#And that first action is supporting Phineas to do the right thing in a moment where Phineas needs help!

[acaptainbyanyothername]

Even at his best with a goal in mind, Phineas still has a moment of indecision and weakness—except this time, Spahr is able to break through his own crippling indecision to break the cycle and finally be there for him. They’ve come full circle

[anonymousfiction211]

Give it time: ch2

A/N:

Some time ago I wrote this story about Loki seeing Steve flirt with you and getting jealous. It was fun to write it from Loki’s point of view. Here is what happened next, written from your point of view. While writing it I got the idea for another (and last!) chapter of the next day, written from Steve’s point of view. If you guys are interested. Hope you like it😉

Warnings:

Hurt/comfort 

Comforting Loki

He cried.

You had never seen Loki cry. Sometimes he would tear up and on a rare occasions a single tear would fall down his cheek. But now he was sobbing against your chest, holding you extremely tight. For a moment you feared he would forget that he could crush you like a bug, but after a while the sobbing died down a bit and his grip around you loosened. Able to move, you put a hand on his cheek. Loki averted your gaze and hid it in the crook of your neck.

‘Loki?’ you asked.

He didn’t react. You held him tighter and stroked his hair. Whispering in his ear that it was okay and everything would be all right. That you were here with him and you weren’t going anywhere. After a while Loki stopped crying, but didn’t try to move. He had drank a lot, not normal alcohol, Asgardian alcohol. Thor had warned you before the party that Loki might have one drink too many. It had been a while since he had any alcohol that could affect him. No wonder that he was emotional. And the whole situation with Steve didn’t help. You wished he would see that he had nothing to worry about.

‘Loki?’ you asked again.

Loki’s grip loosened more and he showed his face to you. His eyes were red and puffy, he looked heartbroken. And it broke your heart to see him like that. But you also were a bit relieved to see it. A relationship with Loki wasn’t always easy. He was very closed off and didn’t always show his emotions. The longer you were together, the more he started to relax and show you his true self.

‘It’s all right. Tell me what’s wrong’ you whispered to him.

Loki sat up right in the bed. You did the same and grabbed his hand. He let you hold his hand and squeezed in it.

‘Steve’ he said with a strained voice.

Not this again, you thought. The same argument the two of you had since the beginning of your relationship. Ever since Loki had learned that you and Steve had ‘history’ together, he became possessive and scared to lose you. It wasn’t even really history. When Steve woke up after being frozen you had helped him adjust to the modern world. The two of you had a strong bond and became inseparable. To help him with the new dating customs, the two of you went on a dinner date. After the date he walked you home and yes, the two of you kissed. You weren’t sure if it was because of the romantic setting, that you spend all your free time helping Steve, or that you actually like him. So, you were relieved when he came by the next day and told you that he didn’t know either.

Everything was new to him, Peggy was still alive and the loss of their possible future was something he hadn’t come to terms with yet. At that time, he needed a friend and the two of you decided that that’s what it was. Friends. After that you never talked about it and there were never any awkward moments. You actually had forgotten about it. When you started to date other guys, Steve was extremely supportive. Except when you started to date Loki. He thought you could do better. But after a few months of Steve seeing how happy you were with Loki, he let it go. He even tried to make an effort with Loki. Loki was wary of Steve at first, but that was just Loki being Loki. Unfortunately, Steve had told Loki about your ‘history’ before you and after that Loki couldn’t stand Steve. Loki insisted that Steve was interested in you, but you knew Steve better and that surely wasn’t the case.

‘Loki’ you sighed. ‘I told you time and time again, there is nothing happening. We don’t look at each other that way. You need to let this go. I swear we’re just friends’ you said.

Loki squeezed your hand tighter ‘It is’ he said. ‘I just passed him in the hallway, getting you your water. He flat out told me that he is interested in you’

‘What?’ you asked shocked.

‘He wants you, he told me’ Loki said.

‘That can’t be. You sure?’ you asked still shocked.

‘WHAT? Because the God of Lies is incapable of telling the truth?’ Loki snapped.

‘No! That’s not what I meant’ you quickly said. ‘But are you sure? What did he say? Maybe you.. you know.. misinterpreted it?’

‘He pretended to be worried about my state and said he thought he had to take you home. It told him that I will always take you home. He reacted by saying ‘Give it time’. I told you that he is madly in love with you. How can you not see it?’ Loki answered.

‘Maybe he meant that he would have if you had any more alcohol? Or that there will be a point in time where he takes me home, because you are on a mission or something?’ you tried to calm Loki down.

‘Are you SERIOUSLY defending him right now?’ Loki half yelled. He let go of you hand and looked angrily at you.

‘It’s just.. Steve is my best friend. And I don’t want to ruin that friendship, because you’re jealous at a stupid thing that happened years ago and meant nothing!’ you explained.

‘Don’t’ Loki said.

‘Don’t what?’ you asked.

‘Don’t act like I’m unreasonable or wrong here. I love you, but you are so naïve sometimes. He’s been shamelessly flirting with you, manipulating our fights, and manipulating me’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘So, don’t tell me that I misunderstood. Don’t try to justify his actions. My whole life people tell me that I misunderstood, that I’m out of line. I’m not!’ tears were starting to form in his eyes.

‘You mean because of your youth and competition with Thor?’ you asked. Thinking that maybe that was the real issue. Maybe he was projecting his feelings from then on some made up idea, because it is less painful.

‘I am referring to that, but this isn’t some made up idea. This is very real. I can’t believe you don’t believe or trust me in this’ he said.

‘Are you in my head?’ you asked.

‘Obviously’ he sarcastically said.

‘You know I hate it when you do that’ you snapped.

‘And I hate it when my girlfriend keeps hanging with her ex and is totally oblivious about his true intentions. Yet, here we are’ he snapped back.

There was a long silence. You were trying to find the right words. Loki’s face had gone blank and you had no idea what he was thinking, or is he was still in your head.

‘If it is really true that Steve has changed his mind and wants more than friendship, it doesn’t change the fact that I am with you. And that I love you. He can try all he wants, but I’m not leaving you. I have no interest in Steve that way. So, if you can’t trust him, trust me!’ you tried to convince him.

‘How can you promise me something like that. Maybe you change your mind after some time. I know being with me isn’t the easiest thing in the world and there is Captain America. The poster boy of goodness and everyone is falling for it. Steve isn’t always the gentlemen he advertises to be. I can’t believe that the only other person who sees that is Tony’ Loki ranted.

‘Because whenever I’m alone in bed and you’re on a mission, I can’t sleep. I keep thinking about you the whole day. Even tough you hide it, you care so much. Not just about me, but also Thor and the rest of the team’ you grabbed his hand and he didn’t pull away. You snuggled closer to him and laid your head on his shoulder. ‘You’re charming, funny and caring. And the day you decided to actively participate with the rest of the team was the day I fell hard for you. I love you, Loki, and I will always love you. That’s how I know I can promise you that’ you whispered to him.

Loki pulled you in his arms ‘I love you too. Please don’t leave me’

‘Never’ you said, snuggling closer against him. He laid down in the bed, still holding you close.

‘But I still feel uneasy about it’ Loki whispered.

You knew that this was not something that would go away in one night. ‘I’m not going to dump Steve as my friend, but I want you to be comfortable. So, I could talk to him tomorrow and keep my distance for a while, give us some time to figure something out. Maybe we can take some time off, go away for a weekend’ you said.

‘I would like that’ Loki said.

‘Now go to sleep, Lo. You feel better tomorrow I promise’ you said.

‘Maybe I should talk to Steve tomorrow?’ Loki said before you could fall asleep.

‘I think it’s better if I talk to him’ you said.

‘Honestly, I don’t think so. But if that’s what you truly want, we do it your way’ Loki mumbled. You kissed his chest and drifted off to sleep.

But if you knew how tomorrow would go, you would have done it his way.

Permanent tag list: @delightfulheartdream @the-best-phineas​ @theaudacitytowrite @pescadoavocado @theestorm

[zosonils-art]

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: Gen

Relationship: Ferb Fletcher & Phineas Flynn

Characters: Ferb Fletcher, Phineas Flynn, Perry the Platypus (Phineas and Ferb), Linda Flynn-Fletcher

Additional Tags: Autistic Ferb, Autistic Phineas, autistic phineas is more implied and could also be taken as adhd but he has both anyway so, Autistic Meltdown, Autism, Sensory Overload, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Illustrations, Canon Continuation, Fix-It of Sorts, i think????? i don't frequent this goddamn website i don't know, Brotherly Love, Crying, some of the crying is me

Summary: A stressful day pushes Ferb past his breaking point, and Phineas feels that he has a responsibility to set things right. Takes place immediately after Ready For The Bettys. Was supposed to be a simple continuation fic but got wildly out of hand. Ph*n*rb shippers fuck off this isn't for you.

---

as you’ve probably figured out if you’re following my main, i recently wrote my first fic since i was about 13! it’s available on ao3 at the link above, but you can also read it on tumblr by clicking the readmore on this post! i put a lot of effort into this and it took a lot of courage to post, so feedback is greatly appreciated!

"Mom! Guess what Ferb did!"

Phineas bursts into the kitchen energetically, still buzzing with adrenaline from the day's adventure. Ferb follows a step or two behind. Linda turns her attention from the freshly baked pie in her hands to her sons, although Phineas is too beside himself with excitement to consider whether or not she's paying attention. "He made a secret tunnel, and a spy headquarters, and a villain's lair, and a hover jet shaped like Perry- tell her, Ferb!"

Ferb doesn't match Phineas' enthusiasm. In fact, at the moment, he's sick to death of it. He prepares to launch into the explanation he's been trying all day to give. "Actually, I-"

"Wait a second," Linda interrupts, eyeing the boys with suspicion. "Why are you two soaking wet?"

The interruption is just too much for Ferb. He doesn't even process the question, just lets out a harsh shout of frustration. Phineas recoils - Ferb almost never shouts. "I give UP!" Ferb yells, his voice shaking on the last syllable, and before either of his surprised family members can respond, he turns around and storms off, his destination betrayed by the distinct clunking rhythm of stairs being stomped on too hard and the sound of a door slamming upstairs.

For a moment, the kitchen is silent. Linda recovers before Phineas does, her eyes narrowing in disapproval. "Young man, that is not how we talk to each other in this house!" she calls, setting the pie tin and her oven mitts down on the kitchen counter and following Ferb's path to his room. Before she can make it to the doorway, though, her progress is halted.

"Mom, wait!" Phineas pleads. He's finally caught onto what's been going on all day, and although he's still only half processed it, he knows he doesn't want Ferb to be in trouble for it. He frantically tugs on Linda's arm to draw her attention. Once he's sure that she's stopped, he withdraws his hand (he's still wet, after all, he doesn't want to make her uncomfortable), but sidesteps around her to put his tiny body firmly between her and the doorway to the living room. "Mom, please don't be mad at Ferb, it- it's not his fault! I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it, he's just..." Phineas' voice trails off briefly, but he forces it back into action, complete with the most serious expression he can manage. "If you're gonna be mad at either of us, it should be me, okay?"

At first, Linda returns Phineas' gaze with suspicion, then her face softens with realisation. She crouches down to her son's eye level, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Phineas, did something else happen today?" she asks, the anger gone from her voice.

Phineas hesitates, dropping eye contact again. He's almost certain about the cause of Ferb's outburst, and he can't help but mentally beat himself up for it to a degree. "Well, Ferb's been trying to tell me something all day, but he kept getting interrupted by our spy mission, and I guess it must have been really frustrating because he hates being interrupted but I didn't realise and-" he pauses to breathe, and shudders as he inhales as if on the verge of tears - "and I should have asked at some point but I just kept getting distracted and I didn't even realise how upset it was making him but-"

"Phineas," Linda says gently, and he gladly accepts the invitation to cut his rambling short. His breathing is shaky, but he doesn't cry just yet, even though his emotional state has nosedived in barely a minute. After giving him a moment to snap back into focus, Linda continues. "Phineas, honey, it sounds like this has just been a misunderstanding. On my end, too," she adds, regretting having snapped at Ferb earlier. Phineas nods with a nondescript mumble of agreement. Although he still obviously isn't looking, Linda gives him a reassuring smile anyway, accompanied by a gentle squeeze of his shoulder. "Thank you for telling the truth, sweetheart," she praises him.

"Mmh," Phineas mumbles, tugging at his shirt collar. He tends to fiddle with his shirt when he's nervous or overexcited. It doesn't hold a candle to bouncing his leg or flapping his hands, as far as stimming goes, but it's a lot easier to do while someone is touching you. "I just should've realised what was up earlier, then he probably wouldn't have freaked out..."

He finally glances up again, and the look his mom is giving him tells him that he should drop the argument, so he stops. Linda ruffles his hair affectionately, leaning forward to reach all the way behind Phineas' oddly-shaped head, and flinches at the unpleasant reminder of how waterlogged he still is. She stands up, flicking her hand dry. "I'm sure he knows you didn't mean to hurt his feelings," she reassures Phineas. "Why don't you dry yourself off and then go talk to him? Which reminds me," Linda motions towards the puddles tracked all over the kitchen floor, "why are you two so wet?"

"Oh, we fell in Isabella's pool," Phineas answers matter-of-factly. He isn't quite back to his usual blindingly sunny disposition, but the panicky tremble in his voice has at least disappeared.

Linda smiles, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "Well, that I believe," she says. She'd tactfully decided not to comment on whatever that secret spy headquarters spiel was that Phineas had been getting worked up over, but she suspects his latest imaginary game took the boys to Isabella's backyard and ended up having some real-life consequences. "Oh, hi, Perry," she adds, as the platypus in question waddles into the kitchen.

Perry responds with his familiar chatter. Phineas leans down to pet Perry on the head. "At least you've had a stress-free day, huh," he says, then leaves for the bathroom. Perry stares at him blankly.

---

Ferb is having a meltdown.

He knows what this is, of course. He reads every textbook and blog post on the subject he can find, just in case it helps him make some more sense of himself. If he misses one, Phineas will no doubt have found and memorised it himself for the same reason, and will gladly rattle off anything new. Knowing why there's a raging storm beating at the inside of his head, however, is entirely different from quelling it. By the time he reaches his bedroom, he's trembling so violently that he can barely stand. He stumbles to his bed, pushing his hands down into the mattress to keep himself on his feet.

It's like feeling every feeling from every second of the day all in the same moment, and it hurts. So much is happening in his head that he can't even isolate a single thought, let alone process what it means. Is he angry? That'd make sense, sure, but his mental state isn't exactly conducive to deductive reasoning at the moment. Is he sad? Scared? Something else entirely?? He can't tell what emotion or mixture thereof it is, only that it's hurting his head, and he wants to get it out but he doesn't know how. He's struggling to breathe now, his arms shaking with the effort of keeping his body supported, and as he draws in a desperate shuddering breath Ferb feels something wet in his eye and then on his face, and he remembers that his entire body is wet and he hates it. It's cold, and his hair is sticking to his face and uncomfortably close to his eyes, and his clothes cling to his body oppressively and he wants to tear them off and stop feeling everything. Instead of doing that, he forces himself to breathe in again and looks around the room frantically, hoping to find something other than absolutely everything to concentrate on.

His eyes land on Phineas' bed, and although his vision is blurring as the panicky tears pour down his face, he recognises the shape instantly. Is he mad at Phineas? Should he be? He should be, right? If Phineas had just stopped to listen to him for once, he wouldn't be here with the world ending inside his brain. Another violent wave of emotion sends a shock through his whole body, and Ferb is still in no state to identify it, but he gets the message. He doesn't want to be angry. Not at Phineas. In fact, he doesn't want to feel anything he's feeling at the moment. Not the turbulent assault of everything inside his head, not the hammering rhythm of his heart trying to beat its way out of his chest, not every tiny thing that touches his skin or the light from outside that still feels blinding through the curtains or the muffled sounds of conversation downstairs that he doesn't have room in his brain to translate into anything but more noise.

Sensory overload is another term Ferb knows, and it's another one that doesn't really help to know in the moment. The feeling of anxiety that's been growing in his chest since that morning finally becomes too much for his body to handle, and he collapses on his bed, weakly gripping the blanket for support. Burying his face in his covers blocks out most of the sunlight, at least, but it doesn't significantly improve his mood. He shivers, partly from cold thanks to still being uncomfortably wet, partly from the sobs making his whole body convulse. (When did those start? He doesn't remember.) He uses the last of his physical strength to pull himself fully onto his bed and curl into himself, trying desperately to calm himself down.

...

It's not working. Why isn't it working?? It's as if every effort to steady his breathing just makes him cry harder, every attempt at a calming thought being shattered into a thousand anxious ones by the merciless torrent of everything whirling around in his mind. Ferb is suddenly hyper-aware of how empty the room around him is, and it makes him feel helpless. It's the first feeling he's managed to connect a name to with absolute certainty this whole time, and it's terrifying.

If he was making any noise before in his attempts to control his breathing, he's stopped now. No sound escapes him as he lies in place, too preoccupied with the overwhelming barrage of thoughts in his brain to move. More than anything, Ferb wants his brain to just shut off. Everything in his mind blends into a horrible white noise that won't stop, threatening to drown him in static.

Through the raging mental cyclone, he just barely hears the knock at the door.

Phineas waits a moment before entering his room. He wants to make sure Ferb has time to process that he's here. A few seconds pass, then he opens the door slowly so that it doesn't make any sound. A stab of guilt hits him when he sees Ferb curled up on his bed, visibly distressed. He's facing the opposite wall, but the way he shudders as he breathes makes it obvious that he's crying. Phineas feels his heart sink. He'd really hoped it wouldn't be this bad.

"Hey," he says softly. Ferb grips himself tighter. Just a minute ago, Phineas would have been the last person he wanted to see, but now his desperation for comfort outweighs any lingering hints of animosity. He doesn't object to his brother's presence, so Phineas gently closes the door and walks over to his side of the room. He sits on the bed, watching Ferb to see if he reacts negatively to the shift in weight distribution, and tenses up slightly at how damp the blanket is. Of course, Ferb wouldn't have stopped to dry off on his way up here. A closer look confirms that while a lot of the water on his body has run off and soaked into his bed, Ferb is still almost as wet as he was when he arrived home. Phineas frowns - that can't be comfortable, and it's probably making him feel even worse. "Are you okay?" he asks.

Ferb curls into himself even more instead of asking. The question is so frustratingly rhetorical that he almost reconsiders the possibility of being angry, but the idea still scares him, so the feeling passes. Fortunately, Phineas understands the unspoken 'obviously not' with no further input, and continues to talk. "I'm really sorry about today," he begins. "I know you don't like being interrupted, and I should've realised that it was making you feel bad but I just wasn't paying enough attention and- and I'm sorry, because it's kinda my fault you got so upset," he apologises, not realising that he's holding back tears until he stops to breathe. He wills himself not to cry. He's here to try and make Ferb feel better, not guilt him into forgiveness.

It takes a second or two for Ferb to process what Phineas is saying. It's a struggle to drag the words through the confusing whirlwind of everything still rampaging through his head. Eventually, after a great deal of mental effort, he shakes his head in response. Perhaps he was angry before, he still can't tell, but he definitely isn't now. He can't manage anything beyond the simple gesture, but it's not the first time he's been utterly uncommunicative, so Phineas understands the meaning as well as he needs to: it's not your fault.

"Th-thanks," he stutters, although Ferb's acceptance does little to settle the crushing feeling of responsibility. "Next time you can speak I'll let you tell me whatever it is you needed to, okay? I promise." He smiles a little. "No more secret agent business to interrupt you."

The last sentence sure prompts a reaction from Ferb - he rolls over so that his face is entirely buried in the blanket and makes a frustrated noise without opening his mouth, his body shaking with some mixture of anger and physical strain. Phineas inhales sharply and recoils, no more prepared for an audible outburst from Ferb than the first time. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asks, already speed-testing possible answers in his head. "Did you not have fun today? Of- of course you didn't, that's why you're upset, but I thought you did a great job on the spy mission! It was really cool." He's trying to be reassuring, but Ferb just shakes harder, seemingly becoming more aggravated rather than less.

Phineas tilts his head in confusion. "Ferb? Ferb, it's okay, I-I'm sorry. Did... did it not go the way you planned?" he guesses, searching increasingly frantically for any change in Ferb's body language. "Hmm... oh, were you not finished building it yet?" He thinks back to Ferb's numerous attempts at speaking to him throughout the day, hoping that he'll find some clue that makes everything fall into place - and something clicks in his brain. He deflates a little at how painfully obvious the realisation seems in retrospect, with a soft "Oh." Sighing at his own ignorance, he directs his voice to Ferb again as he says, "You didn't actually build all that, did you?"

Ferb sits up slowly and turns to Phineas with his signature deadpan glare, the silent, biting sarcasm undermined significantly by the tears still falling from his eyes. Phineas hums concernedly. "Is that what you were trying to tell me?" he asks. Ferb gets partway through rolling his eyes before giving up and returning to the fetal position.

Phineas sighs sadly. He hates seeing his brother cry. There's nothing he wants to do more than pull him into the tightest hug he can manage, but he knows Ferb won't appreciate being touched in this state, so he opts to fiddle with his shirt again to keep his hands busy. "Who do you think did build that stuff?" he asks. Ferb doesn't care. On any other day, a secret spy lair being hidden under his house would be cause for immeasurable excitement, but after the day's events he's thoroughly sick of thinking about the subject. Phineas picks up on Ferb's antipathy towards the question and, sensing that it might be a sore topic for some time, decides not to bring it up again for a while. He'll satisfy his curiosity sometime when it doesn't come at the expense of Ferb's comfort.

An uncomfortable silence falls over the boys. It's broken when Ferb suddenly sniffles loud enough to make Phineas jump, sits up again, and halfheartedly tries to wipe the tears from his face. "Oh geez, hold on," Phineas says, leaning over to rummage through his short pockets. He eventually pulls out a wad of tissues, somehow unaffected by the earlier impromptu dive into Isabella's pool. He offers them with a gentle "here you go" to Ferb, who takes a few silently and scrubs at his eyes.

While he still doesn't feel good by any stretch of the definition, Ferb at least doesn't feel completely awful anymore. What was once a violent hurricane in his mind has receded enough that he can focus on the world around him without breaking down, at least for the time being, and he's left feeling just drained. He balls up his handful of tissues and tosses them at the bin under his desk. The ball makes it to Phineas' leg before unceremoniously bouncing to a stop. Phineas picks it up and throws it the rest of the way to the trash, standing up to do so.

Rather than sit down again, he kneels down and pulls out one of the drawers conveniently built into the bed. Ferb watches inquisitively, still too out of it to immediately catch onto what's happening. Phineas rummages a little before finally pulling out a pair of pyjamas, suggesting, "You should dry off and change your clothes." He pauses to think. "Can you make it downstairs to the bathroom by yourself?" he asks. At any other time, it would be a silly question, but Ferb is always exhausted after a meltdown. The visible effort it's taking him just to stay upright isn't lost on Phineas. Ferb ponders the question, then gives a tentative nod. He's definitely shaky, but he really wants to change into something dry.

"Great!" Phineas smiles encouragingly. "Should I bring the usual stuff to the living room? Your bed's probably not gonna feel comfortable until it dries out." Ferb glances down at the unmistakable damp silhouette of where he had been lying earlier and nods again, more confidently. He slowly gets to his feet, first pushing against his bed for support, then grasping the hand Phineas offers him. He lets go once he's certain he's regained his balance, and only then does Phineas hand him his pyjamas. "I'll come meet you downstairs, okay?" Phineas says. Then, pulling at the bottom of his shirt, which is still a bit soggy despite his best efforts to towel it off, he adds, "I should probably change into something dry as well."

---

Ferb rubs his eyes as he comes out of the bathroom, his drenched clothes swapped out for his much more comfortable pyjamas. He's stopped crying, it seems, but he's still feeling sensitive enough that the light from outside bothers him. He's relieved to discover that it's much darker in the living room - Phineas must have been here already. The curtains are drawn so that the lamp on the end table is the only light source in the room, softly illuminating its surroundings with a pleasant warm glow. He doesn't have the energy to analyse the entire room, even in these far more bearable conditions, but his attention is drawn to his favourite weighted blanket folded neatly on the couch. He sits down and drags the blanket over him, struggling a bit with the weight, but relaxing once he feels its reassuring pressure on his legs.

It's as he's settling into his position on the couch that Phineas enters with an "Oh, there you are, Ferb!". Perry is firmly but comfortably wedged under one of his arms, like a fuzzy teal football or loaf of bread, and seems altogether unbothered by his position. Ferb gasps quietly at the sight of Perry, his eyes brightening momentarily, and reaches out for him with various soft noises of urgency. Phineas wastes no time in setting Perry down next to Ferb, and the platypus reacts with a gentle, almost soothing chatter. Ferb instinctively mimicks the sound under his breath, and Perry responds with a nearly identical noise. Ferb echoes it again, slightly louder this time, and his face lights up with a weak smile, the first one he's managed all day.

Taking this as a sign of progress, Phineas sighs with relief as he sits on the sofa. He makes sure to maintain a respectful distance from Ferb, who's running a hand through Perry's fur as they echo the same low growling noise back at each other. (It pains Phineas not to join in, but he senses the two have gotten themselves into a groove that would be rude to interrupt.) Ferb's smile fades almost as soon as it appears, but he seems much more relaxed after the change in clothes and scenery. His hair is sticking up in every direction from being towelled dry, and Phineas stifles a laugh at how silly it looks. The back-and-forth chattering eventually dies down, and it's only then that Phineas continues. "Mom's gonna make you some tea, and she says if you aren't feeling better by dinner you can eat in here if you want," he says. Ferb turns to him and raises a thumbs-up briefly before returning his hand and focus to Perry.

Phineas quietly watches his brother for a moment before speaking again. "Do you want me to stay?" he asks. Exactly how sociable Ferb is while he's coming out of a meltdown varies. He almost invariably needs some time on his own to mentally reset, but sometimes it helps if someone he trusts is there to reassure him for a while first. In Phineas' experience, asking is always the best way to tell.

Ferb hesitates for a second, then surprises both of them with his answer, which is to turn and collapse into Phineas' lap with one arm hooked over his legs in a sort of pseudo-hug. Phineas tenses up, not sure how to react. He cautiously puts an arm around Ferb, in a comforting gesture that doesn't fully subject him to the overwhelming sensory experience of a true hug. Ferb doesn't fight it, just repositions himself so that he's lying down with Phineas as a makeshift pillow and sinks further into the gentle embrace. Phineas laughs softly. "Okay, I guess you do."

This is nice, Ferb thinks. Definitely an improvement over violently sobbing alone in his room. Perry must be feeling relaxed too, because he climbs onto Ferb's stomach, circles a few times, lets out one more chatter, then flops down and goes to sleep, purring gently. Phineas giggles at the platypus' behaviour, and Ferb's shoulders shake in silent laughter - his blanket absorbs enough of the sensation that it just tickles. Watching Perry doze off reminds him that he's still exhausted, despite the positive change in environment, and his attempt to stifle a yawn fails. He's still on high alert, and he knows he won't be sleeping for longer than a few minutes until the emotional clutter completely drains from his mind. With that said, both the blanket and Perry weighing down on him make for a pretty cosy combination, and he finds himself fighting to keep his eyes open. Maybe just a moment of rest will be good for him.

Before he knows it, his eyes are closed, and he's powerless to prevent himself from drifting off. Phineas accepts his new career as a pillow without comment, simply adjusting his right hand so that both his arms are positioned protectively around his brother. Being trapped in place for the time being doesn't worry him. Ferb won't mind being stirred awake when their mom arrives with his tea, and until then Phineas can easily occupy himself with thoughts of what to do tomorrow. Besides, he can subject himself to a few minutes of quiet if that's what Ferb needs. What kind of a brother would he be if he couldn't, right?

Ferb half-consciously brings a hand to Phineas' wrist, as if it'll float off if he isn't holding on. He can feel his brain shutting down, and he welcomes the change. The last thing he's aware of before his consciousness finally leaves him in peace for a moment is the sound of Phineas' voice, promising him, "You're gonna be okay."

[appleb18]

Cartoons Relationships Are Terrible

Back in the day of cartoons, the romantic subplots were simple and yet very heartwarming to see such as 

Katara and Aang from Avatar: The Last Airbender

Phineas and Isabella from Phineas and Ferb 

But now, modern cartoons are taking romantic subplots into heavier territories that something that some live-action shows would do. While it does sound interesting that making relationships more realistic and complex but the way that has been written in the previous decade is pretty bad. The writers try to make romance relatable to the audience but fail on doing so such as making likable characters to really cringy and awful people, shoving down our throats of how cute it is and having the romantic subplot more focus than the actual plot.

Adventure Time and Regular Show 

So you must be wondering why I put Adventure Time and Regular Show together instead of separate categories. The thing about these two shows is they used to have bad romantic subplots but as the show progresses, they really did it well and I have to say it did better than most cartoons that failed to do which I’ll talk about later. 

For Adventure Time, Finn and Flame Princess broke up in “Frost and Fire” due to him deceiving her by having FP fight Ice King/Simon Petrikov for his amusement

After their break, he tries to rekindle his romantic feelings for Princess Bubblegum and thinks age is just a number in “Too Old”. However, it doesn’t end up too well that she has people to watch over and that’s when he realized that he really did donk up with Flame Princess. 

Although he apologized to FP in “Earth and Fire” to her it didn’t fully restore their relationship and Finn still had romantic feelings for her and Princess Bubblegum. 

Thankfully, Finn matures in later seasons.

Finn realized it’s better for him to be friends with Princess Bubblegum 

He then fully apologized and realized what he has done wrong to Flame Princess and she tells him that he really matured and hang out by playing guess who and rapping in “Bun Bun” 

and Princess Bubblegum, and Marceline. They both finally reconcile at the end of “Varmints” and start to hang out more which develops their relationship from being platonic to romance.

For Regular Show, in “Steak Me Amadeus' ' Mordecai asked Margaret to be his girlfriend and although she would like that, she can’t because she got accepted into college which broke his heart.

It didn’t last when he’s been reunited with CJ in “New Years Kiss”. 

As the show progresses, the two become a couple but then things get complicated when Margret returns. It made things awkward between CJ, Mordecai, and Marget like CJ always gets jealous and runs away when she sees Mordecai and Margret together. 

By the end of season 6, he dumps CJ in front of everyone in Muscle Man's wedding. 

Like Adventure Time, Mordecai and Margret hangout and realized they should stay as friends in “Just Friends” 

While Eileen and Rigby become a couple. 

Now it’s time to talk about other cartoons shows and their romantic subplot problem  

Steven Universe 

Steven Universe relationships can sometimes be well written but most of the time can handle poorly.

Such as Lars and Sadie were starting to develop their relationship in “Joking Victim” however it repeats itself throughout three seasons until the end of season 4 where Lars develops. Then there’s Sadie trapping him and Steven on the island in “Island Adventure” so he won’t have to leave and they don’t resolve and don’t even mention it ever again in later seasons. All they show was Sadie scar and that’s it

In “Steven Universe: Future”, Sadie and Lars didn’t get together and she’s now with Shep and they did it off-screen. So throughout the whole thing with Lars and Sadie, they don’t get together. The show kept teasing it and they might get together in the future but the writers just said screw it, let's have her date a nonbinary while Lars goes on a space adventure. It feels like a waste of seeing those two characters that the show keeps showing them together and not have them become a couple. Unlike SvTFoE, Shep just came out of nowhere with no proper introduction and doesn’t establish they and Sadie's relationship and it’s really bothersome! 

Connie and Steven's relationship was good for the first four seasons. It was really had good chemistry and she was a good partner for him 

then season 5 came in and it kinda got ruins by after Steven escape from Gem Homeworld and coming back to Earth, it starts off with Connie leaving Steven with lion and never to be seen for a month according to “Keven Party”. The Steven and Connie arc was really bad like why was it dragged for five episodes? The whole thing could’ve been resolved in one episode by having them talk about their feelings like how “Mindful Education” and “Full Disclosure” did by they talk about their emotions instead of running away. 

Then in “Gemcation”, Steven the most important thing to him is Connie's relationship than worrying about Lars and the Off Colours' safety. That has to be the dumbest thing I’ve heard in my life and I can’t believe Rebecca and the Crewniverse have written it like that. 

Then there’s Ruby and Sapphire. I’ll be honest, the relationship feels like old Disney love stories like Cinderella, Seven Dwarfs, and Sleeping Beauty and that’s not a compliment. In “The Answer”, after they accidentally fused, they escape and wander Earth that caused them to fall in love which kinda contradicts what Garnet said to Jamie about love, at first sight, isn’t good in “Love Letter”. 

In “Pink Diamond” Arc, the plot came to hold to make room for Ruby and Sapphire’s wedding. 

While it is revolutionary that they show an LGBT wedding live on television but as a narrative standpoint, it feels rushed. The reason for that is after that Blue and Yellow came in after the wedding. They were no build-up or anything, they just came.The reason why they did it so some countries can’t take it down due it the main story which is stupid. It’s nice they represent LGBT but why in the middle of a major story arc, that’s just sloppy. 

Voltron 

So Voltron has a reputation of queerbaiting the audience that Shiro is gay and he has a boyfriend. The writers keep telling us on Twitter that they’ll show his boyfriend in season 7 but when it finally aired. It was terrible 

The first time we saw Adam was a flashback but it was nothing, it was more friendship than romance. 

When he finally shows up in the present he dies. Shiro goes to the memorial and signs than that’s it. 

The writers really made a dumb move of hyping it up but they let us down by having him die. They try to make it up by having Shiro marrying some guy who has a very little screen in the final season. Similar to Regular Show with Mordecai marrying a batgirl but not dumb while Voltron trying to get brownie points for having LGBT rep. 

Lance and Allura were really forced. For six seasons, Allura was never interested in Lance and only saw him as a friend but in season 8, the two confessed their love for each even though there wasn’t any chemistry nor sign that they truly love each other and they insensitively become a couple for one date. I would’ve supported if their relationship was established back in season 2 

The Legend of Korra

The love triangle between was handled so poorly with bad timing, making characters look terrible, making things force and having it engage more than the plot. 

For the first season, there was a love diamond. Bolin liked Korra, Korra likes Mako and Mako liked Asami and those two go out. Korra and Mako kissed which broke Bolin’s heart but he got over it but when Asami finds out when Korra was missing, she gets jealous. I understand that she was concerned about her relationship with Mako but during when Korra, the avatar that is missing while Equalis are on the move? That’s not the right moment to get jealous when Republic City is gonna be under attack but of course, Mako and Asami break and Korra gets in with Mako. 

In season 2, things get worse when the happy couple keep nagging and they break up

Which he tries again with Asami 

After Korra got her memories back but forgot breaking up with Mako, she asked him if it was bad however though he lied and everyone judged him for that dick move, especially Asami who started to have feelings for him again. Thankfully they broke up because that was just an awful way to get someone back by having their mind erased. 

Also, Bolin was with Eska and it was abusive. Forcing him to be her man, changed his whole entire to match with hers and she forced him to marry her. 

What’s worst about it is no one is concerned about him being with her and instead they just laugh like it’s supposed to be funny. Being in an abusive relationship isn’t funny and I hate how the show treats it so. By the end, they just forgot the whole thing that ever happened and moved on with their lives. 

Season 3 and 4 kept the romance to a minimum with Bolin x Opal and Jinora x Kai but there was one romantic relationship that had to happen with no hints or build up and it’s Korra x Asami. By the end of the series, they decided to go to the spirit together while holding hands and having their eyes glazed toward each other and they become a couple. 

While many of you may say that they hinted it since season 3, however, it looks like friendship. Blushing and writing to her isn’t enough to say they have feelings towards each other. That is what best friends do too. The creators even have to confirm that they are a couple and the comics showing their love while it’s nice and all but it would’ve been a lot better to show it either on streaming service or live television than buying volumes to see more of their pairing, it’s balderdash. Now it’s time to talk about a cartoon that has one of the worst romance I’ve ever seen in my entire life of watching shows. 

Star vs The Forces of Evil

Star vs The Forces of Evil has one of the WORST romantic subplots I’ve ever watched, it is even worse than CW’s Arrowverse romance and that’s saying something. The romantic subplot makes Star and Marco look like terrible people that only care about each other more than other characters. 

Jarco 

Out of all ships in SvTFoE, Jarco has the most establishment than most others. Marco liked Jackie when he was little and it was bound to happen that those two will date. Ever since season 1, the relationship has been growing to platonic to a romantic couple in season 2. 

Their chemistry together worked well but then “Sophomore Slump”. When Marco finally went back to Earth, he was obsessed with Mewni and Star and he won’t stop talking about and he still wears the cape. When Jackie told him to stop obsessing over Mewni which he tries to do but it got the better to him by he still wears the cape when he was on his date with Jackie. It’s really BS when Marco said to Jackie “You’re my best friend” which ruined everything that it established since season 1 and this, of course, caused them to break up.

 Then he left Earth to go to Mewni the day after their break up. It’s a real shame that building up their relationship and giving Jacie character got shoved aside for Starco. Although she returns and meets up with him again I can’t help feeling that it just for fan service and being inclusive for Jackie being Bi

Tomstar 

Before the show started, Star and Tom were a couple but broke up due to him getting angry very easily and he wanted her back for the past two seasons luckily he stopped trying in “Mr. Candles Cares”. Their relationship becomes healthier when Tom gives Star space and that causes them to get back together and not have feelings for Marco anymore.

 Tom went through a lot of development for Star and it was a Mewni x Monster romance which is similar to Eclipsa and Globglor and it fits season 3. After rewatching it, it was pretty good. However, like Jarco, it was doomed from the start due to fans wanting Starco to be canon even though Tomstar was getting good. Also, Star was a terrible girlfriend to him. 

Star never told him she kissed him, Marco did and when Tom confronted her about it, she got mad and tried to walk away. 

She mistreats him by nagging somethings, blowing on his face and angrily ask translate

She declined on going on a vacation with him so she can be with Marco.

Even his mom was afraid that she might break his heart again and her response “Everybody breaks up. That’s what teenagers do! Teenagers are dumb”. He went through so much development, changed his character and gave her so much but she never returned the favor. What an awful girlfriend 

Kellco

With Tom and Star getting together (for now) it left Marco feels devastated that she’s dating someone and can’t get rid of his feelings for her while Kelly doesn’t want to be with Tad which she broke up with him. They both have something in common and start to hangout and their relationship has developed throughout season 3 and he’s with her more than Star. 

They became officially a couple as “breakup buddies” in “Kelly’s World” and it also when they did a perfect synchronization between two partners. 

So they’re pretty much a good pair but everything changed when the episode “A Boy and His DC-700XE” and did an off-screen break up. I don’t care who or what you write but never, ever a major plot point or character development offscreen. Kelly finds happiness when she leaves Tad but they break up with no explanation. It was glossed over like for five seconds and Marco doesn’t even care about their break up, what an a*hole. 

This relationship feels like a real waste of time and serves nothing to the plot nor character development, it was just there to waste time.

Starco

Before I talk about Starco, I used to ship it and I thought they were enjoyable characters. They would've worked in a relationship if things were written better and would have been the next Phineas and Isabella but sadly the writers messed up probably the easiest romance to write. 

Season 1, Star and Marco became best friends. Although there weren't many romantic moments they still look pretty good together 

Season 2, As Star was happy for Marco that she’s finally dating Jackie, the girl he has had a crush on since preschool,

 on the other hand, she started to have feelings for him and she has trouble expressing it. 

In season 3, Marco started to have feelings for Star which caused him and Jackie to break up. Star told him that he wants nothing to do with him romantically in “Lint Catcher” and Tad told him that he does have feelings for her in “Lava Lake Beach” and he wasn't happy to find out about it at all. Then in Booth Buddies, they were held hostage by some freak until they kiss and they were completely in denial about having feelings for each other

Then season 4 is when Starco becomes really sour. Star and Marco always keep saying that they don’t want to have feelings for each other and yet the writers have several episodes before the end of the series

. They never showed any romantic interest until “Mama Star” where he confessed his feelings to her and then they kissed in the second last episode. By the finale, instead of either of them going back to their dimensions they went back to the World of Magic and held each other. It would’ve been more meaningful if they got together before the end of the  show. 

It’s very odd that they risk their lives for a relationship that just started. However, for some miracle, both of their worlds collide and become one with no explanation of what so ever. 

Starco could’ve been a lovely ship but the writers have to keep messing around with it till the very end. 

Conclusion 

Whenever a show presents a romance, I don’t mind as long it either fits with the narrative of the story it be fun but 2010s romantic subplots have been written very terribly by having it the main focus but sacrifice pacing and quality of the story, forcing characters to become a couple without establishing it enough in the show, and having characters go off for the sake of drama. Romantic stories can be simple and cute like Kim x Ron from Kim Possible, Suki x Sokka from Avatar: The Last Airbender and Starfire x Robin from Teen Titans and that’s all right. I do hope that this generation will fix what the previous decade of cartoons has failed to do. 

[mst3kproject]

1113: The Christmas that Almost Wasn’t

I’ve been saving this one, too – not because I particularly dislike the movie but because I wanted to do it close to Christmas, and here we are! In fact, I kind of like The Christmas that Almost Wasn’t, to the point where I’m going to enjoy watching it again.

For years now, Santa Claus has been living rent-free at the North Pole with the permission of the Inuit, but now that land has been bought out from under him by the Scroogish Phineas Prune!  Prune wants rent money or he will seize the toys instead, and so to save Christmas, Santa has to get a job.  He lands a gig as a department store mascot, but then Prune buys the store, too.  Looks like there won’t be a very merry Christmas this year, unless some kind of last-minute miracle can happen.  Fortunately, last-minute miracles are what Christmas movies are all about!

So… why do I like this movie?  It’s not exactly festive – as Max points out, there’s nothing very jolly about Santa hiring a lawyer to deal with his landlord.  The animated title sequence is kind of charming, but the actual opening scene in Mr. Whipple’s office is claustrophobic and dark, and both it and the scene where they confront Prune at the North Pole drag a bit. The songs aren’t catchy (although the nonsense one the elves sing about Prune is fun), and the dealings with rent, lawyers, and evictions are probably way over the heads of the target audience of children.  The depiction of Santa’s workshop as one little hut in the middle of the snow, where about nine elves must make all the millions of presents, is pretty depressing. And of course there’s the downright nightmarish plush animals in the department store.  The screaming giraffe is my favourite.

In general, though, I like the movie’s aesthetic.  It’s set in a nonspecific but vaguely Victorian past with just a hint of fantasy on top, and a lot of the sets have something to say about the people who spend time in those spaces.  Santa and his wife in their north pole hovel are simple people who care far more about others than about themselves.  Whipple’s office is comfortable but not large or fancy, and shows us a man who is reasonably successful but not pretentious.  Prune’s cobwebby house tells us, even before Mrs. Claus brings it up, that he is a man who doesn’t look after himself.  The characters' names speak to similar ideas, such as Mr. Prim the very proper department store owner.  It’s true that this is all quite simplistic, but in a fable for children that’s okay.

The costumes do a similar job, equally well.  It’s not that hard to get Santa Claus or a Dastardly villain right, of course, but enough movies manage to fail at it regardless that I feel The Christmas that Almost Wasn’t has earned a kudo or two. Like the sets, the costumes tell us about the characters.  Mr. Whipple the lawyer, in his tidy but plain suit and festive mittens, is a professional but doesn’t like sticking out in a crowd.  Mr. Prim’s mustache-hair tells us he’s very fussy.  Mrs. Claus, always apparently dressed in her pajamas, is a homebody. Somebody took the trouble to dress all the elves slightly different, so that even though we never really meet them we can tell they’re individuals.

The main characters, furthermore, all have more than one layer! Santa Claus loves children but is worried what they’ll think of him, and his isolated life at the north pole has given him a measure of social anxiety.  Actor Alberto Rabagliati manages to embody both ‘right jolly old elf’ and ‘old man down on his luck’, and sometimes both at the same time.  It’s hard to judge anybody’s performance because of the dubbing (although even there I’ve heard much, much worse), but physically he’s perfect.  Mrs. Claus is a ‘kill them with kindness’ type, and you can see she takes just a bit of spiteful joy in Prune’s response to the word ‘children’.  Whipple can be shy but once he gets into his Lawyer Groove he has no problem getting in Prune’s face.  Blossom the butler is a jerk but has a soft spot for the dog, and so on.  The only character moment I really don’t like is Prune’s redemption at the end.

This bit is simply, as Jonah and the bots observed, too easy – one gift and suddenly years of mental torment and toxic behaviour are gone, poof!  It does give a good ending to the bit where Prune insists he was never a child and the elves can’t find anything about him, but doesn’t the fact that Jonathan lost his letter just give him that much more reason to be angry?  Furthermore, there’s the fact that gifts from Santa and gifts from family coexist in this world, as illustrated by the department store and the Christmas shopping.  Even if he didn’t get a sailboat from Santa, shouldn’t little Phineas have gotten one from his parents?  There are clearly more issues going on here than a simple lost letter.

That brings us to the real meat of this movie.  Last year, at the beginning of my review of Elves, I noted that the Christmas season is a contradictory one – what we actually feel is often violently at odds with what’s supposed to be the ‘Spirit of Christmas’, and the most obvious facet of this dichotomy is the whole ‘Season of Generosity’ thing.  Generosity is great and the world needs more of it, but at Christmas the recipients of this generosity are most often children, who respond by learning greed. This interplay goes on throughout The Christmas that Almost Wasn’t.

We start with the kangaroo court in which Whipple accuses Prune of being a tightwad.  Prune insists that his motives have nothing to do with greed – he just hates children!  In fact, one of the reasons he gives for hating them is because they’re greedy. All they want is toys and candy, and every year Santa indulges the little brats!  Santa, on the other hand, insists that being generous to children will teach them to be generous to others.

At the last moment, when all hope seems lost, we find that Santa was right – the kids are more than happy to donate their piggy banks to pay Santa’s rent!  This not only makes Christmas possible, but also allows Santa and his wife to passive-aggressively pay almost entirely in pennies – I once did this to a high school math teacher who made us all buy a five dollar study guide and let me tell you, there are few things more satisfying.  Even so, there’s a weird extra layer to this action.  The kids are being generous, but they must all know that if they aren’t, it’s them who will suffer the consequences.  Who wouldn’t donate a dollar or two when their Christmas presents are at stake?  Are the children being generous?  Or are they being greedy?

Isn’t that what we all do at Christmas?  When the ancient Romans sacrificed to their gods, they said do ut das, which means something like I am giving so that you might give. We give gifts to friends and family at Christmas in the expectation that they will give us something we wanted. My eight-year-old niece really wanted Wings of Fire III for Christmas this year, and pouted all day because nobody could find it for her, despite the fact that she got a load of other presents. When you give with no expectation of return, that’s charity, which we also do at Christmas – but in our minds, our reward for charity is feeling like a good person, while our reward for giving presents is getting presents back.

Another facet of this in the movie is that Santa actually has an arc of his own, in learning to accept generosity.  Generosity is Santa Claus’ defining trait, but in The Christmas that Almost Wasn’t we see him try to refuse offers of kindness from others. First there’s when Whipple offers to give him the money – Santa tries to refuse, and looks relieved when Whipple finds he doesn’t actually have that much money to give.  Too, Santa has not chosen his lawyer at random.  He knows he can’t afford to hire a lawyer so he goes to somebody who has already offered him a favour, rather than pleading for charity from a complete stranger.  Santa does not expect people to be generous to him.

At the end, when the boy named Charlie suggest that the children could donate the money, Santa once again tries to refuse.  The kids’ show of support, however, is so overwhelming that Santa can’t say no.  He realizes that he doesn’t always have to be the generous one – he can be the recipient. I suppose this is reflected in Prune’s arc, as he, too, finds he can accept generosity.  If this were intentional, it wasn’t done very well, but as I already observed Prune’s entire arc wasn’t done very well.  The film spends far more time on Santa and Whipple than it does on Prune, and we would have needed to know far more about the role of generosity in Prune’s life to get anything out of it.

Happy new year, everybody!  We get a new Mars rover in 2020, which is a great note to start on. I’ve only got a couple more MST3K movies to go, so I’ve been thinking about what I’m going to do with this blog once I’ve covered those.  I’ve had a lot of fun writing this and judging by the likes and reblogs, you guys are having fun reading it.  There’s also the hope that somehow, someday, we’ll get more new episodes.  I think I’ll try doing regular Episodes that Never Were for a while and see how that goes over.  It’s not as if the world has any lack of bad movies, and they keep making new ones all the time.

No, I haven’t seen Cats yet.

[signor-signor]

Trending 27th (July 2018)

Believe it or else, three years have passed since Disney made the biggest mistake in the history of television animation in the 2010s: canceling the well-received Wander Over Yonder before the second season got the chance to prove itself (and several months after the third season was fully conceived).

So, what would my reaction be if a third season of Wander Over Yonder were to happen? The answer is quite simple.

I would rejoice!

Let me expand on my answer, though, in a way that explains why I still support the show.

Before 2008, I had little-to-no interest in Disney Channel because of its heavy reliance on live-action sitcoms. I had no reason to tune into that channel back then, but a certain animated show about a couple of stepbrothers finding ways to spend summer vacation came along and made me change my mind. When I discovered Phineas and Ferb, I was in for a treat. An original premise, quirky characters, subplots connecting with main plots, unique feats not possible in live-action shows... P&F had the whole kit and caboodle and was the one show I would watch whenever a new episode came on.

Then in 2010, we got Fish Hooks. While it had certain moments I would love to forget, it did have a diverse cast of water-dwelling characters living in a pet shop and focused on the life and times of three high school fish. That might be why I kept tuning into the show for new episodes, which, consequently, might have contributed to its chance at getting a third season, giving the show the privilege of spanning four years of high school.

Believe it or not, one thing that got me interested in Gravity Falls in 2012 was the fact that its creator happened to be the voice of Clamantha from Fish Hooks. I never knew Alex Hirsch was capable of doing many voices. I often think of the voice of Grunkle Stan as his take on Krusty the Klown from The Simpsons. And I did find his voice for Soos fun to hear and imitate. I think what got me even more interested back then was the involvement of Matt Chapman, one of the many men of hundreds of voices and one of the two brothers who created the Homestar Runner body of work, which I’ve been following since 2003. That, and cryptic codes you find in the credits. Truth be told, I had no idea how much of an impact it would have among viewers.

These are just three animated shows that had me stay tuned on the Disney Channel before mid-2013. This leads us to my rising interest in Wander Over Yonder, which also premiered in 2013 on said channel. Knowing this was a feel-good kind of show starring Jack McBrayer and created by @crackmccraigen, the experienced genius behind The Powerpuff Girls and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, I would be a total fool for missing out on it. The characters are diverse and so are the environments. There’s always something brand-spanking new in every episode. I cannot tell a lie. It’s the funniest, cleverest, and most well thought-out cartoon I’ve ever watched. Considering the other Disney shows in the resurgence weren’t in jeopardy, I was sure Disney had succeeded in boosting my interest in their animated fare. Regardless of hiatuses, I saw no signs of the company lousing up their shows’ schedules. I actually thought the show would be too good to fail even after the move to Disney XD in early 2014.

Even though the three aforementioned shows weren’t as impressive as WOY animation-wise and humor-wise, I’d managed to catch up on them. I also watched The 7D, Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero, and Star vs. the Forces of Evil on Disney XD, all because the company was going in the right direction. Like many viewers, I was completely unaware of the actions the heads of Disney were going to take, one of which involved choosing one or a few over the others.

When I got the news of WOY getting a second season (and the 11 1-minute shorts that preceded it), I made sure not to miss it because I enjoyed the first season. Before the bad news broke out in March of 2016, I had already moved on from Fish Hooks, Phineas and Ferb, and Gravity Falls because they had absolutely no unfinished business after they ended properly. When I found via DaBurninator’s DeviantArt account that Wander got canceled one week before S2 started even though a whole third season was planned out in early 2015, I became puzzled and felt betrayed. It’s like the Disney bosses didn’t give any thought to how the fans would feel. “Disney, how could you?” I thought. I had other questions in mind.

“What about Fish Hooks? It may not be as popular as Phineas and Ferb, but it got 3 seasons!”

“What makes them think there’s no need to make more episodes?”

“What did we ever do to be denied to know what happens after the second season?”

“Do they know what Craig went through to get his third season pitch together?”

Craig has been in the business for more than 20 years and his amazing ideas for S3 get snubbed by a company with the notion of dreams coming true? That is absolutely unheard of. He hasn’t done anything wrong before and after leaving Cartoon Network. Sure, he had a student film with an inappropriate title that got a much more suitable name when he got started with Hanna-Barbera, but I know dang well he was giving his all to make one of the best shows in the history of Disney television. He was trying to make a show that takes place in outer space, utilizes characters with structures that follow the “lava lamp theory,” and mixes hilarity and critical thinking. He was making for Disney a show that could leave a good impression on the viewers and show them that kindness can be a good thing. No other show by Disney could ever offer the same satisfaction demonstrated in WOY, that’s why I currently have little-to-no interest in Disney shows not created by Craig. I still suspect the higher Disney bosses like Fish Hooks more than they like WOY.

If people had no interest or faith in WOY, would they have allowed songs from My Fair Hatey to be recorded at Capitol Records? The point is, if the WOY crew members went above and beyond to make WOY good, we MUST give it tons of attention! I still do.

Back to my answer to the question of Trending 27th. If a third season of WOY were to ever happen, I would rejoice by hugging everyone around me and spreading the word. If I made doubly sure that it is the case, I’d probably happily laugh in hysterics, but that’d be because after years of putting up with the popularity of higher-rated Disney shows (especially GF and SvtFoE) and inspiring WOY fans to fight harder, I would know all our efforts would have finally paid off. I’d also have renewed my trust in Disney television.

Just imagine, the lips of Craig and his crew would be unsealed and we would finally get to witness these things in S3.

•The first scene consisting of Dominator grumpily orbbling through space (and maybe looking at the picture she took in The Flower)

•A new angle that’s “delightfully petty but wholly Dominator”

•The construction and launch of The Star Nomad (thanks to Future-Worm, we know who owns it)

•The space primate

•The threat worse than Dominator

•Peepers’s arc

•More Wander/Sylvia/Hater/Peepers team-ups

•More info on Demurra and Dracor’s children

•More Eye on the Skullship

•Emperor Awesome’s “ultimate comeuppance”

•Major Threat being a recurring character

•Returning characters (like the Black Cube, Ripov, Neckbeard, to name a few)

•What the other villains have been up to since The Bad Neighbors

•New characters (that means new ALFs - Alien Life Forms)

•Possibly a new musical

•Lord Hater’s origin story and how he and Peepers met (still waiting for it!)

•And most important, Wander being tested in a cool way

•And also most important, a message saying, “Thanks for watching!”

Get the picture? We would see all this and more become a reality if we leave shows with no unfinished business alone, ease up on shows that aren’t in danger of cancellation, and pay more attention to discontinued shows calling for proper closure. We can’t stand idly by while that space pod accident remains unexplained. We must let Disney know there IS a need for one more season (or TV movie) so we can see WOY end properly before Craig decides to retire.

[memories-are-mine]

Cure Your Aching

WARNING: STRONGLY IMPLIED CHILD ABUSE

Ok so this is a one-shot that I wrote with @teddystark everyone go tell her how amazing she is

It takes place right after Jenny’s gala, and it’s basically Phillip’s thoughts and feelings and it gets a little into Phillip’s past and I’m a slut for protective dad PT

Also, it’s a callout post @phillips parents they suck

Phillip found himself in the nearest bar once the gala was over, a glass of whiskey in front of him. His mind was spinning, and he wasn’t sure getting drunk would make it any better, but it was preferable to any other option at this point. His parents had seen them, seen him and Anne holding hands. The look of disgust on his father’s face was nothing new, but it still didn’t hurt any less. He grabbed the glass in front of him with shaking hands, gulping down a large sip. He was terrified at the idea of going home after this, of what they might do after what they had seen.

“Thought I might find you here,” a voice behind him drew him out of his own head.

Phillip didn’t turn around. “Thought you’d be at the gala all night, taking compliments from the snobs,” his voice sounded weak, just like the rest of him. He hated himself for being such a coward, but he was still more scared than he wanted to admit. “I need to be alone for a little while.”

“I saw you leave, and I knew something must be wrong, turning down all the free champagne,” PT Barnum took a seat next to him, ordering a glass of whiskey for himself. “And despite what you may think is best, I usually find that people in your position need some company.”

The bartender set the glass in front of Phineas, and he took a small sip as if he was trying whiskey for the first time, which Phillip knew was not true at all. The first time he’d met Phineas, Phillip had stopped counting after Phineas drank seven shots. “So, tell me what happened.”

“Who said anything happened?” he asked, trying to sound casual. But he knew Phineas wasn’t an idiot and would figure it out soon enough. He didn’t know where to begin with what was going through his head.

“I know something happened,” Phineas said. “Because if nothing had happened, you would either still be at the gala, mingling with the snobs and Jenny Lind, unlikely, or at the show, throwing puppy eyes at Anne Wheeler, very likely. But you aren’t. You’re here, alone, drowning your sorrows in alcohol and it doesn’t look like you’re leaving anytime soon.”

“I do not throw puppy eyes at Anne Wheeler,” Phillip snapped, but it was a half-hearted protest. His voice shook a little when he said her name, and he tried not to think too hard about how he had disappointed her as well. That’s all he was to everyone, a disappointment.

“Yes you do,” Phineas chuckled. “Trouble in paradise, then?” He had meant it as a tease, but when he saw the expression on Phillip’s face, he knew that something else had happened, something bigger than a simple argument with Anne or a desire to hide from the snobs. “Phillip,” he said. “Something’s wrong. You look like you’re going to be sick. Are you alright?”

Phillip hadn’t planned on telling him at all. He would just have drowned his sorrows and fears in alcohol for the night, and then pretended like nothing was wrong the next morning. But no one had ever actually cared enough to be concerned about him before, and so he gave in just a little. “My parents were at the gala tonight.”

Phineas winced. The bringing-up-the-fact-that-the-parents-were-there thing was never a good sign. He didn’t know Phillip’s parents very well, Phillip never talked about them… Phillip had never talked about his parents. Not once in the several weeks Phineas had known him. Even Charity, who was no fan of her parents either, had casually brought them up in conversation from time to time. Phillip had never even mentioned their names when he had talked about his past in playwriting. “Phillip.” That was all he needed to say. The concern on his face told Phillip that Phineas had made a guess.

“I don’t know what they want from me,” Phillip admitted, his voice low and frustrated. No matter what he did, he never seemed to live up to their expectations. They had preferred his plays to his partnership with Phineas, but even then, snide comments had been thrown his way almost every day. “Why can’t they just leave me alone?”

“Because they want to control you, Phillip,” Phineas ran a hand over the smooth wood of the bar. “They’re not satisfied with their lives, so they take it out on you. It happened to me too. What did they say to you?”

“They didn’t have to say anything.” Just a look from them was enough to tell Phillip what they expected, and years of habit had made him listen to them all at once. He hated himself for that, for giving into what they wanted so easily, even when he knew it was wrong. But what choice did he have? As of now, he didn’t have anywhere else to go, but the thought of what his parents might do when he got home sickened him. He didn’t have a choice. That was the worst part, he had to do what his parents said out of pure necessity.

Phineas could see that Phillip was growing more and more panicked by the second, he looked like a cornered wild animal with nowhere to run, so Phineas decided to back off for the moment. He didn’t want to end up pushing Phillip away, not when it was so important that he have a little support. “Why don’t you come home with me for a bit?” he asked. “I know Charity wouldn’t mind, and the girls will love having you around.”

Instantly, he saw Phillip relax, just a little bit as if going to Phineas’s house was just the thing he needed to open up and calm down. “I’d like that,” he said, just a hint of a smile crossing his face. “As long as you’re sure you don’t mind.”

“If I minded, I wouldn’t have invited you,” Phineas said good-naturedly, throwing money on the bar for their drinks. He put an arm around Phillip and drew him to the door. “Let’s go, it isn’t too far from here.”

The walk back was a quiet one, Phillip too lost in his own thoughts to say much. He wondered what Anne was doing. Was she still upset? She had every right to be, he knew that.  But he really only wanted to make her happy, keep her safe, and he wished that wasn’t too much to ask. With his parents around, however, keeping her safe was more important, even if she was angry with him. No telling what his parents might have done to either of them if Phillip had defied them. It was better this way, he tried telling himself, but he still was disgusted by his actions.

Finally, they reached the Barnums’ huge house. Candles still glowed cheerfully in the windows, signifying that Charity, Helen, and Caroline were still awake. Phillip could hear laughter coming from inside, and it cheered him up a little bit. But he hesitated at the doorstep. “Are you sure it’s not too much trouble?” he asked Phineas again. “I could go back.”

“Go back where? To the bar?” Phineas replied. “For what must be the fifth time, Phillip, no, it isn’t too much trouble, and I can’t have my apprentice drinking himself to death. Now come on, the girls will be thrilled.” With that, he pulled Phillip into the house. “Girls, look who I brought with me.”

Caroline and Helen came dashing down the stairs almost as soon as he called, Caroline reaching the bottom first. “Helen!” She cried in excitement. “Daddy brought Phillip!”

 “Phillip!” Helen appeared right behind her sister. “Phillip’s here! Hooray!” The two girls leaped into Phillip’s arms just as Charity entered the room, some kind of contraption in her arms.

He wrapped his arms around both the girls, their excitement bringing a smile to his face despite his otherwise terrible mood. “Hello girls,” he said, as brightly as possible. He didn’t want them to think that anything was wrong. He managed a smile for Charity as well. “What’s that you’re carrying?”

“A wish catcher!” Caroline exclaimed. “Daddy made it!”

“A wish catcher, huh,” Phillip said. He shot an incredulous look in Phineas’ direction. Where did the man even come up with such names? Not wanting to burst the girls’ bubble, he asked, “How does it work?”

“You put a candle in it, and spin it, and make a wish!” Helen said. “Then the wish catcher holds onto your wishes for you until they come true, even if you forget.”

While Phillip was talking to the girls, Charity gave Phineas a confused look.

Phillip almost wished that the contraption Phineas had set up actually worked the way the girls believed it did. He knew what he would wish for- to be free.

“I found him in a bar by himself after the gala,” Phineas whispered to her. “He looked pretty shaken up, and I thought this might be good for him.”

Charity simply nodded knowingly, and they went back to rejoin them.

“You should try it, Phillip!” Helen said. “We can all do it.”

Phillip nodded, willing to go along with whatever Helen wanted for the moment. A childish part of him even hoped that the small lantern would actually keep his wishes safe. Safe from his parents, and from the world. The absolutely crazy part of him hoped they would come true.

Phineas took the contraption from Charity’s hands. “Gather around,” he said.

“Now this,” he said with a wink at Charity and Phillip. “Is from the journal of Leonardo Da Vinci himself. It came across my desk at my job before the circus, and I managed to memorize the blueprints enough to reconstruct them.” Phillip shook his head, how did the man manage to concoct this stuff? His own father had never bothered to entertain him with stories like this.

“Caroline, how about you go first? Show Phillip how it’s done.”

Caroline first went around the room, and blew out all the candles, save for the one in the lamp. Then, Phineas spun the contraption around, and the walls were suddenly covered in stars. Caroline closed her eyes, and then opened them a moment later, smiling brightly at everyone.

“What’d you wish for?” Phillip asked.

“If I tell you, it won’t come true!” Caroline teased.

Helen went next. “I wish for a magical rainbow unicorn!” She said excitedly.

“Helennn,” Caroline complained. “Now it’ll never come true.”

“It might!” Helen protested.

“You go next, Chairy,” Phineas said with a smile.

Charity knelt next to the wish catcher and closed her eyes. “I wish,” she said. “That we all forget our troubles, even if it’s just for a little while.”

The wish warmed Phillip’s heart, but he didn’t think it would ever come true. How was he supposed to forget his troubles when they were staring him in the face every time he set foot inside his own house? The frown that he had worked so hard to keep away in the presence of the girls made its way back on to his face.

“I’ll go now,” Phineas said, shooting Charity a worried look. The frown had not gone unnoticed it seemed, and Phillip forced a smile again. He really was feeling a little better, but he couldn’t seem to forget his parents’ eyes boring into him.

“I wish,” Phineas whispered. “That this little family will remember something, even when things get tough, that they’ll know they always have each other.”

Phillip wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but he thought that he saw Phineas looking at him while he said his wish out loud. He was wishing for happiness for his family, something Phillip wasn’t a part of. He had to be imagining. Carlyles didn’t have families, just like they didn’t have happiness or freedom.

“Your turn Phillip,” urged Caroline, as Phineas continued to spin the lamp.

Phillip closed his eyes and wished the way Caroline had. He wished for all the things he had been thinking of that night- freedom, happiness, safety- for himself, and for Anne.

“What’d you wish for, Phillip,” Helen asked gleefully.

“If I tell you,” Phillip said softly. “It won’t come true.”

They sat in silence for a little while after that. Finally, Charity broke the silence by telling the girls it was time to go to bed. They skipped out of the room, laughing and talking about rainbow unicorns.

“I should go,” Phillip said, dreading even the thought of going home.

“No, you shouldn’t.” Phineas grabbed Phillip’s arm. “Stay for a few minutes, have a drink. There’s no rush.”

“It’s late, and you’ve been out all day, and you should have some time alone with Charity-” the excuses stumbled out of Phillip’s mouth as fast as he could think of them. He wanted to stay, but at the same time, he didn’t want to intrude on a family that he didn’t belong to. And if he stayed, he might spill his feelings, his secrets, his wish. It was better if he went. “My parents will worry,” he added quickly.

“Exactly,” Charity said, coming to stand beside Phineas. “It’s late, and you shouldn’t be walking the roads alone at this hour. Stay. Stay the night, even. We have plenty of bedrooms that I, for one, don’t know what to do with, and I’m sure your parents would rather see you safe tomorrow morning, then have you hurt on the back streets walking home tonight.”

Phillip had to conceal a humorless laugh. He wasn’t so sure about that. What was more likely was that they would be furious with him no matter what he did. He turned that thought around in his head for a few moments, then nodded. He knew they wouldn’t let him go without a fight, and he didn’t have the strength in him to fight anymore.

Phineas didn’t want to give him another drink, the boy drank far more than what was healthy as it was. But he took one look at that pale, grim face and handed him a full glass. “Sit down, and try to relax.”

Phillip did not try to argue, taking a seat and slowly sipping from his glass. He didn't say anything, hoping that if he was quiet enough they would simply leave him alone.

His wish wasn’t granted. After a few minutes Phineas tried to make conversation. They talked about small things, the weather, the circus, Caroline’s ballet lessons. All the while, Phillip knowing what Phineas wanted to ask, and praying he just left it alone. He didn’t.

“So, Jenny was lovely tonight,” Phineas said cautiously. “Lord, she can sing.”

“Indeed,” Phillip agreed. “She was quite popular with the crowd. Not a bad review as far as I can see.”

“Your absence didn’t go unnoticed at the circus show tonight,” Phineas said, trying to sound casual. “Lettie and the others missed you.”

Phillip shrugged. “It isn’t as though as I actually do anything for the show. Missing just one doesn’t matter, I’m sure they did just fine without me.”

“Besides,” he muttered under his breath. “Not all of them missed me.”

As soon as the words slipped out, he realized his mistake. Damn. Now he’d really opened up a conversation he did not want to be having. Especially with Phineas, but the concern in the man’s eyes had seemingly opened up his mouth. He had never really had the chance to talk to someone like this before.

“What happened with you and Anne?” Phineas asked. He tried to make sure he didn’t sound judgemental or accusatory, giving Phillip the chance to explain himself, because he could tell the young man needed someone to hear him out, even if Phillip didn’t think so himself.  

Phillip hesitated. He knew that Phineas’s intentions were good, but he didn’t even know how to start. “At the gala…” he began. “I stood with the performers instead of going to the box. I didn’t feel like dealing with the stares and whispers. When Jenny started singing… I was… I don’t know… inspired? Anne was next to me and I took her hand. Tested the limits a little bit. I was thrilled when she took it back. But…”

“Your parents were there?” Phineas guessed. His heart broke for the two young people trying so hard to be in love without being judged by everyone around them, the way he and Charity still had to. He wanted to go have a few strong words with Phillip’s parents about supporting their son the right way. But he didn’t show his frustration, waiting for Phillip to continue, if he wanted to.

“All they had to do was glare at me,” Phillip muttered, putting his head in his hands. “And it was like I was five years old again. I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared in my life. All the things they said came rushing back. I knew what they expected me to do, and I listened. I let her go, and I hurt her. And I’ll have to go and face them eventually… Who knows what they’ll do.”

Phineas couldn’t stop his hand from curling into a fist. All this was sounding very familiar. Charity had seemingly suffered something similar, based on the little snippets of her life that Phineas had gotten. Did the rich snobs of New York have a monopoly on not-even-borderline abusive parenting? He mused. No child should have to be afraid of their parents.

“They...you…” Phineas struggled for words for a few moments. “Phillip, no matter what they say or do, you always have a room waiting for you in our house, alright?”

“Phin, I can’t ask you to do that for me…” Phillip began, but Phineas cut him off.

“You didn’t, Phillip. And I know you won’t believe me, but you did what you had to. If you had defied them, no telling what they might have done, even at Jenny’s gala. I know this hurts to hear, but you did do the right thing.”

Phineas was right, it did hurt to hear, even if he knew it was true. He wished it wasn’t, wished that he could take Anne with him wherever he went without the stares following them around. Without the threat of his parents hanging over his head. One day, he promised himself, one day he would do all that, and no one would be able to tell him otherwise.

Suddenly, he didn’t feel so much like drinking his sorrows away. He just wanted sleep. Maybe things would be easier to deal with in the morning. He knew he was only delaying the inevitable, but staying up all night would not help him either. “I think I should just go and sleep,” he said, beginning to get up.

Phineas nodded. “Charity made up a room for you, it’s upstairs. I’ll show you where it is.”

Phillip followed Phineas up the stairs. Once they were inside, he quietly said, “Thank you.” It wasn’t just for the room, but for everything- listening to him, offering him a place to stay, helping him calm down, for actually caring about him.

“You don’t have to thank me.” Phineas meant what he said, something as small as this had been nothing on his part. This had been second nature to him as a father, he didn’t even have to think about it. All he had wanted to do was make sure the kid was alright. “Couldn’t have my apprentice disappearing on me.”  

Phillip actually managed a laugh at that, shaking his head in amusement. “Goodnight Phineas.”

“Goodnight, Phillip,” Phineas replied. He started to leave but turned. “Oh, one more thing.” He gave Phillip a smile. “Anne’s always loved the theatre.”

“I’m not sure she’d come if I asked, not after today,” Phillip admitted. He would not have usually shared his worry, but this was different from usual. Usually, no one would have bothered to listen. Phillip wondered if this was what having a father who truly cared about him would be like.

“I’ll let her know I’ve left a ticket for her to go see one of the upcoming shows next week. All you have to do is meet her there on time.” Phineas gave Phillip a joking wink. “Does that work for you?”

“Absolutely!” Phillip immediately brightened. “Thank you,” he said again. “For everything.”

“Stop saying that,” Phineas laughed. “Goodnight, Phillip. For real this time.”

He strode to the door but turned once more. “And I meant what I said in my wish.”

He left without saying anything else, and Phillip fell asleep feeling better than he had in a very long time.

[hunterbahamut]

Part 1 - Part 2 -  Part 3

Here is Part 4 to ‘Back In Action’!

Out of the frying pan and into the fire, will the team survive their first mission back?

Hope you enjoy!

----

The tension was thick as the team moved down the hall, each one watching and listening for any sign of the three after them, nearly jumping at every creak and bang that echoed through the halls.

Phineas cursed quietly as he pointed his arm cannon down around every corner. "This would be a little better if we had some idea of where we were going or where we could get out."

"It's not that easy to figure out."  Tero said, sounding more annoyed that concerned.  "The information you downloaded isn't exactly complete, and the interference is making it harder to fill in the blanks."  Tero looked over the base schematics as he tried to keep a track of them.  "What I can tell you is that the power readings are steadily increasing the further you go in."

"Which means we could be walking right into the lion's den." Zech said, gulping nervously.

"Yeah, but if we find the evil lab, we might also be able to find something that will help us stop them." Sparks said, still sounding rather optimistic.  

"I hope you're right..." Phineas said, not so optimistically.

The twisted hallway echoed menacingly with creaking metal and the occasional banging, making it difficult to tell if something was stalking the team or not.  Eventually, they could see some light down the hall, though it did little to help ease their worries.  The four approached with caution, stepping to either side of the door way before went in, weapons drawn and looking out for anything.

The room they entered was as they had feared, maybe even a little worse.  It looked like a combination of a laboratory and a factory: there were many tables with both broken and working computers sitting on them, vials and beakers filled with unknown chemicals and liquids of varying colors and storage bags with similar liquids or even blood. There was an operating table that was coated in grime with hanging mechanical arms arms above it, each with various tools pointing right at it. A massive collection of mechanical parts and limbs were strewn all around and specimen jars of varying sizes, most were empty but many were some storing something inside.  At the back of the room were what seemed to be several pods or tanks, though there was only one that was closed.

"And I thought Tero's lab was bad..."  Zech said, unable to hide the trembling in his voice.

A dark, partially synthesized voice suddenly spoke up, echoing in the room.  "Ah, so you've finally made it." 

The team jumped and searched around the room, poised and aiming weapons, until the Gorm himself made an appearance, his intense, glowing eyes peering out from block sockets at them.  "Team Prototype."

"Doctor Viktor, I presume." Sparks said they had an intense stare down.

"I do not see 02 with you." He said, speaking in a very cold and sterile tone. "Though he is still on that ship of yours, yes?"  He seemed to grin, which only seemed the more terrifying with the metal on his face. "I vill get to see him soon enough.  In the meantime, I am pleased to have you here, you are all quite the specimen!"

"You're experiments stop here and now!" Sparks shouted, "You're gonna pay for what you did to them!"

"Vhat I have done was improve them!"  The Gorm actually sounded triumphant in that.  "I am bringing forth glorious evolution!  Ve are already on the brink of it, I am merely ushering it in despite of those who vould stop me."

"If this is your idea, the count me out!" Zech twitched his ears as he looked around nervously, "We're being stalled, guys..."

"It has already begun!"  Viktor laughed and he moved over to one of the pods. Before anyone could act, there was a loud crashing behind them.  They turned to see that the three others arriving and blocking off their exit.  They didn't attack just yet, just stood there, watching.

Viktor opened the pod and a rush of smoke and steam came pouring out before a smaller form emerged. It was the the Aqualine, the last one of the missing team, her body also heavily altered like the others.  Massive pieces of tech were on her arms with massive tubes jutting out of them and to some kind of pack on her back.  Part of her face was covered and one eye and her center eye was replaced with a large scanner multi-lens scanner.

"I offer you a chance to join villingly," Viktor said with a smirk, "but you ultimately don't have a choice in the matter.  You will submit to my designs."

"Yeah, thanks but no thanks." Phineas said, starting to charge up his cannon.

Viktor simply laughed before he spoke them. "Deal with these inferior constructs."

The four augments seemed to jerk as if they were coming back to life, all eyes on the team. The first to move was the Aqualine and she raised her arms up and then sent out a blast of ice out, shards flying out towards the team.  They all had to move out of the way as the heavy shards slammed into the metal flooring and computers around them. This separated the team so the other three moved in to attack them one at a time, the Narth headed for Nix, the Razorwing for Sparks and the Needlix for Phin, each one forcing the others into different areas of the lab.  

Zech was scared, he saw the others get attacked by each of the others; which was bad considering that they couldn't do much t them when it was two against one, but then there was the Aqualine who seemed to be acting as artillery.  He jumped up and tried to get close to her, but she was already starting to attack, sending out shots and waves of ice at the others.  "Guys!  Look out!"  He had to try and help out and he fired off his own blasts to shatter the ice, jumping around to try and cover the others.

Nix was doing well with dodging the attacks from the Narth, moving smoothly and avoiding any of his grabs or slashes, but that was all she was able to do for now.  The Narth was fast and relentless, his claws dinging into metal and pulling hunks out to try and throw at her.   Nix's feathers changed color and she was already bringing out the fire, swinging her arms out to fire off slashes at the incoming metal projectiles and smashing them apart as she moved in. It didn't take her long though to go on the offensive now.

Sparks was having a difficult time with the Razorwing; even though he wasn't launching his mace ball out as much, he was still making him dodge around as he charged for him, slamming his feet and mace are down.  Sparks fired off several blasts at him, but they didn't seem to phase him at all, just smacking against his body with barely a flinch.  "Daaaaammit..." Sparks said, ducking behind the table as he tried to think. "I -really- don't want to hurt you too much, buddy!" 

Phineas was having the worst of it though. The Needlix charged at him, forcing him to dodge around as best as he could, but he was starting to show his tiredness with some of the sloppy movements and bad aim.  When she made another pass, he tried to take several shots at her, but most only ended up hitting the walls or some of the surrounding environment.  "Son...of a... HOLD STILL DAMMIT!"  He wasn't pulling his punches like some of the others, but even when he did manage to connect a shot, it just deflected off of the crude armor.

The fight was not in the teams favor, each one was barley having any effect against their opponents, and the Aqualine was making things all the much harder.  She kept sends out blasts of ice and freezing blasts.  Zech was doing his best running interference; jumping around to try and blast the ice shards out, or bringing up an energy barrier to block against the attacks, but it was starting to wear him down now as well.

Tero suddenly spoke up on his comms. "I need a computer access."

"What?!"  Zech asked, panting a bit as he fired off a blast at the Aqualine, ice spray flying out over everything. "Tero, I really can't-!"

"I have a way to stop them." He finally said, sounding more irritated. "If you want to get out if this mess in one piece, you will need to find a computer and link to it.  Now."

Zech let out a grumble, but they needed something to change and fast.  He ducked down behind a desk and frantically looked around.  So many of the computers here looked wrecked, or were being wrecked in the battle, but he finally did spot one.  He gulped, afraid of leaving the others like this, but he got up and made a dash for it.  He jumped and teleported, pulling out his computer and hooked it in. "Okay!  Here!"

Tero was silent for a moment before he sounded satisfied. "This will do.  Stand-by."

Zech twitched nervously and he looked back, "I hope you make his fast, I don't know if-"

The Aqualine was keeping up her attacks despite all of this and she ended up launching a blast of freezing ice out.  This time, Zech wasn't close enough to provide support, so it basted out and struck Phineas while his back was turned. He let out a painful yell as his back was covered in frost. He lurched forward and jerked, but his legs were now frozen to the floor. "DAMMIT!  MY LEGS!"  He twisted and turned, trying to break free while the Needlix was starting to rev up, turning around towards him.

The cry caught the attention of the others, but that only opened themselves up now as well.   Nix turned to try and find Phin, but the Narth's mechanical arms shot out and grabbed hold of her, yanking her up off the ground as he rose his other arms up, baring his claws. Sparks had done the same, turning around just as the Razorwing launched his mace towards him.  Sparks was able react and ducked behind a table, but the mace crashed into it and him, sending him against the wall and pinned up against it.

Zech froze as he gasped. "GUYS!"  He quickly sprung forward, running over to Phineas, pulling his arm back and firing off a larger blast at the Needlix.  She was ready to deflect the blast, but the shot was aimed low, so it crashed against both the ground and her legs, causing the metal deck underneath to blow and knocking her over.  There was a loud crunching and squealing of metal and gears as she scrambled to get back up, the wheeled getting stuck and jammed in the twisted metal.

It was time to go on the offensive, and Nix was more than ready to take the gloves off, so to speak, exposing her metal talons.  She kicked and slashed, the sharp talons finding purchase in the Narth's mechanical arms and managing to sever one of them, which dropped her back down. She didn't let up, as soon as she was on her feet, she moved forward.  The Narth didn't seem t be affected by the loss of his limbs, but his effectiveness was limited.  She sent several more kicked into his torso, knocking him backwards before she slashed at his legs, digging into them and causing enough damage to knock him down to the ground.

The Razorwing started to stomp closer to the pinned Sparks, his laser eye dropping down and focusing on him.  Sparks gulped as he looked up.  "Okay...I really didn't want to do this...!"  He wiggled around and he managed to get a hand free, throwing it out and firing off a blast of electricity into the Razorwing.  The bast struck him with enough power that he started to shake and convulse.  The energy tether deactivated, letting the ball drop, freeing Sparks from the wall and he stumbled as he got to his feet.  "You guys...take a lot..."

"Good, good!"  Viktor laughed as he stood back and watched the whole fight.  "It is better than I vould have hoped!  Vhile these ones vere not fighters, it shows how much stronger they are against ones such as you!  Imagine how much more powerful you vill be once you relinquish the flesh!  Steel will fix all of your flaws!"

"Someone -please- shut him up!" Phin said through clenched teeth.

Viktor raised his arms up. "Now seize them, my constructs! Let us bring them in to our fold!"

The team thought they had the upper hand but, to their shock, the three they had just taken out seemed to jerk and climb back up to their fight, each one damaged and struggling, but still back up.

"Geez, how much more are they gonna take?" Sparks asked, stepping back.

"I don't think we have a choice anymore." Nix said, poised and ready to strike.  "We're going to need to take them out completely!"

That's when Tero spoke up. "There.  That should do it."

The four augments suddenly seemed to stop, almost like they were deactivated, slumping a bit and just standing there for a moment.

"What the...?"  Zech asked, watching as they seemed to move again. This time though, their movements seemed strained rather than mechanical.  They watched them and, for the first time, there seemed to be some signs of life in their faces.

This caught Viktor's attention. "Vhat?  Vhat is this?" The only reply anyone got was a terrified, blood-curdling scream coming from the Aqualine.  Suddenly there was a massive blast of cold, striking the Gorm from behind and coating him in ice, knocking him down to his knees.

"What the hell?!"  Zech gasped out, watching as the augments all seemed to move, but instead of advancing on them, they were moving towards Viktor.

"I located and disabled the doctor's programming." Tero explained, "Their enhancements and programming are based on my own, so I was able to find what was controlling them and deactivate it.  I suppose the doctor will see just how grand his creations are now."

The team actually feared the worst for the others and they all stepped closer as the four all seemed to surround the fallen Gorm.  “Whoa, hold up!” Spark shouted out to them and he and the others moved closer. Thankfully, they didn't seem to do anything more than just incapacitate him; Viktor laid on the floor, some parts of his own robotic body was torn off, leaving him ragged but he was alive.

"Geez..."  Sparks said as they looked at the scene, but then he and the others realized that they were being watched.  The four augments all looked at the team, their looks sending chills through them: concern, confusion, worry, terror...

Sparks took in a breath before he spoke up next. "Don't worry guys, we're here to get you out and back home."

[gwensanotherdimension]

Not Legit Movie Reviews

After a 6 month hiatus I have returned with a relevant movie review! This one was fun to write so I hope you enjoy!

Before you continue reading, if you haven’t seen the movie, I spoil the ending and describe some scenes in detail. This review also works if you’re familiar with the first Phineas and Ferb movie; Across the 2nd Dimension. I would also like to preface this as I know my sister is going to read this, a lot of these thoughts and ideas were discussed together, so a lot of these opinions are influenced by her opinion as well, but luckily, we came to the same conclusion about this movie. 

This movie was heavily anticipated as the Phineas and Ferb series ended in 2015, which was a long 5 years ago. I have always liked this show, the characters were all enjoyable, the songs were extremely catchy and the plot was always engaging. 

As a kid, it hit all the benchmarks for what made a kid’s show great. Only when I wrote my own episode with my sister for a school assignment, did I realize that there was so much hard-work and effort put into the show to make it the spectacular show that it is. The genius’ behind the show; Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh are an extremely talented and creative duo who had previously worked on The Simpsons and Rocko’s Modern Life together; they write a majority of the episodes as well as the songs themselves which are extremely impressive as they’re in almost every single episode. As the impressive song-writers that they are, they are masters at making the songs original and catchy - multiple generations know what an aglet is because of this show, I don’t know what else to say other than the songs are absolute bangers. 

But let’s not waste anytime, Candace against the Universe was not their best. I’m just going to say it right now. The plot wasn’t the strongest in terms of story and twist. It was predictable and simply not as interesting as regular episodes or Across the 2nd Dimension which I will compare heavily to this movie. My sister and I had a long discussion about how it was similar to the Mission Marvel special where the content had potential but it missed the original charm and wit that the episodes have. This movie could have easily been condensed into a two parter, or just under forty-five minutes. The plot of Across the 2nd dimension was so strong and was executed so perfectly; a quick summary: Phineas and Ferb help Doofenshmirtz build an ‘inator’ to another dimension but Perry is stuck between exposing himself as a secret agent to the boys or allowing them to help Doofenshmirtz take over the Tri-State area. He ends up doing both which carries the rest of the story to meet their alternate-dimension selves and then finally comes together at the end in a massive battle where alternate-dimension attempts to conquer yet another Tri-State area (the one that we’re familiar with).  

I felt like the problem with Candace against the Universe, the ending was very anti-climatic. It ends in a short battle which felt lacking compared to the final battle in Across the 2nd dimension. My sister and I absolutely love how in the end of AT2D, it was revealed that Perry had been collecting their inventions throughout the summer and had been saving them for an ‘Alpha-level’ threat. It’s a thrilling pay-off for audiences to see that all of their incredible inventions haven’t gone to waste after a single use - they have a second purpose - which is to fight evil. In Candace against the Universe, it followed a very basic plot structure, Candace is captured by an alien species in space, they give her what she’s looking for which is individuality and validation, the boys ‘save’ her but then Candace kicks them to the curb, the true intentions of the alien leader are revealed and it’s a race to save Candace and the rest of the humans on earth. What made the ending in AT2D so satisfying was seeing all of the inventions come back, obviously they couldn’t do that again in this movie but I felt like there could’ve been a better ending to it. 

Within the first ten minutes of Candace against the Universe, we’re introduced to Doofenshmirtz’s newest invention. ‘A power-vacuum-inator.’ a machine that turns things into lint and then vacuums it away. A pretty hilarious contraption which isn’t far away from the other inventions that he’s made before but later, we’re introduced to another invention, the ‘Chicken-replace-inator’ which swaps things with the closest chicken; pretty self-explanatory but it proves itself handy later. What my sister and I found as a ‘cop-out’ was how easy they made it so that Doofenshmirtz and Vanessa could return to earth. When the Mama plant is preparing to take over Danville, a simple blast from the ‘Chicken-replace-inator’ zaps it away and the cast breaks out into a final song. But before I continue, let’s talk about Vanessa’s purpose to the plot. 

A huge drawn-in point to the movie was Candace and Vanessa as a duo. In the episodes it was exciting to see them come together and interact because they’re connecting the plot line of Phineas and Ferb to the plot line of Doofenshmirtz and Perry which is pretty high stakes since Perry can’t reveal to his host-family that he’s a spy. But, early on into the movie, Candace and Vanessa get split up and we don’t see them together again until the very end of this movie. Before Doofenshmirtz reunites with Vanessa, he uses the ‘Chicken-replace-inator’ to zap away a large dragon-monster creature, replacing it with the closest chicken, which is on earth; so there’s now a chicken on the alien planet. Unfortunately for them, when Doofenshmirtz, Vanessa and Perry (who were left behind by the others) want to return to earth they attempt to use the ‘Chicken-replace-inator’ on themselves but, if you remember from before, the closest chicken is now the chicken on the alien planet. So the ‘cop-out’ of the inator is that Doofenshmirtz, Vanessa and Perry simply change the settings of the inator to swap places with the furthest chicken instead of the closest. And, anti-climatically use the inator to blast and switch the Mama plant with the furthest chicken (the one back on the alien plant). Which got me thinking, that was a pretty lazy ending, it was anti-climatic and just an easy way out. They already had a “battle” with Candace shooting free t-shirts at the minions so they needed to get rid of the plant quickly. 

I thought it over in the shower, what would’ve made for a similar ending to AT2D? Where they would use Chekhov’s gun and make use of everything that was introduced in the movie. If they had defeated the Mama plant with the vacuum, it would’ve given the movie an extra ten minute action scene; where Baljeet has his ‘a-ha!’ moment and finally his knowledge of Space Adventures doesn’t fail him or Phineas takes the spotlight (when the boys are hurtling towards the ground and Phineas uses something he saw in Space Adventures to save them) Baljeet could reference an episode were they created an air-vacuum to deprive something of all air, drying it out and killing it; tying the end to the beginning. I understand they decided to use the ‘Chicken-replace-inator’ because they spent so much time on it but as I was saying before, it just wasn’t satisfying. It was already pretty silly and made just for the sake of being a joke but I felt it would’ve been better suited to use the Power-Vacuum-inator. 

Which brings me to my next point, the running gags. When Phineas and Ferb pull the crew together to go to space, Baljeet introduces Space Adventure - an adventure in space - which is reminiscent of Star Trek and referenced in an older episode (Nerds of a Feather) Throughout the movie, Baljeet attempts to help navigate alien territory with his knowledge of Space Adventure but it backfires on him every time. However, when they’re hurtling back to Earth, Phineas references Space Adventure and saves them, essentially taking Baljeet’s running gag from under his feet which didn’t sit right with me. It didn’t come to a satisfying conclusion. Again, I understand not everything has to come full circle but this should’ve. Same with Buford’s running gag, when they’re packing for space, Buford brings aboard a canoe, everyone but Buford can agree that there’s absolutely no use for a canoe in space; so it’s ‘funny’ that Buford is dead-set on carrying around a massive canoe into space and back. But the conclusion that he gets is that it gets strapped to a golf cart and swings into the aliens, knocking them out.  

Finally, there’s a relationship that wasn’t fully developed but still happened that bothers me. When the crew crash land on the alien planet, there’s discourse between Isabella and Doofenshmirtz on who should ‘lead’ the group to the fortress that Candace is most likely held in. Isabella supports her claim as leader since she’s a girl scout and has patches proving her worthy as a leader but Doofenshmirtz is the adult so naturally, he should be leader. My complaint is that there is absolutely no development between Isabella and Doofenshmirtz but yet, a mere twenty minutes later Doofenshmirtz believes that Isabella is a deserving leader and saying that he “learnt from the best” yet there is no example of Isabella being the natural leader that she is. 

Moving away from my problems with the plot, I felt that the jokes and gags in the movie weren’t as hilarious as other jokes in episodes or AT2D. I read a review from Variety and Polygon which had high praise for the movie, which includes “ jokes about support groups, power ballads, Cubism, talk-show obsequiousness, plus a very funny song called “Adulting,” about how adults justify their judgment with no good reason.” (Variety) and “The movie is still chock full of bubbly humor. The show excelled at comedic timing, effectively using beats, cutaway gags, and fourth-wall breaking.” And while I agree with the second half, the movie missed some of the benchmarks of Phineas and Ferb-level humour. The jokes in the movie were uncomfortably off-beat and repetitive, heavily relying on comedic timing and dead air for audiences to laugh. The comedic timing was unsuccessful and dare I say, too long and too often. The jokes couldn’t have been more obvious, they were pretty much lit up with fireworks and a huge neon sign that said “You should laugh here! This is a joke that is funny and you can laugh here! That’s what this awkward empty space is for.” After a brief scan of AT2D there were jokes that didn’t feel forced or obviously meant for certain audiences - like one of the aliens ‘flossing’ which feels a little outdated even for 2020. 

As mentioned earlier, after writing my own Phineas and Ferb script I have a much larger appreciation for the work put into a single episode. Povenmire and Marsh out-do themselves with each episode and it’s impressive; I admire their work so much. Now, I don’t know if it’s because I went into the mindset of knowing what makes Phineas and Ferb great, this movie felt lacking in the original appeal that the episodes had. The characters didn’t have the depth they usually had, the songs weren’t as catchy, the jokes weren’t as funny and the plot wasn’t as strong. It felt rushed; and I don’t know if they were but there could’ve been so much more depth and (irony not included) dimension. 

I have the same opinion with Frozen 2, it felt rushed so there wasn’t as much depth as the first movie. And, they were rushed with the movie; in the docu-series Into the Unknown: The making of Frozen 2, so many elements in the final movie were added within the last nine months of production. The story was rewritten multiple times when the writers and directors had trouble deciding who Elsa was hearing calling out to her. They just had to choose at that point which made the story feel rushed and bunched. It’s like rolling up a yoga mat, you start off neat and even but when you get near the end and your friends have already packed up, you haphazardly roll up the mat, so now it’s pointed at one end and looks like an ice cream cone. 

Don’t get me wrong, I still watched the entire thing and there was one scene at the end that I enjoyed but it just didn’t live up to my expectations. And that’s totally okay; it was appealing to their target audience and hit all the notes of a Phineas and Ferb movie. It’s simply that I had my expectations extremely high. 

I give Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe 5.5 Stars out of 10 

[furederiko]

He's your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man...

I initially thought I would not get a chance to see this at the theatres. So I felt somewhat lucky that I've been fortunate enough to see it yesterday, on the first viewing, of its premiere day(although I had to skip the 3D due to the ticket price)! Unfortunately, it wasn't that good of an experience, unpleasant even. I mean, that's what I got when I pre-ordered a ticket late in the game: I had to sit really close to the giant screen. I'm feeling the result now... exhausted watery eyes and stiff neck. Also, it's currently still school holiday, so I was seated between teenagers and kids who... either couldn't stop chomping food loudly, kept asking questions throughout the movie, or... just didn't have proper ethiquette towards older people. Gosh, that awkward moment made me feel really 'old' and 'out of place'. Thankfully, the movie itself was the complete opposite to that annoying real life situation. So in a way, well worth the patience I had to endure during the screening. Okay, enough chit-chat, let's get to the review now!

NOTE: This is a spoiler-free review. At the very least, it was written with that thought and intention in mind. So there's still a possibility that it contains some implicit spoilers. With that said, feel free to proceed cautiously, okay! *wink*

They should've called this SPECTACULAR Spider-Man. Seriously. Because it's indeed one! A movie that felt small and stand-alone, but firmly incorporated the titular character VERY nicely in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Afterall, that's what 'Homecoming' is all about, right? The movie began following the aftermath of 2012's "The Avengers", it then picked up right in the middle of last year's "Captain America: Civil War" for a brief minutes (featuring some fantastic larger-than-life cameos), before it became its own thing following the conclusion of that amazing Berlin Airport scene. And then several months later...

There's an honest good reason why Marvel Studios appointed Tom Holland as the new Peter Parker. And that's because it's going to be extremely hard to picture anyone else but him to embody both Peter and Spider-Man after seeing this movie. As proven over and over again with their movies, the studio certainly isn't messing around when it comes to casting. Holland IS Peter (not to mention a striking resemblance to young Stan Lee), and that's just one of the key ingredients that made this movie so captivating. There's an earnest youth-innocence exuberating from this version. An excitement that we haven't seen in both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's version. Not saying both were bad (theirs got pushed to adulthood too soon, I say, thanks to the actors being much older), but this one got the personality of comic book Peter in the most perfect way. Also, have I mentioned that Holland is HOT? He's so easy on the eyes, that I wouldn't doubt his Peter would make anyone (men or women, young or old) swoon. Assuming I got my memory right, I think he and his six-pack were the lenghties shirtless fan-service scene of all MCU movies so far. Thank goodness the actor's 21 years old now, otherwise that sentiment would sound really inappropriate. Pheew!

He's Peter in the most charming and geekiest way. Smart, sweet, sometimes overwhelmingly curious, but also an underdog who is ridiculed at school. Who once again reminded you, that hey, nerds CAN be true heroes too! Yes, that's the best of all! Just like the deepest inner desire that some of us shared, he's just THAT eager to become a hero. He's a dreamer, who looked up to the Avengers, and wanted to do good to be among their ranks. But being 15 years old, a student in a high school, things weren't as easy as one might think. When he has classes and after school programmes, would he even have time to be a crime fighting hero? One that placed his life on the line numerous time, while deep inside, still struggling with the sensibilities and struggles of growing up? That's what this movie succeeded to explore, making it feel... 'different' to the previous MCU movies.

The supporting characters, were also fantastic. Marisa Tomei's May Parker, was more of a sexy older sister than an elderly aunty. It's a modern change that felt just right for her, especially in this era of feminism. But as always, she was also Peter's emotional anchor. Particularly in one scene that... well, I'm not spoiling anything, but let's just say, had Holland showcased his specialty in moving dramatic performance. Those who had seen "The Impossible" would know, that Holland could really made it possible. On the other side of the table, Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark played out as the kind of mentor, big brother, or surrogate father that Peter aspired to. Peter tried so hard to please his good side, and in a way, that's one of his focus in this movie. That's why his presence could be felt looming around the background. Contrary to what people assumed though, Tony wasn't in the movie that much. It was Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan who actually spent more screentime and connection with Peter. So nope, before you accuse Stark of stealing another character's movie, that's not the case. He had just about right amount of screen time, and the movie was wholly Peter's from start to end.

Jacob Batalon's Ned was a charming chubby sidekick. He's as excited as Peter, and shared a sweet chemistry with him that would make you wish you're their best friend too. Not trying to sound racist, but it's nice that we're getting another support character that's not black. I mean, that's certainly a pattern in the first two Phase of the MCU, right? Laura Harrier's Liz was the love interest, who as always, ended up becoming a damsel in distress at some point in the movie. Zendaya's Michelle on the other hand, was the weird girl who's out and about, and seemed to be tailing Peter for... unknown personal reason. She didn't have much to do, but likely because she's being set up for expanded involvement in the sequel(s). Tony Revolori's Flash was Pete's bully, but not in the way you think. He's a modern-type 'hater' who harrassed people with words and attitude, and not through muscle. And then there were other minor characters, filling up the school as either students (Abraham Attah, Tiffany Espensen, Michael Barbieri, etc) or teachers (Martin Starr, Selenis Leyva, Hannibal Buress, Kenneth Choi, etc), building up a truly diverse looking environment. It might feel like a crowded cast, but really, most of them only had small participation in this movie. But you know what I really love about the portrayal of this high school? That in a technology-based MCU, science IS the cool thing. For crying out loud, even the cool kids were the smart achiever ones, and the Academic Decathlon's its MVP! Unlike the typical high schools we saw in various TV shows (filled with actors sometimes too old to be students), this one personally felt more at home. Looking familiarly similar to the place I've went to all those years ago, it sure didn't take a while before nostalgia slowly kicked in.

One might argue that the villains weren't really 'that threatening' here. Particularly the Shockers: Logan Marshall-Green's Jackson Brice and/or Bokeem Woodbine's Herman Schultz. They felt like lower-tier 'bad guys', especially when compared to say... Ultron, or Loki, with their global-level annihilation ambitions. Nevertheless, Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes was a truly intimidating antagonist, who would conquer the scene with his chilling presence. He firmly sit as one of the best MCU antagonist we got so far, just NOT the way you might think. In a strangely relatable way, situation somehow forced him to be one, placing him on the other side of the law. Not just him, but his crew as well, because most of them couldn't even be considered 'evil'. There's a moral ambiguity of why Toomes did what he did, an amazing angle that made him different to previous bad guys. You'll particularly see about this during the third arc. I sure would love to see more of him in the future, but Keaton's only contracted for one movie so far. Beside, without being too oblivious, there's a high possiblity that Michael Mando's character will be taking that spotlight in the sequel. Likely alongside Michael Chernus' Phineas Mason, who was the technical-brain of the Vulture.

Thanks to these antagonists, the action-pieces, while making such grandiose spectacles as usual, felt different this time around. It was intense, nervewracking, and many other emotions I couldn't describe. Surprisingly, it put me on the edge of my seat most of the time, due to how personal and sometimes intimate they were. There's a desperation in these scenes that made my heart racing, a sensation that strangely reminded me of that last battle on "Civil War". Perhaps because this Spider-Man is young, and that he made honest mistakes that led him into trouble instead? Or because his life and those around him was truly put in jeopardy every single time, as if jumping straight into a tank full of sharks? A real sense of danger? I couldn't tell. One thing for sure, you might think you've seen it all from the trailers (which are still best avoided, IMHO), but there's way more to that. I can assure you, the complete sequences were still unexpected and shocking to watch.

In the end, just like James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" that arrived three months ago, the sensation of "Spider-Man: Homecoming" was a little difficult to properly describe. Both movies had some jokes and humors that didn't land with the audience I was with, but mostly because they were lost in translation. "Vol. 2" felt personal to me, but "Homecoming" also felt relatable in many ways. It's all kinds of emotions, a roller-coaster as one would expect from an MCU movie. And this movie was a down-to-earth adventure for the web slinger, that's still loaded with plenty of surprises one after another, big or small. It even saved one really GOOD one at the closing minutes of the movie!

Devoted Marvel fans will be thrilled with how Spider-Man is perfectly captured, while gleefully scavenging those many easter eggs sprinkled throughout the movie. Ones that connected to the larger MCU, or those teasing what might be coming ahead (Angourie Rice's Betty Brant and Donald Glover's Aaron Davis, to name a few). Meanwhile, general audience will be delighted to see this, as a genuine high school movie disguised as a superhero one. A coming-of-age movie, where its lead character learns to deal with the challenges of being young, his lack of experience, responsibilities of being a hero, and the cost of trying to do good. As shown by Peter's powerful decisions in several key scenes of the third arc, it's also a movie that reminded its young (both by age or at heart) viewers to never lose sight of what's important: kindness and compassion. All I can tell is, that director Jon Watts truly nailed this movie, and now I can't wait to see him progressing with the same 'everyday hero' magic in the upcoming sequel (set for 2019).

The collaboration between Marvel Studios and SONY to include Peter Parker in the MCU was like a dream come true to Marvel fans. More than that, it truly has been proven to be THE right decision. Here's hoping they will further extend this wonderful deal to the future, because I honestly feel, Spider-Man is where he's supposed to be. HOME...

Overall Score: 8,5 out of 10 PS: It's common sense for an MCU movie, that there will be post-credit scenes. And as publicly reported, this movie had two, with one of them teasing for the sequel. That second one, though?! Dang it... it's a sweet 'cap off' that will leave you smiling as you walk out of the theatres. Seriously, don't miss out on that! LOL.

This review had gone through minor adjustments and corrections to make some points clearer on July 6th, 2017, 09:10AM (local time).

[anonymousfiction211]

Handcuffed together: 15

A/N: The story continues. I had a wedding on friday, so a day later than planned :) Hope you like it. Let me know what you think :)

Moving on? The seconds passed by slowly from the moment Loki left you, again. The seconds turned into minutes, hours, days, weeks and eventually months. The first few days you were angry, waiting for Thor to come back so you could yell at him about Loki. But Thor never came back, at first you were angry about that too. But Natasha reminded you that Thor probably had other duties to perform in Asgard and that you couldn’t hold him accountable for his brother’s actions. True.

When you heard nothing, you became sad and depressed. You had thought that Loki would have checked in, maybe leave a message in time. But nothing. It was like he and your entire relationship had never happened. It started with you only dressing in lounge clothes. You stopped hanging out with the team, and were mostly in your room watching tv. You didn’t spend any time on your other hobby’s. Eventually Steve was forced to put you on a break, meaning you didn’t actively take part in the team or go on missions. It took five long months, but that was the moment you decided you were done. You needed to be yourself again.

‘Morning (Y/N), you are up early today? And even dressed in normal clothing?’ Natasha greeted you surprised.

‘Yeah.. thanks Nat’ you replied a bit grumpily. ‘Look, I’m done being lonely and I want to help again. Do you know where I can find Steve?’

‘Good to see you finally coming to terms with everything. Once you are fully over him, we can go out together and snatch you up a better guy’ she winked at you. ‘I think Steve is in the briefing room’

‘Thanks… maybe in a month or two’ you said. Leaving her to find Steve.

Natasha was right, you found him in the briefing room. You knocked on the door and he told you to enter.

‘Hey, (Y/N)’ he said surprised, clearly not expecting you.

‘Hi’ you said a bit sheepishly. ‘Can we talk for a moment?’

‘Of course, take a seat. You are looking good. How are you doing?’ he asked.

‘Better.. I ehm.. actually, wanted to apologize for my absence and the mood I have been in and –

‘(Y/N), don’t worry. It was all completely understandable’ Steve cut you off.

‘Still..’ you said.

The room was silent for a moment. ‘I’m just glad you are doing better. Plus, we already agreed as a team that if we ever see Loki again, let’s say it’s best if he doesn’t show his face around here anymore’

‘Thanks’ you forced a small giggle. ‘I think it’s time to pick up my life and I wanted to talk about the leave you put me on’ you started.

‘You want to come back?’ Steve asked.

‘Yes, I think it is best to have a certain rhythm and get back in the groove, don’t you think?’

‘As much as I love to have you fully back, it isn’t that easy actually’ Steve hesitatingly started.

‘What do you mean?’ you stomach started to tie itself in knots.

‘You need to be re-evaluated, before you can fully join. I mean, you can help us in the meantime. But not actively participate on missions before you are cleared again’ he started to explain.

‘How much time will it take?’

‘The re-evaluation consists of two steps. The first step is a physical test to see what level you are on now. And after that there is a mentality test, to see if you are in the right mind set to function on missions. If you pass straight away you can join next week. But I have to be honest, you were pretty out of it and missed a lot of training So, I think it will be a month or three. But like I said, there is still plenty you can help us with, without actively join the missions’

‘Oh’ you said a bit disappointed. ‘But can’t we just skip it? I’m fine now, and I really want to be back on the team’

‘(Y/N), that’s not how it works’ Steve sighed.

‘Please? I need this’ you begged.

‘Answer one question for me: if we are in the middle of the battle with Thanos, and suddenly Loki appears. What will you do?’

‘I eh.. I..’ you stammered, to be honest you still didn’t know what you would do.

‘Exactly. As much as we love you, it is important to go through these test. We need to be able to trust each other blindly. And as long as you do not have the right answer immediately to that question, we can’t. I’m sorry’ he said.

‘I understand’ you said softly, trying not to break down. That surely wouldn’t help your case.

‘I’m sorry. If you feel up for it, I will start up the whole process. But if you need more time, then take all the time you need. I’m already super glad that you are doing better’ he said.

‘Thanks Steve, ehm.. start it up. And what can I do in the meantime?’ you asked.

‘I will catch you up’ he said.

Then Steve started to explain what the team had been doing the past months. They had tracked a guy down, named dr. Strange. Apparently he was a bit like Tony. He also possessed an infinity stone, and they told him everything that Loki had told them. Thor would hopefully be back soon, and than they would no more about how Loki was doing and if he knew where Thanos was hiding. In the meantime, dr. Strange had tracked down another stone on a planet by someone called ‘the collector’. Apparently Asgard had given them the reality stone for safe keeping. Dr. Strange had set up a meeting and would try to come back with the stone. The plan was to collect the stones before Thanos and then imprison him with them, so he couldn’t go through with his plan. Kill him if necessary.

‘So, if you could drop of these documents at the sanctuary, that would be really helpful’ Steve said lastly.

‘Am I supposed to be everyone’s assistant until I’m cleared?’ you snapped

‘You’re no-one’s assistant. But this is the only task I can give you at the moment. This and ask for an update on his work, it really would help’

After some back and forth you reluctantly agreed to go to the sanctuary. Before that Steve had called everyone to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and tell them that you are working on joining the team again. To your relief everyone was supportive and seemed glad that you were doing better.

That afternoon you walked to the sanctuary with the documents. Wondering if you would get to meet dr. Strange and what he was really like.

‘And you are?’ he said answering the door you just knocked on.

‘I’m (Y/N) from the Avengers, here to deliver some documents you needed and to ask how your progress is’ you answered politely.

‘Ah, so you are the one sleeping with the enemy’ he joked.

After seeing your not-amused-face he cleared his throat and invited you into the sanctum. He told you about what this place was and who he was. He had actually an appointment with the collector in an hour, just to meet up. He didn’t expect that he would be able to get the stone on the first try.

‘If you really want to help, you could actually tell me about Loki’ he said.

‘I don’t want to talk about it’ you said.

‘Look, I have reason to believe that Loki has already been to the collector. And I know very little about the guy. Maybe you can interpret some of his actions for me?’ he asked.

You sighed heavily. ‘I’m not able to explain every choice he made. But if he has been there you can ask me when you return’ you said bitterly.

‘Or… you could come with?’ dr. Strange proposed.

‘I can’t. I’m not supposed to join missions. I’m on leave with the Avengers and need to be re-evaluated first’ you explained.

‘But I’m not with the Avengers. So, technically I’m hiring you as a free-lancer. So, are you coming with me? Could be helpful?’ he tried to persuade you.

‘I can’t. If the team finds out..’

‘I promise I won’t tell them. If Loki has really been there, aren��t you curious to what he is up to?’ dr. Strange cocked one of his eyebrows.

That argument convinced you. Besides, it was one conversation with some guy you would attend. It really wasn’t a mission, right? What could go wrong?

At the collector Dr. Strange, who said to call him Steven, opened a portal and the two of you went through. The collector was a peculiar being, his assistant also. He and Steven were talking about the stone and Thanos, while you walked behind them besides the assistant. Walking through the collection of the collector you saw some amazing things. It did disturb you that there were living beings held captive here, even after the collector assured you that it was fine. You were drawn back into the conversation when you heard Loki’s name.

‘Yes, he has been here’ the collector answered. ‘What did he ask you? What did he want? When did he leave?’ Steven asked.

‘Ah, a lot. Quite the mischievous guy, but that is to be expected I suppose. Unfortunately for him, someone else already had required my services’ that made everyone stop walking.

‘What do you mean?’ Steve asked.‘Well, to answer you earlier question, he is still here. Now Carina’ the collector said. 

Before you knew what was happening someone grabbed you and you felt a sharp needle in your neck. Steven looked shocked. You wanted to scream but every muscle in your body went limb. Your eyes felt heavy and you vision started to blur. Was the building tilting sidewards? Or were you falling? The last thing you heard was laughter and you saw Steven’s sparkling magic, and then it went black.

Some time later Your head was pounding, and your mouth was dry. Still foggy you tried to open your eyes. There was a familiar voice saying something in the background. One of your hands was immobile. Recounting everything that happened you tried to sit up right and open your eyes. It took a moment for your vision to fully return and your hearing to improve. The first thing you noticed was that one of your hands was cuffed. The cuff was attached to another hand. Looking up, you saw him. ‘Good to see you again, kitten’ Loki smiled. 

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