If The Shoe Fits…Bear It!
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6,
Part 7
Summary: Prince Vincent Solaire, of Wonder Land, spends a wonderful night with a stranger, but what happens when the shoe left behind fits someone else.
The first whole day after Lovely first went into what seemed to be a coma, Vincent did not move from their side for more than five minutes. Even leaving their bedroom to use the bathroom felt like too long.
He felt like he was going to explode. He knew their body needed time to recover but damn it if he didn't wish he had magic. In fact, he took up praying to whatever force was in the sky that he could heal them and make them feel better. But he couldn't. Instead he could sit in this uncomfortable wooden chair, hold their hand, and try not to die of worry.
When the wooden chair began to creak or shake too much, its wooden legs threatened to give out everytime Vincent bounced his foot, he took to pacing and picking out the new designs they had instilled. Their room had changed quite a bit since they moved in. The previous walls had been altered to a soft lilac color adorned with white floral embellishments. The sunlight peeked through the white lace curtains, decorating the soft castlewood oak and livening up its pale colors. Their scent filled the room marking it in a way that made it undoubtedly theirs.
Vincent would love seeing all of these changes, only now the person who enacted them, was lying unconscious in front of him. The room that's so filled with reminders of their charming personality, was lacking the very person who gave it such a reputation.
By the time their second day of rest came, Vincent found himself not wanting them to miss out on anything so he would read to them, or talk about all the drama the maids would bring in every time they opened the large white double doors. Ollie came by to visit a few times. He would speak to them of stories they had gushed about previously. Other times he would encourage them to end their slumber.
On the third day Sam came by to check their vitals with Tank in tow. Tank read off numerous apologies to Lovely despite knowing they would refute them before they could even leave their mouth. After that, Sam finished his check in and confirmed that they were in fact okay and the last of the poison was making its way out of their system and they should wake tomorrow. This did very little to ease Vincents worry. He was overjoyed, of course, but the scary thought that lovely would never wake up still lingered in the back of his mind.
Vincent’s eyes began to feel heavy since he hadn’t slept the past two days. He had vowed to stay awake until his lovely would, however, as he sat beside their bed, his hand cradling theirs, he began to drift off.
The soft sheets caressed his face as he felt the morning light heat up his cheek. Something was missing in the space in front of him. His hand was empty and something was playing with his hair. He slowly opened his eyes and peered up through his dark lashes. Staring down at him was a pair of lovely eyes, they were lovely’s eyes. He jumped up so fast, tears threatening to shed and hugged them tightly.
“Hello my prince.” They smiled at him allowing the disheveled prince to bury himself in their neck as they continued to card their fingers through his hair. “I’m okay.”
He grasped both of their hands and kissed them, pulling himself mere inches from them. “I’m so glad you are okay, but you shouldn’t have been put in such a horrible position. Lovely I-“
Before the prince could finish they moved in close to kiss away a tear from his eye. “Sweet prince. Vincent. The sun is more likely to be separated from the sky than I am from you. I agree that had you not stolen me away, I would not be here right now, however, because you have stolen me away, you have taken my heart as well. You have granted me a lavish life, and a lifetimes worth of love. Prince Vincent Solaire, I love you. Truly, deeply. It’s maddening how much I love you.” They stopped to catch their breath and to pull him closer. “I wouldn’t trade my life right now for anything else.”
For the first time Vincent leaned forward and their mouths crashed together. He kissed them with no inhibition, fear, or worry. In this kiss was the fire, the passion, the longing that they both endured for so long. This kiss melted away the barrier that Quinn tried to put between them.
“I love you lovely,” Vincent said, finally separating from them, “more than words can express. I care not for extreme weddings and meticulous planning, if it were up to me, I’d marry you right here right now.”
“I would do the same my prince. However, let’s not rip the joy of wedding planning from his highness the king.” They giggled.
——————
Wedding bells sounded all across Solaria and cheers could be heard echoing throughout the kingdom.
Standing in the giant white cathedral, was lovely and prince Vincent. Their white outfits were decorated by the colors shinning through the stained glass window.
“And do you Prince Vincent take them to be your lawfully wedded partner?” Grand Duke Sam spoke out.
“I do,” Vincent said, wiping tears from his eyes.
“I now pronounce you royals and partners of the kingdom solaria!” Sam projected to the audience. “You may now seal your union with a kiss.”
Lovely and Vincent leaned forward and shared a sweet, heart warming kiss. It felt so magical. Lovely felt like they were living a fairy tale.
They exited the large cathedral and ran into the carriage as flower petals flew around them. Once in the carriage Vincent leaned forward and touched his forehead to theirs.
“I would move heaven and earth for you. Your highness, you are irreplaceable in my heart.”
“I love you my sweet Prince.”
“And I you, lovely.”
*AND WITH THAT THE FIC COMES TO AN END!! I am so sorry I have been so weird with my posting schedule but I am hoping to get back on track, and be more consistent*
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“Hamster & Gretel”: A Series With Promise
Hamster & Gretel tells the story of 16-year-old boy, Kevin, who helps his sister, Gretel, when she and her pet hamster get superpowers. It is an animated action, comedy, and superhero series created by Dan Povenmire. He is well-known for being a co-creator of Phineas and Ferb, and Milo Murphy's Law, with his Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, often his writing partner. The series debuted on August 12.
Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs, my History Hermann WordPress blog on Feb. 19, 2023, and Wayback Machine. This was the thirteenth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on September 1, 2022. This article was originally written for The Geekiary, but due to their guidelines I submitted to Pop Culture Maniacs instead.
Hamster & Gretel has a pretty simple storyline. An elementary school kid named Gretel (Meli Povenmire) is granted the power to fly and superstrength. She fights alongside her hamster (Beck Bennett). Her older teenage brother, Kevin (Michael Camino), tries to guide Gretel and Hamster. He helps them recognize what it means to defeat evil and remain superheroes.
The series is set in the same universe as Milo Murphy's Law and Phineas and Ferb. Although it has been stated that no official crossover will happen, it is not known which characters will reappear in Hamster & Gretel.
Diversity is a big part of Hamster & Gretel. Gretel and Kevin are Venezuelan lead characters. Their mother, Carolina Grant-Gomez (Carolina Ravessa) is Venezuelan. The fact that the head writer, Joanna Hausmann, is Venezuelan, as is Povenmire's wife, according to a podcast, inspired these characters.
Additionally, the series is based on a dynamic between Povenmire and his younger sister. It is also inspired by Povenmire's family. The series will focus on Kevin and Gretel's sibling relationship, according to show director Amber Tornquist Hollinger.
Hamster & Gretel includes many former cast and crew who worked on Povenmire's previous projects. Hiromi "Romi" Dames, who voices Hiromi, a geeky comic book ship employee that Kevin has a crush on, voiced Charlene & Sharon Burlee in Milo Murphy's Law. Phil LaMarr voiced Marcus Underwood in the same show, while Alyson Stoner voiced Lydia.
Danny Jacob, a composer, performer, and songwriter for Phineas and Ferb, is the series composer and song producer. Like Milo Murphy's Law, Povenmire is involved with the show's music. However, he is more involved in the songwriting for this series.
As for Stoner, her voice acting as Isabella Garcia-Shapiro in Phineas and Ferb is well-known. In this series, LaMarr voices a supervillain, Professor Exclamation. Stoner voices Lauren/The Destructress. The latter is part of an fraternal evil duo with Lyle/FistPuncher (Brock Powell).
Hamster & Gretel has promise as a new series due to its animation and voice acting. Even the simple storylines have the potential to lead to something more. It is easily digestible and doesn't take itself seriously. This quality is not only present in Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law, but Kim Possible, a classic 2000s Disney series.
Reportedly, Hamster & Gretel has action sequences with better quality than the two aforementioned series co-created by Povenmire. The series garnered voice actors like Joey King, who voices Fred, a tech-savvy cousin of Kevin. Also, actor and comedian Matt Jones voices Dave, the father of Kevin and Gretel.
Povenmire voices an unseen extraterrestrial entity. Internet personality Liza Koshy voices Veronica Hill, a no-nonsense news reporter. Priah Ferguson (best known from Stranger Things) has a breakout animation voice role as Bailey, a school friend of Gretel. Also, Povenmire’s daughter, Meli, has her first big-time voice role as Gretel.
The show's voice actors are experienced. They voiced characters in The Simpsons, American Dad!, Adventure Time, Amphibia, and Onyx Equinox. Series such as Victor and Valentino, The Ghost and Molly McGee, The Legend of Korra, We Bare Bears, DC Super Hero Girls, Harley Quinn, Final Space, Craig of the Creek, and Disenchantment also featured some of the show's voice talent.
Diverse representation of characters of Venezuelan descent and Black characters, like Bailey, is a key part of the series. However, it remains to be seen whether there will be LGBTQ+ characters or not.
Specifically, Camino described himself as straight but said he doesn't want his sexuality "in a box". Stoner, as I noted in my review of Phineas and Ferb, stated her attraction to men, women, and "people who identify in other ways". She also said she wanted to remain fluid in how she identified her sexual orientation. Hopefully, these qualities are portrayed in the characters they voice.
Furthermore, the series has emphasized the importance of being your true self and acceptance. Having LGBTQ+ characters would not be a stretch. It would easily fall within the series.
Dave cries as Carolina introduces Dave's "lost" dad as a present
Even so, the series has some downsides. For one, it is not a young adult series like The Owl House, which will is ending possibly this year with its final season, or the recently ended Amphibia. Instead, kids and families are the target audience.
This is not unique. Currently airing Disney series like Big City Greens, The Ghost and Molly McGee, Chibiverse, Chip 'n' Dale: Park Life, and Monsters at Work appeal to this demographic. In addition, upcoming series such as Cars on the Road, Firebuds, Cookies & Milk, Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Tiana, Iwaju, Moana: The Series, Hailey's On It!, Primos, and Kiff are geared toward the same audience.
This contrasts with Star Wars: The Bad Batch and What...If?, which have more mature themes. Even The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder falls into this category. Such series are not, for the most part, the focus Disney executives. Instead, they want to remain family-friendly despite the growth of the young adult animation genre with series like Dead End: Paranormal Park, The Owl House, and Infinity Train.
In addition, the series has an issue with implied self-inserts. For one, Povenmire appears to loosely base Kevin on himself. Secondly, the father of Kevin and Gretel has a similar name to Povenmire. This complicates the series in various ways.
It is an open question as to how effective the series can be without Swampy, who is reportedly voicing characters later in the series, as a co-creator, and co-writer. Milo Murphy’s Law and Phineas and Ferb were strong due to their combined talents.
In addition, I have concerns about the series’ staying power considering the first episode is not strong. The theme song is not very good.
Furthermore, since Povenmire wrote and performed the song, it makes me worried that the series will be middling, rather than superb. Generally, I have a high tolerance for theme songs. But, I dislike this one more than Arcane‘s theme, sung by Imagine Dragons.
Kevin and Gretel singing about family togetherness
Despite this, the pop music of Hamster & Gretel is like Milo Murphy’s Law and Phineas and Ferb. I was glad to see a rap battle at the end of “Neigh, It Ain’t So!” It reminded me of the much smoother rap battle between Rinku and Muni in D4DJ, voicing their grievances about each other in song. Hamster & Gretel may do something similar.
It is a distinct possibility that this series will do something akin to the sick battle dance in now non-canon 2005 The Proud Family Movie. It has a bizarre plot almost pulled from Kim Possible or Totally Spies! episode. Currently, such music battles generally only occur in anime series, but Hamster & Gretel could change that.
I liked the reference to the anime series within the show’s universe about cheerleaders who masquerade as students in the daytime but have superpowers otherwise. It had a feel of Totally Spies! and was a clear parody of absurd anime out there.
Situational comedy is an important part of the series, similar to Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy’s Law. It is coupled performances said to be “inspired“, featuring actors like Thomas Sanders, who voiced a character in the TV film, Candace Against the Universe.
With other Disney series like Elena of Avalor, Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, and Mira Royal Detective having elaborate musical numbers, it is likely that Hamster & Gretel will follow suit. There is also a distinct possibility that Disney will revive Phineas and Ferb as well.
Since ten episodes of Hamster & Gretel are on Disney+, the series appears to be one-third through the 30 episodes ordered for its first season. This means that there is a possibility that the series will become even better as the season continues.
Despite my criticisms, I tentatively recommend the series, and hope it improves in the future.
Hamster & Gretel can be watched on Disney+ or the Disney Channel.
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