#how to remember things better with brainfog getting more severe

[bunnyboy-juice]

i wish there were more options than "quit your job" to improve fatigue issues 🫠

[squarebracket-trickster]

Whether it's a migraine or a headache has nothing to do with the severity of pain.

*I get several full-blown migraine episodes per year, but I clicked "other" on this poll, because none of the other options are technically correct. The "another symptom" option is the closest.

Migraines are a type of pain that gradually gets worse over several hours until it reaches its peak, then goes away. They feel like a stabbing or burning pain in a specific location (such as above the left eyebrow, for example), and can migrate around. There are different types of migraine - some types are accompanied by auruas, light and/sound sensitivity, loss of motor control and/or slurred speech, vision loss, brainfog, and nausea/vomiting etc. Migraines can occur in either the head or the stomach, and generally last 4-7 hours, though some people experience migraines that can last 72 hours or more.

From what I have read, though don't cite me because I am writing this off the top of my head, migraines have something to do with one of the nervous systems? The autonomic nervous system maybe? I can't remember. This also just might be one of the prevailing theories...

On the other hand, there are many different types of headache, caused by different things too. I think the most common headache is a tension headache, caused by tense muscles.

Headaches can be equally, and sometimes even more, painful than migraines. Thunderclap headaches, which often accompany strokes, are generally reported as a 10/10 on a patient painscale, and some people with diagnosed Migraine Disorder who have also experienced thunderclap headaches say the thunderclap headache was far worse. Cluster headaches are another type of long-lasting headache(s) that occur in a single location (generally behind the eye) that are often reported as a 10/10.

On average, I saw a statistic that said most migraine sufferers reported their pain at it's peak as a 7 or 8/10. But migraines can be more painful than that. They can also be less painful. I think there are some types of migraine with aura that occur without any pain at all.

For me, I tell the difference between a migraine and a tension headache by: is the pain sharp or a dull ache? Is it concentrated in one spot or is it just a general feeling across my whole forehead? Is the pain steady or is it getting worse? Does light or sound hurt/make my pain get worse faster? Am I nauseous? How long have I been in pain? But it will be different for everyone.

With migraines, generally there is a "point of no return" after which painkillers like ibuprofen are no longer able to help. (And some of us chronic migraine sufferers like to play a Russian roulette with that "point", bc too much ibuprofen is bad for your gut so we try to do everything we can to manage our pain without it, but if we cant get the pain under control and we wait too long, it's too late and we're stuck in an 8/10 pain for the next 6 hours puking our guts out). With regular tension headaches, for most people you can take the advil/Tylenol etc whenever and you'll feel better.

TL;DL the difference between a migraine and a headache is the cause, and type of pain (one location vs all over, consistent vs gradually getting worse until it reaches its peak etc.), not how much it hurts.

Okay so I may have been struggling under a miscommunication issue

[neonarboretumart]

For the disability pride game

2, 6 and 12

Happy pride!

Hi hello! Thank you and happy pride too! Okay, so.

2. How long have you known you’re disabled? Does that match up with diagnosis?

So, I was pretty lucky in a sense with this one in that I was about four when I got sick. I had something called Kawasakis Disease (sp?) which is a very interesting phenomenon in which the immune system goes absolutes ham at a currently unknown virus. I was in hospital for a week or so with crazy fevers etc, and they luckily caught it in time to treat it, and my heart wasn’t damaged like it could have been. But then I never got better. Mum says it’s like she went home with a different kid, i’d been very energetic and outgoing, and after that I was just lethargic and quiet. I’m not sure if it was weeks or months for me to be diagnosed with M.E., but we were lucky considering that it’s rare in children that young and I was diagnosed so quickly. I’m 21 now, in my worst patch and with something like five more diagnoses to contend with, but honestly, I don’t remember what not being disabled is like. Maybe that is a good thing.

6. What’s something good that’s come out of being disabled?

Oooh, I think there’s a few. I’m stubborn as all hell for one thing. I’m more compassionate and empathetic than I might have been. I know my worth, and I know how to live out of spite, micromanage my energy and how to wait. I have a very good relationship and a deep connection with my Mum, who is my fulltime carer, and I’m happy I get to have that. And I think my art is something I’ve developed more than I might have done without the endless waiting rooms and bed rest and for want of a better word, lack of friends.

12. What is something people don’t realise about your disability?

Oh lawd where to start. With M.E. and dysautonomia especially, my main advice is ‘take everything you know about how the body is meant to work, and throw it in the bin’. Things like my Behcets are rare but easier to understand- it’s autoimmune and it’s a form of vasculitis. I get ulcers. Bam. M.E. is a fullbody love letter to really throwing out the rule book. It’s a mix of neurological and immunological and cellular malfunctions that just make the whole body go on a self destruct misson

I wish people realised that exertion and activity is the just ‘getting a shower’ or ‘going out shopping’. It’s more like ‘eating’ and ‘sitting up’ and ‘having someone else in the room’. Everything, every tiny thing your body does takes energy, whether it’s something you choose to do or not.

As for weird symptoms: muscle fizzing. I feel like there’s a washing machine against the wall next to my bed jiggling it. There isn’t, it’s just me lol. Uh random nervous system misfires that get stuck in my spine or down my leg like a twitch that won’t happen. Brainfog so bad that I feel like I’m locked in a tiny blank cupboard inside my own head, unable to access my thoughts or memories.

I also wish people realised how truly awful the history of our community is. And our current situation. We face constant battles with malpractice, falsified trials for treatments that make us sick, refusal of care, when we’re literally dying of this. M.E. kills. It steals time and lives. It ranges vastly from ‘mild’, which is still serious enough to take people’s lives to bits, to severe, where patients are unable to tolerate light or sound, can’t eat or hydrate. And there are no treatments, no support, and we’re treated like basketcases because it benefits the industry to wrongly treat it as psychosomatic. We’re strong, but we can’t fight this fight for care on our own, we need people without M.E. to step in, start learning from genuine reliable sources, and start shouting with us.

Also wear a mask.

Oops, that got. Long. I hope I answers those right? Happy to answer any more questions or clarify anything!

[xxdespairfactionashtonxx]

Why We Shouldn't Hate On Scenecore

I want to talk about a very important subject, mostly because this has been on my mind lately. Forgive me if this doesn't sound coherent, as I struggle with severe brainfog half of the day due to a glandular disorder I have. I have these often heated discussions with my boyfriend about how we both see a problem in the "OG scene crowd" talking down and often even bulling scenecore kids. TW: Mentions of Eating Disorders, P*dophlia, Drugs, Alcohol, Victim Blaming, Bullying

I have been in the scene community since 2009, when I was 13 years old. I had the MySpace, I listened to all of the crunkcore and metalcore. I went to high school with at LEAST 15 other scene kids. Let me start off by saying that half of the kids these days claiming to be the OG scene kids aren't even or hardly are adults- meaning they were just babies/toddlers when the trend was actually a thing. And even then some of the ones that are my age or old (24+) that were would enough to remember what it was like in the 2000s online, are acting no better than their predecessors. Back when scene was first evolving on websites like Friendster and MySpace, the fashioncore emo kids HATED them cause they said "They're stealing our style.". They called them posers, made fun of their music, etc. Sound familiar? Let's go back a little farther...Emo kids were hated by BOTH the mallgoths and midwest emo kids. Midwest Emos said that they were stealing the label that didn't fit them. Mall goths claimed that they were stealing their look. How about Mall Goths? Trad goths hated them and said the same exact things.

You see, this is a never-ending cycle. But we all see them turn into their own thing right? My peers are being no better than those people that bullied us back then for doing our thing. And a lot of the time I see them using it as an excuse to justify their own behavior to modern teens. And that is just unacceptable. Why WOULD we want things to be exactly the same as it was 15 years ago? Do ANY of them remember the horrific amount of gossip? glorification of sex and constant peer pressure into grooming behaviors and normalizing pedophilia? What about the race to be the skinniest and encouragement of eating disorders? The racism? The self-destructive lifestyle of drinking and drugs? Ignoring the problems that were going on in our society and world? How about the victim blaming rape culture that happened all the time where everyone attacked the victims instead of the rapists??? Or are they all too young to remember that too...? Scenecore actually aims to DESTROY those core fundamentals that plagued the old scene and honestly, I WANT to see that shit die.

If it bothers you so much that kids who are BRAND NEW to the alternative scene are still ignorant about the things like music or fashion, how about we educate them and show them what we are about instead of harshly judging them. That's a way to get them to actually give our stuff a chance rather than avoiding it cause of the impressions we as people that represent the subculture have shown them. I have had far more success showing newbies my favorite bands than any criticizing kids on not knowing what "real emo" is has EVER DONE. And even then, I didn't start off having all the clothes and the cool hair. I didn't know many emo bands. I listened to what everyone else was talking about at the time. I had to go in and learn it on my own.

OG scene kids, we need to cut the shit out. We need to be more welcoming and celebrate that our subculture actually inspired the birth of a new one. We need to understand that they're still learning. We need to understand that Scene and Scenecore aren't the same thing, and that's okay! It doesn't need to be the same thing, it makes kids happy and that's what matters. We keep our own scene alive, and remember that we aren't where it dies either. I am quite frankly grateful that this scene DIDNT die in 2009 like we originally thought. It's still alive and well cause I think scenecore actually gets people talking about OUR scene too.

[storfulsten]

hmm this post is just me venting and rambling about my social anxiety and such silly stuff so like really genuinely feel free to ignore, mostly just trying to ease my stress levels somehow I guess lol

k so I don't really know how or what to write or how to voice my thoughts properly atm or whatever. but I guess first of all, I am so stupidly fucking grateful for all the new followers and just people generally liking my stuff over the past like month? two months? I don't remember, but it's just mindblowing how much positivity and such whatever the hell there has been, and I love and appreciate all of you so, so much ok. but also like, idk I feel bad I guess getting all these positive good vibes and words thrown my way and feeling so happy about it, but having no idea how to respond to any of it, feeling like I come off as purposely ignoring people and or acting like I'm better than everybody else not interacting with anybody elses content (I've started to try to reblog stuff and such but even that is a fucking struggle for some reason) or even like try to idk talk to people, communicate, or like give some positivity back somehow. but like, I genuinely don't know how to do that, but I want to so bad. but like shit, I am so fucking afraid of talking to new people. like my social anxiety is really bad, and it's been with me for easily the last 15 years, probably before that. in my mid teens it wasn't that bad but getting older made it worse. it probably was several various elements in my life that led to wherever the fuck I ended up with that but I can't remember atm (asbergers and slight depression might be some of it idk). either way at some point something made me avoid trying to interact with and reach out to people, and then I never tried to remedy that or whatever. though like it's not that I never wanted to, like you know make friends and all that, I still genuinely want to do that somehow (a few attempts have been made in the past, all but one didn't work out bc I don't know how to effin talk to or interact with other people lol), I'm just afraid doing or saying the wrong thing and make a fool out of myself constantly. and I guess getting older isn't helping, like the older you are the more cringe it is to even be on the internet in fandom spaces or however you'd word it. like I'm almost twice as old as a lot of people in this fandom, so ofc on top of everything I don't wanna accidentally come off as a creepy old lady for just trying to be idk polite or something. the last thing I wanna do is to make people feel uncomfortable or unsafe somehow, and since the way I formulate and write things using a lot of stupid silly words and spamming lol at the end of every sentence or whatever is probably not the appropriate mature way for someone 30+ to carry themselves, and as such comes off as even weirder and creepier I'm sorry, I have a hard time formulating my thoughts, there's probably even more bullshit to rant on about. but heck this is more than enough to scare people off as it is I'm sure so I’ll stop lol sorry for uh this wordbarf, just needed to clear some stress-induced brainfog I guess, dealing with mental stuff in general sucks. but ye despite everything ranted about I am trying to do better, jury is still out on how that'll end up though, and how long it’ll take. at some point hopefully I'll stop communicating by just throwing likes at people and nothing else lol but yeah as said, I appreciate all of you and your positivity so much, and I hope you all keep being the awesome selves that you are, and just, genuinely thank you sm <3 and like, feel free to just ignore this whole thing lol it's all good, please go look at some funky dudes being cute instead ok? ok

TL;DR anxiety fucking sucks mannn

[aikainkauna]

Fic mehm

This was shortish, so might as well post it here. Snurched from the lovely @trelobita .

-What is your total word count on AO3?

-1 421 808. That little?!? I thought I would've gone past the 2 million mark a long time ago. What with Connie whipping me on the way he does.

-How often do you write?

-When the right mood/inspiration comes, and when I'm healthy enough (both mentally and physically) to be in writing condition. Which is not often enough; I hate it when I do want to write, but brain fog and/or physical fatigue mean I can't keep my brain going or my body upright. That's mostly for fiction, though. I can type bloggity waffle like this, and could just about proofread a sex toy review today despite it being a brainfog/tireded day. The deadline for the review was today, so I did it under duress and must've left something out or fucked up some grammar as consequence. Finnish conjugations are hell when your memory is shot to pieces; English is much easier to write because you don't have to remember how to conjugate a word to denote it's in the past tense for a plural with a conditional towards place A, signifying inclusion. No, I'm not joking. Sauvallanikinkos? ("Also with my wand, too, maybe?")

-Do you have a routine for writing?

-My body isn't good with routines and schedules, so no. The only pattern I have is to try and get 1000 words done at least and then to email myself the latest draft after I've finished writing.

-What are your favourite tropes?

-Have you got a month? (This question foolishly asked about your favourite kinks and tropes and pairing types all in the same question, BTW, so I split it up into three questions, because... c'mon.)

Tropes:

-Flawed characters who are still somehow understandable and appealing; not the typical Asshole Protagonist or antihero thing so much but more of an... well, I guess it's just good characterisation I prefer, in the end. Not that kind of squickily obvious macho power fantasy sold as "grittiness" just for the sake of being an asshole (funnily enough, that kind of crap usually comes from the kinds of people who have too much privilege in the first place). So, yeah, good characterisation that's still got some shreds of humanity left is my jam.

-Telepathic lovers. Exactly because it hurts so much when the person who's supposed to love you the most and to understand you the best doesn't, and vice versa. So that's a big RL trauma and squick I prefer to fix, because in fic, I CAN.

-That's a major one, actually. Fix-its not so much on a plot level but on a human level. Especially sexism/gender bullshit-breaking fixes. Fix-its get a bad rap, but that kind of thing, just like the bashing of romance and fanfic, sets off my "ah, this wouldn't be the devaluing of something considered empathic and female/feminine again, now would it?" alarms.

-This overlaps with the pairing thingy, but the Depraved Bisexual is my favourite character type to write. All the Connies, Tennant!Peter Vincent, Captain Renault, Zainab, Laura, etc... YES.

-Male character gives up some masculine privilege he doesn't fancy anyway for the sake of love and empathy/female character gives up stereotypical female things she doesn't fancy anyway in order to be herself and free herself as much as she can from society's chains. Give Torsten all the pwetty dwezzez he wants and for Falcon!Yassamin to remain childfree, dammit!

-Man cuddles and medicates woman during her period and actually empathises/feels how awful it is. As I was saying about the fix-its...

-Funny banter, even if I can't write it as hilariously as I'd want to.

Favourite kinks?

-Poetic prose and Romanticism. It's word porn or nothing, baby.

-Historical detail, accuracy preferred but depends on how the story wants to go (the Barmakids DON'T get butchered horribly by Harun al-Rashid in 803, TYVM).

-Anal! That's almost too obvious to mention.

-Androgynous, genderbending, sex-bending, femme men. Why do you think Connie is the love of my life?

-Lots of arousal-drippage.

-Some way for the bottom to see themselves being banged. Mirrors or telepathy or magic or video camera projecting it before their eyes or whatever. Unfff.

-Orgasms. Always orgasms to complete satisfaction. Orgasm denying or writing it badly or so vaguely that characters/readers can't get any catharsis/release for the arousal is a huge squick. That's a hard limit. Fuck characters who tease and don't let someone get off.

-Psychological/emotional depth. That's such a no-brainer it shouldn't even be necessary to mention (although in these days, it seems to be, because apparently wanting that is now a repressed sexual minority instead of normal human, especially female, sexuality. Oh, fuck off). Yeah, these memes do bring out the pet peeves about internalised misogyny, don't they? Especially the sort that manifests itself in sputter-inducing ignorance. Even my medieval characters and their somewhat dated and essentialist ideas of sex and gender are ahead of Tumblr in the very basics, FFS.

-BDSM that's based very much on extreme care and healing, the sort that uses the intense sexual activities/sensory overload as a kind of way to heal the sub's anxieties and to help the sub let go, achieve catharsis and release. And for the top's love to be the guiding, ravishing, then healing and comforting force that contains the sub and the sub's anxieties in a fiercely loving and protective way and absolutely, so that not a drop spills over. So, yep, BDSM as therapy is my kink in both RL and in fic. Not so much a desire to humiliate or to be humiliated, but on the contrary, to value and to honour the other half. The top finds strength and validation through being the healer, through their power being able to do something good (instead of tearing someone down and having power over them through that). Yes, I know that's not everyone's idea of BDSM, but it's mine and that's what you'll get if it's a healthy relationship I'm trying to portray. (The Barrings and Zainab and Fadl don't have the healthiest ideas of sex, anyhow; Jaffar/Pwinzezz usually do.)

And I'm leaving out so many. You only have to look at my Ao3 pages to see the recurring themes:p

Favourite pairing types?

-Experienced Depraved Bisexual Character/Less Experienced and/or Repressed Character, GIMMIE. Fucking love that shit.

-Similar: Older, More Experienced Man/Younger, Horny Woman.

-Horny couple, usually M/F, seduce someone into a threesome. The Rosesverse and Devilry are full of this, so might as well admit it.

-Do you have a favourite fic of yours?

-I do have a soft spot for the first two fics in the Falconverse. As if you didn't all know that already! They do have some noticeable flaws here and there, especially the first one (I still insist that weird lube choice was HIS and not mine; I do know better and yelled at him at the time), but they still contain my deepest and most profound writing both erotically (and I mean that in the widest sense of the word, encompassing all things Love) and spiritually and character-wise. Defy Not The Stars also turned out better than I expected, considering I had never attempted so much plot and a traditional historical romance novel before. But I guess that Roses, what with its length, has allowed me to explore more aspects of the characters and their lives than anything else I've written. And of course, considering Devilry is my most-read saga ever, I do have a soft spot for that pile-up of a car crash. If only for the sheer intensity of the ride; I was just thinking yesterday how it really was aghori sadhana done through writing. Meditating in a graveyard is for wimps; try spending months in Torsten Barring's fragrant boypussy.

-Your fic with the most kudos?

To no one's surprise, Because The World Belongs To The Devil, at 234 kudos.

-Anything you don’t like about your writing?

-I suck at pacing sometimes. The sex scenes tend to run overlong if I write them in several sessions instead of just one go. It's not that the characters want to try different sex acts and shag more than once during a night, but more that the tension is spread out unevenly ("JFC, why did they change position again? I want them to just fucking come already, damnit!") This is obviously a result of how many things *I* see in my mind's eye during a wank; it's always more of a clipshow of different sex acts and pairings and orientations than one straightforward scenario. I'll be more mindful of that in the future and have been watching out for it in the past few fics already; I don't think the shags in The Guardians of Samarkand overran, for example.

-And sometimes my kinks get too obvious and repetitive for me, too, the way any porn gets tedious and repetitive. But on the other hand, I know very well that fanfic *is* about us imposing our kinks on our darlings, no matter how much we may go on about our dedication to characterisation and such. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: what's key is to get away with your kinks *but* in such a way that they can also engage the reader and that they become interesting and enjoyable not just for you, but for the readers, too. And you need good characterisation for that, and it's a really delicate balance to juggle your kinks and believable characterisation.

-Something you *do* like about your writing?

-I can write immersively and deeply and engage all the senses (sight, touch, scent...) in rich detail, as well as go deeply and profoundly into the emotions. And write some fucking hot porn ;) Those are the things I've had praise for, at least. Maybe my spiritual bits aren't as relatable or something, because people hardly ever remark on those (interestingly, my mum is the only one to have taken up those bits! But I skim over the sex scenes when I read the fics to her, so she only gets the gen). Or then it's the fact that most of the time it's Thief of Bagdad fic, and thus in an Islamic context, and most readers aren't familiar enough with, say, Sufism, to feel like they're qualified to comment without making arses out of themselves. But of course I like my spiritual bits; I'm an ex-religions major!

This had a taggity thing at the end, but I hate doing those because it always puts pressure on them even if you say they don't have to (come, now. The pressure is there, the moment you mention someone by name). I don't own the meme or you, so, as always: do what thou wilt.

[affableanthropologist]

D&D Rambles

(relates to EuroAtlantis, is spoiler-free, but chucking below a read-more anyway in case anyone is not super keen on reading about my thoughts/DM approach/Stuff.)

I’m trying to be kinder to myself in general, especially since I (very willingly, I might add, as the alternative would be losing one or more players!) DM this campaign so early in the morning- four hours before I would normally wake up. I really can’t expect myself to function 100%. In a Fairly Important Situation near the end of this latest session, I had 27 NPCs present so I ended up ignoring most of them because brainjuggling is A Tricky. And while part of me is like “but wouldn’t x character have said something????”, another part thinks “this is a really good way! To demonstrate! The NPC Squad’s Loyalty to the local lord!!!!” So it can all really be explained away anyway. 

(for this reason I’m glad I at least established that the guards moved to approach the party, but said lord was like NOPE STAY THERE and so they did.)

And then the monk’s partner was busy supporting them, probably same for the bard’s partner, and the other two party-connected NPCs were quiet because they were freaking out, like the monk. Our temporary PC-turned-NPC Batelf is usually more talky...but! I am sure he will have a lot to say next session when the NPCs can be dealt with in smaller groups! Several in-game days ago he was all ‘the government is in a conspiracy with the government!’, and sounded nuts but...he was totally right. 

I also speak in third person a lot, which helps when these is too much brainfog or I am particularly anxious. It’s easier especially if I don’t really know what to say, haha! At first I had this annoying ingrained idea that “first person is superior!!!!” but, while it’s better in some cases, often it’s easier to just say what the NPC knows. And in some cases, third person can even be better, like if you need to infodump a lot of worldstuff and want to make sure the players can take it all in instead of picking it out of a longer rambling explanation!

This came in especially useful near the end of the session where I was like “oh no I need to remember exactly what this NPC knows- it would be easier to ramble that out indirectly and explain what they convey, rather than rambling first-person as the NPC! They know the stuff, ic rambling would make no sense!”

This has helped me with Astrophelle too- sometimes I’m too nervous to speak as my player character, so it’s just easier to explain what she is trying to convey/her argument if I’m doing persuasion stuff/etc. My DM is cool with it and, like I do to my EuroAtlantis players, considers notes of my argument when setting a DC for a persuasion/intimidation roll/whatever. 

(on a contrasting note: towards the end of EuroAtlantis today, a PC publicly revealed he knew some Bad Stuff about a couple of NPCs- bad stuff that would automatically affect them, and so I didn’t call for an intimidation/persuasion roll. I just rolled charisma checks for the NPCs to see how well they fared (in terms of their ability to continue communicating, fear of consequences vs. willingness to explain things to the party, etc.) Since the NPCs wanted to explain but were afraid of what might happen to them, I felt comfortable with this approach. I think it’s a really good one for situations like this- obviously I wouldn’t do it all the time. And it worked out well for the party.)

Session zero for the Dungeon Trash Squad tomorrow! Right after EuroAtlantis, I checked my messages and saw one of the players had sent me “ahhhh I can’t wait for session zero!!!!!”, and that made me feel so good. We have two drow, a yuan-ti and a ‘human’ (changeling.) Should be a good time. I’m going to go with my usual approach for roll 4d6 drop lowest stat generation: modifiers have to add to at least +6, with at least one +2 in there; as opposed to Umberclutch DM’s approach of ‘reroll your arrays until you get at least one 16′. 

[satireknight]

TMNT S01E04 - Hot Rodding Teenagers from Dimension X

AND... just like that, the titles started getting silly.

So the Turtles are planning to turn Baxter’s van into a mobile tracking station, using the equipment in Baxter’s lab. Is this legal? This doesn’t seem legal. I know technically they’re vigilantes, but this seems a little thefty.

So they do what anyone would do: they push the entire van up the stairs, and then Donatello rips the entire side of the van off like he was peeling an orange. Explain to me again why Michelangelo couldn’t get out of ropes in the last episode.

It also turns out that Baxter’s been arrested offscreen because “the authorities didn’t appreciate it when he tried to take over the city with his Mouser robots.” Well, that happens when you print your name on your murderous metallic T-rexes. Wait, take over the city? They didn’t do that! They just tried to kill Splinter and ate an apartment building!

Since Donatello is modifying an entire van all by himself while everyone else stands around chatting, he inevitably starts asking why THEY have to do ALL the work of stopping Shredder. I’d be asking why I have to do all the technical stuff, since presumably one of the others can work a wrench.

How has the Technodrome not completely hollowed out the area under New York, causing a catastrophic collapse?

Krang has finally had enough and is refusing to give Shredder any more new toys until Shredder ponies up a pair of opposable thumbs. Shredder acts high and mighty by saying that the body is just one of several experiments he’s doing... which includes more mutants.

I can see the benefits of a bat, since they presumably would have sonar or something like that. But why a lizard? Or a mole? How are those better than the ones you already have?

Shredder then remembers that oh yeah, Krang is from another dimension, and since that dimension is full of nonstop war, he can just get weapons from THAT place. Of course, since Krang also has an army sitting on the other side, he might end up with angry soldiers ripping his face off. Krang is somehow horrified by the idea of what might come through the portal.

In “Donatello is underappreciated” news, Donatello has just managed to whip up a personalized, highly-decorated, weaponized vehicle in mere hours. How do his bros respond to this? They want more shit like higher ceilings and pizza ovens so they can mess around while driving. Amazingly he doesn’t kill them all with his wrench set, and they careen down the stairs and straight into a fire hydrant. 

Shredder is apparently expecting to just open the portal right into an armory, but instead two flying cars come zooming through. These are the Neutrinos.

And I don’t know if people will agree or not, but I’ve always hated the Neutrinos, the futuristic alien elf people, even when I was a little kid. Part of it was their voices; they always sounded like they had a sore throat. Another was the antiquated slang that they used, which... I never understood the reasons for and is kinda cringey.

But the most glaring reason for me was that they never felt like complete characters. Think about it: when you strip away the weird way they talk, what are you left with? Who are they? What shapes them as people? Answer: we don’t know, because they’re not really developed. They are all basically the same bland empty character. Kala is particularly bad, because her only narrative function is for Michelangelo to occasionally crush on her. She’s not a real character on her own.

Let’s just say I prefer the Neutrinos in the IDW comic, where they actually have some character and function instead of “we’re fun-loving teenagers and the grown-ups oppress us!”

sigh

So they’re chased by a pair of rock warriors in a flying tank, and that sounded so much more metal in my head.

Rocksteady and Bebop blow up the tank, and a firefight breaks out as the Neutrinos escape. The Rock soldiers encounter Krang, who is upset that they’re seeing him naked.... and by naked, I mean just a brain on a little wheelie stand. Apparently he “lost” his body when he was banished to Earth... although I’m not sure how or why.

And then the awkward writing kicks in: Krang and the warriors talk with horror about how the Neutrinos hate war, won’t fight, and “encourage people to have fun.” Perish the thought. Oh Lord, the heavy-handedness is making my brain hurt.

Oh hai World Trade Center. You’re making me feel awkward and a little depressed.

So the Neutrinos drive right out of a subway entrance, and the Turtles immediately start chasing them, ultimately leaping right into their cars and forcing them to land. But then they find out that the Neutrinos have no idea who Shredder is, and are just a group of shrill-voiced tiny elves who unironically use terms like “daddio.”

So the Turtles do what any person would do with alien visitors: they take ‘em to... an arcade. Why? I have no idea. 

April sparks off a conversation about Dimension X, and another silly “all the grown-ups don’t want young kids like us to have fun!” conversation takes place. Look, is there any child with six brain cells who won’t feel pandered to by that sort of thing? Especially with idiotic ideas like them being chased because they trespassed on a battlefield.... um, getting onto a battlefield is its own punishment, because... you are going to die. Nobody’s going to stop fighting just to kill YOU.

Just then the Rock Warriors torpedo the building and put the scene out of my misery. By coincidence, all the humans in the building suddenly evaporate... so I’m going to assume they’re dead.

So the Neutrinos finally do something useful and start firing at the Rock Warriors, and Leonardo manages to wreck their vehicle with his amazing insta-growing sword.

That’s easily twelve feet long.

Just then the explosions, energy blasts and probable deaths of multiple people cause the police to show up. I wonder why.

Just then Leonardo mentions how weird it is that Shredder is able to connect to a different dimension.... NOW? YOU’RE GOING TO ASK THAT NOW? Shouldn’t you have asked that back before you were playing pinball and listening to the Neutrinos bitch about how mommy and daddy won’t let them zoom around in circles being obnoxious?

So yes, the Turtles finally break out of their “fun” brainfog and realize that they could be facing a global invasion, which is kind of important. It’s about time that tenuous plot finally reared its head.

“This is my Magic 8 Ball!” 

No, it’s actually a weather-making device. And then they’re attacked by the NYPD, who must be really fucking jaded if they don’t react to a couple of guys apparently made out of rock.

The Neutrinos tell the Turtles and Splinter about Krang, which explains the whole talking brain thing that came up in the last episode. Wow, that might have been good information to get from them BEFORE YOU WENT TO A FUCKING ARCADE. Sorry, these characters really piss me off.

Oh, and Michelangelo is crushing in Kala. Why? Dunno, because they’ve barely interacted at ALL, so I’m going to assume it’s because she’s the only girl he’s ever encountered who isn’t way taller than him. Also, her only defining trait is that she cries.

Wait, since when did they have a hydraulic platform inside a phone booth?! How do you even instal that without people noticing?

So the Technodrome that they previously spent hours or days searching for is now something they can just drive up to, and they are able to fly those flying cars right inside with no resistance whatsoever. Of course, while Donatello is diddling with the portal, the mook squad comes in and causes trouble for them, while the other Turtles encounter Shredder, Krang and the Rock Warriors.

I have no idea why Krang is bouncing with joy. It seems premature.

Also the Technodrome has a giant floor section with vanishing panels. Why? 

Finally the dimensional portal opens, which means the Neutrinos and their bad writing are going as well.

“There’s a barrel of silicone lubricant over there!” How did you know that? And why do I not want to know WHY it’s there?

“We want to stay with you, and have FUN!” Can you see why I hate this character with a passion?

The Neutrino with the gray hair says that they have to keep fighting Krang in Dimension X... which seems to go against two things we’ve been told. One is that Krang hasn’t been involved in the fighting since being banished, and the other is that the Neutrinos just mess around and don’t participate in any kind of conflict because it isn’t fuuuuuuuuuun.

So they zoom through the portal, and Michelangelo gets teary-eyed over the departure of someone he’s exchanged maybe ten words with over the span of a single day. I care sooooo much right now.

But unfortunately the weather-maker is still causing sufficiently bad weather that the ground is actually shaking. Right now there’s a friggin’ tornado in the streets.Leonardo handles it the way you’d expect - he leaps out of a flying car and almost dies so he can slice the thing in half.

And having pussed out epicly during the fight, Shredder finally throws a fit and declares that he’ll make Krang’s new body for him if Krang kills the Turtles.

And back in the Turtles’ lair, for some reason they’re back to sleeping in a quadruple bunk, while April reads them the same children’s story over and over again.

VERDICT:

This story is a big step down from the previous three, partly because it feels so schizophrenic. Parts of it, like that bedtime-story ending and the Neutrinos whining, feel incredibly juvenile and pandering to the child audience. But the other half is an actual threat of alien invasion and a dangerous weapon. 

And the two don’t mesh very well, which often makes it feel like the important plot is being sidelined for kiddie antics. It really just sticks out, especially since the characters we’ve been shown are not really the kind to respond to serious new developments by just kicking back in an arcade.

I already ranted about the Neutrinos and what shallow half-characters they are, but I gotta say again, they don’t really add much of anything to the story beyond a shallow insta-crush, infodumpage and some aerial action scenes. 

One thing that was much better in this episode is the animation, which has stepped back up from the last episode. And it has some nice moments like the police and military taking on the Rock Warriors, which gave us some good conflict and a sense that the world outside is bigger than just the Turtles and their issues.

Speaking of their issues, despite my bitching it was kinda fun to see the origins of their van, even if poor Donatello remains horribly underappreciated. He’s the kind of guy who could build a particle accelerator out of toaster parts, and people would complain because it doesn’t have an embedded clock.

Grade: C-