Okay Reddit strap in and hear me out, because this gonna be long…
As much as I appreciate James Gunns abilities to create interesting content I literally have no desire and don't understand why anyone else, would want to watch a Superman movie.
Superman is an uninteresting character at its core. Superman is only interesting when either deconstructed (see The Dark Knight Returns), lampooned (see Homelander and The Boys), or is being analyzed through another lens in something like Elseworlds (Red Sun).
The entire concept of Superman is quite frankly really stupid.
He's invulnerable, can only be beaten by a green rock, and literally has the ultimate plot armor of any comic book hero. Oftentimes, the interesting thing about Superman is again when he's being recreated like Mr Majestic in the Wildcats or I assume Sentry in the Avengers. I've never really read too many of those but I kind of get the gist that Sentry is supposed to be a Superman representative.
People's obsession with seeing and wanting to have a Superman movie makes zero sense to me. We've had multiple films made about Superman, and just to be clear, I am not a Snyder super fan. I do appreciate some of his work, and I also will never watch the second Rebel Moon movie because that first one was about the worst thing I've ever watched. Ok, if I get bored or there is enough booze I might.
To be clear, I'm not trying to gatekeep the intellectual property of Superman, I just think it's an idea that was invented in a much simpler time, and honestly is very stupid at this point. And don't even get me started on the Fantastic Four. Yes, it's got Pedro but I have no desire to watch a Fantastic Four movie either. This is yet another stupid 60’s comic book that quite frankly should have gone away a long time ago.
But, I digress.
The endless cry for a feel-good Superman movie that reflects his positive behavior is again unnecessary because the character is quite frankly stupid. There's nothing interesting about Superman. I'm sorry.
Well, sorry not sorry. From the DC slate of intellectual properties there are numerous other examples of amazingly more interesting characters to choose from. You have The Warlord, Arion, Lord of Atlantis, the Perez era run of the Teen Titans, or Batman and The Outsiders. There are dozens of better examples.
Let's not even get started on the numerous independent comics that could also be drawn upon. Like Baron and Rude’s Nexus, or the Badger, or a really good Cerebus movie. Or some of the better Image comics era of IP. Come on the Savage Dragon is great!
I mean really, it's disturbing that none of the Jim Starlin properties have made it to screen at this point, with the exception of Thanos. Give me a Dreadstar TV show ASAP!
But again, I digress. Superman is stupid, I'm sorry.
The only times he is interesting is when he is the MacGuffin of a story. Why are people so obsessed with seeing the boy scout in blue on the big screen?
I personally have no idea. And as much as I will probably watch the new Superman movie, I don't understand the obsession no matter the age, with a character that has quite frankly zero personality, and again has infinite plot armor.
I think that taking materials such as Peacemaker, we've seen James make an amazing inroad into offering up lesser known characters and making really great opportunities for storytelling around them.
So why do we have to suffer through yet another spandexed blue underwear character saving the world, when we know he's going to, and that's all we're ever going to get.
I get it, people love Superman. But you know what, I don't, and I don't see why people are so stupid.
There are dozens of better intellectual properties between DC, Marvel, and all the independent comics that come out for the last 30 years if not more. Can we please get these stories told? Why is it so hard to do things that are interesting and better?
I think one of the greatest examples is the Daredevil Netflix show and the upcoming extension of it. Here is a lesser known character that is super interesting that has ultimately become a part of our zeitgeist and part of the mass media, because it's a great story to tell. You can knock all the lesser Netflix marvel TV shows, yes we're looking at you Iron Fist. But collectively, these are some of the best storytelling we've seen to date.
What is the endless draw again for the boy scout? Nobody cares.
Okay so I don't care.
DC has a multitude of properties to choose from. I was never the biggest Lobo fan, but I know that people would love to see those stories told. What about the Legion of Superheroes, what about smaller lesser known superheroes and/or villains like Peacemaker? Oh wait, that worked…
Let's face facts, DC's intellectual property is much weaker than Marvel’s, and in my opinion is much weaker than the independent comics that can be drawn upon to create films and television shows from.
I think James's ultimate folly here is focusing on the big blue, because it's supposedly what “people want*, and not focusing on the more interesting stories that DC has provided us over the years.
Look, to date some of the best Marvel content has come in the form of things like Logan, Deadpool and the Netflix TV shows. This is why the showrunners and creators have leveraged the core storytelling elements to really tell interesting stories about things are passionate about.
Who in their right mind is passionate about Superman? Not me. Not my kids. It ultimately feels like somehow it's an expectation to fulfill some boomers dream about telling the Superman story on the big screen. And you know what, boomers are pretty freaking stupid.
So, am I the 10th dentist or am I right?
Either way I don't care just to be clear. But I'd like us to move past us needing to go through the golden, and then the silver, and then the modern age of comics to get to the good stuff because you know what there's so much more good stuff that isn't a guy who flies around in blue spandex with a red cape,
She said no capes for a reason…

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Batman's skills have always fluctuated depending on the stories he is in. For example, in some stories he struggles in a one on one fight against Ra's al Ghul, yet in other stories you have him holding his own against Darkseid. The former usually happens in Batman stories while the latter usually happens in Justice League stories. This has created the phenomenon known as Batgod where Batman is written to be the smartest and most competent hero who can beat any opponent with enough prep time in Justice League books.
This is because Batman is a prominent member of the Justice League as well as DC's Trinity so writers often have to dramatically increase his skill level in JLA stories in order for him to make meaningfully contribute to the team. At the same time the writers also want him to be a street level hero who struggles taking down someone with no powers like the Joker. Of course Batman is DC's most popular character so it makes sense for writers to make him a member of their most well known superhero team and deal with villains and events that threaten the world, universe or multiverse.
Spider-Man on the other has never gotten this treatment despite being arguably Marvel's most popular character. Now he does play a role in major events that threaten the world but he is rarely portrayed as a linchpin member who does significant damage to the villain. This could be because Marvel wants to maintain his underdog image so having him easily take on Galactus yet struggle against the Vulture breaks that image. They also remember that he is a street level hero first so it doesn't make sense for him to deal with these threats on a constant basis when there are other heroes more equipped to handle them like the Avengers, Fantastic Four and the X-Men.
DC on the other hand wants batman to be a street level hero who has trouble stopping Two-Face and the Riddler, yet when an alien threat shows up he busts out some high-tech gear or power-suit that is never in his own stories. This leads to Batman's skill level fluctuating wildly across comics while Spider-Man mostly stays consistent.

Boys: Justin, Ripper, Topher
Girls: Anne Maria, Jasmine, MK
Episode 19: The Princess Pride
"Last time, on Total Drama Action! Just when the cast thought they were safe, I swung in to surprise – I mean, antagonize them."
"The cast were forced to use their creative sides while showing off their back sides. As they made superhero costumes out of spandex. And...some other junk. Nice tights!"
"Of course, they were foiled by the diabolical Pythonicus, evil alter-ego of the villainous Chef!"
"In a fight against evil, the cast proved they could be heroes. And also, loooseerrss!"
"In the end, the most diabolical of them all was MK, who twisted things in order to get Chase eliminated."
The recap footage ended, and the scene flashed to the control tent where Chris was waiting with a smile. "Will the Gaffer alliance recover from Chase being gone? Will Anne Maria and Topher keep going out?" he pressed a button on the keyboard to his side, causing a picture of the couple to appear on one of the screens behind him.
"Maybe you'll find out right now?" he shrugged impishly as the scene changed again and he walked towards the cast trailers. "Maybe you won't? On another, totally dramatic episode of," he stopped in his tracks and the camera zoomed out with each further word, "Total! Drama! Action!"
(Theme Song)
The episode began with, of all things, a close-up of some brown and beany mush plopping onto a plate. The camera panned up to reveal its source as burrito beans in the hands of Jasmine being put together. Shots of Ripper, MK, and Justin also showed them making burritos as well.
The camera zoomed out to show the four constructing burritos on the table next to the tent's entrance while Topher and Anne Maria were at the other table, the former overseeing the quartet as he stood on the table and the latter simply applying lipstick to her lips.
“Ten more seconds, guys! The biggest burrito wins!” Topher declared and looked at Anne Maria. “Do you think I'd make a good reality show host?”
Anne Maria put her lipstick away. “Can you excuse me? I'm working on my facial features,” she said.
“But you already worked on yourself in the morning,” Topher said.
“You'd do the same if your hair was lookin’ messy,” Anne Maria retorted.
“Touché,” Topher pulled back.
“And time is up, folks!” MK informed everybody with her watch.
"Ripper, what do you got?” Topher asked the burly boy.
“Allow me to demonstrate my beefcake burrito!” Ripper held up his plate - his burrito has no wrapping and simply consisted of beef shaped into a cake. “I actually managed to make a cake out of beef.”
“How interesting,” Topher observed after getting off the table. “Jasmine, how about you?”
“These are my twin burritos!” Jasmine said with a plate that had two burritos tied together with an elastic rubber band.
“You actually wrapped your burritos?” Topher inspected heavily.
“Of course I did,” Jasmine nodded. “Twins are sometimes inseparable, and it's a good thing that these burritos aren't Siamese, otherwise they would have tried to eat one another.”
Topher laughed at her quip. “Points for that quip,” he said and made his way over to MK. “MK, how did you manage to make your burrito?”
“I am proud to present the MK Whopper!” MK took her burrito out from under the table and presented it - the burrito was shaped to look like MK with the beans as the body, wrap pieces as the hat and clothes, a sliced piece of tomato as the mouth, and pieces of beef as the eyes.
“The burrito is self-serving, but quality effort regardless,” Jasmine commented.
“Quality? Check out the guns on these beans,” Justin objected as his leitmotif played and he whipped out his burrito shaped to look like a flexing bicep. He even flexed his own bicep and moved his eyebrow in order to impress the contestants, but they were unfazed. “Nothing. You feel nothing?”
“Nope,” Jasmine shook her head.
“I was never once into you, Justin,” MK added as well.
“Man, this scratched schnoz has destroyed my looks and my life!” Justin moped. “Why?”
“MK, your self-art and ego is unsurprising, but you did make the biggest and best burrito, so you win,” Topher told her.
“This isn't right,” Justin protested and was now out of his seat. “I demand a second neutral opinion.”
“I'm no doctor or anything, but we all have reality-show-itis, and it's making us turn things into a challenge,” Anne Maria spoke up.
“I'm not sure if that's a thing, but I can't help myself when this day is bland and boring,” Topher said.
Confessional: Justin
“When my good looks went, so did my winning edge,” Justin told the viewers. “But some people are still managing to kick butt, and they're not nearly as good looking as I am!” He paused to think about what he said. “Okay, as I was.”
Confessional Ends
Justin was now sitting next to Anne Maria. “You know, you're the only one taking the game seriously. I just wish I knew how you did it all. It's so inspirational.”
“I'm just playing the game the best I know how,” Anne Maria said. “And it's not by sabotage like Scott did to me.”
“Scott also sabotaged my chances in the game as well,” Justin continued. “Hey, we have something in common.”
“Yeah we do, now go away,” Anne Maria ordered. “I don't know if they'll be a challenge, and I'd like to relax in peace.”
A few off-camera footsteps gave everyone pause, and they looked towards the room's entrance as the shot moved to a side-view of the room. Chef Hatchet had entered wearing a faded purple Medieval-styled costume, complete with a simple horn bearing a flag marked with a simple black-and-purple shield.
He blew a few awkward notes, then the camera moved in for a close-up as he made an announcement. "Hear ye, and rise! For Sir Chris!"
"Sir?!" Jasmine repeated with disbelief. "This Bruce's ego is fussing me to heaps!"
The shot moved back out to show Chris McLean riding atop the same decrepit-looking horse that had been used for a much earlier episode. He was wearing a knight's helmet and holding what looked to be a boot made of glass, and dismounted once Chef laid out a small rug for him to stand on.
"Hold on," Topher said slowly. "Glass slipper. Medieval stuff. This must be a Fairy Tale theme!"
"Topher," Chris said with stern annoyance, "if you ever steal my intro again, I'll have to personally boot you off the show."
"Hey, you can't do that!" Topher protested. "You brought me onto this show!"
"This boot," Chris said happily, "will determine the Princess for today's Fairy Tale movie challenge! The rest of you," he added as the camera panned across the tent from right to left, "compete for the honor of rescuing the fair Princess."
Anne Maria immediately raised her hand eagerly. "I wanna be the Princess!"
"I said the fair Princess," Chris repeated. "And what we think is fair is that the candidates be the ladies who haven't had a win since the merge: MK," he looked at the unamused techno, "and Jasmine." The focus moved to the Outback girl, who merely raised an eyebrow.
Confessional: Jasmine
"Okay, I am not Princess material," Jasmine said in the make-up confessional. "Not only am I too tall to fit the role, but I'm not really interested in fairy tales."
Confessional Ends
A short drumroll preceded an even shorter chanted note as MK and Jasmine approached the end of the table closest to the tent entrance.
"Yeah, there's no way that I'm gonna be some Princess, McLean!" MK barked at the host who was standing nearby with the glass boot still in his hand. "And don't even try to jam that boot on my foot."
"Okay," Chris said slowly, "that's a no for MK. Jasmine, you're up."
"Well, I'm not fond of fairy tales," Jasmine said, "but I might as well."
"Hold on there, Thunder from Down Under," Chris told her. "You have to put the boot on first. Make sure you're actually Princess material."
Jasmine frowned. "Okay then." She sat on the end of the table, slipped off one of her shoes, and tried to force it on.
The host and other castmates watched as she grunted and began to sweat, trying to get the boot onto her foot. Eventually, she let out a disappointed breath and held the boot back up. "It's no use," Jasmine told the host. "I can't get it on, and even then, it would shatter to pieces."
"Well," Chris said blankly, "guess that's both candidates out, unless MK changes her mind."
MK just glared at him. "Not a chance."
Anne Maria immediately grinned. "Yo Chris!"
"Looks like we have to do another selection method," Chris grabbed the glass boot and began to turn, only for Anne Maria to dart forward and snatch the footwear away from him.
Anne Maria swiftly tossed aside one of her heels and replaced it with the glass boot. "There," she said with a smile, raising her leg to show the boot glimmering on the end of it, "I always knew that I was meant to be royalty!"
"Fine, Anne Maria can be the Princess," Chris said heavily. "Let's just get this over with. Chef?" he looked back over his shoulder, and the shot pulled back to show the hulking man arriving back on the scene. He had changed into a pale blue ballerina's outfit, and had strapped a pair of fake wings to his back that, along with the glittering 'wand' in his hand, gave him the appearance of a fairy godmother.
"I dub thee, Princess Anne Maria," Chef said shortly as a touching song played, waving the wand above the grinning girl's head and releasing a cloud of sparkling dust that nearly choked Topher, Ripper, and Justin.
Confessional: MK
"Anne Maria as the Princess?" MK told the confessional camera with a snort and a laugh. "I wouldn't want to be in that Fairy Tale. Along with any others out there."
Confessional Ends
A harp played in the background as an image of Chris' head and a large hardcover book appeared on screen in front of a yellowish stock background. "It's story time, with uncle Chris," the host's disembodied head said before the scene flashed to him seated in a large purple armchair with the same book in hand. His left hand was on a joystick built into the arm of the chair, and he seemed to be slowly rolling through the set.
"Once upon a time," he began slowly, the camera pulling back to show the host rolling up to the contestants minus Anne Maria on a wheeled platform, his chair joined by a matching footstool, pedestal side table, and even a fireplace. "Five brave knights went on a quest to rescue a Princess from her ivory tower." He pulled back on the joystick, and the platform came to a stop. "But, it wasn't gonna be easy! First," he looked at the staircase behind him, "the knights had to get past my very good friend," the shot quick-panned up and left to Chef, now dressed in a tattered vest and trousers with a long moss-green wig and beard, "the Terrible Toothless Troll!" The shot zoomed in on Chef as he quickly blackened a few of his front teeth with a sharpie. "And, his Bad Breaks Bridge!"
The camera zoomed out even further as a few ominous chants played in the background, showing a large mountainous set featuring a rickety rope bridge over a treacherous and craggy fake waterfall. The contestants gulped.
"To get past the Terrible Toothless Troll," Chris read on, "the knights had to wear disguises! There was the Frog Prince," he grabbed a vaguely frog-like great helm from behind his chair and tossed it to Justin, "and the Ugly Stepsister," he tossed a large wig of wavy red hair in a tall bun to MK. "Snow White," he tossed a pink sleep mask to Jasmine, "and one of her Seven Dwarves," he followed that up by throwing a tall wizard's hat patterned with stars, moons, and lightning bolts to Topher. "Aaand," the host finished by pulling out a bright red hooded cape, "Little Red Riding Hood."
He tossed it to Ripper, who raised an eyebrow as he caught it. "Seriously? Can't I just be Riding Red?"
"No dice dude. That's what it says in the script," Chris told him as an unseen intern delivered a plate of milk and cookies to the host's side table. He turned and grabbed one, saying "Good work, kid," before continuing his monologue. "And so, the Ugly approached the Terrible Troll."
"I can't see in this thing!" MK said.
"Oh yeah," Chris said to a dramatic rise in the background music, "for this challenge, each knight is blind." The five teens immediately began to protest, causing the host to snap at them. "Nowhere in this story does it say 'the cowardly knights complained'!" he told the cast with a brief glance at his book. "So get it together, steppy, and get crossing!"
The footage skipped ahead to show MK slowly inching her way across the bridge while holding on to one of the rope rails. "This ain't too bad," she said to herself. She was hit by several red apples in rapid succession, causing her to yelp in pain.
"Oh, also," Chris said as the shot cut back to him, "those are Wicked Witch's apples, so, they're poisonous and rotten. You might wanna watch..."
He stopped talking as the shot cut back to MK slipping on one of the apples and fell off the bridge to the rocky set below. The camera followed as she fell and bounced off of several outcroppings before landing onto the hard ground. The shot cut briefly to the other contestants as they winced in pain before cutting back to the techno girl lying awkwardly on the ground with an apple in her mouth.
"Well, looks like MK isn't fairy tale hero material," Chris commented, dunking one of his cookies into his glass of milk. The short girl writhed in pain.
Confessional: MK
MK had on a neck brace and bandages around her head and torso, "I'm having trouble remembering what happened after the fall. Does that mean I have a concussion?"
Confessional Ends
A harp was played as the footage cut back to the other contestants standing at the start of the bridge. "Next, the eighth dwarf," Chris said as he moved his platform around towards the far staircase. "He grabbed a fistful of courage and headed across the bridge."
Topher glanced over at Chef. The man had hunched over, and was slapping a cat o' nine tails against his hand with a wild grin. He took a deep breath, put on the wizard’s hat over his eyes, and charged forward with a battle cry. Chef raised his eyebrows and rushed out to stop him, but he jumped onto a rope rail and ran through it until he was past Chef.
"Did I make it?" Topher asked, having reached the other side.
Confessional: Topher
"Poise classes have taught me to always be aware of my surroundings, whether I’m blindfolded or not," Topher grinned. "And with Anne Maria as the Princess, I’m not botching this one."
Confessional Ends
The footage skipped ahead to Jasmine's attempt, the sleeping mask already over her eyes and her hands firmly on the ropes of the bridge as she walked forward at a steady pace. Chef squeezed a mother goose, launching a golden egg out of its rear like a bullet. It shot past the girl's shoulder. "What was that?" Jasmine asked as she moved her head to track it. A second egg hit her square in the chest, knocking her back a step and putting a grin on Chef's face.
Jasmine frowned for a moment, then took a cautious step that was apparently at the bridge's weak point. The camera zoomed in on the bridge as it rippled, knocking loose every plank all the way to Chef. With a gasp and a scream, the troll and his goose fell, and the scene cut to him as he grabbed something behind his back. "They don't pay me enough for this!" Chef yelled, pulling the cord of a hidden parachute and floating down safely.
Jasmine was unaware of the danger and took one more step, expectedly screaming and falling. The camera cut to Chris as he followed the Amazon girl's fall and winced at the sound of an impact. "Awesome!" he cheered. "You’re up, froggy." The scene cut to the start of the bridge where Justin stood. "Then Captain Hood after that."
Justin put on his helmet. "At least my face will be protected from further indignity," he said as he slowly moved towards the bridge. He walked right shoulder into one of the posts holding up the bridge.
Ripper laughed. "Tough break, pretty boy," he jeered. "Go a little to the right." The eye candy followed the advice and walked into the other pole, causing Ripper to laugh. "Sorry man!" the bully called before laughing again.
Chef was shown running past the center of the bridge with an ax raised and ready to strike, while Justin stayed at the bridge completely oblivious. Ripper laughed once more and pushed the model into the cook. "Let me give you a hand," he said as he did so. Chef brought his ax down and hit the hot boy's helmet, causing the eyes to spin comically and Ripper to laugh once more.
Confessional: Justin
“There I was, down dirty, and deafened,” Justin recapped his failure. “And I thought "W.W.A.M.D.": What would Anne Maria do? And then it came to me! She'd use her head.”
Confessional Ends
With a battle cry, Justin rushed the cook with his helmet and ran him over, safely making it to the other side. "Justin's still got it!" Chris said as the camera cut to him. "All right, the final knight attempting to enter Fairy Tale Land is," the shot cut to Ripper as he tied a blindfold over his eyes and faced away from the camera, "Riding Red! We're over this way!"
"My seeing is good," Ripper said as he turned around. The camera cut to his perspective to show that he could actually see Chef putting on a blonde pigtailed wig. "I'm able to see Chef as a female troll! Hilarious!"
"Rapunzel dude, let down your hair!" Chris called, and Chef lengthened one of the pigtails and began swinging it around. He cracked it like a whip at the bully, who dodged it.
The camera cut to Justin watching Ripper avoid every attack. "Hey! He can see!" he cried.
"How?" Chris asked sarcastically. "With his X-ray vision? That'd be cool."
Chef attacked one last time, but Ripper grabbed onto the pigtail and swung across to safety with a whoop.
The footage skipped ahead to a close-up of Chris's book as he began to narrate once again. "And so, the Terrible Toothless Troll knocked off two losers," the shot pulled back to show Jasmine, wearing a leg cast and her right arm in a sling, and MK sitting on the ground nearby. "But," the camera panned over to Justin, Ripper, and Topher on the right, "three semi-brave knights made it to the other side and continued on their noble quest. Whereupon I, in my wisdom, inspired them with a vision of Princess Anne Maria."
The shot pulled back even further, revealing that the group had assembled in front of a small stage with a pink-tinted backdrop depicting a large white castle off in distant hillsides. A slow piano melody began to play as Anne Maria, now dressed in a regal-looking pink gown and tiara, was lowered onto the stage by a few wires.
"When I was a little girl, I'd dream of my first kiss," Anne Maria began to sing in a rather mediocre voice the moment she hit the stage and the wired harness was reeled back up. "It would come from my perfect prince!" A number of tiny birds and chipmunks gathered around her, the birds even landing on her hands. "And in my dream, it went like this!"
The scene immediately cut to the three remaining knights as they watched the performance. Justin and Topher were both stunned by her display, while Ripper couldn't care less.
“She's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” Justin said.
Definitely,” Topher chimed in.
“I must've been so busy seeing her as a potential alliance member and extra vote that I didn't see her outer beauty. Wow,” Justin continued in amazement. “We'll be the best looking couple in the kingdom!”
The music came to a halt as Topher and Ripper were surprised by what just came out of Justin's mouth.
“Excuse me, but I am still dating her!” Topher objected heavily.
“And there's no way she'll ever be into you,” Ripper told Justin.
“I saw you cheat, Ripper,” Justin let him know. “You don't deserve to be anybody's prince.”
“And who died and made you the rule master?” Ripper faced the handsome boy threateningly.
"Guys, guys!" Chris said, stepping forward and getting between the boys. "No need to fight! At least not until after this break," he declared happily. "Will Ripper inflict any deformities on Justin? Or will Justin's ripped physique bring two tons of hurt down on Topher's head? Find out when we come back!"
(Commercial Break)
The footage came back to a distance shot of the stage Anne Maria was still singing on, her music resuming as the shot cut closer.
"My prince will be tall and handsome," she sang, the camera panning down to catch Justin standing straight and proud. "My prince will be tough as nails," Ripper flexed his biceps and then lifted a startled Topher over his head.
"My prince will have lots of money," Anne Maria continued, the camera moving back on her as she showered the stage with a wad of cash. "My prince will tame wild whales!" She flexed her own arms, Chris nodded to the beat, and the shot cut to Topher looking at a small and rather disoriented baleen whale on the floor in confusion.
The shot panned down to Jasmine and MK who were watching the performance with boredom on their faces.
"How are you feeling about the whole Fairy Tale thing?" Jasmine asked MK.
"Couldn't care less," MK answered bluntly. "I just don't know why we have to keep watching though."
A close-up was shown of Anne Maria reaching for a wary-eyed frog in a small crown, the Jersey girl pulling it closer to her as she finished her song. "When we kiss~, my prince will be you~!" As the music ended, she held up the frog and kissed it on the lips, but broke almost immediately in a fit of revulsion.
Anne Maria threw the frog away from her, and it landed on Justin's face. "Warts! Get it off!" he cried out as he ran around trying to get the frog out.
"Wasn't that song brilliant?" Chris asked as the focus moved back to him, Jasmine, and MK. "It was so brilliant, I know everyone wishes they could hear it over, and over, and over again! And now they can." He snapped his fingers, and a CD case bearing Princess Anne Maria's picture on the cover was placed in his waiting hand.
"Relive the magic of Anne Maria for only $12.99," he told the camera as a deep and theatrical tune began to play. "Call 555-SELLOUT to get your authentic Princess Anne Maria CD," he added as the camera zoomed in on the case, "before everyone else downloads it illegally!"
"I'll take one!" Topher quickly begged, earning him a CD. "This will be worth spending thirteen dollars of my money."
Confessional: Topher
"My prince will buy me lots of hot dogs! My prince will love ponies too!" Topher was listening to the CD through headphones as his confessional began. "Her singing isn't the best, but I do want to support her," he told the camera.
Confessional Ends
"After risking my life for you, I have come to realize this!" Justin said as he approached the stage. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. And the smartest. What are the odds?"
He offered his hand to Anne Maria, but she didn't take it. "Thanks for telling me what I already know!"
"Uhh, aren't you going to compliment me on my bravery?" Justin asked.
"Nah! Princesses are supposed to be complimented in my world,” Anne Maria said, to Justin's disappointment. “It's not their job to give them out to anyone, but for me, I'll make an exception for Topher, the handsomest knight around!”
The camera moved to Ripper rolling her eyes and Topher smiling. “And you are the most beautiful princess around!” Topher complimented back before a sound caught the attention of both. They turned their heads at once and the scene followed their gaze over to Chef, still in his troll costume but now riding the same fly-ridden horse from earlier in the episode.
"How has that horse not died yet?" MK commented. "It can't be in good condition after all their time being used on this show."
"Just because it's a little old, doesn't mean it's not fighting for their life," Jasmine told her.
Anne Maria hopped onto the horse's back while Ripper and Topher came over. “Are we supposed to catch him?" Topher asked.
"No, it's a classic princess abduction," Chris explained calmly. "As the villain makes a whirlwind getaway on a swift steed."
Chef kicked the horse with his feet, but it didn't react. "Guess ol' Betsy here didn't read the script," he said gruffly.
"Kick harder," Chris commanded, and Chef promptly complied. A stronger kick caused the horse to kick backwards, hitting Justin – who had been standing closest - right in the face.
"That did it," Chef said as Justin was shown to have a few teeth knocked out and a bruised right eye.
"So, that's how the three knight dudes lost the Princess," Chris narrated, "But fate, aka me, wasn't finished with them." Chef and Anne Maria rode off behind him. "They followed the troll all the way to a fight to the death, because that's how I like my princesses saved."
"Sir Topher!" Anne Maria called out playfully as she was slowly abducted. "You better be the one who rescues me!"
"These two haven't even got a chance!" Topher replied arrogantly.
"As good luck, I'll give you my favor to carry into the battle!" Anne Maria tossed the glass boot, but it unintentionally hit Justin in the face.
Confessional: Justin
Justin was having his bruises covered up by make-up brushes from two unknown people while the glass boot was on the table.
“Falling for Anne Maria has been hard on the face. I think we'll have a no glass shoes policy if we start dating soon,” Justin informed and put the boot away. “I have no idea what Chase and Millie's policies are, but they're probably less dignified.”
Confessional Ends
The footage cut forward to a close-up of the old horse chewing on some hay before the camera panned over to a small castle archway propped up against a tower of some sort. "Sir Justin, Sir Topher, and Sir Ripper reached the ivory tower in which the troll had stuck the super tanned princess," Chris read as the three remaining competitors walked into the scene and he followed on his rolling platform. The shot panned up the towers, where several other pieces of crenelated wall had been attached here and there, and at the very top there was a pinkish spire and balcony where Princess Anne Maria waited.
"But there was only one way to rescue her," the host continued with a grin on his face and tense music building in the background. "One of the brave knights had to slay the dragon!"
"Dragon?!" Jasmine asked in alarm. "Tell me you didn't get a real dragon for this!"
"Seeing as dragons don't exist," MK told her, "I find that highly unlikely."
"She's right," Chris said as the music switched to something more ominously lurking. "We're reusing the alien monster guy."
Seconds later, a few tremendous mechanical footsteps were heard. MK and Jasmine looked to stage right and the camera pulled back, showing off the animatronic monster in all its glory. Chef was wearing the motion capture suit that controlled it, and it had been given a hood with horns, a scraggly 'beard', and two tiny wings in order to make it look more draconic. Chef raised his arms menacingly, and the monster echoed the pose and growled.
"Let the dragon slaying begin!" Chris announced, pulling out a trio of wooden swords and throwing them to the knights. Ripper caught the shortest, Topher the most slender, and Justin the broadest, and the three turned to face the tower and dragon.
"I'm counting on you, Sir Topher!" Anne Maria called from above, smiling at the fanboy and blowing him a kiss. He accepted it with a grin, and Anne Maria turned her attention to the other two knights and frowned. "As for you two, you'll need all the luck you can get."
"Yeah, cause I'll be the one who's going to slay today!" Topher boasted before turning and charging at the dragon.
"Not so fast," Justin charged at Topher and the two clashed their swords into each other's, only breaking when they noticed a foot-shaped shadow fall upon them. They rolled out of the way before the monster stomped them, and the camera panned over to Justin landing next to Ripper.
“You want Topher to win?” Justin faced Ripper.
“Like I care which one of you wins,” Ripper scoffed.
“Then help me take him down and I'll let you win,” Justin offered.
Ripper thought about it, and the viewpoint moved over to Chef guiding the monster in stomping and snapping at Topher. He was able to strike the dragon's head with his sword. “You are not going to stop me from rescuing Anne Maria!” the fanboy told the dragon.
“Just get them both chasing you,” Ripper suggested.
“And why?” Justin asked.
“Do you want to stop that monster or not?” Ripper glared. “Just do it!”
Justin sighed but complied, and both Topher and the Chef-controlled monster made moves to chase after him while Ripper watched from the sidelines.
“Are you going to fight me or run away from me?!” Topher asked with a taunt.
“Justin, you're going to stop running in 3…2…1!” Ripper ordered, and Justin paused his dash.
Topher also stopped chasing him as well, and the dragon, who was still trying to chase the others, caught its foot on Topher and somehow tripped. It flailed its arms humorously before crashing to the ground.
"A job well done," Ripper said as he ran over to the large red button on the side of the beast's neck. “Now to claim my second immunity win in a row!” he said as he readied his sword to finish it off, but Justin came up to push him off the dragon and onto the floor.
"Sorry Ripper," Justin told him. "If Izzy was the prize, I'm sure you'd do the same thing." He plunged his sword into the dragon's neck, causing it to fizzle and short out. "Anne Maria," he dramatically called out, "your prince is coming."
"Some prince," Ripper mocked.
The camera panned to the right to show Chris' moving platform as he arrived with Jasmine and MK in tow.
"Wanna rescue Princess Anne Maria too?" he asked the camera. "Now you can, for only $79.95!" he pulled out a pink-and-yellow striped box and held it up for the camera, a vaguely Anne Maria-shaped doll barely visible inside. "Order your very own Princess Anne Maria Limited Edition Glass Boot Doll! Playing with the Anne Maria doll is more fun and less dangerous than playing with the real Anne Maria. Guaranteed!" He finished with a cheesy grin.
The scene cut to the top of the ivory tower as Justin climbed up to the balcony where Anne Maria waited. "I have arrived!" Justin announced.
"Not the guy I was expecting, but a reward is a reward," Anne Maria grumbled and the two moved in for a kiss.
"Wait, wait, there's no kissing!" Chris interrupted the two from his chair.
“What?” Justin felt confused.
“Oh yeah!” Topher cheered from under the dragon.
"It says here that Prince Justin and Princess Anne Maria must sword fight to determine the true winner!" Chris explained while reading off his book.
"Which means I still have a chance at winning immunity?" Anne Maria asked quickly.
"You're much smarter than most princesses," Chris replied.
"Usually, most fairy tales end with a kiss," Jasmine said.
"Well, this is a modern tale," Chris explained. "Gals have to fight for themselves."
“You can say that again,” MK agreed.
“If that's how it has to be-” Anne Maria said.
“No,” Justin cut her off, now kneeling on one leg. “I am a noble gentleman. A brave knight. A handsome prince. I would never hurt a lady.”
“But you would hurt a guy working with you,” Ripper interjected after getting up on his feet.
“I said I was sorry, Ripper,” Justin told him with annoyance and focused back on Anne Maria. “I refuse to raise a sword to Anne Maria.” Anne Maria took the sword from him. “I give up any chance at immunity to spare her. And now…”
Justin puckered his lips and moved close, only for his eyes to widen. The camera pulled back to show the hilt of the sword buried in his crotch.
“Not sorry! I'm already taken!" Anne Maria declared before pushing Justin off.
Justin fell with a scream until he hit one of the 'towers' on his cheek. He kept on hitting one tower after another until he hit the ground on his back in severe pain. “I'm okay!”
The camera panned over to Chris and the other losers. "Anne Maria wins immunity! Again!" the host announced.
"Yes!" Anne Maria cheered.
The opening sequence of the Gilded Chris Ceremony came and went, leaving the scene focused on the tux-wearing host at his podium. "So," Chris began with an award already in his hand, "with immunity, Anne Maria is the first to win a Gilded Chris." He tossed the statuette to the girl, sitting on the left side of the bleachers, and she caught it with a smug grin.
"Immunity and my own dolls? How much better can this day get?" Anne Maria said.
"Well, it's not like you're getting the profits from the Princess Anne Maria line," Chris said plainly.
Anne Maria's eyes popped open in shock. "Uh, what?!" she said in outrage. “It's my line!”
“I’m saying that you're not going to get the profits because they’ll be sent over to your family for safekeeping, along with a Princess Anne Maria doll,” Chris explained. “I don't want any of my interns or producers to take what's rightfully yours. Lawsuits and all.”
“Oh!” Anne Maria said in relief. “I'm relieved, but I'm also upset that you made me act like an idiot!”
"Then you should have let me finish! Also still in the competish," Chris announced with another two awards in his hand, "MK and Jasmine." The former caught her prize in her lap with a confident grin, and the latter with a happy smile.
"And also Ripper," the host continued, the camera panning to the bully who smiled as he caught his award.
Spotlights were put on Justin and Topher, the former in a body cast. "Who will live happily ever after, and who will die penniless," Chris said as the music built dramatically. "And the last Gilded Chris goes to… Justin!"
"What?!" Anne Maria stood up. "You have to be joking! Justin should be going home!"
"Yeah, you're right. I was just kidding," Chris said. "Justin's actually the one who's been eliminated."
Topher caught his award. “I knew I would be safe.”
Confessional: Topher
“I told everybody to vote off Justin,” Topher confirmed. “He tried to move in on my girlfriend, and him getting booted would serve him right. The best part is, everybody was on board with it and I didn’t even have to try and convince them.”
Confessional Ends
Justin got up and started to head to the red carpet, but stopped to look at the contestants. “So is no one even going to miss me?”
“I never liked you,” MK shrugged.
“See ya,” Ripper said apathetically. “Get better soon, or sometime.”
“Okay, stop already! I'm going! But you'll regret it,” Justin told them and walked to the red carpet. Before getting into the limousine, he gave one last look to the remaining players. “With me gone, this competition just got eighty percent less handsome.” The eye candy turned around, only to hit his head on the roof. “All right, seventy-nine!” he groaned.
The footage paused there, and the camera pulled back to show it on one of the monitors in the control tent. Chris was sitting in his chair playing with a couple of Princess Anne Maria dolls, a few more scattered on the nearby desk.
"I know what I told Anne Maria, but marketing says that our target audience is too old for dolls," Chris told the camera as the footage on the monitor cut to static. "They're just not selling!" He looked to the side, and the camera panned to follow and show Chef playing with a group of Princess Anne Maria dolls dressed up as soldiers.
"Princesses, attack!" he said with a dark grin, lighting a miniature cannon with a match as the deeper and more dramatic ending theme began to play. The cannon fired with a puff, blowing the heads off two of the dolls.
Chris gave him an odd look, then turned back to the camera. "Hey target audience! Make sure you don't miss the next kiss-filled episode of Total! Drama! Action!" As soon as he finished saying the title, he mashed the mouths of the two dolls he was holding together and made kissing sounds. "Now you see, Chef," he told his companion, "that's how you play with dolls."
(Roll the Credits)
(Bonus Clip)
The scene opened to Justin sitting on the back seat of the limousine with the glass boot in hand. “What I've learned? Well, maybe that good looks won't take you everywhere you want to go,” he said wisely. “I mean, what have I ended up with? A wounded face, a bruised ego, and a shoe that I can't even wear. Maybe if I stopped modeling and threw all my energy into getting smarter, more girls could fall in love with me,” he thought. “But modeling pays. And Jesús, my booker, says that even with my severe facial wounds, he can get me a bunch of leg modeling and some celebrity kid's birthday party. So, love schmove.” He threw the glass boot out the window, and a shattering sound indicated that the boot was destroyed.
Eva - 15th
Geoff - 15th
Izzy - RETURNED
Trent - 13th
Sky - 12th
Brick - 11th
Scott - 10th
Izzy - 9th
Millie - 8th
MERGE
Chase - 7th
Justin - 6th
Boys: Ripper, Topher
Girls: Anne Maria, Jasmine, MK

As I sat in my dimly lit room, squinting at the piles of coding books across the desk, I had a sudden epiphany. Truth is, it felt more like a 'eureka' rather than an 'ah-ha' moment. I realized I had discovered a secret lever to catapult my mundane tech journey into something more interesting. This secret weapon was Cognitive Load.
Now, before you think I've turned into a neuroscience expert overnight, let me backtrack. I am just your average Joe trying to make my mark in the tech world.
There I was, an overworked developer with no girlfriend, no social life, and an ever-growing backlog of work. I'd find myself staring at the screen for hours only to end up with a minor headache and few lines of mediocre code. It was unsatisfactory, to say the least.
Flash-forward to the life-changing eureka moment. Cognitive Load, in layman's terms, is the total amount of mental effort utilized in the working memory. The idea of cognitive load isn't new, but I realized I was doing nothing to manage it efficiently. So, I changed my strategy.
I began by dividing my tasks into manageable chunks and focused on one thing at a time, reducing the extraneous load. No more flipping between tabs, trying to conquer the world all at once.
Next, I started utilizing schemas. These are mental structures we form to organize and interpret information. Like, the model I applied that reminds me of the logical flow of code that needs to be executed. Trust me, it worked like a charm!
And then came automation. You see, the brain likes to take the path of least resistance, so I started automating repetitive tasks. This reduced the germane load and gave me a more streamlined approach.
With these practices, not only did my productivity get a boost, but I also had more mental bandwidth to solve complex problems. Oh, and I finally got to ask out that cute barista from the coffee shop downstairs.
In a nutshell, cognitive load is like your mental backpack. If it's too heavy, you'll be slow and unproductive. But if you manage it right, you'll be sprinting around like Usain Bolt, outperforming everyone else.
P.S. No, I am not currently dating any cute barista nor is my room dimly lit (I got led lights to keep things peppy). This is a hypothetical scenario to illustrate the magic of cognitive load in technology. So, hug your cognitive backpack, folks. Wield it like your secret superhero tool. Happy coding!

I've read a few cultivation novel's here and there and I've found some sub genres. (Although some of them are more like clones) I've been thinking of making a list out of them so next time I'll be looking for new recommendations it'll be easier. After reading clones of the same book you get bored of it.
Let's start with the first one and probably the worst one as well -
The standard - Some dude usually in a bad situation get's a power(be it an item bloodline or a system) and starts a journey of cultivation, but most of the time he just joins a sect and problems occur all around. Filled with face slapping and brainless arrogant young masters.
(There is like a million of these out there)
Having dominion over a place - Dude get's a system with a specific purpose which is tied to a place. Examples: internet cafe in the Black tech internet cafe system, inn in The Innkeeer, and others with restaurants or wine stores or pet shops I can't remember names.
(I've read a bunch of these some are good)
Being a teacher - most famous one I'd reckon is Heavens Path Library. But there are a bunch of these as well. I've read one that was like a clone of this. I've read some where the MC is a sect master with sometimes good sometimes evil disciples. There was one novel where the MC a super powerful dude get's sent to earth and starts a sect there. The world is filled with superheroes and villains.
(can't remember other variations of this)
Going with a mix of western and eastern fantasy - people are still cultivating, but in a western fantasy style world with knights, kingdoms and magic. I'd go with Hail The King as an example. Even though it's a Kingdom building one with game elements from Diablo 2.
(I can't remember any on top off my head)
Cultivation big shot sent to modern world - this is very similar to the standard sub genre, it just plays out in the modern world.
(As bad as the standard)
Reincarnated as a pitiful lil girl - Getting reincarnated as a lil girl helping out with stuff like doctoring or some skill what not. While ruining the evil schemes of the in laws.
(I've seen a bunch off these and read 2 of them partially. One of them was called bundle of luck something)
Cultivation big shot without knowing - example: I'm actually a Cultivation big shot. Read a few of these quite fun for a while. Get's old later. This sub genre heavily depends on misunderstandings. MC becomes powerful without knowing or is perceived as very powerful, but is not. MC has high level stuff that he gives out to people for free or a bit of money. In the novel: I'm actually a Cultivation big shot. MC has a system that teaches him how to cook, garden, carve, play musical instruments and what not. MC thinks it's nothing much, but he's learned the DAO of all those things to the max. The are also the bookstore novels. MC thinks he sells random books, but they are high level cultivation arts.
(Reading it for the first time was really funny, got repetitive latter on)
Modern world cultivator with occupation - examples: I'm really a Superstar, A Valiant Life and The Monk that wanted to renounce Asceticism. MC get's a system that pushes him into an occupation or several. Usually starts cultivating later in the story. Has funny scenarios, some face slapping and social media wars. 666
(I like these, but I haven't found a lot of them)
Crafting type - I can't really say they focus much on crafting, it's more like a side skill. The ones I've read so far at least. Be it pill/ weapon refining or formations. I remember one where the MC made a super strong brick and smacked people with it.
(Would be nice to get some novels that are more about crafting and less about the standard stuff)
Kingdom/ sect building types - other than Hail the King haven't read a good one. And there weren't that many that I've read.
future earth monster types - There are loads of these where MC goes to school to learn how to cultivate. While the earth is ravaged by monsters. There are some LNs with pets as well like Soul land... Technology wise it's similar to current with some sci fi/cultivation cross stuff.
There is 1 novel that I remember that I can't really put a type on since I haven't read anything like that. It's Cultivation chat group. Where MC a normal dude in modern world with no powers or regression or reincarnation or system. Accidently enters a chat filled with cultivators. And starts doing menial jobs for them. To get cultivation tips in return.
(Stopped reading later so I don't know the full story)
This is all I can remember now. I might remember something later on and add it here.
If you know some sub genre I've missed please let me know. And I'll update. The more people chip in the higher the chance people might find something new and interesting to read. And not just clones of the same.

Having a Summer Storytime that is Jungle Animal themed for this years Summer Reading! Any books that are good for babies to age 5? Each week will be a different animal and I'd love to do Elephants, Bears, Monkeys and Lions. Books that would be great are singalong books or rhyming. Something short and sweet but interactive enough to hold babies and toddlers attention.

I watched Dr. Strange 2: The Multiverse of Madness not really knowing where the story was going to go, but curious to see what precisely would happen. I knew Wanda would be in the movie, but couldn't clearly discern what role she would play from the trailers. Perhaps she was helping Strange with something about the multiverse. Perhaps she would help a multiversal variant of herself come to terms with her own pain and suffering. Perhaps she would eventually be in conflict with Strange over something later on in the movie. After all, Strange did mess with the multiverse without consulting anyone and ruined Peter's life in No Way Home and got off relatively unscathed. It would make sense that Wanda would have a negative opinion of him. That and, of course, giving Thanos the Time Stone.
I did not expect her, within the first 15 minutes, to be revealed as a blood psychopath whose mind had been unwittingly corrupted by a book, hunting and killing an innocent girl just so she could steal a version of her own twins from their mother in another universe, and willing to slaughter anyone who stood in her way.
Despite what some proponents of Wanda's villainous turn would say, that was not how we left her at the end of WandaVision. We left someone who was visibly shaken by the power she wielded and the damage it had caused to an entire town of innocent people. We left someone who said goodbye to her family, knowing that it was hurting other people and herself to keep them around. We left a Wanda who was determined to master her powers so that they wouldn't control her again. And she thought the best way to do this was to put herself in self-imposed exile and read from a book that described her role as the Scarlet Witch. A book that, to her knowledge, did not poison the mind of its reader, as Agatha certainly never came off as psychotic when she had it.
WandaVision was, and is, a truly compelling story about someone coping with indescribable loss, and how that trauma can damage that person and those around them. It is extremely disingenuous to argue that it was Wanda's first true step on the willing path to darkness, or that that was Matt Shakman and Jac Schaeffer's intent. So why argue this point?
Multiverse of Madness was the first true indication to me that something was very wrong within the MCU. That they were so determined on trying to add as many things as possible into a single movie without any true spark that makes a quality story. I'm not interested in blaming any one person or persons for how this movie was made, but I will say I was never more reminded of Spider-Man 3 or X-Men 3: The Last Stand while watching Multiverse of Madness. Fun movies at face value, but empty at their respective cores. And those movies killed their respective franchises, or at least in the latter case forced a soft reboot with Days of Future Past.
I resonated very much with Wanda in WandaVision, and I was very much excited to see where her story went. Since WandaVision kicked off the MCU post Endgame and post pandemic year, I was genuinely impressed with how emotionally intelligent and unique the series was, and felt like Wanda would truly become one of the new primary superheroes/characters moving forward.
I did not expect her to be under the control of a book that drove her mad until she broke free of its control long enough to seemingly end her own life. And the fact that so few characters cared about her, or treated her as if she was in control of her own actions, and failed to remark on her death, was as shocking as it was heartbreaking for me to sit and watch. To them, she was just a violent, unstoppable plot device that was incapable of being saved and had to be eliminated, just like 838 Strange. And not only did she have little or no agency, but she also killed a variant of the mother (Marie Rambeau) of the woman (Monica Rambeau) who risked everything to help her in WandaVision. That, to me, is another example of how cruel and disrespectful the movie was to Wanda.
I don't know where the story goes post-Multiverse of Madness for Wanda or any other character in the series, especially since both Elizabeth Olsen and Benedict Cumberbatch seem to be distancing themselves from the MCU as a whole. Moreover, after 2 years, it is rather odd that no one within universe has remarked or reflected on the events that happened in this movie, and really seems to indicate a desire to forget about it.
Perhaps the Agatha show will shed some validating light on the events of MoM, but even with the all-star cast and crew that it has, I'm very skeptical about it.
Anyways, I also wanted to know if anyone's opinions had changed about the movie over the past two years: whether you liked it and what they did with Wanda or not. For me though, I've only become more confident in my opinion with the benefit of time.

Please suggest me a book to fill this critera 💖Basically I'm trying to fill the The Magicians sized hole in my heart but I'm also working on writing my own work in this theme after several years of not writing and reading very little. I was initially looking for more books like the magicians but after searching I saw someone describe what they were looking for as "real people with magic trying to figure their shit out and saying fuck a lot" and I realized that was what I was looking for and trying to write.
Some thoughts:

• I have checked out Lev Grossmans The Codex from the library and I plan to look into his brother's superhero book at some point too.
  
• I am looking for fantasy books set in a modern, real world rather than a high fantasy book. I'm not overly opposed to suggestions that fall outside my criteria if you think they are good as I tend to enjoy lots of genres.
  
• Looking for descriptions of magical drug use. Maybe magical crime too, now that I'm thinking here. But I would really like some inspiration as I'd like to write some magically fueled psychedelic experiences. The drugs don't have to be psychedelic.
  
• tone can be light or dark or a mix
  
• Books I read recently and liked: American Gods, The Magicians, Night Circus, Book of Night, Ninth House, Sharp Objects, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Nettle and Bone
  
• Books I already plan on checking out - Dresden Files, Anansi Boys, Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrel, The Diviners (read first one), Nightside series
  

Other relevantish media I enjoy - Buffy, The Boys, Stranger Things, Made For Love, Penny Dreadful, Fleabag, Grimm, Hereditary, Midsummer, Hemlock Grove, Lost Girl, Haunting of Hill House (was reading this too but lost it moving. I'll have to look), Veronica Mars, Shameless
I also DNF but didn't dislike Anne Rice Mayfair Witch series and also the Discovery of Witches series. I thought the first DoW book had some really cool magical descriptions. It was just dense and I had a lot going on by the time I was halfway through the second one.
Thank you so much!

Hello, soon I will have an interview in Italian and I need to practice and also an impartial opinion about my Italian level or skills, I am not a beginner, I've studied at the Italian Institute of Culture in Venezuela, and also my grandmother is Italian and she always talk to me in Italian.
In return, I can help you with English, Spanish or German (a little)
My plan is just to have a conversation to practice, any subject, I am an Atheist, and I like science and technology, regarding books I like science fiction and medieval stories, videogames I play MOBAS, and series I watch just about everything, but we can talk about the new Star Wars series The Acolyte, general topics that I enjoy are superheroes, harry potter, economy and politics, climate change.

Between the abysmal box office performance of Ant-Man 3, Disney stating that they're going to focus on the successful franchises, and Wasp actor Evangeline Lilly recently making headlines that she's going to step back from acting, it doesn't look like we're going to get Ant-Man 4 anytime soon. It's a shame, because I liked Quantumania just fine, and Paul Rudd as Ant-Man is probably my favorite big screen Avenger.
So since it's never actually going to happen, how would you pitch Ant-Man 4?
My plot idea: Pay off the lingering plot thread of Hydra agent Mitch Carson absconding with the Yellowjacket formula in the first film.
My story pitch: Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne are getting married. Their relationship is going well, they’re both still rich and famous superheroes. Hope is still running Pym Labs and is helping people. Scott wrote a second book about his adventures in the Quantum Realm and it’s another hit. Cassie is with the Young Avengers. Hank and Janet are still happily retired and doing science. Everybody is in a good place and they’ve announced two things: an upcoming, star-studded wedding and that Hope is pregnant. Scott, Cassie, Hank and Janet are all gung-ho for the wedding and the new family, but Hope is having reservations about becoming a mother, considering the rocky relationship she’s had with both of her parents. That is the starting point of Hope’s character arc.
Hope the main character this time around, considering how little screentime she had in Quantumania. We'll have some scenes establishing her nerves and her fears about being a mother. Include some time with Cassie, to set up that Hope isn't really her step-mom so much as she's just Scott's gf/wife. She and Cassie are cool, but not being considered a mom to Cassie is adding to the drama of Hope's fears. Not to say that Cassie needs to think of Hope as her mom, I'm just saying this is where Hope is at at the start of her character arc and it's a little messy. Also bring back Judy Greer for maybe a scene of Hope and Maggie getting coffee where we can get in some exposition about Hope's relationship to Cassie. Also the new wife being friendly with the ex-wife should make for some solid comedy beats when Scott pops in.
(Despite everyone's love for Paul Rudd, he'll definitely be secondary in this film. Any character arcs he has will be pretty small. The dude has really settled all of his past issues and is living pretty high on life these days, and will just be the supportive partner to Hope and her journey.)
The big announcement (which is public, because they're celebrities, and we've never had an Avengers wedding before) is soon followed by a sudden and devastating tornado that destroys Pym HQ, and only Pym HQ. Quite suspicious, eh? Some superheroics get everybody to safety in this opening action scene, but now our heroes investigate what happened and discover a person at the center of the tornado. They were targeted!
(The super-villain Whirlwind is arguably the Wasp's arch nemesis in the comics, but rather than incorporate his full character into this movie (he's a mutant!), I'm just going to turn his powers into technology within the Yellowjacket R&D.)
Act 2:
Hope starts digging, even though everyone suggests she give it a rest and focus on recovery and wedding planning. But Hope is determined and evidence leads the team to Mitch Carson, who seems to be sitting pretty with some kind of government contract and a suspiciously angry right hand woman. They pay him a visit like they did with Bill Foster in the second film, showing that everything appears to be above board, while also re-establishing who he is for the audience. Our heroes, of course, decide to investigate further.
This is the Point of No Return. Hope could very easily turn this all over to the Avengers or the authorities, and her partner and family want her to focus on the pregnancy and the wedding. But Hope makes the decision, perhaps a little recklessly, to investigate Carson. Scott and perhaps Cassie are, perhaps a bit reluctantly, on board, Scott for sure.
We learn that Carson and his evil cronies reverse engineered Darren Cross’s Yellowjacket serum and created a whole fleet of Yellowjacket soldiers, just like what was teased in the first film. Among their ranks are Eric O’Grady, a charming jackass (and another Ant-Man from the comics), and Carson’s assistant, Nadia, who seems to really have it out for Hope. They perform government contracts on foreign soil, while also doing some criminal stuff as well. Carson is former Hydra, after all, and isn't above using his Yellowjacket goons for personal gain on the side.
Eventually our heroes learn that Nadia is Hank Pym’s first daughter, whom he thought was lost after the death of his first wife, who was killed in a motor vehicle accident. Hank was always suspicious about the crash and now we find out that it was orchestrated by Hydra and her unborn daughter was rescued and given to the Red Room to go through Black Widow programming. Based on ages, she was likely in Natasha's generation of Widows and was only recently saved by Yelena's efforts. Nadia stayed underground to gather information about the world and grew bitter at the successful life that Hope had, compared to her own tragic life, even though Hope and Hank never even knew she existed.
(Nadia is based on a comic book character of the same name, who had a very similar origin story. Only the Nadia in the comics is a teenager and is a very friendly and happy-go-lucky character. Nadia was actually introduced to the comics based on Hope from the movies. My Nadia is an adult who is very bitter about her life.)
Once freed and learning about the life she never had, Nadia worms her way into the Yellowjacket program, while keeping Carson unaware of her true origins and intentions. She's planning some kind of revenge against the Pyms, but when she saw the big announcement of the wedding and the baby, she snapped, grabbed the whirlwind technology and tried to kill Hope at Pym Labs. She'll have a big confrontation with Hope in Act 2 where she reveals everything.
This will be the All is Lost Moment. Hope has learned that her family is even more tragic and twisted than she realized, and they've been superheroes all this time without knowing or doing anything to help Nadia. So she's even more devastated and perhaps even calls off the wedding? But Scott and the others turn her around and they decide to put an end to the bad guys.
(Also, Luis is back in full. He's not a superhero, but he's totally hanging out with the crew and is a pal. Perhaps he even knows Eric O'Grady from his criminal/security background. They could have some funny interactions where they're cordial and acquaintance-friendly with one another, despite being on opposite teams. Eric is such a fuck up, perhaps there's even a scene where Luis takes him out for drinks and Eric gives up a bunch of company secrets that help the good guys.)
Act 3
It's heist time!
Team Wasp is going to break into Yellowjacket HQ in order to find enough evidence to expose the organization. The heist doesn't doesn't go as planned, of course, and it's Team Wasp versus the Yellowjackets! The heroes win, the bad guys lose, the facility is destroyed and they get the evidence they need to expose them. The big emotional climax is Hope successfully appealing to Nadia and getting her to switch sides. Hope has learned a lot over the course of the film about family, about motherhood, about doing right by one another, and she's able to apply that into her appeal to Nadia.
So Nadia changes sides and is able to turn the tide of battle and the good guys win. No redemption arc for Eric O'Grady though, but he and Scott get to have a fun scrape. And he probably escapes in the end.
So the battle is over, Nadia and Hank are reunited, Hope is in a better place and the wedding is on! But we see that Mitch Carson survived the destruction of the facility and he has sworn revenge. And what better place to attack than this big, star-studded wedding? He grabs the Whirlwind technology and builds a costume similar to comic book Whirlwind and he attacks, intent on hitting the wedding with a tornado! But instead of this being a big fourth act, this is actually just a comedic denouement, because our heroes expected something like this to happen. Plus, this isn't just two celebrities getting marries, this is two superheroes getting married.
Before Whirlwind can even launch his attack, he finds himself surrounded by not only some giants, but a bunch of guest starring Avengers as well! Womp womp.
The end credits scene will be Eric O'Grady meeting back up with Luis and looking for help to lay low. He proceeds to leave Luis with his Yellowjacket suit, finally giving Luis a superhero costume! We can end the movie with Luis trying to squeeze into the suit and finally getting the chance to shrink!

Someone commented here the other day about there not being much of an online community for newspaper comic strips as opposed to comics, be they mainstream superhero or alt/underground. I agreed with them and would like to start being the change many of us want to see. Starting with this thread.
What's your history with strips? Did you grow up with them? Which do you hold the most nostalgia for?
My parents didn't approve of me reading lots of comics, instead guiding me towards those Great Illustrated Classics books and others in a similar vein. They didn't find comics morally reprehensible or anything -- just didn't want me reading nothing but them. That made comics seem far more forbidden and alluring then they really were.
We had one collection of comic strips in our house: Peanuts: A Golden Celebration. I read it cover to cover several times. I didn't find Peanuts terribly funny (and I still don't) but it felt thoughtful and comforting. It nicely complemented the holiday specials that we'd watch every year. For a couple years as a child, that was my only real exposure beyond New Yorker cartoons that never made sense to me. But then...
My school library had lots of volumes of Calvin and Hobbes. I remember The Indispensable, There's Treasure Everywhere!, and 10th Anniversary collections in particular. I devoured them during recess and loved the strip to bits. My dentist had several collections of Garfield that I tore through for the half hour we'd always be in the waiting room. I then began checking out the occasional Far Side gallery from our weekly public library excursions along with a healthy dose of Tintin. I was hooked.
Today, I am branching out to other, older strips like Krazy Kat, Popeye, and Pogo, as well as exploring old adventure strips like Terry and the Pirates.
Some major gaps in my reading beyond what I mentioned above are Doonesbury, Bloom County, Get Fuzzy, Pearls Before Swine, Wizard of Id, and Hagar the Horrible, and Perry Bible Fellowship, but I don't know which of those are worth a serious deep dive. Digital comics I see on comics and elsewhere just don't do it for me the way traditionally drawn, inked comics do. Can't put my finger on why.

I'm really struggling to find that next "I can't stop reading this right now" book. Here is a list (alphabetical by first name} of the authors I read / listen to, the number of titles from each and a series or two of theirs that I enjoyed (* I really liked ** are ones I REALLY REALLY liked!!). As you'll see, mystery / horror / sci-fi / fantasy and off kilter stories are my bag - hope this list gives you a few ideas and maybe someone has suggestions for me!!
A.G. Riddle (7) - The Atlantis Gene Andrew Piper (2) - The Demonologist Andrew S. Ball (1) - Contractors ** Andy Weir (1) - The Martian Bill Schweigart (2) - Northwoods (Fatal Folklore Trilogy) Blake Crouch (5) - Wayward Pines * Bob Mayer / Robert Doherty (1) - Area 51 Brandon Sanderson (14) - Mistborn Brian Andrews (1) - Reset Chris Fox (1) - The Deathless Collection - Books 1 - 3 Craig Falconer (1) - Not Alone ** Craig Alanson (6) - Expeditionary Force [Skippy] ** D.J. Molles (1) - Johnny Dan Brown (1) - Angels & Demons Daniel Suarez (5) - Influx ** David L. Golemon (15) - Event Group David Wood (1) - Dane Maddock Adventures Book 1-3 Douglas E. Richards (1) - Infinity Born Douglas Preston / Lincoln Child (12) - Pendergast Ernest Cline (1) - Ready Player One Gary Grossman (1) - Old Earth Greg Hurwitz (6) - Evan Smoak *** Greig Beck (18) - Alex Hunter ** Helene Wecker (1) - The Golem and the Jinni * Ian Sansbury (8) - Worldwalker / Halfhero *** J.A. Konrath (1) - Origin * J.S. Morin (1) - Twinborn Chronicles - Book 1-3 * Jack DuBrul (1) - Lightning Stones: A Novel James D. Prescott (1) - Augmented Jeremy Bishop / Jeremy Robinson / Daniel Boucher / Robert Swartwood / David McAfee / Kane Gilmour (1) - Refuge Omnibus Edition - Refuge: Book 1-5 Jeremy Robinson (19) - Chess Team / Tribe ** Joe Abercrombie (3) - First Law Trilogy * John Ringo / Larry Correia (1) - Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge Larry Correia (10) - Monster Hunter Lincoln Child (4) - Deep Storm * M.R. Carey (1) - The Girl with All the Gifts Marcus Sakey (3) - The Brilliance Saga ** Michael C. Grumley (5) - Breakthrough ** Michael J. Sullivan (4) - Riyria Chronicles Michael Rutger (1) - The Anomaly * Michael Siemsen (3) - Matt Turner (Dig) * Nathan Van Coops (3) - The Chronothon Orson Scott Card (1) - Enders Game Peter Clines (4) - 14 / Threshold Universe *** Preston Child (3) - Order of the Black Sun Rain Oxford (1) - Elemental, Volume 1 (Books 1 & 2) ** Ramez Naam (3) - Nexus (Naam) *** Ron Ripley (1) - Berkley Street Series: Books 1 - 9 *** Ryan W. Aslesen (1) - Existential: Crucible Scott Britz (1) - The Immortalist * Scott Sigler (1) - Earthcore * Stephen King (1) - Doctor Sleep * T. Ellery Hodges (2) - The Chronicles of Jonathan Tibbs ** Tim Tigner (1) - Pushing Brilliance * Travis Bagwell (3) - Awaken Online * William Arand (1) - Super Sales on Superheroes
PS. I created this list because I kept losing track of authors I enjoy!

Pam made her way to school eagerly. Not that she wasn't always eager to learn, it was just that school could be terribly dull at times, but today the Terrans would arrive. It was the most exciting thing to happen at school since Ms. Ocia got sick for a deciday and they got to spend the Cultural Studies period watching old entertainment media, even if the Terrans coming to the school were in her grade, and probably not heroic soldiers or tides-blessed super-pilots or anything yet, but everyone knew that Terrans meant adventure. Just like everyone knew that first contact with the Terrans resulted in just one Terran, ONE, killing an ENTIRE PLANET of evil villains. Mai said that that story was exaggerated, and that Sneaky only took out a gang, but Mae was fat, so what did she know? She didn't know how to not be fat, that's for sure. Anyway, even if the real story wasn't quite that exciting, with the war on there was a new Terran hero every deciday. Who knows, maybe the one joining her class would know one?
With such pleasant thoughts to occupy her, Pam skipped beside the canal where her classmates passed her by as she took the much slower land route. Most of her classmates thought she was funny for walking the whole way, but she didn't care, she liked keeping her clothes and fur dry all day long. Besides, she never got a zero on homework because of a backpack leak. Even so, she was on time. She was always punctual, boredom was no excuse to be rude, after all.
However, the Terran wasn’t anywhere to be seen as Pam and her classmates took their seats, but there was a slightly bigger desk near the door sitting empty. It didn't surprise her in the slightest that pretty much the entire class was looking around and whispering about the missing Terran rather than paying attention to Ms. Ocia until she shwacked her still-strong tail on the hard tile floor and shouted, "Settle down!"
Once her charges had assumed a semblance of prepubescent order, she said with the exasperation familiar to those who mistakenly pursued a career that involves children sitting quietly with patience, "As I was saying, we have a new student today, though from your gossip, I think you know already. Neville Neman comes from a planet in the Republic of Terra, but I'll let him introduce himself." She turned to the classroom door and called musically, "Neville, come in please."
Pam's heart pounded in her chest and her ears practically vibrated in anticipation as a bipedal form darkened the doorway, but the second the boy's gangly frame awkwardly ambled to the front of the class to take a nervous pigeon-toed stance, the sheer disappointed shock dropped her jaw open. His clothing was ill-fit and garishly colored, he wore thick corrective lenses over his eyes, his head-fur rose in an untidy mess of orange-ish curls, and all of that was made worse by the way he jittered and fidgeted in place. Pam didn't think that he looked heroic in the slightest.
Neville audibly sucked in a deep breath and let out in a rush as if to get it over with, "I’m Neville Neman, and I come from a planet in the Republic called Hope Eight. I know, it's not the most creative colony name, but I can tell you about it later if you care. Anyway, my dad's here to consult with your latest shipbuilding project and Mom doesn't like station life, so we're living planetside. I hope we can be friends if you want."
Then, he just stood there until Ms. Ocia realized that he'd rambled through his little introduction without pausing for breath. "Thank you Neville, please take your seat I'm sure you'll make lots of friends here," she told him before activating the board to show the basic math lesson they'd left of with on the last math lesson and going into an explanation of decimals that Pam tried super hard to pay attention to. Followed by a lesson on poetry that Mae tried less hard to pay attention to, and then it was time for recess.
The very instant that Ms. Ocia dismissed the class, all fifteen students, except for Neville for obvious reasons, attempted to crowd around the gangly boy. However, he proved more deft than he had at first appeared. That, or the general press of grade-schoolers trying to all swarm through desk rows against the grain gave him a few precious seconds to make good his escape through the door. Pam wondered whether he could psychically tell that everyone wanted to ask questions, and so ran away before anyone could get him.
The entire twenty minute recess was wasted by practically the entire school looking for a single boy without success, but he did appear again when the bell tolled for class to begin again. Then, he materialized in the hallway while his new classmates were filing into their classroom to continue their lessons for the day. Pam was so distracted by trying to figure out how in the currents he could have possibly done that, that she had no idea what Ms. Ocia was droning on about until lunchtime. Could Terrans turn invisible? Some cuttlefish could blend in to their surroundings, so maybe Terrans could do that too? Or maybe his shipbuilder dad had super-top-secret stealth tech he gave him? She just had so many questions!
Then, the bell for lunchtime was tolling, but Ms. Ocia was giving instructions, "Now, I know you're excited, but it's obvious that Neville doesn't like to be crowded or charged by a mob of fifteen of you. So you're to give him at least a tail's length, and allow him to eat his lunch. Understand?"
The usual put-upon drone of children on the receiving end of a lecture they deserved came, "Yes, Ms. Ocia."
"Okay, you can go to lunch now, anyone who breaks that rule will take a demerit home."
More groaning and mumbling answered as the class dug lunchboxes, meal-tickets, or credit chits out of their backpacks and filed out the door. Pam had hoped to walk and talk with Neville, but those gangly legs just ate up the tile, and try as she or any of her classmates might, the gap between him and they only grew. However, they did catch up to him at the lunch tables where he was already eating… well he was eating something. "What are you eating?" Mai asked between panting breaths. Of course Mai would waste the first question on food, the fatty.
"Oh," Neville said after swallowing a bite. "It's a sandwich, sliced filling between two outer bread slices, this one is ham and cheese."
"What's ham?" Mac asked, and Pam glared daggers at Mai for getting the topic stuck on food instead of something more interesting like what kind of super powers Neville might have.
"Ham is a cured meat product made from a livestock animal," Neville answered before taking another bite.
Pam decided that whatever language he was speaking with under what her translator implant was playing in here ear sounded nice as someone else asked, "What's bread?"
"Uh… well so there's like grains that get farmed an-"
"Oh, so it's grain based? I wonder if we can eat it…" Mai interrupted, because of course she did.
Neville only shrugged before taking a pull from a water bottle and Pam took the opportunity to ask a real question, "Can you read minds?"
Water shot out of Neville's nostrils and he started making the most awful hacking coughing sounds as some of the other girls glared at Pam while somebody asked, "Are you okay? Do you need medical?"
Eventually, Neville managed to wheeze, "I'm fine. I'm fine. That's just what happens to a Human if we laugh while trying to drink something," to which Pam let out a relieved sigh. "Erm, no. I can't read minds. Why would you ask that?"
"Well, 'cause you escaped at recess."
"I could see you all coming. All of you looking at me, all of you coming my way… I just didn't want to get squished."
Bix piped up, "How did you hide?"
"I'm not telling that. What if I want to hide again?"
"Do you have camouflaging pigment sacks in your skin?" Pam pressed.
Neville tilted his head to one side and said slowly, "No… that's a weird thing to ask…"
"Is it? We don't know how your biology works."
"I thought that us being warm-blooded bipeds was common knowledge by now…"
"Well, did you use advanced top-secret stealth tech from your dad?"
"If I did, I wouldn't be allowed to say so."
"Wait," said Bix, "I thought you were a Terran, but you said you're a Human?"
"Oh, I'm a Terran because my ancestors are from Terra, and I'm a Human because that's my species, or race? Whichever, I guess. Not all Terrans are Humans, if you didn't already know."
A low murmur of excitement ran through the crowd and Mae asked, "What other races are Terrans?"
"The Doggos, the Bigkitties, the Digitans, and the Chimpmandos."
"Did you evolve together on Terra?"
"Erm, I don't know really. Except the Digitans, they're digital sapients, so they didn't evolve, exactly."
"Did you ever meet Sneaky?" Pam asked before anyone could ask another boring question.
"No, it's not like every Terran knows every other Terran. Besides, he died before I was born. Oh, and his name was Greg George."
Mae got a positively evil look on her face as she bared her fangs and laid her ears back asking, "Is it true that Greg George killed a whole planet of evil villains?"
Neville snickered at that, and Pam's heart sank right through the floor as he explained, "Nah, he and some Star Sailors took down a major crime syndicate because they'd kidnapped a kid from the family who was helping him come home. I can find the whole story in my history texts later if you want. I like the whole planet story though, it sounds super cool."
Mae had her tail raised in an infuriatingly smug way as she asked, "Only a baby would believe the planet story, huh?"
Pam slunk away to eat her clams alone before she heard the answer to that one, and hoped that everyone was too busy paying attention to Neville to notice.
After spending the rest of the lunch period stoically contemplating the nature of the world, or rather, sulking, Pam found the ensuing history lesson a lot more easy to pay attention to. It gave her a reason to not see Mai's stupid smug face cutting her eyes at her. Then, Ms. Ocia held the class past the bell to give Neville a thirty second head start claiming, "He probably could use some rest," as if Terrans weren't basically unstoppable.
The next day, Pam's class was markedly less distracted by the Terran, and his lunch table crowd had diminished by precisely one, Pam. Then, the next day, it diminished further, and the same the next day, and again until Neville was merely another student to the rest of the school. Or to most of it, anyway. Then, before anybody had realized it, two decidays had gone by, and the Terran was merely a weird looking alien student who nevertheless wasn't that weird once the novelty of him wore off. That's when he decided to sit down next to Pam one day and ask bluntly, "Did I hurt your feelings? I'm sorry for laughing at your questions…"
Pam had to fight to keep her ears up and shoulders square despite the urge to cringe into a ball. "You didn't hurt my feelings… I just really thought it was true…"
"That Terrans are all superheroes with laser eyes and lightning breath?" he asked wryly.
Pam giggled and told him, "Maybe not like that exactly."
"I'm not a hero or anything. I'm just a kid. I'm sorry."
"I just thought Sneaky Adventures Through Space was… like…"
"You like SATS?" Neville asked with glittering eyes and a wide smile, to which Pam nodded weakly. That was all the encouragement Neville needed to launch into a discussion of his favorite cartoon, which was more than enough for Pam to do the same. They almost didn't notice the bell tolling the end of the lunch period. It struck her later on her walk home that cheering up a lonely kid is just the kind of thing a hero might do.
From then on, Pam and Neville met and talked about the latest episodes of SATS, their favorite older episodes, or Pam's favorite, what was and wasn't true about Terrans or Sneaky in real life from the show. She found out that Humans really did drink insane amounts of ethanol, but only adults, that they could eat almost anybody's food, and that the "Power of Friendship" was a very real thing. Neville said that it was, and Mai and her fat face could just cry about it.
Then, one day Pam saw some older boys had cornered Neville by a canal a few blocks away from the school. She didn't recognize them, so they must have been from a different school, and they looked mean. They had surrounded him, and despite being shorter than the Terran, they were shoving him around and jeering at him as he tried to keep his balance.
"What's the matter Terran?" one taunted, "Where's your super strength?"
"Come on, pull out your Terra gun!" Another jeered.
"Maybe they're only tough in armor!"
"I heard they can breathe under water, let's try it!"
"Let's see if he can swim first," said another as he shoved the beleaguered Terran into the canal. Pam stepped forward, but let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in relief when she say Neville treading water.
"I can't breathe underwater! No gills! Mammal!" Neville shouted as the bullies dove into the water to swim about him in darting circles and splash him with their strong rudder tails as they laughed and jeered before darting off down the canal.
Then, Pam went forward to her friend asking, "Neville, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, they didn't hurt me. I just need to find my glasses."
Pam didn't stop to think about it, she dove into the water and darted to the bottom of the canal. They had drifted a little way, but they weren't hard to find. "Here they are," she said proudly as her head broke the surface.
"Thanks," he muttered and took them.
Three sodden blocks later, Neville was nowhere near as good a swimmer as any Lutrea, and Pam asked what was on her mind, "Why didn't you stand up to them?"
"Huh?"
"Why didn't you fight them?"
"Oh…" Neville forced a smile and said, "I told you, I'm not a hero or anything. Besides, there were five of them. I would have had to hurt them to make them stop. I dunno if I could do that."
"But they're bullies, the deserve to be hurt!"
Neville shrugged and said, "Maybe, or maybe not. I don't like fighting though, and I don't like hurting people."
Pam couldn't say why that answer made her so mad, but it did, so she said, "Well if they do it again, I'll stand up to them!"
Neville laughed in a friendly way, "Now I really feel sorry for them."
Pam only grunted in reply.
The days became decidays became months, and Pam didn't see any more evidence of anybody picking on Neville. In fact, it seemed that despite his atrocious fashion sense, he was becoming rather liked. In fact, their lunchtime talks had something of a circle of other kids who'd come and go for chats on SATS, homework, recently found books, the latest movies, and sundries, which was great because that meant that Pam wasn't by herself so much anymore. She was having such a great time that she had forgotten all about Mae. Mae hadn't forgotten, however.
One day, Pam found a note in her desk reading "Pam, I have something important to talk to you about, please meet me in the gym equipment room at lunchtime. Bix." What could be so important you had to leave a note to arrange for a private chat? Didn't Bix know he could just come up and ask her for a word by now? Well, sometimes boys did things that made no sense, so Pam decided to just go along with it and see what he wanted. She realized that she had made a mistake when the bucket of spoiled clams and hagfish slime clattered off of its precarious perch on a shelf above the equipment room door and onto her head, leaving her with a bruised noggin, and the rest of her covered in filth. Things got worse when the gym doors were flung open and a gaggle of about fifty students led by Mae came in to see Pam in her sorry state.
"Oh look, the slime girl is all covered in slime! What a filthy little thing!" Mae crowed as she puffed out her chest and lifted her tail in a display of dominance.
Pam cringed into a humiliated ball in anticipation of the laughter of her classmates, but instead Neville called out, "Are you proud of yourself Mae?"
"What?"
"I asked you if you're proud of yourself," he repeated with an almost sad note to his voice.
"Sure, why not?"
"Do you think being a petty, cruel, hurtful, jerk is something to be proud of?"
"Shut up! What do you know!"
"I know that you wanted to hurt my friend for no good reason, and you're proud of it. I know you're not the kind of person anybody wants to be friends with," Pam tried to sink through the floor, but Neville was there anyway whispering, "Come on, let's go to the office."
"You lied," Pam sniffled as he helped her to her feet.
"Huh?"
"You are a hero."

So, this sub needs a serious reality check. I'm not defending TC, they've been dumb, but at worst they've made a series of poor business decisions. Your mental health doesn't need to hinge on what Industry Insider Skung McFindel speculates or whether or not Silksong will get a release date in the upcoming X Station premier event. But instead of being an old man yelling at clouds, here's a series of things you can do in the meantime. None of these lists are ordered and are all purely stream of consciousness, I can't even confidently call this a best-of:

Games:

Outer Wilds - Tiny Physics Sim Solar System, wide as a puddle, deep as an ocean. You get used to the ship controls within an hour, I promise. Don't look anything up, go in blind. If you need help, ask outerwilds This game will hurt you, then heal you. My personal favorite game, and quite possibly the tightest blending of ludic and narrative elements yet achieved in gaming.
Environmental Station Alpha - A Metroidvania in the very old school Medroid (as good as people thought the OG Metroid was back in '86.) Very good before the credits, extraordinary in the post-game and post-post-game.
Baba is You - Made by the same guy as ESA and is the game he's best known for. A block slide puzzle game where some of the blocks are actually words that spell out the rules of the level. Don't worry it's actually far more confusing than it sounds. If Skong arrives prior to the heat death of the universe, this game will see you there.
Balatro - The current deck builder roguelike indie darling. No gambling is involved but it will occupy the space in your brain responsible for gambling addiction.
Celeste - "Hey, what if the White Palace was an entire game, and the Path of Pain was just the back 2/3ds of that game's content?" Weirdly chill for how that pitch made it sound.
Tunic - Isometric Zelda with a tiny pinch of soulslike. Mysterious puzzles abound. Progress is marked by unlocking bits of the (gorgeous) diegetic game manual. Stupidly rewarding brain teaser.
What Remains of Edith Finch - Walking Sim/Area exploration done right. Tragic tale of the collapse of the once great Finch family, potentially the result of a curse. Worth a playthrough for the Fish canerychapter alone, but it's all great stuff.
Disco Elysium - Pinical of CRPG design. Phenomenal writing and I say that without the need to add the for a game apology tag. One note, this game is communist, like "the head writer allegedly had a bust of Lenin on his desk," communist. I am aggressively not communist by any stretch of the imagination, which should stand as a testament to this game's quality that I am full-throatedly recommending it.
Return of the Obra Din - Mystery game by the Papers Please guy. (Screw it, Papers Please is on the list as well). You're an insurance agent trying to discover what happened to the disappeared and now returned-abandoned Obra Din passenger ship. Go in blind, because mystery game.
Steam World Dig 2 - A really good Metroidvania with some novel mechanics. I honestly don't remember much about this game other than it's gas.
The Beginner's Guide - A game from The Stanly Parable guy. Go in blind.
SOMA - From the Amnesia people. Gameplay is whatever but it's a fantastic horror story that makes you think some rather philosophical thoughts.
Untitled Goose Game - I will find your house and emulsify your dog if you try to have any philosophical thoughts about this game.
OMORI - Wierd RPG maker game. I dig it.
Wandersong - A disgustingly pleasant puzzle platformer with one of the more criminally underrated OSTs in gaming. There is a dedicated dance button that serves no mechanical purpose.

Movies:

Captain Phillips - "Based on a True Story" of the eponymous Captain Phillips as his ship is taken hostage by Somalian Pirates. Opens with the worst exposition scene I've ever seen and ends with quite possibly the single best scene of Tom Hank's career. This was the head pirate's first time acting... ever, and the guy honestly steals a few scenes from TOM HANKS. It's great.
Arrival - Did you know Dennis Villenvue directed things before Dune? This is one, a first contact film that you're better off knowing as little as possible going in.
Margin Call - Like Wolf of Wall Street but nothing like Wolf of Wall Street but exactly like Wolf of Wall Street. Better? Probably. Warning: Kevin Spacey is in this one.
The Negotiator - An obscure one in Samuel L. Jackson's filmography, all things considered. I like it but your mileage may vary. A hostage negotiator takes hostages to clear his name for murder and solve the conspiracy actually responsible for the murder. Warning: Also KS, this is the last Spacey flick.
Rain Man - The archetypical Hollywood Autist Savant film, yet somehow manages to be a thousand times more touching and careful with its subject matter than most of its niche.
Upside Down - A rather bad YA dystopia love story that I will not spend one breath defending. It may well have only one fan and that fan is me.
Lemonade Mouth - Disney Channel Original Movie but they decided to make a good one.
Ford vs Ferrari - Fast Cars 👍great cast 😎
Top Gun - This isn't a recommendation for the film itself so much as a recommendation you rewatch it and realize it's secretly a sports movie. Now that I think about it, they both are.

Books:

Mistborn - You may have heard of Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere, a series of fantasy worlds in a shared setting. Innovative (but contentious) approach to magic, renowned for his depiction of mental illness. The first Mistborn trilogy is the best segway into his works, with The Final Empire being the first entry. A victorian dark fantasy heist novel.
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Also Victorian Fantasy but in that it is literally set in Victorian England. English Magic is thought lost until a genuine magician shows up, the dreadfully dreary Mr. Norrell. But even he may well be more than England and the world are ready for, and Norrell himself is woefully unprepared for what his arrival will produce. If the prose and wyrd magic speak to you but the (deliberately) dry and stuffy victorian setting doesn't, maybe try the author's other work, Piranisi.
Empire of Silence - The first book in the Suneater series. The memoir of Hadrian Marlowe, Halfmortal, Savior of Humanity and Genosidal Despot, explaining exactly how the Sollan Empire came to be short a Sun the the galaxy of the Cilicin scourge. Openly derived from things like Dune, Book of the New Sun, and a dozen other places, but it does some really cool stuff with all of its borrowed toys.
Malazan - Where to start with Malazan? Epic Fantasy on a scale that makes all other Epics need to resend their claim to the title. There are two "main" series that form the core of the Malazan mythos, but the Malazan Book of the Fallen is the one that gets the most hype. It begins with Gardens of the Moon. It's complex stuff, but pay attention and be okay with not knowing everything in the moment. The authors (two of them) are anthropologists and archeologists by trade, and so reading an ancient document without most of the context is something they are deliberately simulating. You will know what literally is occurring, but the road from concussion and even mild derision to heartfelt understanding is deliberately the Malazan experience.
Out of the Silent Planet - So, C. S. Lewis' Narnia books are probably his weakest fiction, tbh. Out of the Silent Planet, and the Space Trilogy is weird in ways I really dig. Yes, it's Christian allegory and that stuff is very present, but if you aren't utterly put off by it I recommend it.
The Screwtape Letters - More C. S. Lewis Christian Propaganda. Probably Lewis at his most overt, and yet, weirdly, this is the one that often gets the most praise even outside Christian circles. A series of letters from an arch-demon to his nephew on how to corrupt a particular human. There is genuinely a ton of great anti-advice in here irrespective of one's faith.
Blindsight - A science fiction novel detailing a group of post-humans engaging in first contact on behalf of Earth with an alien vessel. I won't say anything more because Idk if I can do it justice without spoiling. Linked a PDF version because the author put it out on Creative Commons.
Moby Dick - The Great American Novel. Not nearly as hard as people make it out to be. The key is to know that the Narrator is iamverysmart and that's the joke. Most of it's extensive whale science and tortured whaling metaphors were nonsense even in Meilville's day. This is a very, very funny book that all of a sudden makes a good point every once in a while. Also genuinely epic. The key is to not have it be your main book or media intake, just read like one chapter or ~20 pages of chapters (whichever is less) a day and reread the previous day's reading before reading on. It absolutely can support that, and letting it marinate in your head is a delight.
Collected Fictions of Jorge Luis Borges - Borges is just on a different level. Space out reading like with Moby Dick. Very short stories, yet somehow with more worldbuilding than half the Epics I've mentioned here and yet its all perfectly paced. His work helped spawn the Magic Realism genre. Writing the magical mundane and the mundane magical. An SCP writer could probably quit on the spot if they wrote a single article half as good as the weakest Borges story. Described once as "better than food" and I agree. (If you're familiar with the "Library of Babel," that's one of the stories in here.
Worm - A web serial rather than a traditional novel. A reconstruction of the Superhero genre with some phenomenal character work, action, and a stupendously thought-out world. Praised for its escalating stakes. Follow Taylor Hebert, a teenage girl recently gifted the ability to control bugs, as she does the wrong things for the right(?) reasons. Unreliable narrator, not in being false but deeply biased. Opens with some high-school YA drama but it quickly fades away and is used well enough to justify it's presence. Has some rough edges and a slow arc or two (web serial) but is a shining example of its mediumAlso there's KaijuCheck out Twig as a second stop in the author's bibliography if you like this.

Shows:

24 - The escipades of Special Agent Jack Bauer, each season is 24 1-hour episodes spanning a single crisis in "real" time. The first season is the best by any objective metric, but it's a good show through season 5. Season 5 is what a show looks like when it jumps the shark and it somehow works. (This isn't my usual trash taste, that's literally the fan consensus) You can safely drop it after that.
Fringe - The FBI has a special division that deals with anomalies, called the Fringe division. Crisis of the Week weird science stuff with an over-arching plot. If God well and truly has abandoned humanity, it is because John Noble never received an Emmy for his performance as Walter Bishop. Shares the dubious honor of being a J. J. Abhrems piloted Mystery Box show with a nebulous threat of cancelation and several half-endings with Lost, but it manages to end 78% better off than Lost did.
Parks and Recreation - So, this thread has been mostly mainstream, but now we're in straight up normie territory. But there is at least one person reading this who hasn't watched Parks and Rec and you should fix that before I feed you the Untitled Goose Game Philosipher's emulsiphied dog.

Music Albums:

Neon Theater by Their Dogs Were Astronauts - I mean, there isn't much reason to give a detailed rec of music... just listen to it!
The Trick to Life by The Hoosiers
Four Winds by the Oh Hellos - Technically a cycle of four albums, sue me.
Wandersong OST by A Shell in the Pit - Genuinely, this stuff is great.
There's more but idk how close I'm getting to Reddit's character limit with all these embedded links. This post is mostly an affectionate jab at the community's hysteria, hence the flair, but if any of you are genuinely at a loss of how to spend your time without thinking about Silksong, here's a place to start.
Also, Reddit is screwing with my Grammarly and there is no way I'm SPAG editing this manually so have fun with that.

Boys: Justin, Ripper, Topher
Girls: Anne Maria, Jasmine, MK
Episode 18: The Aftermath III: Cutting to the Chase
In place of the standard introductory recap, the episode was opened by the now-familiar theme of the TDA Aftermath show. The logo formed and gleamed in the artificial light, and the 'D' popped forward with its usual camera-shutter sound effect.
Clip 1
"We're ready! Uno, dos, tres!!!" Izzy chanted and eagerly pushed the plunger down.
Almost immediately, a chaotic series of explosions were set off all around the base. They were accompanied by hectic and disjointed notes in the background music, and the host and other four Gaffers were shown cringing with their fingers in their ears. Eventually the explosions stopped, the dust settled, and everyone except Izzy leaned past the paint-splattered wall with curious expressions.
The camera then showed Izzy's paint pattern from another angle – it took the shape of the host's own grinning face.
The 'D' retreated briefly, then popped back out again before the next clip was shown.
Clip 2
"Don't worry. You'll be the hottest cave girl here!" Chase told his girlfriend.
"I don't want to wear animal skins, but your compliment is already lifting my spirits up," Millie smiled back and pecked his cheek with a kiss.
The 'D' repeated its standard motion, retreating briefly before popping back out as a transition to the next clip.
Clip 3
“Relationship with Chase aside, I don’t really think you’re that cute,” Millie said to Justin. “Why else did I not want to kiss you in that challenge?”
For a fourth and final time, the logo's 'D' performed its transitional sequence.
Clip 4
"This challenge was built for me!" Chase boasted in the make-up trailer. “No puzzles or tricks. Just me dribbling a ball and slam dunking! Swish!"
The 'D' was shown again, now as a signal of the recap's end.
(Theme Song)
The Aftermath intro sequence played again, fading this time into the show's stage as the crowd cheered wildly. "Hey everyone!" Damien greeted from the center couch, Priya on his left and the filled-up Peanut Gallery to Priya's left. "We're back for another Total Drama Action Aftermath Show! I'm Damien," the nervous wreck waved at the camera as it came in for a close-up.
"And I'm Priya," the reality TV fan added with a smile as the shot panned over to her. "A lot has happened since last time.”
“We've lost some serious competitors,” Damien said. “There's Izzy," the shot cut to the screen hanging above the hosts where the wild child's smiling portrait was displayed while the crowd applauded.
"What happened to her was mind-blowing!" Priya interjected.
"Then we got Millie," Damien added to more applause as the author's face moved Izzy’s out of the way. "She was doing so well too."
"And we can't forget Chase!" Priya said, the audience cheering once more as the hanging screen's picture changed to that of the daredevil. "All will be with us here today!"
"Not to mention our friends from last season," Damien added as the camera moved back to the hosts, "and the ones who already lost this time." The camera panned to the Peanut Gallery, where Rodney, Katie, Sadie, Brick, Trent, and Sky sat in front; Sam, Gwen, Eva, Geoff, Scott, and Izzy sat in back; and all smiled and waved for the camera and cheering audience.
“Even though we lost Izzy again, she's already been a guest, so she won't take the hot seat today!” Priya reminded everybody.
“So for the first time, we'll only be interviewing two people this episode,” Damien added.
"You know," Priya leaned towards the camera and audience, "Damien and I have been having a bit of a squabble over what you guys want to see increase ratings."
Damien frowned. "I know that this is a reality show and everyone wants to know what went down, but the people that competed on TDA have already been tortured by Chris!” he claimed. “Add in losing out on a million bucks and they should be able to come here and feel safe to speak their minds."
“No one goes on a reality show to feel safe, Damien,” Priya argued. “This isn't a cushy talk show. With the lighting on these shows, who needs to win a million bucks when you look like a million bucks?”
“I'm not sure everyone would agree with you there, Priya,” Damien said back.
“Our lighting isn't all that good, but I'm not going to make a big stink about it,” Priya muttered. “The point is, this isn't a therapy session where people come to talk about their problems. And even so, I'm not gonna make them feel any better about them.”
Priya's comment earned a scoff from her boyfriend. “I'm just doing what our producers tell me to do. And I take my job seriously.”
“We're supposed to get the goods from people,” Damien added. “How are they supposed to open up to us when they might get hit over the head with a hammer?! Or an anvil?!”
They looked over at the still intact anvil swinging slightly. “The anvil is pretty cool!” Priya claimed happily before getting serious. “All this is the point of the segment. To get the truth! And we've got something even better for today!”
“You know, you've become a total Chris clone!” Damien stated in disapproval. “Sadistic and cocky!”
“I'm gonna ignore that for now,” Priya talked over him cheerfully as the audience cheered. “Our show is thrilling! And we have not one, but two guests tonight. And because they've had their moments of awesome during the show, they're getting something extra.”
“Millie and Chase have been voted out by some behind-the-scenes stunts!” Damien protested. “No way are they getting tortured!”
"Before you get to the interviews, I have to interrupt!" Scott exclaimed as he stood up and got looks from those seated around him. He still had a sling on his right arm. "There's no way that I am not the only one who has seen this!"
"Seen what exactly?" Priya asked.
"Izzy's elimination!" Scott exclaimed. "Didn't anybody notice something a little cuckoo?"
Priya and Damien shared an odd look before turning it on Scott. "Just play the clip so I can point out the obvious to you."
"If you say so," Priya said in confusion. The camera moved up to the hanging television, which quickly switched from static to the over-the-shoulder view of the Gaffers’ votes.
"No, not that clip!” Scott objected. “The clip where the final Gilded Chris was handed out!"
"You should've been more specific," Priya reminded the dirt farmer. "Roll the clip."
The camera panned back up to the other screen just as it cut from static to the footage in question.
Chris took another look at his envelope. “And the final Gilded Chris goes to… MK."
The music took a sudden, loud twist as everyone gasped while MK caught her prize with an expected smirk.
The clip paused at that instant, and the shot cut to Scott looking up at it with an expected look on his face. "See?" he said. He received only blank looks from the hosts, and groaned. "Fine, I'll point out the obvious," he said while walking over to the central couch and bent down in front of the display on the table.
The camera focused back on the paused clip, showing three of the Gaffers in mid-gasp – all except MK, whose smirk was quickly circled.
"There it is!" Scott exclaimed as the scene cut back to the studio. "MK was expecting it!"
"I remember MK voting for me," Izzy spoke up. "Why else would she not be satisfied?"
"Because obviously, MK should've been the one eliminated that episode," Scott explained. "She should have been just as surprised as the rest of you, Izzy!"
A short dramatic score accompanied the accusation, and the audience gasped.
"Whoa," Damien said in surprise. "Scott may have figured out something juicy! So what do you think happened?" he said to the dirt boy.
“Well, first of all-” Scott opened his mouth.
"Hold up!” Izzy interrupted. “I'm not going to let you say that Chase voted for me on purpose. I can't see him working with MK in order to get rid of me."
"But what else could it be?" Priya asked. "Maybe MK manipulating him?"
"I wouldn't be shocked by that," Izzy replied, "but if she told Chase a lie just to get rid of me, I think Chase would've said something about it once I was voted off."
"Hmm. Good point," Priya thought about it.
"Plus, I'm pretty sure Chase would have said something in a confessional, and as far as I've been told, he’s said nothing about the sort," Damien pointed out.
"As I was going to say," Scott said with a hint of annoyance, "I don't think Chase intentionally voted for you and you intentionally voted for Ripper. I’d say that MK found a way to rig the voting devices so that you’d get the most votes no matter what."
Everyone gasped at that claim. "I say a lot of wild things, but I have to agree with Scott here," Izzy said. "The votes were definitely rigged!"
"Thank you," Scott replied.
"Sorry, but that seems out of the ordinary to me," Priya said. "Wouldn't the producers have done something if MK fudged with the votes?"
"Yeah," Damien chimed in. "They punished Chef for making a deal with a contestant."
"Then maybe the producers didn't know about it and it wasn't caught on camera!” Scott pointed. “Back in the first season, I sure as heck didn't have the game rigged for me! The same can be applied for MK."
"Uh, dude, they film us half the time,” Geoff spoke up. “They're obviously looking over everybody's shoulder when it comes to voting."
"But it's the only thing that makes sense here!" Scott exclaimed. "Why is Izzy the only one here that believes me?"
"Whoa there," Damien said suddenly. "You can cool down now."
"Yeah," Priya said, "you're starting to look insane. We’ll look into the episodes closely if it suits you well."
"This is something that I’m not making up just to trick you, you know," Scott finished and walked back to the peanut gallery.
"Well, that was interesting," Priya said awkwardly.
"But on the upside, it means we don't have to fill up this episode’s run time with useless filler," Damien added.
"And now we can get to the first interview!" Priya said with a confident smile. "But before we see what's in store for Chase, let's see what he's been through already!"
The shot cut back up to the hanging screen where Chase's portrait was displayed once again. "Chase started this season the same way he starts everyday," Damien said.
"Eager and ready for action!" Priya finished as the screen transitioned to a clip of Chase swinging on a vine in the war challenge.
"Sadly, it couldn't score him the win," Damien said over Chase performing well in the surfing challenge.
"His relationship with Millie gave his fans even more reason to root for him," Priya added as the couple eating sandwiches was replayed, "even though they ended up on different teams."
"Unfortunately, Chase's time in the spotlight was cut short after he received the majority of the votes," Damien's comment played over the scene of Chase's elimination.
"So sad!" Priya said as the screen cut to static and the camera pulled back, then panned back down to the hosts. "But at least he didn't get robbed out of the game, right?!" she asked the crowd, who responded with applause. "Our first guest is a sports master, can outrun seven contestants, and is no stranger to over-salting other people's eggs. Everyone give a warm welcome to Chase!"
The crowd went wild as the Aftermath theme played, but nobody appeared at the backstage camera.
"Ahem," Priya loudly cleared her throat. "Chase, everyone!" The Aftermath theme played again but nobody came out, leaving the hosts and Peanut Gallery to exchange confused looks with one another.
The scene cut backstage as a young white man with blonde hair knocked on an open door. "You're on," he said as he looked at the clipboard in his hands.
The camera pulled back to show Chase and Millie sitting on the couch together.
"I can do this," Chase smiled confidently. "I've been on TV before. I can definitely handle an interview." He stood up, and the author smiled up at him.
"You'll do great," Millie said reassuringly.
"I know I will!" Chase nodded, and the Aftermath theme played once again as he made a beeline for the exit.
Chase walked out on stage with a smile and a wave towards the cheering audience. After a moment, he turned and walked towards the guest couch.
"Damien! Priya! It's cool to see you two again!" he told the hosts, shaking Priya's hand and fist bumping Damien.
"It's so great to have you here!" Priya replied.
"Yeah," Damien added. "It's not like we wanted to see you eliminated," he explained as they all sat back down, "but we are glad that you're not being a bad sport over your elimination.”
“How are you feeling now, after everything that's happened in the game?" Priya wondered.
"It's hard to know where to begin," Chase answered with a light laugh.
Damien laughed as well. "Just speak your mind."
"Well, I was doing pretty good for myself," Chase said. "I got along well with the contestants and hardly made any enemies at all. Up until my elimination, I don't even remember being in the bottom two. Izzy, sorry again about your elimination!"
“Water under the bridge,” Izzy said with a smile. “It wasn't your fault!”
"When you put it like that, you almost had it easy on the film lot," Damien chuckled.
"And it's no surprise why you were eliminated. You were too skilled for them!" Priya quipped, and the audience laughed.
“I'm not a god or anything,” Chase claimed, “but I wouldn't be surprised if someone hired me to be a stuntman for a movie.”
"I wonder if you'll be able to keep that cool attitude when you're in the hot seat while playing 'Truth or Electrocution'!" Priya told the boy before winking knowingly at the camera.
The same theme as 'Truth or Hammer' and 'Truth or Anvil' played over a receding shot of the same golden statue of the Lady of Justice. The audience applauded wildly, and the sequence came to an end with the statue getting destroyed by a bolt of lightning.
Chase looked towards the backstage curtain, and the camera panned over to show a rather large wooden electric chair with a pumpkin-headed test dummy seated in it. The same male intern from earlier pressed a button on a remote, which lowered the helmet onto the pumpkin. After a surge of electricity and a dramatic twist in the background music, the pumpkin exploded to the shock of the audience.
"Can I sit this one out?" Chase asked cautiously, turning his eyes back to the hostess. “I'm all for danger, but I'm above electrocuting myself!”
"Yeah, this is totally going overboard, Priya," Damien added. "You cannot think that electrocuting people on live TV is a good idea!"
Priya shrugged apathetically. "Sorry, but the producers were bent on doing this. Don't worry," he told the athletic boy. "They've assured me the chair is totally safe. It's on low voltage!"
"Okay then..." Chase muttered as he walked over to the chair.
"Are you seriously going to go through with this?" Damien asked in disbelief. "You don't have to do everything the producers say!"
"I do not have anything to hide," Chase told him as the blond intern from earlier strapped him into the chair.
Priya giggled. "That's the spirit!" A few chuckles came from the audience, and she continued. "So Chase, tell us: who are you mad at the most right now? Is it Anne Maria, Justin, and Topher for being the ones to actually vote for you? Or maybe even MK, for not warning you about you being targeted?" The crowd gasped at the last remark.
Chase was shown to be flabbergasted. "So MK knew that I was going to get eliminated? That's why she convinced me to vote for Topher. So the votes would sway away from Justin! That girl is so ratty!" he ranted.
"Okay then," Priya laughed a bit. "What about the others? You've got to be mad at the three for even targeting you."
"Them I'm not upset at!" Chase answered. “They just had to vote for someone, and Ripper had immunity while I didn't!"
"How correct you are," Priya said. "In fact, we have a clip that partly explains your elimination!" She looked up at the hanging screen as it started to play footage from the superhero episode.
"I'm happy that Anne Maria won the first challenge and all," Topher said, "but I want either Chase or Ripper to win the second part. That way, we can vote out the non-immune player.”
The scene paused there. "So if you won the superhero challenge alongside Anne Maria, you wouldn't be here right now," Damien said.
"Yeah, but I guess it is kinda my punishment for how I got Izzy eliminated," Chase said as the camera cut back to him.
"Well," Priya stated forcefully, "you did vote her out, but I'm not holding that against you. Enough about that. I think it's time we finally get to know you well."
Chase raised an eyebrow, and Priya continued. "Remember, if you don't answer this question truthfully, you get electrocuted."
"I got it," Chase nodded.
Priya smirked. "Glad to hear it! Now Chase, tell the truth. Who inspired you to be who you are today? Pranking and looking for danger, to be precise."
Chase was stunned by the question, but he sucked it up and answered "Well, I have an uncle named Nick. He's 30, and he used to be a daredevil before switching to selling skateboards as a job."
"And what does that have to do with you?" Priya wondered.
"I'm getting to that," Chase told her. "After he got that job, he told me stories about his own endeavors, and all of them influenced me to take up his old mantle as the family's stuntman. If he was here, he'd go into depth about it all."
"You know,” Damien spoke up, “I thought this might happen so I did some stuff ahead of time. Just give me some time to get prepared. “I'll be back in a couple minutes."
As Damien got up and walked off stage, the Aftermath theme started playing and Priya shot an uncertain look at the camera. "I guess this is where we’ll be taking a short break! Don't turn off your TV just yet!"
(Commercial Break)
The logo's 'D' transitioned the scene to Priya announcing "It's time for 'That's Gonna Leave a Mark'!" as the segment's intro sequence played and the audience cheered.
Both the montage of pain and it's campy theme music started soon after, the footage beginning with Topher combing his hair until his brush got stuck in his couf. That was followed by a clip of Izzy getting hit in the forehead by a monocle.
Next up was Chris throwing the ball to Justin, only to end up hitting his groin and making him fall over. Several more nutshots were shown next: Ripper trying to move across the lasers, only for a beam to hit in-between his legs; Chase rolling along the roof after the cast ziplined away from the water tower and getting stopped by a poorly-placed metal chimney; the Grips’ cheering after winning the heist challenge, only for Topher to get hit in the nuts by a boom mic; and Ripper getting hit in the jewels during the sports challenge via the badminton birdie.
The next clip featured the blond intern, walking through a grassy area until a pillar from the caveman duels fell on him. During the caveman challenge, the Gaffer team symbol fell on Jasmine, and the Grip symbol whacked Millie during her confessional. After Ripper dropped his rock onto MK's foot, MK was then crushed by a falling large rock.
As the teams ran to their get-away cars in the bank heist, Jasmine got her leg stuck in an oddly placed bear trap. Ripper was making his confessional only to be knocked unconscious by an intern.
Chef drove the golf cart with the rack of ribs towards the fake tar pit for the reward, only to rear-end another golf cart driven by Sasquatchanakwa. The yeti got out and started bashing Chef's cart with a golf club, then made a gesture with his fingers that had to be blurred out.
The music came to an end and the audience laughed and cheered. The camera panned back down to the hosts as Damien took his seat back on the couch.
"What was that about?" Priya asked in a hushed tone.
"I wanted to prove that we can care about the viewers and our friends," Damien whispered before looking at the camera. "And now, I'd like to introduce a surprise guest," a drumroll began in the background as Damien looked at the curtain past the Peanut Gallery, "Chase's uncle!"
The drumroll led into the Aftermath theme as a middle-aged man walked out on stage. His hair was an afro and he wore a yellow jacket with blue jeans.
"Uncle Nick!" Chase said excitedly, still strapped into the electric chair.
"Hey Chase!" Nick smiled as he strolled right past the host couch and stopped in front of Chase. "Question, why are you in an electric chair?"
Chase looked at his bonds, then back at his uncle. "Because they didn't let me out during the commercials."
"We'll have someone get you out of there," Priya said as the blond intern approached the chair. The moment the straps were undone and the helmet lifted, Chase and his uncle shared a hug.
"It's so nice to see you again," Chase said.
"I missed you as well," Nick replied.
"Why don't you two have a seat? We don't have time for a lot of questions," Damien added as the pair sat on the couches, "so maybe you can explain how you inspired Chase to be who he is, right Nick?"
"Well, I used to do stunts that were extraordinary, and even though I'd get injured, I had fun risking my life and surviving to leave a legacy on the world,” Nick recapped, “but as I entered college, I knew that I had to retire and move on with my life, but that didn't mean that I couldn't tell stories to my nephew.”
"He told me every single stunt that he pulled and he even gave me one of his skateboards so I could practice down at the skatepark," Chase added. "My uncle may have left me to take up the family's mantle of daredevil, but I owe everything to him for making me discover my purpose in life."
"I just met you, but you're a pretty great uncle!" Damien said to Nick.
"Thank you. I want my nephew to be happy just like his parents," Nick confirmed.
An 'aww' was uttered forth from the audience. "Good on you for bringing Nick out here, Damien!" Priya said.
"No problem," Damien smiled. "But I think it's about time to introduce our last guest, don't you?"
"Definitely," Priya answered and looked at the camera. "Our next guest is easily the most studious person on the show," the hostess said as the camera panned back up to the hanging screen, which now showed an image of Millie.
"Yeah, and while she may not look it," Damien said over Millie writing in her book while sitting on her bunk, "she’s a strong player and contributor to her team," Millie was shown preventing Trent from falling over and trying to crack open the safe. "Heck, she can even step up as a leader at times!" A few short clips of Millie taking charge during the war challenge played.
"Too bad for her that she wasn't able to get further, though," Priya added while Millie fell into the tar pit. "Despite being a major part of her team and even winning a reward trip with her grandfather," Millie was shown holding a megaphone and producing moans to scare the Gaffers and getting declared the winner of the hospital drama, "she got voted out right before the merge for lacking any kind of connections to her team." Millie's elimination was replayed in part, and the hanging screen cut back to static.
Damien smiled for the camera. "Our next guest spends most of her days focusing on a journal, got shoved off a diving board, and is a pretty good getaway driver, it's Millie!"
The crowd went wild as the Aftermath theme began to play, and Millie trotted out on stage, giving the electric chair a quick look before turning her attention to the crowd. She waved at the audience then walked over to the hosts with a smile on her face.
"Hey guys!" Millie greeted, waving at the hosts before sitting down on the guest couch and waving at Chase and his uncle on the couch behind her. "Thanks for having me here!"
"Great to have you," Damien said.
"Totally," Priya added. "I was loving what you had to offer this season. Too bad you got cut so short!"
“Yeah, but I still have my dignity and pride,” Millie said to them.
“And that’s more important to you than winning money that could make your finances better?” Priya wondered with disappointment.
“I do not have any financial problems, Priya,” Millie told her. “And I’m starting to think that something happened between you two. Do you want to talk about that?"
"Hey, we're the hosts of this show," Priya refused. "We ask the questions and you give the answers."
"I’m good at answering questions," Millie said confidently. “Hit me with your best shot.”
"Then you won't mind taking a seat over there," Priya pointed over to the electric chair which had reappeared on-stage again.
"Umm...sure?" Millie answered hesitantly.
"All you have to do is be honest!" Geoff called out before the shot cut back to the blond intern strapping Millie into the chair.
“I’m not going to lie at all,” Millie promised. “Unless I want a high voltage surprise flowing through my bones.”
"Okay Millie, first question," Priya began. "Who do you blame for your elimination?"
"I'd say Justin," Millie said quickly. “It's pretty clear that he somehow convinced Anne Maria to vote for me. And it was easy for Topher to vote for me as well.”
Priya frowned when no shock came. "How do you feel about Anne Maria even voting for you despite you two becoming friends?"
"I don't hold anything against her," Millie explained. “I am a little bit upset that she fell for Justin's looks, but I probably would if I was in her position.”
“Even though you and Anne Maria have boyfriends?" Priya asked teasingly.
"We resisted Justin during all of our time competing in the season," Millie said. “What makes you think that I'd fall in love with Justin beyond shallowness?”
"I was just asking a question," Priya muttered.
“And I want to move on to the next one,” Millie urged.
“Okay. Do you think that Jasmine switching over to the Gaffers resulted in your downfall?” Damien asked.
Millie sighed. "Kind of. The two of us are good friends, and she supported me throughout the season. Had she not swapped teams, then maybe I'd have a better chance of staying in the game."
"So you expected her to protect you from the votes?" Priya wondered.
"I'm not the strongest player in the game, but that doesn't mean that I'll depend on people to shield me," Millie said with a bit of anger.
Having enough, Damien grabbed Priya by the arm. “We've talked about this after the end of the last episode,” Damien scolded. “You said that you were going to tone down your antics, and so far, I'm not seeing that at all. In fact, I don't even know who you are now.”
Priya took her hand away. “Um, I'm the best and only girlfriend that you have right now.”
“Not anymore!” Damien huffed. “It's over!”
“We don't have time for a short break!” Priya replied.
“No, I was talking about us! Our relationship is finished!” Damien declared, causing the audience to gasp while Priya was blank faced.
Millie was also shown to be stunned as well. “I'd hate to get in-between this problem, but can you two continue the show?”
“I will,” Damien took a deep breath, “but don't expect me to be on good terms with Priya for now.”
“Same with me as well,” Priya responded in a standoffish tone. "And with that out of the way, it's time to talk about something a bit more interesting," she said with a playful smile.
Millie raised a confused eyebrow. "What do you mean?" she asked curiously.
"Well," Priya said knowingly, "we've gotten a lot of viewer requests to talk about what you said on that reward trip you took a few weeks ago."
"That was private!" Millie said in sudden alarm. "You can't show it on live TV!"
"Sorry, Millie, but it's already on the Total Drama website," Damien told her apologetically.
"And as far as the producers are concerned, it's fair game for it to be shown!" Priya said.
"But I didn't think anybody was going to see it," Millie continued in sadness as she slumped further back into the electric chair.
"Well it's too late for that," Priya told her. "Almost everyone at home has seen it, so it's time to show it to the few left who haven't." The camera quick-panned over to the guest couches where Chase was giving Nick a questioning look and receiving a shrug in return.
The camera moved up to the hanging screen as it cut from static to the footage of Millie and her grandfather inside the limousine of losers.
"I have a lot to talk to you about ever since I competed in the first season," Millie said to her grandfather.
Her grandfather smiled proudly. "Spill the details. I can tell you had a ball, but don't blame me if I start to doze off more than I do while writing best selling books."
"I'm not that boring!" Millie laughed cutely. "So it all started when I was dropped off on the dock. I mostly focused on writing my book, but there was a certain boy that caught my eye."
“And who could that young man be?” Millie's grandfather wondered.
“That person is Chase,” Millie answered. “I'll start off with his flaws first.”
“Flaws?” Millie's grandfather raised an eyebrow.
“Well, at first, Chase was inconsiderate, cocky, and had a tendency to show off a lot,” Millie said. “And this is not to bash him at all.”
“Right now, he sounds like a bum to me,” her grandfather said with doubt.
“But there's more to him than that,” Millie continued. “He's funny, friendly, and a well-meaning person, and as we got to know each other, he helped me be less uptight and rule-abiding.”
“And did Chase improve himself for you at all?” Millie's grandfather asked.
“Yes he did, granddad,” Millie responded. “He became more caring and thoughtful, and after he wrote me haikus, we finally started to date. I know he doesn't meet the family's expectations, and he can still be reckless at times, but I really love him, and he does as well.”
Her grandfather was touched to hear the words coming from her granddaughter's mouth. “Millie, I had no idea you two had a healthy relationship going on, and with how nice this boy is, you have my blessing to date him,” he said.
“Really? You and my parents are not going to forbid me from dating Chase?” Millie asked with shock.
“We would if he wasn't treating a lovely lady like you right,” Millie's grandfather said. “Enjoy your relationship with him. I’ll put in a good word for Chase when I tell your parents.”
Millie smiled and gave her grandfather a hug. “I love you, granddad.”
“I love you too, Millie,” Millie's grandfather returned the hug. “Now let's enjoy ourselves on our spa night. That facial is calling my name.”
The footage cut to static, and the camera pulled back and panned down to Chase and his uncle.
“So that's what you wanted to show to us?” Chase asked the hosts. “Personal information?”
“Don't blame us for wanting to spice up the show,” Priya giggled.
“Okay, can someone get me out of this thing?!” Millie demanded, and the blond intern came over to unstrap her while the helmet was lifted off. After he left, Millie got to her feet. “What is your deal, Priya? You're normally kind-hearted, and now you're being super nasty!”
"Tell me something I don't know!" Damien sighed.
"I was able to tolerate this until you decided to show my conversation with my granddad to the world just to embarrass me!" Millie reprimanded.
"This is a reality show. People are bound to get embarrassed," Priya countered. "Can you back me up on this, Chase?"
Chase was also shown to be upset as well. "Sorry, but you are acting like a full-blown jerk now, Priya," he added. “Even if I wanted to know what Millie's family thinks of me, I would not be nosy about it.”
“And I thought you learned that from last season after you tried to figure out the haiku,” Millie scolded.
“This is just all for fun,” Priya pouted. “Don't take it personally.”
"You know what I think would be more enjoyable?" Damien interjected as he walked over to the two guests and whispered something in their ears.
"Since you're a big fan of Truth or Electrocution, we think you should take a turn!" Millie grinned before she, Chase and Damien ran over to grab Priya.
“Hey!” Priya protested while the Peanut Gallery was entertained by the event going on.
Priya was thrown onto the chair, and after the helmet got dropped on her head, the intern strapped her tight while the audience were guffawing about.
"Now it's our turn to ask the questions," Damien said deviously.
"No problem," Priya said with fake confidence. "I'm really honest."
"Priya, is all the secret revealing, narcissism, and apathy really the new you? Or is this just what you think the producers want from you?" Millie asked.
Priya pursed her lips. "This is me completely." She was promptly electrocuted, earning a gasp from the audience. "Okay, I’m just acting like this so that the show doesn’t get canceled and we don’t lose our jobs."
"I've got one! How do you really feel about Damien and all of us?" Chase asked next.
"Alright! I still care about Damien a lot. I’m really sorry about how I acted. I lost control of myself, and I wasn’t surprised that Damien dumped me. I let the show become my fullest priority, and it made me do some underhanded stuff. Can you all forgive me?" Priya looked sadly at the people in front of her.
"Don't worry, Priya," Damien reassured her. "We understand now, and we all forgive you. In fact, I take back us being broken up. I don’t know what I’d do without the girl I hooked up with back on the island."
The audience awwed as Priya smiled gratefully. "Thanks!"
"So are you going to apologize for showing my private conversation to everyone?" Millie asked.
"Millie, I’m also sorry for that as well," Priya apologized. "I know the producers already put it up online, but I had no right to show it to everybody just for ratings. Your relationship with Chase is your own business, and I really promise to not invade you like that again."
“I can see that you’re being sincere,” Chase said. “Thanks for not lying.”
"So you promise to be yourself from now on and not pull any strings?" Damien asked Priya.
"Double promise," Priya nodded. "I am not going to stoop to Chris’ levels anytime soon."
“Yeah, the last thing we’d need right now is a female Chris,” Millie added as Chase agreed with her.
The Aftermath theme began as the scene cut back to Damien and Priya, the latter already out of her bonds. "Well, I guess that's it for tonight," Damien told the audience as he helped his slightly-singed girlfriend to her feet.
"Join Chris and the cast next time," Priya said as the crowd began to clap and cheer again, "for another totally suspense-filled episode of Total! Drama! Action!" The shot pulled back from the stage, and the two hosts shared a kiss.
(Roll the Credits)
(Bonus Clip)
Priya and Damien were shown to be happily kissing each other on the host couch. After a few moments, the camera panned to the guest couch, where Millie and Chase were watching awkwardly.
"Do they even know that we're still here?" Chase asked.
"I don't think it matters to them," Millie said.
"How about we go to the guest room for some alone time?" Chase said with a knowing wink.
“You don't need to ask me twice,” Millie smiled teasingly before they ran off together.
Eva - 15th
Geoff - 15th
Izzy - RETURNED
Trent - 13th
Sky - 12th
Brick - 11th
Scott - 10th
Izzy - 9th
Millie - 8th
MERGE
Chase - 7th
Boys: Justin, Ripper, Topher
Girls: Anne Maria, Jasmine, MK

You have 10$ to go to Gotham and kill Batman. Hire some help:
10$ Riza Hawkeye MCU Punisher Radical Edward Joel Miller
20$ Doc savage Brock Sampson Beatrix Kiddo John Wick The Comedian
40$ MCU Captain America Forge Quentin Quire John Constantine (original Hellblazer run, not the modern magic slinging superhero version) Edward Elrich Alphonse Elric Daredevil Moonknight Punisher Greed (before fusion with Ling) Spike Spiegel A T-800 terminator A yautja comparable to the Jungle Hunter. Fox Mystique Fox Wolverine
50$ Khamala Khan Miss Marvel Hermione Granger (eos) Harry Potter (eos) Adrian Veicht Luke Cage Danny Rand Iron Fist Nightcrawler GreedLing (FMA) Wolverine (616) A T-1000 Terminator An obedient Xenomorph capable of reproducing 3x as slowly as a normal xenomorph.
70$ Roy Mustang Jenn Walters She Hulk Peter Parker Spiderman Edward Cullen 616 Black Widow Beast Boy 616 Mystique
90$ 616 Captain America An obedient xenomorph with no restrictions. Bigby Wolf (Fables comic) L with deathnote Frau Totenkinder (Fables comic)
TLDR Basics: You and hirelings are dropped into Gotham. No outside help. Batman knows someone is coming but not who. Batman has Dick & Damien taying with him (also Alfred).
Details: You and all hired characters are dropped into a Gotham Motel rented for two nights with 60$ and only normal equipment. No one can enter or leave the city. It’s completely cut off from the multiverse but no one really seems to care. There is no outside help with one exception: John Constantine can deal and commune with demons and the ilk as normal, but no one owes him any favors in particular and they know his reputation. Logistical issues of a city cut off from the outside are handwaved. There are no shortages, no economic crisis, just the crises the city always has.
No characters outside DC universe have identities there. No one retains knowledge of Batman’s Identity. You are blocked from remembering anything about Batman and only know what you can infer from the fact that he is a comic book superhero and this is his city. You can, of course, learn more by investigating. Otherwise characters know what they would reasonably know in universe.
All act in character except that they are 100% committed to cooperating to kill Batman. No other motivations have a driving effect on any of them.
Gotham is as utterly cut off from the outside world as for anyone, but he doesn’t care. He accepts that fact without a second thought and has no interest in investigating or seeking outside help. He knows some small grouo of prople is coming to kill him. He knows they may be from different universes. He knows that no other rogue’s are planning a big play snd this issue will be his main focus.
Alfred is at the manor. Damien too. Dick is visiting from Bludhaven. Gordon is of course commissioner and Lucius works at Wayne Corp. Leslie is out doing her philanthropic thing…. Etc. The usual population of non vigilante-hero Gothamites is present, but Bruce, Damien, and Dick are the only (heroic) masks.
The usual villains, however, are present; but only people or orgs who are normally based in Gotham, So no Bane, or Ras, or Lex Luthor for example, but yes to Joker, Penguin, Two Face.
How long would it take to kill Batman? Who do you pick and how do they pull it off?
If you believe any characters break this, say so and why then pick again excluding them (Totenkinder was an afterthought and I fear she might be too much).

Boys: Chase, Justin, Ripper, Topher
Girls: Anne Maria, Jasmine, MK
Episode 17: Holy MK-oly!
“Last time on Total Drama Action! It was every dude and dudette for themselves, as the teams were busted up. But that didn't stop the Gaffers from forming an alliance between themselves.”
“Chase wowed everybody with his fancy footwork during the first spy challenge and managed to save everybody with a bit of assistance from Jasmine.”
“The cast made it out of a fake exploding building, but failed to defuse some serious stink bombs, forcing them to de-stink in tomato juice baths. I love my job.”
“In the end, Topher and Chase got the fabulous reward - a trip to the local stinky cheese factory!”
"Will the former Grips manage to keep things together?" Chris asked as the screen split into a three-way, Justin against brown on the left, Anne Maria against orange in the middle, and Topher against red on the right. "Or will the Gaffers’ alliance self-destruct first?" The ex-Grips were replaced with a quarters split with MK and Chase on top against gold and purple; Ripper and Jasmine below against green and blue.
"All this on today's episode of Total! Drama! Action!"
(Theme Song)
The scene opened up at night as the three remaining girls exited the craft services tent with cheese in their arms.
"Wow, this is some fine gouda!" Anne Maria told Jasmine and MK after taking a bite out of a hunk of cheese. "I have to give thanks to Topher for gettin' me some."
"The gouda is nothing compared to the gruyère that Chase got me!" MK said before stuffing her mouth. “Your boyfriend needs to put my tastes into consideration.”
"You didn't even care about the gruyère until you tasted it," Anne Maria argued. "And if you diss Topher again, I'm ripping holes into your hat."
"You wouldn't dare!" MK countered with faux shock. "That hat means more to me than your weekly tans in the sun."
"That's enough out of you two!" Jasmine stopped the argument. “We are nearing the end of the game, and petty squabbles should be the last thing to think about right now!”
"Not my fault," Anne Maria scoffed. "Diminutive here doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut!"
The scene flashed to the guys’ trailer. "I got you your cheese, guys," Topher said as the camera cut to the inside, Ripper, Justin, and Chase seated in front of a table of cheese and Topher standing far away from them. "Now hurry up with eating them so I don't have to smell them for the rest of the night!"
“How were you able to handle the cheese factory if you can't stand the smell?” Ripper asked, taking a bite out of a chunk of swiss cheese.
“I brought nose plugs with me in order to make the trip tolerable to my scent,” Topher explained.
“Who knew a tour of a cheese factory could make you smell so bad?” Justin stated.
“Me and Topher took plenty of showers after coming back so we wouldn't have to deal with any complaining,” Chase said.
"One of the boys has to go next. Obviously," Anne Maria told MK and Jasmine as they brushed their teeth in the communal bathroom.
“They do outnumber us by just one, so we'll take your words into consideration,” Jasmine said.
"I hear you," MK said as she spat in the sink. "Guys are cutthroat."
The camera flashed to Chris getting a massage from what could be assumed to be Chef. "The views of the contestants of Total Drama Action do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this network or parent company. They may, but not necessarily," he said in a calm voice before chuckling.
The boys were shown sitting laying on their bunk beds. "Did everybody finish their cheese?" Topher asked the others. "I don't want the ladies to complain about our smell."
"Of course we did," Chase said. “We're not going to be the next Pepé le Pew.”
The camera flashed back to the girls as MK and Anne Maria laid on their beds while Jasmine stood next to the door.
"So what do you wanna do?" Jasmine asked Anne Maria.
"We need a plan," Anne Maria replied. "We have to vote off a boy and soon."
"That's more of a goal than a plan," Jasmine commented.
"That's not the goal," Anne Maria replied with a short laugh. "The goal is and will always be-"
"The million dollars," the three girls said at once.
“Good night, girls!” Jasmine waved them goodbye and exited the trailer in order to sleep on her tree.
The shot cut back outside, a chorus of crickets and frogs heard in the background as the camera panned up to the full moon and faded forward into the morning sun. A high-pitched scream heralded another scene change as Chef Hatchet was shown in a pink floral nightgown, tied up and dangling from a rope above a street.
"Let go of me already!" Topher demanded as Chase forcibly dragged him to where the rest of the cast had already gathered, all of them in their nightwear.
"Why'd we have to come all the way out here?" Chase asked as Topher removed his sleeping mask.
"And why's Chef dangling over there?" Anne Maria added, looking up at the tied-up man.
A short drumroll opened up a more engagingly dramatic muscial piece as the camera cut to what was obviously Chris McLean standing atop a nearby building in a familiar-looking cape and cowl. With a floodlight at his back and a rope around his waist, he dived gracefully off the roof. A 'flying' sound effect accompanied a shot of him swinging towards the camera, and he soon snatched Chef to freedom. The pair continued to swing upward thanks to the host's rope, but it soon reached its peak length. Chris' costume flew off him and the smiles faded from their faces as the rope snapped, and they fell to the street with a shout.
"I knew that bungee wouldn't hold!" Chris yelled angrily, his hair completely messed up as he stood up off of Chef. "That's what happens when production cheaps out! And now my hair is all mussed up!" Chef stood up beside him with a dazed expression.
"Excuse me," Topher interrupted indignantly, "but can you get to the point and tell us what's going on?"
"When! I! Feel! Like! It!" Chris answered angrily, getting in his face and smoothing part of his hair with each word. He paused for a moment afterward as he and Topher stared at one another. "And now," he finally said, "I feel like it!"
A soft but appropriately grand tune began to build as me made his next announcement. "Today's challenges are inspired by the superhero flick!"
"Today's challenges?" Jasmine repeated in disbelief.
"We haven't even brushed our teeth yet!" Chase added.
“Or eaten breakfast!” Ripper added as well.
"Why do you enjoy making us compete so early in the morning?" MK growled.
"Evil never sleeps," Chris countered matter-of-factly, "and neither will you! Besides, superheroes don't do the things of mere mortals! They have screaming ladies to rescue!" Chef was shown fanning himself in mock exhilaration as the host spoke.
"Actually, there are some superheroes and supervillains that are mere mortals," Ripper interrupted. "Owlman and Leader Brazil for the heroes, and Screwball and Full Deck for the villains. Those are just a couple of examples," he rattled off confidently. The camera suddenly pulled out to show the others staring at him questioningly, causing him to look at them and shrug. "What? The only things that I'm genuinely interested in reading are comic books."
"And how would you like it if you had to go toe-to-toe with any of those guys, hmm?" Chris asked pointedly, and got no answer in return. "Yeah, that's what I thought. There are three things intrinsic to all good superhero movies," he said as the music began again. "One: superheroes have super powers. Two: superheroes save people. And my personal favorite, three: superheroes wear tights. Which means," he said as Ripper, Anne Maria, Jasmine, and Justin watched, "you will all be wearing," he paused to laugh, "teensy-tiny tights!" The contestants immediately began to protest.
"Why are you all in your PJs?" Chris asked with a scowl. "Get dressed and meet me back on set at superhero speed. Which means, you should already be back here!" He laughed again before calling "And make sure to wear something that goes with brightly-hued spandex!"
The scene flashed to MK, Jasmine, and Chase walking together in the background. “With all the cheese that was given to us, I think I know which superhero I'm going to be,” Ripper told the three as he walked past them in the foreground.
Confessional: Ripper
"Cheese can build up a lot of muscle, which comes in handy if I want to punch anyone in the face should they cross me," Ripper told the confessional camera with a piece of cheese in his hand. “Plus, it's also part of dairy, and if I load up too much on dairy, I can create a smell that can ward off anybody," he snickered and swallowed his cheese.
Confessional: Chase
“I've always fantasized about being a superhero,” Chase confessed. “Just imagine me riding on my bike or skateboard and kicking butt with my karate skills. My preferred choice of weapon? A bo staff, but not a wooden one. Those tend to snap easily.”
Confessionals End
The shot moved to the former Grips, who were also walking together.
"I talked with Jasmine and MK about voting for the boys, you two not included," Anne Maria whispered to Topher and Justin.
"The Gaffers are in an alliance, possibly," Justin replied, "but with four boys and three girls currently here, me and Topher can talk to Ripper and Chase about voting for one of the girls. That way, they'll think that we'll be targeting the girls when instead, we're targeting them."
“I had no idea you could think that much,” Topher said in amazement.
“A near-death experience can change a man, Topher,” Justin reminded him. “Once you've lost everything, there's nothing left to lose except the money.”
Confessional: Topher
"I can kinda relate to Justin here," Topher said. "I thought a splinter and swollen eye would be damaging to me, but I managed to recover."
Confessional Ends
A tenser tune played over a long-distance shot of the film lot as the camera zoomed in on the cityscape in the top left beyond the amphitheatre, and the scene cut to the fully-clothed castmates standing between Chris, a line of sewing machines, and a few bins of cloth.
"For your first challenge," the host announced, "each of you will create your own superhero identity."
"Sweet!" Ripper smiled.
"You'll make your own superhero costume using nothing but your fertile imagination," Chris continued, seemingly on the brink laughter, "and tons of spandex!" A close-up of the bins of spandex rolls was shown before a beeping brought the camera's focus to a dump truck backing up to the host. It dumped a load of miscellaneous stuff on the ground, and Chris added "And some other junk! You'll be judged on originality and style of costume, how rocking your superpower is, and how cool your superhero name is! Top score wins an advantage in the next round and invincibility from tonight's elimination. Chef will, of course, play the supervillain, which let's face it, won't be much of a stretch."
A green-and-yellow circular logo of snake's head spun rapidly into the foreground, then retreated into a tilted still of what was obviously a costumed Chef Hatchet and tabby cat set against a background of radial green stripes. The big man was dressed head to toe in green spandex, with the same circular snake logo on his chest and a similarly-themed fanged cowl. The cat merely wore a simple green mask, and was bearing his front claws.
"Meet, Pythonicus!" the host announced. "And his sidekick kitty, Dander Boy! They will sabotage you at every turn." Dander Boy meowed and scratched the air.
"Any questions?" Chris asked as the footage cut back to him. All seven castmates rose their hands. "No? Perfect! Aaaannnd, action!"
"I call dibs on that one!" MK yelled immediately as she dashed towards a roll of red spandex.
"Hey, I wanted that!" Chase interrupted, going for the same roll.
Confessional: MK
"That color would have looked better on me," MK explained, "but I have to stay on Chase's good side if I want him to not suspect me."
Confessional Ends
"Okay, it's yours!" MK told Chase with a smile, relinquishing her grasp on the roll of red. Chase cast her a stunned glance, then turned and ran away.
The Pythonicus logo spun up through the screen again, and as it did a piece of music reminiscent of a cheesy 1960s superhero TV show. A montage began of the costumed supervillain interfering with the contestants' challenge, beginning with Jasmine as she carefully measured what looked to be a green shirt and tights on a table in front of the sewing machines. A quick-pan to the left showed Pythonicus lurking at the end of the row of sewing machines; he dropped Dander Boy, and the shot quick-panned back to Jasmine as the cat quickly tore her costume to shreds and jumped away.
Next was Chase after a quick logo transition as he lifted a beach ball out of the junk heap with a smile. Lurking just behind the tip of the heap, Pythonicus swiped the ball and Chase was shown gaping as the ball was popped in front of him.
Another logo transition, and the third person shown was MK as she fed her gray spandex through one of the sewing machines. Standing behind her, Pythonicus dropped a small scrap of pink onto the gray, and it was quickly sewed on. MK saw it immediately, and glared over her shoulder at the villain.
Anne Maria was fourth after yet another logo transition, and she had already compiled a silver colored blouse and pants. After carefully laying down an insignia consisting of a silver diamond on her shirt just right, she looked away for a second and Pythonicus flipped the insignia upside down. Anne Maria looked back with a sparkly golden cape in her hands and a small smile on her face that changed into a frown when she noticed what was flipped.
Fifth came Ripper after the now-usual transition effect, but he was just leaning against a sewing machine and idly picking his nose. Pythonicus was openly watching him nearby in an awkward pose, but after Ripper spent several moments ignoring the villain, he turned and walked away.
The last contestant shown was Topher. He was feeding blue spandex through one of the sewing machines. The camera panned down to show Pythonicus inserting a wire into the outlet the machine was plugged into, then back up to show Topher being electrocuted.
Another logo transitioned the scene back into the still shot of Pythonicus and Dander Boy, which held for a few seconds before the cheesy background music came to an end.
The scene flashed to a modeling runway set up along one of the streets of the fake city. The camera was centered on the curtain 'backstage', with the catwalk set up in front of it. To the left, it ran almost to the edge of the screen, and was flanked by various stage lights. And to the right it stopped short just in front of the judge's table, where the trio of Chris McLean, Pythonicus, and Dander Boy sat.
"Now wearing a superhero costume of his own design," Chris dramatically announced to a calm music track as the camera and a pair of spotlights focused in on the backstage curtain, "our first super-model!"
The curtain swung open to reveal Chase dressed in red spandex and a belt with a baseball bat attached to it. His chest bore no insignia, but his face did bare a happy grin.
The camera cut to the judges as Dander Boy shut off the music and Chris sighed. "State your name and superpower," he droned as Chase hopped up to the end of the catwalk.
"I'm Danger Dynamo," Chase said, "and I've got all the powers of an extreme daredevil!" He took his baseball and mimed hitting a baseball with it.
"You're serious?" Chris told him dryly. "How do you fight bad guys? By running bullheaded into them?"
"Not only do I have this bat and my acrobatic skills," Chase continued, "but I also use my trustworthy skateboard for transport. If I had one now, I'd be demonstrating it."
Chris furrowed his brow and made a mark on his clipboard. "Well that's worth a whole 5 points..."
Chase walked away just as Justin walked up to the end of the runway. The eye candy's costume had no spandex, but he had chopped logs attached to his head, arms, and legs by multiple ropes.
"Dude, you look ridiculous," Chris told him bluntly. "So just tell me what you can do."
"I am Timber Man!" Justin declared proudly, striking a pose against a golden background. "And my superpower is…" he threw a couple of wood chips out of his hands.
The camera quickly cut to Chris as the wood chips fell in front of him. “Seriously? Wood chips?”
“Oh, and I can float. And make fire as long as I've got matches. And I don't get too close to the flame,” Justin finished with a nervous look.
"Lame!" Chris said and wrote on his clipboard. "2 points. Next!"
Ripper was the next one as he ran up the runway with a paper crown on top of his head and his shirt taken off to show a drawing of a milk carton and a chunk of cheese. He posed confidently and said "I'm King Dairy, and with enough dairy products, I can cook up gas!" He took out four chunks of cheese and stuffed them into his mouth. After he did, he let out a burp and fart at the same time. “The king has just cut the cheese!”
The gassy cloud of the bully's fart flew over to Pythonicus's face, causing him to wail and scream “It burns!” before fainting to the ground.
"Impressive," Chris said as he and Dander Boy looked at the fallen cook. "Gross, but impressive. 7 points for King Dairy."
“Booyah!!” Ripper celebrated.
The scene flashed forward to Topher standing proudly at the end of the runway in his dark blue spandex and light blue cape. His insignia was of his own face.
"I am Frosty Man!" Topher declared. "My powers include water and ice, and I use them to put out fires and nefarious plots."
“Do you squirt ice and water out with your hands?” Chris asked.
“No, with this!” Topher responded before he took out a fire extinguisher and squeezed the foam out in front of him. “How ‘bout that?”
"Cool if you want to be a firefighter," Chris answered, "but kinda dull for a superpower! 6 points."
Topher shrugged and walked away.
MK was next in her gray spandex. A piece of rope was attached to her butt, and she had a black beanie that covered her eyes, but had holes cut into them so she could see. "I am Street Rat," she declared, "and nobody can stop me thanks to my brains, sleight of hand, and ability to not be detected!"
"Those are skills that you normally have," Chris commented. "Nothing new to me, but great costume. 4 points."
MK pursed her lips in annoyance, but walked away without further comment.
Another flash forward put Jasmine in front of the judges at the end of the catwalk. She was wearing green spandex with no insignia and had a coil of rope wrapped around her waist.
"Looking pretty cool there," Chris told the Australian girl. "What's your name and superpower?"
"The name's Amazonia," Jasmine announced, "and the only superpowers I need are determination, strength, and my ability to hogtie enemies with my rope."
"Not bad," Chris said as he jotted something down in his notes. "I'd prefer something a little flashier, but the intimidating factor works in your favor. 5 points!"
Jasmine walked back down the catwalk, and Anne Maria replaced her. Her costume consisted of her in her normal clothes, but recolored to be silver and was noticeably sparkled with glitter. She had her diamond insignia on her blouse, silver goggles on her eyes, and a golden cape on her back.
"And what are you supposed to be?" Chris wondered.
“Bling Girl is my name!” Anne Maria introduced. “I have indestructible hair powerful enough to beat bad guys into shape. I can also blind my foes with my hair spray and cause explosions with my perfume spills in order to ward them off. Plus, I can take them on with my fists and sharp nails.”
“Awesome! Your powers are spectacular and sure to knock anyone out of commission," Chris said with a wide grin as he marked down the score. "10 points."
"Umm, why does she get a perfect score?" MK wondered as she stepped up to the judge once more, still in her Street Rat costume. "Her powers just consist of her daily hobbies like mine."
"That's because your powers are less likely to attack villains," Chris told her. "Anne Maria's is more creative."
"If you're gonna complain some more, I have a way of handling that," Anne Maria told MK with a pointed glare.
"No thanks," MK shook her head. "I don't want my nostrils to be burned by your perfume."
"Man, I love this show!" Chris told the camera with a wink.
(Commercial Break)
The scene faded back in to a shot of several additional set pieces along the fake city street. To the far left was a fake burning building up on stilts, then a mattress laying in front of a twilit forest backdrop, then a fake skyscraper, and finally a large trampoline in front of another evening backdrop on the far right.
The camera zoom-panned to the right, showing a ladder beyond the trampoline and Chris and the cast nearby. "For your second challenge, we will be testing your super prowess." The shot focused in on Jasmine as she raised a concerned eyebrow.
Confessional: Jasmine
"Chris can't really expect us to have actual superpowers," Jasmine told the confessional, still in her Amazonia costume. "After all, we are still human beings. It's not like we were bitten by a radioactive spider or had our bodies struck with electricity!"
Confessional Ends
"You'll have to leap over a building in a single bound," Chris told the contestants, "using this trampoline from the set of the movie 'Trampoline Thunder 2'! Awesome flick," he flashed a thumbs-up at the camera. "You'll be judged on how far and how high you jump," he continued as the camera quick-panned to the diving board at the top of the ladder. "And please, properly time your landing as we wouldn't want you to land anywhere other than on this soft, cushy mattress." As he spoke, another quick-pan took the scene down to the mattress where Dander Boy was busy washing his paw. The background music rose dramatically as the camera zoomed in, and the villainous feline was sent flying by one of several errant springs that popped out of the mattress.
The contestants gaped in shock, and the host continued. "Our first and foremost priority at Total Drama Action is you safety and well-being," he told them before slowly breaking out into laughter. "Next, you'll have to save a woman falling from a building," Chris said as the shot moved over to the fake burning building. "The woman will be played by a sack of potatoes in a dress," he said as Pythonicus leaned out of the building's window holding said dressed-up sack. "Which will be a real catch for you guys," he quipped.
Confessional: Anne Maria
"Chris is one to talk," Anne Maria sniffed. "He probably had dinner with that thing!"
Confessional Ends
A brief clip of Chris and the potato sack in a dress was shown, the pair seemingly enjoying a romantic candlelit dinner as touching music played and the smiling host poured the sack a glass of wine.
"And finally," Chris said as the scene moved back to the challenge, "you'll walk across a power line during a meteor shower!" The camera panned past the burning building to a row of power lines with a few mattresses below them, and Pythonicus tossing a bowling ball in one hand. He tossed it casually, and it flew straight through a water tower causing the water inside to come gushing out.
"The person to finish the course with the best time will also win invincibility alongside Anne Maria!" Chris announced as the contestants turned their shocked looks back to him. "Anne Maria, you're up first. Ten seconds will be shaved off your time for winning the first round."
“Aw yeah!” Anne Maria stepped forward confidently.
Confessional: Topher
"I'm happy that Anne Maria won the first challenge and all," Topher said, "but I want either Chase or Ripper to win the second part. That way, we can vote out the non-immune player."
Confessional Ends
"Aaaand, action!" Chris announced with a stopwatch in his hand, a drumroll starting up the fast-paced music as the scene immediately flashed up to Anne Maria on top of the diving board.
With a quick glance downward, she did a cannonball off the board, landing in the center of the trampoline and bouncing back up like a shot. She continued to hold her legs close to her body as she spun through the air and over the top of the skyscraper, and landed on the mattress with a roll and got back to her running position.
"So far some impressive moves from Bling Girl," Chris narrated.
Anne Maria quickly ran to the 'burning building', but tripped and fell just short of where the potato sack fell.
"Looks like we're having real mashed potatoes tonight, eh Chef?" Chris taunted. "None of that powdered stuff."
"Not much of a shining diamond now!" MK teased.
"Nice quip," Chris told the girl.
The shot cut back over to Anne Maria at the electrical pole as she started to climb up it, the camera quickly moving to the top as she started trying to make her way across the wires. She dodged two bowling balls, but dodging the second put her in the path of a third that knocked her off the wires and onto one of the mattresses below.
"Looks like you didn't make it," Chris taunted.
Confessional: Anne Maria
"What is with those mattresses?" Anne Maria muttered until she noticed bugs crawling on her right arm. "Get off!" she snarled as she shook her arm in order to ward off the bugs.
Confessional Ends
"Ripper, you're up!" Chris called before the scene flashed up to Ripper looking down thoughtfully from the diving board.
"Don't mess up, Dairy King!" MK said dryly from below, catching the shirtless boy's attention. “You know what's at risk!"
Ripper frowned a bit. "That's King Dairy, Street Rat!" He turned his attention back to the diving board, and took a deep breath. "It's Ripper Time!"
He jumped off the board and hit the trampoline legs-first, and flew up into the sky. “Time to call upon dairy!!” Ripper brought out four pieces of cheese and ate them all, producing a fart and burp that soared him over the skyscraper and landed him onto the mattress below before running off again.
"King Dairy to the rescue!" Ripper shouted before hopping off at top speed towards the next building. Pythonicus laughed evilly and dropped the starch-filled damsel, but Ripper leapt up and grabbed the sack in his arms before it hit the ground. "There you go. Feel feel to praise King Dairy for a day's work," he said proudly as he put the sack down on the ground.
"Hurry it up, King! You're on the clock!" Chris called from the sidelines, a stopwatch in his hands.
Confessional: Jasmine
“Ripper's no Superman or anything, and his attitude could use a little work, but the man's got some sweet moves,” Jasmine commented.
Confessional Ends
The camera cut to Ripper's quick and bounding climb up the utility pole. He reached the top and looked down, but after the first bowling ball missed him, he got into action, missing the next two bowling balls entirely.
"C'mon, Pythonicus!" Chris told his supervillain assistant, who paused in mid-throw to glare back at him, then toss the bowling ball at the host instead. It hit Chris upside the head, earning a satisfied smile from MK who had been standing beside him. Unfortunately, she didn't notice the ball coming back down and was hit on the top of her head and knocked down. The two groaned in pain.
The shot cut back to Ripper as he flawlessly ran to the end of the power lines and jumped down, landing with a powerful thud on his feet.
"And King Dairy saves the day!" he declared victoriously.
"Never thought I'd say this, but," Chris said as he got back to his feet, face scuffed and hair well out-of-place, "nice work, King Dairy." He smiled and checked his stopwatch, adding "Made good time, too. 36 seconds!"
"I'd do better if there was an actual damsel," Ripper said with a smirk as he walked past the host and stopped next to MK. "Try and top that, Rat Face!"
"It's Street Rat!" MK told him. "And worse of all, you already know that!"
Confessional: MK
"Ripper is my biggest enemy on the show, but I do have to keep him around if it means gaining more votes or using him as a shield," MK admitted in the confessional trailer, still in her Street Rat costume.
Confessional Ends
"Next!" Chris called happily, his hair already fixed. The background music picked up in intensity as a montage began of the other five superheroes running the course, beginning with Street Rat MK sprinting towards the ladder and climbing up it; Frosty Man Topher looked down warily from the end of the diving board; Danger Dynamo Chase jumped off the board; and Amazonia Jasmine dived off the board.
The scene quick-panned down to the trampoline as Topher hit it, sprung back up, and hit the side of the skyscraper; Chase flew over the building with a flip; Jasmine soared over the skyscraper with her body spread out; and Timber Man Justin vaulted over the top with his limbs tucked in.
MK hit the mattress below at a roll and kept running, catching the sack of potatoes but tossing it aside just as quickly. Topher came up behind her and paused with his arms open wide, and after the potato sack landed, he set it down and took off.
Jasmine was shown working her way across the electrical wires, but one of the bowling balls took her off. Pythonicus grinned darkly and sent the next ball flying. It nearly hit Chase, but he was able to jump down to dodge it, then grab the wire and swing back up to keep going. Justin was next, but although he jumped and rolled over one bowling ball, he flubbed the landing, landed on the wire with his groin, and got electrocuted. He fell smoldering to the mattress below, and the intense music came to an end as Chris pressed the button on his stopwatch.
"While Danger Dynamo did a really good job," he told the castmates who had lined up in front of him once again, "he was still three seconds short of beating the record. The winner of the second challenge, and invincibility with Bling Girl is," he took out his clipboard as he dramatically announced "King Dairy!"
"Yes!" Ripper cheered. "I won the challenge!"
"Maybe you are cut out to be a superhero," MK told him before chuckling. “Maybe.”
"Hey, superheroes?" Chris interrupted, pinching his nose and waving his clipboard in front of his face. "You all smell super gross. Time to hit the showers, and decide who's gonna get kicked to the curb."
The footage skipped ahead to nightfall, the shot lingering on the cast trailers as Anne Maria exited from the girls'. As the scene cut inside, MK and Jasmine were shown discarding most of their costumes.
"Since Ripper is immune, there's no voting for him tonight," MK said.
“And we are not going to eliminate Chase at all,” Jasmine declared.
"So that leaves us with Justin and Topher," MK said.
“I think it'd be best if we vote-” Jasmine responded, only to be interrupted by a sharp rapping on a nearby window. Confused, the two girls went to investigate, and the scene cut back outside to show Ripper and Chase waiting below, the two of them out of costume.
"Did Anne Maria leave?" Chase wondered.
"Yes," MK said.
"Good. We have to talk about who to vote," Chase said.
"Well I figured we should get rid of Justin," Jasmine whispered. "I used to be on his team, and he wasn't the most helpful at the time."
"I don't really care about pretty boy, so he can go," Ripper spoke up.
"But I say that Topher's the bigger threat," MK interrupted. “He was able to beat Jasmine in the prehistoric challenge and won the reward alongside Chase in the spy challenge.”
"And plus, he did just join the game a few episodes ago," Chase added.
"I'm aware of those instances, but I remember Justin trying to use his looks to get out of doing the challenges!" Jasmine countered. "Topher hasn't done anything like that so far!"
"And taking down Topher in the finale would be similar to doing the same to Justin!" Ripper said.
MK groaned. "Chase, do you still want to vote off Topher?"
“Now that I think about it, gunning for Justin would be a better choice,” Chase admitted.
"If that's how it's gonna be, then I'll vote for Justin as well!" MK said in defeat. "Next time, we take out Topher. Got it?"
The other three nodded.
The scene flashed to outside the communal bathrooms just as Anne Maria opened the door and walked in to Justin and Topher with their lower bodies wrapped up in towels and hair for Topher.
"Hey boys!" Anne Maria said brightly. "I didn't expect you to be here."
"Yeah," Justin said while Anne Maria came over to them, "but we have to discuss our voting plans, and this was the best place to do it."
"Exactly. So we're going to vote for Chase tonight," Topher said. “He's one of the most athletic contestants here, and if we underestimate him, he could make it to the finale.”
"I got it. I don't want to vote for any of my girls today!" Anne Maria said happily.
"Good. We'll leave you to shower alone. See you at the ceremony!" Topher smiled and pecked Anne Maria on the cheek before he and Justin left the building.
Another flash transitioned the shot to a close-up of the guys' trailer. "Psst! Hey!" MK hissed at one of the windows in the guys' trailer from the bushes outside. "Anybody in there?"
It was Topher who answered, sliding the window open and looking out. “MK? What are you doing here?”
"I'm here to dish out the news!" MK whispered.
“And what could that be?” Topher wondered.
"Look, me, Chase, Ripper, and Jasmine are planning to vote for Justin tonight, but I know how to prevent that," MK grinned.
“Which is?” Topher raised an eyebrow.
"I'll vote alongside you guys," MK said. "Look, I know from a certain source that you, Justin, and Anne Maria are going to vote for Chase, and I want him gone too!"
“But isn't Chase in your alliance?” Topher asked. “Why do you want him gone?”
"Anne Maria and Ripper have immunity, Jasmine and Justin didn't do well this challenge, and we're not voting for ourselves," MK added.
"Alright, those are fair points," Topher considered, “but wouldn't your alliance smell something fishy if there are four votes to three?”
“I've already got that covered,” MK smirked. “Don't worry about it.”
“If you say so,” Topher shrugged and closed the window.
Confessional: Topher
“To be fair, my plan was to vote for the non-immune guy, but how did MK even know about what I said in the confessional?” Topher asked.
Confessional: MK
"I am loving my strategy of recording confessionals," MK sighed in satisfaction. "I told Chase that we should just ignore Ripper and Jasmine and vote for Topher for the sake of the game. In that daredevil's head, he thinks that Topher will get the most votes if Justin votes him off as well! Oh how wrong he is," she finished with a teasing nod.
Confessionals End
The post-confessional static faded directly into the Gilded Chris theme. All the standard fanfare and reverence towards the host came and went, and the man himself walked up to the amphitheater podium as the camera zoomed in on the ceremony.
"And now, we vote," Chris said with a dark grin. The castmates were shown voting briefly, the trio of Jasmine, Anne Maria, and MK on the top row above Ripper and Chase, while Justin and Topher sat in front.
"And, the Gilded Chris goes to...," Chris announced before Pythonicus descended upside-down on a rope from the ceiling, handed him the results, and was pulled back up. "Anne Maria, and...Ripper! MK, and...Jasmine!"
"And we're down to the final three," Chris announced as the tension rose in the background music. He paused as he held up the folded paper he'd been given, then said "Justin!"
"And finally...," Topher and Chase were shown looking worried in a split-screen, "Topher!" The blonde boy smiled victoriously as his half of the screen slid away, leaving only a very shocked Chase.
"What?!" Chase exclaimed in panic.
Confessional: MK
“If I don't want to look like a traitor to the others, then the best thing I could do is not vote for Chase,” MK confessed. “Besides, he already got the majority of the votes, so I voted for Topher.”
Confessional Ends
"But how?" Jasmine stammered. “I thought we were voting off Justin.”
"MK told me to vote for Topher. I thought that…" Chase said before turning to glare at MK. “You voted for me, didn't you?! I knew Millie was right about not trusting you!”
“Hey, I didn't vote for you at all,” MK denied. “My vote was for Topher along with yours.”
"Did you two vote for Chase?" Jasmine eyed Anne Maria and Justin.
“Yes, and Topher did as well,” Anne Maria confirmed. “We didn't want him to overpower us.”
“I thought that Justin would vote for Topher as well, but I was wrong,” Chase said in disappointment.
"Sorry, Danger Dynamo, but it's time for you to take the Walk of Shame," Chris announced.
“There's nothing left to do but accept my defeat,” Chase sighed.
It was the spinning logo of Pythonicus that transitioned the scene to the red carpet, the sad but reverent elimination music already playing as Jasmine, Ripper, and MK stood with Chase one last time.
“I'll miss you guys,” Chase told them. “And Ripper, I'm super sorry about Izzy's elimination.”
“I still can't understand it, but I'll let bygones be bygones since you're going home,” Ripper said.
"MK, you're annoying, but thankfully, you didn't vote for me," Chase said to her.
"My pleasure," MK replied pridefully.
“Jasmine, we haven't gotten many opportunities to talk to each other, but you've been pretty cool towards me. I hope you win,” Chase spoke.
"No promises, but okay," Jasmine agreed. "And give a hello to Millie for me."
"You bet. Well, see you later," Chase gave his goodbye and got into the limousine of losers. The door slammed shut, the limo sped off, and as Ripper and Jasmine waved, MK simply crossed her arms and smiled secretly.
The shot cut over to the stage where Chris McLean was leaning against his podium with a grin on his face. "They may not have seen that coming," he told the audience, "but you should see what's coming next time on Total! Drama! Action!"
(Roll the Credits)
(Bonus Clip)
Chase was leaning back in the seat of the losers' limousine. "Even though MK didn't do anything to cause my elimination, I still didn't see this coming," he said. "I thought I'd go all the way this season after being an early out last time, but I ended up as the merge boot. Guess I'm just too awesome for this game," he joked for a bit with a laugh. “I still have Millie as my girlfriend, and I should just find an alternative for getting money, but what should I do? Fast food worker? Nope. Babysitter? No way.” He mused for a bit until an idea came to him. “I got it! Not only will this make me some money, but I can also be famous doing it!”
Eva - 15th
Geoff - 15th
Izzy - RETURNED
Trent - 13th
Sky - 12th
Brick - 11th
Scott - 10th
Izzy - 9th
Millie - 8th
MERGE
Chase - 7th
Boys: Justin, Ripper, Topher
Girls: Anne Maria, Jasmine, MK

My problem is huge, and I could be spending weeks writing down how colossally-large this problem is, or at least, how large the problem appears to me.
Well, when I say "problem", I mean multiple problems, that just seem to join into a single & large problem.
I'm posting this under a new & separate account (mods, please don't delete this), as I do not want all of this being associated with my real identity. And just to clarify, these problems are real, and they are happening to me right now, and have happened to me all my life. I just want to be as anonymous with this as I can.
First paragraph starts here...
The first memories of my life started when I was only three years old. Well, not my first memories, but at least my first comprehendible blobs of memories. It starts off with me being woken up by my father, which at that time he was around his early 40s. After he woke me up, I [barely] remember me following my dad, at a hallway, at my dad's job. He worked as a professor at a university. I remember the ambient being very cold & dark, so I remember lying down on the sofa, at my dad's office. I'll go back to this in a moment.
I never knew that there was something wrong with me, until I saw how others perceived me. I've gone to many therapists & doctors in my lifetime, concerning mental health, and never had anything resolved, just more problems added. Although I am currently 16 years old, I turn 17 in a few days. A few years ago, I was in an argument with my father (I don't remember why), and he started saying somewhere along, that [whatever that started the argument], was because I had autism. I already knew/suspected that there was something wrong with me at that point in time, but that's the first time I ever was informed that I was diagnosed with autism, and that's the first time I knew that I was truly fucked up in the head. I believe he told me somewhere along, that he knew, because the psychiatrists, or whatever doctors I've met, had informed him about the diagnosis, but not me. He told me that many of my teachers already knew. I remember a few years before, a substitute was asking everyone in the classroom (while I was at the restroom), if I had autism, as what I assume that he was making fun of me. I only ended up knowing about this, because some of the kids told me about it. That's when I knew that his purpose of asking his question was to make fun of me. But about what my father told me, I was surprised, and when I went home, I asked my mother if I had autism, and she broke down and said yes.
Back to the first paragraph, I remember that many following days of the year, whenever my father would leave me in his office to go print some papers, I would start to cry very loudly, sometimes even getting other staff involved, as they were worried of what was going on in my dad's office. I don't know why this happened. I usually look back to those times, and sometimes make myself conclude that I was crazy, ever since I've ever gained consciousness. However, sometimes, I also feel like this isn't true.
Either before this, or after, I remember also attending a daycare, where there were many other kids my age. I remember only having maybe one or two issues there, but any normal person has one or two issues every once in a while—right? There, I was capable of socializing with the kids of my age, without any problem at all. Matter of fact, my best friend at that time, was actually a girl, completely opposite of my gender, something that isn't really common, or at least I believe isn't that common. I'll later reference this. I met her when I was three years of age, and the last time I met her, was around 1 or 2 years ago. Me and her hung out a lot, as the daycare was in the university that my dad worked at, and her parents also worked there too. Last time I saw her, she lost a lot of her family members, however I don't exactly remember who, and don't want to share what I do remember, because I believe that would be invading her privacy. So when I heard about this (my father told me), I realized that maybe my life wasn't as bad as it was (I'll reference this later as well).
At three years of age, I don't really remember having issues with my father, and only my mother. She was always a very strict person, however I would sometimes bypass/break her rules, no matter how strict she would get. And even with all of this said, I was still attached, and still loved my parents, despite these issues. Although me & my parents live in the U.S., they are from South America (I was born in the U.S., and both of my parents became naturalized a few years ago). I remember that also, around the age of three, my parents were visiting South America, to visit some family. My mother took me to her friend's house, and there, was a lot of toys, as a three year old, I wanted to stay there, and so when my mother decided that it was time to go, I refused. I remember that she grabbed me, and started to walk to a taxi (this was probably around 2010). As she was leaving, I started hitting her and pulling on her hair, because I wanted to stay. I've had tons of other incidents like this in my life, however I do not know if this is normal with normal people, and I assume it isn't. I guess I was always a violent kid, because I always attacked and/or insulted my mother certain times.
But if all children are born innocent, then how can one become violent? This is something that was never answered. I was never violent with my father, until I turned 13. But I was never violent with any other family members. I only remember attacking my mother, and my father. All of this violence ended at my mid 14s. And all of this always contributed to my belief that I was crazy. I always had this almost-involuntary sense of rage, which a lot of times I've felt that have been triggered by my parents on purpose.
And still up to this day, when I feel rage, I'll insult my parents. But I've never done this with other family members, or anyone outside the household. I've never in my life felt the same level of rage that it takes to be violent with people, outside of the household. I don't know why.
I feel like a lot of this has stemmed from the fact that as a younger child, my father has been violent with me as well. I remember that when I was a child, I would hyperventilate after being [what most call] "spanked" by my father. My father has hit me since the age of what—three years of age, all until around 13 or 14.
Sometimes, I feel like the only solution is to start again from zero; to find a way, to run away, or to find a new family. But for me, it would be really painful to do so. Practically all my life I've felt that I love my family, but that I also want to run away from my family.
Back to the end of the fourth paragraph, although I only had a few major issues, such as the violence going around between me and my mother, and my father and me, things would change.
Back then, temporary but periodic problems like this one occurred. But when there weren't issues, everything else seemed fine. I seem to had [at that time], no other problems. By age 4, my mother and I moved from the city to a town. At the town, I attended a preschool. I made friends with another kid, but for some reason (I seriously don't know why), I also bullied (maybe that's a too harsh word) the kid. I don't know why, but this is a behavior that I would repeat a lot later. Although this was the first time I reportedly done something like this, I didn't actually know that I did it until my mother told me about it a few years later, during an argument. And that's when a flashback came, a blurry blob of memory; we were being served our food at the preschool, and when we all sat down, I pushed his food off of his plate, and onto the floor, but I don't actually know if it happened or not, I just suspect so. With all of the other memories of the preschool, I don't really remember any other problems with anyone.
When I turned 5, I attended kindergarten, like many others did, right? In kindergarten, everything went fine, besides one incident that I remember, in which I was messing with my best friend's (at that time) glasses. Again, that bullying behavior that I had. I don't know why I did this. I feel like I felt pleasure doing it. But I have no other memories of that happening that year. When I reached first grade, nothing else really happened, everything seemed fine, except that I would only see my father every weekend, as he worked at the city because of his work. I would cry some nights, begging my mother to move from apartment and get a house where we could have a backyard and could live all three together. So at three-quarters of the school year, we moved into the city, into a house.
Everything went normal, I switched schools, and things were fine. When I moved to a new school, for second grade, everything suddenly went wrong. I was bullied, at a much larger scale, and probably went through what maybe a few of you (those who are reading) have faced. This was every day of every week, of every month, of the school year.
I continue to believe today, that this bullying has changed who I am. I feel like I lot a lot of my innocence in the second grade. Before, I was a clean kid, usually shy, and after, I became a dirty person, and one who got in trouble a lot. I remember coming home from school, telling my parents how much I hated my life. After the second grade, that's when I stopped getting good grades, when I started getting phone calls home, and when I took a very bad downward spiral into a pit of misery and hopelessness. And with all of this bullying, I started bullying others too, in third and fourth grade, and a lot, and not like single incidents, now I mean repeatedly. Fifth grade became much more calm, and things seemed to have been getting better, with no problems with bullying, both incoming, and outcoming.
Since second grade, my mother stopped working at the university in the town, and started working for a private school in the city. Matter of fact, this school was, and still is one of the best schools in the state that I live in. When I turned 11, during the summer, I was accepted into the private school, for the sixth grade of middle school. When I attended, it was great. Everything was going good. I'll come back to this in a moment, but I must mention something important.
I've always been a person who was interested in the wonders of technology, especially with computers. As a kid growing up, anything that belonged in the category of electronics, was my passion. For me, it was my only way of escape from problems I faced IRL. When people turned to books during times of boredom, sadness, or grief, I turned to electronics. I don't know why. Maybe because since the age of two, I ripped keys off of my parent's old laptop.
Back to the seventeenth paragraph, the school required us to bring our own laptops. With this, I started learning a lot of things, such as programming, and physics. I loved it. Me and my friends would sneak to the back of the school during lunch, and would sometimes play a videogame together, or watch a funny video together. It was like our escape from turbulent households, even when being in the household physically. My parents would argue a lot, and my escape would be through the wonder of the internet. But one day, I lost all of the benefits, and still had to carry out the responsibilities. My parents took my laptop away from me, and I don't know why, but this caused a load of sadness onto me. I begged my parents to just leave me in school, and to never pick me up. Believe it or not, this happened in September. This put me in a state of nonsensical depression that I still feel up to this day. I was only 11 at this time, and I started becoming extremely dirty with my language, and very pornographic. Nobody else that I knew was at this level of dirtiness. Up to this day, I still am this way. The only things I find funny are pornographic jokes, and pornographic material. You could show me a regular meme, and if it's not pornographic or pornographically-related, dirty, or vulgar, I wouldn't find it funny. This has destroyed my personality, and I no longer am capable of socializing with women, and a good portion of men, because how weird and obscene I have become. I find it a lot harder to socialize with even my own mother. Just right now, opening my Downloads folder, there's 17 videos and images that I saved as "memes", and they're all either racist, offensive, pornographic, or just gore material.
I know I'm really fucked up in the head. Back to what was going around in sixth grade, all of the racist, offensive, and vulgar jokes & actions that I've made have brought so much emotional distress to my parents, that they've chose that I'd no longer go to private school, and onto a charter school instead. I was loved by many, or at least they showed approval of me at the private school, despite the fucked up things I've said and done. But in the charter school, things changed a bit.
Charter school is when I had to do sixth grade again. No, I didn't fail sixth grade at the private school, but my parents instead made me do sixth grade again. I actually passed with all A's and B's. Of course, my behavior there in the private school was never good. I got multiple punishments, for pointing the middle finger at my math teacher, saying disgusting sexual comments about one of my robotics instructors, and insulting a trans student, all of which I deeply regret today, not because I truly feel any embarrassment, but because I have forever left a mark on my mother's reputation at her job (or at least that's what my parents have told me), and am no longer able to attend that private school. I do not believe that these victims by the incidents I mentioned still care about what happened, but I truly apologize to them, if they, by any chance, ever see me again, or are reading this themselves.
As I moved onto charter school, there were new people, new chances, new everything, but I fell into another downward spiral, and ended up doing the wrong things, and hanging out with the wrong people. At age of twelve, was when I first actually saw violent pornography, and gore. I was friends with a kid who, both of us, were very vulgar. He showed me porn for the first time, and that's where I actually got addicted. A lot of other shit has also happened, but from here to now, at almost 17 years of age, I am a very messy person. My appearance is all messed up, my humor is messed up, my capabilities of socializing are messed up, my hygiene is messed up, and now my intellectual abilities are worsening as well.
As the last major problem that I'll be listing here, my mind is rotting. I don't know if it's all of the vulgarity, me not sleeping right, not exercising, not having enough socializing, not being the happy person I once was, or if it's all of the new medicine I'm taking. Yes, lately the medicine I've been prescribed has been really degrading to my mind, and my health, and I don't know if that's another major contributing factor or not.
I really, really need help, guidance, or ideas, because not even the tons of different doctors, psychiatrists, therapists, and the different psychiatric hospitals have been able to successfully help me out of this endless & dark tunnel.
I don't want to take my own life as a solution, as my father has told me that it is an upmost cowardly act, and don't want to leave my family with all of this pain.
I don't know if I should or shouldn't separate away from my family & find a foster home, and I don't know how I would do so if I had to. If I had to separate away from my family, how would I forget all of the good times I've spent with them? How would I forget my childhood? How would I run away? How would I tell my parents that it's time for me to go? Where would I find a job? What would I tell the rest of my family when it's time for me to go? How do I fix this?
I really need your help, whoever is reading this, please, just drop me a suggestion.