#mech-x4 week

[goldenavenger02]

Mech-X4 Week Day 2

"Ow!" Spyder glared as Veracity poked his arm before pushing her glasses up on her face .

"Good job, Spyder. You completely broke your arm being a dumbass. Why did you think taking a dive for your food was necessary?"

"Because I don't take food for granted, Veracity."

Veracity winced when he said that as she started making a sling so she could get his arm up.

"God, I hate when you bring that stuff up."

"Sorry..." Spyder sighed, flinching as she slipped his bandage into the sling. "I'm just used to joking about that stuff. That was the only way I used to deal with it, and now that he's out, I'm having a hard time stopping."

"You don't have to apologize, Spyder. Why do you think I make jokes when I'm scared?"

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, life before my dads wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. I was number four in a family with eight kids. My father was never home except once a week, and my mom was a alcoholic. Beat the shit out of all of us, and actually beat one of my brothers so badly that he died. Then social services got involved. They arrested my mom and separated all of us. They changed our names as well. My name was Lauren Daisy. They let me pick my name. I thought Veracity sounded cool. I was bounced around a bit, and then my dad's adopted me."

"I'm sorry, V."

"It's okay. I just wanna see my siblings again, but that's extremely unlikely." She sighed, before adjusting the sling. "Was your dad sentenced yet?"

"No. They want me and my mom to testify against him tomorrow. She's probably gonna cry." He looked down, looking at his short fingernails.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Veracity asked, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Cause I'm free tomorrow if you need moral support."

"You'd do that?"

"You're like a brother to me. Absolutely."

Spyder smiled as he sat up, before wrapping his arm around her, holding her closely. "Thank you."

[spyder-incorporated]

Mech x4 Week Day 2

So I missed yesterdays prompt but I did today’s! Here it is..

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16599950/chapters/38904287

Yeah... this is horrible but I really wanted to participate. Sorry.

[localwindmage]

COMMISSIONS OPENED!!!

[writing under cut incase it’z hard to read]

[First page] @/LocalWindmage’s Commissions!

Pay via USD gift cards OR Nitro (Not Basic)!

Per Character (b=bust, h=halfbody, f=fullbody) Line art: $5 (b) $10 (h), $15 (f)  Flat Color: $20 (b-h), $25 (f)  Cell shaded: $30 (b-h), $35 (f)  Rendered: $45 (b) $50 (h), $60 (f) 

Backgrounds Simple: $0-5 Lined: $20 Colored: $30 Cell Shaded: $40 Rendered: $50 Lineless Rendered: $80

SPECIAL: Gift me Nitro for a $25 drawing (NOT Basic)! DM on Discord: LocalWindmage#6105  Or Quotev: LocalWindmage

[Second page] RULES + GUIDELINES Things I DON’T draw: -NSFW (suggestive MAYBE (MUST be aged 16-22)) -Mech -Anything complex tbh -Realism. I’m a cartoonist. -Mouth to mouth touch -Hard poses -Hyper detailed stuff -General problematic shit -Animals (sorry) (Exceptions POSSIBLE)

Things I CAN draw: -Anything else tbh! -Ships (oc x canon, selfships included!) -Anthromorphs  -FUSIONS!!!

DISCLAIMERS: -PAYMENT FIRST! No refunds! -Some art can take less than a day, others will take weeks. PLEASE be patient! -I have every right to turn down a request! -Paying me with Nitro Gift (NOT BASIC) is more encouraged but I really don’t mind!

[Third page] Examples (compressed because krita sucks) [1st img] Full Body Colored x2: $50 ($25 each) [2nd img] Bust Rendered: $45 (character by @/cartman on quotev)

[Fourth page] Examples (compressed because krita sucks)

[1st img] Full Body Rendered x8: $480 ($60 each) Half Body Rendered x8: $400 ($50 each) Bust Rendered x3: $135 ($45 each) Lineless Rendered BG x4: $320 ($80 each) Simple BG x1: $5 Total: $1,340

[2nd img] Bust color: $20

Ask for more examples and uncompressed versions if you’d like to!

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Miraculous World: New York - United HeroeZ

So... with the recent announcement that Seasons 4 and 5 of Miraculous Ladybug will air on Disney+, with one episode set to air around March 27th (and it's out of order because of course it is), I figured I would try something new with this blog.

While I'm sure Astruc will be more active while the new season is airing, I figured I'd take a stab at reviewing new episodes of Miraculous Ladybug when they come out, as I already have a Disney+ account that I only really use to watch Star Wars and other Disney Channel cartoons I've never seen before. Well, that and the gloriousness that is Mech-X4.

And I was thinking that since a certain special is already available on Disney+, I'll review it now. Consider it my, uh...

279 Follower Special. Yeah, that’s it.

Miraculous World: New York – United Heroez is the first in a series of Miraculous Ladybug specials with the premise of having our heroes travel around the world. Because I guess that's what you do with your show when you run out of ideas for things your characters can do. Just ask Ash Ketchum and Thomas the Tank Engine.

The special is somewhat polarizing among the fandom, with some loving it, and some hating it. If you've seen some of my earlier posts, you probably already know how I feel about this.

Anyway, let's take a look at Miraculous World: New York – United Heroez

We start off with a logo letting us know this is going to be the start of a series of specials called Miraculous World.

Yeah, I'm sure that'll be remembered among other great cinematic universes like the Dark Universe and Ghost Corps.

In all seriousness, this is actually a pretty decent opening. It has some nice visuals that inform the audience of the globetrotting gimmick seen in the special, and the orchestral cover of the Miraculous Ladybug theme sounds pretty badass.

The special truly starts off in the middle of an Akuma fight, where we see that Mr. Pigeon is taking inspiration from Startrain's plan to escape to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by capitalism... SPACE! Apparently, this is the 51st time that Ladybug and Cat Noir have fought him, which makes you wonder if Hawkmoth is either running out of ideas, or if he just wants to see how insane Mr. Pigeon's plans can get for the hell of it.

Ladybug and Cat Noir transform into their new space forms that they've obviously had for a while, given Alya's familiarity with their names... even though those forms probably would have been useful when they were fighting Startrain. And this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of things this special retcons.

We get a few interactions between Ladybug and Cat Noir to give new viewers an idea of what the Love Square dynamic is like, with Cat Noir fawning over Ladybug after she leaves, and Marinette gushing over a new poster Adrien is in. I'll get back to this later,

After that, we see a brief clip from a student film teaching the audience about the real life friendship between George Washington and Marquis de Lafayette (the latter actually becoming one of Washington's close advisors during the Revolutionary War), and how it lead to the completely made up, “French American Friendship week”, which is basically an excuse for Marinette and Adrien's class to go to New York for a week.

Their teacher, Ms. Bustier isn't going with them because she's having a baby (God help us if the writers resort to pregnancy jokes next season), so the only other teacher in the school, Ms. Mendeleiev, will be supervising the class instead.

Adrien isn't able to go to New York because his father won't let him, and even he lampshades how predictable this is. But as soon as Lila suggests spending time with Adrien, Marinette immediately declares she will try to get Adrien to come on the trip with everyone, because he's her friend... and then Alya mocks her for saying that in the very next scene.

And here is the first problem with this special: The way Marinette's crush on Adrien is portrayed.

We're supposed to see Marinette as being in denial about her feelings for Adrien, but when you think about how Season 3 ended with Marinette realizing Adrien and Kagami (who will make an appearance in this special later on) are happy together, it makes sense that she wants to do this. She wants to move on from her crush on Adrien and try to be friends with him.

Unfortunately, her “best friend” Alya isn't willing to let her move on, which is extremely hypocritical when you remember how often she teased her for her behavior around Adrien, to the point where her other “friends” made bets about Marinette's hesitance to confess to him (Cat Blanc). Does she even know about Adrien and Kagami?

And throughout this special, rather than acknowledge Marinette's decision to move on, she constantly teases Marinette about how she still has feelings for Adrien, instead of simply leaving her alone. She reaches salt fic levels of unlikable in this special.

It doesn't help that Marinette's anxiety around Adrien is cranked up to twelve in this special, with her constantly stammering, or fidgeting around to the point where she struggles to get through a door. Twice. And as always, this behavior is only going to be played for laughs, because the showrunners are running out of ways to make Marinette suffer for comedy. And it only gets worse from here.

While watching a news report about a necklace and sabre George Washington had given to him by Lafyette, Nathalie, bedridden from the events of the season finale, tells Gabriel that the necklace in question is actually a lost Miraculous.

And as soon as Marinette arrives, Gabriel tells her that he's going to let Adrien go on the trip. His reason?

Gabriel: Letting Adrien go to New York will be simpler than hiding my absence here from him. Besides, this will allow me to continue keeping an eye on him.

Yeah, he seriously thinks it's a good idea to send his son to the same place he's planning to attack as part of one of his plans. At least you could make the argument that whenever Adrien is endangered during an Akuma attack, he's simply caught in the crossfire because he's in the wrong place at the wrong time, like with “Style Queen”. Here, Gabriel is intentionally letting Adrien go to New York, while claiming that he will be able to monitor him while he plots to attack the city. This is like if Grand Moff Tarkin let his son go to Alderaan for vacation. And again, it only gets worse from here.

Though Gabriel waits a day to tell Adrien he's going to New York, because of he did, we wouldn't get any scenes of Adrien moping around about how much his life sucks. Well, that and a scene of him and Kagami, where the latter kisses him. This is Kagami's only scene in the special, and she isn't mentioned again after this.

As Ladybug, Marinette tells Cat Noir she's going away for a few days and trusts him to guard Paris as long as he alerts her of an Akuma or Sentimonster. What will happen to the Miracle Box Marinette inherited from Former Master In Name Only Fu is never explained.

To Adrien's credit, it's Plagg that convinces him to go on the trip even though Ladybug trusted him, and even then, it takes a little bit to convince Adrien, showing he still takes his job seriously, with him coming up with a plan in case an Akuma attacks. It's not perfect, but it's something. That all goes to hell later on, though.

We then see Gabriel once again talking to Emilie's corpse about his plan.

Gabriel: Blah, blah, blah, Emilie. Blah, blah, blah, blah, I'll get Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous this time for sure. Blah, blah, blah, blah, I'm such a good father and sympathetic villain.

Oh, sorry. That's how I hear most of his monologues to Emilie these days. My bad.

The next scene features something I bet you've never seen before, Marinette being late for something. Thankfully, Luka gives her a ride to help her catch up, hoping that the trip will “give her some clarity”, most likely referring to her conflicting emotions. Marinette then kisses Luka goodbye and gets on the bus. This is Luka's only scene in the special, and he isn't mentioned again after this.

On the plane, it turns out that Adrien is conveniently sitting next to Marinette, prompting Alya to tease Marinette yet again while making this face.

Alya: (smirking and talking in a very smug tone of voice) Awesome, Marinette! Go and sit next to your “friend”! So you two can enjoy a nice flight together! A very long flight.

Alya continues to relentlessly tease Marinette and makes fun of her crush for no real reason, suggesting Marinette get off the plane because “New York is the most romantic city in the world after Paris”. And this gives her a goddamn panic attack where she frantically tries to run off the plane. Remember kids, if someone has some kind of anxiety or social awkwardness, it's perfectly fine to tease and make fun of their behavior, and even exploit it for your own amusement.

And after some unfunny hilarious slapstick involving Marinette on the plane, Alya continues her streak of treating Marinette like her plaything.

Nino: If only this trip could help Adrien finally come out of his shell.

Alya: And if only it could help Marinette be more honest with herself and clearer about her feelings!

Nino: Operation New York?

Alya: Operation New York!

Nino: Let's help them loosen up!

Alya: After all, isn't the United States the land of the free?

Well, the only thing you actually got right about America is forcing others to do things they don't want to do. Just ask the Native Americans.

It's scenes like this why Alya is portrayed so negatively in salt fics. And this happens throughout the special. Now, while I'm not really a drinker, I'm guessing there's at least one person reading this post right now who is. So I have a little idea for a game. Every time Alya acts like a terrible friend to Marinette, take a shot. I'd just have a donor ready in case one of your kidneys gives up on you.

After an admittedly nice scene of Adrien thanking Marinette for convincing his father to let him come (undercut by Marinette creepily commenting on Adrien's cologne as they hug), another problem with this special rears its ugly head, as a man with oddly-colored skin arrives on one of the plane's wings.

Alya: Oh, no! That's Techno-Pirate, the supervillain who steals technology!

Yeah. This is happening. The special is just casually introducing this new supervillain, Techno-Pirate as well as some other superheroes, neither of which had any buildup before, not even a throwaway line They're just here now.

So some of the American superheroes are to save the day, now, I guess. Majestia, the Superman knockoff, helps steer the plane back into position, her robotic daughter, Uncanny Valley, helps fix the plane's broken wing, while Knightowl and Sparrow, the Batman and Robin knockoffs, deal with Techno-Pirate. And everyone just treats this like a regular occurrence.

Marinette: Wow! That all happened so fast! I didn't have time to transform or help out!

Adrien: Good thing the American superheroes were here. I couldn't have transformed here. I'm supposed to be in Paris!

Plagg: Relax, Adrien! Let the local superheroes handle their own problems.

I have so many problems with this plot development. Just how common is the knowledge that there are other superheroes besides Ladybug and Cat Noir in other countries? How have they never been mentioned until now? Why is everyone just accepting the fact that there are other superheroes?

I get that these characters weren't conceived around the time the show started, but the way they're just thrown into the story is just so confusing and does so many things to hurt the narrative instead of helping it. In other episodes, Majestia and Knightowl were only seen in comic books, and Ladybug and Cat Noir were seen as the only heroes in the world because the world itself was fairly down to earth, barring some more advanced technology (the police's weapons in “Origins”, Hawkmoth's lair, Max's robot, Markov, the space dumpsters in “Reverser”, and the AI in Startrain).

The fact that New York is apparently filled with all kinds of superheroes for very mundane things like directing traffic and selling hot dogs just makes the Miraculous seem less important. If there was more work done to better integrate them into the story, like maybe making them an American secret or something, it could have worked. To quote a character voiced by Jason Lee...

And the sad thing was that Power Rangers was able to pull something like this off far better in 1995. During the third season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Master Vile had successfully reversed the Earth's rotation, turning the Power Rangers into children (yes, it runs on Superman logic, just go with it). Because of this, the Rangers are unable to morph, with the villains free to attack the city. In response, Zordon sends out a distress call to another team of Power Rangers from the planet Aquitar.

Now I know what you're thinking. If Zordon had the ability to contact another team of Power Rangers for help, why did it take him so long to do so? The episode immediately answers the question by pointing out that Aquitar is a planet made entirely of water, so it's incredibly dangerous for them to head to a planet like Earth, making their intervention a last resort. And even after they come, a major plot thread is finding ways to keep the Alien Rangers hydrated, which only gets worse when the Alien Rangers' enemy, Hydro Hog, arrives to drain Earth's water while teaming up with the main villains.

The integration of the Alien Rangers into the story generally feels natural, and there is a clear explanation as to why they haven't joined the battle until now, and even then, still place some hurdles for them to overcome. Here, the special just wants the audience to immediately accept the fact that there are hundreds of superheroes in New York.

So as Marinette and Adrien's class arrives in New York, we see Sparrow watching over them, referring to them as “the little croissants”. That's another thing the special gets right about America: casually making racist comments.

Uncanny Valley's civilian form, Aeon, sees Marinette and Adrien, and, of course, she says that they're “made for each other”. If only the writers actually bothered to give us evidence of that fact that everyone loves to say for some reason. Though we do get the only instance of sanity regarding the Love Square in this special, where Sparrow's civilian form, Jess, calls out Aeon for thinking of getting them together.

Aeon: Those two are made for each other.

Jess: Seriously, Aeon? Not again!

Aeon: But I am programmed to help people, Jess!

Jess: Just stop meddling with people's private lives!

Also, I had already mentioned the unfortunate implications of Aeon being programmed to “help people” in an earlier post, but I still want to reiterate that I don't think any of that was intentional at all, and I definitely don't think a single writer on this show is actually racist. Everyone got that? Okay, moving on.

Jess and Aeon are assigned to watch over the Parisian students while they sneak out to a party on the rooftop of the hotel they're staying at, where they meet another superhero, Hot Dog Dan. He gives random people magical hot dogs that give them temporary superpowers. Marinette and Adrien share one, and they both start flying before Adrien offers to slow dance with Marinette.

Okay... It's clear they they're trying to reference an earlier episode, “Despair Bear”, by having Marinette and Adrien dance to the same song they danced to in that episode. The problem is that the context isn't right.

Adrien is dating Kagami, and he's offering to do this... why? What makes him so interested in Marinette all of a sudden? I get that he doesn't realize Marinette has feelings for him, but if someone says they only see you as a friend, do you offer to slow dance with them? Especially if their reaction to your offer is recoiling in fear?

I'm sorry, writers, but you can't try to recreate some of the magic you had in earlier episodes with Adrienette when you have clearly established Lukanette and Adrigami as official relationships at the moment. And don't give me any of that “that's not the point of the special” crap. The season finale showed Marinette and Adrien getting together with Luka and Kagami respectively, so it's natural that a lot of people were looking forward to seeing how they worked as couples. I'll get back to this point later on.

Meanwhile, Gabriel has made his way to New York, and decides to akumatize the arrested Techno-Pirate into Technolizer, asking him to steal Lafyette's sabre from the museum instead of the necklace.

Back to the museum, Alya and Nino decide to send Marinette and Adrien into a room alone where they're locked in and attacked by the supervillain Solutide...'s hologram, which was all part of Jess and Aeon's plan. In a city where there is a superhero and supervillain on every street. They seriously planned on giving Marinette and Adrien a near-death experience to get them to realize their love for each other.

That's... pretty fucking demented.

What if Marinette and Adrien did something reckless in their attempt to escape? They could have seriously gotten hurt. Hell, what if the scare gave either of them a heart attack? And let's say either of them found out what the plan was (which would be pretty easy, given “Solitude” is a hologram). Do you think either of them would be happy with Alya and Nino, even if they confessed their love for each other? And none of them even think to apologize for what they did, and this scene is never mentioned again. To quote a certain internet reviewer. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!?

Though to be fair, the scene before was the only scene where Alya gets to use a brain cell in this special by pointing how wrong that plan is... for a second before she goes along with it. So close, Alya. So close...

So after Adrien gets a news report revealing that Robustus is attacking Paris (even though Markov is with them in New York), while Marinette isn't contacted by Cat Noir. The situation only gets worse when Technolizer attacks, getting the sabre in the process.

Sparrow and Uncanny Valley try to fight him off, but are quickly overwhelmed, with some of the latter's technology getting stolen by Technolizer. Marinette and Adrien transform and help out the two heroes, naturally being confused by the other's presence.

But while the four heroes chase after Technolizer, Hawkmoth shows competence for once and steals the necklace in the process, while revealing that the Robustus attacking Paris was actually a Sentimonster created by Mayura.

During the fight, rather than focusing on stopping the already dangerous supervillain powered up by Hawkmoth, Ladybug decides to trash talk Cat Noir instead. I get that she's angry at him for not following through on his promise, but can't she wait until after the fight?

Ladybug: (mockigly) “Just go and rest easy! Yeah, leave Paris with me!”

Cat Noir: I-I didn't know I was going to leave! It was a last-minute decision, that's all!

Ladybug: Do you realize that because of you, there's no one in Paris to protect the city?! Why didn't you tell me that you were leaving?!

Cat Noir: I was afraid you'd get angry!

Ladybug: And you were right, because as you can see, I AM angry!

To quote our recently inaugurated president, will you shut up, man? People say I'm too harsh on Cat Noir for the way he acted during episodes like “Syren”, but this is basically the same thing. Ladybug is prioritizing her own feelings over stopping Technolizer. Yes, she has a right to be angry at Cat Noir, but all she has to do is wait until after the battle to chew him out.

And during the battle, Ladybug outright says she can't trust Cat Noir anymore, making the latter flinch, so Technolizer throws him into Uncanny Valley with his Cataclysm activated, killing her.

In her anger, Majestia punches Technolizer through several buildings before Hawkmoth recalls the Akuma inside him before helping the villain get away. Ladybug casts her Miraculous Ladybug, fixing Uncanny Valley, but that's not enough. Knightowl is pissed, and orders Ladybug and Cat Noir to hand over their Miraculous, not listening to why they're so important, so the two run away.

To make things worse, the two find out about Hawkmoth's plan, and Ladybug explains she can only use Miraculous Ladybug to fix damage caused by a specific villain, and since the Sentimonster is gone, she can't do anything.

In his grief, Cat Noir admits that everything that happened is his fault, so he renounces Plagg and hands over his Miraculous to Ladybug before running away.

So... this scene.

This. Scene.

Where. Do I. Begin?

First of all, this is what causes Ladybug to lose trust in Cat Noir? Not the multiple times he disobeyed her orders because of his own personal feelings? Not the constant flirting and unwanted advances even though she's made it clear she doesn't see him that way? Not the time he trusted an evil doppelganger of Ladybug over the real one? It's this? Cat Noir leaving Paris alone while a Sentimonster attacked?

Okay, let's say that Cat Noir decided to stay in Paris after all. What was he supposed to do when Robustus attacked around the same time as Technolizer? What was Ladybug supposed to do when she found out about Robustus in Paris? Was she supposed to abandon New York and head back there or focus on helping the American heroes?

Second, who does Knightowl think she (yeah, she's a woman, I'll get to that in a bit) is ordering Ladybug and Cat Noir to hand over their Miraculous? What authority does she hold over them? Why should they listen to her? Why can't they simply explain why their Miraculous are so important, and that they can't give them up? Why doesn't Ladybug just explain that she's now the Guardian of the Miraculous? In fact, why does Majestia go along with the order? Ladybug still saved her daughter's life! If anything, she should be sticking up for the two.

There's actually a Superman comic where Captain Marvel storms a police station to interrogate a criminal who killed his best friend so he can find out who hired him. Though he comes close to doing it, Captain Marvel ultimately doesn't kill the criminal's boss, but still flies over to Mount Everest to grieve his friend's death.

Enter Superman, planning to call out Captain Marvel, but instead, he sees him crying. He explains that the boy killed was his best friend before revealing his identity as Billy Batson. Superman's response?

He goes to the wizard Shazam and demands to know why he did this to Billy, furious that a child was forced to go through stuff like that. While Shazam can't take back the powers he gave Billy, he encourages Superman to reach out to Billy, leading to him revealing his identity as Clark Kent to the kid.

I'm not saying that Majestia or Knightowl should have called out Master Fu or ask who made Ladybug the Guardian (as awesome as that would have been), but the point I am trying to make is in that comic, Superman made the effort to understand what Billy had been through, and understood what happened. Majestia and Knightowl made no effort to do anything like that. In fact, they never even knew Hawkmoth existed, which I call bullcrap on, given that he once MOVED THE PLANET AWAY FROM ITS ORBIT. Were you all asleep that day? Why didn't you do anything to help Ladybug and Cat Noir fight Hawkmoth? Were you expecting them to just fight this magical terrorist on their own? They don't have the same support system the American heroes have, and they could really use the help.

And third, Cat Noir. Yeah, just because I'm calling out Ladybug doesn't mean Cat Noir isn't taking any heat either. Again, I have to ask, this is what makes him give up? Keep in mind, when he was Aspik in “Desperada” and saw Ladybug get captured by an Akuma, he reversed time 25,913 times to try and save her before he threw in the towel. At the same time, he was willing to quit in “Syren” because he claimed Ladybug didn't trust him. The level of Adrien's willingness to keep going is incredibly inconsistent, and this doesn't really help his reputation as a character.

And then there's the fact that he's bailing on Ladybug when things are at their absolute worst. Yes, Marinette also briefly gave up in “Origins”, but that was after her first battle, and she was overwhelmed by her screw-up endangering countless lives in Paris in addition to being a nervous wreck even before she got her Miraculous. But here's the difference: She took responsibility. She realized people were in danger, so she jumped into action to save Alya and Cat Noir. Even then, she acknowledged her failure and felt unsure of herself, with Cat Noir helping to reassure her, showing the emotional support their partnership has.

Adrien, who has been a superhero for months, and has faced some pretty stressful situations, as soon as things head south, he immediately gives up and leaves Ladybug to fend for herself while two separate cities are in danger. And he knows that she has no other allies, because Master Fu ran away at the end of the last season, and Miracle Queen exposed the identities of the other temporary heroes. She has nobody to go to for help. He doesn't even show Ladybug her civilian form to apologize, just so he can't get any flak in his regular life. He just gives Ladybug his ring, and literally runs away.

A wise man once said “With great power, there must also come great responsibility.” Adrien has shown no responsibility at ALL in this special, barring the one moment I mentioned earlier.

It's nothing more than a forced emotional moment that has no buildup. This is basically the same with basically every time Miraculous Ladybug tries to be emotional. The writers think that despite never really having any tension or character arcs in their story, they can just have their characters cry out of nowhere, and suddenly, it's a deep moment? That's not how writing works, idiots!

Back at the hotel, Jess and Aeon are getting chewed out by their mothers (Who are the civilian identities of Majestia and Knightowl), and have a conversation about being superheroes... less than a few feet away from the French students. Though at least Barbara, the civilian form of Knightowl (again, I'll get to that later) calls out Aeon and Jess for their stupid “fake supervillain plan”, so there's that I guess.

So we cut to a press conference where the President of the United States, Camilla Hombee (An anagram of Michelle Obama's name, because Astruc has made it clear what his political views are) advises everyone to stay inside while Techno-Pirate is still an active threat. Why does this seem so familiar? And then she... transforms into a superhero too.

Oh, for the love of-- THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IS A SUPERHERO?! The person in charge of the country and relations with foreign nations is a superhero too?! If she's the president, why didn't she do anything to stop Hawkmoth?! I get that America doesn't really care about news from other countries outside of America, but you would think that the frickin president, WHO IS A SUPERHERO, would at least acknowledge the existence of a supervillain in Paris as a threat!

GOD, this is stupid! And it only gets worse...

Gabriel sends a car to pick up Adrien, realizing the city was too dangerous (I still don't get the point of sending him here in the first place), causing him to tearfully say that he “wouldn't have minded being stuck here a little longer with a friend like her” before leaving. And then Alya...

Alya: What is wrong with you, Marinette?! Couldn't you see that he was just waiting for you to tell him to stay?!

Marinette: What-? But I...? He...? He made his choice. What did you expect me to do?

Alya: It doesn't matter what I expected you to do! Who's Adrien to you?! A friend or more than a friend?! There will never be a better time to be clear with yourself, Marinette! Do you want him to leave or do you want him to stay?!

NO. You do not have the right to say ANY of that! It doesn't matter what YOU expected Marinette to do? This whole special, you've been teasing her about her feelings for Adrien, and forcing her into uncomfortable situations with him all because you want your OTP to be a thing. And now you're saying Marinette had a choice the whole time? Marinette expected herself to get over Adrien and start to see him as a friend, AND YOU WOULDN'T LET HER DO THAT! For three seasons, Alya has made fun of Marinette's crush on Adrien, while at the same time, has constantly pushed her into situations where she was clearly uncomfortable around him to the point where she discouraged Marinette for trying to move on in a previous episode (Frozer). And then in this special, she trapped them in a room with a fake supervillain (which is this world's equivalent to pretending to be a terrorist) just to get them to confess their feelings for each other. AND THE WHOLE TIME, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE MARINETTE'S CHOICE???

If Obilvio didn't make me stop caring about Alya, this was the moment that actually me despise her.

And the worst part? The narrative frames her as being right. This is somehow enough for Marinette to run out in the pouring rain while a supervillain is lose in New York, with nobody even trying to stop her, to chase after Adrien's car, where she tearfully confesses that she still loves him after the car gets away.

What is the point of this exactly? We already knew Marinette liked Adrien last season, her nonexistent character arc was learning to get over him, and now she's supposed to learn she's still interested in him? What about Luka? Are we just going to ignore Luka? What about the fact that Kagami is already in a relationship with Adrien? None of these questions are never explained.

Gabriel finds the lost Miraculous, the Eagle Miraculous, which represents Freedom, and gives it to Techno-Pirate, turning him into Miraclonizer. Using the Eagle Miraculous' power, Liberation, he can undo any mental boundaries someone has, but since he's using it for evil, it basically drives several heroes crazy without their own moral codes. And while I claimed it was an original power in one of my earlier posts, the more I think about it, Liberation is really just a different version of Reverser's airplanes. All they did was just phrase the explanation a different way.

So despite being a city full of superheroes, Miraclonizer manages to drive every hero crazy in a matter of minutes, with the exception of Jess and Aeon. So do none of the other heroes have sidekicks? Is there not even a Young Justice or Teen Titans-esque team in this city? I'm just saying, if they have a hot dog superhero, there should be at least more than two sidekicks in New York.

Aeon goes to search out Ladybug and Cat Noir, and because of some technobabble stuff, Aeon can easily figure out their identities. Again, this was something I already talked about in an earlier post, so I won't harp on this scene. It's a dumb retcon in a special full of dumb retcons, what else can I say?

So Aeon goes to find Adrien on his private plane to give him back his Miraculous... even though wouldn't it make more sense for Aeon to use it instead to save time? I didn't mention this, but right before this scene, Majestia was pushing the moon towards the Earth. Time is kind of the essence here. It also would have saved us more of Adrien's whining.

Uncanny Valley: Cat Noir, New York and Ladybug need you!

Adrien: (looks at where his ring used to be) I'm no longer Cat Noir.

Uncanny Valley: To err is human, apparently!

Adrien: My mistakes are unforgivable. I couldn't bear to see the disappointment in her eyes.

“i'M sO tOrTuReD. fEeL bAd FoR mE, dAmNiT!”

Cut it out with Angstdrien Depreste already, writers. It's gotten old.

And despite making a big deal about how much he failed Ladybug, he immediately jumps back into action as soon as he hears a recording of Ladybug saying she needs him. I know it's supposed to be a heartwarming thing by showing him wanting to support his lady, but to me, it just comes off more like he needed an ego boost. He was fulling willing to let Ladybug save the day on her own, but as soon as he heard how important he is to Ladybug, he's more than willing to become Cat Noir again. Because it's not like he could regret his decision to abandon his partner, and realize it isn't too late to make up for his mistake, right? That would imply Adrien is motivated by anything other than his feelings for Ladybug. Then there's the fact that as soon as Cat Noir returns, Ladybug instantly forgives him, despite saying earlier that she didn't trust him. It's almost like that whole debacle was only there to eat up about fifteen minutes of the special's runtime.

Hawkmoth issues an ultimatum to Ladybug and Cat Noir. Miraclonizer is ready to fire a nuclear missile (though the dub calls it a rocket, let's be honest, it's not), fully intending to start World War III unless Ladybug and Cat Noir give up. He's seriously willing to risk making The Day After a reality all for his wife. But remember, you're still supposed to feel bad for this literal war criminal.

Ladybug, Cat Noir, Aeon, and Sparrow manage to get to Miraclonizer's hideout, the Statue of Liberty, and take back the Eagle Miraculous, with Sparrow taking it and transforming into Eagle.

And then there's the design of the new hero's suit. While I'm glad it isn't another skintight jumpsuit, and the wings are a nice touch, people have raised some questions regarding Eagle's design, and how it feels like the animators really want to remind the audience that Jess is Native American. I mean, it looks like what Zack Morris wore in that one episode of Saved by the Bell barring the headdress.

And this might be because I'm a history major, and I just brushed up on this subject in class last semester, but I'm a little uncomfortable with the fact that someone actually thought it was a good idea to give the Native American girl the Miraculous of the Eagle, the symbol of America which represents Freedom. I don't want to go too into detail about this, but, uh... let's just say if you know about the history of the relationship between the Native Americans and the colonists, you'll get why this raises a couple of red flags.

Does this mean I think the showrunners are racist? No, it was an honest, albeit questionable mistake. Do I think this is the worst Native American representation on TV. Oh, hell no. Chakotay from Star Trek: Voyager was a walking amalgam of every Native American stereotype in the book, and was featured in an episode that said, with a straight face, mind you, that Native Americans used to be backwards savages, so a group of white aliens genetically altered them so not only could they survive the Earth's harsh weather, but so they would become more creative, leading to the birth of Native American culture. I apologize to any Native American human being who had the misfortune of learning about that for the first time. But over all, Jess is far from the bottom of the barrel of poor Native American representation.

So Jess uses her powers to calm every superhero down, while Ladybug and Cat Noir de-evilize Technolizer. And of course, Hawkmoth assumes that since there are other lost Miraculous, “they will be his”. Maybe focus on getting the two Miraculous you originally set out to get first, buddy.

So Knightowl and Majestia apologize for their behavior, and we learn that apparently Knightowl and Sparrow have been around for at least since the Wild West, and that the Knighowl and Majestia we've been following have been keeping up the illusion that the original duo are still alive for several generations.

Was this special written in the 1950's? Why make a big deal out of this? Why is it so important that Knightowl and Sparrow both have a Y chromosome? The president is a woman and a superhero, the strongest superhero on Earth is a woman, and you were just saved by a female superhero all the way from Paris. I don't think people will be afraid of getting cooties from this Knightowl. Hell, we live in a world where if you don't like a female superhero, people automatically hate you. Just ask the people who didn't like Captain Marvel.

We see that Alya still learned nothing, as she continues to tease Marinete for daring to call Adrien her “friend”, as our special mercifully ends with the class sending a picture of a banner to Adrien to show their support... but not before a brief scene where a Guardian tries to take Eagle's Miraculous, before she makes him instantly pull a 180 as soon as she suggests he help to “create a new generation of heroes together”.

I'm guessing this is meant to be yet another tie-in to yet another Miraculous side project that will go absolutely nowhere. You might as well have had Nick Fury, oh, I'm sorry, Mick Flurry, recruit Eagle and Uncanny Valley for the ZAG Initiative.

But it doesn't matter, because the special's over, and once again, I never have to think about it ever again.

So... what else can I say that I haven't already said. This special sucks.

While the animation is honestly some of the best to come out of ZAG, and the action can get pretty good at times, it honestly doesn't really mean much when the story surrounding it is just so abysmal. Basically the only thing I liked about the Season 3 finale was the idea that the status quo was shifting in terms of Marinette's feelings for Adrien, and this special just ruined this interesting idea by the end faster than you can say “the series finale of Quantum Leap”.

Alya is at her most unlikable here with everything she does in this special. Almost everything she says to Marinette is either some catty comment or making fun of her trying to get over Adrien. Because God forbid she actually try to grow as a person and not let her life revolve around a cute boy. It's stuff like this that I genuinely wonder why Marinette even bothers to stay friends with her when all she does is tease her and force her out of her comfort zone. And according to co-director Wilfried “Winny” Pain, Alya is meant to be like Jiminy Cricket to Marinette's Pinocchio. I don't know which version of Pinocchio he read as a kid, but clearly, it's not the version we're mostly familiar with.

I'm still glad they didn't have Cat Noir revert back into his Ladybug-simping self we all knew and loathed in Season 3, but that doesn't mean he's still enjoyable in this special. The angsting about how sad Adrien's life is stopped being interesting years ago, and it's only done as a way to get the audience to care about him, but it comes off more like the writers are holding the audience at gunpoint and demanding they sympathize with him for bailing on the world when they need him the most.

I thought Aeon was a pretty likable character. Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for socially awkward robot characters like Data or Penny. I just wish we got to know her more, and why exactly her mother felt the need to play God by create her instead of just adopting like what Olympia and Barbara presumably did with Jess.

As a matter of fact, despite being played up as a big deal, there's still a lot about the American heroes that we don't really know about. How were the “United Heroes” formed in the first place? How did Majestia get her powers? What exactly is the origin of Knightowl and Sparrow? Why are all the American heroes so open about their identities to the point where the President's identity as a superhero is so well-known she can casually transform on TV? Hell, Ladybug and Cat Noir barely even interact with any of the heroes, and that includes Uncanny Valley and Sparrow/Eagle.

Generally, the special feels very rushed at times, with a lot of ideas not really being utilized. According to Astruc, there was actually a lot of things cut from the special, including a deleted subplot with Chloe and Ms. Mendeleiev. Although, given Astruc's track record, I don't think it would have been a good one given Chloe is involved.

This leads into a personal theory I have regarding this special, that I want everyone reading this to take it with a huge grain of salt. As much as he claims that he can't change anything he's already written, I personally believe that Thomas Astruc rewrote part of this special so Adrienette could get more focus to renew interest in the ship.

Hear me out on this. During Season 3, there were a lot more shipping debates between Adrienette shippers and Lukanette shippers, with the latter gaining more traction that season. It was also the season where other ships like Felinette, Kagaminette, and even Maribat became more prominent. And all of these ships were featured in post-Chameleon salt fics bashing Astruc's sunshine child, Adrien.

So, given how Astruc already dedicated an entire episode to bashing Felix fans, why wouldn't he use something like the New York special to convince the shippers to have more faith in the Love Square? After all, aren't Adrien and Marinette made for each other? Astruc has already said so on his Twitter.

Unfortunately, right now, I like to describe the Love Square as “Shrodinger's Relationship”. While the show can claim that Adrien and Marinette would make a great couple, they simultaneously show no real chemestry happening between the two in favor of Love Square shenanigans. And yes, I'm actually thinking of talking about the Love Square in a future analysis post.

And then there's the fact that Astruc himself said that everything that happened in this special is going to lead into the events of Season 4. What do I have to say about that?

Bring it.

I already talk about Miraculous Ladybug itself on this blog almost as much as I talk about its creator, and since I have a Disney+ account, I might as well subject myself to everything Season 4 has to offer. I've already seen one of my favorite shows go to hell, so why don't I chronicle another one of my favorite shows going to hell as well?

So yeah, as soon as a new episode is officially released on Disney+, expect a review from your boy IOTA.

I survived Season 3, so let's see if the number 4 is as unlucky as some countries say it is.

[peanutryan]

so over the past several weeks I’ve been watching Mech-X4 with my friend who’s never seen it and we recently watched Versus the Arctic and Versus the Wolves at the Door to which her reaction was essentially “I don’t know how to react to this, that was really messed up” and that’s the most valid take on the Arctic arc I’ve ever seen

[omegaspider227]

Gearbox Software Reveals Borderlands 3 Release Date

Alongside a new gameplay trailer, Gearbox Software released some information about Borderlands 3, including the new Vault Hunters, the new villains, and the many ways to buy the game. There’s a lot to get into so let’s jump right into it.

First things first, Borderlands 3 has been confirmed to release on Sept 13, 2019! That means we have roughly 5 months to wait for one of the most suddenly hyped games of this year (suddenly hyped because the game was only revealed to be real just last week). Gearbox also released an “official announce trailer” that gives us a quick look at the new Vault Hunters, the new Villains, and new locales (if you’re eagled-eyed enough to spot them).

So! New Vault Hunters:

Moze as THE GUNNER: When Moze needs backup, she digistructs her mech –Iron Bear– for a sucker punch of additional firepower.

Amara as THE SIREN: A confident, capable brawler with the ability to summon ethereal fists, Amara uses her Siren powers to smash her enemies.

FL4K as THEBEASTMASTER: FL4K lives for the hunt. So do the loyal beasts that follow their master’s every command. Their preferred prey? Unsuspecting bandits, those poor suckers.

Zane as THEOPERATIVE: Specializing in battlefield gadgetry, Zane is extremely proficient at slipping into combat, creating chaos, and sneaking back out as if he were never there.

And the new villains, the ominous Calypso Twins, cult leaders out to unite the bandit clans and obtain the ultimate power in the galaxy (whatever that is). Along with saving the galaxy, players will travel beyond what they know on Pandora to new worlds, with new environments, new landscapes, and new enemies. Ravaged cities, deadly swamps, and hostile deserts, and more await our new Vault Hunters.

Finally, there are a bunch of ways to buy the game so there’s an option for everyone! Here they all are, along with their prices:

Borderlands 3 Standard Edition - $59.99 USD   The Borderlands 3 Standard Edition includes the base game.

Pre-order bonus: Gold weapon skins & weapon trinket

Borderlands 3 Deluxe Edition – $79.99 USD   The Borderlands 3 Deluxe Edition includes the base game, as well as bonus digital content:

Retro Cosmetic Pack: Vault Hunter head & skin, Echo Device skin, weapon skin;

Neon Cosmetic Pack: Vault Hunter head & skin, Echo Device skin, weapon trinket;

Gearbox Cosmetic Pack: weapon skin, weapon trinket;

Toy Box Weapon Pack: 2 Toy guns, Toy grenade mod, weapon trinket;

XP & Loot Drop Boost Mods;

Pre-order bonus: Gold weapon skins & weapon trinket.

Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition – $99.99 USD*   The Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition includes all the bonus digital content and pre-order bonus of the Deluxe Edition PLUS the Borderlands 3 Season Pass, which includes:  

Four (4) campaign DLC packs featuring new stories, missions and challenges;

Butt Stallion weapon skin, weapon trinket, and grenade mod.

(*LIMITED TIME PRICING – Starting September 17, 2019, the digital version of Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition will update to the full MSRP of $119.99 USD.)   Borderlands 3 Diamond Loot Chest Collector’s Edition – $249.99 USD   Celebrate the return of the original shooter-looter with the Diamond Loot Chest Collector’s Edition, a swag-splosion of collectibles digistructed straight from the worlds of Borderlands 3 – available at GameStop.   This edition includes the full game, season pass, and all bonus digital content and pre-order bonus of the Super Deluxe Edition, plus:  

Diamond Loot Chest Replica: Featuring a functional retractable lid, this chest is perfect for storing your real-world loot;

Borderlands 3 character figurines (x10): Make room on your shelf for the whole crew, including the four new Vault Hunters, the fanatical Calypso Twins, and some of your favorite characters from the Borderlands universe! (Approximately 3” tall.);

Sanctuary 3 snap model: Construct your very own Sanctuary 3 model ship and display it proudly on its included stand;

Vault Key keychains (x4): Because you never know when you might stumble across an unopened Vault;

Cloth galaxy map: Discover new worlds beyond Pandora with Typhon DeLeon’s map of the Borderlands;

Character art lithographs (x5): Unique character prints starring the new Vault Hunters and fanatical Calypso Twins;

Borderlands 3 Steelbook case: A gorgeous metal case for any collector’s shelf.

For those who maybe missed the previous entries into the Borderlands series, Gearbox has you covered there too. Today, Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition released. This is an updated version of the original game, with HD graphics, quality of life improvements, and all of the original game’s add-on content altogether. They also released Ultra HD Texture packs for the Borderlands Handsome Collection, which includes Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel on consoles and PC. For those looking to catch up on all things Borderlands, now’s the perfect time.

Borderlands 3 will release on Sept 13 for PlayStation , Xbox One and PC as an Epic Games Store timed exclusive.

[spyder-incorporated]

This is actually a really good idea!!

I umm I was supposed to make a petition but then with the fandoms numbers I decided not to but I can still make one!

If you need any help just let me know!

Calling All Mech-X4 Fans: Mech-X4 Week

I was thinking that the week of November 11 we could have a Mech-X4 fanfiction week, the week lines up perfectly because the first episodes of season 1 premiered on November 11th, 12th, and 13th in 2016.

Since I’m taking a break from college because or personal and family stuff, as well as an upcoming out of state move, I have time to plan it, I  their just need at least 1 or two other people to help organize and spread the word, and get their tumblr/fanfiction friends to watch Mech-X4 so we have a better chance of getting a season 3. Did someone make a petition for Season 3 yet?

Like with each day being a different prompt and stuff. and it it all goes well we can do it again next year and so on, or even plan a secret santa.

@peanutryan @spyder-incorporated @insect-a-shark @mechexecute260 @dankspyderx  @author-of-fanfiction @supergrossrich @lovelytonys @tyrus-trash 

[disneyschedules]

Here’s Disney XD’s schedule for next week, August 6-12. There will be another week of Kim Possible marathons with this being the second week. There’s also some schedule changes that occurred like more reruns of Star vs. the Forces of Evil and Gravity Falls. Lab Rats and Walk the Prank are gone from the schedule and the remaining new episodes of MECH-X4 move from 8:30 to 10 PM.

There’s new episodes of Beyblade Burst, Yo-Kai Watch, Pokemon, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and MECH-X4, and two specials, NFL LOL and NFL FLAG FTW.

[hyperhydreigon]

At first, this may look like a 24-Hour CN Schedule with different colors, but this is actually Disney XD’s Schedule next week! I can safely call this schedule bad, and I don’t call many things bad. I mean DXD has always relied on marathons and spammed reruns of shows because of their ratings struggles. I blame the struggles on their premiere times (usually early Saturday morning) but whatever. This channel is sadly a wasteland for now, which is sad because it used to be my go to place for cartoons. Anyways, it’s been a couple months, so what’s different? Well, less shows, a LOT more Kick Buttowski (weird because it was never that popular and ended years ago), and a buttton of premieres on Monday. Monday starts with premieres for all 3 anime, then goes to Marvel with 2 new Spiderman and 6 new episodes of Marvel Rising: Initation. It looks like 1 episode, but it’s actually 6 5-minute shorts... Then to finish it off, later that night at 10PM is a new Mech-X4, which has apperantly been treated really poorly lately despite being a decent show from what I’ve heard (never actually seen it). I believe this is actually the SERIES FINALE but I may be wrong. This weekend, Phineas and Ferb gets a marathon for nearly 2 and a half days! This is actually pretty interesting, if I don’t get all lazy I’ll start making Disney XD schedules more often. I may also eventually make Disney Channel Schedules, but that’s soooo many shows to graph...

[foxxhoecourt]

Let’s Go to the Beach!

Fandom: Mech-X4

Relationship: Ryan Walker/ Veracity Campbell 

Tags: Pre-Slash, Fluff and Angst, Post Canon, Scars

Summary: The evil may be gone, but the scars remain.

Text: Read on AO3

“Woohoo! Beach time!” Spyder yelled as he threw himself out of the car, ducking his head just in time to avoid hitting the doorframe. A concussion would be a bummer, especially now that Traeger was gone and the team was finally getting their well deserved vacation.

The beach house they pulled up to was big enough to fit the team (and Grace, who had agreed to chaperone) comfortably, walking distance from the beach, and relatively low tech. The point of going to beach was to unplug, anyway, as well as spend time as a team in a non-life threatening situation, so it was time to ditch the science fiction for a week and live low-key.

“Ohh sweet!” Ryan followed, slapping Spyder on the back as he ran into the house. The rest followed, woops of excitement erupting from the younger boys as they all pushed each other in hopes of getting the best bedroom. Veracity and Mark approached the house calmer, shouts and the telltale sounds of someone getting pushed to the ground audible from upstairs.

“Not worried about getting the suite?” Mark asked Veracity, wincing as another shriek filled the house.

“Nah,” she shrugged. “I get my own room no matter what. That’s enough for me.”

Veracity rounded the stairs to the second floor and almost tripped over Harris, who was currently in Spyder’s headlock. Stepping over the wrestling boys and ignoring the quiet “Not the time, not the time!” coming from Harris, Veracity entered one of the bedrooms and looked around. It was nothing special but it had a great view to the ocean, so she flopped down onto the bed. Sadly, her moment of peace was broken by a shout of triumph from Ryan as he claimed the suite.

“You know!” Veracity called through her open door, “Since the suite only has one bed you and Mark are gonna have to share.”

Twin groans erupted before Mark announced, “Guess you’re on the couch, bro.”

“What the hell! I got here first!” Ryan quipped back before the brothers devolved into more fighting. As much as Veracity loved her team, sharing a living space with them for a week was going to be a challenge.

“Everyone come down and help unpack the car!” Mrs. Walker called from downstairs. Veracity picked herself up and scurried downstairs with the boys.

“This isn’t over,” Ryan gritted out, angrily picking up a cooler from the car trunk. Most of what needed to be unpacked was food they had brought, so the team congregated in the kitchen to discuss what the plans were.

“It’s what, four o'clock now?” Harris said, “So why don’t we get dinner and then hit up the beach?”

Veracity agreed, leaning over the kitchen island, “Sounds good to me. There's probably some good restaurants on the boardwalk.”

“Mmmm, I’m thinking crab. It reminds me of this time I-” Spyder was cut of by Ryan’s hand over his mouth, saving the group from a story that would have probably put them off from crab forever.

---

With full stomachs, the teens returned to the house to gather everything they needed for a few hours at the beach.

“Towels?” Grace asked as they got their bags together.

“Check.”

“Water?”

“Check,” Veracity said as she loaded up the cooler with bottles of water and snacks.

“And I’ve got the boogie boards!” Mark lifted two boards which looked well loved and worn, flames decorating both.

“Yes!’ Spyder said, grabbing one from mark and putting it on the floor to surf, flailing arms and all.

Mark jokingly pushed Spyder of the board, “Get off dufus.”

“Hey! I’m the king of surf!” he retorted.

“Well you can show us when we’re actually at the beach, c’mon people let's get this show on the road!” Harris started out the door, towel around his shoulder.

“Where’s Ryan?” Grace asked, not seeing her son in the common room.

“He was getting his swimsuit on last time I saw him,” Mark said. “I’ll grab him and tell him to hurry up.”

The older brother went to the stairs. Before he could get halfway up, though, Ryan himself almost ran Mark over, flying down the stairs.

“Alright, let's get our beach on!” Ryan said in his typical cheerful fashion. Veracity sensed something was off but the other boys just whooped in agreement and ran out of the house. Ryan had a football in hand and tossed it to Mark, who had to drop the boogie boards to catch it.

“Hey, no football in the house!” Grace called, picking up her beach bag.

“C’mon bro, last one to the water is sleeping on the couch!” Mark yelled as he ran out the door behind Harris and Spyder.

“Not cool, Mark!” Ryan followed.

Grace sighed and picked up the boogie boards, struggling to find a grip for a second, before Veracity grabbed one and put it under her arm.

“Thank you, Veracity,” Grace said with a smile.

“It’s no problem, Mrs. Walker. We girls gotta stick together, don’t we?” Veracity answered, doing a slow arm punch like she would do to any of the guys.

Grace didn’t know to respond exactly, nor did she have a free hand, so with an awkward chuckle, she responded, “Let’s just make sure none of them drown out there.”

Veracity nodded, “Sounds good!”

She grabbed the cooler, and walked with Grace out the door, who shut it firmly. Eventually the two met up with the boys, who had all dropped their shirts and supplies in a pile and jumped into the ocean. All except Ryan, who was sitting on towel, smiling out at his friends. While Grace set up an umbrella a little bit away from the boys’ pile and started to read a book, Veracity sad down beside Ryan.

“I guess you’re sleeping on the couch?” she asked, genuinely curious why he wasn’t out with the others.

Ryan seemed to have not heard her but, after a moment, noticed her presents with a double take, “Oh! Hey V, did you say something?”

“I asked why you weren’t swimming with everyone else.”

He chuckled half-heartedly, looking down at his crossed legs, “I mean, I could ask you the same thing.”

“Well, I,” Veracity answered, looking at Ryan even if he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Wanted to check in on you. You seemed a little quiet during the drive and you took a while getting ready so-”

“I’m ok, V. Just don’t feel like swimming today,” he finally looked up.

Veracity squinted, “Hmmm-- You’re lying. But it’s ok, you can keep me company.” She pulled out a book and layed back.

“Wuthering Heights? Isn’t that an old romance book?”

She looked up, unimpressed, from her position lying down, “What? Should I be reading a textbook on particle physics?”

Ryan laughed, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“If you must know, it’s part of my required reading for next year,” her gaze returned to the book, but her attention remained on her friend.

His face twisted up, “You actually do the required reading?”

“Uh huh. Though I’m mostly reading this book to hate the characters,” Veracity shrugged.

“They’re that bad?” Ryan asked, twisting to lie on his side, facing her.

She nodded, “Totally. They’re all terrible people, but I guess that’s what makes it a good romance- they deserve each other.”

“Do you read a lot of romance books?” his eyebrows furrowed a little.

“Nah,” she challenged. “I’m too busy reading about particle physics.”

The two chatted for a little bit longer, the sounds of the waves and their friends in the distance. Gentle reminders that they were safe, that they had made it through everything the past year had thrown at them. Silence eventually fell over the pair and Veracity finally started reading her book. But the quiet was short lasting before a dripping wet Spyder interrupted, shaking his head like a dog and getting both the teens and V’s book wet.

“What the hell, Spyder?” Veracity said harshly, using her towel to dry the novel.

The boy grimaced, “Oof, sorry. I just wanted to know if you had a hair tie I could borrow? My hair keeps getting in my eyes.”

Still a little startled, Veracity dug into her bag and pulled out a black hair tie, holding it out to him.

“Cool! Thanks V!” Spyder yelled over his shoulder as he ran and tied up his hair at the same time.

Ryan watched the ordeal with amusement before noticing V’s still damp book.

“Oh shoot is your book gonna be ok?” he winced.

She sighed, assessing the damage, “Yeah this isn’t a library book, I own it, so that’s not an issue. It’s just gonna be all wavy.” She clicked her tongue and inspected the novel before putting it down. “It’s fine, I was done reading for the time being anyway.”

“You barely got to read at all,” Ryan pointed out.

Veracity jumped up, “That’s just how it is going to the beach with four boys! C’mon, the water’s warm.”

The confidence Ryan seemed to have been regaining over the course of their conversation instantly left him. He bit his lip.

“V? I’m gonna show you something and if it’s too gross just tell me-”

“Oh my god Ryan I don’t want to see your-” Veracity quickly interjected.

“It's not my-!” Ryan cut her off, both of them blushing profusely. 

“It’s this.” Ryan lifted his tee shirt, reveling an X scared into the entirety of his chest.

Veracity crouched down to his level, examining the scar with mouth slightly agape. “Is that? From the-”

“X- weapon? Yeah. Harris thought it would heal right up like most of the times I get hurt but I’ve never gotten burned before- and it’s been like this ever since it started to heal,” Ryan talked fast, like he needed to explain his situation.

“And you think it’s gross?” Veracity asked, confused as to why Ryan was letting this of all things affect him. He never seem to be one of those vain guys who worried about his appearance.

“Isn’t it?” Ryan looked at her, scared.

She hummed for a second before reaching out and running her fingers across one section of it, “No. It’s not gross. And I think I know your problem with it.”

Ryan shuddered a little at her feather light touch but rolled his eyes to mask his feelings, “Enlighten me?”

“Well, we know that you hate when us, or your mom, see you hurt. You think it makes you look weak. Right?” Veracity looked knowingly at the boy.

“Fine. But-”

“And a scar is a permanent reminder of you getting hurt.”

“I don’t see how this is supposed to make me feel better.”

“I didn’t know I was supposed to make you feel better? I was just answering your question. With a /hint/ of psychoanalyzing.”

Ryan rolled his eyes again as Veracity continued, “Well anyway, what I was gonna say is that getting hurt, needing help, doesn’t make you weak, Ryan, it makes you strong. This scar,” she gestured to Ryan’s once again covered chest. “Proves that. You take the hits like a champ, and you know what I think?”

“Aren’t you already telling me?” Ryan cocked his head.

It was her turn to roll her eyes, “I think that a scar doesn’t show that you got hurt, it shows that you healed.”

Ryan licked his lips and looked away, unable to deal with the intensity of her gaze. “Uh, thanks, V. That, uh, did make me feel better, actually.”

Veracity stood up and smiled, holding her hand out, “Cool. Ready to swim now?”

Ryan took her outstretched hand and used it to get up, “Yeah. I think so.”

He took of his shirt and she took off her cover-up and glasses.“Race ya,” Ryan challenged.

“You’re on, labrat.” 

[disneychannelrps]

Can you do gif pack of Nathaniel Potvin please from the shows Mech-X4 and Five points and Katie and Alexa? Thanks for your time

Yep, I can do that! Just give me a week or two.

[goldenavenger02]

Just a heads up

My stuff from Mech-X4 week is now under Mech-X4 one shots

[spyder-incorporated]

SO

Turns out trying to move back to other Disney shows after watching Mech x4 is like trying to win tug of war against a mountain... It’s IMPOSSIBLE

Why, You might ask?

Well as I said above I am trying to “move back” instead of “move on” because let’s face it, no Disney show will top Mech x4 ever. But I also think it’s because the other Disney shows aren’t trying. LET ME EXPLAIN

So Mech x4 is obviously different from other Disney shows, mainly because it caters to an older audience and carries some general darker themes. (ex. Grey’s and Harris’s death) However in addition to that, it also does something most Disney shows don’t necessarily do. “Carry the original plot line.” But what does that mean? Let’s look back at some other Disney shows, for example Liv and Maddie, Jessie, Bunk’d, Austin and Ally, and Bizaardvark. (there are more but let’s stick with these) It may not seem like it, but all of these shows have one thing in common even though they are all drastically different. “They don’t stay on the main path plot line.” If you look back at these shows, there is no main plot line that they follow. Every episode is different, with different problems that they all end up solving by the end of the episode. Which is good and all.. I AM NOT SAYING THIS IS A BAD THING! But without a main theme to follow, where is the interesting content going to come from? A failed example of this would be Lab Rats: Elite Force. Lab Rats: Elite Force was hyped to the max but ended up getting cancelled after one season on a cliffhanger. Why? Because only 4-5 episodes out of 17 actually had to do with the main plot/problem. The rest were just filler episodes. Which is what the first example list was made up of. All of the shows had episodes that were basically filler episodes until the mid season finale or the season finale where there would be a 2 or 3 parter with suspense. That’s alright, but what happens when that starts to get boring? NOTHING APPARENTLY! ALL THOSE SHOWS GOT EXTRA SEASONS OF NOTHING! JUST BORING EPISODES THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH A GOOD PLOT LINE OR HAD ACTION OR SUSPENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*cough* calm down... while I understand that Disney mainly makes content for a younger audience, I’m going to remain with the notion that if they tried to make more shows like Mech x4 that catered balance between heavier themes and humor then I think Disney would get an even bigger following.

Anyway! Unlike those shows, Mech x4 stayed on the plot line of success and kept their episodes relating to it while still being able to keep the humor that a Disney show needs as well as added a few filler episodes as well, but not a lot. This is why I think the show is so good. Besides the amazing cast, jaw dropping CGI, fantastic plot line, real suspense and drama while also keeping it PG13 as well as humorous and funny.

Mech x4 is really the best Disney show I’ve ever seen and it got completely slept on.

It’s shameful.

So what’s the lesson of this text post? I’m not sure either! This was more of an angry rant// why’d those shows get so many seasons when they’re literal trash!?// why are @jadyn-themechhead and I the only ones that have been active in this fandom for the past 2 weeks?! What happened to never leaving the fandom guys?! Come on!// a salty post cuz I really hate how much potential is being slept on with this show...

[whatsnewcartoons]

This is Disney XD US’s schedule this week (MON 10/30 TO SUN 11/5). Lots of Phineas and Ferb here and Gravity Falls is common as well. Pickle and Peanut has new episodes every weekday with ratings taken at 7.00AM, but repeats at 11.00AM, 5.00PM and 8.30PM. Star Wars Rebels has new episodes on Monday at 9.00PM, becoming Disney XD’s only animated show airing in primetime this week, and repeats throughout the week.

Ducktales, Spiderman, Beyblade and Pokemon take breaks this week and MECH X4 returns for 5 new episodes on Saturday at 11.00AM. Toy Story 2 is the only movie on this week on Saturday at 7.00PM and Sunday at 11.30AM.

Wander over Yonder returns for reruns for Halloween by the way! At 2.00AM. Watch it!

[interstellarroadkill]

Mech X4 IS BAAAAACK!

holy shit that was two days ago and i didn’t even know!on that note, i’m sorry i made an intro post on my mech x4 blog and then completely ignored it up until now! i started college a couple of weeks after i made that post and since then it’s been wild™ for me, getting settled in and trying to keep up on work. but! i promise i’ll try to get some stuff up on there in the next few weeks, especially since there’s new episodes now!!

[peanutryan]

OH NO I MISSED YESTERDAY FOR MECH X4 WEEK AND I HAD SOMETHING READY. it’ll just have to be a day late, hope no one minds...