#and chose the weakest storyline options

[amadholes-lostre]

My hopes for ME 5:

Take place centuries after ME trilogy

Mainly

The protagonist could be plays as nonhuman

The idea that instead playing as a human protagonist like the first 4 games, here players could choose their race like how Dragon Age does so. The races I could think of are: humans (naturally lol), asaris, turians, salarians, quarians (suitless), and maybe an original race.

Humans will naturally have the most optionable when it comes to customization, however other races should have some variations as seen in ME3 multiplayer but with more. Having asari's crest shape either being curly, female turian having fringes, etc.

Another idea is how some races have restrictions when it comes to class selections, like how DA done with its race. Humans are the jake-of-all-trades: neither thr most powerful yet not the weakest. Asari could only play biotic class, but the most powerful. Salarian can't play frontline class like soldier and vanguard but best at infiltrator. Krogan can't play infiltrator, but the best options for soldiers and Vanguard.

The protagonists were either cryosleep or descendants of the Mass Effect squadmates

The cryosleep option will likely be a good choice for a stand-in character; before Reaper War, some of the government officials did believe in Shepard's warning and managed to create a cryogenic colony, similar what the Protheans did. There were only limited numbers due to funding and timing, and the numbers were likely only in the thousands. Once Shepard active the Crucible, it fried the VI moderating the cryopods, causing some to die and the rest not to be reawakened until the start of ME5. What likely woke them up was a conflict between Liara and her group with the Reaper Cultists trying find a now awake Shepard. Now the awoken Protagonist trying adjust to a new galaxy unfamiliar to their own; another intragalaxtic rivaling the reformed Citadel Council called Attican Traverse Alliance, a Reaper snd Shepard cultists, etc.

Another option is that the protagonist-based on their race- are descendants of ME triology characters, more specifically the squadmate and crew. Like thr krogan will be Wrex child, thr human will be great grandchild of Ashley or Kaidan, etc.

More preexisting Alien races before and during Reaper War

Canonically, there are dozens of different races that members of the Citadel Council, however, the games were limited due to the game engine and creativity. The idea is that there should be more races in the 5th game that were already known, but only introduced in this game. Maybe like 20, at least to show that thr galaxy is far more diverse than how fanfic protray it.

That, and also more non-gonochoric races, either mono-sex (like asari), hermaphrodite, or races having more than 2 sex. For mono-sex, I already saw 2 ME oringal species that assigned at such, and I have my own original races that are mono-sex.

Could choose Shepard's gender and their lover

I preferred that Shepard is a woman and that her lover is Liara T'soni (people forget how big this was in the 2000s). I also know Bioware portrayed Shepard as a man. My idea is to keep it as anonymous as possible and allow the players to choose, likely at where players customize their character.

If not, at least allowed be Shepard x Liara be canon and still allowed to change Shepard gender.

Self-explanatory, I know how biased Bioware could be with Liara, and a lot of the storyline make it more dramatic and romantic if the players choose Liara as their lover. However, I don't like the idea that mashep will considered be thr canon Shepard, so hopefully, they allow us to choose the gender.

If the last two were option, allow the protagonist and/or main characters (as an Asari) be Shepard's daughter.

One idea is that each optionable race have their own backstory with players choosing some of it (like Shepard). My idea that the asari character is Liara's daughter, either being Shepard (if players chose them) or some other person (likely another asari, or maybe still Shepard if they gave het permission before hand). This creates more drama and interesting storyline.

Technology progression far more after the canon end

Self-explanatory. It will make sense, especially since they already did so after ME1. Some idea I think of: far larger and faster ships (3km+ and 25 ftl per day); using plasma or hard-like light weapons; far larger space station (see my Citadel redesign); maybe a new wearable computer and superseded omnitool; maybe some tech that isn't based on mass effect/eezo.

Actually provide more lores for races other than superficial ones on the codex

Even though Mass Effect sometimes provided great lores, it doesn't feel as filling.

Lost Worlds/Reconnecting other planets that were disconnected from the relay

One of the primary reasons why I wanted the game to take place centuries layer. Having planets that were isolated due to the destruction of the relays, especially multi-species ones, allows interesting storyline and lore. Though ME3 already confirmed the mass relay were back up, it will make sense if they are only functionable in Citadel Space.

One idea is a hub section on a newly connected world, heavily populated by multiple species with a large population (maybe around 50 billion). Another idea is multiple star systems in Terminus Systems that were populated by former slave descendants who had revolted after the Mass Relays destruction. Likely called the Free People Republic who are extremely anti-Batarian.

Mythification of Commander Shepard

Don't know what else to add here.

The main antagonists are Reaper cultists

Like the mythification of Shepard, there will also be a mythifcation of Reapers. Insteadif believing that Reapers were villains wiping out organic and synthetic alike, they were actually a harmonic force of good, trying to bring harmony and unity through assimilation. They only fought through horrific means due to the resistance they faced.

The game storyline will be about finding Shepard while also dealing with the Reaper cult, figuring out who they are and their motivation. They will be more like a looming threat in the background like Cerebus were in the first game.

Some characters' ideas I have/ want a lesbian and gay characters in the squad

Honestly, this is more like my oc in ME 5, but I also disliked how the only lesbian/gay character we allowed to romance ain't squadmate. I love Samantha Traynor and Suvi Anwar, but they're don't have a lot followers due of their lack of scene time. I have 2 characters, though one is more like transmasc nonbinary.

The Blue Mage/ Blue Sorcerer

An oc I have since ME:A, the Blue Mage biracial Japanese, she is a D&D enthusiast who enjoys role-playing as a Mage and employed it through her biotic Though naturally a weak biotic, her staff contains a large amount of eezo, which amplifies her biotic ability. She is also a biochemist who specializes in genetics and eezo. Her backstory is a bit tragic; she once has a beloved wife that she adored along with 5 daughters. However, due to recklessness when researching eezo and genealogy, her wife died through AEND, and all her daughters blamed her for it. The Blue Mage (I calling her Samantha) looks like in her late 20s, she is actually in her 100s (it helps that humans' maximum lifespan will be at 250 years). Not only that, due to her tinkering her genes (with eezo) (and being a designer baby), she could live up to her 500s. (She also talk about how weird it is to have an asari best friend; by the time she has her third daughter by age 40, her asari friend will be at stage 4 of puberty.)

When the Female/Enby protagonist romance her, or at least trying to be friends with her, she will open who she is, including about the research that led to her wife death, thr method behind her daughter's birth (she carried her), her parents that she hated, and her religion belief (she is a Shintist, Buddhist, and Siarists) (it also connected to her research). Her research was about not only increasing biotic potential for humans (and other nonhumans), but it was also about trying to apply telepathy and mental connection like how asari does so. Not only that, but using herself as a guinea pig, having telepathic. Her telepathic is so adroit that she managed inseminated telepathically through her former wife's gene, through birthing her daughter like an asari. And how her wife got AEND was that, due of her being also an eezo researcher like Samantha, she and her were both reckless when dealing with her research, and though Samantha was immune, her wife was not. Her daughter blamed her for her death, which she agreed. However, the protagonist could convince her that both her and her wife held responsibility and that she shouldn't feel as solely the guilty one. This will help her for her loyalty mission and their romance if female/enby protagonist romance her.

For the loyalty mission, her oldest daughter-a powerful biotic vanguard - joined up with an asari majority vigilant group that fights against pirates and slavers. Samantha discovered an SOS from her band that they managed rescued slaves from an infamous, powerful mercenary who's planning to sell them to an unknown buyer (likely the Reaper cultists). The hilarious idea that Samantha's daughter contacted the protagonist's squad and learned that her mother is in it. Cue two of them yelling at each other to the point the omnitool can't even translated it. When the protagonist intervened, and if the they're female/enby romancing Samantha, this would be the response.

Daughter: Who the hell is this!?

Female/enby, choosing renegade option: I'm your new daddy.

Daughter: My new wha- Okāsan?!

Samantha, blushing yet also angry: Not the time, babe!

The other squadmate: I didn't know you two were dating/ too much information/ you using the wrong gender word.

In the end, after rescuing the band and the captured people, the daughter and Samantha made up, and the daughter introduced them to her asari lover. This led het other 4 daughters to forgive her too.

The Ronin

A vanguard who was friends with Samantha (they lost touch before Samantha's wife death), the Ronin is like a futuristic samurai. The idea behind the character is based on my fictional architectural/cultural resurgence called Neohon. The idea is how Japanese started rejecting having their architecture and fashion based on Western style and start using their traditional ones, just using more advanced or new tools (other cultures also done the same thing). (The only issue is that it was overtaken by ultranationalists.)

Anyways, the idea was how some Ko-ryū and Ninjutsu schools started employing biotic ability into their curriculum and swordship method. The Ronin uses Iaido (quick drawing) for their swordship; do a biotic charge and use the momentum to cut through enemies.

I don't have lore behind them: they were friends with Samantha and both were from a Japanese-Asari jointed colony that predated the Reaper war, they part of some samuari/shinobi band, their teacher was also their lover, and the majority of their band were betray by their own member, leaving only them as the only survivor.

The Biosyth

This is actually based on one of the aliens that was mentioned in the game. With all their race living a huge server, there are some who wish to venture outside, using a robotic unit that has almost all the similarity with an organic body. The virtual race does not have restricted genders, nor do they have retained sexual orientation. Meaning the protagonist, no matter of gender, could romance them.

Some ideas I have that the Biosyth is a youngster of their race, going through a rite of passage by leaving the server and venturing out with their unit. They are fascinated by the outside world and ask the protagonist a whole bunch of questions and trying new foods. They even start experiencing their gender, either feminine, masculine, nonbinary, or agender, and the player could help choose for them.

Squad member platonic date and romantic date

Kind of similar how ME:A did it, but after completing a squadmate loyalty mission, they will invite the protagonist and the rest of the crew for a group date. If the player have a romance squadmate, they will also have an additional one.

For Samantha/Blue Mage, her platonic date is returning to her and Ronin homeworld, and going either an RPG/fantasy convention or an dnd session. One hilarious idea is that the player gave the DM an idea using a humongous final boss monster (like Y'gathok, the Ceaseless Hunger). The hologram will make it more hilarious. For the romance/intimate date, Samantha invited the female/enby protagonist visiting her wife's grave, along with her 4 daughters, her oldest and asari lover. It'll be the final acceptance for her wife's death, healing for the remaining family, and introducing new potential families.

I can't think for a romace date for Biosyth, but platonic, I thought of a fun fashion for them in a clothing store. They were trying different clothing that were assigned on genders, and the crew either encouraged them or joined in.

ME:A gameplay mechanic

Fuck do I love Andromeda's mechanics, they better add it back.

Accurate Races height

Due to the first 3 game limiting game engines, almost all thr races have equal height. I wish for ME5 to have a more accurate height for each species, like Krogans supposed to be 7'5, Turians 6'6-7, etc.

[charleeyy]

I dunno if it's already been said because I've blocked all the tags and don't want to go delving into them right now because I can't deal with this right now, but I gotta say that all the theories and analysis everyone has come up with in the last month were so much better and made so much more sense than what we've gotten in the shit show that were these last two episodes regarding byler among other things.

It is not our fault the duffle bags suck at writing their own goddamn show.

[resplendentgoldenwings]

Thoughts About Star Trek Discovery 3x06, Trust is a Two Way Street

After reading the synopsis and seeing reactions to the episode I must admit to having trepidation going into the episode. I was hoping as is of the case that fandom was overreacting and my concerns would be allayed when I watched.

They were not. 

First it must be acknowledged that the main plot of the episode feels extremely contrived. As a long time viewer of Star Trek similar conflicts have come up in previous shows without creating this type of contention and drama. In TNG Worf repeatedly left to pursue personal missions and other officers in Star Trek shows have done the same. 

Usually they just request leave if it conflicts with their duty and the captain grants it. In Disco though, as is often the case with Disco situation like blow up into unnecessary dramas. So I am first and foremost disappointed that the characters were put into this contrived ass situation in the first place.

That said I think what happened was interesting and the writing choices left me hoping that this is actually going some place good, time will tell I suppose.

That out of the way here are my thoughts on the episode. 

Saru Was Wrong

I want to start with Saru because he’s the captain, he’s the one with the rank and the power and therefore he is the one whose responsible. Saru was wrong Michael was wrong too but Saru’s error in some way is actually more important even though it seems smaller at first blush.

First let’s go back a moment to season 2. When Saru is on his death bed he asks Michael to attend him and cut off his ganglia. She’s hesitant and emotionally overwhelmed in the situation but he reassures her that it’s the right thing to do and even goes so far as to call her his sister.

So what happens when this sister goes to herself proclaimed brother with a problem? He shuts her down without a moment’s hesitation or consideration. Never mind that this man is important to her, never mind that he maybe got into trouble trying to help her with something that would benefit Starfleet and The Federation, nope fuck all that. Nope fuck all that, fuck everything we been through gotta impress this admiral. 

Now look I get it when you’re in the military you follow orders, but when you’re promoted to a leadership position you also have to think about the well being of your crew as well as cultivate the discernment to know what to know what is of value and what should be dismissed. The admiral himself pointed out that Saru should have brought it to him and chastised Saru for behaving like an automaton and blindly following orders. 

All that said two wrongs don’t make a right. 

As annoyed as I was with Saru I was also somewhat annoyed with Michael who also didn’t bother to exercise any other options or even trying to convince Saru otherwise. Honestly my irritation with this choice for her goes all the way back to s1. If you’re in an organization like this you don’t go outside the chain of command you work within it. She cares about Book and was obviously feeling a sense of urgency given that it took the ship three weeks to reach Discovery but she could have taken 30 minutes to try and exercise some other options, first trying to convince Saru, second she could have just gone over his head. 

I’m not going to go too far on this because most people can see where Michael was wrong.

With Friends Like These...

Tilly bothered me tremendously in this episode. I can’t help it, she just did. Someone pointed out in another discussion that Tilly’s thinking as community minded and it get that but it’s still not sitting well with me largely because of the focus on impressing this admiral --a new and unknown individual-- over someone you know and up until this point have trusted. It’s vaguely icky and puts me in mind of both Tilly and Saru’s behavior in season one. 

And one really has to question themselves when a Terran is a better friend than you..

 I’m not gonna go through the whole episode. I enjoyed the stuff with Book, especially when Michael and Book were gazing into each other’s eyes that was wonderful, the kiss, though. Sonequa really didn’t want to kiss that dude, dang. haha...

Facing the Music 

Once everything is settled Michael presents the black box to Saru and the two of them meet with Admiral Vance. The meeting is short and more or less as expected with Admiral Vance letting Michael chastise herself. However what jumps out at me in this scene is the way the admiral chastises Saru, questioning why he didn’t bring the mission to him and challenging Saru to be more than a mindless automaton.

Saru then proceeds to chastise Michael and temporarily relieve her of her command duties. The thing that stands out to me in Saru’s dialogue is that though he reflects that he erred in the situation he does not see that he erred in how he related to Michael instead he seems to question if he erred in asking her to serve as first officer in the first place. He dismisses the suggestion that perhaps he handled the situation poorly in the first place. 

This episode is in truth more telling about Saru as captain than it is about Michael as a person or a Starfleet officer. Michael as always choses the action that she deems to help the most people and harm the least. 

Saru and Michael together could be a great command team but Saru is either unwilling or unable to accept that he and Michael have complimentary strengths and weakness. For example Saru couldn’t figure out how to speak up to the admiral to keep the Disco crew together, it was Michael who challenged the admiral on that and rightfully so.  

This is why I said trust is a two way street. Michael was wrong but why should she trust Saru to have her back when so far hasn’t demonstrated that he does. When she needs something from him impressing the admiral is more important. 

It’s difficult to see where the narrative is going with this. In 3x03 we see a Michael who is questioning where she belongs, in 3x06 we come back to this question. In a reddit discussion someone questioned why Admiral Vance would even suggests that Saru erred in front of Michael since she’s his subordiante. 

It did make me wonder if that was poor writing or something else. One thing that occurs to me is that Vance is actually evaluating both of them as captain. For Starfleet in the 32nd century Discovery is a valuable asset, if a crew of randos from the 23rd century appeared from nowhere I’d certainly be doubting if I trusted them and if I wanted to leave something as valuable as that ship with its 23rd century crew tbh. 

If I found out the captain of that ship was an acting captain, who’d assumed command after serving as first officer under a Terran and then a captain for all of two years idk if I’d be satisfied that this person was actually ready to be captain. I think Michael’s mutiny was struck from the record so if he doesn’t have that info I could easily see him evaluating her for the position just as well especially since she seems more confident, assertive, thoughtful and creative. 

It would be interesting if this ultimately somehow leads to Michael being made captain at the end of this season. I’m not convinced that is where this is going but this rift has to be healed for the show to move forward and I don’t think this contrived plot was created just to pile on Michael again, at least I hope not. That theme is old, tired and should be over with. 

Overall I’d put this as the weakest episode of the season and while I am annoyed with the contrived plot I’ll be reserving judgement until the full storyline unfolds.

@michaelburnhamfanclub

[junker-town]

Secret Base reviews: AND1 Streetball: The Video Game

It got mediocre reviews when it launched in 2006. They were wrong.

As a kid without cable, I missed out on a lot of great TV, including ESPN’s late-night show about AND1, the streetball pro circuit. My friends wouldn’t stop talking to me about it, and I couldn’t blame them. Electrifying moves and dazzling dunks? That sounded amazing, and not being able to watch made the show seem even more magical.

So when I saw the AND1 video game I knew I had to get it. I mowed two lawns to earn enough money to buy the game. As soon as I started playing I was hooked. It was the first time I had been exposed to the wonderful world of authentic streetball. I had played the NBA Street and NBA Ballers games before, but that was different. The NBA wasn’t involved in this game.

Why am I talking about the AND1 video game and not Street Hoops, the game that came out before it? Because I never played Street Hoops as a kid.

I recently looked up the official reviews of the AND1 video game, and they were ... unpleasant. IGN gave it a 4.1/10, saying “This is easily one of the weakest basketball games to have come out in a while, primarily thanks to its idiotic control scheme”. Gamespot gave it a 4.7, saying “You’ll probably get more entertainment value out of the latest And1 Mixtape DVD than you will out of the And1 Streetball game.”

I’m shocked that it was received with such negativity, because for me the game is a low key classic. So I’m going to explain why AND1 is one of my favorite sports games of all time and why the reviewers completely missed the point.

The intro was incredible

The intro video sets the perfect tone. This game wasn’t about out-scoring your opponent. Fuck that. AND1 was about finding out the coolest combination of moves you could pull off. How many ankles could you break? How many self-alley oops you can pull off until your friend gives up and asks to play something else?

Yes there was a scoreboard, but the real winner was the person that did the coolest shit. If you ever referenced the scoreboard, you are an undercover cop. Congrats!

The controls were set up for creativity

AND1 had a gameplay dilemma.

Streetballers have so many special and specific basketball moves. How were they going to fit all these dribble moves onto a controller? What AND1 did was add a shit-ton of dribbling animations and separated them into levels of moves. How you moved the left and right thumbsticks in combination with the right trigger would directly affect what move you did. Sure it was hard to follow what combination did what, but it gave you the opportunity to put your favorite ones to memory and develop your own personal arsenal of moves.

What makes this even more fascinating was basketball video games’ complicated relationship with the right analog stick at the time. It’s all figured out now, but back then that shit was a work in progress. In Street Hoops, the right thumbstick was for directional passing. In some NBA Live and March Madness games the right thumbstick was used for dribble moves. NBA Street Vol. 2 used it as some sort of off-ball player control mechanism. Basically, the buttons were the main focus and the right thumbstick was a “what other cool shit can we add?” control.

Street Hoops Control Scheme

AND1 had to choose between designating the streetball moves to the buttons or the thumbstick. They chose both. I’m going to try to explain the system the best way that I can.

Welcome to “I Ball” controls.

I Ball control is a three level tier system that separates each move by how difficult they are to pull off. A simple Level 1 move was considered a setup for the higher level moves but you could button mash (square or X) all day if you wanted to.

Level 2 moves were considered the showboat moves, which were controlled with the right + left analog stick and Level 3 moves were the anklebreakers (right + left analog stick + R1/R), which were the most difficult to pull off but it ended with an automatic anklebreaker. The tricky part about this is that you had to fill up the anklebreaker meter, which could only happen if the defender was close enough to you.

In addition to anklebreaker moves, you also had these things called ‘Breakdown Moves’ which on the surface, look like knockoff GameBreaker moves. You were only able to use these after you had successfully pulled off enough Level 1 and Level 2 moves. AND1 had a few basic Breakdown Moves templates, but you could also create your own custom moves by piling together two showboat moves, a finish and a celebration/taunt at the end.

This made pulling off your own creations even more satisfying. While ‘Breakdown Moves’ seem unstoppable at first, you were able to block them with the right timing and personnel.

What this gameplay gave us was the solid foundation for a streetball game that had more wrinkles than the game originally seems to have.

Let’s take a look at the main game mode, shall we?

Story Mode: Welcome to the AND1 Mixtape Tour

AND 1’s story mode isn’t complicated and actually sounds pretty realistic. You create a-baller and start from the bottom and work your way into the AND1 circuit. See the guy in the image at the top of this article? That’s my character K-Time, who goes by the name ‘Sir Dunks-A-Lot’.

As you complete different achievements and whatnot, you would be able to unlock signature moves, and clothing as well as improve your attributes. What’s dope is that the player you created would be available in other game modes. When you finish the story mode, you would end up with a fully-maxed out player. In theory, if you beat the story mode five times you had the opportunity of creating a full squad of 100 overall streetballers.

I only got to three before my disk froze, but I still think it’s possible. An underrated part about the tour mode is that the levels would come with cutscenes. They didn’t have to do this, but they did it for us.

The Mixtape Tour has two game types. There’s ‘Open run’ which is like the main story mode, but they also pepper us with some side games which includes some halfcourt basketball.

Beyond just trying to win, each level had side objectives within them that you would be asked to attain. Sometimes the game would ask you to block 2 shots, or win by 7. This way you had something else to aim for in a game where scoring and defense aren’t the most exciting elements in the game.

Hitting those goals would net you some in-game cash, and you can use your earnings to improve your player’s attributes to a point where they become an absolute god on the court. So yeah, you could just play to win and be boring or you could grind the game and become the greatest streetballer to ever do it. Your choice.

Bonus stuff

The bonus features in this game were so freaking sick to me growing up. They featured a behind the scenes look at the game and the league. You could go to specific streetballers and they’d have their own little mixtape of their best highlights.

Just another thing to show you that the moves in the game were real. THIS IS WHAT THEY DID MAN AND IT WAS LIT.

Other things I like

What makes this game stand out even more over time is the fact that this is the only AND1 video game we got. There weren’t any sequels to dilute the gameplay, storyline or brand. The game is what we got, and it’s honestly good enough to make me break out the old XBOX and run it back for this review. Every sport should have sandbox style options and this level of customization. Not just because it makes my job with Fumble Dimension easier, but because it makes us keep wanting to play the game years after we beat the story mode and unlock everything.

AND1 gave us a deep deck of dribble moves, the option to create your own streetballer, the abundance of court options and much more. For a 2006 sports game, this shit had a ton of replay value, which is the highest compliment I have for a sports game. Especially now when sports games think new content is just adjusting the ratings for a player ever-so-slightly and putting it in a random card pack.

Was this game perfect? Not even close. Defense was an absolute chore: all you could do was button mash the steal button and hope to not get your ankles broken. Since out of bounds and fouls didn’t exist sometimes you would find yourself shooting layups from behind the backboard due to some animation bug. Off ball movement wasn’t perfect and… you see how weird I sound critiquing a fun-as-hell streetball game? Of course the game wasn’t going to be perfect. Once you start taking it on its own terms, you start to appreciate how all out Black Ops Entertainment, Gameloft and Ubisoft went with this.

The game was flawed, but the flaws didn’t stop the game from being fun. And that’s what matters.

9

[melis-ash]

аноним  спросил(а):

Hey! Ignoring the Flint plot why do you hate 4x10 so much?

I think 410 was very unfitting ending for Black Sails. That episode looks very allogenic to the rest of show, too much like soap opera or Disney movie, if you understand what I mean. Whole episode was poorly written and directed, for me it’s the weakest episode of show. They couldn`t even make good final battle, it was incredibly boring. On fight between Flint, Jack and Rogers, which interrupts  SilverMadi reunion scene, I almost laugh. But it`s really sadly. There are many good action scenes in show, and that final battle was so bad… It`s hurts almost physically

That show in best moments spoke really interesting things about human nature, but 410 most part of time avoid honestly to speak about it, despite there are very much unresolved problems, and question without answers, and it looks… cowardly.

We saw Flinthomas reunion, but these two people don`t saw each other 10 years, and Thomas, but matter, how much he loved James Mcgrow, never knewn Flint, and Flint destroyed Thomas dream, when it could become something real. (Sorry, I write about Flint`s plot, but it really necessary). So that sweet scene on plantation as final for them  looks adsurdly and lying.

And Silver/Madi ending was shortened. Their relationship went on almost two season, and when we finally had conflict between them which must define their future that happened  at 15 minutes before final title, and that conflict factically was resolved OFFSCREEN. I mean, seriously? It`s not how things like it happened in that show before. We see only that scene on coast without any word, but Madi`s motivations don`t explain. Did she chose Silver because she realized he more important for her than her offense on him, or she didn`t saw other good options for herself (the maroon on her island made the deal with England and she couldnt live in other maroon villages, because for them she was traitor`s women), or she was sorry she didn’t tried to save him, when he tried to save her, and wanted to give their relationship chance because it? There are too much options and not really answer. Silver and Madi relationship suffered enough before, even their first kiss and first sex were offscreen, but their ending looks like a bad joke. I really sorry for them, that storyline deserved better, there was a lot of potential.

And Jack`s ending. Main Jack`s problem was his vanity and unreasonable pride. He always wanted to be person he really couldnt be. In season 3 Jack was ready arranged second Spanish Raid because it. He factically responsible for his best friend was arrested and hanged, also Anne could be kiiled because Jack`s decisions in season 3. Jack was only happy enough Anne stay alive. But in 402 only Jack`s regret he really confessed he couldn`t killed Rogers. And further he sees other people (mainly Rogers) as evil, but not really realize how much shit he did himself. Yes, Jack has right to hate Rogers, but also Rogers has right to hate Jack, and it was Jack who began this conflict first. So Jack`s position in final episode is incredibly hypocritical. He think he can judge other people, but he forgets to judge himself for very similar things. Jack just forgot it was he himself, who first wanted Spaniards burn Nassau. And it looks very sad character development. I mean, but badly written, but really very sad, and partly illogical. When character ends story on victors side and it depicts like in 410, you want to see positive character development for him. But I see only hypocrite with double standarts. But it could work if final was dark and realistic, because in real life people lie themselves and deny their mistake, but as I said, whole episode was too much bad soap opera, and last Jack`s scene looks like sweet Disney movie.

Also in final episode we see Jack in dangerous selfdelusion. He sees himself as victor, despite his “victory” is mainly good fortune and efforts of other people (lol, Flint even saved his ass during battle with Rogers), and instead to try to change his life and do something he really can do well, he stay pirate (despite he is not good leader and bad fighter), and in final scene sail off into the sunset with Anne and Mary Read. But everybody who read at least Wikipedia, know Jack was hanged very soon after Mary Read become his crew member. So logically Jack`s selfdelusion will lead him on gibbet.  But as I say, episode avoid to speak about it honestly, and  depicts Jack`s and Anne meeting with Mary as something sweet and romantic, despite it`s hint on tragic ending for Jack and Anne.

As I understand it was Mr Steinberg`s debut as director and may be it`s one causes why episode is so bad. (Good writer is but necessary good director) But it`s only one factor, there many others.

[anxiety-trademark]

The week in review:

Raw 11/23 NXT 11/25 NXT UK 11/26 Smackdown 11/27

Raw:

Such a hollow promo by Lana tbh. “I’m dreaming, don’t wake me up.” ??? You were the sole survivor by proxy, it’s not like you did anything. Like good for you, but come on now.

I mean sure, hand out a title shot to fucking Lana, not like anyone else in the entire company cares about that belt. God I miss Becky.

“You may go home Raw women’s champion” HAHAHAHAHAAHHA sure.

“Nikki Cross blames herself for what Alexa Bliss has become,” she should, she straight up threw her hissy fit cuz she didn’t win the title, and then she bailed.

Now don’t get me wrong, I get that Alexa has been... possessed, if you will, by Fiend... but I’m not seeing any signs of Stockholm Syndrome when it comes to her and Bray. Aren’t they both trapped by Fiend in lore? Bray seems to genuinely care about Alexa. Am I off the mark here??

Oh my god this moment of silence for the fucking frog, I--

Topped with them laughing about his death, oooookay. I’m left speechless once again.

Commentators come back with, “Is Alexa Bliss too far gone...” LMFAO bye.

See I love this bullying Lana storyline cuz Nia and Shayna have no real reason to despise her 1/8th as much as they do. It simply boils down to ‘fuck Lana’ and like your typical high school bullies, they seethe when their victim succeeds at anything. It’s old school, believable, and doesn’t cross any lines that would upset parents or sponsors.

Also don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware that this title match is just a vehicle to advance the feud while involving Asuka, I simply wish the creation of the title match itself had been a bit more interesting. Lana’s dialogue ahead of it with both Sarah and Asuka just fell flat for me.

Omfg Asuka threw water on Nia and Shayna, bahahahah I can’t breathe. That might be the highlight of her entire reign, holy shit.

Negative points for her being floored by one punch though.

Well at least the segment ends with both Asuka and Lana standing, that’s not the worst.

Not much to say about this match, it’s really just Nia and Shayna bullying Lana lol.

I’ll give them this, there is absolutely nothing about neither Nia nor Shayna that is even remotely likeable. They play mean really well, and not ‘annoying yet funny’ mean like Bayley, just straight mean.

It’s not that I hate this submission ‘hold’ by Shayna, where she steps on the back of their neck while pulling a leg back, but I’m curious why she switched legs lmao. Awkward.

What a knee strike by Shayna to Asuka, whew that looked nasty.

Lmfao Nia took herself out by charging into the announce desk. I cannot. What a bump. Comedic bump, but a bump. Points.

Haha Shayna ate a rollup. A happy ending indeed. Lana sold that ending well, but it was a weird choice to have her and Asuka on the opposite ends of the ramp.

It’s been like 2 years and I’m still shocked Alexa never turned on Nikki.

This video is kind of just skipping over Nikki throwing her tantrum huh? Alexa played backseat cheerleader just to watch Nikki lose against Bayley 16 times and what did she get in return? Disrespect. Tsk.

Great package though. Points.

Nikki is so inconsistent. Internal conflict is valid, but she’s standing here claiming Alexa gave up on their friendship. First of all, this was initially instigated by Nikki. Second of all, she did nothing but trash Alexa’s boyfriend(?) when Alexa was nothing but kind to her after Nikki was a douche. She was confused so she gave Alexa an ultimatum, and now she’s pissy cuz Alexa chose him. This is toxic, I honestly have no sympathy for Nikki.

“I’m going to beat the Fiend out of Alexa Bliss” that’s... that’s not how this works... alright well you’re a shitty friend so, anyway.

Alexa slaps the back of Nikki’s hands and claims she won. I fucking can’t, she’s such a treat.

Lol Alexa’s just laughing at her.

My first introduction to Alexa was her as a master manipulator. Not a damn thing has changed.

Alexa has lost her god damn mind rofl.

*Bonus* online exclusive: victim Nikki, everyone. Why wasn’t this on Raw? Jesus they fill Raw with so many garbage replays while meaningful interviews to fill plot holes are put online. Dumb.

Lacey’s really running around calling Peyton “PeyPey” good lord.

I mean she’s right, Peyton was the weakest link. Just saying.

“10 sizes too big” shot at Uncle Melted Cheese.

I fucking love how Lacey pronounces “opportun-tit-ies” lmao. I thought it was an accident at first but honestly it’s great.

They have zero chemistry in the ring but at least they’re fun outside of it.

Highlight: I know I say Alexa every single week but shrug it’s Alexa

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NXT:

Alright Ember’s theme is wearing on me. She just has awesome theme songs.

Indi is really pretty and I love how she does her hair.

All nxt heels are the same; cowardly run from fights, slow methodical wrestling in the ring, recruiting muscle optional. It’s tired. At least be a good promo. Dakota is a good promo. She’s buyable. Actually where’s Dakota, I wanna see Dakota wrestle. No more Candice.

Holy shit that fall away slam onto Candice. Fucking THREW her ass across the ring. Whew everyone wave bye to Candice.

The setup to that step up senton by Candice was way too obvious.

Candice is too whiny.

Ah just as I’m beginning to get bored, Dakota comes out. It’s like nxt knows me.

Haha KO correcting Vic being a bad commentator.

See Candice isn’t even a bad wrestler, her style as heel just fucking blows.

Peeped that call by Ember.

Such a stupid setup to have Indi push Candice out of the way to take an Eclipse herself. It’s not like jumping in front of a bus. There was time. Whatever. I hate Candice matches 9 times out of 10 so there’s that lol.

...so is Toni a heel yet??? I’m guessing they’re going for “badass loner babyface-leaning tweener” for Ember, but Toni is not a tweener. She could’ve been, alas she is not.

Haha Toni is funny. Good, let her be heel. Maybe she’ll show some personality.

Alright but hear me out, what if we had a War Games team without Candice???

You did say we’d see a whole new side of you, Toni. Been waiting to see it though.

Wait back up, didn’t Toni attack Candice after their match recently?? Okay anyway.

“Rhea Ripley/Io Shirai? Doesn’t get any bigger than that.” True Rhea, now move up to the main roster plz.

Oh man Io’s basement dropkick fucking nailed Rhea in the face lol, oof.

“Where do I go from here?” TO THE MAIN ROSTER.

I don’t hate the tank and I don’t hate the idea of wearing a helmet, but those horns are super pointless.

Shotzi “pyromaniac” Blackheart. Stealing one of Alexa’s gimmicks.

It’s gonna be Shotzi, Io, Rhea and Ember, right? Who else would it be??

Rhea says she’s there to stay. Ma’am I stg if I have to wait til after wm to see you on the MR...

Me: super invested in Rhea cutting a fantastic promo and seeing how far she’s progressed as a well-rounded talent; Candice: “lol fuck you”

I hate Candice. I will fill this review with vitriol for Candice, I don’t care.

How... how did Io “steal” any victories from Candice? What help did she have? Is it drugs? Is Candice on drugs?? Candice you haven’t even held the title, shut the fuck up. Also all of y’all can sit down cuz only one woman on that entire brand has had a singles match at wm.

Oh shit they laid Io out. That’s a yikes.

In kf, the only threat to Rhea on that entire team is Toni.

I mean sure 4 people was way too much for Rhea to handle, but man they let her look pretty fucking good. The way she immediately slid out to give Raquel the high boot was smart as hell.

Dakota looks good. She gets style points.

Soooo Xia gets acting points, but what in the fuck is going on with her and Boa’s story...

Why do I have to see or hear Candice again? Jesus lord.

There’s someone else masked? *sigh* I don’t care, goodbye.

Highlight: Rhea’s promo that Candice ruined

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NXT UK:

I enjoy watching neither of these women wrestle, but at least Jinny’s persona is appealing and she has solid character work. She’s easy to dislike, so she gets heel-potential points.

Did they say Isla’s mentor is Nikki Cross? That’s... interesting...

So is this match gonna be interrupted by Piper? Probably not.

“This is an aggressive Isla Dawn,” well hey, maybe she actually started working on her stamina.

Jinny is vicious lmao.

Probably Isla’s best showing tbh.

I hate it when people jump off the top turnbuckle and then break into a slow, clunky roll, just to stand up and act as if their knee is tweaked. It’s so messy to me. Be smoother or don’t aimlessly jump off the turnbuckle.

Whole lotta yelling in the match.

Really don’t give a shit about a future Jinny/Piper match but okay.

Highlight: Jinny comes off as a vicious bitch, so that’s nice

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Smackdown:

Oh snap Bianca’s graphic has some real potential.

Ayyyeeee it’s Captain Bayley. We starting our Bianca/Bayley feud?

oof Nattie straight outsmarted Bianca as the vet, there. Bianca friggin speared that ringpost.

“I think I did the world a favor, we got to see Bianca Belair shine,” she’s not wrong, Bianca was absolutely my mvp from SvS. In hindsight speaking from current day, Bayley really set up Bianca to be the upcoming star of this division, starting with SvS.

Oh snap did Bianca just call Nattie a bitch? How dare she, that’s Nattie’s only patented insult!

“You don’t want to get counted out again,” lmfao Bayley’s so annoying.

pppffffftttt Bayley inadvertently getting her ass whooped tonight.

Yeah somehow this is all Cole’s fault lol.

No, stop, no more “them” promos. Bayley cut this promo literally a year prior, we don’t need to hear it from Carmella, too. Besides, she was never necessarily a fan favorite that the crowd gradually turned against like Bayley was. It’s different.

WHAT SHOTS ARE YOU CALLING?? Is this about Reggie? Has he even appeared on screen yet?

Lmao Sasha beating her ass. Good for her. Looking good while she does it, too. Sasha in shiny silver... whew.

The wwe shop ad with the Riott Squad was worth a mention. They entertain me and they deserve tag titles. Not sure why wwe is still dragging their feet, but commit to them already, damn it.

Highlight: Bianca/Bayley seeds being planted

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*Smackdown shined the brightest this week. Short, simple, straight to the point. Left me wanting to throw on next week’s episode, which no other show accomplished.