#Magic Mongo

[thearcadearchives1981]

The Sid and Marty Krofft Channel is coming very soon- to make Saturday morning- every morning!!!!

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#1980s Arcades #Arcade Archives #Arcade Archives Network #Bigfoot and Wildboy #Dr. Shrinker #Elecra Woman and Dyna Girl #Far Out Space Nuts #H.R. Pufnstuf #Krofft Supershow #Land of the Lost #Lidsville #Magic Mongo #Sid and Marty Krofft #Sigmund and the Sea Monsters #The Bugaloos #The Lost Saucer #Wonderbug

[lumpyrock]

Hello my fellow Krofft Enthusiasts!

Halloween is fast approaching, and all us artists out there are wondering, "How can we make this month Krofft?"

So I present the first Krofftober! A list of 31 Prompts leading up to Halloween just for us Krofft fans! Every prompt correlates to a day of October and your job is to draw a piece of art for each prompt!

Rules:

Create a piece of art each day of October for each of the Prompts listed or as many as you can. Use the hash tag #krofftober for your art. You can use any Krofft character for any prompt, including OCs (Original Characters). Please be respectful of all who are doing this challenge because we're all Krofft fans at the end of the day. Also please do not use AI art.

See you next week, I sure hope so,

-Lumpy

#hr pufnstuf #sid and marty krofft #electra woman and dyna girl #the bugaloos #lidsville #land of the lost #dr. shrinker #magic mongo #wonderbug #lost saucer #far out space nuts #krofftober #sigmund and the sea monsters

[marzena-doe]

Spotlight: Princess Castra

Princess Castra is the younger (half-)sister of Hadea, Sheila, Aura and Krotan. She is technically a canon character from the original show but was changed considerably for This Is Their Story, which is why she gets her own spotlight topic. 

At first, Castra has no storylines of her own. She's present when the action takes place on Mongo and the royal family is involved but acts more like a background character. She's literally still a teenager back then, so that's probably why. 

When we meet Sheila in Season 2, we're told that she's working for Ming in order to protect both Aura and Castra. It becomes pretty clear then that Castra is one of good guys when she forbids Aura to tell anyone about Sheila potentially falling for Flash Gordon because that surely wouldn't end well for their sister. 

In Season 3, 17 year old Princess Castra again protects Sheila by convincing Krotan not to tell Ming everything that he learned about their older sister. 

Castra is seen with a royal artefact in the very same episode, the Harp of Healing. The artefact’s name is later changed to Harp of Hope. 

When Sheila pretends to have died in order to be left alone by Ming and to work with the rebels, Ming replaces her with young Castra who feels very uncomfortable in that role. But again Castra is the one to convince her siblings not to spill the beans on Sheila. However, when Castra tries to meet with Sheila at some point, she walks into Ming's trap and endangers her sister as well, nearly costing Sheila her life. 

When Krotan takes the throne during the Prince Krotan arc, Castra is everything but happy with his reign. We also learn that she's supposedly very "princessy" (probably meaning very spoiled and used to getting her way) which leads to her making a less than favorable impression on Vultan. 

Castra does support Sheila's marriage to Flash Gordon and is present at her wedding. She also supports the Jedda/Krotan union. When Jedda's living on Mongo, she and Castra become friends. 

When Castra is 20 years old, Ming tries to force her into a marriage. Castra steals a spaceship and flees - with Vultan also on board of the ship. He brings her to Monitor to safety and Castra is then taken in by the rebels where she actively tries to assist them in their fights. She also enjoys her newfound freedom. 

When Ming opens doors to another dimension and only the royal blood of Mongo can close them again, Castra is the one to step up to volunteer and barely survives. 

After Ming's death, Castra returns to the palace. When she is captured by a different group of rebels, she starts playing a dangerous game for her life. When the rescue mission fails, Castra and Vultan are chased by their enemies and have to rely on each other, which brings them close. Castra's plans all backfire in the end and she's called out for siding with the enemy (which she only pretended to do to save her own life) and is supposed to be executed for treason. However, Vultan places her under his protection and tells everyone they're engaged. 

For a while, Castra and Vultan are the new heirs to the Mongo throne. However, their ideas of a potential arrangement for their future are very different. 

Castra is described as a bit talkactive in some episodes. Sometimes she says too much, giving away too many details others do not need to know. She's also seen experimenting with magic in some episodes with chaotic results. At some point, Castra is the one keeping the rebels together. 

Castra and Vultan eventually marry. It's more a marriage out of convenience at first but later they realize that they've developed feelings for one another. Side fact: They marry while all around them a war is fought. Castra becomes the Queen of the Hawk people. 

Castra gets pregnant at some point and gives birth to a son. Sheila sitting on the throne of Mongo creates a rift between Castra and Vultan at first. Castra fully supports her sister but Vultan expects her to support their own kingdom. 

Castra is not married to Prince Tevrok here, probably mainly because I forgot he existed when I first wrote this and it didn't feel right to change everything in the rewrites. I also always felt that Tevrok was a Barin replacement of sorts because him and Flash being so close is the original Flash/Barin storyline from the Flash Gordon universe. However, Tevrok was planned to appear in DoE 2.0. 

Overall, I think it's pretty interesting to see teenager Princess Castra grow into Rebel Castra and Queen Castra over the course of the seasons. I feel like even without having actually written her story, her character development is clearly present.

#spotlight #princess castra

[zahri-melitor]

New(ish) Comics:

Batman & Robin #5: I liked how much of this story was based at school. I disliked the teacher suggesting Damian should be attending college classes. NO! Bruce is right! This is a socialisation exercise! #KeepDamianInSchool2024!

Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #4: This is still so fascinating, as I know so little. Riley Rossmo drawing Art Deco was not something I thought I needed but it’s fascinating.

Outsiders #3: I'm...conflicted about this. Did I like Luke and Duke spending some time together? Sure. Do I think we needed ANOTHER book currently infested with 1000 different universe versions of Batman? No. For a comic that's trying really really hard to claim it's not about Bruce and it's about getting away from Bruce (why is your team called Outsiders then??) there is a lot of Bruce showing up.

The fish-headed Batwoman was amusing, though.

Speed Force #3: I am starting to feel like this is a comic I need to come back and read once I’ve read Teen Titans Academy. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to see the formation of more social groups (and Ace and Jaime together was a lovely bro moment), but I’m begging people to stop pitching particularly Kory, Donna, Raven and Gar as hanging out or in social spaces with the teens. I know DC have done it way too many times over the years now but it never, ever makes sense. Still enjoying this series is aware of what’s going on in other titles, though.

DC’s How to Lose a Guy Gardner in 10 Days: this was a MIX. The Barry/Iris one was light and insubstantial (but very Flash). I think, funnily enough, my favourite bits were Vicky Vale dating Guy Gardner for an article (hah), the Heart of the Ocean ripoff in the Booster story, and the John Constantine story swerving rapidly into reminding you you were reading Hellblazer right on the last page.

The most frustrating parts of this, to my eye:

Unwillingness to properly commit to anything other than a heterosexual couple (Constantine got the closest but wouldn't show anything)

Seriously. You had EIGHT stories and only one of them was not a guy and a girl?

Okay fine Diana got asked out by both men and women but she actually wasn't interested in dating any of them so I'm not counting it.

Steph and Cass randomly running around the back of the Dick/Babs story. Either this is about Dick and Babs, so focus on THEM, or give in and stop queerbaiting Steph and Cass. Honestly for many reasons I think actually putting them together would be a terrible thing for both characters, but clearly DC likes the speculation (but not enough to DO anything about it).

Traya's still MIA since 2010 apparently. Thanks, Red Tornado.

The Warlord #34: this week in Skartaris Travis Morgan acquires the Hellfire sword from a village of dwarfs. The sword apparently makes him invulnerable to magic. He also reunites with Machiste and Mariah after getting magically transported to where they were by the sword. Machiste and Mariah finally get to tell Travis they're dating. However they get stuck in the far past, while the sword whisks Travis back to the present day.

One of the dwarfs is named Mongo Ironhand. He likes summoning and drinking martinis. (Really)

#newish comics #z canon read throughs #tuesday spoilers #cmon DC give me polyamory on page not just hints of it that I have to look up to see whether it's ever been requited (no) #or at least give me an ACTUAL ON PANEL QUEER COUPLE #you don't have to cordon that off entirely in its own special

[thehyperrequiem]

Right Hand Man Quadrilogy (Shrek Parody) Cast

Right Hand Man 1 - “Once upon a time, in a far away swamp, there lived an stickfigure named Right Hand Man (Puffballsunited) whose precious solitude is suddenly shattered by an invasion of annoying cartoon characters. They were all banished from their kingdom by the evil Queen Chrysalis (Kathleen Barr). Determined to save their home--not to mention his--Right Hand Man cuts a deal with Chrysalis and sets out to rescue Prince William Zeppeli (Joe Ochman) to be Chrysalis's groom. Rescuing the Prince may be small compared to his deep, dark secret.”

Right Hand Man 2 - “After returning from their honeymoon and showing home movies to their friends, Right Hand Man and Reginald Copperbottom learn that his parents have heard that he has married his true love and wish to invite him to their kingdom, called Far Far Away. The catch is: Reginald’s parents are unaware of the curse that struck their son and have assumed he married Pomegranate Cookie, not a cybenetic stickfigure with horrible hygiene and a talking autobot pal.”

Right Hand Man the Third - “When Hop Pop suddenly croaks, Right Hand Man (Puffballsunited) learns he will have to rule the land of Far, Far Away, unless he can find a suitable heir to the throne. The most-promising candidate is Reginald Copperbottom's (Puffballsunited) cousin Giorno (Phillip Reich), a teenage slacker in a medieval high-school. Right Hand Man and his trusted companions, Bumblebee (Bumper Robinson) and Samuel Rodriguez (Philip Anthony-Rodriguez), set out to bring Giorno back but find their mission is a bigger challenge than they expected.”

Right Hand Man Forever After - “Long-settled into married life and fully domesticated, Right Hand Man (Puffballsunited) begins too long for the days when he felt like a real toppat. Duped into signing a contract with devious (Poptropica) Rumpelstiltskin, he finds himself in an alternate version of Far Far Away, where Toppats are hunted, Rumpelstiltskin rules, and he and Reginald have never met. Right Hand Man must find a way out of the contract to restore his world and reclaim his true love.”

(In loving memory of Steve Hardwell, you’ll always be our All-Star)

Right Hand Man (Henry Stickmin) as Shrek

Bumblebee (Transformers Animated) as Donkey

William Zeppeli (Jjba Part 1) as Princess Fiona (Human)

Reginald Copperbottom (Henry Stickmin) as Princess Fiona (Ogre)

Queen Chrysalis (My little Pony) as Lord Farquaad

Blitzwing (Transformers Animated) as The Dragon

Ched (Centaurworld) as Gingy

Sana Hudson (Balan Wonderworld) as The Muffin Man

Newton (Littlebigplanet) as The Magic Mirror

Cioccolata (Jjba part 5) as Thelonius (With Secco as extra)

Licorice Cookie (Cookie Run) as Monsieur Hood

Percy (Thomas the Tank Engine) as Pinocchio

Octavian (Poptropica) as The Big Bad Wolf

Oliver, Jorge, and Mya (Poptropica) as The three little pigs

Gordon, James, and Henry (Thomas the Tank Engine) as The Three Blind Mice

Various Characters as the Fairytale creatures, knights and townsfolk

Tea Knight Cookie (Cookie Run) as King Harold (Human)

Eclair Cookie (Cookie Run) as Queen Lillian

Dark Enchantress Cookie (Cookie Run) as The Fairy Godmother

Pomegranate Cookie (Cookie Run) as Prince Charming

Waterbaby (Centaurworld) as Doris the Ugly Stepsister

Samuel Rodriguez (Metal Gear Rising) as Puss in Boots

Speedwagon (Jjba Part 1) as Shrek (Human)

Cheetor (Beast Wars) as Donkey (Horse)

Spike (My little pony) as Pinocchio (Human)

Cuckoo (Balan Wonderworld) as Mongo

Hop Pop (Amphibia) as King Harold (Frog)

The Lost n Found Botbots (Transformers Botbots) as The Dronkeys

Wildberry Cookie (Cookie Run) as Simon Cowell

Giorno (Jjba Part 5) as Artie

Merlin (Thomas the Tank Engine) as Merlin

Espresso Cookie (Cookie Run) as Snow White

Crunchy Chip Cookie (Cookie Run) as Cinderella

Moonlight Cookie (Cookie Run) as Sleeping Beauty

Elder Custard Cookie (Cookie Run) as Rapunzel

Pirate Cookie (Cookie Run) as Captain Hook

Bowser (Mario) as The Cyclops

Various Minor antagonists (Jjba) as The Trees

Gretchen Grimlock (Poptropica) as Evil Queen

Jasper (Steven Universe) as Mabel the Ugly Stepsister

Red Velvet Cookie (Cookie Run) as Lancelot

Various Bad Guys as The Villains

Captain Caviar Cookie (Cookie Run) as The Ship Captain

Fancy Pants (Fancy Pants), Orange Stickfigure (Alan Beckman), and Hat Girl (A Hat in Time) as Fergus, Farkle, and Felicia

Rumpelstiltskin (Poptropica) as Rumpelstiltskin

Cookatiel (Mario) as Fifi

Soundwave (Transformers) as Pied Piper

The Toppat Clan (Henry Stickmin) as The Ogres

The Wall Staff (Henry Stickmin) as The Witches

#crossover cast #crossover casting #Henry Stickmin #transformers #Mario #cookie run #Poptropica #fancy pants #a hat in time #Alan Beckman #Jjba #Steven universe #Centaurworld #Balan wonderworld #thomas the tank engine #poptropica #Amphibia #my little pony #Shrek #Lbp #metal gear rising

[samasmith23]

How Magnificent Ms. Marvel deconstructs the "Chosen One" archetype

One element of the Destined arc from Saladin Ahmed's run on Magnificent Ms. Marvel that I find interesting is that it actively subverts orientalist and imperialist tropes present in sci-fi "chosen one saves alien planet" narratives.

Specifically, the whole idea of a human being whisked away to rescue an entire alien civilization from their own despotic dictator was heavily popularized by the comic-strip/serial show Flash Gordon, which was infamous for its usage of racist Yellow Peril tropes. Like not only was the main antagonist of Flash Gordon, Ming the Merciless, an overtly Yellow-Face Fu-Manchu caricature, but even the name of the planet he ruled, "Mongo," sounds awfully similar to the real-life Asian country of Mongolia. And this is made even more uncomfortable by the fact that Flash Gordon himself is the stereotypically glorified blonde-haired blue-eyed white male, and both the strip and serials portray him as liberating and conquering the planet Mongo from the obviously Asian-coded villain.

So yeah, there are definitely some imperialist and orientalist trappings within the "human saves alien planet" narrative. However, while the Destined arc of Magnificent Ms. Marvel is clearly modeled after this archetypal narrative, there are plenty of ways in which it both subverts and deconstructs this type of plot IMO. Immediately right off the bat one of the key methods in which Destined avoids the same White Savior trapping as Flash Gordon does is through the fact that although the protagonist Kamala Khan is an American, she's simultaneously a brown Muslim Girl who comes from a first-generation Pakistani immigrant family. So that alone already subverts the traditional "chosen one/savior" archetype by having the main character be a woman of color instead of a white man. Plus the author of Magnificent Ms. Marvel, Saladin Ahmed, is a Lebanese-American Muslim, whereas Flash Gordon's creator, the late Alex Raymond, was a white man.

Furthermore, what also helps the Ms. Marvel arc is that even though the alien civilization of Saffa which Kamala and her parents visit is clearly modeled after Arabic and Middle Eastern cultures, it avoids the orientalist trappings since this coding reads much closer to Kamala's own Muslim identity and the story even draws direct parallels between the two. While of course Pakastini and Arabic cultures are not the same and bear distinctions between each other, there is still some overlap between them especially through shared Islamic traditions, which is a huge deviation and contrast from the clearly all-American Flash Gordon versus the obviously Yellow-Peril inspired Ming the Merciless.

Lastly, in an interesting twist it's actually not the theocratic dictator which Kamala saves the planet Saffa from, but rather from the invading hordes of a rival alien empire who were mentioned in the the "Destined One" legend that the Saffans' believed Kamala was a part of. And the Saffan dictator, Maliq Zeer, who was previously built up in the narrative as the traditional final boss ends up putting aside his own evil agendas in order to prevent his planet's annihilation.

Plus, the entire story is focused on deconstructing the chosen one trope by examining how various other characters view Kamala as a hero, as well as her own struggles with this sort of glorification whilst still trying to protect others simply because its the right thing to do.

And while I've seen some people argue that the Saffan's "magic = Islam" which therefore "intrinsically roots violence in their beliefs and has such messed up connotations," it's outright stated or heavily implied in the Destined arc that that Maliq Zeer and his priest's version of the "Destined One" legend was a perversion of the planet's normal belief system to amass their own political power, which said dictator is willing to put aside when the Beast Legions from the legend return in the arc's climax. Heck, even the aforementioned "call for prayer" that Cheb Hura (Maliq Zeer's son and the leader of a band of rebel freedom fighters) mentioned previously was coded as something positive rather than negative since it was banned by the theocratic dictator.

So overall, I personally felt that while Saladin Ahmed’s Destined arc was playing with the “human saves alien civilization” narrative that was typical in old sci-fi serials like Flash Gordon, he simultaneously avoids a lot of the problematic white-savior and imperialist/orientalist tropes which also predominated those older stories due to Kamala’s own status as a Pakistani-American Muslim girl, the subverting of the tropes found in these kinds of narratives, as well as the overall framing around the Arab-coded alien civilization.

#kamala khan #ms marvel #magnificent ms marvel #saladin ahmed #marvel #comics #minkyu jung #flash gordon #mini essay

[dominionsweep]

DOMINION SMP SEXYMAN BRACKET: ROUND 1, MATCH 3

Originally I said something like "you did this (no, seriously, you voted on this -- these are the candidates chosen from the preliminary rounds)!" for this bit. That's less accurate than it was before, but it's still kind of accurate, so: you did this. Now you must do it again. Choose.

(Remember: Consider your personal qualifications for a Tumblr or MCYTblr sexyman when voting, not just who you like more/who's more popular!)

KNOW YOUR CANDIDATES:

the Oracle

Origin: N/A (is an NPC, and also is the living manifestation of someone’s extreme magical prowess)

Accidentally stole someone’s body and is technically still running around with it. A mythical entity with little to no hint on what morality they follow, nor what they are capable of (outside being able to watch almost every place in space and time, making them the closest thing Dominion has to a god).

Cursed Fixxitt into becoming a genie for stealing diamonds from an exorcism, and told Nukeri to jump into the Void in order to find his friends (technically the latter one did work out, it just took him four months to wake up again).

Was voiced by Scott SMajor once

Mongo

Origin: Merling

Normally a wandering trader, currently the king of the ocean! Is a fish. Is beloved by pretty much everyone on the server but tends to be a bit wary of the others.

Enjoys the finer things in life such as making cool mixtapes and having as much money as possible. Built a prismarine farm. Got his ocean stolen by Fix and then decided it looked cooler that way, so he never actually asked for it back.

Half of Season 2's local HOA, called POOPA, and is mainly using that power to get people to buy beetroots in order to bribe their way out of getting written up for violations, which somehow has not ended up reflecting badly on him in the slightest.

#dominionsweep #mcytblr sexymen poll #mcytblrsexymen #mcytblr sexyman #mcytblr sexyman bracket

[sa-waai]

A shaman woman of the Mongo people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo proudly shows her "3rd eye". Circa 1937.🇨🇩 The Mongo people are a Bantu ethnic group who live in the equatorial forest of Central Africa. They are the second largest ethnic group in the Democratic Republic of Congo, highly influential in its north region. A diverse collection of sub-ethnic groups, they are mostly residents of a region north of the Kasai and the Sankuru Rivers, south of the main Congo River bend. Their highest presence is in the province of Équateur and the northern parts of the Bandundu Province. The Mongo people, despite their diversity, share a common legend wherein they believe that they are the descendants of a single ancestor named Mongo. They also share similarities in their language and social organization, but also have differences. Anthropologists first proposed the Mongo unity as an ethnic group in 1938 particularly by Boelaert, followed by a major corpus on Mongo people in 1944 by Vanderkerken – then the governor of Équateur. The Mongo people traditionally speak the Mongo language (also called Nkundo) or one of the related languages in the Bantu Mongo family, in the Niger-Congo family of languages. The Lingala language, however, often replaces Mongo in urban centers. This language has about 200 dialects, and these are found clustered regionally as well as based on Mongo sub-ethnic group such as Bolia, Bokote, Bongandu, Ekonda, Iyaelima, Konda, Mbole, Mpama, Nkutu, Ntomba, Sengele, Songomeno, Dengese and Tetela-Kusu, Bakutu, Boyela and many others. Traditional religion of the Mongo people is largely one of ancestor worship, belief in nature spirits, fertility rites, with shamanic practices such as magic, sorcery, and body scarification. Mongo artistic achievements, songs, musical instruments and carvings show richness and high sophistication. https://www.instagram.com/p/ChHNLYADQ-3tyU6JYqsVfX-f4gE3rG1yhk_A2I0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[jeeperso]

D&D Quotes Without Context

Revenge of CHAOTICA! edition, Episode 1

After years of tinkering, Mary Jane Peaceblossom has finally finished reconstructing a Spelljamming helm! Now, Captain William Thunderchild and Amber take their teenage dragon ward Melfina on a maiden flight! Joined by the newly awakened Moonpaw, sent to monitor the flight for problems, because Dingo said they could go fork themselves.

"Alright so we all know the plan right?" "YES! Absolutely! Completely-understand-the-plan-and-ready-to-follow-through. Fiver?" "That was a test. There is no plan. You failed."

Fiver begins scanning the yard for the biggest guy. GM: There is a frost giant. OOC: Okay next biggest? GM: Hill giant. They are playing cards. Kind of hard to kick them in the junk when we can't actually reach said junk. Robbins: "His-junk-is-bigger-than-me."

OOC: I was gonna grab and throw him at the frost giant's junk.

Robbins: "Better-than-prison-rations...Still-needs-mustard." Fiver: "Not the first time I've been given that critique. Apparently I taste 'gamey.' Don't ask how I know this."

"Lemme-go! I-know-my-rights! I-demand-trial-by-puppet!"

Thunderchild's original suggestion of "William Thunderchild's Mutha-Fucking-Pimp-Hand" was veto'd.

Moonpaw, all you know is a half elf reeking of weed bought you from a pet shop yesterday and as of two hours ago you have higher brain functions.

"I am so going to use my new brainpower to plot your demise."

Thunderchild: "Fair enough, we can't all be the Sisko." MJ: "Praise be his name."

Suddenly, the whole ship lurches, as if going to full speed and even beyond. Melfina cries out “WHATS GOING ON?” Thunderchild: "I'll let you know as soon as I figure that out."

"We-need-your-ship. And-your-clothes." "Jokes on you: I don't wear any."

Thunderchild: "First rule of spelljammer crashes, be sure to establish that it's the other guys fault."

Fiver: "Don't mind her she has a thing about Paladins." Katt: "APAB." Moonpaw: "I don't speak whatever that is."

"Does your ship even still work?" "It didn't before."

"Although something that wont explode would be preferable." The viewing crystal explodes.

Thunderchild: "OOH I HAVEN'T HELPED WITH A PRISON BREAK IN AGES!"

Fiver: "I want to know how much they need to be filled in." Moonpaw: "All of it. Me, especially."

"Oh it's Helmut. This may be trouble. I hope he's still not sore about the Jock strap incident."

“Hands where we can see them!” "What do I do if I don't have hands?"

"KATT DON'T BE STUPID. IF YOU DIE HOW YOU GONNA EXPLAIN IT TO YOUR GODDESS GIRLFRIEND YOU GOT KILLED BY TWO MOOKS IN A JAIL?" “Hey! We’re not mooks! We’re at least elite henchpersons!” "And it's adorable you think that makes a difference." “We get health insurance and Chaotica doesn’t kill us if we displease her!”

"Cells-cells-cells-toilet-cells-game-room-cells-Oh Bridge."

"You can outrun anyone. If my life has a meaning, that is the meaning."

You follow her voice to a room bare save a table laden with charts and a green glowing dodecahedron surrounded by black metal chains. Thunderchild: "Well that is something." Fiver: "That looks nice and ominous."

"And a soul cage, who the hell uses such a twisted thing?" "The Empress CHAOTICA. Mongospace sucks."

“It feels like the same magic Auntie MJ cast before.” thunder rumbles horses whinny tortle noises "Whered-the-tortle-come-from?" "No, not you, not again!" "Why is there a gnome with a sheet of tin?"

You look out the port. Good news, you’ve moved. Bad news. There’s a plain of ice outside. "ICEBERG-AHEAD!" Worse news: you’re already on the ground. "ICEBERG-BENEATH!"

"He's-here." “Oh, yeeeeeeessss, I am!”

"Alright-we're-exiting. Just. Wait. How-cold-is-it-out-there?" "Mongo, so YES."

"I'd like to run instead of dying while only five hours old."

"Block Beta for life. All 10 seconds left of it."

The rhythmic thudding stops. From right outside the helm door you hear, in a monotone voice. “Open the door and come peacefully. Please resist. So we may BURN YOUR HEARTS IN A FIRE!” "Not by the hairs on our chinny-chin-chins!" "What she said." "I'm kind of partial to living."

"Also I would like to lodge a formal complaint with your staff violating the rules of the Genosa convention by attacking a medic. I am a cleric of El Araihah and am afforded special protections. Also they singed my good suit. And my good toupee." "Now-its-only-a-half-pee."

"Oh wait till we get to the TORCHAAA you'll hate that. They stick very tiny lobsters in your ears and they snip off pieces of your brain. It's actually worse than it sounds if you can imagine."

Janus: *deep sigh* "MJ, Mary. I asked you to do one thing, and that was 'Make sure Thunderchild doesn't get everyone killed with that crate.' What did you do? And what are our options for a rescue mission?" Heidi: "I can strap some explosives to an Apparatus of Kwalish." Janus: "Will that get us to the Astral Sea?" Heidi: "One way or the other probably."

#dungeons and dragons #dnd 5e #quotes without context #spelljammer #Revenge of CHAOTICA! #treasure island

[james5-doe]

12 Questions

Welcome back to 12 Questions. Today I'm chatting with Marzena about the most radical scenarios ever in multiple works of fan fiction -- the things that make you say, "Wait, they never went that far on the show."

12 Q: Can you give us insight into the creation of Amy and Cathleen?

M: Oh, it’s been so long... I think Cathleen was one of the first characters I created, probably second after Sheila. She was one of the good guys back then and had a different name. At some point, the storyline got changed, she gained magical powers and became a villain. Her looks never changed though. As for Amy, I probably felt the need for Mandrake having a child that was not as annoying as Kshin and a bit older so she could become part of the trio of Jedda, LJ and Rick. It’s been so long - I think a very first version of Amy was a singer and sort of on her own until she started having visions or dreams and realizing who her parents were. Also, I think in earlier versions her mother wasn’t alive anymore. She was aged down at some point, becoming an awkward young teen, finding her family and her magical powers. I think Cathleen turned out to be not dead then and from that moment forward, she started to become the villain she is today. Looking back, I think it’s interesting how those two characters changed over many years until they became what they are today. In the potenial DoE 2.0, both of them don’t even exist.

12 Q: What about the creation of April?

M: I think she was the most recent (well, still many years ago) character I came up with, possibly when rewatching Saber Rider. April Eagle’s look inspired April Gordon’s look. I remember thinking, what if Flash Gordon had a daughter? I didn’t know about Jedda Gordon back then, otherwise I might have just chosen her. But Rick does exist as well, so I chose to make my character the older child who wanted to be exactly like her father.

12 Q: What was appealing about the idea of Ming having another daughter, Sheila, and Flash falling for her?

M: I think originally, Sheila - with a different name and dark hair - was a reporter Flash met at some point and they dated. They were a cute couple but it wasn’t overly exciting. Once they got together, that was it. But I kept thinking well, what if they had to overcome obstacles? And what bigger obstacle could there be than Sheila being the daughter of the man who had killed Flash’s wife? I kept coming up with stories on how she would have to keep her secret, how it would be revealed, how Flash (and the others) would react, what would happen then, how they would end up getting together with this standing between them...

12 Q: Do you really see the Phantom and Hadea having a future?

M: Well, perhaps... She would have to stop being the villain though because I can’t see the Phantom marrying the enemy. Also, there would have to be some reason for her behavior, some kind of backstory, other than just greed and being evil. And, of course, they would have to have things in common as well as common goals. But I don’t see Hadea living in the Skull Cave forever. At some point, maybe once Jedda takes over as the Phantom, Phantom could join Hadea as the King of the Netherworld. That at least what happens in This Is Their Story in the later years.

12 Q: What are your thoughts on Jedda marrying Krotan, for real, and staying on Mongo as queen?

M: It could work - it it’s her own choice and she’s not forced to do so as she was in the show. Krotan would need to reform a bit as well because I don’t see Jedda being married to someone evil. He could still be up to no good sometimes, because I wouldn’t want to complete change of character, but in a way that makes it believable that he and Jedda are happy together. I think Jedda would be a really good queen.

12 Q: And how did you feel about the introduction of Jedda's sister, Rachel?

M: I do like the idea of Rachel and Rachel as a character. I always like it when other writer’s join in with their original characters and it’s exciting to see their ideas and their take on our beloved characters and how they would interact with family and friends.

Sometimes it even kind of creates a new canon with all sorts of cousins and family members that turn up in other stories too, which is very fun to read. I guess from now on, Flash has several sisters now and there are at least two cousins.

I really like our ever-growing extended universe :)

12 Q: Your stance on Rick and Kristina as a couple?

M: Depends on Kristina’s age I guess, because she did come older than Rick in the show. If her grandmother and Phantom’s grandfather were the ones falling out of the plane, it would place Kristina around Phantom’s age, not Rick’s. She looks younger though - perhaps her mother had her very late. However, this could be changed for fanfiction purposes - so I guess Rick dating a space pirate would be kinda interesting to see. Seems like we love to pair our heroes up with villains. :)

12 Q: And the idea of Castra and Flash having romantic feelings for each other, even briefly?

M: Maybe... Castra seems older than Krotan (in my story, she’s the youngest, so when we talk about canon Castra, I have to remind myself of that) so while she seems to be younger than Flash, it could be possible. I guess personally I wouldn’t write it because Princess Aura is known to have a soft spot for Flash in the Flash Gordon series and in This Is Their Story, he and Sheila end up together, so all of this considered I’d leave the other sister out of it. But if we’re only talking about DoE canon, I guess it would work. I wish we had seen more of Castra though because we know next to nothing about her. Would be interesting to know how she came to marry Flash’s friend then and him marrying Dale and all their backstory.

12 Q: Sailor Moon Defenders envisions the five-part Necklace of Oros arc as a finale to the series. Do you think that this might have worked, or do you simply prefer the original?

M: No, I hate the way the series ended with the dinosaurs episode. I wish the show would have ended with the adoption of Kshin. Then we would have a nice closure and family centered episode as the finale. The Necklace of Oros arc could be right before that.

12 Q: The SMD story throws in another radical scenario: Hadea won! She took over as a peaceful Queen of the Galaxy. Then a resistance movement deposed her. Could you picture a TV arc in which the Defenders have to free Earth from Ming, Hadea, or someone else, or do you think the creators wouldn't bother with that?

M: They probably wouldn’t bother with it because they might think it would be too much for the target audience of young kids. Or they would screw it up, making it very superficial, not properly explaining why people would even follow Hadea and her ideas or why people would be against it. Didn’t Charmed do something like that, giving the world the ultimate utopia but step by step, the sisters found out that it wasn’t so great after all? I can’t see this being handled properly in a kids show.

12 Q: What do you think of Rick gaining powers and Jedda becoming Queen of the Netherworld?

M: It’s an interesting concept for sure. We know Jedda would be a great Queen, no matter which kingdom, but the changes Rick is going through? I think that’s something completely new and very interesting to read about. Rick was always present but never the main focus of my tales, so it’s great he get so much spotlight in other tales.

12 Q: Speaking of crossovers, is there another property that you could see DoE paired with?

M: Naturally, a lot of DC or Marvel comics/shows could work. If we’re talking '80s shows, how about Galaxy Rangers or Saber Rider? They all got space adventure topics and heroes, so...

#defenders of the earth

[kungseyesfr]

A shaman woman of the Mongo people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo proudly shows her "3rd eye". Circa 1937.🇨🇩

The Mongo people are a Bantu ethnic group who live in the equatorial forest of Central Africa. They are the second largest ethnic group in the Democratic Republic of Congo, highly influential in its north region. A diverse collection of sub-ethnic groups, they are mostly residents of a region north of the Kasai and the Sankuru Rivers, south of the main Congo River bend. Their highest presence is in the province of Équateur and the northern parts of the Bandundu Province. The Mongo people, despite their diversity, share a common legend wherein they believe that they are the descendants of a single ancestor named Mongo.

They also share similarities in their language and social organization, but also have differences. Anthropologists first proposed the Mongo unity as an ethnic group in 1938 particularly by Boelaert, followed by a major corpus on Mongo people in 1944 by Vanderkerken – then the governor of Équateur. The Mongo people traditionally speak the Mongo language (also called Nkundo) or one of the related languages in the Bantu Mongo family, in the Niger-Congo family of languages. The Lingala language, however, often replaces Mongo in urban centers. This language has about 200 dialects, and these are found clustered regionally as well as based on Mongo sub-ethnic group such as Bolia, Bokote, Bongandu, Ekonda, Iyaelima, Konda, Mbole, Mpama, Nkutu, Ntomba, Sengele, Songomeno, Dengese and Tetela-Kusu, Bakutu, Boyela and many others.

Traditional religion of the Mongo people is largely one of ancestor worship, belief in nature spirits, fertility rites, with shamanic practices such as magic, sorcery, and body scarification.

Mongo artistic achievements, songs, musical instruments and carvings show richness and high sophistication.

Guys let's get our YouTube channel (YT: Historical Africa) to 20k subscribers. Kindly click on the link to subscribe. 🙏 https://youtube.com/c/HistoricalAfrica

[bamboomusiclist]

1/26 おはようございます。Melting Pot / Fire Burn Cauldron Bubble A-10111 等更新しました。

Billie Holiday / Solitude v6-8074 Ella Fitzgerald Duke Ellington / at the Cote D'azur v-4072-2 Harry Edison Lester Young / Going For Myself MGV-8298 Freddie Hubbard / the Night of the Cookers bst84207 Oscar Peterson / Oscar Peterson Plays Harry Warren MGC-648 Edmond Hall / Swing Session Fl30012 Bill Evans / Alone v6-8792 Paul Quinichette / For Basie prlp7127 Harry Edison / Sweets Mgc717 Benny Goodman / The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert Vol3 cl816 Mongo Santamaria / Mongo ‘70 sd1567 Laurie Styvers / Spilt Milk ws1946 Mothers Of Invention / We're Only In It For The Money v6-5045 Laura Nyro / Smile pc33912 Mecki Mark Men / Running in the Summer Night LS-86068 Billy Swan / I Can Help Kz33279 Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band / Clear Spot ms2115 Dave Valentin / Legends Grp5001 David Spinozza / Spinozza sp4677 Melting Pot / Fire Burn Cauldron Bubble A-10111

~bamboo music~

[email protected]  

530-0028 大阪市北区万歳町3-41 シロノビル104号

06-6363-2700

[marzena-doe]

Spotlight: Princess Aura

Princess Aura is the (half-)sister to Hadea, Sheila, Krotan and Castra. While she did not appear in the original show, she is a canon charater from the Flash Gordon universe. Let's take a look at her in This Is Their Story. 

We first meet Aura on Mongo during scenes there but she does not have a bigger role until the Season 1 finale, where we meet Future Aura (or Alternate Aura) who is an ally to our heroes. However, even she warns them about the real Aura. 

When Sheila is part of the Defenders but secretly working for Ming, Aura knows all about it but choses to do nothing to help her sister. When she learns about Sheila's feelings for Flash Gordon, she is convinced by Castra to not tell Ming. Instead of helping Sheila, she warns her about going too far. When push comes to shove, Aura does help her sister, but that might be more due to Castra's good influence and the fact that Ming is working with Cathleen, whom Aura does not trust. 

Aura is taken hostage by Barin and the rebels at some point. Aura once again proves to be dangerous and starts making demands of her own as soon as she gets the upper hand. However, Aura and Sheila do not deliver Barin to Ming in the end. Aura regrets this later and fears that the rebels might attack again. 

When Aura and Barin meet again, Aura sees a new side of Mongo - one she doesn't like very much.

Aura's royal artefact is the Mirror of Souls. The artefact is later named Mirror of Truth.

When Sheila is supposed to get executed, Aura tries to help her and fails. It's revealed that Aura has healing powers. 

Aura is very intrigued by Barin. When the rebels are gone, she offers her help to start a new underground organisation. 

When Krotan's on the throne, Aura is not too happy with his reign. She does, however, support Sheila's marriage to Flash Gordon. 

When very ancient powers awake inside Aura, she's terrified. She gets kidnapped by Zorelda and Suramong and influenced by their dark magic. Angry and bitter, Aura starts a war against everyone she once held dear. Her goal - to become Empress of Mongo. Aura nearly destroys the Netherworld and takes Jedda hostage while Ming tries to get on his daughter's good side again. Jedda nearly gets through to Aura but Ming intervenes and it was all for nothing. Krotan shows up with his army and he and Aura fight a battle only one can win. In order to lose all the dark magic, Aura has to free herself from all the hate within her. Everyone is still fighting with the intent to protect Aura which goes not unnoticed. When Zorelda realizes she loses her influence, she releases even more dark magic into Aura. Aura loses control and attacks Jedda. But when Krotan tries to kill Aura in order to save Jedda, Jedda stops him before she breaks down. With Barins help, Aura finally rids herself of the dark powers. When Suramong then tries to kill the symbol of peace aka Jedda, both Aura and Krotan throw themselves in front of her. Aura later heals Jedda and brings her back to life but she cannot save the unborn baby. 

After all of that, Aura blames herself and stops using her powers completely. It takes Castra getting hurt for her to try and use her healing powers again. Aura then seems to be a member of the rebels rather than the Royal House of Mongo. Things are starting to get serious between her and Barin. 

After Ming's death, Aura is set to become the new Empress and Barin's not sure if he likes that or not. But of course Ming's not really dead and Aura's short reign on Mongo ends. For a while, Aura's busy trying to get "her" throne back but things don't work out. When Barin disappears, she's also in full revenge mode against her father who she thinks is responsible. All of this leads to a war on Mongo, Ming vs Aura (and the rebels). At some point, Aura also duels Zorelda. (I guess nobody stays dead for long in a superhero universe...) Side note: Barin of course also returns at some point. When Aura later gets offered the throne of Mongo again, she has learned from her past mistakes and declines because her greed for power only ever brought her grief. Both Aura and Barin are trying to get Sheila to take the throne. 

Aura is the last one of her siblings to tie the knot (with Barin, of course). 

While trying to 'heal' Amy from her dark powers, Aura ends up in a coma. Thankfully, this doesn't last as long as Kate's did and is resolved eventually. Aura then discovers she's expecting a child. She gives birth to little Princess Azura. 

Princess Aura's main weakness is her quest for power - it never ends well for her and for others. So it's great to see that in the end, when her dream of reigning over Mongo is offered to her, she has learned her lessons and refuses. She also has trust and relationship issues and refuses to marry Barin until he nearly gives up on her. Without the influences of her siblings and the rebels, Aura might have become just like her father. I'd even say she's the most like him. (She's also the one having inherited Suramong's powers but that was never really followed up or properly explained... which is problably a good thing - it’s too similar to the Dark Amy storyline and probably would have to be either cut out or completely rewritten...)

#spotlight #princess aura

[parkerbombshell]

[theimportanceofbeingaloof]

5 questions with Nii Ayikwei Parkes

Why do you write?

This is an odd question for me, because I don't think I've ever not told stories. I think writing is a vital part of my conversation with the world, it's one of the ways I make sense of things. So, perhaps I write so I can be less foolish.

Azúcar has elements of magical realism, for example, the fictional island of Fumaz and the Soñada family tree bring to mind Márquez’s creation of the Macondo and the Buendía family in 100 Years of Solitude. Have you been inspired by the genre? How has it informed your own storytelling?

I have an aversion to the name of 'magical realism', but I have absolutely been inspired by the work of Vargas Llosa, Garcia Márquez, Fuentes - as well as African writers such as Mongo Beti and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, whose work leans on satire. Reading Latin American fiction in translation, the way they owned and moulded the Spanish language to their cultural experience of the world, pointed me to greater possibilities in my use of the English language, which I had been taught to use in very rigid ways. Azúcar is partly a thank you note for those language lessons.

A large part of your writing focuses on women and girls not only your experiences, but the collective feminine experience, which you describe with empathy even while writing about a time when, as you say in Azúcar, “a woman hid her true powers”. Would you agree the feminine experience is a significant aspect of your work, and if so, how have you come to think about it with such a heightened sensitivity?

The odd thing is everyone's first experience of the world is through women, but I never really thought about women's experience as distinct until I read So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ at the age of 12 or 13. I mean, that's the power of privilege; when you have it, you can't see the world as anything but complete. Once I began to see from the additional perspective that reading that book gave me (a West African woman's perspective), I couldn't experience the world without that filter. The time I had always spent in the company of women and girls suddenly became revelatory. My mother was a midwife so we had women coming to our home for advice all the time, and I just soaked it all in with the fervent commitment of a seasoned eavesdropper. I think the accumulated experience of over three decades of listening is what gives the sense of the feminine experience in my work. However, I would argue that it is not significant; it is as it should be, but we have largely learned to read without expecting it, so it stands out when it is simply present.

A lot of your poetry, for example, your collections The Makings of You and The Geez, cover a family history that moves from the Caribbean to Sierra Leone, and your own life between London and Ghana. Is it hard to write about this cultural experience while engaging a wider audience who may not have a similar background?

I really don't obsess over the journey of the audience; I trust that if I render any story with true honesty and vulnerability, then a human audience will be engaged (in ways that I can't predict). Ultimately, how similar are backgrounds? We receive stories according to our interior landscape, and those can differ wildly even amongst people who have grown up in the same exterior circumstances - cases in point would be the adult versus child experience of the same war, or the masculine versus feminine experience of the same space.

Charlie Parker or Charles Mingus? Robert Johnson or Lead Belly?

Oooh, the first option isn't even fair - completely different expressive outlets, but both genius. Robert Johnson over Lead Belly though, just because I like when a story has gaps, leaving space for my imagination to inhabit. I think Lead Belly is a more accomplished storyteller, but Johnson makes you feel an incredible range of emotions and his guitar technique is stunning.

__________________

Buy a Copy of Azúcar from Peepal Tree Press

Thank you to Lila Bovenzi for her help with the questions.

#interview #poetry #Nii Ayikwei Parkes #west africa

[hiddenwashington]

anonymous said : mw from shrek?

i’d say : donkey , puss in boots , fairy godmother , lord farquaad , mongo , little red riding hood , dragon , pinocchio , & magic mirror !

#mw #shrek rp #animated rp #dreamworks rp #multifandom rp #admin gru #anonymous