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lloydskywalkers · 4 years

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So on the incredibly rare occasion that I do write romance, I have the ability to write one (1) single romance and that is all, and that’s Dumb Fools in Love. Which hopefully fits here, because it’s Glass Girl’s namesake day, so i gotta at least try for @speedythecat, it’s what she desERVES.

(happy valentines this is disgusting fluff anyways i love u speedy)

Lloyd likes the way construction paper sounds. It’s kind of therapeutic, the sound it makes as he drags the scissors through the middle. It’s even more satisfying when he uses them to start stabbing gaping holes through the paper, because he went and ruined the stupid heart shape again, and now he’s running out of pink and red construction paper that doesn’t look like he took a vicious katana to it and went crazy.

“Stupid scissors—”

He doesn’t know if Rain even likes pink or red that much, Lloyd reminds himself dismally, as he untangles his fingers from the scissors. Just that they’re thematically appropriate to the essence of the holiday, or whatever, and they apparently must’ve been the only two colors that existed when whoever came up with Valentine’s Day was around. He hasn’t even found actual purple in any of the little cards he’s seen, just some floral lavender.

Lloyd glances down to the pile of pink and red paper strewn across the table in front of him, then back to the instructions he’s printed out for himself. Then back to the paper.

Maybe he can just like, die instead.

Lloyd is about ninety percent sure that he can’t be the only person to ever look up “how to make Valentine’s Day cards” on the internet before, but it still feels like a crushing blow to his pride and an overall dumb move in general as he does.

But he’s only slightly desperate right now, and he really doesn’t want to reach fully desperate, so he’s willing to suck up his pride if it means not totally ruining his girlfriend’s hopes and dreams by giving her a sub-par and ultimately disappointing Valentine’s Day card that looks like he doesn’t even understand the holiday in the first place.

To be fair, though, he kinda doesn’t.

Like, Lloyd knows what Valentine’s Day is, obviously. He’s not an idiot. He’s just…never really participated in it…as a person. It seems like all the others have cute little stories of getting paper cut-outs and candy hearts in grade school (which he can get behind, if there’s candy), but Lloyd’s experience in grade school was general scorn toward anything love-related at all. Valentine’s Day was well out of the question. Lloyd didn’t even know it existed until he walked straight into a street stand that looked like red and pink had thrown up all over it, before being drowned in like, twenty-dozen bouquets of roses.

He’d been an awful brat of a child then, so at the time, he’d dealt with it by kicking the stand over and being totally grossed out. Now, however, he’s left wondering if those bouquets are worth the money, or if he should invest in the slightly bigger ones they sell over on the east side stands.

How the tables have turned, Lloyd sighs miserably to himself, struggling to peel another stubborn strip of glitter glue from his hand where it’s dried there, sparkling mockingly at him. Finally digging the glue free, Lloyd brushes his hands off and glances down at his paper.

Go for handmade.

Well, that one’s easy, ‘cause there’s no way Lloyd’s physically bringing himself to walk into a store and buy Rain some cheesy card with a bunch of generic hearts on it. This, of course, leaves the problem that Lloyd now has to come up with the card, and the only thing that’s coming to mind are generic, cheesy hearts.

Hmm. Lloyd taps the edge of the table, humming beneath his breath. He can draw pretty well, but he’s not like, an artist. Not like Cole is, or anything. Lloyd is a lot better at cartoon characters and funny little caricatures of the others than he is, say, detailed roses or something.

Rain likes cats, right? he muses. He could draw a cat, and then maybe have it holding a heart, or something. That’d be kinda cute, maybe. And then he’d get to make some awful pun like “you’re paw-sitively purr-fect”—

Lloyd slams his head down on the table. Nope. This is why he’s not allowed to come up with the idea himself. He’s worse than all the awful grocery store cards put together.

Something in his nose tickles, and he sneezes, sending up sparkly dust all around him. Lloyd blinks, then bites back a moan. Belatedly, he realizes he’s just dunked his head in glitter dust.

It could’ve been the glue, he tries to comfort himself.

Figuring he’s already doomed, Lloyd makes peace with the fact that he’s just going to live the rest of his day resembling a blond disco ball, and lifts his head to return to task, squinting at what’s next on the list.

Make it personal.

Again, that one should be easy too, because it’s Rain. But what’s supposed to count as personal? Is it like, I-love-you personal, or here’s-a-reference-to-inside-joke-number-fifty-eight kind of personal? Should he do both? He and Rain have too many inside jokes, though, it’ll take him half the day to pick one, and he’s already running out of time. Rain’s supposed to be back at noon, and Lloyd does not have that kind of time to kill.

He drums his fingers against the table-top, staring at the outlined drawing of Rain his fingers have absently started sketching out, right next to his doodles of little cats and a mini-Overlord raging terror on the glitter glue scattered across the paper.

Lloyd frowns at the last one. Oops. Well, he can’t give her this now.

“Is that supposed to be the Overlord? You can’t give Rain that for Valentine’s Day.”

Lloyd jumps half a foot out of his chair and slams his knee into the table just so that his entire leg goes dead, his shriek of surprise strangling off as he chokes on the erupting cloud of glitter dust.

By the time he winds down coughing, wiping the reflexive tears from his eyes and glaring, Kai is just staring at him, mildly concerned and whole lot unimpressed.

“A little warning, please.”

“I’ve been standing here for five minutes, bud, it’s not my fault you’re in dreamland.” Kai glances down at the table-top of scattered construction paper and glitter dust, and his mouth trembles, like he’s holding back laughter. “Are you…trying to make a card, or mass-murdering our construction paper supply?”

Lloyd feels his cheeks go scarlet, and he sputters. “I’m not — no, I’m just—” He waves his hands in the air, wishing he could disappear. “Valentine’s Day,” he finally says, haplessly. “Rain. Card.”

“Ah,” Kai says, nodding. He eyes the butchered pile of paper. “It’s going…good, then?”

Lloyd buries his face in his hands, groaning. “I keep ruining it. I’ve never done Valentine’s Day before, Kai, this is a disaster. Rain’s gonna hate it.”

“Aw, don’t say that,” Kai says, sliding into the chair next to him, patting him on the shoulder. “Rain’ll be fine with…whatever…you end up making. It’s not that big a deal.” He laughs, rolling his eyes. “I mean, it’s not like she’s going to get horribly upset because you butchered her favorite holiday and dump you for some chump with better taste.”

Lloyd freezes dead, his eyes widening. He has not yet considered this option. What if he does ruin Rain’s entire holiday with his awful gift? What if, by completely disrespecting her last name’s namesake — thing — she does get horribly upset and runs off with like, Ariya to the desert or something, and—

Kai blinks, then his eyes go wide. “Lloyd, wait — no, it was a joke, Lloyd, don’t get that look on your face — Nya!”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

And that’s how Lloyd ends up cornered by his entire team at the kitchen table, covered in glitter dust and currently living out his worst life as they try to decide the best way for him not to totally sabotage his love life in one go.

“Honestly, I never really got Valentine’s Day,” Kai remarks. “I didn’t get the whole grade school experience as much, since we homeschooled for the most part. It’s just a lot of hearts and chocolate and flowers and stuff, right?”

“Um, it’s a lot more than that,” Jay rolls his eyes. “It was classroom warfare. Your like, entire life status was measured by how many Valentines you’d get. It was totally lame,” he scowls.

“I dunno, I always got a whole lot,” Cole muses. “I could never figure out why, though. I wasn’t super popular, or anything...”

They all stare at Cole for a beat, where he stands haloed beneath the kitchen lights in all his wavy-haired glory.

“Hopeless,” Jay sighs.

“This isn’t grade school, though,” Nya says. “This is Lloyd’s actual relationship, which we are helping him with, so let’s hear actual helpful stuff, please.”

“Again,” Kai shrugs. “Flowers. Chocolate. Hearts. Bam, you’re good.”

“For crying out loud,” Jay groans. “How do magazines keep labeling you the smooth one.”

“Hold on, he’s got a point with the chocolate part,” Cole points out.

“Of course, you would choose that part to focus on,” Zane sighs.

“Guys, enough,” Nya cuts over them. “I said helpful stuff, not the most generic ideas ever. I mean, chocolate’s nice, but Lloyd’ll probably eat it all before it gets to Rain anyways—”

“I would not!” Lloyd protests.

“—and the card’s gonna be the focal point, so hearts are covered.” Nya glances down the pile of butchered construction paper in front of Lloyd, and winces. “We’ll, uh, help you with that part. But first, let’s plan.” She tugs a half-torn piece of construction paper toward her, uncapping a marker. “What all does Rain like, for starters?”

“Well,” Lloyd pauses, thinking. “She does like flowers, and — no, no I am not going to ask Lief for help, no way, not a chance.”

“Just a suggestion!” Jay throws his hands up in defense. “He’s her friend, though, so he’d probably have some ideas, y’know?”

“So. Not. Worth it.”

“Okay, okay, geez.”

Nya rolls her eyes, but scribbles ‘flowers — not from Lief’ on the paper anyways. “Good, but that’s still pretty standard stuff. Anything else a little more creative? Something that really says Rain to you.”

“She likes rocks,” Lloyd nods.

The marker squeaks violently on the paper, and Nya makes a dying sound in the back of her throat. Kai breaks into snickering, and Jay whacks him on the shoulder, giggling.

“There you go, bud, perfect Valentine’s gift. Give her a rock.”

“No,” Nya says firmly, glaring at Jay. She then turns the glare on Lloyd, who immediately shrinks lower in his seat. “Rocks, Lloyd, really — okay. Okay, do you know anything else she likes? That’s not rocks?”

“Uh, she likes…glass?” Lloyd says, weakly. “And um, seashells. And tea, and — she really does like rocks, I’m serious! Like, cool ones—“

“You are not giving Rain a rock for Valentine’s Day!”

“A cool rock!”

“That doesn’t make it any more acceptable!”

“Ughhh.” Lloyd slides down in his chair with a dying moan, throwing his arms over his face. “You ruin everything. She likes those little paper cranes, I guess. And, uh…”

“You,” Zane reminds him. “She likes you. Therefore, she will most likely love anything you give her, since it’s from you.”

Normally, Lloyd would just scoff at that, but Zane’s voice is so sincere it actually helps, a little. Lloyd sits up in his seat a bit, his crossed arms loosening. “Well…”

“Yeah! So why don’t you just draw her a cat that says like, ‘you’re purr-fect’, or something?” Jay suggests. “That sounds like you.”

Lloyd slams his head against the table, once again accidentally dunking himself in glitter dust. He can’t bring himself to care this time, because the whole world apparently just knows him for terrible puns.

“Stop being so melodramatic, you’re going to remind her of her brother,” Nya clips. Lloyd chokes on his tongue, and dissolves into a fit of manic sputtering as Kai claps him on the back, encouraging him to breathe.

“—was just a joke, Lloyd, don’t take her seriously.”

“—time and place, Nya, time and place—!”

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It takes several disastrous attempts and more than a few marker wars — Kai in particular is sporting some spectacular pink sharpie marks along the side of his face, and Lloyd’s got streaking red marks across his forearms as the price for protecting his own face — but Lloyd end up with one brightly-colored, cursive-lettered Valentine’s card for Rain.

He’s feeling pretty confident in it, actually. It says everything he wants it to say, while looking pretty but dignified, and it’s only got one cat on it, so he’s — he’s pretty sure Rain will like it. A lot more than any of his other disastrous attempts, he assures himself. Now all he’s gotta do is grab the flowers Nya made him promise to get, and according to both Wikihow and his family, he’ll have the perfect Valentine. Armed with that knowledge, Lloyd strides confidently for the kitchen table to grab an envelope.

Only to freeze dead when he comes face-to-face with Rain, who’s bent over studying said disastrous attempts from earlier, that he’s left out in full view on the kitchen table like a complete moron.

Rain’s currently got one of his first attempts in her hands, her finger tracing the little design he’d drawn. Her hair’s down right now, all silvery and smooth and falling over her face, so he can’t see her expression.

Lloyd is highly considering running for the hills by like, hurling himself out the kitchen window, when Rain turns around, the end her nose still red from the outside cold, freckles standing out more than usual on her cheeks. Lloyd freezes in place.

She holds up one of the ruined cards. “Are all these...for me?”

Lloyd’s soul makes the executively wise decision to exit his body right then.

“They’re — I — no, they’re for, uh—”

Lloyd’s mind backfires. Shoot, he can’t say they’re for someone else, they’ve got ‘I love you’ and other sappy stuff all over them, what’s he supposed to do—

“They’re, uh, for my grandmother.”

Rain raises an eyebrow. “Your grandmother…named Rain,” she says slowly, reading the name that’s brightly plastered everywhere.

“Her name’s Rain too,” Lloyd tries, weakly.

Rain raises her other eyebrow. She wordlessly holds up one of the cards, pointing to where “Rain Allira Valentine” is highlighted. Lloyd mentally makes a note to murder Kai later as her finger slides down to the “Mr. Rain Valentine” right below, her lips trembling as she tries to hold back a snicker.

“Um.” At least she’s laughing, Lloyd tells himself. She hasn't run off to the desert yet. “I have a better one for you, I swear. Those are just — really, really bad first attempts, which you were never supposed to see, ever.”

Please forget they ever existed, is on the tip of his tongue, but Rain’s expressions softens, her eyes fond as she looks from the cards to him.

“I don’t know, these are…kinda sweet,” she admits, her cheeks going a bit pink.

“Oh,” Lloyd says, his own face heating. “That’s! That’s good, I guess. I mean, this new one’s — it’s a whole lot better, though, and uh…” He frantically rubs the back of his head, trying to get his brain back online and working properly again. Unfortunately, the action sends a tiny shower of sparkles raining from his hand, and Lloyd remembers in horror that he never got that glitter dust out.

Rain smirks, biting back a laugh. “Hold on,” she says, stepping in close. “You’ve got some — here.”

She pushes a hand through his hair, her fingers gently tangling through the thick blond strands before pulling away, leaving her fingers stained in glitter dust. She gives a tiny snicker, then brushes at his hair with her other hand, neatly sweeping a shower of glitter dust from it before carefully tousling his hair back in place.

“There,” she says. “Now you don’t look as much like a disco ball.”

“Maybe I wanted to look like a disco ball,” Lloyd says, petulantly. “Lloyd Disco Ball Garmadon, that’s me.”

“Then I’d have to make you another Valentine’s card,” Rain says, and Lloyd finally spots the envelope she’s been keeping behind her back. “Because I definitely messed up your middle name, if that’s the case.”

Lloyd blinks rapidly. “Wait, you got me one?”

Rain freezes, looking unsure. “Um…yes? That’s kind of…the point, right? You give Valentine’s to people you lo—like—um, love.”

Lloyd’s definitely red now. “I-I probably wouldn’t know,” he finally stammers. “Darkley’s wasn’t too big on Valentine’s.”

Lloyd immediately wants to hit himself, because Rain’s here being sweet and talking about love, and he’s bringing up Darkley’s like a motor-mouthed moron. And now Rain looks sad, and is it too late for Lloyd to pitch himself out the window—?

“Well, lucky for you, I know all about it,” Rain suddenly says, firmly. “You’ll just have to spend the day with me, so I can give you the run-down.”

“That I can do,” Lloyd grins brightly in relief.

“It’s a date, then,” Rain beams, before her smile hitches in laughter. “And you, um, you have more glitter. On your cheek.”

Lloyd wipes quickly at his face. “Oh, come on — did I get it?”

“No, now you’re just — okay, stop, I’ll get it, hold on.”

Rain steps nearer again, brushing her thumb across his cheek once, then again. “There,” she nods satisfied. She doesn’t move back, though, standing close enough that Lloyd can count her freckles, and see every shade of teal in her eyes. There’s a hint of a smile left on her face, and Lloyd swallows. This would probably be like, the perfect time to—

“For FSM’s sake, kiss her, you moron, she’s totally set you up for it—”

Kai’s voice cuts off in a strangled choking sound as Nya throttles him while both Rain and Lloyd go scarlet, and Lloyd makes another mental note to murder Kai a second time later.

“Wanna go out?” Lloyd suggests hastily, his face flaming. “The candy’s probably not gonna be on sale yet, but I bet we can get someone to cut us a deal.”

“Yes,” Rain nods fervently. “Let’s — out. Go out. Of here, sounds good.”

“Great,” Lloyd says, then snatches both their jackets from the hook before fleeing, Rain trailing behind him as they sprint past the others, stifling laughter as Lloyd desperately avoids making eye contact with anyone. Rain’s muffling giggles too, though, and Lloyd can’t help breathing out a laugh as he flings open the doors tumbling out into the chilly February weather.

“So, I have a question,” he says, as their footsteps fall into pace down the street. “What do you think of like, rocks as a present?”

“Hm, I don’t know. Is it like, a cool rock?”

“I mean, hypothetically? Yeah, a super cool rock.”

“Well, if it’s super cool. Then that’d be a good one, I guess.”

“I knew it—!”

#ninjago #lloyd garmadon #rain #oc #this is the Worst of Sap #the rest of the team is here being...sort of...helpful too #anyways stan rain

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ayellowbirds · 6 years

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Keshet Rewatches All of Scooby-Doo, Pt. 5: “Decoy For a Dognapper”

(”Scooby-Doo, Where Are You”, Season 1 Episode 5)

AKA “That Old-Fashioned Racism”

I’m trying out a format change, starting with this post, because the errors that I was seeing with Read Mores only seem to affect Text Posts and not Image Posts, even if the only difference is whether there’s a text header or a main image. If y’all prefer this style or the text posts, let me know!

The episode opens on a crisp Autumn day, and unlike the norm the four prior episodes established, nothing immediately spooky happens. Instead, we’re reminded that yes, Scooby is a dog, as his sniffing about in the leaves of an affluent-looking neighborhood leads to him catching sight of a well-groomed poodle being walked by an old lady. Scooby pulls up some flowers and tries his best to look charming.

He’s ignored, the poor hump-backed bow-legged mole-chinned fella. Takamoto's intent for Scooby to be a less than ideal specimen really shines through in moments like this, though I suppose his iconic status has dulled that idea over the decades. That said, i am reminded that one of the few times a dog reciprocates Scooby’s romantic intent, she turned out to be a space alien in disguise.

Just after Scooby is rejected, karma strikes: “Princess” is snatched up by a masked dognapper just as she and her owner walk behind some bushes that conveniently save on the animation budget by not showing the complex motion of grabbing the dog i mean, hide the details of the dognapping.

By the time Scooby rejoins the gang at yet another beach party (consisting of Fred and Daphne dancing while Velma and Shaggy roast weenies), the sky has darkened. Instead of explaining why he’s upset using his words, Scooby utilizes his eldritch powers once more and turns on the radio just in time to tune into a flash bulletin announcing the third theft of a prize-winning dog in as many days.

Scooby is very serious about this, pushing the gang to investigate. But his determination has its limits when it turns out that the next dog in line to win an upcoming competition is a Great Dane, well, you can see where this is going.

Fred has a “tiny” transmitter to plant on Scooby, which must have seemed impressive by the standards of 1969. It’s as big as a bath bomb.

Daphne tosses him a Scooby Snack for courage, though Shaggy catches and eats the first one she pitches, rationalizing that he’s going to have to be the one walking the decoy dog, and then it’s time to wash and groom Scooby. Cleaned up and given a shiny new collar, Scooby strikes his best possible posture while out on the town, and even manages to attract some attention.

When this random pink pooch tries and fails to get Scooby’s attention, she kicks a whole bin’s worth of garbage at the duo in a fit of rage. It’s an extended sequence that doesn’t seem to add anything to the plot except suggesting that Scooby is, however briefly, convincing as a show dog. But it’s really weird, because, well... look at this dog. She has a collar, so she’s not just a stray. She's pink, at odds with the vaguely naturalistic color schemes of, well... any other animal in the entire show.

The entire scene could be cut for time without losing anything in the episode, so the best i can figure is that it’s literal filler.

Soon after, the dognappers snatch Scooby amidst a smokescreen, and Shaggy gives chase on a borrowed motor-scooter. While the Mystery Machine reroutes to follow Scooby’s signal, Shaggy sees something unexpected just as he’s catching up to the dognappers:

Yes, this is bound to be a thematically consistent episode. The whooping, shrieking image of a stereotypical Native of the Great Plains appears, causing Shaggy to crash. Shaggy identifies this figure as “Geronimo” for no reason except that he’s a stupid white kid in the sixties.

Meanwhile, Scooby winds up in the villains’ hideout, where he’s quickly identified as a fake by the costumed mastermind, who is similarly clad in a bad caricature of indigenous American garb, looking like some white animator’s idea of what a traditional dance costume might resemble.

In an especially bizarre moment, Scooby resists being tossed out by extending his previously unseen claws to hold tight onto the wooden floor. Scooby has retractable claws. WHAT IS THIS DOG?

The gang finds no sign of the native who spooked Shaggy, but Velma does find a stone tomahawk just laying in the dirt by some train tracks. She identifies this as “an authentic Indian relic, at least 1000 years old”.

Without any testing or reference materials.

Without questioning why it was just sitting around in the open.

A thousand years old, she says.

Guay de mi. Shaggy concludes that this means ghosts, but the gang pick up on Scooby’s signal again and follow it, while Scooby once again demonstrates his retractable claws by extending an especially long one to cut a hole in the wooden crate he’s trapped in.

SCOOBY-DOO, WHAT ARE YOU?

After Scooby’s rescue, the gang backtracks, and are shot at with arrows—that Fred identifies as factory-made and inauthentic, because I guess he thinks no self-respecting native would use anything other than home-made traditionally-crafted arrows. Shaggy and Scooby cry out in terror over the prospect of being scalped.

Interesting fact about the practice of scalp-taking: there’s evidence to suggest that it was introduced to the Americas by white people, and that it was much more widely practiced by settlers—colonial authorities offered bounties on native scalps, and both Confederate and Union soldiers are documented to have engaged in the gruesome practice on people of all ethnicities.

But Shaggy’s a white dude in the Sixties, so we just get to see him being a racist making jokes about his hair being scared.

The gang look to where the arrows came from, and catch sight of the remains of a cliffside city in the general Southwestern style, looking like it may have been referenced directly from “Montezuma’s Castle”. As they make their way up to it, they catch sigh of the lead villain, who is shaking some maracas and affecting a stereotypical accent completely unlike the way he was speaking in front of Scooby earlier.

As he disappears, Velma comments that he speaks excellent English “considering he’s supposed to be 1000 years old.” Again, how is she drawing this conclusion? There’s nothing in the episode to suggest it, and Velma just comes off as spouting the typical attitudes of white American culture that indigenous peoples are long dead and gone.

As the gang continue onward in spite of their ignorance, they rouse a colony of adorable bats, that start chattering and flying around.

Shaggy and Velma start to flail madly in spite of the bats not being animated as actually flying at them, just around... until one snatches Velma’s glasses right off her face, and then drops them on Scooby. There’s a great shot from Scooby’s perspective through the lenses of a bat zooming right at him, and he flees.

But even better is the one moment when Shaggy follows Scooby into shelter. “Ri, Raggy,” says Scooby in his usual distorted doggy speech. Without missing a beat or any sense of it being unusual Shaggy responds in kind:

“Ri, Rooby.”

It’s a weird little moment of Shaggy’s guard being down so much that he picks up on Scooby’s vocal tics, and to be honest, it’s adorable.

The “thousand years” bit continues as the gang explores and "Geronimo” (again, they have no reason to call him that) continues to warn them away with fakey accents and flashy displays.

The weirdest moment of the episode comes during their explorations, while Shaggy is distracted with raiding the dognapper’s food supplies to make an overwhelmingly meaty sandwich with every kind of cold cut i’ve ever heard of. Scooby investigates a cabinet, and then, behind him, a stone in the wall opens up to reveal a secret hole...

...and a hand reaches out to shove Scooby into the cabinet, sending him through another passage and down a chute that leads right to the room where the stolen dogs are kept, along with Daphne after she got caught in another secret passage trap herself. But nothing’s holding Scooby, and he’s able to easily untie Daphne and set the dogs free.

So... what was the point of pushing him? Whose hand was that?

After a few more secret passage antics, the dogs are freed, and—hey, wait a minute, how’d all these secret passages get into these ancient ruins? There’s more of a story here than just the dognappers, but the episode never goes into it.

The dogs chase down the main villain (his henchman is never seen again, and there’s no evidence he’s ever caught), who is revealed as Buck Masters, a dog owner himself who had pretended his own dog was stolen and put on a pretense of offering a reward for the crooks. Buck had extensively interacted with the gang earlier in the episode, so it’s not too surprising he immediately recognized Scooby, but one has to wonder why he didn’t warn his own henchman of the gang’s involvement.

In any case, his incompetent racist deception is revealed, and the gang have foiled his plan! Oh zoinks, are we going to finally hear it, that immortal line?

Hey, that’s not how you pronounce “meddling”!

In a heartwarming moment, Fred explains that they had to get involved, because they had a dog of their own, and “we love him very much.”

The episode ends on one last little stereotypical gag, as Scooby makes a feathered headdress shadow on the wall by posing with a duster and toy tomahawk.

Oy.

(like what i’m doing here? It’s not what pays the bills, so i’d really appreciate it if you could send me a bit at my paypal.me or via my ko-fi. Click here to see more entries in this series of posts, or here to go in chronological order)

#scooby doo #KRAOSD

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onestowatch · 6 years

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15 Ones to Catch at Lollapalooza 2018

Lollapalooza comes around once a year to showcase some of the best music there is to offer, and this year’s rendition of the annual festival is just around the corner. Taking place August 2-5 at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, the city will be engulfed in the sounds of rock, electronic, pop, hip-hop, and so much more. This year sees the lineup being led by the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Jack White, Khalid, Camila Cabello, Post Malone, Tyler, the Creator, Vampire Weekend, Odesza, and frankly far too many others to list. It is a veritable treasure trove of amazing music.

However, with nearly 200 acts slated to play Lollapalooza this year, you want to be sure you are not missing out on a single hidden gem. Well, no need to spend the coming weeks painstakingly combing the fine print for this year’s not-to-miss acts, as we have already taken care of all that for you. These are 15 acts you have to catch at Lollapalooza 2018, as well as a helpful playlist to get your pregame started right.

Clairo

When & Where: Friday, 12:50pm at the American Eagle stage

The term bedroom pop has begun to feel ever so slightly ironic, as more and more of these acts are playing shows leagues beyond the four walls where they craft their hazy, ethereal music. Clairo is the latest in a line of bedroom pop artists to go viral. Following the release of her breakout single “Pretty Girl,” which at the time of writing currently has over 35-million plays across streaming platforms, Clairo has transitioned into a serious artist deserving of both critical and commercial attention. Her debut EP, diary 001, is as a dazzling demonstration of pop that runs the full gamut from distorted lo-fi pop-rap hybrids to meticulously-crafted pop earworms. Clairo is an artist who has the promise of becoming the world’s first bedroom pop superstar.

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YUNGBLUD

When & Where: Saturday, 1:00pm at the Bud Light stage

“If you're not representing something, you're not an artist-you're a singer. And I don't wanna be a fucking singer," proclaims YUNGBLUD. Dominic Harrison, more popularly known by YUNGBLUD, is an artist in the truest sense of the word. The English artist makes socio-politically-fueled alternative rock that feels vital and necessary. His debut album, 21st Century Liability, is a shining testament to this notion. Touching upon themes of mental health, gun violence, rape culture, and more, it is an electrifying and refreshing statement of an artist with something to say. And YUNGBLUD manages to do it all in such a way that it can sonically stand on its own impressive musical merits.

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Charlotte Cardin

When & Where: Saturday, 12:45pm at the Grant Park stage

Charlotte Cardin’s fusion of jazz, electronica, and R&B is pure ecstasy. There’s a timelessness to it all and an intangible hidden element behind it that lures you further and further in. The Montreal-born singer-songwriter originally found her start as a model, but for her, it was a means to achieve a dream of one day becoming a musician. Now, the rising artist is standing at the precipice of her dream, having toured with Nick Murphy and releasing a noteworthy debut EP, 2017’s Main Girl. Lollapalooza will undoubtedly be another step forward and those lucky enough to catch this performance will be graced with Cardin’s velvety, alluring vocals that seem to emanate from a jazz club out of place in time.

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Billie Eilish

When & Where: Thursday, 5:45pm at the Tito’s Handmade Vodka stage

If there is someone who is deserving of the name wunderkind, it’s Billie Eilish. The Los Angeles-based musician was raised in a household of actors and musicians alongside her brother Finneas O’Connell. Eilish released her breakout hit, “ocean eyes,” which now sits at over 86 million plays on Spotify alone, at the tender age of fourteen. Despite her young age, Eilish’s music resounds with both the polish and thematic depth of an artist decades her senior. Her brand of leftfield electropop is infectious and innovative, as is expertly demonstrated in her debut EP don’t smile at me. Truly an artist talented beyond her years, it would be no understatement to say that there is no limit to what Eilish will accomplish in the years to come.

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Rex Orange County

When & Where: Sunday, 1:50pm at the American Eagle stage

Rex Orange County’s brand of easygoing pop music is nothing short of an absolute delight. It’s the sort of music that seems like it was designed to serve as the backing soundtrack for a joyous sun-soaked road trip. Born Alex O’Connor, the English musician originally found major breakthrough success with two features on Tyler, the Creator’s Flower Boy and the radio hit “Loving Is Easy.” Effortlessly blending together elements of jazz, hip-hop, soul, and bedroom electronica, it’s a sound that feels wholly unique yet strangely familiar. Placed amongst the Chicago skyline, Rex Orange County’s set is destined to bring a smile ear to ear and an unshakable groove to the crowd below.

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nothing,nowhere.

When & Where: Friday, 2:10pm at the BMI stage

The emergence and fusion of late-stage emo and hip-hop is arguably one of the greatest things to happen to the respective genres. Vermont’s nothing,nowhere. is one of the artists on the cutting edge of this next wave in music. The rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer makes emotively downtrodden hip-hop that is not afraid to hold its still-beating heart on its sleeve. Beyond being signed to Fueled By Ramen and being Pete Wentz’ protégé, the best way to describe nothing,nowhere. is by his succinct yet profound bio, “it is what it is.” Often opting to remain directly out of the limelight, he’s a musician who lets his music speak for itself, and it speaks volumes.

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Sasha Sloan

When & Where: Sunday, 12:50pm at the American Eagle stage

Truth be told, Sasha Sloan’s breakout hit “Normal” has been on repeat for quite some time now. It beautifully encapsulates everything Sloan is as an artist–unassuming yet captivating, a wholly relatable sonic experience, and just downright infectious. Originally breaking into the industry writing songs for artists such as Camila Cabello and Dua Lipa, Sloan has since stepped into the spotlight with her debut EP, sad girl. A six-track exploration on themes of love, heartbreak, and angst, it is a moving and vulnerable look into Sloan as an artist. Sonically, it’s left-of-center pop at its best, which is sure to translate impeccably to her live performances, with many sing-a-long moments sure to be had.

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Buddy

When & Where: Friday, 5:40pm at the BMI stage

Buddy, formally known as Simmie Sims, is the Compton rapper ready to usher in a new generation of hip-hop fans. Having honed his skills since the young age of 11 through performances at a myriad of industry showcases and a brief stint writing for a rap group, Buddy arrives as a well-versed artist enmeshed in Los Angele’s rap scene. You don’t have to take our word for it though, with Pharrell Williams mentoring, producing, and signing the young emcee. Williams is only one of the numerous impressive endorsements Buddy has under his belt thus far, having collaborated with the likes of Khalid, Nipsey Hussle, Ty Dolla $ign, Wiz Khalifa, and Kendrick Lamar. Buddy is poised to be the future of rap.

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Cuco

When & Where: Thursday, 1:15pm at the Bud Light stage

Cuco is the Chicano, bedroom pop heartthrob of a new generation. The 19-year-old artist makes hazy bedroom pop that has gone on to strike a chord amongst both the industry’s biggest tastemakers and adoring fans alike. Omar Banos, the multi-instrumentalist, producer, and singer behind Cuco has since grown the project out of his bedroom walls to a friend and family affair. A live Cuco show more closely resembles a music collective gathering than it does a bedroom pop performance, with Cuco being joined by a full band and breaking out to rap-heavy songs at the drop of a hat. Simply put, a Cuco show seamlessly shifts between a full-out party and an enchanting dream. It’s an experience that is not to be missed.

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Amy Shark

When & Where: Saturday, 1:50 at the American Eagle stage

Emerging from the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia Amy Shark is a notable songwriting talent. Finding initial success with her viral hit “Adore,” the world was introduced to a singer-songwriter whose voice was as anthemic as it was deeply emotive. Shark expounded further on that sentiment with the recent release of her debut album Love Monster. A sprawling 14 tracks of pop-leaning songwriting perfection, it is brimming with power ballads that are begging to be shouted into the heavens. Shark’s intrinsic ability for channeling forlorn love into deeply moving numbers is something to be applauded. It’s something we can say we have been lucky enough to witness live and are elated to witness yet again in Grant Park.

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Two Feet

When & Where: Friday, 2:50pm at the American Eagle stage

It is a kneejerk reaction to constrain Two Feet’s artistry to the world of electronic music, but it’s deeper than that. At its core, the New York-based musician draws upon a wellspring of jazz and blues influence to craft something new yet recognizable. His breakthrough came in the form of “Go Fuck Yourself,” an electro-heavy, jazz-infused track with an inescapable guitar riff. Since then, Two Feet has gone to release two transfixing genre-meshing Eps, 2016’s First Steps and 2017’s Momentum. The way in which he interweaves the worlds of electronic, jazz, and blues into a cohesive and dark experience with such seeming ease have earned him much-deserved comparisons to Chet Faker and Darkside.

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Lewis Capaldi

When & Where: Friday. 1:45 at the Lake Shore stage

Lewis Capaldi could sing of anything, and it would never fail to tug at your heartstrings. This is a testament to the intrinsic power of Capaldi’s voice. The Scottish singer-songwriter first burst onto the scene with the standout single, “Bruises.” To this day, it remains a moving piano ballad that carries the same amount of emotional weight as the very first moment we heard it. It’s because of the way Capaldi’s voice stays with you long after the culmination of any of his tracks. More than just a simple notion of Capaldi feeling like he is singing directly at you, but rather that it feels as if he is speaking to something universal hidden inside all of us.

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Wes Period

When & Where: Thursday, 2:10pm at the BMI stage

Wes Period is the embodiment of sun-drenched Los Angeles rap. The rising Los Angeles pop-rap star spits with a lyrical flow that is the sonic personification of his sunny surroundings. It’s a vastly unique style that translates to an absolute all-out party experience. Trust us, we threw a pool party with Period himself and we were fighting between jumping into the mosh pit or the pool throughout his set. Or let Period’s long-awaited debut album, Pretty Words speak for itself. It’s a wonderful assortment of rap-pop hybrids that please one after another and are sure to go off at this year’s Lollapalooza.

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The Wrecks

When & Where: Sunday, 5:40pm at the BMI stage

The Wrecks is a tried-and-true rock band. From sneaking into a recording studio to record their debut We Are the Wrecks EP to creating joyous, high-energy alternative music, The Wrecks is impossible to ignore. Since their inception, The Wrecks has toured with Nothing But Thieves, New Politics, The Main, All Time Low, and sold out their debut headlining tour. More recently, The Wrecks released their sophomore EP, Panic Vertigo (which hopefully didn’t require them sneaking into a recording studio to finish this time around). The follow-up EP heightened the guitar-driven, anthemic rock approach of its predecessor for another series of songs that are perfect for the ensuing mosh pit that is bound to erupt during their set.

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The Aces

When & Where: Sunday, 4:30pm at the BMI stage

If there is a band that is deserving of being championed as hometown heroes, it’s The Aces. Forming in Provo, Utah, the all-female quartet found their start playing school assemblies and teen events around town, and eventually found themselves shortlisted by Paste Magazine as one of the “10 Best Utah Bands You Should Know.” Now, they’re definitely one of the 15 acts you need to catch at Lollapalooza this year. Coming hot off the heels of their debut album, When My Heart Felt Volcanic, the quartet will have a wellspring of new, shimmering material to pull from. Prepare to fall in love with The Aces and their impeccable indie pop perfection.

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#ones to catch #Lollapalooza #clairo #yungblud #charlotte cardin #billie eilish #rex orange county #nothing nowhere.#sasha sloan #buddy #cuco #amy shark #two feet #lewis capaldi #wes period #the wrecks #the aces

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isaacathom · 6 years

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so im never ever gonna forget EC/SBno matter how long i live. so im sittig here drawing bullshit and ive had a thought

clearly which element a person has (the 4 main ones + light and dark, of course) is tied to context, history, etc. Will was a dark magician because his family descended from Dalace’s cultists. who had moved to her dark realm, then later down the line defected and returned to earth. with her magic remaining with the family, forgotten but never lost. Skye/Jimin/whatever was a wind mage, which actually doesnt make a whole lot of sense in the redone story after i swapped it over from a weird minecraft fanfic, but because he was actually the son of a mortal man and a fucking dead woman (its heaven but Man calar is a fucking weirdo), and heaven was like, the sky or smth, he was a wind mage. but that doesnt make sense, because when i swapped thepantheon over (bc, yknow, it was originally notch/herobrine/ender dragon, i was fucking 12) i made heaven the realm of light. so in theory, he should be a light mage??? why isnt he a light mage???? thats weird.

violet was a fire mage because, well, she was genuine full blooded daughter of the God of Fire. just straight up. she’s even practically immortal in terms of her projected life span. just a straight up minor goddess of fire. her sister was a wind mage because, while still the daughter of the god of fire, she was born from her wife, a mortal woman. and so it was like, a dilute-y thing. Alara being a wind mage gets a pass because its still thematically tied into fire and flame and shit, even if it technically belongs to a different god? especially since said god was directly responsible for Ryaris (fire goddess) being able to leaveher home, which lead to her getting a wife. an almost literal wingman, actually. wow. Holy shit.

Ash is a water mage because, idk, he lives in a polar-y environment with dragons and i guess the water goddess thought bestowing water magic lineage to the region made sense???? is he water because of lineage or because of like, just the fact he was born there? i dont know his lineage. hes an orphan. harlan, his adopted granpappy, isnt even a water mage??? but hes also actually from wayyyyy over elsewhere, so that tracks. i think i ended up having him be a light mage? fuck knows why.was he like, a foreign prince? i literally dont know or remember. his fucking immortal, whoever he is. incredible.

and then Crystal was an earth mage because her dad, finley, was actually a Quartaian prince who abandoned the throne to bang this One chick. and since quartai is like, mountain time, it makes SENSE for the royal family to be earth mages. even if Crystal leans more in the plants/flowers direction than the rock one. internal variance, i suppose.

however Maelyn is where this falls apart. Maelyn is a complete commoner, no royal lineage, no magic shit. shes just a human woman. absolutely no bullshit. and she was a light mage (as a replacement for the Mind magicshe initially had, before i removed mind and nature as elements because they were Dumb). but if Skye’s lineage as the son of a fucking angel/ghost/dead fucking lady means he should be the light mage, then that makes her a wind mage???? but why? what the fuck does she have. whats the deal. frankly, why the fuck is Maelyn even in the story. she and ash are almost completely extraneous and the story would probably function better without them lmaoooooo rip my small children.

but were she to keep existing, whyyyyy would she be wind??? what influence does the wind goddess have????it doesnt make sense. maelyn doesnt make sense. if i had to rewrite the story id just straight up remove her as a major character? like she can still exist, i guess, but having her be in the main cast doesnt make sense? fuck. FUCK dude.

but then theres no wind mage in the main cast, because skye (whose name now doesnt make sense, whoops?) is a lightmage. Alara is a wind mage, but shes not partof the protagonist group and would probably only become anything resembling a hero (anti-hero, primarily) at the very end when it becomes more obvious that her and Ryaris’ machinations have all been them being completely fucked over and about by Dalace? which means for the ~entire~story until like, act 3 where they enter Ryaris’ fire realm (to rescue Violet, Akian, and Chase, mostly), theres no wind mage. fucking Wild. what.

#story blogging #echo child #listen ec- echo child is fucking poorly thought out and inconsistent in every possible way #one day a bitch might restructure it from the ground up and fix all the bullshit #like Hey why did ryaris kidnap akian and chase? bitch i have No idea. dalace told her to??? it was a ransom? i dont know #god that shits messy. ilove it but CHRIST

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