#hes like i hate you so much also you are my minions and my henchmen <3

[itissadbutitsmy-artblog]

whats their deal

can’t stand their fake asses (two seconds later) ❤️ omg me n the besties ❤️

[kmze]

Thoughts on 1x12-1x22! Tbh I'm happy to be done with S1 while I liked the nostalgia, I have some gripes with this season and IMO it's really not one my favorites in the overall series (I know that's controversial). The mythology was great and I loved the magical macguffins but it's just so dramatic all the time I felt. My memory of this season is terrible and I had forgotten a lot of movement in the plot so sometimes I felt like I was watching something new. S2 will probably be easier for me to get through. More under the cut and remember these are all my opinion and I am not here to argue about them :)

Yeah I completely forgot it was Anna who turned Logan and her dumb henchmen. Will miss her, she knew how to use minions to not get her hands dirty.

I really felt bad for Jeremy. His relationship with Anna was cute but tragic and then he has to deal with his sister lying to him all the time. Then giving him sad eyes to please forgive her she was just protecting him *rolls eyes* he should have gotten the chance to kill Damon at least once.

I love how uneasy Uncle John makes Damon. He's the only one who is unmoved by his attempts at charm and you can see how much it annoys Damon that he knows EVERYTHING. I also appreciate that John doesn't care that everyone hates him. Just a man on a mission.

It was jarring how long Bonnie was gone but could not help but clap at how she was like 'fuck y'all' when she returned after what happened to Grams. I did not remember this and was very pleased with the development! I also forgot the awful wig they gave her when she returned (thankfully it looked much better in the finale) Kat should have sued.

I swear there was a founding-family-mystic-falls-event every single episode in the second half of the season and that plot device has really started to run it's course for me. Unfortunately I've got at least two more seasons of it I think *deep sigh*

My god do I hate Matt and Caroline, I hate the way they frame EVERYTHING with Caroline having to be ‘notElena’ with him. I especially got annoyed in 1x14 when she had to keep giving him “speeches” to apologize for BEING HERSELF. Especially apologizing for the hand holding like Matt doesn’t constantly make her feel inadequate next to Elena. Matt telling Caroline he just needed to be alone after they found Vicki's body and then when he sees Elena he hugs her is just cruel.

The overall treatment of Caroline this season was honestly the worst part for me. The fact that they have her say "I'm a terrible awful person but I'm working on it" ?? In what context is Caroline an awful person especially on a show where characters are literal serial killers. This is exactly where the "Caroline was annoying in S1 but got better" nonsense comes from. When really she was just a 17 year old girl with a type A personality. This is probably the biggest reason I struggled watching this season. It just all felt very deliberate in the way it was written, to make the viewer think Caroline is annoying.

Stefan was better in the second half of the season but it was so LOL that the moment he started being a little fun Elena was like "what's wrong with you" HA! Of course something was wrong and kudos to Paul because the Stefan-blood-addiction storyline was really well done . I always liked how it was played as an addiction (and even better in S6 when they confirm it was a genetic thing with Lily as addiction is usually genetic). I have seen most of those scenes tons of times but watching them in succession again made me appreciate it again.

I truly don't like Damon :-/ his only purpose for me currently is he makes me laugh. I can't stand how he acts like he knows everything and is orchestrating everything when really he's kind of a moron and extremely impulsive. Genuinely what was his plan killing John and throwing him off the roof at the 8th straight founding family function? I wish Bonnie had kept her energy from 1x22 and killed him.

This is probably just bias and age but I don't care about the triangle at all. It's just kinda there doesn't move me. Stefan and Elena are very serious all the time (there is so much hugging). Then there's Damon and Elena who just eye-thing each other in every scene they share. Though I will say her wishy-washiness made it easier to believe she actually kissed Damon.

Katherine's reveal is still one of the best moments of the series (best part of season by far!) It was so funny watching the scene too knowing it's Katherine and how she just looked all moody as Damon gives her all the details she needs with zero strain on her part. Then when she says to Aunt Jenna "I don't want to talk about it" like a moody teenager LMFAO. I love her.

Lines that made me laugh:

Damon: Let's not kill anyone tonight. Your words. Just pointing that out. (ah the good ol' days when I enjoyed the Damon/Alaric friendship)

Stefan: You mean we did all that dancing for nothing (I know I keep saying he’s too serious but he is funny in a self-deprecating way)

[equestrianwritingsstuff]

I hope you are having a great day.

I wanted to tell you that I love the way you write and how you show the personality of your characters in so few words.

Also if you have time, for the Bad Things Happend Bingo, could I ask for a Soup for the Sick? (Maybe a villain whumpee)

Thank you for the ask! And especially thank you for that lovely message attached to it, it means a lot!

Soup for the sick... here you go, I hope you enjoy! I did, I had lots of fun writing this one.

Personalized Caretaker

@badthingshappenbingo

Warnings: drug abuse mention, feverish whumpee, talk of medications, mean caretaker, delirium, fever, pills (tylenol)

... there may be more so tell me if there is so I can list them.

~

Civilian wished that she didn't live in the most heavily super-powered city in the world.

Yes world.

Villains and heroes all running around like teenagers, not caring for the lives of innocent civilians... or the heroes were meant to, Civilian started to think that the whole "we will protect you" was all phony propaganda aimed to get the city to fund their organization.

But the daily bombings and increasing death toll was not the issue with the city. It wasn't even the large mass of heroes and villains. It was only one.

One.

Of all the heroic figures and devilish snakes, there was only one that ticked Civilian off.

Villain.

And not because he was the King of Monologues. No, it was because the bastard made Civilian his own personal caretaker.

Was she asked to tend to his very needs? No.

Was she hired? Paid? No, but she should be getting a salary for the tedious work of stitching wounds and feeding his greedy stomach. The bandage bills were adding up and Civilian's meager wage was completely wiped out from having to buy a pack every day.

She was an inch away from going on a rage and robbing every bank in the city.

No, she wasn't. She just happened to live on 489 Deertree Avenue, where six months ago the murderous villain decided to collapse unconscious on her doorstep to bleed out like it was no problem.

Like it was a leisure, a recreational activity. Probably to him, waking up in a warm bed, doped up on painkillers with the sickening sweet smell of caramel candles burning around him, it was.

But not to Civilian. She had to manually help the injured individual drink water, get dressed, and even use the bathroom.

UGGGHHHH!

The man had millions of henchmen, billions of wannabe minions at his beck and call.

But he just so happened to have a crush on the red door of 489 Deertree Avenue.

But it was a bad case of unrequited love of the highest order, so no hope of a romantic candlelit date at the most expensive restaurant in the most famous city in the world.

Dairy Queen.

The pure hilarity of that fact. Even the Avenger Tower did not hold nearly as many powered or high-tech individuals as the city and the most fanciest restaurant was a chain fastfood restaurant at the corner of main street.

Civilian clenched the towel she was holding. As much as the stupidity of the city got on her nerves, it was very unpatriotic of her to go on and embarrass the area even more.

Civilian was scrubbing the mirror in the bathroom. The walls of the whole room were stained in the most disgusting brown and red from all the grime and blood radiating off a singular person's- not even the owner of the house- body.

Those would never go away unless Civilian paid for someone to come and mega-wash the bathroom. Not that she had any money to invest in such a delightful gift, her bank account was too busy supporting the prescribed pain medications. Like, Civilian was probably on the watchlist for utter bankruptcy and for being a possible candidate for drug addiction.

Who needs two whole containers of opioids and a canteen of valium every three months?

Not a normal civilian washing floors at Walmart, that's for sure.

But then again, Civilian was far from normal. She worked as a personalized savior during her freetime.

Civilian clenched her teeth and took a deep breath in. Her ward hasn't made his grand appearance in over a week. She actually had time to relax, make some popcorn and actually decompress. It was like vacation, peaceful, tranquil and full of serenity, free of any-

Knock, knock, knock.

Civilian's moment of bliss was unceremoniously ended by the all too familiar beat of a fist on wood.

"You have my permission to make out with the door Villain! You don't need to ask anymore!"

Civilian hoped Villain was coherent enough to internalize that as an invitation to bleed on her couch.

Just so she could have one more moment. One more moment of her coveted break.

Cough.

Civilian's head perked up. That was new. She never, ever heard Villain cough in a sickly manner- she never let him get bad enough to get sick, or he didn't permit himself to wait around until infection and fever set in.

She set down the towel, worry settling into her bones like it always did- not that she liked the heart dropping feelings and nauseating pit in her stomach each and everytime Mr. Needy had blood on him. Or everyday that he didn't show up for a bandaid, or a "kiss-it-better".

Yes, the pure humiliation when her delirious patient painfully begged her to kiss his knee better. Like, the puny scrape on his leg was by far the least severe wound on his bloodstained body, but of course, Civilian complied and gave him a little peck on his Olaf bandaid.

Civilian ripped open the door and the scene in front of her chased away those obnoxious memories.

Villain collapsed into her arms, head lolling pathetically against her shoulder. His forehead felt like it was doused with gasoline and then lit by a torch five times over. Civilian's shocked arms involuntarily wrapped around his equally scorching body. Yes, it was not a conscious act. Not in a million years would Civilian muster up the compassion to actually comfort the villain more than the deed of "saving his life" called for.

No, no Civilian hated Villain. Completely and totally loathed each and every cell on his body.

But she dragged him into the house and shut- more like slammed- the door anyways because she couldn't let him die, it would be like murder's sidekick.

Especially since Villain trusted her. Oh how he trusted her. Trusted her to bathe him, to feed him, to give him medicine, but most importantly not to kill him. With all the horrors he committed, a swift knife to the throat would be more than justified. In fact, Civilian would likely be commemorated for such bravery.

Public approval, fame... all a deliciously yummy cake.

Not worth it. Too many calories.

Civilian sunk to the ground and put Villain's upper body in her lap. He nestled into her, pressing his cheek deep into her side with a small, contented smile on his pale face.

"Don't drool on me," Civilian snapped, jostling Villain who woke up. Before he had the chance to get his bearings, Civilian spoke up again, "Are you hurt?"

The villain stared at her for a while before breaking into desperate tears, shaking his head.

What the heck?

"Stop crying or I will punch you," Civilian threatened, but she rubbed Villain's back soothingly.

"Dying," Villain sobbed.

"You are not dying, buddy, you have a cold."

"No, I'm dying," Villain asserted. Civilian rolled her eyes. Did he have to be so dramatic?

"I don't think a cold will kill you. Stop acting like the world is ending now, or I will throw you in the trash."

Villain whimpered and pulled himself closer, still crying.

He really was sick. So sick to the point of being delirously delusional.

"You don't need to be a Disney princess," Civilian said, still rubbing the villain's back. Villain's cries turned into sobs and then into wails.

Okay this was getting out of hand. Civilian stood up and dragged Villain's body over to the couch. She marveled in her strength for a while. When Villain first made his appearance in her otherwise boring life, she was as skinny as a twig. Now? This girl was a freaking hulk, baby.

Okay stop that, Civilian chastised herself, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. She laid Villain on the beige colored couch and rested his wet head against a pillow that was metaphorically marked with his name.

Now that the villain was completely stretched out, Civilian- to her relief- found that he was not bleeding, therefore, she didn't have to waste her precious supply of gauze and bandages tonight.

But he still was very, very sick. His face was a gray mask of pale complexion, his hair snarled and matted in sweat. His lips were tinged blue as unfocused eyes gazed around the room, landing on the TV.

"You want to watch something?" Civilian asked, though the question was more than unnecessary. Villain always watched a movie as he dozed off, warm and comforted by the mound of blankets strewn over him.

But still, like a habit, he nodded weakly each and every time. Civilian smiled, the tiniest of grins, and connected the tablet to the television. When the screen popped up with the classic Amazon Prime Video layout, Civilian asked what movie.

"Boss Baby," Villain mumbled, lips hardly moving.

"You want to watch a movie with baby superheroes? Why don't we watch Toy Story or something?"

Or something a bit more adult-ish.

"Mhm," Villain groaned, eyes slipping shut. "Baby superheroes."

Now it was Civilian's turn to groan, loud and exaggerated. But, still he was her unwelcome guest so she had to please his obnoxiously childish wants.

Like how old was he? Five?

Civilian put in the movie and sat down next to Villain, putting his legs on her lap. She tapped lazily at his jeans as the opening credits showed. Leaning her head back, Civilian allowed her gaze to drift away from the stupid fat-faced animated figures and to Villain.

He was nearly asleep.

Civilian shifted her weight and rested against her arm to watch him. Even sick, she had to admit, the evil and annoying villain was shockingly handsome.

What was she thinking?!

Pushing Villain's feet away, Civilian stood up and aggressively shoved her palm to his forehead. It was buzzing with heat.

"You are paying for the bill," Civilian growled and went to go get some tylenol.

Upon returning to the sickly man's sweaty side, Civilian thrusted the pills into his mouth and washed them down with water. She didn't even give him a chance to wake up fully, the motion was instinctual. He swallowed on reflex.

Next, Civilian cussed herself for this, she cupped his cheek. Villain sunk into her palm, chewing silently, and continued to sleep.

When Villain first visited, Civilian couldn't get over how touch starved the poor guy was. It was to the point of absolute fear of touch. He would shiver before violently flinching away, glaring daggers.

He still didn't allow hugs or a highfive when he was in his right mind- not that Civilian saw him fully conscious ever apart from a couple times.

"Hungry?" Civilian mumbled, more to herself than anyone.

Still, Civilian placed Villain's head back onto the pillow and went into the kitchen to make some soup.

Chicken noodle soup with rice... her specialty. Chicken breast and rich seasoning, even one's dampened taste buds could taste the utter deliciousness of the watery broth.

Then the rice. Sometimes when Villain was on the mend, she would add some wild rice or lentils to the dish. Spooning some basic white rice into the bottom of the bowl, Civilian tapped her foot aimlessly.

The kettle on the stove whistled, Civilian pushed it off the heat and added the seasoning and celery. The savory scent wafted into her nose earning itself a tiny smile from Civilian.

Once the soup was done, she presented it to the still sleeping villain. His mouth hung open, desperate for air that his clogged nostrils couldn't deliver.

Dang. Poor guy was really ill.

Civilian sat next to Villain, so close that she could feel the rise of his chest. She shoved his face upwards. Villain blinked his eyes open and settled his gaze on Civilian's annoyed, but worried, face.

"Ghm," he moaned, rumbled in the back of his throat in a fatigued manner. "Cow hopping."

"Shut up," Civilian scolded and helped Villain to a seating position. He complied, but had no strength left to actually hold the stance.

So Civilian was forced to lay him against her chest and feed him by giving him a big old bear hug. Spoon after spoon went to his mouth until Civilian was just dumping it into his mouth without any natural swallowing reflex.

She took a wet rag and cleaned his face before laying him back onto the couch. Civilian smiled and tenderly touched his eyebrow.

Why did she have to care about him so much?

[hello-im-not-a-possum]

23. Vent

While Joey plays with old coworkers, Henry’s busy traversing the vent maze in the studio for his safety. Luckily for him, it turns out that not every searcher and or lost one is in cahoots with the Ink demon, and possibly, none of them could be his minions after all, at least, not willingly... (Set in the AU where by yeeting Joey into the ink machine before going through the portal-door in the kitchen, Henry is accompanied by a chatty, useless, and overall insufferable little imp.)

One minute, he was at the Ink Demon’s mercy, the next, everything went black. It wasn’t hard for Henry to put together what happened; the exact same thing that always happened whenever the Ink Demon caught him back in Joey’s old story: He died and went back into the puddles.

He knew the drill by now; walk to the light,  move on. But this time, he felt someone pulling him out. And when he reemerged in the small room, he felt different; didn’t ache as much as he did before, but felt light headed, and was it just him or were his clothes somehow both too small and too big for him?

“There ya are! Nice an’ all in one piece…” The person who had apparently pulled him out of there dusted him off and was eying him for damage. “Both arms, both legs, stable form, dat’s good.” The creature let out a light chuckle. “Da prophet would’ve chewed me out big time ovawise!”

Henry shook himself off, wiped the ink out of his eyes, and his jaw dropped to the ground when he saw a cartoon, wolf-like snout where his nose should’ve been.

Upon further inspection, his face wasn’t the only thing changed; he lost two fingers on each hand, he appeared to be covered in a short coat of soft black fur, and his clothes were too big and too small for him because he had gone from a short and stocky man to a beanpole of a wolf.

“This isn’t as funny when you’re on the receiving end of it…” he muttered to himself as he adjusted his ill-fitting clothes.

“Or when it happens ta someone ya like...” An ink creature with pants and a baseball cap added. “I still shudda every time I remember ‘bout how Norman first handled it.” He readjusted his cap. “But just thinkin’ about how Joey must’ve reacted when he first figured out he’s da main star of the show now instead of callin’ da shots no more… Oh, ta be a fly on da wall ta see dat!”

“As your fly on the wall at the time, he mostly screamed, cried a bit, blamed me for it, and his voice kept cracking up so it was hard to take him seriously.”

The creature in a similar position to the prophet made a sound similar to someone trying and failing to hold back laughter.

“Yep! Dat sounds exactly like him!” The creature snapped his fingers as if he had just realized something. “Oh yeah! I don’t think we’ve intraduced ourselves, I’m Walter, friends call me etha Walt or Wally, and you are..?”

“Henry,” The wolf offered “my name is Henry.”

“Nice ta meetcha Henry!” The creature grabbed his hand and shook it. “Now I’d hate ta be pushy, but we’re gonna get some not so fun company if we stick around chattin’ too much, da Ink Demon ain’t the most forgivin’ when it comes ta “slacking off”, so…” He took a screwdriver out of his pocket and got the grate off of a large vent. “We gotta get outta here.”

-----

The good news about his new form was that it was easy for him to climb into and through the maze of vents without too much issue, the bad news was was that as his glasses were made with a human nose and ears in mind, not a dog’s muzzle without human ears to support them, they kept falling off unless he used a hand to hold them in place, which also didn’t make traveling through the vents the fastest route possible.

“Good thing we’re tryin’ ta be quiet…” His guide offered. “Just because I said ‘we gotta get outta here’ doesn’t mean we gotta be quick about it, take your time. Da Ink Demon can’t do nothin’ but chew us out an’ or taunt if he catches us in here, an’ he’s nowhere as scary as Sammy when he’s angry! Well, I guess ya could say dat he doesn’t get angry no more, but what he does have dat replaces his anger is way worse… ugh...”

“It’s a good thing we can slow down and talk I guess...”

“Yeah, real swell! Ya sure ain’t da most talkative guy I’ve taken on this little vent tour of mine, but you’re good company!”

“So, where exactly do you plan to end this vent-tour?”

“Oh! Right!” He turned around to face the old wolf. “Before I forget, here’s an important little tidbit that ya gotta know before I can let ya outta these vents; if ya meet up wit’ Joey and ya pity him enough ta let him tag along wit’cha, I wont blame you, he seems pretty harmless and pathetic now and I’d feel bad too if I let him get ripped to pieces, but whateva you do, don’t tell him that us ink guys are on your side. Okay?”

“Do you want him to be afraid of you?”

“Eh… Yes an’ no, I kinda wanna spook him a little bit as payback for all dat unpaid ovatime back in da day, but more importantly; if he knows what’s up, he’ll spoil all our plans an’ hard work for sure!”

“You have my word, I won’t tell him a single thing about this meeting of ours.”

“Dat’s great, I knew I could trust ya!”

After a while, the ink creature unscrewed a different panel, leading to a ritualistic looking room with instruments, a toilet, and a desk in the corner.

“Here’s where ya get off, Henry. If da Shudda’s closed an’ stuck, just holla an’ pretend you’re being held hostage by da music dep. If your “good buddy Bendy” doesn’t break ya out, we will, but we’ll be low key about it so dat mistah ‘Demon Lord’ doesn’t get suspicious. I’m real great at playin’ up da ‘lovable but incompitant henchmen oaf’!”

“Got it,” The wolf slowly climbed out of “Thanks, Wally, and good luck.”

“No prob, see ya on da flipside, Henry!”

[why-this-kolaveri-machi]

we are our family, even if we don’t want to be.

Titans 3.07

a bit over halfway through the season, and we still don’t have all of our main characters on the board! i love this show.

as always, typing this up as i watch. live reaction, baby! *shadowboxes*

SPOILERS AHEAD

1. i don’t think i’ve mentioned this before, but i kinda miss the old ‘dc universe’ intro. it was cool! the whole idea of it was wild and waaaaay over-ambitious, but also very very on-brand because of it.

2. this is... the third time we’ve seen dick sleeping this season? that’s a record! checking another thing off my s3 wishlist...

2.5. i guess i rag on titans all the time for its wafer-thin plotting and bad pacing, but i have to admit that this season has been a step-up from the last one in this regard. titans has very reactive rather than proactive protagonists, and a lot of the last season seemed to be: x happened, the team reacted badly, then y happened, they reacted badly, etc. this time around, it’s not a huge leap up by any means, but at least they’re doing something about it. 

i do appreciate the focus on character arcs over everything else. and when i say everything else, i mean it: arcs that started two seasons ago with no big cathartic moments, intermittent payoff and multiple relapses. big bads have ranged from interdimensional demons to superpowered assassins to whatever in the world scarecrow is, but trigon’s big weapon against the titans was to... use their worst fears against them. slade’s was to... use their fears to break them up. crane’s is to... use red hood to use their fears to break them up. even the threat of gotham’s citizens being in danger doesn’t feel real: gotham is mythologised into an entity of its own, infecting our heroes like a parasite. like. this is not to say that most other superhero media aren’t big character arcs intertwined with the main plot, but titans doesn’t even make pretend that it’s anything but.

anyway. that’s my entry #2345 to ‘give a grand unifying theory for titans’. thanks. i’ll be back with more.

3. “anger is just fear in a little black dress.” god I HATE HIM

(what’s he doing with barbara’s likeness? oh... oh god. a terrible thought just occurred to me. what if they introduce hush at the very last minute for plastic surgery shenanigans? would you put it past this show?)

3.5. jason, nooooooooo

3.75. i mean, they’re making it very clear here that scarecrow is the one in control--the one who’s always been in control--and is manipulating jason and literally poisoning him, but i hope it doesn’t end up erasing nuance or jason’s autonomy. if jason’s to reckon with the issues that brought him here, then the lines of responsibility will need to be set somewhere. 

(this applies to dick as well but more on that later, i guess.)

4. just--the phrase “40% loss of income” is so funny to me. like, gotham is full of these larger-than-life characters who are idiosyncratic beyond belief, colourful and dramatic and creating chaos just for the sake of chaos, and then there’s the regular criminals and their henchmen who just want to make a quick buck sitting down with pie charts and graphs, griping about the joker reducing their returns or debating high risk investments in, i don’t know, two-face’s next scheme.

“yyyyeeeeeaaah, my financial advisor is telling me that going all-in with a guy who literally makes decisions on the flip of a coin is probably not the greatest idea.”

4.5. god i hate smug!smarmy!scarecrow so much

4.85. as big plans to “control” gotham go, it’s pretty bog-standard. clearly scarecrow has some bigger plan in mind but it really feels like we’ve got no clear insight into him and he’s this generic creepy mystery-man who knows more than he lets on and springs a twist/cliffhanger every now and then. i liked the scenes with him and dick in 3.04 where it seemed like he was genuinely on the backfoot and things weren’t going as he predicted. for all of his faults, dick is at least familiar with scarecrow’s bullshit and knows not to give what he wants.

5. i mean... i see where dick is coming from with the “he’s not jason anymore; he’s red hood” because his immediate glaring concern is scarecrow’s drug and the damage it could potentially cause gotham? i do not doubt that it’s something batman drilled into him, too, but when you’re expected to take point on a situation where the lives of an entire city weigh down on your shoulders, it’s better to simplify things and prioritise. i’m not saying it’s great or healthy! gar is absolutely right to consider this facet of the situation. it’s just dick can’t.

6. hmmmmmmm. HMMMMMMMMMMM. 

i don’t know that i’m super fond of this iteration of oracle???? it looks like a cross between cerebro from x-men and jarvis from iron man. it’s giving me second-hand embarrassment. somebody help me.

(at least they remembered dick’s middle name is actually “john”. i like to think bruce printed D in that contract because for a while he genuinely thought richard “dick” grayson was his full name. duck duck goose, dick dick grayson, i don’t know alfred, the kid was in a circus, maybe they thought it was funny. or maybe it was a test in anger control, who knows.)

6.5 “maybe you two would like some time alone?” even AI can’t help hitting on dick grayson in this universe.

“oh mr grayson, if i only had another eye to see you better...”

6.8. on one hand, it’s a bit disconcerting that the title of ‘oracle’ has gone from barbara herself to this gigantic machine; from my impression of the comics-verse, barbara had an extensive computing and surveillance system, true, but she was very clearly the brains behind the operation. on the other hand, i’m kind of glad that the ethical boundaries that this kind of surveillance violates is a sticking point for barbara. (tho let’s be real, the nsa would kill to have this in their arsenal).

6.9. also it’s now obvious that scarecrow’s big plan is to take control of oracle itself. it’s why he had lady vic take that picture of her eyes, or why he’s meddling around with it on his computer.

6.95. if only i could ‘command sleep’ anybody overstepping their boundaries re: personal information...

7. “you can just sit back and watch as the titans destroy themselves.” i mean... he’s not wrong

8. “dick’s parents were killed by a criminal mob; he won’t work with them.” it’s wonderful that you have this insight into dick, kory, i just wish we could’ve watched some of these conversations actually happen on-screen.

8.5. i’m glad that kom’s being treated with such nuance and understanding, though it’s obvious that she definitely has a Plan of her own. (and did i entirely imagine her ability to mimic other people flawlessly at the end of s2? or is that going to come into play at some point?) i think her story has the potential to be genuinely poignant, and in a universe where being Different, either because of mental health or physical differences or whatever else, leads a straight line to Evil, it’s important to acknowledge and then emphasise that the mere fact of your existence as a Different Person doesn’t predispose you to evil. maybe your act of destroying a system that has destroyed you and not scrambling to “fit in” is only evil as defined by that system. 

8.8. “you’re trespassing, i should call the authorities, i feel unsafe.” now this is a villain lady who’s definitely aware of her privilege.

8.85. kom smirking knowingly at her sister is everything.

“oooh that’s the kory i remember”

9. conner and dick working together woo!

9.25. god i hate a villain who’s always just a step ahead, no matter what. so crane anticipated dick using oracle to track his personal communications and set him up? how did he know when exactly dick would get to do this? how long did he have that poor man tied up in that van?

(the “save me, grayson” is a nice touch, tho. send dick spiralling even further! because if there’s one thing dick will do, it’s take responsibility for every goddamn thing that goes wrong.)

9.5. ahem. i’m going to need a million gifs of conner yeeting dick across that yard, fandom, thankyouverymuch.

(i understand conner is invulnerable to explosions, but how do his clothes survive??)

9.8. oooh crane is already in oracle! i’m just sitting here laughing helplessly because they’re overpowering this goddamned guy so much. he can build a lab in arkham’s basement! he has access to lazarus puddles! he has minions working across gotham, including a fully functional chemical laboratory staffed by chemists who only answer to him! he has the crime families of gotham quailing in his very presence! he has assassins at his beck and call! he’s enough of a manipulative bastard to have red hood under his thumb! and now he has enough of a tech know-how to not only be aware of oracle, but know how to hack into it! i’m sick of exclamation marks! i’ll shut up now!

9.95. dick leaving behind that smouldering grave for a person he failed to save without taking a second to process how he feels about it and running towards his next plan to corner scarecrow: a microcosm of where his head’s at right now.

10. really hammering in the themes of this season, aren’t we. 

10.25. the interesting thing is the titans repeatedly call themselves a family this season (none more so than dick) and while that found family has helped encapsulate and put away their traumatic experiences with their ‘original’ families, it’s meant that they’ve not really dealt with those issues. and dick and gar and jason come from ‘found families’ of their own: they are twice removed, traumatised two times over. they still cling to this identity however, and because of it they’re losing each other. a family isn’t static. it’s an ever-evolving dynamic and you have to put in work constantly to keep it healthy.

10.5. anyway, that’s entry #2346. i’m here aaaalll night.

11. lookit gar the detective! half-transforming and using his powers to deduce things! what a hero! i’ve said this for a long time, but gar is the bedrock of this team, and an unsung one at that.

11.25. i’m confused about him calling this room jason’s though. it seems to me that this is dick’s room that jason later used, and one that dick’s using now. so the unmade bed isn’t really jason’s fault; dick was woken by barbara that morning, and in his hurry, he left without making his bed.

(it still confounds me that bruce didn’t find jason another bedroom in that gigantic mansion of his. you really didn’t give this kid a chance, did you?)

12. oh well. so much for the oracle.

13. ... sorry, wait. you didn’t think i wasn’t going to address the bit with dick right now, did you?

12.5. i honestly don’t think it’s very complicated: dick’s been reeling from one traumatic thing to the next, and just when it seemed like at the beginning of the season, he felt happy and secure with his team and his place in the world, bruce ups and leaves gotham to him, specifically naming him a successor and calling him a ‘better batman’. he’s lost garth and jericho and donna and jason and now hank and dawn. he’s not even sure where rachel is or what she’s doing. after being told that batman was a psychopath for moulding him into a weapon, he’s also been told that his failure to be a ‘better batman’ lead to further disaster. of course he’s going to get batman-goggles. of course he’s going to be a prick. 

12.8. i don’t know what to say. i feel his frustration acutely. i don’t think he should’ve said what he said to barbara (can people stop pushing her around this season????) but that pressure to step in where your parent fails? to clean up their messes and try to think like them? to fall into habits drilled into you when you developed them as coping mechanisms growing up? I FEEL THAT. 

every step he’s taking he’s putting 110% of himself in it and scarecrow’s still playing mindgames with all of them: i absolutely feel his desperation to take control of that game and turn it on scarecrow, no matter what it takes.

and he did apologise almost immediately, and finally--finally--actually works with barbara. 

12.9. again, not excusing him! but i get it. and i think that’s a sign of great character writing.

“did you know i just reminded emmram of all of her daddy issues? what the fuck????”

12.95. i love that dick&barbara, kory&kom, and gar are all approaching solving this mystery from different angles, each as valid as the other. also, conner is there as... emergency bomb defuser man?

13. it’s like all fancy rich people in fancy rich houses do is pour fancy rich alcohol into fancy rich glasses on pristine, untouched tabletops. i wonder what it’s like to live like that.

13.25. I KNEW IT! poor michael. it was nice knowing you.

13.5. man, kory is contending with a lot of issues that she’s successfully bottled up and compartmentalised until now. the cold reality that a child can seek out their parents as refuge and they can view the child as a piece to be moved in a greater game (never out of cruelty, though, never, and somehow that makes it worse), that truth of blackfire’s treatment on tamaran because she’s different, and her own culpability in what happened. she exchanged one family for another, after all, and left that family to die and her sister to suffer. like dick, like gar, kory’s being forced to reckon with what the titans are meant to be, the larger implications of creating their found family in their own space.

14. it’s probably because it’s one in the morning and i’ve had two glasses of wine but i did not follow that bit of exposition at all and victor freeze??? what? 

anyway. look at them solving things! together! go team!

“you made a deal with the mob?” oh the sense of betrayal on his face! fuck off, dick, your issues aren’t kory’s. 

15. conner is really sweet and a bit of an awestruck crush on kom is to be expected. especially after that power rangers-esque transformation (i say this as a former huge power rangers fangirl. i’ve seen every series until 2007 including the original japanese versions and written fanfic for all of them. so i love a cool costume transformation, is what i’m saying.)

also?

FUCK YEAH

16. i love the gotham crime families just chillin’ around eating ice cream. I LOVE THEM

16.5. that was a fun fight sequence, if marred slightly by that bit of awkward flirting between conner and kom. i wonder if she’s really planning to use him in a larger scheme to get kory back to tamaran, or maybe something else. 

16.75. so i’m assuming that scarecrow has jason either so paralysed by fear that he can barely move, or jason’s withdrawing from the drug that he’s been sucking in every few minutes. 

17. it’s nice to see them chill after a successful mission! and it can be awkward, but conner’s crush on kom and him striving to impress her is also, well, uh... cute.

17.5. i guess the dick/barbara scene was inevitable, especially given the... unresolved nature of their relationship in the flashbacks? and they’ve been through a rollercoaster together this episode, discovering and then destroying an incredible tool within a matter of hours, re-discovering just how well they work together as a team. dick’s swimming in the nostalgia. i don’t expect it to last as a long-term relationship, but i totally get why this is happening now. and hey, they’re cute!

i have a weeeirrrrd feeling that kory is going to leave to tamaran at the end of the season and that dick and kory will rekindle--or rather realise--their relationship just before that. it’s going to be devastating and beautiful and painful and i will be writing essays about it which would be me just wailing into the screen.

18. gar found molly!!!!!!! MOLLY’S BACK! \o/ gar is the BEST

19. that was a fun episode! i love this silly show, even if it does destroy me sometimes <3

[magma-cjay]

https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D14241314/

————–

“How long has it been since Diavolo’s henchmen attacked?” Abbacchio pondered, as he gazed out at the rising full moon.

“Hm, there was a quarter moon on the day of the attack, so I assume it’s been a week since,” Fugo explained. The two harpies had been vigilantly keeping watch for the past few days, with the rest of Risotto’s pod, especially Prosciutto, patrolling the waters around the island to watch for any danger. So far, there was no sign of their return, but they were better safe than sorry.

But the passage of a week meant something more special for Bruno: it was the time to have the bandages of his wing removed and his injury examined by Giorno. He walked down the path leading to Giorno’s hut, which had been smoothened and covered in soft wet sand, to make it more accessible for Risotto and the other mermen.

Risotto followed Bruno down the path, wearing his scarf as usual as well as the hat Bruno had made for him. All the time he had spent on land had served him nicely as he was now quite adept outside the water, as long as he kept himself moist.

He wriggled along the sandy path beside Bruno, who slowed his pace to let his legless lover keep up. On land, Risotto moved much like a seal: he rhythmically undulated his body and tail forwards in a rippling motion, while using his elbows for leverage. It was faster, and less abrasive on his tail than dragging himself, but he looked incredibly silly moving in such a fashion and Bruno couldn’t help but hold back a giggle.

Risotto felt a slight hint of embarassment at his awkward means of locomotion. “Gee, Bruno, I’m sorry you have to see me like this. In the water I’m a lot more dignified, I’m not exactly built for land.”

Bruno smiled down at the flopping merman. “Don’t bother yourself too much with it, Riz,” he reassured. “I appreciate that you’re making do with what you have and trying your best to spend time with me. Besides…I do think your wriggling is rather adorable,” he added with warm, friendly chuckle.

Risotto blushed and paused mid-wiggle. “A-adorable? Y-you think the way I move is adorable?” He’d always despised that one flaw of himself, how he had to pathetically struggle about outside his natural environment, as clumsy as a fish out of water, which he was, in a way. He never expected that someone, let alone a harpy, would find that endearing about him.

Bruno laughed. “There’s a lot adorable about you, Riz, but especially that wiggle. Now come on, keep going, Giorno’s waiting for the two of us!” Bruno continued on his way as Risotto resumed his wriggling, but this time, with much more confidence. It was an ‘adorable’ wriggle, after all.

Soon the two reached Gio’s hut, where he had prepared a large tub to accommodate Risotto. “I’ll be checking on your wounds in a minute,” Gio reassured the merman, “But first I have to check on Bruno’s wing.”

Risotto sat himself into the tub and sighed in relief as the warm water immersed his exhausted tail. “It’s alright, I don’t mind.”

“Alright, Bruno, come this way,” Giorno guided. “If you can, please sit over here.”

“BUT NOT ON ME!” a tiny voice cried out. “WATCH IT, BIRD BOY!”

Bruno wheeled around in surprise to see the source of the voice, which seemed to have come from a little wooden drinking-cup that sat on one end of Giorno’s examining table. Bruno looked closely, and to his amazement, it was a tiny merman– scarcely a few inches in length.

“Is this tiny fellow also one of Risotto’s podmates?” Bruno said in a fascinated tone. “I didn’t know they came to be this small…”

“That’s Formaggio,” Risotto explained. “He’s mastered the art of size-shifting and claims he’s skilled in magics.” Bruno’s eyes widened in wonder. “You’re a spellmaker like Giorno too? What else can you do?” he eagerly asked the miniscule mer.

Formaggio scratched his head in confusion. “Well, so far…just this.”

“And it shows what a GREAT magic user you are,” said Ghiaccio sarcastically, as he reclined in a nearby tub of water that had been filled with chunks of ice.

“Ghiaccio’s healing well but he’s not very cooperative,” Giorno explained, as he unbandaged Bruno’s wing. “That’s why I brought Formaggio along, he seems to be the only one in the pod able to cheer him up. And it’s a good thing Formaggio’s shrinking comes in handy cause I’m all out of tubs!”

“I’m usually a lot bigger, trust me,” Formaggio insisted.

“Bruno’s wing has healed up perfectly well,” diagnosed Giorno, as he examined Bruno on his table. “He should be good to try out flying by tomorrow morning, he’ll need a day or two to get used to flying again. I’ll come with him, in case he needs any help.”

“And I’ll come too,” Trish added, who had been perched on a rafter on the roof of the hut, polishing her bow. “Bruno is still a target, if he comes out into the open we might need to defend him.” Risotto nodded in agreement. “Count me in.”

The wooden door opened with a creak as Fugo walked into the hut. “We’re all clear for today,” he announced, much to the relief of everyone present. “The weather’s getting colder too, the wind is quite chilly out there." 

"Wait, it’s the third full moon of fall, isn’t it?” Formaggio said excitedly. He climbed out of his cup, flopped his way across the table and jumped onto Ghiaccio with a flick of his tail, landing softly onto his fluffy blue head. “You hear that, ice boy? It’s gonna be winter in a few weeks time!”

“And I can’t wait any longer, dammit!” Ghiaccio replied gleefully with a laugh. It came as a surprise to everyone, harpy and merman alike: they’d never seen Ghiaccio this jolly unless his little companion was around.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go check on our…inmate,” Fugo replied, as he turned to leave and soared off.

He alighted next to a thick tree in the woods, where Narancia and Mista were standing next to a bamboo cage suspended from a tree, inside which Zucchero grumbled angrily, munching on an apple.

“So, my trusty wardens, any progress?” he asked the two.

“Nope, nada, it’s been days, and nothing,” Mista whined. “We tried being mean to him, we tried threatening him, we tried being nice to him and giving him food…”

“Too nice, actually,” Narancia complained. “He said he’d talk if we kept feeding him apples but now I think it was just a trick for free food.”

“You’re all hospitable fellows,” sneered Zucchero from within the cage.

“Well, surely you couldn’t have gotten some info from him at least? Anything, something useless, even?” Fugo complained, frustrated.

“Well, he did talk, a little,” Mista admitted, rustling his wings. “He said that the Luca guy always cries salty tears, that the Crimson King’s underboss once ate a frog, that he thinks our singing voices are dreadful and our dancing skills are shit…” Mista angrily knocked the cage, causing Zucchero to squeal in surprise. “Ok, so he talked a lot. But never what we wanted to know. As you said, all useless.”

“You said he hates your singing and dancing, huh….?” A sinister smirk crept across Fugo’s face. “I think that’s useful enough information…”

The sun began to rise the following morning, heralding the dawn of a new day. But instead of the silent tranquility of the early dawn, a different noise filled the air. Terrible singing and cries of despair.

“Stop it! STOP IT, I SAID!” Zucchero pleaded desperately, rattling the bars of his cage while trying to block out the noise with his wings pressed against his head.

“….OooooOoooh, we’re golden wind~” warbled Narancia in terrible off-key, while Fugo and Mista pranced about on a lower branch, flaring their wings and striking absurd poses like some bizarre avian courtship ritual. “You still not gonna talk, sugar boy? We can keep this up all day!”

“For the last time,” Fugo snapped, “Where are the Crimson King and his minions now, and why were you here?”

At this point, after a full night of torment, Zucchero’s will was beyond broken. “ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! THEY’RE NESTING IN THE STONE PILLARS BY THE NORTHERN COAST AND HE SENT US TO CAPTURE GIOVANNA AND BUCCIARATI SO HE CAN KILL THEM! NOW PLEASE, PLEASE JUST STOP!!” He cried desperately, peeping miserably like a frightened baby bird.

“Well, what do you know?” Mista cackled. “Music does soothe the most savage beasts…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So he's planning to kidnap and kill Bucciarati and Giorno? That's not good..." Fugo hums and frowns. "And kill them! Dont forget that Fugo!" Narancia squawks.

"I know Nara, we'll have to tell the others. Atleast we'll know the targets" Fugo goes to fly back but Mista stops him, "heyyy! What the hell do we do with sugar boy over here!?"

"do what ever you want with him. I don't care" he flies off. Mista starts chuckling and turns back to the bird, "you hear that?" "We can do whatever we want with you!" Nara laughs and the two approach the harpy. Zucchero gulps and flinches, "b-but I gave you what you wanted! Please! D-don't hurt me!" The laughs and chuckles grow as they close in on the sugar bird. Uh-oh, better wish him some luck because he's gonna need it.

[staruplatinum]

There Will Be Blood

summary: Reader wants a Halloween party with Dio, but he has other plans on how to spend Halloween.. 

word count: 1812

warnings: nsfw, blood, halloween/spooky themed, vampires

 a commission that’s long overdue, for the lovely @alana1101 I’m sorry it took me so long to get this out, I hope you enjoy! 

also available on AO3

         Dio was a natural charmer, that you knew. He knew how to get his way all the time, and how to play it all off as if nothing had happened. Lately however, since his change to “vampire” he became a lot more reclusive. Only wanting to spend time with you, his closest “pet” as well as his henchmen. - Even though with them, it was strictly business related.

Being the sweet person that you were, you approached Dio one day while he was reading in the darkness. It was so strange to you, how he read and functioned in complete blackness, but you knew that since his ‘change’, this was his life now. Clutching your nightgown to your chest, you knocked gently on the large wooden door.

“Come in.” You heard him coo from the otherside, and so you followed his orders.

Dio normally would have kept his back turned to whomever came in, but a slight smirk appeared on his face when he recognized your breathing. Closing his book, he turned around, Illuminating your face with a dark blue flame that came off of the old candle.

“What brings you here, my sweet?” Ha asked in an almost nurturing tone.

You cleared your throat before speaking up.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, my lord - “ you stated, holding your arm with your hand. Even after being with Dio so long, he still always expected you to call him “Lord”. “Are-do… do you have any plans for Halloween?” you asked him.

Dio smirked at your request, and patted his lap, gesturing for you to sit down.

“Why are you asking me such a thing, my pet?”

“Well,” you said, sitting down on his lap and looking into his red eyes. “Halloween is my favourite holiday. I don’t expect you to do anything special for me, of course, but I had an idea that might intrigue you!” you added, excitedly.

The truth was, Dio did not give in easily. Not even for you. He did  however, give you a surprise gift and other rewards from time to time. A small gesture to show you that despite his demeanor, he did love you to some extent.

“And what is this idea you have?” Dio asked, breathing heavily against you neck and gently caressing the small of your back. The sensation gave you shivers, and you couldn’t hide the small moan that left your lips.

“I well… I was thinking you should host a party! Nothing big, Just invite Vanilla Ice.. and your other ‘minions’ .. we could dress up! I think it would be fun.” You stated, finally catching your breath. You tucked a strand of loose hair behind your hair as you watched his face under the dim light, hoping to get some kind of reaction from him.

“Hmmm. It does seem interesting, but Halloween is tonight. How will people dress up in time?” He asked you, inquisitively.

You cocked your eyebrow for a moment, realizing that Dio was right - as always. It was true. Halloween was tonight, and with the limited supplies in Dio’s dark mansion in Egypt it would be hard for everyone to make a costume on time.

“You’re right…” you sighed, a look of sadness and disappointment on your face.

Dio thought for a moment, he didn’t like to see his beloved so upset - or rather, disappointed in him. He gently grazed his hand over the small of her back and smirked.

“I have an idea that might interest you.”

Absentmindedly you stared at your husband, wondering what he could have meant. Dio could be quite vague at times, he preferred to let you figure out just what it is that he was suggesting. It didn’t take long for Dio to pick you up bridal style and gently toss you onto the king sized bed.

He leaned over your body, gently caressing your thighs as he inhaled your scent up your neck - finally landing by your ear. His hot breath tickled you and sent shivers down your spine.

“Stay here my pet, I’ll be right back.” You knew better than to disobey him. Dio nearly spoke everything as an order - not an option. Patiently, you waited for his return on the bed, Leaning up on your elbows as you watched him escape into the darkness that was his closet.

It didn’t take long, only about 3 minutes before he finally returned. It took you a minute to see and you squint your eyes as you saw his silhouette in the shadows. Dio took note of this, and using his stand he quickly had every candle on in his massive bedroom.  The soft light was enough to illuminate the dark walls and red and gold accessories that punctuated the features of the room. It was then that you took note of your Lord’s new attire.

He was dressed up in a luxurious cape. Red on the inside, black on the outside. He wore a frilly victorian style top and tight pants that showed just the right features that you were expecting. Your Dio was dressed as a vampire. How romantic, you thought.

Dio approached you, smiling. As he did, he made sure to show off his fangs, the perfect detail for his “costume”. Though he was a vampire 24/7, the thought was there, and you couldn’t help but tear up. It was nice that he paid attention to things that you enjoyed and liked.

“Lay back.” Dio commanded, and you of course followed his rules eagerly. He sat down on his knees, running his hands up your thighs and gently pulling your nightgown up. He breathed heavily as his lips came in contact with your dripping cunt. You hated to admit it, but seeing him like this really turned you on.

“My my, does seeing your Lord like this really make you this wet? I haven’t even touched you yet.” Dio laughed. You blushed heavily, hiding your face from him - too embarrassed to even look at him.

“So quiet so soon? Well, no matter, you’ll be screaming for me soon enough.”

Hearing his words nearly made you shutter, but it was the long lick up your folds that really pushed you over. Biting your lip, you tried your hardest to hold back a moan. But it was no use once dio used his skillful tongue. He licked over your folds and around your hole - just to tease you, until he landed finally on the hood of your clit.

He was good. He was too good with his tongue. Him eating you out was enough to nearly send you over the edge. And he did, almost. After a few minutes had passed and you were just on the edge of cumming, Dio ripped away and shot you a sinister glare as he laughed.

“What? Did you think I’m dressing up for free?” He asked, wiping away your slick from his mouth. “On your knees. Now.”

You gulped, still in a frustrated daze of not being able to cum, but you weren’t about to be slow on a command from Dio. You knew from past experiences that doing that would never end well.

Getting on your knees, you looked up and Dio’s tall figure, admiring the massive bulge in his pants, you blushed, before gently stroking it with your small hands.

“I think we should hurry things up pet… If you want to cum tonight.”

You pulled down dio’s pants and boxers, revealing his hand length out into the open. The dull lighting gleamed onto the head of his cock, showing a bead of precum forming at the tip. You groped it gently, kissing his head before opening your mouth and taking him in slowly.

Usually Dio could be quite rough, but surprisingly tonight he was being slower and gentle with you. HIs hand found its way to your head, where he gently pulled on your hair as you took his length into his mouth, inch by inch. Each time you bobbed your head up and down, Dio praised you, admiring how much of a good girl you were for him.

It didn’t take long for Dio to reach his peak, and he quickly ripped himself away from you, smiling at the trail of saliva that connected your soft lips to the head of his cock.

“Get on the bed, darling.” Dio demanded once again. “On your back.”

The change was different, as Dio usually preferred doggy-style, but you weren’t going to complain. You loved the intimacy of this position. Laying down like you were asked, Dio hovered on top of you lining the head of his cock up with your slick entrance before shoving himself all the way into the hilt. The stretch burned you delightfully, and you couldn’t help but arch your back. Dio smirked everytime he thrusted into you, already going at a rough pace.

You closed your eyes and bit your lip, stifling moans as his cock thrusted inside of you, rubbing against your walls in all the right ways that only he knew how.

Dio inhaled your scent, licking a strip up your neck before biting down. The sudden sharp pain took over your senses and you screamed out his name like a prayer. You weren't sure if it was from pain - or pleasure.

He pulled away, admiring the small bite mark that littered the side of your neck, and he licked away the blood that started to pool.

“Shh. Pet, you’re doing so well.” He said, caressing your cheeks as his thrusts became more and more uneven. You were grateful that he was still fucking you - hitting your walls in the most sensitive areas, otherwise the pain from the bite would be unbearable.

As his thrusts sped up, you felt his dick become as hard as it could, and he released inside of you, screaming your name and demanding you to finish as well. As if on queue you followed shortly after, your walls spasming around his thick member and milking the ropes of cum for every last drop.

The two of you stayed still for a moment, before dio grabbed you by the cheeks and pulled you in for a kiss and pulled out of your cunt.

“Well? Will that suffice for your Halloween party?” He asked. Truthfully, he didn’t want to do anything else, but he was feeling quite generous today and he knew how much this holiday meant to you.

You smiled, holding his face in your hand as you panted.

“Yes Lord Dio, it was amazing” you told him. “But next year.. I want to dress up too!”

Dio let out a soft chuckle.

“The night is still young, pet. Who says we have to wait until next year?”

Both of you laughed softly in unison before making out into a heated kiss.

Tonight would surely be a good makeup for no halloween party!

[diotm]

@shabcn​​ + Plotted Starter // Thinking Of Yesterday

There he was, body upright & poised in his red-velvet throne chair, right leg over his left as he held a telephone cupped in his left palm. “Zeppeli... Caesar.” He speaks, a mischievous sneer framed his features. “It seems luck is in my grasp, This time.” He confidently said, right hand comes up placing his index finger on his temple & thumb below his jaw lowering so his elbow rested comfortably on the arm chair.  Dio for years has been watching over the kin of Joestars & Zeppeli as they both were his enemies -- & revenge boils in his blood. Henchmen were at the will of Dio, Merely out of fear but many saw potential in his diabolical schemes & shared the same desires as he, but were just far to weak to achieve them. Henchmen were planted in Venice, England, & Japan & many more -- observing their movements & recoiling back to him if they held any important news worth sharing -- those that waste his time are disposed.  A few weeks ago, he had gotten word of a Zeppeli (who he thought had horrifically perished -- was this a Zeppeli’s blessing? or a curse? ) who had joined with his grandfather -- who Dio had planned on killing (again), But the last thing Dio needed was a life long foe to be on his trails, at least for now -- Dio needed to stay in the shadows.. how he hated it so. Until he can refine his powers & improve his strength, in all the categories. Moving forward, the only compelling Intel was that Caesar... wasn’t acting like himself, he has what? amnesia? How fun this will be. Dio thought he could have some fun, which he hasn’t had in decades -- & perhaps this young man can be a use to him?   He found out that Caesar was also working in carpentry  -- This was a perfect way to get a chance to met him. Dio had many estates & luckily he had one set up on the outskirts of Venice -- A house with a lot of acres with a seemingly normal looking homestead. On the other hand the decor was dated more in the Victorian styles, but touched by modernism. Color palette stayed in whites, gold, & reds with a splash of blacks & dark green here an there. Very sporadic set of widows, not desiring so much sunlight in his residence -- for health reasons (of course) A lot of work needed to be done, rather unnecessary work -- but he had to keep the fellow busy after all.  A minion of his sat patiently by Lord Dio’s side, doing whatever he demanded & whenever. Most of his minions that lived in his estate did most of Dio’s work ( food wise ) Kidnapping & holding them hostage until the man grew an appetite -- it was not a pretty sight & required daily cleanings. “ Lord Dio . . I have the number -- are you -- “ Shushed the minion was, not by a look, not by physical touch but just by mere silence. When Dio was ready to do something, he will initiate it.  “ Dial.” Is all he spoke, palm & curled fingers now pressing the Telephone against his cheek. The minion nodded, as he begun using the turn dial -- knowing he succeeded when he heard the tone of of it ringing (thank god). Silence gravitated in the room until his tone of words changed the moment the other end was picked up. “ Ciao, buon pomeriggio Signor Zeppeli~ Mi chiamo Dacio.” Dio was actually exemplary in multiple langues -- for being alive as long as he has. Once he heard the other respond he then replied, voice laced with a charming facade. “I’m intrigued with your services, are you available around 4pm today?” Of course the Male couldn’t use his real name, that’s basically telling William I’m alive & well -- come on over & bring your stake. Once again, the room remained silent before ending the conversation with ease. “ Notizie fantastiche! Ci vediamo allora grazie.” Before ending the conversation he kindly passed over the worker his address.  This was absolutely working in his favor, just hopefully he can play the part enough to gain his trust. Handing the phone to his servant he propped himself up on his feet, rotating his shoulders back & cracking his neck both sides. A large palm reached to his left shoulder, grazing the star-shaped scar. “My, i almost forgot about you -- Jojo.”He made sure to cover himself up well -- & now he waited for the afternoon to pass, getting overly excited about the upcoming evening. 

[dragonshoard]

I noticed you know about DP and I had an idea. What if Danny dies at his 20's and somehow, someway, he wakes up as a Demon in Hell because a )someone fucked up big time up in the Pearly Gates and misplaced him, or b) Heaven or someone up there truly believed the ''all ghosts are evil no matter what" thing and yeeted him downstairs regardless of him being a hero. He still keeps all of his ghost powers but how would he fair as a demon? How would Hell and its denizens react to him? The HH crew?

I saved this in my drafts and forgot about it whoops 

OOHHHHH OH NO POOR DANNY 

If he ended up in hell… it probably wasn’t by accident, I hate to break it to you oof. People in hell aren’t there just because they killed someone or did something super awful. We have a ton of other sins that people don’t talk about a lot like sloth, envy, pride, or gluttony. So if Danny ends up in Hell, one reason may be because he becomes overly arrogant and prideful (and doesn’t realize it until he’s died). 

But to be perfectly honest, I think his position in Hell was secured regardless of whether he changed the timeline or not, because of Dark Dan. He straight up destroyed the world. I dunno who in heaven is gonna look at that and say that, yeah, this guy totally belongs in heaven. Not to mention, but if they take into consideration a certain counsel’s dislike of him (one eyed bastards) its a shut in the door type of case. 

Hell doesn’t care much about Danny tbh. Unless he pulls a Radio Demon, things will continue on as they always would. Danny, on the other hand being the person he was and whatnot, is straight up going through culture shock, completely horrified. From the cussing, to the abundance of murder and everything else being accepted. It’s just too much. 

Danny needs legit years to re-evaluate himself, trying to figure what he had done to deserve this. Seriously, you end up in the same boat with murderers and racists, and what’s the worst thing you remember doing? Maybe snatching someone’s water at one point? Or maybe because he accidentally hit someone with his ectoblasts once? 

Because honest to god that is the worst luck and the biggest fuck you I have ever known. In life, he was a standard teenager. In half life, he was a hero. 

Also, is he an adult when he dies? Or is he an actual teenager in Hell. We’ll go with teenager verging on young adult (17-18?)

He’s in serious denial and isolates himself for months before probably finding trouble (or more accurately trouble finds him). Maybe he gets in the middle of a turf war by accident and saves some people on the sidelines. And that results in him making some friends, maybe a few imps/helborne demons who are actually pretty nice when they’re not being all… murdery and slightly insane xD

( I like the idea that his abilities in half-life pass down and become more powerful when he’s a demon. Maybe they would also take longer to heal or regenerate than a normal wound would )

The only people who would know who Danny is (or was) would be the royal or high class population in hell who concern themselves with human matters. 

It scares him to death (again) when he’s approached by Valentino’s goons, for example, and he has to disappear for a year after the incident (in which he vaporized a few groups of his minions and it took longer than normal for them to heal/regenerate - Valentino is still pissed). 

I kind of imagine his social circle is almost exclusive to helbornes (imps, hellhounds, etc) because he can get around the fact that they’re in hell because they were born there instead of earning their place like a human did. 

He does favors and builds up a lot of IOUs without really meaning to. He ends up living in a crummy apartment on good days and on the run/couch surfing from the more powerful overlords on bad ones. Cuz I’m straight up imagining that Danny does still do the hero thing when he is given the opportunity and steps on a lot of toes in the process. 

Appearance hmmm.. 

He’d probs end up using his old ghost color palette to choose clothing. He shows up in hell with black and white streaked hair and his eyes vary between blue and green (or both at the same time sometimes). White, black, and green with the occasional blue if he’s feeling good about it. 

His powers are actually seriously unique from what I’m reading. He could, easily rise to be an overlord if he wanted to. However, he wants none of that and, honestly, just doesn’t use his powers enough to raise public notice. 

I dunno where I’m going with this tbh (looks back at question)

OH THE CREW

Tbh he’d probably have been in Hell for a few years by the time Charlie goes in for the interview. He’s skeptical af because this was the literal Lucifer’s daughter. 

But… she looked genuine with her pitch so he didn’t think it would hurt to check the place out. 

Charlie would be too much in a good way. He’s used to see that manic energy in a more murderous direction, so it’s really nice to see someone so genuinely kind and pure in Hell. 

Alastor is all kinds of wrong and Danny makes it a point to stay as far away from him as possible. Alastor doesn’t know much about Danny to begin with but is very curious. 

Angel would make Danny uncomfortable if he ever hit on him, but otherwise he wouldn’t mind talking or hanging out. Not Danny’s first choice though. Angel, on the other hand, recognizes him because Valentino has been vying for his head for years by that point because Danny took out some of his stronger henchmen for over 3 months. Angel is kind of terrified if I’m being honest and makes it a point not to hit on him. 

Danny really likes Vaggie and, in a lot of respects, she reminds him of Sam. It’s a good type of grief and he likes hanging out with her and would listen to her vent. He tries to give good advice, but sometimes he falls short. Vaggie finds it almost comforting for someone from around her time because he actually understands what she’s talking about in regards to the human world (or references, all the references). 

The others would be a mix of wary and happy in his presence. He’d be one of the milder characters and doesn’t have a tendency to over-exaggerate or take things to the extreme. He’s a bit similar to Charlie in that he likes to play mediator. He doesn’t use his powers much initially because he knows how unique he is in that respect and doesn’t like to talk about the reason he was in Hell (which is a huge red flag). 

Cuz, well, the reality is that he has no actual idea why he’s in hell. He doesn’t know about the observants judgement or anything of the sort. He just woke up there after dying. 

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Doctor Strange

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Where We Continue Our Look At The Marvel Cinematic Universe...

By Talking About Marvel's First Dive Into The Realm Of Magic, With Doctor Strange...

This Film Introduces The Talented Neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange, Who After A Tragic Car Accident Must Put His Ego Aside To Learn The Secrets Of A Hidden World Of Mysticism And Alternate Dimensions. Once Learned Strange Realizes He Must Use His New Powers To Protect The World From A Deadly Enemy Who Is Out To Destroy It...

Will Strange Stop This New Enemy With The Help Of His New Allies?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Doctor Strange...

The Film Starts In Kathmandu As The Sorcerer Kaecilius (Played By Not My Hannibal Lecter) Enter The Secret Compound Of Kamar Taj And Behead It's Librarian So They Can Steal A Few Pages From An Ancient Mythical Text That Belongs To The Ancient One (Played By Tilda Swinton)...

Who Finds Kaecilius Inside Of The Library And Warns Him That The Ritual He Carries Will Only Bring Him Sorrow But Trying To Escape It Leads To A Short Fight With Kaecilius And His Followers Against The Ancient One...

(Start At 2:12, End At 3:44)

We Then Meet Doctor Stephen Strange (Played By Benedict Cumberbatch) Who Is An Arrogant, Wealthy And Acclaimed Neurosurgeon. However, After A Car Accident Severely Injures His Hands To The Point That He Can't Operate Anymore, Fellow Surgeon And Possible Ex-Girlfriend, Christine Palmer (Played By Rachel McAdams) Tries To Help Strange Move On With His Life As He Does Physical Therapy...

But Unable To Accept His New Reality, Strange Pursues Experimental Surgeries To Try To Heal His Hands And Nearly Bankrupts Himself In The Process. However, When He Hears About A Man Named Jonathan Pangborn (Played By Benjamin Bratt)...

Who's Probably Glad He's Not In A Comic Book Movie Involving Cats...

Anyway, Pangborn Is A Paraplegic Who Mysteriously Regained The Use Of His Legs And Despite Hating Strange For Not Helping Him When He Came To Him For Help, He Decides To Help Him By Telling Him About Kamar Taj, But Warns Him That The Price For What He Seeks Is High...

Travelling To Kathmandu To Find Kamar Taj, Strange Eventually Meets Mordo (Played By Scar From The Remake Of The Lion King)

And Yes, I Know I Forgot To Mention In My Civil War Review That Rafiki Is Black Panther's Father But I'll Probably Mention It Again In My Eventual Review Of Black Panther That Will Happen Sooner Than I Think It Will Be...

Anyway, Strange Meets Mordo Who Takes Him To Kamar Taj To Meet The Ancient One Who (After A Bit Of Riddicule From Strange) Demonstrates Her Power Before Him Which In Itself Is One Big Acid Trip...

Though She Refuses At First To Train Strange Because She's Worried That He Is Too Much Like Kaecilius, The Ancient One Eventually Decides To Train Him At Mordo's Insistence That Kamar Taj Could Use A Man Like Strange...

And So The Training Begins...Cue Training Montage!

After Months Of Training With The Ancient One And Mordo And Borrowing Books From The Library That's Guarded By Master Wong (Played By Benedict Wong) Strange Reaches An Advanced Level, So Advanced That He Secretly Reads From The Text That Kaecilius Stole Pages From And Learning To Bend Time With The Eye Of Agamotto...

Caught By Wong And Mordo, They Warn Strange Against Breaking The Laws Of Nature, Asking How He Did That, Strange Tells Them That He Has A Photographic Memory Which Allowed Him To Get His M.D. And Ph.D At The Same Time...

Realizing That Strange Was Born For The Mystic Arts, They Decide To Tell Him The Truth, That While Heroes Like The Avengers Protect The World From Physical Dangers, They Protect Earth From More Magical Threats...

Well, If That's True Where Were You Guys During The Avengers Battle Of New York? Is Loki Not Magical?

Strange Also Learns That The Ancient One Is The Latest In A Long Line Of Sorcerer Supremes That Take Care Of 3 Buildings That Are Called Sanctums That Are In New York, London And Hong Kong Which Are All Accessible Through Kamar Taj That Act As A Shield To Protect Earth From Other Dimensional Threats...

And They In Turn Protect The Sanctums, However As They Talk The Door To The London Sanctum Opens As The Protector Enters For Them To See Him Be Killed By Kaecilius, Who During Strange's Training Has Enacted The Spell And Gained The Powers From The Dark Dimension, The Home Of Dormammu...

Ok, I Realize That Some Of This Sounds Confusing But Dormammu Is The Ruler Of The Dark Dimension, A Being Of Infinite Power And Endless Hunger Who Is On A Quest To Invade Every Universe And Bring Them To The Dark Dimension...

Seeing Kaecilius, Strange, Mordo And Wong Are Unable To Stop Him From Destroying The London Sanctum But The Explosion Is So Powerful It Knocks Strange Into The New York Sanctum, While There He Looks Around Only To Eventually See Kaecilius And His Minions Enter The New York Sanctum To Kill It's Protector...

Fighting Them With The Help of His New Powers And The Help Of An Artifact There Known As The Cloak Of Levitation, Strange Manages To Capture Galen Erso For A Second So He Can Ask Him Some Questions And He Does Discover Kaecilius' Plan Which Is To Send The Earth To The Dark Dimension To Save It From The Greatest Enemy In The World, Time...

But As He Discovers This, Strange Also Learns A That The Ancient One Uses The More Powerful Magics For Herself To Keep Herself Young But As Kaecilius Continues Talking One Of His Henchmen, Stabs Strange In The Gut To The Point That He Has To Transport Himself To The Hospital To Ask Christine To Save Him...

But While She's Operating On Strange, He Passes Out But Defibrillating Him Gets Strange Out Of His Body And Into The Astral Plane So He Can Help Christine Save Him. But Followed By The Same Henchmen Who Stabbed Him In His Astral Form Leads To An Astral Battle Between Strange And The Henchmen...

Eventually Defeating The Henchmen With Christine's Help, Strange Goes Back Into His Body So Christine Can Finish Healing Him As He Explains Everything To Her. But Eventually Returning To The New York Sanctum, Strange Reunites With Mordo And The Ancient One Where Strange Reveals Everything That Kaecilius Told Him About The Ancient One...

Despite The Ancient One Denying This And Mordo Knowing The Responsibility That Rests Upon The Ancient One's Shoulders, Kaecilius And His Minions Return To Try To Destroy The New York Sanctum..

But When Strange Sends Them All To The Mirror Dimension, It Leads To A Scene With Great Inception Level Effects As A Fight Scene With Strange, Mordo And The Ancient One Against Kaecilius And His Minions Happens While Also Throwing In Our Stan Lee Cameo For This Movie...

Stan Lee Cameo!

As Mordo Discovers That The Ancient One Does Draw Power From The Dark Dimension, Kaecilius Stabs Her During Their Fight Which Forces Strange To Take Her Into The Hospital But As She Is Being Operated On, Strange Goes Into The Astral Plane To See The Ancient One Leaving Her Body And Headed Outside Of The Hospital...

There, The Ancient One Talks With Strange Telling Him That He Has A Great Capacity For Goodness But His Arrogance And Fear Of Failure Prevent Him From Learning The One Lesson He Needs To Learn: That It's Not About Him...

Then Why Is The Movie Called Doctor Strange?

Telling Him About How About How Pangborn Uses His Magic, She Tells Strange Before She Dies That He Will Need To Break The Rules In Order To Stop Kaecilius Even If Mordo Doesn't Like It...

Saying Goodbye To Christine, Strange Travels Back To Kamar Taj To Get Mordo, Who Blames This Entire Incident On The Ancient One, Stating That Because She Drew Energy From The Dark Dimension It Lead To The Creation Of Kaecilius And His Minions Saying That The Bill Comes Due Or In Other Words...

Least That's The Way I Like To Put It...

Asking Mordo To Help Him Fight Them, They Arrive In Hong Kong Too Late, Finding Wong Dead, The Sanctum Destroyed And The Dark Dimension Starting To Engulf Earth, Using The Eye Of Agamotto To Reverse Time And Save Wong, But Realizing He Can't Stop The Inevitable, Strange Decides To Enter The Dark Dimension To Take His Case To Dormammu (Voiced By Oh, What A Surprise, Benedict Cumberbatch)...

Seriously, Benedict Just Starting In This Film Wasn't Enough You Had To Lend Your Smaug Voice To The Bad Guy?

Keeping To His Promise, Dormammu Sends Kaecilius And His Followers To The Dark Dimension As Strange Breaks The Time Loop, But Comparing Strange To The Ancient One, Mordo Renounces His Sorcerer Ways And Leaves....

Returning The Eye Of Agamotto To Kamar Taj, Strange Decides To Take Residence In The New York Sanctum To Continue His Studies With Wong As Our Movie Ends...

We Get A Mid Credits Scene Where Strange Is Visited By Thor (Played By Chris Hemsworth) Who Strange Questions Why He Is On Earth With His Brother Loki? Which Is When Thor Explains That They Are Looking For Their Father, Odin...

Asking If They Will Leave Earth After, Thor Tells Strange Yes, Which Leads Strange To Offer To Help Them...

We Also Get An End Scene, Where Mordo Confronts Pangborn And Steals The Mystic Energy He Uses To Walk As He Claims That Earth Has Too Many Sorcerers Before He Walks Off...

And That's Doctor Strange And...It's Okay...

The Story Is Confusing At Times But The Effects Are Awesome And The Cast Is Great In Their Roles Especially Cumberbatch And Edjiofor So, I Guess I Say See It...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Z 222

The recap for this episode includes a cutaway diagram of Babidi’s spaceship.   I think I messed up the screencaps here to make it look like there’s five stages instead of just four, but you get the general idea.   The big chamber at the bottom is where I think Babidi monitors the fights, and then below that is the room where Buu’s ball is stored.  

The thing I never understood was why so much of Babidi’s ship is devoted to this gauntlet he’s having our heroes run.   Each “Stage” is equipped to absorb energy lost by intruders as they do battle with the stages’ defenders, which is handy for Babidi’s current project of reviving Majin Buu.   But this is probably the first and only time this has ever come up.    Would Babidi even have need for stolen energy other than reviving Buu?   

Come to think of it, has Babidi ever had any other agenda before this?   My understanding of his life is this: He was created as a duplicate of his “father” Bibidi, probably to do some side work for him, and when the Supreme Kai killed Bibidi he eventually started plotting to take over where Bibidi left off.   So I would assume he’s spent his whole existence trying to recover Majin Buu, though much of that was preparation, I’m sure.   He had to learn more magic, assemble a crew, acquire this spaceship, and figure out Buu’s location.

Anyway, up on Stage 1, Vegeta has to fight Puipui before they can proceed further into the ship.    If Puipui hurts Vegeta (or Goku or Gohan, if he ever gets to them), the damage will feed Buu’s ball.  But that doesn’t seem to matter, since Vegeta utterly dominates the guy in his base form.

To improve Puipui’s chances, Babidi uses his magic.

Now, the Supreme Kai claims that Babidi only used his magic to change the room, but later episodes will strongly suggest that they’ve all been teleported to a new location outside of the ship.    I’m not clear on this, but one way or another, they’re now standing on what looks like Puipui’s homeworld, the planet Zoon.   The subs spell it “Zun”, but I feel like “Zoon” is right.    “Zuun?”    I kind of like all three.   Skip it.  

Whether they’re actually on Zoon or a reasonable facsimile, Vegeta is surprised by the change, and Puipui brags that he now has the advantage, because the gravity here is ten times that of earth.    Oh, you sweet summer child...

Punch.

Kick.

Titty grab.

>:^D

Closed casket funeral.

The Saiyans head for the next deck, while the Supreme Kai is gobsmacked by Vegeta’s performance.   Puipui never even touched Vegeta, and Geets wasn’t even using Super Saiyan.  

Watching this fight again, I notice that Vegeta’s style has changed dramatically since his battles against the androids and Cell.    He taunted Puipui a few times, but he wasted no time in putting the guy away.   I’d suggest that the only reason the fight lasted as long as it did was because Vegeta wanted to scout him out a bit before he committed to a finishing blow.   This is a far cry from when he fought 19, and he basically gave 19 a bunch of free hits just to show him how outclassed he was.    He horsed around with 18 and Cell in a similar fashion, thinking he had an advantage that he really didn’t.  But against Puipui, he was all business.   

I point all this out, because it’s tough to square Vegeta’s stoic gruffness in the 2010′s with his manic bluster from early and mid-DBZ.   When he first showed up in the Saiyans Saga, he was very cocky, but also quiet, letting Nappa do most of the gloating.    Then Goku got under his skin and he became downright nutty.    On Namek, he acted like a total lunatic sometimes, which I always chalked up to his desperation to beat Frieza to immortality, and the rich rewards he would achieve if he could pull it off.   

Most of the Androids and Cell period was him trying to prove his superiority, to be the man he had always claimed to be.   His big problem was that he thought turning Super Saiyan was a destination instead of a journey, and that it would solve all his problems.    This is why he kept losing in that arc, because he went into every fight thinking he’d already won by showing up.  

The Puipui fight is the last time we see him win a fight in DBZ.    If we want to count the later series and movies... let’s see.    He killed Nappa in Dragon Ball GT, but how big a deal is that?    He beat Golden Frieza in Movie 15, but he was practically beaten anyway after fighting with Goku.    In Dragon Ball Super he took out Captain Ginyu, then several fighters from the other universes.   Toppo was the big win for that series.     Dramatically speaking, though, all of these resemble the Puipui fight more than the battles he had before that.    Much more focused, no nonsense, and shutting out distractions.   

Maybe that’s what Whis meant when he told him he was wound up too tightly in Movie 15.   If Whis could have seen Vegeta’s fight with Semiperfect Cell, he would realize that Vegeta used to be way too sloppy and self-assured, and the “overthinking” approach he used afterward was his attempt to compensate for that.  

Anyway, Babidi and Dabura are shocked to find anyone this strong on Earth, because they scouted the planet 300 years ago and didn’t find anyone nearly that powerful.    Okay, but what I don’t get is that they must have realized the Saiyans were unusually powerful, because that’s why they lured them on board in the first place.    They wrote Krillin and Piccolo off as useless, and I’m betting either of them could have killed Puipui.   

Back at the stadium, Chi-Chu suddenly realizes that she has no idea where Goten is.    For some reason, Bulma doesn’t seem terribly concerned about Trunks, though.  

Turns out, they’re both in the... lounge?   I have no idea what this room is for, but it’s some place for the tournament fighters to hang out, because when the World Tournament Announcer comes into find Mighty Mask, he finds the boys instead, and tells them they aren’t allowed back here.   See, Goten was tired of carrying Trunks on his shoulders, so they came in here to take a break.   

WTA wanted to tell Mighty Mask that they’re still figuring out how to proceed with only five fighters, and then he notices MM’s costume on the floor, so Trunks uses super speed to turn on the shower.    WTA almost walks in on the guy, but Goten insists that he’d be mad about that.    WTA’s like “Oh, yeah, those masked fighters hate for anyone to see their faces.”    Okay, yeah, but more importantly, maybe you don’t just walk in on somebody while they’re taking a shower?   Geez.  

So he calls out to MM from there, and Trunks has to pull the crappiest ventriloquism act ever to respond.    The Announcer buys this completely, just like he buys that Trunks and Goten only came in here to find Mr. Satan and get his autograph.    Then again, WTA’s seen a lot of weird shit in his time.   I get the sense that he’s a dude who gets along by not asking too many questions.    If you served him Steamed Hams, he’d be all excited to sample authentic Utica cuisine.   

Piccolo and Krillin update: They’re still statues. 

In the ship, Babidi decides to send Yakon down to Stage 2.   Dabura thinks that’s a bit extreme, but Babidi doesn’t want to take these intruders too lightly, not after Puipui got killed without landing a single blow.    

Dabura’s all worried that Yakon will kill them all before he gets to have any fun with them, and Babidi has to remind him that he’s his mind-controlled henchman, so he’s not here to have fun, dammit.

That’s kind of the interesting thing about the dynamic between these two.    Babidi seems to give his slaves a lot of leeway, either because he can’t control them absolutely, or because he prefers to let them think independently.   In Dabura’s case, he seems to enjoy having him as a dependable second-in-command, offering counsel and relaying his orders to the crew.   It gets to the point where even Dabura gets a little too comfortable with the role now and then.   

And it becomes easy for us in the audience to forget that Dabura is one of Babidi’s victims.   He only wants to awaken Buu because Babidi told him to want it.    Would Dabura even care about this goal otherwise?   I mean, it’s an evil agenda, but maybe not his brand of evil, you know?   

I think this is why Toriyama designed him to look so much like a classic interpreation of the Chrisitan Devil.    He’s not like Frieza or King Piccolo, where he’ll have time to establish his credentials as a major villain.   Dabura has to look like a major villain up front, because we’ll never really get to see how he earned the role.   His job is to look like a big deal, to emphasize that Babidi has turned him into plaything.    He could make this guy swab the decks with his tongue if he wanted to.    He only lets Dabura play first-officer because it suits his purposes.  

So some of the henchmen got to summon Yakon for Stage 2 duty, and he kills them as soon as they open the door to his room.    Awesome!   This guy ain’t fucking around.

Then Babidi calls to him, probably though telepathy or something, and it’s clear that this guy is Babidi’s plaything too.    It kind of makes you wonder why Babidi even bothered having minions go fetch Yakon in the first place, if this was the only way to get him to cooperate.    But it makes a lot of sense once you realize Babidi is a sick fuck and all of his servants are expendable.   

In Stage Two, Vegeta suggests forcing the door again, and when the Supreme Kai argues that this might release Buu, he asks how big a deal Buu really is.   After all, Puipui was helpless against him, and Dabura’s not that big a deal either.  

Shin’s like “Whaaaaa?” and Vegeta’s like, “Yeah, Dabura’s not that tough.    Your friend Kibito only got killed because he’s a bitch.”  

Shin asks Goku if this is true, and Goku’s like “Yep, Kibito’s shit tier, Supreme Kai.”

Goku estimates that Dabura’s about as strong as Cell was, and Cell was a big deal... seven years ago.    Now, being as strong as Cell doesn’t mean jack to these guys.   That’s awesome.   I love this.  

And this makes the Supreme Kai look like a real geek, because he only seemed to know that Goku and the others were very strong, but he had no idea how strong.    My impression is that he had no idea the Cell conflict ever happened, which kind of makes sense, seeing as Cell came from the future.    Perfect Cell was never really meant to be, when you think about it.   In his own timeline, the androids he had to absorb to become perfect were already dead, so without time travel, no one would ever have to deal with him at full power.   As it was, he fought the Z-Fighters umpteen years before he was born, so it sort of forced the heroes to get stronger than they would have been normally.

My guess is that the Supreme Kai knew about how strong Frieza was, and that Goku beat him, so he estimated his power based on this.   Still, you’d think he could have asked around before today.    He knew Goku would be at the tournament, so he must have had some advance notice on this.    All he had to do was talk to King Kai and go “Hey, how do you think Son Goku would stack up against, say, Dabura?”   And King Kai would go “You know, I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I think Goku could take him, sir.  He’s improved dramatically since he beat Frieza.”    And at least then he’d know what he was dealing with.  

Something else I wonder about is why none of the Kai’s seem to know anything about Saiyans.   I mean, they’ve all been around for millions of years, and Goku wasn’t the first Super Saiyan.    Maybe he and Vegeta are stronger than all the ones who came before, but you’d think some of the Kais would have noticed when the last Super Saiyan was running wild a thousand years ago, or the Super Saiyan before that, and so on.   

My point is that both the Supreme Kai and Babidi seem to think these guys are key to their respective plans, and yet they seem surprised to find out how strong they are.    Let me throw out a suggestion here: If Shin knew exactly how strong Goku is right now, do you think he’d just blow up this spaceship and have done with it?    I mean, if Buu wakes up prematurely, in his weakened state, Goku could probably beat him, right?   It’d be a gamble, but no worse than what ends up happening in this story.    

Anyway, Yakon finally shows up on Stage 2, so we can finally get on with this thing.   

And it’s Goku’s turn to fight, so we get to see what he can do after all these years.    Doncha dare miss it!

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael After Midnight: Strange Magic

There are a lot of films that deserve better than what they got, films that didn’t get the respect they deserved from critics and audiences. In all my years of reviewing movies and watching movies, there’s one thing I know for sure: Strange Magic is at the top of that particular pile. Critics eviscerated the film, most of them just using it as an excuse to attack George Lucas, because mainstream critics are still mad about the Star Wars prequels, I guess. And as far as I know, very few animation reviewers even talked about it, and the ones that did mocked it as well. It doesn’t help that Disney barely advertised this film and kind of just ignored its existence, not even slapping their own name on it and instead releasing it under Touchstone. But despite all of that, the film earned a loyal, devoted cult following that to this day sings the movie’s praises… and if you keep an open mind, it’s not hard to see why.

This is a simple tale, a fantasy jukebox musical with contemporary songs and classics (the title track is an ELO song from the 70s, so there’s no way the film was trying to pander). Some might even call the story cliché, what with its hurricane of tropes and its rather standard story structure – even I called it cliché in my original review of the film – but I feel as though when it comes to a jukebox musical, you’re really here for the songs more than the story. But even with that said, the story here isn’t so bad; it’s more just a cozy little fairy tale you’ve heard before, just with a lot more pop songs in it.

Obviously the greatest strength of the film is its songs. When you’ve got the vocal talents of people like Evan Rachel Wood, Alan Cumming, and Kristin Chenoweth, you want to use them to their fullest, and boy do they ever utilize the voices of these people well. Chenoweth gets the awesome “Love is Strange” number, complete with trippy visuals, while Wood and Cumming duet and duel to “Straight On” and fall in love to the song that gives the film its name. And honestly, pretty much every time Alan Cumming sings in this is fantastic, so it’s hard to single any one song out.

I think one of the less appreciated aspects of this film, outside the fandom at least, is the animation. The animation style is pretty unique, with the fairies in particular having a design that straddles the line of being uncomfortably realistic and rather charming; they’re pretty nice for the most part, don’t get me wrong, but far more impressive are the designs of Bog King and all his minions, all of which have incredibly unique and creative designs. Special mention needs to go to Bog King himself, who is a really impressive fantasy being, visually speaking. Aside from the music, the visuals really are one of the absolute strongest aspects.

The characters, too, are rather charming. Marianne and her sister Dawn are both incredibly likable and fun characters, with Dawn being the sort of character who would easily be annoying in any other film, but who somehow manages to work really well here; it’s most likely because her antics when under the effects of the potion are shown to be irritating to everyone around her, and despite her being a flirt normally she’s extremely sweet and supportive of her sister and is good friends with Sunny. Bog King is easily the best character in the movie, in no small part due to Cumming’s fantastic performance and his design, but also due to his character development and how he plays off his overbearing mother and his two henchmen, Stuff and Thang. And then there’s the film’s villain, Roland. Roland is basically what Gaston would be like as a fairy, and he is just a blast. He’s egotistical, he’s arrogant, he’s absolutely clueless, and he’s a surprisingly good dancer as well. Overall it’s just a really solid cast, though I’ll admit that some characters could have been done a bit better, particularly the imp, who really only serves as a roadblock at a few points ad plays very little role in the finale.

Really though, most of my complaints about the film are minor nitpicks. This is easily one of my favorite films of all time, and one I will champion for all my life as one of the underrated gems of modern animation. I don’t think this is a film for everyone; if you’re looking for some groundbreaking masterpiece that redefines the medium, look elsewhere. But if you just want a fun time with some unique style and great songs, this movie is definitely going to hit the spot.

Part of my affection for this comes from personal experience; corny as it may seem, this movie helped me get over some of my hangups about relationships and fully be able to embrace love again without being afraid. Yeah, yeah, that’s sappy as hell, but that’s the sort of sappy, corny charm this movie fills you with. It’s the sort of thing that makes me unable to comprehend why anyone would hate this movie to such a degree as critics did. Like, at the very worst this film is just an inoffensive and cliché musical. There really is nothing here egregiously offensive or bad even if you are a real hardass; this isn’t some sort of Norm of the North or Delgo­-level fiasco. Honestly? I really do think people just wanted to dump on George Lucas, and that’s just sad. They let their petty hatred of a man squander the potential a beautiful, fun, romantic musical could have had otherwise.

I can at least take solace that it did eventually find its audience, and it’s honestly getting better with age. Maybe someday soon even more people will look back fondly on this underrated gem. Just remember who told you about it first.

Oh, and seriously fuck everyone who said this movie ripped off Epic. As if anyone would want to rip off that lifeless turd of a film.

[justjessame]

Double Shot Chapter 31

The silence that hit as soon as I struck the Xavier twins and their two idiot helpers with the reality of their situation was more welcome than I cared to show them all.  Honest to God, no whimpering, squealing, drying heaving, or bitching (at least two of these were from me) made the entire tied to a chair while dealing with a hangover almost manageable.  It also helped that Alex wasn’t twisting my hair around his fucking fist anymore, so I wasn’t in danger of being fucking scalped any longer.

I was contemplating a nap, because the silence was nearly making the blinding light bearable, when the peanut gallery felt the need to talk over the likelihood that I was blowing smoke up their asses.  

“She could just be lying to get a reprieve,” Alex muttered, and a glance up showed me that he was still looking down at me with the same amount of trust that I would have shown him under the same circumstances.  His eyes narrowed and I steeled myself for another round of scalp torture, but was as shocked as him when Carrie spoke.

“She’s not,” her voice was hoarse from the cries she’d been forced to utter through whatever the assholes had hit her with and I shut my eyes at the thought of what she would look like after this.  I could hear her inhale deeply and then she went on, since the quiet descended when she spoke.  “Jensen came to my house after she texted them and got that confirmation.”  

My eyes opened to witness a look pass between the twins and I felt a smirk tug at my lips.  “Ut oh.”  Alex’s eyes met mine and I couldn’t fight it anymore.  “Are you trying to decide if the two of you can fuck off fast enough to avoid a bullet?”  I tilted my head, which reminded me that his fingers were still tangled in my hair.  “Or are you thinking that Dumbass One and Dumbass Two could work well as a distraction, kind of like whoever got flambeed in the building that got torched?”   

The chuckle fucks who had signed on to be minions for the twins of doom heard me and started to argue against this particular possible plan, causing Alex’s fist to tighten in my hair, but also to cause enough chaos that no one was running away and no one was harming Carrie for awhile.   While they argued, Matthew shooting down the fears of two men who I wouldn’t have been able to pick out of a crowd they were so memorable and Alex glaring down at me, I wondered if I was as right as I wanted to be.

Since I knew for a fact that Clay had the shop and the house wired for sound, it stood to reason that he would have put some other safety measures in place, just in case.  I’d read about the “Find Your Friends” app in a magazine during a doctor’s visit, so I had no doubt that Jensen would be more than capable of putting something similar in play on my phone, and probably Carrie’s too.  With the bug at the house he would have heard Carrie and me heading out for the night, and when he didn’t hear us come back that would have led him to trace us, if he wasn’t already once we stepped out of the house.  Logic said that he was biding his time, the team’s time, to figure out how best to take down the twins, their henchmen, and save Carrie and me, with the least amount of damage, and the highest rate of success for the goal.  Meaning, save us AND get their names cleared and their lives back.  

I had enough time, during the arguing to think this through, and Carrie had some time to reflect too, since she was forgotten during the upheaval that my smart mouth caused.  

“Enough,” Alex snarled, the sound of his voice forcing me back to the situation at hand.  “You two,” his eyes were on the idiots behind me, I guessed, since I couldn’t see them.  “Do a perimeter check, that way we KNOW if she’s lying.”

They started to argue about being the Stormtroopers or the Redshirts in this scenario, but the look on Alex’s face stopped them mid bitching.  Since he was holding my head captive in his grip, I couldn’t see them leave, but then again, the door was behind me too.  “Guess they’re expendable, right?”  I shrugged.  “Hope you don’t have a soft spot for-”  I squinted.  “Was I supposed to know their names?”  

Alex rolled his eyes.  “Were you always this annoying?”  He looked at his brother.  “Was she?”  

“How could I know?”  Matthew was still holding my phone and his eyes fell to it.  “Should I-”

I grinned.  “Send Clay a ‘hey, babe, wanna meet?’ text?”  I licked my lips, dry and still rust flavored from the remnants of the bloodiness that Alex caused.  “Sure, let’s see if he wants to play.”

“No one asked you, Charlotte,” Alex growled and I rolled my eyes, he was growing tiresome.  “Walter should have fought for custody, those twinks raising you made you unbearable, I swear.”  

“Those ‘twinks’ as you call them,” I bit out, eyes narrowing as I sneered up at him, “are more manly than you, your twin brother, AND my sperm donor rolled into one, with those two morons you just sent to their doom added in for flavor.  They gave me EVERYTHING, so watch your fucking mouth.”  

Alex opened his mouth like he was planning on telling me off, or something impressive, but my cell phone rang, and his eyes met Matthew’s.  “It’s him.”  I smirked. 

“Told you so,” I sang, my smirk growing fuller.  “Someone’s gonna get it, or someone already did-”

Matthew’s bare hand tapped the screen to answer the call and then another tap had the call on speaker.  Clay’s voice was loud and clear, as were his orders.  And I had to say, if they thought I was annoying, learning that I was not only telling the truth BUT that I was being modest about Clay’s ire, well seeing the terrible two looking so green around the gills was like icing on my fucking cake.  

“Always sending others to do your dirty work, MAX.”  Clay’s voice was like balm for my wounded soul, and my empty stomach.  “I really hoped that you weren’t stupid enough to lay a finger on either one of them, but I had a feeling that you WERE, so let me tell you how this is going to go.”  Neither twin said a word and their eyes were focused on the phone as if it would tell them how to get the fuck out of this mess.  “Both of you will step back, to the farthest wall away from the entrance of the room you have them in, backs to the wall, hands to the ceiling.  If either of you so much as twitch when I enter, I promise you your corpses will work just as easily to clear our names as your living bodies.  So please, by all means, get an itchy nose.  Sneeze.  Cough.  Give Cougar any fucking reason at all to give your head a new hole.”  I smiled as the twins finally glanced at one another and I could see them both swallow hard.  “If you somehow manage to NOT move, you’ll be cuffed and turned over to the proper authorities, but I cannot promise what state you’ll arrive in, since that will be dependent on how Charlotte and Carrie’s states look.”  Matthew’s eyes fell on Carrie behind me and the pallor that his skin took filled me with dread for her.  “Now, I’ll give you 30 seconds to get into position.  Put the cell phone on Charlotte’s lap, remove your filthy fucking fingers from her hair, and get your asses where I told you to move.”

I had a moment of fear, as Alex’s hate filled eyes landed on me, that he wasn’t going to surrender.  That he was going to kill me, and Matthew would kill Carrie, and they’d die in a hail of bullets just to fuck over Clay a little more.  I’d misread how much the twins valued their own selves.  

Matthew tossed the phone into my lap, Alex yanked his hand free in the most painful way he could and then they whispered together as they backed themselves to the wall that Clay had indicated.  The call was still ongoing.

“Clay?”  I wanted to let him know I was alright, and hear his voice again, not just threatening and ordering, but MY Clay.  

“Char,” he breathed, and I felt my heartbeat relax.  “I’ll be there soon, sweetheart.”  

It was almost anticlimactic.  Almost.  Clay came in first, I guessed, since I heard him barking orders from behind me.  A red dot appeared on each twin’s forehead, which made me feel marginally better about my life choices, but then I heard Jensen’s gasp and I knew that we might have a problem.

“Jens,” it was Pooch, and he was trying to reason with him, I could tell.  “Keep your mind on the goal.  Untie her and we’ll get her help.”  I heard muttering, and I heard some other noises that made little sense, but then the twins were on their knees and they were bound so I felt a little happier with everything.  

Clay’s fingers were on my wrists and his nose was against my neck as he got me untied and I felt more of my tension relaxing.  “Just had to have a girls’ night, didn’t you?”  He muttered and I shook my head.  My hands were free and then he was in front of me, kneeling.  HIs hands cupping my face and his eyes studying my face.  “You’re going to have so many bruises, Char.”  

“Yeah, well I ruined Alex’s Armani suit, so fair trade.” I shrugged, and then like a completely lightweight, passed right the fuck out. 

[crossroadsdimension]

Puppet AU Chapter 9

Heh heh. As soon as I posted that drabble, I decided to throw this nightmare out.

It’s not from Ford’s perspective, though. You’ll figure out who it is soon enough.

Doing the Dirty Work

Probably the one good thing about these little “infiltration missions” the Master sent Stan out on was the fact that he didn’t have to look at those damn triangle tattoos when he was disguised as someone else.

He knew he didn’t have a choice, but he hated the Master with every single fiber of his being, and there was no way that he was just going to let that go. Not like Ford seemed to have done.

Stan drummed his fingers against the table impatiently. He’d taken on the form of a young man this time – a clearly athletic kid who he’d devoured back in Portland when they were given the chance to test out their abilities for the first time – or the only time, in Ford’s case. Football player, dark, curly hair, tall, heavyset – kinda like how he’d been back in high school, except…different.

Getting into the group in Piedmont, California that had been trying to fight back was the easy part. With his present form and the memories of the dead kid, he’d been able to pretend he was on the run and looking for a way to fight back.

Knowing that he was going to be the one to tear the group apart whenever the Master decided? Not so easy.

Especially considering that Dipper’s and Mabel’s parents had joined up a little bit before he had.

“Goddammit, Alex,” Stan muttered under his breath, rubbing at his right temple as he watched the other members of the resistance move around the strangely still-intact house. “He must’ve known you were up to something.”

Another good thing about being out from under the Master’s shadow was that he could find other ways to refer to him in order to stay undercover. Name-calling and pronouns abounded, and it gave Stan a sick glee to know that he could get away with it.

But there was still that ache that he got in his chest every time he attempted to want to help people get away from that triangle freak, and it reminded him that he only had a semblance of freedom at this point – not the real deal.

Stan gritted his teeth and the ache in his chest started up even more fiercely as he attempted to imagine himself tearing the demon’s eye out of its socket, only to hit a mental wall before he could even picture the throne room.

Goddammit.

“Say, son?”

Stan looked up at the voice and stiffened when he caught sight of Alex Pines – Dipper’s and Mabel’s dad – sitting down on the other side of the table.

“Are you feeling all right?” Alex asked. “You’ve been making some odd expressions.”

Stan grunted. “I’m fine. Just thinking about that stupid demon dorito.”

The best lies were half-truths. Stan had learned that a long time ago.

Alex gained a sympathetic expression and nodded. “Yeah, I know the feeling.” His expression turned into one of anger. “He’s taken my family. I’m not going to let him get away with that.”

Stan wondered how Alex would have known about them. Had he run into Dipper and Mabel when he had sent them out?

“Your family?” Stan repeated.

“My uncles – one of whom faked his death and the other who started the apocalypse – and my own children.” Alex sighed and shook his head. “I can’t believe that something like this could have happened to us. It sounds too impossible.”

Stan frowned. Apparently, Alex also knew about what he and Ford had both done and been up to for the last thirty-odd years – at least, before Weirdmageddon hit. Kinda hard to keep track of time when all the clocks moved at different rates and there was no sun to speak of, but people were apparently adapting to the mess of a world that he had managed to create. Not sure what the triangle would think of that, but if humans could find a way to adapt, they’d definitely find other ways of being able to annoy him.

“Yeesh. I don’t know what I’d do if my parents were taken by that freak.” Stan started drumming his fingers against the table again in a nonsense rhythm as he tried to drive out the idea of his Ma and Pa being forced to do what he was doing.

He was certain that they’d be fighting back just as much as he was, but he didn’t know how long they would have been able to hold out.

Or even how long Stan himself was going to be able to keep feeling that echo of an ache in his chest every time he thought of trying to get away from his present situation.

Stan paused, focusing more on what Alex had said. “How’d ya know, anyway?”

Alex sighed. “That monster hunted us down using Dipper and Mabel. Apparently, he wanted to see where Dipper and Mabel had come from, then went off to Glass Shard Beach. But Grandma and Grandpa died years ago, so I don’t think he’s going to be able to find what he’s looking for.”

The Master did what? That was something Stan hadn’t heard about.

“Dipper and Mabel?” he prompted instead.

“My kids,” Alex explained. “One of my uncles – the one that started this whole mess – was with them, too.”

So, Ford knew about the kids’ parents.

“Trenchcoat? Fox ears?” Stan guessed.

Alex looked at him sharply. “You’ve seen him?!”

“Yeah, him and this guy who looks a lot like him.” If Stan was going to play this how he wanted to play it, he was going to have to be careful how he worded his responses and what exactly he let slip. “They were up in Portland a while back. Completely destroyed the place. I think I saw that uncle guy’s lookalike eating people.”

“Eating people?!” Alex looked startled at that. “That’s…” He looked sick for a moment, then gained a dark frown. “Even though beating that Bill Cipher might be impossible right now, I bet we can weaken him by taking his minions down one by one.”

“He’s been getting more minions, though,” Stan pointed out. “I had to hide from a number of them coming down here. Do you realize how hard it is to not get burned to death?”

A near-complete lie, considering that Stan wasn’t actually going to get attacked by any of the Henchmaniacs, but he thought that Pyronica probably had a bit too much fun shooting fireballs at him in order to get him into the resistance’s safe house.

Stan tried not to think about the dead look that came over his brother’s face whenever the demoness entered the room with that hungry look in her eye.

“Which is why we’re planning on laying low for a while and figuring out their strengths and weaknesses before we make a move against them,” Alex insisted. “I’ve talked with the leader of this group, and he agrees with me.”

“What about your family?” Stan frowned.

Alex blinked at the question, then sighed and bowed his head. “And that is presently my problem.”

Alex didn’t want to do to them what they were probably planning on doing to the rest of the demonic monster’s henchmen. Stan didn’t know if that was a smart idea or a stupid one.

Considering what that creep had done to them? Probably a stupid idea.

“You’d probably been better off not knowing,” Stan muttered.

Alex turned his head and blinked at Stan’s statement before frowning. “You’re suggesting that I forget that my family is working for the demon that caused this apocalypse?”

Stan blinked. “Uh….”

“Young man, I don’t know how exactly it is that you’re feeling right now, considering what’s happened, but I am not about to abandon my family, even though they are with some…some geometrical horror!”

Geometrical horror. Stan added that to his mental list of names for the demon.

“We are going to find a way to rescue them, physical changes or—“

“I’m gonna stop you right there, because you didn’t see what happened in Portland.”

Alex blinked at that, then frowned.

“There was this one guy – fox ears and a tail—“

“I saw him,” Alex said.

“Yeah. He was setting stuff on fire – literally throwing fireballs from his hands at people.” Stan mimed throwing something, causing Alex’s eyes to widen. “Magic or something. Those kids? One of  ‘em was able to cover the entire city in trees. The other one sucked up the nuclear power plants in a black hole.”

Alex suddenly looked very uncertain at what Stan was telling him.

Now to really hit him in the gut.

“And that other old man? The one in the sleezy suit and looks like the guy with the ears?”

Alex nodded slowly.

“He eats people and turns into them. He could look like anybody, act like anybody – shoot, he could be anybody.”

Alex’s eyes widened at that. “Becomes the people he eats?” He sat back in his chair, looking sick. “Have they really changed that much?”

“Yeah. If you wanna think of a way to turn ‘em against that monster, go ahead, but it’s gonna be hard.” Stan made a dismissive wave and leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest.

He didn’t bother to mention that he was starting to think that the idea was hopeless; that Alex may as well give up and go into hiding somewhere with his wife instead of actively fighting back. Getting attention from that three-sided freakshow would only get him killed at this point – or worse even, depending on how he felt when he would finally catch them.

At least Stan could still hold onto his anger, even if the concept of free will and hope slid between his fingers and left him feeling empty inside. Empty, he was familiar with – it’s hard not to feel like that, when your brother is a know-it-all genius and Pa kicks you out for messing something up and saying that you’re pretty much worthless – but this kind of empty was one that Stan was certain he was never going to get used to.

Or at least, he was going to try to never get used to it.

Stan felt an itchy feeling at the back of his mind, and he snorted a sigh and closed his eyes for a moment.

“GET MOVING, FEZ! TEACH THOSE HUMANS A LESSON!”

And Dipper and Mabel’s parents?

“EH. DO WHATEVER. I’VE GOT NO USE FOR THEM.”

“No.”

Stan opened his eyes when he heard Alex’s voice.

“I can’t just give up on them. That wouldn’t be right. There has to be a way to get them on our side!” Alex slammed a fist into the table.

“You’ve got pretty good…determination, Alex,” Stan growled as the pain in his chest flared up, “but I really doubt yer gonna be able ta do anythin’ ta get us ta come around.”

Alex turned his head sharply to stare at Stan in shock and surprise as Stan’s entire body seemed to ripple before morphing into his original shape. “Wh-what the – Uncle Stan?!” He scrambled out of his seat as Stan rose from his own. Alex’s face quickly paled. “That kid – he – you—“

“Yeah.” Two extra sets of eyes opened on Stan’s face, one pair above and below his original set, all six eyes glowing an ominous green. “I warned ya, didn’t I?”

Alex backed up against the wall behind him, then gritted his teeth as his eyes narrowed. “What are you going to do now? Eat me?”

“Nah. You know who’s actually bein’ surprisingly lenient on that. For now, anyway.” Stan jerked his head towards the door. “Take Karen an’ go. I might not be so nice next time we run into each other.”

Alex didn’t move.

“What are ya waitin’ for?! GO!”

Stan started shifting, letting his feathery, furry monster form take over and making Alex weak in the knees in terror before he turned and ran out of the room. Stan exited the room in a different way, merging with the shadows and making his way to where he knew that the leader of this particular resistance happened to be. The man’s scent was all over the place, but it did happen to be strengthening in a certain direction….

He found the rebellion’s leader working on paperwork in the back of the house, talking with advisors – seriously, who does that anymore? – about trading groups in order to get the weapons they needed.

“The only thing that you’ve got to your name is your life.”

The leader of the rebellion and his two advisors stiffened and looked around at the sound of Stan’s warped voice. He hated how it sounded when he was like this – it sounded like he actually was a monster. He didn’t need to sound like one when he already felt like one.

“What are you?!” the leader demanded. “How did you manage to get in here?!”

“Like you’re ever going to find out.”

Stan melted out of the shadows and lunged for the two men, jaw practically unhinging as he went.

When he left the room moments later, licking the remaining inner bodily fluids from his lips, he could already hear the screams from the other people who happened to be in the building. He transformed into the leader’s right-hand schmuck and ran down the hall to join the panicking people.

The freak in the pyramid was gonna want chaos, and Stan had a lot of anger that he was holding onto. Might as well make use of that while giving that goddamned Master one hell of a show.

Change in POV

Dipper and Mabel were outside the “base” that the recent rebellion had taken over – a large house in what used to be southern California – when a loud round of screams came from some of the open windows.

They exchanged looks, then jumped off the remains of a church steeple seconds before it collapsed. A large lilly pad covered in frills of grass materialized under Dipper’s bare feet, giving him a soft landing as Mabel glided down and landed next to him.

A loud, deep bellow suddenly echoed out of the house, gently shaking the earth and making Dipper’s antlers rattle.

“Grunkle Stan’s really scary,” Mabel said, shivering. Stardust fell from her hair and twinkled faintly as it fell to the ground, which was starting to grow a number of probably-poisonous flowers at their feet.

Dipper nodded in agreement. “Y-yeah, but we’re probably pretty scary, too. I haven’t seen people look at us the same way since….” He trailed off, thinking back to what happened in Portland, and quickly put it out of his mind.

He didn’t want to think about the blank look that came over his sister’s face every time she went that far with her powers, and the look of horror she had afterwards when she’d realized what she’d done.

“I-I don’t like doing this,” Mabel sniffled. “It hurts, Dipper.”

“Yeah,” Dipper replied quietly. “I know.” He reached over and grabbed Mabel’s hand and squeezed it, hoping that it would help ease the pain he knew she felt in her soul – the want to make sure that their parents were all right. It was like when he felt the pain from the echo of his more paranoid self from the past, when he could have tried to put together a plan to stop Bill – or, at least, rescue Ford.

But now….

Dipper closed his eyes and shivered as a voice echoed in his mind.

“ALL RIGHT, YOU TWO. FEZ IS NEARLY DONE IN THERE – TIME TO DO YOUR THING! AND MAKE IT SHOWY!”

Mabel shivered next to him. “Yes, Master.”

Dipper sighed. “Yes, Master.”

The two of them faced the large house that Stan had disappeared into, then tightened their grips on each other’s hands. A green glow emanated from the birthmark on Dipper’s forehead as his eyes became even more vibrant with a strange power, Mabel’s eyes becoming the same as they glowed a deep purple.

Roots suddenly exploded from the ground near Dipper’s feet, covered in starlight sparkles as they dug through the earth towards the house at high speed, multiplying and circling around the building. Trees grew up and around the house as a black blur dashed out of the front door; they wrapped themselves around it and squeezed as they grew taller and wider.

CRUNCH.

The trees suddenly collapsed in on themselves, then molded together into one large tree with a starlight-covered trunk and sparkling purple leaves that seemed to warp and twist, even though there wasn’t a wind that could have moved them.

The black blur that had left the house moved over to where Dipper and Mabel stood, morphing into a more familiar form with a tired expression. His eyes were still alight with a fury that Dipper knew only he could hold onto.

“SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK, BUDDY?”

Stan, Dipper, and Mabel didn’t move from where they stood; they knew that the Master was above them, and he’d call for their attention when he needed it.

“NOT BAD, NOT BAD. KINDA WISH I’D THOUGHT OF THIS WHEN THOSE BRATS AND THE OLD MAN CAME TO ‘RESCUE’ MY FORDSY. HEH, LIKE THEY’D BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING FOR HIM NOW!”

The three stiffened a little at the familiar voice, but the different echo of power; was there another triangular demon above them now?

“HEH, YEAH, I KNOW! YOU REALLY DID A NUMBER ON HIM IF YOU CAN KEEP HIM ON A LEASH WITHOUT ACTUALLY KEEPING HIM ON ONE!”

“I KNOW! IT GETS A BIT BORING WHEN HE DOESN’T SASS BACK, THOUGH. I’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT WAYS TO MAKE THIS A LOT MORE FUN. DOING THINGS LIKE THIS MIGHT MAKE THINGS A LOT MORE…INTERESTING, AT LEAST FOR A WHILE.”

“EXACTLY MY IDEA! BESIDES, I LEFT THE OTHER STUFF INTACT FOR A REASON – MAYBE THEY’LL START ACTUALLY ENJOYING THIS SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE!”

Stan stiffened at that, gritting his teeth, but said nothing. Mabel gripped Dipper’s hand more tightly as she bit her lower lip so hard that it could start bleeding.

Dipper clenched his eyes shut tightly, shaking at the idea that he’d actually enjoy what the Master was telling them to do – be eager for the next order that could come.

His chest ached when he attempted to hope that such a thing would never happen, and his heart sank at the realization that it might.

Is there anyone out there who would be able to save us?

[isakthedragon]

A Dragon Sized Adventure Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Yo Ho Ho, and a Cache of Crystals

*The next terrarium our heroes are going to is the High Seas Terrarium. N. Gin decided to go with the pirate flow and enjoy being captain in his own way (of his own ship, of course). He explores the high seas, making tributes to Cortex and Eggman on any inhabited island. And any treasure he plunders along the way helps Cortex all the same.*

Spyro looks at their surrounding. "I wonder when we are at now? These ship designs don't look familiar to me."

Sonic: "Looks like a time with more older ships, but this isn't a graveyard."

Crunch: "Looks like the Pirate Age, at least I think so. Coco would know if she was here." *Remembering Coco makes him a little sad.*

Sonic: "Don't worry Crunch, we will find her. But I'm worried, I think this is a bit too much water for most of us."

Vector smiles. "Looks like I can finally be of good use. Crash, why not jump on my back and we will look for the crystals. The rest of you can find a way to the other side."

Tails and the other flyers: "Will do!"

*Crash and Vector leave and find the first button. They use it and feel the saltiness of the sea...*

-----

Level 16: Rocking the Docks

*Cortex and Eggman appear*

Cortex: "Tiny and Koala Kong were good henchmen hard to come by, they hated everyone and everything. Please be more reasonable with my minions next time."

Eggman: "And stop busting my mobiles! They aren't cheap, you know!"

*They both disappear.*

Crates: 99

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:50.00

Gold: 1:45.00

Platinum: 1:40.00

Lifesharks to Save: 5

Helping Partner: Vector

Badniks: Crabmeat: Old Badnik, new missile. (Can also be found underwater) Anchor Swinging Lab Assistant Pawns: Don't get dizzy trying to avoid it, lest you want to have a ride down to Davy Jones Locker! Barrel Throwing Lab Assistant Pawns: I think they spent one too many days playing Donkey Kong. Best you take the Jumpman approach. Cannon Operating Lab Assistant Pawns: They usually operate cannons just out of your reach, trying to hurt you with cannonballs.

Beasts: Crabs: *SNAP SNAP*

Mutants: Doom Monkeys (With rockets in their head): N Gin's personal monkey assistants who are one coffee cup away from actual detonation. Lifeshark: A Human + Shark hybrid that ironically cares that you know how to swim. It doesn't like seeing his 'meal' drown in the pool or running where they shouldn't. Such a considerate Shark. Guess he isn't hungry for humans after all.

(I'm thinking something like this for the music.)

Yar, mateys! Welcome to the Pirate Age, ye scallywags! *Gets bricked for the pirate language.* Alright, I'll stop! Geez. :P Anyway, looks like we are on docks surrounding small islands. And N. Gin colonized the small islands with lab assistant pawns and mutants everywhere. Plus, N. Gin, being the crazy guy that he is decided to make island travel occur by using big cannons  Just enter the back end and watch as you are shot to the next island. The only other noticeable thing is that there are some drawbridges on the docks that are pulled up. You need to use Vector to throw nearby things (Barrels, crates, even enemies if you can stun them with a belly flop) into the targets (or use Crash's Wampazooka) next to them to drop the drawbridge. All the characters do have the ability to throw, but Vector can do it the fastest with relative ease.

The final cannon will fire you onto an island with a nearby pirate ship. Barges float on the sea in front of it and climbing on them will make a cannonball be thrown at you.

*N. Gin stands on a dock, just out of jumping reach, next to a cannon that fired at you.* "So, Crash Bandicoot. We meet again. You better give me those crystals, or you might not see your sister ever again." *He shows that Coco is on his ship, screaming. She looks like she has been evolved a bit, but she is still herself.*

Vector: "Got a present for ya!" He grabs the cannonball and tosses it back at N. Gin, breaking the cannon a bit.

N. Gin: "So be it." *He fires more cannonballs as the fight begins.*

Mini-boss: N Gin W/Cannon.

Here's a pretty easy battle. All you have to do is hop around the barges, avoiding cannonballs until one is misfired too slowly, landing on the barge with a *thunk*. Have Vector grab it and throw it back at N. Gin, damaging the cannon more. Di this 4 times in total to win.

N. Gin: "You may have succeed now, but you'll have to find us again!" *He boards his ship and it sails away so fast that it probably has rockets powering it underneath the ship.*

Achievement Unlocked: Taking A Long Walk Off A Short Pier

-----

Level 17: Deep Depths

Crates: 73

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:40.00

Gold: 1:35.00

Platinum: 1:30.00

Lifesharks to Save: 5

Helping Partner: Vector

Badniks: Jawz: Stay away from their sharp end(s) Diver Lab Assistant Pawns: They just float about, rarely firing a dart from their gun at you.

Beasts: Puffer fish: I wonder what happened to Mr. Puff. Shark: Try not to be eaten by them, I don't think eating fur is very healthy. Moray Eels: ♪ When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie, that's amore! ♫

Time to take a dip with the aquatic sea life. Too bad most of it would like to eat you. Crash is wearing his scuba gear so he swim about with some ease, although Vector looks like he is having a fun time. Although, you could get help from those Lifesharks. They have an easy time swimming through the water, and they will gladly take a bit of anything in your way. They also have a charge as their heavier attack in case you really need to break stuff. This level is here to get you used to swimming.

Achievement Unlocked: *Insert Licensed Disney Song Here.*

-----

Level 18: N. Gin Rummy

Crates: 135

Time Trial

Sapphire: 2:10.00

Gold: 2:05.00

Platinum: 2:00.00

Lifesharks to Save: 5

Helping Partner: Vector

Ready for a treasure hunt?... No?... Okay... It may not be a treasure hunt, but it is time to do some searching. You're actually dropped off right in front of the exit, but it is blocked off by a gate. So how do we open it? Well, that nearby, ugly-looking monument of Cortex's head sure looks suspicious. Let's enter it. Inside, you find a compass room with 3 different paths. Each one leads to a room with a large group of enemies. Defeating them all will raise a target in the room. Hit the target to lower the gate a 1/3 of the way and be warped back to the compass room. Do this in the other two areas to drop the gate full and exit the level.

Achievement Unlocked: Traveling in Circles

-----

Level 19: Feeling Coral

Crates: 101

Time Trial

Sapphire: 1:50.00

Gold: 1:45.00

Platinum: 1:40.00

Lifesharks to Save: 5

Helping Partner: Vector

Oooh! Look at all those coral reefs. Let's go explore them! This level is a wonderful swim through all the beautifully colored coral. There's nothing really to say other than enjoy the scenery.

Achievement Unlocked: "Cor-Al!"

-----

Level 20: Beach Bumming

Crates: 154

Time Trial

Sapphire: 2:30.00

Gold: 2:25.00

Platinum: 2:20.00

Lifesharks to Save: 5

Helping Partner: Vector

We're now on another island, on the beach. To our left are cliffs, topped with cannons and rocks trying to hit us. To our right, out at sea, is N. Gin's pirate ship, firing cannonballs at us. All we can do is hurry down the beach, avoiding the fire. At least we can see the shadows and targeting reticles so we can avoid the danger. Get to the end of the beach to finish the level. Noticeably, the ship disappears too as you leave.

Achievement Unlocked: KABOOM!!!

-----

*Upon returning, they find them self on a pirate ship. N. Gin's pirate ship appears next to them in the center of the terrarium.*

N Gin: "As a pirate, i must give ye a fighting chance. Now, prepare to die, bandi-WHAT!" *Coco was able to break free from her hostages and kicks N. Gin onto the deck below. She jumps off and lands next to her brother.*

Coco: "Hi, big brother. Who's your friend?"

Vector: "The name's Vector, but we don't got time for idle chitchat! I think he's gonna fire at us!"

N Gin: "I'll personally send ye to Davy Jones Locker, you bandicoots and crocodile!"

Boss: N. Gin

Looks like N. Gin wasn't acting that fair to you. He only gave you a cannon and no cannonballs. But you have more than a chance than you realize. You need to move the cannon and collect those cannonballs he has his Lab Assistant Pawns fire at you. Then you can fire them back and damage his ship. It's gonna take quite a few cannonballs though. At least he is singing something to help you focus. Why? He only fires when he hits the end of a line (The capitalized word at the end).

(Obviously, N. Gin is going to get an even heavier version of the song.)

N Gin: ♪ What shall we do to that Bandicoot, What shall we do to that Bandicoot, What shall we do to that Bandicoot, Early in the mornin'?!

♪ Have him ape with the hostile Natives, Have him ape with the hostile Natives, Have him ape with the hostile Natives, Early in the mornin'!

 ♪ Send him spiraling out of Time, Send him spiraling out of Time, Send him spiraling out of Time, Early in the mornin'!

♪ Cook him well done and slice and dice Him, Cook him well done and slice and dice Him, Cook him well done and slice and dice Him, Early in the mornin'!

♪ Scare the bandicoot up with Fear, Scare the bandicoot up with Fear, Scare the bandicoot up with Fear, Early in the mornin'!

♪ Load him full of TNT, Load him full of TNT, Load him full of TNT, Early in the mornin'!

N. Gin takes an instrumental break as he and his assistants enter the damaged ship... or at least looked damaged. Turns out it's a wood façade for a submarine within it as the rest of the wood falls away. He fires his missiles at you, and one gets caught in a cannon, showing that they can be used same as the cannonballs. Catch them and return fire to N Gin as he sings again.

♪ Perhaps make him into Swiss-Cheese, Perhaps make him into Swiss-Cheese, Perhaps make him into Swiss-Cheese, Early in the mornin'!

♪ Then it's time to lay on the speed, Then it's time to lay on the speed, Then it's time to lay on the speed, Early in the mornin'!

♪ Show him the power of the Evolvo-Ray, Show him the power of the Evolvo-Ray, Show him the power of the Evolvo-Ray, Early in the mornin'!

♪ Infiltrate and mess with their Minds, Infiltrate and mess with their Minds, Infiltrate and mess with their Minds, Early in the mornin'!

♪ And if he somehow makes it through This, They will show him we mean Business. Could they somehow even do This?! Early in the mornin'!

♪ That's what we will do to that Bandicoot, That's what we will we do to that Bandicoot, That's what we will we do to that Bandicoot, Early in the mornin'!

♪ Way, hey, and up she Rises! Way, hey, and up she Rises! Way, hey, and up she Rises! Early in the mornin'! ♫

Unfortunately, N Gin is sunk as the final missile sends his sub into the drink.

Achievement Unlocked: What Shall We Do With The Crazy N. Gin?

*Our heroes get off the ship to the congratulating others below. They leave as we follow the transported N Gin...*

Death Head / Space Egg Bridge

*N. Gin appears in the middle of the bridge in front of Cortex, soaking wet.*

Cortex: "You useless fool! Even hand man fails me! Transport, send him away before I do something irreversibly horrible."

N Gin: "I'm sorry, Cortex!" is all he can say as he is warped away to dry off.

Eggman: "What a surprise, even your weapons expert failed."

Cortex get up from the Captains chair. "Oh, shut up. Like you have succeeding plans."

Eggman stays seated in the co-captain's/commander's chair, smiling.  "And I assume Crash is at the same level as Sonic is? Mine's just fate, yours is just incompetence."

Cortex is steaming when Dingodile returns to the bridge with a gorilla/kangaroo hybrid.

Cortex: "What the hell do you want, Dingodile? Here to fail me again?"

Dingodile: "Right... Well, I was just thinking we send my creation Rilla Roo to handle Crash next."

Cortex gives up and slumps back in his chair. "Sure! Why not. At least then this won't be my own fault I failed."

Dingodile: "Thanks Cortex! Now, come on, Rilla Roo. Transport! To the Aztec Terrarium." *They are sent away.*

Next Time: It's time for the old world to meet the new in the Aztec Terrarium.

[aion-rsa]

Upcoming Power Rangers Comics Will “Unite Future Seasons”

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Warning, this article spoils the end of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Issue #50

After the shocking twist ending of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #50, fans were left with a lot of questions. Who was that person that showed up at the command center? Why is here? Will we see the Omega Rangers again? What’s next for the Rangers on Earth? What about that cover that was previewed that had the new Dark Rangers made up of Rita and her minions?

We sat down with Ryan Parrott to get some answers and teases to these questions. We talk about trying to free the comics from being in lockstep with the TV series, the new Dark Rangers, and his hints of what we’ll see more of going forward including more references to things that were only hinted at in the TV series!

Note: This is part two of our interview with Parrott about issue #50. Check out the first part where we delve more into the issue itself.

DEN OF GEEK: In an interview that you did with Games Radar just before Go Go 32 came out, you mentioned that the events of Necessary Evil would set up a new status quo. One where infinite stories in the MMPR universe could be told and that was freeing you up from my running in lockstep with the TV series. Can you talk more about what that means?

RYAN PARROTT: Yeah. I mean, this is going to sound negative, and I don’t mean it to be, one of the hardest things about writing Go Go Power Rangers from issue 21 to 32… When you open Mighty Morphin 40, with the arrival of the White Ranger and the Stone Canyon trio and Zedd’s already there, it felt like that’s a big jump. For people who watch the show, they all know what happened, but for everyone else, it just felt like, “Wow, did we miss this? Did all this happen exactly the way we thought? How did they get here?” We just felt that with Go Go, we owed it to fans to not jump over so many major pillars of the Power Rangers universe and so that’s what that story became.

But I will be honest, it was really, really, really hard to write a series that was half of an ongoing event tied to a television show from 25 years ago and write a narrative that somehow floated through all of that. And it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever written and I just know that I don’t ever want to try and do that again. It’s frustrating for the fans because they’re seeing things that they already kno  and you’re trying to give them new context, but if you change it too much, is it even the thing that you love? It was just a really complicated process. I knew that I wanted to go back to a status quo that was similar to the way that we did Go Go and the way that Kyle (Higgins) actually did his beginning run of Mighty Morphin, which was that we’re going to basically step into a period of time after this where everything slows down immensely and we can just do stories that don’t tie into episodes of the show.

In the same way that Kyle’s run was like, “These are all the stories that happened right after Tommy joined the team. Do they happen between episodes 17 and 18? Sure.” Because you can look at all of his run and say they all happen between those two episodes, and I think we’re going to do something similar now to try and create a universe that can stand on its own. This will allow us to, because we have the Omega Rangers and those Omega Rangers do exist outside in space, maybe be able to see elements of the Power Ranger universe that we’ve only hinted at in seasons of the show, but see them through the Mighty Morphin lens. The best example I can give is The Mandalorian, how they’ve used that show to basically tap into the entire Star Wars universe. We’re going to try and do something similar in the sense of trying to unite all of those future seasons but doing them in a way that feels organic to where we are in the timeline.

So will we be ping ponging from the Rangers on earth and the Omega Rangers out in space? I know the cover for issue 54 came out recently that had the Omega Rangers on it.

Yeah. I don’t think it’s a spoiler. We’re going to follow both teams and we’re going to see how they’re both interacting out in the world. And what I like about it, even if you look at those covers, I’m not going to break the book up the way that I broke up A Necessary Evil, this will be more a trade off. You’ll understand.

Much of Kyle Higgins work was set right after Tommy joined the team in mid season one and Necessary Evil was the middle of season two. Will the comic going forward cover the later part of season two and everything that was generally happening there?

Yeah. We spent 80 something issues, if you count all of it, building this universe. We had the Solar Rangers and The Coinless and the Omega Rangers and the Power Rangers and Drakkon and Zedd and Dayne and all of these characters. We’ve built this universe, let’s not rush through it. Let’s use it and try and tell stories in it that can bring in stuff from the other shows. I want to, I really desperately do. I have ideas that I’m very excited about doing, but we have this superhero universe, let’s use it. Let’s not just tell a story that gets us to the moments in the show that we already know is coming. Let’s spend some time and mine this area and maybe take some chances and do some stuff that you wouldn’t expect, which you’ll see. We should talk again in about a month.

Well you’re already adding new things like the new Dark Rangers made up of Rita and her henchmen. Are these different from the Dark Rangers in the show or are they simply “this is my version of the Dark Rangers”?

Oh, I’ll be honest. I remember that episode, and I hated those guys. I was like, “They just stand there. They don’t even fight. And they look like they made those out of nothing.” And now I said, “Oh, we got to redo them.” I think that was my first pitch. “Can we bring in the Dark Rangers again? Can I do a new version of the Dark Rangers?” And they were like, “Sure, sure. Sometime.” And so, finally, after all this time, I said, “Yeah, Zedd’s got that power. Let’s use it. Let’s have him use it and let’s do it in a way that they couldn’t do it on the show because they didn’t have the time and the money.” And so that was the first thing I said. “Let’s do that.”

And then I thought, “Well, we could take the time to build out a whole new group of angsty teens that just happen to reflect the exact same group.” But I was like, “It would be really more fun to try and use the minions that we’ve created. What if you gave the minions a little bit of power? What if they actually had some actual ability? In the same way that the Power Rangers are better when they have Morphin energy, what are the minions like when they have Dark Ranger energy in them? And how does that change them? How do they function? If they fight together, how do they fight?”

I just thought it was a really fun, quick way. And also, when we got the designs in, Dan Mora helped on the designs, and the minute that I got them, I went, “I love them so much.” Maybe some people call that fan service  but I always look at writing that stuff as in, take an idea that wasn’t able to fully form itself and then try and do it in a way that would excite you as a kid. So, maybe that’s fan service, but I’ve always been writing the book for me anyways so I’m a fan.

Is there anything else you can tell us about what’s happening next with the comic? You have that big cliffhanger at the end of issue 50. What sort of things can fans look forward to for this next, I assume, big arc for the comic?

Drakkon coming back is going to be fun to see people react to. We talked a long time about when we wanted to bring him back and if this was the right moment. And I said, “He’s a very popular character. There’s no denying that.” And I said, “I’m very excited about bringing him back, but if we’re going to do it, I want to do it in a different way. I don’t want him to come back and being the same Drakkon.” So, for me, this character is, if you can just see from the last panel, has gone through some stuff and is a very different, a very broken, and damaged character and doesn’t have the powers that he had and the army behind him and the massive plans. I wanted to bring him in and try and use that. If we’re going to do that, then we can tell different stories with him.

I think he drives a lot of interesting emotional stories but also he’s bringing some plot with him. That’s what I got excited about. If you like Drakkon, it’ll be fun to bring him back, and I thought there was a lot of potential in just changing who he was because of what he’s seen. That’s the best way I can describe that.

When it comes to plot stuff, now that the Omega Rangers have defeated the Empowered and are out there, what is their goal? What is their task? What are they doing now? And they also don’t have a mentor anymore. The Blue Emissary’s gone, so now you’re on your own. And so if you looked at the Omega Rangers as bring in college? This is you just got out of college and now the world’s your oyster, and where do you go and what do you do? I think that’s one of the fun things about playing with them is seeing where in the Power Ranger universe they’re going to go, who they’re going to run into, and how that’s going to change their focus and their perspective.

The post Upcoming Power Rangers Comics Will “Unite Future Seasons” appeared first on Den of Geek.

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