#duel of journeys

[pluralsword]

We think these two would make a very good team and get a long well.

Despite that we wrote a fic where they butt heads and fight each other because of opposed outlooks due to differing access to information- but c'mon it's Samus and Arcee they'll figure it out. Do you like the Metroid universe? Do you like trans takes on transformers worldbuilding? What about combining the two as if they were seamless parts of each other, and reading these two badasses square off until they come to terms (do you think them fighting would be hot)? Well, then we have the Samus vs. Arcee fic for you, three chapters of it so far, as part of our Duel of Journeys series of crossover vs. that handles things differently than Death Battles and similar things do, in the following respects:

-presenting an ostensible reason for the two sides to be fighting, because outside of sparring, motivation helps drive and define combat

-in situations where the power levels are skewed (e.g. Arcee is a fantastic fighter and certainly a more experienced commander than Samus but barring her time-traveling Alternity iteration Arcee does not have the armor / defenses to survive Super Bombs, Super/Ice Missiles, Hyper Beams, the Metroid Suit, etc etc. Her swords with her reflexes are missile defense systems but um well blast radius is still a thing so there's a big difference between Samus's missiles and Bombshell's) show what other advantages both can bring to the table, not fighting in a vacuum/void from the rest of the world

-as such, it is not necessarily a battle to the death. It is about victory by defeating or persuading, and ones allies and loved ones can get involved. (to make a non Star Wars example, if you threw Admiral Susan Ivanova of Babylon 5 and Grand Admiral Thrawn of Star Wars against each other while yes their close quarters fight would be interesting we think their abilities as space naval commanders would be much more interesting to see against each other)

-with that in mind, finishing whatever plot comes after if possible

It's really more of a character analysis / comparison thing. So there you have it, good hunting! If people want to suggest matchups please do so in asks or comments or reblogs of this post, bear in mind that we will want at least one character involved from any of the following (yes we will favor robots), and may not write what we are unfamiliar/uncomfortable with, and we will also consider team-up fics instead of vs.:

-Transformers (e.g. Chromia), GI JOE (e.g. Scarlett), Steamworlds (e.g. Piper Faraday), Battletech (e.g. Kamea Arano), Sunless Skies (e.g. Reckless Driver), Babylon 5 (e.g. Delenn), Supreme Commander (e.g. Rhiza). We will add to this list when we have time. <3

[giddlygoat]

one arm left. this painting has me in a chokehold. i feel manic working on it but i just need to get it out of my system. painting this image is like an exorcism for me, like i have to bring it to life or i will simply be consumed by it. nothing will be right with the world until i finish this godforsaken abomination

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Journey to Nowhere

Artist: Warren Mahy TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[remnant-verse-if]

Okay, so as I'm writing this alternate branch where the MC dies and Apollo/Anna takes their role as the MC, I'm kinda getting really into it. Like wouldn't it be funny if this just became a whole other story that's included in Before the Incident 😅😅😅

[elfroot-and-laurels-moved]

public apology to @bitchesofostwick for the number of unhinged messages i sent her tonight critiquing the timeline and logistics of DAO endgame army movements. it is simply that my feelings are very strong on the matter and i needed to send a video with a map for pointing so that i could rant properly. bc my opinions are strong.

[aquekyu]

I have watched all of Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters, Yu-Gi-Oh GX, and Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds in the span of over two years.

Within those two years I also learned how to play the card game. Learning the various summons and building decks using monsters I love.

Am I welcome into the community now?

[frugalkubal]

I finally ascended Odie and Rowan to Supreme+ and I also got Odie's new free skin. I'm so happy! ✧⁠◝⁠(☆⁠▽⁠☆)⁠◜⁠✧

I bought 2 copies of Rowan from the Arena Store and bought 10 copies of Odie from the Dream Store. (Yeah, I had a bunch of coins saved up. lol)

[iwasateenagenosferatu]

Duel of the Fates

I'm sad so I'm chasing the 1999 nostalgia dragon. Also Ani already loves Padme.

[rmorde]

Trigun Manga Reaction

Here we go! Chapter 8 Volume... Huh?

Voulme 2? I thought this is still Volume 1. Am I tripping?

Anyway! Just a moment of appreciation for this parody page of he cover.

This while thing is so "busy" yet it still make sense. There's so many elements layering on top of each other. It should be a confusing mess. However, I can still easily pick out the four components that tells a story.

Component 1: Vash as a happy salary man being served a drink by a geisha (judging from the hairstyle and accessory) with shadowed eyes on the opposite end of the page.

Component 2: BDN at the dead center. The text makes it a bit difficult to confirm if he has a top knot, but he definitely is rocking a traditional Japanese look. He looks menacingly at Vash as he drinks.

Component 3: Meryl and Milly running in a hurry but for two clearly different purposes. Meryl looks like a traditional restaurant staff frantically trying to serve a lot of guests. Meanwhile, Milly doesn't look she's working anywhere near the food service industry with her get up and the tool that she has on hand.

Component 4: The Bad Lads drinking in celebration while an ambulance seems to be sounding its sirens as it parked near them.

Look. I may seem to be too obsessed with this gag page but it's crazy how its a fucking busy mess that still works at telling a cohesive story!

With just this two page drawing, I can infer easily that someone is in danger and may need to be hospitalized - so the ambulance was called and asked to stand by. Milly is probably the heroine about to save the day with the overworked yet eager to help Meryl. The party the Bad Lads are having is a big distraction at a possible murder attempt starring Vash as the victim, the geisha as the accomplice, and BDN as the mastermind.

I'M SORRY BUT HOW THE FUCK?!!!

And don't get me started on the scaling of each figure and the silhouettes. Just... I'll just repeat, Nightow is amazing for how pretty AND technical his drawing is. It's so clean. Wow...

Sorry for getting derailed. So, back to the chapter.

Ok. I lied. Let me just appreciate Winter Mery and Milly here. I love them so much and they so fucking cute here with their dynamic pose... solid silhouette... Clean fucking lines... Sorry... Give me a minute!!!

Sigh~

Interesting. So, '98 rearranged the sequence of events here. This happened a bit later... which I think is better. It adds more impact on Vash's duel against BDN.

These guys are no stormtrooper shooters. They having really good aim!

They didn't hit Vash. Okay. Maybe the tails of his coat now have fresh bullet holes, but aside from that, Vash is fairly intact. The Bad Lads have great accuracy.

This is an intriguing way of drawing a spinning gun. It's simple but effective in visually communicating that that is what BDN is doing. A good choice. Thinking about it... If three twirling guns in a blur of circles were drawn, it would be too distracting and BDN will be overwhelmed in the panel.

Cool foreshortening. Incredible detail on the filigree. And a bonus Goofy Face Vash!

So so fucking glad '98 was faithful to the manga with these scenes. Meryl and Milly were such badasses here.

Huh... Well that's a huge difference. There's not much:

GASP! It'S VaSH tHe STampeDE!

vASh ThE StAMpEdE?!

VASH THE STAMPEDE!!!

It can get a bit much... sometimes in '98. So, this is refreshing.

WHAT...

WHAT THE FLYING FUCK?!!!

So, those lines by Miss Purple Avenger from the filler episode were originally from BRILLIANT DYNAMITES NEON?!

I-

Oooohhh.... Pretty art... Wait no... I can't distracted. I'm mad!

I'M VERY VERY MAD!!!

OML! This is much more intense! IT ADDS SO MUCH WEIGHT TO THE DUEL!

Oh my goodness... This nuance... WHY WAS THIS CHANGED?!

Not to say that Miss Purple Avenger and the episode featuring her was bad. It was actually great! Her version of July was nightmare inducing... and her confrontation with Vash was truly tragic too but.... Uhm...uh... AAHHHH!!!! I CAN'T CHOOSE! THEY'RE BOTH GOOD!

Oh... break my heart into fucking pieces will you huh?!

LOOK AT THESE! Manga Vash getting cheered on by the people! People were supporting him! He is being treated nicely as he deserved.

Even in '98! It was not as overt at this page. However, that scene of the captain from the beginning of this chapter replaced these panels instead and is just as effective. '98 Vash has people believing the good in him.

TRISTAMP VASH WAS ROBBED!!! HE NEVER HAD THESE!!! That poor precious boy! The few precious people who supports him only showed up near the end... and... and...

Now getting even more upset again with the Jeonora Episodes in Tristamp!

It's so not fair!

Oooh. A cinematic page!

HOLY SHIT!!! THESE PAGES ARE AMAZING!

I can't believe this. This fight is better in the manga!

I am not dissing Studio Madhouse for what they've done tho. The '98 Duel was epic too! They did great! But all these crazy angles and perspectives in the manga just elevate the overall awesomeness of the gunfight. It's just more immersive.

Tbf to the '98 anime, this is a nightmare to animate faithfully. With the technology and techniques at the time, this would be so difficult to pull off beautifully - going topsy turvy in one smooth motion for two characters at the same time in a fight scene with a complicated moving background? Yeah... The animation staff would go insane. It's totally understandable that they simplified this duel into extreme close ups and strong facial + gun drawings instead.

I hope Studio Orange re-hashes this fight in some way tho... or does the Episode 1 duel count?

Sigh... With the my discovery that Miss Purple Avenger's lines were actually BDN's, and that the outrage towards Vash for not remembering anything about July belongs to the Bad Lads', these words have become so much more meaningful.

It's also now more effective at convincing me that Brilliant Dynamites Neon have hidden depths.

Oh... Ow... The detailing here is just ow for the hands of an artist. Perhaps I overreacting, but those fine lines in the crooks and crannies make me wince.

Once again tag responses:

@revenantghost

Yeah. The more I see his work, the more I'm awed by his skills. That's a cool detail that his design incorporate realism. I thought the glasses are for the light tho? But maybe it's like those the Olympian gunners wore during the competition?

The dead REALLY haunting the narrative? Looking forward to it!

@takeshidude

Ok. Monthly publication are still grueling but at least its not as nightmarish with weekly mangakas. No wonder the quality is consistent with the art. Nightow was allowed to breathe.

You make a good point. '98 did have a bit of a mystery woven into it. We know Vash the Stampede - we follow his misadventures and people kept saying who he is ad nauseam in every episode. However, we don't really know know him for quite a long time. It's a different, but no less interesting, spin to the story.

Which kinda explains I'm misremembering some scenes and characterizations? The last third of '98 made a long lasting impression that I kinda forgot about Vash's horn dogginess.

[randomingoftherandomness]

There is a thing I don't get, why Yuanzhi was so against the idea of Ziyu becoming the sword wielder?

Just because he wanted his brother to be it? Or because of the rumors about Ziyu's mother? I mean, Shangjue was always logical on the reasons why he didn't want Ziyu to be the leader while Yuanzhi seemed to just do what he was told to do.

I read an answer on Reddit where Yuanzhi was described as Shangjue's dog, with no opinions of his own, petty and oblivious. Many people regarded him as the true villain of the show because he caused pain and played tricks for no real reasons. Do you think he is like that? Only smart for poisons?

Me to the Redditor who said that:

Knuckle and buckle, kids, you're on the Gab Meta Train.

1. Gong Ziyu started out hella unqualified and everyone knows it

Don't come at me and tell me Gong Ziyu was the most worthy candidate to be the Sword Wielder because based on the first character setup, he definitely was not it. He was known to frequent the pleasure house, he stumbles home drunk in broad daylight, he has no involvement in the family's affairs, and he is most definitely more known as a dandy than anyone who is being groomed to take over the helm of the family.

Honestly, off the bat, in real life, would you want someone with a proven track record to lead you and protect you and your interests, or would you want some dude who is better known for hanging out at a brothel than he is actually handling paperwork or has a track record of maturity?

Yuanzhi, who is younger than Ziyu, but already is contributing to the day-to-day running and the development of tech and research for the family.

Which means...?

He has skin in the game about who he wants to lead him in the family. And that's a very valid stance to take. It's more than "oh Gege told me to do this, so I will" because that's such a sad 1 dimension take, and again, to that Redditor:

Of course, we as the audience know that Ziyu will shape up. He will step up and he will answer the call, so to speak. But Gong Yuanzhi and Gong Shangjue did not. And if you really think about it, they're pretty much 'employees' of the Gong company. They just didn't agree with what top management decided and vocally voiced that opinion.

If you reeeeeallly want to think about it, they were just unionising :)

(gonna put this under a read more coz it got long)

2. Gong Shangjue has instilled a mentality of "Family First"

Relating to the first point.

Shangjue is obviously Yuanzhi's North Star. He is who Yuanzhi is shaping himself to be, and for all we know of his character, of course he would. He's basically the perfect man to aspire to be in a society like theirs.

So, when Shangjue says, "Family is the Most Important", don't you think Yuanzhi is gonna listen? Gong Shangjue is Gong Yuanzhi's most important person. He's family in a way that the rest aren't. Even if he doesn't outright say "I want that position", Yuanzhi would have done anything to help support him and get him there.

And going on the point where Shangjue and Yuanzhi were on Ziyu's case coz of the rumours that his mom was possibly pregnant when she married into the Gong family; I know other users on the MJTY tag have quite possibly discussed this matter (shoutout to @kingsandbastardz @swiftletinthecloud @romchat for their lovely metas and analysis posts ❤️ I consume them with much gratitude and glee), but let me crudely try to wrangle what has been beautifully said into my my own words;

For a family that prides themselves with being very strict about their familial rules, the fact that there is some measure and level of doubt persisting about Ziyu's parentage should have and must disqualify him from the position itself. Ziyu's dad could have easily kiboshed the rumours but he didn't, why?

More than that, the implication given to Shangjue over tea was that the position of Zhiren was always meant to go to him. Rewatch that scene where he last saw his uncle. Tell me differently.

The whole paternity issue is just one facet of a very Ziyu shaped problem. Having a murky paternity will raise issues of succession. Why do you think the nobilities of Europe back then had a court of people, usually people of importance, to be present when a marriage was consummated and a child was born? This is to make sure that there was no doubt that the marriage was legitimate and the line of succession and paternity remains unbroken.

(there were always exceptions to the rule, of course, but you get my drift, right?)

Of course, we got the resolutions to all of these issues; Ziyu was always the bio son of the Zhiren, he probably didn't kibosh the rumours because he never wanted to have his son carry that burden of leading the family when he could tell that his son had always wanted to leave the Valley, and Shangjue never coveted the position in the first place, he just wanted the right person to lead.

3. Yuanzhi has no opinions

Yuanzhi's just a dog to Shangjue? Well, if he's a dog, I wanna be one too Woof Woof.

Yuanzhi has his own motivations and drive. They just so happened to be Gege-shaped. I don't see how that warrants being called someone's dog.

He doesn't have his own opinions? Bro quite literally almost died to prove a point that the porridge was poisoned and Shangguan Qian cannot be trusted. HOW IS THAT NOT HAVING AN OPINION?

WERE WE EVEN WATCHING THE SAME SHOW???

Honestly, it's Reddit so I shouldn't be this surprised about the hot takes that happen on there, but damn if some people lack two brain cells to rub together to critically consume the media in front of them.

4. Yuanzhi is a reactionary character

Think about it; how many times throughout the narrative did he cause problems for no apparent reason?

If anything, don't you think that Ziyu & co. are the ones who deliberately do things to antagonise him and Shangjue? It's almost midnight as I am typing this and the old noggin is starting to lag, but let's focus on the blood GPS incident.

Yuanzhi saw that the people in the Yu residence were being a bit suspicious so he goes to snoop (cause + reason = reaction). Jin Fan is best boy, but Yuanzhi did not instigate that fight, he did (with good reason i know i know). (offense + defense = reaction). Ziyu & co. tried to stuff him into the closet (*snerk*) and what does he do? Bites down until he bleeds because he knows Gege will find him if he sniffs him out. And he did. A successful reaction.

In my opinion, he's like gunpowder -- left alone, they'll be fine. When given a spark, will react.

And again with feeling... To the Redditor who spouted such utter shite;

Class dismissed

[boomania-a]

I SWEAR TO GOD LIMBUS' NEXT COLLAB WILL BE BLUE ARCHIVE OR THAT ONE HORSE RACING GACHA GAME MARK MY WORDS

[arsenicflame]

my app timer for tumblr is correct set to three hours. and i just got a 10 mins left warning. boop what have you done to me

[aimfor-theheart]

are you guys gonna boo me off stage if the dynamic in this zhongli fic gets weird as hell

[frugalkubal]

Yes, I would very much like to have my own pet cat and also go fishing. (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)

[the-monkey-ruler]

Journey to the West - A Duel on the Faith (2021) 西游之双圣战神

Director: Luo Le Starring: Chen Haomin / Ding Huiyu / Zhang Chuxuan Country/Region of Production: Mainland China Language: Mandarin Chinese Date: 2021-06-20 (Mainland China) Duration: 81 minutes Type: Retelling

Summary:

In order to maintain the order of the three realms, the Iron-Faced Star Lord deceived the Qingya villagers who wanted to become immortals to work as coolies in heaven. Sun Wukong pretended to accept the position of BimaWen, but in fact he took the opportunity to release the villagers in the prison of death and Yang Tianyou, who violated the law of heaven because of his union with a goddess. Yang Jian was ordered to capture Yang Tianyou and Sun Wukong, but was touched by the touching scene of the villagers' reunion, and Yang Jian decided to stay in the mortal world. Upon seeing this, Iron Face Star Lord promised Yang Jian and Sun Wukong to return to heaven to perform their respective duties, and let the Qingya villagers go. Unexpectedly, the Iron-faced Star Lord went against his promise and wanted to kill Sun Wukong and the villagers. Yang Jian tried to stop him but was petrified. The Iron-faced Star Lord wants to induce thunder from the sky to destroy Sun Wukong both physically and spiritually. Sun Wukong is burned and goes crazy, and wants to destroy heaven...

Source: https://mov-20.chinesemov.com/2021/Journey-to-the-West-A-Duel-on-the-Faith

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4473n1LX6fo&ab_channel=%E9%92%9F%E5%A9%B7%E5%AE%87%E5%AE%99MSZhong