#like... rap and flynn's relationship development is so good

[thelowcalcalzonezone]

watched tangled on friday with my roommate and it made think about the sheer lore of the series. like damn they didn't have to go that hard but they DID.

also i'm desperate to share the show with them but it's too late they started watching outlander 😔

[dekuscrybaby]

nights of disapproval

pairing: todoroki shouto x reader 

request: yes; hi could i ask for an imagine of todoroki introducing his girlfriend to his dad for the first time and endeavor doesn’t approve but todoroki defends her to him

word count: 3.5k+ words

warnings: like one curse word, implications of sex (i mention children like twice), slight angst, fluff fluff fluff

summary: shouto wants you and his siblings to finally meet and the chance finally arises over a nice dinner. except endeavor ends up being there as well and he isn’t too fond of you.

it’s been nine months. nine beautiful months that you would never trade for anything else in the world.

nine months of genuine happiness. nine months of wholesome laughs and giggles, of innocent touches, of not so innocent touches. nine months of pure bliss. 

nine months of being the lucky girl that owned todoroki’s once cold and closed-off heart.

it took you a while to break down the walls that securely locked away shouto’s heart. you were kinda the flynn ryder to his rapunzel, his heart being rapunzel who was being locked away by the childhood trauma that he developed through all his father put him through.

you didn’t blame him though. if you were placed in a similar situation, you probably would’ve never had the guts to socialize with any person, but you were lucky that you weren’t in that situation. lucky to be placed as a sort of comforter for the youngest todoroki.

you were lucky that todoroki found you worthy. worthy enough to love. worthy enough for him to bring down his walls. worthy enough to confide in you all he’s been through and all he’s going through.

the relationship you two had was one neither of you had ever experienced before, which was probably due to the fact that you were both still pretty inexperienced but that didn’t make your current experience anything less than euphoric.

you loved him with every fiber of your being and he returned the same passion, perhaps even more than you. he feels as if no one has ever loved him as much as you loved him. there was absolutely nobody in the world that did so much for him, out of sheer adoration for him as an individual.

yes, he loved the majority of his family and they loved him back but the love they displayed towards each other was nothing in comparison to the love you and him shared.

the eight most important letters in your relationship were spoken “early” and there wasn’t anything wrong with that. you two just fell for each other hard and quick. contrary to what everyone believed, you guys weren’t the couple to fall fast and end fast.

nine months into a relationship as high schoolers and you were both completely sure this relationship would be the only one you’d be in for the rest of your life.

you both wanted to stay together until your guys’ last breath. you both wanted to stay together long enough to reach your final date as boyfriend and girlfriend. long enough for you to share the same last name. long enough for you to have children of your own, children who’d be perfect mixtures of each other. children who’d symbolize the love you hold for each other.

todoroki had never been so sure of anything besides his need to marry you and have you for the rest of his life. sure he was still really young and marriage should not be in his plans just yet, but he couldn’t help it. he found you so early in his life that he wanted to ensure you’d stay for the rest of it.

it took him a lot of thinking to not impulsively buy you an engagement ring. he couldn’t help himself really, but as much as he wanted to take his father’s credit card and buy you a ring now, he decided to do the second-best thing: introduce you to his family. 

well, it was actually fuyumi’s idea for you to come over to the house for dinner, but the detail isn’t all that important. what was important was that todoroki would finally have the chance to let his family meet the person who allowed him to live a normal life, or at least, the most normal life a hero course student could live.

after that, he’d hope it all goes smoothly enough for him to at least buy you a promise ring. a promise ring he’ll be sure to replace with an actual engagement ring as soon as graduation, which would then be replaced with a wedding band and last name identical to his.

todoroki found himself too deep into his thoughts that he didn’t hear your soft voice calling after him. 

“shou, does this look good or should i try on another one?” you turned back to look at him after glancing over what was probably your fifth outfit today.

feeling your gaze upon his figure was the only thing that made him break his concentration. he looked up at you and raked his eyes up and down your figure, smiling softly at what he saw.

it was a somewhat basic yet cute outfit. light blue jeans, paired with a white flowy shirt, and a pair of booties. nothing flashy nor too simple, but to him, you looked absolutely perfect. 

“it looks great,” he offered with a warm smile, which caused you to blush a bit, still not getting over his soft behavior with you.

“that’s what you said about the past three outfits too.”

“yeah, but i can’t help that you look amazing in everything. besides, i think you’re worrying a little too much about this whole meeting thing. it’s just a simple dinner that’s only meant to introduce you to my family,” he chuckled softly.

you pouted slightly before replying, “it’s still a pretty big deal, this is your family we’re talking about, shou. i have to make a good impression on them or else they won’t let us be together.”

“love, it’s just my family. i’m sure they’ll love you and it’s even better when you remember that you’re dating me and not my family. what they think isn’t as important as what i think,” todoroki spoke softly, while walking towards you, arms sneaking around your waist to pull you closer.

“i’m still nervous, your family loves you so much and i want them to be able to count on me when it comes to you,” you sighed quietly while wrapping your arms around his neck.

shouto placed a gentle kiss on your forehead and smiled, “are you trying to say you don’t love me as much as my family?”

you giggled and shook your head, snuggling closer into his chest as you mumbled back a reply, “no, i do. or at least i think i do, i’m just saying that i want to be able to properly weave my way in. i kinda want them to feel as if i’m part of the family.”

“they’ll consider you part of it after tonight, i promise. plus, you’re not that far away from having todoroki as a last name as well, so you’re really not far off from being part of the family.”

you could only blush and swat at his chest in response, the idea of sharing a last name with him being too much for you to handle. yet, it was something you were definitely looking forward to.

“you can talk about changing my last name once there’s a ring on my finger,” you said, rolling your eyes playfully while pulling away from his embrace.

“what makes you think i don’t have the ring in my pocket right now?” todoroki teasingly raises an eyebrow at you.

“the fact that we’re still too young to get married.”

“time’s only an illusion, love.”

“sure, but your philosophical thinking won’t stop us from being late to dinner if you don’t shut up and let me finish getting ready.” todoroki playfully scoffed at your teasing

“here i am trying to propose to the love of my life while the night’s still young, and you just bully me. some wife you’ll make,” he huffs out before fixing his hair a little. 

“for your information, i’ll make a great wife that you can propose to a few years from now. the only proposal i’ll be taking is your sister’s invitation to dinner with the rest of your family.” you snickered, making your way back to the bathroom to apply finishing touches to your appearance before leaving for the todoroki household.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧ “are you sure this looks okay? i’m starting to think my outfit is way too casual,” you chewed on your bottom lip nervously.

“y/n, you’re acting as if i’m wearing anything out of the ordinary. you’re dressed perfectly fine, stop worrying so much.” shouto chuckled softly as he gave your hand a reassuring squeeze.

you could only sigh quietly and nod your head slightly, trying to get rid of all the nervous jitters that were coursing through your veins. i mean it’s just a small and casual family dinner, nothing to be too worried about right? 

except, this could literally make or break your relationship with todoroki. what if his siblings hate you? what if they think you’re too underdressed? what if they hate you so much they tell shouto to break up with you? what if they’re so insistent on it that he actually does? “y/n/n, it’s just a simple dinner with my brother and sister. they’re incredibly nice, i’ll even go as far to say they’re the nicest people you’ll meet. hell of a lot nicer than when you first met me, that’s for sure.”

you giggled quietly as you both walked up to the entrance of your boyfriend’s childhood home, “you were a pain in the ass when we first met, but that makes me feel strangely better about this.”

“well i’m glad that my unfortunate past brings you a sense of comfort,” shouto teased her lightly just as his knuckles rapped against the door.

“if anything, you should blame your asshole of a dad for his extreme la-” your sentence meant to insult your boyfriend’s father was cut short as soon as you caught a glimpse of fiery red hair and literal flames for facial hair. “shouto, what are you doing here?” endeavor exclaimed, a wide grin on his face as he began to think his son stopped by to visit him. 

“i’m not here to see you if that’s what you’re assuming,” the youngest son of endeavor almost snarled as he tightened his hold on you. “i’m here to have dinner with my brother and sister.”

“seeing as i’m here, we can enjoy a nice family dinner! it has been too long of a time since we all sat together and ate as a family,” the pro-hero voiced enthusiastically before he turned to meet your gaze. “and who might this be? a classmate? friend?”

“nice to meet you, sir. i’m y/n l/n,” you offered a shaky hand to greet him in the most polite way. you made sure to exclude your title as shouto’s girlfriend as you didn’t want to do something that might end up making your boyfriend uncomfortable. you figured that you’d let him introduce you as his girlfriend when he felt the timing was appropriate. 

with a much colder expression, enji took your much smaller hand and shook it, the grip on the handshake a lot more firm than you would have expected. still, you were somewhat glad there wasn’t any form of disgust with your presence in his home so you took it as a small victory.

“enji todoroki, please come in,” the older man spoke with a gruff voice, not wanting to pick a fight with his son, he let you both in and walked to the living room.

“c’mon, we can go greet my sister and brother before we sit down to eat.” shouto voiced with a soft tone, contrasting the rough one of his father. 

with a small smile and nod from you, todoroki led you to the kitchen of his home where a slightly older girl and boy were moving around, adding final touches to what you assumed was you guys’ dinner. 

“hey, we’re home.” a smile spread on shouto’s face as his siblings quickly turned to look at him with equally bright smiles.

“shouto!” the girl, who you now knew to be his sister, exclaimed before her and her brother rushed over to embrace the dual-colored haired boy. 

shouto was the one who broke the heartwarming reunion to turn back to look at you before introducing you, “this is y/n l/n, my girlfriend.”

you waved at them with a shy smile, “please just call me y/n. it is very nice to meet you, todoroki-san, and thank you for inviting me to dinner.”

“it’s only fair that you call me fuyumi if i get to call you y/n,” fuyumi laughed quietly before gesturing to shouto’s brother. “this is natsuo and we’re really glad we finally get to meet you, shouto talks about you non-stop, all good things of course.”

you glanced at the said boy and noticed how a rosy color took home and his usually pale cheeks before laughing softly, “well that’s good to hear. shouto speaks highly of you guys as well.”

wanting to avoid any more embarrassment from the two girls, shouto spoke up, “uh do you want us to help you with dinner?”

“oh yes! would you two mind setting the table? i’m just about ready to take everything out, but i need the table to be set beforehand and natsuo’s barely any help.” she rolled her eyes jokingly.

natsuo feigned his offense as he passed the silverware to shouto, “i am plenty of help! you’re just very picky and refuse to acknowledge how great of a brother i am”

“yeah right,” she mumbled, causing everyone to laugh.

after being handed everything, you and shouto went into the dining room to do as fuyumi asked of you. 

“i thought you said your dad wasn’t going to be joining us today?”

“he wasn’t supposed to, i guess his plans changed,” he shrugged before you guys finished up the task.

about ten minutes later, the table was set and everyone was sitting around the table. after expressing your gratitude for the meal, everyone began to eat and ensure small conversations.

“so, y/n, you and shouto are in the same class right?” fuyumi glanced up at you, a warm smile still framing her face.

you nodded before responding, “yeah we are. it’s really nice being in the same class as him, it gives us more time to spend together. everyone in the class is fun to be around but something about shouto being there makes it even better.”

“so you’re in the hero course?” endeavor spoke to you for the second time the entire evening.

“yes sir, as i just mentioned class 1-a. i’ve always wanted to become a hero and i’m glad to know u.a. found me worthy enough to be enrolled there.”

“interesting,” he grumbled before continuing to eat.

ignoring his father’s lack of enthusiasm, natsuo turned to look at you “so that’s where you and shouto met right?”

you turned to look at shouto before laughing softly, “actually, i first met him at our entrance exams.”

“you did?” fuyumi inquired.

“mhm, shouto was just too emo and in his head to remember correctly, but we met at the entrance exams and that’s where i first grew my little crush on him.” you smiled as you reminisced on the memory.

“you know, i think i might remember some loser staring at me with a lovestruck expression,” shouto teased you before you playfully shoved him and told him to shut up. 

“you know i love you, y/n, you and your dumb lovestruck expressions,” he laughed as he placed a small kiss on the top of your head.

the four-letter word quickly caused endeavor to snap his head up towards the both of you, “love?”

fuyumi, quickly noticing her father’s annoyance, attempted to dissolve any conflicts from arising, “father-“

regardless she was cut off, “how long have you guys been dating?”

“nine months, sir, it happened a little after the sports festival,” you replied, anxiety slowly seeping into your veins once again at the thought of his disapproval.

“nine months, and what is your quirk?”

“m-my quirk? it’s nothing too grand, it’s called (insert quirk name).” you began to chew on your lip.

“shouto, i don’t really think that’s suited for your quirk style. in fact, i don’t believe y/n’s general personality to be suited for you. she’ll be the reason why you won’t be on track for becoming a pro.”

“father, i think yo-“ fuyumi attempted to intervene a second time.

“quiet, fuyumi. as for you,” he added as he began to glare at you. “do you honestly believe you’re good enough for my son? do you not believe that you’re distracting him from becoming the number one hero in this country?”

“i-“ you stammered quietly.

enji took this at a chance to continue bashing you, “seeing as you have no backbone, i’ll make it simple and answer for you. you are not good enough for my son and you are a huge distraction for him and his goals. so i suggest-“

“enough, father.” shouto growled, his hand quickly resting against your thigh as a way to comfort you.

despite his warm touch, you couldn’t find much ease in it. you knew shouto was only trying to keep you from being upset, but one look at his face had you more worried about him than you were about yourself.

“y/n is good enough for me, in fact, she might even be too good for me. her quirk is not at all important in determining our relationship’s worth and i don’t care about how it plays an influence in our potential children’s quirks.” he paused as an ice-cold glare continued to replace the warm eyes you were so used to seeing. even with an expression as cold as the one he currently wore, you along with his siblings could see a fiery passion in them. a passion that you recognized to be his strong love for you.

“she is not distracting me from my goals because she shares the same one, and it is not becoming the number one hero, it’s becoming a respectable one. i don’t really give a damn if you approve or disapprove of my relationship with her because i am the one in love with her, not you. frankly, this dinner wasn’t even meant as an opportunity for you to meet her. tonight was meant for my siblings and girlfriend to meet each other, but thanks to you, it’s been ruined.”

letting out an aggravated sigh, he stood up from the dinner table and took a hold of your hand, prompting you to do the same. once he had the opportunity to properly hold your hand, he offered you a gentle squeeze before turning to acknowledge his older siblings, who couldn’t help but smile at the sight of his brother finally finding someone he cared for so greatly.

“fuyumi, natsuo, thank you for letting us come by and eat for a bit. i’m sorry things turned out this way. hopefully, we’re able to do this in a much more suitable environment. we’ll be leaving now, good night.” he expresses in a lighter tone before walking out of the house with you. 

you were still in shock of the entire altercation that you didn’t even feel that you and shouto had stopped walking after a while. you didn’t even feel his hands rubbing up and down your arms until you felt a gaze upon your features. when you finally snapped out of your thoughts, you saw the concern written all over your boyfriend’s face. 

“are you okay?” he spoke in the softest tone you’ve heard all night.

“y-yeah, just in shock i guess,” you stuttered.

“i’m sorry about my father, i really thought he’d at least attempt to be civil with this whole thing. i’m sorry that he ruined our night.” he sighed quietly as he continued to rub one of your arms, gently.

you smiled softly and shook your head, “your father did not ruin our night. if i’m being honest, it was a lovely night despite what happened with your father. your sister and brother are amazing people that i’m overjoyed to have met. if anything, i’m thankful that you stood up for me. i’m thankful you stood up for our entire relationship.” 

shouto mirrored your smile and leaned in to kiss your forehead. “you know i love you with my entire being, y/n. i’d do anything for you and standing up against my father is something i usually do anyway.”

“thank you, shouto. i love you too, so so much. let’s hurry up and go home, i’m in the mood for a movie and cuddles.” you beamed.

“of course, my love.” shouto chuckled before beginning your walk back to the u.a. dorms.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧ 

“so, potential children, huh?” you quipped at him as you were swinging your intertwined hands together.

“we won’t be having any children since you basically rejected my potential proposal earlier today,” todoroki smirked as he heard you whine.

“shouto!”

“i’m only teasing. we’ll see about our potential children when you accept my real proposal sometime in the future.”

[chiscribbs]

PLUS EST EN VOUS Review

(Over a week later, and I’m finally posting this. At least I don’t have to worry about another episode coming out before it’s posted.)

Okay - there’s a lot to cover, so without further ado...  Let’s get right into it, shall we?

Things I liked about the finale:

All of the beautiful Cass / Rapunzel scenes! 

They were so emotional and beautifully done, it felt like everything that needed to be said was said, and seeing them act like friends again was very cathartic for me. In a lot of ways, Cass & Raps’ relationship reminds me of some of my own (old ones that didn’t end so smoothly, and then newer ones that I can already tell will leave a lasting impression on my life) and seeing them reconcile and talk about how much they meant to each other really warmed my heart. A best friend is an irreplaceable thing, and I love that their interactions showed that. I also really appreciated the “I love you”s, because the world needs more of those between friends. And it also reminded me of Eugene saying the same thing to Lance, in Beyond the Corona Walls.

The awesome Team Awesome content!  There was an abundance of it in this episode, and I loved every second of it! Truth be told, I was never a big “Team Awesome” fan until S3 came around. The relationship always felt a tad too one-sided to me, and I just couldn’t see them being particularly close, at least not as close as Varian and Rapunzel. The fandom helped me warm up to the idea a little bit, but this past season definitely sold it for me. Eugene has really matured and become a lot less self-involved since the first time they met. I absolutely love that he’s turned into sort of a cool older brother figure to Varian (in fact, many of their interactions are reminiscent of moments I’ve shared with my own brother) and Var now looks up to him rather than just the “Flynn Rider” persona. The fact that Eugene could tease him about his past mistakes and Varian just turned around and casually joked right back? That made my heart happy.

Speaking of maturing & happy hearts -

 I’M SO PROUD OF THIS BOY!!! 

I know I say that a lot, but He’s just come so far since S1, or even the beginning of S3! There were a ton of little moments showcasing his growth in this episode. Such as:  - Jumping onto the piano to help Raps rally the troops (did anybody think we were going to get pianist Varian? I sure didn’t, but I’m not complaining.) - Stating with certainty that he can rebuild Demanitus’ portal, before even seeing the schematics, and just overall showing more confidence in his abilities. (Quirin looked so proud when he was building the portal...you know, before going  all mind-slave and trying to pull the lever.) - Being the first - the FIRST - of the gang to walk into Demanitus’ tomb. This may seem small, but it was such a 180 from Be Very Afraid, where he was nervous and trailing behind Raps the entire time. Now he’s not only joining in on the adventure, he’s taking the lead on occasion! - Rigging Quirin’s helmet with a temporary stun mechanism as a fail-safe for the mind-trap. He seemed hurt and offended when Eugene initially brought up the possibility of his dad being a double-agent, but even so, he listened. He put common sense and the safety of others before his own feelings, and that’s not an easy thing to do.  - Firing an explosive concoction straight into the face of an enormous demon monster??? I mean,...heck yeah, boy!! Also - using his past mistakes (i.e. the amber and monster!Ruddiger) and repurposing them towards something good. I could go on, but you get the idea. he’s just come so far and I could not be more proud of his development. And the fact that he went on to become Corona’s Royal Alchemist Engineer was just the cherry on top! YOU DESERVE IT, BOY!!! 👏👏👏

You know who else I’m proud of? Rapunzel. She was never my favorite character in the series (despite being the protagonist,) but this story - and this past season in particular - has really endeared me to her. She’s grown so much, she’s become a strong and wise leader, and I’m proud of her for it. Honestly, I’ve related to her far more this past season than any other. And I don’t know if that’s because she’s older and more mature now, or because her naivete and eager-to-please attitude is all but gone, or because she just felt a lot more real and vulnerable in recent episodes - but I really, truly love her. And I’m happy to see her story reach its completion. (Also - long-haired brunette Raps is my new favorite thing, tbh.)

THIS:

‘Nough said, I think.

The epic new powers and abilities (and return of some old ones)!!! There were so many moments while watching the finale where I was literally just yelling at my sister like “wHOA, DID YOU SEE THAT?! THAT WAS AWESOME!!!” I had no idea that Cass could make ANIMATED WOLF HEADS of the black rocks, that completely blew me away! And then there were those golden rocks that Zhan Tiri manifested, that was so cool! I wonder if the sundrop alone could make those appear, or if you had to have both of the elements to make it work. Also - the Healing Incantation was finally brought back! I knew it would be, eventually, but I’d almost completely forgotten that was a plot point by the time the finale came around. It was good to hear Mandy’s voice saying those familiar, nostalgic words again. And she put so much emotion into it!

Now, onto the less fun stuff...

Things I disliked about the finale:

(Feel free to skip over this section if you’d rather just focus on the positives, I fully understand. I’ll do my best to be fair and only address the things that really stood out to me.)

This subplot went on for far too long:

It was pretty funny for the first few minutes (and I’m sure the animators loved getting to go crazy with the characters’ designs like this,) but after awhile, I was like “is this really what we want over half of our cast to be doing during the BIG FINALE?” I mean, we already had the monkey gag, which I actually thought was a riot. And this one came right in the middle of a pretty climactic moment, so it just seemed kind of out of place.  I’ll admit, the snake-hair joke and Lance’s multiple eyes had me rolling, but ultimately, I just felt like this whole bit only served to waste limited time that definitely could have been better utilized.

The portal was too quickly demolished.  They could have at least come close to a success with it before it was destroyed, so that it didn’t feel completely useless! I get that they wanted ZT to be defeated by her own power, and I’m down for that, but if the portal’s sole purpose within the story was just to temporarily remove all the secondary characters in limbo so that the mains could do their thing, I can’t really get behind it.  Especially seeing as their only Plan B was “throw things at the giant all-powerful octopus monster,” come on, guys. I would have preferred that be a last-resort after several failed attempts at other pre-orchestrated plans. They could have had Varian and Quirin working on repairing the portal while the others distract/attack Zhan Tiri and THEN have her destroy it (purposefully, rather than by some random falling rock.) Or, maybe everyone could have been in on the plan to get the sundrop and moonstone to meet, and then have Raps and Cass are the ones who finally succeed in doing it. I don’t know, I just feel like there was a lot of wasted potential there.

This scene:

I’m going to be perfectly honest, this scene bothered me. For a multitude of reasons:

Firstly; it was a shot-for-shot copy (not a parallel, a copy) of the iconic New Dream moment from the movie, just replacing Eugene with Cass. That wasn't necessary, Cass and Raps have their own unique relationship and their own moments, they don’t need to steal Raps & Eugene’s. This should have remained a New Dream-only thing, in my opinion. (Especially seeing as her parents already stole their gondola bit...I’m mostly joking about that one.)

Secondly; it didn’t make sense? Rapunzel was standing just as close to the blast as Cassandra, yet she wasn’t harmed at all. In fact, she seemed completely unfazed by it. Why was Cass the only one effected? (And we can’t even make an argument that the moonstone shard protected her, because the powers were lost the moment the two fused.) If they needed a brush-with-death scene, why not have ZT hurt Cass? I feel like that would have been a lot more dramatic, especially after manipulating her for an entire season.

And finally; it made every other character’s “death” seem unimportant in comparison. I get that the writers needed Raps to use the Healing Incantation, but, EVERYBODY ELSE WAS ALREADY HALF-DEAD, AT THIS POINT. I’m sorry, but, why wasn’t that incentive enough to use the healing power? Why did we need to have Cass’s near-death on top of everybody else’s?  I mean, I would’ve been maybe a little bit more okay with it had Rapunzel mourned everybody’s death and not just Cass’s, and then used the power to save ALL of them at once. But instead, she completely forgot about everyone else until the very last second, which was frustrating. I’m not a fan of plot devices that ignore other characters, especially when the protagonist is supposed to care about them but then just doesn’t even seem to remember that they exist for a hot minute. This felt like the ending of Freebird, only worse because you can’t make the excuse that she was unaware. (Just to be clear, I’m not blaming Rapunzel. I know it wasn’t meant to come across that way, I just feel like it was not well executed.) There are a lot of ways that this could have been done differently. Rapunzel and Cass could have BOTH been devastated about their friends/loved ones, I would have loved to see Cass show genuine concern and remorse towards the OTHER people whom her actions hurt, not just Raps. Or, Rapunzel could have at least landed near Cass so it would’ve made sense for her to notice her first, and then looked around and noticed everybody else before using the healing incantation. At least that way, the other characters wouldn’t have felt so much like a second-thought. I don’t know, I just didn’t appreciate the treatment of the supporting cast in this scene at all. It felt like they were forgotten right up until the very last second.

Cass didn’t get to sing in any of the songs.  I was really surprised by this, I figured given how important her role had become, she’d get to sing at least one line (like Lance and Varian did.) But nope. Actually, a good 90% of the music in this episode was sung by Raps, and as much as I love the songs & Mandy’s beautiful voice, I was hoping for the other characters to be a little bit more involved. Especially in the Life After Happily Ever After (Reprise), that would have been a great opportunity to have everybody sing together.

Things I would have liked to see in the finale:

More information about Demanitus and ZT.  We got so little! I was expecting this episode to answer all of our questions about that two, but I still have no idea; what their relationship was, where Zhan Tiri came from, why exactly she wanted the power (besides just to have it for herself, I guess), or how they came across the SD and MS in the first place! Like, just a little bit more information would have been nice, the only thing the flashback really gave us was what ZT looked like before spending a few millenia in limbo. (Also - apparently Corona is several thousand years old??? Which, I didn’t know, I was under the impression that it was a fairly new kingdom.)

Closure for this relationship:

This is probably what I was most disappointed by. Honestly, I’m still kind of surprised that this didn’t happen, even just a little bit. Given that Cass was wearing the Cassandrium at the end, we can safely assume that they at least parted on good terms. But the last few exchanges that they had really gave me the impression that we’d be getting some kind of closure before the credits rolled. We were given two whole episodes focusing on the unique bond that these two share (that’s more than we were given for Cass & Eugene,) they were painted as parallels, so it only makes sense to give them a proper wrap-up. In CR, Cass seemed hurt and devastated after realizing that she’d effectively pushed Varian away, it’s clear his friendship meant a lot to her. Not to mention, Var had the best understanding of Cass’s feelings, he could relate to her - especially about her guilt and fear of not being forgiven. But despite all of the build-up & foreshadowing, they didn’t even get an on-screen goodbye? Not a single “thank you” or “I’m sorry”?  I realize that the main focus was always on Cass & Raps’ friendship, and I’m totally fine with that. I’m just saying that after all the obvious parallels and time invested in this relationship, it would have been nice to get some closure. I just wish they’d included at least one little dialogue exchange to wrap it up in a satisfactory way, like we got with Cass and Eugene.

Actual pay-off for all the Varian - Demanitus parallels.  I think we can all agree that this seemed like it was going somewhere, and then it just...didn’t. He did rebuild the portal, but it turned out to be useless, and outside of that, the similarity was never touched upon. Not by Rapunzel, or Zhan Tiri, not even Xavier made the connection. I mean - this kid is doing at 15/16 what Demanitus did in the latter half of his life. He’s not only following the legendary engineer/inventor’s footsteps, he’s expanding the legacy. If that’s not foreshadowing for something, I don’t know what is! And I do love the fact that he became the Royal Alchemist Engineer, but at the same time, I just feel like there was so much wasted potential in this almost-but-not-quite-subplot.

An actual Brotherhood reunion, without all the mind-trap influence.  It would have been so interesting to see them all interacting! I was surprised that, even though Edmund and Quirin were both in the same place for most of the episode, they never really interacted? Outside of mind-controlled Quirin, Hector, and Adira attacking Eugene &  Edmund, they didn’t exchange so much as a word. And I get that a lot of that was time restraints, and having to focus on more important plot points (as Edmund said “bigger fish”) but honestly, if they had time to thrown in all that netherworld nonsense, a little Brotherhood interaction doesn’t seem like too big of a favor to ask. 

Rapid-fire Opinions: 

Favorite song: Through it All

In my opinion, this song is the best group number in the show (not counting the ones only sung by main 3, such With You By My Side or Next Stop Anywhere) It’s not quite as epic as Ready As I’ll Ever Be, but it has an infectious beat and a triumphant melody that I really enjoy. Also, the scene as a whole was so cheerful and fun, and we got Varian, Lance, Kiera, and Catalina all playing various instruments! (Plus more New Dream dancing! ❤ )

Favorite callback to a previous episode: Easy answer, because it comes from (what is still) one of my favorite episodes in the series - the Cassandrium.

Favorite scene: This one’s a little tough, but I did really enjoy the little moment that Eugene and Varian had after Quirin was incapacitated by the helmet. 

I also loved the final scene where Cass said goodbye to Rapunzel and they gave each other the biggest, warmest hug I’ve ever seen in animation history (and the prior exchange between her and Eugene was really sweet, as well.)

OH! And how could I forget? That beautiful New Dream proposal. 💜 That was absolutely perfect. The animation, the music, Mandy & Zach’s incredibly heartfelt voice work, just...I loved everything about it.

Most underrated moment: Catalina pushing Kiera out of Zhan Tiri’s way and getting grabbed herself. (Show of hands, who else briefly forgot that she was a werewolf and had a small heart-attack in that moment?)

Theories I had that were proven true: 

- Cass leaving Corona to “find her own destiny.”  I’d always felt like Cass never really had a dream of her own; she didn’t know who she was, and she was never going to get the answers by staying by Rapunzel’s side. So I had a strong feeling that she would be leaving, but I’m glad to see that it was on good terms.

- Everyone vs Zhan Tiri.  Granted, like most people, I was under the impression that Xavier’s “magic and alchemy” statement would be more...relevant? Turns out, we read into that way too much. Which, honestly, is a tiny bit disappointing, but it was still cool to finally see Zhan Tiri at her most powerful.

- Varian becoming Corona’s Royal Alchemist Engineer.  This is a theory I’ve had since my early days in the fandom, and I’m glad to see it finally confirmed! My only complaint is that we didn’t get to see Rapunzel bestow the honor upon him, because I would have loved to see that exchange.

Theories that were not proven true, but I still believe:

- Varian (and possibly Quirin) being a descendant of Demanitus.  You can pry this one out of my cold, dead hands, there are way too many clues pointing to it. I’m not even sure if Demanitus has any descendants (again, we have very little information on him still) but if he does, Varian’s a prime candidate. His lineage comes from the Dark Kingdom, he’s a genius alchemist/inventor, has a personal connection to both the Sundrop and the Moonstone; honestly, I’m kind of surprised this possibility was never even considered, at least one, in canon.

- Cass will eventually return to Corona.  I have no idea when, why, or how, but I truly believe she will. Her spirit may be roaming free at the moment, but the heart always returns home. And - as it stands right now, at least - her heart is still waiting in Corona. In the meantime, though, I’m glad she’s living her best life, seeking out adventure wherever destiny leads her! She deserves it <3 

Well, that’s my full Plus Est En Vous/Tangled the Series Finale review! I’d love to hear everybody else’s thoughts on the final episode, as well; how many people were satisfied vs unsatisfied with the ending? What were everyone else’s favorite moments, what else would have been nice to see? Let me know!

Final words: This show and this fandom have meant so much to me, and I’m far from done loving it. I still have many projects in the works to celebrate the show and its completion, but in the meantime - thanks for reading.

And God bless the amazing team that came together to bring us this incredibly beautiful, meaningful, story which will always have a special place in my heart. 

[tangledaddict]

Re-Ranking Tangled the Series Season 1 Episodes

After re-watching all the episodes this week...I decided to re-rank the episodes because I feel like I wasn’t sure about the first time I ranked them. So, this is IT. I’m not changing it!

Link to first ranking here: x

1. Queen For A Day: Episode 17

Best. Episode. Ever. I felt like this episode needed to be two hours because it was sooooo intense. Obviously loved the moment when Eugene and Rapunzel hugged each other, I was fangirling so hard. What I will never forget about this episode is the fact that Eugene sacrificed himself to save Rapunzel’s parents. 

2. Tangled Before Ever After: Episode 1 

I remember when all Tangled Tumblr accounts freaked out on that day in March, I was freaking out too. It was soooo amazing. The proposal was great (even though she said no, it was still great), seeing her room for the first time I was like ahhhh. Eugene was so caring and loving for Rapunzel in this episode. It was adorable how sorry he felt to propose. Shout out to whoever did the clothing designs for that episode, especially Eugene, he was rocking that jacket and hat.I did not rank this number 1 because it was not intense like Queen for a Day was. Overall, I really liked seeing Rapunzel’s relationships with everyone in this episode. It was a start of seeing how Rapunzel really is to others and how others feel about her.

3. Secret of the Sundrop: Episode 22

I know this episode was intense, but not like Queen for a Day. I feel like Queen for a Day had you more on the edge of your seat unlike Sundrop. Of course, the music was great, not going to lie, best music in this episode. I wish they would’ve shown more of her birthday moments because I felt like there wasn’t enough. Also, I was REALLY mad at Varian in this episode….REALLY MAD. Varian needed to CHILL. 

4. The Return of Strongbow: Episode 7

OF COURSE I PUT THIS ONE IN MY TOP 5!!!!! Eugene bought a ring for her, Eugene wanted to tell the truth instead of lying to her parents, and how protected her at the beginning of the episode. Every moment of this episode was AMAZING!

5. Pascal’s Story: Episode 12

So many people were interested at Pascal’s background story that it reached millions of views on Facebook. Not only was I interested in his story but it was so adorable to know how Rapunzel and Pascal grew up together and because of that we know how close they really are.

6. Not in the Mood: Episode 19 

I REALLY want more episodes like this. Everyone was so funny, especially Eugene. I have watched this episode over and over again because it’s interesting to see the opposites of everyone. I feel like there are much more funnier being the opposites of themselves.    7. The Quest For Varian: Episode 20

Eugene protecting Rapunzel, Eugene talking about what happened in the tower to Maximus, and Rapunzel seeing the tower crumble. These three things made me really love this episode.  

8. What the Hair? Episode 2

This episode was one of those many moments when I’m like YES EUGENE because he wanted to make sure Rapunzel was okay and wanted her to be protected at all times. Eugene didn’t want Rapunzel to hide any secrets from him and after this episode, it was the beginning of Rapunzel starting to be more open and comfortable with him. 

9. Painter’s Block: Episode 18

This episode should have been an hour honestly because Rapunzel went through a lot of stuff. She was “hypnotized” ( I don’t know what to call it lol) and because of that went into an argument with Eugene and it broke my heart. BUT EUGENE KNEW THE WHOLE DAMN TIME RAPUNZEL WASN’T HERSELF. Rapunzel needs to make an award for Eugene that says “Best Boyfriend Ever”. At the end of the episode though, it was so adorable, when Rapunzel made that heart and they hugged and ahhhhhhh. 

10. Under Raps: Episode 10

This would probably be in my top 5 if Andrew didn’t turn out to be a jerk and when I saw the trailer for this episode I thought that he and Cassandra were going to be together so I was disappointed to see that they weren’t together in the end. But, I thought Rapunzel’s to-do list was adorable, the single ladies lunch, Eugene’s punching bag, and the storybook scene was all great.

11. Great Expotations: Episode 9

Eugene’s afro, Rapunzel dragging Eugene around, Rapunzel showing Eugene her inventions, Eugene kissing her hand....those were my favorite moments. 12. The Alchemist Returns: Episode 20

This episode was more focused on Varian and Rapunzel...and Varian made Rapunzel really mad and Varian really was not himself and because of that I have it ranked this kinda low. But, there was still Eugene and Rapunzel moments so I was totally not disappointed.

13. Big Brothers of Corona: Episode 13

I feel like there wasn’t much going on this episode, it seems like it was focused on the girls, red and angry. It was adorable when Eugene wanted to turn those kids into good people and in the end he learned something out of it. I feel like this episode is a good life lesson that you can’t change people and people can’t change you.

14. In Like Flynn: Episode 8 

“I love Rapunzel, I love Rapunzel, I love Rapunzel.”- Eugene (EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO AND CRY). Also, Eugene is trying his hardest to have his future father in law trust him. The King and Eugene developed such a great relationship in this episode. 

15. Fitzherbert P.I. Episode 4

This episode was adorable and funny because of Rapunzel deciding what to do for her portrait and Eugene being a guard. I loved when Eugene told Rapunzel “you went with the simple choice of beautiful”.  Eugene showing off his moves, that’s a plus from me! 

16. Cassandra v. Eugene: Episode 6 But man, Cassandra and Eugene were so angry at each other it got a little annoying but not too annoying. It’s hilarious! I feel like this episode was a little bit of a realization for Eugene of how self-centered he is. I really liked the little moment Rapunzel and Eugene had at the end. I ranked this episode so low because I somehow forget that the Stabbington brothers were in this episode. It’s interesting, the episode before this one really focused on Rapunzel’s and Cassandra’s relationship and this episode focused on Eugene’s and Cassandra’s relationship.

17. Rapunzel’s Enemy: Episode 3

But I thought everyone liked Rapunzel....? Haha, I’m still not clear on why he hates her. I love the design on the Sweet Shop though.  

18. One Angry Princess: Episode 11 Rapunzel should be a detective lol. (Also, when Rapunzel tucks Eugene in, awwwwww) 19. Challenge of the Brave: Episode 5

I know so many people like this because we get to see Cassandra’s strength. (So, please don’t hate me sorry.) But, I’m not that interested in this episode. I’m kind of surprised honestly that we didn’t see Eugene enter the competition and Rapunzel did because I thought he shows himself off. This was a great start of seeing Cassandra and Rapunzel’s relationship. Also, Eugene had a Rapunzel sign and was selling wigs that looked like her hair.

20. The Way of Willow: Episode 16

I felt like it was odd that Eugene and the King were camping together while Rapunzel, Arianna, and Willow were also camping together. Why couldn’t they all camp together? Or why did Eugene and the king camp too? I feel like they could’ve done something else. Also, not much Rapunzel and Eugene moments. BUT, it was awesome to see more of Arianna’s and Frederic’s relationship. I would like to see more of how much they really do care and love for each other. 21. Max’s Enemy: Episode 15

Rapunzel being a jerk for not listening to Max when he was first angry about his enemy. And that weirddddd horse wedding dream. I was angry most of this episode because I didn’t like how everyone loved Axel right away never thinking anything is suspicious about him. 

22. The Wrath of The Ruthless Ruth: Episode 14

I AM NOT SAYING THIS EPISODE WAS BAD. But, the reason why I ranked it last was because one Eugene was not in it and two it felt like it wasn’t in order of the storyline, it seemed like it didn’t belong in that story at all. To me, it felt like a fun Halloween episode to make. I think this is the only episode out of the entire season where we really get to see the Snuggly duckling.