#problem is mainly that the framing ends up maybe being too similar to the original Fall

[quibbs126]

My brain has basically fully convinced itself that Megatron is going to die in the Transformers One sequels, specifically in self sacrifice to defeat the Quintessons

It keeps appearing in my brain, it’s basically solidified itself as a concept now

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

My Spider-Man Ideas

Because I’m glad my good bro @kaijuguy19 asked me about this. I want to say and it’s not a secret I’m actually a big Spider-Man fan. And ever since last year. I wanted to make my own take on the character. And maybe I still will one day. But smaller maybe. But ever since this post I made. https://geekgemsspooksandtoons.tumblr.com/post/662905966119075840/to-be-honest-i-just-wanna-say-i-feel-like-maybe-i I think it’s best I just talk about it. 

In a way, I feel like this is what The Amazing Spider-Man series could’ve been maybe. Which is something I wanted to talk about. Despite some big criticisms towards that franchise. I don’t mind it’s place, and we can’t change history with it. And Spider-Man is in the MCU now.

This may not be all finished yet. Or put together much better. But this is practically my, “The Dark Knight” of the Spider-Man character. Yet also, I feel like maybe it’s best I don’t touch the Spider-Man franchise.

Because I feel like if fans, non fans, and whoever read this. They would honestly think, “GeekGem, please go back to The Mask franchise” because while I love Spider-Man, and the themes his character represent. Along with the many characters and stories. That have even inspired the likes of The Mask Rebirth strangely. But The Mask is maybe a series that is...maybe more suited for me...

I just wanted to say that I think people would be like, “Go back to The Mask franchise please. And never touch any Spider-Man related again” but I’m being way too harsh about myself. Now let’s begin. XD

Part 1.

I wanted to strangely make my own Spider-Man in a sense like Batman 1989. But I feel Spider-Man 2002 fills that hole. Including one of the old ideas that Peter has been Spider-Man for 5 years with no huge villains. But recently, it had gone to maybe his second year instead. Him being 19 and in college. With the origin not shown, but cleverly shown and told maybe akin to how Spectacular told it. And what I wanted Homecoming to do possibly. Or even something like that 2017 series. 

It mainly dealt with Quinten Beck’s Mysterio. And it was basically a more mature version of, “The Menace Of Mysterio” and basically, Mysterio’s first apperance. With Beck trying become a superhero by framing Spider-Man. But after he frames Spider-Man. He tries to showcase he’s even more of a hero by deciding to kill criminals. I remember a friend of mine understanding that he called him an evil(er) version of Neil Druckmann/Quentin Tarantino/Ken Levine.

Even though I was really gonna look into his story because comics had gone in more depth with him.

Other characters like Mary Jane, Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn, Aunt May, and the employees at the Daily Bugle would be involved. With the main story of Peter recalling why he became Spider-Man in the first place. And with Mysterio practically being a foil to him. And there is the inclusion of Silver Stable being brought to take down Spider-Man. But her job has become more troubling with Mysterio. Yet I question if I still want her in this. 

Including it developed into something like the upcoming The Batman movie. With maybe Beck losing it more because the police hate the fact he’s begun killing criminals. But anyway, I wanna leave as it is. I just remembered the Silver Stable part. I wanna talk about the one I thought of the most. The one that I really wanted to do. Forgot to put Captain Stacy in this. Since I just wrote him down in part 2.

-

Part 2.

This idea is basically my The Dark Knight for Spider-Man. Like, literally. With the idea of using the Green Goblin, and really showcasing how dangerous the character is. And I really wanted to test the words, “With great power comes great responsibility”.

Think of this story if the Green Goblin replace the Joker in The Dark Knight. And you replace certain characters with Spider-Man characters. But if I recall, it’s mainly this idea of Goblin trying to teach Spider-Man the consequences of being a superhero. 

Going in line with his original version like he first appeared. This is Norman Osborn. But it’s never revealed until the end. And it’s kind of a mystery. And with Norman faking his death by a terrorist attack by the Green Goblin. With Norman before that, acting like an older and kind fatherly figure. When in reality, he’s a genuine horrible person hiding behind a persona. And with the Goblin persona, his abilities and all that. He uses the Green Goblin as an outlet to unleash who he truly is. Going with what how the 616 version of him is. There’s no split personality.

I will admit, the faking his own death thing might backfire on him if he wins. Maybe him with a back up plan that Norman was alive, and was taken hostage by the Goblin. With Norman making it look like that.

In a nutshell, the Green Goblin is practically who Norman is deep inside. And he tries to become the leader of organized crime. Until he meets Spider-Man. Where in this version, Green Goblin is like a cruel teacher, and he wants to really teach Spider-Man what it’s the huge consequences of being a superhero.

This dude is literally more like a boogeyman. He’s if Arkham Knight’s Scarecrow and Heath Ledger’s Joker were fused into one. But he‘s also basically if Ghostface was a supervillain with powers and gadgets. He has the glider, but he does other shit. Despite his original intention, he becomes Hell bent on making Spider-Man understand the responsibility of what he’s doing. 

With Green Goblin becoming more of a terrorist. That it becomes so bad. That Silver Stable is brought in likely by Captain George Stacy. That this problem with costumed people has gone too far. 

Goblin is killing members of the Wild Pack, police officers, and he’s just causing chaos to bring Spider-Man down. But when he figures out who Spider-Man is. It becomes even more personal.

At first, it seems like the story is gonna go the way of, “The Night Gwen Stacy Died”. And it’s scary because Gwen knows who Peter is, and is with him. But it’s different, with not Goblin taking an unconscious Gwen to the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s still the Brooklyn Bridge. But instead he kidnaps her, leaves her tied and gagged surrounded by a bunch of barrels that will explode. There’s no Spider-Man accidently killing Gwen with his webs. But instead...what happens is...much worse. To me personally.

Spider-Man saves Gwen, and stops the barrels from exploding. But it doesn’t go the route of, “What if Gwen Stacy had lived?” storyline. Instead, the Green Goblin’s plan wasn’t to kill Gwen. But something to destroy both her, and Peter mentally.

Instead, when Peter tries to go back to May’s house. Aunt May is literally killed by a bunch of hidden explosions. And during the same time or a little later. Captain George Stacy in his office is killed by similar hidden explosions. 

What happened is that because Goblin found out who Spider-Man was, and knew who he was dating. He felt like it was too easy to kill Gwen. But he wanted to do something possibly more extreme. Something that would still make Peter snap. But also destroy his relationship with Gwen.

He took the words from Spider-Man 2002, “The heart Osborn. First, we attack his heart” to literal heart. He kills Aunt May, and George Stacy in the most horrific way. Including destroying the home Peter grew up in. And after some time. Goblin literally calls Peter to pretty much rub it in that these are the consequences of him being Spider-Man. And that Gwen wasn’t the one he wanted to kill. With him possibly ending the conversation, talking about how it’s gonna end.

That it will end with one of them dying. But he doesn’t care. If Green Goblin kill Spider-Man, he wins. If Spider-Man kills Green Goblin, Spider-Man will be viewed maybe more as a menace. Because he likely killed Green Goblin out of pure rage. Which Goblin tried to create, he unleashes the anger that Peter tries to hold in. And with his mother figure killed in such a way, and a friend who was like a new father figure killed in a similar fashion. It’s literally a cruel test Goblin is trying to pull.

And in the end, during some stuff, with Spider-Man nearly killing Goblin like in the comics. But soon stopping himself when he learns that it was Norman all along. And it ends with Norman like the 2002 film and comics, accidently killing himself with the gilder. He never comes back, he’s truly dead.

On one point, Spider-Man stops himself from killing Goblin, and Norman kills himself instead. But the other point is something else instead. Norman is revealed to the the Green Goblin, putting Oscorp in a heap of shit, and people looking at Harry strangely. And despite comforting each other, but because of the horrible events.

Gwen decides that it’s maybe best to break up with Peter. Understanding her being with Peter seemed to have gotten her father killed. She doesn’t hate Peter. But she seems to hate Spider-Man. That persona, not Peter himself. 

-

Part 3. 

This was the most challenging one. Because I really wondered about the villains. There was Kraven with possibly a Kraven’s Last Hunt story. Hobgoblin because Peter would lose his shit at another Goblin. But also the idea of the symbiote suit being in the story. And during this whole development process from last year. Characters like Miles and Black Cat were involved. But I’m not sure now. With the idea that Miles may become a Spider-Man one day. And Black Cat being bothered by black suit Spider-Man.

Yet recently, despite it may feel overstuffed. But it’s not three villains. And it could be as long as it wants. 

This part is basically Spider-Man 2 fused with Spider-Man 3. With the big focus of the aftermath of Green Goblin's destruction upon New York City. And Peter’s grief with the loss of Aunt May, George Stacy, and Gwen deciding to leave him. Despite he fully understands and respects Gwen for leaving him. But it’s hard.

But also with Mary Jane truly becoming Peter’s true love. After the traumatic loss and Gwen leaving New York. I know and understand Gwen’s death was a huge part of changing Mary Jane as a person because they were friends with a friendly rivalry that I recall. I...wanted to make it less depressing. Despite May was the one replacing Gwen’s death. Because that seems maybe more powerful, it depends on how you see it. Mainly with the idea that May never did anything wrong, and it was such an easy kill for Goblin. It’s like Uncle Ben’s death all over again.

Yet again, the concept of part 3 is of Peter truly embracing being Spider-Man. And not letting his darkness take ahold of him after the death of the woman that raised him. With the symbiote bringing out repressed anger even more. And made worse after the death of Aunt May. 

But it’s Mary Jane that helps him overcome that darkness. And I wanna share this video that explains that more. Because I feel like that could’ve been an amazing plot point for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 if done right. 

The video is by Sevenwebheads. I loved this guy before he sadly left YouTube out of nowhere.

And with how I talked about this part. It being Spider-Man 2 fused with Spider-Man 3. The villains being Doc Ock, and Venom. And in a sense, Peter is his own villain. Because of the symbiote. 

It’s possible Doc Ock like his 2004 film version is maybe more sympathetic. And honestly more understandable as a villain than Norman Osborn. 

Quentin Beck/Mysterio is a man who is crushed by his ambitions, and being a foil to Peter’s belief about responsibility and being a superhero.

Silver Stable is a mercenary that’s more like a complex character. Yet gets into conflict with Spider-Man. Not really a villain.

The Green Goblin/Norman Osborn in this is pretty much the embodiment of pure evil. Practically enjoying what he is doing, and not caring what the consequences are. A total anti-thesis to everything Spider-Man represents. And would make other villains or anti heroes look at him like, “What the fuck is wrong with you!?”

With Doc Ock again, being more sympathetic, but still a villain. Akin to Spider-Man 2′s Alfred Molina. And Eddie Brock, who I think should have sprinkled throughout this three part story. 

With Venom and Eddie. I really like them both, I really do. But I wanted to do a version that would make sense. Instead of copying the 616 version or only the Ultimate version. Considering in a sense, the 616 Eddie isn’t much of a foil to Peter. Where the Ultimate version seems more like that in a sense.

I feel like the symbiote shouldn’t be an alien from outer space. Because that opens a whole can of worms. I seriously feel like the alien aspect doesn’t mesh with the more grounded take of Spider-Man. And it just at times makes me feel fine with the idea of Venom not being included in Spider-Man’s mythos. Despite how iconic he is.

So the symbiote’s origins would be more involved with science than from outer space. And with Eddie not only being a bit more complex. Yet he is also a foil to both Peter and Mary Jane. While you can understand him, he practically becomes more unhinged and possibly has some relations with Peter like in Ultimate and Spectacular. And when I think about, even using some elements from The Amazing Spider-Man 2 mobile game version of Eddie/Venom.

His character would be more in line with how Todd McFarlane and David Michelinie introduced the character. But while there is some dark comedy. It’s seriously more frightening. Another boogeyman in a sense like Green Goblin. With his first appearance being like in The Amazing Spider-Man issue 299. And Venom representing one of the many mistakes Spider-Man made. That being the birth of Venom and it bonding to Eddie Brock. Creating a villain that Peter feels responsible for.

I guess in a sense, I wanted to use three of Spider-Man biggest villains. Those being Green Goblin, Doc Ock, and Venom. With Mysterio and Silver Stable included. There is the idea of Carnage. Even though I liked the inclusion of Carnage in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 game. And Cletus is truly a foil to everything Peter is. I really wanted to showcase Venom as that. Still wondering about Black Cat because I love Felicia.

With this part. Considering how tough this whole trilogy is. This part is basically I guess, the light in the darkest hour. 

Where you have moments like a black suited Spider-Man nearly killing Doc Ock, and even before that, ripping off one of his arms, or maybe all of them. I’m not sure. But it’s nearly killing Doc Ock that truly makes Peter if his anger has truly gone too far. And an interaction with Mary Jane who is the biggest person who has been comforting him. Helping him through his grief, after everything that had happened with him. 

Peter chooses Mary Jane over keeping the symbiote. And because of his rejection of the symbiote, it bonds with Eddie. Who is practically a final test for Peter in this story. The dark reflection of what he could’ve became. A man despite you can feel for him. Eddie slowly became more sociopathic, became more irresponsible, and becoming more consumed with hate and anger.

The light rising above dark, and moving on with life. Because if we cling on to the past. We’ll be stuck there forever. And with Peter being a pessimist who has optimistic moments. This whole trilogy is like an endurance test of him as Spider-Man. 

I really wanted to bring to life the earlier stories of Spider-Man from Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. It’s basically a love letter to the character and his mythos. Focusing on some more darker elements like Peter’s anger issues, and other things. But also dealing with the many themes about the character. But it’s even more rough when you replace Spider-Man 2′s Doc Ock with Green Goblin. And you maybe place Doc Ock in Spider-Man 3. 

Even though I feel like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy is maybe the perfect representation of the character. Despite all the criticisms towards Spider-Man 3. And other people’s nitpicks among many things. I feel like those films REALLY got Spider-Man right. Along with others like The Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon and others.

Think I’ve said enough. I’ll talk other stuff in the reblogs. But yeah...which I’ll say this in a reblog. Despite I don’t mind flawed films...I wished The Amazing Spider-Man franchise took a direction like this. 

[starkey]

[Spoilers for The Haunting of Bly Manor!]

I know everyone is super loving Bly Manor cause ~80′s gays~!!! but some stuff about it sat really bad for me so I’m gonna try to verbalise it. Obviously if you loved it and aren't vibing with a critical analysis I'm not offended if you don't read lol. Also I’m not trying to say that there’s anything wrong with liking it! I just...didn’t, and I want to think about why, for a sec. (Sorry this got a bit long)

I think part of my problem is that I count Hill House as one of my favourite shows ever and I had ridiculously high hopes for Bly Manor, which probably couldn't ever have been fully realised. And there was actually a lot about it that I liked, especially at the begining. I thought the kids were great, and I loved the core group of Mrs Grose, Owen, Dani and Jamie. I liked the fact that the Henry Wingrave element was expanded upon, and I liked the complexity of Rebecca and Peter, and the room it gave them to be fully realised human beings. I quite enjoyed that they kept to the Hill House ghost mythology - that ghosts are lost in time but fixed in place, and that they jump from memory to memory, and haunt the people that they care about without knowing. But there were lots of things I wasn't so keen on...

Until the last episode my issues were mainly that it felt a bit...lazy? I can't stress it enough but the british accents were really really bad. Old!Jamie’s accent was deeply unbelievable and jarring, as was Henry Wingrave's, and although Peter’s accent was passable (I assume because the actor is English and not American like the others) it still didn’t match his mothers, or his ‘background’ - i.e. it sounded like a private school Edinburgh accent, not a Glasgow kid dragged up through poverty in the scheme - and yes there is a significant difference in those accents. I appreciate there’s a degree of privilege at play here - I’m used to the BBC producing high quality television where these details aren’t messed about with, and the production of Bly Manor was thoroughly American, but to put it in perspective, it would be like... if a character had a deep south dirt-poor Louisiana upbringing and spoke like somebody from a private school in Virginia. Other details also felt off - Rebecca’s costumes all seemed weirdly 2020-adjacent, none of the fashion or ancillary details seemed to match the UK in the 80s (which has a distinct feel), and the house that Peter returned to on his ‘memory bumps’ looked much more like an LA condo than a Scottish council house. Really, they should have just set it in America, because it felt more American than British, and they clearly didn't have any British people involved in the production.

I really didn't enjoy the narrative framing device of 'someone telling a story to a group of people at a party'. It makes sense in the Turn of the Screw, because the narrator is reading from a document written at the time of the events, so the narration becomes a first person one where the degree of detail is logically accounted for. In this take, the story alternated from being one which made sense - us just watching the characters move around normally - to one in which 'Jamie' (who’d apparently had a complete personality transplant that had turned her from a feisty northern lesbian into a coy, mysterious victorian englishwoman with a severe accent problem) adopted a falsely old-fashioned manner and told the wedding guests a ten hour long story about a haunted house.  And somehow neither Flora nor Miles recognised any part of this story in the least, in spite of what must have been overwhelming similarities? It was very jarring.  

I also kept waiting for a twist on a level with Hill House, but never got one. The big twist about Mrs Grose was, I thought, obvious from almost the first episode. I mean the woman didn’t eat or drink anything and spent most of her time confused about where she was, I thought it was fairly clear that she was a ghost. And yeah, I suppose because I’ve read the book I was never in any doubt that Peter was already dead. The ghosts in the background were much less spooky than in Hill House. They stood around in broad daylight while the characters talked and joked and it kind of felt like the ghosts had wandered in by accident and felt too awkward to leave. I really liked how spooky Hill House was - even apart from the jump scares I thought the psychological elements and the open discussion of death and grief was really affecting. I didn’t feel that at all in Bly Manor, and by the time we found out the details of Mrs Grose’s death, I’d already come to terms with it.  But all of this would have been fine, if it hadn’t been for the last episode.

I really really didn’t enjoy the bury your gays ending. And I’m not even usually against this in principle! I think in a dark/horror context, where there’s implied to be an ever-present threat of character death, it’s unreasonable to expect that no characters will die or experience tragedy - and in cases where there’s abundant LGBT rep some of those characters will by necessity not be cis/straight. So I don’t have a problem with gay characters meeting tragic or dark ends, as a general rule, particularly when it serves a narrative purpose and isn’t gratuitous. My problem here was in the manner and necessity of that death.

There were ways in which Dani could have died in this story that I would have felt were narratively meaningful and cathartic, but the manner in which she did die failed to hit those beats for me. This is a story in which two women in the 80's fall in love and are doomed by the world around them (we're already in Meryl Streep 'groundbreaking' territory here, in terms of metaphor). They know death is coming for them, that it will likely destroy them both, that they won't have an opportunity to grow old together, that eventually one day it will catch them and everything will be over - they're on borrowed time, and they spend a lot of that time looking over their shoulders waiting for shit to break bad. In the end, they're destroyed by a force in Dani's body/mind that she can't fight, that she can't win against, and the spectre of which haunts her through the years. Like... the obvious parallel here is mental health, and suicide - they even go out of their way to feature that classic heartsink moment with the overflowing bath. And to me, any story that has a message of 'no matter how strong you are, no matter how much love you have and give, or how beautiful the life you've built is, eventually the dark forces in your mind will Get You and it'll probably be before you make it to middle age' is... really shitty. The other echo that struck me was the HIV/AIDS crisis - obviously wlw were relatively spared from this, in comparison to mlm, but it still carries a cultural legacy of pain and trauma, and I really didn't need this show to grind down on that for me.

And the thing is... in the original story, the governess doesn't even die! Miles does, so maybe there's an argument here that Dani sacrificed herself in exchange for Miles's life in this retelling, but I'm still struck by this element of, like... they added this in! They chose to do this! Only one character dies in the course of this show (with Mrs Grose dying before the show starts) and it's the gay woman?? Why?? What did it show?? Why was it necessary?

Not to mention, the 'epilogue' scene paints Jamie as being very lonely and isolated. I'm not sure why the children didn't recognise ANY elements of this story from their past - even assuming they forgot the ghostly elements of their childhood, they should be able to see the similarities in the characters, but the scene also seems to imply that Jamie really isn't very close to Miles and Flora, and that she doesn't even really get to have a relationship with them as adults, in spite of losing everything to protect them, and not having any family of her own.

Almost everybody else gets a happy ending, but Jamie ends the night of the epilogue standing alone at a table, with the love of her life dead in a cursed lake, doomed to spend eternity watching over a crumbling house, and idk to me? that kind of sucked.

[vedj-f-bekuesu]

Ninjago Unpopular Opinions

Following on from my watch of the entire old series (combined with already having seen the last two series), I have enough material to work with to make a sort of unpopular opinion list. Some of these are lightweight, some of these are...uh, not so much. 

These aren’t in any particular order, this is more of a “I’ll just put them down as I remember them” sort of deal. That’ll be why they appear so messy. 

-Even after all this I prefer the newest seasons to the older stuff. There have been a surprising number of good to great older seasons, but I just love that hit of S1/S2 campiness with the more developed writing of later seasons. 

-Cole sucked as a leader, aside from in the pilot episodes. In the series proper he varied from complete meathead I hated (first part of S1), to having the same mentoring personality as everyone else (S1 - S2), to being consumed by the love triangle which made him pull a really shitty move (I don’t need to tell you what that refers to). He eventually gets ironed out in season 4, but Lloyd had already taken over as leader at this point. And rightfully so, even if Lloyd’s material got knocked from season 3 as a result. 

-I couldn’t really warm up to Ronin that much for some reason. I get the reason why he’s popular, since it was pretty obvious he was supposed to be like an off-beat mentor figure to Nya, but...I dunno, unlike with Dareth, it felt like his skeevy moments were more off-kilter, plus I didn’t really like his arc in Skybound (even if that was written out of reality). That being said, his was strong in Possession even with said moments. Maybe I just need a future appearance to see how I ultimately swing with him.

-I mentioned this in my Hunted overview, but I think Skylor’s just bland. Part of the problem is that she’s mainly just wedged in as an action girl and doesn’t have too many moments to interact outside of that. That’s mostly reserved for moments where she acts as Agony Aunt (which is fine, that shows that being supportive is in her nature), but she needs more to work with. And as an obvious offshoot, if Kailor is the intended endgame it sucks in its current form. They don’t have chemistry or a decent dynamic.

-The other Ninjago ship I don’t particularly like out of all of them is...actually Geode. Yeah, Rebooted obviously wasn’t good for it considering the love triangle, but what actually did more damage to it for me was Skybound. It went so far in trying to oversteer back that it beat you over the head with the fact they were making Cole and Jay best friends after said love triangle (made really obvious when Jay is worried about Cole’s reaction to him seeing Nya in his reflection in both Possession and Skybound, when Cole isn’t even phased when he’s told). It was just really off-putting.

-Jay is a better big brother figure to Lloyd than Kai. Yeah, Kai’s true potential moment in Rise of the Serpentine hinged on realising he (and the others, mind) were supposed to protect Lloyd, they all spent Legacy of the Green Ninja’s first half being Lloyd’s proper mentors, Zane’s death prompted Kai to hover with thoughts of the Green Ninja again (which seemed to me for different reasons to being envious of power at the start, although its handling was very clunky after that), and he had the first episode in Possession which was arguably the strongest showing of a dynamic with Lloyd, but Possession didn’t have much about it outside of said episode, and the show seemed to just forget it from that point beyond some very, very fleeting and sparse bits. In the more modern seasons, it feels like Jay’s stepped up to be more supportive of Lloyd on a more consistent basis (which would make sense with the common fanon that Jay is the youngest of the original Ninja, he’d be closer to Lloyd’s age). It’s something I kind of want tapped into in a proper way at some point.

-Sensei Garmadon is a bit overrated. Just a smidge. When he’s good, he’s good, but most of the time he’s no more interesting than Wu would be in the same position. And I feel like they didn’t really develop his fatherly bond with Lloyd too well despite that being what his character was there for. Again, aside from moments where he was really good.

-Most underrated season of the old batch for me was the last minute shock, March of the Oni. I did enjoy Day of the Departed (which has a worse reputation), but I can understand why someone wouldn’t like it considering how bare it was. March of the Oni is far from my favourite season but I thought it came together really well, so the fact it’s generally panned legitimately confuses me. I guess Hands of Time would be a contender too, but I think opinion on that has swayed in its favour after the new seasons came out (and Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjutsu would be here if I included the new batch) so that’s why it’s edged out. 

-Most overrated season for me was undeniably Tournament of Elements. It’s not my least favourite season, but Rebooted and Hunted are pretty maligned to begin with, while Tournament of Elements is usually considered one of the top ones. It starts strong, has an interesting premise and there are ideas that are executed well. The thing is that the elements that people tend to praise the season for are ones I actually think the writers dropped the ball on, hence why this ended up the toughest season to get to the end of, even more than Hunted. It’s a shame, but it’s just not for me. 

-Best ninja suits...honestly, I don’t really notice the suits unless they’re really bad, because I’m used to franchises where costume changes mark radical permanent redesigns, and are not just par for the course of the brand (it makes perfect sense with a toy brand who want to sell you the same characters over and over again but still). Not counting the S11 suits since they weren’t part of the old batch, I guess I’d honestly say the ZX suits, maybe? They’re simple, but they’re cute and very distinct. Also Sons of Garmadon Cole channelling the Movie costume was a very good move (and arguably looks even better ripped up in Hunted aethetically), and Kai’s suit was bleh in Sons of Garmadon but its overhaul in Hunted was way better. Also, just as a wildcard, Rebooted Lloyd looks like a more finely tuned ZX suit. Actually, just one last bit on a tangent to note a difference the show makes to the figures that demonstrates the figures’ limitations. For Kai and Jay’s S11 suits, their figures invoke similar feels (because underneath the accessories they do have a lot in common), whereas they feel very different in the show because while Jay sticks to the figure and looks snug, Kai has a lot exposed around the neckline, as if his gi is hanging loosely on the shoulders and should join Cole in the “For fucks sake it’s an ice realm wear a jacket please” club. 

-Worst ninja sui--what the hell happened to Cole and Nya in Hands of Time?! Nya’s main issue is that it’s trying to work too many colours and they just don’t mesh well. I think this was the time they were partially adapting the movie’s change, but they were clinging onto her having red to both represent Samurai X and her ties to her brother, but they should have just picked one or the other because it just doesn’t work the way it did in Skybound. And Cole’s outfit is just hideous. Its balance of colours and accents is all off-kilter, and to top it off the shoes just don’t work and somehow look like socks with sandals. I didn’t know that was doable with a whole suit. Finally, on a general note, I’m not a fan of when the suits are all very similar bar some very, very minor differences. One could argue that it makes them look more like a team, but I prefer the individual personality to come out. 

-It’s hard to judge the best and worst episodes, honestly. The seasons from Tournament of Elements onwards are done so tied to each other that picking an episode is rather difficult outside of designated finales (or the odd Jay-focused/Zane-focused episodes that happened in seasons 7, 8 and 9). I guess for best I’d say stuff like The Quiet One, or The Fall, or Grave Danger, or stuff like that would be up there. Worst episodes in those seasons are even harder, because usually it’s how arcs over episodes are written that get to me, not individual episodes.  This all being said, it’s much easier to do this with the more episodic first three seasons, and to that end I would still say that Tick Tock is my favourite standalone episode still, and Home is still my least favourite. For all the times the writing has dropped the ball, nothing has legitimately pissed me off more than what this episode did because it’s in its own category of bad writing. 

-There have been some concepts thrown in that, while they definitely wouldn’t work out in the long term, make for interesting snippets of what-ifs. Like, I loved the bit where Jay was a show host and got around the stage using his lightning powers. That seems like such a natural fit outside of his ninja identity I wish I’d thought of it. Imagine Bradley Walsh using lightning to get around the studio, that would be metal as fuck.

-On the other side of that coin, the bizarro Ninja are the single most overrated concept in the show. I don’t like Scourge the Hedgehog to begin with, but he at least had some efforts to make him unique (that fell flat, but eh). The bizarro Ninja are the equivalent of Evil Sonic; cliche and undeveloped. They’re not even useful for the cliche idea of framing the actual Ninja since even though they’re seen doing delinquent behaviour, this is never addressed. Heck Nadakhan was more effective with this idea. Thing is that I can’t blame the show at all for this. While the concept is naff, the show itself treats them as they actually were; Garmadon’s puppets and the scheme of the episode. Aside from bizarro Jay’s behaviour to Nya being full of unfortunate implications, there is no greater purpose for their existence, and the show never tries to do it again. It’s really the fans that have inflated their appearance in this case because I guess the idea of “take this nice character and give them an evil version” is just so appealing to the teenage demographic. Screw that, corruption is way more fun and interesting. 

-What I can blame the show for is the single worst execution of an idea, because to this point I still consider Kai’s green ninja “arc” in Tournament of Elements to be the single worst executed arc (yeah, even worse than the love triangle, but that one is still bad). The sad thing is it managed to convince me that it wasn’t such a bad concept when they explained it by being an offshoot of his depression following Zane’s death (before that I was very sceptical it could fit it in naturally after the last three seasons). But then it was used once when Skylor tried to get Kai to stab Lloyd in the back during the skating match (which Kai completely rebuffed and seemed over his depression-rooted negative vibes on Lloyd), and once more when he was overcome by the power of the staff. The latter is especially infuriating since this would have been the perfect opportunity for a character moment. Like, Lloyd and/or Skylor could have fought to get Kai out of the trance of the staff and see that his friends mean more to him than having power. It practically writes itself and is a perfect set-up. What happens instead is that Cole is technically the one to save Kai from himself as he rams the Roto Jet into the chamber and makes the rocky serpentine structure come crashing down on Kai. Maybe interesting to read into if you want a Lava reading of the show, but in that moment is just a wasted opportunity. Come on!

-Actually, also talking about other bad concepts, I don’t miss those weird energy dragons they could summon starting from Tournament of Elements. The dragons in Rise of the Serpentine/Legacy of the Green Ninja were fine because they had a logical reason for being there and actually were integrated into the plot (so you got to watch them being maintained and having moments with the ninja). The energy dragons in Tournament of Elements existed for one character as a plot thing (Zane’s, because he always had the good plots in the earlier seasons), but then everyone else suddenly could do it too and they became convenient plot devices and nothing else. Airjutsu I was more okay with because it seems more like a tool they’d use and could be integrated better, but I can also see why that stopped being used (outside of that one bit in Prime Empire).

-The Elemental Masters are both over-hyped and underdeveloped. The normal civilian cast really got the shaft once the series decided it wanted to explore this lore, yet the only ones I really got interested in in any way were the villain EMs and Karlof. And even Karlof is overlooked by the fandom, by the looks of it. 

-Jay actually came off the best in the Rebooted love triangle. He’s not entirely perfect, but he is essentially the biggest victim as a result of it in that season, and what Nya and Cole did either bordered on or was outright callous for different reasons. I think if people gave Jay the biggest shtick for Rebooted’s events, it’s influenced with how Skybound botched trying to patch it up. 

-The movie was a net positive influence on the show. Aside from me preferring the designs of the movie anyway, it forced the characterisation to actually pick a lane for each character and stick to it, mitigating a lot of the haphazard characterisation issues. The inconsistency in later seasons is tone instead, which is maybe why people thought the characterisation was inconsistent between Sons of Garmadon/Hunted and March of the Oni/SotFS (when really, they weren’t that different if at all). The show also made a good call in ignoring movie Zane’s characterisation; as much as I enjoy it in the film, it really didn’t gel up with what the show had done with him, so trying to force it in would have been more of a characterisation jolt than any of the early season stuff. 

-I’m generally fine with Jaya and Pixane. The former I can see why people would be off about it because there have been some badly written periods for them, but I think on the whole it manages to hold it together. The latter was written in surprisingly smoothly given the circumstances, so it’s no wonder I don’t see discourse about it. 

-Oh yeah, I don’t get Wu/Faith as a ship. Like, she was the cool drill instructor/aunt to everyone, including Wu. This is a quick one because it’s just a very small aside.

-Also I can’t really get behind Polyninja either. If the characters had a fairly even spread of interaction and moments between each other I could, but the spread ends up like lots of moments between Cole and Kai varying from little moments to huge dollops, and Cole and Jay having a whole best friends affirmation arc due to the fallout of the love triangle, to Kai and Jay having barely anything to work with and anyone with Zane getting a couple of table scraps occasionally. It’s not even enough.

-Following on from that though, Zane feels the least integrated with the group dynamic in general. He’s has some of the best plots and stories in the show, but nearly all of them have been focusing on him solo. And not even SotFS or Prime Empire helped with this one. Hopefully MoM can smooth this one out a bit. 

-Finally for this post, after going through all those seasons I still prefer Nya’s movie voice to her show voice by a significant margin. Sorry Kelly Metzger. 

I think that’s it. I’ve actually been on this for a week but I’ve been allowing time for more thoughts to come to me, because there have been a lot of thoughts coming in batches. I think I’ll leave it at this though, because I think most of it is covered pretty well.

I have at least two more text posts like this planned, but they’re not strictly about the old seasons so I’ve left them for after. I’m looking forward to them though, because they’re on specific topics and that is my bread and butter pudding. 

[trilies]

Someone tried to come up with a “sfwrarepair week” for a fandom i’m in because they had problems with the mods of the actual rarepair week shutting down wank and being open to all rarepairs

but their interest post was, like. terrible.

and i had to write a super long response to it because it frustrated me so much, with the op clearly not caring about actual csa survivors despite ~wanting to help them~

but then the post disappeared from the main tag and i couldn’t reblog the post even from the op’s original site and so this has just been hanging around in a plurk paste i’ve had open for weeks now, so i figured i should just fling it out there because i’m not wasting that work lmao

This post (and if I’m honest, the base idea) is actually harmful to actual CSA survivors and I’d like to call attention to this, especially since the OP isn’t giving the impression that they’re interested in the words of an actual CSA survivor.

I’m going to go in order of the post to give my criticism.

1. “being a safespace for minors, csa victims, incest survivors, people of color, LGBT individuals, etc.”

If this were just about making people feel safe, then there would be zero need to judge or insult people outside the group as occurs repeatedly throughout this post - the focus would be on the people IN the group.

For that matter, you wouldn't make an open call for a group like this anyway because the people in it would all have different comfort levels, so you can't just go "oh all this content will be safe for you" - you don't even know what their needs are yet. How can you guarantee that?

“Safe” ships, even those defined by the OP, can still be written in a way that is triggering or problematic.

Triggers aren't just in what the relationship is, they can be in the subject matter or the theme or what happens in the fic and it's like...okay, how much are you screening for? How are you protecting your members beyond just screening what ships are allowed?

A group actually meant to help abuse survivors, people with triggers, etc would not just have a flat set of rules set out before it's even got members, it would be organically constructed with consideration to the people in it and what their specific needs are.

That is only speaking of CSA and incest survivors as well... because that’s all this post suggests. It offers nothing in terms of how it would explicitly help queer fans, or fans of color. What it does offer for CSA survivors? (The only one I would say I am qualified to speak of in terms of experience.) Only vague platitudes that, from my perspective, only apply to the ideal of CSA survivors. Not actual CSA survivors, like those who do ship things you don’t approve of because it helps them recover.

Which actually leads us to

2. “this means there would not be ANY pedophilic [...] ships”

First of all, as a CSA survivor: stop using “pedophilia” as a description for fictional ships. This dilutes both the actual meaning and the seriousness of the word, which in turn harms actual victims as that word is robbed from them. Use an actual definition.

Because that’s the second issue with this statement, in that there is no actual definition given. That is a problem in the current fandom climate because, along with diluting the seriousness of the word, the meaning now varies wildly from person to person.

By “pedophilic”, do you mean a ship featuring someone 18 or up with someone beneath that age? What about characters where it’s unclear, such as Xanxus, who was frozen at age 16 and one could argue that he’s still that age? Or that he’s not because anime? What about with a gimmick that features time travel, such as the canon instance of Hana liking TYL Lambo and not recognizing or liking him as 5 year old Lambo? Where do the Arcobaleno fit in any of this?

By “pedophilic”, do you mean any ships featuring characters that are under the age of 18? Is it only pedophilic if it’s an 18+ adult shipping them? How are you going to check for that? What about the canon time travel used as both a gimmick and an arc?

Other types who allege they’re against “pedophilic ships” have said that it’s any ship with a height difference, any age difference at all even if the characters are still both adults, if a character’s boobs are too small, if a character isn’t smart. And, yes, those are all things I’ve actually seen!

Or will you oblige anyone who claims a particular ship is pedophilic?

This vagueness is a problem. Admittedly, the vagueness was not started by you, but it was started by people who claimed the same intentions as you, OP, and if you’re going to make a claim that you want to help CSA survivors, then you need to be far more clear than this.

3. [the same thing but re: incest]

Admittedly, I’ve seen this as less of a problem with misusing incest, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t seen it at all. You may want to clarify that you mean explicit blood relations (for example, Bianchi and Gokudera) or... Well, I can’t recall anyone explicitly adopted, but the idea is the same there. None of the “they referred to each other as brothers, ignoring how that’s often used in a way that has nothing to do with incest, but so that makes it totally incest”.

4. “ otherwise harmful ships”

This is the largest red flag out of everything, and we’re not even past the first rule in the original post. This has a similar problem to everything else about this list of not-allowed ship, only it’s much worse because it’s target is arguably everything.

What do you mean by “harmful”, OP?

Do we judge “harmful” because of the characters, or because of the ship?

How will you regulate this incredibly harmful descriptor so that it isn’t misappropriated by bullies and harassers to silence fans, whether as them as a person or what they ship? Because I can guarantee you that I could come up with any completely bullshitted reason to hate on every single character or ship combination from KHR, and others easily could as well for malicious reasons.

This is a frankly terrible rule and, considering the kind of rampant bullying that comes from people who like to claim they’re against ““pedophilic”“ ships against CSA victims, I do not trust it. I do not trust it at all.

5. “this blog would NOT be in “competition” or in any kind of rivalry with the original khr rarepair week blog”

Now this is either an outright lie, or someone who has not considered their own words, and I could not tell you which is worse when it comes to a declaration of a “safe space” for minorities or people with trauma like CSA and incest survivors.

The entire original post ABSOLUTELY positions itself as competition to the actual khr rarepair week, not an alternative. Not only does it position itself as “competition”, but it tries to sell itself to people as the “better choice”.

It’s an attempt at a bit of sleight of hand. The post tries to show itself as friendly, just here to help people... But, as I stated before, if it really had an interest in helping people, it would focus on those people.

Instead, numerous times, you see the OP making judgment calls and negative comments to others - mainly implications of people participating in the actual khr rarepair week. There’s a series of connections throughout the entire post:

We start with “pedophilic ships” being banned to “help” CSA survivors in the first rule, and then leap from that to, in the second rule, “people who don’t feel comfortable in an event run by people who support pedo ships”.

(Reminder: still no idea on what ““pedo”“ ships even are by OP’s definition.)

So we’ve already started by associating the people participating in the regular khr rarepair week as the problem, instead of people simply not being comfortable with just the ships themselves - fictional things that are easily avoided.

Then, at the very end, the OP makes the explicit connection between ““pedo”“ ships and “freaks”.

So is the connection clear yet? The way they steadily escalate things until the implication at the very end? How that all does its best to frame KHR Rarepair Week as a negative? As something that Good People (tm) would never do unless they “must”? The implication that their “SFW” rarepair week is better?

So for the OP to claim they’re not trying to start anything, while their entire post ramps up the connection between khr rarepair week and Terrible Things (tm), is a... dubious claim at best.

The rest of the post isn’t that big a deal. It serves perfectly fine as a base interest check for half of it. However, the other half? That other half set off warning flags so intensely for me as a CSA survivor that I couldn’t stay quiet. I’m not saying this to be a “troll”, or to start trouble for no reason.

Additionally, that good half is tarnished by the problems of the bad half. If these are the red flags I feel they are, then that means if there are people in the group who harass others - I can already spot what-the-fuck-khr in there, a notable harasser who has called a CSA survivor a slur - then it weakens the promise to make this a truly safe space.

It’s simply that I’ve seen a lot of people claim they care about CSA survivors, a lot of fans who try to prop people like me up to signal their own virtue, only for them to turn around and lash out at CSA survivors like myself when we do not exist as only a prop, when we step a toe out of line.

If that happens again, then I don’t want anyone to be caught in that, especially some of the wonderful people I’m familiar with in the tags, such as [blank] or [blank]. I see a lot of red flags in there that I’ve seen harm other people when left unchecked.

If people want to give this a shot as run by the OP, that’s their right, and I wouldn’t take that away from them. I believe it is important to help and look after CSA survivors, especially us for one another. However, I feel like these criticisms are something anyone going for this should keep in mind, especially if they’re not CSA survivors.

Maybe I’m wrong about all of this. I will freely admit that the original post set me off something awful. Maybe some of my concerns are merely because this is an interest check post, and there wasn’t time for the OP to go indepth on just what they think “pedophilic” ships actually are, etc.

If that’s the case, then I’ll gladly have a discussion with the OP, if they truly care about CSA survivors and what is harmful to them. I’ll recant if I can be reassured this is all in good faith, and even support this endeavor.

However, as a CSA survivor, this post as it is worries and frustrates me.

[cwtwheely]

Pokémon Let's Go Review

Well... this has been a contentious Pokémon game, hasn't it?

While fans were excited that Pokémon was going to be released on the Switch (even if some were disappointed that there would be no more main series games on the 3DS), knowing that the first would include Go elements put some off entirely. Which is understandable; it took about two years for the app to fully form, and its "gameplay" is rudimentary.

But I like Go regardless, and I was looking forward to Let's Go, especially after learning that it was a remake of Yellow (which desperately needed a remake, as the original is incredibly dated).

As for this? I love it. I've been playing it as much as I can since it was released, and I've been having so much fun.

First off, let's talk about the Go aspect. Yes, you no longer battle most of the Pokémon you encounter, but they make sure you have enough of an incentive to catch them other than filling the Pokédex. And it all comes down to catch combos.

Catch combos are earned by catching one species of Pokémon over and over again (you can encounter another Pokémon, run from it and not break the combo). The higher the combo, the more candy and berries you earn.

Candy, which can also be earned by transferring Pokémon to the professor, replace the God awful medical based boosters from the other games which were so expensive and scarce to find in the wild. There are 6 different candy you can earn:

Health - raises HP

Mighty - raises Attack

Tough - raises Defence

Smart - raises Special Attack

Courage - raises Special Defence

Quick - raises Speed

These candy come in normal size (can be used on any Pokémon), large (only work on Pokémon above level 30) and extra large (only work on Pokémon above level 60). There are also Pokémon-specific candy (like Go) which raise every stat of that Pokémon and its evolutionary line (eg: Charmander candy works on Charizard), and the rare candy retains its main series effect of raising the level of a Pokémon.

With these, it's never been easier to unleash the true potential of your Pokémon. It's gotten me into competitive battling a lot more than I thought. And if any system needs to bleed into the main series, it's the candy system.

That said, if it does become a mainstay, it needs a tweak. While I'm not too fussed about grinding for the candy, using them can be incredibly tedious and unnecessarily time consuming. It takes, at most, 10 minutes to fully raise a Pokémon, and that's if you have enough candy to get it that far.

In Go these days, if you have more than one rare candy, and you want to give them all to one Pokémon, you can do so in seconds. It would be nice if that was possible with the Let's Go candy system too, especially with the Pokémon specific candy.

Catch combos offer more benefits than just candy. The further along a chain you get, the more likely you are to find one with the best base stats. You can check these with the Judge feature, which is given to you once you catch 30 different species and talk to an aide on the eastern building out of Fuschia City (heading to Lavender Town). It's another feature that makes it so much easier to invest in getting the best out of your favourite Pokémon (and another feature that needs to be kept).

And, yes, chain combos make things easier to find shiny Pokémon. With a combo over 30, odds are slashed from 1 in just over 4,000 to one in 341. And these odds are made better if you set a lure off and (once you've registered every Pokémon in the Pokédex) the shiny charm.

Also, the higher the combo, the more experience your Pokémon get. While that's great, as is the even distribution of EXP for every Pokémon in your team, it's not ideal. Say you've built a team that you're not entirely happy with. You find a Pokémon you want to include, but realise it's at a much lower level. The only way to build that Pokémon up is to remove all of your current team and grind it up, which is the only major flaw with the catching mechanic. Fortunately, this could only be an issue with any future Let's Go games (if they make more of them).

Yes, some will say "just send it out first in trainer battles!"

You need your stronger Pokémon to support that weaker one, so all the EXP your weak Pokémon gets, your stronger one gets, too (actually, the higher level one gets more, I think). Y

Your team still shares EXP from trainer battles, so you have the same problem.

There aren't as many Trainers as there are wild Pokémon.

Whether they stick with Go catching mechanics, revert to normal, allow players to battle, beat then catch Pokémon (like they do with Snorlax, the Electrode in the Power Plant or the Legendaries) or allow players to choose the best option for them, chain combos should be kept, especially if they're wanting to double down on the competitive scene and allowing everyone a chance to get involved in it.

The catching itself is... alright. While I do like using the Poké Ball Plus, the gyroscope technology in handheld mode is also really good. That said, in a game made to be as accessible as possible, disabled people are abandoned by them.

As someone who is disabled, I'm incredibly fortunate to have little issue using them... for now. One wrong move, however, and I could probably never play the game again. Granted, that's a worst case scenario, but with my condition, that is also a possibility. For a full report on this, I'll refer you to this Kotaku article:

Seriously Nintendo, stop forcing us to accept motion controls! They utterly destroyed Star Fox Zero and they are restrictive as all hell for a series that's meant to be universal! Make them an option if you must, but for God's sake, motion controls should never be the only way to play on a home console!

With all of that out of the way, the story is... well, pretty much the same as the original Yellow version. There are some tweaks; your rival is friendlier than Blue was, Lorelei helps you with Team Rocket on route 10, you see the Cubone try and interact with its dead mother (the most heartbreaking scene in media since Up), you see Blue take over the Viridian City Gym after you beat Giovanni (explaining why you faced him in Gold, Silver and Crystal).

But on the whole, it's simple yet effective. Frankly, it's a better story than Black and White because it doesn't reek of hypocrisy (they're using Pokémon to try and push a message to not abuse animals) and never takes itself too seriously. Besides which, the twist of Giovanni being the Viridian Gym Leader as a means to boost his operation is so unexpected and well handled that it's never been matched.

But on the whole, you beat the Gyms, catch the Pokémon and be the best. It's a formula that works.

Where the game truly shines, however, is the graphics. By the end of the game, I was thinking "why hasn't Pokémon been on a home console before now?" Sure, they wanted people to come together, which was more likely with handheld consoles. But frankly? It held the visual storytelling back so much. And this game is proof of that.

I've mentioned the Cubone moment before, but that whole subplot is the best, most heartbreaking storytelling the franchise has ever had to offer. But the only time that actually worked, and was properly felt, was in this game.

The Gyms also got an upgrade. Most of them were slight updates, but two (Saffron and Cinnabar) have similar mechanics, but a much different feel. Cinnabar especially is so over the top with its quiz theme is just brilliant. I loved it. Saffron's, however, was just breathtakingly beautiful. It was also TARDIS-like in that it's much bigger on the inside. But it's another example of why the Switch makes the game look so much better.

That said, there were a couple of times where I experienced significant frame rate drops in handheld mode (I can't say if it's the same in docked mode as I don't play it that way). It mainly happens at the start of Viridian Forest when there are a lot of Pokémon on screen (be careful when setting a lure off there). I didn't experience any major bugs or glitches other than that, though.

And yes, your Pokémon can (finally) follow you around again. Some (Arcanine, Persian) you can ride on to traverse the world faster. And you can fly over the overworld on a Charizard or Dragonite once you beat the Elite Four (it's tougher to enter buildings though, so you have to spend a couple of seconds trying to land).

Hopefully this means that this feature will be a mainstay. Not only is it fun to interact with your buddy, but they also help you find hidden items in flowers or rocks.

The only Pokémon you can fully interact with is your starter: Pikachu or Eevee. It's similar to Pokémon Amie from X, Y, Sun and Moon, and... well, it's so charming. I often went in just to see her reactions and I wasn't disappointed. She danced, she got excited, she even gave me presents. It's just adorable! Hopefully this stays as well, only for every Pokémon that follows you around.

The menus are fine as well. But in handheld mode, it is rather cumbersome to use the buttons to navigate through them. The touchscreen can be used to interact with your partner Pokémon, so why it couldn't be used to navigate the menus I don't know. Maybe this is one of the aspects they intentionally stripped back? Either way, all us handheld players to use the touchscreen more for the next game please, Game Freak.

Also, the move selection boxes in battle seem... a tad small. It would be nice if they, and the font in them, were made a bit bigger in future games for those with poor eyesight. It's not like they're working with a small 3DS screen any more.

Overall though, I love this game. Yes, it is a stripped back game compared to Sun and Moon (no abilities, less moves). Yes, it has levelling issues. Yes, it has accessibility issues. But the things the game adds make them a fantastic entry point to the series, and competitive battling as a whole.

Plus, it was nice to experience Yellow with a fresh coat of paint. The hardware really helped to enhance the story (again, the Cubone subplot is heartbreaking), the return of travelling partners was great, seeing the Pokémon in the wild made the world feel more alive than it's ever felt.

I'm really looking forward to what they do with the franchise for generation 8. But to tide people over, this was a great instalment. I'd honestly go as far as to say it's one of my favourite Pokémon games ever, just behind HeartGold, SoulSilver, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

Is Let's Go perfect? Absolutely not. But I've had more fun with this than I have with a Pokémon game since ORAS. It just puts you in the world and explore everything it has to offer. And for a Pokémon game, that's all I really want. It's a lot more fun than sitting through nearly an hour of cutscenes to actually do anything, only to do it again in "follow up" games that could easily have been sold as DLC rather than another full price release.

[mynameistori]

entry 2 (aug 16)

Hello everyone!

I’ve been meaning to write something but I think writing too often sets me up for failure and I’d like this blog to live for a while. Though I think my cyclic mental state will act as motivation for me to continue to write. Let me update you on what I’ve been doing and thinking about!

Wonderland

Yesterday I went to Wonderland (an amusement park about 40 minutes away from my house) with my nephew Little Bear (literal translation of our nickname for him haha) who’s 11 years younger than me. Fun fact: Little Bear is 11 years younger than me and my next cousin up is 11 years older than me (who we’ll call Melon in case he shows up in a future entry). I had tons of fun, even though we were only there for about 5 hours. I don’t think I’ve ever spoken so much Chinese in my life before! And what’s weird is that I probably could’ve used Shanghainese more (since I’m definitely more fluent in that) but I think I was more comfortable using Chinese with him?? Totally weird. We got there around 5 pm originally because my mom said the tickets were cheaper (they weren’t that much cheaper -- we still spent like 90 bucks for the two of us -- should’ve bought them from Costco) but I also hate being out in the sun (I hate tanning and it just makes me a grumpier person). Luckily the wind was cool and the longest line we were in was for about an hour (for the best ride, so it was reasonable). Only downside was probably going on a ride involving water first (Riptide) and getting moderately soaked such that my foot got a blister from my shoes within the first hour, which caused me to painfully limp for the rest of the night. 

I enjoy going to amusement parks like Wonderland because they force physical reactions out of me. Sound weird, but let me explain. My mental control is so strong (or my soul is so dead -- it’s pretty much the same at this rate) that I don’t experience feelings most of the time. My emotions are heavily guarded! So high thrill rides make me feel fear, adrenaline, excitement, as well as a different kind of control (because restraints make rollercoasters safe and conquerable, it feels like I’m letting myself go on an enjoyable ride from a mystical animal friend).

@_torigram

I know I linked an Instagram account and I’ve been thinking a lot about it (@_torigram in case you missed it at the top of this page). It’s mainly a place where I can post random dance videos because there’s a lot of dances I want to learn but I don’t want to post them on my main account because I’m self-conscious about my dancing and I hate watching myself dance. However, I think that having an account dedicated to this stuff will help me get over my insecurities. To maintain my privacy I’ll be wearing a hat and one of those mouth mask things and I’ll try to keep my outfit as plain as possible (or at least not wear something that someone can notice as mine).

It’s also where I’ll post my “Challenge Videos”! The story behind this is that I wanted to challenge my friend (let’s call him Cover Boy for now, but he’s also involved with the “two nights ago” story I was talking about in my last entry so I might as well just call him Pretty Boy) to do one cover a week. For those who don’t know what covers are, they’re just copying (and sometimes changing up) an original artist’s work and posting it online. So if I were to do a dance cover of someone’s choreography, I’d learn from a video of theirs and post it on my Instagram. The Challenge would go like this: I’d give Pretty Boy a song and he’d have a week to learn as much of the dance and any part of it he’d like and then post the video to Instagram (or at least send a video to me through Messenger). I think this was something I wanted to do myself for a while, and after seeing him do something like this casually on his Instagram (he’s done two) made me want a buddy to do this with. He’s been extremely stressed recently though, so I told him I would hold off for a little longer before presenting him with this. Hopefully he’d be down to do it, but I’m pretty sure I’d continue without him. It’ll mostly be kpop dance covers, so sorry to those who hate kpop! As for vocal covers, they’d be in English because I’m not confident with my Korean pronunciation, haha. 

I’ll post on the Instagram before the summer ends (likely sometime next week, when I head back to Waterloo for my last few part-time shifts for the term), so keep an eye out~ I��ve got a couple of dances ready but I’m not good at learning from videos (I’ve learned from teachers pretty much all my life so dissecting videos frame by frame is so tedious -- props to y’all who do this on a regular basis) so hopefully I can keep a good pace with releasing the videos. We’ll see how everything works out!

Meteor Garden

I recently started watching Meteor Garden 2018! I’ve always been a huge Hana Yori Dango fan -- I think i’ve watched the whole thing at least 3 times and refused to watch the taiwanese and korean versions because to be honest, the japanese cast looks the best and the manga is Japanese. Also, Matsuda Shota was in it and Liar Game (which he’s also in) is one of my all-time favourite dramas. It might be my top actually… I decided to watch the Meteor Garden remake mainly because it was on Netflix and because it takes place in Shanghai. It takes me back sometimes because I always try to guess where this is taking place and how hard it must’ve been to shoot some of the scenes because of how populated Shanghai is, haha.

This drama also helped me feel a lot better because it made me think about something other than my own shitty life and it made me laugh a lot. It also made me think about my ideal guy I suppose. I think I have a better idea as to what kind of guy I’d want to date next or even settle down with. I don’t know if I should type some traits out for you… hahaha. Well, I guess I might as well since this place is pretty private and I shouldn’t be so uptight (?) about this stuff. Sorry for the organization of this next section, it might be a bit wonky. I’m trying to work it out in my head but it’s still pretty messy. Let’s call him IB for Ideal Boy.

LOOKS: I don’t think I’ve ever been picky about looks with my previous boyfriends, but I’d like IB to be more of a pretty boy (not referring to Pretty Boy in any way, haha though he does fit the description) with a lean build. Someone that can turn heads when dressed up. I would like him to be taller than me (I’m pretty tall to begin with at 167 cm), but I’ve dated shorter guys before. I think I haven’t been picky about looks in the past because I don’t consider myself to be beautiful. I don’t think I’m ugly per se, but I think I’m pretty darn average when it comes to looks (though others call me pretty).

INTELLIGENCE: I’ve been involved with (dating/friends with benefits) 6 boys in the past and 4 of them were/ended up as engineers (it would be 5 but he got kicked out of engineering, good riddance because he was a rude dude), so I guess I like smart boys. I don’t think having a university degree says anything about how smart you are. I’d just like someone to exchange opinions with, someone who can hold a conversation and be curious about my life (because I’m unfortunately not that talkative), and someone who’s just as clever, crafty, and witty as me. I’d like IB to be knowledgeable about what he likes/dislikes as well as “street smart” I suppose. I would want him to be able to show me all of his favourite spots and go-tos in whatever city we’re in.

HUMOUR: I think my humour is pretty dark? I don’t know what to say about humour but I’d like IB to have a similar sense of humour to me (or at least get my humour) and to know when to stop joking around because I’m generally quite serious and hate it when people don’t take me seriously (thanks mom and dad).

ROMANCE: I like pet names (call me sweetheart, babe, and princess, IB) and stealing his clothes (why are boy’s clothes so darn comfortable???). I also like eating nice food and sharing everything we eat so we can try more dishes. I like holding hands in public, forehead and neck kisses, and back hugs. I like cuddling, making out in bed for hours, and getting touched all over (okay except for my left ribs - scoliosis problems - and my knees - they’re sensitive but in a bad way). I like receiving and giving hickies because I’m kind of possessive? And I’d like IB to be slightly possessive as well. Let’s not move to more intimate topics, sorry internet maybe some other time :)

TRUST:  I’d want him to be able to listen to me without judgment and to always be truthful with me. I don’t want him to hide anything from me (especially when it’s people talking shit behind my back) and to trust me to deal with problematic situations well enough (this is the main reason why me and my most recent boyfriend -- let’s call him Balloon Boy -- broke up, aside from being long distance and being too similar in our introverted-like traits).

PERSONALITY: Loud but quiet. I’d like IB to be more outgoing than me because I’m quiet and shy in general (especially around strangers) and am socially anxious, so I’d want him to hold my hand and lead me out of my comfort zone I think IB should be passionate about something in his life, whether it be a hobby or career-related. Extra points if he sings or dances, because then we’d have something in common. I don’t want IB to be nonchalant (more nonchalant than me is a nono) because it gets tiring being the one in charge all the time. Some spontaneity is good, and taking risks is nice too because I’m a rebel at heart though it seems like I’m super uptight all the time.

AGE: to be honest, I don’t really care much about age. So far, I’ve gone 3 years older and 2 years younger. I like mature boys though because I’d want to have serious deep talks and be able to ask them for their opinions on life and whatnot.

I don’t know how to continue on from that rough list, so I guess that’s all from me for now. I think the next ones will be about Pretty Boy and Balloon Boy, so get ready for some angst? Until then, be merry :)

Tori

[shiningamongdarkness]

Chapter 04. Too dangerous

Shining among Darkness

By WingzemonX 

Chapter 04. Too dangerous 

The next morning, Matilda woke up very early, stood up as fast as she could for two cups of coffee in the restaurant on the ground floor of the hotel, and then poured a little more in a thermos for the road. She climbed into her rented vehicle and drove north along with the first rays of the sun. It would be a long and tiring journey of a few hours, in which she would have no other companion but the radio and her thermos.

The original route she had planned the day before, before her call with Eleven, was to head straight to Port Townsend, through Portland, and perhaps stopping for a few moments in Olympia to rest and have a more real breakfast. That only route would end up taking probably between four and five hours. Once in Port Townsend, she would have to wait and get the ferry would take her to Moesko Island, where the Morgan Horse Farm was located. Taking into account the wait and the time of the tour, in the worst scenario she expected to be there between one and two p.m.

But, as we said, that was her original route; the one she had in mind when she got up that morning, was a new one. It included in Tacoma, instead of taking the northwesterly direction to Port Townsend, deviated towards the northeast, toward Seattle. It would take several additional hours. She had planned to go to Seattle after going to Moesko, but the call with Eleven had made her feel that going there must be a priority.

According to her information, for three years Cody Hobson, an old friend of her from the Foundation, worked in Seattle as a biology teacher in a middle school. Cody also had the Shining, but one unique, very different from hers, very different from Eleven's, and very different from primarily any other that she had known until that moment; but, surprisingly, maybe a little similar to Samara's, or at least that's what she theorized. That is why she had considered it a good idea to talk to him, especially taking advantage of their relative closeness. But now perhaps he could also shed some light on what had Eleven so worried, or what was the other experience she was supposed to need. And even if he couldn't, with his different perception thanks to his Shining, she was sure he would be helpful.

At Olympia, Matilda stopped at a Denny's for breakfast, rest and stretch her legs. She took advantage of the stop, which she considered was already at a prudent hour to call, to communicate with Mr. Morgan, and move the time of their meeting to later, after four or five; there didn't seem to be any problem. She also tried to communicate with Cody so as not to be surprised him, but apparently, the last number she had of him was not the most recent one. Matilda sent a message to Eleven, asking her to pass on his new phone number if she had it. For her good luck, yes, she did; to her bad luck, she answered her when was on the road again, and she couldn't read it until an hour later when was about to cross the Seattle limits. And even so, when she tried to call with that new number, the phone rang, but of the three attempts she made, none of them got an answer.

Matilda stopped for a moment to think. What if she had made that detour in vain? What if Cody was not even in Seattle? Maybe he had gone to Alabama to visit her mother, and she had ventured without even knowing.

It took her a few minutes to decide, but in the end, chose to go to the school when he works and take the risk. When she arrived, she showed up at the Principal's Office as a colleague of Cody Hobson, whom she was looking for an urgent personal matter. For her fortune, they informed her the person she was looking for was present and teaching at that time. That made her sigh in relief. They offered to send him to call, but she opted to go on her own to see him in the classroom, foreseeing the recess time was near. Although they were reluctant in the beginning, her very effective power of conviction gave her the way.

Matilda followed the indications given to find Room B of the seventh grade, whose door was open. When she was a few inches from the entrance, she could hear, and clearly recognize, the teacher's voice inside.

"... and this particular class of monarch butterfly is one of the longest species," pronounced the soft and somewhat playful voice inside the classroom "since they can get to live for eight to nine months."

Matilda stopped near the doorframe, and peeked subtly, trying not to call attention at all. Standing in front of the room, she saw a young man, somewhat thin, with blond hair, slightly long and straight, with a tuft combed to the right, which completely covered his forehead. His dun eyes peered out from behind a pair of thin-framed glasses. He wore an interesting outfit, of blue jeans, a green checkered shirt, and a casual brown coat, which, thanks to his complexion, made it look like it was bigger than it really was. Matilda could not help but smile a little; a pair of boots and a hat, and he would have the typical attire of a young Alabama cowboy, though his remarkable lack of facial hair would not help him to secure that appearance.

His old friend Cody looked just as she remembered him; his somewhat boyish face made him look considerably younger than he really was. But few knew that beneath that squalid and seemingly feeble appearance, one of the most powerful possessors of the Shining with whom she had had the opportunity to cross himself was hiding, as well as one of the most intelligent.

Matilda stayed outside, just listening to the rest of his lesson until the bell rang.

"This period may sound short," continued the young professor, looking with great emotion at his students, "but it is not so much if we consider that the average lifetime of a monarch is..."

He paused for a long time, and turned to the class, waiting for someone to complete his sentence on his own initiative. However, what was found was only silence.

"I'll give you a clue: I said it fifteen minutes ago."

It took a while longer to show some reaction until a girl in the center of the classroom shyly lifted her hand.

"Four weeks?" She questioned, unsure.

"If we only count its time as a butterfly, yes. If we consider its entire life cycle, since it is an egg, we would be talking about four to eight weeks, maybe up to ten. But I'm rambling."

Cody stood right in the center of the board, took a blue marker and began to write some facts about it while continuing with his explanation. The children, for their part, wrote in their notebooks everything they considered relevant.

"These monarchs of the Methuselah generation, are a very unique case. Not only for the fact that they live longer than the others, but it seems that they MUST" he said with particular emphasis on this word, "to do so. You see, as I had told you, the monarchs, with their lives so ephemeral, mainly live only and exclusively for the survival of their species. They born, reproduce, and then die, in that simple order without more or less. When winter arrives, they need to travel south, to look for warmer lands, from Canada to central and southern Mexico. But having such short lives, how could they make this long journey? How could they survive all those months? Logic would tell you that their destiny is to die under those circumstances and the species would become extinct."

He paused a little, and turned back to the class, grinning from ear to ear with enthusiasm.

"But that's when these little ones come into action." he pointed out with great emphasis as if he was about to reveal a secret surprise. "It is as if nature itself were a conscious being, and knew exactly what it does. Because just when autumn arrives, when the cold begins, the generation born in these moments, is born with the ability to last much longer than their ancestors. And in this way, they can carry out the incredible task of making the long journey to the south, survive all those months, and then return home, to make way for the next generation, something that would be almost impossible otherwise. If we put it in perspective, it is as if you had a child, and this child was born with the capacity to live more than five hundred years. And everything, only to last the species. As if that child was born with a special and unique gift, with the fate of using it to ensure that his descendants survive. To make sure that our species live a generation more.

All the children, plus Matilda in the hall, listened to that part of the story with great interest. But it was only the young psychiatrist who got the full message of what he was trying to convey at that point. Did he expect that perhaps a particular child among his audience would understand it too? Or did he just throw the comment into the air, like a net waiting to catch something? Of course, it could just be a coincidence.

"Nature, from this point of view, is quite wise," the professor concluded. "We are all born with a purpose, although it is not always so clear which is..."

The bell rang at that moment, cutting off Cody's words, which still seemed at least to have been able to get to the point. The boys, impatient, began to store all their things with some haste.

"Remember the essay for next week. Play well, enjoy your recess."

Some of the children responded with a small yes, but most of them went to the door of the room sooner rather than later. When they went out into the hall, some of them looked curiously at Matilda standing outside, who only smiled and greeted them in a friendly way; a few returned the greeting in the same way.

Once the room was wholly emptied, at least of students, Matilda took the liberty of finally entering. Cody had his back to the door, picking up his books and notes from the desk.

"Excellent class, teacher," Matilda exclaimed in a lively tone, which took the blond boy by surprise. "Although the story of the Methuselah Monarchs I liked the first ten times you told me, I love that new final turn that you added. Inspiring"

There was a playful tone, almost sarcastic in his words, but that did not make them false.

Cody turned quickly to the door when he heard her, and his face was filled with astonishment to see her there. However, this astonishment did not take long to become joy.

"Matilda! What an incredible surprise!" he exclaimed enthusiastically and immediately approached her with outstretched arms. The young brunette did the same so both could give each other a friendly hug.

"I'm sorry to get this way," the visitor apologized, once they were released. "I wanted to call you by phone, but it was impossible."

"I'm sorry..." Cody extended his hand to the desk, grabbing his cell phone and taking a quick look at his screen. "I always put it in silence when I am in class. But it's been so long; four years at least. What brings you to Seattle?"

"I'm dealing with a case of the Foundation in Oregon, near to Salem, which is getting a bit complicated. I thought, and Eleven also agreed with me, that you could help me with some things. If possible, of course."

"Of course yes," he did not hesitate to answer, smiling widely at his old friend. "Anything for you, and for Eleven."

Matilda also smiled, happy to see that the boy she met maybe twelve years ago was still the same kind boy she remembered, with the same positive and candid vibe around her. Although there were some subtle differences. She reminded, for example, always being noticeably taller than him, but at that moment, even with his heels, they seemed to be in quite similar statures. The glasses were also new, but they still looked great with their style. And not to mention the notorious security that transmitted when teaching. Although of course, perhaps talking about a subject that was as passionate as the butterflies, helped a lot in that.

While Cody continued to collect his things, she gave herself permission to take a seat at one of the chairs in the front row. Although it had not been that long since the end of his doctorate to say that it brought her nostalgia for when she was a student, it gave her a somewhat strange feeling. She looked thoughtfully at the whiteboards, with the data that Cody had written on them with down on them. Irremediably to his head came some memories, already distant, of his own days of elementary school. Of course, back then the boards were green, and they used chalks.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she only reacted when Cody began to erase the data about the Methuselah Monarchs.

"I do not know if I ever told you," she began suddenly, "but for a long time during my childhood and puberty, my future goal was to be a teacher."

"As your adoptive mother was, right?

"She still is. Although now she is more dedicated to being principal."

"And why did not you become it at the end?"

Matilda remained pensive for a while. It was a good question that she sometimes asked herself, but she did not have a concrete answer yet, but perhaps several that complemented each other.

"I don't know," she whispered slowly, more to herself than to the boy in front of her. "I guess it was just the turns that life gives."

When Cody finished erasing, Matilda stood up again, and approached to the professor's desk, with her briefcase in hand. She took out without waiting for the file that was assembling Samara's case, both the information Dr. Scott had given her, plus the info she got from her own sources. And, of course, the one she had been collecting in those past three days; it looked quite bulky, but even so she needed the information that was stored directly on her computer.

"Is the term Projected Thermography familiar to you?" Matilda asked. Cody just stared at her, with confusion in his eyes. "If not, don't worry. It is not very known. It is a theoretical psychic ability, which is based on being able to translate a mental image on some solid surface. It is mainly related to photographs and videos made to the user, but it is also presented on paper or practically any space.

Matilda opened the file and took out several X-rays, or at least that's what they looked like, and placed them on the desk. These were five. Cody sat in the chair behind the desk, adjusted his glasses, and looked at them. Although they seemed like X-rays, what exactly they were projected was not clear. They were not from the bones of a person, that was obvious. They seemed to be some kind of strange drawings, reflected in the acetate as flashes of light. In one, what appeared, at first sight, appeared to be a toy horse, floating on waves of the sea. In another one, he could see someone's feet, covered with boots, and below, apparently buried underground, what appeared to be a doll with syringes and nails in it; a pretty scary sight. In another, there was a tree with large branches on a horizon, and in another the silhouettes of several toys.

Cody was more than intrigued by what he saw.

"Do you say that someone captured these images with its mind?" he asked curiously, looking at Matilda again.

"A twelve-year-old girl, to be exact. According to what doctors told me, it is what appears every time they try to take an X-ray of any part of her body, as if instead of projecting their bones, what she is thinking does."

Cody's right eyebrow arched, as a sign of suspicion, forming an almost comical gesture on his face.

"And, do you think it's about that Thermography you mentioned a moment ago?"

"Yes, and no," Matilda answered, something eclectic. "Although the doctors who examined her first are using this term, I am thinking that it is something much more complicated than that. She can not only capture these images on radiographs or physical surfaces like these; she can also do it in the minds of people. She did it with her mother unintentionally, causing her to see things that have been dragging her to madness. And apparently she also did it with the horses of the ranch where she lives, making them go crazy, and many of them jumped into the sea.

"Jumped to the sea? Hey, I think I read something about that." As a biologist, it was understandable that an incident like that would get his attention. "They said in the newspapers that the reasons were unknown, or not?"

"For them perhaps, but for their parents, it was clear from the beginning what or who had been. She is able to create really lived images, and implant them in people and animals, sometimes without realizing it, provoking on them obsessive reactions, and sometimes even violent ones."

"Does she have telepathic qualities?"

"Yes, but as far as I've seen, quite a few. These are more sensations and small flashes that come to her suddenly. And I know, it's a contradiction. Logic would say that someone who could alter a person's mind in such a way, should have extraordinary telepathic abilities, but it is not like that, or at least she has not shown it. And you know as well as I that every Shining is very different. So, we couldn't judge it like a ruler carved in stone. Besides, it seems to me that she has not shown everything she is capable of doing. It's foreboding, but I think she can do many more things with her abilities that we still don't know, including herself."

Cody did not respond with words, but his expression showed that he didn't disagree with these statements, or at least had nothing to deny them. He put his attention back on the X-rays, looking at them with great interest. Some of those images were really strange; hard to believe that they had come from the mind of a child. Although, if someone knew the horrors that could hide in the head of a small child, that was him.

"What do you think?" Matilda questioned, somewhat anxiously. "Could it be something similar to your ability?"

"I'm not sure," the professor replied, not taking his eyes from the images. "The truth is, I don't think anyone has seen anything like it before, not even Eleven."

That statement left Matilda almost immediately stunned.

"Why you say that?"

Cody remained thoughtful. What was it that occupied his mind so much? After almost a minute of silence, he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes with his fingers. He stood up, walked to the door, and hurried to close it, locked inside.

"There is something you must understand about my Shining," he said with a somewhat serious tone, as opposed to the lively state he had moments ago.

Suddenly, he clasped his hands in front of his chest and carved his palms. He closed his eyes for a moment and then when he opened them again, he separated his palms by extending them to the sides, and from among them came a small and bright blue butterfly, sharp, that fluttered its wings in the air, until it was placed above their heads. But it was not the only one. Instead, it was followed by dozens equal, who began to fly around the room with complete freedom.

Matilda looked at them all with admiration, but not with surprise.

"When I materialize a thought in the environment," he continued explaining, "it lasts only until I stop thinking about it, or until I stop focusing on it. After that, it vanishes, like a curtain of smoke; as if it had never been here really."

One by one, all the blue butterflies began to disintegrate, like losses in a bluish haze that stretched everywhere. In a matter of seconds, all the butterflies vanished; in effect, as if they had never been there.

Cody's Shining was unique in its kind: it gave him the ability to materialize his thoughts and dreams in his environment, and manipulate it at his disposal. But not as simple intangible illusions, not as mere mirages; what he projected, really became real, at least for the period he decided. To Matilda, that ability had always seemed quite incredible, as well as beautiful. However, it could also become frightening, under certain circumstances. According to Eleven and Cody himself, it was quite difficult to control and maintain in a conscious state, but it became a hundred times more effective while he slept; but, consequently, more uncontrollable.

"It's the same when a telepath with illusionist skills, projects an image in the mind of a person; likewise, it only lasts until the user stops it, and after that, it also vanishes. They are just ideas, you understand me? Temporary images that we form in our heads, and then externalize. But this…"

Cody retook one of the x-rays and placed it against the light to see it better.

"These images are not temporary. They remain, they remain in the physical world, although the user is not even present. And if this happens with the images on the acetate, it should be the same with the minds of the people. In other words, the images she implants in their minds..." He made a slight reflective pause, "they never disappear. If she did this to her mother, the damage that she has done..."

"It could be permanent," Matilda concluded, anticipating the point Cody wanted to reach; he nodded, affirming his suspicion.

They both remained silent, digesting their resolution. Matilda had already considered it beforehand, but the fact that Cody confirmed it, made it even more real. The atmosphere in the room became somewhat gloomy at once. Was that what worried Eleven so much? What made her feel that maybe she was not ready to deal with something like that? It was probable, but it did not make clear to her what exactly she meant that this ability could be of a "different nature."

While she was meditating about it, Cody noticed another image that Matilda brought with her, but instead of being in an acetate, it was in a cardboard painting, of legal size. Cody took it, and took a look; the same tree, or at least one very similar, to that of the x-rays, was there embodied.

"She did that too?"

"Yes, just yesterday. I asked her to do it to corroborate that she was capable of forming the images consciously, or if only involuntarily. Apparently, it was the first option, although I don't think she understands very well how she did it."

Cody looked curiously at the strange drawing. He looked at it very closely, and also carefully moved his fingers over the surface of the cardboard, precisely where the tree strokes were. Something caught his attention immediately.

"It's strange. In the radiographs, this is not so remarkable, but here you can see that the drawing is not on the cardboard, or inside of it: it is in it as if it had been prefabricated with the image. As if it were part of the same material."

Hearing that, Matilda turned to see him quickly with her eyes wide open, but Cody didn't notice immediately.

"But the only way I can think that could be possible is that..."

"The cardboard has been modified at the molecular level!" Matilda hurried to add, noticing a remarkable emotion in her voice that took Cody by surprise. A small giggle followed, almost nervous. "How I did not realize before? The only way you could modify the image on radiographs is by manipulating the x-ray photons that reach the film so that the desired image is formed. That must have been my key. On cardboard and on paper it is the same. If you manage to modify the molecules of the material, they can be rearranged in a certain way, and this is how you get these images to appear. That's why the images last. He does not project them with his mind, his mind makes them physically, in the full extent of the word."

"Actually, it makes sense now that you mention it," Cody added, already a little infected by the emotion of his friend. "People often see the thoughts and memories of people as abstract and intangible; in other words, as something non-physical. But in biological terms, all this is based mainly on cellular and chemical compositions of our brains. That means…"

"These can equally be manipulated at a molecular level, such as cardboard or photons!" Matilda exclaimed more forcefully than she intended. "It is not strictly projected thermography in the conventional sense, but an entirely new skill: the ability to modify the minds of people on a physical level, not abstract as telepathy. That should be her primary skill, and the images that are captured on the x-rays and on paper, are only results derived from it, not the other way around as Dr. Scott and his team assumed. They went by the theory of thermography and did not see beyond, and I almost fell into the same!"

"But all this is merely speculative," the young professor hastened to point out. "It is impossible to know if in truth its ability is as we suppose, mainly because there is no precedent similar to this. It isn't telepathy, or telekinesis, or anything we have interacted with before. But also, if in fact, it is something like what you say, we would be talking about a skill too dangerous," he put particular emphasis on that last part. "Probably, with enough concentration and experience, it could completely destroy a person's mind, turn it into a vegetable, or even brainwash it entirely and turn it into another person. Or something like the Inception movie, but much more aggressive."

"Are not you exaggerating?" Matilda muttered, somewhat skeptically, to which Cody simply shrugged.

"Maybe, but I'm just going to the greatest extreme that comes to mind. I heard some other guys at the Foundation say that if they focused enough, Eleven was capable of causing a stroke to someone. Obviously, I never saw her do it, but..." He seemed to decide at the last moment not to continue with his prayer. "But, not everything has to be bad. In the right way, a skill like this could also be very beneficial. It could help people with some type of brain injury, disorders in neuronal development, or even help correct behavioral problems or dementia. Who knows? Perhaps also correct permanent commas, or cure emotional traumas."

"Probably," Matilda agreed. "But I think it will be a long time before they allow someone like her to make a psychic version of brain surgery to someone."

"Maybe. But what I try to say in the end is that, if it is what we think, it can bring many good things... but also many bad things." He stared at Matilda at that moment through the thin lenses of his glasses. "You must be very careful. What happened to her mother, can happen to you."

"Don't worry," she hurriedly responded, unconcerned. "Do you forget the protection that Eleven placed on us against this type of attack when we were children?"

"No, but remember that this might not be a normal psychic ability. Also, I remember that Eleven told us that this protection was more for long distance attacks so that no one could detect us or affect us from afar. And she also said to us that the closer we were, the less effective would it become. And you will be pretty close to this child."

Matilda remained silent, remarkably thoughtful. Actually, she didn't need Cody to mention it to her: she was fully aware of it. She had always used the excuse of that supposed protection as sustenance, to make her mother not care about her, and partly to give herself self-confidence in her work. But now, maybe it was not going to be enough.

Eleven had told her that this case seemed particularly dangerous to her, and now it was hard to pretend that she didn't think she could be right. Matilda could accept without a problem that Eleven was right; in fact, since her adolescence, she had become used to it. But what she couldn't stand, would give the reason to Dr. Scott and his fears, although these no longer seemed so irrational.

He sighed wearily and sat down again at one of the desks.

"I had thought to ask you to accompany me in a session so you could meet this girl, and give me your opinion more first hand; especially about her shining. But I will understand if, after all this, you prefer not to get involved so directly."

"Don't worry, I'll do it with pleasure," Cody hurried to answer, taking Matilda a little by surprise. "As I said, I would do anything for you... And for Eleven!" He added quickly, almost nervous.

Matilda could only let out a small giggle, which she tried to disguise, but it still made the boy's cheeks flush a little.

"What's the girl's name?" Cody asked quickly, trying to change the theme.

"Her name is Samara, Samara Morgan."

Cody's face formed a strange grimace of confusion.

"Morgan?"

"Yes. Something happens?"

"No, nothing. It's just that Morgan was the name of my mother... my biological mother," corrected quickly. "What a coincidence. Maybe she's my relative."

Looking back at Matilda, he noticed that her face had become grave, so much so that for a moment he came to think that he had said something that had annoyed her. But before Cody could ask her what was wrong, she pronounced...

"No, I don't think she is."

Cody just looked at her, confused by that strange reaction.  

END OF CHAPTER 04

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

—The character of Cody Hobson or Cody Morgan is based on the child protagonist of the movie Before I Wake of 2016, now around twenty-five years-old, in contrast to the eight he had in the film. Therefore it is taken that the events of Before I Wake occur several years earlier than originally. Cody's skills will be based entirely on those exposed in the film, but perhaps with some slight adjustments to give them more explanation.

—The explanation given in this chapter to the psychic abilities of Samara Morgan are mostly creations of my own imagination since, in their respective films, it is never explained in a very detailed or explicit way how they work. Throughout this story, this theme will be played frequently and will continue to be explained.

[charleswatson013-blog]

Quit Drinking Tips To Get Sober

Quit Drinking tips

From April 10th to May 10th I stopped consuming completely. I composed the bulk of this post the day I might start drinking, but in the interest of experimentation I decided to wait to publish it.

You know, simply in case something went extremely incorrect and I ruined my life by returning to beer. Ends up, I'm still here.

The day I might begin consuming once again was an interesting one. Since I enjoy a good, cold craft beer so much I would've believed that I 'd be giddy with enjoyment, like a young child getting up on Christmas day.

Sadly, I felt more indifferent about it than I thought I would.

However let's begin at the start.

Why I Chose to Quit Drinking

The greatest reason I decided to do my 30-day difficulty was a basic one:

If I might do it, I wanted to know.

As somebody who frequently has a beer at lunch, likes to celebrate a workday with a couple of drinks at the bar and celebrations on the weekends I wished to know just how strong of a hold alcohol had on my life.

It ends up, my "alcoholism" has absolutely nothing on my self-discipline.

I wouldn't classify the challenge as "simple," however it was far from hard. There was never a time I was so desperate to finish the obstacle that I eradicated alcohol from your house or didn't satisfy individuals at happy hour because it was at a bar.

To show, this was the cooler being in my shed the whole duration of this challenge.

The "Water" sign wasn't some odd psychological wizardry. It originally had water in it, I promise. I also comprehend that Coors Light is mainly water. It wasn't mine. I also promise.

Interest was the most significant reason for attempting the obstacle. I wished to see what, if anything, would take place if I totally offered up alcohol for a month.

30 days later on, I've had my most economically effective and productive month of my career.

Nevertheless, I can't say the two things are 100% positively associated, however it does have a fascinating twist to it.

One tends to substitute addictions rather of eliminating them. In my case, workaholism took over. Since I wasn't having a beer and interacting socially to soothe me down and zone me out, there was no factor NOT to work from 5-- 10 PM.

An additional 3-- 5 hours of work every day wasn't bad per say, but it wasn't positive either. As All-Father Óðinn (yes, I'm Icelandic. Yes, I'm pricing quote Norse Gods) states, and I'm paraphrasing,

" Everything is terrific in moderation."

Small amounts and balance are the keys to being a successful, well-rounded person. Separated workaholism isn't the option for filling the time you used to utilize for pleased hour.

I was just being efficient for performance's sake instead of utilizing that time for individual advancement in other ways. My monetary success that month had more to do with a product creation that occurred prior to my difficulty started than my sobriety.

Here are some more ideas I had during and after my experiment.

You Have Method More Energy

If you drink too much (particularly after you turn 30), you're grumpy and unproductive for most of the day after. The early morning advantages of sobriety are terrific.

Of course, I work for myself and get to choose what I do every day, so I'm quite lucky because regard. If you hate your job, maybe it's better to just do it in a zombie state. However, if pleased hour is the only thing you look forward to throughout your workday possibly the problem isn't your drinking, however rather your career choice?

Without a hangover, my morning routine is way more pleasurable. You can read all about it here, however needless to say, it's simpler to get an excellent head-start on the early morning when you want to rise.

Quit Drinking Tips Calmness

I felt calmer and in touch with my feelings when I was totally sober. Since I was never hungover, it was easier to stick to my meditation regimen.

Meditation teaches you to react instead of react to external problems. As I was totally sober and meditating more than usual, I was calmer and more knowledgeable about every circumstance that required my reaction. Rather of knee-jerk responses of annoyance, I would be more systematic in my answers.

Bars are Uninteresting - Quit Drinking Tips 

If you don't drink, you do not wish to hang out at bars, however you still don't desire to change your whole routine and push away all your good friends.

This was a tough one due to the fact that bars lose their appeal when you do not want 99% of what they have on the menu. Once the crowd starts getting drunk and loud, they also get old quick.

Nevertheless, your pals are the reason you're at the bar in the first location, not the alcohol. That stated, you still feel awkward since of the unwritten social contract of having a beverage in front of you.

Option?

Order a non-alcoholic cocktail. Some bartenders in Tucson took their non-alcoholic mixed drink making skills seriously, and I thank them for it.

Cameron over at Congress even informed me,

" Just tell everybody it's a Tom Collins if you're asked."

Individuals tend to act unusual if you state you're not drinking however they will not question you if you tell them a name of an alcoholic drink.

The bottom line here is that you should not stop your routine even if you do not drink. You will feel self-conscious and strange about not having a drink in your hands. It's a mental thing so make certain you have something to do with your hands.

Throughout this obstacle, I realized that I likewise simply consume too quickly in basic, no matter the beverage's alcohol content. Because I wanted to get intoxicated faster but turns out I drink a glass of soda water just as fast, I believed I consumed quickly.

I associate this to my hyperactive, Type-A disorder of wishing to fill every time out in the conversation with a sip of what I'm drinking, instead of some hidden, alcoholic speed demon.

You're Very Alert

Individuals stop paying attention to their surroundings as they get drunker. They obstruct off the world other than for what's going on around their 3-feet radius.

So unless you gaze intently at somebody and get their attention, it's easy to turn your uninteresting night out into an anthropological observation.

People Seem Into the "Idea," not the "Execution.".

When I mentioned my challenge to individuals, they seemed helpful and interested. They said things like "it's good to do that" or "I need to attempt that at some point" but what I heard was,.

" That's cool and all, but there's no chance I'm doing that.".

There was constantly that underlying tone in their voice that suggested that yes, possibly in an ideal world that would be fascinating, but there's no method they're making that a top priority. I don't blame them. After doing the obstacle, I discovered that I'm not interested in being 100% sober all the time either.

Quit Drinking Tips - Nobody Notices You're Not Consuming.

Individuals are narcissistic many of the time, particularly when they have actually been consuming. I do not mean that in a mean way.

Because of this, people do not see you're not drinking unless you inform them.

My good friends are used to me drinking all the time. They do not even have a factor to question what I have in my cup, so they get really amazed when I tell them I have not been drinking at all. Not then, nor at the party yesterday where we hung out together too.

You save A Lot cash.

I probably head out about 4-- 5 times each week.

That consists of delighted hour, weekend trips and brunch. If you likewise count buying alcohol from the supermarket, it begins to build up.

Let's assume I go to dinner two times per week and I have two beverages at dinner. I would go to happy hour about three times on average, usually drinking about three beers over the course of the night.

For breakfast, we're respectable at discovering great low-cost drinks or endless mimosas. That's still about $10-- 15 each Sunday.

If I buy one great 12 pack of beer at the grocery store, I 'd be investing around $20 on that.

That's a quite excellent piece of loan and well previous 10% of the average home earnings. Realizing you're investing that much on alcohol injures in more methods than one.

Quit Drinking Tips - You're Much healthier.

Similar to it's easier to be efficient when you're not hungover, it's easier to encourage yourself to exercise. Although I do not require much persuasion to exercise in basic, whether I'm drinking or not, I went to the fitness center regularly.

Instead of 2-- 3 times each week I would now be going 3-- 5 times instead. Thirty days might not be adequate time to determine any measurable body outcomes, but I feel fitter and healthier. And without the extra carbohydrate load from 3-- 6 beers every day I do not feel as fat. I can't state that I have actually lost any weight, however I do feel stronger. I can probably thank my strength training for transforming my fat to muscle in that case.

In addition to working out more, I also prepare better suppers. Rather of having a couple of beverages at pleased hour and then being too lazy to cook I invest more time in the kitchen area and eat healthier food.

Results and Thoughts.

In general, it was an interesting obstacle. Now I know I can easily do it and can stop fretting about whether I'm slowly catching some demon disease I do not have.

The hardest parts of the obstacle were the happy hour times in between 5 and 7 pm. There's just something so fulfilling about a job-well-done beverage that it was hard to offer that up.

Weirdly enough, the desire for a drink dissipated fairly rapidly after dinnertime because at that point I had no desire to consume because of the possibility of being hungover in the early morning. That's why the 5-- 7 pm time frame is such a sweet spot. You can relax and enjoy a cold drink with no substantial expert consequences.

The biggest change was my increased workaholism. I realized that I work excessive. The challenge made me more efficient, however it didn't necessarily make my life any much better.

I did have one of my finest months as a business owner, was it ALL the repercussion of not drinking? No, but being clear headed every morning and working most weekends helped.

Overall, I discovered a lot about self-control, performance and replacing practices. Because I like my happy hour too much, I do not believe I'm cut out for sobriety. It made me understand that waking up early and being productive makes me delighted.

In my case, balancing the two, in small amounts, looks like a great barometer for success.

Or as Óðinn would say,.

" Consume your mead, but in moderation,.

Talk sense or be quiet:.

No guy is called discourteous who goes.

To bed at an early hour".

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