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historyhermann · 1 year

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Velma Review

Velma is a mature animated series which mixes the genres of mystery, comedy horror, and thriller. It is based on characters from the Scooby-Doo franchise and is an origin story, of sorts, for Velma Dinkley, before the formation of Mystery Incorporated. The series was developed by Charles Grandy. He previously created Guys with Kids, produced episodes of The Office, and has been a creative collaborator with Mindy Kaling, the voice of Velma, since 2013. This review will have spoilers.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the twenty-fifth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on February 17, 2023.

The plot of Velma primarily centers around the story of Velma Dinkley. She attempts to uncover the perpetrator who murdered two local teenage girls, Brenda and Krista, and circumstances behind the her mother's disappearance.

She is soon joined by school news reporter Norville Rogers (voiced by Sam Richardson). Her former best friend, and popular girl, Daphne Blake (voiced by Constance Wu) also helps her, since her quest to find her biological parents, draws her closer to Velma.

Unlike previous depictions, Velma is South Asian American, while Daphne is East Asian American, and Norville, often named "Shaggy" in previous Scooby-Doo iterations, is a Black man. This representation is reflected in the voice actors: Kaling is of Indian descent, Wu is of Taiwanese descent, and Richardson is a Black man of Ghanaian descent.

The only one of the original Mystery, Inc. crew who is portrayed as White is Fred Jones. He is a popular 16-year-old rich kid, heir of a fashion line for men, and said to be a "late bloomer". Despite these negatives, Velma still has a crush on him. Voiced by Glenn Howerton, known for his role as Charlie Day in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Fred is accused as the murder suspect of Brenda and Krista, despite lack of evidence which ties him to the crime.

Velma is differs from previous Scooby-Doo series by not featuring Scooby-Doo as a character. Grandy, one of the show's executive producers, said that the show's staff struggled to find a take on this beloved dog. This coincided with Warner Bros. Animation telling them "Hey, you can’t use the dog", as Grandy recalled.

Apart from Kaling, Wu, and Richardson, the cast is relatively diverse, more than other Scooby-Doo series, including Black men, Black women, and actresses of Cuban, Chinese, Filipino, Malaysian, and Indian descent. This aligns with the focus of Kaling's small-but-powerful production company, Kaling International, which founded in 2012 and described by Time magazine as telling stories about "inner lives of women of color" and stories of underdogs.

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While in previous iterations, Velma has been in romantic relationships with men, her romantic attraction to women was hinted in episodes of Mystery Incorporated and in 2022 animated film, Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! In contrast, Velma depicts her as bisexual, as she has a crush on Fred, and accepts Daphne's feelings toward her. Like other versions, Norville has a crush on her, but it is not received by Velma, as it appears. This leads him, to later, date a cool girl named Gigi (voiced by Yvonne Orji).

Daphne has a crush on Velma, kissing her at the end of the second episode (as shown in the video above), causing her to go into a bit of a panic. She has crushes on men as well. Her actions are partially affected by her two incompetent police detective mothers: Donna and Linda. Both are voiced by lesbian actresses: Wanda Sykes and Jane Marie Lynch. Lynch previously voiced a lesbian character, Mrs. Roop, in The Ghost and Molly McGee, while Sykes voiced a lesbian character Deb, in Q-Force.

This representation is not limited to Daphne, Velma, Donna, and Linda. Cherry Jones, who voices the mother of Fred, Victoria, is a lesbian actress, as is Fortune Feminister, voice of popular girl Olive. Others are unambiguously queer, such as Nicole Byer, the voice of Crystal Cove High principal (and mother of Norville) Blythe Rogers, and Shay Mitchell, the voice of Brenda. This series appears to be the first voice acting role of Mitchell.

Despite this, the characters of Donna and Linda appear to reinforce the lesbian cop trope, which depicts adult lesbian characters as cops. This trope is said to make such characters more palatable to so-called "average people" in the U.S., if these women, mainly women of color, are "helping to uphold the systems that oppress them".

These characters seem to fall into the has two moms / two dads trope, although such a trope ignores "traditional" views of family life necessitating a mother and father. In this case, Donna and Linda are the same gender as their parents, just as Barry and Randall Leibowitz-Jenkins are in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. In fact, Sykes had personally served as a former NSA contracting specialist for five years, something which could have influenced her role as a police detective in Velma.

This breaking of the nuclear family is present in Velma's family, as her original mother, Diya Dinkley (voiced by Sarayu Blue), left. As a result, her father, Aman (voiced by Russell Peters), a lawyer, re-marries to Sophie (voiced by Melissa Fumero), owner of a malt shop in town and a pregnant model. The latter is often belittled by Velma.

While the first season spotlights Velma's long, and strong, friendship with Daphne, with Velma even proposing they become girlfriends in episode 8, it ends with everything up in the air. As a result of the events in the show's season one finale, Velma's personal life is in shambles. This is unfortunate because the writers had a chance to make Velma/Daphne canon, but chose not to. Instead, they went the route of Never Have I Ever, Wednesday, and even Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl by setting the groundwork for a likely love triangle between Daphne, Velma, and Norville, but not Fred. Such a development shows the limitations of Velma.

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Velma has been received by critics, and those on social media, with mixed reviews. Apart from the diverse cast and LGBTQ+ representation, I was drawn into the series as a new fan to the Scooby-Doo franchise. The dialogue can, sometimes, be snappy, funny, and witty, while the plot can move along smoothly. The characters, themselves, can be compelling enough to make viewers sympathize with them, but aren't always this way.

Even though Velma is snarky, one can root for her at times, but not at others. The former is the case when she has horrifying hallucinations as she feels guilt for her mother's disappearance. The only parallel that comes to mind is Julian Chase in gen:LOCK. Although he is only alive as a copy of himself, as his original body barely survived, he faces internal demons, which manifest in his memoryscape, while he faces external demons in the form of the Nemesi, who are "evil" copies of him.

While there is some similarity between both characters, Velma doesn't face trauma akin to the terror Chase experiences. However, she still faces the crushing burdens and oppression of being a person of color, and is in part of some dangerous situations.

Velma sometimes cheapens its own protagonists, even making them unrelatable, at times. For instance, late in the season, Daphne begins a fake relationship with Fred so that both of them can become popular, even if it enrages Velma. Daphne also wants to become part of Jones Gentlemen's Accessories, and is willing to put everything on the line.

On the other hand, Velma acts awful to everyone throughout the series, even acting like she is in a relationship with Norville to fool her mom, Diya, who is recovering her memory. She is probably even worse than the toxicity of Penny Proud's long-time friends in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.

The series seemed to counter past claims about Norville's supposed drug use, as he says he hates drugs, and is only shown to be a nerd who likes Velma. While he might appear to be a stoner, he is annoyed, in the second episode, when stoners are listening to his online show. Funny enough, his father Lamont (voiced by Gary Cole), has a design similar to what Norville looked like in previous iterations. The season one finale hints that Norville may begin trying drugs, possibly marijuana, at the suggestion from his father.

In addition, there is a focus on beauty norms, shut-shaming, human experimentation, and the over-bearing power of the government (especially the police). In terms of the latter, the town's sheriff (voiced by Stephen Root), declares that they can't catch a serial killer because "it is a ghost", not because they are incompetent.

For example, in the fourth episode, it appears that Fred becomes a better person after reading The Feminine Mystique. Instead, Velma just sees him as problematic and gross, showing he hasn't changed. His character somewhat improves as the series move forward, as he becomes more sure of himself.

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The voice actors of Velma are seasoned, making the series strong in that regard. Many have experience in TV, film, and even theatre roles, or previously played characters on other projects by Kaling, like The Mindy Project and Never Have I Ever.

Furthermore, some voiced characters in Amphibia, Kim Possible, Milo Murphy's Law, Phineas and Ferb, Glitch Techs, and Big City Greens, six all-ages series. Others provided voices in mature animations such as Close Enough, American Dad!, Family Guy, Bojack Horseman, Harley Quinn, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Pantheon, and Bob's Burgers.

I had hoped that characters like Dandruff Tuba, voiced by Weird Al Yankovic, would be more prominent. The name was familar because he voiced Milo Murphy in Milo Murphy's Law, a character with so much extreme misfortune and bad luck that he is prepared for any situation thanks to his handy backpack. Sadly, he was underutilized in the series.

The voice talent of Velma comes through with actors like Richardson, who is best known for voicing Richard Splett in Veep. Also, Wu voiced the Mom in Wish Dragon, Lynch voiced characters in Final Space, Fumero voiced others in Elena of Avalor and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and Peters is a Black comedian. The cast of Velma includes well-known talent like Stephen Root, Ming-Na Wen (voicing Carroll), Debby Ryan (as Krista), and Frank Welker (voicing Fred's father).

Welker has voiced Fred since the character began to be animated in 1969. He previously voiced characters in a variety of series, like Star Wars Resistance, 3Below, Totally Spies!, and Futurama. There is, additionally, Karl-Anthony Towns who voices Jacques Beau (Jock Boy). Towns is a professional basketball player of Dominican descent.

Although Velma is not my favorite series, I somewhat enjoyed watching the episodes. Others may have liked the series as much as I did, or perhaps even more, as Velma broke records for HBO Max in terms of the largest number of people watching an original animated series on its premiere day. In fact, at times, the comedy can be subtle and strong.

The series premiere is a miracle in and of itself, considering the HBO Max content purge championed by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav last year. Two series (Summer Camp Island and Victor and Valentino) were removed from the streaming platform, while Craig of the Creek had its final season order cut in half, and Young Justice was effectively cancelled.

All five of these shows, regardless of other issues, had outward LGBTQ+ representation. Previously, the platform shuttered Final Space, which featured a lesbian protagonist, Ash Graven, voiced by pansexual actress Ashly Burch. The acclaimed Infinity Train, which featured Black and Asian protagonists in the third and fourth seasons.

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The fact that the series survived this purge could be due to the fact that it was produced by Warner Bros. Animation, along with 3 Arts Entertainment, Charlie Grandy Productions, and Kaling International. Not only had Charlie Grandy Productions, the production company of executive producer Grandy, worked on previous projects with Kaling before, but an executive producer, Howard Klein, was one of the heads of 3 Arts Entertainment.

Another executive producer, Sam Register, headed Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe. He had previously produced various Scooby-Doo and Tom & Jerry films, Teen Titans, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Young Justice, Harley Quinn, and many others.

Charlie Grandy Productions was known for producing The Office, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Duncanville. The show's producer, Kandace Reuter, had worked on Scooby-Doo!: The Sword and the Scoob and Thundercats Roar, and the show's editors had worked on assorted series, such as Undone, Bojack Horseman, and Tuca & Bertie.

Despite all of these experienced people, in the entertainment industry, working on Velma, it does not take away from one major flaw: music. Apart from a scene in the show's season one finale, in which Velma listens to old voicemails of Norville, the music is altogether unmemorable, and the theme song is strangely alienating.

This is too bad because a Bronx-born Black man, Craig DeLeon, who composed the score of the series, worked with renowned directors in the past. Perhaps his talent was not used as well as it could have been. There were no amazing songs like those in D4DJ or banger songs like the theme song of recently premiered Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

This credibility of the show's producers may have been a reason that the series moved forward on HBO Max, just as Harley Quinn did. It could have been part of the rationale beyond the renewal of a Season 2 for Velma. Considering that the series became a "lightning rod for controversy" and garnered many hate-watchers, it may garner more of a cult following than anything else.

Although the series has incurred backlash, with Wikipedia claiming that audience response had been "overwhelmingly negative", it did not dissuade me from watching the series, nor even writing about it. Surely some of the criticisms, like the comedic lines which fall flat, or possible stereotypes have merit. But, the show is not the worst thing out there as those review-bombing the series on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, or others complaining about it on social media and YouTube, may lead to you to believe.

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This season had Fred, and his family, as the manifestation of White privilege and wealth. It is on par, in some ways, with the snobbishness and narcissm exemplified by nouveau riche protagonist Kaz Khan in Neo Yokio.

At the same time, the series exemplifies the reality of how easy it easy for someone, especially people of color, to be swept up in the criminal system. After all, Velma herself is almost imprisoned by being at the wrong place at the wrong time, before she falsely implicates Fred in the murder.

Thee show's plot only hints at part of what the Marshall Project noted in their November 2020 post about trials in the U.S.: that many felony convictions on the state and federal levels are often results of plea bargains, and prosecutors are some of the most powerful players in this criminal system, relying on sheriffs and police as key witnesses. In many of the states, the Marshall Project noted, that judges can charge for use of a public defender.

In Velma, the arrest of Fred by Donna and Linda is not questioned, despite Velma's defense of Fred, before his outburst causes the judge to declare him guilty. Velma's father, Aman, takes Fred's case because he wants the money for his girlfriend, Sophie, not because he truly believes in the case.

The series highlights the inadequacy of mental health care in the U.S., therapy, and gender disparity. The latter is exemplified by the school Principal, Blythe, only having 50 dollars in the school budget to counter "centuries of toxic masculinity", which she uses to pay for an all-girls self-defense class, taught by Daphne's moms. The former is shown through Norville and his father.

I thought the story's focus, at first on experiments by Doctor Edna Purdue, the grandmother of Norville, a scientist who found a way to keep the human brain alive outside the body, was intriguing. I would say the same for the series plot about Velma's mom, Diya, her lost memory, and manipulation by a miscreant to commit the murders. However, it felt hollow in the end.

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Velma reveals that Diya had been manipulated to recreate the lab of Dr. Purdue, recruited by Army General Henry Meeting to create the Special Covert Operations Brain Initiative (Scoobi), a reference to the original franchise. This manipulation happened through hypnosis by Fred's mother, Victoria (voiced by Cherry Jones). It is further noted that Velma herself was hypnotized as well.

Victoria states that she wanted to switch Fred's brain with someone more "ambitious", who she believed were "hot girls", and keep the global brand of Jones Gentleman's Accessories afloat. This absurd plot cheapened the series. It was compounded by Velma's foolhardy attempt to get her mom to remember anything, involving massive lying, which blew up in her face, and her rupturing of friendship with Norville after falsely accusing his father as the serial killer.

While the social commentary on big companies which support politicians who "look the other way", as is the case for Jones Gentleman's Accessories, is apt, as much as the criticism of economic exploitation in My Dad the Bounty Hunter, it is muddled by the rest of the story.

For one, there are callbacks to the first episode of this series, when female characters were showering in the nude together, sexism by the police, and more. In the case of Velma, it is problematic that the villain is a woman in that it could send a bad message about women in positions of power.

Through all of that, the series seems to hint at a possible storyline for another season, as the police officer who received the file from Velma is killed while putting it in a "solved cases" box. Undoubtedly, in the next season, Velma will continue to use her "pretty good" detective skills, the relationship between Velma and Daphne may develop, and a new "conspiracy board"/"murder board" would come about. The series will likely have a love triangle between three of the protagonists: Daphne, Norville, and Velma.

This is because, in the season one finale, Velma inadvertently said she "loves" Norville, so he came to save her from the serial killer who is out to kill her, Daphne, and Fred. If this comes to pass, and the story straddles the home/school lives of the main characters, and doesn't come into more of its own, it will feel more like a stale CW drama. That would be a serious loss of potential in a story which could be stronger if it's plot had better execution.

In the end, I feel this series is not great but not terrible, as hate-watchers have declared. Instead, it is only in the middle. So, I can't fully, and confidently, recommend giving this series a watch.

The first season of Velma is currently streaming on HBO Max.

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fandomgeeklife · 2 years

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Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo Review

Spoilers for Trick or Treat Scooby Doo

5/10 stars

I’ve been watching Scooby-Doo since I was really young and I like the old cartoons. I thought the “Be Cool, Scooby-Doo” animation was really stupid. I was really excited to see this cartoon use the older animation style with a new flair. I had high hopes for “Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo” after seeing the preview, but I was highly disappointed. The storyline is great, the gang defeats the person responsible for all their villains costumes, Coco Diablo, and once that happens the gang is left with finding missing socks and things all over Coolsville, then the “Misery Company” comes along and the gang has to defeat them and figure out who is behind it like good old Scooby-Doo movies. Don’t get me wrong, the plot is great. It’s the over-execution of jokes that ruin the movie and make it like “Be Cool, Scooby-Doo”

I know Fred has always been played as the handsome jock type but it was overdone in this movie. Daphne’s damsel-in-distress in the beginning and the meta they tried to execute with that. I also thought Velma was overdone with not feeling like herself and I think it is amazing she likes Coco but Velma knew herself as being smart and the gang knew that. Shaggy and Scooby were pretty on key, some of their meta was over the top like most of the movie.

A lot of the scenes of the gang are focusing too much on trying to be funny, for example when Coco Diablo confesses and they go “hmm” multiple times trying to figure out why it seems wrong but it is way over the top. It comes across stupid and overdone to me. A lot of the meta is like this ruining the movie in my opinion. Some are great like Scooby saying “Yeah this whole franchise is about me” to the bad guys is golden or when the Mystery Machine gets re-done and Fred says “It's not what I expected, but it's exactly what I expected” those were great.

Overall, I just think they tried too hard. Dialing down on the meta and “comedy” would have helped this movie greatly. It’s nothing like the Scooby-Doo movies I love. I love “Scoob!”, “Scooby-Doo and the Scary Scarecrow”, Scooby-Doo Camp Scare!” to name a few “newer” ones. I love many others and the classic tv shows and movies.

#scooby doo #trick or treat scooby doo #movie review #trick or treat scooby doo movie review #cartoon network #shaggy #velma #daphne #fred #mystery inc #cartoons #reviews

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otakunoculture · 2 years

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It's Not Just A Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo, But A Who's Who of Where Are You?

There's more going on in #scoobydoo Trick or Treat than all the talk about #Velma #velmadinkley in this #moviereview #animation You gotta love all the #ghosts #eastereggs put into this work! Review at:

Availiable to Stream and coming to DVD Oct 18th. Spoiler Alert The big talk from last week about Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo is that Velma is a lesbian. The fuss is crazy! Most long-time fans saw the clues a mile away, and they’ve been laid down more than a decade ago. But the fact that this reveal is finally confirmed because of the action (nothing explicit) has the media abuzz. Even when the 2002…

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#Blu-ray Review #Comedy #DVD Review #Halloween #Horror #Scooby-Doo

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popculturebuffet · 4 years

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Ducktales Reviews: The Trickening!

Halloween Havoc continues! Louie’s greed and lack of concern for his brother’s feelings or well thought out schedule leads them to a real life haunted house with vampire clowns, dummies, a scary well lady and a gelatinous cube. Because there’s’es always room for gelatinous cube. Meanwhile Della wants to use Launchpad’s dangerous misconceptions about halloween to traumatize children for funzies and Donald had a problem with that for some reason. Also Scrooge is kind of an asshole on Halloween it turns out. No one is suprised. Ghosts, goblins, and full review with spoilers under the cut.

Happy halloween month everybody! Halloween Havoc, aka my spate of halloween reviews continues as I roll into my first actual halloween episode review of the season! Yeah weird but so far we’ve covered demons getting exorcisims, little girls thinking they can raise the dead, and a horrifying plauge guided by the human incarnation of all that is evil, but not the actual holliday itself. Weird ain’t it? Well that changes with this so as always pitter patter.

It’s HALLOWEEN here in duckberg, and the mansion kids are planning Trick or Treating. Natural given Huey’s OCD, he has everything planned out a and naturally the kids all have unique and adorable costumes. Huey is gizmoduck, though with a GK instead of GD, a nice nod to “New Gizmokids on the BLock’ From the original series, an episode I haven’t seen but have heard of so theres that. It’s also because he likely wants to be Fenton’s kid sidekick which.. yeah please do that show. It’d be so fucking adorable. Plus Huey needs to be happy for once without having to go through a gauntlet of misery first. Let my boy be happy. +

Anyways Dewey’s is rather disapointing as it’s a “pirate on vacation” which while hilarious and very dewey, is kind of an anti-climax after months of speculation. Webby is some kind of ancient demon king as apparently in the duckverse the origins of halloween are based on appeasing various monsters, and this is so she can hide from them effectively. And Louie.. is Huey. Which means putting on Huey’s hat and a terribly insulting impression of him.

Meanwhile Donald and Della are an angel and a devil, with, which I didn’t realize until a tumblr post, Della’s costume being the one one of the boys wore in the classic disney trick or treat short. So that’s a nice nod. Donald wants to nicely give out candy while Della wants to terrify the children. Both end up disapointed as Scrooge instead boots everyone from the house and locks the mansion gates, as he doesn’t like giving out handouts which.. yeah that tracks.

As it turns out Scrooge also has his own plans.. which are gloriously ludicrous, sounding like something Glomgold would do: He’s going to go trick or treating himself, as when he was a boy, this was the one time of year a poor lad like him could get treats and he worked his tail off to do so and wants to prove he’s still got it. And as we see later SOMEHOW he still gets candy. It’s like if THIS was actually sucessful.

I would genuinely not be suprised if Scrooge too hadn’t tried to get an oil well from an elementary school this way. As for leaving candy out he leaves out an empty take one bowl which is as clever as it is douchey. So in other words Scrooge in a nutshell. So with handing out treats and scares at the house a non-option, Della and Donald go to see what Launchpad’s doing since Beakly.. is.. I have no fucking idea. NO I really don’t, she shows up for the ending, but before that? If they mentioned where she was I clearly missed it because she’s just.. missing for most of the episode and given every other member of the main cast is accounted for this episode, it’s VERY noticable. Give her more to do dangit!

So yeah we get our two plots, which i’ll cover seperately, then cover the ending where they dovetail together. Kay? Kay.

The Kid’s Plot centers around Huey and Louie.. specifically Louie wanting to go to a real life haunted house while Huey, as mentinoed has heavily established plans for their night. As for why Louie would go into danger, well as usual for when he does that theirs something in it for him: Rumor has it no kid has ever made it out with their candy.. thus leaving decades worth of candy just waiting to be nabbed and thus never having to trick or treat again. One big score for a payoff.. which didn’t make a lot of sense on first thought and my best guest is whatever preservative Gyro used for Oxy Chew, since it was still edible decades later, was probably spread to other candies since there’s no way in hell Scrooge would pass up a zillion dollar invention like that. Either way works. Huey is outvoted as Dewey naturally wants the excitment and Webby wants to see if her demon costume works on actual demons. However things quicklky go wrong as they ecoounter a dewey dummy and a killer dummy, as well as a monster clown and a gelatonous cube, which yes. I may not play DnD but I love these things.

The kids escape the house by accident while tryign to escape and Louie, still being a dick about things, finds out Huey DID know abotu the stash btu avoided it and Louie lays into Huey.. a bit much honestly, feeling he was agaisnt it purely because it wasn’t on schedule.. when you know, Louie could’ve asked to put it on schedule or actually given a damn about this, especially since Huey’s planned their trick or treats EVERY YEAR, so he’s had a full year to ask for this insane idea, or even the short time he’s known about it if shorter. Sure huey might of sputtered a bit, but Louie knows his other siblings, Webby and Dewey could convince him to loosen up and include the house. Louie’s just being kind fo a selfish dick here.. however i’ts not so overwhelming as to overpower the episode, as he has been before and while he should know better about risking his family’s lives after “Timephoon!” it is in character for him to protiize a big score like this over other people’s feelings and it’s not even the first time this season he’s done that. So fair enough.

But we soon get the second best reveal of the episode: As the kids are backed into a corner by monsters.. they grumble theres no candy and it turns out the monsters.. ARE REAL.. but their traditional monsters like frankenstein, dracula, and the bride of frankenstein, just dressed up like this to scare kids. As it turns out the WHOLE THING is an elaborate yearly scooby doo hoax to get kids candy, with the brilliant twist it’s done by actual monsters> As the vampire points out they can’t exactly shop during the day.. or he can’t at least, so this is how they get candy for the year.. at tribute if you will. Also the Gelationous Cube gets a nice hat as you see above. It’s a REALLY clever twist and I absolutely love it. I DID NOT see it coming and even with some spoiler screenshots I thankfully did not have it spoiled for me. REALLY good stuff.

As for why Huey’s been so obessed with his planning.. it’s actually really clever and really good character stuff: Huey simply got really into it because back when they were with donald this WAS their adventure for the year: the one time he let them cut loose and have fun, and he got a real kick out of it.. and Louie getting candy for life kind of destroys that. And that’s why Louie still works here.. because he instnatly realizes from this that was the problem and apologizes in his own way. It’s a nice bit of character from both: We’ve rarely had their pre-mansion lives factor in and it’s nice to see it for a change, and it’s nice to see Louie isn’t all dick, just like 20% dick. Unforutnately having no candy dosen’t appease the monsters who are pissed and descend on the kids.. until.. well for the until we have to back up a bit. So onto the adult plot we go! Della and Donald go to Launchpad whose dressed in a jason mask and ash williams/jason coveralls, weilding a power sander and having barricaded his place. After he scares some children, a bit too much, and Della and Donald are reallyd amn confused, he explains.. and we get the best reveal of the episode.. which given the above is saying something but it’s clear like the “blath” gag in “Astro BOYD” and the non-anthro ducks gag last week, this is one of those things Frank has been keeping under his hat all series. So as a boy Launchpad crashed his tryke into the mansion, ran into the monsters after reading off a candy wrapper.. and now assumes he unleashed a horde of monsters onto the world every halloween.. and tha’ts what he assumes the trick or treaters are. I just .. dont’ have a lto of words. This is pure comedy gold and easily the best gag of the episode and oen fo the best of the series. It’s clever, fresh, and really fits the character. Naturally Della wants to exploit this to terrify children ebcause she has underlying issues to adress while Donald tries to stop her. Thankfully before Della can get launchpad to scar children for life, Scrooge shows up and fights launchpad.. it’s part of why I also find scrooge’s dickery acceptable as launchpad beats the shit out of him.. it’s still an even fight, as not to suspend disbelief, but Scrooge still looses. I mean he gets out of being trapped in his candy bag easily because scrooge btu still, props to launchpad. So Launchpad decides to go face his fears and Donald and Della decide to stop him before he doesd a muder on a child. Which leads to an AMAZING climax as Launchpad scooby doo chases the scared monsters around as they have no idea what the fuck’s going on and hte monsters end up really enjoying his scar eof htem and bowing to the master. It’s a good way to end it. After Della explains what’s going on, Louie and Huey decide to explain halloween to Launchpad by taking him to the once house he hasn’t been: the Manor. Scrogoe has finally opened it up, with a line of kids no less, the monsters bond with some kids in line. As for why.. as Webby sadly figures out Scrooge is charging admission, thakns to dewey who thought an all night candy store was a good idea which.. yeah it is. So everyone gets a happye ending and the monsters hang a photo of hte night up in the mansion. A really sweet ending, pun uintended but eh it’s welcome.

Final Thoughts. Easily one fo the series best. While the characters are a bit exagerated in places, i.e. della, launchpad , scrooge and louie, it works for the plot well enough and the jokes well enough to make it okay. My only real complaint is a lack of even a cameo from Lena and Violet, as it feels weird to not even have htem in the ending, much less trick or treating with their friends. It just feels odd and could’ve used a throaway line. I get WHY not , as Lena even pre-blue would’ve destoryed the tension with the monsters, but it still feeels really weird to not have them. But it’s a minor quibble in an otherwise REALLY funny and creative episode and a fun halloween treat to revist every year from now on. Really good work. That does it for this week. For more halloween treats, follow this blog throughout october. So far i’ve done reviews of Demonicsim from Star Vs The Forces of Evil for Tomtober, Croaked, the Casagrandes day of the dead Special and the first of Marvel’s mini-series adapting Stephen’ King’s epic novel The Stand. And until next monday, or sooner if you decide to check any of that out, happy halloween!

#halloween #ducktales #the trickening #huey duck #louie duck #della duck #donald duck #dewey duck #webby vanderquack #scrooge mcduck #launchpad mcquack #monsters #super creeps #keeps me running running scared #october #reviews #animation

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tsukikoayanosuke · 4 years

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Behind the Fic: TW:OPT - Chapter 67 - 71

Woohoo! We finally end this Halloween Special. It took nearly a week to finish this mini Arc and I apologize for that. I really stretched this Arc for far too long.

Well, then on to the rambling because the behind the scene is actually pretty weird.

WARNING: This will contain a bit of spoiler for the newest chapters of my fan fiction Twisted-Wonderland: Our Precious Treasure. Click here to read the whole mini-arc from the beginning!

The title of this 5-episodes mini-arc is the lyrics from “I Wanna Scare Myself” from Boo to You, Winnie the Pooh. This is probably one of the most memorable Halloween songs for me besides This Is Halloween. But also because I just really love Winnie the Pooh.

The purpose of this arc is actually three things: 1) As a bridge between the infirmary break and the future Leona's therapy; 2) Introducing the concept of 'first kiss' to Jonah; 3) telling that Jonah was born in Halloween day

Jonah's birthday is in Halloween was not because Halloween is my favorite holiday. It's actually also connected to the source material Jonah was based on.

I've made a list for every costume for the boys, unfortunately, only a few that appeared.

Now, let's talk about the actual Halloween celebration.

The Halloween Party was inspired by the Yule Ball from Harry Potter, which is why there was a dance between the prefects and their partner.

Jonah and Cater ship A-Deuce

Speaking of that A-Deuce moment, it was completely off-script. I just want to write something about Ace and Deuce because I feel like they are lacking (and oh boy, Octavinelle Arc will be a toll to write because of that one major change), so like back in, I gave them small moments together.

I'm actually pretty nervous about the actual Scooby-Doo part. I really want to write something about the Board Game Club to show how close they are. I don't know whether I succeed or not.

Writing Idia and Ortho turned out to be easy after my research, but I'm still not confident about how I wrote them.

Let's talk about Maryanne, shale we?

The Tale of the Unfortunate Sacrificial Flower is a made-up tale by me, but there are some inspirations.

This funny story was the base of this Halloween Arc. As you noticed, some parts were cut, like almost all of them. It didn't turn out to be similar to Ghost Marriage it's worse.

The original idea is for the Board Game Club to find an ancient board game where the spirit inside it corrupt one of the member. If that corrupted-being kisses you, you'll get corrupted too.

This was inspired by a very old YouTube Poop my brother used to watch called ”The Rise of Sqeegee” where Weegee (a parody of Luigi) corrupted Squidward and caused chaos. He got killed but always got revived at the start of every episode.

The board game was supposed to be similar to an Ouija Board, where the gang must find the letter to spell a word. This was inspired by the Destiny Board in Yu-Gi-Oh!

However, I thought that a fetch quest was too long for a mini-series, so soon the whole idea was scrapped.

The new idea was playing the main plot of Hocus Pocus (1993), 'Papa' Lilia's story in particular. The tale of a witch who wants to eat the soul of children to live an immortal life. Also, the part where the Sanderson sister will return if a virgin lit up the black candle

But instead of a witch, we have a very vengeful soul-ghost who also eats the souls of the magicians

And since this school has no child except Ortho, it was changed into 'young magicians'.

The black candle art was changed slightly. Since the soul-sucking ghost was locked in a box, she will be free if a 17 years old virgin opens the box.

The box itself was inspired by the Millennium Puzzle Box from Yu-Gi-Oh!

I'm not really familiar to Hocus Pocus (1993) so I don't know whether Maryanne similar to someone or not. Maryanne was supposed my interpretation of the chaotic mind of Weegee, keeping the original idea there.

I have a thing of writing a very creepy and haughty lady (I don't know whether I should call Maryanne seductive or not), so Maryanne was a blast to write.

Jonah is confirmed a virgin. And he's 17 by Halloween.

“ Chapter 69: Cover Your Eyes Little Buddy, Beware! “ has so many great lines, especially from Maryanne. I just love how she just shot the member one by one.

Azul in particular was commented a lot since Maryanne called him "Definitely not a virgin." I just think it's funny. He just looks like a mafia boss so he surely would have a harem. But I'll let you decide whether Azul is a virgin or not.

“We need to warn everyone!” Idia cried. “There are hundreds of virgins in that gym!”

That's my personal favorite of the chapter.

There's a reference of Your Lie in April when Azul was calming Jonah down.

" Chapter 69: Cover Your Eyes Little Buddy, Beware! ” marks the first time Jonah ever caught a broom without smacking himself in the face.

Leona and Ruggie's interaction actually came out of nowhere. Originally, I want Leona just coincidentally walked up to the ghost's final battle or him noticing the disturbance from Savanaclaw. But I was like: "No. That's illogical." So, I made Leona go to the party.

Leona and Ruggie's interaction can be seen as romantic or platonic. I just really like how Ruggie was so loyal to Leona that even after he got Thanos-ed he still become in mom.

The ingredient of the exorcising spell was a reference to Witch Hazel's version of Macbeth's Double, "Double, Toil and Trouble" from Donald Duck Trick or Treat (1952)

The exorcism spell was made up by me and translated from English to Latin by Google Translate

“O errantes spiritu supra inferna” = “Oh, wandering spirit beyond the grave” “exilium perpetuum” = “banish forever”

The whole conversation between Jonah and Azul in “ Chapter 71: And Who Better?! ” was originally supposed to go in “ Chapter 69: Cover Your Eyes Little Buddy, Beware! ” but it was nearly cut from the fanfic as a whole.

I really want Crowley to slowly be a father figure for Jonah, that's why the scene between those two exist.

Again, it was inspired by many Irondad-Spiderson fics

I actually made a list of the ages of the cast until this point. I presume everyone will reach their canon age during 2020. Here's the calculation: (Not include Lilia, Malleus, Leona, and Ortho)

Entrance Ceremony: September 1

15 During 2020 Entrance Ceremony: Ace, Jack 16 During 2020 Entrance Ceremony: Jonah, Deuce, Floyd, Jade, Jamil, Epel, Sebek 17 During 2020 Entrance Ceremony: Riddle, Trey, Azul, Kalim, Rook, Idia, Ruggie, Silver 18 During 2020 Entrance Ceremony: Cater, Vil

Some characters birthday are after September 1, so they are one year younger at the start of the story: Jamil (September 12), Ace (September 23), Jack (October 11), Trey (October 25), Floyd and Jade (November 5), Rook (December 2), Idia (December 18)

Halloween: October 31

16 During 2020 Halloween: Ace, Deuce, Floyd, Jade, Epel, Jack, Sebek 17 During 2020 Halloween: Jonah, Riddle, Azul, Kalim, Jamil, Rook, Idia, Ruggie, Silver 18 During 2020 Halloween: Trey, Cater, Vil

Some characters birthday are after October 31, so they are still one year younger than their original age: Floyd and Jade (November 5), Rook (December 2), Idia (December 18)

In conclusion: Jonah, who is confirmed to be a 17 years old virgin by Hallow Eve’s, is the oldest between the first year gang. He’s also a few days older than the Leech Twins!

#twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland fanfiction #twisted wonderland fanfic #twst fanfic #twisted wonderland fic #twst fic #twisted-wonderland: our precious treasure #behind the fic: tw:opt #jonah argentum (my oc)#leona kingscholar #ace trappola #deuce spade #azul ashengrotto #idia shroud #ortho shroud #ruggie bucchi #dire crowley

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msjr0119 · 5 years

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Valtoria Haunting

***Spoiler for ‘Why me?’ Series ***

Tags:

@annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @drakesensworld @ladyangel70 @kingliam2019 @bbrandy2002 @butindeed @bascmve01 @drakewalker04 @pedudley @captain-kingliamsqueen @duchessemersynwalker @insideamirage @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @kozabaji @texaskitten30 @ibldw-main @kimmiedoo5 @nikkis1983 @dangerouseggseagleartisan @gnatbrain @walker7519 @lodberg @cmestrella @hopefulmoonobject @addictedtodrakefanfic @angi15h @liamxs-world @rafasgirl23415 @notoriouscs @yukinagato2012 @dcbbw @qammh-blog @nz1091 @beardedoafdonutwagon @cordonianroyalty @drakexnadira

******

Dressed up to ‘trick or treat’ they stepped out of the Duchy. It was ice cold even for the end of October, as if all the heat had been drained away- it felt more like they were in Lythikos.

Arianna and Jackson Walker were worn out from trick or treating under the supervision of their parents and Uncle. Maxwell coughed over dramatically, preparing to become the greatest story teller that Cordonia will have heard of.

“Beware of the ghosts of the two previous Queens, Uncle Leo and Uncle Liam’s moms. They will lurk in the grounds of every Duchy in Cordonia- wanting revenge on all those people who did them wrong.” Maxwell said whilst shining the torch under his chin- providing a spooky expression.

“Max don’t scare them! They are only ten.” Riley pleaded. Maxwell shrugged his shoulders, ignoring his ‘sisters’ words.

“They adore luring young children. It was once said, that they haunted the palace grounds too. Dragging Uncle Leo and Uncle Liam into the palace maze.” Drake shook his head, he knew that it was in fact he and Maxwell that did that. Arsehole- not the ‘fun Uncle’ he thought.

“They only come out to play on Halloween. It is said that King Constantine’s evil spirit also joins in. You know, your home was empty and abandoned for decades before Uncle Liam made your Mom and Dad a Duchess and Duke.....” Arianna and Jackson’s eyes widened, whilst their Uncle burst out laughing.

“Enough Beaumont!” Drake snapped. “Watch ya backs kids. I love you both. Tis, Halloween, the night when spirits come alivvveee...”

The Valtorian grounds were eerie as they arrived back home- the trees stood dormant, their branches hung low. Fog like a thick white blanket, was drifting past them stroking their skin. Uncle Max had ‘shit up’ the young twins up, but they had both recovered from their initial shock. Thinking nothing of it the adults made their way into the Duchy. The twins separated heading to their rooms, surrounded by candy that they had collected. Getting dressed into their pajamas, that had been on the radiators- their bodies soon warmed up as Riley and Drake kissed each of their children goodnight and tucked them in bed.

*****

The twins were both startled by a large bang and both had awoken, scrutinising their rooms- Jackson snuck into Arianna’s room. Both deciding to investigate the Duchy- they decided to go to the basement. A place their parents had advised them to never visit. The dark and shadowy corridors provided an eerie and cold atmosphere. The lights flickered chaotically, as if a poltergeist was flicking the switches up and down instead of it being a poor electricity supply. The cobwebs hung from the ceilings surrounded by the dust in the abandoned basement. The windows were mainly boarded up- during the day, the suns rays would struggle sneaking through into the dark and gloomy room. Arianna stopped walking, standing frozen- panic began to kick in- as she brushed past the cold mouldy wall which made her shiver. Jackson sniggered at his sister’s petrified expression.

“Oooo a ghost!” He teased his sister, making her jump as he impersonated a ghost that you would see on an episode of Scooby Doo.

“Shut up Jack! We should go back.” Her nails were now non existent.

“Don’t believe Uncle Max- ghosts don’t exist. You’re such a wimp!”

The doors banged before abruptly shutting. The wind that wanted nothing more than to announce its arrival- petrified the two youngsters. Turning around, both trembling- both their complexions turned whiter than snow. Jackson caught a glimpse of the murky shadow ambling from the direction of the wall that was approximately only a few feet away. Squinting their eyes, the familiar figure led them to escape the damp basement holding their hands, to rescue them. Leading them to safety. They both felt safe with this familiar touch.

******

The woman’s voice was a startling scream- that echoed throughout the Duchy. Checking on the family she noticed the children had disappeared- becoming anxious, the windows and doors had been boarded up with nowhere to escape. It was deja vu all over again.

“Arianna? Jackson? Where are you?” The creaking floorboards, created a slight bit of noise- otherwise the Duchy was silent. As if they were in a morgue.

******

Drake woke up, still ready to throttle Maxwell for his behaviour. Riley was on the toilet, ever since she had become pregnant again, she was forever in the bathroom- it became more of a bedroom to her.

Walking to the children’s rooms, he wanted to make sure that they were alright after they were both slightly spooked due to their irresponsible Uncle. Panic began to run through his veins- neither of the twins were in their room.

Heading towards the playroom, opening the door silently- he jumped out of his skin. Seeing the figure in front of him- the blonde hair, the now out of fashion clothes. He believed it was one of his daughters many pot dolls- Bertrand and Maxwell had made her fall in love with dolls, she was wrapped around their little fingers. Personally he couldn’t see the attraction, they slightly freaked him out. Shaking his head, he knew the twins wouldn’t play hide and seek at this time.

As he exited the room, the woman followed- holding a photo in one hand of the young prince who was now the King and an antique goblet in the other hand.

******

Arianna and Jackson ran through the Duchy, attempting to find their way with no light- their father had left them. They didn’t believe he was like their Uncle Max - a wind up merchant. He was usually protective, a marshmallow, he loved them- he wouldn’t let any harm come to them. Neither could breathe, it felt as if someone was choking them, blocking their airways. Their heartbeats were rapidly increasing- wishing their Dad would return to them and save them again. No one was there, they continued to run through the dark corridors as if their life depended on it- seeing figures in the shadows they just believed their imagination was playing tricks with them. It was Halloween after all.

“Kids there you are!” Drake looked furious but also relieved that they were safe. Pulling them both into a tight hug- he loved his children to the moon and back. His strong arms, always made them feel safe.

“You can sleep with us tonight. I will be having words with Uncle Max tomorrow!”

“You left us!” Jackson spat. Drake looked at his children bewildered.

“The door shut in the basement, and you helped us out daddy. Then you left us.” Cupping his daughters cheeks, he saw fear and disappointment in her baby blues.

“Baby, I haven’t been to the basement. I’ve been to both of your rooms and then the playroom. Your doll scared me Ari. Was that a trick for me? Or was Uncle Max up to his old tricks again? Because you surely made me jump.” Arianna and Jackson looked at each other confused, their breathing began to increase again.

“I don’t have any dolls in the playroom, Daddy.” She whimpered, beginning to shake. Drake explained that he was silly to forget that her dolls weren’t stored there anymore- even though he still believed they were. He was now as spooked as his two children but didn’t want to admit it- picking both his children up, he carried them to his bedroom holding them protectively. Riley looked concerned, as they all got into bed next to her. The two children snuggled in between their parents, and feel asleep immediately.

“Drake we need words with Max. He’s obviously scared them.” She kissed the two of them, then rubbed her growing bump.

“Ri, Valtoria is haunted.” Riley laughed uncontrollably, trying to control herself before needing to go to the toilet again. Her eyes fixated on his, she immediately saw fear in them- witnessing goosebumps form on his arms. Riley was now hoping that this was some kind of sick joke or prank that Maxwell had got him included in.

“Give up. You’re as bad as Max. Who could possibly haunt Valtoria?”

#theroyalromance #choices trr #riley brooks #drakewalker #maxwell beaumont #arianna walker #Jackson Jr Walker #trr why me #trr why me one shot

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