#and then never at any point ended up back in the prism??? and i was like well.... i guess we have to commit to helpong the emperor

[kalashtars]

going to finally finish baldur's gate 3 for the first time tomorrow. the journey comes to a close (for about 5 minutes and then inevitably I will start the game again)

[idkaguyorsomething]

The Problem of Susan Fic Recs

For many reasons, The Last Battle is probably the most contentious addition to the Narnia canon. The standout, though, has to be the infamous Problem of Susan, wherein the Pevensie children are all killed in a train crash and brought to Narnia 2 Electric Boogaloo aka heaven, then declare that Susan is no longer a friend of Narnia because of her interest in “lipsticks and nylons”. Hardly any time is spent on this, but the implications have been the ground for a lot of argument and discussion. What exactly would happen to Susan, and should it have happened? Over the years, dozens of fic writers have thrown their hats in the ring and weighed in on the subject, making the Problem of Susan almost a prism for the fandom: everyone shines through it a bit differently, resulting in a wide spectrum. Here’s some of the highlights under the cut.

http://shedletsky.com/blog/the-god-who-loves-you

Starting with the fic that coined the term, written by Neil Gaiman himself, this fic is a reflection and deconstruction of the idea that Susan would be able to find Narnia again by delving into the trauma that the experience of losing all her family at once as well as the social injustices that a young woman of her time would’ve faced, something that the narrative of The Last Battle never really addresses. It took off for a reason, as it presents a lot of good food for thought, but it’s also got some pretty weird shit that can feel like it’s conflating adulthood with edginess. Well worth a read for all the points it raises, but if you’re fond of canon you probably won’t like the way it takes a hammer to it.

Now this one is exactly what you’d want to read if you wanted some feel-good time. This story is probably the closest to how C S Lewis would’ve written Susan’s return to Narnia, detailing her rediscovering all the things she put away as well as what led up to her rejecting Narnia in the first place. It falls more to the end of being almost uncritical of canon, with the focus on Susan basically having the same sort of religious rediscovery that C S Lewis himself had in his life. Because of how she was treated in canon, that can be pretty frustrating, but the ending feels nothing short of joyous.

Swinging back to the other end of the spectrum, this fic is very critical of the idea of The Last Battle being a pretty happy ending for everyone, unambiguously stating that life is always worth living for all the Pevensie kids. It explores what their lives could’ve been like if they didn’t die, being a rebuttal of C S Lewis’ themes rather than a continuation of them while feeling equally as happy as the fic directly above.

And this story feels like a midway point between the above two. It dives really deep into the emotional damage that Susan would’ve suffered before and after the train crash in some absolutely gorgeous prose, showing both her and Aslan with great sympathy while maintaining that what happened to her is not a punishment in any way. Bittersweet and very, very good.

Heading back towards the more critical end of the spectrum, this fic presents a Susan who is not interested in finding Narnia again, only her family. She is very much a character straight out of an ancient myth rather than a teen trying to make sense of a senseless situation here, filled with determination as much as desperation. It’s probably the closest fic on here to having something close to a plot as well as a character study, with the exception of The Queen’s Return and one other:

Being a crossover with what’s pretty much the antithesis of the Chronicles of Narnia, His Dark Materials, it’s probably easy for you to guess which side of the spectrum this story falls on. It’s more of a HDM story than a Narnia one, but the two worlds blend together surprisingly well, and it gives us a rare look into a Susan who’s lived decades of her life when the story picks up. She’s pretty much the Professor and it is fascinating, as is everything left to interpretation by this gem of a fic that is ambiguous yet deeply satisfying.

¡And here’s Susan as a Doctor Who companion! This isn’t directly a Narnia story so much as it is one about two people much older than they look mourning the loss of their worlds, with a Susan who is a queen wise beyond her years. Reading it is like taking an ice shower. It doesn’t hold back on the grief, and as a result it manages to feel honest as it reaches a warm ending.

http://archiveofourown.org/works/24311

Despite also being a crossover, this is in some ways the opposite of touch the sky with two arms. Susan is more of an everyday young woman than a queen, and [SLIGHT SPOILERS] Narnia itself does feature directly. But y’know, that’s part of what makes fandom so interesting. Not everyone is going to have the same take on everything, and the ending of this leans more happy than melancholy.

¿A shipping fic that’s also a crossover with Peter Pan that features neither Neverland or Narnia? Yes, this one probably has the least to do with Narnia or Aslan, but it tells a very compelling story about living life and growing up, something that isn’t perfect but can be good if you find someone you want to spend your life with. Susan Pevensie and Wendy Darling are a really good couple, pinky promise.

Technically more a series of ensemble oneshots, but Susan features very prominently in a lot of them, and they will make you feel every feeling that everything else on this list might’ve given you. Satisfaction, devastation, simple joy, just go give it a shot.

[silverdragon889]

Shawn and Roxanna | Burned Ties AU

Quick notes- there will be mention of a couple codes, being Code Ashes and Code Birdcage. Birdcage I came up with myself, but Ashes comes from @purplebehittindifferent iirc. If they have a problem w/ me using it, I will happily remove it. The Poll had Prism as the winner, but someone (I think @solhunder2 ??? Its after midnight sue me) mentioned Shawn in HR being more than a joke and I realized I really wanted to write him. So he's here too. Now onto the tag list.

Tags: @pandagobrr @warden-draws-sometimes @sleepywillowo0o @wyvchard @ghostlystarwanderer

Am willing to add people so just @ or DM me 👍

Now that that's done, I hope you enjoy!

There was an Agency-wide game of Assassin a while back that Crane still had a favor for. He called up the familiar number to the HR department, and Shawn had responded in an instant.

“Hey! Crane, how have you been? It's been a bit since you called. Business or casual?”

Crane felt himself start to get emotional, knowing what was at stake, but shoved it down as quick as it formed.

“Business, I'm afraid. I need to call in that favor after, *ahem*, removing Carrot Top from the Assassin game.”

Shawn hummed in understanding.

“And I can't thank you enough for it. What do you need?”

Oh he knew this would go over like a house going ablaze… but it's what he needs right now.

“I need my calls unmonitored for all of 45 minutes.”

As expected, he heard the man spit out his drink.

“You know that goes against basic protocol, right?! Are you compromised?!”

“Negative.” He was quick to respond. “But in order to protect an Agency asset, I'm going to have to protect my line… and therefore the identity of who I contact. We might have a Code: Ashes if I don't.”

At that, Shawn acquiesces.

“Then say no more. Good luck, Handler Mason.”

“Thank you, Shawn.”

Crane gives it all of 5 seconds before dialing a number that's still rather painful to use… but the muscle memory is there. He spent a good amount of time practicing this number for when the time came. He just prayed she answered.

It took three rings.

“Prism speaking.”

He sighed in relief, for more than one reason if he was choosing to be honest with himself today.

“Roxanna. Before you panic, I called in a favor. I have 45 minutes unmonitored.”

He heard a breath of relief, unmeant for his ears, but heard all the same.

“Be quick.”

“Code: Birdcage. I need you to track him for me, and get me any part of the layout I may have missed. I'm going in.”

Roxanna began to sputter before scolding him.

“Are you out of your mind?! It's been YEARS since you were in the field like that, Reginald! Running point and recon is NOT the same as active fieldwork and you, of all people, know that!”

“I don't exactly have the time nor the will to entrust this to an Agent I'm unused to.” He speaks firmly, accidentally revealing more about his attachment to Phoenix than he'd wanted… but it was too late now. He refuses to take it back anyway. Phoenix has had too many people turn their backs on him. He absolutely WILL NOT become another one.

He expects he'd rather die.

Roxanna is no fool.

“This is because Phoenix is my greatest creation. Nothing more. Got it?”

He doesn't believe it for a second and neither does she. But he humors her anyway.

“Of course.”

“It won't be more than five minutes. Good luck and be safe, Reginald.”

“I promise.”

The call ends and Reginald begins to forget the number… the phone was a burner anyway. Roxanna may not be Agency affiliated anymore, but he has no doubt in her ability to acquire just about any resource.

All he had to do was wait.

To make it more bearable, he began to fidget with a small plushie Phoenix had given him after his KBOOM recovery. He stared at it fondly.

Handlers and Agents were never supposed to get attached… but with Phoenix? It was inevitable.

He rejected any other option than bringing his son HOME.

============================

Poll Time! What Plushie did Nix give him?

[essycogany]

Hot Take! Nine’s Redemption Arc Was Rushed

I’m usually positive on this blog, but I believe it’s important to have a balance. This’ll be my longest post yet, so buckle your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Quick Positive Points

I like the idea of an antagonistic Tails. Nine’s amazingly voiced by a VA I recognize. His design is awesome. His attitude and sarcasm can be entertaining. Nine saving Sonic’s skin when dealing with the Chaos Council was nice. The scene with Nine and Mr.Doctor Eggman talking about Sonic is one of my favorite moments. The thought of creating robots who look like the other characters as if Nine still wanted friends was neat. (even if he tried to kill with them) And despite my grievances, I thought Nine’s hug with Sonic at the end was adorable. The animation is what helped with that.

Introduction

While I do like Nine, I’m going to talk about my glaring issues with his character development. I can see both sides of the argument, but let me tell you why there’s more proof of Nine not being well written. I will implore you to think for yourselves regardless of what I have to say. We all have our opinions and I’m only here to share mine.

Nine’s Characterization

This is how the fox carry himself throughout the show and why most of it isn’t written well. I’ll state my issues with Sonic in certain moments too.

Season One

Nine’s reasonably defensive at first when Sonic came to his home out of nowhere. He became annoyed by Sonic’s immaturity yet concerned for him once they’re captured. After they meet the Rebels, his sassiness begins to show. Replying “You’re welcome,” after saving Sonic by taking control of Rusty. Having a direct and harsh tone when advising others to take the Chaos Council’s shard. And not seeming to care about the rest of the group who gets trapped with Mr. Doctor Eggman.

Nine: “Sonic we have to get to the core!” “You heard her come on!” This I understand because Nine doesn’t know them, so they don’t really matter to him. But then Nine dismisses Sonic’s feelings even after he asked “are you okay?” Because he noticed the hedgehog was a little off.

-Because Sonic started remembering the events that happened to him before he broke the Paradox Prism.

After Sonic realized the prism shattering was his fault Nine says, “Snap back to reality! Grab that shard and we’ll sort the rest out later!” Then when Sonic stated the original Tails told him not to touch it Nine states, “Well, I’m telling you the opposite! Now grab it and let’s go!” Not realizing if Sonic is the reason for the prism being small, his original variant might’ve known touching it was a bad idea. I also can’t forget about these lines.

Sonic: “If there’s anyone who’s got the brains to put it all back together, it’s you.” Nine: “That’s the first thing you’ve said that I agree with.” Nice ego for a person who ends up getting Sonic sucked up by the prism after being warned. Back to what I was saying before, Nine seems to only care about stealing the shard away from the Eggmen here. Which is proven later on in season one. His care for Sonic has progressed, but Sonic learns from the Rebels that Nine abandoned them. And it’s never addressed by Sonic.

-Sonic also insist Nine’s “not a traitor” without any proof. Sonic hasn’t known Nine that long. The last time Sonic saw the fox, he ended up getting the hedgehog sucked into another shatterspace. Unless Sonic’s talking about Nine working with the group. But I’d argue it was more for Sonic and his own sake. Especially since Nine left the Rebels and Rusty at the drop of a hat.

When Nine comes to help Sonic, he shows off the Grim and discuss how it’s “Their bright new future.” Wanting to live in the Grim with Sonic. Even after the last time he saw Sonic, Nine knew how distraught Sonic felt about losing his home. Again, Sonic stated he believed Nine could put the prism back together. Meaning his original friends and world would come back. But Nine immediately assumes Sonic would be happy living with him for the rest of his life. Which is sweet on paper but very messed up in execution. I’ll get into why later. To be fair, Nine’s never had a friend before and was bullied for most of his life. His social skills aren’t the best and he isn’t use to caring about others. But even if Nine didn’t understand empathy, he has no reason to believe Sonic would forget about his home just because Nine didn’t care about his.

Nine: “That city hasn’t brought me anything but misery. I owe it nothing.” He hasn’t been around Sonic for long either, but Sonic’s demonstrated his loyalty before. By worrying about the Rebels instead of the shard while Nine did vise versa. Anyways, Sonic explains he needs to save the Rebels. Nine being Nine didn’t care about them, but came to help anyways because he “cared about Sonic.” I’d say Nine only helped because he thought Sonic would join him after getting the other shards, but that’s my opinion.

Nine: “With enough fortifications and enough shard energy, this could be home.” Because of this line, I believe he already knew about the other shards before Sonic. Which is also why he knew what Sonic was doing in season two. He also says, “When this is over, I’m going home and never looking back. Whether I go it alone is entirely up to you.” Still assuming things.

-Sonic doesn’t give Nine an answer for some reason. Only responding with “I knew you’d come back, buddy.” Projecting how he’d expect Tails to act. Which becomes a serious problem later.

Season Two

Throughout this season, Nine helped Sonic collect the shards. Which was a bonus to keep developing the Grim.

-Sonic and the Rebels have another debate on trusting Nine. At least this time when Sonic says “He saved you,” it’s true. Nine took down the Doctors before Sonic and co got killed. I’d still argue it was for Sonic, but Nine still saved their lives despite his intentions.

I’ll also admit when Mr.Doc used Nine, it was reasonable for him to feel as if he had no choice. He even apologizes to Sonic. We even learn how Nine first fount the Grim and see him make a hammock for Sonic. But the positives goes down hill once we get into the shard chase between Nine, Sonic, and the villains. Once away from the Docs Sonic stated, “Oh, things are finally coming together. We’ve got the shards! We can finally fix everything!” He’s still obviously talking about Green Hill and his friends. But Nine doesn’t notice this. Instead he says, “It’s going to be perfect.” Very specific you two. Nine seems to suddenly believe Sonic changed his mind and Sonic still thinks Nine and Tails are one and the same.

Dude even calls the fox “Tails Nine,” while introducing him to another character. What are the odds? Later on Nine says, “If you like surprises, wait until you see what I’ve got going on in the Grim.” Sonic responds with, “Grim? Cool. Can’t wait to here more. But right now, we’ve gotta get to Ghost Hill.” Talking as if if the Grim was an afterthought. Then the two talk about bringing the prism back together without knowing what the other’s thoughts were behind it.

Even if they didn’t have time to discuss things, I think they should’ve explained something to each other during the chase or before Sonic left to help the Rebels in S1. That way the unfortunate occurrence could’ve been avoided later on, but we’ll cross that bridge soon enough. Anyways, after the goose chase, they meet up with Shadow, who reasonably doesn’t trust Nine.

-The Blue blur defended the fox again with his projecting his friends onto strangers self. It’s also weird how often this dude doesn’t listen to anyone while also wondering why no one won’t listen to him.

After Nine put one of the shards back together and it brought everything back for a split second. Sonic: “Reality was flipping out over here.” “Green Hill was back and so were my friends.” Which must’ve went in and out of Nine’s ears because this show has no time for the characters to communicate properly. Instead of listening, Nine interrupts the hedgehog and shenanigans ensues.

After said shenanigans, another argument scene happens. Except somehow, it’s worsts then the last. I’ll criticize both characters. I want to address the “Sonic projecting” discussion first. I know people think Sonic’s wrong for doing it (he is) but I believe he’s doing it as a coping mechanism. Since his friends are replaced by ghost who repeat themselves and a bunch strangers who look like them, he might not be able to help it. I give him a bit of slack because we all know what he’s been through. Prime!Sonic is also a very sincere version of Sonic who instantly feels guilt. Even if he doesn’t completely understand what he did wrong.

For example, in the first episode, Tails didn’t tell Sonic why he was upset with him. He just said, “It’s cool really.” Tails brushes things off instead of discussing them. I can see where Sonic is coming from. What I won’t excuse is Sonic having a terrible amount of trust in Nine. I’ll discuss this in S3’s issues. And the rest I’ll summon up to Sonic never addressing problems which might’ve needed to be addressed. Like Green Hill almost coming back and other stuff I’ve already mentioned. Onto the fox. This argument might be a great time for Nine to explain what his plans are instead of saying, “We’re not making your old world. We’re building a better one.” Implying Sonic’s original world is inferior and he should deal with it being gone.

When Sonic says, “I think we can get it back.” Nine responds with, “You’re wrong about that.” Despite Sonic in the same episode said minutes before, “Green Hill was back and so were my friends.” Did the fox forget? Is he lying? Or does he not care? I’ll go with the writers forgetting about this line since it never gets mentioned again. Which seems to be a trope in this show. I understand Sonic’s done plenty of wrong when it comes to Nine as well, but I don’t see how Sonic wanting to fix the problem he made in the first place as selfish. Especially since Sonic’s not the only one who wants Green Hill back. Shadow’s dealing with the consequences too.

The “what’ll happen to me when you bring your friends back,” issue is never explored. There’s no confirmation on what happens, so this comment basically means nothing. Also, Sonic living with Nine forever is messed up. It implies Sonic and Shadow never going home. And their friends would stay ghost forever. Dead to be specific. Not to mention Nine’s home would be a copy of what Sonic use to have. You’re telling me Sonic The Hedgehog would allow his freedom to end because of a self centered fox who wouldn’t care if he wanted to go home? I could continue, but I’ll stop here. In the end, Sonic and Nine were both wrong. You could argue Sonic never said “no” to staying with Nine, but Sonic saying in S1 “It’s not going anywhere” was all Nine needed to hear. Sonic thinking Nine would love Tails and discussing Green Hill was prominent when talking to Nine before getting to Ghost Hill too. Dude was completely set on getting home and he wasn’t subtle about it.

To be fair again, Nine hasn’t been in enough good relationships to know who to trust. Then finds someone he thinks he can trust. Then gets treated like a reflection of someone else instead of a different person entirely. This goes to show I actually don’t hate the idea of the miscommunication. I only feel the show doesn’t give them enough time to breathe and only focuses on rushing the plot. Therefore having contradictions and forced conflicts.

Season 3

Nine’s first statement in this season is, “This could’ve been everything he ever wanted.” I wish Sonic had a moment to explain why creating a new world is a nice but bad idea. That way Nine could get a better understanding of how close Sonic is to his home and friends. Giving it a sense of importance. He could choose to stay selfish or to be reasonable. Nine tries to capture Sonic in order to get his shard energy throughout S3. In the next scene Shadow says, “So, it was all about power?” (Shadow is the MVP of this entire show) Then Sonic defends Nine for the millionth time.

Sonic: “No, that’s not…” Nine: “Exactly!” Wonderful.

Moving on. Sonic tries to reason with Nine again. Nine: “You were only using me to get what you wanted.” Sonic: “That’s not true.” The hedgehog doesn’t elaborate before or after this conversation. I love how the two barely have a coherent conversation. It’s honestly my favorite thing in the world.

-Sonic tells Shadow if reasoning with Nine doesn’t work, he’ll be “theirs .” Probably implying they’ll have to hurt or kill Nine if necessary. Then Sonic never follows through with it and doesn’t actually fight Nine. Sonic only uses his shield powers or tries to convince others not to hurt the fox.

After that Nine tries to attack both hedgehogs with a robot copy of Sonic and states, “This time, you’re on your own.” Shadow: “He’s not on his own” Nine: “We’re all on our own.” Describing his perception on loyalty is a detail I actually like.

Later in the season Nine tries to disrupt the bystanders worlds to get Sonic, so they disrupt their agreement. Nine attempts to kill them again and wonders why they wanted to protect Sonic. Almost as if Sonic has been helping them since the fox met him or something.

After constant fighting and begging on Sonic’s part, he tells Nine to, “LOOK OUTSIDE!” And that’s when Nine at last sees the shatterverse breaking and realizes what he’s done. All of this mess lasted 7 episodes by the way. The big fight took up 6 of them. Nine knew beforehand the shatterverse was ending and it didn’t phase him as long as his world was safe. Now he suddenly he feels guilty?

Sonic apologizes because he didn’t listen to what Nine wanted. Or appreciate what he was trying to do. This is Sonic’s words not mine. Nine doesn’t apologize for trying to kill everyone, but to Sonic instead. Sonic asked everyone to leave Nine alone. And asked Nine to not cause anymore trouble. Knucks: “How can we trust him?” Nine: “You can trust me.” Outstanding dialogue. Plot needs to occur, so we’ll skip the part where Nine and everyone else gains trust in a none forced way. Great.

Nine finally helps Sonic even if those problems could’ve been avoided a few episodes earlier and say their goodbyes. The End.

I hate how Sonic had to apologize to Nine about wanting to go home. It’s absolutely unfair. Then Nine doesn’t apologize to everyone else for the havoc he’s caused. What I believe Sonic should’ve apologized for was treating Nine like Tails, but it never gets brought up. But my biggest issue is the only way Sonic called out Nine on his actions was by saying, “This isn’t you!” “Don’t do this!” “I care about all of this. You, the shatterverse, and everyone inside of it. I know you do too.” The last bit being a huge lie.

I don’t make these kind of comparisons often, but Game!Sonic would have everything nipped in the bud. I’d assume by telling Nine, “What you’re doing is wrong. This is why it’s wrong. If you don’t quit, I’ll do everything in my power to make you quit.” He’d understand Nine needed to be stoped and act accordingly. I’d assume everyone would have to make him surrender and he’d be forced to fix everything. No, it doesn’t reform him, but I wouldn’t have minded if he didn’t get reformed because sometimes you can’t change people. This might not have been the perfect solution, but I tried. Yes, Nine is a child who was treated terribly, but it shouldn’t excuse his actions.

What’s hilarious is during his last talk with Sonic, he unreasonably guilts the hedgehog and called him selfish. Saying Sonic didn’t save everyone because he actually cared about them. But because Sonic feels guilty about breaking everything from the start. Except Sonic actually admits to messing up which was shown in the third episode of Prime. And took the time to right his wrongs. It’s the most hypocritical and short sided statement in the entire show. And if that wasn’t enough, Nine gets upset when everyone came to attack him. It admittedly was a dumb idea, but Nine made himself the enemy. He didn’t give the gang a reason to trust him before or after his deal with Sonic. Yes, including the end of the show. It made no sense.

Why Nine’s Reformation Was Rushed

First of all, I’m not saying I don’t like Nine because of his negative traits. That’s the main reason he exists. He’s a antagonistic or I’d even say evil version of Tails. Nine is suppose to be distant, selfish, and such. I simply don’t believe after all he’s done and how his character was established that he suddenly changed into a good guy.

Nine’s focus was on his own pain while he ignored everyone else’s. Including the one person who saved his life on multiple occasions and who (even if it’s wrong) still tried to stick up for him. Giving off the, “I suffered so everyone else should suffer,” mentality. Then blames Sonic by saying he, “Put him into this position.” As if Nine didn’t already make terrible choices before going evil. Sure, the shards could’ve been corrupting him, but it’s never explored and can only be assumed. Which are too different things.

-Also other characters like Thorn and Dread made bad decisions before they had the shards. So, there’s zero proof regarding that theory.

These are obvious toxic/red flag behavior and it never gets properly called out. Things are only fixed because the plot demanded it. Not because there was a natural progression. The only thing that progressed was Nine’s uncaring attitude until it magically fixed itself…at the last minute. And I hate that for him because he deserved better. Sonic deserved better. All of the Sonic Prime characters deserved better. But they all fell into the pit of unsatisfying conclusions.

Side Note: What also bothers me is how Sonic is almost the only character Nine interacts with. No wonder he doesn’t care about anyone else. Nine barely talks to anyone. Like Shadow, the blue blur is the main center of Nine’s attention. At least most of the other characters don’t have the same problem, but it’s still ridiculous.

How The Show Is Flawed In General

I have more glaring issues with this show. Sonic Prime’s plot almost never stops to breathe. The repetition is unreal. None of the characters (especially the OGs) get enough attention. Some things are both over and under explained simultaneously. There’s reused animations.

Reused conversations and dialogue are especially prevalent. “This isn’t you, Nine!” “It’s over, Nine.” “Gotta go fast!” “Game over.” “We’re gonna end/fix this together.” “We’re friends.” “Me Beauty.” “We have to take the fight to them.” “You’re even dumber then you look.”

This isn’t half of the repeated lines unfortunately. Some of them aren’t only said by Sonic either. It’s almost as if they ran out of dialogue. I am only scratching the surface of problems, but I won’t go any further. At this point “the show’s writing” is the main issue of Nine’s arc. It’s also why other parts of Prime feels rushed.

Conclusion

Yeah, I have a love hate relationship with this show. It’s seriously hard to watch sometimes. I know this has been a bummer, but here’s what Sonic Prime does right. I adore Sonic Prime in terms of how it looks and sounds. With the outstanding animation, voice acting, music, editing, and sound design. I’ll even say it’s one of the best looking 3D animated kids TV shows I’ve seen. There’s so much attention to detail and quality of the character facial expressions and movements. Furthermore, when the lighting is really good, it looks near movie levels of quality. Not to mention great writing still exists. All in all, Sonic Prime may not be the best written Sonic show, but it does have the most polished animation. Even with its plethora of flaws and lost potential, I’m glad Prime exists to prove 3D TV shows can look fantastic when given enough care.

Stay Creative! 💜

[yukithefruity]

Intentional (Re)Design

Writing Request! See my pinned post to make your own request!

Summary:

Bill has been sent to the solitary containment void yet again. As he is no longer responding to treatment, the Axolotl makes a surprise visit and takes him to see the stars.

Warnings: None

Audience: General

Relationships: Bill & Axolotl, Bill Cipher/Ford Pines (Past, implied)

Tags: Therapy, Crying

Words: 2,328

Bill’s lack of progress isn’t unexpected, but it is unprecedented. This was known, of course—the theraprism has never failed to rehabilitate a patient, but it’s also never taken on a patient quite like Bill Cipher, because there is no one quite like Bill Cipher; his existence was anomalous even within the confines of his own dimension, unparalleled in the nightmare dimension, and very nearly unrivaled within the third dimension. If allowed to continue unchecked, he would have destroyed himself and everything else. He is the definition of ‘danger to self and others,’ and thus voluntary-involuntary confinement and treatment post-defeat was the only course of action.

It all sounds so neat on paper.

The reality is much less neat, unfortunately, and after yet another prism riot, Bill was once again forced into the solitary confinement void—not as punishment, of course. Just to give himself and the staff a bit of a breather before resuming treatment.

“Welcome back, Bill.” An orb (or perhaps the orb) of healing light greets when Bill is unceremoniously popped back into his room after his stint in confinement.

“You know solitary confinement is against the Geneva convention.” Bill points out, brushing the wrinkles out of his orange uniform, trying his very best to look unbothered, even as his shaking hands make the wrinkles just a bit worse.

“I will note in your record your newfound appreciation for rules-based social order.” The Orb replies, and Bill genuinely can’t tell if it’s being serious or just a jerk. A common feeling he has in this place. He’s about to voice something to that effect when the orb shimmers and it projects something much more interesting. “You have a visitor.”

“I have a… visitor? Now?” Bill blinks rapidly, and then quickly rubs his eye to try and rid it of any lingering redness. “Seriously?! I look terrible. Don’t you orbs have partial omniscience? You couldn’t have popped me out sooner? Who is it?” He hopes it’s Pyronica, their powers are linked, perhaps she could restore some of his? Or maybe it’s 8-ball, come to mock him. He was always the worst.

It couldn’t be… it wouldn’t be…

No. He can’t even let himself hope---but now that he’s thought of it, of course he can’t help but consider the possibility that it’s Stanford, come to visit after reading his book, perhaps? But why? Maybe he finally got bored playing house and wanted to strike up a new deal? But then, he would just go to Bill’s statue and shake its hand; he wouldn’t bother coming here. If Ford came here, then it’s a lot more likely he’d be here for the same reason as 8-Ball, to laugh at the freak in a cage. The thought has his blood boiling, his vision going red, how dare he—

The white walls around him turn slightly pink as a familiar light engulfs the room.

Oh. Oh, this is much worse.

“No thank you.” Bill says, turning away before he can catch sight of his ‘visitor.’ “I’m really tired from doing nothing and seeing nobody, I’d like to go sleep it off in my room—hey, paws off!” Bill shouts, scrambling as he’s scooped up in an unyielding pink paw. The world around him shudders as he’s lifted up and out, an almost nostalgic feeling, reminds him of—“I’m gonna puke!”

The Axolotl just laughs, a gentle, almost matronly sound, but obligingly ends their ascent—or perhaps their journey was ending anyway. Bill unwinds his hands from Axolotl’s paw (and immediately deletes the memory of clinging to it in the first place) and takes in their surroundings.

He’d expected the big frilly beast to take him to some new prison, somewhere less concerned with pretending to be a mental healthcare facility and more equipped to contain and control him, but instead they appear to be… nowhere.

He’s free. He’s finally out of the fucking prison, he’s finally—he can see—he almost doesn’t want to acknowledge it, afraid that the moment he thinks the word, names them, they’ll be taken away again. But no matter how he stares, or blinks, they remain.

The stars. I can see the stars again. He panics as his vision blurs, thinking it’s an illusion, but the view clears as a large tear falls from his eye and onto his stupid orange uniform. He hasn’t felt self-conscious about his outfit in a long time, but he hates it right now. He shouldn’t be standing in front of the stars like this, looking so disheveled and filthy.

But even that feeling doesn’t last long as he looks, and looks, and looks at the stars. The stars that have never hated him, never abandoned him, never told him he needed to change into this or that; they don’t mind that he looks like he’s been dragged through the dimension where everyone looks like shit; they twinkle spectacularly, returning his singular gaze with their own.

He’s silent for a long time, unable to speak or move as he takes in the stars he’d been denied for so long.

Just like that.

After thousands of years of confinement, after countless attempts to escape, after all his scheming, this fucking Axolotl just shows up and—and—

“Are you giving up on me finally?” Bill finally asks, voice quiet. It’s nice, for an execution; he’d always hoped the last thing he’d be able to see was the stars. “How long do I have?”

Axolotl doesn’t answer. It doesn’t usually. Bill knows it can communicate, when they made their deal, it was plenty chatty. But since then, even when it intervened as promised, it hasn’t deigned to explain itself—not verbally at least.

“I prefer not knowing, actually. Just… since we’re here, let me…” Bill climbs up Axolotl’s arm, up onto its neck, and lies down. If he were to close his eyes, the gills and frills might almost seem like the grass he used to (pretend to) lie on with Stanford while stargazing and talking endlessly about nothing and everything. He reaches both hands up as high as he can, smiling at the illusion it creates, as though he could simply pluck a star from its place.

He’s surrounded on all sides by the stars; there is no up or down, not really. But to him, ‘up’ will always be like this; that thing he sees when he looks dead ahead.

“This means I win, you know.” Bill wiggles his fingers, enjoying the way different stars peak through the gaps between his fingers. “You all were so sure you could rehabilitate me, get me to reincarnate as a fucking plankton or something. Well. I sure showed you.”

Shit. His vision is blurring again; this is his last chance to see the stars, and it’s going to be wasted if he keeps crying.

“No one can change Bill Cipher. They all tried; my parents, the doctors, even my stupid lying traitorous so-called ‘friends.’” Stanford never tried to change me; some awful part of him is reminded. Stanford liked Bill’s weirdness… right up until he didn’t. But he never tried to change Bill. Other than trying to turn me from alive to dead. “Not even you, all-powerful Axolotl. How’s it feel, to be defeated by a lowly, powerless, two-dimensional triangle?”

It's not the way he wanted to win this, but hey, a win’s a win, right? If they’re giving up on him, then it proves they were wrong all along. He can’t be reformed; but more than that, he shouldn’t be reformed.

“Will you at least admit it?!” Bill shouts, balling up a fist and slamming it down impotently against the axolotl’s soft scales. “What you wanted to do is so fucked up. None of you will admit that asking me to be reincarnated as a fucking butterfly or whatever is just a nice way of asking me to kill myself. You want me to agree to ego death, and I’m not going to! You’re just mad that a lower being managed to obtain godhood and immortality, well I did it fair and square so fuck you for trying to take force me into becoming something I’m not just so I don’t upend your precious worldvi—whoa!” Bill sits up and grabs on to Axolotl’s fin as it suddenly starts moving, quickly.

There’s no wind, of course, so there’s no real risk of falling off—and in fact, maybe it would be nice to fall off, to just fall through space endlessly, maybe he’d land somewhere lucky, get a fresh start—but instincts are hard to fight, and Bill’s always been afraid of falling, so he holds on as the Axolotl moves through nothing, bounding through puddles of plasma and jumping off asteroids.

“Where are we going now?!” Bill yells, and once again gets no answer.

This is what he’s always hated about Axolotl. The damn thing never says what’s on his mind, never gives Bill anything to work with. He can only ever guess at its intentions, which makes it damn hard to manipulate. He was once convinced that everyone wants something, that everyone has a weakness or a desire that Bill could use to worm his way into their minds and hearts; but not Axolotl. It doesn’t even seem to dream; and Bill’s looked. It’s obtained some kind of perfect ‘presence,’ he thinks; it doesn’t dwell on the past, doesn’t fight for a future; it just is, always. An awful, all-consuming presence. Bill used to think he was like that; always living in the moment, enjoying each second to its fullest, not caring about the past or the future. Encounters with Axolotl make him think that was probably a cope.

Not that he’d ever admit it in therapy, but… he supposes he did spend a lot of time with humans he found otherwise annoying and grating because he was hopeful for a future; and, just maybe, some of his time spent raising hell with the henchmaniacs was less about enjoying the present and more about outrunning a painful past he’d rather not remember.

And maybe sometimes it all veered into some self-and-other-destructive tendencies.

But is the solution to that really to just die? Is his only option, his only way to change, the only way to fit into this more complicated dimension to let everything that makes him ‘him’ disappear and spend limited, meaningless time as a mortal, consuming and being consumed? Part of the stupid circle of life once more, accepting ‘order’ and small-minded conformity? Is that what it would take?

Is there truly no place for him?

Is it really impossible to love Bill Cipher?

Boop.

“What the fuck?” Bill sniffs, rubbing the wetness from his eye on his uniform as he sits up and watches as Axolotl, the all-powerful god, boops its great snoot against… something? “What—what is this?” He asks with a confused laugh. He climbs from Axolotl’s back down its head, stepping on its eye (it doesn’t even blink) and reaches out a hand.

He can’t see anything; it looks like any other part of space. There are stars, nebulae, meteors, other weird objects that haven’t been discovered and named. This spot seems no different than any other. And yet, when he reaches out his hand, he feels…

“A forcefield?” He tilts his head curiously, running his hand against the surface. He presses against it, but it doesn’t give even slightly. Axolotl presses against it as well, and moves in various directions, but there is no give.

Suddenly, Axolotl is moving again; bounding through space at lightspeed, despite how lazy and slow its actual movements. Bill is bewildered, he just holds on, sitting on its forehead.

And then… boop.

There it is again.

“What is this?!” Bill is so confused he can’t help but laugh (maybe a little manically) as he reaches out once more. “It feels almost like… glass?” He pounds his fist against it, but feels absolutely no give. “Have you tried breaking it? I bet if you restored my powers, I could…”

Could what? How stupid would a fish have to be, to break its aquarium and suffocate on the floor?

Bill blinks his big eye and looks down at Axolotl uncomprehendingly.

It smiles, remembering something Bill has never known; a pond from which it was once plucked; a sea without walls.

I am not like you. I was not born in captivity. It finally communicates. I do not know what you need to be healthy. I can only guess and hope not to hurt you more. The axolotl turns from the transparent barrier, back toward the rest of their enclosure. You were suffering. You are still suffering. I dislike this greatly. I thought I could guide you to a new life, help you fit within the cycles of this place with less suffering. Perhaps I was misguided by my own assumptions.

Axolotl lazily loops through solar systems, until it finds a cluster of meteors on which to rest in the warm light of an exploding star, all placed perfectly for its leisure.

To answer you… no, Bill; I am not giving up on you.

Axolotl carefully removes Bill from its face, and holds him in its paws lovingly, carefully.

You belong here, somewhere. We just have to find where, and how.

Bill is silent for a long moment. He’s been small much of his life; and now, he realizes, even at his biggest… he was still so, so very small. He can’t help but tremble at the revelation, knowledge too big for him to truly grasp.

“What if you’re wrong?” He asks, knowing he shouldn’t, knowing he’s being too vulnerable, giving away what little power he has as he speaks his greatest fear. “What if there’s no place where I fit?”

Axolotl simply smiles and draws its precious Bill closer.

If there is no place… then I will make one for you; just as one was made for me.

Bill weeps.

[silvermeww]

for your Kalosian Woods AU, I have two questions! (1) what’s the direction you’re gonna take Amourshipping/Ash and Serena’s dynamic in? Their friendship along with the romantic subtext felt like it had a lot of potential in XYZ-proper but never really got utilized. And (2) how’re you gonna tackle Showcases? I’ve been meaning to work on a Showcase restructure but I’d love to hear your ideas :D

Hey there!!!!! For the first question, I 100% acknowledge the force of Serena’s crush on Ash in the XY series— even if I did tweak it so that she would fall after meeting him for the first time, watching him train for the Gym and having seen him fall off Prism Tower inspiring her to see him through tinted lens (and how it evolved from the admiration she had for him when they were kids so long ago). While XY anime itself had the weird notion of making everyone down for Ash (a terrifying scene after coming out of the professional haters of BW and literally every series before it) (ngl though I am a believer of the polycule + Bonnie idea lol, it exists in my heart), I can’t deny that side of Amourshipping even if I’m not a shipper myself or even much of a good writer for romantic relationships imo. In my AU I want to show how that love for him grows and eddies throughout the series: from their first meeting to taking up her own dream of showcases to seeing Ash lose himself in his endless hunt for strength— how she puts him on a pedestal because he was the first Trainer she knew, the strongest one she knew, and back then how she didn’t know better, relying on him instead of taking the risks herself and working with other people for a change. You’re absolutely right in the potential their relationship have in XYZ especially; with Serena coming to the tail end of her first Showcase season, ending up in the same place as before but with a totally changed perspective, and Ash fixating more than ever on being the best of the best, distancing himself from everyone else… and of course, all of that feelings and realisations coming to a head in Snowbelle, the Crisis, and the aftermaths. And also having both of them face each other at the end of it all and realising how much changed. I’m not really sure if I’m wording any of this right or if what I’ve said even makes sense heh, especially since I’m not too far ahead in this AU, but their friendship and that romantic subtext is definitely going to play a part in this series, and even if the plot details changes like the weather I’m going to do my best in keeping it as true to its potential as it should be (because a girl can be in love and also grow as a person, in spite and despite and even with it— you’ve just got to find the right angle).

(Also I’m going to have fun with that crush, so it might meet some light-hearted banter and miscommunications and all of that stuff. I mean, hey, these are kids on a journey lol. There are going to be awkward moments for everyone at some point, but they’ll grow past it as with everything else. Also fun memories. :P)

For the second question, wow, I’ve been giving it so much thought lol. I’m nowhere near the Showcases right now (although it is closer than what canon gave us in my AU) and yet it’s all I can do to plan for how it works. I have spitballed a few ideas with friends but for me (so far) I honestly want more of it to be outdoors. Showcases as a whole has this pesky problem of being a one-to-one copy of Contests but ‘declawed’ by having no battles, and it really gets me because if we’re discarding battles then we have to actually redefine Showcases as a whole— because the battle portion is the ultimate showing of precision and control with your Pokémon and their moves, which is what Contests are all about. Especially with AG and DP, we see examples of atypical Appeal rounds with Harley going for a more terrifying show of power, while Kenny (as :/ as a character as he was) goes for showings of strength— even though they are not ‘beautiful’ they still get to pass, because it really is about how your bond can perfectly translate to moves that can command the audience and grab their attention, naturally highlighting the Pokémon. With Showcases though, to me, they are more about creativity— about how a Performer can work with their Pokémon to get past certain obstacles which are based off a certain characteristic the Kalos Queen should have (the Theme round or whatever it was called lol) and then the Freestyle showing off what they uniquely bring to the table, their own brand, what they want to be remembered by (in which I thought that they could bring props to that originally but eh, that’s what my AU is for!). Sheesh, I went through such a big rant and I still feel fired up heh, but ig this is to say that since Showcases are about creativity, the outdoors location would be a great way to show how they deal with everything. On a sunny day, would they use Grass or Fire Types? Would they call out a Rain Dance and form a rainbow? Of course they wouldn’t actually have an open venue if it’s raining or snowing, but in different terrains can you see the characters stand out, I feel like. Also giving all sorts of Pokémon room like Flying or Ground. I have a bunch more ideas of course, about it being connected to PokéVision (still mad about how that concept got dumped) and having small events where people can get to know the up and coming Performers, getting hints for the Theme section so we don’t get the most unbalanced group of people and have a real competition (that always bothered me ngl), as well as other tweaks to that whole system. Showcases can be good in their own light, it’s just the rep of it being baby ‘only girls’ Contest (still thinking about the girls bit ngl) along with the stupid popularity bit of it (not that the concept is bad in and of itself, just that it should have a place and not be the be all end all of passing to the next stage) (it’s only good for the Freestyle, can I say that?) that makes it flop. Also because it came in so late and left so early. And the rivals kind of sucked because they weren’t given any time to grow. And the way Serena wasn’t challenged enough through them. So basically, I’ve got A Lot of thoughts about it and it’s going to be a headache to go through because it desperately needs a redesign to be viable in any way. But that’s the fun bit about an AU, isn’t it heh. Tell me about your ideas, I’d love to hear about them and thank you so so much for the ask!!! :D <33

[icearts]

A couple things about Sonic Prime that disappointed me

1. Shadow was in almost the entire trailer, but showed up for 3 out of the 7 episodes

2. An action scene that lasted for three episodes. It got redundant

3. There was an entire plot point where Sonic was dying from the prism energy being taken from him. This took 3 minutes of screen time and the risk felt minimal if it was there at all

4. No consequences = no stakes (literally there was no issue or "sacrifice" that came out of repairing the prism. Idk what i was hoping for, but the fact that everything was so easily fixed kinda hurt my feelings because it made the entirety of season 2 seem completely pointless and dumb)

5. Shadow was super protective of Sonic in the first episode, but never showed that same "Would kill and die for you in a seconds notice" energy he had in that first episode

6. The chaos emerald is mentioned again but never used as a plot point. Chekov's Gun is fake, apparently

7. It's said that Sonic can't exist in the Shatterspace without prism energy, but Shadow never had it in the first place. There is no provided explanation as to why this makes sense. The closest thing was "shadow wasn't there during the blast" but that only explains why he doesn't have the energy, not why he doesn't need it to live like Sonic does (I assume the others have at least a signature of it too which is why they cloned and Shadow didn't. Again this is unexplained in Prime. What does the prism energy even do for/to the supporting cast)

8. Why are there only 7 episodes? Why do they take up so much time in one place?

9. Rouge and Shadow only had one line of dialogue (this isn't a genuine critique I just wanted to see my favorite duo be a duo)

10. Sonic's Prism "Super Form" doesn't come back. Shadow doesn't get anything like that either. Another dud Chekov Gun. Why is this dumb little anecdotal metaphorical firearm never firing

I really loved the new season, and it was great and super fun, but those critiques really ruined some things because those were all things I thought would be a guarantee because of the trailer and because of how the other seasons were.

Why would they even bother to mention the chaos emerald, and this weird void thing if it wasn't going to be essential to the plot other than being an excuse to sideline Shadow. They could have just as easily said that chaos energy is neutralized in cyberspace because it's not connected to the world/chaos/master emerald. That works too!

Plus, why was Shadow sidelined so much? What's the reason? Why wasn't he allowed to use chaos energy and go apeshit? Why couldn't he take off his inhibitor rings in a desperate situation to protect Sonic and be able to teleport into shatterspaces even at the expense of his health?

I know it's a TV-Y7 show. It honestly did not need to be, but I'm sure it was a Netflix mandate to make sure their animation is all meant for kids and only kids, but they really ended up nerfing themselves by alienating their more passionate audience which would be teenagers and adults. Just make it TV PG that would've allowed you to work with higher stakes and a higher budget (oh wait that's what Netflix's intention was nevermind).

If you wanna see me make a list of things I genuinely liked, feel free to ask or comment that. I might do so anyway. I feel like the internet is too negative and critiques of shows tend to do too much of that, so sorry for contributing to that culture, but I really needed to get that disappointment out because it bothered me quite a bit. Feel free to disagree too, or say "bro it's a kids show. It's not that deep. Stop having passion and emotions for your special interests you dumb fuck" I get it. Anyways, good show, good season, highly recommend, it's very fun and enjoyable especially if you're a fan of Sonic

Last minute edit: I only saw the season once and my sense of media literacy isn't by any means perfect, and also, to clarify, most of my concern isn't quite "these plot points are 1000% absent and terrible" and more "I thought the distribution between the action scene in episodes 4-7 and the rest of the season's story was very poor and made the content I was more excited for seem watered down/unplanned/super easily resolved". Again the part of the show where Sonic almost dies because of the prism energy withdrawal was about 3 minutes long. Why did it feel so low-stakes?? I love action scenes. They're great, but when you dedicate over 30 minutes to one long fight scene, it becomes less interesting and there's still MORE OF THE SHOW TO GET THROUGH so those parts got super rushed

[kooldewd123]

Back in August, we had the anniversary of Ash’s famous Kalos League loss. It's a battle you see talked about time and time again. It's often held up by fans as the one big stain on XY, a disgraceful way for the writers to end Ash’s Kalos journey.

I beg to differ.

I want to offer a different perspective on this loss, because I don't really agree with most of the criticisms levied against it. I don't think it portrays Ash in a negative light, or goes against his development, or anything like that. In fact, I think it’s quite the opposite. I planned to make a post talking about why I feel the loss fits Ash’s character arc back when I started seeing posts commemorating its anniversary, but I had so much to say about Ash’s characterization in this series that it took me until now to write it all down (also i procrastinated).

First of all, I want to address one of the most common critiques of the loss, since it leads nicely into the main point I want to make. This take essentially boils down to "XY had an Ash that was stronger than ever before. Losing goes against that." It's not a wrong reading of the series per se, but it does feel a bit… reductive to me. Yes, XY is about Ash getting stronger. But so are DP, SM, BW, and all the others. Ash becoming stronger over the course of the series is just something we can expect by default. A good Ash story needs to do something else on top of that, and XY especially needed to find an extra angle to his character since he starts the series already near the top of his game. It's actually a similar situation to DP: he came into that series fresh off his victories in the Battle Frontier, and so rather than simply coasting with a story about how strong he is, the writers brought in Paul to challenge him not just in battle, but in terms of philosophy as well.

So with all that said, what is Ash's story in XY actually about, then? Well, the comparison is often made that Ash is the "Brock" of the XY gang, and it's not an unfounded one. He's the most experienced member of the group, as well as the most well put together. The others look to him for leadership, guidance, and inspiration even more than Ash ever did for Brock. More than in any other series, XY Ash is defined by the way he interacts with his friends, and the reverse is also true for them. Let's take a detour and try to quickly run down their character arcs so you can really see what I mean:

Serena starts the series aimless. She’s discontent with her life, wanting something more. Recognizing Ash on TV and remembering his words to "never give up" is what gives her the push to finally take the first steps of her own story. However, those first steps are all she takes. She wants to get away from her mother, but is once again adrift as soon as she meets Ash. She bounces from activity to activity for a while, only deciding to become a Performer after meeting Shauna and having the sudden realization that she doesn't have a long-term goal like Ash. Wanting to be as determined as Ash is, she finally has something to actively work for and even confronts her mother with her newfound passion. She thinks of Ash to give her strength as she starts her first Showcase, and after she messes up, she remembers his advice to "never give up" and continues onward, even incorporating a ribbon she had received from Ash into her outfit to signify her resolve. Ash is at the center of every stage of Serena's journey. Nearly everything she does can be somehow traced back to Ash in one way or another.

That's all well and good, but it's just one example, and Serena's a bit of an extreme case, anyway. For more evidence, let's look at Clemont. The first time he meets Ash, Ash gets thrown out of Prism Tower, immediately brushes himself off and challenges Clemont to a battle, fights off a group of Pokemon thieves (which is apparently a regular occurrence for him), goes after a rampaging Garchomp with his bare hands, and ends the day off by jumping off the top of the fucking Prism Tower with literally zero hesitation. Following that buck wild first impression, Clemont harbors an immense amount of both admiration and intellectual curiosity for Ash. He constantly praises Ash for his unique battle style, and wants to study it so he can become an even better Gym Leader. He begins taking cues from Ash's style as early as his confrontation with Clembot, as he has to think of unorthodox ways to outsmart the robot programmed to act like him. Following this battle, he and Ash agree to have their Gym battle once Ash has obtained his fourth badge. Ash becomes Clemont's goalpost: having seen what Ash is capable of, he wants to be a Gym Leader worthy of fighting him. And when we finally reach this battle, he proves that he has absolutely succeeded, incorporating everything he's learned from Ash and more into their climactic showdown. 

While Ash’s companions in other series generally have stories that run parallel to his, XY stands out by placing Ash right at the center of both Serena and Clemont’s personal journeys. Ash permeates XY in a deeper way than any series before or since. This might be a weird thing to say, but XY isn't really about Ash per se. It's about the idea of Ash. To Serena, Ash is the representation of all the personal qualities she desires, yet lacks. To Clemont, Ash is a new way of battling, something that can help him improve his own abilities even further. So then, what is Ash… to Ash?

I know I just set that up as a big question, but the answer’s actually fairly simple. It's pretty clear that Ash recognizes the effect he has on his friends, and so he leans into it for their benefit. He's constantly trying to improve both himself and Clemont for their eventual battle, and is incredibly encouraging towards Serena every time she takes another step towards her goal (in fact, Serena is possibly the female companion that Ash is least sassy towards, although he’s also just less sassy than usual in this series anyway). Even with his Pokemon, this trait shines through. Froakie was a trouble child for every Trainer that Sycamore had given it to before, yet it respects Ash nearly instantly after seeing him in action. Ash’s encouragement and support is what gives Goomy the strength to grow and take back its home. He acts more parental towards Noibat than any baby Pokemon he had before, but also steps back enough to let Hawlucha take the lead raising it since he sees how strongly the two of them bond.

So here in XY we have a strong, self-assured, mature Ash who takes on a leadership role among the main cast. It’s an Ash that truly feels like he’s been through years of journeys and growth. But if he starts out the series so well-developed, where can his character arc take him?

Enter Sawyer. Not long after Ash has his battle with Clemont, he’s introduced to Sawyer, a rookie Trainer who had lost to Clemont shortly before. On the surface, this doesn’t immediately seem like the makings of a particularly compelling rivalry: an experienced veteran Ash versus a novice with only a single Gym badge to his name. Ash is undeniably the superior one in this dynamic. But once the two of them begin interacting, it becomes immediately clear how much heart there is to their relationship. Ash, ever the older brother figure, sees how much potential Sawyer has and wants to watch him unlock it. Sawyer, the analytical battler, takes notes from Ash’s battles and studies him in a manner not unlike Clemont to learn how to improve himself. Sawyer’s notes pay off in a big way, as he improves at an astronomical pace, winning four more badges in the time it takes Ash to earn just one, and even reaching his eighth before Ash does. Ash and Sawyer have one last battle before Ash heads to win his eight Gym badge, but for the first time, Sawyer manages to surpass and beat Ash. Although he’s glad to have won, his victory shakes both of them. Although they don’t say it directly, they can tell that something’s wrong. Sawyer decides to follow Ash to Snowbelle City to watch him beat Wulfric, but again, Ash loses. Between these two losses, as well as his struggle to master the Bond phenomenon, Ash begins to spiral, and it’s the first time we truly see him grapple with self-doubt in this series. Sawyer looks up to Ash, yet he had failed to live up to Sawyer’s vision of him. And if he’s failed Sawyer, who else has he failed? His companions? His Pokemon? With the image of himself as a mentor and an inspiration thrown into jeopardy, he begins to act uncharacteristically, running off into the woods alone and lashing out at Serena when she tries to help him. After cooling off a bit, he helps some Spewpa trapped in a tree and is saved by Greninja when the branch breaks. One of the Spewpa is blown off a nearby cliff, and when Ash and Greninja both jump into action to save it, they perfect the Ash-Greninja form for the very first time. The entire experience causes Ash to realize that the image of himself as someone everyone could count on had been weighing down on him much more heavily than he had thought. Because of it, he had been placing too much responsibility on himself. He needed to master the Bond phenomenon to become stronger for his team. He needed to beat Wulfric to prove himself to Sawyer. But in the end, he couldn’t do it alone, and ultimately ended up caving under the pressure without even realizing it. It’s only with the help of his friends and Pokemon that he’ll be able to move forward and actually accomplish what he’s set out to do. With that in mind, he’s finally able to reach synchronicity with Greninja, beat Wulfric, and make his way to the Kalos League.

In the semifinals, Ash finally comes face-to-face with Sawyer once again. As the two of them clash, Sawyer recognizes Ash once again. The cloud that had covered him in Snowbelle is gone, and the two of them can have a proper battle. Sawyer can truly show Ash just how far he’s come (and maybe even surpass him for real), and Ash can prove that he won’t falter again. That he really is the person everyone thinks he is. And with Ash-Greninja’s final Water Shuriken, Ash does just that. This battle, not the finals match against Alain, is the conclusion of Ash’s arc in XY. The Trainer that everyone looks up buckling under the weight of those expectations, and yet still managing to prove them right by coming out the other side stronger. I feel it can often get sadly overlooked in favor of the finals, but it’s a satisfying way to encapsulate what XY Ash is all about.

So what’s the deal with the finals, then? Why go through all of this just to have him lose in the end? Doesn’t that undermine the whole message? Well, no, actually. In a vacuum, it might seem that way, but I feel that removing it from the context surrounding it (as you often see in discourse about it) is doing it a disservice. The most important thing about the finals match is that it isn’t really Ash’s battle in the way the semifinals were. Ash’s arc is finished. This is Alain’s battle. Alain’s arc throughout the series effectively boils down to the idea that he wants to gain power in order to protect the people he cares about, first to defend Professor Sycamore’s research, and later to heal Chespie. He’s drawn to the Kalos League by the promise of many strong opponents to train himself against, Ash chief among them. This relentless drive for power, while good-intentioned, leads him to work for Lysandre, blinded to his true motivations. Alain’s victory in the Kalos League is the tipping point of his arc. He’s won the League, proving himself to be among the strongest Trainers in the entire region. And yet, at his moment of victory, when he’s achieved the strength he desired, Team Flare attacks, threatening the entire region. Key to Team Flare’s plans are Z2, whom Alain had helped capture, and the Mega Evolution energy he had helped them study. I often see people upset about Ash’s League loss trying to spin it into a story about Ash learning that winning isn’t everything, but it’s actually the opposite. Alain is the one learning that winning isn’t everything. In his quest for power, he had inadvertently brought danger to the very people he was trying to protect, with Sycamore and Chespie both being directly in Lysandre’s crosshairs.

And all of this eventually leads us to a scene where Lysandre, Alain, and Ash are on Prism Tower together. Alain is paralyzed by his emotions, distraught at what he had unwittingly brought about. Lysandre imprisons Ash and tries to force him to work for him like Alain had, but Ash refuses and breaks free using the Bond phenomenon. And for one final time, we see Ash inspiring people to be better. Seeing Ash act without hesitation, never for a second even considering forsaking his morals and working with Lysandre the way he did, Alain snaps out of his stupor and finally confronts Lysandre. Alain may be the stronger Trainer, but Ash is the better Trainer. Captured, outmatched, and weary from the League, Ash still chose to fight. Win or lose, Ash is still the best, like no one ever was.

[luxlightly]

In line with my last post about getting good endings with companions, the writing of The Emperor really stands out in how it defies the expectations we have as players of a game of this nature. He's a very well written character who definitely wades through the very grey areas of morality and bends the truth so much he leaves you wondering just how much he's bought into his own lies,as well.

Major spoilers beneath the cut.

If you go through the same steps you do with other characters, endlessly giving him the benefit of the doubt, leaning into his comparisons of you to himself, helping him reminisce at the Elfsong. He seems to open up. You bring him back to his old home, seemingly listening to emotional secrets of his. All this culminating in him professing love for us. We expect this. It seems to be progressing normally as an ally would in a game. To the point where many might even kill the Gith prince for him.

So those who don't do so feel blindsided by his willingness to abandon us to join the elder brain the instant we won't do exactly what he asks.

But playing again, I picked options I wouldn't normally. I called him out for secrecy. I pressed him for the truth even when it seemed to truly hurt him.

And I didn't like what I found.

The Emperor is manipulative in such an organic way. He first pretends to be someone else entirely, but, when revealed, constantly poses himself as being at your mercy or otherwise making himself vulnerable to you. Every time he's caught in a lie, he says "ok this was a lie I had to keep to protect himself but only because it was basically the truth just with little details left out" and he does that again and again, each time pushing the truth a little farther, all while still insisting he has never lied to you.

He pretends that you just wandered into the prism in your dream because he was distracted and lonely, then he shows you little trinkets with cute stories attached at the Elfsong, giving you gifts in the form of his old armor and sword. He speaks so fondly of Duke Stelmane and acts so saddened by her death, then when you next see him in your dreams, he isn't wearing a shirt. All these things that make him seem so vulnerable. Like he's bared everything about himself.

Except he hasn't actually revealed anything. He tells you he was just some adventurer even though he knows how important who he was is to your quest. He acts like he and Stelmane were partners or friends. He never tells you anything about him, just anecdotes to make him seem relatable. Nothing but soft words to soften your heart and lower your guard.

And any time you express distrust or ask for proof or for him to be honest with you, he gets upset, he acts as though you are the one being cruel and unreasonable. As if you are hurting him after he made himself vulnerable for you.

So feels bad to select any dialogue choice that calls him out. That accuses him of what you suspect in your mind. Of what all the little red flags point to:

"You do a good impression of a human. But it's just an act, isn't it?"

And finally the facade comes down. He finally lets you see his thoughts. See something besides the story he concocted.

You see him torturing Stelmane, breaking her mind and reducing her to an empty shell. The same scenes he showed you before of them in a friendly partnership play again, this time revealing that she was just a glassy eyed puppet, her mind torn apart so he could use her body to serve him and control the city in secret.

"Be glad my methods have improved" he says. And tells you you were never anything but his puppet. That you never had a choice and you will not get a choice. That you are his thrall as much as Stelmane was.

And it feels like a real betrayal. Because he does a good job of acting the part. Even knowing you will mistrust him, even intending to mistrust him, you fall for at least pieces of it. And looking back the signs seem obvious and you see his you ignored them. Because that's how it was supposed to work. You were supposed to allow him to be vulnerable with you and be rewarded with his trust.

And that's exactly what he wanted you to think.

[whisker-biscuit]

Sonic Big Bang 2024

Close Encounters of the Grim Kind: Chapter 4

---------------------------------

The device still wasn’t back when Tails woke up.

He didn’t know why he was disappointed. The stranger had been very clear about their boundaries and had already ignored everything that wasn’t directly connected to studying the dimensions. There was a very good chance they were never going to respond, or even return the device. If it had been an Eggman he’d been talking to this entire time, he’d practically gifted them a significant dose of Prism energy on a silver platter after spending all night supercharging it with the other probes.

None of that mattered as much as Sonic’s life, though, and that was the biggest disappointment of all. Asking him directly clearly wasn’t on the table after overhearing that conversation yesterday, and asking his pen pal had ended up a bust.

There was one last person who knew the whole truth. Tails could only hope that he’d be more forthcoming than everyone else he’d turned to.

Feeling an incredible sense of déjà vu, he picked up his phone and began to dial.

---------------------------------

“Shadow, we need to talk.”

The hedgehog stopped mid-step as he entered the workshop. His eyebrows furrowed into a slight frown at Tails, who stood in the center of the room with folded arms and what he hoped was a firm enough expression on his face.

“What is it? Did you find something concerning?”

“There’s definitely something concerning, alright, but it has nothing to do with my research. At least, I thought it didn’t.”

Shadow’s frown deepened and he took a few steps further inside to close the door behind him. “Explain.”

The fox took a deep breath. It was now or never. “I need you to tell me what happened to Sonic when you two were in the Shatterverse.”

He watched the frown shift from worry to defensiveness in the blink of an eye. Shadow folded his own arms to mimic Tails’ body language.

“If he hasn’t told you already, then I won’t, either.”

“Why not?”

“It’s not my story to share.”

Tails growled. His frustration at Sonic, his pen pal, and the awful revelation he’d learned yesterday were all finally reaching a boiling point. “He’s my brother! I deserve to know!”

“You don’t “deserve” anything about this, and especially not from me. If this is the only reason you called me here today then there’s no point in continuing this conversation.”

He pulled out the green chaos emerald and held it out in front of him, about to teleport. Tails threw up his hands.

“None of you will tell me anything and I’m so sick of it!”

It had been meant less of a parting jab and more of an irritated exclamation at the situation in general, but it still halted the hedgehog in his tracks. His mouth stopped mid-chant of “chaos control” and he stared at Tails with a laser-focused gaze.

“What do you mean by “none of us”?”

The fox froze. All the frustration disappeared in an instant as he realized his verbal flub. “I mean – I meant neither of you. Neither you or Sonic will tell me anything.”

“That is not what you said.” A single blink and suddenly Shadow was directly in front of him, staring him down. “You said “none”. Who else won’t tell you anything?”

“That – it – that’s none of your business,” he said, wavering just a moment under the weight of those dissecting eyes. “If… if you’re not going to answer my questions then I don’t have to answer yours.”

Shadow narrowed his eyes as he studied him. The firm line of his mouth pulled even further as they faced off with each other in silence. Tails tried not to let anything show on his face, but it was too late – he saw the moment the hedgehog connected the dots.

“You’ve been in contact with someone from another dimension,” he began, slow and dangerous, “and you didn’t tell me. That wasn’t part of our deal, Fox.”

“Yeah, well – n-neither was letting Sonic in on all of this, but you didn’t have any problem doing that!”

“What are you talking about.”

“Yesterday! I heard you tell him that I was worried! The only reason you know that is from the conversation we had about all this dimensional stuff, but you kept acting like it had nothing to do with him. Clearly it does!”

The hedgehog’s eyes widened minutely, caught off guard despite his anger. Then they narrowed again. “Tails, who have you been in contact with?”

“I’m not answering that question until you tell me what’s wrong with Sonic.”

“Nothing is –” he took a deep breath and looked up towards the ceiling. When he spoke again, his words were careful and measured. “How much did you hear yesterday?”

“Enough to know you’re worried that whatever – thing happened to Sonic, it might happen again. And I don’t even know what that is to begin with.”

Shadow looked back down at the fox, who could actively see the internal debate in his eyes. They were in a stand-off with each other for a solid minute; neither was willing to back down without getting the answers they wanted, but neither wanted to give up their own knowledge, either.

Tails broke first. His shoulders slumped and he stared at the floor. “I…I don’t actually know who I’ve been talking to. It’s only been through text messages and they’re really careful not to give any identifying details. All I know for sure is they’re as intelligent as me, they’ve worked with the Paradox Prism before, and I think they know what happened to Sonic. I asked them to tell me but they’ve refused.”

He glanced up at the hedgehog, whose jaw was clenched like he was upset. Before he could speak whatever rebuke was in his mind, Tails gave him a pleading look.

“Please, Shadow. Please just tell me if Sonic’s life is in danger. I can’t help him if I don’t know.”

Something about that seemed to resonate. The anger pulled back just the tiniest bit into something more reserved and almost resigned.

“I don’t think Sonic’s life is in danger. I think he’s being foolish by not telling you or the rest of his friends about what happened, but I’d like to believe he isn’t so stupid as to not tell me if he feels off in any way.”

“But why won’t he tell me?” Tails’ voice began to rise. “I’m his best friend! His brother! Don’t I have the right to know if something is wrong with my brother?”

A grimace crossed Shadow’s face for the briefest moment; a flicker of old pain and recognition. “You do, and I will make sure you know if that’s the case, but as of right now it’s not my place to tell you about it. I’m sorry.”

“Does this have to do with why he thinks I’ll feel guilty if I learn about it?”

“Yes.”

Tails let out an angry huff and began to pace back and forth across the room. He really wanted to shout or throw something that wouldn’t break on impact, but the embarrassment over being seen as immature in front of Shadow won out over the frustration-fueled impulse.

“Could you at least tell me why I’d feel guilty about it? Did he risk his life for another version of me or something?”

Before the hedgehog could answer, there was a sudden flash of light above the desk. They both turned to stare at the interdimensional device hovering almost innocently in the air.

Tails was fast. Shadow was faster.

He snatched the device up before the fox could, keeping it out of reach as he scanned the messages on its tiny screen with a snarl that quickly disappeared. Tails stopped trying to grab it from him as he saw Shadow’s eyes go from furious to shocked to wary in the span of seconds.

“Shadow?”

The hedgehog blinked a few times before looking down at Tails. His expression was unreadable, but the anger was gone. Mostly.

“Here,” he said, not as curt as he probably meant to sound as he dropped the device into the scientist’s hands. “Respond however you want, but don’t mention it to Sonic yet.”

Tails fumbled to hold onto it, surprised. “What? Why?”

“I know who this person is, and I don’t want Sonic anywhere near him until I know his exact intentions.”

Shadow pulled out his emerald.

“Where are you going?”

“To get the Paradox Prism. I’ll be back shortly.”

Without any other explanation, he teleported away, leaving a very confused fox reeling in the wake of emotional whiplash. When his head finally stopped whirling, he looked down at the device in his hands and began reading its contents.

[ yes. i know what happened to Sonic. it was my fault he ended up that way ]

[ i’ll explain everything. i’ve been working on a better way to communicate with prism energy but first i need to know two things ]

[ is Sonic okay ]

[ are you Tails ]

Tails frowned, rereading the messages once he realized that was all there was. The revelation that Sonic’s near-death experience was because of this stranger was alarming, and suddenly it made sense why Shadow didn’t want them to interact yet. But why ask if Sonic was okay if it was someone wanting to do him harm? Why admit it was their fault at all if they wanted access to Sonic for that purpose?

Why ask who he was? How did he even know about him at all?

Uncertain, the fox waffled between answering immediately or waiting for Shadow to return. The determination to unravel this troubling mystery won out over patience, and he typed in two simple messages.

– Sonic is okay. I’m just worried about what happened. –

– Yes, I’m Tails. –

He hesitated. Wrote a third.

– Who are you? –

The device was released back into space-time seconds before Shadow reappeared with the Paradox Prism’s container hefted over his shoulder. He set it down gingerly, then gave Tails a careful once-over.

“Did you respond yet?”

“Yeah. Why did you bring the Prism here?”

“The battery was almost depleted. You didn’t notice?”

Tails blinked. No, he hadn’t noticed at all. “Huh.”

“I also wanted to ensure it remained safe with me when we go forward with this.”

“Go forward with what?”

Shadow’s mouth set into a thin, firm line. “How you’re about to communicate with this ‘stranger’ friend of yours.”

He didn’t elaborate. The fox bit his lip and played with his hands, waiting because that was all he could do anymore. It was something he was really starting to hate.

They stood side by side in weighted silence for several minutes before the device returned – and tied to it, a second, smaller piece of technology. It looked almost like a flash drive, but there was no plug-in port that Tails could see. The single message was an instruction.

[ set the drive on a flat surface and place the interdimensional device on top of it ]

The young scientist looked at Shadow, who raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment on what he should do. Refusing to second-guess himself, he did as directed and watched a small, purple hologram appear in front of them.

Tails’ breath caught in his throat.

“Hello, Tails,” said a stranger with his own face. “My name is Nine.”

[birdhouseblog25]

Futari Wa/We Are Pretty Cure! Review Season 1 (Ep. 1-26)

Hi, my name is BJ short BluJay, and welcome to the Birdhouse blog where magical girls throwing hands is a typical Tuesday afternoon when you're facing up against the monster of the week and balancing midterms at the same time.

I'll be reviewing the first arc of Futari Wa precure, most commonly known as We Are Pretty Cure! For background, Futari Wa Pretty Cure is a magical girl series produced by Toei Animation in 2004, if you know Toei Animation, it is one of the biggest animation studios out there for hit anime such as Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, and of course the magical girl sensation that swept the globe Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.

While all four anime series swept the world marking its spot of peak animation to this day, the Pretty Cure franchise was a phenomenon that grew on its own two feet to stand on its popularity.

As a little kid I've heard about the Pretty Cure series for a long time, but I never really got into it as I was into other magical girls shows. But now that I am older and flying back down into the rabbit hole that is my magical girl phase I decided to watch the 1st 26 episodes of the original Futari Wa Pretty Cure series, and I had a blast.

🖤The Story🤍

The show follows our two main protagonists Nagisa the pro athlete and Honoka the genius honor student, as they are both brought together by two marketable plushies named Mepple and Mipple to become the emissaries of light Cure Black (Nagisa) and Cure White (Honoka) to defend ancient crystals known as the prism stones from the clutches of the Dark Zone led by their ruler the Dark King.

Pros:

The story is very straight to the point as it's very consistent about events that happened in the show as Nagisa does recaps for each new episode. Each episode has a storyline, some filler episodes, and the other half of the episodes connect to collecting the prism stones as the main target for the 1st 26 episodes. But one of my favorite parts about this season is the themes of the human heart and how connection can bring people together despite how different they as our two protagonists try to understand one another, for better and for worse.

-Episode 8 is a great example of this as this was the first time Nagisa and Honoka fought, and while the circumstances are misunderstood for the most part, it genuinely feels like both of the characters truly don't know each other all that much. And that's not a bad thing because at the end of the episode they both understood each other while using the precure diaries that showed the true feelings of each other's hearts. They understood what they liked and disliked, but most importantly they understood each other on a deeper level.

Cons:

I do want to talk more about the themes of the human heart and the yin and Yang aspect of the Cures, but we'll save that for another blog post for another day. But like any good show, there's always going to be some cons within the story, such as Nagisa being the one to recap the episodes from her perspective, but we don't get the perspective of Honoka.

And I get why they tried doing it for Nagisa because she's the only one of the two who didn't want to be a Pretty Cure in the first place and had this responsibility thrust upon her when facing the agents of dark zone, but over time it gets repetitive. I want to see more of Honoka’s side of the story how her thought process feels about the situations from the past 26 episodes of being a precure and how it affects her daily life as well.

-Another part of the story is the goals of the villains the agents of the dark zone. While I understand they want to collect the prism stones to make the dark zone eternal and corrupt the world, they don't have much of an individual goal that sets them apart from pleasing the Dark King.

🖤Characters🤍

Pros:

-Honoka and Nagisa are the highlights of this season as they are in more ways than one amazing lead protagonist. As stated they are both very different from one another yet that's what makes their relationship all the more entertaining. Honoka is the genius honor student known for her title the Science Queen. She loves books and she will tear you up if you try messing with her friends and not afraid to call you out for it, showing her much braver attitude.

 -Nagisa is the star athlete of the academy lacrosse team with a tomboyish attitude and laid-back personality, yet she’s not always keen on attention and wants to one day have a boyfriend. Both of these girls balance each other out, understanding their conflicts and situations that can be difficult for a lot of people especially since they're both carrying the responsibility of protecting the prism stones from an otherworldly threat. But what makes them both resilient is that despite their differences they both have the heart to carry out their duties as a pretty cure not just out of obligation, but out of the love they have for their friends and family including mepple and mipple, protecting their home from Dark Zones advances.

-The supporting cast of characters a very interesting. You have Nagisa’s family that's always roundabout and rambunctious, and then you have Honoka’s family which consists of her grandmother and her pet dog. Honoka's mom and dad aren't home all the time, but that doesn't stop the parents from visiting their daughter showering her with gifts.

It just warms my heart when we see the Yukishiro family reunite in episode 10 conveying how much Honoka’s parents missed their daughter and hate working far away from their home. It's a purely wholesome episode heavily Honoka-focused. Another one of the supporting cast is Nagisa's school friends, but there isn’t much to talk about. But I will talk about one of them named Shiho who has this quirk to repeat the phrase of her sentencing three times expressing her excitement.

-The villains are a hit-and-miss. Poisonny and Kiriya are the only two agents of the dark zone I like because of their focus in the story. Poisoning is entertaining while also being very powerful, showing that she's quite manipulating but at the same time pinpoints the weaknesses in the pretty cure’s everyday lives, which is shocking considering she does a better job of exploiting their weaknesses than the last two dark zone agents that up and went boomed by marble screw Ex Machina.

Kiriya on the other hand while having one fight scene with the pretty cure is the most interesting of the dark agents as his character arc is mainly about understanding himself and the growing emotions that he's developed throughout his focused episodes.

He struggled with his loyalty to the dark zone wanting to understand himself through these newfound emotions that brought him a greater connection with Honoka. Episode 18 for example, is such a fantastic episode that demonstrates the anger and struggles Kiriya faces conveying emotions, but at the same time makes you understand why he acts this way when he can’t understand human emotions.

-And FYI it's also in the same episode having one of the best fight scenes in the first 26 episodes hands down. The Animators straight up went insane for how well the fighting choreography was animated.

Cons:

-The Dark King is okay for the most part. He's your typical evil shadowy monster figure who wants to take over the world through nihilism and depression which is something I already feel on a one-to-one basis but hey you are what you eat.

The rest of the dark zone agents or dark zone assassins are fine but like I stated before they lack some sort of individual goal besides the main goal of getting the prism stones to corrupt the realm of light and earth.

-Piscard is a hater who constantly fails to get the prism stones from the marketable plushies. Besides eternal power for his services under a dark king, there isn't much to him.

-That could be said for Genkidragon or as I like to call him Unga because that's what he says in every sentence. He’s painfully average and’s meant to be the big strong comedy relief of the group but kind of misses the mark. There isn't much to say about him other than just Unga.

-And finally, we have Iikubo or Garlic Junior as I like to call him. He's fine, probably the strongest out of the five dark assassins who want the dark king to succeed, posing as a threat to the pretty cures in terms of strength. Nevertheless, he's just okay as a threatening antagonist but as a character lacks interesting qualities.

-Fuji-P (I forgot his name) is Nagisa's crush/love interest for the show. He's just the nice dude who does nice things. Like that's it that's all I have for him he's just a love interest for Nagisa to go googly eyes for.

-The marketable plushies are a mess but they're a mess that I can easily ignore. Mipple is OK she just wants to protect the prism stones and return to the realm of light. Mepple on the other hand, is annoying as heck. He's just a jerk and not even a lovable jerk at that, he's just constantly always having a smart mouth that makes me roll my eyes because he doesn't have anything nice to say. Why mipple put up with him is BEYOUD ME.

🖤Animation🤍

Pros:

the animation has that early 2000s crisp animation, and the way the characters are animated in terms of exaggerated poses or walking in a specific direction gives the show a realistic value, not to mention it feels nostalgic for me when I watch early 2000s anime and cartoons such as Filmore, Digimon Adventures, and Code Lyoko.

-But the biggest highlight of the series is the hand-to-hand combat, a giant staple in the precure franchise. While the framing needs some work when it shows the scale of the larger enemies, the way they animated Nagisa and Honoka fighting is stellar. Honoka transforms into Cure White her fighting style is graceful more on the defensive, whereas Nagisa when transformed into Cure Black is all about throwing hands and getting on the offensive trying to disempower the monster of the week. It highlights how much attention to detail they have for both the cures and how both of them truly are the opposites not just in their quirks and personalities but in their fighting style as well.

Con: The only con that I have for the animation is mainly how in some cases when they're focusing on one scene in the combat sequence but then drastically shift out of order that feels very jarring and it's not just in one episode, you'll see it in a couple of episodes during the middle of the season.

🖤 Conclusion 🤍

Overall, my first time experiencing Futari Wa Pretty was a blast and I had such a great time watching this show! There's just so much to talk about from the soundtrack, the deeper meaning behind the connection of the heart, there’s just so much to explain but I'll leave most of my thoughts for my second review once I finish the show in its entirety.

Of all the magical girl shows I would be interested in this was the one that caught my attention every single time and it never fails to divert my expectations. It just makes me feel nostalgic for how I once watched magical girl shows as a kid, to where I am now as an adult woman currently graduated from college and entering the adult world. I'm glad I gave this show a chance and can't wait to venture more into the Pretty Cure franchise for future reviews and excitement for the days to come.

[folcanta]

this is so long and i could keep outlining why i think (re)watching the series and paying attention to folken reveals deeper elements of the series, but, my entire blog is basically only that, so... i'll keep it to "just" this for now 😋

refer to episode 20 notes, episode 21, episode 22 for more + they're shorter, lol

folken happens to be the prism through which i've always seen and understood Escaflowne, to me he is its backbone, the figure who underscores the points it's trying to make. he embodies them. the things hitomi and van are, or the people they eventually grow into, are what folken already is. he can read people and predict events because, in spite of his turmoil, he takes people for who they are— he sees van for who he is, "van never changes, huh?" he says, breathlessly happy— and is aware of himself in a way few other characters are. it's actually important that most of the characters are in a state of denying themselves of themselves, going after what they think they want without reflecting on whether or not that's true, many of them are stuck in situations where they've not been given control over their lives... or shirked the control they could have. they've not been shown an alternative to the path they're on. those new paths open as we go. folken's attempts at living his contradictions and multitudes only go so far, and his turning point comes before everyone else's. even so, even with defecting and trying to do better, he accepts that his harm and crimes have created a ripple effect to which he's not immune.

even fighting the dragon, he does so because he believes fanelia's traditions are cruel. but, he accepts his death by the dragon. and when that fate is staved off when he's kidnapped by dornkirk, he knows/believes wholeheartedly that he can't go back to fanelia— he's experienced something, some kind of rapture, that he can't explain. it's easier to accept the forced defecting from his country if it means ending the bloody responsibilities of the king. so, he can accept too the emotional torture of using what's at his disposal to save van, but only up to a point, when he understands the extent to which this laser-focused vision has harmed others. as much as he has tried to consider others in his ambitions, it's his love for van which creates blind spots, and he needs to rectify it.

van makes medicine using plants from the forest, something he says he learned from his brother. he's using fanelia's sword to mash it up, suggesting once again that he and folken's natural inclinations are toward healing and gentleness, and he, and van in particular, have been conditioned away from this.

relatedly, i've mentioned swords to ploughshares before in reference to folken :^)

they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

— Isaiah 2:3–4

already long so i'll put the rest under a cut.

folken begins detailing and predicting the plot and events of the show he's in starting from... episode 4 or 5? he is consistently telling us the truth and lying only or primarily by omission. this is confirmed too in the series' drama CD where it says what i figured was true, which is that folken's ability, like hitomi's (which he also observes and understands) has him always aware of van's location.

Dilandau: Folken! Why isn’t the Vione making chase? At this point, we can still catch up to the dragon!

Folken: We don’t need to exacerbate the situation. Their destination is Palas… there, capture can be achieved.

Dilandau: Hmm… you seem quite calm, considering that our hard-earned dragon has escaped. Wait a minute… what was it you were saying? With the king of Fanelia… could it be you provided him the means of escape, Stratego?

Folken: I had no idea you had such a sense of humor. My name is Folken Lacour de Fanel.

Dilandau: Fanel…?

Folken: The King of Fanelia is named Van Slanzar de Fanel. Van is my younger brother.

Dilandau: Brother? Sibling? You’re the king of Fanelia's brother?! Folken! I hate it when you joke with me.

Folken: Were you able to control Escaflowne?

Dilandau: !? So, you were able to operate the dragon’s mechanism...

Folken: That’s right. It's proof that I am Van’s brother.

Dilandau: Heh heh heh... hahahahahahaha! I get it. No wonder you knew the Fanelia castle so well. In that case, you were really supposed to become King of Fanelia, right?

Folken: I threw it away, the old world of Gaea steeped in tradition, together with Lord Dornkirk, to attain the creation of a new world.

Dilandau: Ha. Hahaha…! This is too much. So, that’s it… I understand. You’re bitter now. Your own reign, unrecognized in your country… and your brother king instead of you!

Folken: The power of a great imagination…

this is both really fucking funny and also really sad— "i had no idea you had such a sense of humour [plausible deniability about being an estranged exile who Surely would betray his brother, right?]" tragic, with "oh you think i'm lying? i didn't see You hotwire the car, dipshit." up til now, dilandau didn't think about any of this at all. had no idea how folken activated Escaflowne (wasn't paying attention, didn't see folken cut himself, very funny on folken's part to let dilandau electrocute himself.) in the show just as on the CD, folken effortlessly dodges his accusations.

Dilandau: Folken! I hate waiting.

Folken: I know roughly where the dragon is. You don't have to rush.

Dilandau: Why don't you capture the dragon now? Lord Dornkirk will appreciate that.

ahh... but he can't, can he? folken needs to maintain enough room for doubt to allow van to keep evading them. actually it seems most times when dilandau really wilds out, folken is there to babysit him afterwards.

episode 4

where do you think you're going?

episode 7

god i hate this empty little creep. i can't read his partitioned hard drive at all.

i've said it before, but there's a loneliness to the soothsayer archetype, the tragedy of being cassandra— punished for ones knowledge.

knowing that folken has (an almost omniscient) awareness of the role he must play and a self-awareness which hitomi and van are headed towards but don't at present possess— made him a lodestar for fleshing out my understanding of the depth of the story and the crux of its message. because if he is that complicated (being, imo, the guy to first and persistently complicate any potential black/white thinking in regards to the characters) then the story as a whole is telling something more complex than it seemed at first glance. each character is initially presented as if they're going to follow the clichés of their assumed role, and honestly, folken and allen are the two that stand out to me as taking the biggest departures. which isn't at all to say that the other characters don't!, they do, they have to, the series is about breaking established rules. it's just that van is closer to the more expected trappings of a protagonist of his description than folken is to an antagonist. departure after departure as his character is revealed in full. folken is the only character who begins the series with the goal of breaking the cycle of violence— a goal which isn't even the same as dornkirk's— it's just his methods of accomplishing this are misguided. obviously, the anguish at the great toll a tradition of bloodshed takes, and wanting to eradicate it at the root, is also his motivation in the film. but in the film he's accepted/is outright seeking self-destruction (and self-destruction is being portrayed as having collateral damage!) whereas in the series he assumes self-destruction is inevitable, but not explicitly sought.

one of my favourite things he does is look allen "blue-eyed soul" schezar right in his dejected face and tells him he's a victim of a grave misunderstanding. (FACTUAL... DEFINING ELEMENT OF ALLEN'S LIFE/CHARACTER.) swiftly followed by the real showstopper: van goes into the fog of war ptsd flashback episode when he sees folken in asturia. folken walks about at a reasonable pace down the side streets, but van is chasing after him... folken is at once within reach and not— despite his pace, van chases after him. because he believes he must chase after him. but folken isn't evading him. he's right there. but van and hitomi are both accustomed to the chase— arrival and satisfaction elude them. hitomi hasn't beaten her personal record. she must keep running, but she's running toward a destination she'll never reach. if folken is never running from van, then he wants van to reach him. and he does want van to reach him— he leaves openings for van to do so, and to understand him. in episode 21 he is desperate, voice shaking, nearly to tears, that van can't seem to understand him/he is failing to make van understand him.

every time he sees van he's either heartbroken or calmly elated. whistling their childhood song and keeping calm while van is upset in episode 5 is meant to be comforting, and van acts the same way when applying medicine to a freaked out hitomi. the song, "fatal," is a slower tempo/different key (i believe) version of "cradle song". since cradle song plays a lot around allen, and "memory of fanelia" is later given lyrics to become "blue eyes," (aside from being economical i'm sure) this is to once again show how they're foils of each another, AND, crucially, to guide us always toward van and folken— they are the originators, the core. even when you're seeing allen, you're being pointed back to the brothers.

allen is the big brother whose younger sibling disappeared, van is the younger brother whose older brother disappeared. neither allen nor dilandau recognise each other at all, not even in repeat close proximity. folken knows van forever, and van recognises folken once he sees something familiar— his wings. because van must always have his trauma responses shattered, he can't leave it of his own volition, in which everything is Enemy or (begrudgingly and hesitantly) Ally.

folken says it's unnatural for them to kill dragons. hitomi says it's unnatural that van wants to kill folken. when van is standing on the bridge halfway toward folken (nice metaphor,) folken tells van, overlaying a statue of a man killing a dragon,

that the slaughter humans commit is repulsive to him, and that van is gentle, and not cut out for this. he wants to spare van from the burden of bloodshed. van, by contrast, doesn't believe war can stop war, but unlike folken, he's intimately, immediately involved in and committing violence. folken's omniscience is what makes him the perfect military strategist, but he doesn't actually want to be involved in the carnage, just as he didn't want to be involved with it when he was a kid. he took on the fight with the dragon to spare van from this, too. he is doing what he can from afar, enduring the heartbreak that comes with it. in some ways we're exposed to his trajectory by the sacrifice of balgus and the duke of freid, the latter of whom is for van a stand-in for his own father (when he's observing chid and getting alarmed by the harsh scolding as they leave freid) as well as defending allen to chid the same way he and balgus defended folken in his absence— van is accustomed to this.

what's different is folken's sacrifice is made possible by his unshakeable faith in the love hitomi and van have for one another. i'm always going to be cut up about his end because, due to him being what underscores and exemplifies the whole ethos of the series, i find the circumstances/presentation of his death undermines and unravels key concepts. it very suddenly breaks my sustained suspension of disbelief, and makes me look back and examine and question elements of the plot and intention which by that point should be resolved, and he shows me they aren't. as a load-bearing feature of the show, he is the locus of my perception, including my criticism.

i think this is one of my favourite descriptions of him,

In truth, he cares about the world more than anyone else, and chose to side with Dornkirk in order to create a world without conflict.

cares about the world more than anyone else... and van says at the end that folken has returned to the fanelia he loved so much, and wants to carry out his brother's wishes for a better world. folken looks the dragon in the eye and realises it's only attacking him in self defense. the dragon makes them equal. they are the same.

meanwhile, the first thing van does to the dragon

is blind it.

[idollandhero]

I think in a year we'll look back at our time with Idol Land and think of it like a weird dream. A time when there wasn't a Pretty Series show announced and everything was in limbo. A time where King of Prism was a dead franchise. A time when songs were performed at Pretty Series live shows that wouldn't premier in the anime for years. The game teaser in every single Pretty Series announcement only for it to be delayed again. The YEARS long gap between episodes 2 and 3. The DISASTROUS launch. When we realized it was just a reskinned version of the switch game. Or when we discovered that it was mostly made by some unrelated dev who had only made one failed mobile otome game before Idol Land.

The Pretty Series' pivot to focusing on AiPri & KinPri instead of Idol Land & DanPri makes the past few years of Idol Land content, and the past less than a year of Idol Land actually being out, feel like an illusion.

It's frustrating because the concept of a PriPara mobile game sounds fantastic! When I play games like SIF2 or Idolish7 or whatever I think about what could have been. Was it money problems? or time problems? Or some combination of both. Regardless I can't help but yearn for a game with a budget that this franchise deserves.

And the web anime was great! But only 12 episodes, and its own budget problems, plus the games delay keeping it finished and in limbo for 2 years! (+ the lack of any western fansubs picking it up, seriously how is do we still only have subs for up to episode 6) meant that it never got the place in the spotlight it deserved. Some people speculated that it was meant to air on TV because the episodes are formatted as such, but with AiPri starting in that slot the same month the show is ending that doesn't seem to be true.

It's hard to say where PriPara is going from here. It's the series 10th anniversary and the arcade game is being shuttered to push players towards AiPri Verse instead. Idol Land's anime finale is going to air to little applause because it's stuck on an app with less than 20,000 active users, and in the same month as the launch of the new series that's slated to be a real PreCure competitor.

Idol Land's EOS hasn't been announced yet, but the missing Nino birthday coord, the April monthly update with entirely rerun coords, and the fact that Idol Land is getting very VERY close to running out of content from the switch game. Well, if not EOS I expect this game to go into maintenance mode pretty soon.

Yeah idk what my point here was exactly, but man Idol Land really was a blur. Sometimes I think we understate exactly how inexperienced the devs really were. The game doesn't have any type of Google Play integration, and when the game launched the account recovery only lasted 15 minutes. I have a newer phone and the game isn't compatible with my hole punch front camera. There's just a black bar there. I only have this problem with older games, anything made in the last 4 years doesn't have this problem except for Idol Land. I honestly think the lack of region locking is because the dev doesn't know how to turn it on. Someone on discord reported that they've been buying gold, and then contacting Google and asking for a Play Store refund. It's worked multiple times and they are not banned. How is a ban for chargebacks not something they implemented day one. Also this game doesn't have any deals or discounts, ever. It's hard to believe that, like every game I've ever played has a buy two and get 50% off the second one bundle. But it's like the devs don't know how to implement anything past basic gacha mechanics. I could also ramble about how expensive the prices are, but I've done it before I won't do it again. Also the photo room, it's implemented pretty badly. You upload a photo for the background and it crops it weird and squishes it and makes it blurry. I didn't know this at launch because it was a paid feature for like six months. The pass itself was a horrible value unless you were buying it specifically to get the episodes early, you got exactly how the amount of gold you paid for. Why not just buy the gold then. But they either realized that, or were preparing for end of service; because they took it down. I'm rambling about things the devs messed up but I haven't even mentioned the first three months of the game. There's been so many points in this game's history where playing a promise was borderline impossible for one reason or another. This game didn't feel finished until that November update that included immediate promises. God there's so much more. The photo competitions just being about editing for some reason. Also they went away, so clearly those didn't work. The amount of coords they've implemented that were broken in some way. Sometimes it was the wrong coord entirely, sometimes the cylume didn't work. It's like the dev team is so small that there's no QA people. Also on that note, Open Dream Land was just fixed in the mid March update. The game went more than 6 months where one of its two unique charts was off sync. Also remember the voice bug, that lasted forever.

I'm sorry I just started rambling lmao. This is the problem when I write posts with speech to text, I say way too much. Ultimately I enjoyed my time with Idol Land, but it's existence feels surreal. Especially because 80% of the features from this game I can turn on my switch after end of service and play, and it's free because I already paid once and never have to pay again. I even have Waku Waku O'Clock on Switch. One day, probably soon from the way things are going, I'm going to wake up and not be able to play Idol Land on my phone ever again. But instead of reminiscing of this game, I will think about the game that could have been if Idol Land got as much love as Prism Rush did.

KASHIKOMA ✌️

[silverdragon889]

Reginald Crane | Burned Ties AU

Tag list: @warden-draws-sometimes @wyvchard @sleepywillowo0o @pandagobrr @ghostlystarwanderer if I missed anyone pls lemme know I am Very warm-brained from my walk

There is a chance to affect the AU below the cut, so do give a read!

Reginald heard the clatter of chains and removed his headset from his ears before he broke. He decided to mentally rewind everything- perhaps it would make any of this easier to digest once running it through again.

He knew from the start that something about these missions had been setting his Agent on edge lately; it was obvious from the fidgeting and the click of a lighter when he thought Reginald wasn't listening.

He just didn't think it would be this.

He saw the initial reaction his Agent had when confronting the latest of Zoraxis’ head lackeys. Visceral. As if he'd been shot. Hell, Reginald remembered winding back the feed just to see if he had been. For the Agent to lose cool like that on a mission… he hadn't seen anything like it since Phoenix's rookie years.

And then the fight happened.

It started verbally, mind, though Reginald initially could make no sense of what was being said. (Spanish was never his strongest language.) But the verbal barrage eventually gave way to fists and knives, bionic arms and TK. A usual sight in the field, save for two details.

One. Phoenix was holding back. That was the first major tip off for him that something wasn't right here. Phoenix, as a rule, never holds back against knocking out his opponent, lest they kill him. But he held back against this woman, who if he heard right, went by Mechanique.

Two. The other tip off was when he hesitated dealing the final blow, which ended up giving Mechanique enough time to trigger the cage. By that point he was concerned his agent was more than compromised- fear had gripped him as though death himself had taken hold of his soul.

But then it all clicked when Phoenix had started pleading with her. Calling her by name. Using a word he actually recognized.

Oriae. Hermana. Sister.

That enemy was his Agent's sister.

Crane found himself feeling a multitude of emotions; disbelief, anger, sadness, but most of all, determination. Phoenix had admittedly sat through and even sometimes aided in resolving a lot of his messy, less than professional relationships.

It was only fair he returned the favor.

With that in mind, he reached for the phone and made a call. Speaking of favors, he had one or two to call in.

Operation: Burned Ties would need them.

(Poll time! You can directly affect my AU by selecting an answer. Maybe reblog so I can get a lot of feedback? 👉👈🥺)

[prismkat]

⭐️any fic!⭐️

WHEW I forgot what the specific ask game for this said but I felt bad leaving this in the ask box so I figured as I continue the next SYB chapter (starting with rereading the fic for consistency) I’ll just highlight some points that I had secret meanings for when writing or whatever

Um read more for spoilers I guess if you feel like sticking to your own interpretations then you’re free to do that but this is just a chapter by chapter (not rlly) list of my own intentions

Also sorry if the chapters r inaccurate I kept forgetting to title what chapter was what

(Update from future prism: this is long)

Chapter one: oogly boogly or whatever

“Dee walked down a street, one she didn’t recognise, calling out her brother’s name. She didn’t remember where she was, or how she got here, or where anyone was. She assumed she must have gotten separated from her brother at some point, but when everywhere she walked looked the same, she couldn’t turn back and wait for him wherever she had lost him.

“Peter?” She called out her other brother’s name, beginning to feel scared. The road was almost pitch black, illuminated only by street lamps that were spaced out evenly, metres away from each other.”

This was based off of memory lane from omori!! This was a later bit actually where in the very original concept of the fic (like when it was meant to be a somewhat long one-shot before I realised that wasn’t going to work) where she actually did figure out the truth through a memory lane type deal. I scrapped it, but reused here because I didn’t know what to do with it

“She thought today was just going to be another day of watching the clock and counting down until it was time to go to bed so she could wake up and spend another day doing the exact same thing. However, when she woke up, she had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.”

No tidbits here, but I thought I’d bring attention to this.

Chapter two

“In her dreams when she saw Jack again, she would run up to him and tackle him in a hug, and they would sit down, and she would tell him everything he missed. All about her friends at school, what they would learn, the games she would play, and she would ask when he was coming back every single time.”

The Jack in her dreams was the real deal btw. I mean, that was my intention when writing it, and as far as I recall I never developed any lore that would require it to be retconned, so, yep, not sure if anyone realised this but that was totally him.

Oh yeah I’m also not going to highlight a specific line for this but Caroline’s accent in the fic is a Yorkshire accent, her entire character is based off of my own aunt so I thought it would be fun to give her one (+ I just felt she read a bit boring without it. Idk why)

Chapter five

“After they had finished washing up, Dee was ready to interview Peter, but he stopped to answer the phone. That left her and Caroline.”

This scene came before I had settled on Arcade’s existence! originally, i had in mind it was Henry calling. His intentions were dark, and I don’t think it would’ve been ooc for him in this fic, but he was originally seeing who was home so he could kill Dee because he just couldn’t have gotten away with it if William was around. I ended up changing it. I feel like arcade’s existence generally makes more sense, especially with the phone symbolism. Why? Shrugs

““Something felt off that day. I had a strong urge to call you two and make sure you were okay but I had slept in and had to get to work. I figured I was just being paranoid and that you guys would be fine… I don’t really want to think about what things could be like right now if I’d just risked being a little late to work.””

I felt I should also draw your attention to this. No particular reason

Chapter six

“”Happy Birthday, Dee!” It said, glitching slightly, but she still recognised who’s voice that was and gasped. “I can’t believe you’re six-years-old now, you’re growing up so fast! I hope it’s the best birthday you’ve ever had, and uhh, remember that I love you very, very much.” The audio glitched more the closer it got to the end, but she was thankful that after so long of not being used she could still make out clearly what he was saying.”

I hate this bit for how awkward it is, to be honest. But every time I’m itching to retcon it, I just think about how stupidly in character it is. Because like what are you actually meant to say on a birthday message. I’d have fucked up too

Chapter seven (aka explaining the symbolism in the trivial pursuit scene)

first things first ! Chapter was very much based on my absolutely hectic triv games with my own family. I hate it and love it at the same time. hence the chaotic energy. Though the cat never saved us like sparky did for Dee and Peter

“”Caroline reached for a card, reading it out. “In Greek Mythology, which flower sprouted from Hyacinthus’ spilled blood?””

a lot of people had deeper interpretations for this, and while I loved reading them, the truth was that purple hyacinths are associated with regret and sorrow. The reason this question was assigned to Peter was because he still very much blames himself over what happened to jack, regardless of if he killed himself or not. He’s never quite gotten over how he didn’t trust his gut and didn’t call that day.

“”What is the name of the deuteragonist of Richard Adams’ 1972 novel Watership Down? ””

said deuteragonist is Fiver, the main character’s brother. He has something in common with Jack, though it’s not the exact same. I won’t share. Go read the synopsis and you’ll see what I mean (/lh)

“Who is the author of the original Frankenstein novel?” Dee read out, flipping the card over to read the answer.”

Frankenstein’s monster. Jack. Need I say more?

“Another one about Greek Mythology?” He said. “Which creature from Greek Mythology is commonly pictured as a lion with a goat’s head protruding from its back and a tail ending in a snake head?”

Hahahaa… arcade’s real name….. ahahahaah

“He stared at her with beady eyes and she suddenly felt a sense of impending doom wash over her. “Do you want food?””

No comment.

“In her half conscious state, she could almost hear the phone ringing downstairs as she drifted back to sleep.”

I’m sure everyone gathered but the puppet in the dream was totally arcade and not jack, hence why the phone rung

Chapter eight

“”Aah! My face is being eaten a lot!””

gravity falls reference.

“She assumed it was probably Peter and Caroline checking in, or a friend calling. However, Sparky instantly stood up and began growling at the phone, hackles raised. “Woah, calm down.” Dee reassured him. “It’s just a phone! You hear it, like, all the time.””

Sparky’s violent reactions to the phone call is somewhat of a sixth sense thing. He can sense that they’re supernatural in nature, and though he doesn’t know who’s calling or why, he’s naturally on guard.

“Dee crossed her arms. “I don’t trust everyone! Like, I trust you. But Mr. Miller probably traffics pugs.””

Gravity falls reference

“”Some people-” He continued, “some people don’t even think about what they’re doing. They throw any sense of caution they could’ve had to the wind, and it’s over just like that. And I’ve seen it happen.””

Any guesses as to who he was talking about?

admittedly, when writing this, I was worried that this speech was ooc and it just wasn’t in his voice and grr. But yk what? Make that middle aged man feel worry. Make him feel concern for his kid I mean uh sister in law I mean random child who breaks into his diner

“Dee began to head out of the security office when they both heard someone enter the diner through the back door. They both peered around the corner, seeing Henry enter. He looked annoyed at something, and it was anyone’s guess as to what.”

Yeah he was looking for Dee. But sparky caused a ruckus so he left. That’s why he was barking when Dee tried to open the door and calmed down once she opened it. He couldn’t see who it was through the glass.

Chapter nine

“She sighed. “Man, why do circuses of all things have to have security? … We should beat up a clown.”

“ ... No? ”

“I’m all out of ideas then.””

I stole this from my friend this was my friend’s idea!!

hello if you’re reading this you know who you are

I was obsessed with the idea of the clown being Henry but it just didn’t work with my goal

Dee stood up, offering her hand out for him to take. “Watch and learn, brother.”

“Don’t call me that, please.”

Direct reference to dave always calling Dee sis in the flipside. See how you like it you little shit

“Well- we just got done practising for our main act, mitosis!”

I genuinely had zero clue for what I wanted out of the whole baby Dave scene so I was just making things up on the spot and it shows

Chapter 12

“All it takes is one little Timmy to catch sight of me and go running to his mom about seeing hellspawn in the arcade. Next thing you know, I’m out of commission and being dealt with a trusty axe.””

Haha.

“”…Letter?” Jack pondered quietly, tilting his head, before smiling again. “Oh, those! About that, Dee, I don’t feel like it’s a good idea to try to bring Peter into this.””

Arcade is trying so hard to be discreet about the fact that their only knowledge of the letters comes from seeing Dee carry it the day she went into the diner which they may or may not have seen through the eyes of spring bonnie

Chapter sixteen

“For a brief second, it looked like his words had gotten through to the Puppet, but they shook their head, “She won’t know she’s dying. She won’t even know that she’s dead. Just put your trust in me.””

Some people misinterpret this line. The way I see it (and wrote it, oops), arcade doesn’t want Dee to die. They don’t even necessarily wish harm upon her, they just think she HAS to for their plan to work, and this plan, whatever it is, is going to make dee’s death irrelevant anyway. I wonder what kind of plan or goal could do that…

Whew, I’m tired, and I don’t have much else to say for act one, and we’re not far deep enough into act two that I feel the need to clarify anything, so I’ll end it here!



[marinthecottage]

“The night felt like an abandoned music box tucked away from time and space, where the world was made of ice and snow and everything shone like within a prism, it was overwhelmingly beautiful, a kingdom drowned in music, it made her cry happy tears, the firewhisky traversing through her veins didn’t help with matters either, with the utter relief of the warmth of her friends beside her, the reminiscences of another ball, once upon a december, when everything was coated in doom and hubris and broken sugary hearts. Everything had been so crucial and yet behind the film of youth of not knowing what was to come it had all been so simple too.

Things now carried an air of grief, the new ghosts haunting the halls, the scars and the empty spaces. But there was also the sweetness of being alive, of being able to keep loving as fiercely and unafraid as she could and perhaps that had also drawn her to this mess of a moment, the spices of the firewhisky making her head swoon, the baubles of magic that floated around and all the stars above that made her feel endless. But now here she was in the arms of none other but Draco Malfoy, looking into his silver eyes that matched the rest of the decor to the point she could almost believe him the lord and ruler of this frozen land. He looked at her and no one else with a parted mouth, barely breathing as if he made the wrong move she would simply evaporate. She realized she quite liked it, she also liked the way he smelled and the way that his left hand pressed onto the small of her back, each fingertip applying more force than it was necessary for such a dance, but it sent a thrill up her spine. They hadn’t spoken beyond him asking her to dance, her accepting by taking his hand. Her friends a bit stunned except for Harry, he looked at her as if he already knew it all, perhaps she hadn’t been as careful, maybe it had been the stolen touches as they passed through the halls or the stolen glances, that left her with a pit in her stomach. Maybe she couldn’t hide away from her best friend, this drew a smile to her lips.

“You find me amusing Granger?” His smirk always made her senses somersault, but the battle with him never ended and she was known to be stubborn.

“So what if I do?” She challenged staring deep into his eyes not daring to look down at his lips.

He leaned down their foreheads almost touching, his hand moving up her back, making her gasp. “I just like to know everything I make you feel Granger” he whispered, amongst the chatter and music no one could hear them she knew, and yet she couldn’t help but look around, just in case. Old habits die hard, as if not the entire school have seen them already.

He took this as cue to pull her away out into a balcony, the air was frigid and her dress did very little to cover her, the alcohol in her veins slowly burning away. Next thing she knew she was in his embrace once more. He smells of the deepest part of the woods in winter, of mint and smoke. His lips flutter over her forehead, her ear, the line of her jaw, her arms go around his neck seeking any sort of support, and he responds in kind pushing her against the cold stone wall.

“Draco!” She cannot help it his name escapes through her lips at the shock. He has her now surrounded. His kisses stopping at the mention of his name but continuing over her neck and up back to her face and over her lips.

“Please say it again” his breath is warm against her and he looks like a madman slipping away into her, a god of winter making her sign a contract to take her away into the woods. Oh Vasilisa what would you do?

She signs it of course by uttering his name one more time. “Draco” his tongue licks away at her lower lip and immediately his mouth is on hers, it is hungry it is everything that has been promised through the months they have gotten to know one another, all the fear and anger is still there too and it fuels the burning inside of her. “

- An 8th year Yule Ball inspired Drabble. What would it be like ? How bittersweet how filled with the want for something good? With new love sprouting of the impending winter like snowdrops ✨

It’s been a year since I joined this fandom and I’ve loved every second of it. The art, the people, voices and their writing. So I decided to make some art pieces to commemorate it. ✨❄️ have good winter and a magic Yule everyone ✨

You can find more dramione art on my Instagram @mar.s.cottageofdreams or more dramione works on ao3