#best Karate learning video

[yandere-writer-momo]

*slams monopoly money on ur table* I need dad katsumi headcanons STAT *please :(🙏🏿*

*shoved it in my bra and clears throat* why of course…

(I finally crawled out of my little slump of perpetual sadness)

Baki Head Canons

Katsumi Orochi as a father

………………………………………..

Katsumi Orochi

Katsumi is the kind of dad who goes above and beyond. He’s an efficient multitasker. He will do his best and go to be there for all of his offspring(s)‘s first moments of life (like walking, talking, and crawling).

Katsumi takes pictures and video records everything. He’s not only your number one fan, but also his child(ren)’s

Katsumi is an amazing dad. He’s great with kids and he will play with them any chance he gets. Katsumi is willing to wear dresses for tea parties if his daughter wants that. He will be outside playing in the sand if he has a son. Katsumi would love his kid no matter what and support any of their interests

Katsumi would be over the moon if he kid(s) want to learn karate (they’re most likely gifted in it already).

Katsumi sometimes cries whenever he sees his kids doing something particularly cute (like coloring a picture of their family)

Expect him to try to have more kids with you. You will probably have to get your tubes tied to escape his never ending love of being a father

[purpleheartskies]

Robby is the underdog - Part 7

In s6e5, the leitmotif for Daniel's kk1 win against Johnny was used for Robby's captaincy win against Miguel.

(Watch with sound. Credit to another Robby fan who pointed this out to me and created this video.)

"A leitmotif is a repeating melodic phrase in music that is used to represent a character, setting, emotion, or theme. The intentional use of music as a means of communicating character, tone, or theme is a leitmotif." "The leitmotif has proven particularly effective in film scores as a means of creating continuity, heightening the drama and building an emotional connection between characters and the audience.

The fact that the leitmotif for Daniel's (first) win against his bully in kk1 is used for Robby's (first) win against his bully blatantly indicates that Robby is the underdog and Karate Kid of this story. This is more evidence that Robby is the Daniel in this kk story and Miguel is the Johnny.

It's important to note that when Miguel won the s1 avt final against Robby, no leitmotif was played when he won the match and was handed the trophy. Right before his win, an ominous motif was played, indicating that the win wasn't good. After he's handed the trophy and asked to speak, the shot slowly zoom's in on Johnny and starts playing his leitmotif in Cobra Kai (called Father and Son), because his focus was on Robby and his loss. This "win" for Johnny was a major loss in their relationship. In the s4 avt final, a triumphant motif was used for Eli's win, while a more melancholy one was used for Tory's win / Sam's loss.

No kid who has won a trophy so far had gotten the kk1 leitmotif for Daniel's win until Robby did in s6e5.

During the tournament in s1e10, Daniel approached Robby in the locker room and spoke to him about the "need" to find balance:

Robby: "I just wanted to get back at him [Johnny]." Daniel: "I know. But you're never going to find balance that way. You can't let that bad blood change who you are. I'm not saying you need to like the guy. I know I never will, but he... he is your father. And believe me, you're lucky to have one. You just gotta try to remember, he's... he's not a monster. He's just a guy with a lot of demons. Mr. Miyagi always told me there's no such thing as a bad student, only a bad teacher. And your dad had the worst teacher there ever was. It sent him down a wrong path. But you don't have to go down that path. Do you understand? You don't have to ever become him. Trust me. You let go of all that anger, and I guarantee you, no matter what happens tonight, you go home feeling great."

In kk1 tournament, during his conversation with Miyagi in the locker room, Daniel talked about his need to find balance.

Daniel: "Can you fix my leg with that thing you do?" Miyagi: "No need fight anymore. You proved a point." Daniel: "What? That I can take a beating? Every time I see those guys, they'll know they got the best of me. I'll never have balance that way, not with them, not with Ali... ...not with me."

Both Daniel and Robby are injured in these scene because a Cobra Kai had injured each of them during their semi-final fight and got disqualified for it. Both Daniel and Robby were then automatically given the semi-final win and were supposed to fight their bully, the main Cobra, in the final. (In my Robby is the underdog - Part 1.5 post, I go over some more of parallels between s1 Robby and kk1 Daniel in their respective avts and that Miguel had already been set up as the bully and Robby as the underdog going into the tournament.)

Both of their mentors had also told them that they didn't have to continue the tournament but both of them insisted that they wanted to. Daniel said what I've quoted above. Robby said, "Yes, I do. I'm going to have to face him sooner or later. Might as well be today."

Miyagi's original lesson to Daniel about balance was this:

"Better learn balance. Balance is key. Balance good, karate good. Everything good. Balance bad, better pack up, go home. Understand?"

In s6e5, Robby was losing the match, until he found balance when Tory arrived.

During the tournament in kk1, when Daniel was fighting to win a spot in the semis, Miyagi told Daniel: "Remember your defense. Points coming. Concentrate. Focus power. Remember balance. Make good fight."

During Robby's final match in the s1 avt, Daniel told Robby, "Breathe. Focus. Find your balance."

In his captaincy match, Robby was fighting offensively until he found balance, then he switched to mainly defense and won.

Interestingly, in the s4 avt, Daniel had at first told Eli something similar to what Miyagi had told Daniel in the kk1 tournament: "Concentrate, defense, focus, power. You find your balance, and those points will come."

However, after Eli told Daniel that Robby knows Miyagi-do better and Robby had scored one point on Eli, Daniel told Eli to fight using Cobra Kai and to put Robby on defense. This means that Robby was relying more on Miyagi-Do to fight, while Eli was relying more on Cobra Kai and won the tournament primarily using Cobra Kai teachings, despite representing Miyagi-Do. Eli didn't rely on having balance to win. He won by channeling his anger into fighting. It wasn't a real/pure Miyagi-Do victory.

Daniel had given up on Miyagi's teachings pretty quickly in order to secure the win in the s4 avt. Robby in turn still believes in and follows those teachings. In fact, his balance was off during his match with Eli because Robby had adopted "no mercy" while fighting Kenny and that had affected Robby greatly especially when he saw Kenny and had the realization that Cobra Kai wasn't helping him with his need to find balance.

In his captaincy match, he still relied on those Miyagi-Do lessons and teachings about balance. After he was able to find balance, he won the captaincy match primarily using Miyagi-Do. His win secured him the spot as the male captain, representative, and potential champion for Miyagi-Do in the final tournament in the series. His win was also celebrated using the OG Karate Kid leitmotif for winning by finding balance.

The overall theme of the series is about finding balance not just in karate, but in life as well.

“You remember lesson about balance? Lesson not just karate only. Lesson for whole life. Whole life have a balance. Everything be better. Understand?”

In my post Robby is the protagonist, I describe the role the protagonist plays in the story. One signifier of the protagonist is that the theme of the story is told primarily through their story:

The protagonist in a story is the character who offers the most conflict in situations, has the longest emotional journey, and has a primal goal to root for. Their transformation shapes the story's theme. Their choices and motivations affect the direction of the story. They're at the center of the conflict and their decisions push the plot forward. In a story with multiple characters with journeys, there is ultimately one character who is the primary driver of the overall story and their story tells the theme of the overall story. The other characters' can be protagonists in their own journeys but these become subplots of varying levels of importance. The protagonist is the character whose fate matters most. They have the highest stakes and the greatest obstacles.

Everything about the above statement is captured by Robby's story in s6e5:

He offered conflict by resisting Miguel trying to gaslight him about his greater need to win.

His issues with balance have been ongoing since s1, "the longest emotional journey":

"You may know the moves, but none of that matters unless you have balance.... I didn't mean balancing your body. I mean balancing your life. Look, Robby. I know it's hard growing up without a dad, believe me. Mine died when I was young, so I know. But when those bad feelings all weigh you down, you gotta... you gotta search inside for the good stuff, you know, and just... Because then you can find some balance in your life. Understand. It's not easy, but you'll do it."

He has primal goals to root for. He has to find balance in life. He also doesn't believe in his future but has to make a future for himself by knowing who he is and believing in himself and his future:

"Well, you are the tree, Robby. You've got strong roots. You know who you are, right? So now all you've gotta do is visualize what you want your future to look like, and then you make it happen." He also needs to find balance.

Robby's the only character that actively tries to grow and find balance, the theme of the story. Finding balance is emphasized for his story specifically, though other character's stories touch on the theme to different extents.

Robby's choices and motivations really do affect the plot. For example, Robby could have given into Miguel's claim that he deserves the win more, but Robby didn't. Robby stood up for himself and his future for the first time since he stopped doing so in s5e5. Robby didn't back down after that.

At the end of s6e5, although others in Miyagi-Do care about Tory, Robby is the one most connected to Tory and is the most affected by her rejoining Cobra Kai. That is, he is still most central in his connections to both sides in the dojo war.

Robby's fate has been set up to matter most. Robby issues with balance will greatly affect his ability to fight and lead. He has the highest stakes and the greatest obstacles during this tournament. (Though, Sam is also a captain, she won the spot by default, isn't an underdog the story, and balance is mentioned but is not a focus in her story and doesn't affect her karate.) Interestingly, even most Miguel fans are wondering about what will happen to Robby, though they viciously want him to get injured so that Miguel can take over and win.

Robby's story in Cobra Kai, like Daniel's in kk1, is about finding balance. Daniel's issues with balance in kk1 were centered around his issues with Johnny bullying him, how that made Daniel feel, and the trauma it caused. Robby's issues with balance are also centered around his issues with Johnny's behavior towards him, how it makes him feel, and the trauma it causes him. This parallel of kk1 Daniel's issues with balance being about Johnny and Robby's issues with balance being about Johnny is an interesting one.

The stark contrast in their stories is that Daniel had the support of his loved ones including his mentor in his kk1 match, whereas Robby doesn't have the support of his loved ones and his mentor. Johnny, Sam, and Daniel specifically have been on Miguel's side for some time. They all were on Miguel's side during the captaincy match. (Daniel did seem concerned about Miguel after this loss and not that enthused by Robby's win.) Everyone siding with his bully plays a significant role in Robby's issues with balance. Johnny, especially, choosing Miguel over Robby while neglecting and abusing Robby has played the biggest role in Robby's traumas and issues with balance. Tory was his only support during the captaincy match. However, going into the ST, Tory is no longer on/by his side too. Robby is indeed all alone going into this tournament.

Overall, this story is told from the pov of the bullies, Johnny and Miguel, who are unreliable narrators. Right now, all the "good guy" characters have been on the sides of Robby's bullies. They each frame themselves as the good guy. In s6e2, Robby explicitly called out Miguel for framing Robby as the bad guy. Overall, there is so much evidence throughout the story that Robby is the protagonist, underdog, and Karate Kid narratively and thematically in this story.

(This post is part of my Robby is the underdog post series and is also titled "Finding balance - Part 4".)

[mittch22]

Ask for @penname-artist that disappeared from my inbox because it spent so long in it.

WGP Racers Headcanons:

I’m not excessively well versed on them, but I shall give this a damn good go for you, my fine friend!

Lightning Mcqueen - Lightning spends a portion of his free time watching Doc’s old racing videos. He wants to try and pick up on anything that the older race car didn’t get the chance to teach him before he died. That and he misses him and just wants some semblance of his company again. 

Shovels food like whatever he is eating is his last meal. Sally has had to slow him down more than once to prevent indigestion. 

He snores. Really loud. It's utterly obnoxious and it can be heard down the street. If she didn't love him, Sally would have suffocated him in his sleep by now. 

Francesco Bernoulli - Francesco has travelled thousands of miles just to make it home in time for dinner. His mothers' home cooking is utter perfection and so worth every penny he spends on travelling. 

Had a small dinner party, inviting each of the WGP racers to attend. Initially, McQueen wasn’t invited.

He actually became amazing “Frienemies” with McQueen, their competitive natures slowly melting into jovial banter between them. Although their relationship is nowhere close to the friendship that Lightning has with Bobby and Cal, they still get on quite well. They often have arguments online, simply for shits and giggles. 

Jeff Gorvette - Gets along sportingly with Lewis and takes any opportunity to hang out with him. Although their hobbies and interests vary greatly from one another, they often have weekends together to just take it easy.

After his retirement, Jeff took to painting and is now a very accomplished artist. He takes commissions from his friends. Free of charge. 

Terrified of spiders. Lewis takes the piss.

Lewis Hamilton - Is a trained martial artist. He practises Shotokan karate when he's not racing and often goes to watch competitions. It's his favourite Olympic sport to watch. He has tried to teach Jeff some movies but Jeff just gets a bit scared at his intensity and runs away. 

Loves to go out partying and pretty much always invites Jeff along for the ride. They try their best to stay out of trouble, but it's hard to do as Jeff is a mental drunk. 

Max Schnell - Max adores outdoor adventuring and losing himself in woodlands and forests. He spent all his time as a child in the natural environment so it feels more like home to him than any other environment on earth. This is the first place he will go to when stressed. 

Has a real sweet tooth. Will kill for a profiterole and adores a well constructed crumble.

Max is well-versed in multiple languages as he loves to travel and wants to ensure that he is understood wherever he goes. He deems it impolite to go to a foreign land and not at least try to converse in the native tongue. He became interested in languages and is fluent in German (obviously), English, French and Italian. He is trying to learn Japanese and Shu is helping. 

Went to an engineering school and studied to become an engineer. When he became a racer, he utilised his knowledge to benefit his career. He’s incredibly intelligent and uses this to help his fellow racers and friends.

Raoul CaRoule - Raoul is pretty much the calmest vehicle in the world when it comes to problems. He doesn’t fret, doesn’t stress and takes everything as it comes. He’s great to be around in tricky situations as he's usually the first with a solution to a problem. 

He adores getting his tyres dirty. No matter where he goes in the world, he has to make sure he gets covered in dust and mud. It makes him feel alive, free, happy and it takes him right back to his roots. 

Raoul is very active and enjoys challenges. Learning new physical skills helps his restless mind. Lewis is teaching him Karate and Raoul loves it. He's going for his black belt very soon. 

He wants to learn how to dance. 

Carla Veloso - Carla loves to party. She’ll dance away for hours and not give a damn about who’s watching. She is spritely and loves to socialise at any given opportunity. 

She can drink and has drunk all of her fellow WGP racers under the table. 

Carla got into racing when she was very young, coming from a family of incredibly fast vehicles who would watch the races with her. It was all she ever wanted to do and her dreams were well supported. 

She loves tractors and finds them hilarious. 

Shu Todoroki - Although his last name means ‘thunderous sound’, Shu himself is anything but loud. He is quietly spoken and keeps to himself most of the time. Although he does end up being quite close with Raoul during the WGP and keeps in regular contact with him. 

Shu appreciates his alone time and will often go off to simply be by himself for a little while. He needs to recharge after a large gathering, though he is by no means anxious or afraid of them. 

His paint job is of the Ka-Riu dragon. He chose it to represent his incredible abilities to simply plough through any tough situation, and to symbolise his high levels of grit and determination. He never shies away from anything, no matter how difficult it may seem.

Nigel Gearsley - A very well spoken gentleman; courteous in every way. Nigel comes from a well off family and was brought up in the world of racing. He has an incredible level of stamina from training on Aston Hill Mountain that's near impossible to beat. 

He got Ramone to change his paint colour after the race at Radiator Springs. He told him to “go wild”. Fillmore ended up getting involved and Nigel ended up with Tie-Dye patterns. He certainly didn’t complain. 

Nigel is a bit of a history buff. He loved history in high school and ended up going into higher education and studying British history. He is particularly interested in subjects surrounding the royal family. 

Miguel Camino - Miguel is a thrill seeker and loves sports that involve danger and intense competition. He adores high intensity activities and has gone skydiving on many occasions. As long as he is free, he will always participate in the running of the bulldozers. 

He is a total show off. He will display himself at any given opportunity for any crowd that's willing to watch him. He exudes confidence with everything he does and is the envy of a lot of his acquaintances. 

He gets on really well with Raoul. They have a bouncy energy together and it's infectious. 

He loves gelato. He will get himself to a gelato bar as often as he possibly can. There aren't many flavours that he hasn’t tried and he plans to try each flavour from each place he goes to. His favourite is lemon. 

Rip Clutchgoneski - Rip is an incredibly humble vehicle, attributing his successes to luck of the draw, when in reality, he is very skilled. He just doesn’t notice it. He lacks confidence in himself quite often and occasionally needs a little boost from his friends and colleagues, especially when he begins to question his abilities. 

He is naturally funny and often pulls amazing jokes that put those who hear them into fits of laughter. He always seems happy. Even in bad situations, he holds a strong position and keeps himself and others laughing. 

Rip is a fan of Dusty Crophopper since he feels a kinship with him. Dusty built himself from the ground up just as Rip did for himself in the racing world. 

He is an avid gamer and loves to spend hours of his spare time online with friends and strangers alike. He favours racing games but has a soft spot for Minecraft. 

[locution-youngster-enjoyer]

One headcanon for pretty much every wordgirl villain

Amazing Rope Guy's birthday is April 1st

The reason BLHG has a.. big left hand is because he has the condition Hemihyperplasia (which from what i've seen causes a part of a person's body to be larger than the other. Pls correct me if this is wrong, i am not familiar with the condition)

Brent is multilingual (since Chuck is his half brother, Brent's father spoke spanish, which inspired Brent to learn more languages)

Captain Tangent binge watches pirate movies in his spare time (E.g: Peter Pan, Treasure Island, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc)

Chuck has a video game collection that he's very proud of. It's full of older, retro games, and he also owns all the consoles to go with them.

Glen owns a body pillow, im not specifying of who. That's up for interpretation.

You know how Dr Two Brains is based on the myth that mice like cheese? In reality, mice prefer grains and berries. I'd think it would be funny if in a situation where he was forced to exclusively eat berries and grains, it'd make him ill (similar to how cheese really affects mice).

Eileen's last name is 'Rucker,' which is a German last name meaning 'thief' or 'Greedy'

Maria and Eileen are the absolute bestest of friends, with Eileen treating Maria like a little pet.

Granny May used to do ballet when she was younger, which gave her some of the agility she now has.

I couldn't think of a headcanon for Guy Rich specifically, but his brother's name is Duke.

Hal and Granny May went to the same school when they were young. They do not like each other at all.

Invisi-bill is simultaneously the worst and the best at playing Hide and Seek. He can just go invisible to hide, but is usually way too fidgety to stay in one spot permanently.

Lady Redundant Woman is a heavy sleeper. She also snores really loudly

Leslie is actually a mixed martial artist, but generally prefers Karate

Miss Power is fully capable of blinking, but is also capable of licking her eyeballs just to freak people out. She thinks its funny

Mr Big is really fond of 80s music because it reminds him of his band

Ms Question didn't realize this immediately about her powers, but she can produce electricity. If you touch her bare skin, she can accidentally shock both you and her. She can also stick magnets to herself.

Nocan.... ok im gonna be completely honest, i can't think of anything for this guy.

Reason and Rhyme have a secret handshake. Rhyme is the one who made it, and Reason messes it up everytime they try to do it

Royal Dandy calls Dave dad :) (but in a british way so probably something stupid(/j) like papa)

Seymour is insanely good at poker. He's perfectly capable of playing any version of it, but he's also really good at cheating at it. He hides cards in his sleeve and in his shirt and then swaps them out for whatever hand he has.

While it's not obvious, the Butcher likes jewelry. He doesn't wear it much, but you'll always find a ring or two and earrings in his house. (Reginald x Butcher shippers, do with this as you will)

The Coach was actually a highly successful man before trying to trick the Whammer. Most people don't realize that he went to really prestigious schools when he was younger.

The Learnerer's real name is Alfred, in reference to his voice actor

The Whammer was an actual pro-wrestler at one point, but was forced to stop because 'whams' aren't a legal move in the wrestling world.

Timmy Tim-Bo is the Coach's nephew

Tobey will play little puzzle games when not building robots (Crossword, Sudoku, etc)

Victoria Best tries to sneak into the villain convention, but usually gets caught pretty quickly.

[icansmelltheghostsofsmoke]

Modern AU Gaang Martial Arts Headcanons :) 🥋

Zuko:

He and Azula were forced into both Judo and Karate from a young age. Zuko constantly got frustrated with his katas and that his technique wasn’t perfect, while Azula was always angry that people didn’t want to spar with her because she was so aggressive. Despite their challenges (which included both of them breaking people’s bones by accidents), they both reached first-degree black belt. Zuko stopped attending when he moved in with Iroh, but Azula is a third-degree black belt. 

Toph:

She likes more physical arts, especially boxing and wrestling. She dabbled in taekwondo but the speed wasn’t her forte so she decided to go into boxing instead, and from there, she joined the school’s wrestling team and does BJJ on her own time. She’s gotten in trouble many, many times because she doesn’t care much for rules, and has a clean WR rate of 84-3. Like Azula, most people are too scared to spar her, but she isn’t as frustrated about it.

Sokka:

His first experience in martial arts was from a crappy mall studio where he went because his parents wanted him to learn self-defence. He was a big Karate Kid watcher when he was young, and tried lots of martial arts, though was the best at taekwondo. As he got older, he didn’t have much interest in it, and just had his dad teach him techniques at home rather than attend a school. Toph always insists on sparring him, and he agreed once, but it left him bruised for weeks, so he doesn’t dabble in it much.

Katara:

While originally not much of a fan, she was raised the same as Sokka: take martial arts to learn how to defend yourself. While he liked the fighting, she was more of a fan of the technique, like her mother was. When her mom passed, it only magnified the choice, and she kept at Karate for a few years while Sokka only dabbled. She got to brown belt before her dojo was shut down and, combined with the other stresses of life, she took a break. She still loves martial arts, though, and watches lots of videos about them. 

Aang:

He took a lot of Tibetan White Crane and tried a few other Chinese martial arts. He is skilled with the bo staff, too, and once he and Zuko became friends, they practised a lot of weapon sparring together. Aang’s marital arts practice involved a lot of conditioning, so he can do an impressively high amount of knuckle push-ups. He was taught mainly defence, which especially part of the reason he rarely won fights against Zuko, because he was often too afraid to attack, though that’s more of him being a pacifist than his martial art background. 

Suki:

While she mainly performed Aikido and Kendo, Tessenjutsu had always been her favourite. She has extremely fast reflexes from so much practice. Additionally, she started a martial arts club in her school and met Sokka through there. She was like a mix of Katara and Sokka, enjoying the fighting and cultural aspects equally. When she went to college, it was harder to find a place to train especially with such a packed schedule, but she makes time for it.

[alectricblue]

Saw this tag game on another post and thought I'd do it (idk if I've done it before, maybe something similar, but my answers will be different anyway)

1. Were you named after anyone?

Nope My chosen name (Allister) however, is from a youtuber who has a very cool name and I stole it (Alasdair Beckett-King, very funny videos and he has great hair too). I adapted it a bit so people in Spain would at least have an idea of how to pronounce it at first glance (hopefully) It has nothing to do with any Crowley (which I did not realize was a thing until recently), tho for a bit I named myself AJ like Good Omens Crowley, but I don't like how it sounds in Spanish...

2. When was the last time you cried?

Last month probably

3. Do you have kids?

No. And I don't want any. I don't dislike them, but it's not for me

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

Judo, karate and football (the indoors kind). All as a kid/teen. Now my brother and I walk every week day and go up and down stairs (when we remember...) One day I want to try to go to a gym to get some muscle, but not too much, just a bit of definition. Also, I'd enjoy doing rock climbing, but not competitive climbing or anything like that

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Sometimes

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Irl: the way they move their face and hands when they speak, which then I subconsciously use to recognize people, bc I'm a bit face blind Online: the way they choose to express themselves

7. What's your eye color?

Gray/light blue on the outside and artichoke green/lime on the inside

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

I like both, but I'd rather watch a happy ending. For scary things I prefer to watch Markiplier's scary games videos

9. Any talents?

I'm VERY good at jigsaw puzzles

10. Where were you born?

East of Spain, by some of the best Mediterranean coasts 😁. I enjoy it here, but one day I'd like to live in the UK, at least for a bit, I think I'd like it there

11. What are your hobbies?

Listening to music, singing, making art (crafting, building, drawing, painting, writing, ...), watching media (shows, panel shows, youtube, twitch), video games (rhythm/dancing, platformer, puzzle... Also minecraft, powerwash sim, potion craft...), going for walks, exercise, learning languages (especially English) If I had any good ones close, I'd go to theatres and museums too. And, if I had money, I'd travel. I'm also slowly learning about taking care of plants

12. Do you have any pets?

Not yet. I'd love to have dogs, cats, frogs, snakes... or anything really. I love animals. But I think cats and frogs would be the best fit for me, considering my personality and current lifestyle I've always wanted a dog, but I've only had a turtle and a hamster

13. How tall are you?

1.63m or 5’3”

14. Favorite subject in school?

Biology and technology

15. Dream job?

Anything that pays me enough to be independent and let me do all my hobbies Although, if I ever have the patience, base skill, and required mental fortitude, I'd go for general robotics and/or prop making (for film and/or theatre)

No pressure tags in no particular order (I tried to tag as many people as I could, but apparently there's a tag limit 😅):

@swamp-communism @they-thespian666 @strongsuits @skelesona @shinekittenace @yeetmewithachainsaw @rockium-z @gordonzola-ramen @vampireopossum @libraryfag @frostytheduck @tetostar @xyrnys @normalscientist @dolltwink @anxi0usgh0st05 @piersgender

@mettatonsass @sinfulauthor @flaretheidiot @sneebles-mcgee @pivotallemonade @aroace-genderfluid-snake @monstrousmaws @satanic-leaf @virtualunease @villowrose @handrazedsun @ceiltheoutcast @atroph1k @entropy-sea-system @abby-cat99928 @maroroque @galaxgay

@realyfroggyfrog @angrysheep @llamaflower @ultrabean @sea-salt-sky @queerestqueertoeverqueer @crowleys-queen @foolishlovers @cassieno @crowleys-hips @argylepiratewd @trianglebird4 @sugarplumanderson @underlilithswings21 @crowleys-bentley-and-plants @healingmyinnerteen

and anyone else that sees this, consider yourself tagged!

[thisisjamaica]

The acclaimed writer and poet died aged 65. Here, leading contemporaries pay tribute.

Michael Rosen (British author and poet): ‘He nudged people into seeing the world through the eyes of the oppressed.’

Benjamin was a hero to millions of people all over the world. His mix of poetry, novels, wisdom, humour and sheer presence grabbed us and delighted us. I first saw him when he was starting out in the poetry clubs, dancing a poem about his mother, voicing his poetry in a voice I hadn’t heard before: Brummie-Caribbean. It was an honour and treat to work with him many times over the years, on videos, radio programmes, and when he MC’d an award ceremony run by the British Council for the best examples of English teaching. Then and often elsewhere, he loved reflecting on his journey from being a semi-literate teenager, getting into trouble, to someone feted at the highest levels for his literary achievements and force of personality.

His poetry is full of power, humanity and belief. He was a Rastafarian in belief and practice and loved talking about what that meant to him. I hope he won’t mind me saying that his love of all things living reminded me of William Blake. People will remember him, I’m sure, appearing on Question Time gently and wittily batting experienced politicians to one side with his comments. I once asked him how he did it, how did he encapsulate “big” stuff in such pithy, seemingly simple ways. He said that he imagined himself talking with his mother: how would they talk about it, he said?

He wrote novels for teenagers. Refugee Boy – as it sounds – takes the point of view of a refugee and the struggle that people in his area have of winning him asylum. One of the great moments in the book is when the boy reflects on what “problems” the local British boys seem to have compared with the problems he is going through.

That’s what Benjamin did over and over again, nudge people into seeing the world through the eyes of the oppressed.

Some of his wonderful performances are up online. Please look at them as your way of paying tribute to him. My own personal favourite is Rong Radio. I once asked him where he wrote his poems. He said, “I don’t write them. I make them up in my head when I go running.”

I am devastated by this news. I admired, respected and loved Benjamin and I learned so much from him.

Colin Grant (British author and historian): ‘He was the people’s poet.’

It was raining heavily at the Hay festival 20 years ago when I first saw and was mesmerised by Benjamin Zephaniah. The marquee was filled to the rafters with hundreds of people who it seemed were attending not a literary or racial sacrament but a spiritual one. Rain outside; eternal sunshine within.

Benjamin was the trailblazing epitome not of the reductive “ethnic writer” but of the global majority writer who refused to be categorised. In any event, though kind of ordinary, his uniqueness – a karate, yoga and dominoes-loving Rastafarian poet and storyteller – made it impossible to box him in.

For young black writers, he was the answer to literary gatekeepers who claimed there were no commercial prospects for writing that spoke to social deprivation, marginalisation and racism with a plain-speaking honesty and humour.

There was also the realisation that here was a brotherman who’d been a rascal in his youth but had reinvented himself and been saved by literature; that writing could transform the self as well as readers and listeners.

Benjamin was a one-love Rasta, not guided by any kind of separatism. Today, as some default to silos of separation, his porous writing showed how you could speak to an unimagined cohort with poetry and prose. He was, in essence, what Jamaicans call a “simple sense man”; he spoke to youngsters and elders with the same intensity.

The seeming guilelessness of his writing made some wince and claim he was not a real, learned poet. But when you stopped to listen, or clean your glasses, or dry your eyes, you’d find yourself in the presence of a fierce and fearless emotional intelligence. Benjamin’s spoken and written voice was the expression of a writer who was extraordinary in his ordinariness. He was the people’s poet; a groundbreaker who broke bread with everyone.

[purplerakath]

Cobra Kai S...all of them - Yasmine and Demetri

(But not Yasmine and Demetri if you get)

So if you've seen me mention Demetri in my Cobra Kai posts, you know I'm not a fan. I kind of want to show off two things here:

An example of the show doing this right.

Some ideas of how they could do it better.

Now this isn't about the actor, this is just how the character is written, and how his growth just isn't there. He has some growth in the 'everyone learns how to karate' but not the emotional growth of being a better person. Anyway, cut for length and all that.

Doing this Right - Yasmine

So in Season 3 Yasmine was reintroduced to the show, after being absent all season 2, and being a minor antagonist and villain in season 1.

Villain and Hero are statements of moral value, if they are doing harm or good. Protagonist and Antagonists are statements of narrative value, if we are following them, or they are in our way.

But Season 3 wanted to shift her from villain and antagonist into a neutral supporting character. Which they did through three scenes. The set-up scene was her reintroduction. The key piece was a classmate calling her 'front wedgie girl.' The final scene was her writing on Demetri's cast.

The important part is the scene with Kyler bullying Demetri. See, Kyler was reintroduced as a villain and antagonist again. And he has his own small moment of depth (when Hawk obliterates the face of Kyler's friend) showing Kyler cares about (some) other people. But to be clear he's still the worst asshole he's bullying Demetri the same way he did in Season 1.

And Yasmine sees this and is visibly disgusted by what's going on. Which is a far removed state from how she was in S1 as a classic mean girl. This cements her shift away from her old characterization. This is a good, quick, way to show who the character is now.

Overall Yasmine had about a minute or so of screentime? But it allowed for a believable change in her nature.

Item One - Consequence

So the easiest way to go about this is when a character's negative trait has a bad end (either cosmic or interpersonal) and they are forced to face that interaction. Miguel is a raging asshole, Sam breaks up with him. Miguel follows Kreese's training, Johnny is disappointed in him. Miguel gets a lot of fairly solid ones because he is- you know, the secondary protagonist after Johnny.

For the internal version we have Hawk's side of the Demetri-Hawk plot of Season 3. Every time Cobra Kai gets worse over the season, we see a little glimmer of Hawk feeling bad about it. This includes breaking Demetri's Arm. Most of Demetri's worst traits are never solved (and worse, keep showing up) while the show tries to flavor him a hero.

"But you just said he had his arm broken" Demetri getting his arm broken wasn't a consequence for Demetri. That was for Sam's story. Demetri got hurt so Sam could face her anxieties after her injuries, and Hawk could start realizing he's made a mistake.

So if one of Demetri's negative traits had a consequence (that he paid attention to!) he would get to shift away from that behavior. I'd say the best and easiest would have been at Moon's party in Season 2.

Of Demetri's shitty behavior most of it is just 'he kind of sucks' (we'll come back to that), but in Season 2 he shared some of Eli's most intimate secrets to make him look bad. Hawk, who was shifting firmly to antagonist by this point, took offense and was ready to beat Demetri up. But Chris and Robby stepped in.

My change would be Chris and Robby do nothing. Just turn to Demetri and go 'Dude, not cool. You're on your own.' Which also, incidentally, gives some shred of moral decency to the Miyagi Dos (which was another issue in S2). Now the cops still show up and break up the party, but after Demetri is left to deal with Hawk on his own.

And then Demetri doesn't abuse Eli's trust again, definitely not with a video he swore he deleted in Season 4 or whatever the hell the thing in S6 with MIT is.

Item Two - Motivation

So characters need a motivation to be a part of the plot, usually. Sometimes plot comes at them and they just gotta deal. But it feels better when the character has a need they are seeking to fulfill. And, secondly, if the need is immediate having a new need that is more personal to give the character better agency.

Miguel wanted to stop being bullied. But once he beat up Kyler it turned into Miguel wants Johnny to be proud of him. Robby wants to find a place he belongs. Hawk and Tory want to take control over what they can in their lives. Kyler likes to make people suffer.

There's a solid intro motivation for Demetri in S2: Hawk wants to mess up his face. Demetri would like to avoid this. That isn't a really solid internal motivation and they never fix this. They gave Miguel the 'my friend is still in there' moments with Hawk in S3, they could have had that be Demetri's (although the whole 'public shaming' thing makes that a hard sell), in Season 6 his motivation is 'a hot girl will stop kissing me if I quit' and also a little bit 'spite.' Which are- fine?

So here's my pitch: His motivation is MIT. The martial arts are a part of his well rounded application. To make him stand out for college. It's a nerdy reason, not cool, not hip. But very good for making his continued part in the story make sense (he's not one of the five leads in the teen cast, but he's higher than Bebop and Rocksteady).

Which leads into the whole 'we're going to MIT together' plot making it more than just 'Demetri is a nerd' (but Demetri is a nerd is fine on its own).

I don't want him to suck...

I don't like lead protagonist characters just- vaguely being shit characters. I don't mind them having flaws if the flaws are addressed. Either through character growth or just framing them as bad. The difference between Hawk growing past his S2-3 behavior or Kyler just- generally being a terrible person (but he's framed as a terrible person).

Demetri does generally shitty things but the framing is always 'but he's the good guy so its okay.'

[darkarfs]

I need to learn to love how I look post-shower. Fucking rained-on St. Bernard. (That's a Drumstick, which I got from my neighbor's freezer. I'm watching her cat this week while she's on vacation, and she said I could have a few.) I'd never been to a show at a college campus before. It was a 4,000 seat venue and it was almost completely full. And the crowd was exactly what you'd expect at that kind of show: the Venn diagram meeting place between anime nerds, stoners and metal nerds. We got there for opener Jason Richardson, a guy who did shred instrumentals with programmed blastbeats. Every song was indistinguishable from the other. He went on for too long. Totally admit going in that I only knew 5 or 6 Babymetal songs, but the ones I knew I more or less liked. I'm not a person who sees them as a novelty act, either, like "oh isn't that interesting, these Japanese pop-idol singers are fronting this riff-heavy metal band." The songs and performances speak for themselves, honestly, and the enthusiasm and energy are absolutely there. They choreograph the shit out of it, and they take it seriously, and yet...it's objectively very silly, and I like that. There's a video vignette at the start about how the infinite universe needs more love and free will and heavy metal in it, and these people want to bring it to us. There's footage of ruins, the desert, the world as seen from space, the Ouroboros, animals chasing one another. It dissolves into this vague "the universe at play, the cosmic ballet" sort of thing, and I take solace in the fact that metal never lets go of that imagery, ever. It shouldn't. Pretend metal is the music of the universe loving and strangling itself, always, because it really is, and I always wanna lose myself in that mess. They didn't do "KARATE," my favorite song of theirs. But they were giving 100% of themselves, and I admire commitment, even if I only knew 5 or 6 songs. Dethklok are currently Brendon Small, a tiny woman in spandex whose name I missed (I think it was Nili?), a bass player, and drumming legend "Atomic Clock" Gene Hoglan. And they are...listen, I've been going to metal shows since 1997, since my freshman year of high school. I've seen Cannibal Corpse, Opeth, Sepultura, Between the Buried and Me, Megadeth, Mastodon, Gojira, Slayer...these are maybe the tightest metal band I have ever seen play. And I think that has everything to do with the fact that they have to play to match the visuals on a giant screen behind them, and it was millisecond-precise, airtight. They're basically playing note-perfect live versions of every Dethklok music video you've ever seen, in real time. You'd need Gene Hoglan for that. FaceBones addressed us twice on the monitor, reminding us to stop being such dickfaces for not showering when going to shows and that we're all friends because we smoke weed. Smalls also took the time to address us as every character he voices on the show. He could do Pickles and Skwisgar, but his Nathan suffered because he had just sung 7 songs beforehand. Not blaming him for that! This is probably the only show I'd ever been to where I knew the words to EVERY song, too, which is weird to think about. Like, even when I saw bands I loved like Motorhead or Gwar, there's always a song I don't know, or a deep cut they do that I'm not familiar with. I knew all the Dethklok stuff.

So much fun. Good to be among the enthusiastic metal dorks, universally the best and most accepting crowds on Earth. Did a shirt count, and other than the two bands performing, the most represented band that I saw, weirdly, was Megadeth. Shout-out to the girl dressed as Dr. Rockso. People being let out to get back to their cars looked like the opening to Gravity's Rainbow. On our way back to the car, I overhear this conversation: Guy behind me: "Those visuals on those two songs were from the movie that just came out." Other guy: "Oh, there's a movie? Where can I watch it?" Me, turning around: "KIMCARTOON DOT ELL-EYE!" GBM: "Well, I'd like to pay them to watch it, yeah?" Me: "Oh, well, in that case, you can rent it on iTunes." Other guy: "Oh, well, fuck that, I'm not going through all of that." Me: "Y'all can't have it both ways, dudes!" An incredibly fun and lovely evening. Glad I did it, glad I had good company for it. I'd do it again.

[jaimehwatson]

15 Questions

Stolen from @piratecaptainscaptainpirates because I love these!

ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

I named myself Jaime just because I liked the name and it felt right, but I later also realized it comes from the same linguistic root as my grandfather's name, Jacobus, so I like to think I'm sorta named after him too

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

This is kind of embarrassing but yesterday I was really looking forward to taking a nice warm shower on my lunch break (working from home) and then the hot water was off in the building with no warning and it was the last straw

DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

No and no plans to although I am looking forward to being a cool uncle to friends' kids in the future

WHAT SPORTS DO YOU PLAY/HAVE YOU PLAYED?

I'm learning karate! And I would love to get back into roller derby one day

DO YOU USE SARCASM?

Sometimes for comedic effect, despite the best efforts of my mother who would never let me watch any cartoons in which she thought the characters were too sarcastic when I was a kid

WHAT'S YOUR EYE COLOUR?

Brown!

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?

I like scary stuff and weird ambiguous endings!

ANY TALENTS?

I think I'm pretty good at writing and music

WHERE WERE YOU BORN?

Ontario, Canada

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?

Writing, reading, music, video games, embroidery and other crafting stuff

DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS?

Not in my current apartment, but my childhood cat is still doing okay for his advanced age and living with my mom! Cat tax:

HOW TALL ARE YOU?

Around 5'10" I think

FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL?

When I was in school I loved English so much that I eventually did a PhD in it!

DREAM JOB?

I fantasize a lot about running a bookstore/café but I don't actually realistically want to deal with the financial side of running a small business. And I wish I could just be a writer full-time but that's also not happening any time in the near future. On a practical level I'm going to start taking college classes in the fall to learn to be a library technician so that's the more achievable dream at the moment!

Tagging @sybilius @trenko-heart @the-girl-with-the-algebra-book @scyllas-revenge if you feel like it!

[absentmoon]

html is going arduously Look at bennys dumb fucking handwritten note he canonically gives me in the video game

Pussycat -

Thanks for showing this cat the best hey-hey he's ever-ever! Talk about platinum in the sack, toots! Where'd you learn that 18 karat trick with the heels of your feet? You didn't just make my toes curl - they popped off and rolled under the bed!

I wish I could stay for another round, but this gent's got places to be, things to do. You showing up has forced my hand, baby! The time to act is now!

I won't be around for a while, but if everything works out right, you and me are a date, got it? Wouldn't miss it for all the caps in Vegas.

Now don't get clingy and try to follow me.

Ciao,

Benny

[punch-love]

this wasn't on any of the ask list games but im curious, what are your favorite genres to read? do you have any book recs or works that have influenced your work? both your original and fic stuff lol

I love answering questions, so ask away. I've been reading a lot of non-fiction lately because I find real world information often builds up my ability to tell a convincing and human story + information runs this machine. I'm reading a book on drug cartel economics right now for writing reasons, and a book on fundamentalism and masculinity for my own personal interests. I also read a lot of occult literature.

Genre wise, I have been finding myself enjoying a lot of sci-fi recently, even though it's usually a genre I avoided in the past. I think horror is probably my favorite genre and the one I read the most of. I prefer good characters > good plot, so I don't usually read things that are heavy on word building or political intrigue.

I had a non-traditional childhood, so the books and media I was consuming (and by association, influenced my writing) was based more on what I was allowed to read more than what I wanted to read. I grew up in a very healthy diet of action and karate movies though because of my dad along with superhero cartoons, and I think those probably influenced my writing more than any books I was reading. I also am a very critical reader, and I like to say that the best way to learn how to write is to find something that you hate to read and figure out why you hate to read it. I read a lot of books I hated as a kid because I didn't have anything else to read and what I hated about them is reflected in what I don't write about. (bland characters, contrived plot, weak dialogue, skippable sections, contrived worldbuilding, cliches, etc.)

I do think The Hollow Kingdom series by Clare B. Dunkle is a big reason why I write for this fandom (non-conventional but charming love interest) and Enders Game is a big influence on my current space opera work Black Ace, but I can't think of anything else that directly influences my work now.

If you want book recs though here are some fiction that I really enjoyed recently:

the darkness outside us by eliot schrefer (cosmic space horror, devastating, beautiful, profound once in a lifetime read)

iron widow (fantasy mecha, great protagonist, polyamorous couple, way more violent and depraved than you'd expect)

the family fortuna (family tragedy, monster protagonist that likes being a monster, circus setting)

tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow (queer platonic relationships, making video games as a love language, so fucking sad and beautiful)

the murders of molly southbourne (violent clone killing, excellent execution of a concept)

I also have a storygraph if you want to see what I'm reading @mountainzombie

[beatthegame]

Just beat Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade. The original FF7 was first released on the Playstation One back in 1997. Considered by many one of the best video games of all time. FF7 was the gold standard for role playing games for a long time. It was remade again just a couple of years ago in 2020 on the PS4. During a time of perpetual remakes, Final Fantasy 7 Remake seemed to live up to the hype and made a great gaming experience even better. Remake Intergrade is the PS5 follow up that appeared shortly after the PS4 release. Not a sequel. More like the "Super Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition EX Plus Alpha Turbo HD" of the Final Fantasy world. A loaded statement for sure. But is Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade a good game? Let's break it down like this...

In a nutshell: Young steampunk Super Saiyan Goku with a big ass sword becomes an eco-terrorist for hire to blow up electric power plants with this crazy dude with a minigun for a hand and a karate hooker, who just happens to be Goku's childhood sweetheart. Don't worry parents; this is an evil corporation, so blowing up their power plants is ok. You hack & slash & punch & shoot your way through hundreds of robots and monsters trying to stop this evil corporation with your dirtbag friends and a cute flower girl. Seems like a simple premise. That is until Goth Albino Axl Rose starts whispering riddles into Goku's ears. Getting all up in your business. You would THINK that was cool, but you find out that Axl is trying to destroy the world. Which is the opposite of cool. At that point you're fighting to save the Earth. Again. But seriously, this game is a lot more layered than how I'm trying to summarize. It's a nutshell full of awesome.

The Good: The original Final Fantasy 7 was pretty amazing. So you're already starting off with a good premise. But the developers took that premise and rebuilt it from scratch with modern developer tools. The end result is pretty fantastic from every aspect. The graphics are simply gorgeous. The assets are so insanely detailed, I would often stop progressing and just look around. The details in the environment. The non-descript chatter from the NPC's made the city of Midgar seem alive. And the characters! The Final Fantasy 7 cast has become almost iconic through the years. Popping up in several other games, movies, comics, etc. We were somewhat familiar with these characters. But the remake really brought them to life. Shout out to the voice acting cast, by the way. Just about everyone played true to their characters' personalities. The quirky banter between  certain characters were amusing at times. Which leads to the actual gameplay. Final Fantasy was always about quick turn-based battles and item management with pretty graphics. The remake takes it a step further with more pro-active arcade brawler style battles. All while preserving the quick item management aspect of the original games. It often feels like a juggling act at times. You have to attack, block or parry and dodge enemy attacks like any other 3-D action game. But you also have to manage two other teammates on top of the action. You can add quick commands from their arsenal or let the AI automate while you focus on kicking ass. It's definitely more proactive than the original game. Even the music is fantastic! The original soundtrack was already legendary. How on Earth could they possibly top it? Well, this modern day production crew took something great and added a layer of delicious frosting on top. Taking classic melodies from the original game and giving them full instrumental productions spanning several genres: pop, jazz, EDM, metal, hip-hop, reggae remixes. Amongst others. I had the damn chocobo song in my head ALL DAY. The Happy Turtle jingle is burned in my mind forever. Which is a testament to the greatness of this game's soundtrack. Controls were smooth, responsive and simple. The games menus and materia system might have a bit of a learning curve for unfamiliar players. Definitely not a typical beat em up. But you have tons of options! The UI is simple and provides easy instructions to guide players through. There are so many other good details about this game. I can seriously keep going. But let's flip the script and break out the table salt...

The Bad: If you're getting into this without any prior knowledge of the Final Fantasy experience? You might find yourself a bit confused. There is a LOT going on, with plenty of gaping plotholes from beginning to end. Which I now realize were placed intentionally to throw off fans of the original timeline. They are trying something new and different, which is GREAT! But from a tourist perspective? It's all super-fucking-weird! LOL! I can see the average Fortnite kid getting bored with this game really quick. Not a lot of gamers are patient enough to sit through all the cut scenes (which ARE skippable by the way). There were plenty of cringe inducing scenes that gave me douche chills. Speed Demon Roche and The Honeybee Inn were annoying, amonst others but I respect the developers trying new things and adding more substance to the Midgar experience. And speaking of adding to the experience... I don't like how they added to the game by subtracting 3/4ths of the original narrative out of the presentation. Back in 1997. Final Fantasy 7 came with 4 discs. Different parts of the saga split up, mostly because you can only contain a finite amount of game data on a single disc. Despite the 4 discs, you got the WHOLE STORY. The remake only covers the first quarter of the timeline. Like getting served a whole deep dish pie at first. Now you're only getting a slice? Which raises a LOT of questions I'm not willing to remember in-between the countless games we'll be playing before the next disc comes out. It kills the flow of the narrative. But from a business standpoint, you can see exactly why it would be more profitable to stretch the games out. And add as many spin-offs and DLC's as possible before you shell out another $80 bucks for the next disc. Unfortunately for me, I'm that hardcore Final Fantasy fanboy that will begrudgingly burn another $80 bucks for each stupid disc and download they crank out. Like a true Final Fantasy cuck. God help us if the introduce micro-transactions.

I also don't like how linear this game is. For a role playing game, especially with the freedom of other sandbox RPGs, this game seems pretty shallow. You really can't do much outside of what your character is tasked to do. Pretty weak compared to what's offered on so many other games. But you know what they say, "compare & despair". If it weren't for the iconic characters, the game would seem pretty weak when you're not invested in the lore behind these people. But fortunately, there are millions of fans who went all in on this franchise. The next installment is supposed to offer more freedom? Which seems ideal. But is it the same kind of freedom like you get in Skyrim or Red Dead Redemption? Very unlikely.

Overall: These son's of biscuits at Squeenix took a legendary game. Made it better. And added a Intergrade cherry on top, with more bells and whistles on the side. When you start getting caught up in the mini-games more than the actual story (hello Fort Condor!) you start to get a good video game Inception going on. The best games will make you want to play them again after beating it. But I'm already looking forward to unlock more features on Hard mode. It's Final Fantasy at its peak form.

S-Class

[animationstarlover1983]

Fnaf system reboot au

Main characters: good guys, info/descriptions (canon)

1. Cassie Martinez: a 10 year old girl and a main character in the au story. Cassie is a young girl and the first kid friend gregory makes while in the pizzaplex, she also becomes a victim of the villainous mastermind who has taken over the pizzaplex, however Cassie much like Gregory is more then what she seems. Species: human/reborn soul. Soul: Cassidy jones (vengeful spirit). Age: 10. Date of birth: December - 16th - 20xx. Appearance: Cassie has jet black hair and puts in low pigtails and amber/hazel eyes, she wears a red sweater and Jean shorts with purple leggings and light up sketchers. Personality: Cassie is smart, friendly, energetic, passionate, curious, creative, stubborn, responsible, somewhat short tempered, caring, helpful. Facts/info: Cassie has a weird obsession with collecting old fredbear/golden Freddy things, in this au she and gregory are friends and not siblings. Powers: peak human condition, spiritual awareness, golden Freddy power (not unlocked yet). Skills: high intelligence, raw cunning, strategic planning, adept learning, stealth, survival instincts, self defense. Likes: family/friends, reading/writing, outdoor activities, sports, animals, plushies/toys, video games. Dislikes: William afton, fazbear entertainment.

2. Luis Cabrera: A 24 year old man and a important character in the au story. Luis is a childhood friend of Vanessa’s and a top tier employee at fazbear entertainment, Luis like Vanessa is a prodigy and he is a computer/electronics expert, Luis usually visits the pizzaplex frequently but is soon caught up in a evil masterminds plan, strangely Luis is somehow immune to the glitchtrap virus. Species: human. Age: 24. Date of birth: may - 29th - 20xx. Appearance: Luis has ginger/orange hair and amber eyes, he’s quite tall and fit, he often wears a blue/yellow polo shirt under a pizzaplex jacket, when at work he wears a standard employee uniform. Personality: Luis is intelligent, friendly, stubborn, curious, creative, energetic, fun loving, humorous. Facts/info: Luis has had a major crush on Vanessa and vice versa, Luis is also Vanessa’s childhood/best friend. Powers: peak human condition, spiritual awareness. Skills: genius level intelligence, raw cunning, adept learning, intuition, computer expertise, electronics expertise, creativity, self defense. Likes: family/friends, chocolate, outside, exercise/yoga, soccer, reading, computer science, collecting trinkets, karate/self defense classes. Dislikes: scary things. Job/career: computer scientist, IT department (formerly), marketing department (recently), robotics/electronics technician.

3. Glamrock chica henny: a animatronic chicken and a main character to the au story. Chica is a mascot at Freddy fazbears mega pizzaplex and band member of the glamrocks who plays the electric guitar , she is the star attraction of mazercize where she trains and helps people workout while encouraging them to eat healthy and drink sports/energy drinks, chica like her fellow animatronic band members also acts more human than machine. Species: animatronic chicken/reborn soul. Soul: Penelope Grayson. Date of creation: august - 21 - 20xx early. Appearance: chicas appearance is similar to that of her game counterpart except she’s been given a feather tail to add to her chicken heritage. Personality: chica is friendly, caring, helpful, energetic, passionate, quirky. Corrupted personality: when infected with the g-t virus chica is gluttonous, sadistic, deceptive, reckless, aggressive, single minded. Facts/info: chica has a habit of clucking like a actual chicken. Powers/features: animatronic physiology (strength/agility/durability/advance ai/inbuilt e-manual/databank archive), audio/sound features (audio speaker/voice mimicry/sound translation), candy dispenser, sweet scent release, spiritual awareness, ghost haunting. Skills: keen intellect, adept learning, empathy/sympathy, caretaking expertise, cooking/baking expertise. Likes: friends/family, cooking/baking, cute things, exercise/yoga, learning new things. Dislikes: violence, scary things.

4. Roxanne wolf: a animatronic wolf and a main character in the story. Roxanne is a new animatronic added to Freddy fazbears mega pizzaplex and a member of the glamrock band who plays the keytar, roxxane is the head mascot of her attraction Roxanne raceway where she teaches and challenges guest to go kart races, just like her other animatronics Roxanne acts more human then machine. Species: animatronic wolf/reborn soul. Soul: zoey wolf. Date of creation: July - 29th - 20xx. Appearance: Roxanne’s appearance is the same as her game counterpart. Personality: Roxanne is smart, head strong, level headed, confident, friendly, competitive, somewhat insecure, stubborn, diligent, responsible. Corrupted personality: when infected with the g-t virus Roxanne becomes aggressive, vain, self centered, rude, competitive, narcissistic. Facts/info: Roxanne had a small crush on Freddy but is bad at hiding it sometimes. Powers/features: animatronic physiology (strength/immense speed/immense agility/durability/advance ai/inbuilt e-manual/databank archive), special vision features (night vision/x-ray vision/infrared thermal vision/ultraviolet vision/telescopic vision/microscopic vision), spiritual awareness, ghost haunting. Skills: keen intellect, raw cunning, strategic planning, adept learning, leadership, vehicle expertise, mechanic engineering expertise, self defense. Likes: friends/family, vehicles, fashion, self care, racing. Dislikes: getting messy/dirty, selfish/immature people.

5. Montgomery alligator: a animatronic alligator and a main character to the au story. Montgomery is a new animatronic added to Freddy fazbears mega pizzaplex and a member of the glamrock band who plays the drums, Montgomery is the head mascot of Montgomery gator golf where he teaches and challenges guest to different golf courses, Montgomery just like his bandmates also acts more human than machine. Species: animatronic alligator/reborn soul. Soul: Reginald colson. Date of creation: august - 2nd - 20xx. Appearance: Montgomerys appearance is the same as his game counterpart. Personality: Montgomery is passionate, confident, stubborn, friendly, short tempered, competitive, energetic, helpful. Corrupted personality: when infected by the g-t virus Montgomery is aggressive, somewhat violent, egotistical, reckless, rude. Facts/info: in the au Montgomery favorite animatronic to hang out with is Bonnie because he’s always been interested in Bonnie’s bass guitar. Powers/features: animatronic physiology (immense strength/speed/immense durability/advance ai/inbuilt e-manual/databank archive), water gun mouth, spiritual awareness, ghost haunting. Skills: keen intellect, leadership, charisma, intimidation, self defense, golf expertise, caretaking expertise. Likes: friends/family, golf, swamps, music, boxing bags, pools, sunglasses. Dislikes: immature/selfish people, people assuming he’s always angry.

6. The blob/tangle/cluster: a giant animatronic/amalgamation and a important character to the au story. The blob in this au will also be referred to as cluster, blob/cluster lives underneath the pizzaplex within the ruins of the old Freddy fazbears pizza place, the blob rules over all the other amalgamations in the ruins and wishes not to be disturbed by anyone, cluster also wishes to find and get revenge on William afton due to it being fueled by the agony of all of Williams past victims. Species: animatronic/amalgamation/agony fueled monster. Date of creation: unknown. Appearance: the blob/cluster upper half looks like a fixed but old and rusty combinatorial of Funtime Freddy and Molten Freddy, his color scheme is gray/black/white, his left eye is blue and his right eye is red, his lower half is like a snake tail put together by large wires/cables, his left arm is a machine claw with 3 finger/hooks, on his inside is a bunch of wires/cables and animatronic eyeballs with past animatronics. Personality: the blob/cluster acts like a wild animal wild/feral but still holds enough intelligence to think and stuff, the blob is angry, sad and confused by its existence, it also seems to have multiple personalities. Facts/info: the blob will only attack those it deems a threat to its life, the blob also goes around collecting anything to add to its body. Powers/features: animatronic physiology (immense strength/immense speed/immense agility/immense flexibility/immense durability/advance ai/robotic perception), Funtime animatronics features, faceplate split, wire/cable control, light/sound frequency control, technology/machinery fusion, spiritual awareness, negative emotion empowerment/augmentation. Skills: keen intellect, raw cunning, adept learning, stealth. Likes: friends/family, sleeping, collecting, music, being alone. Dislikes: William afton, fazbear entertainment, afton robotics.

Next: returning redesigned characters.

[tarotcard0]

Pokemon Let's Go's weird difficulty.

Pokemon has never been a difficult game, but Pokemon Lets Go is the only game in the series where I saw people complaining about it being too easy.

I, personally, found the difficulty to spike and plateau randomly and wildly, and I remember one video where someone said that it was one of the most difficult Pokemon experiences they'd played, especially if you didn't use your starter.

The lack of using the starter resulting in a very difficult experience stuck out to me. It took me a while, but I think figured out at least some of the problems with Let's Go's wildly fluctuating difficulty. Feel free to add anything you can think of.

Problem 1: The Partner Pokemon

Your starter, or Partner Pokemon in this case, isn't like other Pokemon of its species. Partner Pikachu is almost as strong as a Raichu, in particular, offensive stats received a ludicrous buff compared to a normal Pikachu. And Partner Eevee is arguably stronger than some of the Gen 1 Eeveelutions, it's utterly ridiculous.

This means that you're basically starting the game with an evolved Pokemon in terms of stats, resulting in the early game getting completely steam-rolled by stats you shouldn't even be close to having yet.

On top of this, the Partner Pokemon has 100% Perfect IV rolls every playthrough, meaning that their already improved stats are even higher than that.

The Idea seems to have been to let the player get through the first part of the game relatively easily. In Yellow Version, Brock, the first gym leader, was a huge difficulty spike, a beef gate that directly countered your only starter (a Pikachu) by being immune to its best moves, forcing the player to power though with Levels, or get a Butterfree to bypass his defenses. Double Kick was also an option if you caught a Nidoran, but Double kick blows so hard that Yellow Version also made Mankey available earlier than normal so you could get STAB Karate Chop, and even then Buterfree was arguably still the better option.

Let's Go not only allows access to a Grass Type early on, but also has both Partner Pokemon learn Double Kick, a move Eevee normally only learns as an Egg Move, and that Pickachu normally can't learn at all, at an early level. With their higher than normal stats, even a move as normally limp as Double-Kick makes quick work of Brock.

Problem 2: Encounters and EXP

The removal of Random Encounters means that the game never suddenly throws a monster at you, and more importantly, means you're never gaining more EXP looking for that monster you like, because you can just wait for it to appear.

It's not about knocking out Zubat after Zubat as you go through the cave because the game just so happened to send them after you, you can now avoid them all easily. In order to gain EXP from wild encounters, it is now up to the player to purposefully engage with them.

Meaning the only EXP the player "Naturally" gets via the game having something appear in front of them, is by catching Pokemon they don't already have in their Pokedex. Catching a Pokemon that you have already caught only serves to give the Pokemon in your Party EXP, and allows you to get Stat Candy, which is just leveling up with Extra Steps. And when you're going out of your way to force encounters to gain EXP, that's called Grinding.

I don't know if this is a "me" thing, but if I'm going out of my way to get EXP from encounters, instead of just taking EXP from the encounters the game gives me naturally, it feels like I'm gaining more EXP, and more levels, than I should have at that point in the game.

Couple that with the fact that catching wild Pokemon gives out way more EXP than battling trainers, especially early on, and it just feels like catching Pokemon is a really easy way to become over-leveled.

So I wind up avoiding most encounters because I don't want to be over-leveled, and as a result, wind up under-leveled instead when it comes to a boss battle, because the game does a horrible job of leveling trainers to the bosses of the area.

Problem 3: Trainer Levels are bonkers.

Misty has a level 19 (or 21, I can't remember) Starmie, and you are required to have a level 15 Pokemon to enter her Gym. Despite this, the game expects you to believe that your rival beat her with his squad of level 12s.

Most of the trainers around Cerulean have Level 9 Monsters. I think the strongest one I saw was level 11.

To put it bluntly, Trainers aren't acting as enough of an obstacle, and aren't giving enough EXP, to adequately prepare the player for the boss battles nearby. And if the player, unlike me, actually takes advantage of the Marvelous Moves offered at certain Pokecenters, then even the bizarre leveling of nearby trainers won't be enough to stop them, except when it is.

Problem 4: Eevee's Marvelous Moves are ludicrously broken.

At certain Pokecenters, a Move Tutor will teach your Partner Pokemon some alliteratively titled Marvelous Moves.

Each Marvelous Move references something. Pikachu gets references to Ballon Pikachu and Surfing Pikachu, but Eevee gets a comparatively large set of Marvelous Moves, each one referencing an Eeveelution. However all of Eevee's Marvelous Moves have secondary effects that have a 100% success rate. Buzzy Buzz is just Thunderbolt, except it can be learned way earlier, and has a 100% chance of paralyzing the target. Surprise: A 100% accuracy move that deals damage and always paralyzes the target is overpowered! Who would have thought?

This is an issue exclusive to Partner Eevee. As unballanced as the game is overall, I can at least see that when it came to Pikachus Marvelous Moves, that some attempt at balance was made.

For Let's Go Eevee players, anyone remotely familiar with Pokemon, like myself, will actively be discouraged from using these moves simply because of how powerful they are from description alone. Pokemon games are already not difficult, but the use of these moves, even if you limit yourself to only having 1 in your move-set, causes the difficulty to implode!

So obviously I don't want to use moves that are so powerful and that the enemies don't have access to. That's basically cheating. I want to win because I preformed better, not because I had something the opponent never had a chance to have.

But it turns out, if you forbid yourself from using most of the game's mechanics than any game can become stupidly, unfairly difficult!

Problem 5: So, Items are still a thing.

The player still has infinite bag space and can hold 99 of each item, meaning that with enough money and the willingness to spend it, the player can effectively heal themselves forever. As in until the boss runs out of PP and struggles themself to death.

Speaking from a personal experience? Couldn't be me.

Most longtime fans opt to not use items in combat at all, and even some romhacks remove the ability to use them altogether, but I always hated that concept. Like, why would you force the player to just watch as their friends got hurt and not allow them to do anything about it?

The problem is, using Items doesn't lessen the difficulty: it removes it! Those players don't use items in combat because they want to win because they trained harder, or had a better strategy than the opponent, not because they had more money than them. They simply aren't a fan of the concept of healing themselves until the boss suddenly dies.

[z34l0t]

“I was just a bearded guy with the tattoos, trying to be a tough guy, and I’m not a tough guy naturally,” he told me. “But I can be weird and charismatic, goofy. That’s easy. That’s also a role that most people don’t want to fill.”

[...]

"Five years into his wrestling career, Danhausen did what any serious artist does when he runs out of momentum: He looked for a new gimmick. He had fond memories of Halloweens, when his father made him up as a zombie, so he put on black and white face paint. At first, the idea was serious. The character — also named Danhausen — was supposed to be an evil demon. But Danhausen the man found that the more elements of humor he incorporated into his performance, the more audiences responded. He stopped growling with the agony of the damned and started ordering the crowd to clap and cheer for him. He made his physical movements less creepy and more awkward. These changes made the character more fun to play and brought it in line with his life outside wrestling, which did not include a background in competitive sports, much less fighting. The sole entry on his combat sports résumé was one karate class he attended at age 6, which he left when he learned they would have to be barefoot. Other than that: “I have no background in anything. I don’t have a wrestling background. I’m not into sports. I don’t have an improv background. I watched wrestling, and I watched ‘The Simpsons.’”"

[...]

"In the wake of W.W.E.’s consolidation of the televised-wrestling business, the disappearance of territorial promotions created the conditions for a new ecosystem of untelevised independent wrestling shows to take hold, the way certain species of flora resurge after a forest fire. These promotions, which present shows in bars, backyards and other venues that can be rented for relatively little money up front, rely on a churning roster of amateur and semiprofessional wrestlers who work their local circuits the way aspiring comics work showcases and open mics. While almost none of these promotions have a TV deal, there exists an avid community of indie-wrestling fans online. A bootleg video of a sufficiently interesting bar show can reach a significant audience, creating an indie-to-professional pipeline that is just plausible enough to entice young aspirants."

[...]

"Die-hard wrestling fans seem to have some quality in common that is hard to describe but easy to recognize. Over the course of the weekend, I approached any stranger who looked right and asked, “Are you in town for ‘Double or Nothing’?” I was right 100 percent of the time. The business model’s emphasis on T-shirts surely improved my average, but there were other factors at play. Many wrestling fans invoke signifiers from various subcultures — punk, goth, role-playing games, the burlesque/rockabilly/roller derby triangle — without being definitively of any one of them. They wear a lot of ear gauges, and they exhibit the sweet diffidence of people who live some of the more meaningful portions of their lives in fictional worlds."