#I loved all the little Casper and nova bits

[t3a-gh0st]

THAT WAS SO NOTHING LIKE I COULD HAVE THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA BE BUT HOLY SHIT IT WAS GREAT

I have felt every single emotion possible in the last hour holy shit

[amberh789]

This is an appreciation post for the things I flippin loved in the last two episodes of Fionna and Cake!

First of all I was so happy to see Shermy and Beth, I really liked the sequences of them in the future land of Ooo and seeing them again brought me back.

I literally love that plot of Simon's mind being sent to Shermy for some reason, I like the detail of his ears going down to represent Simon's hair, and the cut-off's to Shermy's screaming xD It did seem a little random but we got to see Shermy and Beth again so I'm not complaining.

This brings me to the Casper and Nova part which I flippin ADORE! The scene with them flipping through the book was satisfying to me?? In some random way? Not only do I love the 3D-8-bit idk what to call it style of the game, the animated version was amazing.

JUST LOOK AT IT! The clay-like backgrounds and animation, the colors, the shading style, everything about this looks so nostalgic and amazing!! It kind of reminds me of that Tom and Jerry Tales show in a way, or those differently animated bits in Gumball. Wow!!

And this being a metaphor to help Simon realize all the sacrifices Betty made for him, and all of this leading to that flashback of him at the bustop. After realizing this, he wondered what could've been if he chose a different path, but just like the book...

You can't just go back and choose a different option. I flippin love how they showed this through Casper and Nova's book, and I also love Betty admitting they didn't make the greatest choices, but never regretting her love for Simon. I also love Capser and Nova being the result of Simon and Astrid being a good terms.

It's been shown that Simon is a dad at heart, and I was hoping they'd bring Astrid back in a way that related to that. Fionna and Simon started off the same, where he came off as a rude, sad old man. Once he told her more about himself, she finally saw him as who he is. I have a feeling the same happened with Astrid, where he told her stories of his life and she began to see him as Simon Petrikov instead of The Ice King, because she drew him in her sketchbook.

And he no doubt told her stories of Betty, which definitely inspired Casper and Nova's relationship. This is really sweet because in the beginning she only cared for his Fionna and Cake stories, those of which weren't actually his own. Now he tells her stories of his life that we see he's happy to talk about, and she was so invested in them it inspired an entire book.

Last thing that I want to talk about is this. Congratulations to Simon for getting therapy! You've got this.

[trevanent]

I think one thing I will say about the finale was that the most problematic aspect of the concept of the show was how it feels like they had to use the Fionna and Cake plot to Trojan horse a resolution to a swathe of loose ends Simon and Betty's arcs had. They pulled it off even better than I ever wanted to let myself hope for for the most part but I would say my main issue if anything was how cramped the finale felt when I think they could have left a lot more up to season 2 speculations (especially with the resolutions for the alt universes, they didn't really feel necessary when they basically just had to egg Scarab).

I feel I liked the understated melancholies of seeing Simon recontextualized and kinda infantilized in that temporary form hosting his mind, and some people have said the Casper and Nova thing felt hamfisted but I thought the vibes were too cute to care that it wasn't particularly "efficient" as far as metaphors go, but that does slow down the pace which probably crunched the ending a little harder :'). But it also worked in further showing the sad side-effect of the crown on Simon's relationships, including that of stunting his ability to have ever matured in his understandings of love and his relationship with Betty. I also think their last scene in the memory worked because it was Simon reconsidering how he viewed their relationship for the first time, even if his attempt to do for Betty what she did for him would have just been an inversion of their original flaw, the scene rests on them understanding it's unchangeable anyway, so that decision doesn't matter so much and it's not something for Simon to dwell on.

I also feel I liked the scene a lot in spite of how scarce it felt in the finale was because of what was most conspicuously unaddressed, which was just the sheer logistical impossibility of any different choices they made having possibly been any "better." It sticks out because Betty says they could have made better choices, which kinda seems to situate their relationship in a vacuum as if there wasn't a very high likelihood had they done anything different at that crossroads, they would have just been literally nuked into orbit regardless. Sure, it seems like enough time had passed for them to have worked out their relationship better at least and then died, but that kinda seems better by an arbitrarily less tragic amount, and really it seems the least tragic possibilities ever were either that they conceive their relationship more healthily, Simon finds the crown and protects Betty from exploding somehow and also doesn't warp her to the future, and they live some terrible survival life but at least they get a chance to live something kinda fulfilling and Betty probably would have taken care of Ice King decently for the remainder of her life once Simon was gone while also having a better understanding of what had happened to him. The only other hand would be that she also was still warped to the future he finds the crown but Simon had not enabled her self-sacrificial tendencies and so she becomes less undividedly obsessed with saving him and instead integrates into Ooo more properly and also accepts what had become of him (I find it hard to think she would have just let him die either way though lmao).

That all said, they had been around a long time to have reflected over everything. I think it is a bit of an issue that they don't really allude to that, but I find it easy to believe that they did recognize how thwarted a happy ending would ever be for them by all angles of their reality, yet they still had that tender ache of that simple and small tragedy just between them two that still exists within the torrent of catastrophe that engulfed them and the breadth of their fate. So much horror in their lives but they reconnect and find themselves primarily concerned with that last regret of not having been able to make the ideal relationship they quite thought they had.

[theywontletmebeprincipal]

okay I've watched Fionna and Cake and WOW I enjoyed it a LOT more than I originally thought I would.

I had to sit with the last episode for a while. Trying to decide my feelings on it, you know? My first reaction to how they painted Simon and Betty's relationship was that they did that so the audience could better cope with Simon's choice to move on. Thought about it more and yeah, I was wrong. It just removed the rose-colored glasses. I think the one thing I didn't like was Beth spelling the whole thing out, like yeah I got it. The chose your own adventure allegory worked! I got it. I like the last episode! The part when GolBetty was still protecting Simon when Scarab kept trying to fuck with him got me emotional

Winter King was the biggest tumblrsexyman bait I have EVER seen- selfcest bait and all! Pretty funny, I respect it.

Loved both what Gary and Marshall Lee were doing and what was happening with the main characters. I wasn't sure if I would be too interested in them, but fucking. I got invested in the baking!

BRO THE THEME SONG!?!?! I had only seen the one for the first episode beforehand, so the real intro was a surprise to me! I love it!

Trying to organize my thoughts is hard uuhh just I liked it and will probably rewatch it :]

1. ok the thing about the choose your own adventure allegory isn’t that it’s just that. I thought it was the one weak aspect at first too but in the ending sequence there’s a reveal that totally recontextualizes it

remember the little girl who wanted to be a writer because of ice king’s fionna and cake books? she sketches casper and nova during that sequence. casper and nova isn’t just some random allegory they pulled in — it’s HER BOOK. those are her ocs based off of the stories simon told her about him and betty, and ultimately it was that girl’s portrayal of them, not beth’s explanation, that made him realize what was going on

re: beth, I think it was at least a very interesting dynamic. simon is usually paired with characters either much younger than him or just less worldly than him, and he’s very book/world smart, so I think people tend to forget how immature he can be. ice king was just simon to the extreme after all, not to mention the way simon acts in the earlier episodes (him refusing to run from scarab because he just doesn’t feel like it is a great example). he’s a very smart guy but sometimes he gets so caught up in that that he doesn’t step back to consider anything except surface level logic. pair that with him going slightly mad with worry and I fully understand why beth thought he was shermy doing a bit

simon isn’t childish per se, but there’s a lot of things he doesn’t know because he doesn’t ever really look outside his own perspective, and I like how casper and nova illustrated that. simon has always been this sort of fatherly figure that everyone else admires but nobody else sees the worth in, he’s always trying to shoulder so much for no reason. there’s been this imagery the whole season of simon caring for people younger than him (baby finn, normal finn, fionna, astrid, etc) but he never actually lets himself be cared for. so it makes sense that him being given the grace that a kid would be given and ultimately realizing his wrongdoing after seeing himself through the eyes of a child would be a thing that happens

2. you’re so right about gumlee me too man. the scene where they kissed while pb n marcy were hurtling to their toxic codependent yuri deaths was crazy. holy shit

3. I honestly think there’s a LOT to winter king I have a couple posts worth of analysis on it. I think the idea of simon doing something so wildly unethical is very fascinating I loved watching him spiral into madness. slay

4. the biggest surprise for me I think was cake’s arc? like looking back I totally should’ve seen it coming but it was I think my favorite ongoing plotline from the show. her wishes being at odds with fionna’s presented this really interesting dynamic that finn and jake never had and the way she was a narrative foil to simon was like. ohhhh that was fucking evil of the writers . simon desperately wanting to destroy his mind and cake desperately wanting to keep hers. the way that translates into their dynamic with each other. the terrifying dawning realization that fionna might prefer her non sentient. of course it isn’t true, but it would’ve felt that way, no?

also just fucking. “everybody dies. they should get to die as themselves.” “fionna, I am myself. like this.” what if I spontaneously combusted killing everyone in a 3 mile radius. what then

[madd-rot]

ITS PICREW TIME BABY

EVERYONE MEET MY FOUR BASTARD ASSASSIN PARAS AKA THE ELITES IM CURRENTLY HYPER FOCUSED ON, (TW: Body ketchup (blood) in a few picrews)

(COLOUR LINKS TO THE MAINLAND THEY’RE FROM: Avraenia, Mavica, Aulden and Wispia)

Kajus Lorano

The type that watches Casper and Phoenix doing dumb stuff

He looks really serious but he’s a huge softie

Fluffy hair fluffy hair fluffy hair fluffy hair

He’s had such a fucked up life so on god do not touch those he wants to protect

If you go downstairs for a midnight snack and turn on the kitchen light he WILL be sat cross legged on the counter

HE LOVES HIS SWORDS

I have no idea how he survives the other three

Half mother friend but also half excitable kid

Really hates doors after he tripped when it caught on his robe and ripped it

Save this guy from the bored bastard that is Casper please

The ONLY one of the Elites that hasn’t entered Bloodlust*

*Bloodlust: A state only a trained assassin can enter, those in Bloodlust have heightened abilities and pure focus on the target, only the strongest can resist losing themselves to Bloodlust and having their minds shatter forever

He’s the newest guy to join Elites so naturally he was terrified with Casper and Phoenix’s little partner in crime schemes

A baby once threw up on his robe (his poor robe wtf) and not only was he horrified but Casper was in fits of fucking laughter and still makes fun of him for it

Casper Verlice

The type that joins Phoenix doing dumb stuff

A stinkman bastard that’s scared of cats

He has the potential to beat Phoenix but he doesn’t care enough to do anything

Annoys the FUCK out of Kajus for shits and giggles

“You issue. Fix it.” 24/7

Aulden messed this boy up I swear

He’s way too bored for his own good

Probably the most infuriating smug bitch out there but that’s just an Aulden thing

A whole bisexual playboy this dude needs to keep it in his pants

When Casper is in Bloodlust this boy goes crazy, at first everyone thought he’d lost it but nope he just actually became interested

Everytime someone says his name it’s usually in disappointment, panic or straight up anger

If you’re cheering for one side he’ll root for the other just to piss you off

A sassy menace that no one is safe from

Why does the aulden government still hire him? They dont know, he doesnt know, nobody knows

Kajus once caught him singing in the shower and still brings it up to this day

A literal enemy of Avraenia after drawing a penis on an important document during infiltration

Nova Angelo

The type that tries to stop Phoenix and Casper doing dumb stuff

A tired parent friend

Respects Kajus, On the verge of killing Casper and needs a break from Phoenix

Mavica’s pride and joy I swear, the government love him

The oldest of the elites

The only thing keeping all hell breaking loose between these three oh my god

L’Oreal because ur worth it type hair shit

He’s also been through so much wtf

Ironically he adores cats and its the only bit of power he holds over Casper

And by that I mean he has Neko Atsume on his phone and shows Casper the game just to irritate him

He’s not the most violent elite but trust me he is dangerous when he wants to be

Most chill music taste out of them all

He has his weird moments as well trust me he is not as “cool” as half of Aturah believes

Bloodlust Nova is absolutely terrifying swear down, even Phoenix is afraid of him then

He may be responsible but not even he is immune to joining in with the Elites dumbass plans

Phoenix Cassidy

The type that not only suggests doing dumb stuff but carries it out with Casper

MANCHILD

Half of the reason he gets away with the shit he does is because Wispia’s Brotherhood all look up to him

This boy literally took over one of the lesser lands and turned it into a HQ

You can usually find him clinging to Nova

Short king that likes to feel tall

The top assassin of Aturah and cannot get enough of the title

Top assassin 100% comes from his Bloodlust state, he becomes extremely calm and calculating. A massive 180 to his regular self

DON’T interrupt his music when he’s listening to it

He is the youngest of the elites

Boy does NOT want Kajus taking his title and will will always try to fight him, it’s scary but hilarious to watch this short ass bitch try and take on a 5’11” guy with a sword

He is wanted in literally all mainlands and most lesser lands for his sheer chaos

You’d expect Phoenix to get paid better with how powerful he is but here he is BEGGING Nova for money