#this was originally me saying they should have swapped teams
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storiesofsvu · 9 months ago
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Solace in Solitude Ch 14
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Emily Prentiss x reader warnings: language, minor mention of injury, smut, comfort. Welp. Here we are! we finally did it! A 14 chapter story never should have taken me seven months to write, but tackling it while also tackling so much extra shit at work delayed it. Thank you SO much to all of you patient angel babies who stuck along and I hope you've enjoyed it. As I said on another post, I will be starting to write 2 new series shortly, but will not be posting them until they are at least halfway done. In the meantime, expect more frequent one shots! (here's hoping lol).
Cutting through the ER wasn’t something you’d normally do, but it was a shortcut on the way back from the cafeteria, your usual route overcrowded with patient overflow. It was by chance that you were there, or as some might have called it, fate.
Because that was when you saw her, elbows on her knees while her eyes were on her phone, texting away while she waited.
“Emily?” Your brow furrowed as you stalled in your tracks and the other woman looked up from her phone, her eyes widening when she saw you. “What’re you doing here?” You asked while you approached, greeting her with a hug when she stood, “wait are you hurt?” You suddenly pulled back with a worried expression on your face and she laughed softly.
“No, one of my team. Nothing bad, just a dislocated shoulder.”
“What brings the BAU all the way to London?”
“Oh,” she caught herself laughing awkwardly again, an unsure fluttering had started in her stomach, slowly working its way into her chest, “I’m not with them anymore. I got a job offer to run my own team with Interpol.”
She smiled softly at you and you felt your entire body relax, “so… you live here now?”
“Yeah…” she stuttered, biting on her lip, “I was gonna call, I swear! I just wanted to wait til things settled down. I mean, my apartment’s still all in boxes, my office is a disaster and to be completely honest… I can’t even remember the last name of the person I’m here with.”
You barked a laugh at that, your hand swatting at her arm and Emily practically melted at the sparkle in your eye, heat lingering where you’d touched her.
“Sounds like you need to chill and it just so happens that I’ve become very skilled at unboxing and figuring out how to decorate. If you’d like a hand?”
Emily glanced briefly down to her phone when it buzzed, then looked back up to your smiling face and knew there was no way that she wanted to say no to the offer. She hadn’t even originally been the one to escort her agent to the hospital, she was supposed to continue overseeing the training exercise but she’d figured it would look good as a new leader to make sure an injury was properly taken care of. It was complete luck she had been sitting in the emergency room of your hospital.
“Honestly that sounds amazing, I could really use the help.”
“Perfect.” You grinned, “text me your address and a time. I’ll bring dinner?”
“I’ve got the perfect wine to go along with it.”
*
Take out containers lay on the coffee table, now mainly empty, only a few bites left in each with half full wine glasses beside them. The kitchen was organized, the television finally hooked up, now softly playing music from one of Emily’s favourite stations, you’d just finished assembling a book shelf, now filling its shelves with books and nick naks, fawning over the amount of awards Emily had to show off. Out of sheer habit you were focused on alphabetizing a row of books, swapping a few of them around while she dug through one of the boxes, pulling out a framed photo of Garcia and Sergio to place on the shelf as a final touch right as you slid the last book into place.
“That about does it.” You said, turning to look around the apartment before your eyes landed on Emily, “unless you’re still sleeping on the couch.”
“No.” She laughed, feeling her cheeks heat, “bedroom’s good. I’m either sleeping or at work, it was just everything else that slipped through the cracks.”
“Like picking up the phone?” You asked with a smirk and she scoffed.
“Hey, c’mon I said I was gonna—”
“It’s okay.” You laughed, “c’mere.”
“What?” She asked, stepping toward you as she wiped at her face, concerned there was a speck of sauce somewhere she couldn’t feel.
“There’s just something I wanted to do since I saw you this afternoon.”
“Huh?” Emily felt like her heart was about to beat out of her chest, feeling the spark shoot through her body when you grabbed her hand and pulled her to you.
A second later that hand was cupping her cheek and her lips were met with yours, gracefully moving against each other in a not so forgotten dance, rather one that you both had been aching for. One that you hadn’t even realized you missed as much as you did until you saw each other again. Her arms easily wound around you, the tension leaving her body as she melted into the embrace, sighing into the kiss when she felt you completely relax too. Her tongue slid across your lower lip and it only took a second for you to part your lips to grant her access, the corners of your lips curving up into a happy grin. It was different than any other kiss the two of you had shared, it was one of true emotion, tender, intimate, where both of you felt completely at peace and totally safe.
Oxygen was the only reason to be seen to break the kiss, foreheads resting against each other while you caught your breath, little laughs leaving your lips to battle the potential awkwardness of the situation. Your thumb stroked the side of her neck while her hands tickled at your sides,
“I missed you.” You were the first to admit it through a whisper and Emily smiled, stealing a tender kiss.
“Believe me, I missed you more.” Her hands slipped under the hem of your shirt, tracing patterns into your skin, “and I’ll prove it.”
Your giggle was quickly silenced by another kiss, Emily’s hands nudging you toward the bedroom while your hands began to tangle into her hair. By the time the backs of your knees hit her bed she had your shirt tugged over your head, tossing it to the floor behind her so she could rid you of your bra. Your fingers ghosted under the hem of her shirt, trailing up and across her skin, though they froze when her breath caught in her throat.
“Sorry.” You murmured against her lips and she shook her head slightly.
“It’s okay.”
You glanced up at her and she gave you a soft nod, trust and vulnerability filling her eyes as her hands went to the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head before pulling you back into a kiss. While her tongue slipped into your mouth again you were able to undo her bra, letting it fall to the ground as you both began the work of getting completely naked. At the last minute you managed to spin her around, letting her topple onto the mattress with a gentle laugh as you crawled over top of her.
“God you’re beautiful.” You murmured, eyes sweeping up her body and she felt her cheeks tinge pink.
When your lips met once again your hands ghosted up her sides, finger tips tracing patterns on her skin before gently groping at her chest. She let out a soft moan into the kiss, hands grabbing your ass and pulling you closer to her, shifting you slightly so you were straddling her thigh.
Emily broke the kiss with a gasp when you pinched at her nipples, her head thrown back into the pillows, giving you the ample opportunity to kiss down the column of her neck, teeth nipping into her sensitive skin. A hand sunk between your bodies and she instinctively spread her legs to give you easier access. Her hips rocked up off the bed when your fingertips slipped through her folds, rubbing gently at her clit while your mouth made a home in the crook of her neck.
“Fuck…” she groaned when two fingers slipped into her pussy, pumping steadily. Her hands gripped onto your hips, urging you to grind down onto her body, riding her thigh and she felt you moan into her neck.
Your fingers began to pump faster, curling to find that sensitive spot and Emily was sure to keep her hands on your hips, guiding you in the same rhythm, a moan leaving her throat at the feeling of your wetness spreading across her thigh. She flexed the muscle, pulling a gasp from you as your clit dragged right across it and your teeth sunk into her skin.
“Oh god…”
“Don’t stop.” She murmured, nipping at your earlobe before nudging at your chin, urging your lips back to hers for another kiss, eager to taste you again.
The kiss was breathless, airy moans leaving one set of lips only to be swallowed by the other, gasps breaking free as pleasure soared through both of your bodies. Your skin slick with sweat as you moved together, working higher and higher, Emily’s pussy pulsing around your fingers while your juices coated her skin. It had been too long, you’d both been unknowingly waiting for this moment for what felt like forever and you were both hitting your peaks before you even expected, cries of pleasure bouncing off the bedroom walls as your bodies shook against each other.
Panting, you slipped off Emily’s leg, rolling onto your back as your arm snuck around her, pulling her to you and she eagerly curled into your side, resting her head on your chest. You let out a soft sigh, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and she returned one to your collarbone, her fingers drawing circles on your skin before lacing together with yours. Your free hand trailed up her side, slowing when it hit the fading white marks, tracing them with a featherlight touch. Emily surprised herself when she didn’t flinch, rather relaxed deeper into your embrace, feeling the warmth from your touch rushing through her and it was the first time she hadn’t felt pain radiating from that same spot. She squeezed at your other hand and you hummed softly, leaving another kiss on the side of her head. You shivered lightly as your body temperature began to drop, reaching out and pulling the blankets up over the both of you.
“I don’t want this to be a one time thing.” Emily murmured, her lips brushing against your skin when she spoke.
“It doesn’t have to be.” You replied, your hand settling in her hair for a moment before she shifted onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow.
“I want it to be more than what we had in Paris.” She chewed on her lip, glancing down for a moment as she felt the heat creep into her cheeks again, “I’ll admit, I wanted to take the Interpol job before I knew where it was, being in London, that was just a very happy accident. But I think deep down I knew that I had to come here, DC wasn’t where I was meant to be. Nothing felt right, I didn’t understand anything again. I felt lost in a place that had felt like home for years. Then I realized the only thing familiar, the only thing that was constant when I was at my darkest, the thing that got me through each day… was you.”
“Oh Em…” you reached out, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, “you worked pretty damn hard yourself too.” Your hand trailed down her cheek, thumb soothing across her skin, turning her frown into a small smile.
“I don’t want to do it alone anymore.”
You grinned across at her, leaning in to press a tender kiss to her lips, “well then it’s pretty lucky that you don’t have to. Because I’m not going anywhere.”
Emily’s lips burst into a smile, a huff of an excited laugh escaping as she pulled you to her for another kiss, this one that you both laughed into as you fell back into the pillows. The road to find each other certainly hadn’t been the most conventional, nor was it the easiest, but you’d found your place and all that mattered now was that you had each other.
__________________
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geddy-leesbian · 9 months ago
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SERRENNEDY POKEMON CROSSOVER AU FOR SERRENNEDY WEEK!!
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As you can see above, this is very angsty. Leon and Luis both have a lot of trauma and Baggage. Luis almost has a panic attack and does some trauma dumping.
While there's no explicit smut on screen, there's a moment that gets kinda steamy and a fade to black/implied sex scene.
(oh and personally I feel very awkward swapping things out with pokemon terminology, like using "Arceus" instead of "God" so there is normal swearing here)
“Dr. Serra Navarro?”
“Well, yes, that is me, but typically I prefer Professor Serra,” His eyes wander all over Leon. “Though for someone as pretty as you, I prefer just Luis. Is there something I can help you with?”
Leon was afraid that he was going to go all the way to Alola only to find out it was all a complete waste because Professor Serra actually was just a professor unfortunate enough to share a name with a Team Rocket scientist. But that outcome is already ruled out. Either this guy is the lead he's been seeking for years, or he's an innocent professor that Leon will ask out on a date.
Due to excitement over finally finding a new lead, this trip was hastily put together, and Leon didn't realize how young Dr. Serr– Luis was. Once he confirmed that Luis was from Johto, he didn't go any deeper. He did see a couple pictures, but didn't pay much attention, and assumed the youthfulness was because they were older pictures. His assumption was very wrong. Luis is about his age and way too good-looking. The length of his grayish pink hair is braided, and the loose bangs are fluffy. His tinted glasses are a little too big for his face, but in a cute way. He's taller than Leon. And his outfit is fucking stupid. Shirtless under a lab coat. So stupid. It's hot.
A date with him will make this trip more than worth it.
“I just have some questions for you.”
“About? Are you a parent, or..? I don't think I've seen you around before, but I don't usually get anyone else dropping in on me like this…”
Shit. Leon really should have thought of a cover story beforehand. But in addition to not thoroughly researching Luis enough, he was also too high on the excitement of finally finding something after years of searching to bother thinking through what he'd say.
“Just heard about you, found your past interesting. From Johto originally, was wondering how it affected you. If you had any run-ins with Team Rocket.”
And it looks like Leon will not be going on a date with a handsome professor tonight. This is the guy. He recovers quickly, but for a split second, the phrase ‘Team Rocket’ invokes some panic in his expression.
“No. I was fortunate enough to never have encountered them.”
“You know anything about Mew?”
“Yes, of course? What kind of a professor would I be if I didn't? Mythical pokemon from deep in jungles in South America. Believed to be the ancestor of all pokemon.”
“What about Mewtwo?”
“I've heard the rumors, yes. A clone of Mew that was heavily genetically modified. But I believe that those are just that, rumors. There is no real substance to the claims.”
“Cinnabar Island. That's where you worked when Team Rocket captured and imprisoned Mew. You cruelly experimented on Mew. You helped create Mewtwo.”
“Who in the hell do you think you are, showing up at my doorstep to accuse me of such insane things?!”
“International Police!” Luis starts to shut the door, but Leon blocks the door with his foot. While he wasn't wearing his full uniform, he did bring his badge and takes it out to flash to Luis. He sees some purple fur coming up behind Luis. Must be an espeon, coming to protect its trainer. “Put that in its pokeball and open the door. Now.”
“I will do no such thing! I'm not proud of what I did back then, but I've done my best to leave it all behind, build a new life for myself. I will not allow you, or anyone else, to rip all of that away from me.”
“Not proud of what you did back then? So you admit it?”
“It doesn't matter. Arrest me if you really want, but it won't be anything more than a waste of time for the both of us. I'll maybe spend a night or two in jail, then be let go without charges being filed because I have a good reputation here and you have no evidence. If you try to tell anyone I confessed to involvement with Team Rocket, they won't believe you. You'll ruin your own reputation.”
“I do have evidence! Documents connecting you to the Mew experiments and the creation of Mewtwo.”
Luis actually starts laughing.
“You don't know as much as you think you do then. You find my name on a scrap of paper in the crumbling ruins of a lab, and think you know my life story! So arrogant! Yes, I did work at the Cinnabar lab, but I did not contribute to the creation of Mewtwo. I did not experiment on Mew. I have never had the privilege to even see the legendary Mew in the flesh. Mewtwo had already been created and Mew had already escaped before I was even hired. I can prove that your supposed timeline of my work history is impossible in court, so good luck getting a conviction!”
Leon moves his foot and lets Luis shut the door, and slinks away from his house with his tail between his legs.
Leon checks into a motel. He turns the TV on, but he can't focus on it. His mind can't stop wandering back to the conversation, analyzing every word. He fucked up.
“I'm not proud of what I did back then.”
He really fucked up. That could have been a very good angle. Tell Luis that this is his chance to atone and right his wrongs by telling Leon everything he knows about Team Rocket. Maybe even offer some kind of immunity deal if he still seemed hesitant.
But he had to get hot headed and fuck it all up. His first lead in years, and he blew it.
Not ready to admit defeat quite yet, he decides to give himself a day to cool his head off, before trying again. At least Alola offers plenty of distractions. He's not one for most of the tourist trap shit, but distracts himself with hikes through some scenic, and more importantly, rugged terrains. Pushing his body always helps him get his mind together. It's isolated enough that he can let all of his pokemon out too.
Something else Alola offers is a brutal sun. Leon didn't think to buy any sunscreen, and has a bad burn across his face by the end of the day. He's been through far worse, the pain is nothing to him, but he is annoyed at himself for being so stupid. His pokemon were quite happy with the exercise and exploration though, and his head feels clearer, so overall it was a pretty successful day.
A knock at Luis's door again. Rattled by yesterday, the knocking gives him a spike of anxiety. Still, he gets up to answer it, in case it's a student or parent that needs something.
He looks through the peephole and sees the same pretty International Police agent that came by yesterday. Luis really doesn't want to open the door. But he's worried it'll be worse if he doesn't and the man busts the door down. Besides, Espeon seems at ease with the situation, not alarmed and protective like she was yesterday. So he opens the door a bit, keeping the chain lock secure in case he tries to get in. (He would certainly be able to break the chain, but at least it would buy Luis a few extra seconds to try to think of a desperate plan.)
“Hello, officer! What are you here to threaten me with today?” Not wanting the agent to know how shaken he is, he turns up the sarcasm in an attempt to mask any nervousness. “Going to accuse me of experimenting on Arceus?
“No. No accusations today. Sorry, about yesterday. Wasn't polite to you. Can I try to make up for it, buy you dinner?”
“You can't seriously believe I'm going to just walk right into whatever kind of trap this is?”
“It's not a trap. Just feel bad about yesterday, I swear. I'm Leon, by the way. Think I forgot to mention it before.”
Luis goes to shut the door, but Espeon seems determined that Leon should be heard out, and telekinetically lifts the chain and nudges the door open. Leon smiles, and it cuts right through Luis's fear.
“I don't like you, and I don't trust you. But…” The prettiest man that Luis has ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on is trying to buy him dinner. (The angry red sunburn on his face does make him the tiniest bit less pretty, but he's still incredibly pretty.) Whether it's a date or something else, turning him down goes against everything Luis believes in. “I suppose I'm willing to put that aside for a free meal.”
“Look, you have every right to feel that way. But I really regret yesterday, I swear. It's just this subject… My parents were Team Rocket. Died on a mission,” Leon hates talking about this. With anyone. Back in his pokemon trainer days, before deciding to join the International Police, he'd had some time in the limelight. First as a rising star gym challenger, then as a champion. He always sidestepped questions when interviewers started asking about family. He especially hates talking about it to a member of Team Rocket. But this is the price he pays for fucking up yesterday. If he wants Luis to trust him and give him what he came for, he needs to give something himself. “Never knew details until I started investigating some stuff related to Team Rocket, found out they died on one of the expeditions looking for Mew. So this whole topic just gets me hot headed and dumb and I say things I don't mean and regret.”
“Well, it sounds like you shouldn't be an International Police agent then, if you can't separate your own personal issues from the job.”
“Yeah, maybe I shouldn't be…” Leon says, because what else is there to say? Luis isn't wrong. “C'mon, dinner. Walked past a restaurant on the way here, you know if it's any good?”
“Yes, we can eat there. By the way, are you aware that your face is extremely sunburned? I have stuff I could put on to help it.”
“Food first. Maybe after.”
“Suit yourself. I'm going to change, I'll be out in a minute.”
Luis ditches the lab coat and comes out with a top on, something that disappoints Leon more than it should. At least it's just a vest that shows off a decent amount of his chest. His hair is down today, and it somehow makes him look even better.
Leon regretted the way he approached Luis yesterday, but initially it wasn't because of guilt. Even if it wasn't Mewtwo, there was something Luis was involved in. He only denied experimenting on Mew and creating Mewtwo, he admitted he was a member of Team Rocket. Luis deserved the harsh treatment, he had only regretted it because Luis could be useful to him. But he does feel a small twinge of guilt for demanding he put his espeon in its pokeball when it follows Luis out the door and he sees that it has a service pokemon vest on. Maybe Luis would have felt safe and opened the door if he could keep Espeon out.
“I can walk there fine,” Luis says, noticing Leon looking at the harness. “I have an injury from a long time ago that flares up from time to time, but Espeon can sense when I'm going to have problems with it, gives me warning, and helps me not fall on my face when it does act up and I struggle keeping my balance. But it is fine most days.”
They sit across from each other, Espeon laying under the table by Luis's feet. Leon has to keep reminding himself that this is not a date. This is an attempt to get Luis to move past yesterday's harsh treatment so Leon can have a second chance at interrogating him. Despite his attempts to not ogle Luis, Leon can't help himself, and notices something very interesting. Scars. The biggest one is on his chest, and another on his cheek.
Being in a public place seems to put Luis at ease. Somewhat, he's at least smiling and looking more relaxed. As it probably should. Leon is dying to grill Luis about the “injury from a long time ago” and the scars he's noticed since sitting down. But this isn't the time or place.
“So… Small talk time?” God. This is actually a fucking date. “How long you been a cop? And why are you still poking around with Team Rocket? They're not a problem anymore. Disbanded twice, no activity in years. One would think the International Police might have some, ah, you know, actual problems to deal with, eh?”
“Been one for a few years. There's not a lot of resources being used up for it anymore, but it still matters to me personally,” There's actually no resources spent on it. Leon isn't here on official International Police business. The Team Rocket hunt is just vigilante shit Leon does on his own time. “Just because they've stopped doesn't mean they shouldn't be brought to justice for the past. Their leader slipped away, it just doesn't sit right with me. I'm trying to nail as many members who slipped away as possible,” Luis's smile disappears. “As far as justice goes, I'm mostly concerned about the big fish. Leader, executives. Finding small fish is just a good way to get leads on the big ones.”
“So if I understand, you help the small fish, they help you? They tell you everything they know about the big fish, and in exchange you don't come down hard on them?” Leon smiles and nods. It'll probably take longer than it should have because he'll need to build some trust after freaking the fuck out their first conversation, but Luis will play the game and give him what he came for. Luis's smile comes back. “Well, interesting… How have your investigations been going?”
“I've made some good leads,” That's a complete lie. Finding Luis's name in the ruins of Cinnabar Island is literally the only lead he's had in years. But telling Luis that will make him feel empowered. “William's out there somewhere, just a matter of time until I find him. Or until he gets tired of licking his wounds in secret and re-emerges on his own, something I'm hoping to at least make harder for him by picking off people he'll need to organize.”
“Do you want to come in?” Is Luis trying to have sex with him right now? They did just go on a date, after all. Why doesn't Leon want to say no? “So I can help you with your sunburn.”
Shit. Leon needs to get his mind out of the gutter.
Leon sits on Luis's couch, and Luis drags a stool over by the couch to sit on while he gently rubs ointment across his face with his (gloved) hands. Their faces are so close together. Leon has to stop looking at his face, because he wants to lean forward and kiss Luis. So he looks down. At Luis's neck. A fatal mistake. Before his brain can even process what his body's doing, he's pulling Luis forward, off the stool and onto Leon's knee. His teeth are sinking into Luis's neck.
As soon as he realizes what he's done, he hopes that Luis is going to ask him what the hell he's doing and get up off of him, because he's not sure he'll be able to control himself if Luis is into this too.
Of course Leon isn't that lucky. Luis moans at the first bite. He moans again and grinds down on Leon's knee with the second bite. The third bite has him yanking off the ointment covered rubber gloves and just tossing them on the floor, so he can start exploring Leon's body with his hands.
“I wish I could make some quip about buying me dinner first, but you quite literally did just buy me dinner, so… And really, I would be happy with this even if you hadn't,” Leon just keeps biting as Luis rambles. Now there's a hand in his hair, that clenches around or tugs at it with every bite. There's another hand working the button on his vest, and Leon is quite impressed by his finesse. With one hand and without even looking, Luis quickly has all of them unbuttoned. Though it doesn't get him to the bareskin he's desperately trying to get to, Leon also has a button down undershirt on. Luis doesn't bother unbuttoning all of them, just a couple so he can reach the bareskin of Leon's chest. “Someone as pretty as you doesn't need to buy me dinner, they can just do whatever they'd like to me. You're a cop, you have handcuffs? I'm into that.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Leon pushes him off his lap and gets up, then picks Luis up bridal style. Partially because he wants to give Luis a subtle reminder that he isn't just some small-time cop. He is, in fact, a very well trained special agent in peak physical condition. But mostly because there's a very specific place he wants to carry Luis to. He wasn't lying about someone like Leon being able to do whatever; he readily accepts being picked up, wrapping his arms around Leon's neck. “Where's your bedroom?”
“I didn't know I was working for Team Rocket initially. They had things very well compartmentalized. I was hired by a shell company. They had a contract with Devon Corp, so it really seemed like a completely legitimate company.”
In the afterglow, Luis finally starts speaking about his past. Leon briefly wonders if this makes him a whore. He isn't getting money for having sex with Luis, but he is getting information. Something even more valuable to him. The entire reason he's here.
But intent matters, right? Leon didn't start biting his neck because he wanted information. He didn't suck his dick because he wanted information. He didn't put him in handcuffs and sit on his face because he wanted information. He did all of it just because he wanted to. Just because Luis is hot enough that Leon temporarily forgot that he hated him. He was fully prepared to just go back to his motel room after, without any additional info from Luis, and just keep building the trust. So while he's not a whore, he definitely is a slut. Whatever. He's making more progress in his investigation than he has in years, it's fine.
“I was in a research team focused on mega evolution, specifically artificial mega evolution,” Luis continues. “Devon had recently perfected an artificial pokemon line, Beldum. They wanted us to find a way to make Metagross mega evolve. It was no easy task… But we did it. We tinkered around, created an artificial mega stone that metagross would respond to. We researched further, tweaking things to modify metagross's mega form, until we felt it was powerful enough. I was informed that Devon was extremely pleased with the work, and given a promotion, to be the head researcher on a new project my company started…”
“Guessing that's when you started at the Cinnabar lab?”
Luis says nothing, just stares down blankly, frozen. Leon reaches for a pokeball on the nightstand, and lets his sylveon out. It knows exactly what to do, approaching Luis to wrap its ribbon feelers around his arm. Leon hadn't ever wanted a sylveon. He had wanted his eevee to evolve into an espeon, actually. He thought the psychic abilities would be useful in his line of work. But it evolving into a sylveon instead has been a happy accident. Its calming abilities can be surprisingly useful.
“Yes, it was,” Luis answers. He's still wincing at the memories, but Sylveon's soothing aura is preventing him from having a full-blown panic attack and shutting down. “All I was told beforehand was that it was another project related to artificial mega stones. This was when the Alola research about mega evolution being cruel on the pokemon was starting to come out, so in my naivete I assumed we'd be modifying natural mega stones in ways that would make it easier on the pokemon. I knew something was deeply wrong when I was led downstairs. Armed guards. There was a whole maze of hallways and locked gates. As I said yesterday, Mewtwo was already created by this point. It had also escaped once and only narrowly recaptured, so there was much stronger security. I was never alone, there were always at least two armed guards with me at all times. It wasn't just to keep Mewtwo from getting out, it was also to keep me in. I knew it was wrong, it made my stomach churn, but I did the work. I did what was asked of me. We made two artificial mega stones tailored to Mewtwo. Two different stones, two different forms with different strengths.”
Despite Sylveon's feelers, and now Espeon's face rubbing against his other arm, Luis breaks down sobbing.
“You're okay. You're safe,” Leon whispers. Sylveon moves away from Luis's lap, laying down at the end of the bed, so that Leon can wrap his arms around him. As helpful as soothing pokemon like Sylveon can be, sometimes people just need human touch. Leon wants to press for more information right away, but he's not going to repeat yesterday's mistake. He has to go slow, he can't risk pushing Luis away and making him shut down before he's gotten all the information he can out of him. “You don't have to tell me the rest right now. Take all the time you need, okay, sweetheart?”
Jesus Christ. He just had sex with a member of Team Rocket, and now he's calling him sweetheart. At least he's making progress.
Luis just clings to Leon and sobs for a few minutes, before finally speaking again.
“I didn't want to, Leon. I didn't want to. I didn't have a choice. They were forcing me to, they would hurt me if I didn't, and I couldn't get help. Not from gym leaders. Everyone knows that William was the Viridian gym leader, but it went so much deeper than anyone knew. The lab was right by the Cinnabar gym, Wesker was the gym leader and heavily involved in all of the Team Rocket science research. Alexia, Saffron's leader at the time, was quite involved too and came to the lab regularly. The ones who weren't involved were getting paid off to look the other way. The police were paid off too,” Leon entwines one of his hands with Luis's and squeezes it, presses chaste kisses onto his neck, trying to encourage him to keep talking. This is a goldmine. He's long suspected there was a lot of corruption in Kanto and some intentional incompetence during the initial Team Rocket investigations, but could never get anything solid. And the fact that there were other gym leaders directly involved is actually news to him. “It was so screwed up what we were doing, I lost sleep over it, I barely ate because I had no appetite. Until one day…”
A loud, choked sob.
“Mewtwo got out again. All the new precautions weren't enough. It attacked all of us, we deserved it… It was a lab, there were scalpels, lots of glass to break, so many sharp objects that it lifted with its mind to hurl at us. That's how I got all my scars. The worst wound was in my back. It almost killed me, if it had pushed the bone saw in even just a little bit deeper, I would have died. I only survived because… It wasn't luck, it didn't make a mistake, it chose not to wound me fatally, because… Because I think it got in my head, it didn't say anything but it made eye contact with me, and saw that I wasn't a willing participant in its torture. The room after, blood… So much… I was the only one spared, it killed all the others.”
Luis untangles himself from Leon and lays down, closing his eyes. Seems like that's all the information he's getting tonight. Which he isn't upset about, it's a lot, far more than he was expecting. He'd like to know more about Mewtwo, where it ended up after this, and of course he needs more details about Wesker and Alexia.
“Stay?” Luis asks quietly, when Leon starts getting dressed. “Please?”
“Yeah,” Leon does still reach for his pants, but doesn't put them on, just fishes out his notepad so he can write everything down while it's still fresh. “Okay, I'll stay.”
It's dangerous. Leon is so close to liking this guy. Something he needs to not do, because Luis very much has the potential to be dangerous. The main reason Leon had been so hot headed and harsh to him initially is because he thought he got away with everything. He thought that Luis was a monster, and, instead of paying for his crimes, just walked away completely unscathed. Just moved to a new region, was completely accepted, became a pokemon professor, a pillar of the community. A role model.
But that's been shattered. While it may not have been in the traditional route, Luis has paid for his crimes. Is paying for them. Leon is cynical enough that he might have believed everything was just bullshit to manipulate him under other circumstances, but there's enough that it's undeniable. There's more than just faded scars that could have been the result of anything, he has an actual service pokemon. Years later, his injuries are still problematic enough for him to need that assistance. And clearly, he is genuinely traumatized. No one is that good at acting, Team Rocket is truly a trigger for him.
The issue is that Leon doesn't know why it's a trigger. Even injured and traumatized, Luis could be dangerous. The best case scenario is that he's been completely with Leon, and truly hates what he did. The worst case scenario is that he doesn't feel any guilt for his actions, and his near death experience was the only source of the trauma, without any emotional side to it.. Even injured and traumatized, Luis has the potential to be very dangerous.
“Hey, Luis?” Leon whispers after he's done jotting down notes about what Luis said, hoping he's not already asleep. His eyes flutter open. “Is it fine if I let my growlithe out? Usually sleep with it.”
“Go ahead. Just don't leave me. I don't want to wake up alone.”
He should leave. Luis is dangerous. Luis is Team Rocket. And Leon might already be a little bit in love with him, and needs to get the fuck away from him before he falls in even deeper.
But he doesn't. Instead he lets Growlithe out, turns off the lamp on the nightstand, and spoons Luis. He falls asleep with his arms wrapped around him, face buried in his fluffy hair. Espeon sleeps on the floor in its own little bed, while Growlithe and Sylveon lay down by their feet.
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dirty-bear-rick-sanchez · 2 years ago
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I have some kind of mixed feelings about part 2 but some things I appreciate under the cut (messy and non-linear):
I love that we’re getting more content from the other team leads this season and also that we’re seeing interactions between them that we haven’t seen before? Like Glenn and Myc bonding over looking different in the first episode? Brett and Andre defending Gigi in that episode? Brett and Andre friendship in Rontagion?
This kind of falls into the top one but Reagan and Gigi becoming gal pals and Reagan having her first ever female friend? I love it
Also the Reagan and Brett dynamic is top tier this season. Brett is so supportive of Reagan and I also love that they’re allowed to be so affectionate but still platonic friends (no offence to Breagan shippers, it’s just not my cup of tea and I just love Reagan and Brett and platonic besties).
Myc being a nerd who ran away from the other mushrooms because they were mean to him is a great backstory. Tropey? Sure, but I love it.
I also love that Ron actually says he would’ve liked Reagan to confess to him in the broom closet (like she originally planned) - they really are good for each other
Andre fucking his own clone is great. Honestly he was just an icon this season
I thought it was actually nice to get some actual development of Reagan and Tamiko’s relationship this season. It’s nice that their relationship is considered salvageable (not so keen on how they handled the thing with Rand but I did like that Reagan still put her foot down and sent him to Shadow Prison X)
The dynamic between Rand and JR this whole season is great and I love their college flashback as well.
JR definitely lost the games on purpose every year so he could be humiliated by kissing the ring in front of everyone (you’re telling me this man doesn’t have a humiliation kink?)
Also the dynamic between Rand and the head of the Illuminati was great and the second we had the reveal of Ron also controlling the head of the Illuminati I just knew what was coming but I still loved when it happened anyway (the kiss)
I don’t know if I should admit to this one but I definitely found it hot how Rand was being humiliated in front of everyone at the games
Brett having a secret passion for puppets is adorable and I love it
Also the Hand family ranking their children every year is hilarious and extremely in character. Made me feel so bad for Brett, I love it, 10/10
I like that we’re getting recurring appearances from minor characters like Mothman, Grassy Noel, Kate (and RepliKate, what a great name)
The fact that Myc’s dream timeline was one where he was pregnant is fucking adorable
You’d better believe I cried when Reagan forced Brett to his own dream timeline and when he returned because he made notes on his poster
Also at the reveal that Reagan saw the only way for Ron to be happy was for them to break up and chose his happiness over their relationship. Also I know some people weren’t fans of Ron because they felt like he was unnecessary/rushed but honestly having a gender-swap of the typical ‘female love interest is just used as character progression for the male protagonist’ felt pretty progressive. I also liked how he was shown to be similar to Reagan and actually had his flaws presented similarly to hers (e.g. not getting on well with people) even though female characters are often hated for the same flaws that are excused or even enjoyed in male characters
I have to admit that the end scene with the robes ‘how could she? After all, she’s only human’ was fucking cool
I loved everything about Alpha-Beta this season
And finally, thank fucking Christ that Ron wasn’t revealed to secretly be Reagan’s brother or something because as an RnM fan I can’t take much more incest at this point
Side note to that last one: fun little theory that Ron is actually a clone of Reagan (one of them can be trans, as a treat) and it was revealed and that’s what actually lead to the clone fucking discussion at the start of that one episode but they erased their own minds and everyone else’s and let Andre take the fall (either it was intentional and they set that up as a distraction or it was unintentional and Andre just happened to be fucking his own clone anyway, take your pick)
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inventors-fair · 4 months ago
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Second Color: Hybrid Legend Runners-up ~
Our runners-up this week are @bergdg, @real-aspen-hours, and @yourrightfulking!
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@bergdg — Tajic, Obzedat Champion
I almost forgot that Teysa was the other champion for the Orzhov, whoops. Regardless: once more this is exactly what the prompt was looking for, and we've got an awesome card on our hands here. I think that there were one or two other guild leaders/maze runners that were being thrown around. I like the notion of having all the leaders being swapped in some alternate world, where the circumstances led them to being tossed and turned and thrown into these strange situations in the eternal city.
I almost wish there was more of a mechanical connection to either Tajic in some way—or at least a kind of callback. Of course I don't necessarily want an inverted or direct response, but I feel that there could've been a bit more of a nod or nudge. Boros is pretty solidly in the aggressive department, though, so I wonder what one could've done. As we have it, though, the card you've made is an excellent midrange legend, a great finisher, perfect for the hybrid, and strong enough to brew with. Honestly can't ask for much more as far as the nitty-gritty goes.
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@real-aspen-hours — Zimone, Pyrotechnician
Isn't it annoying how "once per turn" is an awesome English turn of phrase, but it doesn't ever appear on cards? I've done the same thing so many times... But it groks, and I'm on your team. What I'm slightly mechanically worried about is the fact that, if you're hellbent, this is just a one-sided Howling Mine. Still—easy fix, right? Make it an "if you do" kinda thing and say that they only get to draw if they've discarded. The card draw from the original Zimone was direct and constructive, and this one is searching and creative. Zimone's original activations were calculated and activated, and this one is about the right experiments at the right time. I mean, it's a pretty perfect inversion that captures both her character and her card in a world where she's on the Prismari track.
Some folks pointed out the flavor text, and I really do have to commend the lighthearted mood that you've made here. Zimone would be brilliant no matter what school she went to, and I think a world where she exercises in experiments instead of mathematical study is a fantastic move. The alternate Strixhaven might not have changed much, but the characters within matter more. I wonder what the tracks would be like with allied-color combinations... Hm... But this is enough conjecture for a stamp of approval. Well—once you change the last sentence, too. Right now you're literally just exiling and countering the spell. It should read: "If that spell would be put into your graveyard, exile it instead."
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@yourrightfulking — Geralf and Gisa, Tragic Siblings
More semi-lighthearted fare? I suppose that it's fair, considering the slightly distorted nature of these worlds, but regardless. I want to pause and say that the mechanics of this card are a little lacking for me. If the white card draw is indeed allowed (and I'm honestly not sure it is, even limited to one turn), then that's fine, but I wonder if having it look at spirit tokens or enchantments might've been a little better for the hybrid blend. Cost reduction is totally fine, though. It's a perfectly fine card to slot into the archetype, and I think I like how you chose to go with the same world but with a singular different timeline moment, rather than imply a whole new AU.
The real tragedy of Gisa's death is made strangely peaceful here, even on Innistrad. Geralf is a good brother, though, and he always has been. He's also always been brilliant, and I love that you've changed the dynamic completely. I have a few friends that are deeply invested in sibling and twin dynamics, and would absolutely adore this card. Personally, I don't have the same ardor as them, but there's something about how Geralf would have to constantly protect his sister from being released to the Blessed Sleep, how he's so devoted here to the study of spirits, that he can stay with Gisa as they have their fun. I think that you've touched upon a deep and interesting pairing here. Great job.
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Commentary as it comes. See y'all later. @abelzumi
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bunnytalksf1 · 4 months ago
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Multi 81 (21) in Hungary?
just for the buzzy title
I recently made a post about McLaren needing to clean up their strategy in order to truly compete for world championships, both the drivers' and constructors' side.
McLaren has had, by far and away, the fastest car this weekend, even over Verstappen, who has been massively struggling, and dropped off the back of the two McLarens after the scuffle at the start was sorted. I've been critical in the past (probably) about Piastri's tyre management, and actually think Norris' tyre management and race pace is, on average, better.
My main criticism of McLaren's strategy was that they left too much up to the drivers, not just in Silverstone 24, but in Sochi 21 and in other races. They converse with their drivers over the radio a little too much and delay decisions because of it, and suffer often as a result. Sometimes its clearer than other times.
Today-- an example of that. Norris again mucked up the start a little and lost positions as a result, and his pace was not significantly faster as to catch Piastri throughout the first or second stints. he paid for his bad start. In lap 33, Oscar made a mistake that sent him offtrack briefly, reducing the gap in front from about four seconds to under two. This put him into the undercut window.
Lando was then pitted first. I think ultimately that I understand what they were trying to do in terms of covering off the undercut from Hamilton, but in hindsight the decision was unnecessary as Hamilton was eleven seconds behind, which makes what followed that much more frustrating.
McLaren left Piastri out in the lead for two laps after on his second stint whilst Norris started his third. By the time they bought Piastri in, the gap between the two cars (Norris P1, Piastri P2). Hamilton behind was never a threat, and neither was Leclerc or Verstappen.
At the beginning of the third stint, McLaren gave the order to let Piastri back through when he caught up. Norris then began widening the gap to Piastri behind - something which he has always been strong at is finishing well, which Piastri at present is a little weaker on, esp i.e tyre management. No problem, right? It actually sort of works out well in the title fight, since Verstappen is way back and Norris is in P2 right now. If Norris has better race pace at this point, he can bring the win home for a McLaren 1-2, right?
Here's where, for me, it begins to get baffling/interesting. McLaren, as Norris continues to widen the gap, begin to threaten Lando to swap the position. Mostly saying he's using too much of his tyre in turns 4 and 11, and then some truly bizarre radio messages including Lando's engineer saying "I'm doing this to protect you", pleading with Norris to let Piastri by.
Norris clearly wanted to make a point. The original team order was pretty mixed up: something along the lines of let him by when he reaches you as to not sacrifice race pace to the cars behind. So, if Oscar can't catch him, why should Lando let him by?
Well. Piastri led both of the first two stints, convincingly. taking the win from him, through a team decision, would be vastly unpopular, and one that the team would not like to face the heat for, from both Oscar and his management, causing the relationship between their drivers to break down, and from the media at large. Which sort of links back to the idea of McLaren not really wanting to be responsible for their own strategy at times. There should only have been one thing up to the drivers today, which was racing.
Putting Norris in a position where he is clearly faster on race pace (even if he has the advantage of clean air) and being asked to give a position back that directly affects his title fight is something the team shouldn't have done. They were overly cautious with Hamilton on the undercut, which they didn't need to be, and gave up a position for Piastri for no reason, after he'd led the race convincingly for the whole race, with a brilliant move at turn one lap one to take that lead and hold it from Verstappen and Norris. Piastri needed to box first, and should have been given that priority. If the undercut was enough of a threat that they needed to undercut Piastri, that decision needed to be clear and owned by the team in a way where half the responsibility wasn't placed on Norris to give up a race win that he arguably deserved and needs. Asking a driver in an emotional position to give up something difficult is. Yeah. It caused a public fallout on the radio.
I'm not going to go into Lando's attitude throughout. Do I think it shows maturity, particularly? No. That being said he wanted to make his point about who was faster regardless, and he made it, letting Piastri by in the most showy way possible. But I also don't blame him. The whole thing was painful.
It's taken the shine off Oscar's first win a little, and off the 1-2, because the team orders were so botched. Both drivers now have to answer to the media about something that was not their fault, with Lando saying he didn't deserve the win, which I don't think is true: if he showed that race pace in the final stint having been pitted behind Piastri, he still could have caught him, and won on track.
And lastly, more of my opinion and a little bit of a reach:
It's sort of indicitave of McLaren's overall refusal to publicly prioritise one driver. I think a lot of teams have this issue and its unique to being at the top of the field, hence the teething issues as McLaren haven't been there in a few years (at least consistently). But at this level strategy sort of relies on prioritising a driver pretty clearly, whether that's consistent across race weekends (RBR) or prioritising whoever leads after turn one, or who is showing race pace. Ultimately, there need to be clearer boundaries and expectations or the confusion will lead to somewhat of a breakdown in relationships between the two sides of the garage. This is the same issue as Silverstone, just dressed up a different way. McLaren need to get better at making the right calls under pressure, and taking responsibility for them instead of having to work to correct them in post. They either pull the trigger too early or too late, and ultimately it hurts them.
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derpyfangirl · 2 years ago
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Some thoughts and headcanons born from @k-chips amazing art of AI!Clavell and a more cohesive gathering of my little idea dump there. This gonna be a long one, so strap in.
To start, the meat of my idea from that post (bold is me just adding context now)
It was their (Sada/Turo) invention- the time machine- that got the original Clavell killed. Like they brought our Raidon forward, but during their time back on the surface they realize how much of Arven's life they're missing out on, and Clavell is like "You spend time with the kid, I'll keep researching, when Arven is around 16-17 we can swap spots" but shit went sideways when, while down there with Raidon, the second, feral Raidon is summoned and the game follows the tragedy we all discover.
So, in this timeline, Sada/Turo aren't as obsessed with their research. When they bring Koraidon/Miraidon (just for the sake of convenience, we will be using Pokemon Scarlet as a base as that's the version I play going forward, but remember this also applies to Violet) to the surface, Arven is around maybe 8 or 9 and Koraidon is around the same age based on journal entries mentioning how she "expected one gift of life, and now she has two" after mentioning bringing Kor foward in time, is when Sada realizes she's missing out on so much of her son's life, and that creating Paradise is worthless if it means destroying what remains of her little family.
Enter Clavell: he's still somewhat involved with her research in Area Zero and suggests she stay and raise Arven and he'll work on her research with the AI she began developing, and when Arven is old enough they can swap spots and she can return to Area Zero. She agrees, and after the event causing Kor to be sent back to the Crater, Sada and Clavell keep in constant contact with her and Arven occasionally making trips down to visit.
4 years before the game, the 2nd Koraidon (I'll refer to it either as feral Kor or Rex (in reference to its dex entry calling him the Winged King)) is brought to our time. Rex attacks Kor, and Clavell follows the battle to Research Station 4, the AI giving him updates on the battle. He arrives just in time to see Kor backed into a corner with Rex ready to give the killing blow. Clavell shields Kor, having practically raised it, and is killed by the feral Koraidon.
The AI panics, Kor is injured and flees, and suddenly Clavell stops calling and refuses any suggestions to come visit from Sada. He only communicates via email for a year, and when he finally video calls its to say that if he needs anything from her or if there are any developments in the project, he will reach out to her and to stop disturbing him.
Sada of course is upset by this. Angry that he basically told her to fuck off on what is technically both her and Clavell's research (bc she's probably been working on her research while still raising and spending time with her son), and worried as her friend and mentor has never been like this.
Not sure how Clavell would become Academy Director in this timeline unless Team Star's actions at the school take place a bit before Clavell dies, and just before he's killed Clavell had accepted becoming director, but requested time to finish his work and that Sada be his temp replacement (or something, still working the kinks out on this one)
Anyways, a year before the game Arven- who misses Clavell and is both mad at him for upsetting his mom and worried for his safety- enters the Crater and during this, Mabosstiff is attacked by something (in Scarlet, I personally think it was either a Slitherwing or a Roaring Moon, but the later means that they were lucky to even escape alive, as Roaring Moon doesn't seem to be one to leave its prey alive.).
Game occurs, Sada being acting Director while juggling investigating Team Star, her research, raising her son and trying to help Mabosstiff, and looking into what could have happened to Clavell, who suddenly hasn't been responding to anything despite how he should have returned to take over as Director. She's surprised to see Kor, but AIClavell calls and says that Kor must have missed Sada and Arven and gives ownership of Kor to the player. Sada figures it would be good for the lizard to get experience via your Treasure Hunt and requests you take care of it as it's like her second child.
Game proceeds as normal till Area Zero. Sada joins the gang in the Great Crater partially because she knows how dangerous it can be and she can't just allow 4 teens to stroll in there unsupervised (why Clavell would even request a child enter the Crater is something that bothers her), and partially to see what's going on down there. She's basically bouncing up and down seeing her paradise having been created, but recognizes that should the Paradox mons escape, it would destroy Paldea's ecosystems. When you go to talk with AIClavell at the lab, she stays outside at first with Arven to hold off the Paradox mons trying to get in.
When she finally sees AI Clavell and discovers the OG Clavell is dead, she is in a state of shock. It was her invention, her dream that resulted in her best friend and mentor's death, and that this entire time she hadn't even been communicating with him, but the AI she created to help Clavell.
AI Clavell needs someone to stop the machine as he knows his human self would want the same, but the Paradise Protection Protocol kicks in, much to Sada- who had it as a failsafe should the time machine detect that a Pokémon was attacking it, not if someone was simply powering it down- and AI Clavell- who didn't even know it existed- horror.
I might add more to this, but yeah. TLDR, Clavell stays in Area Zero so Sada can raise Arven, Clavell is killed protecting Kor, Sada is Director instead, AI Clavell battles you.
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vampireopossum · 9 months ago
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@dash-n-step ok . youve given me an excuse to infodump about the forbidden megamind lore
to start off, the Doom Syndicate . originally they were going to be in the main film , but they didnt have enough runtime to develop each one's plotline so they scrapped all but Tighten . the members that appear in anything other than concept art include:
Destruction Worker: just a big guy with a traffic cone on his head and demolition tools for hands
Hot Flash: an old lady who can fly and ostensibly wields fire, though in the game i played, she just summoned goons
The Conductor: supposed to be the leader i think? never played his game and i have no idea of his deal
Judge Sludge: a court judge made of slime . thats it
Psycho Delic: my personal fave . a skin tight purple dude dressed like a pimp who runs a sewer disco . can turn into a cloud of toxic gas (he's voiced by King Andrias from Amphibia and Dr Facilier from Princess and the Frog!)
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they serve as the main antagonists of three spinoff games. two are plot-identical i think, but are played very different due to platform limits, and one is a sequel.
starting with the home console games bc idk that much about them: the first is Megamind: Ultimate Showdown. a serviceable title, the Doom Syndicate blows up a building and kidnaps Hal out of prison, infusing him with metroman AND megamind dna, turning him into the super-strong super-smart Blue Tighten (his costume is the same, his skin is just blue now).
its worth noting that , after his defeat, hal has no memory of his time as Blue Tighten , and he seems more concerned than upset at his loss. this is important because of the next entry: Megamind: Mega Team Unite . the dumbest title ive ever heard. in this one, metro man and tighten are playable characters, as are each of the villains as you defeat them. because of the prior game, hal being a hero makes some amount of sense because of his unwilling role as the head of the Syndicate .
ok . now i get to talk about the weird fucked up ds game i love so much.
the title of this game befuddles me. the cartridge and box call it Megamind: The Blue Defender. The title screen, on the other hand, calls it Megamind: Bad. Blue. Brilliant.
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so thats off to a great start , but it gets better and worse from here. the plot is identical to Ultimate Showdown but the gameplay lacks robot segments because its the ds.
megamind has a set of voice lines that have a random chance to play every time he takes a variety of actions, unfortunately including jumping. this set is very small and he is fully able to say the exact same line back to back . hooray!
one of the game's collectibles is pngs of the film . except one of them is a png of megamind doing finger guns, only found in a trailer . i have no idea why its there.
the credits of the game are astonishingly short, and it only credits four voice actors: those playing Megamind, Tighten, roxanne(?), and Metro Man. this is a problem for a few reasons. first, it fails to credit the misc actors for the goons, the main villains, and minion(may have swapped minion and roxanne) . secondly, and much funnier, it credits metro man, who has zero lines in this game. hooray!
anyway . this game sucks and you should play it . there isnt a 100% reward but the musics a jam and sometimes megamind just gives you a bloodcurdling scream when he falls or gets hit. ok bye
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penna-nomen · 7 months ago
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Instead of fake dating, everyone is convinced that you aren’t actually dating
This one sounds hilarious lol.
Thanks for this request @ascreamintothevoid-blog! It was fun. I went with White Collar again, featuring Jones, with a little handwaving over actual case procedures...
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No One Believes We’re Dating
FBI Agent Clinton Jones is about to leave the prosecuting attorney’s office, when she says, “One more thing.”
Jones nods. “Sure, what is it?”
“I’m getting a vibe.” Helena Beauchamp holds his gaze. “I can’t act on it, not when we’re working this case together. But when that’s over…” She shrugs. “Well, if we’re both still single, I’d be interested.”
“Yeah,” Jones says. “I’d be interested, too.”
But this is the culmination of the biggest, most complex case he’s ever led, and now that it’s going to trial, it’s likely to be months – maybe even a year – of needing their relationship to be strictly business.
It’s a pleasant surprise a few weeks later when the defendant agrees to a plea deal. When the bad guy goes to jail, Jones takes Helena out to dinner to celebrate. She was right about the vibe. They keep dating.
And he mentions it sometimes at work. He tells the team he’s meeting Helena for lunch or dinner. His colleagues at the Bureau nod and say, “Nice!”
Later he drops comments about taking a weekend trip together. About meeting her sister. About taking her to meet his parents. And his colleagues nod and grin and congratulate him.
Then one day, at the end of a team briefing, Peter Burke says, “One more thing.”
Everyone waits, wondering what’s up, because the boss sounds very serious.
“Over the last eight months, we’ve been joking about the time Agent Jones is spending with prosecuting attorney Beauchamp on the Castleman case. I know it’s funny when we describe the time they consult on the case as if they’re dating, and the meeting-the-parents comment last week had us all cracking up, but I’m worried we’re crossing a line. We shouldn’t be joking about something that’s deeply against the rules.” Peter looks at his team, meeting each person’s eyes. “That’s it.”
Jones is so shocked that he doesn’t say anything. He just stands up as everyone starts to head back to their desks. “Peter…” he says. “I… I wasn’t…”
Peter pats his shoulder. “It’s okay. I know you would never do something so blatantly against the rules. I should have put a stop to the jokes earlier, it’s just… Well, you’re so very serious that it was good to see you kidding around with the team.” And then Peter walks away before Jones can respond.
He knows he told Peter that the Castleman case was closed. He put it in his weekly report ages ago. And while the boss is often busy and distracted, he doesn’t miss details like that.
Jones walks to his desk, but he doesn’t sit down. Instead, he looks around the room. All of these people really thought his comments about dating Helena were just… just… committing to the bit?
He notices that Neal Caffrey looks a bit sheepish. Jones strides over to his desk. “Caffrey. You have something you want to tell me?”
Their consultant nods, and they head to a conference room away from the rest of the team.
“Start talking,” Jones orders as he closes the door.
It’s Caffrey, so of course it’s long and convoluted. Something about the evidence in the Castleman case including a forgery. Specifically, an item Neal had forged before he’d started working for the FBI. As long as the case remains open, the evidence remains in custody, and Neal has access to swap it out with the original before anyone notices. Anyone like, say, Neal’s girlfriend who works for the company that insures the item.
“It’s taken you eight months?” Jones asks.
“Oh, no,” Neal assures him. “It only took a couple of weeks.”
“Then why didn’t you let the case close?”
“Well, firstly, it’s much easier to remove something from your status report than it is to add something in. But more importantly…” And here Neal pauses to flash his infamous smile. “The bit about you dating Helena was just too fun.”
“It wasn’t a bit!” Jones protests. “We’re going shopping for engagement rings this weekend.”
“Congratulations!” Neal says, his voice full of the earnestness he learned as a con artist. “Imagine how surprised everyone’s going to be when they get the wedding invitations. It’s going to be epic!”
And maybe being in love has softened Jones a bit. Because instead of yelling at Neal, he simply laughs. “Yeah, that is going to be epic.”
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strayheartless · 10 months ago
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I have more Babyroth/ First babys things bouncing round my head. So here have whatever this is:
Based on this post
I think I should make it clear that these version of ASG will grow up different. They are still integrally them but without the angst and the jealousy. Sephiroth for one, doesn’t speak the same. He’s a little less formal and up tight. He’s still quite well spoken but Sephiroth “seph” Lockhart Strife is far more likely to yell “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK GENESIS?!?” When something goes wrong.
Genesis is far less confrontational. He’s still a pyromaniac don’t get me wrong - Cloud spends his life spraying things with fire extinguishers - but it’s usually cause he’s been messing with materia and it’s an accident rather than he’s mad and wants to burn down the world. He and Seph still get into arguments, but Gen is also far more likely to apologies when he knows he’s wrong.
Angeal is the chillest of the three kids. He likes to garden with his Uncle Barrat and and cousin Marlene; he’s quiet and cuddly; he’s a complete Mamas boy as well. Where Seph grew immediately attached to Cloud, Angeal kind of thinks Tifa can do no wrong. He likes to bake with her and helps her with food orders in the bar a lot.
Bedtime is Clouds domain. Tifa is very clear that yes, she’s their mom but she’s not giving up the bar, and Clouds work Schedule is far more flexible. Usually during the day Tifa entertains them while Cloud pops in and out on jobs, but the clock hits 4:30 pm and they swap places for the night. Cloud also tends to handle getting children out of bed. The way he sees it it he took them on, their his responsibility, Tifa should not have to deal with more than she chooses.
That being said, they are a pretty good team. It would be difficult to wrangle both Seph and Gen if they weren’t. Cloud gets them up; Tifa feeds them; Cloud handles learning; Tifa handles exercise and community work; Cloud makes dinner and introduces new foods; Tifa strong arms them into the bath; Cloud reads to them and gets them to sleep; Tifa makes sure she says good night before she leaves and checks on them when she come in from the bar. It just works for them.
When Angeal and Genesis turn up on the door step Sephiroth is about 16 months old so theirs a bit of an age difference between them that’s a reverse of the original one. He did NOT immediately take to no longer being an only child. Specifically he took umbrage with no longer being Clouds only priority.
This is because Genesis was an extremely sickly infant. They weren’t actually sure if he’d make it at some points. He’s got childhood Asthma -but he grows out of it; he is in a constant struggle to put on weight; he’s diabetic, and occasionally is right kidney just decides to give up for a bit. Vincent has hypothesised that it has something to do with his past (future?) degradation. But it’s later revealed by Tseng that “no, he was that ill as a child originally, Hollander just used to send test drugs to his parents occasionally.”
Angeals a pretty emotional kid. He’s not headstrong and rough like Seph and Gen but he cries pretty easily. As he grows up he’s still pretty easily set off and all cloud can think of is that thinly little ravenette boy who used to shuffle into the living room with his blanket and curl up next to Cloud because he had a nightmare. Clouds gone soft, Sue him.
One of the most memorable childhood incidents between the tree of them is the time Seph got Gens head stuck between the banister rails on the stairs.
Angeal once swallowed a spider and then proceeded to panic himself in to throwing up on the kitchen floor.
4 year old Seph is of the opinion that Cloud is “older than God” to which Cloud replies “it’s the stress of looking after three cracked out racoon children, it adds years to your face.”
Genesis tells the kids at school not to be mean to him because he’s uncle Vincent is a vampire and will “eat your liver with white wine sauce”. Vincent does not deny this when asked about it by a teacher at pick up time… yet nor does he confirm it. Everyone is unnerved.
Angeal insists on pulling up garden weeds and hiding them in his bed. Cloud is tired of explaining that plants are for pots ore the garden NOT for beds!
Yuffie likes to play a game when she comes to visit it’s called “did Cloud say this to his children or his dog?” Her favourite is “please do not lick the screen door, I just cleaned it!” He did not say it to the dog.
To answer Salty’s question no Zack and Aerith do not come back in this AU, mostly because they both found peace with each other. But also because they were not crack head evil lab experiments in their previous lives. Angeal gets added on the technicality that he did a lot of shit while being “conflicted by honour”
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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 2 years ago
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missed opportunities
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This isn’t meant to be a summary or a translation of the Sunset Savanna event!! I just wanted to share my thoughts surrounding the actual tournament and the characters involved in the overall story.
I felt like??? This event was originally meant to be much bigger and much more elaborate than what we got. Is that just me?? Don’t get me wrong, what we ended up with was… okay. It was serviceable. It worked. I just feel like it could have easily been more, but there had to be significant downsizing for some reason.
One thing that kind of confused me was the hyping up of the Catch the Tail tournament versus what we actually got?? (Loved the tourism part though, hearing about local foods, stories, and customs is fun!) I understand the cultural significance of the game, but a tournament arc doesn't work that well if we're only invested in one side; obviously, we'll be rooting for NRC to win because we know them the best and have spent the most time with them, but... They have no significant rival or opposition to go against (which is at least one thing episode 5 had going for it in the form of Vil vs Neige, and even in the Harveston event when the Seven Dwarves reappear). We don't even really have names or faces to think of as their foes. We aren't really given the chance to cheer for anyone else. Like???? NRC's first opponents get no artwork at all, and then we slip through ALL the other matches to the very end. Their last opponents are supposedly Cheka's usual trio of guards--except they're just beastmen mobs A, B, and C. What happened to the lore about "most of the important roles being fulfilled by female warriors"?? You really going to sit here and tell me that the people assigned to guard the person who is essentially the future of your country aren't roles traditionally fulfilled by strong lionesses? All three of the roles just happened be occupied by easily reused male assets? Even the replacement/temporary guards assigned to Cheka were women, and the way the originals were foreshadowed made it seem like they would later be a big deal or the "rivals" NRC had to overcome in their final matchup. They technically were, but they were just your typical run-of-the-mill mobs. (And what a waste, because they comment in the game that the leader of the guards is a HYENA. You could have easily made these three mobs twisted Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed.) They have some investment, being that Kifaji trained them and they are bitter about having won previous years but Leona stood them up for training. It’s basically one big ploy to circumvent Leona not wanting to give the warrior lessons to the winning team, a way to counteract his laziness. It makes sense for the story, but it isn’t very high-stakes.
The first team NRC fought against was even more unremarkable; they cheated just as much as NRC did and didn't even compensate for it with at least recognizable artwork or personalities. In fact, they got NO art at all. If anything, this team should have been the run-of-the-mill mobs from how generically mean they were.
It feels like this event had a handful of red herrings and cheeky lines thrown in to tease at the reveal of significant new characters, only to never follow through on them. I like Kifaji, and it's reasonable that Leona says tourists like the NRC kids can't possibly meet the head of state (Farena/Falena). However, I don't like that a lot surrounding Cheka's guards amounted to nothing?? They even mention they have a member to substitute in that's a retired imperial guard, but that ends up being of no real importance either… (he throws the match because Kalim showed him great kindness earlier by buying him a bus when his original breaks down.) It’s more like a convenience that lets Leona swap in and cinch the win for NRC even though he’s not able to formally compete). It's in-character for Leona to play dirty but it’s still so... anticlimactic????? Especially since the competition is supposedly for the best warriors to prove their wits and might.
Another missed opportunity is that??? The competition is supposedly open to anyone, even those from outside the Sunset Savanna. That may very well be just a writing loophole for Leona to easily shoehorn Kalim/Jack, Vil, and Lilia in as competitors, but there's so much more you could do with that idea!
Maybe there are other outsiders come to fight for the title. Maybe Rook shows up as a competitor to spook them if the devs don't want to design that many actual "rivals" with unique designs or new faces. Maybe there are your "non-traditional" fighters as well, people that are very young (just for the lols, imagine a kid Cheka's size kicking butt, using their small size and speed to their advantage) or very old (Rafiki weaponizing his wisdom and experience in combat, idk) but are still skilled enough in their own right to participate. Maybe show us more types of beastmen and how they use their specific animal’s physical traits to their advantage! I don't know how likely it is for merfolk or fae to join (since those races seem like recluses compared to beastmen and humans and merpeople don't do well in arid climates), but it would have been cool to see others throw their hats into the ring!
There were probably just limitations in place due to this being a hometown event…? It wouldn't be fair for the others to only feature one new character while this one features a TON of them, nor would it be fair for this hometown even to be significantly longer or more detailed than the others. Basically only the Halloween events are super extensive. In which case, I get it. I still would have really liked to see this concept more fleshed out and fully realized though!
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augment-techs · 5 months ago
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What if: What if Skull had come with Bulk onto terraventure in lost galaxy 👀
First thing's first: *instantly kills Professor Phenomenus* Sorry guy; I know you were in the 'I'm a Ranger' civilian call, but you should never have been on Terra Venture, you're like a thousand year's old.
On with the good thoughts.
Bulk and Skull in space--the one year Earth got a break from attempts to take it over.
I would like to take this opportunity to posit the theory that while Bulk and the Professor had jobs as tech originally that got sidelined due to constraints with the staff, Bulk and Skull are basically jack of all trades and could probably present their hundreds of recorded jobs to be able to do literally anything.
Bulk can stay on as a restaurant proprietor; Skull can swap around with assisting in the upkeep of the various biomes when he's not taking the opportunity of free time to better himself with as many musical instruments as he can get his hands on.
They are both Friend Shaped and because I am highly convinced Damon and Maya could never be happy with just the Rangers--Damon because he was never supposed to be on Terra Venture and Maya because all the Rangers were involved in the worst day of her life and thus instantly brought up trauma in the back of her mind--I am going to have Maya stumble into friendship with Bulk, while Skull proves himself to be reasonably interesting enough for Damon to find worth talking to.
Let's keep in mind that the boys probably joined the colony in an effort to move away from how they were in Angel Grove, prove themselves as more than just in the way or laughingstocks or--because I am interconnecting the comics with this, fight me--found themselves lonelier than they thought when literally all the teens they'd grown up with or come to respect (all Rangers) had left without saying goodbye.
Given the opportunity, I think Bulk could prove to be invaluable as a source for Maya to understand Earth's history in a clear and concise way that Kendrix and Kai don't have the time to explain, and Leo, Damon, and Mike just...aren't very good at. Bulk in his position as bartender and chef would be able to feed Maya human food Mirinoi could never fathom: potato pancakes, Pad Krapow Moo Saap, yakitori, Gulab Jamun, sanguinaccio dolce, Qumbe--and then teach her the background on the continents and cultures the cuisine originated from; more than happy to answer any additional questions the woman would inevitably have.
Skull, contrariwise, would most often find himself nearby when Trakeena or Scorpius's Generals happened to teleport in to cause trouble. Being from Angel Grove, he is not at all impressed by the insectoid species constantly interrupting his work. Would eventually being able to straight up just chase off any Stingwingers that would try and mess with his duties, and would gain a bit of a reputation among the staff of Terra Venture's lower staff as the guy to call to work under high pressure. Something Bulk would be incredibly proud of if he wasn't fully aware that Skull still had troubles with anxiety and only had one injection from before the launch that was supposed to keep him balanced for a year.
Damon kind of feels bad for being a little standoffish the first time Skull bails him out of an incident before morphing in the middle of a barely controlled panic attack and ends up requesting Skull as a partner for assignments on the ship.
As a bonus to Bulk becoming friendly with Maya, he also ends up becoming something like friends with Kendrix and Kai who, while brilliant, don't have encyclopedic knowledge of ancient Earth and enjoy picking his brain from time to time; even asking for aid with Ranger Problems when Alpha mentions "knowing" both Bulk and Skull when Zordon was alive--which would bring about a hilarious, confusing, and heartbreaking misunderstanding.
Leo instantly respects Bulk for reasons he can't really put into words except that he seems to be really good for the Team.
Mike, when he returns to the world of the living, is more inclined to...maybe not respect...but enjoy the company of Skull--especially when he finds him after curfew in the park trying out a new guitar.
Also the Lost Galaxy is not going to be misleading. Terra Venture LITERALLY gets lost because of an interdimensional transport accident. The Rangers still have the Astro Megaship, but they are SUPER lost.
Which means lots of things.
Like maybe the Rangers do wind up with Karone, but only because, say, both Damon and Skull got recruited by Trakeena to mess with a machine she didn't understand and they wound up resurrecting the Psycho Rangers as a unit, which means MORE interactions with MORE Astro Rangers.
But Karone showed up to fix the Psychos' brains and Kendrix didn't die--in fact, they wind up KEEPING the Psycho Rangers with the Astro Rangers sticking around for a little to help everyone acclimate.
Bulk ends up with a whole new set of duckies lining up to follow him around juuuuuust in time for Terra Venture to make contact with some Guardians of Eltar that ran aground their ship because the humans don't have a registered charter and, lo, Zelya and the Sentry Force Four come to meet with Stanton and Reinier while negotiating with Trakeena the return of Damon and Skull after the miserable bitch snapped them up again to see what else they can do.
So many possible intergalactic incidences...but so much more fun. Relationships: Psycho Rangers & Bulk; Psycho Rangers & Karone; Maya/Kendrix Morgan; Maya & Bulk; Bulk & Skull; Skull & Damon Henderson; past Zelya/Skull. Additional Tags: Bulk is having a much better time than in canon; Skull is having a so-so time; NEW SKILLS; Big Papa Bear Bulk; Skull Needs a Hug; Past Relationship Trauma; PTSD; Leukemia; Amnesia; Post-Human Weapon ANGST; Trakeen spends three Episodes Flirting with Zelya; Stolen Beauty Episode - Canon Divergence; Skul Confirmed Gay; Food as a Metaphor for Love.
@skyland2703
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mcu-multiverse-order-review · 2 months ago
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X-Men: The Animated Series - Season 1 (1992-1993)
Ok, so I just finished watching Season 1 of the X-Men and honestly, it holds up well. Like, really well. Disturbingly well. The show is really good at portraying the struggles of oppressed groups and the bullshit bigots throw at them. This is very prevalent in the Sentinel storyline, which is the main story arc of the season.
Honestly, I enjoyed it. Like, yeah, there were a few moments that I wasn’t vibing with, as a whole I can confidently say it was good. I am very excited to jump into Season 2.
As usual my live reactions (? I guess. I mean, I write these as I’m watching. What do you call a text version of a reaction?) are below the cut. Gimme like a couple weeks to watch Season 2. 
Episode 1 - “Night of the Sentinels - Part 1”
Ok, so as our introduction to the world of the X-Men, I thought that was alright. Honestly thought we’d spend more time with Jubilee to flesh out the world a bit more, but eh, I’m too bothered. Certainly got more outta this 20 minute episode than any of 60s Spider-Man 20 minute episodes, this actually had decent action and a plot. But of course it comes with a level of 90s edge, which isn’t my particular vibe but I don’t hate it. I’d honestly say my biggest gripe with this episode is it was quantity over quality, it introduced pretty much the entire main team, but didn’t really do a lot in terms of characterisation. Not to say that it didn’t do any, every character is very much in character this episode, it just felt a little shallow. I expect this to be remedied by the end of the season.
Characters introduced:
Jubilee / Jubilation Lee
My sheer lack of X-Men is about to come through. I have next to no idea who this is. I’d vaguely heard of her before, but as far as I’m aware she isn’t in the Fox films, so I’m just not familiar. Which is fine, because it allows me to get to know her as the show continues, which is what a show is supposed to do with its characters. Anyway, I think her powers are weirdly vague and not really explained, but you kinda get the jist of them after a bit.
Sentinels
I was not expecting Sentinels right off the bat, but they do create an immediate threatening and domineering presence. So I checked the Marvel wiki and apparently these specific Sentinels are the Mk IV variants, I think that’s what they are in Earth-616, as it seems like they’re something new in this continuity.
Rogue / Anna Marie
So I’m vaguely aware of the Ms. Marvel situation in this show, which leads me to wonder if she has flight and super strength in the comics? Cause she doesn’t in the films, at least I don’t think she does. It’s been awhile since I’ve watched them.
Storm / Ororo Munroe
As Shakespearian as ever, Storm is here. She honestly raises the question for me, are there actual people that talk like her? Like, seriously her dialogue would fit in a Dickens novel.
Gambit / Remy LeBeau
“wooimbouttamakeanameformyselfere”
Cyclops / Scott Summers
I have nothing to say about Cyclops. He’s just kinda here. He’s a bit boring. I hope he does something later.
Beast / Henry "Hank" McCoy
Another case of “do people actually talk like this?” Like who the fuck quotes books and shit mid conversation? “Teri, you quote vines on a daily basis.” Touché
Morph
So going into this, the only shapeshifter mutant I knew about was Mystique, so finding out about Morph was a surprise. I actually did a bit of digging around them. Found a few things: Originally they were supposed to be another guy, but the show runners didn’t wanna kill off like the only Native American from the comics, so he got swapped out for another guy, called Changeling, but they couldn’t use that name because Beast Boy was using that name at the time, and the show runners didn’t wanna catch heat from DC, so settled on an original character, Morph. Also, it should be noted that apparently in X-Men ‘97 Morph is revealed to be non-binary, which is great and if anyone has a problem with this fact I invite you to go fuck yourself.
Professor Charles Xavier
I don’t really have much to say about Xavier other than he has some weird eyebrows, and I don’t much care for his hover chair. Like, what’s wrong with having a normal wheelchair Charlie? You think you’re better than everyone? Prick. For sake of clarity, this is a joke. I actually have no strong opinions on the chair. That’s a lie, I think it’s an ugly colour. 
Jean Grey
She sure does appear in this episode. That is all I can say about Jean Grey. I know fuck-all about this woman.
Wolverine / James "Logan" Howlett
Logan is as aggressive as I expected him to be. So this is fine.
Henry Gyrich
Another guy that I know next to nothing about. I honestly thought he was Trask, and I am apparently wrong, so there you go. He seems like a slimy git.
Episode 2 - “Night of the Sentinels - Part 2”
Oh no, I can’t believe Morph died, who could’ve ever seen this coming.
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I didn’t mention in the last episode that the mutants are pretty much a stand-in for every oppressed group in modern society. I never used to fully understand it, until watching this and being part of the LGBT+. It hits very close to home. The idea that your own government hates you, wants you dead for something you have literally no control over. It’s not fun. Seriously, try being trans in the UK, it’s bullshit. Granted I know there are much worse places, but I’m just talking from personal experience. And also, being trans doesn’t give me random powerful abilities, it would be great if it did. Point being, mutants are very on the nose about what they represent in the lens of the real world, you could try to argue this level of social science has no place in a children's show, but I would argue that this is the perfect place to teach children that sometimes are different, and that’s ok.
At bare minimum this kinda plot leads to some truly hateable villains, which would be funny if it weren’t realistic.
Onto the actual contents of the episode, it’s pretty good. Characterisation is pretty much on point, dialogue is aggressively 90s, and the non-mutant characters are mostly despicable.
Characters Introduced:
Bolivar Trask
That ain’t Peter Dinklage, what kinda bullshit you pulling here?!
Episode 3 - “Enter Magneto”
If George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” were a picture book, I still don’t think the guards watching Beast would understand it.
Anyway, hi Erik, nice to see you, glad you could drop in.
Something I noticed is certain scenes with flashing imagery seem extremely slowed down. I presume this was a decision by Disney for the Disney+ version, as modern rules regarding epilepsy are a lot stricter than they were in the 90s.
Not gonna, the anti-mutant protest outside the courtroom and the cunts in the courtroom are so frustratingly realistic. Like, seriously, what the fuck do they think they’re gonna achieve? That if they say “no more mutants” hard enough Hank will lose all his fur? Of course they don’t think that. This show in 3 episodes has done a very, very good job at showing how bigotry works. I know it gets more extreme as the show goes on, but as far as I’m aware, at no point does it become unrealistic. This show came out in ‘92, everything on display is still relevant in 2024. That should horrify you. Or piss you off depending on who you are as a person.
Onto something lighter, can we appreciate Wolverine’s sheer disdain for Sabretooth. It’s great.
Also since when could Xavier transfer information from Cerebro to X-Men on the field? Specifically, how did Storm insta-learn how to shut off nukes? Deus-ex my arsehole.
Character Introductions:
Magneto / Erik Magnus Lehnsherr
Here we finally have Magneto. Genuinely as I’ve got older, I’ve understood his entire deal so much more, and like, yeah, he’s a villain, he’s a prick that can and will kill anyone in his path, but he’s not completely wrong.  Again, I do not think he’s in the right, but he is also someone that has been scared by the worst of humanity. His anger is justified, and ultimate goal of mutant freedom is good, but the way he plans to achieve that goal is fucked. I think it’s a really good detail that Erik sounds and looks genuinely hurt when the X-Men go against him, cause he actually believes he is doing the right thing. So, round of applause for a complex villain. Hooray!
Sabretooth / Graydon Creed, Sr.
Diego is my least favourite of the Ice Age herd, I think he’s a bit of a dickhead… Wrong sabretooth, Teri. Graydon Creed is definitely a guy with a very hateable face. All I really know about him is that he’s a cunt that’s involved in Wolverine’s backstory. I’m sure this will be explored further as the series progresses.
Episode 4 - “Deadly Reunions”
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HIM! WHERE IS HE!? WHERE IS WADE?!
So this episode establishes Storm’s claustrophobia and Rogue’s power absorption. Cool.
“...you wish me to wage war on six billion humans?” Oh. 3 decades. All it took was 3 decades to add another two billion to the human population. This has nothing to do with the episode really, it’s just that fact only just sank in with me. I’ve got nothing to add, just bloody hell, these are some scary numbers.
Jesus Christ Xavier, the fuck man? Weaponizing war trauma to beat Magneto? I mean, I get why he did it, but like, nah I ain’t about that.
“Right, and I’m the queen of England.” Honestly, Jubilee would be a much better queen of England than our useless king.
So, how the fuck did Sabretooth actually manage to wound Wolverine? Like, surely his healing factor would just fix him up real quick?
Character Introductions:
Senator Robert Kelly
Finally in the flesh, the king bigot. Motherfucker pretty much says he wants to set up concentration camps for mutants. As if the metaphors couldn’t be anymore on the nose.
Episode 5 - “Captive Hearts”
I do quite like how Storm’s claustrophobia is a recurring problem, it actually adds at least a bit of depth to her character.
Not gonna lie, I’m fond of the Wolverine pining for Jean bullshit. 
Is this episodes plot just Callisto getting pissy that Scott won’t fuck her?
Also can we just talk about how creepy Wolverine gets when chasing Callisto, like I’m not here for that. It’s not good.
Anyway Storm and Callisto having a lightsaber duel was pretty cool.
Character Introductions:
The Morlocks
Ok, so yes I’m grouping a lot of characters together here, but honestly I know so little about them I don’t have anything interesting to say. Before watching this I had never even heard of them, with the sole expectation of Leech, because I’m pretty sure he appears in one of the Fox films. Anyway, according to Marvel Wiki, here's all the named Morlocks: Leech, Sunder, Erg, Plague, Masque, Tar Baby, Annalee, Callisto, Tommy, Ape, Scaleface, & Glow Worm.
Episode 6 - “Cold Vengeance”
Oh no, Wolverine threw a tantrum and left, who could have ever seen coming.
Genuine question, how much of Canada is an ice cap?
Is Sabretooth wearing a skintight suit, or is he butt naked?
Can we just talk about the fact that both Storm and Jubilee wear appropriate casual attire, but Gambit’s still in his combat attire.
How did Sabretooth manage to catch and tie up the entire village? Like, surely someone could have escaped? Or more likely, wouldn’t he have just killed them all? Like, he’s a murderous psychopath, I’m surprised he could even be bothered to set bombs.
Ooo, looky the Sentinels are back.
Episode 7 - “Slave Island”
One of the antagonists of this episode is some cunt who calls himself “The Leader”, he’s not the actual Leader (Samuel Sterns), so I ain’t including him in the character introductions.
Why is Gambit weirdly out of character this episode? Like, he's much more of a prick than usual here.
Why is Cable here? How is Cable here? What time travel shenanigans were required for him to be here?
Character Introductions:
Cable / Nathan Summers
But seriously, why is Cable here? Not that I don’t appreciate him being here, I just kinda want an explanation. Especially since the episode seems to indicate that he’s not from the future, but I’m fully aware later seasons will contradict that. Maybe I’m missing something and this’ll be explained later.
Mastermold
That’s a big arse Sentinel.
Cameron Hodge
So, technically this guy first appears in Episode 3 as Beast’s lawyer, but he had no impact on the story and he was being pro-mutant, which is out of character.
Blob / Frederick Dukes | Sunfire / Shiro Yoshida | Feral / Maria Callasantos
These guys have speaking roles in the episode, but I honestly have nothing to say about them.
Cameo Appearances from Mystique, Pyro, Rictor, Avalanche, Thunderbird, Northstar, Aurora, Caliban, & Domino.
Episode 8 - “The Unstoppable Juggernaut”
Not gonna lie, I like how the Fox films actually show there being students at the X-Mansion, cos honestly without them, the place looks abandoned.
I really feel bad for Colossus, guys just doing a job and gets attacked by a group of bigots and then Wolverine & Jubilee. Like, seriously, when he says “What is it with these Americans? They are very strange people.” I’m inclined to agree with the guy (this is ignoring the fact that Logan is Canadian). Then he gets arrested for a robbery he doesn’t commit. Bloody hell, this man can’t catch a break. Thankfully his company in prison was Beast. The man may talk like an academic but at least he’s friendly.
What does Juggernaut need money for? Can’t he just take literally anything he wants? He’s the Juggernaut, who the fuck is stop him?
Anyway, I think he is fucking hilarious. Legitimately the funniest character the show has introduced.
I’m sure Juggernaut vs. Colossus is a fight I’m never gonna see again…
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Ok, what we’ve learnt is that if Rogue absorbs Juggernaut’s powers, she breaks. Interesting.
And at the end he just walks away, because of course he does. Not like they can beat him any other way.
Characters Introduced:
Colossus / Piotr Rasputin
Can I just say that I think Colossus is lovely. Like, I think he’s a very good example of what a man should be. Strong, friendly, a little bit dumb. A himbo by true definition. I may be crushing on a fictional character. 
Juggernaut / Cain Marko
“Don't you know who I am? I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!”
Episode 9 - “The Cure”
More Cable shenanigans. I’m sure he’s actually from the future this time.
Oh look Logan being a twat and antagonising most of the team, I’m sure that’ll go really well for him.
Damn, Gambit really out here trying to push himself onto Rogue, despite knowing she could kill him just by touch. What a knob.
Everytime Cable asks for Dr. Adler, I’m just reminded of this moment from Dragon Ball Z Abridged.
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That is all.
Character Introductions:
Angel / Warren Worthington III
This millionaire in the colour blue is available for pre-order. Call 1800-APOCALYPSE now!
Moira MacTaggert
As far as I’m aware she’s important to the X-Men mythos, but I personally know fuck all about her. 
Mystique / Raven Darkhölme
Ah, Mystique, the psychotic bitch with the power to make all trans people jealous. Infuriating.
Pyro / St. John Allerdyce
For some reason, they decided he needed English instead of Australian in this continuity.
Avalanche / Dominikos Petrakis
Ok, so his powers are like, seismic energy right? It just bothers me that a guy named Avalanche doesn’t have ice powers.
Apocalypse / En Sabah Nur
Not gonna lie, I’m kinda surprised to see Apocalypse here. I honestly expected him to be, like, ‘the big bad’ at the end of the series.
Episode 10 - “Come the Apocalypse”
Ok, so lemme get this straight, Warren wants a cure for his mutation because he considers himself a freak, yet the fucker wears a full spandex superhero suit that incorporates his wings. If you hate your wings, why would you own a bright red and white costume? Make yourself more visible? Dumbarse.
“Death, the winged avenger”, 🤓☝️erm ackshually, Apocalypse, Archangel isn’t an Avenger.
And then they all fuck off. Kinda anticlimactic, ngl.
Character Introductions:
Archangel / Warren Worthington III
This millionaire is now available in the colour. To get yours call 1800-HORSEMANofDEATH now! “Didn’t you already include Worthington here?” Yeah, but this time he’s blue… and slightly insane.
Episode 11 - “Days of Future Past - Part 1”
Wow, it really takes no time at all for Bishop to flip teams.
Ok, so what causes Bishop’s amnesia? Was it Nimrod reaching for him? I don't think this is ever explained.
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Oh, hi Frank. Good to you see. Going by the wrong name I see.
More questions, why’s Bishop’s time thingamajig not working properly?
I’m sorry, but what the fuck? Bro just drove a bus straight through the X-Mansion XD.
Ok, I like Wolverine’s constant mocking of Bishop. The man deserves it, he’s a bit of a stuck up prick.
… Oh my god. I just made a horrifying realisation.
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Silver is just Bishop’s hedgehog-sona.
Gambit finally shows back up and Bishop’s immediate first thought is to shoot the bastard. Don’t worry man, it happens to all of us. I too murder the first frenchman I see when sent on important missions.
Characters Introduced:
Lucas Bishop
“It’s no use!” Bishop is the kinda guy to shoot first, ask questions never.
Forge
He is here. I don’t actually have any idea who he is.
Nimrod
This is a really dumb name for something that’s supposed to be threatening.
Episode 12 - “Days of Future past - Part 2”
Jesus, Jubilee, what’s your beef with tattoos? I mean, they’re not really my vibe, but there’s no reason to call Bishop a freak. (We’re just gonna ignore that the guy shot Gambit and Rogue, that ain't important.)
Genuinely, Logan’s been pretty funny these last few episodes.
So, is Magneto not the leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants in this continuity? Interesting.
Again with the protesting? What the fuck do they hope to achieve? Fuck me, bigots are really fucking dumb.
Loving Blob’s Hawaiian shirt, tho.
Speaking of, how does Blob’s powers work? Like, is he just impervious to damage by sheer fat? If so, that is both really gross, but really cool.
“This kid’s crying. Do something” before shoving the child into Jubilee. Honestly, same, Logan. I too don’t wanna deal with crying children.
Mystique is just the queen of gaslighting and manipulation. Especially with Rogue.
I quite like that the whole assassinate Senator Kelly plot was Apocalypse’s plan, keeps him lurking in the background like the big bad he ought to be.
Characters Introduced:
Blob / Frederick Dukes
Technically, Blob made his first appearance in Episode 7, but this is his first appearance of actual significance.
Episode 13 - “The Final Decision”
Oh look, the bigots have resorted to rioting cause they’ve decided a group of people are responsible for shit only a few have done. 😒Where have I seen that before? 
Ok, so a few things. One, how the fuck did Mastermold achieve sentience? Two, why is its plot effectively just to create the cybermen from Doctor Who?
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Oh, hello Ghost Rider, fancy seeing you here.
“Stop him gently, Storm.” “As gentle as the falling snow.” She then proceeds to almost kill Gyrich by making him crash into a tree. Good job, Storm.
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This is the first thing I thought of when the X-Men were debating on if it’s worth saving Senator Kelly with Gambit reluctant to join.
“You're all fools... Heroic fools.” I literally could not agree more Erik. “The brave are always the first to die.” and that is just fucking cold. Not gonna lie, I fucking love Magneto in this show.
Thinking about it, why do the sentinels even bother discussing what they are doing? Like shouldn’t they all be talking to each other through some kinda network? I feel like that would’ve made them more threatening.
“What is that object? It appears to be the ace of spades.” Like, seriously, how are these guys a serious threat?
“Did you think I would let you die alone, Xavier?” Aw, Erik does care.
“Mutants are human. Therefore, humans must be protected from themselves.” Ok, so Mastermold is based. Still an evil prick, but at least it ain’t a bigot.
Ok, so with Scott and Jean’s proposal scene, why does she jump straight to talking about kids? Like, that’s a whole new fucking conversation ma’am.
Oooo, how very Sinister of an ending.
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darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght · 11 months ago
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Chapter 7- Part 9
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Ooooh, I see some discoloration in the darkness, and I think I can recognize what it is.
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That’s right, our final Pokémon is a Grubbin! Apparently, this encounter can either be a Grubbin or a Joltik, I’m not sure how the game decides which bug to give you here, it could just be a 50/50 thing. But honestly, I would’ve been fine with either of them, both would be helpful for the Gym. Joltik is obvious, being part Electric-type itself by default; as for Grubbin? Well…you’ll see (and no, it’s not about its evolution).
Anyways, I’ve got a good Ball for this, so let’s start by just purely putting it to sleep with Sing.
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So far so good. And now, my secret weapon: Chekhov’s Dusk Ball!
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Not only is it nighttime, but we’re in a dark building, so this should work perfectly on this Grubbin (especially with it being asleep)!
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Outstanding, amazing, 10/10-
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I named her Prong after the metal protrusions on electrical plugs- which, you know, given the Grubbin line’s association with electricity and such, seemed fitting.
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Anyways, with the lights back on, do these NPCs have anything new to say?
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I mean, seems like the lights got fixed pretty quickly, so it couldn’t have been that bad all things considered.
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Which god, there’s like thirty of them.
Anyways, those are all the encounters- now it’s time to build our final team for Julia! …After I admire these nighttime light effects.
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Nice.
Anyways, as for our team to take on Julia- I did some looking, did some moving-around on the PC, and this is the final product (or, well, near final because there’s yet more grinding to do):
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I swapped out Breeze and Streak for Bloom and Prong. Once this Gym battle’s done, I’ll probably bring Breeze back in after beating Julia, but as for Streak…who knows, this may be his time to get some rest. 
I’m keeping in Whiskers because she has a bit more type coverage in the form of Zen Headbutt and Disarming Voice in addition to a STAB Normal move. As for why I’m keeping Riptide in, well- c’mon, he’s our starter! I’m not taking my starter out of the party! It’s like Octopath Traveler, you can’t take the chosen protagonist out of the party- and even when you are allowed to take them out of the party in the endgame, I still don’t do it because I’m too attached.
Anyways, there are some interesting things about Bloom and Prong. For one thing, Bloom apparently has a unique Original Trainer-
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“Sweet Co.”...whatever that is. Maybe it’ll become relevant later.
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Oh, but Bloom does have the Budew line’s Hidden Ability! Very nice, even if it won’t come into play in this particular Gym battle.
As for why Prong is so special, well, that’s pretty simple: her moves! And in Grubbin’s Gen VII learnset, there’s one move in particular it learns early on, and Prong luckily has it in her current moveset:
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BEHOLD! AT LONG LAST, A SINGULAR GROUND-TYPE THING! Again, I doubt we’ll be able to rely on it during this particular battle, but a Ground move is a Ground move and it is so good to have.
Now, the next task is to get these two on the rest of the party’s level- Lv. 16 specifically- and from there, grind everyone up just a bit more (but still below Lv. 20, of course). Bloom in particular is an interesting case, because I want to evolve him into Roselia, but we can’t do that until it’s daytime again. So, I can probably start building up friendship with him now, then continue tomorrow.
And it was in the midst of trying to build up friendship with Bloom that we ran into this new guy, a scientist-looking dude. What’s he got to say?
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What kind of analysis would you even be doing on the outside of a building, of all things? Let alone to the point that you get the “wrong” data? How does that even happen?? Do you even have a doctorate, sir??
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Wha-!? Excuse me!? Those are what the Read-Outs are?? I mean- if talking to NPCs is what gives those Read-Outs, I mean…I do that pretty frequently already, so maybe getting all the Read-Outs won’t be so bad…? I still wish we could just get the data by battling under that Field Effect a certain amount of times or something…
Which Field Effect is this Read-Out even about, anyways?
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Oh- yeah, that makes sense.
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ewzzy · 2 years ago
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I was reminded that the 1993 Topps Marvel trading cards had Unsolved Mysteries of the Marvel Universe and I just had to check if we've solved them in the intervening 30 years.
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Starting off we’ve got the longest running mystery, but as with all of these the big question is “what were you hoping to find out?” We’ve seen Doom’s unscarred face in flashbacks and healed in the 1980s Secret Wars, but it was only in 2015’s reimagining of Secret Wars that we see what really lives under the mask. It’s nasty! A real “dead dove do not eat” moment.
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This one I’m surprised was a mystery since it’s so well known now. When Cable first showed up he was a warrior from the future, but it wasn’t until 1994’s The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix that it was revealed that he was the time traveling son of Scott Summers and Jean Grey. Well, kinda... you see he’s actually the son of Scott and Jean’s clone Madeline and… go ask Jay and Miles if you want the X-Men X-Plained.
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This is the one that got me started on this mess. Darkhawk wasn’t a huge character so this sort of went unresolved but also who cared? Basically when Chris Powell turns into Darkhawk his whole body is replaced by a drone robot from these space hawk warriors. Turns out the whole thing that freaked him out was that underneath the helmet it revealed that he wasn’t even human in that form. And yet, as far as I know we’ve never got a clear look at what he saw.
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Hoo boy was this a mystery in 1993? So for background in 1990 we got Danny Ketch as the new Ghost Rider. He was more chains and leather than Johnny Blaze, the Evel Knievel-esque original. The mystery in question is “where did he get his powers and are they from the same demon Zarathos as the original?" After spending time too many wiki pages, I can now say that Danny was revealed to be Johnny Blaze’s secret brother and not powered by Zarathos. Looks like Danny at some point swapped his bike for a buster sword and started calling himself Death Rider. lol
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This one is easy! It’s Thanos! Thanos is the sixth member! It got revealed in The Warlock Chronicles during Infinity Crusade. This mystery didn’t make it out of 1993.
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Oh hey it’s my least favorite Spider-Man topic! That his parents were killed by the fake communist Red Skull is pointless at best. That they were seemingly brought back only to be revealed as Spider-Slayer robots is somehow worse. That whole mess got resolved in 1994 as a plot from The Chameleon. It’s right before the Clone Saga. Ugh!
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This one is a case of dragging it out so long that no answer would be good enough. In 2001’s “Origin” we finally found out that Logan’s real name is James Howlett and he was born in late-19th-century Canada. The Logan name comes from James’ maybereal father from an affair and definite first bone claw stabbing victim Thomas Logan. This is all fine but I 100% of the time confuse “James Howlett” with “Jamie Hewlett” the artist who draws The Gorillaz.
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A major thread in 90s X-Men was that Bishop came from a future where an X-Man had betrayed the team and ruined the future. He was pretty suspicious of Gambit in particular and there were hints based on this guy named The Witness that seemed to be Gambit from the future. All that got dropped when Charles Xavier became Onslaught and turned on everyone. Bishop even kind of got to save the day in that story. I guess it all worked out.
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It’s our final X-Men mystery and the answer lies in one of the worst received X-Men stories of ALL-TIME! So your first thought should be “he’s a mutant what do you mean origin?” Okay, so starting in 1981 there were hints that Mystique was Nightcrawler’s mom. That started because people say they look the same. That’s a pretty wild thing to say since she has blue skin and he has blue fur and also she’s a shapeshifter so the idea of her real form is iffy at best. Well, it turns out Claremont wanted Mystique to have shapeshifted into a fella and been the father not the mother. Biologically speaking. He didn’t get to write that story, so instead Chuck Austen wrote The Draco…
I can’t believe this is going to a 2nd paragraph but here goes. Mystique in disguise as the wife of a German baron named Christian Wagner, but got pregnant by a mysterious Herr Azazel. The kid comes out blue and her charade is exposed. Flash forward to present day and Nightcrawler is investigating Isla des Demonas and he finally meets dear old dad. Azazel reveals himself to be a literal satan from the Brimstone Dimension. This very nearly broke Nightcrawler’s whole character. Instead of a kind man who is hated because of his appearance, he is a literal son of a demon. Don’t get me started on the woman who adopted Kurt. She’s green and has horns.
That's all the mysteries! If you think I got something wrong about X-Men then yes you're probably right. If there's a secret Darkhawk reveal I couldn't find them please please share it.
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super-paper-swap · 9 months ago
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Super Paper Swap: Interlude 1 (OLD)
Word Count: 3,204
Chapter Summary: Bowser wakes up in enemy territory and attempts to escape. Meanwhile, Luigi returns to Flipside with a new Pure Heart in tow.
Mimi stood before Mistress Tempo and Dimentio with the bitter taste of defeat, and sand, plaguing her mouth. The Mistress was quite surprised that one of her followers had returned not just empty-handed, but badly bruised and beaten as well. Mimi was a renowned assassin before her recruitment by Tempo alongside another one of her current team members, so the fact she was so easily felled was shocking to say the least.
"So based upon what you've told us, it didn't go well?" Dimentio asked.
"Yes, please forgive me for my failure, Mistress."
"Fear not Mimi, all is forgiven in the eyes of the chosen prophet." Tempo consoled to Mimi. "Even if you didn't retrieve him, your encounter with the Hero is enough to prove that his strength is formidable. I suppose it is to be expected, of course. Dimentio," she turned to the assistant. "I request that you consult the prophesy to determine the next location of our hero. I'd suggest an attempt to out-brawn him with Mimi's old friend."
"I will get on that immediately my Mistress." Dimentio bowed in acknowledgment of Tempo's plan.
"Excellent, I shall be in my bed chamber, catching up on my reading. Let me know when the hero is in our grasp." With that, Mistress Tempo snatched the Dark Prognosticus from its mid-air perch and teleported away.
Dimentio sighed, "Are you doing alright Mimikins?"
"My head is still ringing from from the number of bombs I was hit with, but I'll live, and don't call me Mimikins. As much as I like the nickname, the last thing I need is Nastasia thinking we're, well, you know..."
"Right, right. My apologies." He stuttered. "I just wanted to say that you should rest some before your next call into action. If you need me, I'll be scouring out some of Bowser's unassimilated supporters."
With embarrassment still bright on his face, Dimentio left in similar fashion to Tempo as a pulse of energy emitted from his original position and he left the room.
"Have fun." Mimi replied, before she, too, exited.
Bowser unfurled himself from his shell with pain jutting out from every fiber of his being; he endured the agony on all fours before rising up to his usual bipedal stature, confused about his surroundings: a dimly-lit, red-orange hallway with a number of blue, kaleidoscope-like patterns painted on the walls.
"This is probably the second or third strangest place I've ever taken a nap in, where am I right now?" The Koopa King asked to no one in particular before he remembered, "Wait. The wedding! PRINCESS?! MARIO?! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!"
"Mister Bowser?" A voice called out. Two goombas approached him. "Thank goodness, we were worried you wouldn't make it out of your honeymoon alive, but here you are."
"Gary? Gerald? It's great to see you guys!" Bowser welcomed the lesser minions in open arms. "How're you doing?"
"We're fine Mister Bowser, but we haven't had any luck finding anybody else." The second goomba replied. "We were hoping you'd like to lead the search party while Gary searches for more survivors."
"No problem Gerald. Let's skedaddle."
And like that, Bowser and Gerald made their way in search of other teammates. Said search did not last long when the only unlocked door led them to Gary helplessly trying to talk sense into some of his former comrades, whom all sported eighth note-shaped sprouts atop their heads.
The sound of footsteps halted the conversation as Dimentio appeared from behind the brainwashed group. The conversation between the goomba and jester were inaudible, with the exception of its ending, in which sounds of indescribable agony escaped from Gary as a green sprout grew on his head at the snap of Dimentio's fingers.
"GLORY TO THE ESTEEMED MISTRESS!!!" Rang through the hallway after the troops received orders from their higher-up. Bowser ran with Gerald in arm in the opposite direction upon the dispersal of the troops, fearing the possibility of losing another precious ally to the strange, cranial weed.
The duo were thwarted by the misfortune of reaching a drop-off into the Void below, forcing them with only one choice.
"We need to turn around." Bowser thought aloud. His concentration was disturbed by a snap and the sound of Gerald screaming in pain. The goomba then proceed to nip at Bowser's arm in aggression before the Koopa King dropped the fungus, who scurried to the miniature army behind Bowser, led by non other than Dimentio.
"I'm sorry King Bowser, but this is the part where I need you to surrender. You won't feel any pain if you join us willingly, I promise." The jester pleaded, clearly distraught by the situation at hand.
"What are you doing to my people anyhow? Even under Peach's control, they're composed but hesitant to attack anything." The koopa asked hesitantly, inching closer to the edge of the drop-off.
"I'm persuading them into joining our cause, your highness. It's a cruel method, yes, but it only hurts for a little while." Dimentio prepared to snap his fingers once again. "I'm not a fighter your highness, nor are you, so let's finish this dispute before it has to begin."
Bowser snarled in defense, firmly holding his ground.
"I suppose we're doing this the hard way then." He held up his hand for the snap, but something struck and took hold of him; a tiny whisper that nagged over and over indefinitely, suggesting the same thing again and again. A tiny voice that seemed so incredibly tempting to obey, for whatever reason.
"Ah...ha...ha." Dimentio laughed to himself, not realizing that he'd done so. He snapped his fingers in accordance to the voice's demands, which caused a transparent box to surround the koopa and closed in on Bowser before teleporting him elsewhere. Immediately afterwards, the assistant snapped out of his trance, confused and exhausted but the events that had transpired.
"I...what? Why did I...?" He clutched his head. "Ow ow ow. Nevermind then, If he's gone, he's gone. We'll just have to deal with it later. I should be busying myself with the Mistress' accommodations anyway." Dimentio assured himself as he made his way back inside.
He couldn't help but feel like the voice he'd heard was familiar.
I remember the day we first met, the day that everything changed.
"Ughh...Uuugh..."
"You're awake at last?"
"Where...am I? Is this...a human's home."
"Don't wiggle like that. I found you at the cliff base. You took quite a fall."
"You're a human, correct? I don't...repulse you? I am of the Tribe of Darkness."
"Why would that matter? Anyone with a heart would not ignore an injured soul!"
For a moment, there was peace. But we should have known better. We should have known how everything would spiral out of control by meeting.
From that day forward, everything was going to be different.
Emerging through the red door, Luigi and his pixl companions found themselves back in Flipside with the orange Pure Heart in arm. A small, heart shaped ruby sparkled above the door as if to confirm the Pure Heart's successful collecting as Blecky insisted on the team returning to Merlee.
The group mutually agree and made their way down the elevator to the second floor. Luigi noticed that the Pure Heart he held gave off a familiar aura as it healed his wounds; it felt like he was being visited by an old friend in its presence. He realized that he had felt a similar aura with the red Pure Heart, but with a familial feeling, like when he and Mario hung out together on off days. Both Pure Hearts, he noticed, had an air of nostalgia to them that he couldn't quite shake off, but decided it'd be best to ask about why that was when he was with Merlee.
Right next to the elevator, Merlee's sunset colored house stood out like a sore thumb, but was a welcome sight nonetheless. Luigi "saved" before he entered, sensing something important was about to happen, but halted when he spotted the grey-robed fortune teller peaking out of his house. Luigi decided to introduce himself, which alerted the elder to his presence more violently than anticipated.
"Confounded Man in Green, do you not see that I'm already frightened to my wits?!"
"No sir, I'm sorry. I just wanted to say 'Hi'."
"Why does that matter?! I'm too sleep deprived to care! I should have become a Prognosticus interpreter! These eyes were meant to read the pages of fantastic prophesies, not the palms of the impatient! I keep having the same cursed dreams of my game ending at the top of the tower in that other world, I don't have time to read into the futures of others! I should have been a Prognosticus interpreter darn it all, I'm going back inside!"
"Can I at least get your name?"
"NO! I'M GOING BACK INSIDE!" And true to his word, the fortune teller returned to his abode and abruptly proceeded to slam and lock the door behind him as he continued to ramble to himself. Luigi felt a sort of sympathy emit from the Pure Heart's light and held it closer to his chest like he was hugging it. This seemed to return the Pure Heart to to its normal glow as he made his way back to Merlee's house.
"Eh, don't worry about Nolrem. He's always paranoid. I think it comes from seeing into the future all the time." Blecky assured to Luigi before they finally entered the sunset colored house.
The interior was a spectacle of red and orange walls lined with bookshelves; the pitch black ceiling glistened with star-shaped decoration and the floor was of a fine looking wood, covered by an elegant looking rug of a variety colors.
Merlee stood in the center of the room next to a small wooden table, her attention invested in a white book with a star on the cover. A little orange cat approached the heroes from behind her, mewing excessively at Blecky, who swooped down to pet the feline.
"Merlee! Voidslayer! We return with a beacon of hope in hand!" The bat called out.
Luigi couldn't help but snort at the rather inapt name of "Voidslayer" given to Blecky's cat; the sheer ridiculousness that was his first pixl partner brought worried looks upon Laddy and Boomer's faces, but they decided it best not to call out on their friend's peculiar obsession with singlehandedly vanquishing a world consuming vortex.
Merlee pried her eyes off the book in her hands to observe the luminescent glory of the Pure Heart in Luigi's possession, which seemed to pulse in his arms with Merlee's approach, like it recognized her.
"Greetings hero, how do you do? That's certainly a Pure Heart you have you! Come now hero, do not slack, what good news have you brought back?" The enchantress requested with excitement.
"We found the Pure Heart in a desert Merlee," Blecky began. "It was given to us by your ancestor, Merloo."
"Her ancestor?" Luigi asked.
"Yeah, Bleh heh heh. Merloo not only helped write the Light Prognosticus, he was also partially responsible for constructing Flipside. Without him, we probably wouldn't be here."
Then, a knock was heard at the door. Merlee excused herself to answer it, revealing Ellie on the other side.
"Hi Miss Merlee! Papa told me to come get you because a monster fell from the sky and he told me to tell you to check if it was dangerous because it scared him and he said it LOOKED dangerous so he wanted you to make sure and-" Ellie jabbered on and on until Merlee was able to calm her down enough to make sense of the girl's message and followed the girl up to the third floor.
Fearing the possibility that the monster in question may have been one of Tempo's followers, Luigi and his pixl allies tailed behind them, where they discovered the monster in question was actually a familiar face.
"Bowser?" Luigi approached the unconscious turtle in uncertainty. As much as he wanted to believe it was one of Mimi's tricks, he couldn't shake the feeling that beast in front of him was genuinely his friend and not a doppelgänger.
"You know him?" Blecky asked.
"Yes, he's my friend, and the king that Tempo had kidnapped."
"Is that so? Hey Merlee, you getting all this?" Blecky called out to the enchantress, who was observing the turtle's condition.
"This beast is ill, his skin is chill. Hero," Merlee turned to Luigi, "fetch something for his ailment, if you will. Might I implore, Howzit from the first floor? His cooking could help I'm sure."
Luigi nodded and made his way to the first floor, the Pure Heart now in his inventory, where the majority of the population housed; he was immediately able to distinguish the town's kitchen by the hanging sign above its doors.
The chef, Howzit, was astonishingly friendly, offering to cook a bowl of Spicy Soup to warm up poor Bowser with zero hassle. The hero gladly accepted the soup and made his round back to the third floor to deliver the steamy liquid. At his return, Ellie, her father, and Merlee were waiting by the dragon-like turtle.
Luigi gently forced open Bowser's maw to allow the soup to be eaten, slowly pouring in the substance as he did so. When the bowl was empty, the nostrils of the koopa flared slightly as he stirred awake; a puff of smoke seeped from the mouth after a small coughing fit. Bowser's eyes slowly opened as a yawn escaped from him and he clumsily stood upward.
"Mm, where am I this time?" He mumbled. His eyes focused unto the blurry figure before him; his eyes brightened up at the sight of his closest friend, whom he embraced with a warm reception in return from the dear plumber.
Deciding it best to catch up the koopa on current events, Luigi, Bowser, Merlee, and the pixls made way back the the enchantress' house. The overall conversation eventually led to Bowser, filled with determination, deciding to join Luigi on his quest to rescue his followers, his kingdom, and everything else out of moral obligation. Merlee took into account the fact that the Light Prognosticus had specifically mentioned the existence of four heroes to stop the Void, and deducted Bowser's arrival as a calling to his destiny, a reason that the koopa blatantly accepted without question.
This resolve alerted Merlee to explain the Heroes' new mission, since they were now in possession of another Pure Heart; the feat itself was no different from the first time Luigi had placed a Pure Heart into a pillar. The search for the Pure Hearts was a simple cycle of placing one Heart, locating the next one in the dimension provided through a new colored door, returning to town, rinse and repeat. The next pillars, however, were not in town, they were outside of town. With this in mind, Merlee handed a small key to the heroes.
"This key is to the fence outside, inside the Next the lock does hide. Be careful in the outskirts of town, for there are holes where you could fall down. They were dug by Tempo, while you were gone. Such is she, that wretched foe."
"Wait, why was she digging holes back there?" Luigi asked her.
"An answer to that I cannot see, so please, for my sake, be weary."
"...okay then." He said, and then left without further question.
At the bordering fence, Laddie flipped the team into the Next, where a gate and lock were now visible. Using the key, they unlocked the fence gate and returned to the normal dimension.
"Please don't make me have to do that too much in the near future." Laddie pleaded in exhaustion, having never delivered a creature of Bowser's mass into the Next and back in such a short interval of time. Luigi invited the tired pixl into his inventory to rest while the rest of the group moved onward.
Without the gate to block their way, Luigi and Co. passed into the outskirts of town, where there were indeed a copious number of recently dig up holes. Luigi had pulled out the orange Pure Heart again around this time and was allowing its energies to direct him to its respected Heart Pillar.
They eventually located the Pillar on top of a somewhat tall structure that would've been impossible to reach without Luigi's Super Jump or someone with the ability to glide based on the floating platforms that led to it.
Luigi leaped to the pillar with the Pure Heart in tow. At the top, he felt the familiar resonance of the Pure Heart ready to launch itself, and let go.
The second Heart Pillar pulsed like its predecessor as the Pure Heart lifted itself into its home inside the pillar, a light show of clockwork patterns displaying and then dissipating within seconds.
Back at the bottom, the pixls has conglomerated around Bowser's head space due to him complaining about a nasty pain in his cranium.
"It could be tumor."
"Or maybe fire lice! SHHPOW!"
"It's probably just a headache guys, lemme fix it with my acupuncture skills!"
"What's going on here?" Luigi questioned as he descended from the structure.
"The Super Turtle has a headache, so I'm gonna make it better! Bleh heh heh!" Blecky answered, completely inthralled by his task of scratching around in Bowser's bushy hair to find the exact location of the koopa's pain.
"Well, you go do that I suppose. I was planning on booking us a night at the Inn so we can be rested for tomorrow."
"Why can't we just head out right now? The sooner we stop that Void, the better." Blecky concentrated on one particular location inside the fiery bushel that made Bowser mutter in pain.
"We'd be better off well rested and traveling in daylight then still exhausted from our travels in the Linelands and bumbling about at night."
"That wouldn't matter anyway." He massaged around the area of impact, causing Bowser to growl. "Last time I checked, the Yellow Pure Heart was in Gloom Valley, which is always trapped in eternal sunset, except for when its nighttime of course."
"I'm still going to book us a stay at the Inn."
"Fine by me." Blecky sign, the pressure on the area eventually pulled something out from the sensitive spot on Bowser's head after the koopa began to whimper loudly. The bat pixl pulled on the something until he was able to retrieve it, a little brown seen which he precariously handed over to Luigi for safe keeping.
With the removal of the seed, Bowser's head was at ease and the team was able to make way to the Inn, where Luigi and Company slumbered peacefully the entire night.
After many careful preparations the following morning, the team rode the elevator up to the top of Flipside Tower, where an orange door as elegantly designed as the first colored door stood to the right of the first.
With an air of excitement leading the way, the Heroes passed into the Orange door into Gloom Valley.
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italwayshadtobeyou · 1 year ago
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@eisforeidolon I'm making a new post here, at this point it's bordering on derailment of your original post, but I do have thoughts about the comparison between John and Bobby as father figures to Dean.
It's possible that the writers intended for you to read Bobby as having become Dean's main template for a hunter, I just don't see it in the series' execution. Compare how Dean reacts to Bobby's demon deal with how he reacted to John's in season 2. When Dean realized that John had sold his soul to save him, he was furious and heartbroken. He appeared tempted by a crossroads demon's offer to swap them out.
In season 6, Dean knows that Bobby has made a deal with Crowley. I would say he assumes that their deal would've forced Crowley to return Bobby's soul at the allotted time (which would make sense), except that he evinces no surprise at Bobby's predicament when Bobby talks about it. He's only surprised that Bobby is taking time to chew him out over his lack of interest. I can't imagine Dean finding out that John was Hellbound, and then basically going ::shrug.::
Granted, I think that "Weekend at Bobby's" is a weak episode, probably the worst of season 6. All those hidden sub-clauses contradict the workings of demon deals from season 2, and "best efforts" absolutely should have already compelled Crowley to return Bobby's soul. Still, it is how season 6 goes, and it does, to me, argue against the idea that Bobby has replaced John in Dean's esteem.
It doesn't exit in isolation, either. Any of the 3 preceding episodes could've shown Dean asking about the deal, or how Bobby's been, or, y'know, saying something to demonstrate concern for Bobby's well-being. Maybe Dean is (understandably) angry at Bobby for his deception regarding Sam's return, but would that have been enough to make him flat-out quit caring about John? I can't picture it.
So while I think that Bobby does occupy a paternal role in the sense of mentoring and emotional support for Dean, he still isn't ensconced there as firmly as John was. Dean likes Bobby, sure, but does he care about him the way he did about him the way he did about John?
Seasons 8-9 drive home that Dean cares far less about Bobby's soul than he did about John's. Again, "Taxi Driver" is a dumb episode on multiple counts (especially the bribe-able reaper-- imagine stealing from the till when Death is your boss), but the show does run with the idea that Crowley stole Bobby's soul. Keep in mind that Crowley 's a free agent at this point (so, no one to punish him if he doesn't steal souls), and he isn't even getting nominal agreement from his victims. He just wanted to break the rules, so he did.
After Sam quits the Trials, when Crowley has become expendable, does Dean look for revenge? Nope. There's no "This is for my dad, you son of a bitch," or even just a stab with the demon knife. He not only keeps Crowley alive (despite Sam's questioning that decision), he teams up with him to get the Mark of Cain, just half a season later. Would that have been his call if it was John's soul Crowley had stolen?
Even in your example of "Dream a Little Dream of Me," where he tells Bobby he's like a father to him, it isn't Bobby's jacket he's wearing, or Bobby's music he's listening to. As his demon self from his vision tells him, it's John's.
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