#no matter how Strong humans are. we really aren’t a match if the big G gets pissed yknow

[viriborne]

Solomon after he told Nightbringer *WITH CONFIDENCE* that Mc wouldn’t choose demons over humanity, when they then proceed to choose demons over humanity.

[no-touchy]

Norson’s NSFW Alphabet

I figured he needs one ;3

A= Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Norson is an absolute gentleman when it comes to aftercare, considering its going to take you longer to come down from heaven than him. Usually he has things set up before the deed; towels, water, a few snacks. After however, he is holding you tight. Soft praises and lots of kisses. He stays with you close until you’re coherent again so he can get other things if you need them or to carry you to the bathroom.

B= Body Part (Their favorite body of their own and their partner’s)

Norson for him would be his hands. They’re absolutely massive and he can do a lot with them. And a lot to you, grabbing, spanking (if you’re into it), fingering, stroking. Whatever it is, he can do. For his partner’s, definitely their hips. Regardless if you have any or not. He likes to watch you walk, the way they sway from left to right. Its a good spot where he can rest his hands and leave cute little bruises on them.

C= Cum (Anything to do with cum)

Jesus, this man is a pristine baby batter maker. His ‘average’ load is the size of at least three large loads of the typical man and he loves to cum inside you. Loves to see your belly be a bit bigger with his liquid seed (yes, he has a breeding kink but that will come later). Its also thick and globby. Like glue almost but without the sticking things together part. If you’re blowing him and you can’t swallow all of him down, that’s okay. He loves to watch run down your chin. But you do you, baby boo.

D= Dirty Little Secret (Pretty self explanatory)

Norson has one that he doesn’t talk about much because its made others uncomfortable. But he really wants to tie you down and do whatever he likes to you. However, this will be brought only after you’ve been together for a while because what he wants you to be comfortable with the whole idea of letting go wild.

E= Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

Experience-wise, Norson has only a little real world experience. What he does know is seen through porn and asking way too many questions. But surprisingly enough, Norson is very good from just observational learning, From taking with his older brother, Keane, he knows exactly what not to do. 

F= Favorite Position (Also self explanatory)

The mating press, hands down is his favorite position. Legs pressed against his shoulders as he slams into and watches you lose your mind. That is a five star Michelin meal to this man. But doggy style is a very close runner up, hands on your hips as he pulls you back to him. Norson will not able to get enough of it.

G= Goofy (Are they more serious or goofy in the moment?)

IN the actual moment, Norson can be very serious. Hyper fixating on you, making you feel all sorts of things. Before the moment, he can be a dork. Cracking jokes but in a teasing type of way, loves making you giggle. He notices that some soft humor can help people relax before a big moment and helps develop a strong connection between two people. So he uses light humor when he can before, during and after said deed.

H= Hair (How well groomed are they? Carpet match the drapes?)

Being a former military man, Norson is very neat when it comes to his hygiene. Very well groomed and trimmed short. But if he grows out his pubes a bit, they’re soft and curly. They’re a bit darker than the hair on his head but undeniably his.

I= Intimacy (How are they during some heat, romantically?)

Norson has this ability that during your moment with him, you two are the only people on the planet. That time has slowed down or stopped. Forehead to forehead with those slow, deep thrusts. No one else can enter your guys’ own little world. No matter the position, he is there with you and the only one with you. God forbid anyone should try to enter this little domain.

J= Jack off (Masturbation stuff)

Norson has knows he can’t have you all the time so sometimes when he’s got nothing else to do, he lets one loose. Its a pure boredom thing and something to pass the time. And a bonus stress relief. How often though? Once in a blue moon, he is a mechanic so he barely sits down.

K= Kink (What kink or kinks do they have?)

Oh boy, here we go. Stay with me now. One, his domination kink. The man loves to manhandle and control you, plus being an absolute unit of a human, this task comes very easy to him. Two, breeding kink. Even if you can’t have kids, regardless he is still filling you to the brim, having you beg to put a child in you. Three, size kink. Norson is 6′ 10″, everyone is small to him and he loves it. Four, overstimulation. Whether its his hands doing the work, his tongue or anything else. He loves to have you shaking and begging for him to stop only to pull away and making you whine for him.

L= Location (Where does he like to do it the most?)

Anywhere and anywhere, babe. Anywhere around the house, even in the backyard or front yard. In his shop, in a client’s car, in his little office over the desk. You have a place you want him in, already done. No questions asked.

M= Motivation (What turns them on? What gets them there?)

The real question is, what doesn’t? You could breathe a certain way and it makes him throb. A look you give, the way you lick your lips, anything and everything. He could watch a video on social media and be like “I should call them.” It really doesn’t take much.

N= No-nos (What is a no zone? Turn off?)

Anything that causes a lot of pain. Spanking is a lot lee way though. But things like burning, deep cuts, etc. Its a red no. Its happening kind of thing. As for turn offs, seeing you cry out of pain. (but if the tears are an involuntary reflex, then its a bit different.) He doesn’t want to cause his baby pain, even if they ask.

O= Oral (Giving or receiving?)

Norson prefers to give. But will never say no if you want to go down on him. The man will spend hours between your thighs if you let him, the overstimulation kink comes in handy here. Not to mention, Norson has a very nice tongue. Its long, he can touch the bridge of his nose with the tip of his tongue and its split. Loves to lick your deep.

P= Pace (Are they fast and rough or slow and sensual?)

Truly, it depends on you and how he is feeling. If you’ve been a brat and are begging him to go faster or harder? Guess what, he’ll slow down and keep it light. But if you’ve been prefect, he’s a bit on a harder pace naturally. Always a skin to skin slapper.

Q= Quickies (Do they like them?)

Norson is always down for a quickie. He’ll never say no to you and understands sometimes you just need to get down and dirty. But he usually has kinda long quickies, so jus prepare for a quickie to last quite some time.

R= Risk (Are they risky? Are they willing to spice it up?)

Yes, Norson will be risky for you as long as its within certain boundaries. You wanna try some very spicy things? He’ll talk it over with you, figure out a game plan to where its fun and you both remain safe. He wants the best for you.

S= Stamina (How long is the round and how many rounds can they last?)

This man will be able to make you stay in bed for days. A single round can last anywhere from 10 to 25 minutes. Depending on how long he’s been teased and if he’s masturbated beforehand. But a full session can last up to seven hours. And no, he doesn’t always have to be inserted into you. Most of it is foreplay but he is hard the entire time.

T= Toys (Do they have toys? Do they use them? On their partner?)

Yup, big man has toys. But he has to special order his. Sometimes his hands aren’t enough. Using them on his partner? Oh yeah, especially when he has you tied down.

U= Unfair (How much do they tease?)

Good Lord. I hope you have an unlimited amount of patience. You’re going to need it. Norson LOVES to tease, naughty words throughout the day, scandalous touches. And he learns everything that gets his partner going in a very short amout of time too. There is not a minute that goes by that he doesn’t want you. 

V= Volume (How loud? What noises do they make?)

Norson can be very loud, he very much voices the pleasure you’re giving him. Groaning at the smaller touches, moaning at the bigger one. Words of praise or degradation (whatever you’re into). Growls and snarls. Norson has an insane deep voice too. It’ll make you wet or hard at the simplest words.

W= Wild Card (A random headcanon) 

Norson is a ring maker. In his home garage, he has a tiny workshop that he makes rings. Sometimes he sells them, others he gives away as gifts.

X= X-ray (What are they packing?)

Norson is...proportionate. A incredibly thick eight inches. Thick at a monster energy drink can from base to tip. He is cut and a shower. When he sits down and his pants tighten at the crotch, you can faintly see the outline of him and its intimidating.

Y= Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Norson is a moving freight train. He has a ridiculous high sex drive. Almost insatiable. Always ready for you when you need him.

Z= Zzz (How quickly do they fall asleep afterwards?)

He will wait for you to fall asleep. Norson will talk about mundane stuff with you. Cracking jokes and about things about your lives. He loves to watch you sleep as he holds you to his chest.

Hope you enjoyed this!

[comicbookuniversity]

Dragon Ball Super and the Future

by Bunnypwn Gold

I am a huge fan of Dragon Ball, as I have stated here before and as I have written about in the past. My love and knowledge of this franchise is deep, and I will always be ready to enjoy what it has in store and wrestle with the ideas in it. And right now, it’s a great time to be a fan, because Dragon Ball Super is going strong. The anime has come to a conclusion and/or could come back in the future, and the manga is approaching the climax of its newest story, the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga. It’s amazing for a lot of reasons that I’ll discuss as I respond to this article by Kofi Outlaw, which praises the saga for going back to DBZ style storytelling as a “course correction.” While I agree with several points in this article, I also disagree with the basic premise and argue that the author is only saying these things about the saga because he has not been paying attention to how consistently better the manga has been than the anime of Super. I am using this response to organize my thoughts on how Super has gone so far, the divide between the anime and manga version of events, and the future of the series as a whole, not as a pro or anti stance against Kofi or his article, to be clear.

At the beginning, Kofi criticizes Super for having low stakes and focusing on making Goku and Vegeta the sole focus, increasing their power levels dramatically and leaving other characters to languish. He also said that there were a lot of gimmick fights. Overall, the story structure had changed to reflect this change in character focus and the villains were weak and unmemorable. This new arc, featuring fan-favorite villain Planet-Eater Moro and a range of great battles with his bandits for the Z Fighters to show their stuff, is a return to the DBZ structure, and it features all the brutality and high stakes of the old days. Best of all, it lays the foundations for a new future focusing on other characters.

I have to say, I agree with much of this. The focus on Goku and Vegeta as “Gods” and their super-special Saiyan-ness in the meta canon is really annoying to me. Elements of this were seen in DBZ, as the humans and Piccolo stop trying to catch up to the Saiyans, and it was all GT was about, making that series a big disappointment for me. The first three stories of the Super era are notably low stakes, as well, and I would have liked a little more tension. There could have been more focus on other characters and a larger cast in general, and that certainly would have been enjoyable. And to finish it out, I am very excited for what the Moro story means for the future. The whole thing has a “last chance to shine” feel for the old guard of characters we’ve known and loved for years, Goku is probably going to master Ultra Instinct and thus complete his journey as a martial artist, and it still opens up a lot more about the history and lore of the series to explore in the future.

Beyond that, I have a lot to disagree with. For starters, if you look at the Tournament of Destroyers and the Tournament of Power and just see a bunch of “gimmicky fights” and no stakes, you’re missing the point. I always loved the tournament stories in Dragon Ball, and both of these Super tournaments deliver on that joy. The manga had a lot of important differences with the anime in how these tournaments went, too. Before the Tournament of Destroyers, the manga went through a condensed version of the Battle of Gods events, only offering one extension in the opening to give an actual benchmark on Goku’s strength so we know where we’re starting as a series, an important gift the anime and movie fail to deliver. It then time skips past the Resurrection ‘F’ story, which I think is sad, but ultimately serves the manga’s purposes. After Goku got his God form, the next thing we see, before the Tournament, is Goku training with a new master, showing that he’s back on the path to martial arts excellence. By skipping the Golden Frieza fight, the manga passed on a story that only shows off how cool Super Saiyan Blue looks (a term, by the way, the manga invented because it’s better); outside of showing off this new form, the Golden Frieza story adds nothing. As Goku and Vegeta enter the Tournament of Destroyers, they build a team entirely focused on power, and lose one of their strongest members because of a test of intelligence. To further drive home the point, Goku’s final battle with Hit ends with him realizing that his strength allows him to outmaneuver an innovative and amazing fighting technique, Time Skip. He then forfeits the match so he can have a real fight with Hit later, where Hit can try to kill Goku and has time to train beforehand, which sounds a lot like a DBZ style story. It’s the first step in Goku relearning that technique matters more than power. In the manga, they also gave more love to Piccolo. In the anime, they had him be effectively useless, barely able to fight Frost, a Frieza parallel. The manga had Piccolo fight evenly with Frost, who later shows that he’s almost an equal with Super Saiyan Goku; Piccolo lost because of poison, not because he “could never hope to beat a strong person.” It’s not as cool as it could have been, but it’s more than Piccolo ever got in the anime.

Now, I have to vehemently disagree that Zamasu was a weak, forgettable villain who existed solely as a gimmick. The Zamasu story carefully builds and delivers on the many themes of the franchise that I identify as atheist. Throughout the series, Toriyama repeatedly introduced gods of varying kinds and levels of divinity for the sole purpose of tearing down the illusion of their importance and special qualities. Gods in this world are a verifiable fact, and not only are they just people with a particular job, but every time Goku and Vegeta meet a god, they treat them like anyone else and show them no special respect or deference. Goku and Vegeta are the best exemplars in the series of treating deities like normal people, something the series itself does regularly. It’s one of my favorite parts of the series, as an atheist myself.

So, here we have Zamasu, a deity who believes that he’s uniquely capable and qualified to rule all of existence and that mortals aren’t worthy of life. In the Bible, on more than one occasion, God decided to wash the world clean of humans because they had become too sinful; similar stories exist in other religions and cultures. In this case, Zamasu is motivated by intense and literal hatred of mortals, who he sees as not simply having “become too sinful,” but fundamentally incapable of being anything else. He extends this hatred to other gods who want mortals to exist and do as they please. His rise in Future Trunks’s time to be the almost-almighty God with a Capital G is the antithesis of what the series has said about gods and divinity on every level, and that’s exactly why he’s such an amazing villain. He also checks a lot of other boxes. He uses the power of a mortal who made himself into a god, Goku, to kill the gods and overpower the mortals. He also relies on a mortal, Trunks, to develop his power and another, Dabura, to create the opening he needed to start his plan. In working to bring the downfall of all mortals, Zamasu in effect worships at the altar of mortals and relies on their miracles to succeed, just as Goku has trained with several deities on his path to success.

Trunks is also notable, because growing up, Trunks didn’t have any gods to look to like Goku did. The first “god” in Trunks’s life was Goku, as both his mother and teacher would talk about Goku as their main inspiration for hope. Goku was made into a mythical figure that could have fixed everything, and that’s exactly what Trunks used time travel for, both times he employed the strategy. That’s why Zamasu taking Goku’s body was so impactful, because “hope” came to kill him. Goku’s ultimate failure to defeat Zamasu also tears down the idea of Goku’s “divinity” in the same way as other gods were taken down a notch. This results in Goku calling on Zeno for help. The development of Goku and Zeno’s relationship is interesting and important in setting up the conflict of this story. They become friends because Goku is the only person who treats Zeno like he’s not special, which seems to confirm that Goku’s relationship to divinity is proper. At the same time, Goku doesn’t like Zeno, because he knows Zeno is just a bored shut-in and likely doesn’t understand Zeno’s role. And really, Zeno doesn’t have a role like the Gods of Destruction and the Supreme Kais. He’s in charge because he’s the most powerful and can destroy all of existence with a thought. That’s exactly what Zeno decides to do when he sees Zamasu and the multiverse he had been ignoring, getting rid of everything because he didn’t like how it turned out. Not unlike Zamasu with mortals; in effect, Zeno is the thing that Zamasu wanted to become, and that story ends with his vision of reality being carried out. It was the ingenuity of mortal time travel that made some form of happy ending, because like in every other Dragon Ball story, you can’t rely on the gods for most anything. So yeah, Zamasu is an amazing villain and his saga was brilliant. My main criticism of the manga version was that the setup was rushed, so the death of Future Bulma happened off panel and the death of the rest of the mortals in existence was breezed by. Plenty of brutality and high stakes, if you ask me, though yes, I wanted to see it with my own eyes more.

Then we get into the Tournament of Power, a great tournament story that really drives home the point of the god-centric Super run. The Tournament of Power, if you didn’t guess, isn’t about power. It’s about teamwork, strategy, and skill. In the manga, this is made absolutely clear. The downfall of everyone in the tournament is that they rejected this basic premise or were wiped out by someone who would later meet their downfall for rejecting this basic premise, setting up their incorrect view to be knocked down in the end. Goku brought Frieza onto Team Universe 7 because he feared they would need his raw power, ignoring the possibility they bring in Yamcha or Chaozu for a friendly face that works well with their team. Hit reappears and shows that he has gotten way stronger. However, he loses to Jiren, Goku’s main opponent, in the opening of the tournament because he was relying on that raw power and abdicated the potential of his famed fighting technique. Multiple times, stronger and more arrogant solo fighters regard those fighting as a team as being weak and no threat. The main exception to those relying on teamwork being weak is Gohan, who was very strong and wanted to work as a team. In the anime, Gohan was made inferior to Frieza and ultimately lost trying to beat a lesser opponent. In the manga, Gohan, in his Potential Unleashed state and not as a Super Saiyan of any form, fought evenly with Hybrid Super Saiyan Kefla, who I suspect was the second strongest person on the field, and double-KO’d with her. In the fight, it’s implied that Gohan could go Super Saiyan while using his Potential Unleashed state, but chose not to so he didn’t have to rely on that kind of gimmicky power. It’s incredibly badass and satisfying.

As the fight with Jiren nears its climax, Goku uses a strategy that could kill him in an attempt to overpower the foe who’s stronger than any God of Destruction. This prompts Roshi to step in and admonish Goku with the single most important line in Super. When Goku says he needs more power to beat Jiren, Roshi says, “Hmph…Power, y’say? Plain old fighting strength? Who the heck taught you that? Vegeta? Frieza?” This is a great moment, because not only does it push Goku to go for Ultra Instinct and focus on bettering himself as a martial artist once again, but it pushes back on the worst lessons fans take from the franchise. Goku isn’t cool because of his strength, and he’s not so strong because he can transform. It’s all about that martial artist’s journey, baby. Goku grew up constantly learning new ways to become a better martial artist than he was the previous day, and it was pure passion driving him; he got to where he is because he took every opportunity to better himself, with his transformations just a convenient way for the story to keep upping the stakes. Jiren is the pursuit of raw power incarnate, with indifference and constant dissatisfaction his reward, and all he wants is his dead master to tell him he’s finally a good fighter. He’s everything Goku was becoming, and Goku overcame him by returning to his roots. He was able to fight Jiren evenly with a technique that anyone, theoretically, could learn if they reached the same heights of martial arts mastery, as proven when Roshi uses an imperfect form of Ultra Instinct to trade blows with Jiren. The manga anchors this lesson because it focused on technique the whole time and built towards this moment: Super Saiyan God was just another technique that showed Goku he had a lot left to learn; the Tournament of Destroyers showed how boring life is when you’re so strong you can’t actually test yourself; Zamasu showed how power is corrupting and how the pursuit of it changes you; and the Tournament of Power shows how damaging and literally suicidal pursuing raw power over personal growth is.

And to put the nail on the coffin, Goku doesn’t beat Jiren with Ultra Instinct, but instead beats him by briefly working with Frieza; you can’t master the path of a martial artist in one fight. Android 17 wins the tournament for their universe by playing dead, an age-old strategy, and uses the Super Dragon Balls to wish back all the universes destroyed by Zeno. While that can be seen as lowering the stakes, it’s no more stake-lowering than any other time the Dragon Balls have been used this way in high-stakes stories, and the stakes in this case were the destruction of eight entire universes. That’s pretty darn high. Also, it’s a good time to point out that Zeno was the real villain of the Tournament of Power. He was going to destroy eight universes out of boredom, and then remembered he could instead let one survive by having them Hunger Games for his amusement. There are no stakes, no reason to fight, without Zeno. There’s going to be conflict with Zeno in the future, I’m sure of it.

The anime followed a very different route than the manga, focusing entirely on Goku’s raw power and how cool he is. They added a lot of filler moments to both increase the number of gimmick fights and silly, campy fun, too, which made the whole thing lower stakes and less brutal. As described in regards to Piccolo and Gohan, the anime also made other characters weaker compared to Goku and Vegeta to amplify the impact of their unique transformations. In the Tournament of Destroyers, the anime introduced the idea of Goku using Kaio-ken while Super Saiyan Blue, for no other reason than to let Goku use a bunch more strength after he proved he could win. I won’t get into it, because it’s a tangent, but the entire concept of Blue Kaio-ken is BS, and the DBZ anime is where the proof lies; the Super manga actually touches on that exact thing, since Goku trying something like Blue Kaio-ken against Jiren is what nearly kills him and prompts Roshi to step in. Anyway, the anime also elongated the Zamasu story with a series of gimmick fights meant to show off how cool the three Saiyans were, even though they knew from the start that none of them would beat Zamasu. That story featured a bunch of secretly alive people, too, lowering the stakes and overall brutality of Zamasu as a villain. The time between Zamasu and the Tournament of Power, including the lead-up to the tournament, was spent showcasing filler side stories that make the other characters, ignored for most of Super, look way cooler and stronger than they actually ended up being. For as much as I wanted to see more from Krillin, Tien, and Piccolo in the manga, at least Toyotaro didn’t jerk us around acting like they were going to be way bigger players than they were. And the way the anime presented Goku achieving Ultra Instinct was focused entirely on strength and treating it like a super cool new transformation, which it isn’t. So if you were watching that story, I could see how you come out of Super thinking that it’s less intense, more gimmicky, and glorified one or two characters to the detriment of others. That’s why I think you could only be as impressed with the Moro arc as a “course correction” if you’ve been paying attention to the anime and only just now got into the manga.

This brings and end to what I’ll call Phase 1 of Super and to a time skip past the battle with Broly (which I would argue was for the same reason the Golden Frieza battle was) and into the Moro arc, which I agree is a great story that brings back a lot of things Super wasn’t doing enough of. It even brings back the meta story structure of the Buu Saga, since the first part is a very Phase 1 storyline and the second half, after Goku and Vegeta are defeated, is much more of a DBZ storyline, just as Kofi described. It’s like saying, “Yeah, we want to pivot away from this, we’re done making that point.” Looking at the first part of the Moro arc, you can read it as a way of reinforcing the grand statement of Phase 1, that the constant jockeying for power and strength and the glorifying of a couple people to the detriment of others is a bad way to write a story. The reason that’s important to say is because that’s the way a lot of the meta canon has been going for a while, at least it seems to me; all the fun, original video game stories are about Saiyans and their super special Saiyan-ness and how super cool strong they can get. It’s why GT was such a disappointment to me, and as I said, it stopped several great characters from trying to become better during DBZ. I think Kofi is right to say moving away from that model of storytelling is a good and important shift in the right direction, though I can’t say if it’s for the same reasons. That’s because, if it’s not clear, I think that what Super did along the way in Phase 1, at least in the manga, was better, more important, and more complex than the simple glorification and valorization of Goku and Vegeta, loaded as it was with themes arguing against that model and continual demonstrations of why they need to switch back to a focus on their martial arts journey. The structure of the Moro arc only serves to reinforce and finalize this thematic argument. As it continues, we are undoubtedly in store for some truly amazing fights and a satisfying, climactic battle with Moro for the entire Dragon Gang.

I also want to make a very important point for how the series is moving forward. Kofi says that Toriyama is switching back to this DBZ style story because he “has learned a thing or two from his mistakes.” For one, the massive success of Super doesn’t really seem like a mistake for anyone to learn from. For two, it’s really in poor taste to imply that Toriyama is changing how he’s writing a story because of negative fan reaction. Allegedly, that sort of thing happened with the Buu Saga, which is why Goku came back and we saw Super Saiyan 3, the perfect continuation and parody of the Super Saiyan form, all because the fans didn’t like Gohan’s high school adventures. I don’t think that’s happening again, allegedly, and in my opinion it’s not exactly a good look to say that it is. For three, that almost literally can’t be what’s happening, because Toyotaro has much greater control over the narrative by now. For those who don’t know, the way Super is being created is that Akira Toriyama writes plot summaries, and then lets the different creatives develop it from there, free to add and subtract and move around what they will. The anime team decided to focus on power and how super cool Goku is, and that version of events reflects that. Toyotaro, artist and co-author of the manga, kept his eye on the martial arts journey while executing this long vision of Toriyama’s to introduce new levels of grandeur and warn against getting lost in it, and that version of events reflects that. Over the course of the series, each creative team was given increasingly greater control over the narrative, leading to greater divergences; the two Tournaments of Power might as well be two different stories. By now, in the Moro arc, with no competing anime version of the story, Toyotaro has much more authorial control than when he started, and that will only increase until, as I hope and predict, Toriyama officially hands off the series to Toyotaro’s capable hands so he can write new stories for the foreseeable future. So no, I don’t think it’s very accurate to say that Toriyama learned any lesson because Toyotaro is the one making the important changes in how the story is told, not Toriyama. Keep your eye on the prize, you know; forgetting Toyotaro’s role means forgetting that we can and probably will have new Dragon Ball that isn’t a video game or video game-related story after the passing of Toriyama. I think the long hiatus of the anime reinforces this: Toriyama has said that if the anime team followed Toyotaro’s lead, they wouldn’t make so many art mistakes, and allowing the manga to develop lead time could be a strategy to follow the manga as a source material in the future, rather than continue this confusing dual path.

So yeah, the Dragon Ball Super manga is better than the anime in every way, and judging the series by the anime alone is setting yourself up for disappointment. The Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga showcases an amazing villain for the franchise, and it sets up more to explore in a future that values the contributions of the full cast. It also, to my eyes, foreshadows the end of the road for the Dragon Gang we’ve been following so far, and thus a potential new beginning with their successors; I mean, there’s no more time after this between Beerus and meeting Uub to use, and meeting Uub is the moment Goku passes the baton to a successor. This is a time to look forward to that bright future and reflect on the themes the manga has been developing as we head into it, as well as what the two versions of Super mean for the franchise as a whole.

[kyluxtrashpit]

Hello naughty children, it’s 1 am rant time

So! My brain is slightly more together now than after the trailer first dropped and I’ve had some time to process all my Feels. I’ve settled on cautiously hopeful, with a hint of apprehension and a strong dose of ‘oh my god, this is really the end’. But overall, I think I feel pretty good about it, though it really raises more questions than answers. They meant it when they said ‘teaser’ lmao

(Rant is mostly positive, includes explicit discussion of what we’ve learned from the panel and the trailer. Some reservations and negative thoughts, plus a lot of speculation and touching on such controversial subjects as Reysky, Kylo redemption, and Hux in TLJ. Cut for length because I have no idea how to just use fewer words lmao)

I especially liked that it was so focused on Rey and that it’s a very clear torch-passing. Which, tbh, probably should’ve happened before now and did a little bit, but this really felt like the true moment of it. She’s the hero. She’s going to be a legend. I love that. Also that flip? Holy fuck. Slammed in the face by the reminder of how gay I am lmao. I have some Thoughts about it I’ll get into below, but from a visual point of view, it’s RAD AS HELL. I also love Finn and Poe featuring heavily and that the trio really does seem to be together for most of the movie. Which is nice. I think we need that. JJ said something in the panel about it being an ‘adventure’ and I think that feeling was captured well in the trailer. That part really excites me

Also! My boy! Kylo’s looking like a right hot mess and tbh I’m here for it lmao. I still have a strong urge to bathe him and kinda hope he doesn’t look like a depressed wreck of a human being for the entire movie, but still. I love my big messy boy. Also him just yeeting that dude into the ground? DAMN. I sometimes forget that Kylo is like… b i g. It’s a nice reminder. I also LOVE that the broken helmet rumour was real. That’s my fucking boy. I frequently tag him as ‘my precious disaster boy’ for a reason and I’m glad to see more of that. I would honestly probably lose interest in Kylo completely if he was ever like, calm and composed and not a complete fucking mess lmao. I kind of wish we’d seen just a touch more of him, but I know there’s more info to come and I still like that it focused heavily on the heroes for the first one. I imagine we’ll see more of him later

I’m… not really sure what to think of the Palpatine reveal. If he’s going to show up as a cameo of some sort, say as a Force ghost or something, then that’s pretty dang cool. If he’s going to show up as a ‘hello naughty children, it’s Force lightning time’ and take over as the main threat, I’d admittedly be disappointed. As much as I think a Kylo redemption is likely (and whether people like that or not, I’m indifferent and have made my peace with it as long as it’s done in an okay way) in no small part because Disney likes money, I still feel like replacing him with Palpatine is just… it feels derivative. We’ve had Palpatine before. A lot. 6 movies of him plus his appearances in the side materials. Do we really need more?

Now, there’s been heavy suggestion that there is some unknown threat that comes into this one and if that’s Palpatine, it would match up with the rumours. But I’d much rather it be something from his legacy with him only having a cameo. Because the really terrifying part about Palpatine is he had a plan for the continued survival of the Empire even in the case of his death. The Aftermath novels are really well done that way and tbh, especially with Chuck Wendig’s hinting on twitter, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see something from there come up. I mean, technically the entire First Order is Palpatine’s legacy. Something from his legacy could truly be anything and I like that possibility a lot more than just ‘oh damn, time to kill this asshole again’. Idk. We’ll have to see how that plays out

The title is also curious because it really confirms one of 2 possibilities: either Reysky, Kylo redemption, or both. Which, again, both of those are huge spoilers, so it’s an interesting choice to play for a title. That said, we don’t know which, so it doesn’t tell us definitively, I suppose, but still. And no, I don’t buy the theories about it referring to Luke or Anakin somehow returning; that would be stupid. We have new characters for a reason and they need to be the central focus. This is the same reason I’m not fond of Palpatine being the big bad; let the new villains shine. I also don’t believe it’s Leia because I doubt they had enough left over footage of Carrie to make that work

Of course, I would’ve enjoyed having a nice 0.2 seconds of the back of Hux’s head lmao, or even any info on the dark side characters at all because I’m a filthy villain fucker, but I’m not super upset about it. I’m kinda sad that Phasma is confirmed as dead, but I also expected that. My biggest hope for Hux is really that he gets to be scary and not treated as a joke, so I hope JJ really leans in to that. Let him have his moment. Let him be a credible threat because, really, he is. Tbh, I’d be more afraid of him as my nemesis than the vast majority of Star Wars villains. He’s got a higher kill count than anyone in all of Star Wars except maybe Palpatine himself (exact number of deaths due to the Clone Wars, the Empire’s rule, and the rebellion combined are unknown, but are probably in the billions, which would put him and Hux, terrifyingly, on the same level). It still throws me for a loop how often that’s forgotten, both by fandom and, sometimes, the official material. Hux is what happens when ambition, intelligence, ruthlessness, and fervent belief in a cause converge. I know he’s going to fail and he’s going to die in this one but, fuck, please let him die as the Starkiller instead of a ‘miscast tinkerer’. He deserves that much and, more importantly, so do I lmao. And Domhnall does too, tbh, because he’s a great actor who deserves better than being sidelined completely

(Another reason not to like Palpatine coming back: basically guarantees Hux has no role and gets completely forgotten because there’s a new big bad in town. I might actually cry if that happens)

I also know we will get more on the villains later, so we’ll just have to see how that pans out. As for other new stuff, Naomi Ackie’s character looks rad as fuck and I love her already. I’m also ECSTATIC to see Lando back. I fucking love Lando. And he finally got the Falcon back! Tbh I hope his role is rather significant and it’s kinda in line with Han’s role in TFA. I’m excited by that possibility. Also the Leia scenes… fuck. That hug with Rey fucked me up hard. I can’t believe we’re doing this without Carrie and it breaks my heart tbh

Another curious note: so we see a tie fighter that looks like a modified Silencer flying at Rey. We also see Kylo in a cockpit that definitely does not match the Silencer’s from TLJ. So it’s possible that was not actually Kylo flying at her, which raises some interesting questions. I saw some people saying they could see Poe’s jacket in the window but I think they’re full of shit and just seeing something they want to lmao. It remains to be seen who is actually flying it. The context of that scene is also odd: in what fucking universe does it make sense to use a SPACE craft with GUNS capable of atmospheric flight to run someone ON FOOT over from like 3 feet off the ground? It doesn’t. That’s stupid. That does make me think it’s possible it’s some sort of really risky training exercise, no matter who is behind the controls. I suppose it is possible that perhaps the guns were disabled somehow and the pilot is just going for broke, but the ship looks undamaged and that strategy still doesn’t make a lot of sense. The correct thing to do would be to come from above and crash it into the person while ejecting moments before impact, not chasing them like you’re driving a car. It’s dumb. I really hope that’s not real combat because it makes no damn sense to me lmao. Another reason lending to the training exercise idea: if I were Rey, I would’ve gone below, not above. She’s small. A tie fighter hovers. She would’ve fit under it easily and been able to slash from below without having to jump into the damn sky. Though, counterpoint: she has her lightsaber ignited and is turning to slash at the cockpit. Not really a nice thing to do to an ally of yours helping you train, hm? Idk. The scene looks cool as fuck, but the more I think about it, the more it bugs me tbh lmao

As a last thing… it’s really hitting me that this is it. This is the end of the Skywalker saga. Even though I know they have other stories planned with new characters at some point, imo, this is really the end of the true part of the franchise. How much am I really going to care about Star Wars without the familiar faces? After decades… this is really it. That’s… very bittersweet. I have loved these movies, always, but especially so in recent years (as evidenced by the existence of this blog lmao) and they’ve been a big part of my life. Yet here we are. And I just… I’m feeling melancholy about that in and of itself, but I also really, really want this to be a satisfying ending. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but I want it to fit. I want it to feel right. I want closure and I want this ending to do justice to these characters, including the main ones, the side ones, and the ones who came before but aren’t featured in this trilogy. That’s really what I’m aching for here. And I am cautiously hopeful, but I am also nervous. This is a very tall order and, while JJ is probably the person best qualified to give that to us, it doesn’t change how much of a challenge that is. It’s a lot. And… I am definitely sad about this being the end. Even if I love the movie and it’s amazing and lives up to all of my dreams, it will still end and this will be it. I honestly don’t know how I’m going to feel when that actually comes and it kinda scares me a little. But a satisfying ending would help soften the blow, so we shall see. Idk. I’m sad and a little scared just because of that, all other reservations aside

I think that’s all I’ve got for now? I’m excited for more and I don’t know if we’ll get much over the rest of celebration, but there might be snippets. I’d still like to see the Knights of Ren too, given that we’re pretty sure they’re in the movie but like… where? Lmao I want to know. Anyway. This is mostly word vomit, so don’t take it too seriously. My predictions could be way off base and we won’t know for a while so yeah. If you read this far, congrats and thanks for reading my rambling!

[awfully-sadistic]

Prompt #14: January 14, 2019

a different kind of holy

Implemented with today’s theme, Love.

Edited note: completed 1/15/19.

“They keep getting their heads stuck in these little holes.” Arthur Curry’s voice interrupted Dot’s day-dreaming thoughts. Aquaman had enlisted her help on cleaning up a particular patch of the beach that was covered in litter. And while the sea was a fantastic place, somewhere Dot went to to gather a little peace of mind or just admire the view, she was absolutely terrified about other aspects of the ocean and what lurked beneath. It was just a vast and seemingly never-ending expanse that rivaled the beauty and mystery of space. It still boggled her mind that they seemed to know more about space than what was in the ocean. Yet, as soon as night dropped, Dot knew she wasn’t going to stay in the water for long. Right now, she was waist deep and looking as her companion, Aquaman, held up one of the plastic ring holders for aluminium cans. Dot squinted and scrunched up her face in disgust. She couldn't understand how anyone could leave their trash in the ocean like this. Arthur looked just as disgusted.

Unlike most Atlanteans, Arthur had the know how and education of a human that had been raised on land. But what he couldn't understand was how humans operated sometimes, even being among them for so long. It was somewhat infuriating having to clean up after them but the ocean was Arthur's home and no one else was going to do anything about it. That was why most could see him going after whalers or even doing something as mundane as picking up the litter that lined some of the beaches he visited.

“People are so fucking disrespectful.” Dot said in disgust before Arthur turned the full weight of his stare at her. It wasn’t angry, but rather scolding.

“Language, little girl.”

She laughed nervously trying to ignore the deep voiced command, “S-Sorry.”

She was still getting used to him and couldn’t help her potty mouth, ever. In fact, she had been surprised he had even asked her to come along, not used to the notion that anyone from the DC-Verse knew who she was. Additionally, Dot hadn’t known Arthur for very long either nor as intimately as she had known some others at the Haushold. It took some getting used to holding in her eye rolls whenever anyone from the DC-Verse wanted her attention but it was jarring when she took a good look and realized she came up a little bit taller than Bruce Wayne’s elbow. How the fuck is everyone so tall in the Haus? Or perhaps she was shrinking?

Arthur just laughed, a masculine sound that matched the way he looked. He threw the offending item into the trash bag he was carrying and looked around.

“I think that’s it, starfish.”

Dot looked around as well. When they had first arrived, the beach had been covered with trash that washed up onto the sand and even had plastic bobbing around in the water. She was scared to go any further than this but she felt reassured when Arthur told her that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. He was Aquaman! There was literally no one else she could be safer with in the ocean. He talked to all manner of sea life, for crying out loud.

“And the little sea creatures aren’t hurt?” she asked, watching a few colorful fish swim by her feat. Normally disgusted by fish, these little ones looked like colorful gems that shone when the sun reflected off of them. The water was so clear, she had no problem at all enjoying the show. She suspected that had something to do with Arthur but she wouldn’t ask.

“Not at all, they thank you.” he smiled and said matter-of-fact. He was wading closer and Dot had to remind herself not to stare too hard. She had been safer before as he had been out in the water, much further than her and much at home, every so often breaching the water line and looking like something out of a playgirl magazine dripping wet and sparkling with droplets that slid down every defined, well built curve of his extremely toned, tanned, and tatted body. Of course he wouldn’t be wearing a shirt and she had to see every ripple, every strain, every intricate pattern when he moved.

She wasn’t complaining, not at all, but she didn’t think she could handle the heart palpitations. Instead, she focused on his words and the thought that she was helping the little ocean critters she could soon call friends. “That’s good, I was worried since you brought up that hole-y plastic thing.” she paused and then asked in confusion, “Do they have names?”

“A pain in the ass.” Arthur supplied.

Dot couldn’t help it, “Language.” she laughed.

“You got me there.”

His expression was soft as he smiled back and it made Dot a touch shy to be receiving it. She always mentioned she had a soft spot for Aquaman and felt he was dealt the short end; people always brought up that his power was useless. But they clearly didn’t know this man in front of her was capable of so much more. After all, she’s seen him push a beached whale back into the ocean with one hand. He had been her personal hero since then. Not that she’d admit that, not when he was still giving her such soft eyes. Those light blues were almost white when they caught the light, she knew he could see so much more than he claimed to be used under the sea. She felt like everything about her could be stripped away with one glance. 

“U-Um,” she shifted in the water with no direction for conversation, just to distract herself from looking at his face. She began stepping back as Arthur came to stand in front of her. He towered over her casting a shadow on her much smaller frame. It seemed to engulf her and she couldn’t help but shiver a little. Dot understood why men were sometimes chiseled in marble.

“Are you cold?” he asked, taking note of the shiver. He turned his head, looking around. “Maybe we should get out of the water. It is going to be dark soon.” He was too well aware of the fear Dot had of dark water and he didn’t want to have her in the water when the sun started to sink.

But that hadn’t been the reason for her shivers. She laughed nervously, keeping that knowledge to herself. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” she agreed because once she heard that it was getting dark, that was her cue. Arthur’s dreamy eyes or not, she couldn’t stand in the ocean at night. She turned with the intention on heading back to the beach but Arthur scooped her up with no effort whatsoever and switched the hand with the garbage bag for a better grip on Dot. She swallowed a noise of surprise as he tested her weight.

“Do you eat enough?”

“Y-Yeah, why?” she asked in the middle of wrapping her arms around his neck, perplexed.

“No reason.” Arthur said with a secretive looking smile. He used his strong legs to carry them across the water and when Dot looked down, it seemed he was practically gliding.

“How... do you do that?” she asked. Knowing it was probably a silly question to ask, she couldn’t help it because she had been so awed. She couldn’t have known what she sounded to Arthur who thought of a little kid amazed at a magic trick they had just witnessed.

“Magic,” he teased. 

Dot laughed softly and rested her head against his shoulder. Arthur would be hitting sand any moment now but she wished he could just carry her around in the water like this forever.

Arthur turned his head down, looking down at the top of her head. “Are you tired, little starfish?”

Dot didn’t think she was but wading about in the ocean took a lot out of a person. It was quite the work out! She nodded and as cliched as it seemed, yawned. She tried excusing it by waving a hand, “That was just bad timing, I swear I’m not laying it on thick.”

“Well, you’d be allowed.” Arthur told her. The corners of his lips were curling, but she couldn’t see the smirk there. “Being a little starfish and all.”

Dot couldn’t see Arthur’s face and she damn well hoped he couldn’t see hers. There was something about being reminded she was a little that warmed her middle and made her want to kick her legs. That put her in the head space really quickly and it certainly helped feeling petite and small in Arthur’s big, strong arms. She had no way of replying to that so she just made a little noise -- literally -- and slightly fidgeted in his arms.

When Arthur’s feet met the beach, he didn’t let Dot out of his arms despite her puzzled expression. He met it with a confident twist of the lips and a cocky sounding, “What? You didn’t expect me to put you down, did you?”

“A...A l-little,” she confessed a bit sheepishly.

“Well, that wouldn’t be Daddy-like of me, would it?”

Dot laughed, a nervous sound. It wasn’t that she was going to tell him no, but rather she couldn’t handle the idea of Arthur whisking a Daddy title away so easily; things like that had to be earned... not like he didn’t. He could definitely wear it like a crown -- if he had one, even.

“I g-guess not.”

“Good, just let me drop this trash into the proper bins and we can head home, back to the Haus.” he said, raising the trash bag he was still holding. It was a really short walk to one of the provided receptacles. “We’ll take a nice, hot bath and a nice, long nap.” he offered as he threw the garbage away.

The offer was incredibly tempting, especially the bath. She couldn’t -- wouldn’t -- argue with him so she nodded her head, the gesture seeming a little sleepy for her taste. Was she that tired? Or did Arthur allow her to feel that secure? She could argue that it was a little bit of both, but she didn’t even have time to ponder over that. She was doing the slow blink and before she realized it, started dozing off.

She couldn’t recall the flight back home -- which Arthur had explained to her when they had taken off that he was bestowed the gift by Poseidon. She didn’t even know he could fly! -- but when she opened her eyes again, she was at home. Arthur had gently woken her up in a gentle, loving manner.

“Did you want to skip the bath and just take a nap?” he asked her with a humored chuckle. He stared down at Dot as she bleary-eyed stared back.

“That sounds really nice,” she said, groggy. She yawned again, holding up a finger. “Timing.”

Arthur laughed. “It’s ...cute.”

“You’re cute,” she murmured back. Hell, she’ll “worry” about that comment when she’s fully awake. She felt the pressure of Arthur’s lips press against her forehead; a tender gesture before she felt him place her on her bed. Then she felt the bed shift while Arthur climbed in next to her. Strong arms wrapped around her and she was pulled into his solid chest which smelled like the sea; a scent she loved a lot.

“Dream of the sea, little one.” Arthur murmured into her hair before closing his eyes to follow right behind her.

[fatedcaniine]

Servant Alice Profile

Avenger Alice Almarias

Servant Details: True Name: Alice Almarias Servant Class: Avenger Region of Origin: Pennsylvania, USA Age: ??? Faceclaim: Aqua from Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep

Servant Parameters:

Strength : B+

Agility: A

Endurance: B+

Luck: D-

Mana: A-

Noble Phantasm: A++

Servant Skills:

Wrathful Dog Rank C

As a human forced into multiple life changing situations by a being above humanity, her body and mind slowly transformed even if she didn’t want them to. This skill acts similar to Mad Enhancement, increasing her strength as it also lowers her sanity in turn. However, it also transforms her body into a more monstrous form that she sees her own body as at times. This form is a mix of a werewolf, dragon, giant, and a demon. This form drains more prana from her Master the more transformed she becomes, and she can turn on her Master within a second if the transformation gets too far.

Disengagement Rank B-

The ability to withdraw from the battlefield in the midst of combat or reset the battle conditions. At this ranking, it has the bonus effect of returning battle conditions to what they were at the beginning of the match (1st turn) and restores the condition of this Skill to the initial value. As a unyielding warrior, she has learned when it is good to run away from a battle and when to continue to charge into combat as well. With this skill is at this rank, she is given a slight speed increase when she runs away from a battle.

Eye of the Mind (True) Rank A+

This skill is a heightened capacity for observation, refined through training, discipline and experience. A danger-avoidance ability that utilizes the intelligence collected up to the current time as the basis in order to predict the opponent’s activity and change the current situation. This is not a result of talent, but an overwhelming amount of combat experience. A weapon wielded by none other than a mortal, gained through tenacious training. So long there is even a 1% chance of a comeback, this ability greatly improves the chances of winning. At this rank, She is capable of calm analysis of the abilities of the opponent as well as the battle conditions even when in danger and deduce an appropriate course of action after considering all possibilities to escape from a predicament. Hundreds of thousands of fights of different kinds have given her the ability to understand how a fight will go and how a foe will act when they make movements of a combative nature.

Magic Resistance Rank D

While she was a normal human all of her lives, she gained plenty of knowledge on how magic works and how to protect herself from it. Though without the ability to call upon all of her years of skills and abilities, her protection from magic is less than what it normally would be if she was summoned at her peak.

Servant Noble Phantasm:

Castle Canem Diebus Fatalibus; A Castle of no Escape

A++ Rank, Anti-Unit

A large castle that reaches into the sky, where the outer walls are the least defensive of the entire castle. A courtyard with a single chair, a sleeping beast, and a woman covered in scars innumerable. The number of floors in this castle is hard to count, but they all are filled with corpses in many forms of decay. Some have barely decayed and only miss what they lost in life, while others have skin and muscle hanging onto the bone by a small amount of connective tissue. This is a Reality Marble based upon how she sees herself, how she wants to be even in life; locked away from anyone or anything that she could hurt by being around them. The person drawn into the Reality Marble ends up on the highest floor of the castle, unable to escape unless they make their way down to the Courtyard and kill the woman in the center.

Each floor of the castle is manned by a different Corpse that takes on a different classification that Servants can take on. Saber, Archer, Lancer, Assassin, Caster, Rider, and Berserker. To move down to the next floor, the Corpse with a Servant class must be killed, else they will never be allowed to escape as the corpse hunts them down to kill them.

The Castle, her visualization of it is based upon the Houska Castle, a place she once visited in life. A castle meant to defend the common man from the hole to Hell. A fitting place to keep the Dog from escaping and ruining the lives of those around her.

Servant Lines:

Summon

I am Avenger, though perhaps that is the best for a monster like me…

You can call me anything you want. So long as you fight for mankind, I’ll be by your side.

Level Up

I still like this feeling of getting stronger.

Ascension 1

Oh? This armor? It’s one of my favorite sets, Master.

Ascension 2

You… Still want me to be stronger? Are you sure?

Ascension 3

… I can’t tell… I can’t tell if you’re an idiot, or if you’re suicidal. Maybe both.

Ascension 4

I’ve lived for many years, Master. I’ve lost count of the years, seeing as each day was never the amount of time I wanted to deal with. But in the end, everything dies, even me. I wish… I really wish you were smart enough to not tempt Fate, but… Perhaps this is why I stand with you, Master. We’re both idiots who don’t listen to reason.

Battle Lines

Battle Start 1

Your Fate is sealed.

Battle Start 2

I hope you don’t hold back against me.

Skill 1

G-Grrraaagh!

Skill 2

Let’s see how you fight, eh?

Command Card 1

Oh?

Command Card 2

Very well.

Command Card 3

I know this will end it.

Noble Phantasm Card

Very well… Prepare yourself, monsters!

Attack 1

Haah!

Attack 2

Hrmph!

Attack 3

Huhn!

Extra Attack

You won’t survive this!

Noble Phantasm

Behold this castle. Behold the corpses. Behold your tomb. Rise up and assist me, my unending corpses! Castle Canem Diebus Fatalibus!!

Damage 1

Gah!

Damage 2

Damn, that hurts!

Incapacitated 1

D-Damn… Even now, I hate… Dying.

Incapacitated 2

T-thank… You...

Victory 1

I see. I still stand tall, against all odds.

Victory 2

Are you sure these foes were strong? They didn’t seem strong…

My Room Dialogue

Conversation 1

Are we going to be heading out soon, Master?

Conversation 2

I’m a Dog, Master. Eh? N-no of course I’m not actually a Dog! It’s a title!

Conversation 3

Even now, I can tell that the other Servants care for you. Am I really needed here then, with so many legends around you? I’m not even that well known, you know...

Conversation 4

Requires Hercules

I… You managed to summon him? Eh, do I know him? Of course I do! He’s my Sen- I mean he’s the first Dog of Fate to ever live. I look up to him, a warrior of whom I will never defeat.

Conversation 5

Requires Gilgamesh

You know, hearing of this man, I was expecting a bit more. The King of Heroes… He just throws weapons at people! I never throw swords! They need to be shoved right up your foe’s a- A-Ah! Forgive me Master. I got a bit too excited there, didn’t I?

Conversation 6

Requires any Servant with the Saberface attribute.

Um… Master? Why are there so many people with the same face? I mean… It gets kind of hard to tell who is who. Like… Is it normal for legends to share the same face? I’m not sure if that is normal.

Conversation 7

Requires Asagami Fujino

This girl… She’s very much like myself… She’s almost human, yet she’s a Servant. I… I wish she never had to suffer like I.

Conversation 8

Requires Merlin

… I met you once. I do not doubt you remember me. But… That tower… Can I go back there, someday? It was peaceful… Somewhere I felt safe… Please, just one more time.

Conversation 9

Requires Iskandar, Altria, Ozymandias, Cu, Leonardo, Cleopatra, Sherlock, Arjuna, Karma, Rama, Tesla, Drake

You know… Looking upon you… I know I’m at a disadvantage. I’ve killed gods, demons, angels and more. Yet… You stand as heroes of mankind. I… Even if I was a legend of my own, I still don’t stand a chance… God damn it…

Conversation 10

Requires EMIYA (not Alter)

Who are you? I swear I know who you are but… I keep drawing a blank. Pah, it doesn’t matter. We’re both fighting for our Master, for mankind. Besides, we both should work together, eh?

Conversation 11

Requires Aŋra Mainiiu

You… Even looking at you sickens me. All the World’s Evil… You certainly feel like that. If you try to kill a single human, I will not hesitate to turn you to a pile of blood and gore, you fucking abomination! Even if Master wants you here, I won’t hesitate!

Conversation 12

Requires Mash

Well, this is a surprise. I never see you around much, but you’re special. Don’t worry. If you ever want to relax and not fight, I’ll stand in your place. A hero needs to know when not to fight, after all.

Bond Level 1

Master, I hope you don’t mind if I made some effort to clean the room up. It was kind of a mess before.

Bond Level 2

Um, Master? Are you well? You seem to be tired. No? You’re fine? Alright then. Just… Try and slow down, kay?

Bond Level 3

I… I hope you know that you aren’t alone. I’ve felt alone many times, so I know what you may be feeling. So you should lean on them more than you lean on me at the moment, kay?

Bond Level 4

Why the hell are you getting close to me, Master? This is too much, alright!? Do you want the bastard to try and kill you!? Leave me alone, now! I’ll fight for you, but if you get any closer, I won’t stay here.

Bond Level 5

I… I can’t get you away from me. No matter what I tried, you just came back.

I, All my life I’ve had to deal with everything being taken from me by Fate. Everyone I was close to, everything I held dear, that bastard took it away from me. Yet… You stand there and tell me that you’ll keep me here.

Heh. You have to be a freaking idiot. But then again…

I’m just as big of an idiot as you, Master… No, (Your name here).

Likes

My likes? I do like peace, and I like food that isn’t stale.

Dislikes

Hate? Oh that’s simple. I hate Fate and anyone that thinks that life is ‘fated’ to happen such a way.

The Holy Grail

The Holy Grail eh? I would like to use it. But… It’s probably stupid, you know? I want to go back to the day I died… And wish my sister a happy birthday. I never got to do that, you know?

Event

Something’s going on, Master. I suggest you do what you feel is important and relax when you’re done.

Birthday

It’s… Your birthday? I… Oh dear god why the hell did you not tell me that it was coming up!? I need to get a cake and a card and so much shit for you! Next year you better warn me it’s coming up! I can’t have things happen just like my first life!

Servant Bond CE Text:

How many years has it been since I saw you last?

I don’t remember, really. I do remember your face, though.

You were so mad when I didn’t give you the chance to tell me what day it was.

You pouted so much. I kept interrupting you when you tried to tell me what was going on. You thought I was ignoring you…

I wasn’t.

I knew what day it was. I knew what you wanted to tell me. And I knew what I was doing. It was your birthday, little sister. And I was going to get your cake, your card, and the present that I ordered for you.

But I never got the chance. Because he took me away that day. He took me away because he wanted a Dog to use for his ‘experiments’. I never got the chance…

And now? Now I’ll never get that chance, ever again… Please Seras… Please forgive your dumb sister, who failed you on your thirteenth birthday. Please don’t hate me…

Happy birthday to you… Happy birthday to you… Happy birthday dear Seras… Happy birthday to you...

[placetobenation]

Honesty.

Let’s be honest with ourselves WWE Universe. The WWE has let us down.

With a chance to lead the way through the pandemic with fun, entertaining and new advances for their shows, talent and superstars, it seems like the WWE creative team has just chosen to take the Summer off. It’s too bad, because they are wasting a valuable opportunity. And now, with MLB, NBA and NHL all back playing as we head into August and the NFL ready to head back to training camps, the eyeballs are even more split on what to watch.

For the past five months, we’ve all been looking to watch the next WOW on TV and digital screens. The WWE could’ve used the opportunity to be fresh, innovative and edgy, things they’ve been known for in the past. Yet, it’s been show after show of the same ol’ predictable and formulaic shows.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the in-ring product has always been phenomenal. Let’s not take anything away from the women and men in the squared circle. It’s what they do to tell the story that’s been lacking. Let’s be honest again, the person with the best told story of the Summer has been Randy Orton. And after that, it’s been the Summer of Sasha and Bayla leading their own women’s revolution as the game’s best! It’s amazing that we’ve been met with 50-50 booking that have seen stars like Angel Garza, Andrade, Apollo Crews get stuck in mid-card status. There were a few signs of positivity which you’ll see in the show recaps, but there needs to be more!

Why the WWE has never come clean with its audience on the COVID-19 pandemic is beyond me! Why not tell people why Roman Reigns, Kevin Owens (at times), Crews, Renee Young and others haven’t been on TV. It’s ok to let us see behind the curtain folks! It would humanize and freshen the content. Plus, hearing Reigns talk about sacrificing his own career for the health of his family is compelling content, something the WWE needs more, not less of these days.

If you don’t believe things have gotten stale, here’s a reminder – coming up next week, we’ve got three title rematches coming your way.

Finally, the look of the shows is the same each and every week. Dark, small and in the Performance Center makes it look like you’re hiding the product. Having the same NXT up-and-comers be stand-ins for crowd each and every show is better than nothing, but could be improved. I do LOVE the “you suck” chants though!

I want the WWE to go back to having fun and not caring so much about every little thing affecting sponsors. Be bold, have common sense and take care of the details. With those changes, we could all be back loving the WWE again.

Honestly.

Horror Show at Extreme Rules – Recap I’m not going to waste too much time with this one. I’ll say this. The in-ring stuff was fine, especially with Drew McIntyre/Dolph Ziggler and Asuka/Sasha Banks before the end. The booking was terrible. Why ruin Asuka vs. Sasha with a ref bump (or mist!)? Why have an Eye for an Eye Match end with no eye being taken out? Why have Apollo Crews (rumored to have tested positive for COVID-19) out with an “injury” instead of telling the truth? Why have a Swamp Match include Alexa Bliss when she wasn’t there in the beginning with Braun Strowman (the Mixed Match Challenge was later)? Common sense was thrown out the window folks! And we’ll leave it at that.

STAR OF THE WEEK – Kairi Sane – We may not know how long she’s going to stay here in the United States as rumors of her returning to Japan are out there, but her win over Bayley is a highlight to be proud of! She’s been a bundle of excitement and a wonderful side kick to Asuka in the Kabuki Warriors. Thank you Kairi Sane!

Honorable Mention: Montez Ford and his unforgettable frogsplash to beat Angel Garza & Andrade was breathtaking! That dude is a future World Champion!

RAW

RESULTS

Seth Rollins defeated Aleister Black

Shelton Benjamin defeated R-Truth to win 24/7 Championship

Mustafa Ali, Ricochet & Cedric Alexander defeated Bobby Lashley, MVP & Shelton Benjamin

Ruby Riott defeated Peyton Royce

Non-Title RAW Tag Team Championship Match: The Street Profits defeated Andrade & Angel Garza

Unsanctioned Match: Randy Orton defeated The Big Show

Loved It:

Rollins vs. Black – A great back and forth and a match I really thought Black was going to pull out.

Hated It:

When IS enough enough, @WWERollins?! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/vGIuFEU9AS

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 21, 2020

Rollins vs. Black – What? No friends for Aleister Black?

Rollins’ lies – No Seth, we didn’t have any blood Sunday night and no we didn’t have an eye popped out of the socket of Rey Mysterio. Stop lying to us!

Welcome back:

This GIF will live forever.#WWERaw @AliWWE pic.twitter.com/eFQUC64pvy

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 21, 2020

Mustafa Ali – We haven’t seen Ali for months and it was awesome to see his athleticism return to Monday night! A win over MVP was a welcome sight too instead of the predictable job out of late for the team of Ricochet & Cedric Alexander.

SHE HAS SPOKEN.@StephMcMahon rules that @WWEAsuka and @SashaBanksWWE will compete for the #WWERaw #WomensTitle NEXT WEEK … and Sasha can lose by pinfall, submission, countout, disqualification, or even if anyone 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴. pic.twitter.com/qHn0P83ilI

— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2020

Stephanie McMahon – Even if it was through video on the big screen, it was good to see Steph return to put the RAW’s Women’s Championship back on Asuka and set a championship match for this upcoming Monday night. Monday nights are always bigger and better when the Princess is around.

AIN'T NO STOPPIN' HIM NOW.@Sheltyb803 just pinned @RonKillings to become the NEW #247Champion! #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/ChBAXgXqsE

— WWE (@WWE) July 21, 2020

Shelton Benjamin – Sure, he’s been around of late, but we welcome back to the Title picture with a 24/7 Championship victory over R-Truth. The Hurt Business is definitely in Shelton’s best interest as he joins ranks with MVP and Bobby Lashley.

Are they or aren’t they?

Andrade & Angel – Zelina Vega’s boys lost a non-title match to The Street Profits but say they are on the same page. I guess that meant they were on the same page to help Randy Orton take out The Big Show in the Unsanctioned Match and not in their own best interests. Their up and down weeks continue.

Meh:

Orton vs. Big Show – The buildup was better than the expected payoff, especially with no Ric Flair there.

Drew vs. Dolph II – Why exactly do we need it? As McIntyre said, he just beat Ziggler 24 hours ago.

NXT

RESULTS

Dexter Lumis defeated Killian Dain

Breezango defeated Ever-Rise

Shotzi Blackheart defeated Aliyah

NXT North American Qualifying Triple Threat Match: Bronson Reed defeated Johnny Gargano & Roderick Strong

Timothy Thatcher defeated Oney Lorcan

Karrion Kross defeated Dominik Dijakovic

Opportunity reigns:

NXT North American Title – With Keith Lee giving up his North American Championship, NXT is the land of opportunity (sorry SmackDown) as we’re getting a bevy of triple threat matches over the next few weeks to decide who will get into the Ladder Match at NXT TakeOver: XXX in August to decide the next champion.

Bronson Reed – Very happy to see Reed get his shot in the spotlight after his tasty triple threat victory over Johnny Gargano & Roderick Strong. Match of the night as Reed takes out two of NXT’s best in a very entertaining match. Anytime a big man like that comes flying off the top rope – WATCH OUT!. Well done Thicc Boi!

#Bronson2020 #WWENXT #NXTTakeOver @bronsonreedwwe pic.twitter.com/9gjoMDzsPo

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 23, 2020

.@WWEKarrionKross just made it PERSONAL. #WWENXT @RealKeithLee pic.twitter.com/V2ml418PZK

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 23, 2020

Kross vs. Lee – Diggin’ the slow build to Karrion Kross vs. Keith Lee for the NXT Championship. Having Lee watch Kross take out his BFF Dominik Dijakovic makes this personal right from the get go. Making the physicality wait makes it more and more worth the wait!

Nod to the Mountie:

Breezango – Nice touch by Breezango with the tribute to The Mountie before a win over Ever-Rise. Tyler Breeze and Fandango never fail to entertain in and out of the ring! A perfect fit in NXT is there for them.

Don’t get:

Timothy Thatcher – Count me as one who just doesn’t get the gimmick. Is there something I’m missing? Shouldn’t he have a bunch of minions by now to teach and be followed by?

Solid:

Shotzi vs. Aliyah – Shotzi is a sure bet week in and week out and Aliyah is getting better as well. Down the road, we need a hair match of Shotzi vs. Sasha too! And yes, give me more tank shots!

The brand gets bigger:

WOW. @RealMMartinez has officially joined The #RobertStoneBrand!#WWENXT @RobertStoneWWE @WWE_Aliyah pic.twitter.com/ogGnPvfCw0

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 23, 2020

Mercedes Martinez – Sure, The Robert Stone Brand snagged a big fish in Martinez, but we all know it’s only a matter of time before she’s kicking his ass for a big misstep!

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

Nikki Cross defeated Alexa Bliss – Cross wins shot at Bayley’s SmackDown Championship next week

Matt Riddle defeated Tony Nese

Fatal Four-Way Match: Gran Metalik defeated Shorty G, Drew Gulak and Lince Dorado to win shot at AJ Styles Intercontinental Championship next week

Bar Fight: Jeff Hardy defeated Sheamus

Loved it:

Last call for @WWESheamus.@JEFFHARDYBRAND wins the Bar Fight on #SmackDown! pic.twitter.com/oDyEPnZlXT

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) July 25, 2020

The Bar Fight – Sure, my expectations for it were low, but it had me hooked! I would’ve done without the commercial interruption too! But, all in all, it was a very good way to end a pretty good SmackDown. Jeff Hardy exercising his demons, complete with his face paint and evil eyes, flying off a ladder (of course Jeff Hardy finds a ladder in the storage closet!) to get the three count after the Swanton is fitting! Now, it should be time for Hardy to move on to a new feud, maybe for the I-C Title with Styles? I did like the little nod to Matt Hardy having to delete his WWE career too.

Looking forward:

.@AlexaBliss_WWE continues to PUNISH the injured ribs of @NikkiCrossWWE on #SmackDown! An opportunity at the SmackDown #WomensTitle is ON THE LINE! pic.twitter.com/mYQZpRapqa

— WWE (@WWE) July 25, 2020

Bliss vs. Cross – It was amusing to see Bayley pit Alexa Bliss against Nikki Cross for a shot at her title next week. It was fun to see the besties go at it again. Somehow, me thinks there’s a Little Miss Bliss heel turn coming that will cost her BFF another title shot next week. Well, at least I’m hoping. Because otherwise, I’m not that excited about another Bayley vs. Cross match.

A King’s Ransom – Love that King Corbin put out the King’s Ransom for anyone to put down Matt Riddle. There’s nothing like a good bounty in wrestling. Just ask the likes of Harley Race and Ric Flair!

"It's your time." – @TrueKofi to @WWEBigE #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/cTL3ZIVnRP

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) July 25, 2020

Big E – With Kofi Kingston’s injuries from the tables match at Extreme Rules putting him on the shelf for six weeks, it’s time for Big E to make a big-time title run! #PutYourMeatOnMyMeat

Fun in a Fatal Four-Way – Congrats to Gran Metalik for winning an I-C Title match next week against AJ Styles. He has no chance of winning but it will be a good match. Plus, the four-way got a tease of Drew Gulak vs. Shorty G too, which would entertain for us wrestling fans!

Reality:

Naomi in MizTV – Finally a little reality into the mix. Bringing Naomi’s #NaomiDeservesBetter internet squabble to TV. As we said at the top, the WWE has gotten far too predictable and formulaic during the pandemic instead of using it to try new things. Here’s hoping we continue moving forward.

Disappointing:

“It’s 𝙃𝙄𝙎 turn now. 𝙃𝙀 has been unleashed.” #SmackDown @WWEBrayWyatt pic.twitter.com/hAo84L8K2w

— WWE (@WWE) July 25, 2020

Firefly Fun House – Showing no ill effects from the Swamp Match, Bray Wyatt is fresh as a daisy for a new episode of the Firefly Fun House. And yet, Wyatt says The Fiend is unleashed? We’ve heard that before and yet it’s like he’s been muted lately. A wonderful gimmick has been neutered when he should run roughshod over the entire WWE. Well, we can dream, right?!

Where ya been?

Mandy & Otis – Did we really need a rehash? Maybe you could just tell us where Mr. Money in the Bank has been right? Instead, I’m sure we’ll get some more non-sense next Friday night.

Daniel Bryan – Did someone lock him in the writer’s room?

Parting Shots:

Welcome back Kayla Braxton! We’re happy to see her on TV healthy again after beating COVID-19. Up next, here’s hoping we see Renee Young soon as well.

Upcoming this week:

RAW: RAW Women’s Championship Match: Asuka vs. Sasha BanksWWE Championship Match – McIntyre picks the stipulation: Drew McIntyre vs. Dolph Ziggler

Timothy Thatcher.@DexterLumis. You've been warned.@FinnBalor has his eyes on the #WWENXT #NorthAmericanTitle. pic.twitter.com/e1u2GlOkCF

— WWE (@WWE) July 23, 2020

NXT: NXT North American Qualifying Triple Threat Match: Finn Balor vs. Dexter Lumis vs. Timothy Thatcher

SMACKDOWN: SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Bayley vs. Nikki Cross Intercontinental Championship Match: AJ Styles vs. Gran Metalik Naomi vs. Lacey Evans

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at jcrowe567@gmail.com. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND

[housebeleren]

Throne of Eldraine Draft Archetypes First Pass

I haven’t done one of these for a while, but I felt like it could be fun to run though my initial thoughts on the draft archetypes for Throne of Eldraine, looking at the cards previewed so far, paying particular attention to the multicolor “Signpost” cards that they print at Uncommon to point drafters in the right direction. So let’s dive right in and see what we’re dealing with.

Red/Green: Non-Humans Mid-Aggro

Okay, so we know that the R/G/U wedge is where they’ve concentrated the “non-humans” theme of the set, to contrast with R/W/B Knights. And, much like Ixalan did with Dinos & Pirates, my guess is that each of the two wedge themes in Eldraine are going to have 3 variants: An Aggro variant, a slower variant, and a more niche “theme” element. For the non-humans, my guess is that Red/Green is the likeliest to be aggressively slanted. And Grumgully here is definitely reinforcing that idea. He’s aggressively costed on his own, but the fact that he makes all your other creatures just come in bigger is a great sign that this is going to be the swinging-est of the non-human color pairings.

That said, it seems highly likely that non-humans will, on the whole, be less aggressive than the Knights wedge, so even if Red/Green is the most likely aggressive build for non-humans, it’s still not necessarily going to be the most aggro deck of the format. In the larger scheme of things, this is probably likely to be pretty midrange, poised to either go fast or go big, depending on what you draft and what your enemy is playing. So plan to be flexible and prioritize drafting creatures that are good stats for value, and you should be fine.

It’s a little early to start prioritizing cards, as most of the limited Commons haven’t been previewed yet, but so far this seems like the archetype where the Seven Dwarves deck is most likely to come together. Redcap Raiders also seems like it will be at its best here. Oh, and um, Keeper of Fables is an Uncommon for some reason, so definitely expect that card to show up in both Red/Green and the Green/Blue archetypes to run away with games.

Green/Blue: Non-Humans Ramp

This one seems pretty self-explanatory. Green & Blue frequently have some of the biggest creatures in a set, and having a signpost card that is a mana dork is a dead giveaway that this archetype cares about ramping into the big creatures as fast as possible. This is reinforced by the G/U hybrid creature, Thunderous Snapper, specifically calling out casting cards of CMC 5 or greater as its payoff.

Ramp decks are totally contingent on the format. My guess is there will be plenty of support to make it work here, but the trap people often fall into is drafting too many of the giant monsters and not enough enablers to get there. Early creatures that can gum up the board are also essential to a ramp deck, giving you the time to bring out the beaters.

I’d prioritize Rosethorn Acolyte more highly in this deck, as this is the most likely archetype to flex into 3 colors. Beanstalk Giant also seems to be a strong payoff for the archetype, and will be a great pickup early on. Again, Keeper of Fables is an Uncommon because someone at Wizards got drunk when they balanced it (the same person who made Risen Reef, presumably), and big kitty is going to be great in these colors, as Blue will give you access to fliers to peck through and draw you cards.

Red/Blue: Non-Humans Card Draw Matters

Okay, we don’t have the Red/Blue signpost card yet, but I think there’s enough previewed to speculate effectively here. Loch Dragon is an efficiently costed flier that immediately rummages on ETB, and keeps going every time he attacks. That, combined with the Uncommon Faerie Vandal, makes me think this archetype is focused on non-humans, but with a sub-theme of “drawing cards matters,” similar to how the color pair worked in Modern Horizons. I’ll need to see the signpost card and/or a similar Uncommon payoff in Red to be totally sure, but that’s what I’m thinking.

If that’s the case, I’d prioritize non-humans that have evasion and good abilities first, and go for the draw synergies second. Tome Raider seems great here as an on-tribe redeux of Cloudkin Seer, and this will be a deck that really wants Opt more than most. Turn into a Pumpkin is already great, but you’ll definitely want them here, and if you have enough good payoffs for the card draw element, but not a lot of non-human synergies, Merchant of the Vale seems pretty great. Hell, he seems pretty great regardless.

It’s definitely possible in decks like this to get too suckered into the “official” archetype thing, and to take cards that aren’t particularly good just because they say “draw a card” on them. Fortunately drawing cards is a good thing, but you don’t want a deck with only 3 creatures and a bunch of cantrips. 

Red/White: Knights Go-Wide

Okay, I’m going to be really honest here. The three Knights colors all look... basically the same. They all are just “Knights are aggressive and attack and other knights get better when this knight is out.” Seriously, that’s kinda the gist of the whole tribe. While non-humans have three very distinct archetypes by the look of it, Knights seem suuuuuper mix & match. 

That said, I’m interpreting the Lord effect in Red/White as a signal that go-wide is maybe in the cards here. There do seem to be Knight tokens in the set, as evidenced by Lonely Unicorn, so maybe there will be some more that we haven’t seen yet. But most of the White token makers are making 1/1 Humans. Silverflame Ritual seems like it’s trying to be the go-wide payoff for the Knights deck, but it could conceivably go just as well into the White/Black deck. Also, there’s Brimtone Trebuchet as a payoff for having lots of Knights enter the battlefield. So I dunno, I’m completely just guessing here. Hopefully we’ll find out some differentiation soon, because I’m really not looking forward to 3 decks that are just “All aggro all the time!” 

Of note, Weaselback Redcap is both a non-human and a Knight, which means it will play well into both themes. Relevant, as Red is the color shared by both themes.

White/Black: Knights Aggro

I mean, seriously. Looking at Deathtouch I’d normally say this theme feels defensive, but then it has an attack trigger on it that rewards you attacking with at least 2 Knights. So... what I’m reading here is that this wants you to go sideways with Knights. Fine.

It’s backed up by lots of aggressively costed Knights, including several with Adventure abilities, like Ardenvale Tactician and Order of Midnight, as well as Belle of the Brawl and Venerable Knight. Smitten Swordmaster also seems perfect in this build, as both an early Knight to start swinging with out the gates and a potential finisher if you draw him in a board stall. But again, all these cards could probably just as easily mix & match into the other archetypes in the wedge.

Red/Black: Knights Equipment

Okay, this seems to be a little bit different of a theme than the other combinations. This card is aggressively costed for Knights, and definitely favors attacking, like all the Knight archetypes. The Red/Black hybrid card, Elite Headhunter, allows you to sacrifice Creatures and, importantly, Artifacts, to deal damage to things, which is a cute way to utilize equipment that has outlived its usefulness. Black is also the color that overlaps with the major Food archetype, so that gives me thought that the Artifact typing may be relevant.

The aforementioned Smitten Swordmaster seems good here, as an early creature with a great ability to add equipment to, and this is probably exactly the home for Raging Redcap, who gets way better with equipment buffing him up. Brimstone Trebuchet is also in this color pair, as another Artifact and Knights payoff, so consider that.

But really, in the end, I think all the Knights cards from White, Black, and Red are all going to be basically mix & match, then knock yourself out with whatever pile you draft. In other words, I wouldn’t worry too much about what the color pair is “supposed” to do, and just draft good cards.

Green/White: Adventures

Alright... now we get to the archetypes that aren’t in the two big wedges. First up, Green/White Adventures. This one seems really straightforward and honestly... pretty damn good at first blush. Most Adventure cards are solid value as-is, and there are very few so far that I wouldn’t consider playable. Hell, they’re basically Kicker cards, and that’s a great comparison to have. Wandermare here, along with Edgewal Innkeeper and (presumably) a White counterpart payoff, want you to play Creatures that have Adventures, whether or not they “went on adventure” first. (Is it just me, or is that terminology really odd?)

Anyhoo, the good news is, as mentioned, Adventure cards seem good, so just jam them all in a deck and you should be set. In particular, I’m liking Ardenvale Tactician and Lonesome Unicorn at Common, but I’d be tentative about cards like Curious Pair if I didn’t also have Food synergies. Obviously, most of the Uncommon and Rare Adventure cards are pretty good.

White/Blue: Artifacts & Enchantments

This is a color combination that is so often just “fliers”, so it’s nice to see something different for the build. White/Blue cares about Artifacts and Enchantments. Shinechaser here is a bit anemic without any of either, but becomes on-curve with just one of the two, and quite potent with both. There are a number of other good payoffs, such as Animating Faerie and Shambling Suit, but I’d be cautious around All That Glitters if I didn’t have at least 5 or 6 relevant cards in the deck.

Obviously, your very best options to turn on your payoffs will be Artifacts and Enchantments that are also removal, and fortunately, there are several. Trapped in the Tower is at Common, and at Uncommon you have Glass Casket and Frogify, both of which will be high picks for all players, so grab them early and before payoffs, because the payoffs are much more likely to wheel than these.

This is also the one place I would consider cards like Henge Walker and Gingerbrute, though Clockwork Servant is good enough to make it into most decks regardless of synergies. Witching Well, Golden Egg, and Corridor Monitor are also acceptable playables here, but be careful not to have too many of them with no way to close out the game.

And honestly, if all else fails, draft fliers. They’re always good.

Blue/Black: Control + Cards in Graveyard Matters

Finally! A control archetype. Only time will tell if Control truly has a place in this format, but at least they are intending for one archetype to not be all creatures and attacking. The twist this time around is that there’s a “Cards in Graveyard Matters” theme tacked on, which adds another element. Now, cards will end up in Graveyards naturally, but there also do appear to be some ways to help get cards there early on to support cards like the awesome removal spell above.

Eye Collector is the only Common enabler I’ve seen previewed so far, but I would be shocked if there aren’t more, at least one in Blue. There is Overwhelmed Apprentice and Syr Konrad, the Grim at Uncommon, but there needs to be just a little more to make it really work. 

As for payoffs, Covetous Urge lets you steal the best card from their Graveyard and play it, while Order of Midnight and Cauldron’s Gift let you get your own dead back. Into the Story is a fabulous card draw spell that basically is only worth casting if you can get the discount, and, even though I normally don’t mention Rares here, this is the archetype that Vantress Gargoyle is aiming for. Also, if the control is strong enough, it is possible that Folio of Fancies can serve as a buildaround to enable a true mill deck, but my guess is that will be less frequent and many people will fall into the trap of trying to make it work.

One last note. Control decks need a win condition. So try to make sure you have something to win the game with. Obviously Lochmere Serpent is the best of the best in this regard, and I’d also consider Vantress Gargoyle and Clackbridge Troll as great options here. If you don’t open a good Rare to serve as a finisher, try to nab either of the Uncommon Legends, Syr Konrad the Grim or Syr Elenora, the Discerning, and they’ll get the job done. But moreso than other archetypes, this is one that typically does need a bomb or two to close it out.

Black/Green: Food

This one is super obvious. Black/Green cares about Food. There are tons of Food creators and things that sacrifice them for value. And the Savvy Hunter, who does both. She’s likely to be one of the best cards in your deck, so definitely snatch her up if you are even thinking this archetype might be open.

The danger with archetypes like this is that you’ll draft too many payoffs with not enough enablers, so be sure to grab some things that actually make Food so you have something to work with. The good news is plenty of them are highly playable, especially Bake into a Pie and Fierce Witchstalker at Common, both of which would be playable even without the Food text. Cards like this where the Food is an extra line of text are probably better than running actual Food cards like Gingerbrute if you can help it, though Golden Egg replaces itself so it’s probably good enough. I think Wolf’s Quarry would have been playable at 5 mana, but at 6 it just doesn’t seem to me like it has enough impact to matter. But time will tell.

As for payoffs, they’re basically all at Uncommon & Rare, so keep your eye open for them and don’t expect them to wheel. (Insatiable Appetite, for what it’s worth, is not a good enough payoff to win the game, but it’s a good trick regardless, and it’s better in this deck than anywhere else, so you should be able to get them late.) At Uncommon, you have Trail of Crumbs and Giant Opportunity in Green, the latter of which is an enabler as well, along with Bog Naughty in Black. It’s unclear to me at this stage if Cauldron Familiar will be playable or awful, but I’d give it a try to see if it works. With enough Food, who knows? And at Rare, there’s Wicked Wolf and Feasting Troll King, both of which are excellent in this build, with the Wolf just being a bomb anywhere. If you’re reaaaaaly heavy Black, you can run Elite Headhunter, but that’s a stretch if you’re not also playing Red. 

Wrap Up

So that’s it! First pass at the Limited archetypes for Throne of Eldraine. A few fun notes to keep in mind:

Food are Artifacts. This means that things that care about Artifacts (U/W) or can sacrifice Artifacts (B/G & B/R), can use Food.

Red is the only overlap color between the two major Wedges. That’s why there are some Red Non-Human Knights at all rarities, so you can pick them early and stay open to synergies.

Black typically has ways to get creatures back from the grave, and Green has at least one as well. If you draft any of the Adventure payoffs in Green, it’s possible there are some deep Adventure Creature recursion loops in the format. As it is, two Order of Midnight can loop each other, and if you have a Witch’s Oven, you can loop them as a Food engine, and that’s just in mono Black. Add in Edgewall Inkeeper and you’ve got a card draw engine. Sure, that sounds janky, but we’ve only seen half the set so far. There may be options for combos we don’t even realize yet.

Time will tell how viable these actually are, and which archetypes turn out to be different from the intended. But as of now, this looks pretty fun. I’m excited to draft the various non-humans decks, along with the Control deck & Food deck. What about you?

[soulthelalafell-blog]

TOP 10 Boss Fights in Final Fantasy XIV

First of all I would like to thank everyone on the Facebook Page “Jenova Server” for taking part in a poll to decide which Top 10 I would create here today and with a score of 14 votes the winner was Boss fights so here we go.

You join the game, You create your character, You pick your class and You set about your journey across the Land of Eorzea. You grind, You complete quests, You grind some more all the while hoping to become the best that you can all the while hoping that what you are doing is good enough...But how do you test yourself? WITH BOSSES OF COURSE!!! Like with all Final Fantasy games, A Good Boss can test your skill in a way that can show you were you have improved and where you need to work on and Final Fantasy XIV is no exception with some of the best mechanics that you will find from bosses in any RPG games to date in my opinion. So I here to rank my very own top 10 best Boss fights from the Land of Eorzea starting with... NUMBER 10 

LADY AMANDINE from Haukke Manor ​​

OK, I am sure some may be wondering why I would have this boss in the list but please hear me out.

Lady Amandine compared to most of the other bosses in the list is not a difficult boss but to me she was probably the first boss to a new player that gave you a decent challenge compared to all the bosses that came before her in the game. The fact you had to not only focus on her but on the 4 lanterns in the corners of the room meant that players had to learn to watch everything that was going on and not just the boss itself and as basically a teaser of what you could expect from future battles. That's why despite not being the hardest challenge, just the fact she was a lesson of what you need to start preparing for made her a excellent boss fight and worthy of a place on this list. NUMBER 9 GOBMACHINE G-VI from Brayflox's Longstop (Hard)​​

Similar to Lady Admandine, Gobmachine G-VI is not the toughest fight...just as long as you have the right kind of ability on hand before your team faces him. I mean we have all been in this position at least once with this boss, you are kicking its metal ass all over the arena thinking that this is just an easy encounter, he does his little bomb thing and after 2 seconds you panic because you realise no one on your team has an AOE attack that can knock them away from you *GASP*

I know it may not seem like much but this fight definitely teaches you to be well prepared before entering any dungeon better than any other encounter because I guarantee if you lost once to this boss you were into your action bar making sure you had some kind of AOE move ready for round 2.

NUMBER 8 KRAKEN from Hullbreaker Isle​​

A lot of people will probably call this boss annoying but if I am honest I absolutely love this calamari wannabe because once again its all about making sure to watch everything that is going on around you and making the correct decision through out so that you don't accidentally wipe your own team. The idea of the boss is simple, you got 5 platforms and 10 tentacles to cut down to size to win this fight - However you also have a chance of being giving a green aura that can be turned into a hurricane so you have to make sure you jump to another platform away from teammates and leave it there.

BUT there is also a chance you can be grabbed by a tentacles and thrown to a random platform where the hurricane will then activate and a good chance that you will be thrown back to the same platform as your team mates so you need up looking like a complete idiot. End of the day this boss is both annoying but a whole lot of fun too.

NUMBER 7 LAHABREA and IGEYORHM from The Aetherochemical Research Facility (ARF)​​

Another excellent boss fight in my eyes although may not count is as such since its really the set up for the big match up vs the Ascian Prime is this encounter between our old nemesis Lahabrea and the first female member of the Ascians, Igeyorhm. So why do I love this fight? Well if you seen the theme so far on this list I love having a mechanic we need to learn and be second nature  to us challenged in a way where we can say "We got this" or "We need to work on it" and in this case its DODGE!!! Yep, this boss will have to jumping in and out of abilities from both enemies as you learn to use your time well to heal, deal damage and everything else you need to do then dodge again and repeat the process until you attain victory. This boss is so good that half way through it throws you a curve ball and makes you learn to dodge whilst the floor is covered in ice so not only do you need to avoid an attack but you have to be careful not to accidentally slide into another one.

NUMBER 6

VISHAP from The Steps of Faith​​

So you think you have your DPS down to an art? You think you know how to deal the maximum amount of damage to an enemy? Well then lets see how you do against THIS boss shall we? Vishap is one huge MFing Dragon that starts from one end of the bridge towards Ishgard and will proceed to march his way to the gates in an attempt to destroy it thus securing victory for the Dragons and all you have to do is batter him before he can reach his destination...Simple right. Well yes once you get a hang of it this isn't as difficult but when you are first thrown into this fight it is definitely a wake up call to both you and anyone else in your team because this is the point you realise you may not be as strong as you should be, that you are not healing as much as you should be and you are not taking as much damage as you should be...

This is your wake up call and right now if you are level 60 with ilvl 270 then I am pretty sure you probably have this encounter to thank for motivating you to reach those heights in the first place.

NUMBER 5 FORGALL from The Weeping City of Mhach​​

You know what? Sometimes your list just has to give credit to a boss that no matter how good you are just somehow or someway has your number and for me that boss is Forgall from the WC raid. I seriously do not know why but for some reason I do not believe I have gotten through this encounter without dying at least once simply because I was unable to get to a green puddle to get gradual zombification so that I can survive Mega Death and although it annoys the hell out of me I have to tip my hat to this boss for giving me a challenge I need to overcome.

NUMBER 4 

CALCABRINA from The Antitower​​

A lot of people may not fully remember this boss by the name but if anyone says "Naked Loli Doll" then the nightmares start flowing back into your soul as you take your position in the corner rocking back and forth hoping she will disappear soon T_T

She starts as 6 miniature dolls (3 red and 3 blue) but once you defeat them she combine to become this creepy looking human version of Derpy from My Little Pony only she is not as adorable, she then has simple attacks that aren't necessarily dangerous but an ill prepared team could still find this challenging.

This boss was not a massive challenge in terms of the fight itself but actually looking at it creeps out a lot of players both old and new and thus has become memorable because of that.

NUMBER 3

NIDHOGG from The Aery​​

Nidhogg is possibly the best villain in the entire game to date because no matter how much you want to hate him for wanting to send the entire human race into extinction... You can not honestly blame him for any of it since it was them who betrayed his own kind and killed his sister in cold blood and even left him on the brink of death too.

But what makes this fight so good? Well it was the first fight I remember where you had to protect not only your own team mates but a fifth member in Estinien who it is no secret is actually a bit of an asshole and some people probably dislike him for his attitude and his blind belief that all dragons are monsters even when the evidence before him suggests this may not be completely true.

So having to defeat a boss that you can respect and having to aid someone you probably wouldn't feel bad for if they died makes for an interesting fight as you have to swallow any pride you may have to help the latter defeat this mighty foe "once and for all".

NUMBER 2 NAEL DEUS DARNUS from The Second Coil of Bahumet ​​

Possibly the hardest encounter back in A Realm Reborn, Nael provided a challenge to all players as they had to learn mechanics, timing, map positioning and how to fall orders perfectly or this boss would have you pulling out your hair in no time. from positioning the meteors correctly to making sure not to kill adds too quickly to simply standing the correct distance apart - This boss has very simple mechanics on paper but a margin of error that is near none existent that can be the difference between surviving this battle or wiping when all had been going so well for you.

This is one of a few boss battle that you honestly feel a sense of accomplishment when you finally defeat him and still feel that same accomplishment when you do it again and again and again thus making it a worthy second place. NUMBER 1

SOPHIA THE GODDESS from Containment Bay P1T6 (Extreme)​​

So you have complete the game, you have been training hard and learnt every aspect of the game that you feel you need to learn and now you need an encounter that truly says you have achieved something. Look no further than this boss fight Sophia EX is in my eyes the best boss that the game has to offer because everything you need to have learnt and mastered during the game is presented to you in this one fight - Map Awareness, Team Communication, Surroundings, Mechanics and so much more. Not to go into too much detail but you have to first know all the mechanics that this boss encounter will have to some degree, you will need to have someone willing to communicate certain aspects like the balance since this can wipe your team so easily at any time and even just simply making sure the time you have to deal damage to her is used properly makes this boss so good. I am not going to claim she is the hardest boss by a long shot but just for the fact she takes everything you need to know about all bosses and presents it in one glorious encounter makes her without question the best Boss fight in Final Fantasy XIV.

Well that was my top 10 boss fight list, what did you think? Who would you have as your top 3 boss fights in Final Fantasy XIV? Thank you again for Reading!!