#it hypes up demons. here's one person proving that they could fight back

[hypervoxel]

Second worst part about making fanfiction is that I have the premise, the lead up to create the event I want to happen. And I have the aftermath, because the meat of the fic is dealing with the Consequences. But now I have to write the scene that causes the entire rest of the story.

Woooorst thing about publishing fanfic is that the parts of it I want to talk to people about haven't been fully written yet, so no one has any idea what I'm so excited for (yet). Stop complimenting the opening chapter and instead read my mind to figure out what I have planned for chapter 15 and tell me how you feel about that instead!!

[gabriel-gabdiel]

Rurouni Yahiko Chapter 56: The Sanada Demons

The Sanada Demons have come to save the day. Can these shinobi take on the likes of the Prodigal Son and the Swordsman Bibile?

The rest of the chapters of my Rurouni Kenshin fan fiction are available here. Enjoy.

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Back inside the moneychanger affiliate offices of the Minakatas...

The Faceless fenced and stabbed his way out of the small room where he couldn't kill that one samurai boy and his sword-catching move. Hadome (Sword Halt), was it?

He'd heard of samurai catching blades by their bare hands before, but he thought it was all hype and myth. Until now.

Sure, the kid was on the verge of losing against the masked man anyway and ended up no match against him or the likes of Kinta Minakata. However, his unique sword skill did intrigue The Faceless regardless.

Maybe he could mimic Hadome down the line...? 'However, first thing's first.'

The Faceless's duelist personality or disguise—John Rathbone—had specifically been parrying and thrusting with his trusty rapier against a trio of surprisingly strong ninjas.

Ah yes. Ninjas. Shinobi. The Japanese version of government spies or secret agents.

Even in an era where war was waged with guns, rifles, trenches, and bombs, spies and intelligence gatherers remain the most important warfare weapon.

Especially all these shinobi before him who could fight in the most underhanded of ways.

The ogre, the snake, and the bat.

He couldn't quite explain it but somehow, the bat ninja manhandled him in close quarters with his blades and distracting screams, the snake ninja snake-whipped him with explosive whip cracks from long range, and the ogre stabbed at his blind spots with frightening accuracy using his war fork.

They intended to push him into a corner and triple team him from there.

The Faceless chuckled. As if.

"What sort of gutless kenjutsssu (ssswordsmanship) is thisss? You're doing more running away than ssstriking! Fight like a man, coward!" said the lispy snake ninja of the swordsmanship bible's impenetrable defense and elusive movement.

"This isn't kenjutsu. This is fencing," calmly explained Rathbone to the most violent and rambunctious ninja of the trio. "And this is a rapier. An elegant weapon for a more civilized age. Far better than a brittle katana."

He'd been through tougher battles than this. He survived entire wars and accomplished more dangerous political assassinations that paid even more handsomely than this personal grudge his protégé had over the family that abandoned him.

More than a king's ransom, even (because he'd been paid for a king's head instead).

However, using his Tactical Wheel and his mind games, he pushed the trio away enough to exit the room and pursue the escaping Minakatas.

Maybe even kill that other shadow ninja he faced off in the Minakata's East-West Fusion Mansion. Or finish off the blade catcher samurai boy.

The Faceless proved especially dangerous when he combined forces with either Kai Hidaka or Lucas Grant, which he supposed was what the Minakatas were intending to prevent in the first place.

The unified force of the Brigands Guild.

The pile of rubble and debris where Luke had been buried into then stirred.

The Prodigal Son awoke.

"Dammit. I'll be back," said Ren the snake ninja, who ran back into the room to deal with the strong, tall, and half-blooded swordsman with the bastard sword. "Take care of the other gaijin (outsider) for me!"

"Why is there only two of you now?" The Faceless mocked in fluent Japanese, knowing exactly why one of them had to leave. "I miss the other guy. Bring him back."

Because the Prodigal Son was now on the prowl, the Sanyoukai (Three Demons) of the Sanada Ninja Clan had to split up to prevent the Brigands Guild from joining forces.

With all things considered, Kinta Minakata could probably handle either The Faceless or Grant alone.

However, even he—the Kagemusha (Shadow Warrior) and the Mimawarigumi Battousai—would be pushed into the corner himself when facing off against two or more Brigand Guild members at the same time.

"Are you sure you can take me on with only the two of you? You need all three just to keep up," needled Rathbone further, who could now pick apart the occasional stabs and strikes from long distance that the ogre ninja did now that the snake ninja didn't put the pressure on with his constant whiplashes.

"Do we now?" said Zan the oni (ogre) ninja with the red ogre mask and war fork. "You sound full of yourself for a gaijin piece of shit. If you truly can take us on by yourself, I better see it first with my own eyes. Don't just tell us about it."

Instead of echoing Zan's retort, Baku the bat ninja merely screamed what John could only describe as a banshee's wail at his face, distracting him enough to nearly lose his rapier from the hard parry he had to do against Zan's twin-pronged war fork.

***

Rurouni Yahiko

A Rurouni Kenshin Continuation Fan Fiction Story by Chester Castañeda

The foreign invaders of the Brigands Guild discover that it's not so easy dealing with the persistent warriors of Japan, particularly their noble samurais and their backstabbing ninjas.

Disclaimer: All characters used in this fanfic (save some others) are the rightful property of Nobuhiro Watsuki, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, Viz, Sony Studios, Fuji TV, Studio Gallup, Studio Deen, and ADV. This disclaimer also covers all the other copyrighted materials that are far too many to mention here. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

***

Chapter 56: The Sanada Demons

***

At the gates of the Minakata affiliate office...

Yahiko Myojin and Kaita served as Tatsuya Minakata's escorts, only for them to find out that the nearby stables had all their horses released and all the carriage drivers missing.

Maybe even dead.

Dammit. Now what? Were they supposed to escape Chinatown on foot?

Whoever the Brigands Guild were, they really had it in for the Minakatas. Wait, what was Yahiko even thinking?

'Of course they have it in for them. Their leader or whoever is the bastard child they disowned and threw away along with his mother,' thought the Tokyo Samurai Descendant, berating himself.

This Takuto Minakata or Lucas Grant character kind of reminded him of himself.

Yahiko wasn't abandoned by his family or anything, and he was no bastard son either, but it certainly felt like the world abandoned their whole family instead during the Bakumatsu.

Regardless, so many people were dying to save two of the V.I.P.s they were supposed to protect. Was all this effort even worth it?

Kaita reappeared behind them and said, "It might be best for us to stay in the office after all."

"What are you talking about, Shorty?" asked Myojin.

"Yes. Why in Buddha's fat ass should I stay there where the assassins are?" demanded Tatsuya. "Let me out."

Kaita sighed. "There might be more of them outside and you're safer here because we have the Sanada Demons on guard."

"D-Demons? Are you out of your mind, you costumed freak?!" shouted Tatsuya. "This isn't the Edo Period! Spare me this talk of superstition and ninja lore! Get me the police and have those murderers arrested!"

This gave Yahiko pause. Wasn't Kaita one of the Minakatas' trusted ninjas? Why was Tatsuya resistant to the ninja's advice? Why didn't he know about the Sanada Ninja Clan's Sanyoukai?

***

Meanwhile, while Ren kept the Prodigal Son at bay inside that room next to the main office...

Luke's body was already in rough shape before he got whipped and scourged like a criminal or a slave by the boa constrictor taxidermy whips of the creepy snake ninja.

It only got worse from there when he went one-on-one and face-to-face against the snake shinobi.

Grant laughed. This guy again. The costumed freak who blasted him straight into a wall. What an annoying prick.

"For a snake-themed ninja, I'm surprised you don't use poison in your arsenal," Lucas said in remembrance of his fellow Brigands Guild member Cain Merrick and his own poison-based gimmick.

"Are you a child? Just because I'm a sssnake ninja, it doesn't mean I use sssnake venom like some sort of coward!" scoffed Ren, getting angrier by the minute.

The Prodigal Son didn't know how to retort to that, mainly in light of how cowardly he thought Cain was for using poisons, venoms, and toxins as his main means of "fighting". He was every bit as underhanded as any of these ninjas, though.

Regardless, Ren kept whipping Lucas from afar and every time he got near, he used that technique again. A ranged attack that struck the ground that sent earthen debris with knockout force.

Grant managed to stab Ren once with his longsword, only for it to get deflected by the thick snakeskin hide of his leather armor. It was like trying to stab a helix of coiled snakes.

How did the snake man keep doing it? That strange, explosive attack?

Wait.  It was like an extra-large whip crack. A whip produced the cracking noise whenever it traveled faster than the speed of sound.

The snake ninja combined his bullwhips (or snake whips, in his case) together to create twin whip cracks strong and fast enough to break the sound barrier in resonance and create a blast of air powerful enough to tear through the ground.

A resonant sonic boom.

Essentially, Ren whipped his twin weapons together with resonating shockwaves from extra large whip cracks, so their resulting combined air vibrations exploded like twin lightning bolts blasting the ground like roaring thunder.

Moreover, his snake armor probably kept Ren from tearing himself apart with his own whip vibrations. It helped him survive the bone-crushing force of his induced earth-shattering shockwaves.

Impressive. The snake man's fighting technique was more straightforward than most ninjas he'd encountered or heard about, who were infamous for their dirty tactics.

Regardless, Lucas grabbed hold of his bastard (or one-and-half-hand) sword and started parrying the cracking whips away with one-handed swings so that he wouldn't get further ripped apart by them with flesh-cutting slashes.

He then crossed his arms together and braced himself for the reverberation of air that tore through the floorboards and walls like consecutive exploding landmines. Or the dust storm version of a tidal wave. One after another.

'What a tough opponent,' thought Lucas. 'I thought murdering the Minakatas was going to be a cakewalk, but my brother found himself some decent shinobi for me to play around with. Thanks, Aniki.'

Lucas thusly split the shockwave in half by slicing his bastard sword into the floor so fast he also broke the sound barrier himself, thus neutralizing the attack with his own sonic boom.

"What the hell...?" yelped Ren. "SSStupid gaijin. Learn to accept a lossss!"

Lucas attempted to chop instead of stab the thick armor with his bastard sword, only for Ren to wrap himself in his snake whips, thus shielding him from the cutting power of the high-grade steel.

'Dammit,' thought Grant, his sword again bouncing off the snake ninja. 'Stop playing dirty!'

The smirking Ren then jumped, twisting his body to unwind the whips around him. This resulted in a spiral of whip strikes that assaulted Lucas like a razor-sharp cyclone.

Lucas bathed in his own blood from the whiplashes. However, proving himself more cold-blooded than the dead reptiles Ren used for weapons, he managed to wrap one of the snake whips around his arm.

The way Ren fought reminded him of the way Kai Hidaka fought. 'You've seen one ninja, you've seen them all.'

He then pulled hard at Ren's snake whip, intending to catch him flat-footed so that he could chop him in half.

However, Ren stopped resisting and allowed himself to get pulled intentionally. He did a flying headbutt on the gaijin's noggin, who didn't expect the sudden release that snapped the whip back towards him like a rubber band.

"Don't you dare underestimate Japanese ninjutsu, you gaijin piece of shit!" shouted Ren.

He knew he had the upper hand now! He'd become a hero of the clan for taking out this monster!

***

As for the double team of Baku and Zan against The Faceless...

These underhanded Japanese spies were up to something.

A little while ago, John Rathbone still feinted, countered, and landed with regularity against the Sanada Demons while he himself used his footwork to slip, parry, block, and outright evade their own attacks from high and low.

He kept making them second-guess his next move using the Tactical Wheel of Simple Attack, Parry and Riposte, Compound Attack, and Counter Attack.

However, the three also kept intercepting the riposte thrusts and counter slashes of his rapier to save one other. Whenever he zeroed in on one of them, the other two either blocked or countered as well.

Now there were only two of them, which meant he could pressure them further to move back, allowing him enough breathing room to chase after the Minakatas. The lack of a third man cut their offensive power by a third.

However, something strange happened.

His attacks kept missing. Every thrust and slash from various angles somehow missed or wasn't timed to hit its target.

It didn't help that his normally 20/20 vision blurred from time to time, like some sort of haze came over it.

His attacks missed before because of how fast both Zan and Baku reacted to his stabs even though he kept breaking his rhythm to keep them guessing when he was going to attack with his Beat Parry Riposte.

Rathbone also noticed how Zan kept banging his war fork unto the ground to make it vibrate like a tuning fork. Did this help the ninja dodge his fencing attacks better?

Dammit, and he was just getting their timing down pat the longer they fought, thus allowing him to counter them as they charged.

Only for him to start missing during those brief vulnerable moments as well. His timing was off somehow.

His breathing also became more erratic even though he hadn't exactly burned out his stamina yet. He hadn't even broken a sweat yet he had trouble taking breaths now.

He glared at the twin ninja demons. "What did you do to me?!"

"I was worried for a minute there," said Zan to Baku. "The gaijin has no concept of sakki (bloodlust) and how to read it, so I was worried for a minute that his swordsmanship could deal with your high-pitched sound technique."

Baku chuckled. "Even if he can't detect bloodlust, his moves are all rhythm-based. Break his rhythm and his so-called fencing will end up like trash."

What did they mean by that? What was going on? They were doing something to The Faceless, but he didn't quite know what. Did they poison him or something?

No, wait. It was the bat ninja and his screams that were doing this to him! Whatever this was.

Baku kept distracting John with his high-pitched screeching. Or so the duelist thought. 'So it wasn't just a distraction...?'

Something about those sounds Baku produced made Rathbone miss his Simple Attacks or Compound Attacks (attacks with feints or switching a missed attack to a parry or a different attack).

"Just a little more," said Baku to Zan. "He's on his way to self-destruction. Finish him off as soon as he makes a mistake."

Zan harrumphed. 'Easier said than done.'

Despite the fencer's exposure to Baku's screams that messed with his body in various indescribable ways, he kept following up his misses with ripostes in fluid succession, like he meant to miss in order to draw out his opponents' counterattacks.

His misses also became hits, which forced the ninja sharpshooter with the war fork to hesitate and not overextend himself for a possible counterstrike.

'So this is western kenjutsu,' thought the demonic ninja with a long-range weapon quite like Satsuki Sakaguchi. 'Fencing, was it? It's a legitimate bujutsu (martial art) in its own right.'

Rathbone frowned as a missed slash caused even deeper cuts to appear on his body. They weren't yet lacerations, but they sapped him of his strength bit by bit, which also made him more inaccurate with his strikes.

He could not afford having his ripostes or even his parries miss like this.

***

Back to Ren versus Lucas...

Lucas reeled, his head throbbing with a splitting headache. 'Another sneak attack! Curse the Japanese...!'

Another snake whip sonic boom hit Grant like an earth-shattering landslide. Or even an avalanche.  However, he noticed that the repeated vibrations mostly traveled through the ground rather than in the air.

Predictably on the ground. Ren probably aimed his resonating whip vibrations directly back to earth for maximum impact, like the difference between a firework and a shrapnel bomb.

The sonic boom shockwave probably traveled a shorter distance in the air compared to the path of destruction it left on the ground, the concussive force turning everything in its path into a landslide full of sharp rock shards.

Therefore, attacking in the air made more sense than attacking on the ground.

Lucas grabbed his bastard sword with both hands and leaped into the sky, gliding towards Ren while the shockwave harmlessly traveled below him.

The snake ninja ground his teeth enamel to powder and wrapped his snake whips around his body again, intending to protect himself from the sword chop he knew was coming then retaliating with his topsy-turvy whirling typhoon of snake whips afterwards.

However, Ren letting Lucas hit him at all instead of dodging then countering with his whips proved to be a big mistake.

Instead of the bastard sword bouncing harmlessly off of his snake-coiled body, Grant released enough extra torque from his two-handed sword swing to drive the snake ninja straight into the ground.

Although the sword didn't cut through the snake armor, it broke Ren's arm and several of ribs by force of the impact alone. He couldn't uncoil the snake whips in time, which would've torn apart the jumping foreigner in a typhoon of whiplashes.

Ren struggled to get up, tied up by his own snake whips, looking the fool against this half-blooded bastard son with the bastard sword.

Lucas exhaled deeply and grinned at the snake man. "That was a good fight. Because of that, I'll spare you. Get strong and maybe we can fight again!"

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT BULLSHIT!" spat Ren before turning the handle of his snake whips, which retracted a hidden toxin-tipped blade that he stabbed right into the foot of Lucas.

"Ow! What the hell did you do, you cowardly ninja piece of shit!?" Lucas cried out in pain. "Also, what happened to your lisp? It's completely gone now."

"Shut up and die, basssssstard!" said Ren, overcompensating with how long he drew his 'S' sound on that last word. "That hidden blade is tipped with poison. You're as good as dead now."

"Hey, I thought you said you didn't use snake venom!"

"IDIOT! I'm a ninja! Of course I lied!"

Ugh. Ninjas truly were the worst.

***

At the gates of the Minakata subsidiary office building...

A rock and a hard place crushed the Fuuma Ninja Clan's Kai Hidaka between themselves, leaving him stuck there.

Well, no. Not really.

Rather, he got stuck between Lieutenant Satoru Sakaguchi (with his recovering daughter in tow) on one end and Kinta Minakata on another end.

The choice to where he should go couldn't be more obvious, but he also had a mission to fulfill.

Even though Kinta proved the more dangerous and immediate threat, he was also the Brigands Guild's biggest target.

Besides which, while murdering both the weakest Musou Madden Ryu practitioners should help him survive in the short term, Kai didn't want a master swordsman like Kinta hunting him down for revenge like the Kagemusha that he was in the long term.

He believed it was in his best interest to finish off the Minakata heir sooner rather than later.

Judging by how long his half-brother nurtured his grudge against their similarly vengeful family—his whole life—this desire for revenge was probably in their blood.

Perhaps even in-fighting among family members proved hereditary too, seeing how soured the relationship between Kinta and Tatsuya was.

Kinta and "Takuto" felt more like family than nephew and uncle.

Hell, Hidaka merely lurked outside and he could hear how much the two hated each other, judging from their shouting match earlier (or rather, from Tatsuya shouting alone and Kinta curtly shutting him down every time).

In light of his fight-or-flight instinct screaming at him to find an new avenue of escape, he willed himself to fight the Mimawarigumi Battousai instead, hoping against hope that either The Faceless or Lucas Grant would aid him sooner rather than later.

'Kinta-kun,' thought Satoru, holding his gasping daughter's shoulders firmly. 'Please finish that son of a bitch off!'

***

Back to Ren versus Lucas...

In sheer frustration, Ren attempted a whip crack at Lucas's face as he got up, but the blond swordsman caught it by his fist.

Lucas certainly looked like he was about to vomit. Or even shit all over himself.

As expected. Ren had his hidden dagger tipped with the concentrated "poison" (really, snake venom) of various local snakes all over Japan, like the mamushi that belonged to the family of pit vipers.

Stabbing a persistent enemy who survived Ren's whiplashes with the venomous dagger served as the snake man's ace up his sleeve. His trump card.

Typically, the stab site swelled and reddened with a huge blister. The victim then slowed down and fell ill, unable to continue fighting.

From there, Ren would've finished the person off with either grave injuries or lacerations compounded by snake venom coursing through his veins, killing him slowly but surely.

Ren could also bite the bullet and just choked the bitch with his snake whips. His enemies either died by his own hands or by the venom he injected unto them.

Just as Luke looked like he'd empty all the contents of his stomach unto the ground, he then grinned and winked at Ren. "Just kidding."

Luke grabbed the snake whip's tail and wrapped it around his knuckles.

"Jokes on you, asshole. One of the Brigands is an expert in poisons and toxins. He has helped me develop immunity to most deadly organic and inorganic chemicals for years."

From there, Lucas did to Ren was Ren did to Lucas earlier—he pulled the whip then allowed himself to leap along with the recoil or snapback of the taxidermy snake, hammering the injured snake man ninja's head with a devastating headbutt of his own.

Bam. Their heads smashed against each other with a heavy, sickening thud.

Ren felt his brain slosh inside his skull. Grant might've even cracked his noggin altogether, shattering his nose and drawing blood.

How strong was this kid?! He really did seem immune to the snake venom! Or to pain! Or to blunt-force trauma!

As expected of a Minakata spawn. Perhaps his bloodline from his father's side, the Grants, also had monstrous strength in their genetics.

Grant then gave Ren the coup-de-grace blow of driving him right into the nearest wall with a sword stab that finally penetrated through the snake armor, drawing blood.

The whole room soon collapsed all over the snake man, weakened by the numerous sonic booms produced by supersonic snake whips. The Prodigal Son had been baiting the snake ninja to blast him with shockwaves at strategic points of the room's pillars.

The final leap and blow then shook the room enough to make its already weakened and compromised foundations break and collapse directly on top of the ninja.

Before Ren knew it, it was already "checkmate" for him.

***

Back at the three-way impasse deep in the offices of the moneychanger building…

"You two don't fight like gentlemen at all. You're like savages instead," said John Rathbone to the animal-themed masked ninjas from the Sanada Clan with an upturned nose.

These honorless ninjas and their ambush-style attacks reminded John of the time when Britain colonized Africa.

Britain observed the rules of engagement against the African natives, declaring war on them and challenging them to war on the battlefield.

The Africans were supposed to engage them in battle on the trenches until a side won.

However, the tribes of Africa had no concept of how war was waged in the west and thusly ambushed the British camps without warning, like they would when they were fighting amongst themselves in tribal warfare.

These Japanese natives, or at least their ninjas, were the same savages as the African natives. To them, all was fair in war or love or some such nonsense.

Wait a minute. Samurais had bushido (the code of the warrior). Ninjas followed no such code of honor. They were so unlike their honor-bound samurai counterparts.

Both the oni (ogre) ninja Zan and John exchanged thrusts and stabs, probing each other's defenses.

Throughout the exchange, Rathbone noticed how Zan allowed his war fork to get parried by John's rapier, which made the unusual weapon vibrate like a tuning fork instead.

The demonic goblin ninja also only really attacked whenever he made his tuning war fork vibrate.

'Hmmm,' thought John. 'Curiouser and curiouser.'

Rathbone feinted a thrust one… two… three times at Zan and Baku, jabbing his undulating sword arm with motionless jabs of his rapier that went to and fro between the masked ninjas.

Like a pendulum on a Grandfather Clock.

He actually attacked the fourth time with a thrust but stopped himself short, intending to do a recovery afterwards as soon as either shadow warrior reacted and dodged.

They barely even blinked. Their hair-trigger reflexes remembered him doing the same "ultimate" feint earlier to draw out attacks he could counter, so they weren't fooled.

They moved a half-beat earlier than John, intercepting his attack before he could do his recovery and counterstrike.

Thusly, The Faceless had his sword thrust parried by Baku's metal arm bracelets with bladed hooks or claws on the side and countered by Zan's war fork.

However, Rathbone himself sidestepped in time to turn Zan's two-pronged stab into a slash that left a gash over his bodyguard vest.

Zan clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth. He almost finished off the slippery fencer. John Rathbone appeared every bit as evasive and untouchable as a medieval ninja from Japan!

The two attempted to follow-up their own Parry Riposte with a finishing chain attack but stopped short when they heard the rumblings of the other room, followed by screams.

It wasn't Baku's screeching. Nor was it Lucas.

They recognized the voice. It was instead from their comrade, Ren the Snake Ninja with the taxidermy boa whips.

The bat ninja then told the ogre ninja, "I'm fine, Zan. Go protect the Minakatas or help Ren. The Faceless is mine. I've figured him out."

"Oh, did you now, Baku?" said Zan, the ninja with the red ogre mask and war fork. "All right. Fine. I'll be right back to finish this gaijin off if you haven't killed him by the time I return."

Zan then made his exit, hiding himself in smoke bombs that Rathbone stabbed through regardless, only for his rapier to get blocked by Baku's hooked bracelets.

John harrumphed, stabbing repeatedly at the weaponless ninja to stave him off. "Do you really think you can take me on alone, you cowardly popinjay?"

The grim bat-themed shadow warrior merely shifted into a karate stance and said, "Come hither, gaijin. Get a taste of Yamato Damashi (Japanese Spirit)."

"You're delusional." Smirking, Rathbone murmured to himself, "Once more unto the breech, my fancy clown."

Baku then screeched like the legendary banshees of Irish folklore. A haunting, bloodcurdling cry that reached all the way to the pits of The Faceless' stomach. Or even the insides of his bones, right down to the bone marrow.

'Strange. Is his incessant, irritating screaming part of his trick?' thought Rathbone as he backpedaled from the bat ninja, only to end up back in his en garde position because Baku chased after him immediately.

What was worse was that John felt like vomiting until his stomach turned inside out the more he fought this ninja.

As sickening as these deceitful and sly cowards were when it came to their dirty tactics, it wasn't enough for him to literally feel like puking in disgust.

***

Back at the front portion of the moneychanger affiliate office building…

Kai Hidaka threw himself at Kinta Minakata, hoping against hope that Lucas Grant wasn't too busy to actually handle his business with the goddamn Mimawarigumi Battousai himself.

Sheesh. Kinta was Lucas's half-brother, not Kai's. Let Lucas handle his own sibling. He (Kai) was not his (Lucas's) brother's keeper, after all.

Nevertheless, a strange thing happened.

There was something different about the Kinta that Kai faced today compared to the one he clashed swords with at Kaneda Minakata's Eastern-Western Fusion Mansion.

As usual, like in their first encounter, Kai had to scramble, duck, and sway his body like a lithe dancer to avoid the surgically accurate slashes and attacks of the infamous Kagemusha (Shadow Warrior) of Shogo Amakusa.

Kinta's accuracy hadn't gone down. Not really.

Minakata merely missed Hidaka by hairbreadths or by a razor's edge, the fidgety ninja spurred by adrenalin and twitch reflexes to avoid the iaijutsu (quick-draw) sword strikes with the nimble elusiveness of a fly.

However, Kinta's hack and slash output had gone down drastically.

Even though Kai knew that Kinta favored accuracy over volume, the swordsman had nevertheless become more conservative with his attacks now.

Almost as conservative as The Faceless when he fenced under his John Rathbone persona. John barely ever missed because he never took a stab or thrust unless he was 100 percent sure he'd get the hit.

As though he was conserving his energy.

Wait a minute.

The eyes behind Hidaka's goggled mask narrowed as he let out a long exhale. 'Huh. So fighting Lucas had that effect on him too, huh? That boy is a persistent one, after all.'

Even Lieutenant Satoru Sakaguchi noticed something was amiss. 'Kinta-kun…?'

The lack of sword slashes and pressure allowed the nimble Kai to feint an attack, only for him to shoot his rope spear in between the eyes of Satoru.

To be clear, the rope spear flew at longer distances compared to his rope darts, which he used for closer targets.

The flying acrobatic ninja figured out that Kinta decided to conserve his strength after going through the stamina monster that was Lucas.

When Kai first met the half-breed, he couldn't touch him with a bastard sword, a longsword, or even a shortsword. Hidaka moved too fast and too nimble for the kid to take down.

However, like a hunter-gatherer caveman during the Stone Age, Lucas took down faster prey like gazelle by tiring them out and pursuing them ceaselessly. Over and over. Like an unstoppable force of nature you couldn't outrun.

No wonder Kinta looked like he'd just run a marathon despite having not one mark or cut on him.

While under pressure, Minakata probably worried about the wellbeing of the Sakaguchis at the back of his mind. He would've gotten the adrenalin rush needed to save father and daughter.

However, when Kinta himself was attacked, he let his guard down and became unaware of his surroundings.

Kai noticed as much when he fought the swordsman the first time. This went double now that he'd been tired down by the implacable Lucas Grant.

How ironic for the Sakaguchi Family to end up being liabilities even though they were supposed to be there to protect the Minakata Family.

That split second of distraction and scrambling towards Satoru and Kyoko was the window of opportunity Hidaka needed to finish what Lucas had started.

***

Back at the rear exit of the moneychanger affiliate office building…

John Rathbone switched tactics yet again. He couldn't counter Baku's attacks, who patiently lay in wait and ambushed him in the darkness at every turn.

If one or two probing strikes with his rapier weren't enough, then a complicated series of them—a truly Compound Attack—was in order.

Only problem was that Baku danced around the strikes with the same deft skill that Kai Hidaka, a true-blue ninja in his own right, did.

Even though the bat ninja favored projectiles more when compared to a weapons expert like Zan, he combined the rain of kunai (daggers) and shuriken (ninja stars) at John with karate punches and kicks.

John got nailed with a couple of meaty strikes while dodging the shuriken and kunai. He'd rather get punched or kicked than get slashed.

Muscle memory forced him to do this, remembering how his own estranged son Cain Merrick would use bladed weapons to poison him and others.

The duelist scowled and narrowed his eyes. What was this walking freak show doing to him and his twitch reflexes?

It was the screams, wasn't it? Baku was shrieking like a black cloud of bats all this while. Shrieking like a bat.

In fact, Baku turned the tables on John, with him dictating the pace and forcing him to attack at every turn, only to block with his hooked arm bracelets, blind him with smoke bombs, or injure him with knives and metal shards.

They two chipped away at each other's defenses, but Baku had the upper hand. And the momentum.

Thankfully, Rathbone's uncharacteristic aggression with close-call near-misses (or near-hits, as the case might be) and follow-throughs served as his defense against a significant blow or counter.

"You'll never figure out what I'm doing to you in a million years," boasted Baku after nailing the fencer with an elbow this time, followed by a slash from his arm brace hooks.

Blimey. Screw ninjas and their stupid gimmicks! At least ordinary thieves and ruffians were too unskilled and straightforward to pull the wool over John's world-weary eyes.

Ninjas, on the other hand, thought just like him. Who knew honorless secret agents would have something in common with a gentleman thief like him?

Again, Baku hid in the darkness. He screeched, avoided, or blocked a myriad of ripostes and sword thrusts, and then kicked, punched, or threw Rathbone around like a rag doll to open him up to a fatal stab wound or slash.

Meanwhile, Rathbone could barely hit him back himself. He always somehow missed by a nose hair or cilia.  Like his internal rhythm or reflexes were off.

***

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the moneychanger building, near the stables where the Minakata's carriage was parked…

"I found a horseman!" said Kaita, who popped out of nowhere with a previously escaping driver of the Minakatas whom he held at kunai-point (or ku-knife-point, as Gan would say).

"I found one of your horses!" said Yahiko, who held the reins of the beast of burden, pulling him back to the stables. Thankfully, this stallion wasn't too spooked.

"There's a horse-drawn carriage here that hasn't been sabotaged or had its wheel axels removed!" confirmed Tatsuya Minakata, pale as a bed sheet at this point. "Perfect! Let's go! I don't want to spend another minute at this hellhole!"

"Wait, we're just going to leave? Your nephew is still out there," pointed out Myojin, only for him to get taken aback by Tatsuya's glare. "Okay. You go home to Mommy with your personal ninja. I'll stay here and look out for your nephew."

With a sourpuss look reminiscent of someone biting into a lemon or smelling garbage, Tatsuya looked back and forth between Kaita and Yahiko before relenting, "Ugh. Fine. We'll wait for my stupid nephew to come back."

The Sanada Ninja and the Tokyo Samurai exchanged looks. Should they have escaped with the uncle or were they making a mistake?

Yahiko took a deep breath. He'd deal with the consequences later. The cast was drawn. They'd made their decision, whether it was the right one or not.

They slightly regretted not escaping then and there when the doors, doorway, and walls burst forth rather than swung open before them in splinters like a carriage crash.  

***

The kunai slashes and shuriken cuts were getting closer, sharper, and deeper. Death by a thousand cuts. Or maybe a million.  

While hearing what sounded like a million bats shrieking, clawing, and biting at him in the darkness of the mansion.

Bats, huh? Baku even shot his kunai to snuff out the flames of every last candle and lamp in the vicinity, thus covering them in darkness with the barest sliver of moonlight from the windows.

He really was bat-like. He wasn't blind as a bat but he didn't need his vision as much as a bat would.

A punch from Baku cracked The Faceless' mask.

Aside from distracting him with loud screeches, Baku the Bat-Man might also be using supersonic screams to locate John's position every time.

Rathbone had read about this before. Bats were able to exist nocturnally and move in low light through echolocation.

These animals screamed at high pitches to judge distance or what they were flying through by the amount of time their screams bounced back to them.

In other words, the Baku and Zan tandem read through or perceived Rathbone's change of pace or sudden counters and ripostes from the steady rhythm of his pendulum-swing jabs by their hair-trigger reflexes and superhuman senses.

Come to think of it, didn't Zan have a two-pronged war fork that could've doubled as a tuning fork? He might've used the vibrations from that fork as his means of sonar or echolocation too.

Also, judging by the obliterating vibrations done by the snake ninja known as Ren, that ninja also probably used resonating whip cracks to create a sonic boom as his means of attack.

Ren, Baku, and Zan. They were animal-themed ninjas but they had another thing in common—their supersonic sound and vibration abilities.

They were sound ninjas.

Jesus Christ. These goddamn ninjas fought dirty but their tactics required such a high skill level that you couldn’t help but bitterly laugh at it all.

They were consummate cheaters that would stab your back like the cowards that they were. They did anything to win.

"Kill all invaders! Protect the emperor from the barbarians! All hail to the Empire of Japan! Sonno Joi!" rambled Baku, his terseness disappearing as he smelled blood and went into a feeding frenzy.

Rathbone again did his strongest feint—an actual attack cut short then recovered into a different follow-up counterattack—but this time while armed with the knowledge of how Baku made him miss.

Baku again blocked with his arm bracelets to do an early Parry and Riposte of his own to cut off the follow-up Recovery Attack.

However, Rathbone expected that and countered off of that counter instead, swaying his body at an awkward angle and slipping from the arm bracelet guard to skewer the ninja right in his heart.

He felt vibrations in his body and a second later, he missed Baku's chest and merely left a flesh wound on it instead of a stab before getting kneed in the gut for his trouble.

Bloody hell. John winced and gnashed his teeth.

Why did he miss this time? Baku was wide open! He fell for his bait! His supersonic trip-mine could only tell when he actually attacked instead of what sort of attack he'd do! It was perfect! Why did he fail…?

Wait a minute. Baku wasn't just using echolocation, was he?

'That was close,' Baku the Bat Ninja admitted in spite of himself. 'This man, The Faceless, is too dangerous to be left alive!'

John Rathbone—or rather, The Faceless—chuckled to himself. "I understand your secrets now, you Yellow Peril!"

"You don't understand a thing. Go back to the barbaric west where you belong, waito piggu (white pig)!"

***

In between the realms of the conscious and unconscious lay a subconscious Kyoko.

She'd almost been hung to death by the Brigands Guild ninja, Kai Hidaka of the Fuuma Clan.

A forgotten memory from her childhood surfaced as she swam between the converging seas of wakefulness and slumber.

It was one where she insistently asked his grandfather about how dashing the samurai were when he was a child.

Were they as honorable, loyal, noble, and heroic as the hatamoto-class samurai they worked for, the Minakatas, were?

To be more specific, were they as handsome and dreamy as Kinta Minakata? Or his silent but kind father, Azuma Minakata? Or even his scary grandfather, Toshiro Minakata?

Chuckling, her Grandpa Genzo Sakaguchi told her while she sat on his knee, "Not all samurai  are like Kinta or Azuma. They're more like politicians or policemen. Some good, some bad. Maybe even more bad than good.'

'Huh. So samurais were more like Mr. Toshiro then?' was the question Kyoko had enough sense not to ask her own grandfather.

The old man then turned serious and said, "Samurais aren't what they're all cracked up to be, Kyoko-chan."

Kyoko tilted her head in askance. "What do you mean?"

"For example, there's such a thing as Uchi-sute."

"'Uchi-sute?'" repeated Kyoko. "What is that?"

"It's also known as kiri-sute gomen."

"Kiru… Nani? (What?) Gomen? (Sorry?) Eh?" Kyoko's blew her cheeks up like a chipmunk. "So? What does it all mean, Grandpa?!"

This only made Grandpa Genzo chuckle.

Uchi-sute (To strike and abandon) or burei-sute (To offend and strike) were concepts dating back to the feudal era collectively known later on as kiri-sute gomen (The right to cut and leave).

This concept referred to an old Japanese expression about the right to strike or the right of the samurai to kill commoners for perceived affronts. Samurai had the right to strike with the sword anyone of a lower class who compromised their honor.

"It's the right of a samurai to kill commoners if they were embarrassed by them," was how Genzo phrased it. "We live in a society where a military aristocracy had the license to kill another human being just because he's of a lower class than him."

Naively, Kyoko blinked and said, "But isn't it okay for samurai to do it? Are we not samurai?"

"Listen carefully, child. For my money, no one has the right to kill another, whether they're kings or paupers. The emperor himself or the village idiot. Murder is murder. You have no right to kill someone over a slight as though you're better than them."

Kyoko's eyebrows furrowed cutely. "But higher class samurai like Kinta-chama can kill me because I'm lower class than him, right?"

"The courts would rule it as self-defense, but no. I don't believe he has the right to do it. You can defend yourself as a lower class samurai with a wakizashi, but the whole thing is bogus, if you ask me. If an affront has been committed, let everyone equally have their day in court instead of having samurai get the automatic right to kill anyone who annoys them, I say!"

Nonoko chided in the background, "Father, what are you teaching that poor kid? Sheesh. She's just a child."

Genzo cackled in an "old mannish" sort of way and told Kyoko's mother, "I'm teaching her about real life."

***

Earlier, just as Rathbone almost finished off Baku, he felt the silent vibrations seep deep into his very bones, making his joints ache.

The Faceless realized that aside from shrieks he and Baku could hear, the ninja screeched sounds beyond the human range of hearing.

Humans could only hear sound waves between 20 Hertz (Hz) to 20,000 Hz. However, sound waves below that threshold could affect any person.

Even if you sat in front of something producing a frequency of 19 Hz or infrasound level, even if you couldn't hear anything you could still feel its vibrations. Like how the deaf could feel sound even if they couldn't hear it necessarily.

At 19 Hz, humans could end up with wonky vision because 19 Hz was the resonant frequency of the human eyeball.

When exposed to 177 dB sound waves at 0.5 to 8 Hz, it could start messing with your lungs. Your breathing could end up erratic as your bones start shaking around.

Short-term exposure to such sounds could damage your joints even. Chronic exposure to them could result in visual impairment or outright nausea.

However, these effects to infrasound weren't uniform to all people exposed across the board. It'd take constant resonant exposure to the sound to mess with your internal organs, joints, or vision.

Besides which, it wasn't as if Rathbone was sitting still while getting exposed to the supersonic screeches of Baku. He dodged and moved around a lot, plus they were making a lot of other noises that covered the infrasound as well.

Baku used his shrill shrieks for another purpose, its effects being more immediate than making Rathbone's various organs feel "funny" or "off".

There was also the fact that countering and hitting a target was all about having your body memorize a rhythm and timing to align your attacks to every last opening the opponent had.

Whether you were an expert marksman with a gun, prizefighter with thudding fists, or a swordsman with a sharp blade, hitting the target involved timing your shot, punch, or slash at the right tempo or rhythm.

If you were off by a hair or an inch, you'd miss badly.

And Rathbone missed all thanks to Baku's supersonic or infrasound screeches.

Like a singer who was off-tune, Baku kept hitting the wrong notes even though he was close to the right ones, creating a dissonant if almost accurate tune.

This also created dissonance to Rathbone's own tempo.

Over and over Baku kept getting away with it, so John slowly got used to the rhythm of the bat himself.

However, he couldn't achieve enough resonance in his counters to match Baku's rhythm, so he was the one who kept missing and getting his advance checked.

Baku's supersonic "singing" wasn't only a method of echolocation that acted like a trip-hammer or landmine on whether Rathbone was feinting or attacking for real.

The bat-man ninja also sung a song of the damned that ruined Rathbone's innate abilities to discover and exploit the rhythm of his opponent, solve them like a puzzle, and open them up to counterattacks or ripostes.

Baku mimicked the beat and tempo of Rathbone's own rhythm but was slightly off, creating dissonance in the fencer's movements. Like a terrible singer messing up a proper singer with his off-key singing in a duet.

So on top of having hair-trigger reflexes aided by superhuman senses and echolocation, Baku could also use his supersonic screeching to disrupt Rathbone's counterstriking rhythm.

A two-pronged attack if he'd ever seen one. Like the two-pronged war fork of Zan himself. Or like a classic pincer attack from Ancient Roman military strategy.

'Hmmm. Pincer, eh?' thought Rathbone with a growing smirk on the edges of his unseen mouth.

***

Satoru scrambled for his saber as soon as he saw the rope spear fly from behind the acrobatic ninja of the Brigands Guild.

Shit.

He had set his still out-of-breath daughter down on a nearby statue in a sitting position while looking for an appropriate avenue of escape for the both of them as afforded by the appearance of Kinta.

Only for Kai Hidaka to have other ideas.

The ninja's flight-or-fight instincts went into full gear, attacking Kinta for fear of him countering him if he had attacked the Sakaguchis. Only for him to use that feint as a distraction to attack the Sakaguchis anyway.

'He's slow,' thought Kai after the lieutenant deflected the rope spear with a sheathed saber, unable to draw his sword on time. 'He's easier to take down compared to the likes of the Kagemusha. He hasn't really changed much after all these years, huh? Still the weak link.'

However, as expected, Kinta leaped forward into action to save Satoru from harm even as Kai whipped his missed spear to redirect it towards Satoru's shoulder instead.

"AAUGGH!" Satoru cried out, which stirred the half-unconscious Kyoko awake.

This was what Kai wanted.

When he attacked Kinta in panic, he was the one at risk. This time around, he forced the surgically precise Mimawarigumi Battousai to attack him in panic instead.

Under his terms. In a very predicable manner. Open to counterattacks of his own.

"You're wide open, Kagemusha!" said Kai as he threw multiple rope darts at Kinta, intending to ensnare him into his web.

Meanwhile, waiting on standby from the sidelines was the "fish-hooked" Satoru, whom Hidaka could always tug towards him to use as a meat shield against Kinta's signature Full Moon Slash or Double Full Moon Slash (also known as the Blue Moon Slash).

To Kai's chagrin, the Mimawarigumi Battousai went above and beyond with his sword slashes.  

Like a lightning strike, his sword flashed and streaked across the air as it got drawn out in supersonic speed.

"Tsunami (Tidal Wave)," Kinta murmured his words of malice, the glint of his blade becoming an afterimage of moonlight.

The first slash from the Waxing Stance—a Young Moon Slash—cut apart the first few strands of darts headed towards him before they could hook themselves into the ground or his flesh to form an ensnaring net.

The follow-up combo of the Waxing Crescent Moon to Waxing Half Moon (First Quarter) Slash came twice as fast as the first Young Moon Slash. These slashes ripped apart the flailing ropes into confetti.

However, Kai anticipated as much. As expected of the man who went toe-to-toe against Gensai Kawakami of the Ishin Shishi's Four Butchers and lived to tell the tale.

Hidaka had seen this technique before from Kinta's fellow Musou Madden Ryu practitioner, Sho Kojima. He thusly knew how the Tsunami worked.

The Tsunami was a series of slashes chained together from weakest to strongest that started slowly and went faster and faster in the final few slashes as its momentum increased.

Its timing went 1 (pause) 2, 3, then 4567. Like how the turning tides started as a shallow low tide weak only to end up becoming a deep and strong high tide at their apex.

There were several ways to counter this.

The first was to block, evade, or counter the first few slow slashes to not fall for the rest of the final supersonic slashes. If he confirmed the hit, he'd do the rest of the combo.

Like getting out of the beach during the low tide to get to higher ground or far away from shore to avoid getting swept up by the huge waves come high tide.

However, the Mimawarigumi Battousai solved this by gauging the distance and doing the first few slashes on the rope darts before charging forward exactly to where Kai dodged and executing the supersonic slashes like a building deluge of high-pressure waves.

Had Kinta acted this urgently back when he faced off against his half-brother, he might have even killed Lucas then and there. Maybe.

The second (more difficult) way to counter the Tsunami was this.

Using a "lifesaver" or boat against the upcoming tides to ride the waves.

"GET OVER HERE!" shouted Kai as he pulled and dragged Satoru towards the incoming whirling dervish of steel.

Dragging him deep into the waters of Kinta's unstoppable tidal waves of doom.

***

In response to getting nearly hit to the heart by his rapier, Baku the Bat-Man Ninja sunk into the darkness further, blending into his environment and hiding his presence.

He opted to ambush John Rathbone at blind spots or while unseen, with his cloak helping obscure his figure. Slowly cornering the duelist swordsman until he had nowhere to hide.

Thusly, Rathbone's depth perception got compromised by fighting blind with what little moonlight spilled through the darkness. He couldn't see the walls, floor, or anything, so when Baku backed away from the light, it looked like he merely shrunk.

And whenever he avoided the light altogether, it looked like he got swallowed by the sea of blackness.

So The Faceless decided to adapt a new personality the same way a normal person would discard one set of clothes to another set to fit the occasion. It started by taking off his masquerade ball mask and swapping it for a different face mask.

A plain all-white porcelain face mask with no mouth and eye holes. The mask of another swordsman. A Spaniard swordsman, to be exact.

He unsheathed a hidden dagger in his person, dual-wielding an espada y daga (sword and dagger).

"Hola. (Hello). We haven't met yet, but I'm Fabian La Cerca. You are a dishonorable coward. Tonto de culo (Idiot of the ass). Prepare to die."

Baku harrumphed, unimpressed. "So you 'transformed' yourself from one colonizer to another? You're all the same to me, gaijin," said the bat-man ninja before letting out another one of his dissonant screams.

Its vibrations reached La Cerca to his very core like a loud, deafening rumble of thunder after a lightning strike.

They clashed weapons with each other. It was then that Fabian decided to talk. While Rathbone would rather his actions speak louder than words, Fabian loved the sound of his voice.

"I understand why Japan instituted the Sakoku (Locked Country) policy. You didn't want foreign influence to taint your culture before being colonized. Every neighbor of Japan were colonized by western powers through religion or trade. Invaded and conquered by the superior civilizations."

"…."

As usual, like with Rathbone, La Cerca jabbed his sword and circled around blind spots whenever Baku decided to ambush him with hand-to-hand combat, grappling, throws, or projectile weapons.

Baku's perfect pitch went higher and higher until it seemed like the bat-man had lost his voice. But he actually didn't. The soundless scream vibrated through the air, beyond the scope of human hearing.

"The Tokugawas distanced Japan from the west, thinking them as a destabilizing force. And you know what? They were absolutely right. These colonizers used religious and/or brute force to divide and conquer pieces of the east from themselves."

However, Fabian managed to feel the infrasound resonate—or rather, dissonate—into his internal organs. Like tremors from an earthquake or vibrations within a carriage going through a bumpy road.

Or an extra loud heartbeat that pulsed all over his veins, from the center of his body all the way to the tips of his fingers and toes.

"Spain got Mexico and the Philippines. Britain got Hong Kong and India while also humiliating China for good measure with the Opium Wars. Even a young country like the United  States of America was able to humiliate the Tokugawas, making them lose face and instigating the Bakumatsu (End of the Shogunate)."

Baku intensified his attacks, covering his shuriken or kunai throws with his cape or sleight of hand to make their trajectory less visible or predictable. The ninja also attacked from behind, forcing La Cerca to turn and pivot to delay his reactions.

"…Japan's justified fear of foreigners and all things foreign led to the country going under lock down or Sakoku, limiting contact with other countries. However, this also resulted in your nation becoming weak and backwards while the rest of the world progressed."

Baku couldn't believe it. Even in the cover of darkness, this La Cerca version of The Faceless kept catching his ambushes. Like he could see in the darkness himself.

What changed from before? The effects of his infrasound shouts to Fabian's ears should still leave him disoriented and out-of-sync with his counters. How was he able to do counters now?!

"In the world stage, Japan has been humiliated by the United States of  America and Britain. You've been exposed as a backwards country with primitive technology. Japan could not defeat the U.S.A. Isolationism has left you frozen in time."

The Faceless's joints had started to ache from all his exposure to the bat-man's infrasound screams, but Fabian kept pushing forward regardless. His pseudo-arthritis be damned.

Baku then realized something.

The infrasound screaming disrupted Fabian's rhythm and tempo. However, the dissonance was only slight and he merely missed by mere inches or millimeters. Sometimes by a hairbreadth or fraction of a millisecond.

Also, was La Cerca talking all this propaganda garbage to disrupt Baku's infrasound screams as well? Did the fencer have echolocation abilities himself?

Or maybe Fabian gauged when Baku was nearby through sensing the vibrations of the infrasound screams himself, thus notifying him of when to attack!

How dare the gaijin use his own screams against him! He was a clever bastard, that Faceless person. Just like Zan.

"However, resistance is futile. Thanks to the black ships of Commodore Matthew Perry, your country has opened up to reality. Ninjas and samurais are relics of the past. The bygone age of just 20 years ago now feels like it was 100 years ago, wasn't it?"

Baku's pivoting, camouflage, and ambush tactics paired with his sonar echolocation paid dividends, with him delaying La Cerca's reactions enough to occasionally hit him with punches, kicks, projectiles, or stabs with his hooked gauntlets.  

Fabian La Cerca answered by dancing around Baku in circles, chaining his attacks together, and reacting faster and faster, stabbing in the darkness and getting more hits than misses.

A stab to the thigh later and Baku understood what had changed in The Faceless.

Now that Fabian dual-wielded two weapons, he could use the first strike from his lead hand to gauge the distance and the second strike to his rear hand to make up for any misses.

His Fabian personality landed his counters now despite being out-of-rhythm because every time his rapier missed, his dagger on his other hand allowed him to fill in the gaps where he'd otherwise be open.

His rapier indeed served as his range finder to hit his target despite being a second out of beat.

"Don't you get it? The existence of the Meiji Era is proof that the West won. You are now a colony of Western Superpowers," said Fabian. "You played chicken with the West and blinked. Now you're our bitch."

An attempt to pierce a cornered Baku's eye with his rapier that missed ended up becoming a dagger slash to the belly. However, the ninja had one more trick up his sleeve.

Baku the Bat-Man flew. Or rather, he jumped and glided in the air, with his cape serving as both his wings and his parachute. The ninja couldn't get cornered.

"How about that? All your posturing is for nothing, outsider. You can't even hit me now."

This only made La Cerca chuckle.

"You think just because you can tell when I'm attacking, you can counter me? Or fly away? Fine. I'll do you one better. I'll tell you exactly what I'm about to do so you can stop me better. I dare you to stop me."

"Just shut up and fight! You talk too much, you foolish gaijin!" spat Baku, who sunk into the darkness once more to hide his presence and attack at a blind spot.

Fabian then said, "I'm going to corner you, which will make you fly. I'll then stab you while you're in midair, unable to dodge."

And then he did just that.

La Cerca predicted the ninja would feint attacking from behind, only to fly above his head and swoop down as he turned around, stabbing him at the back regardless.

He figured that the ninja would do something as tricky as set up an obvious pattern to counter as bait for him.

Regardless, Fabian pretended to fall for the feint and instead stabbed Baku as he flew. Just like he said.

"Now I'll fight you without the rapier. Just the dagger," boasted La Cerca. "I'm saving the dagger for a worthy challenger. Like that other ninja, Zan."

"DIIIIIIE!" cried the bleeding, desperate flying bat-man ninja, his gauntlets at the ready to block the dagger stabs, only for him to get run through with the rapier.

"Sorry, I lied," said the cheeky Fabian, driving the flabbergasted ninja out of the office entrance and into the exterior compound where Yahiko Myojin, Tatsuya Minakata, and Kaita stood.

"This is Manifest Destiny. Bow down to your superiors, small fry! I am the Western Superpower that Japan should fear!"

***

To Be Continued...

Remember the Sanada Demons? Yeah, me neither. Still, I'm going to attempt to squeeze out the best parts out of these infamous filler episode villains the same way I incorporated Shogo Amakusa as a major character in this fanfic.

That sounds on-brand for Rurouni Yahiko.

The trash talking of La Cerca is done as homage to the trash talking of Larry Bird, particularly when he told his opponents what he was going to do before doing it.

Danke, Abdiel

[not-tallytals]

LMK SEASON 3 SPOILERS

Alright since Flying Bark obviously wants me to go insane over Wukong and Macaque (their huge fallout specifically) the rest of you have to suffer with me :p

Okay so my hot take on their fallout is that it was all a hallucination. Never happened. There was no fight to the death. Just- just bear with me because things are gonna get

Wukong and Macaque had a very intense verbal argument right around the time Wukong got kicked from the jttw group after their encounter(s) with the White Bone Spirit. There wasn’t some huge battle, just a lot of yelling. They never once laid a physically violent hand on each other.

We’ve all seen Shadow Play, right? Wukong is wearing the golden circlet (a cursed headband) throughout the entire play. Including when he supposedly abandons Macaque. Further proving that this fallout between them happened during the Journey.

Wukong was in an impossible situation. He had to choose between his closest friends and what he knew he had to do, which was to go back and continue the westward journey. Also during this time, Wukong is trying to become a better person. He’s been treated like a volatile monster pretty much his entire life up until this point, which is something that has deeply upset him repeatedly. So factor that in with the obligation he feels to the jttw crew, and yeah. Difficult situation indeed.

In the end Lady Bone Demon sees two powerful demons who could and totally would end her entire existence should they recover from their fight, so to make sure that doesn’t happen, she shoves Macaque—who’s in a Not So Good headspace—right into his villian arc. She doesn’t put anything in his head that wasn’t already there (yet). She really just hypes him up and pushes his growing resentment towards Wukong into full blown rage, taking “Wukong had to leave” and turning it into “Wukong choose to leave.”

So, now that everything is set up, here’s where shit gets real. That epic battle between Wukong and Macaque? Completely staged by yours truly, LBD. Wukong and Macaque haven’t mention any huge battle between them, which is odd because it seems like a big deal. So as far as we know there was just that previously stated argument and a general lack of communication. Lady Bone Demon is the one who showed us the flashbacks of their battle.

LBD is known for her mind games, so who’s to say this fight actually happened in the Monkie Kid timeline? Macaque only thinks that Wukong killed him. He thinks that Wukong left him without a second thought. He thinks that Wukong is the enemy. Macaque was never fighting Wukong in that scene, he was fighting Lady Bone Demon, who is also notorious for her shapeshifting and use of disguises to trick others.

I honestly just think it’s fishy that LBD shows up like this, out of no where, and “rescues” Macaque. Especially when the chains that were brining him down looked suspicious like they were made by her. Also, she shows up right where Wukong was, like he wasn’t even there in the first place.

Not sure how to end this, or if anything made sense, but yeah! That’s my stupidly detailed theory that sounded a lot more put together in my head. It really just boils down to the fact that no one besides LBD has mentioned a physical fight between Wukong and Macaque. Sure, there’s Shadow Play and that one frame where Macaque mistakes MK attacking him for Wukong, but that episode covers Wukong leaving Macaque, not their battle.

Of course, this also sets up some pretty funny scenarios, because Macaque swears up and down that he fought Wukong and Wukong is just standing there like “….n-no? you didn’t? are you okay???”

[ragingbookdragon]

Love Bites (But So Do I) PT. 2

Justice League x Reader One-shot

Word Count: 2.3K Warnings: Explicit Language

Author's Note: Aye, we're back with another Skyrim!Reader fic! Enjoy! -Thorne

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It’d been close to a year since she’d joined the Justice League, and though the original members were a tightknit group, they’d welcomed her with open arms. Some of them were still wary about her, but for the most part, she was doing well within their ranks, especially when it came to being around Bruce or Hal. Given her longevity, she’d seen men like them before, known how to get along with them. Bruce she could meet on equal footing, Hal was simply a man that had to be shown who was in charge; it didn’t take much to make Hal crack under her authority, and in mere days, she had him wrapped around her fingers—Bruce too, but he’d never outright admit it to her face, or anyone else’s, even if a gun was put to his head.

She didn’t particularly fight much when they went on missions, preferring to be backup as well as their combat medic, a job she did well. She’d sewn up most of them without a blink of an eye, and while the first time she sewed Bruce’s wounds up, Clark and Diana stood beside to watch in case she tried to feed, they quickly learned, not only through her own comment but also his, that she wasn’t going to harm anyone.

Barry liked her. Or at least he enjoyed speaking with her. He found her ten thousand years of experience interesting, the history of her life, the survival of it. They’d spent hours talking about the past, hers and his from going back in time often. She enjoyed puzzling the poor scientist with magic. Barry wasn’t one to follow the whole “It’s magic” sermon; he wanted scientific evidence, hypothesis and experiments to prove how sparks, fire, and frost flowed from her fingertips like water. How natural it was for her as if it were like breathing.

She liked Barry. Liked to help him through personal issues. Her many years had given her experience in most subjects of life. Spurned lovers, betrayal of friends, death, life, all of it. There wasn’t anything she couldn’t help with, the League had come to find out. Sometimes, she even helped, and she didn’t even realize it.

***

It was one of the routine meetings for the month; she sat next between Diana and Hal, trying to focus on the words coming out of Bruce’s mouth but all she could hear was the quiet rumbling coming beneath them. What was she hearing? A broken pipe in the ceiling? Air hissing from a crack in a window, perhaps? No, it seemed to be coming from the table. But what was it? Nothing was shaking the foundation. What—

“(Y/N), is something wrong?”

She cocked her head up, realizing she’d pressed her face to the table in hopes she could listen closer to the noise; clearing her throat, she felt the eyes of the group on her. “Apologies,” she excused. “There’s…there is something I keep hearing under your voice. It’s…distracting.”

Her eyes found Clark’s. “Listen for a moment and see if you can hear it.”

They waited, everyone holding their breath, and when the rumbling came again, her eyes widened. “See! That! What is that!”

Clark held his hand up to say wait and she fell silent, letting him listen of for a few more moments, and then he cracked a smile and laughed.

“What? Why are you laughing?” she questioned. “What is it?”

“It’s Barry’s stomach,” he chuckled, nodding at the Speedster who suddenly flushed.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know you guys could hear it.” He laughed nervously. “It’s past my usual snack time so I’m really hungry.”

“I’ve got you,” Hal replied, digging in his bomber pocket to pull out a candy bar. “Snickers?”

“Ooo!” Barry chirped, taking it from him with a, “Thank you. I forgot to pack snacks when I left the house today.”

“Bar, one day, you’re gonna keel over from hunger because you forget. I swear, your memory is just as bad as your lateness.”

“God, don’t remind me,” Barry snickered.

(Y/N) hummed, eyes lingering on Barry for a moment before she turned to Bruce. “Sorry for the interruption. Please, continue.”

Bruce didn’t skip a beat, but she kept the thought of Barry in the back of her mind.

***

A couple hours later, the meeting had ended, and she caught up with Barry and Hal as they left. “Barry, a moment of your time, please? There’s something I wish to discuss with you.”

Hal waved the two off and continued to the Zeta tubes, leaving them and Barry smiled, “What’s up, (Y/N)?”

“How often do you eat?”

Hello left field with that question.

“I—what?”

“Consuming sustenance,” she reiterated. “How often do you do it?”

Barry shuffled on his feet, scratching at the back of his head. “Well…my metabolism burns through food like Hal does jet fuel.” He saw her cocked eyebrow and unimpressed look and immediately said, “I need to eat roughly 4.8 million calories a day.”

Her eyes went wide and for a moment she simply gaped at him, then she recovered and shook her head. “Divines, you eat a lot of food.”

“Yeah,” Barry chuckled. “Only downside of being a Speedster besides seeing the world in slow motion.”

“Forensic scientists make between forty and one-hundred-thousand a year. Is it possible for you to afford the nutrition you need to adequately feed yourself?”

Just like that, she hit a sore spot because Barry stilled, a remarkable feat, and his cheeks tinted red; she heard the stutter in his heart rate, noted the way he looked around uncomfortably. “I…Bruce…helps me sometimes.” He shifted nervously. “High calorie protein bars are the easiest to manufacture in massive quantities. I need them most nights.”

“So, you can’t afford the amount of food you need?” (Y/N) hummed, eyes narrowing as she brought her hand to her face, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “I’m going home for the evening,” she suddenly blurted out. “Come back here tomorrow around the same time. I’ll have something for you that will help with your food shortage.”

As she walked off, Barry grabbed her arm, pleading, “Wait, (Y/N), don’t. I can’t take money from you.”

“I never said anything about money,” she corrected, removing his arm. “I merely said for you to come back, and I’ll have something for you.” She winked. “Relax Barry. I’m not going to tell the world your secrets.”

***

He stood in the center of the area where he was supposed to meet (Y/N), had been standing there for an hour, but then again, she was only fifteen minutes late and he forty-five minutes early. Barry glanced at his watch when a buzzing started in his pocket; he pulled his phone out and saw her caller ID, lifting it to his ear. “Hello?”

Barry! Sorry for calling late. That thing I’m looking for is taking a bit longer than I expected it to. Do you think you could come to my home in Gotham? I’ve already called ahead and let Bruce know you’d be in city limits.

“Oh, yeah,” he answered. “I’ll be right there.”

Good! Travel safely!

It’d taken him all of ten seconds to get from the Watchtower to her house and Barry almost shit his pants when he saw it. It reminded him of Hagrid’s house but slightly wider and with multiple conjoined buildings to it. He walked up to the front door, hyping himself up to grab the brass doorknocker that resembled a demonic skull. When he knocked on the door, nothing happened, then the locks flipped and it opened, creaking on its hinges like a cheap eighty’s horror film, but it did the trick because Barry was scared out of his mind when all he saw was a darkened room lit up only by a candle holder on a table in the middle.

“I’m in the back!” a voice called from inside. “Fang is coming to greet you! He’s bringing Nevermore!”

Nevermore was the bird. He remembered that one, but who was Fang?

His question was answer by a giant mastiff came bounding from an opening to the hallway and Barry almost jumped a foot in the air; it looked terrifying, but he merely whined and shoved his head into Barry’s palm, waiting to be scratched behind his ears.

He relented, giving Fang a good ear-scratch, and smiled as Nevermore hopped up his arm to sit on his shoulder.

“Hungry!” he croaked. “Want snacks!”

Barry dug around in his pocket, finding a half-eaten granola bar. “Granola?” he offered, holding up a piece and Nevermore swiped it with a quick snap of his beak.

“Come in!”

“(Y/N), where are you?”

“In the back!” she called. “I told you that already!”

“I meant where!” Barry laughed, coming to the hallway. It split down two sides, one going to the right the other left. The right opened to what looked like a studio. The left went down and had two doors on the wall, what were bedrooms, and at the end of the hall was a study.

“Bedroom!” she answered, and Barry walked down the left, stopping at the second door that was creaked open.

He saw (Y/N) laying over her bed, digging for something on the opposite side away from him. “(Y/N)?”

“Come in,” she said, listening to him walk around to see her. “I forgot I shoved this underneath her a long time ago when I was cleaning things out.”

“How long is a long time ago?”

“Hmm…American Revolution? Give or take a decade or so?” she waved it off, pulling out what looked like an antique drawstring bag, about the size of a dinner plate; she held it up and patted the bed beside her with her free hand. “This is going to solve all your food problems,” (Y/N) announced, watching him sit down.

“Uh…how so?”

She placed it in his lap. “Think of your absolute favorite snack food. Chips or cookies or something.”

He did.

“Now…reach into the bag and pull it out.”

Barry’s brows furrowed as he reached in the bag, and she knew he’d found them because his eyes went wide, and he pulled out a snack pack of cookies. “What the—”

“Magic food purse,” (Y/N) explained. “Found it one day when I was exploring.” She took it back and reached into it, pulling out a thin tray of expertly wrapped sushi. “It’s really helpful when you’re traveling and can’t carry massive amounts of food around with you.”

Barry watched her pop one in her mouth; he knew damn well that sushi wasn’t in there when he reached inside. He swiped the bag from her and opened it, peering inside, but all he saw was a dark, stretching expanse. “That’s not possible,” he breathed. “There’s nothing in here.”

“It’s magic,” (Y/N) snorted, reaching in to pull out a frosted chocolate cupcake. “Anything you can imagine eating or drinking? It will come out.”

“That’s not scientifically possible!” Barry stressed, trying to shove his head into the bag. There had to be some gimmick to it. A transporter! Something!

“Why is it so hard for you to accept that some things in this universe can’t be explained by science?” she stared at him. “For Divines’ sake, Barry, your best friend is a man who wields a magic ring. You run faster than the speed of light.”

“There’s science behind some of that!”

“Not much.”

“But there is science! Here—there’s nothing!” Barry was having a crisis. “I don’t know how this works. I don’t understand.”

(Y/N) smiled and folded the bag up, gently stowing it in Barry’s jacket pocket. “It’s not about understanding, Barry, it’s about accepting that there are some things you won’t ever understand.” Her eyes crinkled at the edges. “That bag will never run out of magic. You can think all the food and drinks into existence and never run out of food again.”

She reached up and cupped his cheek. “No more high calorie meal bars unless you have to eat them. No more worrying about putting money aside to make sure you have enough to eat. No more relying on others to keep yourself from going hungry.” (Y/N) whispered comfortingly, “No more fear. No more worries.”

Barry felt the lump rise in his throat. He’d never admitted it, not even to Hal, but he worried constantly about keeping fed. Worried that money wouldn’t come in, that he’d go hungry, that something worse would happen. All the nights he’d laid in bed and had to roll over on an empty stomach because he couldn’t afford to buy more or eat what he’d planned for tomorrow then. All the skipping meals, all the exhaustion, all the worry. Gone in moments.

He felt her thumb under his eye, and he looked into her umber ones, seeing her smile softly as she wiped away another tear. She didn’t say anything, merely gazing at him and Barry leaned into her palm, reaching up to cup her hand closer to his cheek. “Thank you,” he managed through the lump in his throat. “I don’t know how to repay you for—”

“Shhh,” (Y/N) hushed, pressing her thumb to his lips. “There’s nothing to repay anyone for. I did this for you, Barry, not so you’d owe me.” She pulled away from him and rose from the bed, looking back. “Now, if you’d like a moment to yourself, I understand. But I was planning on making dinner. Would you like to stay the night?”

“You don’t mind?” Barry asked. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

She glanced over her shoulder with a wink, flashing those pretty white fangs in a smile as she flirted, “Stay all you want, Barry. I won’t bite…yet.” She left Barry in the room, heart pounding in his chest, but not from fear—from excitement and anticipation.

[incorrectlumityquotes]

FULL REVIEWS: “The First Day”

After Adventures in the Elements, I was all in on the lumity hype train. Granted I thought it was going to be like Little Witch Academia where they’ll do as could as they can without making it canon. I’m still afraid it’s going to be like Star vs The Forces of Evil where they make it canon in the last minute. I hope not. I’m so sick of that crap. 

There have been shows where the main couple gets together and they stay together as the story continues. Parks and Recreation, Kim Possible, Tangled the Series, etc.

But you guys didn’t come here for a rant. You came for a review. Luz starts her first day at Hexside and it didn’t go the way I thought it would. Egg on my face, huh?

The cold open actually starts with an animation error showing Luz in her multicolored uniform. Hello? Spoilers, guys. According to The Owl House wikia they’ve fixed it in reruns, but I don’t know if that’s true.

Turns out the fabled “placement exam” is just impressing Principal Bump.

Forced to use all your skills and knowledge to impress one person in order to live your life’s dream? Where have I heard that before? Oh right, the WWE. Fuck the WWE.

The placement exam goes...exactly the way I thought it would.

Exactly.

Principal Bump’s response is also...exactly the way I thought it would be.

Good for you, Luz.

So Luz begins her first semester at Hexside. Amity congratulates her (more on that later) before meeting up with Willow and Gus. Several funny jokes later and Luz meets with Principal Bump to work out her schedule. Luz wants to do a little bit of everything (Red Mage style) but, thanks to the coven system, the school districts have a “Hocus Focus” policy. Everyone has to specialize in one track only. 

This actually really scared me at the time because as a viewer it would be pretty lame to have nine tracks and only have us focus on one of them. The only other thing to do would be to keep switching characters based on which track we would want to focus on for that episode, but like typing that sentence, that seems like a lot of work for something simple. 

Luckily we get a funny shot at Harry Potter before Principal Bump employs his “eenie meenie minie this one” policy. I’m starting to think someone on the crew is really likes Harry Potter and some else in the show thinks Harry Potter is really stupid.

Okay so he’s dead. We know that, right?

Bump picks potions for Luz because get out of my office. An inspector from the Emperor’s Coven is going to show up and he hopes to impress them enough for a donation to cover the costs of the damages from the previous episodes. 

Luz tries to get into her potions class, but it’s not as exciting as the thought. And the idea of a potions coven also bothers me. Like if the coven system limits your magic does that mean people in the potions coven can’t do shit? It doesn’t take magic to mix shit together and stir. Hell we do that IRL. No magic required. 

I choose you to die.

It’s made even worse when Willow and some moon-headed girl have a POKEMON BATTLE right outside her window. It’s made even double worse we we get a glimpse of Luz’s class schedule. 

Potions for beginners

Potions in motion

Potions (again)

Still potions

Potions 'till you die

Potions after death

Good thing I’m not writing for the show because I would have added:

Potions, don’t you get it it’s all potions

Demonics JK more potions

Potions 2: The Quickening

How about potions on my hand

 This drives Luz to try out that crystal ball she saw where she immediately gets caught by Principal Bump because magic I guess. Principal Bump becomes an odd number because he literally can’t even and ships Luz off to the detention track. That thing that educators do when a student needs extra attention but they don’t want to do the work.

The detention track seems terrible at first. The students aren’t allowed to do anything except wait until the day ends. But when the “teacher” falls asleep, one of the girls leads Luz to The Secret Room of Shortcuts. They use this secret network of magical back doors to peek into any and every class so they can learn whatever they want. Turns out Bump put them in the detention track for wanting to mix magics. 

And there’s the part I expect to get flack for. I don’t like the detention track kids. It’s not that they’re bad. I just think they’re kinda lame and boring. Viney could be cool but the rest seem like afterthoughts. They’re not funny or interesting and they’re not on screen enough to make me care about them. They kinda bring down the episode for me. For a show that has so many creative characters I was really surprised on how not invested I was. 

They get along well enough until Willow and Gus pull off the second laziest plot device in fiction: the misunderstanding. Yup, overhearing something without the proper context and taking it personally. It always works none of the time.

Meanwhile in the B (C?) plot, Bump is trying to use Amity to impress the inspector and it works too well. The inspector is actually a Greater Basilisk, a snake-like monster that eats magic from witches. 

That’s not a face you wanna see everyday.

Everyone tries to fight it off but it’s a snake-like monster that eats magic from witches. Luz’s magic doesn’t come from her; it comes from nature so the basilisk can’t eat that.

Luz rallies the detention track kids to fight off the Basilisk, and I got pissed because the dog’s palm reading thing did nothing and was completely useless.

Bump gets pissed at the kids for mixing magic but Luz confronts him about it. Luz does something that angers boomers and uses logic to prove her case. Bump realizes he was wrong and just lets the kids study multiple tracks and I’m thinking how does that work? If one track has a full day’s schedule how they going to do double the work? Or do they just do half the work?

Pokemon and Sailor Moon? Someone’s 90s anime is showing.

Luz still can’t decide on a track so Bump let’s her do all of them. Which begs the question even further, how is Luz’s schedule going to look like? Big brain hurt. Just tell yourself it’s just a show; I should really just relax.

Meanwhile in the C(?)-plot, King sneaks into the school to eat trash, leftovers, and free food. Somehow he ends up as a substitute teacher of a class proving my point that people are basically stupid and will believe anything you tell them.

FINAL SCORE: 4 - Liked it. 

I really wanted to give this episode a 3. I was just so not impressed by the detention track kids and I know that everyone else just loves them to pieces for the seven minutes maybe of screen time and the palm reading to defeat a Greater Basilisk. Whatever.

But I liked it because of the jokes, the jabs at Harry Potter and King’s C-plot was just funny enough to push it over that edge. And there’s also...you know....

[caesthetix]

KIDS IN LOVE — Pt. 2 Second Chances

↪Porco Galliard mini-series

↪content; canon universe, description of violence, unrequited love, admiring from afar, season 4 spoiler, manga spoiler 127

"I know I once told you that no one will save you at war."

You seared the blade to a tree, chopping down some of the branches with precise cut, wanting to get used to the feeling that was still so foreign to you. Days ago, the only sharp equipment that you ever used was just a chef's knife.

"But, I will."

Who would have thought that now, both of your hands were occupied with the Eldian Military's gear? Two pairs of steel blades, with the first purpose, were used to kill titans, now could be used to kill humans too.

"And what makes you change your mind, eh, Pock?"

Just like cutting down meat, you knew how it was to use knives, stabbing another human with it or seared it deep within a titan's nape would be easy. Like cutting open a bread, yes, just think of it that way.

"Hmm? You tell me, kid."

Using the blades was one thing, but getting used to the manoeuvre gear was something else indeed. You felt like throwing up at some of your first tries, but you kept reminding yourself of your goal.

"Maybe because now, you are worth saving for."

"Fuck!" You cursed as you kept practising, didn't back down even though your hands were now bruised with how much you held the blade. Mikasa, one of the Survey Corps was kind enough to give you some pointers. Of course after Hange told them how you pleaded to be a part of their mission.

"But promise me here, (Y/n)."

You couldn't back down without a fight, and being in a military branch got you some skills. Including hand-to-hand combat and gun use. But you needed more than that, you had to be stronger. You needed to fulfill a promise that you made a few months back.

"No matter what happened, I want you to keep that mindless dream of yours."

"That's enough for now, (Y/n)."

You landed on the branch not too far from where you flew through before. Letting out a sigh, you were sure that you still had a lot of energy to spare. You needed to be more than this, if you were going to survive in this world, you had to be like them. "Your blades started to get dull, that's enough."

Looking down your hand, you examined the hard steel, finding a lot of pitted metal along the edge of the blade. You frowned, the downside of practising was of course another loss for the supplies. But the commander was kind enough to let you stay with them, and even command the others to teach you to fight.

"I am sorry." You turned to face Mikasa before you sheathed your blades. Even though it started to get dull, you could still use it to practice your hand movement later on. Getting down from the branch, you hopped down in front of the ravenette who gave you a firm nod.

"There's nothing to be sorry for." Her voice was calm as she dismissed your apology. "I am certain there are enough supplies for all of us." She gave you a small smile and a pat on the shoulder before beckoning you to follow her.

Today, you were going to meet other people that would join the team. There were only eight people in your group right now; seven from the survey corps, including Annie, and then the misfit, you. And if they wanted to have more chance in succeeding this, it would need more than this suicidal group.

Your gaze fleeted towards the ravenette as you flew a few feet behind her. You felt warm in your heart as you realised how she started to treat you like a comrade. With a few reassurance smiles, small pat on the back and shoulder, it felt like this was a place where you belong.

She was intimidating before. You remembered how the survey corps eyed you with caution as you walked behind Hange a few days ago, with Jean and Mikasa trailing behind to keep an eye on you. You were not going to blame them over that, your people had put so much misery to those demons in Paradis after all.

But as you gave them a perfect salute, proving them that you were not going to be a deadweight, that you would put your life on the line to fight alongside them — slowly, they started to see you as more than a hopeless chef from Marley.

From a little kid to a military chef, now a soldier.

Not even your past self would believe that.

"Come on, you can punch me harder than that!"

Porco roared as he swung his fist on your ribcage. You gasp and cough with the impact that you just received, cursing under your breath as you got pushed to the ground by the force, face planted to the dirty ground.

"Porco that's enough!" Colt was eyeing the sparring with worry. From how you and the jaw titan inheritor interacted, it sure looked like the two of you were trying to kill each other. "For God's sake, you are too much!"

"I am fine!" You gritted your teeth, trying to stand up with your already trembled arms and legs. This was nothing, if you were going to be in a war, a mere bruise on your body was nothing. "I am fine, Colt. Don't worry." And you finally stood up, perfecting your stance once again with your eyes locked to your opponent.

Your old friend was smirking by now, a little bit sadistic, yet you could see a glint of pride dancing inside his grey eyes.

"There you go, kid." He chuckled, spitting some blood that occurred from your punch on his jaw before. "Now go on, try to—"

"I am not a kid!" You charged, a lot faster and pliant as you punched his face once again. He did not expect that, and you surely wouldn't think that he would be stumbling backward from your punch.

It felt like everything happened in slow motion as he fell to the ground, cursing and muttering how you were getting good in this. Your mouth gaped with awe from your own force. "Holy shit, I did that." You laugh, a little mocking as you see Porco still laid on the ground, as if processing the fact that he was knocked down by you. "Colt, I did that!"

"You did that!" Colt piped up and raised his arms to cheer at you, hyping the little victory while ignoring the glare that he received from his fellow warrior. "You smacked him down with your power!"

"Oh, shut up." Porco could only groan as he sat up, glaring daggers at you from being so full of yourself for just a punch.

You just continued to laugh and shout with Colt, just like a kid you were. It didn't surprise anyone that you would be so close with him with how similar your personality was. Porco wanted to snarl at you, or maybe challenging you to another round.

Yet he couldn't help but smile as he saw your face written with so much pride.

And he thanked God that you didn't focus on him at the moment.

"Stop." Mikasa settled down on one of the branches with you following right after. The two of you were hidden from plain sight, your eyes followed where she landed her gaze, black orbs observed like a hawk. "They are here."

Your pupils dilated as you saw the new ally. You knew who they were, and you were pretty sure that your new comrade had made an acquaintance with them from the infiltration in Marley and the attack a few days ago.

The ravenette eyeing you, trying to understand what was happening in your eyes. She waited for you to do something, perhaps rushing to them from your longing of home.

But you stayed still, calm demeanour was taking over you as you waited.

"Why don't you go to them?" She asked with pure curiosity in her voice. You blinked, raising one of your eyebrows as you turned to face her. "They are your people. Why are you not rushing to them?"

"What—" You cleared your throat, somehow understanding her point for asking that. You looked down once again to take a look at General Magath talking to Commander Hange. "Because I am a soldier now." You stated, gripping the operating device in your hand a little tighter. "And I haven't got a command to be dismissed."

Mikasa gave you a small hum, satisfied with your answer and somehow approving your behaviour. She rested his hand on your shoulder, gripping it slightly before gesticulating for you to follow her.

"Then come on." She aimed the hook at the tree in front of you. "Let's get you to meet your old friends."

"I still don't like the fact that you are here."

The sky was dark blue right now as you stood and leaned your body on the railing. All the other warriors were partying inside, celebrating their winning over a war of another country. You had enough of the alcohol and endless chant, deciding to catch some fresh air on the balcony.

You enjoyed the silent moment, just you and the moonlight that shone your vision. Until he suddenly walked outside and decided to join you.

Closing your eyes, you let out a long sigh to calm yourself down. This was not the first time you heard your old friend throwing his snide remark.

"Hm, I am here anyway. So you better get used to that."

You answered him without bothering to turn your body around. Twirling the glass of water in your hand, you focused on it instead of him who thought it was a good thing to join you. He didn't make any space as he leaned to the railing right beside from where you were. Weird, he never liked to be around when you were chatting up with the others.

Yet here he was, arms grazing yours, so comfortable as if standing beside you was his favourite spot.

You didn't complain though as you lifted your glass and gulped down the water. You subtly look at your left side, choking up in an instant when you meet with your gaze, resulting in you coughing uncontrollably. Porco had been staring at you, a pinkish hue could be seen on his cheek to tell you the state he was in.

Then he laughed, he dared to laugh at you. A full, ridiculous laugh that made him snort here and there. "You looked so stupid!"

"Goodness, Galliard, what the hell are you doing here anyway?" You scoffed, hiding how flustered you were on the inside by acting annoyed. At your words, the laugh subsided down. He cleared his throat, deep in thought as if he was trying to form the right word inside his mind.

You waited, knowing better not to push him. He would never tell you anything if you were not patient, that was what you knew by befriending him throughout your life. Until that day he pushed you away, of course.

"First of all, call me Porco." He huffed, puffing his cheek like a kid. "And I am here because you are alone. I don't want to see Colt take advantage of it." That statement made you raise your eyebrows. You and the future Beast Titan were close, there was nothing wrong with befriending a warrior.

And just like always, he knew what probably clouded your mind. "You do know that Colt takes a liking to you, right? In romantic light?"

"Huh?"

"For God's sake, you are so oblivious."

He grumbled before muttering profanities and some mockery under his breath. His cheeks that were pink before now turned into a darker shade of red. Thinking about it by now, you tried to recall how Colt always was the one who greeted you at a meeting, he was caring and putting extra effort to protect you on a mission.

"Oh," That was your only answer. Well, you couldn't blame yourself for not seeing that sooner. No one ever took a liking toward you, at least not in that way. "I-I don't know what to say." You whispered under your breath, frowning as you felt lost.

There was no time for love, that was what you believed with the path that you had right now. Sure it was good to have someone that cared for you with all of their heart, sure it would be good to have a reason to live. But then again, you already had.

And you cursed yourself for being such a hypocrite when it came to love for having your old friend to be the reason.

"Ah, and this is Mikasa Ackerman. I swear all of you are already acquainted with her." Hange's voice was as cheery as ever, ignoring the tensed atmosphere as the ravenette walked to them. "All of you already met with the rest of the team before, but—"

That was your cue, hiding your face a little while wearing the survey corps cape, you walked forward and stood beside Mikasa. "We have a new soldier, and I dare to say that she has become a valuable member from just a few days joining us."

"Soldier?" You tried not to flinch when you heard General Magath scoffed. "She is our chef, and she is a citizen of Marley. So no, she is not a soldier." He said that while still glaring at you as if seeing you on the other side was something humiliating and disgraceful.

Hange hardened their gaze at the word, they had grown protective over you, just like how they always acted for everyone that they considered as a fellow soldier.

"With all due respect, General Magath," You started, voicing yourself first before the commander spoke up. "I may be a chef from Marley, but not after I lost everything." They should have known who you refer to by that. "And so, I decided that I would pursue my freedom while being a part of the survey corps."

Your gaze locked with the older man, refusing to look away as you didn't want to see how Pieck and the others looked at you. The tension was even higher from before because of your action. But then you remembered your place. "I am sorry for speaking up, Commander."

"Hey, now. I told you that you can just call me Hange." They butted in, wanting to keep everyone civil if they were going to work together. "Though regarding her, Magath," Turning his face to the Marleyans, their voice went to a low intonation. "Doesn't matter if she is a soldier or a chef, she is one of us."

Somehow, those words made your heart swell. Sure you were a part of Marley Military before. But they never treated you the same, you were just a chef that was supposed to treat warriors, doctors, and professors. Nothing more than a slave in the kitchen.

If it was not because of your friends and the dream that you had, you might have abandoned your place and resigned.

Now though, hearing the fact that you were a valuable member of them, to be treated like comrades even though you were a new addition, you laughed in your head as you thought about it. How funny, that you even feel more belonged while you were with these so-called demons.

If only you knew that people in Paradis were just a human like the rest of you, you wouldn't want to be a part of the Marley Military itself. But now, it was too late to fix things. So the right thing to do — was to achieve both your freedom, and theirs.

↪Back to Wall Maria

↪Send an ask if you want to be a citizen of Paradis (taglist)!

[twdmusicboxmystery]

The S11 Trailer - Analysis

Okay, let’s talk about the trailer. I’ll go through what I’m seeing shot by shot, and then focus on a couple of things that really stood out to me.

We start with Negan and Father Gabriel, with Negan looking distressed. FG asks him what’s wrong, and he says, “bad memories.” FG says, “of what?” We don’t hear Negan’s answer in the trailer.

Then we see the windmill in Alexandria, followed by horses running by Kelly and (I think) Magna. I think the horses will end up being important, as we see them again later. And this is really interesting. Take a moment to remember Buttons from S5, and I’ll come back to this.

Next, we see what I originally thought were overgrown street signs. But when I lightened this picture, I realized they’re not outdoor street signs. They’re indoor ones. Almost like the kind of thing you’d see at a massive mall or market or airport, directing you where to go. East Market. The “East” is jumping out at me as well.

Then we see Negan with a flashlight and other things in the underground tunnels from the sneak peek.

We see Daryl staring out over what I first thought as a mural. But when I lightened it, he’s really just looking down at a scene below him. If you look closely, below him on the left is a tank. So, at the end of 10x22, Carol said they were going to visit an old military base Daryl had found. I’m assuming this is it.

We see Judith, and then Daryl with mud on his face. This may be important. Keep this in mind. It looks a little like he’s covered himself either in red mud or perhaps walker guts.

Then we see various scenes of people fighting walkers and one person (we don’t see who) being bitten by one.

Then we see Negan dragging Maggie backward while she yells, “no!” I’ve mentioned this recently, but this is really interesting to me. It’s a nearly identical replay of Maggie being held back at the end of AOW (8x16) because Rick declared that Negan would live. Except this time, it’s Negan holding Maggie back from something else. The dynamic has changed. So, it makes me very curious to find out what he’s dragging her back from. It’s almost like he's trying to protect her.

There’s more fighting with walkers, and scenes from the underground subway tunnels. Most of these scenes are fast and it’s nearly impossible to tell exactly who is doing what or what’s going on.

This is also where we hear Daryl say, “I don’t leave anybody behind. Ever.” Because of Beth, we’re definitely side-eyeing that. In a way, it just proves that something happened to make Daryl believe Beth was dead and couldn’t be buried. This is him affirming that he would never have left her behind otherwise.

Then we see Kelly and Magna talking, and Kelly looking at a note that seems to have been written by Connie. It says, “Trapped with the dead. Walked with them for days. No light. No food. Little water.” Yeah, I’m kind of side-eyeing that note. It’s strange that Connie would write it and leave it but be nowhere around when Kelly finds it. (However, based on stuff we see later in the trailer, she does seem to have been kidnapped or taken prisoner.)

But more than that, the note feels thematic. Being trapped with the dead feels like a Beth thing. Walking with the dead is something we’ve seen a lot on the show. Michonne and her pets. The Whisperers, of course. Plenty of examples. And then the “no light, no food, no water” goes well with the drought and famine themes we’ve seen a lot. One of the most notable examples being in 5x10. I’m just saying.

Then more fighting with walkers, and we get the scene where Aaron says, “so you’re going to fight ghosts?” Followed by a teary-eyed Carol saying, “This is a path you don’t want to go down.”

My fellow theorists and I have discussed these a lot and who both Aaron and Carol might be talking to. I think there’s a good possibility that both may be Daryl. I’ve talked before about the possibility of him hearing something of Rick or Rick’s voice and wanting to go find him, but no one else believing him or that Rick is a live. Possibly questioning Daryl’s sanity. Both would go well with that idea.

Of course, that may be a little too convenient. Some people have suggested Carol might be talking to Maggie and trying to keep her from revenge on Negan. Or these could be secondary characters we won’t even care about overly much. No way to know.

Next, we see a person in a mask, with Dog standing near them, apparently watching Daryl. This is one scene that got our fandom very hyped up. I do have some things to say about it, so I’ll come back to it at the end.

We see lots of people running through the woods, a sickle hitting a tree. (I think it’s safe to assume that the sickle is a weapon/symbol of the Reapers.) And then a line of people in masks walking forward aggressively. Again, I’m assuming these are the Reapers. We’ve been told the trailer is misleading, so it may prove untrue, but I think it’s what we’re supposed to assume here.

We see more fighting and houses being broken into. Ezekiel fighting in a house and Eugene with bloodstains on his shirt. Then someone bound and hooded being dragged backward down a dark hallway. I’m thinking that’s Eugene.

Then we get a quick flash of what looks like feminine eyes behind a hood. These are what people assume could be Beth or Leah. And yes, they could be either. We do later see Maggie taking a skin mask off, so I think they could be her as well. It’s so quick, it’s pretty much impossible to identify them for sure.

The next scene is a super-tragic one. I’m pretty sure Dog is dying, guys. We hear what sounds like Dog whining in pain, as dogs do, and see a knife flash. Then Daryl turns around and screams, “no!” From descriptions of the episode, it sounds to me like Dog gets separated from the group and Daryl goes looking for him alone.

Some of us have wondered if this is when Daryl will “see” Leah again. When he’s on his own and it’s just him and her and Dog. That would, once again, suggest her being something only he can see. Just conjecture on our part as we really have no idea how things will play out, but it’s an idea we’ve batted around.

Anyway, it doesn’t look to me like Dog is going to survive. And while that SUCKS (poor Dog, poor Daryl ☹) because Dog is the embodiment of the Sirius symbolism, it does make a certain amount of sense that they might kill him before Beth reappears.

The other big deal about this is that it’s a clear parallel template to Beth. If Dog = Beth, she gets separated from group, Daryl goes searching for her, found her, but she apparently didn’t survive, dying right in front of him. (Or so he understands.) It kind of looks like the exact same thing will happen with Dog.

We then see a blood-covered knife hit the wall just under a frightened-looking Connie’s nose. She seems to be a captive or prisoner somewhere, and clearly her life is in danger. We also hear FG telling someone not to be scared and see what I assume is a Commonwealth soldier in an orange suit.

We also see a very decomposed walker tied to a tree. We’ve seen that pose a few times, and my mind always goes to the blond girl tied to the tree that Aaron and Daryl find in 5x15. So, chances are this will be very symbolic.

Then we see Daryl in front of some burning shipping containers, staring out at people. It’s not clear if the people he’s look at are members of TF, or perhaps enemies, but he doesn’t exactly look carefree.

Remember that in 10x17, he and Maggie and their group stayed in these same kinds of containers. Jadis also kept Rick in a similar once back in S8, so it’s a theme that’s been building.

We then here FG say, “God isn’t here anymore.” We see what looks like a walker but it’s crawling forward in a super creepy fashion, looking almost like a demon. Most walkers don’t move that way unless injured, so it makes me question whether this is a walker or a human pretending to be one.

We also see someone hung upside down by their ankles from an overhead pipe. I’m reminded of the Librarian guy in 6x16/7x01 who was hung over the bridge. Again, it’s just a theme we’ve seen before, but hard to interpret because the trailer gives us so little context.

More from the underground tunnels including what looks like it couple be corpses stuck in dried cement. And we hear an interesting line. “This a damn death march and you’re the pied piper.” So, Pied Piper theme. Something else we’ve seen a lot.

Then we see Connie and Virgil running through rooms. Now, I’d assumed that when Virgil found her, he took her somewhere or took her captive. I guess I didn’t really trust him even after Michonne sort of came to and assumed he was kind of a bad guy. But based on this, it could be that both were taken captive after he found her. They both seem to be running and trying to escape.

We see Maggie lighting a flare inside a subway train. Then, in quick succession, more masked eyes, Maggie looking distressed, and then someone’s fingers slipping from a handgrip, as though they’re trying not to fall but not falling anyway.

Then we see Maggie walking first through a parking lot and then some kind of defunct mall near an escalator. She says, “I lost something. And I don’t think it’s a bad thing that I did.” 

And then we see what I think is Maggie and Negan helping someone who is injured. Because we only see the backs of their heads, it’s hard to tell for sure. But I think the two on the outside are Maggie and Negan. I can’t tell who they’re helping. It doesn’t look like Daryl or Carol, but beyond that, I could say. If you look to the right, you can see department store mannequins, so this still seems to be in the mall.

Things speed up again and we see lots of people in masks, what looks like walkers invading Alexandria, Carol hugging Magna (forgiveness for Connie, perhaps?), people wielding weapons and running different places, etc.

We then see a bunch more of the underground tunnels stuff. People killing walkers in trains and such. We hear Negan say, “this only works if we trust each other.” And then Daryl says, “if you say trust him, I’ll trust him.” No idea who Negan’s line is directed to, as it’s just a voice over here. Chances are Daryl is talking about Negan, but again, no way to be sure.

Then Maggie says, “The woman who lived is not the one standing here now, so keep pushing me Negan. Please.”  When she says the final word, “please” we see her pointing a gun at someone with Daryl standing behind her.

A couple of things here. This is where we see her take off a skin mask, but that’s in daylight in the woods, so clearly, it’s a different scene than the subway with her and Daryl. What I’ll say is that, to me, this line from her feels very stilted, which means it may be spliced together. Remember back in the S5 trailer when it sounded like Gareth wanted to take Eugene to Washington to cure the virus, but in the show, he never said anything remotely close to that? The words really were his, but they just took lines of his dialogue and spliced them together. It was very misleading. I feel like this line from Maggie may be the same way. No way to be sure. I could be wrong. But it just sounds unnatural to me, like different parts of her dialogue have been spliced together. And who knows if the person she’s pointing the gun at is even Negan. We can’t see them.

I’m just saying, take it with a grain of salt.

Then we see the TWD logo. But it’s not over, yet. We see a coda, which is Eugene at the Commonwealth. We see a happy little “welcome to the Commonwealth” promo video, followed by lots of darkness and drama around Eugene.

Why is this important? Beth was the coda of the S5 trailer. For S6, it was Sherry and Dwight capturing Daryl in 6x06, which was replete with Beth symbolism. In the S7 trailer, it was Tara finding Oceanside. I could go on but, while Beth clearly wasn’t in any of the seasons after S5, the codas to the trailers tend to deal with symbolism or storylines that we’ve tied to her in HUGE ways. And we already believe she’ll probably come through Eugene’s story line when we, the viewers, first see her. So, it’s significant that they used Eugene, rather than any other character, as the coda.

I also noticed that in the CW promo vid, we see things like a mall or department store and a train station. Those are the same kinds of places we see Maggie and Daryl and the others exploring, except where they are everything is dark, defunct and overgrown, where in the CW video it all looks happy and functional and vibrant.

Not sure what that means. Are they meant to be the same places? Is there just a duality theme going on here? Are the Reapers and the Commonwealth connected somehow? We just don’t know, but it’s interesting.

I also notice behind the narrator is a monument with the words “The Great War” on them. Practically, the monument is probably referencing WWI, which was often called The Great War at the time it was happening, because it was the first worldwide war up until that point.

But I have no doubt that this monument is purposely placed by the writers and foreshadows the big, coming war, that we won’t truly see until the spinoff.

Okay, that’s pretty much it, but let me go back to that scene with the masked person and Dog staring at Daryl.

I think most people are assuming that it’s Daryl in the foreground (and I concur) and therefore the person watching him, who Dog is so comfortable standing beside, must be Leah. And it’s possible that that’s true. But keep in mind that, especially when Daryl isn’t around, Dog is equally comfortable with Connie and Carol. So, we just can’t know for sure who this is in the mask. I even think it could possibly be Daryl himself. I know that probably doesn’t make any sense to you but let me explain.

The angles and clarity of this shot are very suspicious to me. Let’s start with the angles. Clearly this is meant to be someone Daryl doesn’t see, but he feels he’s being watched, which is why he takes out his knife. But if you look at the angles, he’d only have to turn his head a fraction of an inch to see this person, so why doesn’t he? It just doesn’t feel like realistic positioning for the vibe they’re going for.

Secondly, the line between the right side (Daryl in the foreground) and the left side (Dog and the masked figure) looks a bit blurry and indistinct to me. And there’s a brown pole running down the center of the frame. At first glance, it seems to be a tree trunk, but if you look at it, it’s way too smooth and symmetrical to be one. I think it’s a metal pole. And what would that be doing in the middle of the forest?

Why am I telling you this? Just to show why I don’t think this is a “real” shot from the shot. Could Daryl be hallucinating? Sure. That’s one possibility. But I really wonder if this is just two different shots spliced together to create a creepy vibe for the trailer. So, one is the masked person standing next to Dog, and the other is Daryl in the foreground. And they’ve been put together with a computer.

That’s why I think the hooded figure itself could be Daryl. @wdway pointed out that this hooded figure wears a large knife very close to the center line of their body, and we’ve seen both Beth and Daryl do that in past seasons. Plus, remember that scene from the beginning of the trailer I told you to remember, where Daryl has either red mud or walker guts all over his face? I’m wondering if he’s just taken off a mask there. It would also explain Dog standing so calmly beside him.

And of course I could be totally wrong as well. Maybe it IS a masked person watching him. Maybe it IS Leah. There’s just no way to tell for certain. I guess my point is just to take everything with a grain of salt. We’ve been told this trailer is very misleading, and there’s absolutely no confirmation of who any of the masked people or random eyes are. Just keep that in mind.

Oh, I also said I’d come back to the horses. I didn’t write down exactly where, but at one point, we get a shot of Maggie walking up on dead horses. So, they’ll clearly play a role this season. Maybe it’s a matter of TF seeing some wild horses, and then finding them dead, and realizing this means there are bad people around. 

But remember there was a dead horse near Princess and Eugene’s group last season when they walked through the field of landmines. So, it’s something that’s been foreshadowed. And I can’t help but wonder if clear back in S5, Buttons might be a foreshadow of what’s about to happen in S11. Especially if it leads to Beth, which we think it will, I’m gonna say it was. But of course we’ll have to wait and see what that’s all about. 

Okay, I think that’s all I have for the trailer. Thoughts?

[nalufever]

do you have any more nalu fic recs?

Sorry, not sorry - you’ve unleashed more than you could’ve guessed. ^^ Always happy to Recommend a List of Fics ~ And thank you for asking! Admittedly there’s a few Recs that aren’t Nalu - I got excited to share my favs. ;)

A Girl Worth Fighting For: Natsu navigates unspeakable horrors to win Lucy’s love or Natsu goes shopping, looking for the perfect white day gift. 

A Lesson: Natsu and Lucy can’t keep themselves from expressing their passions - and the results are bed breaking. Short but smutty - smexy in fact. ;P 

A Solidly Constructed Kiss: Erza strong-arms Lucy and Natsu into working the Kissing Booth to raise funds for a school trip. Lucy’s never been kissed and Natsu acts like he’s never entertained even the idea of kissing another person. Things naturally come to a head when Lucy and Natsu are given the task to build the actual booth; will they fight over construction or build themselves some kind of relationship? 

Fairy Tail Week: A collection of drabbles from tumblr prompts to celebrate Fairy Tail. Fairy, Ladies, Lads, Magic, Guild, Ultimate Team, Stronger, Mashima, Tail. Only rated teen to err on the side of caution, family friendly content featuring most of the Fairy Tail Guild! 

Feathers and Scales: Angel/Demon AU. Devils are more than they seem and Angels no less. Pitted against each other in a never-ending battle for souls, a single Angel and Devil trade mercies and fall in love. Warning: major character death(s). 

Full Moon Secret: Natsu had wanted to tell Lucy his secrets, to share his family history with the fey…it had just never been the right time. Tonight the truth was going to be revealed, one way or another. 

Okay, I could just keep hyping all of my own fics individually - but I won’t - other than to just put in a link to ALL OF THEM. ;) Fair warning, I have a few other fandoms works in all the Fairy Tail stories - from Brooklyn 99 to The Flash, Snow White with the Red Hair, RWBY, Blue Exorcist, Teen Titans and some Hakuouki. Yes, I’m a shameless self-promoter. Speaking of that - one more I need to rec!  Natsu’s Stars in Lucy’s Sky. I swear Imma finish this. 

I also have more than a few favourite authors who write for Fairy Tail (and other fandoms) ~ some have not contributed lately to Fairy Tail or chosen to concentrate on other fandoms - but I like them and their excellent writing. 

ObsessedwithNalu: One of my first fandom friends and pretty much any of her FT stories is gold. @obsessedwithnalu  

Christmas Treats: Admittedly a gift to me and very cherished for that fact - and - it’s frigging awesome. Lucy does a little holiday baking at home before Fairy Tail’s Christmas party. Natsu, as always, is there. One thing leads to another… 

Thanks, Krov: When Krov decided to relax at his favorite bar after work, he never imagined that he’d be seeing some of his old guild members, especially since he thought they had died long ago. Nalu fluff. 

Edo-Nalu love fest: Submissions for the Nalu love fest week of 2014. But instead of regular Nalu, these ones feature Edo-Nalu. Smut-tastic and delightfully mature. 

ImpracticalDemon: Another early fandom friend who’s still writing this, that and the other thing - and she’s just GREAT. Again, a link to all her works and a few that are special to me follow. XOXOX @impracticaldemon  

May the Best Man Survive: “Gray would never have in a million years thought he’d host Natsu’s bachelor party (Nalu pairing). Why is it his job to herd the bunch of rowdy mages from bar to bar, ending up at the guild where the real surprise party is? Oh yeah, the idiot had asked him to be the best man at his wedding. Hijinks, chaos and hilarity ensue.” ^^ A prompt supplied by me and I’m smirking so wide because the fic Imp came up with delivered more awesomeness than I could have hoped for! 

A Star At His Side: “Accidentally Fall Asleep Together” for Endragoneel on tumblr. Natsu and Lucy spend the day together at a festival in Magnolia. Natsu ends up watching more than just the stars when the festival is over… 

Christmas Gifts: When Erza walks Wendy home from the Guild’s Christmas Party, Wendy realizes how alone her friend and mentor is feeling. She sets out to recruit Lucy, Natsu and the rest to break Jellal out of prison for just one night, as a Christmas gift for Erza. Meanwhile, Natsu has accidentally burned some of Lucy’s writing. Will she forgive him? 

Dark Shining Light: One of the best and most welcoming writers I have ever interacted with! I’m still gobsmacked she’s a friend! She’s a legend and I don’t know what else I could add to any discourse about her writing - but the classics are classic for a reason, yeah? Here’s a few of my personal favourites of her works and just know there’s too many to list them all! AKA @ff-darkshininglight 

Mischievous Cat: Let’s just say there have been a few incidents where Happy has come in at a bad time. 

What Belongs to a Demon: Everyone knew she belonged to the great demon lord and she would prove that she deserved to stand by his side. 

The Truth Revealing Cards: Lucy should have known if there was a card that would reveal her secrets, Natsu would want it. 

Eliz1369: Got introduced to her for her Hakuoki fics but she’d dipped her toes into FT as well ~ and this is a great fic. ^^ @eliz1369 

The Light of Fairy Tail: The members of Fairy Tail may be their own brand of crazy, but their hearts are always in the right place. 

rougescribe: Shame on me for not reading more of this author’s works! @rougescribe  

Fire Sprite No 5: For him, Heaven wasn’t a place or a single moment in time. It was a feeling built on memories upon memories, past and present and a hope for future ones all tied down together. All sharing one common denominator: Her. Nalu. Tumblr Valentine’s Event. 

Fallen Ark Angel: Admittedly I only have interacted from afar with this writer. I mainly read Nalu fics but I love her take on Mira and Laxus and her next gen offspring characters. She’s got a lot to offer and it’s all superb. @fallen029

Loving Satan: Loving Satan is never easy. But when she loves you back, its twice as bad. 

Madartiste: Another one-sided love affair with someone else’s writing. And her stories are all wonderful and prolly appear on hundreds of Fic Rec Lists - but here’s one of my Favs! @madartiste  

Hoarding: Getting interrupted gets old fast. 

UranoMetria: I added her to my stable of fav authors 05-03-2014. Wow. Eons ago and even if I’m not sure she’s still active in the fandom, I salute her. Kudos. 

The Goddess Gate: With six years of partnership, Natsu and Lucy are torn apart by a mysterious visit from a secret magic council. Lucy is kidnapped and her memories suppressed. She fights her way back home to regain her life - with a startling secret revealed as she begins to remember. The lives of all Earthland hang in the balance. **Okay, this is a wicked old fic - but amazingly written and fuelled my own desires for writing. Last updated in 2018 but who knows? Some current attention may slay any demons on her back in regards to writing - and even if not - the hours of enjoyment reading this is worth giving a comment just to say, ‘thank you for writing.‘ 

Wild Rhov: Do I even need to say anything about this author? Famous, famous, famous. Excellent. Writes a lot of pairings and fleshes every relationship into something REAL. I Can’t Even. @wildrhov  

Beastly Possession: Something is murdering people in Magnolia. When Lucy is attacked, Natsu goes on a rampage to find the culprit, and everyone in Fairy Tail wants revenge. But could this bloodthirsty attacker be someone they know? Warning: High octane nightmare fuel! Do not read while eating, and beware of red eyes in the dark! 

Shell1331: Introduced via Imp. This writer is in a few fandoms and is worth reading. @shell-senji  

Juicy: Impulsivity and poorly chosen words get Natsu into more trouble than he’d expected, which is saying something for him. 

AbsentAngel: Everyone should know this writer. Been stalking her since 2014 so that says something. Tho, it’s prolly just that I’m creepy. ;) My suggested fic here is being re-written/has been? into something original and worth being purchased when it becomes available and re-read over and over. No, I am not being paid to shill but I am open to having senpai notice me. @absent-angel  

To the Flame: She stares, transfixed, as the blood runs down his fingers and begins to pool in his palm. He holds his hand up to her lips in offering, and she tears her eyes away from the blood to study his face. He is smiling softly. “Go on Luce, I didn’t cut them for nothing.” [Vamp AU] 

HawkofNavarre: Loved for awesome and delightful Gruvia content. Looks like there’s a tumblr but I can’t manage to link it. :(

You Stole the Rain: He just wanted to be friends; fine, she just needed to change his mind. Gray x Juvia 

Ricardian Scholar Clark-Weasley: Not sure I spelled that right even after checking three times! I usually short hand that to RS-CW in my head. And she’s prolific - has a tonne of fandoms and is a tower of talent. Is anyone reading all my fangirl gushing? 'Cause she follows one of my fics and comments (sorry I haven’t updated that fic in a while) and it’s a source of happiness that someone who writes so well happens to enjoy some of my content. Okay, bragging over - back to the Recs! 

Tales of Fairies: A collection of oneshots exploring different friendships, ideas, sad themes, comical scenarios, and lots and lots of pairings…but mainly Nalu. 

snogfairy: Another giant in the FT fandom. Impressive talent. @lineffability  

naughty nalus: smutty nalu oneshots B) ***Mature content!*** 

Rivendell101: Another giant in FT and other fandoms. This author would be considered required reading if I ran a fandom course in a University setting. Just sayin’ @rivendell101  

Crave: /krāv/ Verb. To feel a powerful desire for (something). They crave each other. And satiation doesn’t come easily. He growls against her again. “Beg for it,” he demands, lips ghosting against her. 

Lakerae aka @hidetheremote : Did you think I’d forgotten you? Ha! Gotcha good! You’re an inspiration to me because you’re working so hard to publish your children’s books. Kudos to you li'l sis! You’re busy but still make it a point to talk to me and I love you for that and everything.

The Gift of the Magi: A Gajevy Twist: A retelling of the classic Christmas story “The Gift of the Magi,” with your favorite Fairy Tail couple Gajeel and Levy! It’s Christmas time and Gajeel and Levy exchange gifts. They both are surprised what they receive and learn a lesson of the true meaning of Christmas. 

I could add more and more as I search my saved favs on FF.net ~ and I’m sorry to not include all of them - but this is crazy long as it is. If you read and like any of the recommended fics, please be sure to let the author know. To the authors of these and all fanfics, Thanks for everything.

[rwdestuffs]

The real problem with the show.

Look: I’m not one of those idiots who is going to constantly shit on the show for this whole thing, nor am I one to blindly praise the show for doing the bare minimum.

But I am someone who is going to try to put this into perspective.

Our main issue that’s going to be talked about is the fact that this show doesn’t really address the issues from previous volumes.

Take Weiss’ racism for example. They didn’t want to have to address her developing. The whole issue with Weiss is that the whole thing got resolved off-screen. There’s no reason to have the conflict on-screen if the whole thing was going to be resolved off-screen. The big problem is that this show didn’t want to tackle heavy subjects that they weren’t comfortable or capable in tackling. And like, I get it. There are some subjects that people aren’t that well-versed in, and truth be told, there’s a hard way to determine if something that is wrong is worse than something that isn’t there at all. They didn’t want one of their main characters to be a racist.

But the problem here is that that’s okay. Especially when the characters grow and learn from that. I’m sure that everyone has pointed this out already, but Sokka was a sexist in the early episodes of A:tLA, but he learned his lesson and started regularly chugging his Respect Woman juice happily and regularly. Weiss’ whole racism thing was kinda… dropped. That’s not really interesting.

Your characters should have flaws. Real flaws. Ad real character traits. Character quirks that could make for some really interesting moments. I think I mentioned this somewhere on an earlier post, but Ruby being a weapon nut could have been a really good and natural way to explain everyone’s weapons. She could brag about hers, hype up Yang’s, pester Weiss about hers, or even ask about Blake’s, and boom! Everyone’s weapons are explained. Their names, what they can do, and how they work. And maybe even whether or not they made them (I imagine that Blake made hers with help from others, while Yang and Ruby made theirs on their own from scratch, and Weiss got a hers commissioned). This could have even extended to team JNPR too. We already know that Jaune’s is an heirloom, but what about Nora? What about Ren? How about Pyrrha? The thing about that quirk being dropped is that it takes away something from Ruby. HBomb talked about it in his video, but an arc where Ruby helps Jaune forge a new weapon or even add to his existing one would have been so awesome. But no. The upgrade comes from a never-will-be-seen-again blacksmith in Volume 4, and the best it can do is… Become a bigger sword. Then it gets another one in Volume 7 where it’s Penny’s creator that delivers the upgrade. These aren’t emotionally significant in any major way. Sure, the first upgrade is combining Pyrrha’s stuff with his, but it would have been more emotionally impactful if he had saved those things, did his damnedest to bring them to Pyrrha’s family, only for them to now say something like “Pyrrha sent us letters about you. She would want you to have them.” And then and only then, would he incorporate them into his weapons. Imagine how impactful that would have been! Imagine how heartwarming that moment would have been! I’m the resident Jaune hater of the rwde tag, and I’m pretty sure that I would love that scene. I might’ve even called it my favorite.

Like… These character moments get dropped for no real reason. A lot of character moments are just rendered insignificant because of them wanting to advance the story. But a story takes time. It takes setup. Let’s take Dragonball Z for example. There’s a lot of buildup to Gohan being Goku’s successor before he eventually gets upstaged again because the fanbase wanted Goku back. He had those bursts of power that made him stronger. It was built up to. It was hyped up. There was a lot of foreshadowing. Pyrrha’s death… Didn’t really have any of that. Outside of her name, she wasn’t really set up to die. Especially since she hardly had any interactions with the characters outside of Jaune. Because of this, Pyrrha’s death doesn’t hit as hard as it could. Why exactly is Ruby going ballistic? We never saw any major scenes that would indicate them as anything beyond classmates. Like… Moments where Ruby and Pyrrha bond over having high expectations for them. Ruby’s supposedly the daughter of a famous huntress, so everyone seeing her as basically another “Summer Clone” would be a really awesome move to go with. Ruby’s quest should not only to be to save the world, but to also prove that she isn’t a carbon copy of her mother. Have characters like Yang ad Qrow point out what Ruby does different. Maybe one of them is encouraging of being different, while the other doesn’t like it because they want Summer back. I guess Yang would encourage Ruby being different while Qrow would discourage it. A major theme in Volumes 6 ad 7 seems to be how the previous generation kinda screwed things over for the next one. Couple this with Oscar also trying to separate himself from Ozpin (and then immediately trying to talk down Ironwood in a way that Oz would try to do (seriously… WTF?)), Ruby could do something different.

Something that Ruby could do different is something in regards to her plan to stop the end of the world. Instead of trying to defeat Salem, she could try understanding her. I mentioned that Salem was effectively gaslit into being the villain, so the characters trying to help her recover would be an awesome moment. As of right now, everyone (even the fndm) wants to demonize Salem, and doesn’t want her to be redeemed. This is despite all the shit she went through. If anything, Salem was restraining herself when all she wanted was freedom and a life with Ozma. She could have very well have wanted to get back at the world that wronged her. Salem shares so many traits with the titular team that if anything, the fact that she is named after an event where women were killed for false prosecutions should be an indicator as to how much more sympathetic Salem is. Stopping Salem isn’t the answer. All that will do is delay the inevitable until an even worse and less sympathetic version of her comes along… Probably Cinder, but I think I’ve covered her already. The main point I’m trying to make here is that Ruby and her relationship with her mother is something that should be touched upon more. In fact, Ruby and Yang should have this subject brought up. The problem is that these writers don’t want to do anything that doesn’t lead to a fight scene because they’ve come to the conclusion that people are only here for the fight scenes.

And really, they should go to DEATH BATTLE or One Minute Melee if they just want a cool fight scene. People are ultimately here for the shipping and fight scenes. When it comes to character moments, that’s forgettable… Unless it’s something to mock the characters for like Yang’s singular burnt item in the comics automatically making her a bad cook. Why is that capitalized on, but Ruby’s “It’s also a gun” line hardly gets brought up anymore? Is it because people can mock Yang for it? Like… I know that I’m biased because I’m a Yang fan, but come on! COME ON! Yang had to take care of Ruby. This is something explicitly stated in the canon show. Unlike Raven’s up to interpretation line about her killing OG Spring, which has a lot of ambiguity to it, Yang’s whole taking care of Ruby thing is explicit. Ruby even states in Volume 1 that Yang read her fairytales when they were kids.

And this all ties back to the dropped character traits and/or moments. These are important moments for the character. Yang is a Mom Friend for a reason, and Blake is the Rebel Aunt friend for a reason too. Blake has shown that she has a lot of resolve when it comes to her beliefs. Weiss can be treated as the “Deprogrammed Karen” friend. The one that used to have some prejudices, but ultimately was able to move past that. Ruby could be the “Young and aspiring hero” type too. But these initial traits are forgotten because instead of them having their personality traits clash with the world around them, they are forgotten so that they don’t. These characters don’t grow on-screen. They don’t learn their lesson on-screen. They don’t even have it implied on-screen. We just have to assume that Weiss learned her lesson off-screen. We just have to assume that these characters worked and trained hard together off-screen. Like… Was a montage too expensive?

All I’m saying is that these characters are deep. But that deep characterization is never explored or used to its fullest extent because the writers don’t know how to keep having a character grow beyond that. Once a character is finished growing, instead of having said character help others grow, or show how that growth impacts others or themselves, they are forgotten.

Except for Jaune. Jaune’s more shallow than a puddle.

[maychildwriter333]

New but not so new here....

I am not exactly new here. I used to have Tumblr in the past but deleted it due to being heartbroken by an ex (so mellow dramatic :D). i disconnected staying mainly on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. 

As life happened or should I say, 2020 happened....The noise and the chaos of social media was too much to see. At the time, I felt like the government or the media was just building this virus up for propaganda. My friend and I were on the way to hot yoga when we got the announcement that all schools were closed for the rest of the year. I remember telling her in frustration: “This is just fear! We shouldn’t feed into it....”  but the look on her face and the sudden urgency in her voice that she wanted to go home to her kids. I felt it on me too. I wanted to go home to my kiddo and force my girlfriend (my ever loving girlfriend) to go fight in the local stores to shop for whatever she can get her hands on. Fear had invaded my head even with myself knowing it was just a hype..... I still felt scared. 

Fear is funny like that. Almost like a little kid, screaming and hitting you to go backwards. 

You see, fear has always been apart of me as I’m sure it has been apart of everyone else’ life. We are fed it in heads when we get the concept of words or simply the emotion off our parents. 

This 2020 has been a whirlwind of emotions for everyone around me, my state, the nation and the whole WORLD. It’s been interesting sitting back and watch my friends or family experience these transformations. All these ideas people are coming up with, realizations with themselves. It makes me admire the human race, when in the past it was quite opposite.... 

With myself: I found myself on front lines. I was (and still am) in the healthcare industry. I was considered essential as I watched my friends, family and even my own girlfriend lose their jobs due to “not being essential”. Suddenly everyone was sitting at home, while I had to drag my booty to work. Instead of being sympathetic for everyone, I found myself envious yet prideful. Even rubbed it in my girlfriend’s face that she was the lucky one to have no job in that moment. 

Well, karma bit me in the butt. For the first time in my life, I was fired from a job. Not going into too much details but I was at the wrong place, wrong time. I was set up on accusations that had them terminate me. I LOVED this job. I felt safe and secure at this job. I gave a lot of my time and dedication to them. Even before this incident, I had never been a problem for the company. I was in shock when I had to hand over my badge and keys. I had to face the guilt of calling my unemployed girlfriend. I didn’t even really cry. I kept it calm. I let her know what happened and she told me: “Oh it’s okay baby, there are worse things....we will figure this out. It is their loss....”. 

But that didn’t stop me from coming home, tuning out and calling the women who were fired with me (plus another co worker) to come party away our sorrows. From there, my grieve of losing the job turned to alcohol and partying with my co workers. There was lots of tears, anger and laughter. It ended with me getting black out drunk, doing summersaults around the living room and then getting thrown by my girlfriend and friend into my room. I had even fell off the bed and hit the wall, falling asleep that way. I was a hot mess....

The next morning, my body was sore and my head was pounding. I woke up with the realization: I don’t have a job. Suddenly all the insecurities and worries came to me flooded my brain.  I had to do something....but where to start?

Meditation with spirituality has been connected to me for a few years now. I started meditating after a mental break down that left me forced to face myself and my demons. One of my close friends introduced me to meditation and what sold me on the practice was this friend was normally anxious. If I saw my friend in the past, she was always holding tension in her forehead and it left her with migraines often. Once she told me about meditation, I saw the change in her face and the power in her words. She was very certain about this practice and how it made her feel, convincing me to look into it. 

From there I went on the quest. Trying out different types of meditation. I made a commitment to meditate upon waking up each day. If I feel like I need to do another, there is always time for more as long as i made the time. It became second nature to me. 

After being fired, I had to go back to the drawing board. I needed to look at my reflection. I needed to face the perfectionist that was screaming at me inside my head: “You’re not good enough! You’re a failure! Everyone will see it!!”. 

That day, I had meditated in the house and then found myself traveling to the other side to meditate more. I came out of the last meditation refreshed and with this voice speaking in the back of my head: “It’s okay to surrender. Just trust God and let go of the wheel.....”.  From there, I went to journaling away about what was holding me back. What was truly bothering me about this situation. 

What it came down to: Fear of failing.

There is that word again: Fear. I had to come to face this disease. It was that same fear I get when driving downhill on a freeway. That same fear I got as a kid when the lights were completely off. That same fear I got the moment my mother was taking her last breath....

What I found? It was a story I was telling myself. A story I engrained in my brain to never fail. It was that story that I was going to be perfect in everyones’ eyes, I can go no wrong. When reality I was struggling. I was still grieving the losses of 2018-2019, I was struggling with drinking and I was shoving it all down into a box; hiding it from myself and the world. I covered up that box with the blanket of: I-am-spirituality-aligned-and-nothing-can-affect-me persona-I’m-OK. 

No....it doesn’t matter how much you know. It doesn’t matter about the person you are or all the money and material things you have. At the end of the day: life doesn’t exclude anyone from going through something. 2020 is living proof of that. That brick called life hits everyone in the head; we all have the bruises and scars to prove it. 

Once I came to those conclusions about myself. I cried, I cried very hard. That kind of cry that hits in your chest and you must let it all out. After the cry session, I let myself fall into another meditation. I felt at peace, secure and okay. No matter the situation, everything was going to be okay. I just had to have faith.  

From there I went inside my house and I went to work. I fixed my resume and applied for as many jobs as I could. I kept saying: “I REFUSE to be jobless during COVID. I want to be on the frontlines helping....” But after a while of applying, I put down the computer and took in my scenery: 

My home. The sun shining in, hitting the wooden floor as my child played with his toys on the floor; being in his own world. My girlfriend was on the couch, staying near by me during this uncertainty.  Gratitude came into my heart in that moment. I didn't have a job but was I certainly not alone. I still had a roof over my head, my kid was still eating and my girl was near me. What more could I ask for? No job could take that moment away. 

I want to share this story with who ever falls upon it and needs it. With every door that closes, there is another one that opens. Within less than a month, I ended up getting another job. A job that easier going, appreciative of their staff and at the same time challenging. I’ve been at that job for about seven months and they already offered me to stay on their team full time (I started out PRN). God, The Source, The Universe or whatever anyone believes is good. <3

I start this out as my first post. Have faith, surrender and by gosh, face you shadows. It is going to be painful but I promise it will feel better once you do. 

 What you should expect from this blog is a personal journey about myself. A journey where I will explore myself in my writing, meditation, reading, and even yoga and exercise. I am still a student in this thing we call life.  I hope to meet like minded, inspiring individuals who teach me some lessons. In the past, I had fear in tumblr that there were only bullies, never wanting to show myself fully on the “dark” web. 2020 is bringing a lot out of everyone. Life is too short to limit yourself. <3

[guerilla935]

The Advantage Of A New IP

In the fashion of it being a brand new year we get asked a pretty general and not at all specific question. What game do you want to see this year? In every new years edition podcast and youtube channel this is hot debate. Of course in your mind you have limited options. You say to yourself, do I want a sequel of something we already have? Has a production company that I’ve heard of before not made anything in a while? You can only answer in what you know. And in the most recent years, the devs have been listening. Do you want The Last of Us Part 2? Naughty Dog will deliver. Expecting a new Legend of Zelda game? Nintendo will probably keep making them until the sun super novas so you are good there. But you would never answer that question with: “I want a (insert adjective here) game.” I mean you might, in which case you must have a very specific itch to scratch good on you for knowing what you like. In any case I will valiantly fight for every game that is still on the drawing board that is not a number 2, 3, or 4. Not a sequel or a prequel. Not an HD remix 2.5 remake. This is why we need to be excited for original games that still have yet to be conceived in a game engine or drawing board.

CD PROJEKT RED

To prove my point I am going to break down what makes CD PROJEKT RED’s The Witcher series so indigestible and why it is so popular now. This company makes a very good video game, but if you jumped into The Witcher 3 you would have been pelted with so much lost exposition that you have already lost interest by the time you have killed the Griffin which is where every person I have talked to (including myself) has stopped playing that game the first time they had picked it up. The game plays very non traditionally, the combat is scarce, each battle takes crafting and social preparation that is tiresome if you were not expecting to work so hard to get to the action, and the travel time is tolerable but not the greatest thing. But the story is amazing and you are waiting on that to pull you through. However we are looking for Yenefer, who is that? Why is this old guy following me around? Why does everybody hate me? Kaer Mohren is uh, a place? Not anymore? The story comes in at a weird place. So you say okay lets go play the first two games, wrong, the first game is unplayable if you have updated windows since windows 10 came out. You could have an awesome time playing just The Witcher 2 and then 3 but lets assume that you just gave up. Fast forward to 2019 and Netflix releases the first season of The Witcher series based on some fantasy novels written by a Russian dude in 1993. Whether you liked the show or not you and 100,000 people actually start playing through The Witcher 3 because you know who Yenefer is, you kind of know who Vesemir is, you know why everybody hates you and how to deal with it, and you have that catchy song stuck in your head. My point in all this is that until a Netflix series taught you how interesting this story and this world is you and most people had every intention of not touching the game at all. CD PROJEKT RED has now announced a cyber punk crime drama starring Keanu Reaves, it is also based on a lot of prior source material but the average player like me would have no idea about that kind of stuff. It sounds awesome and it probably will be, but it is gaining a lot of steam because it’s new and exciting and we can dive in blind which is an awesome feeling.

The Remake

Three of 2020′s most anticipated games are full remakes. Final Fantasy VII, Doom Eternal, and Resident Evil 3. Before we have this argument I’m not going to admit that Doom Eternal is not a remake because it really is, it is awesome plot-less demon shooting and as long as they keep using the Doom name it is all just a remake of Doom. The problem with the hype for these games is that it is hinged on if the fans consider Final Fantasy VII (2020) to be as good as their memory of Final Fantasy VII (1997) and people have pretty exaggerated memories. Doom Eternal also has to upstage Doom (2016) and Resident Evil 3 (2020) has to be better than Resident Evil 3 (1999) and make more improvements than Resident Evil 2 (2019) which will still disappoint fans because Capcom wants to make it more action based which is what killed the franchise back in 2009. But what is really sad is talented writers are adapting content for a modern generation when they could be writing new content for a new era. Video games age worst out of any type of media and I am glad that these are getting restored but we are seeing so much effort put into showing our kids why we were crying when we changed from disc 1 to disc 2 in Final Fantasy VII that we may not get to see Final Fantasy XVI until the far future.

Hideo Kojima

Before I start this section I want to say that Hideo Kojima is one of my personal favorite people. As soon as Mads Mikkelsen and Norman Reedus got hypnotized by Hideo Kojima to work on Death Stranding the games development cycle that involved nobody, not even Hideo Kojima, knowing what in the heck what was being put together in his offices made so much noise in gaming that it could not fail. There are a few games that need only a few seconds to prove that they are worth playing and having Norman Reedus incubate a baby on screen and nothing else is probably the most surreal experience anyone has ever had seeing a game trailer. This original IP whether you loved it or hated it was really exciting to live through the launch of, and when we see game trailers in the future I can only hope that they are as exciting as this one.

The Difference

So what is the difference between seeing a trailer for Final Fantasy VII (2020) and seeing a trailer for Ghost of Tsushima? For me the difference is that when I see Cloud appear with the buster sword I am excited to know what they kept, to see how they improved it. When I see a samurai on screen do crazy ninja moves and disappear I want to see more, a lot more. I know what to expect from the next Legend of Zelda, I know what to expect from Call of Duty, for Assassin’s Creed, and I love when they do blow those expectations away. But when Naughty Dog sends me a YouTube video of the Planet Earth clip where the ant goes psycho and grows a mushroom out of its face then the game comes out and I never knew it would be so sad and intense and rewarding it is unlike anything else. We spend most of our time as gamers anticipating the next rush and I can tell you exactly what it’ll feel like to play the next Doom or Metroid Prime but I will never be able to put into words the next time I will get to play a new game for the first time will be like.

[murderwasthecase]

Showcasing Marvel’s Daredevil - The Crown Jewel of MCU

Quick rant about the situation

So this shit just happened and of course I wanted to say something. Daredevil has been CANCELLED by Netflix. Honestly, if you follow this kinda stuff, I think you all saw it coming after they did the same thing to Iron Fist and Luke Cage, but this shit hurts because the show’s third season which was, in my opinion, maybe the best one yet still hasn’t cooled off, people are still talking about it, it received many praise from critics and audiences alike, and it just came off as a really cold thing to cancel the show now especially if you’re a fan of the series.

There are already millions of videos and essays on what this kind of Thanos-snapping his fingers action that Netflix just did with Marvel’s heroes could mean and I will not talk about them in this particular piece. Instead, I’m gonna pay a tribute to the show by going through some of my favorite moments of the three seasons that we got. We definitely deserved a few more and as of now it could theoretically happen on some other network, but the Netflix era of Daredevil is over and during that time, it made it the best superhero tv show that was ever created and probably the best thing to ever come out of MCU alongside Infinity War. And now you’ll see why. By the way, the idea is to showcase the genius of the series through some of its best scenes so if you haven’t seen it, you are warned.

Writer’s room of Daredevil has blessed the MCU with some of its richest characters. Their actions are well-thought, striking and every one of them has some kind of dilemma going on in their heads which makes them more human and more interesting for the viewer. They have personal demons and individual values which are fleshed out to the maximum. That characteristic just brings those fictional people closer to the audience, resonating with their own lives. While MCU’s movie characters are more concerned with battling aliens and saving the planet, ones in Daredevil fight the battles of the ordinary people. 

The drama in Daredevil is mainly based around the clashes of polar opposites in the lives of its main characters. The best example of this is, of course, Matthew (brilliant Charlie Cox), whose ever-lasting moral fight with his Catholic faith and God is one of the running themes of the show. The crescendo of it comes in the series’ third season when Matt, much more pessimistic than before, considers taking another man’s life which he earlier swore never to do, running away from the fundamental principles of his religion which earlier guided him through his vigilante mission.

While the aforementioned third season takes that battle inside the mind of Matt Murdock, in the previous one, we can see that fight literally taking place with another person. Enter Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, played by the amazing badass that is Jon Bernthal, who does the same thing as Daredevil, except he TAKES lives because of his beliefs. Psychological clash between these two broken men takes it’s heights in the third episode of the show’s second season, where Daredevil confronts Frank Castle and tries to reason with him, eventually planting the seeds for clash in his own head a season after that.

That is exceptional writing and phenomenal acting right there. Even though I think the second season of Daredevil is the least good one from all of them because of the tiring ninja subplot, the Punisher arc is one of the strongest things that happened in these series. That’s another polar opposite for you.

Dialogues like that are one fantastic way to flesh out characters and their essence, to show us who they are and what goes on in their heads. Daredevil isn’t overcrowded with quips and sarcastic insults like the movies are, the time it’s not wasted on melodramatic, soap-opera style love triangles which occur in the CW shows. Compared to them and even to other Netflix superhero TV series, Daredevil brings a deeper meaning to its characters by including philosophical arguments that connect us to their dilemmas, layering the story in the process. For instance, take a look at this scene (can’t embed it because of Tumblr) from season 1, when father Lantom tries to answer Matthew’s question about the existence of Devil.

Have you heard the last question in that clip? This scene not only brings a thought-provoking anecdote to the table - it’s much more than that. It serves as a great MOTIVATION for the main character to link the speech to his real-life situation, to try and stop the evil, even if its power seems impossible. This is superhero mythology at its finest.

And it works for antiheroes as well. Like the situation from season two, where Punisher refuses to deny his radical beliefs, taking a piss on the whole judicial system in the process, packed with another great Jon Bernthal performance.

Talking about great acting, it would be a sin not to showcase the ability of Vincent D’Onofrio who gives a role of his career as the main villain Wilson Fisk, the pinnacle of excellent writing on this show.

His portrayal of this crime lord is so menacing. D’Onofrio plays Fisk who with his posture and gestures reminds you more of a shy child than a criminal mastermind, but he’s at the same time almost harrowingly dominant and explosive.  This makes for an extremely unpredictable villian who is layered, complex and whose character development is, as a result, ever-lasting. Just watch as he transforms the scene by delivering this great analogy about the good samaritan.

To all you aspiring writers, actors and directors who want to work in the superhero medium - take notes.

When talking about Daredevil I obviously have to talk about action scenes. I would argue that Marvel’s Daredevil is probably the best action series of all time considering how it balances good writing and exhilarating fighting sequences, but I’ll let someone more experienced to prove that hypothesis.

The action in Daredevil has reached almost a mythical point by now, with fans making memes about their duration and ridiculously coordinated and well-executed stuntwork and camera work. Hallway fights have become a norm on the show and there are lots of good YouTube videos that analyse them so I won’t get in detail here and dissect them even though that would be fun - I will rather point out the one geeky detail about them which is key to why the most talked about action scenes in Daredevil are so good.

You know what was my all-time favorite action scene on tv for a long time? Let’s take you back to the first season of True Detective, precisely, to the end of fourth episode, when Rust Cohle infiltrates this biker gang and goes on a mission to the hood with them - just to blow his cover and capture their leader. This is one of the best scenes I’ve ever seen in tv series, ever. Director Cary Fukunaga decided to film this as a TRACKING SHOT.

By placing the camera directly behind Matthew McConaughey’s back he placed US in the perspective, almost creating a 3D, video-game like environment in which we get close to the situation as much as possible. Doing this, he creates tension, the feel of urgency and danger which resonates with audience and makes everything more interesting. That raid scene was six minutes long without visible cuts or edits. Fukunaga used a long take which made episode end on the high note. In my opinion, this is how grounded action should be made. It has to communicate with viewer, it enhances the atmosphere.

When I saw something similar in the hallway fight in Daredevil’s first season, I was hyped. It wasn’t exactly that as we watched everything from the hall, not from “behind Matt’s back” perspective, but it reminded me vividly of Fukunaga’s take. And in the second season, when they filmed the Staircase scene, they used that exact method which they pushed it to the limits in the prison sequence in the third season which is as of right now definitely my favorite action scene in any tv series, of all time, period. And another thing which is mind-boggling is how they make it longer every season. Hallway fight from the first season was three minutes long, Staircase was five minutes, while Prison was around eight. All in single take. By that, you can see how the cast and crew tried harder and harder every season, pushing the boundaries of not only superhero genre, but the tv series making in general. Do you know how hard it is to film something like those scenes? You can look it up online, it’s an extremely difficult work.

DAREDEVIL has created a perfect mixture of drama and superhero crime story, presenting us a gritty world of crime-ridden New York. Of course, as everything, it has a few problems here and there, but it’s by far the most mature thing to come out of MCU. I don’t know who’s really responsible for the cancellation, is it Disney or Netflix or both of them, but I hope they’ll realize what stupid move they’ve made and let the cast and crew continue their magic. Because if not, our dear MCU has just lost one of its crown jewels.

[spidersmiceandeverythingnice]

Absolutely No One Asked for This but HERE IT IS ANYWAY 

(also known as how I would’ve written the Rome Singularity in Fate Grand Order because it COULD have been great but... was kind of... meh.) 

Under the read-more because I have a tendency to ramble, ANYWHO...

So we begin roughly the same way - the party arrives on a hill in the Italian peninsula, overlooking a battle. One side is clearly about to be overwhelmed by the other - the larger army is also Conveniently Populated with ghouls and zombies, cluing our heroes in as to who the Good Guys are for this chapter of the story. The party intervenes and the commander of the armies make their appearance - one is the teenage Emperor Nero and the other is, gasp! Caligula, who is supposed to be dead.

The team quickly deduces that Nero’s reign is the Singularity and that the enemy - at this point, still Dr. Lainur - is using the Holy Grail to resurrect powerful Heroic Spirits of the Roman Empire in order to destroy the foundation of humanity here, at one of the most pivotal moments of Western civilization. I would also include characters like Caesar, Leonidas, and maybe Alexander (or perhaps Heroic Spirit Hannibal of Carthage riding atop a war elephant because COME ON, DELIGHT-WORKS, DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING MYSELF HERE??!) working reluctantly alongside Caligula in the first appearance, making it abundantly clear that they are being controlled by outside forces. The main difference is that I would also include Boudica among the enemy army - her hatred of Nero would certainly be enough to motivate her initially. So in any case, the plan might’ve worked had Nero not been motivated by equal parts narcissism and genuine love of the people to hold onto the throne. Nero accepts the party as allies and introduces them to Jing Ke, her “ambassador from the East.” Jing Ke further clarifies that she’s a Heroic Spirit who specializes in assassinating emperors. (”Uh, Jing Ke, didn’t you FAIL to assassinate the Emperor the first time around?” “It was simply fated that I would die that day. Besides, assassination is really more of a hobby for me.”) With all of this information, Nero decides to immediately use their newfound strength to take the fight to her uncle - but before she can do that, Caligula and Boudica arrive and the two of them set fire to the city of Rome.

Fleeing to the harbor for safety, the party is caught in a storm and winds up on a Mysterious Mythical Island somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. There, they met Stheno, the eldest of the Gorgon Sisters, who spills the Tea regarding Nero’s haphazard rise to power and basically affirms that, while her love for the people and country is genuine, her selfishness and unwillingness to compromise with other leaders is what will bring her down in the end. Stheno’s quest happens in more or less the same way, but it’s really just a test to see if the player’s conviction to save humanity is genuine. After the player returns, Stheno tells them that perhaps they can defeat the other emperors by legitimizing Nero somehow. At this point, she directs them to Romulus, the great founder of Rome itself. Romulus declares that, as the child of a war god and Heroic Spirit, the only way to prove worth as a ruler is by defeating him in Single Combat. Also, Romulus should be a five-star Servant and ridiculously strong compared to the other enemies, just to emphasize how much of a Big Fuckin Deal this dude is, both in the mythology of Rome and to Nero’s personal story.

Nero is a little bit shaken by the effort it takes to defeat Romulus, but he declares that since she is still young, she will surely grow as an emperor - and as such, he will see to it that she remains on the throne. This should be a moment of some character development for Nero, who in this timeline has only just taken the throne and is still grappling with the responsibilities she has as an Emperor. Romulus should tell her that a true leader is not simply the strongest warrior, but someone who can plant the seeds that can allow future generations to thrive. Then we would get a cut scene where Jing Ke manages to assassinate Caligula just for the hell of it. 

The party now makes its way back to Rome, which has been badly damaged by the fire. As they clear the city of remaining enemies, they gather a small crowd which demands to know why Nero fled during the fire instead of defending them from the armies of Boudica and Caligula. Nero at first tries to make Romulus stand up for her, but he declines. Nero is able to use her charisma to pacify the crowd somewhat and declares that she will continue personally overseeing the battles against the False Emperors, ending the battle swiftly so that she may return to build up a new Rome that is stronger than ever before. The seeds of discontent are still in the crowd but Nero herself is filled with renewed determination. The party heads out into the wilds of “Barbarian” Europe. 

At this point, you really start encountering the Enemy Servants, but it becomes quickly apparent to Lainur - revealed through cutscenes - that a lot of these people don’t ACTUALLY want Rome destroyed. Leonidas and Alexander aren’t Romans but enjoy the chance to battle against legends like Romulus and are grateful when they are defeated. Caesar gripes and groans and goes easy on Nero, peppering his fight with advice as to how she - his descendant - might continue his legacy. Even Boudica is beginning to show signs of discontent as she realizes that the imminent destruction of Rome won’t bring her daughters or husband back - but will eventually lead to the destruction of her beloved Britainnia as well. I think Hannibal would’ve been a better addition to the lineup here because I think his motivation for the destruction of Rome (avenging his devastated nation), contrasts pretty strongly with Boudica’s more personal drive (she may hate Rome but she doesn’t really want to destroy the entire world). The party might fight Boudica here, but once you beat her, she escapes back to the capital and a frustrated Lainur then decides to summon a third, powerful Heroic Spirit - Attila the Hun. These three “scourges” of Rome are then sent out to defeat you.

Jing Ke rejoins the party just before Nero and Friends arrive at the False Capital, which is located somewhere between France and Germany. She tells them of Atilla’s summoning and fears the worst. You push forward, defeating Boudica first. After which Hannibal might appear and Boudica, having had a change of heart and deciding that her true loyalties lie with defending Britainnia, not destroying humanity. Boudica joins your party after a heart-to-heart with Nero, in which Nero should display her first moment of true humility, and then you go on to beat Hannibal, finally moving on to Attila. 

After defeating Attila, you get to Lainur and the Demon Pillar, at which point the idea of Solomon as the antagonist was introduced if I remember correctly. In the aftermath of that battle, the team muses about the nature of leadership and legacy. Romulus declares that Rome is the eternal city and would never fall, etc, etc, etc and it’s all very hopeful and sweet - and you disappear and ta da! End of Singularity. Boss fights galore - Romulus as the Five Star Servant he rightfully deserves to be - and maybe character development for Nero and Boudica. 

There’s an alternative version of this where I think it would be possible to include Attila from the beginning (at the expense of Alexander and Leonidas), and then have the Final Boss Servant be Remus - the murdered brother of Romulus. But either way, I think the main thing is just to not have the party running haphazardly across Europe as much - and include a few more nuggets of Real History, like the Great Fire of Rome and the devastation of Carthage and whatnot.The main theme of the chapter should be “legacy,” in the way that there is no such thing as a “pure” country or “perfect” person, but that humans should always strive to build better things and work to not repeat the mistakes and pains of their ancestors. Rome should be a hopeful and spirited Singularity with a more focused plot line, and I think it would do a world of good! I actually really liked the chapter but it was so... unfocused... or rather, it was so focused on hyping up Nero that it forgot to have a coherent storyline with a climax and resolution.

Anyway, if you have suggestions or something then feel free to reply or message because I think A Lot of how I would’ve written or rewritten some stuff in Grand Order.

[sparda3g]

One Piece Chapter 921 Review

One Piece is back. After the revelation of the Samurai from 20 years ago, it’s finally time to reclaim the rightful glory to Wano Country. If only the two-week break in real life applied to the series as well. You can feel the hype and it’s only going to rise higher. This chapter was more of a follow-up discussion with elaborated pre-planning details with new outfits for the crew and a dreary reminder of who will they be dealing with in two weeks.

It does make sense to continue on with the discussion since the last chapter was more about the backstory of the 5 Samurai from 20 years ago. Therefore, this one is about the preparation prior to the decisive battle. I still believe Luffy’s fleet will get involved and 2 weeks is plenty of time to call them over. That all said this chapter is text heavy from the start, though it is interestingly necessary to be aware of its world. It’s also humorous, so it’s good enough to keep my attention.

As said before, the decisive battle will take place at the Demon Island, Onigashima, where Kaidou and his Beasts Pirates’ HQ are located. Here is where the battle plan is explained. Kin’emon already has a ship to sail there and they don’t really have to ride a full-sale ship since they are so close by. The setting will take place during the Fire Festival, a grand festival that is celebrated annually. It sounds like a recipe for a major background stage for an epic battle.

Kaido is considered to be a Wise King. Yeah, a wise king who tried to kill himself dozens of time already. Sure, okay. Orochi and his followers continue to show their despicable nature by acting like they cherish the theme of the festival and pay their respects, but in reality, they’re just party animals. Well, if you include the Beasts Pirates, then jokes on me. Basically, they want to use the opportunity of when they’re drunk and out cold to reach for the Commander’s head. Not a bad idea.

There’s another revelation to be said. Apparently, Kin’emon is married already, well before a time warp. Here I thought Kiku was hitting on him. Then again, maybe she doesn’t have any shame when approaching to a married man. Speaking of married man, judging by Kiku’s words, Tsuru is his wife; the same woman who looks nearly identical to the traditional art style. He has yet to meet her, so there’s one reunion to expect. I like Sanji’s reaction towards him and his sudden popularity with women. He’s not wrong for some reason about a married man attracts women more than ever…

Going back to the serious discussion, Kin’emon has a symbol or symbols that marks the Will of Rebellion. It looks like a mask design. It’s kind of neat to learn each of the symbol’s representation. The crescent moon is the giveaway for who is behind the message, which is honorable. The cards need to be spread to issue an alliance from various places. This idea could play out similar to Vivi and Strawhats with their X mark on their arm, only this is about the mark of a new beginning. I like this concept. Funny how they said Zoro hasn’t been useful. Well, he did save Kin’emon’s wife (assumingly), so there’s that.

Franky works as an apprentice of the man who built Kaidou’s residence. That way, he can obtain the blueprints of that building. That’s a good idea and the most suited person to do the job. As for Robin, she’s masquerading as a Geisha to make Orochi grant her to his sitting room. That’s one risky task, but it’s Robin, so she’s used to it. Sanji would have love to see her as a Geisha. Who wouldn’t? I got to say, I’m impressed with Kin’emon with his crafty planning. I guess I was used to him being comical, so this is a good change of pace. He even has an idea for others based on their characteristics.

After the crew feeling the hype to change appearances and become part of the country’s culture, it is time for Clothes-Clothes no Jutsu. Is that seriously a jutsu? Because I want to learn it. Now, everyone dress their part. Brook has me laughing with his outfit as a ghost who still has battle scars or in this case, arrows sticking out. Chopper is an adorable ninja. Curious how well he will do with skills. Carrot is like a villager who is still doing chores. Sanji is normal, but the difference is he is mesmerized by Nami’s outfit. She dressed as a Kunoichi, but more revealing than necessary. I know they have a technique to seduce, but Kin’emon, ease your urge. Even Nami thought this is too much.

What got me laughing a lot is the proof of Kunoichi’s outfit to be what she’s wearing. Throughout the chapter, every time you see Sanji on panel, his reaction is towards the ladies more so than himself. Even when he was told that he’s going to suit up, all he thought was Nami as a hot ninja. It’s time for the real Kunoichi to appear and he was super hyped. Shinobu arrives at Kin’emon’s command and well, she is a Kunoichi but old as one can be. Not only this proved Nami’s thought is right, but Sanji is dying from disappointment. Take notes, Kaido. In Kin’emon’s defense, there are two types of Kunoichi. I think…

In One Piece, you can’t get enough of new characters, so here comes another one. Shinobu is a veteran and apparently, she has mastered the Art of Bewitchment. Sanji is slowly recovering, but the damage is severe. If Nami didn’t appear sexy earlier, he probably would have died. Death by disappointment; now that’s new. Hilarious how she believed her attractiveness is a threat to men. Sure, let’s go with that.

Right before the scene shifts elsewhere, Kin’emon was about to explain The Three Samurai they must recruit. Their names are Kawamatsu, Denjiro, and Ashura Douji. They are a must if they want increase manpower significantly in their squad. It stops there, which implies that perhaps next chapter, we will learn more about them and probably their backstory. Kin’emon sure has a lot of knowledge to tell, so be aware of more introductions.

Just when you think you are done with Okobore Town, we return there and this time, trouble is happening. Scums are roaming around and stealing everyone’s food. I thought it would be Beasts Pirates, reclaiming “their” stuff, but they’re bunch of thieves instead. The one in charge is a fat Samurai, Shutenmaru. I was wondering what the chapter’s title referring to, but can he be any larger. It doesn’t help with his nasty attitude towards the country, despite being a Samurai himself. I wonder what the deal with his introduction at this time. Connection to The Three Samurai maybe? One thing is certain is the demonstration of his skills.

Jack returns from slumber and gets ready to fight Shutenmaru. I thought it was time for Jack to get hype boost as Shuntenmaru gets annihilated. Instead, that large Samurai comes off as a shock and cut Jack with a quick slash. Only One Piece could this pull off. So yeah, I was surprised he’s that good. Hell, he matched up well with Jack. Hard to say who would have won, because it was interrupted by the highlight of the chapter.

The moment the sky was swirling, I knew it had to be Kaido. Hell, I thought he was trying to fall down and see if he can die this time. That said I got chills from the sequence of the devil’s arrival. Ironic since he arrived from above. Everyone stopped fighting and Jack even feels intimidated. After Strawhats and others felt anticipated for the day to reclaim the country, they have a grim reminder on who they’re dealing with. Actually, this is their first time to see Kaido. He emerge from Heaven (Hell), but not as himself, but as a damn dragon.

It was bad enough with him being a giant and considered as the world strongest man. Now he can turn into a dragon. So what does this all mean with Momo? His design isn’t like the innocent or cutesy one like Momo; his is like a lost brother of Shenron from Dragon Ball, back when he was intimidated. Not to mention, he’s seriously huge as hell. Every time I see him, I go back and say, “The series is concluding earlier than I thought.” If Big Mom really allied with him, game over?

This was an intriguing chapter to boot after a break. It may not be the chapter fans have been craving for, well, depending if you’re all about action, but with its elaborated details of the plan and amusing moments such as Sanji’s near death experience from heartbreak, it doesn’t come off as bore. The art is pretty good as well, especially Kaido’s design as dragon. It also leaves expectations for future events, including The Three Samurai. Kaido continue to be the most fearsome foe. If this arc supposedly makes Marineford War Arc look childish in compare, then a god-like enemy is a good start. Where do we go from here is anyone’s guess.

[kdtheghostwriter]

Caped Up: A One Punch Man Recap [w/ Ch 92 Review]

DISCLAIMER

Massive spoilers under the cut, as I will be writing an overview of the series up to the latest update. Also note: this post does not cover the original webcomic produced by ONE, but the digital redraw authored in part by Yusuke Murata. Proceed at your peril and thanks for playing.

Imagine this scenario:

You are the world’s strongest hero... But also a bit of a dumbass.

No, not him.

There’s the guy.

Meet Saitama. He’s a hero for fun. After a life of being pushed around and exploited by an avaricious society, young Saitama abandons his search for an office job and begins a grueling three years of non-stop training and battle. With every monster he defeats he becomes stronger. All is well in Shonen Land until the Turning Point is reached and all the usual story beats end. When presented with the idea of this series being a Shonen parody, my first instinct was to say no, but Saitama most certainly qualifies.

Homeboy is strong. So strong, in fact, that we have no earthly idea just how strong he is. He hasn’t had to go all out in years. When he exerts himself even the slightest bit, stuff like this happens:

This is what I mean when I call Saitama a dumbass. He’s not actually a dumbass. He is, however, pretty socially inept with a very poor sense of time and direction. That often keeps him out of the fray for a convenient period of time as the other, higher-ranked heroes do battle with the monster of the week. It’s a classic formula, used for Superman all the time. The difference is that Superman is usually occupied with another separate disaster due to his compulsive need to save everyone he can. Saitama is mostly lazy.

The martial artist that he saves asks Saitama if the monsters (who were formerly human) were tough to defeat. He says he doesn’t know, as they all went down with one punch. This is our protagonist’s major malfunction. The thrill he once found defeating monsters has been replaced with a deep and unending boredom. Saitama is too strong for his own good. Gone is the excitement of finding uncharted ground. There’s no room for improvement - not when the Exodia cards have been slipped into your deck.

And so it goes for sometime. In the midst of invasions from the sea, earth and sky - and an increasing monster presence - that a professional league of heroes is founded to keep the civilian population safe and offer support to uniformed officials. The Hero Association and its operatives are divided into Classes based on rank. From S-Class, at the top, to the rookies of C-Class.

Saitama joins the Association (where he’s given the Caped Baldy tag lol) in hopes of finally running into the challenge he desperately seeks. Spoilers: he doesn’t. What he does find instead are dozens of colorful characters, friendly and otherwise. I’ll spare the whole list and give you the core four of the current arc.

Genos - Taken on as Saitama’s ‘student’; dubbed as S-Class hero Demon Cyborg upon joining the Hero Association. Unlike his sensei, he still has a fire lit underneath him. He is motivated by revenge for his childhood village which was burned to the ground by a crazy, murderous robot. He is supremely talented, but his over-confidence often leads to peril for himself and others.

Tatsumaki - Famous in memedom as a “sassy, lost child” she is actually the 28-year-old ‘Tornado of Terror.’ S-Class: Rank 2, she is the world’s most powerful esper. Her strength is matched by her ego, which is often and comically met with ambivalence. Due to a series of invasive and painful science experiments as a youngster, she has grown reclusive and over-protective of her little sister.

Garou - Our introduction to this martial artist sees him mow down a room full of criminals with his bare hands. Not long after, he sets out to grow stronger and take down any hero that gets in his way. That was Ch 70. At the moment, he’s in the middle of a Loser’s Bracket run for the ages, in the bowels of the Monster Association’s underground HQ, fighting for his life and humanity.

Bang - S-Class: Rank 3 and master of the Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist martial arts style. As Garou’s former sensei, he holds himself responsible for the latter going rogue and vows to bring him to justice, proving his worth to the Hero Association.

These folks and more will be attacking the monsters’ base with dual objectives: save the child taken hostage and destroy the Monster King Orochi. Phew! I think that’s a fair recap for a manga with 141 updates. And I didn’t spoil too much, so new readers can discover the best bits for themselves.

One Punch Man | 92nd Punch: “Here We Go!”

The prior three chapters to this one were a roller coaster, as well as a chance for Murata to fully flex his artistic muscle. The Monster King Orochi took up most of the ink work and I implore you readers to take a look at the outrageous detail Murata put into these panels.

Art takes time, though, which puts June’s update into proper context. It’s a slower, more deliberate chapter focusing on character work and plot development. Saitama has already made his way underground to investigate the rumblings underneath the abandoned City Z where he lives.

The other pro heroes are gathered at H.A. Headquarters in the rebuilt A City to discuss their strategy for their impending invasion of the Monster Base. This should be fairly uneventful, and it would be if not for the Hero Association’s fatal flaw: an egregious lack of chemistry. The S-Class - and the top ranked A-Class hero Amai Mask - are inarguably powerful, but could hardly be called heroes. Even when slaying monsters, they rarely pause to consider anything outside of their own glory. This clash of personality leads to a lengthy, entertaining exchange as the team members present try to out-roast eachother.

Meanwhile King, the “World’s Strongest Man” S-Class: Rank 7, is approached by Bang about recruiting Saitama for the impending battle. These two are one of the few people who know the truth of Saitama’s strength. It is also key for King, who has no true power of his own, to have his best friend watching his back. And where is Saitama, you ask? Welp...

I’ll have fun posting on the next chapter. I know some people find action-heavy chapters tough to break down but I’ve come to trust Murata-san at this point to give us plenty to discuss. The art will be immaculate and the detail will be boggling.

As good as the story by ONE has been, a large amount of joy in reading this remaster of the series has come from seeing Yusuke Murata create literal works of art. And so quickly, too! Drop by his Twitter and send the man some thanks and encouragement. He sees them all for sure, and the good vibes gets him hype! He also streams his work here.

[closetofanxiety]

NXT to the Main Roster: A Haphazard Examination, Part 2 (2016)

More wrestlers went from NXT to the main roster(s) in 2016 than in any other year, so I want to examine it separately in my ongoing question to determine whether getting a coveted spot on Raw or Smackdown (or a less coveted spot on 205 Live) likely means stagnation and disappointment. Again, the grades here are for the way these wrestlers have been presented to the WWE audience, not for the wrestlers themselves. Except, I guess, for the F handed out to Big Cass.

Sami Zayn

Call-up date: January 24. The perfect underdog babyface at the top of the card in NXT (a role they’re currently trying to give Johnny Gargano), Zayn has had a respectable but mostly unspectacular run on the big shows. While they were never going to build main event storylines around him the way NXT did, after his initial feud with eternal lifemate Kevin Owens, he kind of drifted around the middle of the pack without a clear character or motivation. Hampered by injuries, his heel turn was initially masterfully handled: by saving Kevin Owens from Shane McMahon, Zayn was, in the immediate aftermath, allowed to seem conflicted, uncertain, and anxious about what he’d done. It looked like there was going to be real character development, and then, in a few months, he was challenging Bobby Lashley to obstacle course races. 

Grade: C

Eva Marie

Call-up date: March 28. WE DIDN’T DESERVE HER. She could have been a sensational, crowd-baiting heel, as she was LOATHED by the super nerds in the WWE audience, who hated that she couldn’t wrestle and was only getting pushed for her looks. I mean, the same was true of Lex Luger ZING. Anyway, it wasn’t too be, and we’re left to wonder what could have been.

Grade: F/Incomplete

Baron Corbin

Call-up date: April 3. Big Banter has grown into the role that is probably the top-dollar best he can hope for in the WWE: a sneering heel near the top of the midcard who can talk well and wrestle well. He’s a plug-and-play guy for babyfaces who are being kept on the stove while the main event picture sorts itself out, and he does great at it. I saw Baron Corbin wrestle Tommy Dreamer at an NXT show in Albany once and thought, “This guy suxxxx.” But he has proved me wrong! Good for Big Breakfast Constable Corbin.

Grade: B+

Enzo Amore

Call-up date: April 4. I’ll go on record as saying he was used well as the shitty heel champion in 205 Live. Everyone hated him, and that was his role. That was probably his ceiling: top hate figure on the ‘C’ show, but we’ll never know.

Grade: F/Incomplete

Big Cass

Call-up date: April 4. His attitude and behavior must have really been something for Vince McMahon, The Big Man Liker, to so quickly part with a big man who could talk and was at least more adept in the ring than, say, the Great Khali. After the split with Enzo, they didn’t really seem to know what they were doing with him, so I’m not entirely sure we missed out on a legendary career or anything.

Grade: F/Incomplete

Apollo Crews

Call-up date: April 4. This decision remains a head scratcher. Crews made his NXT TV debut on August 22, 2015, and in less than eight months, was debuting on Raw. Although he’s an incredibly talented wrestler, I don’t know that his NXT stint was quite the rocket to the top that would justify this. Since his debut, he’s been totally lost in the shuffle and without a discernible character. His most significant match to date was a losing bid for the Intercontinental championship against The Miz on an episode of Smackdown. The Titus Worldwide stuff has helped, but not much.

Grade: C-/D+

Aiden English

Call-up date: April 7. Rusev DAAAAYYYEH. If it weren’t for his alliance with Big Matchka, English would be staring down the barrel of a D+. Initially arrived on the main roster as a tag team with Simon Gotch, the two had an undistinguished run that included Smackdown tag title tournament losses to the Hype Bros and Breezango. Now that he’s the guy who stiffly raps before Rusev comes out, English is basking in his Mizdow Moment. When it ends, though, what will become of the Operatic Superstar?

Grade: C-

Simon Gotch

Call-up date: April 7. His gimmick had a lot of potential: the super old-timey wrestler in a postmodern, post-kayfabe world. It never really got off the ground, though, and while his team with Aiden English worked at Full Sail, Vince’s dim view of tag teams generally, plus the material they were given, meant it didn’t have much of a shot on the big stage. WWE let the trademark on his name expire, which tells you a lot.

Grade: F

Dana Brooke

Call-up date: May 9. After kind of a hot start that I’ve largely forgotten - she was heel Charlotte’s protege, remember? - she quickly settled into the rut of main roster women’s booking, which tends to consist of two women fighting over the title and then everyone else forming an amorphous backdrop, occasionally emerging for random six-person tags involving the main eventers. Dana did eliminate Kairi Sane at the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble, so that’s something, I guess. Since November, she’s been one of the few people in the company with a manager role, as an Alexandra York figure in Titus Worldwide. 

Grade: C-

Mojo Rawley

Call-up date: July 24. Did you know Zack Ryder’s been in the WWE system since 2006? He’s incredible. He’s like one of those NBA guys who you see playing five minutes in a playoff game, years after you assumed they had retired. Anyway, Mojo Rawley. He’s done as well as he’s ever likely to do, destroying Ryder after a heel turn, feuding with No Way Jose, and no longer being hyped. His main roster run hasn’t been disappointing, largely because his NXT run was about the same thing, minus the heel turn.

Grade: C

Nia Jax

Call-up date: July 25. Rock’s cousin or no, she’s managed to remain above the midcard scrum in the women’s division by having a unique look, as the only credible monster in the locker room. She has the problem that all monsters have sooner or later, which is: what do they do after getting beaten? In her case, it was a clumsy face turn in a bullying-themed angle with Alexa Bliss that didn’t do much for either woman. Still, because of her size and ability, she’s always somewhere near the top of the card, something that’s unlikely to change.

Grade: B

Finn Bálor

Call-up date: July 25. To my mind, he’s one of the few wrestlers who’s been better served on the main roster than he was in NXT. He’s the longest-reigning NXT champion so far, but his tenure there seems largely forgettable apart from his Beast in the East match against Kevin Owens and the bloodbath against Samoa Joe at Takeover: Dallas. On the main roster, he’s regularly near the top of the card, with his painted demon character receiving the holy-shit treatment, as we saw at SummerSlam. He’s become one of their most recognizable stars and the company clearly loves him.

Grade: A

Alexa Bliss

Call-up date: July 26. One of the best examples I can think of that demonstrates how a turn can elevate a wrestler, she went from boring, sparkly cheerleader to the top woman in NXT by becoming a heel. Initially the manager of the lookalike midcard tag team of Make and Blurphy, it was clear from the start she was bound for greater things. She’s been the signal success story of the WWE System in developing stars, as opposed to repackaging stars from the indies, Japan, and Mexico: Bliss is, if not quite a mainstream star, one of the most recognizable women in the company, constantly on top of the women’s roster, and winning raves for her incredible microphone work. Nerds who complain she isn’t good at wrestling probably wouldn’t have understood Abdullah the Butcher either.

Grade: A+

Carmella

Call-up date: July 26. OH THE IRONY! When she managed Enzo and Big Cass in NXT, she was despised by the Full Sail nerds, who would chant “you can’t wrestle” at her. Two years later, and here we are: Real1 is making unlistenable hip hop tracks for his Instagram stories, Big Cazz is set to make his indie debut for Big Time Wrestling in Spartanburg, S.C., and Carmella is coming off a 131-day run as Smackdown Women’s Champion, having beaten Asuka in matches on pay-per-view and free TV. She’s not at Alexa’s level as a heel - not many people are - but she’s done a great job of establishing herself in a women’s roster that suffers from way too many bland characters and storylines.

Grade: B+/A-

Jason Jordan

Call-up date: August 2. Listen, Vince hates tag teams. American Alpha was a red-hot team in NXT, where they got over thanks to their phenomenal work inside the ring. But even there, they were kind of bland as individuals. On the main roster, where tag teams rarely last, this spelled trouble. Jordan has been hampered by injuries, but even without that he’s a man adrift, the highlight of his tenure so far being the kayfabe revelation that he’s Kurt Angle’s son, which has mostly been treated as an afterthought. 

Grade: D

Chad Gable

Call-up date: August 2. Second verse, same as the first. They tried to spark some of that American Alpha magic after disbanding American Alpha by pairing Gable with Shelton Benjamin, with predictable results. I don’t think Gable’s been on television since May, and he’s not injured. He apparently feuded with Mike Kanellis on Main Event back in June, to give you some idea. He taped a thing for WWE’s social media channels with amateur wrestling god Dan Gable, which I liked, so there’s that.

Grade: D

Bayley

Call-up date: August 22. I will admit here that I did not “get” her gimmick in NXT. It just always seemed vaguely unsettling, and now we know that it led to the Cult of Izzy. That aside, she had an undeniable connection with the audience, largely thanks to her palpable enthusiasm and tremendous in-ring skill. I never really bought the commonplace line that she could become the female John Cena, mostly because I think that underestimates how much of Cena’s appeal comes from the fact that half the audience hates him. But she’s a true-blue babyface in a company that doesn’t really know what to do with true-blue babyfaces, and so her main roster stint has been something of a disappointment. It’s weirdly fitting that she’s locked into this seemingly endless frenemies storyline with Sasha Banks, another woman who was adored in NXT and who hasn’t really found her footing on the main roster.

Grade: C

Rich Swann

Call-up date: September 19. He had his moments in 205 Live, but it was clear his off-kilter personality and presentation were not what they had in mind as the Face of the Division. They were trying to mold him into what they have with Mustafa Ali or Cedric Alexander, when they would have been better off trying to make Swann the Dean Ambrose of the cruiserweights. Instead, well, we know what happened instead.

Grade: F/Incomplete

Austin Aries

Call-up date: December 18. I have a theory that Vince McMahon thought Austin Aries was Bobby Roode, and that when they hired the real Bobby Roode, Vince immediately said, “Well, then who the fuck is this guy?” 

Grade: F