The Winter Court of the Insane, Philosophical Ladybug

After a discussion on Sailor Moon with someone last Friday, I felt like getting out my DiC dub DVDs and watching some. Usually I watch Sailor Moon in Japanese, but honestly, I still love the DiC dub. The characters' voices had a lot of heart and those were the voices I heard when I first tried Sailor Moon in 2002. I'm very sentimental about the DiC dub.

I felt like watching the end of R, so I pulled it out Saturday morning. After the first two of four climatic R episodes, I was thinking, "Sailor Moon season climaxes are really downers." I remembered getting depressed the last time I watched the end of S. Even in the DiC dub, the R climax kept most of its dark elements. It doesn't try to cover up Sapphire and Diamond being murdered. Sapphire's last episode was especially heartbreaking. But then the other two R episodes had a lot of squee and hope (in spite of the downer of Diamond's death). (And no, I didn't watch that silly thing after the end of the arc that was basically a clip show as everyone argued who should lead the team (or star in the show, as per the Japanese, heh). I saw that once, maybe twice, and that was enough. I rarely like clip show episodes.)

Seeing those episodes left me with some serious nostalgia. Even though I didn't see Sailor Moon in first run, the whole feel of the dub and its added Sailor Moon Says segments were so very 90s. I love the 90s and I miss their relative innocence compared to today's cynicism. The 90s, at least the early to mid 90s, were kind of an extension of the 80s in some ways. Both were lovely decades to enjoy as kids, with fun, cheesy, and wholesome shows. (And you know, honestly, I liked how most of the Sailor Moon Says segments were tailored to each episode. It was clever how they found a moral in each one that they could use. I was disappointed when towards the last of the DiC run they stopped trying and just reused old segments.)

Then I watched some YGO. I did see it in first-run, and I had nostalgia about 2002. Those years when I discovered YGO and watched it in first-run were among the happiest years of my life. Not just because of that, of course; my real life was very good then and I wasn't cynical and weary like I am now. I often long for those happy days again. Not that I don't have happy times now, and my real life is still good, but there's a lot to be said about the days of relative innocence. Evanescence's Field of Innocence sums things up pretty well (although thankfully I don't feel as despondent as the person in that song).

Later that day, I had the urge to try Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog again. I grew up with it, and as I recall, it was my first introduction to Sonic. (Either that or I saw the comics before I saw the cartoons. Now I don't remember the order.) Netflix has a few of them, so I thought I'd watch the one where Sonic tries to find Tails a new home after deciding it's just too dangerous for Tails to be with him. I last saw it ten years ago and I thought I remembered that there was only one instance of physical humor in that episode, involving something in Robotnik's eye. I had completely blocked out all the rest of the Warner Brothers humor in the climax. Sigh. As a kid, I could watch that sort of thing without batting an eye. As an adult, I have to look away and I'm still in horror anyway. And unlike Darkwing Duck, which was a really strong show that I still love in spite of that horrible Warner Brothers humor, Adventures definitely didn't have the same lush animation and storytelling quality to mean more than the violence. (Although the storylines aren't always bad; the one I watched is pretty moving, barring all that physical humor. And this line from Tails is absolutely beautiful: "Family just means the people who care about you more than anything else!" It fits perfectly for the friends as family concepts I love to write. I also loved that in spite of Sonic's obnoxious behavior, he wasn't too proud to say he loves Tails.)

Other things I noticed about Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog:

- The opening theme song, with everything forming "Sonic," is so very obnoxious.
- Sonic himself is too.
- Mobius looks weird, lol. It's always so surreal. I guess that fits the tone of the show, but it's so minimalist that it seems more sloppy and unimaginative than anything else.
- They use a bit of game music, which is awesome.

I wish they had styled Mobius like the games. Then it would look lush and gorgeous!

I'm glad Sonic isn't portrayed quite as frustrating as he was in those old series. All Sonics have a bit of an obnoxious streak, but I definitely don't remember it being that bad in Sonic X, or in the games. If Knuckles ever met Sonic from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, he would probably not be able to refrain from punching him in the face.

Then I decided that one episode of that series at a time was more than enough to break my brain. I wanted to mend it, so I decided it was the perfect time to play a Sonic X episode and hear David Wills voice Espio. I'd wanted to do that ever since learning that he played Espio. He also plays Nesbitt, you see. My favorite Sonic X episode, where Eggman actually saves Sonic's life, also features the Chaotix. And it's one of the few episodes I have on DVD.

I definitely got a kick out of David's performance. Even though both Espio and Nesbitt have deep voices, they still sound completely different. I'd never know it was the same guy without having looked it up. I want to draw a silly picture of them staring each other down, neither very impressed with the other.

(I wonder if I'm able to draw Nesbitt recognizable. It's hard to draw him without him resembling Tristan, I discovered, since he also has a piece of hair sticking out on his forehead. Of course, with him it's more realistic and not bizarre-looking like Tristan's. LOL.)

Man, season 3 of Sonic X is dark. Of course, I always knew that, but it hits even harder when I'm not always able to deal with darker things these days. That episode is still so absolutely awesome, though. I love Eggman, totally prefer him over the Robotniks of the old 90s cartoons, and I loved that Vector figured out that Eggman was really trying to warn Sonic about the Metarex's plans instead of bragging and gloating like he said. I feel like watching the episode again.

I remember when Sonic X was coming out, I wondered if I'd be able to get used to Eggman after all the Dr. Robotniks. Well, I got used to him just fine with the first episode and enjoyed every moment of it. I wish I had more of the Sonix X episodes. I have the very first DVD, with I think 12 or 13 episodes, I have the season 2 DVD with the Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 adaptations, and I have the season 3 DVD with the last 13 episodes. I may have a few more recorded off of television. Well, I know I do, but I don't recall if any of them aren't also on those DVDs.

I wonder if I'll ever try overhauling my fic idea of doing a Sonic X version of Shadow the Hedgehog (the game). I was typing a chapter and suddenly realized, "What am I doing?!" All the alien invasions were dark for me and, I realized, too dark. Plus, to follow the game there'd be entire cities demolished later. I didn't feel I could write it. I wonder if there'd be a way to do some elements of the Shadow game while keeping the lighter feel of the first two Sonic X seasons. Probably not.

And even though I've never liked that Great Eastern doesn't make their Sonic plushies furry, I wish I'd gotten their Espio plush. Now it's out of print and GE lost the license for a while, so prices went through the roof. I heard they got the license back, and I wonder if they'll make Espio again since there's clearly a heavy demand for him.

I want to get to GameStop and see if I can find that Uncle Scrooge plush Funko made. I can't find out if it's furry, and I'm not sure how big it is because I keep hearing different sizes, so I'd like to see it in person before I decide whether to get it. I've wanted a Scrooge plush for years. He was always my favorite character on DuckTales. I did see a Scrooge plush for the reboot at Target, but I'd rather look into the classic plush from Funko first.

I also want more G1 My Little Ponies. I had a dream about going to get another one and having trouble deciding between all the new ones released. And there are a lot of new ones! In addition to the wave I just started being able to find recently, there are at least two other waves coming out! Squeeee. It's so amazing to be able to find G1 Ponies new in stores again! The inner little girl who longed for them so badly is overjoyed. It's nice that the original Ponies can still be found used from other collectors, but nothing compares to being able to get them new!

I'm also wanting to get the movable Yami Yugi and Yugi figures with Amazon gift cards. It's a struggle deciding who to get first, though. Yugi's release is tied to The Dark Side of Dimensions, so he might go out of print first, yet I really am excited about the Yami Yugi. But I'd hate if I couldn't ever get Yugi, even though I'm disappointed the duel disk can't be removed from his arm. I kind of doubt Yugi would go out of print between now and the next time I'd have enough gift cards, but you never know. But for that matter, Yami Yugi could suddenly go out of print even though you might think he'd be around longer.

Actually, after watching Scare in the Air, I'm back to not being so sure that my original story concept of Giovanni trying to kill James is so far-fetched. In that episode, unless the dialogue is different in Japanese, he sounds like he's deliberately sending Jessie, James, and Meowth out in a rickety blimp hoping they won't come back. Eeeek! Maybe I won't ever do anything with revising the story at all, especially if I keep flipping back and forth on that key angle. We'll see.

We had a very nice family outing. One of my nephews was getting baptized. (We believe in baptizing when the kids are old enough to decide for themselves, instead of doing it when they're babies.) He was really cute and very appreciative of the gift and card we had for him. He exclaimed "The letter is the best thing!" and was thrilled that the card's picture had a cat. They have two Russian Blue twins. I saw one of them and he said Meow when he was petted. I wanted to pet him, but by the time I finished eating, he had wandered somewhere in the yard and I couldn't find him. And my brother who owns the cats told us that they're always leaving "presents" by the door. He told a horror story of one time when one of them brought a mouse into the house that wasn't quite dead and they spent three weeks trying to find the thing and being all tense not wanting to take their shoes off with it running around. And then finally he heard the sound of it getting caught in the trap. Relief at last! I do feel sad for mice being caught in killing traps, but not so sad that I don't want to use them. It is horrible having them loose in the house!

They had these yummy big sandwiches with cheeeese, same as the last time we were out there, and I was delighted. They also had some kind of pasta salad that was great and some brownies and other desserts. And lemonade and ice water. I think it must have been powdered lemonade that's mixed up, because I like that but don't really like fresh lemonade because it's pulpy. Once everyone had their fill, I absconded with some leftovers. Good thing I did, as I got hungry before we got home and ate them all.

Another one of my brothers, the one who lives here in town, gave me $20 as a birthday present! Squeeee. That meant I could definitely get two figures! I had been waffling on whether I could, yet really wanting to because of the prices.

I got Chibi Moon, as planned, and then I saw Tuxedo Mask. He wasn't at the closer store. I hadn't planned to get him unless I already had Sailor Moon, but since he's the only male character in the line, he fascinated me. But I debated a long time between him and Pluto. I finally chose him, since I have a Pluto doll and since the Pluto figure is at the closer store. It seemed more logical to get ones I don't have closer access to. Not that I get to the local store much, but I may have another chance at it this month. Not sure, though. And my only other choices at that store we were at today would have been Mars, Super Sailor Moon, or Sailor V. Mars is my least favorite Senshi, so I'm not terribly enthusiastic about getting her ahead of other characters. I have Venus and don't feel the need for V as well, and as mentioned, I'd rather have the Sailor Moon release that comes with Luna. But I might end up getting Super Sailor Moon anyway, because of the price and because now I need to complete the Moon family!

Before we found that Barnes and Noble, there were sad times. We tried to go to a Toys R Us on the west side of the valley and couldn't find it. Finally things looked familiar to me and I saw where it had been. It's gone. The people in a local bookstore told us and then we saw the empty space. They're going to put up some stupid parking lot or something, I think they said. So that's two of my childhood Toys R Uses gone. I'd really be crushed if I still lived up there! It's sad enough just knowing they're gone. I was at that Toys R Us just last year, I think.

Then we couldn't find the Barnes and Noble because the address wasn't informative enough. We had to go ask some girls in a Metro PCS store and then backtrack, as we'd gone the wrong direction. But getting to the store was worth it, as recorded above.

And there was another reason it was worth it. There was a party store in that shopping center. Party stores always have tons of Halloween stuff, and cheaper than official Halloween stores. I went in and looked around. I found a lab coat! It was a little pricier than I wanted, but about the price I'd figured I'd have to pay for one. I couldn't find a wig, though. They were either an okay style but the wrong color or vice versa. But I was ecstatic to find the coat!

There's only one Toys R Us left in the valley now. Dad said we could go to it even though it would require a bit of backtracking. It was nice to see it, but sad too. It had a few things the closer one doesn't have, but overall, the product selection was either the same or worse than ours. And no Miraculous Ladybug dolls at all. It makes me remember my childhood and the three Toys R Uses in the valley and how nice it was to be able to have those different options to go to depending on where we were at the time. The one up East is probably the one I'm most deeply sentimental about, but I love them all. The one West is the one we went to a lot when I was watching YGO in first-run. We'd go get milk at a dairy out there every couple of weeks, drive through a local cemetery and get creeped out, and go to that Toys R Us. I think that was where I got my Team Rocket stickers (and failed to get the gift bag). The one remaining one, in the center yet farther South, is the one I probably got to visit the least, since it was the farthest away.

ShopKo is still across the street from it. So is a Halloween store. I tried the Halloween store for the wig and found the prices more frightening than anything in the store. The wigs that the party store had had too were double the cost in the Halloween store! There were also wigs unique to the Halloween store that were even more expensive. Then I tried ShopKo ... and I found something. It's blond, but it's wild, and a better option than anything else I've turned up. Best of all, they were running a weekend sale and it was 65% off! Plus I had my coupon and was allowed to take off an extra 20%! I got a $25 wig for $6.99! You can't beat that! And with the original price, one hopes it's a good wig. Most people see Baxter with blond hair anyway. It's not fluffy, unfortunately, but I'm not sure they even make fluffy wild wigs.

So now I'm all set! I can play Baxter after all! **dances.**

Then we drove mostly home, stopped to get some vegenaise (vegan mayonnaise) at a health store and picked up a free popcorn sample they have on Saturdays. Yuuum. I only got three and a half hours of sleep and thought sure I'd crash for a nap, but instead I've been wide awake. I'm wearing down now, though, I think, and I want to save the deboxing of figures until I've slept.

But yes, a great day and a great outing! I probably spent a little more than I should have, but that gift money sure helped!

Venus arrived today and she's gorgeous! I won't open her until Tuesday, but it's awesome she's here! I put her with the Pokemon DVDs in the closet for now. I'll have fun deboxing and watching new stuff come Tuesday.

I found a couple of interesting Chibiusa listings and contacted the seller about one that's new, but the seal is broken. Wondering if he knows why it's broken. Then a sealed one is only two dollars more. So I'm contemplating one of those. Both are cheaper than the Mercury. And since she's smaller, I totally approve of her costing less.

Pondering on that quiz I've been fiddling with for Baxter and Barney. It's originally an OC quiz, but I just had no interest in talking about OCs, so I modified it to use it for characters I wanted to talk about. My dA friend enjoyed reading the Baxter one (I still haven't posted the Barney one), but said he was disappointed not to learn about an OC. That honestly amazed me, LOL. I do find it idly interesting to see the characters people come up with, but I would much rather read about their interpretation of canon characters, unless I seriously disagree with their interpretation. For me, canon characters are always more interesting than OCs. I have no loyalty to or interest in someone's OCs like I do with characters I've been journeying with in favorite shows. I read fanfics to see the canon characters getting into new adventures, not to meet someone's OCs. Anyway, so because of my own feelings, I find it interesting that someone would actually be interested in someone else's OCs that much. Especially when all he's seen of any of my OCs are a couple of pictures of two of them interacting with Baxter. I thought I should try doing the quiz with an OC since he's actually interested, but I haven't thought out all the little details about my OCs like I have my interpretations of canon characters. So I wonder how far I'd even get trying to take it for an OC. LOL. It's a fairly long quiz and my heart might not be in it if I use an OC.

Something to think about....

Now I'm kind of craving to look over my Sailor Moon fic. I'll probably do that later tonight. I was making good progress on it and then ended up stalling. I never really had a good idea for what the villain was after and such; the villain was an excuse to do awesome things like have all the Four Kings/Generals revived. I figured the situation had to be dire for something like that. Although now I'm thinking maybe not; maybe Neo-Queen Serenity just felt they deserved another chance, because I'd be going with the idea that they were Mamoru's protectors and such, and thus were good people who'd been given amnesia and brainwashed.

Another hiccup was that I decided to introduce a couple of elements I liked from the live-action series, namely, Zoisite playing magical music to try to bring back the others' memories and Venus coming down sick with something serious. The former I hoped would help me like anime Zoisite better. The latter, mainly because I wanted Venus to be telling Kunzite how valuable and important life is.

But ... I really don't think I like anime Zoisite playing music, and I don't think I want to make one of my favorite characters fatally ill (even though of course she'd be healed by the end).

Also, another hiccup was in trying to write Zoisite as a male. Every time I typed "he", it felt wrong. I watched some dub Sailor Moon tonight and honestly, I still like Zoisite as a female. The actress really made the character her own and I don't know how to ever see the character as male, at least in the anime version. But if I ever tried to write that, I'd probably bring the entire community down on my head in indignation.

Then just now I randomly thought of something in regards to the Sailor Saturn problem of being taken away from her father in the anime when the anime father seemed to be a nice man who had just got possessed. I wonder if anyone's ever tried shipping Professor Tomoe and Sailor Pluto? She definitely seems older than all the others, whether she is or isn't as old as time. (I'm still confused on that.) And somehow, the pairing sounds kind of intriguing and sweet.

Stuck the Mercury icon on Dreamwidth again. It still seems sadder than I wanted, yet it's such a lovely icon and it's the only Mercury one (or Sailor Moon-related one at all) that I have. So I'll try it and see if I want to keep it. I felt bad to remove the Wesley Lau icon to get it in. Maybe later I'll browse the mostly dead LJ comms and see if there's a cheerier Mercury or Venus icon that would suit my current desired DW journal decor better.

EDIT: Found one! This is much more like it.

It is interesting how I go back and forth on what I want. Even after finding the good deals on the Sailor Moon figures, I flipped back to the Equestria Girls dolls after seeing those sale prices. Yet then when they kept fluctuating, I got frustrated and waffled over whether to get them for sure or not. Then I went back to thoughts of the figures and decided I'd bid on the Venus one after all, especially if no one else tried to get her. It would have seemed such a shame if no one had bothered. Maybe the seller wouldn't have relisted and it was such an amazing deal. And I ended up paying $21.56 total for her, including the shipping, as compared to the $26 something I would have paid for the dolls. On the one hand, three dolls, but without much articulation. On the other, a highly detailed and articulated figure that usually retails for $44-$50. And even though I've liked Ponies most of my life, Equestria Girls has just been an interest for several years (since it came out). Sailor Moon has been an interest for about 15 years. Not that that's always what wins out, but in this case, it would seem that in the end, the figures at good prices excited me more than anything else, once I had enough time to think about it and not have to waffle over juggling products and prices and having to immediately make a decision. Once I made the decision to try to get Venus for sure, my mind firmly settled in on the figures being what I really wanted and I haven't been shaken from that and now I can't imagine getting something else instead of them at these prices.

And I guess I still kind of have the odd hope of finding the dolls in the wild on clearance or something. If I don't, I'm sure I'll be thinking hard about placing that order after my birthday. The figures, on the other hand, absolutely can't be found for prices like those in the wild and so should be snapped up. Still having hope of getting that Mercury. It looks hopeful now, but there could always be last-minute bid wars. I've watched that happen so many times on other products. So weird that it didn't happen on the auctions this past week.

So, as people might expect from me by now, I still haven't bought those dolls. I want them, but I'm getting irritated that the price of the add-on one keeps increasing. It increased once shortly after I added her to my cart, and then the next day she had increased in price again! By now she really shouldn't be considered an add-on anymore. Since her low price was probably the main reason I was going to buy right then, the second price-raising, combined with the aggravation of online sales tax, made me decide to hold off for now. We'll see what happens after my birthday, I think.

Then there's another factor. I've wanted the Figuarts Sailor Moon figures since they first started coming out, but I wasn't willing or able to blow $50 on one figure. I check in on them every now and then, hoping for better prices. And I want to make sure I'm getting the genuine article and not a bootleg.

A couple of nights ago, frustrated with my hesitation to order the Everfree dolls, I started randomly browsing for Sailor Moon dolls and some neat listings for the Figuarts popped up too. One was a Buy It Now, but I wasn't impressed with the seller. The others were auctions, and I am impressed with the seller. I'm assuming they were listed low because the seller hoped a bid war would start. They're genuine, as I learned how to spot bootlegs. One already had a couple of bids. The other, incredibly, still does not. I happened upon things shortly before the first auction would end, and I considered trying to jump in and get the first figure. In the end, still conflicted, I didn't. Maybe I would have if I'd had more time to decide. I get really rattled when I have to decide something right away like that.

I think maybe I didn't jump in too because I was thinking if I won, I'd ask the seller if he'd combine shipping if I won the other auction as well, and part of me was thinking I wouldn't be able to afford two, even at the incredible price. But if I asked, I might for some reason end up getting the other regardless and spending more than I felt I should. And maybe I felt a little bad to take her away from the high bidder, heh. I don't like to do that and always feel a little bad to do it, even though I know all's fair in auctions. This last reason alone wouldn't have stopped me from bidding, however. It was mostly thinking a bid war would start and worrying about money. I do feel kind of sad for not trying to jump in and get her. I was worried too, I think, that an impulse bid might leave me with buyer's regret and I'd panic all over. For a product like this, maybe that wouldn't have happened, though.

Now the second one's auction will end soon and the lack of bids makes me want to give it a shot. Even with the shipping price, she would be way less than what I could get her for in a store. And since she is genuine, and one of my favorites, I feel like I want to and should try for her. I may not have a chance anyway, as bids could suddenly appear at the last moment, but I want to try. Oddly, the first one never got any more bids after that first two. I was stunned.

So ... I guess we'll see what happens. If I do get her, I'll probably save her for opening on my birthday, same as the DVD set. Like with Belle two years ago, saving for then feels like a challenge, and that if I break it, I'll be spoiling something for my birthday.

There is one other I'm considering too. She's a little more than these, but still way better then what I'd find in a store. Part of me says if I get one, I'll stop there. The other part says I'll only want the others even more after getting one. The latter is probably closer to the truth when it comes to something awesome like these.

There's a Sailor Moon bag I really like, but it costs $25. I really didn't want to pay that much if I could avoid it. I also discovered a couple of adorable drawstring bags. I especially love the Chibiusa one. It's so happy and cute and tempting. But I imagine a drawstring bag only has one compartment. As much as I'd like the Chibiusa one, I need to be practical. And I would really function better with multiple compartments. I also saw a Turtles drawstring bag, but I'm pretty sure I saw that one in person at Wal-Mart and thought it seemed flimsy. It's mesh-like.

Then, as much as I said I didn't want a backpack, I found a couple of adorable My Little Pony ones with multiple compartments. They're very tempting, but I'm wondering if I could fit into them. They're probably the biggest child backpacks, so I might be able to fit into them. I can wear boys' shirts in the XL size. But girls' shirts in the XL size are usually impossible, ugh. So I don't know about a girls' backpack. Of course, in a month back to school stuff will start showing up around here since kids return to school in August, and I could try a backpack on in person then, but I wanted a solution found before then. (Since I was hoping to save money for the Scottish Festival, though, I really might not have found a solution by then.)

I knew I really wanted a messenger bag the most, so I went back to looking at those for Hello Kitty. There's some of those that are fairly low-priced. Of course, some of them are also too small, so I have to be careful to check all sizes in the product descriptions. I really like one on Amazon, but the seller has only 92% positive feedback. The number is calculated based on performance in the past year. He has 96% overall, but 92% in the past year seems scary. I don't like to dip lower than 97% positive. Then there's a design I didn't like as much as that one but still considered because it's only $10. Dad apparently signed himself up for a free trial of Prime and then forgot to cancel it before they charged him. **headdesk.** So if he hasn't canceled it yet, I could hurry and get that bag through his account. It's a shiny bag, though, so I wonder if it would be too flashy to have in places like church. In the pictures, Hello Kitty's picture keeps catching the light and shining like a piece of foil.

At least the story has been flowing. The ones I write that focus mostly on Baxter, Barney, and/or Vincent are the ones I take the most joy in, in general, and they write themselves very quickly for the most part. But I think I need to split a scene where Baxter and the crook are talking and then the people the crook wants to cheat show up, as that scene ends up with the climax stuff and I think I should really have another night before that happens. On the other hand, though, if Baxter has a whole night to stew about this undercover assignment and what he's found out about the people's identities and the fact that the crook plans to kidnap the girl if he can't get her uncle to sell him the religious relic, it may not have the same impact when I get to that scene. As it is, Baxter is panicked because he's just learned of those plans and then the people show up, and I kind of like the effect of him having to act immediately with no prior plan in mind. So maybe if I want another night, I should instead write a new daytime scene at an earlier point and then a nighttime scene, and then this current scene should stay the way it is, just taking place a day later. Or maybe I'll decide that I don't need more after all. I'd better proofread the whole thing and then decide.

I've also been pondering for some time on what my favorite 87 Turtles episodes are, like the actual Top 10 list. I mostly like ones that are light and funny and make me smile, and that somehow capture the innocent cheese of the 80's/early 90's. That always makes me feel nostalgic.

- I've listed Super Bebop and Mighty Rocksteady as my most favorite for a while. It's just so hysterical. I even showed it to Mom and she thought it was priceless too. The one thing I don't like is that the Channel 6 crew is mostly a joke as they are forced to be the victims of the malfunctioning mind-control device, but the episode makes me laugh so much that I tend to forgive that. I think what I enjoy the most is seeing Shredder utterly baffled by all the weirdness.

- I also keep thinking that any favorites list would have to include Take Me to Your Leader, because it was the first episode I saw outside of the Cowabunga Classics compilation and it remains one of the best examples of how utterly ridiculous and fun the show could be at the same time.

- Cowabunga Shredhead must be included. Shredder getting made fun of is always a scream, and hearing James Avery imitate Michelangelo as Shredder believes he's really the Turtle never gets old. I have been thinking that Michelangelo seems OOC at the beginning of that episode, though, as while even though he's nuts about pizza and might like to take it all, he doesn't deprive the other Turtles of all the pizza in any other episode. He's always pretty willing to share, really. He seems to love sharing his crazy pizza varieties with the others. I guess it's possible that he just got carried away and didn't even realize he'd eaten it all until he was done, though. And that could explain hiding guiltily in the cupboard.

- Curse of the Evil Eye would make the list, I'm pretty sure, and probably also The Mean Machines. One features Baxter finally rebelling against Shredder's abuse, while the other features probably the most screentime for him as a human.

- I would probably include The Mutagen Monster, because it's another great example of the show being so fun and silly. And they fix the problem instead of the poor cows having to stay a monster, so that's certainly a plus.

- I love the two Howie episodes, and I think they'd make the top 20 if not the top 10. So much fun with all the ridiculous song parodies, and then I love haunted theatre storylines!

- I debate whether episodes like Raphael Knocks 'Em Dead and Son of Return of the Fly II would make the list. The former is a blast and we meet Barney, and Barney's appearance would be what could push the episode to the top 10, but I'm thinking more it might make a top 20 list. And I don't like seeing Baxter suffering as a fly creature, but I do like seeing Z/Vincent and it's fun watching him walk around and imitate organic beings with all of his wild gesturing and posing. I don't, however, think any of the fly-Baxter episodes would make a top 10 list. This one might place as honorary mention on a top 20 list, though, just because of how important Z is in my verse and this is probably the one with him I re-watch the most. Revenge of the Fly is awfully depressing, really, although we do see a Z who has changed to the point that he is fiercely protective of Baxter in a way he isn't in the prior episodes, and I do love that aspect. And Bye, Bye, Fly, well, I re-watch it quite a bit since it's Z's intro episode, but it also has two instances of characters turning into non-anthro animals (albeit they do still keep their intelligence, at least). So that would keep it off a top 10 or 20 list, probably. I wouldn't even care about it if it weren't for Z.

Along those lines, I've been discovering that I've slipped into finding it difficult to watch Leatherhead's intro episode or the Ireland episode. I've seen the Leatherhead one several times, then the last time I watched it fine until we hit the weirdo pool, and then I decided I just wasn't up to seeing Shredder get age-reduced. Same thing happened with Bebop and Rocksteady in the Ireland episode. I saw it once, then went on ages and saw it again when I'd forgot that aspect, and then the third time I watched the first few minutes and decided I wasn't up for dealing with that aspect when this time I did remember it, so I stopped and watched the Orient Express episode instead. Honestly, the best thing about the Ireland episode is the community property line. ROTFLOL. But yeah, I just can't stand age-reduction in any form, even if it's the villains affected, and I'm amazed that I watched it at all in those episodes (let alone that I watched Detective Conan for a while). It just seriously rubs me the wrong way, and don't expect me to ever watch Three Men and an Egon. I saw a couple of clips and that was more than enough.

Anyway, maybe someday I'll figure out an entire top 10 list. Clearly I haven't yet, but I do know some of what would be on it (and some of what wouldn't be).