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lovethatmakingcoffee · 1 month

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Small town au stuff

Philza is kindhearted yet oddly knowledgeable and mysterious resident who seems wiser beyond his years and may or may not be a witch. Especially questionable is that giant ass hat of his. Maybe a witch. He is retired and has a suspiciously large income, and somehow knows how to fly a plane?!! Maybe a retired vet or spy? Its undetermined. Or maybe just your basic crop duster. He does talk about potatoes a lot for some reason.

Foolish, your local cop and sheriff. The heart throb of the police department and kind of the definition of abuse of power (but only when its funny). He'll probably let you off for speeding or doing donuts in corn fields. His previous job was the town's major architect, which he still builds sometimes, but wanted to harass random people as a police officer for a new temporary occupation.

Quackity, the emotional weirdo teacher who's got attachment issues out the wazoo. He is sweet, but spirals sometimes. Its been rumored that he's been beaten up by Phil's kid for reasons unexplained.

Wilbur, of course, the aspiring musician. Gets confused a lot for other famous people, but plays at events when he's home. Loves his kid, but has been gone for most of the year and feels insecure for not calling her as much.

Jaiden, the town's lawyer who is rolling in it. She wins a lot of her cases and maybe does some of the illegal legwork to prove her client's innocence or the accused guilty. She does a lot of investigating with Foolish and has a key to the polices archive room. She has gotten noise complaints about her two loud birds.

Forever, a new resident along with the other Brazilians who all live in his giant pink Barbie house until Cellbit moves out to get married. Forever quickly gains popularity among the town's residence and becomes mayor of Quesadilla Town. He has been chasing after Philza this whole time, but there are whispers that he has a thing for the local pastor.

Badboyhalo, the priest, which Forever has remarked that's probably the strangest one out of the town's peoples names but it fits. Bad is a strangely wealthy and knowledge priest. His face is always masked by shadows and a hood. He always appears out of nowhere and seems to derive amusement from spooking the other residents. Forever thinks that's cute.

Roier, from Jaiden's platonic roommate to Cellbit's husband, man has never had a job and is just a trophy roommate/husband. Always physically fit, the life of the party and if the town had a best looking competition, he'd be at least top 5. Spends his day working out and is often seen on long runs in the woods. He may or may not be the one always finding weird things on his runs. Like a random artifact or an unfamiliar body.

Cellbit, town's journalist. Always looking for clues on the strange going ons and always has one of those huge boards with photos, tacks, and red thread. Man hardly sleeps and is running on six cups of coffee a day. Get him some water.

Fit, he owns of course Fit's Fitness. The sexiest personal trainer in the county and has a prosperous business. Him and Phil are somehow friends, and he weirdly seems to know things he shouldn't. Has been seen fraternizing with the weird agents that come through town and cover stuff up.

Baghera is another school teacher in Quesadilla town. She is the funnier one but also there seems to be an immense sadness to her. She avoids any special agent from the Cucurucho Factory.

Etoiles is a mysterious vigilant who fights suspicious figures and deadly monsters in the night. He's kind of the ex machina of the town and can be found lurking in the back alleys. He may or may not be a clerk at your local giftshop.

Cucurucho is an interesting and strange character, a business man in a white suit wearing a bear mask at all times. He runs the Cucurucho Institution along with its factory and seems to hold some bizarre legal authority over the town. He also has connections in the hospital and school and all around is just a sketchy person. He has many of his underlings do his bidding around town and they have been seen dumping chemicals in the river and interrogating certain residents.

Pac is your new local gym teacher and has stolen the town's physical trainer's heart. They've been having a cute shy will they won't they. It's extremely obvious to the whole town. He is best friends with the mad scientist science teacher Mike. And they get up to shenanigans. And for a gym teacher, the guy sure is smart and knows a lot of ways to build things. He's like the ultimate package!

Missa is Phil's platonic husband who is always away on business trips. He shows up into town for about a week then has to head out again to do business related business. He is jealous of Phil's love interests but also won't deny how hot they are and that also makes him insecure.

Charlie is the troubled baker/conessieur in town. He always has a creepy smile about him when you ask what's in his food, but he's just screwing with you and its actually delicious. He has been seen dragging huge lumpy bags with red liquid pouring out of it and swears it's just strawberry jam. Turns out if you licked the floor, it is. His favorite dessert to make is green jello.

Tubbo is the weird little mechanic that is always putting bizarre attachments to your vehicle and making odd do dads in his spare time. No one knows where he got his mechanic license, but no one mentions that he's probably doing this illegally cause of his sweet deals.

Mouse is a famous vtuber who may be working with the occult on the side for the funsies. Is she running a cult? Perhaps. But it would be funny if she did. Anyways she has a lovely home and gives lots of her money as donations to less sketchy hospitals.

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ferrariseventeen · 2 years

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seventeen as types of drunks; hip hop unit

Seungcheol: He’s the reminiscent type, he’s bringing up old memories and retelling stories for the 100th time but its okay because he’s over exaggerating and making things a million times funnier. He’s also confessing his love to everyone in a 10 mile radius, like if you meet him in the hallway he’s gonna be slurring out all the things he likes about you and how much he appreciates you. Becomes a clingy boy, like he’s holding onto your arm and burying his face in your shoulder when he laughs or playing with your fingers while he's zoned out. Will ask you to do a shot with him at least once. Probably will be the last one up.

Wonwoo: He can be found kind of doing his own thing, mostly observing everyone else. Likes to sit and relax, sip his drink and watch everyone get progressively more drunk. He’s doing who knows what on his phone but its glued to his hand. Joins in on a few group drinking games and genuinely enjoys himself. Videos everyone and is the token photographer for the night. May or may not get up to sing a song for karaoke, it really depends on how drunk he is. Not clingy or touchy but will hold your hand while snuggled up in a corner. Sneaks some of his favorite songs on to the playlist. Pretty steady drinker and knows when its time to call it a night unless drunk gaming is involved.

Mingyu: He’s going to be eating everything in sight, if he’s not cooking something up he’s ordering one of everything on the menu. Honestly it’s a good thing, it keeps him a good level of drunk despite him drinking a lot . His precious gyu giggle comes out a lot, he’s surprisingly extra cute when he’s drunk. A very physical drunk, he uses his whole body to tell stories and forgets how big he actually so he’s usually the culprit of the mystery of the spilled drink. He’s just very excitable. 100% a drunk texter, will text people he barely talks to or will send texts to friends making plans he will forget about the next morning.

Vernon: Is like a ghost, you swear he was just here? Ends up reappearing like half an hour later with tacos for everyone. Honestly a vibe, he’s grooving to music and is just pretty chill. Probably the one who’s picking out all the music and is making everyone listen to his favourite songs, but it’s okay they’re all really good and he’s lifting the mood with the way he’s singing along. Laughs a lot, like doubled over at jokes that aren’t even that funny. A little confused when it comes to some of the drinking games but he’s trying his hardest. Knows when it’s time to call it a night.

#to celebrate me being dry for the rest of the year !#seventeen #svt #seventeen imagines #seventeen fluff #seventeen headcanons #seventeen scenarios #seungcheol #seungcheol imagines #wonwoo #wonwoo imagines #mingyu #mingyu imagines #Vernon #vernon imagines #caramel macchiato #tw alchohol mention #tw drunk

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phoenixyfriend · 1 year

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Okay so, originally, I pitched this on discord:

Ahsoka… but distressed dapper. She's still a tog and all, but she's otherwise right out of a film noir setting. Rugged Detective. If Anakin were still around he'd be freaking out over the cigarette.

@jebiknights responded with:

this is a great image for post-jedi Ahsoka but also ngl part of my brain went straight to padawan Ahsoka trying to solve a mystery in the temple pretending to be a noir detective, sucking on a lollipop with a fake mustache like Nino did in s4 of Miraculous Ladybug fdijirdgjs She hasn't received shadow or spy training yet shes got a long way to go 😂 she hums her own theme music whenever she can get away with it

And we were off to the races!

I met us in the middle: after she leaves but before RotS.

Her sleuthing leads to Sidious through the most ludicrously indirect route possible.

She's not even a PI. She's a mechanic on the lower levels. She just stumbled into a thing and put on a costume to hide her identity through judicious use of Hat.

She's got an apartment across the hall from some girls who work in the red light district and one time some guys were harassing them and Ahsoka kicked them out through judicious use of Armbars And Catching Punches, which was impressive without being actively violent or revealing her Force abilities, and it was... fine? They're friends now, have pizza once in a while. Ahsoka likes hearing about their lives.

But then they decided to come to her for advice on a whole Thing at work, where they overheard some stuff about a drug deal that's taking place worryingly close, and maybe she could just keep an eye out when the deal goes down in case things go south? Please?

Ahsoka does so. She overhears things about the war in the deal (which is about information, not drugs), and. Well. She doesn't want to call home for help when she's making a whole point about needing to find herself away from them, so maybe she can just do a little digging of her own?

The red light girls insist she needs a cool outfit for her PI work (they do not care that it's not PI work). They are very excited about this.

At some point she runs into a junior Corrie Guard and steals him for a bit. He is officially "missing" and unofficially Fox was just like "fuck it, sure, help the shiny not-Jedi, I don't care." Now Ahsoka has a clone roommate/sidekick/backup who is, in fact, much more experienced in this than she is, but also has far fewer contacts and resources since they can't use CG databases while they're running this op. Meanwhile, Ahsoka has Friends, and some of her friends know a guy who knows a guy.

Fox doesn't tell the Jedi because technically this doesn't involve them (Ahsoka didn't mention the war stuff), and he has an Outside Contractor and a Coruscant Guard working on it.

He'll let them know if it goes anywhere, but for now he's assuming it's grandstanding lowlifes, and will leave it to the baby Jedi and babier Guard.

jebiknights:

a probably way too young cg helping Ahsoka while Fox aggressively pretends it isn't happening has such good- ohmygod this has psych vibes just a lil bit I've been on a psych comparison kick lately tho so

Ahsoka is trying so hard to be cool

listen psych is my favorite framework for the consulting detective schtick lmaooo AND SHES TRYING SO HARD but shes like what 16? just not there and living in the non-jedi/non-battlefront world for the first time sidgier

Her hypercompetent psychic is a babyfaced 9yo

i was thinking that she would be the psychic bc jedi but honestly convincing everyone that its the shiny corrie is so much funnier also just imagining all the stupid names they call each other as aliases

Sidekick I meant hypercomptetent sidekick

that… makes more sense ngl i was ready to yes and you all the way tho turn it into a gods whats the Jude Law movie where "Watson" is the genius who hires an actor to play "Sherlock" and has him pretend to be the genius or st?

I am, however, open to a Detective Conan situation, which has a lot more context so I'll actually use a different reference and say she pulls a Cyrano de Bergerac.

Ahsoka is stage-whispering instructions to her Corrie Guard, feeding him lines so he can pretend to be psychic while she sneaks around with significantly less eyes on her.

Also the red light girls stay involved they are so excited to Help even though Ahsoka keeps trying to keep them uninvolved for Safety. The girls love teasing her shiny friend. Please remember that all of this nonsense is happening while Ahsoka tries to dress like a prototypical film noir detective.

wait wait wait but if we go back to the original gag of, lowkey being a lil Psych/chaotic Sherlock inspired… shiny being a baby medic?? he tries to be a voice of reason but also enjoys the chaos too much, gets wayyyy too into the play acting and bad covers, but also knows how to patch up the reckless former jedi lol. Ahsoka sometimes just showing up in the Corrie medbay not for a check up but to drag the shiny into shenanigans

Fuck yeah, baby shiny Guard is now a baby shiny medic (Guard). Ahsoka regularly sneaks in through the vents to kidnap him.

Quinlan figures out she's doing Things through psychometry by accident but decides to let sleeping dogs lie until she finally shows up a the Jedi's door like "hey I need help."

The Jedi and various commanders all think it's a standard "the world is bigger and harsher than I thought and as a teen I want to come back to stability," but instead... it's "Chancellor's a Sith Lord."

Though tbh the shiny might just suggest she go to Quinlan first.

REAJGRIGJAERI Quinlan was not prepared for this at all I'm just imagining him as the airplane gag where every new thing Ahsoka reveals is just "I picked a bad day to stop [addiction]"

tbh I initially pitched the AU for Gay Reasons and that's why I was thinking post-RotS but I am now in love with mostly-competent-fumbling teen Ahsoka and her shiny friend.

#Ahsoka Tano #Original Clone Characters #Commander Fox #Original Characters #Quinlan Vos #star wars #the clone wars #film noir #kinda #psych #phoenix posts

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mischief-lies-and-stories · 6 months

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Loki Episode 5 Coherent Thoughts

Spoilers for Episode 5. Once again, I have not rewatched before posting.

Most of this is lokius related because I'm still a damn fool.

I want the twist at the end to be that Loki gives Mobius (and the others) back his memories to give him the choice to go back to his life, and is just really sad about it, because he expects Mobius to want to go back to his kids who don't have a mother. But he gives him his memories of his past and they're... not what he saw when he found him. Like at all. I'm not gonna speculate on specifics (*cough* Theo Bell *cough*) but he doesn't have the responsibilities of being a single parent. And Loki's like 'No, but you had two boys,' and he tells Mobius about them and they both kind of realize at the same moment that they looked like Mobius but acted like Loki. None of that was real. Mobius made all that shit up and it somehow manifested. Because he's got it B-A-D for Loki, like a middle schooler with their first crush imagining an entire life with them.

Alternatively, I saw only one other post about this but maybe it's gotten some traction by now, but maybe Mobius's wife got Blipped four years prior. So the good thing is the boys are gonna have a parent in a year even if Mobius decides to stay with Loki.

Hi hello I'm still disturbed that these very young children have been possibly left home alone for eight hours (he says his shift is 9-5), and Mobius couldn't even answer the phone when they called. We don't see a babysitter. Mobius, this is neglect. For the children's sake, I fucking hope either A. they aren't real, or B. a more responsible parent is about to come back and take care of them in 2023. (Ugh, but Love having cousins who are about her age and just as chaotic as she is would be amazing.)

I've come up with the worst Dad joke and a way for Mobius to get out of his bribery with his kid he for sure cannot deliver on. He brings OB around for dinner. OB's timeline name (if I read the subtitles correctly) is A.D. Doug. ADDOUG=A DOG. And his TVA name is Ouroboros, the SNAKE eating its own tail. (Alternatively, you now know Loki, you can borrow his sons Fenrir and Jormungandr. Blended family.)

I know it hasn't been explicitly stated, but I thought the whole thing with Alioth in season one was meant to imply that Loki now knows how to restore memories. So why the fuck doesn't he try it in this episode? Even if he's pretty sure they're all where they were prior to the formation of the TVA, it's still after for him, so why wouldn't he at least try it? When he kept moving toward Mobius in the garage scene I thought he was gonna grab his head but he doesn't. (Maybe he was interrupted by OB, but he has ample opportunity later.)

It just needs to be said because I love history. I am obsessed with Casey being Frank Morris. Both he and Loki being central to these ongoing (technically) mysteries is amazing. Like unlike Cooper it is generally accepted that Frank and his co-escapees drowned during the attempt, but no bodies identified as the men were ever found (if my shallow dive into the wiki article immediately following the episode is to be believed). OB, your boyfriend's a convict lolololol!

AD Doug is still gender-neutral though. It's 1994 but my boi can still be enby. (I'm aware enby people existed well before this but, and the wiki is not being helpful, I think the specific term was coined in the mid to late 90s or possibly later, so OB may not have been aware of it.)

I don't think Marvel is moving toward Casey/OB (at least not before the end of this season, if we get another season it MIGHT be a different story), but fuck it would be so funny if they met so much later than lokius but were able to get their shit together faster than lokius. I think it'd check out for for everyone involved. Hell, maybe they're already together and it just hasn't come up yet to the group. That'd be funnier (bonus points if B-15 already knows though).

Loki for some fucking reason: Hold on, I gotta look cool and suave for this dork of a single dad who's already informed me at least three times of his own volition that he's single.

#loki #loki tv show #loki theories #loki season 2 #sylvie laufeydottir #mobius m mobius #loki season 2 spoilers #lokius #loki 2x05

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themattress · 6 months

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The Top 5 Carmen Sandiego Adaptations

And by adaptations, I strictly mean mediums in which you as a player serve no function, you are only here to observe. Therefore not the computer games, nor the board games, nor the choose-your-own-adventure style books. Just the shows, chapter books, and comic books.

Honorable(?) Mention: The DC Comics Series.

This only lasted four issues before being cancelled, and honestly? I can see why. I like the idea behind this series, which is compositing the various versions of Carmen Sandiego into one (the older games, the newer games, the PBS gameshow...had it continued we may have gotten stuff from the syndicated animated series.) The problem is that there is way too much going on in almost every panel. It's the equivalent of an obnoxious children's show that thinks constant movement and loud noises is the only way to keep its young viewer's attention. Beyond that, the main character Evan and his sidekick Bazooka Mel aren't that interesting or likeable, and Carmen herself barely shows up or does anything. It was a nice try, but it failed.

5: Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?

This PBS gameshow was the successor to Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, lasting for two seasons and a total of 115 episodes across 1996 and 1997. For comparisons sake, its predecessor lasted for five seasons across five years, with a total of 295 episodes. And that kind of says it all. I like things about this show - having people play historical figures and interact with the contestants is fun, the villains, also depicted by real-life actors, are a good balance of wacky and intimidating especially with the creepy effects around them and their willingness to attack the contestants directly, and much like its predecessor the final solo challenge is always exciting to watch. The problem is that it just doesn't feel like Carmen Sandiego. ACME is suddenly this hard sci-fi oriented group feeling more like the Federation from Star Trek than a detective agency, Carmen is a cackling supervillain out to make people miserable rather than a classy master thief, and while Lynne Thigpin's Chief is as delightful as ever, she and Kevin Shinick just lack the chemistry she had with Greg Lee....heck, Shinick himself is a major step down from Lee in just about every way. I think he was funnier in the Robot Chicken sketch about the show than he ever was on the show itself! I feel as though if this show was its own thing, totally removed from Carmen Sandiego, it would work better.

4: Carmen Sandiego

The recent Netflix series has a wonderful two-part pilot, "Becoming Carmen Sandiego", that shows exactly how this incarnation is going to differ from previous ones - namely with Carmen being an anti-hero going against V.I.L.E with the help of "Player" rather than the leader of V.I.L.E who "Player" is trying to catch - and with a lot of interesting possibilities on the horizon, particularly with its somewhat darker tone and reinventions of characters from several separate past continuities. And it's all downhill from there! OK, that's a bit harsh, but as I've noted recently the show really did squander its potential more and more with each passing season, culminating in a finale that made it crushingly clear that the developers did just seek to keep Carmen an anti-hero the whole way rather than go through the villain origin story that was logically being set up. It never felt like it truly knew what it wanted to be, and almost every character and plotline ended up suffering as a result. It's got great visual style and superb voice-acting, and I appreciate the attention it brought back to the otherwise dead property, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone as a first experience with Carmen Sandiego.

3: The Carmen Sandiego Mysteries

This series of juvenile chapter books had a total of six installments: two representing World, two representing USA, and two representing Time. And it's a shame that's all we got, because these were pretty damn good! Maya and Ben are likable leads, Carmen is a competent and even somewhat threatening villain while still maintaining her own personal code of ethics, and it does what a good adaptation should in keeping the feel and style of the computer games while also making allowances for the medium shift. I especially like "Take the Mummy and Run", which includes some legit emotional drama and a non-Carmen villain.

2: Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?

Pretty similar to the Carmen Sandiego Mysteries books in that it features a young boy/girl duo of detectives hunting down a similarly characterized Carmen. But this being a syndicated animated TV show rather than a book series, it lasted longer - 40 episodes total, and even got its own spinoff computer game Carmen Sandiego: Junior Detective Edition. There's also more of an action-y feel to it despite the network censors preventing anything overtly violent from happening, siblings Zack and Ivy are even more charismatic protagonists than Ben and Maya, and the great Rita Moreno just is Carmen; her alluring voice probably sticks out in most people's memory when thinking about the character. I do question why an AI Chief was used rather than a human one, as that just feels weird, but thanks to Rodger Bumpass' voicework he gets a lot of laughs so I can let it slide. The one thing that drags this show down is the educational aspect, as it manifests in a lot of ham-fisted monologuing from characters that grinds the pacing of each episode to a halt every time. Guys, you're in a 22-minute TV episode, not Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors! You're kind of pressed for time here! It's the one thing I think the Netflix show actually did better, as while there were still lines here and there serving as educational the series usually focused on showing rather than telling as should be expected of the animation medium. However...this theme song goes way harder than it needs to, so maybe that balances things out. And speaking of stellar theme songs....

1: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

This legendary PBS gameshow simply IS Carmen Sandiego distilled into a compact form easily transmitted via airwaves. It's got the thrill of the chase while learning more about the world down perfectly, it's got the old-school detective vibe and the quirky humor, and it's got a stellar cast of characters - not only is this the first time Carmen herself displayed any real personality, but we've got a truly memorable Rogues Gallery of V.I.L.E operatives serving her. And even if the different kid contestants opposing them each episode do nothing for you, we still have Lynne Thigpen as THE Chief of ACME, Greg Lee as one of the funniest and most energetic gameshow hosts you could ask for, and of course - ROCKAPELLA! It's easy to see why this show endured for as long as it did and while it's still fondly looked upon even now.

#Carmen Sandiego #Opinion #Analysis #Comparison #This has been a PSA

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mama-qwerty · 11 days

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Yes, I'm seeing the early (more negative) reviews about the series. About how Knux isn't in it enough or it leans too heavily on its human characters.

I am reserving judgment until I see the whole thing myself.

But this just emphasizes why I hate reading reviews because 1) you don't know this reviewer from Adam, and have no idea what their personal tastes and preferences even are, and 2) some people get so caught up on something they had built up in their heads that if they don't get it, they're hit with anticappointment (anticipation + disappointment) and blame everything but their own expectations.

There's a difference between hoping for something and expecting it. I'm hoping for some echidna lore, and some flashbacks about Knux's time out in the galaxy, or even back when he was little with his father. Am I expecting it? Nope. Knux's history is a mystery in the comics and games, so keeping his time out on his own a secret would be pretty spot on with his character.

Besides, that would make it much funnier if he were to make references to really strange or unbelievable things he's done or seen in the past without further explanation. This boy is a mystery, and it's so much more fun if he's kept that way.

I'm still excited for the series. I'll pick what I want from it for my stories, and leave the rest. Will I be disappointed? Maybe. Or maybe I'll just write some fix-it fics for the parts that really bothered me. (At the very least, expect some posts with my thoughts on it.)

#knuckles series #knuckles the echidna

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theminecraftbee · 1 year

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Yeah, I knew it was unlikely for anyone to partner with a spirit from the start like Grian does, in fact my first idea for this was "episode where xB gets possessed by the spirit of Hiding or something and plot twist the episode doesn't end with him defeated, the monster is invisible by definition and after its conflict is done it can't be caught, plot twist xB stays like that for the rest of the season peacefully somehow, I guess that could mean somehow being a full magical girl who's just undetectable instead of having a transformation sequence, this could also power up his ability so Scar eventually forgets he even has that guy to look out for..." and then I couldn't think of any situation where a character whose whole plot point is staying hidden would do anything to cause the heroes to notice it enough for an episode to happen anyway, and then I imagined that first burst of all of them escaping, off to do various chaotic things, and then the one that's based on some concept that's naturally peaceful and quiet all along just calmly floats along until it finds someone who's used to being quiet and would be happy to be rid of what little attention he does get, so I thought it would be funny if the two just met and instantly agreed fully or however partnership works, like before the monster attacks have happened enough that xB even knows about them, you know?

That plus the "mysterious helper who may or may not know all the secrets but either way ends up not being a threat" trope and the "unremarkable background character with an inexplicably dedicated fandom" trope, it would work just as well to have him start appearing at any time but it feels funnier/more fulfilling to be able to look at this imaginary anime and have at least one frame of every single episode where he's visible!

oh hmmm that's actually a fun one. and to be fair, i think xb would be... rather happy to slip into the background, honestly. sure, this is all... a lot more than he'd prefer to deal with. but watching scar's crew deal with it has given him SOME idea of how to handle the fact he still has a spirit around, and being able to be invisible sometimes... it's useful. it's useful!

i think maybe he shows up in the background of some support group episodes afterwards and if you aren't paying attention it's hard to realize what's happening.

however i'm honestly still not sure how early in the plot we can have a spirit partnership here? i think maybe. xb is an early possession victim (maybe one of the first ones blackbird interferes with?) but the spirit escapes. xb sort of just slips away without letting anyone help him quietly because he manages to get unpossessed but he just KNOWS people are gonna be weird about the fact the spirit escaped. plus, he has unlocked a little more of his magical potential now. he can just... make himself disappear. he doesn't know why. it's not a partnership, so much as a potential he already had that, like a few other members of the plot (bdubs being out big example), due to a combination "wishing star getting closer" and "spirit possession", he can do even more.

and it's... nice. sometimes it isn't nice - he basically can't go out to eat unless he's with someone else, the waitstaff will forget he's there, and actually for anything he needs to be remembered for it's kind of a pain, but in a lot of life he just... slides in the background now. and if he really, really wants to be noticed he can mostly turn it off? but eh, he's an introvert anyway, as long as his small circle of friends still talks to him, he's fine. keralis and hypno and beef haven't forgotten he exists yet.

(hypno nearly forgets once. it makes xb's hair stand on end. he puts more effort into his side of the friendship with him for months afterwards. hypno's bemused. "you never texted back so quick before. what's gotten into you - monsters making you remember your mortality?" and it's... easier than the actual answer to go with that. hypno says xb should go to the support group again. xb doesn't say: they won't remember i'm there too if i don't make an effort to talk the whole time.)

its later in the plot, after... i had a timeline somewhere, but i think at LEAST after bdubs joins the squad and DEFINITELY after the "the magical girl crew fights the military" incident. it's then that the spirit of hiding reappears, and, drawn once again to xb's magic, despite the fact he's arguably more resistant to possession now, turns up where xb is.

and like... look. xb really, really doesn't want to get possessed again. because as nice as fading into the background is, he just... he doesn't want...

and they find themselves at an impasse.

xb gets this guy, is the thing. compared to other spirits, this guy doesn't do that much. it just... makes it easy to forget itself. to forget other people. and there's a horror in that, too, but there's also... xb can relate. before all of this started, he would have thought he'd be content to be entirely forgotten as well. it's just, the brief moment when someone he was close to had no recognition in his eyes -

"hey," xb says to the spirit that does not want to leave but that he doesn't want to let possess him. "hey. change of plans. how about we make a deal? i think there's something we can both offer to each other."

two days later, he slips into keralis's door and, once he finds the man, quietly sobs. he never says why. afterwards, he goes back to almost-normal. almost. if you aren't one of his friends, at least. his friends are... concerned. he's up to something.

xb assures them: he won't interfere that much. not his style. also, if he WERE to get noticed, he's pretty sure he might get dissected or something? so. much better to just... adjust from the background when he can.

he's sure it'll turn out fine.

#answered #eloquentornot #magical girl scar #help you weren't supposed to give me an ENTIRE OTHER MAJOR BACKGROUND CHARACTER #anyway a magic that makes it easy to be forgotten. now isn't THAT a horrifying concept.

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ben-talks-art · 1 year

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My 10 Favorite DreamWorks Movies

When I first joined Tumblr one of the first few posts I made was a "Best of DreamWorks" where I just pasted a bunch of images from the movies I liked the most.

After seeing the new Puss In Boots movie and seeing all the love it's been getting I thought it would be nice to revisit the list, but this time actually talking about why I like these movies so much.

Just wanna say real quick, If you're coming here wondering if "Shark Tale" will be on the top 5 and how I'm gonna defend my case about it, you lower these expectations right now. This is gonna be a super boring list. My favorites are everyone's favorites.

The only thing I can bring up is why I myself like them, and hopefully, I can bring up unique enough reasons for it. I've always been a fan of this company, mostly because I really respect how many risks they take with the premises of their stories.

I always like to believe that there is no such thing as a bad idea, only a bad execution, and DreamWorks proves that by never being afraid of giving a chance to the weirdest of ideas, and when the execution pays off, it pays off greatly!

So which ideas did I feel were executed the best?

10 . The Bad Guys

First things, first. "Good Tonight" is a freaking awesome song and everyone should give it a listen.

The idea of bad guys is "what if we tried to make the meanest-looking animals that people are familiar with into the heroes of our story?"

Animals like snakes, sharks, spiders, and so on, things that are known for being very dangerous and scary, but placed into the roles of bandits that go on heists while running away from the police.

I always call this the "Not Sly Cooper" movie, because that's exactly what I feel a Sly Cooper movie would be like. Tons of animal-acting-like-human jokes, fun cartoonish heists and car chases, and some nice morals about what it means to be a thief and what it means to be a hero.

Bad Guys is a very charming movie. The characters are all likable, many of the jokes are funny, and the way the movie looks with its blend of 2D and 3D is just amazing. The scene where they are escaping from prison with the help of a "mysterious ninja" being my favorite part.

The only problem I have is that I feel having both a shark and a piranha in the cast was kinda redundant. I would have replaced the piranha with a bat so they would have a scary flying animal instead of two scary water animals. Plus, imagining a bat singing "Good Tonight" just feels like a funnier visual to me.

9. Megamind

"Presentation!!"

The idea for Megamind is rather simple, show what happens when the villain does beat the hero.

I feel like this movie did a good job showing how the fun of working hard can sometimes feel more rewarding than the fun of actually winning, kinda sending a sweet message about the futility of cheating.

I also like how over-the-top Megamind himself is with how he treats all his evil actions as some grand spectacle. Doesn't matter if he's winning or losing, this dude always looks like he's having a lot of fun treating these hero vs villain battles as some sort of playtime with his best friend.

You're basically watching a kid's imagination of what these fights would look like from someone who grew up watching way too many cartoons. Tons of cheesy one-liners, tons of dramatic speeches, tons of last-second twists, and of course, tons of big explosive action.

And it's also fun seeing Megamind's fantasy of what a hero vs villain scenario looks like slowly dying once he meets Titan and how differently he treats this whole thing compared to MetroMan.

The one problem I had was the way the character of Roxane was treated. It felt like they were trying to make her more than just "the girlfriend" and give her more depth, but in the end, her biggest role in the climax was still needing to be saved and serving as emotional support for the main character. Also, the way she was basically catfished by Megamind always made me very uncomfortable, especially when thinking that kids might be watching this and learning from this.

It wasn't too awful, but I felt they could have done more with her.

8. Spirit

"What if we made a movie about the adventures of a horse?"

This one is kinda hard to describe why I like it. I think the reason is that it feels... How do I put it... Honest? Real? Genuine?

Whenever Spirit goes through an emotion it always feels earned. When he's sad, you're sad, when he's angry, you're angry, and when he's celebrating after succeeding in a daring escape, you want to celebrate too.

This movie to me just did a great job at making me feel what this horse was feeling, and most of it with the use of very minimal words.

I loved Spirit, loved his chemistry with the villain, loved the sense of speed whenever he is running through the fields or avoiding the cowboys... and most of all, loved the joy you get whenever you feel free.

It's not that this gives you a great sense of freedom, its that it gives you a desire to fight for freedom! It makes you feel you can be more, and do more and have the right to reject being tied down by others who want to limit your true potential and control you.

This movie makes you want to be free.

7. The Road to El Dorado

Do I even need to say anything besides the fact that this movie has Chel in it?

But for real, I think this movie was my introduction to the Maya, Inca, and Azteca culture, (I think my closest only other option at the time was "Mucha Lucha" of all things...), and they make this culture look fun and cool.

The architecture looked nice, the clothing looked nice, the people were so likable, and anytime they party you just want to party as well. I kept waiting for some big reveal to happen for the citizens to turn on the heroes, but they never do, and that was so refreshing, just showing people from different areas becoming friends AND staying friends.

I also love how funny Miguel and Tulio are, I was a kid when I first saw this so I was weirded out by the idea of two adults as the leads but I was sold on them very quickly. Even their horse was likable. everyone is just so likable in this movie. It makes you want to visit El Dorado and hang out with all these people.

Such a charming, funny, and friendly movie.

Also Chel. Chel was a big selling point.

6. Puss in Boots, the Last Wish

I already talked about this one over here, but, long story short, like many other movies on this list, I love how good this movie is at sucking you into the mood.

The way the visuals, the story, the dialogue, and the characters work together really succeed into making you feel what these people are feeling and making want to see more of them.

Didn't matter if it was the heroes, the villains, the antagonists, or what, I was 100% behind everyone's motivations and I couldn't wait to see all their goals clashing with each others'.

Also, the wolf is by far one of DreamWork's best antagonists, right up there with Shen and Ramses. He looks cool, talks cool, and even his motivation was cool.

This wasn't just a movie, this was an experience.

5. Shrek 2

I freaking dare anyone going into this movie blind to predict what the climax is going to be.

The weird idea of this one is that Shrek after marrying his wife needs to meet her parents... And that's it. It's just one long and uncomfortable reunion with people who really don't want to be on the same room together and all the things they try to pull of to make or break this relationship.

Hire assassins, request help from magic fairies, fake your appearance, steal a potion, it's all about seeing how far everyone is willing to go to do what they think it's the best for those they love.

It all turns into a glorious and creative mess and I can't help but love every second of it!

(Side note, anyone ever notices how often DreamWorks sequels focus on the idea of characters dealing with their parents?)

4. Kung Fu Panda 2

If it wasn't for Prince of Egyp, I would say that this was the hardest and darkest DreamWorks movie.

There is so much focus on feeling lost, feeling abandoned, feeling hopeless and betrayed, and just trying to understand what you're doing wrong and what you need to do right.

This movie was like a therapy session... Done with talking cartoon animals, yes, but a therapy session no less.

The themes of trying to understand yourself, where you came from, and where you want to go are all handled greatly as you watch the relationship between the hero and the villain.

Po and Shen have such an absurdly great chemistry. I love seeing them talking, fighting, and trying to one-up each other, and I really love how much their relationship changes the more they learn about each other, and it all happens so fast and so smoothly too.

It makes me angry whenever I see a movie and the hero and the villain barely talk with each other. That's one of the best things you can do with them! Why are you skipping it??

Luckily this one didn't, and in return, we got one of the best interactions ever. I love these two by themselves and love these to together. Just a pair of wonderful characters that work really well off each other!

3. The Prince of Egypt

Man... What do I even say about this one?

It's probably the riskiest idea DreamWorks has ever tried to do, tell the story of Exodus as an animated musical... And that was their second movie ever after freaking "Antz!" These guys have a lot of guts.

This was a movie that I didn't really get it when I saw it as a kid, but I just love trying to understand its themes and messages now that I'm older.

I love the main conflict between the brothers, again, bringing attention to how good a story can be when you focus on the connection of the hero and the villain. Showing both sides of people who grew up under an unhealthy ideology, one trying to grow out of it and the other trying to embrace it even more.

I love the imagery of Egypt, both as this grand epic kingdom built from the struggle and pain of the slaves and as this falling empire being attacked by God Himself. The visuals of the plagues being my favorites.

And I love the sense of calmness that appears whenever the chaos takes a break. Seeing Moses and his people getting out from the ocean and enjoying the dawn of a new era after all the struggle they went through just felt so rewarding. It's just such a satisfying ending for such a long journey... As long as you decide to stop there and don't look up what happens in the rest of the story.

I especially love the concept of Ramses, A person so deep into the teachings of his father that he can't even see why the things he's doing are so bad. I think my favorite part is when he's hugging his son while glaring at Moses and just asking "Why?" while he has this GIANT WALL SHOWING BABIES BEING FEED TO CROCODILES right behind him.

It's such an amazingly blind irony as the man cries for his kid's safety while the crying of all these dead kids looms over his shoulder. Just how do you have to be raised to turn into this kind of person?

It's so baffling but I just can't stop watching and wondering how far is this man willing to go. Such a sad showing of someone who doesn't see he's on the wrong side and trying to fight against the tides.

It's a beautifully sad, and yet hopeful movie.

2. Kung Fu Panda

Yeah, I put Kung Fu Panda above Prince of Egypt... I don't know what's wrong with me either. I don't know, for some reason, I just have a lot of respect for this movie? Prince of Egypt I liked a lot but I couldn't really fully understand it and enjoy it until I was much older. Meanwhile, even when young I could already enjoy Kung Fu Panda a lot.

It felt like it had a bigger challenge by being a good, deep movie while also being fun, funny, and cheerful.

It's easy to make dark stories have strong messages and depth, but it's hard to have no-so-dark stories also have strong messages and depth, and I have such an appreciation for that. They could have just made this a lame joke-fest about being an overweight character trying to learn martial arts, but they didn't!

They put a lot of effort into the lessons, the fighting, the motivations of the characters, the visuals, and even the jokes! I thought the jokes were going to be awful but they were all very charming!

I love the designs of the cast in how they each represent a level of kung-fu, AND, I love the Kung-fu itself.

I feel like this is the Kung Fu Panda movie that tries the most to be creative with combining martial arts in a cartoon setting. Like... I like Kung Fu Panda 2 and 3 but I don't really remember much of the action there aside from the stuff in climaxes with the "water dodgeball" section and the "giant energy dragon avatar in the spiritual realm" section.

But in here? I remember the bridge fight, the prison escape, the master vs student showdown, the hot-potato game with the scroll, and even the training sessions with Po and the five.

I feel like as the movies went on they focused more on the spiritual journey of self-discovery and toned down the cartoon action, while in here it's just perfect.

It's amazing how many elements this movie is trying to balance while still pulling it off each of them so well.

I just wished that Po and Tai-Lung had more scenes of interaction because they basically feel like strangers in the end even though the whole movie is building up to their fight... A fight that... Really doesn't feel as good as all the action that came before to be honest.

But still, that's just one small little problem in what's otherwise a perfect product. Besides... KFP2 covers the whole Hero vs Villain thing that was lacking in here by more than making up for it, so it's all good. 1. How To Train Your Dragon

Of course my favorite DeamWorks movie is the one with the dragon. I freaking love dragons! I have a comic based on people that become dragons for crying out loud!

Kidding aside, this is a movie with a message that I just respect a lot. I really appreciate the idea of teaching kids the importance of knowing how to stop, looking at what you're doing, trying to understand who you're hurting, and what you can do to change.

This isn't just something that holds value to kids, this holds value to everyone. We are always so focused on going after the things we want that we tend to forget the people we're sometimes stepping on to get there, and this movie shows that not only do we not lose anything for trying to be friends with these people, but we might even gain something even better.

I just adore the friendship of Hiccup and Toothless (God, I love these names).

One is a kid trying to make his father proud by following the family legacy, while also trying to do what he loves by studying and befriending dragons and the conflicts that come from trying to please both sides. This is such a great lesson for kids because they're always stuck into deciding on what's best for them and what's best for what their parents want from them.

And the other side is a pet slowly lowering his defenses and deciding if he wants to trust this weird stranger that tried to hurt him or give him a second chance to prove himself as a possible ally. What do you do? Put yourself at risk and give others a chance or remain safe and away from possible harm?

This movie reminds me a lot of Lake in that if you keep looking at it you can take away twenty different lessons and themes to talk about.

Again, it's the challenge of trying to be deep while avoiding being too dark and remaining all-ages-friendly.

Kids are gonna watch this, they're gonna love the dragons and the flying scenes, and they're gonna come back years later and pick up things they didn't see were there before and later realize that without noticing it, these lessons became a part of them and a part of what they do.

You can feel that there is a lot of love in this movie. I remember watching the commentary and looking at how the creators always would get excited when there was a silent scene or a world-building scene. It's clear they had a lot of fun working on this product, and this love really can be felt through the characters, their growth, and their emotions.

I freaking adore this movie, and I freaking adore DreamWorks!

#dreamworks #dreamworks animation #puss in boots the last wish #shrek 2 #how to train your dragon #kung fu panda #kung fu panda 2 #the prince of egypt #the road to el dorado #spirit #megamind #the bad guys

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kimberlyannharts · 5 months

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LAST TIME ON RANGER ACADEMY - to the surprise of no one Sage finds out high school kind of sucks, especially high school that's training you to become......uh.......knights. sure. But luckily she's found that her dad is wrapped up in some sort of mystery and that's way cooler than learning physics.

It's Ranger Academy #3!

= a whole team of ranger cadets and not ONE of them is a funny little monster, guys. It's the third issue and I'm sick of the lack of funny little monster representation amongst the cadets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

= CRUEGER YALE I DIDN'T MEAN YOU TWO GO AWAY

I've said my piece about Yale so I won't repeat it here. Just know that I still find it annoying. Also making Kiya a teacher would have been way funnier

= And I say this as the daughter and sister of librarians - "no such thing as a library emergency" is complete bullshit

= okay so remember how I said in the first issue that later ones would point towards the narrative that Ranger Academy is great and there's nothing wrong with its system and Rhianth's just a quitter for not wanting anything to do with it? yeeeeeeeeeah. I'm not fully judging yet but it's still making it pretty clear what they're doing here

= oh hey, Billy! You're looking.....much older than you did in the 30th anniversary story. I'm not even going to question the timeline of this. At least here the "Ranger cameos exist to say something smart and instructive and that's it" makes sense for the character they chose

= NOPE, Lindy's smart, with a whole scene dedicated to her catching up Sage on her studies, so that automatically means she's slotted for blue. That's how this works, apparently

= this is sad but also gay, the best possible combination

= this is one of those things where I wish the alumni Rangers could be more than just cameos, because Sage bonding with the many Rangers that grew up alone would actually be charming and a good use of them beyond cameos that don't allow them to show off any individuality or personality

= I don't blame you Sage, I'd run away too if I saw a vision of myself going bald

= but yeah, to no one's surprise, the school has a secret Green campus and Sage being able to open it and activate the stuff inside means she's most likely going to become a Green Ranger. (NOTE: i wrote this out before #4's cover dropped, so all I'll say is: ha.) I will say though the question of why they shut this down and why Tula is trying to investigate it is at least interesting

= Jen don't you have anything better to do???????????????? Can we have a Katie cameo PLEASE

(another issue I have with the cameos is that so far they've all been characters we've seen in the comics plenty of times before this. Cruger Yale Billy Jen. Leo doesn't count as he didn't even get a line and I still don't know what was up with the Merrick conversation.)

But anyway: NEXT TIME: Rangers???? maybe????

#text #mmpr comic #comic recap #RA 3

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lara635kookie · 9 months

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I already did Maelstrom so it's time to do the other psycho/sociopath character. Welcome to my Paper Star Character Analysis.

We first see Paper Star talking to Maelstrom (obviously). He asks her to bring him the hat of Carmen Sandiego. She was holding an origami of a sheep and she makes a paper star with it and shoots it to a skeleton, cutting his head off. Then Maelstrom says:"I'll take that as a yes" and the camera zooms on Paper Star's eyes, showing a little bit of her, but still in the dark. We must notice that Paper Star has the longest villain introduction of all the operatives. Usually they just show up, their names appears on the screen with a background and you're done. As for Paper Star, the episode makes a mystery showing glimpses of her in the darkness, creating a climax and a whole vibe of danger just so she could get a more impactful villain presentation than the others. Another thing that proves her spotlight and why she's far away from all the other villains is that she is the only character besides Carmen ("Where in The World is Carmen Sandiego?") that has a theme song(I do not care if It's just a disturbing four melody high-pitched tune, a bop is a bop). Her theme might not have lyrics (besides some la la la la I guess) but the melody and the way she hums it It's absolutely creepy, scary and terrifying, I love it (God bless Kimiko Glenn for her outstanding voice acting). When presenting the Magna Carta heist plan we see the following dialogue:

Shadowsan:Would I be correct in assuming that you have a particular operative in mind for this misdeed, Professor?

Maelstrom:Well, the crime involves stealing paper, does it not? (If I remember correctly he says that and then looks at Doctor Bellum right after, which might be a hint that indicates Paper Star uses some different kind of paper that Bellum modificated its composition or something 'cause how tf paper is so sharp to the point is lethal?) (But apparently It's just normal paper since we often see her running out of her own papers and using regular papers nearby that somehow make the exact same amount of damage)

Shadowsan:She is far from ready.

Maelstrom:Questioning my judgment after my compelling intro, dear Shadowsan? (I think in some voiceovers he asks "Questioning my sanity?" which just makes it even funnier lol Maelstrom you are in fact insane and a threat to society, Shadowsan is right and should question whatever you say or do lmao)

Of course he questions your judgment, Maelstrom. He knows that Carmen can take down any other agent easily but Paper Star would demand more work from her. He knows that Paper Star is just as deadly as you and he doesn't want Carmen dead. Paper Star may be even MORE mortal than Maelstrom 'cause I don't know if that's just me but he passes me the vibe of killing quickly or having someone else killing for him and would just watch the victim die. I just have that impression that Maelstrom wouldn't want to have his hands and his fancy clothes dirty. He would like torture but it wouldn't be mandatory, a point proven as we see him using the crackle rod in the driver and letting Brunt almost die drowned in extremely cold water instead of doing something that makes the victim suffer even more. Meanwhile Paper Star, for having a cutting/stabbing kind of weapon style I think she would like killing in a slow, painful and torturing for the victim kind of way. And the more blood the better. She like big, dramatic and creative deaths, knowing thousands of innovative ways of murder with AND without paper, and some invented by herself(headcanon that you cannot convince me otherwise). I just feel like she would have killed that driver in the most horrible way possible and if Brunt stopped the car almost dying of cold, unlike Maelstrom, Paper Star would have finished the job. Her behaviour being like this is proven by her encounter in Mumbai's "historic elephanta caves" with Le Chevre, in which she tortures him with her origamis and I just KNOW she would have killed him without hesitation if he didn't give her what she wanted. If she did, she probably would call Maelstrom and invent a lie and he would tell her where to escort the papers.

Anyway, skipped ahead too much. So, back to the faculty, Shadowsan HIMSELF aknowledges the fact that Paper Star looks like Black Sheep:Unruly and another word I forgot(reckless?). As we all know all the members in Team Red have an evil villain counterpart, being:

Player:The Troll;

Ivy:The Mechanic;

Zack:The Driver;

Shadowsan:Lady Dokuso.

And logically (and canonically) Carmen's counterpart is Paper Star. So if Carmen is the most skilled person on the good side, it's only fair Paper Star is the most skilled person on the bad side. And it showed. Paper Star is like Carmen's Black Mirror (catch the reference here pls), possibly representing what Carmen would have become if she had forgotten her ethics and morals and fully embraced V.I.L.E.'s ideals. They have a lot in common, like:Both started as the youngest in their class, both showed to be prodigious thiefs with uncommon and distinguished natural talents and skills, both being teacher's pet of a faculty member(Coach Brunt for Black Sheep and Professor Maelstrom for Paper Star), both inclined to not follow rules that don't convey to them, both encounter pleasure in fighting, both with VERY sharp tongue using answers full of irony and sarcastic comebacks, both with high self confidence, both are very clever and possess an extremely high intellect and wits, both are shown to have a quick and strategic way of thinking, both are very insightful, both have very few weaknesses, etc.

So, again with the faculty:majority vote backfires Shadowsan (no one is surprised with it at this point) and Paper Star is sent on the mission, which only reinforces Maelstrom's persuasion powers and leadership over the other faculty members, given it was his idea.

We then see Paper Star singing and jumping(I have a headcanon that she has ADHD and that's why she's so hyperactive and she started origami to improve her attention) and breaking the security camera's screen with her paper shurikens. Then Carmen arrives and right after she says:"Hmmm Papers" (iconic, just like pretty much almost everything she does) she is officialy introduced. The first thing Carmen says after Paper Star is introduced is:"Paper Star, I see you haven't lost your touch." A compliment, instead of a teasing provocation, which is rare for Carmen. And the first thing she says after we officially know her appearance once and for all is:"Red is a smart color for you. It will hide the stains." Literally the first phrase she says after being completely introduced is implied murder.

This girl got so many iconic quotes besides that one, like:

"Mind your own mittens, Kitty Cat."

"Unless you care to find out who here has sharper claws."

"You should run." (Too many implied murder threats to count)

"Nowhere to hide, not very smart."

"In my world, paper beats steel." (It's Paper Star's world, we're just living it it) (Her world is crazy and unpredictable just like her)

"Such a pretty package."

"The more you struggle the tighter it gets."

"Bye bye little Black Sheep."

"But my ears were burning."

"If you insist."

"Guilty as charged, but I never come to a party empty-handed."

"Too bad I shred your pretty glider."

"I told you before:Sheep don't fly. Not on my watch."

"Oh, Is that why you want it so badly, huh?"

"Is there a point here?"

"Hum, sounds valuable."

"What are you hiding?"

"It really should reduce, reuse and recycle." (Environmentalist from the girl that kills trees, how ironic)

"You look like an operative who would get caught." (Amazing judge of character) (Goat Cheese's worst mistake was calling her Pippi Punkstockings) (I laughed tho)

"No need to speak in code." (Her absolute disdain and disrespect for the pattern protocols man) (It's really her way or the highway)

"Perhaps the fish does swim at midnight."

"It will give you a thousand paper cuts unless you tell me the last drop location." (He will bleed too much with these amount of paper cuts, she is totally capable and would have kill Le Chevre there, hands down)

"Your mastery over poison potions is legendary, Lady Dokuso. It would be prudent of me to respect my elders." (Polite Psychotic Princess)

"All this talk about the great Carmen Sandiego but in the flush you're just a paper tiger." (She is literally the only agent that has the honor to say that since, let's be real, it was easy for her, she thought it would be harder and she wanted it to be challenging, that's how good she is)

"There goes Paper Star."

"First one to bag our host wins."

"I know that voice."

"Boo."

"Is that what they say?"

"Oh, such a shame I don't believe in ghosts."

"Puffer fish. Very pointful."

"These brochures are chalk full of...Cutting edge information."

(I think I just listed almost everything she talks is the whole entire show but she is just THAT memorable and deserved more screen time)

Sadistic. Cruel. Maniac. Call her whatever you want but girl knows how to get shit done. They fight for some time("they never protect the face" Paper Star just protected her face, she isn't V.I.L.E.'s five star student for nothing)(Le Chevre, Tigress, Gray, LEARN)(But to be fair she was still at school at that time so the subjects were probably still fresh in her head) but at the end, to everyone's surprise, Paper Star WINS Carmen Sandiego, the only villain to do that so far, at least on that point on the story. She CAPTURED Carmen and stole the Magna Carta and I think y'all ignore the fact that if V.I.L.E. was competent and the cleaners were there with the helicopter, they would have got Carmen to V.I.L.E. and thanks to Paper Star we would have Evil Carmen WAY SOONER. But sadly for Paper Star, V.I.L.E., unlike her, can't do their fucking jobs right (how they survived centuries without getting caught is a total mystery to me) and the cleaners weren't there and as we see Paper Star is the type that likes doing her job by herself, she didn't have a partner and didn't seem to have any way of communicating with V.I.L.E. either so she had to improvise and ring the security alarm because she knew the local authorities would catch her and then she would be transferred to V.I.L.E. by Roundabout. I honestly believe it was pure script protection that made Paper Star, who had Carmen completely unable to move, kill Carmen right there(she made a knife and tried to stab Carmen on the neck eeatly in the fight). She would have had her hat, the Magna Cartas and would be V.I.L.E.'s savior and biggest idol. But she probably wouldn't have the A.C.M.E. card so I let it slide since they showcased how good she was still giving her a hell of a win over Carmen. I don't think she decided to not kill Carmen to obey V.I.L.E. but because she thought the cleaners would take Carmen to V.I.L.E. and she would be able to prove how good she truly was to the faculty. Unfortunately for her, that police waiting gave time to Carmen, allowing her to escape. I think V.I.L.E., even Maelstrom, underestimated Paper Star and didn't expect her first mission to go THAT WELL and didn't sent the cleaners because they didn't expect her to be able to capture Carmen. Shadowsan seemed to be the only one that realized Paper Star was a hidden gem and a rare jewel, like Black Sheep were, and she didn't want Paper Star to harm Carmen.

Much like Carmen and her risky behavior, drawing attention V.I.L.E. doesn't want on them, Paper Star is similar on that aspect, since she leaves a paper mess behind her crimes. And that's probably what made V.I.L.E. want Le Chevre to escort the Magna Carta to safety. Compared to Paper Star, who also like Carmen is a fashion icon and has a very characteristic kind of style that draws unwanted eyes(red for Carmen, neon for paper star) (and both have iconic makeup - red and purple lipstick, amazing eyebrows and eyeliner) (and iconic head things - Carmen's awesome long hair with her iconic fedora and Paper Star's Melanie Martinez hair with her iconic hairstyle), he is much more discreet. But of course Paper Star wants to prove herself and finish the job, making Le Chevre angry saying he had completed more successful missions than her. Yes Le Chevre, but have you ever been the youngest in your class and V.I.L.E.'s youngest operative, at the end of your teenage years, didn't even graduated yet but was so remarkable and gifted faculty gave you special permission to a important mission against an opponent that has defeated a lot of V.I.L.E.'s agents (including you) and not only you could steal it successfully from THE Carmen Sandiego, known for having a massive stealth reputation, but also capture her? No? Exactly. That's the point. Besides, all of the missions you completed were before Carmen. After her, you failed all of them(at least it seems like it). If Paper Star had already a level compared to Maelstrom and Carmen and was BY FAR better than all the other operatives, who unlike her had already graduated and had more experience, and her very FIRST mission was being THAT successful, being something completely unexpected for a trainee with less than one year of training, at THAT age, this girl would be UNSTOPPABLE in no time if she kept that rythm.

Like, we know by Coach Brunt that official codenames are assigned just after graduation. Until there, first names only. Yet we never get Paper Star's real name, even knowing her and Carmen had a few classes together. Also all the faculty members refer to her as Paper Star instead of her real name, which makes me think she got a codename (and probably a stealth suit too) earlier than she should. That's the power Maelstrom holds, 'cause we see Black Sheep being Brunt's favorite and Gray being Bellum's favorite and they didn't have the privileges Paper Star gets. If Countess Cleo or Shadowsan had a favorite as well(Shadowsan always pretended his favorite was Tigress) they would never be able to convince the rest of the faculty to break so many rules for an specific agent, I just know it. Paper Star clearly realized that and knew sticking to Maelstrom was the fastest way of success on that field. In my head, Paper Star always pretended to be Maelstrom's "puppet", pretended to fall for his manipulation and that she was a submissive little girl he could control, so she could win everything she always wanted and eventually a faculty member position that let's be frank Maelstrom would clearly give it to her when he dies/retires. And if he didn't, I can totally see Paper Star going on and taking it either way just because she can. She's the most qualified for it anyway. I think that maybe Maelstrom knew about Paper Star's true intentions, since he's a psichology doctor and psychiatry is his forte, and just rolled with it 'cause both of them bought mutual benefits for one another, each helping the other one to achieve their personal goals. But unlike Paper Star, Maelstrom seemed to be a little bit more aware that he's clinically insane than her.

Anyway, she almost kills Le Chevre, forcing him to tell her where to escort the magna carta and she goes by the name of "Tammy Origami". This name that no one would have in real life just shows how extra she is, just playing around and challenging Carmen to "come and get her if she dared." Unlike Carmen, for Paper Star stealing is a game. She wanted the thrill of the fight to get as many points as she could to win the game. Then Carmen keeps an eye on her on the train(Paper Star making a paper knife to eat was the cutest thing ever, prove me wrong) and then they have the gayest fight ever, almost kissing multiple times. But another thing about this fight that draws attention is how balanced it was, even after Paper Star ran out of paper. As Paper Star is that one villain with a long-range projectiles as a primary weapon, that stops you to get near her, you'd expect Carmen to easily beat her down in a physical fight, since It's not Paper Star's focus. But surprisingly, Carmen took longer in a face-to-face fight with Paper Star than with Tigress, for exemple, that has a close quarters kind of style. I think that happened not only because they were in a train in movement but also because deep down, in their subconscious, even themselves know how alike they are. Paper Star just immediately knew Carmen's fighting style, even having fought her just once, being able to think quickly, awnsering to it, just like Carmen knew Paper Star wouldn't follow the protocol.

So Paper Star jumps on those stairs with the Magna Carta and we don't mention enough that if that thing Carmen took from the train wasn't there, or Carmen hadn't thought about it, or didn't pulled that from its place in time, or had missed the shot, Paper Star would have fully completed her mission. Which means:Unlike all the other missions so far Carmen won out of pure and sheer luck. There were plenty of factors that could stop that improvised cutting boomerang or whatever of hitting its target, such as:Distance, wind power, weight, height, force applied in the arms and on the object itself. Things impossible to calculate in that speed, doesn't matter how good of quick thinker you are. Specially 'cause some of those things are imprevisible:They can change in a second. So, let's be real:Carmen had more chances of missing than actually getting it right.

Also she could have just get on the platform we see a bird on after Carmen's gone, making it even harder to Carmen to shoot that steel circle thingy but whatever, I guess you can't get everything right(My hands are itching to make an angry speech about how Paper Star only lost because Carmen is the main character, she's got plot protection and how that's a kids show so you gotta show good triumphing over evil even if it's not exactly so simple like that on real life).

Back to V.I.L.E. we hear the following dialogue:

Shadowsan:Did you not assure us that Paper Star was ready?

Maelstrom:I never instructed her to break protocol. (Another proof that even with most of Paper Star's and Maelstrom's interests colliding, Paper Star still prioritizes herself and what she wants over Maelstrom and even V.I.L.E. itself)

Paper Star walks in jumping and singing her typical horror movie kid/doll song.

Coach Brunt:Faculty only, Sassy-Pants. (I love how people aknowledge her socks) (Also yes coach Brunt, my girlie is a sassy bad bitch, the baddest badass alive, thank you for noticing)

Paper Star:But my ears were burning.

Maelstrom, standing up:You failed to complete your mission.

Paper Star:Guilty as charged, but I never come to a party empty-handed.

She shows the A.C.M.E. card and throws it on Maelstrom's direction. It's interesting to notice that while Maelstrom doesn't even flinch, Coach Brunt and Countess Cleo slightly go to the side, protecting themselves. It's funny how even faculty is scared of her. They know how powerful she is with paper in her hands(I know that A.C.M.E. card is probably not paper but I'm a firm believer that anything, even the most common things, becomes a weapon in paper Paper Star's hands, like fans, tinfoils, magazines, museum folders, etc).

They are scared like they should be scared. She single-handedly revealed to V.I.L.E. the most secret international organization of modern era. Can you relate, Le Chevre? No, I don't think so. No other operative can relate to her. She's in a league of her own. The only competent agent V.I.L.E. had in a long time.

So I guess Carmen knew that Paper Star was a worthy adversary and wasn't going to give her an easy time, since she stepped up her game on their next encounter. I think she was aware of her luck and tried to guarentee her win easily next time, considering Paper Star had very few weaknesses but using this weaknesses to her advantage in a better, yet more subtle way, that Paper Star won't notice. Yes, Paper Star it's way ahead of it's time and in a more advanced level than most, but she's still young. She's still impulsive, imprudent and has a lot to learn. Knowing that, Carmen does a better job in defeating her in Japan.

Instead of just running away with the sword, Paper Star chooses to hide in its box with it waiting for Carmen for the sake of her presentation. Girl gotta make an entrance. She wanted to fight Carmen and this time around Carmen was more prepared since they met before in a place, when Paper Star shredded her glider and they fought on a rooftop. Back to the present fight, it goes on a little bit with the fans and right when Paper Star is about to use the sword, Carmen steals it from her(still mad Paper Star couldn't use it). Carmen not only did what she did before(getting her out of paper, which works but not alone) she took her to a place the paper that was there was a glue trap that make her stuck. Way to go, Carmen!

Her third appearance was with Tigress on Halloween and I think y'all remember how that went. I don't got much to say about it but let's go. First:Girlie must have something against skeletons. If I had a nickel for everytime paper star cutted a skeleton's head I would have two nickels. It isn't much, but It's weird it happened twice. Second:Can't you see she's dressed as Melanie Martinez anime girl version? Third:You cannot convince me Tigress didn't fought Paper Star 'cause she knew Paper Star had the sharper claws there. Paper Star clearly wears the trousers in this relationship. Paper(Top)Tiger(Bottom). Jokes aside, they also have a mission to complete but if Tigress also wanted it, Paper Star would have killed Tigress right there. Prove me wrong after everything I previously stated(spoiler:you can't). Fourth:We see Paper Star saying she recognizes the chef's voice and Tigress saying she recognizes Carmen, which only highlights so far who's more committed to the mission, even Paper Star being "the plus one", since Tigress was the one that got the party invitation. Fifth:I like how Tigress is the one that sprays him and how Paper Star is the one that catches him when he falls. I expected to be the other way round, considering the fact the chef was a pretty big guy and Paper Star is pretty short and slim. We stan a strong queen. Speaking of which, love how Tigress says:"WE only play with the wicked witches" instead of "I only play with the wicked witches", including Paper Star, already falling for her charms lmao(they are so in love your honor, it makes them look stupid lmfao). Btw they should have worked together more often. I wished both of their characters were more explored, even though I don't like Tigress that much. They fought Carmen really well together. Carmen clearly couldn't handle both of them at the same time. She only won because Paper Star and Tigress mostly attacked her individually, after the other. We see this because the only time they attack together is on the very beginning of the fight. Paper Star shoots her shurikens and Tigress avances, being able to break her broom. If they had a better teamwork as a duo this episode could have had a different ending. Sixth:Paper Star is apparently a sponge 'cause girlie got soaked and then appeared all dried out on the next frame like it was nothing(I know it's just the animation but still, it was funny). Seventh:We got a compensation of the way we were robbed on season two:Paper Star finally used a SWORD! A tinfoil one. Not an ancient one way more cooler but I'll take what I can get. Eighth:Paper Star wanted to stab Carmen so badly. I remember the only other operatives that tried to actually kill Carmen were Spinkick and Flytrap when they followed Shadowsan with the tracker/locator in South Africa and cutted the head of a scarecrow with a red fedora thinking it was her(Gray didn't tried to kill her in the train, only tried to make her unconscious to take her back to V.I.L.E., argue with a wall). And that was on V.I.L.E.'s orders. The other operatives only kill when they have too, when they need, when it's something necessary, but still last case. Paper Star kills for fun. The only persons who tried to kill Carmen a couple of times and almost did it was her and Coach Brunt. Her evil counterpart and her former mother figure. Coincidence? I think not. Nineth:Tigress saying:"She was cramping my style anyway" lol bitch Paper Star's got more style than you. At least she ain't a furry. Tenth:My personal theory is that Paper Star read the recipe on the paper and thought V.I.L.E. could make money with that recipe, since she probably knows V.I.L.E. is going through a financial crisis(that isn't hard to figure), their rice is horrible and everyone loves this guy's secret recipe, so even though that paper had no material value, V.I.L.E. could make a little bit of money out of it so they can at least recover a little bit of the damage Carmen had caused.

Her fourth(fifth if you count her brief appearance in the steal or not to steal interactive special, but I don't because she doesn't appear in all routes) and last apparition was in the last episode, when we see her tied up with red strings in front of a museum. Two years later, Carmen finally got her. The fact she's the last villain we see Carmen capture speaks volumes. The fact she was the one chosen to be in that position instead of any other villain we see in that screen of villains A.C.M.E. hasn't located yet says something. Again, similar symbolism with Chief and Maelstrom. The most powerful hero defeated the most powerful villain(Just remembered Paper Star still owes both Maelstrom and Carmen a hat btw lol).

A curious thing about her character is that we tend to like her and hate Maelstrom(at least that's the case for me). So why that happens? For many reasons, such as:Paper Star, even appearing less than him, we know more about her. She's got more personality. She balances the evil with her cute and colorful style. People tend to underestimate her, like:"How dangerous can she even be?" and she proves them all wrong. Also because she's a very good villain. She's one of the reasons we like Carmen so much, because she makes Carmen not to look like a Mary Sue that wins all the time(I mean, she kinda wins all the time but Paper Star at least gave her more difficulties). With all the others I go like:"Carmen can easily win." With Paper Star(and Coach Brunt, but I also hate Coach Brunt for pretty much the same reasons I hate Maelstrom and Roundabout)(I kinda like Countess Cleo and Doctor Bellum tho)(And I love Shadowsan)I go like:"She can win, but definitely not easily." If Paper Star existed on real life I would hate her and be scared of her but we should normalize liking the villains because they are good villains. Because they move the plot and without them we wouldn't have the story we like so much. Paper Star actually represents a real threat to Carmen. It's good seeing Carmen fighting with an equal, someone who ACTUALLY has chances of winning her. So refreshing and revitalizing because if Carmen just wins easily every time the story gets repetitive, predictable and boring. So the villains are one of the factors that allow the storyline not to fall into boredom. And Paper Star is just so interesting everything she touched became too and we love her for it, so thank you Paper Star.

So, again, why is Paper Star so impressive? Because she had so much potential that was wasted and even still managed to be one of the best characters in the series. And because the first time we see her she didn't even had her graduation day yet, but she was so good and full of potential that they granted her permission to have an important mission and she was not only the closest to defeat Carmen being V.I.L.E.'s youngest operative and at least one year younger than Carmen, and even failing at her mission she still had a victory over Carmen, and a HUGE one:she revealed the most secret organization of actual days, A.C.M.E. We must not ignore the fact that if it wasn't for Paper Star stealing Devineaux's card, A.C.M.E. would still have the advantage of V.I.L.E. not knowing they existed. She successfully was the ONLY PERSON that could steal from THE Carmen Sandiego. That's worth more than the Magna Carta if you ask me(and the wiki I'm using information from agrees with me). And girlie still survived on her own for two years after V.I.L.E.'s take down, what a queen. Everything indicates that she was one of, if not the last villain captured because they show a screen with all the villains A.C.M.E. already captured with a red X and Paper Star wasn't one of them so I believe she wasn't one of the villains who were captured and then escaped but someone who survived without V.I.L.E. two years, proving her superiority. I believe that because they mentioned people who would hide in the dark just doing secret jobs like the cleaners so I believe that was also the strategy Paper Star sticks with. Also, they really missed an opportunity there:Everyone would love seeing an epic battle between these two and instead we just see Paper Star tied up in front like a Museum. Like, C'mon give me more. Carmen is the best but Paper Star got CLOSE. Like too close for confort. She got caught but I believe she's gonna escape just like it's said a lot of villains are doing. A.C.M.E. ain't enough to contain her. And that's it. Let's wrap it up for today. Bye!

#carmen sandiego #carmen sandiego 2019 #a.c.m.e.#paper tiger #paper star cs #paper star #v.i.l.e.#character analysis #yes that's too long and most likely no one will read but I needed to vent about her and decided not to divide in parts #i got carried away

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