#and this is now the third installment of figuring out how to draw long grass

[wizards-and-t]

Happy birthday to this emo guy <3

[faevorite-main-blog]

TOP 5 OF 2020

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (ish) favourite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

Thank you so much to @dragontamerdame for the tag! This is seriously such a fun challenge and I’m grateful for the opportunity to reflect on 2020. This year has definitely been a year to remember. I was able to finally return to tumblr and create new artworks that let me express myself in a way I haven’t in years. I met so many new friends and got to enjoy so many new conversations. Thank you so much everyone for the love you have given me and the endless support. I don’t know where I’d be without you.

Number One: Sun and Moon

This artwork was drawn to participate in @yemiello​ ‘s DTIYS challenge. I’m so incredibly proud of how it turned out. It was the start of a new era of art for me where I stopped focusing on the characters only and started implementing both color schemes and complimentary colors. This expanded into a new series (classical painting inspired drarry) that has meant so much to me already as an artist. It has been such a long time since I felt like what I was creating could actually be considered ‘art’ to myself. This artwork was the start of pushing myself to new limits and letting myself grow and it means so much to me. It was also the first work that I made that I looked back on and thought “Wow, I feel like I created something to be proud of today.”

Number Two: Freefall This was the artwork I made directly after “Sun and Moon” I was experimenting with a new perspective for this one, something I’d never done before and it was both terrifying and exhilarating. I’ve never tried to draw a birds eye view angle before and I wasn’t sure that I could pull it off. I also implemented movement for the first time in my art. The motion blur on the sides of their bodies! At first I was worried that it had been too much and over took the whole painting. After encouragement from @l0vegl0wsinthedark​ and @lazywonderlvnd​ I got the courage to post. I’ve never gone back!! I’m so immensely proud of the growth that this art piece brought me. 

Number Three: Something Borrowed

This was the artwork that started my new series!!! (Something Borrowed) When I was drawing it I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to happen. Notice the hair on Harry’s arm?! Like! My first time truly experimenting with body hair. I was nervous that it wouldn’t turn out the way I wanted it to but looking back on it I’m so glad I took the risk. This was another experiment in new art techniques. At first the canvas started up close with them falling in the lower third. I eventually decided I didn’t like that and added extra ground to the bottom and some grass as foreground. LIFE CHANGING. Now I’m obsessed with adding foreground to everything. Who would’ve thought?! Hahaha. I’m really proud of the detail on this drawing and the angle of Draco’s chest. I stared at him for way too long as I tried to decide if he looked anatomically correct.

Number Four: Something Taken

This was the second art installment in my “Something Borrowed” series. THE BACK MUSCLES ON THIS!!! I am so excited about. It took me way too long to get it right but when I did I could literally sob. I’ve always struggled with the anatomy of backs and the backs of arms. They never look like they do in my head and it takes so much time correcting what my brain does incorrectly. I was (and still am) still learning what ratio of linework to painting I like in my artwork. This drawing ended up with a good percentage of both and I honestly wish I could replicate it but I don’t think I ever could. Also werewolf Harry is my weakness.

Number Five: Herbology

This artwork is seriously one of my favorites. I’m especially proud of Draco’s feet and the angle of Harry’s abs. I have a hard time getting Harry’s nose to match how it appears in my brain and this is the closest his face has gotten to my head canon in a really long time. I struggle with Harry’s face so much. I’m really proud of how the foreground turned out in this, and the way the sunlight dapples across the top of the characters. IT TOOK ME SO FREAKING LONG TO FIGURE THAT STUFF OUT. SEriously. I see artists all the time do it almost effortlessly and holy crap it was freaking hard. I’m still not convinced it looks like light shining through trees but despite this I am still freaking proud. I’ve been waiting for years for an artwork where I could dabble in that lighting technique.

ANYWAYS. THANK YOU! So much for the tag! And thank you for reading through this whole monstrocity of a post. It’s so fun getting to look back on our lives and especially things we’re proud of. I TAG ANYONE WHO WANTS TO BE TAGGED. And I also tag @laurisophi​ @aminathescorpio​ @dewitty1​ @lazywonderlvnd​ @l0vegl0wsinthedark​ @polly-weasley​

[caddy-whump-us]

There's "cutting off wings" wing-whump, to be sure, and it is delicious, but I haven't seen as much "adding on wings" wing-whump. So I thought I'd provide some.

This is also for @whumpinbloom and their marvelous prompt here, though that particular scene comes at the very, very end and this got...really, really long.

For reference, I was thinking about the mechanical wing imagery that figures in CLAMP's manga Clover: mechanical, but delicate

Also I was listening to this garden ambiance audio the whole time I was writing this. So, yeah.

Cautions: surgery references, medical references, very vague religious overtones

---

When the doctor came into the aviary, the boy was resting near the waterfall with the apparatus of his wings propped on a stone next to him. His eyes were closed; perhaps he slept.

Of course his wings pained him: that was obvious and unavoidable, even with the gold wire wrapped down his spine and into the small of his back (like tattoos of golden thread) designed to support both his skeletal structure and the metal wing apparatus. The muscular connections necessary to both support and provide motion to the wings had left him with a constant backache just below his shoulder-blades and perpetual tension in the external obliques along each side. All of which obliged him to breathe intercostally, which made speech difficult and singing impossible, which was a pity.

The doctor began to pick his way up the stone path to the waterfall ledge where the boy was resting. The boy opened his eyes: pale, opalescent eyes, carefully restitched with iridescent nanotubes and with new lenses that flashed gold in the light.

"Good morning," the doctor said, "Ramiel."

The boy watched him approach with a soft and empty expression, which was perhaps indiciative of an excess of facial surgery? Or the subcutaneous polymer sheet, though that had been implanted a good five weeks ago and was surely healed. Certainly it was successful: his skin was smooth, soft.

The doctor picked his way across the patch of grass and tidy plantings to the lower level of the waterfall and hoisted himself up to the second level, where the boy waited (or, at least, sat). He took a seat on another stone--all artificial, all of it: the stones sourced and hand-cut when needed, the water purified and oxygenated, the trees and plants and flowers imported and tended to by expert gardeners, the birds bred and raised in captivity, the carp and goldfish from old Japanese lineage, the handful of rabbits pedigreed. And, of course, there was Ramiel.

The last movement of the Dawn Chorus was fading for the day. A shame that the angel in the midst of this absolutely palatial greenhouse couldn't fly. But that was a problem that would have to be solved by other means--the current swarm experiments, for example.

Ramiel turned his eyes away and back to the water streaming past. The doctor set the box full of flowers at his feet.

"Haven't I been good to you these last days? No operations, no procedures, no punishments, sweet fruit to eat, no visitors."

The doctor took the boy's face in his hands and the boy rested his cheek against the man's palm. His eyes fell shut. He nodded. The doctor smiled.

"I like your nose much better now. I think we're coming very close," he said, with a "we" that would never include Ramiel, "to the correct balance for your face."

He ran two fingers down the length of Ramiel's jaw. "Just a few more operations, I think."

Ramiel kept his head still where the doctor had left him for a moment, then looked aside.

"Do you hate me?" the doctor asked. "You mustn't hate me. A holy sacrifice requires flesh and blood."

The blood test. Then the first gold wires, his teeth ground down and rebuilt, the second round of gold wires, the third round of gold wires that had them threaded through his spinal cord (which had left him crying nonstop for literal days), the initial installation of the base of the wing apparatus (again, nonstop crying for days), testing and adjustment, testing and adjustment, testing and adjustment, before finally being able to install the first quarter of the polymer-plastic feathers, the physical therapy for balance, the work on his joints and connective tissues, the stabilization work for the apparatus (which was more than once), the procedures to strip his skin, the purely cosmetic procedures of course, the ocular surgeries (which were done only under a local, and a nurse had held his hand and whispered prayers the entire time) which had left him stumbling around in a blindfold for several days, and of course the facial surgeries throughout (jaw, brow, nose more than once, cheekbones, at least; he began to get used to waking up with his face swollen and covered in gauze). And now, the latest, more gold filigree wrapping from his shoulder-blades, over his shoulders, and up his neck: anywhere and anything for stabilization and the harvest of muscular electricity.

"And you were the one who made the first promise. Everything that's followed has," and he gestured towards the water, "cascaded from that."

He reached out and buried his hand in Ramiel's soft curls. The muscular electricity technique was not looking especially promising. Like as not, Ramiel would need brain surgery soon to implant control wires directly. It would be a shame, though, to have to shave off his curls. And it had been a trick to get his hair that shade of pale gold without blanching out his eyebrows or, worse, his eyelashes. The earlier botch-up had left useful stem cells after all.

"When I found you, you were good enough for humanity, but not yet good enough for me. Do I need to tell you about Galatea again? Or about Michaelangelo and the marble?"

Ramiel dropped his gaze and shook his head. The doctor was still clawing through his hair, scratching at the short hair at the nape of his neck as though he were a cat.

"Good. Besides, if you do hate me, I'll have you lobotomized."

Ramiel was watching the water again, the dragonflies skimming over it. The doctor sat with his chin in his hand.

"Spread your wings for me," he said. "Let me see you."

Ramiel turned back to him and got up from his place on the stone. Spreading the wing apparatus took a ripple of muscle tension from his lower abdomen, up his sides, then to a tensing sway up his back--a wave. He stood on that patch of moss and grass before the doctor and drove the rippling tension up his back. With his face pointed skyward (but there was glass between him and the sky), the copper armatures extended.

The doctor stood before him now, his face ecstatic. He ran his hands down the length of each wing, touching the edges of the primary polymer feathers, teasing Ramiel's wings higher with soft fingertips under the secondary feathers. Then, overcome completely, he caught Ramiel's face in his hands and kissed him: forehead, face, neck. He smelled of frankincense and roses. Ramiel's wings drooped.

But then, just as suddenly, he stopped and held the boy's limp body against his. He could feel Ramiel's heart thudding, feel his breathing fast and shallow. "But this is how angels fall, isn't it?"

It was then, just as he began to pull away, that he saw the spattering of blood on the grass. He looked down at his hand where it rested in the open back of Ramiel's shirt, just where the wing apparatus slipped under the boy's skin: blood there as well. He reared back and caught the boy by the hair with his clean hand.

"You pushed yourself too far." His grip was strong but his voice was kind. "You must never do that again. Certainly not today. Don't you dare bleed on the fine things I give you."

The doctor washed his hand in the waterfall stream, and dragged Ramiel closer with him. He undid the buttons at the back of the collar of the shirt the boy wore, sewn for him and him alone with an open back for his wings, and jerked the shirt so it fell around the boy's ankles. But he was gentle when he blotted away the rivulet of blood, even if the water was like ice.

"Not today, Ramiel. I have guests coming in an hour."

The doctor wrung out his handkerchief and collected Ramiel's shirt. Ramiel sat back on the stone near the ledge so he could rest his back--just a moment, just a moment without the weight and the strain.

He had had another name before and another life. But if he thought about that too much, it would only make the cramping, aching pain clearer. He leaned against the rocks and watched the doctor carrying away his shirt and meeting someone who was just coming in to the aviary.

The doctor took something from them, a flat box tied with ribbon, spoke to them, and then they began to lay out the rest of Ramiel's feathers on the grass so they could unfurl like ferns before they were threaded onto his wings. If there were to be visitors, then he would have to wear the full set.

The doctor, though, came back up the rocks with the box and sat down again.

"This is for you," he said, but he was the one who untied the ribbon and took off the lid.

He lifted up a shimmering silk tunic, though more at a blouse, translucent, sheer, with tight pleats at the shoulders and wrists and neck.

"It was made for you," the doctor said and turned the shirt around to show the opening in the back. "Come on, let's get you dressed."

Ramiel let himself be dressed, drawing the shirt up and sliding his arms in. The doctor closed the tiny pearl buttons at the back of the neck and tugged at the open back so it would frame the wings as he wanted. He turned Ramiel with a push to his hips to adjust the front. The collar could be cinched shut with a tasseled cord, but the doctor left it open to show off the gold wiring around the boy's neck. But he did tighten the cord at the waist, drawing up the hem into a flounce that Ramiel disliked and showing the edges of the shorts he wore (for modesty, as the doctor had said, but the doctor had also said that that wouldn't be such a issue after a surgery scheduled for the very near future). He let himself be fussed with, let the confectionery details of this blouse be adjusted, let the cords be looped or unlooped, let the buttons be pulled tighter. But the doctor was happy.

He took the boy's face in his hands again and kissed his forehead. "We need to attach the rest of your feathers. But I'll sit with you a while."

They made their way down from the waterfall, with the doctor balancing Ramiel along the way. He was thin, so thin and kept thin by careful dietary practices, and the adjustments to his joints and his ligaments meant that he was frail in strange and delicate ways.

The doctor settled Ramiel in the little grass clearing where his feathers were finishing their unfurling. Two technicians measured out gold wire to thread through the feathers so they could be laced into the wing apparatus and connected to the interface. The connection of the new lacing to Ramiel's nerves stung and snapped like cold electricity (of course). He did his best to breathe deeply, but his breathing shuddered.

Meanwhile, the doctor had wandered away, it seemed, to admire the hydrangeas and gardenias and orange blossoms nearby in the White Garden. He took out a pocketknife and cut a handful of white flowers before coming back.

He knelt down in front of the boy, who looked pale and drawn. He tipped the boy's chin up.

"You look as though you were about to weep for the ills of the world," he said, softly. And he began to cut apart the bunches of flowers.

As the technicians went on, threading on feather after feather, sparking each connection between the wings and his spine, Ramiel was watching the doctor as he cut bunches of orange blossoms, hydrangea clouds, sprays of jasmine apart so that each flower fell to the grass alone.

He took them up, one by one, and with such careful hand's, doctor's hands so soft and clean, began to set these white flowers in Ramiel's curls. He nestled them inside a curl or let them rest on top as if it were the crest of a wave. He scattered them in Ramiel's hair like they were snowflakes (the sun was shining brighter through the greenhouse windows now and he could see the fine mist of water droplets in Ramiel's hair and he was almost overcome with love, but also with hatred that this thing he had created could dare to be so beautiful).

He took ivy and some of the gold wire and wove orange blossoms and jasmine and gardenia and white roses and lilies with maidenhair ferns into a crown, a halo.

The technicians finished their work, gathered their tools, and left.

The doctor, still kneeling, set the crown of flowers gently on Ramiel's head.

He sat back on his heels to look at him: his head gently bowed and half-turned away, his wings spread across the grass and full with translucent feathers. The doctor reached out, then, and stroked Ramiel's face with the back of his hand. Ramiel stayed very still, even when the rage swept over the doctor and he gripped the boy's throat just above the gold wires, just below his jaw and began to squeeze. Ramiel closed his eyes.

And the doctor let go.

"I think you want to die," he whispered savagely. "You're in Eden and you want to die. But you won't. You can't."

He tossed his head and then his voice was gentle. "Go back up to the waterfall, play with the birds."

He slipped his finger through one of Ramiel's curls, drew it out straight, let it snap back, drew it out again.

"And when your visitors arrive to see you, show them your wings. And if you disobey me or are naughty," his voice was teasing, "we'll have to do your next surgery without anesthesia."

[vmheadquarters]

What Goes Around... (Part 17)

This is PART 17 of a story that is being told in segments by twenty-six different authors, campfire-style. Each author will take over the story with no prior planning and then pass it on after putting their own spin on it! Expect the unexpected! :)  You can check our vmhq campfire tale tag for all of the previous installments or read the story as it develops on AO3. — Part 17 is written by @jeanie205.

[Part 16]

As soon as Dick rips off his mask, Veronica gasps as she takes in the identity of the man who not only shot Ruby Jetson but may well be one of the big bosses in this whole dirty business.

“Hey, I know you,” Dick says, staring at the gunman, his pretty face screwed up in concentration.  “Um…”

“Ah, Casablancas.  Clever as ever, I see,” the man snarls nastily, wincing as Logan pulls him roughly to his feet and twists his arms behind his back.

“We all know this asshole,” Logan says with barely-suppressed rage.  “He’s the creep that started the chain of events that ended up getting Carrie killed.”

Dick’s brow furrows as he searches for the right name, until finally his eyes light up with success.  “Hey, that’s…”

“Mr. Rooks,” Veronica says, the loathing clear on her face and in her tone as she steps forward into the man’s personal space.  “Given up on seducing high-school girls, have we?  Moved into the big leagues now?  Mad scientists? Apocalyptic bio-weapons?”

“Veronica Mars.”  Rooks fairly spits out her name.  “Don’t you have anything better to do than to screw up my life?  You and that bitch, Carrie Bishop.” He sneers. “I cheered when I heard she bought the farm.”

A high-pitched shriek suddenly shatters the air.

Ruby Jetson has heard that last bit and cannot allow it to pass unanswered.  Blood dripping down her arm from the gunshot wound, broken ankle wrapped untidily in Logan’s shirt, blonde wig askew, Ruby half-hitches, half-crawls along the ground with a speed that belies her injuries.  With a savage cry, she launches herself at Rooks, seeking to avenge the desecration of her idol’s name.

Unfortunately, from her position mere inches above the ground Ruby can only reach Rooks’s feet.  Boosted by righteous anger and adrenaline, however, and with near-miraculous precision, she uses one of her two remaining working appendages to sweep those feet out from under him.

Rooks goes down in a heap, the momentum carrying Logan with him, as Veronica leaps back just in time to avoid the fray.  Ruby herself lies panting, face down on the ground, only inches from the men’s tangled bodies.

“Logan!”

Veronica’s worried cry rouses Dick to action.

“Dude,” he says, crouching down and beginning to slap ineffectually at Logan’s face.

“Dick!  Knock it off!” Logan sputters, sitting up and swatting his friend’s hands away.  “I’m okay, Veronica,” he adds reassuringly, “but it looks like Rooks is out cold.”

“Oh, great.  Just when we might have been able to find out what the hell is going on.  I know Rooks lost his teaching license, but how did he get mixed up with the Van Vliets and Frankenstein’s monster?”

“It’s The Hulk, babe,” Logan reminds her. “Nothing to do with Dr. Frankenstein.”

Veronica gapes at him, incredulous.  “We’ve been dropped in the middle of this pile of pink poo and this is what you choose to twit me about?  My erroneous pop culture reference?”

Logan shrugs.  “I know how much you like to get things right.  And anyway, what makes you think Rooks was going to tell us anything?”

Veronica smirks.  “I was looking forward to figuring out ways to make him talk.”

Logan laughs.  “Of course you were.”

Dick shifts impatiently.  “Hey, I know you and Ronnie could spend all day flirting, that is when you’re not too busy doing other, hotter, things…”

“Dick!”

“…but right now, maybe you could spend just a little time figuring out what the hell we’re gonna do next!  We’ve got one guy out cold, and, uh, whatsername over there crawling around on the ground, and that big pink thing could come back any time.  And who knows how many other guys with guns are gonna start jumping out from behind some bush or something…”

Veronica hears the edge of hysteria in Dick’s voice and prays for a distraction.

“Dick!  I get the picture!” Logan says, and is about to say more when they all detect a sudden faint whine coming from the direction of the service road.

Three heads turn, and at first they see nothing but a cloud of dust in the distance.  A cloud which seems to be getting bigger and bigger until finally…

“No, no, no!” Dick cries, his hands clapping the top of his head in horror.  “Not the Merc!”

And indeed, Dick’s SUV roars into view, bumping towards them through the tall grass and around the long-dead grapevines.  Soon they’re able to see the look of mingled terror and relief on Mac’s face as she pulls to a stop beside them.

“Mackie!  What are you doing? You’ll ruin the transmission,” Dick moans.

“Oh, piffle,” Mac says, sliding out of the car.  “What do you think four-wheel drive is for?  Besides, I was beginning to think you were all dead.  What’s more important, Dick, the car or your friends?”

Dick’s gasp of protest draws a chuckle from Logan.

“You were just complaining we had no options, Dick, and now here’s Mac with the car giving us our best option.  So put a sock in it.”

Mac takes in the scene, finally noticing the man lying supine and unmoving on the ground.

“What’s he doing here?” she asks, her eyes widening in surprise.

Veronica chuckles.  “You know, I tried to convince myself that when Rooks left Neptune High he’d evaporate into thin air like he deserved, but I always knew that would be too much to hope for.  Instead, he seems to have got himself mixed up with this bunch of bio-terrorists, or whatever the hell they are.”

“You don’t know his connection?”  Mac squints at Veronica in surprise.

“Ruby knocked him out cold before we could question him.”

“Ruby did?”

“Long story, Mac.” Veronica smiles wryly.

Logan bends to check on Rooks then and winces involuntarily.

“Logan?” Veronica observes the tiny movement, and for the first time notes the deplorable condition of his naked back. Not only has his pale skin become ruddy from overlong exposure to the sun, but the sunburn is now overlaid with dozens of small cuts and scrapes from the fall.

“You need to get your shirt back,” she insists, glaring at Ruby, apparently forgetting that it was she who engineered Ruby’s injury in the first place.

But it makes no difference anyway.  Ruby hasn’t said a word since her assault on Rooks, but now she’s clutching at Logan’s shirt like it was the Shroud of Turin.  Veronica understands that the only way she’s getting that shirt away from Ruby is by pulling it from her cold, dead hands.  And while she’s tempted…

She sighs, turning to Dick in frustration.  “I can’t believe you don’t have an extra shirt in your car.  You, who might end up anywhere for the night.  I can’t believe you don’t have a damn suitcase full of shirts in that car!”

Dick nods and shrugs.  “Did.  Been a busy month.  Used ‘em all up.  Sorry, Ronnie.”

Veronica’s mind spins as she contemplates the various potential locations of Dick’s soiled shirts

“Wait!” Dick’s says suddenly and his eyes light up.  “I forgot about the emergency stash!”

Soon he’s pulled a flat box from beneath the back seat and is rifling through it, tossing items onto the ground as he goes.  Condom packs and bottle openers are flying, and Veronica thinks that the heavy rubber thing might actually be an inflatable mattress.  She shudders, not really wanting to know.

“Aha!”

Dick pulls from the very bottom of the box a piece of cloth that essentially looks like someone vomited up a paint store.  But when he unfolds it, it turns out to be the most garish shirt Veronica has ever seen.  There are fruits, and flowers, and…pink donkeys?…splashed all over it.  Just looking at it makes her dizzy.

“Where the hell did you get that?”  Mac asks, eyeing the shirt with distaste.

Dick thinks for a moment before his eyes begin to sparkle in remembrance.  “Yeah, well, there was this one night in Tijuana…”

“Never mind!” three voices command in perfect unison, while Mac slaps him upside the head.

“Hey!” Dick protests indignantly.  “You wanted a shirt, I found you a shirt.”

“Not a shirt I’m wearing,” Logan announces firmly.  “I mean, pink donkeys…”

“Oh, yes, you are,” Veronica rounds on him. “Better pink donkeys than a pink ass, which is what you’ll be if your skin gets any redder.”

Logan sighs and shrugs into the shirt.  Having learned which battles to pick.

They put Ruby into the car first, laying her across the third-row seat.  Dick does have a first-aid kit, so Veronica sticks a bandage - none too gently - over the point where the bullet grazed Ruby’s arm.

Rooks is propped up in the middle of the second seat, between Logan and Veronica.  Dick has declared that he’s taking back the wheel of his own damn car, so he and Mac are sitting in the front.

Veronica sighs with relief as the car begins to move across the field.  They are finally on their way back to civilization.

And then three things happen more or less at once.

Mac gasps.  “Oh, shit, I forgot!  What with Mr. Rooks and everything…”

“What, Mac, what?”  By now, Veronica is a touch impatient.  She’s had a tough couple of days.

“Your dad called back, Veronica.  There’s been some kind of terrorism threat in San Diego, so Leo can’t get here.  Keith’s still going to come, but he’ll be alone.”

Veronica nods.  Bad news, she thinks, but it could be worse.

And that’s when it does get worse.

Because there on the horizon, appearing as if out of nowhere, and standing squarely between them and the safety of civilization, stands the Pink Hulk.

Dick slams on the brakes.  “Now, what?”  he asks, his voice cracking.

Maybe it’s the jostling from the abrupt stop the does it, because it’s at that exact moment that Rooks moans, his head lolls against the seat, and his eyes flutter half-open as he looks straight at Veronica.

“Is he awake?” Logan asks, pulling the man’s arms behind him securely, thinking he’d give anything for a rope.

“Barely,” she shrugs, as Rooks moans again.

But then his mouth begins to move, and it looks to Veronica like he’s trying to say something.

“What?” she says impatiently.  As she bends towards him, Veronica feels like she may have reached the edge of her very last nerve. “The pink guy is out there, Rooks, and I don’t have time for this crap.  So what’s so important?”

Rooks only manages to say a few words before he faints again.

Veronica wishes she hadn’t heard them.

Want to find out what happens next? Check back next Saturday for the next installment written by… @heavenli24. Tag, you’re it! Make sure to submit your segment to  vmheadquarters@yahoo.com by Wednesday, August 23rd.

[recentanimenews]

RECAP: The Crown Game Begins In Tower Of God Episode 3

  It's that time again, folks! Let's catch up with Bam, Khun, and Rak in the latest installment of the Tower of God recap series! Things get moving at a breakneck pace in this episode, so strap in and let's get started! And as always, beware of Kami No Tou Episode 3 spoilers ahead.

In the pouring rain, we learn a new princess has been chosen: Maria. But what will happen to Aguero? Apparently, the answer is obvious. Because his sister was not chosen as princess, his entire family will now be dismantled and exiled. Rough stuff! Such is the life of a loser in the race to the top of the Tower. Khun is revealed to have been the brother of the girl not chosen as princess. He was used. He must trust no one. So says his own mother.

Bam interrupts Khun's reminiscing of the past, he's noticed the ceiling is bright in this new level of the Tower... except the ceiling is actually the sky and Rak thinks it's hilarious that Bam has no idea what the sky even is. Bam thinks he's beginning to piece together what this actually means—that Rachel never needed to climb the Tower to see the stars. Except what the Regulars refer to as the sky is just a recreation made of Shinsu, many don't even believe the sky exists at all. After hearing of Rachel's goal to see the stars, Khun begins to question her motives... and her reasons for taking care of little caveman Bam for so long. But what else would you expect from a guy whose own mom taught him to distrust literally everyone? A scream interrupts the two allies' argument, Khun assumes it was a "death cry." Now all the boys can think about is how dangerous the next test might be.

A bizarre contestant with an oddly smooth face offers to give Bam's team a hint about the next test. Using his great intellect, he says he used simple deduction to figure it out: Every team that passes the test does so in five minutes or less. After the team realizes the truth behind this, Bam is grateful, but Khun doesn't trust his competitor's motives, thinking he is using the team to prove his own theory. The helpful stranger warns Khun about the dangers of being too cautious, throwing the blue-haired Regular's family heritage in his face in the process. Khun was abandoned by his family after a terrible betrayal and... that's as far as that story goes. Khun pulls a blade on the stranger, not wanting to hear any more.

Next team enter. Our boys are up. Upon entering the next test, the team is met with a clock, seemingly confirming the stranger—or as Khun refers to him, the Plastic Bag's—theory. But Khun is obviously not convinced. Inside the next area is Yu Han, the Director of this test. Khun seems to recognize the Director as Yu Han informs the group of the rules of their test: Open the correct door. The group will only be allowed to try one door and they must complete the test within ten minutes or face forceful termination.

The group grows angry, feeling they were not given enough information to work with. Bam wonders if this is another test of luck while Khun and Rak demand more clues from Yu Han. Too late. The test has started, the clock is ticking, and the Director insists the group already has all the information they could possibly need. Khun goes into detective mode, attempting to ignore Rak's angry rants and Bam's pleas to work together, choosing instead to focus on the clues and try to deduce the correct strategy.

There are 12 doors, 10 minutes. How does this information organize itself into an answer? Khun questions the clock, why would this be necessary when they have Pockets to tell the time with? He remembers his mother's words: You musn't believe what anyone says. Khun's focus is broken by the haunted whispers of past rumors. Accusations that he and Maria—his half-sister—were a couple. Accusations that Maria was simply using Khun to get ahead in the race to the top. Maria was chosen as a Princess of Zahard, abandoning Khun and his family after her ascension.

Before Khun can come to a conclusion, Rak tires of screaming about the two things he hates most in this world (thinking and needles) and kicks open a random door. Bam is gripped with panic by Rak's thoughtlessness as the clock nears the five-minute mark... and Rak's rash move is a success. The team has passed the test. Curious, Khun asks Rak to explain his choice in doors, but there isn't any real answer. Rak calls it instinct. We might call it random chance.

Yu Han congratulates the group for passing the test. All they really had to do was open a door—any door—within five minutes. Rak is very pleased with his apparent genius while Khun is deflated, left to wonder what the point of such a test might be. Rather than answer his question, the Director inquires about the trauma and distrust Maria caused Khun, showing Khun how badly his doubt and hesitation holds him back.

Bam, Khun, and Rak head out and we see more teams pass the test. The sleepy guy and his group make it through. Ship Leeso and his team pass and Ship gives a pretty comprehensive breakdown of the test and how it works. And the Plastic Bag stranger appears before Yu Han to ask why the Director ordered clues to be given to Bam's team. Yu Han claims this was just an experiment, to see if the hints would help or hurt their performance in the test. Meanwhile, we see a very different Khun as he and his group head to the next location. While Khun does not want to talk about Maria with his teammates, he tells Bam he hopes he does eventually find Rachel and that the two will finally be able to see the stars—together.

  Another jump and we see a group of three allies—a giant and hooded blond girl among them—standing in the tall grass, blood splattered all around them. They have passed on to the next test.

This new round of Regulars will be thrown directly into the third test, Administrator Quant decided to speed things up a bit by hosting the first and second tests simultaneously, culling all but the final three allies. Yu Han is not impressed with Quant's liberal interpretation of the test and suggests the "higher-ups" could be quite upset if they found out about what Quant did. Quant begs Yu Han to cover for him and beats a hasty retreat as Yu Han gives a call to Lero-Ro. Before Lero-Ro can answer the call, Yu Han dubs himself a genius... was he secretly behind the mass culling test?

In the next testing area, Bam's group is introduced to Ship Leeso and his teammates after Ship kindly pays for a banana drink for a very thirsty Rak. Ship claims Bam inspires him to make it to the end of the race. If a seemingly ordinary person like Bam can do it, so can Ship Leeso.

  Lero-Ro interrupts the two groups' meet-and-greet, the next test is finally ready to begin... the Bonus Test. Lero-Ro promises the Bonus Test is strictly voluntary and will not hurt their chances in future tests if they choose to opt out. However, the winner of the Bonus Test will automatically pass any and all future tests.

The Bonus Test is called the Crown Game. The object is simple: Five teams compete at a time, each attempting to steal the golden crown from the rest. They will have five minutes to do so. Once a member has stolen the crown, they sit in a throne, wearing the crown until the end of the game while their allies fight to defend them from the rest of the teams. Four more teams will attempt to steal the crown from the winning team until all groups have been given a turn. The person wearing the crown must not leave the chair for any reason or every team currently in the room loses the test. Oh, and by the way, the winning team of the mass culling test will just so happen to be sitting in on the Crown Game.

The groups weigh their options, most choose to wait for later rounds, but Anak and Hatsu just want to get this over with. They enter the ring, only one other group bold enough to go first. Anak single-handedly takes out Kon's group with her vine whip, drawing attention to her unusual weapon. While all eyes are on the Lizard Girl and her powerful weapon, Bam's attention is drawn to the Black March, which seems to be vibrating in response to Anak's whip. Nobody seems to notice the hooded blond girl watching the match.

Realizing it's pointless to fight, Kon's group makes a break for the throne, but Anak beats them there. She uses her whip to create a gust of wind, knocking them backward and snatching up the crown herself. She does not intend to let any of the groups take it from her. Bring on the next contestants.

Before the next match can begin, Bam looks up and notices the hooded blond girl slinking around in the arena. He recognizes the figure lurking around: Rachel.

What a wild ride! How did the audience react?

Yess I've been waiting all week!

— inucka (@inuckabe) April 15, 2020

I didn't expect you to start the episode with Khun????????????????????????#TowerOfGod

— im stanning legends | ToG???? (@moonoverland) April 15, 2020

Great episode! Really liked the message that you just have to go with your gut sometimes. Overthinking and overanalysing situations is a waste of time. That contrast between Rak and Khun make them a perfect team

— 黒の剣士 (@Elitealice2) April 15, 2020

The animation in crown game looks amazing!!! Can't wait till the next episode with Lauroe popping off!#TowerOfGod pic.twitter.com/kHk47ovhbb

— 25th Skillam???? (@Skillam_) April 15, 2020

y'all see metapod?#TowerofGod pic.twitter.com/kG5muQe0U9

— Gabᵀᴼᴳ ???? (@kingdomMazino) April 15, 2020

the queen is here #TowerofGod pic.twitter.com/iZSSOPJkL3

— emily???? ꧁???????????? ???????? ???????????????????????????? ꧂ (@flawcatcher) April 15, 2020

Who is this girl? Ghost eyes I shall call her ???? #towerofgod #towerofgodanime #anime #androssi #princessofzahard https://t.co/2WdXyCSN1b

— Kevin Caro (@Kebren91) April 15, 2020

????????????????????????#TowerOfGod pic.twitter.com/ZxaDgZZzTa

— AFB ???? | Tower of God (@_AnimeFanboy) April 15, 2020

Who will win the Crown Game? Is the crown a lie? Why the heck is Rachel slinking around? Tell us your spoiler-free theories in the comments!

READ THE OFFICIAL TOWER OF GOD WEBTOON HERE! 

  ----

Carolyn is on Twitter and Instagram. Follow her maybe?

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[bestfriendforhire]

Children of BFFH, Entry 11

 “Momma!” I exclaimed, running to her and hugging her gently.  Momma Emma wasn’t exactly fragile, but she wasn’t terribly strong physically either.  If she removed her enhancement suit, I’d have to be really careful.

 “Sorry for the long wait, Sweetie.  Ready to see Grandma?” she asked as she brushed her fingers through my hair.

 “Yes, but… Mind fixing a couple things?” I asked, trying to give her my best smile.

 She rolled her eyes and smirked.  Then she kicked aside some snow to expose the grass underneath.  At her touch, the grass was instantly vibrant, and I could feel her connecting to all of the plants as roots grew to touch roots throughout the area.  “Were you going to play a trick on me again?” she questioned, smiling at me.

 “Maaaybe.” I admitted.

 “Okay, so what is that?” she questioned, pointing toward the area where I left what remained of the bad guy’s clothes.

 “Well, there was this bad guy who came after me!” I started excitedly.

 She held up a finger for me to stop.  “You didn’t hurt him too bad, did you?”

 “No!  I almost had to save his life, but that was because his heart has a condition.  I was actually going to fix it for him.  Sadly, I overdid my calming spell, and he stopped being in any immediate danger.  I’m sure it would’ve worked though!” I insisted, thinking through my plan again.

 “No doubt.  Where is he now?” she questioned.

 I shrugged but said, “Calamity arrived and took him away!  I was going to help get evidence on him, but Marvelous Max beat me to it.  Still, I was able to help Calamity, Momma!”

 She smiled and said, “That’s great news, Sweetie.  Mind telling me what those used to be before you completely altered them?”

 “Cotton.  They’re not even cotton-ish now?” I asked in surprise.  I still thought they were cotton-ish.

 “Where did you find… wait.  You attacked him with his own clothes?” she questioned.

 “Umm… yeah.” I admitted, knowing what was coming next already.

 “Since this was someone bad enough for Calamity to take him, you get a pass this time, but there were sooo many more options in this park that I’d expect you to leave anyone else fully clothed, Little Miss Trouble.” she warned, still smiling a little.

 The once-cotton was now reverted to a seed, which was really cool considering it had started as clothing.  One day, I’d learn to do that just like Momma.

 I nodded quickly, not wanting to ruin my free pass.  “I’ll be careful, Momma.  I really will.  He was drawing a knife, and I kinda just reacted.”

 “Was he scared?” she asked.

 Remembering his face, I giggled.  “You bet!”

 “Can’t be mad at you for scaring bad guys, now can I.” she told me.  “Come along, Sweetie.”

 Momma’s Beetle was the cutest car at home.  The exterior was a vibrant pink, and the interior was black with pink highlights on the seats and dash.  As I’ve grown, she allowed me to add my own touches, like the seed deployment system!  We had seed guns designed by the quadruplets, with a little help from Poppa Jarod, that could launch ten different types of seeds with awesome precision.  A little touch of magic, and we’d have weapons even in the areas were plants were scarce.

 The lovely vine patterns throughout the black of the upholstery had been altered numerous times as I grew, since I was getting better and better at art.  Dea was still the best at the little details, but I really wasn’t bad these days.  Momma Mila never minded printing and installing updated versions for me, and Momma Emma liked the softness of freshly-installed upholstery.

 “I already warned Grandma that we’re running a little late.” stated Momma Mila when I hopped in the back.

 “Thank you, Momma!” I replied.  “Did you tell the Boss how well I did?”

 She nodded, smiling at me.  “Very well done, but he still doesn’t want you out on patrol yet.  You’ll have to be patient.”

 I frowned but didn’t argue.  The Boss had explained his reasons plenty of times already.  Arguing with him only got me somewhere when I had loads of evidence to support my case, just like a court as he frequently pointed out.

 Momma Mila had one of her bodies in the driver’s seat, pretending to drive.  Well, she was driving, but probably not with the body.  Switching back and forth was too seamless to really tell.  Momma Mila controlled thousands of taxis as well as numerous company and personal vehicles.  She was amazing at multitasking, often being more of a secretary than Grandma Death.

 Around Momma Emma and most of the others, I had to use Grandma Death’s other name—Grandma Aaliyah—because she wanted to surprise certain people, such as Momma Emma, but Grandma Death was the coolest.  Well, maybe tied with the Boss, but she didn’t lecture me so much.  She was wicked smart and constantly encouraged me to experiment with how things were done.  She even helped me talk the Boss down a couple times when I accidentally put people in danger, upsetting him.  Luckily, he didn’t mind so much when I only put myself in danger, even explaining why the others were upset about it.

 Even the Boss didn’t have an explanation I liked for why Messy was sooo cautious.  She always worried about safety to an insane degree.  Plus, she held herself back so much that she lost to Four and me more often than she won!  One day, I planned to get her to go all out against me, so I could really see how well I’d do.  Her natural magic was even more versatile than my plants, but she couldn’t poof my plants from existence as easily as she could most things due to the potency of creation magic within my plants, which made me an actual opponent for her.  Even heroes needed to fight one another occasionally to see how much they could take.  Auntie Portentia had illustrated the importance of knowing when to call for backup a few times.

 The drive to Grandma Mary’s took nearly forty minutes, but that gave me time to do extra school work through the displays on the back of each seat.  I was also planning my new strategy for the next time I was a leader in battle against the other kids, but those thoughts were often floating around in my head.  Few things were as satisfying as winning against Four and Messy.  I grew distracted for part of the drive as I considered different ways I could’ve handled today’s criminal without turning his clothes into weapons.  If I had known how weak he was in advance, I could have used much slower attacks.

 Grandma’s house was the easiest to spot in her neighborhood.  Tiny when compared with home, her house was the most vibrant I had seen in person.  The siding was vibrant violet with azure shingles and trim.  The fence was more in the orchid range of purple, but there were all sorts of ornaments in the yard.  Lawn gnomes, flamingos, and other critters dotted the entire front!  Momma Emma once told me that the garish nature of the house distracted neighbors from things they’d find really strange, like when she tended the yard.  I didn’t really see how that’d distract people, but I’d surely figure it out eventually.

 “Grandma, we’re here!” I exclaimed after beating my Mommas through the door.  The air smelled of ingredients for our dinner, and my grin widened.

 “Perfect.  I have everything you need to cook us dinner.” she replied from the kitchen.

 Jogging over there, I quickly took in the ingredients.  The vegetables were obviously grown by Momma Emma.  No one else could make everything so perfectly shaped or smell that good.  Shame that the garden in back couldn’t be maintained in winter due to non-magic neighbors.  “Looks great!  Should I start?” I asked, bouncing on my feet.

 “Of course, dear.  Want any help?” she asked, already sitting down.

 I shook my head and took a deep breath as I focused my mind on the recipe.  My cleaning spells prepared my hands as others bound my hair back to keep anything from ruining the food.  Chef Marco expected perfection in the kitchen.  As his student, I couldn’t disgrace him by making a mistake.  Today, we’d be having Marco’s third variation on a Japanese curry, chicken masala crepes with mint sauce, steamed vegetables version seven, and a mango and cardamom syllabub.  Grandma had asked me to make this combination when I told her about it last week.  With the ingredients here, she really was interested!

 As I prepared the food, the adults chatted about work, a couple TV shows, and what I’ve been doing lately.  I had to correct a few things, like when Momma Emma called my victory in the last battle a “near victory”.  Four had admitted defeat.  Momma Mila started acting as my sous-chef ten minutes into my prep work, which made me paranoid that I had made a mistake somewhere, but she assured me that she was just keeping us on schedule, meaning my mistake was in adjusting my speed for the allotted time.

 When I was finally finished and took my first bite, I was certain that Chef Marco would approve, giving me one of his big smiles.  Momma Mila agreed to bring him a taste of each, so he could tell me later.  We were leaving the rest for Grandma, since she really seemed to enjoy it.  Leftovers at the mansion were somewhat of an oddity, since Chef Marco wanted everything at its best when we ate.  Plus, some of the adults really indulged themselves.  Grandma enjoyed hearing about how I caught a criminal today!  After dinner, we played a couple board games.  Cheating at the dice rolls was so tempting after I got unlucky, but I didn’t.  A hero wouldn’t cheat to win without lives on the line.

[theinquisitivej]

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Character Predictions

Let’s take a brief detour from films and narrative analysis and talk about games, or rather a specific game. Or, I suppose, let’s do both at the same time, because the game I’m more excited about than any other this year is the latest in my favourite party game meets intense fighter series, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

         I apologise to those of you who have stumbled across this and have no idea what I’m talking about, because I’m pretty sure the next few thousand words or so will be impenetrable gibberish. But, if you’re riding the hype train along with me and share my passionate excitement for this series, or you’re still curious and want to know more, then read on.

         Super Smash Bros. is an ongoing series from Nintendo in which you get to play as some of their most popular characters from their numerous iconic franchises as you duke it out with a group of other players in intense, frantic battles. For a series with a relatively simple premise, it’s gained a deep level of appreciation from fans of all backgrounds, as it draws players from a number of different fanbases of the different games it represents, branching out to even include characters from third party companies like Sonic, Pac-Man, Mega Man, and so on. Whether you’re a player who enjoys bringing the game out at casual get-togethers with friends and family, or you’re a competitive player who obsesses over knowing the game inside and out, there’s something universally exciting about seeing a game that celebrates so many franchises and their characters, settings, and music.

         And now there’s a new game coming out, which means people are losing their minds over speculation concerning which new characters we might get to play as, and I am certainly no different. We’ve had a number of new characters already announced including Ridley and King K.Rool, fan favourite villains who players have been clamouring for since the days of Super Smash Bros. Melee in 2001. Their inclusion makes it feel like all bets are off; in the past, expectations and hopes were tempered by thoughts like ‘ah, that character would never make it in’, but now, if sodding Cloud from Final Fantasy VII can make it, then anyone can.

         So, because everyone’s been making their prediction/wish lists and I’ve spent far more time obsessing over this game than I care to admit, I figured I’d have a little fun and throw together a list of my own character predictions. If you’ve been checking out other people’s theories and videos on the subject, then I’m sure many of these picks will sound familiar, and, on the one hand, I do worry that this post will look like a shallow attempt to regurgitate the same information that other people have gone over for the sake of jumping onto the bandwagon. But truthfully, I just wanted to make this list for the fun of getting it out there and seeing how many I end up getting right once we know the game’s final roster of characters. The way I see it, I’d be writing this list for myself anyway, so I might as well share it with anyone who’s interested.

         This list is meant to represent likely candidates rather than necessarily my all-time dream picks. This is who I expect will make it in, not who I hope beyond hope to see in this game (otherwise the list would just say ‘Banjo-Kazooie’ ten times). Even so, there are one or two characters on the list which I will admit have less of a chance, and most likely got as far as they did in my considerations due to preferential bias. Nevertheless, there are enough points in their favour that I stand by dedicating a spot to them. And at the end of the day, this is my own damn list on the dumb fighting game about cartoon characters, so try not to worry about it.

*So how many more new characters do you think there’ll be?*

         This is the question a lot of people who’ve been closely following news on the game have been wondering. Masahiro Sakurai, the series director whose dry offbeat sense of humour and difficult to predict eccentricity has made him just as beloved to Smash fans as some of the Nintendo mascots featured in his games, has gone on record to say that, since Ultimate’s remit was to bring every single character in the series’ history back for this ‘ultimate’ instalment, we shouldn’t expect too many newcomers. Considering the insane amount of content already revealed for this game, many have said that’s a fair deal, with a common sentiment being that the game could ship with just what we’ve heard about it thus far, and we’d still be over the moon with what it’s given us.

         However, Sakurai is a notorious workaholic whose obsessive dedication to his work has led him to exceed our expectations time and time again in Smash’s 20-year history. Since making that statement, Sakurai has shown off 5 new characters, and hinted that there is more to follow. What helps is that Sakurai and his team have found a creative solution which enables them to include an impressive number of new characters without cutting too much into development time in the form of ‘Echo Fighters’. Echo Fighters, or ‘Echoes’, is a term coined by Sakurai to describe characters who are technically new to the series, but whose set of moves are closely based on a pre-existing fighter. This means we get the option of playing a slight variation on a classic fighter who, through a different surface appearance and a few of their own unique animations, feels like their own distinct character.

         So, what this boils down to is that, while Sakurai may mean it when he says we’re getting fewer brand new movesets than we have in past instalments, we are nevertheless getting a good number of new representatives from different series through this time and money-saving measure. While I’m sure there are some critics of this approach out there, the overwhelming consensus on this is that it’s a win-win situation which takes some of the weight off the developers while simultaneously providing the players with more characters who may not have necessarily made it in otherwise.

         To answer this section’s original question, I’m inclined to think that, on top of the 4 ‘newcomers’ (characters with brand new movesets) we’ve seen so far, we’ll get 2 or 4 more, as trends suggest it will be an even number. As for echoes, who we’ve been receiving at a surprising rate, I think we’ll see 4 or 6 more on top of the 4 we’ve already seen. This leadup to the list has taken long enough, and this thing is going to be monstrously big already, so let’s not waste any more time on the boring stuff and get straight to the list. I’m setting it in stone:

These are my final predictions for the rest of the characters we’re going to see in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Newcomers

#1: Decidueye

Artwork by R-nowong. 

Pokémon is Nintendo’s biggest franchise after Mario, so it gets reps. The latest generation of Pokémon, Sun & Moon, did well with people and sold decently, and Decidueye, the final evolved form of the grass starter Rowlet, is arguably the most popular of the three Sun & Moon starters, much like Greninja was in the previous generation, who secured a spot in Super Smash Bros. 4. Decidueye also has the added bonus of embodying an elemental type that hasn’t been represented by a solo Pokémon fighter in Smash before – grass. On top of that, he’s got some ghost-type moves and a signature arrow attack in his toolkit which he can use, and with the added appeal of being a mysterious hooded owl warrior who can fly about, his potential moveset writes itself. He was even in Pokémon’s standalone fighting game Pokken, so yeah; he’s probably the safest bet on this entire list. On the other hand, that flame cat wrestling heel starter Incineroar from the same generation has also slowly risen in popularity, so I could see him also being a possibility. But my money’s on the spooky Robin Hood-in-feathers, Decidueye.

#2: Geno

Artwork by jordanewing.

You’re either completely oblivious to whoever the hell this character is or you’re rolling your eyes and saying you’re sick to death of hearing about Geno – there is no middle ground.

         A wooden toy puppet given life by a … star spirit, I think? I’m not sure, I’m only halfway through my playthrough of the game right now. Anyway, Geno is a one-time character from a SNES Mario RPG game called, er, Super Mario RPG. The game was a collaboration between Nintendo and Square, and represents the spiritual beginnings of other Mario RPG series such as Paper Mario and the Mario & Luigi games on handheld systems. Of the characters unique to Super Mario RPG, Geno stands out; he’s mystical and dedicated to his mission to reform the Star Road in order to make it so that people’s wishes can once again come true, meaning the point where he joins the party also introduces the player to the game’s central quest. With his innocent wooden doll appearance and contrastingly enigmatic cape, profile, and gun-arm weapon, he seems like the kind of character who’d result from a fairy-tale colliding with a Final Fantasy plot, making him a suitable representative for a game made through the collaborative efforts of Nintendo and Square.

         Speaking bluntly, Geno has little-to-no relevance in this day and age, having only appeared once as one of several main playable characters in a game that released over 20 years ago. Even so, he’s a character with such appeal that he’s not only been a fan favourite request for Smash since the days of Melee, but he’s also someone Sakurai himself has wanted to include for a long time now. When people talk about Geno’s game, it’s always with a loving, nostalgic fondness, and, having made my way through a decent portion of the game, I can see why. Also, appearing only once in a classic game that came out decades ago has never stopped the Ice Climbers from being a series staple for Smash, so I don’t think Geno’s solitary appearance necessarily hinders his chances. Since Sakurai seems to be using Ultimate to grant some longstanding fan requests and finally include things he’s been meaning to do for years, I’d say the odds have never been in Geno’s favour more than they are right now.

 #3: Bandana Waddle Dee

Artwork by rongs1234. 

Weird name, I know. Still, Waddle Dee is the most enduring and recognisable enemy type in the Kirby series, and there’s been one Waddle Dee in particular who’s tagged along in Kirby’s adventures for several decades now, and he’s known as ‘Bandana Waddle Dee’. Donning a bandanna and wielding a spear as his weapon, he’s pretty much a perfect melting pot between Kirby’s adorable friendliness, Meta-Knight’s cool proficiency with an actual weapon, and King Dedede, being his underling / dogsbody who’s probably more competent and reliable than he is.

         There’s not a lot of complicated reasoning as to why Bandana Waddle Dee is both likely and deserving to make it in. The Kirby franchise is a big part of Nintendo, and of the more prominent in-house series in Smash, it stands out as one that could do with a little more representation. Being stuck at 3 characters seems like a loose end in Smash, as you only need one more inclusion to have enough characters for a traditional 4-player battle. Bandana Waddle Dee makes the most sense for this series as he’s just a delightful recurring character with the potential for a unique moveset, and after Kirby, Dedede, and Meta-Knight, he’s the next most recognisable character in the series. It’s high time Kirby got another character, and Waddle Dee fits the ticket perfectly.

 #4: Paper Mario

If Link gets three versions of himself in this game, then Mario can have a third one too, and darnit, Paper Mario has paid his dues! As far from grace as he’s fallen, he is still an ongoing property, and his first two … eh what the hell, let’s thrown in Super Paper Mario in there too and say his first three games are still wonderful and a part of Nintendo’s history that’s fondly remembered by many and stands out as something that is yet to be acknowledged by Nintendo’s flagship crossover series beyond a simple stage.

         Admittedly, if one Mario RPG character were to get in, then I’d oddly expect the one-time Geno to get in over this character, even if he does have a series of games to his name. But I think Paper Mario as a series has enough unique qualities to its aesthetic and characteristic mechanics to distinguish itself from the rest of the Mario franchise, including the other Mario RPG games. As such, I think bringing both of them in would represent different properties well enough. If I’m being honest with myself, of the four proposed newcomers, Paper Mario’s the least likely to make it. Geno’s got the edge on him, especially if space is a premium for new characters. But then again, they have brought back the Paper Mario stage for Ultimate, so here’s hoping that Mr. Game & Watch has a new two-dimensional best friend joining him in the next Smash.

Echoes

#5: Isabelle

With Animal Crossing being unquestionably one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises today, eclipsing veteran series like Starfox, Metroid, and F-Zero, it’s frankly staggering that Ultimate, with a roster that currently sits at 70+ characters, only has one representative from this flagship franchise. I mean, I get it; Animal Crossing is a relaxing, peaceful game about life in a quiet village where the biggest conflicts are ensuring you make your appointment to see your dog neighbour tomorrow afternoon like you promised and paying off your debt to the local ruthless raccoon landowner. It’s difficult to envision any of the characters from this series engaging in battle with Solid Snake or an anime protagonist with a six-foot broadsword. But Smash is a ridiculous series that embraces cartoonish logic, so the incongruency of these series is a big part of the fun. And the fact that Villager is in shows that there’s precedent for a fun as hell character with a slice-of-life moveset that kicks ass.

         Isabelle would be a terrific choice for a second Animal Crossing representative, and if character spaces are tight enough that she can’t make it into the fully-fledged newcomer list, then she could still easily incorporate Villager’s moves. There are a ton of mainstay Animal Crossing characters who would also be very fun to play as like K.K. Slider, Tortimer, and Tom Nook, but since New Leaf came out in 2013, Isabelle has been a prominent face for the series. She’s been heavily featured in Animal Crossing’s various off-shoots since then, as well as in promotional material and crossovers like the excellent Mario Kart 8 dlc. Plus, with Smash’s roster being so heavily taken up with male characters, we could really do with more female characters being featured. Isabelle is not only one of my most hopeful newcomers, she’s also one of the most likely to make it.

And to that one person who I know is reading: Jeremiah is lovely, but I’m sad to say I just don’t see him making it in … just yet.

 #6: Black Shadow

Wolf’s back, DK and Diddy have K.Rool, Samus has two villains from her series to contend with now; bad guys are currently all the rage in Smash, and while I’ll admit to being completely inexperienced with F-Zero, Black Shadow seems like a suitable pick for a much-needed rival to Smash’s resident Captain Falcon. As a dead series that still receives a ton of love from fans yet only has one representative in Smash at the moment, F-Zero could do with a little push into the spotlight. Black Shadow’s design isn’t much to write home about by itself, but when paired against Captain Falcon, I think there’s some potential. His ‘Night on Bald Mountain’ look and pompous smirk could be a fun personality to play with, and I’m positive that Ultimate’s stellar team of animators could make him stand out. With Ganondorf becoming more and more his own thing, Black Shadow could honestly just take Ganondorf’s moveset from Melee with one or two changes, and he’d be a terrific Echo Fighter of Falcon that’s good to go.

 #7: A Metal Gear Solid representative, most likely Raiden

I adore the Metal Gear series. Its outlandishly over-the-top military action and exaggerated characters, its cool-as-hell protagonists, and its legendary music make it a special series in games. Here’s the thing though: I’ve never played them. Well, I’ve played and completed the first Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2. Anything from Metal Gear Solid onwards, however, I’ve yet to play through. I was first introduced to the series when Snake was announced for Brawl, and since then, I’ve listened to many pieces of music from the series, enjoyed hearing passionate fans talk about the games, and learned and heard things about the series which make me positive that I’m going to love these games when I finally take the time to sit down and play them, ludicrous plot and all.

         So, since Konami, the company who owns the rights to the series, have not only okayed Snake coming back to this upcoming game, but also allowed Sakurai to have both a newcomer and an echo from their Castlevania series, I reckon Snake’s chances of gaining an echo as a partner have gone up. The most likely candidate is Raiden, the protagonist from Metal Gear Solid 2 who has an important role in the franchise, but as I’ve yet to play a good portion of this series, I honestly can’t say for sure who would be the best echo. Maybe someone he contends with, to fit the theme of villains and rivals I mentioned earlier, like Liquid? Snake’s former mentor turned villain Big Boss would be cool too, especially if it’s him when he’s an old soldier, as we could do with some badass old characters in the game. My favourite pick, however, is Meryl. Her design is cool as hell, she seems to be a significant character in the series, and as I mentioned earlier, we need to even out the gender imbalance in this roster. At the end of the day, however, I would be happy to see any of these guys make it in.

 #8 Tails…or Shadow, if we must

I know that the most likely second Sonic representative via echo fighter at the moment is Shadow. His assist trophy is nowhere to be seen, he fits Sonic’s model and moveset, and he’d fit the bill of the current trend of rivals / villains making the cut. But… really? Do we really want to go with the edgy teen version of Sonic that once starred in a dreadful game that took itself too seriously and filled a cartoon universe about fast-moving animals with realistic guns? …alright, to be fair, when that came out I unironically loved it, played the hell out of it, and I still have a soft spot for it, so I wouldn’t even be unhappy to see Shadow make it in as a true guilty pleasure of a character.

         But come on, as much as I’m not the biggest fan of Sonic games from any era, I think that the character deserves to have his version of Luigi in, and that’s Tails. He’s been there since practically the beginning, has a design that’s always been appealing and avoided becoming dated (or as good as this franchise can manage), and despite nominally playing different to Sonic with his flying propeller tails, he moves very similarly to Sonic. Just make him a little slower on the ground, have him control better in the air, and shift some of his aerial attacks around, and you’d have a decent echo. Say what you will about the Sonic series, but it is iconic to the videogame medium, and Tails is a big part of the picture whenever you consider Sonic as a franchise.

But whatever, put grungy Sonic with guns in instead if you want, that should be good for a laugh.

 #9: Ken/Akuma

This one is difficult to call. Ryu’s my favourite fighting game character of all time, and his inclusion in the previous Smash Bros. as DLC was a significant moment that I adored seeing come to pass. In his own series, he’s had no shortage of characters based off of him with similar movesets, so looking through the range of options for echo fighters from his series has yielded two likely options. Ken, as a pallet swap version of Ryu with more fire effects added to his moves with slightly different properties, is pretty much the perfect template for an Echo Fighter. He’s got a sweet musical theme that I believe was already in the previous Smash, and he’d be a ton of fun to play as.

         Still, there’s one other person who has a chance of snagging the Rye Echo Fighter slot away from him: Akuma. A fan favourite and Ryu’s dark opposite with an ultimate move that translates to “Wrath of the Raging Demon”, there’s no denying that Akuma would be an impressive villain to include to Ultimate’s expanding catalogue of dark rivals. I’d be ecstatic with any new representation from Street Fighter, so calling this one is tough. I’ll go with Ken, as he just embodies the concept of an echo fighter perfectly. But, if I’m wrong and we get Akuma, that would be cool too. Or Sakura, she’d be awesome as well. Just as long as it’s anyone other than Dan Hibiki.

 #10: Impa

Legend of Zelda is one of my all-time favourite game series, providing me with numerous all-time classics that have been some of the most formative games of my life. But despite its flagship status as a Nintendo franchise, and despite having 6 characters in Smash already, it’s in an awkward position when it comes to who else you could put into the game. The series has no shortage of striking, memorable, and well-loved characters, but the format of the series means that each game is more or less a fresh start, introducing us to a new version of Hyrule with a fresh batch of inhabitants and different iterations of a handful of enduring characters, namely Link, Zelda, and Ganon/Ganondorf. What this means is that, while you can have different versions of Link and Zelda from different games in Smash, there’s not a lot of options for character picks who have a lasting presence in the series beyond the one game they’re featured in. Of course, this sort of reasoning doesn’t necessarily have to mean anything, and Sakurai could have just said screw it and thrown in a fan favourite like Skull Kid, but it’s difficult to say if there’s much of a chance of that happening.

         What I can say is that there is one recurring character in Legend of Zelda who has yet to be included in Smash: Impa. She’s appeared in many different forms throughout the series, and while I would love to see her old nurse / attendant to Princess Zelda appearance be the inspiration for a creative moveset, I think it’s more likely we’ll see one of her more warrior like iterations using most of Sheik’s moves with the occasional change here or there. She could resemble her Skyward Sword appearance, or her impressive design from Hyrule Warriors, but either way, I think she would make a great addition to the series. She’s more representation for not only Legend of Zelda, but for formidable older women as well, who I think could do with a lot more prominence in all areas of fiction, let alone Smash.

         And that was my lengthy list! We’ll be back to film reviews soon, but if you’ve made it this far, thank you for indulging me and letting me try this out. If you’ve been absorbing as much fan speculation content on this upcoming game as I have, I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of what I’ve talked about today discussed in other places, but I nevertheless felt a need to write all of this down and put it out there. So, for those of you who have no idea what I’ve spent thousands of words going on about but have nevertheless read to the end, thank you so much! It’s always a lot of fun to try something new and different. In fact, if I was to narrow down what I love about Super Smash Bros. represents as a series, it would be how much it celebrates and delights in the endless possibilities of creativity. There’s so much to enjoy out there, and it’s all so different; it can be overwhelming at times, especially when you feel the impossible need to try and keep up with media, but it can also be immensely uplifting and inspiring to see just how many different experiences there are out there. I’ll keep trying to seek out those new experiences in all aspects of my life, because there’s so much art and content out there to inspire you, whatever your field of interest might be.

Of course, once December 7th rolls around, it’s quite likely I’ll turn around on that and play nothing but Smash. Ah well, we can but try.

[friendlypoolguy-blog]

Space Ranger Recollection

I wasn’t always a ranger.  I used to be normal; I used to have friends.  I remember smelling the air in the game stores.  Tasting the air, thinking, this is how the wrapping over the cardboard games tastes (new plastic, mmm).  Holding the small figurines in one hand, while I felt over the little pieces with the other.  I imagined myself as the warriors, heroes and villains.  It was nice having friends; having similar interests, and enjoying each other while we enjoyed our commonalities.  I felt whole, inside, when my friends broke out laughing. Smiled when I could sense we were all content.  Of all the friends, I was most unkind to the most compassioned, caring person, of the whole lot.  The friend I’d known the longest deserted me; him and his girlfriend must of came to the mutual decision of leaving me without their company.  The third friend, of the bunch, ghosted out, once upon a memory of better times.  

           When he came to power, I was watching from a tv installed in the space craft.  He made statements, undeniable in truth as they were ugly and self-reflective of our own habits.  He was a white man; a blend of European countries.  He figured the dichotomy of how, only he could help himself, was depressing; if this were true, then, when he was powerful, it was evident no one else mattered.  It seems an oxymoron, a contradiction within what we should be, to each other.  Should was a key and crucial defining word.  Not what we were; what we should be.  Of course, he played off the emotional strings of those craving what should be.  Those poor and downtrodden souls were searching for someone to hear their complaints. And respond with fanatic idealisms. As I was watching, I began to think, we should of never invaded, sent out war parties… The French should have never invaded England, and the English shouldn’t have been such polite dickheads, to begin with.  

           He claimed the majorities were careless to forces hidden in plain site. That we ignored what was directly in front of us, those living that begged for company.  The self-fulfilling didn’t have time to deal with those in pain; suffering from inner conflict.  The inner conflict was a reflection of the guilt building, made by those indifferent to those who couldn’t (seemingly) help themselves. The problem was those who believed they themselves were all that mattered.  Essentially, the Christians had it back-ass wards.  If they were paying attention, Jesus wasn’t a rockstar because he made himself feel good; he was such because he was there for everyone else.  He denied himself over those who couldn’t accept themselves.  Acclaimed followers of said Messiah were oxymorons, acting out of selfish wants and desires.  Disbanded were they who said they were for the betterment of the whole.

           I could relate, to some degree.  We should be for others; we aren’t, usually.  We are for our own selves, denying the ones who need company more than those who are contented within their own skin.  I guess what he was saying had some merit. I don’t know if it was anger, or hate, that brought forth this change.  I think it was hatred.  I could be wrong, though.  I don’t wield clairvoyant thoughts.  By the same token, I’m glad I wasn’t on Earth when Earth’s demise came to be.  I don’t associate destruction with my own lack of perfection.  My shoulder is killing me, slowly; that doesn’t mean I have an urge to tear Lindy apart.  

           The lack of concern, the absence of true communion with those lost and suffering, was the fulcrum that helped launch his words into concrete action. There were so many more that were in pain, then there were those feeling high and mighty within.  It didn’t take long for an uprising to occur.  And he was hatred incarnate; violence transcended dreams of hope and consolation.  I guess self-realization was impossible, for the world as we knew it.  The pain brought upon the unconcerned was ten-fold, compared to the ignorance they claimed on the meek and low-lives.  It was a harkening back to savagery; to barbaric rituals, tearing each other apart, limb by limb.  Drawing and quartering the masses; tying one another to stakes, and burning them alive.  Tying people down to the ground, and slowly dropping many, many rocks on them, until their lungs crushed, and they suffocated to death.  Torture chambers became a reborn sensation. People enjoyed killing other people. It was the new thing to make oneself filled with a sense of joy.

           He still rules Earth.  No Chief of State, no elections.  He is leader supreme.  He focused his efforts on the United States; he said there was nothing united about the people living in the “united” lands.  A mandate was writ to leave the North American Natives alone. African Americans, and Latino Americans were given free pass to return to their place of origin (even though some of the states were exactly that- but since they were overtaken by the white mans Manifest Destiny, they were no longer considered home to the original natives).  Few stayed; many returned to the continent they originated from.  Except Euro-Americans.  They were not given the same chance to leave.  In fact, they became the persecuted; they were the new slaves, and often times, were the focus of the angel of death.  They were alive to be ruthlessly murdered.  Their Dorian Grey paintings were revealed to them; an the reflection they faced was more horrid than any of them could have imagined.  The old folks were forced to stay in the icy cold regions; no more snow-birds.  In fact, he made them march through the desolate frozen lands.   Along those paths many died.  Few tried escaping, for, they were made examples of what happens when they would attempt freedom.  Their fate was written for them.  They should have stayed put, and died along with the cold, he said.  

           I know my friends of old died.  They weren’t with me, nor are they now; the only person left is this fugitive we rescued (besides myself).  I’m not claiming what he did was right; nor am I claiming it was wrong.  It became reality, and thus, it was what it was. Same as it was what it was for those in pain.  The only difference being, the pain was redirected and brought down on different folks. I shouldn’t have pierced my nose, or thrown a hoop in the already gaping hole in my left ear; I did, all the same. Nor should I smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, or consume five to six beers; regardless, that’s what ends up happening.  We all make choices, and eventually, the consequences catch up.  So be it.  We’re all as fragile as the leaves of grass, when you stop and think about it.  No different than delicate flower, once vibrant and colorful- now withering and bleak.  Neglecting that which needs water, believing that it’s a choice to feed it, well… There’s always a blowback, and it is what it is.