#and cut to now and people are fine with an adult reboot like what

[sweetmariihs2]

The resemblance between The Onceler and the abandoned Thneed Inc with Mad Hatter and his industry from Alice Madness Returns

(this post is not a joke, HEAR ME OUT ON THIS) (i'll show pics)

I wish I could add a cute cover here but I have already reached my image limit.

My Onceler/Dr Seuss hyperfocus started last month. When I start to like something, I try to find similarities between this something and other stuff that I like and I recently discovered that Mad Hatter from Alice Madness Returns and The Onceler have some really similar details. HEAR ME OUT.

I'm assuming that you already knows who the Onceler is since most of the people do, but in case you don't;

Who is the Onceler?

The Onceler is a character from The Lorax, and I will be talking about both the book and movie versions of him. According to this fandom wiki, "The Once-ler is the narrator of The Lorax and the 2012 film adaptation of the same name. He was a greedy industrialist who cut down all of the multicolored Truffula Trees to make a multipurpose garment known as a Thneed, a "Fine-Thing-That-All-People-Need." He is currently a recluse who lives in his Lerkim, plagued by the guilt of what he had done to the forest."

And,

Who is the Mad Hatter?

The Mad Hatter is a character from American McGees Alice and Alice Madness Returns (games 1 and 2), a retelling of the original tale of Alice In Wonderland. According to this fandom wiki, "The Mad Hatter is a resident of Wonderland who Alice Liddell is acquainted with, as she met him during her first visit to Wonderland, along with the March Hare and Dormouse. During Alice's incarceration in Rutledge Asylum, he snapped, and became a half-organic, half-metallic rendition of his former self. It is unclear why Hatter became Alice's enemy. This may be as a result of a hard reboot of Wonderland. [...] He remained a fanatic of time, but was no longer the tea party-loving hatter that Alice once knew. From his domain, Hatter began torturing Alice's friends and the residents of Wonderland, transforming many into mechanical automatons. He was later killed by Alice, but revived when Wonderland returned to its former state. Sometime during Alice's stay in Houndsditch, he became the victim of the Hare and Dormouse, now the rulers of his former domain."

If you know the Onceler, you can already point out some similarities from only this description. I don't really know how to start, if I should make a huge text and divide in paragraphs, but I decided I'm just going to divide it in topics.

The similarities:

Their lore:

In the 2012 movie, Onceler started as a nice guy but had his downfall similar to the book. In the 1972 cartoon, he was never a really nice guy and the events are exactly like they were shown in the book (Because Dr Seuss himself was involved in the production of this one). What happened was:

Onceler arrived at the Truffula forest searching for material to create a product to sell, his Thneed. He started cutting the trees and make his Thneeds, but he also made friends with the forest animals and the own Lorax himself, a guardian of the trees, and in the movie was overall a nice guy.

When his business start to grow, Onceler left all his morals behind and started to completely decimate the forest and only care about his profit. He cut down all of the trees, threw goo in the river which made the fish go away, threw smoke in the air which made the birds go away, cut the trees and left none of their fruits which made the barbaloot bears go away too. The book says that they went away, but if it was a story for adults we wouldn't get those family friendly descriptions, so some deaths are implied. Specially in the deleted song, "Biggering", which he says "who cares if some things are dying" and that line was replaced for "who cares if some trees are dying" in "How Bad Can I Be?". He harmed the environment and his previous "friends" and forest residents without thinking twice, only to grow his business.

He grows a huge business and factory. He destroys everything and implicitly harms the animals of the forest, but he does not care and only cares about money. In the end, when the last tree was cut and the last bit of his factory material ended, he noticed the big mistake he made. All of the animals turned their backs to him and went away to find somewhere better to live. And he ended up alone, his factory abandoned, his business ruined, living in the dark and dirt, all the fame and glory he had before was left behind. It is also implied that the whole city he funded and the factory workers rejected him since he's all alone and that factory definitely needed workers to help.

The movie has a happy ending when the protagonist Ted hears his story, then Onceler trusts the protagonist to help him and hands him a truffula seed, which Ted plants it again, replanting the forest and having the Lorax come back and make peace with the Onceler.

I would also like to point out how in the book and in the 1972 adaptation Onceler only shows his arms. He is only a pair of arms, and sometimes a pair of arms and a pair of legs. Small detail.

Now for the Mad Hatter;

He was the nice Mad Hatter we know, who enjoys tea parties and is friends with the March Hare and the Dormouse.

When Alice was put in the asylum after the trauma of her family dying in a fire, her mind turned into a mess and her wonderland was affected. The characters changed, and Mad Hatter turned into a distorted, more cruel version of himself. Hatter now had a factory, called "Hatter's Domain", and just like the wiki says since that's the best description I could find, "from his domain, Hatter began torturing Alice's friends and the residents of Wonderland, transforming many into mechanical automatons."

Alice killed him, but he came back after Wonderland was restored in the end of the first game. In the second game, Alice started living in a shelter, and when she came back to Wonderland, Mad Hatter was no longer the boss of the factory, being dethroned by the March Hare and the Dormouse. Because he is half-mechanical and half-human, he was dismantled into parts by the preivous friends that he tortured (those two) and thrown into the factory's dump. His arms and legs were attached to the factory's machines and functioned as parts of them, so the Hatter asks Alice for help in recovering them so that he can become whole again in exchange for helping her with information about what is going on in her head.

Some posters thrown inside the factory here and there show what the March Hare and the Dormouse spoke about him to the workers, being publicly against Hatter. You can see it further on the post.

Their factories:

Both are based on stereotypes of factories, especially those from the industrial revolution, mostly in the case of the Mad Hatter. There are lots of big and small gears, lots of pipes leaking goo, lots of oil and mess, lots of nails, parts and metal everywhere. Onceler's factory is barely shown in both movie and books, so we can't really see much of it. Both of their designs are really crazy and artistic, and dark in their own ways, since Onceler turned everything around his factory into a wasteland, and now that it's abandoned, it's dark, depressing and sad to be at.

About Onceler's Thneed factory, there are two amazing posts made here on Tumblr showing it in detail. You should definitely take a look at them. Post one, post two.

All you can hear in Hatter's Domain are the sound of working machines, tense music and empty space. Sometimes inside the factory you can hear March Hare and Dormouse's voices talking through the speaker to the workers of the almost empty factory: "A bad worker is a dead worker!". There is a song in the soundtrack of Alice Madness Returns for this factory. You can hear the work machines sounds in the back working as a beat to the song.

Edit: and guess what! The song that plays in The Lorax when Ted sees the destroyed forest and the abandoned factory is called Wasteland. In the Alice Madness Returns soundtrack, the previous soundtrack of "Hatter" is called "Wasteland" and it's a battle song. It plays inside the factory too, since there are battles in it.

You see, it's quite dark in them, and they have similar elements. Pollution, mechanics, machines, workers, harm to the environment, and leaders being adored. There is a great roleplay/comics/fanfic/idk how to call it created by amazing artists here on Tumblr called "The Rust Factory", which expands the short story of Onceler's growth, and it has it's own factory workers, called Cap-Lers, but that's a story for another day. You should take a look at it too, it's great.

Mad Hatter apparently has little workers too, called Madcaps. It's not confirmed if they are workers, but they look like the Hatter and they're at his factory for some reason.

In Hatter's Domain, we see dead Dodos everywhere, which represents the torture that those creatures had endured because of that factory. The Lorax is too light to show graphic images of dead animals and blood, specially when these characters in The Lorax are used as comic relief and cute rep, but the damage that the Onceler caused to those animals was implied. I bet that some of them died because of him, as it's hinted in the deleted song. If you want to search for the Dodos in Hatter's Domain, just know that there is body horror! Nothing too heavy, but they're dead animals mixed with metal gears and parts, just like the Hatter, the March Hare and the Dormouse (except that they're alive). It's sad to look, to be honest.

In Mad Hatter's factory, we can see some posters, advertisements and even speeches that remind us of salespeople, often used in satires, etc. I don't know how to describe this in words, but it's easy to understand when seen visually. Like those steryotipical adversiments, "BUY THIS PRODUCT! IT'S BRAND NEW AND WORKS WELL! PRODUCED BY THIS CERTAIN FACTORY, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED!", much like 1800s posters or 1920's-1970's commercials.

The part I want to show starts at the minute 05:10. It's a compilation of voicelines.

Along with these posters.

The factory thing reminds me sooo bad of the Thneed Inc. "THE MAD HATTER MANUFACTURING, INC" "BRAND NEW! NEVER SEEN BEFORE! THROW AN INSTANT TEA PARTY!"

While Onceler has a whole song for this in both the movie and old cartoon, but specifically in the old cartoon, that makes this satire more clear. Specially because The Lorax is a criticism of big corporations, mass production, environmental harm, consumerism. I added this video since it's the only version that shows the full song, but you can see it in the cartoon uploaded on YouTube in a better quality, just not specifically cut.

The color scheme of those factories is also similar. Green, red, white and a bit of gold or bronze. The environments are large and the corridors are tall, the passages, signs and everything are very exaggerated and surreal all the time.

Hatter's factory is quite destroyed, the same thing with Onceler's, the problem is that we can only see the inside of Thneed Inc when it was still working, so everything there is still well taken care of in those scenes and we have no images of how it looked like in the end of the story.

Not to mention the funny-looking, funny-sounding surreal signs. Both of them look like eachother and at the same time resembles their own works and authors (Dr Seuss work and Alice In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll)

They have their own statues. Hatter's is just a head and Onceler's is just his hand. Lmao.

Of course, there are the mechanical assistant hands too.

Their Character Designs;

They are clearly not the same, yes, yes, I know. But they have similarities.

Well, they're definitely green characters. And their hats huge and they are bent. Their clothes also have a bifurcated tail, black pants, white shirts, gloves. I don't know what else, I just like the idea of both of them having green as their main color and wearing a tall, bent hat. That's it 👍

And there's the similarity of only their arms being shown, but Hatter's reasons are a lot darker since he's actually... dismantled.

Now some gifs to finish the post:

Thanks for reading! This took me three hours. It's 3:00 am. Sorry for typos, I'm still learning english.

[edgy-ella]

Thoughts on the Ren and Stimpy reboot

In case you were unaware, Ren and Stimpy is getting a reboot on Comedy Central, and at least one episode of that reboot has been leaked online. For reasons I’ll get to in a bit I won’t share the leak here, but as I’m writing this it’s really easy to find. It doesn’t even seem like Nick/Paramount/Viacom can be bothered to take it down (for now).

When I first heard about this reboot and that it was going to be on Comedy Central instead of Nickelodeon, I had my…reservations. Ren and Stimpy very infamously already had a reboot aimed at adults, and it bombed so bad that half the episodes never made it to air. Granted, I think a lot of that can be pinned on Spike TV letting John K run wild at the time, and John has no involvement in this new reboot (thank god). But then again, neither does anyone else who worked on the original show. Not a good sign.

But hey, who knows. Maybe it’ll be a hidden gem. So, what are my thoughts after watching the leaked episode?

If anything, I’m surprised that this airing on Comedy Central and not Nick. Get rid of a few random swears here and there, and I think it’d fit in fine.

Okay, positives first. I’ve seen some people say that the writers seem “uninterested” in engaging with the original source material, which I don’t think is necessarily true. For one, the main duo is written fairly well. You can tell the writers understand their personalities and how they play off of each other. Even if Ren is highly temperamental and Stimpy doesn’t always understand what Ren wants, you know that they couldn’t live without each other. The reboot leans a little bit more into that 1950s married couple dynamic, with Ren as the beleaguered breadwinner husband and Stimpy as the fussy housewife. I like it! I’m also relieved that they get across that they’re a couple in a way where they don’t have to look at the camera and go “yeah, we’re gay” every other scene.

Billy West returns to voice the two, and he sounds leagues better than he did in Nickelodeon All Star Brawl 2 (which to my knowledge is the last time he voiced them). He’s definitely showing his age and he’s still a little crusty as Ren, but overall he gives a solid performance. His delivery is as great as it’s always been. The writers gave him a lot of fun stuff to work with.

Now, for any Ren and Stimpy fan out there, I’m sure that word feels out of place. Writers. Ren and Stimpy isn’t supposed to be script-based, the storyboard artists are supposed to dictate each episode! And…yeah, you can really feel that shift. In my opinion, this is the show’s greatest weak point—no matter how much research the crew may have put in, their writing style is so intrinsically different from what the show is known for that it doesn’t really feel like Ren and Stimpy.

Once again, I don’t want to discredit their efforts. There’s gross out humor, but its implementation feels very forced. Like, “oh, this is Ren and Stimpy, we have to make things gross.” Many of the best classic Ren and Stimpy episodes like Ren’s Toothache have the plot revolve around something gross or have a key moment in the narrative revolve around Ren getting thrown up on or something, while in the reboot these moments are relegated to simple side gags. You can tell that the tone and content of the original series was on their mind, but the way it’s written and produced is so different that it never really feels the same.

The reboot’s also weirdly tame. Again, this is meant for Comedy Central, not Nickelodeon. South Park airs on Comedy Central. They have room to go all out. I’m not asking for them to push it too far like with Adult Party Cartoon, but at the same time, nothing here really feels that adult.

Here’s an example of what I mean. The first segment of the leaked episode has the pair die, with Stimpy going to heaven and Ren getting sent to hell (the bit where angel Stimpy looks around asking where Ren instantly cutting away to Ren falling into the fiery pit of hell got me, I have to admit). Ren is appointed the new head of torture in hell, a job he relishes in. I was excited to see how this would play out. My favorite Ren and Stimpy episodes typically revolve around Ren slowly going insane (Stimpy’s Invention, Stimpy’s Fan Club, Insomniac Ren, etc), so him inflicting that torment upon others sounded like a fun concept. In particular, my brain went to that segment in Man’s Best Friend where Ren beats the everloving shit out of George Liquor with an oar. According to John K, this sequence was so considered so gruesome back in the day that Nickelodeon refused to let the episode air. Indeed, it remained as a banned episode until being repackaged as a makeshift pilot for Adult Party Cartoon. Now we’re on Comedy Central, the same network that has proudly aired South Park for decades now. What did the reboot do with this idea?

Nothing!

They don’t do anything fun with Ren being in charge of torturing sinners in hell. In fact, they don’t do anything interesting with hell at all! It feels incredibly safe and sanitized in a way that Ren and Stimpy really shouldn’t. Instead, the focus of the episode revolves around Stimpy trying to get Ren to reform and Ren refusing to torture Stimpy once he’s told he has to. Moral learned, status quo reset by the end.

Once again, I feel like this is the result of the reboot being script based instead of storyboard based like the original. I’m sure most storyboard artists out there would love a chance to show Ren living his best life in hell with him graphically torturing and mutilating every other poor soul in there. I’m sure most storyboard artists would kill to really make hell as demented and chaotic as hell ought to be in a show like this. That’s not to discredit the storyboard artists that actually worked on the reboot, but I sense that they’ve been put on a leash.

Should we need to point fingers at anyone for this, I’d say point them at the directors and producers. The writers are just doing their jobs, it’s not their fault that this intrinsically isn’t the type of project they should be leading. Same for the board artists. But the people calling the shots dictating how things should be run obviously don’t get Ren and Stimpy and what gives the show its distinct edge.

Also, if the lady from the second segment becomes a permanent addition to the cast, I’m ending it all.

One last thing I’d like to add is that the leak was originally posted on archive.org, which, uh…please don’t do that? Archive.org is already under heavy fire from lawmakers, don’t give more fuel for the fire. Post it on Dailymotion or Vimeo or another website no one cares about. Archive is a resource we can’t risk jeopardizing, don’t post leaks there.

[razorblade180]

Actor AU 3

The previous one<-

Penny:*dancing on set*

Nora:Someone seems happy.

Penny:🎶First episode I don’t have to wear props! 🎶 This is so liberating!

Nora:You read the script right?

Penny:Just let me vibe!

xxxx

Neo:*hanging off ledge*

Cinder:.....Long live queen. *pushes her off*

Ruby:Yo! Let’s add a lion king character!

Director:No!

xxxx

Ironwood,Broadcasting:.....

Everyone:.....

Ironwood:*leans it closely* You have one hour...or I poison Gotham Harbor.

Yang:Pay up Weiss! I told you he’d say it!

Weiss:Damn it!

Ruby:*laughing hysterically.

xxxx

Adam:*sips tea* Now you’re probably wondering why I’m on set for V8 when I have not scene or relevance. The answer is simple.

Neo:*hits Yang of the edge*

Blake:Yaaaaang-

*faint laughing offset*

Blake.....*snickers* You asshole, I was in the zone!

Adam:I’m just adding to the tension!

Yang:*hanging from harness* You should’ve yelled “Lionized!!!!!”

Adam:Oh that would’ve been great!

Blake:You two are the worst!

xxxx

Right after Cinder stabs Penny

Jaune:Penny!!!! H-Hold on!

Penny:J-Jaune? I don’t...I don’t feel so g-good... hehe, this...*tearing up* this really hurts...

Jaune:*crying* Don’t speak! My semblance, I’ll...I

Penny:No...don’t. No time, but....there’s still something I need you t-to do. Cinder...can’t get the power and the relics. *reaches for blade*

Jaune:W-What?! No, I....I can’t-

Penny:It’s okay Jaune. *smiles* Everything is...gonna be okay.

Jaune:*raising bl-

Director:Cut!

Jaune:Huh?

Penny:Hmm? *sits up* Oh no, did I miss a line?

Director:*points to Cinder*

They turn to see Weiss comforting the the woman with a hug while trying not to laugh at the situation.

Penny:What happened!?

Weiss:She’s crying over the scene!

Penny:What!? *runs over*

Cinder:I am so sorry I ruined take! You were doing so well. Too well! Ugh, god damnit!

Penny:Awww you know I’m fine right? Come here! *hugs her*

Weiss:Cinder fall everyone, the biggest teddy bear around. *wipping eyes*

Jaune:You’re crying too!?

Weiss:I am the second biggest teddy bear around.

xxxx

Jaune:We have to go!!!

Winter:*points at Cinder*....Sleep with one eye open.

Director:Cut! Why!?

Cinder:Hahahaha!

Winter:I couldn’t help myself.

Director:Be angry!

Bloop!

Winter:*glares* The next time I see you I swear, I’ll have your head!

Director:Less angry!

Cinder:That one actually kinda scared me. Haha geez, Winter giving chills!

Bloop!

Winter:Can I curse?

Director:We’re already at the limit before we’d have change ratings.

Winter:Dang it! I just one F bomb!

Director:We’ll put it the gag reel.

Bloop!

Jaune:We need to go!

Winter: Tsk, *points sword* You are going to pay for everything you’ve done! So watch you fucking back...

Director:Happy?

Winter:*grinning* Yeah that felt great!

xxxxx

Bomb starts sliding slowly.

Qrow:*clenches Clover’s pin*

Bomb falls off plan set

.....

Vine and Elm:.....

Harriet:Well...boom! I guess!? For the love of- *face palms*

Qrow:....Uhhh I haha, I think hahaha- hahaha! Can we maybe tilt the plan a little less!? Oh boy! I guess someone should’ve grabbed that.

Harriet:You know what, can we keep this ending!?

Robyn: Rename the whole episode haha. “Adults watch bomb slowly fall”

Vine:Okay but I like how we’re all just waiting for it to stop, and then just tips right over! The moment it started moving I knew it was going way too fast!

Elm:Mission failed everyone. We’ll get em next time.

xxxxx

Interviewer:How do you think fans will react to this finale?

Penny:Well I can’t spoil anything for obvious reasons but I hope it resonates well. It’s fun having my character be around for a finale for once, and with so many other roles she doesn’t get interact with much. It’s been really fun.

Interviewer:Oh yeah? Who’s been best to work with?

Penny:Oooo that’s tough. My cousin, Nora, she’s been fun to interact with this volume. But uhhh I think I’ll give it to Jaune. We don’t have many scenes overall together but...it’s hard explain. I feel like between my character and his, there’s this kinda mutal headspace they have for their friends. If I had to pick a person I would say Jaune would have the ability to open up Penny in a way nobody else could.

Interviewing:Interesting, well I hope you both get more interactions and that this finale debuts well.

Penny:Thank you!

xxxxx

Winter:*dragging Ironwood off*

Emerald:....Wait, I know I do illusions, but how did the Ironwood not hear or feel the wind coming from an airship several feet away? I kicked up dirt and alerted Amber in volume 3.

Director:....Do we have time to rewri- no? Okay... just don’t think about it!

xxxxx

Nora:Someone cut the signal!

Watts: *playing Galaga* Hehehe all according to plan.

Neo:Change the tab! It’s- we see it in camera! Haha!

Watts:*strokes mustache* I know. That’s how genius I am. Cracking codes and high-scores! Muhahaha!

xxxx

Ruby:Fun fact, we have two Hound costumes. One where he’s mainly doglike and the other when he’s beating up people. But I you wonder who’s playing him under all that? *takes mask off*

Cardin:Sup.

Ruby:Forever a bully, even behind the set.

Cardin:Pfft am not.

Penny:You had a laugh tossing me!

Cardin:You don’t count, you’re family!

Penny:Ah!?

xxxxxx

Yang:*holding camera* Pssst!

Ren:*sipping coffee*???

Yang:Ready for our fight in the snow?

Ren:I can’t feel my toes! I’m gonna yell at you and then walk away.

Yang:I’ll mess up so we’ll stay here longer.

Ren:Yang! We can have a real fight in the snow right now!

Yang:Heheh, kidding. Mostly.

xxxxx

Ruby:Blake have you heard of Among Us?

Blake:Wh-what?

Ruby:Among Us. You gotta do tasks without an imposter killing you. I only bring it up because we’re rebooting the power. Someone always dies in electrical.

Blake:Ruby this is real life. Besides this way more Resident Evil, but with no- Tyrant!

Hound:*busts through window*

Ruby:Wny is it always electrical!!!?

xxxxx

Ironwood:*doing shirtless pull-ups*

Ozpin:He’s getting ready for his fight scenes. Trying to look winded but a little bulkier in the moment.

Winter:*watching Ironwood*

Ozpin:*snickering* Winter is trying to get into the mindset of having to a play a character who has to go against all that. The agony of fighting someone you looked at for so long.

Winter:You can call it like it is. I’m gawking a little.

Ozpin:She’s gawking a little.

xxxxx

Hazel:*grabs Salem*

Salem:*squeezing his biceps* Its like my entire torso. You eat a bear for breakfast?

Hazel:Oh my god.

Salem:You know this isn’t the worst way to go out. I had a good run. At least you hold me, unlike Ozma! Why didn’t you hold me like this!?

Hazel:You’re so ridiculous.

xxxxx

Set crew adjusting lighting in manor. All but one stays on.

Oscar and Penny:*waltzing underneath it*

Nora:...I like how on or off camera I personally lose the dating game while another redhead wins.

Ozpin:Which pair you talking about?

Nora:Huh?

Yang and Adam:*cracking jokes*

Nora:This is nonsense! Where’s Jaune!?

Weiss:Food run with Ruby.

Nora:Aaaaaggghhh!

[storiesofsvu]

Personally not a fan of Rollisi and how they show more of them as a romantic couple and lessening them as individuals in their roles if that makes any sense

I think L&O needs to cut down on the amount of shows. It’s like the Chicago shows where writing, scripts and everything is watered down or rehashed or like with Shondaland shows affecting Greys quality - I say cut Organized Crime, keep the rebooted Original L&O and SVU

Carisi and Rollins have both been neglected as individuals for the sake of a relationship suddenly put together because writers pander to Twitter fans, I personally don’t understand them suddenly getting together after so long as friends, her pregnancies, her past treatment of him, them both having relationships before etc

it does make sense. and honestly, i don't think we would have seen much of carisi at all without rollisi. because we don't see the courtroom much anymore at all. and kelli just wasn't around a lot in the last couple of years either, so when they've got them both they'll give us the teeny snippets of their relationship. I would have loved to see more.

(this got long so it's going under a readmore)

i personally think l&o is doing fine. they've gotten into the groove of OC, OG has had its first trial season done to see what direction works and who works cast wise and the like. i think last week's episode was super good. and same with SVU, after a lot of shitty episodes, i think we may finally be heading in the right direction? (though i do still say they should actually do For the Defense cause it'd be bomb)

as for the one chicago/shondaland shows... i can't comment too much. I only watch PD and i'm enjoying it. Shonda i only watch Grey's, the only interest i have in station 19 is... oh FFS, the girl Deluca, why can't i remember her first name rn?! and i loved her on greys and they just sniped her over to 19 because of her wife. which yes, wlw representation but like, can we see her on grey's again? anyways, side tangent.

Organized crime certainly isn't going anywhere until meloni wants it to go somewhere or is done with it. and considering he's an EP, i doubt that's happening anytime soon. they also have different teams of writers, showrunners and the like to balance out each show. i think they're doing fine, they each have their own vibe and work well on their own (that "crossover" season premier was absolute *trash* though)

sonny & amanda have proven time and time again that they were the "right person, wrong time". Sonny was never in it for a hookup, we know that, he was probably crushing back from the start, and deserved something real, something more. Amanda had to grow up, she had to go through some shit, deal with her past trauma and the way it affected her adult relationships. she had to bloom more into the woman that sonny deserved. compare little baby s13 amanda to the amanda we have now and she's finally an adult, she finally feels *worthy* of the love and care that she knows sonny will and can give her. when you're that good of friends with someone for that long, it doesn't matter if you've watched each other go through relations with other people, you've always been there by each other's side, helping each other through life, and they truly have done that. Say that amanda was taking advantage of him coming over to cook or help with jessie/billie when they were first born all you want, but sonny would have done that for *anyone* not just someone he might still be holding some feelings for. it's something i would do/have done for a completely platonic friend. The arguments in like, s21 or whatever between the two of them aren't like, fights, they're amanda feeling like one of her biggest supporters (and previous work partner) is abandoning her, and we all know she's got some major abandonment issues. she doesn't know how to properly express emotion and when working 30 hrs straight, it comes out as attitude. As for the moment in Intent, where they're flirting and then she hooks up with the bartender instead, I've lowkey already covered it. That would have led to just a one night stand between them, they weren't ready for each other then, and it would've ruined things. they worked through it and came out on the other side.

as for her pregnancies, i'll forever be salty they were BOTH written into the show, it doesn't make sense, and i *hate* that both dads expressed wanting to be in their daughter's lives but we never even get a "oh yeah, al sent a cheque" offhand comment. like, how tf is amanda affording two kids and a dog in manhattan on an nypd salary? but that's beyond the point.

anyways. i think they've finally reached a point where they're able to be together romantically and i think it works. if they were still partners/sonny was still a cop it would be more problematic (and would be EO 1.0 all over again, the ep where liv gets cut by a perp and el chooses to stay with her over chasing the perp) but with him as ada they're able to keep the lines of work and personal seperate more. anyway, i think i'm done talking now lol

But yeah, to each our own. We’re all allowed our own opinions & theyre all valid (mostly lol) if you dont like rollisi that’s chill

[minli-daughter-of-wukong]

Welcome everyone to my funky little fanfic with my OC Min Li (which if you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting her, you can do so here) and Macaque! Now I’m not really looking to do this for likes or reboots but both would be appreciated. I really just want to write this and just get the ideas out of my head. If anyone has any ideas for how the story could go feel free to send some asks, but otherwise I’m just doing this for fun and I hope you enjoy nonetheless! Thanks and have a great day!

Chapter 1

Min Li was lounging on flower fruit mountain by her dad’s request to “watch over the monkeys for me and make sure they don’t get into trouble!” Which sounded dumb, why would she need to watch the monkeys? They can handle themselves, but she was never one to argue!

Min Li was drawing in her sketchbook in her room when she heard some people talking at the entrance,

“So what do you think we should be looking for? Like a magic crossbow? Or a cannon? Or a—?” She heard a younger, familiar, voice say, only for him to get cut off by an older voice,

“A vase,” said the older voice.

Min Li raised a brow and snuck to the main area of the cave to see an older man with glasses and a young adult boy with spiked hair who looked unimpressed.

“Come again?” Said ‘spiked hair’ as ‘glasses’ groaned tiredly,

“That dumpling looks to be more of a Guàn tāng jiǎo, meaning that it is potentially filled with some kind of delicious soup! Simply blasting it won’t do!”

‘Spiked hair’ crossed his arms and raised a brow, “and a vase is gonna help, how?”

‘Glasses’ then turned away from ‘spiked hair’ and started speaking in an ominous tone, “legends say Monkey King sought help from Guanyin to defeat a demon I…don’t remember the name of. He used the vase that contained pure water, enough to flood a whole mountain range. It seems logical we should use THAT to suck up the soup and save the world from third degree burns.”

‘Spiked hair’ shrugged with a smile saying, “sounds good enough to me! We can probably find that with all of Monkey King’s other junk behind this GIANT DOOR that I never even noticed before!”

Min Li giggled, startling the two as she hopped down, “seems like you two know your stuff. Now mind telling me who you are?”

‘Glasses’ yelped and jumped behind ‘spiked hair’ as he looked at her in shock!

‘Spiked Hair’ raised a brow, “um…I’m MK? The Monkie Kid?”

Min Li smirked playfully, “so YOU’RE the infamous Successor my father talks so much about?”

‘Glasses’ started sputtering nonsense before yelling, “FATHER?! There are no legends of Monkey King having a child! How is that possible?!”

MK looked at Min Li skeptically, “yeah, if you’re really Monkey King’s daughter why hasn’t he talked about you? How do we know you’re not some demon pretending to be related?”

Min Li thought, “fair point kid! Tell ya what, hand the staff to me for a second and I’ll prove it!”

MK laughed, “not a chance! Only someone with Monkey King’s power can hold it!”

“Then why are you scared? Worried I’ll be able to hold it and replace you?” Min Li raised a brow.

“No! Fine here!” MK snapped and tossed the staff to her.

Min Li smirked and expertly caught the staff, twirling it for a second before slamming it on the ground and hopping on top of it to balance, saying with confidence, “that proof enough for ya?”

‘Glasses’ and MK stared in awe as Min Li tossed the staff back to MK and said, “so what’s this I hear about a Guàn tāng jiǎo?”

‘Glasses’ cleared his throat and said, “I’m Tang. And—.” MK cut Tang off!

“Monkey King contacted me through telecommunications and told us a giant dumpling was gonna crush us all!” He then pointed to the dumpling in the sky!

Min Li looked and scoffed “of course, couldn’t fix it himself. C’mon, let’s go grab that vase, I know where it is!” She then led the way to the door.

Before Min Li could open it however, Tang put an arm out and said, “allow me.” And went to try the barrier.

MK sighed tiredly and looked at Min Li, “sorry about him. He’s kind of unbearable right now.”

Min Li just snickered and said, “it’s fine, I wanna see this.” She then leaned against one of the pillars and watched Tang with an amused look.

When Tang was thrown back Min Li started laughing like a little kid would at something dumb, she then smiled at MK and said, “go ahead kid, if you guys got in here without me and HE can’t open it, then it has to be you of course!”

MK smiled, “thanks” and he then opened the barrier and went in with Min Li and Tang.

When Tang saw the room he shoved past MK and Min Li, grabbing a mirror and saying, “that’s the legendary demon revealing mirror,”

“Hey—.” Min Li tried to get Tang’s attention but was cut off by Tang’s gasp of excitement,

“And the fire tipped spear!”

“Excuse me—!”

“And,” he screamed like a school girl, “MONKEY COP’S LIMITED EDITION 1982 ACTION FIGURES!” He then turned to MK and Min Li with a childish smile and said, “this could take awhi—,” but was quickly cut off by Min Li screaming,

“HEY! DROP THE ACTION FIGURES!”

Tang then immediately did so and looked at Min Li like a child in trouble,

Min Li looked at MK, “follow me, YOU! Stay put!” She then led MK to find the vase as Tang looked in his spot for the vase.

Min Li started scouting through the room when MK picked up a box and made a noise as he set it back down, she turned to him about to ask a question when Huntsman crashes through some of the rubble and MK starts screaming, “ah! He just looked tiny ‘cause he was far away!” And slid back

Min Li immediately stood on defense and looked at MK, “who is this guy?”

MK laughed nervously and said, “one of Spider Queen’s goons.” Making Min Li groan and seen Huntsman looking at the demon revealing mirror.

When Huntsman webbed the mirror MK stopped him with the Fire Tipped Spear, only for Huntsman to gut check MK and send him flying.

Min Li then growled and grabbed Huntsman by the wrist, throwing him back harshly as she grabbed the mirror with her tail, saying “you want it? Come and get it!” Then grabbed a few strands of hair and blew on them, sending clones towards Huntsman as she climbed a pillar and yelled, “MK! Help your scholar friend while I keep him busy!”

Tang then yelled, “MK! I CAN’T FIND THE VASE ANYWHERE!” Only for MK to snap,

“UGH! DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING?!” And use his gold vision to find a box a vases, yelling, “THERE THAT CRATE IF FULL OF THEM!”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU DO THAT SOONER?!”

“BECAUSE I FORGOT I COULD OKAY?!”

Min Li then snapped, “NOT THE TIME YOU TWO LETS GET THIS DONE!” As she yelped and was thrown back by Huntsman as he took the mirror from her!

He then webbed two swords as he crashed through rubble to attack MK and sent them flying!

MK used the fire tipped spear to block the sword attacks as he slid backwards.

Huntsman sent one of his swords towards Tang, making MK shove Tang out of the way and almost getting cut in half!

Tang crashed into the vase filled crates and looked at the vases nervously.

MK continued to block the sword attacks as Huntsman said, “I can smell your fear, boy!”

“It’s my conditioner!” Yelled Mk!

Huntsman sent the Fire Tipped Spear flying and tried to slice MK, only for Min Li to tackle Huntsman and start trying to hold him down, yelling, “MK GRAB THE VASE AND GO! I’LL MAKE SURE HE CAN’T GET WHAT HE’S AFTER!” Min Li yelped as Huntsman shoved her off then kicked her into a pile of junk and pin MK down!

MK yelled to Tang, “TANG HURRY!” Causing Tang to look for a weapon and find a sword!

“Time’s running out little Chimp!” Sneered Huntsman

“You know if we don’t stop that dumpling you die too right?!” Said MK, throwing Huntsman off in enough time for Tang to shoot him away from MK!

Tang dropped the sword and threatened Huntsman!

Huntsman then proposed a truce and took off.

Min Li got up and ran to the two heroes, “what happened? Is he gone?”

Tang looked proud of himself, “yep!”

MK then started fanboying and Tang threw the sword away, grabbing the vase and saying, “this is it! The legendary vase that will save the-no wait hold on!” He then started digging for another, and held one up saying “yep, that’s it! That’s the guy!” And MK and ushered Tang out yelling “LETS GO!” And Min Li followed quickly!

When they got back to the city the dumpling was almost seconds away from impact as they landed and hurried to Pigsy and Mei!

Pigsy looked at the two worriedly, “did you find somthin’ to stop this thing?”

MK looked at them with determination, “yeah! I mean, maybe?” He laughed nervously as he looked to Tang who just shrugged.

The two then started fumbling over words and laughing at each other as they tried to explain to Mei why they grabbed the vase only for Pigsy to snap, “would you Morons hurry up?!”

MK then opened the vase and started to use the water from inside, but he started to slip so Pigsy, Mei, Tang, and Min Li helped him stand his ground as the dumpling was sucked up into the vase…only for the vase to shatter from so much of the dumpling!

Tang, MK, and Min Li started looking embarrassed

Tang laughed nervously “maybe we should have grabbed a few more vases” only for MK to laugh nervously and agree.

Pigsy and Mei then realized that there was a newcomer that looked a lot like Monkey King!

“um, MK? Who’s this?” Asked Pigsy.

MK glanced at Min Li then smiled at Pigsy, “oh! This is uh…what did you say your name was?” He looked to Min Li confused.

Min Li smiled and held a hand out to Pigsy, “Sun Min Li at your service sir. I’m the daughter of the Monkey King!”

Pigsy stared at Min Li for a moment before shouting, “WHAT?!” Then passing out

Min Li sighed tiredly, “this is gonna take a moment to explain.”

|Next

[xskyll]

The BNHA x Chobits AU that no one, not even Mineta, asked for.

The ramblings of my mind under the cut. Warning, it’s loooong.

Okay, so bear in mind that I only watched four episodes of Chobits and it was probably about 14 years ago, and also I didn’t really like it, lol

-Todoroki finds Midoriya laying on some bags of trash next to a dumpster.

-First he’s like “oh no, I need an adult,” because for all his “training,” dad never actually told him what to do when he found a dead body, (this is the summer before he starts U.A., so he’s still living at home). Endeavor is away for a week, and Fuyumi doesn’t count to him (sort of an Aristocats, “she’s not [an adult,] she’s just a sister!” thing). While he’s trying to remember that the police exist, he notices this dead body has very strange ear-like things. He comes closer to investigate. There are lots of weird body types in the world, because of quirks, but these things look metal, which isn’t unheard of, but something about these ears just strike him as unnatural.

- Good news, it seems like a robot, not a dead body. The ears open easily, and there are buttons inside. A power button (that’s right CHOBITS!! It’s in the ear! My love story isn’t going to start with molestation), some USB ports, an aux port, a slot for a microchip or SIM card or whatever, some sort of safety switch (he flips that on)…what really convinces him this is totally a robot are the blutooth and volume buttons (that’s right, Midoriya in this au can charge phones AND he’s a speaker, although the volume buttons’ primary function is to control the volume of his voice).

- He has no good reason for taking this thing home. It weights a ton, it’s awkwardly naked, except for some bandages wrapped around it, which do nothing to hide how anatomically correct this robot is, and he already has a phone charger, so he really has no use for it. 

- He feels weird about it though. While he was checking out the ears, he touched its face and the skin was soft and warm. He checked for a pulse, just out of curiosity, and found one. It looks like a person, aside from the ears, and it feels like a person. He feels bad leaving it in the trash. So he takes it home.

- Cue comedy routine where he gets this thing, not just in the house, but to his room without Fuyumi noticing.

- Once in his room, he hits the power switch. Nothing happens. He holds the power switch. Bingo. Robo-boy powers to life, bright, adorably large green eyes open. He’s holding it in his arms, and it’s still all tied up. It looks up at him and says hello.

- He drops it.

- He apologizes as he picks it back up, tugging at the wrappings to try to get its arms free. He realizes he needs to get pants, or at least boxers, for it, because it’s awake now and very much naked.

- For the very first time, he realizes that this adorable, thin-yet-lean-muscled, between 14-16 looking robo-boy might have been someone’s weird sex doll. They probably threw it away because they found a real person to date and they didn’t want them to know about their underage sex robot. This also sort of explains the pulse; the mystery pervert person probably programmed a fake pulse and did something to make his skin warm, to make him feel more real. Gross.

- He’s broken from these thoughts when the robot speaks. It says, “Please insert memory bank files or turn on base memory.” Todoroki is already freaking out, because this thing wants its memories, and he doesn’t have them. He opens the ear again and investigates. Next to the empty slot, there’s a small button labeled BM. Base memory? Sure, why not. He pushes it.

- The robot goes blank faced for a few seconds. When he comes to, he looks at Todoroki, then the room, then down at himself. He flexes his arms, trying to break the bands around him, but stops, saying, “Safety mode is on.”

- Todoroki finishes helping unwrap him, awkwardly doing so while pointedly looking away, once he gets to his lower half. Once he’s free, he goes and gets a pair of boxers and throws them in his direction. “Can you put them on?” He’s curious if the robot can do something like that unaided, and also he doesn’t want to cloth it himself, because even though this is a robot, it looks like a very cute boy his age. And it has a pulse. He can’t stop thinking about that.

- The robot puts on the boxers, after inspecting them for a second. He honestly does struggle to figure it out for a moment, cause he has zero common sense, but he does figure it out. It probably takes him about a minute. Once they’re on, he stands and starts inspecting the room.

- “Do you have a name?” seems like a dumb question, but he asks anyway and the robot answers, “I’m Project Midoriya.”

- Background info time. Midoriya is not fully a robot. He was kidnapped just seven months ago, coming home from school. It was the day of the sludge villain attack, but he got nabbed before they could cross paths. AFO wanted a quirkless person to experiment on. He did his research and found Midoriya Izuku, a quirkless boy with no friends and little family, who wouldn’t be missed very much. He’s confident enough that he won’t get caught that he titles his new project by its name: Midoriya. Midoriya’s memories are still in his mind, but they’re suppressed. AFO found it easier to backup his memories to a chip, so he could remove them as needed. When they were installed, Midoriya responded best to his own name anyway, so calling him that was also the easiest thing. Without his memories, AFO found him a bit annoying, because he had no social skills or common sense. He needed to be taught, which he didn’t have the patience for, so usually he just left the memories in. He was a timid boy anyway and easy to intimidate, especially if he threaten to hurt his mom.

- The cops figure his disappearance was maybe a runaway situation, but given his track record and the profile on him they’d compiled from listening to his mom, classmates, and teachers, they figure it’s more likely a kidnapping or murder. Fun fact though, he got kidnapped the day Bakugou told him to kill himself. Obviously no body is found, but he knows people go to forests to hang themselves, or put weights in their pockets and drown themselves. Those bodies can take years to find. So while all of this is happening, Bakugou is out there just every day, “what have I done, what have I done, what have I done?” When they finally see each other again, Bakugou freaks out and Midoriya’s suppressed memories are triggered. Bakugou demands answers, Todoroki is confused and defensive, and Midoriya is just, “System overload. Shutting down,” and then face plants to the floor.

- Anyway, back to Shouto. He asks Midoriya if he remembers anything. Midoriya has exactly one memory (or at least, one easily accessible memory), and it’s this: “A man. He looked like this.” He put his hand over his face. “He said, ‘Sensei put so much work into you. Why are you so useless (Deku)?’”

- More bg info, AFO gave Midoriya to Shigaraki, telling him to try to make him useful, and Shigaraki DID try for a couple of months, but he was over the whole situation after basically one day. With his memories, Midoriya was scared and traumatized, had morals, cried a bunch and sometimes tried to escape, and was just UGH. He could mute his voice, but even that didn’t help, cause this kid was just sooo annoying. Without his memories he was awkward and boring and still annoying. Eventually he just yeeted him into a trash heap, but took his memory chip, since it technically contains LoV information.

- Midoriya considers his only memory and thinks being called Deku feels sort of normal, so he says as much. “Deku might also be my name. You can call me that, if you want.” Todoroki says he’ll stick with Midoriya, because Deku isn’t a nice name for his new robot friend.

- So the first section of the story after this is fairly light-hearted. Todoroki has to keep Midoriya a secret from Endeavor and Fuyumi (I feel like she does find out eventually, but agrees to help hide him, as she sees it’s good for her little bro to finally have this (maybe?) living thing/person to talk to and take care of.) Speaking of care, Midoriya is very easy to care for. He can eat, drink, and sleep, but doesn’t need to. He has some sort of self-charging system. Most of his “care” involves teaching him social skills (which oof, blind leading the blind, but they say teaching is the best way to learn, so this is actually good for Shouto too). Embarrassing stuff happens. Fluffy stuff happens. It’s a good time.

- Shouto spends the summer with Midoriya this way. Most of their interactions are fluffy and light, but not all. The first time he comes back to his room after training with his dad, he learns two things: Midoriya has first aid knowledge programmed into him and he’s capable of crying. As the trainings continue, Midoriya eventually reveals that he has over a hundred fighting styles programmed into him and knows over 70 ways to kill a person, but he can’t access any of that information while his safety is on. Todoroki is just like, “Uuuuuh, that’s really good to know…but we’re gonna keep the safety on for now, okay? I hate my dad but also please don’t murder him. He’s famous so we wouldn’t get away with it. Also murder is bad, don’t kill people.”

- Midoriya wants to know if all heroes are like Endeavor and Shouto is like, noooo and shows him the debut video of his personal favorite hero: All Might. Watching this video is the first time Midoriya has a “System overloading. Shutting down” moment. Shouto has an absolute panic attack, because if Midoriya reboots and his memories are wiped, then he’ll have lost the best friend he ever had. But Midoriya restarts and he’s fine. He explains that sometimes he shuts down, to prevent a system failure, which would damage his…idk, hard drive or whatever. He quietly admits that the All Might video is very familiar, and he thinks maybe it used to be important to him. Shouto questions him about his memories and Midoriya theorizes that perhaps he has them backed up, but he isn’t sure how to access them. 

- This is exciting for Shouto, because he thinks maybe if Midoriya experiences more “triggers,” like the video, he might regain his memories and be able to shed some light on the general mystery of where he came from/who made him/what his purpose is. Whenever Endeavor is away, he tries to sneak Midoriya out, so he can see the real world. He isn’t too concerned about his ears, because in a world of quirks, there are plenty of odd looking people around. So far he’s been wearing Todoroki’s clothes, which a little too big on him, so they go shopping and get him clothes. None of their outings seem to trigger anything, except one time when they pass a park where Midoriya and Bakugou used to play as kids. Midoriya grows quiet and seems far away for a moment, but he doesn’t overload and shakes off the familiar feeling.

- Whenever they see All Might stuff he’s just !!!!!!! He can’t remember why he likes All Might, but he remembers how he feels about him. The more All Might stuff he sees, the more his old feelings return. One day they pass a large All Might poster and Midoriya says, “I think maybe I wanted to be like him, once.”

- Eventually Todoroki starts school. He feels bad about leaving him, but Midoriya is content to stay in his room and occupy himself until Todoroki comes home. He’s part computer, so he’s a total boss at helping with math homework. He likes doing homework with Todoroki in general, because he likes learning. This is great for Todoroki’s grades because again, the teaching thing helps everything stick better for him. 

- The attack on USJ happens and Todoroki sees Shigaraki, who has a hand on his face, and he’s like, “Shit, shit, shit, this is the guy who threw away Midoriya,” and he has NO idea what to do with that information. Midoriya belonging to the LoV does explain the “70+ ways to kill” programming though. He tells Midoriya what happened and Midoriya is kind of whatever about it. He says, “Maybe I belonged to villains, but I belong to you, now.” And Shouto is like, “No, no, no, no. You do not. You belong to yourself” and Midoriya is just ????

- I think for the Sports Festival, Midoriya convinces him to use his fire. It’s sort of like, “It’s your power, even though its origin is Endeavor. Just like how everything I can do is my power, even though I was programmed by villains. Being made by villains doesn’t make me a villain. Using the resources they gave me doesn’t make me a villain. Being Endeavor’s son doesn’t make you Endeavor, and using your fire doesn’t either.” Todoroki turns off Midoriya’s safety, confident he has nothing to fear.

- Midoriya watches the Sports Festival on tv (using his blutooth, he can actually just hear the volume in his head, so he can watch silently). He sees Bakugou. Seeing him on screen doesn’t have a huge impact on him, but he does feel something. Fear, unease, admiration, and affection. He’s confused and uncomfortable, and ends up looking away from the screen whenever he’s shown for too long.

- Shouto actually starts making friends at school. Being with Midoriya has taught him a lot about being kind and the joy having other people in your life can bring. Still, he doesn’t trust anyone enough to tell them about Midoriya. He’s terrified of losing him.

- For the Hosu incident, Midoriya is home alone, probably doing something on Shouto’s laptop. He sees the breaking news and is just, “Welp, that’s where Shouto, the official best person in the world, is, so guess I’m going to Hosu to make sure he’s safe.” He leaves the house alone, for the first time ever, and just runs to Hosu. Idk how far away Hosu is from the Todoroki residence, but Midoriya doesn’t fatigue and he’s also outrageously fast, so it’s fine. Also he can see in the dark, but only if he activates his night vision, which makes his eyes glow. Not good for sneaking, but very pretty and cool. I’m not sure how he finds Shouto, or how Shouto found Iida, but I imagine Stain is like, seconds from skewering him and then Midoriya comes out of nowhere and collides with Stain (which is a big deal, cause remember, Midoriya is filled with metal parts and is super heavy). They fight together and at some point Stain cuts Midoriya and he bleeds, which for Shouto is like !?!??! And then he licks his blood and the paralysis works and Shouto is just !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- Later, after the life threatening stuff is over, Todoroki has some seriously thoughts about this, because what if Midoriya is human? Or part human? That would be a huge development, and also kind of relief for him, because he sort of feels like he’s been falling in love, but he’s been desperately stomping down on those feelings, because he knows falling in love with a robot probably isn’t healthy. But falling in love with a half robot? I mean, Iida could be called part robot, with his legs, if you want to get technical about it. And Todoroki does want to get technical about it, thank you very much. If Iida is dateable, then so is Midoriya.

- Back to Hosu. They beat Stain and, after securing him, Todoroki tells Midoriya to go home, before his dad arrives. Once he leaves, he begs Iida not to tell anyone he saw him and promises to explain later. For ease of narrative, Native was unconscious the entire fight.

- Endeavor shows up, as does the Nomu. It takes Shouto but Stain rescues him. At the hospital, Todoroki explains the Midoriya situation to Iida, revealing that this incident was the first time he realized Midoriya had blood in him. Iida agrees to keep the secret, but urges Todoroki to tell someone. Maybe Aizawa. He agrees to consider, but he doesn’t want Midoriya to get taken away and like, locked up to be studied or something. He and Iida become better friends, bonding over almost dying together and sharing the secret of Midoriya. 

- Midterms! Shouto scores higher because he has an awesome robot tutor. He doesn’t actually care, but good for him regardless.

- Summer field trip time. Midoriya can’t come, obviously. I’m thinking during this time, he decides to sneak out of the house and explore on his own. He feels guilty, because Shouto would worry if he knew, but he just feels this draw. He feels like maybe his old memories were important, and he’s becoming curious. He keeps thinking about the boy from the Sports Festival and about All Might. He ends up in his old neighborhood. He sees his middle school and he doesn’t remember anything, but seeing the building makes him feel lonely and sort of bad about himself. It reminds him of Shigaraki calling him Deku, and the familiar feeling that gave him. He leaves and finds himself on his old street. He isn’t close at all to his old home - he can barely see the apartment building - but he can still see it. He almost shuts down, but turns away quickly and starts back the way he came. He doesn’t remember anything, but seeing that building fills him with overwhelming emotions. The strongest one reminds him of his feelings for Shouto, but it’s different. He can’t place it, but he knows he’d die to protect Shouto, and he feels like maybe he once knew someone in that building that he would also die to protect. Once he gets home, he realizes he’s crying. He decides to sleep and he dreams of green eyes and a smile that looks like home.

- Shouto is injured during the villain attack and goes to the hospital. Once he’s released, he agrees with Kirishima that they’ll go rescue Bakugou. That whole thing pretty much goes at it did in canon, except All Might never found a successor, so he’s more powerful. He defeats AFO and does not have to retire, though he’s feeling an overwhelming pressure to find a successor now, because he knows he’s hanging on by a thread.

- Dorms!! Shouto is bringing his boy with him. He figures he can hide him just as easily there as he can at home. Getting him in is a little tricky, but he manages. From there, it’s smooth sailing.

- Except not really, because living with 18-19 other people (19 if Hitoshi is in the class, which, maybe) is way different than living with 2. Midoriya is discovered in like, a week and everyone is freaking out, most of all Bakugou, who basically breaks down. He tries to hit Midoriya and screams at him, about thinking he was dead and going to his funeral and how it was his fault and having to face his mom and did Midoriya even think about his mom??? As previously mentioned, Midoriya just shuts down and face plants to the ground.

- Shouto finally learns Midoriya’s full name. Midoriya Izuku. A+ name. Very cute. He plans to use it immediately.

- Bakugou’s insight changes the situation completely. Now they know Izuku was once 100% human and something awful happened to him. They end up bringing him to Aizawa and explaining the situation and everything they know. Todoroki gets scolded, cause Izuku could have been dangerous and he should have known better, but he doesn’t even pretend to have regrets. Endeavor would have made him throw Izuku back into the trash where he found him. His best friend isn’t trash.

- Now the name of the game is helping Izuku restore his memories. Bakugou is a huge help, but patience is required, to keep Izuku from overloading. He remembers bits and pieces at a time, all centered around Bakugou. Aizawa agrees to let him attend classes, so they can keep an eye on him. He’s also hoping a school setting might trigger more memories. He meets All Might and he doesn’t even get to announce his system malfunction before he’s out. He sees him, starts smoking at the mouth and hits the floor. All Might is very alarmed.

- Tsukauchi is made aware of the situation. He wants to keep things under wraps though. If the LoV is aware Midoriya is out and about, they may target him. If they can restore his memories though, they may gain insight into the group’s plans. That being said, he thinks it’s only right that they tell Inko. They tell her they have information on her son and make her sign a contract, agreeing not to release any information. Once she agrees, they brief her on what they know and, at the end, bring in Izuku.

- Izuku has been talking with Bakugou about his mom, to prepare for this (he usually wants Shouto with him for these conversations, and Shouto and Bakugou sort on inadvertently become friends). He can’t remember her at all, but he remembers the face in his dream. He knows it’s her. While talking, he’s shut down a few times (which drives Bakugou up the wall, and also scares him a little, cause he kind of looks dead when it happens), but he thinks he might be ready to see her now. He’s brought in and he does not shut down, not fully, but he comes close. He definitely glitches a little, maybe doing a quick reboot, quick enough that he doesn’t even fall, and his voice comes out cracked and metallic when he speaks, and there are sparks in his mouth, but he manages, “Mom?” They both cry and she holds him while he tells her, voice wavering between sounding normal and sounding robotic, that he doesn’t remember her, but he loves her, he knows he loves her so so much and he knows he’s missed her, even though he didn’t know who she was. It’s very emotional, and extremely hard for both of them when they finally have to separate, because Izuku can’t go home with her. She’s allowed to visit though, and each visit helps him restore little pieces of his memory. Between her and Bakugou, he starts making enough progress that he stops shutting down when he gains a new memory, and he starts remembering his old hopes and dreams. He doesn’t remember what AFO did to him, but he remembers enough of his past to feel self-conscious now, about his body. He breaks down one day and Shouto holds him while he grapples with his identity, his humanity, and his future. 

- I’m picturing a scene where he’s crying and Shouto takes his face in his hands and explains all the beautiful things about him that make him human, and he finishes up with something corny like, “I know you, Izuku. You’re human. You have to be human, because I’m in love with you.” And then they KISS and it is ROMANTIC!

- He decides he still wants to be a hero and he becomes a real member of 1A, instead of just a visitor. The whole class helps him design a costume and come up with a name and in general are just like, “Cyborg Hero, yay!!”

- And that’s all I got. I think eventually he would fight the league, and probably retrieve his chip, giving him 100% of his memories. There’s a LOT of trauma to deal with there, because he was basically torn apart and put back together several times by AFO, but they do gain all the information they need to take down the LoV for good. And the Overhaul arc is in there. Izuku might still intern with Nighteye, because All Might is like, “Robot successor? Maybe???” and he wants Nighteye’s opinion. Nighteye can’t see his future, because he’s not fully human, but eventually he gives his stamp of approval. Eri is rescued and that’s a very personal fight for Izuku, because he identifies with what she’s gone through. And of course she loves him and thinks his ears are cute and his glowy eyes are pretty.

- Oh, and the School Festival. I honestly don’t even know what to do with him. He can learn any instrument just by like, downloading some YouTube tutorial videos. He can learn any dance by watching it once. He’s really strong, really fast, and can also operate as a speaker (though that can be awkward, cause it’s through his mouth, so he’d just be standing there with his mouth open). They might keep his role same as canon, idk. They’d probably all fight over him.

- I’m sure none of this was anything like Chobits. Sorry. I just think the ears are neat, really, and liked the idea of Izuku being a cyborg (Chobits isn’t even about cyborgs, lol).

Sorry this is outrageously long! If you want to write this into a full fic, feel free to use my ideas! Just give me a shoutout, maybe? And tell me about it, so I can read it!

[theliterarywolf]

Wait, it sounds like they have Professor Utonium the same personality as Dick Hardly? The former college mate that the Professor had who stole his research to create knockoff versions of the Powerpuff girls and exploits them to get fame and money. Yknow if the whole thing turns out that they aren’t the real powerpuff girls but clones that are effectively being gaslight into thinking they are, and exploring the potential mess that could create, that actually might be a cool concept.

And that's another weird thing. Because the original series had a few episodes that could be supporting pillars for an 'adult reboot' of the show. Under a cut because some of these got pretty long.

Speed Demon.

Have the show pull a Scooby-Doo: Apocalypse and have it be a what-if scenario about what would have happened if the girls never escaped the hellscape future and had to grow up constantly fighting an all-powerful, increasingly-deranged Him.

Collect-Her.

You want to talk about the struggles of being a child-superhero and growing up to a cruel reality? Fine. *rolls up edgelord Grimdark/Dead Dove; Do Not Eat sleeves* Let's do this. Have the collector character, after he's release from prison for kidnapping charges (because quirky cartoon shenanigans aside, he did kidnap three young girls) and continue his obsession but on a more subdued scale.

But one day he is finally reminded of the passage of time. The girls aren't the young children he obsessed over anymore. They're grown, adult women. This is... wrong! How dare they grow up? Don't they realize how much they MEAN to him?!

In a fit of rage, he starts destroying some of his old merch. However, upon calming down, he sees what he's done and bemoans how he destroyed everything. Just like the girls choosing to grow up destroyed everything. In a moment of weakness, he is visited by a certain voice asking him "Don't you wish that things could simply go back to the way they were~? In those good old days~?"

Him would basically take advantage of his unhealthy obsession and broken mind to trick him into a Faustian bargain of "Send enough innocent young souls my way and I'll have the power to make everything right~!" Prompting him to become the worst kind of villain Townsville had ever encountered: a sick, twisted individual preying upon and murdering children. Not before, of course, dressing them up in mock copies of the girls' former outfits.

A series springboarded from that episode could be dark, edgy, but still go on about it like 'Oh, how do each of the girls, now adults, react to such a horrible onslaught?' You would have Blossom, always having to bear the image of a collected leader, get buried in trying to hunt down this monster while still juggling the monster-of-the-day situations Townsville finds itself in. Bubbles would probably take it the hardest, breaking down at the first few bodies, but eventually realizing that this kind of monster requires her to dig deep down into herself to snuff them out as brutally as possible. And Buttercup would be the rogue-cop approach: going after any person who ever had an inkling of being such a sick fuck with an iron fist and acidic words.

Members Only.

Follow the girls, now grown up, and their trials and tribulations as members of the AWSM.

Or even the premise you put out there. There are numerous ways to do 'adult, live-action PowerPuff Girls' but they chose the laziest ones and got upset that people kept clown on them.

[dashboardonfire]

Finally watched MacGyver 5x03

You might have read some of these sentences before, so bear with me ;-)

I don't think the episode itself is too bad regarding the storyline. Bit of wonky writing but we're used to that by now *lol*. What I do hate is how they keep deconstructing the characters and praising a toxic relationship. 

I always assumed “the scene” was an undercover mission and that there might be no kiss after all for MacRiley, so not really surprised. It was a bit disappointing though that they used this short scene for the promotion of the entire episode since nothing came of it. 

They got some flack from fans that the first two episodes were too Desi- and Russ-centered. Maybe they felt they had to not press too much on the kidnapping storyline? This was the main storyline though; did the guest-stars even get any mentions?

What's worse is that the writers fed into it by re-posting and tweeting so much; feeding the frenzy of MacRiley fans. And then wondering about the repercussion. Of course we would be disappointed, what did they expect? *lol* And in my opinion, the fans stayed mostly civil. If they were put off by this and blocking people, they’ve never experienced full fandom rage *loL*.

What I do hate is how they keep deconstructing the characters. MacRiley fan or not, we all know it wasn't Desi who led Mac back from Codex. Who went after him to get him back. Bozer enabling MacDesi aka Mes(s)y is weird. And why does Mac keep apologizing to Desi? She should cut him some slack, at least - or start apologizing herself for once. Yes, there's stuff he could have handled better - if his mental health had been firing on all cylinders. He did what he could to save his loved ones and the world, so for the greater good. Isn't that was Desi as a soldier would have done, too? 

And I’m fine with rebooted Mac not being a Macho hero, but why does he have to beg for Desi spending time with him; date or no date? I get that Desi doesn't like fishing or painting but that wasn't the point... how often do we do stuff that we don't really like that much with partners, family or friends? Because it's about spending time with each other... time is precious once you start adulting. Especially if you’re working in the spy-agency-fake-Think-Tank-business.

It’s understandable that Mac keeps clinging to someone after losing so much lately. Yes, some people are not good with their emotions or with relationships. But the way she treats him... shouldn’t Bozer try to intervene? Why do the others keep making him feel like it was his fault the relationship fell apart? 

As I said, I'm fine with rebooted Mac not being a macho hero but everyone enabling Desi's emotional abuse and neglecting Riley's good influence on Mac's mental health is weird. Desi keeps gaslighting Mac and the others are following along instead of acknowledging and helping. It’s like Lenkov against Lucas come to screen. It would be an amazing point if they tried to show us that how Desi treats Mac is wrong but I don’t think that’s what they’re doing. And I doubt they’re going to write Levy out of the show. It would be a pity to lose Levy because I like her a lot but I have no clue how they still think they can redeem Desi enough for fans to like and accept her, no matter if she stays dating Mac or not.

That's it for now. More of my ramblings on my blog, in the MacGyverOnline forums and on Twitter. You know where to find me ;-)

[imagining-in-the-margins]

Quick Anon Asks (+ a NSFW ask under the cut)!

1. [Patience] I'm so glad to hear that you.... enjoyed? it 😂 It sounds like it had its intended effect! Thank you so much for taking the time to read it and share your thoughts. Angst never performs well, so I knew it would just be a few of us. Still wanted to write it, though!

2. Aaaa! I'm so glad someone said something lol! My siblings and I used to watch it on loop when I was younger. It has such intense nostalgia for me (and the soundtrack gives me so much inspiration).

Also, I feel you. I thought it was "Erin" Carter for many months, and when my mom told me he was a boy I cried for an hour. In hindsight, me singing "I Want Candy" with my whole chest, thinking it was about a lesbian, was probably the first sign I wasn't straight.

3. Just wait until you see me try to navigate a room without running into something.

4. It took me a minute to figure out what you were talking about, but I see it now! Honestly, I think it was just an error on their part. For one, Paget has said the negotiations for a reboot are going so terribly that she doesn't think it'll happen at all.

Second, whenever Matthew has been asked about it, he's essentially said that he's not really interested in returning to the show. I think the only way that he would return is it Paget, Joe, and AJ returned. Otherwise, I think he would rather do other things. You never know, though!

I don't really want it to be a Spencer focused show if it does come back, though. I love my boy, but I don't trust them to write a whole show about him well enough to be worth it, lmao.

NSFW ASK WARNING

tw: brief noncon mention, slut shaming

Hey friend! I wanted to let you know that I have a NSFW blog now (@imagining-inspiration ), which is a better place to send asks like this in the future (this is fine for now, though).

As for your body count, I wouldn't pay it too much mind. Grown adults don't give a shit. I don't think I ever told my boyfriend my body count. Didn't matter to him, despite his being 3 (including me).

I will say that I probably had a similar one to you when I was your age. Mine was a bad thing, but that's because it was a hypersexual trauma response. I was miserable, and arguably non-consenting for most of it.

If you like sex, that's fine. Just be safe both in the act (use protection and ensure consent!) and in the courting. There is nothing shameful about having sex. I would never look down on someone for their body count, high or low or nonexistent. If people make you feel that way, drop them. They suck and it's not your job to make them be better.

Also, this should go without saying, but if someone asks you and you don't want to tell them, you are under zero fucking obligation to tell them. Even if you're going to sleep with them. It's not their fucking business lmao. ESPECIALLY if they make you feel shame, guilt, or anxiety. Tell them to fuck off.

[vampiremeerkat]

I actually forgot about that squirrel. Lol They will probably cancel or censor it, give it time. I heard they’re doing a reboot of tiny toons. If Fifi la fume is in, it shows how hypocritical they are. She does the same exact things as Pepe, but she gets positive feedback, still has a fan base, and on some sites is more popular than Pepe. And I don’t want her to get canceled either. I have Pepe le Pew merchandise I collected or loved ones have given me over the years since I was kid. Things that have sentimental value. I have a Pepe figurine my grandmother gave me so many years ago. A Pepe shirt and keychain my niece gave me. What am I supposed to do with it now that he’s supposedly a symbolism of rape culture?Throw it away, so people, these strangers out there don’t think I’m a rape apologist? Will I get harassed or weird looks now? I hate that all of sudden I feel like a horrible person for liking him and having a different interpretation. All this cancel culture is toxic. Causes more harm than good. Cancel culture gives people an excuse to harass others. They could’ve written him in another way. But they decided to just cut him all together. I know there’s so much going on in the world, and I shouldn’t care about this but at the moment I can’t help it. I needed to vent. I’ve been harassed before for liking certain fictional characters even way before the pandemic, for years, and I’m just tired of it all. I want it to stop. There’s characters I don’t like, but i refuse to waste my time trying to cancel every character I don’t like. I concentrate on the ones I enjoy.

I can’t say with certainty what the entertainment industry will do. Fictional women have been exempt from criticism for a very long time now; they’re free to molest or stalk a target. Or well, “free” in the sense that they and/or the show they're part of don’t get cancelled over it. Pepé Le Pew is ridiculing the men the complainants think he’s honouring. Not a single child or adult believed that what he did was alright. The man is a walking joke, which was the point. Donald Duck was portrayed as a nazi supporter once, yet his face is still being printed on shirts today, because everyone familiar with that episode knows it was 40s anti-nazi propaganda, and Donald was merely having a nightmare. It’s the same deal with Pepé. The average Joe understands he’s but a cheeky fool and his cartoons aren’t pro anything. That the Space Jam 2 staff got worried has little to do with what the regular crowd thinks of the character. What could happen is that Warner Brothers examines this soft ban and the few loud bloggers who agree with it, and hastily concludes that this is what all customers want. Pepé could be excluded from future projects for the next 10 to 20 years or so, but if you walk the streets with a Pepé hat, I can promise you that no one’s going to look at you funny. No one worth your time, anyway. They’re still selling Pokémon posters with black-skinned Jynx over where I live. The “anger and disgust” news articles report on isn’t always as great as insinuated. But let’s also be honest: it’s not like Pepé was ever a part of the main Looney Tunes crew to begin with. He was barely in the first Space Jam. Even if I believed Pepé were a despicable character, I wouldn’t give Warner Brothers an applause if they announced a ban. How do you ban an underused character? It’s fine to worry about nonsense. This nonsense is what’s supposed to be our temporary escape from the real troubles of the world. If our forms of escapism get tainted or taken away, all that’s left is double the worry. It’s a bit like yanking the pacifier from an infant’s mouth, I suppose. Pacifiers don’t symbolize anything “cool” or truly important, yet we all need one in our lives.. So, I guess.. it is important.

[popculturebuffet]

Top 20 Animated Episodes of 2020 Part 1 (#20-#11)

Hello Hello Hello animation fans! And welcome to something i’ve wanted to since last year. See I had the idea for a best episodes list back in 2019: rather than do a best shows list, which would be only about half of 20+ shows anyway, I thought i’d do a best episode lists: to give as many shows a possiblitiy to shine as possible while still honoring the best of the year. But my own natural foibles got the better of me: I INSISSITED on watching everything I missed.. then just kept putting THAT off until it was was spring, shows were coming back and I just threw up my hands. I’ve regretted it ever since and vowed, especially since in the interim animation went from just being something I analyized for fun to my analyzing it for fun AND profit, to get it done this year.  So I had to make a few caveats. First I gave myself at first till the 31st of the year and then due to covid and everything that happened, until the end of the first week or so of the year, i.e. today, to watch as much as I could. So several shows are missing. Some I REALLY got behind on and don’t have an excuse for (Craig of the Creek and Big City Greens), others I also really liked but my depression made it really hard to watch (F is for Family and very nearly Bojack), some I just kept putting off ever starting or forgot to start entirely (Hilda, yes even since season 1, Kipo: Age of the Wonderbeasts and It’s Pony) and some.. I gave up because as you can tell I sit on shows way too often (Ilve action wise I still need to get back to Doom Patrol), and I realized i’d rather watch stuff old and new I care about than waste time with something that I just stopped liking, i.e. Rick and Morty and Big Mouth which i’m guaranteed some flack for saying but I dont’ care. I have my reasons, and while I originally GAVE those reasons I decided to leave them out: this list is not about me bitching about why I quit certain shows. I’m a grown ass man, I can quit a show anytime, and given last year was such a craphole, I think we could use less piss and vinegar and more sugar.  So before we begin, a bit about the state of animation last year: It was in flux. WIth a new decade dawning we got great new shows like Owl House, Close Enough, which in a year full of terrible suprises not only FINALLY got released but did so with a second season order, Solar Opposities, the Midnight Gospel and Kipo: Age of Wonderbeasts. Ducktales returned for it’s best season ever. Amphibia returned for a pretty good season. Disney brought back the wonderful mickey mouse shorts towards the end of the year, FINALLY given D+ some non-movie animated content. The Casagrandes got better as it went and just barely didn’t make this list and the Loud House kept on trucking and shows no signs of stopping with a season renewal and a movie coming out. And Adventure Time staged a comeback a few years after it died and while I haven’t seen BMO yet, Obsidian was fantastic and only barely didn’t make the list. 

Not only that but we got   great new series announced for the next two years: Lumberjanes is FINALLY getting adapted and by Noelle Stevenson herself. Gendy Tarkovsky is not only returning to children’s animation but with a wonderously weird concept about immortal unicorns turned into teens> There’s a promising show about a ghost and a plucky tween coming this summer. The Rise of the TMNT movie is still happening. Craig McCracken is also coming back.  But naturally given this was 2020 the news wasn’t all good as we said goodbye to a lot of shows.. and this was after 2019 already took several from us, OK KO still being the hardest loss to this day and Star Vs very disapointing finale still leaving a bad taste in my mouth: Most gutpunchingly, the two frontrunners of animation at the time, shows that truly changed the game and probably gave other shows a chance at life they never would’ve had, including some on this list, ended. 

Steven Universe took it’s final bow after we got one last trip to beach city with the Future miniseries, with the show ending gracefully and beautifully, and having pulled off it’s third succesive possible ending for the franchise and it’s defntive ending for steven’s story. Bojack did the same not long before, ending on a bittersweet but beautiful note and with a one two punch of the series best episode and i’ts second best episode, a satsifying but bittersweet finale we’ll get to. Both shows as I said have set hte standards and tones for most animation after them, and both’s absence is felt.  She Ra suprisingly ended, though with a beautiful and wonderful finale we’ll, again, get to, and on i’ts own terms, but given it was the most likely to take up the shield from steven, it was another punch. Less peacefully was the ending of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a show I caught up on after it’s demise which was screwed by the network over toy sales because that’s.. still.. a thing. 

There is a light of hope, as the movie is somehow still in production and if it does well we may get season 3, but it’s dim and given the show, despite it’s flaws, had found itself and the finale, which they were given weeks to put together, was spectacular and, say it with me now “we’ll get to that”, I really hope it does. And that nick learns how to run an animation company for fuck’s sake. 

Infnity Train while not dead, is on life support despite having it’s best season in season 2 and an okay season that still tackeled racisim very well even if story wise the season faltered, at a time when we REALLY need to tackle racisim in our entertaiment period. Venture Bros meanwihle was just flat out canceled for no given reason despite both having as eason renewal order and you know, being Adult Swim’s highest rated and best show for over a decade. Like Infinity Train and Rise there’s a SCRAP of hope, both adult swim and hbo max are apparently looking into ways to bring it back so a finale movie or a season 6 comic are propable, but given the show ended on two big cliffhangers, and given 2020 already had pushed back a LOT of things I’d looked forward to for good reason, and had now just outright killed a show, it was a massive shattering blow and easily the biggest of the year.  But coming VERY close was finding out Ducktales was ending. While the finale would serve as a proper finale, I feel the show easily could’ve had more seasons.. Disney just dosen’t let shows go on forever, or sometimes not even for a reasonable amount.. or put those shows it didn’t let go on a resonable amount on Disney Plus.. and I will be bringing that last part up until Wonder Over Yonder is FINALLY put on the platform, along with MANy other shows. Figure it out.  But yeah that was ANOTHER show I thought would lead the way and like Gravity Falls lead to Ducktales, Ducktales will probably lead to more shows including HOPEFULLY a frank and matt lead Darkwing Duck.. and even that’s in jeapordy since instead it might be done by Seth Rogan’s company who while not bad people and if their working on Frakn’s reboot great.. are not the people who spent three seasons setitng up a reboot in a unvierse they already spent three seasons deftly crafting. I DOUBT Frank won’t be involved since Let’s Get Dangerous was promoted to hell and back, but again given this is disney.. it worries me and I won’t be settled on this till we get conformation of a proper reboot with frank and matt at the helm. 

Point is it was a rough year for animatoin even without covid taken into account pushing back seasons and forcing a change in work habits. But as this list attests even in the worst year in recenet memory, here’s hoping 2021 dosen’t say hold my beer, there was some damn fine animation, including some of the best i’ve ever seen and the shows that did leave or are getting ready to gave us one hell of a show. Before we get started one last bit of buisness for transparency: As I said i missed some shows and others I did watch but given despite this list’s sheer size it was still VERY tight, for the record each show got four nominees a piece, and some had even more episodes considered before widdling it down, and even at the 40 episode mark there were some tough cuts and by the end it was brutal. So here’s the show’s considered. 

Shows Watched: Steven Universe Future, Infinity Train, Close Enough, She Ra, Ducktales, Amphibia, The Loud House, The Casagrandes, Rise of the TMNT, Animaniacs, Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, Adventure Time: Distant Lands, Solar Opposites, Bojack Horseman, The Owl House, The Midnight Gospel Shows That Did Not Make the Final List: The Loud House, The Casagrandes, Animaniacs, The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, Adventure Time: Distant Lands, and Solar Opposites.  Final note: all episode’s i’ve done reviews of at the time of this list will have links in the title to said reviews in case your curious So with that in mind , here’s my top 20 list, part 1.. becasue these posts are going to be long as hell so I needed to split up gang. On with the show after the cut as this is a really damn long one

20. Fragments (Steven Universe Future) “I bow to your strength.. my Diamond”  Steven Unvierse’s final act was a masterstroke. The show ended with every major conflict resolved as the Diamonds decided , if only for Steven’s sake at first, to change their ways and helped him restore the corrupted gems, while Lars made it home. Our heroes were FINALLY, after seasons and almost two in-story years, as Steven “Finally Done, Finally Us, Finally Me”, the last part being especially pogniant since, while done thanks to a horrifying action on whites part, his breif seperation PROVED there was nothing of rose left; She’s gone.  So Future uses this cleverly: With the conlfict of the movie resolved things were still very nice.. but eventually Steven started breaking down piece by piece: As the series went on it became clear what it was: A deconstuction of some of the less healthy part of the mostly fairly healthy and wonderful main show. It showed just what happen when someone whose put his identity into having some kind of destiny, someone whose felt their purpose in life is to make other people’s better and solve their problems and be a good person.. has no issues to solve. Oh sure there’s an antagonist here and there and Jasper refuses to change or admit no third great gem war is coming and that peace really has come.. but his family are finally happy with who they are, and are moving on with their lives. As someone whose had people move on without them and whose clunt to people this hits close to home.. hits close to home a lot. 

So as the season went on Steven clung to everything, taking it VERY badly when Lars and Sadie not only revealed their attempt at a relationship failed after years of build up, and never told steven because they thought it wasn’t his buisness, which is true to a point as them breaking up isn’t anything to do with him but someone should’ve told him it was amicable given the amount of shit he’s seen between you two, just saying. But it still meant a good chunk of his friends leaving town, and him, behind. Attempts to fillt his gap with tv watching or gardneing, aka what the crew amazingly dubbed “Depression Hobbies:”, a term that hits close to home, failed and then a far WORSE attempt to fill the void in his life by proposing to connie failed.. she turned him down firmly, but gently recognizing this was a terrible idea, they were too young, and he was clearly going through some stuff. As garnet put it “Your partner is your compliment, not your missing piece”. Another beautiful term to stick in my brain. 

So as if this wasn’t bad enough his body started mutatating and it turned out the pink form he’d gained was actually supposed to just be his body’s version of adrenline, but since he’d spent years in constnat struggle, his body was treating his emotinal stress like do or die situations with predictable results. We’ll get to that more in a bit but needless to say steven’s family were concerned and Greg returned from managing Sadie to TRY and help his son.. only to drive a wedge between them as Greg’s Smothering Parents seemed like the life Steven never had, instead of obnoxious people who refused to reconcile with their son even decades later despite plenty of effort on greg’s end and Greg having to raise a child alone with only marginal support from the gems at best at first. But Greg’s tragic inablity to see his son was hurting, as with everyone elses lead to him nearly getting them hurt in a car accident and thus this episode.  After getting chewed out by the gems, who tragically simply don’t realize what’s wrong with steven, can’t figure out why themselves and he refuses to tell them, Steven runs off, to the one person who would never tell the gems where he is and the last place they’d expect him to go at his lowest: Jasper. And thus we get one of the darkest and moodiest episodes of the show’s long history. 

After having lost a lot of his sense of peace of mind: his best friends are gone, his girlfriend is next, his parents and sister are constantly busy, there’s no one for him to turn to. Steven NEEDS someone like him and while his family is trying they just don’t know how to reach him and deep down he dosen’t WANT them to. Like me at times, shocker I know, he fears deeply that if they knew some of the flaws about him, some of the problems he’s had, they’d hate him. When as time would bear out for both of us, as my first stint of therapy near the end of colllege proved, it just means they understand you better and can HELP YOU. 

So instead he turns to Jasper, and he does so for good reason: He wants to control his power and emotions.. the problem is Jasper dosen’t WANT what Steven wants. Steven wants to feel godo again and feel healthy and be the person people want him to be. Jasper.. wants a fight. She wants a diamond, someone to serve, someone stronger than her who will LET her be what she feels she’s meant to be: a warrior, a destroyer, a breaker of worlds. So she slams that steven shaped peg into a round hole, and it’s horrifying and uncomfortable to see our hero turned from a loveable hero.. to a power obssed, almost vegeta-esque asshole .. in short she’s made him into the very thing he spent years fighting against, all because he’s so scared of himself he can’t face himself. It shows just how bad things have gotten: that steven’s hates himself SO MUCH, that he’d rather become something worse than face the truth and let his family help him. So convinced they don’t need him that he needs to be something ELSE. 

And so tons of training, abuse and hard labor lead to the moment Jasper and fans had been waiting for: a rematch between the two. And.. it’s easily one of the series best fights. For a series that’s at it’s core about ending the cycle of violence and often big exchanges of words and someone emotinally healing are treated as big as victories in combat.. the show has some of the best fight scenes in cartoons period, and this being the penultimate one, we’ll get to the last one next time, it’s a brutal, dbz style slugfest, something unlike the other fights in the show, with two opponents full of rage and hate going at it with everything they have.. ending in Steven, for one breif terrifying moment having BECOME what his grandmothers and mother used to be: A sadstic monster drunk on their own power “Your right jasper, I WAS holding back”

But when we next see Steven, running into the house and ingoring his rightfully concerned family..... he’s not that guy anymore. He’s back to who he was at the start of the episode: A scared teenager who deeply hates himself and who wants to be better but is ironically shutting out the only people who can help him. And one.. whose committed murder. This was a VERY bold move to make: Steven KILLED SOMEONE. Sure it was  shattering so it got past censors, but in his lowest moment.. steven did the one thing that to someone who treasures all life, is anthemia to him: he killed, did what his mother did before she changed, did what his aunts have done countless times to countless worlds. And it horrifes him, with him desperate to bring jasper back and using everything he has, his powers and his aunts essences, to try and fix his mistake.  And unlike anyone else in his postion he succeeds.. and Jasper, ignoring steven’s attempts to apologize is surprised at first at being shattered, knowing what happened.. befor bowing proudly, FINALLY getting what she was REALLY after: A diamond to serve. And steven can only gaze in horror at what he’d become and at the realization he can’t go back from this and he has no idea what to do now. An utterly grippling, utterly terrifying character piece with some of Zach Callistons best character work in the show’s storied history, with Steven shifting from being drunk on his power to utterly broken at having broken jasper. One of the series finest moments.. only topped by some things the series proper did.. and some more on this list. 

19. Perils of Peekablue (She Ra and the Princesses of Power) 

“They are my people. Which means most of them have sworn revenge against me at some point “  She Ra was easily one of the best shows of the 2010′s. While it started out excellent, and pretty gay, it ended being a masterpiece, and fabulously gay, as is befitting something related to He Man in some way. 

A masterful space opera, She Ra had some great bones in a thrilling love story, great humor, great action and wonderful characters most of them main and supporting going through some form of development. It was a wonderful, magical show and I look forward to Noelle giving Lumberjanes the series treatment, both because the series concept is frankly better built for an ongoing tv series than a monthly comic, and because after this series she has my utmost faith in whatever she does. Also her story about how she both came to terms with her sexuality and met her partner was VERY lovely.  Seriously check it out. Also her partner was the one who co wrote another entry on this list, just a fun fact. Point is this show was awesome.  But as I said part of the show’s strength was it’s character and that shines on this day in the limelight episode covering what’s going with the rebellion since She Ra shot off into space to rescue her best friend. We do get to see the best friends squad breifly, but their simply heading home: With Catra rescued and on the path to being a better person, and firmly in adora’s lap because again this show is wonderously gay and because it annoys her and Catra gets off on that, our heroes are wondering how everyone else is fairing.  So we see that, as with the Rebellion not doing so good against Horde Prime, our heroes seek the solution to their problems with the same solution homer simpson always uses:

Well okay less starting a new life and more getting the help of the mysterious prince peekablue, who I now realize is where the whole pikablue name for merril probbaly came from.. or maybe nerds making things up in the 90′s werne’t that creative. You decide!

So we get the ragtag team of Mermista, Seahawk, Scorpia and Perfuma, as the quartet try to bluff their way to the prince for help. Naturally we get Seahawk being seahawk, i.e. an awesome ham with a voice way older than he looks, Mermista being annoyed by that and being forced to admit she tried out pyromania to see what it’s like, which naturally is the most romantic thing Seahawk’s heard in his whole life.. as well as some VERY charming ship tease between Scorpia and Perfuma as Scorpia enrouages her the two bond and Scorpia finally likes someone who both likes her back and isn’t so obssed with her sorta ex and tied up in her own issues a relationship is impossible. Look I was suprised she found someone else as everyone here, but i’m happys for her. She’s the nicest person on this show and is now dating the second nicest person on this show. It’s nice okay. 2020 didn’t give me much nice, it gave me the emotoinal equilvent of being constnatly stung by hornets.

We also get a lovely musical number from Scorpia about being a spy.. and the revelation Peekablue.. is just Double Trouble. THEIR BACK BABY. It was nice for them to make a comeback for one last apperance and they do provid vallid information.. but prove to not be too useful despite this both due to their habit of being only out for themselves, hence setting up an elaborate cabaret act under the ocean.. and because Mermista got chipped by the crowd, so now our heroes are stuck in a giant coffin surronded by the thing she can manipulate. It’s only through a harrowing sacrifice by scorpia that Perfuma and Seahawk escape but with their sorta partners now brainwahsed to the other side.  To amp up the tension back home.. things are even worse as Spinerlla, whose been brainwashed for several episodes and seriously worrying her wife Netossa... has made her move and with the rest of the rebellion’s leadership gone, chipped everyone but Frosta and King Micah, who dosen’t last long, meaning not only do our two remaning heroes BARELY escape, but the horde now has, between both plot lines, four really heavy hitters, as later episodes would bear out that Spinerlla is basically the red tornado when it comes to wind powers. Point is perils is a fun, breather episode... that then turns into a still fun but also heartbreaking episode as our heroes loose and loose bad and their only hope is in our ohter heroes making it back to htem in one piece. 

18. 100% No Stress Day (Close Enough) “Long story short I owe them three grand”  Close Enough.. has not had the easiest existence. It was greenlit in 2017, used it’s pitch reel as the trailer meaning everyone thought it was MUCH farther along, was meant for TBS but got shelved because the show it was to be paired with, The Cops, was created by sexual predator Louis CK. And since he came up and h’es primarily responsible for this show getting shelved for so long... Louis CK is a bastard. He harassed women, literally and metaphorically waved his dick around to show his superiority, knew he could get away with it, and ACTED contrite when caught and rightfuly punished for it by loosing everything.. then has spent the last year or so TRYING to mount a come back, with the help of Dave Chapelle who I lost ALLLLL respect for in recent years, despite not having apologized or done anything that resembles him having actually learned his fucking lesson or tells me that, could he get away with it, he wouldn’t just do it again. I’m taking time out of this unrelated thing ot make sure he does not get ANY power back, as too often preadatory or abusive assholes get away with this and get right back to doing stuff, like say Doug Walker, who I only bring up to remind people he’s a bad person who enabled worst people and abused a lot of innocent critics, and let htem lovingly euologize a man he knew was a preadator in life without telling any of them about said behavior, which he coudl’ve done without outing the victim to the world against her wishes. Because as another episode we’ll get to next time briliantly put it 

But now i’m done reminding people of assholes, I can get back to what’s really important: The fact this show is a goddamn miracle. Not only is it as good as I hoped, which let’s face it in this year it was just as likely the show would be the video equilvent of scabies, but it got RENEWED. Turns out it’s being delayed.. was a blessing in disguise as it sidestepped being part of a failed animation block, and instead go to be the first adult animated show on HBO Max with tons of promotion. And judging by the future lineup of adult animated programming.. it’s probably going to be the ONLY good one for a while as other offering includes the prince, about life with the royal family, and a show about a 12 year old whose constantlly going thorugh trauma because they apparently did not get the irony when watching moral orel and also skipped the entire third season. And possibly got some brain damage I dunno. Hopefully will lead to much better shows down the line and actually gets a second chance at life, and even if it clocks in at only two seasons, it’s still a damn miracle and I will acknolwedge it. 

So yeah as I said the show is fantastic and was one of my faviorites this year. The show treads some familiar terroitory as it does use the formula from Quintel’s “Regular Show”: Normal problems that spiral into bizzare chaos that still has it’s own effed up internal logic. The thing that honestly makes it BETTER in my opinon, is the passage of time. Quintel is no longer the brighted eyed fresh out of college and menial job guy he was: he’s married with a kid, and that fully informed this project, as instead of being about doofing around in your 20′s, it’s about the pressures of hitting your 30′s: from aging to keeping your relationship fresh to all the perils that come with parenting, to missed opportunities you deeply regret. There’s a lot of good stuff they dig into here, but it never overdies the comedy, simply ads a bit of depth to it. And regular show wasn’t LACKING that by any means, i’m not bashing the show.. i’m just saying Close Enough is starting at the level Regular Show was at at it’s best.. and could easily and handily suprasss it with time it now has. 

And I was first given a good and proper introduction via this episode, as it leaked beforehand due to a french animation festival and I couldn’t help reviewing it, as i’d waited quite some time. But honestly while I like the first episode in the all in the show proper, quilty pleasures.. I feel this is a WAY better first episode and shoudl’ve been swapped with Quilty, as it introduces things even better and lets the whole cast shine, and thus is one of two close enough episodes on this list.  The episode starts with Emily, the stable but stressed and anxious half our our main couple at the doctors office where we get a great barrage of jokes off the bat, from the laundry setting a blaze leading to one of the series best lines

Naturally this has lead to her body constnatly sleep fighting .. while she’s awake, so Josh, her husband and loveable doofus, offers to take care of errands so she dosen’t implode from the stress. This also displays one of the series best assets: While Josh and Emily are an optimistic and impulsive idiot and a stressed out, often voice of reason.. they actually LOVE each other. It’s like a far more healthy of early seasons homer and marge, where BOTH get in over their head but  both clearly love and respect each other, and while Josh CAN be irresponsible.. he still holds down a decent job (Though Emily is more of the breadwinner and her job provides the insurance), is attentive to their daughter candace, and WANTS to be repsonsible. Trust me after countless dom coms where i’ve had to restrain from yelling “GET A DIVORCE” at the screen, it’s nice the tide is turning and Bob’s Burgers has become more of the norm couple wise than the exception.  But yeah so the main group splits up: Josh takes candace and his best friend and local weirdo played by Jason Mantzokus every series needs, and easily my favoirite character, Alex to do errands while Bridgette, Alex’s ex husband, Emily’s best friend and both the bbay of the bunch and the most irresponsible one.. gets her high to help her relax. 

Both plots are really great: The boys and candace run into a ham shortage, a joke that actually plays better in the pandemic age, and stripper clowns because in the series best gag so far, Alex explains via flashback he bet them they couldn’t make a dog, and one did so.. using his dick. 

Just in case you were wondering if JG was enjoying the fact he could use adult humor now, though another part of the series charm is while it freely makes more adult jokes, it dosen’t ever get into gross or dudebro territory. It just means the censors are down and they don’t have to hide beer as soda anymore. They also have to tangle with some hamburgalers who are reselling the meat at rock bottom prices and creating the shortage.. and who deny being hamburgalers despite their tactics being backing up into houses with a large van and stealing hams. OUr heros avoid becmonig meat and naturally end up both in a car chase and then a bet for their lives in a game of Ladder World, josh’s latest game.  Meanwhile Emily blazes it and we get a great getting high montage, as it shows BRidgette’s idea does genuinely help a bit.. until they run into Timothy, the teacher at cadance’s school who I hope gets an increased roll as he’s always a delight and this is his best apperance. Depsite the understandable awkwarndess and paranoia of running into your kids teacher while high, being an open minded guy Timothy offers them wine and then weed and even takes Emily punching him when her trip takes a bad turn, giving her a stern but fair “bitch use your words!” before the next seen has him helping her through her issues with some solid advice, allowing her to arrive in home just in time to save her husband and the cave goblin who lives in her house from clown strippers and meat gangsters.. which sounds like one hell of a gay porno. All in all a solid, always hilarous, always charming ep that shows the series off at it’s best. 

17. How Santa Stole Christmas! (Ducktales)

“No, no.. Christmas is a SAD story?” 

This is my third and hopefully FINAL time talking about this one, though given it has a high chance of showing up on the series best of list, probably not. Not that I mind, this is a VERY good episode, I just don’t have anytihing new left to say. It’s a heartwarming, fresh, engaging christmas special that uses the characters perfectly and for once actually strips down the cast effectively instead of making you wonder where everyone else is, while still giving everyone an apperance. It also has Webby giving Lena (And Violet) an adorable cheek smooch when delivering her parents and I will never not find that fucking precious. Plus it’s gay as hell with plenty of gay subtext between Scrooge and Santa, a sentence I never thought i’d say but i’m so glad i’ts my job to get to type things like that, and said kiss so that helps. But even besides that it’s just REALLY damn good. Again i’m leaving this short both because i’ve talked about this twice now, once when it came out as I do regularly for ducktales and again for my best christmas specials list, but it’s really that good and made it damn high on my bet christmas specials list and is only so low here.. because despite being a terrible year in every other respect we got some REALLY good episodes this year. So yeah this one’s a classic, I love it but i’m tired of talking about it till at least next december. Moving on. 

16. Finale (E-Turtle Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Shreddy or Not,  Anatawa Hitorijanai, and Rise) Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles “Oh and Blue your leader now”  As I mentioned in the intro. Rise of the TMNT was unjustly canceled this year and even worse got it’s season order chopped in half and was given just weeks to throw together a finale. So it’s remakrable that not only was the season pretty damn good, having the series usual problems of sometimes overdipping into the boys stupidity hence the episode where everyone but Raph keeps eating poison, but also had both great character arcs in Baron Draxum’s reformation and Splinter getting more and more fleshed out and more screne time, and great laughs. Seriously Clothes Don’t Make The Turtle, aka that episode where our heroes end up trapped in an 80′s dress up montage, BARELY didn’t make the list. 

And as a longtime fan of the franchise I couldn’t be happier this fresh take, which I was aprhensive about at first because it looked like yet another dumbed down teen titans go ripoff, and given it was dumb to begin with... but instead was a fun action comedy with a lot of really unique and intresting ideas. And despite the rush to finish.. they delivered one hell of a finale and on the high chance season 3 dosen’t happen... it’s a hell of a note to go out on.  First things first: yes i’m counting multi parters as one episode. Not more seralized shows like SU Future or Infinity Train, where events can flow in and out, but stories that are clearly one big story, in pieces like the old days. Since hour long episodes of shows are fair game, I felt it only fair that multi parters around the same length as an hourlong special be given the same treatment. Not that any hourlongs made it this year, sorry fans of Obsidian and “Let’s Get Dangerous”, though both are throughly EXCELLENT episodes this was just a tight list. 

Okay good. So yeah the finale, split over four episodes, is an epic: taking plot threads from all season and series and weaving them into a well paced, emotoinal, finale. Like previous more serious episode the comedy’s downplayed.. but it doesen’t feel like an entirley diffrent show and works well, and the always great fluid animation was kicked up to 11 for this one.  So to make a long story short: in this series shredder is a demonic set of armor, but came back wrong at the end of last season when the food clan revivied him, so while the clan now has him back, they can’t really use him. And current head Foot Recurit, a spunky foot recruit whose failed to rank up despite being tough and ambitious and worthy of it, is at a loss how to reviive her master.  The turltes, naturally, end up accidently blundering into the solution as they head into Splinter’s head to find the info to beat Shredder. The show gives splinter easily one of , if not the best, backstories he’s ever had: While at the start the character was highly annoying, being a lazy asshole who didn’t train the boys and did nothing.. the show eventually give us valid reasons WHY he’s like this: he didn’t like being turned into a rat by big bad of season 1 Baron Draxum and thus has depresion over that, had quit fighting since he’d been forced to be a cage fighter by his ex for a while,  his ex being a giant spider just in case you thought this would be remotely normal an forgot what show we were talking about and genrally just had no horse in the tight training he usually does in most continuties. 

This episode adds another, heartbreaking lair: We find out back when he was Hamato Yoshi, Splinter’s mom left to ward off shredder when he was a boy.. and thus never came back and presumibly died. Understandably he had no time for the clan at that point, constantly defying his grandfather.. and why should he have time for them? They took his mom away for a thankless duty sacrificing herself to stop something he had no way of knowing was real, another reason he never trained the boys. And his grandfather rather than be AT all apologetic clearly, via his actions, thought of this as some great honor and was baffled why Yoshi would have no intrest in repeating his mother’s actions or have any sense of honor, duty or even love for a man who as far as he could tell, threw his mom to the wolves and had no regrets about it. So we see Yoshi as both a rebellious teen and as a movie star throwing out his grandpa.. we see those in reverse of course, but the later scenes give context to those showing why Yoshi was so rude.. because he lost his mom and it still hurts him.  HOwever helping her frees the shredder.. but also Karai who bizarely, in this continuity is not only an aincent ancestor of theres but a firm ally instead of either a deadly enemy or a fremeny of sorts. Or Splinter’s dang daughter, one of 2012′s best plot elements.. that was then wasted by turning her into a snek for a while because that show really went off the rails. So it quickly turns from a heartwarming and awkard family reunion.. to our heroes and karai barely escaping with their lives as shredder demolishes the lair, and Draxum, now a good guy after a season’s worth of wonderful chracter development, and Splinter stay behind, with Draxum cleverly bluffing and pretending ot be evil again.. only to try and take out shredder. 

Meanwhile we get this series take on “the turtles going to teh woods to retreat” as Raph beats himself up for being a bad leader and our heroes learn to tap into their hamato nimpo.. which basically means super magic ninja powers which allows them to bring back their classic weapons and enhances their magic, as it was never in teh weapons but in them all along. Also April gets Karai in her, phrasing, and a glowing boost to her bat.  The result.. is one of the best fights of both the year and the franchise PERIOD, which is what got me to catch up to see the finale because I saw a fan video synching it up to “Spin and Burst”.. and while not a naruto fan.. that song is fucking awesome and that video showed off an utterly marvelous fight. See for yourself

Seriously I wasn’t kidding. I’ve been a fan of this franchise since 2003. This is one of the best sequences in it’s history with or without the added soundtrack: The fighting is fast, frentic, beautfully animated and cool to watch and perfectly combines the series humor, with our heroes giving out quips and callbacks at the right times, with it’s fast paced and wonderous action. It also shows how far our heroes have come: while PART of it is them having super mystic powers unlocked.. they both had to work to reach those powers, and spirtually rather than phsycially,in the third part, but each power is merly an upgraded versoin of their old weapon powers, ablities they’ve spent the entire series mastering, paticuarlly leo who went from BARELY being able to work his portals to using teleport spam here. While they did pull a power BOOST out of their ass, it would’ve meant nothing had they not been anymore skileld than when they started and it makes the fight feel rewarding and impactful. And it ends with the hamot clan as a whole, with new ally foot recurit aka cassandra jones ina great last minute reveal that they CLEARLY didn’t have time to build up better, and smoke that bitch. Also Leo’s leader now bye. It’s just a damn good finale and I dind’t even get into all the great character stuff, including the great payoff of Casey’s face turn after seeing just how much of a monster the man she always wanted to serve is, and how he’s hurting Splinter, who ACTUALLY cares about her well being despite being an enemy. It’s just good stuff that fits the franchise like a glove but iwth the series own unique stamp on it. Nuff said. 

15. Toadcatcher (Amphibia)  “Your not upset because you lost the fight, your upset because you lost your friend! Your upset that Anne stood up to you and things between you will never be the same again.”  Amphibia was one of the first shows I covered reguarlly and along with Ducktales one of the most popular.. so yeah it’s weird it not only is low on the list, but this is the only represtintive. But this was a high volume year for quality and while the show had other standout episodes like gravity falls tribute “Wax Museum”, Marcy’s introduction “Marcy at the Gates” and noir patische “Little Frogtown”, as this list already shows it was a really tight race. It dosen’t help that while Season 2 isn’t terrible.. it’s a bit more uneven, and unlike season 1 it’s weaker stretches of episodes weren’t as easily covered, as instead of airing every weekday, it was a weekly release. Which I prefer, as it means they aren’t being dumped out en masse and are given room to breathe and the passage of time feels more warranted when it’s spread out over a few months intead of a few weeks. It just meant the weaker episodes stood out more and drained on me more.. but it also meant the stronger ones were all the more a breath of fresh air. And nowhere was this more apparent as teh worst episode of the season, and series, thus far, Quarallers Pass.. was paired with Toadcatcher, an utterly marvelous episode and followup to ironically the series best so far, Reunion. 

This episode catches us up with Sasha, Anne’s former best friend who tried to kill her in a sword fight, one where the entirety of wartwood including her adopted grandpa was at sake and Sasha knew this and did not care. She then followed it up by letting go when Anne was depseratley holding on, with the help of her new family, to save Sashsa’s life.. and Sasha let go. I discussed the full implications in the review so I will avoid trigggering anyone, and I mean tha tin the medical sense anyone using it ironiclaly or to mock people using it as it’s intended can get fucked, but she clearly didn’t intend to make it, but Grime saved her and spirted her off.  So we catch up with both licking their wounds from the ordeal: Sasha has decided to take the Jasper route of horrible coping mechanisms and is training constnatly, readily kiling dolls of the plantars but still unable to truly hurt Anne, burying her feelings over her guilt and her best friend rightfully turning on her and then trying to save her anyway despite Sasha trying to gut her. Grime.. is binging on the wonderfully terrible teen soap Supscion Island, coming back this january on the cw, that was intorduced last season and generally not carring the king has his best men, women and nonbinary folks out for his head. 

So both issues come to a head as General Yuaan, scourge of the Sand Wars, defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, and the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of general in the great Newtopian Army, and she’ll never miss a chance to say that, has come for Grime whose in no condition and has no will to fight back. He also finally confronts Sasha when she snaps at him for it, pointing out she’s simply burying the fact that she lost Anne, things won’t be the same, and she won’t deal with it.  The episode adds real depth to grime, going from an intresting but semeingly just evil overlord.. to someone who worked his way out of a fighting pit to be given a thankfless if cushy job by the same people who threw him in in the first place, someone who to my shock at the time.. CARES about his protege. While allowing Sasha in was simply to their mutual advantage at first.. he’s grown to genuinely care about her as his friend and offers to let Yuaan have him so she can be free. but Sasha refuses. Despite her issues.. she CARES about the old toad and together, and using Yaan’s ham against her, they beat her, and decide to rebuild their army... after Grime finishes his soaps of course. Can.. relate. A thorughly good, throughly emotinally episode that dosen’t lack the series humor but does have a depth and rhthym to it that the series has at i’ts best. 

14. Quack Pack! (Ducktales)  Jesus I was so tired when making this I nearly forgot an entry. And shame on me as this was one of the best episodes of an already amazing Season. Season 3 is easily ducktales best and i’ve been proud to cover it. It’s been my most popular feature and while not every episodes been GREAT, only one’s really not been very good, and none have been out and out bad. While it may be the end of the shows run and not without problems, they still have trouble ballancing the adults at times if not nearly as bad as before, to the point Launchpad just sorta vanishes after Let’s Get Dangerous outside of the Christmas Specail that takes place before the season anyway, and Louie is often written VERY badly.. but i’ve talked about these things all season in my reviews.

Point is those faults are overwhelmed by the strengths; The character ballance is better, several side characters have gotten tons of payoff to their arcs and more development, and the main plot is easily the best in the series history: By having essentially one main plot with two focuses, before they merge at the halfway marker, it allows the season to be far more streamlined after the really messy way season 2′s plots were handled. It just shows the show at it’s best and has produced amazing episode after amazing episode and it was really hard to widdle it down to the ones that got selected here and even then one got left out. 

But one boost I haven’t mentioned is their wilingness to take risk. While past seasons had flashback episodes and what not this one, in hindsight, has some of the more risky episodes of the series, ones you really COULDN’T do in seasons 1 and 2: a whole episode flashback to the twins, basically taking our present day kids out for the whole season, an hour long special focusing on what, to fans not familiar with darkwing duck, is simply a very engaging side character and his new sidekick.. and launchpad (The ducks aren’t OUT of the special, but they aren’t the focus and aren’t around for most of the climax). An episode with really dark emotional moments.. which isn’t unsuaul for a disney show, see next time, but for one so close to their chest it was a lot. They were settled in enough to take plenty of risks and it’s paid off. It’s not to community levels of experimentation, but it’s still nice, intresting breaks from the usual adventures. 

And one of the best and boldest of these was Quack Pack. Taking our heroes and plopping them into a TGIF sitcom. Of which this plot not only happened TWICE this year, three times if you count the entirety of beef house, which I do so let’s call it three, but both cartoon examples are on this list. But both tackle it in diffrent and intresting ways so both got on here.  IN this case.. during a stock plot about a family photo, complete with Donald having his Don Cheadle voice back, we get some great parodies of convetions of les.s. good sitcomes nad even some of the greats: there’s the constnat catcphrases (ranging from a sticomy version of Della’s “On the moon”, to Beakly’s “I’m not a spy.. which sh’es understandably inscnesed to find out is her catchphrase) ,and even the wacky neighbor with our lord and savior Goofy showing up in the roll, as a nice nod to the more sitcom side of the Disney Afternoon. We just get a lot of good gags.. until Huey becomes aware, starting to realize things are off, with his guidebook being empty and things just not adding up. We even get a great bit of him being forced to do a disney channel/that 70′s show dance transtion only to react with exesntial horror.  Naturally, given their lives,a  genie did it, Gene, played by Jaleel White in a pefect bit of casting. Having been imprisoned in his lamp since the 90′s. Gene’s a bit behind on how sticoms work, but was just granting a wish, Donald’s wish, which the family figures out by trigggiring a flashback, Goofy VERY MUCH included. where we find out it was, unsuprisngly Donald’s fault.. though in his defense, and in the best line of the episode, when confronted about wishing for a normal life “I wish for that 30 times a day. How was I supposed to know a lamp was under me this time?”

And we find out why and it’s heartbreaking: Donald just wants a normal family, where everyone’s safe and, most tellningly “No one gets lost.”. It’s the climax of a series long HATRED of going on these adventures. For everyone else it’s fun, thriling, good stuff.. to him.. it’s not only a reminder of what cost him 10 years with his sister and his adopted sons their mom for that time, but a reminder of a lot of pain and humilation. To him he just wants the normal life he used to have back, despite that not being an option and his kids to be safe and his sister not to leave again. Granted his refusal to undo the wish is selfish.. but i’ts understandable. And while the rest of them try to break the wish, and end up fighting the horrifying audience it’s GOOFY who gets donald to see all families are diffrent and that there is no normal: just what you make and enjoy. It makes donald realize that as hectic as his life is.. it’s his life, his family.. and maybe. it’s not so bad. After years of denying how much he used to love adventuering.. he realizes part of him stilld oes and no amount of turning against it will fix what he lost... he just has to enjoy NOW. It’s good solid character development for my favioriote member of the cast, and overall a fun, genre spoofing episode that pokes fun at the genre but reallyg ets how it works. 

13. Growing Pains (Steven Universe Future)

“ What do I do? How do I move on from all the stuff I've been through? How do I live life if it always feels like I'm about to die?! “ So yeah big recap of steven’s emotional well being to get into future earlier, but rewinding a bit, this one takes place with our hero at a low point. Not “oh god I comitted murder what am I now oh god” low as we got to earlier and the series itself wold get to later, these lists make time warped and space bendeble, but still pretty damn bad.  As mentioned before Steven tried proposing to connie, not helped by Ruby and Sapphire both being fully on board, as both are hopeless romantics seprate but when combined as a Garnet their shared braincell can get working properly and has settings other than “emotoinal pain, peppy (ruby), a bit distant but kind (Sapphire) and horny”. While it was as beautiful a propsal as you’d expect from Steven.. Connie gently rejected it since you know, he also wanted to be permafused and their not even legal marrying age left. He’s 17.. despite what this episode claims. She’s 15 or 16. They aren’t ready and she knew it not even ruling it out entirely, just saying “not now”.  But as this episode bears out.. Steven really isn’t an emotinal state where he could properly process that way and after shooing her away, even though she WANTED to talk it over and genuiely make sure he was okay as she damn well knew this wasn’t easy on him, but also knew it’d probably be bad to press him while he was clearly in pain. So like everyone else she made the mistake of leaving.  So Steven’s binging on junk food, and bemoaning the fact that even dogcopter is getting married.. also Dogcopter is gay. Given the show he’s a fictional character in, you THINK i’d of been less suprised but you’d be wrong. Point is steven isn’t dealing well and is going pink and with the gems gone for the weekend, and Greg unavaliable due to being busy as a manager, Steven is getting worse and his body is starting to warp. Thanfkully connie comes to check up on him and insits he see a doctor.. and since her mother’s a doctor and thankfully had a cancelation. Unthankfully it turns out, to Prianka’s understandable frustration.. Steven’s never been to a doctor. Which does make sense, Greg taking him in might’ve alreted authorties to his lack of schooling or his injuries from age 13 onward, plus he had no idea of knowing how his body would react to tests. That being said given by this point in the series Gems are well accepted and known around town and everyone loves and adores steven, Greg had no real excuse by this age especially after the second gem war.  And that’s proven by the fact it turns out steven’s body has tons of internal scars which, due to him turning out to have a wolverine style healing factor, mean h’es alive and without brain damage, but still has plenty of internal scars. It’s a godo metaphor for his mental trauma: he came out of his various happenings ALIVE.. but not mentally okay and with PLENTY of ptsd. When Prianka asks him to list his traumas.. he dosen’t even get past season 1 before she’s understandably horrified, though she’s figured out exactly what’s causing his pink mode: as mentioned before his contstant life of danger and having the threat of a fight at any moment over his head for 2 solid years, maybe 3 given the third light game shows he still had a lot of work to do before the movie and future, and honestly still does at times during both, mean his flight or fight response has been shot so the adrenline charged pink form, meant to protect him from danger.. is triggering for EMOTIONAL pain and suffering. 

Steven dosen’t take it well and keeps enlarging when pressed.. and accidently spills the beans about the proposal... and understandably, even if she was FULLY in the right can’t be around Connie: while she had every right to reject him, it dosen’t mean it hurts any less. Sometimes even when you do the absolute right thing.. it can still hurt to be on the receiving end of that. But Connie is still Connie, aka the most emotinally  stable and mature person in the main cast very much including the sentient space rocks who are centuries older than her, so she called Greg who naturally dropped everything because his son needed him. It shows the genuine conflict, one, again that I’ve grappled with: Steven is so obssed with not boterhing those he loves, he fails to see they’ll help him when he needs it without a second thought. So Greg thankfully calms him down and taks over the failed proposal with no judgement or anything just support. Sadly things go downhill from here but it’s a good episode that turns the entire series on it’s head with some damn good character work. 

12. Annhilation of Joy (The Midnight Gospel) 

“Again? How Many times is this guy gonna die?” “Until he learns”  The Midnight Gospel was a plesant suprise. Penndelton Ward’s return to animation after leaving Adventure Time, the show is a collberation between him and podcaster Duncan Trussel. It was a suprise both in how quickly it came together, and in how it’s real nature wasn’t properly expressed in the trailers: while the series does tell us the trippy adventures of Clancy, a 40 something “Spacecaster” who uses an illegal simulator to visit worlds to interview various people.. said interviews are expercts from Trusseul’s own podcast, the Duncan Trussel Family Hour, something this series has badly made me want to listen to. As such while dealing with zombie apocalypses, a quest to avenge a dead lover, being processed as meat and meeting death herself while looking for his hose, Clancy interviews his subjects, including Death herself, and talks on various subjects related to medation and spirutality, throughly fascenating interviews greatly woven into trippy visuals. Hopefully the show will be back for round 2 at some point as both Ward and Trussel are game, but for now the first season stands on it’s own as a throughly trippy, throughly wonderful blend of Trussel’s words and insight and Ward’s boundless imagination.  And the best of these, narrowly beating out the final epsiode which uses an interview with Truseel’s late mother to inform clancy’s own actions, as Clancy’s Mom is dying from cancer same as Trussels tragically did. But I like this one slightly better due to it’s great blend of the subject with the plot. Once again Clancy is ignoring his pain, and his sister’s calls, by diving into the space vagina of his simulator, taking a weird form, and easily my faviorite of his shapeshifted forms of the season: a living rainbow that wouldn’t be out of palce in a pbs kids show, complete with the fact he makes musuical chimes when touched not unlike a children’s toy and has chosen this form to enter the simulator’s jail.  It’s there he gets engagled, literally, with Bob and Jason. Bob is an angry, upset prisoner who chewed his own tounge out years ago, and Jason is his soul bird, a represntation of his pain bound to him by blue rope that Clancy got tangled in. So Clancy is taken along for the ride with them as every time Bob dies, the celestial beings in charge of the prison put him through weird emtional torment, pluck out his heard and weigh it against  a feather plucked from jason. 

Thus while Clancy and Jason have a spirited conversation about Buddishm and about not treaing spirutality like a game with levels and having to earn progress but as an emotinal journey, Bob goes through a buddishm inspried journey of his own, mixed with a bit of edge of tommorow. He dies, gets tourtured then resets.. but slowly learns to empathize, to let go of his anger and violence and help those around him. It’s an utterly mesmering journey to watch this angry green big headed man go from a violet convict who will gladly shoot and stab.. to a pacfisit eager to help those around him. And it’s thorughly convincing and backed wonderfully by the interview and easily a sign of what this weird and unconveintonal series can do at all cyllnders. Seriously Netflix you’ve been on a loosing streak decisionmaking wise. Make. More. Of. This. 

11. Save the Cat (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power) "C'mon Catra. You're not done. Not yet..."

God that image is unsettling. Anywho back to She-Ra, and somehow this is the second time i’ve had to rewind the progress of a season by about an episoide. Weird. Point is saved the cat is one of the most tightly packed and thrilling episodes of the series.. and the crux of Catra’s character arc.  Before this Catra had hit her lowest point, having lost ..j well everything. She pushed everyone from adora, to the nonambigiously a couple trio, to her own best friends away through her shitty behavior and inferoirty complex and somenoe she THOUGHT was her friend.. turned on her for money. Oh and as an added stomp on the tail all that betryal, all the blood spilled in her name.. was for nothing. Horde Prime made her irrelvant: she couldnt’ manipualte him because a combination of a god complex and an army of loyal drones meant he had nothing to hide and eyes everywhere. She had nothing. Eveyrthing she did every sacrifice she made every worse and worse turn she made a s a person... amounted to NOTHING.  So it was at this point she and glimmer, despite you know killing Glimmer’s mother, were forced to work together.. and Catra sacrificed herself both to get Glimmer safe and because for once.. she wanted to do something right. Her self loathing, some of it warranted, a lot of it already there from an abusive childhood, left her with one option: sacrifice herself and HOPE, something good can come of it, Apologize to Adora, hte one person she ever loved and hope she can at least surivive this.  Naturally, Adora having seen her friend/love of her life has not only REALIZED what she become, but sacrifice herself.. isn’t having this, and after an episode of repairs both on the ship and emotinally, our heroes are naturally, despite any personal hangups with her ready to save Catra. Naturally this hits snags. On Bow and Entrapta’s end, they accidently free a horde clone she mistakes for hordak and, having no other real option and with the guy being useful, Wrong Hordak is born! I love me some Wrong Hordak. What a guy, makes you cry, und I did. 

The main issue though is Adora let herslef be captured.. only to find Horde Prime is a sadstic bastard and has not only chipped Catra, but is using her newfound peace of mind to play with adora’s head, using Catra’s heartbreak from the past to manipulate Adora in the present.. and force them to fight because hey he’s a sadistic jackass with a god complex. They make their own fun.  But Adora gets through to her .. only for Prime to decide fuck it and try killing her with Adora BARELY saving her with her power, and Catra, as she fades, wondering why Adora even bothered. And the why is simple.. as a wise fictional version of a wise president once said “Dying is easy young man, living is harder”. Not the last time that quote will be relevant in this top 20 list, but the point, and it was delebrate on Noelle Stevenon’s part, was to subvert this kind of thing> The bad guy gets redemption but then dies seconds later. Instead.. Catra has to LIVE with what she did and make up for it, become a better person and work for redepmtion, instead of just getting to end in some big blaze of glory. But at the same time.. it’s the better route. The harder one sure.. but she gets to have a life and to undo the damage and maybe for once.. actually live instead of just trying to surivive. IT was the right call in a series full of them. 

But yeah the day is saved, our heroes have two new roomates and Catra weakly greats Adora.. but with genuine warmth for the first time in .. years I guess? I don’t know this series time span. Point is the healing and the ship tease for our finale can begin and this episode is a tense, well put together masterwork. The pacing really is what put it up this far, as it really ratchets up the tension, and being the last season, meant there was no guarantee anyone, including catra, was going to make it. Excellent stuff all around. 

So that’s where we leave off for now. i’ll be PUTTING PART 2 HERE WITH A LINK. once i’ts finished For now watch this space and..

[ordinaryschmuck]

Why I (Want to) Love Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Salutations, random people on the internet who most certainly won’t read this! I’m an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons. I also LOVE the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Whether as a kid, or an adult pretending to be a kid, this franchise is one that I’ll always revisit no matter how old I get. So when I heard that a new version of the series was coming out in 2018, titled as Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I was excited about it. Then I watched the series...and most of that excitement went down the sewer drain. 

Don’t get me wrong, there were some elements that seemed like there was some definite promise for a good series, but other aspects...I’ll have to explain. 

But keep in mind, I am going to be spoiling a lot about the series. So if you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend you do so to form your own opinions. Because while it may not have grabbed me as much, that doesn’t mean the same can’t be said for you. With that out of the way, let's get started with--

WHAT I LIKE

The Animation: If anybody ever tells you that Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has awful animation, they are objectively wrong. Rise of the TMNT has some of the best, if not the best, animated fight scenes I've seen from any action series in recent memory. Probably because the show understands the number one rule of action animation: Good animation is a requirement. Not an exception.

For an action-oriented animated series, the audience needs to feel the impact whenever characters punch, block, or dodge in each fight. Yes, even dodge. Because if you can feel even the tiniest gust of wind that passes by a character's face after a punch, then you know the animators are doing something right. And trust me when I say that is present in the majority of most fights in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Are there moments when the movements are slow and rigid? Yes...during the dialogue and comedic scenes. Moments where good and quality animation isn't really all that necessary. You see this same technique in most modern anime: The animation is rigid and cheap for the dialogue-heavy scenes so the animators can give extra attention to the epic action set pieces. Not a single person complains about this happening in their favorite anime of the week. But when Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles does this, apparently it's a bad thing? Explain that logic to me!

The animation is phenomenal in this show. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise because those people are either blind or insanely stupid. Either works.

It’s Pretty Funny: And that's about it. It's nowhere near one of the funniest shows I have seen, and previous iterations of the franchise did a much better job at balancing humor and heart, but Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles did a great job at getting a laugh out of me from time to time. It has a very random sense of humor that works well with its manic energy, similar to what Star vs. the Forces of Evil did early on in its first season. Even if one joke fails, about ten more take its place, most of them funnier than the others. There may be an occasional issue where a joke spoils a dramatic moment, but Rise of the TMNT is one of the few shows where that issue doesn't happen often. Besides, the series sets itself up as more of a comedy than other reboots and reiterations, so it wouldn't look good if it wasn't funny. Thankfully, it is, and in a way, the show is a success because of it.

It Tries to be Something New: This is what I respect most about the series. The downside about a reboot is that writers have to find a way to tell the same story but with adjustments that make it seem different. That's the same way Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles operates as a franchise. The original concepts of the stories and characters are always iconic, and I'll love them with my whole heart, but I will admit, there's a point where the same thing over and over again can be a little tiring. Then there's Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which makes changes where other shows would ask "why," this is the one that asks "why not?"

Why not change the personality and backstories of characters that still fit with the spirit of the original?

Why not change the genders, races, and possibly sexualities of these iconic characters?

Why not make something new?

Now, some have argued that the show is a little too new. Which I can kind of see the point of. After all, what's the point of changing characters and concepts so drastically when you could just make an original series? But even then, most of the changes are pretty clever, that I think it’s worth remembering for future iterations. Like making Casey Jones a female. Casey is a gender-neutral name, and I legitimately thought this series would do it for that reason alone. So I feel bad that the writers never got a chance to allow the series to reach its full potential with ideas like this due to Nickelodeon screwing them over (Seriously, never pitch a show to Nickelodeon. It rarely ever works out, and it's not worth the risk). I can see how these ideas could result in an incredible show that might cement the series as one of the best iterations of the franchise. But I can't base a story on potential. I can only judge what I see, and what I see are brilliant changes that impress me from time to time.

The Creators Are Still Fans: Despite making something completely different, you can tell that everyone working on this show loves TMNT as the rest of the fans do. There are dozens of references to previous versions littered throughout the series. Whether it's shoutouts to the 90s cartoon to bringing back voice actors from the last one, there are moments where the crew behind the series emphasizes how much they care about the franchise. There are also times when a reference has such a deep cut to it. For example, the series has the previous VA for Splinter to voice the current version of Shredder. I shouldn't have to explain how that is a brilliant idea, especially given Shredder's relationship with Karai...which I can't fully explain due to it spoiling TMNT (2012). This might be a whole new experience, but it is clear that history is not ignored when it comes to Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The Cast is Colorful: It's not precisely a diversity win to have half the Turtles voiced by black VAs, but it is unquestionably some good sign of progress. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are...accurately what they are called. So they are not defined by the skin tone of the VAs themselves. So having half of them be voiced by people of color makes me hopeful that maybe future reboots would consider more colorful castings. Hell, maybe one day we'll have a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot where all of them are POCs, to the point that we'll have an all-Asian casting for these timeless heroes (which makes way too much sense to me).

And it's not just the casting of the turtles that impresses me. Because the series making April O'neil black is an idea that I'm more than ok with. It's implied that she's black in the original comics by Keven Eastman and Peter Laird, so it works as another deep-cut reference that proves how big of fans the crew is. Plus, who cares? I mean, if we're still having issues of changing the race of a character who was originally white, all I can say is grow the hell up. You can complain if they don't grab you, but if the issue is because of one decision that shouldn't negatively affect anybody, I don't see the problem. Besides, at this point, a character being white is basically the base plate for someone in the future to change their race at another time.

Also, let’s give the people behind the casting a pat on the back for casting Asian VAs for characters who are, well, Asian. It’s the bare minimum of common courtesy and avoids the trouble of having white VAs do asian accents that have become quite culturally insensitive nowadays. So it’s a pretty cool decision if you ask me.

Diversity is never an issue, especially since representation always matters for people who demand to be heard. It's definitive proof that anybody can be anything, whether it's a hero in fiction or the voice of that hero behind the scenes. And you can't really do that when everyone is so white that it's blinding.

Donatello: This is the best character in the series. Not only because Donatello has the most consistent personality (more on that later), but also because I'm a sucker for the cynical super-geniuses. These types of characters always have a quick and dry wit that never fails to get a laugh out of me, and this version of Donatello became my favorite just for that factor alone. Most of the credit goes to Josh Brener, who does a phenomenal job at his performance and comedic delivery. As for the emotional bits, he's...fine, but the drama isn't the show's best strength anyway, so it doesn't matter as much. Because the fact that it's Donatello who earns the spot as best character in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot is an impressive feat in itself that any criticism offered for him is moot in the process.

WHAT I DISLIKE

Leonardo: I'm willing to make half of this a personal issue because I have grown to despise Ben Schwarts in the last four years. No offense to the guy, I'm sure he's a really great person in real life...but he has done nothing but play the same character in FOURS YEARS! Whether he's Leonardo, Dewey Duck, Sonic the Hedgehog, or even M.O.D.O.K.'s son (yes, that's a thing), Ben Schwarts has practically played the exact same character each time. The highly energized, dimwitted, and egotistical character who slowly tries to learn to be a better person in the end. AND SOMETIMES, NOT EVEN THAT! I'm sick of it, as it always breaks the immersion of the series as all I hear is Ben Schwarts and not the character he's voicing. But it's not just the voice behind Leonardo that frustrates me. Because the thing is, I can see how this version of him can be incredible.

It doesn't take a genius to know that this version of Leonardo is meant to be more childlike and carefree so he can morph into the more mature leader we all know and respect him as. The issue is that the writers barely do anything with that idea. Sure some episodes make this Leonardo more like, well, Leonardo, but they're far and few between the ones where he's the same Ben Schwarts character that I've grown to hate. Even when he is at his most Leo-like, as seen in the episode "Man vs. Sewer," it's so drastically different from how he usually acts that it feels less like character development and more like inconsistency. It's a shame too because I really love this idea. With a little more polish, it could work out. As is, it's just a huge chunk of wasted potential.

Raph’s Too Good of a Leader: This is a similar issue to what I've mentioned about Leonardo. Because, again, I love this idea. Raphael, in multiple iterations, complained about how he should be the leader and just as frequently learns why the job rightly belongs to Leo instead. So starting with this role reversal should be a well-executed idea that gives Raph what he wants while eventually giving the fans what they want. And it would be if not for the fact that Raph seems to be too good at his job.

I get it. If Raphael was too incompetent, the turtles would have gotten nothing done, and it would get too tiring too quick as Leonardo constantly proves why he should lead and why Raph should follow. This actually happens from time to time, and it is already tiresom. The issue is that the intention was to make Leonardo the leader in the end. So why spend so much time showing how Raphael is capable at the job and barely any time showing why Leonardo is a better fit? There are even times when Raphael seems like he really is a better leader than Leo, which I feel as though it is contradictory to the point the writers are trying to get across. In the end, it's nothing more than another really great idea met with insanely poor execution.

Master Splinter (Early Season One): ...Did anybody like this version of Master Splinter in the first half of season one? Because this character was atrocious, especially compared to the previous Splinter from TMNT (2012). We went from what is easily the best interpretation of the character to what was, at the time, the worst. He was lazy, selfish, and emotionally distant with his sons to the point where he only acknowledges them by the color of their bandannas. I understand that the writers needed a more comedic version of the character due to leaning extra hard into comedy, but I don't think I laughed once with his antics in the first half of season one. Thankfully, he's been gifted with a softcore reboot during the second half and onward. This Splinter is awesome, serious, he works well as a straight man, and he has a backstory that's easy to follow while still being kind of heartbreaking. It's a tremendous improvement from what we've been given, but it still doesn't change how downright painful he initially was. I won't complain about the results, but I do have the right to complain about what we got beforehand.

Characters are Inconsistent: A common complaint you'll hear about Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is that the main characters are the same. That's not true because there are definite differences that separate each one apart from the other...the issue is that the writers are not consistent with those changes. I've touched upon it with Leo, but the truth is, everyone in the main cast suffers from inconsistency with their personalities. If Raph is supposed to be the meathead with a good heart, why are there times when he acts like the smart one who occasionally enjoys violence? If April is supposed to be as wild and carefree as the rest of the guys, why are there episodes where she seems to be the sane one? If Mikey is supposed to be kind yet somewhat stupid, why are there episodes where he's selfish and more intelligent than Leonardo? Even Donatello, who is the most consistent out of the whole cast, still suffers through moments when he isn't as clever and cynical as he usually is. These inconsistencies are annoying, and at times, it feels like their personalities are dependent on what the writers need for a joke or for the episode. Characters are the most essential aspect of any story for any medium. If audiences don't care about the characters, they'll find it hard to care about anything else. And how can we care about anyone if we're not one hundred percent sure what their personalities are in the first place?

The Pacing: I sort of expected this when it was announced that this reboot was swapping the franchise's usual half-hour runtime for a ten-minute one, but in all honesty, it isn't that bad. It is slightly fast at times, but that's just as quick to get used to. However, there is one strange phenomenon about this show that I can't let go of.

You see, this series somehow has worse pacing with extended episodes and specials than it does with its usual ten minutes. I don't know how this is possible either. Because despite having as much time as the writers want to establish each plot point, it still feels like they fly through them a little too fast than they regularly would. It makes no sense, but it's constant in every extended episode, especially the series finale (which, to be fair, is partially Nickelodeon's fault. AGAIN!). So keep that in mind when watching.

The Characters Are TOO Overpowered: It feels weird complaining about this. Because making the characters capable of doing anything and surviving much more leads to some of the most epic action sequences in animation history, not just the series or the TMNT franchise as a whole. Despite that, though, there is one crucial thing that is always missing from those fight scenes anyways: Tension.

To fully explain why tension is required in action, I'll have to use Samurai Jack as an example. You see, the titular character can, at times, be just as invincible as these versions of the Turtles and survive even worse. But regardless of him being victorious after nearly every episode, no matter how high the deck is stacked against him, there was always a sense that he fought hard, literally and figuratively, for those victories in the first place. Jack losing articles of clothing or getting cut up gives the illusion that he might not win in the end. He still does, and he always does, but showing the audience that he can and will get hurt makes seeing that victory feel earned. The only times the Turtles, April, or Splinter get hurt is either for comedic slapstick or because the story says so. This is why I consider Shredder destroying the lair is the best fight scene in the entire series. The second he starts destroying their weapons, it gives the tension required to believe maybe, just maybe, not everyone will make it out alive this time. Because if the characters aren't careful, they will face intense consequences as a result. Thus making an adrenaline-pounding moment in the process. Unfortunately, this is the one and only fight scene where that happens. Every action set piece is still epic, don't get me wrong. But there's a reason why writers make even Superman seem less invincible than typical in a fight.

Baron Draxum: THIS is the biggest issue that I have with the series.

As a villain, I didn't give a s**t about Baron Draxum. He was a dull antagonist with a generic evil plot, but other than that, he was perfectly serviceable for a series like this. Even getting a few chuckles now and again...but then the writers decided to make him REDEEMABLE!?

This guy?

The maniac who wanted to commit genocide on human beings, all because of insufficient proof that they'll do it to his species first?

Didn't we already learn how that's awful reasoning after Steven Universe?

Actually, that's not fair...because Steven Universe has a better explanation behind wanting to redeem the Diamonds than Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles does about Baron Draxum! And I'm not kidding! For Steven Universe, the characters believe that it's better to end things peacefully than killing anyone, even if they're the worst criminals. It's a flawed mentality, sure, but it's one you can grasp and understand. What's the reason for redeeming Baron Draxum? It's because he's the reason why Splinter and the turtles are a family...F**k all the physical torture Splinter went through on top of the social ostracization he experienced because of it. No, no, it totally validates the decision to forgive and forget...Oh, wait, no, it doesn't. BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE INSANE!

Who in the f**k honest to goodness thought that would be a good idea? I'm all for finding silver linings in a bad situation, but that is just flat-out lunacy! Because it's the equivalent of saying, "Yeah, this person was a complete a-hole, but they're still the a-hole that made you who you are today." But that is a very dangerous lesson to preach to kids. Because here's the--Hey *snaps fingers* Here's the thing: If a person treats you like garbage, you don't owe them anything for who you are. It's one thing if a person inspired you or cheered you on, but if someone basically ruined your life and physically harmed you and others, don't forgive them. They don't deserve it. ‘Cause f**k Baron Draxum. And whoever thought this was a good idea, you seriously need some help.

Man, is this how it feels to be Lily Orchard? IT SUCKS!

IN CONCLUSION

And that's what I think about Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 

It's a fantastic series! I just like everything except for the execution of ideas, most of the characters, and the overall pacing of it...that means it's not a good series, is it?

Yeah, it's a real shame that I don't like this. Because I want to. I really want to. The pieces are there, and I can see how this could be a great and memorable version of a series I loved since I was a tater-tot myself. But I don't. I'm sorry, but I just don't consider this to be an A+ series. It's a solid C, for sure, because it's mostly just style with very little substance. I still respect the amount of effort everyone put into this reboot, but for me, it just never had its chance to fully rise to the occasion.

[vipers-hat]

So this ‘Rebooting’ breadcrumb has got me all up  in my thoughts about the SR gang (ha) and I realized I never did the thing I was going to do for Reiss, so here it is... like, three years in the making. Whoops.

Cats in the Cradle

Reiss Abernathy reflects on his struggle with single fatherhood in Stilwater and coming into power in Steelport as he watches his daughters climb the ranks of the 3rd Street Saints and make the same mistakes in life he did. 

Reiss Abernathy knew he wasn’t a good father. Sure, he didn’t qualify as the Worst, but he didn’t make it on the ‘average’ list. Maybe not even subpar. He and Anna had been a mistake from the start, so when they had two children by the time they were just getting into college and Anna had proceeded to cut and run, leaving the kids with him, there hadn’t exactly been high hopes. He had been a lost soul even back then, so he had bought them a shitty little house in the shady area of Stilwater and tried. Until he realized that raising a baby and a preschooler all on his own with no leads in life was harder than expected. And so he had stopped aiming for a reputable career and had decided to fall in with some… less than decent people. But the money was good and if he kept his mouth shut and his head down, even better. 

He had met Leo that Summer; an FBI agent with a quick wit, a sharp tongue, and a knack for justice… … for the highest bidder. Still, that tended to be him as of late, so they were fast friends. It didn’t hurt that he was fantastic with kids without any less than savory motive. He’d go out for drinks with Reiss towards the end of the week, go on whatever make-believe adventure five-year-old Quinn had cooked up for him and little Audrey for the day until she was exhausted, and headed home. 

As the years passed Leo had become more of a father to the girls than he ever was, and Reiss knew it. A lack of a nine to five day and dangerous work made for him coming home exhausted, content to do the bare minimum to make sure the girls lived another day. Leo would stop by after his shift and the Bureau and pick up the slack, asking them how their school days were, who their friends were, and all that, while Reiss nursed his wounds and headed to sleep early, cutting in on a question when he could. 

Then the teenage years hit, the girls found their voices and… it had been less than ideal. 

Quinn was filled with rage, fighting him on everything with an insult or a nasty comeback to almost anything he said. 

Audrey, ever the peacemaker, had tried to mediate things to the best of her pre-teen ability. 

They didn’t deserve her. 

And then a job offer from one of those questionable types came in- a spot as muscle for a ‘group’ in Steelport with steadier and better pay than what he was making, so he had jumped on it. 

The girls were old enough to be left alone, and he was only a couple of hours away, he’d visit often. They’d probably be better off on their own with Leo stepping in on occasion anyway. 

And despite Leo’s initial reservations and meaningfully disapproving looks, it had worked. He had become an eventual heavy hitter in the Steelport Saints and things were looking up. 

Until one night that Leo had called him in a measured panic because the girls had been in the wrong place at the wrong time - ‘they’re fine, relatively unhurt. But I think Julius Little tried to recruit them, and… I think they’re gonna do it, Reiss. Quinn looked pretty tempted.’ He had heard of the man. There had been a gang in town that was slowly coming into their own- the Saints, if he recalled. It was headed by that man. He had met him in passing a few times. Smart man - that’s what made him lethal. He had gone and joined a gang to try to keep his girls out of one, and now they had apparently fallen in with one anyway.

 He had told Leo to keep an eye on things and he had rushed home - only for Quinn to just about cut him off at the pass at every single protest. She had been tempted by whatever the Hell he had missed. Quinn liked power, and while Audrey seemed less convinced, she had been very adamant in telling him that where Quinn went, she would go - she had raised him more than he did. A hunger for power even if it came from shady sources, unyielding loyalty to favorites, ‘stick to your convictions’ - how did that song go? ‘And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me, he'd grown up just like me, my boy was just like me’ - that had rung true here and now, and it had almost undone him then and there. He had protested at first - and Quinn had thrown a bottle at his head. When Audrey had gone to step in he had barely had time to yank her out of the way and behind him to protect her from the second one that Quinn had sent flying.  He really had lost Quinn then. He had arranged a meeting with Julius after that, trying to gauge if they were in any further danger than… The Life had called for. The two he had talked to- a skinny guy clearly from Brooklyn- Troy, the one Audrey had talked about all the time and apparently taken a liking to, and some guy who thought visors were still a decent fashion choice- Dex, if he recalled correctly. Quinn had name dropped him once. Something about the man unnerved him. He had constantly felt like he was getting sized up. Regardless, he had made his case for a meeting, had named all the right people from the Knights, and Julis himself had called off his two guard dogs to talk to the man. He had initially been condescending, drawing attention to the fact that a father was trying to run interference with his two ‘grown-ass children.’ Reiss had laughed it off, saying that if he had been a decent father ages ago, maybe that would’ve been the case, but no. He wanted to get a feel of the group, make sure they weren’t signing up for disaster. 

Julius hadn’t been convinced, but he had let the guy  walk away after their talk, so there had been that. Still, there was something disarmingly fatherly about the man. He briefly thought of Leo with him, wondering if the girls would be better off without him and with the other two regardless, so he had taken his turn to cut and run. But at least they were just short of adults by then. He returned to the Knights, and asked Leo to keep tabs. And as he had climbed the ranks in the Knights, evidently the girls had done the same in the Saints. Like father, like daughters. And when the current Boss of the Knights had gone after him in a grab for power, pulling a gun on him, he had won that fight and earned his place at the top, and felt on top of the world to boot, his world had come crashing down when Leo had called him shortly after, evidently a drunken mess, and informed him that the ‘Saints had been up to no good on the Mayor’s boat the previous night, there had been an Accident, and the girls were on death’s door, and he needed to get there now.’ 

And so he had. And when he had reached the hospital, the people at the desk had been very adamant that ‘one of the girls’ hadn’t said anything about any other family ‘besides Leonidas’, nor had they been informed of anybody by Julius Little. He had made a mental note of that, content that he would make Julius pay for his lie until the rest of the statement caught up with him. One? What the Hell did that mean? Had one of them died? He had opened his mouth to start asking all the questions when he had heard Leo’s voice behind them and turned so quickly he nearly tripped over his own feet. 

And there Leo was, arm tucked securely around Audrey’s shoulders as she leaned against him to walk. She had stitches on a couple of spots on her head and she was bruised to all Hell, but she was alive. He had run to her then, gathered her into his arms and hugged her, trying not to sob, blubbering apologies as he heard her hiss in pain, but she didn’t move to pull away either.  He had been angry then, casting an accusatory look at Leo and demanding why he hadn’t been mentioned as their actual father, until Audrey had stuck up for him, claiming she wasn’t sure if Reiss would show, and his heart shattered again. He had failed them. So badly. 

And then she had caught him up on everything. The Mayor had tried to set the Saints up, but he had been smarter and rigged the thing to blow up. The only reason she had gotten minor damage compared to Quinn, who was hanging on by a thread because she had been at the exact brunt of it was that that Troy kid had called to tell her to keep away from the boat- and had confessed he was an undercover cop all along. 

Again, one was determined, lethal, headstrong, and the other was level headed but also had a knack for getting attached to surprise cops. He had looked at Leo then, who gave him the same exact look he was sporting back. They really were his children.

Leo had put him up for a few nights after that, waiting for Audrey to get discharged, and once she did he had taken her back to their new, shiny apartment- apparently the Saints had been good to her- he had made a few meals and fussed over her until she had said she appreciated it but it was almost, almost too late to care. Still, ‘almost almost’ was better than ‘definitely.’ He had asked her to tell him about her ‘cop friend’ after that and she had gone rigid and dismissive, claiming he was dead to her now. 

Extreme, but understandable. Maybe she had more sense than him after all. 

She had fallen asleep with her head pillowed on his thigh that night, and his heart had shattered all over again.

Of course, the next morning his second in command in the Knights had informed him that someone was trying to make a grab for power.  Evidently, not having learned anything in all that had happened, he had left again. The last thing he wanted was instability on both fronts of his life. He had left a furious, protesting Leo to look after the girls again and headed back to retain his throne. He justified his own actions by promising himself he’d keep a closer eye on things in Stillwater in the meantime. 

And to his credit, he did. When Quinn woke up and broke herself out of the prison hospital, he had watched the news unfold nonstop. And then had been proud when the girls had gotten back all the footing in the city they had lost in the time since Quinn was in a coma and Audrey had been laying low. 

When he was keeping his throne secure, his girls ascended closer to theirs. Quinn was thriving now, and last he heard she was the Big Boss, and if he wasn’t careful, she’d come for Steelport. Audrey was apparently perfectly comfortable in her spot of being third in command in the Saints, and that was probably exactly why she was the smartest one in the family. 

He had been thrilled that things had evened out for a while, until once again Leo had called him in a panic because things were certainly not fine. Quinn had apparently shot Audrey in a power grab to ensure that her and some Johnny fellow wouldn’t have to deal with anything, and Reiss’ world shattered again.

It occurred to him then, finally, that perhaps his influence had been the problem, and maybe it was best if he had stayed away for good. 

Leo had been livid, hurling insults immediately about being a ‘goddamn father for once in your life’ and such. When Reiss had insisted that’s what he was doing, distance might’ve been good, might have served them well, maybe they would grow to resent him entirely, to grow and make sure they were his polar opposite. That had apparently diffused Leo enough. He had gone sympathetically quiet for a while. And then his dear, loyal, Leo had made an offer Reiss knew pained him as much as hearing it himself did: “I can kill Quinn. If you think this is too much. If you think it’s too late. She loved that kid, if the old Quinn’s gone… … I’m not saying I will, but if there’s nothing of your daughter left… I can do it. If she’s crossed the line, you just tell me.” 

That might have been the most heartbreaking thing yet. Leo was more of a father to the girls than he ever was, and here he was offering to end his own surrogate daughter’s life for threatening the other one. For becoming a problem for everyone. 

“No. Just… she made her bed, let her lay in it,” Reiss had dismissed it. Then, carefully. “You’re the best man I know, you know that, right?” 

Leo had laughed then, raw and pained. “That’s not saying much with the company we keep.” 

“Just… keep an eye on things. I don’t want her dead, I just… keep Audrey safe if Quinn’s a lost cause.” 

“I will. But that’s another thing. Audrey’s got that covered, too. I tailed her after she got shot. Didn’t hear me when I called her a few times. Get this: she’s with the fuckin’ police chief. That Bradshaw Fellow. He took her in with open bloody arms and probably a certain other choice appendage.’” 

Reiss groaned in disgust at the implication and the fact that Leo had dared to say it- probably revenge for not being there. Still, he saw the irony. Audrey had two dirty cops in her life, and the pair of them were clean enough to not trust each other when it came to her.  “Just… be her backup, then.” 

“Fine. But it should be you.” 

At least the man didn’t stab him in the back with that. “I know,” was what he went with before hanging up the phone.

And so he did as intended and steered clear for a couple of years. And despite meaning well, the gravity of all the time he had missed hit him hard. He kept track of everything, dimly aware that at some point Julius had been revealed to be the mastermind behind the boat bombing. He had been in the process of arranging a plane to Stillwater to go handle that himself, only to find out that Quinn had beaten him to it, murdering him at one of the old tourist spots. Audrey had evidently been content laying low with Bradshaw, and it had all been confirmed when Leo mentioned seeing the pair ‘looking awfully cozy’ when he passed the chief’s house and spotted them through the window a while back. ‘You’re practically a father-in-law.’ 

Leo, the rotten bastard. Always had a way of wording things to ruin every ounce of conviction he ever had. Father-in-law. How much of Audrey’s life had he missed willingly that she was a grown woman with a serious boyfriend? Christ, maybe he had been wrong. Maybe he was an awful father after all, despite having good intentions. He really had fucked up.

And so he made plans to go back to Stillwater just to catch up with them in person. 

Of course, as per usual, his plan had backfired when Quinn and Audrey beat him to the punch - by dropping out of an aircraft carrier directly above his city, apparently on some rescue mission gone wrong. 

He had thought they were threats at first with all of the gunfire going on. He recognized the Syndicate colors - a gang that was trying and failing to usurp him constantly now, and… were those Saints? No, the purple was off. But they had rebranded if the rumors were true, so there was that possibility. Still, he had gotten in a plane and had the pilot fly up to meet them in the conflict because no people were going to fuck with his city. That too had backfired when, after jumping out of the plane he had grabbed the nearest goon not flying any colors that was also falling, shoved a gun under his chin, only to see that the man had been tied up. The man was shouting protests now and he had known that voice. Sounded like an idiot, heavy with a Brooklyn accent. Fuck. Some reintroduction to the man that was supposedly on the fast track to being his son-in-law. He had opened his mouth to protest, only to get knocked clean off the man by another one - and he knew his youngest daughter’s voice too, once she started hurling insults and demanding that she ‘leave the other guy alone.’ He had made quick work of yanking open his visor to show his face, and Audrey had practically shrieked ‘Dad’, and well, at least that conflict was over. He still had no fucking idea what was going on. 

He took small comfort in the fact that once they were on the ground, Audrey had kept him safe with cover fire when they had dispatched the leftover Syndicate members. 

She caught him up once the last one was dead. This was an inter-gang conflict gone wrong. The Saints and Syndicate had gotten into a turf war. The Syndicate had taken hostages- even from ‘retired’ Saints, she had explained, motioning at herself and Troy before returning to the details. One of theirs was dead, a man named Johnny. He was apparently dearly loved by everyone, judging by the tone and everyone’s reactions. 

It was then that Quinn had showed up, yanked her helmet off, pointed her gun straight at her father’s heart and announced that Steelport was hers now, because she needed every single Syndicate member dead for taking Johnny from them. Apparently he hadn’t been the only one keeping tabs. 

It was in that moment that Reiss had promptly decided he was too old for this shit. Especially if his own blood was willing to murder him point blank. He had fucked up entirely, and now was the time to mend things. Better late than never, even if he had cut it close. “I still get a cut of everything, I still get to run the Blue Steel,” was his only request- the little venue he poured a lot of his soul into. He could handle letting his kid inherit his throne if he kept his life, his other kid’s life, and his lot in life. 

Quinn had stared him down for a while, finger still resting on the trigger, and briefly Reiss figured this was it, he had tried and failed, and that just fucking figured. But then: 

“Fine,” Quinn had lowered her gun. “Still fucking hate you.” She wandered off then. 

Well, that was just going to have to work. “Okay.” He cut his losses then, and promptly turned to Troy. “Hi. You probably don’t remember me. Name’s Reiss. I’m Audrey’s father. ”

“Kinda figured.” 

“Yeah. You and I should go get a drink sometime and get to know each other if we’re almost family.” 

Troy stared at him for a few seconds, then glanced Audrey’s way. “Dree, what the fuck is happening here?” 

Reiss waited a beat, then laughed as the perfect solution occurred to him then and there. A way to patch things up as much as possible without fucking it all up again.“Taking this as a retirement opportunity and making up for lost time,” he replied. He turned his attention to Audrey. “If the one who turned out the least like me will have me.” 

She frowned at him, then after a beat, she sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, she’ll have you. Unless you disappear again.”

“Not a chance. Unless you want me to.” 

Audrey looked from him, to Troy, to Quinn, staring out at the city skyline a few yards away, then back. “Then welcome to the Saints.” 

Welcome to the Saints. Sounded a Hell of a lot like ‘welcome to the family’- meant nearly the same thing too, if his hunch was right. It was their family. Not his. But maybe that’s what they all needed to be their family again. Or for the first time, considering they weren’t much of one to the start. “Glad to be here.” 

And for once, he realized he meant it entirely. 

[cruelfeline]

To me She-Ra is a very weird show in that it markets itself as a action adventure show with a target audience of 7-11 + and up. However the main audience seems to consist of people in their late teens-20's-30's. The messages of the show dont seem to align with the audience - with things like War and Religious trauma being discussed along with themes of forgiveness and friendship - but every character ends up romantically paired by the end. I don't know of any children who actually watch the show

But I would love to know what the actual target audience (namely children) think of the characters and what they think the show's themes are supposed to convey. As an adult who watched she ra, it seems like the show has over lapping themes but narratively it doesn't follow through. For example the show didnt take its backdrop of war seriously - it shows Hordak and Catra destroying salineas (hinting at murder) but has Mermiata moping in a bathtub. It shows the princesses being ableist to Entrapta

But then has Entrapta be the one to apologize for basically being autistic / differnet. The show has themes of the cycle of abuse via SW - Catra and Catra - Adora but then has Catra (barely) apologize and everything is fine? Its feels like the show goes to great lengths to shove in as many themes/messages as possible but then doesn't portray the other side. Ex: what would have happened if Catra apologized to Glimmer + Co properly and they didnt accept it and that was a lesson catra had to learn?

I think there are a few different factors to address within your words, anon.

The first being the intended age of the audience. With SPoP... I honestly don’t know that there is a real intended age. The thing with this show is that, by virtue of being what it is, it’s going to naturally have a wide range of ages watching it. This is due to it being a reboot. You’re going to get the young kids, sure. But then you’re also going to get the queer teens hungry for rep. You’re also going to get the queer adults hungry for rep because they didn’t have it when they were the age of the teens. And then those adults are going to have overlap with the ones watching it because it’s a reboot of a show they watched during their childhoods.

So just by design, the show ends up attracting a wide variety of ages. And I feel like that is reflected in the very different levels of seriousness it provides regarding its content. Some things are more geared towards younger kids: the banter, the action-adventure combat. Some things are geared towards teens: the relationship dynamics between Catra and Adora come to mind (though how appropriate that is given the abuse... ehn... I won’t go into it in this post). And some things are really geared towards the adults; Hordak and Entrapta, to me, are really geared towards the adults watching (though they can be enjoyed by all!). 

All of this gives the show a wide appeal, but it does make it kind of “weird.” It provides inconsistency in how serious things are. My answer to this, personally, is to try to identify what the show is really trying to say - the messages it’s trying to send - and take those parts of the show seriously.

The show isn’t really sending a message about imperialism or war or colonization, so while those things can be explored in fandom, they’re unlikely to be protrayed super-seriously in canon. Hence: Mermista eating ice cream in a bathtub while her kingdom burns. 

The show is sending messages about abuse and choosing one’s own destiny and forgiveness and self-worth. Hence: Catra’s relationship with Shadow Weaver is a serious matter. Adora’s issues with her destiny is a serious matter. Hordak’s... pretty much everything is a serious matter. And I do think that the show does a pretty good job of portraying those things seriously.

There is also the glaring issue of the show really being something of a Catradora Delivery Device: some of its shortcomings are a direct result of that. Things like Catra developing her relationship with Glimmer, for example, are cut short or cut out because we need to reach that Catradora smooch endgoal. Which, depending on what you’re looking for in the show, is either fine or a major disappointment. 

Now, the final thing: Entrapta’s treatment. This I sort of separate from everything else because, as far as I can tell/have been told by various autistic fans, it seems to be a function of the writers just not knowing how to gracefully handle ableism. It’s not that they’re trying to send a particular message; it’s that they’re too poorly-versed in the subject to realize that Bow lecturing Entrapta on needing to try harder in friendship while she’s actively dying in front of him is Not Good. Or that Perfuma leashing a grown adult woman is Not Good. Or that Entrapta pretty much has to cater to all of these clique-ish princesses who barely seem interested in her happiness at all just to form a shallow “friendship” with them. These issues are, to me, less a result of target ages or picking and choosing messages and more a result of the writing staff not being equipped to handle this in a satisfactory manner.

But that’s all just my opinion, on all of the above! Certainly it’s not written in stone.

[lightneverfades]

Frostiron AU (WandaVision) -  Episode 9

Here’s a few more of the WandaVision Frostiron AU I made! :)

Storyline: (Contains Spoilers)

< Story is set in an alternate universe set after Thanos is defeated >

Loki is alive, lives through the events of End Game but loses Tony in the fight when Tony sacrifices himself to use the Infinity Stones. Loki can’t cope with what’s happened and resurrects Tony from the dead and creates an alternate reality where they are in a sitcom, living as a happy couple... to shut out the real world.

Note: The fic is a continuation of this post here :D (Listening to this song while writing, it’s so good <3)

+

The walls around the Hex glowed ever so brightly in luminescent green, static energy fizzling in between its barrier. Dark clouds started to form as Loki chased after Agatha, who flew up effortlessly into the air with a laugh that echoed into the expanse, trails of black magic whirling around her.

“Give me everything you’ve got, trickster!”

Loki threw a ball of energy at Agatha, but the spell missed, hitting the other side of the wall behind her. It faded quickly back into the surface.

“Loki!” Tony cried out as he flew up to help. He attacked as well, shooting beams of energy in Agatha’s direction. One particularly nasty one hit Agatha and the witch hissed, her smile faltering. Her gaze shifted, her lips curling in annoyance and her eyes lit up in a darker shade of purple.

“Let the adults fight, mmm?”

Tony felt the blast of dark magic slam into him with full force. He thought he heard Loki’s shout of alarm, but his senses became somewhat numb as he fell, his suit shutting down temporarily as Friday blipped out with a “-Boss, I’m going to have to go into emergency shutd--!”

The ground came up to greet him, or rather vice versa, as Tony broke the concrete floor, creating a massive dent on the road. Pain shot through his whole body, begging for him to stop and quit moving altogether, but there was no way he was going to do that. This is our home! Tony thought furiously.

“Friday!” Tony called out, but his screen was absolutely pitch black.

With a groan of frustration, his helmet disappeared. Tony got up as quickly as he could, ignoring the terrible ache in his whole body and wincing at the cuts on his cheek and lips.

“Tony, are you okay?” Loki’s voice made Tony’s head turn and he saw the god flying over to him, his brows already furrowing as he caught sight of the blood.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just a little tumble that’s all, nothing I can’t-” Tony hissed as a particular area he’d hit trying to protect his back argued otherwise. Loki reached out his hand to cover the cut on Tony’s cheek and Tony felt warmth as the pain instantly faded away. As soon as the glow faded, Tony knew the god had fully healed him from top to bottom. What was more, the suit was coming back to life and he could feel the nanobots shifting around his body.

“Thanks babe,” Tony smirked and Loki’s lips curled upwards. 

“My pleasure,” Loki answered in kind, a tinge of an American accent slipping through from the many timelines he’d adopted from his stay at Westview.

"Have you forgotten we’re not done yet, lovebirds?” Agatha’s voice called out from above and both men looked up to see the witch hovering above them, staring down at them.

“Haven’t forgotten, darling,” Tony shot back as his suit rebooted back to full capacity.

“Good,” Agatha spoke and she directed her gaze at Loki. “Won’t you just stop dilly dallying? I’ve been ever so patient with you lot. Perhaps I need to make things more clear for you.” 

Tony hadn’t quite noticed earlier, but he now saw that the citizens of Westview were now completely frozen in their place, their actions having been paused mid-action. Their eyes were the only thing that blinked, their lips pulled up in a smile that Tony could tell were make believe and imprinted. A chill passed through him as he realized in spite of his love for Loki, his god was also the one imprisoning these people in this place. 

Dark curls of energy lit around each of the citizens of Westview and their eyes lit up for a moment, before consciousness of their own replaced it. Each of the men and women holding their accessories or smiling at their fellow neighbors mid-conversation stopped what they were doing, and looked around in confusion. And then Tony saw it, their eyes all veering towards them and he could see the insurmountable pain and agony in their faces.

“Loki, Loki... please... please just let us go!” They chorused, and converged around them. “Please... we have your nightmares, we feel your pain! Please! I want to go back... I need to see my family! PLEASE!”

Loki’s hardened expression didn’t quite falter as much as Tony’s did, which made the situation even worse. “Loki, they’re right, you got to stop this-” 

“Stop what?” Loki countered and there was an edge in his tone that only Tony knew what it meant. It was full of anger but underneath it all, he could hear the agony within it. He reached out his hand to touch Loki’s cheek, placing his other hand on Loki’s chest. “You’re torturing them. I know you don’t mean it... I know, cause you’re not that kind of man. Stop it.”

“Mmm, Loki, yes, why don’t you?” Agatha sneered from above, her malicious smile growing ever more sinister. “Don’t you want to be good? Aren’t you an Avenger? You made an oath during the Blip, didn’t you? Thou shalt not kill, blah, blah, blah! But you know in your heart of hearts that that’s not true! You want your Tony Stark to stay intact, don’t you? So give me your power and I’ll grant you this fantasy! I’ll be your villain in your superhero origin story, hah!”

Loki’s frown deepened, “I can’t...” 

“Why, Loki?” Tony urged, hearing the ever growing pleas and cries of anger and suffering from the people of Westview. He felt the pain as if it were his own, and he winced every time he heard the hatred in the voices of the men and women. And they deserved to be angry - he hadn’t been aware until recently, but they were prisoners, made to play a role that is not their own. 

“Because I’ll lose you,” Loki whispered, the god’s eyes catching Tony’s and it was filled with sorrow. Tony flinched, but it wasn’t because of the statement.

“Then you weren’t the man I thought you were,” Tony spoke and he stepped back. He felt the arms of the men and women; desperate, ordinary people who he had pledged to save their lives as an Avenger, pull at his arms, crying and screaming, clawing for his attention. He didn’t resist; he let them take him.

The look of hurt and realization dawned on Loki’s face.

“Tony!” Loki reached out, trying to get to Tony but the man gave him a glare.

“Don’t come near me, Loki. Not unless you intend to undo this and set them free.”

“I will, I will...” Loki said but his voice was hesitant.

“Then do it, trickster! Heroes don’t torture people!” Agatha’s voice called out with a cackle/ 

Loki looked at Tony one more time and with that his eyes burned up. A gust of wind flurried around them and a surge of energy blasted out of Loki and towards the sky, tearing the barrier in half for a moment, creating a crack in between. The enormity of the action caused the god to lean back further, arms outstretched and his cape whipped behind his back harshly. 

“GO! ALL OF YOU, NOW... LEAVE!”

Tony heard the screams of the people as the ground shuddered and the town, which had been sealed shut by emerald barriers, start to split. He gently pushed the woman that had clung to him in desperation and whispered, “Go! Run! Go back to your family! I’m sorry!”

They all did, crying out and running for their lives as the Hex started to withdraw within itself. 

And then Tony felt it, the first anomaly he had experienced before when he stepped out of the Hex. First it was the strength in his arms, then quickly his legs, as something stole away the life in his body. With a pained heave of breath, his knees crashed onto the broken concrete. He could hear his heart drumming away fast at first, but slowly losing its speed. With it, he felt what he knew was Loki’s magic seep back towards his owner. 

“Loki-” Tony managed and Loki was crying, his eyes panic-ridden. With a agonized cry, the energy forcing itself out of Loki faded. The Hex started to ebb back, the four corners reforming back.

Tony wheezed as the pressure in his lungs and the heaviness of his body lifted a little, but he was far from okay. His body felt like it had been burnt and when turned to look at his arm, it was darkened and crisp and he realized the familiar sight. It was the same blackened state he’d found himself in once he’d used the Infinity Stones to stop... yes, he’d stopped Thanos and his army. I died. And I saw Loki, there, just before... He tried to revive me...

Loki’s hollow and agony-filled scream that penetrated the battlefield had been Tony’s last memory of his death before everything blacked out.

And here he was again, in Loki’s arms, the god’s face staring down at Tony with tears brimming on his eyelashes and freely falling down on his battered cheeks.

“Now do you see what you’ll lose?” Agatha said and her words were like knives.

Luminescent green light enveloped Tony and the magic did its work, life energy from one powerful being surging back into another. The warmth of the magic reignited, furiously pushing back the deathly grip that had threatened to take Tony away forever earlier. Tony gasped as the magic sped his heartbeat back to its normal pace and the right side of his body, which had grown limp and numb started to heal rapidly. 

"Don’t leave me, Anthony... not yet,” Loki spoke and leaned in, pulling Tony upwards so that his left arm was supporting Tony.

“Leave you...? Not a chance, Reindeer games,” Tony managed to teased, his voice coming back to him now. He wiped away at Loki’s tears with the back of his armored hand. The chuckle he heard from the god warmed him. “We’ve got unfinished business with that bitch.” 

A grin started to form on Loki’s lips at these words, “Yes, the witch must burn.”

[juni-ravenhall]

my opinions on mistfall!

under a cut bc spoilers and/or not everyone wants to read :D 

overall experience: 

its fun that there IS a sso cartoon now even if its not exactly amazing quality, and im happy to see if there will be more series or movies after this. it was fun to watch and see sso things in cartoon form too and i wish that we had more already (of sso animation in general). imagine if there had been a ssl cartoon? i also kept thinking throughout this, that it wouldn’t be hard for me myself to make an animated series with around the same length episodes and in a similar quality to this (aside from voice acting and music production), which made me feel a little inspired.

favourite scene:

skye taking photos of blaze and hanging out

positive points: 

i like the background art a lot, i think the style of it, and the colour schemes, helps give the series a specific vibe that fits for an sso series in my opinion. 

i like the concept art (i assume) illustrations which we saw in the recipes and other posts on sso ig, i think it looks a lot better than the characters in the series, but thats normal for concept art!!

the music is really good quality (whether or not its your taste, the quality is good) which is ofc bc its sso - theres already good music and not something they only did for the cartoon but something they care about in all of the starstable media. 

i think skye is a nice character (despite the series’ overall low quality writing) and i like her design. i also think rania’s cartoon design (visually) is cute.

skye and rania being a teensy bit gay (minus points for sso if they dont end up really gay in later canon)

i like that blaze wasnt actually like... mean or anything to skye, and i like that shes a mare since typical stories like this usually have stallions. but i just like that there wasnt really any “ooh difficult horse” things between skye and blaze in the current time of the story, blaze actually was sweet to her most the time. blaze seemed pretty charming whenever there wasnt “omg fire” drama. 

the animation itself (not meaning the details of the drawings or scene timing, just the actual frame by frame / puppet movements) was fine! not amazing, but absolutely fine.

points i have constructive criticism for, which doesn’t mean that i expected more from the series, but that we’re all allowed to discuss the quality and our opinions of media regardless of the target audience, budget, etc:

the writing was childish and rushed - this is not to be rude, but a matter that affects a lot of “media for girls / kids”, and a topic talked a lot about by Lauren Faust (creator of the FiM reboot of MLP) who wanted to show that a show about rainbow ponies “for little girls” didn’t have to be badly written, and could be engaging and interesting. if you watch the older MLP cartoons and compare to the first season of FiM (where Faust was still on the team) you can see a huge difference in quality of the storytelling, characterisation, etc. Mistfall, so far, did not subvert any expectation in the quality of what typical “cartoons for girls” are like, and is reminiscent of stuff like “The Ranch” (french horse cartoon) which imo is so bad that its hard to watch. (and ofc... that goes for a lot of “cartoons for girls / kids”, but doesn’t have to be like that.) in order to improve on this, the writer has to study more on storytelling and study from better writers.

on the topic of being rushed: no, it’s not an excuse that the episodes are short: - you have to ADAPT your storytelling and writing to the length of the episodes, not do a bad job and blame the episode length. being able to adapt to different types of media is a necessary skill if that’s what you work with. this comes down to proper planning and structuring the story and writing in a way that works for the length of the episodes. i don’t think that was overall done well here (at times it was okay), and bc of that, it feels rushed and has exposition thrown in your face instead of being shown through better storytelling. the classic thing with exposition is “show, don’t tell”. this is what the writers/directors should study, or pay more attention to. 

the timing (length of shots, length of scenes, or parts of shots, etc) was rly bad at times and overall unimpressive - this comes down to the skill of directors and editors. to improve this they have to study more on the topic. bad timing and pacing can really ruin a good scene or a good story and make it feel disconnected and hard to immerse in for the audience.

the artstyle of characters and horses is fine at times, but appears very low quality at others (skye’s childhood scene really bothered me bc her kid-self had really badly drawn eyes in my opinion). this, like everything else on this list, is ofc something that appears in almost every single “cartoon for girls” that ever existed. to improve on this, most likely it’s not a problem with the artists but with the budget and the production timeline (allowing the artists more time to produce better quality art and animation), and it can also be a problem with the art direction, if the art directors aren’t very skilled or experienced (i don’t say that they aren’t, im just giving examples of what could cause these problems.)

the character design for all characters that aren’t skye, rania, or blaze was very lacking. none of the not-main-3 characters looked interesting or fun to look at, they looked very dull and like the most boring NPCs you could think of. even though its understandable that the mainest-main characters would have the most interesting designs, that doesn’t mean everyone else has to look that boring. this is an issue with art direction or character design. i think most likely there was just very little time (equals money) put into designing the other characters.

the horse design could be improved for a cartoon that focuses on horses this much. like, horses are a big part of the selling point here, so make sure that their designs and art/animation is good. at times even blaze looked awkward and uninteresting, as did the other horses.

“alonso” looks nothing like sso alonso and i don’t like that they used his character if it’s not going to have anything to do with him. they should have given this character a different name if they wouldn’t make him seem like he had anything to do with the sso character aside from being a male ranger. (also in the game he’s like 22 or something, skye is 15...?)

why did they add a “he’s cute” dumbass fucking stupid hetero comment for literally no reason other than adding a dumbass fucking stupid hetero comment?

considering that they “can’t confirm whether a sequel is happening or not”, it seemed very meh to throw in druid cult magic stuff and not really connect to it and now the series ended? you would have expected to find out more about the cloaked people, the runes, the magic that the ranger guy did, and blaze’s magic in general, and skye herself, why her mom is “a witch”.... thats a lot to throw in while saying that you can’t say if there’s a sequel coming to answer all those questions. (it wouldn’t have been a criticism from me if they said “we’re working on season 2″ or “there will be a comic book that continues the story” or anything that told us that these questions, in this particular iteration of a story in jorvik, will actually be answered. - and i assume they ARE working on the continuation of the story, but i dont agree with that they’re not upfront about it, when they left so many questions unanswered.)

at times rania’s blindness was handled stupidly and i think they should have gotten more consultation from actual people with visual impairment, but i think its still good to HAVE a blind character in the main cast and that it’s not a big dramatic story thing but just an everyday thing. at some points it was fine though; and i personally don’t think the scene with rania being able to see blaze was necessarily a problem - because - a lot of blind ppl can see sharp contrasts in light and dark, and this seemed relatively realistic to me when blaze is on fire. (however, the way it was drawn as if she could see the whole shape of blaze and skye could be criticised for sure, and makes it feel more like “i can see because of magic” and not “i can see bc THIS MARE IS ON FIRE”). 

personal opinion which i said before, but i don’t think rania’s voice fits her at all, and it’s not the voice actor’s fault (i’m sure they’re lovely) but the casting and the directors. from the sso character, rania would seem a lot more lively, quick and adventurous, and not as calm and gentle as she appeared here. she seemed a lot too sort of motherly or just adult, instead of an adventurous teen who runs off on her own to do whatever she feels like. compare in-game rania going “MC, thats a jorvik wild!!!” and alonso going “stop talking nonsense” (paraphrased), to Mistfall rania going “jorvik wilds are really rare...” (calm, sort of disinterested, doesnt seem like she cares that much about adventures)

the voice acting overall was meh. i see this as a direction problem, not an individual voice actor problem (and the writing didnt help - it’s hard to provide good quality acting with a poor script unless you can just toss the script aside and improv, if you have good actors). it felt childish and uninteresting at most points and generic low quality for “cartoons for girls”. from a voice acting perspective i think skye had the best result. anyway, the way to improve this is for the director in charge of voice acting to not direct the actors to perform in this childish manner. (again, refer to cartoons with better writing and better voice acting, that have a very similar target audience.)

ok, i think that was everything that i wanted to write about for now, might think of more later lol