#swat kats reviews

[darkeraven22]

Hanna Barbara SWAT KATS Series Finale Episode 25 Review

Resistance Of This Borg Meets V’Ger Combo Is UselessUgh. The Series Finale of the 90s Era SWAT KATS. It’s ok… Sorry if you were hoping Callie would be in this one. She isnt. But hey. Felina has some stuff here so… Yay. So let’s break it down. Does this feel like a Season Finale? Uhh… No. Not really. It has a big threat, but ultimately it’s just a typical day for the SWAT KATs. The Season 1…

[taiblogcomics]

Cry Havoc! And Let Slapstick the Dogs of War

Hey there, jetpack technology. We're half done this Slapstick miniseries by now! We'll be two-thirds done by the end of this one! Isn't the number six grand? Well, let's get into it~

Here's the cover:

Oh boy, this cover. One, Slapstick himself is barely integrated into it. He feels like an afterthought. If this were a larger multimedia franchise, I'd think that was his stock art down there. No, instead, we're selling this cover based on the other thing on it. That's right, furries, we're targeting you! Let's talk about that for a minute! So, obviously, the first thing the War DOGS here are parodying is GI Joe (the ninja design really sells that). That fits with the other '80s references the series has been making: Bro-Man was He-Man, the Taurs were Smurfs with a light coat of MLP. But the second thing~?

Hey, show of hands, who remembers Road Rovers~? Because I remember Road Rovers. I was super into Road Rovers as a kid. Only lasted 13 episodes, believe it or not. It was very much in the vein of the other WB shows of its era: Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Freakazoid. Except it was an entirely action-focused cartoon with the same level of comedy, which is probably why it didn't last too long. Now, you could also argue it's a SWAT Kats reference, but A) the War DOGS are dogs, not cats, and 2) both are from the '90s, so it's odd either way~

Anyways, I could ramble about Road Rovers for the rest of this review, but Steve Harmon, AKA Slapstick, in an effort to cure his clowny cartoon condition, is conscripted by ARMOR to fight off other cartoons that invade our dimension. To that end, last issue he fought off the aforementioned Taurs, rescuing their lone female member, Taurette, in the process. Taking leave, Slapstick spends his time rebuilding the very portal that got him in trouble with ARMOR to begin with. And it's still getting him in trouble, as it starts shooting out beams that turn inanimate objects into very animated cartoons~

Steve's mom is upstairs remarking to her husband how she's glad Mike is visiting, she likes how he's a stabilising, grounding influence on Steve. Mike has a job, Mike has his own place, Mike isn't chasing some silly dream of being a superhero or mercenary or whatever the kids are calling it these days. Nothing strange happens when Mike's around. Of course, it's at this moment that the cartoon cup of coffee charges out from Steve's basement bedroom declaring he's "off the hizzy for shizzy". Perfectly normal events in the Harmon household~

Mrs. Harmon goes down to give her son a talking-to, during which the broom she's holding also catches one of the stray cartoonifying energy bolts and starts making lewd remarks about how she grips it. Slapstick snatches it away while his mom storms off, complaining "Richard, do you know what your son just did? He turned the broom perverted!" I feel like this issue alone, let alone this whole miniseries, could give me a top ten list of amazing out-of-context dialogue lines from comic books. We're only on page two!

Slapstick retreats back into his room, asking for a minute to think of something. Mike retorts that him thinking is what started this mess. While Slapstick's dirty laundry comes to life and begins a revolt, Mike reaches his breaking point and tries to slam the big red button on the portal device. Except… Slapstick didn't build the thing with an off switch. It only has an on switch, because he didn't want anyone turning it off while he was using it. I think that's more of the kind of thinking that got him in this mess, yeah.

He next tries to go for the plug, but the machine defends itself with another piece of equipment coming to life to protect it. Likewise, the fusebox comes to life before Slapstick can blow the power grid. This is getting out of hand--and out of room, as the cartoonification begins spreading to other appliances in the house. Such as the dishwasher turning on Mrs. Harmon. Now Slapstick's mad. It's one thing to go after him, but when you go after his family, it's too far. See, in spite of his attitude and lack of forethought and disregard of the law, he's still a decent guy under that clown costume.

While Slapstick holds back the other appliances, Mike also leaps into action. To fight a cartoon, you gotta think like a cartoon, right? So he manages to fight his way over to that on switch again, but this time he writes "OFF" over the "ON" and hits the button. And this works. That's absolutely fantastic, well done. However, it's only prevented further catastrophe, as it's shut down the portal but not reversed the transformations. ARMOR might have to come by and sort all that out. Which Slapstick is not looking forward to, in spite of his crush on that one agent.

Before they can further react, however, even more nonsense hits the fan. The War DOGS' tank materialises in Slapstick's room, and if he has a basement room big enough to hold a tank, maybe I'd be reluctant to move out too. Also, their appearance is accompanied by theme music, to Mike and Slapstick's bafflement. The War DOGS (which stands for War Defense Operations Guerrilla Squadron) start blasting, and their blue lasers have the effect of de-toonifying all the rambunctious furniture. Slapstick is unaffected, since he's been a toon too long.

With the active threat now neutralised, the War DOGS sound off. There's too many of them to go into detail (a full 12 characters with distinct designs, army roles, and dog breeds), but Rex is the leader of the bunch. And the only girl is named Crimson, because the GI Joe equivalent was Scarlett. And the ninja is named Silent-But-Deadly, in case you forgot what kind of comic this is. Rex reports that they were told by an informant that the Princess' champion may be here--and the devious enemy team Skratch may be after him. They can't let that happen.

So the War DOGS, Mike, and Slapstick all file out of the house, headed for the streets to do recon. Before Silent-But-Deadly can get in position, though, the dastardly felines of Skratch attack! They demand the surrender of the champion. And yes, they are indeed just a cat-themed version of Kobra. (That's the other reason why the War DOGS can't be SWAT Kats.) A brawl ensues, and in the midst of the fight, Mike gets hit by laserfire. Slapstick is pissed. He's tired of this "champion" nonsense, since every time it comes up, his friends and family around him just get hurt.

Slapstick takes off running, hoping to lead the fight to an empty field or something, so no random innocents will get hurt. But after a bit, he notices that, just like his Twitter account, nobody is following him. Looking back, he sees Skratch loading a captive Mike into a portal and disappearing. He begins shouting that they've got the wrong guy. Rex replies that of course that human is the champion. That's why they have to come to this dimension to find the champion in the first place. How could Slapstick be the champion? He's a toon like them!

ARMOR (including Agents Teresa, Isabel, and Taurette) shows up to corraborate Rex's story. Think about it: Mike and Slapstick were both at the football game when Bro-Man attacked. And the Taurs attacked the mall where Mike works, not the ARMOR facility where Slapstick was being held. Anyway, ARMOR is here to arrest the War DOGS for the dimension breech, but they explain they just used Slapstick's portal, getting him in trouble. But that's not important now. He'll deal with consequences later. All that's important is getting his friend back. So he ends the issue by leading a team-up of himself, ARMOR, and the War DOGS through the portal to Dimension Ecch…

I think, like last time, this issue a lot of fun. It's zany, it's silly, it's tiny, it's toony, it's all a little loony~ The solution to the over-powered portal is beautiful in its cartoon logic. And the parodies continue to remain on point, if a little one-sided leaning. Like, the Taurs were very Smurfs-coded (the names being "X Taur", the Smurfette type, the wizard antagonist, the hats) with just a bit of a My Little Pony coat of paint in their design. The War DOGS are the same way: very GI Joe parody with just a dash of Road Rovers slapped on top. Even Bro-Man is basically just He-Man with only a little Conan the Barbarian in appearance. So it's not really a parody fusion, it's a parody of one property with another property painted over it. I know they don't have time to run into the whole backstory of all these shows they're riffing on, just saying it's an odd amalgamation of things. I guess adding the second parody just makes it wackier or something. It's not bad in any way, just a thing I noticed about the choices.

Anyway, next issue, we're finally going to see the much-discussed Dimension Ecch and meet its oft-rumoured princess~

[ellivcca]

oh it just made me SO incredibly happy to see this get some recognition so forgive me for fangirling -- PLEASE watch the entire video (FFG - Swat Kats de Super Nintendo) (but im not forcing you to) he basically reviews a swat kats game from his childhood (thats what the series is about, game reviews, FFG, freaking fucking games, its mostly bad games, but spoiler: this one is not as bad as he thought it was he just didnt know how to play it as a kid lol) YES its in a foreign language (brazilian portuguese) but oh it is so worth it i prommy. my bad im probably hyping this up too much. REDUCE UR EXPECTATIONS!!! i just really like coloniacontraataca and the ffgs :)

This is a fun YouTuber intro based on the SWAT Kats. It’s in Portuguese so I’m not sure what it’s for but it’s pretty cool. Done by ColoniaContraAtaca

https://youtu.be/EGElFjChk0U

[calliecat93]

SWAT Kats Episode 1 Review: The Pastmaster Always Rings Twice

In the early 90's, Cartoon Network made it's national debut to the public airwaves. With it not only gave people the chance to see all the cartoons that they grew up on when it only came on Saturday Mornings, but it also let them bring in some new shows... well before the Cartoon Cartoons era. Some of these titles included 2 Stupid Dogs, Space Ghost Coast to Ghost, and the one that is probably still the most fondly remembered, SWAT Kats. Debuting in 1993 on TBS and The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera block, the series was produced by Hanna-Barbera, finally getting them out of their rut since... IDK, since whenever Scooby Doo got rid of the “Where Are You?” part.

While the show sadly didn't last long, it is still fondly remembered by those who grew up on it through Cartoon Network and Boomerang. And who can blame the,? Great characters, fantastic animation, memorable villains, and of course a LOT of explosions and general destruction! It's a superhero show folks, is it a surprise? I grew up on the show (infact I was only six months old when it came out) and swathed it frequently when Boomerang aired it. I recently got a friend into it, so I thought “wow, this would be such a fun show to practice my reviewing on!”. So here we go! The first episode of the most radical squadron in animation, SWAT Kats!

Overview

We begin with the most child friendly of activities... grave-robbing! Sheesh, Batman just started with a giant man bat... though they got to have blood in their first episode. We watch two grave-robbers trying to find stuff that they can sell and come upon a coffin. Inside is a short little cat who seems to be trying his Dungeons and Dragons cosplay. But it turns out he's an actual wizard. He is The Pastmaster, a dark sorcerer from the Dark Ages sealed away long ago. Because locking away the dangerous, supernatural villain ALWAYS works out! While not at his full power without his spellbook, the Tome of Time, he DOES have enough power to create zombie cat skeletons to drive the graverobbers off. He doesn't get much time to look around though as he's spotted by The Enforcers, the police/military force for the shows main location of Megakat City. The skeletons are destroyed and they take the coffin tot he museum,t he Pastmaster hitching a ride.

We then cut to our main heroes... but there's not much to talk about so lets skip ahead tot he museum. Don't worry, we'll talk about the SWAT Kats soon but trust me, this 9sn't their best introduction. We meet the museum curator, Dr. Abby Sinian, and the deputy mayor Calico 'Callie' Briggs. Huh... a cat girl named Callie... who has glasses... why do I feel this weird sense of irony? Anyways, the good doctor explains about the upcoming exhibit, which is coincidentally about the Dark Ages. And also by coincidence, the Tome of Time is there. Pastmaster uses his powers to cause havoc, distracting the two women and occupying the guards. During his search, Pastmaster accidentally signs the SWAT Kats through a signal device that Callie has. They arrive and take care of the forces and the good doctor realizes who's behind this... too bad that the Pastmaster already got his book and is summoning dinosaurs! You Tried guys.

The SWAT Kats, of course, try to fight them with their badass jet... but get knocked through a time portal and straight into dinosaur times. Welp. So while they deal with surviving and getting their jet back in the air, The Enforcers led by Commander Ulysses S. Feral, deal with The Pastmaster. The city's mayor, Manx, gives Callie permission to negotiate with the evil sorcerer when he tries to use City Hall (a clocktower) as a point to bring back the Dark Ages. It fails. Luckily the SWAT Kats make it back to the present, destroy the spellbook, knock The Pastmaster through his own portal, and fly off triumphantly into the sun! Hooray!

Review

Wow, that is the shortest overview I have ever written in my reviews. But to be fair, I guess it's because there was very little of a plot. This was a very basic episode that you can probably find a better version of in any other Superhero cartoon. Evil Sorcerer? Been done. Time travel? Been done. Dinosaur invasion? Yep, been done. SWAT Kats is nothing groundbreaking, but they try to be at least a bit creative. This was just... basic. Basic, unoriginal, and The Pastmaster is every other 'world conquering demonic wizard locked away cause plot convenience' character in every show ever! He's the lamest recurring villain in the SWAT Kats Rogues Gallery who I think only got intimidating like... once. In his final episode. He's just lame, even if I do like his design and voice. RIP Keene Curtis.

While there's not much to say about the plot, the characters... are no different. This was not a good introductory episode. I mean don't get me wrong, it does introduce us to our primary characters, their roles, and we get a bit of a feel of who they are. The SWAT Kats may be the one exception. They're badasses... but that's about it. What do we know about T-Bone? He's a pilot...t hat's it. What about Razor? Well... he shoots stuff... and his name is Jake... and he's the smarter on... that's better, but still not much. At least with the others we see that Callie is a competent and hard-working deputy mayor, Feral is an arrogant but determined commander, and Manx is a petty loser. But that's it. Seriously, The Giant Bacteria should have been the premiere episode because it gives us a MUCH better showing of our characters, the SWAT Kats especially. We don't even learn T-Bone's real name. I'm surprised we learned Razor's. It gets the basic bit down, but it doesn't let our characters be.. well, characters. Also, really? Using volcanic gas as a fuel source? There is NO WAY that's scientifically accurate.

But probably the most telling is the pacing. This episode is FAR too fast for it's own good. It starts okay, letting us see The Pastmaster and establishing his power. But after that it just goes by SO FAST. From the point that Pastmaster gets his book, the entire episode is just a long fight sequence. One in the past, and the one in the present. We get no time to breathe or take in what's happening. Hell, IDT the SWAT Kats even face The Pastmaster directly. He just gets knocked into a portal, the book is blown up, and our dynamic duo fly into the sun with no sense of finality. When I finished the episode, I just went “Huh... guess it's over”. Then again with no real character stuff and lack of a subplot, guess there was nothing to give closure to. Ah well!

So a meh plot, a lame villain, and one-note characters. Are there any saving graces to this? Well... yes. First,t he action. The shows largest strength is it's action sequences, and it certainly delivers here. We get to watch our heroes, both the SWAT Kats AND The Enforcers, fight FREAKIN' DINOSAURS. That is BADASS. The Turbokat is a very awesome jet and has creative weapons, like the cement blaster. The Enforcers are shown to be competent and at least able to ho,d their own... trust me with how they're shown in later episodes, that is a VERY refreshing thing. The animation... it's not as good as other episodes, but it still overall fluid and expressive. The action is fun to watch and never felt like it dragged or got boring. With how basic the plot is, it really helped the episode be fun and enjoyable.

And despite what I said about the SWAT Kats characters, we DO get to see their chemistry. And it's great! There really this sense of friendly rivalry with their little competition on who can handle the most G's. Razor keeps passing out while T-Bone can last up to Mock 5 until the end where Razor finally lasts and T-Bone doesn't. Sedulously, Razor not ejecting just to see the look on T-Bone's face got the biggest laugh out of me. The banter, but it feels very natural and, again, very friendly. They act like brothers, which is the greatest strength of the two. They have a great relationship and truly care for each other, something that just gets better as the show goes. We may not know a lot about the two, but you get this feeling that they've been through a lot together and a truly brothers in arm. I like that.

Final Thoughts

So my verdict. Is this a good episode? No. is it a bad episode? No. My conclusion is that the episode is... average. That's it. It's not great, but it's not horrible. The plot is lame, the pacing is way too fast, the villain is average at best, and the characters get no time to be fleshed out. It's got plenty wrong with it, but plenty to enjoy form it. Awesome action scenes, some good character chemistry, some very well done voice acting (they had a 90's All Star Cast for this show) and overall fluid animation that keeps things fun visually. It's an episode I recommend, but not the one I would suggest starting with if you want to get into the show. Which one would I recommend though? Well tune in next time as we discuss Episode 2 where we gave mutants, garages, and plenty of child unfriendly deaths! Yay! Up next: The Giant Bacteria.

[spiderdreamer-blog]

Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron

Hanna-Barbera was arguably in a weird place as a company by the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s. The 80s had arguably been a huge decade for them in terms of commercial success between yet more Scooby-Doo, revivals of The Jetsons and Jonny Quest, the juggernaut hit of The Smurfs (which inspired its aquatic cousin The Snorks), lots of Yogi Bear content, and, perhaps most bizarrely, straightfaced renditions of Bible stories. But change was in the air. In addition to the merchandise-driven cartoon boom, Disney had charged onto the airwaves with juggernaut hits like DuckTales, Nickelodeon was beginning its Nicktoons program, and the conservatism of the 80s was giving way to edgier programs. Most crucially, media mogul Ted Turner was getting into the animation game via series like Captain Planet and establishing Cartoon Network, where Hanna-Barbera content was a major percentage of the initial programming. In the face of all this, what was the studio’s response? Well, they began to do something they hadn’t done in a long time: experiment.

And thus we come to Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron.

Set in the fictional Megakat City, the show centers on Chance “T-Bone” Furlong (Charlie Adler) and Jake “Razor” Clawson (Barry Gordon). Formerly part of the city’s Enforcers, they were drummed out by Commander Feral (Gary Owens) after an accident he helped cause that wrecked his headquarters and consigned to the scrapyard to help pay off the debt. They decide to create the Turbokat, a truly bitchin’ jet plane, out of discarded Enforcer parts and become the Swat Kats to fight crime on their own terms. Villains they face include Dark Kat (Brock Peters), an imposing Skeletor type at the center of the chase that caused the accident; Dr. Viper (Frank Welker), a mutated mad scientist; the Metallikats Mac and Molly (Neil Ross, April Winchell), gangsters whose brains were transferred to robots after dying in a prison escape; and so on. Aiding the Kats is Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs (Tress MacNeille), the aide to ineffectual Mayor Manx (Jim Cummings, adopting a sloppy W.C. Fields-esque brogue), and eventually Felina Feral (Lori Alan), the commander’s niece.

You may have guessed from the above summary that this is not necessarily the most edifying brain candy or plot-heavy series. No, Swat Kats is of a piece with many other action cartoons of its era. The continuity may exist, but nothing akin to an overarching serial storyline does. We’re in full episodic adventure territory here. Thankfully, on that score, the show does hold up well with distinctive, memorable characters and well-structured half-hour entertainment. The tone is a little more hard-edged, with a rock/heavy metal-tinged soundtrack, high-energy action scenes a-plenty (which got the show into trouble/helped lead to its premature cancellation), and even some mild satirical jabs in the portrayal of Manx, the weak-willed politician du jour.

The characters even have some depth on occasion. Callie gets put in a damsel position at times, but just as often she’s active and engaging in the plot on her own, and MacNeille offers high-spirited work as always. Think a slightly more grown-up Gadget or Babs Bunny. Felina gets some genuinely badass showings for the era, with Alan giving her a cheerful, devil-may-care attitude that makes her intensely likable. And while Feral is a blustery blowhard, he is nevertheless given integrity in defining moments like a response to the Metallikats attempting to buy their freedom with the Swat Kats’ identities: “I don’t deal with scum.” (If anything, he could stand to be given a little more credit at times: hot-tempered and blame-shifting he may be, but collateral damage that results as a byproduct of the Swat Kats’ actions in stopping villains is not an inherently invalid concern). T-Bone and Razor are engaging leads, with a brother-like banter livening things up via the interplay of Adler and Gordon (who offers a growlier spin on his nerdy Donatello excitability). The villains are a lot of fun too, with Peters being a standout thanks to his low, stentorian bass tones, and Ross and Winchell get a lot of mileage out of their squabbling Noo Yawk mobster schtick, as well as some surprisingly genuine affection shown off in outings like “Unlikely Alloys”.

The most striking element of the show, however, remains its look. Shepherded by the French-Canadian Tremblay Brothers, it offers a mix of more typically funny animal designs with anime and comic book leanings, especially in the backgrounds. The cityscapes look more like Frank Miller’s Gotham in their stark, angular colors than your typical generic ‘toon urban environments. This is aided by great animation for much of the series from Japanese studio Mook DLE, who would later go on to do the first four Scooby-Doo DTV movies for Hanna-Barbera. Much of their hallmarks are here in regards to the crisp, fluid character movements and snappy timing on things like effects animation. (Several episodes were also done by Seoul-based studio Hanho Heung-Up, a reliable if unspectacular workhorse; their work is more typical but hardly bad) Like The Pirates of Dark Water, it signified new directions the studio could venture forth in.

And indeed they would, though this show in and of itself signified something of the end of an era. As it was being cancelled, the What A Cartoon shorts program would begin premiering on Cartoon Network, kickstarting the careers of new voices like Genndy Tartakovsky, Van Partible, Craig McCracken, Butch Hartman, and Seth MacFarlane. Swat Kats would live on, though, in a surprisingly robust fandom (which, yes, has quite a bit of overlap with furries) and is currently being revived by the Tremblays with Toonz Media thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign. Time will tell if it can recapture the weird, wild alchemy of the original series.

[choco-glow]

Aliit

“Like so, riduur…kat-tay-LEER da-RAH-soom.”

“Kat-tay-LIR—”

“Leer, think two ees in Basic. The letter’s a bit weird in Mando’a.” Senya shot Shae a rueful smile, and Mandalore the Avenger threw back her long red braid with a laugh, wispy strays forming an auburn halo about her head. “You’re doing great, riduur; it’s hard picking up a new language, especially when it doesn’t use the same grammatical cues as Zakuulan or Basic.”

“And you didn’t have an overbearing father forcing you to learn everything, Buir.” Arcann drawled from where he was underneath Shae’s speeder, his face striped with oil and a bit of grease, blue eyes bright over his smile. Senya couldn’t help smiling back, warm and happy, because her lone living child was so at peace with his rebirth, with this, with them…Hell, he was picking up Mando’a faster than anyone else on base, but then again, the Mandos had taken him in like a lost son, Shae particularly. Torian chuckled low and rich from his perch atop the speeder, working on the upper half of the engine while Arcann took care of the transmission, and Senya found herself happy to have a second son again, if in name only.

Torian Cadera and his wife, a former Togruta bounty hunter-turned-adopted Mando, had been mostly adopted by Shae, and while Chromi was out and about taking care of things, Torian had elected to help his newly adopted brother with the repairs that Shae had, quite frankly, gotten too old to do. Not that that had stopped her, of course, but Shae had allowed Arcann and Torian to take over, while Senya eased her out, swearing and muttering under her breath about being too old for this shit, etc, etc.

“No, that is true, but still, I should at least be able to say that phrase, Tyth knows you tell me it enough.”

“It’ll come with time and practice.” Senya flushed, just a little at Shae’s sweet, quiet smile, and she took her riduur’s hand, conscious of the fact that she stood almost a head taller than the other woman. Then there was her power in the Force…Senya still felt like the odd duck out, though Arcann had made himself useful enough to blend in admirably. But then, he and Thexan both had felt better with their fellow soldiers on the battlefield, rather than the cold confines of Zakuul’s palace. Vaylin too, though Senya had always been less sure of her youngest…but she shook those sad thoughts away, longing for her children, and knowing that at least they were at peace once more in the Force.

“So it will…How about we go find ourselves a bit of dinner? We’re old ladies now; we can’t skip meals.” Shae pulled a face at that, and Torian laughed, falling back a little at her expression.

“Admit it, Mandalore, you’re no orochick any longer.” She swiped at him playfully, and he grinned, cheeks dimpled and eyes crinkled shut, and Senya laughed, catching Shae’s hands and pulling her closer.

“Old my ass, Cadera, don’t make me swat you like your buir should have.” Shae ruffled his hair, though, grinning despite her protests, and let Senya drag her off, while Senya failed to hide her smile. “I see you smiling too, riduur.”

“Yes, well, it’s nice to listen to you…even if you’re a bit over the top.”

“Hey now, I’m downright boring for Mandalore; trust me, some of my predecessors weren’t that nice. But…eh, that’s old news. C’mon, let’s hit the cantina; that C2 droid found the best chef in the galaxy.” Senya chuckled at that as they took the elevator back up to the main deck of the base, protected by the heavy cliff overhang, with the rest of the Alliance stronghold carved into ancient bedrock. Odessen as a planet was relatively young, and life on the planet hadn’t progressed to sentient yet, which had made it perfect for the Alliance…and having been so young in the galactic record, it was also that rare planet that hadn’t been explored yet, hence the first come, first owned philosophy.

Not that their Commander had claimed the planet for herself…no, Ionial had taken care to file everything neatly, and for a Jedi Knight, that was a rare perk. Then again, she was married to Theron Shan…and as he was the main Operations manager to the whole of the Alliance, Senya had a feeling that paperwork was something that poor couple dealt with even in the marriage bed.

 Certainly, she was perfectly fine shacking up with Shae in her old age; Mandalore had baggage, but so did she, and though they did have responsibilities…they could set them down for a time. Shae, however, nudged her out of her thoughts with a careful touch to her elbow, and Senya glanced down at her riduur, eyebrows raised…and followed Shae’s line of sight to one of the tables in the back room, empty but for a familiar figure in long graying braids, her slender hands wrapped around a mug of tea, her beautiful face pinched with weariness and sorrow.

“…That’s Satele…”

“So it is…Senya, love, how much to you know about the Grandmaster?” Shae murmured as they accepted their drinks, and Senya chewed her lip, reviewing everything she’d learned about the former leader of the Jedi in the last eight years.

“…I know that she was the Grandmaster, and though she still holds the title, she is no longer the speaker for the Jedi. I know that she helped train our Commander…and I know that she’s Theron’s mother.”

“…She’s a hell of a warrior, in the speaking halls and on the battlefield. I’ve gone up against her once, and out of respect, I’ll never do that again.” Shae replied softly, and to Senya’s surprise, the Mandalorian took her hand, guiding her to the room. “And out of respect, I think she needs a friend.” Senya glanced back up at Satele’s face, and even at this distance, Senya could see tears sliding down her cheeks.

“…You might be right about that. A moment…” She leaned over to the waitstaff who took their order, and hurriedly ordered a third meal of Alderaanian stew and fresh veggies, and Shae nodded approvingly. They made their way to the back room, and it was Shae, her eyes frank and kind, who slid into the booth opposite Satele’s seat, and gently clasped the Jedi’s hands. Senya joined her as well, her own long hands joining Shae’s, and that brought Satele’s eyes up slowly, tears streaming down her face, her pain so strong that Senya instinctively reached for the Force to help calm her. That seemed to help, just a little, and Satele took a deep, shuddering breath.

“…Can we ask what happened?” Shae asked gently, her tone as soft as Senya had ever heard it, and Satele gave a weary, wet laugh.

“…I tried to talk to my son, and utterly ruined things. Again.” She swallowed, with difficulty, but cleared her throat and took a shaky breath. “Theron…and I have a…well, complicated is too strong. We don’t have much of a relationship at all. I…when I got pregnant, I didn’t think about him, I didn’t think about being a mother…I was too worried about being found, about figuring out what I could do with him. My master, Ngani Zho, took him and raised him…I stayed for six weeks to nurse him until we’d found a formula that worked, but that was all. And I left him.” Satele’s voice broke at that, and both women slid around to hug her, letting her weep into their arms. Senya’s heart ached for her; she’d been raised with no attachments, to have no attachments, and no matter what the Jedi might say, that was something that damaged the very soul.

For all that she mourned her children, Senya was grateful that she’d been able to love them so fiercely. Not being able to care for her babies like that…it horrified her to her very core. One glance at Shae over Satele’s braids, and Mandalore’s eyes were shuttered, angry, and grieving too. I could hate the Jedi for what they’ve done to people…even the Sith cherish their children.

“I am such a horrible mother…” Satele was whispering now, and it was Senya who shook her head, voice low but fierce.

“You are no such thing. You are a woman who was forced to make a choice, with little regard to your own heart.”

“But…the Code…”

“Blast the Code.” Shae’s voice was as sharp as vibrosteel, and Satele flinched, just a little. “Sorry, but…Satele, you wouldn’t have made that choice if you’d been like me, would you?” Satele froze, and for the first time, Senya sensed someone just outside their door, listening…she closed her eyes, opening her mind, and to her shock, it was Theron. He was frozen on baited breath, his eyes wide, and Senya amplified the sound in that room, just a little, just enough…both Shans needed to hear this.

“…No. No, I wouldn’t have…if I’d been…normal…like him…I’d have kept him. If Malgus hadn’t been hunting me…I would have been overjoyed to be a mother…” Satele whispered, but it was enough; Senya heard a bitten off sob outside the door, and she reached behind her, grasping the younger man’s sleeve and gently tugging.

“Theron, you need to come in here.” She called softly, and he shook, but he obeyed her, watery golden eyes a match to his father’s, wide with worry and nerves…and it was Satele who watched him, tears still burning down her cheeks, who reached out for his hands.

“Theron…”

“…You really would have kept me?” His voice wavered, and Senya clasped his shoulder, willing all the love she could feel pouring from Satele into him, knowing he was only just Force sensitive enough to catch it.

“Yes. Yes, I swear, I would have…I would have needed Master Zho to help, because I was…I had no idea what I was doing…but I would have brought you home and to hell with anyone else.” She whispered, and he closed his eyes, lips twisting in pain. “Theron, sweetheart, I’m so sorry…”

“I’m sorry for what I said…I’m sorry, Mama…” He whispered, and Shae hopped up out of the way to let mother and son embrace tightly, both of them sobbing as the dams broke between them. Senya managed to order a fourth meal too, and when they all arrived, she laid them out neatly. Soon, Theron and Satele had calmed enough to sit back down, this time opposite one another with Senya sharing the seat with Theron, Shae on Satele’s side.

“I know you two are probably exhausted, but you need to eat.” She declared, and Theron’s lips curled up in a half-smile, used to Senya’s Mom skill by now, while Satele managed a wan smile and Shae openly grinned.

“Thank you, Senya, Shae…”

“Yeah, thank you…I’m so sorry I yelled, Mom…” Satele only shook her head, eyes softer now, and clasped his hand.

“You were right to yell about that. I never…” She paused, took a deep breath, and continued. “I should have talked to you about all of this…really, I just should have talked to you. I know you felt like the dirty secret for years…and understandably so. I treated you as such, and Jace…” Theron sighed, wincing, and she nodded. “I owe you a lifetime of apologies.”

“…No, just the one is good, Mom. You did give me to Zho, and without him, I would have…well. He explained a lot, especially when I flunked out of the temple; he could have told me to bug off, but he kept in touch, helped me get into the SIS, even went with me to get my implants in. And he never faltered when I asked if you loved me; he always said yes, looking me dead in the eyes. I…didn’t always believe him, but he always said yes.” Satele smiled, just a little, and it was Shae who spoke up, having stayed quiet through most of it all, uncharacteristically so.

“He sounds like a good guy…I’m guessin’ he’s gone to the Force, isn’t he.” Both Satele and Theron nodded, twin expressions of pain marking their faces, and Senya closed her eyes, pulling a well of comfort and care from her core and filling the room with it. She had always been a master at controlling her emotions, in no small part because she was so strong with her empathy, and Satele gave her a fragile smile, so shy and tiny, that Senya couldn’t help smiling back.

“Thank you, Senya…and yes, he is. But he went down in battle, as he wanted, protecting his boy.” Theron was picking at his steak now, his jaw tight, but he heaved a sigh.

“Yeah, he did…it…it was hell watching him die in front of me. But I wouldn’t want him to go any other way; whatever else happened, he was a warrior, and he didn’t let any fight go past him without taking a swipe. But he’s at peace now…kinda wish he’d visited, but…I figure I’m doing a good job if he isn’t coming back.”

“Or you two didn’t need me until now.” The voice of an old man, far older than Satele or Shae, even, filled the glowing spot now hovering next to the table, and Ngani Zho, glowing blue and smiling faintly, stepped from the shadows, giving Theron a gentle cuff on the ear, and tweaking Satele’s nose. Both made the Shans break into startled laughter, and their Master smiled fully this time, leaving Shae and Senya speechless. Force ghosts were…a rarity on Zakuul, if at all; Senya had sensed Darth Marr’s spirit on Odessen, alongside Satele at times, but only just, and never had she sensed Thexan or Vaylin…Shae looked almost frightened, and Senya clutched her hand, broadcasting calm.

“So, you two finally talked it over…about damn time.”

“Master Zho…”

“Don’t you give me that, it’s been long enough. Take your time, feel things out, but let the Code go, Satele. At this point, it matters, but not more than your boy…and Theron, so help me if you don’t cut out the swearing—”

“Look, I’m a leader now, I’m gonna swear a lot more—”

“I will appear in front of your wife and complain to her.” Theron froze, and Zho crossed his arms, looking as smug as a Force apparition could. “With her old master in tow.”

“…Orgus passed on.”

“Wanna take that bet, son?” Another crusty old man’s voice sounded, and the former Jedi Orgus, short-haired and taller than Zho, leaned over the other ghost’s shoulder. Theron blanched, while Satele burst into relieved laughter, leaning back and reaching over Shae’s shoulder to give the other Jedi a brush of her fingers. He chuckled and squeezed her hand before vanishing, and Zho smiled down at her.

“Now then, any more complaints I should know about?”

“No, thank you, Master Zho…and thank you for coming to see us.” Satele murmured, and he leaned over to kiss her forehead, his eyes calm and warm, then he leaned over to do the same to Theron, who hugged the old man tight, despite their bickering.

“…Tasiele would have been proud of you both. She loved you so fiercely, Satele, and Theron…your grandmother would have fought tooth and nail to bring you into the Temple from the start…But she left us far too soon. It’s hard, losing your soulmate…” He gave them both a wan smile, Satele’s mouth open in shock, Theron’s eyes wide and his jaw hanging slack, and Zho chuckled. “Never did really care for the Council’s strict policies…maybe that’s why we had a secret marriage, and why when you were born, Satele, we kept things quiet. Kinda blaming Revan and Bastila for starting a line of rulebreakers…”

“Father…” Zho gave a warm chuckle, and kissed his daughter’s brow, then his grandson’s, and vanished once more, his revelation leaving both Shans speechless, while Senya and Shae made to get up and back out. Satele came her senses, and shook her head, taking a deep breath. “Shae? Senya? Please, don’t go…I’m sure that was…absolutely bizarre for you both, but please, stay…” They shared a look, and at Shae’s quiet nod, sat back down; Senya was on firmer ground here, if only just, but Shae looked…spooked, for lack of a better word.

“…So, I’m guessing you never knew…?” Shae murmured, and Satele shook her head, eyes closed.

“I knew my father was a fellow knight, but…my mother died when I was a child, and I was already with Zho as his padawan. He was always just Master to me, but kinder, gentler…at the same time, stricter. Now I understand why…” Theron gave a huff of a laugh, and Satele cracked a smile at him.

“It all makes sense now…Force, it must have killed him to keep that secret to the grave…” Theron murmured, and Satele squeezed his hand.

“I think that’s really why he came back…to prove that we had more than just a shared Master…that there’s always time to fix things.” Theron smiled at that, really smiled, and Senya was struck by just how much like his mother he looked in that moment. He took after his father in eyes and coloring, but his smile was all his mother’s, with a touch of Zho in there in the quirk of his lips.

“Yeah, there is…” He leaned up, kissing her on the forehead, and sighed. “But duty, unfortunately, owns my sorry ass, and I need to go get things in order. Love you, Mama…make this a…thing? Maybe tomorrow?” He asked, sounding so unsure of himself, and Satele kissed his forehead back, both hands cupping his face.

“I love you too, Theron. Go, and call if you need any help at all.” He shot her a weak grin, and sped back off to work, while Satele slumped back into the cushions with a weak laugh. “…You both are looking at me like I’m crazy.”

“Nah, just figured you were overwhelmed.” Some of Shae’s easy-going nature had returned, and she motioned for the Jedi to keep eating. “Eat up, no point in wasting good food.” Satele obeyed, and by the time the three women had finished their plates, Senya gathering up all four dishes, Shae was gently rubbing Satele’s shoulders, and Senya knew that look in Mandalore’s eye.

 They’d talked it over extensively over the last six months they’d been together; if there was anyone they might wish to add as a third lover…Satele was first on the list for both of them, and Senya could already feel the beginnings of a dyad between herself and Satele, which, had she not taken the time to research it on the Holonet…

“…thank you both. Sincerely. I…I thought for sure it was all over, that…that Theron would never speak to me again…” Satele murmured, and Senya cuddled up to her other side, rubbing her upper back while the Jedi leaned into them both, melting a little from the gentle touches.

“He’d already came back in the short time we were there…” Senya murmured, and Satele gave her a weak smile, gray-blue eyes weary but relaxed.

“Still. Thank you. For listening. For feeding us…and for not running away screaming at the ghosts.”

“…It was creepy as fuck, but you’re cute enough to make us stay.” Shae sighed out, and Satele burst into laughter, cackling a little as Senya hid a smile. “What?!”

“Oh Force, Shae, I know we were enemies once, but you always know how to make a woman laugh.” Shae grinned at that, looking smug, and Senya just chuckled.

“It’s a strong skillset of hers…just like my empathy is mine. Satele…I can feel the loneliness rolling off of you in waves. It’s been with you for years…” She calmed down, sighing a little, and Senya probed the tentative dyad with careful touches, smiling as Satele closed her eyes and probed back, understanding and a little joy warming between them.

“…so it has. So it has. Your empathy…small wonder you walled yourself off, Senya…” Satele’s eyes were calmer now, and she glanced at Shae, making sure that the lone non-Force user was also in the conversation. “You two…I was surprised to see you two together, but at the same time, I was happy for you…” She trailed off, looking vulnerable now, and it was Shae who spoke up again, this time her voice softer, that familiar rasp Senya’s favorite sound in the world.

“Well, if you wanna give it a shot, riduur, we’d love to have you in the middle. There’s something already with Senya and you, right?”

“How…did you know…?”

“I might not have the Force, but I can read bodies almost as well. And Senya said she’d sensed something the first time she’d met you, a…dayd, right?”

“Dyad, but close enough. A bond, between two souls through the Force. It’s rare…but it’s strong.” Satele bit her lip, worrying at it, and Shae gently took her hand.

“Riduur. Satele. There’s been a bond between us too, we were both just…too indoctrined by other bullshit at the time to see it.” Those blue, blue eyes, warm despite all the storms they’d weathered, watched both her riduur…and her riduur-to-be with a calmness that not even Senya could call up. “I lost my daughters…you lost your whole family. Senya lost everyone but Arcann, and for a time, she’d lost him too. We lost our lovers, and in time, discovered that those weren’t what our hearts had longed for. I had a long time to figure my heart out…have you?” Satele seemed to think on it for a long, long time, dipping her head to stare at her tea; neither Senya nor Shae were impatient, though, holding her hands, Senya radiating love through the bond, Shae’s eyes never leaving Satele’s face.

When those eyes lifted again, though, both women were shocked to see that the storm clouds in Satele’s eyes had parted, leaving sky blue irises, with a hint of gold glimmering in the centers. A warm smile, rich and bright and so lovely it made Senya’s heart ache to see it, and she leaned in, kissing first Shae, then Senya full on the lips, pulling them into her arms.

“…I have. I found where I belong.” Shae grinned, bright and fierce, and Senya laughed, happy as joy from deep within welled up and overflowed, Satele’s power second only to her daughter-in-law’s.

“Good. ‘Bout damn time. C’mon, you two…let’s go let the brats know.”

“Arcann will be thrilled.”

“Torian’ll probably just call me a gold digger, the little shit.”

“…oh crap.” Senya paused as Satele froze, her arm over the Jedi’s shoulder while Satele’s arms were around their waists, and she touched Satele’s cheek, worried.

“Love, what’s wrong?”

“…Theron’s going to kill me.”

“Nah, probably just bitch about it. Hey…” Both of them stared as Shae got a wicked grin on her face, and suddenly, Senya understood exactly how Hylo felt whenever Gault opened his big fat mouth. “We could stage a strip Pazaak tourney. Let the kid really understand what trauma is.”

“Oh Force, Shae, no.”

“…I have a better idea.” Satele’s voice was smug, and she pulled out an old datapad, pulling up a file that crackled for a moment before clearing, revealing a tall man with long dark hair in a half-pony tail, his robes a bit disheveled.

“Is this thing on?”

[blueikeproductions]

I think ES was kinda doomed from the word go to be honest. The base premise of a new race of Transformers living with a human family ruffled some jimmies from the start, with it already sounding like a do over of Rescue Bots. RB, I should add, has a devoted fanbase, but most people want nothing to do with it since it’s a (smartly written) preschool school, while RBA regressed somewhat into a more obvious preschool show.

The other things going against it:

Heavier IDW leanings, from Autobot Megatron to the post war concepts, to perhaps the biggest sin: the writing team being Decepticon sympathizers. The main cast clearly adore Megatron, while Dot clearly hates/tolerates Optimus. Not helped is other stuff that suggests the Autobots are shady and underhanded while the Decepticons are misunderstood and just need a hug. Having your main heroes, all OCs and ethically diverse, hanging around with Great Uncle Megatron, best known in pop culture as THE most insane and evil son of a gun this side of Unicron, is not the flex the writers think it is.

The Smash success of Skybound’s Energon Universe, returning to the traditional heroic Autobots vs Evil Decepticons with Starscream in particular being a gloriously evil piston head shows people want more of that, not fix fic domestic abuse blue eyed TFP Starscream.

GHOST as a concept doesn’t work. It’s supposed to be antagonistic but most of its time is used to (rightfully) hunt down the evil Decepticons, but like the Enforcers from SWAT Kats they suck at their job (and not in an endearing or funny way), with the only time they appear to be actually evil is when Karen appears… and then she dies and the group collapses at the last minute.

Mandroid is pry the best thing about the show, but he was wasted. He was not used to his fullest extent and he was rushed into a finale that saw his untimely death when he could’ve been used longer. He eked out a little longer on the ES vidya game, but was shot dead with a “Yea he’s dead now. He ain’t coming back, ya happy now??” vibe.

The show’s writing is extremely amateurish, but still heads, shoulders, knees and toes above whatever the heck Cyberverse was doing. One fan review said it best that it’s another show trying to tackle topics none of the staff are qualified to handle, let alone muddling the message by having the Transformers be a stand in for things like racism that don’t work well whatsoever in its intended context. The tone wildly fluctuates like Cyberverse did, from being edgy and hard core (for its standards) but then having a bunch of Twit/Tum level fluff episodes. Instagram posts regarding EarthSpark on the official TF Insta pretty much range from raw fury to not having more Transformers Prime seasons, calling it a baby show (I’ve called it Rescue Bots for Teens in the past for a reason), and decrying it for corrupting children because of Nightshade…

I think the main thing holding the show back (besides being on Paramount+ and Nick barely airing it) WAS the Nightshade controversy, and while the fanbase was largely united in pushing back against those being jerks about it, the damage was done. Nightshade is a huge shelf warmer my way, with several YouTubers (you know the ones) STILL constantly using the geeky owl as a stool pigeon for anti woke talking points. Not helped are the well meaning sorts using Nightshade as an icon and aggravating the problem further. I fully believe if they stuck to the original concept of Nightshade identifying as Terran because of their robotic nature rather than going by the human definition of NB, there’d still be sour grapes, but it wouldn’t have spiraled into Fox News level problems.

Now we come to the upcoming season. I think a lot of fan speculation on where they’d take the show has died off because what’s the point. Is Shockwave the new leader of the Decepticons because of his hatred of what Megatron did and his disgust of the Terrans? Nope, Starscream is… for some reason. Shockwave is now perfectly fine with the Maltos and Terrans as are most of the Decepticons we’ve seen. Is this gonna be a Lapis situation where she’s nice to Steven but a huge witch to everyone else? Mandroid and GHOST are gone, and anti Transformer sentiment is not as big a fixture as the show thinks it is, so this may not be a problem later on either. Are the Quintessons going to be the Decepticon analogs to the Terrans’ Autobots? As of typing, heck if we know! The Quints have become more of a permanent fixture lately but none of the new stuff has used them effectively yet, and Skybound’s not made many moves on their take on them just yet. Whatever any of us have thought of, the show goes right out of its way to do the complete opposite so who knows what’ll happen? Do we care? The first season started strong and sucked out all the oxygen in its final half, so not a great start, with most of us who were on board now just feel indifferent or have abandoned it. The toyline frankly blows, having become mostly a repaint line using unsold Cyberverse molds in a money saving scheme. So we have Prowl who is repainted from Hot Rod, and not just the Prowl toy with different paint applications. Outstanding, he says sarcastically. Plus, a problem that’s always existed but gotten worse since Prime: toy only concepts the show either can’t do because budget or refuses to do because toyetic is stupid… in a franchise that’s the most toyetic thing on the slaggin’ planet! We have these Energon Superlink like toys, but like the gimmicks in Prime, RiD15, WFC, RotB and CV, most likely they don’t factor at all into the show. So into the clearance bin they go with all the Crash Combiners and lingering Energon Ignitors….

Whatever cartoon comes next can’t come fast enough, especially if it’s inspired by the Energon Universe, because THAT’S what sells, not (for better or worse) Car and Cable meets Family Matters.

The thing that gets me about ES is that even while it was actively airing, there was pretty much no discussion about it except for here and the TFW2005 forums. There were a few other TF fansites that had discussion, but it was very sporadic. It rarely pops up on reddit and I remember people on other sites having no idea that the rest of Season 1 aired a few months after it was finished. Like, aside from Tumblr, the general reception to ES has pretty much been indifferent. Yeah, there was the Nightshade controversy, but that died down relatively quickly.

[mlrecords]

I posted 283 times in 2021

275 posts created (97%)

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For every post I created, I reblogged 0.0 posts.

I added 695 tags in 2021

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#who would have thought that this could happen to me

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Now that you see two EPs, let's put them all together. Plus more songs to add for their new album, Happiness & Hopelessness. Remember their logo? Yup, it's still The Legendary Paladins.

It will come out on July 16.

The artwork for the album cover is made by @kaiselart.

The artwork for the tracklist cover is made by @bravepaladinsedits.

28 notes • Posted 2021-06-14 03:29:09 GMT

#4

See the full post

29 notes • Posted 2021-06-17 23:23:42 GMT

#3

Congratulations to April for releasing her debut album. So, we might as well release this album to you. Our new album, Been There Done That, is coming out on Friday.

30 notes • Posted 2021-09-30 03:16:02 GMT

#2

Out of these three people, who do you think you like the most?

Chloe, April, or Matt?

Like for Chloe, Reblog for April, and Reply for Matt.

See the full post

37 notes • Posted 2021-09-25 01:15:07 GMT

#1

The queen of vampire is back with her new album, Love me 'til the day you die.

Lots of craziness to do for tomorrow.

45 notes • Posted 2021-09-17 02:35:46 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

“never do that again”

A note before you start reading - there’s mentions of hospital, blood, stitches - nothing too gory but I know some people are squeamish. You’ve been warned!!

She had gotten a call from an unfamiliar number telling her she needed to come to the hospital, that her husband and brother-in-law were brought in. Heart pounding, blood rushing to her head, she quickly grabbed her items, only stopping to tell her boss what was going on and that she’d have her cell if he needed her. She denied his offers to take her, needing to get there as quickly as possible.

Walking into the emergency department of the local hospital, she scanned the area looking for someone who at least knew what was going on. Walking up to the nurse’s desk, she tapped her foot, waiting for the couple in front of her to finish. She was thinking of all the ways she could kill Jack and Race for putting her through the worry and stress.

“Next?” She was knocked out of her thoughts by the nurse. She walked up to the desk, hands shaking with nerves before smiling. “I got a call that Jack Kelly and Antonio Higgins-Conlon were brought in?”

“Relationship to them?” The nurse typed something into the computer.

She cleared her throat, trying to get her emotions under control. “Jack is my husband and Antonio is my brother.”

“They’re just being seen by a doctor. She should be out shortly to update you.” The nurse stood, pointing to an area over her shoulder. “You can wait over there and I’ll let the doctor know you’re here. What was your name?”

“Katherine Kelly.” She tried to smile but it was faint. “Thank you.”

Kat walked over to the area the nurse indicated before taking a seat. She texted Spot to let him know she was at the hospital. Her feet tapped, impatient and eager to learn the condition and injuries of the two men. She checked her phone but there were no messages.

Scanning the room, she ignored all of the commotion and narrowed her eyes on a little girl and her mother. Both were giggling about something. Kat felt herself smiling at them, despite still being worried about Jack and Race.

She sighed, looking at the clock on the wall, leaning her head against the wall behind her. It had only been 45 minutes since she got the call. “Kat?”

Looking up, she sighed before throwing herself at Spot, letting herself relax just enough for the tears she had been holding onto to finally falling. “Hey, hey you’re okay. They're both fine, dumbasses but fine.”

He held her for a few minutes until she pulled away. “Sorry” She pulled back, wiping at her eyes, taking a seat beside her brother-in-law. “What happened?”

“Don’t apologize! According to Race, he convinced Jack to let him teach him how to skateboard. Race said it was going pretty good, until Jack hit a crack in the sidewalk, and he fell forward, splitting open his forehead.” Spot shook his head.

Kat’s eyes went wide. “Is Race hurt too?”

“Yea, somehow the dumbass name my husband broke his arm in the commotion of things.” Spot said lovingly. “I’m about to hurt the two of them.”

Squeezing his hand, Kat sighed. “I’m glad you got the scoop. All I got was a call from an unknown number telling me that Jack and Race were brought in.”

“Oh Shit, Kat I’m sorry, I didn’t call you. Race said he would do it.” Spot shook his head, sighing.

Silence descended over them until a doctor came out and the nurse pointed in their direction. “Katherine Kelly?”

“Yes.” She stood, Spot following her. “This is Sean Higgins-Conlon, Antonio’s husband.”

The doctor smiled at both of them. “I apologize for the delay. I’m Dr. Thomas, and I just finished checking over both of your husbands. Jack had to get 15 stitches in the front of his head, right above his eyebrow. We are giving him a blood transfusion due to the amount of blood he lost. He also has a concussion that we need to monitor for a bit. He also has a fair amount of bruising, but none are serious.”

Kat nodded, taking all the information in. “And Antonio?”

“Antonio broke the radius, the shorter of the two arm bones. The nurse is putting a cast on his arm now that will need to be in place for at least 6 weeks. He also has some bruises but none are serious.” The doctor reviewed her notes. “Do either of you have any questions?”

Spot shook his head while Kat bit her lip. “Will they be discharged today or will they need to stay overnight?”

“Antonio will be discharged in a few hours. However, we will need to monitor Jack due to his concussion. If anything, we’ll discharge him around 6pm if all is well. If not, he’ll have to stay the night and he’ll be discharged tomorrow morning. We’ll play it by ear.” She smiled. “He’s quite lucky that it wasn’t anything more serious.”

Kat smiled. “Thank you. Can we see them?”

She nodded, motioning them to follow her, stopping at a closed door. “We put them in a private room, since they’re family. They’re right in here.”

“Thank you Dr Thomas.” Kat leaned her body against the wall to catch her breath. She took several deep breaths, to both calm her racing heart rate and her anger at the stupidity of the two.

“You okay?” Spot mimicked her stance against the wall, giving her a look of concern. “I can kick both of their asses for you if you want.”

Nodding, she looked over at him with a giggle. “I may take you up on kicking their asses. I’m debating between being worried sick and wanting to kill them both myself. And I’m trying to calm down.”

Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, she faced the door before knocking softly. The voices inside had stilled before one of them called to come in.

Pushing open the door slowly, she watched as a lazy smile stretched across her husband’s face. She narrowed her eyes on him as Spot went to Race’s side. “Hi honey.”

Shaking her head, she stayed quiet, eyes sweeping over him. He had two IVs in his arm - one delivering blood, the other saline, a big white bandage over his eyebrow, and a smile on his face. “Don’t hi honey me. If you weren’t in this bed, Jack Kelly.”

“Hey, hey, I’m okay.” He grabbed her hand, hoping to reassure her before the tears started. “My head is thicker than it looks.”

She held back the urge to hit him but all she wanted to do is cause him as much pain as he caused her. “You’re an idiot, Jack. And not as young as you once were. Spot offered me to kick your ass for me.”

“Yea, remind me never to let Race convince me to let him teach me something new.” Jack grimaced.

“Never do that again.” She amended. “You scared me. I never want to get a phone call like that again.”

Jack bit his lip, feeling awful. “I’m sorry.”

“Just know that you scared me and I don’t want to feel that way again.” She smiled, turning to look at Race. “Are you doing okay?”

He waved his bright neon yellow cast. “As well as I can be. Sorry about the drama, Kat. I thought I picked a smooth section.”

“As Spot said in the waiting room, you’re both dumbasses. But we love you.” She squeezed Jack’s hand and smiled at Race. “Spot offered to kick your asses for me. I’m still debating on whether I’m taking him up on that offer.”

Sitting on the edge of the bed beside Jack, she looked up at the bag of blood. She listened to Race, Spot, and Jack talk, all while Jack occasionally squeezed her hand.

“I’m okay. I love you.” Jack leaned up and kissed her. “I was kinda scared of what version of Kat I was going to get - calm and collected or a pissed off one.”

Kat raised an eyebrow at him. “And which one were you hoping for?”

“Whichever one didn’t cuff me over the head.” Jack admitted with a shrug.

Spot snorted. “She was really close to killing you both over the head. She took several deep breaths outside the door before we walked in.”

“Never again, Jack Kelly.” She gave him a look. “You’re confined to the couch when we get home.”

Jack looked at her. “When can we leave?”

“Race is probably going to leave sooner than you are. You have a concussion.” Kat shook her head. “Earliest the doctor said was before 6pm but you might have to spend the night.”

Jack threw his head back before groaning at the pain it caused.

“Betcha that felt great. Don’t do that.” Kat rolled her eyes at her husband, swatting at his arm. “Did they give you anything?”

Jack pouted. “No, they said I couldn’t until after the concussion protocol was over.”

“Sorry babe.” Kat squeezed his hand. “But what have you learned?”

Glaring at his brother, Jack sighed. “Race is a dumbass, never listen to him, and a busted foreheads hurts a hell of a lot.”

“Hey now!” Race piped up. “I didn’t hold a gun to your head and demand that you go skateboarding. I asked if you wanted to tag along and possibly learn.”

Spot and Kat traded looks. “You’re both dumbasses and you’re going to remember this for a really long time.”

“Good.” Kat kissed his forehead, relaxing against him, thanking her blessings, that two of the most important men in her life were okay.

Thank you @wide-eyed--wonderer for sending this in. It kinda got away from me ☺️

[mrawkweird]

Oh goodness; how could I forget about Minerva Mink?

As well as Callie Briggs.

The girl was trouble. She was doing everything right.

Another I can’t afford to forget is Demona from Gargoyles.

Just her name alone let’s you know you’re in for some shit. She was a bad one but damn if she wasn’t BAD.

Also, Elza from that one thing I can’t talk about or show too much of lest we all get banned..

Only checked out this series in passing and she was just one of the women that stuck out to me the most. That’s just a whole series of good problems honestly.

Favorite non human/humanoid girls? And no they cant just be a regular chick with some cat ears or some non human creature that looks human (Aisha, Angewoman, Sakuramon) or robots.

I want to know who’s out here looking at Angewomon or Sakuyamon and thinking “That ain’t a human cosplaying a Digimon”. That’s like Agumon digivolving into a ripped dude in a dino mask and having everyone go “That’s still a dinosaur”.

I mean, we can just say “Favorite Furry Bait” and call it a day

Because I had to think about that zero times. Lola “Ms. Bunny If You’re Nasty” Bunny from Space Jam is always going to be the queen of that realm to me no matter who came along before or who comes along after.

I can’t wait for Space Jam 2 to nerf the shit out of her. Or they shockingly buff her. It can honestly go either way.

Roxanne ‘cause damn everything; we need to talk about 2 women from A Goofy Movie.

They need to just fully let her back into the canon already. Hopefully DuckTales opened that door.

Also, that one other girl from A Goofy Movie.

There was always a whole lotta something about her even though she was a glorified background character/attempted homewrecking thot.

Rouge The Bat

She’s just a whole other thing. I don’t know if the live action films will ever be ready but I welcome them to try.

Drupe (OK KO: Let’s Be Heroes)

Strawberries have never looked more sweeter.

Fifi La Fume in Tiny Toon Adventures.

That was a time and a good time it was.

There was also a Renamon phase when I was 11 but we’re not gonna get into that......

They know what they did.

[darkeraven22]

Hanna Barbara SWAT KATS Season 2 Episode 24 Review

Through The Mirror Mirror InconsistentlyYup. In this Dark SWAT KATS episode the boys travel to the Hanna Barbara Mirror Mirror universe. With all the same inconsistencies. Really. It’s like the writers for this episode saw Mirror Mirror. Because it, like that episode, has inconsistent mirror reversal rules in full motion. Not to mention they literally repeat the incident that sends them to the…

[amtrax]

Megaton Girl FAQ Masterpost

Here is a bunch of potential questions that you may have about Megaton Girl for both new and long-time followers!

What is Megaton Girl?

Megaton Girl is a scripted podcast (which is to say a radio play) that I would describe as a superhero comedy with lots of action, adorable romance, and an overarching story. The pilot is available here and I highly recommend checking it out if you want an idea of what the style and tone of the show will be.

Okay, well what’s the basic story?

From the official description:

After getting struck by a radioactive meteor, Connie Opland becomes the latest contender in a world of super hero celebrities: Megaton Girl. With the help of her girlfriend and secret publicist Laurel Fitz, and her mentor and manager Kirby, Connie aims to dethrone the corrupt and arrogant Captain Valiant as the greatest hero in the world!

That sounds totally radical, dude.

Thank you, 90′s-slang-spewing question asker.

I have very specific tastes. How will I know if I like this show?

If you enjoy any of the following, you’ll probably really really like this show: Stories with LGBTQ protagonists, Marvel and DC comics, Megas XLR, Teen Titans, The Adventure Zone, Critical Role, The Thrilling Adventure Hour, Mission to Zyxx, Hello from the Magic Tavern, Sonic Boom, Swat Kats, and honestly just check it out. The pilot’s only like 15 minutes long, and I think you’ll really love it if you check it out.

Well, who is the show about?

Connie Opland AKA Megaton Girl: A snarky, bubbly and easily excitable young woman with a love of food and low tolerance for jerks. After a bad run in with a corrupt superhero named Captain Valiant, Connie gets struck by a meteor and gains super powers. She dons the persona of Megaton Girl and begins a career in super-heroics, hoping one day to dethrone Captain Valiant and give the world a hero that actually gives a shit. She’s not very bright or quick to the uptake, but she has a ton of grit and determination. No matter how many times she hits the mat, she’s always back on her feet and ready to fight back. She lives with her best-friend (and now girlfriend), Laurel, in a cheap apartment in Los Dioses, California. Powers: Super strength, flight, energy beam attack (expelled through mouth), enhanced durability. She still feels pain and isn’t completely invincible, but she can withstand a megaton explosion and walk away alive (though VERY hurt).

Laurel Fitz: A shy, composed and brilliant lady with wonderful artistic talent and a passion for documenting the feats of superheroes. She is the newest member of the Olympus Illustrated news team. Her job is to essentially write and illustrate comic pages documenting the latest superhero news. When she gets on the bad side of her boss (whom is secretly Captain Valiant), she gets humiliated and demoted in front of the whole bullpen. When Connie gets superpowers, Laurel begins to secretly rebel against her boss by publishing a website dedicated to documenting the feats of Megaton Girl. She also begins learning the basics of superhero coaching from Connie’s manager, Kirby, who sees a ton of potential in her. She lives with her best friend (and now girlfriend), Connie, in a cheap apartment in Los Dioses, California.

William Kirby: A grumpy, no-nonsense old man with a long, once-celebrated history of superhero managing. He represented and coached the best of the best for decades before being forced into an early retirement by his last client, Captain Valiant. He distanced himself from society and lived out of his gym locker room for 15 years, until Connie and Laurel popped into his life asking for help. He’s long past his prime, so he calls in favors from heroes around the globe and beyond to assist in training Connie to be a hero herself. On the side, he begins to teach Laurel how to be a superhero coach, seeing her as a worthy future successor to his business.

Chuck Bradford AKA Captain Valiant: A vain, pompous, power-hungry man who is a superhero in job title only. He does everything for personal gain, even when it comes to stopping crimes. Once represented by Kirby, he cast his old manager aside when Kirby refused to coddle his ego. He lied, cheated and beat his way to the top of the superhero world, and stood unopposed as the most powerful hero in the world for a little over a decade. To fuel his ambitions, he runs the Olympus Illustrated news outlet, wildly overemphasizing his own deeds and often minimizing the efforts of other heroes. There are few heroes who verbally oppose him (and even fewer who physically oppose him), as he has been known to turn the world against those who seek to bring him down. Powers: Super strength (amplified by years of bodybuilding on top of his natural superhuman power), flight, energy beam attack (expelled through eyes), enhanced durability (comparable to Megaton Girl, though with a much higher pain tolerance due to more years explosions and bullets in his face).

Doctor Menace: A bombastic, bumbling, over-eager supervillain with copious amounts of intellect, but none of the brilliance to put it to much use. None of his plans have ever succeeded, his inventions are in perpetual “early-access,” and no hero or villain ever takes him seriously. In spite of his endless list of failures, he sets high goals for himself and always gets back up after every failure, with just as much vigor and excitement as ever. He just loves being the bad guy, no matter what gets in his way. He dreams of one day being the respected arch-nemesis of a powerful superhero with whom he can be locked in ceaseless bloody combat for all time, and to join a league of supervillains with which he can begin his conquest of the world. Also he’s stuck in a too-small tin can of a mech suit. Haha. Powers: Extraordinarily high IQ, high tech armor and gadgets with seemingly endless resources to create more, and limitless determination.

I watched the pilot and I [totally loved it]. Where’s the rest of the show?

We’re working on that! We want to turn this into a full series and already have several episodes written, but in order to produce a full series we will need funding to make sure that everyone involved is paid for their time. One possible goal is to get the show picked up by a podcast network so that we can run the show like a podcast with commercials. Another possibility is Patreon or some other form of crowdfunding.

Is there anyway I can help with that?

The absolute BEST thing you can do right now is to share the pilot. Reblog it, retweet it, TALK about it. Get the word out, and I do mean the word.Use the #MegatonGirl hashtag on Twitter. Tell people what you think, because word of mouth is the best form of getting people to listen. Tell US what you think! Share your thoughts on the pilot, leave iTunes reviews, leave Youtube comments! We want to know what you think!

This sounds like it’s gonna take a while! I want the show now! And an Oompa-Loompa too, daddy!

PUT THE GUN DOWN! WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS, OKAY?! Alright, okay okay. How about we make a full first episode for now, and see what happens? We’ll produce a full origin-story episode about how Connie and Laurel become girlfriends, how Connie gets her super powers and begins her rivalry with Chuck, and how Connie stopped her first supervillain? It’ll be about an hour long and be a proper start to the series. That sound cool?

Looks like you keep your kneecaps today, sir.

Thank you for your blessing, gender non-specific question asker.

I have fanart/AUs/other fan related content that I want you to see. What’s the best way to get your eyes on it?

Tag me on Tumblr @amtrax or on Twitter (at)amtraxVA, and/or use the proper “#Megaton Girl” tag on Tumblr and the #MegatonGirl tag on Twitter! I have gotten some LOVELY fanart and I love seeing all of it, so if you have some and you want it seen, that’s the best way to get it seen!

Hey don’t you run away from me! I have other questions!

And I’ll gladly take them, any time! Either leave them in my askbox or Tweet it at me! I’ll always answer it as best as I can without spoiling too much of the show. I also put out a call for questions and art requests every week for Megaton Girl Megatuesday, so keep any eye out for that as well.

For now, I think that’s a good spot to leave this. I will update this later as necessary, but I hope your basic needs are tended to for now! Thank you for your time and hope you enjoy what’s to come next!

[agraciteinmycereal]

An episode review podcast featuring SWAT Kats fans MoDaD, Nee Knight and Minti Sage. This podcast's episode is The Giant Bacteria.

[akanekitty]

I don't write much SWAT Kats fanfiction now, but i don't care if this hurts people's feelings:

Do not review my Commander Feral centric fics asking about the SWAT KATS!!!

Good grief. I just received a review about a fic i had about Feral and Callie doing the gala circuit together. And it had a side story about Steele and Ann. The review I received?

":I wonder if Felina will attend with Chance..."

I don't do Felina and Chance because it feels like I'm pairing the spares with them. They're pilots so lets hook them up? Nah.

I do Jake/Felina instead and that's a seperate series of fics. I love that pairing and it's my second behind Feral and Callie.

Why come into my Feral centric fics wanting the SWAT Kats? If you want them there is the show to watch and thousands of other fics. My Feral centric fics actually have Feral actually him standing up for himself where the SWAT Kats are concerned, and they are shown in a negative light. Why request Chance and Felina here of all places?

I don't read other SK fic becaue of how Feral is written, usually in degrading ways. If i wanted to read that, i could just watch the show. And unless someone is being blatenly false, i don't review it! I just leave them alone.

If you want Chance and Felina, read the fics that have them!

I get that this is the SWAT Kats show, but Feral is a major character who deserves his own fics without other characters shoe horning themselves into it.

I know I'm being bitchy right now but i don't care.

[gospelofthechosen]

Gospel of the Chosen - Chapter 32

“Uh oh,” said Kat in a sing-song voice. “Looks like someone’s got a case of the feelings.”

“I do not,” Jo argued feebly. She swatted Kat in retaliation for her disbelieving hum. “Seriously. It’s the wine.”

“Right, obviously. Definitely not your giant, debilitating crush on Dean.”

Jo glared at her playfully. She only made it a few seconds before her resolve broke like a dam.

“Oh come on,” she pleaded. “You’ve been on the road with him. You’re telling me you never thought about it once?”

“Absolutely not. Every case I’ve been on with him, he’s slept with a different woman. The only thing I think about Dean Winchester is that it’s a miracle he hasn’t got the clap.”

“What’s wrong with sleeping around? So he likes having fun and he’s smart about it. From what I hear his Yelp reviews are great.”

“Oh, gross,” Kat grimaced. “Even if that were true, I still wouldn’t care. Dean is just...so not my type.”

“Well we’re not talking about you.”

[caitlynlynch]

This is book 8 in the series, and though it would probably be ideal to start at the beginning to pick up on the worldbuilding I suspect was done earlier in the series, it wouldn’t matter too much if you started here. All the minor characters are sketched in well enough for you to get an idea of who they are, and the two protagonists are thoroughly fleshed out with plenty of meaty backstory to get your teeth into.

Jayden Brooks is one of Dallas’ all-werewolf SWAT team. Once you accept the existence of an all-werewolf SWAT team and the fact that anyone with a particular recessive gene can become a werewolf if exposed to a traumatic enough event, you’re pretty much home and hosed as far as suspension of disbelief goes. Physically, Brooks is one of the biggest on the team, six and a half feet of muscle, a handsome black man who occasionally reads almost too good to be true. He cooks, he cleans, he can dance, he loves puppies. It’s no surprise the heroine, Selena Rosa, a beautiful Latinx teacher he rescues from a hostage situation, has a hard time believing he’s single.

Werewolves, however, get fated mates in this universe. They call it The One, and it’s not exactly clear here what makes one were The One for any other, apart from an overwhelming physical attraction.

Selena’s a teacher at a school in an area with serious gang problems, and she spends most of her free time as well as her working hours trying to give her students a reason to stay out of gang troubles. While she’s fighting these battles and dealing with transforming into a werewolf, Brooks has a different problem - a team of hunters out to kill any werewolf they can find.

There are some pretty spectacular confrontations in the book, and one thing I really liked was that Selena was never held back from the action. In fact, her choices led to major breakthroughs on cases Brooks had to deal with. There were really hot sex scenes between the two as well, though being werewolves things did get a bit rough (read; claws and teeth make things messy).

All in all I really enjoyed this, even though starting here in the series meant I had to take some worldbuilding things on faith. There were a few obvious Easter Eggs planted for later books in the series (the cat called Kat who isn’t afraid of werewolves, for example) but I’d definitely be happy to read any more of the SWAT werewolf books! Five stars for an excellent paranormal romance!

Wolf Rising is available now.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review through NetGalley.