#wait does ppg count

[no-naem]

Attempting to draw a pretty cure character. Have gone through multiple sketches. I WILL get this right.

Okay but I really gotta watch one of the pretty cure series one day they look fun and the series seems like something I'd like.

[snobgoblin]

wait so if we are counting the milk commercials as canon to ppg lore (good sentence right there) does this mean that the gangreen gang has terrorized a kindergarten twice (once they were required to go the second just for funsies) or does this mean the milk commercial is just a forbidden schoolhouse rocked scene

[bee-cried]

Blues Daydream I had recurringly over the past few days.

I've written some of the daydream down but I never really put together a coherent story, so I'm just retelling it from memory mostly. (Content warning for the mention of sex.)

It starts of with them at like ...13 (?) The RRB are neutral and have befriended the ppg. Bubbles has a crush on Boomer (she starts crushing on him when she's like... 8)

There's a porch swing in this really pretty picnic park that Bubbles likes to visit a lot. It's surrounded by lots of bushes and flowers. She usually sits there by herself until Boomer starts showing up. He usually joins her to show her the songs he's learned on his acoustic guitar (he doesn't have a special musical talent but i love the fanon idea of Boomer being a music fanatic. Its very fitting, so I always imagine that he naturally just ends up gravitating towards music). They'll stay there for hours (especially during the summer) singing songs they know or just talking.

He gets really comfortable with Bubbles and they look forward to seeing one another.

And this scene stuck out to me in my head specifically...

***

Boomer: "Bubbles,  I have to tell you something. "

Boomer: *Kisses her on the cheek.*

Bubbles and Boomer: ...

Bubbles: "What is it that you have to tell me?"

Boomer: *laughs,  blushing* "I only said that as a cover up to kiss you."

Bubbles: "Oh! Well I have to tell you something  too then..."

Bubbles: *Kisses him*

Boomer: *surprised* " You just… kissed me on the lips…"

Bubbles: "I know…" :) "DON'T TELL THE PROFESSOR." (She panics)

Boomer: *Blushing and smug* "I won't. "

They both giggle. He strums his guitar. 

***

Later in the daydream he asks her on a date. She tells the Professor, because she's over joyed but unfortunately, the professor doesnt approve because Boomer is a villain and he doesn't want Bubbles to date a "punk who'll just break her heart."

Bubbles is really upset (she cry's about it) and she ends up trying to sneak out. She tells Buttercup who doesn't really care (until Bubbles involves allowance money.) to cover for her. Later, Bubbles tells Kim, Mary and Robin and they agree to help her sneak out for her first date, saying they'll let her cover by telling the professor she's at a sleepover with Robin.

There's a scene I imagine where all the girls put together money to buy a really pretty spaghetti strapped dress that comes with a white, light material-like shawl that's also like a jacket (i hope you understand what i mean lol.) Anyway, it's really gorgeous and they sneak it in. Kim explains to Bubbles this technique she read in a magazine. She tells Bubbles when Boomer looks at her to untie the shawl "like this" and only wear the dress part.

Bubbles sneaks out on the date with Boomer. They go to like some fun kids place with an indoor trampoline and an arcadia.

***

The night was a little breezy but that was alright since Bubbles figured most of the night would be spent indoors. She saw the arcadia lights come into place and began to steer down. As she landed she spotted Boomer in the usual Hollister shirt and jeans- well actually those jeans looked sort of new. Maybe they were.

He turned to her and smiled at her appearance. She suddenly felt a smidgen bad for having to make him wait so long. If only she didn't have to stay out of sight from the professor. "You actually waited for me?"

"For you, I'd wait until the ends of the universe." He grinned. Her heart pounded.

She blushes as he leads her into the fun place by the hand. Entering her attention was instantly caught by the sounds of the indoor trampoline, ticket counters and all the acrcade games to play. Pop music played over the rush of kids and preteens like her running around.

She smiled in awe, "Wow," she said aloud, eyeing all of her options to play with.

"Pretty cool right?" Boomer said, smiling back at her. She'd felt the heat of their hands at his gentle expression. She'd just realized they were approaching a short line. "It's pretty new. I think it opened last month. I've been eyeing this place for weeks. " he said unable to hide his own excitement.

She blushed and giggled.

Soon they were routed to cubbys to put some of there belongings in.

"Really? Cubbys? It's like we're in fifth grade all over again." Boomer sneers as he sets some items inside. "Well I guess you don't have much to put in but your purse..." His words drifts off as he watches her excitedly undo her shawl, stuffing it into her cubby. "Uh...." He mutters before she grabs his hand.

"Yeah we're sooo old for cubbys now," she agreed grinning. He looks at her, blushing slightly. "Come on!" She exclaims as she tugs him eagerly along towards the trampoline.

***

They go to the trampoline, play games and he even buys her fro yo, they admit to each other that they're their first dates.

***

"So Harry and Julie are definitely dating now." Boomer comments as they watch their friends at the other end of the arcadia play games. Harry looked a little shy but Julie was very open and boisterous.

Bubbles giggled, "yeah, I guess they are." She said as she eyed them. She and Boomer were in the cafe part of the arcadia. They'd picked a table but there were also small booths and a stage at the front.

"I wonder what got them together." Boomer said thoughtfully. "They're so different from each other, I never would have guessed."

Bubbles ate a spoonful of her fro yo, "Maybe. You know what they say, opposites attract." She grinned. He turned back to her, catching her grinning and smiling himself. It was probably they're tenth time they did that tonight. Bubbles didn't know, she wasn't actually counting how many times, she just knew every time it happened it made her heart flutter.

"Y' know..." Boomer started, looking back at his fro yo. "You're the first girl I've ever asked on a date." He said tilting his head a little.

The butterflies in Bubbles stomach made her dizzy, "you're the first boy I've ever dated."

Their eyes met and the sound of the arcadia went fuzzy. She was looking for something else to say but her heart felt like it was caught in her throat-

A high-pitched blare sounded from the speakers, and they both jumped, blushing madly. A tall man took to the stage in front of them.

***

And whaddya know, it's karaoke night.

So Boomer asks her to sing a song on stage with him, even though she's extremely shy. They sing some pop song that's somewhat relevant in the year 2006 (I imagine 'Anything but Ordinary' by Avril but I dunno). It's the first time Boomer hears Bubbles sing and he's really shocked but RUH ROH the professor (and a very guilty looking Buttercup) appear admist the crowd of preteens and ... Yeah, she gets in trouble.

At home, the professor scolds her more (he has good intentions. He really just wants to protect Bubbles.) Bubbles ends up crying because the professor won't 'accept their love'. (There's a scene that plays in my head where Robin shows up and she see's Bubbles crying. Bubbles starts declaring that she doesn't care that Boomer is a Rowdyruff boy she 'loves him'...

***

Bubbles: "And I don't care what anybody else says, he's not that evil! He can't help who his parents are!"

Robin: "I know but... The Professor makes a good point. Are you sure you want to date Boomer?"

Bubbles: *looks at her with a 'really' look through her glossy eyes.*

Robin: "Oh yeah. I forgot. He's been your crush since you were 8 years old. "

***

The next day she goes to talk to him but he's like "uh... Yeah, I actually wanna... Break up." She thinks it's because of how the date ended (Professor was not a happy man when he retrieved Bubbles that night. Also she was wearing a spaghetti-strapped dress. It was too cold outside!) He reassures her its not because of how the date ended, he just... Sort of realized he wasnt really all that into her like he thought he was (?). Also, he has a growing suspension that the Professor hates his guts. And his explanation for why he's suddenly breaking up with Bubbles is ridiculous...

***

"It was more of like... How does Brick put it?" Boomer puts a thoughtful hand up to his chin, "a fleeting moment...?" He smiles in recollection. "Yeah, I think it was just a fleeting moment."

Bubbles looked down at the tile, her voice soft, "But I thought you liked me..."

"I do like you!" He justified, instantly. Then he looked away, a little hesitant, "I just... Just as a friend though." He looks at her, a bit guilt-ridden, "y'know?"

***

...but sadly that's all she can get out of him is that he just doesn't think they'd make a good couple.

Back at home, the professor talks with Bubbles again. He explains to her that he's sorry for berating her. He trusts her to make the right decisions and who she dates shouldn't be decided by him. He encourages Bubbles to date "who her heart says it right for her" but she stuns him by agreeing that Boomer is no good and that she doesn't want to date him.... Or maybe anyone else at the moment.

So going to that porch swing in the middle of the park is never really the same because she's either alone or Boomer is occupying it before she gets there (he's lowkey waiting for her but obviously Bubbles is not in the mood to entertain him anymore.)

Then high school happens and they're in a weird zone of 'we're exes, but are we really exes because we dated when we were 13 and that was only for one day, and we used to be so close before that.' Slowly, they start talking again (they share classes) and Bubbles starts having a crush on him again but then Boomer just HAS to be an oblivious goof and get a girlfriend. Some hot, popular girl from the cheer squad who everyone says looks like Meghan Foxes younger sister, so Bubbles is like "aw poo." But bubbles isn't heartbroken just slightly disappointed.

Well, Bubbles joins the cheer squad and Boomers hot, popular girlfriend who looks like Meghan Foxes younger sister isn't very fond of that. I don't know what Boomers gf name is but she's jealous of Bubbles, as well as, Bubbles relationship with Boomer (the school knows about their middle school fling.) Meghan Fox jr starts shit-talking Bubbles to Boomer or when Boomer is hanging out with her and her friends ("she's literally so weird, the other day I saw her talking to a squirrel." "Does she like *snorts* ever grow up?" "Omg did you see the outfit she put together the other day? She looks and sounds like an overgrown 6th grader") but "surprisingly" Boomer always tries to shut that shit down, and every time Meghan fox jr asks Boomer why he says it's because Bubbles is his friend.

Meanwhile, Bubbles meets this guy accompanying the porch swing one school evening, she goes over and it's Mike. He's been away from Townsville for some time and he's come back because his parents needed to move back awhile and you can sort of see where this is going...

Bubbles and Mike start hanging out a lot. Boomer is taken aback by the relationship Bubbles and Mike has because he starts gaining feelings for Bubbles again. Meghan Fox jr tries to isolate Bubbles from the cheer squad because she suspects her boyfriend is more into Bubbles than her. School dance happens, school dance shenanigans. There's a talent show in there somewhere that Bubbles agrees to perform a song with Boomer for their partners. Valentine's day shits. And other small scenarios... But through all this time Boomer is regaining those feelings he once had for Bubbles and he becomes a lot more jealous.

Meghan Fox Jr's antics become a lot more mean-spirited as well. (Especially during junior year The principal has to step in and Bubbles ends up leaving the squad on her own terms. ) and after that huge occurrence, Boomer is completely turned off by Meghan Fox jr. He breaks up with her.

Unfortunately, he's kicked from his friend group and a lot of rumors are spread about Boomer (most likely by Meghan Fox jr.) Boomer and Meghan Fox jr had a very.... Affectionate(?) relationship...

Basically, when your parents don't really care about what you do in your free time or who you hang out with, and you're young and curious and you have an attractive bf/gf, sex can happen. And sex was what made Boomer and Meghan Fox jr stay together. She uses that after they break up to harass him though.

Uhm, Mike's parents have to move again, so he and Bubbles agree it's best if they broke up before he moves away.

Okay. So back at square one. Bubbles and Boomer are single and they like each other- well really, Boomer likes Bubbles. Bubbles admires him, but now she's over the crush thing lol.

So now Boomer is set on Bubbles. He ends up revisiting that porch swing only to find Bubbles is there. (During his relationship with Meghan Fox jr. he avoids it. Partially because he's in a relationship and also because when Bubbles and Mike are together, they usually occupy the swing.) Again they swing and sit for hours like when they were younger.

He finds his new growing attraction is unbearable in the sense that, there is a constant attraction he has to her that he can't manipulate. He goes through a lot of inner turmoil trying to find out why he likes her even though she's clearly over him, so shouldn't he be the same? He's fighting the attraction, trying to ignore it but the more they hang out the more it grows. And that continues into the summer before they're seniors.

With a lot more free time, they spend more time together but it's usually outings with their friends (unless he meets her in the park on the porch swing). Their bond continues to build but Bubbles is unsure if he likes her, and he's unsure if she likes him and then my brain just skips to a night when they're on the swing...

***

Boomer strummed his guitar as the crickets sung around them, the swing light dim. He suddenly stops his strumming, "Hey remember when you kissed me? When we were 13?"

Bubbles laughed and covered her lips, her cheeks colored slightly, "that was so long ago." She turned her eyes to him, "when we were kids."

"Oh yeah. And that epic date I took you on." He recalled. She shoved him light-heartedly.

"You dated me for a day and left me broken-hearted for two months." She grinned smug.

Boomer's eyes widened, "2 months? You were that into a dumb kid like me?"

"Of course I was," she said her eyes, not on him but looking at the stars above them. The night was beautiful and warm. She drew her knees on the swing as she gazed up. " I always liked you... Ever since we were kids I kinda..." He watched as she giggled awkwardly and her cheeks became even redder. She finally shrugged and turned her gaze to him, "I kinda told my friends I was in love with you."

He thought this over as their eyes locked. His heart felt like it was going to jump through his chest.

She looked back at the stars, "I even told the Professor." Her eyes had a small shimmer in them. "It was-" she scoffed and dropped her head, shaking it, "it was so stupid honestly."

He wanted to touch her hand, but it was wrapped around her knees, holding them together. He thought of all the things he could do. He could rest his arms on the seat, almost on her shoulders. He could scoot closer until they were touching. He could fiddle with the shoelace of her shoe.

Instead, he scoffed as well and turned his attention to the neck of his guitar, hoping she couldn't tell he was blushing. "Yeah. We were pretty dumb."

***

They end up talking about their childhood and one thing leads to another and they kiss. But nothing interrupts them so it's just awkward and they say bye.

Eventually, they start dating and yeaaaaah... If this were going to be a fic, I pretty much spoiled it lmao. But i wanted to share that with you guys cause i know there are other blues stans out there and we don't get that much love in the "more serious" fanfic department so I know every little thing adds up 😌👌

I honestly wish i could stay committed to writing a fic but i have horrible self-discipline and initiative D: Sorry y'all but i hope you enjoyed it c:

[kennan73888]

Late than ever, PPG script

I wrote this in my DeviantArt during the most heartbreaking and stressful time because of a dump script. The live action PPG script made me unable to sleep and do my work for overthinking. This exist for me to cope.

Many time, reminding myself not to check on the script. I didn't listen to myself because of curiosity, and wasn't too happy reading most part and couldn't go on. Nearly lose my appetite. The script I read is the revision in January 2021. The origin they build for the girls, including Mojo Jojo, isn't entertaining or that unique. Also, they add so much villain in a single pilot in the background. For nostalgia, maybe. The extra characters and name-adding poison my heart, an example of the script's names, using Drake instead Professor Utonium. Who's Drake? Wait, it's the Professor.

Like everyone says and mentions, it's like fanfic. Yeah, it does write itself such as that. A terrible one, actually.

Those reboots and remakes, I would either ignore or avoid them as much as possible. However, there is some good of them out there. Not counting a few years ago or years to come since these writers are getting weirder. Memes they wrote and the trending internet they took from are horrible. It is constantly added while I'm asking myself is there a meaning in it. None! It's meant to attract—to what they believe—people enjoyment because of the views on the internet.

Now, let me take a deep breath. I saw others trying to lift their spirit up by rewrote or redesign the characters. The same goes for the story. Seeing what they did, I felt inspired to reimagine the plot and characters. Especially the characters, which sometimes I want to question their choice of actions.

Invision

Vanilla Characters

Professor Jonathan Utonium His first name was grab from the FusionFall and Snafu, which I accepted as his legit name. The girls, including everyone else, would call him Professor or Professor Utonium like his cartoon self. Sometimes the girls' will says Dad in a tight situation or worrisome state, inspired by the TMNT. Professor Utonium isn't greedy. He loves his daughters and would worry about their well-being. The man who'll try his best to give advice to his daughters.

Blossom I like the idea from the script she's going to college, maybe aiming for a doctorate degree. She, like her sisters, is separated to focus their careers path and visit their childhood home once a month. The trauma she's receiving is out, crossing that part away from the plot for the time being. Blossom is the leader because she accepts as being one. No one or anyone told her to be one. It's her nature to lead her sisters and strategize the fight.

Blossom special power is ice breath, and none of her sisters had it. Also, she can speak mandarin. Growing older, meaning new powers.

Bubbles This is tough. Her occupation is weird in the script. She's either a failing celebrity or a journalist. I'm going with a journalist, even though I'm aiming for the famous status but journalist sound funner. There won't be any TRIGGERING, comparing, or mentioning the original cartoon from this lady's mouth. Also, any other 80s and 90s films. Bubbles is the sweetest and also the scariest out of the team. She carried that personality through adulthood; having that charisma brings success to her career by interviewing people.

Bubbles special power is communicating with squirrel, and speaking multiple language, so far I know is English, Japanese, and Spanish. New powers will come when she gets older.

Buttercup A firefighter, I expected a wrestler as a child but a firefighter. I accepted it. She'll be a badass firefighter, living in a random town, saving people like a civilian. The whole tough and aggressive personality doesn't mean she's lesbian, which isn't right to cheat as being one too. So that'll be gone. Labeling characters isn't my thing because I want people guesses their sexuality. Buttercup wants to live in a small town, experience something else instead of the city. People know her as a strong, willful, and caring person, which they respect.

Buttercup had no special power. Yeah, it's a shame but she could roll her tongue. That's cool. But she'll be fine as she grew, new powers will be shown.

The Mayor Wasn't a big help, banning the Powerpuff Girls from defending Townsville due to a riot. Also got replace, which I erase that replacer whole existence. The Mayor will continue being the Mayor.

Ms. Sara Bellum Never mention of her being the Mayor's secretary, except being Professor Utonium's ex-girlfriend and getting insulted by him. No and never. She's a strong woman and can defend herself because the original show her kicking Sedusa's ass. Ms. Bellum will continue as the secretary.

Narrator He exists, and narrated a decent amount of the Powerpuff Girls life at the beginning.

Not-So-Vanilla Characters

Mojo Jojo He's a chimpanzee, and he won't be splitting into two characters. The only children he had is the Rowdyruff Boys. Mojo Jojo won't be irrelevant in the story.

Rowdyruff Boys These brothers have powers and not some wannabes. Shortly, in my dream, they became a couple with the Powerpuff Girls. They're anti-hero, maybe, because I read a comic that the girls and they worked together to defeat a disco villain. So, their occupation is lying on the anti-hero side, for now. Won't be in the story.

HIM He wasn't in the script, but I'm bringing him in the story.

Ace Not sure if this character is the same from the Gangreen Gang, but it's a shock he's Bubbles cameraman. However, I'll kick him out from the story. In time being.

Fuzzy Lumpkins Mentioning through a montage of him being beaten up for stealing money from the bank. Yeah, Fuzzy won't be too irrelevant in the story.

Extra Characters

Clive I don't care if he continues being Blossom supporting boyfriend in the present. But they'll break-up in the future, maybe something about their path is different, or things won't work out. That cliche stuffs. The script wrote him as a sweet guy, but I can't wait for the writer to add some useless drama. Isn't that great? I'm sarcastic at the last part.

Macy She had no personality, instead of being Buttercup... I don't want to say it. Her fling. Or another word from the script, bi-curious townies. Again, I don't care. She could be an interest Buttercup trying to aim, but we can't predict the future. However, the script on her part was an eye-boggler.

Gina The secretary for the new mayor, but she's gone. Gone. GONE. Good-bye.

Jojo The new mayor, who has a crush on Blossom, and the secret child of Mojo Jojo. The laziest villain ever written. Who cares, since his whole existence is being erased.

Henrietta A little girl being hires by Jojo to mind control the Powerpuff Girls. The script kept stalling that the girls left Townsville, which the plan fails, switching to control the citizens. She, I don't why, like Blossom more than the rest of the girls. Telling directly to Bubbles and Buttercup, it's like she's asking for a beating. I'll add her to the story since she sounds like an extra.

Mine Characters

Casey Bubbles cameraman, who'll replace Ace and is going to retire in a month or two.

Plot

Instead of telling the Powerpuff Girls origin at first, it'll be great to focus on their life as an adult. Blossom working hard to earn her degree. Bubbles, a journalist, finding the most extensive and exciting story people will emerge. Buttercup lives in a small town and being a firefighter. It starts off relatable to how people go through their dailies then, surprise, using their powers. Presenting the Powerpuff Girls, retiring from the heroes job and live almost civil.

—————

Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup are chatting through videos. They can't believe they're here and thought as children to be together forever in their conversation. Fighting criminals and monsters, or starting a band from their childish dream. They chuckle a bit while Blossom wonders Townsville state, but Bubbles assure that the city will be fine. HIM were sealed away, and the invention Professor Utonium created had defended Townsville for almost ten years. Criminal ratings are low. Even if their biggest nemesis like Mojo Jojo or Fuzzy Lumpkins is easy to capture. Buttercup agrees, but Blossom wasn't sure as her head began to hurt.

Buttercup was the first to react, asking if she's okay, to which she responded with a nod. Lately, Blossom doesn't understand why her head hurts. Bubbles then assume that maybe she studies too much and should rest. Hearing what the blue powerpuff says made Buttercup straighten the leader, ordering her to head straight to bed without questions. Buttercup insists on it by ending her calls. On the other hand, Bubbles told her not to study too hard and taking care of herself. Ending the call.

—————

In Townsville, Professor Utonium looks through a chart of the earth below the city. The rating is unusual from any of his previous data, so he checked on the camera that spy Monster Isle. Nothing changes from there. Professor Utonium left his lab, going to speak with the Mayor about this.

—————

Clive, Blossom's boyfriend, entered the lounge and brought the textbook Blossom requested. Greeting with kisses. He sits beside her then notices the pale face. In a worry, Clive asked if she's okay. Blossom replied a yes, but became worse when whispers blowing through her ears. A warning she had to fear and the preparation she need to prep. Telling her and her sisters to return to Townsville. Blossom ignores it.

—————

Buttercup and the rest of the crew went on a drill, preparing the water hose and squirt it, treat the routine likes the real deal, and when any mistakes were made, it will need improvement. After all, that’s done. It’s cleaning time. Buttercup was then invited by a colleague for dinner because his wife is making it. She accepts.

They walk along with the house then knock. Greeting them by the door was the colleague’s wife. The rest inside is their children, then there’s an extra person. The colleague introduced this person as his baby sister, and her name is Macy. Macy isn’t too fond of a small town, but she needs a place to crash. Buttercup also mentioned that she lives by herself, offering her home if she needs some alone time. A tiny spark of interest between them.

—————

Shocking news from Bubbles Cameraman, Casey, announcing that he’ll retire within a month. Bubbles and Casey were partners when she first started. Things change, which is what Bubbles hate the most is changes. When the Powerpuff Girls went their separate ways, she hates it but had to get used to it.  In the end, things need move on, so Bubbles congratulate Casey on retirement.

—————

In Mayor Hall, Professor Utonium shows the Mayor his chart by explaining. Below the ground of Townsville are being heated, not the whole area but in seven places. Ms. Bellum is curious, pulling out a map from her phone and ask the location. Professor Utonium show where it is. Six were drawn as a circle, but the seventh was left in the center, without understanding it but knowing that it surrounds Townsville.

Something or someone had an aim at the city. Professor Utonium felt the pressure in this, thinking about his girls then shaking it away. They already having their life and superhero affair are finish. Professor Utonium told the Mayor he’ll look into it.

—————

Professor Utonium went to one of the sites, checking it out, bringing a couple of scientists while others are on other sites.

—————

Let us get a move on because I’ve been writing this for three days and some rest between it. I had other important to do than this. Short summary, Professor Utonium greets the new neighbors and their daughter Henrietta and seeing the girl that’s excited to talk about the Powerpuff Girls and their whereabouts. Professor Utonium apologizes, saying that the girls are don’t live in Townsville and stop being heroes.

Buttercup and Macy became close since their interest is similar. Through their hangout, an accident accrue, Buttercup had to use her power to save Macy and some people. Macy was the only one to witness, which she’s speechless and didn’t take it well. Their friendship ended because Macy was afraid and confused at her not being like everyone else. Buttercup was hurt but understand. However, through that incident, Buttercup discovered an injury on her side. It surprised her because never once did she and her sisters ever receive any wound such a light physical like a bolder.

This is where it began when I imagine this, showing the Powerpuff Girls had gone weak and powers are slowly fading. Inspired from the original cartoon, their weakness, Individuality, explaining them easily defeated when being separated. I, however, add more to this weakness on the Powerpuff Girls by showing the effects are taking a troll on them without each other.

The bad guy, thee villain, is HIM and Henrietta. Henrietta is trying to bring HIM back to the mortal realm, which he was sealed by the Powerpuff Girls. The disguise is Henrietta's parents dead, a walking corpse control by her.

Buttercup was the first to be taken away, then Bubbles, which Blossom foreseen her sisters being kidnapped. I want Blossom to stand up at Macy when searching for her sisters in the town and city that they are living. Not the slap in face type, but the smart mouth that hit you with a good amount of force that gives your senses back.

Fast forward, girls were saved, but Professor Utonium was still in HIM’s hands. They couldn’t rescue him in time when the circle disappeared and having Henrietta being dead. Wanting to save their dad, they reunite in Townsville by continuing to be superhero.

Blossom new power in here is that she see the eyes of others, which meant that she been seeing through HIM eyes. I didn’t wrote that much but telling. Buttercup also have a power that could hear people thoughts, which isn’t new, because she left to live in a small town because of that. Hearing people thoughts hurt her brain, so she needs some silence. As for Bubbles, there’s none at the moment.

Their career and stuff, they’re happy to move everything in Townsville. Buttercup will quit her job while Bubbles and Blossom are transferring. Explain one of their career choices, explaining Blossom because she wants to be like her dad. Buttercup will manage the house until she master to control the mind reading, and I’ll add a humor conversation, that the other two joking Buttercup should garden in time being because she had a green thumb. No? Okay, that’s a terrible joke.

Costume Designing

I wouldn’t be lazy or being too cheap on the costume. If I was made by fitting on the scene, there would be none as an adult until we’re almost at the ending part, showing that Professor Utonium has been making their outfit every single year to fit them. Like a row of costumes from kindergarten to adult, which some haven’t been worn since retiring. People, I heard, like the style from Totally Spies, which sounds excellent by adding their signature color. I um… I love skirts more.

Inspired by every superhero women’s outfit, the bottom half they wore a skirt and long boots. The top will be different by each of them, representing their individualities. Blossom wore a turtleneck, no sleeve that cut from the shoulder. Buttercup wore a long sleeve, but it’s a clove that attaches itself on the sleeve with the thumbs cutting off. Bubbles, I didn’t have that much thought, have the shoulder cut off because I’m imagining Wonder Woman.

That’s it. I would draw, but it’s been a drag writing this for days. I want to finish it up, and the bottom is an extra I wrote when I first started.

Original Story

The Powerpuff Girls' origin was good. The same goes for Mojo Jojo, but it isn't good enough. The live-action, I meant. Like all superheroes, they had their own origin of where they came from and how they became who they are. The TMNT, inspired by them again, had multiple origins from comics to animations and then films. It'll be significant that the Powerpuff Girls' origins were different yet similar.

After reading the script, this idea came to mind, so it began with Professor Utonium went on a hiking trip with his brother, Eugene, and they came upon an abandoned building. Cover in vines and stuff. Eugene is reluctant to enter, but Professor Utonium convinces him to explore the building. They went further and accidentally pressed a button, awakening three containers; B07734, B17707, and B32135. Three little girls, opening their eyes and hug Professor Utonium. He was confused by the girls as their creator, calling him Professor.

Eugene spotted the files on the floor and takes them, reading a few lines in shock. Cautiously, Eugene pulls his brother to the side. The paper was presented to Professor Utonium, explaining the girl’s ability and was built as a weapon during the war. Professor Utonium sees these girls were made for destruction but suggested raising them as normal girls. First things first, naming them as we are known as Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup.

Without the brothers knowing, also activate another open container; M58008. It’s a chimpanzee coming out, not too happy to be woken up while growling from just the sight of Professor Utonium. This place was designed to create human weapons—with the appearance of a child—that the enemy would overlook and lower their guard. M58008 remembers himself as a human and scientist, except his name. However, he’s so infuriating about his death and forces his mind inside a chimpanzee. The man who holds all that responsibility, he remembered it clearly, which is standing there.

There, my version of the Powerpuff Girls origin.

[princess-of-the-corner]

One PPG episode had a new, seemingly better superhero came, but he was actually causing the disasters to get famous.

I kinda want to see Team Miraculous facing someone like that... wait, does Volpina count in her debut episode? Even so, she was still an Akumatized person (she hadn't started working with Hawk Moth or threatened Marinette yet, and her anger at Ladybug was sorta justified).

I kinda want to see an adult superhero trying to butt in the Akuam situation for fame but be in over their head.

I think Volpina counts but also Principal Damocles tried that shit.

[renaerys]

PPG One-Shot: Under the Stars (Brick/Blossom)

Written for the inaugural challenge prompt on PPG Challenge Hub on AO3 for the prompt “things you said under the stars,” hosted by @kiebs, @carriedreamerx, and me. Also functions as a Part 3 to the Shooketh, Not Stirred series. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 here on Tumblr or on my AO3. 

Summary: In which Blossom decides she is definitely girlfriend material, and so does everybody else.

***We are welcoming more submissions for this prompt for the month of July! If you want to participate, please check out the PPG Challenge Hub collection on AO3.***

xxx

Nothing short of witchcraft could have held Buttercup’s 1997 Ford F-Series pickup truck together as it ambled over rocky switchbacks and through dense, Redwood forest to the Vista Lakes campgrounds for the Townsville High Junior and Senior classes’ biannual end-of-semester party. Blossom kept a stranglehold on the passenger door and hissed her displeasure over every dip that lurched the old truck too close to the edge of the road. The drop to the bottom of the mountain was a good thousand feet, a death knell for the Normies riding along with them.

Mitch and Harry, however, did not seem to mind as much.

“Oh shit!” Mitch whooped when Buttercup went over a particularly deep crag in the road and rocked the whole truck.

“Buttercup, please slow down,” Blossom pleaded.

“Don’t you fuckin’ dare,” Mitch said through the sliding window that opened up onto the truck bed, where he and Harry rode with the sleeping bags, food, and extra blankets.

Harry laughed. “We’re cool Blossom, don’t worry.”

“Yeah Blossom, don’t worry,” Buttercup drawled. “Besides, it’s not like a fall from this height would kill us.”

“I’m sure Mitch and Harry feel super reassured to hear you say that,” Blossom said snidely.

“Super duper!” Mitch said. He flashed the rearview mirror a sign of the horns and winked.

Blossom forced herself to ignore his goading and kept her eyes firmly on the road ahead just in case. “I should never have agreed to this.”

“Well, tough shit, Leader Girl. You could’ve gotten a ride with Bubbles earlier if you’d left your Winter Break homework until the last day like everybody else, but noooooooo.”

“Not everybody waits until the last minute to get the homework done, for your information.”

“They totally do.”

“They totally don’t.”

“Do.”

“Don’t—ugh, no, I’m not arguing like this with you.”

Buttercup smirked like she’d won the argument (she definitely did not). “Whatever. We’re basically here and no one’s fallen to their death yet, so you can chill.”

The road emptied out onto a clearing overlooking the side of the mountain. Three deep, blue lakes sat still and tranquil, each surrounded by clusters of gnarled Redwoods and camp sites. A lot of people were already here considering the late hour, and a few campfires blazed bright along the shorelines. The gloaming crept over the horizon, casting the valley below in shadow and the skies in dusky, bleeding streaks of red like spilled wine. High above, blues deepened to blacks, but it was still early for stars.

Buttercup parked off the main campsite and the boys began unloading the truck bed. When they struggled with a cooler crammed full of ice, Blossom lifted it effortlessly and floated it over to join others that had already been packed with cheap beer and grill meat.

“Eyyyy there she is!” Boomer opened his arms and pulled Blossom into his letter jacket for a big hug. “I’m glad you decided to come.”

Blossom returned his hug with a smile. “Me too.”

“I told you she would,” said Bubbles, and she nudged Butch who was busy putting away a plate piled high with four hamburgers. He took one look at Blossom and grinned.

“Hey, Highness,” Butch drawled.

Blossom shot him a withering look. “Hi, Butch.” Ever since she’d beaten him in a not-so-friendly spar while Buttercup was out of commission, he’d mellowed out and taken to nicknaming and weirdly friendly ribbing.

“Comin’ down from that pretty throne to hang with the cool kids, huh?”

He stuffed an entire burger in his mouth, while Blossom threw up a little in hers.

“Shut up, Butch. You sound like a creepy old man.” Buttercup arrived carrying two twenty-four packs of beer that she dropped in Butch’s lap. He caught them with a grunt, and Bubbles caught his plate of uneaten burgers.

“Bitch, you love every glistening inch of this.” Butch stood up shouldering the enormous beer crates like they weighed nothing, because they did.

“I love cold beer, so move your glistening ass.” Buttercup snatched one of his uneaten burgers and stuffed it in her mouth.

Somehow, Buttercup got Butch up and helping, and when Mitch and Harry joined them, it was short work to unload everything from Buttercup’s truck. Blossom rolled out her sleeping bag on the grass amidst all the others, but no one would be sleeping tonight. It was merely a courtesy for the too high or the too passed out.

Around the campsite, Juniors and Seniors lounged with beers and blunts, enjoying their last night together before Winter Break. Among them, Wes had his arm around Kim as he flipped hot dogs on a standing grill and chatted up Mike and Robin. Blossom watched them a moment, debating whether to interrupt the conversation to say hi.

Bubbles slipped her arm around Blossom’s waist and squeezed affectionately. “You look a little lost.”

“No, just hanging out, you know.” She returned the half embrace, and they stood there a moment enjoying the cool night air.

“Hey, Blossom! You wanna sit with us?” Harry called. He and a few others had set up some lawn chairs by the shore and were passing beers.

Bubbles giggled. “You know he likes you,” she said.

“What—He does?!” Blossom sputtered.

“For sure. And, you know, since you’re totally not with anybody else, you could have some fun talking to him.”

“You mean, flirt with him.”

Bubbles was as innocent as a lamb. “I mean, be nice to him. That could be fun, right?”

Blossom had nothing to say to that. She was not, in fact, “with” anybody else. And she had every right to talk to whomever of her friends she wanted, so technically Bubbles had a point, but…

Blossom searched the faces gathered. In the encroaching darkness, it was getting harder to pick out profiles and bright colors to see who was here and who hadn’t yet arrived. “I don’t know.”

But Bubbles was already dragging her over to Harry’s circle and waving back to him. Seated in between Harry on one side and Kim on the other, Blossom was handed a burger and a beer and encouraged to participate in the conversation.

“My folks’re taking me to our cabin in Tahoe to go skiing over the break,” Harry was saying.

“That sounds fun,” Blossom said.

He shrugged. “Yeah, sure, if you count me eating snow every five feet when I can’t stop falling.”

“Come on, I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”

“Oh, yeah? I bet it’d be a cake walk for you, Miss Snow Queen.” Harry grinned, and the corners of his dark eyes crinkled cutely.

“Just because I have ice powers doesn’t make me a Winter sports maven. I’ve never skied in my life.”

“Psh, can’t be that hard, right? You start at the top of the mountain, and you end up at the bottom.”

Blossom bit back a smile. “I mean, I think it’s a little more involved than that.”

Harry laughed and leaned over the armrest closer to her. “Well, consider us both noobs. Anyway, most of the time’s spent hanging out at the cabin drinking hot chocolate anyway, right? Best part.”

Blossom tugged on her long, red ponytail as Harry continued to smile at her. She imagined the scene: a cozy ski lodge surrounded by snow, and a smiling boy content to ignore the blunt their friends were passing just to talk to her some more. She would like that. It would be easy, simple, and soft. Normal.

“Um, you know, I was thinking of inviting a few friends for a weekend. Just, like, a small group, and uh, well, I was wondering…” Harry stumbled in the dark looking for the question he meant to ask.

She could say yes, and she could have fun. With him, with any nice boy, it could be fun. How silly that just a few months ago, she had let herself believe she wasn’t the desirable type just because some mean girls said so. It all seemed so absurd now, and yet Blossom could not bring herself to give Harry the easy, simple, soft “yes” he wanted.

“Oh hey! You can have my seat, I’m grabbing more food,” said Kim on Blossom’s other side.

“Thanks.”

Like a hand to the stove, that voice hit her with a searing demand to be acknowledged. Old habits perhaps, or new ones. He wasn’t one to be ignored, not by her at least. Not these days.

“Brick,” Blossom said, half a question, half a sigh. She pulled back from Harry to look at him properly.

He’d taken Kim’s vacated seat directly next to her and nursed a solo cup of beer. Like her, he was dressed for the December chill in long sleeves, and his trademark red cap sat backwards over his short hair, as always. Red eyes held hers in a look that lingered.

“Blossom.” He spoke her name like a secret.

He was late. Why was he late? It wasn’t like him. She hadn’t seen him since third period yesterday. Was it only yesterday, or years ago?

“Hey, Brick,” Harry said, leaning over so he could see around Blossom. “Butch said you might not make it tonight.”

Blossom worried her lip between her teeth, and Brick took a long sip of beer as he slowly averted his gaze to Harry on her other side. “Here I am.”

“Uh, yeah, so Blossom,” Harry said. “About Tahoe…”

xxx

Blossom tugged on her ponytail as she turned back to Harry. Brick watched her twist her anxious fingers through her hair and narrowed his eyes.

“Hm? Oh, right,” she said.

“Yeah, so like I was saying, my parents’ cabin has a few extra bedrooms, so we could make a whole weekend out of it. Skiing, hot chocolate, the works. It’d be cool if you came. What do you say?”

“You throwing a rager?” Brick interrupted.

Harry leaned forward to see Brick again like he’d forgotten he was sitting there at all. “Nah man, just a couple friends for a weekend trip.”

“Cool. Who’s going?”

“Uh, I mean, I don’t have a list or anything. Sorta just came up with it now, so…”

“So you still have space. Count me in,” Brick said.

Blossom and Harry both looked at him like he’d suggested they all go jump in the lake.

“You want to go skiing in Tahoe?” Blossom asked.

Brick shrugged. “Sure, if it means a weekend away from my idiot brothers. Thanks for the invite, Harry.”

Harry gaped, and Blossom ceased pulling at her ponytail to stare at Brick.

“I mean,” Harry said, and nodded super obviously towards Blossom while she wasn’t looking.

“How many others could we invite?” Blossom asked. “If it’s okay with your parents, I mean.”

Harry looked at Blossom, and then he looked at Brick, who sipped his beer like the oblivious, teenaged simpleton he one hundred percent was not. Giving up, Harry sighed and rubbed a hand over his buzz cut. “There’s room for two more if you’re both going to be there.”

Blossom lit up. “How about Wes and Kim? Or Pablo and Hanout?”

Harry sat back in his chair and nursed his beer. “Yeah, fine, whatever you want.”

She was smiling now.

“Wes and Kim,” Brick said. “Pablo snores like a motherfucker.”

“That’s true,” Harry said forlornly.

“Well, either way,” Blossom said, clearly torn between telling them both off and the desire to finalize plans.

Brick got up. “Let us know what weekend. I’m free whenever.”

Pleasantly yet unsurprisingly, Blossom got up too. “Me too. Thanks Harry, this’ll be fun.” She smiled genuinely at him, and he returned it.

“Yeah, the best,” Harry said dejectedly.

Blossom followed Brick as he led her away from the main campsite along the shoreline in the direction of the drop-off.

“Okay, what was that?” she asked when they were away from the roar of the music and the campfires.

“What was what?” Brick asked. It was dark now, and the farther they wandered from the center of the party, the harder it was to see the shoreline as his eyes adjusted.

“You invited yourself to Harry’s. Are you even that close?”

He paused and looked at her. “Are you?”

Blossom clutched the ends of her jacket as she blinked up at him. “We’re friends,” she hedged. “He’s a nice guy.”

Brick smirked. “Uh-huh. Real nice.”

“What does that mean?”

“You tell me. Am I intruding?”

Blossom studied him through the gloom. She was close enough that he could smell her perfume, silken and subtle. “No,” she said at length. “There’s nothing to intrude on.”

He watched her walk along ahead of him, her long ponytail a bloody lash under the cover of night. He chucked his beer and went after her.

“This way,” he said, breaking from the shore and heading into the trees.

“Where are we going?” Blossom drew close. “It’s so dark tonight.”

“I think it’s a new moon. Here.” Brick found her hand so they wouldn’t get separated in the pitch black of the canopy.

Blossom’s hand was cool in his, and she slipped the other one around his arm as he walked deeper into the forest. The walk wasn’t far, and soon the trees thinned as they emerged onto the shore of the lake nearest to the precipice overlooking the valley below. Brick had set up his sleeping bag in the grass far away from the rabble where he could have the best view undisturbed.

“Wow.” Blossom approached the black waters, so still they reflected the night sky back flawlessly. Flurries of stars as far as the eye could see scattered above and below like snowflakes frozen in flight. The Milky Way ripped through the firmament, bleeding more stars clustered so closely together they glimmered ice-bright. “I feel like I just stepped into another world.”

Brick jammed his hands in his jeans pockets and drew up next to her. “Consequence of being away from all the city lights for a change.”

“Mm.”

They lapsed into silence for a bit as they watched the nightscape unfold above and upon the water. Brick’s eyes fully adjusted to the lambent starlight, but it was a cold light, and he wore only a thin, red hoodie to stave off the chill. Blossom noticed him shuffle beside her.

“Do you want my jacket?” she teased.

“Ha ha,” Brick groused. But it was fucking cold out here, now that she mentioned it. He had always been particularly sensitive to it in a way she wasn’t. “My sleeping bag should do the trick.”

They retreated to his makeshift camp, where Brick shimmied into his sleeping bag and Blossom sat on the mat next to him, perfectly at ease in the cold. She leaned back on her hands to admire the stars, content like she could watch them all night. Their gossamer light draped her like a veil, softening her edges and igniting her colors. Brick had the sudden urge to touch her, to prove she was no pearlescent dream, that the cold cornering him now was hers and not just the darkness.

“Why were you late tonight?” she asked out of the blue.

Brick lay back on the mat and looked up at the jeweled sky. “Finished the homework.”

Her laugh was as soft as the starlight, and she grinned at him over her shoulder. “Me too.”

Obviously. He wouldn’t put it past her. It didn’t matter, only, he didn’t want to have one more thing to worry about over the break while also spending way more time than usual around his brothers with nothing to keep their focus for eight hours of the day. But the knowledge seemed to please her, which was just as well.

“I told you I was coming tonight,” he said.

And yet, Boomer had blown up his phone texting him all evening wondering where the hell he was, why wasn’t he here yet, and didn’t he realize people were waiting for him? The last text was one he received when he’d touched down at the edge of the campsite and it was already dark: a candid picture of Blossom talking with Harry by a campfire, and she looked happy. Brick had not responded to it or to any of the other annoying texts. Kim had been more than happy to give him her chair the minute she saw him approaching.

“Here you are,” Blossom said, hushed and half-lidded.

Here we are.

Brick curled an arm under his head. “View’s better from down here.”

She worried her lip—did she even realize she did that? That he noticed?—but ultimately lay down next to him on the mat. “Oh, wow…”

The starscape shimmered far and above, and Brick began to pick out patterns in the cosmos. “There, Cassiopeia.” He pointed to a cluster of stars.

“You know your constellations?” she asked.

“A few.”

He could practically feel the aura of challenge she exuded like a pheromone.

“All right. Perseus,” she said.

Brick pointed to a long line of stars near Cassiopeia. “Right next to Andromeda.”

“That was a freebie to test the waters.”

Brick chuckled. “Sure.”

“Okay Star Lord, show me Gemini.”

Brick swept his hand south and west of Perseus to a pair of star lines facing each other. “A couple of gossipy bitches.”

She shoved him playfully, and he caught her with his free arm, pulling her close. “You’re terrible.”

“I’m right. Next?”

“Let’s see… How about Leo?”

With one arm anchoring her to his side, Brick traced the patterns she called out with the other. Dead heroes and their monsters rose from glittering graves with every sweep of his fingers and kept them company in the dark.

She tugged at his sleeve as he searched for the elusive Pyxis constellation. “Hey, we should probably get back to the party.”

Brick let his hand drop. “Why?”

“Because we’ll be missed, obviously.”

He chuckled. “I bet someone’s missing you.”

Blossom rolled onto her side to face him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.”

“It doesn’t sound like nothing.”

He’d taken her to breakfast. It wasn’t a date; he hadn’t technically asked, and she only came because she was hungry and didn’t want to go home yet. It was the first time he’d ever seen her cry—no, sob because of what some dumb girls said to her at a party. Just the normal high school bullshit, and she’d fallen apart. Breakfast was the fucking least he could do after the ignominy of seeing her like that. It just turned out that it wasn’t the last.

Too many breakfasts and long hours spent prepping for finals turned into expectation, expectation turned into anticipation, and anticipation became the new normal. They weren’t together no matter what rumors Bubbles and Robin started and stopped. They weren’t not together either, considering they usually were, in fact, together. It had only been a few months since she’d handed Butch his balls wrapped up in a pretty pink bow and left Brick speechless to behold her, a few months since he’d found her insecure and vulnerable on that rooftop and called her beautiful because she was, holy fuck she was, and so much more.

Blossom was old wounds that should have healed long ago, that he should never have opened again, but she was still so new and he didn’t know, he didn’t know.

She slipped her hand over the cover of his sleeping bag and curled her fingers in his shirt. “Brick,” she said in a voice full of galaxies and longing.

He’d always liked the sound of his own name, after all.

When he kissed her, she tasted like starlight, cold fire. He pulled her closer, kissed her deeper, a step into the unknown, but the unknown was where she was and she was everything. Her breath hitched and she opened for him, just like that day on the rooftop, but he didn’t look away this time and she kissed him back like it had been her idea all along. Chemical X crackled on their flushed skin as he rolled onto his back and brought her with him, her weight on his chest a warmth and a fantasy.

Blossom’s long bangs fanned his cheeks as she hovered above him and he held on to her. He dreamed she might fall back into the sea of stars and he would dive in after her should he let her go. He didn’t let her go.

“I don’t actually want to go to Tahoe,” Brick said.

She laughed, light as a moonbeam. “Neither do I.”

He threaded his fingers through her hair, pulled her down again. “Good.”

She smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around him.

xxx

No one took much notice when Blossom and Brick popped up at the campsite after a protracted absence. No one except Bubbles, who passed Butch her perfectly roasted marshmallow, which he wolfed down right off the stick without waiting for it to cool. She discreetly got out her phone and snapped a few pictures of Blossom leading Brick by the hand to a couple empty chairs near Wes and Kim. When Brick leaned back in his chair and put his arm around the back of Blossom’s so she could lean into him, Bubbles had to work very hard not to squeal.

Clearly, Boomer sending Brick that picture of Harry chatting up Blossom had had the intended outcome.

She fired off twenty pictures to Robin.

[Bubbles: Yearbook?? 👀]

Robin, who was on the other side of the large campfire with Buttercup, Julie, Mitch, and the Floyjoydson twins, spat out her beer when she saw the pictures.

Bubbles snickered to herself.

“What’re you so happy about?” Butch said halfway through a game of Chubby Bunny.

Bubbles poked his mallow-stuffed cheek and winked. “It’s a secret.”

He rolled his eyes and stuffed another marshmallow in his mouth. “Laaaaame.”

Bubbles stole another glance at Blossom and Brick. She was laughing at something Kim had said, and he turned to whisper something to her. Bubbles bit her lip to hide her smile.

“But not for long,” she sang to herself.

Boomer came up behind Blossom and Brick and threw his arms around them both, laughing and pulling them close. Brick didn’t even try to push him off.

Not for long at all.

xxx

Thanks for reading! If you enjoy my writing and are looking for more PPG/RRB content from me, please check out my ongoing multi-chapter over on AO3 called Beyond This Morning. 😊

[selfindulgentpoorlywritten]

What You Want (Tristan Jarry Imagine)

To make up for the Christmas imagine being late, I’m posting this short little New Years one early! Plus I’m writing another New Years one, so.

Rating: T

Pairing: Tristan Jarry/Reader

Words: 

Warnings: alcohol mention

Requested: yes/no

Summary: It’s New Year’s Eve with the Pens; can you ever expect anything to go as planned with them? (feat. excessive italics)

You’ve been friends with the Pens for, what? Five years? God, it’s been five years since you ran into Jake in the bowels of the PPG Paints Arena, when it was still the Consol Energy Center. You’d dropped all your paperwork and he’d helped you pick it up, chatting all the while. And that was it. Suddenly you were friends with Jake, and then Dumo, and then Fleury, and then you were suddenly friends with all of them. Friends to the point that you were invited to Flower’s going-away party when he got drafted to the Golden Knights two years ago.

Now it’s the end of the year, the end of the decade, and Sid has invited you to the New Year’s party he’s hosting at his place, which is where you are now. And here’s the thing-- you’re not like, in love with him, but you might have just a tiny bit of a little crush on him. Wait, not “him” as in Sid, that was bad phrasing. The one who you might have a tiny bit of a little crush on is Tristan Jarry, arguably your best friend on the team. He’s been on and off the Penguins roster, filling in for Flower and later Murray, but even on Wilkes-Barre, you’d still kept in touch. It’s looking like he might stick around this time, which you’re more than happy about. You interact with the team a lot more now that you’ve been promoted than you did when you met Jake as an intern, and Tristan makes for good content.

The point is, you’re at a party with the Penguins, and Tristan is here, and you might be a bit in love with him, and he’s been dancing with another girl all night. You’re not the jealous type, not usually, but your chest feels a bit tighter every time you see him up in that girl’s space. She’s one of Anna’s friends, you’re pretty sure, which means she’s tall and blonde and gorgeous, and you’re feeling a bit poss--   of him. He’s a good guy, sweet and funny and trusting, and you don’t want him to get taken advantage of, is all.

You do another shot at the behest of Bleuger, something that burns just enough that you forget about Tristan for a few blessed moments. But then he’s there, standing behind you when you turn around to leave the bar after tapping down your glass. You look up into his eyes, a bit surprised to see him there instead of with whatever TV star he’s been dancing with all night.

“Hey Y/N,” he greets you, slinging an arm around your shoulders and steering you from the bar. He leads you to the edge of the unofficial dancefloor, sliding his hands down to your waist and starting to sway the both of you. You dance all the time, so this isn’t anything new, but it still lights you up the same as ever, bright sparks down your spine at his touch, at the proximity.

“Hey Tristan,” you finally say, “What happened to Anna’s friend?” You have no idea why you ask that, except maybe a bit of bitterness. He’s your dance partner, not hers or anyone else’s. Tristan laughs lightly, sliding one thumb out onto your stomach. You’re long past worrying if he minds the extra softness there.

“She just would not leave me alone,” he says, dipping his head close like he’s telling you a secret, “I think she’s looking for a hockey husband.” Oh. So it was her monopolizing his time, not the other way around. Or he’s just saying that because he thinks you’re upset that he’s barely spent time with you all night. Which you are, but you’d never admit that.

“Aren’t we all,” you respond, chuckling a bit. Anyone would be lucky to marry any of the guys, what with how kind and cool they all are. Hockey Husband is too general for what you’re looking for, though, because you’re looking more for a specific husband who just happens to be a hockey player. Important distinction.

“Well, I’m right here,” he says, sending a wink your way. He always jokes that way, little chirps about liking you, about being with you. Hell, the song you guys always dance to involves the line “life is better with you”. It’s fun, and nice, and entirely heartbreaking. The way he treats being with you as a joke, treats loving you as something laughable. You know he doesn’t mean it that way, but it still sucks. But it’s fun. It’s all just good fun.

Bleuger interrupts your dancing for another shot, and you’re painfully in love, so you don’t say no. Tristan takes one too, watching you swallow yours down first. It gives you the chance to watch his throat stretch and bob through his pale skin, so you’ll let it slide. By this point, you’re feeling pretty buzzed and pretty confident. You know you look good in your little black dress, paired with your kitten heels and smokey eye. Whoever the lucky person you end up going home with tonight is, they’re in for a treat. Sure, you wish that person would be Tristan, but you can’t always get what you want, and all that.

“Dance with me,” Tristan almost-orders, dragging you back to the floor. It’s close enough to midnight that the makeshift dancefloor in Sid’s living room is packed with couples and singles trying to pick up for a night. You can’t deny Tristan anything, so you let him move you the way he wants. You can’t dance the way you like with this many people around, confined as you are, so you’re restricted to moving against Tristan. His hands guide your hips against his own, your chest pressed against him, your faces turned toward each other. You move like that for an indeterminate amount of time, so close you can feel his breathing as much as you can hear it, despite the distance created by your… extra padding.

You don’t really notice that the floor has cleared out until people start chanting numbers, counting down from ten. Oh crap, you’re gonna miss the ball drop. But honestly, you’re not too concerned about missing it if that means you get to stay here in Tristan’s arms. It seems he has the same idea, gently swaying the two of you in place as he counts down the last five seconds looking into your eyes. Five. It would be so easy to kiss him. Four. He probably wouldn’t mind. Three. You could always play it off as a joke if he wasn’t into it. Two. He probably wouldn’t be into it. One.

He’s kissing you.

He’s kissing you.

Only after a few moments devoid of response does he pull away. He looks embarrassed, ashamed, and all you want to do is wipe that look away.

“I’m sorry, that was inappropriate,” he says, backing away, “I should have asked.” He seems as though he’s going to continue apologizing, keep trying to make up for something that doesn’t need to be made up for, and you wish your brain would just get back online already so you can stop him. It reboots right around the time he starts trying to minimize it and make it seem like a friend thing, but you know what a friend-kiss is like and it certainly is not that.

“Tristan, please shut up,” you interrupt his rambling. You don’t even give him time to look too shocked, grabbing his jaw and pulling him back down to kiss again. Like you, he seems shocked for a moment, but unlike you, he kicks back into gear quickly and kisses you long and hard. One of his hands is cupping the base of your skull to tilt it just the right way, the other hand curved against your face so his thumb can stroke along the apple of your cheek.

What you’re expecting when you pull back is… not this. This being half the guys jumping all over Tristan like the biggest celly of the season, and the girls all taking turns hugging you tight. They’re all congratulating you in varying ways, from a regular “congratulations!” to an emphatic “finally!”. The girls have known that you like Tristan for a good while, but you had no idea that the guys knew about. However the hell Tristan feels for you.

“Sorry,” Tristan apologizes once the boys have calmed down, dropping another kiss on your lips, “I’ve been in love with you for like, forever, so they’re excited.” In love with. Forever. Are you fucking kidding?

“We could have been doing this before and we waited this long?” you ask, more of a shocked statement. Tristan laughs and places sweet kisses on your cheeks, nose, forehead, everywhere. It makes you giggle against your will, affection and unbridled joy bubbling up from that place deep inside you that never stopped hoping. Guess sometimes, you can get what you want.

[fly-pow-bye]

Powerpuff Girls 2016 - “Watch It!”

Written by: Haley Mancini, Jake Goldman

Written & Storyboarded by: Alicia Chan, John West

Directed by: Nick Jennings, Bob Boyle

Yeah, this show should watch it.

Our episode begins at the Townsville Art Museum. Townsville seems to have fifty department stores and about a hundred science conventions, but this art museum that was featured in Man Up 3: The One That's Even Worse Than The First One gets to be featured again. This Art Museum proudly displays art that's good according to that sign. Or maybe it's just a sign saying "Art: That's good!". I can't really tell.

Dame Elsbeth, presumably the owner of this museum, has called the Powerpuff Girls for an emergency. Buttercup immediately assumes a red bee is the problem, and tries to hit it with a rolled up newspaper until Elbeth protects it. See, it's not just a bee, and it's not just a ruby, it's a Rubee! Get it? Someone doesn't, and it's no surprise which one.

Bubbles: Uh, I'm confused. But that happens a lot, so it's okay!

I would chalk that up to Bubbles being written like Patrick Star again, but I tend to get confused by what happens in the reboot, too. The Powerpuff Girls were called because this priceless artifact, the most valuable item in the entire museum, is completely unprotected from potential thieves.

They did have a high-tech security system in place, but someone shoved a meatball sub into the control panel, causing it to malfunction. I have read so much Not Always Right to tell you that nothing is unrealistic when it comes to people ruining technology in unique ways. Oh, if only if there was some other way to protect valuable pieces of art. Like, I don't know, some sort of glass box surrounding it like that Anubis thinker right next to the security guard? Maybe it's just too powerful to be in one? I don't know.

The head of the museum decides that three six year old girls are perfect candidates for protecting this artifact. They are superheroes with really, really big eyes, but the former does cause a problem. What if something bad happens in Townsville, and the Powerpuff Girls have to stop it? Monster attacks seem to be pretty high in this season, though that's not that much of an accomplishment.

This episode is no exception, and it's even something that isn't a silly monkey with a silly hat or someone who sounds just like him. Cat-Thulhu has risen, destroying the city and eating 1d3 pieces of catnip every turn. If you wanted to hear the Mayor call something "eldritch", this is your episode.

Blossom comes up with a plan: one of them will keep a close eye on the Ru-Bee, the other two will fight Cat-Thulhu. Buttercup is excited to answer that call to Cat-Thulu to avoid having to learn anything, until Blossom tells her she's going to be the one to watch the Rubee. Buttercup tries something to get out of this, and it's confusing to say the least.

Buttercup: Come on! Let's decide by age or something.

Blossom: Fine! Bubbles and I will fight Cat-Thulu, Buttercup, you stand guard.

Buttercup: Wait, Bubbles isn't older than me!

Blossom: I'm counting mentally.

The joke requires enough brain cells to realize she's indirectly calling Buttercup less than intelligent, but not enough to remember that the Powerpuff Girls were born at the same time. I can see what kind of joke they were going for, but it just doesn't work in the context of this series. Even of the context of this episode, judging by that "I'm normally confused" line from earlier.

Once again, PPG 2016 does another three shorts episode, focusing on how each Powerpuff Girl would protect a priceless ruby. Buttercup starts out by looking around for any suspicious people, and her eye manages to spy a Steampunk Waluigi laughing maniacally. Buttercup reacts accordingly.

Buttercup: Sus-piiii-cious.

Bloo said it better, needless to say. She confronts this, and he says he's just a gem afficinado, and thieves are just. Buttercup decides to take this rather suspicious man's word for it, and grabs a baby who happened to be crawling around where the Rubee is. Before she can punch out a baby, another guy shows up to be in awe over the Rubee.

This leads to Buttercup giving a slideshow beatdown to a bunch of people who just happened to be wandering by the Rubee, using the baby as a weapon! The baby doesn't seem to care, which was probably the best case scenario with this entire "joke."

Meanwhile, we get a most shocking twist. You will never believe this, this is a scene I could not see coming.

Get this, Blossom and Bubbles are tied up by Cat-Thulu, absolutely helpless without the help of that rascally little green princess that normally takes on giant monsters like they're nothing! What an unpredictable turn of events.

While the two girly ones are struggling against the giant monster, the boyish one set up this airline security system. Don't think about it too hard; the show barely mentions how this would have solved the problem of the episode and just disappears after Buttercup's plot. It doesn't even attempt to explain how Buttercup managed to get said security system on a 6-year-old's allowance.

This new security system leads to another problem: namely, Buttercup being way too suspicious. She ends up arresting Barry for the crime of carrying a piece of gum with him, because he could have reshaped it into a Gumblebee that can be used for Indiana Jones-style swiping. Heh, Rubee, Gumblebee, their use of bee puns is as good as it can get. She then has the baby arrest him so they can make this joke:

Buttercup: You've been cuffed, son! Take him away, baby.

Get it, because it's a baby. That’s all I got; the baby doesn’t even really appear after Buttercup’s part with one little exception, which is not that much of a missed opportunity.

Buttercup gloats that nothing can get past her, and she almost catches a rather familiar looking crook until Blossom gets Monster Punch Girls Downed into the museum. This ended up being enough of a distraction for that familiar looking crook to nab the Rubee, and Blossom has to tell Buttercup someone is stealing it. I'll give you three guesses on who it is.

Yup, it's Discount Jojo. Again. They really waited until near the end of the Season to dump a lot of his episodes, didn't they? He doesn't even have a good reason to steal the Rubee, he's just doing it because he's evil. Buttercup just throws a vase at him. Leave it to Buttercup to irreparably damage the property of the museum while trying to protect other property. I guess that Rubee was just that valuable for nobody to notice.

Blossom, knowing that she couldn't defeat Cathulhu with Bubbles, decides to let Buttercup fight the monster, while she looks at the ruby. It's her turn. Don't think about the "mentally" joke here, because that only existed for that one scene.

Blossom's part is pretty simple. While she watches over the Rubee, a tour guide shows up to talk about its history. Blossom then gives that tour guide a "well, actually" and gives the true story of the Rubee. She then becomes the new tour guide, guiding these people to another part of the museum. Rubee be damned, she just can't help herself but express her knowledge.

...that's really about it for Blossom's part of the plot. It's kind of a sad theme with these three plots episodes; when all three sisters are involved, Blossom always gets the short end of the stick. She had the worst part in The Squashening, she had the worst part in Splitsville, she had the worst part in the Small World special, and she had the worst part in Checkin' Out. The only episode I can think of where she didn't get the worst part was in Memory Lane of Pain, and that's only because Bubbles' part was just telling her how useless she is as an actual superhero.

If there's any positive thing I could say, it's that there's nothing offensive here. In fact, there is this one scene where Dame Elsbeth comes back and asks Blossom if her sisters are looking over the Rubee that she totally forgot about. Blossom looks back, and realizes that the Rubee is missing again, and she has to distract Elsbeth...by grabbing her and throwing her out of the room. I don't know why I chuckled at that, but I did.

This would have been a good opportunity to use different villains. I'd think the Fashionistas would have loved that Rubee on their fashionable rings, and I bet it was probably shiny enough for Pack Rat, a villain that hasn't made a major appearance since Season 1. Unfortunately, well, maybe somewhat fortunately for the latter case, that wasn't in the budget.

Instead, Discount Jojo just continues to steal it again and again, just evilly laughing about how he pulled off this perfect heist. At least there's some variety in how he's stopped. In this part, Blossom eye lasers a Gem Foot to kick Jojo right in the rear, causing him and the Rubee to fly across the room. A good visual, but leave it to Blossom to irreparably damage the property of the museum while trying to protect other property. I guess that Rubee was just that valuable for nobody to notice. I'd argue that boot should probably be more valuable than that ruby. I mean, look how huge it is!

As for Buttercup, surprisingly, it turns out that Cat-thulu was too powerful for her, too. Well, that might not be entirely the case. The reboot does make sure to show that Buttercup probably could have taken this eldritch abomination on if Bubbles wasn't trying to pat its tummy! Yes, they're seemingly going with the "Bubbles is grossly incompetent" angle that was also used in Memory Lane of Pain and a few other episodes.

At least she's not incompetent to show up just in time to grab the Rubee from Jojo's hands. Blossom asks the Cathulhu-scratched Bubbles what happened to Buttercup, and she says that Buttercup said she can handle this monster all by herself!

Buttercup: (in Cathulhu's maw) AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!

Bubbles: I believe in her!

After the umpteen times Buttercup had to save her more feminine sisters, this is not entirely a Patrick Star Bubbles joke, even if it was most likely intended to be one. I'm sure they would use different terminology for it, but you get what I mean. Blossom tells her she will go help out Buttercup, and Bubbles should look at the Rubee, and...

Blossom to Bubbles' ears: Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...

Bubbles also can't focus on anything, never mind a Rubee. I did not have high hopes for Bubbles' part in this story.

...and that might have been a good thing in the end, actually. Maybe my standards are getting pretty low, but I actually really liked Bubbles' part of the plot, where she just tries to entertain herself from this boring job of watching something that doesn't move or talk. Even George, the security guard that was trying to fix the security system by using other sandwiches, manages to be useful in this plot by being the person that tells her after all of her actions, she only spent ten minutes watching the Rubee. Bubbles goes mad from boredom.

Literally, as, much to the surprise of Bubbles, the Rubee comes alive. It's clearly a hallucination by Bubbles due to her boredom. I wish the scene could have implied the seemingly obvious without outright saying it, but I guess they didn't think of their audience that highly to assume they wouldn't figure that out without the bee saying "no, I'm just an hallucination, tee hee!" Show, don't tell.

Honestly, that's my only real complaint about this part, and it's a minor one. There's a musical number where Bubbles transitions to several different scenes with this personified Rubee, and it's pretty cute. I even like how Jojo comes in as a pretty good transition out of the musical number, and his method to play along with Bubbles' delusions in this part's "Jojo steals the Rubee" scene. Maybe it's in contrast to the other two parts, where he just yoinks it when the other sisters are away, but I thought it was clever.

Blossom and Buttercup end up beating up the monster, crushing all of Discount Jojo's bones. You'd think they'd be more careful after that Silico incident. Also, I can't help but see some sort of meaning to how Bubbles was involved in both of the times they weren't successful, and how she wasn't involved when the monster was defeated.

The episode ends with a callback to how Steampunk Waluigi said that a thief would be the one you would least suspect. At least, that's the most charitable explanation, and that alone makes it better than most of the reboot episode's endings.

Does the title fit?

The Powerpuff Girls do have to WATCH IT.

How does it stack up?

While not my favorite of the three shorts episodes, I expected a lot worse out of this one. I could see this as a decent Season 5 & 6 episode and a fourth-rate Season 1-4 episode, so that puts it up pretty high by reboot standards!

Next, the return of Donny and Man-Boy. May they have mercy on our souls.

← Drama Bomb ☆ Man Up 4: The Donnyest Game →

[icanbehardcore]

My top 10 Powerpuff Girls episodes

(PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS WAS WRITTEN BACK IN NOVEMBER SO SOME OF THIS IS A LITTLE OUTDATED SO WE’RE NEARLY INTO FEBRUARY...ABOUT TIME I FINISH THIS DAMN REVIEW!) For some reason, @princess-peachie‘s love for PPG made me want to do this too haha!  Can you believe that The Powerpuff Girls -one of the greatest Cartoon Network shows- has turned twenty? I know it's a little late but I get such great fond memories watching this as a little kid. The Powerpuff Girls was a spunky, energetic, entertaining, action packed, heartwarming and funny show. I indulged myself into watching this whenever I could and I always looked forward to it. It didn't matter if I saw the same episodes repeated again and again, The Powerpuff Girls would never shy away on putting a smile on my face. I LOVED this cartoon, it’s pretty special to me because it came out on the 18th November 1998 (my 10th birthday),  at the time, we didn’t have access to Cartoon Network so I wasn’t aware of this show until early next year. My first glimpse of the Powerpuff Girls was a mention and a brief clip shown of the girls flying and staring at the camera during a line up of Cartoons showing at the time. I actually got curious straight away and had no idea whenever I’d get the time to finally watch it.

Finally one evening after 2 Stupid Dogs finished, The Powerpuff Girls was announced next and this finally gave me a chance to watch it in peace. I was alone in the living room and I quietly sat there like ...well a kid, waiting, I was excited, I would finally get to watch this show after trying to. 

Unlike most Cartoon Network shows in which it took me a while to get into such as Ed, Edd n Eddy, I already found myself smiling to myself and even quietly laughing. If I can remember correctly, the first episodes I got to watch fully for the first time were “Fuzzy Logic” and “Tough Love”. I don’t know why but somehow I knew I was really going to enjoy this show more than I’d expect. The Powerpuff Girls isn’t JUST your average typical cutesy show starring three female leads. It has more than that, it had action, it had a great stories, it had great adventure, it had great voice acting, speed, pizzazz and most of all…IT was actually very funny! Craig McCracken had come a long way since making these characters onto a small card he drew, to his own animated shorts to then one of the most iconic and important shows Cartoon Network had ever put onto their channel.

I loved it more for what it produced, I really liked how it pulls your audience in thinking it’s a cutesy girly show with all rainbows and giggles, but really, it’s a cartoon that captivates the audience with it’s humor, voice acting, soundtrack, atmosphere and even the sneaky pop cultural references and of course: adult humor. I would constantly tape the show whenever I could and when it came to those memorable ones, I KNEW I’d enjoy them again after more than one watch. There was something about this show that really appealed to me and sometimes I couldn’t quite lay a finger on it. When I first watched this show, I was glad I had instantly become a fan because this was one of those shows that I got into and enjoyed before anyone else did in the household. I’m glad it wasn’t just a girly girl’s show. I was happy that the main heroes were unique in appearence and seemed all sweet innocent looking kids which do nothing other than fighting crime, play around and act like little kids. I think what grabbed male audience’s attention more were the villains and I can see why. They were all funny, engaging and their use of dialogue and voice acting were terrific. All well done to a tee!

When you’ve got voice talents such as Tom Kane, Jennifer Hale, Cathy Cavadini, EG Daily, Tara Strong, Roger Jackson, Jim Cummings, Tom Kenny, not forgetting the late Chuck McCann and even occasional to major and minor voice appearances from Kevin Michael Richardson, Rob Paulsen, Kath Soucie, Jeff Bennet and  even Mark Hamill, WHERE can you go wrong? With a good cartoon, comes a good cast of voice artists.

Craig McCracken put his heart into this show and I am glad to have grown  up with this masterpiece. The Powerpuff Girls is no doubt one of my favorite animated shows of all time and I will continue to watch them again and again and never get tired at watching the many episodes that are so dear to my heart. Craig really knew how to create a masterpiece and one that would go onto become a cultural phenomenon. He really knew how to create great characters young, old, male and female, and yet have the main lead cast all female that would appeal to both girls and boys is quite a milestone in cartoon history.

In honor of this series, I will be counting down my top ten greatest Powerpuff Girls episodes. I will however not be including the movie, the Christmas special or the Dance Pantsed Special, also I am only focusing on the original 90s show and not the 2016 reboot. WARNING: Spoilers ahead.

With that being said here are what I consider the greatest episodes.

10 - The Bare Facts This was one of the first episodes I ever got to record onto vhs, I remember so well on Christmas eve and I couldn't wait. I would constantly watch it played back again and again and you can see why.

Most episodes focus on the girls fighting crime and succeeding, but here, all the action is unseen...at first.

Sometimes when sibling characters argue in animation, it can be degrading, unpleasant and makes you want to lose interest in the characters all together, but here, it's done right, to a point where the arguing isn't degrading or stale and actually pretty funny. Also I love how clueless the Mayor is about everything, especially the scene about "the note", this scene always had me laughing as a kid.

Throughout this episode, the setting is all in the Mayor's point of view, complete with various styles of the girls versions of the story on how it all happened, done with an art style shift for each girl. This idea is hilarious and I love how they constantly jump in with different story telling patterns as follows: Blossom tells it mostly focusing on her (all about her, nobody else), complete with a light red tinted scene.

Bubbles tells it in a rather light hearted but adorably accurate way, complete with crayon drawing scenes.

And Buttercup tells it in a rather shadowy olive-green scene, mostly focusing on the action and not the details like Blossom did.

The Mayor however is oblivious to what has happened and is only wondering why the girls were laughing earlier.

I will NOT spoil the ending for this episode for those who haven't seen it, although I really could have done without the narrator's little puns to go with the moment. Again, the episode title just may give you some ideas.

Overall, this episode was great and was even nominated for an emmy with it's brother episode "Bubblevicious".

KEY MOMENT FOR ME: The "pretty clouds" scene. Seriously cracks me up!

9. Just Another Manic Mojo 

I can't think of any episode focusing on Mojo Jojo to be as brilliant as this one, sure "Child Fearing" was hilarious, "Monkey See, Doggy Do" is a classic and "Mr Mojo's Rising" is one that shouldn't be ignored. But if I had to pick any of the Mojo Jojo themed episodes, it would be this one. Just imagine, a day in the life of a villain: Waking up miserable, going through so much hell each day and reading the news to such goody-goody acts.

Watching this episode back to back constantly, I never got tired of it and I knew it almost word for word at some point.

The first half of this episode focuses on Mojo getting up, regular routines such as showering, doing his teeth, ceasing the day and readying up for breakfast...until he discovers drama in the kitchen...ONE EGG LEFT! I just love the little ramble he does here, over a single egg, what follows is an ingenious rollercoaster of comedy gold. Whenever Mojo's onscreen, you can't help but laugh, with his hilariously bad Japanese accent and repetitive Speed Racer-esque sentences, you can see why he was a fan favorite.

What follows the events is the girls accidentally having their ball crash through their window and what do they do? They ask for it back (well, better than busting in through the roof and looking for it, eh?).

I would probably give it away if I were to describe what follows afterward, but if you really want a laugh, then this episode is the one for you. Of all the episodes where the girls drive Mojo insane, this has got to be the funniest.

KEY MOMENT FOR ME: Just Mojo Jojo, he's absolutely hilarious in this episode, the girls being a runner-up too for not keeping still. Also one word: "curses".

8. Supper Villain This episode is hilarious on many levels, most of the story  is done for laughs and the setup is well...average...averagely brilliant. It's great to hear Kath Soucie on the Powerpuff Girls again (true fans should know that Soucie started off voicing Bubbles in the two pilots via What a Cartoon before Tara stepped in for the role).

The repetitive dialogue is great, played out for laughs and builds up for even more laughs, mixed with great voice acting.

The story? Harold Smith spends his life working at a mustard factory, bored with his life, he longs for something more, with a dark secret. But when his beloved wife Marianne invites the neighbors over for dinner, Harold is vulnerable and finally breaks free and shows his true colors.

His outfit reveal (obviously home made) is enough to make anybody laugh off of your seat. With his newly found identity, Harold reveals his first villainy. From here, we get some hilariously unforgettable gags, and one of the best scenes that eventually became an Internet meme:  "Eat your pea, Professor!". No matter how many times I watch it, the dinner scene is just classic. Being a comedic show with guests at dinner, I'm pretty sure you can figure out what happens next. 

Key moment for me: "Eat your pea Professor!" No doubt about it. 

8. Jewel of the Aisle I'd like to point out here that this episode aired right as Kelloggs released a Powerpuff Girls themed cereal. Sadly it was limited and has since discontinued, so good luck on throwing your pennies onto ebay to grab a box. Now, this episode never really gets talked about enough, maybe because the main villain here is a nameless crook who you never really see again. The story's premise is simple, the girls fail to track down a thief who had just stolen a priceless diamond from the jewelry store. Unable to locate him, they retire for the night, swearing they will meet again. The crook however, hiding in a cereal factory accidentally drops his prize into one of the boxes, which then ends up in the local supermarket.

When the crook fails to find his precious gem, he's down to one box -which ends up in the hands of the Professor. The crook follows him home stealthily only to his horror to find out that Professor Utonium is the father of the Powerpuff Girls. Upon his spying, he notices a commercial (with terrifically shifted fluent animation that almost feels Disney or Warner Bros. esque) and comes up with a cunning plan...dressing up as  "Lucky Captain Rabbit King", the cereal's mascot, I'll leave it up to you on what cereal brands they were parodying here.

While these cereals weren't so big here in Europe, heck, I only ever remember eating Lucky Charms in my own youth a lot until they went up in price later on.  I still got the reference easily thanks to the internet. This still didn't stop me from getting laugh, gag after gag.

Think of this episode as a Yogi Bear cartoon, but instead of stealing a "pic-a-nic" basket or a pie cooling off on the window sill (or a plate of hog jowls if you're thinking Ren and Stimpy), you've got a box of cereal with a hidden unknown prize not included in most boxes. The comedy in this episode is hilarious, for example, how much cereal did the girls go through and not notice a diamond? Also, the classic usage of oblivion and determination is brilliant, it's like watching classic golden age cartoons of the 40s and 50s again. The crook taking on a role parodying the Trix Rabbit is just so funny to watch, no matter what he does, he is being outsmarted by three adorable kindergartners. I love how the girls just play along with the gag and constantly kick him out,. My favorite part would have to be when the crook disguises himself as a monster outside off the front window complete with a Townsville scenery. YOU know you're going to laugh out loud when an idiot pulls this gag out of his hat and fails to succeed.

On a spoiler's note, I felt a little sorry for the crook when he broke down, forgetting about the jewel and focusing on the cereal, I don't know, maybe it's when Bubbles (who is honestly the sweetest little living being on two legs in cartoons) actually gives in and offers t it to him. While most stories like these do tend to have a happy ending for the determined victim, we don't get that here, which is why this episode works. Again, while I've probably spoiled most of the plot, it's too simple anyway. With that being said, "Ridiculous Lucky Captain Rabbit King, Lucky Captain Rabbit King Nuggets are for the youth!". Okay, I'm actually craving junky cereal now, especially imported from USA!  Key moment for me: The comedy in this episode. 

7. Telephonies This is another classic episode, the comedy and timing is perfect, the plot is great and gives us a look into the lives of the villains when they are chilling out and not plotting evil schemes. When something is funny, it has to have speed at exactly the right time, otherwise the joke falls flat and loses it's cool, that's if you can pinpoint that in your head and understand where I'm going with this.

When the Gang Green Gang start making crank calls throughout Townsville, they are lacking in great ways to pull them off. So, after calling the Mayor with Grubber impersonating Ms Bellum, making him leave to "cut the ribbon for the new mall, declaring it open", giving them the free run of the Powerpuff Hotline. What we get is a  rather "interesting" insight of the villains at home doing their own thing as the girls burst in and constantly beat the living hell out of them, only to learn that they were NOT even committing any crimes. Here, we learn that Mojo Jojo is more sophisticated than you think (yet we see him in Manic Mojo actually buying eggs at the supermarket), he listens to classical music and reads the paper and even takes naps in an armchair. Also, what can be more funnier than the "evilest of all evil" ("Him") working out in complete aerobic equipment? That is just friggin hilarious, I also love how polite he is when the girls break in, but the one that gave me the most laughs out of the villains was Fuzzy Lumpkins. Nobody likes having their privacy invaded, especially when you're taking a relaxing bath, the delivery here from the girls was priceless, especially when Bubbles ended it. I love how the violence and beating up here is played more for laughs and not action itself.

Another thing that still cracks me up in this episode is that these villains are all pretty close friends and even keep in touch by landline, that's right, even down in the depths of hell, HIM has his own phone to make calls. When's the last time you've seen cartoon villains in conversation over a phone? Brilliant!

The ending too is pretty funny and I like how the girls don't believe the Mayor after three cock-ups in one day.

Key moment for me: As I said, Bubbles' delivery to Fuzzy was "tell it like is is funny",  BUT the true comedic gem in this episode personally is Professor Utonium. The running gag with him still at the receiver on hold is fantastic. I will forgive the fact that near the end, you see him outside the girls door but I guess that adds to the comedy. 

6. The Powerpuff Girls Best Rainy Day Adventure Ever. That's right, that is the actual name of the episode and by god it's a mouthful. Now THIS episode just gets better and better every single time with each watch, whose genius idea was it to create an episode where the girls play pretend? In this case, literally playing The Powerpuff Girls. This includes them playing various roles for other citizens in Townsville and as all kids do when playing together, arguing on who gets to be who? 

Honestly, this episode's premise is spectacular. I love how the girls hardly even use superpowers at all, not to mention the unforgettable one liner from Buttercup while playing as a monster. Also, it was nice to actually see the girls here get more comedy than they usually do. For most of the part in the series in general, the comedy is thrown around depending on the characters, story and situation, but here, the girls really do steal the show. 

I'm pretty sure a lot of us as kids can relate, with our friends or siblings role-playing as our favourite characters from cartoons, but as each other, that's unique. 

PPG Best Rainy Day Adventure Ever is definitely one of the funniest episodes of season 2, so next time you're having a bad day and it's raining, not up for walking the dog, cos it's rai-, okay, enough spoilers. Go watch this one next time you want to see a lead female cast of kindergartners at their funniest. 

Key moment for me: The Mayor. You'll have to watch it so not to spoil it.

  5. I See A Funny Cartoon In Your Future Seasonal rot is painful, especially cartoons that were so highly well received by critics and fans alike. After the Powerpuff Girls movie, the show followed the upgraded animated style which kind of watered down the true charm of the first four seasons, as well as lacking in great ideas for stories, most of seasons five and six were...mediocre with sour pickles on top.  Luckily, this one made me laugh. A hell of a lot!

The entire story is told like episodes of Jay Ward's Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons, complete with cheesy but hilarious and witty puns, fourth wall breaking and running gags. We also have the main one off villain here voiced by the late June Foray (voice of Rocky and Natasha Fatale). I like how she and her goosey sidekick are drawn to mimic the style of Jay Ward's characters and the little commercial near the end of the episode spoofing the Nicotine Patch. It's such a shame this episode wasn't traditionally animated, for I would have really liked to have seen some lush fluid animation to boot up this episode more. Interestingly, I never saw the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons as a kid, since they weren't very big in England, but  I got into the franchise when I watched the movie on VHS non-stop and loved it (it's a guilty pleasure haha), so you can see why this episode gave me loads of laughs. 

  Also note that sadly, June Foray passed away in July 2017, leaving a legacy of cartoon voices behind and fond memories. Since her passing, Mrs Strong herself went on to provide the voice of Rocky for the new Rocky and Bullwinkle series, keeping the spirit alive as always. Good one Tara! Great work. And I mean it!  KEY MOMENT FOR ME:  The voodoo dolls. Seriously, I quote this a lot haha! Also, just the whole episode being a tribute to Rocky and Bullwinkle.

4. Meet The Beat-Alls Okay, this is definitely getting close to what a WatchMojo list would look like, no? WELL I'm gonna jab this list and have it up before you can say "Ringo Starr's a Powerpuff Girl!", but how can I NOT make a top 10 Powerpuff eps. list and NOT include this episode, and I quote @UmbraMagna, "This episode is absolutely fantastic!", never have truer words been spoken? Telephonies made way with great laughs, but that was more focused on the Gang Green Gang, here this episode focuses on Him, Mojo, Princess Morbucks and Fuzzy in what is probably the funniest Beatles parody I've ever seen.

  Craig McCracken himself has always been a huge fan of the Beatles, so when season 3 was ending soon it ended with the sister episode to Moral Decay and you know what? It saved the season finale. Every second, there's a reference to...well, the Beatles. Sure, "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" of The Simpsons was fun and had lots of references to the band and other acts, but an entire episode where it's nothing but Beatles second after second, how can you go wrong? 

From the Abbey Road walk, to the musical style, to the Yoko Ono reference, to just everything about it, it's one episode that will have you laughing after a Hard Day's Night. EG Daily (voice of Buttercup) has stated during a Comic-Kaze guest panel that this was one of her favorite episodes. 

Show creator Craig McCracken himself even listed this episode as one of his top ten favourite episodes of all time. There is one little nitpick, but I guess it doesn't matter, since it still makes way for great comedy and I like how a SINGLE rock actually defeats the girls (back when cartoons weren't very pc, just the way I like'em). Whether you like the Beatles or not, Meet the Beat-Alls is a great episode with the villains at their best. Key moment for me: The whole episode, brilliant! 

3. See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey. NOTE: WATCH THIS EPISODE WITH CAUTION! CONTAINS FLASHING IMAGES!  I LOVE THIS EPISODE! Remember what I said about seasons five and six suffering from seasonal rot and mediocre episodes? Well, here's one that I probably consider one of the best of them during the Chris Savino era. The entire episode is much longer since the intro is cut short to make way for what comes next. An unbelievable half hour of a pure masterpiece. 

For many, being a  great voice actor means they have to know how to sing and here, we have a lot of it. It really gave the voice actors' chance to show off their singing voices a great workout and boy, did they nail it right out the park? While it's not the most comedic, it's still epic, fun and unforgettable. This episode was like an evil apocalypse, not even fighting on who gets to defeat the girls or who gets to cause destruction or rob banks. It's a real shame they never released this as a true soundtrack, it's so beautiful. 

It's got an Andrew Lloyd Webber and Pink Flloyd's "The Wall" feel to it. I really wish this was the episode's true finale, since it's been debated and rumored to, unfortunately the true finale (not counting the specials) was that of What's the Big Idea, a complete let down, since both McCracken and Savino agreed that the show had run it's course, even though Cartoon Network did ask for a seventh season. If only...sadly, we can't have everything. 

The Gnome -the main villain of this episode- was quite interesting, exchanging peace to Townsville for the girls' superpowers, yet making everyone bow down to him. Sadly, this episode was banned from airing in the USA, some say it was because of the message of communism, but the true reason for the ban was for the red and white blinking lights that flashed during the Gnome's spell. It's too bad this was never edited for safety so the US audience could experience it at the time but luckily, it was included in the complete tenth AND twentieth anniversary box set, just proceed with caution, I'm saying this for your own safety. I love the Gnome's setting, in a large rose where he lives in peace, I forgot to mention that he was voiced by the legendary Jess Harnell and boy, was he a perfect choice? Have you ever heard Jess sing OUTSIDE of cartoons? Why don't voice artists get more love? Seriously.

Speaking of which, Tara Strong and EG Daily (who only just recently released a song "Impeachable" (parodying Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful") together for charity) really got to show off their vocal talents here more.  Also not to leave her out since I love all three of these amazing talents, Cathy too has a remarkable singing voice! God bless these ladies!  In conclusion, See Me, Feel Me Gnomey is a fantastic episode, mixed with action, drama, music and sheer brilliance from start to finish. Key moment for me: The whole episode. I can't pick one moment. I really loved the harmonizing from Strong and Daily during Cavadini's singing solo in "You Wanna Make Us Feel Real Good". Seriously, once these three sing, it just seems unreal, yet magical.

2. The Rowdyruff Boys Okay!  I'm pretty sure a lot of fans saw this one coming, I mean it's one of IMDB's highest rated episodes, as well as another one of Craig McCracken's favorites. This episode not only marked the debut of the titled characters of the same name, but was the first of many half hour episodes and of all of them, this one was at it's best.   While not the MOST comedic and the boys at the time didn't have as much personality as they did in their later appearances, this episode still left a huge impact on the fans, in a good way. The action in this episode is some of the best I have seen during the McCracken era (something the later episodes lacked), probably along with Stuck Up, Up and Away and Bubblevicious. Tired from constantly being defeated day after day and thrown into jail, Mojo Jojo comes up with the perfect plan to get rid of the girls by creating a trio of kids of his own. Instead of the sweet ingredients for the perfect little girls, Mojo gathers up several ingredients to create the not so perfect little boys. I love how the idea was a reference to the little rhyme "What Are Little Boys/Girls Made of?". 

There's some pretty funny but questionable moments, such as...why would the prison serve escargot? I love how the caterer actually smiles in response. Also, why is the Talking Dog suddenly a prison guard? Oh what the hey? It still makes for hilarious gags such as having his tail snatched to finish the ingredients. What I don't get though is Mojo's breath as he flushed the ingredients down the toilet...then again, maybe it was because of when the girls were born causing the chemical reaction to still have an affect which in return passes on to others, in this case, the Rowdyruff Boys. Interestingly, the boys named themselves, while the Professor named his girls. What made this episode great was the voice acting, Roger L Jackson as Mojo yet again was perfect, as well as providing the voice of Butch, Buttercup's counterpart. Cathy, Elizabeth and Tara's energy in this episode were spot on and we even get to hear the legendary Rob Paulsen as Brick and Boomer. 

When the two teams meet face to face, they start a huge brawl, the action as I said is amazing, some of the best in any episode, it's like the teams have lept right off the screen.

There is a little problem I have with this episode and...well...it's the whole counterpart vs counterpart thing. I mean...is it really that hard to tell the difference between a little boy and girl with the same hair color? Especially when they use the same chunks of animation for each member fighting against each other, take  the cartwheel scene for example.  Other than that, the animation in this episode was terrific.

This was also one of the first episodes in which the girls were defeated and nearly for good. But with the Disney-esque tears of life trope, they are revived in seconds. I can forgive this trope here but NOT in Pokemon: The First Movie.  Shamed and crestfallen by their defeat, the girls decide to leave Townsville, only to be given a pep talk by Ms Bellum. 

And what we get after a little subtle adult joke followed by a defeat from the girls...without the violence, in Sara Bellum's words, "try being nice".  I just love how the boys are distracted by the girls as they are standing looking pretty...well, pretty. Pretty as any little girl could be, I laugh my head off every time in this scene, it's both cute and funny, especially with the flirtatious "come hither" eyelashes and sassy “Hey boys!” expressions on the girls that aren't usually seen. You'd expect this kind of thing on a more mature character, one with an hour glass shaped figure and heels. But alas, being kids, the boys can't stand the thought of ...cooties and somehow, this kills them. Literally. No, seriously, they actually die, in a rather humorous way after a long battle with the girls. What makes this scene great is that there's no dialogue, not until the boys scream at the top of their lungs. 

I may have spoiled it a little but hey, visualizing it in your head isn't the same as watching it and believe me, it is a really funny scene. Think of it has a "distracted by the sexy" trope but toned down. Also, what I said earlier about the counterpart trope, I'll make this an exception since it was clearly obvious that it was going to happen. 

This episode is a fan favorite, unfortunately, it did have a reputation of inspiring fanart and fan-fictions and McCracken himself actually poked fun at this scenario in The City of Clipsville. This episode was not afraid of almost killing off the main characters and three children in fact, but then again, there was so much edge in this show, there was nothing like it at the time. The mix of action, humor and drama is perfect. It's too bad the follow-ups with the boys didn't get the same impact as this one. In conclusion, The Rowdyruff Boys is incredible and really shows that girls are tougher than they look. Take Buttercup's quote "It takes more than a couple of cheap shots to make us cry!". Inspiring. 

Key moment for me:  The boys' defeat...by cooties. Hilarious. After nearly an entire episode of nothing but non-stop action, violence and a huge brawl in Townsville, we get a comedic flirt scene. 

NOW before I finally get to number one, here are some honorable mentions. 

Him Riddle Diddle - I love the suspense and how it already started with peril, it felt like some kind of action movie. HIM sets the girls up on a riddle-fest or else the Professor will -in Him's words - pay. I could have had it on this list but...the one bit that bothered me was Buttercup piloting a helicopter...umm...when did she learn to...okay, Uh-Oh Dynamo, they are controlling a large robotic being of themselves but a helicopter? I don't know, maybe it was all done for comedy but yeah, it's still a great episode. What makes this episode great is that it builds up with suspense, from one riddle after another, still filling comedy in the cracks and gaps of course. Also when you have Him as the main villain, he's always coming up with something unique, yet nasty. I won't spoil the ending but it is hilarious, I love the girls' reactions after working their butts off to save their father ONLY to...well see for yourself.

  Superfriends - @KarToonComics has already kind of gone on about this episode and I have to agree with her on what she said. I have had lonely problems growing up and found it hard to make friends and socialize.  Also, I've personally lost friends due to someone else cutting in the way and excluding me by taking over them and. I don't like to go into it, but we have all had that experience. 

The girls meet Robin, their new next door neighbor and befriend her, it's really satisfying to actually see the girls being kids, having fun and playing together for once. 

I shut this one off the list though,  because...well, some of the later episodes, I can't stand the sharpness in Bubbles' accent, it's noticeable especially in her Ls. It's like she's getting a bit of a Spanish brogue in there (which probably makes sense since she can speak the language), but I just find it really distracting. 

Also, while I really liked Robyn, she somewhat looks similar to one of the other kindergartners in school. Watch Stuck Up, Up And Away and see for yourself. Her friendship with the girls was cute, I really like how they all bonded together like all little kids, but of course, being superheroes, the girls didn't always get enough time to meet their new friend, their next door neighbor in fact. That's pretty sad, you can tell the girls themselves could feel it inside them that they wish the hotline would once not ring and they could do their own thing but Townsville seems to have problems every single time. 

Robin and the girls walk to school together the following week when a limousine pulls up carrying Princess Morbucks as a passenger. She offers the girls a lift in the car IF they let her be a Powerpuff Girl, the girls' decline the offer (by the way, I love Blossom's expression during Princess's little bribe). 

I can't really go on more without totally spoiling the episode so see for yourself what happens from here. It's a great episode, also a BONUS for Robin's hilarious one liner and of course the entire sequence set to the song Signal in the Sky by The Apples in Stereo, damn, why couldn't we have more episodes like that, that'd be just brilliant. I'd have loved to have seen a cameo appearance of Bis, or Dressy Bessy. 

Helter Shelter - I don't know why but I wish this episode was longer, then again with a premise as stupid yet funny as this one, it would probably lose the comedy after a while.

Bubbles loves animals, we all know that. In fact, she loves them so much, she has a habit of bringing them in the house. 

The following afternoon, Bubbles brings in a baby sperm whale into the house and the results of trying to hide it from the Professor are hilarious. I love the way the girls panic and all the hiding spots aren't very well hidden for a large mammal such as a whale calf. 

The dialogue and gags are some of the stupidest yet funniest in any episode, yet they somehow add up nicely. I also love the running gag of the Professor yelling out Bubbles' name, he kind of reminds me of Dave Seville in Alvin and the Chipmunks. . 

You'll have to watch the whole episode to find out what happens but I can't say if it will make you laugh or not. 

Equal Fights - This was a great episode, in fact I felt it could have been longer, but then it would probably drag on and go nowhere. The girls become sexist to all males after meeting and releasing Femme Fatale, a master thief, bank robber and also bit of a hypocrite. 

While Grey Delisle did a fantastic performance with her role here, I felt that Femme Fatale was one of the more forgettable minor villains.

If this were a double length episode, I would have liked to have seen more of a backstory on why she's a misandrist. 

Also I felt the character was eye-candy and fan-service material, from her slender figure to her skin-tight outfit. Also, I love how precocious the girls themselves are on a brief history lesson about Susan B. Anthony. 

The morals were great but personally, this along with a similar episode Members Only just didn't quite make the cut for me.  I did love the references to the Justice League though. 

Child Fearing - I love the Mojo Jojo themed episodes, especially where he's with the girls throughout and they make each other's lives a living hell. Unfortunately, some were a fluke and hit and miss while others like Slumbering with the Enemy and this one; Child Fearing are great.

Late for science presentation in a rather clumsy fashion, the Professor hires a babysitter to look after the girls. There's a wonderful reference to a certain N64 game here, I don't want to spoil it in case you may haven't seen it. But it's a great laugh if you know your games.  I also love the little smirk the girls give each other when they know they are alone and the Professor forgot to ring for a sitter.

Anyway, the Mayor is too busy to sit for the girls because he's playing video-games, so the girls get an unexpected visit from their arch-enemy Mojo Jojo and the results are pure hilarity, one after the other. 

The girls aren't stupid, without a simple huddle or plan, they immediately decide to take advantage of all this and become incredibly obnoxious, mischievous and bratty as any little kid can be. I usually hate obnoxious characters but it's played here perfectly. 

It's impossible not to laugh at Mojo here, but also feel sorry for him at the same time. It's a real shame there weren't anymore episodes that had this kind of comedy, because this one is absolutely hilarious from start to finish. Also, the TV scene is absolutely brilliant, the highlight of the episode. 

Buttercrush - This was one of the many episodes that immediately got me into the show. Already silently into it that is lol. Anyway, this was an episode I felt went on just too quickly, but if it was extended, it would drag on. 

The Gang Green Gang reek havoc at a playground and when the girls show up, the gang's leader Ace throws drops to his knees and does a pathetic routine of guilt. Reluctant, Blossom (being the leader of the girls) agrees, but Buttercup begins developing a crush on Ace, after a tip of his shades, a soft thank you and a wink of charm, Buttercup believes she has just met Mr Right. 

Interestingly, Buttercup barely has any dialogue in this episode, heck she only has one or two lines top and tail (if giggling counts). This episode was not afraid to tackle the precocious crush issues, here we have a kindergartner falling for a teenager. It's amazing what the writers got away with in this show.

 Buttercup would sneak out every night to visit the gang, I don't know HOW she managed to avoid the Professor checking in on her or anything. 

This is one of the few Buttercup themed episodes that was actually good, if not the best one. Although I put it in the honorable mentions because...well...Buttercup's crush didn't last long, in a way it's a good thing otherwise her sisters would have been history, but makes you wonder how much love suddenly poured out of her own heart. 

Overall, it's a wonderful episode and deserved a mention. 

Cat Man Do - I was SO close to putting this one in the top 10, I saw this episode a lot on Cartoon Network when I was a kid, seriously, they repeated this one again and again yet it never bothered me. 

I guess I put it here because...well...the origin of the cat is unknown and who was his master? We never see or hear from him again (minus a brief cameo). 

While I haven't found of thought up any theories, that doesn't stop this episode from being a classic. I did feel like the heist scene with the Professor went on a bit too long for a ten minute short. Also, if I were to pick a moment that had me roaring with laughter (not just this episode, but the entire show) every single time, it would be the "We can keep Kitty" scene. The reactions of the girls are priceless and I love how they suddenly lighten up in seconds. Comedy like this in cartoons is rare now, especially with such speed. Also a bonus for the cat himself being voiced by Mark Hamill. 

Bought and Scold - Of all the Princess Morbucks themed episodes, this has to be one of the best. Here, she buys all of Townsville and makes crime legal, making the girls' and other citizens' lives miserable. This even leads to everybody's belongings becoming property of the Morbucks household and the villains get to do what they want. Most of all, the Mayor gave the key to the city to Princess, causing her to take over Townsville.

 That is until the girls think up a plan to get all they had stolen from them back in a rather hilarious twist. I also love when Morbucks finally snaps and eventually agrees to make crime illegal again, the girls just go off to do what they do best. Seriously, how can you not love the dialogue free scene with the Gangreen Gang, also Blossom's little smug expression when she shows Ace the legal and illegal papers is just brilliant. 

As satisfying as it is to see a happy ending again, I can't help but feel bad for Princess here, yeah she's rotten and spoiled but maybe she was raised like that. In fact, you never see or hear of her mother in this show and her father comes off as a bit abusive as seen here with the newspaper, obviously not giving his own daughter a chance to speak. That's why I left it out here. 

Super Zeroes - Kids will be kids! Whether they play make believe, go on adventures with their toys or are influenced by cartoons and comics. Which is pretty much what inspires the girls to create their own alter-egos here. Well, sort of. 

The girls are sad because they don't feel like "better" superheroes. They don't have an interesting backstory, nor are they dark and tormented, nor do they even have interesting costumes.  So they decide create their own alter egos complete with new costumes. 

Don't question where or how they got these outfits or maintained the little abilities, I guess that adds to the comedy. I love how when a monster does hit Townsville, the girls go their own way in their own fashion, very slowly and the results are hilarious! I love how Buttercup's alter-ego "Mange" only goes out at night, kind of a not to Batman. I love how Bubbles' alter-ego resembles My Melody and other Sanrio esque characters while Blossom's got a Wonderwoman vibe to it. I can't really give the episode away without spoiling the plot truthfully but I guess the moral is to be yourself and stick up for it. Which is exactly what the girls did at the end. Only a little spoiler. The moment that really makes this episode is the fact that the girls take so long to fight, you'll have to see it for yourself to get the laughs.

Mime for a Change- Season 1 of the Powerpuff Girls was terrific, there were so many memorable and great episodes and one that particularly comes to mind when you think "Craig McCracken" is this one. I used to watch this episode a lot back in the day and loved the concept of it. I'm not too keen on clowns but Rainbow is just the average friendly harmless kind of person who does his job. She he sounds pretty obnoxious and irritating but he doesn't have many speaking roles. His villain alter ego was pretty unique power-wise, but the question I'm pretty sure we're all asking is...was the bleach radioactive? Was there Chemical X in it? Guess we'll never know, but in a way, that's what adds to the charm. Either way, the bleach seeps out not only the color on Rainbow, but his cheerful personality too. His good kind heart and light sense of humor has gone sour and his love for bright colors has switched to black and white. 

Upon realizing what he can do, Rainbow or in this case, Mr Mime can now takeover Townsville by draining all the color right out of it. Not only that, but also affecting those cheerful moods of the citizens of Townsville, also they can hardly speak due to the power of mime. It's really clever. We also discover in this episode that Bubbles loves to draw and colour, especially with crayons like most little girls her age. Upon discovering the black and white atmosphere, she goes on a rampage scraping wax of colour with every crayon she has. Seriously, it's like her box of crayons never ends or run out! Ah cartoon logic. 

I have to admit, Tara Strong's performance for Bubbles here during her little panic is pure gold, just listen to those vocals! Keep in mind that she was only 25 at the time. Mega talent! 

Her sisters soon take action and look for the suspect. When they finally find Mr Mime, they make chase until they are at a dead end and are ambushed by him. Why couldn't the girls just fly away? Bubbles meanwhile, thinking she had proudly saved the day all by herself wonders where her sisters went and when she discovers them depressed, colorless and mute, she sobs but brightens up immediately remembering she had a crayon but to no avail, it doesn't work. Realizing that her crayons aren't magical, Bubbles thinks up the next best thing...of all 90s cliches in cartoons, she and her sisters save the day...with ROCK MUSIC! Yeah, it's cheesy and all but also a beautiful message. A message of love. Love Makes the World go round is one of the few times the girls ever actually did a musical number and oh my god was this one memorable? I wish there was an extended version of it and an official release, but I guess we'd have to make do with the hidden track on the Heroes and Villains CD. Just listen to that chorus. This is the song that Cavadini, Strong and Daily all used to warm up their performances and vocals whenever they were together in the studio.

I put this episode in the honorable mentions because of the ending, it was a bit hypocritical, one minute the girls are singing and putting a smile on everyone's faces, the next thing, they send Rainbow to jail when it wasn't his fault. Of course, he may have been forgiven later on. But who knows? Overall, this was a memorable episode. KEY MOMENT: Seeing the girls hug, it was adorable! 

Ice Sore - Blossom discovers that she has a power that her sisters don't have, causing her to show it off. I put it in the honorable mentions because it deserved it, I felt that Ms Keane making all her class go outside in the frying heat to be a bit irresponsible though. 

A Made Up Story - Phyliss Diller's performence as the villain was great and the comedy in this one a bit slow but did have some hilarious moments, plus that ending! It feels like what would happen if Stephen King’s Carrie was turned into a comedy. 

Tough Love - One of the first episodes I ever saw and caused me to fall in love with the show as so as I watched it. The concept is dark, creepy and yet unique. When I saw those girls get beat up, punched, kicked, beaten up (heck even by adults), I couldn't believe it. I knew this was the cartoon I waited for, all my life. 

Bubblevicious - While not a favorite of mine, I still had to put it here in the honorable mentions list, because, well Strong's performance as Bubbles was absolutely brilliant. Hearing her growl that epic drawn out "haaardcoore" was the cherry on top of Bubbles' character and we see a more stronger side to her. Fed up with being treated like a baby, she does things her way, something even Buttercup probably wouldn't do. My problem though was the way she treated the Talking Dog, threatening to hurt him, a bit hypocritical for Bubbles' taste since she loves animals. This episode was Craig McCracken's all time favourite and you can see why it was nominated for an emmy. 

Speed Demon - I gave this episode a mention for the creepy-factor and I mean real creepy. Sometimes I don't know if I'm watching a creepypasta or an episode of the Powerpuff Girls. The show is usually full of action, bit of drama but going as low as this is unusual, this was another dark episode. Everyone chanting "your fault" to the girls  is like the equivalent "They're all gonna laugh at you" from Carrie. Can you just imagine travelling so fast that you went fifty years into the future? The concept of this episode is both creepy, unsettling and disturbing. 

Knock It Off - Again, an episode that isn't often talked about. This double length episode is one of the darkest in my honest opinion. Dick Hardly is one of the nastiest, sadistic and cruelest one time villains I have ever seen. Cloning the girls with a full vile of Chemical X and shipping them all over the world just sounds like yet another creepy pasta. 

Also, have you seen how deformed these clones looked? Enough to disturb any audience. The scene where the Professor discovers the base and suddenly freaks out at all the hideous deformed clones is probably how anyone would react if this happened in real life. Also, seeing the girls die onscreen was heart wrenching, of course, if this show ended now, it would have been one sad finale.

 Did I forget to mention that Dick Hardly's monster form was just terrifying! Those tentacles on his chest just really seemed off.  On the funny side, I love how it’s like the writers were trying to push it on how many times the girls say “Dick”. Also, what was that nerd doing with his PPG doll? 

The Boys are Back in Town - The sequel to The Rowdyruff Boys, this half hour romp sees the girls meeting their match for the second time. The girls learn that the boys were brought back to life from HIM and had given them a cootie vaccination, so they are now strong against the girls. I left it off the top ten list because...well, again, the counterpart battle technique just got stale and I found that the boys personality resulted in some rather gross and painfully vulgar scenes. It's like they were trying to compete with Nickelodeon's 90s shows. 

Also just a side note and personal opinion: I do prefer the boys' hairdos here. Also the scene where the girls discover the weakness was hilarious. A bonus for Blossom’s cheeky little one liner. 

Beat Your Greens  - This was a classic episode. I remember watching it a lot as a kid. The moral is simple: eat your vegetables. 

This was the time when Craig McCracken was still at high stakes on the show and this was only it's second season. A time when morals weren't  always the key of the show. Also Buttercup's brief pep talk/speech to one of the kids was great and really motivating. Also I love the little Star Wars reference. 

Curses - I left this one out because this trope has been done before in other shows including Spongebob Squarepants and Arthur. But that doesn't stop the episode from being funny. The villain was hilarious, a literal talking potty-mouth who basically just talks gibberish as if he's swearing and every time the girls swore, it was bleeped out with various sound effects and the results are hilarious. I think the funniest moment was when the girls flipped out on the Mayor all over a pickle jar complete with swearwords and their mouths washed out with soap. Overall, this was a funny episode but sadly, when a trope has been done to death, is there really any high stakes for it to be in a top ten list? 

And the number one greatest Powerpuff Girls episode is...

1. The Powerpuff Girls Rule! I am counting this one as an episode! Argument invalid! WHERE do I begin? This was all drawn and animated on Flash and released as the 10th anniversary special and you know what? It's absolutely brilliant. Everything is thrown at you in seconds, the humor, the pacing, unpredictable moments, the voice actors returned again and are just as great and the best part? Craig McCracken came back to write this masterpiece!

Not only was this special a breath of fresh air for the fans, but it felt like a new revival for the Powerpuff Girls done right! Sadly, this was Craig's last involvement with the Powerpuff Girls...when you think about it though, it’s not the same without Craig McCracken as writer and director, so you can see why there are lots more funnies here compared to seasons five and six. 

Originally, this was planned to be an hour long but instead was reduced to a full length episode, which is why everyone suffers from motormouth syndrome throughout!

I love all the little callbacks to the classic episodes, including the villains and nearly every second had me laughing with tears streaming down my cheeks! THAT'S the true essence and formula of The Powerpuff Girls. Try watching this special with a straight face if you are a die hard fan of this show, seriously! It's impossible!

Ten years before, the reviews poured in calling this cartoon "gut-bustingly funny", well, this really shows! It's like the show had won back the brilliance when Craig came back and I really wish there was more!

The plot is so ridiculous yet hilarious and I quote the PPG wikia: The key to the world is sent to Townsville, and The Mayor has the responsibility of keeping watch of it. However, he misplaces it, and all the villains of Townsville break free from prison to search for the key, each one of them wanting to obtain it and rule the world, especially Mojo Jojo. The Powerpuff Girls must find the key and return it to The Mayor, before the villains get to it.

Everything about this episode is absolutely fantastic. I will forgive the little reference to a certain 2000s meme thrown in, although it wasn't really needed, but who can complain, right? It was bound to happen since every decade, cartoons tend to have that trend that will blend in with show's plots.

The moment all the motor-mouthed dialogue starts, it's impossible not to sit back with an enormous smile on your face. This was like a true love-letter to everyone who worked on the show, filled with crazy gags and some of the funniest build up on the show, complete with crazy references and everyone filling in on tickling the funny-bone.

The moment Blossom does her impression of Mojo Jojo (COMPLETE with camera angles, close ups and a shot of the entire planet earth) is hilarious! Her sass and smug attitude here just makes it!

I love how cartoony and slapstick this special was, although a little out of character, I don't care, I find it rather hilarious! There's surprise after surprise, after surprise! I've never seen The Powerpuff Girls go beyond the mark of full-on craziness!

I will admit, the motor-mouthing did feel a little forced and rushed but the plot still made up for it with all it's glory! I can't give anymore away without spoiling the entire cartoon so go watch this special when you can!  

The Powerpuff Girls Rule! is -in my opinion- the greatest episode of all time. Now ten years old, it makes us all wonder what is in store for the twentieth anniversary. With the reboot having mixed reception and the merchandise still selling, we can only dream on having another special just as fresh and funny as this one.

"Key" moment for me (okay, that pun was lame): The whole episode was filled to the brim with timeless and hilarious moments but if I were to pick one, it would have to be Mojo singing a Jimmy Hart version of Part of Your World. Honestly, the funniest thing ever done on the show, period! Kudos Craig McCracken! You can’t spell slaughter without laughter and this episode did just that almost! A new meaning for the term: gut-bustingly funny! 

And with that, ends my top 10 greatest PPG episode list! What are your favorite episodes of all time? Which ones make you laugh the most? I'd love to read and/or hear your opinions! :) With that being said, after twenty years, this show still holds up and I will always enjoy it again and again whenever I have a bad day. If you really want to see every classic episode again, then go buy the complete dvd set, it’s just been re-released as a twentieth anniversary box set!  Thanks for reading and thank you to @crackmccraigen for this masterpiece! 

[dyketectivecomics]

WHEN will dc/wb do something interesting with their animated content !! like marvel/song is out here, giving us itsv, whilst the most fun ive had with dc animation in a while was bvtmnt so like. cmon yall. do something cool.

I haven’t seen the TMNT crossover yet but it’s looked p good from what I have seen! ESP the creature redesigns for the rogues? I’m hype. I need something just Fun like that in my life.

Just watched ITSV yesterday and I’m!!!!!! STILL R E E L I N G. It’s been SO LONG since every single second of an animated feature was just??? So fresh & delightful to see??? EVERY frame could be lifted straight from a comic. And the fact that they still MIXED Opposing Styles and MADE it work like!!! That film is just Art. It’s not a movie. It’s Art.

(But boy oh boy, tee u just triggered another Rant from me dude. I’m so sorry everyone. More below the cut)

[[MORE]]

Even taking into account the fact that it took so much time for them to animate it, from beginning to end it was, what? 3-4 years in production iirc? It’s WELL WORTH that effort and that wait! But considering that the last Artfully Done animation that WB did that gave me that Similar Feeling, that I can Distinctly remember, was a box office failure at the time of its release. (I’m referring to Iron Giant, of course. It’s one of my all time favs, it’s one of my Formative Movies tbh. But it FAILED in the box office when it was first released! It’s a GOOD movie, but is it any wonder that WB is afraid to Try things afterwards?)

The only Cinematic Animated Superhero movies by WB that I can remember getting a wide release in theaters were Lego Batman (which obvsly did Good and did Bruce better than any other Batman movie in recent memory and we Stan) TTG! to the Movies (no comment) and The Powerpuff Girls (which I’ll count even tho it’s not a DC property but it IS WB’s and since it bombed, ironically enough, because most people found it too Violent compared to the series itself, it might explain why WB might be hesitant to pick up Superhero Animation. But I’ll wax poetic abt it some more some other time)

Edit: actually, PPG was CN studios & Distributed by WB. If we want to get Technical. But I’m still counting it since CN is under the WB umbrella anyways.

they all have their faults and their charms, but considering that WB hasn’t been a big player in theaters much at all, and continues to Play Things Safe with loads of direct-to-video & TV specials. It’s just... disheartening. We SHOULD be getting these wonderful, incredible, Cinamatically Worthy stories and yet??? Every year the WB/DC team decides to treat us to one DTV Batman movie and Oh Hey Here’s Something Not Batman.

Other productions like Incredibles, Megamind, Big Hero 6, & ITSV. They’ve had varying success! And they’re still only a handful of all of the animated Superhero movies out there!

Whether it’s because public perception towards Animated movies is still so skewed that it’s a genre “Only For Children”, or the idea that Superhero movies should be sweeping “Realistic” epics. It’s anyone’s guess. In this way, we might actually be grateful towards WB for at least Providing us with consistent content. I mean, when was the last type anyone tried hyping up a Marvel Cartoon? I’m not gonna knock on marvel too much here, but compared to the DC fan base & esp the Timmverse fan base, does Marvel have anything that even comes close? I’m genuinely curious.

Marvel may have the public’s attention 100% with the MCU and with the box office. But DC’s very much cornered the market with animation and TV series. As much as the CW/Arrowverse shows might be a mixed bag for me personally, they’ve done Very Well for themselves. And there’s something to be said about that. But circling back to Animation here one last time:

Animation is a medium that’s supposed to allow you to do things that simply CANT be done in live action. And the WB/DC team HAS done some pretty cool stuff even with the DTV movies! But when they COULD be doing something More Original and pushing more styles and stories. When they could stop adapting Popular Comics bc thats what ‘fans’ keep Demanding, and instead provide something 100% new and unique? When they provide something just Different from the expected and Take a Chance on something new? That’s when I think we’ll ALL be better off for it.

[maple-leafing]

The Aftermath (Sidney Crosby x Reader)

Request: I don’t know if you’re taking requests or not but can you please write a Sidney Crosby imagine that’s sort of a spin off to the blurb you just published about him?? Like maybe it’s set months later and they run into each other?

Player: Sidney Crosby

Team: Pittsburgh Penguins

Word Count: 1926 (Hopefully long enough to make up for inactivity)

Disclaimer: I mean no disrespect to the players that I am writing for and everything is purely fictional. None of the gifs I use are my own.

A/n: Sorry it’s been so long, but I posted, as promised!! Also I apologize for any mistakes, I’m super tired and currently half asleep.  Let me know if you want a part two. I think there’s some unfinished business that needs to be sorted! ❤️

***Based off of this blurb***

It’d been a year since Sidney Crosby had broken up with you in March 2017. Now he was a three time Stanley cup champion heading on his way to a possible fourth. A possible three peat.

You’d gotten a job down in Philadelphia working for the flyers as one of the head physiotherapists. If Sid knew, he probably would have freaked. When they offered you the job a couple weeks before your break up, you weren’t going to take it. But with Sid out of your life, you had nobody holding you back. You were prepared to give up your dream job for him, but he wasn’t prepared to commit to you.

“I loved you.” He said. “Past tense.”

You couldn’t believe his words. “So we’re over then?”

“Yeah.” He spoke. “We’re over.”

You ran that scene through your mind a multitude of times. Whenever you missed him you thought about how he’d fallen out of love with you. Maybe it was better that he broke things off. Yes, you loved him with all of your being. You were in love with him and maybe you still might be, but it might have been better that he told you, sooner, rather than later.

The Flyers and the Penguins were meeting up once again in the playoffs, the series being led by your ex’s team 2-1. So far you’d managed not to run into him, dodging him any chance you got. You’d seen him around the PPG Paints arena a couple of times, but completely avoided him when the boys came home for game 3.

You remembered game 3 of the 2015-16 playoffs first round when Sidney had won his second cup and the first of his back to back victories. You were happy then, the happiest you’d ever been. The win after game 3 against the rangers in New York had been a particularly good night. It was the first time Sidney had told you that he loved you.

He didn’t know if it was the elation from winning, or the New York atmosphere, but he couldn’t help but scream how much he loved you. As you stood on the balcony of the hotel room you’d been staying at, Sidney right next to you, he surprised you by letting out a yell of your name.

“I love you.” He took a breath to yell even louder. “I love you (Y/n) (L/n).”

Shocked, you let out a breath of happiness and relief. “You love me huh?”

“And I want the whole damn world to know it.”

Just knowing he was so close brought memories back that you had hidden away for the past year, memories you didn’t want to remember. Sid was the love of your life and you didn’t think you’d ever find anyone that could compare to the way your heart lit on fire when you were around him. The world stopped and your senses reached a new high, everything feeling like you were experiencing it for the first time. His love was like magic, and yet, you didn’t want to remember.

You heard a knock on your office door that snapped you out of the trance you’d been in. You hadn’t realized how close you’d actually been to crying. “Hey doc, you alright?” Doc, you smiled slightly at the use of the nickname the young kids on the team had given you.

Looking up, you saw Nolan staring straight at you. “Mmm, I’m fine Nolan. Is there something you need me to check out before game 4?” You asked quietly, trying to change the subject.

“Not really, I just wanted to see how you were doing. You weren’t at practice this morning.” You swallowed nervously dropping your eye contact with the young flyer. You’d avoided going because of the shared ice time with the players on the Penguins, due to the time slot being ‘optional.’ It didn’t matter whether it was optional or not, you knew Sidney would have been there, taking the time to improve his game and catch up with some of the guys he didn’t get to see as often due to them being in Philly, and you just weren’t ready for that.

“I was, uh, I was just feeling a little under the weather.” You replied, putting a smile onto your face. “Everything is fine now Nolan. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Oh I know I don’t have to worry,” he smiled cheekily, “but as one of my favourite people on this planet, it is my job to worry about you.” He’d had a point. Since the beginning of the season, what with both of you being new to the organization, he’d become like the little brother you never knew you needed.

“Does this have anything to do with seeing Crosby again?” You watched as his blue eyes twinkled in amusement, the smirk on his face growing more cheeky by the second.

“Contrary to popular belief, I’m over him.” You lied. “I may be about the only person on the planet who doesn’t want to talk to the all and powerful Sidney Crosby, but honestly, seeing him is about the last thing I want to do right now.”

“You are so not over him.” Nolan teased. “I can see it in your eyes. You’re still in love with him.” You knew he was only teasing, but his words resonated with you. All of them were true: you were still deeply and madly in love with Sidney Crosby.

Your conversation with Nolan ended on that note as duty called. The game was less than 2 hours away and he needed to be ready. This left you without work for the next chunk of time so you began to meander through the restricted halls of the Wells Fargo Centre. Your mind kept going back to all the times you spent with Sid. It was like him being so close to you was forcing you to try and remember all that you were missing. It was if your mind was forcing you to suffer through the pain you avoided confronting for the past year, as if you were subconsciously preparing yourself for seeing him again. You had no clue what that would do to you. Would you break down? Would you stand bravely and act as if nothing had happened, as if you were okay? Would you be able to control yourself?

As these questions whirrled around in your head, you hadn’t quite realized where you’d wandered off to. Your head was down, eyes peeled on the floor where your shoes could be seen. You paused, dazed and looked up only for a spilt second. Bumping into someone, you suddenly found yourself on the ground, apologizing profusely for coming into contact with the mystery person.

“I’m so sorry.” The man spoke in a rushed tone as he reached his hand towards yours to lift you up.

“No no, it’s alright.” You said as you regained your balance on your feet. “I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going. My mind was else where.” You smiled still not having recognized the broad shouldered stranger.

“I know what you mean,” he laughed, “happens to me all the time when I prepare for games. Have to get in my own head space you know?” That laugh was what set off the ticking time bomb in your mind. Phil Kessel. Now that you got a good look at him, under the lighting of the poorly lit hallway, you knew it was him.

Of course Phil knew who you were, having been around him almost everyday for over a year. You’d been with Sid longer than Phil had been in Pittsburgh but that didn’t seem to matter at the moment. You’d also known Phil from his days playing in Toronto, bumping into him when you were home visiting family. Maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t recognize you.

“(Y/n)?” His eyes widened as you ducked your head down. You gave him a sheepish smile confirming his suspicions.

“Hi Phil.” You waved, your tone small and quiet. Phil could tell you were uncomfortable based on the body language you were giving him.

“What are you doing here?” He asked giving you a reassuring smile. “It’s been a long time. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, I just want to talk a bit, that’s all.”

“Um, actually, I work here. I have been for the past year.” You watched as his brows raised in surprise.

“Does Sid know about this?” He asked, his voice barley above a whisper.

“No.” You spoke back, “and I’d really like to keep it that way. He’d try to tell me that I couldn’t work here just because I used to date him, that’d it’d hurt his reputation in some way. I’m sorry,” you paused, “but he broke up with me and I’m not just about to give up my dream job because he wants to throw a temper tantrum.”

Phil smiled happily, his grin widening on his jolly face. “I wasn’t going to say a word.” His eyes crinkled slightly as he talked. “You know, I’ve really missed having you around, the whole team has, especially him. I know he really regrets ever letting you go.”

“Then why’d he do it?” You questioned, suddenly piqued by his comment.

“Because he didn’t want you waiting on him hand and foot, living a life where it seems that hockey would always come first.” Phil’s lips met in a straight line. “I just think he didn’t want you giving up your life waiting for him so that you could start a life together. You were always more important to him than hockey, and that’s part of the reason why he couldn’t let you stay.”

You turned as you heard a voice call out Phil’s name. “Anyway, I gotta go (Y/n/n). Can we maybe talk later?”

You nodded as he turned to walk away from you. “Hey Kessel,” you called, “I missed you too.”

“That’s cheating!” Phil whined as you scored against him for the eighth time. “No one is allowed to beat me at air hockey.”

“Sorry Kes. Guess I must just have your number tonight.” You gave him a smirk and your famous puppy dog eyes. “Besides, how could you resist giving me what I want?”

“I know I couldn’t.” You giggled as your boyfriend wrapped his arms around your waist and placed his lips on your neck, nudging his head into your hair.

“Oh stop being so disgusting and go get a damn room Crosby.” Phil pouted mockingly as Sidney continued to give what felt like an endless amount of PDA.

Standing back in your office, your mind was snapped back to attention by the sudden ring of your cellphone. Pulling it out, a number and I name you hadn’t called in over a year appeared on your screen. You contemplated not answering it. Pressing the button that says, ‘remind me later,’ you lowered your phone down, your hands shaking slightly.

Your phone went off again, the rings only sounding louder and louder, the name Sidney Crosby making the screen look even brighter than you knew possible. You didn’t answer it for a second time.

By the fourth call, you finally had it in you to swipe the screen to answer the call. You didn’t speak, waiting for the man on the other line to say something first. “Hey.” His voice sent chills down your spine. Did Phil tell him? Did he know that you were here? The next words that came out of his mouth, confirmed at least one of the two questions that ran through your jumbled mind.

“We need to talk.”

[petergriffinhateblog-blog]

do you have any issues with any other cartoon dads? Like Stan Smith, Bob Blecher, Homer Simpson, or even like Jerry Smith

i have been waiting for this question

stan smith?? i can’t answer that. i don’t know enough about him to, and i even had to google his name just to figure out who he was. ??/10 also he’s apparently from american dad, so like.. that’s a thing i guess.

bob belcher? good dad. could be better, but he’s not fucking abusive and he does the best he can for his family. he seems to genuinely love both his wife and his children, and the antics that happen don’t end up directly due to his haphazardly reckless personality like Someone We Will Not Name. 9/10

homer simpson? i don’t know how to feel about him. i know enough, but... he’s still fucked up bart with the physical abuse. he hasn’t fucked up NEARLY to the Family Man’s degree, but the constant choking of bart isn’t good. though... he does seem to be supporting of their hobbies. there’s actually an episode (link, BUT READ THE REST OF THIS PARAGRAPH BEFORE U WATCH SO U KNO THE WARNINGS) where bart gets sent to Hell School (like a literal school in hell) and... fits in there?? and does good on his grades?? and both homer and marge are very supportive of it, to the point where the ‘final test’ or whatever for bart is to.. torture homer, and he’s okay with it!! he wants bart to succeed enough that he’s willing to go through physical pain and literal torture by his own son’s hand just for that to happen!!!!!

homer’s a flawed man and has Definitely made some mistakes, but i think his intentions are noble and he Does wish the best for his kids. he actually has a shot of bart forgiving him, or even keeping him within his life once he becomes an adult. 5.5/10 (or 6.5/10 on good episodes)

jerry smith from rick and morty? uhhhhh... he’s... i guess he’s a dad. he’s not.. a Good dad.. but he’s not really a bad one either. he wants morty and summer to stay out of harm’s way, which is good, but... he’s kind of a pansy. the only time he really steps up to the bill is in the cronenberg universe, which means that it takes Very Severe Circumstances just for him to actually do something. he supports summer in her weird Floating Head Religion, he wants morty to get a proper education and stay out of trouble, and his worst qualities are that he’s Fucking Annoying and kinda selfish, though neither of these traits have really put the children in harm’s way.

good person? no. he’s kind of a failure/bum/dropout dad in every sense of the manner. but good dad? yea, i don’t think he’s done anything wrong. 8/10, or 7 cause maybe i’m forgetting something? anyway he’s pretty high up there concerning his kids.

and here’s some other dads:

nigel thornerry from the wild thornberries. good dad. kinda oblivious and ignorant, but he’s probably the best goddamn dad on here. 10/10. good dad.

paul blart from paul blart mall cop 2, specifically. i haven’t seen the first one, just the second. he’s.. a wreck. the whole movie is a wreck. he spends like half the movie trying to make his daughter give up her dream college, and he is a helicopter dad who doesn’t want her doing anything without him knowing Exactly What It Is. luckily, there’s no consistency in here, so these things get fixed. 4/10, you can tell they’re acting out the relation and not actually parent/child.

goku from dragon ball z? 0/10. -1/10. bad dad. bad man. is there a hate blog for him yet? fuck goku. i mean.. ok, for those of you who don’t know, it’s apparently heavily implied throughout the manga that he’s from that goku only fights people because he’s just.. REALLY INTO FIGHTING. he doesn’t give a good god damn about the earth or his friends or whatever, not beyond.. them being his friends. it’s a canon thing he doesn’t experience the feeling of “love”, and just accepted chichi’s proposal cause she’s pretty and asked first and also makes good food. he’s a pretty nice/chill dude, but... he’s not a good dad.

piccolo from dbz. ???????? 2/10. better than goku, but that’s not saying much. what the fuck stop throwing gohan at rocks.

vegeta from dbz. i dont remember how he is as a dad but i remember a comic of trunks giving him a cup that says “worlds okayest dad” and that’s canon as far as i’m concerned. okayest/10

professor utonium from ppg. i haven’t seen the reboot so don’t ask me about that, after the transphobic episode i don’t wanna hear it. from the OLD series, though?? he was a good dad. he was up there with nigel on Best Dads. 9/10 he gets a point off because he doesn’t know the extent of the girls’ powers nor does he seem to care to??? which is a big flaw to me. if my kids had magic powers, i’d go out of my goddamn way to see their limits so i can make enhancements for them. he’s a scientist who built them a giant robot why can’t he build other, minor shit for them too..

mr krabs from spongebob? fuck you. 4/10 because you’re higher than goku, peter, and piccolo, but you just pay off your daughter to not be annoying. what the fuck

mufasa from lion king. he’s... uh. 9/10. he tries, he’s a pretty good dad. he’s just not around that long?? but i mean. he died saving his kid. that’s pretty damn good dadding skills.

everyone from the Dad Dating Simulator gets a collective 8/10. they’re all pretty ok. amanda’s really cute, i cried a few times gazing upon her. please support her, she deserves it.

count dracula from hotel transylvania... 7/10. very sheltering, but he means well. at least.. in the first movie? i don’t think i watched the second one.

mr turner. 6/10. he gets pity points, timmy turner is like 50 and yet pretends to be like 10. mr turner has to be exhausted. he’s a good dad despite being stuck in literal parenting hell. as much as you love your kid, being stuck in the same year over and over with your son being Pretty Much The Most Selfish God Ever is... kinda awful.

im missing a bunch of dads but it’s also 4:30 AM and i have been answering this question for the past like.. hour and a half. i’m tired. i need my strength.

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON: WOLF PACK GROWING STRONGER IN TIGHT 2-1 WIN OVER HERSHEY

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Steven Fogarty had a goal and an assist and provided strong team play allowing the Hartford Wolf Pack to collect their ninth win of the season while maintaining their status as the AHL’s best team as they took the first of a weekend's three-games-in-three days with a 2-1 win over visiting Hershey Bears. The Wolf Pack (9-1-0-3) play on Saturday night at 7:30 pm on the backend of a hockey doubleheader with UCONN. Hershey (6-5-1-1-) heads to Allentown, PA to play the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The Wolf Pack caught some early puck luck to start the third period. A broken play allowed Fogarty to snatch a Hershey clearing attempt off the glass, and then while off-balance got a shot toward the net. Darren Raddysh cut through the right-wing circle and was able to get enough of a piece of the puck to get the red light turned on with what proved to be the game-winner at the 22-second mark. "Any time you get the puck to the net, you’ll get rebounds or a deflection or something. I just threw it at the net and was fortunate Raddysh was able to get a piece of it,” Fogarty, with six points in his last five games, said. Raddysh, who was coached by current Pack head coach, Kris Knoblauch, while playing in juniors, felt his play tonight was not something he hadn’t seen before. “He does so many things. He did a great job managing the puck and getting it up to our forwards tonight.” The Pack did so many of the small things needed to win this game. Rookie Nick Jones won two late faceoffs from veteran center Mike Sgarbossa. Boo Nieves blocked a late-in-the-game shot while Raddysh played a strong two-way game. “We’ve been rewarding him (Jones) with the play. He has earned it. We've been having him take the right side draws, and it worked well, and those were big draws. We rely on him on the penalty kill and late in the game,” Knoblauch said of his rookie centerman out of the University of North Dakota. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin continued to show his net mastery and calm demeanor in key situations. He stopped Hershey’s Alex Jonsson-Fjallby twice in the last five minutes with two strong left-wing chances. “Shesterkin reads the play well and anticipates what the other team is going to do so well. He’s got a lot of hockey smarts,” Knoblauch said with a smile. Hershey broke the scoreless contest in the second period just after the Wolf Pack's third powerplay ended. The Bears rearguard, Christian Djoos, was at the left point and saw an open lane as Ville Meskanen peeled off to go cover the right point. Djoos was able to launch his shot with the red-hot, Sgarbossa in front. Sgarbossa was credited with the tip-in for his sixth goal of the season with a strong position on defenseman Vincent LoVerde at 7:27. Hershey effectively kept the Wolf Pack to the boards for a majority of the second period. After three early shots on net, the next six were spread out until the last minute of the period when the Wolf Pack tied the game. Nieves won a critical offensive zone draw from Sgarbossa. The puck came back to defenseman Joey Keane at the right point, who waited patiently for the play to develop. Keane scooted around the Liam O’Brien and zipped a cross-ice pass to Fogarty who was wide-open. Fogarty deposited his third of the season over a fallen Bears goalie, Vitek Vanecek. “He showed so much composure (Keane) to make that play. He had a chance to shoot it, but we didn’t have anybody up-front at the net (yet) and it wouldn’t have been a quality scoring chance. He faked the shot, moved to the right, and he slipped it back door to Fogarty. It was just a heck of a play,” Knoblauch stated. The Pack's best scoring chance didn’t count as a shot when LoVerde rang one off the pipe at 6:53. It was a chessboard hockey game over the first 10-minutes of the game with Hershey having the lead in shots, 2-1. The teams finally got some space to operate with which got the crowd into the game. The first quality chance came with Ty Ronning taking a perfect lead pass from Keane before going backhand-to-forehand but Vanacek denied him at 10:39. Hershey defenseman, Martin Fehervarty, turned the puck over deep in the Bears zone while on the powerplay. With Jones heavily forechecking, he took the puck away and looked first for Tim Gettinger who was coming in backdoor off the right-wing side. Instead, Jones caught the trailer LoVerde, but he was stopped. 65 seconds later at 15:25, Gabriel Fontaine was flying off the left-wing and eluded the check of Bears defenseman, Connor Hobbs. Fontaine spotted Vinni Lettieri who was open at the right side of the net and he missed the open left side slipping it past the post. In the waning seconds of the first period on the Wolf Pack’s second powerplay, Phil DiGiuseppe was on the right-wing and sent a cross-ice pass dead center to Patrick Newell, who made an open-blade redirect that Vanecek stopped with his right pad with about 13 seconds to go. The Pack held the shot advantage at 9-6 heading into the first intermission. NOTES: The Wolf Pack powerplay remains dead last in the AHL at 8% and has not scored a PPG since Keane's tally on October 26th in Bridgeport. The current streak now sits at 0-21 over a six-game span. LINES: Nieves-Fogarty-DiGiuseppe O’Regan-Lettieri-Fontaine Gettinger-Jones-Newell Ronning-Meskanen-Zerter-Gossage LoVerde-Raddysh Day-Ebert Geersten-Keane SCRATCHES: Matt Beleskey (upper body) Jeff Taylor Ryan Dmowski. Pack Fan Jersey of the Night: #34 Dane Byers. a one time captain who is now retired #81 Fedor Fedorov, who didn't exactly have a good run with the team. Read the full article

[ajw720]

I was taken aback by how quickly the CG June 4th concert tickets got sold out. Same as the first CG concert. Agree that Darren is extremely popular and it shouldn't be that surprising but it still bothered me. More my instincts than anything else and also cause of what I heard last time, that Darren's team and his beard were trying to keep CC shippers out and fill up the venue with chillarrens and friends. And that only they were given whatever it was that enabled them to purchase ... (1)

…to purchase the tickets first. I am a longtime CC shipper and you may call me biased and I won’t be offended by that. After the Teragram concert, I am looking at all the IG stories and pictures from the concert, the tweets of miarren intimate moments and all the posted videos (thank you btw as we couldn’t wait to see them) and reviews and stories of the evening… I barely recognize any names. If anything, the ones I did are M’s friends (from her past) or known chillarren shippers. …(2)

Considering how long I have been in the fandom, how come I saw just one CC shipper posting. Does that mean, the CC fandom was again barred / banned from the concert and only the ingenious ones who managed to slip through, got in? Was it more important to have Darren sing PPG as opposed to I don’t mind? Does it mean that even the teenaged CC shippers are not welcome at D’s concerts as they won’t be screaming and crying for Darren, hoping to date him/be next beard? Great job Darren’s team! …(3)

**************************************

Hi Anon, thanks for bearing with me and re-sending part 2 multiple times. So very strange.

Anyhow, I think I already wrote about my experience with the NYC show, which was a lot smaller.  Tickets were to go on sale with a password at 12:00. I did not get mine until approximately 12:18 and by the time I was able to log on, tickets were sold out.  It is my understanding that the password was circulating in the world prior to 12:18. And yes, I suspect that a first round of “PR compliant” fans were given the password in advance to ensure they were present. And there is no question that venue was filled with beard friendly fans. None.  It was very reminiscent of the pop-up piano bar event prior to Elsie. Another event where M was prominently on display, one had to “win” tickets to attend, and looking at the pics, the M stans were all in attendance.  The thing about these type of events where people “win” tickets or a password is needed, it is very easy to manipulate who actually gets the tickets.

However, I won’t go so far as to say CC fans are barred, I think that would be too hard to control.  They would have to have a separate list of “undesirable” emails. And I think that is way beyond Ricky’s extremely limited abilities. But I do believe other fans are given major advantages.

And  it gets really old.  Darren has a ton of fans and its frustrating that Ricky has to continuously favor the same group repeatedly. And its not just events. I have seen fan pics with said fans on the stage at Hedwig. I did not see that from any other Darren fan who is not kissing ass to get favors.  

I honestly do not know on the LA show. I think it took a little longer to sell out (a few hours). It is a bigger venue (I want to say 4x the size, 250 at Mercury Lounge and maybe 1000 in Telegram??? Too lazy to look that up). I know specifically of two CC people present.  And while I wasn’t paying close attention, I was curious, and I am fairly certain the password was sent timely.

But again, no question that venue was filled to the max with M friendly fans who could be counted on to report her every move. 

And on Sunday the strategy was as transparent as ever. They had the fans there early.  M “causally” walked passed them multiple times with her “equipment.”  Fans were able to catch a glimpse of the “director’s notes” and even get a photo of said notes.  And fans were inside reporting about how hard she was “working.”  Some fans even apparently saw M&D with their arms around each other as well. Conveniently, that was another moment where every camera must have broke because I have yet to see one photo or video of this “tender moment.” (not saying it did not happen, we all know this was a PR set up but the lack of photos is telling).

This strategy however, again, just highlights the truth. If M&D were in an actual relationship, it would be wholly and completely unnecessary to stack a venue or event with her fans to spread the news that she is present. None.  Because they wouldn’t have to work to sell the relationship. The genuineness would sell itself.  But as this is the most purely executed bearding relationship in bearding history, Ricky needs all the help he can get.

I will disagree on one thing. While absolutely no question, there was a time when this was about selling Darren as a straight man. These past few events are about selling M and getting her exposure and publicity.  The job she was given on Sunday- that was a huge, huge pay out. Intended to build her resume and make her look legitimate as opposed to her true persona- the lazy, spoiled, self-entitled brat that has not had an actual job aside from trailing after Darren in years. And even the ones she had were token positions handed to her because of her association with Darren and the need to keep up appearances. 

 And they needed people in attendance to both get the word out that she was actually “working” for once in her life and to document, that yes she was even “working hard!!!”

On the songs, not sure what possessed him to reprise the second worst song in his repertoire. But I am guessing that was not a choice. And while I am sad he teased but did not sing I Don’t Mind, I am cool with it if he reserves it for a time that is stunt and PR free.  And we did get 2 Darren songs (Day the Dance is Over and Foolish Thing) that are about his actual relationship. 

I honestly have no complaint about the performances on the stage. It is the circus that surrounds it that has me constantly shaking my head.

[marymosley]

Appellate Standing, Biosimilars, and the Federal Circuit

Guest post by Jonathan Stroud (Unified Patents) and Saurabh Vishnubhakat (Texas A&M Law). 

After a long wait, the Federal Circuit last month decided Momenta Pharms. v. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (Fed. Cir. 2019), dismissing Momenta’s appeal of an adverse PTAB decision based on standing and mootness concerns.  (The PTAB had instituted Momenta’s petition for inter partes review of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s patent on certain formulations of an immunosuppressive agent, but ultimately sustained the patentability of all the challenged claims.  Momenta, a biosimilar applicant, had sought inter partes review preemptively, with no prior infringement suit by BMS.)  The Federal Circuit’s conclusion that Momenta lacked Article III standing has important implications for access to appeals in unsuccessful PTAB challenges.

Building on Professor Crouch’s initial analysis of the Momenta decision, we explore the Federal Circuit’s developing case law on what counts as an adequate injury for a petitioner to have appellate standing from a PTAB decision.  Of particular interest is the persistent ambiguity about how potential future patent infringement and the PTAB estoppel provisions of the AIA affect standing to appeal.

The Stakes of Appellate Standing

Article III standing applied on appeal has always imposed an asymmetric burden on the system for administrative patent revocation.  Patent owners who appeal can almost always show the requisite injury for standing in the form of adverse effects on some or all of their patent rights.  Unsuccessful petitioners, meanwhile, may not be able to show enough injury through potential patent infringement.  Ironically, this especially true of those very parties who benefit the most at the margins from having access to administrative review—precisely because they could not otherwise have established standing to seek declaratory relief in federal court.

In effect, the more proactive and preemptive a challenge might be, the less likely that party is to be able to prove standing on appeal, adding another reason not to act until after litigation has begun.  The asymmetry of this burden is especially salient in domains like pharmaceutical drugs and biosimilars, where the incentive to test the validity of patents has important social consequences, and the complexities of those decades-long disputes create fact patterns that can be difficult to unpack.

The Momenta Appeal

At the time of its 2015 petition for inter partes review, Momenta was working with Mylan to develop a biosimilar counterpart to Orencia®, the branded biologic drug whose active ingredient was covered by the BMS patent.  Momenta’s plan was to enter the market as a biosimilar applicant under the Biologics Price Competition Act of 2009 (more detail here), which provides a pathway to generic competition for complex biologic drugs akin to the “Hatch-Waxman” Act provisions that govern small-molecule generic drug approval.  Momenta first sought inter partes review of the ‘239 patent covering a formulation of Orencia®.

Unsuccessful in inter partes review, Momenta appealed the decision in early 2017.  One major issue in the case (which one of us has discussed here in greater detail) was whether Momenta, who had no active district court litigation against BMS and had faced no direct threats of infringement and had not yet manufactured a competing product, had standing to maintain its appeal.

Momenta argued in briefing and at oral argument that the inter partes review was akin to an expensive “freedom-to-operate” action that resulted in immediate harm, presenting a “fork in the road” in its development process.  Momenta concluded that losing the ability to appeal would force it to abandon its research efforts and leave millions of dollars wasted.  BMS replied that any such harm was speculative and that the case law does not support Momenta’s standing.

In late 2018, almost a year after the oral argument concluded—but shortly before the Federal Circuit issued its opinion last month—Momenta sent a letter notifying the court that Momenta had initiated a conversation with Mylan “to exit [Momenta’s] participation in the development of M834, a proposed biosimilar of ORENCIA®.”  Thus, Momenta no longer had the same interest in the appeal.  BMS pushed to have the case dismissed as moot, though Momenta countered in a series of further letters that it still had a stake in the case and standing to appeal, noting that “[t]he concreteness of that stake is bolstered by the estoppel provision [of 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)], which the Board’s adverse decision already triggered.”

The Federal Circuit held that the case was largely moot given those recent developments, and dismissed the appeal.  As one of us wrote recently, this case “shows the difficult position the court and parties are put in when standing is raised based on proactive business decisions revolving around patent challenges, and also demonstrates how principles of mootness and ripeness bleed into the standing inquiry easily.”

The Potential for Infringement as an Injury

For five years now, the Federal Circuit has been actively exploring the boundaries of Article III standing on appeal from administrative action.  For instance, in 2014 in the inter partes reexamination context, the court in Consumer Watchdog v. Wis. Alumni Research Found. explained that appeals based on vague public interest concerns in invalidating the patent, without a particularized or personal injury, is not enough. There, WARF had obtained a patent related to human embryotic stem cell cultures, and Consumer Watchdog challenged the patent as ineligible subject matter.

On appeal, however, Consumer Watchdog framed its argument in terms that the patent helped “loot taxpayer funds and force research overseas” and that a challenge benefited the public at large.  As the party “seeking to invoke federal jurisdiction,” Consumer Watchdog bore the burden of establishing Article III standing, which included proving that it suffered an “injury in fact.”  The court found it had not alleged facts sufficient to demonstrate such an injury.

In the 2017 Phigenix v. Immunogen case, Phigenix filed an inter partes review but failed.  On appeal, Phigenix alleged harm apart from the threat of direct patent infringement—namely, that the existence of the patent was preventing others from taking a license to patents owned by Phigenix.  This blocking effect, the argument went, caused economic harm that is cognizable in standing.  The court allowed that alternative forms of economic harm were permissible and accepted the legal framework, but ultimately held that Phigenix had failed to meet its burden.

The court suggested that arguing possible or speculative future economic interest based on conclusory expert declarant testimony was not necessarily enough.  The Phigenix decision also laid out the burdens of production and persuasion for appellate standing, suggesting that the requirements apply only to the party seeking to invoke the court’s jurisdiction: the appellant.  It also allowed that such evidence can be produced for the first time on appeal.

On the other hand, in the nonprecedential PPG Industries v. Valspar Sourcing, the Federal Circuit found sufficient economic harm to establish standing on appeal from inter partes reexaminations.  The PPG opinion held that PPG’s launched product and customer inquiries suggested a concrete stake in the outcome and noted that “[t]his stake is enhanced by the ‘estoppel provisions contained within the inter partes reexamination statute.’”

As for standing arguments related to infringement potential itself, the Federal Circuit JTEKT v. GKN Automotive has explained that there may be certain situations in which a PTAB petitioner has no infringing product on the market at the relevant time but may still be able to show Article III standing.  However, in such situations, the petitioner must establish “concrete plans for future activity that creates a substantial risk of future infringement.”  On that case’s own facts, JTEKT had sold no infringing goods, had not finalized its product design, and had not shown any concrete plans for future activity that would run afoul of GKN’s patent rights.  The court similarly concluded in RPX v. ChanBond that petitioner RPX was not engaged in any activity that even potentially infringed the patent being challenged.  This necessary specificity of future plans means that PTAB challenges even from direct market competitors may ultimately lack standing to support an appeal.

For direct competitors, however, standing to appeal may still be available where the parties are engaged in a live commercial dispute presenting a “significant risk” of infringement based on “significant involvement in research and commercial activities” involving the subject matter of the patent.  As the Federal Circuit held in DuPont v. Synvina, evidence showing that the petitioner in that case had an operating facility capable of infringing a method of manufacture  was enough to confer standing.

Understood in this context, Momenta is a dispute in which the patent challenger was engaged in likely-infringing activity at the outset, but lost its direct stake through an “intervening abandonment of the controversy” by ending its collaboration with Mylan on an Orencia® biosimilar.  The case is notable both for its high stakes on appeal and the fact that the biosimilar applicant was clearly engaged in an expensive, years-long dispute over a billion-dollar biologic product.

Although Momenta may still be able to receive royalties on any relevant biosimilar that Mylan may later develop, the court found this to be the sort of speculative future economic interest that proved inadequate in Phigenix.  As in ChanBond, the lack of any current activity that might potentially infringe undermined Momenta’s argument for revived standing, and the lack of any concrete plans going forward meant that the safety valves of JTEKT or DuPont were of little help.  In the end, the Momenta decision dodged the more contentious issue of just how much investment, how much potential for future infringement, and how much certainty there must be about that future harm, are ultimately enough to confer Article III standing.

Estoppel as an Injury

Throughout most of these cases, there has also been a thread of discussion about whether the strong statutory estoppel of 35 U.S.C. § 315(e), applied after the final written decision issues in an inter partes review, constitutes an independent injury capable of sustaining standing.  It is unclear whether the presence of estoppel “bolsters” or supports a finding of injury or is simply irrelevant.  The court seems to have entertained the middle road in Momenta, never finding that estoppel alone could constitute injury, but with appellants arguing that it supports their overall arguments about the existence of a genuine Article III case or controversy.

The “petitioner” estoppel of § 315(e) estoppel has two prongs.  One applies back to the PTAB itself; the other, to outside forums.  The plain language of the statute bars the maintenance of either another PTAB proceeding or an argument in a federal-court or ITC action that a patent is invalid based on any ground that was actually raised or reasonably could have been raised in the initial inter partes review.  Moreover, estoppel applies not only to the petitioner but also to their real parties in interest and privies.

Running through the various opinions on standing is an argument that the legal detriment of estoppel is at least a factor in, if not a deciding vote for, finding standing on appeal.

In Altaire Pharms. v. Paragon Bioteck, a case where the court found standing in a post-grant review, the court pointed to estoppel as compounding the harm.  As previously noted, the court found in the non-precedential PPG Industries case that the petitioner’s “stake is enhanced by the ‘estoppel provisions contained within the inter partes reexamination statute.’” And in Momenta, the appellant argued that that “[t]he concreteness of that stake is bolstered by the estoppel provision, which the Board’s adverse decision already triggered,” citing 35 U.S.C. § 315(e).

In JTEKT, on the other hand, the panel rejected appellant’s argument that inter partes review estoppel constituted a separate injury in fact, an issue the appellant there has raised in a petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court.  RPX Corp. argued something similar in their opposition to the motion to dismiss their appeal, and have likewise made that argument the basis of a petition for certiorari, which, it should be noted, has drawn a “call for the views of the Solicitor General” from the high Court.

These arguments appear to be grounded in Justice Kennedy’s concurrence in Lujan, where he noted that “Congress has the power to define injuries and articulate chains of causation that will give rise to a case or controversy where none existed before.”  But few actual cases exist holding that a statute itself creates standing, and it seems clear that the Federal Circuit, at least, is unconvinced that this argument holds water, certiorari petitions or no.

The Federal Circuit’s conclusion in Momenta that estoppel cannot constitute an injury-in-fact when Momenta “is not engaged in any activity that would give rise to a possible infringement suit” is potentially far-reaching.  Standing to appeal depends on whether there is adequate injury-in-fact at the time of appeal—but estoppel, of course, lasts indefinitely.  This is a significant disparity for petitioners, one that doubles down on the asymmetric burden that petitioners already face with regard to Article III standing.

Implications for Biosimilars

Although the opinion did not address it, it is noteworthy that Orencia® is listed in the Purple Book, which identifies what biological products the FDA has determined to be “biosimilar to or interchangeable with a reference biological product.”  In another PTAB appeal decided just a few weeks prior to Momenta, the Federal Circuit in Amerigen Pharms. v. UCB Pharma (Fed. Cir. 2019) held that the listing of a patent in the FDA Orange Book (a Paragraph III certification) can constitute an injury sufficient to support Article III standing.

Accordingly, appellants confronted with administrative challenges prior to open district court litigation may be left scratching their heads and wondering just when standing kicks in and whether it continues through the life of any given appeal.  That makes challenging biologics patents especially fraught with uncertainty.  It also pushes would-be PTAB petitioners toward later or more reactive filing of inter partes review petitions rather than early filing of post-grant review or inter partes review challenges prior to a district court litigation.  Given the complex regulatory schemes at work, it seems likely that these parallel proceedings will even further complicate ANDA and ABLA-related litigation and the related approval processes rather than streamline them.

Conclusion

We conclude that the Momenta decision has ultimately done little to ease concerns about who does and does not have standing to appeal.  It is an important development in the ongoing evolution of Article III standing for appeals from PTAB trials, to be sure, as well as an informative survey of the relevant case law.  Still, it may have created further confusion by injecting the issue of mootness into the debate.  While courts have no control over the parties’ positions or the status of any particular appeal, the Federal Circuit’s decision making seems to reflect some discomfort with taking evidence on appeal in the first instance—as, for example, the D.C. Circuit does.  This reluctance has led to longer briefing schedules and more complicated and uncertain appellate fact patterns.  The weight of that uncertainty ultimately falls upon the parties and Federal Circuit panels themselves.

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Prof. Saurabh Vishnubhakat is an Associate Professor at the Texas A&M University School of Law and the Texas A&M Dwight Look College of Engineering, and is a former USPTO advisor.  Mr. Jonathan Stroud is Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at Unified Patents Inc., an Adjunct Professor at American University Washington College of Law, and a former USPTO examiner.  The arguments presented here are the authors’ and should not be imputed to Unified Patents, the USPTO, or to any other organization.

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