#aka if i have energy i give things the proper attention i think they deserve

[hxlcyon]

hi guys i am so stressed watch me dive into honkai

[number5theboy]

I wanna hear your material on why five should’ve been the one to pull the trigger!! I kinda agree but I haven’t read the comics-

Anonymous asked: Whats the rant on five pulling the trigger? I havent read the comics but i know he hes the gunman and says 'i never really liked you" or something similar 

A piece of writing that is part rant, part analysis, and part creative writing for the two of you so kind as to drop into my inbox, as well as @mysticmoondustt, @maren-emilie, @waywardd1 and @millartiste, and @poisonpam, whose marriage proposal started all this.

User @sunriseseance brought to my attention that the way I framed this sidelines Allison completely and takes away from her character arc, which was not my intention in writing it, but is something this text communicates anyway. Giving over Allison’s (aka the only black woman in the cast) important story beat over to Five (aka one of the several white boys) without making the effort of keeping Allison just as important to the story was poorly thought-out. I have thus edited and rewritten the following with that in mind.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Five’s Storyline Deserved To Be Properly Tragic or: Why Five Ultimately Causing The Apocalypse in The White Violin Would Have Rounded Out His Arc

     In this mini-essay, I go into detail as to why I think, from a story-telling perspective, Five should have been the one to ultimately cause the apocalypse by intervening with Vanya rather than Allison. The apocalypse is Five’s storyline. It’s his trauma, his pain, and what he has worked towards preventing for forty-five years, and yet, he is almost completely written out of the pivotal events in The White Violin, the Season 1 finale, and has little to no impact on why the apocalypse does happen, in the end. Making Five the one who triggers the apocalypse would make his entire storyline become the proper tragedy it is supposed to be, with him being the last domino to fall into place, his action of disrupting Vanya being what makes her fall, makes her destroy the moon, and makes Five the man who causes what he so desperately wanted to stop. The easiest way to do that would be to give Five Allison’s role of being the one to point that gun at Vanya, but as explained above, that was the original argument of this text, and one that was insensitive and should have had more effort put into. The following rewrite still sees Five firing the gun, but in a different context and with a different lead-up, one where Allison’s moment of mercy and kindness to Vanya comes before Five’s decision to fire the gun, so that Allison’s moment with Vanya and the moment that inadvertently causes the apocalypse are two separate ones rather than a single one. I just really would have loved to see Five and the apocalypse be a self-fulfilling prophecy. One still should keep in mind that this does appropriate a moment that was solely Allison’s in canon and should thus still be taken with a grain of salt. That being said, I do think that it would have made sense for Five to fire the gun that causes the apocalypse. There are so many established points in Five’s storyline that build up to him being the character most relevant and most appropriate to point that gun at the back of Vanya’s head: his ruthlessness in eliminating anyone who stands between him and preventing the apocalypse, the fact that he is the only sibling we’ve seen kill methodically in cold blood, how Five is pragmatic by nature and was ready to sacrifice a single life in exchange for saving billions, his awareness of space and how to use it to his advantage, his tendency to use other people’s weapons to his own advantage, the fact that he is the only sibling Vanya doesn’t resent for their childhood, the fact that he trusts and likes Vanya, that when faced by Luther with the choice between violence and love before, Five chose love… But Five was not the triggerman, and the following, under the cut, explores the ending of an arc that could have been.

     I’m going to start with Vanya’s demise and how the apocalypse happens in the source material. Full disclosure, I still have not read the comics, but I have seen the last few pages of the Apocalypse Suite, and even though my argument as to why Five should have been the triggerman for Vanya in the show is not based on ‘because it was him in the comics’, I still think it’s relevant for the point I’m trying to make. In the Apocalypse Suite, Klaus distracts Vanya as she is playing her violin, and Five takes that moment to go and shoot her in the head. Despite the concert coming to a bad close, it was a little too late, the moon still comes crashing toward Earth, and Five says: “You know something, Vanya…? I never liked you.”. It doesn’t quite stop there, but for the purposes of this mini-essay, that’s enough. What does matter is that the TUA showrunners have this nasty habit of taking bits of the comic and putting them into the show, but usually warped to the point of disrespect, where they simply never looked deep enough into why comic fans liked a moment, and instead just want to ~subvert their expectations~. Here, I think the subversion is not necessarily about the actions, as they are still similar (gun is fired in the vicinity of Vanya’s head, it takes her out, but not enough to prevent the apocalypse) and is instead about the identity of the triggerman. Or rather, triggerwoman.

     In the show, Allison holds that gun to the back of an oblivious Vanya’s head before shifting it to next to her ear, and then pulling the trigger. The sound of the gun going off disrupts Vanya, who faints, but the energy she had been pulling from the soundwaves had to release to somewhere, and it bundles into a beam that shoots up and destroys the moon, giant pieces of which barrel to Earth.

     And it’s a good ending for their arc. It’s the ultimate proof that even at Vanya’s lowest, in a moral sense, literally suspending their brothers in midair and hurting them, Allison still loves her, enough to not hurt her. Allison wants to do right by her, and it shows in its most extreme in this moment. The only thing that bothers me personally about this moment is that the second it showed that it was Allison holding the gun, I knew Vanya would not be harmed, I knew that Allison loved her too much, that Allison had flat-out refused to even consider Luther’s proposal that they should be prepared to stop Vanya by any means necessary. And so I started thinking about which character could make this moment more tense. Who was “with Luther on that one”? Who knows that they “can’t give her a chance to fight back”? Who have we seen to be merciless and cutthroat, who has ruthlessly killed people in cold blood because they stood between him and preventing the apocalypse? Which sibling pointing a gun at the back of Vanya’s head would have actually given the viewer pause and make them consider the possibility that one of the Hargreeves would be hard enough to shoot his own sister in the head?

     It could have gone like this, with several references to Five’s fighting skills that were established beforehand but mysteriously absent during the actual climax. It starts as it does in the show, Luther rallying his brothers to attack and Allison refusing to be part of it. But instead of trying to convince us that Five would be stupid enough to run straight on at Vanya, Five blinks away and disappears. The other three still get caught in Vanya’s energy tentacles, but Allison is not. We see Five appear next to the Commission soldiers he killed when protecting Klaus, swiping one of their guns, showcasing both his spatial awareness and his tendency to use enemy weapon to his advantage, which we saw in both the Istanbul Not Constantinople scene and in him getting the upper hand on the Handler. He blinks away again.

     Cut to Vanya on stage, holding her brothers, fixing them with a merciless and empty gaze. Then there is a small noise on the side of the stage, and Vanya looks over. It’s Allison, one hand behind her back, similar to the Luther and Vanya scene from Season 2, and we see the gun gleaming there, showing that both Allison and Five had the same tactical idea. But Allison is not pointing the gun, because she saw a glimpse of good in this violinist just moment before, when she smiled at her. I’m turn about whether or not Allison should be holding a sign in this. If she would, it’d be interesting for it to read ‘I love you’, even though that’s terribly cliché, it’s also the sentence that made Vanya lash out at Allison in the first place. I like the idea of Vanya seeing it again and the memory of her regret at her action, at the pain she caused someone who only tried to be there for her, to make amends, to support her, to love her, break the façade of the White Violin as she recognises her sister, looks at her, truly sees her. The energy tentacles release her brothers in one swoop, them falling to the floor, exhausted, as the tentacles retreat back into Vanya, but she underestimated her powers.

     There’s too much, the energy slamming back into her, and for a moment, you see Vanya through the mask of the White Violin, scared of the power she holds and doesn’t know how to control. It’s an overload, like it was when she was little, and because nobody ever took the time to teach her how to control it, she doesn’t know how. Allison’s fingers twitch around her gun behind her back, and then her gaze shifts. Five steps behind Vanya and points the gun at the back of her head. And the viewer remembers everything Five has gone through because of the Apocalypse, what he had to become to survive, how he sacrificed everything to come back and stop the end of the world. How ready he was to end the life of an innocent gardener to change the course of history. And here is where a more interesting subversion of the source material would come in. Remember comic!Five saying “You know something, Vanya…? I never liked you.”?

     Because show!Five is established to like Vanya, love her even. She was the first one he told about the apocalypse and that he wants to stop it (Five having that gun would also have made the first season come full circle in an incredibly satisfying way) , the first one he trusted, the sibling he treats with gentleness and kindness even though he is not gentle or kind. Her words brought him comfort for decades in the barren wasteland, and he is the only sibling that she canonically doesn’t resent for how she was treated in their childhood. She had bandaged up his wounds, probably the first time since he left the Academy on that fateful day without saying goodbye that someone touched him carefully, lovingly, and she told him that she hadn’t seen him in a long time and that she didn’t want to lose him again. And now he is faced with the prospect of shooting her in the head to achieve what he worked forty-five years towards.

     And here is the kicker if this would have been the version we got to see in the show: there would have been foreshadowing to this very moment, because it would not have been the first time in the show that Five pointed a gun at a sibling. As Five set to go kill the previously mentioned innocent gardener with his father’s rifle, Luther grabs Delores and dangles her out of the window, giving Five the choice between the literal embodiment of the better half of his mind, the one who thinks beyond, the one created out of love, or the bloodshed he had been trained to solve every problem with. Bluntly put, Luther put him on the spot and made him choose between love and violence.

     Five chose love.

     Over Vanya’s shoulder, Five meets Allison’s eye. And even though she’s terrified of this side of Vanya that makes her pulsate with energy, on the brink of world extinction, she still looks him in the eye, and almost imperceptibly shakes her head, a silent plea to spare Vanya. Because Allison knows what Five has done, she has easily called him a mass murderer before, she knows that he could do it. And so he grips the gun he’s pointing at Vanya just a little tighter, to keep himself from trembling. He moves his arm just a little, bringing the barrel of the gun next to Vanya’s ear, and he pulls the trigger. The gunshot goes off, Vanya’s crumbles to the floor, Allison rushes to her side to catch her. The energy bundles and shoots out, straight into the core of the moon. On stage, Five looks in disbelief at the gun in his hand. He did it. It’s over. And Vanya is still alive.

     And then Klaus’ voice pipes up. “Guys? Do you see that big moonrock coming towards us?”

     And Five looks up. And Five understands, in a second, in a moment. He pulled that trigger, and the world is doomed. His singular act of mercy brought about exactly what he had given up everything to prevent happening.

     As the song that played over Five’s arrival in the apocalypse says: this race is a prophecy. It’s just that nobody told Five that it is a self-fulfilling one.

     I just think it would have been good to give some kind of pay-off to Five’s apocalypse storyline that isn’t him running away from it at the end of the season. I think having him be the one who ultimately brings the apocalypse about through the act of shooting that gun would have rounded out his arc. As I said in the beginning, this is the revised and re-edited version of this, which involves Allison in more of the plot. Her inadvertently causing the apocalypse in the show has no real bearing on her mind or her character past the act of firing the shot, while the same action would have deeply shaken Five to the core, and so I personally think it should have been Five to actually carry out that last action. In this new and improved version, I tried my best to keep Allison’s connection to Vanya, her act of love, and just have Five be the executioner rather than the only one in the scene. It’s not perfect, but it’s an improvement on the very narrow view I had before. I just think Five being a self-fulfilling prophecy would shift the dynamics between him and the Hargreeves in Season 2 interestingly. It would be more justified how harsh and dismissive the Hargreeves are towards Five. It would make his decision to take Vanya back to do right by her even more interesting, as it would be him choosing love over violence again immediately after it failed spectacularly for him, and his and Vanya’s dynamic in Season 2 so much more tense and high-stakes. It was wrong of me to completely strip Allison of any agency in this scenario, and I hope I have done better this time around, while still keeping my conviction that Five inadvertently causing the apocalypse would have been a better culmination of his arc.

[random-mha-thoughts]

Special (Todoroki x Reader)

Pairing: Todoroki x Reader

Anon asked:  "todoroki angst: reader is feeling anxious about their relationship. like, wow he deserves so much better why did he pick me, all that stuff. reader thinks he deserves someone like momo, maybe?? and reader kinda distances herself and tries to push him and momo together and he notices and... idk where to go from here. delete this if it doesn't work :)"

Genre: Angst to fluff/comfort

(Submission 3/3 for Todoroki angst in my ask box!)

Word count: 1,835

Tags:  @yuki-osaki​ @liviitehe​ @iamsoftsodonttoucheume-blog​

a/n: Thanks for the submission anon!  I hope I did it justice!

This one overlaps very well with the last one I did, and I was considering combining the two ideas, but I think this one deserves to stand on its own.  I wanted to use this to send a message, so pay close attention to it and I hope you all walk away from this feeling better because I really love all of you and I care about you and you’re all special and yeah I’m rambling now.

I’ll be taking a break from Todoroki and angst (bc I’ve been giving him A LOT of attention and it’s not fair), so the next post will probably be either Bakugou or Shinsou fluff, leaning more towards Bakugou.

Also Todo only has two modes, flirty or awkward, there’s no inbetween. aka canon or yatoverse what

Buy me a coffee?

"Oogling your boyfriend again?" Uraraka shoves my shoulder with hers.

I force a smile at her before turning my attention back to the sparring match.  Todoroki is up against Tokoyami and Dark Shadow, managing to hold his own as everyone knows he would.  He didn't want to let the match end in the first second, so he promised not to go too overboard with his powers so Tokoyami can practice more.  The thought makes me proud, to know I'm dating one of the top students in our class, or even our grade.

It also makes me feel small.

My quirk isn't the strongest, all I can do it manipulate the ground around me, almost like an Earth quirk, but I'm still too weak to do anything fantastic with it.  I was told that if  I try hard enough, I can manipulate metal, or even sand and soil, but I'm still weak.  On top of all that I'm not even the best fighter.  I don't have amazing combat skills or strategy or aggression or charisma.  I'm just...me.

I feel myself visibly slouch, the dark thoughts eating at my energy a I continue observing my kick-ass boyfriend.  How can I even be a match for him when I'm not even good enough?

Todoroki finally uses enough fire to blind Dark Shadow into submission and freeze Tokoyami at the same time, effectively finishing the match.  He lets out a cool breath and looks out into the crowd, the first person he meets eyes with is me and he smiles.

I can't help but melt at such a soft gesture and I blush, averting my eyes to the ground as I feel him approaching through the crowd of students.  "Were you watching me, love?" he whispers so only I can hear.

My eyes widen at the close proximity.  "You did really well.  I'm proud of you."

A warm hand cups my cheek and I meet his gentle gaze.  "When it's your turn, I'll make sure to cheer you on."

His words make my stomach churn.  I don't want to fail in front of him, he'll think I'm weak, if he doesn't already.  "I'll do my best," I reply less than enthusiastically.

Thankfully, Todoroki isn't too perceptive.  Instead, he motions for us to start walking.  "Shall we go to lunch then?"

We gather our lunch and sit with Midoriya and his friends, and I motion for Momo and Tsuyu join us as well.  Momo sits across from Todoroki and Tsuyu sits on my other side.  While everyone else talks, I simply observe and listen to everyone's conversation, Todoroki on my right side sits closer to me and occasionally grips my hand under the table.  They're all more or less discussing tactics they learned from their individual training, and I don't usually speak unless someone asks me directly.  I tune into the conversation on my side of the table.

"It's pretty amazing how you were able to tone down your quirk, Todoroki-kun," Momo comments, "I would've thought you would have to tie one of your arms behind your back to handicap yourself."

"No, I've trained enough to have precise control, though my left side still needs some work," Todoroki responds casually.

As the three of them continue, I take a final bite of my rice dish and stand to throw out my tray.  "I'm just going to the bathroom," I mumble, feeling as though none of them care anyway.  I dump the rest of my food out in the garbage and slip to the other side of the room behind a column, peering out from behind to watch my boyfriend and Momo interacting with each other.

Ever since they were paired up to face Aizawa a week ago, I've noticed a chemistry between them that I can't deny.  It got me thinking deeply, I figure they would make such a power couple; they're both intelligent, bright, serious, charismatic, top of the class, and they have useful quirks.  They worked so well together, it got me thinking how useless I am.  Todoroki deserves someone like her as a partner, not worthless little me.  I've been trying to push them together in hopes that Todoroki would develop feelings for her and break up with me, or I would break up with him if I notice their relationship becoming something more.  At least no one would get hurt that way.

"Hey, (y/n), what are you doing alone here?"  Ojiro startles me from behind, his tail slightly brushing my arm.

I smile at the blond.  "Oh, nothing, just..."  My words trail off as I realize I don't have a proper excuse for being here other than being a creepy stalker.

He quirks an eyebrow.  "Is there something wrong between you and Todoroki that you're watching him secretly like this?"

My face turns red in shame.  "N-No, nothing like that.  He's been really great to me, nothing to question him about."

Ojiro flicks his tail about, reading my expression carefully.  "But you don't seem very happy.  I know it's not my place to say anything, but wouldn't it be better if you just talk to him about what's going on?  He's not exactly a mind reader."

I look back at the two.  Momo's covering her mouth and laughing at something Todoroki must have said.  Though my chest hurts a little, I force myself to believe it's a push in the right direction.  "I think things will work out the way they're supposed to be in the end."

.

After class, I'm asking Momo about her notes from today when Todoroki comes up behind me to walk back to the dorms together as we usually do.  He's about to wrap an arm around my waist when I side step and turn my body to face him.  "Hey, I have something I have to get from the store downtown."  He opens his mouth and I know he's going to offer to come with me, but I interject before he has a chance to, "Can you walk Yaomomo back?  I kept her back for a while and she has no one to walk with."

His eyebrows slightly furrow, but he nods and says nothing.  I squeeze his arm and take off down the hall, hoping they don't see me as they walk out.  Instead of going all the way to town, I slip into the nearest convenience store.  I have a very strong urge to drown my feelings in junk food, grabbing a few bags of chips, cups of noodles, and packs of chocolate.  At least I know food will always accept me even when I'm not strong.

I trudge back to the dorms, drop my bags in my room, and change into my lounge clothes before taking a container of chips with me up to the roof.  The sky already starts getting dark, a gradient of reds, pinks, and oranges streaking across the sky towards the setting Sun while dark blue chases it from the other side.

I open the circular container and start eating the chips from the top, letting the brisk air brush my cheeks as I sit at the raised ledge, my legs dangling off.

The faint crescendo of footsteps ascending the stairs calls my attention from the sky's colors. "You'll spoil your dinner like that," Todoroki's voice rings out as he sits next to me, his back to the Sun.

I look down at the already half-eaten cylinder.  "Wasn't planning on eating anyway," I mutter, stuffing another one in my mouth.

"So I could spend time with Yaoyorozu instead?"

I stop mid-chew.  Busted.  "How do you know?"

He scoots over closer to me.  "I didn't notice at first, but then today when you didn't let me hold you, I was hurt."

Finally meeting his eyes, I can see the sorrow in them.  It made me feel guilty that I've been pushing him away.  "I'm sorry."

"And I noticed you've been disappearing a lot more lately."  His icy hand brushes a strand of hair behind my ear.  "Is there something wrong?  Did I do something?"

I bite my lip.  "No, I've just been thinking.  You and Momo would make a really great couple."  Saying it out loud leaves a sour taste in my mouth and forms a lump in my throat.

"But I'm with you, why would I want her?"  he asks, genuinely innocently.

I smile sadly at him.  "You deserve better than me, someone like her who you can work well with, someone on your level.  Not someone like me."

"What about you?"

A shaky breath rattles through me as I inhale.  "I'm...weak.  I still need a lot of work, and I don't even have anything special about me other than my quirk.  You'd be better off with someone way better than me."

Todoroki's silent as he takes my words in, his expression unreadable as he stares down at the rooftop floor.  I continue eating my chips in hopes of swallowing the lump there.

"Well," he finally speaks up, "I know what you're the best at."  I turn to face him questionably, and he gives me a soft smile as he stares into my eyes lovingly.  "Cuddles.  You're the perfect height for me to hug you and kiss your forehead."  He hand brushes my hair again.  "You have the best ears, because you patiently listen to all my problems, all my stresses, all my pent up feelings."  His fingers move down to entwine into my own.  "Your hand fits perfectly in mine to squeeze gently."  He plants a surprise kiss on my nose.  "You have the cutest nose to peck.  And most importantly," he exhales, "The most emotive, beautiful eyes to get lost in.  And you want to know something?  No one else has your unique set of features."

I can feel the tears well up with every genuine word he says.  The way he's so honest and soft about it makes my chest swell with emotions I can't place.

"Anyone can train hard enough to have a strong quirk, it just takes others a little longer to develop, and just the right push.  But only you have your special personality," he continues.  "Do you remember why I asked you to be mine?  No one else is as as cutely stubborn, or as hardworking as you.  No one else's laugh or smile is as contagious as yours."  He raises our joined hands to kiss the back of mine.  "Everyone may be unique, but your brand of unique is the only one I would love to be with, and I don't care about your quirk or how strong you think you are.  Because at the end of the day," he pulls me into his chest, "What really matters is you being here with me like this, not how you fight a villain."

I clutch him close to me, shaking as tears spill from my eyes.  "You're so good to me."

Hands gently brush my hair, "Because I'm all yours, love.  And I only want you."

[otome-review]

The Shall We Date Series

So the first thing I want to talk about is the Shall we Date series. They are a japanese group that develops dating sim games mostly for smartphones, but you can also link the game to your facebook account and play it from there. Now I have a lot to say about them because most of the games I’ve played so far are from this company.

The first thing I’ll point out is that all of the games have an interesting system of “rewards”. Of course, all gaming apps will want you to go back to them periodically, and this series has its own system of “tickets” that you have to use to read each part of a chapter of the story. When I first started to play, I thought I could read as many chapters as I wanted (oh silly me) but it turns out each ticket takes 4 hours to reload (cries) and there’s a limit of 5 free tickets (so you have to keep using them to get more). You also have two types of currency: normally jewels/coins, which are paid for with real money or earned very scarcey in the game (I’ll probably write a post about tapjoy later lol), and some other type of currency (they vary in name: lune, token, etc.) that is earned through the mini games (or as rewards) of each game. Both of these currencies are needed in the game, usually when the story reaches a certain point where you have to chose to either take a “premium” route or a “normal” route - the premium is usually to have a more “special” moment with the character of your choosing. It makes a lot of difference in some games, I found, and I’ll write a review on that later.

In every game of this franchise there’s an avatar that you can dress up (the heroine aka you) and a mini game, that you necessarily have to play to earn enough points (lady level, magic grade, sweetie points, etc.) and demands “energy”. This energy, much like the tickets, is recovered slowly and you have the option to use recovery items. The points that you earn playing these mini games are used later in the game to pass challenges - so my advice for you is play them as often as possible so you have enough points to pass the challenges later in the game with no problems! There’s also the possibility of buying these points, but they usually cost real money (aka coins/jewels). The mini games consist, in almost every game, of something like a competition; your avatar is compared to a random one, and you have to “guess” if you have more (style points, charm level, etc) than that other person, which you acquire the more dressing items you have (I think that’s their way of stimulating you to buy more in-game clothes). You also get (romance points) from this mini game and you can “make a date” - it’s really just points to play a slot and get free things.

(Honestly, writting it down like this it seems like a lot but it really isn’t and you get used to this type of game pretty fast, and soon enough you’ll create a habit. If you’re a chill player I envy you, because I created a very methodic habit around these games lol.)

In each game you normally choose one character to be your love interest and the decisions you make in the game impact your finale with this character - you have to raise your “intimacy level” to a certain point to get a happy ending, which is a little tricky in games like Lost Alice where you have not two, but three options of dialogue to choose from. Of course, like everything in the Shall we Date games, if you don’t have enough intimacy to be with that one guy you like, you can always buy his affection.

Jokes aside, you could literally buy your way through these games - but that would cost you around US$260 for one single character (I calculated it very poorly but it would be something around that).

..................

Review time!

I like most Shall we Date games. It’s an option for you if you like sappy romances like me and enjoy shoujo mangas but wants something more interactive or different. If you’re into Harem, that’s definetely your thing. I’ll be reviewing each game individually, but I thought this one developer deserved my special attention, because their MO is basically the same with every game. There are some slight changes in each gameplay (maybe they’re trying to test which one works better?) that led me to choose one game over another - for instance, the Wizardress Heart series doesn’t demand that you “buy” a scene of MC and the love interest, they “give” you the picture, and so far I think this is the only game that does this (correct me if I’m wrong), other games usually only “give” you the happy ending picture and the rest are “premium story” pictures (can you tell I’m bitter over that?). I’ll give this game a proper review, which I’m still developing a criteria to, but I think it’s gonna be something like this (the importance of these items are in no particular order): 

1. Story

2. Artwork

3. Avatar Items

4. MC’s personality

5. Mini-games

6. Reward system

7. Events

8. Love interests (ofc)

I think for now that’s it. If I find something else important, I’ll add!

Thanks for getting this far! Bear in mind english is not my first language and I’m looking forward to developing my writting skills. I’m just doing this for fun and maybe help someone who’s thinking of starting to play one of these games, and of course, this is my personal opinion on them.

[shslpunkartist]

So funny story here but I have this little HC that Keith one day came up with this plan to help out Gold and, with the help of the Unown (who had to be extra careful as to not accidentally attract Gold's attention through their little link) as well as some of the others, travel over to a random Pokemon universe to see if they can obtain a Cyndaquil to give to Gold as a little surprise gift.

Aside from wanting to surprise Gold with one of his favorite mons, Keith also thought it might help out a bit with the teen's nightmares, especially those of his Typhlosion. Of course, the little guy can never replace Gold's previous Typhlosion, but Keith believes that it can help ease some of the teen's heartache a bit more. Not to mention but it can help Gold start another journey if he so deserves it! Yes, there's the Unown too, but dunno if they would count.

I meant to share this HC back on CC but then CC went down and some irl stuff happened on my end, and then eventually at some point I had forgotten about it. Well until somewhat recently, partially thanks to Pokemon Arceus Legends and the Hisuian Typhlosion. Ended up actually changing up my HC after having played and beaten the game.

So rather than being dropped off at some random region that they're more familiar with, Keith and whoever came along with him (let's go with Pico, Barry, Olivia, Morgana, Zackarie, and Mel) find themselves dropped off in a VERY unfamiliar region that looks... rather old fashioned. Almost as if they were dropped off in the past... yet they're also not sure considering how they see shit that shouldn't even be a thing yet in the past.

FYI none of them are familiar with Pokemon Arceus Legends or anything really. I'm certain some of them heard some brief news on it, but aside from that? Not much really. Don't even know that this new region is actually the distant past version of the Sinnoh region. I wonder if any of them are familiar enough with Sinnoh that they might feel some deja vu about some areas hmm?

OH AND BEFORE I CONTINUE, are you familiar with Fallers? If not, well, they're basically humans who have passed through Ultra Wormholes - often against their will - and find themselves in another reality, often with little memories. I can't recall exact details but I think the reason behind their amnesia is due to a mixture of trauma and direct exposure to the energy of the Ultra Wormholes. Anyway a good example of a Faller is Anabel, who is actually from the original Pokemon universe (aka the world where Mega Evolution and Fairy type pokemon weren't a thing).

Now why'd I bring this up? Because there is another Faller in this game! Ingo from the Black and White games!

The crew totally saw him during their visit of that region, all of them most likely mistaking him for some look-a-like of him or something like that, then later lookup about him sometime after returning back to their reality (look any proper pokemon fan who has played the Black & White games can't help but be curious ok), thinking the guy they saw was some distant ancestor or just some look-a-like- ONLY TO LEARN THAT /IS/ INGO.

I do know you've mentioned before that some of them had really enjoyed gen 5 so I imagine those that did would feel really bad for the guy lol.

ANYWAY GETTING BACK ONTO TOPIC, it took them some time - partially due to everyone, including even Pico and Morgana to some extent, keeps wandering off a bit separately due to their inner pokemon fan self wanting to explore this new region as well as see some of the local pokemon and partially because some of them, mostly two certain people *cough*KeithandBarry*cough*, occasionally needing to be rescued from territorial wild pokemon due to various reasons - they eventually managed to acquire a Cyndaquil through... uh... some totally legal means that totally didn't involve them nabbing one from someone who they presumed to be the professor of that region without the guy's notice and, with the Unown's help, returned home!

Oh, and if you're wondering about the exact details on how they uh "borrow" the Cyndaquil, Keith waddled up to Lavention - the professor guy's name btw - and started beep-boop-boping at him. Man, like with the player character (who btw is also from modern times; long story, but uh to put it very simply Arceus is responsible for it lol), mistook Keith for some odd very human-looking pokemon due to the gremlin's modern clothes and him beep-boop-boping at him, and he ended up being distracted long enough for one of the others to nabbed the Cyndaquil (which was surprisingly chill about what's going on; it helps that Olivia was the one who picked it up and talked to it the whole time lol).

The adventures we go to make someone happy: literally jump to another universe for them~

Probably gone for almost a day, and then they come back and surprise Gold.. probably brings him to tears. It isn't his exact one, but this one still seems just as eager to be a new friend as ever.

[theeastcollective-blog1]

We are very excited to welcome our newest interview with the talented creative, podcaster, graphic designer Zu also known as BookofZu, @Ghetto004! We love everything about this feature and hope you enjoy it just as much as we do! ______________________________________________ 1) Tell us a little about yourself? My name is Zubair (pronounced zoo-bear) or Zu for short. I’ve said this before on the first episode of my podcast “Book of Zu” but during primary school, kids used to make the joke that I was a bear from the zoo because of my name. At that point, it used to bother me, but I was so young, so how could it not? Now, I use that to explain to people how my name is pronounced. But looking back at it, these times it was the kids that used to roll up to school in the morning with their mouths stained with wotsits (orange, cheesy crisps or chips, if you’re American). You come to school looking a mess, your mouth stained and stinking and you want to come and give me energy?? Tell your mama to brush your teeth and tongue; beloved. Your mouth smells like ass juice at 8 o’frickin-clock in the morning and you make teasing my name your first priority? Rotten mouts. But I’d be angry too if my mum hated me enough to not make me a proper breakfast, cereal is £1, beloved. I’m a Moroccan-Londoner, born and raised here in the U.K. The atmosphere is different in Morocco. I’m from Casablanca, which is a coastal city facing the Atlantic ocean. Casablanca means “white house” in Spanish because….colonialism but let’s not get into that before my wig flies off. Moroccans call it either “Casa” or “Dar L’bida” which also means “white house”. I’m also from Fes, which is an inner city, which means no beach, sadly but it makes up for that in rich history. A lot of my favourite childhood memories were made in Morocco, I’m one of 5 children, Allahumabarek. We used to drive to Morocco from London, in our seven seater, with enough stuff to give to a whole neighbourhood. You’re probably wondering “drive??? To Morocco??! From London??!”, absolutely. We’d either drive from London to Dover, get a ferry to Calais and drive from the north of France to the south into Spain, then after driving for almost 2 days, we’d arrive at Algeciras in Spain and get a ferry to Tangier, which is in northern Morocco. The other way we’d get there is, driving to Portsmouth from London and getting a 30-36 hour ferry to Bilbao in Spain and then followed by a 12 hour drive to the south and then getting a ferry into Morocco from Algeciras. I never used to appreciate the scenery as a child because I’d be fighting with my siblings telling them not to put their feet on my seat and then amidst all that fighting my mama would be screaming and then instruct my dad to pull-over, so she can get us TOGETHER and she did. Then she’d choose someone to sit in her seat, it was like being upgraded from where they store luggage in a plane to first class. If I got chosen, I’d give my siblings the devil stare and silently laugh, then they’d snitch and I’d put on my poker face. I’m petty like that, now stop being bitter and kickback into that cramped seat you’re in pretending to be luggage, whilst I stretch my legs in the front. But the last time we drove to Morocco was in 2015, this time just me and my dad. The scenery through France and Spain is breath-taking. Especially during sun rise, honey-golden amber rays of sunlight covering cascading mountains and rock formations. The air crisp, light and refreshing but pleasantly cool in temperature. But we have a big family Allahumabarek, so the car came in handy, we didn’t have to pay for taxi’s, coaches; nothing. But I’ll put a plug in this for now. 2) How would you describe your podcasts ? Good question. I don’t like to put myself in boxes but if I had to put my podcast in a category, I’d say culture and society. Culture and society is such an umbrella topic with endless sub-topics. If I had to describe it in three words, I’d say: unfiltered, eccentric and authentic. I feel like these days we lack genuine and sincere content, everybody wants to be a people-pleaser but truth be told, you can never please everyone. You left uni because your heart wasn’t in it? People will say you’re lazy and unambitious. You completed uni and got a good paying job that takes up a large portion of your time? People will say you think you’re too good for them and think you’re better than them. People are going to talk regardless, so you might as well do what you want. So when I record, I’m completely myself, how I talk in real life, is how I talk on my podcast. Whoever connects and resonates with my personality, amazing, whoever doesn’t…..moving on. I have more important things to worry about than dwelling on bitter b’s who don’t like me or my content. Important things like, whether I’d like 1 or 2 slices of toast for breakfast. I don’t think about it, don’t care about it, don’t worry about it. I have to be this way otherwise the smallest things would get to me and stop me from progressing. I’m not about to let someone’s dehydrated, ashy opinion lead me to become stagnant. If you follow me on twitter, you know I’ve been screaming “boss and level up, 2k18” with my chest. We’re elevating and uplifting ourselves and deserving others this year. Support your friends 2K18 and if you aren’t whole-heartedly supporting your friends genuinely, then I pity you, supporting and encouraging others doesn’t take anything away from you. But you’re so used to taking from people that the idea of giving back scares you because the only person you care and have ever cared about, is yourself. Now chew on THAT apple. Eat it up. You seem hungry. I’m all about supporting yourself but there’s a big difference between being unapologetically supportive of yourself and being selfish. Don’t, get it twisted. 3) What do you hope to teach others through your podcasts and what inspired you to start ? It always blows my mind when people message me or tell me that my podcast has taught them something or that my words impacted them, because I don’t feel like I’ve done enough for them to deserve that credit. I started my podcast because I felt there was a lack of genuine and authentic content in general. The things I say on my podcast are things I say in my everyday life, If you know me personally, you know I’m this way. I’m not pretending or changing myself so others can like me, because pretending to be someone you’re not is extremely mentally draining. I’m just me, the way I talk, my personality, it’s all me. So to me, all these things that I say are standard for me, it’s not going out of my way, it’s normal for me. The advice I give, is the advice I give to my friends, it’s not extraordinary to me. I just give people the advice that I would have appreciated getting when I was in those situations. What goes around, comes around and Allah SWT is the most fair and if you’re out here being fraudulent and giving people insincere, bare minimum advice, when you’re in that predicament, you’re going to have nobody to turn to. When someone reaches out to you, how you do them, is how you’ll be done. Standard. Don’t give out, what you wouldn’t appreciate receiving. I’m so humbled when people message me and talk to me about how my words have given them strength. That to me, is everything. I’m glad that people feel like they can get from me what they can’t get in the environment they’re in. The first mentions of me starting a podcast were suggested to me by two talented individuals. Hanine, aka @hanxine on twitter, she’s the founder of Nerdy POC, a writer among other creative crafts. She DM’d one day, I still remember, it was while ago and she told me that she thinks I should start a podcast because my personality would be a good fit for it. These times, I didn’t pay much attention to social media but I was so flattered because I was thinking “me?”. Then, Cari aka @cari_artist, a close friend of mine, she’s an amazing singer, her voice is so good it’s disrespectful. She told me, you should really make a podcast, your personality is so entertaining and infectious and again I was like “me?” LMAOO. Please, go and check out their pages on twitter and support!! But if you’ve been following me on twitter, you know that I’ve made threads on things people necessarily may not want to talk about, I say what I want, how I want and I’m not sorry about it. I also have had my curious cat open for ages because people reach out sometimes wanting advice on things and the fact it’s anonymous makes it easier for them. But all those posts get lost in a sea of tweets. So, I thought, I’m already speaking about these things, why don’t I immortalise these views and make them into something permanent that’s easily accessible. Then, Book of Zu was born. 4) Tips for anyone who’d like to start ? Creating podcast episodes or content in general is a commitment and takes dedication. I don’t think some people understand how much work goes into creating content and building a platform because all they see is the finished product but don’t see the struggle behind the scenes. If you’re going to do it, do it because you’re passionate and want to create quality content. Do it for you, nobody else. Don’t do it solely because people have told you “OMG! You totally should!! JSDKFKDJFKJ” because they’re not going to be doing it for you and that initial excitement is going to wear off. Motivating yourself to keep going isn’t easy because sometimes you’re so drained that you don’t want to do it but you push through because it’s something you’re truly passionate about. You don’t need to have fancy equipment in the beginning, I’m ballin’ on a budget and record my podcast on my iPhone. Make the best out of what you have. The hardest step, is the first. 5) What do you hope for in the future with your podcasts ? I hope that it continues to grow into something amazing and brings amazing opportunities Insha’Allah. I strongly believe that representation is so important, especially if you’re an ethnic minority and if you’re ethnic you know damn well we’re not represented out here. Even within ethnic minorities, all parts of the community aren’t represented in your home country’s mainstream media but that’s another story for another day. *sip* 6) Any podcasts that you are currently listening to? YETH! Podcasts made by small content creators? YETH PLEATHE!!! VANILLA SWIRL WITH COOKIE CRUNCH PLEATHE! - Inspyre Reads (@inspyre_ent) literary banter, the break down of books and discussions centred around them. Season 2, EP 1, they discussed Harry Potter and the philosopher’s stone, they even had a segment where they did Harry Potter centred impressions. - Her Thought Crimes (@whytrustme), she articulates topics that are difficult to put into words so eloquently. EP 2, she discussed redefining success and how it means something different to everybody, and it makes you question what you’re currently using to measure your success. - I’m Afraid It’s Terminal (@serriusbleck), he discusses idea, concepts and theories that engage you and make you think. EP 15, he spoke about Venezuela and how their wealth lead to their demise. You know when you watch a crazy documentary and you want to discuss and really break it down with someone, that’s how I’d describe his podcast. - Abwaan Chronicles (@abwaanpodcast), in EP 14 , they discussed whether they have a duty to Somalia. It was interesting to hear in one group of people how different their opinions were. Being a ethnic minority, and coming from country that isn’t fully developed yet, sometimes you can be made to feel guilt about not doing enough for your country. So this episode definitely drew me in. __________________________________________ Follow his socials to stay upto date with him Twitter- @Ghetto004 Instagram- @Bookofzu ____________________________________________ Stay up-to date with more interviews and features and follow us on our Instagram and twitter! Instagram- @_theeastcollective Twitter- @theeastcollect Contact admins @149lanets or @fvrdosa on Instagram to feature!!

[heroesarelife]

So here’s a piece I have been working on for the beautiful @fandom-trash95 as a secret santa gift <3 it was not a request, but I hope you guys enjoy it just the same ^^ i was experimenting with a different writing style and exploring ways to play with structure a bit.

This is an All Might piece with their OC, Aiko, in a platonic capacity. Aka: dadmight goodness.

Aiko has a telekinectic sort of quirk, and is the daughter of a known and loved local hero (made up). That hero is in fact abusive and nobody would believe her about it, so her actual hero/example is her mother due to her strength of character. She’s 15 and wanting to go into heroics through gen ed. Does not ken how to fight.

Takes place after All Might’s true form is revealed and after his injuries are healed.

Word count: 2397

Warning: May contain mentions of abuse. Hinted depression/anxiety. Body dysmorphia. So so much angst.

It was either too early or too late, depending on how one looked at it. Toshinori liked to think it early, blissfully choosing to ban his ever so frequent restless nights from his memory. It was a brand-new day and, he decided, so should be his attitude towards it; novel and unwearied. With that fresh thought playing in his hopeful mind like a scratched disc, the once number one hero found himself jogging in the UA yard.

Many years had passed since he last felt the need to care for his body in this way. His whole self had been, for as far as his remembrance could reach, defined by healthy strength and sheer power, especially once he acquired his quirk – or rather, a quirk he had made his own through no small struggle. But before that, he would run. As fast as his legs could bear him. Going against time, fighting all odds that seemed strategically designed to disturb his desired path and crash his dreams. Only to find there was no end to his pursuit, no matter if he was called a hero, let alone number one. Even as the indefatigable media and dry-cut history books branded him as the pillar of peace, a bringer of hope in a world so deeply rooted in chaos. And he had foolishly believed the tales, if not in themselves at the very least moved by the feeling behind them. Allowing himself to be what was needed of him without sparing a passing thought to the limits that time imposed. To the chilling reality of his own mortality.

A merciless thing now forced upon Toshinori’s existence. Declaring its presence in every pained step of his flimsy excuse of an exercise. Felt throughout the junctions of his shaking joints, of the miserable wetness of his ragged breath. Making him so very painfully aware of how he was now reduced to nothing but a sorry shadow of his old splendour; a fragile creature, stripped of anything he once understood as intrinsic parts of himself. An antique in his own right. His body so unrecognizable to him as it was a stranger, a thing more dead than alive, glued together entirely by angled bones, stale blood and deep regret. The sudden notion filled him with unbearable anxiety, scratching him raw from the insides of his already too bleary structure.

He stopped then, battling to breathe, to stand. To be alive. Unsure on whether his struggle arose from the physical effort or the oblique fear he so wanted to deny. It was truth too: long had passed since he felt afraid, so much so he had barely lost grasp of its meaning. He couldn’t say he missed the emotion.

Dry leaves crackled a soft sound under his body as he sat gingerly on the grass. Resting. Regretting. Every contained movement an apology, as if abashed for the space his existence occupied in the world. Dawn approached timidly enough, traces of light prying holes through the dense clouds. In his current state of mind, the golden hero felt it was a fitting mirroring of his own soul; it laid helpless while dark thoughts hammered it with unforgiving fervour.

It was decidedly a bad space of mind to be, and he would have likely been stuck on that miserable vicious cycle for a long – well, longer – time, weren’t for the curious sounds. Subtle and distant, masked by the gentle ruffle of leaves and careful bird’s twitting. Out of place and yet familiar. Immediately recognizable despite its faintness, like a road travelled often and again as to be found even if blindfolded.

He got up, painstakingly and insecure on these foreign limbs, and followed the invisible trail, finding his way through air rather than soil. Sure enough, there it was. The source of the sounds stood tall amidst the hidden training ground, the unmistakable energy of a striving hero surrounding the young girl’s body; much more telling than the evident exercise could ever be. And Toshinori had some pride in his ability to recognize a hero’s soul at first glance. Something that proved useful on his particular line of work. Or what used to be, he corrected himself hurriedly, with no shortage of shame.

She hadn’t noticed his presence, and he was thankful for the small blessing. The slender girl was deeply engrossed on her own exercise, which seemingly consisted of eradicating a piteous wooden dummy existence to no more than shreds and broken pieces. An objective, he was quick to realize, she was failing at. She staggered on her feet, all movements uncertain in nature, uncoordinated jabs and kicks throwing the promising strong body off balance, uneasy, coy. Lacking the motivational energy he could so clearly see she possessed. As if her soul and body were in disarray, somehow disconnected from each other.

When the growing frustration apparently reached a marked limit, the youngster let out a fiery scream, her quirk lashing out in chaos. An invisible force throwing all the training equipment far and high, the shocking crashing sound putting to flee all the poor unsuspecting animals on the immediate vicinity. The so-called symbol of peace had approached – or so he must, at a given point, since he found himself close to the border of the training ground, staring at the wreckage it had become. In plain sight for the student to see him, which promptly happened, her body turning with impressive smoothness despite the anger, and haunting suddenly, shakenly.

He could have understood – was in fact half expecting – if the girl had blown up on him, seeing his presence as prying and as added pain to injury. Or maybe she would shy away, embarrassed to have had a witness in that singular moment. Or, more irrationally, somehow starstruck by being face to face with no one other than All Might. Instead, he was humbled. In an impressive demonstration of self-awareness, she stood still, silent. Chin up and clenched trembling fists the only indications of possible nervousness.

He bowed his head slightly and forced a smile, raising his hands in peace. Attempting to ease the situation. “That was a nice quirk, indeed, young student! I’m impressed I haven’t noticed you in training before with the rest of the class.”

Immediately, he realised he had said the exact wrong thing. Instead of relaxing into casual conversation, she kept her position, something like hurt moving behind her eyes and then hidden masterfully. He would have been impressed, had he not been busy feeling terrible.

“Of course you wouldn’t.” She answered dryly, resenting. “You all only look at heroics. I’m with general ed.”

Giving himself a metaphorical slap, he grimaced. The girl wasn’t wrong. However, typical of its dry nature, plain truth tended to be a hard pill to swallow. He opened his mouth. Changed his mind. Closed it again. Was no matter; she wasn’t paying attention.

“I don’t care about how difficult it is. I have my mother’s quirk, and I will become a hero just like her.” The bold statement carried within an odd note, almost as in a rehearsed conviction. If you repeat it enough times, it becomes true.

Conveniently saved from giving a proper answer about the failed school system, he lashed onto the opportunity. “Is your mother a pro, then? What’s her hero name? I might know her.”

A head shake. Firm, emphatic. “No. I said she’s a hero, not a pro. My father is a pro, but he’s not a hero.” Her voice raised slightly at that, hard with challenge. “Do you know the difference?”

The sudden serious topic caught Toshinori unawares. A kind being, he took no offense from the remark, allowing it to simply exist instead, harmlessly floating in the air between them. Of more importance was the feeling behind it, he decided. Because he could see the apprehension, the sad belief driving the words. The adult in him very much conscious of the surprisingly complicated anguish he could see on the youngster’s expression. It clenched at his heart, a feeling of protection rising there, as vivid as it was strange.

“He doesn’t deserve to be called a hero.” She went on. Maybe to fill the silence. Or maybe to assure herself. And then raising her head, sudden and abrupt, looking at him with something like sorrowful acceptance. “But you don’t believe me. No, you wouldn’t. Nobody does.” Her voice faltered, its shakiness being covered by a flimsy laugh.

He smiled softly, somewhat saddened. Dropping altogether the attempts of redirecting the conversation towards safer topics. She was having none of it, and he too had to admit he lacked the will to keep the pretence. Toshinori struggled. Lost in the situation and yet the need to help overcame him, despite not quite knowing how. The way he knew wouldn’t work anymore. Those days were over.

He reached a hand, placing it awkwardly on her shoulder, hoping it would bring comfort.

“I believe in you, young lady.” He said then, finally. The honesty of his words matching hers. “I still have enough integrity within me to recognize the truth when it stares me in the eye. Or so I like to think.” And that was, perhaps, the only honest thing that passed through his lips in a rather long while. Such recognition shook his structure to the core. What a hero he was.

Her eyes widened, unbelieving. And then, simply and acutely, filled up with raw emotion. She looked as surprised as him by the sudden outburst, but the intensity of it overcame her with such power he could clearly see it was beyond of her control.

He squeezed her shoulder gently, in assurance. “It’s okay. You can let go.” And she did, burying her face in both hands and allowing the feeling to cleanse away, escaping through her fingers and dripping onto the earth, like pure offerings of liquefied frustration.

This he could handle. This he knew, maybe a bit too much, he thought with no small amount of endearment, remembering the kind boy he had chosen as his successor. So Toshinori stood close, solid and understanding, hoping that would be enough as he, too, was depleted of much more to give.

Slow and sure the shaking under his hand subsided to smaller intervals, until all that was left was the relieved weakness that usually followed breaks of such strong nature. She took a step back, sniffing through the emotional hangover and wiping clumsily at the wet cheeks. It did not escape his eyes on how she now looked lighter, as if the irons trapping her limbs had been removed at once. He sighed, relieved.

“Do you think I can make it?” The girl asked then, somewhat shyly, eyes cast down.

“Make it?”

“Into heroics. With my quirk, I mean.” She clarified, looking up and facing him directly. “You are All Might, right? So you should know. If it’s possible, for me.” She finished, lamely.

Toshinori looked into the youngster’s dark eyes, sparking with the threat of controlled tears, recognizing in its depth the longing so akin to his own; bridging past, present and future. The hardship and fear. And the buried hope, hidden in such a way as to not show itself overmuch. Dreading what would become of it if her dream got pulverized to dust by the cruel mortar of reality. Because so he could understand, some things didn’t change.

“Well, I’m not very mighty right now.” He said for lack of something better, scratching the back of his head, at a loss. Feeling thoroughly inadequate for what this one child needed; all too aware of how little he was reduced to. How less of anything he currently was.

“You are still All Might.” Came the answer. Not surprise, nor judgemental. Rather she sounded puzzled, almost delicately curious. As if pointing out an obvious answer. “Nothing is ever created or lost, only transformed, right?”

That took him aback. A deep part of him – a fearful one, always ready to hold onto self-depreciation – reacted strongly, prompting him to reject the wild notion at once. Holding his stand, he looked at his hands instead, pensively. They were big and callused, angled and rough around the edges, used and abused for many years to count, winning against a multitude of enemies. Keeping the piece through sheer strength and peril. While still the same size, they were now frail things, almost disconnected from the rest of him, a reminder of what he could never do again.

But as the girl stared at him expectantly, he thought that maybe it was less a matter of fact and more of interpretation. Free transformation. Perhaps there were people he would never be able to reach as his old self that he could in his current form. With these very same hands. And perhaps a little too late in his life, he came through the rather rattling realization that some things could only be effectively handled through a more complex touch than a shallow-minded punch could ever allow. He closed his fist slowly, considering the perspective that there was something else his fists could hold onto. And protect.

Well, wasn’t truth found in the oddest of places? But Toshinori has never been a picky one.

“The problem” He began, decisively. She raised her head in interest, her ears metaphorically peeking up to absorb whatever he was about to say, while carefulness and fear still lingered in her eyes. “Is not your quirk. But your fighting ability. If you train that and master how to use your quirk alone, you can become a powerful hero.” He said, meaning every word. “I could teach you some of the basics.”

She smiled then. Finally. It was a bright thing that he would like to see more of. Yes, this was the right decision. Maybe there was more to him, and to everything he had gone through, than the ability to defeat new villains with mindless power. He could still do things that would bring meaning to the world, even if not in the straightforward and simplistic way he had grown used to.

Hope had not been born with him, and wouldn’t die with his last breath either. If he could make sure that it would live through and be translated with the next generation of heroes then maybe, he thought, a single Symbol of Peace would no longer be necessary.

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[atrophiedcompassion]

the last jedi review

spoiler free: it was overall good, but not as good as it could’ve been. it had about 30 mins of filler and some of the plots execution was less than desirable. certainly needs at least one more viewing for a proper opinion

spoiler full review under the cut

what they did well was near perfection: Luke, Leia, Kylo and Rey were beautifully characterized, their arcs clear, well done, exceptionally emotional and powerful.

First of all, they finally gave Leia the standing she deserved in the new trilogy. it was like Rian Johnson heard my criticism of TFA Leia (no force sensitive mentions, just an old hag they had no clue how to use. it was and remains one of the most disappointing things about TFA) and finally gave her a meaty role, in a way, the perfect way to end Carrie’s work with Star Wars. sure, the travel through space scene was a bit cartoonish, but finally, FINALLY, we were given, shown, FORCE SENSITIVE LEIA. it was emotional, especially that it came after the very clear moment between her and Kylo, when he hesitated in shooting at her ship. it was very clear that they were sensing each other and Kylo’s reaction when the ship was shot after all was also amazing.

her whole role was great, finally the General i had always expected from post ROTJ Leia to be. and even if they didn’t kill her on screen, and it’ll have to be an offscreen death (or who knows...who knows), i think they did conclude her arc remarkably and whatever happens in episode IX it can only finish her participation in a great way. 

the final meeting with Luke, the forgiveness, the closeness, i am so glad they gave us that. the space twins live on, and we were given true closure.

second of all, Luke. LUKE WAS PERFECT. the guilt, the wisdom, the cranky old master behaviour a la yoda in ESB, it was miraculous. every time he was on screen it was emotional and powerful. the awe and fright at Rey’s abilities. his disappointment that she went straight to the dark, that she didn’t fight temptation at all, when it was clear that he had done that all his life and it had cost him so much! i mean, it’s clear that Luke’s resolve in ROTJ is strong, and that he will certainly not cave in to the Emperor’s requests. but now, with his anger at Rey’s easy temptation, it becomes clear to me how much it had cost him to say no to Vader in ESB. at his lowest moment, having just been mutilated, having just learned that his great mentor Obi Wan had lied to him, at the very revelation that the long sought after father was finally before him offering him the world, he still found the courage, the strength and maybe even the weakness to say no. to allow himself to die rather than to fall to the dark side. and then this kid, with enormous grasp of the Force, dives right into the darkness on the first occasion!! the fact that they gave us that on screen was immense.

and then, the final battle, when he displays the most stupendous command of the Force, when he shows Kylo off in a spectacular fashion, that was amazing, it was one of the best moments in the whole SW saga.

the death moment was perhaps a little sudden, because it clearly stemmed from the fight with Kylo, and not later, but it still comes peacefully, and not at the actual, real hand of his nephew.

Now, Rey, her journey was not as spectacular as it was in TFA, but she was the emotional core of the film and in many ways, the only true pure Force sensitive person in the saga. sure, Leia was as pure and free of temptation as possible, but there is something murky about the relationship between her, Ben/Kylo and Han. something happened to Ben to have all that great darkness inside him, and as a comic panel once said, it surely came from her side of the family. Rey can and did dive into the darkness and came out unscathed. she not for one second yields to Snoke nor is she willing to accept Kylo’s offer of joining him to rule the galaxy (at some point in these movies, this has to stop tho. it’s the worst offer in the galaxy ffs! no-one seems to take up on it). she is the voice of reason and the hope the galaxy needs.

the big family reveal is underwhelming for a reason. it’s something Kylo says, it’s her biggest fears that he’s voicing, trying to play with her mind. it may be a misdirection, my dad says, and he’s been right about this (after snape’s “treason” in HP6, he was the first to point out that it may play out differently in the end. plus, should her true, actual, shocking parentage be revealed in the middle film, it’d be too much on the nose copying of ESB. we already had the offer scene and the moment between the dark and the light characters.

Finally, Kylo Ren. first of all, what a pleasure it is to watch Adam Driver perform!! he is magnetic in every scene and you can literally see the conflict in his face. his weirdly beautiful face. i love the guy (i mean, i went to see Silence in the theater, a religious film! starring Andrew Garfield!). i think his arc is tremendous and if my gut feeling is right, they might actually make him the big bad. no redemption. he just follows the darkness through and through. at the start of the movie, he has that moment with Leia, he hesitates, he takes the finger off the button. at the end, he barges full on, take no prisoners kinda way, totally willing to kill every single person in the mine/bunker, his mother included. it’s interesting, because so far it seems that killing Snoke (and not his father or Rey) finally completed his apprenticeship in the dark side, killing the puppet master finally allowed him to go completely dark.

@winteredfall believes there’s the parallel with Anakin, who also made the offer to Padme, to kill the emperor & take over, and in the end he was still redeemed.  but....that was the third movie. this is just the second movie. i think it’d be much more interesting if this guy didn’t get redemption and if he was simply the bad guy. it’d make the character richer, it’d be a departure from the classic SW and it’d show that some people cannot be redeemed. it’d finally take Nu SW into a new direction and the following trilogy wouldn’t have the baggage. (side note: for me, after learning in the prequels what Vader did to access the dark side, aka kill 30 kids, Vader’s redemption in ROTJ is meaningless and unacceptable. for me, Vader cannot be redeemed after we know what he did. he can be forgiven by his son, who doesn’t exactly know the details. but me as the viewer, i cannot forgive him anymore. his son saving is nearly an empty gesture given his actual really heinous crimes. and this is why i hate the prequels, because they ruined Vader for me, arguably the most interesting character of the OT)

the offer to Rey immediately after offing Snoke shows that he never really wanted to be good. he just wanted to stop being manipulated and used. his rage after she rebukes him and takes off is not brattisness, but simply the dark side finally taking over. rage fuels the dark side, anger is the prime motivator, so it all works. and Kylo is a better character for it. and the movie could take the SW saga into a whole new direction. but we shall see.

The Force was finally restored to its original meaning, fuck the midicloridians. Sure, luke’s explanation seems a rehash of Obi Wan’s but it had to be done. also perfect was Luke’s put down of the Jedi and their hubris, it was amazing to see the concerns people had with the prequels, namely the sith emerging during the Jedi’s highest power, addressed and put to bed.

the Kylo - Rey relationship was intense, and heightened, but unlike in TFA, where it did have some dark sexual undertones (Kylo does mind rape Rey and the sexual overtones of that scene cannot be overlooked), this time it had a very sibling vibe. Rian Johnson took note of the unholy Reylo shippers and of the effects of that scene in TFA and turned it around. sure, it was weird that Rey was bashful to see Kylo shirtless (but thank you for the scene nonetheless), but all that malefic sexual energy from TFA was gone here and it felt great.

all their scenes together, be it in the Force, or actually side by side fighting were superb. they have immense chemistry and made it all seem very palpable. also, at the end, where Rey’s leaving in the Falcon and they communicate once more, that was not Snoke’s doing, so their connection IS real, and not “forced” by a higher power.

now, what they did wrong may actually be not that bad on a second viewing, perhaps it needs a little more attention to detail. but so far, the whole Casino plot, get them on the FO ship, Benicio del Toro char, all of that was awful. i understand the political aspect of the plot, of showing the war profiteering and the real reason why the galaxy is still at war, which is highlighted by the fact that at the end, no-one comes to the aid of the Resistance. but the tone of those scenes was all wrong. it was choc full of species, of way too much slapstick humour, cutting away from Resistance cannot get a moment’s respite really awful situation, to Rose & Finn riding blissfully, almost forgetting their mission, on those animals?! it was worth it now that they saved those animals, even if they were about to die and leave their Resistance with no actual hope?! WHAT THE FUCK!! i get why it was liberating for characters like Rose & Finn, who had lost everything and had always been downtrodden, to finally do something rebellious and for themselves, but in the bigger picture of what was happening with the remaining Resistance crew, it was very offputting.

i liked Rose a lot, because she had heart and seemed sharply focused, but then..they gave her some really weird choices. it was almost like let’s give the POC characters something meaningless to do (because they eventually not only fail their mission, but they bring into Resistance secrets a third party who betrays them, leading to a near disaster for the Resistance), while the white characters were given the actual plot, and actual plot resolution. remember, Poe is also mistaken in his plans, and eventually, the white woman Holdo was right all along.

now, let’s get into the open misogyny of Poe Dameron’s character. undercutting even Leia, and causing massive loss (all the bombers!!!) in the opening battle and acting like he was right. disbelief that the heroic Vice Admiral Holdo is a woman (that was such a jarring moment, wtf!!) and not trusting her, and her cautious ways. of course, the plot is awfully trying to make us think Holdo is a bad guy, simply by having her not relay her every decision to an underling, which she should do why!??! (because he is the man right?) the reveal is just awful and even if i read somewhere that some folk like how the second in command is bad trope was subverted, Holdo was highly mistreated by her inferior and we can only understand that it was because she was a woman.

why they chose to portray Poe this way, i don’t know. but the whole plot was very very poor and even if the end is quite satisfying, as Holdo’s cautious, womanly plan actually works, she saves the day, and Poe’s manly action plan fails, it still begs the question why was this whole plot necessary!?

what was also filler was the minute rivalry between Phasma and Finn, absolutely pointless. also, i know Finn / John Boyega is a main character, but after giving him a horrible plot, him sacrificing himself would’ve been a little more satisfying than him being “saved” by Rose out of love. that whole romance came out of nowhere! of course, with Finn sacrificing himself we wouldn’t have the epic Kylo - Luke confrontation, still the resolution of Finn’s sacrifice could’ve been better. Also, this romance feels made up just so they wouldn’t have to “ship” Finn with Rey, even if for sure, they have far better chemistry, an actual story together and real feelings for each other. maybe i am just looking into this from an inappropriate angle, but it did somehow bothered me that they aren’t willing to let Finn/Rey happen. while i certainly don’t ship anyone in the new movies, some chars have obvious chemistry together while some don’t!

finally, who is Snoke!? his death probably robs us of any possibility of finding out who he was. i mean, this guy seems far more powerful than the Emperor even, so where did he come from? was he another hidden apprentice!? was he the emperor in a new disguise!? was he just some random dude who happened to be exceptionally good with the Force? how could he come to power when Luke/Vader ended the sith in ROTJ!?! all these questions might never receive an answer. i mean, the whole Casino scene proves why an organization like the First Order can prosper and exist in the first place, as war is profitable as fuck. but there’s no explanation for this Force sensitive ultimate bad guy. ugh!

now what was truly atrocious: all the animals, the 4 tittieded animal Luke milks (blue milk! but are they telling me this is where Beru also got the milk? because for sure those creatures didn’t look like desert dwellers. and if it was imported, no wonder they were poor LOL), the island caretakers, the porgs, the animals Rose & Finn ride, all the Casino creatures. filler filler filler. this is pure disnification and it sucks

BB8 was also just awful. he was given R2D2 in ROTS powers, remember how bad it was when R2 started flying?!? BB8 showing up in the Imperial pacer was worse!! a true great reveal would’ve been if it was the BDT char coming to an unlikely rescue minutes after selling Rose & Finn out, but no. it had to be the wonder robot! how did he get up there in the first place!? that was horrendous. and i will finally say it. i hate BB8. i didn’t like it in TFA, but here i hated it. god!

and finally, the marvel type jokes seconds away from a highly emotional/intense moment. i understand the technique and even in marvel movies it is sometimes hit and miss, but in the tonally dark TLJ, where the resistance cannot catch a break, are taking loss after loss, with less and less hope and more and more deaths, these cute moments don’t fit at all. SW needs humour, even in its darkest movies, but not this type of humour. give us something else. or at least, give us the joke after the tears have started flowing, and not when they’re just still brimming in the eyes, that is not too much to ask!

overall, this is a 8.5 i would say, even if i have a lot of criticisms, the action scenes are brilliant and it has some real, amazing, SW-like moments.