#sorry for destiny griping on main
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amiryllisthorn Ā· 9 months ago
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any time I have a fleeting desire to go back and play destiny, I always see theres another stupid collab and it just makes me want to go back even less
like despite the game's a thousand and one issues, it always had this strong aesthetic and amazing music. Now however, the people who made those parts of the game are gone, and more and more of the original aesthetic dies away replaced by whatever other property they are deciding to use the game as a billboard for
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luniise-kel Ā· 7 months ago
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thinking about how cool and awesome moon stone cassandra couldve been if she wasnt given the worldā€™s worst villain motivation
dropping my whole au / rewrote of season 3 below
uh preface is im sleepy and its almost midnight, so like sorry if some parts dont make sense or whatever
uhh basically, instead of cass trying to like reach her destiny or whatever as like her Main motivation and the only reason to why she Evil and Malicious ive changed it so its more mixed in with her desire to protect rapunzel. i think moonstone cass is cool and i like the idea of her but i really just think her execution was poor mostly because it wasnā€™t built up as much as it shouldve been.
rewrote cassā€™s character slightly just so there more empathize on her idolization of her mother, and so when she learns the truth of why mother gothel left her, the knee jerk reaction to blame raps makes a little more sense.
Anyways, Season 3 cass deals with a lot of her issues, i think on the journey to get the moonstone something something happens and cassandra is told that if rapunzel comes in contact with the moonstone she will Implode. Like die. Return to being the sundrop. and cass is like oh fuck, shit, balls, I need to Protect her from Dying. So out of her intense Need to protect Rapunzel she yoinks the moonstone, and (still slightly pissed at raps for stealing her mom but not really sheā€™s just trying to figure out her emotions + rapunzel needs to get away away from this rock) she goes into Evil mode.
Her villain arc is partly fueled by her anger at her own situation, always in second place. her desire to feel love and cherished and important rather than being the 2nd option. However, it is also fueled by her need to provide safety to her friends ,, even if itā€™s not the smartest choice. Moonstone Cass devotes her entire identify to being the cliche villain, so no one feels bad if like the solution to destroying the moonstone is killing her. she knows that logically the Zhan Tiri is manipulating her but 1. she idgaf and 2. she needs to learn how to control the moonstoneā€™s power so she doesnt hurt her friends.
Tbh boiled now, itā€™s just cass isnt obsessive with mother gothel and mother gothel leaving her to kidnap a baby because it made like no sense for her character. like instead, moonstone cass grabbles with her identify and place in the world, who she is outside of rapunzel. Also she wants to learn more about her past, yknow, who mother gothel was and is she Worth getting upset over. spoiler she figures out that no, her bio mom sucks booty
Anyways, throughout my version of season 3, cass is trying to figure out a way to destroy the moonstone. She visits Rapunzel often too and pretends to be evil just so she can check in. She angry at her mom but not so much on rapunzel, maybe a little bit but probably more to with simply trying to crave out her identify outside of rapunzel. Same general plot beats happen in s3, but shes more grief driven than anger driven i suppose.
Theres probably a lot i forgot to like, reformulate in this especially w s3 bc i havent had the time to rewatch it and collect my thoughts that well. But, uh, hope u enjoyed. might yap more about my personal gripes with the show and how i think it shouldve been written.
also to add on i suppose, at the end of the series she gets exiled from corona officially, but lowkey comes back to hang out and after like a year every1 is like yeah okay i guess.
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stoat-party Ā· 8 months ago
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Evaluating Which Details Pose Continuity Issues (yeah, itā€™s long, sorry)
Iā€™m being relentlessly annoyed by (some) people mad at the show and by (some) people mad at people mad at the show, so letā€™s clear up where the issues are and arenā€™t so weā€™re not just talking over each other here.
Destroying the Strip
Obviously not a retcon. Retcons refer to previously-established events. Some people might have their own problems with it (I definitely saw it cited as evidence of a coordinated attack on New Vegas), but it presents no continuity problems.
2. What exactly is a vial?
I donā€™t think this changed ghoul lore. They can still go 200+ years without turning, or they can start turning as soon as they get ghoulified. Thereā€™s just a new plot element where they can stave off the effects of going feral for awhile if they take this mysterious drug - without the drug, the rules are still the same. The story was NOT clear on this, and it confused me, but if ghouls need drugs to stay sane, Oswald, Dean, Billy, etc. could not exist even if thereā€™s a massive industry in vials of goop thatā€™s never been mentioned before.
3. It took Vault-Tec decades to build all the vaults.
This is something I worried about because there couldnā€™t have been much time between the boardroom scene and the bombs falling (Janey doesn't age). But I think it makes sense if you assume the vaults were already built and they filled them with experiments afterward. It does leave the problem that some vaults were unfinished but Vault-Tec also dropped the bombs - why would they do that before finishing their vaults? Itā€™s possible that they planned to drop them but got beat to the punch, or any number of other explanations. Clear retcon but not a huge plot hole.
4. House is worse than Caesar all of a sudden?
This oneā€™s a private gripe of mine because House and Sinclair were not originally written to be Actual Sadists Who Hate Humanity. Thereā€™s also Houseā€™s mastermind prepper attitude toward the apocalypse, which doesnā€™t indicate that he had a hand in orchestrating it. While the change doesnā€™t conflict with the text as far as I know, it really changes the flavor of the game, but not as much as:
5. The Fall of Shady Sands
Letā€™s say that this happened after the first battle of Hoover Dam, so no continuity issues with their ability to win that. (Thatā€™s probably why they set it in 2277, so the NCR would have almost four years to recover before NV. As if Caesar wouldnā€™t have taken half of their land by then, even with his armies crushed, but ok fine heā€™s going through a divorce, heā€™s busy right now.)
But are you telling me that a country can lose a massive city containing much of its infrastructure, most of its central government, and ~5% of its population and still be trying to manifest destiny four years later with no mention of it?
Losing the Divide as a travel route almost crippled the NCR in the Mojave for awhile. Now, not only have they lost the Divide and their capital city, but one of their other biggest cities, the Boneyard, is abandoned and inhabited by an apparently-unaffiliated town. (Yeah, Los Angeles is big, but we donā€™t see any NCR or Followers despite three main characters traveling through it.) Even if there were still people there during New Vegas, how is the NCR still conducting a campaign in the east?
Also, who is Muldover and whatā€™s her position? Why does she have raiders at her disposal? Is that really supposed to be what remains of the government? I get that some of this will be resolved later, but short of complete societal collapse, thereā€™s no explanation.
We donā€™t see any of this in New Vegas. The president (who was in office in 2277) is still alive. No one mentions losing family in the explosion. Caesar, Ulysses, and House, along with the many other characters who complain about the NCRā€™s weakness and instability, donā€™t bring it up. People even mention the politicians in Shady Sands specifically. PEOPLE ARE MAKING JOKES ABOUT WANTING A NUCLEAR WINTER-
Now thereā€™s a saving interpretation going around that ā€œthe fall of Shady Sands - 2277ā€ refers to a metaphorical fall, and the explosion was later. Iā€™ll accept this if I have to, but donā€™t pretend itā€™s not a strained reading. Every entry on the board is dated. Why would you date an amorphous event and not date the city exploding?
The explosion was nineteen years ago, and it had to be that early because Lucy and Norm donā€™t remember living there. (Not clear how old they are but probably in their early-mid 20ā€™s.) The earliest you could place the event without it making no sense is late 2282, because with the time skips in DLC, the events of New Vegas are about a year long. Maybe you could put a gap between Lucy returning to the vault and the actual destruction, but not a five-year one. And if it was in 2282, Max would still be a teenager.
There are legitimate concerns here. Between House and the NCR, the show changes a lot about the main conflict of New Vegas. Itā€™s not just side details.
Not telling you how to feel! Just donā€™t pretend nothing poses any problems and people are crazy for being concerned. I think the vibe right now is to dismiss me as a hater, but I hope you can see Iā€™ve tried to make it all work. Continuity is really important in a multi-decade story, especially to writers.
I will be appeased by a respectful and thought-out New Vegas remake that preserves as much of the original continuity as possible and is also really good and costs $4. Thanks in advance Bethesda.
Edit:
6. Tatoes in the vaults
TATOES IN THE VAULTSSSS? THIS IS MASSIVE DISRESPECT TO THE LORE. EVERYTHING WE KNOW IS DESTROYED. UNFORGIVABLE.
(but yeah there shouldnā€™t be tatoes in a vault that hasnā€™t opened)(maybe norm and lucy had seeds in their pockets when they came back, sure)
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dailybayonetta Ā· 2 years ago
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Without spoilers, is the ost of bayo 3 any good? I've heard not so good things about the story, but I hope that at least the music will fill up my playlist once I hear the songs in the game. It's always my favorite part of the bayo games
i'm sorry if this might be so late??? šŸ˜­ Honestly, I would say it's pretty solid. I think it has it's misses from time to time, but as like for the "main" OST - it's great. Really loved the peaces they played in Jeanne sections. Mostly any battle OST does still slaps. Viola's theme??? Uhhhh, well it does suits to her, I wish it did played less in certain moments. Tho, personally, I think as for the main theme of the game, I do still prefer either Tomorrow is mine or Mysterious Destiny (there's like a perfect moment when i got to relisten it again and went "ah, that's too good"), but I don't think that Wishpers of Destiny is any form or shape is bad. It's just mostly different vibe. And mostly my gripe with is the lyrics... Well, if you know - you know. I could totally say that OST is still a banger, it's compitent and most of the time goes for the right tone. And I'm glad they almost abandoned remixing old stuff, except for iconic locations / references. it's much more original than the Bayo2 one. But not the main theme tho.
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garak Ā· 2 years ago
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here are my thoughts on the x-men movies since ive finished most of them
x-men (2000): in my top 3. love mags and xavier in this one mostly because its ian mckellan & patrick stewart. my main gripes are with the merging of magnetos and mystiques brotherhoods & the exclusion of destiny from the brotherhood. magneto being willing to sacrifice his life & another mutants for his dream to be realized seems pretty accurate but i feel like they didnt make it clear enough that if the plan worked he would have died too...? HATE wolverine trying to put the moves on jean grey but thats true regardless of whether its a movie or a comic or a stageplay for all i care.
x2: the plot of this one kind of lost me mostly because i havent read god loves man kills yet so i didnt have any basis to understand wtf was going on except stryker was there and hes evil. love maggy in the prison being emo and shit although them deciding when he can or cant fly or use certain powers seems pretty arbitrary... ? i feel like deathstryke is treated pretty poorly by the plot here seeing as shes you know kind of an important character who they never introduce properly. nightcrawler looks better in this movie than he does in the later ones but still not good.
last stand: ive already talked about the choice of angel & worthington industries as the villains in this one so i won't go over it again. i think its DEEPLY funny that scott disappears and wolverine finds his glasses (which he cannot live without) just lying around and doesn't think "hey i wonder what happened to cyclops" until jean is quite literally unbuckling his belt halfway through trying seduce him. why does no one in these films seem to give a fuck about what happens to cyclops he dies in the first 10 minutes of the movie and its never addressed. also prof x dies in this one and i dont remember how he comes back to life so what was that. also they fuck up bobbys characterization SOOOO bad like i know they didnt know he was gay and he is kind of a player but in the comics kitty uses him as a rebound then breaks up with him and then his younger self (teleported to the future from the 60s) is like "why arent you gay. i'm gay" and bobby is like "no i'm also gay. i just act straight because of irish catholic guilt". so having him cheat on rogue with kitty and pressure rogue into getting the mutation blocker thing so they can have sex is retroactively an insane plotline. sorry im bobby drakes number one fan and this is so fake. also beast is so hot in this movie. what? who said that. also the phoenix plotline sucks and also magneto was right to try and explode the factory or whatever
origins wolverine: INCREDIBLY funny movie serious excellent. completely unintentional in how funny it is but so enjoyable to watch. why was cyclops there? why was emma frost there? what is going on in this movie? why is wolverine naked all the damn time? why does he know the blob? why can he BEAT the blob? why is the blob in this movie? seriously what the fuck is going on in this movie? x-men origins wolverine does not have answers to these questions. its really great to see the awful cgi claws though. i liked that gambit was in this movie.
first class: i have a lot of questions on this one. why is hank here. why is mystique acting like a child when she should be over 70 years old at the least. why would they get my hopes up by putting banshee and moira in the same movie but then not give them a relationship. why the fuck is scott summers' younger brother here. however it does well by making you root for magneto and then being like "and everybody then teamed up with magneto because hes awesome and abandoned xavier except for hank because theyre both centrist democrats" like you know what. so true. i like how mags just starts drama constantly for no reason like why was he fucking w mystique like that... good for him i guess but hes so gay in this movie its not even funny. okay it is funny but only a little.
the wolverine: i fell asleep during this one so i don't know but it seemed weird and racist in many ways and wolverine was a complete bitch during it for NO reason as always. also its so funny to see him fail on screen with basic japanese when in the comics he gets mind wiped and regains the ability to speak japanese before he regains english like that guy is an r/whiteguyswithasianwives prodigy. i liked deathstryke in this movie the actress was very cool. why didnt wolverine take the deal to save his friend and not be immortal anymore when he fucking hates being immortal half the time like bro come on... i hate him sorry
days of future past: okay at this point they should have known bobby drake was gay. so why all that with kitty. also why blame MYSTIQUE for the creation of the sentinels dawg she had nothing to do with that in the comics. the sentinels were not purple enough OR big enough btw. also, where is rachel summers. you cant do days of future past without rachel summers. either way this was a pretty good movie. quicksilver was excellent.
apocalypse: guys. why is scott summers wearing raybans. here are some other questions i hate about this movie: why is cyke's backstory never properly discussed. why do they give cyke angel or bobby's personality. why does nightcrawler look so bad. why would apocalpse choose angel over literally anyone else. why is it never addressed that nightcrawler is mystique's son. why is psylocke here if theyre not going to do anything with her. why is xavier such an annoying liberal. why would they introduce a new magneto daughter when he already has like 3 to pick from. why dont hank and mystique just sort their shit out. why does mystique go to bat so hard for maggy. why does jean already have telepathic abilities when she and scott meet thus making the way they originally get together (one of the main reasons i give a fuck about their relationship) impossible. who is the girl with the yellow hoop earrings they hang out with. dazzler??? why does jean have the phoenix spirit in her if she hasnt died yet. why isnt storm in her home on the mountain at this point. why is moira not scottish. why introduce her son if theyre not going to do the moira son plotline. last but not least, why would they include any character in this movie who wasnt quicksilver when hes obviously the best character by a wide margin and all scenes that dont include him are basically worthless. otherwise i quite enjoyed it. i liked angels haircut and im so glad they FINALLY made xavier bald.
i will add my reviews of new mutants, dark phoenix, deadpool, etc. once i watch them
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emblemxeno Ā· 3 years ago
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JP vs. Localization in Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation
(Okay, for real this time lol)
Again, hereā€™s a link to my sources post.
Fortunately, this route follows suit in terms of good localization quality after Conquest. Itā€™s the shortest out of all the posts, since I donā€™t really have a lot to talk about. Mostly subtle line changes, references and a few key points of information that were cut out. I also went through Hidden Truths and Heirs of Fate to see if I could add stuff from those on here, but there were no big problems that I found.
Once again, the main part of this post will all be put under the cut. If a chapter isnā€™t covered, it means I didnā€™t think there were any differences worth talking about.
Iā€™ll use localized names for characters and locations, unless I feel the need to do otherwise.
Iā€™ll be using she/her when referring to Corrin in this post. (I flipped a coin to decide the gender lol)
Also, note that after Chapter 14, the translation of this route on Fateswartable ends, so I mostly relied on the English patch done by Serenes at that point forward. (I also used PegasusKnight.com as a reference to fall back on if I needed it)
Chapter 7
-A minor gripe I have with localization. The JP version compares Touma (Valla) to hell constantly. To jump ahead a bit, I believe in the JP versions of the End of All Sky/Land/Below tracks are even called The End of All Roads Heaven/Earth/Hell. The Vallites are also often called demons in the JP version, and Anankos himself is known as the ā€˜Invisible Demon Dragonā€™.
Another cool thing I just thought of too, is a connection to a popular Japanese short story. Zelda fans might be familiar with the story, ā€œThe Spiderā€™s Threadā€, which inspired the Ancient Cistern dungeon in Skyward Sword.
The beginning of the story has Buddha walking through paradise (heaven), before coming across a pond. The pond is filled with crystal clear water, and covered with water lilies/lotuses. As Buddha gazes further into the pond, he begins to see the depths of hell.
Sound familiar? ā€œAzura is walking through Hoshido, before coming across a lake. The lake is filled with crystal clear water, and when she gazes into the lake she sees the fallen kingdom of her birth. Valla, the kingdom associated with water lilies/lotuses in the game, has been turned into hell itself.ā€
This association loses its meaning a bit when the comparisons to hell are a bit toned down, as well as when the Buddhist inspirations were kind of supplanted in favor of Greek renames. Itā€™s not supremely important to the plot as a whole, but itā€™s something interesting I wanted to bring up.
-In the JP version, while explaining what happened in Valla, Azura eventually says ā€œUsing the art of manipulating peopleā€™s souls, he (Hydra/Anankos) made the people kill each other.ā€ This bit of the people killing each other was cut in localization.
Chapter 12
-In the JP version, when Corrin asks Flora if she knows anything about dragons, Flora says ā€œSorry, I donā€™t knowā€¦The ancestral dragon of the Ice Clan has already perished and isnā€™t part of the legend. I donā€™t know what role it plays, sorryā€¦ā€ Localization makes her response ā€œI'm sorry, but I can't think of anything... They've been gone so long that we don't even have tales of dragons in the Ice Tribe. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more assistance...ā€
So, the JP version explicitly says the Ice Dragon is dead (I believe Fatesā€™ second artbook mentioned this as well), whereas the localization only says the First Dragons have been gone for a long time.
Chapter 16
-Thereā€™s not really much of a problem that I have with what Ryoma says about Corrin ā€œhaving leadership qualities at a young ageā€ but I wanted to do comparisons regardless cuz the word choice might lead one to different conclusions. In localization, Ryoma says this:
Ryoma: Huh... So she told us the same thing... I don't think it's in Corrin's nature to lie. And there's a leadership quality about her that just attracts followers. I remember being jealous of her as a child, in fact. Even at such a young age, she displayed the characteristics of a ruler. Silly to be jealous of her, right?
In the JP version, Ryoma says this:
Ryoma: Oh... So, she told you the same thing. ā€¦Corrin isnā€™t one to tell lies. Sheā€™s been like that since childhood. Sheā€™s always genuine and honest... She has this mysterious appeal that draws people to her. Seeing my younger sister with the qualities of being a ruler... Honestly, it makes me feel envious. ā€¦What a ridiculous thing to say, right?
Again, I donā€™t necessarily have a problem with how it was localized, but some might. The localization version might have people think that Corrin somehow was a fantastic leader at such a young age, but JP is more clear that it was about the qualities she had at a young age that would be valuable as a leader.
Chapter 19
-A minor gripe. In the localization, Azura says that Anankos uses his magic to send Vallites to Nohr and Hoshido to stir up conflict. In the JP version, she says he uses magic, along with the help of a body of water. Thatā€™s why whenever you fight Vallites outside of Valla proper, thereā€™s a body of water nearby; Hoshidoā€™s lake (and the ponds shown in Hinokaā€™s CQ battle which are in the capital) for Chapter 5, the sea for BR chapter 11, the burning falls for BR chapter 21, and the city for Rev chapter 13. Similarly, the consequences of being a victim to the curse are described as ā€œturning into sea foamā€ in the JP version. Localization as a whole kind of toned down how much water has an influence on the story.
Chapter 23
-Probably the pettiest gripe I have lol. As Arete is fading away from Azuraā€™s arms, Azura has a different reaction in localization and Japanese. In localization, Azura says ā€œMother? Mother!ā€ while a voice clip of her in-battle pain cries plays. In the JP, she says Ā ā€œ*Sob... Sob*ā€¦! Mother... Mother...!ā€, while a voice clip of her crying plays. Her crying voice clip I donā€™t recall hearing anywhere else.
This is one of the few times in the you get to see Azura express a heavy and heartfelt emotion, since her rough childhood caused her to remain guarded and stoic around everyone. The equivalents to this scene in other routes is her death scene in Birthright, and her crying with Corrin over Ryomaā€™s death in Conquest; a normally unflinching and aloof character breaking down is a rarity, and indicates that the cause of it is something to take note of for the character as a whole. Localization softened this aspect, and I take issue with it, despite it probably seeming trivial to most other people.
Chapter 24
-When Corrin is questioning the phantom Mikoto, an exchange happens. In localization, part of it goes like this:
Corrin: But this can't be... Are you truly my mother?
Mikoto: I am. Even as a puppet of Anankos, my spirit at least remains my own.
Corrin: I... I believe you.
In the JP version, it goes like this:
Corrin: It canā€™t be... ā€¦Are you really my mother?
Mikoto: Yes... I became an Invisible servant, controlled by the Invisible King... Even so, I am your mother.
Corrin: Ā ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦ā€¦
Again, a minor thing that I donā€™t personally have issue with, but replacing Corrinā€™s silence with an admittance of belief could make some believe she has ā€œrevertedā€ back to being too naĆÆve.
Chapter 26
-While Gunter is relaying his past, an exchange happens. In localization, it goes like this:
Gunter: I ask myself that, every day. I cannot understand the minds of royals. To you all, we commoners are little more than pawns in your schemes... Or weeds to be killed on a whim.
Corrin: That's not true...
Xander: Is that how people view the royalty?
Ryoma: Such an impression would easily breed powerful resentment...
In the JP version, Corrin, Xander and Ryoma donā€™t say anything. They just remain silent.
Endgame
-Not a major problem so much as a general thing about the game, but I can think of like... at least three memes that Treehouse inserted into the localization. Now I like memes, but there is no better way to date your media nowadays. One of them was Kanaā€™s ā€œThatā€™s dragon for I love youā€ which tbh, is kind of cute and isnā€™t the most well known meme so I guess I can let it slide. Another is Felicia saying ā€œI had one job!ā€ when she messes up in the dining hall, which isnā€™t that big of a deal since the dining hall is very optional.
The last one I can think of is why I put this specific grievance here, and itā€™s during Corrinā€™s speech before facing Anankos.
Corrin: We won't back down! This is my... This is our destiny! Ready your weapons! Fight for your friends! With the Seal of Flames... With the Fire Emblem on our side! We fight for our world!!
Yeah, she says ā€œFight for your friendsā€ which is everyoneā€™s favorite Ike line from Brawl. Now, this isnā€™t even a totally inaccurate translation either, but it kind of just... makes the moment funny for the player when itā€™s supposed to be commanding and serious I guess.
But yeah, not the most important issue by far, but something Iā€™d thought to mention. Hell, itā€™s not even that bad compared to how they made Periā€™s, Effieā€™s and Hisameā€™s quirks into exaggerated and tired jokes. And the Beruka-Saizo support. Never forget.
-When Azura and Corrin are by the lake and discuss the latterā€™s plans to rule, Corrin says this in localization:
Corrin: I'm going to make Valla a wonderful place! In honor of the true last king and for Queen Arete. And everyone who fought... I promise to make them all proud.
In the JP version, she says this:
Corrin: Iā€™ll make the Invisible Kingdom (Valla) into a great land. For the previous monarch, Queen Shenmei (Arete)ā€¦ And for all of my allies who fought beside me. I promise.
So, JP version only mentions Arete as the reigning monarch of Valla. Which makes sense, cuz unless there was some wild ā€œkeeping the bloodline pureā€ shenanigans in Valla, Arete being the Queen keeps in line with what we know about the rest of Vallaā€™s history. Arete was royalty from birth, as was her sister Mikoto. Arete is the one who passed down Lost in Thoughts and the pendant to Azura. Ā 
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pepperpills Ā· 3 years ago
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The Harvest - RE8 Fanfic
The Harvest
A Resident Evil 8 fan fiction by Joana
Karl Heisenberg x Female Reader
Notes: heey guys, The Harvest is coming closer to its end, i hope you enjoy this chapter and new things might be coming ahead, thank you all for reading it >.<
Warning: NSFW content
Part I - Destiny (1) Part I - Destiny (2) Part II - The Lord Part III - The Hunt
Part IV ā€“ Soft Torture
In the next days, you finished the new wing and brough him to see it. He was grateful, he took a while analysing your sketches, strumming the shelves covered with books and the metallic tool boxes. When he was done, he impulsively took your head in his hands and kissed you in the forehead. You blushed, but by that time he already crossed the door and was calling you to help.
Then, you spent hours helping him move his stuff to that wing, especially the non-metallic ones, which he had no power over. Your hands touched while doing it and every time it happened, an electric discharged flowed through you ā€“ and him.
After you were done, you left him to explore his new set up as excited as he was with it. You still had your cleaning stuff when coming back to the main area and there was time, plenty of free time. Thus, you stopped on level B3 to take care of a dusty stroller that was pissing you off with its dirt.
You were minding your own business, singing your favourite childhood song while wiping the dust off the power box when you heard a drill. You instantly froze, imagining what caused it.
The area was poorly lite, but you saw that red brightness in the pitch dark, you wouldnā€™t confound it as it was part of the nightmares you had at your first days at the factory. It was, indeed, a lost Soldat.
You held a scream, your hand quickly covered your open mouth, but it was too late, it paid attention to you, way before you saw it, then it started walking towards your direction with that drill making a death sound.
The world around you didnā€™t make sense. You looked for exits, but it was about to sprint and you were in a corner, unable to run anywhere. A single tear rolled down your face and you closed your eyes not willing to see it.
ā€œNO.ā€ Heisenberg screamed, showing up at the right moment. ā€œSTOP!ā€ He demanded, but the thing was now coming to him. ā€œStupid shit.ā€ He cursed, violently throwing his cigar on the ground, putting it out with his boot.
With that said, the reactor on the Soldatā€™s chest exploded, casting hundreds of small parts all over the place, one hit you in the cheek. No one moved, it simply disintegrated and the creature fell to its knees, deactivated, exploding right away, sending more trash to the air.
Heisenberg walked rapidly to you and held your shoulders. When he noticed your cheek, he cleaned it and licked your blood out of his finger. You were way too shaken by the Soldat, but his grip slowly brought you to the real world.
ā€œYou okay?ā€ He whispered, his expression lines showing how worried he was.
He got so scared of losing you for that malfunctioning son of a bitch that his heart sunk when he saw you. It was too late for him to continue pretending he didnā€™t care that much for you.
ā€œYeah, it didnā€™t get me at all. Thank you.ā€ You were utterly grateful he tamed that thing, otherwiseā€¦ Otherwise you probably would be one of the bodies in the stretchers.
Heisenberg then buried his face in your neck, sighing. He sounded relieved.
ā€œThought I was gonna lose you there, buttercup.ā€ He told your neck, his voice stuffy.
ā€œI thought so too.ā€ You confessed, also feeling relieved. ā€œDo you care?ā€ You had to ask, simply had to know if he cared even though he just saved you.
ā€œOf course I do.ā€ He answered immediately, but not rushing.
Knowing that was reassuring. You felt safe. You felt home. He felt scared for the possibility of your death and couldnā€™t stop holding you. You thought he was going to bite you like a zombie would, instead, he rubbed his lips on your skin.
You moaned with the touch. It was involuntary, but you felt that you made a mistake. First you tried to be his friend when both of you felt alone, then you would give anything for him to order you to take off your clothes like in that first day, but wouldnā€™t dare say that, you were getting too mushy.
ā€œS-sorryā€¦ā€ You started apologizing, he let your neck go, but then his face was millimetres from yours.
ā€œDonā€™t be sorry.ā€ Karl firmly took your waist and put you up on the now clean stroller, your butt sitting on a wood box.
He had to have you. There was this urgent feeling on his stomach he couldnā€™t resist, it was being silenced for too long, since you arrived. That hunger took control of him and he griped your hair.
He is too strong, but you didnā€™t want to resist, at that moment, you were about to do whatever he desired, you had simply given up to it as you yourself were thirst for his touch.
The adrenaline was still running crazily through you, like you had been shocked, you thought it was even stronger than before, growing, driving you to hallucinate as you saw coloured lights dancing in your vision. Coloured, festive lights.
ā€œFuck, buttercup, you have a way to get to me.ā€ He cursed, kissing you chin, making you moan again. ā€œOh, you are so hopeless like this.ā€ Heisenberg laughed; his chuckles made your entire body resonate.
ā€œPlease, let me have you, Karl.ā€ You found yourself begging, you would be on your knees if he wasnā€™t so close, taming you.
He stepped back, a tiny step so he could look at you. He was smiling, his eyes seemed to have fallen upon a prey, one he would treat with good manners. His hand reached your neck, pressing it, not too hard, but not softly, so you could feel his scars and you moaned to that.
He spread your legs with his knee, not gentle, not brutal, but demanding. You let him do it, feeling the blood down there. You felt a chilled object between your thighs, it touched your clit over your tight pants. It started rubbing as Heisenberg kissed every centimetre of your face and his hands wandered around your body, owing it.
You were soaked, your panties were completely wet at that point, maybe even more than the rain made before, and that metal thing kept rubbing your bud driving you insane. You moaned loudly, moaned like an animal and he joined you with husky groans.
You closed your legs around his waist and forced him to come closer. He cried out in pleasure, even though fully clothed. You felt him hard, so damn hard you thought you couldnā€™t take it.
His pace was getting faster controlling the metal stimulating you, it was feeling too intense, all your feelings mixing up with his sudden touch, the adrenaline running through out your body, his beard tingling your neck as he groaned, making your eyes roll in pleasure. You came the first time like that, your water wetting him.
You took his face in your hands and glued your lips to one another. The kiss was intense, you completely forgot to breath as his tongue met yours, playing rough games in your mouth. You had to scratch his skin under his clothes, to this, he arched his back, a warm sensation flooding his body as it felt held after so long, so glad to finally take you, so hungry to devour you, he couldnā€™t help but to feel he was close, not done with these games, but close to his first time in a while anyway. That was the time for him to cum. He held you tightly, burring his face on your shoulder, moaning like crazy and came in his pants. You came again, with him.
ā€œGod damn it.ā€ That was all he could say, panting.
ā€œFor fuckā€™s sake.ā€ You joined him, leaning your back on the stroller to rest.
The dancing lights were still there, lullabying you now that you both orgasmed. You were calm, calmer than you had never been, completely distant from the Soldatā€™s treat, the Village, anything. Nothing could reach you at the factory, nothing besides his scarred hands.
You thought it was over, but you still felt drunk with pleasure, willing to taste more of it, more of him. Karl had an idea. One that you would like. He took you in his arms, so easily you felt little while pressing your face to his collarbone, the electricity in your body giving you delightful goosebumps. You hugged his neck and your legs hugged his waist. He started walking.
At first, you didnā€™t know where he was taking you, then you recognized the path among all those look alike corridors. You two were heading to the soft torture room. It didnā€™t make you anxious, though. You were curious.
He actually walked there, not surfing any metal plaque. It didnā€™t take long to get to your destination. He made the door open with his powers, never letting you go even for a second like you were too precious to trust the floor to support you.
That room was the most organized room of the factory. You could see he started using that as a storeroom due to several cardboard boxes leaning against the walls. The gears and toys were as new. You doubted someone had ever used them.
The room was painted black, decorated with real swords, axes and chains, the last ones maybe could be of use. There was a whip rack with different whips that made you excited, willing to test them all, also, some toys and instruments were suspended on a metal board close to a Berkley horse. Heisenberg didnā€™t guide you to any of those, though.
ā€œDo you think you can take it, kitten?ā€ He whispered affably in your ear.
ā€œI want to take anything.ā€ You told him, sanguinely.
He chuckled and lead you to another piece of furniture. That one you had seen on history books. It was the wrist stocks. Usually, it would be made of wood, but his were metallic and would move as he desired, so you could alternate positions.
Karl let you go, gently, you stepped barefoot on the ground having lost your shoes at the stroller and he made you sit on a chair next to the stocks. You kissed for what seemed to be eternity, every single one of your senses being stimulated at once. He gruffly took his overcoat off, without untouching your lips and started massaging your nipples. You cried out in pleasure, feeling it drain on your thighs.
You drove him crazy. He was doing his best to be at least moderate to you, but you werenā€™t helping at all. Your groans made him be harsh, it was your doing, he kept thinking. He ripped your shirt off effortlessly, giving you a shock. Your boobs came out swinging, making him howl and burry his face on them. He felt welcomed by your warmth, consoled by your soft skin. He didnā€™t want to rise his nose from them, but he did in order to rend your pants.
It was a real relief to be finally free from your clothes. In that manner, you took his shirt off, laying your hand on his chest for a silent while. It was entrancing to be able to touch him like that, to feel his heavy breathing, strolling your fingers on his belly. But when you reached his pants and started unbuttoning it, he snorted and pushed you back.
ā€œNot now, sugar.ā€ He denied, smiling at your disconsolate face. ā€œFirst things first.ā€ Heisenberg added as he lifted you, placing you lastly at the stocks.
You saw how hard he was under those pants. His cock was begging to be tamed, to be treated, to be tasted. You could drool if your kept thinking these things, but you couldnā€™t help, it was centimetres from your face now and was certainly calling you. You inclined a little, he didnā€™t perceive, and gave a long, naughty lick on his cock, tasting the humidity there, trying the flavour of his cum. It tasted like ā€œI want moreā€.
He groaned loudly, hopelessly. Heisenberg got a little annoyed by your disobedience and decided he could be a bit harder on you.
ā€œBad kitten.ā€ He called you.
Your wrists were now retained, you were sitting completely naked on a massage bed and he still had his pants on which meant a little more play. Out of nowhere, nipple clamps flew to you and bite your nipples. You screamed in pleasure. It hurt a little, pressing your delicate skin.
Heisenberg was enjoying himself, maliciously smiling. At that sight, he had to touch himself. His hand reached his cock over the fabric and cuddled it for some time as he tightened the grip on your nipples.
After a while like this, he decided it was about time and his pants fell off, revealing a big, pulsating, needy rod on that made you moan on its homage.
ā€œNow, kitten, show me you can take it all.ā€ He said, approaching you, taking advantage of your opened mouth.
You finally had it, an explosion of flavours and sensation took command of you. His cum was sweet, now your favourite candy, his cock was almost too much for your mouth, but you proudly took it all on you salivating tongue, leading it deep down your throat, making a mess of saliva. A mess he loved. Heisenberg was simply howling in pleasure, his husky voice dominated by voluptuousness, he was roaring over the machinery noises.
If you kept going longer, he was going to cum on your precious mouth, would fill it with his godā€™s milk. But he wasnā€™t done with you. Oh no. He took his cock out of your mouth and you felt the bed leaning backwards.
ā€œLay.ā€ Heisenberg ordered as he climbed your body, positioned between your legs.
You laid. He roughly rubbed his smouldering boner on your clit. You both groaned intensely. He played you a little more, then he started entering. Your pussy wasnā€™t used to it, to big things coming in and out of it like that, but it sure loved the sensation.
His thighs were pressed to yours, rubbing his hair body on your skin as he moved forward into you. You thought you were dead, nothing that good could be possible. But it was, you had him inside your pussy, reaching so deep as the bed inclination helped to get as far as he could.
At first, he tried to go steady, not willing to hurt you more, but as you moaned, he couldnā€™t help but burying his cock on you. You made it feel welcomed, hot and squeezed by your walls.
Heisenberg was losing it. You were losing it. You both moved in synchrony, the nipple clamps awakening every pleasure sensor on your body, feeling him entirely.
He invested inside you for what felt like hours of pure pleasure. You two sang the lust song together. Karl knew he couldnā€™t hold on longer.
ā€œNow, kitten, you gonna have it.ā€ He whispered between his teeth, griping your hair.
You hugged his waist with your legs, forcing him to stay deep down. He groaned, thunders in your vision. He was coming hot, plentiful, absolutely satisfied. Heisenberg came inside you and when he found the courage to step out and you let go your legs, cum drained from your pussy.
ā€œKarlā€¦ā€ You could only mumble, panting.
ā€œKitten.ā€ He answered, releasing your wrists and laying by your side.
He pushed you to his chest where you gladly laid your sleepy head. He cuddled your hair as your draw circles on his belly.
ā€œIt was the best thing I ever felt.ā€ You said, at last.
ā€œYou had me there, kitten.ā€ Heisenberg confessed, his heart racing. ā€œYou fucked me good.ā€ He added, smiling. You smiled too.
Both of you were tired, sleepy. His cuddles made your eyes shut and your hug embraced him. You fell asleep in the soft torture room, on the massage bed. Naked and together, at last.
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littlemisssquiggles Ā· 3 years ago
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It's been a while since we've heard from you. I hope you're doing okay. On that note, you excited that Neo+ Roman are getting backstory in the new RWBY novel "Roman Holiday"?
Hi there Miki-chan ^^/
Iā€™ve been well; hope the same for you. And yeahā€¦thereā€™s actually a reason for my quietness in respect to RWBY since I know a lot of folks follow me here on my main blog for my RWBY content.
But as you saw, I havenā€™t been talking much about RWBY these days. Part of that is due to me focusing on current things in my personal life (such as work, the pandemic, family stuff, my overall health, other interests, etc.).
The other part is due to my general feelings about RWBY coming off the end of Volume 8. To be completely honest with you Miki-chan (and to any curious cat reading this post whoā€™s been wondering the same thing about whatā€™s up with me), I more or less took an unannounced break from RWBY following the end of the last season and Iā€™ve fallen into this routine of only talking about RWBY when I feel up to it. Apologies to you and anyone who has sent me messages prompting me to discuss RWBY within the last couple of months and I just havenā€™t been responding.
Truth is, I just donā€™t feel like talking about RWBY as much as I used to and I only do it when Iā€™m up for it and lately, over the past couple of months till now, I just havenā€™t been up for it. If I can be even more honest, my main reason for feeling this way is due to my true feelings about RWBY Volume 8.
I DID NOT enjoy RWBY Volume 8. I know a lot of other fans seem to have but I didnā€™t; sadly to admit.
The more I think about it (and trust me, Iā€™ve been thinking a lot about the last season), the more I realized just how much I didnā€™t enjoy the last volume at all. I know Iā€™ve had critiques and issues with previous RWBY volumes---such as V6 and even V7 but if thereā€™s one thing I can say is that I still enjoyed those seasons overall.
V8 was a different kind of sentiment. That volume DRAINED me, fam. I would even go as far as to say that V8 is my least favourite season of RWBY and this squiggle meisterā€™s pick for the worst season of RWBY to date.
For all the problems previous seasons had, for me, Volume 8 just encompassed all my main issues with the writing/direction of RWBY rolled into one big emotionally exhausting MESS of a season.
By the time V8 was nearing its finale, I could not wait for the season to be over. Thatā€™s to tell you just how much I wasnā€™t having a good time with the last season.ā€¦I justā€¦I have so much gripes with Volume 8.
Volume 8 made me so exasperated with RWBY that the only way for me to salvage what bit of love and interest I still have for the show is to take a step back from it. While I still shared a couple of posts here and there, the energy and enthusiasm that I once had to talk and share ideas for RWBY just wasnā€™t there anymore following the end of V8.
Donā€™t get me wrong--- Iā€™m still a fan of RWBY and I do intend to watch and talk about Volume 9 whenever it drops. Itā€™s just that, for now, my heartā€™s just not in the mood to talk about RWBY. At least not as much as I did in the past. Not after V8. So thatā€™s why Iā€™ve been so quiet. Sorry to anyone who was hoping to get some good squiggly RWBY content leading up to V9. You can always go check out my ole stuff cause they're still there.
To answer your question on ā€œRoman Holidayā€---I wouldnā€™t exactly say that Iā€™m excited about it. I mean I'm definitely interested but I'm not as hyped for it like how I was hyped for Fairy Tales From Remnant last year, y'know what I mean?
While I do dig the Froyo ship, of all the characters I wanted a backstory RWBY novel on, Neopolitan and Roman Torchwick would not be my first picks.
I wouldā€™ve quicker asked for an Ozpin backstory book since Iā€™m still very much curious as to what Ozpinā€™s life and experience with the Merge was like especially since V8 touched upon Oscarā€™s true feelings about it. But alas, no Ozpin story :/
Nevertheless I am interested in Roman Holiday and I do plan on getting it once its released.
I actually plan on getting Roman Holiday together with RWBY: After the Fall and Before the Dawn on Kindle because I have a gut feeling that there may be details and callbacks to all three books in V9 and I want to be prepared for that.
This is especially the case with RH since, given the V9 teaser sneak peek with Neo, Iā€™m curious about what Roman Holiday will reveal about her and her past leading into the events of V9 and her ongoing vendetta against Ruby especially since the two might be trapped on NOT Destiny Island together in the Other World. So thatā€™s what Iā€™m gonna do.
Hope this answers you m'fam. Again, sorry for my quietness.
~ LittleMissSquiggles (2021)
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atamascolily Ā· 5 years ago
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lily liveblogs Atlantis 1x01 - ā€œThe Earth Bullā€
Okay, @noxelementalist suggested I might like the BBCā€™s Atlantis, so I figured Iā€™d give it a shot. I watched the trailer for Season One, and I was in as soon as Pythagoras (yes, that one) introduced himself, but I finally got around to watching the first episode tonight.
The hardest part of portal fantasies is getting the modern main character to the new place. I like that this transition happens fast. In the modern world, Jason's talking to a dude about going in a sub to look for the wreckage of his missing father's ship and also he has a necklace macguffin and some cryptic clues about destiny. That's all we need really.
The credits are all backwards. I really hope that's not a trend.
Oh, the dad's ship is named the Oracle, because of course it is.
HOW DID HE LOSE HIS SHIRT *AND* HIS PANTS WHEN THE SUB EXPLODED BUT NOT HIS NECKLACE?
Oh, good, he finds some clothes so he looks like a local.
(Was he in the Mediterranean on our Earth when this happened? NO CLUE.)
Was this filmed in Malta? It looks like Malta.
Oh, we're definitely not in Kansas anymore - there's a two-headed dragon. WHY DID YOU THINK PETTING IT WAS A GOOD IDEA, EXACTLY??
The dragon overturns a vegetable cart, and there's a butternut squash next to a pomegranate and my botany!self calls bullshit on the squash. NORTH AMERICAN NATIVE VEGETABLES DO NOT END UP IN ANCIENT CRETE (or wherever), SORRY.
Why IS there a dragon running around anyway? Shouldn't it be, I don't know, LEASHED or something?
Of course, he's going to destroy the entire market now in the ensuring chase, I don't make the rules.
Oh, there goes a watermelon cart. These originated in West Africa, so, I don't know, like maybe kinda plausible? More so than the butternut squash, anyway.
Dragons like melons - so Jason distracts it with that, then he throws a basket over both its head and pummels it with a stick. Some guards show up, but of course, they're not sympathetic, so he has to keep running...
A guard shoots him with an arrow. OW. That hurts.
INTO THE GARBAGE CHUTE, FLYBOY! Oh, wait, he's going to land on Pythagoras... what a way to meet-cute.
Oh, wait, he falls off the edge and Pythagoras catches his hand. It's been like three seconds and I ship them already. The fact that Jason ends up falling on top of him DOES NOT HELP Ā with the shipping vibes, okay?
Aww, and then he starts shaking and hugging Pythagoras because he's so scared and relieved and Pythagoras is like "Do we hug? This is... fine?" confused, and I'm just grinning like an idiot because this is ambiguous platonic brotherhood/not-so-platonic OTP shipping at its finest.
Oh, it's Atlantis, that's why there's a dragon AND Pythagoras AND King Minos, I get it now.
THE LOOK ON PYTHAGORAS'S FACE WHEN JASON SAYS "YOU'RE THE TRIANGLE GUY" AHHHHHHHHHHHH *cries in sympathy for my fellow nerd*
(The other part of my brain is shouting "THAT'S EUCLID PROPOSITION 1.47, YOU ASSHOLES" but ignore it, this is really just too cute for words.)
And Hercules is his roommate...? Okay... and Pythagoras is gonna make a fat joke, not a fan. Hercules sums up my reaction: "My friend is under the false impression he's amusing."
Ah, now the necklace macguffin is coming into play. So he goes to see the Oracle about it.
Annnnndddd Hercules is already there. With some sort of bull symbol on his forehead.
Turns out the Oracle is expecting Jason because she's just that good, LOL. She has her back to him for the scene, so we can't see her face, but she's got a sweet tattoo of a stylized bull skull on her back.
They sacrifice a chicken and stare at the blood, like you do. The Oracle says there's a multiverse! Turns out Jason's father took him to our Earth when he was a baby for.. reasons. Is she his mom? Is that what this is about?
Oh, his father is either King Minos or Hercules, and my money's on the King.
Oh, wait, his father's dead. This must make Minos the Big Bad. The Oracle punts on the mom question, so that's still TBD.
I wonder... does Jason's quest involve a boat? A journey? Some ARGONAUTS, perhaps? (And maybe--just maybe--some living skeletons? Pretty please?)
Turns out the Oracle admits to her companion that she was lying! So my guesses still stand. Minos probably is the Big Bad, though, because otherwise it's Too Easy to Resolve the Plot and Daddy Issues.
Pythagoras shows up and introduces a plot point: there's a procession to the Temple of Poseidon because they're going to select tributes to offer to the Minotaur. Also: backstory.
There's a curfew, and Jason has nowhere to go, and you can just see Pythagoras gearing himself up to ask Jason to stay with HIM, and I'm just... the writers are making this really easy to ship this, aren't they?
"What about Hercules?" "Oh, he's usually so drunk when he gets back from the tavern, he won't even notice you're there." LOLOLOLOL.
Cut to Hercules, not impressed with Pythagoras's tastes in men. Despite my "only one bed" jokes to the contrary, Jason gets the couch, which is why he sees Hercules sneaking out. Of course, he wakes up Pythagoras and they chase him down, guards be damned. Hercules says the Oracle saw him in the Labyrinth, and he's trying to avoid his fate. This is... gonna end poorly, isn't it.
Oh, now they're being chased by "hunting lions" through the city in the middle of the night. Jason does an amazing flip to escape and doesn't know how he did it.
Cut to the day. Geographically incorrect red-tailed hawk scream. They're all drawing lots to see who gets fed to the Minotaur. I wonder if Jason's going to "volunteer as tribute".
How long does it take 20,000 people to draw lots anyway?
Hercules draws a white stone. There's a girl checking out Jason before he draw a white stone too. LOVE INTEREST AHOY. The King and Queen are sarcastic. Pythagoras draws the black stone. He looks crushed.
Council of war! "Maybe you could talk about triangles and BORE the Minotaur to death," says Hercules. Pythagoras tries to explain that triangles are really fascinating and something about their angles and Herc is not buying it. Don't listen to him, Pythagoras.
Oh, the girl is Ariadne, she's having dinner with her parents, but she's really all hot and bothered about Jason, isn't she?
And... Pasiphae is an archetypal Bitch!Mom. Sigh. She slaps Ariadne when Ariadne obliquely refers to the fact that PASIPHAE FUCKED A BULL and that's why they have to feed the Minotaur... I think? Oh, wait, no, it's an oblique reference to something bad Minos did. Okay, fine. Still archetypal Bitch!Mom even if she's doing it to protect her husband's honor, such as it is.
Jason grabs a sword and the black stone and sneaks out to offer himself to the temple in Pythagoras's place while his friend is still asleep because... destiny. And Herc and Pythagoras are gonna rescue him. (Watching this, I can't help but wonder: So is that a sword under your tunic, or are you just happy to see me?)
MORE WATERMELONS IN THE MARKET. Okay, yes, so this is fantasy!Atlantis, so rules and logic need not apply, but still, this bothers me way more than the two-headed dragon (which no one has explained WHY IT'S THERE, WHY IT WASN'T TIED UP, and why the guards want to murder Jason for harassing it) Does everyone have one? Is it a pet? What is up with the two-headed dragon and why don't we see it again??
Ariadne notices the switcheroo, but no one else does (or cares enough to comment). Oh, and he gets a last bath and no one notices the sword... and Ariadne sneaks in to chat. "Look, lady, I don't know who I am, but I have DESTINY ON MY SIDE, OKAY?"
Ariadne gives him a thread "enchanted by the witches of Colchis" who I hope we'll meet in later episodes. They gaze soulfully into each others' eyes and almost kiss, and she runs away.
Pythagoras confronts Jason as he's walking to the Temple with the other sacrifices (all NPCs) and tells him his theory about triangles is destined to bore millions of children throughout history, and Pythagoras runs home and starts looking for weapons because something something bond of platonic friendship something something SHIPPING.
Of course Herc goes with him after some initial griping because Pythagoras is going to get hurt otherwise. I don't understand their relationship, but okay.
The scarred guard we've seen earlier is clearly a PC. A girl runs away, Pythagoras and Herc get caught, and they get press-ganged into replacing her. The scarred guard is a jerk, so we'll probably see him again. Herc keeps griping.
Jason introduces himself to one of the other sacrifices who will either survive, or die horribly at the last moment. Jason remembers the string and starts stringing. The NPCs wait to be slaughtered. Jason finds one of the bodies, but it doesn't seem ike the Minotaur eats them or anything, so I don't understand what's going on.
Jason runs into Pythagoras. They hug. SHIP SHIP SHIP. More screams. Bones. His new friend is alive, and the Minotaur looks like Pan's Labyrinth. Jason gets tossed around a lot. The Minotaur is simulanteously moving like a bull and a man, which is creepy but Jason kills him (somehow? I think with Ariadne's necklace??)....and he transforms into a person who thanks him for lifting the curse. He's cryptic, gushing about Jason's destiny and how Minos must never find out, while our new party member looks on in awe.
Cut to the Oracle, who's been watching all this in her visions being all dramatic for cryptic expository purposes. Meanwhile, the King pontificates over the survivors. Jason gives Ariadne back her necklace while Pasiphae looks on. Ariadne is smitted, Pasiphae is curious. Hercules has plans to leverage their fame into money. There's some banter, making fun of Jason's name... and we end on a fat joke. Oooookay. CAN YOU PLEASE STOP WITH THE FAT JOKES, WRITERS, THIS REALLY ISN'T AS FUNNY AS YOU THINK IT IS.
Up next episode: The Oracle is cryptic. Fight scene! "My name is Medusa."
WHY ARE ALL THE CREDITS BACKWARDS PLEASE STOP
This seems like a pretty standard introductory episode, but the writers need to work a little harder to keep me interested. I have no idea where this series is going, exactly -- I'm mostly just here for Pythagoras at this point -- so I guess we'll see what happens in the next episode.
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silverducks Ā· 6 years ago
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Avengers:Endgame
Just some very spoilery thoughts on my favourite section of the MCU, the Asgardians, after Endgame.
First off, I want to say there were plenty of things in Endgame I loved, but that doesn't outweigh the bad for me. And one of my biggest gripes with Endgame is how, imho, they totally screwed over the Asgard corner. Thor was reduced and regressed to a laughing stock who baled out on everything that had happened to him over the course of 6 movies.Ā 
Loki was barely in it and not once referenced by the Avengers or Thor, even when he went back in time to when Loki was still alive. And they just left these bunch of mythical, almost immortal Asgardians to carry on in a quaint fishing village with nothing? Yes, pre second snap, fair enough, but at the end too?
It was the Thor side of things I loved most about MCU. I adored the whole world of Asgard and the nine realms to explore and all the characters we got with it. The first Thor film with it's world and characters has stayed with me these 8 years like no other film ever has. It was what got me so invested in the MCU and why I cared so much about what happened. Yes, there are other aspects I love too, but the Thor side was the main one.
And they just screwed it all over, and for what? I really don't see why Asgard had to be destroyed, why Thor had to lose everything after all. Yes, it destroyed Thor, but for what - how in the grand scheme of things did Thor losing everything change anything? At least with the other sacrifices in the MCU there was some pay off. Here it was just a few cheap laughs. It was like there was no actual point to the whole Thor franchise and what happened to him and the other characters.Ā 
It's like they didn't know what to do with the Asgard angle so they just ignored it, or butchered it, and Thor's roller coaster character arc along with it. And considering how long in the making this film has been - a culmination of 10 years! - I don't get why they couldn't of thought of something better and more fitting for 1 of the three main Infinity Saga story arcs.
And I'm not talking about Thor's breakdown, that was natural after all he'd been through, but that he didn't really develop from it. Yes, he got a wonderful pep talk from his mum, found he was still worthy and then did some kick ass fighting. But it's the way they end his story arc that bugs me. That and making his suffering a cheap laugh. His whole story arc was about becoming worthy and accepting his destiny as King. After he became worthy again in the first Thor film, through all the rest of the films he was in, he still did what was right, still fought for his family, his friends and his people. Yes, at the start of Endgame he had nothing to fight but at the end? THAT is where Thor's character arc becomes a complete regression of 6 films worth of character development.
He ran away, when he now had a reason to fight, when the events of Endgame gave him another chance. When he could finally make things right and be the King his whole character arc led up to. But no, they sent him off on a space adventure to "find himself," and we as fans are supposed to be happy because he's decided he's happier running away. His mother very wisely said he should stop being who he thinks he's supposed to be, and just be who he is. But he IS a King, he grew up a prince! Being who he is IS King of Asgard, just not the way he thought it was supposed to be. What bugs me is I feel like we as fans are supposed to be happy for that ending for Thor?
And don't get me started on Loki, who they seemed to spin so much media frenzy up for, to then just not use him at all? If Endgame is meant to be a finale serviced to the fans, why so little under use one of it's most popular characters? I still remember that comic con thing with Loki, how the fans there responded to him. And how they let the story out that Loki was supposed to die in Dark World, but the fans wouldn't accept it. Loki is a super popular character and they just ignored him in a film meant to be a service to the fans.Ā 
There was so much potential for all those little sprinklers of ideas around the Loki storyline, like why did he give the Collector the Ether? And it all went to waste. And whilst I'm guessing Loki running off with the Tessaract is what leads into the TV show, I don't get how that doesn't change the future. How can it be an alternative timeline when the characters in this timeline see it happening - it is this timeline, I don't see how it can branch off - the Loki disappearing means he's in an alternative timeline, ok, but the fact that in this timeline he's disappeared? It makes no sense!
Sorry, I know I'm sounding quite angry now, but it's only because the MCU for me was about the Asgard corner and they didn't seem to care much about it at all in Endgame. And that kinda sucks for me, because I made the mistake of caring too much about it.
And why I can't, even now, quite let it go. I keep on trying to find a headcanon that "fixes" it, but I can't because what happened made so little sense to me. And then I keep on thinking about where I can put my own "end" in and ignore everything after, but I can't, because this IS their end, much as it bugs me.
Or is it. Because darn it, I care too much to not hope it's not the end. That there is still a way Marvel can fix this, can finally give the Asgard corner a suitable ending. There is the Loki TV show after all, and Thor having his adventure with GotG, and possibly another solo film. That could tie everything up and give those of us in the Asgard corner the proper, suitable closure we too deserve. That Marvel could still be holding out on us for one more big twist and that's why they let the Asgard/Thor angle not be explored very much in Endgame, why Loki's helmet was by that letter Kevin Fiege wrote to the fans. That the reason why Endgame focused so much on Cap and Iron man was because they were the only ones not coming back in any significant way. That the messed up time travel plot was a mess because it was rushed, that they changed their minds/got permission to do those TV shows, maybe got a few more contracts signed, so changed things a bit, too late to draw up a more coherent storyline. (Still wouldn't excuse other issues with Endgame though.)
And I want to hope that's the case, that Marvel hasn't dropped the ball after all, that I just need to trust it a little bit more... Give it another chance...
Thing is, I'm not entirely sure I should...
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hayner Ā· 6 years ago
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LOVED KH3 but this post is just a dump of my main gripe with the story so it's a negative post. Please don't read if you're not into that. Iā€™ll be sure to talk about the positives in the future! Also it contains endgame spoilers so beware.
Here it goes.
Why is square so hellbent on making kairi the most hated character? I feel like every step forward they take 50 steps back. We were all rooting for her to get her spunky, brash, bold personality back but they ended up making her a damsel in distress last minute. Come on?? It's unbelievable that she would just dangle, keyblade in hand, from xemnas' grasp and feebly call to sora after making that whole speech about how it's her time to save him? Get real! She had one free hand too and didn't even try??? I'm so salty and bitter about square's treatment of her. It's my only real complaint about the story.
And to add more salt to the wound, after the ending that implies that sora sacrificed himself to save kairi, you would think that it's finally time for kairi to go on an adventure to save him but.... the secret ending doesn't mention her at all. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Riku but we've seen him save sora so many times before. (I know it doesnt say that he will but it's heavily implied his journey is motivated by sora's disappearance). It's really time to let other characters shine. How hard would it've been to include kairi with riku that way you get both kairi's individual development and also the lacking duo's development in the destiny trio? She gets left out in the plot, merchandise, and even official "which kh character are you" quiz. I'm so done. I'm sorry if I sound like a salty bitch, it's because I am and I'm too tired to write this in a calmer tone.
I thought we might have gotten a mini story arc with kairi saying that she wanted to bring namine back but that entire process was skipped over and all we got were a few scenes of her with Lea and then sora and boom there she is in the keyblade graveyard. No type of arc for herself. Granted, there was a lot to cover so I let it pass but man did things just go downhill after that decent scene of her rescuing sora. Was it really necessary for the man tears? Sora had enough motivation to battle xehanort without destroying kairi's integrity. Ugujffhfjhf
Also, at first I thought that the girl ansem experimented on was kairi given it was mentioned that she couldn't remember her time in radiant garden. That lowkey made me excited that maybe kairi's past will have more importance to the game but then the secret reports debunked that and it's more likely skuld. Which is fine but I also feel like I was baited so hard. Probably my fault but it would've been neat if it was kairi too.....
Anyway, that's the end of my spontaneous vent. Again, I'm sorry for being negative. I just need to get that off my chest. Kh3 has so many good moments but this is just the hottest tea out of all of it.
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bastardrobocop Ā· 6 years ago
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on fallout 76
so, because im a fool i pre ordered fallout 76. frankly, i was going to buy it on release anyway because im starved for anything fallout and new california was a complete bust.Ā 
anyway, this means i have had access to theĀ ā€œB.E.T.A.ā€, which isnā€™t really a beta. itā€™s just server stress tests. iā€™ve done every pc round so far and i feel like i can say pretty conclusively that itā€™s just not very good.
sorry, this is going to be a long meandering post
i dont know if its something they can fix in the like, week before they launch the game, but the delay/latency/feel is so fucking whack itā€™s unbelievable. the multiplayer fallout new vegas mod feels like it has better netcode. in addition, it is dreadfully optimized. i play on a laptop, so maybe take my perspective with a grain of salt, but iā€™m not the only one who has pointed this out. i use an nvidia 970m, which runs fallout 4 at around 50/60 frames per second. fallout 76 tops out at around 10-30 on average. just wandering the world, the framerate is atrocious. performance is best in small interior cells and in wide open spaces with nothing in it. in more dense and enemy populated areas, the game stutters hard. more than once ive had the game freeze for several seconds during a firefight. its honestly inexcusably bad most of the time. with poor latency and framerate chugging, the gameplay experience is trying. it makes literally everything painful, including just inventory management and crafting.Ā 
the gameplay itself isnt too awful in that its just fallout 4 again but without the pretense of minimal rpg elements. performance problems can make some engagements suck, but most common enemies arenā€™t too hard. however, the real nasty ones that are higher level than you can be nigh on impossible to take down solo, which sucks because my friends arent always available and dealing with online randos is always bad. but itā€™s also the only way to get like, good weapons. but anyway, the core gameplay loop is almost the same. i say almost because theĀ ā€˜workshopā€™ storage is your only storage. and it has a 400lb limit. which takes into account anything you put in it. this should seem like an obvious issue; you basically cant afford to store things if you gather valuable resources. im currently stuck carrying this big fucking rocket launcher which is useless right now because i dont have any inventory space for missiles, which weigh a ton. also, ammo has weight now. and you canā€™t scrap ammo for ammo parts like gunpowder or lead. and you canā€™t sell ammo either. so instead you just have to like, dump hundreds of rounds just on the ground since you canā€™t store them in the workshop because you need space for steel and adhesive and that M2 Browning that you canā€™t use yet but want to hold onto because it looks bitchin. however, you can bulk scrap with plastic, which reduces weight by about half. however, therein lies another problem; plastic becomes a precious resource because you canā€™t make a bulk pile of wood without it for some reason. plastic is currently more precious than literal gold. still, you get stuck holding a bunch of valuable scrap in your inventory which you canā€™t put into your stash because itā€™s full and you canā€™t go out and find more plastic because then youā€™ll be over-encumbered and you cant afford to drop this circuit board and you canā€™t build any more things in your camp because the budget is painfully low and even when you DO get enough plastic to bulk things the bulked stuff goes into your inventory and wont necessarily fit back into the stash and iā€™m still carrying this fucking missile launcher please god let me put down this missile launcher please oh please god
the ui is a disaster. itā€™s like they turned 4ā€²s console/gamepad control scheme and doubled down on it; on pc, random keys are bound to multiple things and then also bound to a separate key, and you canā€™t re-bind things individually. so that means middle mouse is bothĀ ā€˜open favorite item wheelā€™ andĀ ā€˜enter third personā€™ andĀ ā€˜enter build modeā€™ when thereā€™s also V which is also ā€˜enter third personā€™. you cannot change this. there will always be one button for this. there is still no separate binding for bash and grenade throw, of course. if you press escape, it opens the map. if you press m, it opens the map. to open the pause menu with things likeĀ ā€˜optionsā€™ andĀ ā€˜microtransaction storeā€™ andĀ ā€˜quit the gameā€™, you have to open the map with either escape or M and then press Z. there is no direct button to take you to the pause menu, as far as i can tell. when you go up to a workbench, there are three options; E to craft, R to scrap, Space to repair and modify. from this menu, if you want to scrap an item, you must mouse over it, and then select it. however, DO NOT MOVE THE MOUSE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.Ā even if the prompt is open and asking if you want to scrap, say, a pump action shotgun, if you mouse over and the highlight moves over to your only power armor chest piece, it will scrap the power armor chest piece. even though it was asking if you wanted to scrap the shotgun. its potentially one of the most hostile interfaces ive ever seen. the bindings forĀ ā€˜scrap modeā€™ andĀ ā€˜scrap itemā€™ in different menus also change. if iā€™m in the repair menu, G scraps an item. if iā€™m in scrap mode, spacebar does. the only good thing ive seen so far is the favorite wheel and also you can set it so you can see through your pip boy background while browsing it.Ā 
the world feels desolate and boring. the lack of human npc interaction has been replaced with finding some dead persons holotape. there are robots. there is at least one AI. but all the questgivers are pieces of paper, holotapes, or voices on a radio. sometimes itā€™s a robot. you donā€™t actually interact though. thereā€™s no interaction beyond listening and being told what to do. while im bitching about how the world feels, lets talk about factions. bethesda has kind of casually hyped up factions as being some kind of meaningful, cool choice. theyā€™re literally nothing. there is no indication to other players what faction you are in. you can join every faction and reach top rank in every faction. you cant see if anyone is a member of your faction unless theyre in your faction specific base. there is no inter-faction conflict, there are very few faction quests aside from random events, and once youā€™re done with the main faction quest, youā€™re basically done for good except for repeatable ones. i honestly expected factions to be a meaningful choice, which was probably my mistake. i was hoping it would force you to commit to your current faction once you joined it, or would prompt you to abandon another faction in order to join a new one. but thereā€™s just nothing. i was expecting something like, i dunno, destinys faction thing. like joining new monarchy. and maybe butting heads with members of other factions, like i figured the Brotherhood faction would be my enemy if i joined the enclave. but itā€™s just nothing. the world is nothing, the quests are nothing, everything just feels pointless.Ā 
this is also a personal gripe, but there are like no energy weapon alternatives to small guns aside from the errant laser pistol, but ammo is extremely rare. the only new energy weapon iā€™ve seen so far is the plasma gatling, which is a big gun. otherwise, itā€™s just the crappy pistol/rifle converting laser and plasma rifle. no plasma pistol, just a pistol conversion. no laser pistol, just a pistol conversion. iā€™ve always loved energy weapons and just like. not getting any variety while guns and melee weapons get tons of variety is grating. there are many new ballistic weapons that look neat. the 10mm smg is back, and i am admittedly fond of it. however, 10mm ammo is painfully rare. i spend basically all my lead making more ammo for it. i can kind of get by with my laser pistol and my shotgun always makes up however much ammo i lose because a lot of enemies use shotguns, but my 10mm just goes up in smoke and thereā€™s none to be found elsewhere. thereā€™s a shocking amount of .308 because almost every early/mid enemy uses a hunting rifle, but i guess it makes sense because the big MG-32 thing takes .308 so they want you to be able to use it when the time comes. still, iā€™d rather be using an energy weapon. i want like. a recharger pistol. or the plasma rifle with all the tubes. or a pulse gun. just like. anything other than the ugly aer9 pistol conversion. i think the folks down at bethesda just dont like energy weapons very much; theyre leaps and bounds less viable than small guns.Ā 
the enemies look okay. instead of raiders, you have the Scorched. theyā€™re Marked Men, but weaker and also a cult formed by radioactive bats. there are super mutants, because bethesda cant be bothered to go outside of the comfort zone of Things People Recognize and also they hate lore i guess. the wild animals are kind of fun. theres a big toad that looks cute, and frogs that have MASSIVE arms that they run on, which looks funny. theyre small though. things like the mothman and snallygaster look neat. the flatwoods monster is okay. the grafton bastard is big and kind of easy to cheese out. there is a monster named after a flawed and racist interpretation of indigenous beliefs. theres a big sloth, who i love. the mole men (called mole miners) are intimidating and ANNOYINGLY precise with shotguns. theyā€™re later game enemies and very aggressive. they drop a neat looking unarmed weapon that ive been using, called a mole miner gauntlet. itā€™s like a power fist with big claws. thereā€™s a big bee called a honeybeast. ive basically covered all of the new monsters, though. everything else is from fallout 4 and dlcs. this includes things like anglers, which had obviously evolved on far harbor along with the lure plant so it doesnt make sense for them to be there, and gulpers which are big salamanders so i guess thatā€™s more okay. there are swarms of bees that are just he same repeated png of a bee, spinning around. oh yeah, there are a couple new insect types; ticks and fireflies. both use the animations of the radroach and bloatfly, respectively.
solo play can be kind of boring and difficult. most randos you meet will either ignore you or call you a slur and run away. ive only had one guy break into my house and i murdered him. however, even though he had a bounty on his head, he was still allowed to getĀ ā€˜revengeā€™ on me which meant he could spawn right next to me and this time he had a power armor suit, so he killed me a couple times before logging out to avoid my wrath. coward. if youā€™re out there dude, iā€™ll kick your ass. also, quick note about the bounty system; its kinda rough around the edges. i tried to save someones garden by shooting a ghoul that was stomping their flowers in the back. however, my shot somehow curved around him at point blank and broke a blackberry bush. from then on, i had a 20 cap bounty on my head. i had to hide from people in my secret enclave bunker and get my friend to kill me so i could perceive other people on the map again and also not live in fear of every tom dick and larry with a power armor frame and a bad attitude.Ā 
i feel like i should wrap up. fallout 76 is not very good, but if they can work out performance and latency it wouldnt be too bad for just dicking around with friends. in terms of being like, a fallout game, itā€™s worse than 4. i havenā€™t gotten into story spoilers, but its not great. and it feels remarkably desolate for a game thats advertised as being a cool time with your buds. maybe itll be better when there are more people playing. i dunno. its just not very good. i dont recommend it.
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thatothercosplayer Ā· 7 years ago
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Taking a break from writing plot stuff (building up shit in drafts so I can put out things more consistently) but I am in a Big Writing Moodā„¢ so letā€™s sit down and have a talk about Gundam.Ā 
Iā€™m gonna talk to you about....Ā 
5 Gundam Sidestories That Deserve to be Animated.....That ARENā€™TĀ Crossbone.Ā 
So, before I get into things, I know what youā€™re wondering (that is, if youā€™re not mecha literate): what the fuck is crossbone and why is it being excluded.
Well, Iā€™ll tell you, fam. Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam is a manga series that was written to kind of explain what would have happened if Gundam F91 would have been made a proper TV series.Ā 
At least, thatā€™s what it is in theory. I can only really apply this to the first manga series- not itā€™s endless sequels (Cross Heart, Steel Seven, Phantom, etc.)Ā 
For some fucking reason, people wonā€™t shut the fuck up about Crossbone, and how it needs to be animated. Thereā€™s no explanation as to why it needs to be animated, but people just fucking want it and no one ever shuts the fuck up about it.
In case you couldnā€™t tell: Iā€™M SALTY AS HELL ABOUT THIS. I canā€™t go anywhere to have a fucking discussion about Gundam without Crossbone getting brought up. This has been going on for close to 3 years now and itā€™s driving me FUCKING CRAZY HOLY SHIT WOULD YOU PEOPLE SHUT UP FOR FIVE GODDAMN SECONDS
Um.
ahem.
Sorry about that.Ā 
So, anyways. Iā€™m writing this list mainly to get this off my chest and expend some energy related to me being salty as fuck about Crossbone. Yaā€™ll ready?Ā 
No?
Too bad. Note: The placement on of things on this list donā€™t really speak to how I prioritize any of them, in any manner. This is just me writing it as things come to me. Without further ado, letā€™s get this underway.
1) Mobile Suit Gundam Sidestory: Missing Link (2014)
What? A UC Gundam entry? On this list? Itā€™s more likely than you think.Ā 
Let me say this to start: I fucking love Missing Link and think itā€™s a tragedy that itā€™s as obscure as it is. Like many of the series in the Sidestory family, it started off life as a video game. In this case, it was the crown jewel of the compilation game/remake/hd collection/whatever Mobile Suit Gundam Sidestory on the Platstation 3. This particular entry is a dual-sided story about two units in the One Year War: The Marchosias Special Forces, a dumping ground for Zeon pilots who are too violent, tempestuous, or injured to work in standard units; on the other side is the Slave Wraiths, which I would say are honestly the Gundam A-Team.Ā 
Iā€™m serious! Theyā€™re all military criminals that were framed for various crimes, and then were taken in by a rather dubious high-ranking Federation officer who uses them to clean up their not-exactly-legal-or-moral shit. Theyā€™re not so much black-ops but more like walking redtape files.Ā 
The things that make this one stick out are the fact that, despite an ensemble cast of 12 or so that the story flips back and forth between, nothing is ever lost in translation. No team is focused on over the other, and by the end youā€™ll find yourself caring about both of these disparate, ragtag teams of jaded pilots.Ā 
Atop that, the storyā€™s protagonists are actually a father and son duo who have no idea that theyā€™re fighting each other in the war (at least, not at first)! Itā€™s a beautiful case of dramatic irony and for once, ITā€™S NOT PLAYED FOR TRAGEDY. There is a strong underlying theme of hope despite crushing odds running throughout the story. Great sacrifices are made so that the fire of hope can still burn, and eventually the two teams find themselves bucking off the military complexes that cast thema side and find solidarity in each other.Ā 
Itā€™s a story about unity, hope, and most importantly: understanding.Ā 
Of course, thatā€™s not even touching the FANTASTIC setpieces that permeate the story. Seaside battles, battles amidst the jungles of Jaburo (not above, not under, IN the jungles of Jaburo), furious battles to protect shuttles launching to space....I could go on and on!
Did I mention the mechanical design? What?! I havenā€™t?!Ā 
The new mechanical designs in this series are _superb._ The Slave Wraith is great, but whatā€™s even better is the element that connects these two concurrent stories together: The Pale Rider.
The Pale Rider is a phantom of the battlefield, attacking everything in sight. It has no concept of friend or foe, and it is there to silence dissent and wipe out any proof of ill deeds.Ā 
Oh, yeah, and it runs on a variant of the EXAM System. You know. The one that the Blue Destiny has.Ā 
The same system that was made by fracturing a human soul in two and shoving those halves into computers.
You know.
The one that made a Gundam an eldritch abomination.
That one.
Yes.Ā 
Except this variant, the HADES, is far worse.Ā 
So, now you have an enigmatic Mobile Suit that indiscriminately ravages the battlefield, all operated by a phantom hand that you only have a name to. One of my favorite things about Missing Link is the simple fact that, quite honestly, you never see the villain. You only hear the orders they send, and feel the impact of their decisions.Ā 
Last, but certainly not least, while the majority of the story is set in the One Year War, the final chapter (which, sadly, is not in English in any shape or form save for the Gundam wiki) is set during the First Neo-Zeon War, around the time ZZ takes place- which makes it even more unique because there arenā€™t many sidestories that explore this time period, even if only for a moment.Ā 
All of this combined makes for a fantastic tale of political intrigue, espionage, hardship, and triumph that I would easily recommend. Unfortunately, the only way to experience this story in English at the moment is SD Gundam G Generation Genesisā€™ chapter based on the story; as I mentioned above, the story itself isnā€™t truly complete, even if the end is more like a bonus chapter. It is rather extensive and covers all the key plot points, and also manages to keep all the character bits that make it so good.
tl;dr Missing Link deserves to be animated.Ā 
2) New Mobile Report Gundam Wing Dual Story: G-Unit aka Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: The Last Outpost (1997-1998)
Holy SHIT why is every fucking title related to Gundam Wing so fucking long.
ahem
So....letā€™s talk Gundam Wing.
After Colony, in my opinion, is a rather weak timeline with little media worth actually looking at. What few sidestories there are are mostly rehashes, thereā€™s not much variety in mechanical design due to the majority of the sidestory designs being variants of the main five Gundams in the show, and most importantly: the overall average quality of the timeline as a whole is incredibly lackluster.Ā 
Fucking fight me, Iā€™ll die on this hill.
However, thereā€™s one story that I feel rises above its compatriots and manages to to be a bit better. That would be, of course, the entry I have listed above.Ā 
G-Unit focuses on an asteroid colony, MO-V, a rather backwater installation with a population of about 100,000. The story itself runs concurrently with those of Gundam Wing, though the effects are rather negligible at best due to how isolated the conflict depicted in the manga is.Ā 
The protagonists of the story are twin pilots Odin and Odel Bernett, who test the prototype Mobile Suits developed at the colony, the Geminass Units 01 and 02. Things are going smoothly, however, thereā€™s just one problem: OZ is not happy with MO-V. OZ is the villainous organization in Gundam Wing- think of them as your Titans expy ala Zeta Gundam.Ā 
Ā Anyways, MO-V has not agreed to OZā€™s continued demands that it fall in line with rest of the colonies that are submitting to OZā€™s rule. While, at first, it was ignored because it was merely an outdated factory (it mass-produced Leos, the go-to grunt unit for OZ, but by the time the story takes place the Vertigo has replaced the Leo), news of the prototypes traveled fast and it was deemed taking things too far.
Thus, begins a six month siege, with an entire army on one side and (at most) two men on the other.
Oh, and I guess two of the Gundam Boys appear too or something and Zechs might be there as well idgaf.
I still have yet to read this in full (as it was released in English during Gundam Wingā€™s heyday in the US), but the premise alone is interesting, and the majority of the new mechanical designs are awesome.
Just ignore the special Leo units that OZ-Prize deploys. Two of the three are the kind of bullshit that Gundam Wing likes to pull that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Having a gigantic, flowing cape in SPACE IS ABSOLUTELY IMPROBABLE. How can you style yourself as an attempt to go back to Gundamā€™s more serious, hard sci-fi roots when you throw in a fucking mecha with hair extensions!? This isnā€™t G Gundam! You canā€™t get away with that! PICK A GENRE, DAMMIT.Ā 
Uh...
ahem.Ā 
Anyways, I love what I have seen of these mechanical designs in action. The Hydra Gundam was featured in Gundam Battle Assault 2 (aka the game that gave rise to theĀ ā€œOh hey! Big Zamā€ meme, which I love atop of being a good fighting game), while the Geminass units, Gundam Asclepius, Burnlapius, Gundam LO Booster, Griepe, Vayeate Suivant, and Mercurius Suivant (PHEW!) all appear in the Gundam G Generation games, particularly WORLD and OVERWORLD. They units Iā€™ve listed above are all fantastic designs and really deserve to get animated proper.
Plus....well....
The only other Gundam Wing-related project that has any chance in hell of getting animated is Frozen Teardrop, aka the Biggest Disaster to Ever Come Out of the Gundam Franchise, Everā„¢.
So....yeah.Ā 
3) Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray (2002)
Fuck. Cosmic Era is such a disappointment. The two TV series it has are half-baked attempts at rehashes of 0079 and Zeta with new plots sloppily dumped in, are overloaded with pointless flashbacks and too much fucking filler of people screaming each otherā€™s names. Asinine writing, sameface syndrome, and behind the scenes bullshit abound.
But Iā€™m not here to gripe about the flaws of Gundam SEED or SEED Destiny.
Iā€™m here to talk about the godlike spin-off that SEED birthed, and has been criminally underutilized by Sunrise and Bandai.
Hang on, I gotta put on some TM Revolution to get into the mood.
...
Alright, fixed.
So! Letā€™s talk about Gundam SEED Astray and why you should be experiencing it Right Fucking Nowā„¢.Ā 
For one, it doesnā€™t focus on Kira, so thatā€™s already a huge plus. Sorry, kiddo- you may be adorably pathetic, but you are also a bore to watch at times. Nah, fam, letā€™s get some hot-bloodedness up in here!Ā 
OKAY SO this story is about a group of salvagers. Thatā€™s right. The main characters of this tale is the motherfuckinā€™ Junk Guild- or, rather, the ship HOME of the motherfuckinā€™ Junk Guild.
Yes, I have to put motherfuckinā€™ before I say Junk Guild, because these guys are cool.Ā 
One problem SEED has is that there is this bad habit of tying things back to the main series in some bullshit roundabout way that kind of ruins the point of having sidestories. Iā€™m reading, watching, playing, etc these stories to learn about people in other parts of this universe who are either independant of the conflict in the show, or are only loosely tied to it by being in the same war but elsewhere or maybe being effected by it.Ā 
SEED Astray manages to dodge that bullet by throwing out the concept of let glory-hog Kira Yamato show up and ruin things, and instead knocks him out for the duration of his appearance.Ā 
Uh, wait, I need to talk about the story itself. Whoops! Letā€™s get back to that.Ā 
So! SEED Astray revolves around 3 prototype Mobile Suits know as the Astray Red Frame, Astray Blue Frame, and Astray Gold Frame. The Red and Blue Frames accidentally fall into the hands of junker Lowe Guele and mercenary Gai Murakumo, who find themselves pursued by nobleman Rondo Ghina Sahaku, who wants the frames back.Ā 
As Ghina begins his dogged pursuit of both parties, HOME and Serpent Tail (the groups Lowe and Gai are parts of, respectively) continuously cross paths, taking scrap from the battlefields they pass trough and extensively personalizing and upgrading their Astray Frames more and more.Ā 
As time passes, conspiracies are unraveled, secrets about the origins of humanityā€™s space travel are revealed, and THEREā€™S A BRAIN IN A JAR.
Yes! Thatā€™s right! Astray embraces the wackiness of SEED and goes beyond it, resulting in one of the best goddamn things that ever happened in all of Gundam: the 150 Meter Katana.Ā 
No. Iā€™m not making this up. This happened. And it is amazing.Ā 
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It was a katana so big that they had to make a power loader....for a MOBILE SUIT to wield!Ā 
Now, I may be cheating a bit by putting Astray on here as itā€™s....somewhat been animated. Sort of. It has a short series of 10 minute promotional episodes, as well as two 5 minute promo shorts to promote the later entries in the series. However, it never got a full-fledged anime series, and thatā€™s an absolute CRIME. The 150 Meter Katana needs to be animated.
Lowe Guile is a fun protagonist who bucks a lot of Gundam traditions by being a hot-blooded go-getter who is always ready to take on whatever life throws at him, and his counterpart, Gai Murakumo, is a cool-headed badass who can turn around even the most impossible of odds. Their interactions are unique in that they vary from antagonistic to friendly and everything in between. This is in part thanks to the diplomatic immunity that the Junk Guild has, and also due to Gai Murakumo being part of the mercenary group Serpent Tail. As a result, the two clash, team up, etc. many times over the course of the series before realizing they have a common enemy. As a result, I feel that SEED Astray shows the Cosmic Era timeline at itā€™s best- displaying new possibilities for the Gundam franchise, and proving that you donā€™t have to rehash the same story over and over to be good.Ā 
Lastly, as things sit right now, the only reliable way to consume SEED Astray is to hunt down the shorts, or check out Brunom1ā€²s Letā€™s Play of Super Robot Wars W, which extensively features SEED Astray.
I rest my case.Ā 
4) Mobile Suit Gundam 00F (2007-2009)
Let me tell you about a crazy motherfucker named Fon Spaak.
Fon Spaak is a fucking lunatic. He is a homocidal maniac who enjoys killing, blatantly breaks laws whenever he gets the chance to just because itā€™s fun, and most importantly: he is the good guy.Ā 
Yep. Got your attention, didnā€™t I? Mobile Suit Gundam 00F is the story about another agent in the organization Celestial Being, who supports the protagonists of Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (the first season of which I still uphold to be Gundam Wing done right) from the shadows. He covers any hiccups and makes sure that operations go smoothly, ensuring that Celestial Beingā€™s goals are met.
However, he has to deal with constant sabotage from a rogue agent who is tied to VEDA, the supercomputer that helps plan and dictate a lot of Celestial Beingā€™s operations.
00F is, at times, the Rozencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead of Gundam 00. Itā€™s fast-paced, funny, yet also grim and violent all at the same time. It creates a crap-saccharine view of an already shitty world, and exploits that by using the larger-than-life protagonist to contrast the rather depressing events that surround him.Ā 
Fon Spaak is a bit of an implacable man, and when he wants to get something done, he will stop at nothing to do it.
Gundam 00F is a bit rare nowadays, like any out of print Gundam material, but it was published in English. I actually own almost all of it (still missing two volumes). If you ever run across it, I canā€™t recommend it enough. If, for whatever reason, you want Deadpool to pilot a Gundam, this motherfucker is the closest youā€™re going to get. God speed, you crazy bastard.Ā 
5) Mobile Suit Gundam Ɖcole du Ciel (2002)
Come on. Like I was really going to leave this one out?Ā 
Weā€™re returning to the Universal Century for my last entry on this list, and goddamn is this ever a good entry. Set in the year UC 0085- a whole two years before Zeta Gundam begins- and continuing up into the events of the TV series,Ā  Mobile Suit Gundam Ɖcole du Ciel is, by and large, my favorite Gundam sidestory, ever.Ā 
Period.Ā 
I love all the above sidestories, but this one has a special place in my heart for a lot of reasons. Itā€™s nostalgic, but itā€™s well written, and explores a rare time period in the Universal Century.Ā 
The space between Operation Stardust (depicted in the OVA series Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory) and the Gryps Conflict as depicted in Zeta Gundam is a time period that has, to my (rather extensive huehuehue) knowledge, has only ever been looked at byĀ  Ɖcole du Ciel. That alone should be reason enough to hunt this one down and give it a read.
If itā€™s not, well, read on, friend.
It has a female protagonist (a rarity in Gundam!!) who, while at first lost in this world constantly at war, eventually finds her own purpose and sense of agency as she struggles to find a place in the world to call her own.Ā  Ɖcole du Ciel is a story about coming of age, the pains of growing up, and facing inner demons set amidst the backdrop of Canada and a sea of stars.Ā 
The original mechanical designs are gorgeous, particularly the star Mobile Suit, Le Cygne. The characters feel human despite their extraordinary abilities, and theyā€™re not perfect.Ā 
Most importantly, something Iā€™ll stress above all else- while the events in the series are impacted by events depicted in Zeta Gundam, there is hardly any overlap between the two, with little to no cameos by main characters from the show.
Which is as it should be in any given sidestory. Itā€™s a SIDE story, not a crossover. I donā€™t mind the occasional overlap to show that things are part of a larger world (EG: Protagonist A brushing shoulders with Protagonist B from another story who is in the midst of an important scene, and A is merely a bystander), but extensively featuring a protagonist from another show just ruins the point.Ā 
The TV show is about them. The side story is about someone else. Ideally, thatā€™s how it should be.
And, as things are, this story feels fresh. The illustrations by Haruhiko Mikimoto are gorgeous, especially when he pulls out his signature hand-brushed style. The Mobile Suit scenes are beautifully detailed, and they carry weight and impact.Ā 
I canā€™t recommendĀ  Ɖcole du Ciel enough. If youā€™re a new Gundam fan or a veteran, if you havenā€™t readĀ  Ɖcole du Ciel, do yourself a favor, hunt down some copies of it, and join me in my regular outcries of how itā€™s a damn CRIME this hasnā€™t been revisited in any shape or form after its print run. No model kits, no anime, no game appearances, NOTHING. Itā€™s been neglected for too long.
I donā€™t care if itā€™s in G Generation, Gundam Breaker, a trading card game, whatever,Ā  Ɖcole du Ciel needs to return, and I feel an animated series would be the perfect way to do so.Ā 
Well, there you go. Hopefully you enjoyed my ramblings about Gundam.
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inukagome15 Ā· 7 years ago
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ASK THING!! 25! :D (Also, I'm pretty sure it was this last year that you actually made me give a damn about Naruto. SO good on you.) Gimme fic recs, I need them
Sorry for the late response!
25.Ā a fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read
Iā€™m so glad I got someone into Naruto? Thatā€™s just awesome? :D
Anyway, since you mentioned Naruto, Iā€™m gonna rec a NarutoĀ fic that I read! And I read a lot this last year... Some good, some great, some...questionable, some...not to be mentioned.
But this is about a rec! Recs?
Making Up for Lost Thyme by PitchBlackMagpie
In a world where they beat the bad guy and fessed up to their feelings for each other, Sasuke and Naruto couldn't have it any better. Then an accident sends them back to their genin days- but neither of them see it as a bad thing. In fact, it's a chance to save their loved ones and do all the things they never had time for. And why can't Naruto ever find any thyme?
This is a really good time travel fic thatā€™s canon until they head back in time. Canon so long as you disregard the Naruto/Sasuke pairing. And while youā€™re at it, check out the authorā€™s other works! Theyā€™re all great reads that Iā€™ve enjoyed, even if I occasionally just ignore some of the pairings.Ā 
Of Harrowed Hearts by Sable_Scribe
Sometimes the hardest battle isnā€™t enough to change a heart, sometimes all the war and blood in the world isnā€™t enough to shift a single destiny.Sometimes a simple touch is enough to break down the strongest of barriers, sometimes a single word is enough to make the world quake.Sometimes the most reaching of changes comes in the form of a little boy sad enough, strong enough, and kind enough to make friends with a monster.Sometimes one change makes waves.
Naruto has been hearing the rumbling growl in the back of his head for as long as he can remember. Heā€™s seven when he tries to talk to it for the first time. Heā€™s the dead last, the failure at everything, so he doesnā€™t actually expect to succeed.And when heā€™s suddenly standing, knee deep in murky water and face to face with a demon, he has no idea what to expect.As it turns out, the world could use something unexpected.
In which Naruto discovers the real meaning of the word monster, Sasuke discovers power and strength and learns the difference between them, and Sakura discovers that being herself is not as selfish as she thought.Where Kakashi learns to fight again for what he loves, and Obito never stopped.
So this is totally AU and I LOVE IT. Itā€™s still set in Naruto, uses the characters we know, but it takes a what-if scenario and runs with it. Along with some serious world-building when it comes to chakra and shinobi history. But the friendship and family bonding stuff!
And itā€™s strongly suggested Irukaā€™s asexual here, which is always a plus.
There are some things that I donā€™t really like about it but theyā€™re easily enough dismissed with everything else thatā€™s totally awesome.
blackslide by blackkat
Narutoā€™s friends are gone, his lover is dying, Konoha is destroyed, and Madaraā€™s second return has pushed the entire world to the brink. Hunted and harried, Naruto is sent back in time to upend Madaraā€™s plan before it even starts, and sets about changing everything. Butterfly effect nothing: the world is at stake, and Naruto is hardly about to let it fall to ruin once more. Not while heā€™s still breathing.
blackkatā€™s writing might not be for everyone, I think, but I like the writing style. The author has a lot of other works and dabbles in a TON of pairings, so thereā€™s something for everyone.
This is one of the first works I read by the author, so thatā€™s why Iā€™m reccing it. I highly recommend reading the others, especially the long ones, sorted by most kudos.
Itā€™s time-travel, but where Naruto goes back physically as well as mentally. So the main pairing is Kakashi/Naruto, but itā€™s not squicky like itā€™d be ordinarily because Naruto is mentally and physically Kakashiā€™s age. Probably the only gripe I have with it is that Naruto doesnā€™t really feel like NarutoĀ at points, although some of the core character traits are still there.
Thatā€™s probably 2 more recs than you were expecting, but I hope you like them!
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mozillavulpix Ā· 8 years ago
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I read your post about Vegeta's role in Super and I have to say that I actually agree. You can argue that his character arc ended in a good note when he blow up himself to kill Majin Buu and then he was brought back to take a role that anyone could have taken insted (like Goku fusing with Gohan insted of Vegeta for example). He replaced all of the Z-figher's roles and relationship with Goku, like an All-In-One pack, in some cases even Goku himself.
Glad to know Iā€™m not the only one. This isnā€™t some sort of unconscious bias I have.
Like, I can get behind almost every development in modern Dragon Ball. The sidelining of the Z supporting cast? Par for the course of this series, not to mention Toriyama himself seemed very unsure of what to do with them in the end of the series itself. Dragon Ball Minus? Makes much more sense given Toriyamaā€™s style of storytelling, and you can use the events of Jaco to alleviate the wholeĀ ā€œdestinyā€ implications. Super Saiyan Bardock? Well, itā€™s not part of the main series, so you donā€™t have to pay attention to it if you donā€™t want to.
But the continued relevance of Vegeta? I donā€™t understand it. One of the biggest fandom ideas that Iā€™ve never agreed with, even back when I was first getting into the series, was that Dragon Ball Z was the story of Goku and Vegetaā€™s rivalry. Looking at the series itself, I never saw their relationship as a core foundation of the narrative. I saw it as a subplot - a very long subplot, but a subplot nonetheless. You can even get evidence behind it by looking at just how little Toriyama seemed to draw him back in the 90ā€²s. In supplementary material and stuff like that, I mean.
But it feels everyone else working on this series disagrees with me. That, or they just donā€™t care about a natural evolution of the series, and just want to stick with what became popular. And what became popular isnā€™t always the most interesting.
And I just feel like, without his evil or even arrogant side, heā€™s being written like such a competent character in Super that I donā€™t even understand why heā€™s not the main character. When practically the entire fandom says theyā€™d prefer to see them as the hero over the actual hero...I donā€™t think thatā€™s very good storytelling. Iā€™m sorry. I think they failed to make a secondary character who wouldnā€™t outshine the hero.
Iā€™m sure people would argue a lot of characters who got screentime in Super donā€™t need it in the first place. A lot of these characters have nowhere to go and they donā€™t need to bring them back. But I think the reason why my annoyance goes to Vegeta specifically is because...heā€™s so prevalent in the merchandise.
SSB Vegeta is everywhere. And not just in the Japanese side of things.
Even if I only thought Vegetaā€™s role in Super was a minor gripe that doesnā€™t effect the overall story too much, the merchandising wonā€™t let me forget about him. So I constantly see him plastered everywhere and get re-annoyed all over again.
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