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quietwingsinthesky · 8 months

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Friend, could you explain to me the newest adventure time stuff? Like the simon/ice king thing, what's the plot/backstory that got revealed? At first I assumed these designs I kept seeing were new characters but then I started seeing art of the simon guy turning into the ice king. It's not a big deal but I'm curious what the context is

Sure! So the Simon thing is actually a plot point from the original show! If you’re like me and your adventure time knowledge was mainly the bumpers on Cartoon Network and covers of Marceline songs, then obviously, that’s not something you’d know because it absolutely hit me out of left field. And uh, goes without saying this whole thing is a massive spoiler for the original show. I’ve tried to keep any Fionna & Cake spoilers out, in case you want to watch that. (You should. You should also watch the original. And the Distant Lands shorts. Join us. You won’t regret it. Just maybe pace yourself and don’t watch it all in four nights like I did lol)

Anyway, to the best of my knowledge, it goes like this! Ice King was once a man named Simon Petrikov. When the world ended because of necromancy atomic bombs (btw the world ended), he survived because he discovered a magical crown. It continues to be the source of his ice magic in the main show, but at the time, when he was still Simon, he tried to keep himself from using it as each time he did, he lost a little more of himself. It’s so fucking tragic and way too goddamn relatable for me and my memory issues to see this man struggling to hold onto what makes him him, to the names of the people he loved or to what happened to them. Ice King in the main show has lost all of that. He doesn’t even know he was Simon. He doesn’t recognize Marceline, the girl he raised in the post-apocalypse and who he wore the crown to protect countless times.

It turns out a big theme of Adventure Time is destroying yourself to save the people you love. Who knew. But you watch the show and it just. keeps. happening. And you’re screaming at the characters to stop, to not make this sacrifice, that it isn’t worth it, that there is some other way. But of course, they do it anyway. Simon becomes the Ice King to protect Marceline, and in the end, loses everything that he was.

AND NOW FOR LORE. For you see, the crown does this for a reason! It is cursed! Throughout the show, Ice King calls his penguin companion and sometimes other characters “Gunther”, which seems like a funny gag for the first few seasons, and then! It turns out that Gunther was the name of the apprentice of the Ice Elemental (Original Ice King) who created the crown in the first place to stop a comet from destroying the Earth. When he couldn’t wear the crown himself, he told his apprentice, who he had consistently belittled and kept in the dark about most magic, to do it instead and make a wish to send the comet away.

Gunther wishes to become the Ice King instead. And now, anyone, including a Finn the Human of an alternate timeline where he got the crown, will be corrupted into Gunther’s idea of the Ice King, with a little of the original person’s identity left to shape the new person they become with the crown. (Also interesting and probably just a shortcut for time in the episode, is that alternate Finn corrupts very quickly whereas Simon fights the crown for years. I just think it’s fascinating that Simon could do that! He’s just some guy!!! But he resisted turning into the Ice King for so long!!! He faltered eventually, sure, but it’s still impressive!!!)

So, main show, we’ve got the Ice King, once Simon Petrikov, and he runs around kidnapping princess and making a nuisance of himself (until the rest of the cast befriends him once they learn about what happened to him. There’s a moment in the Elementals series of the original show where Finn calls the Ice King “Simon” for i think the first time? And the Ice King doesn’t know who that is, but Finn still calls him by his real name, something s1 Finn would never have done even if he knew it, and it’s!!! that scene makes my heart melt, it’s so small but it’s!!! yes! character growth for my boy and recognition of his tragedy for my old man!!!)

But why does he kidnap princesses? Where did this fixation come from? Well, when he first found the crown, he was dating a woman named Betty. His princess. Fionna & Cake goes deeper into their relationship, so I won’t spoil beyond where the original show goes. When he puts the crown on for the first time, he loses it, scaring her away when the crown takes over his mind and he shoots ice everywhere. Far in the future, a currently depowered Simon creates a time portal in order to just apologize to her, because he never saw her again after this incident. And why didn’t he see her again? Because, crazy insane fantastic woman that she is, she jumps THROUGH HIS TIME PORTAL. Betty then joins the main show’s timeline, spending the rest of the series trying to find a cure for the crown’s curse.

And. I reiterate, spoilers now for the AT finale, which is. so good. god i cried multiple times during it. that may have been the sleep deprivation though.

Betty’s last hope to save Simon is an ancient god of chaos they used to study together called GOLB. At this point, magic has begun to corrupt her too, due to shenanigans with the Magic man turned Normal man from Mars. (it’s a whole thing) and she’s desperate! In the victory of the Candy Kingdom over Bubblegum’s evil uncle (unrelated to the Ice King plotline, don’t worry about it, Bubblegum did some war crimes) Betty summons GOLB. It’s going to destroy the whole world. Eventually, it ends up eating Betty, the Ice King, and Finn. In the process of “digesting” them, it reverts them back to who they were before the magic got to them. Betty becomes normal Betty, Simon becomes Simon, Finn is perfect so he’s fine. The crown also reverts back to it’s precursed state, able to be used for wishing again. Through the power of love and song, Jake the Dog and all their friends create a passage out of GOLB for them to escape through.

Betty stays behind. Because this show is about destroying yourself if it means saving the people you love. And as the walls close in, she wishes for a way to save Simon. She becomes GOLB. GOLBetty. Simon doesn’t turn back into the Ice King. But she can never be changed back. She leaves, and Simon loses her again. But he’s free. After a thousand years, he’s himself.

(The crown is then put on by Gunther the Penguin, who turns into the Ice Thing. Another version of the Ice King, who the gang are still friends with but who the framing device of two friends far in the future learning about the tale of the Candy Kingdom’s war informs us that his happiness couldn’t last forever. Eventually, all the characters die or part ways with him, and the Ice Thing goes back to being a wizard in the mountains causing problems, without even a piece of Simon buried deep within him to help. Because, you know, Adventure Time needs to break your heart even about this little penguin dude.)

#ask #adventure time #simon petrikov #ice king #shows that broke my goddamn heart like holy shit why did no one let me watch this as a kid #i would’ve been destroyed

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arytha · 7 months

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its fun knowing the context behind a cn internet meme used as a small gag in this novel that i completely missed last time- the translators didnt explain it but fhdhsk

random explaining it for fun under the cut v

so the meme was explained for readers in Escape the Library (which i read in mtl) because it was used as a skill by the main protagonist who was a literature student. (funnily enough, i recognize more common chinese poets by name now because of the various infinite flow novels who have used them as a setting shortcut)

Calling someone your son or grandson or calling yourself the other person's father is like. a super common way of cursing, so the context clues you have to put together- knowing the sentence from Zhu Ziqing's work and that it was a sentence said from father to son, idk i find these creative insults fun fhdjs. I read this back in april! So if i had reread Talent Show before that i wouldnt have known this at alll

ANYWAYS in this novel that im rereading i immediately remembered it with this v

Zhou Nan knows memes from a 1000 years ago (current year in the novel is lile 3018 fhdn) gained a son Wu Jin 👍

being able to connect this is fun for me. so many little things that are funny or odd out of context becoming incredibly funny in context is what i live for with these things and its part of the reason why i'm so excited To reread these novels that i read pretty early on when i started knowing nothing 🤔

#mara reads #the amount of random cn memes i've made sure to remember because of this tho. there's more every day fhdjdk #its fun. i like the little spark of dopamine when i recongize something

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aokozaki · 8 months

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"How'd you get back here before us?!" "Ah! ...how did we Kronk?" "Well, you've got me. By all accounts it doesn't make sense..."

Is one of my favorite gags in a movie. Yes the writers know it doesn't work, but it's funny enough that it does work anyway.

Especially because it's a follow up to a gag where, while chasing Kuzko and Pacha, Yzma and Kronk fall off a cliff. They could've cut that joke, just had them take a shortcut without them calling attention to it.

But they call attention to it because it's funny.

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marvelousmatt · 3 years

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Matt Berry Has a Type

The actor is known for playing ridiculous characters with a straight face — the stupider the better.

By Kathryn VanArendonk OCT. 25, 2021

Matt Berry. Photo: Chris Buck for New York Magazine. Photographed at Pendry Manhattan West.

Matt Berry plays men who do not fit in this world, who are either too dumb to know that or too self-involved to care. He’s the cruel, fatuous hangman — also named Matt Berry — in Snuff Box and the witless, talentless actor Steven Toast in Toast of London. In FX’s What We Do in the Shadows, he’s a sex-obsessed, murderous Victorian vampire who is absolutely serious at all times, especially when he’s being very stupid. “Escapism is so important,” Berry tells me at a plush hotel bar in Manhattan, where he’s attending Comic Con to promote the third season of Shadows. “I’m more than happy to be part of something that is utterly pointless and stupid. With no sort of social hammer whatsoever. Nothing at all.”

It’s true — much of Berry’s work is superficially goofy, full of big silly gags and juvenile jokes about sex. Claiming that as his entire appeal doesn’t fully capture what makes Berry such a compelling performer, though. All of his roles, many of which he writes himself, have an instantly distinctive quality: the utter commitment of buffoonery played straight with the occasional flourish of strange, elongated vowels that can turn any word into a hilarious oddity. He plays these imbeciles with so much unblinking stolidity you can’t help but search for a hint of knowingness, some sign that he’s winking. You know there’s a smirk, but you’re not sure how you know it because Berry betrays nothing. He’s not trying to convince anyone he’s being funny.

Berry is not tall, and in life he is much quieter and more reserved than his noisy screen roles. But there is a familiar intensity, especially in his dark, deep-set eyes. He is sitting on a dusky-pink sofa and wearing a denim jacket, red bandanna, black T-shirt, and jeans. His fingernails are painted black; the polish is chipped. This bar has try-hard polka dots on the walls and gives the impression that it would love to be photographed. The actor creates the opposite feeling, and he tells me that if I look back on this interview and decide there’s nothing worth writing about, I should feel free to just skip the whole thing. “When actors, people that are an extension or an exaggeration of themselves in their performances, do a lot of interviews, you’re not left with much at the end of it,” he tells me with a shrug.

Berry is not a household name, especially in the U.S. In part, that’s because he is so reluctant to make the U.K. panel-show circuit, to participate in the fame shortcuts that would help launch him to leading-man stardom. In the U.K., he thinks, it is still possible to be a little standoffish if someone’s work doesn’t aim for broad appeal. If he were more ubiquitous, there would be more pressure to fit a particular mold. “And I wouldn’t be able to continue to do what I want,” he says.

His onscreen personae are funny, but they are people who rarely laugh. Berry does sometimes, in an almost giggly way. He is looser than his characters and more considerate. Director Yana Gorskaya says that when things go awry on the set of Shadows, Berry sends her silly voice memos to cheer her up. Susan Wokoma, his co-star in Year of the Rabbit, says his routine on set was singing Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name,” and is effusive about Berry as a colleague. “You know when you meet people who are fascinating, but who are actually just a knob-end? He’s not that,” Wokoma says. “God, he’s gonna love this,” Wokoma laughs, knowing that the very private Berry would find the praise slightly mortifying.

He is easy to talk with, yet even after a few hours in his company, it’s difficult to get used to the quality of his voice. It can sound so resonant it’s hard to believe there’s no microphone or instrument hidden somewhere on his person. The voice is part of why Jemaine Clement, who produced Shadows as a movie in 2014 and later adapted it into a TV series, created the character of Laszlo Cravensworth for Berry. “Some things I feel are only funny if he says it,” Clement says. Fred Armisen, who cast Berry in a 2013 Portlandia sketch as a children’s musician, describes the voice as “serious with something funny underneath.” Berry’s longtime friend and colleague Morgana Robinson says his voice belongs to “a thespian bear.” “Cigars, whiskey, open fire, Shakespeare, but all in the shape of a big hairy bear,” Robinson says. “It’s like a roast dinner.” Jon Hamm, whom Berry cast in a Toast of London episode in 2015, points to it as key to Berry’s persona. “It demands attention,” Hamm says. “And then a part of that is to then say, while I have everyone’s attention” — Hamm imitates Berry — “ ‘Well, I don’t care!’ ”

Berry grew up in a small English town called Bromham; his father drove a taxi, and his mother was a nurse. In school, as Berry puts it, he was “an underachiever.” He was only ever drawn to the arts. One Christmas, when he was around 12, his parents surprised him by putting a small old-fashioned organ in his bedroom. “That’s all I needed,” he says. “My whole world was this thing, singing along to it.”

He started writing music and has continued to write and perform throughout his career, recording nine studio albums and the soundtracks for many of the television shows he has produced. He got a degree in contemporary art from Nottingham Trent University, where he began painting and continued to study music. Not until he moved to London after college did he start acting — not on a traditional stage but as a performer in the London Dungeon, a tourist attraction where actors portray terrifying scenes from British history. His friend sold him on the job as an easy gig, something he could do even if he turned up hung-over in the morning. Makeup, after all, hides a lot. “You just had to convey this historical stuff to these people in the scariest way that you could in costume,” Berry says. “And you had free run. I used to try all sorts of things. And that’s where the timing and all that came from, because you had a show every 15 minutes all day, all week.” He spent two years in the Dungeon. “You learn so much by doing those kinds of jobs,” he says. “You learn that stillness can be your best weapon.”

By the early aughts (Berry prefers not to look back on his work and insists he has no memory of exact dates), the comedian Noel Fielding (“a friend of a friend”) invited Berry to perform at “a thing called The Boosh above a pub in North London.” The Mighty Boosh, which would later become a BBC-TV series and launch Fielding’s career, was a surrealist live comedy performance, and Berry was asked to be a warm-up musician before the show. He decided that straightforward didn’t fit the mood. “I sussed the night and the space,” he says. “Thought, Well, no, I’ve got to do something else. So I did one as a guy who was a young, earnest singer-songwriter who took enough pills to kill himself at the beginning of his song.” He had another bit in which the singer assumed a confessional mode, telling the audience where all his victims’ bodies were buried with lyrics taken verbatim from serial killers’ confessions. “The thing that attracted me was getting the audience to assume I would sing some songs and that would be it. And then I would fuck with it,” Berry says.

Berry as Laszlo Cravensworth in What We Do in the Shadows. Photo: Russ Martin/FX

Berry’s connection with the Boosh crowd was the launchpad for his career as an actor and a writer. He was cast in Matthew Holness and fellow Boosh collaborator Richard Ayoade’s 2004 series Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, and he co-created the 2006 show Snuff Box with another Boosh participant, Rich Fulcher. He began doing voice-over work for animated series and commercials. (Voice-overs get old, Berry says, “but I’m not moaning about it. It’s paid for lots of things.”) He had a prominent, recurring role on the British show The IT Crowd, the most mainstream comedy Berry had appeared in up to that point. I ask about his feelings regarding a 2008 episode that has become a political flash point in the U.K., in which Berry’s character enjoys dating a woman, discovers she is trans, and breaks up with her because of it. At the end, they become involved in a violent fight, designed to depict the trans woman as masculine. Berry swiftly notes that he did not write the episode and was only a guest performer on it. The writer, Graham Linehan, has since become an outspoken member of a virulent anti-trans-rights movement in the U.K. (After publication, Linehan sent New York an email stating he is not “anti-trans” and that he is protecting “women’s rights and spaces.”) It is the only time in our conversation when Berry seems uncertain. The episode looks “ridiculous and dated” now, he says, and he hopes people can accept that it was a product of an earlier time. He comes back to the idea later as we’re getting ready to leave. It bothers him that he wasn’t clear: “I don’t condone anything that that comedy portrayed, you know? I don’t share any views that the writer has.”

This is the other risk of becoming too famous, though Berry doesn’t articulate it this way. How people read your past performances starts to matter, and some viewers may misinterpret your role as a clueless idiot and assume you are too. You start to be, as Berry puts it, “property of everyone,” accessible to both the fans who get it and the ones who deliberately or unintentionally misconstrue your work. He considers it with a touch of frustration. “If I play a part in something, that isn’t me,” he says. “In Snuff Box, I was a hangman, and I couldn’t be more anti–capital punishment.”

By 2012, Berry was well known enough in the U.K. to briefly appear in the London Olympics’ closing ceremonies and to sell a TV series called Toast of London to Channel 4. (He shot a six-episode spinoff this year called Toast of Tinseltown, which takes the show to Los Angeles.) He stars as Steven Toast, an actor who longs for national recognition, cannot understand why he’s not rich and famous, gets mired in petty rivalries, eventually burns down the Globe Theatre, and supports his faltering career with, yes, voice-over work. The show is full of absurd names: Clem Fandango, Varrity Map, Clancy Moped, Heathcote Pursuit. The names, Berry says, are owed to “quite a weird form of dyslexia” in which any word he doesn’t immediately recognize turns into something else. Many of them are his brain’s initial misreadings. Maybe, I suggest, having a weird form of dyslexia played some role in that early presumption that he was an academic underachiever? “Yeah,” he says, “but it’s worked in my favor. If it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t have come up with these names.”

Toast wallows in the precise outlook Berry abhors. “He says, ‘Why haven’t I got my own this, that, and the other? Why aren’t I more famous now? Why don’t I have that? Why am I so unlucky?’ ” Berry says. “It’s easy to write because I see it in other people.” What would happen, I wonder, if Berry were offered a part in a high-visibility project that actually appealed to him? “That would be a conundrum,” he says. “Because, then, shit.”

#matt berry #what we do in the shadows #wwdits #toast of london #the mighty boosh

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just-a-creep-babe · 3 years

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What type of April fools pranks would the creeps pull

-tiny anon

I, ah, went more-so with how they act on April fools instead of what pranks they do, mostly just cause I’m bad at thinking of pranks :”)

ALSO I didn’t have much time to write this & I wanted it out by today, so it might not be as refined as my other writing 😳👉👈

Nonetheless, hope this is alright! ☺️💖

Masterlist: x

Slenderman

No pranks from him tbh

This tired eldritch dad is, unfortunately, probably gonna (unintentionally) get the brunt of most pranks—just cause he’s at the wrong place at the wrong time 😐😔

And, y’know, you would THINK that because he’s telepathic, he’d be able to get a read on what the lil shits are planning, right?

But nope

He never prods into the others’ brains unless he has a reason to (out of respect for their privacy), so he ultimately always ends up paying the price

It doesn’t help that he tends to forget humans have this specific tradition once a year

Otherwise, he probably WOULD peer into their minds to find out what they’re planning

It somehow just always sneaks up on him smh

There was maybe only one year that he just so ~happened~ to remember

And that was pretty much the only year he didn’t get fooled by anyone/anything ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Jeff the Killer

Oh boy

One of the absolute worst people to get pranked by

When he combines forces with BEN?

The two are unstoppable

Pranks range from the classic slime-over-the-doorframe trick to some of the most innovative, dickish pranks he can think of

If only he used his powers for good 😔👊

He can & WILL flip the entire mansion around, if need be, to prank people

Nothing’s off limits if it means he gets to humiliate someone

(Even though he should know not to cross certain boundaries smdh)

He pretty much always ends up having to do EXTRA chores for Slender as a punishment for going too far :”)

BEN Drowned

My mans is part of the aforementioned chaos duo

Being a ghost entity that roams the internet, he happens to get ~plenty~ of ideas to fool the others with

He will legit spend WEEKS planning ahead for what he wants to do, how he wants to do it & how it’s all going to go down

Again, if only he used his powers for good :”)

This day of the year is, like, legit the one & only day he plans everything out to a tee

He’s usually a lazy boi™️ but no shortcuts are EVER to be taken on April fools

His fave victims include Masky (it’s funny to see him get so upset), Dark Link (I mean, he’s not gonna pass up an opportunity to embarrass his rival), and, surprisingly, Jeff

He LOVES turning the tables on his prank buddy

Jeff tries to get him back for it, but it’s very difficult to properly fool BEN 👀

Such are the perks of being a super smart internet-lurking ghost, I suppose 🤷‍♀️

Eyeless Jack

Eh, he’s not too keen on the whole thing

He considers himself a bit too mature to deal with that kind of “childish behaviour”

He’s not very fun to prank either, because A) he’s got super fast reflexes, B) he’s got heightened senses, and C) if the others somehow manage to catch him off guard despite that, he’ll just be like “ok cool” and carry on with his day

No Shits Given

Still, knowing how goddamn chaotic the mansion gets during this time of year, more often than not, he tends to make himself sparse

Either he locks himself up in his room, or he sticks around the creeps that also don’t like the tradition, or he leaves and goes,,, wherever he usually goes when he disappears from the mansion sometimes

On the rare occasion that he does stay behind, he might help one of the creeps to get their revenge on someone that pranked them

But only if he’s feeling particular playful that day, which doesn’t happen very often

Honestly, because he takes pity on Slender, if he comes back to the mansion being a mess, he’ll help clean things up

Overall a good boi that deserves some head pats for not turning into a goddamn monkey like the others smh

Masky

Masky is essentially the 2nd tired dad figure that has to deal with “this shit again,” as he puts it

Except, unlike Slender, the others aren’t scared of him, so he might ultimately get the worse brunt of it (even worse than what his boss gets)

Something about the way he reacts just makes for some ✨quality content✨ to the others

And, just because they can, they like to film him

It sucks for Masky, because not only does he get his ass handed to him, but then the others also get blackmail footage of him 😐😐

He hates it lmfaoo

Honestly considers hiding under a rock until the day’s over

But, somehow, they always manage to find him & drag him back out into the fray

This poor manses can’t catch a break

Someone help him please—he’s too tired to deal with this 😔🤘

Hoodie

I know we haven’t gotten to him yet, but Hoodie’s somewhere between Toby & EJ when it comes to the tradition

He’s relatively laid-back & won’t actively go out of his way to fool someone

But, hey, if there’s a prank to be had like right there, who’s he to not go for it?

His pranks tend to be relatively low effort—like a joke or a lie or something that tricks someone into believing something kinda stupid

His victim makes a fool of themselves, everyone has a good laugh, then the joke’s over & people move on

Albeit sometimes, the gag lasts longer than intended

Like that one year he convinced Toby that slugs can communicate telepathically because of all the fungus they eat

And Toby believed it for many months until Slender had to break the news to him 😔😔

Also, somehow?? homeboy’s damn near impossible to prank

Many have tried, all have failed—no one knows how he does it 🤷‍♀️

Ticci Toby

Prank time! Prank time! Prank time!

Boy fucking lives for the day he gets to have fun & mess around with the others

Every year most likely ends up with him getting injured, but hey, nothing new there :/

Unlike BEN & Jeff, he probably won’t turn the mansion upside-down (both figuratively and literally smh) to trick people

He’s more-so in it for the goofs

Like he doesn’t actually wanna humiliate or embarrass anyone too badly, ya know?

He’ll recruit others & form a prank gang because he knows there’s strength in numbers 😌✨

And it’s an unspoken code that those in the prank gang can’t prank each other

So, honestly?

Toby might be the most wholesome April fools-er out of everyone :3

#creepypasta #creepypasta x reader #slenderman #Jeff the killer #Ben drowned #Ticci Toby #eyeless jack #masky #hoodie

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ngscoffeecupcommentary · 2 years

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KHR - Chapter 2: The Deathperation shot won't work

Deathperation is still such a weird translation for me, since I'm used to scans from way back - Dying Will bullets and all, but whatever, I'll either get used to it or I won't :p

Dramatic opening once again, poor Tsuna.

Well, the students sure had a turn-around in their behavior towards Tsuna (I find it kinda funny that some are actually afraid of him now - that sounds like an interesting idea for a fic to follow hmmm) - let's see how long this new attitude lasts.

(Also, 'we want to borrow that ability' is that a Yamamoto situation foreshadowing? Or maybe this is just common behavior in school sports teams - I wouldn’t know)

Omg, this is the start of Reborn's weird hideouts and coffee addiction XD.

Then some classic textbook manipulation to teach a lesson. It's also for comedy and kicks.

'You're feeling good because someone stroked your ego' … Reborn this kid's been bullied since he was like 5, he deserves an effing break. Also is this Reborn also trying to teach Tsuna that he can't be relied on?

Cue unintentional peer pressure by Kyoko. Oh, damn people even made banners!

Wow, I forgot that Hayato shows up this early! Either my memory is bad or anime makes it take longer. Or both XD

I understand Tsuna wanting to bow out - I mean, until today all of these people have treated him horribly, being suddenly popular feels great, but they're also quick to turn - so Tsuna doesn't owe them anything, he can even look at it as helping them out by leaving, since he sucks so bad.

Then in that same breath I also like Tuna's growth here. The way he sees that all of them are also injured and doing their best. Here, Tsuna, for maybe the first time in a decade, feels like he's a part of a team - not just an add-on.

He squares up and decides to do his best - accepts responsibility for something he agreed to.

I also know that that is the lesson here, about not taking shortcuts or not over-relying to your 'magic bullet' instead of hard work, and even if you fail you've given it your all...I gotta say tho, it's kinda jarring here XD in chapter 2.

The tone is already mismatched a bit.

And now we get into the details on the naming of the 'Deathperation shot' and how it's name is changed depending on where you're hit.

Now I can watch in real time as this story detail becomes irrelevant and fades away.

I mean it's nice flavor, but it doesn't really have consequence (none that I remember) and mostly sounds like something Reborn made up on the spot. 'I shot you in the legs so it's Jump Shot' kind of thing.

The way Reborn says it also makes it sound like the bullet has another name aside from Deathperation Bullet (Dying Will Bullet) and that's just what it's called after you're shot in the head with it. (not before, see the distinction?)

Also, earlier he said that if there's no regret you just die….so it's called Deathperation | Dying Will only if you're shot in the head and then get up.

...Why am I going into the complexities of a gag that will never be plot-relevant in this way?

Let's get back into it.

Reborn says the same things I thought about 'relying on the magic bullet' - but he gets all 'but you assuaged my fears' and it's... well since I know Reborn already it just kind of look like he's fcking with Tsuna (and giving Tsuna 'he cares about what's best for me' feels which is something I'm always iffy on, but would like to believe in) - which is why we end with a gag.

Because this is still a gag manga, I must not forget. I cannot forget.

Narration at the end makes it sound like Tsuna is using intuition to read Reborn's expression and what readers see might be what Tsuna sees, rather than what other characters would be able to pick up from Reborn's expression… hmmm...Interesting.

Vol.1 . ch1 . ch2 . ch3 . ch4 . ch5 . ch6 . ch7 .

#khr #khr manga #khr manga commentary #khr manga reread #reread #spoilers #manga spoilers #khr spoilers #khr volume 1 #manga commentary #opinions and commentary #hitman reborn #katekyou hitman reborn #home tutor reborn #reborn manga #reborn volume 1

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themadauthorshatter · 3 years

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It's been a while since we last checked on Flippy, so let's see how he's doing!

We start with Cuddles this time, who's sitting upside down on a bench when Petunia and Flaky approach him, asking if he's seen Flippy anywhere.

He has not, because he thought Flippy was with Petunia.

Petunia folds her arms and asks why Flippy would be with her for about a half to a week and a half, and Cuddles shrugs; maybe they got REALLY intimate and just needed all of that time together.

Flaky squeals, because it's dirty, and Petunia tells him to get his mind out of the gutter because this is crazy serious.

Cuddles gets up and relentls and asks if they stopped by his house.

They did, and he wasn't there.

Did they check the woods?

Not there either.

The GYM?

He doesn't even BELIEVE in going to the Gym, most days; why GO to a place to workout when you have the equipment at your house or just outside in general?

Cuddles finally realizes that Flippy's MISSING missing, and gets up, joining the girls with finding their friend.

Flaky hopes that Flippy's okay, but Cuddles assures her that he's smart, he wouldn't do anything stupid like run away.

Funny he say that because Flippy IS doing something stupid, staring at a projector that's showing a bunch of war footage, like pictures that NO AVERAGE PERSON should see.

Splendid cringes as turns a small dial on an IV line and watches Flippy struggle to both handle the medicine that's being pumped into him and not flip out.

Thankfully, all that happens is that he vomits in a bucket.

Splenedid stops the medicine and hands Flippy some water, asking if he's really okay with continuing; they've been at this for a while and they're making very debatable progress.

Flippy washes his mouth out and nods. He can keep going.

Splendid hestitately changes the image to a collage of very familiar faces:

Tiger General, Sneaky, and Mouse Ka-Boom.

Flippy gasps at seeing them and asks how the hell Splendid got these pictures.

Splendid admits it was a simple internet search, because people spread information around like it's a puff puff pass, especially if said information is a tragedy and a victory. He can give Flippy a few minutes, if he needs it.

Flippy only takes a few seconds seeing the faces of his dead partners and nods.

Splendid gets the IV and medicine going again and Flippy takes a few deep breaths as what I call the "Make Me Sick" medicine(MMS for short)(if MMS is a real thing, I deeply and sincerely apologize. I know there's a name for the drug/"medicine" used for aversion therapy, but I forgot it🙏🙏🙏) runs through his system. TV perspective, his eyes dart between Mouse Ka-Boom and Sneaky and he sees old memories of the three in training, i.e. standing still while a drill sergeant yells in their faces and/or tries to make them laugh, having a meal together, goofing around before bed, and even comforting each other after getting tased and pepper sprayed as a part of training.

Flippy's eyes go 'killer instinct-y' and he fights a gag as he remembers how they all promised to meet again once they were out of the army, and how both looked at him with shock, sorrow, and betrayal because of how he accidentally killed them.

The memories change to taking on Tiger General 1v1, how he had to fend for himself, got his hands removed, and was almost strangled to death until he ultimately came out on top amd took down the rest of the enemy base.

When I say he vomits, I mean he VOMITS until there's nothing left to get out of his system and he's dry heaving.

Splendid quickly turns off the projector and gets Flippy off the IV, though the veteran tells him he can take more, he just needs a few minutes.

Splendid, however, tells him to call it a day; they've been at this for hours and he's already making phenomenal progress; of course Splendid is not going to TEST it right now because his friend just threw up all of his digestive system.

Flippy sighs and agrees, relinquishing for the day.

Splendid helps him up and asks if he's okay to walk home and Flippy states he's fine; he just wants to go shower and clean himself up after throwing up so much.

The two bid their farewells and Flippy begins a very uneasy walk home.

A bit of context: it's been a week or so since the last part and they've been doing this all day everyday since then, from dawn to dusk, and today they started around MAYBE 4 am in the morning and it is now 12 or 1 pm in the afternoon, so yeah it's time for the Flipster to go home and rest.

Back on track, Flippy's not exactly the best because he needs to get the vomit taste out of his mouth and just feels like crap, so he takes a shortcut home.

He gets there relatively fast and flops onto the couch and falls asleep, exhausted.

He dreams he's with Sneaky and Mouse Ka-Boom, all three playing a mix of Spades and Poker, Sneaky and Flippy speaking in english before translating for Mouse Ka-Boom to understand them; yes, Mouse Ka-Boom speaks french. He understands English well enough, but isn't the best at speaking it, aside from, 'Sir, yes, sir,' 'Sir, no, sir,' and a few insults he picked up from Flippy on accident; he may or may not have gotten the three in trouble because he repeated one of these insults in front of a commanding officer.

Regardless, the three are having a good time before Sneaky asks Flippy a question: How did it feel to throw that knife at him rather than the General? Did he enjoy it? Did he hate Sneaky that much he had to throw a KNIFE through his chest?

Flippy deflates and clarifies that he did not mean to miss the General; it was a heat of the moment thing and he's, admittedly, not good under stress.

Mouse Ka-Boom lowers his cards and asks if cutting him in half was another 'heat of the moment thing,' along with getting them both blown to smithereens.

They change before Flippy's eyes, both mangles and burnt, and Flippy leaves the table, backing away from them.

That is until a hand claps on his shoulder and his own voice tells him to admit that he actually did enjoy killing his friends; it's what he's been trained to do, so what better way to see the reward of all that effort?

Flippy turns and sees himself, who demands he admit it, admit that he's never going to change, that he won't let himself because not only does he like it, he also wants to go back to fighting and wants out of Splendid's Aversion therapy.

Flippy barely gets a word out because his other self tackles him to the ground and starts to choke him, calling him weak, a liar, and a coward, saying he should've died on that mission, not Sneaky or Mouse Ka-Boom.

Speaking of which, the two appear and grab both of Flippy's arms, holding him while he's practically being strangled again.

It gets worse when his other self turns into Tiger General, who laughs that he wouldn't be surprised by such an admission because it took Flippy how many tries to kill him. Might as well return the favor.

Flippy, breathless and trying to break free screams out and wakes up on the floor, though he gets up and runs to the kitchen sink, where he dry heaves and coughs up spit.

He stops after a while and sits against the cabinets, having regrets about the choice to go along with Splendid's idea.

These regrets linger as he walks outside the next day, catching a toy Cub dropeed while and Pop are on a stroll, though Cub is in a wagon.

They walk off, Pop thanking Flippy, and Flippy gets a surprise attack hug from Flaky, who's close to tears because he's been missing.

Cuddles, Giggles, and Petunia also approach, asking where the hell he disappeared to, because they've been looking all over for him.

Flippy apologizes for worrying them and straight up lies, saying he just left town for a little bit to enjoy some quiet time; and to restock on his medicine as soon as he could because he ran out.

Cuddles still lightly punches Flippy on the arm and tells him not to scare them like that again, or they'll put him on a harness or walk around with him in a wagon.

With Flaky now piggybacking him, Flippy muses that it sounds tempting, because he could see everyone getting some excerise because of it.

The group laugh it off and start toward a diner, because they all skipped breakfast and lunch on accident.

Flippy decides to join them, having NOT skipped breakfast, and they head to the diner.

On his back, Flaky asks Flippy if he's okay, because he looks pale and feels tense.

He nods, claiming he's fine, just a little sore from a workout he did while he was away.

Flaky is suspicious, but drops it. FOR NOW.

Cut to them at the diner, all talking and looking over the menu to see what they want, and a visual gag of Cuddles and Giggles having a contest of who can spin longer in their chairs(they're all sitting at the bar).

Flippy is a little uneasy because ANYTHING can trigger his instincts and he doesn't know how well this aversion procedure is going to qork because neither he nor Splendid went out and actually saw if it was working.

Petunia sees his unease and asks if he needs to step outside for a second.

He shakes his head and admits he's just trying to figure out what to eat.

Good thing he's having a hard time, too, because Petunia is not in the mood for grease.

Flaky fakes a gag or an "Eugh," and jokes, "Ew, flirting."

While Flippy laughs, Petunia DARES Flaky to repeat that, because it was her that helped the two get closer.

His laughter dies when a kitchen fire starts on accident right in front if them.

TV/anime perspective, we see the reflection of the fire in Flippy's eyes as they widen and he gasps/whimpers. We don't see his flashback, but we hear about a bomb going off and people screaming in pain. Flippy clenches a fist on the countertop, silent as the fire is put out and everyone relaxes.

While everyone talks about how crazy that just was, Flippy spontaneouly gets sick to his stomach and gags, excusing himself really quick to go to the bathroom.

The group watch and are now very confused, because usually flame triggers him, but he did not go off on them.

Cuddles, being the only boy, follows Flippy, saying that he'll try not to die in the process.

He does not die, but he does see Flippy vomiting into one of the sinks, very violently, I must say.

Cuddles asks if everything's okay, which scares the crap out of Flippy, but the ex-soldier claims he's fine; the fire just got him scared.

Cuddles doesn't really buy it, and asks another question: Has he been eating, AT ALL? Because he looks like he lost a little bit of weight and sick as hell.

While he waters away his mess, washes out, and wipes off his mouth, Flippy admits he has been, as much as he can, at least.

Cuddles still doesn't buy it, asking WHAT he's eating and when.

Flippy leans over the now clean sink and measures his options.

If he tells the truth, there's a chance his friends are not going to take it well.

If he keeps them in the dark, they will be fine, even though he'll feel even more like garbage.

Flippy turns and holds up his hands in surrender. He's been eating venison to build immunity, and because it, honestly, tastes really good.

Cuddles reels on him, asking why he'd do that when he's almost deathly allergic to the stuff.

Flippy apologizes and admits that, yes, he knows it's stupid, but he's just trying to make himself better, in case they have a cookout and someone accidentally brings venison instead of steak.

Cuddles points out that's BS because NO ONE eats venison(whatever it is)(Flippy corrects him that it's deer), but still drops it because Flippy clearly doesn't want to talk about it; guy code.

Flippy thanks him anyway and they rejoin the group, everyone keeping an eye on Flippy as he eats, Flaky especially, because, having known him the longest, she canntell he's both hiding something and isn't as good as he's pretending to be.

HMMMMMMMM????

#happy tree friends #htf flippy #htf splendid #htf giggles #htf cuddles #htf flaky #htf petunia #ptsd tw #nightmare tw #strangle/choking tw #medicine/drug use tw #aversion therapy tw #vomiting tw #thank you for being patient

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hypocrisyofandrewdobson · 3 years

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If it was a daily strip I'd say it's okay to have a lazy gag once in a while. Everyone has off days and churning out strips like that is work. I'm not sure but I think Dobson had an inconsistent schedule making this lazier than just an off day.

Funny you should mention that…

That’s one of the weirder things too, because the only timetable Dobson was under was his own. I think by this point he was updating twice a week, but he could have easily just said “hey everyone, I’m gonna need to slow my update schedule a bit. I want to be sure and spend the time necessary to make the comics as good as they can be”. Instead he takes every shortcut imaginable and then later accuses people not liking his lazy art of being trolls and nitpickers.

So once again, his failings are all his own fault.

#andrew dobson #tom preston #blue bear #syac #lazy #adobsonartworks #adobsonart #ask #anonymous

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keelywolfe · 3 years

Text

FIC: Drifters ch.3 (spicyhoney)

Summary: Stretch asked Edge where his newest acquisition came from. Time for explanations.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Violence, Rescued Child, Medical Experimentation, Babybones

Read it on AO3

Read it here!

~~*~~

That Morning

The first task Edge had to accomplish was trying very hard not to vomit. No matter how he tried to brace for it, going through one of his brother’s shortcuts always sent his equilibrium into a tailspin that left him retching on his knees at the other side.

Red only stepped to the side, mouth curling in distaste. “bro, you ever gone get over that? seriously, it’s embarrassing to have you yakking on your boots whenever we need a quick exit."

"Fuck off,” Edge rasped out, gagging back another heave. He took a slow, deep breath, another, and then staggered back to his feet, “If you’d care to quit bitching about my issues with motion sickness and tell me why you brought me here, we can get this over with. Where are we, anyw—” He paused, for the first time getting a good look at their surroundings.

That morning, Edge wasn’t halfway through checking the traplines when his brother appeared, stepping out from nowhere directly in front of him as he never did. For once, his sharp, careless grin was absent and in its place were clenched teeth and grim words. “got something i need to show you, boss.”

Edge hadn’t hesitated to go with him. Much as his brother appreciated a terrible joke or a worse prank, Edge trusted him with his life and that unusual seriousness left him equal parts reluctantly intrigued and worried.

A few hasty steps, a shortcut, and a bout of nausea later, and Edge was beginning to rethink that trust.

He whirled around and asked in a furious whisper, “Have you lost your moronic little mind?”

“nah,” Red shrugged, rolling his shoulders lazily and turned to walk down a long, dimly lit hallway. “no more than usual, anyway. c’mon, this way.”

There was little choice but to follow him. Overhead, the fluorescent bulbs sputtered and flickered, flashes of lightning from a manufactured storm illuminating the trash and filth that lined the walls, giving them a setting that was perhaps better suited for the horror movies that Papyrus was so fond of. The comparison wasn’t far off; no sane Monster came anywhere near Alphys’s lab, which would certainly explain why his brother brought them here. It must be something like insanity on both their parts, on Red for coming and Edge for staying.

Edge followed after his brother with carefully silent steps. He wasn't worried about Alphys seeing them on her cameras, they never seemed to work around Red, but that wouldn't help them if she walked right in on them as she investigated some careless noise.

Red didn’t seem to have the same compunction; his sneakers trod heavily, untied laces dragging through the filth. His rough chuckle seemed to echo around them, carrying them along, “heh, you know what’s funny? i still know my way around in here. can’t remember where i put my fucking wallet most days, but an internal map of this shitheap, i got no problems. funny how some things stick.” He kicked aside a moldy ramen cup, a fouled plastic spoon skittering out of it. “i keep tabs on ol’ al, you know. i ain’t sticking my neck out, but i like to keep my nose hole poked into whatever she’s been gettin’ up to down here. just lately, she's been going through the old scientist’s shit, tryin’ to recreate some of his old experiments.”

“She’s been doing that for years,” Edge said, low. “What changed?”

Red stopped outside the door and an unexpected shudder went through his small frame, the rattle of his bones muffled beneath his heavy jacket. He straightened before Edge could so much as lay a concerned hand on his shoulder, twisting out of his reach with a casual indifference that was almost believable. “yeah, well, it ain’t the core she’s been workin’ on.”

Behind that door, the room was lit by a single bare bulb and in its incandescent glow, Edge could see several large, glass tubes filled with some sort of thick liquid lining the back wall, with wiring and pipes spidering out from them and across the ceiling. Beneath the bulb itself was a long steel table, starkly empty except for the unremarkable heavy cardboard box sitting directly in the middle of it. Red gestured sharply at it, though he didn’t approach it himself, and warily, Edge stepped forward to peer inside.

He caught his breath against the raw, painful lurch in his soul, a brief moment of sharp pain that left behind a peculiar numbness inside him.

Inside the box was a skeleton, so small that the perfect curve of its skull could easily be held in the palm of a hand. Its bones were bare, gleaming a soft ivory in the garish overhead light, its sockets were closed—no, her sockets, from the revealing arch of her pelvis. A female, a girl, a child, sleeping naked and alone in a dank room in a hidden, underground lab.

Edge’s gaze drifted over her, absorbing every detail, from the tiniest fingerbones and their delicate joints to the breadth of her small feet. His gaze caught on her lowest rib and held there, frozen. There, engraved on her tiny, fragile bone, was a number, fresh and chalky-white, particles of dust still clinging to it. Unthinkingly, Edge reached out to touch it with a shaking fingertip, his glove whispering across the bone, and he could nearly hear her screams of pain as an indifferent scientist carved their mark into her, as if she was nothing more than another piece of equipment, something new to break.

She stirred, her tiny face scrunching and her little legs drawing up as she mewled a protest, perhaps against his touch on the still-raw wound or perhaps against her callous nakedness, considering that there was a blanket carelessly tossed over the side of the box.

Edge picked up the blanket and something fell out of it as he did, landing at his feet. He bent over to retrieve it, saw what it was. A dingy little gown, thin from repeated washings, one that had surely been used before years ago,

(please let it be years ago)

The numbness in his soul was fading and what it left behind was something else entirely. Edge gritted his teeth hard enough to taste dust and gingerly slipped the gown on the baby, covering her bareness. Then he cautiously wrapped her in the blanket, swaddling her tightly, and gently settling her, still asleep, into the curve of his arm.

Behind him, Red shifted uncomfortably, his shoes squeaking on the tile floor. “boss? what are you do—?”

He broke off on a shout, jumping back as the first attack swept through the room. Heavy glass shattered, as loud as a gunshot, a flood of foul liquid gushing from the broken tubes even as Edge summoned another attack, another, equipment sparking and shrieking beneath the onslaught of jagged, blood-red bones.

“what the fuck are you doing!?" Red screamed, but Edge wasn’t listening. He couldn’t, all he could hear was the child screaming in his head as a number was carved into her, scarring her permanently, marking her as not her own.

‘S-3’

In one corner, a curl of rising smoke turned into a flame, yellow tongues licking at the trash surrounding them greedily. Smoke was filling the room, alarms beginning to blare as Edge turned on his heel and walked out.

“boss,” Red moaned out, nearly jogging to keep up with Edge’s long-legged stride. “you’ve lost your everfucking mind.” But his mouth began to curl, a savage grin spreading across his face as he summoned his own attack, bones flying through the air and there was nothing but broken glass, the alarms, and the steadily growing fire.

"we're gonna fucking die," Red grumbled as they made their way through the long hallways. But he followed along, wreaking his own destruction along the way.

~~*~~

“…and then we came here,” Edge finished. He didn’t look at Stretch, not at all sure what he would see in his face. Disgust, perhaps, for his lack of control, or horror that he very nearly led that world right here to the Swap brother’s doorstep. Better to look at the child, who was sleeping soundly in her little pillow nest. None of this was her fault, least of all her own creation, but it was all because of her, nonetheless.

What came from Stretch was a question so far from his expectations that at first, Edge couldn’t quite comprehend it. “so what’s her name?”

Edge’s head jerked up and he could only look at him blankly. He didn’t even realize his mouth was open until Stretch reached over and gently closed it with a nudge to his chin. He didn’t pull away, only looked at the baby out of the corner of his socket, her rounded little face relaxed in sleep and her small hands closed in lax fists. Nothing like a name came to him, she was only the child, a baby, how could he possibly…?

Perhaps his growing agitation showed on his face. The knuckle on his chin turned into a light touch on his cheekbone, drawing his gaze back to Stretch. “don’t worry,” Stretch said lightly, “there’s no rush on that. we’ll put our heads together and think of something.”

“She's my responsibility,” Edge blurted thoughtlessly, “This was my choice.” He winced even as he said it; it was true, but it wasn’t what he meant, he didn’t know how to say what he meant. This was his responsibility, his burden, but to call an innocent child a burden aloud was too repugnant to consider.

Stretch only nodded. "yep, she’s all yours, no one is taking her away.” Those simple words eased some of the agitation rising inside Edge, even as Stretch tilted his head to the side, offering him a lopsided smile, “that doesn't mean you have to slap away any helping hands, edgelord.”

“I…yes. You're right,” Edge exhaled shakily, reminding himself that he already owed Stretch a great deal, with more debt to come. “Thank you.”

“you don’t need to thank me for this. in fact, i really wish you wouldn’t,” Stretch climbed to his feet with a groan, pressing both hands into the small of his back as he lived up to his namesake, his joints letting out a satisfying series of pops. “c’mon, you should lay down. get some sleep, you look like hammered shit.”

Edge couldn’t help a faint chuckle. “Flatterer.”

“sexy hammered shit,” Stretch amended. “Come on.”

To Edge’s surprise, Stretch gently scooped up the sleeping baby, who never stirred, only snuggled into his arms as Stretch made his way upstairs to his bedroom. It was suspiciously clean; before all this Edge had been planning on visiting tonight and he could only look at the crisp, clean sheets with a sort of exhausted wistfulness that they would not be used as intended.

Stretch didn’t seem bothered to see his hard work go to waste. He flipped back the top blanket and settled the baby on the mattress, close to the wall. “hop in, edgelord, naptime.”

Realization that Stretch intended him to sleep with the child came slowly, and when it did, Edge took half a step back, balking, “What if I roll over on her? I could hurt her!”

Stretch snorted and shook his head. “you? don’t think so. me, maybe, but i so much as wiggle my big toe when we sleep together and you snap to attention. you’ll be fine, we’ll figure something else out later. c’mon, big guy, strip,” Stretch said teasingly, sweeping a hand across the sheets, “time for bed.”

“Don’t talk like that in front of the baby,” Edge grumbled, but he hesitantly obeyed, kicking off his boots and stripping down to his trousers. He left those on, it felt strange to sleep naked in someone else’s bed when they weren’t in it. His glare begged for Stretch to comment but he said nothing, only helped tuck the blankets around them as Edge settled in, being sure to keep a wary safe distance from the sleeping child before closing his own weary sockets.

“sleep well,” Stretch said, softly, and there was a soft brush across Edge’s forehead, like the shadow of a kiss. Soft footsteps made their way across the carpet, but Edge didn’t hear them. Despite his fears, he was asleep before Stretch even made it to the door.

tbc

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underfell papyrus #underswap papyrus #drifters

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ordinaryschmuck · 3 years

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Top 20 BEST Animated Series of 2010s-18th Place

From here, we jump from one unstoppable franchise that defined my childhood to another!

#18- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012-2017)

The Plot: Fifteen years after their mutation, four turtles trained in ninjutsu finally get a chance to leave their home in the sewers and catch a glimpse of the surface world. However, they soon learn that the city of New York is surprisingly full of crime. The type of crime run by dangerous mutants, aliens from another dimension, and even a legion of ninjas run by a dangerously pointy samurai named The Shredder. With the training from their rat sensei, these unlikely heroes will save their city, foil the villains' plans and still have time for pizza!

Now I know that you might be thinking about how this is the dumbest plot for a T.V. show. To that, I say...yeah, pretty much. HOWEVER, the show is called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There is no way you didn't know it was going to be a dumb show going in, right? TMNT is a franchise born from stupidity but not hindered by it. The many reboots rarely, if ever, take themselves too seriously. And the main reason this franchise lasts so long is that the writers know to embrace the weirdness rather than make fun of it. Something similar can be said about this particular reboot.

Sure, there are episodes with more serious stakes than others, but those episodes still know when to keep things light-hearted and fun by placing a well-timed joke between the more dramatic beats. Or at least, they try to do that, but I’ll get to that later. For the most part, TMNT (2012) has a great sense of humor that will make kids laugh and give the adult fans an occasional chuckle. Even when the show does take itself seriously, it handles it well. And do you want to know why the jokes and drama work in this series? It’s all because of the characters.

Here’s a tip for people who want to write a comedy series: Comedy doesn’t come from the joke, but the character who makes the joke. A common complaint you’ll hear about Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is that it has the mistake of everyone having too similar of a personality. The jokes are still funny (sometimes), but it comes at the expense of making the characters stale. That isn't the case for this version. Each turtle has a unique trait that helps explore a joke (Leonardo being the straight man and Donetello's over the top freakouts, for example). Even Master Splinter gives an occasional laugh with his dry sense of humor. However, not every joke in TMNT (2012) works, and that’s either because some gags are out of character or are just not funny. For instance, Michelangelo is the team’s moron, so his humor comes from doing something stupid or random. Sometimes it earns a laugh, but for the most part, it comes across as annoying.

The writers also do a somewhat good job at handling drama with its characters. By making the audience like these characters because of their sense of humor, we immediately root for them when they’re being thrown into a more dire situation. The best example of this is every time the turtles and their allies face off against the Shredder, which is always an intense scene to witness. That’s because we care about the characters and will feel panicked when they are in a fight they might not walk away from unscathed. However, not every instance of drama works well. There are times when the show takes itself a little too seriously. While the adult fans will most certainly enjoy those episodes, the same can’t be said for kids. Most kids' cartoons during the 2010s manage to handle drama well in a way where both children and adults can be invested. They usually do this by remembering to keep a stable mix of light-hearted humor with serious storytelling, and sadly this series sometimes fails in finding that perfect mix.

In the first season (and half of season 2), TMNT (2012) did have that balance of comedy and drama. However, halfway through season 2, the humor and drama begin to contradict each other. It starts off with the more comedic episodes coming across as sillier than the dramatic ones that come across as too dark. For example, a story where the turtles nearly die from getting eaten by mutated pizza comes right before one where they almost die from fighting a trained assassin who's a mutated tiger. Things get even worse where even the tones don’t match up for an episode. A majority of the dramatic episodes in later seasons will have a dumb joke that ruins the moment's intensity. And every time, that joke is always made by Michelangelo, who we already established as being not that funny. Because of the contradicting tones, both new and old fans of the series can lose their enjoyment.

However, there’s one thing all fans enjoy that this series excels in, and that is having great action. While the current reboot definitely has the best action animation-wise, it’s mostly styled with no substance. That’s not the case with the 2012 reboot, as it does a decent job at mixing cool action into a story. It’s easy to make a fight between four mutated turtles fighting an evil mutant look cool, but it’s a whole other thing to actually have that fight make sense in a story. Because this reboot works in a half-hour format, the fight scenes between the turtles and the new villain of the week feel more natural and nicely paced with everything else going on within the episode. Plus, while not as epic as Rise of the TMNT, the fights are still pretty cool. They can be fast-paced, have phenomenal camera work, and can be pretty brutal at times when they want to be. And it’s somewhat because this series trades the traditional 2D designs for a 3D makeover.

It’s funny. When I found out that this version of TMNT was planned to be animated using 3D models, I was ready to hate it due to how unnatural it looks. The thing is that the 3D designs are what makes this show stand out from the rest. The level of detail each character has is impressive and would have taken much longer to animate if the show would have stuck with 2D. Although there are a few small complaints, I have character designs. These problems don’t really bug me that much, but they are still worth mentioning. One problem is that not every redesign for the characters work, especially with how they made Casey Jones (do a google image search if you don’t believe me). But I can learn to live with it because every reboot has that ONE design that not everyone will agree with. Another issue I have is that it is apparent when the animators took shortcuts. Such as making an army where the characters look identical to each other or having the transformation from human to mutant look a little lazy. Now I can accept that for two reasons: One. It would take a long time to make a new unique model for a character who would appear for just 10 seconds. And two. Animation (Especially 3D animation) is crazy expensive, and you gotta make cuts where you can. However, for things like the city of New York, one of the most populated/crowded states in the country, being practically devoid of all life can be pretty distracting.

But while the designs for the characters are great, the characters themselves are also...fine. Okay, truth be told, there isn’t much I can say about the characters. Most of them range from passably generic to forgettably bland. However, there are characters in this reboot that I feel are worth mentioning. For instance, this show has the BEST version of Master Splinter. His backstory of the life he had as Hamato Yoshi is legitimately heartbreaking, and the way he interacts with the turtles can be both heartwarming and hilarious. Then there’s the character who I’m iffy about, and that’s April O'Neil. And it’s NOT because she’s a teenage girl in this version (Although I can see why people can have a problem with that), but instead because she doesn’t seem like April O’Neil. Without giving too much away, TMNT (2012) does something that I’m okay with, and that's trying to make April less of a damsel in distress and more of a character who can actually take care of herself. However, the way the writers do that is by making her less like April O’Neil and more like...well, without spoiling anything, she’s more like another famous red-headed comic book character who deals with dangerous mutants. Finally, there’s the character I’m frustrated with: Michelangelo. When I was a kid, Mikey was always my favorite turtle from the bunch, and that was because he was the funniest turtle. This version, on the other hand, comes across as more annoying than funny. In fact, not only is Donatello the most hilarious turtle in this series, but even Leonardo has moments when he’s funnier than Michelangelo. And those are both characters who have had the reputation of the most boring in the franchise!

So, does this reboot of TMNT have its faults? Yes. Yes, it does. But do you want to know what else this reboot has? It has both style and substance. It has both drama and humor. It has fantastic designs and great characters to go along with them. In the end, if you’re a new or old fan of the franchise, odds are you're gonna have one shell of a time with this series.

(Also, while I pointed out it’s faults, I do enjoy Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...for the most part. I’ll explain why, some day.)

#top 20 of 2010s #teenage mutant ninja turtles 2012 #what i thought about

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teutonicfanfics · 5 years

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A short POV Change — Red.

Chapter 13: The Listener

Mexico wasn’t as exciting as he thought it would be. The food was nice, though. The festivities happening around him was like a long long of blur colours spinning endlessly. Why did he come here again? To add some distance from his bro?

Yeah. After the fight that broke out when they returned from the apartment, Red needed time spent apart from the small mansion. Away from doppelgängers and alternate universes.

So he went to the first places he traveled too when they came into this alpha timeline; Mexico.

His shortcuts were a funny thing. You see, it only works if he’s been to the place once and memorizes the surroundings. It was safe to say how surprised Red was when he appeared in the middle of a street filled with colourful banners and lively music playing. The humans around the area had colourful skulls drawn onto their faces as they sang and danced in the middle of a street with spices lingering in the air.

Okay, Mexico was pretty neat, especially during the festival seasons.

Feeling the vibrations of his phone, he gave the man the amount of money before taking out his phone. Flipping it on(since you need /skin/ for touch screens) his eyelights darted around her messages to his older ones. He sighed in relief when she didn’t seem pissed—although the sudden paragraph she sent him was surprising.

Grabbing the bagged tacos, he thanked the male and wondered further into the crowd. Keeping his red eye lights on his phone screen.

The way you viewed his bro was understandable. Even for him, Edge was acting a bit of a bitch to you. Barely giving you the time to talk or defend yourself when he grabbed your SOUL.

A Soul of Sincerity or to be frank; Patience.

What had stunned all of them was how badly damaged it was—but that was a whole story for later.

After asking if he could come by to talk(more like let her do the talking and he could listen) and bring food.

It took awhile for her to reply but when she gave the ‘okay’, he turned his heel and wandered into an alleyway, well aware of the anti-monster gang following him. His grin sharpened as he shortcut above them, watching the males look around like scattered ants. Magic induced saliva built in his mouth as he leaned over—watching the glowing red drop from his tongue and onto the head of the lanky male.

A swear in an unknown language, Red snickered and shortcut back to ebott and to her apartment in her room. When he didn’t see her, he frowned and tried again, this time popping up above the couch.

A short exchange later—he was surprised that she didn’t bother asking why is his going against his brother, not that he’d reply truthfully. Just something vague.

“You were in Mexico?” Came her voice. Small and frail. Red took it in his will to not sneer distastefully. Where was that girl that laughed while cooking?

“Yep.” He replied, sinking deeper into the uncomfortable couch, taking a bite out of his taco.

You didn’t talk for a while, until you did. Your voice was...unnerving. He hated it. He didn’t want that type of tone coming from your mouth.

What could he do at a time like this? He barely got HIS shit together, to top it all off he isn’t even close to being home. . . But this wasn’t about him, it was about you and your woes.

So he moved closer in attempts to soothe you but you moved away. He cringed at the panged feeling in his soul, choosing to ignore it as he listened. Clinging onto your every word with such intensity and fear that you might Fall Down. Human bodies were weird, being all lumpy and meaty.

He flinched when you mentioned the first time the two of you met. How you tried your best to keep a brave façade.

The more you cried, the more he wanted to help you, to tell you that you are fine and that none wasn’t going to hurt or take advantage of your kindness— not while he’s around.

He wondered how much bullshit he could think that you wanted Sans here instead of him.

When you cried about your ‘best friend’s lies, he managed to slip into your blankets, pull you closer and carefully ran his fingers through your hair.

“Yer alright.” He said, comfortingly. “Take yer time, doll.”

When you began to talk again, he had to fight the urge to scowl and growl. The mentions of your friend and your brothers nearly sent him over the edge. What could he do about it? He couldn’t go to your hometown and threaten your brothers dry. Or stop seeing your friend otherwise that’ll be the end of it.

He felt…useless.

When you stopped talking, he had his eye lights trained on you and he felt his magic stop buzzing. Your eyes were devoid of any emotion, your shoulders were tight and you looked as if you seen a ghost of your ancestors.

“Y/n.” He called, softly shaking your shoulders as your eyes began to drip with tears once more. Whatever you were picturing—he wanted it gone.

Lifting your chin, he attempted to smile. “Thas a lotta shit ya carrying. M’glad ya trust me enough ta talk ‘bout it.”

Truly, he did. Even if your feelings were calling for Sans, he felt almost content with masking your actual emotions with his magic, pushing away the negativity and giving you courage for your patience.

When you managed to fall asleep, slowly slipped from your hold, wrapping you up much like how he nested your earlier, and shortcut back to the house of doppelgängers.

Muffet..Muffet..

There were three types in this universe. One dragged from his timeline and another dragged from…Stretch’s.

The ‘classic’ Muffet wasn’t as greedy and a overly-selling bitch like his universe’s was, so it was a fact that you might have went for Stretch’s Muffet with her fake ass motherly vibe.

He wanted to gag, but he had an idea how to get a good time in this fairytale and sunshine of a fucking timeline.

He just needed some time.

#Six Skeletons and The Waitress #Underfell Sans #Red #POV Change

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zdbztumble · 6 years

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“Summer”

A writing prompt from the Pokeshipping Discord run by @lightningenergy and @waterrflower.

This is set in the continuity of a group fic I work on, so some context before we get started: Ash now has an Alolan Sandshrew. His Lycanroc’s picked up the nickname Sunset, and Sunset’s mate is Midnight, a Shiny Midnight-form Lycanroc that belongs to Miette and lives on Oak Ranch. Ash also gave Misty and Eevee for Christmas.

("OK, Uncle!") Azurill called. ("I'm ready!")

("Me too, Azurill!") Pikachu replied. ("Go for it!") He spread his arms wide and readied himself. The little Polka Dot Pokémon scurried back to the end of the log, bounded forward in three great jumps, and dove straight into Pikachu's arms. The force knocked them both into the water, and they came right back up, laughing.

In the water around them, and on the lakeshore nearby, Ash's other Pokémon broke into cheers and applause. Buizel and Oshawott swam over to pat Azurill's head. On the shore, Misty's Psyduck waved his flippers, Pidgeot flapped his wings, and Donphan trumpeted. Bulbasaur reached out with his vines to lift Azurill back onto the log they were using as a makeshift diving board. And Misty's Eevee, who stood in the water up to the tops of her paws just to the left of the log, cheered again and again: ("Yay, sister!")

("Awful lot of fuss to make over a two-foot dive,") Pikachu heard Torracat say through a yawn. The fire cat was draped over a high branch in a tree well back from the waterline, while Ash's other Fire-Types sat or lay around it. Charizard gave rough grunt at all the noise, but Quilava smiled and shook his head.

("Lighten up, you two,") he said. ("The kid's still getting used to the water ahead of the day she becomes a Marill. And besides, how often do we have Pikachu here?")

("That's right,") Infernape agreed. ("You should come to the ranch more often!") he called out to his friend.

("Maybe I should,") Pikachu chuckled. There was nothing stopping him, not since he and Ash permanently moved back to Pallet Town. He liked seeing all of his friends, and on beautiful summer days like this, there was always plenty to do at the Oak Ranch.

("Where's Ash?") asked Sunset. He was sprawled out on the sand, with Midnight snuggled up over his back.

("It's Saturday,") Pikachu replied. ("When he and Misty are done being even more cuddly and gross than you two -")

("Hey!")

("He has to spend all day with May and Dawn getting measurements for the wedding while she works with Miette and her sister. Ash'll be back around six; he and Misty wanted to do some training here for the Indigo League.")

("Ah, the wedding,") Oshawott sighed. A starry-eyed look crossed his face as he flipped onto his back. ("I can't wait! Our Ash, at the end of the aisle, looking his best, and getting married to the greatest, prettiest girl in the whole wide world!")

Charizard rolled his eyes. ("Of course the love runt loves the water freak.")

("She's the best and you know it!")

("I still can't believe Ash proposed,") Bulbasaur chuckled. ("I thought for sure Misty would have to do it herself.")

("What, propose?") said Pikachu.

("No - buy her own ring, write out a proposal, and tell Ash exactly what to say and do.")

("And he wouldn't have realized what he was saying until a minute later,") Charizard snickered.

("Oh, give him some credit,") said Sunset. ("He pulled it off, didn't he?")

("With my expert advice,") Pikachu added. ("But yes, he did.")

("And it'll be the most spectacular wedding on the face of the earth!") Oshawott shot out a weak Ice Beam to give himself a pedestal on the water's surface, the better to let him pirouette in joy.

("They're doing it outdoors, right?") wondered Pidgeot. ("How else would they fit us all in?")

("And Misty's Pokémon, too - how will they see it?")

("What time of day will it be? Have they decided yet?")

("We're not going out-of-region for this, are we?")

Everyone fell into discussing the wedding, in some way or another. There were five different conversations going about at once, in as many groups, and they all had questions for Pikachu. And his answers to all of them - that no, he really didn't know what the plans were for the wedding, that he doubted Ash and Misty had anything set beyond the date and their tailors, that if it wasn't for May and Dawn and the other girls' prodding they probably wouldn't have even that fixed - wasn't satisfactory.

("Come on, there has to be something more by now!") whined Oshawott.

("They at least have a guest list, right?") asked Noivern.

("And colors, and decorations, and floral arrangements - they know what to do about those, don't they, hey hey?") said Corphish.

("No, no, and no!") Pikachu cried. ("And can we slow down a minute? I can't keep track of -")

("Uncle, what are 'floral arrangements?'") asked Azurill.

("Flowers, Azurill. Now, if everyone can ask their questions one at a time - ")

("Do Mommy and Daddy need flowers?")

("For the wedding, yes. But that's still a long ways away, and -")

("Summer's end? That's only two-and-a-half months,") said Buizel. ("They'd better start getting prepared.")

("Do you think we could be involved with planning it?") asked Torterra. ("I could do some landscaping!")

("Me too!") Bulbasaur smiled. ("And Bayleef could help too - right?")

("Hmmph.")

("Not this again...")

("This Misty isn't the type of girl who wants birds flying around, is she?") Staraptor frowned. ("I don't know why humans go for that, but there's no way I'll agree to something that silly.")

("She's not gonna ask for that!") Pikachu snapped.

("Er - everyone?") Sandshrew said softly. Pikachu heard, but couldn't respond over the ongoing chatter.

("Summer's end could be hot, or the start of fall weather. They might need a bonfire...")

("Where can they go for their honeymoon? Ash has been, like, everywhere on Earth, hey hey!")

("What we really need to do,") said Pidgeot, with a pointed stare Midnight's way, ("is to find a way to keep this one's Trainer from pulling any funny business.")

The blue Lycanroc lifted a brow. ("And what's that supposed to mean?")

("Come on, dear,") Sunset yawned. ("You know what she's like.")

("Don't you start too,") Midnight grumbled. She nipped at her mate's ear before nestling her head down into the fur on his back. Pikachu fought off the urge to gag.

("Um, excuse me, but -")

("You'll probably get to sit with his mom,") Charizard snickered to Torracat. ("I'll bet she'll get you a bowtie, too.")

("Hmmph. I'd never wear such a thing.") The Fire Cat Pokémon quickly busied himself with personal grooming.

("You're right - she'll probably get her new Growlithe to do it.")

("Wha - but what's wrong with me!?")

("Ah - I'm sorry, everyone, but I really need to -")

("I'm sorry, everyone, but this is important, and we need to -")

("QUIET!") Pikachu screamed. For good measure, he shot a Thunderbolt off into the air. All the Pokémon still in the lake with him shot daggers his way, but everyone finally shut up. Thank Arceus. I couldn't take another minute of that...

Bulbasaur nodded approvingly and turned to his assistant. ("OK, Sandshrew. What did you need to tell us?")

The Alolan-form fidgeted uncomfortably where he stood. ("Er...Misty's Azurill and Eevee are gone.")

("What? Don't be silly. They're right over -") Pikachu pointed to the diving log, but his hand dropped down to his side. There was no sign of Misty's two baby Pokémon. ("Where'd they go?")

("They were just there,") said Charizard. He, Pidgeot, and Noivern took to the skies and circled around over the lake, but they came back down almost immediately. ("We can't see them.")

("We can't see anything through all these trees,") Noivern added, nodding to the woods nearby. ("But they can't have gone far.")

("Azurill!") Pikachu hollered, as loud as he could. ("Eevee! Where are you?")

("They go for flowers,") Psyduck said. He was prodding a fallen apple with his bill, and hadn't even looked up from the fruit. Even as Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Sandshrew, Charizard, Torracat, and both Lycanrocs closed in around him, he still didn't look up.

That's just perfect, Pikachu thought with a shake of his head. The only one of us who noticed is the unfathomable. ("Psyduck,") he said. ("What do you mean, they went for flowers?")

("You say Mistress and her Ashboy need flowers,") the duck replied. ("For wedding. Babies go for flowers.") He waved a hand down a cleared path leading into the woods. ("That way.")

("THAT WAY!?") Bulbasaur gasped. He looked pale.

Psyduck nodded. ("Eevee smell flowers that way. They be back soon.")

("Forget that!") Bulbasaur snapped. ("Charizard, head down to the clearing! Sunset, Midnight, in after them! Sandshrew, Torracat - with me! We'll cut through the shortcut!") Everyone rushed to obey. Charizard cleared the treetops in under two seconds. The Lycanrocs darted down the path, vanishing into the shadows of the trees. And Bulbasaur knocked aside some brush to their right to expose a rough, beaten dirt trail. He let Torracat lead the way, and had Sandshrew take up the rear.

("Bulbasaur, what is it?") Pikachu asked, following them in. With his visits to the ranch being so rare, he didn't know much about how things worked in the place, but he always assumed that it was peaceful, safe, and happy. That's how everyone always made it sound. No one ever said there was anything dangerous on the ranch. Certainly nothing that would cause Bulbasaur to hurry down the hill after Azurill and Eevee. With his speed, it wasn't hard for Pikachu to keep pace with his old friend, but he was still amazed at how quick they were going. ("What's wrong?") he asked again.

("Two things,") Bulbasaur said quickly. ("First - there is a flowerbed at the bottom of this hill, but there's a big Moss Rock down there.")

("So what? What's the big deal about a mossy old rock?")

("Mew, you sound like Ash right now. Not a mossy rock, a Moss Rock. Understand?")

(A Moss Rock? You mean...oh!") Pikachu's cheeks sparked with fright. ("But Misty still has the Water Stone Ash gave her!")

("Exactly. But the other problem is that that flowerbed is where - they live.")

---

Eevee liked the smell of roses best out of all flowers. The tickseed, the lavender, and the daylilies were nice too, but there was something special about roses. They were so rich; it was almost like a meal through the sense of smell! And there were so many kinds of roses - red, white, pink, lilac, yellow, and even...

("Look, Azurill!") she trilled with a hop. ("Blue roses! Mommy loves the big blue water, and Daddy always wears blue. Don't you think they'd love these? They smell so pretty!")

Azurill buried her face into one of the flowers and took a big whiff. She closed her eyes and let out a happy sigh. ("They do. But I heard Mommy and Daddy teasing Auntie May's boyfriend about his roses. Maybe we should get some of these other ones?")

("The daylilies? Auntie Daisy would like those, but I don't know how much Mommy likes Auntie Daisy...")

("Don't say that!") Azurill chided. ("She's a lot nicer now. And if Mommy wins her big fight and gets her new job, Auntie Daisy might do all the Gym Leadering from now on.")

("Hmm...maybe some of those, then. And the blue roses, and the red ones for Mommy's hair, and the white ones, and the -")

A shadow fell over the two of them from behind. Instead of turning around, they both craned their heads back to look up. Three large Pokémon surrounded them in a half-circle, a Rhyperior, a Machamp, and a Granbull. None of them looked very nice, but Mommy and Auntie Milotic always said not to judge people by how they looked.

("Well, well, well,") said the Rhyperior. ("What do we have here?")

("Hello,") Azurill said pleasantly. ("We're picking flowers for our mommy!")

("Is that right?") Rhyperior looked back and forth between his companions. ("Here that boys? They're picking flowers.")

("On our turf,") grunted the Granbull. ("You're a long ways away from the big house, ain't you kids?")

Azurill smiled and bounced around to face them. ("It's OK. Uncle knows the way back!")

("Your uncle, huh?") The Machamp cracked his knuckles. ("I don't see him around now.")

("No...but he's right up the hill.") Whatever Mommy and Auntie Milotic said, Eevee didn't like these Pokémon. She wanted to walk away, but Azurill was still smiling up at them as if nothing was wrong.

("Do you wanna help us pick flowers?") she asked. They all laughed.

("Sure,") Rhyperior replied. ("We'll help you pick the flowers. But first - ") he shuffled back a few steps, and his friends backed away from him - ("either of you two squirts know how to battle yet?")

("Oh no you don't!") Two blurs - one orange, one blue - barreled into the Rhyperior, taking him off his feet. Another orange blur came down from the sky to crash into Granbull. Machamp was brought down by a pair of vines around his legs. Following the vines to a clearing in the trees, Eevee saw Daddy's Bulbasaur at the other end, looking very angry. On his left, the icy Sandshrew and Torracat looked just as mad, and on his right, Uncle Pikachu was bristling with sparks.

("Oh, goody!") Azurill cheered. ("We get to watch battling!")

("You can watch battling,") Eevee frowned. She didn't like battles outside of Mommy's Gym. They were too messy. ("I'm gonna start picking flowers.")

She turned away and started into the meadow. The racket of the battling followed after her, but there was nothing to do for that. She tried to focus on the scent of the flowers. They all smelled wonderful, but she had to pick the absolute best ones for Mommy. The red smell the strongest, but the blue ones are nice and cool, and these lilac ones...what's that other smell, though?

It was wet and earthy, like the garden at Daddy's mom's house. But there was something else about it; something old. Eevee held her nose up high and followed it through the meadow. It wasn't far; just a few feet in, near a big old tree, she found it: a rock, almost as big as Uncle Starmie, with funny green stuff all over it.

It smells...good, Eevee thought. And there was something else about the rock, too. Nothing about the smell, or the look, or any other sense, except a prickly feeling up and down her back that something would happen if she just reached out with a paw to touch it...

("Now hold on there, young missy! What do you think you're doing with that old stone?")

---

They were called the Boxer Boys. The Machamp of the group new the sport, and had taught it to his friends. No one knew just who their Trainer was, but he must have been some piece of work, because all of his Pokémon were dirty fighters and bullies. Bulbasaur said that a huge part of his job when he first came to Oak Ranch was keeping them from making trouble, and Pikachu could see why. It's my own fault for taking Play Rough head-on, but...OW!

He was done with the fighting. Despite the Play Rough, he and Torracat had managed to reduce the Granbull to a sparking, charred mess on the ground. Bulbasaur and Sandshrew had chased the Machamp off, though the jerk had gotten a knock-out over on poor Sandshrew. Charizard followed after the Fighting-type, blasting him from the air with Flamethrowers. Rhyperior was all that was left, and with his immunity to electric attacks, Pikachu could only sit back and nurse his aching tail while the Lycanrocs handled him.

They'd taken their share of blows, Sunset and Midnight, and the Rhyperior's defense was insane, but they wouldn't let up. Sunset used Rock Slide to cut off any retreats, while Midnight worked away with Counters and Reversals. Pikachu had to admit: gross as they are together, they made a pretty good battling couple.

("Isn't it amazing, Uncle?") Azurill asked. She'd watched the whole thing, utterly delighted; she was bouncing up and down at the finale. ("And I get to do that some day?")

("Yes,") Pikachu sighed. ("You and Eevee both get to...where's Eevee?")

("She didn't wanna watch the fight. She went to pick flowers.")

("Where?") Pikachu whirled around, the pain in his tail forgotten. ("Where is she? Where's the rock!?")

("What rock, Uncle?")

("We can't let her touch that rock! Bulbasaur, where is it!?")

("I-I can't remember!") The Seed Pokémon had been tending Sandshrew; now, he was looking around as frantically as Pikachu. ("It's in the meadow, but -")

("Don't just stand there!") Sunset snapped; he and Midnight had finally brought Rhyperior down. ("Fan out and let's find her before -")

("Looking for this?")

They all turned at once. Eevee was walking toward them, a small bouquet of roses in her mouth. At her side was a hobbling old Alolan Raichu with a patient chuckle to his voice. ("She was sniffing around the old rock. Of course, it wasn't so old the first time I came here. Not that I was ever here all that much. Still ain't, 'smatter of fact. Oh, but there was this time back a ways when all sorts of trouble came up over that thing, and Vee and I had to -")

("I think we got it,") Bulbasaur said quickly. He extended his vines to embrace Eevee and gently bring her over to Azurill's side. ("Thanks, Pika.")

("Friend of yours?") Midnight asked, with a rather suspicious sniff.

("He's an old-timer,") said Bulbasaur. ("Pops in every now and again, handy with some things.")

("Yessir.") Pika leaned back, his paws held at his chest. ("Like the time all those Tauros got loose the day old Oak and the other one were sick. Of course, that was nothing on some of the things I used to get up to. Did I ever tell you about the time when we were on that airship and I -")

("Thank you, Pika,") Bulbasaur said firmly. ("I need to get Sandshrew to the house, and we need to get these little ones away from that rock.")

("No patience for an old-timer, eh? Well, fine then.") He frowned, but he didn't sound truly angry. As he turned to go, he looked over his shoulder right at Pikachu. ("And good seeing you again.")

("...I'm sorry? Have we...wait a minute.") Pikachu put a paw to his chin. ("The New Years party...the Poke Ball...you're -")

("On my way!") The old Raichu gave a final wave, then headed into the trees.

("What was that about?") asked Bulbasaur. Pikachu just shook his head and slumped down onto his bottom. What a way to end a play day...

("So, Uncle,") Eevee said through her mouthful. ("Can we give these flowers to Mommy and Daddy?")

("Yeah, flowers for Mommy and Daddy!") Azurill cheered.

("Girls...") Pikachu sighed. ("Ash and Misty need flowers for their wedding. That's still a while off.")

("Oh.") They both looked disappointed. ("But - wouldn't Mommy and Daddy like some flowers now anyway?") asked Azurill.

("I...")

("Please, Uncle?") Eevee pleaded. ("I already started. Help us pick some more, please?")

("I don't think -")

("Summer blooms only last so long,") Bulbasaur chuckled. Torracat and the Lycanrocs were chuckling too.

("...Let's wait for Charizard to get back so he can take Sandshrew. Then we'll pick some flowers.")

("Yay!")

#z's fics #pokeshipping #(indirectly)#pokemon #sentence fanfic #fan fiction #pikachu #azurill #eevee #lycanroc

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adamwatchesmovies · 6 years

Text

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (2018)

Teen Titans Go! fans will be pleased with this theatrical-release. Full of silly humor, complemented with a number of witty jabs at the superhero genre and practically bursting with Easter Eggs in every frame, it’s a comedy for children the adults can also enjoy.

The Teen Titans – Batman’s non-super-powered sidekick Robin (Scott Menville), animal shapeshifter Beast Boy (Greg Cipes), super-strong and weapon-loaded Cyborg (Khary Payton), alien princess Starfire (Hynden Walch), and half-human, half-demon sorceress Raven (Tara Strong) – are the constant butt of jokes. Robin believes that’ll all change once they get their own movie, but this requires - of course - an arch-nemesis.

Like last year’s The Lego Batman Movie, this picture loves comic books, secret identities, and super-powers but is also able to ridicule. Pot shots are taken at everyone: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the Marvel film’s constant Stan Lee cameos, Watchmen, Looney Tunes, obscure DC Characters like The Challengers of the Unknown and The Rainbow Raider, other animated superhero shows, pop culture icons and celebrities - sometimes mixing them together to save screen time. It’s the kind of movie where your eyes bounce around the screen, desperately trying to take it all in while you fantasize about bringing it home and scrutinizing every frame to ensure you haven’t missed a detail. There are even gags in the voice-casting, such as having Nicholas Cage voice Superman.

While adults may groan at the few (there are only a few) fart and butt jokes, the intended audience will love them and there are legitimately clever parodies here, particularly in the musical numbers – there’s an original number by Michael Bolton I can’t get it out of my head… but I don’t mind. I laughed way more than I didn’t.

If I have a criticism, it’s that the comedy can feel like a shortcut. Like in both Deadpool films, it’s funny to have the characters point out that “this is the part where this would happen, so we'll do it” but trying something novel would've been better. There are points where it does and those choices made me burst out loud but a little more could’ve been done.

I left Teen Titans Go! To the Movies pleased. Good visuals (there are a number of cutaways that get very creative with their art styles), a plot that’s far more intense than anything in the show, a solid array of big laughs - this actually feels worthy of the big screen and ends on a high note. Prior to the main event, you’ll be treated to a DC Superhero Girls short that’s nothing special, but will satisfy little girls. For those who still lament the original series' end (wasn’t that 12 years ago?), stay for a mid-credit scene, and while you’re at it, stay all the way until the very end. (Theatrical version on the big screen, July 29, 2018)

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First hitting screens in April 2003, Red Vs. Blue was Rooster Teeth’s launch into Machinima videos using the Halo series of games. The series would become so popular that it now consists of 18 seasons plus several spin-offs and extra bits of content.

RELATED: Every Halo Game, Ranked According To Metacritic

Because of its nature as a comedy series, the jokes are plentiful throughout the series from Caboose’s stupidity to Donut’s pink armor. With the lengthy stay in the public consciousness, the Rooster Teeth crew made the series full of one-off jokes and running gags. These running gags consist of just a basic line being repeated to the same situations arising every few seasons.

10 Not A Fair Countdown

Throughout the series, the characters will regularly count down their escape, with the twist being that one or more team members will begin their escape before the countdown ends. This has led to several funny moments.

The first time this is done is by Grif when Caboose driving Sheila aims her cannon at them. As Simmons counts down, Grif runs away immediately toward the rocks that cover Blood Gulch. Simmons does the same move to Grif soon after. Members of both sides have subsequently done this to each other.

9 Bow Chika Bow Wow

The first time this Tucker catchphrase is used, it isn’t completed. While invading Church’s story about the Alien in the basement. Tex cuts him off with her gun, causing him to say “Bow Chika Bow Woah.”

The full saying of “Bow Chika Bow Wow” was used continuously as the series progressed, always coming after something Tucker took something as sexual. Notably, others used variations to fit in with Tucker, including Caboose’s version, “Hey-Chicka-Bum-Bum.” While the saying was the bane of Church, it was funny enough for fans of the series.

8 That Doesn’t Seem Possible

In a series filled with AI, aliens, ghosts that aren’t really ghosts, and time travel, there is a ton of skepticism for what can be possible in the series. The first time the phrase, “That doesn't seem physically possible,” is in response to a story by Church about Tex beating a man named Jimmy to death with his own skull.

RELATED: 10 Small Details You Only Notice Replaying The Original Halo

The phrase comes back several times in the series, including the competition between Donut, the mysterious skull, and the wrench for Red Team second in command. The fans also clung to the saying, referencing Jimmy in fan art.

7 “Son Of A-”

Often preceding another entry on this list, the characters are technically at war for most of the series, so there tends to be battles. These battles will often include a bunch of gunfire and the occasional tank or grenade. The latter options end up bringing a widely used catchphrase from the teams.

First uttered as a full sentence when Shelia is first firing on the Reds, then more famously by Church when he is killed by Caboose and Shelia. It is said by nearly every core cast and referenced in the spin-off series as well.

6 How Many Pedals?

The question of why there are insert number of pedals is one that is asked frequently through the series. The first time is by Caboose when he asks “Why are there six pedals if there are only four directions?" while learning how to drive Shelia.

The question would come back several times including by Grif, Jensen, and Tucker a few times. The phrase is switched up across the series, such as when Grif asks why there are only 4 pedals but six directions when driving the Elephant.

5 Do You Wanna Talk About It?

Another speech gag, the question of “do you wanna talk about it,” is found multiple times throughout the series, though more often around Simmons than any other character. It is one of the first lines in the series, said after Grif’s philosophical breakdown of their place in the universe.

The phrase is used more often after a very specific example of something that could be bad, including a story Sarge tells about an uncle, a throwaway while Simmons is infiltrating the Blues, and when Simmons talks about eating his dog to survive winter in an arctic base.

4 Tucker’s Sniper Rifle

In the actual Halo games, the sniper rifle is a rare weapon, and Red Vs Blue keeps that in their canon as well. Though Tucker was promised a sniper rifle from Captain Flowers, the Captain died before fulfilling the promise. This led to Tucker begging for it every chance he got.

RELATED: 10 Hilarious Bungie Memes Only Halo And Destiny Fans Understand

When Tucker does eventually get his hands on the sniper rifle, he ends up shooting and Captain Flowers in the head. While the joke disappeared for long stretches, it was thrown back enough for fans to love it.

3 Fans Of H Sounds

The series has a fascination with words that begin with h, namely the possession sound of "Higakergerk!" and the death sound of "HURK, bleaugh.” The first sound is heard whenever Church or Tex take over a body to pilot. Victims of the “higakergerk” sound include Sarge, Lopez, and a command solder in season 13.

Church is the first to utter the death sound of “hurk, bleaugh,” but the sound would be used repeatedly throughout the series. It made the deaths more funny than sad in most cases.

2 Caboose Kills

With the highest team killing count, Caboose is known for his accidental team kills that mostly involve Church. Caboose has blown Church up multiple times, shot him in the head while in Sarge’s body, and turned on a bomb inside of him.

Church isn’t the only victim of Caboose’s as he has dropped a freight container on Tucker and crippled South. The gag continues as Command is shown to have a keyboard shortcut for noting Caboose’s team kills in the form of “Ctrl+F+U.”

1 Why Are We Here?

One of the most quoted and referenced parts of the entire series, the question of “why are we here?” has spanned the entire series. Introduced as the first line of the series, and the name of the first episode, the characters tend to mistake the question in practical use for that of philosophical use.

The line became so popular that it extended outside of Red Vs Blue, appearing as a trophy in Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and in another of Rooster Teeth’s shows, Gen:LOCK.

NEXT: Every Halo Game, Ranked By How Awesome The Cover Art Was

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