#Lightfall was good despite its flaws fight me

[brittleskyblue]

Here's Shay's thoughts on Lightfall, even though I know people won't care cause I'm in the minority of people that actually liked it.

* * *

Was I expecting something different than what happened in Lightfall? Yeah. Did I enjoy it? Oh fuck yes (yes even when I got stuck at some parts and complained about it).

Maybe a slight bit more context on the Veil was needed, bc I aknowledge it wasn't perfect, but honestly I don't mind because that leaves it up for theorizing and different interpretations until we know more. Accept the mystery! Lightfall, to me, feels like a prelude that's setting up The Final Shape. We're not gonna get everything now, so deal with it. It's going to be okay.

(Also, even if we got all the answers now, there would likely still be people complaining about it. You killjoys all set your expectations too high. Yes this is me making commentary on what some of you have been saying about what was posted in the recent TWAB. Fucking chill out already.)

Also, for the record, I adore Nimbus. They remind me so much of Galo from the movie Promare, and it's good to see some nonbinary rep. I do wish we'd gotten a bit more time with Rohan though.

Strand did feel like it was trying to be a bit too much a part of it all, however, I think Strand is fun, and I appreciate that our character doesn't just master it right away. It doesn't cone easy to us; it's a struggle. It pretty much knocks our character off their feet the first time after using Strand. Eventually we do learn how to get a handle on it and we learn from our failures. I just wanna say I appreciate that aspect of it.

I want to talk about Osiris and Calus real quick. On one hand, I understand where Osiris is coming from with how aggressive he seems. After everything that's happened to him, I get it. It get his motivations. However, I did think he was being a bit too harsh for most of the campaign. Also, as far as Calus goes- great to see him, great we finally get to fight him, but... I feel like the final fight is only really satisfying if you're running it solo (like I did and got stuck in hell for at least an hour). Also I'm kinda sad the end to his story came as quickly as it did. But alas.

And, as to the final cutscene... well, I still won't elaborate much on it right now, but I will say I had a feeling something like that was going to happen. To me that was a Red Signal moment (any Mechs fans will get tye reference). Where we go from here is... uncertain to say the least.

I really did enjoy Lightfall overall and I'm looking forward to learning more secrets, theorizing about the Veil, and getting more ideas to write about for my Guardians. I've already been through the VexCalabur mission and will be getting around to seasonal stuff/exotic quests thus weekend. And hopefully soon... the new raid that just came out today (say hi to Nezerarc for me lol)

[ghostwriter00797]

I just binged all of the episodes of Mega-Man: Fully Charged that are out (40 on the Cartoon Network website) in one day. I have some thoughts to get out of my head.

Is it neat? No. Does it make sense? Probably not, but I’m inflicting it upon this small fandom anyway.

((Since I’m getting thoughts out about many different parts of the series there are spoilers underneath the cut.))

Thoughts about the overall series:

I’ll admit it, the series starts out a little formulaic. The early episodes are kind of repetitive, but it did get better. In my opinion, it really improves at episode 18 with the introduction of Wood Man. Not only is it the first time (I think) that Aki/Mega Man is visibly injured by his opponent, it is the first time, in my opinion, that the battle and its potential outcomes had weight to them. Everything after that seems to carry some of that weight as well.

It is a show targeted at young boys, so it’s not going to be super dark or mature, but the action sequences are pretty cool. The jokes are pretty funny too, and the ‘voom’ sound that Aki/Mega Man makes when he jumps is nice to hear.

I really like the emphasis that is placed on ending conflict peacefully/violence as a last resort as well as therapy and second chances for the misguided robots who regularly fight Aki/Mega Man. Like Fire Man! He mentions his anger management therapist, breathing exercises, going to a happy place, etc. in order to deal with his extreme temper. He’s still a villain due to his beliefs that humans are inferior and the fact that he is loyal to Sgt. Night/Lord Obsidian, but he is actively trying to manage his anger. It’s a good message.

I also enjoy how Aki/Mega Man’s schematic copying works. Yes, he can use his rogues’ powers against them, but he has to deal with the negative personality traits he gains from them as well. He isn’t infallible.

I really like Mega Mini. I find him hilarious and he’s given me a lot to think about. Which leads me to...

Speculations about Aki/Mega Man’s powers:

How did he get them?

The series hasn’t shown us how Aki/Mega Man got his powers, and by extension Mega Mini. 

Doctor Light doesn’t seem to know that Aki is Mega Man, which doesn’t make sense. He built Aki, so he should have known that his son had combat capabilities. This raises the question: Did Aki always have the capability to become Mega Man?

If he did, then that could mean a few things: 

One, Dr. Light knows and is waiting for Aki to tell him on his own terms. Perhaps he built Aki’s frame during the near end of the Hard Age war to use as a double agent, but didn’t get the chance to activate him because the war ended soon after he was finished. Not much later he had Suna, his wife passed or left him, and he wanted her to have a sibling when she was older. He revisited Aki’s frame in his lab and built a more normal looking system over it, keeping the combat capabilities out of a sense of paranoia and programming them to only emerge if Suna was in extreme danger. When Suna turned ten he activated Aki, gave her a sibling that could protect her, and honestly forgot about the combat functions as the kids grew older. Until he saw Mega Man for the first time.

or

Two, Dr. Light legitimately doesn’t know. He didn’t build Aki with combat capabilities at all, choosing to make him as close to a human being as possible. Which raises another question.

If Dr. Light didn’t build him with combat capabilities, who did/who gave them to him?

Aki seems to be built and programmed as close to a human child as possible, meaning that it’s highly unlikely he modified his own body that drastically. His dad didn’t do it, so that leaves two options. Sgt. Night/Lord Obsidian or some other mysterious benefactor.

If it was Sgt. Night/Lord Obsidian, it could make sense. He seems to resent Dr. Light somewhat, and given that he was able to overhaul Chauncey into a combat machine it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to be able to do the same to Aki. He also seems incredibly invested in Aki/Mega Man, wanting the boy to join his cause. He could have kidnapped Aki, modified him and improved upon Namagem’s design, and then wiped his memory of the event and sent him back. Quite possibly as an act of spite to Dr. Light and his ideals if he could corrupt Aki/Mega Man without mental tampering.

If it was another, mysterious benefactor, then it could be someone working against Sgt. Night/Lord Obsidian who needed the city to have a noble hero. Who approached Aki and asked him, got his permission, and disappeared once everything was done.

Why Mega Mini?

Mega Mini is particularly intriguing to me. Why is he there? Is he meant as a fail safe? As a mentor? Simply someone to repair Aki/Mega Man and keep him in fighting shape? He seems to be able to control everything relating to Mega Man, with or without Aki’s input, so how far does that control reach? Would it be possible for him to take full control of Aki’s body? Or is he limited to only giving advice and being unable to really refuse any of Aki’s orders? Not a lot of answers here, but it sure is something to think about.

Why does he pick up personality traits with the schematics?

Could it possibly be another kind of failsafe? He has the one that limits him to having only three schematics on board, and we’ve seen the consequences of not having that. Perhaps it’s a purposeful flaw in order to keep Aki/Mega Man grounded to reality and humbled. Those moments where he loses control are a challenge, something that he has to overcome to grow as a person and as a hero, and a way to understand the robots he fights.

Is he based off of Namagem?

They share a lot of things. Their seeming mental age, the busters, the power replication, etc. It’s mentioned to Aki/Mega Man more than once that Namagem is his reflection. Namagem doesn’t have the safety mechanisms that Aki has in place, and is seemingly more unhinged for it. Regardless of who gave Aki his powers, it is entirely possible that Namagem was the prototype. The first one that Aki’s powers were modeled off of. And is Namagem aware of this? Not only are the two of them foils, their family seems to be as well. The relationship between Dr. Light, Aki/Mega Man, and Suna is the antithesis of the one between Namagem and Sgt. Night/Lord Obsidian. This leads me to what I created this post for in the first place...

Speculations on the relationship between Namagem and Sgt. Night/Lord Obsidian:

This one... makes me extremely uncomfortable. 

The first time we see Namagem is during the end of the Lightfall two-parter. He comes to get Lord Obsidian away from Aki/Mega Man after the man’s plan has backfired. He is shown supporting Lord Obsidian as they return to their base with the other villains of the show, and refers to him as Father. He seems obedient, dedicated, a generally perfect dragon to Lord Obsidian’s big bad. That doesn’t last long.

The next few times we see Namagem he is disobeying orders, going out to fight Aki/Mega Man despite being repeatedly told not to. He clashes with Sgt. Night’s strategy of waiting for the right time, preferring to charge in and let his fists do the talking. He’s essentially a brash, rebellious teenager who thinks he knows best. He’s Aki/Mega Man’s foil. They’re alike in that way, though Namagem takes it to the extreme. He’s what Aki could have been if he didn’t have his failsafes, Mini Mega, or a supportive family.

Sgt. Night is harsh with Namagem in the same way he’s harsh to the other villains who follow him. He puts them down verbally, calls them useless and generally degrades them. This alone isn’t what puts me into uncomfy territory though. That came with episode 31, “Big Bad Dreams.”

In the dreamscape, Aki/Mega Man finally fights back using Hypno Woman’s powers to force Namagem to see what he fears most. Aki/Mega Man is unable to see what Namagem is terrified of, but we the audience do: Lord Obsidian’s reflection on the windows of a building, massive and looming over Namagem. And what does Namagem do as he sees this? Cries out, flinches, and holds his hands above his face/head like he’s preparing to take a hit. Aki/Mega Man throws him from the dreamscape soon after.

When Namagem comes out of the dreamscape and tells Sgt. Night what happened, he’s belligerent in the face of the man’s remarks, getting up in his personal space and generally being angry. This changes as Sgt. Night walks away. The second he transforms into Lord Obsidian Namagem’s entire demeanor changes. The man is walking away from him but he flinches, cries out, shakes, curls over and in on himself. He seems absolutely terrified.

I know that this is a children’s show, maybe I’m thinking too dark, but those moments are sticking in my brain. I want to know: 

What in the holy hell happened to make Namagem so afraid of Lord Obsidian (not Sgt. Night, but Lord Obsidian) specifically?