The Monkey Talisman, in Jackie Chan Adventures, is similar to last year’s Ram Talisman as it had a rather unique super power and did not get used often during the show’s run. However, unlike last year’s Ram Talisman, the Monkey Talisman was significantly more useful and it generated some genuinely funny or comedic moments.
First off, for those who forget, the Monkey Talisman has the power of Shapeshifting, or more correctly, to change the holder or target into whatever animal they think of. Many animals were used during the show’s run such a rabbit, walrus, elephant, giraffe, hippo, and even a chinchilla. The Monkey Talisman can also change the person back to their original form.
Unlike the Rabbit, Ox, Dragon, or Pig Talisman, the Monkey Talisman did not see much use during the show’s run and it’s a real shame too! One of the few times when the Monkey Talisman was not used during a Talisman episode was when the J Team busted in to the Hollowlands Penitentiary in Season 2. Jade turned Jackie into a chinchilla and carried him to another part of the prison.
As such, we don’t know the full extent of the Monkey Talisman’s power compared to the other Talismans. Rooster can make you, or something you’re looking at, fly, Pig can give you heat beam eyes, and Horse can heal you. But what about the Monkey Talisman? What are the true limits to its power?
The show keeps referring to the Monkey Talisman as “shapeshifting” but no one has used it to transform into an inanimate object. Even Haiku, the Noble monkey that was worthy of this power, only used it to transform into other animals. As such, we can assume that you can only transform into an animal with this power.
As for what kind of animal, that is entirely hard to say. In the first couple of seasons, the Monkey Talisman’s victims and users transformed only into vertebrates. But we later find out in Season 3 that invertebrates, such as Haiku’s cricket form, are also on the table. Given the huge phylogenetic diversity, it would not be unreasonable to assume that you can also transform into a starfish, a squid, or even a flat worm.
But what about jellyfish or sponges? Yes! I think you would be able to transform into these as well. I honestly think that the Monkey Talisman can transform anyone or anything into what we regard as animals. As such, the Porifera and Cnidarians could be included although I would certainly feel sorry for the poor bastard that got turned into a sponge. If the Horse Talisman can fix a sinking cruise ship and the Rat Talisman can bring an ancient Aztec deity to life, what’s stopping the Monkey Talisman from doing this as well?
It’s a shame, like I said before, that we didn’t get much of the Monkey Talisman in Jackie Chan Adventures. I’m sure that if Jackie let Jade have access to the talismans, she would have a lot of fun with the Monkey Talisman. And God, this show loved its puns so you can bet that Jade would say things like “being a fly on the wall” or “elephant never forgets” before transforming into that animal. You could even throw in ancient animals like dinosaurs as well. A visit to the natural history museum could be livened up with some actual dinosaurs roaming the halls. Also, we missed a golden opportunity for El Toro and Viper to transform into their respective animals, that would’ve been great (even better is if they got their counterpart)!
Plot twists represent a very important aspect in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Every book has an impacting twist that changes our outlook on certain characters, events, or settings. These twists make reading the Harry Potter series even more exciting to read a second (and third and fourth…) time through as we now see the clues and hints that point us to the bigger picture and it’s amazing. And today, I’ll be counting down the Harry Potter series’ best twists! These twists are ranked by their impact in the book and series’ storyline, their tentative balance between storyline clues and shock value, and the about-face perception they have on our viewpoints. Let’s dig in.
Book 3 exposed a lot of twists, turns, and reveals in the iconic Shrieking Shack scene; so imagine our surprise when we get one last twist that comes straight out of science fiction land. Hermione’s Time Turner is one of the most talked about things in Book 3 and that’s because it was done SO WELL. Hermione’s strange behavior and even stranger skill in attending so many classes was revealed because of time travel. I love this twist so much as time travel was never talked about at all until this moment yet we aren’t cheated by the notion that wizards can time travel. It seems very natural in the Harry Potter universe. What’s more, the reveal leads to one of the most brain boggling scenes in the franchise with two Harrys and Hermiones at the same time. Many discussions of paradoxes and predestination were born from this reveal alone. Finally, Hermione’s Time Turner saved two lives and got us wondering what else there is in the Harry Potter world that we don’t know about yet.
#5 Tom Marvolo Riddle is Lord Voldemort from Chamber of Secrets
It’s hard to remember that at one point in time this twist was profound. Voldemort is barely mentioned at all in this book and BAM, he’s the main antagonist. In the back of all of our heads, we knew Voldemort would eventually return but we didn’t expect him to do so quickly and in the form of a diary as well. It’s certainly quite chilling when Riddle wrote his name in the air and with a simple flick revealed “I Am Lord Voldemort.” AGH! IT WAS RIGHT THERE!
This twist certainly gave us an early insight into Tom’s pre-Voldemort’s life and showed us what kind of man he was even at a young age (something that we saw more of in Book 6). But here, we learn that he was a charmer, a manipulator, and a scheming wizard already bent on building his own legacy. The reveal also works quite well as we are led to believe, but with little overemphasis, that Tom is a stand up guy who unfortunately accused the wrong person. Unlike other twists on this list, this twist’s reveal stuck around until the very end of the series, it’s that important.
#4 Mad-Eye Moody is Barty Crouch Jr. in Goblet of Fire
So the “Goblet of Fire” movie made it painfully obvious that something was up with Mad Eye Moody. Hey, he’s licking his lips creepily and is drinking from his flask constantly! What’s up with that? The book downplayed this quite a bit as Barty’s impression of Moody was almost spot on, even fooling the likes of Dumbledore.
This twist is just so mind blowing that I can’t help but admire it. Every weird little detail, like the missing Polyjuice Potion ingredients or Barty Crouch’s name on the Marauder’s Map, is so obvious that we slap ourselves on the forehead for missing it. And it’s not like the Time Turner twist where we didn’t know time travel existed, we have straight up seen the Polyjuice Potion used before in an important scene just two books ago. This twist further piles up as Hammer Space was introduced earlier during the Quidditch Cup so we know that large rooms could be contained in smaller enclosures. This plot twist is so good that you really can’t help but wonder why the characters don’t talk about it more in the proceeding books.
#3 Pettigrew was Scabbers (amongst a few other twists as well) in Prisoner of Azkaban
So again, the movie kind of forces too much emphasis on this twist but the book, thankfully, pulls this off wonderfully. Oh my gosh, there’s so many reasons why I like this twist. So like the Barty Crouch Jr. twist, we are given many hints at the true nature of this reveal such as the existence of Animagi (we first see this in Book 1 via Professor McGonagall), Scabbers/Pettigrew’s missing finger, and the Sneakoscope.
But what makes this twist very noteworthy is that it comes as a great, well-delivered gut punch! Okay, Sirius is revealed to be an Animagi. Oh crap! That’s crazy! That’s how he was able to do all his escape feats! And then we are revealed that Lupin is a werewolf. This is not as surprising because this is a bit more obvious given Snape’s lesson and Lupin’s health.
After thinking we have seen it all, the Scabbers’ twist comes out full force and we are shocked that this grown-man-turned-rat had been with Harry this entire time. Holy crap. I think this twist really hones in the fact that the Harry Potter series has layers of intertwining plot elements that are not contained within their individual books. Scabbers, this innocent, comic-relief character, is actually a back stabber and works for the Dark Lord. And of course, once this is revealed, Scabbers escapes and eventually finds Lord Voldemort and resurrects him. Not only does this twist has impact but it has consequences as it kicks off Harry’s war with Lord Voldemort. Damn I love Harry Potter.
The first Harry Potter twist and one that would set the twist benchmark for the rest of the series. First off, people new to the series would hopefully find this twist surprising in that there was a twist to begin with. Readers perhaps knew Snape wasn’t the guilty party, there’s a lot of emphasis on him after all, but perhaps readers were surprised that it’s Quirrell who Harry faces in the end. Poor, stuttering, Professor Quirrell. Nonetheless, J.K. Rowling does not insult the reader with this twist. Quirrell was there in Diagon Alley when Gringotts was broken into, he had a lively conversation with Snape, and Hermione bumped into him during the Quidditch game (which broke his concentration on Harry). Well played, Rowling.
Perhaps the one fault I have with this twist is the lack of impact it had on the rest of the series. Yes, Quirrell was mentioned occasionally here and there but nothing too meaningful or insightful. Before the final books were released, many fans guessed that Quirrell would return similar to other recurring elements. But surprisingly, he didn’t. This lack of series impact is unlike our final twist that forever changed the books…
Rosebud, Luke’s Father, “he was dead the entire time;” some twists are so iconic that we know them despite not even seeing the material. Snape killing Dumbledore is so iconic that it has reached this level of spoilers. It’s that good.
Why does Snape killing Dumbledore have a huge impact on us? I think the foremost reason is how so unexpected it is. You see, we were pretty sure Dumbledore would die in one of the last two books but what we didn’t expect was the method of his death. Most people probably guessed that Voldemort would kill Dumbledore (or Malfoy as they read Book 6). Snape killing Dumbledore though comes almost out of nowhere leading us completely aghast. And mind you, by the time Book 6 came out, Harry Potter was a global phenomenon that had die-hard fans combing through the preceding books. Nothing in those five books even hinted at this.
The second reason why this spoiler is so iconic is how much it changed the name of the game. Dumbledore is dead, Snape is a traitor, Hogwarts is no longer safe, and the Order of the Phoenix is in trouble. Harry’s fallbacks are gone or tattered and he can only rely on a few people now. Dumbledore’s death drastically changed the standard series’ plot in Book 7 as Harry Potter no longer lives at Hogwarts taking magic lessons; he is on the run, on a quest to destroy Voldemort’s horcruxes.
And to top it off, as a sweet cherry on this amazing twist, the reveal is iconic because how succinct it is. Snape Kills Dumbledore. You only need three words to describe this twist. And because everyone is already so familiar with the characters we were in dire peril of being massively spoiled for it. I’ve heard and read stories of jackasses driving up to Book 6 releases and shouting, “Snape kills Dumbledore” and driving off. Those people are the worst.
It’s because of this twist that Book 7 was heavily, HEAVILY guarded from spoilers. The series’ book artist couldn’t divulge anything to her husband, book stores clamped down hard on distributing books, the list goes on. When Book 7 was released, I read it as fast as I could and stayed away from the internet until I was done. Everyone was so wary of spoilers because of this twist. And because of that, I can think of no other twist that deserves the number 1 spot more than this one.
What do you think? Do you think these twists deserve their spots? What twists do you think I left out that caught you by surprise? Let me know in the comments section!
I got two board games for Christmas; the first was Camel Up and the second one was Dixit. Of these two board games, I think my friends like Dixit more and it’s easy to see why! The game is simple but it promotes a massive amount of creativity. The rules are like a combination of Apples and Apples and Balderdash with a fantasy twist to them. Basically, each player (3-6 usually) gets six cards with very strange, surreal drawings on them. The “active” player picks a card and says a clue that represents his/her card. This clue can be anything from a phrase, a poem, song, word, or, my favorite, sound effects! You lay down that card and all of the other players pick a card from their hand that best matches that description. Once the cards are in, the active player shuffles them and lays them down for all to see.
Now. This is where Dixit’s true unorthodox nature comes through and what makes it stand out. If at least one player, but not all, correctly guess which card is the “active” card, both the active player and the other player(s) get points. But if none or all of the players correctly guess the active player’s card, then the active player gets no points. The beauty of this game comes from your clue. Your clue should not be too obvious or too obscure, you have to find that healthy balance between the two. And that is where the real fun of the game comes in. What clue will you think up of when you see an armored rabbit looking at three doors, or a self-mutilating plant, or planets arranged on a galaxy-size abacus? “The unknown?” “Depression?” “John Lennon?” The possibilities are almost endless.
Image from kazoodletoys.com
Unfortunately, this can also be a drawback for new players as I found it hard initially to get in the swing of things. Mine and other player clues were either too vague or too easy for our opponents so we didn’t score a lot early on. There is definitely a certain mindset you should have when approaching this game similar to how you would tackle Scrabble, Boggle, or Balderdash. But once you find that train of thought you ride it forward towards the Land of Enjoyment!
The other major drawback of the game is the number of playable cards. Although 84 cards is an amazing number, there definitely should be more cards to help satisfy the intense variety of illustrations. Some cards are just so specific that it can be easy to identify them no matter what clue the active player gave. Luckily, there are several expansions to this game that adds more cards to the already large set. Each expansion, from what I can tell, adds 84 more cards making the expansion set well worth it. What’s more, Dixit is one of the few board games that’s organized to handle more expansions in its box which is AMAZING. So many games don’t do this and it’s a bit of a pain to carry two boxes of the same game around. Dixit cuts the BS out and gives you a great box that can easily handle several expansions.
Buy it? Buy this game if you want something light that is easy to learn and not competitive. This game is fun for those who have a creative flair (plus a beer or two helps makes the clues all the more crazy!)
Leave it? Leave the game if you want a strategic game; this is not one of those games. Also, if you don’t like Balderdash or Once Upon a Time, then this is a game you should skip.
So in the end, Dixit is a great, fun little game that should be played for fun, low key parties, family, or as a break between longer, more intense board games.
2015 was another good year for video games for me and I played a variety of them ranging from indie games (a rarity for myself) to big blockbuster hits and from JRPGS to an unique spin on the first person shooter genre. Many of these games I’ll likely play again down the road but for now lets dive in!
Games I played in 2015
3DS: Link Between Worlds, Phoenix Wright-Dual Destinies, Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, Majora’s Mask
DS: Apollo Justice (started), Hotel Dusk: Room 212 (started) Fossil Fighters (gave up on)
PS2: Dragonquest 8
PS3: South Park: Stick of Truth
Wii U: Mario Maker, Splatoon, Xenoblade Chronicles X
PC Games: Her Story, Undertale, Huniepop, Tales from the Borderlands, Wolf Among Us, Star Wars: KotOR
image from gamerevolution.com
Biggest Timesink: Dragonquest 8
So I bought this game on a whim at my local video game store shortly before my internship last summer. With no internet in the residence building, my primary entertainment indoors was either Battlestar Galatica and Dragonquest 8. The funny thing was that I was planning on playing multiple games but this game was so big and I had sank so much time on it (last check was well above 70 hours) that not only was it the only game I played, even King Trode scolded me for lollygagging. But I can’t help it! The minigames, the sidequests, and those damn Minimedals took up a lot of my time. The game was fun (even if the voice acting was a bit hokey), challenging, and entertaining all around.
Favorite Indie Game: Undertale
At initial glance, Undertale appears to be another SNES-style RPG with the only thing going for it a unique combat system. However, this is definitely not the case as the game will make you question many standard video game tropes and what it means to be the protagonist of your story. These ideas were further enhanced for myself as I had just played Dragonquest VIII, a fairly typical RPG, which adhered strictly to these tropes. The characters were stellar, the music was top notch, and the story was a wild ride, definitely check it out.
Biggest Guilty Pleasure: Huniepop
Okay, just hear me out; I initially bought this game because I saw YouTube-star Markiplier enjoying the hell out of it. From what I saw, it was a crude, raunchy, dating-sim parody that you play for laughs. What I got was not only a, dare I say, strategic game where you have to plan your gifts and puzzle actions, but a tongue-in-cheek look at how video games clumsily handle women characters. Is the game’s humor and overall appeal satirical or intentional? You’ll be the judge of that. Who knows, I might even dedicate an article to this game on my blog but for now, let’s just let it be.
Best Moment: The Fart Battle in South Park: Stick of Truth
God this game. Unsurprisingly, this game was so damn funny and I understand why people like it so much. There were so many great moments but the one that I have to go for is the epic Fart Battle I had against Cartman. When this happened, I was simultaneously laughing my ass off while pressing the button as fast as I could. This went on for at least five minutes and in the end I couldn’t make it but god damn was that great.
Worst Line Delivery: The Character Nikki Ann-Marie in Huniepop
In Huniepop, you can date a variety of girls that fit the standard tropes in anime, video games, and so forth. One of those girls, is the geeky introvert, Nikki Ann-Marie. Rather than trying to pass her off as aloof but still have some sense of humor, kindness, and passion, Nikki’s voice actress instead portrays her as a character whose constantly bored. It’s kind of annoying after awhile as Nikki has the potential to be as memorable as some of the other girls. I think what really seals it for me though is Nikki’s reaction towards your gifts comes off as feign interest rather than genuine intrigue and that’s too bad.
Best Supporting Cast: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Ah KotOR, although I’ve had my fair share of amazing characters, especially in Undertale and Tales from the Borderlands, KotOR takes the cake. You can’t help but love your ragtag team even if Carth is a wee bit of a nuisance with his “Carth wants to talk about something/no he actually doesn’t.” What I like about my crew is that there’s always a situation for one of them even if I use some more than others. Plus they got great chemistry!
Favorite Antagonist: Handsome Jack from Tales from the Borderlands
Flowey is evil because he has no soul, the Crooked Man does what he does to improve fable lives, and Dhoulmagus wants to resurrect the greatest evil of all time. These are all noteworthy antagonists but the one to take the cake is Handsome Jack. Although we see Handsome Jack prominently in Borderlands 2, the biggest change here is Rhys. Now, Jack can directly interact with you and it’s awesome. How far should you trust him? He’s a smooth talker with bouts of rage and lots of charisma. Jack dramatically affects Rhys’ storyline and makes him change for the better. Jack is insane, conniving, and hilarious and I love every bit of it.
Surprise Hit: The Wolf Among Us (tWAU) and Her Story
So I bought tWAU on a Steam sale around March, 2015 as I always wanted to try out a TellTale game but without paying full price for a game. After checking a few reviews online, I thought this looked good and dove into it. Wow, that’s all I have to say about that. I kept coming back again and again to play this game. Many times, I would start and end each chapter in almost one sitting. TellTale really told an immersive story that made you think about your decisions. Bigby is a great protagonist whose personality can range from angry law enforcer to a “jerk with a heart of gold” depending on how you play him. This game was great and I’m sad there’s not a sequel to it yet.
Her Story is another game that took me by surprise. I actually played it fairly late in the year (December) after I first heard about it in the Video Game Awards. Going into the game, the only thing I knew about it was the tagline “A Video Game About a Woman Talking to the Police.” Mary actually played this game with me and she was my note taker. We went back and forth what to look up next and she would write down many different dates and search terms to help us organize the story in our head. If you want a good detective game with no hand-holding, go for this one!
image from craveonline.com
Favorite Game I played: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
In 2015, I sunk a lot of time into several games, especially when I was interning at Fossil Butte. Even after I turned off the TV, I still looked forward to playing these games again whether it was because of their comedic value (South Park), story (Wolf Among Us), characters (Undertale), or immersive gameplay (Splatoon+South Park). It’s quite hard to pick which is the overall favorite new game I played in 2015 cause a lot of the games were good for their own reasons. However, if I had to pick my favorite it would be Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic just edging out the Legend of Zelda: A Link between Worlds. Both of these games were great RPGs that gave you a large degree of choice in progressing the narrative. But while a Link Between Worlds basically retold a Link to the Past, KotOR told a whole new story using the Star Wars background. So many characters were good and I wish I got to know more about them like Canderous, HK-47, and Jolee. The morality scale, the missions, and the planets were so well done. It’s too bad I got spoiled for the game or else it would have ranked even higher in my love for it. After playing this game, I really wanted to try out Mass Effect so that may be for another day but still, this game was amazing and definitely my favorite game I played in 2015.
“Joyeux Noël”, I think, is one of the more underrated Christmas films in the oversaturated sea of Christmas specials and movies. A historical fiction film, based on actual events, “Joyeux Noël” tells how human kindness and spirit can happen in areas where even death and misery shroud the setting. Taking place during the Great War, in the awful front-line trenches, we follow German, Scottish, and French soldiers who slowly come to love and respect their enemies despite their prejudices and national identity.
I think one of the reasons why I like the film so much is the stellar production value behind it. The awful scenes of war, death, and sadness are well executed. Life in the trenches is brutal and unpleasant and everyone has a chance of an unglorified death. The stillness of the battlefield, of “No Man’s Land,” is more haunting when we see the very white snow disturbed by frozen bodies and gaping pits caused by artillery shells. The costumes, make up, and props look very realistic and the added bonus of everyone speaking their native language, further pushes the realism of the film despite its fictional narrative.
I think my favorite part of the film is the scene where the soldiers start singing Silent Night and the German tenor got so passionate about the song that he grabbed a small Christmas tree, climbed over the trenches and sang the song as passionately as he could while holding the tree as high as he could. Definitely a highlight of the film, that’s for sure.
My two favorite characters are Palmer, the Scottish priest, and Audebert, the French Lieutenant although the other leads of the film are likable as well. Horstmayer, the Germany Lieutenant, also grows on you, especially when its revealed he is Jewish. Unfortunately, the minor characters are painted somewhat one-dimensional. In this case, I’m mainly referring to the characters comrades who did not experience the magic of Christmas and still think of their enemies as the Devil’s sons.
The film also weighs a little heavy in melodrama and it’s hard not to get emotional near the end of the film. The song, I’m Dreaming of Home, is sung throughout the film by the Scots and is again sung at the end by the German soldiers as they are shipped to the Eastern Front, certain to face their sad death. Truth be told, I like the men’s choir version more than the children’s choir but either way, this song makes my heart feel heavy and I can’t help but shed a tear or two every time I watch the end.
Despite its heavy-handed nature, this is a great Christmas film that I think should be watched but definitely not in a “Miracle on 34th Street” or “A Christmas Story” mood. If you were in a mood to watch a historical film (or more specifically a Great War film) or you want to change of pace for your overused, annual Christmas films, give this a spin, I guarantee you that you won’t be disappointed. Merry Christmas!
The biggest disappointment about Digimon Tri: Reunion is that the next installment won’t be until March, 2016.
Other than that though this was a fantastic sequel and it really hit all the right notes well and hard. There are a few things I have some issue with but they’re kind of minor in all honesty. There’s so much I want to talk about so let’s dive right in.
First, the bad. I think the primary thing that annoyed me (and certainly Mary) was Tai’s constant flashbacks to the collateral damage in the Kuwagamon fight. It’s fine to have some arc development for our lead character and it’s also fine for Tai to finally realize how destructive Digimon can be but this was a bit too much. The flashbacks were overdone and Tai’s weariness seemed out of character. Fortunately, many of the other digidestined were trying to snap him out of his funk especially Matt. Reunion has taken a more mature look at Matt/Tai’s relationship and had them actually resolve their fights without throwing a single punch which was nice. The two struggled to understand the other’s position and this culminated nicely into the triumphant return of Omegamon/Omnimon.
Although the animation is many times over superior to the original season of Digimon, I still have a couple of issues with it. The first one is that some of the Digimon, particularly Agumon, look kind of weird in this style but thankfully, I’ve gotten somewhat over that. The second issue I had was the several longer-than-need-to-be shots of people that are just standing there doing nothing. There’s a great shot of a girl looking at her bike for several seconds like, “Yep! I have a nice bike!” and doing nothing else, haha. Hopefully, this will be toned down in the following sequel.
Finally, I’m kind of disturbed why none of the main cast has talked about the season 2 characters yet; Davis, Yolei, Ken, and Cody. In the beginning of Reunion we see them being…taken down I guess…by some unforeseen force. I was even super ecstatic when I saw them because this confirmed season 2 being canon. However, we don’t see them again (except for a brief screenshot with their names on a computer) for the rest of the episode and nobody mentions them at all which made me more and more uneasy. Like, geez guys, aren’t you wondering where the hell they are? Nobody even attempted to contact them when Digimon started to appear again. Hm, it’s probably not a big deal but I wish at least somebody mentioned them…
That’s really it for my complaints, let’s take a look at what made me happy!
Some of the backgrounds in the anime were very nice and not lazy like in season 1. I especially loved the backstage here at the music venue Matt was playing at. The graffiti was a nice touch.
First off, I like how it’s implied how the group was slowly drifting apart, like they’re still good friends but they don’t hang out as much as they used to. Podigious first pointed that out to me how season 2 made it seem like the original Digidestined weren’t as together as they were back in season 1. But now with the culminated events in Reunion, the gang has an excuse to come back together again. You also get the feeling that the Digigdestined, and in particular, Tai, seem somewhat lost without the influence of Digimon like they don’t really know what to do with their life after going on a great adventure seven years ago or so. But now that the Digimon threat is back they find new meaning in their life and jump right into it.
I think Joe needs a special mention for this as it’s becoming obvious he really doesn’t like his life. He’s struggling on his exams and he just seems depressed in general. Mary pointed out to me that Joe, as well as Mimi, had the most natural reaction to seeing their partners again as they were so happy to be reunited with them. I think Gomamon will have a very positive effect on Joe’s life and possibly force him to reevaluate his life’s decisions.
Character interactions are spot on and great. The characters are more fleshed out and are given a variety of opportunities to bounce off each other. A lot of them seem like a natural progression from what we saw back in season 1. I should also talk about Mimi cause god damn was she the best character in Reunion. I think one of the reasons why I like her so much is that she’s very different from her English-dub personality of a selfish ditz. Her annoying attitude is gone and it’s replaced by a confident and very funny attitude. I like how Mimi knows she loves girly things and is proud of it. Her and Palmon were really the highlight of Reunion.
One of the most hilarious scenes in Reunion was when the gang gets back together and Izzy lectures about the recent, weird events. After awhile, the kids get bored and start talking to each other while Izzy is still prattling on, oblivious that they are no longer listening to him. That was great. In fact, a lot of the humor on this show was well written and executed. Gabumon lighten the tenser moments when he made fun of Matt’s brooding nature.
And in no particular order, here’s a general list of the things I liked
-A lot of the animation was gorgeous despite my previous complaints. The fights were great, the facial expressions were lively and the digital distortion effects on Kuwagamon were well done.
-Mimi/Izzy supposed blossoming of a relationship? I approve
-Izzy’s wardrobe program
-The secret government agency
-Matt’s new band name, Knife of Day and Tai making fun of it
-Gatomon kicking ass! I love it! She got so nerfed after she became good in season 1 but after that fight with Kuwagamon I was like DAMN! Also, her voice actress is just perfect.
-KABUTERIMON’S SPIRIT BOMB/ELECTRO SHOCKER!!
-The characters had an actual wardrobe and changed their clothes every day. Also, Mimi’s outfit in episode 4 was adorable.
Now, I am really looking forward to the future of Digimon Tri. I have to wonder what will happen and if the show will actually address where the season 2 kids are at. On a different note, one theory that I have seen going around is that the other Digidestined will get their Mega evolutions which would be AMAZING and I would love the crap out of that. Some people have even gone as far as to suggest that Joe will come through in the end and realize that his friends really need him. Thus, his Crest of Reliability will activate once again and Gomamon will be the first to digivolve into Mega. If that was true then I would be all over that. It also begs the question if the other kids would also DNA Digivolve as well. Perhaps Kari and TK will DNA Digivolve as well as Izzy and Mimi. Or maybe, there’s a brand new evolution sequence that the show will introduce which I can also believe.
Regardless, Digimon Tri is off to a great start and I can’t wait to see the next five parts!
So I’ve already talked about two Harry Turtledove series before, Darkness and WorldWar, so now it’s time to talk about Turtledove’s other famous book series. The unofficially named “Timeline-191” (and sometimes Southern Victory) comprises of eleven books detailing the history of the two American countries after the South won the American Civil War. Told from multiple viewpoints from both countries (and one or two thrown in from Canada), we experience the tragic history of these two countries as they are drawn into conflict again and again up until 1945. Now, upfront, I honestly think this may be Turtledove’s weakest major series but before I divulge why, let’s dive into the series and see what makes it so special and one of the most famous alternate history stories of our modern day and age.
So the first Timeline-191 book is called How Few Remain. In this book we understand why the South won the American Civil War and what happened to the two countries shortly after. After a brief prologue dedicated to the defeat of the Union, the book picks up twenty years later where the two American countries pick up arms again and fight each other but this time it’s for the C.S.A. acquisition of two Mexican provinces. Fearing that the C.S.A. would become too strong, the U.S.A. declares war on the C.S.A. but is abysmally defeated thanks to the C.S.A.’s reliable generals and its alliance with France and Britain.
How Few Remain is probably the most interesting book in the series as it can stand by itself very easily. The book retains all of the Second Mexican War and its immediate consequences as well and as such, many of our stories have a clear beginning and a satisfying ending. What’s more, unlike the rest of the series, all of our viewpoint characters follow historical characters like Theodore Roosevelt and Mark Twain. The book also offers very reasonable ideas of what the world may be like in 1881 such as the C.S.A’s continual involvement with France and Britain and the dominance of Democrats in the U.S.A. up until the 1880s. Now, Turtledove could have just left How Few Remain as it is but he decided to take this story he created and make a mega book series out of it. What follows is the next logical step in our timeline, and a 30 year jump with it, the Great War.
This is my favorite part of the series and it’s awesome. Because the C.S.A. allied itself with France and Britain, the U.S.A., in return, allied itself with Germany and the Austria-Hungary Empire to acquire its own strong allies. Of course, everything went to Hell in a handbasket, thanks to a certain Archduke, and now, not only do you have the mess of Europe fighting each other, but now you got the U.S.A. fighting Canada and the C.S.A! It’s a literal world war at this point.
So the first reason why the Great War trilogy is my favorite part in Timeline-191 is how it’s not immediately clear who will win this war. It could honestly go either way. In How Few Remain, right from the start, the U.S.A. is kind of done for so there’s not as much incentive to read the book. But for the Great War, it’s so close and even that any small event can help push the war one way or another.
I also like how Turtledove just didn’t pull any punches with the harshness of trench warfare and the dire outlook for many of the soldier’s lives. The settings and characters are highly realistic and don’t offer that sweet storytelling guidelines many of us are familiar with. It’s very similar to the Song of Ice and Fire series, actually. I also like how diverse our viewpoint characters are ranging from regular soldiers, to spies, farmers, commanders, and politicians. We definitely get a full spectrum of viewpoints that cue us in what’s happening in this crazy world. Turtledove excels at this and has done this before in the Darkness and Worldwar series. This is a guilty pleasure but honestly one of my favorite POV characters is Gordon McSweeney who is a stupid, badass bigot. The things this guy says and does in this series is great.
Now, there is a third reason but let me get back to that in a moment…
So, spoilers, the U.S.A. along with the other Central Powers, won the Great War. The series doesn’t end there though as we are treated to our next trilogy in the series, American Empire. This trilogy is kind of weak as there are jumps of time within the books. The three books cover about twenty years altogether meaning there’s a lot of plot development crammed into characters whom we already don’t spend much time with.
However, the second, and primary reason, why the Timeline-191 series falters at this point is Turtledove’s over reliance in incorporating plot developments that mirror our real world. I’m serious. Turtledove oversaturates his story with parallel events that almost defeats the purpose of an alternate history genre. Long story short, the C.S.A. becomes Nazi Germany and fights the U.S.A. again in the 1940s. And guess what? The C.S.A. loses! Go figure!
Now, the next four books in the series, called Settling Accounts, is entertaining to read but by this point, all sense of disbelief is kind of thrown to the curb and we aren’t as engaged with the story as we kind of know what will happen in the end. I even stopped reading the series by this point due to the aforementioned reasons and it was getting depressing fast. You see, throwing in a little nod here or there in reference to our timeline is fun or all but this is just overkill.
This is why I liked the Great War part of the storyline the best. True, there are historical references in this trilogy but it doesn’t control the story as much as it does later on. The trilogy is fun, original, and not bogged down by its sheer alternate history glory. I’ve actually read online that supposedly, the U.S.A. was going to lose the Great War and actually become the next fascist power in North America. But then Turtledove decided later on that that wasn’t going to happen which explains several things. One, Jake Featherston, who becomes the C.S.A.’s Hitler, was a pretty nice, if awkward, guy early on before he almost suddenly develops this hatred against African Americans; and two, Gordon McSweeney was probably going to be the U.S.A.’s version of Hitler until Turtledove pulled the plug on that idea and killed him off, rather inexplicably, at the end of the trilogy. Very interesting fan theory for sure and I’m interested to see how that story could have turned out. Regardless, because of this switch, the Great War trilogy is not as tied down compared to the rest of the series and that’s what makes it so good. My advice is to read How Few Remain and the Great War trilogy and just stop there.
There’s a lot more to talk about this series so I’ll just leave that for another time. For now, I’m curious to see if you like this series and if you agree with me or not. If not, is there another alternate history story you like better involving the American Civil War? Let me know!
Saturday morning cartoons had been a staple for many people’s childhood. Their prominence from the 60s up until last year is something that many people growing up in America remember. And it’s easy to see why! It’s Saturday morning, you are one of the few people up in your household, there’s no school going on and your favorite cartoons are on. Just sit in front of the boob tube and boom, watch some awesome cartoons.
While doing research for this article (i.e., looking through Wikipedia), I read that Saturday morning cartoons began to decline in the 1990s and 2000s and finally ended in 2014. Could have fooled me! The cartoons I watched in the late 90s and early 2000s were great. True, this wasn’t the era of the late 80s and early 90s where you had classics like He-Man, Tiny Toons, Transformers, and so forth, but we had our fair share of cartoons that we can be proud to say we watched.
And these great Saturday morning cartoons were not limited to just one channel. They were spread out through the local channels and reaching those who did not have cable. Now, cable channels are credited for the disappearance of Saturday morning cartoons but the ironic part is that I never really watched cartoons on either Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network. Nickelodeon had cartoons on weekday nights while Cartoon Network went all in on Friday nights. They were relatively tame on Saturday mornings.
As such, I turned to channels that I would otherwise not visit. ABC, The WB, and Fox. These three channels battled to be the Saturday Morning Cartoon Supreme Leader Channel. They had a unique line up of cartoons that were enjoyable to watch. Whether it be old reruns or new cartoons, they had the ammo to satisfy your cartoony desires.
But who was the best one?? Who was the Saturday Morning Cartoon Supreme Leader Channel???? Let’s take a look!
Now before I go on, I have to say that I’m only looking at cartoons that I watched during that period. As such, this list is going to be very subjective. You have been warned…
First up, let’s go ABC with their One Saturday Morning Block! Ah yes, this block had the best opening (see below video). That intro just made you get SO PUMPED UP. I’M SUPER EXCITED. I loved the hell out of that song and its animation. One day, I got the bright idea to record the Saturday morning block and save it for a day when my parents wouldn’t intervene. Sure enough, they invited some friends over one night for bridge and that’s when I whipped it out and played it. Anyway, I would crank up the volume and listen to that song again and again and again (which probably irked my parents but whatever). Hell, you still can’t help but jam to the music. Even the snapshot above brings back nostalgia for me with its colorfully bouncy imagery.
So what do we have for our line up? Well, the cartoons that I watched were Pepper Ann, Recess, and Disney’s Doug. Other cartoons on the same channel that I watch if nothing else was on were Teacher’s Pet, Buzz Lightyear, and the Weekenders. Okay, so want to hear something ironic? I believe I read this on the Wikipedia page but many of the cartoons I just listed mainly take place in a school environment. This is funny because the intro song (the one I just talked about) boasted how One Saturday Morning was “five hours of summer” and this is pretty funny considering we’re watching cartoons that take place in school…
Irony beside the point, Pepper Ann, Recess, and Disney’s Doug were considered pretty good in my book. Even though these cartoons took place at school, the characters, humor, and animation made them unique enough that you didn’t really notice it. Plus, they still had fun adventures (especially, ESPECIALLY Recess) even if they were at school. They also kind of took on heavy issues, especially for Disney programs, ever noticed that?? Disney’s Doug had an episode of anorexia once and Pepper Ann had one on training bras. I don’t recall Recess having a heavy episode though it did have those typical children moral tropes that you see. Anyway, if you didn’t notice by now, Recess was my favorite so I’m calling that one as the best cartoon on ABC.
Next we have Fox which had Fox Kids. Okay, so truth be told, Fox Kids was kind of weak in cartoons early on and didn’t really have anything good until we got to the tail end of the 90s. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was the only major thing it had going for a while…
…then came Fall 1999.
With it came two cartoons that I watched which were Monster Rancher but more importantly Digimon. Digimon was what roped me into Fox Kids. I didn’t discover Digimon, and by proxy Fox Kids, until Christmas 1999 when I was waiting for my family to unwrap presents. As I waited patiently in the basement, I turned on the TV and discovered Digimon. The episode that was on was the one where the kids were fighting Andromon. That episode had me hooked and I watched every episode I could find from there on.
Power Rangers: Time Force later joined Fox Kids and it remains one of the few Power Rangers (much less live action) shows I watched. I don’t know why I watched that one but I guess this show evolved from a “I guess I’ll watch it” to a “hey this isn’t too bad.” Monster Rancher was nice but God help me if you ask me what it was about cause I don’t remember a damn thing (something with a boy and a wolf, a stone golem, and Mike from Monsters Inc??). Rusty and Big Guy was also an interesting cartoon if I remember correctly, I should check it out again to see if it still holds up. Beast Wars was also good but, surprisingly, I didn’t watch much of that show. A lot of shows, in general, didn’t last very long, sometimes just a season, if that, mainly because they were just not that good or interesting. Remember Angela Anaconda? That was a weird show…
Fox Kids was pretty nice and you have to love those promo commercials. Those commercials were so cheesily edited that you just have to adore it. You also have to give a nod to those commercial break jokes/facts. One fact started with “what food would never spoil?” after a few commercials the break would end and it answered “sugar never spoils unless you have water on it.” And of course after I heard that I put water in my family’s sugar container to see what would happen…my parents weren’t probably thrilled with that…
Ending this trio channel battle we have The WB via Kids WB. When you think of your typical Saturday morning cartoon lineup, Kids WB probably matches it the best. You have superhero cartoons, Looney Toons-esque cartoons, celebrity cartoons, and anime. These programs were also not subpar and had a nice level of quality to them (well…at least most of them did…).
Okay, so you have Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain going off of the Looney Toons-styled cartoons. You also have the New Adventures of Batman and Superman which was later followed by X-Men: Evolution, Static Shock, Batman Beyond, and the Xeta Project. Of course, you also had Pokemon and Yugioh (which the latter came on as my interest in Saturday morning cartoons began to wane). Perhaps the oddball of the bunch was Jackie Chan Adventures whose basis sounds so…weird…that you would think it was destined to fail but it defied our expectations and was actually good!
The Batman and Superman cartoons were so awesome. I was actually more of a Superman fan when I was a kid so I liked watching his show more than Batman’s. I remember Kids WB had a contest where you had to write in a letter saying which superhero “kicked more booty” and I recalled that my brother and I said Superman while my sister said Batman (fyi, I now think it’s Batman). The string of superhero cartoons that followed were good but I liked the Batman and Superman cartoons better.
Pokemon was a definite show to watch but since Pokemon was shown on morning and afternoon weekdays, the pull for it wasn’t as strong as it could have been. However, they would premiere special episodes (e.g., Indigo League Championship) only on Saturdays and that was a very good reason to watch them. Yugioh’s more mature (I guess that’s the right word for it) anime appealed to my preteen persona so I would stick around to watch that show before I finally stopped watching cartoons.
I already wrote an article on Jackie Chan Adventures but I should at least give it a mention. This show should have, by all rights, failed and I’m glad it didn’t. The premise of the show sounds almost like a direct parody of other celebrity cartoons similar to Mike Tyson Mysteries. But the show was great as it established a mystical world setting, humorous characters, and Jackie Chan-styled fights. After the Batman and Superman show ended, I would go to Kids WB mainly for this show. That’s how appealing it was.
Alright, so, in the end, which channel can claim to be the Saturday Morning Cartoon Supreme Leader Channel??? After carefully reviewing the three channels I’m giving it to Kids WB! Unlike FoxKids, which mainly had Digimon, and One Saturday Morning, which had a rather narrow focus of show settings, Kids WB had a diverse selection of shows that appealed to a wide range of audiences. These shows were great and the channel offered a variety of characters, settings, and animation styles that really made it hard to best. And, let’s be honest here, Kids WB arsenal was Batman, Superman, Animaniacs, and Pokémon. That’s entertainment gold.
So, what do you guys think? I know I didn’t hit all of the cartoons for each block but there’s just way too many to list! Which channel did you watch the most of while growing up and what were your favorite Saturday Morning cartoons? I would love to hear your opinions!
Several years ago, my friend and I watched a whole bunch of Creepypasta films and stories on Halloween and were delightfully creeped out by the majority of them. They ranged from the Russian Sleep Experiment to Ben Drowned. Ben Drowned certainly creeped me out and gave me constant shivers down my spine. However, the problem with tackling Creepypasta stories altogether is that you eliminate that doubt the hangs around in the back of your head. You know these tales aren’t true simply because people have gone out of their way to debunk them and you are reading them all on a Creepypasta page.
So one year later, while I was doing research at the library, one of my Facebook friends posted a link (see below) on his wall and commented on its weird and chilling nature. So I clicked on the link and sat back and watched it.
The video starts with a calm and stoic voice that introduces you to a story of a man who has hid quite a bit of money somewhere in Great Britain. The content of the video, as it divulges information, strikes a healthy balance between seriousness and dark comedy that does not outright seem farfetched or outlandish. I myself related to the video as I had by then hosted two riddle challenges for my friends where I hid a prize somewhere in my hometown.
The introduction of Fortress is another convincing piece of evidence for this video’s authenticity. Although Fortress may have been a bit over the top, the use of old Youtube footage from 2005 sparks this degree of believability as by the time the video was released, this was six years ago and Youtube had gone though many major overhauls to its structure (such as the “star rating” system). What’s more, our memories are untrustworthy so when we see old footage like this, we may lead towards video credibility if we are pushed justly in that direction.
Then we get the Pardoner’s Tale flash animation story. Not only is the story delightful and creepy, it is well made and delivered. This again lends credibility towards the video’s story on this riddle challenge. If someone wanted to properly showcase an almost forgotten story on the internet, they would make sure to deliver quality services to its inquisitive viewers.
As the video continues, we return back to Fortress’ attempts to solve the puzzles. The puzzles are hard but Fortress, along with his amateur video quality, takes us through his thinking process and finds the puzzles ones by one. However, the video quietly takes a dark tone and this creepy music, similar in style to the movie It Follows, slowly seeps into the video and I can’t help but get these chills along my spine as the narrator’s voice just suddenly turns me off even though he barely changed his disposition. And oh God that reveal at the end with the yellow letters just pushed it into uncomfortable territory. But what really seals it for me is that creepy photograph at the end with the article about the dead body and the mystery of the unidentified person. Fuck, no matter how many times I watch the video I still get these horrible chills from it.
So when the video ended, I had to check it out if it was real and, truth be told, it took me awhile to figure out that this was fake. But here, I have to say, the video’s believability combined with its intriguing storyline, makes this my favorite Creepypasta story. You see, I wasn’t watching this video during Halloween or actively looking for a video like it, it fell upon my lap most innocently and from there, I believed it, even if it was only for a few minutes. That’s what makes a great Creepypasta, the ability to deceive while at the same time make you as uncomfortable as possible.
So last year, I talked about the Seven Deadly Sins Riddle Challenge that I gave to my friends on my 21st birthday. I basically challenged my friends to solve seven riddles with each riddle based on one of the Seven Deadly Sins. If you solved all seven riddles then I rewarded you with a prize. When everyone wanted a sequel, I decided to rehost the challenge again on my 22nd birthday but this time, with a little extra flair. As you can guess from the title, that year’s Riddle Challenge theme was based on Pokémon and this one was really cool in my opinion.
In total, there were eight riddles, representing the eight gyms, and each riddle was based on a Pokémon type. So for instance, a riddle that took place in a nearby state park was the Forest Badge and it represented Grass Type.
Now, this Pokémon-themed challenge would have been fine with just the badges but I had to take it one step further and make this challenge different from the previous year. In this case, I printed out Pokémon cards that everyone would have. These Pokémon (Gallade for instance) knew two attacks (Ice Punch and Psycho Cut) which the competitor could use against the badges. If the competitor was stuck on a riddle and everyone else had already solved their riddle, they could use their Pokémon and bypass the badge to the next riddle. There are three catches to this though; one, you can only use moves that are super effective against the badge (Gallade uses Ice Punch on the Forest Badge for instance), two, your Pokémon is used up and can’t be used anymore, and three, the final cash prize is cut by half. I liked the cards so much I even made one for myself to join in the fun (mine was Porygon2). It was great because so many people got attached to their Pokémon and did not want to use it up even when they were stuck on their riddle (one of my friends was so excited when he got Garbodor while another was confused what the hell a Hippowdon was). I liked that. Once I passed out a Pokémon to everyone at my 22nd birthday party, I talked about the usual rules and the first riddle to the challenge.
Unfortunately, I do not remember all of the Pokémon riddles and the original file that had all of them I think I lost when my old computer crashed on me. Nonetheless, here are the ones I remembered along with a few in their original state (which you can try at home if you want!).
Badges
Metamorphous Badge-Bug Type. Here is the riddle in its original form.
“I am famous.
Or do you not know?
Do I have to take you on a wondrous, whimsical trip, in order for you to understand? I have given you all an invitation to this event and you came with no hesitation.
I am the son of four men!
Certainly, that idiot up there on that pile of dirt understands perfectly clear. People don’t particularly adore the idiot but he sees the celestial body setting on the horizon and even his own two pupils! He sees the Earth revolve around its axis. Revolve, revolve, revolve.
I contain many stories of all sorts, both good memories and bad ones as well.
It has always been my dream to be an author. But what should I write? When I figure out, can I give you a sample of it? It should be good! True, it is about as long as War and Peace but I think you would like it!
I know my dads’ lives quite well, from their innocent beginnings to their climatic end.
There’s a girl that I adore, how I love her, how I need her! But alas, she’s too fat.
My favorite numbers are five and six!
What’s that from afar? It looks like a whole bunch of single people! They haven’t been in a relationship in a while so they’re kind of sad. Emily was one of them, that’s why no one showed up to her funeral.
Don’t you know who I am?
I am Humpty Dumpty!
Where can you find me? Well, for starters, my neighbor is Earth! I’m at a place where the host is a crazy addict whose a bit of a dork. I hold your riddle! Come and find me!”
The answer to this riddle? The Beetles! The riddle was hid in the Magical Mystery Tour album in a record store.
Granite Badge-Rock Type. Pretty standard, this riddle was located in the geology building on campus. I used the student lounge room and hid it in one of the never-used drawers. The riddle was a series of codes and letters that filled out the location of the riddle (address, room number, drawer number, etc.)
Forest Badge-Grass Type. Mentioned this one before but this one was more of a challenge than a riddle as it depended on the first 8 out of 10 people to find the riddle. The riddle was a simple word game and the trainer had to guess what grass-type Pokémon the words spell out.
Spectre Badge-Ghost Type. One of my favorite, and most longwinded, of the riddles! The trainer is given five names, arranged in a pentagram, and that’s it. The five names are actually tombstones in a local cemetery and the five names surround a tombstone of a person whom a campus library was named after. I placed a flower basket on that tombstone and it had a code which took the trainer to a book in the said library, inside the book was the next riddle (the book btw, was Legend of the Sleepy Hollow).
Stratigraphic Badge-Ground Type. The last of the eight riddles, the trainer was simply given the phrase “TM28” along with six Pokémon. The Pokémon represented latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates based on their pokedex number and “TM28” is the Pokémon move, Dig. The trainer had to go to this spot and dig up the treasure.
Freedom Badge-Flying Type. I actually have the original riddle right here “Follow, from beginning to end, the flight of the Jayhawk and on its doorsteps you will find the next riddle.”
The University of Kansas has a lot of Jayhawks, but this riddle talks about our mascot’s evolution which can be seen on the Union Floor. If you follow their path, you are taken to the doorsteps of the Art Museum which is where I hid the next riddle.
This was the best image I could find on the internet that had the floor….so yeah…storm troopers! Anyway, you can see one of the jayhawks where they are standing. Image from http://www.kualumni.org/tag/kansas-union/
Antidote Badge-Poison Type. Finally, we get to the Antidote Badge, maybe my actual favorite riddle of the eight. In this challenge, instead of trainers trying to find a riddle, they are trying to solve a logic puzzle as seen below. I’ll set out the rules and guidelines, but basically there are nine potions but only one of them is the antidote. You have to drink the antidote (with some exceptions) to move on. Trainers have to tell me which potion they drink in person and I tell them if they drank the antidote or a poison. Take a look
“Explanation:
There are nine potions in total and they are laid out in the table in front of you as seen in the diagram above. 6 of the potions are poisonous and will kill you instantly (these potions are known as the “Regulars”). 1 is the Antidote which allows you to go on to the next riddle if you choose to drink it. 1 is the Slow Poison which allows you 15 seconds to live before you die. Finally, 1 is the Sacrifice Potion; the Sacrifice Potion gives you two options, either forfeit your Pokemon or choose another competitor to die in your place. Either option will allow you to move on to the next riddle.
The Slow Poison is special in that you’re given the chance to correct your mistake by either A. drink the Antidote/Sacrifice Potion or B. use your Pokemon to save you from your error. You are only given 15 seconds to decide though.
All nine potions have two statements that will help you determine which of them is the Antidote. However, one of their statements is false and the other is true. It is thus your duty to sort out the truths from the lies and narrow the selection down.
Some of the statements may seem confusing to this paragraph sorts out any inquires you may have.
For example, Green’s first statement is “The Slow Potion is not below me or to my right,” therefore, if this was true then the Slow Potion is not Blue, Purple or Brown. If this was false then the Slow Potion is either Blue, Purple or Brown.
“Rows” are the horizontal layers.
For other statements that mention several potions at once you will have to think carefully on. For example, Yellow’s second statement is “For Red, Blue, Green and Black. All but one is a ‘Regular’.” If this was true then one of the four potions would be a special potion (the Antidote, the Slow Poison or the Sacrifice Potion) and the rest would be “Regulars.” If this statement was false then it could be that more than one of them was a special potion or maybe none of them was a special potion.
Primary Colors are Red, Blue, Yellow. Secondary Colors are Green, Purple and Orange.”
I was later told by my friends that there are actually two solutions to this puzzle, whoops! But that’s okay, this was my first shot in making a puzzle like this and it was fuuuuuuun. I really liked this one because the trainer can be a dick if he or she wanted and kill someone else with the poison so they could eliminate competition. No one did that, of course, but I figured I would throw it in. I enjoy this riddle so see if you can figure it out!
In the end, this challenge was a lot of fun and my friends and I enjoyed it a lot. I didn’t do another Birthday Riddle Challenge after this as I was kind of burnt out on riddles but still, it was great and I had a splendid time.
The Unapologetic Nerd 
