#;; the victorious live the defeated die (aesthetic)

[marsprincess889]

Purva Ashadha and Shravana (monkey yonis)

As a famous movie couple.

Purva Ashadha is the last venus ruled nakshatra, meaning "the previous invincible one", its symbol is a winnowing basket, separating all things worthy from the unworthy. Its ruling deities are Apas, water creatures, and this nakshatra is strongly connected to waters and the seas. It's about gaining alliances to secure your victory.

Shravana is the last moon ruled nakshatra, meaning "hearing", its symbols are the ear and three footprints. Ruling deity is Vishnu- Hindu preserver god and consort of Lakshmi(associated with Purva Ashadha and Rohini). Its about connecting everything together.

Now, let me introduce you to the couple.

Aragon and Arwen

from The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Liv Tyler (Purva Ashadha moon)

Viggo Mortensen (Shravana moon)

When the first movie begins Aragorn is a simple, lonely ranger, but always dedicated to doing what he thinks is right. He definitely has the makings of a king, he's also descended from Isildur, being the true heir to the throne. Despite his lineage, he's living like an average lowly man, an outcaste, wondering on on his own. Shravana is connected to wandering and also being one of men and that being the trait that makes the king. Shravana is "the savior" or "the preserver" of mankind, and that also obviously applies to Aragorn. Shravana being mleccha (outcast) caste also ties with him living like a lowlife and being apart from society.

Arwen, on the other hand, is busy rebelling against her father and choosing a mortal life due to her love for Aragorn. She's a noble elf maiden (Purva Ashadha is in the Brahmin caste- the highest standing caste). Purva Ashadha (like all venus nakshatras) are romantics and always choose to bravely follow their heart. Also a very interesting thing to note is that Arwen is reffered to as "the evenstar" or "the evening star", which is obviously Venus.

When she gifts Aragorn her necklace, he refuses at first, not believing himself worthy, but Arwen insists and says: "It is mine to give to whom I choose, like my heart". That pretty much sums up what this nakshatra is about.

Eventually, Aragorn does become king and Arwen does choose a mortal life, even thought it meant seeing her love age and die before her.

One of my favorite scenes in the whole trilogy is when Arwen is taking Frodo to Rivendell while they're being chased by the Nazgul. She bravely stands up to them and summons the waters to defeat them. Purva Ashadha's power is to invigorate and Arwen using the waters to secure her victory makes a lot of sense.

Purva Ashadha invigorates, Shravana connects and together they become a formidable team.

Everytime I think of Purva Ashadha and Shravana my mind immideately goes to these two. The setting, the etheral aesthetic and the otherworldliness makes me think of their yoni- Vaanar also meaning "human-like creature" or "a human-like being from other dimentions" in Sanskrit. They were said to live in forests and that's where Arwen went and lived before she passed, overcome by the grief of being separated from her love. But their story remains in the minds and hearts of people, and their love, courage, devotion and loyalty is remembered forever.

If you're Purva Ashadha or Shravana, or if you love lotr/arwen and aragorn, let me know what you think. Please, interact with me in any way. Love you, take care 🤍

[satrs]

Can’t feel my face - bllk x fem!Reader N° 1

"UNDERGROUND... BOXING?"

she curiously questioned the red haired male next to her. "Mhm. It has gotten big in town now, you know? Fights with no rules nor consequences, building up a reputation, setting bets on fighters, all that dark aesthetic shit", he stated. Y/N threw a disapproving look in his direction, clearly not showing interest in that kind of stuff. "That's where all your money goes? Seriously? Plus, isn't that kind of stuff illegal?" Sae scoffed at her words, "well at least I don't throw my money away, but make more of it. Like, a lot," he explained. "And who cares if it's illegal? If no dumbass rats that whole stuff out to the police, it'll be fine. On top of that, it's all anonymous, you know. A lot of rich fucks sniff around there."

The young woman snickered at his answer, suspicious of the whole idea of underground boxing. Isn't there another way of earning money? At least a way that is legal? And to add the cherry on top, no rules or consequences while fighting? "I can't imagine how many guys get injured there. Or worse..." she muttered, blank and unimpressed turquoise starring back at her. "They don't die there, Y/N. If it's getting critical, the fight will be ended," he explained and went on, "It's not as bad as it sounds. Just join me tonight. It's nice to watch my money get bigger with each punch of my fighter. You will get your share too, but only because it's you."

Her ears peaked up at the mention of money, "What do you mean with your fighter? Do they get assigned to you or what?", she asked, still curious and skeptic of the whole ordeal. "Nah. You choose the one you're betting on. I always bet on my little demon," he said, getting a sour expression from the girl in return. "What the fuck? What type of role play shit are you on?", she bit back. Sae sighed at her silly joke, ignoring the smirk that adored her features. "It's not like that, weird ass. It's his nickname, 'the Demon' of the ring. He always wins and has over 30 K.O's. If you bet your shit on him, the money's safe, for sure.", he let a small smirk creep up his lips at the memories of his past bets that he set on that so called 'Demon', always coming home with full pockets.

"Hm", Y/N answered, a slight interest sparked in the whole thing, "Alright, I'll go with you." Sae flashed her his victorious smile, "You bet. I'll pick you up at ten."

                                                ════ ⋆★⋆ ════

"What the fuck is this?", the female questioned with annoyance, standing next to the male in front of a building that seemed to look like, "a fucking strip club?" The man snickered at her reaction, trying to explain the situation to the woman. " It's for the cover-up. The real shit happens downstairs." She motioned him to make the first move with her hand, "well then, after you. You better not leave me alone anywhere, I'll eat you alive." Sae took a few steps forward before turning his head towards her, "Gladly. Start at the bottom, will ya?", she rolled her eyes at his cringe comeback. "Whatever, move it."

The doors to the supposed basement of the strip club opened, revealing a big and lively space with different groups of people, rich looking men, dangerous looking ones and also various women sitting on their lap, gifting the men their full attention. At the center of the big establishment, there was a  boxing ring, a fight happening in it at the moment.

Two men, one a bit muscular and tanner than the other, were throwing a fist with immense strength at each other. Y/N flinched when the tanned man with antenna looking hair threw a critical punch at the other man, knocking him to the rough ground of the room, blood splashing out of his mouth and adoring his face with a crimson color. Another man with a whistle attached to his lips entered the ring, blowing into it and signaling the defeat of the injured man. The referee took several steps to the winner, raising both of their hands to signal his victory. The man received a lot of cheering screams and whistling for his win, flashing the crowd of people a victorious grin, showing off his pearly white fangs.

"Demon, Demon!", the peopled cheered loudly, their screams ringing uncomfortably in Y/N's ears, causing her to turn her neck to take a glance at the man that accompanies her. Noticing her, he smirked down at her, leaning down, so she could hear him clearly over the loud screams and cheers. "That's him." He pointed at the victor. She had a slightly surprised face at the mention, Sae's previous words reminding her of the winner's identity.

Sae took a hold of her wrist, encouraging her to follow him along. "Ryusei!", Sae screamed over the loud crowds, earning the attention of the man in the ring. The confusion in his face soon replaced with joy at the sight of the familiar face. "Yo, Sae!", he answered him, making his way towards the both of them. Now standing in front of Sae and the woman, Y/N took the chance to admire the boxer's face. He had blond hair with pink ends, styled upwards. His tanned skin and pink orbs particularly stood out, not to mention his bronze skin that showcased his broad and well build frame, his torso bared naked for the eyes to see and admire. Her eyes went to his lower region, noting that he was only closed in black boxer pants with pink stripes on both sides.

"S' she your girl?", the tall man in front of her questioned, the cheering has now died down, pulling her out of her trance. "Nah. Found her upstairs," Sae said in a joking manner, earning a glare from the young female, "Shut your bitch ass up", she muttered, earning a laugh from both man. "She's feisty. I like her", the pink eyed man stated, flashing the woman a flirtatious smile. Sae flashed him a warning glare at that.

"Y/N, that's Shidou Ryusei, the main actor of this shithole. We know each other for some time now", Sae motioned his hand at Shidou. "Shidou, this is Y/N, a friend of mine. I brought her here." Shidou's intense stare made her nervous, so she decided to break the silence first, "Hey, nice fight." Shidou let out a small huff at that, tongue gliding over the lips, his now known smile returning again. "Yeah? Thanks ma'. So what's up? 'This first time in here, right?", he said, earning a nod from her. "Yeah, didn't expect the show here to be so...", she eyed the man up and down before continuing,"interesting." She said this with a flirtatious tone to her voice, causing the man to flash her a charming smile.

"You done flirting? You're in again in 20 minutes. Get your ass ready, Ryusei. I'm trying to make cash." Sae's monotone voice cut through the  tension, causing Shidou's attention to shift to the red haired male, giving him a look of annoyance. "Fuckin' cock blocker", he muttered under his breath, turning on his feet to move to the back of the event. At that, Sae let a small smile creep on his features, only him noticing.

Before leaving off, he turned his head into Y/N's direction, "See ya around, yeah Y/N?", he spoke to her, now it was her turn to flash him a smile. "We'll see", she shrugged, turning her head to look around the event, a smirk still adoring her beautiful features. Shidou spared her his last glance, eyeing her up and down in a seductive manner, before heading his merry way.

                                              ════ ⋆★⋆ ════

Soooo hope you enjoyed it <3 !!

[etruatcaelum]

i am once again rewatching rwby.

RED TRAILER.

45s in i have to pause to yell (again) about “thus kindly i scatter”—THE SPEAKER. SUMMER ROSE IS NOT THE ROSE. SHE IS THE SPEAKER WHO KILLS THE ROSE AS A CONTEMPLATION OF HIS OWN MORTALITY IN THIS ESSAY I WILL–

“soon may i follow/when friendships decay/and from love’s shining circle/the gems drop away/when true hearts lie withered/and fond ones are flown/oh! who would inhabit/this bleak world alone?” the moon will sadly watch the roses die, huh.

lol.

lmao even.

i know it was just because the budget was a shoelace and chewing gum at this point but the grimm here being fully black with no plating is really funny in the context of my worldbuilding. because it means ruby just fucking slaughters a bunch of baby grimm bfrghfk

WHITE TRAILER

atlas is full of the worst kind of person (people who do flash photography in theaters)

it really is bonkers that jacques was like. yeah i won’t let you attend your college of choice unless you defeat this huge old geist that i have arranged to be captured and inserted into one of our comically oversized suits of armor. sir,

how did they even CATCH that thing.

this is probably my favorite of the trailers in all honesty. the duality of her public/private lives on such raw display. & i think the fight choreo is the cleanest.

the moon does not look broken so much as it looks like something has been nibbling on it. zhan tiri behavior.

BLACK TRAILER

i love how the thinking behind forever fall forest was clearly just “we cannot have green trees in this trailer it’ll ruin the whole aesthetic.” brhdjgh

YOUR HOPES HAVE BECOME MY BURDEN. I WILL FIND MY OWN LIBERATION. salem foreshadowing dot txt.

mumbles. V2 heavily implies that ozpin thinks blake is salem’s spy. so it is not inconceivable that that crow might in fact be qrow. i think about this often.

i have to imagine that this unbelievably over the top security robot was there because somebody tipped off the SDC as to the robbery plot. because lmao.

YELLOW TRAILER

“scathing eyes ask that we be symmetrical” this counts as arm foreshadowing tm

raven being here at the beginning really makes this. somehow a more attentive parent than tai BRGRHFKF (for legal reasons this is a joke)

ozma like yeah in my ideal society there is a minuscule class of elite special warriors with superpowers who roam around unrestrained by law or regulation and with zero meaningful oversight besides their own guild. & then there’s everybody else. why isn’t humanity united yet

i love them so much. they’re so stupid BRRHDKVJDNV

yang’s introduction vs the other three is really so hysterical though. she just- she swans into a nightclub and hospitalizes like fifty people HRGKH. she’s SEVENTEEN.

girl,,

junior and oobleck have the same basic weapon. oobleck’s is also a thermos, befitting his status as a hyper-caffeinated eccentric historian. junior runs a nightclub. do we think he can drink booze out of his

why is tai letting his fifteen year old wander around in the industrial district after dark 😭 man WHAT are ya doin

EP 1: RUBY ROSE

salem: humankind is wise, strong, resourceful, passionate, ingenious, did i mention resourceful? all it took for them to defy fate itself and flourish against all odds was a single spark of hope <3 …what was i talking about? oh, right. oz, your terror of change and your reliance on isolated guardians to hold up the rotting façade of your precious academies will be your undoing because there is no victory to be found in strength. fuck you.

oz: but perhaps!! victory is found in the simpler things that you’ve long forgotten. like hope and honesty <3

salem: ………really?

they are so. DIVORCED. AJDHSHDK

“so-called free world.” her protégée was a child slave. her protégée was a child slave whose mentor attempted to arrest her after she murdered her owners. slavery was abolished after the great war. your so-called free world.

shes so ANGRY.

“a smaller, more honest soul” says the LIAR LMAO

ruby: i think today i will murder some goons <3

ozpin pretending like he doesn’t know exactly who ruby is. most hysterical play of all time. it’s clearly not a secret he’s keeping for a reason—otherwise qrow wouldn’t have been so loose with telling the girls he’s tight with ozpin and ironwood later on—so like. ozpin are you just lying to this girl out of HABIT (probably)

“i want to be a huntress”/“you want to slay monsters?” -> “and what exactly does a huntress do?” “fight… monsters, i guess?” SCREAM LAUGHS.

glynda is like “he’s going to let this child into the school. gods help me” she does NOT get paid enough. whatever he’s paying her isn’t enough

ruby: i don’t want anyone to think i’m special or anything :(

ozpin: good news everybody—

“our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace! please do not ask why we need to train warriors to uphold this peace, thank you :)” cult behavior

the !!empty!! cloak floating above summer’s grave… she’s so alive it makes me crazy

“i don’t want to hear your absolution/hope you’re ready for a revolution” SCREAM LAUGHS AGAIN.

[shaguagua]

旣爲手足之情，一榮俱榮，一損俱損

For brotherhood, one honors we honor together, one suffer we suffer together.

It's from a novel called 紅樓夢(Hóng lóu mèng; a dream of the red chamber) by 曹雪芹(Cáo Xuěqín) There are many suspicions like Shakespeare, that it has many different cultural events and historical events, that Cao Xurqin gathered the story and complied. Nobody knows. it is known for its psychological scope, and its observation of the worldview, aesthetics, life-styles, and social relations of 18th-century china.

Here, the 手足之情(shou zu zhi qing) is from 莊子(Zhuāngzǐ), 兄弟爲手足 which means brotherhood is like all fours(arms and legs). So it may be translated as "to be closely connected".

紅樓夢 has many different stories but the main story line is about 4 different families' rise and fall. There are family, love, society and politics. The relation among the families is complicated. The line comes up where a judge gave wrong verdict, with bribe of one of the four family. Literally, when one suffers, the others suffer; when one prospers, the others prosper. It is a metaphor that in all links of life and lives, the results of victory, defeat, honor and disgrace are the same.

Before Wen kexing mentioned 同生共死 (tóng shēng gòng sǐ; live together, die together) is rather similar meaning. But in 一榮俱榮，一損俱損, it has meaning of connections or relationship among people. Somehow asking, you sure, what you're doing, is not going to be questioned later?

Zhou zishu is seriously committed being a brother of Wen kexing. I don't think that is not a type of love I would expect, still it works. It's sad watching Zhou zishu trying to save his beloved, becasue so far he has failed. I hope this time he saves Wen kexing.

[warlordgab]

Nami analysis: Luffy will definitely become the Pirate King

This was originally meant to be a collection of a few Nami character moments to defend her from the trend of hate against her. But, a friend of mine got me to make an actual analysis about her given the recent manga developments. It's mostly about some aspects of Nami's growth throughout the series.

Let's start with one memorable scene from Skypiea...

...when Nami kept panicking, Luffy told her she shouldn't stop acting so pathetic for she's a companion of the future Pirate King.

Here, Luffy makes a connection between their success and the certainty of his dream. As in Nami shouldn't fear because Luffy being the future Pirate King means they'll always succeed at the end.

After Luffy gets BFR'd, Nami makes this her earnest belief. Instead of submitting to Enel in fear, or playing along with his plan to ensure her survival, she draws enough courage to take a firm stand...

...and face Enel on her own.

There's even a subtle symbolism in both scene. When Luffy is giving Nami the reason why she shouldn't panic, he gave Nami his treasured hat. And when Nami is about to finally challenge Enel, she grips Luffy's hat. (Oda is an amazing writer!!!)

It's subtle, but you can see Nami drawing courage from Luffy, his values, and his dream, to challenge a monster she had no way of beating

Oda decided to continue Nami's character growth in the movie he wrote, Strong World.

After realizing Shiki (and his army of mutated animals) headed towards East Blue, which included the hometown where her sister and other loved ones lived in, her first response was looking for Luffy...

...instead of panicking like she did in Skypiea, she sought the person that could reassure her everything would be all right. We went from symbolism to something a little bit more straightforward.

Even when Shiki defeated the East Blue team, Nami managed to keep her cool, so she could mess the plans of a legendary pirate who could easily crush her. Even when was caught and left to die, she didn't give up and proved she was willing to die to protect her hometown.

Huge displays of selflessness and actual courage. However, it's interesting to see that, as character moments, they were built upon her growth in Skypiea and Arlong Park. Why can we say that?

In Arlong Park she realized there are burdens, and even emotional luggage, she couldn't carry on her own so she had to rely on others to keep going. In Skypiea, she drew the strength needed to face overwhelming odds from Luffy.

Now, Luffy described Nami as their vanguard against Shiki, which indicates he knew that Nami was trying to fight Shiki's army from the inside. But, she never planned to carry this burden on her own. Luffy instilled in her the belief that being the companion of the future Pirate King means they'll suceed regardless of the setbacks they may suffer. At the end of the movie, we get the twist that Nami not only believes in Luffy...

...she gets embarrassed about the recorded proof of her faith in her captain when she realized Luffy didn't hear it. Arlong Park and Skypiea laid the groundwork for her belief, while Strong World solidified it.

Also, it’s worth noting her stand against Shiki is reminiscent of the brave attitude displayed by Silk (Nami’s earliest prototype) from One Piece’s first pilot: Romance Dawn V.1

A girl who was more than willing to fight in order to protect her hometown and her loved ones regardless of the foe. Was that intentional on Oda’s part? Who knows...

Now, how did Nami character change post-timeskip?

If we stick to the manga, everything they've been through so far had strengthened her faith and trust in Luffy and his dream. We can see it in the Wholecake arc...

... when facing Cracker, Nami declares with absolute confidence that the fact Luffy is the future Pirate King is pretty much the guarantee of their victory. Not everyone invokes a NLF when talking about Luffy.

So, when Sanji goes as far as brutalizing Luffy, and trash-talking his dream, Nami's response was... 

...which makes a lot of sense given how her confidence on the future, and part of her growth as a person, are tied to Luffy's dream.

The disrespect Sanji was forced to show now can be used as a contrast given recent developments; when Nami was in a life-or-death situation, scared and helpless before an enemy she couldn't beat on her own, she was offered a way out: disavow Luffy's dream of becoming the Pirate King...

... However, even when facing certain death, having no other way to defend herself or run away, Nami couldn't lie about Luffy becoming the Pirate King, not even to say her life. In the japanese version she answers: "Luffy will become the Pirate King... definitely"

We've seen Nami lying to weasel her way out of danger, but this time, she's literally incapable of lying about the fact Luffy will reach his goal. From her perspective that's a truth you simply cannot deny or reject under any circumstances.

That's an outstanding display of loyalty, but the overall theme connecting this moment to previous showings is "faith."

From Skypiea, she was told being a companion of the Pirate King ensured success, in Strong World, she was embarrassed to admit how strong was her faith and trust in Luffy. Post-timeskip, we now see her shouting it confidently to the enermy, and now she believes in Luffy so much, that not even facing death can make her say otherwise. That's how you develop a character!

I know I left out the Drum arc, Water 7, Shabaody, Fishman Island, Punk Hazard (Bellemere would be proud), Dressrosa, and Zou... but, it would take months and a kilometric post to cover hundreds of chapters worth of development. I only covered the essentials.

If you want more, check out the author's works; the manga and the Film series (SW, Z, and GOLD).

Point is, Nami is a great character who truly deserves to be described as “queenly,” not only because Oda said so, but also for her progression during this long-running story

BONUS:

Finally, I’m going to address an ugly trend in the west. Nami had been getting a lot of hate as of recent years. Even highly influential figures within the fandom tend to put down Nami. Many belittle her character, and they even compare her to other series’ characters that get treated as “chew toys” by their respective fandoms.

Why so much hate for Nami’s character?

Short answer: she has been dealt a bad hand

First, her role in the story and the crew puts her at odds with fans of characters they usually hype as greater figures of authority and power within the strawhat group. She commands too much authority, and that make fans pretty insecure about their favorite character’s position.

Along with this factor, there’s the fact she’s the most “human” in a crew (and a world) filled with superhuman people. Haters probably feel that someone so normal shouldn’t have so much agency. Specially when compared to other women

Speaking of which, that’s another reason why Nami gets so much hate. Her role as a heroine, and her superior navigation skills, makes her an incredibly important character to this story. And that makes the fans hyping other females see her a threat to their favorites’ position, like some sort of competion.

Which leads me to the other point people hate her: Nami’s relationship with Luffy. She’s closer to Luffy than many other women, which include more powerful and overhyped girls, and yes I said girls, because there’s more than one powerful female characters getting that hype

Last factor I’m going to mention is the pettiest of all: the way she responds to other characters. You probably realized that she reacted quite well to Inuarashi’s and Tonoyasu’s compliments, right? Well, thing is many fans want her to respond in a similar manner to their favorite character(s). Problem is that she doesn’t...

She’s a fiery woman with a lot of agency that doesn’t fall for flirting nor physical aesthetics, while challenging the main characters’ decisions, and/or questioning their idiocy. Meanwhile, there are physically stronger women who are far more submissive and/or subservient...

Overall, she’s on a bad position in the west.

Regardless of what haters feel or think, Nami is an amazing character that deserves as much love as she gets in Japan (probably even more). So, screw the morons trying put her down and/or failing to understand her worth. She’s the “queen,” and people should bow

[imhaitusncarnate]

I have very mixed feelings on that aot ending

Ok so the politics of Attack on Titan have been discussed by a lot of people, some of whom have a very surface- level understanding of the story. I would like to start by giving my disclaimer that Attack on Tiatan ABSOLUTELY isn’t fascist, its anti racism, anti bigotry and anti discrimination themes are extremely apparent in it’s examination of the Eldians inside Marley, and fascist views held by characters such as Gabi are explicitly condemned in the text and made clear to be misguided and false. 

I would now like to draw everyone’s attention to the openings of seasons 1 and 2. 

Images like these combined with lyrics like these:

You pigs who sneer at our will to step over corpses and march onwards Enjoy the peace of livestock false prosperity "freedom" of the dying wolves that hunger

We dedicate and sacrifice our hearts

And also the use of german lyrics:

Sie sind das Essen und Wir sind die Jaeger! (they are the food and we are the hunters)

O, mein Freund! Jetzt hier ist ein Sieg. Dies ist der erste Glorie. O, mein Freund! Feiern wir diesen Sieg, für den nächsten Kampf!

(O, my friend! Now, here is a victory. This is the first glory. O, my friend! Let us celebrate this victory for the next battle!)

This is the stuff that lead me to believe that this is a deliberate use of fascist imagery. If the show just wanted to go for a militaristic vibe for the aesthetic of it, references this explicit to fascist propaganda and the use of German lyrics was not necessary. Also, lines like this:

And plenty of evidence that things were not what they seemed it the world of aot and that the overly simplistic view of good vs evil (humans vs the titans) was incorrect led me to believe that Attack on Titan was a deliberate deconstruction. That it was putting the audience into the mindset of the fascists to pull the rug from under their feet later. And I was right. Sort of.

As the story progresses, the world becomes a more and more complex political landscape and we are led to believe that this black and white mentality is wrong. We are also informed that the people who can transform into titans, the Eldians, are an opressed minority, explicitly paralleled to the Jews during nazi Germany, from their living in internment camps, to them being called devils, to their armbands, to a large number of them (our heroes) being confined in an island with walls circling them, which is revealed by Isayama to be Madagascar. The island that the nazis originally meant to confine the Jewish population in before arriving at the conclusion that that would be too costly, and that genocide was preferable. 

This is the first of the story’s mixed metaphors. While the show’s heart is in the right place, being sympathetic to the Eldians and showing their plight under marleyan opression and persecution, there is one problem. The reason for the opression of the Eldians is because the world is afraid of their power, as they are a race with the ability to transform into titans. There is, therefore, a tangible, justification for their internment. The Jews were not in any conceivable way a danger to anyone, they were simply scapegoated for the complex socioeconomic problems of Germany in the time period. Also, if we take a look at those openings again, we observe that the Eldians (our main characters) who wish to free themselves from their shackles are framed as fascists. So... what is that saying?

 The idea, as I see it, is that the story is condemning fanaticism in general, as a biproduct of a militaristic black and white worldview. The monstrous titans that our (framed as fascist) heroes fight against are revealed to be human, just like them.

The same is the case for the Eldian “devils” that the Marleyans fight against. Gabi, the character who is most fanatically against Eldians (despite being an Eldian herself) is comfronted with the humanity of the people she hates once she gets to know them.

Again, Isayama’s heart is on the right place here, trying to condemn bigotry, however the explicit referencing of history is the imagery is kind of misplaced, for the reasons I previously mentioned. Now let’s have a look at Eren Yeager.

Eren starts the story as a kind of messed up kid. He kills the human traffickers who kidnapped Mikasa while screaming:

I mean, in this case he is certainly justified, but his rage and anger are definitely not normal for a child his age.

This is Eren. He can’t stand injustice when he sees it. And injustice is what happens to him when the titans attack. His already fiery attitude and mindset is what leads him to this declaration of revenge:

That side of Eren is visible throughout the story and it’s foreshadowing for what he will later become

Eren, however, is a natural product of his environment. Ravaged by socioconomic inequality, with the rich living in the centre of the walls and the poor living in the outskirts, constantly under the threat of the titans and unable to obtain any kind of freedom, Eren’s philosophy of the need to be strong to overcome one’s enemies makes sense. The mantra “the strong prey on the weak”, that he ends up teaching Mikasa (another allusion to fascist ideology) is a biproduct of the world he lives in. He does not know of the political intricasies outside the walls. All he knows is he must kill the titans.

Eren’s titan is described as the “manifestation of humanity’s rage. It is huge and monstrous, and could be seen as a metaphor for vengeful hatred in general. Keep that in mind, it’s relevant for the ending.

This manufactured and false black and white worldview shapes him as a character, and it’s what eventually, after the arrival at the much desired ocean, leads him to this:

“Will we finally be free?”

In the continuation of the story, Eren falls toward the dark side more and more, to the point of committing atrocities and war crimes that are explicitly framed as being similar to what he suffered as a child (see his actions in Liberio). He even acknowledges that, telling Reiner, the person who committed said war crimes against him, that he essentially has no hard feelings and understands that the two of them are similar, doing what “needs to be done”. The character of Gabi, who, after what happens in Liberio, becomes obsessed with revenge against the Eldian “devils” is meant to be a foil for Eren, and his obsession with killing the titans after what happened to him. 

Extremely interesting is the way in which certain ideas and images are flipped in the later seasons. Namely, in season 4, we see a character who idolizes Mikasa and supports Eren’s plans in a scene where she spouts the same mantra of “the strong prey on the weak” and says that Mikasa saving her is what showed her that only with strength she can defeat her enemies. Mikasa tells her to shut up, and she proceeds to do the salute, that has been so glamorized by the show’s openings thus far. Now, it is done by a person from a military faction with a fanatic worldview. The direction doesn’t glamorize it at all. It is a nuanced, almost masterful deconstruction. 

Levi, who has always looked for reasons for why his comrades had t die, justifying their heroism and convincing himself that their deaths were not pointless, ends up here:

At this point, I was in love with Attack on Titan. From here, it only figures that Eren ends up attempting a genocide of the people outside the walls. He has essentally become what he hated the most, and he’s a natural result of the world that created him. Despite his noble intentions, he has turned into a monster. Mikasa, the prerson who loved him the most, completes her character arc by killing him, thus rejecting her blind devotion to him and being free, while at the same time continuing to love the person he once was. It’s a sad and tragic ending, painting Eren as a tragic character and making a pretty strong political point, despite having a few mixed metaphors.

And then, chapter 139 came out...

And Eren apparently pulled a Lelouch. This is a “I purposfully turned myself into a monster to save the world and make my friends into heroes for killing me” kind of thing. It is important to state that the manga makes it clear that Eren would have trampled the world even if they didn’t stop him, because of his urge to be free. However, that urge, that fighting spirit, end up being a good thing. The death of our heroes in battle apparently wasn’t pointless after all. They say goodbye with a salute

The Yeagerists, who were previously framed as fanatics, end up in charge of the government

It is important to state that the real event, the catalyst of the ending, is that killing Eren, who has turned himself literally into the manifestation of humanity’s rage (which has now, through the intricacies of the story, taken the political meaning of hatred and intergenerational trauma), eliminates the power of the titans. The titans are no more. This, in of itself, is good, and in keeping with the spirit of the political commentary thus far. However, the war, is still not over, and Eren’s mantra ends up being correct

So the only way for the war to end is one of the races to be wiped out? 

Also, despite Eren’s genocide being wrong, it is, in the end, justified, as a necessary evil by the story. An Ozymandias kind of moment in which the ends justify the means, but Eren himself has to die, because his crime was too great for him not to suffer punishment. Essentially, this chapter undoes all of the insightful commentary the story had made so far, by proving the ideology of its main character right. Story- wise this isn’t a bad ending, but if we take into account the political references the series has made, and its desire to explicitly tie itself with such imagery makes the ending leave a really bad taste in my mouth. What it essentally says, is that, yes, bigotry and racism are bad, yes, blind hatred is bad, but the general idea of might makes right and the impossibility of reconciliation are true. Armin, who has, throughuout the story, been Eren’s opposite, in terms of looking for peaceful solutions to conflict is rendered meaningless in the end, because him alongside with the other characters were all playing into Eren’s plans. The hearts of our main characters as recruits were in the right place, their fighting spirit admirable, and the overall worldview we are presented with in the beginning of the story remains more or less unchallenged. 

So where does that leave this imagery?

The conclusion is that one must think very carefully before including allegory in their work. I am not accusing Isayama for fascism, and I appreciate the efforts at deconstructing it throughout the story. However, in the end he did an oops I accidentally justified the mentality I was trying to condemn. I still like Attack on Titan, I believe it has artistic value and is overall a pretty good anime, I even agree with its politics to an extent. However, it is very important to critically examine the things we like, and see where they may have gone south. And this ending is that for me.

[pantheon-god-of-war]

If possible, are there any Pantheon skins that you wish to be Canon?

Just give us a Legendary The Warrior skin of Pantheon reborn.

Lore wise it could be after the Ruination. Atreus has expelled Pantheon from his body with his own gritty resolve, Pantheon requires a vessel to take form in mortal shape but the war of the Ruination has caused so much havoc and strengthened him so much that he manages to keep a corporal form for a brief while. He retreats to the peak of Targon and to spite Atreus revives his long-dead friend Pylas to possess and mold his flesh to the war gods needs. Pantheon is fully in control because Pylas has long since died, only using the body himself.

Now Pantheon pursues the interests of Targon and his own dark desires while Atreus tries to actively counter the War god. Both will still fight the darkin, but for different reasons. Pantheon will do so because they threaten Targon Prime and Atreus does so to save the humans that's would undoubtedly die in the wake of the darkin.

VOICELINES

Pantheon differs from Atreus in a few key aspects (heh) where Atreus is noble and stalwart, Pantheon is deliberate and ruthless, where Atreus anger towards the gods is a cold and determined hate Pantheon's contempt for mortals, darkin and all those who would face him is clearly made evident, he speaks with pride, being condescending to everyone he encounters, thirsting for another challenge to vanquish. His LoR voice lines already highlight his personality quite well and I think the sound effects work perfectly for him, that could all be ported from LoR into league to replicate the sound effect. Voice line wise he could have interactions with the following:

Pantheon (Atreus) - While Pantheon does not outright hate Atreus like let's say Aatrox for example he sees the mortal man as a failure of a warrior, knowing only defeat his entire life. Interactions would be more condescending.

Ascended Pantheon - Here Pantheon would see Ascended Atreus as a worthy challenge, something along the lines of "Perhaps now you can prove yourself worthy." Or something more condescending. "No matter the cosmic might you hold, you will always be a mortal."

Aatrox - He loathes Aatrox with a passion for what he did to him, but also realizes that the Darkin might be his only true equal combat-wise.

Leona - Pantheon would be fond of Leona, applaud her for her fine work, call her the daughter of Targon, and that the sun is proud of what she has wrought upon the Mountain. He would tell her that she is right, that she needs to defend her people from the coming darkness and not grow careless upon her golden throne. He would support the militaristic order of the Solari and goad on their zealous witch hunt as in the end all he cares about is war and the more carnage Leona causes on the mountain in the name of the sun, the stronger he gets.

Diana - Diana is the same as Leona, he would tell her to keep fighting, to hold on and think of her people. That he can see the cracks in the Solari foundation and that soon the moon will triumph. Much like Leona, these are sweet lies to goad both of them onward to fight harder and grow more reckless in their pursuit of victory.

Taric - Taric is the antithesis to Pantheon, championing love and life against his war and hate, He would call out Taric and try to kill the noble hero because he spits on the ideals Taric protects.

Soraka - Pantheon would be disappointed in Soraka, to have forsaken the stars for these mortals, he would never understand and while he is not hostile he also tells her that she is dead to him. Just another mortal.

Zoe - He would want to know how Zoe sealed the Darkin away, and if there is a way to make them disappear forever. He would also be annoyed by her childish appearance/demeanor since Myisha was a lot more mature than Zoe.

Aurelion Sol - He would remind Aurelion Sol that with his return the tether locking him to Targon grows stronger again. It has been Pantheon for ages to bind Aurelion to Targon and now with him returned Pantheon will make sure Aurelion is put back in his place.

Other Darkin - He would simply tell them that their end is nigh, that Pantheon has found them, and that they are about to expire.

Other Gods/Demi Gods - here it depends on how many interactions would be wanted, he could comment on the powers of the sun disc being borrowed from the Sun/Solari/Leona's aspect or challenge Volibear to a fight. Lots more here if interactions need to be stretched out.

Sion - Pantheon looks kindly on Sion, a beast revived for war, its very humanity dull and eroded where only violence and anger remain. Pantheon would call Sion his champion of War and tell him to go slaughter in the name of war.

Other Warriors (Garen/Tryndamere/Darius/Olaf/etc) He would salute them and challenge them to combat, noting how a death at his feet is the greatest honor they can wish for.

A cool idea for VO would be that he gets a Taunt like normal champs but then you get different voice lines for ally champions when you hit taunt.

Example

Enemy Pantheon - "Atreus, you come before me again, with my very own spear. Kneel boy. A dog should recognize it's better."

Ally Pantheon - "You feel the power, let loose Atreus, show me your rage and perhaps you will be worthy of my favor."

Enemy Aatrox - "Another one of your flesh puppets for me to rend Aatrox? Pathetic!"

Ally Aatrox - "You and me against them?! Who can stand against Aspect AND Darkin?"

Enemy Leona - "You say you burn as the sun does! So then, show me your fire girl!"

Ally Leona - "The daughter of Targon and War eternal who could hope to stand against such a phalanx of spear, sword, and shield?"

I always wanted to have more interaction with allies, since you only see enemy champions every now and then, and even if you do they mostly attack you and never let you enjoy the interactions. Whereas if you play with friends you can actually enjoy this content of ally interaction. Idk why Riot has not done this before.

MODEL

The base design doesn't have to differ so much from the Legends of Runeterra Warrior design. (KEEP IT RED) Red stands for hot-headed aggression, red stands for fire, red stands for blood. Red is a color much more fitting to war than blue and the argument that Pantheon's cape is blue to show his allegiance with the stars is null and void since LoR showed us all HOW GOOD red looks on Pantheon. It fits so much better.

Some small tweaks here and there perhaps but overall the base model looks great. If the cape would be longer and more flowing like Yoric it would be great, aside from that there could be small visual design changes for reaching levels 6/11/16. Also as a longtime Pantheon main I really love the aesthetic of his face being shrouded, I dislike the new post rework Pantheon skins for that very reason. Pulsefire, Ruined and even Ascended Pantheon are all marred by the face that they show his face, when his facelessness was something that made him stand out. In this skin he should absolutely not have a face since he is a divine being that helmet should be his face, the face of war, nothing else.

The colors get brighter and hotter, to signal that Pantheon is getting supercharged with the psychic energies of war, colors would go from red-orange to bright yellow, additionally, the number of spears in his cape could also increase from 2/4/6 at levels 6/11/16 with small edits like the passive fire on spear and shield and the fire plume increasing in sizes slightly.

ADDITIONALLY

There could be a number of smaller tweaks to make the VFX stand out. Like pulling a new spear from his cape after Pantheon throws it. Or that Pantheon doesn't even throw the main spear but shoots a spear forward from his cape as he can manifest them. Voicelines like "Unstoppable, War eternal an Invincible!" could be added to his E whenever he uses it as if he mocks whoever dares attack him. "Here mortal, or just Heel!" when he stuns you.

His ult could be Pantheon coming straight down where the spear lands, instead of in an angle, and the angle is then covered by either a spear storm or meteorite shards. The straight-down Pantheon landing being a homage to Grand Skyfall. He does not land sooner and he still shoots down a spear first, but this time he just lands from above.

As for the dance, either you give him some workout to flex on people or you give him the Ricardo Milos dance. Which let's be honest, everyone wants to see.

Lore wise I think Pantheon is very important. Currently, we have Pantheon (Atreus) Diana and Taric who are all outright heroes. Aphelios serves under Diana and Zoe does not really care she does whatever she wants. Soraka while a hero lives secluded. Targon only has Leona as a villain and the celestial Pantheon would fill that slot very well. He is the god of war, he would try to rouse them all against one another and also give them a reason to unite against him. To fight together, and perhaps even be incentive enough for Leona and Diana to lay down their weapons and join forces.

Additionally, all it takes is a skin to create a champion's worth of impact on the league universe. There doesn't need to be a new champion from Targon to push the narrative forward which means less time that needs to be invested on Riots part.

Thank you for your time, I will be sitting here on my mountain top, waiting and hoping that I started a fire.

[mischiefandspirits]

Doppelgänger (17/19)

Previously on Doppelgänger ~ Masterlist ~ Next time on Doppelgänger

Danny, Sam, and Tucker were just 14 when they took a look inside the portal Danny’s parents had built. From there, everything changed. They woke up with white hair, green skin, and powers they could learn to control. They were hybrids, halfas.

They were the hero Doppelgänger.

{Reign Storm, Part 3}

“It’s like shooting skeleton fish in a barrel,” Doppelgänger chuckled as they flew up to Valerie’s side, blasting one of the skeleton’s harrowing her as their own crowd rushed into the football stadium after them.

“They don’t put up much of a fight, but there’s a lot of them,” she argued. “You going to duplicate?”

“Already did. We've got our own crowds.”

“It’d be nice if you could make yourself a crowd in return.”

“Sorry, we’re still working on making more than three of us.”

“Hello, son.”

Doppelgänger gave a long, drawn-out groan as Plasmius flew up to the two despite still firing on the skeletons. The older ghost tried to speak when they’d finished, only for the ghost kid to start right back up.

“Are you quite done?” Plasmius asked over the groaning.

Valerie turned to fire at him, but he dodged to the side. He stopped with Doppelgänger between her and him.

The younger ghost stopped their groaning to say, “You know, a human shield only works if the shield’s both bigger than you and someone that the person you’re hiding from won’t shoot. We are neither of those.”

“You’re also not human,” Valerie pointed out.

“I think that’s debatable, but we’ll add it to the list,” they said and fired a blast at Plasmius.

“Calm down, son! I didn't come here to fight you! You have other things to worry about!”

“Okay, even if we were your kid -- which we aren’t because gross -- we’re nonbinary, so still not your son. So get lost. We have this under control!”

A blur of black barreled into them and rose up to reveal a knight in black armor atop a pegasus. The knight had Doppelgänger by the throat and pointed his sword at them. “You are the one who destroyed the King’s ring.”

“We’re not one, but we have destroyed a ring recently. Not sure if it was a king’s, though. Can we get a description?” Doppelgänger said before a swirl of comets wrapped around them and they disappeared.

Another swirl appeared behind the knight, leaving behind the ghost kid. They cheered and shot a blast that unseated the knight. “Yes, it worked. Still not as far as we’d meant to go, but we’ll take it.”

“If you would allow me to trai-” Plasmius started.

“Not interested. Now make yourself useful.” Doppelgänger pointed at the knight, who was pulling himself to his feet.

The knight’s eyes locked onto Valerie and narrowed. “You also carry the ring’s mark.”

She leveled her rifle at him, but a pair of blasts knocked him away before she could fire.

“Right on time,” Doppelgänger said as their two copies flew into the stadium. “Wait a second, is that the Fright Knight? Who? He’s the age-old spirit of Halloween.” The trio began to casually blast the knight back and forth across the field as they spoke together. “Legend has it that if his sword The Soul Shredder cuts through you, you get teleported to a dimension where you live out your worst fear. We read about him in the book we got for Halloween. Did the book have any way to defeat him? We think there was something about a pumpkin, but we can’t remember. We’ll go check.”

One of the ghost kids shot off, giving the knight a chance to finally dodge a blast. “Fools! All I wanted to do was retrieve those who destroyed the ring and return to Pariah's Keep, but now, you give me no choice.” He knelt and held up his sword, point down. “By the authority vested in me by my Lord and Liege…” The sword began to glow and he drove it into the ground, causing a wave of energy to roll outwards across the ground. “I claim this town now and forever under the banner of Lord Pariah, the King of All Ghosts!”

Energy shot up from the sword high into the air before rolling outwards to form a green dome across the city.

Both remaining Doppelgängers fired at the knight, but he ducked away. “The sword has sunk, your die now cast, The sword removed shall signal fast. Surrender your-”

He was cut off as a blast knocked him rolling across the ground.

“We hate rhymes. Did we find a pumpkin?”

The third Doppelgänger flew up with a smirk and pulled a fake jack-o'-lantern out of thin air.

“Found it in the boxes of old Halloween decorations like we said.”

They landed next to the sword and dropped the decoration at their feet.

“Gotta move fast. Cover us. Red, Plasmius, keep the skeleton’s back. We’ll handle tall, dark, and fashionable. Fashionable? Really? Yes, we love that aesthetic.”

Val nodded and pulled out her grenade launcher as the other two placed themselves between their third and the knight, but Plasmius’s attention was on the ghost kid.

“What are you planning?”

The ghost kid smirked and wrapped their hand around the sword’s grip.

“To cease the storm…”

“No,” the knight yelled, but the ghost kid’s copies kept him back.

“To end the fear…”

“Wait!” Plasmius yelled as the ghost kid began to draw the sword from the ground.

“The sword must sheathe…”

As soon as the blade left the ground, the energy feeding into the dome cut off and it began to crack. Instead of the sky being behind it, Valerie saw the endless green of the ghost zone.

“In pumpkin near!”

Doppelgänger sank the sword into the fake pumpkin and everything froze. Then the sky returned.

White and green light began to pour from the decoration as the dome shuddered then began to rise up and flow back into the sword in a reverse of how it had just formed.

“No, NO!” the knight shouted as a vortex formed above the sword and began to draw him in.

Valerie only had a second to feel victorious before the vortex began to pull at her as well. She lost her footing on her board, but the ghost kid flew in to help her. Two of them grabbed her and the last grabbed her board before they all flew to the bleachers and grabbed hold. Once she was sure she was safe, she looked over the field.

Plasmius had taken refuge on a goal post, but many of the skeletons were being sucked up. The knight was clawing at the ground, but soon lost his grip and disappeared into the swirling green. Once he was gone, the vortex slowed and dissipated while the pumpkin holding the sword -- now looking like an actual jack-o'-lantern, if purple with a green glow -- vanished in a flash.

“Well, that’s one down,” Doppelgänger said.

“You idiot! The sword was a signal!” Plasmius yelled, brushing himself off.

“Yeah, we heard. That’s why we got rid of it!”

“Not soon enough.”

The teens looked up to see a large ghost floating over them.

After a second, one of the ghost kids pointed at him.

“You know, we expected more from the King of All Ghosts. He’s just a guy. A tall guy, but still.”

Another nodded, looking disappointed.

“Yeah, what is this Odin wannabe nonsense? We thought we’d be facing some beautiful Lovecraftian horror. We feel ripped off.”

The third tilted their head.

“He’s not even that big. Like ten feet, maybe. The dragon made a more impressive sight, and she was literally just a fairytale princess. You’d think a king could do better.”

“Are you done ticking him off?” Valerie asked, watching Dark get angrier and angrier.

They shrugged. “We’re just saying. He doesn’t even have a crown.”

Then the one who’d tilted their head shot to the side, the one who’d nodded stepped in front of Valerie and raised a shield, and the one who’d pointed braced for impact as Dark sent a massive blast towards them.

The shield held, but the ghost kid was forced to a knee as they poured their strength into it and it shattered apart as soon as it wasn’t needed. Once it was down, Valerie could see that the one who’d taken the blast head-on had created a crater in the bleachers that they were pulling themself out of. Meanwhile, the one who’d avoided it was zipping around the field, keeping Dark’s attention. They fired upon the king while bobbing and weaving around the return fire.

It didn’t look like the attacks were doing much damage.

“That hurt,” they said as the one limped towards her and their kneeling copy turned to her. “You should get clear.”

“We should all fall back,” Plasmius said, appearing next to them.

“Even if we could, he’d destroy the town trying to chase us down. You can run if you want to,” they said then they shot towards the field.

One landed and held their hands out. Thick wires shot out of the ground and grabbed Dark’s legs, electrocuting him in the process. At the same time, the other ghost kid shot towards the fight. They engaged the king as the one that had been fighting him backed off. They reached to the side and plucked a pot holding a glowing spider-like plant out of nowhere. They chucked the plant at Dark’s head then re-engaged him as their copy pulled back to command the plant to wrap around the king’s eyes and neck.

“The boy has Chlorokinesis?” Plasmius said.

“You didn’t know that?” Valerie said, checking her rifle and calling her board to her.

“He’s never used it against me. He’s only even used the Technokinesis recently.”

“They’ve had both for as long as I’ve known them. They’ve tried to use it on me, but I’m usually too high for the plants and my gear’s protected against their control.”

“ENOUGH!”

The two looked up to see Dark snatch the plant-controlling ghost kid from the air and throw them. The other flying one tried to catch them, but they both ended up crashing to the ground. The third flew over to them as the king tore off the wires and burned away the plant.

“Our baby,” the ghost kid whined, one staring at the plant’s burning remains with fury.

“Surrender, children! You can't possibly win!”

“Surrender isn’t in our vocabulary. And we can’t possibly let you loose on our city.” The one that had been controlling the wires helped the one that had been thrown to their feet, letting them lean against them, as the other placed themself in front of the two. “Besides, we don't have to win. we just have to make sure that you lose.”

Dark scowled and shot a blast at them. The one in front summoned a shield, but it shattered almost immediately and the three took most of the blast.

Valerie leveled her rifle at Dark, but Plasmius yanked it away.

“Don’t be foolish, girl. He will kill you.”

“Like you care.

“Considering you’re my only help, I do. We need a plan.”

“Face it, children, it's over.”

Valerie turned back to the field to see Dark walking towards the trio as they slowly got up onto their knees.

“No,” they growled. “No!”

Shaking with pain, the trio looked up. 

Their goggles glowed with black energy and then three things happened at once.

The one on the left threw their head back and screamed. Black sonic waves tore through the field and slammed into the king.

The one in the middle doubled over, hands clawing at the ground as they keened. Thick black vines wove in and out of the ground in front of them until they could latch onto the king, wrapping around his arms and legs to tear deep gashes into his skin with their thorns.

The one on the right wrapped their arms around themselves and sobbed. Black tears flowed down their face and formed a void beneath them that stretched out underneath the king.

The vines held him still, the rings drained his power, and the void drew him in.

Dark thrashed against his bindings, but they held and he was soon consumed by the darkness.

The trio collapsed.

The field went silent, the vines shriveled into nothing, and the darkness faded.

Consciousness clearly fading, the trio latched hands and fell through the ground.

Oddly though, they didn’t seem to go intangible and Valerie swore she saw the faintest hint of a white-blue-purple light just before they completely disappeared.

Slowly, she turned to Plasmius to see him gaping at the now empty field. “Did you know they had that kind of power?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny stared out at the stars as Blobena nuzzled up against his cheek.

“My everything hurts,” Tucker croaked, the first sound any of them had made since Danny had dropped them into the Space Fold then promptly passed out. He’s not sure how long they’ve been in there now, but he’s been awake for at least an hour and he knew the others woke before him.

“Sh!” Sam moaned.

It was quiet for a few moments, then Sam asked, “Danny. Why are your blobs in here? More importantly, why is one trying to eat my hair?”

With a sigh, Danny turned to see Sam and the blob in question. “I think Blobson likes the taste of your shampoo. He did the same thing to me two weeks ago when you let me shower at your place after the fight with Garbage Manster.”

“Wait, you seriously named them all? And with blob puns?” Tucker said, pinwheeling slowly near Sam’s feet. “I thought that was just a joke you and Valerie were telling.”

“We had a lot of time in that cage, okay?”

“Danny, get this thing off my hair or I’m smashing it.”

The boy pouted, but reached over to scoop up the blob. He set him on his shoulder next to Bloberick.

“Now again, what are they doing here?”

“In my defense, I just meant to hide them in here for a second because my mom was coming down the stairs and I didn’t have time to get them all back through the portal. I’ve tried to get them to leave, but they won’t.”

“You keep my ghost plants in here!” she huffed, gesturing to the quartet of pots holding plants she’d gathered from the ghost zone.

“They don’t bother them, promise!”

“Speaking of which, how dare you throw Arachne at that jerk!”

“Our ecto-beams weren’t doing much! I thought the poison on her fronds would help!”

“We can get you a new one, Sam,” Tucker said. “It’s not like it was sentient like Audrey II.”

“We can get you a new phone, Tucker,” she shot back. “It’s not like it’s sentient like Audrey II.”

“She’s as good as!” Tucker gasped, pulling his phone out to clutch it to his chest. “Talk to me, baby.”

“Hello, Tuck-man. The time is 9:34 p.m.”

Danny snickered. “Tuck-man.”

“Shut it, Danny Blobton,” Tucker said, grabbing one of the blobs floating near him and tossing it at Danny.

If anything, the blob seemed to be pleased by the action, even as it squished against his forehead. It gave a singing buzz and nuzzled further against him.

“Great, now Blobnessa is never going to let go.”

“Dude, you’ve got issues.”

“Wait, did your phone say it was after nine at night?” Sam asked, turning to Tucker.

“Yeah, it said… Oh man, how long have we been gone for?”

“My parents are probably tearing the town apart looking for me,” Danny groaned.

“Not to mention your girlfriend. I’m sure my parents are already blaming you. Crud, I’m going to have to wear their stupid dresses for a week if they’re ever going to let me see you again,” Sam said, grabbing Danny’s arm and tugging him to her.

“I swear, if my parents try to take me on one of those tech-free relaxation getaways because of this, I’m moving into the fold. Blobs or not,” Tucker muttered, hooking his ankle around Sam’s.

Danny gently shooed and brushed all the blobs off himself then turned all three of them invisible and dropped them onto the football field.

Thankfully no one was around so they turned visible and climbed to their feet.

“We’re going to need alibis,” Sam said.

“Got cornered by some skeletons in an abandoned building?” Tucker offered. “Only came out when we were sure it was safe, but then didn’t recognize where we were and stumbled about until we found somewhere familiar.”

“Sounds good enough for me,” Danny yawned. “Can either of you transform?”

They shook their heads.

“Guess we’re walking.”

They only made it a block before the Fenton RV came roaring up and a hysterical Maddie Fenton tackled Danny to the ground.

[visionofnoxus]

♛ - for your muse to beat mine until they can’t fight back (@defiant-blade) //if you're still accepting

// Warning: This turned out rather… Brutal. Not anything really bad. But definitely a rough ride. Regardless, I hope you like it and please do give feedback. Defiant-blade

General Swain has returned to Ionia. Such was the rumor. The man who had taken The Placidium and nearly crushed Ionia under his heel had returned. The rumors were spreading like wildfire about his return and the possible reasons. Flocks of ravens had taken fancy with southwestern archipelago. Noxian troops and warships had taken port in the port city of Faelor, the westernmost island of Ionia. One of the few regions still under noxian occupation.

The atmosphere of fear and dread spread over the Ionia, especially so to the province of Navori where Jericho Swain had many times proven his nickname, the Master Tactician, with catastrophic results to the local militia and civilian population alike. 11 years ago, this man had been defeated in combat by a group of resistance fighters, led by a teenage girl Xan Irelia, who’d led a charge against the general’s elites, cutting them apart and winning against the villain in single combat. Ionia had celebrated her victory and the death of Swain. Less than a year after Placidium, the war ended with the battle of Dalu Bay. Irelia personally once again slayed the commander in battle, admiral Duqal, the man responsible for commanding the Noxian navy. It could well be argued she’d put down both men responsible for the near destruction of Ionian lands and people.

The supposed survival of the general Swain and his resurfacing in Noxus as the new Grand General had been largely dismissed as propaganda and lies of the foreigners, but now seeing the warships once more gathering, the noxian legionnaires with three indents of Trifarix in their platemail being sighted, the stories of man’s return were becoming painfully realistic.

Eventually these rumors had landed in the ears of the Blade Dancer herself and after meditating on the matter, weighing her options and duties, Irelia had once more taken up her blades. Now looking over the fortified port city of Faelor, Irelia felt the dark and murky thoughts drifting in her mind. Once again she found herself weighing her options, wondering if what she was doing was for Ionia, or for herself. The Blade Dancer did not consider herself prideful or vain. What she’d done, she’d done for Ionia. And there had been great pain involved along the way. She felt little for the Noxians her blades had cut down, but the war had extracted a heavy toll on Ionians and to her ever lasting shame and sorrow, she’d been forced to cut down some of her countrymen whose fevor had been… Miss guided. 

Navigating her way through the city streets, she sneaked through the city. It was somewhat surprising, seeing such a blend of cultures. The buildings were sturdier and often lacked the attention to small artistic details that so ruled in Ionia, but they were definitely still ionian and not those blocks of stone and iron that the invaders built their fortresses like. The people walking on the streets wore combinations of foreign and ionian clothes, and the civilian population did not avoid the patrolling soldiers despite their intimidating and brutish look. It was all very confusing to Irelia, but she did not stop to consider this, keeping her focus on the task she’d set out to accomplish. A task that might very well be her final pledge of love to her beloved country. Steeling her resolve, she aimed her steps towards the governor’s palace, located in the heart of the city. It would had served her well to maybe observe the city more closely, for above the rooftops and sitting on the ropes from which the street lights hung, blood colored eyes took note of the roguish intruder sticking to the shadows. The fluttering of the ravens’ wings was lost to the soundscape of the night time city.

Governor’s palace was a fortress. High built walls of the foreigners design formed the perimeter for the palace grounds, a more traditional ionian palace sitting at the heart of the fortifications, but even this old palace had undergone changes, it’s lower levels reinforced with steel and stone, the pools of the gardens dug deeper to serve the dual purpose of aesthetics and as a moat. As Irelia scaled the walls silently, she took note of the guards. The palace guards of governor Kalan were accompanied by the heavily armored men dressed in iron and crimson cloth, the three marks on their chest marking their elite status. Slipping past the guards with little effort, the ionian allowed herself a small, joyless smile. She was on the right track. These were surely Swain’s guards.

A half an hour of sneaking and elaborate gymnastics later, she finally climbed up the castle wall, slipping in through a window that the defenders no doubt considered too small for an intruder. Maybe a brutish warrior, but not a silk dancer. Landing gracefully with a roll on the inside, the woman straightened herself up, finally drawing her blades. Not a drop of blood had been spilled so far, but it was from this point on that it would change. Looking at the gleaming, pure blades, the woman felt a shudder travel through her. This was a man she’d thought to defeated and left to die before. This time she wowed to make sure. Sneaking into the castle, she went searching for her foe. 

It was surprisingly easy. Predictable, looking back at it. All the woman had needed to do was observe where the foreign warriors were most well armed and alert. Then it was just a simple matter of dispatching them. Irelia felt a pang of guilt as she withdrew her blades from the last two warriors, the men having collapsed against doorframe of the entryway they’d been set to guard. She cast her saphire colored eyes down to meet the lifeless gaze of the dead trifarian, his earthy brown irises staring back at him without the flicker of life behind them. “I am sorry” She apologized faintly, reaching for the door. For the first time, the Blade Dancer felt sorry for the invaders and it puzzled her. These were the enemy who’d brought destruction and misery to everywhere they went. They’d no doubt committed numerous atrocities just to earn the “right” to stand guard outside Grand General’s room. And yet still… To have their lives ended in such an emotionless and cold manner, the men never seeing their death arrive… She shook her head, the tiniest click of her headdress breaking silence. This was why she’d been a warrior, not an assassin. But it was an assassin her country needed right now. Steeling herself, she pushed open the doors, stepping into the living quarters of her foe. This one at the very least, would see his doom arrive. Just like he’d seen it those years ago. With that thought pristine in her mind, she pushed open the doors.

The room was a large lounge. There were pillows and small tables, pieces of art lined the walls and where there was no picture, the very wallpapers were gorgeous enough for one to lose themselves in the patterns. On the center of room stood a dark figure, the few sources of light from candles illuminating his silvery hair, the man’s shadows reflecting near demonic images on the walls. Irelia felt her mouth dry up, swallowing unconsciously as she stared at the man who looked calmly at his would be killer, the bronze colored eyes assessing her coolly. “Xan Irelia” Came the smooth voice, almost peaceful, yet Irelia’s mind brought up an image of a sharpened blade, beautiful and calm, yet readied to strike. “When you left me for dead, you were but a girl. Now, as we meet again, you are a full grown woman” The foreign general spoke to her, those unnerving eyes never letting go of her own. She tried to say something, but her body felt like it was frozen. Something was off, her intuition screaming out loud at the danger in front of her. Something was different. So very different from the last they’d met. 

Once again the man spoke: “Curious. Last we met you came at me with zeal worth the whole Ionia. You poured all of the pain, suffering and rage into those blades and tore apart my troops, cut me down with frightening ease”. As the man stepped closer, she finally regained control of her body, lifting her arms into the initial stance of her dance. “I’ve come to finish you. That horror will never happen again” She asserted, drawing breath and starting to sink into her dance. “You lack the resolve to challenge me. And while you’ve cherished your victory, I have reforged myself from the defeat”.  

Lifting his left arm up, the very one Irelia had cut, the noxian called forth unnatural sorcery. Streaks of crimson lightning struck out like a tidal wave, Irelia’s eyes widening in shock, the woman instinctively bringing her hands up to protect herself, her blades guarding against the attack. It was for naught however, the sorcery skirting the blades easily, striking her body and eliciting a scream. “I’ve had time to prepare for this” her foe explained in calm manner, as if holding a dinner conversation. Swinging her arm wildly up, Irelia ignored the words, three of her blades launching forward but the man dodged them with a small but precise step, his eyes glowing with crimson. “You are uncertain. You doubt yourself” He accused her, shooting another bolt at her which the Blade Dancer dodged, dashing to the side, recalling her blades and summoning them back, preparing for another offensive.

“I know what I must do!” she shouted back at him, hurling her blades forward in a deadly storm of blades similar to one she’d once broken through his ranks with. But it was mere imitation of that force. A crimson colored claw the size of a man rose to meet her attack and struck against them, the blades scattering as the spell struck forward, catching the ionian woman square in the chest. She flew against the wall, vases and paintings destroyed with her body and the crimson claw bashing them. Biting back a scream, she felt the cutting edges and the vile sorcery pin her against the wall, the noxian walking closer. His hand was still extended, the transparent red hand mirroring the enormous claw currently pinning her. “You are but a shadow of yourself miss Xan” the man spoke out, his voice sounding almost disappointed. She lacked the power to answer, feeling the searing pain like hot iron against her skin as the claw pressed her against wall, shocks of pain rocking her body for what little room she had. 

The claw dissipated, Irelia’s legs giving out, the woman starting to fall forward. But her enemy was not intending to give such mercy. Stepping forward with intent, the noxian landed a punch in her gut, the strength of the blow lifting the Blade Dancer on the tips of her toes, air escaping her lungs. “Satisfaction… I admit” the man growled, pulling his hand back, letting the battered form of his enemy fall on the ground. As she hit the wooden floor, the man leveled his hand at her again, another spark of crimson shooting out, this time eliciting an actual scream from the weakened woman. Another spell followed, and then another. Finally, the noxian knelt down, grasping her head, lifting the woman’s head up, the searing pain gripping her scalp at his hold. The blood colored eyes stared into hers and Irelia felt the man.. No. The demon reaching into her very soul, glimpsing at something she could not understand. “Yes… You have not become weak. You are just filled with doubt and hesitation. Lacking a cause”. He let go of her head, the woman falling on the floor without even tiniest attempt at softening her own fall. “And you were correct to doubt yourself. My death would had brought forward exactly that. While my life may yet spare your people” The man stood up, looking down at her bloodied form. “Consider us even, girl”.

[thewyrdwritere]

Night of the Necromancer by Steve Jackson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone Fighting Fantasy Night of the Necromancer by Jonathan Green, illustrated by Martin Mckenna Man, I was obsessed with Fighting Fantasy gamebooks as a kid, I mean I was religious about them for years. Then as the years passed I turned towards reading novels and computer games and just generally grew up (a bit)…, but the childhood thrill of Fighting Fantasy stayed with me mainly because I collected them and once started couldn’t stop. Night of the Necromancer was one of the new adventures published long after FF’s 80s hay-day…I say new I just checked the publishing date and it was 2010 so now I guess it could be considered classic? Anyway, as lockdown got boring after a couple of months I decided to pick up a gamebook for the first time in probably coughthirtyyearscough and have some retro nostalgia fun. Night of the Necromancer is straight away a unique prospect in that you play as the recently deceased. Returning from a campaign against the forces of darkness you are ambushed and killed within striking distance of your castle home, Valsinore. Now stuck between the living world and the Lands of the Dead you must battle to uncover who ordered your death and take revenge or face a fate worse than death. The undead setting gives NotN a distinctive playability, usually in fighting fantasy gamebooks once you die its game over but being an undead spirit allows the player to essentially restart, like a game save, to change tact and approach difficult opponents or challenges in a more victorious manner. As a spirit the player can acquire certain otherworldly abilities, from moving objects to possessing hosts that are useful in finding physical items, pass through doors and discover unusual methods of tackling the books challenges on the path to victory. NotN’s unique playability allows the use of stronger opponents, some with distinctive attack patterns, giving combat more depth and edge and even if an opponent(s) seem undefeatable you can always ‘die’, restart and find a new approach. Be careful though sometimes the multi-layered progression route can have drastic consequences down the line as not every option can be taken, not every ability gained or location visited and sometimes there is a price to pay even for making the right decision. Overall NotN has excellent replay value. Night of the Necromancer has the iconic and nostalgia inducing black and white aesthetic though slightly updated with a smooth modernity and the gothic illustrations spread throughout brings a tormented world to life. A linear narrative keeps the action centred on the quest for vengeance and visits many eerie horror drenched locations, dank tombs, spooky woods, haunted towers, creepy villages and a disconcertingly quiet castle as the truth is sought. Illustrations of demonic creatures, ghastly ghouls and nightmarish knights all feature heavily and are ably complemented by vivid narrative that offers the player an immersive gameplay experience. It is classic Fighting Fantasy. Gameplay is balanced but the overall challenge is difficult to master. Attention to detail needs to be taken as there are tricky riddles that could stump younger players (and some older ones who were rushing). Be aware that not finding the answers to these riddles does lead to game over. However, if by chance the player stumbles upon the right configuration of supernatural abilities and magical items (not as easy as it looks as whichever path you choose, a juicy titbit or magical item will be missed) the endgame and final boss can become a little underwhelming, but at least Night of the Necromancer can be defeated not like some near impossible classic FF (coughCreatureofHavoccough). Overall Night of the Necromancer’s distinctive setting, multi-option playability and balanced difficulty makes a fine addition to Fighting Fantasy for both old hands and new blood, but for me the massive nostalgia hit from playing felt like a great way to pass time during lockdown. View all my reviews

[eien-no-gakusha]

“Castle of the White Heron” is a stupid name for a story about foxes

I mean just looking at the opening curtain and you would think it’s about herons or Himeji Castle.  As soon as this thing rises we are bashed over the head with kitsune and youko (fox spirit) lore.  We don’t get an ending similar to MAHOROBA where the protagonists turn into herons to symbolize their spirit returning to the home they yearn for.  This isn’t even about being an expatriate, where such symbolism would make sense.  Yurika drops one line about flying on heron wings and it’s never brought up again.  No one ever sang jack all about being homesick.  The focus was always on the characters’ infatuation with each other.

The argument for herons symbolizing peace in death doesn’t work either.  After the literal foxy leads die, they don’t turn into herons and fly off into the sunset.  Instead a bunch of foxes, their ancestors and extended family, come to bury them together.  Then they’re reincarnated and bump into each other around ghost month and finally get to live happily ever after.  This is about love across time and space.

Nothing ties this revue mini-story with the heron symbolism.  There’s a bit of heron and bird imagery in the costuming but it’s always overpowered by the more focused fox fire imagery.  The title is only reference to the name of the castle where the protagonists commit lover’s suicide together.  While a major plot point in their story, it’s not the focus of the revue.

Rather “Castle of the White Heron” pays homage to the foxes of Japanese folklore through the entwining tale of two legendary fox spirits.  Abe no Yasunari, a descendent of famous half-fox Omnyouji Seimei; and Tamamo-no-Mae, a courtesan so bewitching she is thought to be a powerful fox demon who enchanted and wreaked havoc in all the courts of Asia.  

Traditional fox folktales go thusly:  a hero character like Seimei defeating a demon temptress and saving the Emperor from his enslavement by a woman.  The Emperor is cured and the world returns to its natural order (aka status quo) and there’s no more famine, economic crisis, etc.  It’s such a ubiquitous myth it’s even referenced in Kurosawa’s film “Ran” to criticise a woman’s influence in court and calling a girl a fox is still used for slut-shaming to this day.  And Takarazuka does absolutely nothing new with their fox theme.

“Castle of the White Heron” is as classical as it gets.  It’s a tragic romance, it’s a zuka romance, and it’s a folktale about civilization triumphing over baser nature.  Like every Asian supernatural romance.

The metaphor for the inequality of the sexes is definitely there.  Kitsune are fox spirits associated with darkness, femininity, and the spiritual world while humans are creatures of the light, inhabiting the masculine physical world.  You see it in the casting and staging where kitsune only make an appearance at evening banquets or under the moon.  The humans are mainly represented by the otokoyaku, doing manly things like chasing women and charging heroically into battle.

The traditional notion that humans and man specifically are the superior species is heavy in the revue’s groundwork.  Therefore the patriarchal, civilized world and the virtues of logic and order are to be desired over the kitsune who are wild creatures that embrace their basic instincts and sensuality.

It is evident when Kuzunoha, queen of the fox matriarchy, drops off her son Seimei to be raised by his human father never to see his mother again.  Since times of old, the explicitly stated reason is Kuzunoha in her motherly love & wisdom knows Seimei will have a brighter future getting a proper education among humans, something he can’t get in the mountains.  It’s also symbolic of a boy stepping through the threshold of manhood and leaving childhood behind (the jurisdiction of women).  Thus the artifice created by humanity (law, stratified society, etc) or manhood is perceived as the superior state.  Yasunari’s consistent victories over Tamamo also reinforce this idea.  Tamamo-no-mae herself, while clearly the most powerful and enchanting of the kitsune, is seemingly no match in combat against her ever manly nemesis Yasunari, being forced to retreat after ever encounter and just getting herself killed when she goes on the offensive.  Getting Mozart’s Magic Flute vibes, yet?

The ending scene even suggests happiness and all that is good is found in submission to man (which kind of “man,” I’ll let you decide).  Tamamo’s final reincarnation gives up her kitsune heritage in her wedding ceremony and joins her lover to live among humans.  The marriage or unification of the lovers is clearly during a fertility festival when a man is asked to take a fox bride to ensure good harvest, in other words to tame nature for the benefit of civilization.

Overall, I thought “Castle of the White Heron” was a solid revue.  Absolutely stunning costumes and sets that clearly defined time and place.  The singing and dancing were good and progressed the plot, but nothing particularly memorable.  Festival music is catchy as always.  The leads had great chemistry and acting was wonderful from the entire cast as they captured the period aesthetic.  Pacing was perfectly fine and I enjoyed the story overall.  It’s nothing new & quite a traditional tale, especially those familiar with Japanese lore, but it’s simple and sweet.  There was a clear theme that came full circle in reincarnated Yasunari and Tamamo running off together against a backdrop of dashi floats celebrating their epic first encounter.  That theme was just more related to foxes than any bird or castle.  I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a short story or really pretty nihonmono!

But then again I have a soft spot for Heian Japan and the myths & legends from that time so of course I’m biased towards this revue.

[recentanimenews]

The Top 10 Anime Villains Who Just Won't Die!

Editor's Note: This is a republication of a feature by Nicole Mejias that originally appeared on Crunchyroll News on 5/21/18.

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    It’s often said that a good hero needs an equally good villain, and certainly there are many infamous villains to choose from. Rivalries are made, evil plans are thwarted, and the heroes celebrate their hard earned victories with the vanquishing of their foes. However, not every villain is so easy to get rid of, and some linger on long after they’re dead to cause even more problems!

  In this list, let's take a look at the top 10 villains who just refused to stay dead, gone, and buried! And as a warning, this article contains a LOT of spoilers, so read with caution!

  10. Neferpitou (Hunter x Hunter)

Anime fans can at least celebrate that the vanquishing of Neferpitou didn’t take the quite literal decade that it did in the manga, but the Chimera Ant villain certainly haunted Gon for a long time! Neferpitou had easily killed Gon’s mentor and hero Kite, and reanimated his corpse to use a training toy. Gon, unaware that he was dead, refused to give up on the chance to save his mentor and defeat this extremely powerful enemy. Unfortunately for Gon, Neferpitou vastly outclassed him, as to be expected of one of the Chimera Ant King’s Royal Guards! Neferpitou’s loyalty to the king leads to their undoing, but not before a protracted battle of wits with Gon over the life of Komugi.

    Once Neferpitou reveals to Gon that Kite is long dead and unable to be restored, Gon flies into a rage, leading to the iconic scenes where Gon’s Nen ages him, growing his power (and his hair!) to legendary proportions. Outclassed, Neferpitou dies happy, knowing that Gon is unable to get to the king, but even in death Neferpitou haunts Gon further, as their Nen ability Terpsichora activates, seemingly reviving the fallen foe! Distracted and enraged, Gon mercilessly beats his enemy’s corpse until Killua stops him… and falls into a coma, his body nearly destroyed and his life almost snuffed out from the battle! It takes a literal miracle to revive Gon much later, and it’s safe to safe Neferpitou won’t be forgotten by Gon or us any time soon!

  9. Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti (Re:ZERO)

Petelgeuse is surely a memorable villain from an aesthetic point of view with his distinct looks and voice, but the way in which he easily defeats Subaru, causing the protagonist to despair that there may be no good outcome against this foe, is one of the defining storylines of Re:ZERO. Petelgeuse seems to have Subaru figured out, and no matter how many times Subaru resets the timeline, he always seems to come up short against the foe, watching his friends suffer and die in various awful ways each time he tries to find a new route to victory.

Not only that, but Petelgeuse almost seems able to guess Subaru’s special ‘reset’ ability, and nearly succeeds in possessing him and ending the story for good! It isn’t until numerous deaths and resets that Subaru develops a working plan, and even then Petelgeuse nearly destroys Subaru. As Subaru writes “The End” in Petelgeuse’s gospel in his own blood, the deranged priest is finally killed after his body is crushed and torn to pieces! We’ll have to wait and see what type of impact Petelgeuse really left on Subaru, but to be sure he was the most difficult foe so far, and on that certainly left Subaru a changed man!

  8. Junko Enoshima (Dangan Ronpa)

We warned you about spoilers above, so if you’re still reading and are interested in checking out Dangan Ronpa unspoiled, we suggest you turn back now! In the Dangan Ronpa series (both anime and games) there’s no one quite as twisted and evil as Junko Enoshima, the mastermind behind the initial murder game, as well as the leader of a cult dedicated to bringing her twisted sense of despair to the world! Junko seemingly dies right away in Dangan Ronpa, only for it to be later revealed that it was her own sister who she happily murdered! Junko reveals herself as the mastermind behind Monokuma, having lead the students to murdering each other and laughing all the way!

Despite being killed at the end of the first Dangan Ronpa, the second game (which didn’t have an anime, sadly!) reveals that Junko lives on as Junko Alter, a computer virus seeking to continue her twisted legacy! In the second anime series, Danganon Ronpa 3, Junko appears in both the Despair and Hope routes, showing us how she gained her position of power and set up the initial game. And in the Hope route, Junko’s ghost seems bewildered to watch the antics of the cast’s struggle, before fading away, hopefully forever. Junko may not be the most ‘hands on’ villain, but she’s certainly a troublesome one who caused a literal world of despair, and whose legacy seems poised to last long after she’s dead.

  7. Tao Pai Pai  (Dragon Ball / Dragon Ball Z)

Usually, a returning villain is a major hindrance to the protagonist, presenting them with constant roadblocks to success. That’s not quite the case for Tao Pai Pai, who goes from being one of the deadliest foes Goku ever met to a comically inept weakling. First appearing during Goku’s attempts to gather the Dragon Balls at the employ of Commander Red, Tao Pai Pai is one of Goku’s first truly dangerous opponents. Tao is shown to be cunning, cold, and murderous, killing numerous people simply because he wants to, and almost kills Goku! Goku eventually defeats Tao, and if not for the assassin’s cowardly attempts to get the last laugh, might have lived unscathed; instead, Goku deflects his grenade back to him, leaving Tao for dead.

Later, however, it turns out Tao Pai Pai is far from dead, re-appearing with cybernetic upgrades and bent on killing Tien and Goku! Vastly outclassed by the powerful Tien, he doesn’t show up again until the Cell Games in Dragon Ball Z as little more than comic relief, but still as evil and conniving as usual!

6. Toguro Brothers  (Yu Yu Hakusho)

There probably isn’t a more iconic villain in Yu Yu Hakusho than Younger Toguro and his demonically powered muscled form, but even without that recognition, these two Toguros are a thorn in Yusuke and company’s side for the entire series, with Elder Toguro being the longest recurring villain in the show! First showing up during the Spirit Detective arc of the show, the Toguros are a formidable pair of bodyguards to the despicable Tarukane. In a fierce battle against Yusuke and Kuwabara, the pair of heroes are barely victorious against the powerful brothers, and it seems as if Kuwabara has killed Younger Toguro with a sword to the chest.

Shortly after, however, we learn that really wasn’t the case, and sure enough the Toguros re-emerge, forcing Yusuke and the others to fight in the Dark Tournament! Toguro constantly pushes Yusuke to become more powerful, and seems to get his wish, eventually dying to Yusuke’s powered up form. However, the Elder Toguro survives after being presumed dead, reappearing from inside the body of Gourmet during the Chapter Black saga! While his brother only seemed impossible to defeat, Elder Toguro truly seems to be immortal, and it takes a cunning attack by Kurama to sentence the Elder Toguro to a life of never ending punishment, where he can’t hurt anyone again!

5. Orochimaru (Naruto / Naruto Shippuden / Boruto)

When we think of returning villains, Orochimaru is certainly pretty high on that list, perhaps redeemed by the fact that he seems to make amends for his villainy by the end of the series, appearing in Boruto as a neutral character (so far). Still, many anime fans probably can’t forget the first time Orochimaru slithered into the story, and his constant meddling and capture of Sasuke lead to one of the most iconic moments in the entire series: Naruto vs. Sasuke. Orochimaru certainly made himself known throughout the series, utilizing his ability to body hop and revive himself numerous times before being seemingly sealed away and defeated by Itachi.

That sense of victory was short lived, however, as Sasuke himself releases Orochimaru to get answers. This proves to be a turning point for the snake ninja, as he realizes Sasuke is now far too powerful to possess, and instead the once head villain of the series begins his path to something resembling redemption. That said, who knows where Boruto will go, so Orochimaru might end up going back to his old tricks once again...

4. Shou Tucker (Fullmetal Alchemist [2003])

Now if this list were the Top 10 Worst Human Beings Ever, Shou Tucker would certainly be #1 with a bullet (or an alchemically powered hand through the face). However, Shou’s return in the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime was a total (and unwanted) surprise, as the series deviated from the manga quite a bit. While Scar had the pleasure of killing Shou in the manga, in the anime Shou vanishes into ‘military custody’... until he suddenly re-emerges as a chimera!

Shou’s mind is more gone than it was the first time, obsessed with trying to revive his daughter… the same one he turned into a chimera. Shou doesn’t meet his maker this time either, being left in the anime an obsessed failure trying to regain what he lost. We won’t really spend time trying to rationalize this despicable man’s actions, but suffice to say fans at the time were thoroughly shocked to see this terrible man-thing appear again!

  3. Char Aznable  (Mobile Suit Gundam)

It wouldn’t be far to claim that without Char, Mobile Suit Gundam may not have been as successful as it was. Amuro was an amazing, if flawed, protagonist, and he desperately needed an equally flawed and interesting rival. Char Aznable was easily able to take that position, and the Zeon pilot wreaked havoc on Amuro, pushing the Newtype to defeat him. Char is last seen giving Kycilla Zabi a unique one bazooka salute, before himself disappearing in the impending explosion. However, during the events of Zeta Gundam, a mysterious and charismatic man by the name of Quattro Bajeena shows up. Char’s alias is almost too heroic, coming across as one of the most helpful and good characters in the series, but as with most things dealing with Char, his motives are never that easy to discern.

Char re-emerges as himself during the events of Char’s Counterattack, and he and Amuro resume their rivalry, this time seemingly finishing each other off as their Psycoframe equipped suits overload, leaving both men MIA and presumed dead at the end. However, as of Gundam Unicorn, it seems part of Char is still around, emerging as Full Frontal. The conclusion of Unicorn sees the original Gundam Newtypes are reunited in spirit form, and Char, Lalah, and Amuro seemingly reconcile, ready to finally fade away.

2. Frieza (Dragon Ball Z / Dragon Ball Super)

While Goku had faced numerous powerful foes in both Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, Frieza may be the most iconic and infamous foe, cementing the series as a fan favorite and introducing fans to Super Saiyan Goku, having pushed the fighter to his limits. Frieza is one of the deadliest foes Goku ever meets, and a truly despicable and selfish person, concerned only with achieving immortality and taking over the universe, or killing everyone in it! Goku eventually defeats Frieza, leaving him to potentially survive, until the selfish alien seemingly kills himself with his own desperate final attack. However, when things seem to have calmed down on Earth, Frieza (now cybernetically enhanced!) returns… only to be quickly cut down by Trunks!

Frieza appears a few times during the Majin Buu saga, but mostly as a commentator on the fight against Buu, and has been seemingly finally vanquished… until the movie Resurrection of F! Having escaped Hell, Frieza re-appears on Earth, and his new Golden Frieza form once again makes him an imposing foe. However, his usual failings cost him again, and is this time defeated by Vegeta and Goku. However, this would still not be the end for him, as the Universe Survival Saga sees Frieza return… as a good guy?! That’s right, sort of! Frieza agrees to help Goku in the Universe Survival Tournament on the condition that he get revived. In true Frieza fashion, it becomes hard to figure out what his intentions really are, but in the end he and Goku make an odd couple pairing that, with the help of Android 17, save the day (Frieza even sacrifices himself!). But, as of the closing scenes of Dragon Ball Super, Frieza probably hasn’t learned much, so it’s likely we’ll see him clashing with our heroes once again!

1. Dio  (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)

  If you already guessed the #1 spot on this list, congratulations! If you not, well, we won’t make that joke, but you probably know the one we mean! Sometimes a villain truly makes a series, and Dio is definitely that villain. While the heroes of JoJo’s various arcs are all great, they wouldn’t be half as compelling without the truly awful Dio to stand against. And even when Dio isn’t the central villain, his influence is lingering in the background. From his initial rise to immortality against Jonathan Joestar to eventually stealing the body of his hated rival to the revival of the Pillar Men brought on by people’s fascination with the Stone Masks to the return of Dio in Stardust Crusaders, Dio and the Joestars are forever linked in combat.

But even when the spotlight drifts from Dio in Diamond is Unbreakable, his machinations with the nature of Stands leads to the Arrow finding its way to Morioh-Cho and wreaking havoc as new stand users emerge! And, while they haven’t been animated yet, we’ll just simply say that Dio’s influence in the future JoJo storylines is not to be underestimated… When you least expect it, Dio might just strike again!

  Do you have any favorite seemingly immortal villains that heroes just can’t seem to get rid of? Let us know in the comments!

----

Nicole is a features and a social video script writer for Crunchyroll. Known to profess her love of otome games over at her blog, Figuratively Speaking. When she has the time, she also streams some games. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries 

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[floofy-satan]

Floofy-Satan’s Ryokira Rec List

I haven’t seen a ryokira fic rec list yet, and so I decided to put my past three weeks of binge reading to good use and make one. I’m going to try my best to tag all of the triggering stuff in each of them, but I apologize in advance if I miss something (message me and I’ll fix it!). Some of these are reincarnation AUs and some of them take place in the crybaby verse with a canon divergence. (And then there are the straight up AUs, lol.)

* = highly recommend

Crybaby Verse/Canon Divergence

eternity by armethaumaturgy (1k)

“Don’t cry,” Akira shushes him. Seeing Ryo like this is… unsettling. Had he been holding this all inside of himself, all the time he didn’t know he was Satan? Were all those apathetic masks just that? Masks to keep himself safe from this?

“There’s nowhere to leave even if I wanted to.”

A Search for Forgiveness (If that even exists) by honeystickbabe (10k, WIP, Explicit, PTSD, Blood/Gore)

Nothing ever presented real excitement for Ryo anymore.

After all, Akira was dead.

What Have You Done To Me? by ScarletR (15k, WIP, Really Explicit, Dubcon, Dark)*

Akira gaped as Ryo’s skin melted away in a burst of blinding white light. Akira’s vision was flooded by it, and as he gasped, he breathed in the sheer power emanating from Ryo’s transforming body. It shook his bones and made his knees tremble. Everything was white, like Ryo’s clothes, like his hair, like his smooth, perfect skin.

The sight did something to him, something he couldn’t name. But it felt like a part of his skull was cracking open, releasing something he didn’t understand. Something brand new, completely foreign. It was dark, and powerful, telling him to kneel. To worship.

salt of smite by spidersrorg (15k, Explicit, Gore-y Porn)**

The Smite of Judgement falls all too soon.

Satan's aspirations, all ruined in a flash of light and pillars of salt.

Now Akira will make them pick up the pieces of their dreams while they themself fall apart.

Off Kilter by angel_ponders (9k, Explicit)

“A look of confusion washed over Ryou’s face as eight white wings sprung from his body. His jaw went slack and his pupils dilated into small pin points, revealing the crystal clear blues that’d disappeared with his earlier arousal. He reached out and grabbed one of the wings that had sprouted from his head in a moment of panic, but after a few seconds it seemed puzzle pieces fell into place. His expression calmed into one of reluctant acceptance. He became aware and unconcerned once more.

That is... until he noticed the look of sheer terror on Akira’s face.”

Reincarnation

I Have a Strange Feeling This Isn't Our First Time Around: Or, How Satan Got a Soul by tinygaymoonfae (3k)

Pyrrhic Victory: (noun) a victory that inflicts such damage that it might as well be a defeat.

Ryo got everything he asked for and nothing he needed. Alone, the sole survivor of an apocalypse he created, he realizes something very important--life means nothing without love. He's ready to admit defeat when he gets offered a second chance. Will he take it? If he did, would it be worth it? And more importantly, how heavy is the burden of a human soul?

dry your eye by battour (3k)*

Satan sits by the body he painstakingly created for Akira, knowing where he went wrong this time.

The solution was obvious from the start, but he chose not to see it.

i'll cry your unshed tears darling by MaroonPigeon (11k, WIP)

His dirt and grime covered wings seemed out of place in the white void. Satan’s body trembled beyond his control. Not here, no. Where is Akira? Akira? This was not where the two promised to lay together for eternity. I don’t want to see father.

He grimaced as a warm and familiar voice interrupted his panic.

“My mourning star, you’ve learned so much!”

Satan continued to tremble, unable to move or feel angry anymore. “Hello… father.”

(AKA Satan gets a second chance)

I've Missed You by skydonyx (1k)

After Akira dies, Ryo goes insane and God feels sorry for him.

paradox of memory by zerotransfat (4k, WIP)

He remembers. Remembers. And remembers.

The morning after that Akira’s first transformation, he starts up from his stark white sheets, heartbeat racing and vision blurry. With sweaty palms, he curls into himself and shakes.

(In which Satan’s original plans derail spectacularly, and Ryo Asuka is a bigger part of the Fallen Angel than first thought.)

With More Successful Hope Resolve by SharpestRose (18k, Explicit, Gore, Taro Lives)*

"I want to go back to Japan. Find out where Akira is now. I want to live there."

Ryou makes a decision in childhood that changes everything.

Satan is Tired by Your_Narrator (56k, WIP, PTSD, Fashion Everywhere)**

Somewhere in Heaven, God was laughing, and Satan knew it. Just watching Satan suffer probably got the bastard off. Having to properly deal with humans, having crippling emotions, and watching the only thing Satan cared about die again and again was probably what God actually wanted. It was three new levels of Hell that were unlike any other form of suffering, and yet there Satan was, dealing with it all. Not for God’s pleasure, fuck that.

He did it for Akira.

AU

Expensive Taste by Danganphobia (146k, WIP, Explicit, Drug Addiction, Fashion Everywhere)*

No, Akira thinks. Who he thought seemed to be decent turned out to be not only intimidating, but superstitious. Desperate, and offered Akira a concerningly large sum of money to spend another day with him. Among other things. This is definitely not his taste.

He was dealing with someone with an incredible amount of wealth without a doubt. A teacher and possibly, a billionaire.

Soon enough, he knows that he might be lying to himself upon meeting Ryo Asuka. Building an unlikely friendship full of venting, feelings, laughter, (maybe drugs) and slowly blossoms into something more.

The Blood in My Veins, The Smoke on Your Lips by shatteredcrystalwings (1k)

While practicing for an upcoming track meet, Akira finds his attention driven elsewhere.

He Suits My Aesthetics by Telesthesia (4k, Explicit)

Living a normal college life and spending their childhood together, Ryo Asuka and Akira Fudo lead a normal life together as artist and aspiring track star. Akira adds a little life to Ryo's calculated and still world.

Alternate Universe - Normal College Life (No powers)/ Artist and Muse

Just Like Heaven by shamusiel (45k, WIP, Drug Use)

“We’re not eight anymore,” Ryo says, flatly. He gives Akira a quick once-over. Akira’s skin heats up under his gaze. “You lost your baby face. And…”

Ryo grins, sharp as a knife. There's something lethal in his eyes.

“You got taller,” he states, casual as you please.

-

Or: what happens when your best friend goes AWOL for ten years, and when he comes back he's hot, keeps flirting, gets stoned on the weekends, and is madly in love with you.

And he's probably the biggest human disaster alive.

[thechurchillreview]

Contains minor SPOILERS.

Cala Maria gif courtesy of @casioonaplasticbeach​.

The debut game of Studio MDHR is the completely hand drawn 1930s cartoon inspired Cuphead for the Xbox One and PC. Particularly the Fleischer Studios short starring Bimbo known as Swing You Sinners! (1930). For example, Cagney Carnation’s idle animation is one a ghost has in it. A later significant donnybrook borrows from that cartoon’s aesthetic and characters too. There’s visual grain filter and simulated 24 fps too! There’s a deliberate color inconsistency between Cuphead’s design and the hues for his victory screen: a commonality found with older cartoons. An Inkwell Isle II boss character speaks with a Porky Pig inspired stutter whilst possessing a moniker close to a famous animator’s (Grim Natwick). Natwick, in real life, spoke with a stutter, making a double reference to cartoon history. 

As a cartoon fanatic and a seeker of run and gun games, I had to check out Cuphead for sure! 

On Xbox One. 

My name is OrchardBlossom. 

Cuphead has been in development for seven years and is the final result of seven people animating it is beyond mind blowing. Their names are Chad Moldenhauser, Danielle Johnson, @jake-clark, Thomas “Smo” Smolenski, @habihanna, Joseph Coleman, and Tina Nawrocki. Take a bow y’all! *Throws roses, kisses, glitter, and confetti* 

Cuphead, is, as cliche as it sounds, a dream come true for me. 

The moment I tried the Sony Imagesoft (publisher) and Traveller’s Tales (developer) Sega Genesis game Mickey Mania in the early 90s, I’ve been relentlessly searching and totally craving another release that utilized hand drawn animation that pulls from classic cartoons. In it, Mickey Mouse can toss marbles at foes and his HP that’s represented by fingers on his glove is 5. The player goes from left to right avoiding by jumping over or trouncing adversaries. Mickey Mania’s opening level is the culturally and genre significant Steamboat Willie (1928) and a later one is a favorite of mine known as The Lonesome Ghosts (1937). Often I’d avoid enemies and not proceed so I could soak in the game’s distinctive visual aesthetic for a second longer. Similarly, I’d prolong a couple of clashes in Cuphead for that very same reason. Despite never winning against the final fight in that damned The Prince and the Pauper (1990) stage, that Mickey Mouse game still retains a special place in my heart. In fact, when taking a slight break from Cuphead I fired up my Sega to only lose against Captain Pete…Again. 

25% of Cuphead features run and gun stages that bring to mind Mega Man, Contra, Gunstar Heroes, Metal Slug, and Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts. Your introductory HP is 3 and can be higher if you sacrifice the strength of your weapons via purchased charms. Charms are bought using Coins found in levels and around the hub islands of Inkwell Isle.

With this currency, charms or weaponry can be bought at Porkrind’s Emporium. For instance, the Smoke Bomb Charm makes your dodge waaaay more efficient. The Coffee Charm is ideal for plane boss battles since you cannot make your Shrink dodge any better in them: this allows you to obtain Super Arts of powered up techniques faster. Cuphead’s basic projectile weapon is known as the Peashooter. The boomerang-like Roundabout is your best bet against most bosses if you’re adept at facing the opposite and firing it. Chaser is a weak homing weapon that’s perfect for boss battles that require both tricky and constant dodging (like the final phase of queen bee Rumor Honeybottoms). Experiment with your six firing weapon selections and find what’s the most comfortable for you though. Remember that Cuphead and Mugman can fire while ducking/moving and their firing angle can be adjusted. 

Likewise, in a plane, one can use the gun or bombs. I didn’t realize this until late in the game, ha ha! 

The remaining 75% of Cuphead consists of brimming with personality and creativity boss battles alongside some toe-tapping worthy jazz-infused tracks. Cuphead is a game that takes patience, analyzing patterns, learning to properly parry (leads to the capability of utilizing stronger weapon moves and Super Art techniques), knowing when to stop firing versus dodge some more, ducking, and changing your weapon set or Super Arts when necessary. Now, it is possible to hold down the fire button and switch between weapons on the fly. I personally found it overwhelming, an additional challenge of sorts, that made it increasingly harder to accurately concentrate during either run and gun stages and boss battles.

So, in Cuphead, you will die a lot. I guarantee it. I died 1111 times beating it on Normal mode alone. I didn’t give up nor go above 3 HP. It was immensely satisfying when I won against everything. 

But I feel this by design: the game’s mechanics are solid and each time I lost I didn’t blame Cuphead since everything is clear. Trial and error is in the game’s DNA. Controls aren’t an issue essentially. They’re quite responsive, so each failure unquestionably feels like my fault. If an attack or enemy isn’t pink, it cannot be parried, so it must be avoided or slain. The directions in which bosses bombard you don’t change at all (besides after a phase alteration where new moves are still very much broadcast)…The order isn’t consistent however. And my advice is to always stay on guard. Sometimes, the smartest attack is to wait though. 

Whenever you do lose, a progress bar is unveiled about how dismal or great your overall performance was. Along with a taunting quote from a boss. Like Wally Warbles, a Woody Woodpecker colored bird says, “Even without my feathers, you’re in for stormy weather!” Talk about adding insult to injury! This actually compelled me to keep going. I wasn’t deterred because I learned from my errors and mistiming mistakes until I won. I can defeat some of the initially seemingly impossible boss battles without taking a hit now. 

In short, Cuphead is tough yet fair in my eyes.

Alas where it falters most is the usage of two boys as our protagonists. I get that is supposed to be a homage to Mickey Mouse (with a hint of Felix the Cat?) and the long forgotten Oswald the Lucky Rabbit with each sporting said famous character’s colors/gloves. That’s cool I guess.

Still, not Cuphead and his sister? Because it isn’t like Betty Boop isn’t that famous or anything right? Or how about neither a guy or girl? They’re anthropomorphic characters with a cup and a mug for heads! Why solely men…?

Cuphead is a tale of owing a debt to the Devil through gambling. They are forced to collect soul contracts from the lives of others the Devil and Dice King’s casino have corrupted. Or lose their own lives instead as grisly punishment. The minimalist plot is conveyed through a excellently done storybook motif. I prefer Cuphead’s bro Mugman who told him to stop gaming when the Devil challenged him.

Mugman’s the one I never get to play as. XD

Yes, despite the game creators (Chad and Jared Moldenhaur, brothers) stating Cuphead wanted to avoided a damsel in distress narrative as the main one a.k.a. a retro concept that should stop being the norm. However, there’s a small juxtaposition between this and Cuphead writer Evan Skolnick. In Cuphead, women are unfortunately in short supply. The most prominent recurring one (Legendary Chalice) is literally trapped and has to be saved to unlock the powerful Super Art abilities located in the Inkwell Isle Mausoleums. I mean our introduction to her in the game is the word “HELP” with an exclamation mark for emphasis. Saving her grants you more useful Super Arts that assist in stage and boss fights, but aren’t necessary to beat the game. To achieve victory, the player must parry all of the spectral threats to release the straw-halo spirit from a repeated prison thrice times throughout the course of your journey. 

For some reason, a celebatory background statue of her can be seen in Rugged Ridge, suggesting her character was once one of considerable prominence in this game’s world (or storyline I suggest). My real query is why the Legendary Chalice has “legendary” in her name in the first place? So, why couldn’t she of been similar to a Great Fairy from the Legend of Zelda series then? As the protagonist Link, you locate the Great Fairy fountains and she gives you something for the effort. Or what if the Mausoleum parry challenges were meant to prove that Cuphead and Mugman are worthy to own the sacred Super Arts Legendary Chalice has in her possession?  

I sincerely wish her character’s background had been suitably expanded on. Like maybe she sees potential in them for completing the Mausoleums in Inkwell.  Perhaps her role in the game could of had more meaning? How it stands with Legendary Chalice simply plays into a classic video game trope I’ve always loathed. The damsel in distress the Moldenhauser bros tried to not use. 

Others women talk to you in the hub world or ask for assistance in some way. Like a fish fishing, for one! How wonderfully weird. Is she a cannibal by chance?

What remains are bosses. Ahem, how few there are that is, yeah. Out of twenty plus bosses only seven feature women with five being the actual focus.

The introduction to planes battle has Hilda Berg: an Olive Oly zeppelin that transforms into the constellations Taurus and Sagittarius (they are coded/drawn as men) during the fight. Another is a drunken martini glass that’s part of an alcoholic beverage trio you might contend with. The Domino mini-boss has two halves: the top is a hat and bow while the bottom is a skirt with that same bow serving as hers. This half has distinct lashes and red heels as well. There’s the Betty Boop sound effect laden Cala Maria, the gigantic mermaid seen in each trailer for the game’s release. Sally Stageplay is the most memorable for me with her battle taking place in a theatre with a live audience: it opens with a wedding and has her theatre husband in the background not contributing to the fight while trying to take care of a baby. There’s the aforementioned Rumor Honeybottoms, in an intense scenario which pushes you to your platforming and parrying limits. My favorite in terms of concept to execution is in the Inkwell Isle II level Sugarland Shimmy! She is called Baroness von Bon Bon. 

Here’s an intriguing fact: the singer for the seemingly masculine Cab Calloway influenced antagonist Dice King is sung by Alana Bridgewater (her vocals are fantastic!).

All in all, I recommend Cuphead. The indie darling is an equally exhilarating and addictive game with a superb soundtrack to boot! On top of that, Cuphead’s nods to video games and animation history are an impeccable fusion I couldn’t get enough of. Cuphead’s fun and challenge is raised with a friend on-board for the surreal worth taking ride. You can revive your teammate for a price (they return with 1 HP left and any subsequent revivals become increasingly harder to pull off) through parrying their ghost or taking HP (Like a thief…Blargh. ) from one another upon dying in boss battles or levels.

Oh, there is indeed a lower difficulty, but the developers will sadly not let you truly finish the game if you select it. Bosses lack entire phases and overall health. Locking content in this manner does disappoint and irk me for those that desire the full Cuphead experience. Especially for those that are already put off by the game’s difficulty curve as a whole from the get-go. Since part of Cuphead’s joy is seeing so much creative and stunning animation lovingly crafted on display. Listening to new music. Drinking in the atmosphere prior to being killed for the umpteenth time due to miscalculating a parry or boss attack. This is lost for those that choose Simple. *Sighs despondently*

As are the game’s wonderful secrets I won’t divulge here. 

On the other hand, folks should give Simple Mode a gander to check out lost animation Normal and Hard Mode doesn’t have. ;)

A PSA for those seeking an A rank on the Run and Gun stage Funfair Fever! Um, there’s a glitch in the game that won’t allow this achievement. Meaning, you have to conquer it with a P (Pacifist: only parrying, no shooting) rank as an alternative. I spent hours attempting to secure an A rank to no avail until I succeeded with the P rank I needed towards earning a game secret. This has just been patched.

My recommendation for Cuphead would be loftier if gender representation had been better and Simple Mode had encompassed all of the game. It doesn’t. You’re mocked by Dice King and that doesn’t seem right to me. No one deserves to be made fun of for playing something that is meant to be purely entertainment.

My feelings towards the red skinned turban wearing genie magician guy in the game bother me as well. Like he’s time period accurate and ultimately offensive. Should of done some in-depth research before posting this. :(

P.S. Dr. Kahl, is named after animator Milt Kahl, but modeled after Sonic’s Dr. Ivo Robotnik and Mega Man’s Dr. Wily. You’ve been warned. So many deaths were caused by him. So. Many. Losses. *Shudders*

[allblackmusclemen]

Bodybuilding: is it worth playing candles?

When in some countries bodybuilding federations do not make any restrictions, there are enough "freak" participants who are not always enthusiastic.

They become a laughing stock for the audience and a target for the judges' frequent taunting remarks to their ears. I often felt sorry for such "young" athletes. And the question always arises: why do they do it? Becoming a laughing stock, many of the grief-builders never go on stage again. Their self-love has already been killed away. Some of them, of course, don't care about it, and they are glad to rush to the podium again and again to amuse their self-esteem. Such athletes are just excessively high opinion about themselves, and no one can convince them that they will never get into the top ten.

When we start to pump our muscles, we usually do it because. That we want to become like our muscular companion, or an athlete in the photo that we come across or like the girl from the next yard. Everyone, of course, has his own idol. First, we start to gain some weight, and then more and more often we stare at our reflection in the mirror in an attempt to see increasing volumes. But there comes a moment when it suddenly seems to us that we have achieved something, and now we have something to show others. At this moment, it is imperative to have a real sober head of a friend or coach next to us, who must cool the passion and make us really look at our results. The best criterion that determines the moment of your readiness for competition should be a compliment from someone you don't know in the gym. If you start to make compliments, it means that you have really acquired some forms that people around you already notice.

But you should also remember that not everyone has the right idea about really well developed, quality muscles. For example, there are guys who sit on a steroid needle all year round, have a fat layer of 50% and weigh far from a cent. They usually wear sweaters and do not bare anything but their hands in summer, because they are really afraid to show off their stomach. You should not listen to such advisers, because they do not understand anything in bodybuilding. For them, the criterion of a person ready for competition is huge bodies and strength in the hall. Such people usually remain terribly dissatisfied with judging, when the first place is taken by an athlete with relief, quality muscles and excellent proportions, and the "flooded" big man with elephant legs is put on the second, or even fifth place.

If, however, you really want to participate in bodybuilding competitions, then you should pay attention to the following.

Genetic data

Bodybuilding is a beautiful, aesthetic sport, it is won by athletes with excellent genetics. Because there are standards, according to which judges determine the winners. And these are not the sportsmen with huge muscles, but suffering from the lack of beautiful proportions. There are a lot of measurements. At one time, there were such mastodons as the American Paul Dillet, and the Germans Gunter Schliercamp and Markus Rohl. When these guys came out on stage one by one to pose, the hall was delighted. Huge forms, incredible relief! All this impressed the audience. But as soon as they stood in one ruler compared to a star like Flex Wheeler, the raptures subsided. They never defeated Flex. So, if you do not have good genetic data, then accept the idea that you always have to be, at best, second. I will tell you right away that being second is also a good thing. But this is, of course, in a professional league, and only the chosen ones rise to this level.

Bodybuilder CharacterIf

You have a weak character, then forget about bodybuilding as a pipe dream. "Iron" sport requires maximum dedication. Solid character and willpower are needed to follow your diet scrupulously every day. In order to overcome your laziness and weakness in the gym. In order to force yourself to increase the load on training. In order to be able to sit on a strict diet of 12 weeks a year, and perhaps even longer. In order to be able to return to the gym when no one believes in you. And finally, you need character to not give up on iron after you've stopped competing. After all, bodybuilding is for life and more. And not because it is necessary for the beauty of the body and self-assertion. It's because if you quit pulling "iron", then you will no longer have the same health. There comes, as doctors say, the "failure syndrome". From the very beginning of your work with heavy weights, your heart gets used to work in a higher mode, and in no case you should not break this mode, or there will probably be chronic failures in its work. No one wants to have a malfunction of the heart.

Life style rocking

You will have to reconsider your lifestyle. Understand me correctly: of course, in the world practice there are athletes in all kinds of sports, who train in the hall during the day and in the evening they drink beer and vodka, smoking all this with a cigarette, and despite all this, they are able to show high results. But don't be seduced - these people can be called extremists and nothing good will happen in the future. As a rule, the career of such people ends very quickly and sadly. If you want to be in the spotlight for many years, you should live bodybuilding. And this means that you will have to get a personal coach in the gym, in order to be constantly near the simulators. You need to eat properly and fully, and for this you should start earning good money. The power mode in the bodybuilder's life is in the first place, and therefore it is necessary to strictly monitor the mode of eating. Every time you miss the next "feed", you will lose muscle mass, which means - move back in development. It cooks for you all day long and takes care of you like a child. But do not forget that for this, again, it is necessary to earn a decent income to support your wife, who will become a housewife because of you. Of course, you will be lucky if you have a sponsor. Then partly the financial problems will be solved, and you can concentrate even more on your career.

The meaning of all training

Many people do not have the slightest idea of how professional bodybuilders live. Once I talked to one acquaintance who asked me about exercises and different training "nonsense". Word for word, the conversation suddenly turned into the fact that he had recently met with a popular Russian bodybuilder. And that he was lucky, too. He is a world-famous bodybuilder. Money sea, fame, etc., etc. I am, of course, dumbfounded, where such false information comes from. I have known this athlete for over twenty years. Together we performed and traveled around the country with guest poseings. We are still in close contact and often meet in business. In a word, the welfare of my old friend is well known to me, and, I will say not melting, he is far from being a millionaire. Now he trains governors and rich people, but to say that he is provided for life, I would be afraid. And I gave this example to the fact that a lot of rainbow lies hover in people's brains. And there is a lot of wrong information about our sport. That's why with the confidence of a connoisseur of this question I would say that 90% of Russian competing bodybuilders barely make ends meet. I will also tell you who of our sport is really rich and, alas, they are not Russian sportsmen. They are Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, Lee Labrada, Rich Gaspari and so on. As you can see, there is not a single Russian name. This is all the elite of the world's professional bodybuilding, which earned money from constant victories in competitions and guest poses around the world. Only the elite of professional bodybuilding has solid contracts. The rest survive, who can. The main income of professionals is earnings from advertising sports supplements, seminars and personal training . It is this industry and contains the whole world bodybuilding. If people stopped using supplements, then bodybuilding would die.

Conclusions on everything said

I hope I did not cut off your desire to perform. I would really like to open your eyes to the real facts and put you on the ground for your own good. Bodybuilding is a super sport. Only it can really change the figure of a person, can help improve health, can bring back youth. But do not forget that it is a hard sport, which can be traumatic, both physically and psychologically. Some of you have already heard about steroid addiction. Well, it does exist and bodybuilding is one of those sports where steroid addiction is developed much more than in other kinds of sports. Often, you have to see people who inject you instead of repetition or approaching the muscles.And this is tragic, because not only the meaning of training is lost, but also the idea of a healthy body. If you look at the lineup of athletes in the late eighties and early nineties and compare them with a lineup of today's professionals, built for comparison at Olympia, you will notice an interesting pattern. Yes, undoubtedly, modern athletes have progressed in size, but do they look better? Of course they do not. They have become heavier and more massive, but also uglier. If you look at the stars of the nineties - Barry De May, Gary Stridom, Sean Ray, Lee Labrad, etc., you will see a healthy look, a dig of head hair, clean skin and a narrow waist. Today's pros have sprawling bellies, bald head and pimple skin. This only indicates that previously steroids were used in reasonable quantities, but now - in crazy doses, unprofessional, unjustified. Previously, the bodybuilding philosophy was built primarily on training, and only the second - on steroids. And now the uncontrolled use of steroids is what guides athletes in the first place, and training is relegated to the second place. But, thank God, the International Federation has finally started taking reasonable steps which begin to stop the attempts to distort the essence of "iron" sport. After all, first of all in our sport there should be excitement and craving for "iron" rather than dependence on steroids and the number of cubes in your syringe. Have a healthy workout for everybody!

One of the sources:

https://fbfm.moscow/

[sazorak]

The Ongoing Narrative Evolution of Attack on Titan

Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan (or Shingeki no Kyojin, if you’d like) is, at first blush, little more than a particularly smart and stylish take on the usual apocalyptic-horror formula: existentially-terrifying monsters in a world already lost, with a heap of unanswered questions. This conceit is ubiquitous these days; it’s at the core of hundreds of zombie and zombie-like apocalypse narratives scattered across a dozen different mediums.

How did world get into this mess? How does one survive in a world like this? Is it possible for society to survive in a situation like this? These questions form the backbone of fiction like Attack on Titan— internally within the narrative itself and externally in how the audience engages with it. One of the fundamental weaknesses of most zombie-like narratives is an inability to move past this core conceit and answer any of the questions. Few even try— as to do so might undermine much of the fundamental appeal of the narrative: the life-of-death tension and unknowable nature of the mystery.

Attempting to evolve the narrative past the status quo (no matter how unstable that status quo may logically be) runs the risk of alienating an audience who became engaged with the work because of that status quo in the first place. Oftentimes, the questions raised are far more interesting than the answers, and authors sometimes have no actual answer in mind when they ask these broad-sweeping questions in the first place. At the same time, maintaining a status quo indefinitely is boring; it’s at the core of why zombie fiction is so same-y and garbage.

One of the things that’s most remarkable to me about Attack on Titan is how it is not only willing to abandon the initial status quo, but continually evolve and develop the concept of the narrative while not betraying the themes and events it began with. It’s natural in a way that most apocalyptic monster stories aren’t. It continually raises more nuanced, challenging questions while answering older ones, and each new status quos raised is as perilous as the one that preceded it— just more complicated and nuanced.

Very little of what I’m talking about here is particularly revelatory if you’ve been keeping up with Attack on Titan, and if you haven’t been this discussion is going to amount to little more than the world’s strangest Cliffs Notes. I just want to nail down just how much Attack on Titan has been successfully evolving its themes while staying engaging, largely for my own satisfaction having just recently caught up. Spoilers for Attack on Titan through Chapter 98 after the break.

Much of Attack on Titan’s initial appeal came from its basic aesthetics. The imagery of sword-wielding techno-spider-men fighting giant naked man-eating men is at the core of why the anime was instantaneously popular, and why the manga blew up in the first place. But it’s fascinating how quickly it moved past being just that. In a way, Attack on Titan has undergone a continuous, evolutionary process— resulting in increasingly complex thematic phases that we can point to.

The initial premise was the simplest. The last remnant of humanity lives in a walled city that keeps horrible man-eating giants out. Life sucks. Then the titans breached the walls! The lead character, Eren, becomes an orphaned refugee after a titan eats his mother right in front of him, and enlists in the scout legion to try to get his home back, and get his revenge. But things suddenly turned in just a single volume’s time, when by a titan eats Eren…  and inexplicably he transforms into an intelligent, sentient titan who wrestles the bad ones!

The immediate reaction by many to this twist was rather negative— which isn’t that surprising. After all, it seemingly undoes the base premise of the series, and forces another greater suspension of disbelief just after people had come to terms with Attack on Titan’s definition of “reality.” Isayama sold them a bill of goods that promised nasty naked boys eating spidermen; a sudden twist towards what first glance seemed to be rank power fantasy of “I AM THE NAKED GIANT BOY NOW, I SHALL DESTROY THE GRAVEYARD SMASH” was something of a ‘betrayal’ of the darker themes that had brought them in in the first place. But those who gave this course change a chance discovered that rather than the narrative becoming simpler, it was WAY MORE COMPLICATED. Before Eren became a titan, we had no idea what the titans were, or where they came from. After he became a titan, we had even less of an idea, as the evidence we now had was so fragmentary and seemingly contractor as to defy most speculation. The general question of the setting (“How?”) became an outright mystery (“What!?”). What was the connection between humans and titans, and how the hell did Eren manage to turn into one and back again?

This turn also really kicked off what’s been a central aspect of Attack on Titan ever since: politics. The revelation of Eren’s ability was an incredibly political one; what was to be done with him, and what was the motivation of those now wanting him dead? The revelation that there was in fact a deeper connection between titans and humans suddenly brokered a great deal more suspicion in the actions of both the humans and the titans.

This paid off with the next major twist, when an expedition attempting to make use of Eren’s abilities was attacked by another titan that seemed to be under human control; others had the same ability as Eren! The narrative shifted from being “man vs monsters” to “man vs man, contextually monsters” as the titans took a role less as primary threat and more a backdrop for the conflict. That these “manned titans” seemed to be behind the deliberate compromising of the wall years previously resulted in a massive shift in the overall tone and nature of the mystery. The existential question was now less “Why is the world like this?” and more “Why would someone do this?” and “Who did this?”

The conflict was no longer us vs an inhuman them; who the enemy was no longer as clear. Who could Eren, and us by extension, trust? Those in charge seemed awfully like they knew way more than they let on, and it turned out that several of Eren’s compatriots from his training were the titan-changer sleeper agents, and were those who caused his family and thousands of others to die. But even stranger, these titan-changers in their midst impossibly came from some place outside the walls— which contradicted all we knew about the outside world.

But we had little time to dwell on this, as Eren and the scouting legion… initiated a coup de ’tat!? The government was quite clearly complicit in the state of things, willing to throw away millions of lives to maintain the precarious status quo and keep their hold on power. To do so, they attempted to seize Eren, triggering the coup. This finally moved the conflict to one purely “man vs man”, with the titans becoming little more than raison d'être. The coup ultimately culminated with the crowning of a new, more cooperative monarch, and the revelation that the nation’s isolation and regressive state was foisted upon it by its former rulers. We also began to learn more of the true nature of the titans: that they are created, that the power to become a titan can be transferred, and that it all somehow ties into the overthrown royal bloodline.

It seemed like oh so soon, we would be able to answer the ultimate mystery of the world. Eren gained his titan power thanks to a serum his father had given him right after the first wall collapsed, he seemingly having come from some place outside the walls just like the titan-changers. All the scouting legion needed to do now was take back the wall that had fallen all those years ago, and pull from its ruins the lost secrets of Eren’s father. Unfortunately, the titan-changers too knew of this goal, and it culminated in a pitched battle of titan versus titan and man versus titan, against those who had destroyed the wall.

The victory, at tremendous cost, brought the greatest revelations and shifts in the narrative of all: the conflict had always been one of man vs man. The walled nation that they thought was the last bastion of humanity? Little more than a single isolated kingdom, whose citizenry was of a seemingly cursed bloodline with the ability to transform into mindless titans— as well as to inherit the ability to become an intelligent titan. The titans hadn’t destroyed the rest of the world; they were amid an industrial revolution! The titans on the island were little more than dissidents from a beleaguered ethnic minority, transformed into monsters and released there as a last cruel insult to a nation that once ruled the world.

And now we truly see that nation at large. Those once oppressed by the titans now use them as weapons in World War I-era armed conflict, turning non-citizens kept in ghettoes into living weapons in an exploitative military machine. It’s far beyond the simple cruelty of man fighting monsters; true horror always belongs to the cruelty of mankind alone. Eren and his homeland don’t need to kill all the titans, or even defeat some narrowly-defined enemy; the world is their enemy. By their very birth, they are hated, used, and discarded. And how do you fight that? You can’t spiderman that away.

It seems their answer is to repay it in kind. Eren has infiltrated the home of those titan-changers who had once infiltrated his own. To what end? We don’t know yet. But I’m really fascinated to find out; it’s a total inversion of the concept we started with, and it took a hell of a ride to get here and have it feel like a natural extension.