First off, a little context. You can skip this if you want.
So Chris from GetLazy recently posted a few very interesting pictures he had taken from the design documents that were made around 2001. Some of you might have already seen this, but since I assume that not everyone here on tumblr is active on GetLazy (me neither honestly) I decided to make a post about it for everyone to see. So as the title might suggest, the documents hold quite a bit of information about LazyTown prior to the TV series. Unfortunately however, we can’t see the whole thing. He was only able to make a few blurry and shaky pictures, but, trust me, it’s still worth reading.
I also decided to make a few notes in case it’s too hard for you to see or if you’re too lazy to read it yourself or whatever. If you can catch more information than I wrote down feel free to add. I also left out information that is already common knowledge.
Sportacus/Íþróttaálfurinn
For this one, I didn’t make notes but I will quote directly from what Chris remembers reading, as it is much more informative. But I will still post the pictures.
So, as an abandoned and unnamed child, Sportacus worked in mines under a
man named Mr. Kicker. Since none of the kids in the mines had names,
Kicker referred to the kids by numbers.. Sportacus being number 10.
There wasn’t much fun to be had under the mines, so the kids spent a lot
of time learning lots of different kinds of sports. At some point
during mining, number 10 accidentally found a strange crystal that shone
whenever someone was being hurt, and he kept it. After years of abuse,
number 10 finally decided to revolt. In secret, he built a hot air
balloon powered by pedals and one day, he flew it out of the mountain,
taking some kids with him. Soon after, he came back and dropped down a
ladder and started rescuing other kids. He eventually rescued all of the
kids from Mr. Kicker, and was even able to take Kicker’s spyglass from
him before leaving the mines forever. Also, the mustache comes from
rubbing his face with coaly hands.
Ziggy/Ziggie/Siggi
– “his mother is a very busy nutritionalist” – his parents love him immensly – but they are not very strict with what he eats – I think it might be because his mother didn’t have candy when she was young and doesn’t want to take it from him as well
Stephanie/Stiffanie/Solla
– forgetful and easily distracted – which “should not be confused with stupidity” – makes sure everyone feels included – from a very warm and loving family – her father is an elementary scool teacher and her mother an ornithologist – “they are frugal but not cheap”
Stingy/Nenni (Honestly I couldn’t find much new information here, but you can look at it yourself of course)
– demands and sues money from everyone – “lives in the biggest, most decadent villa in LazyTown” – “Mr. Spoilero”
Jives/Maggi
– “he may seem stupid, but” – saves the day when Sportacus isn’t there – “a hero who has no interest in being one” – lives with his mother in a very narrow building – his room is dirty and messy
Trixie/Toemy/Halla
– “She is completely uninterested in her outward appearance” – new in town – “her family has moved quite a lot” – lives in a trailer – parents work very hard so they can buy a house – which is why she has to fend for herself most of the time – has two older brothers – they’re not very nice to her from what I can tell – “her best friends are her books”
Pixel/PC/Goggi (this text is hard to figure out I’m sorry)
– his parents own the local TV and radio shop and are also very busy – “… monitor instead of his own mother” – “Crying violently whenever…” – communicates with his parents through the intercom or e-mail – “…his inability to speak normally”
Robbie/Glanni
– “would challenge anyone who said a bad word about her” (just curious who “her” is) – his father was a prominent politician and his mother a compulsive gambler – has younger siblings – went to a private school – was very active in both the drama and chess club – was kicked out of chess club for cheating in the championship – not sure but I think it says that he stole his catsuit from a play in drama club, ran off with it and disappeared for years – when he returned he has become a skilled con-artist
Officer Obtuse/Lolli
– good friends with the mayor – they’re compared to Laurel & Hardy and their friendship dates back to high school – which is literally the only reason he is employed as a police officer – doesn’t have his own home but instead stays in his office in case something happens at night – the kids call him “Officer OB” and he thinks it’s fucking disrespectful – is the youngest of nine (!) brothers who ALL joined the “SFLC, Special Forces for the Leader of Country” except him – he tried to join 18 times but was never accepted – good at sports though – caught Robbie cheating in the chess championship
The Rooster/Cock-a-little-do/Haninn
– really doesn’t like Sportacus – silently helps Robbie but doesn’t want to make it known – has sisters or something – used to take pride in waking up every morning until he discovered that being lazy is much more fun – left the farm he used to reside to find the laziest place on earth so he could be lazy in peace – is now the laziest inhabitant of all LazyTown
—
Alright, sorry for the long post but I felt like this was very necessary for all of you to know!!
You can sponsor a rat and you will get adorable personalized emails telling you how well “your” rat is doing! I did this for my sister a few years ago and she’s still getting emails about Martok the HeroRat’s mine-clearing successes and called it the best gift ever.
*hyperventilates* OH MY GOD I WANT AN ARMY OF THEM
Actual Pokemon
always reblog the hero rats
reblogging to remember that they’re funding-adoptable
I AM SO PROUD OF ALL OF THEM WHO’S GOING TO TELL THEM HOW PROUD I AM OF THEM????
ok immm sorry but im gonna have a taz discourse moment. bear w/ me.
ive been trying to like keep a lid on it but like i havent seen anyone point out that the mcelroys aren’t the right people to tell a story starring a POC where their racial identity becomes an important part of their character. like straight up im gonna say it? taako shouldn’t be brown – not in the sense that it’s wrong to draw taako brown, but that the mcelroys don’t have the right to make that artistic decision or canonically make him latino. taako’s the player character of a white dude and was developed with no racial identity in mind at all. making him brown at this point would be thoughtless lip service, not meaningful representation – and making him latino in particular would actually be horrifically racist. stop demanding tokenism from the mcelroys and acting like that’s something all POC fans want, it’s honestly embarrassing to see by now.
the nature of TAZ is that the creative team is and always will be four white guys. they’re a nerdy family doing a nerd activity and recording it as a free internet radio show. their team cannot be expanded to include more diverse creators; that’s just not how this story is set up, and that’s okay. there is more than one story in the world – that’s the point of diversity. progressive storytelling happens when many people tell their own stories, not when one person tells the stories of many people. that second one is shallow at best and downright appropriative at worst. stop demanding the mcelroys do that second one, and go support some more diverse creators.
this isn’t a pessimistic “how can you expect better from white dudes they’ll always fail us” spiel, but “you should not ask white dude creators to tick every representation box because even if they succeed it will be an inauthentic and meaningless achievement”. and that doesn’t mean white men should only make stories about white men, and i’m very glad that griffin has put in an effort to make a diverse cast of NPCs, but this demand to change one of the leads into a specific ethnicity and cultural background won’t work because it has not been considered from the start and it’s not something that justin is ready, willing, or able to do.
there’s been a lot of back-and-forth about how Criticism Is Good and you have to help the mcelroys Do Better but tbh? there is nothing wrong with the taz graphic novel designs. there’s literally nothing wrong with them because the point is that they are one single individual interpretation drawn by one person – a queer woman, no less – and are not the official designs, and don’t actually matter. like even if you want to argue that any green skin is antisemitic (which is a poorly-sourced, self-referential knot of yarn to begin with), taako’s skin is blue. merle being brown while also not being a perfect person is not tokenism or racist because there’s a diverse cast of NPCs, many of whom have dark skin. everything beyond that is up to personal preference.
not all criticisms are created equal. not every criticism is valid or useful in every situation. at some point, you have to accept that taz is not your story and you cannot demand a certain type of representation from the creators just to make yourself happy, and you can’t act like all POC fans feel the same because we certainly do not. like, if taz does something and you’re upset by it, that’s okay, and your emotions matter, but you need to realise that they are not the only emotions that matter, and also it’s not the creators’ job to fix your emotions for you.
i am a big advocate for critiquing media you enjoy and as a creator myself i do seek to learn more and better myself but part of that is also filtering out entitled white noise, like the racist asses trying to convince us that taako is “coded” as mexican and jewish just because his name sounds like taco and he likes money. so, like, whatever, good luck to mcelroys and carey on this front, but part of creating is accepting that you’ll never please everybody so hopefully they’re okay.
(“reblog this post to make taako brown” is just “sign this petition to make sterek canon” all over again and it’s still garbage, guys, after all these years it’s still bad.)
p.s. can everyone stop acting like the only two races are white and black. super would appreciate that thanks.
i think this post is great, and my singular addition would be: the mcelroys are not some huge corporation, run by many people, who have their content screened and tested and tried and manufactured to try and cater to the tastes and greatest perceived audience. they are a bunch of dudes running their damn dnd campaign who got big. you cannot judge them and damn them by the same standards you would, say, netflix, or a hollywood blockbuster. this is definitely why i think fanwork should just continue as normal – with a million different versions of magnus and taako and merle and all the other characters! i think the culture artists and fan creators have already cultivated has brought so much additional content to the very good world griffin already made. i understand the demand for reputation, but i agree; while the mcelroys wanna help out, they cannot deliver on the nuance that people of these groups actually could.
What she says: I’m fine
What she means: I love you so much and I want to declare it to the world but public extreme expressions of love short of marriage proposals are looked down upon or made fun of by society and I’m worried people are going to judge me but I’m content being by your side because there’s nothing I love more
you: I love you me, and intellectual: I love you unconditionally and the fact that I see myself as more intuitive does not change that at all, and, in fact, sometimes enhances my love for you
Did you know that I will climb nearly 90 degree angles to announce my deep love for you from the top of the highest mountains. Because I crave that affection.
Me, on a date: how do you feel about wholesome memes? My date: I love them so much as it is my deepest desire to have that kind of connection with someone Me: *pulling breadsticks out of my purse* I stole these from Olive Garden and want to share them with you
Come one guys join in on this In case you haven’t noticed this whole meme is already a wholesome version of a past meme, the “what will be the first meme of 2015” meme So this meme is a meme of itself
I came out here to have a good time and I’m honestly feeling so loved and supported right now.
this kind of wholesome subversion of memes looks like a lot of
fun
jewishbookwyrm: i have made a wholesome meme tumblr: you fixed a really bad trend is what you did. look at it. it’s got love and support.
are we doing loving memes?
friends, we might be
“Tumblr a pit of hate and despair” factoid is incorrect. Wholesome Georg, who posts support and friendship from a cave is representative adn should be counted.
maybe the real wholesome memes were the friends we made along the way
Tag yourself I’m wholesome subversion of memes
2017 but every time I love and support my friends it gets faster
I awake in the morning
mind: refreshed
heart: open
friends: online
I am forcibly removed from loneliness and isolation.
This is super short notice, I know, but is anyone online who might want to watch some mysteries? Or something else?
@rising–dawn & @mymomsareallygoodfriendtome I was thinking a Poirot or a Marple, but we could also watch a ballet, or something else entirely. I’ve just skipped out on a couple weeks of movie night because of family/business and I want to get back in the groove.
Speak with Tenderness 