#but well she's acting like a freaking cartoon villain

[rapidhighway]

stressed

I have to fight family again

[sea-adhesiveness537]

hi it's the op of the madd ask game! how about 1, 7, and 25?

1.) How long have I've been Daydreaming? Hmm... For as long as I can remember. Daydreaming is like breathing, it's a second nature and it just happens. The earliest daydreams I might remember are from when I was in nursery or kindergarten, I was very young.

7.) Oh boy, I've been looking forward for this question! Parallel parking prompt, let's gooooooo

Ok, so, while SpongeBob can drive in my paracosm, as in, has the ABILITY to drive a car or a boat mobile, he doesn't like it because he finds it very boring. So he wouldn't give much fucks about parallel parking his car unless it's actually at the expense of other cars. But if you let him have a monster ride like, say, Nihilego Lusamine (I'm using her as an example because it's funny and that she's actually one of his go to mode of transport), THAT'S when the MF actually can parallel park his god damn ride just fine without any problem.

Mickey would boast about being able to parallel park like a good citizen should and be obnoxious about it, but does a shitty job when he actually tries to execute it. Bonus points if he hits a villain actor's car in the process (on purpose or not) and not give a fuck about that. He even believes that his parallel parking looks good and insists that it's perfect, even though it's not.

Sandy is one of the normal ones who'd just parallel park her vehicle just fine and not be to weird about it.

Clarabelle ranges from getting anxious over her car not being perfectly parallel enough (ex: the car being an inch too close or far from another car or object, the car not being straight, the car being in a particular angle, ect), to bragging about parallel parking it successfully first try as if she's a Mary Sue incarnate. But in reality, it took her four or five tries at best, and ten or more at worse if she was having a bad day.

Sonic exe and Ludwig Von Drake would rather just park elsewhere to not deal with this than park in tight spaces if possible (SpongeBob would do this too).

Gothel's also normal, but that's because I made her a bus driver in the paracosm because I got inspired by a video of Google translate singing Mother Knows Best and I gotta yoink the idea for how hilarious the video was. She wouldn't use a bus for this, but it'd be pretty impressive if she somehow manages to parallel park it.

Lusamine would hastily park the car as if she's running from the mob or is late for work, and bump into something in the process. If it's a hero actor's car or worse, Mickey's, then shit would hit the fan very quickly. She takes after SpongeBob with the can park a creature ride properly with no issues thing going on

Cynthia is the one who can park it well and smoothly for a first try and doesn't make a big deal about it. Her ser-workers (aka: co-stars) would freak out about it though.

25.) Which para I'd hate to meet in real life? Honestly Mickey and his cult. Sure, people would make memes about it for the first few weeks, but the moment they get put into the news because of their cult shit and trying to indoctrinate people into their religion, I'm really not meeting them in person multiple times just for the memes. Also, they're very scary, you would not want to face them, especially in combat. You'll either get killed or brainwashed. Pick your poison.

It doesn't help that I try to model their cult after rl ones like the Jehovah's witnesses and heaven's gate. I just like to ruin people's childhoods by making a cult out of Disney characters because the severe whiplash of childhood cartoon characters being in a cruel cult either harming people or being harmed will never not be pretty amusing and super fascinating to me.

Honorary mention: I wouldn't like to meet Lusa in person, either because I kinda still associate her with her canon self or I can not act normal around her because of the daydreams. Either way, I really don't want to deal with her. I'd rather leave her to SpongeBob.

EDIT: I'M A DUMBASS

I forgot that answers can be edited! Welp, guess you have to deal with the ask I sent you.

So yeah, my paras are the fic kind or the pre-existing characters who were unlucky enough to be kidnapped into my mind and be near its vicinity. Yes, they're not mine, but they're adoptive children stolen off the streets from their creators because my brain said so.

Edit: found a typo and fixed it.

[black-velvet-lady]

Narrative Framing and How it Colours Audience Perception

Something occurred to me while watching Avatar the Last Airbender. Azula is heavily coded by her first introduction to be viewed in a negative light regardless of any of her further actions.

I refer to this affectionately as the Cruella DeVil effect. Anyone around my age might be familiar with the 1961 Disney Classic 101 Dalmatians and Cuella’s introduction where the Male human protagonist Roger sees his wife Anita’s friend Cruella pull up and he begins singing a song informing the audience of her villainy before the Audience even has a chance to even see her.

Course this also further colours any further films that feature Cruella DeVil. Those familiar with the 1961 animated film or even the live action films featuring Glenn Close playing the aforementioned villainous woman would have their perception coloured by these portrayals when viewing the Cruella DeVil movie staring Emma Stone. It’s hard to establish sympathy for character whose first on screen introduction was highlighted by a song calling her a creature stalking you from under a rock.

More under the cut.

Here’s where Azula comes in, her first introduction as a character is this scene here.

When Zuko had his Agni Kai against his father she smiled. From this moment any attempts at having Azula display moments of vulnerability or kindness however fleeting fight an uphill battle against this scene. The audience is geared to see her actions as desiring to cause pain to another character that we are geared to see in as a most sympathetic light as reasonably possible.

This actually happens twice. As we all know Azula was played by a much older actress then the fourteen year old fictional character. During a scene in episode one of season three Zuko storms into his sisters bedroom and demands answers from Azula. Grey Delisle her voice actress stated when interviewed that she deliberately voiced the scene seductively. Why she would voice an underage girl speaking seductively to her brother in a children’s cartoon of all things I have no idea, but it once again colours a fan perception. Azula the seductress.

Now fan headcanons are one thing, but when actually presented with canon evidence, we all know this girl rolled up a -4 on that Charisma modifier.

This girl couldn’t flirt her way out of wet paper bag and we all know it.

Narrative framing is a very and I mean very powerful thing. Long before I ever watched Avatar the Last Airbender I watched a lot of different shows that featured far darker themes and villains that had done far worse in the narrative. One such character that always comes to mind for me personally is Hexadecimal from Reboot.

Personally my favourite female villain. Period. Nostalgia bias has everything to do with it. Often the hero characters have to find a way to outsmart Hexadecimal since her power far exceeds any of the characters, and they do this by playing on her two biggest weaknesses: Her crush on the main character Bob, and her programming desiring chaos. One such scheme of Hexadecimals involves her turning the whole entire city to stone cause she was bored and then undoing it cause everything being the same would be completely unbearable. But the narrative does redeem her in the end of the Damon Rising Arch, and her redemption is based entirely on the fact that she has a crush on the main character to the point that she would be willing to die so that he may live.

She is not a good person. She was never a good person. And her entire motivation is selfish since the man she has that affection for, is not interested in her and more often then not uses her crush to manipulate her into doing what he wants. And she can not buy a freaking clue. Being a little mean to Bob here cause he does care about her well being, but in truth the guy manipulates her like its going out of style.

Case in point of Manipulation being portrayed as a heroic act as opposed to a strictly villainous one.

Another case for Narrative framing changing perception of a character look no further then Lust from the two Full Metal Alchemist anime series.

Both 2003 and 2009 series of Full Metal Alchemist have very different versions of what the Homunculi are and that difference in their very nature changes who they are as characters to such a degree that The Lust in 2003 at one point joins the heroes against the main villain and the Lust in 2009 is the first Homunculus to die. A very drastic change considering both characters were displayed in their opening scenes committing murder, attempted murder, threatened the life of a child, along with many other grave crimes. 2003 is not a show I watched in a while but the intense contrast between the two variations a character can take tends to stick with you.

So how does this relate back to Azula? Well from her design meant to make her look older, to the voice actress being older, to her theme music, it’s all designed to make her look sinister and unsympathetic to the point where scenes like these:

Don’t fit with what we have been given as an audience to base our first perception off of. What we are told to see is this and it can often blind us to other aspects of character.

Maybe it was too late for this scene.

By time this came to be we had long ago made up our minds. But then again the game was rigged from the start.

[elequinoa-world]

Saw The LA Little Mermaid tonight and here are my thoughts:

non spoilery tldr; scenes under the sea bad, above the sea really great, halle bailey is freaking amazing and relationship with prince eric top tier chef’s kiss

overall had a fun time especially in second half when she’s human

Full uncohesive thoughts under the cut:

Cons

the underwater scenes were so dark and lacked severe colors, fun, life. all the underwater world looked too realistic and bare compared to the cartoon version, especially showed during the under the sea segment, it was so lackluster compared to the original... they could have made a real world with lots of colors and fun patterns but no, they went realistic and it’s very meh i hated all of it

the original songs are so much better than the LA ones BUT i saw the movie in french dub because my mom doesnt speak english so i’m pretty sure the english versions are at least better than that (but in french they lacked so much soul and RYTHM omg sebastian where is your groove?? and ariel’s VA was so bad i didnt like it, and Eric’s new song was so freaking weird because Jonah was out here pouring his soul into the acting and the french VA did not match that energy lol it was very cringe, same for the eureka rap son wtf was that)(i wanna point out that french dubs are usually very good so im very disapointed with this one, they did not get the right tones accross)

ursula’s introduction. W.T.F. you know how the basic of writing is show don’t tell? well they went the exact opposite direction with her and she gets not one but TWO monologues where she explains her villainous thoughts so you know exactly why she’s the vilain and how she’s gonna villain in her next course of villainous actions BRRR so bad

ariel’s sisters were underused they barely had like one line each, why even put them in the movie?? simone ashley you were robbed she didn’t even get one closeup in the final scene smh they should have done more with at least ONE of them (indira cough cough) so we could explore more of ariel’s connection to the underwater world? one of the sister could have helped instead of sebstian/eureka? idk the sisters are important characters in the original tale, they could have done something with that...

Vanessa was also less of an impact compared to the cartoon but I don’t know if that’s bad or good... It makes the ending a bit rushed imo, less heart-breaking than I remember, but it also removed the dumb idea that Eric would genuinely marry her lol so idk

Ariel only got ONE dress i’m so mad (no, the last one doesnt count it’s just a RECOLOR im so pissed)  THEY DIDNT EVEN SHOW THE SCENE WHERE SHE WALKS OUT OF THE WATER WITH HER REAL LEGS I WAS SO WAITING FOR IT i need to calm down but i’m definitely mourning the silver dress, the pink dress, the blue dress, the pajamas, the wedding dress.... GIVE ME BETTER COSTUMING FFS

they cut the cook’s song to add others and i’m not sure i agree with that decision. You know which scene would have used a song? The one where Ariel and Eric dance in the market. This should have been a fun song. *shrugs*

they need to stop with the bad CGI. they could have gone with practical effects on so many things and it would have improved the movie so much more. Ariel’s hair was the worst, it moved so unnaturally at times it really took me off. (while when she’s on land it’s so cute)

Pros

Halle Bailey.

She’s amazing and even if the french VA didn’t do so good Halle’s performance still shone and she was really really great i really mean it. She’s gorgeous, has the right emotions, she made Ariel much more likeable. I always thought of cartoon Ariel as a bit of an unlikeable brat with teenage angst, but Halle turned her into a real character and it felt more genuine that Ariel really wanted to be part of that world (wink wink) She felt more in power, with an actual personality, like the movie was really hers. They did change the final scene and have Ariel kill Ursula alone which makes more sense and satisfying BUT i’ve always liked about the cartoon that Eric and Ariel defeated her together so I would have liked him to be a bit more present during the final fight, making it longer and have more impact too. Cause it was really short. Plus they have amazing chemsitry so it would have been good.

Eric. Their relationship. They fleshed him out more and they did it well. I love that they’re kindred spirits, the way they talked all night was so good, you really felt the connection and it was so cute. Really well done. I was really sold on their relationship. All their scenes together, I wanted more more more <3

The kiss the girl scene was so so nice, the way she made him find out her name??? the cutest shit ever, felt so genuine and cute, and you could feel the tension and L O V E blooming YESSSS

Ariel’s new song when she’s on land was a nice addition (better in english i’m guessing)

Eric’s kingdom, all the land scenes, the colorful market, it felt so alive and fleshed out compared to the underwater!! I loved the castle, the palm trees, Eric’s room, loved it.

The Queen was a nice addition to balance Eric. Grimsby was the best wingman. Good doggo Max, loved that Ariel saved him too.

I don’t care much for Triton, he was as he was in the cartoon I guess. Not less, not more. I don’t understand why they made Ursula his sister if they did nothing with it. Meh. Also they did not use the weird worm thingy transformation so when he “died” and came back it was a bit lackluster too. With the “soul corruption” of the wormies we had a better visual outlet for what was happening I believe. Here it felt too hollywoodian to have him come back like that. Or at least have Ariel bring him back if you’re gonna use the trident to do so??

Ursula, once her BAD introduction scenes passed was nice, her song was the best I thought... (remember, in french) good performance if not as good as the cartoon one that is immaculate so hard to top that

Ursula’s lair was MUCH better than the rest of the underwater. They had moe fun with it and it showed. Lights, danger, spooky, some creativeness finnally!!!

I liked the use of a scale from her fishtail to seal the deal, a nice change. Made more sense. Liked also how they emphasized why she stole her voice (siren’s powers, but also metaphorically, a nice touch)

Flounder was cute don’t listen to the haters

Eureka was also fun and less annoying than cartoon version

Sebastian was... Sebastian but without the original flair. (rip Henri Salvador) though i’ll admit he’s probably the one that made me laugh the most

overall, when they tried to replicate the original cartoons scenes it felt lackluster compared to it, but when they went off-book with the new land scenes it was amazing, they should have gone more off-script, this movie would have benefitted from it, they had the right actors to do so. (and i really wanted more scenes on land, and i want to know the lore of this kingdom and who are Eric’s parents??, more of the queen, the king, how is the relationship between the two worlds going to evolve?? this is a huge freaking deal, expand on it please!!)

so long story short, right actors, wrong creative decisions, fun movie overall, adds more character, but could have done. SO. MUCH. more. Disney has the budget for it, be bold ffs and bring back the COSTUMES o m g they gave their all with cinderella and gave up after that smh i blame you emma watson we could have it all

[jakowskis]

ok i just finished batman the caped crusader and i thought i'd dump my thoughts here cuz why not

big fan of the 1940s noir vibes, batman ofc originated in the 40s and i love that its been able to evolve w modern times but the 40s will always be its home yanno, so it's always good when it goes back to it. was one of the appeals of btas too. it esp pairs well w all the mob stuff going on within gotham theres just smth so classic abt batman beating up gangsters w tommy guns. batman n noir pair soo infinitely well. its a key component to the universe rlly

loveddd barbara and renee. i love barbara's diversity as a character, she works well n thrives in so many roles. she was essentially the main character of this tbh n she kicked ass. loved her

was cool to see characters u dont see often - i whooped when onomatopoeia showed up. too bad they underutilized him. what we did see was cool tho

toby stephens was srsly channeling tim curry oml

CARRIE!!! STEPHANIE!! there might of been more but i only clocked it when i immediately recognized carrie fsdhk (update i just checked the other two were dick n jason refs??? ok!!!!)

dude some shit was creepyyy like. idk if this was for kids per se but if i watched as a kid several things in this woulda creeped me tf out. ig it's sort of on par w btas / 90s cartoons in general which were a bit more... Intense but ya i was like woah at parts

i forgot how much fun it is to hav a villain of the week / semi unrelated story every ep like. idk if its just the shows ive been watching or a streaming thing but i feel like that genre of show n esp cartoon is a lot less common than it used to be, at least in media that's not exclusively for kids. altho again i rlly dunno what the age range for this was. maybe an intense pg idk

the elephant in the room... harley... sigh. it was rlly cool to see a harley who exists independently of joker, who created herself, but it was... an odd take for her that i wanted to like, but couldn't. it was mostly a matter of her temperament when she was doing her crimes, like i just.. couldn't reconcile it. out-of-costume harley was good, i loved her, and her x renee 👀but once that jester's costume was on it felt all wrong. i liked her motives, but the execution... you can do the off-on switch with certain characters - harley isn't one of them. a calm calculated cold harley who doesnt have any fun in her villainy just doesn't work. so that was a bummer

the bruce in this felt like a midpoint between the batman 2022's weird little freak + then, like, ur standard bruce. gd and he was fucking RUDE. it kind of drove me nuts a little tbh like his callousness with alfred (not calling him by his name???) was an odd choice imo

soo many recognizable voices in this. im a voice acting nerd so i was having fun consulting the wikipedia and going 'OHHH'

i hav more thoughts but im sleepy so im jus gonna wrap up by saying ive been following this since day one like i read a news article abt it wayyy back in 2021 when it was in development n i followed news on it for ages n its so cool to see the final product, like i havent had tht w many things i usually forget abt stuff fshkdj. also i cant believe max passed on it like this had all the ingredients of a winner n it turned out even better than you'd expect. baffling

all n all p damn good except for some odd character choices but i very much liked it

[27emailsicantsend]

Season 3, Episode 7 Thoughts

I know this is literally me skipping straight to the end, but I absolutely love seeing Maddox doing the opening recap. I’ll be honest, I thought she was just going to be a series regular for this season only and that the Maddox/jet storyline was just for this season. It was going to be wrapped up in a pretty bow for camp. But the ending with Maddox having feelings for Ashlyn makes it seem like this isn’t the end? I don’t know if they will have her return next season (which idk how because I think they’re from Cali, not SLC) or have her and Ashlyn writing and then maybe bring her back for an episode or two next season? I’m just really curious how this storyline will play out. That’s the one thing about this show. I see storylines (like ricky and lily) and think they’re going to go on and on and they end in like, one episode. But then I see other ones (like p*w needing to break up) and think they will end in a few episodes and they go on for longer than expected. I really am kept on my toes quite a bit with this show

Lol this is a small detail but during the recap they overlap the sounds from one scene to the next and when EJ rejects Gina’s promposal, the show overlapped that scene with the cheers from color wars and Jet winning 😭 I’m weak that is so funny

This is going to sound freaking weird, but I loved the scene of ricky eating the pizza. It was really cinematic?? Like the budget was showing. Idk why it all went to Richard shoving his face full of hot grease but I’ll take it. It kind of reminded me of a scene you would have seen in something like those cartoons come to movie (captain underpants, diary of a wimpy kid, etc.)

Also i doubt Joshua was acting at that point because i heard that’s why people don’t eat a lot in movie scenes: because they have to take bites for every single take. And having to eat bites of something for 20 takes in a row can really add up… so he might have been feeling a little ill after depending on how many takes this scene was

Lol the fact that ej was compared to a 1980’s villain and then wears THAT attire to the dance (it could be late 1970’s). He really went fully into character 😂

I LOVE Carlos and ricky’s friendship. Ricky helped Carlos with seb and I think Carlos not only caught on to what gina was saying last season when she talked about “someone” bothering her, but he also sees that ricky has the hots for gina, so he might have connected some dots. I’ve been saying this for a hot minute now but I think Carlos and Ashlyn are going to be key players in rina getting together and they kind of already have been. Ashlyn knows Gina’s backstory and Carlos knows about Ricky’s crush and that gina was bothered by “someone” (him) last season. It’s going to be cool to see how it all plays out, but I love Carlos being on the lookout for ricky. Especially where he can be known to “instigate” or “stir up drama”, I think he and ricky have a good enough friendship that Carlos has his back and that’s why he warned ricky the confession could be shown sooner than he thinks. I’m totally rambling but it’s only because it makes me feel soft inside 🥺

And Carlos used his one phone call to know more about the tea?? I don’t think it was all for ricky, but like, he probably asked because he was looking out for him. I’m just AHHHHH

Ricky throwing up over gina. He screamed (yelling at the cameras and Corbin about best summer ever), he cried (in his bunk), and now he’s throwing up. The perfect trifecta ❤️

I loveeee seeing all the girlies get dressed up beforehand together. It’s just so cute. Some of my favorite moments with my friends are just in the time we’re getting ready before we go out and we just hype each other up. This scene just brings back those happy mems ❤️

This has been pointed out on tumblr (as well as some of my other thoughts probably so I’m sorry if I’m a little repetitive) but I love that Gina talks about the possible history of camp prom and then they parallel it with ricky. Great minds think alike ig

Ashlyn you’re so cute!! And I love that they made her coming out a big thing for her but not big in a negative way. They kind of handled that scenario more with Maddox, but with Ashlyn it’s just been chill. She learned more about herself like she would a new hobby, and she finds it positive because “her dating pool got bigger”. It was also cute to hear her say she has a crush on Val. Obviously there is going to be some… discussions had when she gets with big red again because they’ve made it clear this season they’re still talking, but for now I am just enjoying seeing Ashlyn finally accept who I have seen her be since season one with her sword 😂

Something that bothers me about gina saying in front of all the girls, including Ashlyn EJ’s COUSIN, is that she felt like EJ’s been ignoring her. I guess maybe they didn’t want to make it their business but why didn’t anyone say anything? Is it because they thought gina could handle it on her own? Idk it just makes me sad that they knew he’s been a tool but it seems everyone’s kept quiet with him

JET

They really were leaning into the 70’s vibe with him huh 😭 it’s so good. I just can’t stop thinking of him sitting in the cabin picking his hair to get it that big and it’s like, one my favorite hc’s ever. Maybe he had the other boys helping him? Lol

“No I already did that jet” PLS Maddox you dont have to be so loud

Ricky and his cleavage is SENDING me. Boy, if only 😂 i saw someone post pics of him on twitter where he wore even deeper v necks irl (josh) and i just love when shows make little call outs like this. Like in Valentine’s Day when Taylor Lautner says he is uncomfy taking his shirt off. Just GOLD

There’s some camper in the background getting dressed and to idle he is doing little dance moves and I don’t know why but it’s killing me 😂 like he couldn’t think of anything else to do. And then sometimes he just stands there like 🧍 Just watch him next time you rewatch this scene hahahaha

“Like slapping?” PLS RICHARD again why is everyone on this show so LOUD. Just so out of pocket and for what 😭

I love that JOJO is a guest star but is still wearing the most Jojo siwa outfit I could think of. They really weren’t going to let her get out of loads of colors and sparkles

I actually feel a little bad for Jet. Like I know he screwed up but over time we’ve learned that a lot of his actions weren’t intentional and I think Maddox just refused to listen to his side so much that is caused more catastrophe than what it was worth. This scene was hard to watch because it seemed like Maddox didn’t care what the explanation was going to be or how hard he was trying, she was still going to decide to be mad. I’m glad they didn’t drag it on much past this because I think I would have started to dislike Maddox instead of understanding her side, which is not what I wanted to do

Lol Maddox saying, “maybe I do need a friend” and jojo just nods like, “please girl I know” hahahahaa I don’t think jojo meant to make that face though

This is completely irrelevant but I remember watching this thinking how much I wouldn’t enjoy this dance because I wouldn’t know ANY of the music. I’m probably in the older crowd of people who watch this show and even I don’t know a lot of 70’s music so I don’t know how literal gen x’ers would be having that much fun dancing to it

Carlos you do NOT look like miss Edna from hairspray. Hairspray is one of my FAVORITE movies of all time and that is not what he is giving 😂 i don’t get this joke. I think there were about a million other references that would have gotten closer. I think he looks more like a Cheetah Girl than anything but that’s just me

Look I KNOW ej is stressed about the play, but ricky is right. He could have waited even an hour or two and then returned back to his work. As much as EJ doesn’t want to be like his dad, the workaholic side seems exactly like a “Cash” quality and I don’t know that he realizes that yet

Interesting that ej chose a quote about Kristoff wondering why Anna chose to be in a relationship with a guy she just met. This was foreshadowing to the break up later, no doubt

Also if you have the captions on, ricky says in quotes “wait. You got engaged to someone you just met?” And then NOT in quotes, to Carlos, he says “he’s got a point” (talking about Kristoff). Even ricky is wondering why someone would just jump into a relationship with someone they barely know. I know this is definitely more towards p*w, but this could also reflect ricky trying to date lily as a last resort as well. There are just layers and layers to this show guys

THE BEST PART

YES RICKY CHOKE

I mean what-

Just like this man is literally DUMBFOUNDED by Gina’s beauty

His reaction is 10 times bigger than her own boyfriend’s

I said this before but her BOYFRIEND asked if ricky was ok. If ricky needed air 😭

Ricky’s eyes are THE BIGGEST heart eyes i ever did see. The other time they get this big is in their convo scene outside the barn when they’re on the bench

And also gina left him speechless??? Like that’s queen behavior.

Not only is he speechless but he is sweating and shaking!!! Someone get this boy some milk! 🥛

Like gina honey, ej was never going to care about you like ricky does and this whole scene proves it

Not to mention ricky and Carlos see her first… EJ looks up a few seconds later when he’s not so immersed in his work! They purposely leave him looking up a little bit later in the camera. That is symbolism people!! He is putting his work and everything else in front of seeing gina. He looks at her second because the person who puts her first is already looking! (They do this again later in the episode when she is sad and looking for ej and the person who sees her first, ricky, is already looking at her yet again!)

And can we talk about the ROMCOMIFICATION of this entire episode… well season? I know it’s intentionally supposed to feel like one but this scene did it justice. The slow motion, music in the background, gasps ricky is trying to gasp next to her boyfriend… I literally feel like I’m just watching one of my favorite movies right now. AND, this is my favorite “boy sees pretty girl” reaction I think I have ever seen… ever. Which is saying a lot because I watch a LOT of romance.

And like, they show Ricky’s face first and you just KNOW that he sees gina. EJ’s dialogue about needing to “stay in the zone” helps set this up, but even without it, you can just tell how WHIPPED this man is from the second he sees her. And while we never saw it, let’s not pretend he didn’t do this every time he saw her this season because she honestly looked SO CUTE in every outfit

All 3 girls were serving breakfast lunch and dinner as they should!!!

Again the show breaking the fourth wall “you refuse to dance in front of people” “I have two left feet” and one of the biggest things jojo is known for is dancing hahahaha

I love the swing in the cabin it’s so cute

I like that Maddox’s parents weren’t upset about her being gay. They alluded to this in the first few episodes, so I’m glad that was a misdirect and that her parents were nice to her about it

“The night’s not over, neither is the summer” I really hope this means that some of the characters spend time together throughout the summer and that the show talks about it a little in s4. I answered an ask tonight about this and how cute it would be if rina spends summer together before school starts

THE PIN ARE YOU K-WORDING ME

But does anyone realize the implications of this!! We never see Ashlyn tell anyone she is queer in the show but Carlos shows up with the pin. And she talks about it a little in the cabin when she talks about “vibes”. This means that within the span of one night she’s already opening up to people about it which I think is so sweet! I am just so 🥺🥺 proud of her!

As much as ej has been not the ✨greatest✨ I really appreciated this part with him reassuring Carlos. It brings me back to the other seasons EJ’s which i liked quite a bit. (Aside from the beginning of season 1). It feels very much like something HE would say and not this self-centered version he’s becoming. I like seeing that part of him still inside him.

I also feel really fondly of Carlos storyline because body image is something frequently addressed in women. While it is a bigger concern for women, it doesn’t mean that men don’t deal with it. You ever wonder why there are gym rats that are typically male? That’s typically a body image/low self-esteem thing they are trying to cope with. It’s nice to see some male perspective on this topic too ❤️

SEBBYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY he is so cute 🥺 the show feels so much more whole with him back. I am really excited to see the full cast (ig outside of nini) back together next season. They just work so well together and play off each other in a really nice way. It’ll feel complete 💕

I’ve also seen this talked about so i wont say too much on this, but I think it’s really important that we recognize why ricky didn’t say anything when gina asked him to dance. This shows his character development. He actually looks a little misty eyed when gina asks (like seriously i have it paused rn and it looks like he might cry). And I think that’s because he might feel not only a little like a second choice, but also because he wants to dance with her so bad but knows it would be hurtful to ej after their little back and forth they’ve done all season. Literally three cheers to josh for his acting this season because WOW. You can just see so much complexity behind his thoughts in this moment and really feel the hurt, confusion, and fear that he’s working through in that moment. He walks away out of overwhelm again and it’s just… AHHHH

I’ve seen some people say they don’t like this version of “I wouldn’t change a thing” and some of the other music this season but I actually have liked the campiness of the songs. I think they did a good job making them their own without taking away from what they used to be. This was a really fun version of this song and I think it was well performed

Also, I LOVED the line “maybe we’re ready to be happy again” are you kidding me?? 🥺 that was SO SWEET. It’s just so simple but I think that’s how sibling relationships work. While there might be tough dynamics at times, for the most part, a lot of the relationships started off as simple. Playing together, little fights on the playground, getting tucked into bed by your parents. This line brings back the simplicity of who they used to be and the song reempahsizes that because it was her favorite to sing when they were little. It was just a well-worded speech from Maddox

“If you’re thinking of dancing, you’ll regret it if you don’t” MR CASWELL. ELTON JOHN. Do you have ANY idea the words you speak? Or do you just say words and hope they mean something? Because his emotional insight as of right now is about at a 0 🙄

And then he LOOKS AT GINA and walks out?? Either he knows he messed up big time or he really just could care less about making things right with her. I think both things might be true at this point. I didn’t even notice him leave this part until this second watch around. Elton john is who is gonna drive me insane song, that’s who

Ok seb chile like this song wasn’t even meant for them but they just ran up and took the mic and the seb decided to absolutely slaughter everyone else’s performance with his vocal run but slay ig

I made a post about this already but the lyrics they used to overlap this scene with gina being sad because the partner she was SUPPOSED to have the last dance with was ej. But as I noted earlier homeboy left. So when she looks, she sees ricky (also noted above that he’s already looking at her). “I can’t stay mad at you for anything” “we’re Venus and mars” (completely different planets- gina is change and ricky is stability), “the harmony to every song i sing” gina is the music in ricky which is why he has the rina cue every time he gets stronger feelings for her. There are LAYERS TO THIS. I want to scream from the rooftops how much I love this show and I still don’t think it would be enough

And then Ricky trying to cheer her up?? But then he’s probably thinking he hurt her when he didn’t dance with her and that’s why she isn’t reacting, so then he stops. But also technically he is still dancing at gina (not really with but I digress)… so this could be like him still showing up for her in the best way he knows how. He is such a silly, sad boy 😭 literally just a golden retriever it hurts so bad

Did you hear how Ashlyn said “we have heard… SO much about you?” Oooh i don’t know that Maddox’s feelings are unreciprocated 👀

RIP P*WELL 2B-3x7 YOU WONT BE MISSED

This entire scene is just gina stating was Rina’s have been saying since day one about why p*w doesn’t work

Timberly GETS it or else it wouldn’t be stated so explicitly in the show

He is putting everything, even this important scene where gina wants to check in, before gina. Her asking him to put the binder down was a lot bigger than maybe this scene is making it out to be. She’s been asking him to put his work aside all season and she just never comes first to it

And listen, I said I don’t want to talk about this too much and I don’t, but the age gap allegations aren’t out of proportion! I’ve seen people say the age gap shouldn’t matter. If they love each other they will make it work… which yes and no. But gina is literally stating IN THE SHOW that their ages and life stages are in completely different points. That EJ isn’t a camper anymore; he’s acting more like an adult/post camper in charge of the younger ones.

Then when ej tries to make a point that ricky is the problem (an argument I’ve seen) gina again says, it’s not about him! Because it isn’t. Ricky had been minding his own business and just being a good friend. In fact he put p*w first several times above his own desire to be with gina. He even did it IN THIS EPISODE in front of gina when she asked him to dance. She states that she just wanted a future with ej! That the problem lies within p*w’s relationship!

And then she NAILS IT ON THE HEAD with what Rina’s have said a million and five times. Gina is CHANGE. She doesn’t want maybe. She wants stability. Someone who shows up and stays. Not someone who keeps her on her toes and uncertain all the time.

And that they were great for five minutes at the beginning of the summer. They were only a honeymoon phase like Hans and Anna!

“Could it really be over if it never got a chance to start?” But when it is boiled down to it, there were no fireworks. There was no chemistry. The thing that they were hoping and searching for that would make them last was never there (which was stated last episode)

SEBS COMEDIC TIMING IM DONE. THE SILENCE IS SO LOUD

And then him just walking away 😭

I saw someone comment about how they were thinking about how long and how hard seb must have been searching for ej just to say that and that makes this part SO MUCH FUNNIER

This gives the same energy as when the whole cast was fighting and ricky completely unprovoked was like, “JET AND MADDOX ARE SIBLINGS???”

Not ricky dumping his traumas from s1 on a stranger 😩

Ricky is SO soft in this season. What an interesting parallel AGAIN to gina wanting to come first and ricky literally leaves his convo halfway through to chase after her and make sure she’s ok 😭 I’m so-

And then the show just stating the parallel to the homecoming dance. The only other parallel i wish they had was gina pouring a drink on ej 😔 maybe in another life

But this scene shows so much care and compassion from ricky. When she drops the things out of her purse and he just reassures her that it’s really ok while helping her pick up the mess she’s made (read that last sentence again there might be symbolism there). He just wants to help her feel ok about her feelings and that is soooooo

And not only here, but later on when he’s about to reveal his crush, he sees that she is vulnerable and it’s not a good time. If he was a jerk he would do it at the time because he would care more about his needs getting met. That HE was heard and he got this worry off of his chest. It would be s1 ricky behavior. But this time, because he sees that gina just needs him to be there for her, he puts his needs aside to make sure she’s ok. “Love is putting someone else’s needs before your own”-Olaf.

But also look at Gina’s face when he tells her he has something to say. And the tone of her voice? You can’t tell me she didn’t sound excited? Intrigued? I think she was hoping ricky might have opened up about his feelings tonight but again, he knew it was the wrong time and place. But when it’s the right time? Right place? The payoff is going to be SO GOOD. And she said thank you when he told her it can wait. Like she appreciated him not putting too much on her right now since it wasn’t the right time. I don’t think she’s upset at all about waiting for what he has to say here.

THE RINA CUE I’M- just wheel me away 😭 I’m not gonna survive this season

Also I think Dewey cutting in was our way of knowing that it could have been a kiss but I also think it wasn’t supposed to be heavily implied. They don’t lean into it or get close enough to have one. They just look at each other close and it’s in these shared moments that we can see that spark between them. I said this in another post but their shared looks are almost more intimate than a kiss and I think that says something about just how deep their relationship goes.

Kourtney’s song being a prayer is so beautiful. She has mentioned being religious before (singing at church) and so I think it’s sweet hearing her bring this part of her into her music

Also Dara wrote such a lovely song. I am really impressed by the writing and singing talents of this whole cast. They’re just so talented and it shows well in these deeper moments.

Kourt climbing the wall to overcome her anxiety is symbolic of else climbing the mountain to overcome her fear. She talks about how her ice powers live in fear and the way to calm them is with love. We see that the love kourt feels from the other girls calms her enough to climb the wall. ❤️

Ricky and carlos calling each other bro is something so special to me?

Also i like that ej was the one who dunked ricky with water. Idk it kind of made me feel like this was the show hinting at them possibly becoming friends… again? I know it’s been debated if they were or not but at the beginning of the season and a couple times last season it seemed like their friendship was starting to go somewhere. The scene when ricky comes in the cabin and they both say their night was confusing…. I kind of wish we would have seen a little more than that. A discussion about why could have been healing and bonding for them, but I understand with time constraints and the need for gina to tell ricky she broke up with ej why they didn’t. I’m just saying… it might have been a nice scene. I really do hope that now that p*w is bones, maybe ricky and ej can find a place to try to heal their hurt friendship again

“You’re one of us now” this was so?????? After her feeling so left out and distant from everyone it was really sweet seeing them verbally say that she belongs

Carlos explaining the show premise to seb 😭 this is the seb i missed sm!!!! Can’t wait to have him back next season ❤️

RICKYS GLEE AND HUG when carlos called him his hero 😭😭 you cannot tell me they don’t have the SOFTEST friendship in the world. I’m so obsessed with their dynamic!!!!

And now that gina feels better, ricky starts to tell her but then he’s sees ej so he backs off? He KNOWS they’re broken up, but he AGAIN doesn’t want to put his fear (or need) in front of gina when she’s already been through so much that night. His decision to just hold off was a HUGE sign of his growth… especially with how quick and on the spot he made that decision

I already talked about this a lot in an ask so I won’t get too deep into it but I have been bothered by gina saying “friendly fibs” are ok when she went off so much about how she hates liars? I think she had to say it so that ricky wouldn’t feel bad about walking around what he wanted to say for the sake of not stressing gina out on an already difficult night… but this line felt SO counterintuitive? Idk. I just found it a little off? I’d love to hear your guys’ opinions on it though

And you can’t tell me gina didn’t know where this convo was going. The lead up to it was ricky talking about WDYKAL and how intense it was romantically… like cmon. My girl might be a little heart broken but she’s not stupid. This is gina porter we’re talking about here. I’m just waiting for the “say it”, so he ACTUALLY states what he feels instead of dancing around it one of these days. (Maybe episode 8??)

I don’t feel like we’re going to have to wait until next season for the pay off with this plot (of ricky confessing his feelings because of the doc). It would be weird for them to make a whole plot around Ricky’s feelings and this documentary, as well as the scene in the bushes for a whole season- just for there not to be any conclusion to it this season. The seasons, while a part of a whole show, still act as complete stories within themselves. The documentary and summer camp are a complete story that needs resolutions that lead into potential cliff hangers next season. I think gina will find out Ricky’s feelings because of the doc but the cliff hanger will be that we won’t know hers and they won’t get together until next season. That wraps up the storyline this season but still rolls over into the next season to make the season feel more enmeshed with the show as a whole

Ok ricky don’t act so excited they broke up 😭 lmaoooo

The third “good night Ricky” of the show 😭 and then the look back???? Why are andi Mack plots making an appearance in hsmtmts?? Lol

I’ve seen some people say she looked back because she knew there was more and wanted him to say it and ricky didn’t because he thought that him fibbing had ended that problem. Which yes, could be. And also look at that smile on her face?? Ooh she knows there’s more and it’s some VERY good news for her

But either way, gina is going to find out about the doc, so fibbing doesn’t really resolve his issue, but maybe he found resolve in just letting it be instead of trying to get on top of it or fix it due to stress. Ricky you’ve grown so much my boy 😭

The “buckle up” was another parallel to “buckle up wildcats” 🥰 cuteeeee

Also what the h*ck is gonna happen episode 8? As I’ve said in another post, reviewers said they aren’t getting early access. Literally ALL of us are in the dark outside of a couple of screenshots and a title. We knew drama would be stirred up ep 5 but people still had access to it, so to me that seems like the show wasn’t AS worried if a review accidentally said too much. But where this is SO secretive and we know Channing and Corbin want MORE drama than before, me thinks this episode is going to be 3x5 on steroids. Even Sofia said there will be twists and turns we weren’t expecting. I’m freaking scared for 3x8 😂 but also hyped. If you have any guesses or predictions (spoiler free please!!) feel free to send them my way!

I love how much Tim is putting into the show even OUTSIDE of it. His care for making sure things go exactly the way they need to makes these episodes more exciting and thought provoking. I just feel more invested in this show than I have in one in awhile and that feeling is really nice ❤️

Gosh this was long!!! I didn’t think I had so much to say but I guess I lied hahaha enjoy ig if you make it this far!

[ninjastormhawkkat]

Do you have more ideas for the Doof AU I would like to hear about Steven Boxlitener being a Doofensmirz like villain

When I saw the image edits made by @djsadbean @hibiscus-candy and @drtwobrains of villain Steven Boxleitner, I just kind of pictured villain Steven to be more like Dr. Doofenshmirtz since he isn't force by a vicious lab mouse attached to his brain to commit cheese crimes rather he does criminal acts on his own will. I remember @kurixta and their swap au where Steven was a dangerous villain and the opposite of his canon character. I decided in my head that if Steven were a villain, I would think he keeps most of his canon personality before the accident. He would be evil, but not dark evil but more of a Saturday cartoon villain evil. I just kinda pictured Steven to be evil but fun loving as well. For example someone might see Steven on the street greet them with a friendly hello and then the next day see Steven on the news robbing the bank. I decided that Steven can have a doofenshmirtz personality where they are evil but also fun loving. The villain Steve au I had in my head, or Doof Au as you call it, was not entirely a definitive and thought out idea, it was just something that would be fun to think about based on all the edits I have seen. If I were to make it a thought out au, it would most likely be a Becky Boxleitner au since Heinz Doofenshmirtz is a dad in Phineas and Ferb.

For a few headcanons on this au:

Steven is a good dad like Doof but also an evil scientist whose main goal is to TAKE OVER THE ENTIRE TRI-STATE (*cough*) i meant the ENTIRE FAIR CITY AREA! Steven as a villain would not be as evil as Dr. Two Brains, he wouldn't kill anyone (unless they harm his child).

Steven would be a chaotic and eccentric evil. Just imagine Steven doing Doof's intro's when he is introducing his latest gadget.

I also picture Steven trying to act dark and menacing but when he sees one picture of his kid or something adorable, he is just a gushing and doting mess. Note: Man is still weak against Becky's puppy dog eyes. I also can see Steven turn around in a chair to face the hero while petting Squeaky, trying to appear all menacingly, then freak out when Squeaky bites him on the finger.

I don't know if I will still have Wordgirl as the main hero or make an amazing cheese ship out of this au. But one funny thing I picture is like when Doof doesn't recognize Perry without his fedora, Steven doesn't picture Becky as Wordgirl when she takes her helmet off.

Steven: Now Wordgirl get ready to face your doom with my super potent goop ray😈... (Becky takes her helmet off)...😨BECKY, honey, what are you doing tied up in that chair where Wordgirl was? Don't worry sweetheart, I'll get you out and then search for Wordgirl with my goop ray.

[thevindicativevordan]

On Kong Kenan/Super-Man

It should've been him. He should've been the Superman of 5G/Future State/right now not Jon, and he should be the one getting an HBO Max series not Val. Hell he should be getting a movie!

God this dude is literally the best legacy character Superman has ever gotten, wholly his own person with his own lore and status quo while still building on the idea of "Superman". I am so pissed at DC for essentially just dropping him after his ongoing ended, what the hell Lee? You keep trying to make the Wildstorm characters happen, I need you to get my man Yang another Kenan book.

Have to admit I was a bit nervous at first about whether or not Kenan would be a worthwhile character. Yang's New 52 Superman run had been a disappointment to me overall, with only the the arc where Superman has underground wrestling matches against forgotten gods really sticking with me. Now he was introducing a brand new Superman? Didn't feel like he had "earned" that yet. But from the first issue I was hooked on this new character.

Kenan was unlike any other member of the Superfamily. He wasn't kind or sweet, he was an asshole! He was a bully! He was fantastic! Right from the start Kenan was set up to undergo a very different kind of character journey than the other members of the Superfamily. Empathy, humility, respect for people weaker than himself, these are all traits most heroes wearing the S-shield already posses by the time they first don the crest, but not Kenan.

Like all bullies he was even a bit of a coward himself at first, trying to bail on the experiment meant to give him Superman's powers right as it begins. After "saving" Lixin (the kid he bullies and steals lunch from every day) from Blue Condor he demands all the money Lixin has on him as payment. He's not courageous or selfless either at the start, Kenan is as much of an opposite of Superman as you can get short of being Bizarro. Learning the appeal of these traits formed the basis for his growth over the course of his series.

Seeing Yang bring in a lot of recognizable "Superman" elements in the series, but with a twist, was also great. Kenan is the one who bullies "Luo Lixin" rather than the traditional Clark/Lex friendship of Pre-Crisis and Birthright. Initially Kenan develops a crush on intrepid reporter for Primetime Shanghai, Laney Lan, but she dismisses him as too young and Kenan eventually ends up pursuing Avery Ho (Flash) instead. Baxi the Bat-Man of China has a similar relationship with Kenan as the traditional Superman/Batman in terms of being vitriolic best buds, however Baxi is the one who has the most respect for authority while Kenan is the rebel. Kenan is a part of the "Justice League of China" which does not meet with the approval of the already established Chinese superheroes, the Great Ten. That contrasts nicely with the good relationship the Justice Society and Justice League have, as well as seeing Yang lampshade the "Chinese copy" trope and incorporate that into his storytelling.

One of the funniest differences is how Kenan chooses to immediately reveal his identity as Super-Man to the world by taking off the compliance visor he was forced to wear, contrasting with Clark's choice to hide his identity. He was so eager to impress people that he never gave any thought to the danger he could put himself or his family in by revealing his identity until it was too late, something Clark is well aware of and has taken great pains to keep his identity secret. Was a missed opportunity for DC to have Kenan comment on Clark copying him for once when he outed himself under Bendis.

But one of the most poignant differences between Clark and Kenan is the gulf in separation between their relationship with their parents. Clark has a loving relationship with Ma and Pa Kent, trying to live up to their lessons as best he can. In contrast Kenan's mom was believed to have died in an airplane crash when he was just a child, and he never really knew her. His father was distant from him after that and the two weren't really close despite Kenan's attempts to impress him. So Kenan lacks that strong connection while still clearly loving both of them.

Pa Kent's death is one of the most tragic examples of Clark's love for his parents, and I've always been a fan of takes where Clark promises his father to fight for the powerless on Pa's deathbed. Kenan gets a similar scene at the start of his career, his dad "dies" (after being exposed as Flying General Dragon, a pro-democracy "supervillain" from the Chinese authorities perspective) and wants Kenan to promise he'll fight for Truth, Justice, and Democracy. But because Kenan's dad never really bonded with him, Kenan doesn't know what those mean, and can only promise that he never wants to see people die, something his father takes comfort in at least. In classic comic book fashion it's revealed that Dr. Omen, Kenan's "boss" and the one who gave him his powers, saved Kenan's father, because she is Kenan's mother! Kenan's relationship with his parents forms a lot of the crux of his character arc, and seeing how Yang utilizes the classic Superman concept of family kept the storytelling exciting.

Yang's brilliant exploration of the concept of "Superman" through the prism of Chinese culture was a great way to differentiate Kenan as well.

I absolutely freaking love how he tied to the concept of Qi to the S-shield in particular. Connecting the shape of the shield with the way Kenan has acquired his powers along the path of the Bagua (eight trigrams used in Taoism that represent the fundamental principles of reality), with his octagon S-shield outline representing all eight principles together, was mindblowing! So was the idea of restricting Kenan's access to his powers unless he was actually acting in a Superman manner, that tied his character growth to his power growth in an entertaining manner. There were so many characters and concepts that meshed Chinese and DC lore together, like how Emperor Super-Man was Kenan's "Doomsday", they even recreated that iconic dual kill shot! The Chinese Wonder Woman Peng Deilan, being based on the Chinese Legend of the White Snake! There was even some Korean mythology referenced with the Aqua-Man member of the JLC "Dragonson".

Yang also managed to do a Superman Blue/Superman Red story with Super-Man Yin/Super-Man Yang!

Shameful that it took me a while to realize what Gene Yang was doing but once I caught on I was touched. You can tell how much Yang loved Superman and his mythology, and how he was excited to incorporate as much from Clark as he could, while still using it in a way that was solidly Kenan's. And not just Superman's mythology, but the history and lore of the entire DC Universe. I-Ching got to be brought in, fleshed out, and used as Kenan's mentor! The "Yellow Peril" villain from Detective Comics #1, the comic DC gets its name from was brought in and revamped as I-Ching's twin brother All-Yang! Hats off to Yang for taking a racist caricature and attempting to make him into something more.

This series was a beautiful attempt by Gene Yang to build a space for Asian heroes and villains where they could be more than stereotypes, Kenan himself being a defiant mold-breaker in every regard as the complete opposite of most Asian characters in Western media (a jock, a bully, loves his dad but not on great terms with him, a powerhouse as a hero, etc). So much thought and hard work was poured into this by Yang and his team of artist collaborators.

Especially the costumes, man Kenan had so many great looks. From his starting outfit (which is my favorite Superman variant not worn by Clark himself), to the one with the Yin/Yang shield he acquired later on, to his Super-Man Yin & Super-Man Yang outfits, Kenan looked damn cool. Part of me is bummed they didn't go with the Chinese character shield they toyed around with, but I loved how Yang used the "s-shield" as a plot point, so I'm not too broken up over it.

All that great work Yang did to build that space up has been more or less forgotten sadly. It was nice to see Kenan in the DC Asian Month Celebration issue. Avery is going to be in Justice Incarnate at least (unsurprising considering she was created by Williamson). So fucking bummed that Superman Family Adventures cartoon didn't happen, they were going to have Kenan and John Henry Irons in it! Would've been a dream come true for me to see Irons in animation again, and Kenan making the jump to outside media! Maybe that would've encouraged DC to let Yang keep writing New Super-Man, or at least encouraged them to use him elsewhere instead of allowing him fall into Limbo.

Unfortunately I'm not sure what the future holds for Kenan. Jon is being pushed as Clark's replacement in the comics, with DC keeping all the other contenders such as Kon benched. Calvin is leading the Justice Incarnate team likely due to the upcoming Coates reboot that will make Clark black. Val will probably get something once Taylor leaves Jon's book or once they officially announce the HBO Max show is happening. So where does that leave Kenan, my new favorite PoC legacy hero? Currently my only hope is that Yang is working on something for DC involving him. Yang left Batman/Superman, where I was hoping to see a Baxi/Kenan team up, to go work on "exciting other opportunities" per his Twitter. So fingers crossed that there's something in the works for Kenan!

One day I hope he gets his day in the sun again.

[goggles-mcgee]

Too Late: Alya & Nino (commission for miner249er)

Fourth chapter of @miner249er ‘s commission

Chapter Summary: The truth is harsh. Teens are harsher.

Previous Work

Last Chapter                          Next Chapter

Truth.

As an aspiring journalist it was something Alya strived for. It was the most important thing she could give the people who followed her so diligently. She thought she had been giving them that. She had been so good about giving them the truth, her truth, and Ladybug’s truth in the past, she foolheartedly believed she was continuing to do so despite taking shortcuts later on in the road. Why didn’t she fact check herself? Why did she throw that very thing in Marinette’s face? What kind of reporter was she? What kind of friend was she? The answers were all around her and yet she still wasn’t ready to face them head on. There was still that voice in her head that was telling her that this was all Lila Rossi’s fault. 

But is it? Alya thought as her and Nino ate together at her house, the TV on in the background. At first it had been on the news but Alya was done with the news for a long while, all it had been was coverage of The Protector and Nino had immediately taken the remote and changed it to cartoons. This was hitting him hard, harder than Alya had expected if she was being honest. When they found out Ladybug and Chat Noir had, in fact, not defeated The Protector and instead the akuma, that Marinette had gone missing, it hit the class hard. Hard because they learned the truth about Lila in that time and that had been rough to work through. Then they had to come to the realization that they believed Lila over Marinette, the sweet, kind, selfless girl that had all at one point been friends with. 

Then the lies got to them. It poisoned them. That’s what Alya had written on her blog anyways. They were victims of a silver-tongue and they had paid the price, one they had not been prepared to pay for. Their friend was missing, had been missing and they couldn’t do anything. Alya had been searching through as many local papers and news around the world for any clues if Marinette had possibly gone to those places. Everything was coming up empty. She had even made a separate website along with Max all about Marinette and what had happened, she left ways to reach her and her classmates in case anyone had any info. Nino said they should have added Tom and Sabine’s information as well but Alya was too scared to ask them if they would be okay with it, last time they had all been at the bakery the tension had been palpable. 

They weren’t banned like Nathaniel had worried they would be but every time they went in with their families, because that was the only time they went in there, it was always awkward. Tom and Sabine were much too nice to ban them even if they felt like they deserved it. How did everything go so wrong? Even school wasn’t as fun as it had been. Walking into their classroom was like taking a walk of shame, people from other classes, even teachers just stared at them. Some even glared. Then there were the whispers, Dieu the whispers, they followed them everywhere not just school, but they were the most prominent there. Her, Nino, and their classmates would find notes in their lockers, none were really threatening but they tore at her heart all the same. Things like, ‘You’re the reason she’s gone,’ or, ‘Are you guys proud of yourselves now?’ ‘Were the lies worth it?’ ‘You traded in a gem for fool’s gold.’ ‘What a reporter you turned out to be.’

All the notes hurt. That was the truth. That last one? She had found it in her locker this morning and it burned. Alya had been bullied before, she never liked to think about it, who would? But she was and she had to acknowledge it because she had told herself she would never allow herself to be bullied again, and most importantly, she would never turn into a bully. Wrong. She was wrong, and it wasn’t the first time she had been made aware of this since everything happened. Since everything changed. It was a blessing that Nino and her were still together, he never partook in the “tough love” the class had been giving Marinette before she...before she had been akumatized. Sure he didn’t stop them, and that was bad, but he didn’t go out of his way to not invite her to things until she stopped being “jealous” and started acting like the bigger person. Nino wasn’t the one who ignored her text messages, which now that Alya read them, were pretty telling that her friend had been hurting and she had only made that worse. 

“What are you thinking about babe?”

Alya looked up from her half eaten bowl of soup to see Nino gazing at her in concern. “Marinette.”

“Oh…” He breathed out as he put his spoon down and looked down at the table before placing one of his hands on hers and giving her a small smile. “Everything will be okay Alya. Someone will find her and then she’ll be back home.”

Empty words. Empty words fed to him too much from adults who didn’t have any updates on anything. “You don’t believe that. And even if she did...who's to say she would even want to talk to us!? What’s to say that anything would be better? We would still be seen as the bad guys! We will still all have to eat lunch at our houses or the park just to avoid the stares and the whispers and the tossed trash our way and the “accidentally” spilled drinks!”

Alya had never understood just how much their class had been living in its own little world. Not to say they were completely unattached to the rest of the school, Alix, Nathaniel, Rose, Chloe, and Sabrina were in the art club (the art teacher and the rest of the club had made a mural of Marinette without notifying them or asking for their help. Everyone is encouraged to leave notes about Marinette on the mural. The art room even has a chair decorated in honor of Marinette that no one else can use. That was announced very pointedly Alix later shared.), Rose was in the scrapbooking club (no one asked to use her materials anymore like they used to), and Max was in the gaming club which Marinette had helped him set up (people weren’t showing up lately.) They weren’t kicked out, but they were reminded of Marinette all the time,it was like everyone’s way of punishing them. It had never occurred to any of them how popular Marinette was.

So popular that the whole school seemed to hate them. Even Mlle Mendeleiev seemed to be harsher than normal and that was really saying something, it would seem like she had a soft spot for Marinette. In their class everyone avoided Marinette’s seats in class, Alya had to step up as class representative but the silver lining was that Nino had stepped up to be her deputy. Though another negative was the fact Nino had stopped making his music and taking DJ gigs. At first he hadn’t said anything to her or their friends, Alya found out because of Chris actually, but then her and Adrien confronted him and he broke down. He cried and he didn’t stop for a long time, but when he had calmed enough to talk he pulled out old pictures of him and Marinette, told them stories about how they had grown up together. It had made the pit in Alya’s stomach grow, she had just been thinking about her and how much she blamed herself and how much she missed her best friend, she hadn’t even thought how this was affecting Nino.

“I...I need to believe it Alya. I need to. Because if I don’t I will break apart. Mari...Marinette and I were best friends in l'école primaire. I never thought she would ever not be a part of my life. Then the whole Lila thing happened and I turned into a coward again, like I had with Chloe! No, worse than a coward! I don’t even know what I would call myself but I know I can’t call myself her friend.” His voice rose the more he spoke and near the end it cracked. 

“Nino…”

“No. I know that’s the truth! And I know, I know that things at school have been rough. Hell, they’ve been awful, everyone sees us as these villains in some trashy young teen novel when all we’ve done is make a mistake! Yes. It was a big mistake but it was a mistake nonetheless but we’re...we’re kids dammit. We’re just kids.” Alya felt tears race down her cheeks as she saw her boyfriend break yet again, his cheeks wet with his tears, his voice choked with his guilt. 

“I know. I just...I just want her back. I want everything back. I don’t know how many times we have to apologize to the school, but they’re not even the ones that need to hear the apologies! The one we need to have hear us isn’t here and…” Alya could feel herself breaking but she tried to hold on. Nino needed her to be strong. Her class needed her to be strong. Her family needed her to be strong.

“I can’t take the stares! Or, or hear Rose’s cries that she tries to hide from us. Mylene hasn’t been eating and I know she thinks we don’t notice and Adrien, god Adrien. I’m trying to hold it together because my bro is falling apart at the seams! First Marinette gets...gets fucking akumatized, then his dad and Nathalie get taken to the hospital from some supposedly random attack but it’s pretty obvious it was Mar-the akuma’s doing, his mom freaking pops out of nowhere but of course that can’t just be a good thing because everyone has to talk about how his dad and Nathalie were probably Hawkmoth and Mayura! And I’m over here trying not to think too much about all that because it makes actually too much sense, but then we find out that Marinette was most likely Ladybug! LADYBUG!” He lamented, not bothering to hide the fact he was crying, more like sobbing. It just made Alya cry more.

“I...I wanted the truth for so long, but not like this. Not like this. I...I know this makes me sound like the worst person on the planet but I kind of wish stupid Gabriel Agreste wasn’t Hawkmoth because then I could be akumatized and maybe I could be some kind of time-travelling akuma and we could go back and fix everything and school wouldn’t be hell and the twins wouldn’t act like they had to walk on eggshells around me all the time and my dad wouldn’t look like he’s always so disappointed in me and my mom wouldn’t look at my with only pity in her eyes and Nora would talk to me and Marinette would be back!” Alya sobbed out. At this point her and Nino had moved from their seats to the kitchen floor and were huddled together hugging each other for comfort. 

The two just sat there soaking up whatever comfort they could and dreaded the time that passed. For each minute that passed, was a minute that brought them closer to having to go back to school. Alya didn’t know if she had the strength to go back and deal with everything, she didn’t know if Nino could handle it either, but she knew her mother would be by any minute to give them a lift back to school. If there was a way she could just finish school online, Alya was willing to do it, but her father wouldn’t ever allow it. He had put his foot down, Otis Césaire was mad, then he was disappointed and he thought it only fair that Alya face her peers and continue on at Françoise Dupont. It didn’t feel fair, it didn’t feel fair at all, it felt like punishment. Hadn’t she been punished enough? Even in sleep she wasn’t safe, all she dreamed of was Lila and her making her act like a puppet. She would see puppet her do all these things to Marinette and she would wake up in sweat and tears.

“Okay I’m here, I hope you two are ready to head ba-” Alya looked up to see her mom standing there staring at her and Nino, her mouth agape. “Oh Alya...Nino...How about I call the school and tell them you’re not feeling good? And I’ll call your parents Nino.”

Alya was going to respond, she really was, but when she opened her mouth nothing came out but a choked off cry and nod. Nino nodded as well as he took in a shaky breath. “Th-Thanks, Mme C.”

“Nino, you know I told you to call me Marlena. Now you two go rest in Alya’s room while I make those calls. Then maybe I can get the rest of the day off and-” 

“No manman. Things...things are already bad enough, don’t make it worse by not going back to work. I don’t...I don’t want to be the reason why you get fired.” Alya mumbled as she and Nino got up off the floor.

“Oh...Oh my little one, that won’t happen. And if it did, not because of you. Never. Don’t you think that.” Alya’s mother breathed out as she pulled her daughter into a hug before taking her daughter’s face in her hands and doing her best to wipe her tears. 

“Papa and Nora would! Nora still won’t talk to me and Papa only looks at me like he’s disappointed he ever had me!” Alya cried out before she could stop the words from coming out. Her mind completely forgot that Nino was standing right beside her until she felt him hold her hand and give it a squeeze. 

“Your Papa is just being stubborn, but you listen to me, he could never ever be disappointed in having you. You are our daughter. You made a mistake yes, but I know you know you made a mistake and that you are sorry. Your Papa will realize that. He just needs time. And Nora...she just needs time too. I just think she doesn’t know how to handle everything and that she’s mad that she couldn’t protect you sweetie. She’s always been the protective older sister, and this was something she couldn’t protect you from herself. They’ll come around. I’m sure.” 

“If you’re sure manman…”

“I am. Now you kids go relax. I’m going to take the rest of the day off and go to the store for dinner ingredients, I’ll be back soon. I know things are hard my little Melusine but they won’t always be like this.” With a kiss to her forehead and a swift hug to Nino, Alya’s mom left the two teens in the family apartment.

At first they just stood there in silence and sniffles, but Nino made the move to put their plates in the sink and rinse them out while Alya gathered their schoolwork back into their bookbags. Then they  made their way to Alya’s room and kicked off their shoes before sitting on the bed. Nino nudged Alya who looked at him in confusion until she saw him give her a crooked smile and open his arms which she fell easily into. She took off her glasses and placed them on her bedside table while she felt more than saw Nino take off his cap. For a while they just sat there in the quiet of the moment and Alya was content to do just that, to just have a moment of peace, but she slowly pushed away and reached for her remote to turn on the TV and quickly pulled up Netflix. Her mom wanted them to relax so why not fry their brains with some television. 

“Anything in particular you want to watch?” She asked as she settled back against Nino.

“As long as it has nothing to do with school or superheroes...I’m good.” Nino responded with a hollow chuckle. 

“I’m glad we don’t have to go back too…” She murmured, “Should we...tell the others?”

“Probably. But if I’m being honest I don’t really feel like talking to them and them asking how we are and if we’re okay when they know we’re not. I just. I don’t think I could handle that. Not today.” 

“I get it. Sometimes I feel like everyone else even blames me for what happened. Like... Like it was my responsibility to not fall for the lies and to warn them. Like my word would have made a difference! Mari...Marinette’s didn’t so why would mine?” Alya huffed as she scrolled through all the movie and show choices and tried her best not to cry again. 

“If they blame you then they need to blame me too and blame the people in the mirror. We all fell for the lies. Sure you’re the budding reporter, but the blame could just as easily be pushed onto Max who is so smart he created a living AI. But we have no one to be mad at but ourselves and we can only do that for so long.” Nino sighed as he held her closer and kissed her temple. Alya relished in the warmth of it all. 

“When did you get so wise?” Alya teased softly.

“When I decided to rewatch Star Wars. But no seriously. If anyone in class bothers you please tell me because we should be sticking together not at each other’s throats.” Nino stuck out one hand and Alya slid her hand into his.

“Cross my heart and hope to die. I will. And you’re right, we do need each other, especially now, especially at that school.”

“Especially at that school, yeah.” He laughed out. “We’re going to get through this. I don’t know how, but, we are and we’re going to do it together.”

Alya smiled wryly before she looked up at Nino and it slipped into a real small smile. “Together.” She agreed softly.

Last Chapter                             Next Chapter

l'école primaire - elementaryschool

manman - Haitian Creole for Mother

[sanchoyo]

so I decided to watch danny phantom. I got 3 episodes in and I have Thoughts. im not going to liveblog it necessarily, but just, maybe post my thoughts every 3-5 episodes? because, I have thoughts. (which im sure are not NEW thoughts for dp fans, but, you know. new for me) Anyway. ep 1-3 Thoughts.

- the parents Suck. I love Jazz.

-dannys little 'actually i wanna be an astronaut :)' BABY. im adopting him and his sister. these parents suck so far lol jazz shouldnt have to deal with this and being the most responsible person in the house at age 16. HATE the 'absentminded idiot parents' trope SO much actually. it just makes me mad and makes me want to adopt these kids.

-sam...is so much like me at age 15. at least when I was having a vegan phase. not saying veganism isnt a legit thing or w/e but. my god. shes so Not Like Other Girls. lmfao. if she wanted to go to the dance, she shouldve just SAID so directly!! and I hated her just going up and being catty to Paulina for No Reason Other Than Jealousy UNPROVOKED!!! Like, if anything, the BOYS are the shallow ones, approaching Paulina based on nothing but her looks instead of getting to know her?? it would not have been shallow of her at all to turn them down, she has every right to.

-tbh the way the girls are written makes me cringe. they Deserve Better I think. anyway tbh if a girl came up to me being that rude,, im not saying paulina was RIGHT to lead danny on, but like. I can't be super mad at her for it...sam was bein. hm. rude. and in paulinas little teenager brain thought that was the fastest way to get back at her I guess, by taking the guy she may or may not be crushing on?? I just hate unnecessary rivalry between girls in shows. anyway. glad she did attempt to apologize near the end anyway. I do get that a lot of kids shows have the protags being shitty to teach a moral lesson later and show them apologizing. it still rubbed me the wrong way.

-Was also rolling my eyes at Sam's 'the gorilla needs to be FREE!!' like girl realistically if theres two left,, itll be a huge poaching target, its better to keep it with professionals so it can lead a long, healthy enriched life, and so we can have a lot of footage to teach future generations about so we at least have the memory/history preserved as well as possible! zoos and nature preserves and such can be good. focus on, idk, taking down sea world or smth. (also, the fact it turned out to be a girl gorilla,, and no one noticed until Danny got An Eyeful...of course it would have to be. you cant just tell kids watching this show that theres two male gorillas and theyll DIE FOREVER AND GO EXTINCT AFTER THAT. I GUESS??? but showing danny possessing people is fine. gotcha)

-I liked skulkers design A Lot. it (funnily enough with the episode involving an actual gorilla-) reminded me of the way the gorillaz band got drawn early on. I think its the eyes.

-the voice actor for the box ghost sounded SO familiar. so I went to his IMBD originally thinking he HAD to be a voice actor on ed edd n eddy. THIS GUY HAS VOICE ACTED IN EVERY CARTOON I GREW UP WITH. SO MANY CARTOONS AND ANIMATED MOVIES. funnily enough he was in ed edd n eddy like i thought but in a very very minor role of one of the parents?? I think I just assumed he had to have voiced something I used to watch a lot of. actually, hes voice acted everything, ever. and has been since the 80s, and still does today. Crazy. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0667326/ LOOK AT THIS MAN'S TALENT.

-box ghost has the right idea tho. I wanna haunt a fed ex truck and get that rush of Open Packages Serotonin for my whole afterlife. king shit. (I also just love very silly villains and this show is checking boxes for me. love the monster of the week format stuff)

-did valerie actually cancel on tucker,, or did the boys just lie to take sam to the dance. that seems so unfair to val but we never SAW unless I was looking away. valerie u deserve a date sweetie i am SO sorry. if u already made a commitment to valerie I think sam can take HERSELF TBH. she wanted to be passive aggressive about the dance, it couldve been a lesson in 'just say what you want and dont expect your friends to be mindreaders' lol

-'boys hugging makes every year book funny' TOP 10 SAM HOMOPHOBIC MOMENTS?? let them cuddle while they nap girl wtf. I KNOOOW I know this is how a lot of cartoons were written in the early 2000s but I hate it.

-tucker being freaked out by the cute ghost girl wanting to dance with him at the dance?? no sir. you WANTED A GIRL TO WANT TO DANCE WITH YOU!! and your best friend is half ghost!! tucker top ten ghostphobic moments!!! (also, her having a dragon amulet is a BONUS. coward)

-danny can just. possess people. ALRIGHT! casually terrifying. love that.

[isaacthedruid]

Please allow me to tell you about one of my favourite cartoons through this informal essay I did for school a couple of months back. 

Gravity Falls and How it Did The Unimaginable

**SPOILERS... KINDA**

The 2010s saw the creation of some of the most iconic animated tv shows ever made, the likes of Adventure Time (2010), Steven Universe (2013), Over the Garden Wall (2014) and The Legend of Korra (2012). To explain why this era’s shows are so admirable is honestly rather difficult. Yet, there are many factors that can be taken into consideration when looking for an answer.

The past decade was very successful in perfecting their craft and utilizing the animated format to their favour, creating some of the wackiest and fascinating cartoons ever made. With the advancements made in both 2D and 3D animation for film, this bled into the world of TV as well.

To mention that 2010s cartoons have stunning visuals would be an understatement. Everything about the animation was beautiful; the strong colour palettes, the clean and imaginative character designs, the colourful and immersive backgrounds and especially the mesmerizing worlds that can be found within episodes that are half an hour.

This era’s cartoons also led to a massive shift in storytelling, writing longer-running stories that spread out across seasons while also swapping out episodic adventures for serialization. This heavily aided in the popularization of these shows, due to the rise of internet fandoms and dropping the taboo that cartoons were only for kids. Many shows acknowledged their older viewers by leaving clues and even puzzles to be solved by the theorists who have a large appearance on social media platforms like Reddit, Twitter and Tumblr. As the shows progressed, their fandoms created many theories for what they believed might happen within their favourite series. The top three shows from this era all utilized these changes, being at the forefront of the shift and helping guide the creative vision of 2010s cartoons.

Often regarded as many people’s favourite cartoon, Gravity Falls presented one of the best mysteries of the decade with two seasons and only 40 episodes. Inspired by Twin Peaks and The X-Files, it’s considered as the kids’ version of these two iconic shows as this cartoon acts as many people’s first introduction to horror through bright colours and fun characters.

This series follows the adventures of Dipper and Mabel Pines, twins, who are sent to spend their summer with their great-uncle or Grunkle Stan in Gravity Falls, Oregon. This town is full of oddities like supernatural creatures, insane and eccentric inhabitants, and many puzzles. The Pines twins must adjust to the weirdness while uncovering the mysteries and protecting their new town.

While living in Gravity Falls, the twins are forced to work in the Mystery Shack, a tourist trap created by their Grunkle Stan that overcharges unlucky tourists, teaching about fake monsters despite there being real creatures all over town. On his first day in Oregon, Dipper accidentally came across a mysterious journal written by an unknown author that explains all the oddities to be found in this strange town. This book acts like an encyclopedic of the Weird for Dipper, an inquisitive 12-year-old kid who seeks answers.

Dipper is an extremely intelligent kid, his brain being far more developed than his body. He’s rather awkward and self-conscious as he often stumbles over his words or gets embarrassed trying to talk to girls. Despite this, the boy is an adventurer at heart who just wants to grow up and skip his upcoming teenage years.

While Mabel is quite the opposite in many ways, she is loud and has an in-your-face personality. Mabel is bouncy and fun, she is so excited to start high school. She is easily excitable and for the larger part of the series, she is in her boy-crazy phase. Mabel is a girly-girl as she likes all things; glitter, unicorns, rainbows, partying and crafting. Yet, she doesn’t often compare well with many of the other girls in town, they see her as weird and “too much”.

(In all fairness through, it is not too kind to either of the characters as their personalities are more complex than just awkward nerd and artsy girl-girly.)

Dipper and Mabel’s personalities are very different but somehow, they—along with their Gravity Falls family—manage to solve mysteries and save the town, multiple times.

Gravity Falls is an honestly genius series that completely changed the way cartoons were made. Originally when writing a series, you’d create a base of your story; characters, the universe and a basic plot. Yet, when creator, Alex Hirsch (who was in his early/mid-20)s and his small team first began constructing their show, they planned out everything they could possibly think of for the first season. Additionally, outlining some answers for their biggest mysteries that would be answered at the end of the series.

Despite being rated TV-Y7, this series really pushed the boundaries of kids’ television. From the teeth being ripped out of a deer’s mouth by a demon, rearranging the functions of every hole on a man’s face to an aggressive pop-rock sock puppet show that ended in a dramatic slow-motion scene of the puppets burning. Gravity Falls wasn’t afraid to get a little weird or creepy. Or create some genuine nightmare fuel. 

From the beginning, Gravity Falls had built a mystery into its series, hiding secrets and clues all throughout the show. Most notably were the backwards-recorded message and cryptograms, using roughly nine different kinds, even creating two of their own.

The inclusion of cyphers and mysteries for fans to solve is possibly the reason why this series was so successful. As one of the first shows to do something like this, Gravity Falls used social media and internet fandoms to its advantage.

As mentioned earlier, cartoon fans have quite a presence on social media platforms like Twitter and Tumblr. They create theories and share fun ideas about their favourite shows. Viewers of Adventure Time, Gravity Falls and Steven Universe were all included in their share of theory fun.

Sometimes, fan theories end up being correct but when you’re Gravity Falls creator, Alex Hirsch, you don’t just watch from the sidelines as your viewers figure out the biggest mystery of your show. No, you create a hoax to get your viewers off your trail and that is what he did. Around 2013, only halfway through the first season of the show, viewers had started to follow the clues, theorizing who was the author is Dipper’s mysterious journal.

Unfortunately for the Gravity Falls production crew, the viewers were right— for the sake of readers who have never seen the show, I will not mention who the author was as it would be the biggest spoiler.

In 2013, a supposed leaked image of a tv showing a younger version of the show’s crazy old man character, Old Man McGucket, writing in the infamous journal was uploaded anonymously (by Alex Hirsch) to 4Chan.

Despite the image only being on up for a few hours, it spread like wildfire. Much to the team’s success, theorists stopped searching for the answer to “who is the author” and just accepted the image of McGucket as the truth.

To further push the fake-out, three words were posted to Alex’s Twitter, “fuming right now.”

The tweet was deleted a few minutes later and fans genuinely believed that someone from the Gravity Falls team had leaked the most important part of the story.

While doing research, I came across a Reddit post from April 10th, 2013, the day after ‘leak,’ Alex’s tweet was uploaded. In this post, user, TheoDW uploaded an image of Alex’s tweet with the caption, “It seems that Hirsch got mad at last night’s leak. He already deleted this tweet.”

Seeing the reactions of these Redditors in 2013 is kind of weird and crazy to look at. “He has every right to be upset. Someone internally released a plot revealing screen shot of series breaking spoiler information,” a deleted Reddit account commented.

“This is Alex Hirsch’s biggest success by far, he spent a huge amount of time carefully planning out the series, and then in a moment someone releases a major spoiler. It would make anyone upset,” the user, Time_Loop commented.

“Seriously, this is a nightmare for a storyteller, and shows a breach of trust. I feel so bad for him–honestly, I hope whoever did the leak gets caught and appropriate action is taken. You don’t f–k with someone’s story like this. It’s unprofessional.” the user, lonelybeloved angrily commented.

In 2014, this ‘leak’ was finally disproven when viewers were given an episode on McGucket’s backstory and an amazing tweet from Alex Hirsch. 

Alex had post an image of himself playfully pointing at a monitor with the supposed leaked picture with the caption, “1) Make hoax  2) Upload to 4Chan  3) Post angry tweet about "leak" 4) Delete tweet 5) Let internet do rest”

It is so interesting to look at these comments know that all of this was orchestrated by Alex.

I wish I had been old enough at the time to follow theories and fandom stuff like I do now with current cartoons but really looking at this from an outside perspective, this was insane!

The real author wasn’t revealed until 2015 and when viewers first got the answer to this biggest show on their screens, they must have freaked out!

Following the finale in 2016, a single frame of a stone version of Bill Cipher, the show’s villain, flashed in after the credits had finished.

Alex Hirsch and his team actually created a real-life statue of their villain for their viewers to find and on July 20th, 2016, the Cipher Hunt began.

By following clues, the Hunters found themselves all over the world; Russia, Japan and then travelling throughout the United States for the final 12 clues. When the hunt took them to Los Angeles, actor, Jason Ritter (voice of Dipper Pines, also a massive fan of the series) and Alex Hirsch’s twin sister, Ariel Hirsch (the inspiration for Mabel) joined in the fun helping the search.

Finally, the hunt ended on August 2nd when someone tweeted out an image of the found statue in Oregon, the same state in which the fictional town of Gravity Falls exists. The Cipher Hunt had ended but finding the statue wasn’t Alex’s goal for the scavenger hunt, it was about the journey and bringing together the viewers, more than having them actually find the statue.

Creating its own hoax, an international scavenger hunt and quite a bit of nightmare fuel, Gravity Falls was a show truly unlike any other.

The 2010s saw some of the strongest cartoons ever made, Adventure Time, Gravity Falls and Steven Universe acting as the leaders for multiple different changes in the medium; storytelling, worldbuilding, interaction with viewers, utilizing social media, representation and further pushing music into the cartoon world. From what was created this past decade and what has already been released in 2020, I’m so excited to see what comes next.

I have another one of these which is on Steven Universe’s representation and music if you would like to see that too!! 

[thedivinedemom]

An AU of DC with a mass crossover of PS4 properties.

Provisional name: Players Searching for Detectable Changes (Get the pun?)

The setup:

This is the future of DC, a world where the old guard has slowly withdrawn and the newer generations have risen to the occasion. The original Titans in particular, most of which have formed the new Justice League while many other, very similar teams had started to form across the world. One of which was a resurgence of the Teen Titans, led by an older and purified Raven. She wanted to make the Teen Titans something akin as it was for her, a place to belong and learn to use one's powers.

The first 'class' of such individuals include:

Stargirl (of the now-disbanded JSA and still getting used to the Starrod)

Blue Beetle III (Freshly attached to his alien symbiote and freaking out a bit)

Robin V (to work on his anger issues, mostly at the new Batman's request)

Kaldur (a half Atlantean half metahuman who is struggling with his identity and the surface world, Aquaman feels a kinship for the boy seeing their similarities)

Static Shock (a promising new hero but little experience working outside his city or in groups)

Mary Marvel (she's... she's going through alot. Fresh from a coma, her brother is distant as he acts as the new Wizard, and she may be, sorta kinda, being corrupted by Black Adam's gifted power)

The team was rough and there was plenty of head butting (Mostly between Stargirl and Robin/Damian as one is almost the unanimous leader while the other thinks he should be) but they were getting there. They were more of a clean up crew for the Justice League, they did more than the "kiddie missions" that the Outsiders didn't do, and they meant more than the PR grab that was the International team. Though they didn't seem to amount to more than that. They still did their best, pushing past the silent ridicule, as they went about their missions.

This may be why tempers were so high that day.

One day, outside a little city by the name of Weller's Point, the prisoner transport for the villain Plasmus had an "accident". Released and awakened the creature went on a rampage, heading ever closer to the populated area. Luckily, the mentor of the New Teen Titans could teleport. The new team did fairly well in the fight, though they did struggle a bit as Plasmus was not a being where simple brute force would work. It made the fight tricky and more than a bit... messy.

Messy enough that juvenile and emotionally compromised Mary Marvel lashed out against the downed villain but was stopped by her teammates... things escalated from there. Restraint turned blows and the whole team struggled to stop their powerhouse without hurting her. The ones who do the best are Raven, Stargirl, Blue Beetle, and oddly Static.

While both of the former could use their abilities to restrain her to a very effective degree Static was actively draining her of strength, or at least of the electic aura she was radiating and blasting with. Frustrated, done with the situation, and a bit petty Mary launched her largest attack yet by saying her magical word.

SHAZAM.

Virgil did what he did best, he handled that lightning as it came crashing down towards Mary and the Titans restraining her. Well, he tried. The bolt was just too powerful, too unlike anything he had ever encountered. He could not handle it and it was dissipating, if anything it clung to him or tried to jump towards the girl. He had to get rid of it and he had to get rid of it quickly, safely too if he could help it.

He shoved it into the ground, into the power lines. He did it as carefully as he could, trying to prevent overload or flashover as guided the charge into the power grid.

What happened next was a combination of a few things. 1. The Mystic and transformative properties of the Lightning, 2. It is effectively being filtered through a bang baby, 3. The kryptonite power plant owned by, provided by, and operated by Lexcorp.

This interaction, this new charge, cycling through the power grid interacted strangely with a number of devices but none more so than PlayStation 4s and the devices connected to them. This new electricity changed things, literally. It brought fantasy into reality.

Whatever game was loaded into became a part of our reality in a small way. Sometimes TVs, Controllers, and even the system changed to reflect items from the game but the bigger change came with the Players. If a person was playing their console during the surge then they would become a metahuman with abilities based on the playable character they were playing.

The city, the county even, was now flooded by an abundance of metahumans and items of varying power of devastation. Static felt horrible.

He couldn't help but compare what has happened here to what happened in Dakota City but on a wider scale. And this time it was his fault. His sense of responsibility wouldn't, couldn't, let that stand. He had to fix his mistake and his team was dragged along for the ride.

The story to follow is a mix of Final Crisis and Kingdom Come with a bit of the Young Justice cartoon in events and themes, a few twists and likely a bit lighter in tone but to the DC geeks this should give a rough idea… Maybe a bit of Marvel's Civil War but hopefully not the rushed knee-jerk mess that that ended up being.

But it's here that I start having issues with my planning. One part in worry as outside the set up we start to follow the perspective of OCs (something rarely smiled upon) and another part in wondering which OC to focus on.

Now, one thing I love in fiction is progressive powers and the conflict escalating from the different paths people take in said progression. In that vein, I have a pair of protags in mind as well.

The main two/co-protagonists:

The Lawkeeper- a cop before the change and now a member of a task force made up largely of those affected by the surge. A gamer, a man of color, and a believer of the spirit of the law. He doesn't always get along with his fellow officers but he believes in what the blue does. He believes that an organized response is what is best.

His abilities are based on those of Jesse Fades of Control. Meaning he has tremendous psychic potential but he needs 3 things to reach his full potential.

1.Items to bond to so he can generate these psychic abilities. Jesse's used altered items of her universe to get thematic abilities from them (ex: a safe to generate a shield, a carousel horse for a dash ability, ect). Here he can use items generated by the surge.

2. A patron/partner entity to help guide, give insights, and empower. It also let's the user enforce reality, basically becoming an anti reality warper.

3. A bonded morph weapon or a weapon to come to his hand when called.

The knight- a recent college graduate who instantly decided to go the route of the caped hero. She, after figuring out how to get her powers to work, instantly went the route of a caped crusader. Going out to the streets, saving lives, stopping instances of surge item abuse, and (in the humble opinion of the local Police Department) getting in the way of operations. In her opinion they were taking too long to get things done.

Her abilities are based on those of Prince Noctis of Final Fantasy XV. This means she has tremendous physical and magical potential but like the above she has a number of check marks needed to gain access to the character's full power.

1. A gem/crystal to draw power from.

2. 13 magical weapons to boost strength. The generated game weapons will do and I have most picked out in a way that likely would help the plot progress.

3. The blessing of 5-6 gods.

4. A power ring of some king to channel all this power.

I keep debating the two above as I do like the idea of both of them climbing in power and clashing over conflicting ideals of what to do with their power. At the same time, I think that just smooshing aspects of both into one (which is actually where they started, a single character) and play off the different ideologies of how best to help people from within her friend group and precinct along with internal conflict. Maybe have the one be a fellow officer they butt heads with because of the... precarious nature

Another OC I was thinking on, keeping with the theme of what to do when you have power, is a thief who played Persona 5. Like both of the above they would be crippled in their ability to use their abilities without a way to fake the connection to. In this case, without the Mementos App, they would need an item that could affect or enter the hearts of others. Luckily, more unlucky really, there are plenty of items floating around that can do just that. Namely Keyblades.

Most other Players are an odd mix but most are variations of the Shooter build. Peak physical humans who heal quickly and often have bullet time. But there are enough other variations to cause trouble. Demigods of unreal strength, men and women who can easily tap into a patron for powers from the outside, 2 variations of spider powers, cat eyed men and women who can cast magic with simple gestures, and so much more. But the real issue was the first two, the demigods without a parent to protect them and those easily connected to a divine source.

The disembodied New Gods of Apocalypse were very happy with those groups. For how bad this can be please look at what happened to Mary Marvel in canon Final Crisis.

Thoughts and opinions would be appreciated.

[kin-cosmic]

i just finished kid cosmic season 1 and..

[spoilers obviously]

man..ONLY 10 episodes? I mean I guess it’s getting a continuation so that’s good. anyways heres my thoughts of the overall season and show

so from the animation alone? fucking beautiful.

people said before that it reminded them of gorillaz and I didn’t see it, but NOW I do. it’s so fluid, and it can be chunky at times, but like, spider-verse type you know? anyways it’s just perfect, it’s fluid, it REALLY fits the hero-comic style of the show. and the BACKGROUND ART. GOD. I WOULD JUST PAUSE AT TIMES AND JUST OBSERVE. OF HOW TRULY BEAUTIFUL IT WAS FOR ME. ITS SO COOL.

ok now for the characters themselves? first off, the kid, he’s just perfect, he’s so pure. everything from his tragic backstory to the connection of his scar? yeah. deep. but THATS what makes him so flawed, and ngl i feel like I relate to him there. the show is OBVIOUSLY revolved around him, cause. kid cosmic. but obviously for not TOO long, cause the OTHER characters, that are ALSO great.

like JO! ok, as a teen, i feel like they kind of captured the characteristics of what a teen would “act” in situations on these, so when jo would just stammer and go insane, i RELATED to that sm! anyways she’s a good character! definitely the mom friend of the group, I see her as kid’s older sister, and she’s badass >:)

MOVING on to rosa! I ALSO related to her too, bonus start off because she was hispanic! as a mexican person, I was REALLY HAPPY to see someone cartoon, on screen, that RESEMBLED me you know? anyways besides that, she’s adorable, she can be a perfect kind of that “toddler-annoying”, and ironically SHES the muscle of the group, but yeah, she’s adorable, she’s such a cool chaotic baby! <3

NOW WITH PAPA G. MAN. he’s like, my PERSONAL favorite character in the show, though I WISHED he had more screen-time but the time I HAD with him, I just, loved him, so much. first off I thought it was already amazing how STRIKINGLY similar he is to WANDER. like. they’re the same person i stg, i wouldn’t be surprised if his design was at first a humanized version of wander DRAWN by craig, if you don’t believe me? watch woy, or just SIMPLY OBSERVE the hat. he EVEN says quotes that wander would say and EVEN said when he was in space that “he thought it was a flashback” THATS EPIC. anyways from his character, he’s ALSO the heart of the group, he is so caring and sweet, and especially to kid, and the fact that he is old, idk why that makes his character even MORE great, because he is ALSO so chaotic and ecstatic for a old ass guy . he also gives kid GOOD advice since, he lives with him, like the “freaking out, breathe it out” quote? swag af. anyways as you can tell, he’s my favorite character lol. i love papa g sm. OH YEAH, HIS NAME REVEALED TO BE GEORGE TOO SO . BUT YEAH, LOVE THIS OLD DOG.

SO ALSO WITH TUNA SANDWICH. not much to say here, id say he got the LEAST screentime , makes sense, cause he’s just the cat, but like at episode 8, he starts TALKING, and it’s just 😳 I was SUPRISED, this kinda overhauled his character, anyways besides that and his kinda useless power imo? he’s an adorable old cat, i almost cried when I saw him as a kitten and ALSO saw BABY KID. like that’s so cute how he’s attached to the kid, and THATS how he uses his power in advance, huh, guess it’s not that useless after all? anyways cute cat, funny too, he fucking cursed too so..

now to the side characters? i wasn’t expecting chuck to TURN good? like ok? 😳 i thought he would just be that stereotypical villain throughout the series in which i can love sometimes, but that wasn’t the case? first off his voice change? I feel like that was good! his stitch voice is cute btw lol. and him having MORE screentime too? following along with tuna? ALSO good! also tom kenny did a good job with his performance of him! now the other side characters like jo’s mom, thought she was ok, I wish the others like rosas parents were in it more you know? also the ACTUAL villain? the biker guy, kind of weak, but he was ok too.

now to the plot, I was EXPECTING for this show to be STORY-DRIVEN, and not like a reset cartoon episode like craig’s LAST cartoon was, and wasn’t let down a bit! the pacing goes by fast, but it says EVERYTHING it needed to be said, and it’s TO THE POINT. like the little details too? such as the foreshadowing when jo saw a glimpse of the newspaper about the car accident in the first episode? oof. then it being EXTENDED where to the point the kid gets flashbacks and cries? that hurt, but that was IMPORTANT to the story kinda, it’s also WHY papa g did that fake robot thing, kind of dick move george, but HEY! he did it for his grandson! besides, it never hurts to he- ok I’ll stop LMAOO, anyways i thought the story was good, so was the pacing

i got SO ARTISTICALLY inspired by the art style and the background art, like GOD, where’s the background artist @ ? I GOTTA KNOW, i STILL LOVE IT SM. FROM THE SIMPLISTIC AND SORTA GRAINY LINEART OF THE DESIGNS TO THAT COMIC FEEL? IT FELT NOSTALGIC SOMEHOW NGL. AND I THINK THEY CAPTURED THE FEEL OF THE SETTING TOO.NEW MEXICO MAN. NOT OFTEN YOU GET CARTOONS THAT TAKE PLACE THERE

MAKES ME HAPPY TBH! anyways

the art style was cute imo, great shit here my dude,I already can’t wait for the continuation, it actually ended in a cliffhanger so that’s kinda poopy. but yeah! craig and his crew went ALL out on this show you can tell! his wife and son even worked on this, EVEN ANDY BEAN! a person that WORKED with craig in woy! It’s great! i almost recognized ALL of the voice actors too, except jack fisher, I had NO idea who he was, but to KNOW an ACTUAL kid CAN give good performances? really says something, HES A PERFECTLY good example for a kid voice actor, he was great! as for the others, and the STARS TOO? such as KEITH FERGUSON, AND FRED TASTIACORE, AMANDA C MILLER, GREY GRIFFIN, KEVIN MICHAEL RICHARDSON, PHIL LAMAAR AND EVEN RICH FULCHER!! they were no joke, and obviously GREAT! im surprised keith can do such a good old man voice, wait never mind, he’s done the “orlando-bloo” voice before and that’s kind of a old voice? idk. but here we are.

overall. this show? i rate it 10/10

cant wait to see more of it!

it’s already such a comfort show for me!

i love it sm!

tysm craig for giving me ANOTHER of your cartoons to simply OBSESS over for, you’re the best man! you’re my idol!

k well I guess that’s all. sorry if it was a lot. i just. wanted to say something long about this show.

k well BYE BYE 🧡💜‼️

[seraphanangelica]

Can I please have scenarios or headcanons on how bnha characters (any that you like) would handle dealing with a ghost with their s/o who totally believes in the supernatural? Thank you in advance

I absolutely love this idea! As a firm believer of the supernatural myself, there was absolutely no way I could delay this response. So here you go!

How They And Their S/O Would Deal With Ghosts

💥This guy has only seen or heard about ghosts and spirits from horror movies. That’s all he cares about them. If they’re not in a movie, they have no existence. Of course, every time he says something along those lines, you roll your eyes and laugh to yourself at his blatant lack of attention to the supernatural.

💥You’ve tried, many times to prove just how real they were. And every single time it would go like this:

💥”I’m telling you, Katsuki, I’ve had experiences with them. You just don’t think they’re real becuase you haven’t.”

💥”Your experiences are just things you don’t want to give logical explanations to, dumbass.”

💥His point is proved further when nothing happens. And nothing happened for days after the last time you two had the repetitive conversation.

💥One day, as Katsuki woke up before you, he got out of bed and proceeded to go about his completely non-paranormal life. After giving you a light kiss on your forehead, he went downstairs to start preparing breakfast.

💥He stopped mid-stair though, as he heard another pair of feet pattering down the stairs behind him at a much quicker and softer pace. At first he thought it was you that had gotten up earlier than usual to spend more time with him in the mornings. He turned around to greet you with a smirk, his face falling slightly when he saw no one around.

💥Paying it no mind, he finished descending the stairs, and continued into the kitchen.

💥In the middle of sautéing vegetables, Katsuki reached out to grab the bottle of olive oil that sat on the counter to his left. He froze mid reach as he saw the barstool behind him rotate as if someone were sitting there out of the corner of his eye.

💥”Oh hell, no.” He still refused to take into account anything you’ve said about the matter.

💥Twenty minutes later, you were downstairs and eating breakfast, in the barstool next to the one that moved. You watched in curiosity as Katsuki leaned against the counter in front of you, crimson eyes darting from the empty seat then to you, then back again.

💥You were concerned, to say the least. “Katsuki, are you alright? You’re acting weird. Come sit down.”

💥He only shook his head and took a deep breath, looking you in the eyes. “Tell me about everything you know about ghosts. Now.”

💥And so you did. You told him everything you’ve been trying to tell him since you’ve known each other. The only difference was that this time, he was actually listening as if it were real and not a story.

💥When you finished he shook his head. “Look, I still don’t believe in this ‘ghost’ stuff, but-“ crash!

💥You’re heads snapped over to the source of the sound, your eyes settling on the plate that used to be next to Katsuki. It was now shattered on the floor, the pieces spreading out farther than the counter span. You knew Katsuki was freaking out but concealing it on the outside.

💥You couldn’t help but smile at your husband as his eyes still focused on the broken dish. “Don’t belive me now? We both know that dish was no where near the edge.”

💀Dabi would be disbelieving, but open to conversation. People talk about anime, right? It’s not real but makes for great small talk. He’d also be stupid. Very, very stupid.

💀The day he walked into the League of Villain’s hideout with an Ouija board under his arm, you thought he’d finally lost his mind.

💀”Are you crazy? Do you know the kind of stuff that happens when you use one of those things? You don’t know what you’re letting in!” You tried to reason with him, even coming up with ways to dispose of it without his knowledge. Unfortunately for you, he knew what you were up to and hid it.

💀”Oh come on. It’s just a little fun,” he teased you one night when he bagan setting it up in the center of your shared room. “What’s the worst that happen?”

💀”Asking ‘is anybody there’ is the stupidest thing you can do becuase thats inviting anything to come into the space. Secondly, you don’t know how to protect yourself against that kind of thing. The worst that can happen is possession, Dabi.” You scolded, leaning against the wall farthest from the board.

💀”Relax, Doll. I have someone in mind, actually. He didn’t really matter much, but I picked this from his wallet,” he reached into his pocket and tossed an ID card in your general direction. “See? Perfectly fine.”

💀It was not perfectly fine. You reluctantly joined him in the game, placing your fingers on the planchette, cringing with every subtle movement the burnt boy made. Because you didn’t want to do this in the first place, you let Dabi carry out the ‘ritual’.

💀As you would’ve guessed, the moment Dabi’s target was acquired, the planchette began moving, much to your dismay. Slowly, the letters formed a sentence. ‘You killed me.’

💀You shot a glare at your boyfriend. “What the hell did you do? Did you seriously just kill a man to contact him?”

💀He shrugged. “I caught the guy stealing from the convenience store, he had to go.”

💀”YOU STEAL FROM CONVENIENCE STORES!”

💀After you both said ‘goodbye’, you couldn’t shake the feeling that you were being watched. It practically consumed you as the next hours passed, your eyes always finding themselves back to the abandoned board that still laid on the floor.

💀”WHAT THE FUCK!?” Dabi shouted from the bathroom, his voice one of surprise and confusion. You darted into the small room, expecting a prank left by Twice or blood left by Toga (it happens), and to be pretty honest, you were expecting this too. From the mirror, you could see eight distinct and parallel scratches on his back, too fresh and too deep not to be ignored.

💀Without a word, you bounded over to the closet and wrenched the doors apart with a set purpose. Pushing clothes out of the way, you pulled out an old chest you stored wherever you stayed. Opening the wooden box, you pulled out a match and a bundle of juniper and sage. Lighting the end of the dried herbs, and opening the nearest window, you let the smoke drift to all corners of the room.

💀Dabi watched in confusion and amusement as you walked towards him and started waving the herbs around him, cleansing him as well as the room.

💀”Y/N.”

💀“What, Dabi?”

💀”We should do it in a graveyard next time. This Halloween.”

💀”Fucking Samhain? Are you out of your goddamn mind?!”

💀He believes in ghosts now, so you had that going for ya.

🥦Midoriya would be skeptical about it. As someone who never rules out any possibilities, he has a wide range of knowledge towards that kind of thing. You never knew if someone had a quirk that could control the spirits of the dead.

🥦When you told Izuku that you see dead people, he honestly thought you were quoting The Sixth Sense. You were, in a way. In the same way you were being serious.

🥦You sat on the couch in the living room, remote in hand as you got ready to start a Marvel movie marathon when your fiancé got back from the store downtown. He got called in when someone was murdered just outside, appearing to have been trying to steal some food and magnets. Why someone would try to steal magnets from the convenience store was beyond you.

🥦Sighing, you settled into the cushions, and turned on the TV. Soon you began playing Netflix as you waited. You felt the couch dip next to you. No one was home but you, and you hadn’t heard Izuku get back yet. This was the time she came out.

🥦You faced the girl that sat next to you with a smile. “Looking for Izuku?” She nodded. “He’s not home right now, but you’re welcome to stay with me until he gets back if you like.” She thought for a minute, running a hand through her long hair, then nodded again.

🥦You scrolled through various shows until she pointed at one that sparked her interest. You began playing ‘Supernatural’, watching her reaction to each of the Winchester Brother’s ghostly adventures. “What, it’s not accurate? There’s got to be something that’s right.” You teased.

🥦The girl laughed, the sound never reaching your ears, and shook her head, continuing the show anyway.

🥦A couple episodes later, you heard the sound of keys turning in the lock, signaling your fiancé’s return. You turned to warn the girl, but she was already gone. She liked Izuku, but she was shy; something you learned upon meeting her. “He wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, you know.” You told her in a low voice as Izuku stepped into the house.

🥦He gave you a smile. “Hey, sorry for being gone so long,” he held up a plastic bag full of sweets. “They gave this to me as a thank you for helping them, so now we have even more marathon snacks.” Setting the bag on the counter, he wrapped his arms around you, giving you a firm, loving kiss to your forehead.

🥦”It’s fine, Izu. You weren’t gone that long. I had plenty of company.” You returned the hug, your last statement directed to the girl who was now peeking in from the doorway.

🥦The movie marathon was a blast. You nerded out, quoting almost every line from every movie you watched that night. The girl warmed up to Izuku, you noticed, as she sat on the floor in front of him almost as if she were nervous to sit next to him.

🥦”You can sit next to him, kid. He won’t mind.” You told her. Both pairs of eyes snapped up at your speech.

🥦Izuku looked around to see if there were any unknown guests, turning back to you when he saw none. “Uh, Y/N?”

🥦You ignored him and continued. “He’ll be nervous at first, but he’ll warm up to you. Go ahead. You were in this house long before we came here.”

🥦Izuku screeched like a banshee when he felt the couch sink next to him. Like he was a cartoon, he jumped into your arms, clutching you like he was afraid to lose you. The poor panicked boy didn’t know what to do.

🥦So, you began explaining all that you knew about your abilities, or extra quirk as he said. The girl never left, quite amused by the interaction. Izuku never really calmed down. Sure he’s prepared for it in his journals, but he never thought there would be a day.

🥦”I told you ‘I see dead people’.”

🥦”Y-yeah, I guess you did."

[asymptoticway]

Is no one going to talk about

Terry the Accountant (Soul, 2020) as an embodiment of the desperate and ultimately doomed attempt to fight the natural tendency of the Universe towards maximal entropy? In this essay I will

provide minor spoilers for the movie so here’s a cut:

Ok so I have seen people wonder why Terry hates Joe Gardner or is obsessed with her quota to the point of becoming the closest thing the movie has to a villain. Turns out she doesn’t hate Joe Gardner (why should a cosmic being even care about a single human trying to enjoy life) and is, indeed, quite compulsively preoccupied with her job, but for a reasonable cause. According to me, at least. Here’s why.

Let’s get started with the Accountant herself. Terry likes counting things: she not only keeps track of souls going to the Great Beyond, but counts pretty much everything she sees, even insignificant details, like - how many times one Jerry blinks in front of her. She counts even while talking, doesn’t probably need sleep nor breaks. Counting is so natural for her that all she needs to do her job is a giant abacus: the most advanced man-made calculator would be no match for her computing skills, one might infer.

Terry likes orderly arranged sets of objects, classifications that work, flawless maths. She is a representation of Order and if the Order itself could speak or act, it would speak and act like Terry does: it would speak and acknowledge itself as the Order To Be Kept. It is hinted that Terry freaks out at whatever minor element/event she might perceive as threatening to the Order as a System. In the movie she is promptly aware of the soul count going off, takes it very seriously, and must fix it somehow – especially after realizing that none of the Counselors are going to take it as seriously as she does. Her purpose is to Safeguard The Integrity Of The System. Striving to do so, she comes off as an absolute control freak, methodical and pushy, overly zealous and over-organized.

But here’s the thing: Terry can’t let any minor inconvenience happen. She cannot (and will not) turn a blind eye to any potential hazards to the Order as a System. This is because she is not oblivious to the fact that even the slighest perturbation could initiate a chain of unpredictable events that would eventually disrupt the System, turning the Order to chaos. Even a single soul setting the count off is an element of chaos, and One Who Safeguards The Integrity Of The System cannot allow nor tolerate it, as it would just lead to more spreading chaos. The tendency of the Universe towards maximal entropy is a natural one, while opposing it has an energy cost, it requires control: the System can’t be left unattended, as it would spontaneously unravel and turn to chaos. Terry the Accountant, as the Universe Being Self-Aware, is acutely conscious of that.

It’s safe to assume that the Universe Being Self-Aware also experiences Desire For Self-Preservation (eg. Terry displays traits of anxiety and reacts to physical pain in the movie). Given that the evolution of the Universe to a state of thermodynamic equilibrium (maximal entropy) would ultimately result in a heat death (and the Universe Being Self-Aware is determined to push it back as far as possible), Terry “overreacting” to a single soul missing should be nothing unexpected. She won’t let the whole process start on her watch. She doesn’t hate Joe Gardner, nor is chasing him down just for the sake of being praised at the end for a job well done. She’s merely fulfilling her purpose. Because the concept of heat death is very scary.

Sources:

Soul, 2020

Some wikipedia

Me overthinking cartoons

[gch1995]

I’m actually watching the 2016 PPG reboot. While in some ways it is actually nice to see the girls hanging out and interacting more like sisters in slice of life scenarios, it is irritating that they aren’t really doing a ton of saving the day.

Remember the occasional flaw in the writing for the OG cartoon of Buttercup getting subject to mean spirited centrics where she and/or her loved ones were subject to character derailment in order for her to be punished, suffer, and/or get double standards? Well, that’s not a problem in the 2016 reboot anymore? She does most of the saving, and gets a most of the attention in the reboot.

Unfortunately, they’ve created a new problem by focusing too much on Buttercup in the reboot, however. Now, Blossom and Bubbles don’t have much relevance.

While the OG PPG classic cartoon was a great show overall, I won’t deny that there were bad episodes and ooc moments here and there, but what have they done to the girls personalities here in the reboot on the whole, though?

Blossom has become a butt-monkey, a Yandere, and a neat freak. She still likes getting good grades, but she’s more bossy and naggy than the intelligent, mature, and resilient leader she was in original.

Bubbles has become “cute, but psycho” trope most of the time in the reboot, whereas in the OG cartoon, “Bubblevicious” was mostly just a one time thing when she went off the rails because she wanted to stop being seen as a “baby.”

Buttercup originally was the “toughest fighter” with a tomboyish personality and a bit of an instigator side, but like, she had restraint and common sense most of the time. Here in the reboot, she destroys an entire state fair and accidentally gives Bubbles a black eye because a villain called her “Princess.” Really? WTF? Also, she just seems to have become much more openly obnoxious and bratty. Like, why would she make fun of Ms. Keane for teaching a grammar lesson? Why would she steal Octi from Bubbles without provocation? She didn’t always respect authority in the original cartoon, and she did like to mess with Bubbles in the OG cartoon. However, she’d never been this petty and disrespectful in the og cartoon.

Don’t get me started on how wrong the writers got the Professor in the 2016 reboot...It’s probably the worst character assassination in the reboot, actually. While he had some OOC moments in the original cartoon of bad parenting in some bad episodes that didn’t make any sense, such as “Moral Decay,” “Daylight Savings,” and “Keen on Keane,” for the most part, Professor Utonium from the OG cartoon was a really great dad to the girls. He was attentive, brave, kind, caring, intelligent, reasonably strict, protective, and selfless more often than not in the og cartoon “Boogie Frights,” “PowerProf,” “Collect Her,” “Knock it Off,” “Beat Your Greens,” “Little Miss Interprets,” the 2002 prequel movie, “Film Flam,” “Get Back Jojo,” “Nano of the North,” “Helter Shelter,” “Supper Villain,” “Just Desserts,” “The PowerPuff Girls Best Rainy Day Adventure,” “Pet Feud,” “The Mane Event,” “Stray Bullet,” “Meet The Beat-Alls,” “Octi-Gone,” “Oops, I did it Again,” and “Members Only” showed just how much he loved those girls, and just how great of a dad he could be. Sometimes he could be an absent-minded, overprotective, and embarrassingly cheesy Dad™️ in episodes like “Uh Oh, Dynamo” and “Powerprof.” However, he really did love Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup more than anything, and would risk anything to protect them. He really loved to hang out with them, and he usually took a genuine interest in what they were doing.

In the 2016 reboot, however, the Professor is more often than not a completely idiotic, insensitive, neglectful, reckless, and selfish manchild. Whenever he has centrics, the girls actually parent him more than he actually parents them. He barely seems to care about them at all. He is such an idiot that he actively endangers them by locking them up all in a room together where they can’t escape when he thinks one of them is about to turn into a monster, rather than isolating them all in separate chambers, which is something that the OG Professor never would have ever done before with any of the girls, not even in his most OOC moments. In the original cartoon, Professor Utonium created the girls because he wanted to raise some kids, and make the world a better place. In the reboot, he actually created a PowerPuff Girl before Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup called Bliss, just because he wanted to win a science fair. Really?

While there were occasional hints that Buttercup was kind of the black sheep of the family in the OG cartoon, mostly thanks to the writers not knowing how to write centrics around a tomboy in a positive light, in my opinion, rather than the characters themselves, Professor Utonium never once told any of the girls he had any favorites between them. In the reboot, he lets it slip that Bliss was “his favorite daughter,” which instantly makes Buttercup feel hurt. Though he tries to reassure that he doesn’t actually have any favorites, the damage is already kind of done. In the reboot, when Blossom is concerned about not ever leveling up in her powers like her sisters, the Professor actually makes it worse by telling her that she might never level up in her powers, and might just become a normal little girl. In the OG cartoon, if the girls ever confided in the Professor, he was never this insensitive and stupid.

Also, why did they take out the backstory of Mojo’s connection to the girls in the reboot? Now, he’s just a boring one-note chimpanzee villain with a big brain, who talks in the third person, and who acts stupid more often than not. It also just makes the Professor look more incompetent than he originally was in the og cartoon.

However, I’m going to get through this whole thing, no matter how stupid and insulting to the original it gets.