#this is just me trying to fit as much stuff given from everyones shrine of reflection

[shhheep]

ill share my flag backstory headcanon then 🫣

context infodumping to friends who arent in dd

[randomthefox]

Which Sonic characters would you say are the hottest preds?

Tails is always sort of my default when it comes to preds among the Sonic cast, for a lot of reasons. Personal bias for one. Foxy bias. That also means he's a species that is much higher up on the food chain than basically everyone else in the cast aside from Vector. So he always feels very naturally befitting for that role, to me.

But honestly I can imagine effectively every single member of the Sonic cast as either pred or prey, given the scenario. I could even imagine a scenario with Charmy Bee guzzling down the preys lol. They could all eat or be eaten by one another, in my mind. Though I do tend to prefer imagining that it's a different universe or setting depending on who's filling what role, since I'm personally not very inclined to free vore all everybody can eat or be eaten by anybody type settings.

In terms of characters that I think lend to being preds the best in terms of personality, I'd say Eggman is probably the top since he's already got so many canonical quotes which you can easily slap over a vore pic and it would fit that context without needing to change a single word. I mean, they'd have to be fatal vore pics, which I personally do not enjoy, but I mean still come on.

bro is vorny on main, absolutely.

Werehog is also a good fit for it, being the howling stretching beasty boy and all. Just let those hungry urges run loose for a bit, as a treat~

Oh a pretty common scenario I tend to go back to is Knuckles as the guardian swallowing up folks who arrive on Angel Island. Like an alternate version of Sonic 3 where when Sonic andor Tails show up, Knuckles the pent up tribal island stud just seduces and swallows the interloping boy(s) right up, patting his bulging ab toned belly and belching as he sauntering back to the shrine gut sloshing with every step<3

Rouge I think would also be inclined to being pred, maybe swallowing up security guards when she's sneaking into a place. Or gulping folks down for the sake of holding them for ransom. Or just being a general vamp and teasing or taunting folks she's trying to sweet talk with mawshots and stuff like that. Imagine this whole scene but Rouge is licking her lips and patting her growling belly while talking to Tails. She's got the chops for it, I think.

Vector and Big as well feel like natural preds, given their body types. I guess I don't personally tend to think of them in the front of my mind very often, they're not incredibly high on my list of characters that hook my interest. But given their size and species and with the right scenario their personalities can be very inclined for eating folks up too. Vector maybe swallowing up a client who welshes him on a job payment for example. And maybe Big having a dry spell when it comes to fishing so he swallows someone up to keep him fueled for the long hours of sitting by the lake, maybe falling asleep at some point and forgetting they're in there even after he does start catching fish, so they end up spending more than a few days churning in Big's belly along with some fried salmon piling in ontop of them.

Those are the ones that come to the top of my head when trying to think of which ones out of the cast seem to fit the best as natural preds in terms of personality. But like I said I can imagine every member of the cast as a pred lol. Sonic swallowing someone up while out on a morning job. Silver using his telekinesis to lift someone up and dunk them down his throat. Blaze having snackrifices brought to her to be a royal meal while she's doing paperwork at her desk. Ect.

they're all so fuckking hoottt Dx

[botanicalcanopus]

What would a Sylph of Life have for a land? I was thinking the denezin could be Dionysus, due to Life's themes of consumption of food and Dionysus being the god of wine, feasts, and revelry.

Coincidentally, I'm currently trying to think of ideas for a current co-player's land (Mage of Life)! I'm not the best at world building/classspecting but I don't mind to give it a shot. So some key words I come up with for Life based on a land with Dionysus as a denizen are: barren, fields, wine, vitae, attention, noise, sanctuary, reprieve, buzz, theatre, dance, indulgence, fervor, festival, famine, flood, ennui, energy, and madness. (Obvi you don't have to use these, its just some quick brain storming).

Life is all things growth and optimism based (both figuratively and literally). So a life player is typically upbeat in some manner or at least sees the some form of beauty/despair from life. Or the player doesn't have to be super optimistic or some one who grows a lot as a person if its not something that fits them, lacking these traits. Sylphs are the fan decided healers/helpers who aid their team passively. They are those that have both ideas that (they think) will help you and opinions that they will gladly state (also about you).

Since I don't know very much about this character, their motives, past, innerworkings, etc. it'd be hard to say exactly what they would have but going off what you've given me: Sylph of Life under Dionysus that is possibly related to food/consumption? I'd say it be more of a natural land with cities/villages being elaborate constructs especially anywhere located near a shrine to Dionysus. The surrounding landscape would be pretty lush (or the opposite if that is something the player needs to fix), so either very prosperous farms/fields/orchards or quite literally a dust bowl/cartoony American west. Depending on what type of land you think fits the character best will determine the quest I suppose! Some spitballs down below!:

Some Ideas: Land of Festival and Famine: Pretty self explanatory, a very festive land is in the midst of a large famine/lack of supplies due to the overindulgence of their denizen and the Sylph must heal the land/the consorts' suffering.

Land of Noise and Reprieve: Again lots of partying. This version is more like the consorts can't live normal lives or stop partying due to Dionysus being bored and wanting harder and louder parties that are constantly going over the top each time. Possibly driving the consorts to be mad/violent/depressed and the Sylph may need to find a way to provide comfort/reprieve to both parties. Heck you could even have one of those "everyone dance till you die" scenarios.

Land of Apathy and Vines: This one is a little different. Instead of everyone being all hyped up and going batshit for partying, consorts are all pretty much incredibly complacent. Like too complacent. They genuinely look like they are not there mentally, just kinda doing stuff on autopilot with no real emotion. Most consorts are just working the fields of vines that seem to cover vast swaths of area and make wine from their grapes to give to Dionysus and receive their daily ration of it. Essentially the wine dulls their lives and makes them pawns to continue feeding Dionysus with little struggle. Destroying the vines causes commotion/angers the consorts who become dependent of the wine to not think of how awful things are (preventing their personal growth/living). Personally my favorite take of the three. Sorry if these aren't exactly what you're looking for!

[diavolosthots]

Yandere brothers HC? please?

Ahem yes. IDK how good I truly am with Yandere stuff so yeah this is me trying it out

Warning: Yandere, unhealthy relationships

THE BROTHERS as yandere

Lucifer:

Possessive yandere

Youre his possession, his toy to do with as he pleases

When he finds you to be the perfect darling, he's quick to draw you in and make himself seem like your protector

Its a lie and you'll see that once he's close enough

Punishments turn into physical pain and torture. He would never kill you, no. Youre too precious for that, but he will come damn near close to it

He makes you perfect; breaks you and turns you into just a former shell of yourself

You have absolutely no rights with him. Youre his to control

Not above locking you away and keeping you truly to himself

Mammon:

More of a Tsun-Yandere

He'll deny that he actually craves you and you would probably not know, or will depending on how he acts, until he does something

Definitely kills *for* you in the shadows.

Becomes super protective and stalkerish. He knows where you are, always

Draws you in with his Tsundere side, making you want to open him up, when in reality hes just making sure youre falling for him

Once he has you, hes super clingy and psychopathic.

Leviathan:

Definitely an obsessive yandere

Will build a shrine dedicated to you and makes sure to see it

He doesn't "court" you, he kidnaps you and pretends like youve always been a happy little couple

He'll definitely force you to do things you're not comfortable with

Tortures your possible suitors in front of you so you (and they) know that nothing can come close enough to tear you away from him

Uses self depreciation against you to make you feel guilty for him

Will tear down anyone close to you; the only person you need is him

Satan:

The stalker type

He knows where you are and what you do at all hours on any given day

He seems innocent at first, harmless, but it's just an act

Manipulation!!! Is a big thing of his

Makes you feel safe and like everyone is out to get you. He is the only safe place you can turn to

Not above using magic to control your body against your will

He definitely kills/tortures if the need arises but he wont make you watch; his darling doesn't need to see such cruelty

Will also most likely lock you away

Asmodeus:

The Restraints type

Wants to be with you all day every day; who else could there be when youre with HIM

Youre inseparable

Will dress you how he likes and sees fit.

ALWAYS shows you off as HIS; people need to know that

If anyone ever tries to take you away, he will definitely turn into, quite literally, a monster, showing them that there is no one more perfect for you, than him.

Might also turn more removal type

Who else is there to make you this happy if its not him?

Beelzebub:

The protective type

He cares about you so much

Any and everything seems like a threat to you and there are lots of moments where he kills/beats up things/people for your "protection"

Manipulative type

He just wants you to be happy (with him)

Will cry and snuggle up to you, promising it was just an outlash and he wont do it again

Very much turns jealous to the point where you're not allowed to leave without him

Doesnt trust anyone, not when it comes to you

Cannibal yandere; he might become so consumed by you that he ends up consuming you

Belphegor:

Deadly yandere

Youre the light of his life; why would anyone else be important?

Will blow up worlds if it meant its just you and him

Possessive yandere

He sees you as more of a pet he can keep than your own person.

You have few rights, but hey at least theyre not completely gone

For now

Loves to see you in pain but dont worry, he'll never let anything happen to you, his precious little darling

Might also lock you away

[recurring-polynya]

If you could rewrite the zanpakto arc of Bleach, and you didn’t have to make it fit into canon, what would it be like? Aside from having a lot of RenRuki pinning.

So I guess this is just a condensation of my complaining from when I was recapping that arc, but, uh, you asked for it. I know this is a lot of people’s favorite arc, and it really just wasn’t my jam, so please, don’t anyone get offended by this, it’s just, like, my opinions, man. Everyone knows my opinions are terrible, I love the Cap’n Amagai arc, for Pete’s sake.

0) The Zanpakutou Arc actually has a lot of good Renruki content, actually? So I probably wouldn’t change much about that. They fight back-to-back in one scene? They are very worried about Byakuya together? There’s a cute li’l scene where Renji lets Rukia into Byakuya’s office to rifle through his things and he says “Don’t work too hard”? And then in the companion Sword Beasts arc, there’s that bit where they are hanging out at B’s house together, eating dango.

1) To be honest, I just wouldn’t. Zanpakutou spirits manifesting is a prerequisite to bankai and I would like it to be treated as a serious part of the lore and the way this arc plays out is too silly for me. If they wanted to just do some goofy one-shots that very obviously exist in the same pseudo-canon as the Shinigami’s Cup, I’m fine with that. There are several very funny episodes in the follow-on Sword Beasts arc, I just don’t want it to be even remotely canon.

2) There were too many humanoid zanpakutou spirits. I am not here for it. First order of business, bring back Nue Zabimaru. Hozukimaru needs to be a big-ass sleepy dragon. Hyourinmaru should be a dragon most of the time, who occasionally turns into a dude, I can accept that. Kazeshini should just be a spooky voice in the darkness. Haineko should be a cat, not a catgirl, and get rid of those shorts. Tobiume: tree. Maybe sometimes a shrine maiden, but mostly a tree. On fire.

3) I am a character writer, first and foremost, and I would have focused this arc intently on building character by carefully curating the fundamental beef that each zanpakutou has with their wielder. For starters, I think that, for the most part, Muramasa should not have been able to seduce any of the zanpakutou spirits of the captains. Attaining bankai is supposed to be an intimate act of intense connection that some interloper shouldn’t be able to break. This was true of Byakuya and Senbonzakura in the actual arc, and I think it should also have been true of Kyouraku, Ukitake, Komamura, Yamamoto, and probably Unohana. (I am dying to know more about Unohana’s relationship with her zanpakutou, and I would probably hint at it without revealing too much). Soi Fon and Kurotsuchi treat their zanpakutou like shit, and I would dig into that. I think Hitsugaya’s arc was just about right-- Hyourinmaru wavered and was very confused, and ultimately came back to Hitsugaya without too much trouble. Hitsugaya is the youngest captain and his bankai is incomplete, and the vibe of it was that he does have a good rapport with his zanpakutou, especially given that his particular zanpakutou is ancient, venerable, and very, very powerful. Now, the place where the story really needs to be happening is at the vice-captain level, where everyone has all manner of intra-personal problems that Muramasa could tap into and amplify. Here are the conflicts I would zoom in on:

Sode no Shirayuki is McPissed that Rukia just... gave her to Ichigo and also almost let herself get executed

Zabimaru would be mad that Renji spent all that time training to defeat Byakuya and now what? He’s just, like, Byakuya’s li’l sidekick? Gross. In fact, if we keep the Byakuya-betrays-everyone aspect, I can see Zabimaru sticking with Renji (since he does have bankai) but wanting a piece of Byakuya and Senbonzakura and we could have a really cool confrontation at some point. Zabimaru should also be constantly trying to fight Zangetsu and trying to get Renji to fight Ichigo. Strike that-- Zabimaru should constantly be trying to get Renji to fight everybody.

Hozukimaru should be upset that Ikkaku hides the beautiful bankai that Hozukimaru gave him and also that he lost that pillar, wtf dude

I would have spent 96% of my animation budget making Ruri'iro Kujaku as beautiful and ethereal as possible and they (non-binary) should have just murdered Yumichika out of spite and fucked off to the Eternal Plane of the Extremely Beautiful

My Haineko would be raw as hell and would dig into Matsumoto for hiding behind alcohol and lightheartedness and I would have put some stuff in there about how maybe being the person your zanpakutou wants you to be is maybe not the same as being a good or emotional healthy person

I hated the idea that Tobiume criticized Momo for being weak after Momo said that her zanpakutou had really helped with her recovery. I would have gone way in the other direction, where Tobiume is extremely overprotective of Momo and wants to keep anything bad from happening to her

Hisagi something something I did not read CFYOW

4) I would not have been a huge coward with regard to Ise, Kotetsu, Iba, or Zaraki fuckin’ Kenpachi. We should have either gotten to see their zanpakutou or they should not have appeared. It would probably be really hard, but I would have done an off-putting, low-priority story thread of Yachiru having a lot of trouble concentrating, or, like, running off, and Zaraki has to go find her, that would hint at their ultimate relationship without being too blatant. Oh, Yoruichi, too, I just remembered Yoruichi was in this.

5) Look, if I were Ichigo and I had to go to Soul Society to save everyone from their own zanpakutou I WOULD BRING FUCKING ORIHIME AND CHAD!!! I wouldn’t being Ishida, but he would come anyway and be the most sanctimonious bastard about all that that you could possibly imagine. Anyway, then I would go in an absolutely wild direction and have Orihime and Chad and Uryuu find out that they do have Inner Worlds and embodiments of their powers and I would devote a lot of the arc to that.

6) Soujun should have been in the Kouga flashbacks, even if, only like, for a minute. Please let me see Byakuya’s dad in his infinite softness. I am begging.

7) I would get rid of Muramasa’s gross fingernails

[murasaki-murasame]

Thoughts on Higurashi Sotsu Ep11

Studio Passione: “We paid good money to animate Rika’s festival dance, and by god you’re gonna ENJOY IT!”

Anyway, thoughts under the cut, plus Umineko spoilers.

I know I talked about my theories for how this episode would be paced out last week, but I’m genuinely amazed that they managed to stretch the rest of this loop out into the entire episode, lol. It’s almost impressive how they managed to pad out half an episode or less worth of content into a full episode.

It kinda doesn’t even give me that much to talk about, yet again, which is kinda awkward, but either way this basically proves that I was totally right about my interpretation of the whole Keiichi scene, so I feel kinda pleased about that.

Long story short, the scene we saw in Gou was just an illusion depicting the story that Satoko told Ooishi about what happened, after she set the crime scene up to make it fit her version of events. I guess there’s still a non-zero chance that there’s some extra layer of mystery going on there, but at this point I really doubt it. I think that’s basically all that was going on.

I think this is going to be one of the more polarizing parts of Sotsu for people, depending on how they feel about the way that this is tying itself in to Umineko. This is the sort of storytelling device that’s basically never been used before in Higurashi, but is integral to how Umineko is set up, so it’s one of those times where it becomes undeniable that this is meant to bridge the two series, and is drawing inspiration and ideas from both of them, instead of this just staying within the boundaries of Higurashi alone.

With how this arc feels like a point of no return in the transition between the two stories, I really like how the first thing Satoko does when she accepts that she’s a witch is to start bringing Umineko-style narrative trickery into Higurashi for the first time. I think it’s a neat way to show how she’s starting to ascend beyond the game-board itself and is operating with a different set of rules. Obviously people aren’t gonna like that if they don’t like the idea of this being tied to Umineko, but I think that ship has long since sailed at this point, lol.

And honestly, even without relying on knowledge from Umineko, I think they did a fine job of having that scene in Gou seem weird and suspicious right from the get-go. For one thing, we were also told in Gou that Keiichi had no memory of what happened, and everyone else in that scene was dead, so it’s not that hard to start guessing that we were shown a false version of events.

I think I said this last week, but the confirmation that this is literally just Umineko Logic 101 really makes me wonder if Ryukishi is doing it this way in part to ‘prepare’ people for what to expect from Umineko. There’s still the possibility that we’ll get a full on remake after this, but even if it’s as simple as this basically ending on the note of ‘go back and read the Umineko VN’, he might still be trying to give people an idea of what to expect from it so they don’t get turned off by ep2.

This is getting more into theory territory, but if we keep going down this rabbit hole of transitioning into Umineko logic and narrative structure, I wonder if the entirety of Gou/Sotsu is going to end up being contextualized as a set of forgeries, in the same way as it worked in Umineko. Something along the lines of Satoko ‘seeing Rika’s loops’ being a metaphor for her being given manuscripts to read by Featherine based on Rika’s account of events, and then the Gou/Sotsu loops being forgeries made in collaboration between Featherine and Satoko, and presented to Rika as a new mystery to read and solve. At the very least, this could arguably justify stuff like how everything seems to go in the way Satoko wants, regardless of how reckless she gets.

I’m not 100% confident in that, but it’d definitely continue the trend of this being a blend of Higurashi and Umineko’s writing styles. I think it’d also provide a more comprehensive non-magical interpretation for what’s going on than just ‘Satoko fell asleep in the shrine and just dreamed all of this’, or whatever.

I also don’t really think that’d contradict the whole idea of Satoko being Lambda, though. Looking at it through this whole lens, it’d be sorta like how Ange goes through her own whole character arc in the process of reading Featherine’s forgeries, and basically ends up becoming a witch by the end of it. So the whole narrative arc of Satoko venting out her anger at Rika by trapping her in a new set of loops and slowly becoming a witch would still be intact, and still for all intents and purposes lead to her becoming Lambda.

There’s also various ways this could be tied into the whole deal with Lambda being Takano’s benefactor in Higurashi. Considering how Lambda never actually plays a part in Higurashi itself and is never mentioned by Takano, it could be as simple as ‘Satoko reads Featherine’s manuscript version of Higurashi and ends up relating a lot to Takano and wants her to succeed’, which gets morphed into her granting Takano her blessing of certainty. Either way I think that the whole timeline of events is weird and nebulous and isn’t really intended to make logical sense.

Anyway, probably the most surprising part of the episode was the reveal at the very end that the next arc won’t be called something like Nekoakashi, but instead it’ll be Kagurashi. I’m not really sure how much to read into that, though. It could just be as simple as them speeding through the Nekodamashi stuff, and most of Kagurashi will be the aftermath of that, so they gave it a unique name. Or it could be a completely new arc that does something totally different. Lots of people have suggested the idea of it being an arc all about Eua and Hanyuu and their backstory, which would be one way of doing something entirely different to a Nekodamashi answer arc, but who knows. I don’t think the final scene of this episode necessarily proves that the next arc will be about those two, though.

But on the topic of those two, at this point I think it’s probably safe to say that Hanyuu is effectively meant to be Eua’s piece in this game, and that they probably have a similar relationship to Bern and Erika, going by how much Eua seems to look down on Hanyuu. Although it’s not exactly clear if this Hanyuu is the same person as the Hanyuu from the VN, or if she’s like a clone of her that Eua created after Hanyuu disappeared or whatever after Matsuribayashi. 

Either way, I’m not entirely sure how they’d even approach an arc focused on those two. It’s not like Umineko really explained Featherine’s backstory, unless Sotsu is going to straight up introduce Ikuko/Tohya, which I guess could tie into my above theory about this being a forgery. On the other hand, I guess they could maybe do something like the Hanyuu backstory arc from the Higurashi console ports, but that wouldn’t really feel relevant to Sotsu’s story at this point.

Really the big question is just if the entire story will wrap up in four more episodes, or if there’ll be some sort of third season or whatever to wrap things up. Considering that this entire episode was just about wrapping up this loop, and we haven’t even gotten into anything from Nekodamashi, it at least feels like we’re running out of ways they could pull off an ending with just the next arc. But it’s not impossible. The simplest way to handle it would be to spend one episode at most on skimming through the next set of loops so we can get back to the cliffhanger from Gou, and then continuing from there, but if my theory about the overarching structure of the story is correct, then there might not even be that much to show after the cliffhanger, and the continuation of it might just happen in the meta world [or the ‘real world’], not the world of that loop itself. It’s also possible that, if this does lead into some kind of Umineko remake, the ending won’t even be particularly conclusive, and will just be continued in that series instead.

Even with how the pacing has gone thus far, I’m not really sure how confident I am in the idea that we might get another entire season out of this. Maybe we might get another nine episodes to fill Sotsu out to 24 episodes total, but I don’t know if we really need another full cour or two after the next arc. At the very least it’d feel kinda agonizing to have to wait even longer for ANOTHER full season to see how things actually end, lol.

There’s still the whole question mark of how the OP and the key visual for Sotsu depict Rika and Satoko as teenagers, and the other club members in different outfits to the ones from Satokowashi, but who even knows how that all might play into the story at this point. I still think we might get a Saikoroshi-style arc where Satoko loses her game and is banished to a world where Rika doesn’t exist and her relationship with the club members is totally different, but I’m not even sure what the whole point of that kinda development might be, or how long it’d take to get through.

At this point I think the best thing to do would be to just go all in with the Umineko stuff and have this end with the birth of Bern and Lambda and their whole love-hate relationship of mutual torture, even if it means leaving things kind of inconclusive, and without Satoko getting much punishment for her crimes. I think it’d be much worse if they just drag this out for even longer only to end it on the note of this whole conflict being neatly resolved and everything looping back to square one like nothing ever happened.

I guess we’ll just have to see how the next few episodes go, lol.

[kamikui]

Onmyoji Movie

HI so I watched the Onmyoji Movie based off of the game last night and . . . . that sure was something!

In all honesty despite the weird path they decided to take, I actually enjoyed the movie. The music and detail in the scenery was amazing, I LOVED the costuming for a lot of the background characters esp in the Demon Realm, and a lot of the easter eggs that were hidden were nice. 

BUT. but. As someone heavily invested in the lore of the game (especially concerning Ibaraki) how they decided to deal with the movie was like. really confusing. It genuinely felt as if NE gave the directors a cast of characters and let them do what they wanted from there w/o any prior knowledge of the game.

(spoilers down below)

Before I really pry into that though, I’ll kinda note some of the characters.

Seimei/Qingming was actually my favorite. I think this is sort of an unpopular opinion right now, but his characterization was so nice even if it sorta leans into the basic drama hero type personality. In the game Seimei is supposed to be you/the player, and not everyone is going to have the same interpretation of him-- and that’s what the movie felt like, a different interpretation. I will say I didn’t really like them making him related to their version of Orochi. I believe the snakes name was Xiangliu? I can’t remember, but I didn’t see the reason in that. 

If anything, keeping him a fox and having a version of Tamamo no Mae popping up to offer advice to help with the situation would’ve been nicer, and that’d keep more of Seimei’s backstory kept in tact-- because asides from him becoming an Onmyoji apprentice at a young age we literally do not know shit about him. And legit I wouldn’t necessarily mind bc it’s a movie, you’re not going to get everyone’s backstory within 2 hrs, but we can’t really get attached to him.

Yao Bikuni/Baini was. Hm. I like her as a character in the movie, but I don’t like where she’s placed as a character in the movie. She’s a Seer? in the game and tbh it should’ve stayed that way, like I honestly can’t see her willingly working for one clan. “But how would she--” In game she is also influenced by Seimei pretty heavily, as in the in game chapters she believed he would be able to kill her. Up until she got manipulated by Orochi, she stuck to his side. With the Stone plot in the movie, if it put him in danger she would be there in order to try and help him, OR, try and pull him to join Orochi if they went that route. And they KINDA tried to hint at it when Seimei “died” with Orochi using her image, but like. come on man. Let Yao be evil for a little bit.

That being said I didn’t like the Master & Shikigami bit with those two, or the implied romance they tried to pull with them. Canonically Seimei legit brushes her off and when shes like “ohhh you’ll kill me right” hes like “lol sure” and thats IT. Literally any form of romance that’s tried at Seimei he brushes it off. he’s not into it he’s an amnesiac.

The “Oh if you become my shikigami you won’t become evil” thing was :/ to me as well because again, canonically, even though Seimei is being taunted he can contain the Kitsune part pretty well even when he wasn’t aware he was kitsune. Like I think the part as a kid was a good bit to add since it’s when he’s first being exposed to Onmyoji type stuff, but like. idk idk I couldn’t vibe with that power dynamic while they were trying to hint romance.

Continuing on with Hiromasa/Yuan Boya and Kagura/Shenle, again considering this is a movie, I’m somewhat content with their characters.

I really liked how energetic this Kagura was, and given they weren’t able to do her actual backstory, I liked the one she was given. Her introduction in the movie was really great too-- and compared to Hiromasa I felt they gave her a little more attention? Which like fine, but not so good for Hiro.

They didn’t even. Discuss his archery skills at any point which was disappointing. The most plot relevance he (and honestly Kagura too) had was finding Seimei while trying to arrest him but that’s it. And yes they showed some of his skill while he was fighting Kamaitachi, but that’s the extent of it. AGAIN i’ll consider the fact this was a movie and they didn’t have enough time to fit EVERYTHING in, but since they gave Yao and Seimei so much attention you would think they’d be able to spare some for the other two protagonists in the game. 

Before I leave those two tho I’m still trying to figure out what the fuck happened in the end. Like did hiromasa get promoted in some form? was he given credit for what happened between the demon realm? Why did he separate from Kagura since they got close during the movie? I guess like bc work duties but still. I have no idea tho like i was sitting there not processing a single thing. Regardless I did like Hiro and Kags acting like siblings despite in this canon them not being related (at least it’s never clarified).

Ok so before I dive into the whole mess that is the Cimu/”Ibaraki” character, stuff on side characters.

While I didn’t like the outfits for Sakura(? Momo? Both of them?) or Chocho, I liked the roles that they held as sort of trainers for the rest of Seimeis shikigami. In fact I liked the whole courtyard ordeal in general. I have my own worldbuilding thing that has a similar theme so seeing it being used canonically was pretty nice. I do wish we could’ve seen more SSRs or even SRs though. Like, why couldn’t Aoandon be hanging out in the courtyard to give gossip to Hiro & Kagura? Yamakaze or Shishio hanging out in the forest, or like. bruh even Jikikaeru as the boss in the Showdown considering he runs that in game. 

I did like the fish man! I really did, but literally everything about him could’ve been Jikikaeru, I don’t think it’s that hard to make a frog man. 

Also as mentioned previously it would’ve been nice to see Tamamo make an appearance considering he makes random ones every now and then. The Mujou Brothers could’ve helped the shikigami when they were escaping Seimeis courtyard, Shiranui could’ve been an entertainer while they were traveling through the demon realm, HAKU??? couldve been one of Seimeis shiki?? literally anyone. They have all these misc characters in the background but barely any of them resemble in game characters.

GOD EVEN KOSODENOTE COULDVE BEEN THERE . . . . at the scene where Kagura was messing with jewelry and clothing . . . Koso couldve been the seller. Aobozu could’ve worked at the shrine . . . . I just. Man.

ANYWAYS . . . pulling from that and going into whatever the hell Cimu is. god.

So according to casting, Cimu is supposed to be Ibaraki. But the thing is. There’s only like. 3-4 Elements about Ibaraki that goes into him. Everything else is Shuten which i honestly find pretty funny?? Take away the homophobic jokes and combine the gay coded character into his love interest. Which I mean that’s better than making them brothers but at what cost.

anyways. Cimu previously being an onmyoji but turning evil -> shuten previously being a monk and turning evil. The design of the hand that Cimu uses as transportation -> SP Shutens design where he sits on two hands. Red hair -> shuten. The horns, eye color (minus scleras), arm getting chopped off, and his ambition to grow stronger are really the only parts of Ibaraki that’s in the character-- and even then you could say Shuten has a similar ambition of growing stronger. It’s just so scuffed. 

ALSO IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE. literally it doesn’t make sense when you look at the characters.

Why couldn’t they just stick with Kuro Seimei considering the fact that this Ibaraki works with Ootengus and Yuki Onna/The Snow Queen? They could’ve given Seimei a twin brother to work off of this. But like if they really wanted to keep Ibaraki and Shuten, they could’ve made it that Shuten was being manipulated by Orochi and Ibaraki was serving him, because there’s a LOT of shit you could do just with Shuten by himself. Legit no reason to combine the two since they’re BOTH heavily marketed characters. 

Legit like, Shuten being controlled, given Ibaraki’s loyalty to Shuten he would most likely follow him no matter what, and even like. Have a form of Momiji to kind of help out-- probably at a heavy expense of Shuten doing something for her, but still. like i LOVED the snow queen, I loved this interpretation of yuki so I wouldn’t want to get rid of her, but they shouldve went with Seimei 2 instead of “ibaraki”. It’s just so much and it doesn’t make sense. 

Now orochi himself and how that was handled was like. Okay I guess. If anyone was being talked to through their head at the time it should’ve been Yao Bikuni considering she allies with him in canon at one point. but like whatever. I did think the end was neat where Seimei forced him into becoming his shikigami, like I liked that whole process. Otherwise all antagonists were pretty underwhelming.

I also was not fond of the ending where like Seimei just turns away at the broken bridge. Like does this mean the Demon realm is completely cut off now? just fix the bridge. Also does Seimei just fuck off?? I know theres a scene where he’s standing on the roof but. i dont know. 

Regardless the movie was great, I had fun watching it. When ibaraki came in I accidentally paused the movie a couple of times while spamming screenshots. Even tho hes like kinda ugly but that’s ok. There WERE some angles where he was hot as hell but otherwise they did his actor so dirty. The horns were just. God I won’t delve into that bc this post is long as hell BUT. BUT. THE MOVIE WAS GOOD. just not if ure into the lore for the game LMAO.

Ok that’s it for now bye

[babyspiderling]

The Moonwalker and the Time-Traveler Prologue

California, 2020

 “Ms. L/N, I suggest you wake up for my class if you want to pass this course.” I blink up at my professor, it seems that I fell asleep during history class again. “I’m sorry Professor Berkley, I was up all last night with my roommate tinkering all night.” At that he softens, a grandfatherly look in his eye. “Oh Y/N, I understand, but if you truly want to be a history major, you have to stay awake! I will not simply give you a free pass while trying to adjust, just please, try to stay awake in my class.” Standing, I nod. “Yes sir. I’ll do my best.” After this, I am dismissed and head back to my dorm room to hopefully catch a nap. 

Kicking the door shut, I move to collapse onto my bed, but am blocked by whatever my engineering major roommate has built in the dorm for his latest project. “Seriously dude? Don’t you have a lab for this kind of stuff?” I kick off my shoes and do my best to move around it, finally, truly collapsing onto my bed. I fall asleep quickly, hopefully revisiting the dream I had during class. 

Lord knows how much later, I wake up to my roommate continuing to tinker on his project. Grumbling under my pillow, “Danny, don’t you have a lab for this shit? Why do you have to do it here, I’m sleeping in classes because of this!” He sheepishly lifts his head up to respond. “Uh, well, I uh… It’satimemachine.” Snapping my head up, I question “It’s a what?” Once again he looks shy and guilty. “It’s a, uh, Time Machine. Or at least that’s what I’m wanting it to be. I’m still working on it.” Well, I’m definitely awake now. “So, like, what’s the problem?” Finally putting down his tools, Danny turns to me, “It should work. I ran the simulations and used the one that worked. It’s just… not connecting I guess.” Glancing at the clock, it’s getting late. “Look Danny, I’m going to clean up some of my stuff. Go get some food. I know you haven’t eaten yet.” With a defeated sigh, Danny agrees and leaves the room. I slip into a pair of shorts and an old David Bowie tour shirt I had found at a thrift store. Picking up things here and there, folding abandoned pieces of laundry, I hum and bop around the room, dancing along to “Working Day and Night”, practicing turns and isolations to the beat. Taking a deep breath I prep and spin as fast and as long as I can, but my foot slips out from under me. I tumble to the floor, tripping over some cord. Oh well, it’s probably Danny's “mood lighting”, I plug it in and decide to check out the “Time Machine”. “Ground Control to Major Tom! Prepare for lift-off!” I press random buttons, dicking around and typing 1984, then some other buttons. “Huh, sucks it really doesn’t work. It’d be cool if you really could time travel.” Once again I trip over Danny’s junk on the floor of the project and slam into one last button I had yet to press. On the way down I hit my head, and the world went black as a whirring sound filled my ears. 

Waking up, I find myself in a room about the size of mine, decorated much like my side of the dorm, with a funky retro feeling to it. “Danny, this isn’t funny, I get it, I’m gullible for believing the machine was real. Now how the Hell did you change all this so quick… and get rid of the machine?” I continue searching the room for Danny, and realise that the sun had already risen hours ago. I may have been out for longer than I thought, and come crashing into a body. Awesome! Now I can really teach that boy a lesson for pulling that. “Hey, what are you doing in my dorm? Nice shirt by the way, I was at the Anaheim show a couple months ago. That’s where you got the shirt, right?” I blink at the guy my age, still processing the amount of denim and hair products he has decided to use for the day. “What? Oh, uh, my shirt. Wait, did you say you saw him in Anaheim a couple months ago? What year are you from?” He knits his brows together. “1984. Are you ok? Did you get a bad hit or something? Do I need to call someone for you?” I space myself from him, the stimulation of this whole situation too much. “No, no I’m ok. What’s today’s date?” His eyes are still filled with concern as he replies with January 26th 1984, and that I’m still at University of Redlands, just 36 years before I attend. “Wait, January 26th, why does that sound so familiar? I hear Beat It blare down the hall and I can practically see the light bulb above my head. “Do you know how to get to the Shrine Auditorium?” 

We zip down the highway on Tyler’s motorcycle, making a trip down to L.A. He had me explain my whole ordeal to him before he just drove me to a random concert venue. It took a bit to convince him, but the second I pulled my smartphone out he was on board. He pulls off to a strip mall and helps me dismount. “Wait, why are we at a mall? I need to get to that venue before security secures it.” He just rolls his eyes. “If you want to get in and stay in without too much attention, you need to look a little bit different. Time to fit in.” He drags me into store after store, and I finally piece together a “Bad” inspired outfit. A black crop top slips off one shoulder, leather pants pull tight around my legs and hips, a blood red leather jacket drapes my shoulders, and matching leather boots clutch my feet. “Tyler, this is too much. I can’t even pay you back.” He rolls his eyes and pays for the clothes, letting me keep my own hoops and rings. “Look, just meeting a time traveler is cool, dressing one is even better. When you get back home and you still want to pay me back, we’ll figure it out. Let’s get you to the moonwalker himself.” 

As we pull into the parking lot for the venue, there isn’t another soul in sight. “Hey, here’s my address, if you ever want to mail me, or just let me know that you’re doing ok.” He hands me a slip of paper, and I hug him tightly. “Thank you Tyler, I am forever in your debt. If you’re anywhere near the university in 2020, let me know.” With that, he rides back home into the sunset, and I sneak into the venue before security shows up. 

It’s a good thing I like the song Billie Jean, because I have heard it about 72 times in the last hour. During sound check alone I almost lost my mind, with just the baseline intro playing for 30 minutes. As I hear the cue from the director that it is time to actually film the commercial. I hear “Take One!” in the distance and I ditch my jacket behind a stack of crates, my phone hidden in the pocket. I find the side entrance of the stage as take 3 is anounced. I crouch down in a runners position at take 5, launching myself at take 6. Michael nears the pyrotechnic and I slam my body into his as it goes off, now missing him by inches. There are screams of terror and shock as we fly through the air, now spun so that I land on my back, Michael on top of me. His brothers quickly help him up and off of me as I am seized by security, doing my best to put as little weight on my now injured ankle as possible. I raise my hands in surrender, trying to think my way out of this. “Look! Look, I can explain all of this, including how I knew that this take wasn’t going to go well. Let me explain and I will never try to contact any of you again!” Everyone around me exchanges glances, deciding whether to trust me or not. Tito steps forward, his eyes full of scrutiny. “Alright girl, explain.” I sigh and grimace in pain. “I can’t do it out here. Too many people. And my evidence of my claims are in my jacket backstage.” He glances back at Michael, nodding in response to his younger brother. I am escorted backstage, am allowed to sit down to relieve my ankle, and I start my story. “I’m from the future, 36 years in the future to be a bit more specific. I’m not crazy.” Michael crouches down in front of me, “If you’re really a time traveler I would love to talk about the future with you!” He’s nudged and given a look from his older brothers, and his smile is dimmed a bit. “But if you’re from the future, wouldn’t you know songs I haven’t released yet?” I nod my head, but I get hit with the issue of Thriller already being released and the “Bad” sessions not yet started for at least another 6 months, if not more. I flip through the collection of Michael songs I know by heart, trying to find one he’s recorded but not yet released. “Oh! I know about “Love never felt so good”! The one you recorded with Paul Anka! I can sing it for you!” I start at the chorus, my brain too frazzled to remember it’s entirety. Everyone else who knows about the song exchanges looks, one brother even shouting questions of how I knew it. “It’s on my phone, and I’m from the future. All your music’s been released. Well, almost all of it. There’s still tracks from your upcoming session that I have yet to find. Here, I can show you.” Lifting myself from my seat, I reach to retrieve my jacket from behind the crates. Everyone watches me with baited breath, wanting to see what the time traveler will pull out next. I pull out my phone and search for the Xscape album. I press play on the original track and Michael's voice rings out from the speaker. I switch it up to “Working Day and Night”, what I was listening to before I got here. 

“Look, I can play you anything you’ve already recorded. I just can’t play you anything you haven’t done yet. Those are the rules.” Michael escorts me back to his dressing room to ask me questions about the future since I am no longer seen as crazy. “Are there flying cars ? What about people living in space? Are there aliens?” I giggle at his excitement. “Well, we do have people living in space, it isn’t commercialized yet, so you and I couldn’t go. We don’t have flying cars, but we do have self driving ones. And there are no known aliens yet. Music is accessible though. If I had any service in 1984, I could play you any song any time from anyone. I could listen to “Wanna be Startin Somethin’” for 3 days straight if I wanted to. All I’d have to do is type it in and press play.” His eyes sparkle in awe of the future. He opens his mouth to ask more questions, but Jermaine and another man enters the room before he can get a word out, “Come on Mike, we need to finish the commercial. This is an EMT we had on site, he’s here to fix her ankle.” As Michael leaves his seat, I grab his hand. “Please, don’t let them turn the pyrotechnics back on. Please.” He nods and pats my hand before leaving the room. The EMT removes my new boots and my ankle swells before my eyes, no longer constrained in the tight leather. We make small talk as he works until the commercial is done recording. 

[blazehedgehog]

First off, I hope you're doing okay during this whole quarantine business. As for the ask... What is the best Zelda game in your opinion?

I mean, it’s gotta be Breath of the Wild for me. I put 300 hours in to that game. Found all the shrines. Did all the dungeons. Got the Master Sword and the Hero’s Shield.

And most of that was by myself, without a guide. I think I got down to 8 or 9 shrines left and used a guide to find the last few I was missing, but 99% of that game was me just wandering around and doing it all naturally.

I haven’t fallen in love with a game that much since, like, Final Fantasy VII on the PS1.

Breath of the Wild is like, an anti-Nintendo game. People can boil it down to “oh it’s just another open world sandbox game” but when Nintendo says the word sandbox they really mean it. Do anything, in any order, and figure out any solution as long as it gets you to the goal.

That’s the kind of stuff that got people to fall in love with Grand Theft Auto 3 back in 2001, and has been systematically bred out of most open world sandbox games because everyone got too busy trying to turn this stuff in to a movie with ~drama~ and ~acting~ and ~mature themes~ instead of expressing yourself through gameplay systems.

In fact, as of games like GTA5, you are explicitly discouraged from finding creative solutions to problems, because you’re expected to “stick to the script” in quite literal terms.

Nintendo created a system of complex interactions that could play off of each other and said “have fun figuring out how to fit this stuff together!” No hand holding, just observation, experimentation, and play.

Which, given Skyward Sword is a game which funnels you down a critical path where every puzzle has one intended solution and the game constantly tells you exactly what to do, is titanic. And it wasn’t just Zelda. You think of Mario levels, and those were all built to be finished in one specific way, too. There wasn’t a lot of room for self-expression.

Breath of the Wild signaled a change for Nintendo, where they acknowledged that sometimes players want to go off script, and they built a game to encourage that. And it’s something that’s begun influencing all of the games they put out (notably, Super Mario Odyssey). It may just be them recycling systems-driven ideas that were already out there, but they did it in a way nobody was currently doing. And it’s fantastic.

And this is why some people were upset that Pokemon Sword and Shield weren’t “Pokemon’s Breath of the Wild.” That’s because Pokemon is usually one of the most rigidly structured games Nintendo publishes, and they were hoping things would become more systems driven and less about following a trail of numbered gyms down a linear story.

It also makes me extremely curious what Metroid Prime 4 could end up like, given it was already one of Nintendo’s most non-linear games.

[jungle321jungle]

Diverging Paths: One (Villain Deku)

Izuku had held out hope. He had held out on hope for so much of his life. Hope that he could be a hero, that he could help heroes, that he could do something- anything. But as time passes and hope dwindles and fades, it becomes harder and harder to hold onto anything... So why even try? 

Katsuki had said so many things- done so many things. But after seeing him that day, after realizing what was really going on, he couldn’t help but wonder... When is it too late to make things right?

Taglist:

Heys I included my general taglist but given this is not sanders sides not sure if you guys are interested or not. So just let me know if you still wanna be tagged in this, I wont default people after just in case. Thanks!

@hells-missing-a-goat @angels-and-dreams @ollyollyoxinfree @gattonero17 @chumo-cookie @dreaming-always @anxiety-ismy-name @mrbubbajones

Ao3 - Masterlist

~~~~~

One: All Men Are Not Created Equal

“Midoriya-kun!”

Izuku looked up from where he had been shuffling down the hallway to see a few members of class 1-A waving to him. He gave an awkward wave as he tried to move past them, but they were persistent.

“Friend Midoriya-kun!” Iida-san called loudly, inserting himself into Izuku’s space. With him (as always) was Uraraka-san and Asui-san. 

“H-hi,” he stammered out in response. 

“How’s the management department going? I have always been interested in the other classes.”

“It’s good. Class J is the same as always. How’s A been?”

“Good! But soon we must embark on the journey of studying more”

“Don't remind me,” Uraraka-san groaned in response. 

Asui-san opened her mouth to respond but a familiar blast in his face caused Deku to take a step back. He gave a hard swallow as he forced a smile and a wave, “H-hi Kacchan.”

“Fuck off Deku!” Kacchan yelled in response as he gave a sneer. “What do you think you’re doing here?”

“Oh you know each other?” Uraraka-san asked intrigued while behind her Iida was attempting to apologize profusely for his classmate’s lack of manners. 

“Kacchan and I grew up together,” Izuku answered as he glanced at the other boy. 

“Wait, he has friends?” Another student asking from behind Bakugo. They hadn’t been introduced, but after watching the sports festival Izuku knew who it was from the research he had done during the Sports Festival. Kirishima Eijiro, Quirk: Harderning, he had made it to the second round in the sports festival before losing to Bakugo. Izuku opened his mouth a question about the other first year’s quirk on the tip of his tongue but Bakugo’s palm had appeared in his face, freezing any words before they could come.

“I would never be friends with a Deku!”

“You make it sound like you have options for friends,” Kaminari Denki tossed in as he approached tossing an arm around Kirishima-kun’s shoulders in a friendly way. The smile melted off his face quickly as Bakugo rounded on him, but Izuku didn’t mind. As the classmates chattered, it allowed him to fade to the background where he belonged.

It allowed him to slip away.

“You damn nerd!”

Izuku was barely able to throw his arms up before the blast hit his arms and he found himself falling to the ground. 

“Where do you get off talking to my class, huh?” Bakugo shouted. “I’m gonna be the number one hero! I can't have people thinking I’m friends with a quirkless dumbass!”

“Sorry,” Izuku mumbled in reply. “I won't do it again.”

“You’re a quirkless shithead!” He continued reaching for Izuku’s backpack and throwing it to the side, its contents spilling across the sidewalk. “When are you gonna realize that? You’re in the fucking management class! You’re never going to be anything! So stop trying!”

Izuku wasn’t sure why the words stung. 

They were words he had been told since he was a child. Since the day his quirk hadn’t developed. Words said by everyone in his life, from friends, to bullies, to teachers, to All Might himself. 

The hero had told him to try another path. To go for management, to support heroes in their work behind the scenes. So he had tried, he had applied to UA, taken the exam, gotten in. He had tried to make friends, to do well in his classes, he had tried to be happy in a life which wasn’t suited for him, he had tried. He had tried. He had tried. 

But Kacchan was right, if he wasn’t going to be anything... then why try at all?

Perhaps that’s why this time Bakugo’s words had hurt so much, because this time they weren’t only his, but Izuku’s too.

~~~~

“Izuku?” his mom’s voice had come worriedly. “What are you doing?”

He glanced up from where he was taking down the last of the posters, trying not to damage the wall as he did, “Redecorating.”

His mother entered the room slowly looking around at the full garbage bags in the center, “Why are you throwing it out of all of your All Might stuff?”

Because he was tired of living in a shrine. Living in the shadow of yet another person who didn’t believe in him. “I’ve gotten older,” He told her with a forced smile as he shoved the final poster in the garbage bag and tied it shut. “I don't need it anymore.”

His mother seemed to be at a loss for words, but tears brimmed at her eyes. Izuku gave her another smile as he moved to give her a hug, “Don’t cry mom.” But she did anyway, and he held her there consoling her as she apologized for not being able to give him a quirk, for not being able to control things she by nature she couldn’t control. But as she cried, Izuku couldn’t help but feel he had made the right decision. But there was one final step.

The stacks of notebooks nearly fell from his hands as he walked out the UA gates and headed towards his home. When he arrived he would toss them with the rest of the things he needed to throw out, and get rid of it all in one go. 

No turning back. 

“You have more of them, Izuku-kun?”

Izuku blinked in surprise as he looked around the almost empty street to find a girl standing behind him. She was about his age, dressed in the uniform of another school, with blonde hair and a large smile on her face. 

“I’m sorry?” He asked awkwardly. 

“More books!” She said cheerily, taking something frown behind her back and holding it out for him to see, “Tada!”

Izuku paused and blinked seeing his own handwriting on the notebook’s cover. 

“You dropped it yesterday!”

“He didn’t drop it, that kid threw his backpack.” This voice came from the alley beside her and when he looked Izuku could see a man perhaps in his twenties. He was tall with long dark hair and purpled skin in patches across his body in an unsettling way. 

“We liked reading your notebook!” She said ignoring him. “So did our friends!”

“Oh, um thank you,” Izuku replied awkwardly as he took the notebook from her. He tried to move away but she spoke again. 

“Can we read another one?” 

“I-I was actually going to throw them away.”

“Then just give ‘em to us,” Her companion shrugged. “Problem solved.”

“Uh, okay I-”

“Wait! I’m sure Kuriogiri-san and Shigaraki-san would want to ask about them!” She interjected. “Come with us to meet them!”

“He doesn’t know us, nutjob,” The young man said with an eye roll. “Why would he come with us?”

“Well I’m Toga Himiko, and that's Dabi! Nice to meet you Izuku-kun!”

Izuku hadn’t expected to end up standing awkwardly in a bar surrounded by people he didn’t know but yet here he was. Toga-san seemed nice enough, but the rest honestly creeped him out a tad with how much they were staring at him and-and Shigaraki had severed hands on him?

“This is in depth,” Kurogiri-san complimented looking through one of the notebooks. “Does your quirk involve your memory? Or analysis?”

“I’m-” He faltered. “I’m quirkless actually...”

“Remarkable. These are quite thorough, you could compete with someone who has such a quirk.”

“Do you have any more of these?” Dabi-san asked him. 

Izuku gave a slight nod as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “At home.”

“Bring them tomorrow!” Toga-san encouraged. 

Izuku had mumbled a reply about considering it and he left as quickly as he could. 

So he wasn’t entirely sure why he went back. 

But that mix of confusion and uncertainty would become part of his regular visits. At first it had been to give extra notebooks. To go over his thoughts. And then it had been to do that again. And again. And again. 

But he knew that was just the excuse he had been telling himself. 

He was going for them. 

That first day something had intrigued him, and then on the second he had seen how polar their personalities seemed to be, but as he continued returning he could see how they each fit together in that whole puzzle that was them. He could see how each was acknowledged and accepted for their differences- not ridiculed. Yes there was teasing, there was name calling, but unlike what he was used to it didn’t have any malintent. 

And he could start to see where he fit too. On that same stool at the corner of the bar, a glass of water in front of him and a notebook in front of him. 

It was a place where he was wanted. A place where they treated him kindly- as a friend- as one of them. And Izuku didn’t realize how much he had latched onto them- until they had finally told him what he already figured out for himself. It had been easy to, far easier than one should expect.

Because sitting there, sitting in that spot he could essentially hear bits and pieces clicking into place. Mainly about Kurogiri-san, the man’s description matched what Iida-san had gone on and on about when Izuku had asked him about the U.S.J. incident. 

These people were criminals- villains.  

Logic told him to run, to never look back, to tell all the heroes at school that he knew exactly where they were hiding. He knew what the teachers and other heroes everywhere had been trying to figure out for so long. Now all he had to do... was tell.

It would be easy to do. He had options. He could tell the police, or he could tell any one of the teachers at school tomorrow. He had options...

So he wasn’t sure why he didn’t tell anyone, but at first he didn’t go back either. He had stayed away for a few days, trying to determine what he should do with the information and ultimately he had decided to sit in his seat at the bar, drink his water, talk to his friends, and write down his analysis. 

“You’re taking this better than I expected,” Kurogiri-san acknowledged. 

“What did you expect?” Izuku asked him in return.

“I thought you’d have some reaction to us being the ones who attacked your school.”

Izuku sipped at his water with a shrug. “I’ve known for a while,” he admitted. “I figured it out myself a while ago.”

“It didn’t bother you?”

“It did... but-but you guys are my friends, right?”

Toga-san had leaned forward with a smile, “Course!” v

Friendship came with the others growing comfortable with him, and as the walls came down between them they began to be open with their planning. It was strange, he would go to school all day and learn about how to manage and support pro heroes, and afterwards he’d come here to the bar and he’d hang out and pretend he couldn’t hear as they plotted their next moves. Sometimes he’d simply pretend not to listen at all, but he could always hear. And yet when the words were spoken to him he thought he had misheard. 

“W-what?”

“I asked,” Shigaraki-san started slowly. “Do you want a quirk?”

~~~~

“All men are not created equal” - Midoriya Izuku

One - Two

[ziracona]

i hunger,,,,, pls feed me the post entity headcanons i need more of my happy kids

Heck yeah Anon!

Laurie ends up studying from home a lot, so she can stay with Michael, and teach him, but she enjoys it. Michael is smart, and he’s a quick learner in general. Laurie’s a good teacher, because her brother gets frustrated easily, and she’s great at navigating around that so he won’t quit whatever she’s trying to help him learn. It’s hard for Laurie at first, emotionally, to be walking her brother through reading elementary school age kids books, because it’s so unfair he wasn’t given an education, but after a little while, she gets used to it, and enjoys working with him a lot more than is made sad by it. She’s very proud of him for getting things, and makes him feel good about his progress. He is proud of himself too.

Dwight is a weenie when it comes to outdoorsy stuff bc he never did it, but after the realm, he’s happy to try out hiking and stuff with Jake, and they really enjoy it. Jake is willing to play games and go on tv show binges with Dwight in return, and they round each other really well. They’re extremely happy. They also are way more social than they thought, because they never had and real friends before (for wildly different reasons) and cannot /stand/ Quentin and Claudette going away to college, and go up to hang out and take them on trips all the time bc they miss them, although Jake tries to keep that low-key and on the dl way more than Dwight does (he’s actually more distressed about his absent friends he didn’t know he needed tho lol).

Quentin and Claudette go to the same college, and Nancy goes to Grad School with them. Philip goes too, to audit, since he never got a complete formal education, growing up during a war, and straight up going from where he is to /taking/ courses would be stressful. He takes all of Claudette’s classes w her and she walks him through stuff and is teaching him abt plants. The four of them share an appartment close to campus & enjoy it a lot. Nancy and Claudette share an interest (canon to both) in entomology, and love talking about it.

Meg does end up becoming a PI and working with Tapp, who helps her get certified too. They work missing persons cases for extremely cheap, and try to help people. They’re really poor but really good at it, and David bankrolls the whole squad any time someone looks like they’re in need or maybe would just be happy to see cash. Susie stays with her and supports her through school, and decides to try out a lot of things to kind of find her own way in life. Meg loves her very much and helps her figure herself out. They (and Tapp) stay with Meg’s mom Rachel and Gabriel and his daughter Adrianna (the people she made a deal w who helped her survive her cancer treatment), and get along well. David buys Gabriel and Adrianna a house, bc he’s David, but they live across the street and spend a lot of time all together. Rachel moms Susie very effectively.

Adam’s book is successful. He gets a job teaching again, creative writing this time & literature, and enjoys it. He keeps writing too. Jeff, Kate, Ace, and David are his volunteer beta group and do book club over his new chapters and he loves them so much he has cried about it at least twice. Ace and Adam honor their idea to have people all get together at least twice a year for cool trips. In all honesty, they’re kind of all constantly with each other, just rotating from house to house, but biannually they go somewhere new, or out of the country and new to some of them. Min gets to take Nea to China and shows her favorite spots, and shows Quentin shrines, which she’d really wanted to do. They go to China four years after escaping, at which point Anna is rehabilitated, so she gets to go too.

Anna stays with Min, Ace, and Nea most of the time while Quentin is in college, once she’s deemed no longer a threat and is okay to be out in society. It’s very hard for her, because the world is so different, but her kids are FIERCECLY protective, and make her life really good in spite of all the things that should make it impossible. She and Alan have a really weird relationship, because he’s Quentin’s dad and she’s his weird feralish kidnap/adoptive mom, but after an initially weird phase, they get along pretty well, and Anna spends a good deal of time there too, and at the Cabin in Indiana (which officially becomes Jake, Dwight, and Adam’s place of residence, but is also more or less home to everyone forever). Alan has a hard time figuring her out, because she’s so weird and it’s surreal, but she really loves his kid and after seeing them interact enough and how protective and loving she is, he decides he likes her. He tries to go out of his way to be nice to her and make her feel wanted and welcome and like she fits in. Anna likes him too, although she takes a /long/ time to get used to the concept of a Dad entirely. It actually helps her broach a lot of her lingering distaste for men. Eventually he’s someone she looks forward to seeing, and will bring gifts she makes to, along with her kids and their friends.

[natsspammityspamspamham]

Dino Watches Anime (Oct 26)

Recently Completed!

Tokyo Godfathers

Score: 10/10

There’s a reason why I gave this such a rare high rating. When I was watching it, I was internally like, “*excitement noises* I have not been this excited over an anime in such a long time, let alone for an anime movie. EVERYONE SHUT UP SO I CAN WATCH THIS EVEN IF I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY’RE SAYING.”

It’s not often that you come across really good movies, let alone masterpieces like this movie. The art is so good, the story made me feel like it was Christmas in October, and the characters really made me connect. 

I know the subtitles used a whole lot of gay slurs and things like that, but Hana (the trans character in this tale) is treated well if we get past that huge hurdle. She truly owns up to herself. She doesn’t care what she’s called. She gets mad at people who misgender her. She gets mad if she’s forced to go to a men’s facility. She wants people to call her “an old hag” rather than “an old coot”. She just wants to be a mother even if she isn’t “biologically a woman” who can bear children. So when she comes across this kid, she thinks, “I will finally be a mother!” These are issues that real people face. These are issues that cisgendered people take for granted.

Madhouse really knocked it out of the park. Satoshi Kon is one of the biggest creators and directors in anime history. He’s known for horror and psychological works like Perfect Blue, Paprika, and Millennium Actress. I never expected him to be this good at making a movie that could move my soul like this. The characters were so far from perfect, yet I wanted the best for each of them. The way it handled everything was masterful. The dialogue worked so well and was witty, the voice actors (despite the main three not being in anything else for the most part) were so good at giving life to their characters, and the art blew me away in 2019 even though this was released in 2003. The only thing I didn’t quite like as much was the score during some parts of the movie, but it was subjectively good and just wasn’t to my taste (the Noragami soundtrack wasn’t a fav of mine either). 

Just... watch the movie. If you can watch it around Christmas. It’s good for you.

Saiunkoku Monogatari

Score: 7.4/10 

Yes, I binge-watched all 39 episodes in two days, what’s it to ya?! In reality, I just boosted the speed of the video.

Me throughout this show: Why do you all have triangle heads? What’s with that?

Okay, it’s the art style, and a lot of shoujo anime go with the concept that it looks good. Once you get over the art hurdle making me believe this was created in the early 2000s despite it being 3 years younger than Tokyo Godfathers, this turns out to be a really nice show. I just can’t believe they’re BOTH from Madhouse. 

Remember Snow White with the Red Hair? Remember Akatsuki no Yona? If you liked those shows, you’re going to like this one... except it relies more on the political plot. It’s mostly about a woman wanting to pursue her dreams of being a politician in a male-dominated world. She’s entasked with helping this mess of a king to get his act together, and as much as I can try to prove that it’s surprisingly progressive (given the art and genre), I think that’d be spoiling it a little. The only character that actually bothered me was the prince who was voiced by Tomokazu Seki who honestly was a bit annoying and sounded so fake for me. However, this anime made me appreciate Hikaru Midorikawa’s voice as well as Houko Kuwashima who I’ve only heard voicing dead moms and only a few good characters here and there. Seriously, both of their voices are great. Toshiyuki Morikawa sounds good too, but we already knew that. I don’t like the OP or ED (or a whole lot of the music), but that’s the case for a lot of these 2005-era anime. Just like a lot of the anime on MAL, I do think this is an underrated show, but it does have its pitfalls if you’re just craving for a quick shoujo without any politics.

Full Metal Panic: Second Raid

Score: 7/10

I binge-watched this entire season while my parents were out for dinner and something else. It only took me a couple of hours because I boosted the speed.

I wanted to get a gif specifically from this season, so this one will have to do. So much wasted potential will this character (who’s one of two twins). I know they were trying to play the whole “twincest” thing, but I’m personally not a fan. They provided some cool fight scenes even at a certain cringe cost. The fact that Kyoto Animation animated this bumped the art from a 3 to an 8. It’s crazy how much the quality jumped after a new studio took over. Unfortunately, they didn’t take care of the next season. I know the main ship in the series is pretty clear, but this season made it closer to canon (too bad it took around 13 years to make the next season).

Kara no Kyoukai (movies: 5, 6, 7)

Score:  Part Five: 7.5/10 Part Six: 5.8/10 Part Seven: 8.2/10

Not gonna lie, I watched the first four movies over a year ago and retained nothing. I had to read the Wikia to assist me and to begin with, I watched this to get into the “Type-Moon” universe (which consists of this and the Fate nonsense stuff), Yuki Kajiura’s score, and Maaya Sakamoto and Kenichi Suzumura voicing a couple. The score would probably change if I’d watched them regularly, but I digress because I watched movies 5-7 in one afternoon. Ufotable was pretty good at animating this and the voice acting worked really well. Yuki Kajiura’s music didn’t hit well at first when I was first watching the first few movies over a year ago because it wasn’t what I envisioned the score being, but once you get into the mood and mindset, it adds so much to the story. Although, I still really didn’t like part six. I thought it was a complete flop because I just want to get rid of anyone who believes i*cest is an okay thing. This isn’t Alabama. Go home. Not else to say here because this took so much commitment that I doubt anyone would watch it.

Paranoia Agent

Score: 8.6/10

With spoopy month coming to a close (already?!) I watched this anime earlier this month, but I forgot to write about it. That’s partly because there’s so much to unpack here. This was a thriller, psychological, horror anime by Satoshi Kon. That’s right, the first anime above was also done with him in the director’s seat. This anime was smart. There’s a reason why Robin Williams likes it! It was scary in the best of ways. It revealed a part of society that we see all the time but don’t talk about (especially in Japanese society where emotions are better kept concealed). Just the opening alone made me feel uneasy. The OP and ED were simplistic yet worked. I binge-watched the whole series because it was that gripping. 

It was a little confusing at times, but that’s also because that’s just a common thing with horror anime. That suspense keeps us going. It keeps us on the edge of our seats. Who’s going to be the next victim of Shounen Bat? Episode 8 came out of nowhere for me, and I liked it. There were several scenes that sent shivers down my spine in the best way possible. It isn’t always “scary”, but it gives suspense.

Aoi Bungaku

This one is going to be reviewed a little differently. Since it has specific arcs, I’m going to review them as such!

Ningen Shikkaku: 8.2/10

We start off with a bang. Osamu Dazai was a man of suffering. This story really shows that. In this story, we see a man who’s desperate to know what makes him human. We see this through the eyes of a fictional character, but I personally view this as a semi-autobiography.

The art was chilling. The voice acting from Masato Sakai was surprisingly good. A lot of the time, voice acting from live-action actors just aren’t that great. Every time you think this character will get back on his feet, he falls deeper and deeper. It truly did make me wonder what made me human.

Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita: 3.9/10

That moment when the only thing that saves this arc is Nana Mizuki’s singing. Seriously, her jazz songs were awesome. Can’t say that about the rest. I mean, the art is good, but it’s Madhouse so most of their stuff is already good. The story wasn’t that original. Mind you, this was probably during a period where foreign influence was strong, and I haven’t read the original story, but... this is basically Salome (the opera) with some differences. Both have a crazy woman with a fixation over lifeless decapitated heads. Both have men that are captivated with her beauty so they give her what she wants because of that reason alone, they both murder religious people (monk/shrine maiden and a prophet), and both eventually realize that women can be crazy when they demand a lifeless head because you know, that’s just a red flag. Above all, it suffers from tonal shifts. You can’t have a woman turning moe then demand you bring her another head to play with. You can’t have Masato Sakai playing another main character that doesn’t fit him! Seriously, he doesn’t have the voice of a brute and just couldn’t do it. Overall, this arc was a mess, and I’m glad it was one of the shorter ones.

Kokoro: 7.6/10

This looked like a masterpiece compared to the last arc. I haven’t read Kokoro, but this made me go, “Huh, I don’t remember this happening.” That’s because they chose a certain part of the book (near the end apparently) and just went off that and created its own anime-original episode. Despite that, it was pretty good! There were some screaming discrepancies which did hurt its impression (because it made it feel out of place to the point where even I, as an uneducated anime viewer, could clearly see).

(I think this is from Kokoro but I might be wrong)

Hashire, Melos!: 8.9/10

Would you look at that? It’s the best arc of the series. Hashire, Melos was great. It had me going from beginning to end, and it’s the only arc that doesn’t have Masato Sakai playing the lead character. The art, the pacing, the storytelling, the story, the sound, the voice acting, and the art direction complemented each other so well. It made me far more interested in the original. 

The Spider’s Thread: 6.6/10

If you look really close, you’ll notice that the creator of Bleach took over character design for this! It was okay. I found that it was a little cliche and lacklustre. Mamo is around so much that you probably have to do more than that to keep my attention, and this had the art going for it too. It just wasn’t that interesting. A heartless murderer is sent to hell after being executed. Moral of the story: Don’t be an asshole. Alright. Nice. I do understand that Ryuunosuke Akutagawa was one of the main establishers of the whole “Japanese Short Story” thing, but after seeing it so many times, I just didn’t get that same chill.

Hell Screen: 6.9/10 

Another Akutagawa short story! This one had far more of an impact because this one hit closer to Akutagawa’s heart. Knowing the history of this piece of writing, you can see his desperation to stay relevant and true to his craft. It’s about a painter who wants to paint the town but finds out the city isn’t the bright light he sees in his mind. Everything goes ablaze. The art for this is stunning. I probably would’ve enjoyed this story more if it was placed in the middle of the series run rather than being the last story. 

Recently Started

Africa no Salaryman

The animation for this is terrible. There is no way around it. However, at least it’s funny. Still, close to being on the chopping block. It has the papa lion who’s played by Akio Ohtsuka, the straight-man middle lizard played by Kenjirou Tsuda, and the scumbag toucan played by Hiro Shimono. Yes, they all play Hero Academia villains. The jokes are pretty good for me.

Given

Oh, would you look at that? It’s a music anime. *inhales* Music anime is a double-edged sword for me. I like having music interpreted and portrayed through one of my favourite mediums, but I don’t like them playing off music as some sort of easy gimmick and a joke. It’s like a shonen montage. “Let’s just have this guy train for two minutes and become a demigod”. But when you put an instrument into someone’s hand and demand the same, it sends me to another plane of angriness.  So far, the romance is kind of cute... but Mafuyu kind of annoys me since his role in the BL dynamic is so clear just by his voice. Same with Uchida. You can only play so many thugs a season. Kyou? Good. Chika? Good. This guy? Good, but don’t do them all back-to-back! I don’t like the BL dynamic being so basic. However, my mind can be changed if done right.

Shinsekai Yori

Very interesting premise, their eyes are cute, and I’m a sucker for these so I’m gonna stick with it.

[onstarsandiron]

The timeline, as near as I could assemble it, with a little conjecture by me. I centered it around Coronation Day, aka the Holy Convergence, aka the 1,000th anniversary of the Iron Kingdom, so anything before that is BCD, anything after that is ACD. Details under the cut.

1,000 BCD:

Solani Ark crashes into what will become Zenteli, pursued by The Great Dark

Goddess bears a daughter of light that fights back The Great Dark

Goddess creates the Iron Kingdom, and from her heart the Iron Crown is carved; Ironbloods claim they can trace their lineage back to her court

The Goddess dies and is buried in her tomb with The Great Dark’s heart

The Cantos is written and the first shrine of the Moon Goddess is erected on Luna

25-20 BCD

The Plague -- The Plague is always stated as being “Twenty years ago” but plagues take time to first become plagues and then cause problems and then be eradicated. With the complication of having to develop and manufacture Metals before they could treat the plague well, I’ve given it a cautious life-time of five years, with it having officially ended twenty years from Coronation Day

In the scene with Nich, Mercer, Di, Selena, and Mari are at the Tomb of the Goddess, Mercer says he can’t call Cynthia because the Tomb has been off limits since the plague started, meaning that they were still going to the Academy during the plague. I propose that Mercer, Di, Nich, and Mari were all the equivalent of seniors and this was their last year, as it would be reasonable for Di to go off to try and help the plague after he’d finished at the Academy. That puts all of them around 16/17, since that’s the age Robb was when he was supposed to graduate. 

Once Di contracts the plague, Malifare takes advantage of his and his father’s desperation and becomes one of the first Metals, and, if the reports Ana found in the lab were correct, the first fully successful Metal, aside from previous-life memories. 

I also propose that it is sometime during this that Mari’s mother is murdered -- Erik mentions, when Robb dons the Aragon crest, that, “The old dame was murdered and her daughter went missing.” (SoS, V: Stardust, Robb) -- and Captain Siege is born. This would coincide with much of the Aragon family suffering and dying from the plague; the Aragon family is noted as magnanimous, and they may have opened themselves to risk in an attempt to support the poor, though that’s just my personal headcannon. Di also asks Malifare, when they first met, if she’s there because of Mari, which may have something to do with it, but what, I do not know. 

18 BCD 

Jax is born 

17 BCD

Ana is born and lauded as the goddess born anew

Robb is born -- his 17th birthday was the day Jax got de-lit (:

10 BCD

Jax runs away from Zenteli

10-8 BCD

Somewhere in here Siege and Talle adopt hire Jax after he pick-pockets Siege in Nevaeh

7 BCD

The Revolution

Rasovant asks Nicholii to approve HIVEing Metals; when Nicholii denies him he, in a fit of rage, kills him. 

Mercer finds Nicholii’s body and calls for guards

Malifare burns down the North Tower with the whole Royal Family inside

Mercer gives Ana to D09 -- Nicholii’s personal metal, according to Machivalle -- and Ana receives burns from his heated chassis. They escape in the Tsarina

Mercer sends out one message to his wife, informing her of what had happened and of the location of the heart. Cynthia would later go and take it from the tomb, storing it instead in the hands of the Goddess statue in Nevaeh

The Tsarina is infested with the HIVE too, though, with weird memory core-less Metals. Mercer manages to get the ship all the way to Palavar -- I propose he does this to disable the ship full of dangerous robots for the greater good -- getting shot in the process. As his last act, he gives Ana his family’s symbol and sends her and Di off in an escape pod

An undisclosed time later -- it could have been weeks depending on how well-stocked the escape pod was -- Siege finds the 10-year-old and Di floating in dead space between Cerces and Iliad; Di tells her who they are and then asks that his memory be erased -- Mercer’s instructions. Siege does erase Di’s memories, this being the cause of Di’s later glitches, but she doesn’t drop them at a weigh-station like Di asked, hoping that she could be able to keep Ana safe

7 Years - 7 Days BCD

Ana, Jax, and Di have life-threatening Shenanigans aboard the Dossier; everything after this is just a summary of the books

7-6 Days BCD

Di and Ana in the shrine -- job goes south

They follow Robb up to Astoria, that goes south and Robb gets shot and half-kidnapped 

2-hours towards Palavar Robb’s chip is activated

Palavar happens, killing Bergar and disabling Di; The Kiss happens and Jax knows how Robb will die; Robb finds what will become Di’s new body

~2-4 hours after Palavar, while Robb is in the middle of experimentally trying to upload Di, the Dossier is so very politely hailed via missile by the Catarina

Cynthia kills Wick, Ana and Jax are taken onto the Caterina, Robb feels really, really bad about it all

Di wakes up and he and the captain free the Dossier

Once at the Iron Palace, Robb reveals Ana as the princess

5-2 days BCD

Jax is Cynthia’s prisoner, Robb promises on Stars and Iron to save him

Ana has to get lessons, and hates every second of it. Tries to get information out of everyone but only has some luck with Machivalle

The Dossier works on their own plan

1 Day BCD

Pre-coronation gala!

Robb and Ana make their appearance; Robb soon leaves to go get Jax -- not that he has a way out of the palace, mind you

Ana meets Wynn and gets an important note from Machivalle; Ana and Di dance; Ana runs off when she realizes Di is “Rasovant’s Metal”

Di runs off, finds Rasovant’s office, steals his own old guard uniform, starts having memories that are not D09′s

Robb bumps into Di in the Hallway, E0S brings trouble around and they split up, agreeing to meet in like 3 1/2 hours at the docks

Jax reads Cynthia’s stars in exchange for Cynthia promising on Stars and Iron to protect Robb -- this changes Robb’s stars

Ana is lured into the North Tower to be killed, finds Rasovant’s secret office and the truth behind Metals and the HIVE, Di comes and saves her

Robb rescues Jax, puts a vox collar on his brother

Ana and Di make out before Ana sends Di on his way so he can be safe

Malifare captures Di, he is not safe; Di gives instructions to E0S

Robb sends Jax off, decries the Valerio name

Di realizes he’s Dmitri, is promptly HIVEd

Coronation Day

Bad things happen. The following people die: Lady Valerio, Rasovant (Ana did that one), Riggs, the Grand Duchess, a couple other Ironblood guests, all human guards. Viera might also have died here, or she might have been kept alive long enough to be turned into a Metal later; I’m unclear on the Metaling process. Di stabs Ana. Robb loses and arm.

0-6 months ACD

Shrines are burned as Malifare searches for her heart

Siege and her fleet set up refugee camps for Metals

Ana recovers from her near-fatal wound

Robb and Jax are dating

5 Months ACD

Robb gets his robo arm

6 Months ACD

Ana meets Elara and Xu in Neon City

Ana is captured

Elara, Xu, Jax, and Robb go to save Ana; Jax and Robb split up and Jax recognizes the dreadnaught from Robb’s stars and knows he will die here

Ana is saved by E0S, runs into “Viera”, then Robb

E0S’s instructions from Di activate, and he leaves Ana to go to the bridge where Jax is

Jax and Di -- as a Messier -- fight; E0S/Di changes Jax’s stars and injects some code into Di

As Jax gets spaced Di instinctively tries to save him and accidentally touches bare skin, forcing Jax to read the stars of everyone consumed by The Great Dark, which drains his light in an instant

Ana and Robb get Jax to the Dossier and put him on life support

Siege sets course to Zenteli so Jax can die there

Very warm reception at Zenteli. Truly hospitable. Jax’s mom slaps Siege

Viera goes off and burns the Zenteli shrine

Jax has his star-induced vision of Di and Malifare in the plague ward

Elara takes Ana and Robb down to the ark where they meet Koren Vey, who gives them the coordinates to the Goddess’ Tomb as well as saying some cryptic stuff

Di is experiencing “glitches” from what E0S gave him, reveals himself to Erik, accidentally so to Wynn

Siege gets Jax and she and Talle come to rescue Ana, Robb, and Elara

Jax accepts Koren Vey’s light, collapses into Robb’s arms; he glows now. 

Siege, Talle, Robb, and Jax are taken back to the spire by the solgard while Ana and Elara evade them

Ana and Elara split, Ana to go to the Goddess’ Tomb and Elara to fetch Jax and the others

Lenda sends Ana off, she also bumps into Viera, through whom the HIVE now knows where Ana’s going

Elara fetches Jax, Jax’s mom helps him break everyone out

Robb and Elara break off to go after “Resonance”, the Dossier goes after Ana to the tomb

Ana arrives at the tomb, is followed by Di and Malifare. In the tomb she finds that the heart isn’t there, then blows them all up. Di finally breaks free of the HIVE.

The Dossier lands and takes Ana and Di; Malifare is nowhere to be seen 

Robb and Elara arrive at the Valerio estate and he fights Erik over the Resonance file, which reveals that Cynthia funded all of Rasovant’s research and herself found the heart first, as well as the heart’s current hiding place

The meeting at Havens Grave happens

Ana and Di get to talk

Robb tells Jax he loves him and they make out

A plan of action is solidified 

Robb and Di crash Erik’s party

Ana, Siege, and Talle go after the heart, Ana going into the shrine and Siege and Talle keeping watch

Malifare plunges Astoria out of the sky and takes off with Viera, now revealed as a Metal

Di saves Astoria, gets stabbed in the back by Erik for his troubles

Erik, unrelatedly and against the genuine attempt to save him by Robb, dies

Jax takes Robb and Di to the shrine

Ana gets the heart

Final battle: Ana and Di vs Malifare in the shrine; Dossier vs Messiers in the plaza

Siege finally takes Malifare out and Di destroys the HIVE

6 Months and Like 2-4 Week ACD

Ana is installed as Empress, introduces a wide range of new voices to the Iron Counsel

Jax accepts his role as C’zar, enjoys being a thorn in the Counsel of Elder’s side

Siege and Talle head off to hide the heart

Di says goodbye to Ana

Ana makes her speech at Erik’s funeral, runs off quickly after

Di doesn’t actually go and he and Ana kiss and everything is super sweet and nice, The End

[docholligay]

DO WE WANT 2,200 WORDS ON REI’S PERSONAL GROWTH IN EPISODE 23 GOD I HOPE SO

So one of the things that comes up over the course of these four episodes is Rei and her personal growth as manifested through her Senshi power. This also comes up in earlier episodes, so I’ll be drawing from them a little bit, too. (Also Minako being a manipulative troll) 

Rei is a pretty standoffish and grumpy member of the Senshi, and I really love that PGSM gives her the space to be that. She’s been working on a lot of this youma stuff alone, because that’s how Rei is used to doing things: Alone. She’s spent most of her life alone, and life has taught her that to rely on anyone is a mistake. It takes time to unlearn that, and I really appreciate that PGSM allows her the time for that. 

Usagi powered up in the last episode by learning the shocking truth that she can be really fucking selfish and self-centered, and I love that it works as an aspect of her power but not Ami’s evil, because apologizing is one thing, but that doens’t make everything right, right away. Why should it? And so we have the genius of “Fuck your friendship mittens” even though USagi’s power-up magically heals the mittens as well just to remind us all that we are in a Sailor Moon joint ANYWAY, this is about Rei, and how Rei needs to grow. 

Rei’s problems aren’t are the same as Usagi’s and it’s a mark of the quality of PGSM that it allows each of the girls to go through their own growth in order to power-up. It’s not just a leveling up, it's a better understanding of how to be a team member, the ways in which each of them can greater contribute to the whole. It’s an important part of teamwork that I think gets glossed over oftentimes, that to really be in harmony with each other we have to change the ways we’ve done things. If you do this portrayed in media, it’s generally only in a romantic setting. The idea of a group of magical girls having to grow and change to fit each other isn’t that common. 

Admittedly the title of this episode is a little fucking crackers, even more so when you consider that it is in fact literally what happens here: Rei sings to get her power-up. That’s nuts. That’s wild. Why am I holding this up as a paragon of character development?  Because, as with all crackers things that actually work, it’s not about Rei singing at all. It’s about her learning important object lessons that the leader of the senshi has to convey through on the ground knowledge, because Rei won’t fucking listen to a thing she says. 

(It’s actually hilarious how little the senshi listen to her given that they think she’s the actual fucking princess. Rei wouldn’t go after the youma, Usagi wouldn’t fight Ami, like I need PGSM background that’s just Mina swearing about how SHE IS LITERALLY THEIR SUPERIOR WHY DID I EVEN BOTHER WITH THE TOY R US CROWN IF THIS IS WHAT I’M GETTING) 

And admittedly, this first lesson I’m about to point out is the less important one, but it is the more hilarious one: Mina told Rei to leave her the fuck alone and she won’t. The fun way of thinking about this is that Mina knows Rei has feelings for her even if Rei doesn’t quite know that yet because our darling and beloved Rei hino is a little bit of a repressed sunflower. Mina knew that Rei would, in no way, listen to Mina or keep her promise to leave Mina alone and stop following her. Mina knows a dumb lesbian when she sees one, and she can see the writing on the wall, but if at least for this moment, she can teach her: Fucking listen to me. 

Now the less fun way (for most of us, but not for my evil ass) is to remember that MINA IS GOING TO DIE. She knows this. No one else knows this. Mina has a vested interest in getting everyone’s shit together before she fucking dies, and has no interest in anyone’s pity. For all she knew Rei was never going to listen to her, no way no how, there has to be a small part of her that hoped Rei would. Because Rei getting closer to her is a mistake, no matter how much Rei wants it. Mina is distant for a reason. There’s no benefit in letting anyone get close to her when she knows that her Narratively Convenient Illness is going to claim her sooner rather than later, and I admit that I LOVE THIS SHIT. People covering up their illnesses to try to spare those around them is a trope I fucking feast upon like a fat Roman emperor with a grape. However annoyed I get with the conclusion to this whole fiasco, AND I DO, I love that I got a little bit of this delicious angst. 

That isn’t to say that MIna really spends a lot of time beating around the motherfucking bush

The absolute shade that she has going on here, the way she says “that sure surprised me” and Rei of course takes it personally from Mina in a way that I’m not sure I think she would from anyone else, because she respects Mina in a way she doesn’t anyone els eon beyond her being “the princess” A lot of people wonder where I get this idea about Mina being the leader and specifically Rei being the second in command, and it’s pretty much here in PGSM that all of that arises from, although given my general feelings on Rei I admit it may have come of its own accord eventually. 

Rei takes that role as leader so seriously, and she feels in her heart that’s why she’s a fuckup, because fucking USAGI powered up before her, before any of them, and how is she meant to be leader, when she’s failing so hard? Her immediate lead in for Rei is that Mina will think her shameful, that she should say Rei is shameful, and you know what? Mina fucking does it, ebcause she does not have time for this shit and she is not here pat heads and make everyone feel better. She’s working on a tight timeline, and I LOVE that she doesn’t hesitate before saying “Yes, I was going to say that you’re shameful, actually.” And then she points tot he fact that awakening is a problem of the heart (which is what we’re going to get into with what she needs to learn) and without telling her what she’s lacking as leader, simply tells her that, she is lacking. 

Mina’s not going to leave her to twist in the wind here, even if it feels like it--her grand plan for Rei Hino with all of this is coming down the hallway just shortly--but I like that she doesn’t spoonfeed the answer of “You can’t do all this shit alone (she said, doing everything alone, Mina you hypocrite) and you have to learn to ask for help. That’s how you become leader” because Rei wouldn’t learn anything from that. Rei reacts to asking for help like a cat to a fucking spray bottle. She wants nothing to do with it, and while, yes, this is a bit of goofy way to cast the idea she can trust her team and ask them for help, I think it still manages to be effective. 

AND THERE IT IS, HER MASTER PLAN. This is particularly hilarious given the fact that we know Rei fucking hates karaoke, and so maybe that particular aspect of it isn’t exactly for Rei’s edification so much as MIna’s amusement, but there we are. 

AHAHHAHAAH oh Mina how I fucking adore you. 

Anyway, Rei goes to go sulk in the batcave over Mina’s challenge, is beleagured and thrown to the ground in a definitely unnecessary and highly dramatic sense, and then, the worst thing that could ever happen, happens. SHE IS FORCED TO ASK FOR HELP. 

I want to give full credit to the actress who plays Rei here, because she makes the absolute awkwardness of this, the way this is like pulling teeth for Rei, so clear. This is the Fareeha Amari experience of asking for help. Usagi is the only person she knows that can help her with this, because I feel like mad karaoke skills don’t necessarily get a lot of play over at the shrine, and you can tell this is just killing her. She never expected to have to ask this kind of help from anyone, let alone Usagi, who is immediately thrilled and runs to her aid. (It must also be noted that Rei stays in this exact dramatic position on the floor until Usagi gets there, Rei, my god, please, you lesbian bowl of porridge, Mina is not wrong and you desperately need to pull it together) 

Even when Usagi gets there, her body language is so stilted and uncomfortable, this is so foreign and almost frightening to her, which was pretty much exactly Mina’s point: It’s easy for Rei to fight, easy for her to curse, but it isn’t easy for her to put herself in a place of vulnerability, in a place where someone can say no or otherwise reject her, leave her out on her own, which we all know Usaig as no intention of doing, which was also, I think, why Mina chose this exact mode of torment. She’s setting Rei up for success. 

Rei expects so much of herself at all times, and is so used to being alone in the world, and its really very striking the way she reacts to this entire thing. Rei, you’re singing for children not letting someone die on the battlefield. 

But of course we get around to the day, and Usagi gives her what I think Mina always knew she would, the reassurance that not only would Usaig help her, but that Usagi genuinely wanted to and enjoyed helping her, and also that it brought them together as a team. Usagi knows, really for the first time with Rei, that she’s trusted, that they are doing this together, and it reaches Rei, too, in such a way that we actually see her tear up: 

I’ve thought about this a lot over the times I’ve seen this episode, but I think what I finally land on for Rei and her tears is that sense that she’s been holding back so much aand being so strong for so much of her life, and maybe, just maybe, she doesn’t actually have to be literally all of the time. Maybe she’s allowed to get help, and to face things with people who care about her, and this is something she’s been able to do on the battlefield, but really not translate into her real life, and here Usagi and Mina have really woked ina  tandem that Usagi didn’t even know was happening to show Rei that her life is not just her own, and that she matters and that when you have a real team, help is expected. 

And then rei sings a deeply overserious song for a group of seven year olds but I will get into that in detail next post. 

ANd then that trust is immediately reciprocated by Usagi, who goes to fight the youma on her own and simply mouths to Rei that she will go on ahead and Rei can come afterwards. It isn’t as if Rei has ever particularly been unrelaiable in a fight, but I think given the exchange they just had, there’s definitely a sense of it having greater weight here, where Usagi would be delighted and surprised when Sailor Mars shows up. She knows she can trust her, and Rei knows that she is trusted, and that they are part of a far greater web than she ever assumed was possible in her life. 

And with that, in the battle: 

The deal with PGSM is that there are largely your finest cheapest MS paint special effects, and none of us really care because the senshi are people. BUt even with the finest cheapest effects the emotional impact of this moment really hits. It’s done in slow motion, and you can really see on her face the realization that her power has grown within her, that she has known grown as a person and as a soldier, and there’s this look of competence and of self-assurance that runs through her every movement. It’s just something that was shot and done in a really compelling way, and given that this whole episode has really been devoted to Rei’s growth (with a mamoru B-plot, to extra assure we don’t care about anything else) I’m glad they gave it the emotional gravitas it deserved. 

MIna, as ever, gives her effusive praise, immmediately after saying “But there’s a lot more you have to do.” this inclusion is only for me to profess my love for her and that’s all I’m sorry. And also for Rei to finally get what I’ve taken over 2,000 words to say. 

And then the most perfect ending to an episode ever, Rei re-asserting that she is still the same grumpy gus, and just because she trusts Usagi doesn’t mean she’s going to put up with the horseshit Usagi loves. THERE IS TRUST BUT NEVER KARAOKE >:( 

[daresplaining]

Blindspot: Empowering Invisibility

    I’ve been writing posts reflecting back on my favorite parts of Charles Soule’s Daredevil run... and hey, I almost got through all of them before the new run started! The final topic I wanted to cover is Sam Chung/Blindspot, who-- alongside Real Boy Mike Murdock-- is the most significant new character Soule created during his time on the comic.

    Sam has come a long way for a guy everyone thought was Gambit when his image was first released. With his introduction, he became Matt’s first official, long-term “apprentice” and a compelling addition to the ranks of Marvel’s young, up-and-coming superheroes. I’d always wanted to see how Matt would handle a sidekick, so I was very excited about this, and while I think Sam’s story was not as strong as it could have been, I am eager for him to return to further cement his role within the Daredevil universe and beyond.

    Matt has acted as a mentor in the past (most notably to Angela Del Toro, the second White Tiger, during Bendis’s run), but Sam is the closest he has ever come to having an actual sidekick. Thus, his new working relationship with Sam puts him in a fun new role: passing on what he has learned as a superhero, and testing his abilities as a teacher. 

Sam: “Whoa, hold on now... what are you--”

Matt: “And suddenly, everyone can see you. What do you do now, Blindspot? You need to be the weapon-- not some gadget.”

Sam: “I dunno. Iron Man seems to do okay.”

Matt: “You could drop Tony Stark naked in the middle of the desert and he’d fly out in a jet made of sand and cactus needles. It’s not his stuff that gives him power. It’s his brain. Try using yours. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.”

Daredevil vol. 5 #2 by Charles Soule, Ron Garney, and Matt Milla

    Soule’s run, overall, suffers from a lack of emotion. It is all plot, no character, and this weakens the development of Matt and Sam’s relationship. Beyond a touching glimpse of their initial first encounter in All-New, All-Different Point One (Sam’s introductory issue), we don’t get to see much of their developing dynamic. The run jumps right in after they have already started working together, and that’s mostly the context in which we see them-- work. We don’t get any real bonding scenes. We don’t get to see Matt decide to train Sam (which must have been a huge decision-- Matt would have been hesitant to take on that responsibility, especially since he’d just tightened up his secret identity again) or the early negotiating of their relationship. Sam later comes to see Matt as a father figure, which should be very powerful, but the only way we know that is because he comes out and says it, because of the shortage of actual parent/child-type moments between them. 

    That said, there is a lot to enjoy in their dynamic. Matt and Sam are very similar people, and this makes them great foils for each other. Like Matt, Sam is stubborn, smart, and often reckless. He has an attitude, as well as a huge amount of compassion and a desire to help others. He also has a lot of secrets (neither knows the other’s civilian identity for a significant amount of time, which contributes to the emotional distance mentioned above, but is also completely in-character.)  And Sam and Matt work well as a team and develop a lot of respect for each other. Matt is a tough but fair teacher, and he sees himself in Sam.  

Sam: “Well, I finally got the cast off my arm.”

Matt (caption): “Right. The cast for the arm Elektra broke when I introduced her to you in a fit of utter idiocy.”

Sam: “Thought I might get a workout in. It’s been a while.”

Matt (caption): “A workout. He means he’s going out on patrol as Blindspot. I get it. The hero game’s addictive. It’s hard to stay away for too long. God knows I’ve rushed back out before I was ready a hundred times. [...] He’s not listening to a word I say. Then again, when I was in his place, training with Stick... I didn’t listen much either. I heard... everything. But I didn’t like to listen. Oh, well.”

Daredevil vol. 5 #10 by Charles Soule, Ron Garney, and Matt Milla

    The similarities don’t end there. Like Matt, Sam grew up in a low-income single-parent household, and has close ties to a particular Manhattan neighborhood (in his case, Chinatown). But his situation is made even more challenging by the fact that he is an undocumented immigrant, and this distinction between Matt’s experience and Sam’s is actually really interesting. Matt fully sympathizes with Sam, but there is a disconnect that highlights the additional challenges in Sam’s life that impact his budding superhero career. 

Matt: “Wait. I didn’t realize... you’re hurt.”

Sam: “Yeah. One of them got me. Stings like hell.”

Matt: “You need to go to the hospital.”

Sam: “Sure thing. You remember when I told you I don’t have papers, which means I can’t get a real job, which means I can’t get insurance? So, you got a spare twenty grand you can loan me for an E.R. visit, I’ll head right over. Otherwise, it’s band-aids and Advil.”

Daredevil vol. 5 #3 by Charles Soule, Ron Garney, and Matt Milla 

Sam: “I’ve been working on this suit since I was twelve. It was supposed to be my big break. My ticket out. Until I found out how expensive it was to file a patent. How easy it is to steal inventions from illegal immigrants doing their best to stay off the radar so they don’t get deported. I invented a miracle-- a damn invisibility suit-- and now I have to spend half my pay on batteries just to keep the thing running. How the hell do the other guys do it?”

All-New, All-Different Marvel Point One, “Blindspot” by Charles Soule, Ron Garney, and Matt Milla

    This is what makes Sam extra compelling and unique among the ranks of Marvel’s heroes. As an undocumented immigrant, he is in constant danger. Drawing attention to himself is really risky, because if something goes wrong and the police find out who he is, he could lose everything. The precariousness of his life makes his actions as a superhero, his willingness to put himself into the spotlight and take those risks, all the more admirable. It’s also symbolic that the invention that prompted him to become a superhero is an invisibility suit, because invisibility is a key part of his life. As a non-citizen, he feels like an outsider-- unseen, insignificant. But that invisibility is also a source of protection. The idea of someone in Sam’s position actually weaponizing invisibility, while at the same time making himself visible by became a superhero-- who, by their very nature, are public figures-- is a powerful concept. And of course, there’s symbolism in the fact that Sam is working alongside Matt-- one of the few people who can perceive him while he is invisible. 

    Over the course of the run, we see Sam start to build himself a reputation by becoming a benevolent presence to the people of Chinatown. By working with Matt, he gains the confidence to operate on his own-- which is helped by the fact that Sam is an independent person by both nature and necessity (much like Matt). I love the detail of the shrine in Chinatown where people leave requests for help from Blindspot (“Ghost Brother”). It’s a neat way of depicting Sam’s connection to his neighborhood and his own unique approach to hero work.

Sam: “Okay, let’s see what we got. Wealth, long life, luck... can’t do much about those...”

Daredevil vol. 5 #10 by Charles Soule, Ron Garney, and Matt Milla

    Over the course of the run, we see Sam grapple with many of the key questions of superheroing. Sam, like Matt and many other heroes, started down this path to thanks to his family-- in Sam’s case, to protect his mother and sister. And like all of these heroes, he is compelled to continue out of a sense of compassion. Sam’s struggle to decide whether it is worthwhile or smart to behave selflessly, to put his life on the line for strangers, is addressed with a sense of emotional honesty that makes Sam extra relatable. It’s easy to claim to be heroic, but it’s another thing entirely to put yourself out there and actually behave heroically, and to take on the responsibility of ensuring other people’s survival. 

Sam: “Why did I say that? ‘I’m not letting him kill anyone else.’ Who do I think I am? I just want to impress Daredevil. It sounded like something he would say. Do I really mean it? How far will I actually take this? This guy’s a judge. If he found out I was a vigilante, he’d probably deport me. Why should I die for him? Hell, why should I even fight for him?"

Daredevil vol. 5 #13 by Charles Soule, Ron Garney, and Matt Milla

Man: “How do you know that? Tenfingers said he would save us, and he lied.”

Sam: “Because... I... Because I am one of you. I live in this neighborhood. I know most of you. Your name is Mr. Chen, and you run the bodega on Mott Street. Because Chinatown is my home, and I’m going to keep it safe. Because I am Blindspot. And I am not lying to you. Just... just stay in here. I won’t let anything happen to you. I hope.”

Daredevil vol. 5 #5 by Charles Soule, Ron Garney, and Matt Milla

    Sam’s story is enhanced by the fact that his origin is so challenging. While he is enthusiastic about working with Daredevil and the idea of being a superhero, he quickly acquires a degree of cynicism thanks to the difficulty of his situation. He became a superhero to save his mother, who doesn’t want to be saved. He is filled with doubt about his own abilities. Every time he does something heroic, he suffers for it: he is blinded after trying to rescue Muse’s victims, his mother is killed when he decides to save Matt from the Beast, and his refusal to kill Muse causes the Hand to attack New York City. He is given reason after reason to give it all up, and for a while he seriously considers it. But in the end, he doesn’t. 

Sam: “It’s getting harder for me to tell the difference between something right and something wrong. When you work on this level, trying to be a super hero, life and death... there’s all these consequences. Things just happen. I’m trying to do things I know are right when I can. That’s all I can do. Muse is back. Maybe you saw those paintings he put up all over the city. I’m going to find him, and make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else. I know that’s right. I know it. [...] You’re a good person. Don’t let this city take that away from you.”

Hannah: “Why are you talking like you’ll never see me again, Sam?”

Daredevil vol. 5 #599 by Charles Soule, Ron Garney, and Matt Milla

    Sam’s journey is informed by the three main antagonists he encounters over the course of this run. One is Muse, who I consider to be the first member of Blindspot’s rogues gallery rather than an addition to Daredevil’s (how cool is that?!), one is the Punisher (who he encounters in DD/Punisher: Seventh Circle), and one is Tenfingers-- and by extension, the Hand. All of these challenge Sam’s superhero aspirations and force him to decide what kind of hero he wants to be. I loved Muse and Sam’s dynamic, and found the Hand a bit less compelling. (I really like the Hand, and they can be used well, but they lacked depth in this run.) But they are significant in shaping Sam’s character development, and they also tie into arguably the biggest theme of his origin story: family. 

    Sam wants to take Tenfingers down to save Chinatown-- but more than that, to save his mother. When he is blinded and grows disillusioned with hero work, his mother calls on the Hand to heal him and train him. Sam’s blinding is another weak area of his story. I would have found it more compelling if he had remained blind (this is Daredevil, after all!) rather than being magically healed right away. While having the Beast restore his eyes causes big problems down the road, it still feels like a side-step away from what could have been a much more interesting twist in Sam’s story. I was at least expecting the eyes themselves to cause him problems, since they’re obviously not normal eyes, but they never did. That whole story arc felt underdeveloped, which was disappointing. However! What really matters is that Sam’s time with the Hand challenges him in character-defining ways. They train him and turn him cynical about traditional superhero morality. His mother pays for the Hand’s help by promising her soul to the Beast, and to save her, Sam settles on a morally grey solution: trading her soul for Matt’s.  

Lu Wei: “You are thinking foolish thoughts. I can see them in your eyes. The eyes Daredevil took from you. The eyes I sold my very soul to give you back.”

Sam: “You really want us to just go? To forget every evil thing we did here... and maybe, if we want something bad enough, do it again? Moving through life like sharks, preying on anyone useful? No, Mother. I reject that.”

Lu Wei: “You reject me? I have given you everything, Samuel! My life for you! Every choice I’ve ever made.”

Sam: “I know that, and I love you for it. I always will. It’s like you said... only one thing matters. Family.”

Daredevil vol. 5 #28 by Charles Soule, Ron Garney, and Matt Milla

    Once again, this plot point is weakened by the lack of emotion in this run. We know that Sam’s relationship with his mother is complicated. She is a good person who has become ruthless as a way of protecting herself and her family from all of the difficulties in their life. Sam clearly loves her. But we don’t see enough of this relationship (or, for that matter, Sam’s relationship with his sister Hannah) to make this story as powerful as it should be. Sam is forced to choose between trading Matt for his mother or trying to save both, and despite his new cynicism and all of the pressures in his life-- from both his mother and the Hand-- to become a killer, Sam makes a heroic-yet-futile choice and tries to save both of them. This results in his mother’s death which, in spite of the lack of development mentioned above, is still one of the most powerful moments in the whole run. 

Daredevil vol. 5 #28 by Charles Soule, Ron Garney, and Matt Milla

    This serves as a turning point for Sam that carries over into the rest of the run. Despite everything he has been through and all he has lost, he decides that he still wants to be a compassionate person.

Beast: “You have taken our gifts, Samuel... now, you must repay us. One death. A small thing. Think of how many lives Muse’s death with save. This is a small thing we ask.”

Sam: “No... no...”

Beast: “You want this. You know he will kill you if you do not kill him. You do not want to trade your life for his. Reject us, and we will come for you. You cannot use our power and not expect to pay.”

Sam: “No. I do reject you. I reject death.”

Daredevil vol. 5 #600 by Charles Soule, Ron Garney, and Matt Milla

    While Sam fades out of the story toward the end of the run (he didn’t get to meet Mike!) he plays a major part in battling the Hand when they attack New York. This restores his partnership with Matt, allows him to bring his animosity with both the Hand and Muse to a conclusion, and cements his image in the minds of the citizens of New York. Blindspot officially joins the ranks of Marvel’s superhero community, which-- for an undocumented immigrant who has grown  up feeling displaced and unwanted-- means a lot.

Karnik: “Hey! Beast! My name is Nalini Karnik. I am the Police Commissioner of New York. I serve and protect every last one of its citizens. That includes Sam Chung. He is one of us. You want him... come get him.”

Daredevil vol. 5 #605 by Charles Soule, Mike Henderson, and Matt Milla

    This is hopefully only the beginning of Sam’s story, and I look forward to seeing him again-- both in future Daredevil runs, and ideally also within the wider Marvel universe. 

[ergomaria]

The Past is Gone (but something might be found) - Preview

(Almost nobody reads this blog, so I can post spoiler-y stuff without too much fear. I’m currently working on something that absolutely delights me, even if nobody else will appreciate it.)

The planet had a strong connection to the living Force, so there was a good chance that whatever Alek was sensing belonged to one of the locals. His shuttle’s scanners had revealed several settlements across the vast jungle, indicating that there was at least one sentient species. Perhaps they would have more information about what could have happened to the Hawk’s crew. Drawing a breath, he desperately hoped that his reputation as a tyrant and murderer hadn’t spread here. If it had, he supposed that he could use fear to pry out any information.

Slipping into the dense foliage, Alek kept one hand hovering near his hip where his lightsaber was concealed beneath his cloak. He could feel the comforting thrum of the crystal, a more than generous gift from Vann during a time when the other man owed him absolutely nothing. It served as a strange reminder of who they once were, even if those memories could sometimes be painful. But things could be worse. At least he had memories. Shaking his head, he refocused his attention on the surrounding jungle, sensing that the Force signatures were much closer than before. Apparently, the individuals were on the move and headed towards him. Tensing, he mentally prepared himself for whatever confrontation might occur.

The last thing Alek expected was for a blur of black-and-gray to hit his chest with astounding speed, the sheer inertia enough to knock him down despite his size. His eyes blurred for a moment as the back of his head struck the soil and when his vision returned he thought for sure he was hallucinating.

Sitting on Alek’s chest with his cyan lightsaber drawn was Vann… or at least Vann as he’d been in his late teenage years. Deran, some horribly traitorous part of his mind whispered. The boy couldn’t be older than seventeen or eighteen, his face losing the very last of its childish softness and his limbs graceful yet seemingly too long for his body. By this age, he’d finally grown into his looks and he was undeniably handsome, though in an oddly innocent way. For whatever reason, he was still wearing his spacer clothing even though it was slightly too loose on his leaner frame. The main ‘saber of his adult self was grasped confidently in his right hand, the second hilt still clipped to his belt as he hadn’t mastered Jar-Kai until his twenties.

“See, I told you there was someone here!” Glaring out towards the trees, the teen never lowered his weapon. His voice, and how Alek had missed it, still had the crisper accent of his youth without the Outer Rim drawl that he’d acquired during his time as a mercenary.

It was the sheer shock that kept Alek still and quiet, his brain completely failing to process what his eyes were seeing. Things didn’t get any better as two more figures appeared out of the vegetation, both teenagers of roughly the same age. One was a boy, broad-shouldered but a still a bit too slim for his ridiculous jacket to fit properly. That had to be Onai. Stars, the resemblance to Dustil was actually disturbing. The other figure was much smaller, almost delicate in appearance since she had yet to pack on muscle from frontline fighting and trekking across hostile worlds. Her blue eyes were wide as she half-hid behind the taller teen and his matched set of pistols.

Reaching out his awareness, Alek nearly choked at what he sensed. The two Force signatures that he’d distantly recognized had been Vann and Meetra, or at least how they’d appeared through the Force at this age. The former was still astonishingly bright, though he lacked the chilled cloud of darkness that he’d acquired throughout the Mandalorian Wars. The latter… It almost brought tears to Alek’s eyes to sense the shimmering radiance of Meetra before Malachor, her presence bright and blooming. His golden Consular was back in all of her glory rather than limping along as a walking wound in the Force.

“Who are you and why are you here?” Vann, or at least his teenage self, was bringing his lightsaber ever closer to Alek’s prosthetic, his expression fierce though his dark eyes were uncertain.

Once again, the former Sith’s brain stuttered to a halt. How could anyone not know him? He was probably the most recognizable man in the galaxy thanks to his scalp tattoos and prosthetic jaw. It was impossible! Unless…

It was probably a bad sign how easily Alek’s mind adapted to the impossible. Something had clearly been damaged by the Star Forge because he was already considering the idea that this trio had been turned, mind and body, back to the people they were as teenagers. If that were the case, it was understandable if they didn’t recognize him. He’d been so changed by age and his own experiences that he bore no resemblance to the black-haired Jedi he’d once been. He was a stranger to them all. A large, scarred, fairly dark stranger.

This could end very poorly.

Alek fleetingly considered giving the teens his real name even though it would only raise more questions, most of which he couldn’t answer and some that he just didn’t want to. The longer he thought about it the more he realized that this situation had far too many variables for him to even begin explaining his complicated history with the adults that these teenagers became. For now, he just needed the trio to trust him, at least until he could get them back to their allies. Unfortunately, he’d never had Vann’s talent for improvisation or Meetra’s gift with honeyed words. That had to be why he blurted out, “My name is Naver!”

Apparently, the Star Forge had also caused his intelligence to plummet. ‘Naver’ was just ‘Revan’ backward.

“Are you a Jedi?” Meetra was slowly creeping out from Onasi’s shadow, her eyes falling to the lightsaber hilt that had been uncovered by Vann’s flying tackle. Next, she took in his nondescript brown cloak, her awareness drifting out like a warm breeze.

Given the clues, it was a reasonable enough question. It was also the best cover identity Alek could think of. “I am. I was passing by this planet and I sensed distress… some type of disruption in the Force. I came down to check that everything was alright. Is it?”

Narrowing his eyes, Vann also examined the former Sith through the Force. “What did you say your name was? I don’t recognize you, and I live on Coruscant.”

“Do you know every Jedi in the Order?” Arching a brow, Alek was pleased to see how quickly the question unbalanced the teen’s bravado. “And no, you wouldn’t know me. I’m a Sentinel who spends most of my time at the edges of known space. I come to Coruscant once a year at most and it’s rare that I stay for more than a few days.”

It was a reasonable lie for two reasons. The first was that it would excuse some of Alek’s darkness. He wouldn’t be the first Jedi to ‘go gray’ from time spent away from the main Order. It would also help to explain his unusual lightsaber should he need to wield it. Orange was close enough to yellow that he could probably think of an appropriate explanation.

“So, uh, do you know this guy?” Teenage Onasi sounded remarkably less uptight, his eyes shining playfully.

“No, but if he’s a Knight of the Order we should be able to trust him.” Stars, Alek had forgotten how naive Meetra had been before the war.

“We don’t have any proof that we can trust him!” Still eyeing the ‘Sentinel’ with a healthy dose of skepticism, Vann gestured for the blonde to stay back. “I know for a fact that anyone can buy a ‘saber on the black market just to claim that they’re a Jedi.”

It was time to take a risk, at least if Alek wanted to figure out what was going on. “Deran, right? Master Kavar told me about you the last time I was on Coruscant. He was very impressed by your remarkable progress in Juyo.” It was a vague enough statement that it should land well with either of the teenage Jedi.

“You know Kavar?” Meetra arched a brow, clearly torn between caution and curiosity.

“Of course I do. Even Sentinels have to train with the Battle Master on occasion.” Nodding to the figure still sitting on his chest, Alek added, “And of course, almost everyone knows about the Order’s prodigy… Even if the complaints sometimes outweigh the praise.”

This slight dig was enough to make Vann grow pale, a mixture of embarrassment and abject horror dawning across his features. He quickly masked it again as he jumped to his feet and backed away. “Er, well, I… I was just being cautious. To protect the others since they’re probably less capable.”

Alek had only intended to sound like the various Knights he remembered from childhood, most of who chided any Padawan they met as a reminder to be mindful. But he’d forgotten how poorly Vann, or he supposed it was currently Deran, had handled their critiques. As an apology, he hastily added, “You’re wise to be cautious. Never trust a stranger, even if they have a seemingly friendly face.” A sardonic laugh unintentionally burst forth. “Not that my face is anywhere near friendly.”

(PLOT: Vann, Meetra, and Carth touch the wrong thing at the wrong shrine and are turned into themselves at 18. Alek finds himself paying his penance to the Force when he has to simultaneously watch over the trio while trying to figure out how to restore them to their proper ages.)