#nerissa witch

[nerissa-crossnic]

by Ayshiun

[violetwitchhh]

The Mage, C.H.Y.K.N. , Oracle and Congregation of Kandrakar

My work in the local w.i.t.c.h. fanzine! I'm really proud of it!

[mewbyss]

Are you C.H.Y.K.N? /╲/\╭[☉﹏☉]╮/\╱\

[met-la]

[krchar]

ok W.I.T.C.H. cartoon ppl let us talk about this thing, this mystery which would only disturb our peace of mind (ok my peace of mind), that age-old question of HOW THE HECK WAS IT WITH THE CAT

to put this into more eloquent wording: when (the heck) exactly in W is for Witch did Phobos take on the appearance of Napoleon and who knew? i really would like to know, how you guys saw it - and now im doing some absurdly excessive research for this tiny little detail lol - but like, it has implications

so, i generally thought he changed into the cat at some moment after he revealed to Will that he wouldnt mind Nerissa catching Napoleon, for he would gain more power then - and i kind of still think that - but i bumped into people just working with different schemes casually, and i thought it was truth that there were some things strange

i even met ppl thinking he was Napoleon already at the bookshop, but i don't think it is the case tbh - some of it was in discussions about this strangely nice smile that fandom goes nuts about lol

but phobos does some magic here - it's true napoleon could just pretend to be the one doing magic, while phobos, in the likeness of napoleon, would do it - but then the cat runs away and phobos-looking person still does magic, so it cannot be napoleon.. also would Phobos really go to flirt with that cat lol

also, generally, phobos says such stuff that it would make napoleon an insanely good impersonator :D (and imagine P. taking the effort to to talk like Napoleon lol) like, why not, maybe, but i have a meta argument against this, and that is that in V is for Victory the switch of appearances was clear to the viewer from a certain point, they did not switch tempers or even try to impersonate the other - so why would they do so here? i kind of think that, while at a point P. looked like N., N. might never have taken the looks of P. - although, im not certain

well, situation: in that exchange where Phobos says he doesnt give a shit about Napoleon being taken, Will seems to believe that she actually is speaking to Phobos - they could have been just playing it in front of Nerissa, who is present - but then Will also tells the girls that Phobos told this to her as a new information, and if it was a display, the girls would know it and they seem to be completely alone, so she wouldn't have to pretend at the moment - so here it seems to be truth

but the strange things are that 1) thereafter, phobos just doesnt act like it - he actually, just a moment later, is disguised as Napoleon and overpowers Nerissa without the Heart of Earth 2) when this happens, the others are waiting aside, holding the true Napoleon, seeming as if they are not surprised, as if it actually was the plan 3) if in the end he actually took the seal for its two hearts, why wouldnt he do it at the exact point of the exchange already? Nerissa is just lying there in front of him, fighting Mr. Huggles

so

was it all a plan actually? were they fighting nerissa just to fool her? because that is a strategy that they use a lot - also to outsmart Phobos later - and was the plan followed all along, and who knew about it?

it is striking that the dramatic exchange between will and phobos takes place in front of nerissa.. AND i cant help but notice that when cedric catches Will and she fights him off, she has this strange look of knowing exactly what is going on, it is not a look of yes power i just beat cedric yeah, it is different - and omg look at her!

and it is the exact moment, when we suddenly see napoleon running away and Nerissa follows him - and i think that might be the moment, when phobos transforms - and another meta argument, Will's gaze has no other function there, it is just added into the sequence, just after will is shown to have freed herself from C's tail - there is no other emotion than actually being calm and in control and there is a cut from her fighting situation right to this, it is not flowing into it - thats strange, it seems like a shot of significance intentionally added by the creators - i would say she and C might have drawn Nerissa's attention, while Phobos changed, and Will can see this and is content, cause stuff goes well

but i still dont understand the previously mentioned two things 1) why then Will tells the girls phobos's intention as something true.. maybe Will's gaze might also be something like *im not surprised at all you piece of shit (ie Phobos)*, as she would actually think he'd betrayed them..? 2) why didnt P. take the seal? it's true that if it was Napoleon, drawing from his secret awesome acting skills, he literally would not be able to take the seal - other option is that it was strategy, cause here Nerissa would fight Phobos, while thinking he was the cat caught her entirely off guard

if it was true, that it was not just a display all along, it could be that they did not know about this plan and it was only Phobos using his previously moderately succesful strategy without telling anyone as usually - but then they seemed to be aware of it in the end, waiting for him to strike..

another idea that comes to mind is that, while it was a plan, he just planned to betray them and let Nerissa catch Napoleon and then he might have changed his mind after the exchange with Will (being just P. in his own looks).. it could be a rational choice, it's better to have two hearts than none, so he would just let the Heart of Earth go.. i'm sure some phowill fanfiction could draw mountains of gold from this tho lol - as for this, there also is the option that only Will actually knew and only told the others, when everything was clear, but i kind of dont think that she would act like this, its like, ooc - i mean, especially in the comics, she has this tendency to take all responsibility on herself and then sometimes forgets to consult, but collaboration with the villain and not trusting the girls with it might be a more sensitive topic

so to me the options are:

the cat change was a plan, but P. aimed to betray them, it was him talking to Will sincerely, and then at this moment he would decide to betray them just a little later for one reason or another

the cat change was still a plan, the dialogue was a display, the girls just knew and someone actually was close enough to hear them.. there would have to be a reason for him not taking the seal there - a strategy to mislead Nerissa into not fighting P. off or some magical rule or what not - or actually this being Napoleon talking to Will, it's still possible, i guess

it is possible that it is just an inconsistency that sometimes occurs in WITCH generally

i'm missing something

bonus option: the strangely confident will hanging from cedric's tail is actually phobos and phobos is will, cause they both can do electricity looking magic and they had a lot of fun impersonating each other's drama showwo/manship

bonus option 02: only Matt knew - the fun is that this is not entirely impossible, lol, it is true that in the final "we're far ahead of you gurl" the grimaces of the guardians might actually be a little surprised (the details are not so clear) and Matt/Shagon has a mask, but it is him holding Napoleon AND they cooperated without telling the girls in the previous episode together with Caleb and Blunk - but like, going meta again, i do not think it is true, bc it would be so unexpected that a medium of this kind would definitely explain later

i rly dont know.. tell me your ideas about this pls! i need to know!!

end of my essay

p.s. i kinda think i want to write an experimental fic with parallel drabbles for all these options, especially the last two lol

p.p.s. the phobos development here is either way quite interesting, cause in V is for Victory he is really always using others as living shields, changing appearance for his safety etc and now he just decides to take the likeness of the most endangered bait of the day? Is he so desperate for the seal? Desperate about the girls' failures in his eyes? Or did he actually decide to be only a tyrant and not so much a cowardly moron? Another point to think about..

[goldberry-edition]

Nerissa straying from the right path

[bookfangeek]

NESSA > TIDE

POWERS: Water

WEAPON: Bladed Ring

Nessa is a fun-loving, kind-hearted person who is always trying to make people laugh.

But surely all that emotional labor will get to her at some point.

[superdorkcat]

Upcoming Magical Girl Projects

Magical girl fans are finally eating good after years of starvation. So good, in fact, that I decided to make a list of magical girl projects in development.

The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies - The most imminent of these projects, since it's premiering only in a few days. It's the story of the forbidden romance between the magical girl Byakuya Mimori and Mira, a high-ranking official of an army trying to take over the world.

Mermaid Magic - In a new western magical girl show from the same studio as Winx Club, Princess Merlinda, with her friends Sasha and Nerissa in tow, ventures to the human world in order to find a way to save her homeland of Mertropia from the ghost pirate Barbarossa and his monster horde. Dropping on Netflix next month.

Acro Trip - One of several new magical girl series coming out in the Fall 2024 anime season, Acro Trip follows Chizuko Date as her efforts to increase appreciation for her idol, local magical girl Berry Blossom, takes her down a "dark path filled with strange folks."

Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. - Kana Sakuragi is having a hard time finding work, botching over 15 different job interviews. However, her luck changes when a series of events lands her a job at the magical girl company Magilumiere.

The Stories of Girls Who Couldn't Be Magicians - The third of the magical girl anime coming out in October, MahoNare for short, follows the adventures of the unlikely pair of average Kurumi Mirai and noble Yuzu Edel as they try to become magicians anyway after failing the entrance exam for their school's magic division.

Mahou Tsukai Precure: Mirai Days - A new installment in the Precure franchise, Mirai Days will serve as a sequel to Mahou Tsukai, the thirteenth season. Set a few months after the season's epilogue, Mirai Days has the Cures reunite in order to face a threat against time itself. Premiering January 11, 2025.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie - Walpurgisnacht Rising - The fourth PMMM movie, which will pick up where Rebellion's massive cliffhanger left off. While originally slated for late 2024, it has since been delayed to winter 2025.

Cute High Earth Defense Club Eternal Love! - The magical boy series is getting a new movie in winter 2025 as part of the celebrations for its 10th anniversary. While the movie will "consist entirely of new scenes that will be newly drawn," exact plot details are unknown.

You and Idol Precure - The 22nd season of the Precure franchise, You and Idol will replace the currently airing Wonderful Precure sometime in winter 2025. Beyond its theme of idols, no plot details have been revealed.

Maebashi Witches - A TV original production by Sunrise, Maebashi Witches is a coming of age story focused on a quintet of high schoolers who are approached by a strange and mysterious frog named Keroppe, who recruits them to become the titular group. Now working in a magical flower shop, the girls use the "Witchverse" pocket dimension to grant people's wishes with the power of song and dance. Has the same writer as Bocchi the Rock (Erika Yoshida).

Princsession Orchestra - A TV original coming in 2025, Prinsession Orchestra is based on a concept by Akifumi Kaneko, one of Symphogear's co-creators. The land of Alicepia's peace is destroyed when monsters called Jammerwocks attack, prompting a trio of young girls to step up the plate to protect the realm.

Winx Club - The western magical girl classic is getting a CGI reboot. While comments by Iginio Straffi imply that certain characters who were introduced later in the original series (such as Roxy and Nabu) will appear earlier, no specific plot details have been revealed so far. The series is coming to Netflix late 2025.

New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt - Panty & Stocking is getting a second season after over a decade that's coming out sometime next year with no specific plot details revealed yet.

Project Symphogear Next - A new Symphogear movie was announced late last year. However, no further details have been revealed.

Hua Xianzi: Zhi Mofa Xiang Dui Lun - A co-production between Tencent Video and Toei Animation's Shanghai branch, this anime is being billed as a "remake" of Lunlun the Flower Fairy. That being said, the official synopsis makes it sound more like a reboot/distant sequel.

Studio Pierrot's new anime - Studio Pierrot, which has made a variety of magical girl anime from TV originals like Creamy Mami to adaptations such as Tokyo Mew Mew, has announced that they're creating a new TV original magical girl anime. No specific details have been disclosed, but the caption for the teaser image ("I want you to sing once more...") implies that it'll be a magical idol anime.

Lolirock season three - After Lolirock's second season ended with a cliffhanger all the way back in 2017, it seemed like the story would never get a proper conclusion. However, the series's creator and director, Jean-Louis Vandestoc, announced on his Instagram in 2023 that creative meetings for a third season have begun.

Magic Knight Rayearth revival - TMS Entertainment is making a new Magic Knight Rayearth anime in honor of the franchise's 30th anniversary. Unfortunately, it's currently unknown what the format will be.

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card season two - The sequel to the magical girl classic is getting a second season that will adapt the rest of the manga.

Magical Girl holoWitches - A multimedia project starring six VTubers as fictionalized versions of themselves who work as both streamers and magical girls who save people when they get trapped in the magical Holocas World. There was a four minute extended trailer in May 2024, but the anime's proper premiere date is unknown.

New Ojamajo Doremi thing - As part of the celebrations for the franchise's 25th anniversary, Toei Animation released two new music videos for the series' 1st OP and 4th ED with the promise that a new project will be made if the videos reach a combined 5 million views. This goal has since been met. Due to the girls being adults in the videos, the new project will presumably be an adaptation of the Ojamajo Doremi 16-20's sequel series of light novels.

[bewitchingbaker]

"Chris, can you give me a baby?" ( from nerissa )

A cough comes from the baker, the sudden question making his coffee go down the wrong way. His hands tapped his chest helping the coffee settle. Where did that come from?

Sure they had been intimate a few times but he didn't think she was ready for a baby. Then again, in his research, he found that mating with mermaids meant you were theirs for life. Married in a sense and that meant soon it would be time for kids.

"Like now? You want like a child at this moment?" He asked. "Can witches and mermaids have kids together? I hope we can..."

[ @siiinfully ]

[nerissa-crossnic]

Nerissa by NICK

[fantasygerard2000]

Have Fandoms Become Ungrateful?

It's not exactly a surprise that not every fandom is healthy, especially the ones towards popular media. However, even small fandoms can just be if not more unhealthy, mainly because the media they're a fan of is just a version that exist in their heads.

There's this issue within fandoms where they want more of the things they want over appreciating the things that were already made. Unless you're in the Miraculous fandom. However, instead of dropping media they don't like and watch something else different that suits their tastes, they want to change the already existing one to cater to said tastes.

And what better fandom to use as an example than the Wish fandom, or rather the fans of a version of Wish that doesn't exist, where they didn't like the movie for scrapping unused and cut concepts like a villain couple and Star having a human form to which they misunderstood as being Asha's love interest. These fans make numerous fan material based on these unused drafts and that's what most of the Wish fandom is while the fans of the film that appreciated it as it is are rare.

Honestly, I am not against making fan content based on unused ideas. I do encourage making content based on early ideas. I just don't like encouraging this behavior of treating a content that has a thing you're like is better than the one that doesn't.

I do in fact agree the an unused draft of Ruby Gillman is kept where Chelsea is indeed Nerissa's daughter and not a fake identity is better than in the completed film. Some fans say so because they like Ruby and Chelsea's friendship or because they shipped them, but for me and several people is because of the film's plot point about prejudices between the Krakens and the Mermaids. So having the "good mermaid" actually being evil all this time sets of a bad example for a plot point about prejudices.

Another example for unused concepts is Emperor's New Groove. During development, it was originally intended to be an adaptation of the Prince and the Pauper called Kingdom of the Sun with love interests for the two main leads and songs. However, production issues cause the film to change into the one we all got and love. And as much as I wanted KotS to the one that was completed and released , I am fine with ENG being the one released because I don't really need to see KotS. In fact the reason why I liked the KotS draft because it was more in line with classical Disney. And that's sort of why I have a soft spot for Wish, because of the classical tropes.

I'm not bothered with the vocal minority of people who don't like the film, it is Disney in 2023 after but the ones that do over the dumbest reasons like the aforementioned unused concepts do. Like, you can just watch a completely different film that has a romance with a human and a star or one that has a villain couple.

Controversial examples are the Steven Universe and The Owl House fandom. And I wrote controversial because I'm aware that the fandoms of these shows disagree and would witch hunt me but here me out first.

Despite already ending and getting a movie AND a sequel miniseries, SU fans still wanted more of this show. Now, I don't like Steven Universe, as in I am neutral towards it, but I do genuinely hate the writing and the implications about its themes. So seeing how fans wanted more of it is like "what else is there for you to WANT more"?

Same thing can be said with TOH fandom, which also ended but fans want more. Which is partially justified since the series was planned to have three seasons but was cut into two with the last three specials being made to serve as a finale. However, as much as I understand that this show deserved its story told through three seasons, I genuinely think that it should have cut several things out.

Now, I like The Owl House, but I would be lying if I say it doesn't have any issues. Said issues being that it has the need to spread its lore like puzzle pieces around for fans to put together when all that lore is just a backstory for the villain and it serves very little purpose to the story currently, that is Luz's journey to stop Belos.

TOH and similar shows like Star Vs and Amphibia all share this problem where they want to do what Gravity Falls did, leaving in clues and lore tidbits for the fans to piece together but all that secret lore stuff feels like an imitation just to get fans invested when they should be invested are the characters, not some information about the villains' backstory.

This extends to shows after the Owl House where fans of it skipped Hailey's On It because "it wasn't becoming the next Owl House". That's it. That's the reason why they didn't wanna watch this show, and that's what this whole thing is. They just want Owl House again.

In Ghost and Molly McGee, fans wanted Andrea to be the next Amity Blight and I find that baffling because we already have Amity Blight, why do you want her to be like her?

Same thing with Zuko from Avatar and how every show after it, there will always be that one character who is like Zuko, but without the charm that made us all love Zuko in the first place. His "clones" are just there for the trope of "recurring villain turning to the good guy's side" and the satisfaction it gives the audience who are into that over the genuine redemption they deservedly earn.

This is the real issue with fandoms. Their media diet are so rigid that they want the same show, just with a different skin. They say they want a sequel series or a prequel series, but they actually don't like the ideas of prequel and sequels in general but still want to, because it's more of the media they like.

Fans want more of Steven Universe and Owl House because they think they were unfairly canceled despite they were finished over the actual shows that were indeed canceled.

Being mad at a movie because it didn't have a trope you like isn't the fault the creators, that's just you being upset about your specific tastes not being fulfilled. You want an original 2D animated film, yet you are too lazy to find one to watch.

Instead of watching and praising existing 2D animated films, you complain more about Hollywood's over reliance on sequels and reboots.

If Potterheads need to read a different book, then fans of any show need to watch a different show.

[disneytva]

W.I.T.C.H. Sets Reboot With New Graphic Novel By Giunti, Disney Books and Disney Comics

Before Luz Noceda and The Boiling Isles with their witches world..... there where some W.I.T.C.H.

Disney Italy has announced a W.I.T.C.H. reboot as a graphic novel for Italy by GIUNTI,Disney Comics and Disney Publishing, the new graphic novel slated for October 4th, 2023 will re-introduce the beloved franchise to a new generation of kids.

📚 W.I.T.C.H IL NOVO INIZIO

October 4th, 2023

GIUNTI

Disney Comics

Disney Publishing Worldwide

W.I.TC.H. The heart of friendship is a new manga-style graphic novel, presented as the reboot of the famous original comic series In this modern adaptation, set in the present day, the group of friends Will, Irma, Taranee, Comelia and Hay Lin fight a mysterious threat from another world. The girls will discover that only together can they save the day, because magic is most powerful when shared. 20 years later, here is the new version of the Witches, which remakes a story based on the original comic series, but in the form of the graphic novel. This is a completely new story, a modern adaptation for today's female readers. The protagonists reflect the expectations of young contemporary readers: they are today's girls who live their daily lives in a modern world in step with our times. Daily life, fashion, technology and society are inspired by reality allowing for greater empathy between readers and protagonists. A fantastic "reboot" that will allow young readers to discover and fall in love with this new magical version and will bring the historic fans back to THE HEART OF FRIENDSHIP memory of their magic.

The original comics spawned a franchise with a variety of printed media, including both reprinted and original content, as well as audiovisual media. The first two arcs (The Twelve Portals and Nerissa's Revenge) were loosely adapted into an animated series by Jetix Animation Europe (Now named Disney Europe Animation) for Jetix and Disney Channel.

[otakusapien]

I just got mouth surgery so I did what anyone would do- watch the entirety of Mermaid Magic on Netflix while half zonked on hydrocodone. Review incoming (no major spoilers)

Synopsis: Three mermaids set out to save their kingdom and get stranded on the surface. They're taken in by two teens who vow to help the mermaids save their kingdom and defeat an evil ghost pirate. Also there's a merpuppy. He is the most useful character in the show.

The first episode starts out solid. We get introduced to the important players and get a sense for them right away. L to R, there's Nerissa (serious but loving bodyguard), Merlinda (free-spirited warrior princess), and Sasha (influencer).

Does every kid's show now have to have an influencer character? It is a nice change of pace we don't have the cliche of magical creatures freaking out over human technology. I also like that they have what I think is an artificial sky with their civilization mostly on land, making mermaids in this world amphibians.

They're trying to stop the McGuffin pearls from being stolen by the ghost pirate Barbarossa and the mysterious sea witch

Barbarossa is such a captain Barbosa rip off they barely try to hide it. There's even a scene where he transitions from flesh face to skeleton face to intimidate someone. They're both serviceable if unoriginal villains. At least he has a flaming sword.

We get a lot of cool fight scenes with these guys because the mermaids ACTUALLY KNOW HOW TO FIGHT. Seriously, some of this fight choreography is SO GOOD.

Merlinda has been warrior training in secret with Nerissa for years. Her dad is overprotective since her mom "disappeared," so right off the bat we get fun chase scenes and an excuse to show off their powers.

Did I mention the mermaids have powers? Yeah, every mermaid gets their own ocean-based super power. Nerissa (above) has electricity, Merlinda is hydrokinetic, and Sasha can camouflage herself and others to be nearly invisible. She also has bubbles, but it's not used nearly as much and is kinda meh? I guess she needed a combat power so they gave the bubbly girl bubbles?

I don't mean to hate on Sasha, she's just a type I've seen too many times before. But she is one of the few supporting characters who kind of gets development, and she's proactive enough she's not boring. She also brings the merpuppy.

(No joke, the merpuppy saves their butts or moves the plot forward multiple times. They'd be lost without him. His name is Beau Junior.)

They didn't even need to give her a combat power because they're all proficient with tridents. Each mermaid has a magic ring they can use to summon a trident and active their magical girl sequence

I absolutely love their warrior outfits. They're unique to each person in style, not just color, the colors they do have go well together, even their fin shapes are based on different fish. It's nice when you know it's not just copy and pasted with new paint. My favorite thing is that the transformations make their hairstyles more battle ready. And when they're on land, they all get PANTS! I've never seen a transformation sequence be so practical, I love it T-T

This show is also a marketing dream, because you get five doll modes right off the bat. Let's use Nerissa again because I love her and her outfits are the best

They have mer-casual, mer-warrior, human, and both mer-outfits have land and sea modes. The marketability almost makes up for how ungoogleable the title and characters are.

Enough about marketing, back to the show.

The human leads are twins Tyler and Celia, descendants of John Silver who basically run their father's marine rescue

Tyler is a true himbo. He's goofy and not the brightest, but without being irresponsible or negligent, which is usually how these kind of male characters are written. Tyler is blond and male, so of course he's a love interest.

Celia is a budding eco-warrior, but social awkwardness holds her back until Sasha steps in to help her. I'd argue Celia has more chemistry with Sasha than Tyler has with Merlinda.

It's nice the humans stay involved with the mermaid quests the whole time. Even when they're underwater, they use technology to keep up and stay relevant.

I wasn't gonna talk about individual episodes, but guys, I GOTTA talk about the bank episode.

~~~~BANK EPISODE DIVERSION~~~~

So episode 6 starts out with the marine rescue about to be bulldozed with several people inside because the bank foreclosed on their house. They play it off as the dad missing dozens of phone calls and emails, but they show the daughter going through the bills. Surely this is something they would have sent in writing? They were not given in-person or written notice, these guys just showed up to bulldoze the house without checking if it was occupied because the bank owns it now. Why would the bank immediately demolish it instead of auctioning a beachfront property? Who knows!

Instead of doing the normal human thing and calling their boss about how all they can do is get paid to sit on their butts while bureaucracy happens, the demolition guys continue to swing a wrecking ball at the house. Even after they see the house is filled with several minors, they shrug and go, "That's a you problem" and start forward to RUN THEM OVER. Yes, even the children. This is a thing normal humans would do.

The mermaid sabotage the wrecking equipment to buy them time to do a fundraiser. They advertise only to kids at their high school with very lame social media posts, and it's never stated HOW they're doing the fundraising? They're just. Throwing a party at their house with a donation jar on a table. Okay.

It's not even a good party. They're acting like things are going great, but the animation budget won't let it be more than sparse groups of kids refusing to dance to terrible music. They couldn't even play the theme song? Or the transformation music, that music is great if you ignore the forced rap verse! When the party inevitable gets attacked by monsters, they act like it's such a big loss, but the donation jar looks like it has $20 tops. Because that's what happens when you only invite high schoolers with no jobs.

(Come to think of it, they have a token rich friend. Did Fred not chip in? Does his dad not give him money? His mean girl sister was there. She has a crush on Tyler, why wouldn't she get Daddy to drop 10k on them to buy his love? Maybe then Tracy would have a reason to exist)

Anyway, they find random treasure and save the house, the end.

But this episode made me wonder how tf these kids can afford multiple underwater jet skis and diving equipment when they're apparently so broke. The dad is bad with money, so it kind of makes sense he would splurge on things they can't afford and slack on bills, but this never came up before. It's like the writers created the episode to answer a question no one had.

~~~~End Bank Episode Diversion~~~~

I lied.

The Bank Episode is a good example of a major flaw with the show: None of the supporting cast gets development.

We get moments that seem like it would be that way, like 16 year old Celia sorting through the bills while their father is flippant to the point of losing their house. Normally this would be a chance for Celia or Tyler to talk about how they've basically had to raise themselves, or show anger towards their dad. Give them some depth and maybe a bonding moment with another character, even easily wrap up the family conflict?

Instead we get slapstick and 2 minutes of what adults think tween tiktoks look like.

Merlinda is the main character, and she does get a lot of attention and development. She is such a well written lead for this kind of show. On top the the McGuffin plot, Merlinda has a subplot about finding out what happened to her mom that's much more tied into her emotional arc. We really see her grow in a way that's satisfying for what few episodes we got.

Too bad no one else got subplots!

They don't get subplots, they get love interests.

I'd honestly have been super cool with this! It's made to sell dolls, I can get behind them pairing people off like mashing Barbies together! But we don't even get that. We get hints that people like each other, but then they barely even talk?

Fred likes Celia (who's Fred? Don't worry about it. The show forgets he's their friend half the time), Celia might like Fred, but has an implied crush on a jock. Tracy is mean and likes Tyler, that's all she gets. Another jock has a crush on Nerissa, and I can get behind them because he fell for her when she judo flipped him

Honestly, same.

He's nice to her, she's indifferent, it otherwise goes nowhere. None of these relationships contribute anything. Most of them are barely there enough to be worth writing in. The girls go to high school, but then they never utilize the setting past one episode. They may as well have made it summer vacation. The reason it exists is purely an excuse to meet love interests.

(Notice Sasha is the only one without a love interest set up and she's the one that gets development. It's like they replaced character writing for two sentences of bad flirting)

Let's do something the show never does and make time for Fred. Fred is supposedly one of their best friends, but they only go to him when they need something for the plot. He and his mean girl sister Tracy don't get to be relevant until the last episode. Their DAD is the one with a subplot. We don't even get to see Fred's relationship with his dad before the resolution, that's how little care they gave Fred. I can tell you exactly 3 things about him: He's a tech genius, he has a crush on Celia, and he has a rich dad. These are all things we learn within seconds of meeting him, and we learn virtually nothing after that (Tracy's existence doesn't count as she's barely a character).

Celia gets some development, but it's subtle. It's not bad, it just feels like it's not much considering how little everyone else got. You'd think there'd be space for it.

The only other teen characters who arguably had story arcs were Merlinda's love interests. Tyler's was mostly as a love interest. Supporting Merlinda, teaching her about the surface, relating to her losing her mom, falling for her then struggling with the idea she'll inevitably return to the sea. He may have also become more responsible? Again, codine binge watch, cut me some slack.

But wait, I said love interests PLURAL? Well lucky day, now I finally get to talk about Alex!

Alex is best boy and I will hear no ill will against him. Alex is the token merman, and a late addition to the team.

He starts off as a friendly guard Nerissa jokes about being Merlinda's boyfriend (which she denies), but once they go to the surface and meet Tyler, I assumed he was a fakeout love interest who would remain a distant friend. So glad to be wrong!

Blaming himself for letting Merlinda put herself in danger when that's the literal opposite of his job, he comes up with a way to get past the horde of sea monsters between them and the surface to make sure she and the girls are okay. The gang comes across him injured, and he joins the household.

We haven't seen Alex and Merlinda truly interact until this point and their chemistry is so natural?

Don't get me wrong, Tyler and Merlinda do an adorable job as the couple just getting to know each other, especially when they're making jokes, but I was surprised how believable she and Alex were as two people who have known each other for years. He and Tyler have a macho pissing contest so annoying I had to stop the episode, but it doesn't last too long before they're bros.

Honestly, Alex is how Fred should have been written. Not in the story or design, just the fact all the girls are so happy to see him you can clearly tell they're friends who love each other and have known him a long time. He feels connected despite his absence.

Alex's arc is about his role as a guard, trying to redeem himself and assuage his guilt, but also trusting Merlinda enough to continue the mission instead of bringing her home like her dad wanted.

Tyler seems like the clear endgame given how much more screentime they've gotten, but their chemistry is kind of meh imo. (I am admittedly biased bc I don't like blonds. At least he has brown eyes.) When I liked them most was Tyler making a stupid joke and Merlinda immediately playing along, but we don't see much of that past episode 4.

The way they express how painful he finds the idea of her leaving is conveyed so well through the animation rather than dialogue, I really feel his pain. But it doesn't feel earned.

Keeping this as spoiler free as possible, the plotlines for the season wrapped up in a way that was overall satisfying. The villain's goal seemed vague and fairly cliche, but serviceable. The secondary villain was equally cliche, but much more of a threat, and set up to do more in the long term.

I'd be satisfied with Merlinda's story if they ended at season 1, but everyone else's stories are so obviously incomplete. Even if it gets a season 2 (which it should), what it really needed was more time. It's another victim of the netflix season, giving them 10 episodes to drop at once when they should have had 20 episodes spread over several weeks. By this point, though, that's to be expected, and they should have planned accordingly.

As much as the supporting characters' writing annoyed me, it was overall a really enjoyable show, with a great lead, good character design, and delightful fight scenes. Definitely keeping an eye out for season 2. Pop a few ibuprofen and enjoy!

[tiagobarros1699]

SPOILERS Witch, Il Reboot

If you haven't seen volume 2 of the Witch reboot, this is a spoiler:

KANDRAKAR WAS DESTROYED

We had the revelation of who the ruler really is, and is behind the actions of the Kandrakar council. Empress Charu.

After the Guardians' victory, Kandrakar's wraiths are destroyed for their failure.

Nerissa, Phobos, cedric, yua, ludmoore dark Mother, nihila and all of Kandrakar's enemies must be celebrating right now.

[best-female-villain-tournament]

Final character placement!

Two brackets this time! links will be embedded once they are posted!

(brackets under the cut)

BRACKET A

Queen Asheviere(Battle For Wesnoth(heir to the throne campaign)) VS Thiala(Not Another D&D Podcast (Campaign 1/Bahumia))

Amora the Enchantress(Marvel Comics) VS The Shapeshifter(Odd Squad)

Alvida(One Piece) VS Darcy(Winx Club)

Icy(Winx Club) VS Ursula(The Little Mermaid)

The Collector(Aurora) VS Drolta(Castlevania: Nocturne)

Morana(Castlevania) VS Erzsebet Báthory(Castlevania)

Junko Enoshima(Danganronpa) VS Tron bonne(Mega Man Legends)

Captain Syrup(Wario Land) VS Sado(The Hex)

Aurra Sing(Star Wars) VS Vermouth/Sharon Vineyard/Chris Vineyard(Detective Conan/Case Closed)

Queen Sectonia(Kirby Triple Deluxe) VS Her Imperious Condescension/the Condesce/Betty Crocker(Homestuck)

Madame Rouge(Teen Titans) VS Ikra(Samurai Jack)

Linaris the Obsidian(Ishura) VS Twizzly Gummy Cookie(Cookie Run Kingdom)

Kiara Sessyoin(Fate) VS Mion(Monkey Typhoon)

Elendira the Crimsonnail(Trigun) VS The Wicked Witch of the West(The Wizard of Oz)

Xivu Arath(Destiny Two) VS President Coin(The Hunger Games)

Pamela Vorhees(Friday the 13th) VS Jiao Liqiao(Mysterious Lotus Casebook)

————

Marilyn Thornhill(Wednesday) VS Jennifer Blake(Teen Wolf)

Queen Vanessa(A Hat In Time) VS Tiamat(Dungeons and Dragons)

The Preeminent(Lego Ninjago) VS Lolth(Critical Role)

Lorelei(Marvel Comics) VS Yubaba(Spirited Away)

Aranea Serket(Homestuck) VS Spinel(Steven Universe: The Movie)

Queen Mirage(Happiness Charge Precure) VS Aspheera(Lego Ninjago)

Lady Cassandra(Doctor Who) VS Stormy(Winx Club)

Lenore(Castlevania) VS Blackarachnia(Beast Wars)

Jadis the White Witch(The Chronicles of Narnia) VS Laverna(Barbie: Fairytopia)

Striga(Castlevania) VS Kuvira(The Legend of Korra)

Queen La(the Tarzan Disney TV Series) VS Mirage(the Aladdin Disney TV Series)

Helen/The Administrator(Team Fortress 2) VS Citizen Dawn(Sentinels of the Multiverse (Sentinel Comics))

Regina Mills/Evil Queen(Once Upon A Time) VS Taylor “Skitter” Hebert(Worm/Parahumans)

Pomegranate Cookie(Cookie Run Kingdom) VS Mrs Tweedy(Chicken Run)

Lady Macbeth(Macbeth(Shakespeare)) VS Sora Siruha(Choujin X)

The Director(Nimona) VS Chacha(Nano List)

BRACKET B

Shadow Weaver(She-Ra and the Princesses of Power)

Charlotte Linlin/Big Mom(One Piece) VS Maia(Jak & Daxter)

Carmilla(Castlevania) VS Granny Goodness(DC Comics)

Penelope Specta(Danny Phantom) VS Spider Queen(Lego Monkie Kid)

Cassidy(Pokemon)

Otohan Thull(Critical Role) VS Sofina(Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves)

Kalina(Fantasy High Sophomore Year) VS Blackfire(Teen Titans)

Kim'dael(The Dragon Prince)

Salem(RWBY)

Raven Darkholme/Mystique(Marvel Comics) VS Pray Mayer(Knight Run)

Nerissa(W.I.T.C.H.) VS Saleen(the Aladdin Disney TV Series)

Grace Chasity(Nerdy Prudes Must Die(Team Starkid)) VS Dark Enchantress Cookie(Cookie Run Kingdom)

Raishan(Critical Role/The Legend of Vox Machina)

The Shadow Queen(Paper Mario) VS Kanako Yasaka(Touhou Project)

Winifred Sanderson(Hocus Pocus) VS Beatrice/Team Classic Pyro(Team Fortress Classic and Team Fortress 2)

Airachnid(Transformers)

————

Lady Bone Demon(Lego Monkie Kid)

Athena(Final Fantasy XIV(14)) VS Hela(Marvel Comics)

Sara Berry(The Ballad Of Sara Berry) VS Kaguya Otsutsuki(Naruto Shippuden)

Dyspear(Go! Princess Precure) VS Fiona Fox(Sonic the Hedgehog(Archie Comics))

Audrey II(Little Shop of Horrors)

Shizuka Hio(Vampire Knight ) VS Wuya(Xiaolin Showdown)

Glory(Buffy The Vampire Slayer ) VS Lilith(Supernatural)

Evil stepmother from various fairytales(trope)

Seska(Star Trek: Voyager)

Princess Opechius(Star Twinkle Precure) VS Wojira(Lego Ninjago)

Queen Tyr'ahnee(Looney Tunes) VS Selina(Winx Club)

Akito Souma(Fruits Basket) VS Lord Dominator(Wander Over Yonder)

Camille L'espanaye(The Fall of The House of Usher(Netflix))

Infected Charlotte(The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals(Team Starkid)) VS Vexus(My Life As a Teenage Robot)

Lee from Yu-Gi-Oh!(World Legacy Storyline) VS Anonymity Requested(Cipher Academy)

Orin(Baldur's Gate 3)

[riyacrane]

In my imagination, it is a ball to celebrate the defeating of Phobos(x2)/Nerissa/Cedric. Maybe I should call it the "Defeating bad guys ball". That shall be an annual event for sure, like a tradition I think. The timeline is, I think, a month or two after WITCH's victory on Earth when Meridian is a little bit recovered after Phobos's homecoming.