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juliettedunn · 2 years ago

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Gus Porter: An Appreciation and Analysis

I loved Gus when he seemed to be a fairly simple comic relief character, but very quickly he shows himself to be more than that. He may not get as much screen time as the main characters, but he does have two episodes where he is a main focus, and he reveals a lot of depth.

Gus has the common trope of a nonhuman obsessed with human culture and thinking of humans as interesting animals to study.

His obsession with humans is very intense: he founded a human appreciation society, he collects human artifacts, dreams of traveling to the human realm, and memorizes as much information about humans as possible (even though most of it is incorrect). If it wasn’t obvious, humans are clearly his special interest.

Gus is very poor at picking up on other people’s manipulations. In Through the Looking Glass Ruins, he is instantly trusting of Bria and fails to notice several warning signs that she has less than pure intentions.

He is also incredibly eager to be accepted into the group. The whole time, he is basically completely blinded by excitement at getting to hang out with “cool” kids. We learn more about where this stems from in the second Gus-centric episode (and one of my personal favorites), Labyrinth Runners.

In a flashback, Gus doesn’t notice a kid is exploiting him until he happens to overhear the kid admit it. He fully believes the kid genuinely wants to be his friend, just like he does later in his life with Bria.

Both times, he takes what people say at face value, the thought not crossing his mind that they could have ulterior motives.

One of his lines in Labyrinth Runners really struck me. “Everyone thinks I’m the smart one. So why do I act so dumb?”

Gus is what is considered a gifted kid; he’s two years younger than the rest of the Hexsquad because he skipped grades.

And the way he is portrayed in the show is very true to the typical gifted kid experience.

Gus is praised for being smart. He’s been bumped up grade levels, he’s considered a prodigy, he very clearly does amazing on tests. So like all gifted kids, he takes that on as part of his identity.

But someone can’t be smart at all things. And Gus is poor at reading other people. So despite being academically adept, he misses social cues, cues which are very obvious to everyone else.

He doesn’t notice when other kids are pretending to be his friend only to exploit him. That’s something that a lot of autistic people have a problem with.

And in Labyrinth Runners, he fails to recognize Willow, his best friend of many years, as an illusion, whereas Hunter does, despite only having met her once. She was definitely acting out of character, but in a way that would require an understanding of her mannerisms, something Gus doesn’t have a good instinctual grasp on.

His attempts at cheering people up aren’t always the best either. Though Luz did end up getting admitted to Hexside, he prepared for her to fail, and got consulting messages ready. This took the form of giant blue letters saying “Better luck next time.” Obviously, these words are very blunt and come across as quite cold. It is not something that would have made her feel better, but Gus clearly thought that it would, further showing that he doesn’t quite understand how best to comfort someone.

Same with Willow, where he sends her a bunch of illusions to console her and just ends up making the situation worse, unable to figure out the right ways to comfort someone in need, even though he has a huge heart and really wants to be there for his friends.

He’s the best at being there for Hunter. He teaches him the breathing technique, and gets him involved in the Cosmic Frontier fandom. Hunter is also bad at reading social cues and also is autistic I believe, though that’s a whole other discussion. But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that that’s who Gus is best at comforting, someone who is also rather unconventional with emotional issues.

Gus’s failure to see through people trying to manipulate him, and his failure at knowing how to comfort his friends, leads him to believe he is “dumb,” which greatly hurts his self esteem.

Notice, also, that Gus is always trying to entertain his friends. He’s funny, and he knows this and is actively trying to be. Why? Because if he isn’t smart, at least he is funny. He wants to be liked, wants to be seen as cool. And he’s just starting to enter the age where most gifted kids start to falter, where the lack of studying abilities really starts to catch up.

When I hit that stage, I definitely also tried to be “the funny one.” Autistic people are almost inherently funny to neurotypicals, and if people aren’t praising you and admiring you for being smart, at least they’ll like you if you’re funny.

If he’s not fulfilling his “value” as either the child prodigy or the comic relief, then what is his purpose? Such is the crisis many gifted kids go through when they go from being far ahead of their peers, praised as geniuses, to still being above average but certainly not the absolute one in a million wonder that many people told them they were.

Now for another amazing part of Gus - he has shut downs. When he gets overwhelmed, he hits a breaking point and curls up, completely unable to function any longer. Because his magic is so powerful, it impacts his surroundings too. In Labyrinth Runners, he is so overwhelmed he casts a spell over the entire school.

Shut downs and panic attacks feel like this. Of course, they don’t involve real magic like in the show, but the way the school appears as a trippy, foreign landscape they have to navigate is true to how it feels to be overwhelmed as an autistic person. Even though there is no illusion magic, the familiar quickly becomes foreign, and places I’ve been a hundred times before feel wrong.

Willow teaches him a breathing method, and I actually use that breathing method too. I don’t know if it inherently works or if it’s because it’s connected to The Owl House, which is my comfort show, but I actually move through panic attacks and disassociation episodes much faster ever since I started using that technique.

Finally, Gus stims! You can’t tell me that him grabbing the bubble wrap, knocking over items due to lack of spatial awareness, happily shouting “Look at all this human stuff!” and then intently focusing on popping all the bubbles until it was over was not the most autistic thing you’ve ever seen.

Gus is a great portrayal of an autistic gifted kid heading into burn out, academically intelligent but far too trusting, believing everyone acts at face value, and falling very easily into exploitation because of it. Adopting the identity of child prodigy and witty entertainer, and taking a serious blow to his self esteem when he can’t live up to those ideals.

Happily, he now he has real friends, most of whom are neurodivergent like him! As I said before, the almost instant understanding and bond he and Hunter have is largely a result of them both being autistic; they read each other very well and instinctually know how to help each other. I love their relationship so much.

This was a lot longer than I anticipated, but I just had a lot to say about him. He’s getting a lot more appreciation form the fandom recently, but he still is fairly underrated as a character. I love him so much even though I don’t talk about him as much as I talk about other characters, and I do wish he would get confirmed as autistic on screen (though the most I can ever hope for is Luz getting confined to have ADHD, and even that I really doubt). Still, I know he is autistic, and he is amazing.

#gus porter #the owl house #toh #gus toh #gus the owl house #autistic #actually autistic #the owl house gus #julietteanalyzes

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multbasa · 3 months ago

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This may be an unpopular opinion, but personally I don't want to see Amy introduced to the cinematic Sonic universe in Movie 3/Shadow's story.

I am not super invested in the movies because I simply don't care for live action adaptations, but I was disappointed that the 3rd movie was going to be Shadow and not Metal Sonic.

Obviously Shadow was going to happen at some point because his story is iconic, but Metal Sonic is also a really great choice especially for the cinematic universe with the live action characters. Eggman attempting to create a robot with Sonic's speed/abilities is also an iconic moment in the series. Naturally I think introducing Amy and Metal together would be very convenient even if it plays out differently from Sonic CD. I think going the way of the Sonic OVA where there's an arc about Metal's humanity as a robot would be a really great story especially with Amy who advocated for Gamma's humanity in Sonic Adventure 1 which was a huge moment for her character for standing up to Sonic for what she believes in. I think she would work really well if they worked her story in a more meaningful way like that with Metal Sonic and it would make her dynamic with Sonic really work as she isn't just a damsel or a fangirl like how she appears in CD.

Now that we are getting Shadow before Metal, I just hope that Shadow doesn't completely outshine Metal if they make a fourth movie.

Perhaps we will get Amy and Metal in another movie where they can get significantly more attention, and then maybe they could cap off the cinematic universe with Perfect Chaos/Sonic Adventure 1 which would be a really epic ending. I honestly don't think it is realistic to continue these movies for very long because people age, especially the child actors. Personally I think ending a series on a good note is better than trying to keep it going—and yeah, I don't expect Silver or Blaze because the more characters they add, the more expensive these movies will be with all the CGI. Just look at the "Knuckles" TV show which couldn't even afford to have Knuckles on screen most of the series, so I don't think they'll just keep adding more and more like the Chaotix, Cream, Big, Omega, etc besides small cameos.

As for Rouge, honestly I think she would have been quite easy to add into the movie with Shadow since she debuted in the same game and story that Shadow did. She could have been a good foil to Knuckles, but unfortunately I think they are skipping her entirely.

Oh and perhaps a really really unpopular opinion, but I hope that they actually have the guts to let Shadow die because it's a good moment in SA2, and since I don't particularly think continuing the cinematic universe for very long is a good idea, letting Shadow actually die would really cap off his story.

Again, I'm not really invested in live action adaptations in general, but that's my 2 cents. At least we've been getting absolutely beautiful animated shorts like for Frontiers and Sonic X Shadow Generations.

Anyway TLDR: I think Amy deserves a movie with Metal Sonic where it can focus on her, and I am disappointed that it looks like Rouge just won't be introduced in the movies—and even if they add her to a spin of series, they won't spend the money for her to actually be on screen much at all.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic cinematic universe #shadow the hedgehog #amy rose #rouge the bat #metal sonic #knuckles the echidna #perfect chaos #sonic adventure #sonic adventure 2 #sonic cd

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zytes · 8 months ago

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I know that the average person’s opinion of AI is in a very tumultuous spot right now - partly due to misinformation and misrepresentation of how AI systems actually function, and partly because of the genuine risk of abuse that comes with powerful new technologies being thrust into the public sector before we’ve had a chance to understand the effects; and I’m not necessarily talking about generative AI and data-scraping, although I think that conversation is also important to have right now. Additionally, the blanket term of “AI” is really very insufficient and only vaguely serves to ballpark a topic which includes many diverse areas of research - many of these developments are quite beneficial for human life, such as potentially designing new antibodies or determining where cancer cells originated within a patient that presents complications. When you hear about artificial intelligence, don’t let your mind instantly gravitate towards a specific application or interpretation of the tech - you’ll miss the most important and impactful developments.

Notably, NVIDIA is holding a keynote presentation from March 18-21st to talk about their recent developments in the field of AI - a 16 minute video summarizing the “everything-so-far” detailed in that keynote can be found here - or in the full 2 hour format here. It’s very, very jargon-y, but includes information spanning a wide range of topics: healthcare, human-like robotics, “digital-twin” simulations that mirror real-world physics and allow robots to virtually train to interact and navigate particular environments — these simulated environments are built on a system called the Omniverse, and can also be displayed to Apple Vision Pro, allowing designers to interact and navigate the virtual environments as though standing within them. Notably, they’ve also created a digital sim of our entire planet for the purpose of advanced weather forecasting. It almost feels like the plot of a science-fiction novel, and seems like a great way to get more data pertinent to the effects of global warming.

It was only a few years ago that NVIDIA pivoted from being a “GPU company” to putting a focus on developing AI-forward features and technology. A few very short years; showing accelerating rates of progress. This is whenever we began seeing things like DLSS and ray-tracing/path-tracing make their way onto NVIDIA GPUs; which all use AI-driven features in some form or another. DLSS, or Deep-Learning Super Sampling, is used to generate and interpolate between frames in a game to boost framerate, performance, visual detail, etc - basically, your system only has to actually render a handful of frames and AI generates everything between those traditionally-rendered frames, freeing up resources in your system. Many game developers are making use of DLSS to essentially bypass optimization to an increasing degree; see Remnant II as a great example of this - runs beautifully on a range of machines with DLSS on, but it runs like shit on even the beefiest machines with DLSS off; though there are some wonky cloth physics, clipping issues, and objects or textures “ghosting” whenever you’re not in-motion; all seem to be a side effect of AI-generation as the effect is visible in other games which make use of DLSS or the AMD-equivalent, FSR.

Now, NVIDIA wants to redefine what the average data center consists of internally, showing how Blackwell GPUs can be combined into racks that process information at exascale speeds — which is very, very fucking fast — speeds like that have only ever actually been achieved on some 4 or 5 machines on the planet, and I think they’ve all been quantum-based machines until now; not totally certain. The first exascale computer came into existence in 2022, called Frontier, it was deemed the fastest supercomputer in existence in June 2023 - operating at some 1.19 exaFLOPS. Notably, this computer is around 7,300 sq ft in size; reminding me of the space-race era supercomputers which were entire rooms. NVIDIA’s Blackwell DGX SuperPOD consists of around 576 GPUs and operates at 11.5 exaFLOPS, and is about the size of standard row of server racks - much smaller than an entire room, but still quite large. NVIDIA is also working with AWS to produce Project Ceiba, another supercomputer consisting of some 20,000GPUs, promising 400 exaFLOPS of AI-driven computation - it doesn’t exist yet.

To make my point, things are probably only going to get weirder from here. It may feel somewhat like living in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, only with fewer years in between each new step. Advances in generative-AI are only a very, very small part of that — and many people have already begun to bury their heads in the sand as a response to this emerging technology - citing the death of authenticity and skill among artists who choose to engage with new and emerging means of creation. Interestingly, the Industrial Revolution is what gave birth to modernism, and modern art, as well as photography, and many of the concerns around the quality of art in this coming age-of-AI and in the post-industrial 1800s largely consist of the same talking points — history is a fucking circle, etc — but historians largely agree that the outcome of the Industrial Revolution was remarkably positive for art and culture; even though it took 100 years and a world war for the changes to really become really accepted among the artists of that era. The Industrial Revolution allowed art to become detached from the aristocratic class and indirectly made art accessible for people who weren’t filthy rich or affluent - new technologies and industrialization widened the horizons for new artistic movements and cultural exchanges to occur. It also allowed capitalist exploitation to ingratiate itself into the western model of society and paved the way for destructive levels of globalization, so: win some, lose some.

It isn’t a stretch to think that AI is going to touch upon nearly every existing industry and change it in some significant way, and the events that are happening right now are the basis of those sweeping changes, and it’s all clearly moving very fast - the next level of individual creative freedom is probably only a few years away. I tend to like the idea that it may soon be possible for an individual or small team to create compelling artistic works and experiences without being at the mercy of an idiot investor or a studio or a clump of illiterate shareholders who have no real interest in the development of compelling and engaging art outside of the perceived financial value that it has once it exists.

If you’re of voting age and not paying very much attention to the climate of technology, I really recommend you start keeping an eye on the news for how these advancements are altering existing industries and systems. It’s probably going to affect everyone, and we have the ability to remain uniquely informed about the world through our existing connection with technology; something the last Industrial Revolution did not have the benefit of. If anything, you should be worried about KOSA, a proposed bill you may have heard about which would limit what you can access on the internet under the guise of making the internet more “kid-friendly and safe”, but will more than likely be used to limit what information can be accessed to only pre-approved sources - limiting access to resources for LGBTQ+ and trans youth. It will be hard to stay reliably informed in a world where any system of authority or government gets to spoon-feed you their version of world events.

#I may have to rewrite/reword stuff later - rough line of thinking on display #or add more context idk #misc #long post #technology #AI

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dameronscopilot · 2 years ago

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Ok, I'm in a soft mood (read: exhausted and Done™) so I just need all your soft headcanons and thots about any of the TF boys, particularly Benny, bonus Santiago if you want, but all of them really. Pretty please and thank you 💖

Sorry for the delay on this!

I decided to focus on Benny and Santiago, since I can talk about both of them for days, but more specifically the contrast in the types of affection they offer in a relationship.

Affection with Benny Miller

Benny loves like he fights: he puts his entire body and soul into it. When you’re his, there’s not a single doubt to be had about the way that he feels, because his affection is vibrant. It’s open, it’s unbridled, it’s boundless. He’ll never be able to get enough of you, and he’s not afraid to tell you that, either. The way he feels about you is something that’s always brimming loudly on the surface, an effervescent beacon. There are also days when Benny’s past starts to catch up to him, the ghosts slowly eating away at his bright exterior, and you’re the one person he’ll let in, the one person he can be vulnerable around.

Benny’s love language is physical touch, and he lives for things like—quiet mornings where you’re wrapped up in his arms in bed, when you play with his hair when he rests his head in your lap on the couch, holding your hand while he drives, coming up and hugging you from behind while you’re cooking, and ducking in for kisses in the middle of the grocery store. And massages are absolutely Benny’s go-to solution when you’ve had a stressful day.

Affection with Santiago Garcia

Santiago’s affection isn't quite as overt, not at first. While they’ve both been through the ringer and back over the course of nearly two decades, Santiago lost far more of himself along the way. As a result, he keeps his cards close to his chest—emotions included. In a way, he has to wrestle with his mind to allow himself to put down his steel walls. But once he’s let you in past his jagged edges, the tides of Santiago’s affection are intoxicating and all-consuming. While he’s not as vocal or forthright about it, Santi’s love is something you can tangibly feel in his steady, heavy gaze alone.

Santi’s love language is acts of service, and he takes advantage of any opportunity to show this, like making sure your car is heated up for you before work on cold mornings, driving two cities over to get your favourite soup from the restaurant you love when you’re sick, and going out of his way to take care of your chores and his without being asked when he knows you’ve had a rough week. Santiago also pays incredibly close attention when you talk, specifically about things you like, things you want, or things you want to do, and thus his surprise gifts and plans that he makes for the two of you often revolve around that.

» TRIPLE FRONTIER MASTERLIST

#answers from the cockpit #triple frontier #benny miller #ben miller #santiago garcia #garrett hedlund fanfiction #oscar isaac fanfiction #santiago garcia x reader #benny miller x reader

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gorbalsvampire · 11 months ago

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Vampire: the Requiem (2e) Readthrough Review (Repost)

About eighteen months ago I picked up the second edition of Vampire: the Requiem and, while laid up with the first instance of mortifying acid reflux (it would not be the last) I decided to do a full readthrough review. Then I went insane and deleted my accounts at least once. But! Wayback Machine to the rescue! The text survives and here it is again.

I don’t want to make too many comparisons to Vampire: the Masquerade because “is it better?” comes up every couple of weeks on the White Wolf RPG subreddit and has done for years and I’m tired. I want to talk about Requiem on its own merits where I can. That said, I cannot avoid being an old hand who knew VtM first and has been playing V5 for two years: I’m bound to evaluate what I discover in terms of what I already know.

Images are from the book in question, sourced via the Storytellers’ Vault, spirit of fair use, purely for illustrative/visual handhold purposes.

A Date with the Night: world building

The onboarding is solid, with the key questions asked and answered (in sightly purple prose, but still):

what do we do in this game? (we predate, but we also philanthropise, we also party: we are trying to be something other than a machine that eats blood forever)

what’s the internality of the characters like? (who you are as a vampire is precariously balanced with who you pretend to be as a human and you need to do both, in very practical terms)

what’s the core conflict? (Strix have existed for as long as Kindred have, they are the old-school pre-literary revenant vampires, and they hate you) (VtR 1e was pretty bad at this, it didn’t have a fallback for when your brain wouldn’t turn over, and the Strix answer this need: when you don’t know what to do with your players, throw a Strix at them)

Clan presentation, again, really good. The focus on what kind of predator they are, how the human experiences them; the range of example personas presented; the recommendations on stats, sweet Jesus yes, it’s about damn time. The game explicitly says “hey this signature power uses those numbers and this one uses these, bear that in mind, here’s what priorities here or there on the sheet might look like as a character so you’re not feeling like the system mastery has crowded out your vision.”

Covenant presentation is a bit weaker; it doesn’t feel anchored into the processes of gameplay to the same extent, there isn’t that “hey, you’re Lancea et Sanctum, here are some Merits you might want to consider” – I don’t know why that might be yet but it feels a bit lacklustre after the very table-focused material on the clans.

I do like how the clan origin stories and the extinct clans and covenants suggest a metaplot without beating me over the head with it. There was a thing called the Camarilla in Rome, it was the first proper vampire society, it fell apart because historical pressures but also Strix, it survives in these ways. But there’s no Grician bias stuff here – no specifics for the brain to snag and snare upon, no numbers and no iconic signature characters into whose biography the game texts can deteriorate.

As I read it I’m thinking “OK so how does that plug into the European history I’m interested in exploring, how far from Rome are we here?” or “OK but how does this place much further away talk back to any of that, we’re beyond the frontiers of Rome with this one, did they ever have a Camarilla or are we looking at Circle-Town from the year dot?” The covenants feel inspiring from a storytelling perspective but in terms of character generation they’re not quite made concrete.

The All Night Society is an in universe introduction to setting concepts like the Traditions, the processes of hunting and ghouling. I find this sort of thing accessible enough but there are bits where I’d like to be told how it works. The Cacophony, for instance: I can grasp the idea from this impressionistic and dreamlike prose, but mine is not a life of underground parties or graffiti tags, and I could do with this shit translated into Parochial Geek through the medium of concrete, at-table example. Just walk us through how it manifests in an example of play. Oddly I don’t get the same effect from Solace even though I’ve never been a habitual drug user.

There’s a shadow of things to come, with the spread on feeding grounds and havens, but it isn’t reified with recommended Backgrounds to represent that stuff. (I stand by Predator and Coterie Types as the quiet best innovation of V5, by the way, more definitive of how you do vampirism than any amount of sect allegiances.) All in, it’s a good chapter for hooks and eyes.

Building a Monster: chargen (and rules) (and then chargen again) (but also reference)

Laws of the Dead runs pretty long – character generation and all the Disciplines are in here. I’m going to stat up my old character (since I lost his sheet anyway and didn’t really know what I was doing when I made him) along the way for another perspective on all this material.

Aspirations are a useful early feature: pick three things your character wants to achieve in the game, one or two relating to Kindred existence and at least one relating to the human world. Characters need to want things, not just “be rounded” by events in their past – they need to be moving toward events as yet unresolved. Personally I think it should be one pre-mortem one post-mortem and one space to allow emergent gameplay, as I always end up going off down some strange tangent for session after session and then feeling bad because it’s not what I told the Storyteller I wanted to do with the game.

Adrian Royce is a Ventrue and a member of the Carthian Movement: his concept is “Weird Left Zine Correspondent”. His human-facing Aspiration is to pay off an enormous debt – he dug a deep deep hole of expenses researching his first book and he’s got to square that somehow. His Kindred-facing Aspiration is to uncover a secret that gives him leverage over/among his fellow Ventrue – I imagine he’s a bit shit by the clan’s standards, a wrong side of the tracks Embrace for all that he’s the best possible version of himself.

I’ve always liked the nWod/CofD “grid” of Attributes – cross-reference the kind of challenge (mental, physical or social) with the approach being taken (power, finesse, resistance) and you’ll know exactly which one to roll in a given moment. Couple that with a robust “let’s think about what this word means” approach to the Abilities and you’ll be calling the dice pools with confidence in no time. It does help to be up front about this approach, defining the Traits with players, just in case they think seducing someone is a Subterfuge roll by default when you see dice pools more as “what are you trying to achieve with this seduction – do you want to make someone believe you because you’re hot, or do you want something material out of it?” kind of decision.

Adrian isn’t a particularly finesse-oriented person – he gets what he wants through force of personality, occasional acts of violence, and sheer tenacity. He’s not particularly smart, although he works hard. Social prime, then Physical, then Mental. Mental Skills take a higher priority though, he’s well trained and makes up for his lack of exceptional smarts with a rigorous approach to investigation. Physical gets bumped down: he can handle himself in a fight and he’s picked or planted the odd pocket in his time, but he’s nothing spectacular. His specialties are in Investigation (Conspiracy Theories), Expression (Journalism) and Brawl (Boxing) – I’ve decided he has a hobby that makes him a little bit tastier in a scrap. His clan gives him an extra dot in Presence, which is a nice way to pick up a four-dot ability without sacrificing anything else, or compensate for a sacrificed dot somewhere.

Beats kind of sneak into the middle of character creation. These are super important as beats – as in story beats – convert into experience points. From the sessions I played a few years ago I remember beats coming thick and fast, a core part of the gameplay loop. Is the list of things that give a beat on the Storyteller Screen? It is not (they needed that space for half a page of grappling rules, obviously).

New Disciplines are sensibly gatekept – the clans’ unique Disciplines require a teacher and a sip of the ol’ vitae, the covenants’ unique Disciplines require a teacher, everything else is up for grabs.

There’s a list of archetypal Masks and Dirges (your pretend human self and your real Kindred self, respectively) that restore all or one of your Willpower points when you live up to them (I’m hoping Willpower is the ‘extra dice’ ‘reroll’ or ‘auto success’ generator it’s been in other versions of the game – I honestly forget how that works – but there’d better be lots of incentives to spend it!).

Touchstones appear here, but they’re both a little more nuanced (it’s acknowledged that they can be a place or a thing, although a glance at the ST screen has revealed that spending time around humans is mechanically enforced by the Requiem rule set) and a lot more developed (there’s a good two pages of examples for you to build off, why the hell didn’t V5 do this?).

I’ve adapted the “Former Patron” for Adrian. He has a close friendship with a ‘zine editor, the only person who’ll consistently employ him and pay him steady money for whatever he turns in on or about the deadline. Ricky – for ‘tis his name – isn’t stupid, he knows Adrian is Kindred, but he’s taken a “don’t ask don’t tell” approach and Ade is grateful for the mercy, since not being asked means he doesn’t have to lie.

At this stage we get into a cluster of more in-play rules, and…

On the whole, page for page, this book is beating V5. The layout is sensible and consistent, the art assets aren’t gratuitous, the artified text boxes generally draw the attention to a key idea summarised in direct and emotive text, and I haven’t ever had to follow two ongoing arguments across two sets of different coloured columns in a six column spread. But the information flow through chapters is just as bad as V5, and really shits the bed at this point: I’m trying to make a character and there’s page after page of core gameplay activities in the middle of the chapter between Touchstones and Merits.

If I’m walking someone through chargen and getting them to read the words so they understand what they’re doing with the dots (instead of just learning the summary and not really doing the process in full depth) this is bad, because it breaks flow and we lose momentum and concentration. If I’m looking for a rule during play, this is bad because core activities are clustered up in the middle of a section about something else and there’s no marshalling of information onto spreads or anything. This is just about acceptable in a PDF, with search and hyperlink at your side, but it’s rubbish in a physical book.

We get into the rules for damage, and for vitae, and the Blush of Life casually tosses off that for one (1) vitae, vampires can keep a meal down for most of the night, or have sex. That’s that. No lengthy “at Humanity 4 you can’t get it up but you can fingerbang” granularity. Neat and tidy. It’s just another biological thing they might need to do sometimes.

Predatory Aura is also neat: an explanation for just why Kindred society has all these customs and all that elaborate rigmarole. Kindred know Kindred; the Beast stirs, and can be incited to lash out. This is the bare-fangs-and-hiss routine; this is the stagey, theatrical sexuality; this is the sneering and posturing behind polite words. And it’s got some simple, hard and fast rules keyed to Willpower and Power Attribute rolls. And it gets past the "how do I know that you're a vampire?" stage in meeting the NPCs. Do like.

Rules for posthumous Embraces and the rise of the corpse as a Revenant – nice touch. Another threat that can find its way in should the session or story need some sizzle, as anyone who’s been bitten can rise if they come into contact with vitae after death or are fully exsanguinated on a later feeding (which is how we get the Lucy-in-Dracula moments). Lovely stuff.

Feeding is in here: there’s the simple way, and the “well, you have to grapple first” combat option (ahh, that’s why grapple rules ended up on the ST sheet – but the beats would have been nice to have!) And certain chestnuts about blood and vitae are described explicitly: the physical fluid nourishes more or less depending on where it comes from, so different amounts are needed. I wish the exact processes and amounts were on the goddamn sheet (I won’t need weapon damage in every session, but I will definitely need feeding!) though. Finally an example of play as well, to cover the no-dice feeding option, which definitely needs it.

I’m going to stop complaining about the stupid ST sheet eventually, but why isn’t the frenzy modifier chart on there? Frenzies can come up in any scene, god damn it…

There’s a long and disorganised list of Merits. Some of them – the Carthian Merits I’m trying to pick out for Adrian – come in multiple tiers and I can see the shape of the Loresheet system from V5 in there. They seem to have been sorted by “Kindred only” and “Mortals can take these too” but they’re the wrong way round (I’d put bedrock stuff like Contacts and Status up front, since a lot of the Kindred ones refer to these or have them as prerequisites). Also, the lack of sub-sorting means that if, for instance, I’m building a Carthian, I have to flip back and forth a lot just to figure out what all my options are and what I need to chain into this or that to make them go. Chalk this up to something Masquerade has always done better (either by skimming specific ones off into clan and sect supplements, or dumping a lot of them into an optional appendix and having the core focus on the important Backgrounds that locate your character in the world).

Adrian has ten Merit points to spend. I’m going to start with Human Merits, because they’re more concrete bread and butter assets like “living indoors” and “having money”, and go into the weeds of Kindred Merits once I’m happy that he’s grounded. He has a dot in Allies, representing the activist community who know and tolerate him because he occasionally turns up something extremely useful. Area of Expertise (Investigation) makes him really good at that due diligence and Barfly will help him blend in when he’s doing the legwork. True Friend doubles down on his relationship with his Touchstone, Ricky T: Adrian strikes me as a hard man to like, but faithful to the bitter end in return. Finally, I’m going to buy him some Carthian Status as a prerequisite to his Kindred Merits: I’m starting to feel like Adrian’s a bit of a sofa surfer, leeching off his covenant and repaying the favours with hard graft and the occasional truth bomb. Carthian Pull and I Know A Guy will work for this at low level, giving him access to the odd low tier ‘background’ dot in exchange for a story-generating favour. I have one dot left and pop back to the Mortal list to pick up Trained Observer, just to lean harder into that “works hard, pays attention” feel.

The chapter closes out with Disciplines, which I am absolutely not going to talk about at any length. I’m just going to remark that the multiplying XP costs of other Vampire iterations are long gone, that Devotions (what I know as Amalgams) are sidepieces with an experience cost based on the number of dots that go into them, and that every Discipline has a stat+skill+discipline pool as standard.

As a Ventrue Adrian has access to Dominate in-clan, so I’m going to go hard on it as his unique selling point. Two dots there give me the simple four word command and the option of chaining three of those together into a series of instructions or extended control. His dice pool for it isn’t great, so I go back and swap his Attribute priorities; three dots in Intelligence to make the Discipline go. Looking at his dots now, he’s got a powerful intellect and forceful personality but he’s not very quick or delicate in his approach, and while he can throw hands if he has to, he probably treats them a bit too much like an amateur boxing ring and starts shit he can’t finish. He gets a dot in Resilience to round him out, and give him a chance to stay on his feet in these tight spots.

And we’re done. That took longer than I’d have liked, largely because this felt like three chapters (some core rules, the Disciplines writeup and character generation) rammed into one poorly-organised whole. The writing is on point, the layout is good, the art assets are unobtrusive and feel relevant, but the flow is all over the place and I suspect it’ll be actively annoying to refer back to this section in play. At least now I know where things are.

Playing With Your Food (game rules) (the rest of them)

Rules of the Night (hopefully this will go a bit faster!)

Usual stats-n-skills breakdown, but I like the suggested equipment and sample actions that come along with each skill to guide use of them – that should avoid the dead dots problem where someone takes dots in Etiquette and the chronicle never uses it, since it’s a player’s responsibility to suggest things like dice pools in order to move the story along. (I mean, Etiquette is a tiered Merit here, but you get the idea.) A very good page and a half on commonplace activities and their dice pools, which is built into the section on dice rolls and doesn’t make weird claims about what kind of fuckin’ is good fuckin’ (V5, take note!). I don’t always like these (as I’ve said, sometimes seducin’ someone is Charisma and sometimes it’s Manipulation, the approach and desired outcome should set the pools) but if people want a usual roll, there it is.

Social Man�� eo… that word I can’t spell

Good things about this system: it’s specifically for players to use on non-player characters.

Bad things about this system: it introduces trackables in the shape of Goals and Doors that need to be calculated, modified, and tracked in a long chain of rolls that may take days of in-game time to fully resolve. It’s a very roundabout way of figuring out how many rolls of varying types are involved in the extended task of getting someone to do what you want. It does reduce down to a formula (take lowest of Resolve or Composure, add 2 if a breaking point would be met, add 1 if an Aspiration would be thwarted, add 1 if a Mask would be compromised, you need that many successful rolls – not successes – to get what you want) and I like the concept of introducing not-social rolls to the process (on the grounds that fixing someone’s garage door will make them like you more and feel indebted to you) but it all feels a bit protracted.

There is the shape of something good here but I dramatically prefer the approach V5 takes of introducing Social Conflicts with Willpower as a “damage tracker”, resolvable in three rounds, each of which can be instantaneous or protracted.

Combat is fine, it’s the usual stat + skill – target’s defence dice pool. Dodging doubles your Defence and turns it into a dice pool you roll against your attacker, which I’m not sure about the odds on. I think I’d rather have the blanket dice penalty imposed on an attacker’s pool as not letting them roll dice is surely better than rolling my own to see how many 30% chances of cancelling out their dice I can muster. Perhaps Dodge is there because people roleplaying fight scenes want to be able to dodge, because they don’t want their character to throw hands. That seems more likely.

I am going to do another “V5 did this better” – I am trying to rein it in, I swear, I know this is an older game – and say that V5 has the only initiative system I will ever accept as better (for my theatre of the mind playstyle) than “just start with the player on my left and work around the table”. Instead of all this “roll dice add character trait bonus subtract weapon malus” stuff V5 works off the dynamics of the scene, ticking down through existing close combat between already engaged parties, then ranged, then fresh close combat, then everything else. This works because what’s important isn’t the realistic simulation of real combat or the random factor: it’s building scenes in a way that makes sense and helps everyone grok what’s happening and serves to organise who rolls dice when and in what order turns are taken.

Equipment is more granular than I’m used to but I don’t entirely hate it: it’s things that are useful, expressed in terms of the Merits needed to acquire them, and I think that’s a better way of using Merits than the rather vague “I have Resources 5 so I should be able to hire NPCs to do everything for me”. Availability is a dot rating which you can match with Merits or successes from rolls – so if something’s Availability 4, you need Resources 4 or you’re rollin’ to see if you can blag it somehow.

Conditions get bumped into an appendix for ease of reference. I’m ambivalent about these. Once you’ve got them into your head they’re probably fine but it might well be easier to just say “characters affected by this mind whammy get a -2 to Social Resistance rolls” than constantly cross-referencing to the Mind Whammied condition. I feel these work better with the reference cards – something tactile you can toss across the table so a player can refer to it, and hand back when it’s done – but I forget what it was like trying to wrangle them on Roll20.

The World Against Us (adversaries, locations and ref advice)

The World We Die In takes us through a series of sample domains: Athens, Beijing (with a localised version of the Ordo Dracul), Berlin, Montreal, North Carolina (with a Jiangshi clan that remind me of the very heart of the old Wan Kuei from VtM), San Francisco, Swansea (Swansea?), Tokyo (with localised covenants – zaibatsu – replacing the familiar five)… I think this is a nice answer to “Requiem has no lore” and “Catholics and pagans are not global phenomena you Eurocentrist pillock”, which are pain points I've heard in more than a few of my Masquerade groups.

Storytelling is a busy but focused chapter, which talks about how to emphasise each aspect of play – Mask and Dirge, Aspiration, Blood Potency, Vitae, Conditions and so on – offering a Twist for each one that really brings it out of the morass of play. My favourites are the Vitae Twists with tokens passed across the table and no numbers said aloud when feeding, and an option to say “chuck the character sheet, Vitae are dice, you can roll as many as you want, but when you’re running low, you must feed”, with damage coming out of the Vitae pool as well, and a five-dice no-control Frenzy at the bottom. (I really like this one, it’s the most… vampirism is all that matters… of the whole lot so far.) I’d use that with the Blood Beats twist as, let’s face it, conventional experience doesn’t really matter here, what matters is accumulating experience to become More Vampire by adding Blood Potency.

I also like the Twist to replace health trackers with Conditions applied as characters take hits. The mathematics involved seems like it doesn’t so much replace the health tracker as add a layer to it – I think I’d base this on margins of success during combat rolls rather than doing sums to see how much each character can take.

And there’s a really neat mode for character generation – a 12 step programme for fleshing Your Dude out with the other players and the storyteller, basically a collaborative relationship map that you build during character creation. I love group character creation and I also like when players bring me NPC ideas. Colour me pleased with this. I’d want to do this before even putting dots down; basically, concept, then Climbing the Ladder, then building the characters and setting.

An appendix for ghoul characters (with unique ghoul merits – for the first time ever I might actually think a ghoul chronicle is worth doing, as an extended Prelude), an appendix for conditions, and we are done!

Would I run this? Yes. It’s not perfect – the information flow of the rules is all over the place, especially interrupting the character generation is a no-no, and I really don't like Doors – but those are the only two tooth-grinders, so it’s walking in with a credible 7/10.

Additional, after the fact: I did end up running half a V:tR story, and came to the conclusion that Requiem has some incredible ideas about how vampires work but doesn't quite boil them down into efficient systems, at least not ones that I can run over Discord. With a face to face group and a deck of Condition cards and tokens to track feeding it would probably be easier to do. I do think it's superior to V5 on at least one systemic front though, and that's with Humanity... which we will come to very shortly.

#vampire the requiem #vtr #game review #rulebook review #readthrough review #self repost #don't be mentally ill and delete your accounts folx

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popculturebuffet · 6 months ago

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Supermay!: Superman Vs the Elite: Chunky Greatness (Comissioned by Brotoman.exe)

Hello all you happy last sons, daughters and that beautiful rainbow inbetween of krypton and welcome back to SuperMay! Last time I took a look at a true classic in superman's long history What's So Funny About Truth Justice and the American Way? You can find that review here

What's So Funny... was a rousing sucess, not only leading to Manchester Black coming back a few times, but the elite getting their own justice league spinoff i've never read. Black would also show up quite a bit post-rebirth, before his recent death so Lex Luthor could make everyone forget Superman's secret identity.. or else. Note that this is lex trying to HELP superman. Lex can't even try to do good without doing a murder, suprising no one.

Despite his promience though so far Black has only shown up thrice in other media: In the arrowverse for Supergirl, in the lego batman games, and in today's subject. While it was likely hard to put black in kid shows because his job, hobby and what gets him off at night are all murder, DC had another way to animate this wanker and adapt this story: The DC Universe Animated Movies

Yeah while many a nerd know of them and i'm sure most nerds reading this post know, a refresher: the DC Universe Animated Movies are direct to video movies put out by dc multiple times a year. They've been doing this since 2007 Superman Doomsday with July's Crisis on Infinite Earths Part 3 being the 55th film overall. They've adapted tons of stories from the comics: The Death of Superman (Twice!), Justice League the New Frontier (A personal faviorite), JLA Earth 2, JLA Tower of Babel, Batman: Hush, Batman: The Long Halloween, The Dark Knight Returns, Under the Hood, the first two arcs of Batman/Superman, several tales of the green lantern corps stories, Superman: Braniac, Justice League Origin, Flashpoint, Throne of Atlantis, Batman and Son, The Killing Joke, The New Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Superman: Red Son,Batman Year One and the doom that came to gotham, cumilating in their soon to be completed three part adaptation of Crisis on Infinite Earths. The adaptations vary from fairly loyal, to loose as a goose and ready to gander, but i'ts nice to see so many stories get direct adaptations. Some are better than others sure, but it's nice to see DC's finest on the screen since some wouldn't work for live action, either due to budget or the simple mechanics of running a film shared universe.

So that brings us back around to today's film: Superman Vs The Elite. SVE, and god is it nice to have a story that I can reduce to a simple acronym, is the sixth superman film made for these, fifth if you only count full length ones but Superman/Shazam: the return of black adam is too good not to even at only half an hour. DC tends to focus on it's big cash cows, hence the early films mostly being superman, batman, superman and batman or the justice league, with green lantern being the notable exception as they wanted to cash in on his hit movie with first flight.. then greenlit first flight despite that hit being directly to the face because it made me personally happy. I have to assume. We also got the very first wonder woman film and weirdly DESPITE diana's spike in sucess post her solo film only that one and the godawful bloodlines. The films WOULD loosen up in terms of scope in the late 2010's and 2020's, with films for the Teen Titans, Justice Society, Suicide Squad, Justice League Dark, Harley Quinn and Constantine, but it's still very bat and league heavy.

Out of the 55 films so far (counting the soon to be released Crisis Part 3), 15 star batman (including the Batman/Sueprman Duology) and a whopping FORTY OUT OF 55 FILMS, 43 out of 58 if we count stuff they weridly left out like the RWBY crossover and the choose your own adventure adaptation of batman. I love batman but my god give him a fucking break dc.

Anywayas point is they love their man of tommorow too, and it's telling out of a collection of his more recent and influentual stories this one got called up for adaptation, others before this being his death and return (which , once again, got adapted AGAIN for a fuller adaptation later on.. and yes I own both adaptations), the two big opening arcs of Batman/Superman, the all-time classic and goat All-Star Superman which I plan to cover next supermay (And would gladly cover earlier on comission or if I had the time), and after this one Braniac, the Geoff Johns classic redefining the character.

This film's also notable is out of the MANY adaptations present it's one of only TWO films to be written by the same writer as the story it's adapting, the other being Judd Winnick on Under the Red Hood. Darwyn Cooke likewise seemed to at least consult on new frontier, which is good as that story is that man's heart and soul and one I'm kicking myself for not thinking to review sooner. Seriously check it or the film out. True masterpiece.

This isn't a knock against the other adaptations, there's a lot of good ones in there, it's just remakrable. it also makes sense why tap Kelly: At this point Kelly had been running Man of Action stuidos for 7 years having co-created Ben 10 and Generator Rex, both shows I highly love, along with Ben 10 spinoff Alien Force which I also dearly loved and was showrun by the late great dwayne mcduffie, who also wrote a lot of direct to video films including what i'm told is a truly excellent adaptation of All-Star Superman I still need to check out.

So Kelly was an experinced hand at animation, and Winnick likewise was, having created and written a decent chunk of the Life and Times of Juniper Lee. So it does make a bit more sense to tap these guys when they know how to screenwrite for animation already.

Kelly does a phenominal job here, expanding the story and making the elitie more fleshed out characters. Their still assholes, but you understand them a bit more and the ones who don't wear a union jack get to actually talk. Also Coldcast is no longer wearing the most unintentionally racist outfit i've seen in an american comic, for the love of god don't send me competitors. The result is a film that's also awesome. Yeah like the story it's based on I won't hide that I loved this film on watch. It's not perfect, what is, but it is still an exellent film that wonderfully expands on an already great story to make it better. So join me under the cut as the world's saved.. but humanity is lost.

SVE is intresting as an adaptation in that it has the same core, a new group of up and coming superheros shows a darker way of doing things superman disapproves of and they come into conflict over it, but takes an entirely diffrent approach to pacing and the elitie themselves. The Original Story hits you lik ea train, starting with a dead gorilla, piling up the bodies nad having the elitie be pretty one note assholes.. they raise valid points, but Manchster is also portrayed as a racist asshole, constantly saying racist shit and then saying "I can say that because i'm one 45th something", something I forgot to bring up in the original review. I mean he's dead on for Mark Millar's version of the Authority, props to that, but otherwise as they are in the original story, the Elitie are just assholes who think they know better and we only get hints of WHY their like this.

The film .. still only gives hints for the non Manchester members, Minager's backstory with the men in black is removed as their absent from the film, but treats them more as people. Not good people by the end, but more as indivduals and it makes the story stronger. We meet the elitie not as swaggering gods, but as swaggering newbies. Their powerful, but at first have no idea what their doing or the true limits of their powers.

So it also gives us a nice dynamic that helps deepens things wholly unique to this film: Superman.. mentors the elite. When he first meets them stopping an attack from warring nations Bialya and Polkistan, which naturally are both very real nations from superman comics. Biyala was a longtime hive of criminals first showing up in one of my all time faviorite comics, Justice League International as a stand in for middle eastern countries, being a small one itself, and picking up traction afterwords while Polkistan was ran by a version of General Zod that wasn't kryptonian. It was a weird time.

This war between the two is a new addition, replacing both the attack on japan and the men in black from the original.. and it's one I like. It fits the Elite better that the thing their interfering in is two warring dictators who don't care who gets hurt in the crossfire and puts more of a face to the ones their caving in. It's easy to say superman could've dealt with super samurai metal men or the worse version of men and black, harder to have him deal with two nations who refuse to just sit down and talk instead of killing civilians to send a message. They still use fantastical means, the Elite first meet clark when he's trying to take down some bioweapons and are key in helping him stop them.

It's also neat to see how both sides greet each other: Superman.. acts how clark always does with a new hero: he's encouraging, kind, and the only negative he has is some gentle cricisim on collteral damage, a nice bit of foreshadowing to the team becoming what it later is. Likewise the eliite are all happy to meet him, with Manchester dropping the swaggering ego he puts up to be genuinely excited like a little kid. Unlike his comics counterpart Manchester still looks up to superman when this starts and it's adorable and humanizes the asshole really well. The others are also mostly starstruck.. except minagre. She's just super horned up. But like in the comics at the time of the original story, Clark's married so, nope.

The rest of the Elitie are fleshed out more here. Manchester's still the focus character and thus the most fleshed out, getting more depth, but the rest of his crew have actual personalities. The Hat is playful and likes to drink a LOT (the last part was in the comic but is more emphasiesed here), Menagire is flirtatious to a creepy and predatory degree (something to the film's credit seems intentioanl) and Coldcast is sarcastic. Their not super deep, but they make the eliite feel like characters and not hired goons.

Superman seeks the elitie out not because their a danger this time.. but because he geninely wants to know them better and help mentor them. We don't get to see Clark mentor often when it's not Kara, so it's another nice addition to the story.

They end up meeting again in London as .. well Manchester Black, while a mystery to the world, wears a flag on his chest and speaks in a cockney accent. Even Black can't help but poke fun at how fucking obvious a step this was, but in another nice touch instead of being touchy welcomes superman into his past, happy to give out his secret origin.

While we got Chester's origin in the comics, this one is more involved and likely what Kelly flehsed out when he wrote the character more later: here he was a tween whose dad was an abusive alchollic rather than a soldier who died in war, the fourth of five kids, his sister the fifth, and none really loved or wanted. He eventually leaves, taking his sister with him for her own saftey and the two scrape by stealing wallets. Unfortunatlaly a constable is lead to them by one of the couples they stole from and the ensuing confrontation, predictably for police, ends with her nearly getting ran over by a train.. till Chester's powers kicked in. Then a bunch of stuff happened he dosen't get into and boom. He HEAVILY implies she died.. but the fact he dosren't say it outright naturally means sh'es alive.

The film wisely plays with this later, revealing that the story is true.. black just sanded off the rougher edges: he KILLED his dad and the train he stopped injured a lot of people. What I like about this though is the lie dosen't come off as Black simply being a manipulative wank phesant. Partially yes, the way he phrases Vera's death is bad.. but it could simply be knowing Superman may not take the news as well, that his hero may abandon him and his friends. Both acts are also gray: he did kill his dad sure.. but we never see the actual act and Chester WAS still a young teenager at the time. He coul'dve easily ratonalized that it was the only way to save his sister. Or simply could've given in to his darker impulses. I'm a lot easier on a scared child whose being acvtively abused than a grown ass man who could've gotten therapy. Same with the train: he knew he could influnce minds from the papa murder but didn't know his telekenisis coudl stretch that far. That one Clark probably would've understood more as growing pains. Finally with Vera it could just be annoyance she didn't join him in quitting the agency or manipulation. I like that the film leaves it vauge instead of making Chester out to just be this massive dick crater. He grows INTO that but i'ts more itnresting to have some ambiguity into how manipulative he was being.

Superman has the elitie help with a nearbye tunnel collapse with a train from terroists.. something their not sure they CAN do as they've only used their powers in combat. Superman however is an excellent leader, it's hinted at the league exists here but wisely they arne't fully mentioned. For all we know he was chairman of the legion at one point and still superboy here. But he's a natural leader and helps the elitie stretch their powers.

The problem is that as much as Superman WANTS to help these new younger hereos learn to be the best they can be... they have diffrent ideas. The divide here is summed up best with this quote from another franchise, from Grant Morrison's incredible run on New X-Men

It's the simple but painful divide that happens as Manchester brutally interrogates a terroist: Superman has his dream of a better world, of inspiring hope to make it so.. and Chester has one of remaking it in his image. Of taking it away from the hands of those he deems to be children playing dangerous war games that end with real bodies strewn across continents. As much as Clark WANTED to guide them.. it was already too late. The world had already made Chester decide what he wanted to be long before he met supes and while he respects the man.. the two ultimately can't coexist. That respect makes Chester more intresting as rather than be just an edgelord who wanted to show up superman, he's simply a 20 something who sees a broken world and has the power to change it and wonders "Why don't we?" instead of seeing it's more complicated than that. By making Chester more of an actual human instead of a mark millar character, it makes the story hit harder and the darker roads he goes down hit harder. IN anotehr world the elitie would've been having teamups with the tians or the justice society, helping make the world better best they can even if they hit harder. Here though... they choose another way.. a way Superman simply can't follow and that puts them at odds. To use x-men again...

Things escalate after two events: Black's message to the world which this time.. we actually get to see which I feel makes it more effective. Having him broadcast to the world "You asked for us world, now you have us". It both instantly puts superman off his game and shows what the Elitie's real plan is.

They also make a welcome change to the attack in japan, now in Biayla: besides the setting being more plot relevant... superman's disabling is unintentional. They still slaughter a bunch of people horrifying clark, but it feels like less of an intentional dick move and fits the change in tone: in the original they were trying to piss superman off. Here it was friendly fire.. but it's clear they've now crossed a line he can't let them keep crossing by slaughting soldiers.

The film is good in asking the question: Should heroes be super proactive and make the world better by force.. or do everything they can within reason? Not buckle to the system.. but not break it over their knees either.

This all brilliantly comes to a head with atomic skull, a plot point i"ve been keeping on the sidelines so let's move it on up front: Before the elitie arrive we get two important events. The first is a dig at superman's cheesiness as Clark lisenses out a very goofy cartoon. I also like when lois presses him on this he points out his procedes ARE going to charity and he has someone looking at it. And he's just so happy to

The more important one is a fight with Atomic Skull. Atomic Skull is a recurring superman villian i'm not super familiar with whose had a dozen iterations... with this version choosing none of them, instead being a remorsless killer with radioactive powers.

He's a good choice though: a villian superman can't depower like certain other parties, who kills and will again and thus brings front and center the biggest part of a debate on the effectivness of normal costumed heroes, a piece somewhat missing from the original with it's faceless goons and men in black: Should a hero kill so a villian dosen't kill again?

The answer Superman gives, and I support is.. no. Gratned i'll add the asterix of "Unless there's no other option". Sometimes your only option is to kill a being or let it kill untold others. Shockingly NOT using x-men for this example, even though I have one ready, let's instead look at Man of Steel. Yes. We're going to THAT scene. And honestly while I have major issues with Man of Steel and most of them involve one man who thankfully chucked himself into a tornado but unthankfully came back as a ghost because god hates me, the idea of the climax isn't one of them.

For those less familiar in the climax Zod, on the verge of defeat, starts letting loose with his eye beams. He's preapred to kill EVERY PERSON he can just to spite clark.. so Clark begs and begs him not to.. and then snaps his neck when it's clear he has no other option. Now do I think having superman kill in his first film was a good idea? no, not at all. But for all Zack Snyder dosen't get Supes... he gets he'd only kill with no other option. If it's this one person or millions in that moment and no where else. No one else could stop zod and he didn't have time or knowledge to incapacitate him. He made the ahrd call and it tore him up. .until it didn't but this is a film where Clark's dad thinks throwing himself into a tornado is more important than clark doing the right thing with his powers sooooo

My point is, unless the situation is that dire.. you shoudln't. If your skilled enough, you can find another way. There's a fine line between doing so because your backed into a corner with no way out.. and diong so because "let's make the bastard pay". It's easier to kill when you have a choice, when you can justify it in your head... and thus it becomes easier. and easier. Until it stops being "because their a genuine threat" and because "They disagree with me". "because it's all I know" or worst of all "because it's fun".

And that all comes together... for the death of the Atomic Skull. The Elitie try to handle it while superman' son the way, get their asses kicked, and are forced to accept his help, despite having humilated him. Our heroes win.. but then comes the breaking point. In the original the killing was just..t here.. but here.. it's been built to slowly, a nicely slow boil over the whole run time: Superman treid his best.. but Manchester Black was a powderkeg waiting to go off.. .and he asks someone to give him a light.

Now remember how I mentioned a UN member was helping superman? Same guy clearly belivied in him and was even shown defending him against Rush Limbaugh. A few more years and it would've been tucker carlson, a good load more and it would'v ebeen.. uh... that other generic white guy they got to replace hm after he got thrown under a bus.

So naturally.. the poor man dies, his son having rushe dout to see his heroes the elitie.. only to instead see his father dies. The following scene is just.. pure pain, it's well done. The kid BEGS superman to kill Atomic Skull.. but he dosen't. It's not what his father would've wanted and would be a stain on his memory. But grief.. grief dosen't care what the person who died wanted... pain dosen't care.. and vengance... dosen't wait. Black, taking advantage of the poor teen, says to "Say the word kid"... and with one do it... Clark can only gape in horror as Atomic Skull dies.. and the crowd ERRUPTS. Only Lois and Jimmy are horrified as a man dies. Did the atomic skull deserve to die? Probably.

He killed a lot of people and you can understand where UN Guy JR was coming from.. yet it dosen't bring his dad back. It dosen't undo all the lives lost. It stops more from being killed.. but also outlines the probelm. People CHEERING for their heroes to kill someone, egging them on, telling them to kill kill. Turning normal people into a bloodthirsty mob who preys fo rthier heroes to kill their enemies. It's the other reason why don't kill: Because it gives the people you inspire the wrong message: that we will solve your problems for you and we will spill blood for you our masses. Pray to your new gods and we will deliver unto you blood.

Now i'm not saying superheroes should never intervene, fuck no, and like I said there are times to kill.. bu tyou see the problem with letting them solve every problem of the world: not only would humanity stagnate, relying on their saviors to do everything for thema nd tell them what to think... but they cease becoming seen as men and become gods. Vengeful gods who can do whatever the fuck they want. It's waht the Manga Death Note and i'ts anime adaptation got at: you let someone be ultimate judge, and they will develop a god complex and what morals they have slip. Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely, and tha'ts why heroes don't give themselves absolute power even if they can move suns.

And it's what the elitie have become: four 20 somethings with a god complex who decide they make the rules and anyone else can die slow die fast now.

This is where the movie dovetails more into the comic as the last act or so adapts it pretty closely, iwth a few bits rearranged: the public starts to cheer the elitie and the scene with the kid saying "superman is so beat"

And clark's talk with ihs dad are in tact, simply done a touch later. Superman's also not AS afraid of the elitie here.

So we payoff the Bialya Polkistan war runner: Superman stops a conlfict with zero loss of life, knowing the elitie are watching.... only this time rather than threaten to kill someone... Manchester did it 20 minutes ago.. or more like two. He just went and killed the heads of state. And the thing was Clark WASN'T sitting it out or planning to let the war go on: he was going to force the two to sit down, an option I badly wish we had in the real world. Instead.. all Chester's done is create a massive power vaccum in two countries already teeming iwth bioweapons and regular weapons. He's removed a diseased lung but taken both countires kidnies, heart and spleen and mugged the patient whlie he was at it. It's the problem with the Elitie's move fast, break things approach: they solve an issue for NOW.. but leave a giant clusterfuck to solve later. And "I'm going to kill you if you don't do better" only works as long as your alive or someone doesn't find a way to kill you for being a tyranical wank phesant.

Superman stews in his fortress.. and the elitie visit and offer him an ultimatium: stay in his lane or else. Clark responds by clocking chester... and Chester decides if your not part of the problem.. etc etc. Tommorow. Noon. Be there.

It's here I want to give some props to Manchester Black's voice actor, Robin Atkin Downes, a vetran voice actor i'd heard of vaugely but didn't really know what parts he played, I haven't gotten around to playing the no more heroes trilogy yet after all. He's done a LOT of dc work including for these films and absolutely kills it as black, bringing that nice combo of arrogance and genuine fire that black has. When you have a character that makes a LOT of grandoise speeches, you need someone who can deliver them with pure power and fire and Downes does so beautifully. Downes gets that right combo of snotty kid and broken man that we need.

We get the lois and clark scene again and i'll say in this film.. Lois is done dirty. She's played by Pauley Perette of NCIS fame, part of DC"s weird obssession with hiring actors from random prime time shows to do the big parts. This film mostly dodges that but she sticks out in a sea of voice actors. At any rate she does her best.. but Lois is just underwritten here. Her needling clark at the start is about th ebest we get: she spends most of the film looking into black's history a good idea.. but her method is just "Scream at mi 6 and hav eblack's sister hand her the goods, then the british government somehow blocks the story despite Metropolis being in america and the US usually not giving that much of a shit." I'd suggest sex blackmail but then the idea of perry white having sex nearly imploded my brain so I won't be going down that rabbit hole. Unless he was fucking bugs bunny, then i'ts impressive. Bugs is a fuck machine.

The climax.. plays out almost exactly as in the comic. While this adaptation changes a lot to make a more compelling story, the end point.. really didn't need to be fucked with. It's remarkable just how much they straight up adapt it. They tone down the violence SLIGHTLY, but only as much as needed to not get this rated R.. if DTV movies get rated r. It' sprobably why bisected Gorilla was left out. RIP Bisected Gorilla

It's chillingly well done. The beat down, superman's hoplesness.. and then... "Thank you". And it's all perfectly delivered by our superman for the evening, George Newbern. Newbern is probably my faviorite superman with close seconds being Tim Daly in Superman the Animated Series (Who Newbern replaced) and Jack Quaid from My Adventures WIth Superman, though Quaid is getting close. I grew up with Newbern's take on justice league, where he evolved Timy Daly's portryal and went on to portray superman a lot when DC neede dhim including in the injustice games.

Newburn nails it here, being the kind, hopeful man we all know.. and then giving us this nightmarish pivot. He makes the wise choice to make superman a soft spoken sadist... to have him not scream at his foes but calmly talk to the elitie as he picks them off one by one. The direction plays this scene like a horror flim and perfectly so, the terror on the Elitei's faces as they each go down, as the killer picks each one off leading it down to blacka nd down to metropolis as the world gazes in horror at what superman has become. It shows what sinking to this level does to you, how EASY it is, and how horrifying it'd be if superman actually did this. We've gotten plenty of "evil superman" takes from Invincible with Nolan to the boys tv show with homelander, that show what an indocirinated good solider or utter bastard with a god complex would do.. but this example still stands out despite all those deconstructions.. because it's clark. Because it's THE superman. It's not someone who wears a similar costume.. it's clark doing it, one of his most recognizable and best performers doing the performance, and it is fucking chilling. The performance was great in the comic.. but it's ASTONISHING here with all the extra florish.

And as before.. it was an act. The film does act like superman actually depowered them all, but I don't think he gave black a lobotomy as the pop is still present and he still zeroes in on the growth his powers come from. So at worst he simply removed a benign growth and at best it was temporary. Some, including tv tropes, think this kinda underminds thing that superman isn't judge and jury.. but I disagree. He didn't kill them, he just took their power away after they'd killed dozens of people and tried to kill him. It's like I said earlier with the superheroes killing thing: if ther'es no other way sure. It's insurance if the elitie hasn't learned there lesson and like the comics he probably coudln't strip them of power permenatnly. It's also why Atomic Skull was a good choice: there's no real way to remove his powers without potetntially killing clark himself, creating a wave of radaition etc. Here.. superman was in a controlled environment for 3/4 and for the last one knew exactly what to do to remove his powers. Superman give shis iconic ending speech about hope and flies off and the movie ends.

This movie.. is a standout, a true classic worth seeking out and most copies aren't super expensive. It takes a great if hard to find story and punches it up considerably, keeping the key points and refining them while making the opposing side less caracatures to make the point stick better. As i've said, Black is accurate to mark millar's writing.. but as a result he's still a strawman. Here he's more a character and the point at large is more fleshed out and naunced: we see the consequences of superman's style of justice.. but then see what would happen if he decided to play it the elitie's way. This film is a true classic and I highly recommend it.

Next Time: Superman fights the Klan as we tackle an old radio serial!

#superman #lois lane #manchester black #the elite #dc comics #dc animated movies #direct to video #animation #george newbern #robin atkin downes #joe kelly

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mynamesaplant · 3 months ago

Text

The Headspace that is Grief (Ch. 7)

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Summary: The grieving process is different for everyone, Emmet and Olivia know that first hand but they just don't know it yet. Sometimes it takes another person experiencing the same things as you to move through those feelings. Together, they learn and grow with their grief and each other.

In this chapter: A trip to Spear Pillar ends more poorly than expected.

Notes: Sorry this is a day late, I've been playing a lot of Stardew Valley, so that's had my whole focus for like... over a month now? Damn. This was not beta read - so if there are spelling or grammatical errors, let me know. Regardless, I hope you enjoy!~

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The summer passed by with record speed. It was early fall before they knew it. Neither Emmet nor Olivia saw much of each other, both entirely engrossed in their work. Olivia was running all over the place in her little truck, often leaving some breakfast for Emmet in the fridge and gone all day. The bed packed to the brim with pre-packaged pints and bushels, she was taking her weekly tours to her merchants. Many trips to Hearthome for the bakery serving poffin and to Snowpoint to take the ferry to the Battle Frontier. She had a circuit, trying to tackle certain parts of the region in sections so she wasn’t running from Snowpoint to Sunyshore in the span of a day.

When she wasn’t running all over Sinnoh to make deliveries, she was at home working on her online orders and store or taking packages to her physical storefront in Cedaridge. If Emmet hadn’t been so consumed with his research on the legendaries of the region, he would have tried to offer his assistance to her more. He did try to a few times, but he learned to stop pressing the issue early one morning when she slammed her truck door a little too hard as she got in.

The wordless ‘no’ reminded Emmet of his time still working the whole of the Battle Subway on his own. Singles and Double lines. The Multi lines were closed for the foreseeable future. His resistance to accept any help from his coworkers or friends. She was the same. She accepted help from Hayate, and only Hayate, when it came to her plants and berries. Emmet supposed it was her pride getting in the way, probably a little bit of guilt too. If she couldn’t do this, what else might she not be able to manage? He could sympathize, but also knew it was an unhealthy mindset. But it also wasn’t his business. His energies were elsewhere anyway.

The libraries at Canalave and Celestic had produced plenty of information on legends and myths, but nothing on how to summon them. He had asked Cynthia to take him to the ruins at the top of Mount Coronet and she did with no argument, but no amount of communing or praying had ever earned a response. The mountain remained eerily silent. It vexed him because he was close – so close in fact that he could taste it and to be denied again and again… He wasn’t going to let it stop him now.

“Miss Olivia?” She was hunched over her fossil of a computer, tack-tack-tacking away at some financial report she was running from what Emmet could see over her shoulder. No reply. He said her name again a little louder. “Olivia?”

“Yes?”

It came out as a stressed sigh and Emmet almost bit back his question. Almost.

“Do you know the route to get up to Spear Pillar?”

The tapping of keys ceased. Olivia swiveled around in her desk chair, her mouth pulled into a frown and eyebrows drawn tight. He wanted to go to Spear Pillar?

“I do, but an older couple run a business in Celestic to take people up to see the various ruins on the mountain. If that’s-”

“No!” Emmet said abruptly, not wanting to go back to town and accidentally run into Cynthia anytime soon. She was polite and usually quite helpful, but Emmet couldn’t help but feel like she was holding something back. Not that he knew what that something was. “I mean – I would just like to see Spear Pillar.”

“Er,” Olivia turned back to her computer and clicked her virtual calendar. Studying it once it had taken its sweet time loading in, she said over her shoulder, “I can show you a little later tomorrow, if that’s alright?”

“That sounds perfect. Yup. I will be here all day tomorrow. Grooming day.”

She tried to hide her cringe when she tapped in her “appointment” with Mr. Emmet around 7. It would still be light enough to get there and back, she could order dinner from Toubuchi Udon, and crash. Already slated to be a long day, Olivia was already dreading it in the back of her head.

“Alright, you’re on my schedule, Mr. Emmet.”

She chirped, unaware how much her voice was slipping into the one she used for customer service. The Subway Boss noticed but made no comment. Probably just tired.

“Verrrrry good.”

Emmet headed to his room, listening in the dark to his landlord move around and speak quietly to Pokémon before she went upstairs. He was almost positive that this time at Spear Pillar would be just as fruitless as all the other times at, but he was nothing but relentless.

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

The following day was a lot of polishing and brushing and scrubbing. His decision fell in tandem with Galvantula’s and Haxorus’ molts. He and Ingo did their best to keep up with grooming, but it was especially crucial for Galvantula. Her limbs would start to lock up until she freed herself from her old shed.

Haxorus was rubbing up against everything, little flakes drifting off her hide like grayish snow. The dragon lounged in a large, inflatable kiddie pool, she needed to be hydrated during her sheds, and Garbodor was helpfully scooping cups full of water to get the portions of Haxorus not in the pool.

Emmet sat cross legged on the grass, absently polishing Klingklang’s and Durant’s while he kept tossing little glances to Galvantula, who lay on her back writhing and squirming as her shed came off inch by inch. She was still on her back as Emmet finished removing the soot and polishing the glass on Chandelure’s body. He had intended to help Archeops with his preening, but he took a detour to check on her.

“Hello little lady, do you require assistance?”

Galvantula hissed in response, struggling to free her legs from her shed, but Emmet never touched without permission. A few more moments of struggling, a few Joltiks chirping beside her to cheer her on, the Electric type freed herself.

“Good girl. Take a break now.”

Swarmed by her younger siblings, Galvantula chittered and righted herself to lay in the sun for her dewy fresh limbs to harden.

Miss Olivia’s Pokémon were also in the garden, seemingly interested but not approaching, they were focused on tending to the green space in their trainer’s absence. She always seemed to be grooming Raichu, his affinity for sweets often made his glossy coat feel tacky. It looked to be a very labor intensive and precise procedure, so she might not appreciate him attempting to clean the Electric Pokémon up. He severely doubted Infernape would allow him to be that close to him for an extended period of time for a necessary groom. So, Emmet left them alone.

Archeops was usually on top of his own maintenance, but the Subway Boss still liked to help him preen to build a stronger relationship with the fossil Pokémon. Tweezing erupting pin feathers delicately to remove the waxy tips. Just like with Eelektross, Emmet also filed the Rock type’s nails.

Crustle was already underground to find fresh soil for his new shell. Emmet explicitly told him to stay out of Miss Olivia’s garden and, so far, he hadn’t seen any disturbed areas on the property, so he must have been somewhere else on the mountain. While he filed Eelektross’ nails, checking his fins and mouth for any signs of parasites – not that that would ever happen! Emmet took verrrrry good care of his and Ingo’s Pokémon – he wondered if Crustle’s new shell would be noticeably different from the Unovan one. Professor Juniper would have found the topic fascinating – Burgh too, probably.

Excadrill was pawing at himself with a growl, trying to loosen the caked-on mud and dirt on his slackened skin. Of all his Pokémon, Miss Olivia really seemed to like Excadrill. With his help she was able to move whole portions of her orchard around without completely destroying the root systems. She was out there every day with the Ground type as he toiled away underground until everything was where she wanted it to be. Excadrill loved the work, he loved digging and burrowing, which was not something he could have done easily in Nimbasa. Ingo often took him to Route 4 to play and dig as he pleased, but this was more of the soil that his species was used to.

It took a good hour and a half of brushing with an undercoat brush, and that was already after scrubbing him with a bristle brush to rid him of mud and plastered on to him. The really caked-on stuff was at the base of his claws and at the sharp helmet-like ornament on his head, but there was plenty of dust hidden in his dense fur. Last was polishing for Excadrill and he tottered off to doze next to Galvantula and the Joltiks.

“One more.”

Emmet said to himself. He refused to think about it. He refused to get his hopes up. Just focus on cleaning up his team. He was not going to allow himself to get impatient as he waited for Miss Olivia.

There was no cleaning Garbodor. He tended to groom himself anyway in his own strange way, but he never smelled bad. Trubbish and Garbodor could actually produce a rather pleasant odor around people who loved them and took care of them properly, like he and Ingo did.

So that left Haxorus, who had pretty much shed on her own. Emmet tested parts of her tail, noting that beneath was neither sticky nor gooey and gently peeled. Haxorus’ scales shone brightly, grumbling with delight as her tusks received a good scrubbing, polishing, and filing. Everyone was all cleaned up and Emmet’s stomach was rumbling.

Miss Olivia’s Pokémon followed him back inside. He was positive that Infernape still didn’t really trust him, but Raichu seemed more intrigued by him than anything. Electric types always had an affinity for him and Elesa. Their mutual interest actually got their foot in the door in terms of friendship. Emmet went on a few dates with her before she had come out.

“It’s not you!”

Elesa had told him in a panic, but Emmet didn’t take it that way. He came to the realization that he was gay after the dates he had had with her, so he understood. After that they remained really good friends. Ingo too.

Raichu hovered around him, an arm length or two away from him as Emmet slapped together a sandwich with some pickles on the side. Deli meats were not too common unless Emmet specifically went out to look for them in Jublife or Canalave, but he had come to enjoy fried chicken cutlets with some lettuce, mayo, and mozzarella. His time with Miss Olivia had nudged him into being a little more adventurous, but she also accepted his limitations… She really was a kind person.

Almost like he had read his mind, Raichu chirped and moved closer, cozying up to Emmet.

“Hello. I am not giving you treats.”

The Pokémon didn’t seem interested in treats or his food. His soft fur against his neck made a shiver run up his spine because it was triggering the same sensation one might get if they were being tickled. He stifled a chuckle, his shoulder shifting to guard his exposed neck when Raichu’s tail twisted lazily around his bicep. Small paws kneaded his stiff shoulder, the Pokémon rubbing his head against him with small, happy cheeps.

“I am Emmet. What are you doing?”

It didn’t seem like a big deal. Just the Pokémon warming up to him. He allowed it, sitting down to eat his lunch as Raichu got comfy.

Olivia arrived home a few hours later to discover a funny scene. Raichu was sleeping on Mr. Emmet’s chest on the couch, the man himself just scrolling through his phone with one hand and stroking her Pokémon’s head with the other.

“Sorry, he can be annoying when he wants affection.”

Mr. Emmet glanced around at her, scooping Raichu up with one arm to sit up right.

“I do not mind. He is very soft.”

“He gets salt baths and a good brush down every week.”

“I noticed. And Infernape?”

“Grooms himself, but I try to comb him every so often. He’s very particular… Ready for a little hike?”

Emmet was already moving around the room. He had been ready hours ago. He was using the grooming as a distraction, but his mind was buzzing like a swarm of angry Beedrill. This would always happen when he was closing in on a lead. Don’t get your hopes up. Manage your expectations.

Considering how close Cedaridge was to the top of Mount Coronet, it didn’t take as long to get to Spear Pillar as it had with Cynthia. Emmet already knew the drill once they exited the tunnel and felt the pressure and drop in temperature, he had taken the time climbing up the underground path to button up his coat to the collar. He was about to bypass Miss Olivia and head up the stairs toward the dais, when he felt something holding fast to his sleeve.

His knee-jerk reaction was to yank out of her grasp, not that Olivia was surprised. His expression was unreadable for a moment, an odd mix of apprehension and exasperation, before Mr. Emmet recomposed himself.

“Sorry,” she replied sheepishly, putting her hands up and away from him. “Here. I usually take a second to pay my respects before coming up here.”

Rummaging through her pocket, she produced two berries. Two Lansat berries. They were hell to grow, but they were for very special occasions. A pocketknife was able to crack its shell and she worked it open until she reached the fruit within.

Emmet watched her place one down on the stairs before she handed him the knife and the other berry. Okay. She really wanted him to do this. He didn’t really understand why. Cynthia hadn’t made him do anything. However, he obliged. Perhaps some sort of superstition for the inhabitants of the mountain.

He hadn’t seen many Lansat berries, but he was under the impression that the red shell was also edible. Pokémon seemed to eat it with no trouble, but he had a delicate human mouth.

He placed the berry down by hers and was about to step over them when Miss Olivia cleared her throat.

“This is a divine place, Mr. Emmet.”

Ah.

“Right.”

He muttered, stepping back into line with her and copying her closed eyes and hands clasped in front of her… Well, for the most part. The Subway Boss kept peeking to see if she was finished, unsure what exactly he was supposed to be doing. The gym leader in Johto had a similar expectation of him - Clair, was it? No, that was the Dragon’s Den. She had just expected him to battle to prove his worth. He more than met her high expectations. No, it had been Morty at the Brass Tower and then the Tin Tower. He had stopped and bowed his head, mumbling something to himself in reverence, and waiting for Emmet to do the same. Miss Olivia expected the same.

It wasn’t that Emmet was unaware of or against any particular religious belief, he just never really got religion. Yes, he had respect for everyone’s beliefs - but praying, burning incense, bowing? It didn’t quite click. He often humored whoever, but it often left him scratching his head.

Emitting a soft sigh through his flared nostrils, Emmet closed his eyes. He had realized just how much his eyes ached as he closed them, like he hadn’t blinked in a long time.

I am Emmet. I do not know what to say… I want to find my brother. Please help me find Ingo. I would do anything for him.

“Okay, thank you, Mr. Emmet.” That was the only response he received. He opened his eyes. The fruit still sat on the stairs, uneaten and fragrant at his feet. Emmet stepped over them and made his way slowly toward the dais. “Sorry. I was always taught to treat places like this with respect. You never know who’s watching.”

He replied with a grunt and began to weave his way between the pillars, examining every inch of the place and Olivia watched him work meticulously while she stood by the head of the stairs. It was odd. This place had a presence. Pressure on your body. A low hum that would rattle your bones and make your vision go fuzzy. Spear Pillar was ancient, and it demanded your respect. Mr. Emmet was not being disrespectful, but Olivia had always been taught not to upset things bigger than yourself if you could avoid it.

She had never been particular good with prayers, but she gave it a shot. Something was better than nothing. Hugging herself, she waited and waited for Mr. Emmet to approach the dais.

“Do you know much about the ruins?”

“No, not really.”

She replied truthfully. Olivia had played in the mountain ruins a lot as a child with her best friend, but never Spear Pillar. It was just a little too far, a little too difficult to get to, and a little too daunting to approach. Even now that sense of fright still sat on her chest as heavy as a Copperajah.

“Used to be a place of worship for the ancient people of Sinnoh. It changed hands a couple of times. Supposedly, a great disaster made it look like this.”

Mr. Emmet gestured at all the broken pillars from which the place derived its name. That made sense. It must have fallen into a state of disrepair from the disaster and continued to deteriorate after its destruction, people gradually moving away from the place to leave it in isolation on top of the mountain.

“I wouldn’t have pinned you as a history buff, Mr. Emmet.”

He looked slowly around at her, his brow furrowed, and the corners of his mouth flattened out, which was the closest he could get to a frown he could get she had discovered. He said he wasn’t. Olivia wasn’t sure if she was convinced. Mr. Emmet seemed to realize that and quickly clarified.

“It is not a passion. It is a necessity.”

Necessity?

“Why is a necessity?” He didn’t answer, his gray eyes scanning over the pictograms and symbols on the dais, and they flashed momentarily angry. Why did he feel so close? What on earth was he missing? “Well, if you want to know more about the ruins, there’s a tour group in Celestic that-”

“I have already spoken to Cynthia. I have already spoken to everyone I can think of. All tracks lead to empty stations. By the sacred swords, this is infuriating!”

Emmet did not notice her flinch or spot her edging away. What she said next was soft and sheepish, she did not know how much it sounded like pity.

“I’m sorry.”

It was not remotely her fault. Emmet just needed to get this frustration out. This place was hiding secrets and he desperately wanted to know them. A pent-up fury that had been building and building since he first started this journey was starting to reach critical mass inside the Subway Boss. All the dead ends, all the false hope, all the detours and delays – Emmet just wanted his brother back. His brother, who would have never left him by choice. His brother, who loved him, and who he loved in return. Ingo, his brother, his twin, his closest companion, and confidant, was just out of reach and Emmet was tired of it.

“Sorry? Our paths may run alongside each other, but you have no idea.” When she didn’t say anything too stunned by his raised voice and blunt words, he rounded on her. Miss Olivia looked like a young Deerling; big, frightened eyes and completely frozen limbs as she waited for the other shoe to drop. “Dragons above, you are clueless. You do not get it and you never will.”

It was a harsh bark and Olivia shrank back from his imposing frame, barely containing a whimper because she did not understand why he was lashing out at her. Perhaps proximity, she was here, and she looked like an easy punching bag, but that was no reason to get nasty with her. Although she was frightened, Olivia inhaled sharply, her chest puffing out in indignation, and squared her shoulders. She took a step towards him, jabbing him in the chest with a stiff index and hissed through gritted teeth.

“I will be waiting at the entrance to the cave. I don’t know what your problem is, but you need time to cool off.”

The walk back down the mountain was utterly silent. Neither made an attempt to engage in conversation, or even so much as glance at one another. Emmet had spent another ten minutes storming around the ruins until he had mostly mastered his anger. Unsurprisingly, Miss Olivia only offered him a cold shoulder the entire way back, which was deserved. She only told him there were some leftovers in the fridge before she headed upstairs with her Pokémon following close behind. Alone in the kitchen, Emmet sat at the table with his head in his hands.

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#pokemon #submas #subway boss emmet #subway master emmet #subway boss kudari #subway master kudari #oc #oc olivia #fan fic #fan fiction #fanfic #fanfiction #pkmn

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sonicasura · 3 months ago

Note

Ok hear are the stages we know so far for Shadow

- Ark

- A twisted combination of Westopolis and Radical Highway

- Rail Canyon

- Kingdom Valley

- Chaos Island

- Resistance Base, Sunset City ?

Trainer's stages will be

- Isle Of Armor

- Mt. Coronet

- Sky Pillar and The Surronding Islands

- Split-Decision Ruins and The Dynamax Tree

- Citadark Isle

- Poni Island with the focus being on Vast Poni Canyon and the Alter Of The Sunne And Moone

Mission Structure

Select Stages

All stages will always begin with only one of the Main Trio being able to enter, when one of the Main Trio reach the end it will allow all of the Main Trio to enter

These Will Be 1 Act

Trio Stages

The Main Trio will form a team of 3 with choosing one of the Pokemon to accompy them. Shadow will lead with Omega and the selected Pokemon at Shadow's side as they traverse the stage Sonic Heroes Style

These Will Have 2 Acts

Battle Stages

These stages are a brawlers with there being swarms of both Sonic and Pokemon Remnant enemies. Everyone of the Main Trio will be there, Trainer will send out 3 Pokemon to fight alongside Shadow and Omega as they advamce through the stage

I imagine these stages being like Kingdom Hearts styled fights from like 2 or 3 if you ever played or seen gameplay of that.

These Will Be 1 Act

Rivals And Bosses

Since the full game is still a ways of this will be speculation for some of Shadow's fights

Shadow Bosses

- Biolizard

- Metal Overlord

- Egg Wyvern or Egg Emperor

- Dark Gaia

- Hyper Eggrobo

Shadow Rivals

- Infinite

- Emerl

- Any ideas for the third rival?

Trainer's Bosses

- Cyrus

- Lusamine Nihilego Fusion

- Eternatus

- Greevil

- Ai Professor Sada

Trainer's Rivals

- Paul

- Bede ( This would be N, but the story of Black and White has yet too take place or maybe I should add N and change up the timeline a bit?

- Kieran

Boss Stages

The Stage these fights take place on is unstable so all Heroes may enter too fight the boss, same goes for the rivals. Each fight however will be drastically different as the Bosses and Rivals are controled by the remnants of The Time Eater and Black Doom, teamwork between the Main Trio will be the pathway to victory

This will be a big adventure for the Main Trio, as they face the remnant of The Time Eater and Black Doom. A lot is at stake and it will force our Heroes to face the one that brought Shadow's world to the brink and the one who tears apart Space-Time too stop both from fulfilling the end goal of the plan

Thankfully Ultimate Lifeform, The Most Powerful E-Series Robot, and The Frontier Brain will fight back this catastrophe and at the end find out quite a lot about the others past

Any Suggestions or Changes?

Shadow's third rival should be Mephiles as it's perfect for a mirror match between the two. For N, I say the clash is wrought because Trainer has the Black Stone. This enemy actually belongs to the Pokemon that been slumbering beside our unaware heroes: Zekrom.

An illusion bringing out a twisted form of Reshiram which causes the opposite to awaken in fury at the duplicate. Plus it further expresses Trainer's character to our Team Dark members. They are a person of ideas who doesn't care about the dark truth behind their companions, only who they choose to be.

So what if Eggman made Omega or Shadow is part Black Arms? They chose to follow their own paths and are Trainer's friends. A powerful heartfelt sentiment that convinces Zekrom to fully help the group without a required battle(like in Pokemon White game).

Plus it gives Trainer reason to explore the Unova region as to learn more about their newest companion.

Completely unrelated but I also thought about Zekrom awakening in the KN8 crossover. Why not give the cast(especially Kafka) a fucking heart attack than to witness Trainer battling a Legendary Pokemon as they want to test their strength. I won't be surprised if Zekrom been watching them while slumbering in Black Stone state.

Or for the Defense Force's jaws to drop when the Pokemon bows afterwards and Trainer catches them. The shock value would be immense if this is before the Tachikawa Base invasion. Like imagine their faces seeing a big dragon disappear into a tiny ball?

Although it might put a target on Trainer's head that No.10 could change his attack plans. How mean would it be if he goes for Reno's house instead? Or Trainer on their own during a night outing because that's Mina and Kafka's worse fear right there.

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notathingjustthere · 2 years ago

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Hinge III (short)

Modern Ivar x reader

(More of Hvitserk and readers' friendship)

Note: I wrote this right after the second one and never finished it because I could not decide how I wanted to go about it. Now I definitely don't remember any of my ideas so I just want help. Any ideas would be helpful and appreciated. I think it's been a year already :( cause I graduated and the 9-5 has left me without a life so I need a hobby.

Word Count: 1.2K

*I do not own this gif*

Wednesdays were movie nights, a tradition you and Hvitserk had established throughout the past few months of your friendship. His feet were always comfortably stretched on your furniture, despite the numerous times you berated him for his lack of home etiquette. You shoo his feet off your couch, wondering how your relationship had even developed this far.

“You’re not gonna get that?” His eyes were glued to his phone, though he seemed to be ignoring the incessant ringtone that he refused to let up. Shaking his head no as he fixed himself up allowing you a stolen glance at the caller ID.

Banter easily ensued after Hvitserk chucked his phone somewhere into your couch, wanting to focus on the night planned out. Triple Frontier was the winning choice for the night after the game of rock, paper, scissors that he suggested. The two-hour screen time of some of Hollywood’s finest would be just what you needed after a long day. Takeout was on its way and with everything already set up the night could not get any better.

The loud vibration from Hvittserk’s corner was hard to ignore forcing you to pause the movie while he struggled to search the crevices of the couch for the source.

“And who do we have here?” You had assumed it was Ivar calling him again, but your disinterest was cut short when it turned out otherwise. “It's your mother.” Hvitserk’s teasing only dragged on as he pulled the phone behind him, out of reach. Fewer calls were exchanged over your busy period, but your mom never failed to check in on her only child from time to time.

Eventually quitting the childish play Hvitserk gave up the cell phone, already having picked up the call, eager to greet the woman that raised you.

“I see why I can't even get a call back these days. You found yourself a man and you didn't tell me?” The belly laugh Hvitserk let out deepened the frown on your face at your mother's leap of an assumption. You walked further away from him in feign of privacy, but he could still hear you both.

“Oh please, that boy wishes. I've just been busy with the move and the new job, I am sorry I didn’t call back earlier.”

You can't help to smile at the offended look on Hvitserk’s face after your comment. Your jab was short-lived, as an eager Hvitserk redirected his pestering regarding your love life towards your mother.

“Your child won't let me play matchmaker, even though I found the per-.”

The doorbell cut his piece short, the universe honouring its favour to you. Taking the cue to leave the conversation, you made your way to the door grabbing a hundred from his wallet. A nice tip that would also compensate for the headache of a chat you would have later with your mother. Besides, he wouldn’t even miss it.

“What's this about finding you, someone?”Your mom’s voice brings you back to the moment not long after setting down your food.

“Ma, no. Don't listen to him, he’s full of rubbish. I gotta go, but I will call you later, alright?”

“Wait let me say goodbye first” Hvitserk cuts in, too excited.

“I see this one’s got some manners. Just let the boy say hi.” your mother encourages his behavior, but you refused and were quick to glide a finger over the red button.

Unsure of how you were feeling, you made note of the buzzing heat that resonated through your being. “Really? Mr. Matchmaker?”

“Well he’s my brother, I gotta look out for him. Besides, I’m proud he listened to me for once.” he shrugs.

Your brows raised curiously at his admission. Had he put his brother up to this?

“Hvittyyy.” You whined in frustration at the decision you had to make.

So much had happened in the past few months of your big move, that nothing in the world could have prepared you when Ivar randomly asked you out. Downtown was significant in size, yet it was criminal how easy it was to run into someone familiar. It was why you and Hvitserk became so close in the first place.

Your semi-success story improved your lifestyle and social circle. Having little to no social skills outside of work you had somehow made a friend or two in the past few months. With Hvitserk it was easy, the natural charm and free-spirited aura complimented a hidden adventurous side of you. He had earned the title of your best friend and had bugged you since after.

Right now you weren't so sure if he was deserving of the title. “Are you sure you're not just here to talk me into this date or something?” Hvitserk picked up on the slight annoyance in your tone.

You had been first to arrive on a lunch date with Leila, a friend from work when you noticed Ivar at the entrance. He looked so casual that you were caught off guard when he made his way toward you with a smile? Your brain screamed at you, anxious when forced to make small talk to pass the time. The interaction did not turn out as unpleasant as you thought it would be.

“Funny seeing you here. Figured you only ate at high-end restaurants or something.”

Ivar had kept a serious face at your small attempt at a joke, and before you could stop yourself, you started rambling out an apology, an old habit. He realised his muted reaction was what caused your response, making do with a needed apology

“My godfather owns the place, so I find myself here often.”

He offered another smile, an attempt to soothe the disquiet tension, before changing the topic. He gestured to the seat across from you, asking if you were expecting anyone. He’d never been so civil with you, and honestly, you found yourself weirded out by it.

As luck would have it, Leila’s head peaks far behind his shoulder, a confused look on her face as you waved her over. You thought the interaction would end then until Ivar approached you again after Leila left for the bathroom. It was almost cute seeing him struggle to let out his request but you were too stunned to notice even after he finally let it out. He was just as flustered as you were and before you realised it you were nodding in agreement to get coffee with him.

“What’s the big deal? He likes you and now the question is, do you?

“What is this kindergarten?”

You hadn’t given the situation much thought, but Hvitserk’s spying did not help, forcing your fretting mind to dwell on it further than you would have preferred. Ivar’s surprised reaction when you agreed to his request stayed fresh in your mind.

You wouldn’t deny your attraction for the younger Lothbrok, however, something held you back from admitting it. Under his employment, your mind would roam wild at times, filled with silly scandalous plots involving a CEO and his assistant.

That was in the past when the relationship had been strictly professional. But now nothing was stopping you from living out the PG versions of some of those fantasies. Would it be weird? An assistant and her ex-boss? Maybe you were overthinking it.

“It’s one date, Y/N”

“Can we maybe not talk about this and just watch the movie”

#ivar x y/n #modern ivar #ivar x reader #ivar lothbrok #vikings fanfic #vikings #ragnar lothbrok #hvitserk ragnarsson #hvitserk x reader

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kinkandkreep · 2 years ago

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Connor Kenway: Celebratory Birthday Headcanons- Part 2

A/N: Aight y’all, here’s the second round of Connor-canons! These will focus on the canonical, non-yandere iteration of Ratonhnhaké:ton. I hope y’all enjoy! Oh, and please feel free to send me Connor-related requests! I’ve been in quite the ✨ him✨ mood lately and I would be happy to write more for him. 😊 (Also sorry this post is so long y'all, I just have lots of feelings about him. 😭)

Canon Connor Kenway Relationship Headcanons

First of all, Connor is a huge teddy bear

Like seriously, he gives the warmest, most comforting hugs ever

As my mom would put it, he "sinks into the hug" and uses his larger body to ensconce you safely in his embrace *swoon*

He's naturally very warm, which is perfect for those cold Frontier nights

During the summer…not so much 🙃

(The two of you still snuggle anyway because no matter how hot or cold, no matter how tough of an exterior Ratonhnhaké:ton may have, he will implode without his daily cuddle time with you and yes this is a threat)

I think we all know that Connor is a real sweetie at heart

I saw someone the other day describe him as having "so much love to give"

And frankly, I thought that was beautiful 😭

And very true

And with that being said, Connor has so much love to give to you

He’s very accommodating, though he can still be stern with you

He wants to ensure that you are comfortable and well cared for at all times, but he also knows that he can’t always be there to “keep watch” over you 24/7

So, it would make him feel better if you had a least a lil’ training in self-defense

But even if you don’t, him still gone love you 😊

Connor tries to be as gentle as possible with you, touching you very carefully and using a softer way of speaking

He also is very fond of picking you up and carrying you around

He thinks it’s fun, and it also makes him just the slightest bit smug when you compliment him on how strong and built he is

His chest definitely puffs up a little more 😏

Con-Con man smiles a helluva lot more when he’s around you

I say more instead of period because he occasionally smiles at you guy’s friends around the homestead

He’s particularly fond of the children, namely Norris and Myriam’s and Prudence and Warren’s

Speaking of children…

Connor would L.O.V.E to create a family with you

Like, look me in the eyes and tell me Connor Kenway, Ratonhnhaké:ton, Con-Con man, whateva you wanna call him, ain’t a family man

No seriously do it 👁️ 👄 👁️

Exactly, you can’t

And if you tried, you’d be w r o n g

(I mean think about it, even in the canonical storyline he has not one, not two, but three babies. The man either always desired to have a big family or has a serious pregnancy kink and is super dedicated. 🙃)

Connor would love to see you waddle around with your swollen belly, all irritable (which he finds sorta hot) and emotional (which he finds endearing) and needy (which is a major turn on for him)

Over the course of your relationship, and especially during your pregnancy, Connor discovers that he has the ability to use something called the “puppy dog eyes”

Much different from the Eagle Eye, in terms of appeal and capability

He finds that by using these, he is able to coerce gently convince you to do things

Like let him stay out hunting longer or massage your feet to help you feel better even when you say they’re swollen and you don’t want anyone touching them

He tries not to use the eyes often, for fear that their - quite potent - effect may wear down over time

But he’s so adorable, I mean just look at ‘im!

Such a sweetheart 😭

Also, when you get the chance, please smack his ass when you walk past him, he thinks that shit is so hilarious 😂

Try also to compliment him when you do, it gives him a little morale boost every time

Noah Watts, the voice actor for Connor, can sing, and so naturally, I imagine that Connor can carry a tune as well

He doesn’t hum often by any stretch and outright singing is a once in a blue moon occurrence with him

But when you can get him to share in song with you, his voice is very sweet, mellifluous to the ear, with the slightest growly undertone and a rich, full sound

Hol up y’all, I’m finna make myself cry thinkin’ about it

You always compliment him on how well he can sing (admittedly, sometimes in an effort to get him to do it 🙃) and every time he gets bashful and counter compliments you to take some of the attention off himself

Which, speaking of compliments…

Connor can be quite the schmoozer towards you when he wants to be, especially as he gets older, which also ties into the usage of his puppy dog eyes

That sexy lil’ smirk he sometimes wears becomes more effective as well

If you can visibly blush, he never fails to make you do so, otherwise he’ll have you averting your eyes and covering your face to hide your flattered embarrassment often

Noah Watts also implied that Connor’s character’s got some Gothic influence, so he can (as I’m actually sure we all know) be a lil’ dramatic at times

But, he can also be quite the romantic, surprising you with scenic excursions and planning lil’ picnics

Even at home, when he’s not in his uniform and can relax, he still likes to help you with tasks around the manor, even the mundane things like washing dishes and redecorating

It’s all so cute and domestic 😭

All in all, Connor is the absolute love of my life, Ubisoft owes him another game and screw everybody that hates on my boi

#ac3 #assassin's creed 3 #ac iii #connor kenway #ratonhnhaké:ton #connor kenway headcanons #ratonhnhaké:ton headcanons #ac3 headcanons #assassin's creed 3 headcanons #tw: pregnancy

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trusttheduchess · 4 months ago

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She Stoops To Heist - character introductions

my current writing project is in the idea stage, it's a heist comedy television series. I have a few arcs planned out, most of the characters are planned out, their individual arcs need some work tho. To start with, I'll introduce you to the main cast now! (i used picrew to give the general idea. other sketches can be available soon)

Jean - the Group's De-facto Leader and Actress

A struggling actress working as a waitress in a dingy diner. She lives in a suburb of the Bay Area with her roommate Blaine. She aspires to the finer things in life, and often comes up with alter egos when she's bored. Her interests include fashion and disguises, as well as Shakespeare, tragedies, and dramas. She often annoys her friends with impromptu performances. She can be described as standoffish, but is very open and lively with her friends. Her style can be described as a blend of vintage Americana and modern femme fatale. Her music taste consists of musical theater, lounge rock, and a type of music that can be affectionately referred to as an aging opera singer singing to an empty theater she once ruled.

Blaine - Sleight of Hand, Logician, Dead Language Expert

Jean's roommate Blaine is a librarian who spends his offtime with his nose in a book. He tags along with Jean and crew because of his neverending thirst for knowledge. And he didn't didn't want Jean to leave him with the lease. He enjoys old detective novels, and knows a lot of random knowledge on different topics, from history and language to fiction and media. He's sorta shy, a little clumsy from time to time, but he has a big heart and loves his friends to death. His style is best described as dark academic, poet, and bookish. His preferred music is 70s soul, indie rock, and young adult contemporary.

Frontier - Hacker, Gadgeteer, Programmer

Frontier is a programmer who was working a coding job, but as is the nature of corporate tech jobs, he was under constant crunch time. Despite working long hours, he still was stuck in poverty and was barely getting by. Due to this constant state of stress, he is noticeably more lax than the rest of the cast. He enjoys romcoms and reality television, as well as the history of tech and electronics. His defining accessory is an ear antenna. His style is best described as cybernetic, retro, and grunge. His favorite music is EDM and house music.

Mistletoe - Gymnast, Mechanic, Tight Spaces

Mistletoe, sometimes Misty for short, was Jean's coworker at the diner, and her work bestie. Her reason for joining Jean is twofold, she has a thirst for adventure and wants to keep hanging with Jean. The second reason is quite sad, but she is also fleeing an abusive relationship. This will get focused on, but will be more subtextual to avoid crossing any lines, and more focused on the effects the relationship had on her. Her interests include conspiracy theories, though she doesnt believe them, and animated movies as well as cartoons. She is a little hyperactive, enjoys cartoonish violence, and plays her "cute card" but has a dark side to her. Her style is best described as cutesy, indie, and colorful. Her music taste is bubblegum pop and rave jams.

Lilith - Skillmonkey with a focus on demolitions

One half of the skillmonkey twins, Lilith was part of Jean's original trio. She has a wide variety of skills, depending on what the group needs at any point. Her specialty is demolitions. She dabbles in goth culture. She's friendly, but guarded. She is very good at cooking and baking, and she's often spending her free time in the kitchen. She also enjoys reading and writing. Her style is described as goth, grunge, and general alternative. Her preferred music is post punk and goth rave.

Edgar - Skillmonkey with a focus on mimicry

Edgar and Lilith were Jeans original partners, and are along for the ride because of their shared history. They also owe Jean. Edgar's specialty is mimicry and ventriloquism. His main interest is music, and he enjoys lots of genres. He also enjoys horror movies and the history behind horror media. He's sort of stoic and not easily startled. He is very open and loves getting to know people. His style is described as punk and grunge. His music taste is a mixture of genres, but primarily listens to punk from the 70s to modern and 90s jungle beats.

Feedback welcome! I don't expect this to get a lot of traction tho.

#heist #heist comedy #writing #art #not my art #character design #original character

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crystalelemental · 1 year ago

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Pokemon Team Characterization - Cynthia

Okay look, she’s one of my favorites, I had to do this. No long intro about it, just...I had to.

Here’s the Platinum team. Fun fact, there are four teams I’m going to show, because they’re all worth noting for subtle differences. There are consistencies, as we’ll get to, but the main one is Spiritomb always leads, Garchomp always is the ace, and Milotic and Lucario are literally always present. The other two can change.

BW1 adds in Eelektross and Braviary, at the cost of Roserade and Togekiss. I personally think bad trade, but oh well. Notably, movesets change quite a bit. Spiritomb now has tech.

BW2, back to Togekiss, Eelektross dropped for Glaceon. Objectively terrible competitive choice, but Glaceon’s my second favorite so I’m a fan.

Lastly, BDSP’s first rematch, to mirror Platinum’s. It’s worth bringing up here because the movesets are so wildly different in places. I’m going to talk about consistencies first, then some of the moving parts.

The Lead (Spiritomb) Spiritomb, for its place in time, was a great opening wall. No weakness. Fairy type didn’t exist, and unlike Sableye, Spiritomb had serious bulk. Interestingly, Cynthia’s initial incarnation uses it as an offensive Pokemon with four attacks. Of particular note, Ominous Wind over Shadow Ball, and Silver Wind as coverage, moves that give +1 to all stats on the rare successful roll. Later iterations incorporate more strategic applications of Spiritomb, including burn, evasion, and Hypnosis/Dream Eater combos to sustain itself. But even with these odd strategies, Spiritomb is, at its core, offensive.

This solidifies Cynthia as someone whose approach is more direct. She is going to hit you, and she is going to hit you very hard. Moreover, she is someone whose strategy involves type advantage. Cynthia uniquely packs a lead with zero weaknesses (until Fairy came in). It is a pure concept of a wall, used offensively. Cynthia’s approach is damage, but her particular strategy is type matchup. She is someone who understands and, critically, mastered the basics. That is, to me, the core of Cynthia. She prioritizes mastery. Her teams are notorious for their blend of types, and limited overlap in weaknesses, while maximizing offensive coverage. That’s someone who has mastered a particular field. Even with just the basics, she commands a great deal of knowledge about the subject she’s applied to.

The Ace (Garchomp) Garchomp is always her ace, and its approach is, like anything else, always damage-centric. It sometimes carries additional specially oriented attacks, but again, the focus is on coverage of moves. There isn’t much to add here, aside from the fact that Garchomp’s typing is absurd. Dragon/Ground has very little that resists it, and it’s another indication of that mastery of type advantage. If Spiritomb is proof of mastery from a defensive angle, Garchomp is proof of mastery from an offensive angle.

I think this presents the well-rounded aspect of Cynthia; someone whose mastery encompasses multiple angles. It’s not just one avenue, but many, and synthesizing those things together. She’s someone who isn’t satisfied with just one answer; she wants to know the full picture and have complete knowledge of a situation. And she wants it in clear, certain terms.

The Constants (Milotic and Lucario) Lucario is always damage. Same as it ever was, same as it ever was. Milotic, however, has something interesting, in the same way that Spiritomb does.

In Platinum, I think it’s worth noting that boosting moves and status moves basically don’t exist. Few Pokemon learn something like Toxic naturally, and the TM is locked behind the Battle Frontier, something that is both post-game, and also not going to be done by most people replaying the game. Same goes for boosts like Calm Mind. As such, Cynthia’s Platinum team is really weak to those setup strategies. Run a Dragon Dance Altaria and you’ll see what I mean; you can sweep with relative ease provided Spiritomb isn’t lucky with Ominous Wind. But it’s weak to it because you’re not typically going to have it. In games like Gen 5, when you have access to those tools a little more, suddenly it uses status and evasion. I think this is a difference more of the game’s design than anything, and points again toward that sense of mastery over the tools present.

And so we turn to Milotic, who is generally a straightforward bulky offense Pokemon, but starts to incorporate things like Attract as disruption, Dragon Tail to force switches on things that set up on it expecting passivity, Bulldoze to slow things down and bop Electric types, and Rest for a more assured recovery. And keeping in mind, these games are sequential. BW takes place after Platinum, and BW2 after BW1. Cynthia adapts her strategies over time. She’s highly flexible and open to experimentation or unique approaches, which is seen in her constant changing of her remaining team.

The Remainder Everything she adds complements the general team, but being offensive coverage and types that cover defensive gaps in the team. There is always very little overlap in her weaknesses, and almost nothing that at least one Pokemon on her team can’t answer. Regardless of what she runs, she’s got it covered. So I’m not going to go over each in turn.

What this tends to emphasize is someone who, during experimentation, is conscious of what she’s after. She can flex to a lot of situations and is highly adaptable, but at her core is always keeping the general structure in mind. She’s goal oriented, and knows what it is she’s aiming to accomplish with any particular action. Her decisions aren’t strictly sound. Dropping Eelektross for the far worse defensive option in Glaceon is questionable. But her decisions are at least thought through, even if she steps into the realm of wild experimentation.

General Structures The most interesting thing to note in Cynthia’s Platinum team is that all of her Pokemon, barring Roserade, are absurdly rare. Gible is found in one cave that’s easy to miss if you don’t pay attention to what people are saying. Spiritomb only exists if you’ve explored the underground. Milotic exists on like six tiles in the lake under Coronet and nowhere else. Lucario and Togekiss I don’t think even exist outside of the eggs you receive. When it comes to her Unova teams, the same rules apply. Eevee are rare encounters at Liberty Garden. Tynamo are exceptionally rare encounters in Chargestone Cave. Rufflet...okay that one’s fairly common I think, but so is Roserade. The point is, the majority of her team is rare, not just in that they don’t show up anywhere but like one specific place, but they’re low encounter rates as well.

This establishes Cynthia as someone who is thorough. Cynthia explores everything, and takes in as much as she can. And it’s not a quick assessment of what’s around, it’s a deep dive. She will dig into everything, as much as she can, to find what she’s after. She can be astonishingly patient when on a mission, and will put in the work to see something bear fruit. But there’s a passion for it, and a breadth of interest. It’s not just one thing she takes interest in, it’s multiple things, and she strives to incorporate them into her life as she picks up new interests.

Moreover, the fact that her constant Pokemon are all rare implies a certain pride in having them. Cynthia values the things that she knows or accomplishes that few others do. She takes pride in the effort it takes to accomplish something, and is more than willing to put that on display. She likes the things that make her stand out, but at the same time, there’s occasionally something that’s just...ordinary about her. Things she likes that...well, anyone would like. But it’s rare to see that. She’s someone who often puts her interests first and foremost. It’s the first thing you’re going to know about her. But there are, on occasions, times when it’s not about her specifics.

There are, however, some things she just enjoys that don’t take much. Things that are easier to appreciate, a bit more common and approachable rather than grandiose or unique. I think it’s also cute that her Eevee is Glaceon. At the time, that wasn’t a stone evolution; you needed to go to a specific location. Opting for Glaceon implies that she either dug through Twist Mountain, or went back to Sinnoh. In the case of the former, it’s the appreciation for the mountains; that’s what’s reminiscent of her homeland and what she likes best. In the case of the latter, it’s literally just the return home. No matter where she travels, she always goes back.

Summation Cynthia is someone defined by depth and mastery. She’s the kind of person who takes an interest in something, and goes to great lengths to understand it completely. She takes interest in many different things, but has certain things that serve as her basis that she always comes back to, including a strong attachment to Sinnoh. Her approach tends to be more direct and unyielding, and she can be incredibly stubborn, or dedicated depending on your point of view. She’ll stick with something for as long as it takes to be understood in totality, and prides herself on the things she knows or can do that no one else can. But also, in some spots, has pretty typical interests that other people would mesh with easily, when they’re not intimidated away by everything else she’s got going on.

If anyone has an alternate read on the team, I’d love to hear it. Who doesn’t love Cynthia? She’s one of my favorites to talk about. I’m always up for more Cynthia.

#pokemon #cynthia #pokemon team characterization

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umichenginabroad · 9 months ago

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Madrid Week 4: the rhythm of the night

Holaaaaa otra vez!! Niko here again, back with another blog for week 4 of studying abroad in Madrid! This week marked my official first month in the city, which means that I’m 1 month down of 3.5 (or 2/9ths of the way through). I wonder how my perspective of the city and life here will have changed by the 4/9 point, by 8/9 point, and when I’m finally gone. I guess we’ll both have to wait to find out ;).

This week, February 13th, was my birthday. I turned 21 years old — which is a pretttty big deal in the United States. 21 is like the final frontier of birthdays. After that, anything (except for renting a car, for some reason) (and also running for president) is possible. Order a beer? Done. Get into a club? No problem. Is it weird to me that we can join the military before those things? Yes, but I don’t know enough about the prohibition era to make a substantial claim on the laws we have in the USA.

Being that it was a Tuesday and I wasn’t quite in the partying mood, I went out for a nice dinner with a friend and bought myself churros for the walk home -- perfect birthday tbh. However, an American in America turning 21 will typically go out, buy alcohol legally, get into some bars with their actual ID (maybe Rick’s for my UMich people, which is finally on-limits :0 ), and likely get very very drunk with their friends. In Spain, that doesn’t happen for 21 year olds — or 18 year olds, for that matter.

I think that the basic differences in drinking culture between the USA and Europe are somewhat well known. To generalize: binge drinking is much less common in Europe; people may drink more but pace themselves out over the course of many hours; people start partying late and stay out much later. However, living in Spain and experiencing the nightlife firsthand has given me a new understanding of this culture — and I’ve found that it’s a rhythm I really enjoy.

An Aside on Work-life Balance

In Madrid, the people place a lot of value on social life — which lasts throughout adulthood. I think that in the United States, social life ends up giving way to work for many adults as they get older and their career becomes more demanding. In Spain, people subscribe moreso to the ideal of “working to live” instead of “living to work”.

This is a generalization, but I think it’s a fair one to make in comparison to the culture of the USA. This perspective may be a product of the bubble I live in as a student studying abroad, but the "competitive, always-searching-for-the-next-opportunity, never-staying-complacent (satisfied?)-with-your-current-position" vibe is something I have not yet felt or witnessed here. I think that difference can be explained in part by the USA's strong capitalistic nature (and Europe's slightly more socialist environment), but I'm no expert ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

I don’t think that I want to subscribe fully to either ideal.

I don’t want my work to be my life. I think that I value a lot of things higher than money — relationships, new experiences, personal growth — and that's where I want to focus. However, working is an unavoidable part of life for (almost) everyone. I think that treating the idea of work as a career — something to be developed, something to find passion in, something that adds to your life instead of taking away from it — will enable me to live a happier life. And, to become truly satisfied in my career, I’m gonna have to put in that effort.

I think that the key to maintaining a healthy relationship towards work is deriving that hard-work mentality from within, instead of from the pressure of outside influences (living up to expectations, competition with others, greed, etc). In this way, achievements will be something I can be proud of myself for -- especially because I did those things in alignment with my own contentment and happiness. Admittedly, this conclusion is spoken from my "very wise" position of having had only 1 full time internship and a few part time service jobs, but this is where I'm at with my experience pursuing a college degree. Guess we'll see how it turns out down the road.

Nightlife

Anyways, back to partying in Madrid. House parties don’t really exist like the do in the USA, or frankly, at all. This is partly because there’s an ordinance that prohibits loud noises indoors at night, and partly because there’s no need for them — there’s a seemingly infinite amount of bars and clubs to go to, on every night of the week (yes, including Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday).

First, you’ll have dinner, shared with a group of friends and never earlier than 8pm — usually closer to 10pm. Pregames (previas) might happen at someone’s apartment, they might happen on the street, either on the way to the club or in a group just chilling (botellon). In general, (especially with young people), as much alcohol as possible is consumed outside of the club, for economical reasons. A beer bought at the corner store is half the price and twice the size than at the bar. The streets in Madrid, especially on the weekend, are always lively. Simply walking around popular areas is an energizing feeling.

If you’re going out dancing to a club, you might also hit a few bars beforehand, which are more commonly frequented a bit earlier in the night - 12am ish is peak.

Like I mentioned previously, things also start late. A club will not be in full swing until 3am. If you arrive to a club at 12 (which is when most of them open), you’ll be dancing alone on the floor. This is in stark contrast to the USA, where at 3am, you might be dancing alone because everyone else has already gone home. Things will start to wind down around 5am on weekends, and a dedicated group will still be around at 6am when the lights turn on to kick everybody out.

Personally, I love this rhythm. Starting so late, you get a full day in beforehand — and much more time with friends spent during the night. Drinks are consumed slowly, and far fewer will end up on the toilet at the end of the evening. Things feel more relaxed, less like we're on a time crunch — probably because there’s simply more time to party.

I’ve only got one big qualm in comparison to the USA — sleep. If you’re out until 6am on Saturday, you’re probably sleeping until 3pm at the earliest. Which kind of throws off your Sunday. If you were looking to grab brunch, or god forbid be productive, forget it. But maybe, a loss of productivity isn't such a big deal. I would love to hear from you all what you feel about the work/productivity culture in the USA, and how you perceive (or have experienced) it in different cultures.

So, needless to say, I have been partying a good amount, and I think I’ve been doing so in a pretty authentically Spanish way. I’ll spare details on my escapades, but I’ll include some pictures (along with some more in depth descriptions) that may give a little insight into the ~vibes~. I’m a big fan of electronic music, and Madrid’s scene for that is vast.

For anyone reading this that’s going to Madrid sometime soon — either for studying abroad, vacation, or whatever else — I’ve been putting together this list of all the nightlife sites I’ve gone to, with little descriptions on my thoughts accompanying each one. I hope it serves at least a few people well, and spares them the work of finding the places that are a little less obvious to non-natives.

Hope everyone has a fantastic week! :)

Hasta luego,

Niko Economos

Aerospace Engineering

Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

Madrid, Spain

#UmichEnginAbroad #IPEUC3M #NikoEconomos #IPEWinter24 #Spain

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akitamafumis · 2 years ago

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trying to go through life thoughts

I wrote some thoughts on the l/n starira AU that i am putting here for posterity . mainly .

I don’t really know where to start or how to go into this. I made a comment to frog about how i thought that thematically l/n weren’t too far off, at least with some things. There’s the difference between revue’s focus on selfishness, but i think in a way you can see those as the difference between theatre and music (non-theatre) as art forms. Does that make sense? It’s an interesting part of a band, that the thematic idea of selfishness literally can only go so far—anyone can hope to be the lead in theatre, but a drumset player can’t hope to play the melody (you’re about to pitch your idea for a set of chromatically tuned toms. There’s nothing i can say to you that would stick in your brain).

So that was kind of my general vibe. I felt like there were enough similarities to justify the differences to make it make sense. I was only doing it as a writing exercise and it kind of spiraled. Ppl have talked about how it’s rly hard to revue something else because besides just fun aesthetics for art, it requires upward work to try and justify the occurrences in the AU to make it actually work. So i thought, maybe, it’d be fun to try and work through those thoughts a bit and see what I could come up with.

The most major change of note is that Shiho’s parents work in theatre in some way—it’s super vague and I didn’t want to come up with any concrete answers just because it felt pointless to. One of her parents might be a rinmeikan graduate or a family member was a teacher there or something, hence how they ended up with an old Rinmeiki vhs, and a result of her parents being in theatre means her desire to be a professional musician is switched to a desire to be a professional actor. A lot of what ripples out from there in terms of their childhood is pretty self explanatory: they watch Rinmeiki, put on little plays together just the four of them, and then things fall apart as they grow older.

I wanted to get them relatively close to pjsk canon at the start moreso than starira’s, so the perf department is already closed while they’re in their first year. I think in the context of this story they had more members at the start of the year, but people (upperclassmen) dropped into general education just because they knew the department was going to close down, until it was just Shiho and Ichika. Upperclassmen are only 2nd years, bc the part of my brain that cares too much ab logistics thinks the school would let any third years graduate in their department before shutting it at the end of the year but ANYWAY.

Kanade and Shizuku showing up is just because i needed two people connected to two of our people. I don’t know what school kanade/25ji go to. MMJ are frontier they’re. Idols. I have no idea who frau platin is. Actual answer probably Iori. But instead. Haruhi Minamoto. Fuck you.

There’s a lot about what I did with honami that ends up feeling like favorite character favoritism. And it IS. But it was also tied to the fact she did brass band in middle school, so she’s converted to being the most theatre oriented behind Shiho. Rather than Honami being ostracized for what she is in canon, it’s for acting, which was mainly because i needed a reason for her to quit acting specifically. Centering acting does shift the fact that for both honami and shiho acting becomes the center of their straining relationship with ichika/each other, rather than their interpersonal problems. But revue generally ties personal problems and the stage up together, so i think it’s not an unfair thing to change, and it’s not so much a change for Shiho, anyway.

Also honami’s weapon IS NOT A SCYTHE. It is just a lance. They have pretty boring revue weapons. The scythe joke is ABOUT HER NAME ONLY. IT IS UNFORTUNATE, BUT MERELY COINCIDENCE. WE SHOULD KILL KOCHO SHIZUHA.

The. Story is meant to conceptually cover what would be the school story (partially)+opening arc… a hypothetical main story (which you will never see from me because SCOPE) would large scale consist of them trying to form an official association and performance festival, etc etc etc, alongside their individual character arcs.

As far as the characters, shiho’s follow up would cover um. Obviously. Saki and Ichika have both taken Shiho helping/joining the association to mean that she’s not planning on transferring but that is still very much on the table for her. Only Honami is aware that the . Fights within their group aren’t over yet which is meant to compound with a certain lack of confrontation.

Honami’s would center around that whole revue weapon business, and the sense of regaining her brilliance. There are certain elements that tie into pjsk canon in terms of her (re)finding the confidence to speak her mind and put her foot down more, slowly. I think also as a secondary thing she gets into directing, over time.

Saki’s the most vague in my mind. I think she’s got passion and conviction but a sort of lack of direction, even though those two usually lead to the third. It’s the least developed in my brain so far. There’s also maybe something about her illness, both in terms of recognizing her own limits and acknowledging them, but also in not sidelining herself from going for lead roles, or something.

Ichika sort of lacks a lot as a stage girl initially. In her idea that she has parts of the rest of the group in herself i thought about including some implication that she doesn’t know what she would pass on to the three of them in return, but i couldn’t fit a line in about it without drawing a lot of attention to it, and it would fly under the radar after that revue and not come up again for a while. She’s also still carrying baggage for assuming the fault of the department shutting down.

Point is, when saki and ichika agree about not fighting each other and only facing other schools from now on, they are entirely off base. Things aren’t really fully aligned.

Okay. Now for my least favorite part. I thought revue intros would be fun and now i have to talk about them a little bit briefly. All of them contain an element of their name, alongside. Okay.

Saki’s is a mess well okay that’s not fair they’re all a mess to me . The “Bright skies” in the opening references the her last name, and the reference to blossoms her first name. Hers also overtly. References Rinmeiki.

Shiho’s isn’t tied to rinmeiki at all and the name references are the most vague, but her is very. Situationally accurate and i think remains so. She does the hard carrying for the revue conversion and i think up until the transferring confrontation comes to a head she’s often sort of . Antagonistic in trying to push the rest to either rise to the challenge or give up. “Brilliance pierces through the artificial shades” is the reference to her name. Brilliance standing in for sun and um. Sun piercing through the treetops. Also the final line the use of the word rises.

Ichika’s guided by the light of stars is her name reference, alongside the “melody of our song” thing. Rinmeiki are referenced as well, “against the flow of history” and the thing about her being a hero.

Honami’s is so heavy handed it hurts me and that’s what she gets for being last. She references all four of their names, and doesn’t have a specific Rinmeiki reference.

They also all specifically reference themselves differently. Ichika and Saki as students of rinmeikan, shiho as merely a stage girl, and honami as part of the performance association (which technically doesn’t exist officially when she says that).

I think…that’s kind of everything I’ve got…at least for now. That’s the bulk of it, really, i think. I hope. I don’t know :)

#text

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