#tried to do the op style for most of these and mostly failed

[dandeydraws]

new one piece oc just dropped! her name is pesto!

[cafeleningrad]

Alright this is probably a very unsympathetic reply that likely goes against your point but I've made enough personal experience with new age and alt-spiritualist movements with family members and workplaces that I don't feel like being too sympathetic to the beliefs such people subscribe to. To be more precise, how complacent they are to such beliefs.

There are many intelligent, and very kind people in these circles. And yes, these circles are extremely quick to rope new people in with their cosmology. They often operate on principles of pseudo-science, distrust against science, ethereal repackaging of bio-essentialism, and ethnonationalism, and racist hierachy beliefs. These groups are extremely permeable to right wing-occultism. In fact a lot of these beliefs have their roots in racist thought schools like theosophy à la Balvatsky or Magré, or a just spontaneously made up bullshit (like Steiner wrote some his lectures the evening before even though he didn't have any intimate knowledge about, say agriculture). Hence why esoteric, new-age spiritualist groups are ever so often roped in with varying degrees of intense conspiracy theories, working against medical treatment, forming anti-state groups. Again, anecdotal, however there was this pattern that in different countries, family members, authority figures, or colleagues tried to convince me either how 9/11 was an inside job, or told me outrageously false stuff about autism (in Steiner philosophy), or how cancer is caused by negative events in a patient's life.

I agree with you OP. Alt-spiritual beliefs, esoteric beliefs do fill the cracks society can not fill, even fails to fill. Spiritual rituals give people a sense of agency. Blaming terrible stuff like cancer on bad life events might make sense of an overwhelming situation. Homeopathy has such a success because, unlike hospital staff, or doctors the payment model of homeopathic practitioners allows them to have time to listen (and the patient doesn't have to go through a grinding process of check-up at different experts); it's one address were all worries can be worked with, seemingly. Heck, the Steiner-model place for people with disabilities really was a greatly inclusive community model for everyone living there. I get why it appeals to people. We are living in deeply insecure times which attract many people to such movements promising miracle cures, simple principles to make sense of the world, a spiritual direction in life, little trinkets for coping. But I really would like to implore people to familiarize themselves with empirical evidence, the history of certain movement and beliefs. Even more so the history, life style, and politics (!) of their spiritual mentors/models. So many of so-called "old beliefs" are, for the most part, actually wild ideas of made-up 19th century spiritualism, adapted and altered for nationalist narratives which then got propagandized (lunar phases by example, adapting Greek astrology falsely to fit into a Germanic belief).

Another insidious mode that I did notice in such communities (again, I use a generalizing term mostly for the sake of frequent overlap), is that they quickly cultivate a sense of being right, over the arduous process of scientific evidence. The complacency of comfort is strongly alluring.

Yeah, I really did enjoy my time at care work, a really caring, community-oriented place but my boss believing that disabilities are result of karmic results, that was also part of Steiner's cosmology. Not to say how absolutely dangerous that is for the people we wanted to help.

By no means is astrology an entry drug but for Pete's sake, if one's world view functions under the same cosmological principles of binary "male energy" and "female energy", "divine feminine making the womb sacred", female archetypes based on absolutely made up ideas of womanhood through history, and this view is shared by spiritual anti-vaxx groups, and tradwives - there should be principles of one's autonomy as a woman, and anti-racist beliefs etc. that should ring alarm bells. And judging from how astrology booms all over social media, especially tik tok, many astro-fans are unconciously sharing a lot of that rhetoric.

Perhaps people aren't dumb, these movements are predatory and quick, but these movements are darn comfortable. Yes, people are tired, yes people are confused, yes people are insecure. But a life outside these groups doesn't have to be frighting, or insecure, or lonely. The comfort such groups promises are often based on denying uncomfortable truths, reinventing strict social hierarchies, culturally appropriating and misrepresenting various religions, blaming medical issues on the patients, and spinning conspiracy theories that are often just refurbished "replacement theories" which are especially comfortable for these groups which are predominantly white. There is a comfort in a simplified world, not needing to argue why one's life is right. So people aren't dumb but they should be hella careful with what cosmologies they comfort themselves with.

Plenty of highly intelligent people end up getting sucked in to cults because they just wanted people to hang out with. There are antivaxxer nurses. Your ability to act on empirical reason breaks down fast if your social and emotional needs aren't being met.

[niko-jpeg]

Do tell the reader insert ideas! I might have a go at one for practice

*viBRAtes*

Okay, I'll try to keep the balls off the walls one for last. I have 4 total here.

A fluff/angst reader insert where the reader is aware of the events of the game and gets forced into the game isekai style. I know, how original. If it takes place in Persona 5, then Jose and Maruki are heavily involved. This one is my least developed out of all of them, but I want to make it so if some ideas begin to seem insane thats your chance to turn back.

2. A persona au for any of the games where the reader is pulled into the events of the game and are basically a Shadow whisperer. They never develop a persona, but they have the Shadows they've befriended to help them fight. Mostly fluff and adventure, and the reader tries to keep the whole 'Shadows are friends" thing under wraps. If in persona 4, the main Shadow cast grow humans to join the reader in the human world and chaos ensues. Honestly its mostly supposed to be cute and funny. I may actually write this one at somepoint but if you want to, do it! Because I probably wont actually get around to it.

3. A sweet and straightforward fic about the reader being a wildcard but ultimately failing their mission, and going off of the idea of Velvet Room attendants being failed Wild Cards who got their memories wiped to help other wild cards.

4. Okay so this one is the balls off the walls one thats been rattling around in my brain. Its kind of embarrassing honestly but I'm going to share anyway because the bitch doesnt even pay rent.

Its a fic where the reader walks right into the Persona universe on accident and gets involved with the Shadow Operatives by pure chance, eventually awakening to a persona. But the persona is fucking Nyx Avatar which sends the entire group into a panicked frenzy for obvious reasons.

However through basic communication, reader pieces together that this isnt the actual avatar from the events of the game and is from Readers dimension, but its not like reader can really just tell them that.

The ops decide to go ahead and try to either a. very possibly kind of illegally experiment on reader to try to figure out how its even possible for their persona to be NA (too lazy to keep typing out the name) and or squeeze info out of one or both of them. Upon receiving the news, reader runs for it with a little bit of inside help and is now running from not only the Ops, but the constant Shadow attacks from Shadows attracted to such a powerful persona and on top of it all, a persona that isnt very good at following instructions and takes a lot of stamina to deal with.

From there, take it in any direction you want. I would probably make it a 10-15 chapter fic with decently sized chapters about all of the above as well as Reader and their universes Ryoji/Pharos/NA learning to get along and cooperate over time. Happy ending (unless you want a bad ending) and take it in any way you want.

Yet again, if anyone wants these ideas, take them. They are yours. Just tag me so I can read them. Honestly I like option 4 best but its the one I've thought about the most and by far the most ambitious out of all of them plot wise. I also just want to write sibling like bickering between Ryoji and Reader in the beginning because it would be funny. Also heavy emphasis on how difficult of a persona NA is and how terrible he is at following instructions. Like sometimes he just literally says "no" and does his own thing. Anyway hope I didnt just make my entire following hate me and hopefully didnt just embarrass my self too badly.

[ashtonq247]

Kaminari Denki headcannons!!

Bc it’s his bday and I love him (this will not cover his fam bc I switch between backstories with him so much that I just have no clue)

Buckle up bc this is a very long post I did not mean to get this deep lol

Let’s start with the most obvious- he makes friends easily, but I’m not just talking other students, I’m also talking the staff. This boy makes friends with the janitors and the lunch ladies and even the teachers!! He also makes friends with the security bots and pranks them a lot

This stems from him wanting ppl to like him. I think this bc of the fact that his character sheet says he likes all things “trendy” - I think he rlly wants to be known as the cool guy bc he is rlly insecure of himself

And as much as I think he is very trendy, I also think he is a big literature nerd! I believe he is more likely to listen to audio books tho, but I’m not entirely 100% sure though. He tries to keep this underwrap, but eventually he does join momo’s book club and brings completely different analysis to the table :D

He is just generally into the arts (we see this in cannon- he plays guitar, is seen drawing Aizawa, references Hemingway) so I see him as a more creative guy rather than a logically minded dude

This boy has adhd, anxiety, and dyslexia and dyscalcula (he was able to work through dyslexia bc he read so much, but still has problems with his dyscalcula) and this causes issues for him in school. He also a HUGE procrastinator. He often feels stupid and dumb bc if it (also doesn’t help that even his friends joke abt it too, but as long as it’s just a joke he shouldn’t make a big deal abt it right??)

I say he has anxiety because of the way he reacts to when he is training- always panicking and frying his brain. I think what stans between him and being rlly op is his anxiety and view of himself

Speaking of him frying his brain, I headcannon he has litchenburg figures, which if u don’t know r these rlly cool scars that look kinda like branches with what kinda looks like flowers so cool tbh, and BEFORE u say “he obviously doesn’t have them cannonly” let me just say that his quirk affects his brain cannonly!! It’s not weird for it to also affect his skin!!! I think he might have had litchenburg figures if they were more commonly known as it is a very cool thing tbh

I also think that bc his brain gets impacted by his quirk, sometimes his nerves get impacted too. This means he sometimes can’t taste food (and he doesn’t eat it when he can’t taste it, which pisses Bakugo off) and he also can’t feel things as well (I believe the class figures this out after Denki went to poor himself some tea but didn’t know the kettle was still rlly hot and so he grabbed it not knowing he was burning himself until he handed it over to someone who then dropped the pot bc it was so hot- needles to say he had to go to recovery girl that day)

He has never been to the aquarium bc as a child he had terrible control over his quirk and that made ppl nervous to put him near water (he goes as a teen with the bakusquad and is absolutely floored- his favorite creatures are of course all the sting rays, jelly fish, and electric eel- cue bakusquad comparing him to the brainless jellyfish)

He also doesn’t know how to swim till he was in middle school (once he was in better control of his quirk he went out and learned to swim on his own bc he had to learn how if he wanted to be a hero u know? He never quit got the hang of it tho)

Storms make him very energized and his already low ability to focus worsens. Prone to accidentally zapping ppl. He mostly stays in his room when storms happen bc he doesn’t want to hurt ppl/ wreck electronics on accident. He doesn’t even get to chat with friends on the phone bc he would wreck it so storms get rlly lonely :(

Also is basically a lightning rod. It hurts bc of how forceful it is, but it’s also not that big of a deal to him

Is prtty forgetful unfortunately due to all the times he fried his brain. It’s something he really tries not to think about

He probs can’t sleep very easily due to all his energy

He hates frying his brain bc it’s very hard to understand what’s going on when he does. Everything is a lot more sluggish and things are simultaneously way too much and he gets hyper sensitive and at the same time his senses are also very groggy and weird. It’s over all a bad time, but he got used to it

Whenever he fried his brain instead of being all wheyyy and thumbs upy he use to act more vegetative which rlly freaked ppl out so he eventually learned to get to where he is now when he fries his brain

Kids use to take advantage of his whey mode and do pranks on him which often got him hurt, but he never rlly felt it at first so he didn’t mind to bad. As long it was just joking and they were having fun right??

Time for happy ones!! His favorite foods (besides burgers, those r his favorite cannonly) all have some coralation with memes (speggeti tacos, mac n cheese, “chonky” milk, chicken nuggy, etc)

He is a meme lord yes

Stans pikachu (obvi)

U cannot convince me that he doesn’t paint his nails black, maybe with a little lightning bolt on his middle finger. This boy cannonly wears a choker common

He does face masks with Mina!! I believe he cares abt his looks greatly, and does beauty routines with Mina all the time. I’m constantly switching btween wether or not he owns it, or is a bit insecure and tries not to show this side to much to the boys

Why does this show not give him skinny jeans?? I mean common his entire style calls for skinny jeans. Maybe it’s Japan fashion or smth bc if it was in America he’d have skinny jeans bc it’s the trendy thing u know

Cannot cook. Can barely work the microwave. Claims unmarked food and eats it at midnight

Has a lot of weird info stored in his brain- how weather works, psychology stuff, weird facts abt bees, etc- that he learns randomly, never rlly trying to learn them but it sort of just happens u know. This frustrates Bakugo and jirou to no end bc he knows all these useless facts about how 1,200,000 mosquitos is all it takes for them to all at once drain a human of all their blood in a second, but not about how to work the pathagorean theorem

Idk why I think this (and it’s a popular headcannon too), but he knows at least 3/4 languages. It just suits him?? Bc he is a ppl person??? I don’t know??

Gets major test anxiety

Teachers either love him or hate him no in between. A lot of his elementary teachers absolutely hated him and would tear him down by calling him stupid and annoying. In middle school when he learns to control his quirk better, teachers rlly liked him- in the way that class clown trouble makers are liked by teachers. He may not excel in his class but he is a pretty funny dude.

He is constantly either underestimated or overestimated. Kaminari himself does this as well. It’s part of the issue with his hero training

Cats do not like him. They may like being petted bc if the static electricity, but when Kami pets cats he just absorbs the static- no pleasure :(((- or he accidentally has too much static electricity. If so then only tge rlly fluffy cats like him. Either case, shinsou finds a cat that likes kaminari as well and it is very cute :33

THE class prankster. Even on the teachers! The death glare Aizawa gave him on the one time prancing him worked is one kaminari will never forget (he still tries to prank him despite this lol)

Constantly teasing Bakugo as a way to press his buttons. It’s debatable on wether or not this helps bakugo’s anger issues

He is the wingman between Bakugo and Kirishima change my mind!!

Also mandatory kaminari is bisexual headcannon bc he rlly gives me those vibes. I think he doesn’t know yet that he’s bisexual, and when he thinks a fellow bro is hot he thinks he’s just admiring his bro u know. Maybe even thinks he is jealous. He does flirt with all genders tho mostly as a joke. He draws dicks as jokes but he always puts a little too much detail in them for him to rlly be straight

Can be used as a defibrillator as long as he can focus

Honestly there’s so much stuff kaminari has the potential to do with his quirk it’s a shame the manga/anime doesn’t use it

Like I rlly want to see him use his quirk in training to blow out all the lights in a building so he can use it for his advantage

That’d be badass

Also his quirk makes him very hard to be caught when their training. He can slip out of ppls grasp easily with a shock, and he also just has good reflexes in genral (I think this is cannon). Cue class 1-a running around trying and failing to catch him lol. Their best bet is to get him to fry his brain :(

He was popular in school before UA bc of his quirk and bc of how charming and easy to get a long with he is. This lead a lot of his friends to be very shallow. He didn’t rlly think about wether or not someone was trying to be his friend or not, he just liked being liked. This lead him to his whole liking trendy things, and he often felt that if he wasn’t seen as cool or funny his friends would all leave him. His whole rlly liking to talk thing caused a lot of ppl to think he was annoying at times, but he was never rlly able to lose that trait

The bakusquad was the first friend group he got rlly close too. He felt he can be himself around them and be the crackhead he was always meant to be. He still always concerned about wether they might leave him if he’s too annoying bc of anxiety but he’s getting better :)

He is a bringer of chaos and that’s part of his charm! Never dull with Denki around. He’s always doing the weirdest stuff, and ever since Mina, Kiri, and Sero, this has only doubled!

He is always calling Momo a genius (bc she is) and they are rlly good friends

Is an unofficial emo squad member (just look at his hero costume)

A sinnamon roll I’m srry but he ain’t a cinnamon roll. He has a dirty mind lol

Peepee jokes

Probably does tik tok dances I’m sorry

Nintendo fan for life

Xbox or PlayStation?- “Nintendo wut u mean”

Abbreviates so much it’s kinda hard to read,. Like if u thought I was bad this boy is soo much worse

It’s kinda ironic bc he has a very large vocabulary lol

He only uses it when he’s being sassy or very passionate

Mixes his gen z lingo with his big brain vicab to create atrocities of sentences

”bro the rise of the proletariat is lit tbh”

He is the worst to text with. He gives Bakugo aneurysms

Yeet yote to be yoted

3am shower thoughts

Unpopular opinion: i don’t think he likes weed. It probs reminds him too much of his whey mode

He’s a good strategist, but let’s the other team members think of the plans bc of insecurity, and otherwise his anxiety causes his smartness to shut down

Very good at zoning out. Sometimes he accidentally zones out so hard during class he misses the entire lesson and is only brought out bc of the school bell. Aizawa is best at snapping him out of it

Tbh I don’t think UA would be good with mental health. You’d think they’d hire a professional therapist or smth, but maybe it’s bc hero’s are so glorified ppl don’t ever think about these issues

I doubt the teachers had very good teacher training u know

We’ve mostly seen young heroes. I bet that’s bc they die so often, and if they don’t die in battle the mental health issues that stem from trauma and the media’s pressure are such an issue that it’s not uncommon for hero work to have high suicide rates

Anyway I’m starting to lose track of things thanks for coming to my ted talk I think I’ll stop here

[r6shippingdelivery]

OTP Question Meme!

I was tagged by the wonderful @simonxriley​, thanks! 💜

Tagging: @mirrorworldangel​ @krystlandotherstuff​ @painfulstitches17​  @grain-crain-drain​ @retrodisaster​ @glitchky​ and anyone who wants to do it! Be warned that it is pretty long tho, so don’t feel obligated to do it if you don’t want to.  

(art comissioned to the amazing @aonghus-the-highlander​)

Timur “Glaz” Glazkov x Maxim “Kapkan” Basuda

DISAGREEMENTS

Who is more likely to raise their voice? None/both? Whoever is feeling more agitated at the moment, although it usually is a small outburst and not consistently yelling at the other.

Who threatens to leave but never actually does? Neither.

Who actually keeps their word and leaves? Kapkan, sort of. He doesn’t threaten to leave, he just needs to leave and have some time alone in the middle of nature after a difficult argument, to think on it and put his ideas in order.

Who trashes the house? Because of an argument? Neither. Although Glaz might have trashed the house one time Kapkan got seriously injured, as in Doc wasn’t sure he’d make it through the night.

Do either of them get physical? No, never.

How often do they argue/disagree? Bickering and small disagreemenets are common, serious arguments are rare.

Who is the first to apologize? Whoever feels more guilty for how they acted, which usually is the one in the wrong (once they realise that).

SEX

Who is on top? Depends on the position, but if you’re asking who is The Top, that’s Glaz.

Who is on bottom? Look at the previous answer.

Who has the strangest desires? Kapkan thinks it’s him, but nah, he’s just a bit repressed.

Any kinks? Bondage, marking/biting, dirty talk, discipline.

Who’s dominate in bed? They like to “fight”/rough house for it, although eventually Kapkan will gleefully give up control.

Is head ever in the equation? Yes.

If so, who is better at performing it? Glaz, he has more experience.

Ever had sex in public? Sort of: in the base’s showers, and out in the woods while camping.

Who moans the most? Kapkan, he can get loud.

Who leaves the most marks? Both.

Who is the most experienced of the two? Glaz.

Do they ’fuck’ or ‘make love’? Depends on their mood.

Rough or soft? Middle ground, veering more towards rough most of the time.

How long do they usually last? Depends on the day and their stamina, but it’s not uncommon they’ll go for 2 rounds.

Is protection used? Not always.

Does it ever get boring? Nah.

Where is the strangest place where they’d had sex? At work, during training.

FAMILY

Do they plan on having children/ have children? Maybe, it’s not something they have considered in detail yet.

If so, how many children to they want/have? Both agree that at least they’d adopt two kids, three at most.

AFFECTION

Who likes to cuddle? Both do, even if Kapkan likes to pretend he’s just indulging Glaz.

Who gets naughty in the most inappropriate places? Glaz, he is a horny boy and likes to see if he can get Kapkan flustered. It’s difficult to do so, but he looks so adorable.

Who struggles to keep their hands to themself? Both, but mostly Glaz.

How long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable? If they don’t fall asleep first, then around an hour or so?

Who gives the most kisses? Both.

What is their favorite non-sexual activity? Spending time together. They go camping pretty often, since it’s a multipurpose activity: Glaz paints the landscape, they hunt, they can be as loud as they want when having sex, etc.

Where is their favorite place to cuddle? Under the stars. The couch and bed are good too.

How often do they get time to themselves? Everyday probably? If they’re not sent on a mission, once they’re done with the training and maybe Kapkan tinkering with his gadget for a bit, they’re free to do whatever.

SLEEPING

Who snores? Both.

If both do, who snores the loudest? They’ll both say it’s the other.

Do they share a bed or sleep separately? They share.

If they sleep together, do they cozy up together or lay separately? They cozy up together, or more accurately, Glaz cuddles up to him and Kapkan oh so graciously lets him... although he’s the one who clings to Glaz when he tries to roll away. If the weather is really hot they’ll leave some distance between them tho.

What do they wear to bed? Just their boxers, sometimes nothing at all.

Are either of them insomniacs? Not really, although if woken up from a nightmare, Kapkan will have a hard time falling asleep again.

Can sleeping pills be found by the bedside? Nope, no sleeping pills.

Do they wrap their limbs around each other or just lay side by side? Yeah, they wrap their limbs around each other, mostly if one is trying to prevent the other from leaving.

Who wakes up with bed hair? Both, although whoever wears it cropped shorter at the moment will have an easier time with bed hair.

Who wakes up first? Both are early risers.

Who prepares breakfast in bed for the other? None. Breakfast in bed? That’s not their style.

What is their favorite sleeping position? Either spooning, or one of them using the other’s chest/shoulder as a pillow.

Do they set an alarm each night? Yes, they do have to wake up for work.

Can a television be found in their bedroom? Nope.

Who has nightmares? Kapkan. Glaz only occasionally.

Who has ridiculous dreams? Neither, the one in the team with the weird and ridiculous dreams is Fuze.

Who sprawls out and takes up most of the bed? Kapkan, Glaz often compares him with a cat stretching out and taking up more and more space until there’s none for Glaz.

Who makes the bed? Both, they take turns.

Any routines/rituals before bed? Kapkan likes to read for a while, psychology books mostly, while Glaz tries to distract him because he doesn’t do anything especial before bed and either wants to talk with him or tries to get handsy.

Who’s the grumpiest when they wake up? Neither.

WORK

Who is the busiest? Kapkan, aside from training, he also likes tinkering and trying to improve his gadget and traps in general, and helps train the recruits too.

Who rakes in the highest income? They seem to rank the same withing Rainbow so they probably get paid the same?

Are any of them unemployed? Nope.

Who takes the most sick days? No fucking idea.

Who is more likely to turn up late for work? Neither, they’re punctual.

Who sucks up to their boss? None, the idea of them sucking up to Harry is so out of character it’s hilarious.

What are their jobs? They're part of the Spetsnaz team within the counter-terrorism group Rainbow.

Who stresses the most? Both, but Kapkan probably a bit more.

Are they financially stable? I suppose?

HOME

Who does the washing? Kapkan, he is a bit neater than Glaz. Although he drags Glaz into washing too, he refuses to be the one always doing it.

Who takes out the trash? Whoever finds the trash full.

Who does the ironing? Both do. You gotta keep the formal uniforms crisp smooth, so why not iron too whatever other clothes need ironing.

Who does the cooking? They cook together.

Who is more likely to burn the house down just trying? None, they’re not iditos.

Who is messier? Glaz.

Who leaves the toilet roll empty? idk dude, some of these question are so fucking especific, I swear. A lot of this stuff doesn’t come up most of the time when I’m writing

Who leaves their dirty clothes on the floor? Military life has trained them to not keep throwing dirty clothes on the floor, amongst other things. The only exception is when they undress each other and fall in bed kissing and marking each other, they can’t be bothered to think about that in the heat of the moment.

Who forgets to flush the toilet? Neither.

Who is the prankster around the house? Bandit whenever he is invited into their house.

Who loses the car keys when it comes time to go somewhere? No fucking idea.

Who mows the lawn? They have an apartment, not a house with garden, so neither. If they want nature, they go camping, Kapkan isn’t a fan of lawn as a concept tbh.

Who answers the telephone? Both, but more often Kapkan, since Glaz tends to ignore the phone if he’s painting.

Who does the vacuuming? Kapkan, he got used to vacuuming often since he adopted Marsha, otherwise there would be cat hair everywhere.

Who does the groceries? Both, and they go together if they can.

Who takes the longest to shower? None, they keep to short and efficient showers... unless they hop together under the spray.

Who spends the most time in the bathroom? Glaz, he takes his sweet time trimming his beard and making sure it looks right as he wants it to be.

MISCELLANEOUS

Is money a problem? I don’t think so.

How many cars do they own? Each had their own car, so when they start livign together they technically have two cars.

Do they own their home or do they rent? They rent an apartment near the base. Neither of them is close to retiring, so they haven’t thought yet of what they’ll do after Rainbow, or in which country they’ll live then.

Do they live in the city or in the country? The country, most probably.

Do they enjoy their surroundings? For the most part. Surroundings are secondary, what matters the most is the company.

What’s their song? I hate song questions and this is no exception.

What do they do when they’re away from each other? If they’re away from each other that means one of them went on a mission, so they do their damned jobs.

Where did they first meet? When they got selected to be part of Rainbow.

Who spends the most money when out shopping? Depends, Glaz is a danger if let loose on an art’s supplies store, and Kapkan impulse buys knives for his collection.

Who’s more likely to flash their assets? Neither.

Who finds it amusing when the other trips over? Glaz finds it funny when the graceful hunter stumbles and trips over, while Kapkan thinks it’s hilarious when Mr. Details fails to see something in his path and trips.

Any mental issues? Yeah, both have PSTD (especially after Outbreak, all ops who were on that Operation have it, imo), Kapkan more than Glaz.

Who’s terrified of bugs? Neither.

Who kills the spiders around the house? Whoever sees the spider, if it’s bothering them.

Their favorite place? Their room, or their apartment when they move in together.

Who pays the bills? Both.

Do they have any fears for their future? Both are terrified of losing the other during a mission. Them dying is something they have more or less assumed, but the other dying? Unthinkable.

Who’s more likely to surprise the other with a fancy dinner? They’re not the type for fancy dinners. Surprising the other with a nice home-made dinner tho? Glaz has done that on occasion.

Who’s the tallest? Kapkan, he’s 1.80m while Glaz is 1.78m. The 2cm difference is negligible tbh.

Who’s more likely to just randomly hop into the shower with the other? Both, but mostly Glaz.

Who wanders around in their underwear? I don’t think either of them would be probe to walking around in their underwear.

Who sings the loudest when singing along to the radio? Glaz, he sometimes sing along while painting.

What do they tease each other about? Glaz teases Kapkan about how he’s a tsundere like a stubborn cat, trying to deny he likes affection but then he practically melts when he gets some. Kapkan teases Glaz about how he looks like a baby when he shaves his beard.

Who is more likely to cringe at the other’s fashion sense at times? Neither, although Glaz might sometimes poke a bit of fun about how Kapkan’s wardrobe seems to have only hoodies.

Who crushed first? Glaz.

Any alcohol or substance related problems? Nah.

Who is more likely to stumble home, drunk, at 3am? Both, all the Spetsnaz go drinking together as a team, so the boys stumble home drunk together.

Who swears the most? Glaz, and that bit is canon if you listen to their voicelines! 😄

[trying-write-fanfics]

Shouji Mezo X Reader part  6 Remember

They went back to class. Aizawa explained the assignment to them as Y/n typed a letter to her brother. Honestly she didn’t think her situation had reached her brother. Though they were family, they didn’t really talk about much. Maybe if someone died, their mom would be force to spread some information, but Y/n saw her as a person who would try to bring the dead back just so she wouldn’t have to talk to all four of her children. That being said, she did like her siblings, enough. They weren’t close enough in age to tease her like they use to. When they were children they did, but now they all just treat Y/n like she’s only a child that needs minimal protecting. I mean yeah they see her as frail, but she’s someone else’s job. Her oldest brother was her favorite. He didn’t change, even though he was always protective of Y/n. He didn’t understand her well, nor did she understand him, but she was grateful for his efforts to minimize the damage done. 

“Hey, Miss Velia, do you wanna sit with us during lunch?” Tsu asked.

 So she did. Momo made her nervous, but she would keep with the lie as long as she could. She didn’t know what would happen if she was found out. Everything catches up eventually. She gave out hair advice, skin care, but then they asked why she singled out Bakugo. Y/n explained being someone who isn’t hero driven can see why he wouldn’t be likeable when he made pro. It just seemed he was sticking his self worth on others and will forever compare himself which will always make him unsatisfied. He won the sports festival but felt he never got a real win. It made sense why it felt that way, but would he truly be happy if Todoroki used his left side? No something else would surely come up in her eyes. He needs to get his ass kick to taste victory for real. Then the girls asked if Y/n had any other advice. 

“Honestly don’t take my advice too seriously. I never wanted to be a hero.” She told them. 

“Then why do you know how to fight?” Mina asked. 

“It’s a good skill to have in these times. Sure hero killer stain would never target me, but that doesn’t mean other crazy people with quirks are out there. Besides with a quirk like mine it’s expected that I learn something.”

Momo’s eyes widen as she figured it all out. 

Once the students were back at the dorms Momo went to Jiro and Izuku. They were the two closest people to talk to in such a private conversation. 

“I have something to tell you guys. Aizawa lied about who miss Y/n Velia is.” Momo told the two. 

“What do you mean?”

“She’s not just some random person. Here I have a page I wanna show you.” Momo pulled out her phone.

“She’s the daughter of a government official!” Izuku was surprised, but that wasn’t all.

“She’s our age.” Jiro added. “How did you know something was up.

“I’ve met her before.” Momo said. “Her father invited my family over to a benefit to get people to sign a petition. I don’t know if my parents ever signed it, but people compared our quirks. She could create and use quirks as long as she understood them, and I could create objects as long as I understood them.” Momo explained. 

“Why would he lie about her age, and why isn’t she in school?” Jiro asked.

“From what little I know about her, a lot has changed. The next time I saw her she told me she couldn’t use her quirk, and then she just didn’t show up: but here’s this photo op with her and her father.” Momo showed another webpage. “Her name is (full name).”

 Though they were speaking quietly they were in a hallway. Once Shouji heard they were talking about the teaching aid, he listened. He stayed in the stairway. This all wasn’t as shocking as he thought. He knew something was up with that girl. Turns out she’s his age, but that wasn’t a surprise. It took like 2 days to figure something was up?

“Why would she be here though? What could she gain by helping Aizawa.” Izuku asked.

“I have a theory, but I could be wrong. Her mother is a scientist in quirk biology. She could be researching quirks and what better school than U.A?” Momo explained.

The information spread, Shouji wasn’t the only one eavesdropping one the conversation. Once it got around the class had a discussion. Of course Y/n wasn’t present yet. She was researching a topic for a busy work paper.

“Should we ask why she would spy on our class?”

“I knew something was up!”

“If we ask does the whole experiment fail?”

“We never consented to that.”

“Maybe we did in the agreement forms. No one ever reads those.”

“But why would they hire a 15 year old, so many other people would be way more qualified.” 

“Hey she has Instagram!”

Aizawa sighed. Of course they would figure something was up, not only was Y/n not the best actress, but she got into a fight with another student and asked for “the tea”. It was like a town hall debate on the girl’s existence at the school. They were wrong, she wasn’t here for her mother, she was here to get away from her mother.

“Well congratulations, you guys are good enough detectives.” Aizawa told the class. He decided to come clean with it all, her position in the school wasn’t the weirdest thing to happen. “(Full name) is here because she committed a lot of petty crimes.” The whole class gasped. Why would someone like that be in the school. “Calm down, she’s more of a threat to herself than any of you. She mostly was accomplice or accessory to a crime by letting the real criminals escape.”

 The class roared with questions. They knew she was rich, but why would someone like her have to commit a crime!

“Quiet! Next person to interrupt is going to be suspended.” Aizawa said. “She is still a minor, just like all of you. I did capture her, and use excessive force when I took her down. When the court decided our punishment, I was given the task to take care of her. Since she’s young, they’re hoping I can guide her to a better path, one that doesn’t end a jail sentence. I figured she can help you guys understand petty crimes, and help her understand her own quirk better. She doesn’t have a phone to contact anyone. We read all her mail, and she can’t communicate with her mind, so she isn’t contacting her old gang.” 

Yaoyorozu’s hand went up. 

“What do you mean she doesn’t understand her quirk?”

“Most you guys have used your quirk when you used your quirk outside of school. (Last name) was instructed to not use her quirk by her family. It seems every time she uses her quirk she gets hurt in the process, but it’s not like Midoriya’s where he breaks his fingers or arms. It’s all random what comes back.”

“Nothing happened to her when she copied my quirk!” Bakugou yelled.

Shouji raised his hand. 

“What is it?” Aizawa asked. 

“She had something on her stomach, it was a lot bigger than what I could see though. Is that the affect of her quirk?”

“How did you see her stomach!” Mina asked. 

“She was looking at it when she was picking up the assignment yesterday.” Shouji answered. 

“Damn Shouji I wanna see that sort of action!” Mineta yelled.

“Quiet! From what I know she gets rashes, coughs up blood, or a blood pressure burst, asthma attacks, and some other side effects.” Aizawa explained. 

“How do you know for sure she’s not dangerous?” Jiro asked. “She did attack Bakugo.”

“She didn’t hurt me! She just cheated is all.”

“I must admit I should keep a better eye on her. After seeing the sports festival and you work studies, any of you could probably take her now that you know her quirk.”

“But she does know how to fight.” Tsu said.

“In your future as a hero you will need to be able to combat all sorts of fighting styles. Her best strength is the element of surprise. Since all of you have seen her quirk, know its her weakness, I’m sure you guys could take her down if she tried.”

“What is she doing now?” Jiro asked.

“A paper.” Aizawa replied “she’s under surveillance.”

“When you captured her, you said you used excessive force, was she that scary of an opponent?” Izuku asked. 

“I misjudged her. I didn’t see her use her quirk much when I had to chase her down, so when I went hand to hand combat with her, I was surprised she didn’t rely on her quirk. I thought she had something up her sleeve like a bomb or a flash grenade, so I had to take her down fast. She sacrificed herself so two others could escape. She’s not the big evil scary villains you are all use to, she’s a teenager just like you, who can help you with your training.”

 The atmosphere changed. They wanted to be mad because they were really lied to and put with someone who could be dangerous, but she wasn’t as dangerous. She was just like them, wanting to help someone else in a dire time. 

“What about school for (last name)” Kaminari asked.

“She’s been an online student. She doesn’t have to show up for her classes.” Aizawa explained.

“What’s gonna happen to her now? Since we know…” Tsu asked. 

“I’ll tell her later that you guys found out, but she’ll still be my teaching aid. It’s not like she’s allowed back home.”

“What’s happening to the (last names)?” Momo asked. 

“They’re gone for long periods of time. Sure Y/n can take care of herself, but it got her in a life of criminal activity.”

The class went back to teaching. There was a gray cloud around them. Iida, Momo, and Shoto were all realizing that they met Y/n at least once. Momo already knew, but she was trying to analyze everything she remembered. Shoto remembered how she was with her mother, they were asking his father questions. It was a private meeting, but they came to the house a couple times. Endeavor kept the two kids separated. Shoto assumed it was because he didn’t want Shoto to remain childish, but maybe it was something else. Iida’s situation was the same as Momo’s, but he wasn’t as young. He remembered her father and mother joining his family for dinner. Y/n came and didn’t leave her parent’s side. He didn’t even remember her talking at all. It was a dinner about politics. 

Izuku tried rationalizing everything Y/n had said to him. How she called him beefcake, and worried about his quirk. Her mother is a scientist of the biology of quirks. She couldn’t be a criminal, but she was. How could they trust her not to do anything. They were attacked on the USJ. Now they’re keeping her nearby.

[vellaphoria]

Unlikely Crossovers: Batfam and Clone Wars-Era Star Wars

A while ago someone was asking around about how the batfam would fit in a star wars au and I didn’t want to clog the op’s tags, so here’s my take on that.

Given the choice between eras of star wars, I’d almost always put anything batfam related in the Clone Wars era. Because lightsabers.

This means a lot of jedi running around and, in some cases, society at large having a less than amicable relationship with them. I’m also pretty sure that Bruce would take the Qui-Gon Jinn approach to palawan training; which is to say, emotionally detached to the point that they sometimes think he doesn’t care about them and continuing to train multiple padawans (aka robins) even though bad things keep happening.

So.

Bruce

The Justice League is the Jedi council. Bruce would be a Jedi knight and eventually rise to become Master of the Order à la Mace Windu. I personally would see him being the administrative head of the Jedi Order while Clark would be more of a public face for the Order. Clark is the one who shows up to all the social events requiring Jedi presence. Bruce is the one who shows up at Senate meetings and terrifies the room so that the Jedi don’t get defunded. I’d see him as fighting with a single lightsaber in the Shien style; since it’s very physically demanding and combines a primarily defensive method with more aggressive tactics while focusing on dominating enemies. I imagine Bruce would be considered very strict insofar as the Jedi code and its no killing clause.

And he trains robins padawans.

Dick

Dick and his parents would still be traveling performers, though this would be within the context of moving between planetary systems. When Dick is young, his parents are killed by a suspected darksider and Knight Wayne is sent to investigate. Finding out that Dick is force-sensitive and suddenly without parents, Bruce starts training his first palawan. This goes on for a number of years, but eventually Padawan Grayson becomes Knight Grayson, leaving the Jedi Temple to go on off-planet missions because he can’t deal with Bruce 90% of the time. Since Nightwing uses two escrima sticks, Knight Grayson would use two shorter (shoto) sabers simultaneously, utilizing them to fight with Form IV, otherwise known as Ataru. This style requires a lot of acrobatics and jumping around, which I think is right up Dick’s alley.

Jason

Jason on the other hand doesn’t really have a family. Left to fend for himself as a child, he does a lot of shadier things in order to be able to eat. One of these things is trying to steal a Jedi’s shuttle while he’s distracted. This Jedi turns out to be newly promoted Jedi Master Wayne, who Jason subsequently tries and fails to pull a jedi mind trick on. Since you need force sensitivity to do this in the first place and since Dick isn’t talking to him at the moment, Bruce starts training his second padawan. Jason will eventually be beaten mostly to death and killed in an exploding off-planet warehouse when one of Coruscant’s most notorious psychopaths separates him from Bruce. Through strange Force shenanigans, he will also find a way to come back as a bounty hunter in a red mandalorian helmet. He’s a dark sider at this point and still remembers the inner workings of the Jedi order, so he makes another (red) lightsaber and, when he isn’t using his preferred blasters, will use it to fight with the Vaapad variant of Form VII. It’s one of the most difficult lightsaber fighting styles, and is an offense-heavy style primarily powered by anger and connection to the dark side, which fits Jason’s more anti-hero tendencies.

But that comes later.

Tim

After what happens to Jason, Bruce swears off training padawans. Predictably, it doesn’t last. Tim is one of those younglings who got scooped up by the Order early… but never really found a master. He’s quiet. He’s contemplative. He stalks the Master of the Order and doesn’t get caught. Much like Obi-Wan Kenobi in the expanded universe, Tim gets to the age where the Order is going to ship him out to the agri-corps or somewhere else because he didn’t find someone to train him by the age of thirteen. However, it’s on this trip where he runs into Master Wayne and Knight Grayson on a joint mission, subsequently saves their asses, and convinces Bruce to break the no more padawans rule he took up after Jason’s death. Tim fights with a single lightsaber and the defensive Soresu form while he’s a padawan, but he later moves on to a double-bladed saber and a more balanced Niman style after he’s knighted.

If anyone familiar with the expanded universe sees a Xanatos v. Kenobi parallel here with Jason and Tim, they’d be right.

Damian

Eventually, Bruce discovers that he has, previously unbeknownst to him, a son. The mother is Talia, who is a dark sider and the daughter of the resident Sith Lord, though like in the prequels, few of the Jedi actually think the Sith Lord exists. The son in question is Damian, who is an analogue for the Chosen One in prequel lore. He fights with a single lightsaber and, since he’s a padawan, he doesn’t have a dedicated style yet, but he trains in Ataru because of Dick’s influence.

Before long, Bruce ‘dies’ on a mission like he does in pre-flashpoint canon. Dick is left to step up and train Damian as his padawan, and Tim is quickly field-Knighted even though he didn’t technically complete his training. There is a lot of bitterness to go around, but since I like messing with Tim, I’d say that Counselor Al Ghul - leader of the Senate and unsurprisingly a Sith Lord - takes an interest in him and you get a setup that’s something like the Red Robin run.

Around the same time, the Clone Wars are going on, and the anti-Republic faction (still the Separatists) is run by Lex Luthor. He and Counselor Al Ghul are absolutely working together to spread chaos and distrust in the Republic, just like Dooku and Palpatine did in the prequels.

tl;dr - Bruce Wayne is dc’s Qui-Gon Jinn and you can’t change my mind

[swapauanon]

Touching Up Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory

So... Not really much in regards to gameplay, but while Melody of Memory has been mostly positively received, the general consensus seems to be that they could’ve “left it in the oven” for a bit longer and it PROBABLY would’ve done the game a favor. Having watched multiple LP’s, and having put the game on my wishlist, I know that there are a couple of missing songs.

Regardless, I’ll be dividing this up into different sections, based off of how the World Map was arranged.

In General

Upon making a new game, after the brief “Simple and Clean” Memory Dive sample, a cutscene would play, where we see Kairi and the researchers discussing the whole “put Kairi into a coma so she can explore memories related to Sora” plan. Outside of that, the opening of the game would play like normal.

Also, the Gummi Ship in World Tour MIGHT get replaced with a gliding KH3!Kairi to further visualize that she’s the one sifting through all these memories.

Finally, “Boss Battles” would all have a gauge similar to the one from “Ursula’s Revenge”, which depletes with every note you hit, dealing more damage the higher your strength and the better your timing. Depleting it before the song ends would results in a Rhythm Point bonus.

Additionally, much like the Boss Battle music stages from the REAL game, you’d get a Field Battle version of any Boss Battles upon beating the bosses.

Also, in regards to Team Days: Roxas would wield Two Become One while Xion would wield Oathkeeper.

Kingdom Hearts I Worlds

All I’d add here are three Music Stages divided up between two worlds.

Halfway through KH1′s Disney Worlds would be the Hundred Acre Wood, with two Memory Dives: “Winnie the Pooh” and “Bounce-o-Rama”.

Right next to Hollow Bastion, the End of the World, and the “Squirming Evil” Darkened World would be a Darkened World would be a Darkened World corresponding to “Night on the Bare Mountain” titled “Melody of the Mountain”.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Worlds

Another instance of Destiny Islands would appear in the COM worlds, with only one Music Stage: the re:COM version of Destiny Islands’ Overworld Theme.

Additionally, “Lord of the Castle” would be a Boss Battle Music Stage. Marluxia’s “super move” would be his “Scythe Wheel” attack.

Kingdom Hearts II Worlds

... I mean, MAYBE Port Royale would be here? I can’t really think of anything else...

Kingdom Hearts: 358 Days Over 2 Worlds

Once again, only two changes: A new world, and a boss battle.

The new world would, in this case, be the World That Never Was itself, with it’s two tracks from Days: “Mystic Moon” and “Critical Drive”. Also, in regards to aesthetics, it would be the KH2 version of the World That Never Was, but in reverse to reference Roxas’ escape from the castle. It would be located before “Vector to the Heavens”.

Finally “Another Side (Battle Version)” would be a Boss Battle Music Stage. Riku’s “Special Attack” would be Dark Aura. Also, just like in Days, he’d wield Oblivion.

Kingdom Hearts coded Worlds

Some of the enemies would be replaced by Blox Bugs, and all of the Giga Shadows would be replaced by Metal Bugs.

That’s it.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Worlds

“Dismiss” would be a Terra-Xehanort battle in Radiant Garden. Terranort’s “Special Attack” would be his “Rock Storm” attack (i.e. the attack from his Keyblade Graveyard battle where he summons rocks from the ground and launches them at the Lingering Will). Mostly because I don’t want him to rehash Ansem’s attack.

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance Worlds

The Symphony of Sorcery would be one of the Disney Worlds, but it’s two tracks would be Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral” Op. 68 and The Nutcracker Suite Op. 71 as Field Battle music stages, with the “All Clear” reward being “L’Apprenti Sorcier” Field Battle MS Material that can be used to synthesize a Field Battle Music Stage. Both Music Stages would use the appropriate environments from DDD.

Additionally “L’Impeto Oscuro” would be a Young Xehanort battle, with his “Special Attack” being his “Zero Shot”, but with multiple volleys of the dark projectiles.

Additionally “The Eye of Darkness” would be an Armored Ventus Nightmare battle, with his “Special Attack” being the attack where he turns the background white.

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep ~a fragmentary passage~ Worlds

... Keep scrolling.

Kingdom Hearts III Worlds

This is where the most comprehensive changes will be.

First of all, Olympus would be present with TWO Music Stages: “Mt. Olympus” and “Heroes Fanfare”.

There’d be a Darkened World corresponding to “Titanic Clash“.

Secondly, the “Secret Forest” would be a world you’d have to clear to access the bulk of the KH3 worlds, with one track: “Dearly Beloved ~The Secret Forest~” as a Memory Dive Music Stage.

Finally, each of the Disney Worlds would have two Field Battle Stages.

Toy Box would have “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” and “Toy Box Jam”, plus a Darkened World based off of “Skyward Strike”.

The “fairy tale kingdom” who’s name was not spoken aloud in the English version would have “Happy Hair Day” and “Swinging Free”.

Monstropolis would have “Monstropolis Now” and “Monster Smash”.

Arendelle would have “Frozen Wonderland” and “Miracle on Ice”, with “Let it Go” Memory Dive MS Materials as the “All Clear Bonus”. “Anger Unchained” would be attached to an Arendell-themed Darkened World, with THAT being where you’d get Arendell’s All Clear Bonus from canon.

San Fransokyo would have “AR: Augmented Rhythm” and “Robot Overdrive” with “Eye of the Storm” being a Darkened World.

“Aqua (Dark Dive)” would be included as a Boss Battle music stage you have to clear to access the Keyblade Graveyard. Anti-Aqua’s “Special Attack” would be her take on the “Spellweaver” Style Change.

The Keyblade Graveyard would be unchanged, but “Hearts as One” and “Dawn of Hope” would be Darkened Worlds.

Scala ad Caelum would be a world with “Scala ad Caelum” and “Edge of Existence” as its Field Battle Music Stages.

Melody of Memory’s End

You’d actually be prompted to select a difficulty as soon as you enter.

Additionally, it would actually be possible to FAIL the first two Music Stages if you run out of HP. However, each Music Stage would serve as a checkpoint.

“Stranded Beyond” would be a Field Battle Music Stage, with Kairi replacing you’re currently equipped Team’s Leader as a “Guest Character”. Her abilities, triggered by Ability Crystals, would be “Seven Wishes” for melee, and “Heart of a Princess” for magic. Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed, and Dream Eaters would stand in her way.

“Kairi III” would play more or less the same.

The Master Xehanort battle is where things are shaken up a bit. Instead of Kairi wearing herself out and needing Sora to save her, when Xehanort tries to strike her with her Keyblade, Kairi would use her “Light Barrier” to protect herself, then the “Counterblast” to knock Xehanort away and disarm him, before flying right at Xehanort, forcing him to summon his Keyblade to parry her, at which he’d do that thing swordsmen do in anime where they launch their opponents. This is pretty much the point where the Boss Battle begins, a duel between Kairi and Xehanort. Other than that, it plays like canon.

From there, the ending basically plays out the same, except Kairi stays behind because she needs to regain her strength from sleeping for a whole year.

All three of the Music Stages from the Final World would be unlocked upon clearing it.

Finally: instead of “Difficulty Master Xehanort was defeated” you’d get “Difficulty Final World was cleared”.

Playing them in Track Select with Guest Characters turned off would result in the Team Leader taking Kairi’s place, allowing anyone to 1v1 Xehanort or glide over the Final World alone.

One-Winged Angel, Rage Awakened, and The Other Promise

All three would be optional bonus bosses.

Sephiroth’s “Special Attack” would be Supernova.

The Lingering Will’s “Special Attack” would be its Keyblade Glider Attack.

Roxas’ Special Attack would be the one where he turns the background into the twilit sky and surrounds himself with a barrier of thirteen beams of light to launch a barrage of light attacks from within.

Everything Else

Face My Fears Memory Dive.

Maybe Memory Dives and Boss Battles in VS Mode.

Co-op Memory Dives?

[quidfree]

Hi! Thinking of Dumbledore + Sirius, do you think Sirius would feel sympathy for Dumbledore if he knew about how torn he was btw his siblings + feeling trapped? I judged him harshly at first, but now I think about the difficulty about losing both parents + sibling, but not wanting to sacrifice everything to step in as parent + guilt that comes with that. I do think Dumbledore loved his siblings + I was happy when his bro said he did a good job with their sis before her death.

hi! this is an interesting one hm

the thing abt dumbledore is that i’m pretty sympathetic to him all things considered- i’ve never really taken the time to explain my feelings about him on here but i definitely don’t think he’s snape levels of “fandom should see he’s irredeemably terrible!”, though i have a lot of qualms about him. he’s certainly not the hero rowling thinks he is, but he’s also not the guy rita skeeter says he is, to put it succintly.

on the one hand, i do think canon mostly fails to acknowledge that he was very manipulative/calculating and made a lot of very cold (or just plain terrible) choices- everything to do with sirius, for one, as well as the whole dursley situation. i know there’s a couple of reasons harry had to live with them (supposedly...) and i can’t be bothered to go into them, but even then i never understood why he couldn’t have done to petunia what he does in OOTP (?) sooner- send a letter to scare the shit out of her and remind her to treat harry decently or at least leave him to his own devices. like, there was so much he could have done in the years between the potters’ deaths and hogwarts- that squib neighbour was already spying/reporting for him, so he was fully aware of it all, idk. i just find that whole thing exemplary of his callousness. it’s more unforgivable to me than raising harry knowing he might need to die for the cause- because that was necessary to defeat voldemort, but giving harry an escape from abuse was so avoidable. his handling of other characters also doesn’t paint him in the best light, sirius as most obvious suspect- there’s a good piece on tumblr about sirius being a liability in his eyes because he’s not loyal to dumbledore or his cause above all else, but to the potters (and ultimately harry) and his own code, and i really think it’s the best reading of dumbledore’s handling of sirius in OOTP, because i always found that kind of insane. it’s brain-dead obvious that the worst thing to do with sirius (especially if you were worried about his unhinged state and whatnot) would be sticking him in grimmauld place- even if they had to keep him hidden, they could have let him floo between order hideouts! see other people! prowl london as a dog! it’s insane that dumbledore of all people would be that dumb about it, so it makes the most sense to me as him locking sirius up where he’s the most contained.

on the other hand, dumbledore was both a quirky schoolmaster and a wartime militia leader, and i think a lot of the weirdness in his character is bc rowling set out to write a much more child-like series than she ended up writing. dumbledore is a pretty iconic guy in the books, manipulations included- he’s such a chessmaster, and he has flair, as kingsley would put it. most importantly he clearly tries very hard to orchestrate the best possible outcome for the entire world- not based on arbitrary beliefs or personal whims, but because he’s sort of the main bastion of hope in the wizarding world. i don’t necessarily think his actions in this context are all excusable, but he’s a war-time leader, and pretty much knows it’s all down to him- although the order is certainly competent, it’s a very ragtag group of people dumbledore holds together, and in terms of skill, knowledge and aura he’s their biggest asset. he’s already been through a wizarding war where he probably set out to murder the love of his life, another wizard supremacist wackjob! we know he’s long past egoism- he’s genuinely For The Greater Good, and he clearly cares about harry; his choices are undoubtedly not made lightly. it’s also important to note just how bad wizarding society as a whole is on these issues- even the most muggle-friendly wizards are remarkably ignorant about them (arthur weasley), and everyone else is at least marginally bigoted; bigotry is built into the fabric of their society, and their government is extemely complacent/corrupt, so the order and their ilk are very much on their own, while people like the malfoys are tolerated despite the open secret of their wartime alliances. dumbledore has a tough job, and he doesn’t know all the things the reader knows. so i think the op-eds calling him Just As Bad As Voldemort or whatever are missing any nuance.

then we get into dumbledore’s backstory. it explains a lot about him, i think. it’s interesting to me that he’s so consistent as a character- he has always been about The Greater Good, and he’s always had an ego, but as a child he let the latter dictate the former and as an adult he forever attempted to substract it from himself lest he repeat the same mistakes. some more questionable rep from ms rowling in having her (1) gay character be the guy literally seduced into wizard supremacy by his evil boyfriend, but i always liked that beat of a very isolated extremely intelligent character drawn into a warped sense of righteousness- it’s also very consistent of dumbledore to believe he’s doing the best for someone when he’s not really thinking about that at all, which is the case with his sister. obviously his family’s story is tragic, and then he gets pulled into this fake vision of a better world, validated in his brilliance, and then there’s his mother’s death, and then his sister, and suddenly it’s all come crashing down and he spends the next years of his life slowly realizing he’s the only one who can stop a project he might have been overseeing once. aberforth lays into him for it, and fair enough, but jesus, what a shitty spot to be in fresh out of hogwarts. i don’t know if it’s because i’m an older sibling, but i can understand the horrible burden of knowing that it’s always on you to think of yourself second, even when you’re inches away from the best thing in your life.

getting sidetracked- the question was about sirius and dumbledore. the thing abt LMV is that i try to keep my own opinions out of it; the marauders-dumbledore dynamic is a difficult one. they all respect him endlessly, and in school i think they adored him, but as a wartime leader it gets complicated. i think in canon their relationship was better, just a little strained (and a little more for others) bc of his style of leadership- you know, keeping secrets, playing games etc. in LMV, though, his machinations got them personally into some shit, so i wagered things would be more terse. james i think thinks most positively of him, as he is wont to do so, except where he is somehow at odds with sirius, because his loyalties there are clear and he is far more violently protective of sirius than he lets on. lily is a close second, because she’s a big picture thinker and gets how hard his job is, but she tends to be wary of his reasoning. remus is a more distrustful person by nature, and dumbledore using him for werewolf stuff wears him down. sirius is not a fan of authority, does not like secrets, and hates people using him as a pawn, so things are most strained for him, obviously. i think a lot of dumbledore introspection in LMV is from sirius’ POV, somewhat accidentally, so he gets a harsh rep.

to finally get to the specifics of your question: would dumbledore’s backstory get sirius to sympathise? arguably not much. sirius is a tricky guy, esp because i write him in a period that we know nothing about. he’s not a cocky slightly feral 15 year old, and he’s not a traumatised 30 something prison escapee; i try to get a plausible balance, so i don’t lend sirius in LMV so much of OOTP sirius’ world-weary wisdom. he’s 21, and in a war where the other side are wizard nazis he’s mostly related to somehow; he sees things in blacks and whites almost necessarily. so either you’re good or bad, trustworthy or not. peter crossed the threshold, so he’s dead to him; regulus turned himself in, but he’s one of them, so sirius doesn’t know what to do with him. sirius might understand how hard it is to have younger siblings you love fiercely who don’t understand your commitment to a higher goal, but dumbledore was on the wrong side of things that time, so i don’t think he would draw any sympathetic parallels- i don’t see why he of all people would feel bad for where dumbledore’s youthful aspirations of wizarding supremacy lead him, despite his good intentions. he’s not very forgiving of bigotry, i think especially because he’s cut all ties with his own background so harshly.

tldr; i feel for the guy, and his life was fucked, but sirius probably would not, and dumbledore got enough unwarranted hero worship considering his dodgy actions that i don’t resent sirius for holding that grudge.

[nicole-queen]

episode 50 of  Boruto pointing out the flaws of the entire story

Konohamaru: This year's rookies are all prodigies, in a way. Especially Boruto. He didn't want to be labeled the son of the greath Hokage, and tried to show up his father all the time. Ordinarily, you'd expect kids like that to fail and experience huge setbacks. But he has the unusual knack of overcoming every obstacle.

Boruto doesn’t suffer any setbacks. He doesn’t care about working at the Academy but he is already such a “genius” that it doesn’t matter, he is still on top. He has pretty standard problems with his father who is mostly dealing with work and doesn’t have much time for him, but regardless loves him and isn’t treating him badly. He has childhood friends and has no problems with preaching to others and acting as if his spoiled self knows better than them (as opposed to Naruto’s lonely childhood that made him put the bonds of friendship on pedestal as well as letting him connect with people through shared pain). He throws himself head-first into doing things he’s explicitly told not to do, but he saves the day and doesn’t suffer any consequences. He doesn’t want to be treated like a kid but his actions and words are more often than not immature; yet by the end of the episode he’s also being presented as being mature and insightful. He feels like he’s not strong enough so he has to cheat in the Chuunin Exam but at the same time he is able to completely unconsciously change the Chakra Nature of his Lightning Style and create a Vanishing Rasengan without realizing it.

Shino: That's certainly true. Even during the Genin Exam, he was driven into a corner by Lord Sixth, but he figured out the answer. Konohamaru: When he went to file an appeal because he was dissatisfied with his three-man team, he outwitted Mirai, a chunin! And during their first mission, despite the fact that their foe was a powerful Rogue Ninja, those three worked together and brought him down.

One more thing that proves Boruto has no setbacks. The bell test is literally the first example in the entire Naruto manga that starts the trend of “teamwork and loyalty can overcome any obstacle“ but that one works so well because at the beginning the team can’t work well together, they have no bond and are entirely self-interested so when the real test is revealed to them, Team 7 are completely caught off-guard. With the new gen however, everyone has already worked together, everyone is friends, everyone is already willing to support each other (which I don’t find to be a bad thing, of course) so there isn’t that moment of realisation that only putting their difference aside for the common goal is the way to go. That lacks the impact of the original, because even though we, as audience know that lesson, the characters we watch have already realised it to some level and putting them through a trial to test that doesn’t actually give them any development as characters. All of Boruto’s friends told him that he is the reason they’ve underwent positive change or know what friendship is about.

And also when it comes to teamwork, Boruto, Sarada and Mitsuki work well together despite Boruto and Sarada’s clashing attitudes. There’s no real build-up as to why they work well as a team, outside of “they’re all capable and not morons”, their teamwork is never faulty, and combining the skills and jutsu of all three makes them unstoppable for Chuunin and above threats.

And also, we saw everyone’s resolve as to why they wanted to become shinobi except Boruto’s (who as MC has to have the most important resolve). Later he states that he wants to become a shinobi like Sasuke and guard Hokage!Sarada but we never actually understand why he would want to become a shinobi, outside of his desire to “defeat“ Naruto.

Moegi: That's amazing! So, what's the problem? Konohamaru: But that was all due to luck! It's essential for shinobi to come face-to-face with power that totally outmatches them. They've never been in that position, so they're weak!

This is incorrect. It’s true that none of the kids have faced proper obstacles and enemies as shinobi, and they are either overconfident in themselves or look down on anything that doesn’t appeal to their desires. But none of them had come out of any situation, present to that point, as weak because they’ve always saved the day. There isn’t a moment where they felt like underdogs facing a situation they couldn’t handle because they are already so overpowered that the only power that can properly outmatch them is that of demi-gods or aliens. Boruto was literally the deciding factor in the Sasuke/Naruto (demi-gods) vs Momoshiki (god) fight - four Kage could do nothing, Sasuke and Naruto went all out and it’s only Boruto’s completely accidental Vanishing Rasengan that can save the day.

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Basically, Boruto as MC has nothing that would make him a compelling, driven character - he isn’t missing anything in his life, he doesn’t struggle with training or school because he’s not interested in studying but still passes by with being an ill-defined “genius“, he’s got a group of friends, he’s got a loving family, he is able to change people’s outlooks by doing nothing but speaking as if his life is like theirs (as opposed to Naruto connecting with them through actual shared trauma/experience), he’s born out of two powerful bloodlines and even acquires a brand-new dojutsu and curse seal because of... whatever plot-driven reason there is, he has no tangible goal for anything. Hell, he is a “genius“ who could easily defeat pretty much anyone but still resorts to pointlessly cheating, against his best friend at that and in the end it’s Shikadai who apologizes first (for literally doing nothing wrong)!

For all his flaws, Boruto is never properly presented as problematic, always comes out on top and is the most base OP character in both Naruto/Boruto. He is essentially an upgraded version of Naruto but without any of his struggles or drive or actual reasoning as to how he can connect with people and affect them.

[charliedoyleloves]

Well. Here he is. The new F/O I hinted to a little while ago.

The Tag will be “otp: sweet strategy”. tagging @insertofalord​ who listens to the ridiculous number of OP AUs I have and tries to force me to not make them so angsty in the middle. it will never work, but at least there will always be a happy ending

To start this up, considering it was an Arranged Marriage, I’ve done up the Wedding Questions for him! This does exist in an Au, which is tentatively named the “Sweet AU”.

During the time skip, I work with a should be Queen reclaim her throne from the World Government. As I work as the tactician and commander of her army and gain a reputation. During this time, Charlotte Linlin decides that she will help us if she marries a child of her into the royal family. The Queen is not excited about the idea until she remembered a technicality. Being that I’m the Royal Commander, I need to be recognized as a member of her family. So dubbing me her cousin, she put me as the member to be married. The idea being that both members on the throne should be from “our” country, to indicate our independence.

In order to try to keep myself out of a marriage, I pick the strongest Marine Base that I could and told the Charlotte family that only whoever could take over the base could be my spouse. If no one does it within a year, she becomes an ally without a marriage. While the rest of his siblings failed, Katakuri went when they started to make snide remarks that even he couldn’t do it.

However, my cousin notes that not marrying into her family will make Linlin see us as a threat.

Questions and Answers beneath the cut!

Proposal

1.) Who proposes? Technically, it’s me. In a round about way. Someone in his family was going to marry me no matter what, but he was the one who completed the challenge I set for my hand. When he completed it, we were engaged. Because it’s him meeting my standards, his mother is insistent that it means that I proposed. This is a social tactic, knowing that it would make it more awkward for me to go against the marriage. Not that I would, considering my word is my gold. I said I would marry any who met my challenge, so I will. 2.) Where do they propose? Upon taking the Marine Stronghold that I decided to be the challenge, I keep my word. I accept that I’m to be married to Katakuri. So, it ends up being right on the top of the stronghold. Our men are around us, and his are cheering for the moment when I say it. 3.) How do they propose? Is it romantic, or casual? The way I propose is Official. It’s me resigning myself to the fact that I need to be his wife to keep my men down there safe. I tried to look happy about it, but stoic was the best way I could do it. Specifically, I realized that this entire thing was going to be a performance. So I played it up, for his men and his mother. 4.) Were you/they surprised by the proposal? Neither of us are surprised. When he was planning his raid on the base, he realized why I chose this one. The only thing that has ever gotten in and out of this base was air. He knew, both because of logic and his observation haki, that his plan would succeed when he asked for my help. 5.) What does the ring look like?

It was chosen by him, made by his home’s finest jewelers. It was as much away to show his countries skill as it was to make the engagement official. 6.) Planning on a long engagement or a short one? Short engagement. Lowkey, the wedding was being planned before we were officially engaged. This is because of Linlin’s confidence in Katakuri, and his assuring her that his plan would work.

Wedding Planning

1.) Is there a theme for the wedding, or a color scheme? I suppose the closest theme is “Sweet Fairytale”. It’s not so much by my choice, but rather the choice of his home. He’s a Minister in the government, and very well known and respected by his people. (And Feared). The wedding was much more for them than it was us. The both of us would prefer to have a small ceremony and paperwork to make it official. The color scheme became Pink, Magenta, Silver and Royal Purple became the color scheme. It was a combination of his personal colors, my color (grey) and his position.

Like this.

2.) Who does most of the planning? Or do you share the workload equally? There are official wedding planners in Linlin’s employ. They handled the planning while we were taking the fort and returned to his home. 3.) What are the two of you going to wear? I have no sort of control over what I wear. Instead, it’s designed by Linlin’s people. However, upon hearing that I didn’t want a white dress, they went crazy. It’s still a princess style cut, but much more crazy. Almost cupcake like.

Katakuri does end up wearing a suit, though he forgoes the tie for his scarf. 4.) What does the cake look like? Or are you going with a dessert other than a traditional wedding cake? Being that this is a Charlotte family wedding, the cake is extreme. Like, It's big as fuck so Big Mom Linlin can hopefully get full from eating it. Even if for a bit. It was pink as hell, with a lot of sweet decorations to top it off. There was a solid Desert Buffet, during which Katakuri pocketed most of the donuts. Unfortunatly, most of it was too sweet for my taste, so I only took a bit of the donuts and some of the bit of dark chocolate there. 5.) Is it going to be a big or small wedding? Who’s on the guest list? It was a big ass wedding, considering Katakuris family makes it nearly seventy people on their own. While the ceremony itself was just his family, plus my Cousin, her girlfriend, and a few of my higher ranked soldiers. The reception, however, was wild. Both of our armies. The people of Whole Cake Islands. The extended Big Mom Pirates. It was basically a national event, as one of the Sweets Commanders married a technical “Princess" and commander. The reception happened in a city square, where people have traveled to wish us luck in our relationship. 6.) Who have you chosen for best man? Maid of honor? Other bridesmaids/groomsmen? Oven and Daifuku were his best men, supporting their elder triplet. While he wanted to be fair to his other siblings, the other two Sweet Commanders were also his Groomsman and woman out of respect of the military feel of it. On my end, my cousin acts as my Matron of Honor, and the commanders of the army and navy who work under me are my brides men. They both showed up in uniform, while she showed up in a simple gown.

The Big Day

1.) Who’s walking you/them down the aisle? Being in what is technically enemy territory, it’s a member of his won family who walks me down the aisle. However, the one who gives me away is my “cousin”.this is less about her being my family and more about the political implications of the marriage. She is literally giving me to the Charlotte’s for the safety of our people. 2.) Do either of you get emotional when you see each other at the altar? No. While to the people of Totto Land it looked like a picture perfect wedding, it was very emotionless. My cousin cried, out of relief that it was finally done, and a few of Katakuri's siblings did as well. But the both of us knew why we were there. This was a political marriage, not one made from emotions. 3.) Does anyone in attendance object to the marriage? If so, what happens? No, despite my trying to get someone to come to do so. Katakuri swore that if I could get someone who loved me true and marry me in his place, he would step down. However, since I failed in that requirement. 4.) Did you write personalized vows? Can we hear/read them? No. Our vows were the… cookie cutter ones from Totto Land. They are standard Christian styled vows said in front if a priest. 5.) How do(es) the best man/maid of honor speech(es) go? Funny? Serious? Sweet? The speeches are respectful and serious. All the humor and fun is outside the banquet hall, where the people are. In there, however, it takes a bit for the party to ramp up. However, its still just Katakuri’s family who get hype. He, myself, and my “family” are all a little dour because of what the marriage means for each of us. 6.) How’s the first dance? Fun, romantic? It’s awkward as hell. Tho, I do try to make it less so there is the major problem that I am only up to his knee. He ends up having to scoop me into his arms, me sitting on the crook of one while his other hand basically engulfed my hand. It ended up just being an awkward swaying.

Post Wedding/Married Life

1.) When's the honeymoon? Where are you going for it? While we go on an official honeymoon on his ship, it’s a very relaxed affair. We’re trying to get an idea as to how our relationship will work. We keep to his private quarters, with the crew given instructions to leave us be unless entirely needed. The trip is going  from Whole Cake Island to his home, though the long way around so it takes about a week. 2.) Get any good gifts from your guests? Mostly just sweets and stuff made from sweets. The people of Totto Land are obsessive with the stuff. As well, I get a few pieces of furniture like vanities, with a piece of soul so it’s alive. It’s… disconcerting… 3.) What’s it like waking up married the next morning? It’s awkward. While we are in the same room, he refused to sleep on his bed the first night. Instead, he slept in a large armchair with his trident by his side. Being that he’s over three times my height, I have a separate bed beside his where I slept. Being used to sleeping with soldiers and crew mates, there’s no trouble for me to go to sleep. He seemed worried that I was going to kill him in his sleep. It takes a while for him to get comfortable around me. 4.) Is being married an adjustment, or does it feel completely natural? It’s an adjustment. He’s the one who needs to adjust more, despite being the one who expected to marry soon anyway. While I’m used to living in close proximity to people, he isn’t. Even when he was younger, he had his own space because of his appearance. 5.) Were you living together before you got married? Or even before you got engaged? We were not living together. All of my (very few) things were moved onto his ship during the reception. I am dwarfed by his presence in my new home, even when he’s not there. It does not help to make me more comfortable around him or his family. 6.) Will you make a scrapbook of your wedding/life together to look back on one day?We do not have to. An official one was made by the wedding planners. We have a large one (a little too small for his comfort and much too big for mine) which is ours to keep, and his mother has one as well. There is an edited one for public viewing in the Totto Land Records Building, if people want to look at it, alongside the rest of his family’s edited wedding albums.

[robot-unicorn-attack]

☽ SUPERNOVA, 40

“From the ashes, a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring…” — J.R.R. Tolkien

Real Name: Assana Sylvain (tends to go by “As”)

Agency: 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸

FC: Natalie Portman

Unicorn Name: MK II [+]

Place of Birth: Eleutheria, capital city of Sky World’s main moon, Candour

Appearance: A little bit earth pixie and little bit tired mom. Petite stature (5′2″), dark eyes, dark hair, iconic beauty mark on her right cheek, and radiant skin (except maybe those dark circles under her eyes), it’s amazing she hasn’t aged much since her heyday. At least As thinks so -  𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸  “politely” disagrees. Assana was given an ultimatum to either undergo micro cosmetic surgeries or wear a holo-collar to project a slightly less tired version of herself onto her own face in order to maintain her popularity and compete visually with the younger racers. Caught, as she always seems to find herself, between a rock and a hard place, she choose the holo-collar. When racing, the image projected onto her face is her own face from the end of her career (which coincidentally is messing with her head a bit).

Wardrobe: Honestly, before her comeback she wore whatever was most comfortable. Her public image under 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸  is quite polished, graceful, and somewhat demure but fashionable (almost like a Sky World Audrey Hepburn or Grace Kelly). Her makeup tends to be on the “natural” side of things, but she gets a gold treatment sometimes on her hair and skin to highlight her “divinity” as Supernova. Her gowns flow and sometimes seem to float around her constantly (thanks to pinpointed anti-gravity tech). Occasionally you’ll see her wearing a golden circlet on her head. Her hair, which has been cut pixie short for many years now, is almost exclusively covered by a wig these days.

Having lived on a private estate on the moon of Elysis (picture a Lake Como-esque area) where she kept robot horses and played with her children most of the time, she tends to prefer natural materials and things she can move easily in. She prefers darker colours, finding they suit her better, but as an icon of Sky World, she is forced into pastels and florals. Being older now, she finds the racing costumes a little irksome and tiring.

There’s also the holo-collar she has to wear now in public and holo-visor during races. It appears as a laurel wreath style necklace that wraps around her neck but just slightly parted in the front (the ends of the “wreath” contain the projection cameras to flow the image upward from her neck ... something As finds a little insulting as she’s fairly certain there’s no wrinkles on her anywhere).

Places most likely to be found: Her apartment. It’s lonely, but she’d rather be there than pretending to be enjoying herself at photo ops and the Unicorn City clubs for promotions. She can also be found at the 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸  training arena, in the unicorn stables, posing in yet another photo shoot, and, lately, doing promotional talks with the “mature set” as a new 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸  tactic to gain more interest from females aged 35-100+ as they’ve seen a significant loss in interest from that particular group. (basically talking to mothers about why racing is ~amazing! As hates this.)

People mostly likely to be with: Typically her teammates, Flower and Sunbeam. Otherwise, holograms of her children (if she’s on a call which she will take anywhere, no matter what), 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸  higher ups who like to trot her out for show and for meetings (investors just love~ meeting the Supernova), Glimmer (her agency assigned PA), and Atraxys (personal manager, also 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸 appointed). Otherwise, surrounded by other racers and various support staff

Strongest character trait: begrudging determination

Public Image: As has been directed to maintain a similar public image to what she presented when she first started, but somewhat matured since it’s public knowledge that she is a mother of three. As the original circuit celeb, she’s a goddess of pure light - regal, caring, quiet grace, virtuous, clever (well-timed) yet tasteful quips, disciplined, influential, and a leader. Originally, she had been promoted as being something similar to Sunbeam’s image, but leaning into an athletic and youthful goddess-type (like a combination of Nike, Athena, and Artemis). She is now meant to add a motherly air to her persona (but without having it feel “old”), something she is struggling with. Her public image is a facade she finds easy to put on since it is somewhat close to her actual personality, but it also helps to hide the fact that As feels like she’s falling apart at the seams.

Racing Strengths: As a racing veteran, Assana has had the privilege of working with MK II for 24 years and the two of them are more in sync than any racer could hope to be. Her background in show-jumping and dressage has been to her benefit a hundred times over, and flows well with MK’s abilities. Stamina, steadfastness, and style have taken Assana far in the arena with clean lines and show techniques. They adapt well to situations and have fairly good advantage with foresight to compensate MK’s inability to make tight maneuvers.

Absolute trust and teamwork between racer and horse has been a must, which creates a strong bond such as that shared between Assana and MK. The unicorn is a tad on the surely side these days, and tends to try to bite at other handlers, Assana being the only one MK will let within an inch of her stable. As sometimes wonders if she an MK are intuitively linked as she finds her mood often reflected in her beloved horse.

Racing Weaknesses: Speed, mostly. Assana falls back in the routine of show-jumping when she’s racing. MK is not a fast unicorn, but he makes up for it in other areas. Agility when it comes to difficult turns and trickier tracks.

Assana and MK tend to not take risks, which has both worked for and against them in the past. Adapting a bolder style might become in their interest for the comeback if they want to keep up.

Personality:

as Supernova - serene, calm, regal, takes a loss with grace, elegant, eloquent and intelligent, distant, steadfast, resilient, honourable, smiles easily

as Assana - guarded, eager to please, thrives under pressure, caring, loving to those she is closest with, warm once you get to know her, a bit scattered off-track, still somewhat inclined toward perfection, a little sad, on the quiet side, eloquent of speech, sometimes distant, feels more at ease with the horses than people, almost a less heightened version of Supernova, determined, true to her word, somewhat mechanically inclined, likes a good laugh, passive aggressive, stays away from drama-mongers

Biography: Once upon a time, a little girl was born unto one of the most prominent and elusive families of Eleutheria, the Sylvain clan. A beautiful child with a blinding smile, she fit into the family’s picture of perfection, but as with most facades, this one was rotten underneath. Hardly adhering to the key values of most Sky Worlders, [redacted] and [redacted] Sylvain pushed their flawless image upon their young daughter, forcing her through trials of training in various arts and sports, seeking the right one for her to excel in, often locking her up in her gilded room when she failed to meet the lowest standards. It wasn’t until show jumping was foisted upon her, that Assana Sylvain found her calling.

Despite the heavy pressures of being perfect and demands for golden laurels from her parents, Assana truly felt at ease and in her element in the arena. She endured mental and emotional manipulation on a daily basis, but felt free when riding, her parents’ sibilant threats melting away into the crowds. That freedom made her want to win and winning was the one thing she could do of her own free will … and gave some respite for days after. She soon became well known for her jumping and technique, attracting the attention of a recruiter for the newly established Sky World racing agency, 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸 . By sixteen, she was far away from the influence of her parents and quickly became the golden child of the circuit as Supernova. Her iconic appearance as a youthful goddess of victory took her far, beloved darling of galaxy. She was happy, for the most part, but not so blinded by her own celebrity to how both 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸  and her parents were profiting and exploiting her. But that celebrity did come with perks – an apartment of her own, getting free things by endorsing products and places, a meager allowance (whatever wasn’t being siphoned off by 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸  and her parents), and a support team that did seem to care, which was a strange experience for her. And then there was MK II. A dream of a robotic horse – they became so in sync and their motions fluid, critics praised them to all the moons and back, fans went wild just seeing their images plastered on billboards, products, and in their homes.

Regardless of the suffocating nature of her existence, of the things no one could control was Assana’s heart. It had been closed off and guarded for so long, suspicious of any kind gesture for fear of what would be expected as compensation (such were the transactional nature of all of her personal relationships to date), that the galaxy’s sweetheart never expected to trust someone enough to fall in love with them, to let them know the real her, until she met Draca. They tried to hide their relationship from 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸  until the paparazzi got wind of it, which led to RISE capitalizing on it, boosting Supernova’s image as not only a victrix, but a romantic as well. When they became engaged, their wedding was The Event of the Year – highly publicized, featured everywhere, and was all anyone talked about even for months after. Assana and Draca decided on an intimate ceremony away from prying eyes before the big Event, an agreement that allowed them privacy for a special moment, something the cameras and 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸  couldn’t take away. The publicized wedding itself was massive – over a thousand guests in attendance, cameras and candles floating all over, decorations to the heavens, and their gowns – oh the gowns! – Supernova never looked more like a goddess to the public, now joined in union with her own heavenly partner.

Assana went on racing for a few more years after that, during which time her private life became increasingly busy as the public craved more. Strangers followed with a hunger the adoption of an 11 year old girl from the mines of a Lava World labour camp, how the family interacted during racing season, the birth of their other two daughters, and the purchase of the glorious estate on a lake in Elysis, and soon after. Supernova and Draca were the power couple on top, but Assana still felt suffocated. Her parents continued to drown her in criticism, demanding to be given privilege to their grandchildren’s upbringing and more funds for their own ventures until Assana snapped. Buckling under the pressure, she took up drinking as an outlet and made a bargain with 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸  to have her parents put into cryogenic rest “for their health” in exchange for an even larger share in Supernova’s profits, as well as an extended contract.

This did not sit well with Draca, who had spent a vast part of their relationship every race season worrying over Assana as she saw the races to be far too dangerous (particularly the increasingly close encounters Supernova seemed to be having with golems), as well as the expectations placed on Assana as Supernova, her public image, and the façade created around their private life as counter-intuitive to the core beliefs and values of Sky World. Assana shrugged most of it off, but it began to cause a rift between the two of them, each fight pushing them further apart. Draca begged Assana to retire before she killed herself on the circuit and to enjoy spending time with the kids as they grew up. Assana agreed, but signed on for spot cameos and promotions with 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸  as part of their agreement for her retirement. Draca wasn’t particularly happy about this, but Supernova’s job was more infrequent than before, allowing Assana to nearly slip off the radar beyond a passing interest. Her retirement lasted for 10 years, during which time things became more heated between Assana and Draca until they ended things with a trial separation. The breaking point came following an incident wherein their youngest child was permitted by Assana to take one of the robotic horses kept at their estate out, during which time it was found that Assana had been drinking. The child, frightened after pushing a button by accident causing the horse to speed up, was thrown from horseback and sustained several non-serious injuries. Assana was declared negligent by her ex-wife, the final blow coming through the divorce proceedings when Assana was denied custody rights.

Alone and feeling defeated, Assana turned to the only other life she knew – racing. 𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸  was only too happy to take her back. She cleaned up her act, moved into the agency provided apartment (very luxurious, very large, very … lonely), and turned her focus on getting back into the game. She shies away from drinking, hates making club appearances (though thankfully much, much fewer than in her youth), and talking to her kids through hologram once a day to make it seem like she’s there. Overwhelmed by the changes to the industry since her heyday, Assana is determined to forge ahead and to make things right again in her world. Even though she sometimes feels like she’s falling apart at the seams, she will never let them see her fall – as her parents once cruelly told her, weakness is failure and failure is no option for anyone worth their existence.

Relationships:

Snow -  As might be a little distracted on a regular basis, but she hasn’t not noticed Marivana’s indifference toward her ... which has frankly been a relief. She knows of Marivana’s past on the circuit (at least the official story, anyway) and did compete with her once before retiring, but Marivana was fairly forgettable then - something she certainly isn’t now. She’s good, and As appreciates that. She’s curious about the other racer and would almost like to get closer (friends only, lbh) since she’s never starstruck, but the ice queen act is hitting a little too close to home as it reminds her  of her ex.

Sky -

Ice -

Sunbeam -  𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸  teammate.

Flower -  𝑅 𝐼 𝒮 𝐸  teammate. As is almost uncomfortably aware of how closely Flower watches her, and how embarrassed Flower seems to become every time they’re in the same space. (Is it because the poor kid puked in front of her that one time?) Ultimately, As does find her a little endearing and should probably try to be a good teammate and give her pointers. If anything, her innate mothering may come out and she might try to take the younger racer under her wing.  

Flame -

Nyx -

Widowmaker -

Playlist:

high school sweethearts - melanie martinez

violence - grimes and i_o

show and tell - melanie martinez

waves crashing on distant shores of time - clint mansell

mothercreep - fka twigs

kill this love - blackpink

are you hurting the one you love? - florence + the machine

moon river - audrey hepburn / frank ocean vers.

cellophane - fka twigs

star treatment - arctic monkeys

recess - melanie martinez

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/sempero/rua-supernova/

Headcanons: (tba)

Family:

Draca {ex-wife, 42}

Jaina {adopted daughter, 18}

Xanthippe {daughter, 12}

Indigo {son, 7}

[redacted] and [redacted] Sylvain {parents, resting in cryostasis}

[gamersonthego]

Chase Koeneke’s Top 10 Handheld Games of 2019

With the Switch in full gear and the debut of Apple Arcade, 2019 was another solid year for handheld games. Sequels to many of my favorite games were plentiful, but very few absolutely blew me away. And a few games I really loved (Slay The Spire, Return Of The Obra Dinn, Super Mega Baseball 2) were handheld ports of previous games I didn’t feel super great about adding to my list. So instead, I left this final year of the decade feeling content, and that’s perfectly OK too. So here are 10 games I liked this year, even if I didn’t love them.

10. Tetris 99 (Switch)

I love pretty much all iterations of Tetris. From the iconic Game Boy release I would play in the car, to the Facebook-based Tetris Friends that kept me company through many boring lectures in college, to last year’s gorgeous and powerful Tetris Effect, Tetris is A-OK with me.

Battle royale games on the other hand? Not so much. Despite enjoying shooters in general, I’ve yet to play a single match of PUBG, Fortnite or Apex Legends, and I’m not itching to change that anytime soon. But I found the mechanics of the battle royale genre to translate rather brilliantly to Tetris. It’s a thin experience (even with the expansions made to the game), but it’s an addictive one. And the fact I never quite crested the mountaintop – even if I did get a second place finish to video game Santa himself, Wario64 – is one of my biggest 2019 gaming regrets.

9. Mini Motorways (Apple Arcade)

Dinosaur Polo Club’s previous game, Mini Metro, made my top games of 2016 list, so it’s not surprising to see their latest game show up on this year’s list. What is a little surprising is how much of what could be said about Mini Metro can be echoed here on Mini Motorways. From my 2016 write-up:

Mini Metro wins my heart for its amazing ability to be serenely relaxing and nail-bitingly stressful simultaneously. Watching the train cars move back and forth around the sharp, minimalistic map brings a calming sense of satisfaction, but when the ever-growing amount of train stations hits critical mass, there were few experiences more harrowing this year. The basic strategy is smart and layered, preferring to let you experiment rather than tutorializing you to death up front.

You could remove the word “train” and get yourself a pretty accurate Mini Motorways review. But unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. While I love a lot of what’s new in Mini Motorways – being able to create partial roads to better plan out cities from the start, colorful and sprightly graphics – the strategy and variety on display here actually pales to the previous game. One Mini Motorways upgrade, the traffic light, doesn’t even seem to function correctly. And the fun modifiers in Mini Metro’s different locations like Tokyo’s shinkasen are nowhere to be found here. Every city has a body of water to deal with, it’s just that some are slightly more of a pain than others. That’s not variety.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Mini Motorways and have put a lot of time into it. It’s my #9 after all. But if I had to pick just one to take up space on my phone, Mini Metro is getting that spot every time.

8. Risk Of Rain 2 (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)

The first Risk of Rain also appeared on my games of 2016 list, and like Mini Motorways, the sequel is good, just not quite as good…and also feels a bit unfinished. But unlike Mini Motorways, Risk of Rain 2 made a bold change, ditching the two-dimensional world and sprite-based graphics for 3D polygons.

Bringing the z-axis to the tried and true roguelike mechanics of the original Risk of Rain makes for a new experience, for better and worse.

The worlds of RoR2 are bigger and more awe-inspiring. The 3D nature makes some classes and items feel more viable (like the melee Mercenary class) and it’s much easier to dodge incoming enemy attacks.

But the shift in perspective is anything but perfect. Just as enemies miss you more, so too will you often miss your own targets. The camera is both too close and yet also too far away, depending on the situation. The levels, after your inspired awe has left you, are barren, and the main objective of hunting for a teleporter to take you to the next area can be a frustrating venture as they are much more easily camouflaged in the polygonal zones.

It’s also just…not done. As of this writing, there’s no final boss fight, just a shrine that lets you sacrifice yourself to say you’ve “won.” There are missing classes on the menu and the artifact modifiers tab says “coming soon.” Last time I checked, the Switch was not an early access machine, and the fact that this version also gets a “Switch tax” makes it go down even more bitterly.

So why would a deeply flawed game like this make my list? Because the core loop of Risk of Rain is still better than most experiences out there. Stacking power-ups to near omnipotence is a blast, and running around with a friend or three in co-op is more fun than ever. Risk of Rain 2 may eventually become a great game someday, but for now, it’s a good game. And despite its issues, it’s still good enough for me.

7. Baba Is You (Switch, PC)

Sokoban meets coding logic; Baba Is You layers these puzzling elements to create something that feels familiar, yet fresh. It’s a simple concept: You push physical words around the self-contained areas to manipulate the level’s rules and collect a flag…or a different win condition if you’re clever enough.

Take the screenshot above for instance. “Baba is You” means you control Baba. “Flag is Win” means you need to touch the flag to win. But say you push the words “is Win” to vertically align with “Baba.” Now Baba is both you, the player and also the win condition, so you can forget the flag. You win automatically!

The puzzles continue in that fashion, ramping up the challenge very quickly (or maybe I’m just not very good at it.) I’m nowhere near mastering it, but for its highly inventive mix of environmental and logic problems, I’ve got an incredible amount of respect for it.

6. Assemble With Care (Apple Arcade)

I’m kind of down on Apple Arcade as a concept (I’d rather just pay for the few games I want and be done with it), but if games like Assemble With Care keep coming out, I might have to soften my stance. Assemble sees you repairing broken objects like rotary phones, cassette players and watches by using the touchscreen to pull objects apart, replace their busted components and piece them back together. It’s wonderfully serene: There’s no time limit, no logic-defying puzzle box qualities, no Operation-style buzzer if and when you make a mistake. It’s just nice.

A lesser game would leave it at that, but Assemble goes a step further, wrapping the repair mechanics with a short, satisfying story with solid writing and voice acting. It’s this year’s Florence, and while it may not be as impactful as that game, it’s a must play for anyone with an Apple Arcade subscription (or a good reason to burn your free trial if you’re not a subscriber).

5. Untitled Goose Game (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)

Like Assemble With Care, Untitled Goose Game does not hang its hat so much on its mechanics as what it chooses to do with them. There are no fail conditions to Goose Game and what challenge it holds is relatively minimal. But it’s a true sandbox game in that it’s loaded the small town you inhabit with lots of little things to play with and discover. It’s Grand Theft Auto, except they’ve replaced carjacking and shooting with taking an old man’s stool or honking at a kid until he hides inside a phone booth. You’re an asshole, you’re just not a malicious asshole.

A list of tasks helps to keep you focused, but it’s more of a nudge in the right direction so you can discover something else to mess with or people to bother. And once the game is “over,” you get a new, more inventive list of tasks, all with the benefit of the entire sandbox available to you. It might not be the most complex game, but when it comes to the enjoyment of play, it’s one of the best this year.

4. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (Switch)

I’m well known for my aversion to finishing Zelda games. I’ve played almost all of them and have finished exactly two of them (Oracle of Seasons and A Link Between Worlds, probably not the two you’d expect). And despite enjoying it, even the original Link’s Awakening eluded me, so seeing it get an overhaul in the form of a Switch version excited me. Not only was this a second chance for me to play a classic, but it was also another opportunity for the world to see how great handheld games have always been.

Outside of the really well done tilt-shifted graphics, the remake is mostly made up of small quality of life improvements. The overworld isn’t as rigidly screen-based anymore, allowing the player a little more finesse in dealing with enemies. Some equipment, that on the original Game Boy version must be switched in and out ad nauseam, now has dedicated buttons on the controller (never again must you be without your sword). All these decisions allow for the charm of the design to shine through even easier than its original version.

Would it be nice if the frame rate were more consistent? Sure. Is the Chamber Dungeon a completely extraneous and half-baked idea? Totally. Does it tarnish the fun that’s there to be had here? Not in the slightest.

I’m proud to say Link’s Awakening has joined the pantheon of Zelda games I’ve actually finished. Now maybe someday I’ll finish that “Link to the Past” that everyone keeps talking about…

3. Super Robot Wars T (Switch, PS4)

Super Robot Wars X made my list last year despite me having only played the PS4 version. So it feels a little more legitimate to have played the Switch version of Super Robot Wars T this year. It’s still not available in the US (you have to import a copy of the Asia version that comes with English subtitles,) and it’s still an extremely flawed game with its repetitive and uninspired level design and overly complicated systems, but man, I love this bad game so much.

I love tinkering in T’s dense mechanics, upgrading my anime mechs for perfect turn-based strategy synergy. I love jumping through hoops to find the right way to recruit new units. And I still love the over the top battle animations – seriously, if you’re bitching about Pokemon’s weak animations, the video above will show you Super Robot Wars has your back.

Plus they’ve added Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop this time around, so there’s at least one recognizable character from a non-Gundam anime you’ve probably seen in here. That’s…progress.

Look, this game probably isn’t for you, but it is totally for me. And Christmas came early this year in that Super Robot Wars V (which came before last year’s X – the naming conventions are not here to make sense) got ported to the Switch, and last year’s Super Robot Wars X will get ported soon too. That’s a lot of anime turn-based strategy to play, and I couldn’t be happier.

2. Pokemon Sword/Shield (Switch)

After much Internet handwringing from an extremely vocal minority, the new Pokemon games came out. And, what do you know, they’re good. Really good. They continue the slow evolution (I’m so sorry) of the franchise with small quality of life enhancements, a few new features and a little trimming of the vestiges. I appreciate the renewed focus on gyms and gym leaders and the single connected world, even if it basically two circles with a straight bit in the middle.

The new Pokemon are…fine. Very few that I detest, but also very few that I’d be willing to write home about. The new Max Raid Battles are generally pretty cool, but they all take advantage of the gimmick I’m least thrilled about: Dynamaxing. Making a Pokemon bigger for three turns is not all that compelling to me. And the Gigantamax variants with their special appearances are neat, but it’s basically just a worse form of Mega Evolution.  

So yeah, it’s a good entry in the series. And a good Pokemon game is pretty hard to top in my book.

1. Fire Emblem Three Houses (Switch)

Hard to top, that is, unless you’re Fire Emblem. But despite being a new game in my favorite franchise, I was actually dreading Three Houses. The pre-release coverage did not leave me optimistic. Old features I hated were making a comeback (cough, weapon durability, cough). The art style couldn’t hold a candle to the jaw-droppingly gorgeous previous entry, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. And whether Intelligent Systems was admitting it or not, there was a strong Persona-fication at play here (don’t get me wrong, I love Persona, but if you’re going to get your Persona chocolate in my Fire Emblem peanut butter, I’d rather you just make a sequel to Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE.)

So the hopes, they were not high. But Three Houses exceeded my expectations with a cast of characters I really grew to love. My loveable loser Golden Deer crew went from zeroes to heroes, and the ability to recruit students from other classes meant I got to make my dream team (Hilda, Petra, and Lysithea were my undisputed MVPs) when saving the world.

The story was deep and complex, and hearing how it changes based on which house you align with is pretty cool. I enjoyed the control I had in molding my students, and appreciated seeing them have a breakthrough in something they used to struggle with, and it becoming one of their best qualities. Turning a lazy, valley girl like Hilda into a front line tank and hearing her bitching about it every step of the way was especially enjoyable.

It’s not my favorite in the series, but I’m glad it’s seen pretty universal appeal and sales from the community at large, cementing its status as one of Nintendo’s premier franchises. Someday I will play through all four of its routes, but for now, I’m content with it comfortably sitting as my favorite handheld game of 2019.

[kootenaygoon]

So,

Until I moved to the Kootenays in 2014, I’d never been politically engaged enough to be able to make an informed vote at the municipal level. Politically I had UVic-style leftward leanings, but that didn’t mean I understood the implications of the sort of decisions a city’s mayor and council would make. What did I know about bylaws? Or taxes? I thought it was stupid that we had to buy stickers to put on our garbage bags, but beyond that I didn’t have any pressing concerns about how they were running things down at Nelson city hall. 

With the election coming up, I knew I had to wrap my head around the various issues in the city and how they related to the people we were voting into power. The mental health crisis was going to be a talking point, I knew from Police Chief Wayne Holland, and there was talk the dog bylaw might finally be overturned. The most interesting element to me was weed legalization and its implications. The hottest topic was affordable housing. When Calvin assigned me to interview all of the city council and mayoral candidates, at first I felt daunted by the scope of the project — more than 10 interviews and thousands of words over the course of a few weeks. I realized pretty quick, though, it was my opportunity to deep-dive into this shit. 

If I was going to be a real journalist, I would have to get into politics.

Greg was on the city hall beat at that point, and anytime Tamara, Calvin or I had a question about the election or the people involved, it was him we went to. Some of the candidates Greg knew from growing up in the area, others from covering them in previous elections, but there was nobody he couldn’t give us a multi-year rundown on. He would swivel in his chair and gesticulate with one scholarly finger in the air, opining in his radio announcer voice. The longer I worked alongside him the more I admired his encyclopedic knowledge, how relentless he was about pursuing the truth, sometimes scouring through old archives to better understand a crime that happened 100 years before he was born and other times harassing clerks to get damning documents on criminals still working their way through the court system. He was the Star’s greatest asset, and everybody understood that.

One afternoon I sat in the newsroom with Greg and talked about the elections of the past and how they influenced the one coming up. He told me Phil McMillan, the compassion club director, had run for mayor on a cannabis slate around ten years previous. And a local actor named Richard Rowberry had campaigned as the ghost of Nelson’s first mayor, John “Truth” Houston. One former mayor he spoke about with affection was Dave Elliot, who was remembered mostly in town for stopping an expansion of the local Walmart. The executives were in back-room negotiations to double the store’s size into the next lot when Elliot broke confidentiality and raised the alarm with the community. Ultimately he purchased the neighbouring land, along with a number of other Nelson families, just to stop the deal from going ahead. The property had been sitting vacant ever since — a visual testament to the Kootenay spirit of opposing development. A number of projects had tried to get off the ground there, including a condo complex, but the math just didn’t seem to be right. It was prime lakeside property, fenced off, the yard full of abandoned machines, broken concrete and waist-high grass. 

Depending on who you asked, it was this move that got ultimately got Elliot ousted. Some felt he over-stepped. The right-wing types felt he was too hippy dippy, and wanted someone who would champion the small businesses on Baker Street with more diligence. Dooley was a reliably conservative city councillor at this point, and ended up taking the big seat in 2005. By the time I showed up in the Kootenays he was the longest serving Nelson mayor in history. 

According to Greg, Dooley was hyper-popular and heavily favoured to win. But there were murmurings in the community about dissatisfaction. He seemed like a perfect Irish gentleman to me, polite and amiable, but apparently some felt he was a a bully in the council chambers — as evidenced by the signs stapled to telephone poles around town that read ‘Bully for Mayor’. That being said, he had a number of impressive accomplishments under his belt and had proven himself adept at finding new revenue streams for the community, whether it was from the provincial and federal governments or from organizations like the Columbia Basin Trust. Many credited his contribution for making the new skate park possible. No matter what anyone said, they couldn’t question that he loved his community deeply, and wanted to create a better future for its residents.

*

Then there were the cops.

“What are they going to do about that cop that punched the woman? That’s what I want to know,” Paisley asked one evening, while I was watching TV. She had come up with a plan, along with her new burlesque friends, to hold a topless protest outside the NPD station. 

She carefully poured vegan muffin batter in to a baking sheet.

“I can’t believe we’ve got a proven woman-puncher just working away at the police station like nothing happened. That fucker needs to be fired.”

“He still might be. Depends on how things go with the trial.”

“What’s left to know? Didn’t he admit doing it?”

That situation was an ongoing black eye for the NPD, and they were also under scrutiny because they were requesting a $300,000 boost to their budget. Another smouldering question was how they would deal with the end of cannabis prohibition. They were still busting people routinely, whether it was for grow-ops or possession, and residents wanted to know when that would change. The new mayor would be head of the Nelson Police Board, giving them power over Holland and his force, so this was an opportunity for pot advocates to land an ally in a strategic spot. Dooley was openly hostile to cannabis, and had gone on record a few years previous vehemently opposing an anti-violence initiative related to pot decriminalization, so he clearly wasn’t the right champion. That’s why a new provincial organization called Sensible BC, represented by pot activist Dana Larsen, announced its intentions to get involved in an attempt to eject him. 

They wanted someone pot-friendly running the province’s weed capital.

One afternoon I met the local Sensible BC representative, Herb Couch, who was perfectly named for his position. He wanted to see less money wasted policing cannabis, and announced his intention to quiz each candidate on their stance and instruct his followers to vote accordingly. Couch had the backing of Phil McMillan and over 1000 dispensary members, so his influence wouldn’t be insignificant. He was a chill, soft-spoken former high school teacher sporting a signature cowboy hat and a vibrant orange shirt. Relentless about his activism, to the point of annoying some, he’d also been a vocal advocate for the preservation of Red Sands Beach. 

I liked him right away.

“Sharon wants to know why we’re writing so many stories about pot,” Calvin said, after the interview with Couch ran. “I don’t think she’s a fan of this Herb character.”

“So many stories? We’ve just done the one.”

“Well, and it’s come up as a topic in some of the other stories about the election. The candidate profiles, a few of them had whole sections about their views on weed.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“She says this isn’t even a relevant municipal issue. Legalization is a federal issue.”

“Right, but it has municipal implications.”

“Like what?”

“Well, like it will affect the police budget. How’s that not relevant?”

“Let’s just cool if with all the weed stuff, okay? People want to know about their taxes, about affordable housing, about all kinds of other stuff. This whole election can’t just be about marijuana.”

*

The moment Severyn announced his candidacy, the campaigning got ugly. Late-night vandals drove all around multiple neighbourhoods to collect his lawn signs, which featured cartoon moustaches, and dump them outside of town. He showed up at the Star office distraught, frustrated that his comrades in the police department weren’t doing more to figure out who the culprits were. (“You know how much those things cost? And that comes right out of my pocket,” Severyn lamented.) He made totally inappropriate accusations about Dooley, yelling in our foyer, and the rhetoric continued to devolve from there. It was clear to even the casual observer that the two men absolutely hated each other. 

Dooley was furious that Severyn would even consider running against him, and more furious that the political dunce seemed to have hundreds of voters’ worth of support. He took it as a personal insult. During campaign events Dooley barely contained his frustration. I watched him repeatedly lose his cool.

Into this mix came Deb Kozak. Sporting a tidy grey bob and a simple pearl necklace, she had a sing-song friendliness to her voice and a fierce determination in her eyes. She’d been on council with Dooley and, though she wouldn’t say it directly, clearly had issues with his leadership. Observers believed she would’ve never been able to take Dooley on in a two-way race, but with Severyn as a wild card she stood a chance to take a strategic majority. If successful, she would be the first female elected mayor in history — a feat fellow councillor Donna Macdonald had tried and failed to accomplish twice. Deb had a maternal energy, and a general optimism about bringing people together and accomplishing positive things. It was a hopeful time in politics, with Obama in power down in the U.S., and I believed things were trending upwards. Culturally we were evolving, and our leadership reflected that, right down to the municipal level. By the end of our first interview it was clear she had my vote, whether I could admit it openly or not. 

She seemed audacious.

“One thing I’ve learned as a councillor, and even before that, is I’m good at conversation. And I’m good at welcoming even difficult conversations. We have a diverse community, and sometimes that leads to conflict. I think you work through those things, and you make better decisions when all those groups are pulled together, or at least have an opportunity to share what they think about the future,” she said.

Kozak had arrived in Nelson in the 80s, just after David Thompson University and the Kootenay Forest Products plant shut down. The economic downturn was in full swing, and she’d been inspired by the ambitious moves made by the council at the time. They set out to give the downtown core a makeover, making it more attractive to tourists.

“It was a very frightening time. But it was at that time that the council of the day took a bold step forward to rejuvenate Baker. They said ‘we’re going to rip off all the old clapboards off these beautiful buildings and we’re going to go for it,” she said.

She wanted to be similarly ambitious. 

“I bring to the table experience, passion, heart and mind. What I have to offer is almost fearless exploration of who we can be.”

The Kootenay Goon

[baked-potatoes]

Review - Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018)

January 4, 2019

*spoilers included*

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Rebecca Ferguson

Distributing Studio(s): Paramount Pictures (USA)

Runtime: 148 minutes

Rating: PG-13

US Release Date: July 27, 2018

Synopsis: Ethan Hunt and the IMF team join forces with CIA assassin August Walker to prevent a disaster of epic proportions. Arms dealer John Lark and a group of terrorists known as the Apostles plan to use three plutonium cores for a simultaneous nuclear attack on the Vatican, Jerusalem and Mecca, Saudi Arabia. When the weapons go missing, Ethan and his crew find themselves in a desperate race against time to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.

I feel like last summer had an amazing and well-received queue of film releases (that was a weird sentence), and this seventh Mission Impossible installment does pretty well. Action movies usually are what they claim-- action porn-- but McQuarrie gives us a more unconventional take on the genre. Characters are believably flawed (Hunt makes a great deal of mistakes throughout the movie), and motivations are cloudy, as one might expect in the world of espionage and terrorism.

As a side note, the Golden Globes are this Sunday at 8PM EST/5PM PST, so I’ll be reviewing the Best Picture (Drama AND Comedy/Musical) winners after then! Which movie do you think will win? I’m excited to see who wins the Best Actor and Actress categories, since the race this year is intense.

Acting

What a great ride and medley of (mostly) rounded and realistic characters. Tom Cruise plays Hunt to a T in this film, spilling his heart on his sleeve and giving Ethan Hunt a fresh vulnerability. And Hunt is all too realistic, making mistakes and swearing profusely, just as any person would in his messy situation in this film. I think I saw him cry when he mourned Alec Baldwin’s Alan Hunley’s death, and it was the sort of ugly crying that shows off a well-developed acting ability and depth. Hunt’s character is massively rounded in this film, and coupled with cast chemistry and impressive stunt work, it works out really well.

Speaking of Hunley’s death, we get to see Henry Cavill as the main antagonist-- the man revealed to be the mysterious John Lark. It’s a complete far cry from Clark Kent as he plays the duplicitous CIA assassin August Walker (such a cool name), complete with a porno mustache and angry bicep reloading. Cavill captures this character’s essence extraordinarily well as a bitter, somewhat-insane man who complements Ethan Hunt-- for better or for worse. From the co-op bathroom (smartly-edited) fight against Liang Yang’s character to the final standoff on a collapsing cliff, Cavill’s turn as Walker shines in every mannerism and action.

Rebecca Ferguson comes back as MI6 agent Ilsa Faust from MI: Rogue Nation and plays her conflicted character to a similar T; a scene between her and Hunt in a wooded canopy park is one of the quietest yet vulnerable moments in the film. Perhaps the character arc is a bit exhausted after two films, but her character nicely fits into the IMF as it does in Rogue Nation. Like I mentioned, I didn’t really see how her character would develop over the course of this film, but I can see a real humanity within her as she tearfully reunites with Hunt and learns of the existence of his ex-wife, Julia: a compassionate and capable (if slightly boring) returning character who parallels Ilsa’s life and choices, played by Michelle Monaghan.

Other stand out performances include that of Sean Harris, who reprises as Solomon Lane. I have mixed feelings about his character because it just looks like his role in Rogue Nation but pushed to a side antagonist role. Harris plays it beautifully though, and it really looks like the deranged terrorist I remember from Rogue Nation.

Some other standout roles: Angela Bassett as CIA director Erika Sloane is powerful, capable, and as nice as you’d expect from a CIA director (meaning, not very). Her character is shrewd and cynical throughout the entire film and radiates careful danger. The ending speech to Hunt about saving one person over millions seems a bit clichéd, but it’s a well-played concession to Hunt’s humanity. Alec Baldwin does quite well as a final arc for CIA-turned-IMF secretary Alan Hunley, and his death genuinely moves Hunt enough to chase Walker around the city. Overall, his character and Simon Pegg’s Benji Dunn are played for laughs (I laughed at some of the running gags throughout the franchise, such as Benji messing up gloriously as a sidekick), but they and the rest of the IMF deliver brilliantly in the near-hopeless finale, when the nuclear bombs seem slated to go off and render their efforts meaningless. Ving Rhames is, of course, stalwart, and it’s just a well-rounded, chemistry-filled cast of characters that I’m excited to see in the next MI.

Directing, Screenplay, Cinematography, Soundtrack

Christopher McQuarrie comes back from Rogue Nation to direct but aimed to create a different tone than the fifth film (as all of them do), and it pays off really well. Fallout mixes thrilling action, sympathetic arcs, and well-crafted plot twists to deliver a unique film for the IMF. His choice to do a long take for the HALO jump keeps the pace of that scene suspenseful and exciting, and that bathroom fight is smartly filmed without shaky cam or fast jump cuts, showing us how Hunt is a scalpel while Walker is a hammer (as noted by Sloane) in their fighting styles. And the two characters were beaten by Liang Yang’s John Lark decoy, showing us a great motif McQuarrie wants to show us in his script and direction: that these seemingly perfect people make mistakes. Hunt’s mistakes are continually mocked by other characters and often lead to genuinely terrifying consequences (although I laughed when Hunt tries to drop a helicopter payload onto Walker’s helicopter and fails, swearing). And even as Tom Cruise does these mind-bendingly amazing stunts, McQuarrie brings him a real vulnerability and does so for the entire cast. Well, Walker didn’t really have too many redeeming qualities (and his villain reveal seemed kind of clumsy in his dialogue), but I found him incredibly complex either way. He’s painted as a villain and assassin, but he’s loyal and ruthless for the CIA, which is really exciting to see. It’s not often that you see a unflinching and brave villain because those are qualities you’d expect in the hero, not the villain. The rest of the characters make mistakes too, as Benji fumbles with his navigation tablet and Ilsa misses shots from her motorcycle.

McQuarrie also made the decision to bring Lorne Balfe as the composer for this film’s soundtrack, and I have to say, bravo. Balfe’s soundtrack complements McQuarrie’s sympathetic and vulnerable script with a suspenseful yet moving score. There are elements of Lalo Schifrin's Mission Impossible theme mixed in with a softer, quieter tone overall. Some critics complained about the “Nolan-esque” style, saying it sounded too much like Hans Zimmer, but I disagree. It has its own style that fits in with McQuarrie’s direction and complements well with many beautifully shot scenes (side-scrolling London sprinting, anyone?), and honestly, I’d be thrilled if I were compared to Hans Zimmer.

Speaking of the cinematography, I enjoyed it a lot. Most of the film is shot in 35mm film (the ubiquitous film format). Cinematographer Rob Hardy collaborated with McQuarrie to create a closeup, gritty visual style, and it creates a strangely intimate yet pulse-pounding effect. Going back to that bathroom fight, Hardy used fluorescent lighting to contrast against the Palais party’s rave lighting and the brutality of the close-up and well-edited brawl. That infamous HALO jump is shot in digital IMAX over Abu Dhabi (recreated in post-production into Paris) and apparently could only be shot as one take per day (shortly after sunset).

Summary and Rating

Mission Impossible: Fallout brings an excellent take on the franchise as it delves into a combination of thrilling action and complex emotions.

9/10 : Hot Potato!

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission:_Impossible_%E2%80%93_Fallout

https://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/blog/blog_post/?contentid=4295008965

[kokichi-and-co-imagine-blog]

I know it isn't angsty, but do you have any ideas what the THH boys' fav vid games would be? Thanks!

Another gaming related ask is certainly one I can handle. Let’s see how this goes, shall we?

Game On Boyz

Makoto Naegi:

-As with most of his interests, he’s pretty content with whatever’s the most popular at the time

-He’ll play whatever the latest Mario or Pokemon game is and be happy with that

-He’s also the one most likely to suggest playing multiplayer games with everyone. This will include a variety of co-op and competitive games (Though he finally learned to stop suggesting Mario Party after it was banned for the 16th time. They still play it though)

Leon Kuwata:

-Really likes the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games

-He’s actually pretty decent on the drums and guitar in those games. Can play on hard and expert on a lot of songs

-For the love of god though, don’t let him sing. He’s terrible at it and any attempts to try it end in failure

Leon:This game’s bullshit if it thinks I can’t sing! Let’s try aga-Everyone else in the room: NO!

-He claims he can play Through the Fire and Flames on Expert and will fight anyone who challenges that claim (Spoiler alert: he’s a liar. He barely lasts 10 seconds before wiping out)

-He gets the others to play with him sometimes. 9 times outta 10 things usually end in a shouting match because SOMEONE keeps screwing up and causing them to fail (Spoiler alert 2: It’s usually Hagakure)

Chihiro Fujisaki:

-Usually prefers NES/SNES era games in general

-Really good at finding/exploiting glitches in older games. That or finding glitches and utterly breaking the game

-But his favorite game to play is actually Animal Crossing. He likes the art style of it (even though he knows it doesn’t help his already girly image)

-Enjoys taking care of his town to the best of his ability. He puts a lot of thought in what public works projects he puts up. There are also lots of hybrid flowers everywhere that are very nice to look at

-He easily attains a perfect town status and pays off his house in the game

-Always really sad when one of his favorite villagers moves away

-He eventually convinces Owada and Ishimaru to also get the game. They all visit each others towns frequently and help one another find the items they want

Mondo Owada:

-He doesn’t play games very often, but will play Roller Coaster Tycoon every now and again for the nostalgia factor

-But he gave up trying to make decent parks a long time ago. 

-No, he tries to make the absolute worst park possible when he plays now

-Coasters that crash, rides that never end, removing all restroom stalls, any way he can make the park as terrible as possible, he does it. He finds it absolutely hilarious the way things can go wrong in it

-Sometimes Ishimaru is with him when he plays and gets stressed watching him

“Bro! You can’t do that! People will die if the tracks aren’t connected!”“Fuckin’ watch me!”“Langu- MONDO NO! SAFETY IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF AN AMUSEMENT PARK ENVIRONMENT!”

-Ishimaru will just take control sometimes. Owada doesn’t mind though, since it gets him to lighten up a little by playing a game for once

Kiyotaka Ishimaru:

-Ishimaru never played a video game before attending Hope’s Peak

-He played his first one with Naegi after finally starting to warm up to his classmates

-It was a basic platformer game that he refuses to ever touch again after failing at it so spectacularly for several hours

-He eventually finds the Brain Age series of games and finds himself enjoying those more than anything

-He’s usually content just watching others play games more than playing them himself though (and he gets super into it too. Lots of shouting ensues)

Hifumi Yamada:

-He normally plays visual novel type games, mostly based on other works he likes

-Really it’s mostly Princess Piggles games he plays

-He’s helped contribute artwork in the past for a fan game about Princess Piggles in the past. 

((I’m sorry I can’t think of more for Yamada, but I just don’t know VN games that well outside of Danganronpa and Ace Attorney. Unless you want his favorite game to be Hatoful Boyfriend, which I am frankly ok with))

Byakuya Togami:

-”I am a Togami. I do not have time to be engaging in activities as frivolous as ‘playing video games’”

-Everyone knows he secretly plays Tetris when nobody’s looking. No one calls him out on this 

-Mostly because the last time someone tried, they were greeted with an hour long lecture on why they sucked and how they’re life would be ruined if they told anyone (Spoiler alert 3: It was still Hagakure)

-He’s actually stupid good at Tetris too. If someone could ask him without getting their head bitten off, he’d claim it’s a good destressor for him.

-He will occasionally join in on game nights when they occur and usually ends up being one of the more competitive players in whatever they play

Yasuhiro Hagakure:

-He’s the one that finds the weirdest indie or flash games on the internet

-He usually does this early in the morning. Like, 3 AM early.

-Sometimes he’ll wake others up just to tell someone about his latest discovery (Spoiler alert 4: It’s usually Naegi, and he hates it every time)

-The only time anyone ever cared about one of his ’discoveries’ was when he found QWOP

-Everyone but him could just not wrap their heads around the game

-Hagakure on the other hand, was absolutely amazing at it and made the guy on screen actually look normal while running

Apologies for the delays on answering this, but I was a bit busy lately. What business exactly? Oh, just graduating high school and getting hit in the face by someones cap after they threw it in the air…

They hurt a lot more than I thought they would