So I recently rewatched Scooby Doo Stage Fright and I have some thoughts.
Now, I really enjoy this movie and consider it one of my absolute favourites! The first phantom? Amazing and weird but in a way that fits. All the contestants? Keeps everyone guessing. The “no dogs” rule that makes it a struggle for Scooby to get into the opera house? Hilarious. (Especially the old man bit)
But I’m not a really big fan of iterations of the franchise where Daphne is obsessed with Fred to the point that it’s her only character trait. And you might say that her love of Fred wasn’t her biggest motivator in the movie, but throughout the movie she makes it clear she only wants to win so that she can work up the courage to tell Fred how she feels.
But she had one line really stood out to me, that didn’t have to do with her crush on Fred:
“Why do monsters keep showing up wherever we go? Is it something about us?”
There is a lot going on in this line.
First there’s the sentence itself- what it points out. It is an in-universe acknowledgement that monsters go wherever they do. A couple series have done this, even Shaggy did it in the first part of the movie, saying “When do we go to a place that’s not haunted?” But what makes this different is that it isn’t trying to be meta and it isn’t sarcastic. It’s scared, and vulnerable. This sounds like a teenager who is trapped in this strange cycle with no real end in sight. Who’s not sure if she’s the problem.
In many different iterations of the gang what stands out is that they’re the outsiders. The weirdos. Daphne’s family history especially in some iterations makes it clear that she was pressured to conform to something that her parents wanted, something that society wanted. This seems like a line from someone who thinks that there is something wrong with them. Who hasn’t reached Be Cool Daphne’s comfort level with her weirdness.
So I think that the movie would be better if instead of Daphne having an obsession over Fred, she is worrying over why ghosts keep popping up wherever they go. And there’s a couple points in this movie where this would fit well.
First: All the other contestants. Are considered weird. What if Velma said that “A lemon-scented ghost would fit right in with this crowd” and Daphne lowers her head and says “Yeah” softly. Because she is part of this crowd. Talent Star seemed to have attracted a whole bunch of weird people, whose to say that this isn’t bringing up Daphne’s feelings of being different all over again? Like if you won a contest and all the other people who won were batshit crazy wouldn’t you doubt yourself? Just a little bit? Especially if you were a young girl who’s always been told she’s batshit crazy?
Then when Daphne wakes up at night crying? What if she wakes up crying because everything feels wrong? Because she feels wrong? Teenagehood is a time with lots of change and lots of transitions and lots of doubts. So she wakes up crying because she has a lot of existential questions about her life.
And then the whole 5 different phantoms thing is obviously not helping. Just when Daphne thinks they’re done and can move on with normal teenager activities another phantom shows up to ruin everything all over again. This further reinforces the cycle that has been plaguing Daphne for who-knows how long at this point.
But then I think that this movie also presents the perfect opportunity for Daphne to realize that being weird isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Take Steve (the first phantom) for example. There is no way to deny that this guy is weird. He grew up in a sewer, has no idea how mirrors work, he is generally strange. But he’s also selfless. He’s ashamed of the hurt he caused in the past (but even then the worst he did was destroy the disco ball - no one actually got physically hurt), he saves Fred by attacking another one of the phantoms, when Brick gets arrested and no one knows what to do he steps up and takes charge.
I would like to see a convo between the two of them - maybe Steve notices that Daphne’s feeling down about everything and approaches her, asking what’s wrong. Maybe all this pressure that’s been building up throughout the movie finally breaks and she confesses everything that’s been on her mind. And Steve listens. And he understands what it’s like to be weird, and maybe we could get a bit of backstory on him (why there is a random guy living in the sewer will forever haunt my every waking moment) and it could all boil down to yeah, I was weird like you but unlike you I was alone. Because maybe that’s what it takes for Daphne to stop being so caught up in her own weirdness but see every else’s as well. We have Fred who sleeps with a net, Shaggy who can eat a giant pizza like its nothing, Velma who is interested in stuff that isn’t very mainstream like the soap diamond, Scooby who talks.
And this doesn’t change the fact that they are her best friends, her family. That throughout the movie they have been there for her and supported her and Fred on this wild ride. And same goes for every mystery. And the fact that they’re weird? Makes them stronger in the face of these mysteries. Fred’s net saves Shaggy and Scooby’s lives (that dude was running around with a butcher’s knife - he should def be locked up for attempted murder). Velma’s love of the niche comes in handy when stopping Dewey. Scooby and Shaggy sneaking into the opera house reveals that Dewey is the 4th phantom.
So maybe this convo really helps Daphne gain confidence to go on stage and sing her heart out. Then they have the whole chase with Dewey and they give up the contest for Emma and all that. And then, the final nail in the coffin that makes Daphne come into her own weirdness. Brick.
Brick, who is by far the most “normal” person around. Sure, he says “Fantastic” a lot, but that’s not a guy who pulls an egg out instead of a card or a goth band that was a country act up until a few weeks ago, with 3/4 of them being honestly surly and the the other one being so cheerful. Earlier in the film Daphne says that she really admires Brick, and in this version maybe that could mean that maybe in this whirlwind of weirdness she admires how he’s so… normal. But then at the end of the film comes his confession - that he’s surrounded by all these talented people makes him feel suffocated. He feels pathetic. And Daphne then realizes that yeah - all the other contestants were weird, all her friends are weird, but that’s what made them talented. Thats what makes them so amazing.
In the end, the movie ends with Daphne coming to terms with her weirdness - and maybe starting Be Cool Daphne’s list of everything she wants to do. In the end she comes to terms with the fact that monsters tend to follow them around, but as long as she’s got her weird friends she’s gonna be okay.
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hi! how would Valeria and Kate react if their wife’s got hurt because of their work, both of them working highly jobs and it ended up catching up to their s/o. hoe you are doing well and drink plenty of water! thank you!
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Hello! Both of them would be absolutely distraught, but would go about it in different ways!
Valeria’s and Laswell’s Wife Gets Hurt Because of their Job
Valeria: Whoever hurt you will wind up tortured and eventually, once she thinks they’ve had enough of their miserable life, will wind up dead. Naturally, the first thing she does is check up on you, see if you’re alright and well, that’s her priority. You’re the love of her life, there’s no one else in this world she wants to see do well. You’ll be admitted to the best hospital nearby and will only get the finest treatment. Once you’re stabilized, that’s when the hunt begins. Whoever hurt you won’t get too far since that bastard’s life will be on the line. Regardless of where they might be hiding, Valeria will find them and show them that death is actually a kind of mercy. She has pretty much everything at her disposal, everything money can buy, this sucker won’t know what hit them. If it’s revenge they want, then revenge they’ll get. Valeria promises you that their head will be on a silver plate. She’s not very good with words when it comes to comforting someone, but she will have that person killed in the most cruel ways she can imagine. In fact, she’ll take the pleasure of torturing them upon herself. Once she’s done, she’ll take some days off, which is surprising since she usually can’t afford that at all. You’ll be under her direct care for those days. Anything you want you’ll get. Afterwards there will be a slight shift in her demeanor, Valeria becomes more protective over you. Sometimes she might even assign some trusted people of hers to watch over you since she can’t afford something like that happening again. While she can’t always take some days off, she’ll try to be closer to you anyway. Always texting you, finding excuses to come home for a day maybe. She just really needs to make sure you’re okay, she wouldn’t know what to do with herself if you died.
Laswell: Laswell will try to be a bit more diplomatic about it at first, trying to coax whoever hurt you out of hiding. This person will be held accountable for their crimes against her world. Naturally, she rescues you first, gets you to the nearest hospital and won’t leave your side until you’re stable again. If it takes you a while to wake up again, she’ll leave to find the fucker and make sure they swim with the fishes. She has a pretty large, efficient network and will find out who it was fairly easily. Once she knows who they are, she won’t hesitate to find out all their past crimes as well, if they hurt you then they must have done some other awful things as well. Once that phase is over, she’ll go to their home herself and have them arrested, put in the worst prison imaginable where the inmates are treated especially badly. She won’t kill them, but she wouldn’t be surprised if they wind up dead anyway. Laswell usually isn’t an evil person, but she does hope that person dies during their time. Their sentence will be as long as possible so there’s no chance of them ever seeing the sunlight again either. Once all of this is over, she, too, would take some days off to spend with you. You’re a priority above all else, so Laswell will want to be there for you, no matter the cost. While she usually isn’t, depending on how severely you got hurt she might become a bit overbearing, a bit overprotective. That overprotectiveness will last for a few months, afterwards she’ll try to give you some space again. However, she’ll always be keeping a closer eye on you, always texting or calling you every once in a while to make sure you’re okay. If she needs to, she’ll put you under her protection officially, but the situation needs to be dire for that to happen. Either way, she’ll be keeping you safe.
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now im also still thinking about tma dnd au.... mostly i agree with jonny&alex' assignments. Signing a contract to work in the Archives is really signing a pact with the Eye, so everyone there multiclasses in warlock, but only Jon really gains levels in it because of all the xp he gets by reading statements. Tim is a fighter, Sasha a 'real' wizard, Martin a bard who performs poetry instead of playing an instrument, says he studied at the College of Lore, but really he's self-taught and not even level 3 in bard.
Species though. i mostly drew Jon as a tiefling cause i wanted to give him horns but really, a tiefling would be preoccupied with whether or not he's turning into a monster. Sasha can just be human, and i think Tim is a half-elf, charismatic, easily fitting in with most crowds.
On the one hand i want Martin to be tall. but on the other. he just is a halfling. easily underestimated, typically caring, not very fast, not easily immobilized by fear, and, considering how little he gets hurt or wounded compared to tma's other characters, definitely a certain kind of lucky
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BACK WITH ANOTHER TMNT POST HI
FEELING SO NORMAL ABOUT THEM
I am getting better at drawing them which I am really excited about! Lots of Donatello this time around. Usually Mikey has been my favorite to draw but Donnie has been making his way up the list! Experimenting with drawing the Mutant Mayhem turtles as well because I just adore them so much 🥺
I’m currently on season 4 of the 2012 series now and omg it is so nuts, so much has happened!! I love these turtles with my whole heart I swear
Traditional sketches/doodles!
I just think my trad drawings are so much more fun to look at!! Also so much quicker to do omg
Got lots of silly doodles here, some sketches, short comic page ideas, fun colors!!
Drawing them is so fun and I definitely want to maybe further flesh out some of these sketchier ideas
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You know, something something Arthur desperately wanted to see the good in magic at any opportunity he was given.
When Gwen was first accused, when he first met Morgause, when he wanted to save Uther using magic, when he saved the woman from being burnt in that small village, when he was given a choice by the Disir, when he was determined to save Gwen from Morgana's dark magic...
(Honourable mentions include when he saved Mordred and argued with Uther about the Druids being peaceful (they are magic adjacent after all) - and well, given the second honourable mention being his remorse for the raid on the Druid camp when he was young, it's understandable that it comes from some sort of trauma. And of course, the result of that remorse was the promise that he would do everything to prevent it ever happening again, and that he would treat the Druids with respect. Hell, even with Kara he was respectful, even though she committed actual literal treason in the form of an attempted assassination of Camelot's king)
Of course, at every opportunity, Arthur's view that there is good in magic, that not all sorcerers are evil, that perhaps his father was wrong, or that his father had lied, ends up being proven wrong, at least in his eyes.
Time and time again Arthur is shown to consider magic as a more neutral force, like almost as if he's desperate for it to be true. It isn't even necessarily his fault that the opinions about magic and sorcerers that Uther taught him becomes reinforced once again.
The fact that he can even think critically about magic at all is a miracle alone. Like this man who has only ever known sorcerers to use magic for evil purposes, to destroy Camelot, attempt to assassinate him, attempt to assassinate his father, to harm those he cares about - and yet he still he still falls back on, what if magic can be good, what if we're wrong, what if, what if, what if--
And it's only when magic itself reveals himself to Arthur that he can finally see that yes, magic can be good.
Because if Merlin is good, if Merlin is the same person even with magic, then magic is neutral, and sorcerers aren't inherently evil.
Arthur was always going to accept magic, that's the thing, that's hardcoded into his character, he just needed the right push, and that push was always going to be Merlin.
Because as Arthur dies in Merlin's arms, blanketed by magic itself, he accepts that even with all of Merlin's magic, his life cannot be saved, magic cannot save him.
But he accepts it, and accepts Merlin, and he dies having brought about all that Merlin ever dreamt of, truly dreamt of, that Arthur would see him for him, and accept him and his magic. And more than that, what Arthur truly ends up doing is embracing it.
Arthur for whatever reason, perhaps because he was born of magic, perhaps because his soulmate is magic itself, perhaps because he has a heart of gold, wanted to see the good in magic at any given opportunity that presented itself, even though with all that Uther taught him, he never should have seen it that way.
It's just, it's so fascinating, and it's so heartbreaking that when he finally knew, he died. But he'll return, and I'm sure then he can build something better with Merlin, really bring magic back to a time that needs it :)
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