

2-3: Later that morning in the flashback, the herd and cowhands are continuing across the desert. Young Snufkin is on the back of a horse with an old cowhand named Cactus Needle; this is an original character, a middle-aged hemulen wearing a cowboy hat, a collared shirt and bandana, a gun belt, and boots. From off the panel, cowhand 2 yells: “Hey, look over there!”

2-4: Cowhand 2 points to a dead cow lying on the ground in the distance.

2-5: Cowhand 2 (confused): “Can’t be ours. She just ran off an hour ago.” Cactus Needle (suspicious): “No, it’s her, all right.” They dismount the horse. Cowhand 3 and the herd are visible in the background.

2-6: A closer look at the cow corpse, with the shadows of Cactus Needle and cowhand 3.

2-7: Cowhand 3 nudges the corpse with her foot.

2-8: Water comes pouring out of the corpse’s mouth. Cowhand 3: “What the?!”

2-9: Outside the panel from the left, cowhand 2: “Drowned! But what th’ hell she drown in?” Outside the panel from the right, cowhand 3: “Maybe there’s a watering hole out here after all!” In the center, Cactus Needle (through gritted teeth): “No. There isn’t.”

2-10: Cactus Needle marches back to their horse. Young Snufkin is standing next to it, holding the reins.

2-11: Cactus Needle, on the horse, grabs young Snufkin by the neck of his dress. He makes a “hrk” noise and looks surprised.

2-12: Cactus Needle has put young Snufkin on the back of her horse. The horse rears up, and young Snufkin grabs Cactus Needle with one paw and his hat with the other. Cactus Needle (shouting): “Quit gawkin’, ya lead-footed lunkheads! Let’s get a move on!”

Page 3

3-1: A silhouette of the herd and the cowhands on horseback. Cactus Needle and young Snufkin’s horse is galloping far in front of the rest.

3-2: Cactus Needle and Young Snufkin, still on horseback, moving more slowly. Young Snufkin: “Cactus Needle? What happened to that cow?” Cactus Needle: “Listen kid, ‘cause I’m only tellin’ ya this once.”

3-3: Cactus Needle (grimly): “Sometimes, ya come across things in the desert no one can explain. Wrong things. When ya do, don’t ask questions. Don’t investigate.”

3-4: A view of Cactus Needle and young Snufkin on the horse from behind, with young Snufkin looking back. Cactus Needle: “Just ignore it.”

3-5: Late at night in the flashback. Young Snufkin is on guard with his rifle on his back, playing guitar quietly and looking at the stars with a smile. In the background, there are 5 tents set up by a campfire and the herd of cows asleep nearby. Snufkin (narrating): “My job was to keep the cattle and the cowhands safe from coyotes or rustlers through the night. Out there in the desert, the sky was absolutely studded with stars, and the horizon seemed to stretch on forever. All of those long, lonely nights are treasured memories.”

3-6: Young Snufkin stops playing and looks intently into distance, where large hills of sand have risen up. Snufkin (narrating): “Except one.”

3-7: Three boxes of narration alternate with two boxes with silhouettes. Snufkin (narration 1): “The desert made everything feel small, yet it was enormous.” Silhouette box 1 shows the Ancient One floating over the sand, causing it to form waves. Snufkin (narration 2): “It swam over the dunes rather than walked, splashing sand as it moved.” Silhouette box 2 shows the Ancient One again, still swimming closer. Snufkin (narration 3): “And the longer I looked, the faster it came toward me.”

3-8: Back in the present day, at the campfire. Little My has grabbed onto Snufkin’s knee; Moomin and Snufkin both look surprised. Little My (yelling, concerned): “Didn’t you have a gun?!”

3-9: Returning to the flashback, young Snufkin is kneeling, aiming his rifle at the Ancient One, still in silhouette. His guitar is on the ground nearby. Snufkin (narrating): “I did.”

3-10: The Ancient One, facing front. Its head is a skull with a long snout and enormous eyes. Ribs are visible behind the skull. It has no flesh, but water is suspended around its bones. I Snufkin (narrating): “But what could a bullet do to bones and seawater?”

3-11: A view of young Snufkin from the waist down, still kneeling. He is putting down the rifle with his left hand and grabbing the guitar with his right.

3-12: A view of young Snufkin from the shoulders down, playing the guitar and producing a few small music notes.

3-13: Identical to the last panel, but young Snufkin is tense, with his shoulders drawn up and his claws protracted, and there is water dripping from above him. The musical notes get larger and more jagged.

3-14: More large, jagged music notes. Cactus Needle in her tent, leaning out. Cactus Needle: (tired) “Would ya keep it down, kid? Some o’ us are tryin’ to—“

3-15: Cactus Needle with a horrified look on their face.

Page 4

4-1: The Ancient One is fully visible in the firelight. It is made of seawater floating around bones. The bones are based on ichthyosaur fossils, with many ribs and a long spine, four flippers, a tail fin, a dorsal fin, a long nose, and oversized eye sockets about the size of young Snufkin’s head. There are ancient skeletons of fish, trilobites, ammonites, and a sea turtle swimming in the water that floats inside of the Ancient One’s ribcage. The Ancient One is looming over young Snufkin, dripping water onto him. Young Snufkin is terrified; his pupils have shrunk to slits, his claws are protracted, and he has tears in his eyes.

4-2: Divided into 3 small panels. The first has Cactus Needle’s face from the side, looking down at young Snufkin. Cactus Needle: “Ya better stop now.” The second panel shows young Snufkin’s face from the side, still terrified. The third shows the Ancient One’s jaws.

4-3: Divided into 7 small panels. The first is a closeup on Cactus Needle’s mouth. Cactus Needle: “It’s time for ya to rest.” The second panel is a closeup on young Snufkin’s eye, and a tear running down his cheek. The third is a closeup on the Ancient One’s eyes. The fourth through seventh panels are very small; the two behind the panel of young Snufkin show jagged musical notes, and the two below the panel of the Ancient One are drops of water.

4-4: Cactus Needle shouts from off panel: “Stop it now and go to sleep!” The Ancient One collapses. A large quantity of water slams into young Snufkin’s back. Water sprays and bones fall all around him.

4-5: Young Snufkin is kneeling, soaked and coughing. Cactus Needle holds the wet brim of his hat out of his face. Cactus Needle: “Lands, kid, ya must have nerves of steel. C’mon, we gotta get ya dried off.” The Ancient One’s bones are scattered around.

Page 5:

5-1: Back in the present day, with Snorkmaiden, Sniff, Little My, Moomin, and Snufkin around the campfire. Sniff (nervous): “Brrr, that’s creepy!” Snorkmaiden: “But what was that thing? Was it a ghost?” Snufkin: “I don’t know. ‘Ghost’ doesn’t seem like the right word.”

5-2: Return to flashback. Young Snufkin is sitting by the fire, wrapped in a towel. Snufkin (narrating): “I think it was a memory.”

5-3 Young Snufkin looking up with a tired expression. Snufkin (narrating): “Older than the Ancestor.

5-4: Cactus Needle approaches the fire, their arms full of bones, including the Ancient One’s skull. Snufkin (narrating): “Older than the Fair Folk.”

5-5: A worms-eye view of the bones burning in the campfire. The smoke contains shapes of ancient fish, sea turtles, trilobites, and ammonites. Cactus Needle and young Snufkin look up at the smoke, young Snufkin with a look of wonder. Snufkin (narrating): “Old enough to remember when the desert was the sea.”

5-6: Back in present day, Sniff (serious expression, ears back): “Whatever it was, I’m glad it’s dead. Nasty thing.” Snufkin from off-panel: “Hmm.”

5-7: Snorkmaiden: “What? You disagree? Little My (angrily): “It tried to kill you!”

5-8: Snufkin (eyes closed): “I feel sorry for it.”

5-9: An aerial view of Moominvalley. Snufkin (off-panel, narration box 1): “To return to your home, only to find you no longer recognize it. To realize that you no longer have a place in the world, that you’ve been gone too long and everyone has moved on without you…” Snufkin (off-panel, narration box 2): “That’s more frightening than any ghost story.”

Page 6

6-1: Later that same night. Snorkmaiden, Sniff, Moomin, and Snufkin are lying down by the dying campfire; Little My is sprawled out on Snorkmaiden’s belly. Everyone is asleep but Moomin, who is staring at Snufkin. Snufkin has his scarf under his head and his hat pulled over his eyes.

6-2: Moomin propped up on one elbow, looking over Snufkin. Moomin (whispering): “You’ll always have a place here in Moominvalley, Snufkin. I promise.”

6-3. Snufkin reaches out and puts his arms around Moomin. Moomin, who thought he was asleep, looks surprised.

6-4: Split into two panels. On the left side of the page, Moomin smiles at Snufkin. On the right, Snufkin pushes his hat off his head and smiles back at Moomin.

6-5: Cuddling and smiling, Moomin and Snufkin go to sleep.

End ID.]

#tw animal death #tw animal corpse #tw guns #horror #moomins #shin moomin #shin mūmin #moomin 1969 #moomin 1972 #snufmin #snufkin #moomin #sniff #little my #snorkmaiden

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looneyllama-archive · 3 years

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It’s been awhile since I’ve drawn slimes, so here’s some of my favorite largos!

#looney art #slime rancher #slime rancher fanart

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looneyllama-archive · 3 years

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Moomins: the Next Generation

I was hesitant about posting this, since I almost never make OCs (and to be honest, these are more like projections of my hopes and insecurities than actual characters), but so many people have made Snufmin fankids that I couldn’t resist joining in on the fun! As a bit of a twist, I went with Shin Mumin’s Moomin and Snufkin, since I have a soft spot for this adaptation.

Ramblings on the characters, plus a concept doodle with younger versions, under the cut.

Lineup from the color picture, from left to right:

Len--actually not a Snufmin kid, but the significant other of their eldest daughter. They’re a hemulen who is nervous about settling on a single field of study, as their own family expects. Fortunately, they’ve found a safe place in Moominvalley.

Juniper--kind of like a muddler but with antlers (’cause why not). She’s the type who always asks questions; in this society where people just tend to be named after their species, she will always ask people what they want to be called, just in case. She’s also just a tad nosy.

Moomin--Moominpappa now, I suppose, though that gets a bit confusing. I decided that his one accessory should be a work apron, with lots of pockets for anything he could possibly need. He’s become a talented carpenter.

Snufkin--now Snufkinpappa. He still travels every winter and spends the rest of the year in Moominvalley. Moomin (and later, the kids) makes him an amulet for safe travels every year before he leaves. Even though omamori “expire” after one year, Snufkin could never bring himself to burn a gift from Moomin, so he just wears all of them. At once. It’s getting a little out of hand.

Fillie--a fillyjonk who has too many sensory issues to fit into that neat and tidy fillyjonk mold, she was put up for adoption by her birth parents. Once free to live as herself, she found that she much prefers comfy knitwear to starched collars. She makes all her clothes herself, as well as lots of knitted presents for her friends and family.

Nuisance--a mumrik who loves the sea. They spend most of the year on a ship, serving dual purpose as a crewmember and a ship’s lucky cat, but always visit Moominvalley between voyages. Their signature hat is actually a folded newspaper, which they make fresh every few weeks.

Bylly--technically Snufkin’s nephew, but was primarily raised by him and Moomin. He’s Mymble Jr’s only child. Since she spent so much time taking care of her siblings, Mymble Jr. never really wanted kids herself, but Bylly was unplanned. Snufkin and Moomin took him in and are his primary guardians, but he is still on friendly terms with Mymble Jr.

The trees in the background are actually Woodies! I’ve had the headcanon that they’re only mobile as children, and plant themselves upon reaching maturity. From left to right, there’s Pine, Willow, Ash, Maple, Cherry, Walnut, Birch, and Ginkgo.

Concept doodle of younger versions of the characters:

#moomins #Shin Moomin #moomin 1972 #snufmin #snufmin fankids #moomin ocs #looney art

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looneyllama-archive · 3 years

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Fixing Raggedy Ann and Andy: a Musical Adventure

I recently discovered this gem of a film, and I’ve fallen in love with these funky little rag dollies! Raggedy Ann and Andy: a Musical Adventure has stunning animation, incredible music, and charming characters. That said, I can certainly see the flaws in the story, characters, and musical structure of the film, so I’ve written up what I would change to make it stronger.

Under the cut, because this got looooong.

• Theme: this film is actually not far off from having a solid story, if you think of the film being about love and happiness, rather than about the literal adventure. Every character’s goal is to find happiness. The captain thinks that claiming Babette as his bride, as if she’s a pretty trophy to show off, will make him happy. The Greedy follows a similar line of thinking, as he believes finding a sweetheart to add to his collection of sweets will make him happy. Even though both are desiring people, they demonstrate the idea of finding joy in ownership, rather than in interaction. Babette and the Camel are both trying to get home, with the former wanting to go to Paris and the latter wanting to join a camel caravan. They place all of their hopes for happiness on finding a certain place, instead of trying to make the best of where they are. Sir Leonard Looney thinks that joy comes from playing pranks on others and laughing at them. Finally, Raggedy Ann and Andy know that happiness comes from being with your loved ones.

• Characters: to start, notice that I left King Koo Koo off the list of characters discussed in the theme section. This decision is due to the fact that his goal is confusing; he also tries to find joy in the misery of others, but that’s to serve another goal, making himself bigger (which just ends up being disturbing in the film). I say that this character should be scrapped entirely. In terms of theme, Sir Leonard makes him redundant, and in terms of plot, it’s not difficult to write him out (more on that later). The other major character that needs an overhaul is the Captain. I get what they were going for; he’s supposed to be desperately lonely inside his snowglobe—even though he seems to have an entire pirate crew—which is why he kidnaps Babette. At the end of the film, he’s supposed to be redeemed, but he still comes across as acting creepy toward Babette, and he never even apologizes! I would tweak this character. First of all, he should be entirely alone in the snowglobe save for Queasy; this doesn’t justify his actions, mind you, but it at least makes him a little more sympathetic. Most importantly, he needs to come to the realization on his own that what he did was wrong. Instead of having him complain to Queasy in the brig about losing his “prize,” have him admit that he messed up; he can’t cure his loneliness if he treats other people like trophies, rather than showing them respect. The Captain also needs actually apologize for his actions—it’s hardly fair to have Babette apologize for causing trouble, but then for the person who started the whole mess to get off scot-free! Additionally, to lessen the creep factor, I would also have him no longer be “in love” with Babette at the end of the film, but instead show him respecting her as a friend.

• Songs: I love most of the songs in this film, but there certainly are too many—there’s 19 songs on the soundtrack! The first fix is to eliminate all of the Twin Penny jingles. These mini-songs are unnecessary, always bringing the story to a screeching halt and interrupting the flow of dialogue. Also, the Twin Pennies get the first song of the film, which hardly makes sense! That brings us down to 16 songs. The second obvious fix is to get rid of any background songs, or any songs that aren’t actual musical numbers in the film. That scratches “A Miracle” and “the Abduction & Yo-Ho,” which are both played behind dialogue during the kidnapping scene; the latter song doesn’t even end properly! I would also include “Camel’s Mirage” among these songs, and change that to an instrumental version, since the lyrics don’t contribute much impact anyway. 13 songs now. If we apply the change I made under the characters section, the elimination of King Koo Koo, we can get rid of "Hail to Our Glorious King” and "It's Not Easy Being King,” bringing us down to 11 songs. The final fix would be to combine songs whenever there’s two back-to-back. The film already does this anyway, having the final song “Home” transition into a reprise of “Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers,” so it wouldn’t be difficult to do it for a few other songs. The first instance of this is “Rag Dolly” and “Poor Babette.” Since “Poor Babette” is a pretty weak tune anyway, let’s just make Babette’s lament into another verse of “Rag Dolly!” Just switch it to a more dismal sound and change the lyrics—I’m thinking something along these lines: “Oh, I’m just a poor dolly, stranded so far from Paris / such a miserable dolly, trapped in this strange nursery / I feel melancholy, knowing I can’t get away / so this French dolly, scared and alone, has no choice but to stay.” The other two songs I would combine would be “Hooray for Me” and “You’re My Friend.” This one is even easier, since both songs are already call-and-response; just rearrange “Hooray for Me” as follows: “Hooray for me! Hooray for she! / Babette of Paris! She’s captain, see! / What joy, what glee! What joy, what glee! / When our voyage ends / once we’ve crossed the deep blue sea / we’ll reach Paris! We’ll reach Paris!” That makes our final count 9 songs: “I Look, And What Do I See,” “I’m No Girl’s Toy,” “Rag Dolly,” "Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers,” “Blue,” “I Never Get Enough,” “I Love You,” “You’re My Friend,” and “Home/Candy Hearts and Paper Flowers reprise.”

• Setting: now, I love how surreal the settings are, but I’ll readily admit that it doesn’t make much sense. The film says that Ann and Andy just go into the woods, and yet they run into a Taffy Pit and a Looney Kingdom out there! To help with suspension of disbelief, I say that instead of going out the window to chase the Captain, they go into Marcella’s drawings.

• Plot: with all of these changes in place, let’s play out the story! The beginning goes the same until we get to the Captain’s escape. Ann still helps him get out, but instead of him already having a ship and a crew inside the snowglobe, he goes up to one of Marcella’s drawings, a pirate ship on the sea, and orders the crew to jump out and help him kidnap Babette. The pirates then escape into a drawing of a starry sky over a desert sticking out of Marcella’s backpack. Ann and Andy follow them in, and the meet the Camel. He was abandoned in the lost-and-found at the school and ended up climbing into the drawing to look for his caravan. He agrees to help Ann and Andy, but gets distracted by the camels in the sky; the three ride right off the edge of the page and into a different drawing, this one showing candies and sweets galore. The encounter with the Greedy plays out as in the original film, and the trio escapes into another drawing, this one showing a castle. They run into Sir Leonard Looney, who intends to keep them in Looneyland for his own entertainment, but they get him and the other Loonies distracted by throwing pies and escape into the sea drawing. Sir Leonard is the one who calls up Gazooks to pursue them, hoping to get the last laugh. The three use the H.M.S. Koo Koo to get onto the ship and find Babette has become Captain. Crucially, we see the Captain showing remorse for his actions while he’s in the brig. While Babette is tying up Ann, Andy, and the Camel, the Captain spots Gazooks sneaking up on the ship through a porthole; he breaks out of the brig and gets on deck to warn Babette. Babette realizes she’ll have to give up on reaching Paris to keep her new friends safe. She commands her crew to turn the ship around. Gazooks attacks, tickling all of the crew as well as Andy and the Camel. While they’re being shaken around, Andy and the Camel drop joy buzzers and gum balls that got caught up in their clothes/wrinkled knees in the Taffy Pit and the Looney Kingdom. Ann, Babette, and the Captain pick up these items, and use them to load up a cannon and fire at Gazooks. The explosion knocks the toys out of the drawing. The Captain lands on a shelf by his snowglobe, but the Camel goes out the window and lands on the ground. Ann, Andy, and Babette nearly fall as well, but manage to hang onto the curtain. Ann is terrified for Babette, who will shatter if she falls. Just as the three think Babette is going to drop, Marcella comes in. She grabs her silly dolls, scolds them for playing near an open window, and puts them back in their proper places before leaving again. (I’m writing this scene with the original stories in mind; the original Marcella always seemed fairly aware that her dolls were getting into trouble behind her back, and would just scold them and save them as necessary.) The dolls are relieved to be home, and we get the Captain’s apology, and show him respecting Babette as a friend, as well as quite an impressive pirate Captain herself! Meanwhile, the Camel is left outside. He sees the caravan once again, but unlike in the original film, it leads in the opposite direction of the house. He stares at them longingly, but forces himself to turn away, and goes for the playroom window instead. Of course, he’s welcomed into the family, and we get our happy ending at last.

If you made it this far, please let me know what you think of my fixes, and what you would change about the film!

#review #raggedy ann and andy #raggedy Ann and Andy a musical adventure #fix it

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