#i could watch milo murphys law again.....

[oriocookie]

all my friends do is tell me to consume new media that they know id like

and all i do is say no and cycle through old hyperfixiations

[danvillecheese]

i really wish i could like milo murphys law because i adore phineas and ferb and want to enjoy more of the dwampyverse but man. i just really did not enjoy it last time i tried to watch it

that’s okay!! you don’t have to enjoy every single part of the dwampyverse (god knows I don’t), and honestly i would just rewatch s1 of mml over and over again bc it’s my favourite. couldn’t do it with s2 tho but that’s just me being salty

if you haven’t seen hamster and gretel yet, it might be something to have a look at. I’ll be honest, it starts off a little slow but once the main story gets where it needs to go it’s really really good. it might be an expansion of the dwampyverse that you really like? idk! I can’t change your opinion on the fact you didn’t enjoy mml unfortunately, but give hamster and gretel a go. it might change ur mind :)

[zosonils]

i kinda want to watch milo murphy's law again i miss him. but am i strong enough right now to think about what could have been

[kaz3313]

Ships I started shipping in 2022- a list (won’t include all of them just ones I can think of):

Cavendish/Dakota (Milo Murphy’s Law): Cute. Gay. Time travelers. What more could I want. A solid 8/10 just because- unfortunately- pretty small fandom and a show that is only two seasons

Mary Saotome/Tsuzura Hanatemari (Kakegurui Twin): Minus points just cause I completely forgot Tsuzura’s name and had to look it up. But points even out because THE END SCENE THAT IS HER FANTASYING A WEDDING. 7/10, can’t wait to see more of this spin off show :))

Amidamaru/Mosuke (Shaman king): Little bit of cheating because I originally got into Shaman King when I was much younger- but because of the reboot I’m counting this. A classic- characters who were always together, died, are spirits who can’t rest on without each other, etc. sadly I wish there was more of them (together) as a thing. 7/10

Amber Park/Ricky “Jupe” Park (Nope 2022): I mean… did you really think I wouldn’t add these two? First off they are Red/Blue couple- secondly their outfits slay- thirdly I’m actually shipping a canon ship (shocking). Yes I’ve contributed a considerable amount to their ao3 tag… no I don’t have problems. Yes I plan on making more 10/10 will ship again

Angel Torres/Otis Junior(OJ) (Nope 2022): I unfortunately have not made anything specifically shippy with them but have also enjoyed this pairing from just a “ah I have read things on this and enjoy”. They have cute moments together- I love them both platonic and romantic. Can’t go wrong with them 8/10

(For the sake of this list being a bunch of Nope ships I will not add more- but please not I do have more~)

Lee Jongsu/Kim Ben (Burning): The tension so fucking palatable. Hand in unlovable hand. More people need to watch this movie. It has the curse of No fanfictions and no recognition. 9/10

Dave Lister/Arnold Rimmer (Red Dwarf): THIS! SO MUCH!! JUST!! YES!! Okay- stuck together (check). Pretend to hate each other but care deeply for one another (check). Have a kiss scene- that was a dream BUT was a kiss scene- (check). Firstly an amazing show and secondly an amazing ship 10/10

Rick Grimes/Glenn Rhee (The Walking Dead-show): Ready to get crucified for this but Glenn is (so far) my bicycle and so I can’t not ship him with the main character. Maybe my opinions will change but for now I enjoy them greatly. Once again- rarepair and so they have almost no content. 7/10

That’s all for now- I definitely have more- hope y’all enjoyed~

[historyhermann]

A rock-star or a librarian?: Examining Swampy in "Phineas and Ferb"

Hello everyone! I'm slowly watching Phineas and Ferb, after finishing Milo Murphy's Law, and I thought I'd write a post about the librarian in in “Dude, We’re Getting the Band Back Together”. He is Sherman "Swampy" (voiced by Steve Zahn) and is a drummer for the former rock band Love Handel, who works at the local public library (Tri-State Area Public Library). Over three months ago, someone mentioned Swampy on the /r/Libraries subreddit, describing Swampy as "a librarian who is a washed-up rock star that believes he has lost all his talent," so I'm following up with that in this post as well, along with adding some of my own analysis.

Let's get to it. So, Phineas and Ferb are trying to bring together aforementioned rock band in order to help bring their mom and dad closer together. And they find Swampy at the local public library where he is mindlessly stamping books. They try to encourage him to join with his fellow band members and re-create the band, so they can play for their mom. He first says that he can't make rhythm, even as he is stamping books with an "OVERDUE" stamp and making a beat, as shown in the video at the beginning of this post. He sings along with Phineas and Ferb, claiming he has a "sweet deal" there and "all the books I can read," along with "sweet old ladies" and a carpet from the 1980s. Present is a sign saying "Quiet Please!" and Swampy is shushed by a patron. The patrons are of all ages, some of whom bang their books against the table as they help keep the beat in a rock song, titled “Ain’t Got No Rhythm." Also shown is Swampy engaging in library tasks, like re-shelving books, using card catalogs, while bangs against the ground, card catalogs, a lamp, and other parts of the library. That is until Ferb brings in his drum set. At the end of the song, two older ladies, other librarians who he works with, look at him, with one, clearly annoyed by the noise, remarking "would you just the band?" Phineas and Ferb proceed to wheel him out of the library and declares that he finally has rhythm. Who knows if he ever works in the library again.

While I liked this episode and this song, in terms of how catchy the song is, Swampy clearly fulfills what Jennifer Snoek-Brown describes as a "Librarian as Failure", which refers to a characters who are "suggestive of flaws in library...[with] sometimes failure is used as a pretense or social construct," with those who fall into this character type "usually middle-aged to old," dressing conservatively, and are "uncomfortable in social/outside world situations." All of those, albeit the last one, are present with Swampy. And he does not seem to return to the library in any other scene of the show even although one of the librarians in the episode does show up in a later episode. Other than falling into the "Librarian as Failure" category as noted earlier, the portrayal of Swampy as a librarian is not necessarily stereotypical. However, there are some stereotypical aspects of the library, like the sign asking patrons to be quiet, the two other librarians who are old, White women, and encouraging the perception that the library is outdated. This is shown by the line about the library having "carpets from the 80s," the look of the library itself, Swampy stamping books as overdue rather than using a computer. However, the latter perception is somewhat offset by the diverse group of patrons which use the library, who are of all ages, as shown below:

While you could say that this does the value of the library in providing information, it almost is shown as a book depository and doesn't have any other services. It still, obviously, had value to the community, and that is, I suppose, shown. Stereotypes could have been avoided by not having to librarians who are old White women and making the library a bit more modern (like the Arlen Public Library in King of the Hill), to give two suggestions. So, this is a bit of missed opportunity here.

On the positive side, Swampy, despite being a "Librarian as Failure," is not a curmudgeon who shushes people like the unnamed librarian in the webcomic, Boyfriends. Still, we never see him doing any library tasks other than shelving books. He isn't helping patrons like librarians, like the one in the webcomic, Diamond Dive, Lydia Lovely in the Horrid Henry animated series, or the helpful animal librarian in the webcomic Tamberlane. More than anything, Swampy is a bit like the book-stamping librarian in the one episode of Teen Titans Go!, but also like the rock-and-roll librarian, Ms. Osborne, in the one episode of The Replacements who replaces an older woman who shushes people. Even Mr. Snellson, a curmudgeon librarian in an episode of Mysticons is more of a librarian than Swampy. Furthermore, the British wrestler-librarian in Totally Spies was more interesting and seemed to buck stereotypes more than Swampy. I suppose I could go into more detail and analysis, but I think I have covered this topic adequately enough.

Now, libraries show up again in the series, in the episode "Phineas and Ferb’s Quantum Boogaloo." In that episode, Future Candace comes across a library in the alternate timeline and watches a video there, trying to understand what happened. When she learns what she has caused by meddling with the past she is terrified. In the episode, Jennifer Grey appears as a librarian [dead link] named Arlene, who has one line, declaring that Future Candace needs to wear a lab coat. That's about it. Apparently there is a library in another episode, but I'm not finished with the series yet, so I haven't seen that episode.

With that, my post comes to a close. Let me know if you have any further comments on this or if you'd like me to expand my analysis further, which I'd definitely be willing to do. Until next time! I'll be taking a stroll to...a library, lol. Just watch this video from one of favorite series, Milo Murphy's Law, which may be featured in a future post, and relax a little, after reading this post!

© 2021 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Library Review and Wayback Machine

[blueikeproductions]

So browsing Dollar General I found another copy of the new Pokémon magazine, but included on the bottom rack is a digest version of the magazine.

It had different content and a different cover, focusing on Eevee, but once again no HZ only Journeys.

The marketing for Paldea and HZ in the states continues to baffle me. Like the bigger magazine the only thing related to Paldea itself is a one page about books, and that’s it. Are they relying on kids being on YouTube or Instagram in particular because that’s where I’ve seen the bulk of any acknowledgement of HZ. And Instagram posts in particular are still doing a general meme thing about different Pokémon that tries to crop OUT the humans in the anime be they Ash’s friends or Liko’s friends…

Like I understand wanting to focus on the Pokémon themselves but trying to remove the humans who are also vital to the series is bizarre, and that they continue to avoid using Liko unless they HAVE to feels contrary to advertising your new lead.

The continued use of Ash & Team Rocket in the magazines so far makes me feel Liko isn’t testing well and they’re relying on Ash to get kids to buy it. Again I don’t know how far in advance these rags were made but surely they had to have had access to HZ to make coloring pages, quizzes and the like.

How hard is it to make a generic maze activity with Liko needing to find Terapagos or Sprigatito. Where’s the Friede Pokémon Quiz about certain Paradox Pokémon? This is so baffling to me just from a marketing perspective, this is anti marketing, and only fuels my feelings Liko will be forgotten and Ash will return because it’s looking more apparent they feel more confident in him. Case in point, a Life magazine about Pokémon only features Ash when talking about the anime, no sign of HZ (though in fairness it may have been briefly mentioned in text, but no pictures of the new anime appeared. Just Ash). It doesn’t help audiences have largely admitted neither she or Roy are going anywhere, and accept Dot as the true star of HZ, as she’s the only one with a character arc. The problem remains she’s still mostly a background character that wound up being a happy accident as I don’t think the writers intended much for Dot, and they needed a third to have Quaxly.

Truly the best thing they can do if Ash returns after HZ is have him and Dot become traveling companions: the best of both worlds because I don’t see Ash meeting Liko otherwise unless they’re desperate and need to invoke The Doofenschmirtz Principle. (Nobody was watching Milo Murphy’s Law so they stuck Dr. Doofenschmirtz in it and later Pheneas & Ferb to get people to watch. It didn’t work as intended).

It also doesn’t help HZ has a poor review grade (with room for improvement), Liko lost another proper gym battle but won anyway (to be fair, in context the idea was just to see if she could use Tera, and she did, but people were still pissed she lost), the show has constant internal problems, with a complete tonal shift from airship adventure to school that clearly wasn’t planned originally with its main hook, Terapagos, now being relegated to backpack padding. Heck people are complaining that the show is doing its plot backwards: Liko should’ve been at the Paldea school first for awhile and THEN the main plot kicks off, not the other way around with main plot and then she’s banished to school…. Sprigatito is weird in that regard too. It makes more sense to have Sprig has the pet sidekick in a school setting, and with the adventurer arc gradually settling in Sprig evolves to FloraGato, complete with her own Indiana Jones whip to whip Ceruledge and the others. But no, complete reverse.

This will change probably when the the new batch drops but HZ in the search for Pokémon on Netflix ranks surprisingly low as of typing, with OG series and Journeys out ranking it 1 & 2. Concierge, the better show between HZ, is also ranked very low and just under HZ… So the new direction in animation hasn’t worked, and with Pokémon Go under fire for its own problems with the avatars, it just feels like things will eventually reset. The only course of action is back to Ash (with Dot) or they try again with another new kid, and as much as I think a new kid is possible, going back to Ash after all the flailing around might be more likely…

[mysteriesofmilo]

Honorable Mention: Love Toboggan

Luckily for Sara and us, today the full force of Murphy's Law will be on Bluster Mountain, flying down hilly, slippery surfaces at increasing velocity.

This episode had a slightly different feel to it than most. First, Sara appears to be the protagonist of this episode. Second, Milo only had to be prepared for 62 things. Third, his list acted as subtle foreshadowing for what would happen this episode, even though most of it... didn't actually happen.

I liked that they really leaned into the Murphy family dynamics here. Specifically in regards to Sara. Both Brigette and Milo called her date "Neal from the comic shop," implying that's what she called him around the house. And Neal just accepts her and rolls with the chaos as it happens. I like that he was just as nervous as she was.

I decided to include page 1 of Milo's list here because... well, because I can.

Specifically, look at #12, #1, #7 and #8, in that order

I love that they thought to include "Toboggan run curls up" as if that's the only thing that could go wrong with a toboggan run. I also love that Milo remembered that it was #7.

And I can't forget the song! This one felt a lot more like an actual song than its PnF counterpart -- I think because it was a much bigger part of the plot. Plus the entire sequence is pure gold. Every part of the ride feels like you're actually there with them. (I also got the feeling after watching again that, much like the first time, this ride was a double date) 😉

So that's basically Love Toboggan! And sorry this is late, but I had other things to do yesterday and didn't get to it on time.

[gl1tchb1tch0]

A Hundert Synonyms for Laughter (Kusuke Saiki x Reader)

(Here’s a little scene from a FanFic I’m working on. It doesn’t really have Context, cause the Fic itself is just short stories like this stitched together. Please excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes, I’m not a native English-Speaker. 

Possible Trigger Warning: Talk about Sex, Alcohol

The Giraffe-Joke in this is sponsored by Milo Murphy’s Law.

Enjoy.)

Laughing you threw yourself back, your head landing in Kusukes lap.

The wine glass in your hand was dangerously near to toppling over. You let him take it from you and place it onto the table without complaining.

“And this woman seriously had the audacity to ask me: ‘What are those hideous creatures? Why are their necks so long? And are those horns?’”, You roared, waving your hands around gesticulating.

Unconsciously his fingers found their way into your hair, pushing some stray strands out of your face.

Your eyes, meeting his, were shining a little from the tears you laughed. He grinned at you, laying there tipsy and giggly and your face all red.

“Where is she from? No-Giraffe-Land?”, you heard him snicker above you.

The sound of your giggle filled the room again.

“Right?! She programmed one of the best Pathfinder-AIs on this planet, but she doesn’t even know what Giraffes are?!”

You huffed and shook you head. “Really, how did she even get that job?!”

“Probably fucked the recruitment committee.”

You scrunched your nose in faked disgust. “Ew, that was definitely a really ugly orgy.”, you laughed.

“You should be glad they took you without any… extra work.”

“At least with me you could sell that as a porno.”

“That wouldn’t make much, don’t overestimate yourself.”

You shoot him a challenging look.

“Sure… You’re just jealous you weren’t on that committee when I applied there. I never guessed you as having such strange fantasies.”

He leaned in closer to you, hushing his voice.

“I don’t need to be on any committee to live out my fantasies with you.”, He grinned.

You nearly choked on your own tongue, your face heating up bright red, as Kusuke laughed at your reaction. That Idiot really loved to make you blush.

“Ok, ok. You win this round.” But you still laughed with him, rubbing your hands over your face to get rid of your blushing cheeks.

Kusuke pulled them away, grinning.

“No, no, no, that’s cheating.”

You huffed at him, fighting the urge to turn your face away for his eyes.

But oh well, you would let him have his fun, so with a sigh you looked back up at him.

 You two stayed like this for a while. Looking into each other’s eyes, smiling, as silence enveloped you.

You stretched out your hand to softly caress his cheek. He leaned into the touch, as your thump drew little circles over his skin.

It was comfortable like that.

“I should give you a haircut soon. Your hairs getting really long lately.”, You whispered eventually, your voice suddenly sounding too loud for the room. “I can just go to a barber.”

“No, I really like doing it.”

“Ok good, but please don’t make me look hideous”

“Like a Giraffe?”

“What’s a Giraffe?” He asked, daring and sarcastically.

You broke out into laughter again, sitting yourself back up to hold onto the backrest of the couch.

“Stop it, you’re going to kill me!” you huffed out in between giggles.

You heard Kusuke laugh softly behind you, as you tried to catch your breath again.

When you could breathe again, you sat back normally on the couch.

Still smiling, you picked up your glass again, taking a sip. Kusuke watched you intently as you put it back, licking you lips clean from the red wine.

How could you enchant him so much even after so many years?

When his gaze shifted from your lips back to your eyes you looked at him questioning.

“Something wrong?”

He had to laugh.

“No, It’s just…” He shook his head smiling to himself. No nothing could be wrong when you were here.

You cocked your head to the side, still looking confused, while he just chuckled.

With one last sip he emptied his own wine glass and set it down on the table next to yours, before he scooted closer to you, your legs touching softly now.

He laid his hand on your cheeks, cubing your face and bringing it closer to his. You watched him with your confused smile, your eyes on his, but you wouldn’t stop him.

His breath fanning your face felt warm and inviting, as you leaned in.

You closed your eyes as your lips met.

It didn’t matter how often he kissed you, his heart would always pick up its pace and his fingertips tingled as they wandered from your cheeks to your sides and then to your back, to pull you closer to him.

Your own hands found their way into his hair, sending little shivers down his spine.

You heard him sigh contently as you deepened the kiss, licking his lips to push your tongue past them.

You could taste the wine on his tongue, a little bit acidic but sweet.

 When you eventually parted you stayed in this embrace, taking a moment to catch your breath again. His hand found his way to your cheek again, brushing aside some strands of hair that had gotten lost.

Your face was red and your eyes wide. He liked that sight.

“I love you”, He smiled, genuine and true.

You chuckled softly, a little breathless.

“Oh No, the great Dr. Saiki got feelings? The end of the world has finally arrived!”

He rolled his eyes at you, laughing again. “Good, I don’t care about this world anyway.”

[nautiscarader]

2020 in animation - recap

So, 2020. 

Yeah, I have to say I’m not entirely satisfied. Would not recommend, 1 star. 

But I would be willing to bump it to 1.5, if only because of one factor: the animation. 

Because I have to say, this was the best animated end of the world so far! And if there was something that kept our spirits up, it was the cartoon industry!

Just like last year, I should preface this by saying that this is highly subjective selection. Even when one is confined to their Hobbit holes for better part of the year because of *waves hands* everything around, 

day still only has 24 hours, so I have missed a few shows. (I should also apologise for omitting a few major ones last year, like Milo Murphy’s Law S2, Ducktales, or She-Ra. This is why I started keeping a track this year). I’m sure I will catch up with those I missed this year some time in the future, but for now, let’s see what this year has gifted us with.

And right from the start, January opens the race with very interesting propositions. We were still riding on an incredibly high wave from last year, with Infinity Train season 2.

This one focused on Tulip’s mirror, and pushed the season towards a much darker and complex story, diving deep into one’s personal journey and identity. There were tears, math, deer, and cops being murdered. Brutally. 

t was followed by two newcomers: The Owl House and first season of Kipo and The Age of the Wonderbeast. Both of them would dominate first half of the year, with The Owl House’s traditional, week-to-week airings, and Kipo's seasons appearing in  June and October.

The Owl House, a strong contender in "What will be the Next Gravity Falls?" contest, invited us to a world full of magic, mystery, elongated owl demons and some dark secrets. It has also created a milestone for Disney, introducing an LGBT couple with characters of bisexual Luz Noceda and lesbian Amity Blight. Their Grom dance has risen to the top of my animates scenes, polling very closely to the unforgettable Kataango.

On the other hand, Kipo has taken us to the post-apocalyptic world filled with mutant animals, revealing that despite the end of the world, our old vices and animosities have survived in underground burrows, and we have infected the overworld of giant doggos and suit-wearing frogs with them. 

Kipo did not pull any punches regarding commentary about our society, at the same time giving us hope in the form of the main protagonist, who was able to spread friendship and understanding amongst the mutes, as well as the humans that had to survive. And in the world that we have found ourselves in, it was a pretty darn good lesson.

February would bring end to two seasons of airing cartoons, Big Hero Six season 2 and Miraculous season 3, as well as another newcomer that won the hearts of fans: Glitch Techs, with its "second" season arriving in August. And while in my opinion he show wasn't as good as the other two new titles, I am clearly in minority, as the show about Ghostbuters-like team of game console technicians gained huge popularity... though not enough to keep the show afloat. As of writing this, it is currently in limbo, which is a shame, as the second set of 10 episodes finally added some much needed ongoing story.  

in March, another show from last year ended - Steven Universe Future. As we have expected, it tackled slightly more mature themes, showing how much Steven needed that therapy we have wished him, telling an important tale of finding one's worth and one's self. its ending might not have been as explosive as those of the original show, or the movie, but it left Steven’s story as open as an open road, and deep in our hearts, we all knew it would look like this.   

March was also the time when majority of western world caught the coronavirus, and that caused quite a turmoil with the movie and animation industry. One of the first victim of changed schedule was Disney's Onward, which was released on-line on Disney+ quickly after its theatrical release.

I have mixed feelings towards “Onward”. For such interesting promise, I think it made a few questionable and down right boring turns, though the unorthodox message at the end of it was its strongest point, and it was one I haven’t seen in a while, so it was worth watching just for that.  

April was relatively quiet (aside from more end of the world stuff); brought us third season of Ducktales that spread throughout the year, while May gave us final, fifth season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. 

To my eternal shame, I missed on this show when it premiered, and due to the lockdown, I binge-watched the previous four right in time for powerful and explosive season 5. And even though Catra and Adora finally gave us exactly what we needed, some fans felt slightly unsatisfied, calling for a movie, like the Steven Universe one to be made. And I’d be all for it, the rest of universe needs saving from the Horde! Also, cats in space - hilarious. 

May also revealed a new player on the streaming field: HBO Max, who surprised us with new Looney Tunes Cartoons, much more in the spirit of the legendary originals than the often-criticised Looney Tunes Show from 2011-2014. And in my opinion, it did; one could feel the same fluidity in animation, dedication to slapstick, and synchronisation with music than in the very first cartoons with Bugs and Daffy.

HBO Max would, however, return in June with first of series of Adventure Time original movies called "Distant Lands". The first centred around BMO, with second one - Obsidian giving us a glimpse into Bonnibel and Marceline's lives.

Distant Lands allowed people to revisit the odd, odd world of Ooo and learn about its colourful inhabitants, taking turns to seeing their past and the future, an, as usual, showing us that post-apocalyptic world can teach us valuable and meaningful lessons.   

Just in time for full lockdown in our burrows, aforementioned Kipo season 2 premiered in June, together with another cartoon movie, this time featuring We Bare Bears. While their movie wasn't anything to write songs about, it was exactly like the show, providing some wholesome content right when we needed it.

And just in case you needed more wholesome adventures, Craig of the Creek's second season ended, and its third season began, reminding us of HOW COOL LIFE WAS WHEN OUTERNET WASN’T SCARY AND WE COULD STILL WALK OUTSIDE FOR FUN AND NOT TO HUNT TOILET PAPER.

Just like last year, July was not dogs' days, but frogs'. Amphibia season 2 started raining on our heads, but unlike last year, its schedule wasn't a daily one, spreading the episodes throughout the Summer and early Autumn, with its second part arriving in February of 2021. There were more roadtrips, more mysteries and MORE MARCY.

August was equally strong: aforementioned Glitch Techs "season 2" premiered, offering better and more plot-heavy episodes than the first ten episodes. Unfortunately, the show's future is unclear; the uneven divide of plot between the seasons probably contributed to the show not being renewed. 10 new episodes apparently are written, but await in sleep mode, until Nickelodeon remembers about it.

HBO MAX picked up Infinity Train for its third season, after being derailed by Cartoon Network. And if you thought that killing a mirror cop was shocking... then this season has pushed the limit of what can be shown in modern children's cartoon to a frightening degree. The schedule was once again, weirder, with first five episodes airing on the day of the premiere, ending with a cliffhanger (literally) that only contributed to the shock factor and made us wait anxiously for its conclusion. It was bold, it was dark, it was memorable. 

And just like Glitch Techs, Infinity Train waits on a side track, unsure if it will be picked up, or will it be abandoned and left as a canvas for graffiti artists.

However, to end the Summer, a truly amazing TV movie has arrived on Disney Plus, where we came back to good, old Danville and could witness Candace against the universe. The new Phineas and Ferb movie brought back the glorious memories of this fantastic show, with the same humour, writing, abundance of catchy songs and a surprisingly deep moral.

In September we have seen the start of Big Hero 6 season 3 and a odd change of format. Instead of standalone 22-minute episodes, the show now consists of two 11-minute segments. In opinion of many, this weakened the stories, forcing them to be more comedy-oriented, and shortening the potential emotional drama. Still, it gave us funny, short stories, but they did clash with the two previous season, not to mention the movie.

However, if that wasn't up to your taste, Ducktales season 3 also started airing, and continued its first part up until December with more action- and plot-driven episodes, including the Darkwing Duck crossover, serving as a pilot of the spin-off. 

Later in December fans have learned that Season 3 will be its last, which broke the hearts of many duck fans; however, it seems that the season has been written as the last one in mind, and the news of the ending was known to the creators, which gives us hope for a kick-ass finale somewhere in 2021.

Miraculous New York, telling arguably one of the most mature storylines, opened the "Heroez" world to some new characters and new opportunities, with two more specials, taking place in Shanghai and Brazil, meant to air somewhere next year. AND I DO HOPE WE WILL SEE MORE LOCAL FOOD VENDOR SUPERHEROES LIKE HOT DOG DAN. 

October was the month of two season 3's: Carmen Sandiego and Kipo. In case of Carmen, as it is usual with Netflix, the "season" was only a half-one, with just a handful standalone episodes, and just a dash of more ongoing plot. 

For Kipo, however, season 3 was the end, and what a glorious one it was. Fans were saddened to learn of it, but Kipo was always imagined as a 3-part story, and it showed. The finale proved more than satisfying ending to the plot, elevating Kipo to one of the smartest cartoon characters we should all try to aspire to.

In November, Distant Lands: Obsidian aired, focusing on everyone’s favourite candy/vampire couple, and the long and complicated love between Bonnibel and Marceline. And as usual, it showed us that relationships are not always as straightforward as we would like them to be, but with enough music and teamwork, no enemy is big enough. 

For the next new show, I’ve waited with the most amount of excitement and anxiety. Because while I was completely fine with other reboots and re-imaginings to take creative takes, new Animaniacs, (airing on Hulu) had to be perfect and had to be the lightning that struck twice. 

And sadly... it wasn’t. It was still good, but some people criticised (incorrectly imho) the amount of political topics, while I mourned almost total cast-ration of additional characters, aside from Pinky and the Brain. This truly weakened the possibilities it could have had. It was still very good, but you can feel that some of the original charm was lost, due to these odd, odd limitations. 

December brought us a new original Apple TV movie, Wolfwalkers. A beautifully animated folk tale of friendship and social divides, and how short-sight can cause the collapse of both arguing sides, reminding me very much of the intelligence and heart of original “How to Train Your Dragon”.  

We’ve had to wait two years for the return of arguably one of the most wholesome shows out there: Hilda. Second season dived into deeper mysteries that permeate the rich and colourful troll-ridden land, we saw the return of some familiar characters, and introduced a whole new storyline, that ended with a surprising cliffhanger. Still as wholesome, but now with a tiny bit of Police incompetence. Also Twig, lots of Twig.   

Just like Onward, Pixar’s highly anticipated Soul aired on Disney+, telling a very mature story about finding one’s purpose in life, what that purpose actually means, and whether it exists at all. Beautifully animated, with fantastic soundtrack, it was a stunning tribute to creativity, and it never dumbed down its profound, open message about following your dream.   

And just if you thought that Soul was going to be 2020′s last note (pun very much intended), right before the year ended, DC Super Hero Girls concluded its first season on a rather anti-climactic two-parter. That being said, the season, running from March of last year, was packed with short, bite-sized, funny stories, taking interesting spins on existing comic book characters. For a comic book noob like me, it was perfectly fine, and I can’t wait for the second season next year. 

And so, we have reached the series finale of humanity. 

2020 ends in just under a day. What will 2021 bring us? I do not know, and if the animated shows of this year have taught me anything, is that the future is an always open book, full of worries and challenges, but also opportunities and possibilities. 

...

And in reality I was too lazy to check any news sites about upcoming projects.

[heloflor]

Dance lesson

AO3 link

When Milo has to learn the waltz for a school dance, he ends up turning towards his honorary uncles for help.

Note : Another random thing that’s been on my mind for a while and that I finally decided to write down (I SWEAR I’m working on a longer fic). And it’s a fic with no angst and only fluff for once ! And it contains the ACTUAL main character of the show !

But yeah, joke aside, it’s just some random fluff that turned out three times longer than planned (as usual). Like always, Cavendish and Dakota are married. Also Dakota is a dad with Milo because I love this side of him.

There’s also one line that implies Dakota being too dependent of Cav and I really hope that it doesn’t count as romanticizing it because that’s not AT ALL my intent. I just wanted it to be pointed out but using Milo’s POV definitely makes it seem a bit clumsy, even if it’s just one random throwaway sentence. Which is why I’m talking about it now, to make you know that I’m aware that Dakota has issues and it’s not “cute”. And frankly, if I make more fics that take place after the show, I DEFINITELY would take the occasion to point out that Dakota is seeing a therapist and tries to work out how to let go of Cav and trust him to take care of himself.

On that same note, there’s also one sentence that mentions how Cavendish and Dakota hide their relationship out of fear due to homophobia.

There are also a few sentences that are mostly there to give some random headcanons about Cavendish and Dakota, because why not.

Oh yeah and one important thing : I’m no dance teacher, I don’t know how to dance, and finding info about the waltz without ending with a video is harder than I thought. So be aware that the description of the dance is VERY, VERY far from perfect.

I also don’t know shit about American proms and use it more as a set up than anything, so bear with me on that one. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anyways. Enjoy !

Milo opened the front door of his house, trying not to feel anxious. The day of the annual spring prom was fast approaching. The theme chosen by the teachers for the main dance was slow and formal, to the surprise of most students. While Milo knew that not everyone was going to be perfect when it comes to dancing a waltz, at least among those who would choose to dance it, he really hoped to have a dance with Amanda, who he knew would strive for perfection. And with the almost certainty of Murphy’s Law making the evening more difficult, the least he could do for her was to learn to dance, to be able to keep up against all eventualities.

But learning the waltz was easier said than done. His parents didn’t remember much aside from what it was supposed to look like. As for Sara, she didn’t know how to dance it. Same for his friends. Besides, Melissa had decided she wouldn’t dance if it had to be something like a waltz, much to Zack’s chagrin. So asking them wouldn’t help. Finally, looking it up on the Internet was a no go, as he wanted to learn from a more authentic experience.

So all that was left were dance lessons. But those had a cost. And while Milo considered himself willing to do anything for Amanda, there still was the risk of paying for a lesson only to get the place destroyed over and over again and be banned before learning anything.

Milo didn’t know what to do. Amanda deserved the best, and he truly wanted to be the one to give it to her.

It was with these thoughts in mind that he noticed the three men in his backyard. Doctor D. was working on some machine, helped by Dakota, while Cavendish was standing nearby, chatting with them. While Milo had asked the professor and knew he couldn’t be of any help, he hadn’t told Dakota and Cavendish about it yet.

“Hey guys !”, Milo called as he went to join them.

“Hi Milo !” “Hello Murphy.”, the former time-travelers greeted.

“Found someone to teach you to dance yet ?”, Doofenshmirtz asked as a greeting.

“No. Not yet.”, the teen replied, his smile faltering.

“Something’s wrong ?”, Dakota immediately asked.

“No, no ! I’m fine !”, the short man raised an eyebrow. “Well, it’s not something bad or dangerous. It’s just…”, Milo looked away, suddenly feeling embarrassed to make them think that he had a big problem over something they probably saw as insignificant. “There’s the annual spring prom this Saturday, and I’d love to go with my friend Amanda. But I don’t know the dance and Amanda- she likes when everything that could go wrong doesn’t.”

“Trying to impress a girl for a dance, huh ?~”, Dakota asked in a teasing tone that made the teen blush. “Yeah I’ve been there.”, he shrugged.

“I suppose there isn’t a way we could help you ?”, Cavendish asked.

“Well, I need to find someone who can teach me to waltz. So if you know someone who can…”

Dakota looked at him for a beat, before his face brightened. “Well, I think you just found your teacher.”, the short man cheerfully said, turning towards his partner. The tall man looked between the two before closing his eyes and beaming with pride.

“I have to admit, I’m quite the dancer.”, he boasted.

“Cavendish can dance the waltz ?”, Doctor D. asked. Dakota nodded. “Somehow, I’m not even surprised.”, the scientist deadpanned, earning a glare from the British man.

“I’ll have you know I was taught a variety of dances at a young age.”, Cavendish defended. “I still master most of them.”

“Yeah. He can do anything that’s old-fashioned.”, his partner confirmed. He then leaned towards Milo. “But you don’t want to see him try a modern freestyle. Trust me.”, he jokingly half-whispered, making the teen laugh.

Cavendish cleared his throat in annoyance. He then turned his attention to Milo. “So, shall we start this lesson ?”

“Oh, you mean right now ?”

“Why of course ! Unless you don’t have the time, obviously.”

“no, no ! I have time. I just thought you guys were busy.”, Milo replied, glancing at Doctor D.’s machine.

“Oh that ?”, the scientist said. “Don’t worry about it. They already told me everything I needed to know to make my synthetic-time-juiceinator work.”, he assured. “Or at least I hope it’ll work. We’ll just have to see when I’m done building it !”

And with that, the trio scooted away, letting the scientist do his work.

  “So,”, Cavendish started. “as you may already know, the waltz is a European dance with several variations, with a few danced amongst the highest courts. Given your time period, I assume what you need to learn is the slow waltz, the most universal one. There are two roles in this dance. One partner is the leader while the other is the follower. Since you’re a beginner, I would advise you to be the follower. N-”

“Um…Actually, I have to be the lead.”, Milo interrupted.

“Really ? Why is that, if you have no experience ?”, the taller man seemed genuinely confused.

“Well, the man is the one leading, while the woman follows his steps.”, he explained, wondering why he needed to explain something so basic.

The two former time-travelers shared a look. “They still do that gendered music thing in this time-period ?”, Dakota asked with a frown.

“…Yes ?”, Milo replied. The short man rolled his eyes. “I guess it changed in the future ?”

“It did.”, Cavendish confirmed, not without looking displeased himself. “The one who leads is the most experienced dancer, regardless of gender.”

“Yeah.”, Dakota continued. “That’s why Cav tends to lead. Between the two of us, he’s the one who knows what he’s doing.”, Cavendish raised an eyebrow at that.

“Anyways.”, the tall man coughed. “If you need to learn to lead, I can teach you to lead. Now…”, Cavendish walked to the center of the backyard. “the waltz has a certain amount of moves that you can do depending of your level and comfort. You said your party was Saturday, which means we have four days to teach you as much as possible. For today, we’re going to concentrate on the three most basic moves. The first one is the box step, the essence of the waltz itself. Dakota, if you please.”, Cavendish extended a hand towards the man.

“I-uh-what ?”

“I need a dance partner.”, the tall man deadpanned.

“I don’t know how to dance that, Cavendish ! I’m not a dancer ! I’m more of a singer. And a musician.”, he glanced at Milo at that last sentence, likely trying to amuse the teen.

“I’ve seen you dance the waltz before.”, Cavendish commented.

“Yeah, once. For our first dance. And I had to take lessons before the wedding. Annnd if memory serves, I tripped and fell only a few minutes in.”

“You tripped during your wedding ?”, Milo couldn’t help but ask.

“Yeah.”, the short man shrugged. “But it was fine.”, he let out a chuckle. “I didn’t break anything. Besides, I had been giddy all day. It was one of the best days of my life after all ! One stupid fall wasn’t going to ruin it ! I never did that dance again though.”

“But surely you remember some of it ?”, Cavendish interrupted. Despite his tone, Milo could see a small smile on the tall man’s face. It seemed like Dakota wasn’t the only one thinking about the day they had years ago.

“eeeesh…”, Dakota punctuated his noise with a shake of his wrist.

“Come now.”, his partner grumbled. “I’m sure you’ll get it back soon enough.”, Cavendish grabbed the shorter man’s hand and led his partner to where he had been standing moments ago. He then put one hand on Dakota’s waist and took Dakota’s other hand in his. Despite his grimace, the shorter man didn’t offer any resistance and also took position, a hand on Cavendish’s shoulder.

“Now. The box is a series of steps that the leader takes, mirrored by their partner. The leader starts by moving forwards, then slide, join your feet, change the foot you put your weight on, and repeat the opposite of what they just did, all in the tempo. For the tempo, you have to count from one to three on rhythm. Now watch.”

After his explanation, Cavendish started slowly making the movements he described, one after the other, taking for each one the time to let Dakota follow. Milo looked at their feet and how they moved. Looking up, he could see the taller man glancing at him from time to time, surely to make sure the teen was still listening. His partner, however, kept his eyes down, looking at what he was doing. At some point, Cavendish pointed out the weight he was putting on each foot and how to change it.

Once Milo confirmed that he understood the moves, Cavendish asked him to put on some music with his phone. Then, the former time-travelers started making the steps again, this time moving to the right rhythm, not without guidance from the taller man. Dakota was clumsy and awkward, never looking away from his feet. But with Cavendish’s assurance, and with the shorter man’s ability to just go with the flow, Dakota managed. This made Milo smile a little. Seemed like he wasn’t the only one getting taught how to waltz.

  After explaining everything about the box step, the man introduced the progressive step, followed by the reverse step. Both were rather similar to the box and served to move around the ballroom. The tall man described them as essential to master the more complex moves. Just like for the first step, Cavendish went slow at first to let the teen see how it looked and get Dakota to learn as well, before then following the rhythm of the music.

  “Milo,”, the tall man started as Milo cut the music after a few minutes of dancing. “are you sure you understood everything ?”

“I sure did !”, the teen assured.

“Good. Now, we’re going to show you how to combine all three steps together.”

“Say what now ?”, Dakota asked.

“Before we start,”, Cavendish continued, ignoring his partner’s interjection. “there’s one important thing for you to understand. As the leader of the dance, the choice of where and when to move is in your hands. Your partner is meant to simply follow and mirror your steps so, unless they tell you where other people are, you can’t rely on them to guide you. This is why being the leader is harder than the follower.”

“I understand.”, Milo replied.

“Good. Now the music, if you please.”, the tall man asked in a jokingly polite manner. Milo turned the music back on and watched as the two men started dancing again.

  As the minutes passed and they kept dancing, their moves started to get smoother with Dakota growing in confidence. Eventually, Cavendish let go of Dakota’s hand for a beat in order to lift the shorter man’s chin, making the duo hold eye contact for the first time since they started. The two smiled as they continued. Milo soon realized that Cavendish had stopped glancing at him. The former time-travelers were completely enraptured with each-other as they moved in harmony to the slow pace of the music.

Milo felt a strange fascination in looking at the two men. Never had he seen Cavendish look so…peaceful, before. Of course, Milo had seen him be happy or excited in the past, more than once. But when he and Dakota were talking, Cavendish had a tendency to be annoyed at his partner. Here, there was none of that. Cavendish’s eyes were filled with love and affection for the shorter man, making Milo understand better why the taller man stayed in their relationship despite his numerous complains.

As for Dakota, it was the same. While Milo frequently saw the shorter man in a good mood, it had never been to this extent. Dakota looked at his partner with pure adoration, as if Cavendish was the most important thing in his entire life.

Milo knew that the two were married. While talking relationships with him, Dakota mentioned how long-lasting relationships weren’t all romantic and cotton-candy like how TV portrayed it but instead were mostly about arguing over the dumbest things. Cavendish’s reaction to the statement accidentally gave them away. Since then, the teen promised to keep the secret, if only to keep them safe from what some people might think.

But while Milo had known of their relationship, he never saw a display of their affections. The teen wondered if their first dance had been like this. For a moment, it made him envious. He hoped that, someday, he and Amanda could be like this. That they could look at each other this way, with the same love, the same passion. Maybe this would be possible this Saturday…At the thought, a new wave of determination coursed through the teen.

“w-woah !”, the moment ended as quickly as it started when Dakota suddenly tripped, letting go of his surprised partner in his fall.

thump

“…ouch”

“Dakota, are you alright ?”, Cavendish asked. The softness from before hadn’t left the man yet and his voice was full of worry. However, it was cut short as Dakota started laughing.

“And that,”, he said while looking at Milo. “is what happened fifteen years ago !”

“…It did.”, Cavendish admitted with a sigh before helping his partner up. Milo walked up to them.

“I’m getting too old for this.”, Dakota grumbled after cracking his back.

“You’re only 45.”, Cavendish commented.

“So ? It’s already pretty old for this time-period.”

“How old can people get in the future ?”, Milo found himself ask.

“A few people have managed to reach 150 years old.”, Cavendish explained. “This means that a few of the people born today might live long enough for us to have met them in our youths.”

“But even if they live that long, they look like a living corpse by the time they’re 120.”, Dakota interjected.

“Still. With the evolution of science and healthcare, people our generation might live even longer. After all, we already are able to stay in good shape until we get near our 100th anniversary.”

“Yeah. Just look at this guy !”, Dakota pointed at his partner. “In his fifties and still able to run ten miles without stopping !”

“I’m 52.”, Cavendish replied. “And you could be in better shape if you worked out with me.”

“Yeah yeah, I know.”, the shorter man rolled his eyes.

“Anyways. Milo ?”, the teen quickly turned his head as the attention went back to him. Cavendish offered him a hand. “Now that you saw how a waltz looks like, I believe it is time to practice ?”

“Uh ? Oh ! Right !”

“I’m not dancing again.”, Dakota warned.

“I don’t expect you to.”, his partner replied.

Dakota took a few steps back, letting the other two take position.

“Are you sure this is going to work ?”, Milo asked, immediately noticing the large height difference. “I mean, Amanda’s more my height…”

“Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine.”, Cavendish reassured. “Besides, this isn’t about how you hold your partner, it’s about the moves that you make. Now, let’s start with the box step. Do you remember it ?”

“I think so.”

“Alright. We don’t have to use the music for now, just take it slow.”

“Right.”

Milo started moving slowly, following the steps he remembered. Like Cavendish said, the height difference wasn’t that much of a problem, especially with the taller man knowing exactly what he was doing.

  With the minutes going by, Milo got more into it, though not without a few corrections from Cavendish. The teen managed to move smoothly, making the correct steps. And when music was added, it didn’t take him long to manage to follow it. Being in the backyard also helped a lot as Murphy’s Law couldn’t turn as chaotic as it could be in town. The watering system turned on at some point, both his and Dakota’s phone ran out of batteries, and a few birds ended up causing some damage to the place, but it wasn’t anything that could prevent them from continuing. And after half an hour of practice, Milo was happy to see how good he got at the basics.

Seemed like he had a shot to dance with Amanda after all.

    ---------------

  During the following days, Cavendish and Dakota would show up at the Murphys’ house to teach the teen more. Once the basics were mastered, Cavendish taught him some more moves like how to twirl or dip your partner. Due to Cavendish’s height, Milo had had to train those moves with Dakota. These lessons had been more fall-inducing than the others, especially on the shorter man’s end, but at least Milo had been able to learn. And while it took more time to get it right, training with Dakota was really fun. The man was as lost as the teen, so the practice always ended with a laugh. And when they were about to fall, the shorter man always made sure to fall first to prevent the teen from getting hurt. Of course, Cavendish had shown annoyance at the duo’s antics but, as long as Milo was learning, he couldn’t really say anything to them.

Milo had to admit, Cavendish was a far better teacher than he first thought. The man knew how to take it slow, making sure everything was understood before moving to the next level. At the same time, he could be sharp, reminding Milo that he didn’t have all the time in the world and couldn’t just spend the entire time messing around. The man knew how to be involved without suffocating the teen, how to get to the point while still giving enough details.

From the way the man would look during some of his explanations, Milo guessed that Cavendish was repeating things he had been told when he had had to learn to dance. This made the teen sometimes wonder about what kind of childhood Cavendish had, though he never dared asking the man directly. Besides, Cavendish wasn’t there to talk about his past. Milo did once ask Dakota about one of the ways Cavendish would speak. But, as it turned out, Dakota didn’t know anything about Cavendish prior to his time living in the States. When Dakota first asked him about it, the tall man simply told him that anything from his past didn’t matter anymore. The only thing Milo learned was something that Dakota jokingly told him : given his personality, there was no way Cavendish used to be a serial killer or a runaway prisoner or anything like that. So there was no point in wondering about Cavendish’s past, especially if it made the man uncomfortable.

    ---------------

  By Saturday evening, Milo knew most of the different moves possible in a slow waltz, along with a few steps from what Cavendish called an “American waltz”, which sometimes had moments in which the two partners separated.

The teen was extremely grateful for what the former time-traveler did to help him, and made sure to thank him more than once. Cavendish had received the praise with a proud smile. It seemed that the knowledge of helping Milo was enough compensation for him. As for Dakota, he had spent the end of the last lesson teasing the teen, trying to find him ways to approach Amanda, making Milo way more embarrassed than he thought he would be. Though, the shorter man ended his teasing with an encouragement, ruffling Milo’s hair while telling him to just be himself and that, with his talent to turn every situation around, there was no way the evening would be ruined.

Milo had thanked the duo one last time before going to prepare himself for the evening.

And now here he was in his best clothes, in front of the school gym, along with Zack and Melissa. Since they had no intention to do the main dance, the duo had agreed to help Milo by dealing with Murphy’s Law themselves. Zack had even brought his own backpack for the occasion.

“Here we are.”, Milo declared.

“Nervous ?”, Zack asked him with a smile.

“A little.”, the teen admitted.

“What are you scared of ?”, Melissa interjected. “The waltz doesn’t start before a good hour. And you trained for this. You got this !”, she encouraged.

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. I got this !”, and with that the trio entered the gym.

  Just like for last prom, the place was greatly decorated. There was already music, played by one of the school bands. As Melissa predicted, the main dance wasn’t before a while. For now, Milo could just relax and have fun, at least as much fun as Murphy’s Law could permit without ruining the evening.

“Hi Milo !”, Milo immediately turned at the familiar voice that made his heart flutter.

“Hi Amanda !”, he greeted. Amanda was wearing a pink dress that reminded him of the one from last prom. The Hispanic girl also had a check-list with her, making Milo quickly understand that she planned the event. “Nice party !”, he complimented.

“Thanks !”

“I guess you’re in charge of every committee again ?”, Melissa asked with a smirk.

“Not this time. I wanted to have more time for myself.”, Amanda replied. “Though I did choose the people in charge. And made sure they all had backup if needed. And gave them all my number in case they need anything.”, the teen smiled awkwardly.

“But now you can have fun !”, Milo enthusiastically pointed out.

“Well, as long as nothing goes wrong.”, Amanda replied, looking in Milo’s direction.

“Oh don’t worry about that.”, Melissa said. “We’re here to make sure everything runs smoothly.”

“Yeah.”, Zack continued, pointing at his backpack. “The committee against Murphy’s Law and its backup are here !”

“Well, we’ll see how it goes.”, Amanda shrugged, though Milo could still see how nervous she was.

“Come on !”, he tried to encourage. “Let’s go see what they got for the buffet !”

“You spend way too much time with Dakota.”, Zack commented as the group started moving.

    ---------------

  The evening had started in a great note. Of course, not everything went perfectly with Murphy’s Law. But, as long as Milo kept an eye open for trouble, the party could go on.

After several songs and about half an hour into the party, the lights toned down and the music changed for something more classical. Milo felt his heart start to beat faster.

It was time.

Turning towards his friends, Melissa gave him a gentle punch on his shoulder while Zack gave him a thumbs up, before the duo walked away, ready to deal with any eventuality.

Milo gulped, tried to calm himself with a deep breath, and turned his attention towards Amanda. The Hispanic teen was looking at the dance floor where a few couples were already starting to waltz, while others opted for a slow dance instead.

Milo offered her a hand, getting her attention.

“May I have this dance ?”, he asked, not without a blush.

Amanda looked between him and his hand before finally smiling. “Sure.”

Milo tried not to let his excitement show too much as he led her to the dancefloor. Remembering all of Cavendish’s lessons, he took position and they started to move.

As he expected, Amanda seemed to know exactly what she was doing and danced around with grace. Milo was doing pretty good too. He was especially satisfied about how easy it was to be with someone his size after spending four days dancing with taller people.

“You’re doing amazing !”, Milo flattered after a twirl.

“Thank you, Milo. You’re doing great yourself.”

“I’m glad you think that !”, the teen felt his face flush again. “I…I really trained hard to have a chance to dance with you.”, he admitted.

Amanda looked away with a blush of her own. “I’m…very glad that you did. And-“

She suddenly stopped as both of them heard the sound of glass shattering. They stopped in their tracks and turned at the same time, looking for the source of the problem. But as soon as they noticed the broken window, Zack was on it, already sweeping the shards away.

Milo was relieved to see that nobody had been hurt. He and Amanda shared a look before smiling and starting to dance again.

As they went through the room together, Milo started thinking of Dakota and Cavendish and the way the two of them would look at each-other while dancing. His envy from a few days ago came back as he thought of the possibility of him and Amanda being like that. Maybe that was it, maybe they could-

His thoughts were interrupted by a scream, and the pair stopped again, ready to act. But just like a few minutes earlier, the problem had already been half-resolved by Melissa who winked at the duo. Milo and Amanda went back to dancing.

“Melissa and Zack sure are doing a lot of work.”, Milo commented.

“I have to say, I’m impressed.”, Amanda replied. “I know they said that they got this, but I didn’t expect them to be so effective.”

“Well, they do have a lot of experience helping me deal with Mur-“, Amanda shushed him before he could finish.

“I think we’re unlucky enough without you mentioning it.”, she commented.

“Sorry.”, he replied.

“It’s alright.”, she reassured.

For a few instants, she smiled at him and he smiled back, growing in confidence. But before he could say anything else, another anormal noise was heard. And yet again, they stopped in their tracks, only to realize that the situation quickly got solved without their intervention.

“They really seem to have got this.”, Milo murmured, looking at his friends smiling at him and smiling back.

“You know, I’m surprised to see them willing to take this time to help instead of dancing.”

“Well, Melissa didn’t want to do this kind of dance.”, Milo explained. “And…weeelll, they kind of agreed to look out for me during this dance, so that we can have fun.”, the teen looked away, embarrassed.

“Oh.”, Amanda stayed silent for a beat, both teens looking away. “Well I’m…I’m glad they did. And perhaps…maybe they’re right.”

“What do you mean ?”, Milo looked back at her.

“Well-“

Another noise. But this time, as Milo looked away, he felt Amanda’s hand grab his cheek, pulling his attention back on her. The teen went back to dancing, leading Milo with her.

“I know it may sound crazy coming from me,”, she started. “but I think we should…ignore the mess.”, she looked horrified as she finished her sentence but shook her head to keep her composure. “Your friends got it. Let’s just…let’s just enjoy the dance.”

Milo looked at her for a second before feeling a smile spread across his face.

“You’re right. Let’s just keep going. And whatever goes wrong will get fixed without us !”

Amanda smiled back and the two started focusing back on their steps. Milo took back the lead and the two locked eyes, their smiles never faltering.

Slowly, as they kept dancing, Milo felt like the music was growing louder, making everything around them disappear, until all that was left was the two of them, gazing at each other while the soft music was leading their paired movements. Milo felt his heart pulse faster than ever, and yet, he never felt more at peace. He wanted to smile and laugh like never before, but all he did was continue dancing, admiring Amanda’s elegant steps. After a twirl, once they looked back at each other, the way Amanda looked at him made him feel like his heart was about to burst out. For a moment, he felt peace and happiness, pure happiness, and he wished for this instant to never stop.

He didn’t know how long they kept dancing, how long they stayed like this. All he knew was that, after a dip, it was all over.

The music ended, most of the couples started to pull away, and the band went back on stage. A few feet away, Melissa and Zack were trying to get a student out of a hole in the wall.

Milo and Amanda kept smiling at each other as Milo pulled Amanda back up. The teens then pulled away and avoided each other’s eyes, both blushing but unable to stop smiling.

“Amanda !”, Lydia suddenly interrupted. This snapped the Hispanic girl right out of her reverie.

Milo could only stand there, trying to blink his dream state away, as the two girls talked, until Amanda spoke to him.

“I’m sorry Milo, but I have to go.”, she apologized.

“Don’t worry.”, Milo tried to get his usual cheerful tone back. “A committee needs you, I understand.”, Amanda nodded.

“See you later, Milo !”

“See you later !”, Milo waved as the girls went away.

  “Soooo.~”, Milo was taken by surprise as he suddenly noticed Melissa standing next to him with a smirk. “How did it go ? ~”

“Did you two have fun ?”, Zack continued, not without his own smile.

“It was…magical.”, Milo replied. He was still on cloud nine, Amanda’s smile forever graved on his memory. “Yeah. Truly magical.”

He really needed to thank Cavendish again.

    ---------------

  The school prom was loud, loud enough to be heard a few streets away from the school. Though, the school had quieted for a while. And now, the music started again.

Vinnie smiled. Seemed like Milo’s time to shine was over. He hoped the kid had gotten the dance he wanted with his girlfriend.

With a nostalgic sigh, the man entered his ‘apartment’.

  Balthazar was crouching near the couch, fumbling to get the bed open.

“The kid’s done.”, Vinnie said.

“What ?”, Balth stopped, looking at his husband in confusion.

“Milo. I’m pretty sure the waltz over.”

“Oh.”

“How do you think he did ?”, Vinnie smirked. “How much you wanna bet he fell ?”, he joked.

“Please.”, Balth smiled as he stood up. “Milo became quite the dancer. I’m sure he did wonderfully.”

“He did have a great teacher.”, the shorter man flirted.

“And he’s not the only one who learned a lot.”, Balthazar replied. The tall man took out his phone, and quickly put some music. Vinnie just looked curiously as his husband put the phone on the small table and offered him a hand. “May I have this dance ?”

“You’re not serious.”, Vinnie grimaced.

“Come on.”, Balthazar smiled in a way that made the shorter man silently curse the effect his partner had on him. “You did a lot of progress over the last few days.”

“Alright, alright.”, Vinnie sighed, though his smile betrayed his emotions. He took Balthazar’s hand, letting himself be led by the taller man. The two couldn’t move much as the space was small and cramped, but it didn’t stop Balth from doing a variety of steps.

Though, less than a minute into this, Vinnie tripped over the table’s feet and fell, barely giving Balthazar the time to react and push his partner towards the couch. Vinnie half-slumped half-fell into it.

“…Ouch…”, the shorter man complained

“Are you alright ?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank goodness.”, Balth mumbled, helping him up.

“You know what ?”, Vinnie declared. “We should let the kids do the whole dancing thing. I think I’m going to take a break from formal dances.”

[poisonedlovedarling]

Milo Murphy’s Law Theory

Okay I’m sure somewhere out there someone has had a theory like this. However! I just wanted to put it down in my own words, mostly to get it out of my head. 

In a short, my theory is that Balthazar Cavendish and his lovely partner Vinnie Dakota, (If not the entire time traveling agency) are the reason Milos family are cursed with Murphy's law.

Evidence! I hear you cry into the void, yes. Well the best I can offer you is theoretical science. (I hear you complaining in the background well you don’t have to listen...lol.)

Theoretical Science time! 

According to the laws of time travel, you might know this one. You go back in time and step on a butterfly and next thing you know all of humanity has never been born. Now the problem with this is that there are many theories saying that if you change time you can erase yourself from existence. However if you did that you then couldn’t have gone back in time and changed things in the first place. Causing a Paradox. Or less commonly known as Circular causation, you can’t change the past if you don’t exist 

Now on the other hand, there is a theory that you can change history causing yourself to never having been born but still existing to be the one to go back in time and change that point in history. Basically if you change a point in time you’re not changing your version of time but instead creating an alternate time line that runs parallel to your own. The future you return to you may not have been born but can still exist because you are from a timeline where you were born and are just riding the waves through a new timeline. Basically visiting an alternate earth where the history was change and you never existed. 

There's a ton more like this, such as self fulfilling prophecy, you couldn’t change time because what happened. Happened and you were suppose to do what you did anyways. 

Basically Time travel’s a messy.

However by changing history, you can cause unknown havoc. Example (though not proven by science) you drop a rock in the ocean in California. The ripples that the rock causes become bigger and more dangerous eventually reaching Japan not as ripples but as tidal waves. Causing havoc.

(For examples look at Futurama, Rick and Morty, or The Flash.)

Now if you are still reading theirs another time travel theory this one actually relating to my idea. This time theory states that if you do change history the time line will try to fix itself to change around it. Something small like stepping on a butterfly that was suppose to pollenate some flowers. It will make another bug or even wind do it instead, no big deal. Yet, if you do something big like prevent the death of a President. The timeline will have them die another time, car ride home heart attack. It will change history but not by much and is a lot harder for the timeline to fix. Sometimes that little rock becomes a tidal wave that hits but doesn’t kill who wasn’t already meant to die.

A lot of time this will effect those closest or those related to the target. Which Theory Time! Loops me back to Cavendish and Dakota. The time travelers who don’t follow the rules of time travel. My theory is the Milos families curse is because the timeline is trying to fix itself.

In the episode ‘The Island of Lost Dakotas’ (Spoilers ahead) we learn that one of our favorite characters Cavendish has ‘died’ many times over. Each time Dakota has gone back in time and changed the outcome. Saving his friend and then his past self goes on a trip to a lost island where versions of himself are making shoes and watching film of his travels with his friend. 

Now one or twice the timeline would just change how Cavendish dies, but Dakota keeps changing it. Which means that the timeline can’t fix itself the easy way. Instead the pebble Dakota keeps dropping is rippling back in time. 

If we follow this theory this means that either Cavendish or Dakota are related to the Murphy's. Great great ex. grandchild of Milo Murphy. Now based off the show it sounds as if the curse only effects the males of said family and follows the name not the people of the family. Which means that one of Milos kids finally change their last name perhaps in an effort to end the curse only to give birth to the curser or just another Murphy with a different last name. 

Well other than them not sharing the Murphy name, one of them could still be a Murphy.

Dakota is a popular choice, the bad things happen around him and though he doesn’t look much like Murphy’s family being a great something descendant he could still be. Especially with Milos love interest looking more like Dakota, and we can expect Milo and Amanda end up together in the end. Also we can see that in Milos experience the Murphy law effects the people around him equally if not more than it does the Murphy's themselves. So if Dakota is a descendant his curse would effect Cavendish as much if not more than it effect himself.

Now the best bet under this thought is that it’s Cavendish whos related to Milo. Between the two Cavendish looks more like Milo having the family hair trait. As well as the same body type as Milos father and Great ex. grandfather the original Murphy. Body types of all the characters at first look fairly similar but things from their noses to face shapes and body types tend to stay accurate within families. This means that through his family ties all the bad things that ‘kill’ him ripple back and instead effect his family. 

Cavendish’s deaths over and over again would effect the timeline. It would try fixing itself, effecting every last member of Cavendishs family. The epicenter being Milos ancestor the original Murphy in his own time travel version of the Bermuda triangle. Creating the Murphy law that the timeline needed to exist anyways. Now since the time line can’t kill any of the past Murphy's it also explains why the Murphy’s are so good at escaping deadly situations. The timeline can’t kill them but it sure can mess with them. 

Now if neither of them are related to Murphy then it just means that there relationship with Milos family, Dr.D. (Spoiler- Professor Time), and the time agency. All the things they change through out time made a time Bermuda triangle where the OG Murphy lived. These negative probability particles in that triangle could potentially be causing his family to be effected by it until those particles eventually run out if they run out. 

Now this theory is lengthy and all over the place. So here’s the long and the short of it. 

Cavendish or Dakota or even the time agency itself. Are the reason Milo and his family are cursed with Murphy’s law. By changing time they cause havoc which is centered around the Murphy family, because of their personal if not family  related relationships with Time agency. 

You don’t have to believe me honestly I just needed to write this down to get it out of my head. I’ve got many more theories about other tv shows, that might or might not be coming your way.

[themattress]

Battle of the Seasons

DuckTales (2017): Season 1 vs. Season 2 vs. Season 3

So now that this series has ended, how do the seasons stack up?

Season 1 stands as a favorite for many because it's what introduced us to this re-imagining of a classic Disney cartoon, and right from the two-part premiere it showed that it was going to do it right. As Doug Walker said in his review of it, "it's funny, it's creative, it's modern, it's retro, it's classic, it's new, it has great animation and charming characters, clearly combining old-school Disney adventures like their comics and the Disney Afternoon with newer Disney adventures like Star vs. the Forces of Evil and Gravity Falls - and they mix perfectly."

I want to digress by elaborating on Doug's last remark: DuckTales is one of the animated Disney shows that on the surface seems bright, silly and cartoony, only to increasingly reveal a continuous story arc(s) that sucker-punch viewers with how complex, serious and emotional they can get, and done in such a skillful way that it doesn't sacrifice the show's general kid-friendly tone in the process. Gravity Falls started this trend, and it's continued with Star vs. The Forces of Evil, The Lion Guard, Elena of Avalor, Tangled the Series, Amphibia and The Owl House (Wander Over Yonder and Sofia the First also flirted with this style in their final seasons, Milo Murphy's Law attempted something along its lines but failed miserably, and Big Hero 6 the Series went in reverse: establishing continuous, complex and serious story arcs right off the bat only to end as just a bright, silly and cartoony show where even the story arc going on throughout the episodes is played for laughs.)  

Ironically, the one major weakness Season 1 has is actually related to its continuous story arc, which is divided into three distinct plot threads: Dewey trying to solve the mystery of what happened to his mother Della and what role Scrooge played in it, Magica De Spell sending her "niece" Lena to befriend Webby and infiltrate Scrooge's family in order to steal his Number One Dime, and the rise of Gizmoduck as Duckburg's defender. These plot threads seem totally unrelated to one another until the finale where they all come together, which is fine. What isn't fine is the pacing - it takes an obscenely long amount of time between episodes that progress each plot thread. And while it being the first season means the show can get away with this particular weakness due to establishing its characters and world being a higher priority than pacing out the overarching stories, it's a weakness all the same.

Season 2 is basically what happens when you take Season 1's structure and work out all of the kinks. Once again we get a mix of standalone adventures and a continuous story arc that is divided into three plot threads: Louie trying to make his way in the world as an adventurer businessman in charge of "Loue Inc.", Della returning from the moon and learning how to be a parent all while the manipulative leader of the moon's denizens plots an invasion of Earth, and Scrooge engaging in a bet with Flintheart Glomgold that says whoever makes the most money by the end of the year wins the other's company. The difference is that now the plot threads regularly intersect with one another rather than just waiting until the finale, which also now brings back elements from the standalone adventures! This means that the season has a far greater sense of purpose and forward momentum than its predecessor.

I also feel this season's arc is the strongest in the series due to the characters who are front and center in it. In Season 1, I cared about Lena and Webby and what was to become of them and their friendship which made it all the more upsetting when its pay-off failed to deliver (something this season mercifully rectified), but Dewey rubbed me the wrong way too often and I wasn't given enough time with Fenton to sufficiently care enough about his personal plight when becoming Gizmoduck. Louie, Della and Scrooge, despite all of their bravado, are all far more interesting, flawed, vulnerable characters who I enjoy watching grow. General Lunaris is the best Big Bad in the entire show, being a physical and mental match for Scrooge and his family in a way that no other foe they faced before or after is, on top of being intimidating and loathsome in the best ways possible. And "Moonvasion", where everything and everyone comes together, still stands as my favorite season finale, my favorite extra-length episode, and one of my favorite episodes period.

And finally we have Season 3 and.....it's a mess. A high-quality mess, mind you, but still a mess when compared to the previous two seasons. One reason for this is the inevitable result of mixing all sorts of other Disney Afternoon properties into the show, which the writers have slowly been doing since the very beginning but it really explodes here, with major roles and showings by the likes of Goofy, the Rescue Rangers, Kit Cloudkicker, Molly Cunningham, Don Carnage, Darkwing Duck and his cast of supporting characters and villains, Bonkers D. Bobcat, and even Goliath from Gargoyles in a roundabout way.

But a bigger reason is that the story arc's three plot threads - Huey overcoming his personal hang-ups and anxiety, the search for the Missing Mysteries listed in Isabella Finch's journal, and the evil conspiracy against Scrooge and his family undertaken by FOWL - are tied together right from the start. The writers probably thought this was a natural evolution from Season 2's structure, but it turns out to be a big step down, as now these plot threads are left fighting each other for screentime and focus. This is especially damaging for Huey's personal arc, which doesn't receive the same amount of focus that Dewey's and Louie's had and doesn't even get a definitive wrap-up...it just kind of stops two-thirds of the way into the finale. And it's a damn shame given that Huey, with his knowledge-seeking nerdiness, commitment to boy scout honor, and autistic-coded neurosis, has always been the most likeable of the triplets.

While the series finale, "The Last Adventure", is excellent and ties the whole show together as one grand, cohesive story, I honestly feel like the whole season could have benefited from possessing more of its epic, large-scale quality. If I was in charge, I would have had the Duck family learn about the FOWL conspiracy right near the start (instead of Launchpad learning about it and then becoming unable to warn the rest about it), and then have the arc mostly be a globe-hopping adventure where the Ducks seek to get the Missing Mysteries before FOWL does. Huey's growth would be more pronounced and have a more definite wrap-up. And there would be more obvious foreshadowing for the big twist regarding Webby the closer things got to the finale - it may have not been so divisive among fans if the writers hadn't insisted on being super subtle and sneaky about it right up to the eleventh hour.

I would keep "How Santa Stole Christmas" exactly as it is, though. That episode was perfect.

Final verdict: Season 2 > Season 1 > Season 3.

[danvillecheese]

some thoughts about mml s2

i watched this video that involves a heavy amount of criticism about the show and why it didnt take off and honestly, i can agree with a lot of it.

mml is so thoroughly under the shadow of pnf that its almost painful to watch some moments of season 2. the integration of the pnf b-plot makes it feel like a fifth season of pnf rather than a continuation of a different show. i didnt like how it had to lean so heavily on its predecessor just to gain some sort of traction for its audience.

i completely understand dwampy's need to kind of weave in these references for the studio exec audience, but for the late-teen/young adult audience who grew up on pnf its exhausting and takes away from the originality of mml.

i wanted to see so much more of dakota and cavendish's misadventures and see them getting hired by more and more versions of mr block, but their plot in the second season was so incredibly overshadowed by the nostalgia-driven doof and perry arc that it's almost unmemorable. i can hardly remember any dakavendish plots from season two other than their heartwrenching breakup in abducting murphys law and when they reunited in the episode before the finale. even that was stupidly overshadowed by heinz and perry also making up, taking up more screentime for something that had happened at least a few times in pnf years before that.

i wanted to see more episodes like freefall and milos world. they were classic season 1 episodes that got pushed to season 2, and it made the show feel like itself again. i loved the simplicity of putting the trio into an odd situation and watching the silly dialogue-driven jokes roll out alongside its physical comedy, without the need for paying off some of their season-long arc.

overall, I know it’s been almost three years (…. yikes) but I still get disappointed when I think about how wasted the second season of mml was. it had its moments (such as first impressions and managing murphys law ) but WAY more care could have been taken in terms of its plot and writing. and the characterisation. maybe all of it?

[hkthatgffan]

So, here's my review of Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe!

I've been a Phineas and Ferb fan since 2009. This show means a lot to me as it was the first proper cartoon I really ever watched (not aimed for a really younger audience). When it ended in 2015, it really hurt me, and it wasn't till 2017 when I saw Gravity Falls for the first time, that I really got back into cartoons. So, you can easily interrupt that when CATU was announced in 2019, I was through the moon for it.

In terms of the movie itself, it really was what I had hoped for and more. The first thing that really struck me was how well animated it was. It's been 13 years since P&F started, so no doubt, the animation here excelled from the show.

After that, what struck me immediately was Candace and her breakdown over not busting them again. I'll get more into that later, but I really saw a different kind of person to the Candace I knew in the show in many ways.

In terms of the others, I really liked the rivalry between Doofenshmirtz and Isabella. It was really unexpected and it made me laugh quite a bit. Alongside that, can we take a moment to acknowledge how Perry literally was everyones guardian angel in the film? He deserves more credit!

Okay, so in terms of the aliens, alongside Super Super Big Doctor being a really weird name, it was interesting to see what a weird yet amazing planet it was. Of course, in true Phineas and Ferb fashion/Weirdness, it was kinda hilarious how the inhabitants of Feebla-Oot were literal cowards, being controlled by a plant. Like, this and the plants in Milo Murphy's Law...I'm seeing a real pattern here.

In terms of jokes and 4th wall breaks, there were so many to pick, but easily my favourites were the light speed 4th wall break and the axe-inator. It's Phineas and Ferb humor at its absolute best, and it's what I love to see.

Okay, so the emotional part. Dan and Swampy really did understand the audience of their show. Us Phineas and Ferb fans have grown up a lot since it ended. We may not always feel like we matter or belong, or are still figuring that out. This scene...this moment...I've loved this show for so long now, and very rarely have I ever gotten emotional because of it. This was one of those times. I love Phineas and Ferb so much, and this moment has given me more reasons to add to that list.

And finally, how could I forget...the songs! It's not Phineas and Ferb without songs, and CATU kept that tradition. The songs here really were amazing, catchy, and also really fun. They provided both a ton of great moments and references, while also bringing back so many old memories of when I'd spend hours as a kid watching Phineas and Ferb marathons and lowkey singing the songs...Yes, I'm not ashamed to admit it!

All in all, Candace Against the Universe was an amazing movie. I'll be honest, Across the 2nd Dimension still reins as my favourite, but imo, there's no bad episode of Phineas and Ferb (well, almost), or in this case...movie. Something I realized midway through the film was how much I miss them. Phineas and Ferb was my childhood. It was my life at one point. I was obsessed with this show to a level I don't think even my Gravity Falls obsession has reached (and that should tell you how much this show meant to me). When I heard it was ending in 2014, it really did hurt.

But seeing this movie really made me smile. I've watched a lot of cartoons and episodes for them this year, but none made me as happy as this movie did. Maybe it's just nostalgia's powerful grip on me, happy to see my once absolute favourite cartoon return in one way or another. Maybe it was just the story. Or maybe both. I wouldn't be able to tell you. But either way, I'm happy.

Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Candace Against the Universe was a true winner in my books. I loved every bit of it, and I really hope this isn't the end. From what I heard, Dan and Swampy are in talks about a possible 3rd movie. You can bet everything that I'll be waiting for that if it happens. But until then, we have Canace Against the Universe...a truly amazing movie, for one truly amazing show.

[woulddieforperrytheplatypus]

Dan Povenmire, co-creator of Phineas and Ferb and the voice of Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, just did a zoom call for fans, and this is a link to it on Google Drive and a link to it on YouTube.

Here’s a brief overlay brought to you by my incessant live blogging, and because I was speed typing on my phone, I can guarantee not everything made the cut. If you’re interested in hearing Dan talk about growing up an artist and becoming an animator and trying to pitch Phineas and Ferb and working on the show and movies, I would definitely suggest checking out the full 75 minute video. The highlights from the call are below the cut.

They added Doof and Perry because they liked chase scenes. They realized fairly quickly that more than not, the pair led to good comedy, and found it much more interesting to see how their relationship developed. He also says that they are "the most important person to each other” and “they’re really good friends.”

They wrote the Perry theme song in an hour between meetings with Disney

They decided during the pilot that they weren't going to try to get comedy from the characters saying mean things to each other. Even Doofenshmirtz wasn't motivated by evil, he just wanted to get the attention he didn't get at home.

Doof’s backstories were not Dan and Swampy's idea. They were from Jon Barry and Chris Hendrick, who [itched the lawn gnome backstory. It was long and compliated and Dan and Swampy couldn’t stop laughing. They also provided the "it all started on the day of my birth” one the next day.

making the 2D movie while making the movie was the busiest Dan says he has ever been, and that's not even counting the PnF Take Two and Doof's web show and all the interviews. Basically, 2010ish was a very busy time in the Dwampyverse.

They decided to give each pair of writers their own section of an outline to work on, and each pair got to make up the dialogue and jokes based on it. it works well for the show, but writers kept going on their own tangents and the movie ended up like 6 hours long. Dan and Kyle Menke had to redraw 80% of the show because they had to cut gags out and rewrite it so it was still funny. Note: in the new movie, they did the opposite — they wrote a script and told the board artists that they could put brief gags in but nothing too long

He thinks the show became one of the most beloved shows bc it was innocent and the adult humor wasn't dirty so the whole family could watch it together. He also said the songs at the closest thing you get to immortality in a show. Those combined made the show as big of a hit as it was, and hopefully those things will get older people to watch the movie.

His advice if you want to follow in his footsteps are to draw (and suggest you check out Cartoon Animation by Preston Blaire and How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way by Stan Lee) and to know that these jobs are out there

One of his favorite gags in PnF are the silent moments where something big happens and no one reacts (like something big fell in an early episode and crashed next to Phineas and co and at first they were all shocked but Dan changed it to them just kinda looking at it for a moment with no emotion)

Q: Did you ever want to quit what you were going?

A: "I don't really... do... anything else..."

He finished his new pilot today (July 2nd, 2020) and the movie is due tomorrow.

He would love to do more PnF and there's been talks of another PnF movie

He would love to do more Milo Murphy's Law, but it never got huge ratings and Disney's not too big on it but if people start watching it on Disney+ they might get to keep doing it. They did that with Family Guy, and it could happen to MML too.

The movie feels like old Phineas and Ferb and there are a lot of great songs! 

And now, the Q&A (in which he draws random characters are he talks)

How was the process of kicking the voices?

It was sometime easy but sometimes very difficult. For Phineas, they listened to maybe a thousand people. they actually recorded someone but they put it to animation and it didn't really work. He knew as soon as he heard Vincent that he loved him. They literally recasted the lead (Vincent) the day before they had to deliver the pilot.

He knew immediately that he liked Alison Stoner. She was the second Isabella he heard, and he listened to maybe 50 others afterwards, but he knew he wanted Alison Stoner

They decided on a different Candace and they sent it to the head of the channel and the guy asked if he heard Ashley Tisdale. He told Dan to have her come in and give her direction and Dan was hesitant bc he had one that he liked but he was lowkey forced to bring her in. It was his only audition that day, and after his big block of text Dan gave her like 20 notes and she wrote the notes on the big block of text and she did it again and it was perfect and obviously Candace (but he feels bad for the actress that was almost Candace bc she'll never know how close she was)

What was the most impactful episode you worked on?

Either the last (hard to watch w/o crying) or three moments that made himcey while doing them: the end of Summer Belongs To You when Phineas gives up trying to get off the island and decides to watch the sunset with Isabella which was what she always wanted and she exploded and talked him back up onto being the person he is even tho it's a sacrifice on her behalf. He later says he started crying while pitching to his wife the AYA scene of Phinabella getting together.

Do you regret any episodes?

There are some he likes more and some he likes less but he doesn't regret any of them. He was a little disappointed in an early episode without a sing but he watched it alter and decided it was actually pretty decent. None of them make him cringe or wonder why they did that.

How has social media impacted PnF?

He recently got on TikTok and found out that's where all the PnF fans are. He was thrilled to see the response everything was getting and it made him feel good about everything he accomplished. The fact that this generation knows what an aglet is is his biggest accomplishment in pop culture.

Favorite part of working on the show/movie

He likes editing, but writing the songs is the most fun bc it feels the least like work

Who is Ferb's mom?

Never established or really thought about Ferb's mom or Phineas's dad AND IT'S NOT DOOFENSHMIRTZ THEY MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THAT TO BE TRUE STOP ASKING and Phineas and Candace are full brother and sister. The bio parents aren't interesting to them bc the family already has a mom and dad and the other ones are just out of the picture and not important.

Will there be a new character in the movie?

Super Super Big Doctor (and Disney keeps telling him what he can and can't talk about)

Are there any secrets or theories that he can tell them?

The freaking creepy pasta about schitzophrenic Candace IS NOT TRUE Phineas and Ferb do exist and are alive. There's also a theory that Candace is not based on the diary of a teen girl in Russia who killed herself, and that's not true either. He genuinely thinks they are really freaking stupid theories and they make no sense at all.

Who is your favorite guest star?

Writing a song with Slash from Guns n Roses was really cool. He also liked working with Ben Stiller, Christian Slater the delivery guy (he called and said he'd do any part in MML so they wrote him a role), Jack McBrayer (Irving/Fix It Felix), Wayne Brady (co-wrote In The Empire)

What is the motivation of Candace to bust the boys?

He's not trying to hurt them. She doesn't dislike them. She gets irritated but she's really just looking for fairness. If she built a rollercoaster in the backyard, she'd get in trouble, so they should get in trouble, too.

How did you think about hot to end the show?

Disney was starting to cool off on PnF. The merch wave had plateaued. Dan and Swampy had the next two years in the show already made, but Disney wouldn't pick up another season until they finished airing that season. They'd have to restaff for a new season and they didn't like that idea, so they turned one of their hour long specials into the finale. He wanted to be able to say goodbye and thank the fans.

[darthkvznblogs]

As a Supergirl fan, I wanna know who Alex will be paired with?

Also have you watched Loki? And how much would be adapted in your universe?

Have you watched Phineas and Ferb or Murphy's law?

Do you have plans to introduce OCs?

Not someone from the show, I'm sorry; nothing in particular against those characters, but for plot-relevant reasons I haven't gotten to yet, you've pretty much seen the extent of the Supergirl show characters during the course of The Girl Who Could Knock Out the Hulk. Still a woman, though, of course!

I watched Loki vicariously through Tumblr, haha - can't really afford to pay for a Disney+ sub. From what I've seen, there's only a few things for me to add to the Kryptonverse. Again, I don't dislike it or anything, but the structure I've planned for this universe takes precedence, and it doesn't allow for the TVA to be an active organization, for example.

I've watched most of Phineas and Ferb! It got a little too wacky by the end, I think, but it's still a hilarious show. Haven't watched Milo Murphy's Law, though!

Not really. I think any urge to create OCs I typically quell by remixing existing characters with new features and increased depth, like I did with Chloé Bourgeois in To Rule Alone, To Build Together or Vilgax in Changing of the Guard. If I include OCs, it's probably just gonna be minor characters.