#we came all this way and there was no ultimate showdown

[hanzajesthanza]

if i thought the witcher was painfully realistic. i was wrong. it is a very clear fairytale that comforts and soothes. even in its realistic take on the genre, it inspires, even in its tragedy, it comforts.

evil is defeated epically in a final battle in the darkness, the valiant heroes fall together, the lovers die united, and all pass into legend and are remembered for ever and ever. and the spirit of our hero returns now and again to save and deliver us from evil… they become legend and in that legend they are immortal…

[wiptw]

Pokémon Stadium Series

Nintendo 64 - Nintendo - 2000 to 2001

You as a Pokémon fan are absolutely fucking spoiled these days. Aside from the mainline games you have spinoffs and fangames offering different experiences, you have entire websites dedicated to documenting everything down to the internal maths of the series, there's no end to the free content you can access with an internet connection between emulators and battle sites like 'Showdown!', and it's now socially acceptable in most circles to be older than 13 and have something with Pikachu's face plastered on it (especially if you're female presenting, especially if your friend group is also infected with the Pokémon hype). Back in my day™ you had almost none of this. You had the anime on Saturday mornings, you had the early run Pokémon licensed merch which WOULD get you called a baby if you continued buying past 10-12, and you had the games. Those sweet, sweet games that indoctrinated a generation of young people into being gamers and awoke a horde of JRPG addicts.

Literally Me

So remember this when I tell you that Pokémon Stadium, both one and two, aren't great games because they do something back then that you can't get today; they're great for what they did back then. So Pokemon Stadium 1&2 were a duology of games from 2000 and 2001 respectively that allowed players to battle Pokemon in 3D, with the addition of some side content such as minigames included to prevent the game from being 100% Pokemon battles. Because otherwise, the game is in fact navigating a series of menus and completing Pokémon battles with 3D models.

Whether it's taking on the gym gauntlets, the marathon of battles in the Pokémon cups, or just free battles with friends and loved ones, 98% of the experience is either selecting Pokémon from a roster of pre-built 'rentals' or transferring them from a saved game using the Transfer Pak, then fighting them in a series of 3D environments. An experience which you can definitely do today using web apps but as I said earlier, we didn't have that.

The peak of Pokémon battles in 2000

So if you're buying Pokémon Stadium (either version really) you're already probably a Pokémon fan right? So that means you have Red/Blue/Yellow/Gold/Silver/Crystal, so why not just play that game and get the full experience? The fun of exploring, talking to NPCs, discovering new and exotic locations? Simple, because in those games battles looked like this

While in Stadium, battles looked like this

If you grew up watching the anime while playing the Gameboy games, there was this special kind of dissonance where you might find yourself saying "Yeah, (for the time) these graphics are RADICAL but I wish I had something closer to these cool Pokémon Battles they had in the anime." As you hide under the covers with your Gameboy Color worm light, nestled in your Ash Ketchum pajamas while you attempt for the 100th time to capture a ditto. Pokémon Stadium was the answer to this dissonance, providing you with vibrant 3D graphics unlike anything you'd ever seen before; bringing Pokémon to life in a way that would be unmatched until Colosseum came out during the Gamecube era.

So, to actual mechanics, you play both games pretty similarly; by building a team of Pokémon (either on your handheld or by using the rental mons the game provides) and take part in a series of battles to become the ultimate battle master. To use your own Pokémon, you'd need to use the aforementioned 'Transfer Pak' to plug in a copy of Red/Blue/Yellow (for 1) or Gold/Silver/Crystal (for 2) with a game saved to the cartridge; otherwise the rental Pokémon covered all released Pokémon (except for some hidden ones) allowing you to build your dream team, sans a few caveats here and there.

Evolved Pokémon have better stats but worse moves, while weaker Pokémon tend to have better moves to compensate

In terms of WHERE you can battle, there's two choices: Either in the Gym Leader Castle, or the Tournaments held in the center of the map on either game. Either way, the game will then have you battle through a series of 3v3 matches versus a set number of trainers who will also select 3 random mons from their full team of six.

A bit bare bones, but there's some spice to how things are run. For one, the rental system was a huge thing for us younger players back in the day. Even if you had the games some Pokémon were hard to catch, had evolution requirements some players couldn't complete (like the trade-mons), or were locked to a version you didn't have. The rental mons give you a list of every Pokémon (some exceptions, but not many) and then lets you build your dream team. Sure, you can't set their moves, EVs, IVs, and it's the era before abilities and natures but I CAN HAVE A MEOWTH/PERSIAN ON MY TEAM. Do you know what I had to do as a child to have this Pokémon outside of Stadium? I had to find someone in the American South who also enjoyed Pokémon, hoped they had Blue instead of Red, hoped they had a link cable, then get them to agree to a trade despite both of us being children (and therefore, objectively terrible) which likely meant giving away a rare Pokémon in exchange for what amounted to common garbage in their game because it was Version fucking Exclusivity™ and everyone seemed to know that meant you'd do anything to get that one fucking Pokémon you wanted.

In the handheld games, if you wanted to build your dream team then likely you'd have to put in some more effort than other games of the time would've required of you. With Stadium, your dreams come true, and if you already have that dream team you can just import them to fight in glorious 3D. Circumventing the fact that rental Pokémon are kinda terrible overall.

Don't feel like building? The challenge cup mode that gives you randomized team comps that has it's own charm (for masochists)

Not to say all of them were bad but construct a normal distribution of 'Good' to 'Bad' picks then that graph is gonna skew left so hard you'd be forgiven for thinking it was just a straight line. To keep every choice 'viable' Pokémon rentals were balanced around stats and moves. More powerful evolved Pokémon and Pokémon with high Base Stat Totals (BST) were given weaker moves and first form and low BST Pokémon were given generally better moves. Charizard might have better stats than Charmeleon and Charmander but his only fire type move is going to be something like Fire Spin. Conversely, Charmander might have Fire Blast but his stats are gonna make him an easy target for the computer's pokemon, which are not bound to the same builds as the rental mons you're using.

Once your team is assembled, then you're off to battle trainer after trainer after trainer with beautifully scored (for the Nintendo 64) soundtracks giving you an unearned sense of importance every step of the way. Battles themselves are conducted with a weird, but functional control layout where A and B access sub menus you then check with the R button before finalizing with the c-buttons, which on original hardware or a USB N64 controller is fine but on emulation with a more modern controller like Logitech, can be a little nerve wracking as you worry about whether your 'up' input on the control stick was up enough for the game or if you accidentally drifted right or left using an unintended move.

fun fact: the name of imported Pokémon affects their coloration in Stadium

Battles are also largely regulated by (at the time) tournament standard rules. Little and Pokecup have level restrictions, and all three non-random cups include clauses for sleep, held items, and repeat Pokémon. Additionally, in any cup if you win the round with all 3 Pokémon still in tact, you're granted a continue; meaning you can retry the battle if you lose. Additionally, there is no 'draw' outcome in these games. Use a move like Explosion or Selfdestruct and the game will register it as your loss on your final Pokémon, regardless of whether you took down the opposing fighter with you or not.

You'll be doing a LOT of back-to-back fights here against trainers with varied team comps, but even with over 246 Pokémon in the available potential lineup you'll get tired fast of fighting. This is, however, slightly mitigated by the 3v3 nature of the matches but even so be ready to here the same Pokémon noises, watch the same effects play out, and wait for the same health bars to tick down over and over as you claw your way to the spot of Pokémon Master.

The art style of non-battle scenes like the main map and minigame plaza have that nice, 90's charm to them as well.

If you do get tired of battling it out, then Stadium 1 and 2 both offer minigames for players to partake in. Either in a tournament format or by using the free-play browser, players are able to take part in a multitude of different Mario Party-esque (without the hand burning) minigames featuring the Pokémon as stars. Minigames consist of stick twirling, button mashing, and point collecting all while controlling fan favorite Pokémon such as Togepi, Eevee, Scyther, and Pichu with no real rhyme or reason behind why these game exist aside from a amusement park theming the minigame zones have for their icons and menus.

You won't get a real explanation as to why you're racing Donphans, cutting logs as Scythers and Pinsirs, or playing Simon Says with a bunch of Clefairy, but you don't really need that either. The games are fun, the models are charming, and watching Clefairy get smacked in the head for each wrong input brings me a level of joy I should probably talk about with my therapist. You won't likely spend hours in this mode, but it's a nice breather from the onslaught of battles otherwise.

fun fact: I still won't talk to some people because of the outcomes to Rampage Rollout over two decades ago. You know who you are.

Additionally there's a quiz minigame separate from the main selection of minigames with easy/normal/hard difficulty selections. Players compete to see who can be the first to get a number of questions correct before anyone else based on facts about the Pokémon (typing, size, silhouette, etc) or facts about the game (where you can find things in the game, names of routes and towns, names of figures in the game).

It's not the most challenging on easy or normal, but playing on hard the game will try to screw you with trick questions so playing with others becomes a balance of "do I let the question play out, or attempt to steal it before someone else can answer correctly?"

Sometimes even playing the game won't prepare you for how out of pocket the questions can get

The real advantage of 2 over 1 is that, in addition to minigames, the game has the trainer academy; a kind of in-depth battle tutorial to teach players not only the basics of Pokémon fighting, but also some secrets as well

You can learn about held items, a feature new to the second generation, as well as participate in mock battles to demonstrate the materials you've been reading and quizzed on. Some of this information for the time too was obscure or hidden knowledge, like the fact that using Defense Curl before using Rollout would boost the damage significantly or that using Stomp on an opponent who used minimize would double the damage.

Some type matchups just make sense, like Ground v Electric.

Overall though what really makes this game is the presentation. The soundtrack does a great job selling the feeling Nintendo wants you to experience, climbing the ladder in a tournament or the Gym Leaders Castle makes you feel powerful, and the little details on top of it all just tie it together in a nice package.

The fights, for example, are also narrated by "The Announcer". A bombastic voice shouting over every detail of a fight. When you score a crit, when you apply a status effect, even using certain moves will get the announcer loudly narrating each detail like a Pokémon prize fight. Seeing the ground rip apart when you use Earthquake is only half the charm, the other half comes from that man yelling in your ears "A DEVESTATING EARTHQUAKE ATTACK!". Clearing gyms or clearing opponents in one of the cups grants you gym badges, a dream for any child growing up on the handheld classics or watching the anime who wished they too could earn shiny bits of metal that gave them an inflated sense of importance.

I would literally kill everyone I came across if it'd get me a real life Zephyr Badge.

Stadium 1 and 2 aren't evergreen classics. They're stuck in Gens 1 and 2 respectively, the roster of Pokémon while impressive is largely useless and makes collecting trophies way harder than it has to be, and the games were made before things like abilities and double battles were introduced, leading to the Pokémon battling game missing out on the generation of Pokémon that made battling more fun (Revolution doesn't count, Revolution is dead to me and disappoints me more than I disappoint myself.)

But for the time especially, it gave fans an opportunity to experience a form of Pokémon more advanced than what the handhelds could output. It was a window into a world of potential that wouldn't be truly fulfilled until arguably the 3DS era of Pokémon released, and gave fans a fun little romp handcrafted for them at every twist and turn. Whether you were a gamer or you enjoyed the anime, there was something here for you.

Overall: 7/10 Sound: 8/10 (for the time) Graphics: 9/10 (for the time) Memorable Moments: Stadium 1: Hearing about Mewtwo, thinking he was an urban legend, then finding out he wasn't Stadium 2: Finally beating the elite 4 using only rental mons.

[too-antigonish]

Endeavour and Fascism

There's a thread of history running through Endeavour that's been on my mind a lot recently. It's a somewhat unified arc that runs through 3 episodes: Coda, Colours, and Raga. I was curious to learn more and did some research.

It's probably nothing new for folks in the UK, but for most of us in the US, it's not something we learned about in school.

So here goes...long post...

S3E4: Coda

We get the first glimpse in in Coda when Thursday comforts Trewlove with the offer of a cigarette as she copes with the murder of a fellow officer:

THURSDAY: All right? TREWLOVE: They just shot him. Like it was nothing. THURSDAY: Here. For the nerves. Keep the pack. Stick 'em behind your notebook and nobody'll know. TREWLOVE: Thanks. THURSDAY: Tip my old governor gave me. Sergeant Vimes. Cable Street. “No Pasarán!” All right? Let’s have that jacket buttoned up, then. TREWLOVE: Sir.

It's such a little exchange, but it delights me in so many ways. There's the sweetness of the interaction between Thursday and Trewlove. There's the irony in hindsight of his "thoughtfulness" in helpfully encouraging her to smoke. There's the nod to Terry Pratchett's Discworld with the references to both "Sergeant Vimes" and "Cable Street." And finally there's the nod with “No Pasarán!”  to the actual Battle of Cable Street that occurred in the East End of London in 1936.

A nostalgic reference to “No Pasarán!” is actually a bit ironic coming from a former Met officer. As the unfortunate party charged with keeping the two opposing sides "peaceful," the Met faced some of the worst violence on that day. However, Fred Thursday would not have experienced it as a police officer.

We know from the episode Home that he didn't join the police until two years later, in 1938. We find out in Cartouche though, that he did grow up near Shadwell Basin—about a ten minute walk from where the main showdown in the Battle of Cable Street occurred—so there's a good chance that Thursday would have witnessed the events of that day and maybe even participated.

Here's my understanding of what happened: The British Union of Fascists—a group openly aspiring to create a British  state in the style of Hitler's Germany or Mussolini's Italy—attempted to stage a march through the middle of London's East End. Their leader was Oswald Mosley, a horrible but charismatic minor aristocrat with a Hitler-wannabe-mustache, his own cadre of paramilitary "Blackshirts," and—unbeknownst to him—a major problem in his ranks with deep infiltration by Special Branch. 

Why the East End? It was the poorest area of the city and thus home to the most recent immigrants—in particular, the UK's largest Jewish population—many of whom had escaped rising persecution elsewhere in Europe. At the same time, the East End was also home to the Londoners hit hardest by the rising unemployment of the 1930s.

Mosley's rhetoric had finally become openly and unapologetically anti-Semitic in 1935 and the idea that Jewish immigrants were the ones responsible for stealing jobs from the "native" British was a simplistic explanation offered by the BUF that unfortunately resonated with many East Enders. So ultimately, the East End was home to both the main target and the BUF and some of its biggest supporters.

In October of 1936, Mosley planned for his Blackshirts and their supporters to march through the heart of the East End. Determined to both defend themselves from threats of violence and stop the march from passing through their community, Jewish leaders and others mobilized, successfully recruiting thousands of their East End neighbors and others allies to assist.

© Jewish East End Celebration Society

On the day of the march, despite a massive police escort, the BUF was turned back repeatedly. The slogan of the day, borrowed from the Republican fighters in the Spanish Civil War was, "They shall not pass" or "No Pasarán!” 

Eventually, things came to a head at the junction of Cable Street and Christian Street. Multiple barricades were erected and the BUF marchers were pelted with rotted vegetables and the contents of chamber pots. It became a pitched battle at one point. Unable to break through the East End, Mosley was finally forced to relocate his followers to Hyde Park.

© Copyright Jim Osley Detail from a mural painted on the side of the former St George's vestry hall

S5E4: Colours

The Battle of Cable Street was a humiliation for the fascists and for Mosley, a victory for the Jewish community and their allies. Sadly, the happiness was very short-lived. Mosley was able to frame Cable Street in the press as an attack by the left on his right to free speech.

There was an immediate increase in support for the BUF in the greater London area, particularly in the East End, and an increase of violence against Jewish people in the UK.  Oswald Mosley himself travelled  to Germany only two days after Cable Street. There he married socialite Diana Mitford in a secret ceremony at the home of Joseph Goebbels with Hitler attending as the guest of honor. 

Mosley and Mitford CC-BY-2.0

However, the increase in support that occurred right after Cable Street was brief in itself. As the threat of Nazi Germany became more apparent in the UK, the popularity of the BUF declined. Once the war began, the Mosleys were interned under a provision that applied to active Nazi sympathizers.

Post-war, Mosley attempted to once more find a place in politics but fortunately never moved beyond the fringe. He and his wife became prime movers in advancing various Holocaust denial theories and later espoused rather unpleasant opinions on topics such as the forced repatriation of immigrants and mixed-race marriages.

If this all sounds familiar, it's because it all crops up in the storyline of Colours where the character of Charity Mudford, Lady Bayswater is a stand-in for Diana Mitford.  RL's dialogue very much captures the sheer banality of the real Diana Mitford's  evil:

BAYSWATER: I can't change the past. If Winston hadn't been so eager for office, all the unpleasantness might have been avoided. My husband had Hitler's ear. We could have persuaded him. Softened his resolve. He wasn't immune to reason.  THURSDAY: Charming conversationalist, no doubt. BAYSWATER: Actually, he was a very good mimic. Terribly witty. MORSE: Sir, is it time for that telephone call? To the station? I can take it from here. THURSDAY: The unpleasantness, as you call it, cost me six years of my life, and untold millions a great deal more.

S7E2: Raga

But we're not quite done yet. The BUF had a successor. The National Front was founded by a former member of the BUF who then joined forces with John Tyndall, the leader of the Greater Britain movement which had a big anti-immigration focus.

As with Jewish immigration a generation earlier, heavy South Asian migration to Britain in the 1970s made it an easy target for those seeking to pin all of the nation's economic and social problems on "outsiders."

The National Front eventually came out with an agenda that called for the revocation of citizenship for all non-whites in Britain and forcible repatriation to their "native" countries. NF rallies were frequently accompanied by violence whipped up by the kind of rhetoric we hear in Raga where the character of Gorman serves as a stand-in for Tyndall and his ilk:

THURSDAY: Well, we're very concerned about young Pakistani lads getting knifed on the street. GORMAN: Terrible. But I can't say that I'm surprised. You cram all of these incompatible cultures together on one small island, of course it's gonna lead to blood. And worse. MORSE: Sounds like a threat, Mr. Gorman. GORMAN: It's just an observation. If the police can't keep the streets safe and defend the indigenous population against outsiders, well, no wonder people take it into their own hands. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a seat to win.

If anyone sees anything that I've gotten wrong here, please let me know. This was my first time reading through any source material on this whole topic and it's complicated (and depressing as hell).

I haven't got any pithy, final point to make except to say that there are certain ideas that seem to cycle back with horrible regularity every time certain conditions are in place. They're wrong. They're simplistic. They're hateful. And they need to be stopped every time.

[startswith0]

Guys, we survived it. We're the fandom that survived all the ships (even the ones that came out of nowhere) getting together before the main quest/plot in the manga is concluded or even reaches its climax

We ticked them off one by one

Shinichi confessing in London ☑️

Takagi and Satou getting together - this was a long road ☑️

Shiratori finding his first love - finally, it was their elementary school homeroom teacher ☑️

Even Sonoko have found her The One after all those attempts at flirting, Makoto ☑️

Chiba's first love 🤨 i Don't even know how we got here loll ☑️

Chiba finding out it's Miike and getting together after several chapters ☑️

Somewhere along the way we even got Professor Agasa and his first love ☑️

Shinichi getting his answer in Kyoto 💙🌸 ☑️☑️☑️

Heiji keeps trying to get the right place to confess ☑️

Many times

And finally after thirty years, we have it, we survived the Heiji x Kazuha confession, we got it ☑️

Are we supposed wait to tick the box for

Kogoro and Eri getting back together 🔲

.... for the awaited conclusion?

Lmao or we're going to get another couple? Who's next? Inspector Megure getting a divorce and getting back together with his wife? Sera getting a love interest too perhaps? Mitsuhiko and Genta ultimate showdown for Ayumi?

🤣

[missholland]

Farewell, a place once called home!

I was homebound this week for an illness recovery, and thought it was the perfect time to rewatch one of my ultimate comfort shows: The Untamed.

Some people watch stuff once. Some people religiously rewatch their favs because they discover something new each time. I'm certainly part of the latter clan, and I cannot believe I never wrote about Wei Wuxian (WWX)'s post-resurrection return to Lotus Pier before.

The second half of episode 45 throughout episode 46 is quite a journey on its own right: the setting, the aesthetics, the dialogue, the emotional weight as one of the biggest secrets finally came to surface.

A very long rambling analysis ahead so bear with me!

Considering the latter half of episode 45 was mostly consumed with Si Si and Bi Cao exposing Jin Guangyao (JGY)'s dark past, there were only a couple of Lotus Pier moments that worth mentioning.

As WWX and Lan Wangji (LWJ) walked through the entrance of Lotus Pier, I was immediately taken back to what WWX said to LWJ in episode 6 when they were healing their injuries in the Cold Spring. WWX asked LWJ to come visit him in Lotus Pier one day, and I bet the circumstance they eventually found themselves in episode 45 was far from what WWX thought the visit would have been like.

Let's also take another step back to episode 34, where Jiang Cheng (JC) interrogated WWX. WWX admitted that he wanted to go back to Lotus Pier even in his dream, but at the time, he had probably given up all hopes of ever making that come true.

What else is there? His master and madam died, his disciple elder sister Yanli died, he got expelled from his own clan. It was virtually impossible to prepare WWX for the event of episode 45 where he actually got to walk into Lotus Pier again.

Let's now cruise into the main event - episode 46! Fed up with how the big clan meeting went following the revelation of JGY's wrongdoings, WWX and LWJ stepped away from the front room and made their way around Lotus Pier. They were likely just wandering around at the time, as their concentration was totally occupied with finding out who might be the mastermind trying to expose JGY. Then again, it might as well be WWX's muscle memory as they somehow ended up right in front of the ancestral hall.

Despite initial hesitation, WWX eventually decided to come in and paid respect to his Master, Madam and Yanli along with LWJ. It's not the first time we saw this incredibly tranquil and beautiful room. It really was WWX's most frequently visited room, whether it was being punished by Madam Yu (story apparently travelled all the way to Gusu) or having heartfelt conversation with Yanli. WWX telling LWJ his childhood stories inside the ancestral hall was probably the most mundane sequence during this whole ordeal, and a small moment of normality for WWX before our resident killjoy JC walked in.

Yes JC, we know it's your house but surely yelling in the middle of the ancestral hall whether your family was resting in peace isn't a very good idea? Our WWX certainly didn't expect any less from all the unpleasantness coming out of JC's mouth, as since forever he only let his anger do the speaking and not the common sense. LWJ was ready to have a showdown, but WWX calmly told him to stand down and let it go.

But did JC let it go too? Of course not. He was irritated by WWX's calmness and tried to spill some more frustration to get the other to react. He clearly picked the right route to go down on by picking on LWJ and Wen Ning (WN). Worse, he proceeded to single out LWJ and insulted his commitment to WWX.

That prompted WWX to yell out JC's courtesy name Jiang Wanyin, a name we didn't hear very often throughout the show but in this instance it was most memorable, especially coming from WWX. That itself drew a clear boundary in their relationship at that moment, from brothers to mere acquaintances in the cultivation world.

WWX wasn't afraid to ask a proud JC to apologise, but all JC was gonna do is pushing the button even more. He took a very personal swipe at their confidant/soulmate-ship that led WWX to, quite uncharacteristically, violently held JC's collar.

Our dearest is giving JC what he wants! Although to be perfect honest, I thought it was quite hilarious that JC for whatever reason was confident he could take on both of them. WWX possibly since he wasn't at his finest during that moment, but prime LWJ though...?

Thankfully, WWX looked up and saw Yanli's name. He knew very well it would break Yanli's heart seeing the two of them like this. He's gotta be the bigger person (and fair enough, he's already knackered from being the lure flag for the puppets). As our beloved couple once again tried to leave in peace, JC decided to make it as hard as possible for them. Here he is, triggering LWJ's angry lover protector mode.

I love the swift but determined arm push LWJ did to JC a second after this to get him off WWX, then right away his expression transitioned back into anxious lover worrier mode. LWJ didn't even give JC a second look. He promptly escorted WWX away but was still super alerted to give JC a good old Piss Off for STILL ONCE AGAIN not letting it go.

Let's take a moment to admire this bittersweet yet romantically charged frame before getting the tearfest started.

Now, our sweet baby WN just flew in with WWX's Suibian sword, got a couple of hits from JC's Zidian but was still determined to stand tall and asked JC to unseathe Suibian. JC was angry and confused, LWJ was probably also angry and confused, WWX has fainted, so now WN is the only sane one and the voice of reason. His cold lack of reaction (because he wasn't surprised at all) placing next to a shocked pikachu LWJ and confusingly mortified JC was the perfect comparison.

LWJ's face tells me that as soon as he saw JC taking out Suibian, he was already somewhat fearing the reason behind it. He hasn't quite reached the destination yet, but he was on the way. After all, he's one of the most intelligent and knowledgeable characters in the story thanks to his sect's education. His eyes made it look like he was holding on a tiny glimpse of hope that maybe it's not true, maybe it's not the worst case scenario, but it was certainly mixed with fear that it might be.

It's very different from JC who's just completely out of the loop, no hint of any possibility that he might be able to work out what happened. If WN wasn't there to SPELL IT OUT, JC would just remain angry and confused for the rest of the episode.

As JC is still in deep denial, and WN precisely recounted the event on the mountain in great details where JC was tricked to go find Baoshan Wanderer who could fix his core, LWJ only had eyes on WWX. His ears were listening to everything WN said too, but his focus was on WWX while he did his own reflection on how he reacted to WWX abandoning swordsmanship in the past (the same way JC did).

All the burning questions LWJ had inside his head - why WWX no longer carried Suibian, why he made all these excuses to not get back into practicing swords, why he took on crafty tricks, why he had a change in personality and demeanour, why he behaved so strangely after getting Suibian back - they are finally answered. But in the most unimaginably painful and heartbreaking way. LWJ's trembling face and tears scream PAIN, the pain you feel when you know someone you love is in pain, but you are also aware that whatever you feel is only 1/10000 of their actual suffering.

Pain and anger come together time to time, and LWJ has heard enough. He just wanted to get WWX out of here, out of this hell of a truth. He made his feeling known by stamping Bichen loudly on the ground and took WWX away, once and all.

Our baby WN really shined here. He wrapped up this dreadful revelation by daring JC to find anyone who can unsheathe Suibian, but not before hitting him with possibly the last thing any human being as competitive and eager to win like JC wanted to hear - did you know you were supposed to beneath your disciple older brother forever?

WN kept his head down and let out a sigh. He knew he shouldn't have done it since he promised WWX, but that was as much as he knew he had to do so. His guilt toward WWX was starting to hit him, but it was also obvious that a huge burden has been lifted off his shoulders.

We're now getting to the end of WWX's unexpectedly eventful return to Lotus Pier. Without JC's unreasonable pot-stirring screaming, we're finally given a lovely shot of Lotus lake at night with LWJ ensuring WWX's body not leaving his caring touch. I don't think we've had a proper conversation between LWJ and WN up to this point, and what makes it so special is that it's a genuine exchange between the only 2 people left who deeply care about WWX - a lonely anti-hero who's been walking alone on his deeply misunderstood journey for so long that it lasted through 2 lives.

Sweet WN also thanked LWJ for taking care of A Yuan and we got to learn about how LWJ managed to save A Yuan back then. It was sad but heartwarming knowing that WN was content with not disclosing A Yuan's past to him, as he's had a happy childhood and blessed life thanks to LWJ. Although, he acknowledges that eventually A Yuan would find out, just like JC did about his golden core.

Now as the conversation circled back to the golden core swap, LWJ asked WN a question that truly, you only ask when it's about someone you love. 'Is it painful?'. Not 'How did Wen Qing do it', but was it painful for WWX. What was the feeling he had, what was the pain he suffered, what was it like. It's not a sympathy question. It's something you want to know and empathise when your loved one goes through hard time. It's such a deeply specific and personal question, because when the person you love is in pain, you are too. You even want to feel it too, and LWJ is no stranger to that if we recall him leaving the same burn mark on his left chest as WWX had. Shame that this detail was never explained in the show.

As WN described:

'He should be sober enough to see the golden score which connects to the spiritual vein be separated from his body and feel the spiritual power die down little by little, until it is motionless and nothing can be felt'.

You can feel LWJ's pain peak as he was told WWX remained awake for 2 nights and 1 day with only 50% chance of success. As someone who deep down admires his soulmate's talent from a young age, what could be worse than having to hear that his other half had accepted to be mediocre for the rest of his life and never ascend to the top as he could have easily done?

Poor WWX regained conscious and realised where he was. Unsurprisingly, all of his Lotus Pier memories were tied with Yanli and he's overwhelmed by the image of her and flashback of their time together. What is home to WWX, the one who was trying his hardest to grow lotus somewhere as deadly as Burial Mounds? JC was his family, but not anymore. Yanli is no longer around, but till her death, she remained his family. She might have had married into Jin clan, but she embodied everything about Lotus Pier. Yanli is home. Yanli is Lotus Pier.

Seeing Yanli die at Nightless City was saying goodbye to the last person on earth who cared about WWX (or so he forgot about LWJ), which pushed him to giving up on his own life. So is Lotus Pier still home without Yanli? Is there even home without Yanli? WWX was barely treated like a proper guest at Lotus Pier. He was just someone who knew the way around, as home no longer hold the same meaning as it once did.

Lovely WWX was finally jolly again at the possibility of snacking on some tasty lotus seeds he must have missed dearly. Yet his little happiness was seemingly switched off by the rigid rule follower LWJ. If anything I was surprised that WWX agreed to give up the lotus seeds that quickly, of course not without sulking in disappointment.

But all of this only make the following moment even more glorious and poignant: the high and mighty LWJ who grew up obeying 3000 rules at Gusu Lan Sect literally picked a lotus with his own hand and give it to his soulmate, much to his shock and confusion.

At first I thought Well that's the least LWJ could do, has WWX not suffered enough, would a few (hundreds) lotus seeds matter that much. He's been in pain, he needs to be coddled and spoiled till the end of the world! So LWJ willing to break one tiny rule (tiny, comparing to all the others he broke because of WWX already) is a well deserved comfort that WWX needs.

But then it also hit me - it is an example of making compromise in a healthy relationship. WWX used to hold on to his wine and was willing to put up a fight for it, most of the time against LWJ himself. So why was it so easy to him to just have an awkward chuckle and drop the lotus seeds as LWJ didn't want to break a rule?

WWX compromised, as you would in a partnership. You don't have it your way all the time, you work together toward the same goal and there are times you're willing to put your partner's values above your own benefit. WWX, despite not fully happy about the decision, still agreed to give us the lotus as LWJ was uncomfortable. And in return, LWJ was okay with putting WWX's needs above his ingrained principle about 'stealing'. At the end of the day, it's not about winning or losing in a relationship. You win together and you lose together.

We really are spoiled with lotus romance in this episode!

But maybe... just maybe... LWJ doesn't know whether WWX would ever get a chance to return to Lotus Pier. Should this be the last ever opportunity, he would probably rather WWX's final memory of the visit not being JC's anger and resentment. In return, it is a rare carefree moment on Lotus lake, one his WWX's favourite places, eating lotus seeds with the only 2 people who still care so much about him and willing to go to the end of the world for him.

If this is meant to be a farewell to a place WWX once called home, while LWJ couldn't change the unfortunate circumstance that led to this challenging visit, he at least has done his best to give it a drama-free peaceful ending for the person he loves dearly.

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

I feel bad for Starlo. (pt. 3)

Starlo's friend, his BEST FRIEND, the woman who he's been in love with long ago (maybe he still is, we don't know because he's so nice as not to act on his feelings or even show them), the person who was supposed to be there for him, be understanding even tho she doesn't share the same passion, be considerate of the feelings Starlo's always been dealing with (hating being born a farmer, hating himself, hating feeling worthless and unappreciated)... Now, don't get me wrong, there were instances where she did try to understand his obsession and pretend she was into it, but it kinda just... fell flat. Even Ceroba herself admits:

Then there were moments like this:

Yeah, Ceroba's not trying too hard to "roll with his punches" here. It feels like she's constantly trying to figure out whether to be accepting of Star because he's so passionate, or annoyed because they're not on the same wavelength.

Then we get these:

Well, based on all this, you'd think she'd be understanding of him later on, at least on an emotional level (aka understand as to WHY he's been more 'selfish' and 'reckless' ever since Clover arrived,) but...

What now??

You mean how, instead of being miserble like when he was just a farmer who couldn't do much for his community, he now pretends not to be miserable by entertaining you all? Right??? Or do you mean he's changed in a DAY because of Clover?

But what?

huh

So you want to see the farmer who feels worthless, just being the Nice Guy™ he always has been (I decided to check out TV tropes for Star, and found out how he's basically been the "Nice Guy" archetype before Clover came. So I repeat: what's the issue with him stepping out of that for a day? I explained already how the guy's NOT to fully blame here and I really mean it. Yeah he has flaws, yeah Clover's presence brought out the "worst" in him, but we mustn't forget who he's been before that and that his true motivation has always been lifting up everyone's spirits).

The guy made all the sacrifices he could (not only worked hard to make the entire Wild East thing come to fruition, but basically became a rebel, when you remember humans are hated by monsters, and he's basically openly idolizing them) for his loved ones and even strangers. It's always been him relying on outer validation and doing stuff for others in order to feel important. But he never felt truly understood. By training Clover, he actually got to spent time with a human kid who's so much like him and shares not only the same love for westerns but the same "justice" quality. Sure, Ceroba had tried to understand, but ultimately failed and Star himself had to explain to her why he'd been acting the way he did, after Showdown.

You don't want him to have pride in himself and feel cool for a single day, Ceroba? She mentions how he's never been as ecstatic as he was that day. So in other words, Star's always been a wild card when it came to the sheriff business but not THIS wild. Which I'm sure means how other monsters have always been his main focus, and not him acting all arrogant (ties in well with that "Nice Guy" archetype). Even the training didn't feel too crazy to me, tbh. He only locked Martlet up because of the potential of his town being shut down. It's a town that he's been working on for so long, the town that makes him feel like he's more than just a nobody. Plus, he says how locking Martlet up was only a temporary solution:

I feel like I've said this a million times before, but Starlo's not a bad guy or a jerk, he just wants to be appreciated and loved and understood. Yet even his closest friends couldn't put themselves in his shoes and think: Why? What's the true motivation of Star idolizing Clover? Of him apparently acting "out of hand"?

I'll post the last part of this huuuuge rant sometime soon

[toujokaname]

Card shuffle / Episode 9

Author: Akira

Characters: Hiiro, HiMERU, Kohaku, Niki

"As you rest on the bench, it's 'me' who will step in as your pinch hitter."

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Season: Winter

Location: MDM Stage

Ten minutes later. After hearing explanations from AkanP, each unit holds a strategy meeting.

Hiiro: —So!

The first round of Matrix, a ten-round contest to determine the better idols between ALKALOID and Crazy:B, is about to begin!

Everyone, let's give it our all!

HiMERU: Indeed. Despite feeling quite worn out already, HiMERU will do what needs to be done as a professional.

Kohaku: I'm scared of what's to come if I defy Hiiro-han...

Niki: Spare me from going without meals~!

Hiiro: Hehe. Since the first match is about "vocal ability," it means we'll be competing in singing skills.

Kohaku: Well, that's rather cut and dried.

HiMERU: Yes. It seems to be a familiar format in ES, similar to the DreamFes setup.

Hiiro: Umu. By the way, for Crazy:B, and ALKALOID, in each showdown—

In this case, the "vocal ability" showdown, we're free to choose several "representative players" at our discretion.

Of course, these representatives will be chosen from among the members of the unit.

In our case as Crazy:B—Hm, though I'm still getting used to saying that...

At maximum, we can have four members, me, HiMERU-san, Shiina-san, and Oukawa-san, as representatives of the team.

Kohaku: Normally, there'd be no reason to hold back. It'd make more sense to go all out with the full lineup.

HiMERU: True. Our Crazy:B songs are structured on the assumption of being sung by a full group, that is, four members.

If someone is absent, the burden on the other members increases, and their stage presence worsens proportionally.

Hiiro: Umu... But Matrix has a bit of a troubling rule.

The representative who participates in one day's match can't join as a player in the next match.

So, for example, if we use the full lineup this time, in the next match, we won't have any representative players available.

Niki: What happens in that case?

Hiiro: Naturally, if there are no representative players, it seems it'll be a forfeit. We'd lose without even competing in that match.

Kohaku: Uh-huh... That's pretty wasteful.

It means we could possibly snatch victory by sendin' just one player, but without any representatives, that possibility's nil.

Hiiro: Umu. By the way, in the ten-match series—in all ten matches, the content of the match will be announced in advance.

So, if we're not confident in that day's match, we should limit the number of representative players, save them, and challenge the next match with more people—

Those are the kinds of decisions that we should make.

That's what will lead to the final victory.

HiMERU: Looking at the bigger picture, it's necessary to strategically select the representative players.

Hiiro: Umu. And ultimately, after all ten matches, the unit with the most wins becomes the overall winner of Matrix.

Kohaku: Hm, hm. In those ten matches, there'll be times when we gotta make some tough calls, like intentionally throwin' matches where it's okay to lose.

It's like baseball. If you're so fixated on winnin' that you go all out every time, you'll unwittingly concede points, and wind up losin' in the end.

Hiiro: Umu. I think that instead of focusing on immediate victories each time, we should aim for an overall—ultimate victory.

Rather, in Matrix, that kind of approach is required.

Niki: Huuh~ Seems kinda complicated!

Kohaku: Ah, eyes that threw in the towel on tryin' to understand from the get-go...!

HiMERU: That's just fine, we'll handle the difficult stuff.

Fufu. HiMERU has reconsidered that AkanP a bit. Well, Anzu-san probably came up with most of the specific details.

Yes—It's not enough for an idol to just achieve instant results.

Of course, ideally, they should succeed every time. But ultimately, they should aim for a long-term, overall victory.

Being an idol is a life-long job. It's a career, after all. In the inevitable cycle of growth and decay, there's no such thing as a flower that is always in bloom.

HiMERU: No matter how successful an idol is, a single scandal could ruin everything.

And thus, such an idol will never be regarded as exceptional.

They should bloom beautifully when the time is right and avoid errors whenever feasible, so that in hindsight, they're remembered for leading a wonderful life—

That's the kind of "overall victory" one should be aiming for.

No, that's the kind of "outstanding idol" that deserves to be etched in history.

HiMERU: (...Isn't that right, Kaname?)

(While you're sleeping, your Onii-chan will do his utmost to let the entire world know that HiMERU was "an all-around wonderful idol.")

(As you rest on the bench, it's "me" who will step in as your pinch hitter.)

[ ☆ ]

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[imperiuswrecked]

Namor & Dorma headcanons below the cut, a very long post, lol.

Answering a question on the Namor forum: Okay, lets do this, class. You have a 6 issue mini-series, the goal is to have a dramatic and impactful return of Dorma to 616 and the world of the Sub-Mariner. What do you do?

My reply is going off current continuity where Namor is sitting in a jail cell and combining my own fanfic ideas:

Issue 1 - Namor is in jail, a few panels, or maybe a page to set up history, summary of back story/current situation to get new readers up to speed, his thoughts on his past life, his love for Dorma, his people, his friends like Vashti, his regret over how things ended all those years ago with a teen Attuma, nothing too lore heavy or complex. It ends with a splash page ACTION moment of a loyal set of Atlantean royal guards lead by Andromeda to break him out of jail while explaining that Atlantis needs him. Namor's thought bubble/narration box would be "of course Atlantis needs me, and I will forever answer her call" he stands up and breaks the handcuffs holding him, proving that he could have gotten out at any time if he wanted, a prison guard tries to stop him and Namor makes him back down with a glare as he leaves with his guard following into the waiting Atlantean ship. He takes the seat at the helm and Andromeda gets him up to speed as they race towards Atlantis. The Black Tide has returned and they've been causing havoc in the seas for weeks. Atlantis is in shambles politically and literally. Namor arrives in Atlantis and there's a few panels of him thinking about how many times his people and city have been hurt, before he asks where the council members are, many of them are dead, his cousins Seth and Dara have been trying to hold the line but both are unable to run the kingdom efficiently and mount a offensive against the Black Tide. Namor asks about Vashti and is told he's been kidnapped by Attuma several months ago. He's angry no one came to get him before but ultimately blames himself for having a pity party and trying to placate the humans. He says they are going to get his Vizier back and leads a team to Attuma's last known location via their spy network, it's a trap of course, that Attuma has baited for Namor which Vashti tries to warn them about before Attuma's people emerge, lots of action/fighting, a showdown between Namor and Attuma ends with Namor holding his trident to Attuma's neck who smiles his shark smile and holds up his hands, yielding, Namor is confused, thinking it's another trap but Attuma releases Vashti to Namor to prove his intentions were to ensure that Namor wasn't a weak king because the task ahead needs strength and if he had found Namor lacking then he would have killed him here and now. What is the task? The Stone has been activated, it's warping the waters around it in a vortex of black magic and no one knows what to do to fix it, monsters are emerging from it, and something big is coming. Ends on a cliff hanger.

Issue 2 - We are at the Stone, a huge shadow emerges and Attuma and Namor prepare to face it together, not a happy team up they still insult and snark at each other but they need to face this threat, the shadow comes out and it's Ambrose, the old giant monster goldfish pet of Dorma. Both are stunned bc the creature disappeared decades ago. It indicates that Namor and Attuma should follow him into the vortex, and Namor leaves orders with Vashti to return with Andromeda and help Seth and Dara restabilize Atlantis, and give aid, and Attuma agrees to let his warriors go along to protect everyone from the Black Tide's return. Attuma and Namor buddy road trip into the black darkness of the vortex. Action scenes as they fight twisted sea monsters/people and navigate the other side of the veil they have stepped through. Throughout we get Attuma’s backstory/history of what happened to him after the Chasm people died, basically a way to mix in his other origin of being born into slavery, except he was taken as a teen into slave camps of the whatever sea people, like idk Lemurians or someone else, he spends years getting stronger until he causes a revolt and his loyal followers are the people he liberated from the camps. Attuma of course lays all the blame on the Atlanteans and Namor, and tells him once they finish this task then he will be marching on Atlantis while dragging Namor’s corpse with him as a trophy to show Atlantis their half breed false king is dead and now Attuma is the ruler. There is a presence of Great Power in this vortex world, that they are drawn to. Ends with a cliff hanger of them being confronted by the presence.

Issue 3 - Opens with a action scene as they fight the Great Power which takes the form of a shadow demonic woman, as they do they are given flashes of their pasts, their wrong deeds, their regrets, their happy memories become twisted into nightmares, their souls darken with hate and power, their bodies begin to transform like the other people/creatures who live in the Stone Vortex, cool art of the transformations as they descend into madness and evil caused by the stone/great presence. Through the haze of this corruption, Namor recognizes Dorma is the Great Power and he pulls on memories of happiness with her, their times growing up, their time spent loving each other, fighting side by side as partners, he clings to the memories even as Shadow!Dorma tries to twist them into bad memories, he shows her his mind/memories of her death, and how badly it affected him, how lost he was after she died, how he grieved for her. Namor opens his heart & mind to Dorma knowing that if he cannot reach her then she will corrupt him as Attuma’s corruption is nearly complete. Namor shares his deep love for Dorma who finally breaks free of the Stone’s influence and remembers herself, her past, she recalls all the power of the stone. Namor and Attuma shift back to normal as a swirling vortex of power and lights rotate around Dorma who’s eyes go black as she commands all the power of the stone to be stored inside herself and locks the power away. All is quiet as the vortex world is gone and they are back in the ocean having been transported into the throne room of Atlantis, where Attuma and Namor are kneeling before a newly resurrected Dorma who radiants with power, her eyes are black, and the rest of the court watches in awe at the return of their beloved queen. Namor stands and reaches for her, saying her name “Dorma… you’ve returned.” comic ends there with a to be continued cliff hanger.

Issue 4 - Dorma's issue, it begins with Dorma as a child being raised in Atlantis’s court, her seeing Namor being an outcast and befriending him, her teachings of magic, her history, her father is her only surviving family, basically this issue is a love letter to Dorma and cements her past, her death, and explains how the interaction with the stone when she was a teen created an unbreakable link between it and her soul, how the power was so great she didn't know how to use and she just figured that after the events of King in Black she lost her magic powers but it was just dormant and after Llyra murdered her, her soul was snapped back like a rubber band into the Stone where it was trapped for all these years, how she spent years learning it’s dark magic, and being lost to the darkness until Namor reminded her of who she was and the comic ends with her back in the present, with Namor reaching out to her. She has returned, the stone and her magic resurrecting her body, but she has used much of her power and she does not have the full access as she did in the shadow vortex, which means she has magic but it’s limited bc of her resurrection. Namor and Dorma have a very heavy moment of their reunion where they hug but just before they kiss the news of the Black Tide’s return causes panic in the throne room. Ends on a cliff hanger.

Issue 5 - Namor, Dorma, and Attuma are once again reunited in battle, a call back to their time together from King in Black. Dorma tells Namor her magic is spent but she picks up a sword and is still ready to fight, Namor picks up his trident, and Attuma has his own sword. They are joined by Attuma’s people, Andromeda and the castle guard, Lord’s Seth and Dara, and… Warlord Krang. He steps forward and takes Dorma’s hand, kissing the back of it, slimy as a eel and with a glint of hunger for power in his eyes he compliments Dorma, saying he’s missed her, and how he would lay his life down for her, pledging to be her guard and friend. Namor is not impressed but he has to deal with that later. Dorma is suspicious but accepts his sword arm for now. This will play into later issues/comics where Krang is loyal only to Dorma, and slowly tries to influence her to betray Namor & get with him, but for now he fights alongside them as they go to face the Black Tide. Big showdown page. As the sorceress Sycorax uses her powers to make dead sea people’s skeletons rise and fight against the heroes, each character, Namor, Dorma, Attuma, Seth & Dara, Krang, and Andromeda have close up fight shots as they battle the Black Tide. Andromeda saves AttumaÂ’s life, citing that she only did that because she needs him to help save Namor and not because she thinks of him as her father in a kindly manner, the tension between father and daughter is there but Attuma compliments her strength and says if she had been born a son she would have led his own armies. She is hurt by the rejection even though she thought she was over it but she turns her back on Attuma and gets back into the fight. Cliff hanger on Namor facing the Black Tide’s leader Kharsa.

Issue 6 - The Black Tide wants the Stone that is currently laying dormant in the center of the throne room (later it would be revealed the stone cannot be moved from its place and it becomes a constant reminder and a centerpiece of the throne room, suspended floating in a force field that no one can touch) and they want Lady Dorma because she now the key to controlling the Stone. Namor says they’ll never touch her and he would die to save Dorma because he cannot lose her again. Fight scenes, Fight scenes, and then Dorma is stabbed in the stomach, Namor screams Nooooo, thinking he has lost her after only just finding her again, he gathers her in his arms, and she touches his face, saying that she’s always loved him but she wasn’t ready to die just yet, she had so much to live for, she “dies” her eyes closing and Namor grieves again, but then her eyes shoot open, black power with cool effects fill them and she heals herself, and she cannot control herself, as she directs all her power towards her enemies, but even as she drives away the Black Tide who fear her power and flee, she still cannot stop her destruction, she is floating with a lot of power around her, and she could kill everyone around her if she isn’t stopped. Attuma screams at Namor to kill her, but Namor refuses, instead he throws himself at Dorma’s power, it eats away at his flesh as he swims closer to her, and he yells out for her to remember herself, she sees the harm she is doing to Namor and remembers him and herself. She cries out as she shuts down the power and collapses. As she recovers she states she cannot trust the power within herself but will work towards controlling it. Wrap up the story with Namor, Dorma, and Attuma saying their farewells, Attuma promising Namor that their temporary truce is over and the next time he sees them he will kill him. Dorma is welcomed back by Vashti, Seth, and Dara, and other court members, while Andromeda stands next to Namor and comments on her return, asking Namor if it’s really her, and he says it is. Namor thanks her for being a friend and for for keeping her duties as the captain of his guard, and comments on Attuma, she says that her father will never change no matter how much she might wish for it and she’s given up trying to get his acceptance. Andromeda then asks him if he will kill Dorma if she loses control again and he says nothing. Ends with Namor joining Dorma in the center of the court and taking her hand to lead her up towards his throne where they will take their place as the ocean's rulers, a wide shot on the court, celebrations ensue, and then a pan away to one of the court members slipping away, turning a corner, and transforming into Empress Llyra, she holds up a mirror and speaks into it, saying that her plans are just beginning. The shadow figure in the reflection laughs. Ends with the promise of Court intrigue and drama, Namor and Dorma slowly re establishing their romance, and dark high fantasy adventures.

And that's how Marvel should do it imo. Anyways I will be writing this more in depth for my fic someday.

[slightlyaboveaverageiq]

Connor and the Brat {Part 6}

A/N: And Brats name will be…Ravenna 🖤 Also, Ava is going to find this out before Connor how do we think we will feel about this? I loved the idea of Ava and Connor platonically I feel like when they started a relationship in the show it was just doomed from the start so they will stay platonic. I always saw Ava swinging both ways and one of my crack ships is Ava/Sarah so that will probably be the pairing. Also might have some slight Ava/Ravenna undertones but will ultimately be Connor/Ravenna.

It had been two weeks since Connor had seen Brat, and not for lack of trying on his part. He had gone up every day at all her meal time just o show he was still there for her only to be sent away by Sarah. Sarah also wasn’t too happy with him given that Brat had told her about the little showdown they had had in her room. So while she did give him information she did it reluctantly, feeling a sense of responsibility to her patient and not wanting to upset her. Brat was doing much better after that incident two weeks ago and as of today would be allowed 8 hour passes, all that means is someone who the team and Brat both approve of can take her out of the hospital for 8 hours and do things around the city but she has to be back by 10 pm. Connor had tried asking Sarah if he could be one to take Brat out for the day and Sarah had told him that while Brat was no longer angry with him she wasn’t ready to be alone with him yet, that someone else was taking her out for the day.

“Stop pouting Connor it’s unbecoming on you.” He turned to his left and saw Ava in her casual clothes and her done. He furrowed his eyebrows wondering why she would be all dressed up and in the hospital on her day off.

“I didn’t realize we had a miss doctors beauty pageant going on today.” Ava rolled her eyes and requested the visitor check in sheet from Maggie making sure to move it just out of Connors eyeline so he couldn’t see who she was visiting today.

“I didn’t dress up for you Dr. Rhodes, I’m here for Ravenna.” Before he could ask who Ravenna was he drew in a breath at seeing Brat get off the elevator with Sarah. She was wearing a long sleeved burnt orange dress that went all the way down to her ankles and some brown boots along with a jean jacket seeing as how it wasn’t too cold yet but she probably needed something more than just long sleeves. It looked like Sarah had helped her with her hair seeing as how patients weren’t allowed to use hot tools themselves but could have staff help them her long brown hair was curled and half up half down. That’s when it hit him, Brat was Ravenna. Brats name was Ravenna Scott.

”You’re staring at me.” And indeed he was because Ava gave him a harsh elbow to the gut and he quickly regained some sense of not being a creeper. She didn’t sound nor look angry at seeing him but the usual excitement was gone from her voice, he was just another doctor to her now and he didn’t know if he would rather her be angry or indifferent towards him.

“You look very pretty, I hear you’re able to go in day passes now.” Eesh, when did small talk become so awkward between them? Maybe when you decided to victim blame her Connor he accosted himself.

“Ava is taking me around the city of Chicago, I hadn’t lived here long before I well…ended up here.” That was interesting what could have made her want to completely uproot her life and come to Chicago of all places? Had someone close to her stepfather been bothering her? Awkward silence settled among the four of them before Ava announced she was going to get the car and Sarah was needed back upstairs leaving just the two of them alone. “You came back everyday, even after I told you not to.”

“I didn’t know what would make you more angry Brat, I just wanted you to know I was there for you.” She gave a small smile and shook her head at him.

“I wasn’t angry anymore, I was embarrassed with how I had acted. And then I realized that maybe I was too dependent on you and I need to branch out more. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see you, I just wanted a chance to make other friends.” She wasn’t angry with him anymore, she hadn’t been angry for a long time, a sudden weight was lifted off of Connors chest.

“Does this mean you’ll let me come visit you again? Maybe take you out on your next day pass?” She giggled a little bit but nodded, he thought she looked so much prettier when she laughed.

“you’ll have to share time with everyone else down here too though. Maggie, April, Will and Natalie have all visited me over the past two weeks and have asked to come visit me more. And I can only have one visitor a day.” Connors eyes grew wide he didn’t know anyone else even knew about Brat, why hadn’t anyone told him she wasn’t angry with him anymore.

“And Ava has come to see you and is taking you on a trip.” She shrugged her shoulders and he could see a faint blush coloring her cheeks.

“She’s pretty but I think she likes Dr. Reese and is taking me out as a favor to her.” Did Brat have a little crush on Ava? She was his brat first and Ava would have to make do with Sarah. Speak of the devil and she shall appear Ava came back and asked Brat if she was ready to go. Brat walked on ahead of her and Ava tugged on his scrubs so he would bend down to her level.

“Don’t scare her off again, mind your business unless she asks you to get involved. She doesn’t need a knight in shinning armor Connor she needs stability.”

[envy-and-pride]

Maiden Rose & Berserk - The Authors who just Couldn't Do It

I've been complaining ever since Inariya Fusanosuke went out of hiatus a couple years ago that her story is stagnating too much.

Before her hiatus the story was progressing at its own back and forth, "toying with it" pace. The whole point of the story was to get Taki to a place where he could move past his learned social inhibitions and enjoy his sex life and relationship with Klaus, someone who gives exactly 0 shit about the superbly and uselessly complex social expectations of Japan Taki's homeland.

So there's a lot of back and forth, we see first how Taki and Klaus even become entangled in the first place, we see them explore, we see Taki getting vaguely tempted and just indulging and discovering, then it's return to the homeland "back to being inhibited" mode, and we see Taki hiding big time and Klaus banging at the door trying to get him out.

This part of the story is pretty much the author's consciousness going around and toying with the idea of coming out, getting close to the idea, refusing (and thus being repelled away), and then getting back to the idea anyway. That's why she has Klaus always come back to Taki anyway.

But then, that's not the only story with the same back and forth "I just can't fucking commit" kind of dynamic. Berserk had the exact same problem, and that problem was so damn bad, the entire story got completely discontinued, until finally the author simply died.

In my opinion, Berserk was about a pretty similar process as in Maiden Rose: opening up, and transcending something that's holding you down. For Taki/the author, that's social sexual inhibitions. For Guts/Kentaro Miura, that was also his own sex issues and being able to open up and connect to someone from that level.

Berserk goes just a little farther than Maiden Rose, in that Kentaro Miura went and stared down what he was supposed to do right in the face.

In chapter 46 to 47, we have Guts enjoying a nice little flashback and nervous breakdown of his own traumas.

But I couldn't help but sense that there was a pulling away on his end when he did, specifically exactly at the moment Guts moved away from Casca after he ended up strangling her.

Guts had that one job of connecting to his chosen love interest, the female character created almost literally for that purpose, but when the time came for it, I feel like he just, backed away. Like he was just repelled away from the issue and he just ultimately couldn't do it.

Straight after that the entire story basically goes to shit and Casca is sidelined in the most disgusting, and my god unrealistic way possible, and she remains sidelined up until this day. With the author being dead, it's unlikely anything else will come out of it.

At the end of the day, these are and were two authors trying to approach seriously crippling and traumatic stuff. I'd be willing to bet the author of Maiden Rose went through some form of sexual trauma, and I'm fairly almost 100% sure Kentaro Miura also went through something even more straightforward. It doesn't surprise me that the author with the heaviest load died with the story unfinished, and that he couldn't approach the subject anymore after attempting it the first time.

That being said, it's seriously fucking frustrating from a story-telling and narrative point of view. Watching Casca getting grossly sidelined and treated the way she was all of the sake of not approaching the topic again I felt was disgusting. And waiting around while Inariya Fusanosuke keeps using violence to draw out her own desires is making me want to ask "well, I get it, but when will you be getting to it, then? When will you finally get to the point?"

Although, regarding Maiden Rose, with the latest chapter's showdown between Klaus and Suguri where Suguri asks Klaus to take Taki away if he ever was to lose himself in all of the politicking, I'm having hope for the story to finally be going somewhere—it seems even the author can sniff herself making a bad decision she doesn't want make, and already promising herself to take her self-insert away if it'd ever get to that.

While I completely get their inability to approach the very subject they created their story for: healing, I just also seriously wish they'd come to terms with what they need to face, and would finally put the matter to rest once and for all.

[darkjanet2]

Sonic Adventure 2: Sonadow

Chapter 20: Shadow’s Sacrifice

Outside the space, Super Sonic and Super Shadow were facing Biolizard, now The Final Hazard. It was going to be an epic battle. The Ultimate Lifeform and his counterpart were ready to battle against the prototype for their final showdown.

A communicator buzzed in. “Sonic, Shadow, can you hear me?” It was Tails’ voice. "Everyone is here rooting for you. Good luck!"

Sonic and Shadow began to fight the monster together. They worked as a team, taking out Final Hazard from all angles. “Let’s see what this new form does,” Sonic said. He sent out a barrage of energy blasts at Final Hazard as it roared painfully. The monster opened its mouth to fire a laser at Sonic, but he dodged with ease.

“I don’t like this, but we need to end this quickly before the damage gets too critical," said Sonic.

The two hedgehogs attacked simultaneously, blasting Final Hazard into a massive blast of yellow light. A large explosion rocked the area, knocking them back, but the light eventually subsided.

"Sonic, Shadow, can you hear me? He's very weak without his life support system. Aim for the red swelling areas to damage him! You're our last hope!" said Eggman.

Sonic nodded, "Got it."

"Leave this to me," said Shadow as he dashed off to go after Final Hazard. He raised his hand to shoot another burst of energy at the creature. "Chaos Blast!!" He released a beam that exploded against Final Hazard. The monster roared in agony.

Shadow winced in pain. His energy blasts hadn't been much help on top of that, but he didn't let this show.

"You okay, Shadow?" asked Sonic.

"I'm fine. Just hit my limit, that's all. But this should be enough." said Shadow.

"Let's finish it up fast then," said Sonic. "It looks like he won't be able to survive that anymore. Finish it quickly and I'll take care of him."

"Okay," said Shadow.

"Sonic, Shadow!" It was Knuckles' voice in the communicator. "The colony is heading close to Earth in about 4 minutes! Hurry!"

"We haven't got much time left! You do the blast, and I'll do the homing attack," said Sonic.

Shadow nodded, and then they charged at the Final Hazard at full speed. Shadow shot his own blast toward the monster, aiming for a mass where a few tendrils had appeared. And Sonic curled himself into a ball and hit the red swellings on its back. He was able to cause some pain, Final Hazard roared painfully.

'Maria... watch me. I will fulfill your wish!' thought Shadow. "CHAOS SPEARS!!" he threw the yellow arrow-like spears at the monster’s back. They penetrated the monster and struck several organs, causing more suffering. Final Hazard roared painfully.

"That was great, Shadow!" cheered Sonic, giving him the thumbs up.

Shadow smiled and replied, "Thanks."

"You guys!" It was Rouge's voice as a communicator. "The colony is getting close to the planet in 1 minute! Please hurry!"

They flashed and appeared in front of the space colony and they held out their hands.

"No way that's getting through!" yelled Sonic.

A girl's voice was heard from Shadow's mind.

'Shadow... I beg of you.'

"Maria...?" whispered Shadow, confused. "Maria, is that you?"

‘Shadow... Give them a chance to be happy. Please take care of the village and protect everyone. Make sure that everyone survives…’ said Maria's voice.

Shadow closed his eyes and came back to the reality.

"Now, Shadow!!" yelled Sonic.

"CHAOS CONTROL!!" both yelled in unison.

The beam of white light engulfed Final Hazard, and it was completely destroyed. The colony ARK was above the Earth. Far, far above the Earth, and the planet was saved.

Inside the Space Colony, they were cheering and celebrating. They hugged each other and celebrated the victory, and they looked at all of the surviving residents. They were all so excited, and even though it had just happened, they felt like it was just yesterday. The moment they saw each other, they realized how much they missed one another.

“They did it!" exclaimed Tails.

*Outside the space*

Sonic laughed, "We did it, Shadow!"

No responded.

"Shadow?" He turned around to Shadow was exhausted and his breathing was shallow. Sonic flew to Shadow to check on him and placed his palm on Shadow's face, making him open his eyes. "Shadow, what's wrong? You okay?" he asked softly.

"Sonic..." Shadow murmured. His super form was depleted back to his original form, and he slipped unconscious from falling to the Earth.

"Shadow!!" Sonic cried, flying down after him. He was trying to catch Shadow, but he was a meter away from him.

"Shadow, wake up!! Wake up, dammit!!" Sonic cried.

He was unresponsive as Sonic used his full speed to fly toward him trying to catch him. But when Sonic was close enough, he managed to grab one of his hands from the gravity.

'C'mon! Just a little more!' thought Sonic, trying to reach him.

One of the Inhibitor Rings flew out of Shadow's wrist and Sonic grabbed it. Shadow was far away from him and it was too late to save him.

'Maria... Is this enough...?' Shadow asked in thought. 'This is what you wanted... right? This is my promise I made to you...' He spoke his final words as he fell down to the planet and disappeared with a flash.

Sonic stood there in outer space, hanging his head down, defeated. 'Why couldn't I save him?! Why am I such an awful friend..!?' he cried in thought, gripping his ring tightly in his hand.

Sonic screamed at the top of his lungs in despair, and then he cried uncontrollably. He was gone. His lover was gone, and now Sonic had to deal with being all alone. It was his first love since he met him in the city when the G.U.N. mistook Sonic for stealing Chaos Emerald from the museum. Now that Shadow was gone, Sonic was alone again. Sonic felt lonely, abandoned, hurt... And he hated it. He hated his fate and he hated everything about it. After a while, Sonic collected himself and flew back to the ARK.

[kriosv]

My thoughts on MK1(2) story mode

I don't want this too sound too negative. I did have a lot of fun with the batshit that was the final chapter. It was insane and fun and cool to see all those cameos.

But it wasn't what I wanted. When the first trailer came out, I was looking forward to a Back to Basics story. And we got that for the first chunk of the story, and it was really good. They created a new crew that I was interested in. Johnny and Kenshi teaming up with Ashrah, Syzoth, and Baraka? I didn't know that kind of random crew could be so cool. I just wanted more of that.

And then the story just threw out every character I had grown attached to. Threw them out and replaced them with a hundred new characters who were all killed off in a few seconds and forgotten a few seconds later. Sure, it was a spectacle, and I loved watching it. But at that point, I no longer cared. Even Shang Tsung was a disappointing final boss. I grew to care about the new Shang Tsung as a threat, and I no longer care about this one.

If it wasn't for the short epilogue, Every single character arc would have been thrown away. Most were. Bi-han, Kuai Liang, Ashrah, Syzoth, Barakah, Smoke, all characters I cared about who's stories were forgotten.

It wouldn't have mattered to me if the characters or their stories sucked. But they didn't. I truly wanted to see what happened to them. And they were all forgotten. Why write characters at all? Why give them the start of character arcs and foreshadowing their conclusion? If all you wanted to write was a big spectacle, then why did you bother with the first half of the game?

I feel cheated. Every character I came to this story rooting for was forgotten. I never got to see the finale of the story I started watching, and instead saw a high budget version of the Ultimate Showdown with the Fusion OCs I never returned to after 9th grade.

MK9's time travel story worked because at the center of it was Raiden and Lui Kang. Despite the cosmic scale of everything, it was the story about a man solely focused on a goal he keeps failing at, and a devotee realizing his God didn't know what he was doing.

MKX was the best story of the NT, because it was focused on itself. I loved all the characters introduced. Kotal and his krew, the Kombat Kids, it dealt very little with the timeline and focused on the characters themselves.

MK11 was not as good as X, but it did do some things right with the time travel element. The focus of the story mode was on how the characters reacted to it. I know Kronika isn't the most liked character, but she worked. Because the focus was more on how everyone reacted to what she did. I can remember so many feelings from the Kids interacting with the 9 krew, the 9 krew reacting to their future, that's what made it special. Sure, the climax similarly threw away a lot of characters, but it felt a lot less egregious because we had been following Lui Kang for three games and this was his climax.

And It should have been his last climax. I spent the first chapter following Kung Lao and Raiden. Johnny Cage was in almost every chapter after that in a major way. And yet, we never saw the climax to their story. We hear them talk about it, but we never see it.

I was robbed of the ending of the story I was invested in.

I know this sounds really negative, but I did really enjoy the story and the climax was a fun spectacle to watch. I just needed to get this rant off my chest.

[pokehexdex]

I ran a March Madness bracket and apparently we all love Skeledirge

Last month I set out to find which final evolution Starter Pokémon was the most popular (at least among my followers). Each day, I put 2 Pokémon up against each other in a March Madness-style voting bracket, and asked people to vote for which one they liked the most, ultimately culminating in a final showdown between (theoretically) the two most popular Pokémon. In the end, Skeledirge came out on top - but there were certainly some surprises along the way!

Check out the full post

[thisisme16]

First Contact: Ch. 1

A group of friends were playing video games like every other evening when it happened. They were laughing and playfully taunting each other.

Daniel: Bomb's away!

Jericho: Oh, come on! That's not fair!

Daniel: All's fair in Smash Bros, Jer!

Charlie: Oh? Even this?

The TV screen showed a typical Super Smash Bros Ultimate match. Charlie's Ike proceeds to smash Daniel's Samus off the ring. Daniel: Dude!

Jericho: Haha! Hashtag Justice for Kirby!

Meanwhile, a Pikachu and a Mewtwo were having their own duel.

Jessica: You want some of this?!

Matthew: No, thank you!

A white poodle laying by Jessica's feet barked happily, wanting to be included.

The match continued in the same fashion until there was only Samus and Pikachu left. Each at one life left. The showdown had begun.

Charlie: No, not Pikachu and Samus! They're supposed to be friends!

Jessica: You can be friends with someone and still kick their ass!

Daniel: I am SO glad you said that!

His Samus immediately cracked a smash ball open, giving her her ultimate smash.

Jericho: Take cover!

Jessica: Ack! Abort, Peeky! Abort!

Daniel: Nobody escapes the ULTIMATE SMASH!

And then it happened. A massive explosion a short distance from the house. The sound and aftershocks shook the building. The group were stunned into silence. The poodle began to bark loudly.

Matthew: What the hell was that?

Daniel: I swear that wasn't me.

Charlie looked out the window.

Charlie: Was that a meteor?

Jericho: It must have been. That was huge!

After Jessica calmed her dog down, she and Daniel joined Charlie at the window.

Daniel: It must have landed close by. Wanna check it out?

Matthew: Shouldn't we call someone first?

Jericho: I don't know who to call when a meteor hits.

Jessica: 911?

Charlie: It's not exactly an emergency. ...How about this? We'll go take a look. If there's a fire, then we'll call 911.

The gang agreed and gathered their spring jackets.

Jessica: Noodles, you're in charge until we get back.

The poodle woofed his affirmation. He watched through the window as the group climbed into an old pickup truck and drove toward the small forest where the explosion came from. After a short drive, they arrived at the tree line. One by one they hopped out of the vehilcle.

Jericho: If it is a meteor, I call dibs!

Jessica: Pfft. Good luck dragging it back home.

Jericho: I have my ways.

Charlie reached back into the truck and gathered some masks. Covid was winding down, but the group of friends always made sure to have a healthy supply just in case. He passed them out to the others.

Jessica: Never thought I'd use these for smoke.

Matthew: I think I see smoke from that direction.

They set off in the direction he indicated. After a few minutes of walking, the group came across a life-changing sight. There was some kind of futuristic looking pod that was broken in half, but it was the unconscious residents surrounding the pod that demanded attention. Each one more vastly different than the last. There was only one conclusion.

Aliens.

~~~

Finally got around to setting up the first part of one of my Mass Effect AUs! The beginning is a little clunky in my opinion but I think the story picks up quickly afterward. OCD was really kicking my ass today so getting this update done was a real struggle. But the important thing is that I did it anyway!

[mogwaei]

Dragon Age the Missing Tinfoil🗿

I'm back again and hopefully this hasn't been talked about already and I'm just late to the party as always 💀

Sooo, forgive my pacing here.

These murals and their placement have me 👀. Maybe this is a given or obvious, and I'm just a clown, but I find it curious that these murals are right outside the vault hosting the crucious stone? Could it be that the Dread Wolf + Black City mural is in some way depicting when the crucious stone was used before? We know now that the artifact apparently possesses the ability to 'bring Tevinter to its knees'...did Solas not do the same thing with Arlathan? In a delirious crackpot theory, I thought maybe if Arlathan wasn't always a floating landmass (assuming the BC is Arlathan lol, which I'm p convinced it is)...could the crucious stone actually be what was used to break the city apart, hoist it into the sky, and turn it into this unreachable point in the Fade? Or perhaps if Arlathan was always Floaty, then he used the crucious stone to break a part of it off and...the rest is history.

Would Solas be nuts enough to do this to Tevinter? Yea, I think so. CRACKPOT. I'm here for it

Idk lads. The murals and the stone's function have my braincell spinning like a hamster. The idea above doesn't explain the presence of the two figures beside the DW mural, but...they must have played a significant part in this event. We do know that Solas tends to paint frescoes to follow a timeline, tell the true story/record of something, right? And since these two figures appear before the DW mural...perhaps it's depicting an event precursor to the DW throwdown. Mythal murder/coup came before the DW flipout. Or maybe these two are the creators of the crucious stone. Solas-partners in the ultimate showdown? Ultimate Solas-enemies? Both? I'm not sold on any theories, so don't come at me, I'm just thought vomiting.

Literally feelin' like this guy under all this lore.

Also if u made it this far I'm plugging my stinky fic: Ouroboros

[avhies20]

2022 has been such a great year for tv and movies for me. So to wrap it up, here are my top 5 favorite movies for this year! Long post ahead, because I want to gush about this films.

5. The Black Phone

I loved this movie because the focus was more on the victims themselves. The film humanized them. They showed that they had lives and they had so much ahead of them. Oftentimes, these kind of films glorify the killers, but this film thankfully did not do that. They did not even try to show a backstory for The Grabber that will make us sympathize for him. We were just given some hints. Doing that highlights the fact what he is, which is a child killer.

Also, the performances by the child actors were so good, especially Madeleine McGraw (Finney's determined and brave little sister) They really did such a phenomenal job. I hope they get to be in more movies.

4.The Batman

Initially, I thought this would be the best film I've watched this year but still this movie has a special place in my heart. Emo bruce wearing eye make up, played by Robert Pattinson. I can't believe that happened, but wow I am so thankful for it. In all seriousness though, this movie was marketed as an incredibly dark and violent film. It was, but I did not expect it to have such a hopeful message. That was something that I really needed at the time that I watched that film.

Another thing that made this one of my favorites is how they did Seline Kyle. They did not oversexualize her and we got to see more of her vulnerable side. Besides that, I also love the parallels between her and Bruce/Batman.

Lastly, shout out to the soundtrack. When it first came out, I replayed it over and over.

3. Nope

Jordan Peele did it again! This is such a thrilling sci-fi horror film. I'd like to appreciate the clever and gorgeous design of Jean Jacket (that's such a cool name too). There's a lot of sequences that were incredibly memorable for different reasons and it would be too long for me to talk about. But my favorite scene would probably the showdown between Jean Jacket and OJ. I think that scene showcases the main theme of this film.

Another reason why this film is a fave of mine is because it's a film where you can come up with a lot of interpretations and theories. Seeing all the Chekhov's guns paying off was so satisfying.

Before I end this part, I'd like to say that this is my first time seeing Keke Palmer's work. And wow she's such a fun to watch. She brought a really enthusiastic energy to the film that made me love it even more.

2. Glass Onion

This is my most anticipated release for December (December for me because I could not watch it during its theatre release in November) and it did not disappoint. I just want to say I want a full on movie franchise of Benoit Blanc's mystery adventures. Give me MORE. I love murder mysteries and whodunnits and this ticks everything I always wanted in a mystery story. The social commentary it does is also so on point and done in such a fun way. We get to see it come alive through a variety of crazy fun characters with an interesting ensemble of actors.

Half way through, this movie went into a direction that I did not expect. Props to Janelle Monàe for making such a convincing performance, which helped in really selling that twist. I also loved their dynamic and chaotic chemistry with Daniel Craig's Blanc. Them working as investigating partners was such a delight. Lastly, I appreciate that in the end, Blanc was more of just a "helper." It was Helen who was ultimately the "hero," it was her actions that ultimately brought Miles down.

1. Everything Everywhere All at Once

Finally we're here, this movie was the best for me. This movie made me laugh out loud (that d*ldo scene caught me off guard, not gonna lie), made me cry, made me sob, and made me rethink certain aspects of life. After watching this film, I just had to sit back and process everything for a while. The themes and messages from this film felt a little too close for me.

I feel like the editing needs a paragraph of appreciation here, because the editing of this film is WILD! I cannot believe how they even did this. Round of applause for the editors and I hope they got paid wonderfully for their amazing work.

Moving on to the performances, I just want to say that Stephanie Hsu is a talented actress. Go watch her audition tape too because she needs to be booked in more projects. Of course Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and all the other performers were amazing.

I hope more people get to watch this and see for themselves how much heart and thought was poured into this film.

That's all for for now. I hope 2023 would give us an equally interesting and fun set of films to enjoy. Have a great day to you all!