#somehow these are all sol snippets

[serenanymph]

find the word tag

tagged by @oh-no-another-idea over here! my words were butter, mellow, mild, and smooth! no pressure tagging @toboldlywrite, @sidhewrites, @loopyhoopywrites, @lorenfinch, @sam-glade and whoever else wants to hop in! your words are cold, crystal, cut and cross!

butter I found one instance of butterflies, so we'll have to go with that since there's nothing else

He watches, knees tucked up to his chest, curled up on the couch, as his mother bustles about. Her heavy travel cloak brushes against the floor, just barely fluttering from her larger movements, sending shadows like butterflies flitting across the walls. The curtains are drawn, the fireplace cold with not even the embers glowing, and the sole candle lit isn’t anywhere close to beating back the darkness. She shoves things into the rucksacks on the table and mutters and sends furtive glances at the door and barely acknowledges his existence at all.

mellow

The windows look out onto the courtyard below, covered in white snow tinted sunset orange. Heavy dark purple curtains with gold tassels drape to the floor, and Carrick feels his feet sink into soft, plush carpet. There are bookshelves lining the walls – not just AMA drivel, but history and science and fiction, atlases and dictionaries and a few old texts. In a corner, next to a crackling fireplace, is a low table and a few stuffed sofas, and the lighting is soft and mellow.

mild(ly)

Meals are three times a day, salted mush and rubbery meat and wilted greens; shower quick and only after everyone has left or it’s blood against the porcelain tile again and staying up to scrub it off, then scrubbing the toilets on all the floors above too. Lessons involve AMA doctrines, AMA laws, AMA history – slap across the cheek if you’re wrong, slap across the cheek if you’re right, slap across the cheek if you answer in a way that’s even mildly sarcastic, if you answer at all (and he is always, always, called on).

smooth

He speaks up, finally, asks though he already knows: “Mom? What’s going on?” The fear leaks into his voice despite how he tries to keep it out. She spins, then, walks over and crouches in front of him and tries to smooth down his hair.

beast taglist (lmk if you want to be +/-): @sapphos-scientist, @allianaavelinjackson, @arctic-oceans, @space-writes, @reneesbooks

[kivaember]

another snippet for the umbra 1999 fic and its just arthur standing there like "why is drifter so concerningly fucked up and somehow oblivious about it" while drifter cheerfully recounts a time they got greviously injured and didn't die that time!

-

Of course, the cause for the misunderstanding between Drifter and Arthur was revisited the next day.

“Yeah, we were gonna spar,” Drifter said, unperturbed by Arthur ambushing them at breakfast (or, “breakfast”, as Drifter was tucking into a pot noodle of all things). “I like to keep my skills sharp, since sometimes it’s easier for me and Umbra to fight separately than as one, y’know?”

No, Arthur didn’t know, but he got the gist. “Then why the secrecy? You could’ve done it during the day, instead of sneaking around and looking suspicious about it.”

Drifter didn’t immediately reply. They simply looked at him and idly stirred their pot noodle, their expression surprisingly difficult to read. Drifter was a bit contradictory like that, Arthur was realising: they were earnest, direct and generally honest, but there were moments where Arthur just… couldn’t gauge them at all.

Still waters, and all that.

“I’m not sure,” Drifter finally said. They sounded thoughtful. “I guess… because I’m used to it?”

Arthur frowned.

“When Teshin taught me to fight, it was in a dark cave hidden away from the world,” Drifter elaborated, seeing his frown. “Because what we were doing was wrong, in the eyes of Duviri. I wasn’t allowed to fight back there. And before that, I was learning how to sneak around the Zariman, since…”

They trailed off with a grimace, looking down into their pot noodle. “Since, y’know. Adults.”

Sol.

“…well, you don’t need to sneak around here,” Arthur said gruffly, not really wanting to court another unexpected bout of ‘fucked up things about Drifter’s past’ in the public food court of all places. Arthur was barely able to mentally withstand them as it was over KIM where there was a safe buffer of physical space and privacy.

“If you want to do something and you’re not sure if it’s fine, just ask, for Sol’s sake,” Arthur continued when Drifter just gave him an unreadable look. “We’re all adults here.”

“Okay…” Drifter said slowly. “Then… can me and Umbra spar with naked blades in the mall during the day?”

“Sure,” Arthur said just as slowly. “Provided it’s under supervision.”

Drifter blinked.

“It’s not a knock against your skills or Umbra’s, before you say anything,” Arthur continued when Drifter opened their mouth. “It’s basic safety, mate. If you were… like us, it’d be one thing, but-”

“But because I’m a squishy and delicate human who doesn’t have accelerated healing like you guys, you wanna be safe rather than sorry,” Drifter finished.

“Right.” Arthur studied Drifter’s face. They didn’t seem pissed off or insulted. Just amused. “Unless you’re going to say you do have super healing or whatever-”

“I don’t, actually,” Drifter admitted. “Uh, maybe? I heal a little faster than a baseline human, but I usually die from my injuries, so I’m not sure.”

Said so matter-of-fact. ‘I usually die from my injuries’, without a shred of hesitation or a flicker of emotion. It was like stating a fun fact like, ‘I have a mole’ or ‘the sun’s out today’. Just, ‘I usually die from my injuries’, leaving Arthur standing there trying to absorb that incredibly fucked up statement while Drifter took a bite of their pot noodle like nothing was wrong.

“…right,” Arthur said again, a lot more stridently. “Well. We don’t want that here. You dying from a stupid sparring accident in the middle of the mall, I mean.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a lame way to die,” Drifter agreed and entirely missing the fucking point. “Probably in my top twenty?”

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling forcefully.

“Don’t worry, though, Umbra usually patches me up if he accidentally injures me,” Drifter continued, oblivious to or ignoring Arthur’s growing agitation. “One time I messed up a parry and he cut my side open - blood went everywhere-“

“Lettie,” Arthur muttered. “We’re having Lettie supervise.”

“And I almost passed out from the shock of it, but Umbra just immediately started patching me up by using his-”

“Nnngh,” Arthur groaned into both hands.

“-and I didn’t die that time!” Drifter finished cheerfully.

“…” Arthur sighed. Heavily. “Marty.”

“Yeah?”

“When you spar Umbra,” Arthur said, after dragging his hands down his face. “You need myself and Lettie supervising. Closely.”

“Okay…” Drifter said slowly, giving him a bit of an odd look. “Seems like overkill, but this is your mall so… sure.”

Overkill, they say, after telling Arthur all that.

[kathlare]

a gesture across time

Lando Norris x Amelie Dayman

Summary: Lando, distracted during a pre-race briefing at the Dutch Grand Prix, finds himself fixated on TikTok videos of Amelie performing in Mexico. Her success stirs up feelings he's been trying to bury, leading him to impulsively order yellow tulips for her.

Wordcount: 1.0 k

Warnings: just fluff

full masterlist // request over here!

August 25, 2023 – Zandvoort, Netherlands

Lando sat slouched in his chair in the team briefing room, trying to pay attention as the engineers and strategists went through the usual pre-race rundown. It was another humid morning in Zandvoort, the waves of heat rolling in through the windows and making the air feel thick. He glanced around, catching the occasional murmurs from his teammates and a few glances at the clock ticking toward the start of practice.

It was hard to concentrate. His thoughts kept drifting elsewhere. He didn’t even realize how long he’d been holding his phone in his hand, scrolling through TikTok. The screen flickered with video after video, but the algorithm had decided it was time for him to revisit a familiar face: Amelie.

Every other video was of her, performing for a massive crowd at the Foro Sol in Mexico City, opening for Taylor Swift at the Eras Tour. The clips were breathtaking: Amelie, radiant in a shimmering outfit, her voice soaring above the crowd as she belted out the lyrics to “Feather” under the lights, the Mexican crowd singing along. It was the culmination of a dream she’d been chasing for as long as he knew her.

Lando felt a knot form in his stomach. He didn’t know why it hit him like it did. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen her perform before; he’d seen the clips, the snippets, the interviews. But this—this was different. This was her dream. The one she had talked about late at night, when the rest of them were playing games or chatting casually. Opening for Taylor Swift. Selling out arenas. The world loving her.

And now, there she was, making it happen.

He felt a wave of pride rush over him. It was almost overwhelming, like a flood of emotions he didn’t know how to process. He wasn’t even sure how to feel about it. They’d been through so much—their messy, chaotic relationship from 2020 to 2021, the fallout, the years of silence. And even though they hadn’t spoken in months, even though they hadn’t really been anything but strangers in each other’s lives since their last run-in in Monaco—god, he still cared.

It wasn’t supposed to matter. But somehow, it did.

Lando scrolled past another video of her, her smile wide as she waved to the crowd. Then a thought hit him—a flash of something impulsive, something that felt right despite how reckless it was.

Yellow tulips.

She’d always loved yellow tulips, he remembered. It was something small, something trivial, but it was something he’d learned about her back in their time together. A quiet moment on a balcony in Monaco, just after a long day, when she’d told him that yellow tulips were her favorite flowers. He could still picture the way her eyes had lit up when she said it.

Without even thinking about it, he started typing, pulling up the page for a flower delivery service. He was aware of the irony of it all. The thought of sending her flowers after everything—after the way they ended—felt like both a statement and a confession, a way to acknowledge that something had been left unfinished between them.

But he couldn’t stop. He filled out the details, unsure if he was just being impulsive or if he was actually making a move to fix something.

"Yellow tulips to the Foro Sol" he typed, his fingers moving before he could overthink it.

Lando stared at the confirmation screen for a moment, then exhaled slowly, as if he’d been holding his breath this whole time. He clicked "confirm."

There was no turning back now. The tulips would be sent, and he would have to live with the consequences. Two possible outcomes, he thought to himself: one, she loved them. Two, she threw them in the trash.

Neither scenario seemed ideal, but at least he could live with the fact that he’d tried. That he’d done something that wasn’t just about himself for once. It was for her. Maybe, in some small way, it was an apology, or a way to show her that, despite everything, he still cared.

—Are you even listening?— one of the engineers asked, breaking him from his trance. Lando blinked up at him, suddenly aware that everyone was looking at him.

—Yeah,— Lando muttered, clearing his throat. —Yeah, just thinking. Sorry.—

The engineer raised an eyebrow but moved on, continuing the briefing. But Lando’s head was still spinning.

He couldn’t explain it. He couldn’t explain why he still felt this pull towards her, why her smile in those TikTok videos made his heart ache. They hadn’t talked in months, hadn’t shared more than a few awkward moments in the past year. They weren’t friends, and they weren’t anything more than exes.

But still.

She was out there, living her dream, and he was here, in the middle of a Dutch Grand Prix weekend, trying not to think about her.

He didn’t even know what he expected from sending the flowers. Maybe it was a way to prove to himself that he wasn’t the same guy he was before. A way to show her he wasn’t the person who messed things up, that he could be better now. Maybe it was just the thought of her, still somewhere in the back of his mind, even after everything that had happened.

Lando sat back in his chair, a sudden tension in his chest. He wanted to believe that he was over it, that the years of silence had made him stronger, less affected. But it was hard to ignore how much he still cared. She was still her, after all. Amelie. The girl who had once been his whole world.

It didn’t matter that they were no longer anything.

The flowers would be delivered tomorrow. He would know soon enough whether or not she even cared.

But for now, he could only hope that somehow—somewhere—this would make her smile.

Maybe, just maybe, it could be the start of something new.

[en-scribed]

SUN - King of the Sky [short fantasy snippet]

A character introduction for a story co-created with @heirmyst about personified immortal Stars living secretly on Earth. Next posts: [ARCTURUS] [VEGA] [POLARIS] [ABYSS] Word count: 1105

At the first light of day, Sol flung open a window. Sea-salted air greeted him warmly as he spread his wings and left the throne room behind. 

The wings, fully exposed, bathed the island below in premature sunbeams. Even from a distance, he noticed with amusement that onlookers turned their gazes skyward; scattered humans took special care to shield their eyes and move to safer distances. Fellow Stars, meanwhile, faced the light like an old friend, those airborne landing in anticipation. He couldn’t stop his smile. By now, he should have known that descending with his flaming golden glow at the crack of dawn was no way to make a modest entrance, but there was no denying the swell of pride at everyone’s excitement. 

He scarcely had time to set his feet on the ground before Stars surged forward, chattering over each other and determined to drown out competing voices. Sol let out a laugh, standing up straight and positioning his wings to clear some space to move. The crowd quietened, dispersing respectfully.

“I will hear one person at a time,” he said, loud enough to carry across the ground. Satisfied, he nodded toward the front of the gathering. “Polaris?”

Always eager to speak on behalf of the people, the North Star stepped forward, hanging his stringed instrument across his back. “My king,” he said with a wide, radiant smile. “The decade will come to a close with this cycle. As summer approaches and days lengthen, we’d like your word on what will follow this equinox.”

Equinox. Sol’s smile faded. Once more, he had lost track of precise Earth dates. Was the day upon them already?

Arcturus, standing within easy criticizing distance of the North Star, cleared his throat. “Polaris wants an Equinox speech,” he summarized bluntly. “For some reason, we’re still doing this.”

Sol pretended to ignore the glare Polaris shot at the other Star and nodded toward the crowd. A speech, at least, he could do. He needed to soften the blow to his pride somehow, after all. With a quick command at Sirius to gather everyone together, Sol backed away, making his way up the tower steps to be seen better by the growing audience.

His voice growing stronger with the steady sunrise, he spoke. “Stars and faithful workers of Isle Andromeda… my eternal gratitude extends to all of you, and our friends who live around the world. As you can see—” He reached to remove his decorated crown. On cue, his flowing locks of hair spread upward in a pillar of fire. 

Cheers erupted across the grounds when the flame reached its zenith. Sol allowed the deserved celebration a moment to come to a crescendo before he let his hair drop below his knees again.

“We have come a long way since the age where we needed to battle darkness at every turn,” he went on. “Now, we soar above every obstacle. The height of that flame is a testament to the peace we have worked tirelessly to lengthen.” He took a breath as he held the crown to his chest, steeling himself for the difficult part. “Of course, this momentous occasion requires something to show for it. Will my North Star come forth?”

Polaris, eyes still shining with emotion, stopped running his hand through his light hair, seemingly jolted into action at the sound of his title. He rushed to join Sol at the top of the steps, stumbling on the way and provoking soft, good natured laughter from the rest of the crowd. Flushing, but otherwise remarkably composed, Polaris opened his wings and knelt at Sol’s side. 

“I render my brow bare and give my crown to your keeping,” Sol said, fighting every instinct to the contrary as he held out the cornerstone of his kingship. “See to its light being renewed before you return it to me.” And hurry it up, I beg of you, was the part he couldn’t say out loud. 

Polaris took it with careful, reverent hands. “As you wish.”

Finally, he thought to himself. Satisfied that the gathered Stars had gotten what they wanted, Sol summoned a burst of golden fire to catch attention and mask his shamefully hasty exit. As he took flight, he noted the unsettling lack of weight on his head. The sun, now fully up, did his feeling of nakedness no favors. Even after all these decades, he never got used to giving up his crown. They can’t see me, he kept thinking, gaze set firmly on the open window to his throne room. Not now. Not like this.

With a few swift wingbeats, he made it. Securing the window shut, he turned to walk toward the throne, expecting a mercifully empty room.

“Still keeping up this insipid practice, are you?” a stern, familiar voice came from the other side of the room, dashing any hope of solitude. “I wish you would simply let them down once and be done with it.”

Sol released a sigh, sinking into his seat. It was too early in the day to be bombarded with his old mentor’s complaints. “Selah, please…”

“What compels us to abide by Earth’s milestones?” Selah went on, undeterred, with spiteful emphasis on the planet’s name. She positioned herself in front of the throne so he’d have to meet her gaze. “We are Stars. You are king!”

“It is tradition,” Sol replied evenly. “Do you not remember? North Star Vega…” He trailed off. As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. 

Selah’s pale face hardened, her piercing silver eyes scrutinizing him with disappointment. The oldest Star in existence was, naturally, the wrong person to discuss customs with. “Do not preach to me about tradition while you sit here a crownless king,” she shot back. “Your people can let themselves go, indulge themselves with the temptations of this world. But I will be damned before I see you change that way.”

Skies above, Sol thought with astonishment. His vague discomfort with the practice was clearly dwarfed by her utter disgust. She flew out of the room, and any objections about the crown only being gone for a few days died on Sol’s tongue. 

Selah acted as if Sol needed anyone else to remind him of the crucial weight he carried. As if she could possibly know what it took to keep the peace long enough for these moments of celebration to even be possible.

Still, he eagerly awaited the return of his crown. It was far easier to comprehend his place as king when a reminder always rested atop his head. Appropriately heavy and within reliable reach, forever.

[burningdarkfire]

2022 fic rec list

i somehow fell out of the habit of reading fic halfway through the year so recent works are scant, but here are some of the highlights that have stuck with me over the year

critical role:

storyless houses by @callingvoicemail (shadowgast) - really interesting take on a less-explored part of caleb’s character. literally when i read this for the first time in march i knew that it would be one of my fave fics of the year and i was entirely correct

amongst the things left unforgiven by @nonwal (wizard ot4) - i was late to reading this but i’m so happy i saved it. it’s all about *clenches fist* wanting to live

do you have enough love in your heart, to go and get your hands dirty? by @saltytothecore (former blumendrei + shadowgast) - truly all i want in life are the wizards interacting. astrid wears second person POV so wonderfully here

like real people do by @callingvoicemail (yasha) - i have a knack for digging too deep into sol’s side storylines, but there is something about caleb and how he fits into beau and yasha’s new domestic life that really resonated with me in this fic. sometimes it’s the small details that ride with me for a long time

(unnamed snippet) by @essektheylyss (fjord) - writing like this reminds me why fjord was my favourite member of the m9 for a long, long time. he’s such a damn interesting character and this is a perfect encapsulation of one of the reasons why!

arcane/league of legends:

sanctified by @aevallare (jayvik) - we love it when the boys meet alternate universe versions of themselves and alex has an insane knack for nailing giopara and everything that makes him tick in just a sentence or the turn of a phrase

the rom-com where you kill your father by @drtechmaturgics (jayvik) - i’m cheating because i read this in 2021 but it was published in december and i’m literally still insane about it a year+ later. it deserves a second shoutout

the witcher:

the wrong way by @lurikko (geraskier) - fics that make love and desire complicated are just absolutely my shit. excellent narrative voice here that carries an interesting premise all the way through

o, empathy by @nectarine-pit (geraskier) - a great bodyswap fic. the good shit = a trope fulfilled really, really well

the locked tomb:

whatever souls are made of, yours and mine are the same (insult) by flemeth (augustine/mercymorn) - i am completely serious when i say that this fic haunts me in the most insane of ways. if i had to pick a genuine top #1 fave for the year, this would be it

twin human highway flares by @thefaustaesthetic (campal) - getting my feelings hurt while thinking about among us is exactly what i need from my tlt fic

hypnagogia by @thefaustaesthetic (campal) - again: shit that simply makes me insane. no further comments, your honour

hannibal: (no, i don’t really remember how i ended up here either)

wolf and i by @t-pock (hannigram) - listen i am digging this fic up from 2014 to tell you to read it because it has insanely good build-up and pay-off

and just for my own reference, i also dabbled in a decent number of ofmd, jjk, and the sandman fics this year

[moprocrastinates]

STRANGER THINGS S4 THEORY:

mkay... now that we’ve all digested *that* ending with Hopper, I have theories for S4 (if it is S4) based on snippets of things we’ve heard in s1-s3. SPOILERS FOR S1-S3 OF STRANGER THINGS.

p.s.--- i don’t know shit about anything. this is just my dumb guess/wishful thinking. keep your negative comments to yourself.

- Hopper went through the gate. @strangergotham has a really great, plausible theory about it. Their summary, in short--somehow, Hop got into the Upside Down through the Russian’s drilled gate. Whether he jumped in or was blown in by the explosion, the camera does not let us see. He walks through the Upside Down and finds another gate (like El does in S2E1 after defeating the Demogorgon and disappearing in S1E8). Only this gate leads him to Russia, where, on the *OTHER* side of that Hawkins-Upside Down-Russian gate, Russian officials capture him. He is indeed the American the Russians have captive. @strangergotham is spot-on.

- What are the Russians doing? In S1, when we get El’s scenes in Hawkins lab, Brenner or someone there is talking about using El as a weapon against the Russians. This means two things: 1) All of the “experiments” (numbers 01-011/El) were meant to be weapons against Russia, and 2) If the Americans felt a threat against Russia and needed a deadly weapon, why wouldn’t the Russians ALSO be doing the same thing? But the Russians failed more than the Americans in developing people with powers because the Russians are generally better with technology (as evidenced by S3 and the Russians’ weird spinny gate-opener), and were kind of SOL about the whole developing-people-with-powers-to-use-as-weapons, until one day, a Demogorgon broke through on THEIR side of the gate. Somehow, they managed to wrangle it and train it, using their prisoners as a reward for a good little Demodog. However, they’ve now reached a point where the Demogorgon is reaching its full power, and can utilize it to their full advantage. In S1, the Demogorgon was a loner, likened by Nancy to a bear. However, we saw in S2 that Demodogs (a less evolved version) are pack animals. Have they evolved from lone to pack? Does Russia have an army of trained Demogorgons that attack in pack formation? ... Maybe.

- We saw at the end of S3 that the crack in the Hawkins’ side isn’t closed completely. Like a scar with feeble stitches, it can be busted open. Essentially, the Upside Down will act as a tunnel from Russia to Hawkins. What better place to destroy America than from the inside out? 

- So, El, still having not completely recharged, tries to fit in normally in her new home. But it sucks, and she’s not around all of her friends and family. She’s been, mentally, in that cave Hopper mentioned, and she tries to remember her happiest memory with Hopper and searches for that feeling. But like with Billy, she somehow gets caught in HOPPER’S memories and realizes he’s alive. She tells Joyce, and the Byers go back to Hawkins. Joyce has to deal with her feelings for Hopper as El discovers that the gate is still open. 

- But El isn’t strong enough. So she searches, and finds her “siblings.” They too have all lost someone they loved and want retribution on Brenner, who is still on the lookout for his “child prodigy,” El. All of the Experiments come back to Hawkins. They help El recharge/reconnect to her powers, and prepare to extract their vengeance on Brenner.

- LITERALLY IT’S JUST GONNA BE A GIGANTIC SHOWDOWN BETWEEN MONSTERS AND HUMANS. 

Storylines ST Needs to Wrap Up... In One Season????:

- Brenner storyline

- Joyce/Hopper date storyline

- El/Kali/The Other Experiments --> where are they? 

- Steve gets someone who loves him (or not)

- closing the gate once and for all, giving Barb, Bob, Billy, etc... justice. (Why do all the people who die have B names? Do the Duffers have an issue with B names...? wtf)

- Will gets to be the person he wants to be, free of pain and suffering

- Nancy and Jonathan reunite

- Mileven

- Max grieving over Billy while dealing with her conflicted feelings towards him/dealing with her abusive stepfather

- Robin becoming more open and comfortable with her sexuality (in the 80s!!!)

- El and Hopper being a peaceful family together family

- El, Hopper, Will, Joyce, and Jonathan... as a family???

- El getting to be a normal kid

- Karen leaving Ted or something bc she deserves better 

I really want the whole thing to end with a flash forward-- some of the Party’s kids watching a documentary about Hawkins like the one at the end of S3, and turning to ask their parents if they remember anything about the mysterious leaks, deaths, explosions, etc., and I want someone (preferably El) to shrug and say something like, “There were stranger things out there.” 

give me s4 and give it to me NOW

[talietikasero]

I went in aware of the (possible) retcons and shit but I watched the whole thing anyway. It’s some ungodly hour way past when I should’ve slept and here’s what I thought. I’m trying to be fair here when I give GG Strive’s story a 6.8/10

Visuals: This game is beautiful. 12/10

Voice cast: I enjoyed the dub. Not as much of a corny anime dub like Sign was, but the returning cast improved from that game -- or at least I thought so. 8.75/10

Soundtrack: One word: Incredible. The duo of Naoki and Aisha on vocals for all character themes -- ok they're only a duet on Ramlethal's [Necessary Discrepancy] but you know what I meant -- was a perfect choice. My favorite themes from when I played the second open beta back in mid-May were Giovanna's [Trigger] and Potemkin's [Armor-Clad Faith], but Leo's [Hellfire] really grew on me the most. 15/10

Game itself: Arcade mode was a fun challenge because I’m an idiot who did all 15 but I got really tired of fighting Nago over and over again. I’m not that great so I’m not worrying about getting the “Messiah Will Not Come” trophy where you fight him but he’s got an infinite blood gauge. Survival gives a good chunk of the lifebar back without making it too easy -- and the “mysterious challenger” at stage 10 being a shadowy Sol with neon red was an okay way to signal a checkpoint. 9/10 I’m not doing online any time soon because I don’t have a wired connection but I hear it’s ass and the tower placement is a complete lie.

Anywho, now on to the real post:

For a finale, the story was... slightly below average. But I’ll be honest here, I kinda had high expectations because of the hype from the past two (?) years, five if you count the total time between Rev2 and Strive's release dates.

The last time I was this critical of a sequel’s story was the gap between Borderlands 2 and 3, which was seven years. I'm going off on a tangent here but I'll sum it up so if you're not familiar with Borderlands you'll have an idea of what I'm taking about. In Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel, the Watcher (Eridian? that saved Athena from execution after telling Lilith and company of her adventures on Elpis with Nisha, Wilhelm, Timothy, Aurelia, and Claptrap) warned "Now's not the time for bickering, Vault Hunters. War is coming, and you will need all the Vault Hunters you can get". BL3 rolls around and there was no big war. Instead, we got a poorly delivered dumpster fire of a main campaign that spanned five planets and the main villains were some bratty livestreamer Sirens that run a planet wide cult. Seriously? The cast was poorly handled there too but I'll stop here.

In the case of comparison to another fighting game’s story, the game that comes to mind is Tekken 7 because if they aren’t a Mishima or Kazama or someone else in that fucked up family that’s plot relevant, they were given a shitty one-fight episode. Sure Nina and Claudio were in the main story mode but that's the thing: they were just there. The returning (dlc) series veterans, such as Anna, Lei, Marduk, and all the way to Zafina plus the newcomers Leroy, Lidia, Fahkumram, and Kunimitsu II weren't given much aside from a brief story snippet. Dare I say it but SFV did their new seasons newcomers and returning fighters justice as they all got episodes of their own. You read that right. Street Fighter V was better to its cast than Tekken 7 and Guilty Gear -Strive-.

Unlike the Xrd games, watching the story does not get you any money. The only difference I saw right after was that the Strive correlation chart updated. For what it’s worth, they could’ve done something like DBFZ’s story clearance unlocking a new character, or do an alternate costume where the outfit Frederick wears in the ending (and upon further inspection is the very same one he wore in the flashback) is useable in fights (it’d be hilarious but a good detail added in if you were to select that option but the name plate doesn’t display “Sol” lmao). If Ky has a palette that puts him in an open button white shirt, jeans, and what look like work boots, then let me play in the ending's lab coat, tanktop, and jeans dammit.

I kept track of how many of the playable cast showed up and played some part. Everyone except Ramlethal, May, and Faust appeared in the story -- these three were reduced to credit image cameos >:( Ram’s seen with Elphelt and Sin, while Ky and Dizzy are in the background. May’s with her crew, and Faust is in the desert somewhere or some shit with Chronus.

But even if they did show up, nobody else except like five people did jack shit. Giovanna, bless her heart, was absent for a long period then showed up to fight Nagoriyuki (who eventually sided with the good guys) but got her ass beat after he faked surrender. Potemkin helped but spent most of his time cruising at high speed trying to get to the White House. Ky and Jack-O didn’t arrive until the end either. Axl -- or should I say Will -- finally got to see Megumi again at the cost of I-No’s defeat. The dude got his girlfriend back at the loss of someone he considered a friend but the delivery felt forced as it was confirmed as she was dying -- wasn't part of her character that she has no recollection of a past? Her suddenly remembering a past boyfriend and being able to describe his appearance didn't really make much sense.

Chipp and Anji were in that comical highway chase scene, but then Anji's just wherever while Chipp's in the Pentagon control room. I get that someone had to stay behind and watch from the other side -- this role landing with Leo as he, Millia, and Zato were overseeing commentating on events from the castle’s war room like Brock and Misty during Ash's battles in the OG season of the Pokemon anime, while Daryl was at the G4 conference and Ky was on his way to the fight -- but the pacing and usage of the cast in this story was a mess. Yeah sure it has most of the GG cast in this installment's playable roster present but it didn't feel like a GG story -- really it felt like the live action Resident Evil movies where the source material's characters are sprinkled in, acting more as a "here ya go they're here don't expect much!" type thing.

Honestly, a step down from Rev because at least everyone in that arc were somewhat present with maybe one or two exceptions? Hell, even though they were added as dlc or in Rev2, Dizzy, Haehyun, Baiken, and Answer were in the main story. Being hopeful here when I say that I hope we see more of Goldlewis or get to play as him because his design is badass and so is his coffin flail weapon. On the side of fairness though, I have a feeling this isn’t exactly what Ishiwatari intended (this is unlikely but it's probably Katano's directing? Whatever in any case)? The general reaction I saw from others who’ve watched the story was that the subplots were half baked and the plot as a whole was pretty rushed. Happy Chaos / the Original as the main villain was Calypso Twins from Borderlands 3 level cringe and every time HC appeared on screen I wanted to mute it. There is the bonus story coming later this year, along with the dlc slots, so ehh? The interactions between Colin and Frederick were one of my personal favorite points even if this did turn into “Neon Genesis White House Down”.

“Brown bears don’t give birth to pandas.“

I’m sure like the others who actually paid attention to the story from the end of Xrd to Strive, my main question was this:

After the Justice / Jack-O fusion -- recall the “newly revived” Aria had purely red hair and Jack-O’s halo disappeared. During the mid-credits of Revelator, former friends turned sworn enemies turned frenemies Asuka and Frederick pretty much have one last declaration of war against each other, with Sin, I-No, and Raven as their witnesses -- Asuka even said “take good care of Aria”. Naturally from all of that, she’s not Jack-O anymore, right? Wrong. According to the game, what's inside of Jack-O is only a fragment / shard of Aria mixed in with Jack-O's projected personality (I think). How did they go from "let's do the fusion and guaranteed she'll return" to "yeah nah she ain't comin' back bro"

Xrd Revelator: "Pull this off successfully and Aria will fully revive as a human."

Strive: "Nah bruh. We lied. It just turned Jack-O human and what's inside her is only an unstable shard of Aria -- not the whole thing."

Back to the “final battle”, they don’t fight, rather Asuka removed the Flame of Corruption from Frederick's body (and somehow he got a haircut too). So really what was the fight in Rev2′s [After Story - A] for? Did he get nearly the life beaten out of him from Ky fighting dirty and left that crater in the park for nothing? Seems that way. Asuka lives on the moon and he's got a radio show now because (*bong rip*) that makes sense.

I’ll admit it’s a little cute that the feelings are mutual between Jack-O and Frederick -- he sees her as herself and not just a genetic copy but they expect us to think in the three weeks they've known each other that "oh shit I'm in love with this person" is believable -- and they live in the woods near a presumably 200+ year old space shuttle complete with the launchpad but come on now. That's some Russo Brothers level writing right there -- y'all remember Avengers: Endgame and how when he went across space and time to return the Infinity Stones, Steve Rogers threw everything away just so he could go back to his original era? The now depowered-so-he's-human-again Frederick Bulsara (the ex-gear and world's savior x times over formerly known as Sol Badguy) living in isolation away from his newfound family and friends gives off the same vibe. Especially after that one and only flashback where it's Aria's birthday and he was going to propose but the ring wasn't ready in time so he had that "error" to show instead.