#It’s pretty stunning the upgrade that happened here

[bluewithpurplepolkadots]

Puss in Boots sequel isn’t the first time dreamwork’s second movie was better than the first: but it’s certainly the one where the jump in quality in comparison is at its most stark and obvious.

[brokenpieces-72]

Brief Stop

TF141 x Choochoocharles | Navigation

“Is there a particular reason you’ve brought us here Kate?” John Price asked. Laswell had gathered the 141 at her house in America. This was unusual as he knew Kate Laswell wasn’t a very social woman. A drink at the bar? Sure. A house call? Something was wrong. Something Kate wanted off the books which added a whole new layer of concern. At least she’d offered them a drink first.

“This is off record but it raises a great deal of concern. Few hours ago I received an email, with video footage from an island called Aranearum. Someone calling for aid with…a threat that I can barely describe and would call bullshit if I didn’t have the videos to prove it.” Kate explained, clearly a little shaken. What the fuck was on the videos?

“What exactly is this threat?” Kyle asked.

“I should first and foremost inform you that the reason I am asking for your help is because that email has reached multiple people. If we let this sit and wait other’s may try to go there and turn this threat into an opportunity. This is the threat.”

Kate opened a photo on her tablet and handed it to Price. John looked between Kate and the tablet, stunned. That almost never happened.

“Laswell you are terrible at jokes.” John stated, getting a sigh from Kate. Johnny looked over his captains shoulder, brows furrowing. There was a train with spider legs and what he guessed was a face. An ugly one at that. The tablet gets passed around as Laswell keeps quiet. Her silence spoke volumes and the four men couldn’t believe what they were be asked to do.

“There’s videos?” Simon asked, and Laswell nodded.

“This monster needs to die. Eliminated. Otherwise the other recipients are going to take full advantage and try to capture this thing and use it somehow.” Kate explained. “That being said we can’t drop much into this island without raising an insane amount of red flags, Nikolai can provide weapons but explosives need to be limited.”

“The videos.” Price said. Laswell nodded and pulled them up on her own tv. They were all home made, and this one started with the camera being set up in an old shack, with a run down locomotive, and you. You couldn’t be that old, and wore dirty jeans, a shirt and leather apron, hair messily tied back. You were pacing and looking around, hunting rifle in her hand.

“This is… entry 1, log 1, I don’t know. Uh… I’m recording these to call for aid, and to give you some insight into what is going on. I’ve included photos of Charles, yes that what we call him, in the email. But since I don’t know if anyone is going to care I’m making plenty of videos so you know what’s going on.” you said, sounding a little sarcastic.

“Behind me is another train, this will allow me to get around the island, and stay safe. For some reason Charles won’t enter or break buildings. He will attack trains and humans though. Thankfully this engine is pretty built so I can repair it with some scraps, upgrade it hopefully, and it will keep me safe while I try to get more information. You can’t see it but I intend to add a mount on the back to fight off Charles. That’s…kind of it at the moment.”

The video ended and another started up again, this one outside and pointed towards an abandoned mining set up. There were people patrolling around with hunting rifles and masks. Masks that looked like the monster but not quite. Still unnerving.

“Okay…” you whispered. “Those guys over there with the guns… psychos. They’re like cultists, and they love Charles. They hang near the mineshafts, they rarely go into any of the towns, just… they’re guarding something. I don’t know what but they are.”

Two of the cultists noticed the train, and the camera moved suddenly followed by an oh shit from you as the video ends suddenly.

Another video starts, and by now the men were shifting a little, some sitting down, others leaned against what ever was close enough.

The video starts up in a cabin with an old oil lamp lighting the space. You were setting up the camera and stepping back revealing a wall filled with papers, photos, and rough sketches. You did your research that’s for sure. It was rather impressive.

“The cultists are hiding these eggs that I think are from Charles or Charles was from… chicken and egg crap. There’s three that the cultists are protecting, which makes getting them a problem and I don’t know if they’ll hatch or not. I… I really fucking hope not, but please send help. At least send some people to take us off the island, let the issue be isolated. I just… we need help. Please.” You looked tired. Exhausted even. The video ended again, and yet another started. This time you were moving around on the train. If you weren’t tired before you were tired now. Pissed almost.

“Been out here for…way too long. Eating away at my battery and storage on my camera. Been blowing my fucking whistle just so I can prove to you that this fucker is real. Been contacted back by others with what I have so far and the authorities on mainland and all of them think it isn’t real. Getting ticked off-“

You stopped talking when there was a loud, distant train whistle. “Fucking final-shit!” The camera blurred as she turned around, before it was cut off, footage ending. Laswell paused it a moment to let them see the final frame, where there was something red just out of the corner of a frame. Not much to go on, but not something they could deny.

“Can’t fake that.” Johnny admitted. “Is there more?”

Laswell hit play and the footage opened to the train shed and on you, who looked fed up, trying not to cry. You had bruises, and a few cuts but nothing too bad. In the background was the train in the garage again, but it had damage. Damage that couldn't be faked. “The last footage fucking died before I could show Charles… you want fucking photo evidence of a giant demon train, how the fuck am I supposed to get that when I’m trying not to die!? Is this fucking evidence enough?!?” You yelled pointing to the train.

“What the fuck are those scratches from cause it sure as hell wasn’t a mother fucking bear!” You shouted. You paced for a moment before throwing a rock at something. “This is your evidence! Please just someone anyone, help us! Get this thing out of here or come pick us up!”

By now all four men knew the mission. They had a target but there would clearly be limitations. The rest was to wrap up the whole picture, to see what details hid between the lines. All four were tense, seeing the environment change again.

The view started out simple, likely with a GoPro or something of the same nature. You were walking, trudging up a hill when there was that horrible train whistle. The camera pans from side to side before turning a bolting towards a cabin. There was a leap from the hill, and a fall as something big was getting very close. There was panting and a quick desperate recovery, and a loud scream. You practically fell through the door. There was the awful gnashing sound from the demonic creature, masking a wetter sound from that was the cause of you crying out in pain. You rolled over to your back, moving as fast as you could.

Lo and behold the photos weren't inaccurate. A giant spider like limb was reaching inside through the door way. The sharp tip dragged back with red on the wooden floor, like a dip pen against paper. You crawled further back, staying low. The camera moved a little to the side, likely from her leaning back to look out a window. You whispered obscenities before moving back to face the open door.

That was when the team saw your leg, which had a long and nasty gash, reaching from above the ankle to less than an inch below her knee. There was another cut on your arms as you pulled your leg in closer to check. With a final pained, "fuck" the video ended. That final word, with hurt tears being choked back. The blood was almost caking your leg, and they had only seen the one side.

John looked at Laswell, who was staring at the screen as you were assessing your injury.

"Are they still alive?" John asked. If the next clip involved a dead teenager he didn't need to see it. To him, you were playing a very dangerous horror game. Laswell didn't need to answer him, as she started the next and final part.

The rest of the men shifted and fidgeted seeing you. You were sitting on your bed, arm and leg wrapped, though the bandages were loose and messy. You had a dirty tanktop, stained with god knows what and shorts. There was a hunting rifle next to you, leaned up against the bed. You were clearly weak, panting, eyes barely open. No visible indications of a fever but with your dirty bandages an infection could set it. "I am...stuck. My leg is fucked, and I had to try and get to my train where my first aid kit was. By some miracle, I made it. The stitches aren't great but they'll pass for now, been switching my bandages every day or so, since I don't have enough to do every hour or however long I need to...not infected which is good I keep it clean everytime I change. If you've seen up to this point, then if you could send some medical supplies that would be great, because all I can do is clean the bandages I have." You are holding back some tears as you seem to not want to look at the camera directly for too long. Likely keeping an eye out for the monster that did this to you.

"I need help. We need help, we are stuck here, and I can't get medical help, proper medical help. I can't even fight, I've been taking sips of alcohol to keep the pain down, my body is exhausted constantly..." You buried you face in your hands, as your voice finally broke. The 141 watched you break down as you let the pain, fear, anger and exhaustion finally win. Then there was a knock on your door. You looked up, body at attention, the breakdown being shoved aside. You reached for the gun next to you, looking past the camera.

"Steven King?" You called out. There was a slightly distant muffled response saying "dark tower". You set the gun down and eased yourself up. A door could be heard at the same time. Another person came into view, with a small box. When you looked inside, you looked back up at the person, tears in your eyes now.

"Let me help." The person was an older man. You knew him well, and he had taken care of you for a bit. You sat back down, giving in to the assistance.

"Any luck?" He asked you.

"Working on it right now." You said pointing to the camera. The man turned. He had a gray beard, balding, and was a little lanky. He waved.

"Y'all mind hurrying the fuck up?" He asked, giving a hearty laugh. You gave a small laugh at that.

"Can you stop the recording?" You asked. The man nodded and came over, ending the video.

The room was silent. They're being called to help, to fight something they barely understood, gathering what little they could from the videos. Laswell looked at her men and they were each deep in thought. Extraction was not an option, likely wouldn't be until they killed the monster. They wouldn't be able to drop a bunch of soldiers without a strong chance of heavy casualties. A tank may look like a bigger shell for the creature.

"There are other teams that we can get help from. You're the best I know, and not afraid to go off the book, which you'll have to for this mission. Everything else is up in the air, I don't know how long it will take, I don't know what this thing is all capable of. If it proves too much, then what I will need is more proof and evidence. The residents can be evacuated." Laswell stated.

The last thing any of them ever expected in their careers of fighting terrorists, was to fight and hunt down a literal monster. Each of them wondered if they were sober right now.

Taglist: @yourlovely-moon @kaoyamamegami @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @sans-chara @1mommyrose4ever29 @smitten-haematite-quartz @talia-the-gemini @yuki2129 @whitetiger846 @graystorm444 @chibiduck @reaperxxxxzz @danielle143 @sobbingnshtting @cringeycookies @cryingpages @dcnocap207 @reaper-chan666 @bestbookfriends @thriving-n-jiving

[thetombedspirit]

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora - Sky Breaker: WARNING: SPOILERS!!!

1. Getting to run alongside the Zakru on Pa'li was the bomb. My GOD! THEY ARE MASSIVE!!

2. My son has made friends 💙 he's even hanging with Nopsi (a zakru!!!)

Nopsi loves him!!

3. My favourite old ladies are back!! (Love Nafiki calling Anufi darling!): side note, I ship it!

4. Ri'nela really coming into the Storyteller part of being Sarentu!

5. Mokasa's back. And he still has the balls to play victim here. Tried coming at Alma and throwing my mother's name in my face as if he wasn't the reason Alma even knew about them in the first place. Ugh! This bitch!

6. Oh don't mind me, just admiring my giant babies as I make them feel pretty💙

7. It's offical guys. Teylan is our little Anti-Gremlin 💙

(Dammit, no more photos!!)

8. The Games were so fun!! My favorite's the horseback archery challenge! And how does Eetu get to places so quickly!?!🤣

9. Teylan rode a pa'li. The both of them were terrified 😂 don't worry buddy, you'll get there!

10. The RDA are back, they seem to be taking special interest in Anufi and Alma. Guess they're not happy she's back in the driver seat as the Kame'tire's leader.

11. Was not expecting us to be knocked out for several days. Thankfully, it seems the core cast is okay. Mokasa is shooketh over Alma pulling him out of the rubble. Still a dick though.

12. They literally made a Valkyrie crash just to take out as many Na'vi as possible. Assholes.

The poor Zakru were either killed in the blast or fled in the chaos, Nesim is furious (rightfully so) and Harding's back.

13. Anufi and Alma have been kidnapped and Teylan confirmed that the brainscap machine could give someone brain damage and kill em, basically meaning that Spider could have literally died hadn't Quaritch pulled him out.

14. Was freaking out so bad during the NeroSect bit that I only got Alma out by 20 secs. And Harding was drowning Anufi in oxygen!?! WTF!!!

Also, Mokasa came in clutch, saving us at the last minute! But he got shot. Yikes.

15. Okay, maybe I get why people felt Harding's death was lackluster, but it certainly wasn't easy, so I don't know what people were talking about there.

But maybe just a cutscene of her crawling toward us with a pistol to give us that final farewell would be notch.

16. Mokasa finally takes responsibility for his actions toward the Sarentu and the Kame'tire and even has a moment of understanding with Alma. He rests with Eywa now.

17. It's over now. All those that remained of TAP are gone, so all that's left is the Secret of the Spires, DLC. And it makes me wonder who that have planned for the big bad. Surely Nor is gonna make a return, but I doubt he is gonna be the bad guy.

Pros; loved everything.

The new legendary tier weapons and gear, the development of the characters (my baby boy Teylan has grown so much) the colours of the Heartlands animals was stunning (pa'li could have been better) and the upgrade skills bonus was a clever way to spend the points you keep racking up (though that stops when you spend a final 5 points every skill bubble)

Cons; Glitches

There were a lot more glitches this time around. First, one of the Contributions Baskets isn't working and it's ironically the main camp one. I've given it like 20 seeds already and still nothing.

And then there was a tremor machine that was freaking out one of the runaway Zakru, but when I went to hack it to turn it off, nothing happened? Only when I blew it up with a grenade arrow did it work. Or maybe that was just me being a stup 😋

Either way, I loved everything about this DLC, glitches aside and it was a good addition to the Sarentu story and I can't wait to see what happens next.

And I'm almost finished with my Sarentu OC, so stay tuned for that. Buh-bye!!

[iam-back]

Mega Man 11 playthrough diary - Impact Man

If he claims to be Block Man's brother, shouldn't he have been DWN-082 rather than 087? But whatever the gamedevs say, goes, so...

But harder than the steels Impact Man is made out of, is his construction yard - see what I mean when I said "of doom" last night!? 3 game overs! And then I realized that if you use a Beat Call, DO NOT PRESS A UNLESS OVER A PLATFORM. He'll drop you.

To make matters worse, you need to consult Auto for permanent upgrades, and I'm sorry, I do NOT like his voice in this game, made even worse by the awful voice filter that, while not as obvious as Astro Man's voice filter, it's still annoying.

The triplets will try to slap you a bunch throught certain points. It's doable if you jump and dodge and slide and stuff, but I was trying to get pictures, so I got slapped.

Not to mention that THIS JIMBO-FORSAKEN CONSTRUCTION YARD IS SO FULL OF TRICKS AND TRAPS AND GABBITYGOOBERS AND MISSILE CONES ETCETERA. Dethroning the Monkikkis that plagued Mars and Uranus's domains, the Pickman and Missile Cone have taken a spot as the #1 hated Mega Man enemy in personal experience from me. Harmless alone (you just have to lead their shots), but awful and can and will result in a death or two if 3 or more at once congregate in the same room, which happens a lot here.

Behold, Jesse Merlin's amazing manly overacting! It's a kind of overacting that I like, where it fits the character - in his case some kind of loud-and-proud construction boy... er, boys, cuz he's 3 littler robots combined.

The boss fight is a pretty good challenge, as I'd honestly forgotten about the "he makes the ground rumble and shake, stunning you" part. And when he becomes big with a Power Gear? The astral Impact Bro Archetypes actually count as a hurtbox!

Tomorrow should be much easier, I hope - Bounce Man's stage looks colorful and fun, and shouldn't be too hard, despite being on the longer side, possibly dethroning Uranus for "longest Classic stage that isn't a Wily Fortress".

[tobiasdrake]

Episode 7 - The Water Flowers of Cerulean City

Second Gym, here we go. Pikachu's kind of a reverse Squirtle as "difficulty selection" goes. Gets stomped by Brock's Gym, rolls Misty's. Let's see how Ash handles this.

I like Brock's professional courtesy. "Yeah, I know all about the Cerulean Gym, but obviously I can't tell you shit. That'd be unfair."

Man, they are really hyping up the other three Pallet Town trainers. Those three strolled through Cerulean and broke the Gym. The three sisters running the Gym are just like, "Yeah, they kicked our asses so hard that all our Pokemon are hospitalized and we don't want to fight anymore. Just take the Badge."

I hope we get to fight them at some point.

Ash is offered the Badge and refuses, but then they tell him to take it again and he accepts. Just like with Brock, Ash has a sense of fairness about him but a weak will. His pride can be persuaded. But Misty has other ideas, giving us our iconic Cerulean City Misty challenge.

Pikachu refuses to fight. That's how we're getting around that plot hurdle. XD Ash's Starter is so inconsistent. He refuses to fight obstacles he could easily solve and then bulldozes through insurmountable hurdles.

Butterfree vs. Staryu. That's a pretty even match. Butterfree is OP for the start but we're out of the start now, so Misty's Staryu nearly rivals them in stats. Still, Butterfree does have an edge in Special attacks.

Ash goes for Tackle, a move he frankly should have dropped. I don't think he knows that Butterfree has Confusion? This is the second time he's made that error, and it costs him the match. When Butterfree's weak Tackles prove too ineffectual, he tries Stun Spore and Sleep Powder, but Misty takes advantage of the water to wash off the spores. That's cheap, Misty.

Pidgeotto inexplicably does better despite Misty upgrading to Starmie. Starmie wrecks Pidgeotto in stats and Misty's Starmie in particular traumatized a generation of Charmander players. (Fun fact, you don't actually have to fight her until after S.S. Anne!) But I guess RNG was mad at her today so somehow Pidgeotto comes out on top.

But then Team Rocket shenanigans happen. So, where does that leave the match? Well, that's complicated. The sisters call it a draw, which is fair. Misty still had Staryu and Ash still had Pidgeotto. But they give Ash the Badge anyway on the grounds that this was stupid and Pikachu would have bodied Misty had the plot not demanded he sit out. That's also fair. This whole match was basically just thumb-twiddling.

[scrion7]

MH Wilds Trailer analysis part 2: Movesets

Go read part 1 here for more story and character stuff, and here for the official website. Anyway, now for the FUN part.

The Doshaguma rears up for a big, delayed, probably tracking slam with its forearms. This slam in particular is practically begging to be countered by just about anything.

The hunter draw slashes with his greatsword, backrolls, turns around, then front rolls. The hunter is then hit, resulting in what might be a new falling over animation.

also it looks like hunter expressions got an upgrade. lol.

The Doshaguma bodily throws the corpse of a Ceratonoth at the hunter, Deviljho style, and then Jojo poses. This move was actually in the previous trailer as well, making it seem like something that happens fairly often. It would not surprise me if a charged Ceratonoth inflicts thunderblight if it hits you.

The hunter successfully superman dives the throw. In the background, a Ceratonoth with "big spikes on its back" (Alma the Handler's words, not mine) absorbs a lightning strike, getting staggered in the process.

Next, what is almost assuredly the intro cutscene for the Chatacabra plays. Moving on to the gameplay part:

The Chatacabra rears back, tongue flailing, for a 270 degree attack. This attack has rather short range and could be avoided with smart spacing. It also leaves a trail of saliva on the ground, possibly implying it's a waterblight attack.

The hunter wide sweeps with the greatsword, and gets tripped by the tongue without getting knocked back. The fact that it's a trip attack means certain weapons can just tank through it and keep attacking.

This is almost assuredly the enrage roar of the Chatacabra. The amphibian scrapes its forearms into the ground during this, leaving them covered in Garangolm style rock fists. It probably also works like Golm's enrage, in that knocking off the rock fists causes a special flinch/down.

The hunter is charging up a slash from neutral, and notably doesn't get flinched from the roar. Judging from the Chatacabra's size and place in progression, it probably doesn't need earplugs to block.

The hunter gets hit with a classic charge attack from the frog. This attack probably only occurs when the Chatacabra has its rock gauntlets.

During the time when the hunter is ragdolling (NOT AFTER), the hunter whistles, then is bodily picked up by the Seikret mount. The fact that the whistle occurs after the hunter is hit but before he lays on the ground, this might be a Wirefall-esque quick get up option. It is very possible some harder monsters might have Rise/Sunbreak style juggles require this technique to escape, and I for one can't wait for that.

Meanwhile, froggy boi ends his charge attack, shakes his head, and then launches immediately into an advancing double tongue sweep that kinda reminds me of Magnamalo's double bite. Maybe roll away from the first sweep, then roll forwards to get past the second? Anyway, this move may or may not require rock gauntlets/enrage to come out.

Next, frog man gets jumped on by the resident raptors, which have INCREDIBLY cool jaws that they use to latch on to large monsters to get a unique stun. The hunter here just watches, but this is a prime damage opportunity.

Going back to the bear gang, the pack alpha goes for a jumping bite (that I'm pretty sure is different from the one at the beginning of this post, then does a silent roar. Side note, one of the smaller Doshagumas does this same exact roar in the above image.

The hunter calls his mount, circles around, and then switches weapons from greatsword to heavy bowgun and starts blasting rapid fire ammo, which I thought was a light bowgun exclusive. Side note, firing heavy bowgun while on the Seikret is awesome.

Meanwhile the alpha Doshaguma CANCELS his silent roar into a shoulder charge, without going into an idle stance. Note that the smaller Doshaguma couldn't combo out of the fake roar, and instead went straight to running after the hunter. It's unknown whether this is an alpha exclusive combo, or if the hunter just got too far away from the smaller bear.

Next, the hunter dismounts the Seikret with a cool jumping attack in which he twirls around in the air to land in what looks like a neutral stance. Cool, but the hunter is in the wrong stance to go into a charged attack. You might be able to do a leaping slash (wide sweep after charged attack 2) like after an aerial charged slash in Rise, but I'm not sure.

Meanwhile, the monster kinda just walks forward, then looks back annoyed. Something's up there, as there is no way a regular monster would just. you know. walk past the hunter without doing anything.

And then, the main theme starts blasting, the cool shit starts happening, all with the introduction of what the website calls Focus Mode. Part 3 Here.

[greaves-construction]

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[angrycheesegirl]

Meltdown is the start of my personal favorite stretch of this game: the levels where you're progressing your arsenal, upgrading your suit, finding new mods, etc. It's the most non-linear level yet, giving you three loosely connected paths to follow, which you can do in any order. You have to do all three to open the final arena and get to the end of the level, which is fair enough. It's the most "Classic Doom" level in the game when it comes to backtracking and crossing paths. Although it's the second level in a row to end with a long first-person cutscene that the player is locked into. Thankfully those are going to be getting less frequent from now on.

Our only new weapon in this level is found in a secret, laying very casually on a shelf: the Rocket Launcher. The splash damage radius on this thing is way bigger than it looks, so it's easy to blow yourself up by accident before you get used to it. It's best used on tight groups or heavier targets for now, as it isn't great for crowd control yet. That's better served by the Micro Missile attachment for the Assault Rifle, which shred Fodder demons and lay some decent damage into bigger ones. Its counterpart is a scope that lets you zoom in slightly. Needless to say, the Micro Missiles are better. The Plasma Rifle's attachments are both pretty alright though. The Heat Blast lets off a wave of energy that rips through fodders but has to be built up while using the primary fire; while the Stun Bomb lets you freeze enemies in place for a second. That second one is very useful here. I've also fully upgraded my Explosive Shot mod by now. The mastery was "Kill 20 Imps with direct hits." It wasn't hard.

There's also two new enemies to mention: the Hell Razer, and the Hell Knight. The Hell Razer is the toughest of the Fodder demons, keeping his distance and firing a laser beam at you. He's easy to deal with once you know he's there. The Hell Knight on the other hand, is back with a vengeance. He looks much like his Doom 3 counterpart, and is an absolute UNIT this early in the game. He's fast, tanky, and likes to leap and you and do AOE damage when he lands. Priority Target #1 as of now, thank god for the Stun Bomb and Rocket Launcher.

This level also has the introduction of combat tracking, which means killing everything gives you more points to upgrade your weapons. There are also challenges that let you do this, but I haven't felt the need to mention them before now, as they're fairly easy this early on. There's one that usually gave me trouble in this level back in the day, where you had to kill 3 zombies with a single explosive barrel. This used to be extremely tedious, but this time around I managed to get an entire horde of seven in the usual spot, making it a cakewalk. That's all I have to say about it though, I won't mention the challenges unless something interesting happens or one of them is bullshit *wink wink nudge nudge*

I've decided to replay Doom (2016) for the first time in years due to a variety of factors. I haven't really gone back to this game since Eternal came out, but it was a formative experience for me and I want to give it a fair shake and see if I still love it like I used to. I'll be live-blogging my thoughts as the game goes on if anyone's interested.

[scarletxvision]

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness: Spoiler Review

Right, let's get into it. I have actually seen this movie twice at this stage, and I still don't know if I have truly wrapped my head around what played out to be honest. I wouldn't go as far as to say I hated it, but I definitely didn't enjoy it either.

We'll start off with some positives. The cinematography was beautifully executed, the horror aspects were fresh and exciting and the use of magic got a much needed upgrade as well. Overall, it was a stunning film visually, and every single person gave the performance of their lives, particularly Elizabeth Olsen.

Moving on to the elephant in the room... Wanda's character and storyline. Oh boy, there is a lot to unpack here. Now I now there had been rumours circulating since the end of WandaVision that she was going to be the villain, but I had figured it was going to be clear cut that she was acting on instinct to protect her children, or even during my first watch, that she was merely being manipulated by the Darkhold.

However, what we got instead was a slightly OOC Wanda who has no problem in killing another child to be with her own. It doesn't sit right with me that after all of her speeches about being a mother, after her own experience as a young girl discovering powers she didn't fully understand and couldn't control, she unapologetically wanted to kill America, a girl in the same position that she had been in.

What bugged me the most was the lack of continuity following the ending of WandaVision. The whole heart of that show was Wanda getting through her grief, and by the end, she had pretty much come to terms with everything that happened and even felt remorseful for holding everyone in Westview. Of course she had never truly finished grieving, no one ever does, but her moving out to her little cabin for some peace and quiet showed promising signs of her overcoming the first few stages of grief.

The main thing I immediately noticed had been forgotten about or discarded was the whole "MOM! HELP!" end scene. It would have been more realistic for Wanda's character if she had reason to suspect Billy and Tommy were in some kind of danger and therefore would be safer with her as their mother. Having her blatantly try to take them away from her variant self simply because she wanted her happy ending with them seemed so off and untrue to Wanda's character, regardless of the influences of the Darkhold.

In fact, they completely missed the mark by not having her look for Vision at all. I mean, she hardly even mentions him! Look, in one way I understand she has had more time to get over his death - WandaVision told that story beautifully - and now she has a new wound to heal with the loss of her children, but come on, we got like three references to him in the whole movie! You can tell that she still loves him dearly with how hurt she sounded in her conversation with Strange about sacrifice, so why not use that and the ability to travel the multiverse to reunite with her husband?

I was actually expecting a mention of White Vision, but surprisingly there was nothing. I do understand that it is primarily a Doctor Strange film, but with the amount they dived into what happened in Westview, I was hoping for some hint of where he has gone and what his deal is.

On the other hand, I loved seeing the full might of Wanda's powers, and there was something strangely satisfying about watching her single handedly take down the Illuminati. I want to point out that Wanda was never defeated, in fact, no one was even close so *cough* strongest Avenger confirmed *cough*. She had some powerful lines and as I said before, Elizabeth really put her heart and soul into her performance.

Overall, villain Wanda is not the direction I wanted her character to go in, and the poor execution makes it even harder to swallow. It was the most detached I have ever felt from her, and Wanda has been my favourite since I watched Age of Ultron in the cinema - she practically got me into Marvel movies. It felt like I was watching a completely different character, like I was watching 'The Scarlet Witch' and not 'Wanda Maximoff', as if they are separate beings. Watching her sacrifice didn't mean much because we know the rule that if there's no body, she didn't die, but it's still nice knowing that as far gone as she was, she still turned around and did the right thing in the end.

Getting away from my feelings on Wanda, I wasn't sure about Doctor Strange's character arc and development. If anything, he just proved Wanda's point of "You break the rules, you become a hero. I do it, I become the enemy." The plot reeked of hypocrisy, and I couldn't pinpoint how Strange grew from the start of the movie to the end.

I don't even want to get into Christine's character, whose only use seems to be as Strange's tragic love. In fact, their whole story resembles Steve and Peggy (I won't get into how much I dislike them here, that deserves it's own essay) and it's disappointing that Christine never got to evolve past male lead's love interest.

I enjoyed the Illuminati cameos, especially John Krasinski as Reed Richards - I literally gasped so loud when the camera cut to him. I thought they would do more with the characters, but watching Wanda pick them off like it was child's play was quite entertaining, I won't lie.

I want to say that, for the record, I think the whole Doctor Strange's third eye thing is so freaky and I am not here for it, but the first end credit scene introducing Clea is exciting and I'm looking forward to learning more about her.

I'm going to wrap it up there for now, but I could go on and on about this movie for days. All in all, it wasn't completely horrible, but I definitely didn't like it and won't be rushing to watch it again. I have no idea where they are going to go from here with Wanda's character, so I guess I'll have to simply stand by and hope for the best.

I'm curious to know what everyone else thought of the movie - do you agree with me or did you like the direction it took? I'd love to know! ❤💚

[its-real]

I was going to wait until I had finished doing all the concept sketches for this but uh, I’m lazy so here take it as it is I’ll keep adding surely surely.

-LONG POST-

AU where the hermits fall into the boatem hole with no way to fly out because of some event that happens - maybe an apocalypse, maybe everyone just goes apeshit, who knows - and they all get messed up heads from falling in the void and passing out n fun stuff like that. They ‘land’ - idk how this would work without them dying lol - in a semi futuristic city which for now let’s just call it Boateqm (silent q). The hermit crabs would also fall at different rates therefore appear in the city at different times. So where do they end up?

Hospital gang:

Etho wakes up in a hospital bed with no memories - most of them will wake up with no memories btw - his doctor/nurse (this hospital may be understaffed) Tango asks him a bunch of questions then has to go see another patient. Etho is seen by a certain Bdubs who had just finished visiting his buddy Scar -will get to him next- in the bed next door. Bdubs walks back to notify Scar, a fashion designer, that the guy in the bed across would make a great model, just look at the striking hair! And the red eye! He opens the curtains on the side and Scar gets a look. He asks if Etho would like to be hired. Etho is to say the least very confused and on the verge of a panic attack that never quite seems to happen so he’s in a weird kind of limbo anyway it is now that his doctor/nurse Tango comes back and having overheard the conversation suggests it would be a good idea. The hospital can only take custody of Etho for so long, might as well start earning money now so he doesn’t become homeless. Etho is still very confused. So Tango just agrees to the job for him as his caretaker lol, and besides Scar comes here kinda often so Tango trusts him. Anyway Etho’s true passions he discovers are synthesisers, breeding horses with Bdubs and finding elaborate ways to do tax evasion. A simple man.

Scar is in the hospital because he got SCAR (hehe) from walking into a glass door in his super fancy house, which he owns because he’s a super fucking rich fashion designer of his own label Scara (this is not the first time he’s walked into a glass door). Scar refuses to go to a rich people hospital tho cause 1) he cares about healthcare and wants more funds to go to lower grade hospitals 2) Tango is his mate, and needs a goddam raise. But yeah, very successful, ran for mayor once but someone really didn’t like that which resulted in another hospital visit. Mans in the wars. One hospital visit he got really inspired by the fabric and stuff there so he had a line of clothes that were hospital inspired one time, in turn making hospital inspired garb very trendy for a bit. What a mad lad. Ideas man. Some would call him a genius if he didn’t keep on walking into glass doors n shit. Scar woke up in the back room of a small tailoring shop owned by a nice old couple who took him under their wing. He thanks them in every award speech, and whenever he’s in the area make sure to stop by and give them presents. His side hobby is gardening.

When Tango came to, he was lying on the footpath of a quiet street in the suburbs just out from the main city. Gorgeous day, golden hour, pretty houses, very aesthetic. He also had a leg injury, fuck. So Tango did what anyone would do: hobbled to the nearest house, asked in the nicest way he could under a lot of stress (so he kinda yelled) for a first aid kit, and performed surgery on himself atop the nice families dinner table. The nice family turned out to have called the police and an ambulance, who showed up just as Tango was wrapping up his leg with a bandage and took him away to the police on a stretcher. This debacle got him a leading story on the local newspaper: ‘Man performs surgery on himself after waking up with no memories and a leg injury’. After being questioned by the police, they decide they can’t really charge someone with amnesia and no money with anything like breaking and entering (he did knock and they did let him in) or property damage (blood on the carpet). The paramedics are stunned at his surgery, so they tell the police to take him to the nearest hospital and get him hired there, he could save so many lives. He gets hired by the head doctor after an examination of the surgery. The head doctor doesn’t really care that Tango doesn’t have any records or anything, the hospital is understaffed and Tango seems like an Angel sent down from the heavens to him. Tango is very very good at his job. So good that he gets offered a job at a far better paying hospital which he takes, then soon drops because he prefers the chaos of his old job much better.

Tango found Impulse extremely dehydrated, looking like death, wandering outside his flat one night, so he carried the man inside and saved his life. Now they are flat mates, and Impulse works in a tech store - an upgrade from working at a service station previously.

Bdubs woke up in an inner city park at night, homeless, broke, and in the company of other homeless and broke people. He built his way to success, got luckily hired by some rich asshole to mow their lawns plural - the rich asshole didn’t ask much questions, he just saw a poor man criticising the way a park had been landscaped to an old guy in a caravan and though it was good enough, seeing as the last one quit - and Bdubs didn’t mind too much, because the rich assholes property was really gorgeous. Once Bdubs was able to say he had work experience and wasn’t homeless he started babysitting the kids in the neighbourhood, pretty good money. Plus the kids love him, and everyone he meets loves him, he's just a nice guy. He met Scar because he had to purchase a suit for a kids birthday party, so he went to the cute little tailors shop he always walked past on the way to his favourite cute little gardening supplies shop. By now Bdubs had been promoted to part time gardener - the job is shared - and started working on and off at a building firm. They become besties, turns out Scar is also really into gardening etc etc. Eventually Bdubs becomes an architect, mainly designing for city contractors n such but occasionally designer homes, like the one he did for Scar.

Mumbo and Grian wake up in the hospital around the same time that Etho is still there, however Etho has been awake longer, and should really find a place to stay soon now that he’s got a steady job. Since - ok plot point here - the two are in the exact situation that Etho found himself in, he starts to feel like something weird is going on. Mumbo and Grian take a lot longer to recover than Etho did, and the two become hospital bed neighbor buddies. When they finally recover Scar offers them a temporary place to stay at his house while they find work. Tango gets Impulse to put in a good word for Mumbo at his work.

Nomads:

TFC is an old man who lives in a caravan off the money he made being a very successful miner, he now collects pretty shiny rocks and gems and stuff to give to kids. He’s like an all year round caravan Santa and wise old mystical figure. Dope.

Joe is a humble man who likes to wander. He’s never had a home, but if he needs anything he’ll go to TFC’s caravan or a homeless shelter or something. But he isn’t sad or anything, he really likes the freedom of being a simple wanderer.

Others:

Keralis is a business partner of Bdubs. Kerlalis is mega stonks. He was one of the first to land, had a big diamond in his pocket, bought shares in a company that blew up soon after and now he is really fucking rich.

Doc and Ren are the only ones who remember anything, and they arrive at the same time. Doc manages to keep his cool, but Ren loses his shit and gets thrown in a mental institution. Doc spends some time trying to get Ren out, and after a final success and laying low for a bit the two seek to bring all the hermits together.

Pearl ends up working in Bdubs building company.

Beef works in a music shop -sells records and instruments- and he starts up a record label out back after his boss retires and passes the shop onto him.

And yeah I don’t really know the other Hermits that well was hoping some of ya’ll could help me find places for them in this city :) don’t really know how to format this either so maybe some input would be nice, just wanted to get the idea out hehehe

[starlightswitch]

Least Replaceable

@flashfictionfridayofficial Definitely influenced by packing for a move, although for us it's more "what will we be living without for a week?"

“No! What? Mom…”

“I do not want to hear it. Everyone gets one bag.”

“You and Dad get more than one bag,” Peyton argued, even though she knew what the answer to that was going to be.

“The things not in our bags aren’t Dad’s and mine, they’re for the whole household. Your birth certificate is in the fireproof box too.”

“I’m just asking for one extra thing.”

“A large thing.”

“The most important thing in my life.” Peyton didn’t realize what the answer to that was going to be until after she’d said it. At that point all she could do was wait for Mom to say it.

Mom didn’t say it. She just looked at her over her glasses.

“Thing. I said thing. Not including people.”

“Mm. People do have to fit in the cars, you realize.”

Peyton gave the biggest sigh she could muster. “Okay, so to you stuff is just stuff. You don’t get–”

“I do get it,” Mom said firmly. “There are many, many things in this house I am not happy about leaving behind. It would be faster to count the things I don’t mind leaving behind. And hopefully it will not matter, and the house will still be standing for us to come back to. But in case it is not, there are certain things we need to prioritize, because some things are less replaceable than others.” The ‘end of discussion’ tone would have been recognizable even if Mom hadn’t resumed packing her bag.

Peyton went back down the hall in a way that Mom would probably have referred to as ‘galumphing’ if she hadn’t been busy. To her sister, who was standing in the doorway with her bag already packed, she grumbled, “How replaceable does she think my computer is?”

“Well, you did build it yourself,” said Josie. “Can’t you build another one?”

“Is she going to give me the money for that? Is she going to let me get a job? I spent my entire life’s savings on this one!”

“I’m pretty sure Mom and Dad’s insurance gives them money if a natural disaster happens to the house. I assume she’d give some to you to replace your computer. Since, you know, it’s one of the things in the house covered by the insurance.”

Josie had it easy. The biggest thing in Josie’s life was basketball. The equipment wasn’t that expensive, and the school gave it to you anyway. “Well, if they give me how much it cost, that’s not going to replace it. Do you know how much the cost of a graphics card has gone up since I built it?”

“Well, can you take the graphics card?”

Peyton stared at her.

“Is that a dumb question?” said Josie, staring back. “Is the graphics card, like, enormous? It doesn’t sound enormous.”

“I have to take my computer apart,” said Peyton, still stunned by the obviousness of the solution. “Duh. Do you know if we have any bubble wrap?”

“Hall closet. Like always.”

“Don’t let them leave without me.”

“Are you packed at all?”

Peyton didn’t want to answer out loud in case Mom was listening.

“I’ll pack you.”

“Thanks.” She had no idea what Josie was going to pack. She didn’t really care. Anything she didn’t pack would be cheaper to replace than that graphics card.

Screwdrivers, bubble wrap. She should have grabbed tape to tape the bubble wrap but didn’t want to waste the time. She couldn’t go too fast or she was going to drop or break something. When she’d put the computer together, methodically, Dad off to the side in case she needed help, she would never have guessed she’d take it apart only a couple years later, in a barely-contained rush, in the path of a natural disaster.

Hard drive, too, since she was here. She wrapped them both up and left the rest, and the case, on the floor. Good thing she’d never gotten around to upgrading the monitor.

Josie met her at the door of her room, Peyton’s duffel in her hands. “Jeans, shorts, socks, underwear, like half your shirts, and that dress you really like. And sandals. We should wear sneakers since they take up more room. The side pockets are empty– Oh.” She had seen the size of what Peyton was carrying. “Which isn’t going to help, clearly.”

“That’s okay,” said Peyton, grabbing the duffel to find things to move to a side pocket. “I really appreciate it.”

“I’ll go grab your sneakers. I actually packed your bathroom stuff when I packed mine so don’t worry about that.”

“I really do appreciate it,” said Peyton, looking up this time.

Josie gave an open-handed shrug. “I hope it turns out not to matter.”

Peyton took a breath. “Me too. Can you get the tape too? I’d feel better if it was taped.”

“Yeah. Good idea.”

Mom came out with her bag as the sound of the garage door signaled that Dad was home with the other car. Finished reorganizing and figuring she could tape the bubble wrap later, Peyton quickly zipped her bag and stood up. “Turns out I didn’t need more space.”

Mom looked warily behind her as if Peyton was five years old and badly hiding something.

“You said one bag. I have one bag.”

Mom looked down at and back up at Peyton. “Okay,” she said, light disbelief in her voice.

Peyton lifted the bag to her shoulder. “I’m ready to go.”

[kravkalackin]

Kravitz had answered the listing as a joke. He had assumed that said listing had been a joke. Now he was wondering if this was going to be the thing that got him murdered.

Reading it over again, it hadn't changed from when he looked at it five minutes ago.

Listing: Fake Boyfriend To Avoid Jogging With Roommate Serious Responses Only

Additional details: my roommate keeps trying to make me go to the gym with him, so I told him I couldn't cause I have a date that day. It worked the first six times but now he's starting to get suspect. Especially because the dates are at 6am. Need a cute boy to stand in as a fake date. If you have a job that would require you to go on dates at fucking sunrise that is a plus. Will pay for breakfast, just need a few photos to throw off the scent

Kravitz wasn't sure what possessed him to reply, other than the picture the user had posted was um, very nice. And it was funny.

The person, Taako he mentioned once they started talking, had asked for a picture of him back. Almost as soon as he sent it he was starting to make plans for a fake breakfast date, and at that point Kravitz felt too far gone to back out.

So here he was at 6am on a Friday, inside of the earliest opening coffee shop they could find. Kravitz was starting to think he got stood up (which somehow felt almost as bad as being murdered) when he saw Taako come in. He didn't have to scan around long before he caught sight of him, the place nearly empty.

"Oh good you're here and don't look like a murderer, things are looking up on cha boy's end," Taako said. Despite how early it was he certainly seemed to be dressed for a date.

"The murderers we were probably supposed to run into doing this are going to feel pretty awkward when they end up trying to kill each other at the same time," he joked, getting a surprised laugh out of Taako.

"Shit yeah, that's gonna lead to a lot of awkward exchanges at the annual cyber killer convention," he said, Taako giving him a very nice smile. "But yeah, thanks for doing this, lemme spot you breakfast and a cuppa Joe and we can grab some pics," he added. Kravitz nooded, following Taako up to the counter. Once they ordered they sat back down and Kravitz hadn't actually thought any of this through. He kinda figured he'd be dead by now.

"So uh, Taako, if you don't mind me asking, " he started, Taako nodding along, "why can't you just tell your roommate you don't want to go to the gym?" he asked, a little surprised when Taako groaned dramatically.

"Ugh, because he gets all sad and whiny about how we never hang out together and how it'll be fun and naturally I have a heart of gold and will eventually give in and fucking take him for his walk like the overgrown golden retriever that he is," he explained. Their food was called up at the counter at this point and Kravitz quickly jumped up to grab it. By the time he got back Taako already had his phone out.

"Ok that's fucking Instagram worthy right there," he said, taking a picture of Kravitz as he held the platter.

"You're not actually going to put that on Instagram are you? I mean you can if you want to, I have no idea how to use the site," he said. Taako seemed to think it over for a bit before shaking his head.

"Nah, these'll be for private use only," he said, winking for good measure. Which was certainly something.

As they ate Taako snapped a few more pictures, including one of a very cutesy kiss on the cheek. It was all a little ridiculous but by the end Kravitz was actually having fun.

And when they parted with Taako thanking him profusely again for the help he almost regretted not asking for a possible real follow up date.

He was pretty delighted when Taako called him back the next day, although he wasn't expecting him to sound so panicked.

"So uh small problem, nothing to freak out about," he said, immediately freaking Kravitz out.

"And uh what's that? Did your roommate not believe you?" he asked.

"No uh, he believed it a little too well and he showed a picture to my sister who showed it to her husband and uh do you happen to work with a Barry Bluejeans?" Taako said, the words all coming out in a rush. It took a few long moments for what Taako was saying to process in his head, but when it did he felt his eyes widen.

"Oh, um, yes. Yes I know him," he said.

"Yeah so my brother in law and sister are demanding I bring you over for dinner and I figure I should warn you before you get bombarded at work," Taako said, and Kravitz had to take a moment to take a deep breath before he responded.

"Should I bring a dessert?" He asked. There was a moment of stunned silence on the other end before Taako burst out laughing.

"Fuck, keep that up and I might have to upgrade you to fake fiance," he said, and Kravitz couldn't help but grin at that.

This was fake, he knew it was fake.

But at least it was fun.

[side-shawty]

Burn XVI (Stark!Reader)

XVI: Standing on the Sun

Fandom: Marvel (MCU)

Type: series

Prompt/Summary: True love comes in many forms.

Pairing(s): Peter Parker x Stark!reader, Tony Stark x daughter!reader

Three weeks later and things were better. You had gone back to New York with the team just in time for Peter’s graduation. Even though the whole team wanted to be there Peter decided that he didn’t need a spectacle and in the end, his girlfriend and mentor would be the only ones attending while the rest set up for a surprise party later.

Girlfriend. You couldn’t get over how nice that sounded. As you stood in front of the mirror in Peter’s favorite multicolored sundress you smiled.

It was off the shoulder hugged your body perfectly and ended just above your knee in a ruffled hem. You left your makeup light on account of the heat and pulled your hair back in a curly bun with a few curls framing your face and your edges expertly laid.

You absentmindedly brushed the scar on the back of your neck. It brought back all kinds of horrors that you had to push aside. That was something for therapy.

As you were spritzing perfume on yourself there was a knock at your door.

“Y/N you ready? Car’s running,” your dad called from the other side of the door.

“Yeah,” you replied and opened the door to face your father dressed neatly in a blue button-down, pants, sneakers, and his signature glasses, “Handsome,” you told him simply hooking your arm around his and beginning to walk down the hall towards the elevators.

“Beautiful,” he replied and you reached the entrance in no time, the doors open and waiting.

You got to Peter’s school in no time having left early enough to evade the worst of the traffic. The ceremony itself was swift, the graduating class was small but to your surprise, as you and your father were waiting with the other families outside for the graduates you felt a light tap on your shoulder.

Confused, you turned around only to be met with the beaming smile of your favorite Princess.

“Shuri?!” You asked incredulously.

“Y/N! I’ve missed you how are you?” She asked pulling you into a hug which you gratefully accepted.

“I’m good! What are you doing here?” You asked pulling back, still a little shocked.

“Well, it just so happens that someone I am seeing is graduating today as well,” she smiled and wiggled her eyebrows at you.

You tilted your head in question but before she could answer you heard her name being called. You both turned around at the sound to see MJ practically running towards her.

Shuri opened her arms and instead of a hug, MJ planted a sweet kiss on her lips.

You were shocked, you put your hands on your hips and glared playfully as they pulled away.

“So neither of you were planning to tell me about this?” You questioned and they just smiled at you, threading their hands together.

“Oh you would’ve figured it out at the party later,” Shuri giggled, leaning into MJ’s side. You rolled your eyes but couldn’t hide your excited smile.

“I think it’s sweet, you guys are a great match,” Tony spoke up, smiling at the two young ladies

“Thanks, Stark,” Shuri said and MJ nodded in agreement, she’d never admit it but the man still made her nervous.

“Shuri, my mom wants us to take pictures before we leave,” MJ said and her girlfriend nodded.

“No problem, see you guys at the party later,” Shuri spoke.

“Bye guys,” MJ waved and they both walked away, giddy as ever.

You and your father both waved back.

“Wow they’re so cute together,” you told him and he hummed in agreement. “Speaking of cute, where is my boyfriend?”

“Gross Y/N,” he replied but began looking around regardless.

“Found him, Hap and May got to him first,” he said pointing to the trio.

The excitement you felt just from seeing the back of his head was almost too much, you practically sprinted and threw your arms around him. He jumped slightly at the contact as you pressed yourself against his back.

“Congratulations Peter!” He turned around in your arms and smiled down at you.

“Thank you, Y/N,” he beamed and cupped your face in his hands, pressing a soft kiss to your lips.

“Hey, don’t hog the graduate,” Your father complained and you rolled your eyes before releasing him.

Your father was quick to give Peter a hug as he walked up to him, “Congrats kid. Allow me to be the first—”

May cleared her throat.

“Second,” Tony tried again.

Happy silently shook his head in response.

“Fine third you a graduation present,” he finally finished.

With that, he fished a set of keys out from his pocket and handed them to Peter.

“Is this...” Peter began but was slightly stunned into silence.

“Yup, the Spyder with a few Stark modifications, enjoy it,” he smiled.

“Wow, thank you so much, Mr. Stark,” Peter gave your father another big hug which also knocked the man over.

“Wanna take it for a test drive?” You offered.

Peter nodded excitedly and you handed your own keys over to Tony before taking your boyfriend's hand.

“We’ll meet you guys at the tower!” You called over your shoulder as you waved goodbye to the group.

When you were both out of earshot May spoke absentmindedly to the two men.

“I can’t wait to plan their wedding,” she smiled.

Tony rubbed at his eyes.

——

When you got to the car Peter was quick to open the door for you and then toss his cap and gown in the trunk before slipping into the driver's seat.

“I think this might be too nice for me, Y/N” he spoke, taking in all the upgrades and sheer beauty of it.

“Please, you deserve this and so much more,” smiled taking his hand, prompting him to look in your eyes and smile back.

He took the hand that was on the steering wheel and expertly avoided your low bun to place his hand on the back of your neck to bring you in for a slow, loving kiss.

Once again you thought about how much you loved him, how perfect everything felt when you were together. It was like every single star is the sky aligned just to shine on the two of you.

Just before things get too heated you place your hand on his chest and push him back slightly, resting your forehead on his.

“As much as I’d love to christen your new car, we should get back to the tower. No reason to keep them waiting,” you smirked.

Peter gave a dramatic sigh and sat back in his seat, “Fine~ I guess this is what I get for having the girl everybody wants,” he said starting the car.

“But don’t forget she only has eyes for you,” you have the back of his hand a kiss as he pulled out of the lot.

“And I for her,” he smiled.

——

Once the two of you got back to the tower you had to try you best to force Peter to avoid looking for the others. Nat had texted you on the way that they weren’t quite done with everything and you were tasked with distracting him.

And distract him you did.

Under the guise of your feet hurting from hours spent in the low heels, you were wearing. Peter looked skeptical but followed you to your room to grab a pair of slides nonetheless. Only, he questioned you further when you had him walk in first and then you locked the door behind yourself.

“Everything alright, Y/N?” He asked, but still kicked off his own shoes before relaxing on the giant bean bag chair beside the bed.

You turned around slowly, keeping your hands behind your back as you leaned against the door kicking off your heels and staring at him. Gosh, everything about him is perfect, you thought. He tilted his head to the side and you walked to him slowly. When you reached arm's length he sat up slightly and held your hips and smiled up at you.

“What is it, babe?”

You carded one hand through his hair and leaned down to capture his lips in a short kiss. Your words were a whisper against his lips.

“You’re so pretty.” Without a second's hesitation, Peter was laughing at your omission. It took no effort for him to pull you down onto him, across his lap. You let out your own giggle at his antics.

“All these theatrics because you think I’m pretty?” The skepticism was back in his voice and it made you roll your eyes.

“Is it such a crime to think my boyfriend is pretty?” You pouted.

“No, as long as you don’t forget how gorgeous you are.” Peter looked you up and down .”Especially in this dress. Do you know how hard it was to hold back when I saw you wearing this in the bleachers?”

“I was hoping you’d like it,” you grinned.

“Like it? I absolutely love it.” As if to prove this point he left a trail of kisses from shoulder to shoulder before going up your neck and leaving several more in his wake. It wasn’t long before his lips found your own and you were sharing a passionate kiss.

Your arms locked around his neck, fingers slipping through his hair again and tugging slightly even so often. Meanwhile, Peter had one hand locked around your waist, keeping him firmly against him while the other trailed slowly up your back. You could feel him beginning to tug at your zipper when a knock interrupted. The two of you halted. Breathing heavily as whoever it was stood outside silently for a few seconds.

“Yeah?” You called, almost breathless.

“We’re about to eat if you guys wanna, y’know join us,” Natasha spoke and from her tone, you could tell you were in trouble.

You glanced at Peter and the two of you shared a silent laugh.

“We’ll be right there!”

——

After straightening yourselves out and slipping on spare slides and sneakers, respectfully you grabbed Peter’s hand and led him towards the elevator.

“We’re not eating here?” He asked.

“Oh, we are.” You replied and hit the button for the roof as you got it.

“Y/N what are we—“

You pressed a finger to his lips. “Shh, all will be revealed, my love.” Peter only rolled his eyes before licking your finger and you recoiled.

“Gross!” You exclaimed

“Oh really? Well just wait until—“ But his words were cut off once again as the elevator reached its destination.

A shout of “Surprise!” Rang out from everyone on the rooftop which had been decorated with the utmost care as a ‘Congratulations Peter’ banner hovered over the crowd in red and blue. Everyone was there, all the Avengers, MJ and Ned, Strange and even Shuri. The genuine look of surprise and joy on Peter’s face was enough to have you praying that DUM-E was actually recording like you told it to. If not, it was going to be the new jungle gym for an elementary school.

As Peter gave his greets and thanks to his guests you drifted over towards your mom who was holding a sleeping Morgan in her arms.

“You two look happy,” She smiled.

You couldn’t help the grin that took over your features. “We are, we really really are.”

Pepper took a sip of her drink. “I hope you’re using protection, Morgan and I are a little too young to be grandma and niece.” You sputtered at that, grateful that you didn't have a drink in your hand.

“Mom please.”

“I’m just saying. Maybe next time,” she gestured to her own neck, “cover-up.” She winked.

You gasped and coved your neck quick as lightning, “I’m gonna kill him.”

“Here’s your chance.” She winked before walking off under the guise of wanting to put your sister down.

You felt Peter before you saw him, an arm wrapped around your waist and his lips kissed your temple. You wanted to be annoyed but you leaned in on instinct instead.

“I’m gonna kill you, Parker,” you spoke but your threat was weak.

“Whoa, and here I was about to thank you for this wonderful surprise,” he pouted, moving in front of you and placing both hands on your waist. The two of you were near the edge of the roof while the others were towards the center giving you a feeling of pseudo privacy.

“Well you’re welcome but our entrance would have been much better if it wasn’t for this.” You pointed accusingly at your neck and he squinted. You swatted at his chest at his antics.

“Ah, what? It’s really not that bad,” He leaned in close to whisper in your ear, “I could have done a lot more damage.”

You shivered even though at sunset it was still almost eighty degrees, Peter wasn’t playing fair and he knew it.

You whispered back. “Well, maybe next time you do it so I can enjoy I.” To accentuate your point you left a kiss just below his ear, heating your body up just enough to get a reaction out of him.

Peter groaned and his grip on your waist tightened as he placed his forehead against yours and smiled.

“I will. But seriously, thank you for all of this. I couldn’t ask for a better girlfriend,” his voice was still quiet, like it was a secret just between the two of you.

You wrapped your arms around his neck. “Have I told you how much I love hearing you call me that?”

“Well how about I change that?”

You were confused as Peter removed one hand to fish around in his pocket. He took a hand step back from you and you let your arms fall back to your sides. He finally pulled out a blue velvet box and slowly opened the lid. You were met with a beautiful platinum ring with a gemstone — your birthstone — nestled beside Peter’s birthstone, peridot. You could feel the tears welling in your eyes.

“Peter is this…?”

“It’s not a formal engagement but it is most certainly a promise. We’ve been through a lot these last few years and I realized that the reason I got through any of it was you by my side. And when we’re ready I want to make this an engagement ring.” He explained and there was so much emotion in his eyes you wondered if he would cry too. “So what do you say?” “I love it, god, I love you,” You spoke and that was enough for him to push the box back in his pocket and place the ring on your finger. It was a perfect fit and you couldn’t help but stare at it for a few moments before you looked back at the love of your life.

“I love you too, Y/N. More than you know.” And with that, he pulled you into a loving kiss that probably would have gone on for too long if it wasn’t for the cheers and shouts behind you.

You turned around and hugged Peter around the middle, the two of you laughed at your friends and family together and you couldn't help be bask in this feeling of love and peace.

With Peter by your side, you knew anything was possible.

THE END.

-----

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE!!! Whether you stuck around or not I am genuinely grateful and I hope you all enjoyed it!!

Much Love - Duckie

[olivish]

Very proud today - I finished the headcanon-turned-fanfiction where Mel meets Alex’s father, loses him, and then connects with Bennett in the aftermath. (previous instalment here).  

We start with some words from Wilford and then transition to Ben, 1st person narrative. I love Ben in this fiction. He’s brave in the mundane, everyday ways that good people are brave. Also, he tells Mel she’s “amazing in every dimension” and he calls Wilford an asshole. What’s not to love? 

Below the cut:

That wasn't love, Melanie. Nobody who loved you would have let you go back in that building. Nobody who loved you would have risked his life, his future with you, for strangers. He left you alone. Look at me. He left you by yourself, so he could be some big, hulking hero. And it worked. Got his name in the papers, didn't it?

You're so brilliant. Sometimes I forget how naïve and vulnerable you can be.

It was vanity. Not love. Once you accept that, you can leave it all behind. Every bit of it. Understand? This… situation is a burden you were never meant to bear.

.

It's days later when I find Melanie alone. Actually, find is the wrong word - I'm not looking for her, I’m not so heroic. It happens by accident. I’m on my way to the server room to complete the harmonic upgrades, passing through the engine chamber on the way, and there she is, sitting in the ring of fire.

It’s a cool fire - deep, oceanic blue. Even at threshold, that’s 100,000 kilowatts of electricity, and she’s right in the cradle, her face turned towards the coils, her one good hand pressed against the inlet.

It's like she's praying. Not wanting to disturb, I try to sneak away, but it doesn't work and she notices me. I catch my breath. Now I can see, she's been crying.  

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Sorry.”

“No.”

“I was just on my way-”

“It’s fine.” Melanie gets up, wincing as she moves, putting on a tight-lipped smile. “Your stochastic backup,” she says, looking at my computer bag.

“Yeah. Just finishing up.”

“That was a good idea.”

“Thank you.”

This is normally when I’d leave. Run, actually, from a coworker I’d just caught crying. It’s a common enough occurrence at Wilford Industries, though never with Melanie. To my knowledge, this is a first.

“How are you?” I ask.

“I’m okay. The hand is killing me.”

“If you need help with anything-”

“I know. Thank you. I’m actually getting pretty good with the left. And my toes.” After a pause, “That was a joke.”

“Very good.”

Melanie smiles, but she looks like she might cry again. I don’t know what to do. No, that's wrong. I do know what to do, but it terrifies me. I don’t talk about personal things. I don’t talk about feelings. That’s not how I was raised, and as for my friends… well, engineers aren’t most emotionally communicative bunch.

Melanie is a prime example. That’s why this could be the worst idea I’ve had in my life. Still, I press on.

It’s what Cee would do.

“Can I tell you something?” I ask, my heart in my throat. I’m sweating. God, this is pathetic.

“What’s happened?”

“It’s nothing to do with work. It’s personal.”

“Oh. Are you okay?”

“It’s not me,” I say. I can’t help but grin at the awkwardness. “It’s you.”

“Oh. Yeah, that makes more sense.” Melanie leans on the edge of the reactor. I’ve never seen her so resigned. The fact that she hasn’t told me she’s fine and I should go back to work is stunning in itself.

I sit across from her. I wipe my palms on my trousers and take a breath. After a final glance to make sure we’re alone, I tell her.

I tell her about the car accident, and I tell her about Ian. I tell her about the darkness that followed, and how Cee saved me by getting me some help. I suggest, maybe, she might consider seeing someone, too, if she isn’t already.

“I don’t know what happened to you,” I go on. “But I know what it's like to feel empty. And to be dead certain that it's never gonna change. You can get lost in that, yaknow?"  

The whole thing takes only a minute to get out, maybe two. But it feels like an hour. Even longer, when Melanie doesn’t say anything afterwards. I wait as long as I can.

“Well, that's it. That’s what I wanted to say.”

“Okay.”

“So, you’ll let me know if you want to talk, or-”

“Sure.”  

“Alright.” I stand up, feeling ridiculous. I might have to quit now. Change my name. Move to Morocco. “I’ll go back to work, then.”

I’m nearly out the door when she calls to me, “Ben?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry about your brother. I didn’t know.”

“It was a long time ago.”

“Still.”

“He was a good kid. Just… happy all the time.” I smile ruefully. “He was better than me.”

Her brow furrows. She nods in understanding. I look at the door to the server room. Then, I walk back to the reactor. I rest my hand on the smooth, concave surface, like she does. I figure, if there’s any way to connect to Melanie, it’s through the engine.

“I met someone,” she says, after some silence. She meets my eyes. “In Beirut. We were together when the earthquake hit, and he didn’t make it.”

“Mel, I’m s-“

“Now I’m pregnant,” she interrupts. For a moment, I don’t think I heard her right. But then she repeats, in a way that seems more for herself than for me.

“I’m pregnant.”

.

I open my mouth but no sounds comes out. I don’t know what to say.

Melanie lets out laugh. “Yeah,” she says. “That was my reaction, too, when they told me. It’s been two weeks, and I just keep coming in to work, trying not to think about it. Pretending it isn’t happening. Which, I realize, is not a long term solution...”

Again, I try to find the words. Again, I come up with nothing.

She takes a breath, “Concurrently, I’ve come to the realization that I have no actual friends to talk to about this. I tried telling Snowpiercer, but she’s got her own problems right now, so-“

“I’m your friend,” I say. Strangely, it feels true. “We’re friends, Mel. If you want.”  

“I do. I mean, I’d like that.”

“Okay. So. Good.”

“Good.”

“But I gotta warn you, I’m probably the most useless friend you could have in this situation. I can’t think of a single piece of advice, or-”

“It's alright. I don’t want advice. I just… I think I just had to say it out loud to someone. Hear the words. Make it real, so I can move on to problem solving.”

“You’re good at problem solving.”

“I am. When it comes to machines. Not… this.” Melanie gestures in the general direction of herself. “I don’t know anything about this.”

“There are books.”

“Books?”

“Sure. You walk into a bookstore and there’s a whole wall, a whole section of books dedicated to… that.” I gesture in the general direction of herself.

“Well, I am good at research.”

“You’re amazing at research.”

“But there’s a whole other dimension to this thing.”

“You’re amazing in every dimension.”

“It’s just…” She looks down at her hands. When she looks back up, tears spill down her cheeks. She tries to brush them away but they keep coming.

“Mel.”

“I don’t feel anything. I don’t feel happy. I don’t feel… anything at all. I know that’s wrong. I know it’s not normal.”

“Given what you’ve been through, I think it is normal.”  

“But what if that has nothing to do with it? What if it’s just how I am?"

"I don't understand."

"What if I can’t do this? I mean, nobody's good at everything, right? There has to be something I can't do. Maybe this is that one thing."

“I think… honestly, Mel. I think you can do anything. Especially this. And if you asked anyone who's met you, they'd tell you the same.”

Melanie smiles ironically and shakes her head. Somehow, I know she's thinking about Wilford. Neither of us says his name, but he's in the room with us. Disapproving. Of course he would. He's an asshole.

“You won’t tell anyone about this?” she asks.

“Of course I won’t.”

“It’s just, I know people talk, and I’m not ready for congratulations just yet."

"I promise. It’s in the bear vault.”

“Oh, the bear vault. I forgot about that.”

“Only you would forget about something like that. I mean, do you face off with grizzlies on the regular, when the rest of us aren't looking?”

Melanie flashes me a look that says, you have no idea, and we share a smile as she spins down the engine. She squeezes my arm as she brushes past, and I step in to assist with the shutdown sequence. She doesn't fight me, and when it's over, she offers help with the harmonic upgrade, which I accept.  

On our way out, I pause at the threshold of the server room. "Mel."  

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry. About your friend.”

"Oh. He was… it was only a month."

“Still.”

She could leave it at that, but she lingers. "His name was Alexander," she says. "He was… better than me."

We exchange a look of understanding. I feel the loss of Ian all over again, just for a moment, a jolt to my heart. Oddly, the pain isn't entirely unpleasant. It’s now that I realize, don't think about Ian enough. When someone like that dies, they should be remembered.

"Maybe you'll tell me about him one day."

"Yeah," Melanie replies. "Maybe, one day."  

[miraculous-ninjabird]

This is my half of a collaboration I did with @ezlikessharks as a gift for our mutual friend @enbyjaywalker

You can find their half here

the fic is also on Ao3 here

I hope you like it!

Title: An Acceptable Proposal

Words: 2209

Warnings: None. Just self-indulgent fluff

Samuraishipping + background Oppositeshipping

“Zane! I need your assistance!” Pixel bursts into the room. He lets out an undignified squawking sound, dropping the dish he had been holding. Feeling just the tiniest bit guilty about that, she picks it up and hands it back to him.

“Pixal! You startled me! What can I do for you?” He pauses putting away the dishes to look at her.

“I am planning to propose to Nya when we go out tonight, remember? I need you to help me make sure all the preparations are in place.”

“Is tonight the night? Pixal that’s wonderful! It completely slipped my mind. How can I help?”

“I have a number of things that need to be confirmed and some things that need to be collected while Kai and I go to pick up the ring, along with a few other things,” Pixal hands him a list. “It would be very beneficial if you could meet us at the park when you are finished to help set things up.”

Zane takes the list, scanning the contents.

“This seems reasonable. I will get started on it just as soon as I am finished here. When should I plan to meet you?”

“Thank you so much! We will be there around 5pm or so. Jay should be meeting us there also. I have to leave around 5:30 to get ready to meet her, so the three of you will have to finish setting up without me. Can you make sure it’s all ready by the time we come through at 7:30?”

Zane salutes her “Your wish is my command.”

Pixal thanks him profusely once again before rushing off. Not a single moment to waste! Tonight had to be perfect.

“So tell me again why you need me here?” Kai asks as he pulls open the door to the jewelry store. Pixal steps inside, clutching the pick up slip for the ring tight to her chest.

“You’re the only other person who knows Nya as well as I do. I want you to do the final check on the ring to make sure it is something she will like. And I haven’t forgotten you telling me you wanted to do something similar for Zane in the near future. We can’t have that double wedding you and Nya are so heartset on if you don’t get a ring yourself.” She gives him a pointed look, and his face flushes a deep red.

“Touche,”

Kai wanders off to browse the cases, and Pixal makes her way up to the counter.

“Good afternoon! How can I help you today?” The clerk greets cheerfully.

“I have a pick up for Pixal Borg, please,” She hands the slip over. The clerk takes it, reading it carefully.

“Your timing is perfect Miss Borg! This shipment just came in yesterday. Give me a moment to get it ready.” He takes the receipt and hurries away, leaving Pixal to join Kai in his browsing. She finds him staring hard at one of the cases.

“Find something you like?” She inquires.

“Actually, I think so,” He points to a specific ring. “Do you think Zane would like something like that?”

The ring in question has a twisted silver band set with two sapphires, one pink and one blue. It’s beautiful, and simplistic in a way Zane would like.

“That would be a good choice. Though I think Zane would be happy with just about anything you chose for him.” She offers. It was true. Zane loved him so much it wouldn’t take any real effort on Kai’s part to impress him. Kai could propose with a ring of paperclips and the nindroid would be overjoyed.

Pixal doesn’t get to hear Kai’s thoughts on things though, as the clerk calls her back over.

“Here you are! One custom engagement ring, ready to go!” He hands the box over to her. Hesitantly, Pixal opens it. This will be her first time seeing the final product in real life. Inside sits one of the most stunning pieces of jewelry she has ever seen. Nya’s phoenix symbol is carved into it, set with a sapphire eye. The carving is flanked on either side by two small diamonds. Without a word, she shows the contents to Kai. He lets out a low whistle.

“She’s gonna love that, Pix.”

The approval helps to relieve a little of the worried knot that was forming in her stomach. That was a relief. She turns back to the clerk, and Kai wanders back over to the ring from earlier.

“Can I set up a payment plan for the remainder that I still owe on it?”

“Sure thing! I’ll just need some information from you first…”

Once that is sorted out, she collects Kai and they head out. She doesn’t miss the fact that he is now clutching a little pick-up slip of his own. Seems Nya was going to get her double wedding afterall...

The jewelry store had taken longer than she was anticipating, so by the time she and Kai finished up with the rest of the things on their list they were running a little behind. When they finally reach the park, Pixal only has a few minutes before she has to leave. Zane is already there, and so is Jay.

“Pixal! Kai! Over here!” Zane calls out. Once they are a little closer, he continues. “I was able to complete everything on your list. The photographer is confirmed, I got the approval from the city to change the lights in the fountain and hang the lights in the trees, and I dropped your dress for tonight off at home for you. Did you get the ring?”

“Yes, and Kai has the rest of the lights. I appreciate your help in all of this. I wish I could stay, but I really have to be going if I want to be on time.”

“Yes. Go, go. I can handle directing these two here,” Zane makes a shooing motion with his hand. “You go have fun and I promise things will be ready for you when you return.”

Pixal shouts more thank-yous at them as she walks away. She would be eternally grateful, as this was not something she would have been able to do on her own. The only things left to do now were get herself ready, meet Nya, and then...ask her the big question. Simple enough. She could do this.

Maybe asking Nya to meet her at the restaurant was a bad idea. Originally Pixal was thinking it would give her extra time to compose herself, but honestly? It was just making things worse. It didn’t help that she had gotten there early, and that Nya was now running late. What if something had happened to her on the way here? What if there had been an emergency team summons and Pixal had somehow missed it? How long should she sit here by herself? Maybe she should call Nya? Just to make sure she was okay?

Just as that thought occurs to her, the door chimes. It wasn’t the first time it had happened since she’d gotten here, but she whips around to see who it is regardless. A visible weight lifts off her shoulders when she sees that this time, it is Nya. The host leads her over to the table, and Pixal is able to get a good look at her.

It’s a good thing Pixal doesn’t need to breathe.

“I’m so sorry I’m late! Cole took me to a painting workshop today and it ran over. I didn’t want to show up in paint clothes so I ran home first.” She gasps. She must have walked because she doesn’t have that windblown look that comes from riding her motorcycle. She has on a midnight blue tunic dress, paired with dark leggings and a sparkly belt. Instead of her usual ponytail, her hair is pulled into a low braid across her shoulders.

“Nya, you look positively radiant.”

“Thank you. You look pretty good yourself. The butterfly clip is a nice touch,” She winks as she sits down. “This place is pretty fancy. What’s the special occasion?”

Pixal’s brain momentarily stutters, trying to come up with a reasonable answer. She reaches a hand into her dress pocket, clutching the ring box.

“Do I need a special occasion to be able to treat my partner to a night out?” She questions. Nya laughs.

“No, I guess not. I just wanted to make sure I hadn’t forgotten something.”

“Well in that case, don’t worry. There is no special significance to tonight you should be aware of,” Pixal smiles softly. At least not any that Nya was aware of. “So tell me about your day. You mentioned Cole took you to an art class?”

“Yeah! I wasn’t expecting that at all but it was actually really fun…” Nya starts rambling about her day. Pixal listens intently, focusing all attention on Nya. The way her eyes light up when she gets excited was always enchanting. First Master, she was so in love.

The rest of their evening at the restaurant passes without incident. They talk about how busy they’ve been lately, about all the upgrades Pixal is planning to do to her samurai X mech, and about how nice it was to be able to finally have a night to themselves. Nothing out of the ordinary for them, other than the massive ball of nerves that was weighing heavily in her stomach.

It only got worse as they settled the bill and left.

“So do you have anything else fun planned for tonight?”

“I was hoping you would accompany me on a walk through the park?” Pixal offers an arm out to her. Nya takes it, linking them together.

“Of course! I would love too. Lead the way.” She gives Pixal a peck on the cheek for good measure.

Making their way to the park, she hopes against all hope that the three she had left behind had been successful in getting things ready. The park soon comes into view, and she breathes a miniscule sigh of relief when she can make out the lights glittering in the distance against the setting sun.

“Hey, what’s that over there?” Nya asks, pointing.

“Would you like to go and take a look?” Nya nods, and Pixal leads her in that direction. Even though she had planned this whole thing out, she is taken by surprise at just how good things had turned out. Delicate lights are strung through the trees, warm and inviting. The fountain in the center of the plaza she’d picked was lit up with soft blues and purples. She can’t identify where it was coming from, but someone was playing soft music. That was a nice touch. She was forever going to be in Zane’s debt for making sure things went off without a hitch.

“This is beautiful!” Nya whispers, releasing Pixal’s arm. She steps forward, taking it all in. The way Nya looks around in wonder makes her think that all the work that went into planning was worth it. “But what’s it for?”

Taking a deep breath, Pixal fishes the ring out of her pocket. This was it.

“Well, my dear...this is all for you.”

“All for me? What do you mean by that-” she turns around in confusion. Pixal takes that moment to drop to one knee, and Nya’s eyes go wide.

“Nya, you are my everything. You’ve done so much for me. You helped build me a body, gave me freedom. You gave up your mantle as Samurai X to me when you didn’t even know who I was. You taught me what it really means to love, and I love you with every fiber of my being. Every moment I spend with you feels like an eternity. There isn’t a single other person I could imagine spending my life with. So, would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”

She opens the box, heart thundering in her chest. Nya’s mouth is open in a gasp. With one shaky hand, she reaches out and takes the ring. The sapphire eye of the phoenix symbol engraved on it glints in the light as she studies it.

“Oh Pixal…” Her eyes fill tears, and she launches herself at Pixal.

The heavy weight that had been following her all was lifted as she welcomed Nya with open arms. She had no words to describe the pure elation that was filling her. In one swift move, she bends down and catches Nya’s lips in a fierce kiss. Nya kisses back just as fiercely. When they part, they both collapse into a fit of giggles.

“I take it that you find my proposal acceptable then?” She whispers.

“Yes. Yes I do.” Nya whispers back, pressing their foreheads together. She is grinning wildly, and her eyes shone. Pixal imagines she looks much the same.

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you so much.”

“However much you love me, I love you more.”

Pixal pulls her into another kiss, this one softer. As long as she had Nya by her side, the two of them would be unstoppable.

[party-of-rpg-muses]

A Look At Stuff You Probably Never Heard Of: E.V.O.: The Theory of Evolution

Oh, boy. This one is something special. And in case this name seems familiar, trust me, we’ll go into that later. This may be one of the oldest games I’ve ever taken a look at. Today, we’re taking a look at... E.V.O.: The Theory of Evolution!

E.V.O.: The Theory of Evolution was a Japanese-only JRPG game released in 1990 for the NEC PC-9801, a Japanese-only home computer. There, it was known as “46 Okunen Monogatari ~The Shinka Ron~”, or “4.6 Billion Year Story: The Theory of Evolution”. It was developed by the Almanic Corporation with Takashi Yoneda as the head director, who also designed the famous ActRaiser game for the SNES/Super Famicom. And Enix (yes, the same Enix that would later merge with Squaresoft to become Square Enix) was the publisher.

The game itself is a fictional story based heavily around evolution, but with science-fiction elements.

The intro goes over the creation of life, from the Big Bang to multi-cellular organism. At the game’s proper beginning, the player takes control of a Thelodus, an ancient jawless fish that primarily inhabited the sea floor, having been found by other Thelodus. After exploring for a while, a bright flash sends the other ancient sea-dwelling creatures into a panic, some even turning violent, as the Elder kicks you out, believing you had something to do with it.

Once that happens, the 4.6 Billion story begins. The player also meets with a mysterious woman named Gaia, who says the player has a destiny and will be keeping watch throughout the ages.

The Theory of Evolution is a top-down game with the player moving in four cardinal directions and when encountering another creature, a turn-based battle commences. In battle, there is a normal attack, Special (which has different abilities such as Defend and Recover, but other such as Stalk, which can stun an enemy, Jump to lower enemy defense, and a few damaging abilities), and an Escape ability.

As the player wins battles, they gain EVO Genes, which are used to upgrade your stats. Endurance increases defense, Attack increases power, Wisdom teaches new Special moves, and Vitality increases health. And upon reaching the limit of any one, the player will evolve and change into a different animal, moving either down or to the side of the Evolution Chart.

It is also worth noting that it’s impossible to move up the chart and there are several made-up creatures, such as the Theriarodon in the image above, which the game acknowledges to be made up solely for the game.

The game itself is divided into 5 discs, with the first having the intro cutscene and is needed to start the game, always being inserted into the first slot. There’s also quite a bit of music, ranging from upbeat and cheerful to mysterious and uncertain with each era having their own theme. But there are also some tracks that are repeated, like when entering a strange area or the battle music.

Now that we’ve reached the end, it’s time for the Final Recommendation: Never Let Go Of It||Get It||Hold Onto It||Try It||Consider It||Stay Away From It

Okay, let me knock a few things out of the way. In case it wasn’t obvious, this game is very similar to the SNES game, E.V.O.: Search for Eden, a side-scrolling game where you eat animals to evolve in something akin to a competition to evolve and reach Eden. However, they’re both developed by the same company, with Theory of Evolution coming out 2 years before Search for Eden. The development team for Search for Eden was also comprised of younger staff who wanted to make things more “interesting”.

And no doubt you’ve noticed some things that don’t fit with history and evolution, such as the “Evolution Rush System Control” from the second image, or the Neokawamatepis from the fourth. The game occasionally delves into science-fiction. In the game, it’s largely out of nowhere, but the manual gives a detailed timeline of the events from the Big Bang to the start of the game, with you as a Thelodus. Some of the images can be seen here. The game also has the likes of Lucifer as a major antagonist.

And yes, I used an emulator with a translation ROM. The project was done by a group known as “46 OkuMen”, who translated the game from Japanese to English and released the ROM online for anyone to use.

As for the ROM itself, everything seems to be in order, but there are issues with movement. As in you move very quickly, making it hard to make precise movements. It can be difficult to walk down a narrow path and you’ll have to make several attempts to line yourself up. And depending on the creature you evolve into, you could move even faster, making things even harder. And I couldn’t find a way to slow down my movements, only the text speed.

The game also possesses somewhat of a difficulty curve as after each chapter, you’re back at the bottom and have to work your way up. Thing is, in the first chapter, the ocean, there are initially two creatures; jellyfish and other Thelodus. But the Thelodus are way too strong for you, so you’ll have to fight jellyfish and avoid the other Thelodus until you can increase your stats. I also want to mention that there are times where you have to evolve to progress, like evolving into a fish that hand handle the depths of the ocean or fresh water.

Not to mention, as I stated, you’re back at the bottom at the start of each chapter. That also means you lose the Special moves you gained in the previous chapter, with the exception of Recover and occasionally Defend.

Another issue is that things are automatically done when you walk up to something; fighting an enemy, talking to an NPC, etc. However, it can be pretty easy to get locked in. Near the end of the game, you enter the home of Carnivorous Primates, who will repeat the same lines over and over again. And it’s not uncommon for one to start speaking right after he finished talking to you, especially if he’s going in the direction you’re standing.

And finally, there are a number of “bad endings”, attained when evolving too much in a certain direction; such as Endurance while already on the far right of the chart will cause a bad ending. But there are other ways, such as drinking from a disturbing pond until you evolve into a Slime or accepting Lucifer’s deal, causing you to become a demon.

Also, there is something I have to mention because it’s VERY important! There will be times where you’ll have to go over terrain that will damage you, like desert terrain or water. As you move, you’ll take damage and the screen will flash green. And that’s every step you take, so the screen will flash rapidly several times a second. So if you’re going to play the game, BE CAREFUL as there is a danger of epilepsy. If you want to play, turn the brightness of your computer down and don’t play in the day.

All in all? I say give it a try. I consider it to be a fairly enjoyable experience, despite the issues. And with that all said and done, I’ll see you all next month.