#But it looks like Casey is gonna be disrupting the fun

[sunnythdmsbi]

Okay, first off, this is amazing. I love how they're working together with their old enemies and have come together to make this whole plan lmao.

But, I am also very scared since it seems like the plan will be coming to a close since baby Casey may be coming a little earlier than expected. I am honestly baffled by the fact that no one expected this to happen because everyone knows you should never assume when the baby will come. 'Cause there have been many examples of early births that shocked everyone involved. Sometimes, those little creatures grow much quicker or much slower than expected. So, either they improvise and do this much quicker than what they originally were going to. OR, they're screwed.

And now watch it all fall apart.

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Thank you everyone for your patience as I recuperate from Covid. I tested negative and am now just recuperating from the lasting effects. Honestly, this update is one I probably could have skipped, but I love me a good heist plan. Plus I just wanted to have some fun with this holiday special and if that means extending it a bit longer, then so be it.

[twignotstick]

Snow Day Plus One ☃️

Words: 2,001

Summary: Casey has an opportunity to bond with her new turtle friends! But how will she handle it?

Notes: My @tmnt-secret-santa-2024 for @bambiraptorx! Sorry this took so long, the writing really got me, combined with my life presenting numerous obstacles. In the end, I'm pretty happy with it, and I hope you like it too!

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Cassandra Jones wasn’t one to get out much. Ever since her… villainous employment… the number of outings lessened even more. She was seen by people as “disruptive” and “loud”. She couldn’t find many friends outside of the Foot Clan, so when she met the turtles, she found it to be a golden opportunity. Not only were they weird and loud, they were social outcasts. There were so many things for her to relate to!

The major hurdle was the fact that they used to be her greatest enemies.

Casey thought they were nice, but it was clear that there was still a bit of tension. She was able to hang out with April a bit more regularly, which allowed her to get critical insider information. Get to know them. That’s what that was. April had told her about their love of Lou Jitsu (and their unreasonable distaste for Punch Chowder), their favorite pizza place, their general vibes. All of it just made Casey want to hang out with them more. Yet, somehow, during the few meetups they had already had, she always managed to ruin it.

This time would be different.

The plan was simple; April had invited her to join in on the turtles’ annual “Snow Day”. She would bring a relaxed aura, happily helping build snowmen and make snow angels. No high energy screaming, no violent outbursts, and absolutely no murderous intent. April gave a very nice debrief in the car ride over-

“Last year was weird. Ghostbear showed up, got mutated, tried to kill us all, but it turned out alright. This year, there should be no surprise villains. Just enjoying the snow.”

“Yes! NO VILLAINS!” Casey said passionately. “Only reformed villains, excited to take part in the FESTIVE ACTIVITIES!”

April laughed, putting the car in park. “That’s right. I know you’re gonna do great out there.”

“I will!” Casey pulled on her gloves, opening the passenger door. “I will crush this social outing like the bones of my enemies. IF I HAD THOSE!”

“You know, you don’t have to-”

“Let us take on this fun day with FULL CONFIDENCE!”

The girls walked into the park, where the turtles were already having their fun. Mikey laid on his back, attempting to create the perfect snow angel. The numerous failed attempts were strewn around him, and Raph stood next to him, watching him criticize his work. Leo and Donnie were just a bit away, climbing up a hill of snow to sled down. April walked over toward them, while Casey decided to approach Raph and Mikey.

“How’s my form?” Mikey asked, making every wave of his arms deliberately. “Am I symmetrical?”

“Uhh…” Raph looked across all of the other angels, then back down at Mikey. “Raph thinks it looks just as good as the last 10.”

“But the last 10 sucked!” Mikey sat up carefully, doing his best not to disturb what he had done. He stepped out of the angel carefully, then looked down at his work. “Agh, so close! My shoulder went too deep.”

Raph noticed Casey had walked up, turning and smiling widely at her. “Hey, Cassandra! We’re happy to have you.”

“Hello to you, large turtle!” Casey turned to Mikey criticizing his handiwork. “And to you, small turtle! What challenge are we attempting to defeat?”

“I need to make the perfect snow angel while the snow’s still this deep!” Mikey crouched down and scooped up a handful of snow, as if that illustrated his point. “There’s 16 inches, which means, if I do it right, there won't be any grass showing through!”

“Grass hasn’t shown through on any of them, though?” Raph said.

“But none of them were perfect, Raph!”

Raph sighed, looking to Casey for her input.

“May I attempt?” Casey asked, fire already brewing in her chest. “I believe that I can create a perfect snow angel.”

Mikey eyed her curiously, then grinned. “Sure! Maybe you can get a better balance than me without a shell.”

Determined, Casey found a new spot of snow and laid down. She took a deep breath and began waving her arms and legs. Mikey and Raph both stood by, watching with wide eyes as her waving grew in speed and intensity. Snow started flying, covering the turtles’ bodies and faces. When Casey finally slowed down and stepped out of her masterpiece, both turtles wiped the snow from their faces and looked down in awe.

“How did… how did you make it all the way through, everywhere?” Raph asked, genuinely perplexed. “You got through to the grass under your back! Your body wasn’t even moving!”

“THIS IS PERFECT!” Mikey crouched next to Casey’s physically impossible snow angel, marvelling over it. “I mean, it isn’t conventional, but there’s no flaws! You made a perfect snow angel!”

“Of COURSE I DID!” Casey confidently exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. “I am a master of the snow-angelic form. Creating one is no challenge.” Truthfully, she was just as surprised and pleased as Mikey was; she hadn’t made a snow angel in years.

Raph grabbed her shoulders from behind, giving her a small shake. “You’re a natural at Snow Day stuff! My snow angels always end up looking like a crash site. You’re gonna make this day even more fun!”

“Of course! I-” Casey was cut off by the sound of Leonardo squealing across the park. The trio turned just in time to see Donatello pushing Leo onto the ground, the latter falling dramatically with a hand to his heart. April stood by them, holding a palm against her forehead.

Casey, Mikey, and Raph all walked over to investigate what could have brought Donnie just a bit closer to fratricide. Seeing the backup arrive, April sighed. “Thank goodness. I don’t think I could have handled these two squabbling on my own any more.”

“You know you love us,” Donnie said calmly. “My brother, however, is quickly losing the privilege of my affection, and I suggest you follow my example.”

“Raphie,” Leo whined, crawling through the snow to reach his eldest brother. “Donnie’s bullying me!”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that,” Raph said, peeling Leo’s arms off where they had latched onto his leg.

“What is the issue?” Casey asked. “I will use whatever means necessary to solve it.”

April winced. “I don’t think that’s-”

“Nardo is proving once again how terrible his opinions are.” Donnie kicked snow in Leo’s direction, causing him to roll away to avoid it. “We had a plan that would have removed any and all arguments on this illustrious Snow Day™, but Leo just had to be a contrarian.”

“We didn’t even all agree on that part yet!” Standing up and shaking the snow off of him, Leo pointed a finger into Donnie’s face. “Lou Jitsu is nearly unrecognizable without his jumpsuit!”

“Wait,” Mikey interrupted, pushing between them. “What's this about again?”

“Our snowman!” Leo scoffed, as if it was obvious. He caught the confused look on Casey’s face and sighed. “Every year, we build a snowman. Last year, it was Jupiter Jim, but we had a whole snowball fight because we couldn’t pick our favorite movie. So, this year, we decided to use a character who we all agreed on-”

“Lou Jitsu,” Donnie interjected.

“Ah!” Casey’s face lit up, finally feeling like she recognized the significance of the argument, then proceeded to return to its confused state. “So, why are you disagreeing?”

“Because we can’t decide on what outfit to put him in. I said we should put him in his classic jumpsuit, because he’s Lou Jitsu, but Donnie said we should put him in his outfit from Mount LouFuJitsu.”

“Because it would be extremely nonsensical to put him in a jumpsuit in the snow.”

“He is snow! He’s a snowman!”

“That changes nothing.”

As she facepalmed, April’s eyes moved to the other witnesses of the chaos, silently asking for input. Unfortunately, the other brothers only began contributing to the argument, not coming to a proper conclusion. Raph sided with Leo, and Mikey with Donnie.

Casey knew that the turtles were teens, and brothers, but she hadn’t quite realized the implications behind those facts. They seemed so in sync whenever she fought with them, seeing them opposing each other was strange. Especially over something so petty and insignificant. All this shouting, shoving, and friendly brawling over something as small as what outfit to put on their snowman?

“April!” Raph shouted, silencing all his brothers. “You pick! Jumpsuit, or snow suit?”

April threw her hands up, raising her shoulders. “Don’t look at me! I’m not gonna be the reason this escalates!”

All the turtles’ eyes turned to Casey expectantly. Her eyes widened, having not expected to be turned into the center of attention.

“You gotta help us pick, Casey,” Mikey said, looking at her with big, puppy dog eyes. “You agree with me and D, right?”

“Uhh…” Casey hesitated to choose. She didn’t want any of the guys to not like her; she was really enjoying getting to hang out with them. Whatever side she chose, she needed to make sure it worked out with everyone.

She had a sudden stroke of genius.

Puffing out her chest, she shouted, “All of you are idiots! None of your depictions of Lou Jitsu are accurate at all!”

The turtles looked at her like she had grown a third eye. “Casey,” Leo placated, putting an arm on her shoulder, “I know you like Punch Chowder, but we’ve seen every Lou Jitsu movie. We know Lou Jitsu.”

“EXACTLY!” She pointed exaggeratedly into his face. “The real Lou Jitsu doesn’t wear a jumpsuit, or a snow suit! He wears a raggedy old robe, and pulls it off quite well!”

The turtles continued to look at her confused, but April laughed and broke the awkwardness. “Wait, you’re saying we should build a snow-Splinter?”

“Exactly! Only the truest, most die-hard fans would create a snowman that looks like Lou Jitsu in real life.”

The turtles shared glances, deciding whether or not to go along with it. A smile crept onto their faces.

“I call making his wrinkly face!” Leo said, scurrying off to start gathering snow.

“Hey, no fair, you’ll make him look weird!” Mikey ran after him.

“I’ll start figuring out the best dimensions,” Donnie said, sauntering off to pick a good spot.

Raph walked up to Casey. “I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting something like that from you. Thanks a lot.”

Casey grinned, her chest glowing with pride. “Thank you. I cannot await what other challenges your antics will present to me.” Her expression grew determined as she prepared to face whatever these reptiles threw at her.

Raph nodded, running over to stop Mikey from shoving snow down Leo’s jacket. April laughed at them, looking at Casey with an approving look before going to join.

The afternoon carried on, and Casey continued to get to know the mannerisms of the turtles. They were constantly bickering, and she found herself using any opportunity presented to get involved in it. Even April would contribute. Casey became relaxed as the time passed, feeling a strange sort of comfort with these new friends that she hadn’t felt for a long time.

The snow-rat turned out just as wrinkly and scrappy as imagined. Once it was finished, Raph wrapped his arms around everyone, grinning wide. “Great job, guys. Now, we can go back to the lair and ask the real Dad to make us some hot cocoa!”

All the boys cheered, already running off to reach the lair first. April lagged behind with Casey. “You did great, Case. I knew you’d handle yourself just fine.”

“Of course I did! These turtles are NO MATCH FOR ME!” Pausing, Casey reeled herself back. “In a totally not evil way.”

“Yeah, I know.” April grabbed Casey’s arm, excited. “Now, lets go get some hot chocolate and see who starts complaining about their number of marshmallows.”

“It will be Leonardo, no doubt.” Casey grinned, walking with a new pep in her step.

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Hope you enjoyed!

[dtrhwithalex]

TV | Loki (102)

102: THE VARIANT

D: KATE HERRON. W: ELISSA KARASIK. Original Air Date: 16 June 2021.

Non-spoiler-free recap and review of the second episode of LOKI, which airs every Wednesday on Disney+.

RECAP

We open this episode in what looks like the medieval period, but turns out to be a Renaissance Fair in the 1980s. Another TVA team has been deployed in the search of the rogue Loki Variant and is promptly attacked by said Variant. Taking control of HUNTER C-20 (SASHA LANE) similarly to how we have seen Loki do during THE AVENGERS, the Variant eliminates the team and leaves the Fair through a time-window, taking C-20 with them.

Hunter B-15 and her team, as well as Mobius and Loki travel to the event to investigate and reinstate the sacred timeline. During the investigation, Loki plays at analysing his rogue counterpart, but Mobius sees through his stalling for time, and calls for the timeline to be restored. Hunter C-20 is declared MIA.

Back at the TVA, Mobius meets with Ravonna Renslayer to discuss the failed mission and the risk Mobius is taking with using Loki to find the Variant. Mobius insists Loki is, if not trustworthy, still useful to them. He tasks Loki with researching every Loki variant that has ever existed and "bans" him to the archives. Begrudgingly studying the files, Loki eventually tires of reading the exact same thing over and over again, and attempts to read up on the secrets of the TVA. However, his attempts are foiled by the Archivist, who only allows him to read one file -- his own.

However, in reading the file, Loki finds out about the events of RAGNAROK and realises that this is the key to finding the Variant. Disrupting Mobius' lunch to explain his theory -- and ruining Mobius' salad in the process -- Loki convinces him to go to an apocalyptic event such as Ragnarok to test the theory that, because of the complete destruction, nothing able to create new timelines would actually register as such. Reluctantly, Mobius agrees and takes him to Pompeii in 79 AD shortly before Mount Vesuvius erupts. Despite Mobius' warnings, Loki does as he does best: he creates chaos. He frees goats, throws things around, tells the people of the imminent eruption, that he is from the future -- and to Mobius' surprise, none of it registers as a deviation from the timeline.

Returning to the TVA, Loki and Mobius attempt to narrow down the specific apocalyptic event the Variant may be hiding in. However, it is not until Mobius remembers the child from the French church, that they are able to do so. Using the specific brand of chewing gum the Variant gave the child to create a specific time-window, Mobius and Loki find the one plausible catastrophe: New Haven, Alabama in 2050, destroyed by a hurricane.

Once on location, Loki is paired with Hunter B-15, despite Mobius' objections. While Mobius and the other Hunters take to the refugee camp, they search the store and come upon a single shopper. Touching him he drops to the floor and the possessive energy is transferred to Hunter B-15. Loki realises that this is the Variant, using their powers to, essentially, make ventriloquist puppets out of other beings.

While Loki tries to find out what it is the Variant wants, and offers up his own secret plans -- infiltrate the TVA, gain their trust, be granted an audience with the Time Keepers and take them out, ultimately wanting to rule the TVA himself -- Mobius and his team find the traumatised C-20. Although strongly disoriented, C-20 is able to reveal that she gave up the location of the Time Keepers to the Variant.

Meanwhile, Loki discovers that the Variant has been rigging the entire store with the time-reset devices. As they go active and vanish through individual time-windows, the real Variant reveals themself to Loki: the VARIANT (SOPHIA DI MARTINO) is a blonde, female version of Loki. Shocked by this revelation, Loki watches as the Variant opens another time-window and vanishes. Hearing Mobius and the Hunters approach, Loki makes a decision and follows the Variant through the time-window, which closes before Mobius can reach it.

As the time-reset devices vanish, the TVA registers anomalies and the agents monitoring the screens watch as multiple new timelines branch out of the sacred timeline, leaving only one conclusion: the timeline is being bombed. Watching her own screen in shock, Renslayer grabs her Hunter gear and leaves her office.

FAVOURITE MOMENTS

There were quite a few moments in this episode that I really loved. I adored this vibe of 'Loki Has A Day Job'. His whack-a-mole fight with Miss Minutes was a lot of fun. I loved the scenes in the archive, his somewhat flirty attempt at getting the Archivist to let him read classified files (also shushing the lady behind him? Hilarious). His chaotic energy and great Latin speech in Pompeii was absolutely fantastic too. God of Mischief indeed.

And I just adored all the banter scenes with Mobius. They have such a great buddy-cop dynamic, I really love it. The whole salad scene was just A+ comedy (also big yay for Casey!!). Their conversation about existence and free will was so good, too. And I adored the scene where Loki explains the difference between the two powers of projection. What a nerd. I love him.

I thought the reveal of Sophia di Martino as the Loki Variant was amazing. I think it's really interesting that this doesn't seem to be a version Loki himself was expecting to meet, which I'm sure will make for some great moments between the two in upcoming episodes.

Oh and, of course, lest I forget: setting the opening fight between the Variant and the TVA team to Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero"? Whoever made that choice is an absolute genius.

FAVOURITE CHARACTER(S)

I mean, Loki, duh. But I also really enjoyed Ravonna Renslayer in this one. I am really intrigued by her character and I can't wait to see more of her -- especially in action. Also I am very curious about her and Mobius' relationship. I smell history.

QUESTIONS, CURIOSITIES

Do all Hunters know the location of the Time Keepers? Or did the Variant have to keep nabbing them until finding C-20 who had the information they were looking for?

Also I am not entirely sure about the Variant being played by another person. I mean I get it from like a visual storytelling perspective, that it is easier to have two different faces when Loki and the Variant interact, and like, from an acting perspective too. I get that Loki is a shapeshifter, so whatever body he assumes does not necessarily have to look like himself -- in this case Tom Hiddleston -- and I guess some people would have complained about him playing a female version of himself as being drag or a mockery thereof or something, but... I don't know, I am just not entirely sure about it. It just feels very gendered, somehow, if that makes sense. A very "gender is tied to body" kind of thing. But I'm gonna wait until I see more of it before forming more of an opinion.

OVERALL IMPRESSION

An absolutely brilliant and compelling second episode of this show. I am enjoying it tremendously. I completely adore the Loki we get to see in this show and the character dynamic between him and Mobius is so funny and so well done. Loved the reveal of Sophia di Martino as the rogue Loki Variant, and I cannot wait to see more of her in this role. Next Wednesday cannot come soon enough!

[still image taken from imdb page of the episode]