#did i rewrite an entire scene from the movie to include cass because she should have been there?

[coconurt]

For the writing prompts hi :3

38 :3

Whoops, my hand slipped *yeets this at you and runs away*

Rottmnt movie spoilers, Raphsandra, cw for head injuries and minor blood

~~~

Way up here, perched next to Raph and the others, Cass had a great view of her two ex-bosses and the rest of the clan.

They got there just in time to hear the tail-end of the mandatory Evil Speech and Plan Exposition.

"-We shall follow the Kraang as they lead the Foot clan to glory!"

Dumbasses. The whole lot of them. If Shredder didn't teach them their lesson, nothing would. What part of "don't keep summoning world-ending bad guys; it won't end well for you", didn't they understand? They were just asking for the ass-kicking they had coming their way.

Then out of nowhere, Leo's voice made them all jump.

"Booored."

Busted. An angry shout of, "You!" came from below.

"Leo!"

"What? I was waiting for a good spot to jump in, but they just kept blabbity blab-ing."

Cass rolled her eyes. Children. She worked with literal children.

Then the new kid — Future Boy, the scrawny teenager that shared her name and dark hair, the boy she had a sneaking suspicion might be her future son — piped up.

"There it is! That's the key!"

"Get them! Don't let them interfere with the ceremony!" Her old sensei screamed out. Cass's muscles tensed in unison with Raph and the others', and they jumped down as one into a melee waiting just for them.

Now this. This kind of fight was where Cass really felt the most herself. They split up, each taking out ninja after ninja. With a savage yell, she kicked some poor sap in the stomach at the same time Future Boy called out.

"No! It's started! He's unlocking the doorway!"

Huh. That was… real fear in his voice. Enough to make her pause and look over. Wow, he really must not have been kidding about the whole fire-and-brimstone, end-of-the-world Kraang situation.

"We need to get up there right now," he insisted.

"Casey, go. We've got you covered." The blue one slashed his katana, and his unsuspecting victim dropped through one of his portals and reappeared on top of the platform with the ominous looking pedestal. As she threw punch after punch, she watched out of the corner of her eye as Junior trounced her old boss. She had to admit, the sight was quite satisfying. Cathartic, even.

Just as she was starting to feel confident about their odds of stopping the apocalypse, purple light suddenly burst from the top of the platform and spilled throughout the room, and she knew they'd lost.

Junior was thrown back down, and they all regrouped in formation around him in time to watch a glowing portal open.

"Oh no…" he said, his voice hushed and horrified. "They're here."

"Then let's make sure their visit is short and sweet," Raph said, then launched himself forward and up onto the platform. Cass had to bite her lip to hide her smile. As much as she insisted they were stupid, she really loved her boyfriend's dumb one-liners.

… she could do without the butterflies they gave her, though.

Raph reached the top just as the monstrosity the Foot had been trying to summon crawled its way out. Her stomach turned, as her chest heaved with exertion. This is the thing that took over the world?

It was… disgusting. Huge and slimy, built like a tree trunk, with purple skin and the orange eyes of a predator. And then it spoke.

"I'm finally free!" It boomed. "The people of this planet will pay for what they've done to me!"

Well. That sounded reassuring.

"Welcome to Earth! I hope you don't enjoy your stay-!" Raph yelled, and lunged at the creature. Quick as a flash, it whipped a tentacle out, grabbing the snapper around his neck and beginning to choke him.

Cass felt her blood go cold, then hot, and she and the others sprung into action. Mikey and April swung their weapons at the creature, only for their attacks to backfire. She, Junior, and the rat were up next. They advanced from the sides, while she leapt in the air and aimed her hockey stick right at its big ugly eye. She had a perfect shot.

"CASEEEEY JO—!"

Then the next thing she knew, a huge tentacle broadsided her. She flew a few yards before slamming hard into a stone wall. Her head connected with a solid crack, and black stars exploded in front of her eyes.

Distantly, she heard Raph roar her name, followed by an angry shout from the Kraang. Through the ringing in her ears, she heard it start to make a horrible noise. She managed to lift her head, and although her vision was wobbly, she could make out huge bursts of orange, crimson, violet, and cerulean being extracted from the brothers, the energy crackling and angry like wind from a solar storm.

"No…" she whispered.

…

She must have blacked out, because when she blinked again, the colors were gone and the monsters had multiplied. She squinted and focused, hoping it was the double vision. It wasn't. Now they had three to deal with.

They were saying things, but it was all too murky to make out. Suddenly, there was a flurry of action she couldn't follow, then a part of the ceiling collapsed, taking the rat and Raph down with it.

Gritting her teeth, she tried to gather the energy to get up and go help, but Raph quickly freed himself and went straight to his father, who now laid unconscious and injured.

Raph looked up and away, an agonized expression on his face. Cass followed his line of sight, to the others still fighting a losing battle against the Kraang, then looked back to him in time to hear that one awful word she'd never heard him say in all the time she'd known him.

"Retreat!"

The blue idiot protested, because of course he did. After a brief back and forth, purple activated the escape pods and him, Orange, O'Neil, Future Boy, and the rat all got rocketed away.

She thinks she might have blacked out yet again, because the next thing she knew, Raph was sliding into a kneel at her side, his eyes wild and panicky.

"Casey? Can ya hear me? We're gonna get you out of here, okay? Just hang on." Carefully, and with badly shaking hands, he reached to cup the back of her head and winced when she let out a pained hiss. His hand came back bloody.

Slowly, and yet as fast as he could without hurting her further, he helped her into her pod. He hesitated for half a heartbeat, then leaned down and kissed her quickly, just the briefest touch of lips. More like a promise than an actual kiss.

"I'll be right behind you, okay? We'll regroup back at the lair," he assured her.

You better, if you know what's good for you, she thought, but she wasn't sure the words left her mouth.

She instead hummed a vague acquiesce, then the escape pod finished closing around her head. She only saw Raph's face through the window for a few more moments, then it was lifting off, taking her away to safety.

She passed out again somewhere along the way, but it was with the feeling of absolute surety that he was coming, too. They lost this one, but they would all live to fight another day. They could still win this.

…

She only realized otherwise after Leo emerged out of his brother's pod back at home.

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - Beyond the Corona Walls Part 1

Ah, now we’re finally here at season two; the dullest season. Yet there’s still plenty to talk about so let’s dig in. 

Summary: Rapunzel has begun following the Black Rocks and joining her on her journey are Eugene, Cassandra, Pascal, Maximus, Fidella, Owl, Lance, Hook Foot and Shorty (who stowed away). During this time, Eugene is planning on proposing to Rapunzel again, but when Rapunzel accidentally reveals herself when he is practicing it causes an awkward situation between the couple when Rapunzel doesn't give him an answer. Meanwhile, Rapunzel and the group are making their first stop in Vardaros, a city Eugene and Lance previously visited in their past, but discover it has become overrun with criminals. While Eugene and the boys remain in the city to gather supplies, news of Eugene's arrival quickly spreads among the citizens, including the city's leader, the Baron, a criminal kingpin who previously worked with Eugene and Lance in the past and seeks revenge. Eugene, Lance and Shorty are quickly captured by the Baron's men and taken to his castle where they met by the Baron and his daughter, Stalyan, Eugene's ex-fiancée. The Baron threatens Lance's life unless Eugene marries Stalyan. Meanwhile, Rapunzel and Cassandra meet Adira, a mysterious warrior who harbors knowledge on the Black Rocks.

The Audience Needs More Than Just Single Lines of Exposition 

(Yes, that’s a lot of screen grabs and this is where a video review has the advantage, but I’m not fooling with editing, so there ya go.)

King Edmund of the Dark Kingdom here is talking about the moonstone and how he wishes to destroy it. 

But how has it destroyed lives? What has it and the black rocks done besides some property damage? Why is he only now just considering this option when the moonstone has been there for centuries? Why leave to prevent people from using it, when the whole point of having a strong hold there is to safeguard it in the first place?    

There’s lots that we can theorize here; I’m of the mind that his wife was impaled on a black rock, myself, hence his break down here; but the series doesn’t show us that. Telling us that the moonstone is a threat isn’t enough, you have to prove that it is. Cause right now only the rocks have been shown to cause damage and in this very same episode they stop being a threat and don’t do anything. 

Well Looky There, Cass Got a Promotion 

So this line, plus all of Cass’s previous guard duty work coupled with her protective nature this season, more or less cements that she was personally appointed by the king to be the princess’s bodyguard. She’s no longer a handmaiden. 

Now watch as the show completely forgets this little plot point. 

Why Are You Here Hookfoot? 

As I said earlier, I do like Hookfoot, and in theory I don’t mind him coming along to round out the group. But in practice he doesn’t really add anything. You could slot nearly any other character into his place and nothing would really change. In some cases, things would even improve without him. 

Really Raps? More than Anyone?

More than the poor orphaned boy that you stole that scroll piece from and threw into a dungeon? The one that spent months translating that scroll and trying to figure out the rocks while you sat on your ass and did nothing? 

Oh, yeah, Varian is currently in jail by the way, and Rapunzel fully knows this, despite Frederick promising to try and help him. 

I can understand the mains not letting Varian come along on this trip, but keeping the character who thus far has the most connection to your ongoing arc away from said arc entirely is bad storytelling. There were countless ways to incorporate Varian this season that didn’t involve hiding him away for a year. Including having him come along on probation, because he’s the only one who can read the your dang macguffin. 

Marriage Isn’t a Trap, Stop Acting Like It Is

Marriage doesn’t stop you from living your life. You can be married and still do whatever it is that you enjoy. If it’s a healthy marriage then you and your partner will work together to help each other fulfill their dreams. Especially, when you got the money to do it, which, as royals, Eugene and Rapunzel both got in spades. 

Also we aren’t even talking about getting married right now, just getting engaged. An engagement can last however long you want it to. There’s literally no reason why Rapunzel and Eugene couldn’t have been engaged, or even married, for the rest of the series. 

I know you got a time frame show and this is suppose to lead into the Happily Ever After short, but then you need to give like an actual physical reason why they wouldn’t want to marry yet, cause otherwise you’re just spinning your wheels and wasting the audience’s time with this melodrama. 

Why Are You Here Shorty?

Shorty’s inclusion doesn’t bother me as much as Hookfoot’s. A. Because he’s a movie original and this is a spin off, and B. Shorty doesn’t take away anything. Including him doesn’t steal screen time from anybody else since he gets no real focus. It just also doesn’t add anything either since he gets no real focus. Your mileage may vary on how detrimental this is. It personally doesn’t bother me, but I’m not going to act like it’s great writing or anything either. 

We Needed More of This

Remember how I said that there’s no longer any threat this season? 

The rocks themselves could have been enough to push the narrative forward, same as they did in season one, if the series had bothered to show their destruction more often and claim that finding the moonstone could help fix things. But all we get is this one scene of a once prosperous town being junked. After that the story never focuses on it. The townspeople more or less get on with their lives, the rocks stop doing anything, and we see no more damage beyond this point.  

Also keep in mind that we are never told what taking the moonstone and reuniting it with the sundrop would do, nor how it might help anyone. Rapunzel has no longer has a reason to go on her road trip.     

In fact this whole season long quest now becomes pointless because not doing anything would in fact be the better option. Which in turn undermines all of season one as well, because we just spent 24 episodes saying that not doing anything is bad. So which is it show? Make up your mind. 

Once Again, Marriage Isn’t a Trap

I wouldn’t mind this kind of talk so much if the show was using Lance and Hookfoot here to set up a later contradiction and challenge this kind of thought process. Cause as is, this is a pretty toxic and sexist mentality. Ladies are no less ‘free’ when they get married. Eugene doesn’t like own Raps just cause he becomes a husband. She can still do whatever the heck she wants. But no, the show only validates this outdated thinking instead.

Cass Deserves To Get Her Butt Kicked 

Can’t spell Cass without ‘ass’, hun? 

Adria doesn’t do anything here. She cheerfully asks to talk to Rapunzel alone, respectfully requests not to to have her personal space invaded more than once, and even then she tries to deescalate the situation as Cass tries to pick a fight over nothing like a school yard bully; even going so far as to shout elementary insults at her. Which Ardia takes all in stride.

If you’re wanting me to take Cassandra’s side in the Cass vs. Adria fallout later, show, then you’re doing a poor job of setting that up. Being cautious with a stranger is one thing, getting butt hurt after being rightly called out on your BS is another. 

Let’s Talk About the Slap Here, and the Fans Misportrayal of Stalyan

Most of the fanbase hates Stalyan, and rightly so. She’s not meant to be likable. She is a villian and the show portrays her as such. However, certain fans like to take things a step further than that and take scenes out of context to imply that she is somehow even worse than she actually is. Scenes like this one for instance. 

Keep in mind, Eugene stood her up. He left her at the altar. As in, he didn’t have the decency to break up with her face to face like a respectful human being. The whole point behind Eugene’s character development is that he use to be a jerk. 

I’m not going to act like Stalyan is a sweet and wholly innocent victim here, but you look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn’t slap your cheating ex too when you finally saw him again after that? And yes, it is implied that Eugene use to cheat on her. More on that in part 2.  

The point is you can’t just shout ‘abuser’ when all you’ve seen of a relationship is the post break up. Cause you have no idea what went down, and people aren’t always friendly with their exes. 

Now we most definitely should have gotten more info on what their relationship was like and more context around the break up, and that is a failing of the show. But a good chunk of the complaints hurled at Stalyan aren’t based off anything she actually did and is more rooted in sexism and fandom’s toxic shipping habits. 

What you can rightly criticize Stalyan for is inconsistency. 

Stalyan’s Actions Don’t Mesh With Her Motivations 

So does she want revenge or does she want to marry him? Which is it? Cause those two things aren’t compatible. 

If she still loves Eugene and still believes that he would come back to her, than she wouldn’t be threatening him now. Like I said, marriage isn’t a trap. It’s not punishment. It’s a thing people actually want, and they want their partners to want it too. If her goal is to convince him to marry her, as stated, then she’d wouldn’t be mean to him right now and she wouldn’t be going along with this 'force him into it’ plan. 

Look, this entire plot needed a rewrite. I’m not saying that you need to make Stalyan nice nor have her be wholly forgiving of Eugene’s past actions, but you really, really, needed to keep her in the dark about the blackmail. Especially since they try and fail to make her sympathetic later on. 

As is, Stalyan is just a confusing character. You gotta do a lot of reading between the lines and digging for exposition (some of which we don't even get till the end of season 3) to make any sense of what she says and does. 

But I’m going to give it an honesty try come part two. 

Conclusion 

I’ll give my finally thoughts in the second half of the episode/review. But for now the only interesting thing is Adria herself. The Baron stuff just drags and feels like a waste of build up.