#There's another comic before this one but i keep jumping to random things and haven't had a chance to finish it yet

[cryptidcave-dweller]

S4 is going to break my heart I just know it. So all I can do is a goofy lil comic of the siblings living together with the spawn of Lila and Diego whilst stalking some billionaire.

The new world has incredible technology advancements like the Hargreeves trademarked laptop.

[lost-technology]

In boredom daydreaming, I came up with "Let's jump on the Trisona train." While it's not like I haven't done a self-insert character before in this fandom back in the day when I was very young and cringe, I thought "how would an older, more level-headed and grumpier me take on the new fandom with a self-insert? " I wound up brainstorming something pretty funny - at least to me. Since I have no plans to write any fanfics or do any comics with a self insert, I'll share here, just the silly idea. Shadsie's / Lost-Technology's Trisona Name: Her name is Shadrach Sedona. It is not her real name, it is merely her pen-name because she's found that writing under a name that sounds masculine nets her a better chance at publication. Age: Undisclosed. Personality: Extremely introverted. Lives out in the middle of nowhere with her toma and a lot of cats. Comes into December once every month or so to drop off her manuscripts and to get her royalties from her publisher, Badlands Press. Her boss knows her real name and gender but has agreed to keep her out of public appearances per her request because her books sell well / make them a mint. (She'll tell you she's underpaid if you ask her). Career: Writer / novelist. She actually has a couple of decent novels to her name, but by and far her regular bread and butter is writing a lot of cheesy "dime novel" novellas, generally adventure novels about explorers traveling the wastes and criminals and their exploits. Noman's land seems to have bandit-magazines, so she caters to that market. By FAR her most popular series of "hack dribble" (her own description) novellas are chronicles of the infamous outlaw, Vash the Stampede. "Vash and the Great Train Robbery" is a particular favorite among the young adult crowd. Shad's Secret to Success: She does not believe that "Vash the Stampede" is a real person. She believes him to be some kind of legend or cryptid or something that the governments of Nomansland made up to excuse away their own poor infrastructure maintenance and problems with the Plants. As such, she pulls her "real life outlaw stories" about him out of her ass. Although, strangely, coincidentally, some of her made-up stories parallel things that actually happen. You see, since she thinks that the character is this fake scapegoat of the government, she sometimes wends little government-critical subversive things into her stories, hence a book about "Vash" taking on a corrupt sheriff and another where he fixed an ailing plant with his laser-vision. (She decided to go really over the top on that one). Circumstances for meeting the main cast of buddies: Well, wouldn't you know it? Vash enjoys collecting her books about "him." He finds them amusing - utterly wrong, but amusing. He doesn't think about it much until the very latest book in the series comes out titled "The Origin of Vash the Stampede!!!" (three exclamation points). It makes the BOLD claim, and I do mean BOLD that VASH IS HALF-PLANT! Vash... thought "Oh, shit, this is too close to reality, does this author KNOW? DO THEY KNOW?!" and since this random stranger hack-novel writer person seemed to know too much about him, he just had to track them down. Of course, this, like many of their other stories, was one that Shad pulled straight out of their ass. Their boss wanted them to do something "romantic" or "sexy." They chose to write something that would make him never ask for that again - namely a very detailed, graphic and bizarre description for two chapters of a plant-engineer assaulting a captive Plant. Not Shad's proudest work, but something she'd hope would get her boss to leave her alone. And well, it explained all of the Superman-powers she'd been giving the fictional Vash in her books lately. Who knows what a half-Plant can do? (To be continued because tumblr is a butt about post-length)...

[ordinaryschmuck]

Why I (Want to) Love Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure

Salutations random people on the internet who most likely won’t read this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

When I heard Disney was making an animated series based on Tangled, acting as a continuation from the original movie, my initial thought was, "Why?"

Sure, Disney is infamous for its unnecessary sequels of the story after happily ever after, with the many, many, many failures that follow suit. Even then, though, most of these continuations were movies that kind of have the potential to tell more of a story. But what more could be said about Tangled? Sorry to spoil a movie that's over ten years old at this point, but by the end of it: Rapunzel lost her golden hair, was reunited with her parents, fell in love, and lived happily ever after. Her losing the golden hair is the most essential part of that list because how can you do a series based on a Disney princess when her most iconic feature is gone? Then I found out that the series forced a way for her hair to come back, and my new initial thought became, "Oh man. This is gonna suck, isn't it?"

Despite the hesitation, I decided to give it a chance anyway. After all, I've been pleasantly surprised before. Things like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, and even The Owl House (yes, really), were shows (and a movie) that I didn't think would be that special. Only to find myself enjoying nearly every minute. So after watching Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, I can certainly say I was surprised...but it was entirely for the wrong reasons.

And to explain how requires spoilers. So if you haven't checked the series out yet, I highly suggest you do it to form your own opinion. Just keep in mind that it's a bit of a mess, but it can be an enjoyable mess...sometimes...let me explain.

WHAT I LIKED

The Animation/Art Style: The series swapping from 3D to 2D might have been the most brilliant decision anyone could have ever made with this series. Usually, when an animated movie gets turned into a show, the most noticeable downgrade is always the animation. Whether it’s not as detailed or not as fluid, it's always subjective that the movie is better animated than the series. But by switching up the styles, the contrast becomes objective instead. 2D and 3D animation each have their pros and cons, so deciding which one is better is nothing more than a matter of opinion. So by changing the style, Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure avoids getting complaints of being a downgrade from the original movie. It also helps that the art style of the series is really unique.

The best way to describe how the show looks is that it's like a coloring book brought to life. At times, everything looks like it was drawn and colored in with crayons, which sounds like an insult, but in actuality, it's one of the best features of the series. As much as I love most animated shows nowadays, I will admit, they all look a little too similar at times. Then here comes Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, which tries to incorporate a whole new style that successfully sets it apart from most shows.

As for the animation itself, it's really well-made! It's remarkably expressive when required, while the movements are really fluid during the correct scenes. Sure the fighting can be a little floaty during some action set pieces (yes, those exist here), but the dialogue and comedic moments are really where the series shines with its animation. I may have problems with the series as a whole, but I give credit where credit is due for the perfectly executed effort that I see in every episode in terms of animation.

Rapunzel and Eugene’s relationship: This was not something I was expecting to enjoy from the series. In the movie, Rapunzel and Eugene were fine. They were the typical Disney couple that worked off of each other enough that it was always entertaining, even if it was unbelievable that they fell deeply in love with each other after, like, two days. They weren't bad, but they weren't anything to go crazy over.

But the writers for the series said, "You know what, let's make these two adorable in nearly every scene they're in." And they are!

Even though I don't believe in their relationship in the movie, I fully believe it here. Both characters have a large amount of faith in one another on top of having endless love for their partner. Like how Eugene knew Rapunzel would be fine when taking out an airship or how Rapunzel couldn't bring herself to say a bad thing about Eugene when making Cassandra a sparring dummy of him. It's legitimately pleasant to watch, to the point where I put Rapunzel and Eugene in my top ten list of favorite fictional couples. They're that good to me, and it's one of the reasons why I don't jump on the bandwagon of shipping the two main female characters together. I'm all for LGBTQA+ representation, but give Cassandra her own girlfriend. Rapunzel's taken, and most of my enjoyment of this show comes from her and her man. So, you know, keep things as they are.

Cassandra (Seasons One and Two): Seeing how I've already mentioned her, let's talk about Cassandra, shall we? Because when making a series based on a movie that had only four prominent characters, with two of them being comedic animal sidekicks, you're going to need to introduce more members to the main cast to write more potential stories. And Cassandra, in Seasons One and Two (I'll get to Season Three), is a worthy addition. She acts as a strict straight man (I know the irony) who interacts well with Rapunzel and clashes perfectly with Eugene on occasion. She was passably entertaining in Season One and developed amazingly in Season Two. Her growing frustrations with Rapunzel's actions lead to a slow build-up that made her betrayal heartbreaking but somewhat understandable. And as for the results in that betrayal...yeah, I'll get into that later. For now, I'll just say that Cassandra was a pleasant addition to the main cast, especially when she was a part of the main trio, and she's yet another good surprise that the writers supplied for the series.

The Songs: The songs are...not going to be for everyone. Most of them are passable yet kind of generic, while others sound like they belong on Disney Junior (Looking at you, "Bigger Than That"). But when Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure makes a hit, MAN, it is a home run. Numbers like "Ready As I'll Ever Be" and "Nothing Left to Lose" are sung phenomenally, orchestrated well, and are songs I can listen to on repeat multiple times. And "Waiting in the Wings" is not only something I consider to be the best song in the series, but it's also something I'd place as high up on Disney's best due to how f**king incredible it is. "Waiting in the Wings" is a powerful ballad that manages to be both tragic yet inspiring on top of how well it sums up Cassandra as a character. The writers may not always be on top of their game when it comes to music, but songs like these prove that they know how to earn that Disney name.

And that’s all I have for the likes...Oh boy. That’s not a good thing is it?

WHAT I DISLIKED

It Peaked at Season One: It did. It really did.

Season One felt like the writers had a grip on what type of show they wanted: A slice-of-life series with Rapunzel dealing with the issues of her kingdom with a meager threat of these black rocks growing in the background. It was all cute and well-balanced for the most part, but that all disappears in Season Two. Because now it's sort of about this adventure, but because Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure set itself as a slice-of-life series, there need to be these small-scale stories that intertwine the grand narrative being told. The issue is that the story comes to a grinding halt one too many times as fans are forced to sit through these filler episodes that, while not all of them are bad, still feel like a distraction. And by Season Three, the series does feel more focused while having some slice-of-life episodes added to the ongoing story instead of distracting us from it. But the writing isn't as strong, there are several plot holes in the narrative (how did Rapunzel's sunstone get into her dress?), and there is way too much time going back and forth on Cassandra's morality. They claim that she's a villain while arguing that there might still be some good in her, and they continue this train of thought for nine episodes when it really could have been settled in two. For me, it's a bad sign for a series when the first season is the best one. Because if it's all downhill from there, what's the point of even watching?

It Tries to be Epic: This might have been the worst decision the writers could have made.

Now, here's the thing: I don't mind grand epic tales of adventure and battles against demons. If anything, I'm all for them...when it's appropriate and fits with the tone of the series.

Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure suffers a similar problem Frozen II has, in which the writers felt like a big, life-threatening adventure was the perfect continuation of a meager, personal story about the relationships of characters. It isn't. If anything, it's completely missing the mark about what the original story was about. And sure, sometimes writers can succeed in telling personal stories through grand adventures. Just look at The Owl House and parts of Amphibia. But with those shows, it's established within the first few episodes that action and peril will be a series staple. With Tangled, while there was some action and peril, it's all very subdued compared to how high the stakes got raised in later episodes in the show. Especially in the series finale.

And, I mean, c'mon. You're making Rapunzel an action hero?

Judy Hopps? Yes.

Moana? Maybe.

Raya? Most definitely.

But Rapunzel? The character who’s all about optimism and seeing the best of others. That's the character you're going to morph into a hero that fights against an evil demon laid dormant for years? Did you even watch the original movie? Yeah, sorry, but I just don't buy it.

If you want to tell an epic story that gets the blood pumping for fans addicted to adventure, go for it! See where the wind takes you. But make sure to set that tone as early as possible while also making sure that it fits with the characters. If not, the end result is a series that feels like it's trying to be something it’s not.

Eugene is Kind of an Idiot at Times: It should be noted that Movie-Eugene and Series-Eugene are practically two different characters. In the film, Eugene was more or less the straight man, as he often questions the wackiness in the world around him and keeping Rapunzel grounded in reality. For the series, most of that personality got transferred to Cassandra. Thus making Eugene's new role in the series act as the egotistical imbecile. Sure, he had those moments in the film, but not as frequently, and it really pains me when the writers really lean hard into a minor aspect of his personality. Sometimes there are moments when Eugene acts like his original self. But it's all small scenes that are spread apart with entire episodes where he has half a brain cell. I'm sure some people didn't mind this change to the character, but as someone who adores the movie version of Eugene, I can't help but feel disappointed.

The Villains are the Worst: Now, I don't mean the one-off villains that show up, cause some chaos for a bit, and disappear at the end of the episode. Those are characters with fun personalities, occasionally cool designs, and do their job as villains of the week. It doesn't matter if their motivations are laughably simple, as their purpose is to be enjoyable characters above anything else. So I actually enjoy those villains...it's the ones that act as season-long antagonists that really grind my gears.

The purpose behind these types of foes is to build up how evil they are throughout the season. The issue is that the writers try to give these characters, or at least two of them, a point. To be fair, this can work. Just look at Killmonger from Black Panther and sometimes Karli Morgenthau from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. You understand and probably even sympathize with the logic and reasoning these characters have. It's just that their actions couldn't be farther from what you would do. The problem with Varian and Cassandra is that they have the motivation, but it's not written suitably for the story.

Cassandra is a whole can of worms I'll get to in a minute, but Varian is someone I can easily discuss for a brief time. Because while I can comprehend his pain for having his father frozen in yellow rock, I don't think turning evil is the best decision to go with that character. Because A. Everything is his fault. He blames Rapunzel for not helping him, but even if she didn't have a crisis to deal with, there was nothing she could have done to stop it. His frustrations are not only unjustified, but given the fact that this wouldn't have happened if he listened to his father in the first place, it feels like him becoming evil is too drastic of a turn. And B. Varian worked much better as a supporting character rather than a primary antagonist. He was just this hopeful, if not a clumsy scientist who wanted to prove himself, who causes minor catastrophes due to not thinking ahead. Turning a character like Varian into a villain is a bit of a misstep because if the guy acts hilariously incompetent as a good guy, it makes little sense to have him be intelligent and ten steps ahead of Rapunzel when being evil. If he were to become more serious and careful when helping the rest of the main cast, I'd consider that character progression done properly. But becoming a villain is just an overreaction.

However, none of that compares with my issues with the main antagonist of the series: Zhan Tiri. This goes back to my problems with the series making itself too epic. Because if Zhan Tiri existed in any other show, I probably wouldn't have any problem with her. She's built up well throughout all three seasons and is kind of threatening at times. But she doesn't belong in a series based on a movie that dealt with a small, personal issue where it wasn't even the character who killed the villain in the end. It was her love interest and animal sidekick. Even if Zhan Tiri works well as a character, the fact that it doesn't feel like she belongs in the show makes her too distracting to enjoy. And that's why these villains suck. If not poorly written, they don't belong in a series that should focus on small-scale issues. And if you can functionally write an antagonist that appears for only one episode but flounder with ones that show up in several, well, that's just embarrassing.

Cassandra (Season 3): OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH BOY, do I have some words to express with this character. Like with Movie-Eugene and Series-Eugene, Cassandra from Seasons One and Two is frustratingly different from the psychotic IDIOT from Season Three. Basically, just take the issues I have with Varian, multiply them by ten, add them with some bafflingly stupid decisions, and you still wouldn't get how much Season Three-Cassandra frustrates me!

First off, her motivation...what the f**k were the writers thinking? The big reason why Cassandra betrays Rapunzel and motivates all of her misdeeds was that Cassandra's mother was Mother Gothal...EXPLAIN THAT LOGIC TO ME?! Because Cassandra should know what type of woman Mother Gothal was. She should know what Mother Gothal did to Rapunzel in the first eighteen years of her life. So how is Cassandra being abandoned by Gothal the central motivator to cut ties with Rapunzel, who is probably an even bigger victim in this scenario!? Seriously, Rapunzel was cut off from the rest of the world and treated as an unknowing prisoner because she was beneficial to Gothal. Cassandra was adopted into a household with mutual love and got to actually live her life. In no way does it make sense for her to be angry at Rapunzel.

Nor does it make sense that the writers try to play it off as a good thing in the song "Crossing the Line!" Sure, it sounds nice, but thematically, it gives across the opposite feelings that the audience should have. Because if Cassandra cutting ties with Rapunzel is meant to be tragic and awful, why is the music suggesting it's the best possible thing that's ever happened for the character? If you like the song, fine, but even you have to admit that it's thematic nonsense.

But, sure. Cassandra's evil now, and she considers it a good thing. Whatever. I'll take it as long as it leads to good stories...but here's the thing: In the penultimate episode before the three-part series finale, Cassandra asks a question. A question I would have never expected her to ask, despite everything that has happened in the last season. A question that was so baffling, I had to legitimately pause the episode to process the fact that she asked something so stupid. Because Cassandra, the character who is intelligent and grounded in reality, asked, "Am I the bad guy?"

I was honestly shocked to find out she was shocked! How, in the flying, everlasting, cock-a-doodle-doodling F**K does a person like her not pick up that maybe, just maybe, she isn't the hero in this story!? Call me crazy, but endangering the lives of people you once called friends and family, dressing in black, AND HAVING A GIANT EVIL-LOOKING TOWER MADE OUT OF F**KING SPIKES aren't qualities I would give to a hero!

If Cassandra was like Thanos, a character so wrapped up in his ego that he can't even notice how evil he is, I would understand. But she doesn't have an ego. Anger, yes. But for the most part, her personality is based on having logic and reasoning. So turning her into a villain and having her unaware that she's a villain is an act of lunacy that I am incapable of understanding. I don't know who's idea this was, but whoever is to blame...you've got issues.

>Sighs<...This series isn't good, is it?

IN CONCLUSION

I like the animation and some of the characters...but that's not enough. Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure is a mess of a show that tries to do too much for a story that should have so little. Meaning that it's a D+ for me. I want to enjoy it and give it a higher grade, especially with how much I hear people praise this series. And if you do enjoy it, all the power to you. Your opinions are valid, even if I highly disagree with them. Because for me, this is a show that I won't get myself tangled up in again in the future.

[bobshollyworld-blog]

Weekly Roundup #3

So glad to be continuing this for the third week, and what a week it was. This has been my largest haul so far, with over twenty figures (and that's not even including multipacks or duplicates). I'm proud of myself. This week we've got a healthy mix of 90s figures (I'm suddenly very wet), Marvel Infinite/Universe figures and some other things. Let's check it out!

Straight out of the gate we've got some 90s figures. Woot woot! These came from the 90s figure plug herself, Debbie from Dundalk. These captured my interest for a number of reasons; the Peter Parker looks cool with his articulation and camera accessory, while Black Tom will pair nicely with Juggernaut. I had to get the Morph for his awesome 90s blue and yellow colour scheme.

From the nineties we jump right to the most recently made figures. These Star Wars Black Series figures are a first for me, as I've never owned a Star Wars figure before. I've had Micromachines, but that's a horse of a different colour. I haven't even seen Rogue One yet. If I'm being honest, these will likely be sold, as that was my intentions behind buying them. The Jyn figure would be nice to add to my personal collection, but I'd rather just get some funds back.

Back to the nineties. Damn, I'm all over the place. Let me start by saying that the level of articulation on these Kenner figures just can't compare to what Toybiz was doing at the time. But that's fine. These guys are just as vibrant and accurate as anything. These costumes smell like the 90s, and I'm glad to own these. Another thanks goes to Debbie.

3.75 inch figures for my growing collection. Again, this scale is quickly becoming my favourite, as they have quite the bit of articulation, especially for their size. The Hydra Soldier (which I would like to get more of for army building) came from Debbie, while all the others came from a local comic book shop. Out of this lot, my favourite are the Skrull Soldiers, which I would also like at least two more for the same reasons I want more Hydra Soldiers. The Odin and Volstagg are meh, but I want to build an entire 3.75 inch Asgard, and I can't do that without these guys.

More 3.75 inch figures, this time from DC Multiverse. I'm sad that these are so much shorter than what Marvel offers, although Marvel tends to make their figures too tall at times. I'm happy with the Azrael, however, because his red is so vibrant.

This is that bit of random I talked about in the intro. We have my third overall Ultraforce character with Ghoul, and I actually don't care about the figure so much as I care about the casket accessory he's packaged with. That thing can come in handy with a Halloween diorama, as well as casket matches. I bought the Katana because I bought the other six figures in the line for my daughters, though I'm keeping this girl for myself. You can never have too many females or minority characters, and she checks both of those boxes. The Mulan figure is a pride piece of sorts as Mulan is my favourite Disney film (as well as being a top ten film in general for me). I saw the figure and figured I'm buy her. She and Katana came from Marshalls, while Debbie supplied the Ghoul.

As usual, I've saved the best for last. The Spider-Man Noir is from a seller on LetGo, while the Star-Lord and Yondu 2-pack are from eBay. The likeness of Michael Rooker is amazing. The Daredevil and Defenders of Asgard came from a local comic book store. I was searching online for that particular 2-pack but wasn't ready (or willing) to spend 20$ on it. I ended up buying them for only 6$. Two more Asgardians for the win!

There you have it, folks. Another week and another bounty in the bag! I don't know if my wallet can sustain another haul like this. Lol. Only time will tell. See you next week.

-Bob Hollywood, 30 July 2018