#monumental showdown

[object-obsession]

The DaVincibles [one episode] > A water dispenser, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe

Inanimate Object Characters List | Entry: 47

Imagine constructions like the Eiffel Tower suddenly gaining life and ravaging cities! We'd need WRECKING BALLS to take them down!

Still, though, I never thought there would be a day when I would call a monument cute, but listen... I have an intense urge to hug the Arc de Triomphe and he'd trample me, but aight. It'd be totally worth it!

Characters: a water dispenser, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe

Episode: Monumental Showdown (2011)

--

Finding this episode legitimately has a whole history for me:

One day I was zapping through TV channels because me and my younger brother wanted to watch a series. I zapped and saw The DaVincibles playing, but because we didn't usually watch it (and because of the artstyle, I mistook it for a series for an older audience, if I recall correctly), I zapped further. But we had caught a glimpse of those monuments in their sentient state. From that moment on, me and my brother used to say in Dutch "brugjes hebben plugjes" (English translation: "bridges got plugs") to refer to that episode we once saw, because we didn't know the Arc de Triomphe back then.

I know I tried to find the series thereafter numerous times - without success (the title of the series was too hard to remember and we just called it something far from it's name) - until one day, I was at my grandparents' and this show was randomly broadcasting on their television (by then, I had already stopped watching TV at home).

I was genuinly so happy to find that episode after so long! It was like I had found the treasure at the end of the treasure map at long last!

[theultimatesexypeopleshowdown]

[soundtrackshowdown]

[bobbiedlifeinphil]

The Love Train Nation Breaking News

[livingproofoftbd]

list of awesome manhunt plays

because i always forget which plays are in which videos. figured i'd put it here if anyone else wanted it

2v1

the OG pearl clutch when sapnap dies and he gets his stuff

3v1 round one

covering the water with planks so the hunters die when they jump (MY FAVORITE) (its the first i ever watched :,D )

hunters lava trapping the end portal

3v1 rematch

he drinks the fire res as he jumps into lava and bad dies falling after him

tricks the hunters into thinking his fire res is more strength

as bad and sapnap turn back, he shoots an arrow from a mountain and hits bad from ~100 blocks away

3v1 finale

building a new nether portal to trick bad

splashing an invis pot so no one knows who anyone is

he sets up an end crystal trap in the stronghold and kills them all

bad sneaks up on him and kills him when he’s on half a heart after just killing the other two in the end

3v1 finale rematch

wearing bad’s skin

building his nether portal in a tower

dropping his sword just in time to land on a horse after being knocked from his portal with no water

3v1 grand finale

placing boats under him to cross a lava lake

dropping tnt into the end portal and putting the hunters in the void

4v1 round one

using leaves to tower up and hide in the nether cieling

snd promptly use a fishing rod to pull ant and bad up and kill them from fall damage

we all know it, we all love it. Towering up in the middle of a lake and using frostwalker boots to kill the hunters when they fall

the hunters using end crystals to heal the dragon

4v1 rematch

ant jumping down in the temple with him and setting the tnt off

he kills sapnap and ant with a tnt minecart

the hunters getting prot 4 armour

building a portal on the nether roof and trapping them there with no flint and steel, leaving them to kill themselves to escape

he digs under the end stone and hides in the middle, exploding bed after bed under the dragon as it perches

4v1 finale

ladder clutching when sapnap knocks him down off a tower on the edge of a mountain

trapping sapnap and george in cobwebs and blowing them up

hunters getting full enchanted diamond armour and building a huge castle around the nether portal that dream combats by drinking an invis pot

entity cramming george with minecarts and getting his gear

he lands an MLG on the side of an ISLAND when the dragon hits him

4v1 finale rematch

half a heart and no hunger but still chasing the hunters

the western showdown between dream and sapnap

the under-lava duel between dream and sapnap

ant killing dream with a splash potion

4v1 grand finale

scaffolding glitch

setting off fireworks and killing all the hunters in the portal room

5v1 round one

the boat clutch of all time after sapnap hits him off the tower

stealing sapnap’s enchanted diamond axe and diamond pick

stealing ant’s look and dropping tnt when the hunters dig down

the hunters revive the dragon

5v1 rematch

jumping off the mountain into a village water source

the second boat clutch of all time when he lands on a ghast

rearranging tnt to blow up under the hunters instead of under his portal

visiting the end city

5v1 finale

falling as the tree grows and breaking a leaf at the last second

covers the portal in the nether and overworld in lava

that daylight sensor pearl trick where he disappeared hundreds of blocks from the stronghold

the ender dragon glitch with the water really high above the main end island

5v1 rematch finale

enters the nether within 2 minutes

building a hole to the void to trap the hunter in

sam punching him into his own trap while invis

THE SOUNDBOARDS

the hunters covering the last crystal in obsidian

bad having god-like reflexes, placing obsidian, an end crystal, and exploding it all in like one second

5v1 grand finale

stealing sapnap’s bucket as it falls

trapping the hunters in an ocean monument

bow boosting

throwing a pearl, bone-mealing saplings, and landing on the fully grown tree

building another flying machine

sapnap stopping him by breaking a slime block and sacrificing himself

basically this whole end, dude

dropping tnt and instantly killing four of the hunters, slime clutching and bouncing down to george

fishing his pearls and surviving (perfect throwback to 2v1)

hope you find this helpful if you are like me and can never remember which video the clutch you wanna watch is in

[cera-writes]

Alright, since you wanna write about Kurt, how about this one?

Kurt Wagner x reader moving in together? I don't really care if it's in the mansion or an apartement, just domestic stuff.

If you want to, you maybe can include some of those dialogue prompts I can't stop thinking about that would fit this scenario?

"I just can't sleep and do... well other stuff, if it keeps staring at me while I'm in bed." "If you're going to drop anything today, take those boxes over there. I've never liked those plates anyway."

"By the way, I bought you your own controller. Now that we live together I need you in my team."

Like I said, you don't have to use any of them and if you use them, you can definetely change them, but I just thought that maybe they'd help if you had struggles coming up with ideas?

Love your work, you're doing amazing!!

Moving Buddies

A/N: Thank you so much!! Sorry this took a while to get written! I've had tons of requests. This was a cute prompt! Pairing: Kurt Wagner x gn!Reader Tags: fluff, domestic fluff, cohabitation

Cardboard castles and the faint scent of pizza filled the air. You and Kurt were finally tackling the monumental task of merging your belongings into a shared space of your cozy Brooklyn apartment. Boxes threatened to topple over like dominoes and you were slowly descending into madness at the thought of finally getting all your stuff sorted.

Exhaustion hung heavy in your shoulders. You plopped down on a precariously perched armchair, its floral pattern clashing hilariously with the sleek entertainment center Kurt had insisted on bringing.

"I just can't sleep and do... well other stuff," you sighed, gesturing at a particularly creepy porcelain doll staring accusingly from a half-unpacked box, "if it keeps staring at me while I'm in bed."

Kurt materialized beside you with a soft poof of brimstone, a mischievous glint in his yellow eyes. "Perhaps a strategic teleport to the deepest corner of the attic is in order, ja?"

You swatted him playfully. "Spoilsport. Fine, new home, new nightmares. But at least I get to share them with you."

A comfortable silence settled between you, punctuated by the rhythmic thump of bass from a stray box. Kurt's tail swished thoughtfully, knocking over a precariously balanced stack of plates.

"If you're going to drop anything today," you drawled, mock-serious, "take those boxes over there. I've never liked those plates anyway."

Kurt chuckled, a deep rumble in his chest. "Ah, the classic 'accidentally on purpose' discard method. Very subtle, mein liebchen." He winked, then with a flourish, the offending plates vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Speaking of accidents," you said, a devious glint in your eye, "I bought you your own controller. Now that we live together, I need you in my team for every video game showdown."

Kurt's grin widened. "Challenge accepted, liebling. But be warned, I have honed my skills on many a long night with Remy. You may find yourself facing a most formidable opponent."

The rest of the unpacking faded into the background. Boxes became fortresses, bubble wrap turned into packing peanuts for epic pillow fights, and the air crackled with playful competition and the thrill of building a new life together. Sure, there might be creepy dolls and furniture placement issues, but with Kurt by your side, even the chaos felt like the most exciting adventure.

[kikigeh]

Miraculous had 5 seasons to try and turn Gabriel/Hawkmoth into a good, interesting or at the bare minimum a convincing threat but I feel like, even despite all of the brand new lore and backstory, his impact is pretty meaningless when at the end of the day he is going to be facing off against Ladybug and not someone else who'd make infinitely more sense for him to be battling against.

Hawkmoth really has no business thinking Ladybug is his greatest enemy when his own incompetence is the only thing he has ever battled against and Ladybug's gripe with Hawkmoth has more to do with the fact that she can't live her normal teenager life because she was chosen to be responsible to stop him. There's absolutely nothing that connects the two besides the fact that Hawkmoth wants her miraculous and the fact that they are both connected to Adrien somehow.

There's no clashing ideologies that are put at the forefront, they are in no way foils, Hawkmoth's "noble" motive of resuscitating his wife is impossible to root for because he spends the rest of the show being utter shit to his son so you can't convince anybody that he's a good person who deserves to be rewarded. The fact that at the end he's going to be rewarded with anonymity, a wish come true and his son never once being able to learn about anything about his deeds, all to make the showdown about how Hawkmoth and Ladybug have always been destined to fight against one another... it's just so silly.

The show really is a monument to wasted potential because how do you miss the chance to make it at least the kind of show that you'd recommend wholeheartedly because at least "the ending is good", and instead opt for the silliest kind of undeserved ending for the bad guy? It's seriously kind of depressing.

And to top it all off, the show actually gave Ladybug a formidable foe in Felix/Argos but then tossed that storyline away over... Lila??? Man.

[mcc-updates]

MCC posted a thread!

The Ender Cup games have already been announced! 🏆

But each one has a brand new map designed to celebrate a key Minecraft era.

Let’s take a look ⬇️

Parkour was one of the first Minecraft challenges! In PKW, we’ll be taking you through the nostalgic, neon-green grass of Alpha and Beta. 🏃💨

In version 1.0, Minecraft introduced structures ranging from friendly villages to treacherous temples and some new biomes. The teams will battle it out in this brand new arena, created from these familiar locations. ⚔️

Remember The Update that Changed the World? To celebrate the new gizmos and gadgets this update added, teams will face puzzles that put their knowledge of redstone to the test. 🧠

HITW celebrates the Bountiful Update. We’ll be headed to a long-buried ocean monument, but with sticky slime blocks? 🟩 Better watch out.

Let’s go on a journey! We’ll take teams through the End Update, Exploration Update, and the World of Color. 🌈 Let’s see what these updates have to offer…

Teams will start out in the 🔱 Update Aquatic, a trident in hand, before Villaging and Pillaging their way through the quaint little town. Poor villagers.

Feelin’ hot hot hot. 🔥 We’re off on a tour through all new, nether biome inspired rooms, with the final showdown in a bastion. Doesn’t sound very peaceful though.

Glide though the Caves and Cliffs update! 🗻 Teams will sprint from the very mountain top to the deepest point in the world, and back again. Sounds like hard work.

Yes, the team has been cooking.

[heresmyfiddlestick]

Tumblr Dr. Who Poll vs Doctor Who Magazine Poll

It's been just over a month since the end of @adventure-showdown 's monumental survey of how Tumblr feels about individual Doctor Who adventures. Across ten rounds, we sorted the wheat from the chaff, the Quarks from the Rills, and the Cousins from the Looms. I wanted to compare the results of that huge bracket with the results from last year's Doctor Who Magazine poll, which ranked each Doctor's stories individually.

The methodologies for these two were quite different (though adventure-showdown did seed the bracket with a pre-poll that used the same methodology as DWM, but I'm looking at the final poll results for my data here), so comparing them is really interesting! I'm not a statistician, I just like making spreadsheets for fun. I think what can be seen from the trends and data below is a really unique picture of two somewhat overlapping but seriously demographically distinct fragments of the fandom.

Methodologies

Poll Methodologies

The DWM poll asked readers to rank as many televised Doctor Who stories as they liked from 1 to 10. The editors then took the resulting scores for each story and put them in a ranked list for each Doctor.

adventure-showdown began with a series of Google Forms with the same method as DWM, asking internet users to rank stories from 1 to 10. adventure-showdown lumped and split stories differently to DWM: The Key to Time was included as a distinct Four story to each of its individual parts, and each of the individual parts of Trial of a Time Lord and Flux were included alongside the overarching story. Utopia was also split from The Sound of Drums/The Last of the Time Lords.

adventure-showdown used the resulting rankings to create a series of Tumblr polls, moving from a group stage into a series of head-to-head matchups. They matched stories up roughly by obscurity (keeping advertisements and musical numbers separate from audio dramas and comics, which were separate from TV spin-offs, which were separate from the TV show itself), then Doctor or era. With each new round, the matchups were scrambled within melded groups, which ultimately led to a diverse distribution of all different eras and media under the umbrella of Doctor Who throughout the tournament.

My Methodology

In order to turn adventure-showdown's poll results into something that can be compared to DWM's, I created a spreadsheet tracking how each Doctor's stories were doing, separating them first into tiers according to which round they were eliminated in, then within those tiers by how many votes they had in the matchup where they were eliminated.

In the case of some particularly tough matchups, this means that the story that got the most points throughout the entire competition is not necessarily the highest-ranked story for that Doctor. For instance, The Happiness Patrol finished #3 of the Seventh Doctor's stories according to my reckoning of the Tumblr poll, being eliminated in the fifth round with 400 votes, less than the two stories above it (which were eliminated in rounds where they got 147 and 107 votes, respectively). The Happiness Patrol saw a vigorous campaign to increase its vote count, since it was up against Blink. The post for the matchup that eliminated it currently has 304 notes as of this writing. This is one of the fun quirks of this execrise.

General Trends

Where We Agree

The Ninth Doctor shows very stable story rankings between DWM and Tumblr.

On average, the difference in rankings for each episode of 9 is 5%, with only 2 out of 10 stories actually moving up or down the rankings at all. The Sixth Doctor is similar: only 3 of his 8 stories (included in the DWM poll, meaning not counting the individual parts of Trial) moved by more than 1 ranking. The Seventh Doctor only had 4 of his 12 stories move by more than 1 ranking.

On the flipside, Tumblr's opinions differ from DWM most regarding the First, Fifth, and Eleventh Doctors. The only stories that stayed relatively stable across both rankings for these Doctors are as follows.

For the First Doctor, only 4 out of 29 didn't shift by more than 1 ranking: #2 The Time Meddler, #5 The Tenth Planet (#6 in DWM), #18 The Keys of Marinus, and #20 The Reign of Terror (#19 in DWM) For the Fifth Doctor, we agreed only 5 times out of 20: #1 The Caves of Androzani, #2 The Five Doctors (#3 in DWM), #11 Frontios, #14 Black Orchid, and #17 Arc of Infinity (#16 in DWM) For Eleven, 5 of his 39 stories stayed relatively stable: #1 Vincent and the Doctor (#2 in DWM), #4 The Eleventh Hour (#3 in DWM), #9 Amy's Choice, #14 The Snowmen (#13 in DWM), and #39 The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe.

As you'll see further below, there is usually agreement between both polls about at least one episode that is in the top and bottom 3 or 4 for each Doctor, so these extremes represent the battle over ordering the ones generally ranked in the middle.

We Hate Daleks

As a general trend, Tumblr seems to think less of Dalek stories than the general DWM readership.

Out of 26 stories with Daleks as the primary antagonist, only 8 did not drop by more than 1 slot between the DWM poll and the Tumblr bracket (that is The Chase, Genesis of the Daleks, Remembrance of the Daleks, Dalek, Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways, Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks, The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar, and Eve of the Daleks). DIM/Evolution actually ranked 3 slots higher on Tumblr than the magazine, while TMA/TWF and Eve finished significantly higher on Tumblr than in the magazine, cracking into the top 5 for their respective Doctors.

We Love The Master

Meanwhile, out of 26 stories featuring the Master, either as the primary antagonist or as an important character, only two dropped by more than one place in the rankings (The End of Time and The Power of the Doctor), while the others either stayed put or increased their positions, some by quite a lot (e.g. The Time Monster (up 20 slots in the Third Doctor rankings), The Keeper of Traken (up 8 slots in the Fourth Doctor rankings), Planet of Fire (up 6 spots in the Fifth Doctor rankings), and The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar (up 9 spots in the Twelfth Doctor rankings)).

We Have No Easily Observable Feelings About the Cybermen

Out of 18 Cyberman stories, 9 fell in the rankings between DWM and Tumblr, while 5 stayed within 1 rank of the DWM poll, and 4 rose. If I had to venture a hypothesis based on my unscientific qualitative analysis, it looks like Tumblr marked down most of the Classic Who Cyberman stories (only The Tenth Planet, The Invasion, and Attack staying within 1 rank of the DWM poll), while the only ones that rose in the ranks were New Who stories (Rise/The Age of Steel, Closing Time, Nightmare in Silver, and Dark Water/Death in Heaven-- though of course this last one is also a Master story, which we know we love).

Superlatives

Here are the stories that showed the biggest positive and negative difference in their rankings between the DWM poll and the Tumblr bracket, for each Doctor:

First Doctor

Biggest jump: #10 The Sensorites (up from #27 in DWM) Biggest fall: #28 The Crusade (down from #13 in DWM)

Second Doctor

Biggest jump: #8 The Highlanders (up from #16 in DWM) Biggest fall: #14 The Evil of the Daleks (down from #14 in DWM)

Third Doctor

Biggest jump: #4 The Time Monster (up from #24 in DWM) Biggest fall: #21 Day of the Daleks (down from #11 in DWM)

Fourth Doctor

Biggest jump: #7 The Horns of Nimon (up from #40 in DWM) Biggest fall: #36 The Talons of Weng-Chiang (down from #5 in DWM)

Fifth Doctor

Biggest jump: #8 Planet of Fire (up from #14) Biggest fall: #15 Resurrection of the Daleks (down from #6)

Sixth Doctor

Biggest jump: #1 The Mark of the Rani (up from #5 in DWM) Biggest fall: #6 Revelation of the Daleks (down from #1 in DWM) [NB: not counting each part of Trial, since DWM didn't include them - though The Ultimate Foe ranked #10 on Tumblr while Trial itself ranked #4 in DWM, so that could be another option for this superlative]

Seventh Doctor

Biggest jump: #3 The Happiness Patrol (up from #7 in DWM) Biggest fall: #12 Silver Nemesis (down from #9 in DWM)

Ninth Doctor

Biggest jump: #5 The End of the World (up from #7 in DWM) Biggest fall: #7 Rose (down from #5 in DWM)

Tenth Doctor

Biggest jump: #17 42 (up from #31 in DWM) Biggest fall: #29 The Girl in the Fireplace (down from #7 in DWM) [NB: adventure-showdown split Utopia and The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords where DWM didn't, which both placed above these two stories.]

Eleventh Doctor

Biggest jump: #13 The Rings of Akhaten (up from #34 in DWM) Biggest fall: #36 The Crimson Horror (down from #18 in DWM)

Twelfth Doctor

Biggest jump: #20 The Eaters of Light (up from #30 in DWM) Biggest fall: #18 The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion (down from #7 in DWM)

Thirteenth Doctor

Biggest jump: TIE #1 Demons of the Punjab (up from #5), #2 Spyfall (up from #6), and #3 Eve of the Daleks (up from #7) Biggest fall: #15 Rosa (down from #4) [NB: not counting each part of Flux, since DWM didn't include them - though The Vanquishers ranked #29 on Tumblr while Flux itself ranked #12 in DWM, so that could be another option for this superlative]

Definitive Bests and Worsts

Here, then, are each Doctor's commonly agreed-upon best and worst stories: that is, those stories ranked in each Doctor's top/bottom 10% (minimum 3) in each poll, and where both polls overlap. Lists are alphabetical.

First Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: The Time Meddler Tumblr: The Edge of Destruction, The Romans DWM: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Daleks' Master Plan Worst Tumblr: The Crusade, The Savages, The Smugglers DWM: The Sensorites, The Space Museum, The Web Planet

Second Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: The War Games Tumblr: The Enemy of the World, The Mind Robber DWM: The Power of the Daleks, Tomb of the Cybermen Worst Both agree: The Dominators, The Space Pirates Tumblr: The Krotons DWM: The Underwater Menace

Third Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: The Green Death Tumblr: The Dæmons, The Three Doctors DWM: Inferno, Spearhead from Space Worst Both agree: The Mutants Tumblr: Death to the Daleks, Planet of the Daleks DWM: The Monster of Peladon, The Time Monster

Fourth Doctor (top/bottom 4)

Best Both agree: City of Death, Genesis of the Daleks, Robots of Death Tumblr: The Horror of Fang Rock DWM: Pyramids of Mars Worst Both agree: The Power of Kroll, Underworld Tumblr: Nightmare of Eden, Revenge of the Cybermen DWM: The Horns of Nimon, Meglos

Fifth Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: The Caves of Androzani, The Five Doctors Tumblr: Enlightenment DWM: Earthshock Worst Both agree: Time-Flight Tumblr: The Awakening, Four to Doomsday DWM: The King's Demons, Warriors of the Deep

Sixth Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: Vengeance on Varos Tumblr: The Mark of the Rani, Trial of a Time Lord (considered as a whole) Worst Both agree: Timelash, The Twin Dilemma Tumblr: The Ultimate Evil (specifically) DWM: Attack of the Cybermen

Seventh Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: Remembrance of the Daleks, Survival Tumblr: The Happiness Patrol DWM: The Curse of Fenric Worst Both agree: Delta and the Bannermen, Time and the Rani Tumblr: Silver Nemesis DWM: Paradise Towers

Ninth Doctor (top/bottom 3)

Best Both agree: Bad Wolf/The Parting of Ways, Dalek, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances Worst Both agree: Aliens of London/World War Three, Boom Town, The Long Game

Tenth Doctor (top/bottom 4)

Best Both agree: Blink, Midnight, Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead Tumblr: The Fires of Pompeii DWM: Human Nature/The Family of Blood Worst Both agree: The Idiot's Lantern, The Lazarus Experiment Tumblr: The Next Doctor, The Shakespeare Code DWM: Fear Her, Love & Monsters

Eleventh Doctor (top/bottom 4)

Best Both agree: The Eleventh Hour, The Pandorica Opens, Vincent and the Doctor Tumblr: The Doctor's Wife DWM: Day of the Doctor Worst Both agree: The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe Tumblr: The Crimson Horror, Night Terrors, Victory of the Daleks DWM: The Curse of the Black Spot, Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS, Nightmare in Silver

Twelfth Doctor (top/bottom 4)

Best Both agree: Heaven Sent, Mummy on the Orient Express, World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls Tumblr: The Husbands of River Song DWM: Flatline Worst Both agree: In the Forest of the Night, Kill the Moon, Sleep No More Tumblr: The Lie of the Land DWM: The Woman Who Lived

Thirteenth Doctor (top/bottom 3)

[Villa Diodati gif included because there is no overlap in the two polls' top 3 for Thirteen, however this episode ranked #4 on Tumblr and #2 in DWM, so it is the closest overlap at the top.]

Best Both agree: None! Tumblr: Eve of the Daleks, Demons of the Punjab, Spyfall DWM: Fugitive of the Judoon, The Haunting of Villa Diodati, The Power of the Doctor Worst Both agree: The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos, Orphan 55 Tumblr: The Vanquishers (on its own) DWM: Legend of the Sea Devils

...What about Eight?

Who said that? I thought you had all gone. You shouldn't scare me like that. Well, you see, the Eighth Doctor only has two televised appearances in which he features, and only one of those was included in the DWM poll. This post is about comparing the two polls. I can't really do anything...

Ah, alright.

Televised Appearances

We ranked The Night of the Doctor above the TV Movie. Night made it all the way to round 6, while the TV Movie was out in Round 2, losing with 266 votes to Jubilee, which then lost to Scherzo in the next round. Night lost to Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways, which had 344 votes to Night's 204.

Audios

Scherzo made it to the quarter-finals of the Tumblr poll! It lost out to Midnight 435 to 581, the first TV episode it encountered in adventure-showdown's very intricate media-segregating bracket.

Caerdroia made it to round 7, losing to Scherzo after it had beaten out Father's Day in round 6 (299-280) and the much-loved SJA episode The Curse of Clyde Langer in round 5.

The Natural History of Fear made it to round 6, finally losing out to Blink (253-352), and making it the top-scoring Eight audio to go out in this round.

The Chimes of Midnight also got to round 6, finally just losing to Remembrance of the Daleks (163-166); in the same round, Zagreus lost to Scherzo (131-210) just after it had beaten Genesis of the Daleks (132-103) in round 5.

The next highest-ranked Eight* audio is Solitaire (a Companion Chronicle, hence the asterisk), which was eliminated in round 5, losing to Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (180-43).

It's worth noting here, that Doctor Who and the Pirates also made it to round 6, making it the highest-ranked non-Eighth Doctor audio. It lost to City of Death (170-78). The next-highest ranked audios are The Marian Conspiracy (lost in Round 5 to The Wedding of Sarah-Jane Smith), The Holy Terror (lost in Round 5 to The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances), and A Death in the Family (lost in Round 5 to The Natural History of Fear). Congratulations to Evelyn Smythe.

Novels

The EDA Alien Bodies managed to make it to round 6, finally being eliminated by Turn Left with 145 votes to 264. It had just beaten out Time Crash in the previous round. This makes it the highest-ranked Doctor Who novel overall, according to this Tumblr tournament.

The next-highest novel for the Eighth Doctor was Unnatural History, which was defeated in round 5 by The Chimes of Midnight.

Below that, there were five EDAs eliminated in round 4:

Interference (lost with 41 votes to Scherzo's 85)

Mad Dogs and Englishmen (lost with 38 votes to The Marian Conspiracy's 56)

The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (lost with 28 votes to A Death in the Family's 54)

Camera Obscura (lost with 27 votes to Lungbarrow's 47)

The Scarlet Empress (lost with 22 votes to The Chimes of Midnight's 102)

Comics

I hadn't actually been tracking any of this Eight stuff, so I'm having to squint through the backlog and this is already much too long. So you're only getting two: The Land of Happy Endings is the Eighth Doctor comic that made it the farthest in the Tumblr competition, being eliminated in round 3 by An Adventure in Space and Time (46 votes to 95). The Flood also made it to round 3, where it was eliminated by the Thirteenth Doctor comic Old Friends, gaining 39 votes against Old Friends' 47.

[heckcareoxytwit]

Kamala Khan, Sophie Cuckoo, Laura Kinney, Anole and Prodigy as well as the Morlocks, work together in rallying for mutant rights by gaining support from human allies and other forms of activism through their hearts and minds. Then, they have a showdown with the anti-mutant humans in Central Park as they hold a stand-off over the fate of the Krakoan X-Treehouse. During the stand-off, Sophie Cuckoo cuts herself off from her wayward sisters and she uses up her telepathic powers to coerce the congress into cancelling the signing of the mutant deportation bill. However, since Sophie had used up too much of her telepathy without her sisters, she burns out her powers. Kamala Khan gives a speech on live broadcast to the humans and mutants present all over New York. Aamir Khan is moved with his sister's speech that he cuts ties with his cousin. This ends with the mutants winning their rally, they get to keep the Krakoan Treehouse as a monument and the mutants can stay in New York without getting deported. As well as the anti-mutant humans are forcibly dispersed by the police.

NYX v2 #5, 2024

[monsieuroverlord]

Hellverine #3 Thoughts:

No.

Okay, but seriously though. I keep hoping one day that Marvel learns their lesson and actually treats Akihiro with respect, but today is NOT that day.

My last hope is that final issue comes in clutch (and I'm very likely gaslighting myself with this), and the writer pulls some bullshit out his ass like Logan having to fight Bagra-Ghul and then wins Aki's soul.

(I mean, the adamantium armor ~conveniently~ reactivated Logan's healing factor in the Wolverine Finale, why not?)

Then Akihiro is fine and stays far away from Logan for the time being.

Summary:

The issue basically opens with General Harms' backstory. He was a soldier, commander of a shadow unit -- stereotypical, vague American black ops plotline. He was a nasty dude who did nasty work in the name of U.S.-branded freedom.

On one mission, he tracked the families of enemy fighters to an ancient church, came in contact with a demon skull, got shot then infected with demon magic and now is a soldier of hell. But also the U.S. Government secondly.

We go back to the pages we saw in the preview, where Logan gets a bike from the family of one of the hellfire destroyers (now dead) and rides off.

We shift back to General Harms, where he is called to deal with an incident in the Pentangle-demon-hellfire-whatever-its-called lab.

The lone survivor of the unit that became the Hellfire Destroyers showed up, mostly by calling in a few favors. He eventually volunteers to become a Destroyer as he feels he's the only one who can reign them in. They've never tested a living subject before, so it could go any which way.

Our scene then turns back to Akihiro, where he's called to Washington DC, and ends up doing a stakeout on top of the Washington Monument, waiting for demon signals.

Then back to General Harms and Madame Secretary, and she's telling him to get it together or he's ending up forgotten in federal prison. The Hellfire Destroyers show up, attack, and manage to kill the Madame Secretary. General Harms is caught, but Hellverine/Akihiro shows up and kills one, leaving only one left.

General Harms is a douche-canoe and shoots Hellverine/Akihiro with a fancy holy water bullet.

Hellverine/Akihiro lets out a high-pitched, agonizing scream (that only every dog within a 50-mile radius and Logan can hear) as he escapes, which alerts Logan.

Logan shows up, and because Logan was the OG host, the Hellverine transfers over to him, leaving Akihiro an empty husk.

Akihiro also says all of two words:

Thank you for the tragic "Dad," that was depressing.

And I'm sincerely hoping this is just a one-off thing, but he's referred to as "Daken" again:

Goddammit.

My Thoughts:

Bravo for managing to find a way to disappoint me further. The bar was already on the dirt floor and they really handed me a shovel and a one-way VIP ticket to hell with a scenic view.

But no seriously, I don't care how they do it at this point. I don't even care if its "bad" writing.

Just have Logan fist-fight the demon in the back of a Denny's parking lot for Akihiro's soul and I'd be happy.

The demon Bagra-Ghul is supposed to the "Great Stitcher" or whatever. Do it again.

I just -- three issues and he's dead again. We've seen this so many times before (latest one less than a year ago). Its so much the same song and dance. I just want it resolved and over with.

My predictions for the finale:

-- Big showdown -- OG Hellverine/Logan vs. General Harms vs. Hellfire Destroyers -- Logan wins because its his book.

-- the "living" Destroyer manages to talk his comrade down and all is well somehow. Either the dead one returns to death. Or they become independent crime fighters fueled by hellfire rage. Either long-term or they destroy the pentangle from within then die. Maybe the living one also intentionally chooses to go to hell to join his buddies.

--General Harms is consumed by the demon fully and sent straight to hell, likely because the demon turns out to be the "real target" of Bagra-Ghul, just waiting for the right moment.

MY BIGGEST HOPE: there's some bullshit, where Logan wins the big showdown, and the demon Bagra-Ghul, even more twisted into a force for good and eating evil, leaves Logan and as thank you, restores Akihiro to life.

All loose threads are wrapped up all nice and tidy just like X-Force and Wolverine were! The End.

Like seriously, haven't we proven Akihiro is popular enough to sell a book? Both issues of Hellverine went to 2nd print. AND, before it came out and the big spoiler was revealed, I read a lot of comments dismissing it as too gimmicky.

Wolverine as a character is very oversaturated. The loyalists pre-order naturally, but its not common that his books go to 2nd print just because of the volume of variety. So clearly this book is something that piqued people's interest and I don't think Akihiro played a small part in that. That's just my personal opinion.

Also, also, we got X-Factor, Marauders, and then Alpha Flight for a bit. At the very least, Aki has a decent enough following. This is just insulting.

Anyway, I'm going to go lay down in the middle of the road or something. I'm so damn tired.

[south-of-heaven]

Shayna Baszler x Fem!Reader where she stands ringside while shayna attacked rhea and cheered for her?

Showdown || Shayna Baszler x Reader

Summary: You and Shayna make an unannounced appearance on Raw.

Monday night was filled with electrifying energy as Raw was underway, and the current match had the WWE Universe at the edge of their seats. It was a monumental clash between two behemoths, Raquel Rodriguez and Nia Jax, and the ring shook with every slam and strike.

In the midst of the heated showdown, a familiar disruption unfolded. Rhea Ripley, a force to be reckoned with, stormed down to the ring with a scowl etched across her face. It was no secret that she had issues with both Nia and Raquel, and tonight was the night to address them.

As the commentary team discussed the chaos that was unfolding, Michael Cole's words caught your attention. He remarked that Shayna Baszler was the only one missing from this fiery mix. That was the cue. It was time for you and Shayna to make an unannounced entrance.

With no music, no wrestling attire, just regular everyday clothes, the two of you emerged from backstage. Shayna had a determined look in her eyes, and you knew she was ready for action. Her leather jacket, the iconic symbol of her style, was the only semblance of her wrestling persona. You grabbed it, keeping it safe for her until she needed it.

With the crowd's curiosity piqued and the fans' cheers rising, Shayna slid under the bottom rope and into the ring. The Raw audience was about to witness a twist in the tale, an unexpected shift in the balance of power.

Shayna joined the battle with a ferocity that was unrivaled. Her experience in mixed martial arts and professional wrestling was evident as she took the fight to Rhea Ripley. With each strike, each hold, Shayna showcased her relentless nature. Her submission maneuvers and strikes were executed with precision.

As the crowd's roar enveloped the arena, your voice soared above the noise. You cheered for Shayna, your unwavering support palpable. The WWE Universe had witnessed some memorable moments, but this impromptu appearance was something truly extraordinary.

In the ring, Shayna and Rhea's battle raged on. There was no shortage of aggression and intensity. The two women fought like warriors, and it was impossible to predict the outcome.

Shayna's resilience and sheer determination were awe-inspiring. The crowd couldn't help but admire her strength and tenacity. It was a sight to behold, a sudden eruption of chaos that had everyone talking.

In the end, Shayna left her mark, and you were there to celebrate with her. The crowd's cheers became a deafening chorus of approval as you and Shayna exited the ring, knowing that her presence had forever altered the landscape of that fateful Monday Night Raw.

You couldn't have been prouder of Shayna, your partner in and out of the ring. Together, you were an unstoppable force, and this impromptu appearance was proof that no challenge was too great for the Queen of Spades.

[theultimatesexypeopleshowdown]

[bvckbiter]

i dont think ive seen anyone rlly discuss this yet but one scene im still miffed they took out was the hellhound attacking percy during capture the flag (after the showdown between clarisse and percy). this isn’t so much a gripe for 1-to-1 accuracy but rather what it represents. least important to most important (in my opinion):

1. percy’s powers are forced to fully manifest. his displays escalate, from percy making the fountain grab nancy bobofit, to spraying clarisse in the toilets, then finally to heal himself. it makes sense that his displays should escalate in response to his opponents, instead of a repeat of clarisse and gang trying to bludgeon him.

2. the chapter where it happens is when percy starts realizing that chb is not a perfectly safe haven and the gods arent all that (“i could begin to understand luke’s resentment…”). clarisse may be holding a monumental grudge against him; but the hellhound is pre-meditated, murderous intent, and it requires scheming and betrayal from someone inside/affiliated with camp. because chb is no longer a place where percy can just blend in as unclaimed and hide forever, poseidon is essentially cornered into claiming him, and the quest is inevitable.

3. the hellhound tells us just how dire the stakes are even while percy is esconced in chb—the lengths to which the antagonist is willing to go in order to draw out the war between zeus and poseidon, to kill anything standing in his way. the hellhound tells us how dangerous kronos—AND LUKE—are, a point that is underscored by the following chapter describing the iconic (TO ME!) horse and eagle dream… which is something they also took out.

for comparison, in the show, capture the flag ends with annabeth pushing percy into the water so he heals from the injuries dealt to him by clarisse. so to me its not as impactful and, in an on-brand move by the tv show, severely diminishes the stakes of situation, so instead we get chiron horse-splaining the whole situation rather than actually feeling the consequences of it.

you could argue that the show version does achieve points 1 and 2, just differently—or not to the fullest degree, depending on if you agree with me or not. point 3 though is what irritates me particularly. it’s the show’s take on defanging luke. i could understand removing the scorpion because yeah it’s feasible that kronos would try to take a softer route with percy and recruit him.

but removing the hellhound, which is the murder situation where you could actually still make luke not entirely at fault for the situation (kronos threatened him, kronos foresaw that percy would be in that spot but luke didnt, etc.) is basically just. absolving him of any actual moral reprehensibility in the show. which i dont like. luke’s character is one that i def agree can afford to be made more sympathetic, especially since in tlt-som hes quite a cardboard cutout villain (likely bc rick didnt know fully yet his plans/vision for luke), but the show just swings in that opposite direction, almost as if it’s too afraid that it will be too complex/polarizing for its audience. as a longtime luke fan its insulting; and as a pjo fan it’s quite worrying, because if they miss the point of luke’s character, high chances are they miss the point and spirit of the series entirely.

to conclude, this is not to say that this scene, or any singular scene at all, is the make or break for me, or for anyone at all (though i think the lotus casino scene/episode may be a close placeholder for that lol). however, it is, in my opinion, one part in a very long string of show retcons that swap the source for something worse or with less heart.

[blackcurlsgreeneyes]

Can't Wait Here Silent // Closed RP

May was a quiet month; the survivors focused on physically rebuilding, and then sharing the monumental task of laying the defenders to rest and sorting the lost enemies. The Ministry was stretched thin as it strove to provide leadership while primarily performing law enforcement, and the Order rose readily to the task of helping round up all who had fought under Riddle to be evaluated.

June began, and brought with it the Trials. Reviewing the lists of names awaiting judgment, Harry mentally found himself categorizing this into three tiers: those were clear and resoundingly to be condemned; those who were fully innocent and would need post-Imperius or blackmail therapy; and the hazy third type, those who had acted under different kinds of coercion or obligation.

Draco Malfoy was the first name he placed on that list, and Harry would not be dissuaded. It was a relief to his core that Ron and Hermione understood; Ron testified all that he had seen at the Manor, and then during the Final Battle, and Hermione was clever enough to get Ollivander's on-record input regarding wand allegiance, providing support for the assertion that only Draco's intentional surrender of the wands would have given Harry the power he had, both escaping the Manor, and in his final showdown with Riddle.

Above all, Harry argued for the influence of psychological and physical torture, unyielding until the Ministry all but collapsed its protests. He did not deny them Lucius Malfoy; Harry sorted him between his first two tiers, believing the man to have gone from devoted loyalist to scared shitless for his wife and son, by the end. Lucius faced yet another Trial, and again went to Azkaban, this time for one year.

And for that one year, they assigned Draco to house arrest at the Manor. He and his mother lived there alone now, with Tonks assigned as a liaison to monitor her kin. Harry heard next to nothing after that, simply confirmations that all seemed well, and life moved on to the rest of the Trials, the funerals, and then slowly turning the page to a new era in the wizarding world.

He had the date marked when that house arrest ended, and it found Harry at the gate of Malfoy Manor, spine stiff as Narcissa came to greet him there. It took three visits before she let him inside, and two more for those to not be silent and awkward hours at the tea table. Finally, she cracked, asking why in Salazar's name he was so insistent; Draco had left the estate the instant Tonks removed his Trace, and he was off the grid.

"No one should be alone," Harry had said, simply, thanking her elf for refilling his tea. "Least of all those who suffered. Draco blames himself, and he'll rot away in that mentality. I did not defend him out of some unwilling sense of requirement. I want him to heal."

Narcissa had stared at him for a long, long moment before asking him to return the next day. When he did, she gave him a parcel of foods and teas, and the information needed to cross into the Unplottable acreage where Draco was keeping a small cottage in the woods near Devon.

He didn't ask if she'd told her son. Harry thanked her, and Apparated there at once, finding when he landed that the air shimmered, and revealed a beautiful little homestead with a thick privacy hedge and gate. It opened to his hand, permitted by Narcissa, and Harry followed the stone path to knock on the little front door, curious if Draco lived completely alone, or if he kept an elf or pet, something for company in the solitude.

[doctorwho-rewatch]

S3E11 - Utopia

★★★★★

You. Are. Not. Alone.

The reveal of the Master in this episode was flawless. That scene actually gave me chills. It felt like the Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort reveal from Harry Potter. Jaw-droppingly clever.

This episode is the first in the 3-parter series finale but given how bonkers and great this episode was, I think it deserves its own post.

To re-introduce the Master is a monumental step forward for this revived series and I think this episode set it up and executed it brilliantly. The Doctor, Martha and Captain Jack (Jack's back!) meet Professor Yana who is singlehandledly trying to help the last human refuge travel to Utopia and escape the cannibalistic FutureKind. He thinks he's going crazy, hearing that repeating drumbeat in his head...

The threads of this series start to tie together. The Face of Boe's last words. The fob watch belonging to Professor Yana who, much like John Smith, can't quite remember why he has it...

Derek Jacobi's Master is angry, but restrained. He also looks exactly like my old boss which felt a bit uncomfortably too real for me...But when he is fatally shot by ChanTho and stumbles into the TARDIS to regenerate, the young rejuvenated Master we end up with is fucking unhinged. Bonkers.

The rest of the plot took a backseat to this reveal so I don't have many thoughts on it. The tete-a-tete between Jack and the Doctor reminiscing on Bad Wolf re-opened old wounds. But this episode deserves all its stars for how it handled the Master reveal. It sets up a fantastic showdown between the Master and the Doctor for the series finale. Bring it on.

QUOTE: "Might I ask what species are you?" "Time Lord. Last of. Heard of them? Legend? Heard of them? Not even a myth? Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling."