#looking at sumo (& now also journeys) like two of these things are not like the others~

[rosewood-multifandom-writer]

Street Fighter 6 Story Review:

After this and Akuma’s release, I am going to review World Tour Mode. Spoilers, I’m gonna be pretty harsh with World Tour and the rest of this game. Every character will get a TL:DR breakdown of their storylines because I don’t want this review being longer than it’s already gonna be.

The only stories that I will not be counting are the DLC character stories because as of the date of this review, I only have Ed. If I get the rest of the DLC after Akuma gets released, then they will have their own review post, but for now, it’s just the base game roster. The stories with a heart (❤️) next to it are my favorites.

Luke: Luke’s story begins with him introducing himself and wanting to meet new people during his street fighting journey. He thinks he’s still the same young punk he was before he joined the military briefly. Luke’s story is about him fighting on his own terms.

Jamie: Nothing special, the usual Jamie being the protector of his city, beating up gangs and thugs, and arguing with Luke.

Manon: Hates being called “strong” as it is a trigger for her due to her mother abandoning her and not having friends due to her being amazing at judo. She also does this thing that I also do whenever I am having a bad day where she says she’s “fine” but she’s not. Marisa is the first and only person who genuinely compliments and praises Manon’s strength. ❤️

Kimberly: A young 80’s aesthetic loving ninja who is investigating her uncle’s death. Runs into JP. ❤️

Marisa: We see Manon vs Marisa from Marisa’s perspective as she proudly talks about her history and of course, more lesbian subtext between the two. ❤️

Lily: She is a part of the Thunderfoot tribe and travels a lot as she is the most curious fighter. She runs into Dhalsim.

JP: This villain is so good because there are people that are just like JP in real life. Not to mention that he is the king of gaslighting and manipulation. If there is one symbol that is more fitting for him, it would be a chess piece. ❤️

Juri: She is having trouble moving on and feels like she has no other purpose in life other than her now one-sided rivalry with Chun-Li, and it looks like Chun-Li’s words did have an affect on her at the end of her story. ❤️

Deejay: If you’re looking for the definition of chill, Deejay will be used as an example picture. Kimberly acts as his inspiration for his newest song.

Cammy: She is investigating the reminents of Shadaloo, and runs into JP. JP gets away, and Cammy is more determined than ever to find more information about Shadaloo, because like a cockroach, Shadaloo just won’t die completely. ❤️

Ryu: In the usual Ryu fashion, Ryu seeks more strength and looks to fight other fighters with unique abilities. Luke wanted to get a picture with him, but the closest he got was an awesome shot of Ryu being his usual heroic neutral self walking away from the fight with Luke.

E. Honda (Bear Hugger): E. Honda wants to open up a new sumo themed restaurant, and the Manon boss fight he has is actually a flashback fight of him trying to open up his restaurant in France where the temporary amusement park is, but Manon gives him better advice for his restaurant. Hence why his restaurant is in Urban Park.

Blanka: He becomes great friends with Lily and remains champion of the jungle like the ugly cute creature he is.

Guile: Guile learns that Ken has not been the same since the incident in Nayshall, and in his ending, he tries convincing Ken to go back to his family and if you remember his conversations in World Tour, he doesn’t want Ken to repeat the same mistakes with his family like he did. ❤️

Ken: Ken is framed for being a terrorist and is now in hiding even after his innocence was proven. I know others beat me to it, but I think this is gonna be the start of Violent Ken. Whether he will appear by Capcom pulling a SF5 season 2 and makes SF6 season 2, or we get SF7, we will definitely be getting that dark side of Ken.❤️

Chun-Li: We see Chun-Li living her best life semi-retired, but thanks to Juri Han, she learns that taking down Shadaloo isn’t that easy, as there are still more things going on with Shadaloo, even though M. Bison is dead. ❤️

Zangief: He mistakes Marisa’s want for a romantic partner for a tag team fighting partner, and he clumsily makes an excuse as to why he can’t. Marisa is a graceful person when it comes to losing and being rejected. ❤️

Dhalsim: Dhalsim being the usual freaky yoga contortionist he is gives Lily some enlightenment.

What are the best stories from Arcade Mode?

The top 5:

1. Juri.

2. Ken

3. JP

4. Guile

5. Kimberly

These five are the best stories as it focuses on the aftermath of Shadaloo’s downfall, which is the best storyline of SF4-SF6’s timeline so far.

My least favorite stories are Lily and Jamie because they’re not the most interesting characters in my opinion, nor were their stories interesting to me. Plus, I’m pretty indifferent towards these two.

Is playing Story mode worth your time?

In my opinion, if you haven’t played Street Fighter in a long time (the last time I personally played Street Fighter I only played SFII) or you’re new to the franchise, the story is definitely worth your time.

In my case, I want to analyze characters like the roster in SF6 and I am going to review the rest of this game, so playing Story Mode was definitely worth it for me. Plus, it doesn’t waste my time like what World Tour did.

So if you want to experience/re-experience SF6’s story, play Arcade Mode’s Story.

I will have a lot more to say about World Tour mode, but as of right now, Akuma hasn’t been released yet, so I can’t fully express my opinion on World Tour as a whole yet.

Conclusion:

In short, the story of Street Fighter 6 is an interesting one from what I have seen as someone whose first experience with Street Fighter was Street Fighter II, so I can’t speak for anyone else who played more of the other games.

I will say that the Arcade Mode Story is better than World Tour’s story. Hopefully it gets better in the Turbo/Ultra/Champion/Whatever Edition of SF6.

[thepixelpenguin]

Elementals

So... uh... I came up with these in a dream?

Well, okay, I came up with two of these in a dream (try to guess which two!) but more importantly I came up with the concept of elementals being like... these primordial entities, like eternal gods incarnate, with separate dominion over their element, but in the form of two 'siblings'. One, the feminine, represents the constructive qualities, and one, the masculine, represents the destructive qualities. Each of them, in their own way, has an interest in what life is doing in their world, specifically humans, which is why they have been anthropomorphised. These are merely the physical avatars they feel are most appropriate for their actions.

I imagined, which is to say dreamed, of this pantheon forced to cooperate on a journey around the globe to discover exactly what advances this new civilised species was making, and what, if anything, they should do about it, and along the way learning how to overcome and celebrate their differences, and respect the others' place in the world. Good stuff! I mean, IMAGINE the fables you could get out of that! Imagine the attitudes they'd hold towards us mortals, and the natural world! All I know is someone can make a story out of these and I just HAD to design them.

Why even use feminine and masculine at all? Well, because that's how I dreamed it! But also, it kinda reminds me of the way alchemy, and some ancient mythology, treats male and female as divine qualities with their own pros and cons of which only a balance is perfect. Plus, idk, something about the feminine being the bearers of life while the masculine are the opposite... seems right.

Why do they have nicknames? Because the puns are too good and I couldn't resist.

If you're wondering why the sketches suck it's because I thought I might bother to add colour one day, but right now... nah.

The Feminine Air "Skye" is based on a dancer, with her cyclone arms and tornado lower half below a cumulus build. Her cheeks always look puffed out, and her sort-of hair-bun is just a good contrast but appropriate for a dancer I suppose. Here she is doing a pirouette whilst paying absolutely no attention. She is generally quite carefree, energetic, unrestrained. She's just as fast and agile as her brother, and uncannily defies gravity for fun, but has no interest in following directions when it doesn't suit her. The only time she shows anything resembling discipline is when there's a life in danger, at which she'll rush to help through any path necessary.

The Masculine Air "Gale" is more athletic, like a sprinter, whose body somewhat follows the form of a toga, with arms which leave great trails somewhat resembling wings. Though he has a ridged brow and chin, there is nothing like hair when he is standing still, but he creates feathery streaks as he moves. He is shown in a sort of flying body press, showing off as usual. He's breathtakingly fast, and must make sure everyone in the vicinity knows that, but isn't particularly goal-oriented.

The Feminine Earth "Bertha" is sort of tree-like, with shimmering grass-green eyes, with an earthen torso and rocky base. The rest of her body is formed from wood, giving her the most clearly defined figure of them all, and a trunk mimicking a bared midriff. She can grow plants from any part of her body, and is by nature curious and nurturing towards all living things. Though she can conjure all manner of life-forms to do her bidding, she believes it ought to be left to flourish without corrupting influence. It pains her deeply to see others suffer.

The Masculine Earth "Brock" is built like a sumo wrestler, but with a sort of militaristic crew cut and shoulder pads of grass. His face is locked in a tired frown, with dull mineral eyes. His body is generally quite blocky, especially his extremities, and he is overall very sturdily built. Though he has immense grip and crushing strength, and is practically unshakeable, he is stoic and stubborn to the point of total apathy. There is nothing he won't apply the bare minimum to.

The Feminine Fire "Cindy" has a noticeably curvier figure, yet is also less well-defined, her limbs and dress-like shape flickering in thickness here and there. Flames pick up around her chest area like the cut of a dress, and further licks around her neck are almost fur-like. Her head extends into a wildly whipping tail, with an ever-present thin trail of smoke. She has an unusually flippant facade for one of the feminine, still vested in fire's interests, but she takes great pride in the unbeatable light and warmth she provides. She can still be vain, and occasionally sharp-tongued, but ultimately she does want to be useful, and will speak up for the downtrodden.

The Masculine Fire "Ashley" has an angular, demonic image, an unusually thin body for one of the masculine, but quite able to warp in shape and stretch his wiry limbs. His lower half often grows chaotically, providing him with unexpected bursts of speed. His hair flares out radiantly, always with what appear to be two blue-tipped horns. He is quite slow to spark into action, feeling little motivation where his greed cannot be satiated, but once his wrath is earned, he is relentlessly aggressive. He has a habit of roaring as shown when his power spreads, and though his desires are fickle, he fiercely defies control.

The Feminine Water "Flo" has a rather rounded shape, with ripples abound, spreading into something like a skirt with a scaly appearance. Her arms, in particular, tend to morph in and out of their proper form, rarely forming hands. Her hair flows out in a wavy fashion that is hard to distinguish from her body, and often flings out in droplets and sprays which can catch the light. She is a playful sort, as often on the move as she is intentionally resting, sensing her surroundings, feeling the slightest of vibrations. She will often seek out those in need of her, although she is just liable to get distracted along the way. Of all of them, she is the most sociable, getting along particularly well with the Feminine Air and, sometimes, the Feminine Earth.

The Masculine Water "Eddie" is a towering top-heavy form, as if he might crash down at any moment. His back frequently peaks into fins which run vertically. His hair forms a wave crest on top and a beard of eddies and seafoam that could rival Poseidon. His arms follow heavy deliberate movements, but his hands and fingers are less controlled. Parts of his body can turn to ice on command, usually protecting his bulk in sheets or letting his fingers be used as piercing weapons. Maintaining a severe demeanour, he considers the welding of his power incredibly important, self-righteously dooming all he sees fit to. He heaves around as if carrying the world on his shoulders, but ultimately does whatever he can be convinced is for the greater good. As conceited as he is, he is quite flexible in that regard.

===

You may be wondering why the feminine figures are somewhat less varied than the masculine. There's a couple of reasons for that. Firstly, the feminine were supposed to represent the elements as they pertain to life, whereas the masculine simply represented forces of nature. As such, I wanted the feminine to appear a little more like an average human, the dominant lifeforms, and the masculine to appear a little more warped and monstrous. I also personally like the implication that the virtues of humanity represent us much more than our conquest. Secondly, I'm bad at drawing.

In general, though, I tried to make them all quite formless and ageless. Only the Masculine Earth has defined feet, and only because the pose didn't make sense without them. Only the Earth have proper eyes, thanks to their element's versatility, and all their bodies have somewhat ambiguous boundaries. Even the human-like feminine have, say, wrinkles of bark on a youthful face, or a puffy face for a lithe body, or a childish visage on a developed figure. They'd be an easier sell animated but HELL if I have the skill for that.

I don't know what to do with these characters but they're neat, right? :P

[meistoshi-a]

@glrchmp whenever i stop to think abt the dif artstyles pokeani has gone thru all i can think of is this

[mnictasbcl]

Life’s beauty

For #dbhcolorsofdeviancy, prompt:

June 9th: The feeling of being alive @connor-sent-by-cyberlife

Rating: Teen

Characters: Connor, Hank Anderson

Relationships: Connor & Hank Anderson

Additional Tags: Fluff, Break, Swearing, Cabin, Woods, no not a cabin in the woods this is fluff lads, Beauty of nature, Fishing, Sensory detail,

Summary: After the Revolution, Connor had done nothing but work. Hank decides to take him away to the beauty of nature, to truly realise the feeling of being alive.

Story below! Or, read it on AO3

The androids fought, they won, they became free. In the weeks proceeding the revolution, Jericho’s sole goal was getting sorted the rights of androids so that deviants could truly be as human as they wanted to. Connor was involved in some of the proceedings, helping Markus word and practice his speeches, aiding North with logistical things and tasks to help with the thousands of homeless deviants seeking shelter. But as soon as the right was agreed that androids could work and earn a salary as humans do, Connor was right back at Hank’s side, working at the DPD. After all, whilst his help was needed in Jericho, he could be of much more use on the police force, especially given the rising numbers of hate crimes towards androids following the revolution.

Besides, it was nice to get back into a familiar routine, minus the all-seeing, all-knowing control of Cyberlife hanging over his head.

So, the months progressed. Connor worked as partners with Hank at the DPD, and the two were an unstoppable force, what given their bond and skills around deviancy. More rights were being fought for them in the background. Soon, androids were almost treated, at least by law, as equally as humans. They could not be discriminated against, not hurt, they could work, they could buy property, they could start families- everything. Months after the revolution, and things were looking bright on the horizon.

This didn’t mean that the hatred against androids all out stopped. However, crimes were slowly but surely falling, what with the consequences for committing them becoming stronger by the day. This left slightly less work for the DPD to sort out.

However, when Hank woke up one morning and decided he wanted some time off, Connor was still a little confused.

“Are you quite alright, Lieutenant?”

Hank groaned. “For the last time, it’s… never mind.” He paused, placing his coffee mug back on the kitchen table. “Why’d you ask, though?”

Connor shrugged. “I just wondered whether you needed the time off to rest, or recuperate, perhaps—”

The man shook his head. “You don’t always need a reason to take some time off, Connor. It’s been pretty hectic these past few months at the DPD and I just thought it was time for some change around here. Sumo’s barely seen us.”

“Alright.” He nodded, “But I will have to arrange with Fowler what partner I will be assigned whilst you are away.”

“Whoa whoa, who said you couldn’t use a break too?”

“I do not require breaks. I perform stasis every night and—”

“Don’t you just want to… to be out there?” Hank questioned, rather vaguely, Connor thought with a furrow of his brows. “Go out and do things. I mean, now that Markus and crew have got all those fancy rights for you all, I thought you’d want to go and experience them.”

Connor straightened his tie. “I already am, Lieutenant. Captain Fowler is paying me above minimum wage, and last week, Gavin managed to restrain himself from insulting me.”

Hank smirked. “Oh boy. Not exactly what I meant. Look- I’m not going to force you, but I’m offering: we take a week or so off work, I’ll show you some sights, or we can just stay at home and spoil Sumo, whatever you want. I just want to see you have fun, kid.”

Connor blinked. His LED briefly flashed yellow, processing. Eventually, he nodded. Perhaps the Lieutenant’s words had some reason to them. Aside from a couple of weeks after the revolution, he hadn’t done much outside of work. Of course, it hadn’t struck him as odd. Even with his new status as deviant, which came with its differences, such as emotions and connections with other people, he’d been used to constantly working, following orders, completing tasks, completing the mission. But maybe he could now benefit from not having anything to do other than… what was it… Be out there, as Hank had put it.

“Okay.” He agreed, LED circling back to blue. “Perhaps some time away from the precinct would be optimal. However,” Connor added, glancing to the clock, “we had better get going for work today, lest Fowler relieve us of duty for good.”

Hank cursed, chugging back the rest of his coffee. But even with the time limit now imposed on their morning, Connor noticed he was a lot less grumpy about the rush to work.

 ___________________

  Luckily, Fowler had allowed them the week off work, and the time between then was spent planning what activities they’d get done.

Connor was pleased to hear that it wouldn’t be full of travelling and going a multitude of different places. Whilst he was excited (excited? Yes, he supposed he felt a rush of happiness every time he thought about their trip) about seeing the world, he didn’t really feel up to seeing everything at once, and, besides, travelling for long amounts of time bored him. There was nothing to do but listen to the tinny radio on Hank’s car, playing either jazz or heavy metal rock music, and flick his coin back and forth between his hands (at least for a short amount of time, until it was confiscated from him for being ‘loud as fuck, Jesus Connor’).

Instead, they’d decided upon going to a cabin Hank had managed to rent for a fairly cheap price, somewhere in a wooded, natural area. It wasn’t so out of civilisation that they would struggle to get supplies lest they need them, but it was far enough away from the traffic of the city and the hustle and bustle of busy daily life.

Sadly, the journey was still fairly long, a couple of hours out. Luckily, though, Connor had brought five US quarters with him, each one stored in a different place on his outfit.

Hank looked long-suffering by the time he’d taken away the third coin.

“You’ve got another one, haven’t you.” It was less of a question, and more of a statement.

“Affirmative, Lieutenant. You advised me to pack the essentials.”

“Like clothes. Food. Water. Ah ah ah—don’t you get cocky with me and say they’re not essential for you. I know.” He sighed. Connor smirked. He could tell that Hank was mildly annoyed but not angry with him. He tried his best not to antagonise his fellow occupant in the car, but he just couldn’t help it—since deviating, something in him had changed whenever he had to sit in a long car journey.

Boredom, his mind supplied.

boredom /ˈbɔːdəm/

noun          the state of feeling bored.

Connor chuckled softly at the definition his mind supplied. Firstly, it was… incredibly unhelpful. Secondly, he must be bored if he was subconsciously searching the definition of boredom itself.

He decided he would need to find a way to occupy his mind on the journey. For now, he didn’t think getting out his fourth coin to play with would be a good idea, since Hank was a bit on edge, and he needed some coins for the journey back. So, laying back in his seat, he took to looking out the window. It wasn’t too long before they arrived, he deduced from a scan of his surroundings. Things were changing vastly now. There were no tall and looming buildings like those in the city, no cars shooting by, horns blaring, people running up the streets, late to work. The city was alive, kind of beautiful in its own way, but nature, he began to notice, had its own sense of beauty. What with the trees lined up along the landscape, varying in shape and height, and in density of leaves and branches. The skies almost seemed clearer, more vibrantly blue and interspersed with soft white clouds. It was aesthetically pleasing, he noted, even if not sharing the geometry of lines and symmetry that the city held.

He whiled away the rest of the journey watching the sights go by, managing to stay stiller than he had the first half of the journey. It was awfully serene. Still, when they reached their destination, car pulling up on a dusty road, the cabin sitting by a pond in the distance, Connor was eager to leave the vehicle.

Connor helped eagerly with the bags, carrying a couple in each hand and waving off Hank’s requests to take some off him.

“I can manage, Lieutenant.”

“Show off.”

“I could also carry the two you have, if that would be of help.” He added, teasingly, to which the man flipped him off. Which then caused him to drop a bag with the change in hand positioning.

Connor couldn’t help it. He started to laugh, which wasn’t a good idea when he was holding four bags. His side started to ache a little, and he eventually had to drop a couple of the bags onto the floor in order to supress the stitch.

“That’s it, we’re going back home.” Hank made to walk back to the car, trying to act serious, but the fact that the android was still sniggering didn’t help things. “You’re a little shit, you know that, right?”

“I believe… I… believe you have referred to me as that multiple… times…” Connor got out between chuckles, before taking a few deep breaths, getting a hold of himself.

“Well, here’s one more to add to the list.” Hank remarked, reaching down to pick back up the bags, following after Connor as he headed towards the cabin.

There was a moment of confusion as they tried to figure how to get the front door unlocked, what with all the bags, until they realised it was already unlocked, Connor leaning against it and finding it swing open.

“That’s safe.”

“I do not detect any beings inside the residence.” Connor informed him after a quick scan of the cabin.

“You sure? No pigeons or squirrels made a little home for themselves up in the attic?”

Connor began to walk inside, glancing around in case his scans hadn’t been accurate, but shook his head upon reaching the living area. “I believe not. There is no attic.”

He heard a slight thud of a bag being dropped onto the floor, and snorted.

 ___________________

 The first late afternoon and evening at the cabin was spent getting everything unpacked and homely in the cabin, and Connor cooking a healthy meal for Hank (“There’s no takeaway service out here, Lieutenant”).

After that, however, Connor awoke them bright and early the next morning, coming out of status around 7.30am and pulling open the curtains.

“As per our schedule, Lie—”

“Jesus Christ, Connor.” Hank groaned, a phrase the android had become accustomed to hearing. He cringed. Perhaps he’d forgotten that coming out of human rest was different to coming out of stasis. He pulled the curtains slightly to, so that it wasn’t blinding early morning sunlight streaming into room. This time only a small slither of it.

“Apologies… Hank. I may have been too prompt. I’m just…”

Rubbing his eyes, Hank looked him over, seeing the android fully dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt with an image of a cartoon Saint Bernard on it, and some loose-fitting pants.

“Excited.” The man finished for him. “Well, that’s what I get for letting you organise a schedule for the week… If you get me some coffee, I might forgive you.”

Connor swiftly made his way into the kitchen and came back approximately 3 minutes later with a mug of coffee.

 And so, that’s how the morning went on. Hank might’ve complained, used to this side of the android from how he liked to get the tasks done swiftly and properly at work, but he was fond to see Connor moving about and happy to do something other than work.

It wasn’t much later into the day that they were sitting out by the side of the lake, situated to the right side of the cabin. It stretched out a fair distance beside the residence, its waters calm and silvery on the surface. Just reaching midday, there were chirps of wildlife buzzing around them, but nothing too loud and overbearing.

Hank had decided one thing he wanted to introduce Connor to was fishing. He could remember going on to a lake not dissimilar to this one in his youth, being taught how to fish. Maybe he could pass that skill, or at least the experience, down onto the android.

After making sure he wouldn’t cheat and download a step-by-step guide on fishing in his ‘brain-computer-thingy’, as the man eloquently put it, Hank entrusted him with his fishing rod he’d brought along. It was a little rusty with disuse and he had little in the way of lures, but it didn’t seem like Connor wanted to harm the fish anyway, given from his reluctance upon seeing the sharp metal hook of the rod.

“I doubt they’ll actually bite,” he shrugged, guiding the fishing rod into the android’s hands. “But if they do, you can just release them back in. A little different to how I’ve done it, but…”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” He stepped back a little, eyes squinting as he concentrated, focusing on flicking back the rod and casting the line as Hank had just shown him how to do. It was a few moments before he managed to precisely replicate the movement, and soon his line was bobbing in and out of the water.

After a few moments, though, he tilted his head, confused. “What now?”

“You wait.” Hank supplied, sitting back on a deck chair he’d brought with them, cracking open the ice box he’d brought with him. “Hey—where did all the beers go?”

The man was looking at him, holding out the can of lemonade. “It’s a much better alternative, Lieutenant. I did… I left a few beers in the bottom of the box, however I’d much rather you left those for later.”

Hank groaned, but complied, and Connor refocused his attention on the waters in front of him. The goal of the task was to catch a fish, and then reposit it back in the waters. But he was meant to wait for that to happen—

He shook his head. That wasn’t the goal. He supposed, from what he’d learnt from his short months of being human, was that there wasn’t really a goal to be attained with every action and thing he did. There were outcomes, but maybe the true aim of this ‘fishing’ wasn’t to catch the fish at all.

Not with the still waters, glistening on the surface, calm movements every now and then as something beneath rippled the current in its movements. Not with the calm hum of nature, the trees lightly dancing back and forth in the breeze. Not with the soft click of the lemonade can opening, Hank’s breathing, the warmth of companionship.

It was about the moment, he noted. The build up of planning their excursion, the anticipation in the car ride over, and now it was the moment he’d thought about. A break from modern day life, a chance to fully enjoy being human. Not working, not thinking constantly about android rights, having things to get done. That moment gave him a chance to reflect, as his eyes cast over the waters, line bobbing as something began to lightly tug on the end of it. To reflect truly on what had happened the past few months.

Because it was a lot. It was being created, being a machine, hunting deviants, meeting Hank… realising that there was more to life than following orders and completing the mission. Taking those orders and throwing them away, meeting the leader of the deviants, of their people, and finally becoming himself.

And now, he was realising what it truly was to be himself… it was freedom. Freedom was being able to have family, to move in with Hank and Sumo, to be free to choose his career path, choose what he wants to do with his life. Choose to take a break away from it all and immerse themselves in nature.

Nature, with all its beauty, all its life—

Standing there, realising this all, feeling the fresh breeze of air tickle his cheeks, the warmth of sun, shining soft yellow light, Hank teaching him to fish. He could do what he wanted. And it wasn’t a task; there was no mission. He could just have… fun.

“Connor? I think you caught one.”

He snapped back to reality. Hank was right. The line was tugging in his hands, and he moved swiftly to reel it in. A fish dangled from the edge of the line. He gathered it up in his hands, carefully, then crouched down, letting his hands hover partway through the water.

It was gentle, and the fish tickled as it moved in his hands, burrowing deeper into the water it could find. He laughed. It reminded him of the fish he caught back in the Tower, that one day, so far away. Connor let it back into the lake.

He watched it swim further away, down and down, deeper into the water. A pause. “Hank, is… is this what it feels like to…” he paused again. LED swirling in thought. “To be alive?”

Hank stood beside him, hand patting his shoulder. “This, and a lot of other things, kid.”

Connor thought it over for a moment. “I think I like it.” Being alive seemed to bring its downs, but even the hostage situation would bring the fish struggling on the floor to be saved. It would bring choices, choices he could make his own decisions on, and moments like this which he wouldn’t trade for the world.

“Great. Now, where were those beers you hid again?”

[deadlygronkle]

Ancestor’s Legacy Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Mask

Words : 1673

Two days earlier

The Links, after one day of searching with little to no rest have found the Boss room. Legend takes the Boss key and unlocks the door watching the chains fall to the ground.

“Alright we will rest here for the night” Time ordered, causing all of the links to sigh in relief and collapse on the ground.

“So who is on first watch, seeing as we are in a dungeon” Warriors asked in a matter of fact tone. 

“All I know is it won’t be me.” Legend stated, without his usual snark, watching as Wild pulled out some firewood from his slate in preparation to build a fire.

Legend takes a look at the other Links seeing how they are faring. Sky layed propped up against the wall already falling asleep while Hyrule pulled out a blanket from Sky’s pack and laid it on him. Wild finished making the fire and was looking through his slate mumbling to himself on what to make for dinner. Warriors were now entertaining Wind, with tales from his world, as they waited for the food to be done. Time had taken off his helmet and was currently leaning on the wall opposite of the wall sky with his eyes closed. Twilight was sitting about 3 feet from the fire staring at the flames unblinkingly, face deep in thought.

Legend, wanting to know what they are going to be eating for dinner, approaches Wild and says “Hey, What are you making?”

Wild doing a small jump obviously not paying attention before then stated “I was thinking of something easy like just roasting some deer meat with some hearty radishes and mushrooms!” as he pulled out all the necessary ingredients and cooking utensils from the slate.

Legend nodded and walked away towards the thinking Twilight loudly plopping one the ground making Twilight jump. “Hey Legend, you need something?” Twilight asks clearly not knowing what to do.

“I want to know why you are so spacey recently” Legend said bluntly, annoyed at how quiet and reclusive Twilight has been ever since Time got that helmet, “Wild is getting annoying, seeing as how you are out of it he keeps on bugging the rest of us instead!” 

The Links that are awake started to listen in on Legend’s and Twilight’s conversation. Wind moved from standing right infront of Warriors to standing to left of him,  and Warriors started talking quieter and giving off ‘discrete’ glances in their direction. Wild moved to the other side of the fire ears twitching every so often. Four, being the least discrete of the other Links, was staring right above Legend’s head as if daydreaming. Hyrule started organizing his bag and taking account of the potions and bandages he had in stock, and Time just tilted his head down looking at his helmet, or what Legends assume he is seeing as how his scarred eye was facing them.

Twilight rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, aware that all ears were on them now, said “I’ve just been thinking of my journey a lot, I will be more on top of it tomorrow”. Twilight turned back to the flames thinking that it was over, instead Four said “Why don’t you tell us about it? Your journey I mean.” now instead of focusing above Legends head Four was staring at Twilight eyes looking red against the flame.

Before Twilight can politely decline Wind interjected with a “Please we barely know anything about your adventure” pulling out the puppy dog eyes.

Wild hummed in agreement before saying “food will be done in like 10 so there's plenty of time” as he watched the food cook.

Twilight became increasingly awkward under Wind’s puppy dog gaze “Well…. I guess as long as everyone else wants to hear it” looking pleadingly at Time.

Time being unhelpful said “Actually Pup, I am quite curious and I’m sure that no one here would mind a story” with a subtle smirk that Twilight could clearly make out.

“Yeah farm boy I want to know how you use that strength in your adventure” Warriors added.

Twilight sighed then pondered for a second before saying “well one time I wrestled my way up death mountain going against nearly every single Goron”. Cries of surprise and disbelief were heard throughout the camp.

“No way!”

“Really?!”

“There’s no way”

“You got to tell us the story now!”

“Can’t leave it at that pup”

Legend scoffed and said “Even that story is true I am not convinced that you don’t take potions.”. Twilight smirked and replied “It’s true and the tale is even more unbelievable”

Wild staring at Twilight with unbelief in his eyes said “Now you got to tell us the story!” Twilight glanced at the food and said “might want to bring you attention back to your food cub” as the radishes were burning on one side causing him to start fussing over it.

“Well I suppose I should tell the story, back at the beginning of my adventure I had to find a piece of a very powerful magical item there. All the gorons wouldn’t allow any Hylians up the mountain and pushed them off before they could even make it 10 feet up! After getting successfully beaten I went back to Ordon on the mayor’s orders, and got taught properly to beat the Gorons at their own game with a few tricks to make sure I don’t get pushed out instantly. Long story short I got to the top sumo wrestled  one of the elders, beat him, and then went down and successfully got the part of the artifact and saved their chief” Twilight said with a smile remembering one of his better memories of his Journey.

Before anyone could ask any questions Wild cuts in plates full of food and said “Save your questions for later the foods done!” before handing out the plates full of food, and waking Sky from his slumber, also giving him some food.

Twilight finished his food quickly and said “I’ll take first watch” earning him a frown from Time but Time said nothing.

“I guess I’ll take the 2nd watch” Four stated.

“And I’ll take 3rd” Time supplied.

---------TimeSkip----------

In the morning as they all were getting ready to fight the boss the world shifted out of focus for the Links. “We’re switching” cried Warriors, while Legend gave him a look of ‘No shit’ before they blacked out.

When Wild awoke they were in a desert like town with cucco’s running around and a pond like lake was to the right of him.

When everyone recovered, Time asked “Ok, anyone know where we are?” rubbing his head, Twilight smiled “This is my Kakariko town, home of the death mountain!”

Before anyone could ask Twilight ran forward like an excited puppy and said “Come on, I’ll show y’all around!”

As they walked around town, still a bit too early for the villagers to be up and about, Twilight pointed to different areas around town “That's Malo’s shop, I got my Hylian shield from there, That big building over there is the inn, oh! And over here is the Barnes’ bomb shop. It has been a bit pricey ever since his separate building caught on fire and exploded”. He said that last bit with a pained smile Wild noted curious what part his mentor had to play in that. 

“Wait, hold on there Twi, what about that lake back there?” Warriors asked, a bit amused by his comrade’s excitement. 

“Oh that is the Spring, it's kinda like a fairy fountain in your world, and speaking of bodies of water there are hot springs everywhere, but the easiest one to get to is up there” Twi pointed up on a ledge “You have to jump a bit but it's well worth it!”

“Well what are we waiting for let’s go!” Sky proclaimed, already tired.

So the Links went up there reading to get a nice relaxing soak in. After They all sit down in the hot springs Time said “Y’know your story last night reminded me of a few thing I have in my possession”

Twilight tilted his head to the left curiously “how so?”

 “Well…” Time pulled out his goron mask “It reminds me of this mask that allows me to transform into a goron as long as it is on my face”

“What other masks do you have in your arsenal old man?” Warriors asked from across the spring.

“Well I have one that turns me into a Zora, Korok, and Stalfos just to name a few” Time said.

Twilight zoned out ‘A stalfos does that mean he was alive when he trained me? No, His armour was different with vines growing on him AND he was missing his middle half!” Twilight thought.

“…..Twi you there?” Wild asked, shaking Twilight’s shoulder gently. Twilight jumped and said “Yeah I am fine, I was just uh.. Thinking about id there was a raid since I was last here!”

“Raid?” Wild asked, confused. 

“Yeah raid it when Bokoblins on boar mounts trash this village there are two bokoblin per giant boar one is steering while the other shoots flaming arrows at you. And no Wild you can’t ride them, they buck you off at the worst possible times” Twilight stated sending Wild a glare at the unasked question that died in his throat.

Before anyone can ask more questions Twilight got up and said “Would you look at that! The shaman is up, I'll be right back with him!” Twilight then grabbed a cucco and jumped off the ledge and left to go say ‘hi’.

“He is acting weird right?” Hyrule asked worry clear in his tone

“Yeah has been since we found that helmet” Four replied

“What should we do?” asked hyrule

"We don't do anything, he'll be back to normal soon, probably." Said Time also worried.

"Ok..." Hyrule said uncertainly.

[arcaneranger]

Final Thoughts - 2019 Long Shows

Dear Lord. This is where all the good shows went.

2019 was absolutely awful on a season-by-season basis (except for Summer, anyway), but that’s mostly because most of the best shows ran longer than what has become the industry norm of a single season. And indeed, heading into the new decade, we seem to be seeing a major renaissance for two- or split-cour shows, given the massive success seen by shows like My Hero Academia, Food Wars, and Haikyuu!!..particularly in comparison to the new perpetual-runners Black Clover (which, despite running for over two straight years now, is still not the most popular show of Fall 2017 by viewer count on MAL, and sits at a ‘meh’ 7.2), and even worse, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, which is faring even worse on both counts even though it premiered two whole seasons earlier and the fact that it is the sequel to Naruto.

As a reminder of my rules, the shows on this list may or may not have premiered in 2019, but they finished airing this year. The split-cour rule (stating that I judge any show that “finishes” and then premieres a “new season” within six months) didn’t come into play for any 2018 shows, but it will for Ascendance of a Bookworm and Food Wars this year, at the very least.

With that being said! 25 shows running longer than thirteen episodes finished airing this year after being simulcast, and of those…

I skipped 6:

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part V: Golden Wind, Fairy Tail Final Series, A Certain Magical Index III, Ace Attorney Season 2 and Cardfight Vanguard (2018) because I either dropped or have not finished their previous (also long-running) seasons.

Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS because the simulcast started late and also it was bad.

I Dropped 8:

Worst Long Show of 2019: The Rising of the Shield Hero

It’s always fun to see that a show you hated from its first episode only gets more and more distasteful afterwards, but it’s less fun when a service you have to promote because they’re the legal option is forced to shove it down your throat because they had a hand in making it and it became a massive hit that your friends don’t see any issue with because the author wrote a story that justifies its hero’s patronage of the slave industry. This is my punishment for watching the whole first season of The Asterisk War before I knew better.

YU-NO: A girl who chants love at the bound of this world

A confusing mess from the word go, this ill-fated adaptation of a visual novel from the nineties seems like it was mostly made to cash in on the popularity of the Science Adventure series, but failed to present itself in a way that made an ounce of sense or looked remotely interesting.

Fairy Gone

Am I really the only one that saw potential here? I mean yes, it ended up a boring slog that didn’t care to move its plot in a meaningful direction, but the first episode was at least cool. I guess Izetta: The Last Witch should have taught me better.

We Never Learn

I know that I’m in the minority in terms of the male demographic for shows like this, but honestly, how are bland harem shows still this easy to market? A copy-pasted protagonist with copy-pasted waifus drag down what could be an interesting setup for a story. 

Karakuri Circus

The first episode of this one had me excited, the second and third left me bored to tears and wondering if it would continue to look uglier by the minute. I haven’t seen a three-cour show look this janky since Knight in the Area.

Radiant

Having heard good things about this show from my cohorts, I do feel bad for saying I’ll probably never return to Radiant, but when you have a show that’s notably written by a European author...and it turns out to be a frustratingly standard shounen affair with middling production values, well, you can see my earlier annoyance with Cannon Busters.

Ensemble Stars

This one still gets to me. It almost looked like a male-idol show I would finally be able to get behind, what with its rebellious attitude and oddball setting...that is, until the setting got to be too unbelievable and the show began drowning its audience in side-characters because they had to squeeze every husbando from the mobile game into the story, and it all began to resemble UtaPri a little too much...but without the production value.

Boogiepop and Others

This was a hard drop, honestly. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I felt four episodes in, before concluding that I was bored and not particularly invested, two things that should never describe the experience of watching a Madhouse show. The fact that this was the project responsible for ruining One Punch Man only made it worse. There’s a slow burn, and then there’s walking away without turning the stove on.

And I Finished 11 (holy crap that’s like three hundred episodes just on their own).

That Time I Was Reincarnated as a Slime (5/10 & 1/10)

I’ll be honest, I had forgotten just how livid I was with the ending (and especially the sad excuse of a recap episode) of Slimesekai, and reading back through my write-up of it, it’s certainly coming back to me. While this year had bigger demons to fight (Shield Hero), the bad taste that Slime left me with hasn’t really faded, and the wasted premise bugs me to this day.

Hinomaru Sumo (7/10)

What Hinomaru lacked in production value, it happily made up for in good execution and earnest heart. I can’t believe this came from the same studio as Conception, Try Knights and 7Seeds, but if they can only get out one good show a year, I’m glad that we got one bringing attention to a sport that many will joke about but few understand, respect and appreciate.

Kono Oto Tomare (7/10)

Speaking of giving love to traditional Japanese culture, here’s a decent-if-unoriginal show about a local high school koto club down on their luck, and the troubled teens coming together under a scrappy protagonist to bring it back to life. Kono Oto Tomare doesn’t have much that you haven’t seen before, but a decently-executed club drama with Your Lie In April-inspired musical performances is more than enough to keep me interested, and since Forest of Piano kinda crashed and burned under the weight of its own self-importance this year, it was nice to have an alternative.

MIX: Meisei Story (8/10)

It’s hard to judge MIX next to the other shows on this list because it’s almost too old-school for its own good, revelling in an eighties storytelling style that didn’t end up jiving with a wide audience this year. But at the same time, its fun character dynamics (and a very good dub from Funimation, despite them saying they’d never touch sports anime again) were very entertaining to watch, even if it didn’t focus as much on the sport it was supposedly about as much as I’d have liked.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (8/10)

I fully admit that I’m very salty about the fact that this won Show of the Decade in Funimation’s poll while it was still on and I thought there were hundreds of more deserving shows, but I can’t deny that Demon Slayer was a very enjoyable experience, albeit one that I had notable problems with. That’s not gonna stop me from getting mad when it sweeps the Anime Awards in a few weeks, though.

Fire Force (8/10)

I was very afraid that David Productions wouldn’t be able to match the energy of Studio Bones’ adaptation of Ohkubo’s previous work, Soul Eater, but I was happy to be proven wrong. Even if the last few episodes contained a bit too much infodumping, it was all sandwiched between jaw-dropping fight scenes that proved that the people who make Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure can still handle the reins of a more traditional action show.

Fruits Basket 1st Season (8/10)

I know that my score for this one is a bit lower than others, but I think that Fruits Basket did pretty well in its first season, considering that it was largely spent setting up future storylines and adapting the part of the manga we’d all seen before, but with much higher production value. I’ve been familiar with this part of the story for over a decade, and the scene with Tohru and Kyo (you know the one) still made me cry. Now, we get the real plot going.

Dr Stone (9/10)

A great start to a totally new spin on shounen, Dr Stone gives me hope for survival in the post-Shokugeki world in which we’ll soon live, as a show that wears its research on its sleeve. A complex plot weaving interesting characters in and out of a narrative surrounding a philosophical battle where both sides actually do have fair points (even if one of them is going about it in a pretty cruel manner). More please.

Vinland Saga (9/10)

Once again, a great start to what will hopefully be years of quality storytelling, Vinland Saga made it seem like it was dragging in the middle only to reveal just what its slow burn had been leading up to, with twist-heavy storytelling and a fantastic cast to match the high visual quality of its brutal battles.

Run With the Wind (9/10)

It’s not often that Production I.G. gets to make a complete, fully-realized show anymore, and this one was a glorious reminder of the potential of the studio in the TV space, and a great rebound for the director of Joker Game. It’s gorgeous to look at, the cast is wonderful, and the story is both realistic and idealistic in a satisfying balance. It’s a miserable process to get to the finish line in real life, but sitting back and watching this was nothing but a treat. At least, until a minor fumble at the end.

Best Long Show of 2019: Dororo (9/10)

Speaking of complete stories, Tezuka Productions and MAPPA teamed up for a breathtaking adaptation of an underappreciated Tezuka classic that expands upon the story in exactly the right way to create a thrilling, savage, beautiful masterpiece that focuses a laser-sharp eye into the relationship between two characters in their journey to, literally and figuratively, become complete people. Also, that opening was killer.

And that’s it! That’s the fun list. Next comes the painful one. Stay tuned for the trash heap.

[bean-n-shroob]

The Origami King Review/Opinion

(I sorta hate that it has the word The in it cause when I did impressions or this review, it sounds strangely official)

I’m gonna review but if people don’t want spoilers here’s some Pros and Cons that I felt

Pros:

+ Music is fantastic! I love how the battle theme changes with every area/sub-area you go to.

+ Writing is good, it gets you invested in enough to sorta care. Humor is top notch as expected!

+ Olivia is a sweetheart! I love her so much and how she’s so marveled by everything.

+ Boss Battles are fun to figure and deal with.

+ Finding Toads is actually kinda fun, I enjoy figuring out where they’re hidden

+ Badge system is intriguing if not a bit clunkly put together (sorry, this is suppose to be Pros)

Cons:

- Regular Battles get old quick if puzzles aren’t really your thing and its a bit too easy to just not depend on the coins, thus making them pointless.

- Story sorta flops, it starts strong but then just sorta fizzles and all we got left is... fun experiences (I know this sounds like a Con, but while the experiences are fun, it is disappointing the story sorta flops hard)

- Character Design is very meh. The most well written character can’t save it from its extremely generic design

- But also Olly is not... that well written... so...

- Partners and Vellumentals are kinda under utilized to a disappointing degree (baby steps, baby steps ugh)

Anywho, that’s all my feelings (that I can remember and feel I can say without spoilers)

6.5/10 (I’ll explain the scoring under the cut)

Spoilers Under Cut

Hello and welcome to the Spoiler Bits of this Review/Opinion

Buckle in, this is a long one

Now y’all may be a bit curious as to why, with so much big things (music/writing/bosses/Olivia) being good and so little being bad, why a 6.5/10?

Well, I felt a 7 was too generous and would make people think “Oh, its good!” but a 6 is like “Eh... its mediocre” and a 6.5 is more like a “Its Good, But” and I feel that But is important! I know how this may sound, but TOK could’ve been WAY better and Chapter 2 was an example of how good this game could’ve been!

You know how people always bring up Huey, or the “Morton Leston” joke, or the “I would do things that would raise this game’s rating” line as examples as why Color Splash is actually really good and we’re all in denial?

I feel Chapter 2 will be that for TOK and its all because of Bobby! I like Bobby, I like Bobby a lot! I wish he stuck around! I loved how he and Olivia interacted together and how they formed a bond!

But

I sorta hated how overall useless he was to the action and adventuring. He’s the most useless partner that somehow leaves a deep impression on the player!

He leaves such a deep impression that I don’t think anyone noticed how badly written Professor Toad was! He was such a let down as a follow up to Bobby! And worst of all, he was like way more useful than Bobby! He can dig holes, he can wipe out a whole role of enemies, he has a function outside of battle and story.

Seeing how useful Professor Toad was, sorta put into perspective Bobby and his eventual sacrifice to save Olivia (I told ya this was spoilers). He just dies, in a shockingly emotional moment, giving a speech about how Bomb-Ombs live relatively short lives and are always trying to make the most of it.

Wow... I really wish Chapter 6 didn’t have a segment where you were half hazardly shooting bomb-ombs out of a cannon, cause otherwise, this could’ve been way more impactful!

But it also made it seem like "we can't make Bobby too useful, he's gonna die. So just keep him extremely simple and useless in every other aspect of the adventure, besides story."

I don’t get how TOK started out so strong! The intro and Chapter 1 introduced us to the basic loop how what we’d have to do and how stuff will play out and Chapter 2 took that and showed us how far we could go with this loop and how involved the world will be with this loop!

Only for Chapter 3 to just give up on everything and give us 1 expansive dessert to explore, a very one note partner who doesn’t leave a lasting impression, a boring quest of solving an ancient riddle and a very annoying boss dungeon segment that went on longer than it should’ve! And above all else, a very half-assed excuse for why he won’t be joining your journey! Especially since Chapter 4 doesn’t have a partner!

Chapter 4 feels like an overly-long intermission of Mario n Olivia’s adventure to Chapter 5. Legit the purple streamer of 4 could’ve been the green streamer of 5 and it would only flow just a little bit less smoothly. Chapter 4 has this weird send off to the Vellumentals, with the boss dungeon being a mixture of the last 4 Vellumental chambers you’ve explored. Which feels out of place especially since there’s like 2 more chapters of stuff happening afterwards! And like a thunder elemental like boss fight in 5 but I guess they just couldn’t be bothered to create a Thunder Vellumental fight to tack onto the story and just gave it to this Origami Sumo Bro! Okay!

And then the Bowser Castle segment is right when they decide to get creative with enemy encounters, but only 2 enemy encounters (you can fight these two multiple time if you’re neither a chicken nor annoyed with the battle ring system) but then just stop right after cause Scissor makes cut out soldiers was the only excuse why that happened.

Again... I like TOK, I do. If I didn't, I'd rate it a 4 or 5 outta 10. I'll talk about the good, I will, but lemme just rant about 1 thing first! Its actually 2 rants but its gonna be about 1 topic I'm rather passionate about.

Character Design

I hate how generic the Legion of Stationery are! Once again, Chapter 2 wins by giving Rubber Band a very unique design, but everyone else is so generic looking! Remember how I said the personalities couldn't save them from their generic design? The Legion have such fun personalities, its so tacky and fun! But I cannot get over how it contrasts with the fact I'm staring at an object hoping in place or wiggling or jiggling as they talk! It kinda sucks, honestly!

I wish these guys had more creativity behind them, and truth be told it wouldn't have bothered me had Rubber Band not been an outlier! Why them and not everyone else! Its baffling!

But above all else, the worst offender, is the Origami Craftsman! The dude who folded Olly! Is a TOAD! That's it! A toad in an apron! WHY

And I get it, there's story reason behind it! Olly wants all Toads gone cause they all look alike and thus everyone reminds him of the Craftsman who wrote (a very touching message) on him!

And that SUCKS!

(uh oh, i forgot about Olly and his terrible terrible motive to be evil)

Speaking of Olly! Remember when I said he wasn't well written? Well besides being an evil prick who enjoys messing with the heroes (i dont mind that, evil just to be evil is fine), it sorta randomly just comes up that he hates Toads near the end! It just comes up!

And I THINK it was suppose to be hinted at by the fact all the Toads gets attacked and folded by Paper Macho and Folded Soldiers. But my problem with this is:

1. Would they have been daring as making Folded Toads as enemies? Thus the lack of Folded Toad enemies should've hinted at this

2. The enemies were origami version of Mario enemies! So enemies still being enemies but folded would've just strengthen the fact we'd be fighting bowser minions again, making the previous Toad hint moot.

3. Toads have always been in peril in previous PM games so the fact they're in peril again wouldn't have been a point of interest!

I GUESS the fact Folded Peach specifically asks whether Toads should be silenced could've hinted at this, but people just took it as "hah lol Toads annoying" and not "oh, this villain has a thing against toads~". Its just, who else would the villain have pointed out? There's only Toads here! Maybe if there was a bigger variety of npcs and we saw other npcs either becomes folded soldiers or be spared from the folded attack, we could've wondered "hey, why are only the toads getting stuck in places?"

But we don't!

Anyways, huff! Lemme count all the good, spoilery things in the game (that's not in Chapter 2) to end on a good note

I love how Olivia is so sweet, no one could bring themselves to be mean to her (except Olly), even Kamek has a hard time being mean cause she's so bubbly and caring (except for that weird bit in the forest where Kamek had to be all rivalry about it but I digress)

Bowser backtalking Olly was very funny, I loved it a lot!

The fact Olivia asks Olly to come to his senses before Mario smashed his face with the Olivia hammer (i need to specify this cause otherwise it'll look like Mario interrupted this scene with a hammer smash but no, Olivia fully knew her hammer weight was gonna fall on Olly's face and just gave some last words of pleas before not even letting him respond) I loved that.

I liked how sweet Olivia was to Luigi despite how much he kept screwing up (i forgot to rant about that but tl;dr, he's a bit of a buffoon and its a bit annoying) i thought it was very touching how Olivia kept rooting for him regardless.

The Tape talking like a Gangster was actually really funny, I liked that a lot.

Bowser's pep talk to Olivia was very funny, it was basically "dont be sad, look at me, my muscles are massive and I can punch through walls!"

As jarring as they were, I actually liked a lot of the singing and dancing that occurred through the game.

Olly having his own color scheme for his Vellumental forms was super cool!

The ending was really touching. Olivia wished for all of Olly's creations to be undone, and because you find out in Chapter 4 that she's also a creation of Olly, she is undone too. And they don't spell that out! You just find out she's not around and connect the dots. I think that was very well done.

And these are some of several reasons I liked TOK and why I couldn't rate it lower than 6. It has a lot of things that just doesn't live up to Chapter 2 and its disappointing to realize halfway through that the game peaked in Chapter 2. Its so weird, they showed us how good it can be and then never lives up to the expectationd set by Chapter 2. I wish it did

Thats why I rate it a 6.5/10

[pokemon-legends-and-legacies]

Do you have any headcanons for Green/Red, Barry/Lucas, and Hugh/Nate?

Absolutely I do!

Green/Red

Green is the one who managed to get Red to come down from Mt. Silver by somehow beating him in a pokémon battle. Red was so stunned by his loss he just kind of followed Green back to civilization. This is the only time Green has ever beaten Red in a battle to this day.

Roy was already born when the couple visit Alola in the SuMo games and was about 10 or so months old (give or take.) And yes, they brought Roy with them! Leaf and Yellow (along with baby Amaryllis) also went to Alola and ended up having to babysit Roy a lot because of Green and Red’s frequent trips to the Battle Tree, whoops.

Red is technically unemployed, as he doesn’t really want to officially apply to be a professional pokémon trainer due to annoying bureaucracy. He still regularly seeks out strong people to battle with though, so his skills never go rusty and also because he thinks “stay at home dad” sounds way more boring than “Multiple Hall-of-Famer Professional Pokémon Trainer.”

They are a very sappy couple who like to show off how in love they are, though most of that’s Green being smug (”Look at me and my husband!”) while Red just goes along with it.

Green likes to think he’s a super cool dad who their sons will see as a role model but more often than not they go to Red for advice instead. Whenever this happens Green ends up pouting and needs to be comforted by his husband.

Barry/Lucas

A couple where people sometimes wonder how they got together due to how different they are. Definitely a very wholesome case of opposites attract.

Since Lucas was Rowan’s assistant, the two didn’t really meet until they were around 13 and didn’t interact much until after the events of DPPt. They met by chance at the Battle Frontier and when Lucas mentioned he wanted to improve his skills as a trainer Barry took him under his wing as a “Professional Battle Frontier Tour Guide.” Their romance blossomed fairly quickly, though Barry was pretty oblivious to his feelings while Lucas was realizing that subtle flirting wasn’t going to cut it in this case.

Dawn officiated their wedding and got trained to do so especially for her childhood best friend.

By the fankid era, Barry is a Frontier Brain like his father before him and Lucas has taken over from his mentor Rowan as Sinnoh’s regional professor, though he still has trouble getting used to being called Professor Hawthorn!

While they only planned on having one child, mainly due to how much of a handful Gavin was, they end up adopting Balthazar by chance due to some unexpected circumstances. Namely, Barry helps Dawn (who is Sinnoh Champion) take down a Cult of Giratina after they kidnap Dawn’s daughter, Tanith. While there, they find a boy who was raised in the cult to be a sacrifice and now has nowhere to go. The kid got attached to Barry  so one thing leads to another and he and Lucas end up with another son (Barry claims that Balthazar being blond and having a long name like him was a Sign that he was meant to be part of their family from the start.)

Nate/Hugh

Though Nate wasn’t the BW2 protag, he and Hugh were still childhood friends as he and Rosa are twins. They had quite a bit of romantic tension between them throughout middleschool, leading Rosa to urge them to try dating after getting fed up by hearing both her brother and best friend worry about the other’s feelings to her.

By the time the trio leave on their journey at 15, Nate and Hugh had been dating for about a year and a half.

Once it became clear that Team Plasma had returned, the two teamed up to fight them whenever they could, Nate mostly being worried about Hugh getting too angry.

Things reach a new level when, towards the end of their journey and when it’s looking like the final showdown with Plasma is approaching, Nate finds out he’s unexpectedly pregnant. While Nate himself is nervous due to his young age, he’s also excited and all the more motivated to defeat Plasma for the sake of his and Hugh’s child. Hugh, on the other hand, is incredibly nervous that Nate and the baby might get hurt now and ends up being rather overprotective of his boyfriend. This causes a bit of friction, but ultimately they’re able to work things out (with Rosa smoothing things over as usual whenever the two squabble.)

Glenn is born the summer after Ghetsis is finally defeated and Hugh and Nate stay in Aspertia for his first year or so, getting help from their parents and doing their best to raise him. At that, the two start looking for jobs so they can support their family, agreeing that whoever finds one first will take it, while the other will stay home to take care of Glenn. Hugh ends up getting unexpectedly scouted by Interpol, leading the family to move to Castelia, where they get married soon after.

Eventually, after Hugh gets promoted when Glenn is about 4, the family move to Opelucid to be closer to the League, which becomes their permanent home. When Glenn is about 6, they end up adopted their second child, Mindy, after her mother, Yancy, was looking for someone to adopt after she became unexpectedly pregnant. Glenn and Mindy are both handfuls but their parents love them (even if they hate each other lol)

[creamypalazzo]

as to cater to my lack of sleep I ended up becoming very hyper aware of a song that got stuck in my head, and it’s called god is fair, sexy, nasty by Mac Miller, and it’s a song in my jotakak playlist that elicits incredibly h0rny + romantic energy that I wanna believe is also up to par with jotaro and kakyoin’s relationship in my o p i n i o n because I am in love with them and they are in love and babies and in spite of the very hypersexual lyrics here I also wanna be inclusive to the romantic expressions here and there that also perfectly match up to mu headcanons of their relationship lmao,, also do note that I like bottom jotaro and this is also mostly in Kakyoin’s perspective so it’s also what made the song contribute so well and I Am Like This Because God Made It So and it’s ok.

actually what I wanna talk about before the lyrics is the segment of jazz that plays before it delves into mac’s usual r&b/hip hop instrumental, it’s supposed to set the mood smoothly and because of that, all I think about is the thought of jotaro and his love for jazz that is also never really regarded by a lot of fans. It’s an unusual trait considering the Everything that jotaro is but I love to see it as a way that Kakyoin doesn’t Ignore that part of him and knows how he fully is- Jotaro isn’t completely cold and edgy and bitter, he still has a brighter side to him, and his love for him is what makes him so seen.

funny enough, there wasn’t much background to the song aside from the chorus itself from kendrick lamar, though that does save me enough time and I’ve only done the better reading to understand the first chorus, which is this:

apparently for a time, Kendrick suffered immense survivor’s guilt and trauma that happened when he was younger, amidst all his success he still suffered a lot of issues that his partner had continually supported him through the rougher times- all the violence he suffered from has cultivated all into the “bullet” where his partner is represented as a rose, and their love has been the reason he’d been able to get through his issues. It’s also continued to the rest of the chorus, being together and folding into each other’s desires is also a parallel to Kakyoin and Jotaro’s relationship, where the hardest come down they’d know each other so well, so intimately, to be able to find each other in ways that they’d only ever know.

tbh probably one of my favorite things about Jotaro’s relationships is that they’d always always always emphasize his beauty- he isn’t all his beauty, but the fact his personality is practically worn on his face is what makes it. To me, Jotaro is forced to be fully aware of his features from the attention he’s gotten, but with his intimidating demeanor it also gets pointed out too because, 1) fear is an aphrodisiac, 2) it makes him so much more powerful that way, to be beautiful and feared is probably a feeling that he doesn’t get to understand would be so good, honestly, but to think that Kakyoin would take the sight of him in, would make him feel like he’s been looking at a god. Ironically, a god that would definitely make him commit sins and defilings of desires he didn’t even think he’d have on Jotaro, but here they are. Kakyoin would be mesmerized, especially with being an artist, he could paint him, paint on him, his body and his face is a work of art that subjects him into a place of some kind of worship because it definitely deserves it, but Kakyoin’s got desires that even makes the devil shiver.

This is probably one of the verses that struck me the most, and I say one of because there’s actually more to it. There isn’t any background as to, say, if this song was about anybody in particular, the only song in the album that was actually mentioned to be about someone entirely was Cinderella (and that shit got wild real fast lmao). But to know that this was probably about someone who was cold, who definitely had issues too? God. Jotaro is cold, when it comes to his feelings he honestly will probably not keep up with them. It makes him turn away from people who he should have been vulnerable around, who he’s allowed to be weak around, but he wants to hide it and shows it constantly, sex or not he’s probably always into the rougher things as to compensate. I like to think Kakyoin is there to test it- aside from the actual connotation, relationships always test people to how they become better than they used to be, it’s not just a test for each other but it is a test for themselves, in the name of love and the loves of their life, it’s a matter of asking, what do you want to do? Is it for them, or yourself? And in this case, ‘take my time, hit that slow’ shows off the contrast to what Jotaro normally ventures off to. Jotaro would have to adjust for that and also be made to understand what Kakyoin would feel, think, in the pace that he, for once, would want them in. Jotaro can finally learn, in and out of sex how he should consider the most out of Kakyoin- I know events of SDC would say that he does consider a lot because of Holly, but he doesn’t exactly have easier times reading his friends or family and most of the time does stay in a self-indulgent bubble where he doesn’t really know how to treat people’s feelings other than the ways he knows how. Kakyoin is a test to it, and Jotaro follows because he has the need to understand it, to know him.

You’re the only thing for me in this fucked up world is also a really painful statement, to me at least. It hits hard with the fact that Mac and Ariana later broke up because of their relationship turning toxic, I know he didn’t make this song for her but to know this statement was written out of his heart is what makes the genuity. Kakyoin, as we know has mostly been alone his whole life. He never really got to be vulnerable around other kids and his only friend was his stand that way, only being able to cope with his excess time with the fact that Hierophant could help him play video games better and that was probably just how he spent it. Alone, definitely unused to company that felt like he knew him. Enter Jotaro, new to stands, just as socially inept, same liking to sumo, gorgeous as hell and checking every box that Tenmei Kakyoin didn’t even know he had. He saved him from a lifetime of pain and suffering, saw a part of him that also made him understand that they weren’t alone. They’re the only two kids in a world of war and other dangerous things, the fact that they both don’t know how to interact with each other like normal people do is both hilarious and endearing, but it’s made better by the fact that it makes them understand and like each other. It’s almost like a matter of fate that way, because honestly, how long would have Kakyoin gone if he hadn’t met the Crusaders? He fell into Dio’s hands so quick because Dio could understand him, see right through him with his desperations and loneliness, but later fell for Jotaro because it’s all genuine, and a person that Kakyoin has learned to love because they didn’t know how to get to each other until they had to learn how.

And do you believe in love? Is another part of them. I never thought that Jotaro nor Kakyoin would honestly think of it, they had other shit to think about and it was definitely not girls, Kakyoin probably had a thing for h3ntai (I had a running joke somewhere that he was ripped because he kept jerking off lmao) but I doubt he ever indulged in the romantic areas, he never cared about it in particular until Jotaro came around to make him realize, oh, this was a crush. I always headcanoned that Jotaro was gay: he wasn’t exactly growing up in the best time to think about it, nor did he really like girls, his next best big brain moment was to probably ignore the feeling and just believed that girls were a whole no. Well, yes, the annoying stalkers mostly were at fault, but it made him not like the appeal of them, where he didn’t understand how boys would look at girls and drool over their thighs, where girls would fight about whose chests were smaller, because girls were just so boring and annoying to look at. It’s boys on the other hand that always had his attention. Many of the guys in his school probably would have been excited/terrified that the cool, smart Jotaro Kujo would approach them, and probably take him in as his friend or probably pick a fight, but in reality, he just didn’t know how to approach someone attractive, let alone someone of the same gender when his relationship with his father continually strained. So then he thought over it, a lot. Holding hands with a boy, kissing a boy. Hooking his arm around one, holding onto him no matter what. For a time he thought he just couldn’t be in love, it was just that he didn’t like the idea of it being with a girl, that was all.

Hold on tight when demons come / It’ll be alright, no need to run / Stay with me tonight, we’ll see the sun / And when we wake up we’ll still be drunk Ah yes, this verse analysis is going to be very long as I Analyse this until I pass out from sleep deprivation. These two lines are a combination of what I’ve said in both the previous paragraph and fourth one, reiterating my statements again, but I think this is the dawning of their trust with each other when they finally get to like each other. They both need someone they can trust and understand, but it’s Jotaro who has to be the one to not run away from it while Kakyoin is the one who holds on tightly because he’s never had this at all before. Someone like him has definitely developed attachment issues that way, and he’s not letting Jotaro get away from something that he knows they both need. Hence the cuddliness in the last three: Never felt this free before / I need you more than keys and doors / I need you sleepin’ next to me

You know by this point in their journey you wonder how deprived of touch everybody is, but especially with Kakyoin and Jotaro being together now this seems to end up as a way to deal with touch starvation with each other. I doubt both would be used to any of the contact, but it’s Kakyoin who’s trying to be more enthusiastic with it while Jotaro is also trying to adjust himself even though he doesn’t quite have any idea of what to do. But they try, try a lot, and Kakyoin finds that he enjoys holding Jotaro and Jotaro’s learned to love feeling and being held, being loved by this boy, no less. It makes them miss each other more every time they stay apart, the fact that Kakyoin got his ass handed to him back in the desert is also what makes it difficult, every time Jotaro visits him in the hospital Kakyoin would probably take his hand and hold it close to his face before kissing it, always so impatient and probably a bit horny and inappropriate than he needs to be and most of all lonely— and jotaro in turn would direct him to his lips where they’d always kiss softly, slowly turning desperate, both just progressively careless in the predicament with Kakyoin only being able to navigate Jotaro’s neck and jaw with kisses, Jotaro trying so much as to not lift the hospital gown and instead holding his scalp while he presses kisses all over his face, and sure it’s only been probably a week or so but they missed each other so god damn much, Kakyoin missing cupping Jotaro’s cheek and taking in the absolute sight of how beautiful he always is, but while he’s recovering he’s just glad he could still be able to touch him.

(You shy,) you don’t reveal too much / (No lies,) don’t hide your self at all / (Where’s your—) I just can’t help but fall / (It’s true,) and I’ve tried everything / My sexy, nasty thing / is actually the set of lines that hits the most here tbh. They carry the same sentiments that I’ve said in my fourth paragraph and supposedly should have been my previous one if it weren’t for the fact that that shit got deleted and all but I guess my WiFi just wouldn’t work yknow,,, anyway by this point I don’t believe that this is because of any clothing related reveal situation whatsoever, I like associating this with the idea that Jotaro’s so used to shutting his feelings out that it’s so difficult to express them, but anytime he sees Kakyoin he’s just so . unused to feeling free and allowed to be able to see him in this light while Kakyoin is made to be so aware of it. It makes Jotaro feel naked, even if they have their clothes on, he may not be that expressive but Kakyoin’s found himself starting to recognize the building looks that Jotaro’s giving him, hooded eyes or widened ones where he looks so curious and stunned. If Jotaro would be made too aware of it his pride makes him swallow and look away, but a lot of the time Kakyoin, even so overwhelmed and flustered, would encourage him not to be ashamed of it, to be vulnerable to him because he loves the feeling that the way he looks at him is actually being returned. They love each other, even if they were young they knew it was love. It was so perfectly destined that God had to be the one to cut it short. 

There’s a line from a JotaKak doujinshi in particular that somehow manages to hurt me to read every time called Let’s Meet at The Usual place; it’s a doujinshi presenting memories of Kakyoin and Jotaro’s relationship where they realize they like each other (yes there is a lot of sex but yeah), and the very last line is Kakyoin’s final message when looking back to them:

I don’t like being lonely, so please talk to me from time to time. There’s a story that I don’t know, so let’s meet at the usual place. 

Now, I bring this up, while also crying, because at a point, Kakyoin’s childhood problems have definitely affected him badly growing up. It’s considered that he has a lot of obvious signs of clinical depression, which is a topic that can be discussed here, but I wonder how frequent he could go into these episodes? Did he ever take meds? I know I’ve had a fair share to this kinda shit but god damn, it’s mentioned in the link above that it probably ranges in a severity, and it makes sense! How many episodes has he gone through it alone? How long did he have to believe that he was alone, considering he decided outright he could never be friends with someone who can’t see his stand? It’s emphasized a lot that if it weren’t for the stands, Jotaro and Kakyoin wouldn’t have been friends at all. I just think: With the presence of the Crusaders, he definitely developed a peace of mind. 

Why do I say this? It’s mostly taking into consideration with the way Mac handles his feelings: he gets really emotional when he’s high- in this case, even if Kakyoin hadn’t been using his meds, how emotional can he get in episodes or developing episodes in particular? How far do these go, and how much does it trouble Jotaro that he doesn’t even know what to do? I wanna believe that for the most part, he’d feel better, definitely a lot better, even in his episodes he could look at Jotaro and realize that he’s waited far too long for somebody who could understand him, who could see him, taking him to a place where he feels warmer, happier, and he would hold Jotaro close to him and realize he has more than just thanking him for literally saving his life. Jotaro would be everything to him. 

Honestly, I don’t think Jotaro has carried similar feelings of loneliness, but he had a feeling of want to this. He knows his desires, he knows what he likes, who he loves, most importantly, but he realized that without Kakyoin’s presence it’s suddenly so boring and sad without him. In a way he feels scared, even though he knows Kakyoin is strong enough to handle himself, his worry manifests in a way that he knows that it’s how his mother could worry but it just can’t be helped.  

Will you come home with me? Hits HARDEST, especially, I know a lot of this is sexual undertones but as I’ve repeatedly stated, god damn does the change in context make it hurt, like there’s definitely been a lot of talk and a lot of promises that were made for when they come back home, Jotaro would have wanted to bring him home to Holly where she’d be safe and sound, and he knew for a fact that seeing her again, with the idea that she’d be overjoyed with them being together has given him something so pleasant. 

But Jotaro could never have that. He never got to say goodbye, or save him in time. For the longest time, Jotaro has realized that there was nobody that was going to make him this happy. 

And, really. Nobody could do it like Kakyoin, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be happy again. 

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: The Eccentric Family S2, Episodes 4-6

In which Yaichiro finds love, Benten meets her match, and I finally figure out my biggest issue with this show.

Sort of Fairy Tale

If there’s one thing from this set of episodes that really drives home why the second season has started working for me, it’s Yaichiro’s romance with Gyokuran. On the surface, it’s really nothing special; Gyokuran’s just been introduced this season, she doesn’t have that much chemistry with Yaichiro, and it’s a pretty standard meet-cute scenario as these things go. But despite that, the countless fun little detours the journey of their love takes us on make it a worthwhile experience. Using shogi as a point of connection for all the characters involved in a smart move, as it grounds the courtship in a common language. Gyokuran’s devoted her life to shogi, and her relationship with Yaichiro was formed by them playing together. But it was also a point of difficulty between them, as Yaichiro was so frustrated by Gyokuran letting him in that he almost bit the board in two. Now in the present, Yasaburo draws on his memories of breaking the rules of shogi with his father- clowning around like therebel he is- and uses them to pull Gyokuran out of her slump. It’s a really sweet little moment, and it leads to her and Yaichiro finally reconnecting over shogi once again, bringing down the boundaries between them. Shogi’s a huge part of her life, and she doesn’t have to give that up to bring Yaichiro into it. She can just play with him, and she knows better now than to give him a pity win he doesn’t want. Meanwhile, we hear from Akadama that he used shogi to get Yaichiro’s parents together in the first place, trapping them in a room until they sorted out their obvious feelings toward each other. That’s a bro move I didn’t know the old geezer was capable of.

And hey, we actually got a confession right away! That in particular really makes me happy. When both people clearly just like each other, there should be nothing stopping them from saying “I love you” to each other and moving on to what comes next. It’s those kinds of smart, satisfying details that this show does best. There’s no bullshit, no pretension, just straight-up good times that don’t dick you around and make satisfying choices along the way.

BODIED

Speaking of smart choices, this season’s smartest choice by far is still giving Benten a genuine rival. It’s always such a fascinating dynamic when a character who’s always in control of the situation suddenly has that control snatched away. Anyone can look cool with power; it’s when that power is no longer certain that we truly see what someone is made of. Benten doesn’t even have to raise her voice or throw a fit to show how Nidaime’s disrespect pisses her off. She just has to take all those shirts he ironed so perfectly, throw them on the floor, and grind them under her heel, disrupting his perfect decorum with sheer, piercing spite. That simple break from her composed demeanor is enough to sell just how pissed she is. But then, the show pushes one step further: it makes her outright LOSE. For the first time, Benten comes up against an opponent who’s genuinely able to best her, sending her tumbling to the river below. It only took a single blow for the indomitable flying human to crash down to earth. And when Yasaburo and Akadama catch up with her, the pain in her voice is unmistakable: ”Are you frustrated?” “I am.” Two simple words, whispered in a harsh breath, and there’s no mistaking how massively this loss has affected her. It’s freaking powerful. I have no idea how these events will affect Benten moving forward; the fact that she’s no longer the master of the universe is sure to lead down some pretty interesting paths. But until then, she can blow steam off by sumo-wrestling oni demons down in hell, because of course that’s what she does in her spare time. God love me, she’s great.

It All Makes Sense

But put all that aside, because we’ve got a much bigger point to address: I’ve finally figured out why the first season didn’t click for me. Yes, at long last, the question I’ve been rolling over in my head finally has a definite answer, and I cannot begin to describe how thankful I am for that. I don’t like talking about my thoughts when I’m not even sure what those thoughts are; it never leads to good analysis on my part. But now that I’m genuinely starting to enjoy myself, I’m actually able to pinpoint where my enjoyment was- and still is- falling short. And sure, there are some complains I could make about pacing, characterization, weird rules and customs, but those are minor criticisms. The true dead weight that dragged the first season down is much more simple:

I honestly kind of hate how this show writes its villains.

That is what it comes down to. Whenever The Eccentric Family trots out the Ebisugawa Twins to make life a nuisance for our heroes, I instantly lose interest. They are some of the lamest, most unnecessary drags on an otherwise charming story I’ve seen in a long time. They just spend endless amounts of time talking, and talking, and sneering, and sneering, and by the time they’ve been hogging the screen for thirty seconds I just want to reach into the show and smash their heads together. And what frustrates me is that no one in the show should care about them. They were revealed as conspirators and bastards back at the end of season 1. No one else in Tanuki society should give a shit about them. By all rights they should be banished and cast out and we’d never have to deal with them again. But they just. Keep. Showing. UP. And despite knowing what shits they are, nobody fucking tells them to shut up. They just let them drone on and on and on for minutes of unfunny preening, and for some reason nobody has the guts to just step in, grab them by the scruff of their necks, and kick them out. THEY DO NOTHING BUT CAUSE TROUBLE FOR THIS SOCIETY, AND SOMEHOW THIS SOCIETY STILL TOLERATES THEIR PRESENCE.

And because of how irrational it is that they’re still allowed to run amok, every single conflict they facilitate just becomes obnoxious. We wouldn’t have had any problems in the back half of season 1 if someone had just taken these arrogant fucks to task the moment they started causing trouble. But the plot demanded a conflict, so the writing contrived everyone to hold the idiot ball and let these assholes almost get away with murder. AND THEY STILL HAVEN’T FUCKING LEARNED THEIR LESSON. The twins are still causing nothing but trouble, Soun’s still planning a coup, and fucking nobody is stopping to think, “you know what, maybe the family that literally tried to sell out their own kind for a power shouldn’t just be allowed to avoid consequences.” If I were Yasaburo and these guys showed up in a pleasure cruise they’d stolen from me, I’d just fucking ignore them. Let them indulge the sound of their own voices where I didn’t have to hear them and enjoy the holiday with my family, because they are not worth wasting time over. And the fact that they’re still allowed to get away with this, despite everyone knowing they’re nothing but trouble, makes the entire cast feel like fucking dumbasses for not stopping them the moment they open their big fat fucking mouths. They’re awful characters who taint the entire show around them by making it march to their discordant, ugly drumbeat. And unless someone actually puts them in their place soon, they might end up tanking the second season as well. Please, show, don’t let that happen again.

Odds and Ends

-okay but why am I watching so many shows with human shogi recently

-Ain’t no guilt-trip like a mother’s guilt-trip. Get rekt, Yasaburo.

-”But when you’re trying all the time to impress, I think you’re destined to mess up.” Fuck, that’s so true.

-So their father’s shogi room was actually Akadama’s closet? Huh.

-”Let’s start out as friends.” “We already are friends.” kdhasdkjashd fucking hell Yaichiro

-GOD DAMMIT HE GOT ME AGAIN

-I guess you could say that Benten’s... couch surfing? Eh? Eh?

-”What on earth did you eat to become the annoying furballs you are now?!” Gyokuran is me right now.

-Today in gorgeous backgrounds: the cerulean blue waterfall against the black rocks when Benten falls to earth, and the spot-colored veins of red leeching through the grey-purple stone of hell.

-”I don’t recall ever giving a sugar bowl a bone to pick.” Good to see you too, Kaisei.

-dskfhdsfsdf could you stop jumping between hiding spots without me seeing you’re freaking me out

-”This is the industrial revolution everyone’s talking about!” Gotta admit, I wasn’t ready for this show to go all Hadestown on us.

-LAUGHING BENTEN LAUGHING BENTEN

Wow, it’s honestly a relief to finally get that criticism out. Now that I know why I wasn’t feeling it before, hopefully I’ll be more able to spot these things moving forward. See you next time!

[harusha]

by last 2 gens, I meant SUMO and SWSH. I loved XY, but liked SUMO characters better. USUMO could have made great sequels. Lillie as prof. Gladion as champ, Hau as a kahuna. Etc. Would also make the transition to wormhole traveling more realistic if they were set in a universe where the events took place. I loved Gen 2 for letting us see Kanto 3 years later, and BW2 for letting us see what's changed in Unova. Just frustrating with the direction of things

Whoops, sorry anon. I never got the notification for this, so this is probably a week old or so. Tbh, I feel you though. I don’t want to be a spoilsport, but it feels like the mainline games are riding somewhat on name brand at this point. Making games is hard don’t get me wrong, but there’s a lot going on w/ SWSH rn on release.

I love the whole sequel stuff, but my only concern is “canonzing a protag.” Like…look at Alexio/Cassandra from AC:O. Sheer madness in how those arguments go on “canon. Like, I like ambiguity because I can avoid that.

Tbh alongside the sequel idea and the coherency it would bring, I would love it if wormholes let you go to the OG timelines (RBY–>GSC, FRLG/RSE–>PDPT/HGSS->BW->BW2), and that’s why you get hidden abilities, rare Pokemon, and increased shiny chance. They could just explain it as the wormhole changing the Pokemon’s characteristics. RBY timeline is basically “no one had abilities,” hence the drastic changes, FRLG timeline could be “they decided to go with you, and now they changed to fit your timeline.”

 Like they wouldn’t have to put every single region in; they could even just make it to where you visited parts of each region, perhaps the most iconic locations and/or moments, as a post-game/high difficulty thing (everyone is set to lv. 100 and have ideal spreads+sets). Like dropping in on Mt. Silver at the foot of the mountain, and have the area name pop up as “???” and have the player traverse the dungeon (w/ the HGSS encounters but inflated to 80s-90s so the observant veteran player can go “hmm this is familiar”) and have it accumulate in walking in on EthanVSRed on Mt. Silver, and it ending up in a double battle with them. Like that would blow people’s minds and make them realize what the post-game is, a love letter to every single generation so far, and set the stage for the rest of the post-game.

They don’t even have to confirm the canon protagonist for Johto if they just cover them up in snow gear (ie. put a cloak on them and have the hood up), and give them Meganium, Typhlosion, Feraligatr, Tyranitar, Raichu, and Espeon/Azumarill. The three starters, the Pseudo-Legendary of the generation, Raichu to parallel Red (also small callback to how Ethan was supposed to be Red’s younger brother in the old GBC pamphlet), and Espeon if they want to showcase the OG day/night cycle gen+it being the gift Pokemon and a Easter egg part of Red’s original team. Azumarill is if they prefer to reference the childhood friend.

They could even make this a chance to up the difficulty through the excuse of “alternate universe/wormholes caused their Pokemon to change abilities.” Make Red’s and Ethan’s teams complement each other and have them carry optimized spreads and sets for doubles. Ex. Blastoise or Pikachu with Fake Out and Focus Sash sets up rain and Ethan’s Raichu w/ Air Balloon/Choice Specs and carrying Thunder+Surf and has Lightningrod (wormhole shenanigans gave it a Hidden Ability) and so forth. Give them things such as Magic Bounce Espeon, Dual Screens Meganium, Mega Charizard X (wormholes made it happen), etc. Just showcase them as a bonus challenge and their status as legendary trainers akin to Mameo from Digimon. Perhaps give a reward of something like “Red gave you that extra Master Ball he never used” or a music player from Ethan so you can listen to curated songs from the older games. Or even simply clothes modeled after their original designs (Leaf and Kris outfits for girls and Red+Ethan for boys; or make it all available as unisex outfits where the inspiration is obvious but it’s not exactly the same).

And if they want to make it even more of a nostalgia bomb, have Ethan’s Raichu have a spiky/notched ear to imply that it’s a timeline where the special Pichu evolves and had Surf instead of Pain Split as the special move.

Other iconic moments could be dropping in at Turnback Cave and traversing Distortion World again and saving on Lucas, Dawn, and Cynthia and rescuing them from Giratina. Reward is catching Giratina and a battle against Cynthia, Lucas, Dawn, and perhaps Cyrus. Avoids picking a canon protagonist and arguments over who should have showed up. Focus is single battle gauntlet with each trainer giving a choice on whether you want to heal after each victory (exception is Cyrus).

Have Lucas/Dawn mention how they like trading and that’s why one of them has two starters (or multiple gift Pokemon) to help avoid narrowing down the canon protagonist. Lucas could work in Trick Room (Torterra, Cresselia/Dusknoir, Vaporeon, Magnezone, Heatran, Machamp). Showcases the notorious number of roamers/legendaries in Sinnoh, Mt. Coronet evolution, trade evolutions (GTS), a new gimmick of the gen in Trick Room, and incorporates a gift Pokemon). Dawn could work with Iron Fist Infernape, lead Empoleon w/ Stealth Rock (showcase that infamous entry hazard), Paraflinch Togekiss, Porygon-Z, Lucario, and Glaceon. Gift Pokemon+showcases the (then) new evolutions of that gen.

Have Giratina be like lv. 80-100 with Totem Pokemon stat to explain how in the darn, everyone lost with those sorts of levels.

RSE could be dropping in on Brendan and May going up Sky Pillar and setting Rayquaza off to stop Groudon and Kyogre, and it starts a side quest of following them to experience the climax of the Hoenn Saga. Climax is them itching for a fight from seeing your skills. Have Brendan (Sceptile, Mega Blaziken, Celebi , Salamence, Starmie, and Latias) and team up with Steven and May (Mega Swampert, Gardevoir/Gengar, Latios, Metagross, Jirachi, and Ninetales) with Wallace in a doubles. Both teams have callbacks to stuff like the manga (Brendan with Celebi and Salamence), references the two Pseudos of the generation, the roamers, trading with Orre for the promotions (Celebi and Jirachi for US and JP respectively) and Red/Leaf in Brendan’s case, Wally’s OG signature, or even the OG Mystery Dungeon. Have Brendan wear his Emerald outfit while May wears the Ruby/Sapphire outfit to blur who the canon protagonist is. Bonus fight could be seeking out Archie and Maxie in their atonement/voluntary isolation for a fight.

BW is dropping in on Hilbert and Hilda encountering Kyurem (since it feels wrong to interrupt N’s goodbye tbh). Teams would be [Contrary Serperior, Samurott, Victini, Archeops, Zoroark, and Mandibuzz] for Hilbert and [Emboar, Keldeo, Genesect, Volcarona, Braviary, and Carracosta] for Hilda. Their teams aren’t amazing, but it’s meant to showcase the generation’s fossils, gift/event Pokemon, and version exclusives. Have it be you saving them from the snow and from Kyurem. Have them talk about how they’re thinking of setting off together to find their friend N, and how much they want to see him again. Make it emotional and have them talk about what they’ve learned about Pokemon from him and their interactions on their journey.

BW2 is saving Rosa and Nate from Ghetsis’s murder attack and fight Ghetsis. After you all return to a Pokecenter, have the two of them challenge you to a Rotation and Triple Battle respectively. Rosa runs a rain team with Drizzle Politoed, Octillery, Smeargle, Kabutops, Kingdra, and Ludicolo while Nate runs a Sand Team with Hippowdon, Sand Rush Excadrill, Rhyperior, Garchomp, Scizor, and Gliscor. Have it be a gimmick to where weather is infinite again in this wormhole location since their teams are meant to be a callback to the weather wars of gen v and the stars of those teams.

And have N show up to thank you for saving Rosa and Nate since he was almost too late right as you are leaving through a wormhole. Have the player tell him about what Hilbert and Hilda said and how they want to meet him again+urge him to meet his friends again and have it end with N saying something to the effect of “…I’ll think about it.” and leave it on an ambiguous note to whether he will meet them.

And finally, have it end with Red encountering Mewtwo in Cerulean Cave and have it diverge by you saving him from Giovanni (he lied about quitting and it’s only after you defeat him that he leaves for isolation until Ethan/Lyra/Kris beat him up again). Ends on a note of “this is where it all began.” Reward is catching Mewtwo and battling Red in a single. Here, they can make his team diverge from canon because it’s pre-Mt. Silver Red/alternate universe. Alakazam, Dragonite, Zapdos, Persian, Eviolite Chansey, and Mew. Showcases popular threats of that gen+trade evolution, irony in Red having Meowth’s evolution (Giovanni is associated with Persian b/c anime), the mythical #151 and source of playground rumors, the pseudo, one of the “your reward for exploring” stationary legendaries, etc.

Could even do a bonus of letting you travel to Kalos (but just the port) and meeting Serena and Calem who are both arguing about fashion while waiting for Sina and Dexio. Make their reason for battling you something lighthearted like you interrupting their argument to say “both of your fashion senses suck.”

Have them carry [Delphox, Chesnaught, Tyrantrum, Furfrou, Mega Gyarados, and Goodra] and [Greninja, Talonflame, Aegislash, Mega Kangaskhan, Meowstic-M, and Aurorus]. Showcases starters, Megas, radical gender differences, fossils, popular threats of Gen VI meta, Furfrou cuts, etc.

And if that’s too much, just recreate parts of the legendaries OG encounter dungeons, Cerulean Cave for Mewtwo, Bell Tower for Johto, etc.

Like…Gen VII was the “this is the 20th anniversary of Pokemon” gen and that would have been a great time to pack everything into one gen. Like…they had space for multiple walking Pokemon animations on the cart that they could have taken out or even tweaked these ideas so the dungeons would be slightly smaller (ie. fit to cart) or reduce the weirdly high number of Lillie models in the game. This isn’t an entire region (or regions) either, but snapshots and small locales to revisit. It also incorporates more fights with the Team Leaders at higher levels and difficulty.

Like idk, I made myself sad because I realize this would never happen unless some mad lad decided to create a massive rom hack/expansion, Masuda gets a larger team (and Pokemon stops with the yearly releases so the team isn’t pressured as much), etc.

Idk, I feel like the games for the 20th ani weren’t as good in hindsight for what they made out to be a year of Pokemon. But that’s just me griping again about Alola.

Also perhaps solviing all this gives you a final wormhole where you’re taken to fight Leaf. Give her Clefable (Clefairy’s original yet scrapped mascot thing), Golem, Flareon, Jolteon, Aerodactyl, and Omastar. Showcases fossils, gift Pokemon, other Eeveelutions, etc.

[aurantia-ignis]

Hop for the meme?

First impression

Mm hyper and energetic looking kid. Weird hair.

Impression now

He is a Good Boy. Maybe not my personal favourite in terms of aesthetic and stuff but HE IS A SUCH A GOOD BOY. He received the best character writing in the whole of swosh (though honestly it could still have been executed better but you know what I’ll take it) and he deserves all of the love.

Favorite moment

In the epilogue, when Zamazenta(or Zacian) was going crazy and Hop jumped in to calm them down with no other intention than to help save the pokemon and stop their suffering. The Legendary pokemon are dangerous, and Zama already tried to attack him once, but he still went ahead and did it anyway. A part of it was probably because he felt it was his fault for losing the Rusted Shield, so it was his responsibility to fix things, but also his kind heart didn’t want to see any pokemon hurt in suffering, so he just dived right in recklessly to do what he could. *w*

Idea for a story

At the moment, one big concept I have is a postwick-centric fic regarding Applin smuggling rings…. 

Unpopular opinion

Not sure if this counts as an unpopular opinion but… Hop’s character arc was excellent, but the execution of everything didn’t succeed as well as it could have.

A few of the key points in his character journey are:

- He was a kind child who wanted to save the wild Wooloo

- He wanted to be a champion like Leon, but he lost to Bede and his confidence sunk

- He left DUBWOOL and Corviknight out of his team while he tried other team combinations because he thought that he needed other mons to be strong. Later on changed his mind and brought them back.

- He went up against Eternatus with the player and Zacian and Zamazenta

- He lost his original goal and was still losing battles to the player/shielbert or sordward

- He went around helping to defeat Dynamax pokemon. Realised he wanted to help pokemon so his path shifted to becoming a pokemon professor

All of which are great points, but would have made for a more coherent story if they had been better linked (and a little more logical maybe):

- He was a kind child who wanted to save the wild Wooloo. When he entered he Slumbering Weald, he and the Player stepped up to protect the Wooloo, which impressed Zacian and Zamazenta. As a reward for this kindness, they conferred upon Hop and the player wishing stars (instead of having them land conveniently on the kids)

- He wanted to be a champion like Leon, but he lost to Bede and his confidence sunk

- He left DUBWOOL and Corviknight out of his team while he tried other team combinations because he thought that he needed other mons to be strong. Later on changed his mind and brought them back. HAVE THIS BE ON SCREEN. 

- When Hop and the player went to the Slumbering Weald, they asked the rusted weapons for help, stressing that they wanted to save all of Galar from Rose. (The wolves therefore came to help them because they had already seen the kindness of Hop and the player, and trusted them)

- He went up against Eternatus with the player and Zacian and Zamazenta

- He lost his original goal and was still losing battles to the player/shielbert or sordward

- Instead of just having Hop defeat Dynamax pokemon (which is something that the player and the gym leaders were doing as well), add more lore and investigation related stuff that are more to do with the field of Pokemon Research and how it benefits pokemon. As Hop is doing those things, he realises that he wanted to help pokemon, and he enjoyed doing these things that help pokemon, so his path shifted to becoming a pokemon professor.

Additionally, this point is not entirely necessary, but I still would have liked it if Leon had been a temporary antagonist (not a villain, just an antagonist), and Hop had had to go up against him and say ‘No, I choose to be me (and not just follow in your shadow)’. 

Favorite relationship

At this point I’d say Hop/Player, but I do know that this relationship is mostly very one-sided. Unfortunately the player character in Swosh is really a silent protagonist with no visible personality (as compared to the SuMo protagonist, which had trickles of personality shown in the text replies), so the relationship between Hop and the player is derived mostly in a ‘passive’ way. That the two of them grew up together and spent time together before their journey speaks of them being very close friends. That Hop stepped up to defend the player against an annoying reporter. That the two of them stood shoulder to shoulder to fight against the Big Antagonists of the game (Rose, Eternatus, Sordward and Shielbert). 

In the last battle with the brothers, in fact, the player is the one who offers to have them fight together in a double battle. The two characters are fully supportive of each other, and I think that’s beautiful. =>

Favorite headcanon

Probably what I wrote in the unpopular opinion part LMAO…. I just have a lot of ideas for what Swosh could have been and wasn’t… There’s just so much in the source material that already says ‘we want to have our writing go THIS way’ and then they didn’t…. :’( 

[too-attached-to-fiction]

Seize The Moment | rk800 Connor

Set: Middle to after the revolution

Summary: Connor’s gone, and you’re positive you’ve lost him forever. Fortunately, the universe has other plans. 

Word count: ~1600

WARNINGS: mainly fluff because I can’t write angst. 

You drummed your fingers on your desk. The string of robberies didn’t particularly interest you, especially because you still weren’t sure why they had assigned a human to this case. An android could probably solve it within a couple of seconds.

Speaking of androids, there was one in the Detroit Police Department: Connor, an rk900 model designed specifically to hunt deviant androids. He was your mentor, Hank Anderson’s partner. He had been released weeks ago, and within that short span of time, you watched him learn about the human world: living and dead.

You’d seen the interrogation footage. Thirium, what Hank referred to as “blue blood”, splattered everywhere. Although you were a detective, you preferred the paper work side of things, not very equipped when there were guns on the field. Connor may be an android, but you still saw him as human. You had found yourself tearing up as you watched the footage that night.

And then, a day later, a new one showed up, and you wondered if it meant his knowledge was reset. You were sure, day by day, Connor was becoming human, but that was part of his programming. Being adaptable. Nevertheless, the android was fascinating to think about.

“Detective (L/N)?” Connor stopped by your desk. “Could I speak with you for a moment?”

“Regarding what exactly?” You startled, but tried to keep a calm exposure. For the first time, Connor didn’t seem monotonous around you.

“We visited Elijah Kamski for the case.” Connor informed you, and you could feel your stomach start to sink. You’d done research on Elijah Kamski; hell, you’d triple checked for his name in the archives. He was known as a genius, but the reports always showed him as an ass. He liked Machiavelli - already a bad sign.

You stared at Connor. “Did that help?”

“He refused to give answers. He gave me… a test.” Your stomach started to sink lower and lower.

“What sort of test?”

“He told me to kill his android. I couldn’t do it.” Recognition flashed through your eyes, and you looked at Connor, who was now refusing to meet your gaze.

“Connor, you know what that means, don’t you?” He nodded glumly, and you frowned, realizing what would happen next.

“Connor, whatever happens, promise me you’ll get out of this alive.” You begged. “Promise me you won’t be dead before the end of whatever is about to happen.”

“Detective, I am unsure if I can promise that-“

“But you’ll try your best, right? Promise me you’ll do your best to stay alive.” You grabbed his hand, clutching it tightly. “I know we’re not close but when this is all over, promise me you’ll have done your best to stay alive.” He finally met your gaze.

“I promise.” He said softly, before Fowler stepped out of his office.

“Lieutenant Anderson and Connor. Office. Now.” Captain Fowler commanded. Your stomach churned, it’s contents from lunch crawling up your esophagus. You pushed it down, shaking your head and focusing on your work.

If you had known that it was the last time you’d see the android for a while, you would’ve hugged him tight. Maybe even tell him that he made work more pleasant.

But you didn’t know.

After Connor left, you handed in your resignation papers. You’d been looking for a sign, a reason to get out. Once Connor disappeared and Hank retreated back into his shell, you found it harder and harder to go to work. Fowler let you off a week early, insisting that the spot needed to be open anyways.

You stood at your desk, looking around. The department was quiet for once. Hank walked in, and you looked at your desktop. It was only 9, but the old man looked like he’d seen better days.

Your box sat on your desk chair, and you started taking things off of your desk. The little figure of Sumo that Hank gave you in the beginning, miscellaneous notes from him, your DPD coffee mug. You put each item in carefully before Hank’s voice rang out.

“Finally threw in the towel?” He asked with a gruff smile. “Good for you. Never seemed cut out for this. Where you going now?”

You had a plan. Kind of.

You’d thought about moving out of Detroit, maybe even to London, but you couldn’t leave not knowing what happened to Connor. You opted to stay here, aiming for a masters in psychology. Maybe you could help the deviant androids in a couple of years.

You had money saved up anyways, and you knew your parents would support it; they constantly griped over the fact that you went straight to the academy.

Hank listened intently as you explained it to him. “Good.”

“Hank?” You asked, standing straight and looking at him square in the eye. “Could you reach out? If Connor comes back?”

Hank raised an eyebrow, shaking his head. “(Y/N), I’m not sure-“

“Please, Hank. You two were the best part of the DPD.” Are.

You didn’t want to give up hope just yet, for Hank’s sake. Both of you were absolutely miserable. He refused to tell you where Connor went, but he let on that it was going to be a dangerous journey. You dared to be cynical of the fact, though, because if you didn’t have hope, who would? 

Hank looked at your begging eyes before letting out of huff. “Yeah, yeah.”

You beamed, giving him a hug before finishing up, looking at your empty desk. “Love ya, Hank. Let me know if you need anything.” You gave him a shaky salute before walking out.

You stayed in your apartment for the next few days, sending in college applications. Christmas was coming up, and you had no plans to go home for the holidays. You could stay in the apartment for as long as you needed; the landlady adored you, insisting that you could stay however long you wanted.

If you were being honest, you missed Connor and Hank. You missed Hank’s stupid Dad jokes and Connor feigning innocence. They always seemed to make life more entertaining, and now that both of them were out of sight, you found yourself clinging to memories of what once was. 

You hadn’t been too close with Connor, but you had watched as his relationship with your mentor practically bloomed. Connor achieved bringing Hank out of his shell than you had in the past five years. 

There was also the fact that he looked and acted like a dream, but that was an added bonus. 

“TV, on.” The day was over, and you found yourself sitting on the couch as you ate your dinner.

Suddenly, an image popped up on the news. You couldn’t hear the voice as you scanned the faces, your eyes landing on-

No. Connor had to be dead at this point.

There was only one Connor, and he was right there.

“Son of a-“ you started, pulling out your phone and dialing Hank’s number. When the line connected, you gasped out, “Connor. He’s on the news. Channel 6.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, you’re hallucinating.” Hank growled, and you rolled your eyes.

“Hank, it’s Connor. Connor’s alive.”

You ran around Detroit the next few days, looking for any sign of the rk800 android that had often stumbled around the corridors of the DPD. It felt futile, but you kept running, searching for any other signs of the android. On the third day, doubt started to creep in, making you wonder if you really had seen him. If he was alive. 

Days before Christmas, Hank dragged you out of your stubborn habits to get dinner. You’d protested, saying that the snow was too much for a chicken burger. Ultimately, Hank wore you down - as he always did.

You trudged through the snow with him and Sumo to get to the little shop under one of the highways. It was foggy, and you could barely see anything, but at least the newly added outdoor area had heaters.

You peered up ahead. There was another figure approaching the three of you.

“Hank, what’s going on?” You asked warily. “Please tell me you’re not walking us into a trap.”

Hank looked at you, bewildered. “Not everything is a fucking trap, (Y/N).” He huffed as the figure grew closer.

Then Hank did something you never thought you’d see - he ran and hugged the figure approaching.

There was only one person who could evoke that reaction.

Connor.

You raced over, screaming. “Connor!” He smiled shyly, lifting you up and spinning around. “You’re alive!”

You turned to Hank, slugging him in the shoulder. “I told you! I knew it!”

“Well, you did tell me to tell you if he came back, and he reached out earlier this morning.” Hank explained. You grinned, looking back at Connor.

“Detective, your heart rate is above average.” He informed you, and you had to stop yourself from giving him another hug.

“I’m happy to see you, weirdo.”

“I keep my promises.” He gave you a sly smile. Hank looked between the two of you before huffing.

“I’m going to find a table. Come on, Sumo.”

You turned back to Connor. “I was so worried about you.” You swore you were imagining things, but Connor’s cheeks tinted blue as he processed your words. “I kept thinking about the day you left and-“

“Now tell him the part where you interrupted my alone time by swearing you saw him on the news!” Hank yelled over, and you couldn’t help but blush.

“Yeah, I did that.” You admitted.

“(Y/N)? Could I… attempt acting on my feelings?” Connor asked shyly, and you nodded. Gently, he bent down, connecting your lips before you had time to process.

When he let you breathe again, you cupped his face gently, giving him another kiss. “Making up for lost time?”

“I believe the right phrase is “seizing the moment”.”

[lumiose-fletchling]

Okay, now that I’ve set down the game after playing all day, here are my 12 hour thoughts (while having a cold):

I think the graphics are really pleasant to look at. While there are things that lack detail (lamps, other small decor items), overall, character design is nice and character animations have been improved. Hop does have one repeated animation that is absolutely carried over from Hau; is this lazy? It’s... visually boring if you’ve played SuMo. He does have his own quirks, though.

Did you know Leon has no sense of direction? He gets lost! Haha, gosh, is he bad at knowing where to go. If he didn’t have Charizard... Well, who knows where he’d end up! Leon’s hopeless at these things. Why, he’d be wandering the Wild Area for years if you didn’t give him a map, and even then, can we please stop hammering this point every time we see him please

Sonia is interesting to me, because it seems like she’s holding back for a reason. That comment that Hop made about how she came out of the Weald in a huge state is... compelling. What if she doesn’t want to find out the truth? Or what if she knows too much, and this is pushing her to lie about it? Her relationship with Leon is tense, too. Did he move up and onward while she seemingly stagnated? Who is Leon when he’s not The Best?

Customization in terms of clothing is really good, and you will spend thousands on your Look.

Controversy over Nessa’s outfit and Nintendo’s trend of creating dark-skinned characters with revealing clothing is a tough one to judge. Believe me, I get it-- the trend is there. But place Nessa in the water gym where everyone is dressed like that, give the player a chance to wear her outfit, and put her amongst other water trainers in the series, and she fits right in. Heck, what she’s wearing is a professional racing suit. But again, following Olivia... there’s an argument to be made. I’ve also seen cosplayers and artists who identify as poc love her, and I’m not about to tell them they’re wrong, so, I’m not sure there’s a clear answer here. I see both sides.

Other controversy was over “void backgrounds,” which largely happens inside buildings. It does come across as incredibly lazy. There couldn’t have been a background created with hotel counters or walls or... something? It’s strange.

However, there are plenty of environments that are well done and nice to look at. The cities and towns have a wonderful feel, and I’m liking them immensely.

Pokémon have their own personalities that really come out in camp. I love camp. I just watched my Dubwool, Sage, race my Dottler, Pepper. Sage won by not just a mile, but at last a few minutes as Dottler slowly crawled across the screen to her, dust cloud and all. It was ridiculous. I loved it. This, as I sat there waving a pokétoy and trying not to get killed as two other team members pummeled the dang thing. Have you ever seen a giant snapping turtle chortle with glee at a jingle bell? Dear Arceus on high, camp is the best.

Making curry is fun! And I really like how all this stuff is actually a huge help when things are dragging in the overworld, or you need to rest. There are so many benefits to this feature, and I’m glad they put it in.

While moving along, I genuinely ran into the problem of leveling up too quickly? Things evened out, but by the first gym, I had some sassy teens in the group who could only be smoothed out by that badge. Journeys between towns go by quickly, but I almost feel like this is going by too fast? 12 hours later, and I’m on my third badge. That’s not... fast... but it feels that way.

I think there’s a rushed sense to the plot so far where Hop is barreling forward, always racing his own race, saying how slow we are, and even Oleana at the second major town is like, You. Go get your water badge. Now. And I did. Yeesh! Did we even eat with the Chairman? Hot take: Oleana is obviously evil. Chairman Rose is well-meaning but easily led. He’s also too powerful for comfort. Powering the region, owning major companies heavily invested in the Gym Challenge? Yup. I found the plot!

But, maybe this will be tempered soon.

What I did like, looking back, is that my team is all new pokémon. Even now, as I’m picking and choosing who goes where, there’s enough to explore and wonder about. Snapple the Applin is... confusing to me. I don’t know what he does yet, but, he’s in a box until I find out.

Honestly, at this point, there is no justification that I can think of for no National Dex, so either you can get over it or you can’t. The boycotts are really silly at this point, and I doubt we’ll see any major change. Still having fun regardless.

And that’s what it comes down to-- I’m enjoying myself. Things are different for me, enough so that I like exploring, and I’ll continue to play the game because there’s still a lot of joy to be had here.

[somerandomwriter1234]

Riley and Maya: Complicated Parenthood - Chapter 10 (Coming Home)

Part 1 – An Important Talk

-One day at the orphanage, Maya and Grace were both working on a baking project in the kitchen as they spoke with another.

Thanks for letting me help you make lunch today Miss Maya.

My pleasure Grace. You're always a great help. Plus, I wanted to have a chance to talk to you about something.

What about?

About this orphanage. As good as it's become to so many young people… it needs to close down soon.

WHAT!?

I don't mean that in a bad way. What I mean is you all deserve to live in places that feel more like real homes and not some kind of cozy institution.

So what does this mean you're going to do?

Riley has just recently been able to link up with some foster care networks in other counties and other states. We're going to try harder than ever to make sure every child at this orphanage within a year can find good parents to live with; or at least some type of foster care that feels more like a home than this place. But as this process gets underway, I'm gonna need your help Grace.

How?

There's gonna be a lot of people coming into this place in the near future. Potential adoptive parents and foster care people that we're not gonna know too well. And as Ms. Wilson, Riley, and I will have to make some tough decisions on what we think of these people, we're gonna need an extra opinion on these individuals. I think you'd be a good judge of character at helping us evaluate these potential care givers. Do you think you could do that for me?

Well… Yeah. Sure.

Part 2 – Grace's Log of Progress

Dear Diary, it's Grace again. It's been six months now but me, Miss Maya, Miss Riley, and Ms. Wilson have made a lot of progress. About a third of the kids here at the orphanage have found new homes. When new parents and important people have been coming in, I've been telling Miss Maya what I thought about those people and he said my thoughts really helped him. The only sad part is a lot of the kids at the orphanage have had to move really far away. I hope when Sammy gets adopted he doesn't have to move far away. I would miss him SO MUCH! I'm glad we're all finding good homes, but it's sad when you have to say goodbye to people you care about.

Part 3 – The Big Surprise Scene

-In the kitchen of Maya and Riley's home: Maya, Riley, and Grace were all sitting together at the table together having a meal.

Grace: Thanks for inviting for me to your house tonight. The food was really great.

Maya: Well we thought you deserved a celebration. You've been a great help at assisting us in finding so many kids homes.

Grace: Thanks. So… am… I gonna be put with a family soon?

-Maya and Riley looked at each other with a simple smile. The two then moved their bodies so they were sitting right near each other and then they both looked right at Grace.

Maya: Well, there's been a lot of conversation.

Riley: Trust me. A lot of conversation.

Maya: And we think we've found one for you Grace. And since you're a good judge of character, we want your opinion on how this sounds. How would you feel about living with two moms you may know. They had both lost a child long ago and never thought they would become parents again. But now… they suddenly feel ready to adopt.

Grace: Wait… are you saying…

Maya: Grace… if you'd allow us to… if you would consider it… would you give us the opportunity… to be your parents?

-Tears began to appear in Grace's eyes as she leapt forward with her arms and hugged both Maya and Riley.

Grace: YES! YES! YES! A million times YES!

-The three remained where they were hugging for a moment with nothing but smiles on their faces. Then Grace backed away and looked at Maya and Riley with a look of concern.

Grace: But what about Sammy? He's like my little brother. I can't leave the orphanage before I know he's in a good home.

Riley: Well don't worry. We actually have already planned to adopt him too. With so many kids at the orphanage needing homes, we couldn't adopt just one child.

Grace: So this means… I'm finally home?

Maya: Well it's going to take a while before it becomes official but… Yes Grace. You're finally home.

Part 4 – The Final Diary Entry

Dear Diary. Well after months of waiting, today was the day me and Sammy finally moved in with our new mom and dad. When we got to the house, we had a super fun Finally Home Party. Mr. Farkle and Ms. Smackle were there too, and Ms. Smackle sang some really funny karaoke songs about Sumo Walruses from South America. We also got to meet our new uncle and even our new grandparents. Nearly all of the kids from the orphanage now have new parents too, and the couple of ones left that don't will be living with Ms. Wilson at her house and she'll be their foster care mother. It was the coolest day ever. I was even allowed to go to bed with my new princess dress on. The best part of the day by far was when I was tucked into bed and for the first time ever in my life, I finally got to say… Good night mom.

Part 5 – The Final Scene

-In the middle of the night, Grace sat with one light on in the kitchen as she was working on a drawing at the kitchen table. Maya then walked into the kitchen and stood near Grace.

Maya: Hey. You mind if I sit with you?

Grace: If you want. You don't have to.

Maya: I'll think I'll always want to.

-Maya then sat down next to Grace as Grace pushed a box of crayons towards Maya. Maya then began to work on drawing a picture as Grace proceeded to continue working on hers. As they continued to draw, they talked.

Maya: So… you're up kind of late.

Grace: Couldn't sleep. Been thinking a lot lately.

Maya: What about?

Grace: About everything that's happened to us. All of the good things… and bad things. No part of the story should be forgotten.

-Grace then held up a picture she drew of Maya and Riley holding a small baby. Maya held the picture as he made a small smile.

Maya: You're absolutely right. No part or person in any story you experience should ever be forgotten. You know… you and her would have been such amazing sisters. I know she would've loved you so very much.

Grace: I know… and I know she does right now… because I know she'll always be looking down on us… and I'm sure she had to play some part at bringing us all together.

Maya: Yeah. I'd like to think that too.

Grace: You know, even though everything is so amazing now… a lot of bad stuff had to happen to us first before we finally got to here. Why is that?

Maya: I… I don't have a clear answer. I don't know why we both had to lose so much before we finally got to this amazing place where we are now. However… I've learned over time that growing up is challenging. But if you stick to this crazy ride we call life long enough, you might just find life will present you with something that is truly amazing.

-Grace smiled, and then wrapped her arms around Maya while putting her head on her new mom's shoulder.

Grace: I love you mommy.

-Maya smiled as she wrapped her own arms around Grace.

Maya: I love you too Grace.

END OF BOOK!

*Author's Note - First off, apologies for not posting this on the day it was scheduled to. I got really ill and was unable to barely move for about two days. Still not 100% but worked as hard as possible to get this story finished and posted. Anyway, I hoped you all enjoyed this limited series. As with all fanfiction, there was no requirement for me to write this story. However I wrote it because it felt like I was called to write it. Yes it was infused with my idea of how the Girl Meets World series would have continued if it had made it to season ten, but it was also infused with important life lessons I had learned in my own time growing up that were important to myself. Now I'm already speculating someone may ask if I will continue the journey of the characters in this story at some point. Well I'm honestly not sure. Only if there is an important story to tell. However if you want more stories set in my "Future Girl Meets World" universe you can read my series: "Riley and Maya: I Think I Wanna Marry You" which serves a prequel to this series, and "Story Time with Farkle and Smackle" which happens concurrently with this one (links will be below). But as of now, this journey has concluded.

*Riley and Maya: I Think I Wanna Marry You - www.fanfiction.net/s/13229693/

*Story Time with Farkle and Smackle - www.fanfiction.net/s/13276081/

*Riley and Maya: Complicated Parenthood - https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13266909/

[burlybanner]

Syzygy - 3

Syzygy - An AU of Infundo (post-Infundo Chronicles).

Chapter 3: Indulgences and Definitions

Chapter 3 Summary:  Bruce has two individual epiphanies with his partners.

Link to Chapter 1, 2

Author notes: Sorry for the last minute late post - but yes, still keeping the posting schedule to Tuesdays for the most part.

**

Bruce stirred from sleep still a bit stuffed and rubbed his belly. He was sore all over from everything they'd done but it was a good feeling; he felt warm, loved, and safe...and maybe a little hungry? Was it possible he felt hungry and stuffed at -- he glanced at the clock -- 3:30 in the morning?

He pondered it before preparing to roll himself from the bed. In the beginning of their relationship he'd slept between Steve and Tony, but as big as he’d gotten he clung to their bed’s edges now, becoming the big or (not-so) little spoon to them. Because he was so huge it was impossible not to wake Tony or Steve if he got up in the middle of the night.

He loved their ridiculously comfortable bed though, and had second thoughts about leaving it despite his hunger pangs. A tiny smirk teased his lips. We'll need a sturdier bed later.  Random future thoughts of bed-bound joy shot tiny, happy currents of electricity through his body.  It took longer than average to do every day tasks like getting out of bed or sitting down despite being mostly mobile now. But future him wouldn't need to worry about such nonsense things.

Bruce’s gut rumbled and groaned, echoing his greedy, lustful appetite.  Giving his stomach a small placating pat, Bruce rocked, scooted and shifted his demanding body off the mattress. When Tony softly grunted and Steve's breathing hitched Bruce froze, wondering if he'd woken them. But no. He sighed softly as they returned to their regular sleeping patterns after a beat. Besides, if they did wake for whatever reason they'd know where he'd be and they could join him in the kitchen.

He grabbed his robe (a robe that barely fit, the same robe Tony and Steve swaddled on cold nights) and slowly shuffled to the closest kitchen. He'd be out of breath halfway, but no matter; he had a feeling Tony would cobble together a kitchenette off their bedroom, once walking became too bothersome. 

Humming, Bruce grabbed fried chicken, gravy, mashed potato leftovers and the corn casserole from the fridge and loaded his plate. For good measure he also grabbed ice cream, chocolate cake, and a spoon, nibbling on the sweets while the dinner foods warmed in the microwave. His mind wandered as he waited. A nightly feeding routine had merit. Doing would exhaust him, but he’d  consider it. He could sleep during the day. Or catnap.

Alternately, he could modify a sumo wrestler’s diet to fit his needs, but he had a sneaking suspicion he was already consuming more calories than the average sumo, just to maintain his weight.

Steve was right. The answer was in front of them, somewhere.  So maybe, if he combined Tony and Steve's ideas with his own, and reexamined the Hulk threshold, maybe adding a nightly feeding schedule to boot...

Hmm. It might work.

"Muffin?"

Bruce smiled at Steve's sleepy grin and popped another spoonful of chocolate cake and ice cream in his mouth. "Just got a little peckish."

"So I see." Steve's sleepy grin morphed into something diabolical. "Sit," he said, gesturing at a bar stool at the kitchen island. "You shouldn't waste extra energy by preparing your own meals." Bruce's stool was a little more squat than the others and heavily reinforced. Tony threatened to make the other stools the same for symmetry's sake but he'd never gotten around to it. Bruce honestly didn't mind. He liked having his "own" kitchen seat.

He snorted at Steve's quip and calmly watched the man grab a bowl from the cabinet; Steve wouldn't let him off the hook until he sat and obeyed him. 

"So, Bruce. What's got you up at this hour, besides food?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"More than." He grabbed the hot food from the microwave as Bruce piled ice cream into a bowl and added his toppings - the "good" ice cream toppings, according to Tony.

Steve put the ice cream back in the freezer and gestured to Bruce's food. "Eat up. And tell me what's bothering you."

Bruce hummed appreciatively. He took time to answer, though. He wolfed down half his food before gently clearing his throat. "The pros and cons, I suppose," he murmured.

"Of what Tony's proposing?"

Nodding, Bruce took a few big bites from the chicken before loading up his spoon with the corn dish. "That, and more. I have some ideas, and I think I have something that might work."

"Oh?"

Bruce smirked and shoveled the corn casserole into his mouth. "Mmf," he said, mouth half full. "It's half of what's bugging me."

Steve watched him finish his chicken and casserole before silently piling more mashed potatoes to his plate. "Thanks."

Steve went to the fridge and dumped shredded cheese and butter pats to the rest of Bruce's heated mashed potatoes. "What's the other half, then?"

Bruce twirled his fork through the cheese and fluffed it together, and as he ate  small contented noises rose from his throat. "Ooh, yeah. Perfect," he snuffled before scarfing it. "Mm. 'Kay. So...it's cosmetic."

"Cosmetic?"

"Yeah." Bruce’s fork scraped across his empty plate and he mechanically dug into the cake and ice cream, missing Steve slyly replenishing his dessert whenever Bruce looked close enough to finishing. "It took me this long to appear 'human' to people; to be normal. Sure, I'm pretty hefty, but I'm still functionally normal." He belched behind a curved fist before returning to his plate. He tucked into his next helping of cake and spoke with his mouth full. "I get a few odd stares now, but they're the stares guys my size normally get. I kinda get a kick out of that, to be honest."

Steve chuckled right along with him and grabbed chocolate sauce from the fridge. "So? What's the real issue?"

"The real issue," Bruce sighed, loading up his fork. "Is the monster I see myself bec...oh, that is amazing." He finally realized Steve heated up the chocolate sauce, then poured it over his cake and ice cream. His double chin quivered as he shoved giant bites in his mouth, trying to get in every last crumb of deliciousness.

"Don't choke yourself," Steve teased. But his small smile quickly faded. "You're not a monster. You know that."

Bruce shrugged, but he didn't say anything else until his fork clattered across the empty dessert plate. "Not consciously, no. But I've gotta ask myself, am I coming to terms with it? Is it so bad to be one, really? To own it? I'm not a hundred percent human - and neither are you," he amended, when Steve tried interrupting. "Or half of the Avengers, if we really think about it. Even Tony's genius puts him out of the human category, into something more like super...hm. Super humanity."

"Super human?"

"No. That phrase is trite and beyond overdone. Super humanity has more heart, and creates a space for people like us, as well as others."  He pat his full stomach, feeling more at ease, momentarily mesmerized at how his huge belly jiggled with each pat. "I've begun owning the word 'fat,'" he mumbled, squeezing his rolls beneath his strained pajama top. "Maybe I can reclaim the word 'monster,' too."   

"I'm sure you can, if anyone can do it," Steve said. He opened the freezer back up and took out the ice cream, and grabbed a fresh spoon. "But you're still my Muffin regardless. So let me make sure you're good and full before you wake up again, because you’re hungry."

Bruce smiled softly and opened his mouth as Steve spoon fed him the rest of the ice cream.

***

Still, that night got Bruce thinking; the key wasn't one individualized goal. Maybe, like a monster, he could go all out. Let the journey take flight on its own. He could hang on for the ride and chart its progress.

Dangerous thinking, Banner, he cautioned. The last time he metaphorically let it ride, he had a Hulk for his trouble. But maybe having three consciences would bring out better circumstances. Among the three of them he had a brain, a heart, and a moral compass...which was a darn sight better than just a brain.

"Earth to Bruce. Again."

"Hm?" Bruce snapped up from the book he wasn't reading. His head was nestled in Tony's lap, while Tony played with his curls. Steve had risen from the other end of the couch to gather snacks from the kitchen, so their dog occupied the warm divot Steve's butt left behind.

"You were saying?"

"I said," Tony murmured, kissing Bruce's forehead. "That I noticed you and Spangles made a small night of it. Without me."

"I wouldn't go that far," Bruce said honestly. "I got hungry and Steve and I talked over a few things."

"Oh, really?" Bruce could feel Tony's jealous streak rearing up. He put his book down, and took Tony's hand.

"Nothing major, promise. I told him I wanted to reclaim the word 'monster.' To use it, but in my own way."

"You're not--"

"No, wait. Hear me out." He'd already made peace with the word after his discussion with Steve, but he should've told Tony sooner. It was wrong of him not to. "I'm going to become someone 'otherworldly.' Monstrously huge’, as it were. But I want the opportunity to put my humanity on equal footing with the Hulk. It sounds...weird, but I don't know how else to describe it." He sighed, suddenly wanting another plate of cookies. "I guess I'm making peace with the Other Guy by becoming more like him, in human form. I'm almost excited at the prospect, to be honest. Maybe it'll help us understand one another more."

"Huh," Tony murmured after a long beat. A crooked smile passed on his lips. "I never thought about it that way."

"So...it's not such a crazy idea?" Bruce grunted. Some of his apprehension drained away with Tony’s approval. "There's merit to it, right?"

"Absolutely." Tony squeezed his shoulder. "But now that we're all on the same page, it's time to kick this into full gear. It's been a while since you used yourself as a live test subject - and I know your concerns," Tony interrupted, seeing the deepening crease across Bruce's brow. "But we've got this, babe. Let's pour through your notes and come up with some cool ideas."

                                                              * *

Part four: https://burlybanner.tumblr.com/post/186177528669/syzygy-4