#hero saved the world and gets to come back to life buuuut yeah no you keep your amnesia and you stay a pokemon cmon now

[hydrachea]

Explorers of Sky is a good game.

[strangerthings4theories]

Mirror Images: Billy And El Are Reflections Of Each Other

As you read this post, hold the following concepts in your mind: yin and yang in Chinese philosophy. The Light Side and Dark Side in Star Wars. The real world and the Upside Down in Stranger Things.

That, my friends, is the level of thematic significance the Duffers are giving Billy and El. And it’s my top reason for believing Billy will come back.

Why?

El is arguably the main character of the show. Any character who’s linked to her so profoundly will be a Big Fuckin’ Deal.

You cannot, CANNOT, create such a consistent dynamic by accident, which tells me that...

...the Duffers have huge intentions for Billy. He will become more significant to the show, not less! If you think he’ll return just for flashbacks or memories, you’re not thinking big enough.

Buuuut I’m getting ahead of myself. First let me show you what I mean when I say Billy and El are mirror images. It’s pretty mind-blowing...

1) The broad strokes of Billy and El’s lives echo each other: their family backgrounds, their traumas, and their journeys in the show.

>>They’ve suffered under abusive fathers. In fact, in S2 they have encounters with their fathers in back-to-back episodes - El with Brenner in episode 7, Billy with Neil in episode 8. 

Both fathers are likened to the Mind Flayer in the power they wield over their children. In episode 7, El’s hallucination of Brenner tells her she has a “wound... growing and festering” (my paraphrase), a clear reference to the tunnels of the Upside Down. Kali, as the creator of the hallucination, is trying to tell El that he is the source of the wound, and El won’t heal until she’s confronted him. 

In episode 8, the title card “The Mind Flayer” opens on Neil driving back to the Hargrove house, implying he’s the real Mind Flayer in Billy’s life. As I’ve argued elsewhere, Billy won’t heal either until he’s confronted Neil.

>>Billy and El lost their mothers because of their fathers. Brenner fried Terry's brain with electricity for daring to defy him. Billy's mother left for an unknown reason, but we’re led to believe she couldn’t take Neil’s abuse anymore. The way she's presented in Billy's memories leads me to believe she has since passed away.

Billy and El are both devastated by their losses. When El tells Billy at Starcourt, “[Your mother] was pretty,” she’s trying to tell him she understands.

>>Billy and El have “adopted” sisters, Max and Kali. Max represents Billy's better nature; Kali represents El's darker nature. In the same season where Billy constantly insists Max isn't his sister - thereby rejecting her - El finds Kali and embraces her. This symbolizes Billy and El’s complementary journeys: Billy is learning to accept his light while El is learning to accept her darkness.

>>Billy and El are wounded and angry because of what’s happened to them. In S1 El worries she's a monster, and in S2 she nearly kills a man in her anger, only to stop herself at the last second (against the wishes of Kali, her darker nature). Billy lets his rage define him. He's turned into a bully over his teen years, and in S2 he nearly kills Steve. Max (his better nature) stops him.

>>Billy and El are viscerally connected to the Upside Down.

The Upside Down is pursuing El. We’re not sure why yet, but their predator/prey dynamic is the main source of conflict in the show. Brenner says to her in S1, “It [the Upside Down] is reaching out to you ‘cause it wants you. It’s calling you. So don’t turn away from it this time.” His words form the backbone of the narrative:

In S1, El opens the first Gate, introducing the Upside Down to our world and setting the events of the show in motion. At the climax, she defeats the Demogorgon, the Mind Flayer's first servant.

S2 deals with the evolving consequences of El opening the first Gate. At the climax, El closes the Gate (symbolically “turning away" from the Upside Down) and catches the Mind Flayer's attention in the process.

In S3, the Mind Flayer comes after El to kill her. She runs from him, and her friends intervene to save her.

In future seasons, the Mind Flayer will regroup and try again but to corrupt her this time, not kill her. The climax of the entire show will hinge on the resolution of their conflict. El will be forced to stop running and face the Mind Flayer head-on.

In S3, Billy is caught by the Mind Flayer and turned into his instrument to hunt El down. This creates a yin/yang situation where Billy and El are revolving around each other, with the Mind Flayer in the center pulling on them both. At Starcourt, El saves Billy's soul by bypassing the Mind Flayer completely - building “the rainbow bridge.”

If you remember that Brenner and Neil, their abusive fathers, are likened to the Mind Flayer, their interaction becomes the story of Billy re-enacting his trauma, and El helping him heal it.

2) Runaway Max gives us a special case of Billy and El mirroring each other.

In S1, one of El's biggest moments happens in episode 6. Mike and Dustin have been cornered by the bullies Troy and James. Right when all hope is lost, El shows up and breaks Troy’s arm. After that, she confesses tearfully, “The gate. I opened it. I'm the monster.” This brings forward her inner struggle - am I a monster for the things I do? - which she will no doubt revisit in future seasons.

Keep in mind that Troy is around 12 years old, and El breaks his right arm.

Jump forward to S2. At one point, Billy complains, “Yeah, we're stuck here [in Hawkins]. And whose fault is that?” - implying it's somehow Max's. She disagrees. “Yours,” she mutters under her breath.

In the show, we never get an explanation. Runaway Max tells us everything.

Back in California, Billy is spiraling deeper and deeper into a pit of rage. One fateful afternoon, he takes it out on Max and her best friend Nate, a 12-year-old boy. When Max resists him, he seizes Nate's right arm and twists it behind his back. He holds it there, watching Max.

“What are you going to do?” he asks, a crazed look in his eyes.

When she does nothing, he breaks Nate's arm.

The fallout is catastrophic. Within weeks, Neil decides they should all move away from California for the good of the family.

Now think about this. El breaks a 12-year-old boy's right arm to save her friends from bullies. Billy breaks a 12-year-old boy's right arm... because he is the bully.

It’s part of the wider pattern: El is light, Billy is darkness.

3) The Duffers use physical markers to underscore Billy and El’s similarities.

>>When the MF wrecks Billy's car, Billy's forehead smashes into the windshield, leaving a gash. At Starcourt, he slams El into the wall, giving her a wound in the same spot. Thematically, their wounds tell the story of Billy suffering abuse, then turning around and inflicting it on El. He’s perpetuating a cycle, and it’s up to him to stop it.

>>Both Billy and El are limping by the time they reach Starcourt. El's leg is injured from the Mind Flayer, while Billy injures his in the car crash. These wounds tell the story of El, the “innocent,” suffering pain through no fault of her own while Billy, the “guilty” one, is being punished for his crimes. (I put those words in quotes because I believe the show will challenge our assumptions.) 

A sad footnote: El has Max and Mike to help her walk. Billy has no one.

>>In S2, Billy gets a nosebleed out of the same nostril as El. This says a LOT, marking him as a future “superhero” and putting him in the same class as El, Kali, and El's mom Terry.

Off the top of my head, only two other characters get nosebleeds, Mayor Kline and Steve. But the blood never comes cleanly out of one nostril the way it does with El. I believe that was a purposeful design choice to avoid muddying the symbolic waters.

...

Y’all, I’ve already hit my picture limit for a single post, and I’m not even done yet :p So I’ll stop there for now. Eventually I’ll show you how El is connected to the Demogorgon in the same strange way as Billy.

You see what I mean though? There is no fuckin’ way Billy is dead for good. Why would the Duffers give him this much resonance with El, then drop him? 

It makes no sense.

If you ask me, they’ve got plans for our boy. World-altering plans. He’s not just coming back; by the end of the show, he’s gonna be a Big Goddamn Hero.

»»————-　✼　————-««

Billy Is Alive - A Meta Series

[moonlit-imagines]

Headcanons for being Diana’s child

Diana Prince x child!reader

warnings: ww84 spoilers ahead!

a/n:

prompt: anonymous: “Lacey! I see you're taking request for ww84, would you write HC for being Diana's child? I'm not sure you're up to HC though. Hope you have an amazing year ;)”

growing up with so many stories of your mother’s home

that and stories passed down from your grandmother

“and asteria held back mankind in order for the amazons to survive. our people shall never forget her sacrifice” -diana

“tell me another!” -you

“i can’t tell you all my stories! then what would i have left to say?” -diana, giggling as she tucked you in and gave u a kiss on the forehead :)

you had to keep her secret growing up

😔sadly you couldn’t tell everyone you had the world’s coolest mom

buuuut a mom who works at the smithsonian isn’t NOT cool

👉👈exclusive field trips at school

“y/n, can you ask your mom if i can touch that?” -classmate, pointing to a display

“i already know the answer and it’s ‘no’” -you

actually knowing a decent bit about the stuff there

and the people too!!!

“if it isn’t our archaeologist in training, how’s school going?” -mom’s coworker

“pretty well! how has it been here?” -you

“busy busy busy” -coworker

diana teaching you ✨self defense✨

you were half amazon, but you shared many of her traits

that included her speed and strength

*ahem* and badassery

“okay, y/n. you are much stronger than your friends, but they cannot know that. you must be careful not to hurt anyone by mistake or show them how powerful you are” -diana

“so i can’t give my friends piggy back rides?” -you

“i would advise against it, just in case” -diana, chuckling

on your first try against a punching bag

you uh. destroyed the punching bag

“uh...we’ll work on that, yeah?” -diana

“i can’t lie, mother, that was pretty cool” -you

she opened up about steve to you and only you

“he gave me this watch right before he...he saved the world. i wish you could have met him” -diana

“he sounded brave. and really sweet. i mean, at least you got to know him” -you

“that’s true, my love. i am very lucky to have known him for what little time i had, i will cherish it forever” -diana

you were very wise at times. and she enjoyed learning what it was like for her mother to raise her

and although she felt guilty making you hide your true self from the world, you understood that it was necessary

you were not able to grow up as free as she did, but you assured her that it was not a bother at all

you guys totally go on “lunch dates” on saturdays because life does get busy for the both of you and you guys make time to catch up

you tease her when there’s sightings of a woman saving the day

“busy day of work, mother?” -you

“what can i say? i can’t keep myself away from the action” -diana

“when will you let me get a piece of the action?” -you

“your time will come, y/n” -diana

dont let me forget that your mom is super affectionate!!!! (as long as you’re comfortable with it ofc)

kisses and hugs and little notes and alway fixing your hair and cupping ur face just cuz she wants to see her baby!!!!!

oh also!! you can go out whenever you want really because she trusts you to come home on time and knows you can hold your own

“going to see star wars with some friends, mom!! see you in a few hours!” -you

“no problem, do you need money for your ticket or snacks?” -diana

“all taken care of! love you!” -you

“i love you too” -diana

and then stuff got really weird!!! weirder***

starting with the gala that your mom had to go to, you got the house to yourself

it wasn’t all that spectacular really but that’s what happened

meanwhile......

*after meeting steve again* “oh, gosh! i have to call my child and let them know that i’m not coming home tonight!” -diana

“w-what? you have a kid?!” -steve

ngl your mom did not want you to have ANY part of the dreamstone stuff

but she also did not want to leave you alone so ye you had to go to cairo with her and steve but you were really happy to meet steve

“your mom told me that you like history” -steve

“some of it. i do like her history though, i can only hope to see where she comes from one day” -you

“well, i accidentally crashed into themyscira, maybe you will, too” -steve

“wait...you found themyscira on accident??” -steve

“don’t get any ideas, y/n” -diana

“but now we have an invisible jet! it’s like this was meant to be!” -you

once your mother started losing her powers, it was your duty to step up to the plate

and you did a pretty good job for your first time hero-ing

“they remind me so much of you. that’s a good thing” -steve

“the world is not ready for them” -diana

being a pretty badass detective when it comes to max lord and the dreamstone

oh! and then meeting barbara. she was pretty cool

jk she was a lil wild ngl

and it was between defeating her and saving your mother and her first love, you knew which was more important

and your mother was proud of how responsible and caring you had become

soon enough, she did have to renounce her wish

and you had to say bye to steve

“hey kid, it was really great knowing you. i’m so glad that your mom has a kid like you, you’re gonna do great things” -steve

“and i’m glad my mom got to see you one more time, but i’m sad to see you go. goodbye steve” -you

feeling REALLY bad when your mom was crying next to u

but there was still work to be done

she had armor for you and another from asteria herself

and you two were about to get down to business

“y/n, before we go any further, i have to let you know that this is a one time thing. you will have more opportunities in the future, but after this, you should go back to normal. be a kid for as long as you can. it goes by so fast, i don’t want you to miss out on a second of it” -diana

“i know, mother. i understand” -you

clashing with max

and reminding him of the ✨child neglect✨ that he is at fault for

it was a very rough and emotional couple of minutes

but the world was.....mostly saved

it needed some time to be put back together

and you and your mother had to return to normalcy

“i’m very proud of you, y/n. one day you’ll make an excellent warrior. but you know that there’s no rush” -diana

“i know, mother. but you have to admit, we make a pretty good team” -you

taglist: @locke-writes // @captainshazamerica // @ravenmoore14 // @thisetaernallove // @randomfandomimagine //

[fanfic-inator795]

Allow me to ramble for a moment:

So, it’s pretty much a fandom consensus that Splinter/Yoshi/Lou Jitsu has the best story and character arc out of all the RotTMNT characters. ...In fact, given that a lot of the other character arcs were rushed through or cut off, you could argue that Splints is the ONLY one with a fully developed arc with the exception of maaaybe Raph and April but that has to do with Nick, not the actual writing so I digress

We see him start off as a blunt and lazy father who occasionally shows a soft side, to learning that he was once a movie star and seeing how much he truly cares about his sons, to learning that the choices he made ended up being a possibly world-ended mistake and seeing him do all he can to fix it like going after the Foot himself and making more of an effort to train his sons, to finally learning the motivation behind his major choices and completely understanding why he is the way he is. It’s a really great story, and it’s a major reason why he’s one of my favorite characters as well as my favorite Splinter interpretation.

...But if there’s one thing that I really wish we could have gotten more clarity on: His time in the Battle Nexus.

Out of all the things in his backstory, this is the most vague. We don’t know how long he was in the Nexus, nor do we see very many of his battles - and the clips we do see are often glorified by Draxum or Splinter. We also see him have two reactions to the Nexus:

A) He saw it as, essentially, an extension of his stardom days. He saw the Nexus as a means of gaining glory and praise despite being trapped, trying to turn a negative into a positive, and being perfectly fine with having yokai fans who love him for his fighting skills. Examples of this are ‘Turtle-Dega Nights’, the latter half of his match with Leo in ‘Many Unhappy Returns’ (”Heh, still got it~!” + him doing a pose as the audience cheers) and ‘Hidden City’s Most Wanted’, with him being clearly touched by the mural a fan made of him.

and B) He saw it as cruel and pointless fighting, and was absolutely MISERABLE there, to the point where what was once his talent and something he was clearly proud of and enjoyed was something he wanted to turn his back against for good. Examples of this are ‘Goyles, Goyles, Goyles’, his explanation in ‘Many Unhappy Returns’, and Draxum’s claim in ‘Hidden City’s Most Wanted’ that he had become a “shell of a man” after a while despite still being a strong and talented fighter, which we saw ourselves in GGG.

Now, let me make this clear that I do NOT think this is bad writing or the show contradicting itself. Humans are complicated, and we’re allowed to have mixed feelings on things - especially when they involve trauma that has to be compartmentalized in order to survive/not have a complete breakdown.

Much like with Big Mama - who Splinter verbally acknowledges is a terrible person and knows it’s foolish to trust her, yet because of their history, how much he once loved her and how great their ‘pre-kidnapping days’ were, he can’t help but miss her/show a bit of affection towards her, being willing to save her and being unable to completely hate her - Splinter’s mixed feelings towards the Nexus makes sense. It was both a source of pride when he literally had nothing else, as well as a source of shame as the fighting continued for years and years. 

However, at the end of the day... a lot of what I just said was simply implied by the show. 

While it makes sense that it WOULD happen, we don’t really get to see Lou transition from enjoying the glory and challenge of the Nexus to seeing it as cruel and pointless. Was his spirit simply broken down after several years of nonstop fighting or was it one particularly bloody fight that triggered a change of heart? And without actually seeing that transition and only having it be implied, if you’re not thinking about it analytically/in context or simply don’t want to, it very well COULD be written off as bad or contradictory writing.

A major example of this is how many people point to GGG as being a bad or contradictory episode. I don’t agree with this take at all and, honestly, I think a lot of the backlash came from people wanting a longer history between Lou and Draxum (no judgement, I had that headcanon too) because, as far as I’m concerned, Lou agreeing to be taken makes perfect sense to me in context.

Imagine you’re in Lou’s shoes: You’ve been fighting battle after battle for at LEAST ten years if not more. You’re tired and are refusing to fight anymore, meaning you’ve pretty much resigned yourself to two fates. You either change your mind and force yourself to fight on and eventually die at the claws of a yokai, or you keep your vow of non-violence and die alone in a cell. Essentially, no matter which one you pick, your life is over and your ending isn’t exactly going to be a happy one, but at least with the latter you can die with SOME honor (hence the vow of non-violence).

But then these cute lil’ goyles come in and say, “Hey, you wanna come with us to be part of our boss’ weird, unsafe experiments?”. It’s crazy, and will most likely result in a painful death (which you’ve already accepted p much) but honestly, this is the best option - because if you’re dead or stuffed in a jar or whatever, at least you won’t have to fight anymore. It’s only after Lou meets his future sons and finds something (or four someones) that isn’t just his survival and that is worth fighting for does he get his survival instinct back. So yeah, while his nonchalance and flippant reaction to it might have seemed jarring at first, the more you think about it, the more it makes sense.

(Also, remember, while he may have played a hero in his movies, Yoshi was NEVER really a ‘hero’ in a traditional sense until he found his sons, with nearly all of his choices being made due to very human reactions and motivations/needs, none of them being selfless until it was time to save the Turtles)

HOWEVER, again because we didn’t get to see that transition from “Glory-Happy Movie Star Turned Gladiator” to “Jaded and Hollow Warrior with Nothing Left to Live For”, I can understand why some people would miss the reasoning behind the character and story changes just because they were so subtle and didn’t have a ton of time in the forefront, instead just being implied. 

BUUUUT because that shift in Lou’s character is such an important catalysis in both his backstory and the show’s story as a whole, being the thing that leads him to Draxum’s lab in the first place as well as just being another important chunk of Splinter’s character (as well as another element that kinda parallels him with Leo), it really is a shame that this transition was just kinda brushed over as “Oh yeah, being stuck in a death arena decade for a decade would probably mess a person up pretty badly, even if they did like fighting”.

Soooo yeah, tl;dr: I still LOVE Splinter’s story and how we saw his transition throughout the show from “Homer Simpson as a Rat” to “Jackie Chan with a Tragic Backstory” to a truly realized and fleshed out (but still chill, awesome and unique) Hamato Yoshi... but I really REALLY wish that the part of his backstory involving him in the Nexus got a bit more focus and was a bit more fleshed out.

(and yeahhhh, that would lead to this lighthearted show being a bit more angsty, but at the very least it would be interesting angst that has a purpose)

[punz4lyfe]

Pokemon Journeys Episode 44. Let’s review:

1. There’s not really much to say on the Gigan. Garbodor vs. Dyna. Raboot fight. It was just one brief back-and-forth attack that took out Garbodor in only a few moves, which is understandable, given their current environment (i.e. don’t wanna destroy the giant rock with all the answers to our world-crisis problems). I was initially unsure on what to think of Goh’s victory, but honestly, it was a given. The dude he fought was just a basic grunt, and it’s been established SEVERAL times in the past that evil grunts are so fodder-esque, that any of Ash’s traveling companions are capable of taking them down with ease, so yeah. Also, Raboot totally threatened to crush the grunt after the fight and you can’t tell me otherwise. #thuglife

2. Dragonite, you are a pure, adorable flying machine.

3. A brief, yet nice moment of Goh’s character development was seen when he and Raboot charged straight through the grunts, just like Ash would in a situation like that. Good touch there. And I swear Raboot broke the neck of the grunt he kicked.

4. Leon pulling all the “screw you”s to Rose’s workers gives me life.

5. I just love the fact the TR is so used to encountering Legendaries in their career, they deliberately tried to capture Eternatus with a giant net!

6. Meowth’s Gigantamax scene was very well done. It did a great job in bringing a little semblance of fear in the atmosphere when he stopped talking after getting hit by Eternatus’ beam before transforming and turning on his friends. Mad props for emphasizing the seriousness of the arc, writers!

7. Eternatus hurt Dragonite. Now it must die.

8. The whole scene of Chairman Rose confronting Ash and Leon in the stadium was absolutely excellent. For starters, the music that played when Leon explained his purpose for Eternatus was deranged and cryptic, symbolizing his own twisted mindset. He is explaining all of this with a genuine smile, after all. But then the music became somber when Rose was explaining WHY he’s doing all of this. His dad apparently perished when working in the mines that fueled Galar’s energy when he was a CHILD. It really adds some sympathy to Rose, as you now see why he’s doing this, so that he can ensure no one will share the pain he once had, while going off unaware that his own plan would just cause as much pain to others, both human and Pokemon. Nicely done, writers! (and Rose had a father?!?!)

9. Were getting Ash vs. Rose next episode. Yaaaaaas!

10. Sonia adapting to Ash and Goh’s typical Leeroy Jenkins approach to things was awesome and cute. I was also hoping she would reveal a Pokemon in her possession when she stayed behind to fight off the guards until Raihan appeared. Like, maybe a Boltund as a reference to her Yamper in the Twilight Wings series. Plus, who doesn’t love Galar Mon debut appearances? But meh oh well.

11. Also.... HI RAIHAN!!!

12. Goh vs. Oleana.... which would basically be Raboot vs. Milotic.... Oooooh boy. Knowing how this arc is playing out, with the whole Hero Legend in mind and certain evolutions coming up, the winner of this battle next episode is pretty obvious... and it might not be done well. Buuuut I’ll just save this little tangent for next week’s review as well as a future Goh blog I’ve been planning on.

Overall, absolutely perfect episode! While the last two episodes of the arc were kinda exposition-y, this episode more than made up for it by keeping things going while explaining what had to be explained in a clear, yet brief manner. The action (minus the giant v. giant one at the beginning) was well-done and you can definitely feel the intensity growing and growing, which is greatly emphasized by the music and visuals! I’d give this episode a good 9.5/10!

still hoping for the innocent coalossal to return btw

[curiosusdea]

Video Game Questionnaire

Tagged by @magicalcrusaderfruit

Rules: Fill in your answers and tag some friends!

<<GAMES>>

First game you ever played: Like first first would probably Super Mario World on the SNES. Being the youngest of 3 I only really got to play when one of my other sister would get tired of it since they’d tag team it as Mario and Luigi without me. 

Favorite game: Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines my dude. It’s the game that actually fully got me into gaming. Especially PC gaming. As a kid I for some reason thought PC gaming was a whole new horrible world since I grew up with consoles mostly. Bloodlines helped me realize I honestly prefer PC and that there’s a whole world out there of not co-op or multiplayer games (which I was restricted to growing up due to having siblings. We weren’t really allowed many non multiplayer or co-op games since that would leave people out and such).

Game you hated at first but now love: Arkham Knight. I was part of the group that went for the PC release and decided to power through the lag and terrible frames and just overall broken hell to finish it. It was a terrible experience but I needed it. After it got all fixed way later I actually came to really enjoy it.

Game you used to love but now hate: Knights of the Old Republic. Now, hear me out it’s a good game and all but I’ve just gotten kinda bored with it. Played it too many times I guess. Plus I’m actually not that huge of a Star Wars fan so there’s not a giant draw from a fandom level for me. 

Game with the best group / companion(s): Dragon Age: Origins

A game with your favorite ending: Portal 2.

A game with the worst ending: Imma agree with Magical here and say Fallout 4. Just, why?

Best character customization: That’s not a hentai game? Skyrim. Unmodded it’s already pretty good when it comes to variety but mod that shit and it’s beauty. 

<< HEROES AND COMPANIONS >>

Your favorite playable character: Zero from Borderlands. He’s a babe and I honestly just love Borderlands. Plus his skills are basically when I tend to go for in games so it makes for the perfect set up for me. 

The funniest playable character: My boy Timothy the Jack Doppleganger. Helps that one of his possible skills is Jack coming on to spew “inspiring” thoughts. 

Your favorite companion(s): 

Dragon Age - FUCKING CULLEN (he’s top tier husband material and I fucking waited patiently for Inquisition just to finally husband this bastard), Alistair

Skyrim- Cicero, Serana, Marcurio

Fallout - NICK!, MacCready, Curie (I may be biased due to name but you know she’s wife material), Dogmeat, Lily

Mass Effect - Liara, Tali

Star Wars - Carth, Atton

Companions you could live without: 

Fallout - Cait, Piper, Preston, X6-88, Clover, anyone in New Vegas minus Lily (seriously maybe part of my lack of fondness from the game stems from the fact I can’t stand any of the companions)

Mass Effect - Ashley, Jack, Kaidan

Dragon Age - Fucking Solas (I hate this bastard with a fucking passion like ugh I just I cant), Shale, Oghren, Vivienne

<<RELATIONSHIPS>>

Favorite game relationship(s): Inquisitor/Cullen, Geralt/Yen, Darien Gautier/FemVestige. Yeah I know it’s not like a full on relationship but but he’s beautiful and I love him. And I mean if you count Smolder Scrolls as being cannon it works.

Favorite companion banter: Dragon Age: Origins. Just but Alistair in with Morrigan and it’s a good time. Or Alistair with literally anyone. 

A relationship you loved but went bad: AGAIN DARIEN. My love. Why must we be separated. Also need I say Yuri from Doki Doki?

A relationship you weren’t sure of but loved: Honestly, when I started Mass Effect I wasn’t sure about Liara. Like I started with a thing with Kaidan but grew to dislike him and when I tried a second save I thought ok I’ll try Liara. Never looked back.

A character you wish you COULD romance: OK I’m not a furry buuuut Razum-dar. Let me romance that cat. Smolder Scrolls just made me want to romance him even more. Why do you tease me ESO. 

A minor character you wish could be a companion: Ser Gilmore. He deserved better

<<FUN>>

Shoutout to a random NPC: To that random merchant just happening to walk by a dungeon in Skyrim as I finished looting it and decided to carry fucking everything out- I love you. You know how long it woulda taken me to get back to a city to fucking sell that shit? You saved my life sir.

A game you love watching playthroughs for and want to play: Right now it’s Predator Hunting Grounds

Love watching playthroughs but won’t ever play: Dead by Daylight. I used to love the game but after some toxic hell I don’t play anymore. Still fun to watch though.

Online gaming or solo?: Solo unless it’s specifically with friends. I’m not fond of MMOs or playing with strangers. 

Why do you play video games?: Because it’s fun. I get to be whoever and get to explore without consequence. 

Uh I don’t really know who to tag so if you wanna try it go ahead. 

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 125: Doug Out

“It can't be all ‘Bam!’ ‘Pow!’ action all the time.”

(First things first: Lamar Abrams’s delightful promo art leans away from traditional cards with the title and storyboarders, and this is my favorite of the bunch. He really knocks the visual pun out of the park.)

Dr. Maheswaran is a titanic presence in her daughter’s life, and while she does have a canonical first name—Priyanka, according to Ian Jones-Quartey—it says a lot that the show itself only presents her as “Doctor” or “Mom.” She, not Doug, is the person Connie must reconcile with in Nightmare Hospital. She, not Doug, is the one that’s late picking Connie up in Storm in the Room. She, not Doug, takes the role of Yellow Diamond in Stevonnie’s psychic dream from Jungle Moon. And Doug, as should be clear now, has a first name that we actually hear on the show. Hell, it’s in the name of the episode.

Doug’s status as a background character allows his characterization to be more fluid than his wife’s. In Fusion Cuisine, which is a weird episode period in terms of Maheswaran behavior, he tells a joke to break the tension and disapproves of Steven and Connie hugging. In the far superior Winter Forecast, he’s frustrated with Greg in the bad timelines, appreciative of Greg’s cherry sweater in the good timeline, and we learn that he can’t drive in the snow (but thinks he can). Connie has told us that her parents are strict, which logically means he’s strict, but we see more impatience than strictness in his voiced appearances.

None of what we’ve witnessed lines up too well with the Doug we get in Doug Out: sure, we’ve seen his awkwardness, and I guess his tendency towards jokes at inopportune times means he can be funny, but he’s super silly in this episode. Normally such a huge shift in characterization would bug me, buuuut:

Doug is such a minor character that it’s not a huge deal that his personality adjusts to fit the story better, and

We’ve only seen Doug with Dr. Maheswaran nearby and I can totally buy that he acts differently when she’s not around.

It would’ve been nice for the canon if a little more of Doug’s behavior from Doug Out had been established earlier, but yeah this isn’t a dealbreaker for me. It’s already weird that Connie said in Bubble Buddies that her family moves around a lot because of his security job, considering they don’t move at all over the course of the show and her mother’s job certainly pays more than her father’s, so at least showing Doug at work lends some consistency to her claim.

Entering the episode by pulling a prank on Steven is a succinct way for the show to tell us this is a new Doug. We do get references to the Maheswarans being all about safety, namely his concern over Steven's hydration after eating salty fry bits, but he’s simultaneously silly with the kids and proud that his daughter is a “swashbuckling swashbuckler.” Plus his dopey smile is the same as his daughter’s dopey smile and it’s the most precious thing in the world.

There hasn’t been any indication that Connie is distant from her father, despite his lack of screentime; in fact, one of my favorite unspoken bits of characterization for the family is how she (and through her, Stevonnie) often wears his signature flight jacket. But it’s still great to see them get along so well, keeping up the light mood from the beginning of the episode and amplifying it through paternal playfulness. 

While bringing kids along for a security mission after hours doesn’t sound like something an ultra-responsible parent would do, I choose to see it as a sign of Doug’s respect for his kid and her friend. He knows they’ve handled dangerous situations before, and it’s neat to see him acknowledge this by allowing them to ride along. Moreover, the whole point of the episode is that he doesn’t think his job is exciting, so it’s not like he thinks he’s throwing the kids into a violent situation. And considering he wants to see more action like his daughter does in missions or his wife does in the hospital, I’m glad that this jealousy never turns petty or mean-spirited: this wasn’t a given, as he’s been unfriendly in the past. Doug sort of rules in this episode, and it’s nice that veteran voice actor Crispin Freeman finally gets something to do with him.

The goofiness isn’t limited to Doug, as half of what makes him great is his playing along with Connie and Steven’s prepackaged goofiness. The kids are in top form in Doug Out, dressing as ridiculously-named parodies of Carmen Sandiego and Mario while they’re on the case (Connie’s assertion that Pizzapoppolis sounds more Greek than Italian is in contention with her bemoaning the laws of physics in the Gravitron for the best “Connie’s A Nerd” joke of the night). They’re down to mess around and ruin a teen’s night, and I’m here for it.

Still, I wouldn’t call this a full-on goofy episode, particularly when it evolves into a sequel of sorts to Gem Hunt. Aivi and Surasshu’s soundtrack evokes exaggerated noir as Doug talks shop, but shifts to a menacing drone as the trio encounters evidence of something sinister afoot at Funland. Steven and Connie stay in-character during the chase, but drop the act when discussing the possibility of a Gem Mutant or Homeworld Gem. Whatever they’re hunting is clearly hunting them, and perhaps the most impressive aspect of Doug Out is maintaining a tone of genuine looming danger that isn’t undermined by the episode’s numerous jokes.

The mystery, as in Gem Hunt, is complicated by a red herring. During Connie’s first big mission we’re led to believe that a Corrupted Gem might be healing itself, given the multiple distinct footprints, but we learn in the third act that it was Jasper all along. This time we get a wide array of dangerous possibilities, so the third act Onion reveal initially comes as a relief. But we’ve never seen him this scared before, and his distinct silhouette doesn’t match that of the shadowy figure on the roof.

Before we can think about the hints that Onion isn’t our perp, the focus shifts back to Doug as we conclude his character’s episode-long arc. He wants to be taken seriously, projecting a badass vibe that’s often undermined moments later by an intentional joke (like calling his daughter by her “Cucamonga” alias with a straight face) or by the emergence of his inner square (pretending to be undercover by removing his glasses then instantly relenting because he needs them to see). He’s not incompetent, correctly deducing that the culprit isn’t a regular teen and quieting the children to listen for clues, but he’s just a normal security guard in a family with a surgeon and a kid hero. You can’t blame the guy for developing a bit of an inferiority complex.  

So again, I really appreciate that his behavior doesn’t devolve into toxic overcompensation, because that’s the obvious route to go and it would’ve made this episode so much worse. He respects the kids and doesn’t pretend he needs to protect them, and he doesn’t let his desire for action let him get in over his head—in another similarity to Gem Hunt, he stresses the importance of calling for backup instead of stubbornly going it alone. When Connie talks about how much she loves and values him, we’re allowed to feel it, because she’s reiterating what we’ve seen rather than letting a petty control freak off the hook.

We’re coming off another terrific Dad Moment in Lion 4, but Greg being great is par for the course. Most Dad Episodes are understandably about him: other father/child relationships have their days in the limelight (Fryman and Peedee in Frybo, Kofi and the Pizza Twins in Beach Party, Bill and Buck in Shirt Club, and Yellowtail/Marty and Sour Cream in Drop Beat Dad), but Greg gets more focus episodes than all of those combined. So while I would’ve liked to see more of him in an arc that hinges on the phrase “my dad,” I love that we get one last new Dad Episode to kick off the end of Season 4, especially if it lets us see Connie again before her kidnapping.

Onion may be a red herring, but the whole ending with Doug and Connie’s sweet talk is another red herring, tricking us into thinking the episode is wrapping up and that despite the suspicious inconsistencies, Onion was just being Onion. Unlike Gem Hunt, our heroes don’t solve the mystery, and because they don’t, neither do we. We have more information than Steven that something sinister is afoot, with an alien threat that for some reason is going after Onion, but before our sleuths can learn more, we cut to black.

After the victories of taking the ocean back from Lapis and saving the world from the Cluster, Act III of Steven Universe is the first with a tragic midpoint, and the fallout of Steven’s sacrifice at the end of Season 4 ripples through the first third of Season 5. Episodes like Storm in the Room and Lion 4 bring plenty of angst as well, so Doug Out wisely gives us some comic relief before the sweet-and-somber flavor of The Good Lars and the tension that follows. That tension is still present here (we get a cliffhanger, after all), but I’ll take moments of pure happiness where I can. This isn’t a silly episode in the vein of The New Crystal Gems, but it’ll still be a while until we have this much fun in one episode again.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

It’s time again to expand our Top List, from a Top Twenty to a Top Twenty-Five! Most are Act II classics that got pushed down by the sheer volume of great episodes, but Lion 4 makes the cut as well. We’ll keep it at 25 until Change Your Mind; normally I’d switch to 30 at Episode 150 to keep up the Top 20% trend, but it seems more fitting to expand when the original series concludes.

Doug Out sadly does not make the cut, but it’s still an episode I love. We’ve had plenty of cliffhanger episodes that feel incomplete, and while this one also leaves us wanting more, it still works as a full story and not just setup. And the story is great!

Top Twenty-Five

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

Last One Out of Beach City

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Mindful Education

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

Steven’s Dream

When It Rains

Catch and Release

Chille Tid

Lion 4: Alternate Ending

Keeping It Together

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Kindergarten Kid

Buddy’s Book

Gem Harvest

Three Gems and a Baby

That Will Be All

The New Crystal Gems

Storm in the Room

Room for Ruby

Doug Out

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Adventures in Light Distortion

Gem Heist

The Zoo

Rocknaldo

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

Know Your Fusion

Future Boy Zoltron

Tiger Philanthropist

No Thanks!

     6. Horror Club      5. Fusion Cuisine      4. House Guest      3. Onion Gang      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure

[sonisis]

Bring on the speculations!

Anon you made my night! I went back to my computer for this! So I guess there’s a limit to how many videos can be in one post so the ones I couldn’t post the video to I will include the link.

For context: Anon wants to know hints that Sonic likes Amy through the main story game also the fandom’s speculations, I’ve been collecting a lot of these for years.

Also this will contain many spoilers to past Sonic games. I also tried my best to keep it in Chronological order.

Classic games: 

So the ending animation to Sonic CD Sonic rescues Amy and for a brief moment he makes sure she can stand and that she’s ok before he leaves. Even with his first encounter with Amy he never pushed her away.

Onto the Modern games:

Sonic Adventures had a couple I couldn’t find specific scenes so I linked the part to the video.

First one is how Sonic got nervous when he saw Amy, she didn’t even hug him at that point. The first couple Modern Sonic games has Sonic studder a lot when he’s around her. Later in that clip he gets ready to protect Amy when ZERO approaches them, then Amy runs off and he chases after her but once he looses her he gets worried that ZERO might have gotten her, he’s really worried in this scene. Clip ends at 40:00

After Sonic goes looking for her he sees her in ZERO’s grasp so he chases them immediately. Once he catches up he’s ready to fight but the ZERO gets beamed up to the eggcarrier with Amy and Sonic yells “stop” and gets upset when he looses her. clip ends at 5:00

https://youtu.be/sYP6fX7Nrw4?t=3m31s

When Sonic was facing of Gamma he was ready to deal the final blow, Amy asks him not to hurt him and he just accepts it.Then a little after when the Eggcarrier he tells Tails to take Amy to safety prioritizing her safety over his. Clip ends at 9:50

https://youtu.be/sYP6fX7Nrw4?t=8m42s

The last cutscene Amy calls out to Sonic first. He was about to go to her but not until Tails and Knuckles show up, he doesn’t move for them. clip ends at 11:00

https://youtu.be/WxSC3MYvkSM?t=10m36s

Sonic adventures 2 same thing with adventures 1 i couldn’t find specific clips

When Sonic finds out the island was going to blow up Amy is the first name he mentions. clip ends at 8:57

https://youtu.be/BjnWv1zQnP0?t=8m40s

When Sonic’s eyes follow Amy as she jumps up in the air.

https://youtu.be/BjnWv1zQnP0?t=16m15s

When Sonic’s walkie-talkie gets intercepted by Eggman Tails yells “Sonic, Amy was.” and Sonic got really worried (He sounds a lot angrier in the Japanese verison) clip ends at 20:35

https://youtu.be/BjnWv1zQnP0?t=20m26s

The hostage negotiation turned out to be a trap and Sonic’s last words were “I’m counting on you Tails, and Amy take care of yourself” It’s speculated that he asked Tails to him and Amy out safe, also when Sonic was talking to Amy he used  a caring voice. Then if you keep watching the clip Sonic survives and his first concern was Tails and Amy and asks Knuckles to save them. Clip ends at 26:47

https://youtu.be/BjnWv1zQnP0?t=23m14s

The last scene has Amy Approach Sonic, he didn’t want her to worry so he told her “let’s go home” Clip ends 17:47

https://youtu.be/6I1vDD6WDgM?t=17m20s

Sonic Battle:

When Sonic leaves Emerl with Amy he starts to call her Mom, Amy starts to think this is a test from Sonic to prove her worth as a future wife and he never corrected her. A lot of the times Sonic studders around Amy in this game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6HZWF-xK40&index=101&list=PL045830D87CEA48C0

Sonic Heroes:

So It’s never explained what exactly happened after the Fight between Team sonic and Team rose.But Knuckles remarks “Are you still playing with that Girl’s heart again Sonic?” Later Cream says “I can’t believe Sonic did that just so he could get away, Mr. sonic must be really-” So Sonic did something but it was never shown or mentioned Clip 1 ends at 0:12

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Tzl3TNGd7Y

Sonic Riders:

Although Sonic was a little annoyed by Amy at the beginning, when Amy said she’d cheer him on he silently nodded.

https://youtu.be/bBUZ8AZDvno?t=13m42s

Sonic was about to kick Eggmans butt but then he saw that Eggman had Amy hostage and thought the safest way to save her was to wave dive. clip ends at 23:22 if you watch a little longer though you see Sonic letting Amy chase him to her heart’s content as an apology.

https://youtu.be/bBUZ8AZDvno?t=21m6s

Sonic Rivals:

Eggman traps Amy and Tails into cards and Sonic is ticked.clip ends at 0:43

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh-9H_qMdJM

Sonic remembers about Amy’s card and hurries to save her since her life energy was going to be used at that point.

https://youtu.be/Lh-9H_qMdJM?t=5m30s

Sonic Riders: Zero gravity:

Son gets embarrassed when Amy talks about Fated lover being able to find each other. clip ends at 8:00

https://youtu.be/tQSuRXAUpIo?t=6m42s

Sonic pushes Amy ways when the enemy goes after them then shields her from a blast then proceeds to stand up for her when Jet is being rude to her, but the best past was the fact his face showed anger when Jet started pointing a finger at Amy. clip ends around 14:05

https://youtu.be/tQSuRXAUpIo?t=12m15s

Sonic cries out to Amy out of worry since she was being chased by a robot clip ends at 27:16

https://youtu.be/tQSuRXAUpIo?t=25m9s

When he looks back at Amy he smiles, he didn’t look at Tails he looked at Amy. clip ends at 7:00

https://youtu.be/yE8cU9UomAU?t=5m36s

Sonic Unleashed:

I’d like to note it was around this time Sonic stopped studdering around Amy and Amy wasn’t as upfront about dating at this point.

This one is probably one of the biggest Sonamy hints in canon because Sonic gets upset when Amy doesn’t recognize her and he even reaches out for her. HE REACHES OUT MAN!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz2CmFGc1gY

He picks up Amy and looks down when she looks back at him and runs, he didn’t know if he could tell her it was him because she didn’t recognize him the first time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZUPqYi1Mg8

You can agree to go out with her (My theory is this is the date mentioned in the back knights)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSf2F1Edquo

Sonic Generations:

After Amy easily swats knuckles against a tree Classic Sonic looks in amazement and looks up to Modern!, Modern Sonic is all embarrassed.

https://youtu.be/UHqpV08RR8c?t=25s

Sonic Lost World

This is where there was a slight difference to Amy’s Personality where she’s calmer now and Sonic is a little more comfortable with her.

Amy’s last message, she left it on a cliff hanger before her message disconnected. Sonic really panicked at that point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mm9nVMKl9Q

Other possible timelines or unknown timelines:

Sonic 06′ (The unspoken Sonic game that technically never happened)

Even though there’s that whole Elise thing going on he’s really thankful to Amy.He rarely uses the soft voice that he uses. clip ends at 12:35

https://youtu.be/rxKyTee8m0o?t=12m2s

Sonic Chronicles: the Dark Brotherhood (Does this timeline even exist?)

So this one was hard to find honestly because the videos that were available didn’t show every answer Sonic could’ve said, but whenever Sonic talked with Amy he had at least 1 negative comment, 2 nice or on topic comments, and 1 flirt comment. If you play your route correctly Sonic professes his love for Amy. You either are really nice to her, a jerk, or a smart ass. Sonic didn’t have these many options with the other girls. So I guess this one can sorta count as Canon buuuut this timeline doesn’t exist in the same timeline as Modern! since they do end up in space, for like a really long time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNqy0rhSvTg

Sonic and the black knight ( I would consider this one in the regular timeline but I don’t know)

At the beginning he got dragged in when he was supposed to be on a date with Amy. He eats his Chili dog but he protected what was Supposed to be Amy’s chilidog even looking relived when he saved it. 

Then we have when Sonic meets Lady of the Lake(Who looks exactly like Amy) Sonic puts his arm around her while complimenting her.

And lastly the scene that confirmed Sonic and Amy had a date:

Sonic Boom:Shattered Crystal

When Amy looses a fight Sonic gets worried and when he looses connection he threatens to give Lyric “the big beat down”. Clips ends at 1:21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6avb5H7mwwU

After beating up Shadow he angrily asks where’s Amy, then when Lyric sends a hologram message Sonic imminently insults him. clip ends at 11:26

https://youtu.be/6avb5H7mwwU?t=9m53s

Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric

Sonic and Amy enjoy a relaxing view, he almost taps on Amy’s shoulder to say something but he hesitates. If he was going to say something like “Can we go now” he wouldn’t have hesitated, that or he cared because Amy said “For once nothing is chasing us.” clip ends at 26:22

https://youtu.be/SSDZwUZ2wIY?t=25m20s

And then there’s the Mario and Sonic Olympic games, there’s been some dialog with Toads that asks what Amy was to Sonic. I don’t think he answered that one.

So yeah these are all the speculated hints of Sonic’s true feelings. I’ll try to add more to the list whenever a new game comes out. I didn’t include some of the app games, I think some of them had dialogue in them but I’m not sure. I hope this helps!

[valeriemperez]

Apparently there's a new promo going around where we see Barry and Iris almost kiss. You can tell its after the wedding cause Barry is in his tux. Can you please gif it when you can? Thanks!

I did it!

Could the WA wedding poster be more gorgeous? Wow!! Anyway, now that you’ve seen the promo pics tell us all your theories. Thank you

It is beautiful! As for my theories, I think they’re pretty much the same as everyone else’s. Barry and Iris make it down the aisle but get their vows interrupted. They battle villains in the church, and take one back to STAR Labs for interrogation. Maybe they get outsmarted, and Iris/Felicity get kidnapped. The heroes go save them, but the girls are also saving themselves at the same time. Reunion, big battle, death and funeral, followed by celebration of love and life with two weddings.

So the Westallen Wedding pictures and poster are out. I’m going to crawl into the nearest trash can and cry in it. Why do they do this to us? WHY?!?!?!

They love and hate us at once!

@eboniangelvibez said:

In the x-over photos released of the WA wedding I saw that Heatwave is sitting next to Captain Singh in the church. However, Singh, to my knowledge, still doesn’t know that Barry is The ⚡️.Do you think he will ever learn that Barry’s The ⚡️? Will the citizens of CC eventually learn ⚡️ true identity? Could that be something The Thinker will expose in S4? Also, given that WA find each other in every universe and TL, do they exist on 🌏 X?

Poor Singh is gonna be so confused as to why a notorious criminal is at his employee’s wedding lmao. I think that a temporary unveiling of Flash’s identity would be really interesting in 4B, especially if there’s a trial going on because they’re not going to give Barry plastic surgery the way they did in the comics. 

I don’t even wanna think about WA on E-X, given the nature of that world. Maybe Dark Flash will mention something about that Earth’s Barry, but I’m ok if he doesn’t.

I’m choosing to focus on the abundance of beautiful WA pics from the crossover, but there were definitely a couple disturbing photos in the mix. One being that Kara and Oliver’s doppelgängers are actually Nazis (as opposed to Barry/Flash). And the other being that Iris and Felicity (a black woman and a Jewish woman) are being held by the Nazis. Buuuut other than that, they’re great. 😬

Yeah, the crossover remains in poor taste. I’m gonna avoid gifing anything with paraphernalia, and I think that we should definitely let the EPs know everything that’s offensive and disrespectful when the time comes.

So it looks Barry is the only hero who doesn’t have a N*zi doppelgänger. I’m definitely glad that Blitzen isn’t him, but I’m also confused and still mildly disturbed that the others are still Kara and Oliver.

I’m glad Barry doesn’t have a doppelganger too, though I’m wondering what made them decide to do this at all for Oliver and Kara. 

So it looks like Iris & Felicity are kidnapped by the nazis, do you think that will happen in the first episode? Do you think the nazis are using the 2 women to lure Oliver & Barry to earth-x?

I think it happens in the Arrow episode Flash portion, since there’s a still of Iris in her wedding dress in the Arrow one. She gets taken, probably after the moment in STAR Labs. And yes, it is probably a way to lure the heroes to Earth-X.

[blueneonlightshow-blog]

Miraculous Ladybug AU (starcoweek3 day 5)

"Bye bye, little butterfly…" Star- or rather, Ladybug watched the purified akuma fly off into the distance, disappearing from her sights. She threw her yoyo into the sky, shouting her usual spell. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

A swarm of magical ladybugs flew across the city, recreating streets, shattered windows, and damaged shops, returning everything back to its status quo.

"Hey, nice work, Star!" a familiar voice called out.

Star turned around to see her feline partner limping towards her. She gasped. "Marco, you're hurt!"

"What, this? This is nothing. I'm Chat Noir! The strong and manly hero. Plus I'm a cat, so technically, I have nine lives. It'll take a lot more than this to kill me."

She giggled. "Yeah, cuz cats are reeeaaaal manly."

"Hey, cats are agile and cunning, you know."

"Says the one that got hurt."

"...Fair enough."

The two shared a laugh, enjoying their peaceful moment after their exhausting battle. Star sighed, looking onwards at the setting sun. "Looks like it's getting late… we should probably get your wound taken care of before your parents freak out."

"Well we better get back home soon. Carry me, purrrincess?"

Star rolled her eyes, smiling to herself at another one of his corny puns. "What happened to being strong and manly?"

"It's tough being strong and manly when your leg is kind of busted."

"Alright, come here, you." The girl picked up her friend bridal style. The two smiled to each other before Star leapt from building to building. While entertaining at first, the entire situation embarrassed the girl as she realized Marco was in her arms like this. She looked down to see Marco taking in the sights of the city, enjoying the freedom they had. Thank goodness. At least he didn't see her blushing face. The ladybug mask didn't really help considering it only covered her eyes. Funny how no one has been able to figure out the famous superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir, were really just Star and Marco.

"Hey, Star…"

Star tensed up, his voice breaking her concentration. "Y-yes, Marco?"

"I just… want to say thanks."

The princess tilted her head, confused by what he meant. "For what? Carrying you? Psh, that's no big deal! What're friends for?"

"No, not that… I mean…"

"...Uh… Marco?"

"Just… thanks… for everything, I guess."

She looked down at Marco to see his face turned away from her. "Marco? You okay?"

"I don't know… it's… my life was pretty boring before you came along..." Star began to slow down as they approached their home, growing more curious about what Marco was saying. "Every day was just a never ending cycle. Wake up, go to school, try to look cool to Jackie, come back home, do homework, and repeat… Nothing really came out of it though… I felt like I was on a set track or something, and I couldn't change anything. I was stuck. Everyone around me moved on, found something to do with their lives. I was just sitting on the sidelines, watching everything happen... Never taking any chances… Marco the safe kid…"

Star slowly walked atop the roofs, still carrying Marco in her arms. She kept her eyes forward, listening intently, not needing to look down at his face to know how he felt.

"Then you showed up... with all of your magic, weirdness, danger, adventure, and excitement…"

Her mouth curved, a small smile appearing on her face.

"You definitely changed my life, Star… And for once, I wasn't on a set track anymore."

Star landed in the backyard of the Diaz household, bringing them inside the empty room. Their costumes disappeared, returning the two back to their normal selves.

"You showed me your family history, your powers, what you did…"

Star placed him down on the couch, grabbing a nearby strip of bandages. She rolled up his shirt and began to tend to his wound.

"You showed me an entire new world, Star. Fighting akumas, saving people…"

Star finished wiping the wound and wrapped the bandage around his waist a few times before setting it aside. She looked up to Marco who had this gaze on her. One that had thousands of words to say, but conveyed in a simple look.

He smiled. "Thank you, Star…"

She returned the smile, bringing him into a hug. "What're friends for?"

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

Yeah, a short fic today. Not my best work, buuuut it’ll do.

Also I just realized this could count for the recovery prompt too so DOUBLE TROUBLE

@starcoweek3