#these two are going to end up fighting even before they get their starters XD

[snowflake-of-destruction]

let's hear about FFVIII seifer, if you're still doing this XD

Why I like them: You know my tastes. A green-eyed man is introduced throwing fireballs around, is kind of a condescending jerk but in a fun way, instigates deep conversations on high ground while staring at the sunset...Well, before we even get to villainy, immolation, and redemption arc, I start going “Is this a favorite character?”  I’m joking...kind of. Some of that does factor in, even the fire. 

Okay, so my favorite thing about Seifer’s arc is that, in the limited focus he’s given, he’s complex and layered from the beginning, and his villain arc is a clear and fascinating illustration of “No man chooses evil because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks” ….with a side of brainwashing.

Let’s break this down:

What are some of the words used to describe him by those that know him (by himself, by Squall, by Fuu and Rai)? Romantic. Idealistic. Sensitive. He is the one who believes in making a difference in the world--not just as a wish or goal, but as an imperative to do what your heart says is right even if it’s going to cost you--where Squall is just follow-the-orders-and-do-the-job. If you’re already reading this and objecting, I’m not saying Squall doesn’t care...obviously he does, defrosting Mr. Go Talk to a Wall and getting him to a place where he admits how many layers of mask he wears is his character development...but Seifer isn’t just a hothead. He wears his heart on his sleeve. 

Don’t get me wrong. I am not trying to deny that Seifer can be an abrasive, self-serving, hypocritical jackass sometimes,  who can fight dirty, wants to “wreak some havoc,” and has a history as a bully--though, gentlefolk of the jury, I submit to the courts that he puts on a tough act like Squall does and they are both different flavors of trying to mimic toxic alpha male--but let’s not forget that some of his establishing character moments are throwing out his future to disobey orders because he sees that the higher-ups have possibly misjudged the situation and civilians could be in danger, and, again, going AWOL because he thinks Squall and Rinoa could be killed. And he calls himself the white knight and holds up a code of honor until the end, even though it gets twisted. He is about duty and honor, with honor even over duty.

Oh, this was only going to be the beginning. I haven’t even begun to touch on what I would want to touch on--this is just surface personality and the beginning of the game before we even get to joining Sorceress Edea, and even then not all I would say-- but this post isn’t actually supposed to be my Ted talk on what you missed if you just think of Seifer as a recurring boss fight. Let’s move on.

ONE MORE THING ACTUALLY. Even though we see a lot of Seifer at his worst, you can use Fujin and Raijin as a mirror. What do they say near the end of the game if we paraphrase/summarize? They knew pretty early on, before even the senseless slaughter and torture era that Seifer was going down a dark path with the sorceress, but they knew it wasn’t him and stayed with him, not because they agreed with his actions, wanted power, or out of fear, but to take care of him and try to break through to him--and not because they are saints, but because he, despite what had happened in the past year, is the type of person who deserves and inspires that kind of loyalty. Let’s think on that.

Now the rest goes under a read more, because I am going to keep rambling and be wordy

Why I don’t: He can be an asshole, and he’s an asshole in an embarrassing way. As in, if one is trying to say he’s not the little punk his KH counterpart is, you remember he still uses the insult chickenwuss (though that is a legacy insult/nickname since he’s known Zell since childhood--and, fyi, Squall uses it too) and he had a little gang in school. Even once he’s a military commander of an evil army set on world domination, he has some moments where his level of petty undermines him.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): The Dollet mission

Favorite line: Sorry, not sorry that the following is my favorite exchange of lines and that the prison torture scene is another of my favorite scenes. For context, Seifer has captured Squall, has him hanging up on the wall in crucified hero imagery, implied to be shirtless even though his character model isn’t because they talk about scar tissue or lack thereof from a recent shoulder injury/Squall being stabbed in the chest/shoulder area. Seifer has been electrocuting Squall for information. By this point, I might as well have put the whole scene here. Also, I am now going to blame Squall and Seifer text boxes in FFVIII for my own abuses of ellipses...

Seifer: " I was hoping you'd be there, Squall. So... how'd I look in my moment of triumph? My childhood dream, fulfilled. I've become the sorceress' knight."

Squall: [internal monologue] ...Sorceress' knight... ...His...romantic dream...? But... Seifer... Now, you're just a…[Out loud] "... torturer."

[Squall passes out.]

Seifer: "What did you say? [Steps closer] Passed out cold, eh? This is the scene where you swear your undying hatred for me! The tale of the evil mercenary versus the sorceress' knight!”

This isn’t just me all “mmm, tension.” Seifer has passed the moral event horizon, and it’s not just faceless NPCs that are collateral damage anymore. We’ve seen him on screen torture the protagonist, who is also one of the only people who he’s shown to have a real bond with that goes beyond superficial. Then we get this and see Seifer thinks he’s the good guy still, on a noble mission where he’s had to make painful sacrifices, and Squall is a representative of the power-hungry evil. Seifer’s been playing a different game, and had his will twisted via magic.

Favorite outfit: The Amano art where the white coat is cast off and he’s wearing the simple black shirt and black jeans under it. Symbolic? Maybe. I wouldn’t give up the coat though. I love the long white/gray coat, the outer embodiment of wanting to wear the white hat, but the desire easily getting tarnished, and the red cross that turns into a sword and becomes Seifer’s symbol and soon to appear other places, emblazoned nice and big on the sleeve. It’s the Cross of Saint James. TRADITIONALLY red represents the blood of Christ, the three lilies represent the honor of the apostle and reference Christ as lily of the valley, and the sword shape represents the torture that St.James suffered before his murder. HOWEVER, my opinion is that here it’s more vague/altered symbolism (For starters, there are other gods not the Christian God in this world) with a side of “looks cool.” We still have something that clearly calls to mind a mission from on high, innocence in the lilies, blood and blood cost, and then war/violence with the sword. And I love it. 

OTP: Seifer/Squall. I should not even start, but lest you think I am just in it for kinky torture scenes: We have these two who, in the beginning, are generally callous or mocking toward everyone, but make each other laugh/smile, see who each other are underneath and describe each other in “soft” terms even if they tease each other for it, repeatedly check in on each other to see if the other is okay, respect each other’s opinion and skills, and...you get the idea. In the words of Zell Dincht, I thought you two were rivals, but you’re all buddy-buddy. 

Pause for a second and let’s just say first impression. That opening fight where they scar each other’s faces? It takes place outside Balamb Garden and the area is shown so we see they are alone. Squall passes out. Squall wakes up in the infirmary within the Garden base. Squall has to explain what happened; people don’t already know. This kind of implies after Squall passed out, Seifer, bleeding from a head wound himself, picked Squall up and carried him home, allowing himself to collapse only when Squall was being safely tended to, because he’s that extra. This is his first (okay, second, after fireballs and face slashing) action in the game even though it’s offscreen. I mean, he could have also just called for help/ran for help, but that’s less fun.

 Seifer is so concerned with being a badass, but he’s admits to Squall all he’s ever wanted was to be the fairytale knight, not a mere soldier. Vulnerability and confession he wants romance....with the first time it’s brought up in game being while they are watching the sun set together, the traditional Square Red Sunset of Shipping. 

Seifer hesitates to defy orders, not for himself, but until he sees Squall is with him. Even though there were other “children of destiny” who all came from the same orphanage, Squall and Seifer were the ones who were never apart, never adopted until it was by a military/mercenary training program, and, even though it may speak more to brotherly than romantic from some angles, there’s a feeling of being the same, knowing each other down to the atoms, adopting an us against the world mindset that trumps trying to best each other when it comes down to it because they are the only constant. When Squall has his breakdown/ breakthrough of why he pushes people away/doesn’t let himself care/tries not to need anyone because people leave/are taken from him and he is scared he isn’t worthy of love and happiness until Rinoa challenges him, this may seem like a dismissal of Seifer, but you can also look at it from “I had no friends or family. I didn’t even have interest in speaking to anyone. I strived to be an unfeeling machine, because all emotion is pain...But also I couldn’t go 48 hours without seeing Seifer.”

Yeah, yeah, we know their main form of hanging out was beating the tar out of each other, but sometimes, especially in older media, this was its own brand of subtext. For more on how Seifer miiiight just view sparring let’s point out that “Isn’t this ROMANTIC?” and “Kneel” as a less easily interpreted as innuendo version of  “I want you on your knees” are battle quotes even in Kingdom Hearts sooo draw your own conclusion. 

We get a line where Squall makes it clear these were friendly matches looked at as pushing their limits beyond what they are allowed to in sanctioned spars, and he feels prepared to take on anything  now because of Seifer. Is it healthy communication  in real life? No! Is this real life? No! Plus, the facial scar was an accident, pretty clearly...on Seifer’s side...I could write another essay on how Seifer draws first blood, but it’s because on Squall’s failed block, AND THEN SQUALL GETS ANGRY AND RETALIATES WITH CLEAR PURPOSE AND MAKES THE OPENING SHOT INTO THE FIRST SIGN GOOD VERSUS BAD GUY ISN’T SO CLEAR CUT (even though they both shouldn’t have been going so hard in a friendly training match to begin with).

 Seifer’s later, repeated threats/expressed desire to give Squall additional scars once he goes evil? That is a different animal, and a horrible one, objectively. Not objectively? No comment. Okay, one comment. Mark you as mine. Two comments. He knows Squall’s lost some memories and he can’t stomach being the next thing forgotten so Squall needs physical reminders.

Hmmm, I was supposed to be talking about the ship, not just the sparring and scars. We can wrap it up with a Marge Simpson. “I just think they’re neat”

BUT ONE MORE THING

Squall’s jacket when he becomes Leon in Kingdom Hearts. His outfit is mostly the same, right? Except the back of the jacket now has a red patch of an emblem (of Rinoa’s angel wings, not Seifer’s cross...for the OT3 feel), and his fight with Sora he throws a fireball like Seifer’s signature. Just, you know, if you want bonus references/feeling.

Brotp: Fuu and Rai. They are willing to commit war crimes with this man, nurse him back from death’s door, and go into exile with him if he can’t return to a normal life even after a redemption arc. This section deserves to be long, but I am beginning to get talked out. Don’t take that as devaluing the friendship though. I’m glad he was allowed to keep his ride or dies in Kingdom Hearts. FRIENDSHIP! They love him, ya know?

Head Canon: What we see of him at the end of the game is a temporary situation and after he heals and refreshes for awhile he’d go back to Balamb and face consequences for his actions, and probably insist on consequences instead of leaning into “an evil sorceress bespelled me and slowly took my free will.” No hiding away in the wilderness. No crossing into and living his life in Esthar. No, “but in the end I broke free and would have been an active, onscreen part of saving the world if Square had let me join the party!” He would insist on being cast into a deep, dark cell. Squall uses pull to get him pardoned, but not before just, flat out, yelling at him for being a martyr.

Unpopular opinion: He did love Rinoa. It may have been a “shallow love,” but he wasn’t just dating her to pass time or because she played into his damsel who needs a hero mindset. There was emotion. He was prepared to die for her and Squall in Timber, and almost did--only being saved by Sorceress Edea...which wasn’t a kindness, but it all worked out in the end. Sure, he gets mind-controlled into using Rinoa as, basically, a human sacrifice and it isn’t Rinoa he wants stripped and brought to his room when we’re taking prisoners, but he cared about her. He does taunt her about their past relationship, but we’ve already established this is just part of his communication skillset.  Yes, I will elaborate more if asked, though it’s more feeling based than text based. 

A wish: If there’s ever a sequel, let him have put out the good in the world that was his dream and be seen as a hero. Let us see a matured and peaceful Seifer. 

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: My one fear if they ever remake FFVIII instead of just porting it, is that some of the creative team have said they like the fan theory where you are dead part way through the game and the rest is a dying dream or purgatory. It’s creative stuff; I will say that. It’s not my favorite, and I don’t agree, but those kinds of fan interpretations when they go in depth are super cool. PLEASE LET THE INTEREST IN IT JUST BE THE SAME AS MINE OF THINKING IT’S CREATIVE BECAUSE MAKING THIS  CANON WOULD BE SO, SO BAD FOR EVERY CHARACTER.

5 words to best describe them: stubborn, misguided, paladin, romantic, petty

My nickname for them: I don’t really have one

[muthaz-rapapa]

Let’s talk TroPreCure! (^∀^ 🌺)

i’m so stupidly proud of this dumb pun “tropurikyua~”, hahahahaha

Last post of the year and wow is there are lot to be excited for!

I even had to make a list for the stuff I want to talk about and I’m sure I already forgot one or two things but we’ll get to them as we continue to float~ along the wave to February 28th, mmkay? :)

Now for what has peaked my interest so far. And yes, we have to talk about the following first:

1) HealPre the shortest Precure season??

Unless they plan for double features in February (which I doubt but you never know), HealPre is likely going to reach only 45 episodes long instead of the usual 48~50 before TroPre I’m using this shortening of the title for now so if there’s a better alternative, tell me and I’ll switch out begins its broadcast.

Understandable because the producers probably want to get back to their normal scheduling as soon as possible (toy sales, y’know) and I suspect pushing the start of the new season back by a month is the most they’re willing to compromise.

As for me, I’m quite happy about this since HealPre’s lost its hold on my attention a while ago so the sooner TroPre gets here, the better. Though the downside might be a scrambled climax and a rushed, underwhelming ending for HealPre (I dunno if it’s January’s titles that feel a bit messy or if the hiatus is still throwing me off) but whatever. We’ll refresh ourselves with the new blood Cures so it’s all good.

2) Tropical movie announced for Autumn 2021, no All Stars??

(source)

First saw this mentioned on Youtube somewhere but it’s all over the fandom forums by now. I mean, HealPre’s movie is set for March, the usual time slot for All Stars release. If Toei intended for there to be an All Stars in 2021, there’s no way they would announce the seasonal movie before it so speculations of them skipping it this year are probably true.

To squeeze it somewhere between March and October-ish would force them to readjust their budgets as well and I don’t think even Toei wants to go through that extra hassle after all the trouble the pandemic’s caused for everyone already. It’s just easier to resume All Stars in 2022.

That, and I think Laura being a major character in TroPre despite not having a Cure title (yet) would make for an awkward situation when the three latest teams gather so perhaps that’s also one of the reasons. But I’ll get back to Laura in a bit.

3) Cure Summer is a RAINBOW Cure

So god help me if I see anyone calling her a Pink Cure.

Yes, she’s the lead Cure for this season. NO, she is not a Pink Cure.

Look, even the official website has a rainbow overlay for her profile pic and text font while everyone else’s respective theme colors are a solid hue:

Therefore, RAINBOW.

In promotional material and merchandising, they’re probably going to advertise her primarily with pink bah and at worst, she might occasionally be labeled as a White Cure with multiple subcolors (her outfit is not pink-dominant) but definitely NOT. PINK.

...also, this goes without saying but f***yea, we finally got a lead Cure practically and unabashedly wearing the LGBTQ flag and you cannot tell me otherwise, Toei!

Own up to it! Declare Manatsu/Cure Summer as the Precure queer icon!

I’m not gonna stop yellin’ until you do! 😠

4) Laura = obvious midseason Cure is obvious

First of all, Laura is a babe. I already love her the best and she’s not even Precure yet. <3

Anyways, the set-up is pretty much in the description. Important main character who’s not a mascot, stated to have a self-confident personality and just speaks her mind (oooh, I like~ :D), magical/foreign being from another world looking for Precure to save her home, possesses her own special item(s), has aspirations to become the next Queen (so she’s a princess-candidate or something to that effect, I suppose).

We’ve seen various combinations of these traits in past midseason (and a few starter) Cures so nobody should be surprised when we all guessed that one of the Cures would be a real live mermaid.

The only question is why not just make Laura a Cure from the get-go if she’s introduced to us at the beginning (like Hime or Lala) and having a team of five with no unnecessary extra add-ons later on (like Smile).

Well, there’s a simple answer for that: formula.

Toei is afraid that if they don’t spit out some new animation sequence at the halfway and third quarter points of the show, the kids will lose interest and abandon the series altogether. Which means failed toy sales. Oh nooo... [/sarcasm]

...Yea. 

And this way they can also have Laura available in the Cure lineup for the next All Stars in 2022 instead of making her sit the fight out if we were going to have one in 2021. I’m convinced that’s gotta be one of the reasons. *shrug*

But ok, whatever. Her debut is gonna be later, that’s all. She’s a delayed Cure.  Midseason Cure, same difference.

Moving along to the more important stuff now like what’s her Cure name gonna be, y/y?

Well, knowing Toei, a translation of the term “mermaid” into another language is the most predictable route even though we already have a Cure Mermaid. Not like that ever stopped them from repeating words before (ex. Cure Happy vs Cure Felice). Though if they do go down that road, I hope they opt for the Spanish/Italian “sirena” and not the French “sirène” because the latter sounds too close to how Cure Selene is pronounced in Japanese. And, putting it nicely, we all know Japanese pronunciation of foreign words is as off kilter as can be.

Hell, even the the Portuguese “sereia” sounds aesthetic as hell so it’d be nice if they can just remember there are other languages that exist out there besides Japanese, English and French when making the final decision at the writing table! *stomps foot* >:/

Alternatively, “nereid” or “naiad” are good choices too but they remind me too much of Greek myths and Laura’s from the Grand Ocean which covers more than just a couple of seas (Greece is surrounded by three, btw) so...

I dunno. But whatever it’s gonna be, she’s definitely got a strong association with water and her powers will probably be based on that.

As for theme color, since there’s noticeably no blue or green Cure in the starter lineup, it’s likely she will take up that spot when she debuts around ep 20.

Pink is also open since Cure Summer, again, is technically not a Pink Cure and Laura’s hair and tail fin are hot and light pink respectively but looking at Laura’s design and concept, does anyone seriously believe that?

Her upper torso consists of aquamarine while the body of her tail is definitely some shade of cyan, implying they’re aiming for somewhere around the middle of green and blue on the lighter spectrum.

And yea, I’m aware that green and blue are considered exchangeable in some perspectives with how close some of their shades are to each other but officially, I think Laura’s gonna be grouped with the Green Cures.

Cuz of the hair. If Laura’s gonna keep it the same or a similar shade after transforming, that is. The Blues have always had cool-colored hair so putting Laura in with them might disrupt that harmony whereas if you put her with the few Greens there are (including Parfait), she’d fit right in.

I mean, we’ll see but that makes the most sense, doesn’t it?

On another note, I just want to say that I love how they added frills to her arms instead of letting her elbows go bare naked. It definitely makes her look more like a genuine mermaid than if she didn’t have them (remember, half fish doesn’t mean half the body :P).

5) Magical Items

Frankly, I’m tired of seeing the transformation device being a compact again even though one of the main motifs is make-up this season. But at least, as far as Precure compacts goes, the Tropical one is my favorite cuz of how cute and delightfully colorful its toy version looks! So I guess I’m okay with it.

The Heart Rouge Rod, though? ...I dunno. I think it would’ve been fine without that...straw (?) jutting out at the top. It looks weird, doesn’t it look weird? :S

As for the collectible clip-ons, I can live without those for the rest of my life. Yeesh.

Laura’s items, the Aqua Pot and the Ocean Prism Mirror.

Again with the portable, travel-size housing. *sigh* 😩

Alright, I can let this year slide cuz Laura (I’m so soft for her, omg) probably won’t be getting legs for 20 weeks so she’s got to move about on land somehow. But unless they’re really thinking about turning this idea of carrying your apartment around in your bag/pocket/purse into a reality (cuz that would be effin’ awesome), please be more creative with your toys.

On the other hand, I’m much more interested in the Ocean Prism Mirror but from what Kusyami (the Precure merchandise reviews I follow on Youtube) said in his latest vid, this is the ED dance item so don’t know if it’ll actually have an relevance to the story or not. But I did hear him mention it having something to do with the Queen as well and since Laura wishes to become Queen, maybe it’ll be important after all? Maybe it’s her transformation device?

That’d be super cool. Let’s continue the trend of the midseason Cure having a different transformation item than the starters. Honestly, we should alternate every other year or two but we’ve gone three seasons with all of them using the same henshin gimmicks up till HealPre and I just want a break from that.

6) Fin sleeves??

These look so impractical for combat so maybe it’s exclusive to group attacks.

And/or a sort of precursor to the super forms?

*GASP* Does that mean they all eventually turn into mermaids? 🤩

7) Yui finally became Precure!! 😭

lol, it’s all crack from this point on so don’t take it too seriously but man, after Yuni’s deceptive braids, I thought I wasn’t gonna see anything that reminded me of Yui for a while and lo behold, Sango.

kehehehehehe xD;

Though Yui might be closer to Minori in terms of personal interests (fairytales and storybooks).

8) Akira, the actual Onee-chan version

I didn’t think this when I first saw her but once I read “Onee-san” in her profile, there’s no saving you now. Sorry, Asuka. 😅

Also, damn, do her sandals make her feet look big! Compare them to the heels she wears as Flamingo. Are they even the same?! lololol

9) ...this sounds awfully familiar...

Translation:

Tokimeku Tokonatsu! [Exciting/Thrilling Everlasting Summer!] Cure Summer! Kirameku Hoseki! [Sparkling Jewel!] Cure Coral!  Hirameku Fuurutsu! [Flashing Fruit!] Cure Papaya!

Japanese reiteration:

Mallow/Mao: Pink no tokimeki! Lillie: Blue no kirameki! Lana/Suiren: Yellow no kagayaki!

….........

@Toei 

Care to explain yourselves, punks?! 

୧(ʘ ∀ ʘ ╬)

[incorrectspnforfun]

^^ nah, dw, it didn't ruin the show for me. thanks for your opinion. i just wanted to build on what you said, sorry it's long XD you're right that they did mention other characters, and there was the montage, and who knows, maybe the lack of other characters in 15x20 is just because of covid. the thing for me is that sam living this "normal life" and never mentioning hunting, and dean dying young on a hunt, those are the endings they would have gotten had they stayed on their respective paths 1/

at the beginning of 1x1, so it feels like doing all those things since then and changing their destiny (at least i think they did that? feel free to correct me if i'm wrong) didn't really matter. plus i always thought that dean’s line of "going down swinging, guns blazing" was just something to hide his fear of doing exactly that. dean was planning to retire as a hunter, he had managed to completely distance himself from being "daddy's little soldier", but in the end he still died his dad's case? he got out and then was pulled back in just to die, it's... sad. also, you're absolutely right that the core of the story is about the brothers' relationship. but i think this relationship evolved with time. in the beginning it was just the two of them, and it was "toxic codependency" (i think that's how other characters said it?), but as they grew up and met other people they... didn't exactly grow apart, but they took some distance, at least emotionally speaking, and their relationship became way healthier because of that. maybe i'm just imagining things, but this final episode, with a road trip case a la season 1 and barely mentioning other characters, felt like going back to the beginning (...which was probably the whole point ^^") and almost erasing the fact that they became different people since then. idk if that makes sense? also, the actors were always very vocal about mental health issues, but this final episode showed us traumatized characters ending up either dead or living unhappy, and only being happy once they’re dead. i *do not* like this subtext. i know it's definitely not their fault, they said they didn't like the ending way before we knew what the ending was, but *someone* decided this was a good way to end a story that was, at its core, all about hope. sorry, it was even longer than i planned ^^"

Alright. I just cut all of them together so it was more or less consecutive lol. Let’s try to break all this down! (And no worries about the long response! I’m happy to talk about it, and I’m so glad you’re sharing your thoughts! I really appreciate you taking the time to type all of that out! <3) 

For starters, I’m really glad it didn’t ruin the show for you. I’ve heard a lot of fans saying that it’s their ex-favorite show now and they can never watch it again because they didn’t like the finale, and that makes me really sad, so I’m glad to see someone who still appreciates the show even if the finale wasn’t their fave. :)  

In terms of lack of characters because of COVID, I think that’s definitely true. I know the cast and crew had been saying that they wanted more guest stars in the last two episodes, but they had to take some of them out because of COVID concerns. Overall though, they did say that it didn’t change the core story they wanted to tell too much, so I think the Sam and Dean-centric ending would’ve still been like that, but maybe with a few more character appearances (like Shoshannah Stern, for example. I really believe that the reason Sam’s wife was blurred out was because they couldn’t get Shoshannah Stern back for some reason, but they wanted us to believe it was Eileen). 

When it comes to the boys’ destiny, to me--and, in my opinion, this is exactly what the show was trying to show us--their destiny was always supposed to be one brother kills the other. It was the destiny meant for them at the end of Season 5, and it was the destiny and final ending that Chuck had written for them at the end of Season 15. But, time and time again, the brothers’ love for each other and love for the world kept pushing against that destiny. In the end, by defeating Chuck, and by helping each other up and not backing down, they did write their own destiny and fight against it and, ultimately, give themselves free will. 

Now, in thinking about Dean’s death and the brothers’ codependency (yes, you were right, that’s what the angels and such called it), I see your point about Dean’s words being a mask for his fear, and while I agree that he often did use them in that way, in the end, I think his fear was less about dying on a hunt and more about dying alone, but also about making sure that he isn’t taking Sam down with him. His death scene in 15x20 says that loud and clear. Sam tries to leave to get him help, but all Dean wants is for Sam to stay with him, and then his last request is for Sam to come closer so that he can make sure his little brother is okay. That said, though, I do agree with you that they’ve taken some emotional distance from each other and had a healthier relationship because of it--which is why, despite Dean dying and Sam surviving, Sam let him go and didn’t try to bring him back, because they had achieved that emotional distance. 

All of that in mind, I, personally, feel like the only way this story could end was with Dean dying and Sam living to old age, eventually joining his brother in heaven--so basically, exactly what we got. 

I hear a lot of people saying that Dean deserved to live a normal life and live to old age--he had that job application on his desk, he had a dog, etc.--but while I agree that he deserved that happy life, I feel like it wouldn’t have been happy for him. Dean’s tried the normal life thing before, several times, and it’s never worked for him. He can’t stay away from hunting for too long, because he’ll always be looking over his shoulder, and/or he’ll always be worried about his brother. If Sam would have died, he also never would’ve forgiven himself or gotten over it and wouldn’t have been able to live a normal life. In general, as much as I would love for Dean to live a normal life and have a chance at happiness, it’s never fit his character. Even with the growth he’s experienced in the last several years, the way he’s grown up and the things he’s been through just won’t let him experience an apple pie life. 

Sam, on the other hand, has always had a connection to a normal lifestyle and has always had more of an ability to have that. If you ask me, a lot of that is because of Dean--since Dean grew up so fast, Sam never had to, so he had a chance to go through normal childhood experiences and learn how to live a life outside of hunting. As such, his attempts at a normal life usually were pretty successful, and it follows that any attempts he makes in the future could be successful too. The big thing that stops all of that, though, is Dean. While Sam, in the last several years, has said that he’s okay with his hunting lifestyle and happy doing what he’s doing, it’s less about the actual hunting and more about being with his brother. Sam, in general, is miserable in the hunting lifestyle. It’s not what ultimately makes him happy, but being with his brother does. Because of that, he accepts the lifestyle for everything that comes with it because it means bonding with Dean and seeing him happy. As such, he can’t live a normal life if Dean’s around, because he knows it’s not what Dean wants, deep down, and it would mess with the dynamic they’ve built through all these years of hunting. So, the only way Sam can live a normal life is if Dean dies (kind of like in Season 8. When he thought his brother was dead, he actually did live a normal life for a while, and he probably would’ve continued to do that for the rest of his life if Amelia’s husband hadn’t come back and if Dean hadn’t come back). 

Now, with all of that said, you’re right in that this does connect directly to how the brothers likely would’ve ended up in Season 1. However, what’s different is the strong bond that Sam and Dean have now developed over the years. Yes, if Dean hadn’t gotten Sam at Stanford way back in Season 1, Sam (probably) would’ve lived a white picket fence life, and Dean would’ve died on a hunt. The difference, though, is that both of those things would’ve happened without either brother being aware of what the other was up to and, frankly, probably not necessarily caring as much (in Sam’s case anyways). 

With the Season 15 ending, though, Sam lived his white picket fence life, but his entire life was built in tribute to his brother. He named his son Dean, he kept the Impala, he had pictures of the two of them all around his house, and his son even had an anti-possession tattoo. While Sam was able to live a normal life, he never forgot about his brother, and Dean was--just like he said in his death scene--always in his heart and always remembered, because of all that they had shared for the last fifteen years. 

The same goes for Dean. While Dean did die on a hunt like he normally would’ve, if Dean had died in Season 1, he would’ve gone up to heaven, relived his best memories (which all probably would’ve been with kid!Sam), and that would’ve been it. Instead, in Season 15, we see Dean go to a heaven that’s been re-created into something that he deserves by people who love him and who he loves very much (Jack and Cas) that he (and Sam) were able to influence heavily. And yet, with the entirety of heaven open to him to see anyone he wants (including Cas), what does he do? He goes for a drive and waits for his brother--the brother that he’s bonded with for the last fifteen years. He could see anyone, and in Season 1, if heaven had been like that, he probably would’ve. But instead, he just sits and waits for his brother, because ultimately, that’s who makes him happy. We never would’ve gotten that if it weren’t for the bond that Sam and Dean created with each other in the last fifteen years. 

As for the “traumatized characters ending up either dead or living unhappy, and only being happy once they’re dead” subtext, that’s completely valid, and I can see how that would be upsetting. Personally, I didn’t see it that way at all, mostly because I feel like the characters weren’t necessarily happy after they were dead. Dean was only happy in heaven once Sam was with him, and Sam actually was happy throughout his life with his family, even if he was still mourning his brother, and ultimately, he was able to live a life and continue that happiness in heaven when he reunited with Dean. Cas was happy before he died (hence, why he died) because he finally admitted his love for Dean. While I fully acknowledge that not a lot of them necessarily got the chance to deal with their trauma in a prolonged way, I feel like their individual deaths helped them cope in some way. That’s just my opinion though, and I can definitely understand where you’re coming from. 

Sorry it took me so long to answer this, but I hope that all makes sense! (Also sorry mine was so long too! Lol.) <3 

[shiroganeryo]

ah, if you're still doin the character thing, how about Lenalee? (I didn't see anybody asking about her, but if sb did, sorry! maybe Johnny then?)

I’m sorry for the delay on replying to this one! This is probably the last ask thingy I’ll be doing for the Character Questions, as they take me some time to type and I’ve been busy 💓 But thank you all very much for the interest in these, I really love writing for stuff like this! I’ll be covering both Lenalee and Johnny in this one - so, a two character reply again! I was hoping someone would give me Lena so the OT4 was complete, but I also really love Johnny... 😭 

Lenalee

My otp for them: With Lavi! I had never paid much attention to the two of them as a couple, but after I reread the series last year, they have grown on me. Lavi has been Lenalee’s emotional support many times and it’s clear he cares about her. People would consider that the time he snapped at her for grieving over “losing Allen” was bad, but I quite don’t think he meant harm; rather, I think he kinda acted on impulse because he wanted her to feel better. He marvelously made up for that during the following arcs (”I didn’t come here to stop you; this is your decision to make. Just let me come along.” - 150th Night). Those interactions made me like them a lot as a pairing. My brotp for them: Miranda! She played a big part in Miranda’s life, and I’m sure they got really close thanks to that. Imagining them doing all the girly things together without a care in the world makes me so happy 🥺 It’s like getting to see the happy girl Lenalee could have been, if she weren’t another victim of the war. I also used to ship them because I have no self-control apparently, so. XD Any other ships: Have you all ever considered her and Emilia? 💦 Both share guts and very strong legs, it seems. I can picture them bonding easily over shared interests and it makes me weak. I also love Lenalee and Kanda’s relationship, so they also get the cake here. As for Allen, they make a beautiful pairing, but only when it comes to appearance to me; imo they would need to work many things out, personally speaking, to work in a healthy way for both. Their best friend: Miranda, Jeryy and Kanda! Miranda, for the reasons stated above; Jeryy, because he was her “motherly figure” when she was growing up and needed a feminine, understanding input from someone she could feel comfortable around. And Kanda, due to their relationship as “childhood friends”, in a way. Lenalee loves everyone close to her, but I see these three being the ones she’s the closest to. My favorite nickname for them: “Lena”, given by Kanda. It just sounds so cute and delicate; it suits her. My favorite AU headcanon of them: People often say they would like to see Lenalee abandon the Order and join Allen’s side. I say the opposite; she should stay. She could be a big helping hand on throwing a rebellion of sorts that could benefit him from the inside. That way she wouldn’t need to abandon the people she loves for Allen’s sake, but would still be on his side, on her own way. My favorite outfit they wear: Lenalee has the cutest chinese themed outfits! The ones I love the most are the one she used during the Zombie arc, and this one I saw her wearing on Gray Log. She looks so darn cute, too precious for this world. *gross sobbing* Defining color: When I think of her, I think of several shades of green, namely Fern (#4F7942) and Pine (#01796F). I also think of deep red (#D30000), because of the ribbons she uses on her hair and the shapes of her Crystal Type Innocence. Would I date them: Lenalee is a strong, amazing girl! However, I wouldn’t date her. She can also be headstrong, and so am I hahah At times, I find myself thinking we’re similar in the way we’re insistent (at the risk of being unreasonable) about some things and I quite don’t see that working out at all 😅 First impression: Bland. Nice character, but her design didn’t interest or stand out at all to me. Dark Boots are an awesome Innocence though! Current impression: I really like her. Not one of my favorite characters, and I have a lot of criticism when it comes to Lenalee, but I love her design and the development she got so far. I started taking her more seriously after the fight against Eshi; it was one heck of an awesome fight! The way she put everything on the line on that suicidal move was impressive; so badass. Hogwarts House: As much as I would love to assign her to Gryffindor for her commendable courage, Lenalee’s home is in Hufflepuff! Before anything else, she cares deeply for the people she loves, and will sacrifice herself for them without thinking twice. Loyalty and kindness are her most prominent trait, but that doesn’t make her a pushover in the slightest. Which Pokemon starter they’d be: Torchic! According to the Pokédex entries, Torchic feels warm to the touch and this makes it very huggable. I have this type of impression about her, warm and welcoming. It also develops a fighting type upon evolving, and Blaziken are well known for their strong legs and jumping capacity!

Johnny

My otp for them: With Cache! I’m very weak for couples where the woman looks (and is) stronger than the guy, and we’ve seen her carrying Johnny to the medical wing before - an occurence that, according to her, happens a lot. He seems to have a crush on her, seeing his reaction (fidgety, blushing) when he was saying goodbye to his science friends. According to Vol. 27′s Discussion Room, the scrunchy he’s using to tie his hair used to be hers, and I love how Allen went “hmm, I see...” when he told them she had given it to him hahah (it’s alright, Allen; I ship it too 👌) My brotp for them: Allen, hands down. Differently from what people say, Johnny has always supported and cherished Allen, what he’s doing for him now isn’t out of the blue. It was actually what Johnny told him that started to change his perception on things and realize that his heart longed to be with the ones he loves despite the hardships (”As Johnny Gill and your friend, I’m going to help you!”, - 215th Night). He loves him, and I can tell how important he is for Allen too; he was able to come back from Nea’s inner world thanks to Johnny’s calling that reminded him of his ties with everyone in “Home”. This part has some of my favorite scenes from the entire series; Johnny didn’t even bat an eye, he simply jumped for Allen. I called it Allen would avoid their fall, but Johnny patting his head in happiness and relief and then hugging him, to which Allen returned, as relieved and happy for having come back... It was so sweet and hopeful. It brings good tears to my eyes!  Any other ships: I don’t have any~ Their best friend: I think Johnny is friends with pretty much all of his buddies from the Science Division, but I notice him being closer to Reever. I would like to mention Suman as well; despite him being deceased, Johnny still seems to hold a fond memory of him. And then comes Allen who’s clearly someone important to him, and it doesn’t seem to be one-sided, judging by the time they (used to) spend together having fun. My favorite nickname for them: I don’t have one! But Johnny deserves cute nicknames, let’s give him some, Hoshino-sensei? 👀 My favorite AU headcanon of them: I don’t have one because Johnny is already perfect as a character and for the plot as he already is imho. All I wish is for him to survive until the ending. Hang in there, Johnny! Allen needs you, but for all you’ve been doing, you deserve to make it out alive and earn your own happiness! My favorite outfit they wear: Out of all the characters, I feel like Johnny is the one that has the most “stripped-down” style, quite modern looking. But I love his current outfit the most! He looks great in vests and the long coat definitely reminds me of the lab coats he used to wear while in the Order. I also like a lot more how his hairdo is atm, it looked a little painful to have tied for too long in the previous style (similar to pigtails). His new frame glasses are also pretty! Gives him a more serious look. Defining color: Curiously enough, I think of an array of varied colors when I think of Johnny? I can’t seem to be able to pick one. There is black, yellow like Mustard (#FEDC56), brown like Cherrywood (#CB6F36) and blue like Maya (#73C2FB), to name some. Would I date them: But of course! Johnny is the sweetest guy I’ve ever seen. He gives off all the geek vibes, but not on the annoying way; he looks like the type of person that would talk lots about things that make him happy, excitedly, while you’d look at him go, feeling blessed with all the bright energy vibes emanating from him. He’s also shown to be extremely supportive, and honestly, everyone deserves someone like him 🥺 First impression: Regular geek scientist guy? Current impression: *incoherent sobbing* I love him so much! Why does Johnny not have more appreciation?! Why do people think he’s annoying??? Anyone who loves Allen gotta admit this guy is the MVP. He’s the trope you’d expect for a smartsy science guy, and at the same time, he’s not only that. I’ve babbled enough on that in the reply under this question. Hogwarts House: I’m in a tie between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, but I think I would give him Gryffindor. People would be quick to place him in Ravenclaw for his smarts and his love for learning, but this guy is extremely courageous. Despite being seen as “weak” and fragile, he was the one to stand up for Allen in multiple occasions throughout the series. He’s also the one who confronted the Earl to ask him what he wanted with the 14th (196th Night), while no one had really questioned or directly talked to him. He left the Order to go after Allen, knowing he was awakening as a Noah (which is already dangerous on its own) and would be in constant situations of peril because of Akuma and other Noah. Johnny, the “regular guy”, did all that, having no care as to what could happen to him. So, Gryffindor for his extreme courage, but maybe Hufflepuff for his honest loyalty and goodness. Which Pokemon starter they’d be: Grookey! The way Grookey and its evolutions handle wood makes me think they’re skilled Pokémon that can craft things and know how to use them as instruments, just like Johnny does with his scientific creations. The tied “hair” also reminds me of him!

[seyaryminamoto]

Yakuza Sokkla AU headcanons?

Well, for starters I can point you to a Yakuza AU fic that already exists and features Sokkla, though it’s not the main pairing... here you go!

Now then... let’s toy around with a set of headcanons, shall we?

Azula of course belongs to the biggest baddest yakuza clan in the nation, spanning back who knows how many generations, probably since the Edo period. It’s a pretty violent clan, with complicated and gruesome rites of passage. For instance, Zuko could’ve even been burned in this setting for the sake of proving himself a worthy successor to his father :’D it may sound insane, but there’s a real-life yakuza tradition of amputating their pinky fingers to settle conflicts or as punishments... so in their case, the burning is a rite done to the clan’s heir -- if the heir survives, he’s proven himself, so, strangely, in this AU Zuko’s burn is a mark of pride rather than shame :’D (and Ozai probably has a burn of his own too). Theirs could be, perhaps, the Homura clan (as a reading of Homura 炎 would mean “flames”).

Sokka would belong to a smaller yakuza clan, but his father could be a little like Hanzo and Genji’s father from Overwatch, a wise old man who actually reels back his more criminal and wild associates, who surely want their clan to outdo the Homura at all costs, even if by breaking their more traditional and respectful (and samurai-ish (?)) approach to their work. I’d think their clan can be the Kawakami clan (written  川上, means “above the river”).

The Kawakami are renowned for having THE coolest tattoos so that’s one nice thing they have over every other Yakuza clan around, bahahaha. Sokka has been learning (amongst other things) how to make tattoos of his own too, so he gets plenty of art education here and is damn good at what he does because this boy has the soul of an artist and if it were nurtured properly he’d go the distance with his talents, MARK MY WORDS!

Eh-hem, Sokka fangirl rant over... as they’re from rival clans, Sokka and Azula have bumped into each other on occasion, whenever friction rises between their groups. They’ve known of the other’s existence (and their respective siblings) all along, and they’ve been raised to hate each other’s guts :’D as kids they probably only saw each other on a few occasions, but once they’re old enough to take up missions of their own, their paths will cross more often.

The Homura clan traditionally handles most the drug trafficking and arms trading, and of course, the Kawakami are trying to deal in those things too... which results in frequent spats over suppliers, even outright fights between group members, until Hakoda Kawakami decides he’s had enough of the nonsensical rivalry and determines their clan will benefit most from a truce and an alliance with the Homura clan. He tasks his son and heir with arranging it, since this could be their rise to yakuza glory!

Of course, Sokka Kawakami has a lot of possible ways to achieve success at his father’s request. He starts by making peace offerings to the other clan, yielding some suppliers, for instance, in a show of good faith. But Ozai Homura is not amused and not impressed because he can tell these people are up to something: as he wants his heir Zuko to stay focused on learning the elements of the business that matter, such as learning to read stock markets and such (legit, it seems the Yakuza do this to find out which companies to extort :’D), he dispatches his daughter to handle the lesser threat of the Kawakami clan.

This means a huge cat and mouse struggle begins between Azula and Sokka: she decides to turn his displays of generosity against him, by extending Homura “protection” AKA extortion to people within Kawakami territories, arguing that the Kawakami’s displays of weakness these days mean they’re no longer upholding their duties to “protect” their people as they should. Naturally, Sokka is outraged that she’s fucked up his plan but he counterattacks by reaching out to the people she’s trying to steal away to prove that he’s indeed going to protect them. From HER! :’D The people in question are just plain confused because who should they believe at this point? xD

After a few weeks of this pretty pointless tug of war, Sokka decides he needs to step up his game and take a new approach to fulfilling his father’s request: he asks Azula for a peaceful private meeting in an empty park at night (and by private I mean they’ll talk alone while about 20 members of each clan point guns at each other from the shadows of the park), and he explains what’s going on and why he’s been up to what he’s up to. Azula is uninterested in any alliances, for the Homura are perfectly strong as they are, but Sokka points out... their tattoo game ain’t as good as the Kawakami clan’s. Azula is confused but intrigued.

Next thing Ozai knows, Azula is offering to take one bullet for the clan: she will receive a tattoo from the Kawakami heir to see if they have ONE worthwhile thing to offer their clan or not. Ozai is utterly uninterested but fiiiiiiiiiine, their artists have been pretty lackluster lately and it’s known decent tattoos are needed for people to respect a yakuza clan as it should be.

As these tattoos are very difficult, painful and time-consuming, it takes more than one session. Sokka of course insists he must be alone with Azula or he won’t be able to focus -- not that he’s focusing too much while she lies down naked to the waist on his tattoo parlor and he works on inking her back as best as he can :’D the very FATE of his clan rides on whether he can do wonders on Azula’s body or not... (?)

... Obviously, this ends up taking a whole other meaning when it’s time for him to work on other, more intimate parts of her body...

Ehem. Things are no longer PG-13. Not that they ever are when it comes to the yakuza. Or to me writing these two.

Azula goes home after the final session of her hugely-detailed epic tattoo with the biggest, stupidest smile on her face because ahaha that tattoo was good “ahaha yes father he’s TALENTED I mean, very talented, the things he does with his HUGE needle...! Um, y-yeah, I’m totally talking about tattoos, not about anything else, that’s not it (?)”

A temporary alliance is crafted then, despite Ozai thinks Azula’s approval of the Kawakami clan is super weird and isn’t exactly crazy about allowing this puny clan to even breathe in his direction, but he’s always had a weakness for his daughter + has no idea she’s doing the tattoo artist so he lets everything run its course (?)

I guess one day he finds out and legit war blows up between both factions (?) buuuut that’s too much plot to plot and I have enough big stories in my head as it is x’D feel free to imagine that war and its outcome for yourself, anon (?)

(as a bonus, looking into the yakuza wikipedia article revealed that, amongst their TONS of criminal activities, the real life yakuza actually offered relief and assistance during big catastrophic events in Japan, like the Kobe and Sendai earthquakes? How epic would it be for the Kawakami clan to offer relief and earn the loyalty of a fuckton of people, turning them into a clan big enough to rival the Homura before Ozai is the wiser... :’DDDD further spice into the clan war, eh, ehhhh?)

Well, that was fun xD I hope you enjoyed it too, Anon xD

[kuviras-eyeliner]

Hii I just found your blog and I’m really enjoying your writing! If you’re still doing matchups, could I please get one for atla and lok? I’m a 5’4” bi girl and I’m pretty athletic bc I do a lot of sports (soccer, hockey, kickboxing) but still kinda clumsy, if that makes any sense?? I’m an ENTP, Aquarius, and a Hufflepuff and I can be a little stubborn, and hotheaded at times if someone’s really pushing my buttons or being rude to someone else. I’m quiet at first but once I get a feel for new people, I usually end up being the funny conversation starter of the group that hypes everyone up. Thank you so much if you decide to answer this, I’m looking forward to reading more of your writing!! 💫💖

Aw, you seem like such an awesome person!! You sound like someone I know xD Why are all the anon’s literally so sweet?? Why are y’all hiding, cOmE InTo ThE LiGhT-

Now, without further ado, here’s your Avatar: The Last Airbender Matchup!

~

I match you with...

Zuko!

You two, I swear to the amazing goodness of the cabbage man would be such an amazing ship. You literally have to be in the show together-- although the Zuko fandom shipping is quite complicated, I think that when it comes to you and Zuko, everything will get cleared up. Zuko, even though he tends to be quiet at times, he needs someone who is full of life with new ideas and an open heart. Many people say he deserves someone who is calm, serious, and collected, but you insist otherwise. You have opened eyes to everything, and you're nearly an exact resemblance of Iroh, but more ecstatic and open-minded. Zuko will honestly always look up to you and knows he can trust you with his life. He always makes sure that you get what you deserve because that's how much he cares. He loves that part of you when your eyes light up in the excitement and that you put others before yourself, every second of every day. He doesn't care about how you look, because your personality and loving heart always make him smile. He also struggles to hide his laughs and smiles when he's with you-- he's been eating more, smiling more, talking more, and overall, you're just this ray of light in the darkness that keeps him going in the toughest times. I also definitely think that you’d always give Zuko the most amazing time ever-- and Zuko would always look after you. He probably has a tendency of giving you a bunch of nicknames, and he’d most definitely shower you with more love than anything else!

I LITERALLY NEED TO BE FRIENDS WITH YOU RIGHT NOW, ANON PLEASE COME BACK- xD

For The Legend of Korra, I pair you with...

Asami!

You and Asami, OTP. Right here. Alrighty, I know there’s a lot of people going, “What about Makokokokokko?” Hear me out, okay? I think you and Asami would go swimmingly-- especially considering just how much you two would converse on different days. You seem to like that kind of person I could kick back and have a nice glass of lemonade with, and I’m all here for it!

Asami, I swear to goodness, if you manage to win over her heart completely, she will never stop loving you. Asami, all though she has a tendency to be very defensive about certain topics, the exact moment you come into her life? Boom. She starts getting defensive-- but about you and your well-being. Asami cares so much about you to the point that she will hold you and absolutely refuse to let go because that's just who she is. She will listen to you talk for hours upon hours, and she absolutely refuses to forget about your existence and will stick with you through both the thick and thin. She believes that you are the reason to fight for because when her momma-bear instincts kick in, OH BOY. She will fight for you, day and night, and will always remind you daily how much she loves you. I honestly believe that you’d be compatible with literally anyone-- you seem like such a chill and awesome person to talk to!! I really respect that <3

I hope I was able to satisfy your needs! You seem super awesome, I hope to see you again ;D

And also, please reblog, follow, or like-- I really do put a lot of thought into these and take time to make it as thoughtful as possible, as well as comparing MBTI’s and different personality types and attributes. It’d mean the world to me if even just one tap, just a like would come :) You don’t even need to say thank you (because you guys are just that amazing), I’m in a family of 7 beautiful followers!! Yay <3 Thank you so much <hugs!>

[baebeyza]

Hey it’s the same 15 yo, who actually did give beastwars a chance, as I ended up really liking waspinator (you can also thank Idw 1 and animated for that). So I watched all the way through just for waspinator, I can’t find 2 any where and my only reason for watching isn’t in beast machines, an all of there models in beast machines are nightmare fuel. Dino bot also played a role it it too. So I only ended up just watching for waspinator. (Tarantulas and arachnia too)

Oh, hope you had a good time watching Beast Wars! ~ Wish my own brother (14 years old) would listen to me when I try to explain to him that it’s worth a shot xD

So do I get it right that you don’t wanna watch Beast Machines and wonder if I will try to sweet talk that show as well???

Hmm...for Beast Wars I talked about how the animation has something going for it and Beast Machines animation isn’t bad either. It’s actually way better than the animation of shows coming after it (Energon). Though yes, the maximals look fucking horrifying and I am still not over that. 

But while Beast Wars is really good and enjoyable, Beast Machines is...a mixed bag?

Okay first of all - Waspinator is in Beast Machines. Technically.

Not to spoil too much, but in the third episode three new characters get introduced, the Vehicons. Three drones who are given personhood through a spark, and all these sparks originally belonged to characters you know from Beast Wars, Waspinator one of them.

But he appears as himself on only two occasions - once in the middle of season 1 and at the very end as a funny gag.

The Vehicon his spark is in can be seen as Waspinator, but personally I see all three as their own person.

As for the question if Beast Machines is worth watching:

For starters, there is nothing in this show that you MUST see as a Beast Wars fan. No question or theme from Beast Wars is in Beast Machines. Nothing about the aliens and nothing about the Maximal vs Predacon conflict, the themes and plot of Beast Machines are completely new and original.

It’s just the characters from Beast Wars as they return to Cybertron and find it being completely taken over by Megatron, who managed to get their before the heroes.

The new conflict in Beast Machines is organic vs technological. 

Now the thing is - this show is dark.

I don’t just mean the fact that no one ever has any lightbulbs on, but the tone of the show is rather dark and not really for kids.

Beast Wars had dark themes and scenes, but it was also really funny and lighthearted too. 

Beast Machines has nothing of that, it’s a serious show from beginning to end that really tries to execute their idea realistically.

And tbh, I really didn’t like that. 

What I really hated in this show is the lack of good feelings. The heroes are almost always fighting and on edge, which makes sense given their situation, but is really not enjoyable to watch.

And every character have an edge to them now, that makes them feel like much more grimmer and worse versions of them as they appeared in Beast Wars. Megatron, who I love in Beast Wars, loses almost all of his extra and funny gimmicks in Beast Machines for example! He doesn’t even say “yeees” all the time qnq

Personally I think that Beast Machines is a well written show with no enjoyment factor, but I still praise for the risks it took and the fact that they really did try to be something original.

So it does have it’s place and I am glad it exists, but I wouldn’t recommend really - like watch it if you are curious, but you really don’t need to. At least it’s only 26 episodes, so you are not wasting too much of your time :>

[gojira007]

Movie Meme

Took me a bit of time, but I was tagged by @bunnikkila to list my nine favorite movies, and since I can’t help but be ridiculously verbose about that very topic, you can see them all under the cut 8D

As for who I tag?  Well, as always with the caveat that you are free to ignore if you don’t wanna, I’ll go with: @elistodragonwings @kaikaku @donnys-boy @robotnik-mun @sally-mun @fini-mun @werewolf-t33th  @cviperfan and @wildwoodmage​

and don’t worry, if you DO go for it, you don’t have to get as Extra as I did about it XD

9.) 

Look, the meme is about Favorite Movies, not necessarily the BEST Movies, OK?  And for the most part this list consists of films where that division is less meaningful in terms of how I evaluate the other movies on here.  But in this specific case, “Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie”, which is ultimately not all that different from the “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ TV show it spun off from and thus not particularly impressive as a work of Cinema Qua Cinema, makes the cut primarily because it’s a movie I know so well and have enjoyed so often that I can practically recite the whole thing to you by rote; I quote it all the time in my day-to-day life, I think about it often when I need a little smile, and it’s also become my favorite tool for introducing newcomers to MST3K as a whole since it was designed with a slightly broader audience in mind than the more willfully-eclectic series.  And given how much I love MST3K As A Whole, that’s an especially strong factor in its favor.

8.) 

Looky looky, @bunnikkila, we (unsurprisingly) have a pick in common!  I’m sure this is the one and only time THAT’S going to happen on this list. 8D

Y’know, nearly thirty years (and one fairly useless remake >_>) later, I think the thing that impresses me about “The Lion King” is just how much it is still able to grab me emotionally.  Some of that is unquestionably tied up with how strongly I associate this movie with my family, all of whom it became very special to as a Shared Experience.  But I also don’t know of a lot of people who haven’t had that same emotional experience with it, and that to me suggests there’s more going on here than just Nostalgia.  The mixture of Shakesperean plotting with Disney’s signature strength of Character, for one thing, granting the movie’s story an Epic Scope that never forgets the emotional inner lives of its cast.  The music for another, not only its instantly-iconic song-book but also its memorable score, armed with both Big Bombast and Gentle Sentiment.  And the unforgettably gorgeous animation, rendering every last element of its world with believable naturalism and strongly-defined personality.  All of it, together, makes for what I still personally consider the Crowning Achievement of the Disney Renaissance.

7.)

I think, if I had to name the thing I find most lacking in far too many modern Action Movies, it’s Clarity.  They all tend to lard their plots up with a bunch of unnecessary contrivances and complications in hopes of making themselves appear more clever than they actually are, and all it usually does is just dilute the impact of the whole thing.  “Mad Max: Fury Road”, by contrast, is all about Clarity.  I could sum up literally its entire plot in a paragraph if I wanted, because it is basically One Big Chase Scene from start to finish, never really deviating from that structure for more than a few minutes at a time.  And that, combined with its exceptionally well-crafted Action Sequences, means that the full weight of its visceral power hits you full force every time.  But don’t be fooled; that simplicity is not to be mistaken for shallowness.  Indeed, precisely by getting out of its own way, knowing exactly what it wants to do and why, “Fury Road” also delivers a story that is, in spite of what you might guess, genuinely subtle and smart.  Every character is immediately unforgettable and compelling because their role in the story is so well-considered and their personalities all so stark.  The world it crafts feels at once fascinatingly surreal and yet All Too Real at the same time because even its most Fantastic elements are ultimately just grotesque reflections of things the audience knows only too well.  And most of all, it tells a story with real, meaningful Themes that are deeply woven into each of its individual elements, such that the whole thing is deeply satisfying emotionally, but also piercingly Relevant in all the best, most affecting ways.

6.) 

Oh look, another pick I have in common with @bunnikkila!  This must be the last one, right?

But yeah, this is just a legitimately great movie, at every level, in every way.  Stylistically, it is one of the most radically inventive things to have ever been made in the world of Western Animated Movies, gleefully mixing together a vast array of Aesthetics and Techniques that are at once viscerally distinct and yet coherently connected, all rendered with a fantastic eye toward the world of Comic Book Visual Language that keeps finding new and extremely fun ways to play with that instantly-recognizable iconography.  For that alone, I would call it one of the greatest triumphs of 21st century animation.  But then, on top of that, the story it tells is one that is simultaneously Arch and self-aware, delivering some of the most fantastically hilarious punch-lines imaginable more than a few of which are at the expense of the very franchise it is working within...but also entirely earnest, sincere, and emotionally affecting.  It is, at once, a movie that manages to be about The Idea Of Spider-Man in its totality while also being about just one kid coming to grips with who he is, what he can do, and what his life can be.  I don’t know that I can remember the last time a movie so immediately and unmistakably marked itself as an Enduring Masterpiece, but “Into the Spider-Verse” absolutely pulled it off.

5.)

Ordinarily, I would cheat and give this slot to the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy in its totality.  But somehow, the fact that this is about “FAVORITE” movies instead of just what we think the BEST one is compels me to narrow it down to just one.  And if I had to pick just one, it would be the first of the three, “Fellowship of the Ring”.  It’s not necessarily anything that the other two movies get wrong, either.  All three of the LotR movies possess many of its keenest strengths, after all.  For a starter, there’s the keen understanding of how best to adapt the source material without being enslaved to it; capturing many of its most iconic moments while cleverly tweaking elements to make them more cinematic, knowing what scenes to focus on for the sake of more clearly focusing the emotional through-lines of the story, and knowing what scenes, no matter how good on the page, ultimately don’t fit to the shape the adaptation has taken.  There’s also its pitch-perfect casting, each and every actor doing a fantastic job of embodying the characters so well that even as your personal vision of them from the books may differ radically from what is on-screen, they nonetheless end up feeling Right for the part and a strong, compelling presence.  And there’s the deft visual hand of director Peter Jackson, who knows exactly how to craft a Middle Earth that feels at once lived-in and real but also Fantastic and magical.  “Fellowship”, for me at least, thus wins out mostly because it has the good luck of being adapted from the strongest of the three books, the point at which the narrative is at its most unified and thus has the strongest overall momentum.  But also because so few movies have so swept me away with the sense of stepping into a world I have always dreamed of in my mind’s eye, and that’s the sort of thing that can only happen at the beginning of a journey.

4.) 

Now here’s a movie that is literally sown in to my very being.  It’s the last movie my mother saw in theaters before becoming a Mom.  I grew up watching the “Real Ghostbusters” cartoon all the time and playing with the attendant toys; I had a “Ghostbusters” Birthday Party when I was, like, four years old.  It has been my annual Halloween Tradition to get myself a big Cheese Pizza and watch this movie for about as long as I’ve had disposable income to myself.  There is, quite literally, no point in my life where I don’t remember “Ghostbusters” being a fixture in it.  And as a nice bonus?  It is, legitimately, a Genuinely Great Movie.  I realize that isn’t quite as universally agreed upon these days as it was even a few years ago (thanks, Literally The Worst Kind Of Virulently Misogynist Assholes lD; ), but I still feel pretty confident in saying this one really is That Good.  I still find basically every one of its jokes hilarious; even now I could quote just about any one of them and get a laugh.  I still find its central premise, What If Exorcism Was A Blue-Collar Business, a brilliant, almost subversively clever one that takes The Supernatural out of the realm of The Unknowable and into a world where even you, an ordinary person off the street, can in fact fight back against it.  I still think it’s one of the all-time great examples of how to balance Tone in this sort of High Concept Genre Bender, by allowing The Story to be played relatively straight while allowing the comedy to flow naturally from the characters’ reactions to that story, allowing its Ghostly aspects to land as Genuinely Scary (or at least Worth Taking Seriously) without getting too Stern and Serious about it.  And I still listen to that unforgettable Title Song all the time!  So yeah, even if I could be more objective about it, “Ghostbusters” would almost certainly make this cut.      

3.) 

And so we come to the third and last pick I have in common with @bunnikkila, not coincidentally a movie that played a key role in solidifying our friendship, as bonding over our shared love of it was a big part of how we got to know each other on deviantART waaaay back in the day <3

By 2008, I really didn’t think it was possible for a movie or comic or TV show to really become “part” of me anymore, the way things like Sonic the Hedgehog or Marvel Super Heroes or Some Other Movie Character Who Might Be At The Top Of This List had.  And then “WALL-E” came along and proved that to be completely, utterly wrong.  I didn’t just love this movie, I was inspired by it, to a degree of strength and consistency that I’m still not entirely sure has yet been matched.  And to be sure, some of that is undoubtedly because the movie had already basically won the war before I’d even bought my ticket; Adorable Robots In Love is something like My Platonic Storytelling Ideal, after all.  But even setting that aside, “WALL-E” is a movie where even now I can’t help but be keenly aware, and gently awed, at the beauty of its craft; indeed, watching this movie in a theater did a lot to make me better understand why movies work on us the way they do, because I left that theater chewing so much on every last one of its elements.  Its gorgeous animation, the way it conveys Character through Actions more so than language, the dream-like quality of its musical score (even as i type this i get teary thinking about certain motifs), the clear and meaningful way it builds its theme and story together so harmoniously, and the particular perspective it takes on our relationships with each other, with our environments, and with our own technology...all of it speaks to me deeply and profoundly, and it’s no coincidence that I have seen this movie more times in theaters than any other on this list (twelve times, for the record, and I still remember each and every time XD).

2.) 

This one needs no personal qualifications, to my mind.  Yes, I have some degree of nostalgic attachment to it for having seen it relatively young with my brothers and being deeply moved by it then, but it’s not at all like the kind of Nostalgia I have for “The Lion King”.  “Princess Mononoke” is just flat-out, full-stop a complete Masterpiece, not just my personal pick for one of the single-best animated films ever made, but one of the best films period.  It’s almost difficult for me to put into words how great this movie is, certainly in a way that hasn’t been repeated to death by thousands of other smarter people, because no one of its elements quite answers the question of why it is so great, to my mind.  Yes, the animation is absolutely gorgeous with a design sensibility that brings Ancient Mythology to life so vividly that its influence can still be felt today (The Forest Spirit alone has been homaged all over the place).  And yes, the music is hauntingly beautiful, at once capturing the gentle rhythm of nature but also the elegiac tone of Life Moving On.  And yes, the story is an incredible mixture of the Broad Mythic Strokes of an Ancient Legend grounded in all too human Emotions and Ideas about the balance of nature, the full meaning and cost of Warfare, and perhaps most important of all, about how we determine Right and Wrong when everyone involved in a conflict is fighting simply for the right to survive.  But all of those things add up together to something even greater than a simple sum, because each one isn’t just good in its own right but because each element so perfectly reinforces the other.  And even having said all that?  I really could just carry on singing this movie’s praises.  Just...an absolute masterpiece, top to bottom.

1.) 

I don’t imagine any of you are terribly surprised at this, right?  I almost feel like it’d be redundant to explain my love for this movie, given how self-obvious I imagine it is to basically everyone who knows me Literally At All.  But heck, I’ve rambled on this long, why not go all the way?  Because the thing of it is, “Gojira” (to be clear, the original Japanese movie from 1954 rather than its American edit, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” from 1956) doesn’t just top the list by being a Great Movie.  Though to be clear, it really is.  Flawless?  No; there’s a reliance on puppetry that even for the time can be a bit chintzier than the movie can really afford, in particular.  But brilliant, even so, a heart-wrenching example of Science Fiction Storytelling As Allegory, one that, in a rarity not just for its own genre but indeed for many movies in general, very meaningfully lingers on its deepest, darkest implications.  Many a film critic has pointed it out, and it remains true: the stark black-and-white photography heightens the sense of Implacable Horror at the core of the story, and the way the central Melodrama, a tragic love triangle that carries with it many aspects of Class Conflict and Personal Desire VS. The Collective Good, ties back into the main story is truly beautiful in its elegance and emotional impact.  Still, for me personally, it tops the list, now and always, because it is a movie that affirmed something for me, that the character I had fallen in love with as a child convincing his family to watch a monster movie with him on television to prove his seven-year-old bravery, really was as genuinely as powerful and meaningful a figure as I had always imagined him to be. 

[ducktales-wco-oo]

✩ How I Run My Blog! ✩

Speed: 

Slow As Hell, for the most part. True, there are times when I yeet replies out because me and/or my muse are ridiculously invested in a thread, or inspiration instantly strikes. However, my default tends to be Really Slow. Something I try to make prominent to everyone since I understand some people prefer to not wait months at a time for a response- which is something I often end up doing. For a variety of reasons: be it because muses are fickle, it tends to take hours at a time for me to craft replies, I literally have hundreds of threads... As a result of this, I don’t drop threads too often either? Usually, they're lingering in my drafts, and it isn’t uncommon for a hella old one to suddenly be thrust onto the dash.

Of course, I never expect people to reply to Old Threads if they don’t want to, and don’t mind either way! I just like offering a response so I didn’t just abruptly drop it. :3 But yeah, I am a very slow roleplayer and while I hope my writing is decent enough to be worth the wait, I’ve had experience interacting with others who obviously prefer things to be quick and constant. Which I am not. Not delving into THOSE experiences because yeah- They weren’t the best. lol But I just want to make it clear that my speed does not equate my interest in a thread or in interacting with others. I am just a hella slow person who wants to write about birbs. 

Replies: 

My replies tend to get L O N G. I am not adept at short threads, and even ones that start out as really small back-and-forth replies are pretty much guaranteed to get longer on my side within a few responses. My muses like to get introspective and I like to get descriptive- I’m talking several paragraphs before they start to talk or even get to the point where they aren’t thinking-about/reacting-to whatever your muse did in the last reply. XD I’ve noticed that my average seems to be three-to-five paragraphs, but it isn’t uncommon for me to break the double-digits at times. Of course, I never expect my partners to match length and as long as I’m given more than a couple sentences in return, it’s all good. 

Starters: 

Whenever I add a new muse, I often post a Starter Call for them. They tend to vary in length, but are often two-to-three paragraphs long because I’ve tried to make single sentence ones and it never seems to work out. Occasionally, I’ll throw out random Open Starters when inspiration or a random idea strikes. These starters are free for as many people to respond to as they want, and are ALWAYS open regardless of how long ago I posted them.  

Inbox: 

My Inbox is always open and I am constantly reblogging RP and Ask memes for it. However, again I shall bring up my Turtle-Like speed because my asks do tend to snowball. Right now I have 966 asks, so it’s no surprise that sometimes they can get lost in the pile. But I have a habit of answering random ones whenever threads aren’t working or I’m in a mood for something specific that a reply won’t give, so that’s why I continuously reblog things. I like having a healthy stash of stuff to answer when needed. So don’t be surprised if an ask you forgot you even sent is suddenly popping up onto the dash. XD 

Selectivity: 

I am semi-selective, meaning that while I am willing to RP with people I am not technically mutuals with, I won’t RP with everyone. I’m not trying to discourage people from approaching or make anyone feel poorly, there are just certain writing styles that I tend to gravitate towards and click more easily with. For example, if I notice that someone’s blog is filled with a surplus of one-liner back-and-forth, uncut replies, chances are I’m not going to follow because I don’t want my dash constantly cluttered. Maybe I’ll RP if they approach and give more than single sentences in our threads, but I’m not going to automatically promise to interact with everyone. Because I did that before and honestly, it’s not fair to me or the other person if I’m not actually enjoying replying to a thread. 

I don’t take graphics or Aesthetics into consideration when it comes to following or interacting. After all, what is important is the writing and the fun. :3 

Wishlist: 

I have a tag for random things that I thought would be fun to explore- #Got The Quacking Craze || {Wishlist}

But if I have to state some specific things, I suppose that right now I’d enjoy threads in some of my AU verses. Specifically, the Siren AU for Fenton because I LOVE that fluffy fish and it’s a shame that I don’t often get to write in it. Another AU that I like is the Robo AU for Louie, and I’ve rarely used it as well. Not to mention, his negaversion Louis is a precious boi who I definitely wouldn’t mind more interactions with. Oh! It’d also be cool to have threads that take place when my muses are kids- particularly: Fenton, Gladstone, and Mark. 

Or threads that take place during College/Teen years. Again with: Fenton, Gladstone, and this time Imma throw Panchito into the mix. Some College Caballeros, perhaps? Some Fenton-still-with-his-assnugget-bf Angst? Some glam-rock-phase Gladstone dealing with the jealousy of his peers, the still-lingering guilt of having ‘killed’ his parents, and crushing on his nerdy best friend all wrapped up in the facade of Teen Drama? JNFFJKSDFNDSF... 

Honest Notes: 

As well as being slow with Replies and Asks, I am oftentimes slow with my IMs. This is nothing personal against anyone! I just get overwhelmed at times and have the memory of a potato. Which means sometimes I’ll think I replied or just flat-out forget until days later. Plus Tunglr LOVES to screw with my messages, so more often than not I’m not even alerted of them until hours upon hours later... Long story short, I really do enjoy talking with all of you and love getting messages from my friendos. Seriously, I don’t mind if when I’m flooded with them. It just sometimes takes me a bit to gather up enough energy to reply coherently.

Random Side Notes: 

My blog is pretty messy and while I’m trying to whip up bios that are more than just notes for my own benefit hastily scrawled down whenever I was in a muse-adding frenzy, lots of info about my muses tend to either be in my own head or jotted down on the random Headcanon posts I sometimes throw into the wild. XD I also have a habit of analyzing the HELL out of things when I get excited, so long-ass posts like those sometimes pop up as well. 

Speaking of excitement, there WILL be times when I gush about the star of this blog- *motions at Fenton* and everyone must Accept That. Because he is my FLUFFY SON and I shan’t apologize for loving him with every fiber of my being. X3 Sometimes I’ll go off about other characters too, but more often than not it is HIM. OOC posts are a thing too.

Sometimes inspiration comes in bursts and muses take over the blog for a day or a few- like right now, how Fenton is dominating everything. My birbs are fickle bishes and I’ve learned to just let them fight over who is going to get the attention, then roll with whoever wins. This is why I encourage people to interact with as many muses as they want and start as many threads as they’d like. That way, no matter which muse is strong or what kind of thread I am in the mood for, there’s a chance something will Work With Me. Besides, I’m always up for new threads and ideas, regardless of how many things we are juggling already. 

That being taken into account- Please understand that I oftentimes don’t know WHO the Hell I’m going to feel the muse for or WHAT threads they will be. So no rushing or nagging for replies because all that does is make my muses drag their feet. :’3 

Tagged by: @soul-heart-and-beyond​

Tagging: Whoever wants to! :3 

[muthaz-rapapa]

They announced Precure 2021!!

Tropical Rouge! Precure. It will be a tropical/ocean theme and I believe it will have either a 4 team cures (pink, blue, yellow/orange and teal) or a duo with a red cure as a sixth ranger. What are your opinions/theories?

Oh shit, it is that time again, isn’t it? I totally forgot with how screwy year this year has been. ANN didn’t even mention anything. (@_@ ;;)

Well, anyways, since the trademark is out, speculation is all fair game until December or whenever we get the next messy quality leaks at the soonest.

Before that though, I just want to comment about the HealPre movie poster:

I really like the kimono design integrated into the magical girl outfit. Seriously, I wished they could’ve saved this idea for a full-cour season instead of using it as a movie-exclusive form. That would’ve been awesome~ && imagine the crazy hair but decorated with kanzashi. *sigh* <33 ...only in my dreams, I guess. T_T

Other than that, I am also psyched for the (random) return of the Yes 5 girls. I have no idea what they’re doing here but hey, the Maho girls saved the KiraPre movie for me with their cameos so I’m totally cool with Yes 5 dropping in all badass if HealPre’s movie ends up being just so-so.

Alright, now that that’s out of the way...

Precure 2021, otherwise known as

TROPICAL ROUGE! PRECURE

...admittedly, it’s not the weirdest title we’ve ever gotten but still, Toei at it again with its obsession over weird 3-4ish syllable salads. Ah, how I miss the times when we can just attach one simple word before “Pretty Cure” and that would’ve been enough. :P

Also, how the hell are we going to shorten this? TroPre? TropicPre? ToRuPre? PikaRuPre? Too long! Why must you make the little things so difficult, you bastards?!?! (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ )

*cough*

Judging by the title, we’re probably all correct in guessing one of its motifs will concern the ocean and when most of us think “tropical” mixed in with Precure, the first image that pops up would be Aloha Precure:

[ Hey girls, how you doin’? ^^ ]

But for me? My first thought was this:

SHUT UP.

LET ME HAVE MY BEVERAGE-BASED MAGICAL ISLAND IDOL TRIO REALITY AND LET ME DIE HAPPY THERE!

I LOVE YOU TEA DRINKYUN, SODA DRINKYUN, JUICE DRINKYUN!!!!!

xDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

But in all seriousness, we’re likely not going to have these two as the protagonists because

1) They’re not Japanese or Japan-based.

2) They’re from a different Precure season altogether.

3) This is Toei we’re talking about. Looking at how one-shot Sunset and Wave were, do you really think they would go ahead on a tropics theme with any interest in anything outside just the aesthetics/marketing appeal of it? Uh, sadly, NO.

So sorry to dash your hopes if you had any but even if we are lucky enough to get a main Cure who is of Polynesian descent, we probably won’t be spending parts of the season actually exploring their ethnic background.

Though I’d still hold on to the possibility of Aloha Precure maybe getting a cameo. And more importantly, getting another dark-skinned Cure who isn’t just tan from staying out in the sun too long because I really, really, really want that, too! (>.<)

Ok, ok, back to motifs and themes.

So ocean. And there’s a seashell symbol in the logo so when we think of those things, we think of mermaids (and therefore, Cure Mermaid).

[...y’know, I’m starting to believe they’re just basing all the new seasons on the Go!Pri cast like StarPre for Twinkle. Heartcatch, however, pre-existed Flora so I don’t know where that stands but all that’s left would be Scarlet so I guess Precure 2022′s either going to take place in Hell or somewhere freezing like a mountain YES, WE’RE GONNA FIGHT ELSA! >:D or the north/south poles]

Chances of one of the Cures being a mermaid then? Maybe even the midseason one? Pretty damn high.

Chances of the magical items having something to do with pearls? Feels a little like Mermaid Melody but as long as they don’t throw any blatant idol tendencies in my face, I’m good.

Chances of TroPre (name pending) actually focusing on the nature of the ocean and taking time to explain in depth its sealife, ecosystems and the man-imposed problems that exist within it? *BIG SIGH*

Honestly, as much as I would love for Precure 2021 to branch out from what HealPre started with its health/environment approach (which was quite the disappointing cop-out but that’s a discussion for another place and time), I doubt we’re going to get that no thanks to the commercialization aspect of it.

And I don’t blame the writers (entirely), I blame their higher-ups who probably meddle with the story and demand for more cutesy, pointless fillers instead because y’know, toy sales first, unfortunately. :P

But ok, even if I don’t get the science side of it, that doesn’t mean it won’t be enjoyable. But with only just a logo to go off on atm, it’s hard to predict what we’re really in for next year.

Except for the fact that we can already tell how many starter Cures we’ll be getting.

[Sorry it took so long to get to this part, anon]

Pink is a no brainer, there can’t be a Precure season without a Pink lead (bah).

And look at how solid the azure/blue and teal/green is. Those are locked in for sure (HURRAH! ANOTHER GREEN CURE~! xD).

Now yellow...or is that orange? Personally, I think it’d be great if they dropped the Yellow Cure this year and gave it to the Pink Cure as a sub-color instead because unlike the blue and teal katakana, the pink/yellow/orange ombre of the bottom line is not as distinct from one another as the former are. But I doubt it because when you say “tropic” you think of “sun” too so can’t be without the yellow Cure, after all. Ugh.

Finally, there’s that striking red at the end of “Rouge” that looks like what would happen if an exclamation mark and a sea slug had a baby together and put an obnoxious bow on it. :S

With “rouge” in the title [sorry, not you Rin-chan but hey, Rin-chan~! :D], it seems we’re pretty much guaranteed a red Cure as well. I just hope she gets a more creative name than just a synonym of the color red because while “Cure Crimson” cue JoJo jokes I don’t understand sounds cool, it’s lazy.  (-_- ;;)

So in total, a maximum of 5 Cures. No, I will not be leaving room open for a possible 6th one cuz that is just one too many Cures and we don’t need that. WE. DON’T.

As for anon’s theory on a duo team with the Red Cure as the sixth (you actually meant third, right?) ranger...really, I’d much prefer a smaller team. I love the idea of starting the season with just a pair of Cures like the good old days. I love the idea of both of them having two theme colors (pink/yellow and blue/green) each instead of one. I’d look forward to a midseason Cure this time because the chemistry would actually be more manageable to work with and develop when it’s not such a huge crowd. So that the new girl doesn’t have to go through all her members like required shifts instead of having more organic interactions with them.

...but that’s just my hope. I know as much as the next person on what Precure 2021′s gonna be like which is pretty much “nothing at all”. *shrug*

We’ll see.

[harusha]

What are your top pokemon games??

Official or fangame? I’ll just list both. I will say Pokemon Reborn is my top-rated overall if we combine both lists (with HGSS and Collesseum/XD following as 2 and 3 respectively.)

On Official, it’s 

1. Heartgold/Soulsilver (My favorite region is Johto, and Ethan is my favorite Pokemon protagonist so…unsurprising. The games are still genuinely good though imo because of the massive amount of content and post-game and QoL stuff like following Pokemon, auto-run, etc.) I also love the nostalgic feeling of the region. Lance is also here, and I like him and his design a lot, not as much as Volkner though. Also Proton is here, and I love the dude so. Pedometer is included here.

2. Pokemon Colosseum/Pokemon XD; I include this together since they’re a duo set in terms of story. XD is the better one gameplay-wise because of the new additions of Shadow moves, more Pokemon choices, QoL changes like saving, etc. but Colosseum is the harder of the two games imo b/c of the sparsity of Pokemon–if you can play it on laptop, mod XD with Pokemon XG for massive QoL changes (Fairy Type, more shadow Pokemon, upped difficulty, etc.)

I like how this set tries new stuff and it honestly showcases how if you the Pokemon IP to a third-party, you end up with something that tries to be different and actually plays pretty well.

3. Pokemon BWBW2; included as a set because of joint story line. Honestly, I feel like BWBW2 are objectively the last great mainline series additions. Even if you didn’t care for the story, they at least tried with it and the rivals. You had the nice rival in Bianca and the “focused/ruder” rival in Cheren, and both encompassed the themes of the game (Truth with Bianca as she realizes her ineptness as a trainer and Ideals with Cheren who strives to overcome his boundaries and the player even if he never can). N is pretty awesome, and I think Ghetsis is a better Lusamine (sorry, idc for how Lusamine’s actions are brushed over and blamed on the space jellyfish). There’s a lot to enjoy in Unova imo.

Also massive post-game stuff like Join Avenue (which encourages one of the main tenets of Pokemon, interacting with others and trading; ex. “Magnemite Coil”), half the region opening up for Post-game (White Treehollow, Kyurem’s abode, etc.). The Legendaries also have home locations for the most part, and their items aren’t just given to you by random people. A lot of stuff to do that isn’t just breeding mindlessly for shinies (I mean I love doing that, but options ya know?) or online battle.

4. Pokemon Conquest; Fire Emblem (or more accurately, Nobunaga’s ambition) meets Pokemon. I like turn-based grid tactic games, and this one’s actually pretty fun. You’re encouraged to roam around and give people different Pokemon to see which ones they’re compatible with. Also another example of what can be done if Pokemon is given to a another developer.

5. Pokemon Explores of Sky (and to a lesser extent since it’s the base, Time/Darkness); you can swap this with Colloseum/XD, BWBW2 or Pokemon Conquest depending on if you prefer Pokemon’s style of play, tactics games, or dungeon crawlers. I like this one since the story’s actually pretty good, the difficulty’s nice, and especially the post-game dungeons and content.

6. Pokemon Platinum and Diamond+Pearl to a lesser extent– the region that actually has a reasonably difficult Elite Four and champion. I love the additions they have like distortion world, the melancholic feel you get at times in the Chateau area and snowfields, and the post-game Battle Frontier. However, the games run so slow without Drayano’s mods. In terms of husbandos, Volkner’s pretty nice as well, and he’s pretty high-tier for me. Cynthia’s here as well, so I guess she counts since she’s a feature every time she shows up.

7. Pokemon FRLG-The definite version of Kanto for me. Sevii Islands, callbacks (callforwards?) to the Johto games with the Rocket Admins, decent difficulty and ability to sequence break somewhat, etc. It gives new experiences for those who’ve played the OG versions, but doesn’t change them drastically. The “you can’t evolve anything outside of the OG 151 before post-game” is stupid though. Lance is here as well, but his half Dragonite/Dragonair team annoys me b/c of how repetitive it is, but product of the time as well and the HGSS first battle had that as well but at least they’re all evolved.

8. Pokemon Red/Blue Rescue Team-I like this one since the story’s still good and incorporates the idea of a human being transported to a Pokemon world, but I just feel like Sky’s gameplay improvements and portraits for everyone trumps this one. I like Gengar a lot and his team. I also think the difficulty on this one (depending on starter and partner) is fairly good at times (The Moltres fight is actually pretty difficult if you don’t have Pikachu or a water type partner).

9. Pokemon Emerald and to a lesser extent Ruby/Sapphire–Battle Frontier, Scott and Smeargle cave (ie. post-game content), beautiful promotional artwork (including ORAS’s), fairly difficult battles at time if you aren’t prepared/going in blind with no excessive grinding (2nd May battle, Flannery, etc.), hidden secrets like Regis and Secret Bases. However, the latter half is so boring with the excessive surfing and lackluster variety. Steven’s here, and he’s a dreamboat even with the sprite graphics.

10. Pokemon Channel and Hey you, Pikachu!-Weird I know. This would be higher if I didn’t think this was a niche pick. It’s just really relaxing, and I want another one, especially if you can get more Pokemon to raise. It’s a lot more fun once you play it. I like exploring with Pikachu and it offers a look into the world of Pokemon as a non-trainer. I really want another one tbh.

11. Pokemon Rangers series (Ranked from favorite to lowest; Shadows of Almia–>OG–>Guardian Signs; all are good but that’s my preference) The gameplay is actually pretty fun, and I wish we got another one. They could use Joycons as a styler. Spencer, Sven, and Lunick are also pretty cute

12. Pokken Tournament- What battles should feel like in mainline if they injected millions of dollars into the mainline, so unrealistic expectation. I think Pokken is a decent fighting game. The moves are nice, and the music is good. This can go lower if you don’t care for fighting games.

13. Pokemon Battle Revolution and Stadium games-They’re mostly battle simulators with some mini-games. The animations are actually pretty lively and fun compared to SWSH’s. I would like to rank this higher, but there is no story mode sadly. It’s great if you want to see what Pokemon would look like in-scale.

14. Pokemon X/Y-I think these are actually pretty nice if only for the fact there isn’t excessive handholding; it’s there but it doesn’t force me to put down the game out of boredom. The outfits are genuinely pretty cute. However, the rivals are ridiculously terrible, difficulty is either too low or unbalanced if you use/turn off exp. share. Let’s put ORAS here as well b/c I think the lack of Battle Frontier and mediocre post-game, getting Lati@s early, etc. drops it down from Emerald. The PSS system is amazing though.

15. Pokemon Trozei and Pokemon Pinball series-Yeah, I’ve played these. Trozei’s actually pretty cool as a match-3 game, and pinball is pinball. You also get slightly more lore into the Pokemon world with Lucy Fleetfoot. I like match-3 and pinball so very much a YMMV. Pop Gates to Infinity and Super Mystery Dungeon here as well. Idk, they just lack the magic of the first two entries.

16. Pokemon Snap, Pokemon Dash, all the other spin-offs I didn’t talk about-they all offer something fun, but I just wish it was either updated for modern times and not released again (like with Snap) or a bit more (in the case of Detective Pikachu and Pokepark series). Pop Puzzle League games here as well. I like them, but they aren’t much besides Tetris games. Same goes for the Pokemon Trading Card games; they’re nice, but not super great imo.

???. Pokemon Box/Ranch/all the other storage games and stuff like Dream Radar-Idk what you’d want me to say since they’re storage space or gimmick games to catch HA Pokemon. You do get Extremespeed Zigzagoon which I love since the little buggers are very adorable.

Bottom Tier. Pokemon SM and USUM. I hate these games. They’re cash grabs (more so than usual) with being $40 a piece and the updated versions being barely changed (and actually feeling like what should have been released first). Incredibly handholding, areas feel half-baked, lacks areas to explore for the most part, Lillie is kinda annoying for me tbh (which hurts because you’re supposed to feel for her and the game’s story hinges on that), and the player is an actual detriment to what they’re trying to achieve story-wise. A big shame b/c Alola is a pretty region and Team Skull is great in concept, but execution is awful. Stated as someone who has bought all 4 versions to keep, and 2 extras for gifting.

Absolute Bottom Tier- Pokemon Masters, incredibly terrible mobage game coming from someone who plays FGO, FEH, etc. lack of meaningful content, grinding but meaningless b/c of said lack of content (ex. FGO gates you with mats but it makes you feel like you’re growing with your servants and offers a story and events to compensate; basically, a sense of achievement). CO-OP is pretty bad when you can just hop over to GBF or something if you want guilds and group content. I’m still gonna wait for Ethan and Volkner to appear though.

Unrated-OG RBGY and OG GSC (the remakes are superior outside of nostalgia factor imo so I think it’d be unfair for them to take a spot), LGPE (didn’t buy them b/c pricing but the colors are vibrant and I love that), SWSH (didn’t buy them because I have opinions on the cuts and stuff and price point doesn’t look appealing for what’s offered), Pokemon Mini (these were included with Pokemon Channel), Magikarp Jump+Duel (Duel was a cash grab and Magikarp Jump is cute but no real opinion on it), Pokemon Go (weird spot where I like it, but I don’t live in an area with safe walking areas so very much area-dependent), Arcade games (I don’t live in Japan for that), Perdue Farm games (they’re flash games made to promote so…), Pokemon Rumble (enjoyable but not memorable for me imo) etc.

Fangames-

1. Pokemon Reborn-150+ hours of content, visible themes that permeate the story and characters, beautiful spritework for some of the areas, intuitive usage of TMs/HMs and some logic (ex. Field Effects that emulate anime battling in turn-based rpg such as Corrosive Field; using Rock Smash to break the glass in some areas to solve puzzles, etc.), actual difficulty that hinges on how much you understand Pokemon (ex. IVs, stats, EVs, etc.) that’s fair but still difficult, puzzles and rewards for exploring and coming back to areas, etc. Fantastic game that I wish Gamefreak had attempted to emulate (perhaps not the darker themes but the ambition basically). Has some kinks with the revolving door of characters and such but still fantastic. Also offers custom shiny sprites, custom egg sprites, and online play like Wonder Trade and battling.

2. Pokemon Rocket Edition-Not done but I think this is a fantastic hack so far story-wise and how it implements its mechanics. You’re a Rocket Grunt, but you aren’t OP. It deals with the politics behind Kanto and Team Rocket. Still being worked on.

3. Pokemon Viridian Version-Another “play as a Rocket” game. Funny yet still can be serious; it takes the tone of the anime and understands when to be serious and when to not be. It feels like it would fit into the canon tone-wise, and deconstructs the “it’s cool to be a Rocket!” thing.

4. Pokemon Gaia-Excellent and a huge callback to classic Pokemon in story. It’s an OG region and offers a lot to do.

5. Drayano hacks- QoL updates but his work actually adds a lot to the games+new events.

Anyways, that’s my list. There’s a lot of Pokemon content, but this is how I feel for the most part.

[sillytorch]

You ever thought up of any AUs for Roman and Neo?

Sorry this took so long anon, things have been going on with me that I almost forgot about this.

But I’m glad you told me cuz boy do I have a lot of AUs for these two

First off is the “Trainer Neo AU”

Basically, Neo gets her first starter Torchic when she was a MUCH smaller streetrat and she named him Roman (hehe Roman Torchic). Everything’s all cool, and he evolves into a beautiful Blaziken and everything’s fine as she and him are kicking people’s butts and taking their money (I mean that’s what you do in Pokemon XD) 

But then… Roman gets murdered in battle…

And Neo was devastated…

Until… an egg appeared before her one night and there it hatched:

Roman as a Misdreavus!!! Reincarnated!!! Neo was so happy to see him. And then he evolved into a Mismagius and there they go again, kicking people’s butts and taking money.

PS: all of CRME is Neo’s team: Cinder’s a Salazzle, Emerald’s a Sableeye, and Mercury’s a Hitmonlee with robo legs.

Roman lives but works for Salem AU:

Instead of Cinder surviving while Roman dies in the Fall of Beacon, the opposite happens, and Salem struggles to keep him in check when he’s sent to Salem for the first time.

Key Points:

-Because Ruby threw Neo off that airship, as far as Roman knows, Neo’s dead 

-Meets Salem for the first time after his unconscious body is discovered by Emerald and Mercury. So they basically brought a charred up Cinder corpse and a comatose kinda digested Roman who’s miraculously alive.

-Appearance: Scars. All over. As in he needs a cane after this. Black and grey coat with red accents. (MAINLY B/C YES HE CAN HAVE SOME OF WATTS’ AESTHETICS BUT HE CAN’T TAKE HIS PALETTE)

-Salem takes advantage of his grief over Neo’s “death” in order to keep him in line and fuel his hatred and anger at Ruby to further her plans. 

-Roman is actually being experimented on by Salem by having Grimm ichor injected into him. And that’s when we cue in the Grimm Roman theories. But it’s more like demonic possession than him just having Grimm features. This “possession” occurs when he’s feeling a very intense negative emotion. His appearance is ghost white skin with dark red veins popping out of his skin and he has bloodshot eyes. (I wanna doodle it out but too busy hhh…)

-Neo’s status in this AU is actually ambiguous. To Roman, she’s considered dead. But somehow… we’ll find out soon enough :)

Next up, Roman in the real world AU.

When Roman got swallowed whole, he ended up waking up in a lone hotel room and he walked out and entered the real world (AKA our world) in New York City. What would he do? I dunno but things are much different here than they work in Remnant because Roman’s the only one who can manifest an aura (so he’s technically the strongest human in that world). All I can say is, when he goes robbing store and asks them for dust, he’s going to be given a feather duster or a dusting pan.

Next up, Roman Torchwick in a horror movie AU (AKA that one thing I wouldn’t shut up about a month ago)

“Is it good or bad Perry? Cuz let me tell ya, I’VE HAVE HAD A DAY!!!”

How did he have a day? Simple! He ended up in a horror movie setting, specifically a mysterious city built to break even the toughest, hardened, people whoever enter it. At first glance, it looks like a criminal’s playground, where you can get away with any sort of crime you want. Think The Purge except it’s all the time. The mayor of this city is gunning Roman…. Because “why is there a human who can take on so many hits and still be walking around all fine????” (RT said that Roman has unlocked aura, but he “never quite found his semblance.” Which is why he’s able to walk out of a crushed robot like nothing). So they want answers and will do whatever it takes to learn more about him.

Canon Divergent AU: Roman’s Dream Hopping Semblance

This is very recent and I still need to do more research on it, but basically Roman has a dream hopping semblance in which he ends up going into people’s dreams. But he just assumes it’s just a weird dreaming thing he has when asleep. He doesn’t think it’s even a semblance either. So for example, if he goes into Ruby’s dream and smacks her upside the head, Ruby will also have a dream where Roman smacked her upside the head.

Neapolitan Fighter AU

This is actually a headcanon rather than an AU, but I’ve always had a vibe that Neo came from a fighting ring prior to meeting Roman. Basically, she was given to a former huntress named Cerasus. And Cerasus ran an underground fighting ring where she trained Neo to being the best fighter there is. But she was also abusive towards Neo so Neo sought to find anyway to get out of here. 

That’s all for now!! I might draw some art for any of these AUs when I’m not busy. Thanks for asking me, Anon!! ^w^

[notveryglittery]

“i’m scared.” for the sentence starter, and three guess what ship I want XD The first two don't count (R O Y A L I T Y)

this is the angstiest thing i’ve ever written, tbh. @thesocialbookwormishere it also got a bit long, so it’s under a read more!words: 1.6k // ships: romantic royalitytw: mention of spiders, possession, swords, daggers, fighting 

“roman,” patton implores, voice shaking. “roman, please.“

his eyes are glazed over, devoid of emotion and unseeing. he holds his sword with a white knuckled grip and he moves slowly but surely and it is wrong wrong wrong—

(the first sign of something going wrong was the rain. the skies had been clear and blue; it was a guarantee that their quest wouldn’t take any longer than necessary due to inclement weather. they’d been laughing and joking, enjoying themselves and the prospect of their reward, when they finally made it out of the forest. virgil, ever aware of his surroundings, noticed first.

“why’s it so dark?” he asked, tilting his head back to look up — a raindrop landed heavy on the tip of his nose. it was the first of many and suddenly, they were standing in the middle of a downpour. with reactions varying from startled to excited to disgruntled, they sought cover in a nearby cave. logan started a fire while patton went through their packs to make sure nothing important had gotten wet.

“a slight detour!” roman exclaimed, unfazed.)

the crown nestled in roman’s hair glitters in the firelight. the gems embedded in it are glowing purple. it looks sharp and dangerous and patton wants to tear it from his head. logan is unconscious on the ground. virgil stands between patton and logan. he has an arm wrapped around his waist, his breathing shallow and uneven.

“patton,” he hisses, wincing. “we need to go.”

“you’d have me leave him?” patton asks and there is such sorrow in his tone, guilt and misery and fear. “take logan. get as far away with him as you can.”

“patton,“ virgil repeats, desperate.

(“patton!” roman called, excited. “will you come exploring with me?!”

virgil and logan sat by the fire, wringing out their wet cloaks. patton shrugged his off and laid it flat on the ground beside them. he gave them each a pat on the head before skipping over to where roman stood. the cavern went back further and their shadows flickered along the walls.

“don’t go too far,” virgil warned.

roman dismissed it with a wave of his hand. “we’ll be fine! patton’s got me, the bravest of us all, and i’ve got patton, the best healer in all the land!”

“aww, roman,” patton cooed, blushing slightly. he retrieved a torch and lit it, holding it out towards the darkness. “let’s see what we can find, shall we?”

roman marched onward and patton turned to give logan and virgil a small wave.

“we’ll be back before you know it,” he promised, “who knows! there might be treasure!” and with that, he followed roman into the unknown.)

with a grunt, virgil lifts logan off the ground, and throws him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. “i’m coming back for you, patton,” he swears.

patton dismisses him with a wave of his hand. “i’ll be fine. go.”

roman — or whatever it is controlling roman — has paused. he watches the interaction curiously, though it is hard to tell with the blank expression on his face. patton advances slowly, taking a step closer. he moves one hand to the pouch at his waist.

“roman,” he says, steady and strong and pleading. “i know you’re in there. i know you’re stronger than this.”

for a moment, nothing happens. then, a smile stretches roman’s lips into something harsh and cruel. “he isn’t, though,” and it is roman’s voice but there is more beneath it, old and powerful and angry.

(after knocking out a few disgruntled cave spiders (even patton, terrified of the creatures, didn’t like the idea of killing them when it was roman and himself intruding in the first place), they did indeed come upon a small pile of treasure. it wasn’t much: a few handfuls of gold pieces, some nice bracers, a quiver filled with arrows, and a crown. patton convinced roman to not put any of it on so that logan could take a look at it first. roman, eyeing the headwear curiously, had begrudgingly agreed.

it took less time to get back and when they did make it, logan and virgil were in the middle of divvying up their food. patton chattered excitedly about their short trek, giving the two a share of the gold. logan was examining the arrows to see whether any had special qualities to them when virgil shouted in alarm.

patton turned to see what the problem was. roman’s impatience had got the best of him and before any of the others could prevent it, he was putting the crown on. there was hardly a second between the action and the consequence. roman fell to one knee, clutching his head.

“roman!” patton cried but logan had him by the wrist before he could move any closer.

“steady, patton,” he warned.)

“let him go,” patton demands.

the only response patton is graced with is roman lunging at him, sword prepared to strike. with a yelp, he ducks and rolls out of the way. landing beside the arrows logan had been investigating, patton looks around desperately — there! the only warning he has to roman’s next attack is the sound of his boots scuffing along the ground. patton dodges it, barely, and snatches logan’s bow from where it’d been dropped.

he… he is not an archer. logan has shown him once or twice how to nock an arrow but he’d never had the strength or patience to shoot it safely. this is not preferable but if worse comes to worse…

“i won’t let you have him!” patton snarls, free hand darting once more to the pouch at his waist. here, he waits, for roman to approach once more.

“oh?” asks the entity possessing roman, wearing still that terribly eerie smile. “i would like to see you try and take him back.” with a shout, he advances.

(in a blur of movement, virgil dashed forward and aimed to knock the crown off of roman’s head with one of his daggers. it wasn’t the safest of ideas, but he’d rather not touch the headdress with his bare hands. before he could, though, roman stood with unnatural speed, and drew his sword. virgil skidded to a stop, just barely avoiding the blade as it swung towards his stomach.

“ro, knock out of it!” virgil snapped.

an arrow went whizzing by the pair, missing roman’s shoulder by centimeters. logan stood in front of patton, eyes narrowed. “we’ll have our friend returned to us now, thank you.”

roman rose his free hand and snapped his fingers. the jewels set in the crown lit up, flashing violet, and a wave of dark energy rippled outwards. it knocked virgil off of his feet. logan stepped completely in front of patton and took in full an attack meant for two. patton screamed as logan collapsed, unconscious.)

the moment roman is close enough, patton withdraws his hand, clenching various herbs, and flings them into roman’s face. used properly, they aren’t intended for harm; used to save the man you’d fallen in love with during your journeys together, on the other hand…

patton dances back as roman growls, using one hand to rub at his eyes. he kneels down and retrieves an arrow, doing his best to remember what logan had taught him. he doesn’t have any projectiles to try and knock the crown free. this would have to do.

“i’m scared,” he murmurs, taking a deep breath, “and that’s okay.” he nocks the arrow. “i’m scared,” he whispers, drawing his elbow back, “but i have to be strong.”

seeming to have cleared his eyes of the irritant, roman stands still, catching his breath.

“i have to be strong,” patton repeats, aims, fires.

…

“patton!” virgil’s voice calls, echoing throughout the cavern. “patton, please, please—”

he finds patton cradling roman against his chest, face buried into roman’s hair. he is crying. virgil approaches carefully, eyeing the scene. when he catches sight of the crown, abandoned several feet away, he stomps angrily towards it. he brings his foot down, hard, denting it. he keeps this up until it is crooked and bent and unwearable.

finally, finally, he sits down beside patton.

“is he okay?” virgil asks softly, taking roman’s hand in his, and pressing his fingers against his wrist. his heartbeat is slow but steady. his chest rises and falls with each breath.

“i… i don’t know,” patton gasps, trying to breathe through his sobs.

“it stopped raining,” virgil says, “i left logan — don’t worry, he’s safe — but we should get out of here.” virgil stands, offering patton help to lift roman. they gather their belongings before looping an arm each around their shoulders. it is slow going, but they make it eventually to the mouth of the cave. the sun is peeking out from behind heavy clouds.

“it’s a sign, pat,” virgil offers, squinting in the light. “he’ll be okay. we’ll be okay.”

with sluggish progress, they eventually move to a nearby clearing. they make sure roman and logan are comfortable before starting another fire and preparing dinner.

virgil cracks a smile, attempting to lighten the mood. “i swear, though, if you don’t confess to him after this…”

patton, despite his exhaustion, blushes fiercely.

(he does, eventually, once they’ve collected their reward at the end of their quest. he watches as roman entertains the crowd at the tavern they’re celebrating in. at the end of his tale, he returns to their table, and asks how he did. patton kisses him without thought.

“i loved it,” he’ll mutter against roman’s lips, “almost as much as i love you.”

roman dissolves into a stammering, blushing mess of squeaking noises and fluttering hand movements. eventually, he returns the sentiment, and it is the happiest ending the group could have asked for.)

[foxydivaxx]

Osiris Chapter 1

That poll with Rami Malek inspired me to write this fic because lets be honest, DC has not done Osiris, the Black Adam Family or majority of their Middle Eastern characters justice. Osiris for instance was badly written and turned into Superboy Prime junior in the pre-New 52 timeline and in New 52, he was killed off in his only appearance. Like da fuck DC?! That character had so much potential. Not just him, a lot of the Titans then had a lot of potential but you screwed these kids up. The storyline that was established for him in Brightest Day was a very interesting one and  would have been more awesome if the Black Adam family actually had their own comic series. Look at what Marvel has done with Kamala Khan. Imagine what would have happened if either Osiris or anyone of the other kids got that opportunity. Anyways enough ranting and onto the fic itself. Rami Malek is Osiris’ FC here. This chapter is just an intro (or reintroduction to those that are familiar with him) to the character.

“I wanted to save the world.”

That is the answer I always give to people whenever they ask me to explain my motives or why I chose to be a hero in the first place.

There are times when I question my worth or my sanity because I have been through quite a lot of hell. Like if one were to ask me to define a tragic hero, I would point at myself.

For starters, my early childhood in Egypt was not blissful. You are staring at a boy who got constantly bullied as a kid because I looked different. Compared to other kids then, my skintone was slightly darker than normal Egyptian standards. Secondly, my eyes are huge, very owl-like that kids then cruelly nicknamed me ‘Bug Eyes.’

I would often go cry in a corner afterwards because besides the name calling, I had to endure days of severe beatings at the hands of those bullies. Making matters worse was my birth father whose name I would rather not mention. Why you might ask? Well thing is......he was an abusive asshole.

He would beat my mum, my older sister Adrianna and myself up a lot. Things got so bad that I ran away from home, never to be seen nor heard from again. Life on the streets was hard as the little money I got from mum was not enough, forcing me to fend for myself via pickpocketing and other means.

Then one day, everything changed. A crime syndicate known as Intergang captured me and took me to one of their concentration camps. 

As fate would have it, my beloved sister Adrianna was amongst the captured. My parents’ absence there was enough to tell me what had become of them. Unfortunately we had no time to grieve becuase the Intergang bastards dragged us away and began to drug and torture us. 

Adrianna was whisked away to be given to Black Adam whilst I remained with those bastards. Somehow, I was able to resist their mind control. Might be strong will power or possibly their methods were not working. Unfortunately for me, I got the beating of my life as those bastards clubbed me almost to death. I remember the pain, the blood, the tears, the anger I felt as nerve by nerve I was struck down till my legs were rendered numb.

Thankfully, Adrianna now the superheroine Isis and her husband Black Adam showed up just before death snatched me away. Isis tried to heal me but to no avail because the damage dealt to me was that severe. Adam was kind enough to give me a dose of his power as he felt that that was the only way to save me.  Unfortunately he was right because whenever I revert  back to my normal form, I am completely paralyzed from the ground up.

Anyway, thanks to that, myself, Adam and Isis formed a superhero team and family and I officially became the hero known as Osiris. Why Adrianna named me this is beyond me though. I was expecting something like Horus xD.

Anyways, we became a team and went around doing as much good deeds as we could. Heck I even joined the Team at one point even though most of them do not remember my name and often call me Black Adam Junior. Talk about insulting.

Yeah I did kill someone to protect Adrianna but that was a honest mistake. I did not realize that using my powers that way would harm someone like that. Plus I was still new to the superhero game anyway.

I left the Titans for a brief period after Wonder Girl asked me to hand myself over to the authorities for killing Persuader. I beat the shit out of her and called her out on her own hypocrisy on the spot because this girl also mistakenly killed someone in self defense of her mother years ago and yet, she has the guts to call me out on that? 

Still the girl later apologised for this and I forgave and rejoined the Team. Still, I kept on having nightmares and panic attacks regularly. As if that wasn’t enough, I was forced to return to Kahndaq because of a serious of horrific events happening there. 

Sobek my so-called best friend manipulated me into thinking that Adam was the one responsible for everything and I even attacked poor Adam for his troubles. I later made up my mind to leave Kahndaq but first I wanted to get rid of Adam’s powers feeling that they were corrupting me. I had also heard a lot about Adam’s terrible past atrocities and got paranoid about the stigma that followed our family because of him.

I did not believe that someone like Adam could actually change and that he was probably manipulating and using Adrianna for his own selfish purposes. Or at least that was what I was led into thinking.

I gotta hand it to Sobek here. He really is that good of an actor and a master manipulator. He was able to isolate me from the other Titans, making it seem like they were the bad guys whereas they are all good natured people and some of them have dark pasts or are dealing with dark presents.

Anyways, Sobek advised me to de-transform into my civilian form and that way, get rid of the curse though he expressed fake concern for me as he knew that I was crippled but I assured him that all would be well. Big mistake on my part because Sobek took advantage of my weakened state and ate me up alive, leaving me as mere bones.

I do not know much about that other than the fact that I was mummified and buried in a tomb. Soon afterwards, I was awakened from the dead by that cursed Black Lantern ring. My people feared me because well I was supposed to be dead and there I was wandering about in mummified form, trying to make a sense of the world around me. 

Sobek’s subsequent arrival made it all click especially with the explanation he gave. He is one of the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, a group of four bioengineered monsters specifically created to destroy us the Black Marvel Family and he was Yurd, the Horseman of Faminine.

That alone infuriated me. How could I have been so naive to have taken pity upon a wretch like him? How could I have allowed myself to be played like that?! 

I lost my shit and the two of us engaged in combat. Unfortunately I was outmatched because Sobek was a far more better fighter than I expected. Nervertheless, there was only one simple way to end a fight in our current state. Using the last of my energy, I called on the name of the very man that saved my life, channelling the thunderous rage of justice upon myself and Sobek, killing us both and severring the connections we both had to those blasted Black Lantern rings.

Still the White Lantern ring resurrected me much later on as well as the rest of the other slain heroes and a couple of villains. I know Sobek is still out there somewhere but right now, he is not my priority. Things have gotten better for me since that incident as I lived a normal life despite still being a paraplegic. My main priority now is to find out what caused both Adam and Isis to get petrified and try to undo the mess that has befallen my family and Kahndaq and maybe try and set things right without going astray.

So here we go. Hope you all like it. I tried my best with this guy because there are some things that were not mentioned so I just filled in the blanks for him and his family and also kind of retconned some things like his involvement with the Titans for instance. It is mostly Young Justice based but elements of the Teen Titans comics are there.

[twilightvolt]

I kinda was saving this for when i had the time to type everything out in one go, so let’s just get this over with before Smash drags me back into the depths of hell. XD

So, like, things happened back in 2017. a lot of things. graduated highschool, felt the winds of freedom as i stepped into the world of adulting and.....fell into a deep abyss of crippling depression as my life took a rather....wild turn to say the least. these feelings would linger and continue to haunt me throughout the majority of 2018. if you’d like to hear them or just need a refresher, my 2017 summary WITH that in depth description is on my DA that i no longer use cuz all i can think of when i go there is that year as a whole.

That’s not to say the year was cruddy, though. it really looked up by the end and it’s been one of the better years of my life as an artist. i’m about to go into that, so sit tight if you wanna actually read everything.

January: Arcus ~Collab with KLou

Things got heated at grandma’s after the holidays and we left in a huff cuz yeah, big fight the night before. it wasn’t something i ever wanna remember, but i gotta acknowledge it happened. thus began the struggles of living life as a nomad basically. From this point on until May, i won’t say much about our situation cuz honestly, time grinded to a halt after hotel life began.

February: Let’s Save the World

Believe it or not, this was a mobile drawing. i still didn’t have my tablet or my computer, so i tried using my phone for awhile. this was, of course, after i got Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Hacker’s Memory for PS4, so this right here was my Dracomon babu Takumi, named after the former wearer of the goggles i equipped to him.

March: Let’s Kick It!

A brief moment of light as i fINALLY GOT MY TABLET BACK ONLINE! i felt like things were going to be different, we’d finally get somewhere and i felt like i could do anything again! this drawing, while super simple since it was just me around most of my current OCs at the time, was meant to represent me being back in business after around 4 or 5 months of being restricted to traditional work, a medium i, at the time, didn’t have much development in. (although, those months sure did help me learn how to draw that way in more than just sketching. so i’m actually kinda grateful i was stripped of the tools that i realize i may or may not have taken for granted.)

April: Spyro the Dragon

The Reignited Trilogy was announced and that’s why i drew that cuz literally everyone was doing Spyro fanart. i remember also doing a bunch of little doodles of other people’s characters in this same coloring style since some of the drawings i did before like the mobile drawing and my traditional work gave me inspiration on how to go about doing this new watercolor/marker like style that i started to experiment with throughout 2016 and ‘17.

May: Memories in Pieces

Remember how i said time grinded to a halt after hotel life began? yeah, this is where it reeeeaaally started to effect me. the days dragged on and blended together, we STILL could secure a home to house all of us and it just felt like my life was just....over. like, all the important stuff happened and now my story’s just done. it didn’t help that memories from the year before decided to come back and hang over me like an undying demon cloud. my anxiety and depression couldn’t have been higher. and yet i still managed to wake up. in fact, i woke up bright and early every day somehow. it felt like there wasn’t anything to believe in and yet....i still had hope that we could get through this. i knew deep down we weren’t gonna be completely out of luck.....but i still hurt at the same time.

I never uploaded this drawing anywhere, but this was, to put it simply, partly a new direction for a future project but also a vent art of sorts, representing the negative thoughts and regrets that never seemed to leave me alone no matter how much time has passed.

June: Digimon Atlas Adventures Ultima Vocal Collection

My second commission ever made since i opened that month. it was also the first time i really cel shaded along with made a logo since the year before. this day marked the turning point along with the end of my depression for the most part as the parents finally gave up and took...some of us down to Florida. a couple of siblings had jobs to keep up with, so they had to stay back in NY with.....eghh....grandma. to this day, i’m still hearing stories even if some of them eventually found their own place. i swear, the more i hear about what’s going on, the less i wanna go back to NY. >_>’

July: Drake ~Art Fight 2018

Oh yeah, we moved down to FL, but we were still in hotels IN FL, so there was change, but still pretty similar circumstances. we quickly found a place at some point, though. a cozy apartment complex that i’m happy to live in.

This is when Art Fight began....or rather when it was supposed to begin cuz they had technical difficulties for the first week or so. the day i revamped Drake for it was like i was saying hi to an old friend after parting ways years prior. it was a really fun experience that i’d gladly partake in again next year if i’ve got the time.

August: Gathers Under Night...

A very ambitious looking piece i did as an attack against a friend during Art Fight. it was my favorite attack i ever did and could quite easily be my favorite drawing from this year. after leaving hotel life behind me, i rarely, if ever, had war flashbacks or anxiety over the past. i felt like my life was finally getting somewhere again. for real this time. and that it did, thankfully.

September: Lost in Thought

A gift i made for a longtime friend and art senpai to try and cheer them up. i still look back at this and think “yeah....this is the style i’ve been longing to emulate. and i’ve finally achieved it.” granted, it took a lot from Kingdom Hearts II’s title screen, but where do you think i got my love of watercolor from?

At this point, i started to become a new person. i mean i already was considering the summer also involved me trying to become a little less total weeb at least in terms of music taste and also leaving my hoodie lifestyle for a good few months, but yeah. in fact, i think this was the month i buzzed off all my emo hair and really ended up resembling how i looked like back when i was little, anime cowlick and all.

October: The Lethal Protector

Oh yeah, Venom happened. i should’ve disliked that movie with all it’s flaws and unused potential, but instead i wholeheartedly stan it and i luv the portrayal of Eddie and Venom to the point where i forgive where it went wrong.

Yeah, i completely moved on from everything that tied me down at this point. i yeeted the past into the stratosphere and focused solely on what i wanted to do now. what my next move was. and i can thank these two losers for helping me stay focused on my craft. i also kept branching outside of Digimon. i wanted to be more than what i used to be.

November: My Favorite Ninja Frog

Didn’t do much this month, so all i had was a doodle of my starter partner for Pokemon Y. i never evolved him past Frogadier cuz i preferred him over Greninja. it was the tongue scarf, dude.

Why? ehh, it was most likely Warframe. i got into that game at some point cuz a friend persuaded me to do it. i don’t regret anything. i luv this game when i’m playing with friends.

December: Draw Your Roster Ultimate: The Winds of Reunion + Holiday Arcus

The Winds of Reunion cuz Wind Waker and the fact that everyone including Wolf, Young Link and even Pichu returned to Smash Bros. when Ultimate happened. this game cured my depression, cleared my skin and reignited my love for Starfox oddly enough since Starfox Zero AKA 64 with a new coat of paint and motion controls that weren’t as bad as you think didn’t exactly do it for me. i haven’t been so content with the way things are in a long time and i’m happy i finally got my hands on this treasure of a game. now, to wait for Kingdom Hearts III. ;w;

And now we finally get to the end of this long as heck recap. thank god Tumblr gives you unlimited characters, amirite? XD

Overall, this was a year of recovery and rebirth. it was a long and rough winding road, but in the end i think i’ve healed enough to finally get on with my life.

I’m not the same kid i used to be when i graduated highschool, and i’m definitely not the same kid i was when i was first starting out as an artist. my journey has been full of ups, downs and all arounds and it was all a much needed learning experience. even if i felt like i was suffering at times.

My future is mine to decide, and i’m not letting anything stand in my way again.

For the future i want to believe in.

[darkzorua100]

I have to give it to episode 64. Not only did we get the first half to the backstory to how Yusaku and Kusanagi met and teamed up, this episode was just hilarious in general, even during times when it was supposed to be serious but I still got a good laugh out of them for the Easter eggs and just how ridiculous some scenes were.

For example, the beginning of the episode. Takeru’s expressions to Naoki just appearing out of nowhere while Yusaku goes from “I have to deal with this on a normal bases. I’m honestly just used to it by now.” to “Boy, if you start talking sh*t, I will flat out murder you.” Then we cut to Ai flying around the city and what does Kusanagi do? He takes advantages of it and makes Ai a living advertisement. I feel like this is A.I. abuse but this is kinda what they are made to do so...you’re the one that decided to turn Yusaku’s duel disk into a helicarrier, Ai. You really should have known better if you thought that Kusanagi wasn’t going to use that to his advantage against his competition XD

Speaking of which, Takeru goes out of his way to buy Kusanagi a thank you meal from a hamburger place for saving him from Blood Shepherd only for Ai to crash land right into him and I love how Takeru and Flame’s first reaction to this is “Huh, duel disks fall from the sky here! No wonder everyone is a duelist here!” But after finding out that it was Ai, and that he upgraded Yusaku’s duel disk to be able to fly him around, Flame gets the bright idea to turn Takeru’s duel disk into a vehicle. Takeru’s reaction to that was basically mine. Thanks Ai, you gave Flame ideas. I won’t be surprised if he somehow is able to actually do that in the future. Also interesting thing to note, it looks like Takeru might still be living with his grandparents after all since Flame says that if they turn his duel disk into a vehicle, he wouldn’t need to take a train home anymore. I know Japanese schools work way differently then the ones in the U.S. so him going to a different school to improve his education greatly after slacking in it for so many years seems like a good excuse to actually go to Den City to help Yusaku but wow, I have to give Takeru so major credit. He really is going out of his way to help Yusaku since he’s going through all the trouble to what I assume is back and forth trips each day from his home town to Den City. We don’t even know how far these two places are either so that train fare can’t be cheap. Where is he even getting the money for this anyway? Well I guess his grandparents I should assume. Since he’s finally going to school again, and making friends since I’m sure he told them about Yusaku, they probably pay as much money as they can to keep Takeru happy like this after so many years of being completely shut off from the world. Just something I found neat.

And then we cut to this and I seriously just want to know what was going through Yusaku’s head when Naoki said this. Apparently murder judging by his facial expressions he made during this scene. Naoki, Yusaku already has to explain the whole Takeru situation when him and Ryoken meet back up. You really need to stop trying to make this whole thing into a love square because it seriously is never going to happen. I do like how the show is just running with the whole soulmate line now. Sure they weren’t being settle before about Naoki being super gay for Playmaker but now they are just not even trying anymore. And what did I tell you guys about the Naoki blackmailing Yusaku should he find out he was actually Playmaker? He actually would do it apparently. Does he actually know that Yusaku = Playmaker though? Hell no. I’m sure this is just going to end in another fake out just like the Go situation, which now thinking about it we never actually got an answer to that question, and Naoki is just going to pull a fast one on Yusaku and states that he knows that he is actually Playmaker’s number 1 fan or something. In which case, yep totally, Naoki. He loves Playmaker so much that he dresses up as him in his free time. You discovered Yusaku’s dirty little secret, please don’t tell anyone!

So we start getting the backstory part of the episode and wow, Jin was so messed up when he was rescued. Completely shut down. The human mind processes things differently between humans but it really is so fascinating how out of the four kids we know about, they all took in this experience differently. Like I said, Jin’s mind completely shut down, Spectre got a kick out of it and wanted more, Takeru had no drive to do anything and became depressed, and Yusaku tried to move on with his life but when that didn’t work, he sought out revenge against the people that did this to him. I just want to know who the last two kids are now just to know how they reacted to the Hanoi Project. But yeah, after realizing that Jin wasn’t going to get better, Kusanagi took it upon himself to find out what happened to his brother. In doing so, his career plans changed a lot. Apparently he wanted to be an athlete at one point, then became a hacker, and now he owns a hot truck. This guy is all over the place.

We find out that these flashbacks take place during when the Knights of Hanoi were out destroying the Cyberse cards. Revolver said it himself, when Playmaker showed up and he saw that he was using Cyberse, he was shocked by this since he thought his organization had wiped them all out but the question I have to this is just how did Link Vrains get access to the Cyberse-type in the first place? Five years before the start of the show, Ai sealed the Cyberse away and he was on the run since. We learn in the preview for 65 that Yusaku found his Cyberse deck in the ruins but in answering that question leads to even more questions. What are they doing in the ruins? Who was using them before Yusaku got his deck? The Ignises, who created the Cyberse-type, didn’t interact with humans before Revolver showed up but they were clearly in a duel disk, not just laying around on the floor. What kind of aztec stuff is this? There seriously has be a seventh Ignis, the divine one, we don’t know about yet because I don’t know how this is going to be explained otherwise. Add in Yusaku’s Link Sense and how he felt like he has done Speed Dueling before it was even a thing again...oh this is hurting my brain.

Kusanagi ends up witnessing a murder happen and is about to get murdered himself by some Knights of Hanoi goons but is saved by Playmaker...well Unknown at the time. Yusaku didn’t name Playmaker yet in these flashbacks which really makes episode 65′s title make sense. I very much want to see how that name was chosen since Playmaker is a pun of Yusaku’s name and I’m pretty sure at realizing that, Kusanagi is going to suggest the name for him. Because if you are going to be the hero that Link Vrains needs, you need something better then “unknown”. Also, I just loved how much Playmaker was just done with anyone in these flashbacks XD He just wants his revenge but instead he has to save people and beat up goons who can’t tell him anything. 

So against his warnings, Kusanagi returns to Link Vrains and ends up getting into trouble, again, and Playmaker has to save his ass. Kusanagi logs out and Playmaker ends up out right destroying a Knight of Hanoi with a starter deck. Before he used Cyberse, he used the 2018, I believe, starter deck and just wow. Revolver, how bad are your henchmen if they are getting OTK by a starter deck?! Like I said, this episode was just so funny, even for serious moments like these. Also buy the new starter deck apparently. But yeah, afterwards, Playmaker gets outnumbered, even though I pretty sure he can take all of them at once, but just doesn’t because they know nothing that can help him in his quest for vengeance, and this time Kusanagi is the one to rescue him by getting him a way out and afterwards tells Playmaker to meet up with him at Cafe Nagi. And right after that, we get the real life meeting between Yusaku and Kusanagi and can I just say I love Yusaku’s outfit! I’m a sucker for hoodies, what can I say (also copying your boyfriend much, Yusaku? You and Ryoken even have similar ways to approaching others who you wish to team up with (Ryoken to Spectre and Yusaku to Kusanagi) but boy, why can’t you wear this more often or at all?! You look out right ready to shank someone and it is amazing!  I also just loved the way Kusanagi convinced Yusaku to team up with him. 

“If you’re the strongest spear to fight the Knights of Hanoi, I’ll be the strongest shield to protect you!” I really like this quote for some reason and perfectly sums up their partnership. What does that make Takeru then? The armor? Since time and time again, he goes out of his way to protect Yusaku from dueling Go and Blue Girl so he wouldn’t have to worry about them and out right protected him from Blood Shepherd’s trap. I think it makes sense. 

And yeah, the episode ends with them agreeing to work together. Like I said before, the preview shows them working together in their first real mission to get Yusaku his Cyberse deck. Overall, I’m surprised how much I enjoyed this episode. It was just funny and the backstory was just good and gave us answers to questions we needed answers for. I hope next week’s episode is just as good and I really hope we do get a Ryoken/Revolver cameo during it because it makes sense to throw him in there just to foreshadow what Yusaku and Kusanagi have to face off against together in the future.