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helihi · 4 years

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Thoughts on RWBY Vol. 7

Quarantine day 20: I finally force myself to re watch volume 7 instead of doing my French homework.

Spoilers ahead for RWBY and How I Met Your Mother (yes).

Volume 7: The Story of a Broken Narrative Kingdom

The day has come where I finally sit down and watch the whole season again. Some of you wondered why I didn’t simply do a The Good, The Bad, and The Dirty review on the last episode of the volume like I did with the previous ones. The answer is the same reason why Ozpin’s speech at the end of the volume encapsulates the volume’s theme as a whole: finales affect the way you look at shows, comics, movies, and books. It provides a framing.

Did any of you watch How I Met Your Mother? For those of you who didn’t, it was a often called the show “which could replace Friends”. Something that you may not know is that fans of the show renamed it something among the lines of “How I should date your Aunt Robin” after the last episode aired. You see, the ending of the show changed the way most viewers see the show in the present.

The show had main character Ted Mosby narrate to his children how he met their mother. However, the story doesn’t begin during the day that encountered happen; no, it starts years before, when Ted declares he wants to settle down and find the love of his life. In that very same episode, he meets Robin Scherbatsky. In the end it’s revealed that the mother (the character we spent years speculating about) is dead (which I expected), and Ted asks his children if they give him the blessing to date their Aunt Robin. Originally, the fans could excuse episode 1 centering around Robin because it was the instance where Ted decided he wanted to settle down, but after the veil was lifted; there were no excuses, this whole story was a Ted’s way of convincing their children he should marry Robin, the main woman in his life during the whole show (even if we spend the last season on her wedding with one of Ted’s best friends).

Perhaps the ending of Volume 7 didn’t destroy the character development of 3 main characters, but it drastically changed the way I felt about the volume.

“The Kingdom of Atlas will remain safe, that’s my promise”- James Ironwood, Volume 7, Episode 1.

If you go back in my blog and read my reviews for most of the volume, you will find glowing ratings and stars. Anyone that knows me, knows that I love a good politics game in the shows/stories I read, so I was really excited when the writing team started developing that during the first half of the season.

Our gang (RWBY+JNOR+Q+M) reach Atlas after finding out that Oz is a fraud, that Salem cannot be beat (by Oz), and that Cinder almost took another maiden’s power. They quickly realize that Atlas is in a state of chaos and Ironwood is consumed by fear taking authoritarian measures, which keep the kingdom divided.

The stage is set:

Ironwood, Winter, and the Ace Ops.

Robyn, the Happy Huntresses, and Mantle.

Watts, Jacques, and Tyrian.

I thought the way everything was set was fantastic, I loved the political drama, and I thought the writers were taking their time properly. Even now I give huge kudos to the Schnee storyline, which is my favorite. The volume showed us how flawed Winter’s coping mechanism is, how Weiss is still susceptible to her father’s gaslighting and manipulation, and how the household isn’t just broken by Jacques (Willow apologists, pls read this).

However, the cracks started showing during the first episodes and I noted that on my reviews. We have characters used for exposition dump: from the Robyn supporter, that explains what we could’ve learned by the normal progression of the story, who gets killed as soon as he returns home, and other characters like Maria talking about Pietro while he’s standing right there.

In contrast to that, we get wonderful montages which show the passage of time. The kids interact with one another and the Ace Ops, they train, they help with Ironwood’s plan. It seems weird to have 2 different tools one after the other.

Also, it it weird for anyone that Qrow and Winter only interact 1 time during episode 2 when in Volume 3 a clear rivalry was established? Winter’s storyline was supposed to follow Penny’s, while Qrow was supposed to grow attached to Clover. Because these 2 characters had to reach a certain point in the story, they are not allowed to deviate from the interactions needed for the plot to advance.

Another thing occurred to me while re-watching the season again... Why is Ironwood so fixated in protecting Atlas when it’s floating in the air away from Grimm? Yes, we know that some Grimm can fly, but by the many times we see Mantle in chaos, you would think Ironwood would repair Mantle’s wall to keep it safe?

That’s the theme, guys, girls and nonbinary folks: a kingdom divided.

Just like the Atlas kingdom falls apart, the narrative of Volume 7 has a specific breaking point that marks the decline in quality (you can see that in my reviews). The moment everything went downhill starts in Episode 8, with the dinner at the Schnee Manor.

We spend much time developing the political tensions of the volume for Jacques to be promptly arrested and taken away from the scene in a second.

While Ironwood, Winter, Penny, and Clover are shown doing plot relevant stuff, team JNOR does that ridiculous gag to get Whitley out of Weiss’s hair. The rest of the team do jackshit, and we don’t hear anything from them until everything is over. Again, the writers reached the plot point and forgot about everything else.

Also, Ruby looks sadly at Weiss when Whitley mentions that Klein was “let go”, yet Weiss has never talked about him to Ruby on screen. Claiming Weiss could’ve done that off screen strips away the possibilities of Weiss bonding with Ruby the same way she did with Yang when talking about their pain during Volume 5.

Such a large table, and only 4 council members, isn’t that kind of stupid? I mean, if Ironwood had 2 seats, numbers wise it makes sense, but who are those other 2 supposed to represent? Why haven’t we seen them before?

Robyn is told by Yang and Blake that Ironwood doesn't know who to trust. She proceeds to pressure him in front of people he clearly doesn’t trust. This is the first instance of OOC Robyn.

The walls crumbled, and everything became obvious as a viewer. Some other notable flaws:

Tension jojoing. The people in mantle will revolt! Except they aren’t. This happens in Episode 5, 6, and 9. The only real uprising is the last one. The other two were silly cliff hangers that make no sense when you watch the show again. (they didn’t make sense before either and I complained).

Hey there, Watts! You may have an interesting backstory, except it’s only implied you are pissed off Penny got chosen as a major project instead of whatever yours was. Also, Paladin incident? What? If he is the main villain of the Volume, why not expand on him? I shouldn’t be surprised, Hazel and Tyrian are not that complex. And Cinder? It’s been 5 volumes and we barely know anything about her haha.

Robin! I love how civilized and smart you are when the volume started, choosing to observe and talk instead of acting against the main characters. How awful is it that you forget to keep your calm when a Serial killer is on the loose. It would be a shame if someone were to... die.

I already gave my 2 cents over Clover’s death, and I’m not going to repeat myself. I am sorry to all the Fair Game fans, I’m afraid bury your gays is till alive and well.

The nail on the coffin is the final episode: after making a speech about how Salem wants to divide people and how the only way to go is to remain united, James does the exact opposite thing the moment something doesn’t go according to plan. Don’t get me wrong, his PTSD regarding the queen chess piece was foreshadowed, but the moment team RWBY offer an explanation and identify the person behind it, he’s to far gone. Then, Salem shows up, and goes for Team RWBY when Ruby gets under her skin. This shows that Salem has a weakness and that Team RWBY can be trusted when it comes to defeating her, yet that is promptly ignored.

Also, Ironwood might be hurt about Yang and Blake talking to Robyn, but after everything, they were proven right: Robyn is to be trusted, Ironwood was making a mistake.

The whole setting up a trap to attract Tyrian wasn’t Ironwood going “mad with power” or something. Robyn knew he has lying and allowed Ironwood to catch someone who could hack everything. Not only that, but the camera zoomed in on Ironwood, so nobody could see Robyn’s handy Semblance going red. Or... maybe I’m looking too much into it and the writers expected you to forget.

Sorry, I guess James Ironwood had to take a bunch of stupid pills.

“I wish it didn’t have to end this way.” - Clover Ebi.

“It doesn’t have to, but the writers need that Branwen angst.” - Qrow Branwen.

Volume 7: Part 1 of the Atlas Arc

Have you ever heard of Checov’s gun? It is a dramatic principle that states that every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed. Elements should not appear to make "false promises" by never coming into play. Let’s play a game called the false promises of the volume that may carry over to volume 8?

Renora: Nora sides with Robin, Ren sides with Ironwood. They do not communicate with one another and the tension builds throughout the volume. They kiss, nothing gets resolved. Ren cries when Neo turns into Nora.

Training: Ren is shown to throw himself into the enemy as a flaw, he repeats the same mistake when fighting with Neo. Oscar’s Semblance is questioned, nothing comes out of it. Ruby’s Semblance is questioned, nothing comes out of it.

Cinder got beef with Atlas? For some reason, Cinder talks about Atlas hoarding power when speaking with Winter. Bitch, where the fuck do you come from? Who are you? Do I know you? Sorry, the writers forgot to write a growth arc for you. My bad.

Nora, daughter of Atlas? Can someone explain to me why she became a SWJ (/s) during this season? We never get a backstory of her previous to Kuroyuri and for some reason Nora is super attached to the people of Mantle. The daughter of Atlas title was thrown around, why?

It’s so nice to see tea FNKI back! Too bad they are there for 5 minutes and never show up again, not even when Mantle is supposed to be defended by all huntsmen. I guess this was fan service.

What’s the purpose of the Happy Huntresses? Isn’t it funny how the only one who got wounded by Tyrian is the only character who could see in the dark, but didn’t tell Robin that Penny wasn’t guilty? Hi Fiona, I don’t know why you exist.

Marrow: the butt of the joke. Since the first episodes, Marrow is shown as the outsider inside the Ace Ops: his teammates don’t take him seriously, Ironwood doesn’t think Marrow is up to the challenge of some missions, and he’s the only Faunus, the only one that seemed to sympathize with Robyn at the end. Too bad he wasn’t allowed to break his mold.

The World Building looks pretty, but it doesn't play the part.

I have to praise the art direction of this season. I was blown away by the aesthetics of Mantle clashing with Atlas, the details in the backgrounds, the world building by back messaging, screens, and posters. My favorite scene of the volume is the penguins in the tundra.

However, you have to walk the walk, and the writing team failed to deliver.

Racism: hey, I know you guys kinda messed up the White Fang’s internal struggles and opportunity to expand on Adam’s power grab and Sienna’s leadership, but maybe don’t skip the racist elements of Atlas? All we get are Faunus mine workers looking angry, that drunk dude who yelled at Blake and Marrow making a simplistic comment about politics. What...? What’s the point of acknowledging u are bad at writing racism and then do nothing about it? Did none of the new writers know how to tackle this?

In-World Continuity: Hey, wasn't the Vytal festival broadcasted to the entire world? When I saw that camera focusing on Yang on episode 1, I thought there would be a call back to what everyone saw her do during the finals, but nope. Let’s not bring that up again. ever. The only important thing about the Vytal Festival is the tower, move on.

Weapons upgrade: We were told that weapons were an extension of each huntsmen; too bad none of our gang actually work on them. Pietro makes all the modifications and repairs. I remember the bumblebee fans eager for a scene of Blake repairing Gambol Shroud, don’t tell me you’re not disappointed.

Atlas ball: not found. Hey! We have Jacques Schnee celebrating his fake victory on the elections! It would be a perfect moment to showcase the disconnect between what’s happening in Mantle and what the people in atlas thing. Too bad we didn’t wanna make extra character models.

Closing thoughts

I wanted to re watch the whole season again to see if the bitterness left on my lips after watching that chaotic finale went away, but it only grew. There are so many character choices that made no sense, so many scenes where characters stood around in the background doing nothing.

WHY THE FUCK DID OZPIN ONLY APPEAR AT THE END?

Oh, I’ll tell you why: he needed to give a speech about themes to justify the stupidity that happened during the last episodes to get to that cliff hanger.

I am disappointed in volume that seemed to be doing so good at the begging, but hey... at this point we shouldn’t be surprised, should we? Interestingly enough, the people who dreamed about the ball and the scenes of Blake fixing Gambol Shroud grew quiet after the episodes aired...

Almost as if criticism wasn’t allowed on the RWBY tag.

AN: The titty window isn’t justified Salem, your ex is now a child that’s PEDO—

#rwby #volume 7 #rwby7 #RWBY review #Me #The good the bad and the dirty

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taffystake · 4 years

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So......Are you ready for the encore?

Taffy’s Take: Dark Nights Death Metal #1

Written by: Scott “Hallowed Be Thy Name” Snyder

Pencils by: Greg “Panikiller” Capullo

Inks by: Jonathan “Motorbreath” Glapion

Colors by: FCO “Fixxxer” Plascencia

So....it has all finally come to this. The finale. The ultimatum in a long saga of stories that started in the original Dark Nights, began showing its hand in No Justice, and was fully fleshed out with Snyder’s Justice League run. And it opens with a resounding boom that rivets your attention straight to the story and won’t let go until the pages run out.

We open with Sergeant Rock, preparing himself and an unknown audience for a conflict to come. When or where this is set is somewhat unknown, but the massive futuristic assault rifle he levels to emphasis his last line says that Rock is somewhere in the modern day.

After the credits page, featuring a map of the current world of the DCU and a message that calls Death Metal an “Anti-Crisis”, we cut to Wonder Woman, hard at work deconstructing the invisible jet with a buzzsaw-like device in the literal depths of hell (Originally Themyscira) when someone interrupts her over approaching people. Said person is the flaming, green-covered skeleton that Swamp Thing has become in this world and he says that someone is coming with prisoners. And as Diana walks through her prison to meet these people, we get to see the absolute myriad of villains entombed in the place, including Joker. Once they reach the quartet, we get to meet Batmage, a red-suited Batman, a cloaked figure, and.....Bat-Tyrannosaurus. After some very terse banter, Diana is forced to throw this unknown prisoner into the pits of Tartarus. But before he is cast into the depths, he mutters something to Diana that makes her recognize the person for a moment.

After that, we are shown Castle Bat and given a backstory of a specific field within that area and the rebels who died within the tunnels underneath it before pulling back to a panel of a castle, with The Batman Who Laughs’ twisted Robins and Joker dragons dominating the structure. And then we meet The Batman Who Laughs’ League, composed of pairings of heros and Dark Multiverse Batmen. We have Harley Quinn and Dr Arkham, Aquaman and Bathomet, Wonder Woman and Batmage, and Mister Miracle and Darkfather. With each of them, we get a small question about their current work, with the most noteworthy being Mister Miracle revealing that Superman has almost succumbed to the Anti-Life Equation. Content with their briefings, The Batman Who Laughs begins to explain how Perpetua, the god who created their multiverse, has destroyed another of their universe, leaving only 8 before The Batman Who Laughs and Perpetua can remake the multiverse however they desire. Before we can hear more, we’re dragged into Diana’s perspective as the true Batman engages in a psychic link with her, trying to advocate for a small victory rather than the sweeping final win that Diana desires. As her thoughts turn towards what happened to result in the current state of the universe and her lack of memory about what caused it, The Batman Who Laughs interrupts her as he can tell that she is hiding something.

And at that moment, an explosive arrow fires out of the nearby woods and nearly vaporizes The Batman Who Laughs. Sacrificing one of his Robins, we soon see Bruce stride out to exchange threats with The Batman Who Laughs, who takes with some jest before ordering an entire squadron of Dark Multiverse Batmen to kill Bruce. While the enslaved Justice League does their best to take advantage of the distraction, their Dark Multiverse minders are quick to detain them from any rebellious actions. So Bruce is left alone, simply standing in this field to face down an army. And as The Batman Who Laughs monologues about how disappointed the brave men and women who died in this field would be at Bruce’s actions, he asks him what he would say to justify himself.

His answer?

One word.

“RISE.”

And so, with a BLACK LANTERN RING ON HIS FINGER, BRUCE WAYNE SUMMONS AN ARMY OF UNDEAD REBELS TO FIGHT THE DARK MULTIVERSE BATMEN JUST PURELY TO DEMONSTRATE WHAT HIS METHOD CAN DO TO DIANA BEFORE RIDING OFF ON A SKELETAL MOTORCYCLE AND LEAVING ZOMBIE JONAH HEX TO CONTINUE LEADING THE ASSAULT.

And now, as the audience both in the know about all of that and not in the know but hyped as hell because BRUCE WAYNE WENT FULL FUCKING NECROMANCER sits in the afterglow of that amazing moment, we cut to a single page depicting the planet Ossex as the Main Man, Lobo, unearths something from underneath the living bone of the planet.

Having made it back to Themyscira, Diana is quick to continue with the rebellion, setting off into Tartarus to see who this mystery prisoner is. And its...Wally West, with a Dr Manhattan-style hydrogen atom drawn into the forehead of his costume. And with Wally, we finally get an explanation of what the hell is going on. See, with the traditional multiverses, they are created using the positive energies that were explored in the Justice League run, things like the Speed Force, the Emotional Spectrum, Imagination. The inverse, stuff like chaos magic and the forces of doom that Perpetua wished to bring to power (and succeeded at doing) are what Wally calls Crisis Energy. And whereas the positive energies wish to create a strong united universe, Crisis Energies wish to simply make only one thing, one moment, one person important. And so, when Perpetua was trapped after her attempts to make a universe of war out of crisis energy, she did her best to instigate crises and came back empowered with all that energy. Meanwhile, the league, empowered by the slightly failed efforts of Dr Manhattan to ‘fix’ the multiverse, gathered all the positive energy they could and then, between the last issue of Justice League and Death Metal, the two forces clashed. Which, since they were basically smashing tow inverse forces together, resulted in both sides burning themselves out.

Now, that block of text could be extremely dry feeling, but it works really well in the two page spread, with the word balloons beginning to form an infinity symbol as images of past crises ranging from the original Crisis On Infinite Earths to Emerald Twilight to Dark Nights Metal in the background.

But back to the story. With that explanation done, Wonder Woman begins to theorize potentially going back to those crises and gathering this information for themselves in order to reshape the universe themselves. Resulting in....”The first Anti-Crisis” The Batman Who Laughs interrupts with, striding into Tartarus to cut his own deal with Wonder Woman to let him take control over Perpetua. If she helps him, she gets all the people Perpetua has trapped and their own planet. And after that, he emphasizes how she can’t out-plan him, how he’s already prepared for her to knock him out, use the invisible jet she was being forced to deconstruct and melt down to give her armor that would render her undetectable. Wonder Woman is quick to counter that despite all the knowledge The Batman Who Laughs says he has, that entire plan is what Bruce would do. So he is quick to counter, stating so then she’d make a weapon, some sort of sword?

But it seems The Batman Who Laughs didn’t account for two things. One, for Diana to have already made her weapon before he showed up. Two, she didn’t need to make a sword. And so, with a pull of its ripcord, THE CHAINSAW OF TRUTH CLEAVES ITS WAY THROUGH THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS IN A SPLASH PAGE OF PURE ENERGY ERUPTING OUT OF THE DEMON WHERE THE CHAINSAW IS CUTTING THROUGH HIM!

The comic ends with two quick one panel stories. The first, with Batmage executing a final plan that The Batman Who Laughs had in place to unleash a final Bruce Wayne. Which only sounds mildly menacing, unti the art shows both a button with a watchmen-style frownie face and the final Bruce Wayne in silhouette, a glowing hydrogen atom on his forehead.

The other is a cut back to Sergeant Rock, still continuing with his tirade from the beginning of the comic before he is taken out of the moment by Batman coming to retrieve him for the big fight. And as Batman promises One last fight with everyone together, we get to see in silhouette that Sergeant Rock is missing his everything below his torso, revealing himself to likely be another resurrection from Bruce’s Black Lantern ring.

So, in summary, IM PUMPED TO SEE WHAT HEIGHTS THIS THING HITS! THE BIG MOMENTS WERE SO DAMNED COOL! THE ART IS STILL THE ABSOLUTE ALL KILLER NO FILLER THAT CAPULLO ROCKED OUT WITH IN THE LAST DARK NIGHTS METAL EVENT AND I CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT NEW SPORES OF MADNESS HE GETS TO CREATE FOR THIS STORY!

And while I’d like to be pure hype beast, that feels a little disingenuous when I do have some small moments that seem like they could be tweaked. Both of the long exposition scenes for the Dead Bats and the Positive Energy vs Crisis Energy could have potentially stood for another pass just to really tighten them up, but I will also admit that both those scenes kinda deserve to be long-winded. The Dead Bats to make sure that the setup for Batman with a Black Lantern Ring summoning an army at that point works and the Energy one because its explaining the entire setup for the rest of the event series and it helps lull things down so that the hype of Chainsaw of Truth can hit like it should.

So yeah, this thing is absolutely something any Scott Snyder fan, any DC fan, heck Id almost venture to say anyone interested in comics read. None of the story elements of the comic intrinsically need you to know the backstory behind them, but there are definitely rewards for knowing DC continuity in general and Scott Snyder’s previous works in this arcing story. So yeah, I am going to sit here, vibrating in anticipation as I await the next issue of Death Metal from the Cowboys From Hell on their encore tour.

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jedimaesteryoda · 4 years

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Things I Don’t Like About the New Disney Star Wars

I’m a longtime hardcore Star Wars fan. I was introduced to it as a child, and became a bigger fan when I went to high school. I enjoyed the movies and the Expanded Universe, and still go to Comic Con in Jedi and Sith outfits. I was among the fans that was a little worried when Disney bought Lucasfilm and planned to make movies from the franchise. I am sorry to say my fears didn't prove to be unfounded.

1. Luke Skywalker

The protagonist of the original trilogy that we followed on his path to becoming a Jedi Knight. We meet him in The Last Jedi as he is now a disillusioned, bitter old man haunted by his failure with his nephew, Ben Solo. Now, I love the scene where he talks to his old mentor, Yoda, who gives his signature wise words and points out Luke not being grounded in the present, but stuck looking at the past. I also like seeing this Luke show some character development, and sacrifice his life to save the Resistance.

However, I find it hard to believe that a man who never gave up on his father when everyone else including his mentors told him Anakin was a lost cause, would give up on his nephew. I think it would have been better if instead of Han going to Ben in Force Awakens, it was Luke, thinking he could save his nephew like he did his father. He also states the Jedi record is nothing but failure, which is clearly false as Obi-wan stated that up until Palpatine the Jedi served the galaxy for over a thousand generations (25,000+ years). While there is some truth in what he said in there being arrogance among the Jedi with Yoda stating in Attack of the Clones that overconfidence was becoming common among Jedi, saying that the Jedi let a Sith lord come to power really undersells Palpatine. It wasn’t a case of the Jedi’s incompetence letting him come to power, but more Palpatine being a brilliant grand chess master who managed to outplay the Jedi, and effectively manipulate the Senate into granting more power that he was then able to use to crush the Jedi Order and crown himself Emperor. Luke stating that Jedi felt the light side belonged to them showed that Johnson’s homework left something to be desired, given the possessive attitude towards the Force was more the philosophy of the Sith who saw the Force as a tool while the Jedi philosophy was the opposite, in that they saw themselves as tools of the Force.

I can see Luke living in isolation withdrawn from the rest of the galaxy, having stopped taking on students out of feelings of guilt over his personal failure with his nephew, but I don’t see him deciding to end the Jedi and in doing so, choosing to turn his back on the promise he made to his mentor Yoda on his deathbed: pass on what you have learned. I also doubt the guy who abruptly left training on Dagobah to save his friends (and who also saved his life a few times) would abandon them and the galaxy to their fate.

2. The Handling of Rey

I thought Rey could or rather should have been handled better as a character. The problem is how we are really unable to see her growth as a character. Look at Luke’s journey in the original trilogy. In the first film, he is pretty helpless as he needs Obi-wan’s help when he is attacked by Tusken Raiders and two criminals try to fight him at the Mos Eisely Cantina. He also needs Han’s help on the Death Star, and during the Battle of Yavin. In Empire Strikes Back, he needs his friends’ help when Han finds and rescues him on Hoth. He needs Yoda to lift the X-wing out of the swamp during their training, teaching Luke to unlearn the limits he put on his abilities. We also see Luke abandon his training on Dagobah to save his friends only for it to backfire as not only did his friends not need him to escape, but he ends up falling into Vader’s trap, and gets kicked around by Vader. He finds himself stuck in a precarious situation with his right hand cut off and hanging on an antenna. It is only contacting Leia for help that saves him. He knows he screwed up badly. However, in A New Hope you see him use the Force to fire proton torpedoes successfully into the exhaust port. You also see him use the Force to pull the lightsaber from the snowdrift and save himself from the wampa in the beginning of Empire Strikes Back. The beginning of Return of the Jedi, he doesn’t need Obi-wan’s help as the first scene shows him easily subduing two Gamorrean guards with simply a wave of his two fingers. He also manages to kill a rancor with a rock and his wits and later take on an entire barge full of armed men with the whole thing being a plan he came up with to rescue Han Solo that works. The end of the film has him winning a duel with Vader, and managing to turn him back to the light side. You can chart his progress throughout the films, and see his journey going from a helpless farm boy to a powerful Jedi Knight.

In Force Awakens, Rey manages to successfully use a Jedi mind trick on a stormtrooper and pull a lightsaber from a snow drift despite no training, even though with Luke it clearly took effort to pull a lightsaber from a snowdrift in the beginning of Empire Strikes Back. She also managed to defeat Kylo Ren in a lightsaber duel when she should have lost. Firstly, even if she did have some ability with the Force, Kylo did too, and unlike her, he actually had years of experience and training in using the Force and dueling with a lightsaber. He was injured when he fought her, but even injured he managed to defeat Finn who unlike Rey was a soldier with likely years of training in melee combat, so logically Kylo should have won. Secondly, it made more sense from a story perspective for her to lose for the same reason why Luke had to lose his first duel with Vader: to show that even though she was strong and had potential, she still had a long way to go. If she loses her first duel, it makes it that much more meaningful when she beats him in their final duel as it shows how much she has grown. However, winning her first duel with him makes her defeating him in their final duel have less impact, given if she defeated him the first time, how is it surprising if she defeats him the second time?

In The Last Jedi, she managed to move literally hundreds of tons of large boulders easily without any strain, again despite any training, even though Luke struggled to get his X-wing out of the swamp in Empire Strikes Back, and unlike her, he had some training. She also managed to take on multiple Elite Praetorian Guards at once, who along with outnumbering her, as the word in the name “elite” suggests, were also exceptionally trained and skilled in melee combat, the best of the best. With Kylo it makes more sense given he actually had training under both Luke Skywalker and Snoke while she should have been able to do that and move those boulders only after having undergone extensive training. Having her try lifting some heavy objects on Ach-To with some apparent difficulty would have made her moving those boulders more meaningful as it would have shown a clear progression in her abilities, and created a payoff due to her hard work and dedication. Having her spar with Luke with him giving her some tips would have helped to explain her taking on some of the members of the Elite Praetorian Guard, and even with that, she should have taken them on with more difficulty. Hell, you could have had Kylo taken them on easily to show that on Starkiller Base, he was deliberately going easy on her in their duel as he intended not to kill her but turn her. In the Rise of Skywalker, to Abrams’s credit, we do see her train, but a scene like that was needed in the previous films.

That’s because using the Force isn’t supposed to be like superpowers, where like Superman and Spiderman, one gets and is able to use it easily. There is a reason why both Jedi and Sith spend years training to use the Force. It is a power that requires an extensive amount of hard work and discipline to be able to hone and use. Showing her train, and her astounding abilities coming as a result would have been not just more realistic but better for her character story as a whole.

The trilogy also tries to avoid the fact that she made a mistake in coming to Kylo Ren in The Last Jedi as it proves to be a decision that nearly got her killed. She needs to make mistakes to both humanize her character, and as a form of progression as we see her learn from them. I would go so far as to say that Luke had more character development and growth in The Last Jedi than Rey did in the entire trilogy.

As for her backstory, Abrams likely intended for her to be Luke’s daughter only for Johnson to retconn that, and make her a nobody of any special lineage. Abrams then rectonned that, and made her Palpatine’s granddaughter. In my honest opinion, Abrams would have done well to keep Johnson’s change. It was better with Rey as a nobody. Especially when combined with the scene of a child using the Force to pull a broom, it sent the message that the Force pays no attention to bloodlines when choosing who is worthy, and that anyone can be a Jedi, anyone can have the power to make a difference. That power can be found even in the most obscure places like a scavenger on Jabiim or a child slave on Canto Bight. It also fits with Maz Kanata telling Rey that her path is not behind her but in front of her.

She also chose “Skywalker” as her surname at the end, when I think she should have gone with her actual name “Palpatine.” Luke didn’t exactly go around calling himself “Kenobi” after Return of the Jedi. Rey could have gone by her actual surname, signifying that she acknowledges and owns where she came from, but at the same time, she isn’t going to let her grandfather’s dark legacy define her. I think that would have been the better angle.

3. The Plots of the Sequel Trilogy Films

Force Awakens was basically a copy-and-paste of A New Hope. I would have been okay if it was new characters with some old characters going on a mission to a distant planet to destroy a facility, but not one of the good guys carrying plans for basically a bigger version of the Death Star hidden in a droid on a desert planet, and it ultimately culminates in a final battle with said superweapon destroyed (and a mentor figure killed by the new Vader). That was a bit lazy on Abrams’s part. He played it too safe to the point that the whole film felt generic.

Johnson took a lot more risks in The Last Jedi, and some I felt were good like making Rey a nobody, but it was also the plot of Empire Strikes Back: begins with battle that hurts good guys, hero goes to train with Jedi Master on far-off planet while the others are chased by the Empire and the latter group is betrayed while the hero comes back to save them. He also failed to do what Empire Strikes Back had and even Attack of the Clones had: end the middle film on a cliffhanger. Empire Strikes Back ended with Han captured and Vader having revealed to Luke that he is his father. Attack of the Clones ended with the beginning of the Clone Wars as Palpatine overlooked clones marching and being deployed, the war being revealed to be a machination with Dooku acting on the orders of Darth Sidious from the previous film and Anakin and Padme being married in a secret ceremony. The Last Jedi ended with Luke dying and the Resistance having escaped, but no plot point is left unresolved. Johnson also made the short-sighted decision to wrap up so many plot points that should have been saved for the final film that he basically left Abrams with little left, and played a role in Rise of Skywalker’s foundering. An example being that Snoke was killed off so he couldn’t be the final villain, and Abrams likely decided to make Palpatine the final villain instead of Kylo Ren given the handling of Kylo didn’t leave the impression that he would make a great final villain. Essentially, Abrams had been painted into a corner.

Rise of Skywalker, I already covered here. Abrams was again a bit generic with Rise of Skywalker feeling like Return of the Jedi: more superweapons that are destroyed with one shot while the hero fights Palpatine and turns his subordinate to the light side. I had low expectations when I heard Abrams decided to have Chris Terrio help him write the script, the same man who wrote Batman v Superman and Justice League for the franchise of DCEU, both films being critical flops that were considered big letdowns for the the newborn DCEU. Rise of Skywalker ended up having some of the same issues as those films in the form of poor pacing, too much plot convenience and characters being resurrected in a ham-fisted way. Also, if Palpatine was controlling Snoke and was building a fleet of planet-destroying capital ships, then why have Snoke go through the trouble and expense of making Starkiller Base? Hell, why didn’t they wait until after the Sith fleet was finished, and send the fleet out into the star systems with Palpatine sending the message that he had returned, and blown up a planet (the New Republic capital) to demonstrate his power? That would have effectively checkmated the galaxy.

Rey is apparently Palpatine’s granddaughter, which creates so many questions. If Snoke was being controlled by Palpatine, and Palpatine knew Rey was his granddaughter, then why did Snoke try to have Kylo kill Rey if Palpatine intended to use her?

Disney also made the mistake of having another director make the middle film, The Last Jedi, whose vision was at odds with the previous (and later succeeding) one, instead of keeping one director and ensuring the films have a single vision. The three films felt like each was their own thing instead of feeling like part of a larger narrative arc with each sequel retconning the previous film. You can see it in Rise of Skywalker with Luke grabbing the lightsaber that Rey threw away, and saying that is no way to treat Jedi’s weapon as a reversal of Luke tossing away the lightsaber in the previous film. You can also see it when Kylo’s helmet is reforged after it was shattered in the previous film even though the ship it was on exploded. Would Kylo really have gone through the trouble of going into the elevator to gather all the pieces on a sinking ship? Abrams clearly originally intended for Rey to be Luke’s daughter, but after Johnson’s changes, felt he had to change that to her being Palpatine’s granddaughter and choosing to call herself “Skywalker.” That’s what happens when you use two directors with two competing visions.

While the prequels had plenty of flaws, they at least felt like someone was trying to tell a story instead of being a company trying to cash in on a successful franchise. Another issue is that Lucas was a fan of Dune, Flash Gordon and samurai films, and then he mixed all that together along with some other stuff and made Star Wars while Abrams enjoyed Star Wars as a kid, and then made Star Wars.

4. The Background to the Sequel Trilogy

It is established in the new Disney canon that the Rebel Alliance managed to take control one year after the Battle of Endor, and crush the Imperial military. I’m sorry, but I find it incredibly unrealistic that a fascist government (a kind which historically has placed a great emphasis on the military) with a military large enough to control an entire galaxy could have been subdued in such a short amount of time by a force as small as the Rebel Alliance. Even without the Emperor and the second Death Star, the Imperials clearly still had the military advantage against the Rebels in both numbers and resources.

Legends, for all its flaws, was more realistic in how the Rebel Alliance/New Republic took control of the galaxy and subdued the Empire. Killing the Emperor without him having named an heir basically had them dealing with a snake with the head cut off. The Empire, like many empires throughout history once central authority disappears, fell to factionalism with different Imperial generals and Moffs declaring themselves the rightful heirs to the Empire, fighting each other as well as the Rebels and New Republic. This proved to be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, the Rebels didn’t have to fight a united Empire, and were able to deal with smaller, splintered factions as the Empire gradually weakened and the New Republic gradually grew in strength. On the other hand, this also made defeating the Empire a more prolonged struggle since they needed to subdue each Imperial faction and warlord, and there were occasional reversals of fortune where it looked like the Empire was winning. It ended up taking three years after the Battle of Endor to take the capital of Coruscant, and fifteen years until the last Imperial faction surrendered, finally ending the Galactic Civil War.

Instead of the Resistance fighting the First Order, it could have been the New Republic fighting against the remnants of the Empire led by a newly appointed Emperor or Supreme Commander.

5. Bendu and the Ones

In Star Wars Rebels “Steps Into the Shadow,” we are introduced to the Bendu, a giant being that is the personification of the center of the Force. In Star Wars Clone Wars “Overlords,” we have the Ones, a family of beings who are the embodiments of the Force with the Son and Daughter representing the light and dark sides. They are all immortal, indestructible beings that serve as representations of the Force, or they are essentially gods.

I’m sorry, but whoever proposed these characters clearly doesn’t know anything about the mystique of the Force in Star Wars. In the original trilogy, we were never given an explanation for what the Force was other than Obi-wan’s brief explanation and Yoda’s speech of the Force being a mystical energy force that binds the galaxy together and flows through everything. As acclaimed fantasy/sci-fi author George R.R. Martin noted, you need to “keep the magic magical — something mysterious and dark and dangerous, and something never completely understood,” and Lucas understood that to an extent as he was usually intentionally vague when asked to describe the Force. The idea was that the Force was something so infinitely big and vast that no one, not even the wisest and most skilled Force users like Yoda, could truly comprehend it. It’s true power and scope was simply beyond imagination, and one could only scratch the surface of it. What made the Force have such a powerful effect on the imagination of the viewer is the sense of mystery and magic coming from the unknown. Putting in, essentially, deities who are personifications of the Force actually wrecks that unique aspect that gives the Force so much of its power and mystique.

6. Clonetroopers’ control chips

In the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode “Conspiracy,” it is stated that all the clonetroopers on Kamino have control chips planted into their brains as an explanation for why they carried out Order 66, and killed off their Jedi commanders. I felt that was completely unnecessary given we were already given a satisfactory explanation in Attack of the Clones when Lama Su stated: "You'll find they are totally obedient, taking any order without question. We modified their genetic structure to make them less independent." In other words, the clones were bred and trained since conception for complete obedience, taking literally any order without question. What’s more, this order was given to them by none other than the Supreme Chancellor himself, the commander-in-chief. Few soldiers would have refused a direct order from the highest authority, especially if they were trained for obedience since childhood.

It wouldn’t be the only time they answered a question that didn’t need answering. Rogue One had the guy who designed the Death Star intentionally build an unstable reactor to explain how firing a a pair of proton torpedoes into the exhaust port destroyed it.

7. Solo

I am not in the minority when I say that Solo wasn’t a particularly great film. It was a film that no one asked for, and was completely unnecessary given we had all the information needed about Han Solo from A New Hope: a loner smuggler. For starters, if Solo isn’t his real surname, then a random Imperial official shouldn’t have given him that name, but rather, it would have been more fitting his character if Han himself picked that name. I also think where the movie started was a mistake with a teenage Han fleeing from a crime boss, the beginning should have either spent a good deal on Han’s childhood, or started in the present with Han and Lando planning the heist with background info filled in through flashbacks or dialogue.

The biggest offense was Han actually helping to fund the forerunners of the Rebel Alliance in the end. That actually made his decision to help Luke in the Battle of Yavin less meaningful. It was supposed to be a self-interested smuggler who only looks out for Number One making the selfless decision to risk his life to help people he just met in the midst of a seemingly hopeless space battle. Now, it’s a guy getting back into the game of helping the Rebel Alliance. If Han was going to help any rebels in Solo, they at least could have done it in a way where he suffers a huge personal loss, ie a close friend (like Qira) dies in the effort, and after that, an upset Han basically tells Chewie something along the lines of “From here on out, it’s just going to be you and me. We’re not going to get involved with anyone or anything, it’s just us from now on.” That at the very least wouldn’t have taken meaning away from his decision in the Battle of Yavin.

8. Bringing Back Darth Maul

I liked Darth Maul as a character, and I think he should have gotten more lines in Phantom Menace. However, I may be in the minority on this, but I don’t think he should have been brought back. That he managed to survive being cut in half, falling and survived by himself despite missing the lower half of his body stretches credulity. Even more so when Palpatine thought he was dead, which creates a continuity error. In the Last Jedi, Rey and Leia were able to sense when Luke died despite how far away he was, and in Revenge of the Sith, Yoda was able to feel the deaths of all the Jedi killed in the Jedi Purge, so it isn’t unlikely to say that Palpatine would have known if Maul survived or died given he would have felt his death in the Force. What’s more, Mother Talzin knew Maul was alive, and we’re supposed to believe that she knew, but Palpatine somehow didn’t? As for after Palpatine learns Maul survived years later, I don’t think Palpatine would have allowed another Sith to survive either given it violates the Rule of Two. Maul had also just tried to kill him, making Maul a clear threat, and Palpatine isn’t one to leave any loose ends.

I’m not against having Darth Maul on-screen again, but I think it would have been better if instead of Maul miraculously surviving his duel with Obi-wan, he was shown in a prequel to the Phantom Menace. We would have gotten to see some of his backstory, his relationship with Palpatine as well as be given a look at how Palpatine operates in the shadows behind the scenes.

9. Time Travel

In Star Wars Rebels “A World between Worlds,” Ezra comes across a chamber in the Jedi temple on Lothal with different portals to time periods and space. Ahsoka Tano is rescued through one of them. I’m sorry, but time travel doesn’t belong in Star Wars. I’m okay with seeing visions of the future or premonitions, but being able to travel through time seems out of place, and makes the whole universe feel less grounded.

10. Lightsaber color explanation

I’ve written about this before, but I think making kyber crystals choose the Jedi wielder is a rip-off of Harry Potter with wands. The Sith blades being red, because kyber crystals are attuned to the light-side of the Force and turn red because they are forced by dark-siders to be used is gilding the lily. I felt the original Legends explanation was good enough: the reason Sith blades are red is because their kyber crystals are synthetic while the Jedi kyber crystals are naturally occurring. It fits the whole nature vs. technology dichotomy of the Jedi and Sith.

11. The Villains

Kylo Ren

As far as villains go, I find Kylo Ren to be pretty disappointing. They were clearly going for a combination of Anakin Skywalker from the prequels and original trilogies with a confused young man and the Darth Vader aspects. Darth Vader did well, because in A New Hope, the first scenes we see him are all the introductions needed: his deep voice, his large, imposing black masked figure as he casually and confidently strolls down the hallway of the Tantive IV and choking a soldier to death helped to firmly establish him as the enforcer for the tyrannical Empire (combined with John Williams’s score), and is able to even harm and kill people without touching them in the case of the meeting with the generals. Kylo Ren doesn’t have the same power in his introduction, hell, he doesn’t have the same effect as a villain. While I admit that stopping a blaster bolt in mid-air was impressive, he generally lacked/s the imposing figure and calm, controlled demeanor of his predecessor. Vader was always subtle and controlled with his actions and movements, usually doing little more than extending an arm to either physically choke someone or Force choke them from a distance, and we never saw him bring out his lightsaber until another lightsaber duelist came his way, generally leaving his subordinates, the stormtroopers, to take care of the Rebel soldiers (except in Rogue One, which i felt was out of character for him). Kylo, by contrast, brought his lightsaber out even when there weren’t any enemies around, just so he could wreck a control panel when he threw a tantrum. He got more temperamental in The Last Jedi as he called for the First Order forces to fire on Luke, constantly telling them to fire "MORE!” and Force choked Hux for telling him to stop as opposed to Vader who only Force choked his subordinates if they either failed him, or showed blatant disrespect towards him. Kylo is just a temperamental, overgrown man-child while Vader was largely a cold, calculating and controlled man.

Yes, I think that might have been the point, that Kylo doesn’t measure up to his grandfather, but it still could have been done in a way that made him a more memorable villain. Having a calm, controlled demeanor would have made him more intimidating as a villain, and behind the mask we could have seen a more vulnerable young man. Abrams was kind of going for that, but he made some missteps and Johnson faltered. Vader also wasn’t defeated in a lightsaber duel until the final film, which helped to sell the idea that this guy was invincible while Kylo was defeated in his first duel by Rey, reducing the size of his threat and making him less believable as a final villain.

Vader’s story in the original trilogy is also more compelling as he starts out as the blackest of villains, with his connection to the main hero of the story later established when it is revealed that he is Luke’s father. This affects Luke’s story in having him deal with the temptation of following in his father’s footsteps and turning to the dark side. Vader, on the other hand, has a layer of complexity added to his character, and by the end, he surprises the audience by turning on the Emperor, and saving his son. Whereas with Rey and Kylo’s connection, she is just a complete stranger to Kylo with no real past or ties to him the way Vader had with Luke. Kylo and Rey’s connection is just some Force connection, and it feels quite forced (no pun intended).

I think his gradual conversion back to the light side might have been okay, and his final decision to sacrifice himself to save Rey. Although, Kylo telling Snoke in Force Awakens he feels stirrings from the light side of the Force was too on the nose. Vader didn’t need to say he felt stirrings of that light, as we could tell through scenes and dialogue such as the long pause at the end of Empire Strikes Back and turning and leaving the bridge without saying a word after Luke escapes without Force choking his admiral like he did throughout the film, as well as telling Luke in Return of the Jedi “It is too late for me.” Abrams would have benefited from using more subtlety and nuance.

General Hux

Hux’s character was mishandled. He could have been the new version of Grand Moff Tarkin, a villain from A New Hope portrayed by the great Peter Cushing who would have benefited from more screen time. He and Kylo were set up as rivals, and could have been taken as representing the two sides of the First Order/Empire with Hux representing the the military hierarchy/practical military side and Kylo representing the dark side of the Force/mystical side. The fact that the trilogy had two directors really showed in how his character was handled. In the first film, with the exception of his passionate speech, he for the most part came across as a cold, disciplined military man akin to Tarkin. In the next film, he came off as pretty hammy, lacking the subtlety and nuance of his character in the previous film as he got emotional pretty easily such as in the beginning of the film when dealing with Poe Dameron. He also hardly got any screen time in the final film, and was revealed to be the spy only to be dispatched easily as if he was just a side character rather than a major supporting character. His performance also felt like he was trying too hard to impersonate a Nazi officer with a kind of faux-German accent.

Snoke

Supreme Leader Snoke is the leader of the First Order, and Kylo’s dark mentor. He is supposed to be Palpatine’s new counterpart. Unfortunately, Palpatine is a villain not-so-easily replaced (something Abrams realized, and tried to over-correct to disastrous results).

In the original trilogy, Palpatine isn’t seen in the flesh until the final installment, and up until then, he had been mentioned in the first film and seen through a Holonet in the second. Snoke was introduced much earlier in the first film, Force Awakens, via Holonet and seen in the flesh in the second. When we finally see him, he dies in the second film, without really making a lasting impression. Palpatine’s threat was largely implied through the other characters’ reactions and McDiarmid’s subtle performance and dialogue, making it more effective. The only hint we get to his character before we see him in Return of the Jedi is Vader telling an Imperial commander that the Emperor is coming for a tour, and the Imperial commander changes his position from complaints about being understaffed in making the second Death Star operational to stating nervously “We’ll double our efforts.” Vader adds that the Emperor is less forgiving than he is (Vader having killed several of his subordinates by Force choking for failing him). Just the commander’s reaction is enough to send the message to the audience that the Emperor is a scary guy. However, when we see him, he is a seemingly frail, old man who uses a cane. For most of the film, Palpatine never showed anger or disapproval, if anything he seemed genial and calm, but with an undercurrent of menace. However, like it was with Yoda, one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, as this appearance was just a front. Palpatine demonstrated how dangerous he actually was when he did get angry, and shot lightning from his fingertips at Luke as his true nature came out. He chillingly stated “And now young Skywalker, you will die,” showing a certain coldness towards the act of killing this person, and then he gave a slight smile right showing that he was enjoying inflicting pain on him. It was a look that in a matter of seconds went from one of sadistic pleasure to uncontrollable rage as he resumed electrocuting Luke.

Snoke’s treatment lacked that subtlety and nuance. We just see him bully Hux and Kylo around with his Force powers, as opposed to keeping his power hidden until the final moment, and we don’t see any of the characters give any real reactions towards him when he is mentioned that make an impression. Having him shown only once briefly via Holonet in Force Awakens at the end when Hux goes to him for instructions once Starkiller Base is blowing up, and having Hux in the next film show some fear when told Snoke wanted to speak with him after the loss of the Dreadnaught and the Resistance’s escape would have done a better job of selling the threat of this villain.

There is also the case of how Snoke dies, as Kylo killing him doesn’t have the same impression or impact as Vader killing Palpatine. For starters, it wasn’t surprising given how horrible he had been to Kylo in the film, going so far as to use Force lightning on him while Palpatine on the surface seemed to be very chummy with Vader, addressing Vader as an old friend and acting like the wise mentor to him. It made it that much more surprising when Vader turned on him. Snoke is killed when Kylo manipulates the lightsaber on his throne to cut him in half. While I admit that is a cunning and creative maneuver on Kylo’s part, it comes a little too easy. When Palpatine was electrocuting Luke, the camera focused on Vader’s face, and even though we couldn’t see his face through the mask, we could tell he was being affected by seeing his son writhing and screaming in agony. Vader then looked back and forth from Luke to Palpatine, showing he was choosing between his mentor and his son. Kylo had no such moment with Rey.

But then it is revealed that Snoke wasn’t the true villain of the series, but Palpatine. Abrams tries to have Palpatine become the main villain in a way that is pretty half-assed, as he basically just shoehorned him in.

12. Bringing Back Palpatine

The main villain of the Rise of Skywalker turns out to be the main villain of the previous two trilogies: Palpatine. Admittedly, Palpatine is one of my top two favorite characters in Star Wars, and it was always great to see Ian McDiarmid play him on-screen. He was the main highlight in the prequels; I could look at each scene he’s in, and write an essay or at least a few paragraphs about just that one scene. His character seemed out of place in this one.

For starters, they just shoehorned him into this film without him even being mentioned in the first two. At least in the original trilogy, by the time we see him in person in Return of the Jedi, Palpatine had previously been mentioned in the first film, A New Hope, and later introduced via Holonet in Empire Strikes Back, which provided plenty of build up towards his appearance in the third film. He played a key role in the story as he was the dark side counterpart to Yoda, founder of the tyrannical Empire, the one who turned Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader, and was seeking to do the same to Luke. He was the personification of temptation towards the dark side and the Empire, the devil himself, who along with Vader was the final trial Luke needed to face before becoming a Jedi. In the prequel trilogy, Palpatine was the main villain in plain sight all along who was masquerading as the friendly Supreme Chancellor while he was Darth Sidious in the background pulling strings, and slowly turning the Old Republic into the Empire. In the sequel trilogy, he is introduced at the eleventh hour just to give Kylo and Rey something to unite against, and serve as the main antagonist. He didn’t contribute at all to the plot in the first two films.

In my opinion, he should have stayed dead. It seemed more fitting in that despite being the most successful Sith lord in history, having gone where no Sith has gone before by conquering the Galactic Republic and wiping out the Jedi Order, Palpatine still succumbed to the tradition of the Rule of Two, and like his predecessors was killed by his apprentice. The man who destroyed countless lives and betrayed so many people in his rise to power as well as after from the Separatists and senators to his apprentices, himself met his end by betrayal. By making him alive, Abrams also made Vader’s sacrifice in Return of the Jedi less meaningful. Vader originally found himself in choosing between the light (Windu) and the dark (Palpatine), chose the latter largely to save someone he cared about, his wife, and nearly wiped out the Jedi Order. He found himself in the same situation again, choosing between the light represented by Luke and the dark, again represented by Palpatine, and he chooses the former this time for the same reason: to save someone he cared about, his son. In the end, he turns again and in his last act destroys the Sith line, killing the last of the Sith lords, and ending Palpatine’s reign of terror for good and all. He thus fulfills his role as the Chosen One . . . only, whoops, turns out Palpatine survived, and the Chosen One didn’t actually do shit. Some do argue that Anakin did bring balance to the Force for a time, but if Palpatine was the cause of the imbalance and he survived only to be defeated permanently by Rey, then Anakin didn’t truly bring back balance to the Force, Rey did.

Also, I had trouble following his plan. I mean in the prequels you could follow his plans and actions, and see the logic behind them. In the Phantom Menace, he had the Trade Federation invade his planet of Naboo so he could simultaneously get Supreme Chancellor Valorum removed from office, and use the sympathy vote over his planet being the one blockaded to win the race for Supreme Chancellor. In Attack of the Clones, he had Dooku hire Jango Fett to assassinate Amidala, since he was the cloning template for the clone army, and he knew Obi-wan would eventually track Fett down to Kamino and discover the clone army that would be used to fight the Separatists. He had Dooku create the Confederacy of Independent Systems so he could ignite a galactic civil war, and use it to have the Senate give him emergency powers that combined with the clone army could eventually be used to crown himself Emperor and wipe out the Jedi. In Revenge of the Sith, he revealed to Anakin that he was a Sith knowing that Anakin would tell the Jedi, and they would come to try and arrest or kill him, providing Palpatine the purported justification for issuing Order 66.

In Rise of Skywalker, he told Kylo to kill Rey. He then told Rey he expected her to come, and that his plan was for his spirit to go into her body. He then used both Kylo and Rey’s life forces to heal fully. I’m sorry, but what was his plan exactly? If the plan involved Rey in any capacity, why didn’t he just tell Kylo to bring Rey to him? If he needed to use both their life forces, sending Kylo to kill Rey would just result in at least one of them dying, and if it was just Rey he wanted, it would risk her being killed.

I wouldn’t have opposed seeing Palpatine in Rise of Skywalker, but as a Force vision a la Luke’s experience in the cave on Dagobah in Empire Strikes Back.

Then, there was the way Abrams handled him. Instead of not mentioning him, and just saving his reveal for the third act after some building up, Abrams just reintroduces him in the opening. It doesn’t have the same effect. Palpatine also was most effective by being subtle and nuanced with an undercurrent of menace, which clearly wasn’t present in this film. He didn’t feel as threatening as he did in Episodes VI and III. He was also disposed of too easily, all it took was Rey to cross two lightsabers in front of her, to deflect his Force lightning back at him.

With Palpatine, Abrams and Disney just brought back something beloved by fans with no real reason to other than as a cheap throwaway to sell tickets, and proceeded to use it in a half-assed way without any real regard for or understanding of it’s role and importance. The way they treated Palpatine is a perfect symbol for how they treated the entire Star Wars series.

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nianderful · 5 years

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nia’s 30 days of witchaversary (days 1-17)

um, oops?

i meant to do this sooner, i swear, but i’ve been very busy with work and other real life stuff this month

i actually wasn’t intending to do this at all, but since my initial plans to celebrate WITCH have kind of fallen off, i may as well jump on the bandwagon! i hope i’m not too late 😅

day 1: favorite guardian

orube! i absolutely adore this girl. she’s such a great character--appearing to be a hardened warrior but in reality is the biggest softie...while also kicking a lot of ass. i love her interactions with the guardians, i love the depth she has, and while i could gush about cedrube all day, they deserve its own space.

honorable mentions go to....well, the rest of w.i.t.c.h., will and taranee in particular. i relate to both of them a lot (mostly with being pretty shy and socially awkward)

day 2-favorite villain

(will smith poses) THIS GUY. i know everyone and their mother loves phobos, but i am not Everyone And Their Mother. i honestly think phobos is kind of lame

cedric on the other hand, is a different story. this guy’s a CHAD. he was the one Actually Doing Stuff in the first arc. HE was the one pulling weight during phobos’ scheme in the fourth arc, AND ludmoore’s in the fifth.

also he’s just a great villain in general; a consistent threat through and through, powerful as heck (unlike his tv counterpart who got his tail whooped by everyone) and do i even NEED to bring up him and orube? (i’m gonna get to them, i promise)

day 3- favorite love interests

i honestly think all the WITCH bois are good but if i could pick a favorite....

peter! he’s just so good. a sweetheart, a looker, a great big brother.....he’s perfect. (like tadashi, ‘cept he doesn’t die)

look at him and corny being goofy. love is real and it’s in the picture above me.

day 4: favorite pairing/ship

aww man this is a long time comin’ so let’s get it DONE

cedrube. always cedrube. forever cedrube.

these two are just....so good. a twosome on opposite sides, brought together by their shared experience of being Fish Out of Water. orube brought out the best in cedric (his semi-redemption, anybody?) and cedric allowed orube to experienced something she longed for.

if only their ending was as happy as they are in this picture...

day 5-favorite friendship

picking all of w.i.t.c.h. would be too predictable, so i choose...

these two! i love how irma and hay lin are Those Two Gals, joking around when the others are being serious. these two are perfect together, and i love the scenes when they’re messing around.

day 6: favorite cover/promo/pin up art

the cover for issue 56!

ugh i love this. it’s gorgeous; the movement’s fluid, the expressions are on point, and it’s a tribute/celebration of the tv series! (particularly with the girls curled up in element colored balls; a reference to the toon transformation)

day 7: favorite issue

had to go with the one that started it all, issue 1. this series has been with me for a long time, and i remember being so captivated with the first issue. i may sing the praises of precure, but w.i.t.c.h. was actually my very first magical girl series, and this issue was my very first experience with the genre. i will always hold it close to me.

day 8-favorite special

the orube special! orube sadly isn’t a character that gets much play outside of her role as w.i.t.c.h’s ally/honorary guardian, but this issue gives us just that! we get to see her get a job, make friends, and learn a little more about how to be an earthling.

day 9-favorite guardian uniform

i’ll pick taranee’s!

it looks the most....practical to me. like, if i was a guardian, i’d wear something like this. also i ADORE the fact that tara keeps her glasses in guardian form. any other show would have them get magicked away, but not here. as a Black Girl With Glasses, it’s a detail i really appreciate.

day 10-favorite world/planet

um. kandrakar, i guess?

it’s pretty.

day 11-something awesome

speaking of tara....

this moment from issue 4. another moment i remember vividly from my childhood, and one of the first scenes that shows us that taranee is not to be messed with. don’t play with fire INDEED.

day 12-something that made me cry

i have yet to cry when reading this comic, but a moment that really made me sad was when will’s dormouse died

this really hurt, not just because it came after the hope spot of will’s dad going away, as well as nerissa’s defeat, but because ol’ dormouse had been a staple of the series to this point, and it was clear that he formed a bond with will. just a really cruel moment to end the second arc on. (but not in a bad way, of course)

day 13-something heartwarming

the last page of issue 20!

issue 20 is a bit of a roller coaster for poor will; she’s slowly being manipulated by nerissa, to the point where she shuts herself off from the girls. on the side, we have yan lin beginning to worry about history repeating itself with the current guardians.

but then this happens, a moment that shows us that WITCH will not suffer the same fate as the team that came before them.

will just spent the scenes before this pushing away from her teammates, even attacking them; for them to say that they trust her irrevocably says a LOT about their faith in will, and the friendship of WITCH itself.

day 14-something that irked me

everything about the arkhanta arc that doesn’t involve orube or the astral drops!

(reader beware, it’s about to get personal Up In Here. mentions of ableism to follow.)

we may as well start with the backstory of ari, because his relationship with his son and how it’s handled is going to be the epicenter of everything i’m discussing.

‘yeah once upon a time there was a happy farmer who had a kid, but oh no he’s nonverbal and can’t communicate! happy farmer is sad now” (also he may have told kandrakar to Fix It but Oracle Said No)

see the problem here? it’s okay if you don’t, because i’m here to explain!

basically the villain of this arc is an Autism Dad who thinks his son needs to be Fixed. he constantly angsts about the fact that his son doesn’t talk, smile, or say I Love You....basic whiny Autism Parent stuff.

except we’re supposed to sympathize with him. we’re supposed to see him as a poor innocent man instead of, you know, someone who may be unintentionally hurtful with his woe-is-me-isms (also will insisting that he’s in the right...)

and as if that’s not irksome enough....

maqi gets cured in the end. he’s speaking, he’s emoting, he’s not The Broken Kid anymore!

yeah, uh, no. i have autism, and have exhibited some of maqi’s traits on a regular basis. (and it’s not just me, my little sister imani was nonverbal for a lot of her childhood. we didn’t even think she was going to be able to talk.) and as someone who’s felt like i was a Broken Kid, that some thing was wrong with me, and has wondered Why Can’t She Just Be Normal....this ending does NOT fly with me, and neither does ari as a character.

ari’s not a Sympathetic Sad Dad, he’s an ableist douchecanoe. there’s a REASON i compared him to autism moms. maqi’s “problem” isn’t that he’s sick or anything (the comic even SAYS he’s perfectly healthy!!) he just isn’t emotive or talkative....and for the comic to paint as something that has to be fixed is more than a little gross. i know the comic wasn’t intending to offend with this, but that’s exactly what it did.

thank goodness for orube and the astral drops, or this would’ve been my least favorite arc.

day 15-something that needs a quick fix

um. i got nothing for this one.

day 16-something that needs an overhaul

the arkhanta arc. either cut out the ‘must cure my son of his autistic-coded traits’ or create a new conflict all together. (like the whole maqi thing could’ve been fixed with simply giving him and illness or putting him into a coma!)

and like everyone else, i’d like a overhaul of new power and beyond.

day 17-something that needs to be resisted

sweet mother of monkey milk, the astral drops. i wanna see how they’re doing. i wanna see what their lives are. do they remember anything, even secretly?

also visit orube while we’re at it, see how she’s doing post 5th arc.

#w.i.t.c.h.#30daysofwitchversary #MAN THIS WAS A LOT #and sorry it's so late i was really trying to get this done before the day ended #ableism mention

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usedtobewerealpacas-blog · 5 years

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petty shit ayyyy

ok hi i’m home from work and want to elaborate on this on a non-phone keyboard because TODAY IS ME BEING ANNOYED AT DEHUMANIZING NOTT DAY.

i started writing this as a reblog of my own posts, and then it got long and you know what? LET’S TALK ABOUT CALEB AND NOTT. AGAIN.

i’ve touched on this elsewhere but — fandom tends, or tended, to treat nott as a mascot rather than a fully realized person. she’s so funny! and weird! and beloved, yes, but it’s telling that she’s beloved for caring about others, not for them caring about her. people talk about caleb’s sadness and issues and complexity and moral grey areas and friendship with beau for reasons they love him, and they are all very valid reasons! but they don’t talk as much about “also, he fucking loves nott and spends half his time trying to take care of her and make her happy.” but with nott? “she’s caleb’s mom!” is always the first thing that gets brought up.

and that leads to her weird infantilization, i think — it’s not that people literally think she’s a small child, and it is fair that her age was left ambiguous enough that people could be safely confused (she’s both “child bearing age” and “nine”, she’s of a non-human species that ages differently, who knows). but it’s also true that she’s treated in and out of universe more as an irresponsible child than a grown woman — by fjord and molly, pointedly. nott always gets mad when this happens. not in a “i’m a grown up!” child’s tantrum manner — she gets cold and formal and condescending in reply. but in fandom it’s far worse. she’s not shipped in fanfic but rarely (more on that in a moment), or at least wasn’t before The Reveal happened. she’s shooed to the side. she’s the comic relief. everyone likes her, but she’s not important.

and i think we all saw that, or at least i saw that, when The Reveal came along, and fandom got angry at nott. it was far more plausible that nott was planning on impersonating a dead woman and stealing her family — which is some grade a horror movie shit — than that nott had a family, biological or not, had a life outside of the mighty nein and caleb. when she was angry at caleb for the first time in the series, people took to the streets: their relationship was broken forever! caleb is going to leave the mighty nein! nott had one job, one role, and it was to be the Funny Support Character/Caleb’s Accessory. his little buddy he could fall back on while he made his real friends, beau and fjord and molly and jester and caduceus. that’s why i don’t read much fanfiction, by the way — the way that runs through a lot of it. caleb will be fixed and healed when he finds love with xyz. nott is a stepping stone, not his best friend in her own right.

(caveat i feel i shouldn’t have to make, but just in case: i fucking love caleb and beau’s friendship and development, him and jester, etc. but just because he and beau are close and growing together doesn’t mean nott is just a stepping stone for that.)

because nott is a goblin and funny and weird. she’s ugly and she’s not “feminine” (even though she’s shown many times she’s as much of a girly-girl as jester, to the point of creeping beau out in ‘the stowaway’). because nott once said she was the parent in her and caleb’s parent-child relationship — because fjord and molly called it a parent-child relationship first, because caleb is so protective of her that they assumed she was a child and that was what it was. i love the meme of momma nott! she is incredibly protective and maternal! let’s talk about how when she and jester aren’t team chaos nott is treating her just as protectively and maternally -- giving her advice, taking dragon bites, it’s adorable!

but fandom went awesome! nott has unconditional and nonromantic feelings for best boy caleb, and that is all she is allowed to be. caleb spends 50 episodes of the show telling nott he will do anything he can to help her, asking for her backstory and promising his support. she asks him for help and he fucking balks. he refuses. she’s panicking because her husband and son are gone and her home is burnt, caleb fails her, and it’s nott’s fault. that’s what fandom decided. this is how i got engaged in this fandom: looking for hurt/comfort fanfics about e48 and only finding stories where nott finds and begs for caleb’s forgiveness. because caleb is a hurt sad boy, and nott’s job is to support him and never demand or need anything else.

let’s talk about fucking shipping here.

caleb, every single night, canonically, sleeps with a young woman. in the same bed. they fucking cuddle. she kisses him often. they are very physically affectionate. caleb tells beau his backstory because she more or less forces him; nott is to date the only person he has willingly told it to. he dearly loves nott. caleb/nott? not a thing. it should be a thing. on paper, it basically looks like it is a thing. i’m surprised keg is canonically the only person who thought it was a thing. but it’s not. why? because nott isn’t a human? neither is caduceus, and people ship him and caleb all the time. because nott is married? sure, but we only found that out a month ago. because of a physical size difference or age gap? hi, cad is like 80 and looms over caleb. jester/caleb is a thing, and jester is pretty young herself.

because nott isn’t pretty? isn’t conventionally attractive? because nott doesn’t get to be a person, only caleb’s funny accessory who gets into mischief and exists merely to give him unconditional support?

even poly!nein stories are really usually “poly everyone but nott.”

i don’t ship caleb/nott, actually. (i mean. i ship them as platonic soulmates who are going to endgame live next door to one another. but not romantically.) but honestly? it should be a thing. there is a fucking lot.

not dissing other pairings. seriously, ship everything. give me actual!polynein stories. but i’m just saying.

there isn’t. because nott isn’t treated as a real person. as an adult woman. it briefly seemed more likely to some that she killed veth brenatto and is trying to steal her life than that nott feels romantic love for someone. the only acceptable recourse for her not aligning herself 100% with caleb for the first time in canon was she needs to beg him for forgiveness, she was cruel and unkind, she crossed a line. when he failed her.

the thing is, a lot of this, thank god, is ooc only. fandom only. in game, caleb and nott haven’t had a big dramatic come to jesus moment. in game, nott apologized for losing her temper, caleb responded by telling her what she had asked for and throwing in his real name on top of it, by the next day he’s making a point to drape frumpkin on her in the tunnels and pointing out her husband needs them whenever he can. as a fan, i do want to see them have a big talk about feelings, because i am trash in that way. but it’s also clear they don’t need to, that they’re fine. because caleb, if not fandom, has never treated nott like she’s his accessory or not a real person. he’s in fact often gotten angry at the people who do.

#this comes off as negative towards caleb and …… i love him #but you know what at the same time fuck him this is nott's moment #i feel like he's enough of a fucking stan that he would understand lmao

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maatikikhushboo · 5 years

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Kasautii Flashbacks Aur Promises Kay

Disclaimer: A lengthy frustrated post (2500+ words) on your way. Has lots of grammatical errors and is not proof read. So please read on your own discretion.

After watching 69 episodes of Kasautii Zindagii Kay, I decided that I will quit watching it regularly, but I continued watching it intermittently. I very well knew the implications of signing up for EK’s shows. But still, I wanted to give it a try, and honestly, for the pretty faces of the leads because they screamed chemistry. Look at these pictures launched initially - especially the down section of the picture --

Backstory :

KZK1 was one of those disastrous stuffs ever made for ITV. Pathetic aesthetics, horrible make-ups (that didn’t change for this season as well), lackadaisical writing, multiple assassinations/butchering of characters, having sudden 180 and 270 degree turns and the offscreen dynamics kinda influencing the plot and what not? I used to watch KZK1 because 2001 was when I was residing in Kolkata. My love for Bangla had signed me up for that stupid show which I stopped watching after certain point of time (Waise, there is nothing Bangali except the names in both the seasons, it was just used to make it attractive and avant garde. Bangali people in general don’t wear these Devdas-inspo clothes and jewellery. Every time I see Mohini and Nivi of KZK2, I feel sorry for them because jewellery must be really heavy and wearing them on daily basis is bit uncomfortable even when you are getting paid for it.). The only saving grace of the show were the actors and their performances (which cannot be matched by the new season), otherwise no one was going to watch the show for its stupid story. Except the much popular title song, Shwetha Tiwari’s performance, Moloy-Rajesh’s bromance, there was nothing worthy in KZK1. Anurag and Prerna got united only when they died. Some felt that they were true OTP, and I beg to differ here.

It is 2019 and everything is so out-of-place with KZK2 since its inception. Ekta’s much ambitious project is a flop show. It was much evident and we all knew that EK is EK and she will take the same S1 way. KZK2 proved itself to be a mere aesthetic-improvised photocopy of KZK1. There are many scenes in the show which are filmed same-to-same. The editing is pathetic and the noticeable bloopers are increasing day by day. These promos and claims of going the different way were just marketing gimmicks. In KZK1, AnuPre getting to know each other, falling in love and getting physically intimate, all happened in just 20-25 episodes. This time they wanted to avoid that and hence went the Naveen way, only to get back to the quintessential track of Anu marrying Komo and Prerna becoming pregnant. Naveen babu and his creepy tactics were much dragged and the writers deliberately elevated Anurag’s character and turned him the great saviour. Even the SitaaraPlus Instagram was full of Anurag’s gun-gaan. I bet that the channels’ PR team are a bunch of fangirls. We see that the so-called smart Anurag Basu is perhaps the dumbest ML of 2018/19 whose all plans were epic fails. I mean come on, Moloy was lot better than him in finding proofs against Komolika. I miss Moloy man, he was such a comic relief (although I must agree that the character has some serious issues like him being okay whenever Nivedita or Mohini badmouths Sharma’s, at least he can knock some sense into them about etiquette if not there, then in private). I keep forgetting that it’s a Hindi TV show and that too a Balaji show. Tellyworld mein itna dimaag kahan kisi ke paas hota hai? 😂

Anurag was given heavy dialogues which were full of promises. Sentence ke aage ek promise and sentence ke peeche ek promise (if possible I would like to go into the TV and smack his head if he daresay that word again 😤) Prerna was shown as that abla majboor naari of 2019 who is so gareeb that she had to resort to marriage to ensure that unke sar par chhat rahe. She was never given the character growth she deserved (why does Hindi TV revolve around shaadi? matlab har problem ka solution either function or shaadi?). It is natural that audiences started feeling that Anurag was the only one who contributed more to this story because we never were shown Prerna’s side of story. During the track, Anurag kept giving Prerna mixed signals (dosti ke liye aaj kal, in 2019 koi bhi itna sab nahi karta like jaan jokhim mein daalna especially when Prerna herself told you initially to back off). Getting engaged to Mishka whom he clearly didn’t love while being so confused about Prerna was the first downfall. Anurag didn’t bother to tell Mishka that he doesn’t want to marry her. On top of it, he promised Prerna of marriage and got physically intimate with her and then asked Veena, her hand for marriage. He publicly insulted Prerna and married Komolika. How ugly is this!!! How do the writers expect people to connect to him, how much ever good or noble his intentions may be? There is no doubt he is selfless and has the best interests of everyone in his heart especially Prerna, but is that enough? He can’t be redeemed after what he did to Prerna, because actions speak louder than words. What makes this sequence worse is the damn FLASHBACKS! AnuPre consummation was shown to a viewer as a FB when a pregnant Prerna recollects this at the hospital. This makes it more weird and gross! Like, how on earth people get busy getting intimate when some gunde are after your lives? I know, that you have confessed your love to each other, but itni urgency kis baat ki? Writers have destroyed that innocence and purity which was there at the time of confession. The editing and song sequence was so terrible. The only thing that is bearable is the actors who are making the characters believable, otherwise the storyline is just chutiyaapa.

Writers, have degraded everything just because you wanted to highlight the much-hyped character Komolika? Hina is a pretty woman who has achieved a lot in her career and deserves the love she gets from her fans. I kinda really liked her makeup (it was inspired by Bipasha Basu) as a Bong Bride but the costume was again meh. But the character portrayed by her was an iconic one and she has been a huge let down. I don’t get any vamp feels from her. She appears more of a comic character who only knows to make faces. And a special mention to her style statement which is just like her role. Costume designers, please, rich people like KoMoNi never dress like that. Those costumes are everything but sophisticated and classy.

Also, I think it’s high time that these fangirls stop idolising Anurag Basu 2.0. A person who cannot clarify things and take a stand for his love and keeps listening to all the accusations and taunts thrown at her by the ladies of his family and later justifies it by saying that it’s all because they were concerned is plain bullshit. He may be a gentleman and loves his family, and Prerna, but he is not worth stanning!!! Is this the same Anurag Basu who warned Naveen Babu that “Agar Prerna pe mera dil aa gaya na, toh aap, aapki sagaai, aapki daleelein koi nahi rok paayega mujhe Prerna ko apna banana se.”? If he is, then why did he fall prey to Komolika’s blackmailing? Naveen was also equally creepy, dangerous and comical (Saajan ji ghar aaye dance was EPIC). See what the writers have done!

Even during Naveen’s track, they desperately wanted to introduce Komolika but couldn’t do it due to Hina’s prior commitments. To venture Komolika they again brought Mishka (who was actually that London wali shaadi-shuda ladki whose name is Sarika 🤣 ). To link Prerna and Komolika, they planned Ronit-Shivani’s angle which is long forgotten (Shivani doesn’t remember that she is pregnant 🤣 ). So many loose ends are conveniently forgotten. Also, what kind of a mother is Mohini?😳 She is so ignorant. Can’t she understand what her son wants and I am bewildered by how she accepted Komolika without any problem when technically Anu was engaged to Mishka? Terrible!

At least after Naveen track, they could have explored AnuPre. I remember that one small snippet in Prerna’s sangeet with Naveen where we get to know that Anurag stopped talking to Prerna because she cheated him in a game in their childhood. We could have been shown many such things instead of that stupid Naveen track. Although the journey of AnuPre in KZK1 was only 20-25 episodes, it was satisfying because there were no other parallel tracks going on and they concentrated on AnuPre bonding.

When the channel dropped the shaadi wala promo (only to get transformed into No-Shaadi-Only-Tika later), it became a rage and people were like happy that it is not going the S1 way only to get disheartened. The confession was subtle and beautifully shot. Yet, I couldn’t feel the depth. Dialogues were always out of place and meaningless in this show. Just fire the dialogue writers man, it’s making everything more confusing because there is no sync between dialogues, story and character progression! Also, I knew that you were gonna bring that pandit to legalise the tika marriage, I mean by-the-virtue-of-air-maang-got-filled-by-sindoor-marriage on an auspicious muhurat after 15 odd years. That was a nice move to legalise the existence of Prem.🤣

The AltBalaji’s synopsis of the show was screaming since eons – “An epic saga of Anurag and Prerna’s soul-stirring romance. The story begins with one unintentional betrayal that spoils Anurag’s relationship with his soul-mate Prerna and is followed by the wicked twists added by Komolika. Their lives go through a whirlwind of emotions, trials, sufferings, twists, and terrible confusions, which destiny plays out for them. Only time will reveal how they are destined to live for each other, but not with each other.”. Coming to this unintentional betrayal, let me clarify that there is NO UNINTENTIONAL BETRAYAL here because Anurag intentionally chose this to save his family and business. When two people are in a relationship, one person has no right to take decisions for both. Prerna asked him, begged him literally but he just slammed his decision on her. I don’t give a damn to this stupid sacrifice “Thorn Bird” kinda love. People feel sad for Anurag being the Thorn Bird here, but he is the one who had landed himself into this worthless sacrifice as Anupam notes.

People are excited to see strong Prerna. I could have been happier if they went ahead with S1 way here instead. She was always initially taunted for being stupid, having small brains and of lower class. Proving her mettle and becoming successful on her own would have been a befitting reply. It is so against your self-respect to land yourselves again amidst of those Basu’s. I am not surprised that you like Shivani have forgotten about your pregnancy and how harmful it could be for your child to survive especially when people like Komolika are living in the same house. And there is nothing new in this track. EK's saalon purana same formula hai - Mix and Match. Apne serials mein hi naye serials ke stories revolve hote rehte hai. In her show, Kya Hua Tera Vaada, the same thing happened. When Vihaan married Anika, Bulbul entered along with Anika and did all the grihpravesh rasams and started living with them. Of course, this new Prerna is a treat to watch (she has shown everyone their place with sass) and it is worth watching for all entertainment. Erica nails such scenes and through this track she is gonna get her due. (I loved her stint in KRPKAB post leap). Also, what is with this Anurag planning to get rid of Komolika by getting closer to her? Like really man!? You appear like a milksop. The lollipops of AnuPre flashbacks or eyelocks which they are inserting in the middle of the 21 minutes of bakwaas is not gonna get them TRPs. For me, they have ruined it. Everything is beyond redemption now.

We all know what happens when a thing is excessively marketed/promoted. It unnecessarily increases the hype and expectations of people, which when not met will lead to utter disappointment. EK has hired SRK to do the honours, which must have costed her a bomb. Heavy social media promotion through various videos & BTS scenes has ignited curiosity and they wanted to play with this and all fell for it. Some wanted to explore it as a new show and some were there to draw comparisions because of nostalgia with a hope that things would be different this time coz it’s 2018/2019. 😂 😂 😂 Be it 2001 or 2019 things have not changed in TV. Film Industries are gradually transforming themselves and are producing films with unconventional concepts. They are churning out good amount of content driven/art films every year. We know that TV actors don’t have many choices. Both Parth & Erica are good actors. Actors get paid irrespective of whatever they portray. Still, I sometimes do feel bad seeing all the potential being wasted. But yeah, the casting is on point. The chemistry is so good. But, what we get in the name of the great KZK 2 is just the same recycled shit. Balaji didn’t need to inaugurate, the statues of love everywhere (like really?). If it were other producers, (well, they won’t be spending mammoth, but let us hypothetically assume) and they are not able to meet the expectations, to continue their stint, they would succumb to ratings based instant-noodle-tracks-twists-turns kinda plots. But EK is EK, whose team loves to cook noodles from Day 1, toh itna fizool karcha kyun karna bhai? She could have been a little prudent and invested some money in hiring better script writers and agar kismat acchi hoti hamari aur actors ki toh, acche story mil jaati. Also, many dynamics could have been explored. Khair, chhodo, main bhi kiske baare mein bol rahi hoon 😂 😂 😂 What else can we expect from a Balaji show? It’s just villains, multiple MUs, separations and sacrifices all over the place. I just wish TRPs teach her a lesson.

P.S: Okay, some people say that Prerna should have understood that Anurag has some majboori like she had while almost marrying Naveen babu. No one in their right state of mind would think about majboori and stuff after getting humiliated publicly and getting mocked for her love. And, agar tellyworld mein itna brains leads ke pass hote toh yeh shaadi mandap tak nahi pahunchti.

P.P.S: I just don’t understand what is the problem with SitaaraPlus. Come on man, why on earth do you love showing all the wrong messages to the society under the tagline “Baat Nayi”? Everyone is aware of your partiality towards Gul and Ekta’s shows. However regressive they might be, you just keep extending them and you simply pulled the plug off for the Dopahar shows which were good content wise and concept wise. Everyone here is to do business and so you are, so stop bluffing people under your stupid tagline. Also, don’t mislead people like you did here. Thank God I didn’t subscribe to Star Value Pack of yours. Bye-Bye.

#i vent when i am on my pms so sorry bhailog #i quit this show #thanks for ruining anurag and prerna for us #Kasautii Zindagii Kay #Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2 #kzk #kzk2 #kzk 2 #woes of tellywood audience #type: opinion

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farklelucas · 5 years

Note

all about the lesbian sea pirate

ahsjdkflg okay im gonna do the first section above the cut and the rest under

send me an oc and some numbers pls!! | here are my ocs!

Section 1 - About:

1. Briefly Describe your OC: Appearance, personality, role in a story, etc..

okay so!! hana is half-japanese, half-german, she’s got short/spiky black hair and fucking Huge brown eyes. she’s the protagonist of a thus-unwritten pirate love story and i fucking love her. she’s superbly socially awkward (doesn’t get customs like politeness or like asking before doing things asdjkfl), she’s a Romantic romantic, she loves sword-fighting, she was raised by her father (alongside three older half-brothers, though she was chosen as the heir to his ship which hmm pissed two of them off), she’s very much butch/tomboy, she loves adventure and sailing so fucking much, uhhh yeah her.

2. Briefly describe their backstory/childhood

like i said, she was raised by her dad, who she idolizes, along with her three brothers on the sea; she never knew her mother, because her father told her that she died giving birth to hana (or did she….? hm. maybe hana’s dad is just shitty?). she was always super excited to play and go on adventures and fight, especially with her three older brothers (only one of whom actually like. liked her.), and by the time she was old enough to hold a sword, her dad taught her how to. eventually, her dad became ill, and named hana, who was only 16, his successor. her two eldest brothers planned a mutiny to overthrow her, killing the other brother who protested. hana fought them but they escaped with half her treasure, promising to come back and kill her, and she’s spent the past six years seeking them out to defeat them.

3. Describe their family life and friends.

i mean i pretty much nailed her family, but she’s very close to all the crew. i’ll give you a quick rundown: there’s caspian, her first mate/quartermaster (grew up on the ship with her, an orphan who was stolen in one of the raids, searching out his lost family but is also a big time goof), dover, her “advisor”/sailing master (wise, lazy, arrogant, bitchy, basically her pseudo-father because her father was usually off being captain), darya, her gunner (slutty bisexual aromantic queen, runs the artillery AND the under deck gambling ring, always drunk, loyal to a fault especially to hana), and zarya (we’ll get to her later ;)) and the other lower-ranking crew members.

4. What is the world they come from like?

hmmm very mystical and mysterious, very “pirates are bad and suck and we dont like them even though they’re not usually bad” but. you know. hana is still an outlaw of the land. there are mermaids and sirens and cracken and curses so it’s better to assume that if its magical it exists.

5. Are they original or exist in a certain fandom?

original!!

6. Are they an introvert or extrovert?

extroverted babey

7. Greatest fear?

being unable to sail but also, later on, (SPOILERS) being arrogant and greedy and malicious like her father

8. What’s their sense of humor like?

honestly just fucking. stupid. she probably likes puns and like dirty jokes.

9. Favorite pieces of fiction or genres they enjoy?

i dont think she can read???? but her third eldest brother bourne would usually tell her princess stories and she liked those

10. Favorite music genres?

folk ig

11. Describe their vision of a perfect spouse, if applicable.

a tall, beautiful, kindhearted woman, who sees past the pirate savagery and sees her heart beneath; a woman who can rule the sea alongside her and knows how to handle her and keep her in check. (looks at zarya meaningfully)

12. Largest regret?

not being able to save bourne

13. Something your OC would say?

my quote for her in her bio is “what am i without adventure?” but i also imagine her saying to zarya, “you are more celestial than the stars, my love, and twice as beautiful to behold.”

14. Whats their morality like?

technically lawful good but could be a roulette wheel depending on the day

15. Would they live in a city, rural area, or suburb?

oof none but if she had to probably rural

16. Which actor would you like to portray your OC? (Or a voice actor)

sjskdldldl my face claim is jen ruggirello

17. Sexuality? Gender Identity?

lesbian baby!!!!!

18. What inspired you to make this character?

honestly?? probably a lack of rep in romance and adventure novels. i just love her!!!

Section 2 - If…

1. If they existed in another decade, what would they wear? (Asker can choose what decade) (Bonus points if you draw them!)

hmmm ill pick… current day tbh, and i imagine lots of overalls and baggy sweaters!

2. If they were in a RPG, what would be their class?

i have to imagine somewhere between paladin and a fighter, im not sure which.

3. If they received a large amount of money no strings attached, what would they use it for?

i honestly think she would just. go into the nearest village and buy all the local hungry children bread. like she wouldn’t horde it or spend it on herself. she has everything she needs.

4. If they competed on a competitive TV show, how would they approach to winning? (the “mean” one, the one who makes friends, the one who’s there for fun)

hm… i honestly dont even think she would think about it like that dkdkflfl. probably the charming one, the leader, the adorkable one.

5. If they could change one thing about their past, what would it be?

i think she would choose to keep in contact with her mother. not necessarily live with her, because then she wouldnt have her first love which is the sea, but just like. talk to her. know her better. go see her every few months. write her from different ports about their adventures.

6. If you met them, what would they do?

i would honestly probably be so fucking charmed by her. shes got that way about her, a leadership quality you can’t shake, even if shes really incredibly awkward too.

7. If your character exists in another series’ world, what would they be doing/look like?

i kind of imagine her in harry potter as like. this half blood gryffindor who’s So Gryffindor it hurts. on the quidditch team, always screaming about house pride, everyone loves her. and then she goes and falls in love with this muggle born slytherin and shakes the whole school dkdkkrklr

Section 3 - Other:

1. What other OCs would they get along with?

oh… i think it’s kind of cheap to say jack, because they’re both pirates, but honestly i think they’d get on like a house on fire. other than that… definitely michael minkus, who would make an epic first mate, and lucy stilinksi-hale, who she would probably wanna smash.

2. What’s their singing voice like?

bad. comically bad. she tries to sing to zarya sometimes and zarya locks her out of their room.

3. Take a personality test as the character. Post results.

okay so ive already taken a couple for her in the past (ex: gryffindor, entj, the motivator, etc.) so im gonna take a completely benign one off buzzfeed and post the results. so if she were a song off of thank you next she would be “bad idea” skskkdkd

4. What would be their fighting style in a fighting game like Mortal Kombat, Super Smash Brothers, or Street Fighter?

to outsmart her opponent, think two moves ahead of theirs just like in real life. jokes on her no one else is ever thinking skdkkfkfl

5. What are some mannerisms/quirks?

putting her feet up on tables, walking into rooms without invitation, holing up in her cabin for days working, smirking instead of smiling, smoking, docking in random cities for the thrill of adventure, wearing her blouses nearly completely unbuttoned, just taking things and enforcing sharing bc. she’s always shared everything with everyone naturally and she doesnt know to ask djdkfkfk

6. Describe their favorite meal.

honestly she’ll eat anything but just like. a Nice leg of mutton and a glass of beer. that’s it. that’s the dream.

7. What do they do when they’re bored?

her favorite activity is to randomly attack caspian and have impromptu sword fights with him, but she also loves stargazing and telling stories to the town children.

8. How do they express love/affection for someone?

honestly she’s very. nuzzley. soft. like a little kitten. also waxes poetic. at least romantically. platonically, shes usually like a dad friend sjdkkrlr. like im talking “attaboy” and punches on the arm. pep talks. dad voice. the whole nine yards.

9. Most embarrassing thing that could/has happened to them?

honestly, she’s not easily embarrassed ever. i think she’s kind of just like meh over most things. the most embarrassing thing that could happen would be losing the respect of her crew. she would hate that so much.

10. Make a portrait sketch of them!

#nicole #hana #oc stuff #love her!!!! so much!!!!!!!#loveallthatjazz #what kind of woman doesnt have an ask #long post #go all the way to the bottom of this post to see a qt uwu #katie writes #wow i went off

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sweetdollfromhell · 5 years

Text

Chilling tales of Riverdale, a crossover fic

Chapter 7 of a old fanfic but stil alive that is a mix of Riverdale, CAOS and Archie horror. Located in season 2 and will have differences with the canon for both shows.I'm more than happy to jump the whole fake love triangle between Betty, Jughead and Toni (because Bughead, Choni and the friendship between girl and boy exists). The same goes for the drama Betty and Veronica. But I give you friendship and sisterhood instead + Cameo surprise. Ps Don't worry, he won't have an Archie x Sabrina but I really liked the comparisons people made between Archie and Harvey, so I put him here. (I'm reserving another parring for Sabrina).Also because we have nothing of Toni's life except that she has a grandfather who is nice but who doesn't live with her and an uncle who is an asshole who locks her out sometimes, I hope the backstory that I will be okay for you. Warning: there is a cannibalism involvement in a scene but it's not graphic, very short and you're free to skip it if it bothers you (It's in Jughead's dream) and in my defense, it's canon in CAOS and a reference to one of Archie Horror's titles.)The creature for its is a mix between different native American monsters and the real form of witches in the CAOS comic book. Sorry to make my warnings so long.

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

The routine settled in with Jughead's new roommate; Sabrina kept the place clean, often cooked and was polite to everyone who showed up at the trailer. Jughead had to admit that his presence bothered him a little when Betty came, but Betty refused to do so when Sabrina had offered to spend the night outside for their privacy leashes. The rest of the day, Sabrina was usually away for most of the day, coming back exhausted in the late afternoon or evening and otherwise staying locked in her room even though she tried to be social with the guests. The cat, on the other hand, was a little more complicated: he and Hotdog hate each other or at least Salem didn't like him. If Jughead was honest, the dog would always growl in the presence of the cat, but rather than attempting the attack, the dog would show itself threatening, but back away as soon as the cat approached. If Hotdog had been a puppy or Salem a cat mastodon, he would have understood, but now... At least, like his mistress, Salem seemed to like to travel around the city and Jughead had been surprised to see him sometimes in incongruous places and often with human food in his mouth although he was probably as well fed as them. At least he had a necklace with his name on it, if not the rest of the information. He had also made progress in his Serpent initiation contrary to his investigation into the Blackhood. He had passed the test and was bitten by a snake from which his venom had previously been removed. He would not have a scar according to Toni (most of the others did not) and because Sabrina, despite having sworn many times not to know anything, had nevertheless prepared two bottles labelled respectively: antivenom and repairing cream.

At one point, Jugh had ended up asking:

-Are you still looking for a job?

-Do you have one for me? Because I admit that things are not going well, everyone asks me questions like why I'm not in school or comments on the numbers because it's southside.

-The only place I had found to close then...

-Don't worry, I'm not going to impose more than I expected, and I still have some reserve.

-That's not the problem. I was just thinking you shouldn't have to wait like this. I don't know, maybe ask the snakes to say you're someone's cousin or whatever so you can at least go to school.

-Mmm, the same school where you got beat up, where the drugs are flowing and/or my friends the ghoulies are going? I'll pass through. Far be it from me not to finish high school, but I can recover when everything is settled. And I feel bad about asking your...clan for favors? Say Sabrina hesitant.

-Clan? Repeated Jughead vaguely amused.

-It's more than a gang, I noticed that. I wouldn't call it a family, but....

She had a funny laugh without joy before saying:

- Would you find me strange if you told you that your Serpent remind me of my congregation?

-Actually, yes. Because unless your priest rides a motorcycle....

Sabrina laughed again and Jughead thought he might have some new crumbs of information about the girl.

-It's until... I don't know, the united side against all? Being a weirdness by the other side of town? That even younger members are encouraged to participate? The fact that like you I too have an important foot with this one?

Jughead understood that he would not have much chance of these questions not looking too sharp and just curious, but he tried anyway.

-I don't know that they had religious tensions in Greendales.

-Oh, that's so ridiculous. I shouldn't have compared myself to you, there are just two congregations: Protestants and we are a variant of Catholicism. It was bloody 300 years ago, but now nobody think about it except us unlike you, I recognize that it's to play the victim.

-What is your legacy in all this?

-My father was a priest before he defrocked to get me. And the rest of the family remained quite involved.

She smiled when she talked about her progenitor, before getting stuffed. As much as Jughead was skeptical as much as he was in comparison, he had a new path to explore.

-It's still a pretty thin link," said Jughead before asking:

-Is that who you want to find? Your father?

Sabrina seemed to realize that she had said too much and retorted:

-Is it that important to you? I would have thought you'd have handled worse right now.

-You live in my house," Jughead coldly recalled.

-I can leave, only on request. I was doing very well on my own.

-I'm trying to help and in case you haven't noticed, there's a killer who...

-I am clearly not his target and I know how to defend myself. In addition, I'm sure my safety is more questionable in a caravan without adult supervision, or members of gangs known for drug trafficking and the kidnapping of at least one teenager regularly come to hang out so LEAVE ME ALONE!

Jughead then heard a loud noise that brought them both back to reality. The young man rushed to the source of the noise, in the kitchen where plaster had begun to crack. Confused, Jughead had just enough time to hear you slam the door. Returning to the main room, he saw that Sabrina had taken off.

-Great, complains Jughead.

Betty didn't know what to do anymore. The black hood had promised her a clue if she cut off ties with her relatives, not to mention her threat on Polly. She probably thought she was protecting her unborn children, but because of Betty, she had a target drawn on her back, especially knowing that the serial killer had no problem getting out of town to find his prey. Not to mention the farm, which Betty didn't trust at all. A commune, my eye, a cult disguise yes! Archie and Kevin were already up to their necks in there, but she could at least protect Jughead and maybe Veronica. Yes, you had to see the threat of the black hood as a blessing in disguise. By pushing Ronnie away, she was keeping her safe, right?

Maybe if she repeats it enough, she'll believe it eventually.

Veronica couldn't be more excited; seeing her old friends in New York could only fill her with joy. She was still disappointed that the Cabots could not be there: according to the last email Alexandra sent, she and her brother had been detained by the university.

-You know us Ronnie darling, we'd come here with a snap of the fingers, but if Alex can finish 2 years before everyone else, he'll do it. And I must spend my classes or at least pretend to find me a young first in an Ivy league for Dad to let me go. But as soon as it's settled, we'll come: I have enough scandals and bottles worthy of the name for everyone (it will impress your country friends). Oh, and Alex says to send the demo of the three little kittens so he can see what he can do!

XOXO

Lexa

She will never change, Veronica thought as she read the message. Is that why she didn't tell him about Archie? Anyway, it was nice of Alex to be willing to help Josie, Valerie and Melody if he could.

At least Nick would be there, and she would die eager to introduce him to her Riverdale friends: Archie, Betty, Josie, Valerie, Melody, Kevin, Cheryl and Reggie. She had also invited Jughead who had refused to have anything planned already, Ethel who her mother would no longer let out because of the black hood (and even more if she knew it was to spend the evening at the Lodges') and the mysterious Sabrina who had politely declined to her frustration, really curious to know more about the girl. Looking back, maybe inviting her to a party full of people she didn't know wasn't the best idea, but she wouldn't give up. Her curiosity was piqued, and she wanted to know more.

How was he going to do that? Archie thought so. Betty had asked him to offer Jughead a break, trying not to hurt him. Why had he even accepted?

(You know why!) His unconsciousness screaming at him. It wasn't just because Betty was a good friend or he was worried about Jugh too. Since that summer, everything had become so complicated: with Betty, with Jughead, with Veronica, with her parents and many others. He didn't want to hurt anyone, and yet he felt like he was hurting everyone unintentionally. And probably was going to do it again because his trackreccod was deeply horrible in there.

He saw Jughead and several young Serpents, he felt angry. He didn't trust them: Joaquim could shout his love from the rooftops for Kevin, he had when he was manipulating when he left, FP loved his son no doubt about it, but it didn't give him a pass for everything he had put on Jugh or his best friend's shoulders: alcoholism, theft, kidnapping, drug trafficking, etc... The situation with Jellybean was not easy for anyone, but it didn't give anyone a pass (including Jughead's mother if it was up to him). Until now their acts of kindness had been rare and often interested... And yet Jughead had thrown himself into their arms without a look back for these former friends. Archie may not have been able to understand what Jughead was going through, but he would be there to help no matter what.

Jugh saw him too and rushed to his friend.

-Archie, you're just in time! I need you! I need you!

Surprisingly, Archie forgot both his primary mission and his resentment at the worried look.

-Of course, what is that...

-Sabrina is missing and I have no idea where she went! I don't have time to look for her, but she left all her things, so she can't be far away.

-Jughead...

-Please, I really can't, but I don't want her to do something stupid! I know Riverdale's is a big town, but she'll come home at least to get her things. At worst, stay by the trailer and tell her it's okay if she doesn't want to talk about it when she gets home? Jughead asked, looking worried.

And Archie Andrew aka Pureheart the mighty gave in.

-All right.

-Thank you again, Archie, I owe you one!

And he moved away to join the young Serpents to Archie's frustration.

Sabrina was lying on Pop's bench, occasionally sucking her milkshake for an hour before putting her head on the table. Focusing on these dark ideas, she did not see the person approaching her.

-What's going on?

-Huh? Says Sabrina surprised when she sees the owner, Pop approaching her. -Uh, yes, sorry, just... tired. I have enough to pay you, don't worry! She continued, searching through her pockets.

She had money in her pockets before she fled Jughead's house. We should go back at some point and choose what to do.

-I have no doubt about that. You can stay until closing if you need to. I'll refill your glass. More caramel?

-Yes, please," smiled Sabrina.

Pop comes back with his milkshake and when Sabrina still wanted to pay for the two milkshakes right away.

-The second one's on the house.

-What?

-It's a promotion, a second milkshake free for all those crazy enough to come back here after the incidents.

-Are you talking about the black hood attacks? Sabrina asked.

-One in the restaurant and another involving volunteer employers. It seems like this place is cursed," says Pop sadly.

Sabrina looked at him silently for a few seconds before answering:

-Or the opposite.

-Pardon?

-The opposite; they survived even if their injuries were extremely serious. No one is in a wheelchair or severely disabled. His other victim can't say the same. It's a chance to survive in such good conditions after such a close encounter with death.

Sabrina put her head on the bench before saying:

-So I don't think this place is cursed, I think it brings good luck, I feel it in my bones. Luck is powerful, but it can't make the bullets disappear. For example, it may result in serious injury rather than death.

Pop stared at the teenager with surprise before laughing and concluding:

-I think we'll have to find a better argument to encourage people to come back, but if someone orders a burger, the house could continue its promotion and offer him an extra ring onion in addition to the French fries.

-I'll think about it, thank you," smiled Sabrina.

The people of this city were definitely welcoming.

Suddenly she heard a noise against the restaurant window and turned around. Salem, sitting on the hood of a car with an obvious mewing and trying it, caught his attention.

(Not today) Sabrina decided, turning around and ignoring the cat. If she was honest, it was small and petty. Salem had it was her rock during her last weeks, but Sabrina was physically, mentally and especially emotionally exhausted. Now she wanted to be a normal teenager eating junk food and pretending everything was fine. Just like old times.

Salem meowed loudly as a sign of challenge before leaving.

Cheryl had continued to peel the box and more particularly the notebook. Written by a certain Narcisse Blossom (bravo for having succeeded in mixing the two favorite themes for first names in the Blossom clan: flowers and Greek mythology). The first Blossom arrived in America with his family and his servants straight from the old English nobility, nothing more than WASP. Understood the fact that he left his beloved England because of scandal.

Her notebook was not exactly a diary, but Cheryl found some interesting information in it. He seemed to have had a strong influence on the region even before the town of Riverdale was founded: an iron fist, charisma and an incredible business acumen. Once again, all the most common things he had about the Blossoms.

But that didn't prevent the misfortune of the strike and he almost lost control. It was at this point that two things began to come back more often: the village on the other side of the Sweet River that would become Greendale and the name Sara Spellman.

Spellman? Wasn't that the name on the wedding photo?

Before she could continue, Cheryl heard the sound of a door opening violently, making her jump.

Would it be paranoid of him to pass by and look for his bow before he saw who dared to disturb her?

Archie wondered what he was going to do: find another opportunity to carry Betty's message to Jughead, find Sabrina and find a way not to hit the first Serpent in the face that fell under his hand.

But one of his problems was going to be solved...

-MEOW!!!!!

Archie looked down at the black cat who was now at his feet.

-Hey, hello there," he said, bending over to confirm his suspicions.

Around the cat's neck, a red necklace with a medal or the name Salem was visible. If he was there, chances are Sabrina wasn't far away.

As Archie bent down to caress him, Salem moved a little further before reuniting him a little further.

-Hey, you don't have to be afraid.

These words were stupid because the cat must not have understood it and now that Archie was observing it, it didn't seem to scare him. More annoying and full of contempt...a normal cat look is enough. But Archie noticed that the cat stayed in sight and was waiting for him.

(He wants me to follow him?). A dog, Archie would have understood, but a cat? Maybe it was true that cats are as smart as dogs, they are just too proud to be trained.

Salem guided him to Pop's chocolate shop and started meowing again under one of the windows where he saw Sabrina. Of course, the cat couldn't come in. Archie bent over to flatter the cat who this time if he let it.

-Do you want her back outside? No problem, I must talk to her anyway.

It may have been a play of light, but Archie felt as if the cat rolled his eyes. He came home anyway, trying to silence the impression that he was running out of air. Remain calm, greeted Pop who was in no way responsible for the whole situation and suffers as much as he does before going to the table or eating blonde.

-Hi!

Sabrina jumped, almost choking.

-Archie? Oh, it's been a long time. I didn't think I'd see you here, but please sit down," she said, pushing her plate towards him.

-Thank you, I’m here because Jughead asked me for help to find you.

Sabrina then had an expression of discomfort that combed herself on her face:

-Ah. He is...

-Worried. I don't know what happened between you two....

-Nothing! Just... just a fight. I guess we both have our nerves on edge. I'm not going to act like I'm not a burden.

-The little I've seen, you don't seem to be a burden. Jughead wanted to look for you, but he couldn't have caused...

-From his initiation! Oh, that's right, it's today! Oh shit, I must get everyone ready! She said in a panic.

-Are you going to participate? ask shocked Archie.

-Unofficially, I have no idea what's going on in the past because it's only for members, but I'll just prepare a few things just in case. Never heard of an initiation genre that doesn't physically, mentally or emotionally destroy you, so I want to have a first aid kit, the complete series of twilight zone downloads and enough comfort food for an army.

Archie reprimanded himself, which made Sabrina feel obliged to ask:

-You don't have any plans, do you?

-What are you talking about?

-You and the red circle, you're not going to follow them or something like that?

-There is no more red circle, we had to dissolve.

-Oh, sorry.

-No problem. But I still can't believe Jughead decided to join them," Archie said with cold anger.

-He probably has his reasons. I'm not enthusiastic, but I don't trust any gang, brotherhood, commune, fraternity or anything that involves going through trials and following up on settlements.

-Are you including the American Scouts in this?

-Yes! 2nd organization with the most sexual assault on children reporter, laughs Sabrina. -Note that maybe I shouldn't be so judgmental; my decision making is far from being the best.

-Do you count the fact that you came to Riverdale?

-Only the period when I arrived, people are mostly nice here, I think.

-Including the Serpents?

-I didn't have a brunch with the whole gang. I saw maybe five, six if you count the dog and I didn't even interact with all of them. I tend to prefer to stay in the room when people come. In order: Hot dog, the dog is nice even if he and Salem hate each other. There's a kid who came 2 or 3 times to see a hot dog, I don't know his name anymore and I'm not sure he saw me. There's also a guy with a really original nickname, Tall Boy who was his father's right-hand man who didn't see me either. It's tense between him and Jughead, probably because as his right-hand man, he would have taken Mr. Jones' place, but many hope the son will be in charge until he returns. I'd be suspicious if I were him. And the three with whom I interacted....

Sabrina sighed before continuing:

-Toni is incredible and she really wants Jughead's good, I don't doubt it for a second, but I think we're too like get along ironically. And if she started, I am the one who burned any chance of progress when she tried to reconcile," she says with regret.

-Fang looks like a bully, but if you dig hard enough, there's something fluffy and pink that just wants to be loved and surprisingly cultivated. And finally, Sweet Peas, whose real name is Olivier, also looks like also looks like a shallow brute... but that's because he is, she said, smiling at Archie.

-Seriously, this guy is a mean fool! Admiring a serial killer and wanting to build a bomb? Oh don't worry, I doubt he can make a baking soda volcano without help, so a bomb, Sabrina mocked when she saw Archie's expression change.

-I'm starting to regret that I didn't give him more than one black eye. Gronda Archie

-So much was probably deserved in his case, didn't you have someone who claimed to have stabbed himself on your side? I'm not a pacifist, but I'm not sure this battle will help anyone. And then Jughead keeps an eye on things... I think that's one of Toni's motivations. Better a leader who can keep them on a leash, than a Caligula who will set the city on fire and to death. Or ghoulies. They seem to be more dangerous than expected.

-You have a lot of opinions about everyone for someone who doesn't want to get involved," Archie said.

-In my defense, what is happening in this city is more interesting than any TV show. It helps to relative.

-Relativize?

-I prefer the slightest hindrance to an imaginary happy ending.

-With help, maybe you can get your happy ending, Archie said with a smile. -Besides, your cat's outside Pop's door. I think he's worried too.

-Yeah, I saw it. But I had a moment without anyone including Salem.

-Do you still need it? Because if you're not ready yet, I can leave you alone or we can go somewhere else before we go home. At Betty's, at my house or even I don't know if you know, but my girlfriend Veronica is having a party at her house and she said you could come if you want tonight instead of waiting alone in the caravan.

Sabrina looked up at him and had a difficult expression explained giving him back his smile but having a look of someone ready to cry as she contemplated Archie.

-It's amazing how you remind me of my boy... my ex," she ends up saying.

-Did it end badly between you two?

-Yes, you could say that. He... he was great, and I miss him.

-If you're not together anymore, he probably wasn't that great.

-No, it's my fault. I wanted help, but.... hell is paved with good intentions and it exploded in my face.

At that moment all Archie was experiencing was Betty after her sister left, Jughead after her mother left and Jellybean, Veronica after learning the consequences of her father's actions, Kevin the manipulation of Joaquim and Cheryl that fateful day on the lake was freezing.

-We're going to pay and go for a walk, okay?

-Mommy? Nana Rose? Who is there? Who is there? Asked Cheryl suddenly regretting that she didn't have her bow with her.

-Hello, sweetheart," suddenly said a voice of an unknown woman.

Cheryl turned around to find a woman who must have been in her late thirties, small in stature with a round face and blond, curly hair. Everything about her feel like cookies from the oven and long hugs. Yet Cheryl still wanted her bow.

-Hello, person the police will arrest in ten minutes if they haven't left my house.

-Oh, am I scaring you? Sorry, your mommy brought me and my sister in. She's treating her, but we'll be able to see her soon if that's what you're worried about," replied the woman in the same tone as if Cheryl had been four years old rather than seventeen. -I'm Hilda and you're Cheryl, right?

-I don't care about...

-Cheryl, that's enough!

Penelope was standing there in much better shape...much too well. Only a few burns remain near his neck and one of his hands. She still seemed a little physically weak, which was the reason why the woman accompanying her seemed to support her. With the same expression as if Penelope were an open garbage bag, but still. Hilda's sister was much taller and had a pointed face, these hairs were Venetian blond and for her part, she released more of a schoolteacher expression ready to make you sink your exam.

-Zelda, you were quick!

-Of course, I was quick," replied this one in an icy tone. -It's not that difficult to fix.

Then his eyes crossed Cheryl's.

-Come here," said this one, as if Cheryl were a dog.

-Pardon? Who thought you were old-fashioned bi....

-CHERYL, you come here right now! Shouted his mother with a surprisingly nervous expression.

Cheryl hesitated before moving forward with no turtle to the point that Zelda called her moved forward to join her and without hesitation grabbed her face to force her to look at her.

Cheryl felt paralyzed, wanting to scream, but unable to do anything while the woman observed her pupils like two then bottomless wanting to swallow her soul.

-No," she said disappointed when she released her grip.

-Seriously, Zelda? How incompetent do you think I am? His sister got angry.

-Not incompetent, just naive. She must have had that from someone.

-Yes, from his mother! Hilda got angry.

Zelda had another expression of disgust before addressing Penelope.

-Don't forget the payment. You are on credit for the moment!

-You would have it, didn't worry.

Zelda had one last look of contempt as Hilda shakes her hand goodbye before leaving mother and daughter alone.

-Mommy, what is it...

-Listen to me, Cheryl! Your little crisis in the hospital was the last straw. One gesture, one gesture, and I send you to the sisters of quiet mercy, am I clear?

And Cheryl lost what little control she never had.

The cat meowed his displeasure when he finally saw Sabrina go out with Archie. She took him in her arms and rubbed his forehead against hers.

-Sorry, I needed some time for myself. Do you forgive me? I have leftovers!

The cat sniffed the bag before jumping out of his arms and without moving too far away, he stayed at a distance by shaking his tail and following them.

-Does he sulk at you? Archie asked.

-Yes, not that it's not deserved. So, you have an idea where to go? Sabrina asked, changing the subject.

-Well, I'll think we could go to my place....

-You remind me of my boyfriend, but not this ...

-Oh no, Archie cut it off by understanding his misunderstanding. - I wanted to go see my father. I'm worried about him after what happened, so I was saying we could pass.

-Oh of course, sorry I thought the worst. I tend to see the devil's tail everywhere, Sabrina apologized.

-It's okay, everyone's been paranoid lately. And besides, I admit that maybe I do have a favor to ask.

-Well, ask," said Sabrina amused. -Worse, I'd say no.

-Betty said you have talents with plants. Do you have any ideas for something that might help my father? It comes at the end of the prescription period and even if he says otherwise, he is not getting better. So, if you have any idea of anything that might help.

-Oh of course! You can show me what he was taking, and I'll see what I can do. I can't promise something that strong, but maybe I can find something that can help it work.

-Thank you, said Archie.

As they arrived at the Andrews' residence, Salem began to run and passed them to go directly into the yard.

-Salem? Salem's come back! Cries Sabrina.

The cat returns, but comfortably seated in Fred Andrew's arms, purring.

-Hello Arch, are you coming home already? And you brought a friend? Fred asked more curious than anything else.

-Yes, it was faster than expected with Betty.

-What about Jugh?

-Also, Archie answered a little quickly. -This is Sabrina

-Hello Mr. Andrew," said Sabrina nervous.

-You can call me Fred," said Fred kindly, freeing his hand to shake Sabrina's hand.

-Sorry about Salem, he has a strong personality.

-Is it yours? Says Fred surprised. -It doesn't matter, he's quite friendly except maybe with Vega. He's just asking for table scraps.

-Are you sure you can hold him with your allergy? Worried Archie.

-He must be hypoallergenic because I've seen him dragged around the house for a week and no symptoms.

-Probably, he's a bastard so it's that or having one of the cats with special hair in his genes, Sabrina said quickly. -Sorry again, he considers that he needs these eight daily meals and I refuse to serve him more than three, so he has got into the habit of begging," Sabrina mocked.

-It's nothing and then he actually paid the last time. I thought he had a dead bird or smile in his mouth and imagine my surprise when I found a $50 bill in his mouth.

-Uh... yeah, he brought back stuff he thinks people like like candy or money sometimes, you're lucky it wasn't Monopoly tickets, Sabrina laughs nervously as she looks at her cat.

Archie noticed his discomfort and tried to change the conversation.

-We just stopped by to pick up a few things for tonight's party and for Sabrina to get some rest too.

-I will also punish my cat by giving affection to your dog, Sabrina joked.

-Make yourself at home, Fred answered.

-There they are, said Archie once his father had left them alone to lie down.

If Fred tried to hide it, he was still weak from his attempted murder and as much as he tried to ration himself so much, Archie had understood that his father was more dependent on them than he wanted to show him.

-Oh dear," said Sabrina in shock. -This thing is strong, but the amount was ridiculous. Shit, the American health system sucks!

-Do you only believe in traditional medicine? Archie asked.

-No, I believe in modern medicine...in Canada and in the Scandinavian countries," she says with a little smile. -And a lot of traditional medicine is shit too. It's an in-between that would be necessary. But good for if I can reproduce what's in there, I doubt it... Not legally anyway. For example, maybe I can do something that would help you sleep and reduce your pain without causing you to become addicted. Does he drink herbal tea?

-He likes coffee more, but I've seen him take it before, Archie says.

-Perfect, give me three days and it'll be ready, Sabrina says with pleasure.

-Thank you again, said Archie.

-Nothing and I'm... I'm sorry about earlier with my ex. I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable and I'm not trying to hit on you....

-It's nothing, honestly. I'm just starting to think I have a very common face.

In front of Sabrina's questioning face, he explained:

- Mrs. Blossom saw her son through me. For a while, it even seemed like they were trying to get me to replace him.

Archie expected a sarcastic or disbelieving comment, but for a moment Sabrina's expression seemed a mixture of horror and disgust before answering:

-It's twisted and disgusting even for them.

- I must admit that thinking about what Mr. Blossom did...

-His wife too, turn you into their sons for what next? To get you married to their daughter? What kink of fuck up you must be to even think about that, Sabrina continued, as she seemed to have trouble keeping her cool.

-Hey, it's okay, I think you read too much in there. And Cheryl has a good heart. If you change your mind, she'll be at the party, tried to calm her down Archie.

-Yeah, I'm not going to blame a child for their parents' crime. Thank you, but I'll pass. Maybe another one when he gets fewer people. I'd like to meet Veronica, Betty says a lot of good things. For the tea, like I said give me three days and it will be ready and... Thank you again for today.

-It made me happy. Are you ready to go home?

Betty felt like she was going to die. The black hood had ordered her to break off her relationship with Veronica at the risk of making Polly pay if she refused. He had also promised a clue to his identity, but sociopaths were not exactly known for respecting their words. She had already had to part with Jughead. And who knows who would follow: Archie? Kevin? Everyone until she was all his? It holds back a shiver of disgust.

For now, she had to concentrate to give a convincing performance. And to her great misfortune, she had a good idea of what would push Veronica to the limit: throwing her past in her face and comparing it to her father. Would only remain accumulated the anger she should release. All you have to do is look around her: see the others consumed by the jingle jingle as idiots when they knew the effects, Nick who seemed to him a pretentious idiot and who didn't miss a chance to rub Archie in the wrong direction, the loss of Jughead, his parents, Polly, to have missed Kevin's distress and finally his future treason. Forgive me, Ronnie, I don't want to lose you.

While Veronica, who had noticed Betty's coldness and her withdrawal from others, rang her phone.

(No please, not yet) thought Betty as she retired to be able to answer.

Hello? -Hello?

-Betty! I'm so happy to talk to you! Polly wrote on the other end of the line.

-Me too, Betty says, shares between the desire to hear from her sister and the fear of not respecting her contract with the black hood. -Why are you calling me so late? Is there something wrong?

-Oh, it's not much, I just needed to talk to you a little bit. It's probably my hormones that are screwing up, trying to rationalize her sister.

-You call me at almost 10:00, it must be important," Betty said against her best judgment.

Polly sighed, but eventually gave in:

-I think I think I feel and see things.

-Go on.... say Betty confused and worried.

-It's just a kind of discomfort, like sometimes I feel like we're watching, or I think I see something from the corner of my eye.

-Do you have someone watching you? Cries Betty horrify when she hears her words and remembers the threats of the black hood.

-No... probably not. Look, I just don't feel well, and I just wanted to call you.

-But did you see anyone? Insisted Betty.

-I saw something! But I don't think it was a person... it had the right size, but nobody moves like that, Polly continued.

-What do you mean, what do you mean? Betty continued confused.

-Oh, shoot, I think I woke up the others. I'll call you back when I can.

-Wait, you can go back to the...

She hung up.

-Home, Betty concludes, looking sadly at the phone in her hand.

-Betty," Archie shouted. -As soon as you saw Veronica?

Toni was helping Jughead as best he could, and he got into the caravan in the poor state he was in. Damn, Sweet Peas hadn't gone soft for him. It was better if he didn't go to bed right away to avoid the risk of a concussion.

As she opened the door and supported Jughead, she heard footsteps rushing to open it. She was wearing pink pajamas and a worn apron unknown to Toni.

-Oh, there you are! Sabrina wrote as she opened the door wide. -Back home, I have plenty of good food for you.

If Jughead's condition shocked her, she didn't show it. Psycho or hardened? Couldn't help but wonder, Toni asked herself.

-Glad to see you, whispered Jughead.

-Me too, even if I wish I had seen you in better shape. Sorry again about this morning and Toni? Good to see you too," Sabrina sincerely said. -Do you want to stay and eat?

-Of course, Toni stays," continued Jughead.

-Awesome!

Toni had to give her this: this girl could cook. The meal was delicious and despite her best judgment, she reserved herself. After that, she and Sabrina took care of Jughead. This was not the first time Toni had taken care of someone in a bad state, she even remembered having to take care of Joaquim when he had spent his initiation with his mother six months ago. Sabrina also seemed to have experience and Toni had decided to give her a pass for her strange products.

-More ice? Toni asked as she headed to the fridge to wrap it in the damp cloth.

-Please, say Jughead.

-It's impressive, but you shouldn't have a scar," says Sabrina admiring. -So, Serpent prince, what would please his royalty?

-Don't overdo it, it's not a monarchy, Toni replied.

-It's cool as long as Jugh doesn't order me to give him a bath and make him macaroons, that's fine with me.

-What?" Jugh asked.

-Who would ask that? Continued Toni

-A girl I know. For a festival in Greendale, we had to elect a queen and I had to take care of all her whims. And that's not the worst part, she even tried to organize an orgy in my room.

-Liar, said Toni.

-I swear," continued Sabrina, who seemed amused as she told the story. -Six people, it counts as one orgy, doesn't it? I mean, if I'm honest, by digging under the layers of badness, he had a pretty cool person. Or maybe Stockholm syndrome has finally started, Sabrina says with a sincere smile on her face.

-It's your ex?" Toni continued.

-What? No! Just sister-nemi, I suppose? Tempted Sabrina clumsily. -Not that it would be wrong, I consider myself as a fluid, but it's her as an individual, not as a girl that I...

-Hey, a simple no would have been enough. But whatever you decided to come out of the closet, I like both too. Even if I may lean a little more towards the girls, recognized Toni. -Are you Jugh?

-Oh, I'm going through it too?

Sabrina and Toni would nod in unison.

-Well then I love Betty, but I don't think I have a desire for other girls or guys for what it's worth," Jughead admitted.

A little lie, Jughead had had feelings for another person, but the sex itself? He hadn't wanted to watch playboys at puberty or had the same questions from others. Nothing until I fall in love. And even then, it was more the connection with Betty than the act itself that attracted him.

-Demisexual? Toni asked.

-Probably, said Jughead.

-I think I would go in that direction for myself too, Sabrina continued. -Finally, I have all my life to be sure," said Sabrina, looking a little sad. -Did you choose the episode you want to watch?

-I hesitate between Time Enough at Last or A World of His Own," says Jughead.

-Maybe, look at both, since I'd like you to stay up late in case you have a concussion, said Toni worried. -Besides, I asked Hack if he could fix the hole in the kitchen. You really have no idea what caused this?

-None, we were both in the main room when it happened.

-A mini earthquake or someone who sent an object against the caravan tried Sabrina.

-No, the ground didn't move, and the sound didn't come from outside. It looked like someone hit the wall with all their strength from the inside.

-I don't see what it could be like in this case.

Liar thought Jughead then. But before he could try to dig into the question, he heard Toni say while looking at his phone:

-Oh, shit.

Betty and Archie found Veronica pale and trembling with anger.

-Ronnie, are you okay? Asked Betty right away.

-I'm sorry, but the party is over, can you warn the others," replied this one, trying to control an adjacent anger.

-Ron, you worry me, what are you...

-Archiekind, please.

Archie reluctantly obeys, leaving her with Betty.

-Ronnie, what's wrong?

-Later, please. I'll explain later....

The dreaded ringing of the phone then began to play, forcing him to obey. She withdrew separately to answer.

-Evening.

-You disobeyed me! You didn't come.

-I was held back...

-I don't care! You should have listened to me, someone will have to pay for it, maybe your dear sister!

Suddenly, anger flowed through Betty's veins.

-You're not as good as you thought you were. Three of your victims survived and Polly saw you running around ready. She notified the police, she says defiantly.

-What?

His reaction took Betty to class; he seemed...surprised? That his sister saw him? Or... Oh, of course.

-I'm really a poor excuse of detective. That's not the real Black hood talking, is it?

The person at the other end of the phone was passing the surprise tried to regain control of the conversation, but it was too late.

-Of course, I'm the real Black....

-Oh, that's right. Who is really calling? Chuck? A ghoulie? You know what? I'll tell you what. It doesn't matter! You played with my nerves and tried to separate me from my loved ones. If I were you, I would get down on my knees and pray that I wouldn't find it, BECAUSE I WILL BE MY PLEASURE TO DESTROY YOU!

And she hung up without him, giving him time to answer with a surprising sense of satisfaction.

Toni couldn't go home tonight. It wasn't the first time and it wouldn't be the last time it would happen until she was eighteen. Her parents had died when she was four years old: during a battle in a bar, a guy hit her father with a glass still in his hand, seriously injuring him in the throat. His mother panicked, had tried to go to the hospital with him rather than wait for an ambulance that only arrived once in three times in time. Drives too fast and not exactly sober, killing them both. The person in charge had gone to prison, sentenced to five for assault and making only two for good conduct and blaming Mister Topaz.

After that, she had lived with her grandparents. It was perfect until Grandma got her fatal cancer and Grandpa became too sick to take care of her full time. Grandpa have to send her to live with his uncle Timothy. He was okay when he was taking his meds, the problem was that it only happens once in a blue moon. He was unstable, and nothing could cause him mood swings that often-had explosive results. Refusing to let Toni in the house was for a more or less long period was usually her reaction to punish her for whatever she thought was wrong. In this case, forget to buy orange juice.

Impossible to go to Grandpa's tonight, Joaquim was absent and she could not see her knocking on his mother's door who still blamed them for her son's situation without his presence, Fang's parents were nice, but with the uncle, aunt and their children being recently settled in their homes in addition to their already large family, they didn't even have a closet or install Toni and going to Sweet Pea meant facing the mad drunk who was his mother. So yeah, she was screwed.

-You can stay here says Jughead. -You only have to share the bed with Sabrina.

- Thank you, Jugh," said Toni, hugging him.

-Or you can have the bed and I'll take my sleeping bag to sleep somewhere else, Sabrina continued.

-Okay, seriously, what's your problem? Are you afraid I'll strangle you in your sleep or what? Toni got angry.

-It's not that! It's just... I have night terrors, okay? I thought you'd like to avoid it," said Sabrina embarrassed.

-So, what, you might kick him and whine in your sleep? Because I don't remember ever hearing you scream in your room," says Jughead.

-I'm not screaming, it's closer to paralyzing her from sleep. When I regain control of my body, yes I may kick and if I don't scream, I cry and mumble.

Toni sighed before saying:

-On the bench seat of a car into a metal scrap, under Sweet Pea's bed among her dirty socks and behind the Whyte Wym bar where I know for a fact that people have vomited, pissed, spat and fucked because I had to clean more than once. These are the three worst places I had to sleep and I had a lot of people with whom I had to share a bed or a room that snores, talks or moves in their sleep, I even shared a bed with Fang's little sister who regularly peed in bed while his other sister who slept in the room made her teeth for a month. I can survive to your worst trust me.

-Okay, fine then, but Salem is sleeping with us. He can sleep outside the bed....

-MEOW! Shouted the surprising cat Jugh and Toni, but not Sabrina.

-Okay, Salem has to sleep with us, but he won't move on my side," Sabrina said.

Everyone had left the party and Archie was taking Betty home.

-Veronica told you what happened? Asked the ginger.

-No, but she said she'd call me. Don't worry, I'm sure she just didn't want to talk to everyone around her.

-Her father's return stressed her out, Archie continued. -Maybe it's related to him.

-Maybe.

They continued walking in silence until Betty broke the silence again:

-I'm sorry for what I asked you. To break up with Jugh for me.

-Yeah, speaking of which... I couldn't do it, at the time I had the opportunity, an emergency arose and he was already gone.

Archie had expected a lot from Betty after telling her the truth, but certainly not that little nervous laugh.

-It's perfect, it's just perfect.

-What did I miss?

-Nothing. I think the guy who called me and said he was the Black hood was an impostor. Then it's just as well that you didn't say anything.

Jughead was dreaming. A dream without any real logic that seemed to place him in three places: running through the free and princely woods knowing that he was the master of the place, then sitting at a table eating a most exquisite buffet that never seemed to be finished and finally with Betty, beautiful and smiling, dressed in a white dress, flowers in his hair, he kissed her so happy. The fantasy changes every time he blinks until they start to mix: he runs into the woods with Betty, licks the sauce with his fingers and lips, stops in the woods to pick fresh fruit and eats the still warm flesh of a deer. He was free, he was strong, he was hungry, he was in love, he was controlled before he lost him. The images continued to melt and mix with each other. Until Jughead found himself in a forest above Betty lying in the grass with his hair spread like a halo around his head, his lips slightly ajar as if to sigh, these green eyes watching Jughead feast on the best meal of his life. Meal that found in Betty's abdomen.

Jughead woke up with horror and had just enough time to rush into the bathroom to vomit.

-What are you doing here? Says a voice in the woods.

-It's not your home, go home or the chance to be the meal of its real inhabitants," continued another.

Toni kept walking through the forest trying to ignore the voices that could have mixed with the sounds of nature yet seemed to scream in his ear. She continued to walk despite everything because backing away seems out of the question. Too close, too close, but to what?

The answer came quickly.

There's a... person in a clearing? So tall and thin with a skin too pale, almost off-white, but which seemed hard as a bark with hands where it was hard to know where the nails were finished, and fingers started giving him long black claws scraping something off the ground whose nature Toni has no desire to know. These fluorescent eyes shone behind her long grey hair and it has a mouth that stretched from ear to ear filled with sharp yellowish teeth that refuse to stay hidden. Finally, his legs seemed to be tucked in like those of a quadruped with a kind of long protuberance at the foot that held as much of a hoof as of a claw.

-What do you want? Asked the thing with a surprisingly feminine voice.

-I... I... I... I

-If you're here, it's because you want something, or can you be useful for free? I would be very happy to do so.

-Useful? Suddenly said Toni, whose word had finally brought her out of terror and brought her to anger.

The thing shook his head to confirm his words.

-This is not your land and you are not my race, I don't owe you anything. But maybe you want to change that?

She put her hand through her hair, cutting a handle with her claws: as she fell to the ground, they turned into snakes.

-Finally, be what you want to be: sure of your choices or why not be at the crossroads?

Immediately the snakes began to crawl towards Toni, she from disgust struck the nearest one so the sound of the shock woke her up!

Covering her eyes, another blow was heard, and Toni turned to the side of the bed that she discovered empty. Following the ground cover trail, she found Sabrina lying on the ground, her eyes wide open and a huge blue starting to appear on her forehead. Her cat rests against her trying her best to calm her down by rubbing against her.

-Sabrina, what happened? Says Toni while trying to get it up.

-I... I hit my head... and I fell, says this one flatly.

Toni then noticed with horror that she was bleeding from behind her head.

-Oh, shit. Come on, let's get you cleaned up.

As soon as they were out, Toni heard Jughead vomiting in the bathroom and left Sabrina on the couch to meet her.

-Jugh, what's going on? Do you need to go to the hospital?

Jughead turned around and tried to reassure her:

-It's nothing. I guess food too rich and blow to the head doesn't mix well. Did I wake you up?

-Han, miss albino did it. She managed to blow her head off in her sleep. Don't ask me how she did it. At three years old, I don't say, but at sixteen?

Jughead finished cleaning up and Toni took care of Sabrina's head. It was just a cut that, like all head injuries, had just bled a lot.

But after their respective nightmares, none of the Serpents wanted to go back to sleep right away and that also applied to Sabrina in case she had a concussion. Perhaps it was better to continue the twilight zone marathon.

-If you don't mind, I might do some laundry while I'm up.

-Are you sure that's a good idea? Asked Jughead. -Maybe it's worth sitting still.

-Oh, come on, just the towels. They're full of blood thanks to both of us and it's going to be awful to clean them if you wait too long. I will make a quick promise," she insisted.

-Just, if your head turns, you stop and come back.

Sabrina bought it and headed for the washing machine. She started to classify the different clothes and towels, throwing them in the machine before stopping at what she was looking for.

She checked that the other two were busy (more discussed the future of the snakes than looked at the screen) before turning her attention to the towel: it was the most stained of all and it had only Jughead's blood on her. In this state, claiming that it was too damaged to be washed and had to be thrown away might work. Discreetly, Sabrina took it and waited for Salem to approach. The cat knew exactly what to do and took the towel between his teeth to take him to the room to hide it while waiting for the right time. Hot dog wanted to follow the cat, but he emitted a rumble too low for the human ear, but cataphoric for the dog who immediately backed away. The cat seems to have an expression of satisfaction and Sabrina went to join the others.

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altonadventures · 6 years

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ALTON ADVENTURES BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

So...because its Friday and I usually update AA on Fridays, I figured it was time to make my big announcement!

And that is...that Alton Adventures is changing. A little bit.

Am I rebooted the comic again? No haha! Once I get back to it it shall continue as normal but some characters may look a bit different going forward.

Who may those characters be?

Sir Gareth Nemesis

Why is he changing?

Sir Nemesis’ change is actually less drastic than one may think. For starters, he needed a design rehaul. I wanted his armor to be more simple, easier to draw but with still details that could tie him to Nemesis (the green eye, the arms, the light pink details instead of inconsistent tentacles). I also had an issue where his hair was too close to his skin color, so to combat this I turned him into a ginger! His eye color also changed from gold to green, another thing to visually tie him more to Nemesis.

So yes, I changed Sir Nem’s design because I was unhappy with it. His armor was never drawn consistently ever, I was constantly changing the tone of his hair and his skin so that was inconsistent. I want my designs to be more consistent and polished going forward.

What else is different? Well, you can probably tell he looks much more serious, like in older pictures I drew of him. Why is that? Well, I was kind of..honestly tired of his role as the “dad character tm” that he kind of turned out to be. It almost undermined his true characterization and turned him into a typical over the top exaggerated hero character. And I started to realize how much I missed his original concept. A battle hardened solider that was filled with regret and remorse, who heavily sympathizes with the plight of the alien he’s locked in combat with. He’s still much a father however, as he has a biological son and adopts an alien who mimics his likeness (hence another reason he’s a ginger now as his Nemesis daughter always was one). He’s just returned to his roots as a character. Because I felt that characterization was a unique one for the Nemesis ride. And it was an idea I really loved. Sir Nemesis actually WAS one of my favorite characters...I wanted his role to be much larger than it is in the comics. I don’t blame anyone for him becoming a joke, I did initially kind of fuel the fire for it, I’m just hoping that its not to late to get back to the Sir Nemesis I originally wanted to write. And of course, all my characters are still meme and joke worthy. I just want to tackle much more serious issues with my comic and show the more serious side of some of my characters and don’t want there entire existence to be a joke Mr.S can’t have too many folks 1 uping him in the laughs department! I guess to note with this change that his original voice claim has also been solidified as well. It’s a more somber and serious tone that I feel fits him as a character.

Final Notes

Sir Nemesis is a character that I have a lot of thought put into. His backstory is tragic, emotional, and his character is complex and he’s not the perfect hero people might image him as. I plan for his Arc to follow the Fireworks arc in the comic, as well as I am planning to start some more text heavy short stories about how the Secret Weapons became Secret Weapons (which I will likely call Secret Weapon Short Stories hehe) and will be writing his first. Also a very important thing i must address. Yes, the eye on his chest moves. (I have a gif but it doesn’t want to work on this post Ill have it up later ><)

Erica Annabelle Cloud

ooof okay this is a huge one. Confession time. Erica was always my least favorite character. Why? She just had...no character. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with her, her design felt phoned in and there because I needed an Air/Galatica character, (yes, she is changing as her Galatica stage too). She was just. not well thought out. She had a dual identity but I think a lot of people didn’t pick up on that? She felt like a Rita 2.0 as just a nice and friendly optimistic person and literally had 0 backstory. Originally she was supposed to have had some sort of accident that turned her into Galatica and she had memory loss and forgotten about when she was Air, yeah it was a mess. That eventually just turned into Nebula Corona being a character she made up (bc her one trait was that she was into space and wrote a lot) that she played as when her rides themeing changed.

She was just..barely a character and her design was abysmal (Her Galatica suit was okay but her Air outfit was an afterthought) She needed a massive visual upgrade. A sleeker flight suit that makes more sense (I used a ref or two for this design!) A different face shape to help her stand out more, my signature they wear glasses they have dot eyes look. Long, wispy, flowing hair to resemble those trails planes make. A bit more lanky and tall. And let me tell you I LOVE her design now. It looks so much more unique and you can just SEE she has so much more character now! As for her characterization im going full into her being a nerd. A very tech nerd at that! She designed her suit to help her fly at her best, and eventually will be the one that designs and builds all her Galatica tech! Her Galatica design hasn’t been done yet, mostly bc I wanted to focus on her current comic canon design, but not much would change I feel with her upgrade anyways! She is effectively the brains of the group, and the others often turn to her for plans of attack when dealing with a situation, or innovative solutions to problems! I have yet to get a voice claim for her, but im sure one will come to me soon enough!

Final Notes

Erica/Nebula was a character I struggled to connect with. Everyone else had Airs that were either super plot important, or just much more cool and creative in general. I felt, that with my Air/Galatica she was just there, and I wanted her to be more. So a full character rehaul was done with her and it makes me so happy. She feels much more fleshed out, better designed, and I’m super excited to do more stuff with her, and hopefully you will all see her much more now that I’m a lot happier with her as a character! <3

Welp that's the end of the updates....wait. Hold on. I have something written here. What could this be? Oh! I remember now!

Black Hole, AkA Beatrix, will be joining the MAIN CAST of Alton Adventures!

When I drew my Black Hole design, I knew she was something special. She stands out compared to a lot of my characters, and her design SCREAMS main character. While the biggest main roles will still be held by Mr. S and Rita, I wanted to add another non SW coaster to the main crew, and because Canonically Corkscrew is MIA, Black Hole seemed like a fitting addition to the main crew! As she isn’t human, a species literally only referred to as Black Holes, I thought making her a main character and giving her a big arc would help flesh out the reality of non humans in Alton Adventures! Her powers and design and character and personality are just too fun to shove her into the background. I feel that adding her to the main cast gives them not only another character to support them, but a closer friend! You will all see her much more in the future for certain!

Well that's about it! In terms of comic updates themselves...its still going to be hiatus as long as I’m being swamped with school work. I hope you all understand. I’ll try to squeeze in updates over the breaks I have IF im not working on assignments for class. As I also said, I wanna do short stories as well, to expand the world and explain it better, as a comic will only develop the world so quickly and lots of you have tons of questions! I also wanna do something animated at some point, that’s my dream. I’ve ALSO mentioned to some people about merch, likely going for making stickers first since that's simple. I got an excited reaction for that so I’ll come up with designs for them soon! I just wanna do a lot with Alton Adventures, because I know how much it means to people, and of course it means so much. Goodness I really need to actually get to this park, I look quiet silly constantly gushing over a themepark I’ve never been to all the time XP That all aside I thank you all for sticking by me. I promise that even if I don’t do comic updates as frequently during the school year, I’ll still work to push out as much AA content I can outside of that! I’m always open to suggestions to what you guys want to see! ALSO, working on a big google doc spreadsheet with info on all the characters I’ll be posting when its more completed! So be on the lookout for that!

Again thank you to everyone who’s stuck with me through this, Your support makes me feel nothing but proud of what I’ve created. These characters may have been created out of something some may consider silly or odd, but the only thing that matters to me if that I can make at least someone happy with what I create.

Patreon (note that patrons got to see all of this content as it was being worked on!) l Ko-fi

#gonna probably post the images all in image posts later #for now have this #alton towers #alton adventures #nemesis #air #i like totally redid forbidden valley didnt i huh #sir gareth nemesis #beatrix #odin miller #mr. s #rita ferraro #erica cloud #esther forest #big update #long post

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calliecat93 · 6 years

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Callie Reviews: TMNT 2012 Season One (Part One)

Ever since 1984, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has gone form a cult-status indie comic to a massive mass market. There have been various comics, movies, video games, merchandise, and of course cartoons. And it’s easy to see why. TMNT’s concept, a group of mutated teen turtles fighting evil in New York, is both incredibly bizarre and incredibly appealing to a mass audience. You have action, science fiction, martial arts, and of course plenty of mutant ideas to make toys out of. The fact that this Fall will be releasing the fourth animated TMNT series and that a new movie series is in production shows that even over 30 years later, this is a franchise that is far from losing it’s power.

As a kid, I of course knew that Turtles as a thing and I even watch parts of 2k3. But I was never really a fan until the day I stumbled upon the 2012 show. I fell in love with it and, since it started when I was just starting this blog, it was a huge focus for me for several years. I have since moved on and while I’m going to check out the 2018 show, I don’t think I’m going to be as crazy as I was with this show (but never say never). Back in 2012, I was someone who... lets say ignored the flaws and defended the show far too passive aggressively to the point that looking at my older stuff makes me want to blow up by blog.

Nowadays, while some of my opinions hold true (like the ‘Donnie is a stalker’ accusations are still bullshit), I am more willing to admit the shows problems, especially now that I can take the show in fully. I also like to believe that I’ve become a better reviewer since I was 19 years old, plus it had been far too long since I went back over the show form the very beginning. So does the show still hold up? Will 25 year old Callie feel differently than 19 year old Callie did? Well we’re about to find out. This is the TMNT 2012 Season One Review!

The Premiere (Episodes 1-2)

Our story begins with a training sequence that introduces us to the titular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. Along with some minor character establishment, like Mikey being the funny one and Raph the violent one, the biggest thing here is one of the shows strengths: the choreography. It’s best exhibited in Leo and Raph’s duel. The movements are very fluid and well-paced. It’s fast, but not too fast, it’s enough to move things along but still let you take in all the impacts. It’s very well done. Raph ends up winning and we are introduce to the boys mentor and father, Master Splinter. Aka, the best written character int he show, but we’ll get to that later.

After the opening theme, we cut to the boys 15th Mutation Day where we get our backstory. Borrowing from the 80′s show origin, Splinter was once a young man named Hamato Yoshi. He had just bought four pet turtles when he stumbled across a shady dealing. Being a ninja master, he was able to fight back, but he ended up getting splattered with a strange green substance. This turned him into a rat, as one brushed his ankle while the baby Turtles become anthropomorphic. Yoshi, taking on the name Splinter, fled to the sewers and raised the four turtles as his own as well as taught them ninjutsu. It’s a simple, but still solid telling of the origin that pays tribute to previous origins, leaves some mystery about the substance and who was dealing it, and is told with use of comic-style panels reminiscent of the original comics.

The Turtles, having lived in the sewers since their mutation, are hoping to convince Splinter to let them finally go to the surface. After some begging, Splinter reluctantly agrees. We then cut to Leo watching a Star Trek: The Animated Series parody where we learn of his desire to become a great hero and leader. This is interesting for several reasons. One, it establishes that Leo isn’t the leader of the group yet, a departure form normal as he’s normally put into that role automatically. And second, ti does a great job at character establishment. In previous versions, Leo is often seen as the boring, overly leader type. Not a bad character mind you, but he lacks the quirkiness that the tough Raph, genius Donnie, and wild child Mikey present. Here? Leo is shown to be an idealistic, naive, but good-intention kid who aspires to be a great hero like he sees on TV as well as give shim some dorky characteristics, like quoting cheesy one-liners to sound more heroic. It helps make him more relateable, funny, and sets up a character arc for when he does inevitably become the leader. Very well done.

The boys finally go to the surface, and are in awe of what they see. They even discover their trademark favorite food, pizza. Given that they only ever ate worms and algae until this point, it makes their love of it all the more understandable. But not all goes well as they soon witness a group of business men kidnapping a red-haired teenager and her father. They attempt to help, but end up only beating each other up and the bad guys get away with their captives. Mikey ends up beating up one and discovers... a brain with tentacles... yipe... he tries to tell the other three, but they don’t believe him. A common trend in the show.

Upon returning home, the boys try to blame each other for the failure before Splinter accepts it for not giving them proper training as a team. While he considers keeping them down below for another year, Donnie convinces him to let them go help the girl due to seeing how terrified she was and how they failed to help her... and because of the crush he developed in a record five seconds. Splinter agrees, but first assigns Leo as the official leader, much to the ire of Raph. They’re eventually able to find the kidnappers vehicle and wreck it, capturing the driver named Snake and they discover a vat of a glowing green substance. A vat that they recognize as the same one that caused their original mutation.

Snake, after Raph threatens to mutate him, leads the boys to the facility where the captives are... and uses the boys bickering as a chance to escape. Leo uses this to trick the crook into thinking that they’re going to plow his van into the place as he conducts a plan to sneak in. All while Roah is an asshole who refuses to listen and outright undermines Leo’s orders. Yeah, Raph is a real jerk during this season. FYI. When Leo shows hesitance about his plan, Splinter tells him of his final confrontation against his rival Oroku Saki, aka The Shredder. It ended in his wife being killed, his house burning down, and his infant daughter nowhere to be found. Well, that won’t be important in any way, shape, or form later! The point being that he lost everything, but gained the boys, easing Leo’s worries about how much is riding on the plan.

So yeah the boys crash the van, Snake gets mutated, the boys break in, fight some guards, and Mikey proves that he isn’t crazy about the aliens.. and then trips an alarm. Smooth Mikey, smooth. They find the captives, that being this version of April O’Neil and her scientist father. Now in most versions, April is an adult woman. Here? She is aged down and is around sixteen years old. We’ll talk more about that later. The bad guys, aka The Kraang, take the captives away and as the boys give chase,t hey are confronted by the mutant Snake... who is a weed monster. Hey, that’s breaking supervillain rules writers! If you have an evil sounding name, that’s what you turn into! Donnie is sent to rescue the O’Neil’s as the other three face Snakeweed... Mikey’s idea, not mine.

The boys eventually defeat Snake via Leo’s direction and mass electrocution while Donnie is able to rescue April, but her father is taken away. April plans to find him however, no matter what it takes with the boys promising to help in whatever way they can. Once home, Leo finds out the complex reasoning for why he was named the leader over everyone else... because he asked. Ming-boggling, right? Well there is actually another reason, but we’ll talk about this in S4. The boys also made the news as their shruriken got found, but come on, what could one tiny news story do that would be bad? Well... being seen by your master’s worst enemy and re-igniting his lust for vengeance might count! Woopsie!

Overall, a solid two parter. It establishes the characters well, has fun fight scenes, the animation is a little dated now but still pretty good, the dialogue is funny, and it does a good job setting up future plotlines while fulfilling it’s own plot. It started 2k12 off on the right foot and was still enjoyable over five years since it’s initial premiere.

The Beginning (Episodes 3-8)

The episodes following the premiere create a steady flow of creating the status quo. You have episodes like Turtle Temper, Metalhead, and Monkey Brains (kinda) that have the boys dealing with the Kraang’s Plan of the Week as they continue their mutagen experiments. It helps with character development and some minor plot progression, such as Raph learning how dangerous his anger can be and Donnie learning to rely on his instincts rather than on his mind 100% of the time. Some are going to want me to comment on the shipping stuff, But I’m gonna save that for later. The biggest issue with these episodes, aside from Monkey Brains, is the Kraang. They are not interesting as villains at all. As great a VA as Nolan North is, the Kraang’s way of talking just gets... annoying. It doesn't help that the threat ultimately becomes either an accidental mutant or Donnie’s robot... well okay a Kraang possessed the later, but it shows that those are more interesting villains than the Kraang themselves and they exist mroe to just have an excuse for a plot. It’s really irking after awhile.

As far as plot goes, it’s mostly your usual ‘Monster of the Week’ stuff. But it has some small things that have a larger impact later. For one, in Monkey Brains, April begins to tap into what looks like some strong emphatic abilities. More on this next season. But due to this, Splinter decides to take April on as a student and train her to be a kunoichi (a female ninja). This will be the largest part of her character for the remainder of the series. April herself... is not utilized as well as she could have been in these early episodes. She’s described as the boys guide to the outside world, and she does serve that in some respects. For example, introducing Mikey to social media in New Friend, Old Enemy to let him make friends without exposing his mutant identity. And in Never Say Xever she takes them to a blind man’s shop so that they can actually experience life topside for once. The issue is we never see April establish bonds with the boys or Splinter after her introduction. In New Friend, Old Enemy she just acts like she’s been friends with the guys for awhile and after showing Mikey the net, doesn’t appear or is even mentioned in the episode again. She disappears after her importance in Metalhead as well, but she is given mroe to work with there at least. I glossed over this when I was watching the show and April does get mroe time with the guys, her relationship with Splinter being one of my favorites. Still, they didn’t do a lot with having April become part of the group or really act on her role as their ‘guide’ and I feel they just wanted to ignore it to get to the other stuff. Which is just a bummer.

So you’re probably wondering about Shredder stuff, right? Well thankfully the Foot Episodes are also the most plot relevant episodes. It starts with New Friend, Old Enemy where Shredder arrives in New York and assigns one of his lieutenants, a famous martial artist named Chris Bradford, to find out about Splinter. The Foot end up encountering the Turtles, with Bradford later using this to manipulate Mikey after accidentally becoming online friends with him. He captures him and use shim as bait to lure out the other three and then follow them to where Splinter is hiding. It fails with the boys using their knowledge of the sewers to literally wash Bradford and his partner, Xever, away. Along with the dangers of meeting people you don’t really know on social media, the episode presents a very unique lesson. In a fight for your life, screw fairness, You fight by any means necessary to stay alive, including fighting dirty. Most shows emphasize on being fair, but this one actually acknowledges that if your life is on the line, you do what it takes to get out alive. It’s a unique message for a kids show and one that I really appreciate.

Next is Never Say Xever where Xever gets to lead the charge. After the boys track down the two and get beat up, Xever receives inlet from the Purple Dragons, who int his version are pretty much a trio of teen thugs. The Turtles fought them off earlier at the shop April took them to, with Leo sparing the leader as an act of mercy. Something that Raph takes umbridge with... as he does with most anything that Leo does in the first half of the series. It’s no surprise that Leo and Raph butt heads, as they do in most series, and it follows their respective arcs. Leo having to deal with being leader as well as realizing that it’s much more pressuring and unforgiving than he thought, while Raph act son his jealousy that Leo got the position even though he’s the better fighter and therefore questioning Leo’s orders or outright just being an asshole for no good reason. But after the shop owner is kidnapped to lure the Turtles out, Leo’s act of mercy ends up saving them as the lead Dragon repays the favor by throwing him back his discarded sword. Which Leo uses to break a water tower to wash the bad guys away again. Angered, The Shredder decides to handle the Turtles himself.

The episodes do a good job in establishing a solid status quo. Bad guy does a thing, one character has their B-Plot to deal with, there’s a clash, the plots intertwine, bad guy gets defeated, and the lesson of the day is learned. A simple routine, but it works here. Plus we get plenty of character establishment and moments which makes you care about them. For example even though Raph is a massive jerk, the end of New Friend, Old Enemy has his comfort Mikey after the deceit and have him see that he’s a good kid who simply got duped as anyone else would. With this being after Raph mocked him wanting to make friends throughout the episode, it helped show that he does have a caring side. Leo frequently has issues with being a leader, such as dealing with Raph and moments like in ITHNiBS where the guys outright refuse to listen to him when he tries to remind them that they’re grounded. Even Splinter has a lot of moments, being a stern but fair parental figure and wise mentor, but is also snarky as Hell. We also see hints to how much the past has affected him, like after April agrees to undergo kunoichi training and leaves the dojo, there’s just a brief moment where he looks down with a forlorn expression. As though wishing that he was telling this to his own MIA daughter. It’s so subtle, but it speaks volumes about his emotional state.

The characters are ultimately what makes these episodes works and what I would say is the strongest part of the series. You are likely going to relate to or like someone from this show and their progression. But now that we have a fully formed status quo, it’s time to shake it up a little bit and have the Turtles experience their first hard dose of reality.

The Escalation (Epsidoes 9-13)

Episode 9 begins as a typical ‘Mutant of the Week’ plot with the guys trying to catch a pigeon mutant that was after April. But when they do, they discover that he was simply trying to deliver a message... from her father. The message warns her to get out of the city due to a mutagen bomb, but she refuses to leave without him. As such,t he Turtles... somehow... find where Mr. O’Neil is and try to save him. While they get him out of the cell and get the location of the bomb, Mr. O’Neil sacrifices himself when the Kraang outnumber them so that the boys can protect April. All while poor April can only watch, helpless to do anything. Ouch...

The Turtles can only go to where the bomb is to disarm it, but things get further complicated when Bradford and Xever attack, wanting payback from before. Fortunately Donnie disarms the bomb and the four corner the two, but Bradford refuse sot go down quietly and stabs the bomb, but all it does is mutate himself and Xever. But ti also washes them away.... again. I should also point out that this point,t he Turtles have gotten incredibly over-confident since they’ve beaten every bad guy so far, feeling unstoppable. So then... Shredder arrives. Yep. And he kicks their shells HARD. Liek he holds no punches, he easily over-powers all four of them and almost stabs Leo int he head. The only reason that they escape is Shredder getting distracted by his now mutated lieutenants. But the boys retreat, badly beaten up and completely demoralized.

The next episode focuses on the fallout. The four are mostly feeling better, but their fears are being escalated by, of all people, Splinter. This is due to the boys nearly getting killed by his long-time rival re-igniting his own trauma and having nightmares over losing them, causing him to again keep them in the sewers and be far more harsh with his training. The only one doing moderately well is April, who gets intel about the Foot planning to destroy the sewers. The Turtles try to stop it, but get pounded by Bradford, who is now a giant dog mutant named Dogpound. This forces April to get the inlet herself, but she gets caught an captured by the Foot. This further brings Leo down, but to his surprise Raph actually encourages him to pull himself together and lead the team. The Turtles manage to both save April and stop the Foot from destroying the sewers with Splinter apologizing for allowing his fears to affect both himself and his sons. Overall, a solid pair of episodes that bring the boys down a bit, finally has all the plots meet somewhere, and deliver a strong message about not letting fear control you or the others around you.

After a filler episode where the only importance is Shredder forcibly recruiting Stockman to his forces, we get some more Kraang stuff with Episode 12. Where we actually show them being dangerous. Shocker, right?! It also introduces us to long-time supporting character within the franchise Leatherhead. Here he is an alligator mutant who the Kraang experimented on and it causes him to have violent fits of rage if he so much as hears the word ‘Kraang’. The Turtles end up saving him when the Kraang try to re-capture him, but find his angry bursts, well... dangerous. But Mikey is able to befriend him and it becomes more clear that LH is actually a rather intelligent, good-hearted mutant who has been put through Hell. He gets run off by Splinter though when one of his trauma-induced bursts causes him to attack the boys, forcing the rat master to intervene. Mikey, and by proxy the other three, give chase to an old subway car where LH reveals how the Kraang took him to their home, Dimension X, and experimented on him. He escaped and also took their Power Cell, cutting them off form Dimension X, in hopes of saving humanity from them. The Kraang want it back and act like a zombie swarm as they break through the car. LH fights them off, leaving the Power Cell in the Turtles care.

While Episode 11 sucks (to put it simply Leo and Raph are overbearing assholes while Donnie and Mikey are just made to be as weak as possible), the other three do a good job at making the villains more solid threats. Shredder was built up as intimidating and powerful, and boy did he deliver. The Turtles face their first major loss and have to deal with the fallout, Leo especially dealing with his first real failure as a leader. Even the Kraang come off as a scarier hivemind and we get mroe stuff on them, like Dimension X and their plans to mutate the Earth. Add that with a strong supporting character like Leatherhead, who is understandably traumatized but is an intelligent being who is trying to prevent others form suffering like him. and it helps make some strong episodes.

The first half of the season concludes with the 13th episodes... that aired as the 14th for some reason. But I’m going in order of my DVD’s and this was after Episode 12, so it’s what I’m going with. It both concludes a lot and opens up a lot for the future. The episode I am talking about is, of course New Girl in Town.

TBC in Part Two....

#tmnt #2k12 #tmnt 2012 #callie reviews

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