#plot armor incarnate

[what-even-is-thiss]

Okay now that I’ve played the main quest of Morrowind myself I’ve decided yes I do think that your character is the nerevarine and not just a random guy.

The reason I think this is not just because of all the Azura stuff. Though I do think she would know seeing as she’s the literal god of prophecy. And the ring that kills everyone who isn’t Nerevar doesn’t kill you. And Dagoth Ur seems to think that you’re the Nerevarine. And so do all the ghosts in the cavern of the incarnate. But none of that is the main thing that convinced me.

The main thing that convinced me is the corprus plot point. The cure you’re given has killed every other patient and it kills every patient after you. It never works again. If you really truly are the special little guy from the prophecy then the universe has to keep you alive until you’ve done your job. You have in-universe plot armor and that moment where the corprus cure doesn’t kill you is proof.

[cupcakeslushie]

I love your Separated/EW AU! And I something I love so much about it is that it could qualify as its own TMNT iteration. With it having characters new and old from previous incarnations of the franchise or just completely original characters (like Kitsune?). And even changing up some things like making the Shedder an actual person instead of just a suit of armor and including Tigerclaw, Usagi and Timothy.

And I was wondering what inspired you to make the AU like this in the first place. Did you plan for it to get so big with its own plot and characters or did it just kinda… happen…?

No way did I ever think it would get this involved lol. I was and still am constantly shocked at how big this has grown. I do not tend to work on projects that require a long amount of focus. But this thing is so dear to me now, I can’t even imagine finishing it—even though obviously that’ll happen in some way at some point.

The adding of all the other iteration characters is really just due to me loving TMNT and wanting to include as much as I can from all the other versions I’ve enjoyed. I have fun imagining what they’d look like in Rise’s style, so I give it my best shot!

[silamander]

People who hate Joker and want to see him gone for good are so funny to me because they clearly don't understand why Joker is so important to the Batman mythos and why he's Batman's arch nemesis.

It's the duality that makes them interesting. And the fact that Joker is right in the sense that one bad day made the two of them who they are.

Joker is nihilism incarnate, he believes that life is one bad joke and that deep down everyone is capable of being just like him, they just have to be broken down to the point of no return. He believes it's humanity and the corrupt system it created that caused him to become who he is. So he doesn't feel bad about the horrible things he does because in his twisted mind it's all just a game, and it's what they deserve. Joker believes Batman is just as insane as he is, and he's not entirely wrong. To be the living embodiment of a strict form of justice and devoting your life to it is pretty insane. Bruce doesn't HAVE to be Batman, he's a billionaire, he can live his life any way he chooses, but he chooses to dedicate his life to his crusade.

I mean what is he? Stupid? (I'm so sorry)

But that's the thing. While Joker is the embodiment of nihilism and cynicism, Bruce is the exact opposite. Underneath the Batman persona, Bruce is a flawed, broken man who at his core is someone who doesn't want to see anyone suffer the way he's suffered, and doesn't want anyone to die if he can help prevent it. The reason he doesn't kill his worst enemies, as much as he really wants to, as insane as it is considering how it contradicts his goal of keeping Gotham safe when Arkham is quite literally a revolving door, isn't because he'd end up killing non-stop or some bullshit like that. No, the real reason is because of his parents death, Bruce believes in the absolute sacredness of human life. He believes that everyone deserves a chance to live, no matter how wicked. He believes that everyone can become a better person if they're willing to put in the work to do that, and deserves to at least try that and give them the help they need. And no matter how horrible, cursed, or doomed to forever be a city where crime will always run rampant Gotham is, Bruce never backs down on this belief, and will always fight for the people of Gotham. His one true superpower isn't his gadgets, or his money, or his plot armor, it's his empathy.

But Joker can't wrap his head around this. He's so deep into his own belief that everyone is just as insane as him but doesn't want to admit it, that he can't understand why he would save anyone of Gotham's rogues, especially himself, arguably the worst of them all. So Joker makes it his mission to break Batman, and drive him insane, to prove him wrong. To prove that no one is entirely good, and can be driven to the point of no return like he was, to go down a path of anarchy and mayhem. If he can push Gothams hero to insanity, then he can prove once and for all that he is right, and he'll have the last laugh.

The duality between them is one of the most interesting things I've ever seen (when it's written well, that is). Batman and Joker are two people who are so similar, yet they act in the complete opposite way. Joker kills anyone and everyone just for a laugh. He's a sadistic, narcissistic mass murderer who lacks any empathy for anyone and wants to see the world suffer the way he's suffered. Bruce will save anyone no matter how heinous their actions are, because he's a flawed, but well-intended man who believes everyone deserves a shot at redemption. He's a man who wants to prevent the suffering of others because if he couldn't save his parents, then he can at least try and save everyone else.

They're two sides of the same coin, and that's why they need each other.

[briarandhissecretgarden]

A Minecraft Movie Trailer Dive

Alright!! I have a hard time talking about things in a more real? manner like this but I feel like it's important to be honest and share thoughts.

So the Minecraft movie trailer is a trailer that exists and it's incredibly upsetting to say the least. i had always had hopes of it being entirely animated and be a sort fo film version of Minecraft: Story Mode but it's clearly not that at all. It's a shame too, it's incredibly disappointing to know it's live action as I am a HUGE advocate for animated movies and blockbusters and such. I think Minecraft is a game that is so fantastical and developed and normalized within it's own plane of existence that trying to translate it as anything other than an animated movie fundamentally goes against what the game is supposed to be.

Minecraft is creativity incarnate. It is a canvas for you to do quite literally anything with. And i think turning it into a pathetic cash grab live action movie is about as hard away as you can get from it's core values. You lazily slap real people to into the game to mock and laugh at and disrupt the flow of it's own universe. Treating this game as if it is nothing but a child' plaything despite the fact that people of any age can play it and find joy and excitement. I think the jokes and the overall childish view of the game is disgusting I think it belittles it, I think Minecraft as a whole, encourages all ages and helps develop personal understanding of the world around us and our own ideals. Maybe we'd like to build a large house, go on, here are hundreds of blocks to choose from! Loads of colors, be free!!! Perhaps you'd like to calm down and play with friends or even challenge yourselves, go on with multiplayer! There's servers and achievements!!! There's plenty of things to do. And I think one of the most important things is that, none of this is wrong or weird. None of this is an incorrect way of playing, nothing you do is bad. This isn't supposed to be humbling this isn't supposed to be stressful or something to laugh at. Your desires and plans are valid.

Perhaps as an autistic individual myself, I find that so comforting. I understand it's just a movie, but it's a movie that fundamentally gets everything wrong about this lovely game. I don't understand how these trailers and jokes and plot points are treated as if it's okay to be bad if it's for children. It's saddening.

Either way, moving onto a different subject that I have much more knowledge about and care too much of, the Piglins.

This trailer shows off that Piglins are meant to be the main antagonists, as well as the The Seer having a role in the plot. I have many problems with this, and I will be discussing this through the lens of my own experiences, especially as it comes to my race. (I am latino for those who don't know)

First things first, no, the Piglins aren't evil by any means. I know a lot of media has a very black and white view of them but honestly, take a moment to think about this.

Piglins are minding their business, having fun, living their lives, when a bunch of explorers come barging into their home, exploiting them for their willingness to barter, stealing their valuables right from their houses, and on top of that, being killed and hurt because they dare fight back and attempt to protect one another.

To me, it's incredibly disheartening to see Piglins being portrayed as some kind of aggressors, savages and barbaric monsters all because they want to protect their way of life. I don't understand how emotionless people seem to act toward them. They aren't even physically accurate to the game models. They wear clothes, they use tools, they talk amongst themselves. It's very disgusting to see how this group that is CLEARLY INTELLIGENT BTW (they make music, tools, clothes, armor, buildings, homes and have a complex social system) being drawn and shown in less clothes, more violent tendencies, a more destroyed home and life, even showing violence among themselves to portray them as anything other than the interesting and complex species they are.

I'm just tired of the racist undertones that most Piglin plots seem to have. I find it insulting to them, i find it concerning regarding the language used. 'barbaric' 'crude' 'savage'

Just makes me angry.

[yannaryartside]

I am tired of Sydney being a “knight in shining armor” for these immature men

The trailer of s3 made me reflect on a big problem with the show for me so far. The use of Sydney on the plot overall and in the character arcs of men. This is a rant, if you happen to be on the side of the fandom that think these men are perfect and Syd is valued as their support, feel free to scroll.

Part 1: the woman

Sydney Adamu is insecure on her leader/social skills and her creative habilities. That, and her kindness, is what makes the audience root for her. She is releatable but most important she is real, she has taken it impulse by impulse, creating on the fly ways to succeed in a industry not very welcoming to people with her personality (or that look like her). All of that makes sense in a story of an underdog.

But yet, the show has normalized at this point how much shit she takes from a group of really emotionally immature people. And how much they expect her to figure it out answers to the problems that they themselves cause.

Thinking about it like an animal getting into a new pack without the capacity to defend herself from any attack. The shitshow she tolerated in s1 has never been properly addressed and it seems like the worst storm is yet to come in s3. She fixed the logistics of the beef and implemented a hierarchy. Things that Carmy was incapable of doing due to his story with the staff and his own mental turmoil. In s2, she was the only professional chef actively making decisions and efforts in the future of the restaurant. Carmy even reprimanded her for not making the decisions he was supposed to do. And she reminded him “you wanted the final say, this is on you)

Syd is not helpless in any way, but she has applied kindness and fairness most of the time to this point, and I wonder if this time that is gonna cut it. I am mostly tired to get her back to that scenario again. If anything, the part that got me the most excited of Richie’s redemption is how she could actually rely on him. And then it came the trailer.

Part 2: the men

The part that got my blood boiling in the trailer is the response “Show me a functional one” from Richie and Carmy.

We are in season 3, and with all the growth and all those balls, these men seem to expect her to fix an issue, wich core is actually their own emotional immaturity. I am sick of it. “Mother, maid, therapist”🎶

She must deal with Carmy’s recklessness and the fight between him and Richie. A very green new staff and a unqualified old staff mostly. All of that creates the dysfunctionality in question, and I wonder where her character will go to resolve it. The restaurant had a shaky base (particularly on front house staff and line cooks) and now Carmy is getting on everyone’s nerves. Putting fire to an already unstable chemical.

Part 3: Heroine’s Journey

It would take a pro to resolve all of this shit, and the people involved (and responsible for the problem) turn to this young, inexperienced woman for guidance and answers because the only person in the kitchen with actual industry experience is trapped in his own destroying tendencies.

That is not only the underdog story that is human vs forces of nature, another common plot structure. Forces of nature incarnated in unstable men and our hero is a woman. That is so fucked up and yet so real. That is the value I give to this scenario.

I really don't think that, besides Tina and Nat, there is a single member if that kitchen aware of how much Syd was alone last season picking Carmy’s slack. And even they were barely able to help her. Everybody else was to happy for Carmy loosing his virginity apparently. All this scenario could very well repeat itself this season on how much they are insisting on Claire and Carmy getting back together.

I know the show is about leaving toxic cycles and the people who can help you get better. Sydney is supposed to be made from a different matter than the Bearzattos because otherwise, the toxicity will continue. I just wish she could coldly let them know how much of a pest they can be sometimes. And not be treated as unfair because she left her “role” in creating a new system. Anger is boundarie setting emotion and it can be very constructive, and expressed without the chaos of the Bearzattos. She did this in s1 and if done again I think this time the general audience (except the racist/misogynistic obviously) will understand that this tough love is necessary as well.

Let's not normalize (in this show) women taking shit to be good women and a reward for seeing the potential of men. It is not like society is not doing that for us already.

Sydney is not a punching bag, and she knows it, she definitely will stand her ground this season, wich can be very encouraging to young woman entering a workforce that is not designed to support them. I think she will go to Ember to work closely with Chef Terry (Olivia Coleman) to get knowledge of how women can shape this toxic places. It will be her version of forks. The toxicity may escalate to a turning point for her. She tolerated (and transformed) s1 and s2, we know what is in her heart. The point will definitely come, because this is the time for evolving or dying, for everyone.

But again, I need these men (besides you, Marcus, you are going to be her rock) to start taking responsibility for the shit they are fucking up. That would be nice. I am sure there will be moments of it since this growth is literally the show's theme. I am just kind of tired of the “Mother, maid, therapist🎶” undertone of it all. It could be applied to Nat and Tina as well.

[urlocallesbiab]

Francis Cardenas, "The boy", as a trope personified:

So, a lot of us have noticed that DGHDA's holistics function as fiction tropes in-universe, bending the expectations of normalcy and reason of those around them for the benefit of "the narrative"/the universe and fate itself. They're more than just tropes applied — they're tropes incarnate, made real and tangible within the confines of the story, interacting with it on a somewhat metatextual level. We've got:

Dirk Gently as "main character syndrome"

Bart Curlish as "plot armor"

The Rowdy 3 as "deus ex machina van"

Mona Wilder as "swiss army weapon"

So, what does Francis stand for, with his god-like powers of bringing dreams and fantasies to life?

I think he's "the inciting incident".

Look at it:

He's the center of the Cardenas case (none of the deaths and disappearances would've happened if he didn't have his powers).

He's the reason the dimension of Wendimoor and its people exist at all.

He's the first ever project of Blackbook, the predecessor of Blackwing; in a way, he's the reason Blackwing exists.

And, as @goatyoat helpfully pointed out, Friedkin moving him was, chronologically speaking, the inciting incident of season 2 itself!

So, there you have it, QED *bows*

[scalproie]

Literally watched all of S2 last night and I dont feel like doing individual reactions sooo

All of S1:E26 was me pointing at gay people on my screen and going "hey thats from the little dark age amv"

The orion pax arc is still literally so funny. Later episodes show that there was NO REASON to keep optimus/orion alive bc soundwave and THE FUCKING SHIP can also decode the locations of the mcguffins, megatron literally couldve won the war here and there what the hell. it took meg all of 0.5 seconds after he heard his former boytoy utter his name to try and find excuses to keep him around. Also making him call you "my lord"? I Know What You Are.

And apparently optimus/orion stayed on the nemesis for two months which is crazy to me bc megatron cannot improvise to save his fucking life what do you MEAN warlord ratchet??? YOU HAVE ULTRA MAGNUS IN YOUR FILES

It was funny tho bc meg heard ratchet say "I am your doctor of doom" and thought Hey thats pretty good and then make a callback to that when telling optimus/orion ratchet is evil incarnate

Extra hilarious to me that it partially ended bc starscream went to the nemesis to raid the fridge. [Megatron voice] this plane does nothing but ruin my life

The episodes where they send arcee and jin kazama to cybertron was pretty cool i did like the vibe it really felt alien ruins-like

You can tell the experience fucked optimus a little bc first episode after the season opening and peepaw is ready to consider warcrimes

Next was the "bumblebee gets his kidney stolen" arc and I have nothing to say other than it was funny when of course it ends in starscream getting his kidney stolen

Ok I do have some stuff to say actually, we trash on the cons a lot bc theyre disloyal assholes, but when a bot is told to stay at the base for valid reasons, they bitch and moan and end up disobeying anyway and never get punished severely by peepaw optimus bc them not following orders ALWAYS works in their favor

Megatron goes "Nu-uh-uh!" in S2:E5

Im always just so happy when meg is on screen ngl he is such a massive asshole bastard🩶

Dreadwing's cool I like how he just has a fucking flip phone to dramatically blow shit up

Everytime I see wheeljack im like oh god if the show has been made just a few years later he wouldve been drift

I FORGOT HOW QUICKLY BREAKDOWN DIED fanon will really build a castle out of 4 twigs huh. and the castle sucks ass anyway

Airachnid slayed and she was gone too soon

They lowballed megatron so hard in the episode where he was struggling against one (1) insecticon BUT. he was sexy in this ep. To me. Not to optimus anymore😔

Nemesis prime was well-introduced in the show but this is hysterical to me that THIS is the show that has the "evil double of optimus" concept

Every episode with starscream after he loses his cog is excellent and you have no idea how much it pains me to admit that

S2:E10-E11 is just megatron and the gang having the weirdest fucking day and it might be my fav eps. I think I just love watching the cons do shit. Megatron killed starscream four times, fought an army of bugs and then gave drugs to his ship

Knockout and megatron's banter is surprisingly always very entertaining. I think meg just like bouncing off of a little jester

The four relics episode are kinda whatever BUT they did gave us the one (1) soundwave focused episode and whaddayaknow he was extremely sexy and competent and it was funny to see him being treated like megatron's special boy&bird

Also bulkhead continue to have plot armor thicker than the apex armor like come on in every single one of his episodes he comes just this close to death

SHOOOOOOOOOCKWAAAAAAAAAVE

I was waiting to see smokescreen's episodes before judging but now that I did I can safely say *drops to my knees sobbing* IT SHOULD BEEN HOT RODDDDDDDDD

At least his friendship with jin kazama was cute, like that "green for go" was cute

Silas ditching his highly competent human crew to sucker up to megatron really felt like they had no idea what to do with his character anymore bc what??? Like okay you remove a third faction to focus more on the main ones but still

I fucking love S2:E20 bc 1) just throw some more mystical stuff at optimus like go full arthurian stories now, 2) lots of megatron action and 3) "drop the mountain on him"

I know its likely an animation lighting thing and optimus simply could not be based like that in the first place but conceptually it is absolutely hysterical to me that after slicing effortlessly a mountain in half, making megatron look like THIS

Optimus then look straight up at the camera and fucking winks at him

And then immediately after that, megatron going "decepticons, we are so fucked."

And THEN next episode is literally "MEGATRON YOU CRAZY BITCH" like come dreadwing lets desecrate a demigod's tomb

He fucking sucks at naming stuff tho bc dark star saber??? Come on man

The rest of the omega keys episodes are also whatever but fucking hell if the whole Peter Cullen speaking in slow motion and Steve Blum mimicking that didnt get to me hard

The last starscream episode tho? Screamer cringe compilation while hes having the worst job interview of his life, of course i loved it

MEGATRON NOOO YOU KILLED THE WRONG PLANE

But again, hilarious that for the season finale megatron went "alright guys no more fucking around" and they basically won. That one moment where meg, screamer, KO all laughing maniacally together with soundwave just shaking in silent laughter with them was really funny. Only shocky is missing for the decepticon high command reunion

I really liked the moment where raf, miko and jin kazama were like "the autobots are ready to sacrifice their life for our planet, im ready to do the same for theirs" idk thats really brave and it struck me

Optimus chopping megatron's arm was really fucking cold

SILVER ERADICONSSSSSS

They blew up the autobot base like the white house in shadow the hedgehog

Overall, a lot of my favorite episodes are in this season so👍 #megatronsweep

[xbuster]

shut up, you're such a pick me woman

Nightmare (ナイトメア, Naitomea) is the main antagonist of the Soul series. He made his first appearance in Soul Edge, with his proper debut being in Soulcalibur. He is the host, wielder and living incarnation of the cursed sword, Soul Edge, the objective of most other characters in the story.

Nightmare has been portrayed in the games as a violent and ruthless creature, constantly in search of souls to restore Soul Edge. He looks down on humans, considering them "pathetic" and "foolish", having no mercy for others, even to those who fail to serve him, as shown to the members of his Schwarzstrom team who he treated as pawns. The only one who he treats with some respect is Tira for being just as violent as him, however he has still thought about taking her soul on occasion. His incarnation in V wants to take over the world rather than destroy it.

Nightmare has been present in one form or another due to him being an animated armor, his possessing of bodies or the power of Soul Edge keeping him alive in most games after. No matter the host Nightmare always has the same personality, though he only seems to form if the sword is wielded by a special man.

The Nightmare seen in Soul Edge, Soulcalibur, Soulcalibur II, and Soulcalibur VI is Siegfried Schtauffen, possessed by the cursed sword at the end of Soul Edge.

In the Soulcalibur: Spirit Sword manhua, Kilik and later Astaroth are possessed by Soul Edge after Siegfried and become Nightmare.

The Nightmare appearing in Soulcalibur III, Soulcalibur Legends, and Soulcalibur IV is Inferno possessing Siegfried's discarded armor.

The Nightmare appearing in Soulcalibur V, Soulcalibur: Lost Swords, and Soulcalibur: Unbreakable Soul is Soul Edge possessing the body of Raphael and plotting behind the scenes under the alias "Graf Dumas" as he plans to resurrect the full power of Soul Edge.

True to his nickname, Nightmare appears as a dark figure covered in dark blue armor that covers most of his body. His prominent feature is his right arm, which has been twisted and transformed into a large three-digit claw whose flesh overlaps his entire right arm and shoulder. He is depicted with Soul Edge in his left hand, symbolizing his polarity with Siegfried. Over the years, his appearance has progressively grown more and more demonic, as influenced by the state of Soul Edge himself. During the events of Soulcalibur, he was simply a suit of armor with a giant arm and horned helmet. In Soulcalibur II, Nightmare's armor changes design, now sporting long red hair from the back with bat wing-like ornaments on the sides replacing the horn. With a body to call his own at last, Nightmare returned to a suit similar to his original Soulcalibur variant, although slightly re-vamped, in Soulcalibur III, with the claw having stretched over his chest plate, possessing a rudimentary jaw lined with sharp teeth both on his shoulder and chest.

As of Soulcalibur IV, Nightmare seems to have degraded into a body of dark energy. What was once flesh has now fully transformed into a compound of metal and bone. The mouth covering the chestplate from before has split open around his entire waist, connecting the legs and torso with a torrent of evil energy. The armor appears fused to his claw and much more metallic in appearance. No longer using Siegfried, the alternate costumes are much more severe in mutation. His alternate outfit in Soulcalibur IV displays traits similar to Night Terror.

Following the destruction of the original Nightmare, Soul Edge obtains a new host in Soulcalibur V, resulting in the rise of a new Nightmare. His design returns to a more traditional look best likened to his appearance in Soulcalibur II. He retains the long horn on his helmet from his other designs, and both the horn and parts of his arm display a menacing orange glow. Despite having a new host, he retains his fighting style from past games. Soul Edge, like Nightmare himself, has also reverted to a design more like its appearance in earlier titles, despite having a different official design for the game. In Legendary Souls, the Soulcalibur IV version of Nightmare appears as one of the opponents, albeit the dark energy and smoke being replaced with flames, resembling Inferno to an extent.

In Soulcalibur VI, Nightmare is given a redesign from his Soulcalibur appearance, not only featuring yellow trims from his later designs, but now having upward-facing fins on his helmet and his breastplate being pointed. He also now wears a cape, similar to an art render from Soulcalibur's Art Gallery. As the game features battle damage, Nightmare's helmet can be knocked off, revealing Siegfried's face and shoulder-length blond hair underneath, though his eyes continue to produce the same glow.

In the spin off Soulcalibur Legends, Nightmare's appearance is taken from Soulcalibur III but it noticeably more demonic, with his greaves having developed talons and his right leg having taken on the form of a large jaw, similar to his right shoulder.

Even though Nightmare originally debuted in Soulcalibur, there was a "prototype" of his character in Soul Edge. In the home version, an extra character named Siegfried! was added as an unlockable character. Siegfried! was an alternate version of normal Siegfried taken from his no-input ending, in which he is consumed by Soul Edge. This early version was very different from the current Nightmare, having crimson-red armor and a more flesh-like design with no mutated Nightmare Arm. He has no story nor ending, and only used Siegfried's Soul Edge without effects. Oddly, he uses the same voice actor as Siegfried.

In Soulcalibur, the concept was expanded and turned into an official character, though with changes to the design. His red armor was changed to a dark blue armor and its design turned more metallic instead of fleshy. This was also the first appearance of the Nightmare Arm. Siegfried's body was slowly being mutated by the sword's terrible power, causing his right arm to morph into a hideous claw. Despite the Nightmare Arm only having three large fingers, it didn't seem to hinder his combat abilities at all. He now wields his own version of Soul Edge, sporting a single eye on its blade, something that would become the trademark of the various versions of the weapon, and the creations made from it, such as Charade.

Nightmare was a starting character whose style resembled Siegfried's former moveset. Siegfried was later added to the cast as a time-release character and inherited the same style with minor changes. Nightmare's profile on the game explained how Siegfried obtained Soul Edge after a fierce fight against its former owner, the dread pirate Cervantes de Leon and the fiery demon that spawned within it afterward, Inferno. After that, the sword spoke to him, promising the resurrection of his dead father if he helped it gather souls. Unaware that it was a trick to restore the sword's power, Siegfried agreed and started a killing spree which eventually made him weak to Soul Edge's will. Nightmare was born soon after.

Nightmare's incarnation in Soulcalibur II remains mostly the same, with minor upgrades to his fighting style, mainly on his stance. As his and other character's profiles explain, he formed a group with Astaroth, Isabella "Ivy" Valentine and Aeon Calcos (the Lizardman) in an attempt to speed the gathering of souls and restoration of the sword's power. But during the ritual to restore Soul Edge, Castle Osthreinsburg was assaulted by Kilik, Maxi, and Chai Xianghua. With his allies either defeated or missing, Nightmare confronted Kilik and Xianghua and was ultimately defeated, later falling into the collapsing void where they fought. After waking up, Siegfried, apparently free, regained his senses and tried to distance himself from the world to atone for the sins he committed as Nightmare. But the sword slowly regained control over the young man and eventually Nightmare resurfaced to start another massacre on Europe. In this game, Nightmare is a starting character, while Siegfried turned into a third costume option for him. In his second costume option, it can be seen that most of the right side of Siegfried's chest has been corrupted in a similar manner to his arm, and his right eye has changed to a golden color.

Nightmare is found by the player and Cassandra at Ostrheinsburg Castle. Sensing the fragments of Soul Edge within the player, he fights him/her for them. But he is defeated and turned back into Siegfried. Meanwhile, the player continues the journey with Cassandra to find more fragments, as he/she feels that there are still fragments of Soul Edge scattered throughout the world.

Nightmare appears when Siegfried attempts to seal Soul Edge. He emerges from the blade and fights Siegfried as he shoots lasers, spawns deadly black holes, causes waves of fire to burn the ground and levitates in an attempt to regain his sacrifice, however he is defeated and disappears back into the sword.

Before the events of Soulcalibur III, Nightmare met with Raphael Sorel in the Ostrheinsburg Chapel and defeated him. As he stepped forward to kill the man and harvest his soul, Siegfried's mind started to struggle with Soul Edge for freedom. Raphael, watching as Nightmare stood motionless as a result of the mind struggle, released an attack and pierced Soul Edge's eye. This allowed Siegfried to reclaim his body and also released the holy blade Soul Calibur from within Soul Edge. In a state of temporary sanity, Siegfried then drove the holy sword into the cursed Soul Edge and sealed both together, nullifying both powers. However, the will of Soul Edge escaped the sword and entered the dark blue armour that Siegfried quickly discarded after reclaiming his body. Eventually, the mysterious immortal Zasalamel found the armor and created a new body for the immobile Soul Edge out of the countless evil souls haunting Ostrheinsburg. This new Nightmare restarted his reign of terror in search of Siegfried and the rest of Soul Edge, this incarnation of Nightmare was far more powerful than before as his new body was heavily unstable.

Nightmare appears once again in Soulcalibur IV. By this time, Nightmare's entire body had been twisted by the power of Soul Edge completely and utterly.

As the storyline of this game begins, Nightmare and Siegfried found each other once more at the Lost Cathedral. Soul Edge was freed from the Soul Embrace because of the secret art performed by Zasalamel. Nightmare took the evil sword as Siegfried became the new wielder of Soul Calibur. Then the two fought, the clashing of their swords gradually destroyed the cathedral, ripping both Nightmare and Siegfried apart only to be repaired by their swords after falling into a warp created by their duel.

Conveniently, both Nightmare and Soul Edge landed in Ostrheinsburg. Waves caused by the clash of the two swords awakened the fragments of Soul Edge that were scattered all over the world. The fragments were pulled into Soul Edge and all were consumed, restoring the blade to its whole form. As Nightmare seeded roots into the land, Ostrheinsburg soon became a cursed city that Nightmare would utilize to devour souls. The Azure Knight then prepared for his final battle against the wielder of Soul Calibur.

The storylines involving Algol feature Algol, the ancient king, whose will was strong enough to totally resist Soul Edge's power and who also created Soul Calibur in case Soul Edge ever needed to be destroyed, builds himself imitations of both soul swords wielding them simultaneously as he plots his resurrection and returns to his post as king.

After its destruction by Soul Calibur, Soul Edge was shattered, its fragments scattered across the world. However, minions still loyal to the cursed sword managed to track down the shards, and reassembled as much of the sword as they could. Five years later, it regained consciousness and possessed a new host, one specially prepared for such an occasion. Unlike the Azure Knight who had swept through Europe as a genocidal monster, this "new Nightmare" preferred subterfuge and diplomacy. He assumed the name Dumas, and became part of the inner circle of Emperor Rudolf II of the Holy Roman Empire. He became the Graf, or Count, of the Kingdom of Hungary. From this position he would sent his servants to regain the missing Soul Edge fragments while organizing purges against innocents he deemed "malfested" in order to harvest souls to bolster his strength.

In 1607, Graf Dumas manipulates Patroklos into slaughtering "malfested" by claiming to help him search for his missing sister, Pyrrha. Eventually, Patroklos violently leaves his service and flees. Later, after reuniting with his sister, he encounters Dumas, who has reached his full power and reveals himself as Nightmare. He attacks Patroklos but is stopped by Pyrrha, who becomes truly malfested. With his power restored, Nightmare and his corrupted followers cause war throughout Central Europe. At Castle Denevér, he is defeated and killed by Z.W.E.I., Pyrrha becomes the new host of Soul Edge. Pyrrha is then defeated by Patroklos, and in the end both Soul Edge and Soul Calibur are sealed back inside the Astral Chaos. It's unclear what happen to Nightmare's body after Dumas was slain by Z.W.E.I. considering that when Siegfried was Nightmare he discarded the armor after escaping from Soul Edge's control, it could be possible that the same could have happen to the armor that Dumas wore.

Nightmare's weapon in Soulcalibur, Soulcalibur II and Soulcalibur IV and the evil sword that is the center of the game's storyline. Its Weapon Gallery profile in Soulcalibur II states that details on the sword change while rumors of its legend spread on the world. It can change shape, even separating into more than one physical object to accommodate its wielder's fighting style and experience and it also has the power to corrupt and control its wielder's mind, guiding them to commit massacres in order to collect souls for the sword to consume. Its single eye, which was added in the design ever since Soulcalibur, is said to appear enraptured when bathed in blood.

Its profile in Soulcalibur IV's official Japanese website states that "Soul Edge was nothing more than a sword made by human hands in ancient times and it is unknown how many souls it has devoured or possessed, but even now, it's still growing."

Night Terror has its own version of the Soul Edge labeled "Complete". The reason for this label is that Night Terror is the Soul Edge completed, every fragment and everything made with it has returned, even the Soul Calibur (originally a purified fragment of Soul Edge). This variant of Soul Edge is also the second-player version of Nightmare's Soul Edge in Soulcalibur IV. The Final Form of Soul Edge (not complete), Nightmare's legendary weapon which is also used in his Soulcalibur IV boss battle, appears the same as his 1P version and has a deep red glow.

In Soulcalibur IV, there is a version of Soul Edge labeled as "Soul Edge (Nauplius)". This version is the same one Algol and his son are seen holding in the game's opening movie. It is believed that this is the original form of the weapon, shortly after it gained sentience.

Nightmare's weapon in Soulcalibur III. It is but a materialization of Nightmare's memories of the original Soul Edge, created from his own body. It has the ability to consume souls, but other than that is just a weaker version of the true Soul Edge. It is created in a similar way to how Charade and Inferno create their own weapons (from their bodies), taking into account that this incarnation of Nightmare is the sword itself.

Nightmare appears as a playable card in Outcast Odyssey. He is a part of the first wave of Soul series characters. Available for a limited time. All four of his cards feature a brand new costume, never before seen in the Soul series, although his second card bears a resemblance to his appearance in Soulcalibur V.

It is unknown if the Nightmare who appeared in this game is Graf Dumas, Inferno, Siegfried or a whole new host altogether.

[moonlightreal]

More leaks! woohoo!

This leak has an actual big SPOILER for the plot of season nine, so if you want to be surprised, read no further!

What is going on at Rainbow? Are their employees a bunch of shady and suspicious characters, that they keep leaking stuff? It’s nice for US since we have lots of exciting things to talk about, but I hope it’s not too bad for RAINBOW!

This leak included a bunch of videos including transformation sequences for all the girls at various levels of completion. They’re great! Each girl has a unique sequence about their unique power! Stella’s transformation shows the sun and moon, so Rainbow’s remembered her moon powers. Very cool! I’m not going to show them here, in fact I’m only going to show a few of the leaked images, the ones I have something to say about. Check the Winx Club subreddit for the whole thing.

Villains! That dude in the different art style really is from Winx and he’s still in the different art style. He’s Damian IIRC and I guess he’s buddies with this Grindlewald-lookin’ wizard named Vexius. Non-Trix baddies! NEW baddies! Love it!

The Trix are still here though, hooray! Icy is lookin’ great. And if we have other baddies AND the Trix, will the Trix work with the new baddies like they have with all previous baddies, or will the Trix be a third faction? I really want to see Rainbow add some nuance to our favorite mean girls with Icy’s new backstory�� I’m pretty sure Rainbow won’t do this, nuance isn’t really their jam ^^; but I live in hope lol

The boys are also back. I’m glad Sky doesn’t look like Tyler from Mermaid Magic, and Riven is ridiculously bad-boy. I love that Riven has the British flag still, from his season 1 shirt to a patch on his pants. The boys have new armor and it’s… a lot. Very mecha, it looks less comfortable than all the previous incarnations of the specialists’ armor. It looks like they should be piloting an X-wing or something. I don’t love the look but maybe it’ll grow on me. The interesting thing in this third picture is the group in the bottom corner. There’s Riven, Sky, Brandon, Timmy, Bloom for size, and..? Who? Another specialist? A girl specialist? Bloom in Specialist armor? It looks to me like Celia from Mermaid Magic in Specialist armor, but the resolution’s too low to really tell. But does this mean we’ll have girl Specialists and boy fairies?

Here we have Faragonda and Griffin. I'm sad about Faragonda's color change, she's just been lavender for so long! And Griffin's hair no longer looks like half a breakfast pastry so that's a bit of a shame. but their looks are secondary to their cute friendship, which I hope season 9 keeps.

And here comes the big spoiler…

Dark Bloom! We’re getting Dark Bloom in season 9! She has a leather jacket because that’s what delinquents wear! And platform boots apparently. So Dark Bloom won’t just be an alternate fairy form, she’ll also gob dark in civilian life. And I really love her dark fairy look, all that indigo is just the best.

Also, hair streak of delinquency! Just like Shadybug!

Other arts I’m not going to post included concept art of Mike and Vanessa and baby Bloom but not Marion, Oritel or Daphne, and several minor witches but not Mirta or Lucy. So the presence or absence of our favorite B-list cast members is still up in the air and could go either way. It's all so exciting!

[localfanbaselurker]

First time watching Voltron: Legendary Defender and documenting my thoughts

This is Season 4

S1-2 | S3 | S5 | S6 | S7 | S8 |

———————————————————————

<this one is going to be shorter, as I have only recently finished this season, and the grief is still fresh (lol), so the thoughts are only just starting to simmer. strap your asses in>

Pre-Season 4 Thoughts

-> Keith joining the blades is going to be a huge plot device, I feel

-> PLEASE for the love of CHRIST let that poor little girl find her brother and father. If they are dead dreamworks better be ready to catch these hands

->I’ve heard people claim this is the “last good season”, but i stay strong 💪 and will watch till the end

->wouldn’t the paladin switch not make sense now? Cus shiro is back as the black paladin and it makes no sense for Lance to be red like it originally had? If anything, he should’ve gone back to blue, and Allura to red, because Allura is very accepting/encouraging of shiro’s role as leader. I guess they didn’t wanna do it all over again. But I digress 🤷‍♀️

->im gonna miss my Pookie (🤍❤️🤍)

Post-S4

->do they do this every two seasons?? Have an epic battle where they have a big preparation and say it’ll 100% end the war but it doesn’t and something crazy happens after they win and it sets up the next season??

->FUCK YEAH PIDGE GOT HER BROTHER BACK IM SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP 💪💪🔥🔥‼️‼️‼️🙏🙏🙏🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️

->^genuinely cried so hard during this scene. would’ve cried more if I wasn’t recovering from the initial shock.

->^cried during this one too, but it was happy tears. I could actually just do a whole reaction post to this episode alone. (if you want me to js say so in the rbs/replies)

->the callback to s1! “color-coded of course, because what are we? animals?” AHHH! I’m going insane I love these siblings sooooo much

->okay I’ll stop gushing over them now

->^only valid reaction to meeting Allura. Homegirl is beauty incarnate

->I LIED. im not sorry im never shutting up about them. SHE SHOWS HIM AROUND THE CASTLE AND TELLS HIM EVERYTHING AND EVERY DETAIL AND SHES SO EXCITED CUS SHE JUST GOT HER BRO BACK AND IS JUST RAMBLING ABOUT HER NEW HOME AND ALL THE COOL STUFF SHES BEEN DOING AND HES JUST LISTENING AND IS SUPER EXCITED WITH HER AND ITS SOOOO AMAZING AND ADORABLE AND I COULD DIE

->AND THEN HE TELLS HER HOW THEIR DAD WOULD BE SO PROUD IM DYING IM LITERALLY DEAD STOP.

->AND AND AND THEY WERE ALL WORKING TOGETHER W HUNK TO MAKE THE GALRA TRACKER THING AND THEY WERE BEING SO COOL WITH EACH OTHER AND BEING NERDS TOGETHER AND AND AND AJEUWNDUWJEBEURBDGWUDKAODHD

->okay. ive calmed down. i am normal and can be trusted to simply watch a show.

->^Get his ass, Zarkon. I needed his smug ass to be humbled so bad. Only time I will agree w Zarkon fr.

->i do NOT like Lotor. Can you guys tell already??

->THE SCENE WHERE THEY TRIED TO GET MILKSHAKES AND WERE SHOCKED TO FIND OUT THAT YOU NEED TO MILK A COW STOP.✋ 😭. My high-score on the giggle-meter went up by 300%

->bro I SWEAR shiro looks different. there’s just something about him. the hair gets a pass cus how good of a haircut can you give yourself in space, yk? but that nose scar is definitely a different shade #notmyrodrickshiro

->THE VOLTRON SHOW.

->^Just. That entire episode. It’s getting a whole post actually I need to yap about it.

->^her armor is colored in a way which makes it look both pink and red while making it look like a trick of the light in a way to symbolize that she is acting as keith yet while being a paladin herself and that being unknown in the public eye and showing how they have to cover that up, any suspicion being thrown as a trick of the light. Oh vld animators ily 🫶

->on another note tho why do they always draw lance and shiro to have 30 pounds of ass. what.

->loved when those lesbians decided to take down lotor. Queen shit 💋 we stan 🙇‍♀️🙏

->Lotor is so stupid and pathetic and annoyingly smug and sus and admiral-zhao-y and I hate him but he’s SOOO FREAKING HOT and I can’t hate him completely because he’s so attractive but that just makes me wanna hate him more. He’s a walking red flag but the flag is heart-shaped and honestly idk what to do w that.

->^WHAT. stop. honestly that’s the real reason he was banned from the empire my ass would not want that fucking FREAK within a 30 light year radius of me either

-> while s3 was the klance season, s4 is apparently the allurance season, they have a lot of sweet moments. (granted all started by lance but still, you can almost see allura swooning)

->^pookie. what are you doing… pookie.. no. stop. i don’t like where this is going…

->^POOKIE NO. STOP. ✋ STOP. SAY SIKE RN.

->^oh thank fuck for Lotor.

->^^wait what. why Lotor.

->^^^heartbreaking: worst person you know doesn’t something good for once.

->he definitely wants something out of this. I don’t trust him.

These are thoughts I’ve had compiled for some time now. I will continue to post my thoughts on the tag “laura’s first vld”

I finished this season on 06/30/24. I am on S5E3 as of today (07/06/24)

[voxofthevoid]

JJK 213 💀

If 212 stabbed me in the heart, 213 has ripped out my guts and poured acid on them. Mother of fuck.

I say this with a measure of glee because I do love a narrative that emotionally eviscerates me.

Spoilers and thoughts under the cut

It’s long and rambling because I’m basically sorting my thoughts out.

The chapter felt pretty short this time, but there sure were some mindblowing developments: Confirmation that Sukuna can use Megumi’s cursed technique (and dial it up to eleven WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT MOTHRA-NUE); Megumi’s ideal vessel status (rejoice, sukufushi shippers, it’s now canon that Sukuna always wanted to be inside Megumi! Too soon? Sorry.); the Angel’s cursed technique in its full glory (I cannot wait to see that animated...eventually); and my boy Yuuji being made into a slightly mashed donut (I joke, but I’ve been nail-biting worried about this since I read the chapter and this will continue till we see confirmation of his survival).

The vessel business

Megumi cannot catch a fucking break, can he? I’m not convinced he’s truly gone, especially because Gege did leave that breadcrump about Megumi having the potential to suppress Sukuna. But that brings me to my major issue with this recent development: if Megumi can suppress Sukuna, it implies sorcerers who can eat his fingers and not only survive but also prevent him from incarnating exist--because what are the chances it’s just Megumi and he just happened to get embroiled in all this? And despite calling him a potential cage, Sukuna doesn’t seem surprised that this is a thing Megumi can do, the way he was with how thoroughly Yuuji caged him. In fact, he seems to have settled on the formula to get into Megumi right after realizing this. All that’s fine, but it raises the question of what, exactly, makes Yuuji special.

I don’t mean it in a “why is Yuuji the MC kinda way” because (a) I love that dude to death and am following the story mostly for him and (b) Yuuji’s emotional arcs have always been a lot more compelling than his powers (or lack thereof), and I think having Sukuna out of him, possibly permanently, is an excellent development as far as his character arc is concerned (more on that later). My issue here has more to do with Kenjaku and the implied alternations they made to Yuuji in the womb: I’d say it’s a fair assumption that Yuuji’s superhuman physical capabilities and unusually powerful ability to constrain Sukuna aren’t natural, and as much as I love the “they just wanted some dick jokes,” I’m pretty sure Kenjaku didn’t conceive and deliver a kid for shits and giggles. Granted, it would kinda suit their personality; however, plot-wise, it��d be a waste.

At the moment, it looks like, while the degree of Yuuji’s ability to suppress Sukuna is unusual/unnatural, other sorcerers are capable of hosting and even caging him. So what exactly is Yuuji’s purpose, at the narrative level and in terms of Kenjaku’s plans? Did they account for Sukuna potentially breaking free, and if they did, what was the point of making a custom vessel for the guy? And is being Sukuna’s vessel all there is to Yuuji (not as a person or character but from Kenjaku’s perspective)? I have a feeling that’s not the case, but I’d need to go reread the manga to try and see why I’m so sure Kenjaku’s interested in Yuuji beyond his potential to contain Sukuna. Either way, I’m curious how the narrative will handle it. Which brings us to--

Yuuji’s survival and future arc

Gege, please.

I am fairly sure protagonist plot armor will kick in and Yuuji will survive (and honestly, him dying at this point would feel pretty damn pointless--I’m all for major character death, but if you’re killing the main lead, make it worth it, ya know?), but fucking how? He’s naturally a lot sturdier than most people, but dude’s got a fist-sized hole in his stomach and got punched through, what, three buildings? He’s got to be on his last legs there. Yuuta isn’t anywhere in the vicinity either. Lowkey hoping for Mumjaku to pop out, but that’s mostly because I have been dying for some interactions between these two since the big reveal about Yuuji’s parentage.

Assuming he survives (he better, GEGE), I’m honestly pretty excited to see how his story will progress from here. Yuuji’s whole thing since the start has been to save as many people as he can and die a good death as a martyr, and with every new trauma the narrative has piled on him, that desire has only increased to the point that it’s now a fixation. The guy seems actively suicidal after Shibuya, and the only thing keeping him from killing himself is the fact that he can’t allow himself to die meaninglessly after all the death Sukuna caused and all the people Yuuji himself failed to save. If the plot had progressed in the direction it had been taking before Sukuna used that binding vow to fuck everything to hell, Yuuji would happily have let the Angel erase him and Sukuna. And he could have called it a good, noble death because he was dying to save Gojou and eliminate a good 75% of Sukuna’s power.

And now he doesn’t have that. His death would no longer serve any greater purpose (...assuming Sukuna doesn’t somehow hop back into him, but that’s starting to look unlikely). To make a difference and help people like he so desperately wants, Yuuji will have to live. I am dying to find out how he’s going to reconcile that with his current mindsent.

Assuming he survives.

Hana and the Angel

I’ve been seeing a lot of hate for Hana after this chapter came out, regarding her decision to rush to Megumi, but honestly, it’s perfectly coherent characterization. It’s certainly a foolish decision, but it’s a completely emotion-driven, considerably panicked one that is in line with everything we’ve seen of Hana so far. She is in no way any more well adjusted than any of the main cast. Her childhood was Trauma Central: Eldritch Horror Edition, and she fixated hard on the boy who saved her despite their paths crossing for a grand total of five seconds. Megumi clearly registered her, since that’s the only way Sukuna would know to use that memory to manipulate her, but he doesn’t even acknowledge her. And there’s no indication they’ve ever interacted since; in fact, I’m rather confused on how Hana even recognized Megumi. Or whether/how she kept track of him all these years, given there’s no indication she was a sorcerer before getting Kenjaku-ed into a coma (presumably) and then hosting the Angel. Yet, she’s convinced she’s in love with him and they’re fated. Hardly a healthy coping mechanism, but it is what it is.

If Hana had a random crush on Megumi and ignored the Angel to fall for Sukuna’s trick (which seems pretty transparent to us readers, but Hana really doesn’t know the actual Megumi enough to tell that he wouldn’t be caught dead doing that pose, sweet fuck, my eyes), it would be some shit writing, but Hana isn’t acting out of infatuation or puppy love but a nearly lifelong fixation.

And it’s probably going to get her killed. I don’t see Hana getting out of that on her own; she hasn’t noticed Stretchy Headman there, and the Angel’s warnings clearly aren’t reaching her. The only way I see this moving forward without them both dying is for the Angel to take over completely--and we know she’s opposed to that, but would she make an exception with death imminent? I hope so. Because losing these characters, especially the Angel, at this juncture would just be a waste.

Now excuse me while I go scream into the void for the next two weeks.

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: "Kindred"

Do you think Filoni has hit peak wolves yet? Lol.

Live reaction version.

Soft Kanera moment is Soft.

And brings up some interesting questions that don't really get fully answered. What was the inextricable pull that kept drawing them back to Lothal again and again, even before they met Ezra? Was it the Lothal Temple, and by extension the gateway within? Was it some kind of connection Kanan had to Lothal? Was it his planet of origin too? He was able to manifest through the Force as one of the wolves after his death after all.

It's not something that's fully played out, this plot thread, I think perhaps owing to the writers having to shorten the last season down to 16 episodes, more akin to Season One, so it's ultimately left an ambiguous mystery.

Pryce having the realization that she's not actually Thrawn's Favorite lol.

Ruhk is accompanied by appropriately menacing drums and woodwinds. Fun fact: Warwick Davis apparently bullied Filoni into giving him this role lol.

You don't even know it's him the voice is so good.

Ruhk's movements are also excellent. He hunches, only straightening when he needs to smell, easily goes down on all fours to lope across the plain like an animal. His run cycle is like some kind of perverse feline or gorilla. There's a bestial quality to him. Unlike his Legends incarnation, which depicts him as more hulking and burly, this version is deceptively small but stocky, solid and almost wirey-looking. It's a great creature design.

The Noghri assassin is also immediately, extremely competent, identifying Zeb in the area by scent at once, probably detecting it lingering on Ezra's scout trooper armor and launching immediately into a surprise attack. He has Ezra flipped onto the ground in a leglock within seconds.

He then charges Jai, forcing Ezra to reveal himself as a Jedi with a hefty Push.

I'm sorry I'm cackling at Zeb sneaking around literally behind Pryce's back. This is why Thrawn replaced you, lady.

<333

The chase scene is brief and kind of basic but does the job. And OH BOY now we're at another Weirdass Kanera Walkback Conversation, with Kanan suddenly pushing for reassurance about what kind of future Hera wants after all the fighting and whether he's a part of it and what her feelings actually are towards him.

Right, so the way I reconcile this one is that Kanan is starting to sense the stirring, growing life inside Hera and is trying to roundabout confront her to think about what this means for them. And at this point she knows, but she doesn't know he knows, and is still trying to hold him at arm's distance while she mentally processes the discovery and how to tell him.

Because what do you mean, "Do I [know how you feel]?" this was clearly already a settled issue! WHY ARE YOU ASKING THAT QUESTION LIKE YOU DON'T ALREADY KNOW? YOU GUYS ARE SPACEMARRIED AARRRRHGKJHGJ.

So yeah, moving on.

There's a great moment where Ryder almost shoots Zeb that makes me lol and then after we've installed our hyperdrive the Empire makes a hasty exit from the area necessary, again, owing to Ruhk's incredible competence.

Hera, perhaps feeling the need to reassure Kanan of her affections and devotion since he's acting so rattled, finally plants an onscreen one on him.

This is clearly not the first time they have kissed. Possibly the first time they've done it this publicly, as Sabine immediately nudges at the others to look, but this is practiced and comfortable, seasoned, if you will.

:))))

Like I said the previous rewatch, I don't understand being secretive to normies then but being okay guiding them all out of danger now. I dunno, maybe it took Ezra befriending the one for the others to decide, "Oh okay, they have Jedi, they're cool. Let's help them."

"How have you people stayed alive so long?!" The literal will of the Force, Ryder, lol.

"We're going to finish them my way." Which is, per Pryce tradition, bombing the living shit out of things.

~ANYTHING TLJ DID, REBELS DID BETTEEEEEEERRRR~

The chiming from before continues throughout this sequence, so now we have something in the score to musically denote the wolves.

Kanan, come on, you should know by now this is his "thing".

Yeah so this is one of the sequences where the wolves just kinda DO things and the show doesn't really explain why because ~mysterious~. Why did they want Kanan? Were they checking to make sure there was a Master/Padawan pair? Do they recognize him as one of their own kind since they keep repeating "Dume"? How do they know Kanan's former name? What do the cave paintings mean?

*shakes writers*

ANSWER ME DAMMIT!

Kanan and Sabine inexplicably switching places so that Ezra can hold Sabine's hand again. XD

As frustrating as the mystery of the Loth-wolves can be sometimes, this sequence is hella cool. Blue light igniting the depths of the tunnel, Ezra's eyes reflecting it like the hyperspace eyes he got with the purrgil...

Soft white footsteps on inky liquid blackness. The muted sound, as if from far away.

The only truly trippy part that throws me is the little grassland shot in the middle of it all, with the white Loth-cat.

But whatever the wolves did, it worked. Our heroes have now been literally teleported out of danger. The Force Theme rings out to confirm the wonder of it all.

There's even some kind of actual structures here, an abandoned mountain village maybe?

It's also really pretty. Per standard for this show lol.

"Babe, you are holding back on me."

The chimes again, I'm pretty sure that's a specific instrument but for the life of me the name of it is escaping me, but it's denoting the wolves again, as they move back into the cavern. I do recognize the harp glissando there, though.

*sits on hands, sighs, bites lip about how I hate mystery boxes, especially ones that don't open*

Kanan dropping the first hints that the wolves are the guardians of Lothal, Force entities specifically assigned to protect the planet because of the gateway to the WBW, whose energies they can also tap into and use, which is now under threat by Palpatine personally.

...Yeah you know what, we'll go with that.

And of course after hearing Kanan express faith that Hera made it out we confirm that ourselves.

Good job love.

So. This episode gets weird. The kind of anime mind-trippy weird that used to be way too dense for me to parse through. (Still have a hard time of it, in fact, I dunno what it is Japanese directors just kind Do They Thing and don't bother explaining much, they just vibe.) But on the rewatch it does seem clearer that--aside from the elements in the wider plot they were going to explore about Kanan that Freddie Prince Junior hinted at in interviews that probably got severely cut out with the episode trim--most of the weirdness is actually misdirection in order to set up the wolves as Special Force Entities who need Very Specific Jedi Help to save the World Between Worlds.

The wolves don't come out and say this yet, probably very cautious and testing Kanan and Ezra out to see if they're worthy, but the implications are already there.

Oh, and I guess this episode made Kanera shippers happy too, or something. Happy for y'all, enjoy it while it lasts.

Next time, our last little bit of fun before shit hits the fan.

[orfeonight]

yeah i can't help but constantly feel bad for kazuya. poor dude lost everyone in his life at a young age, was abused, and felt lonely for years yet everyone views him as the literal devil. which is ironic because kazuya also killed the least amount of people in his family (he only killed eddy's dad and leo's mom), meanwhile heihachi and jin have way more bodies and skeletons in their closets (heihachi unleashing ogre, jin's war crimes). after heihachi died, it's like namco is hellbent on making kazuya as evil as possible. also heihachi (aka kazuya's abuser) being a good guy is just stupid retconning and harada's favoritism for him. heihachi mishima being a tragic villain/anti-hero in tekken 7 makes literally no sense when you look at his characterization back in tekken 1-5 and creates plot holes (ex heihachi clearly wanting devil power in tekken 4). oh and heihachi has plot armor and survives kazuya throwing into a volcano which is stupid.

kind of reminds me of sasuke uchiha from naruto, similarly to kazuya sasuke was also abused as a child, lost his entire family to his older brother itachi, and itachi also even went as far as to torture sasuke for 72 hours using a genjutsu while showing him his parents death on loop. both kazuya and sasuke want more power so they'll never suffer from losing family or be a victim ever again and even end up going from hero to villain in the story. most of the series is about the rivalry between sasuke and his brother (like how a lot of tekken's story is about the father and son rivalry of kazuya and heihachi). then out of nowhere, sasuke's abuser itachi is suddenly revealed to be a secret good guy who tried to protect konoha which is why he murdered his clan (except not really he did nothing to protect the stupid village, he never warned the hokages about pain or orochimaru etc). sasuke sadly didn't even get to beat his abuser fair and square, because itachi is an op fuck who let him win anyways or some stupid bullshit. apparently most of the uchiha clan is born pure evil (including sasuke's parents) and they planned a coup after they were literally framed for the Kurama attack (which isn't even their fault and they had nothing to do with it - it's the pathetic incel simp O*ito Uchiha's fault). this stupid retcon of itachi makes no sense because he is clearly evil incarnate in part I and makes plot holes (like itachi wants sasuke to be a hero, but also wants sasuke to kill his own best friend which would've made him hated by everyone???). oh and after itachi dies, sasuke gets potrayed as pure evil incarnate (him trying to kill both sakura and karin, him wanting to destroy konoha, etc). the other characters view sasuke as the devil, even though he helped save the world at the end and similarly to kazuya he also didn't even kill that many people (itachi killed several innocent people and also probably commited some crimes while working with a terrorist organization, o*ito the incel simp and madara started a war "for the greater good" and killed many more people). people online constantly feel pity and sadness for heihachi and itachi but not their abuse victims.

Heihachi = Itachi

Kazuya = Sasuke

Jin = Madara (jin kazama and madara uchiha ily and i'll always love you, but both of you are war criminals and warmongers who killed so many ppl "for the greater good".)

i can't help but feel bad for both kazuya mishima and sasuke uchiha. they deserve so much better from the people who created them and the fandom full of stupid double standards. at least kazuya has jun and sasuke has sakura i guess.

don't have too much to add, anon is right!

[quietbooklion]

Thoughts on: Oji

Finally. It's finally time to talk about my #1 favorite character in all of Ayakashi Romance Reborn. This man captured my heart the moment I saw him. He is handsome, he is beautiful, he is perfection, he is talented, he is amazing, he is everything.

I may sound like a complete simp for Oji but I can't help it. I absolutely love everything about this man, what he represents, and how much of a daddy/zaddy he is. That being said, as much as I love him, the same can't be said for his story, unfortunately. I still thought it was decent but I had lots of issues with it.

*This review will contain spoilers, you have been warned*

To start off with the positives, I think that Oji's story tackles grief and blame in such a great and almost painful way. When it comes to grief, it can take the form of many different emotions and actions. In the case of Oji, he puts a lot of unnecessary blame on himself because he feels responsible for what happened to the lover of his past life. I think that we as people sometimes blame ourselves for no reason when something bad happens because a part of us doesn't want to deal with it and when we do, it's painful to acknowledge it. Oji encapsulates that, it's very heart wrenching to see him take the burden and responsibility of something he didn't even really do. He is a different person than his past incarnation, but it was so ingrained in him, he can't help but feel responsible. He even believes he doesn't deserve to be happy. Grief doesn't always make sense. It makes people do and say things they wouldn't otherwise agree with.

My heart ached for his man. I wanted so much to just hug him. He truly believes things would've been better had he not gotten involved with Asa to the point where his current incarnation still holds those feelings a thousand years later. Which is why it's so uplifting to see him coming to terms with his grief. To see him grow from being pessimistic about his own happiness to understanding that he's not alone and deserves happiness was so satisfying.

As much as I do love Oji and how the story talked about grief, I think that this story has a lot of issues. Torn isn't exactly how I feel but it's close enough because for all the things I liked, there are plenty of thing I didn't like.

To start off with my dislikes, I did not like Futaba in this story. When it comes to MCs, they vary from route to route and for the most part I do like Futaba as an MC. She's someone who was pretty much thrown into a world that was unknown to her and she must not only fight spirits but also people whose very ideals are different from hers. She isn't perfect but she's also a compassionate person who can be selfless in her goals of not only helping her friends, but the Capital. However, in Oji's route, she really got on my nerves. She made so many, many bad decision that not only got her in trouble, but those around her as well. One of the main conflicts of the story is Akiyasu trying to complete the ritual that was seen in the Dawn faction. He discovers that a group of Wraiths is harboring Asa, the spirit and lover of Oji's past incarnation. Akiyasu notices how Futaba wants to free her and offers her a doll that will separate Asa from the Wraiths but it comes at a cost. She takes it anyway but when she's asked by Oji and the others where she got the doll, she doesn't say.

Excuse me, what? Why would she knowingly hide information like that? Especially when she knows she can't trust Akiyasu! And when markings appear on her arm, she hides it despite the others knowing something is up. There's stubborn and there's being stupid and I'm sorry if I sound mean but Futaba was being so ridiculous about hiding crucial information about an enemy and hiding a potential threat to her life. She claims she doesn't want to burden the others with her problems but even so, she was being absolutely stubborn for no reason. She kept making so many bad decisions, I'm surprised she's still alive. Plot armor was literally carrying her throughout most of the story.

And as much as I do love Oji, he's also at fault here because like Futaba, he was being so darned stubborn. I understand why he thinks he can't rely on others and why he keeps his secrets, but he could've solved so many things if he had been upfront about how he feels in regards to Asa, Futaba's safety, and Akiyasu. He and Futaba need to get their priorities in check because they were nowhere to be found.

My second issue is basically a repeat of the previous stories where the 'romance' was non-existent. Except this time, it was somehow worse. Like with Shizuki, this romance felt forced because out of nowhere the MC develops a crush on Oji even though it feels misplaced. I say this because Futaba sees how Oji is a caring guy who is suffering from guilt at thinking his past incarnation was responsible for Asa's death. It's palpable enough that it causes Futaba's heart to ache from sympathy. But then out of nowhere she says this:

Repeating what I said earlier: Excuse me, what? You're telling me she fell in love with Oji was because she wants what he and Asa have. She wanted to be like Asa. What??? This doesn't make sense. I get that she feels envious of seeing such a loving relationship, but this just feels totally misplaced on her part. She sympathizes with Oji and wants to help him with his grief, but her feelings for him don't feel genuine based solely on the fact that she's somewhat envious of Asa. It's all misplaced. If this was supposed to make me feel the budding love she has for him, it was done badly.

My last issue is with the story direction. As mentioned earlier, this story in particular completely veered off from the Senkitai plot and went right back to Akiyasu basically doing what he did in the Dawn faction. If it weren't for the fact that Oji was the central character, I would've thought I was playing the Dawn faction again. I don't know why this kind of decision was made because it makes no sense why Akiyasu wanted to carry out the exact same plan but in the Twilight faction. One main thing about the Twilight faction that is different from the Dawn faction is the Stone of Destruction. That stone is not only an important item but it's powerful. Why was such an important item left out and replaced with Dawn faction story 2.0? It makes absolutely no sense why the Senkitai was not involved when they are the main focal point of the story. This was so disappointing on so many levels.

I wasn't really looking forward to writing this review. I think the way Oji's story tackled themes of grief, guilt, and even a bit of self-hatred was done excellently. It showed a vulnerable side to an otherwise unflappable man. I love how lazy he is, I love how caring and protective he is over Aoi, I love everything about this man. But so much of his story was bogged down with Futaba making bad decisions, the forced and misplaced romance, and the lackluster story.

Oji and Futaba deserved a better story than this.

3/5 stars.

[young-justice-yo]

Blue Beetle trailer!!!

Okay. First off. I love how right from the trailer the movie is emphasizing family. Absolutely a core part of blue beetle!! There won't be any secret identity drama, and his family won't have to go through the pain of thinking he ran away or worse for a year. If the rest of the movie sucks, I'll be happy knowing his family loves him and will always be there for him.

I was worried about how the suit would look, mostly that it would be clunky and bulky, but I think they did a good job of having it look more like a suit vs armor. And those wings!! When they stopped right by the water they looked beautiful!!!! Overall, I think they did good making it look insectoid, especially khaji da's appendages. Also, scarab themself was so cute! Jaime holding scarab (before they leapt at his face) was adorable.

I'm really curious about the plot of the movie. I don't think it will be about the Reach. Maybe for a second movie, once we've established everything. So my best guess is La Dama as an antagonist, wanting the scarab, which would be fantastic. I would LOVE to see Paco and Brenda. Why aren't they in El Paso though. Rude.

Now the scarab!!!! One of the parts of blue beetle that makes them my favorite super hero is that it is the two of them! Not just Jaime and the scarab definitely not just a tool. So I really really really hope they give scarab a personality beyond AI assistant. I am hopeful with the joke of "nice choice" as Jaime spins around a sword.

I wonder how much Jaime vs Khaji Da there will be. What with the intense merge (horrifying I loved it!!!) and scarab dragging Jaime everywhere and suiting up in broad daylight causing property damage. But despite all this, I didn't get any horror movie vibes, like what the Venom movie thought it was trying to do. In fact, Jaime is explicitly told the scarab is designed to protect him. Khaji Da cut a bus in half to protect Jaime!! So maybe we'll get to their partnership faster than previous incarnations.

The blue beetle versions I've see have used Jaime's voice but a bit digitized for the scarab so a feminine voice will take some getting used to, but it's a cool change. I wonder how the voice will affect how current or new fans perceive khaki da. Currently, I use he/they for the scarab but I'd love to see more of she/her scarab.

On to Jaime! I like him a lot already! He has a loving, if over enthusiastic family. He is obviously going through it, but he's teasing his sister, having fun with a sword. Just from the trailer, I think they've done a great job at Jaime's easy going personality, as well as being someone who's willing to be a hero if it's for the people he loves.

Wow... I knew this day was coming and now it's here. The trailer may not be everything I hoped for, but nothing can be. It looks like a solid movie and I'll absolutely be seeing it when it comes out.

[willwoodlover222]

Thats it, im ranting about the entire Jest lore!!!!

I am FINALLY going to do this!!! Since Alex covered the general stuff that brought us to where we are now, I figured I could go more into detail about my favorite jester's side of things! Alrighty, so Jest and Order (if you don't know who she is, you can find the info about her at the end of this rant) met after Order was tasked with assinating them for being a part of a large family tree that has history of being very violent and having bloodlust. Order tried to shoot Jest, magically has no ammo in the gun. (plot armor!!?!?!) Jest casually strikes up a conversation with the person who just tried to kill them, breaks their radio resulting in Order not being able to call any backup. I don't correctly remember how, but they live in a house together after that, dont think too deep about it. A very powerful incarned called Animosity proceeds to fuck with them. And by that, I mean killing Order in front of Jest with their bare hands. (I am NOT going over what happened with the love incarnate nope nuh uh uh) and then kills Jest as well. The incarnate of Life comes and scolds Animosity like their a child and grants them immortaily (EXEPT if their killed by someone) as some sort of punishment. Life revives Jest and Order and provides them with their own house. Jest and Order start to reluctantly become work partners at most. Order also separated from the people who made her attempt to assinate Jest. (the justice system) The two do normal missions as usual. Finding a talking catapillar whos just REALLY horny, the catapillar (who is now a full on incarnate named Desire) and Eros (incarnate of lust) "ask" (barge in) to stay with them for a while. The two find an incarnate they met a long time ago (mirror). They ask for their help with finding their boyfriend Echo and Order and Jest accept. After a bit, Order and Jest go to a bar, get really drunk, kiss, stuff like that. Next morning they regret kissing and go back to the quest of finding this dudes boyfriend. It takes them a while and talking to tons of different people to even get a clue about where they are. They go and talk to this group called The Federation about it, get kidnapped. Jest has a crisis while Order attempts to break them out and fails. Guard comes, brings them each to a room to be experimented on. Strange glitch incarnate part of another group called The Rebellion comes and breaks the four out. (they got echo back) Jest and Order go home together. A bit after that, Jest's really bad father breaks into Jest and Order's house and fights Jest (in the middle of the night). Order wakes up to see Jest absolutely beating the shit out of their father and ripping their throat out. (i like giving jest wild animal vibes) Jest and Order sell the body to this snake lady who toatally isnt a ripoff Scythe. (from phighting) They go and get boba after Jest showers. They have a conversation about Jest's daddy issues and some more actually serious stuff. Order tells Jest they havnt figured out how to repay them for all they've done for her and leans closer. Jests idiot little feline brain dosn't realize whats happening, then Order commits the thingy me and Alex waited 2 years to do.

After that Order comtimplates what she just did as Jest tries their best to process what just happened. Order lets Jest attempt to cook as she goes to talk to Mirror and Echo. (who are asking to come and live with the 2 for a bit) Jest sets some food on fire, almost burns the house down. Jests tries to ask Order to date, Order decides they should take some time before dating. Jest tells Order about their mom and Order says they should try to contact her since they have Jests now-dead fathers phone. Their mom comes over and is EXTREMELY exited and just as energetic as their child. Two people who work under an incarnate called Archangel come and asks for Jest's mom for a meeting. Jest and Order come along with her. Jest meets tons of incarnates. More notable are Zeus (who REEKS of old spice), Kronos (the father to almost all of the incarnates in the meeting), and Circe (who just really hates Zeus) After they leave the meeting, they find two incarnates in an alleyway. They take the two into their house and learn that their names are Rein and Amitrian. Order hears them argueing about Amitrian dating a man. Order steps in and forces Rein to apologise, but after Order turns away she slashes across Amitrian's face and leaves the house. Order helps Amitrian clean up their scarred face and their boyfriend Tang comes over. Order says she'll go find Rein and says they might have to fight them. AAAND THATS WHERE WE CURRENTLY ARE OHHH MY GOD I LOVE OC LORE!!! Anyways, Order is an incarnate made by @analexthatexists, go check her out!!! (she has some stuff related to who Order is over there)