#!! A villain!? Who’s fighting? What hero is it? [Dash Commentary]

[supcrmight]

OH NO, dad’s here.

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

Alright, so this is a bit later than I intended, but real life is a pain sometimes. And for those who missed the last post, that’s mostly on me for posting it at midnight, so you might want to go back and check for that - it covers the whole convo between Toshinori and Izuku on the rooftop!

But yeah, this is the final stretch, all the rest of chapter 1, so let’s hop right into it because it’s gonna be a ride.

[No. 1 - Midoriya Izuku: Origin]

Lookit that firebreath (I know it’s not shh). Also, again with the weird lack of crowds / people around in what should have at least a few stragglers. I get that drawing crowds / background masses is annoying, but in a wideview scene like this it’s unnerving. Japan is a high-population-density country, so… uh...

Izuku stares forlornly at his notebook, thinking about all the things people have told him over the past half chapter I mean day about being realistic and thinking seriously about his future. Izuku turns the book so the title faces away from him and starts tearing up, rubbing them away while he chastises himself for crying when he already knew he was being unrealistic, and that his knowing was what had driven him so hard to not see reality.

Overhead sign: 田 (den/ta) 等 (tou) 院 (in) 商店 (shouten) [business] 街 (machi) [boulevard, street]

Store sign: (コ)ネストアー (konesutoaa) [cornerstore]

Well, there’s the crowds, though still not able to account for all that empty street. We also see that Izuku has managed to wander his way to another hero fight despite not even really paying attention, and even though he tells himself he’s going to make himself feel bad for watching, he still heads over to join the crowds. 

He snaps out of his funk when he sees the villain, asking himself how they got away, then realizes he must have made All Might drop it, which means it’s his fault (which kid, honestly, considering he just left those bottles in open flap pockets instead of holding them firmly in his hands, you are not the one to blame.) Also, he utters the ‘this is my fault’ out loud, but the people in front of him obviously don’t hear, distracted as they are with the reason the heroes are just standing around - which is the middle schooler the villain has.

Izuku has a brief flashback to when he was being violated by the villain, and is horrified that someone else is going through the same pain. We get a brief panover of the crowd:

Izuku and Toshinori are like, only fifteen feet apart here, and have the same reaction to the crowd’s commentary. Incredible. We zoom back in to Izuku, who is blaming himself for All Might not being able to do anything. He mentally echoes the same words as the heroes, that someone with the right quirk needs to show up to help catch the guy. He internally tells the captured person to hang in and apologies, saying someone will save him soon.

God I love this spread. This is everything about Izuku right here. You can actually see where Izuku shoved himself through the crowd in order to sprint forward, and you can also see the genuine fear in Katsuki’s eyes in that moment where he and Izuku locked gazes. Also I checked, he sprinted right past three pro heroes, with none of them reacting in time. Incredible.

Toshinori and said heroes all freak out, and Izuku’s panicking right along with them but is still rushing forward despite that. Death Arms and the bird-helmet hero both yell at Izuku to get back, but don’t actually go after him. The sludge villain and Katsuki both react as well, recognizing Izuku.

Izuku’s notebook hits the ground spine first, and we flash over to Izuku wondering what the hell he’s doing. The sludge villain moves to try and hit Izuku when he gets close enough, while Izuku pulls off his backpack and continues to panic-think over what to do… with the book just so happening to open to the page he ends up thinking about, on Kamui Wood’s signature attack from the beginning of the chapter. 

He throws his backpack right at the sludge, all the stuff in it flying out as extra ammunition for the villain’s face to dodge, and while distracted, Izuku ducks underneath the strike and calls for Kacchan. Fortunately, the sludge has been forced to pull away from Katsuki’s mouth, allowing him to take a breath before demanding “You? Why?!” 

Remember this for (checks watch) 284 chapters from now. Also fuck, I just realized, remember this?

'a pro should always be ready to risk his life'

'the reason I smile is to stave off the overwhelming pressure and fear I feel'

'a symbol of peace who saves people with a smile must never be daunted by evil'

Izuku took those words to heart as well, and is already reflecting them only moments after his dreams were crushed. And you can tell in the next panel that Toshinori heard those words and was slammed right to the core because of it, because he knows that kind of drive, that sort of spirit.

We see the villain going back to suffocating Katsuki, while telling Izuku to stop it. Toshinori calls himself pathetic again while powering up, and the villain tells Izuku to stop getting in his way, that it’s only a bit longer, and moves to smash Izuku out of the way. Inside the sludge, we can see Katsuki close to passing out. The other heroes finally dash forward to try to get him out of there in time, only for someone else to latch onto the arms of both kids instead.

That someone, of course, being All Might, still steaming from going into his hero form. He tells Izuku that he (All Might) should ‘practice what he preaches’ and reiterates that a pro should always be ready to risk his life (while blood seeps from his teeth). 

I’m blown away by Horikoshi’s art in this, and this is where he started. God, just thinking of current manga events and the art there… this man needs to be stopped, he’s too powerful, I am going to cry doing comparisons and I don’t even have a clue about any fancy art terminology or the like, all I can do is stand back and be awed.

Izuku has had a rough day.

And here we see the force of the blow, which somehow didn’t blow away the crowds or damage the windows of all the buildings of the surrounding blocks. Jesus fucking christ. And then the remnants of the blow head upward, causing it to start raining because of the rising air current from that one punch. 

How was all that shit not blown away????? A mystery to everyone. Also, Katsuki and Izuku are both passed out on the ground while the crowd and media go fucking wild over what All Might just did. All Might turns to keep an eye on the two while also wobbling slightly, the pressure of holding this form past his limits.

After that, we go back to narration from Izuku, talking and showing the cleanup efforts and the villain in two garbage bags (as he deserves). The heroes chastise Izuku for putting himself in danger (I want to note that this has nothing to do with his quirklessness as far as the scene portrays), while Katsuki gets praised for being tough and having a good quirk, and gets an offer to sidekick. Katsuki isn’t listening or just plain doesn’t care, too busy glaring… or not really? At Izuku.

We get a short scenery panel, I guess to suggest the passage of time, and then we see Izuku putting his backpack back on, thinking moodily about wanting to apologize to All Might but not being able to, so he’s planning on leaving a message on the hero’s website. Katsuki calls Izuku out, and takes a shaky moment before snapping at him, saying he didn’t need Izuku to save him, that he could have handled it himself, that he doesn’t want a quirkless kid’s pity, and that he’s not gonna get won over just with this and to stop mocking him. He then spins on his heels and stomps off with a last ‘stupid nerd’, while Izuku thinks Katuski’s a tough guy. He still agrees with Katsuki, though - he didn’t do anything, he didn’t change anything, but he’s still happy, and now he can focus on a realistic future.

And then All Might zooms into view, scaring the hell out of Izuku. Izuku asks why he’s there when he was surrounded by reporters, and All Might says it wasn’t hard to shake them off, considering who he is- before he hacks up blood and deflates into Toshinori. Toshinori continues on more calmly, saying he’s there to thank Izuku and revise his earlier statement, as well as offer a proposal. 

He starts off on how, without Izuku’s story, he would have been nothing but ‘fake muscles and insincerity’, and thanks Izuku. (Izuku quietly muttering ‘fake muscles?’ here makes me cackle, because honestly, same.) Izuku tries to refute it, saying it was his fault from the beginning, getting in All Might’s way and daring to ask if he could be a hero despite his quirklessness- only for Toshinori to cut in and say that that was exactly it - out of everyone there, it was only the timid, quirkless kid who acted, and in so spurred him to action.

He goes on to talk about how the top heroes show signs of greatness as children, how many of them claim that their bodies moved before they could think. Izuku is shaking and clutching at his heart, hunching over and tearing up as he recalls his mother’s words, her apology to him. Toshinori continues, asking if that was what happened to Izuku, who replies with a yes while crying. He thinks about what he’d wanted his mom to say back then, and so we cut to the end of the chapter:

God, what a fucking great first chapter. I can’t think of another series I’ve read that hooks me in so well right from the start like this. 

Also wait, holy shit, the anime LIED to us.

‘The story of how I became a great hero’, not ‘how I became the greatest hero’. There’s a massive distinction in there between the two, and Izuku’s character leans WAY more towards the manga phrasing over the anime phasing. He’d never consider himself the greatest, those would always go to All Might and likely Katsuki first, and then probably his other classmates and friends as well. He’d be happy to be among the greats, but he’d never consider himself on top of them all. 

...huh, that’s the end, besides the one character panel that I’m gonna throw in a separate post. I fucking love this project so much, and I really wanna see what else the manga has to offer that the anime has lied to me about. This section went by a bit faster than expected, but I suppose that’s what comes from almost all of it being action, so. Thanks for sticking around so far, and let’s see what’s to come in chapter 2 together! :D

[kuronokiseki]

Best Usagi Moments (imo)

(just how many times i reread the entire series lmao...)

i promised i will do usagi version so here it is! usagi+misaki ver coming next!

misaki ver: https://kuronokiseki.tumblr.com/post/617551810336555008/best-misaki-moments-imo

warning: very long post, lots and lotssss of large images, stupid commentary 

OF COURSE ONE OF THE BEST DECISIONS MADE IS STEALING MISAKI’S FIRST KISS HNGHNGHNGGG GOOD GOOD AND THE SHIP IS SAILEDDD

very hansamu

tbh while doing misaki’s it was full of wholesome scenes but usagi’s? so many eroiii scenes like this haha misaki how could you survive in this scene

HE SADDDD :”( even with the old art this scene is so beautifully drawn. omg, in the future, if nakamura decides to draw his crying face... :”O

when he is imagining himself as a dashing hero to save otome heroine misaki

wellll even if misaki protested he *did* get what he wanted in the end ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) this is just romantica in a nutshell - whenever misaki did something that made usagi happy, POOF his pants went flying off

lord usami is handing homework

i dunno if it’s just me, or in the newer chapters... we dont rly see usagi being uber perverted and teasing misaki to the point of tears? xD he seems to be gentler and more mature now, but maybe it’s bcs of the situation they are currently in? :”( yeah, bcs things are getting more serious...

like this too sob sob i miss their banters so much

you dont even need to tell him that he’s already giving in ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

STOP BEING SO EROI misaki how could you not die when he does THAT

how to hold a misaki

make sure he is held like this again during your wedding ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

i want to be tanaka in this scene

KISS THE PAIN AWAYYYY SHOOO >:D

nakamura i want a shower scene again pleaseee

this is one of the moments where i applaud the magnificent writing. nakamura pls take note if you want to write abt second love in the future (whooppss xD)

when your boyfriend is so boring but four ppl fell in love and fight over him at the same time

as funny this scene is, but i have to respect usagi being rich by his talent alone. not bcs he was born from a rich family or marrying someone only for the fortune cough cough ur not-commoner father

so needy for attention

the captain of the misaki protection squad has spoken

another teasing moment that i miss :”(

protect misakiiiiii but seriously usagi dont be an enabler when mizuki flirts with you it’s not cute when you want to see a jealous misaki so you didnt tell him the truth ‘-’;;

if you are unfamiliar with this scene, yes... it’s one of the chapters the anime skipped

digging the tunnel to happiness - of course once he is happy the first thing he wanna do is fuccing misaki

when your rival is congratulating your love all you need to do to one up him is do it like you’re going to marry him on the spot

seriously studio deen y not animate this grand entrace

and then like usual they were banging happily ever after

sure there are issues with him being overly jealous but it doesnt rly hurt misaki that much. not necessarily making him a toxic boyfriend, but rather... a flawed boyfriend (it’s important to know the difference)

poor misaki in this arc tbh, he couldn’t do much when ijuuin is being selfish and not caring abt his feelings at all. thennnn the one who has to save him goes tooooooo -

so funny thinking that misaki is playing the role as princess peach in this arc and here is his knight in shining armor saving him from the villain

kinda unrelated, but while rereading, i did notice how differently misaki reacts when usagi or ijuuin is confessing to him. when usagi does we knew what he would do already, but when it’s ijuuin? he gets visibly uncomfortable. and he runs awaayyyy. already speaks volumes who he truly loves

yea he is cute. kiss him more >:(

bcs he is princess peach :v

perv usagi xD

acting pervy again in the same chapter and i begin to wonder how high this guy’s libido is

I WILL NEVER LET YOU GO MISAKI

so hawt ahahahaha

YOU TELL HIM

when your lover and your childhood friend whom you slept with before are together and you are jealous even tho they barely know each other

don’t you dare look down on me i will never stop being horn-y for misaki’s a$$ for the rest of my life

D”: how much he cares for misaki... i want to make a sarcastic comment but i cant

when he thought misaki was indirectly asking his parents’ permission to marry him... and he kissed misaki’s hand... it’s his ring finger for crying out loud... lol... sounds familiar... where did i hear of this before...

[tyrantisterror]

TT’S GONNA RECOMMEND SOME SELF-PUBLISHED KAIJU FICTION

Because the mood struck me

(and also because I’ve been meaning to give these a full fledged reviews for a RIDICULOUSLY LONG TIME and I’m kind of embarrassed how long it’s been taking so I figure if I do some quickies I’ll feel less bad about myself as a person ok LET’S GO)

I’m gonna start with the Daikaiju Yuki series by Raffael Coronelli, because its first entry was also the first self published kaiju novel I read.  This series is fun and fast paced, with wonderful characters and dynamic storylines in a highly unique setting: a post-post apocaylptic world, where humanity has rebuilt civilization after a kaiju war hundreds of years ago destroyed the old one (i.e. ours).  The protagonist of the series, Yuki, partners up with one of the few kaiju who decided to defend humanity back in the kaiju war, a grouchy old bipedal lion named Narajin, and the two essentially fuse to fight various threats to their world with the other remaining members of the Pantheon Colossi (i.e. the protector kaiju).

(Our heroes, Yuki and Narajin, ready to conquer your kaiju-fan heart)

For newbies, this series covers a lot of kaiju tropes in an engaging and unique way that actually serves as a pretty decent primer for how this genre stands out from other monster fiction.  For experienced kaiju fans, the new twists author Raffael Coronelli has put on the old tropes and the innovations he’s added solely of his own invention make for a take on the genre that is astoundingly fresh, managing the difficult task of paying homage to what came before while crafting something very new and distinct from it.

I also can’t stress enough how fun these books are.  The characters grow on you very quickly, and the stories move at a lively pace that makes the books very easy to digest while still having a lot of substance.  Also there’s a LOT of content to consume here, so if you find you like the first book, you’re in luck - because not only is there a lot more of what you liked in the other entries, but Coronelli’s writing has gotten even better with each installment.

Buy them here:

Daikaiju Yuki

Yuki Conquers the World

Yuki vs. Fleshworld

Mokwa: The Lifesblood of the Earth (a spinoff focusing on another member of the Pantheon Colossi - also has the best villain of the whole series IMO)

Scythian Frost (short story anthology in the same universe as Daikaiju Yuki)

Pharoah of Eels (novella in the same universe as Daikaiju Yuki)

BONUS: I’m gonna link Coronelli’s Big Egg here because while it’s arguably more of a Weird West story than a kaiju story and not part of the Daikaiju Yuki series, it’s nonetheless VERY GOOD and kaiju-adjacent enough to feel relevant.

If you love it when kaiju stories go dark and experiment with body horror - and I know a good chunk of my followers here do, both from the posts you make and from the sheer number of body horror-riffic entries you’ve submitted to my Create a Kaiju Contests in the past - you owe it to yourself to read All Your Ruins by Alex Gayhart.  It is a bleak kaiju story that leans as far into the horror as kaiju stories can, while still retaining many of a kaiju story’s hallmarks.  You’ve got experimental robots, you’ve got a big lizard who shoots lasers from his mouth and has a few suprisingly poignant and tragic moments of pathos, you’ve got scenes of massive property damage - and you’ve also got scenes of people being torn apart by swarms of giant bugs, poisoned by toxic kaiju blood, assimilated into piles of fungus, and all other sorts of horrifying demises.  If you want a kaiju story to send chills down your spine, this is your book.

I’m emphasizing the grim aspects of this story, but I also want to note that it avoids one of the pitfalls a lot of modern horror falls into, in that it balances all the horrific shit by having characters in it that you actually care about.  It’s a tragedy, you know from the start things won’t end well, but some of the people involved in the conflict are so lovable and try so hard to survive that you root for them despite the prevailing sense of dread.  It’s a gloomy story, but it’s not the sort that makes everyone relentlessly awful - more George Romero Day of the Dead in tone than, say, the all consuming bleakness of The Walking Dead.

Also it’s got some killer illustrations.  The main monster even takes the “bipedal lizard with dorsal spikes” visual in a direction so unique that it actually stands out against the progenitor of that design concept.  That’s not the say the book depends on those illustrations, mind you - Gayhart’s prose isn’t afraid of laying it on thick every now and then to paint an appropriately distinct and horrific image with words.  That might not be for all tastes, but as a person who’s read a LOT of classic horror literature, I personally appreciate it - a dash of melodrama in the description of the horrific, when used well, can make it very effective, and Gayhart put just enough in there to work very well for my tastes.

Buy it here:

All Your Ruins

BONUS: I’m going to recommend the two books in author Alex Gayhart’s Black Star Saga here as well.  I haven’t actually fully read them yet - I bought the initial release where the two volumes were bundled together as one, and got sidetracked by LIFE BULLSHIT shortly after I started it (this happens to me too often while reading - I still need to finish Stephen King’s It and Marie Kondo’s books too), but I liked what I read, and from what I’ve heard the more recent editions made some big improvements to the story’s pacing.  It’s the same quality of writing as Gayhart’s All Your Ruins, but with a less grim tone - more Ultraman and less Shin Godzilla.

The Black Star Saga Volume 1: 2525

The Black Star Saga Volume 2: Moonage Daydream

A lot of classic kaiju movies bring up the threat of giant monsters destroying all of civilization if they aren’t stopped, but almost none have shown them carry that threat through.  In the Shadow of Extinction let’s that threat actually play out - you see the kaiju apocalypse begin and civilization as we know it end in the first third of the book.  The remaining two thirds focuses on survivors picking up the pieces in a world now ruled by giants.  It’s the kind of story you’d think there’d be more of in our genre, but outside of All Your Ruins and, uh, the Godzilla anime trilogy, there really aren’t that other takes out there.

While Gayhart’s All Your Ruins focuses on the horror aspect of a kaiju apocalypse, Kyle Warner’s In the Shadow of Extinction focuses on a political/crisis management angle.  It’s like if Shin Godzilla had a baby with George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, and that baby had the “bureaucratic failings of big governments in the wake of national disasters” elements of the former and the “multiple different perspectives via a large cast of characters” format of the later.  There’s no one protagonist in this one - you follow a large and diverse cast of characters from around the world and from pretty much all walks of life as they try to navigate a disaster that destroys society as it once was.

Once the civilization effectively ends in the first third of the novel, In the Shadow of Extinction transition from “disaster movie” to “post apocalyptic thriller,” like The Stand, Day of the Triffids, 28 Days Later, or, I dunno, a toned down version of Mad Max (but, y’know, with giant monsters, so I guess not THAT toned down).  I bring this up because the content of the last two thirds takes after the tropes of post apocalyptic thrillers as much if not more so than kaiju stories - that is to say, there is some Triggering Content in this one.  That’s not something to dissuade you - the characters and story remains very solid and unique for the kaiju genre - but it is something I feel you should be aware of, and if you want a more explicit description of what kind of Triggers I mean here, shoot me a message.  Suffice to say, kaiju aren’t the only monsters when civilization breaks down here.

But Kaiju do remain prominent in the book nonetheless - it is ultimately a kaiju story more than anything else, and it’s impressive how the book manages to incorporate all those other influences as well as a heaping dose of political commentary without ever diminishing the presence of its monster stars.

Buy it here:

In the Shadow of Extinction

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to do what I should have done years ago and write some damn Amazon reviews for these so the authors can have a boost in Amazon’s search algorithms.

[jason-pd]

Miraculous Ladybug: Violet Chrysalis

So I’m posting my first fanfic for Miraculous Ladybug. I don’t really know how good it is but, like any writer I would appreciate any tips and constructive criticism! And of course, please don’t steal!

Description: Hawkmoth’s reign of terror over Paris is over, and a new hero of the Butterfly Miraculous will rise. But can Ladybug and Cat Noir trust someone with the Miraculous that has caused them so much pain?

—————————————————

Chapter 1: Catastrophe

The sudden pulse within the purple gem affixed to his shirt underneath his black scarf was enough to get his heart racing. His heart flashed with a defiance that was not his; clearly there was someone in the city with emotions strong enough to be qualified for akumatisation. He stilled his mind to focus on who it was. Flashes came to him - a boy in a black close-fitting suit. Cat ears. A belt wrapped round his waist to look like a tail. There could be no doubt. Cat Noir.

Vicente quickly stood up from the dinner table, leaving his potato mash abandoned on the plate and dashed to his room. He breathed relief when his parents were still at work on the night shift - he would be undisturbed.

He closed his plain curtains except for a gap to see the trace of the city skyline. A lavender creature, a sprite with wispy butterfly wings flew out from his pocket and floated by his shoulder.

“This is your first akuma, master!” The sprite squeaked nervously.

“Yes, Nooroo, I know.” Vicente turned a slight aside to the lavender sprite. “I just hope he’ll be ready to listen.”

“Then I wish you the best of luck, Master!”

He fiddled with the amethyst brooch pinned to his collar as he reminisced on how he got himself in this situation. Hawkmoth had been terrorising Paris for who knows how long and the news had revealed the Ladybug and Cat Noir has finally defeated him. Yet his Miraculous Jewel, the source of the superpowered people like Ladybug and Cat Noir had vanished in a flash of light. Then seven days later he finds the brooch in a small wooden box in his room surrounded by ethereal butterflies. Nooroo had explained to him that Hawkmoth had used the brooch for evil, and yet despite the terror and wrath he had inflicted on Paris, it seemed that Vicente himself was chosen to be the next user of the Butterfly Miraculous.

Upon his kwami’s words of encouragement, Vicente gave a small smile of thanks, then took a deep breath.

“Nooroo, dark wings, rise!” The moment the words left his lips, he felt the rush of energy.

Nooroo became a swirl of violet light and was sucked into the purple gem. In a glittering flash of amethyst, Vicente’s clothes changed. A velvet suit with coattails like butterfly wings now appeared over where his original clothes were.

He looked at the wardrobe mirror. He had only transformed a few times before to get used to it, but he couldn’t help being self conscious about it. The coattails seemed excessive, but he silently admitted to himself that the dark velvet suit matching his hair was a good touch. The only downside was that the look made his already pale skin seem even paler, but as Nooroo has told him, the suit reflected his subconscious ideal of a “butterfly hero”. His rosewood eyes started back at him before turning his eyes to the violet cane in his hands.

From his cane, a small ethereal white butterfly landed in his open palm. Covering it with his other hand, he concentrated. The little white insect cradled in his hand changed into a black butterfly with a glowing purple pattern on its wings; an akuma - a butterfly infused with the power to transform and manifest the heart.

With a firm tone, he called out after the akuma began flitting out the window.

“Fly away, little akuma, and chrysalise his desperate heart!”

———

Cat Noir couldn’t hold these thugs off for long. He wasn’t going to back down on their threats. He didn’t think stopping an attempted robbery would take so long. Even for their size they were unexpectedly savage. It seemed a miracle that they hadn’t endangered anyone and were just causing a ruckus in the alley after their attempt. It was only then he saw a purple butterfly fly down the alley. His eyes went wide. Hawkmoth? But he was defeated, wasn’t he?

It was to his greatest surprise when the akuma flew right over the criminals and then touched his ring. In that moment, time seemed to slow. A violet butterfly-shaped mask appeared over his eyes. He expected the cold, manipulative voice of Hawkmoth, but was caught by surprise when he heard a younger, quieter, almost soothing male voice speak in his head.

“Hello Cat Noir.”

“Hawkmoth?” His voice betrayed his curiosity and suspicion.

“No, not Hawkmoth. My name is-“

Cat Noir spat back, “No matter who you are, I won’t fall to your schemes or temptations -“

“That’s perfectly understandable.” The voice stated in a matter-of-fact tone, almost seemingly expecting his reaction.

The voice continued, “But I am giving you the opportunity you need. Catastrophe, in your fight for justice, I am unshackling you from the chains of your inexperience. I am giving you the ability to use your Cataclysm power as many times as you desire.”

Wait, what? Why would Hawkmoth empower him, of all people?

“And just what do you want in return?” His voice was low and measured.

“Nothing, other than the defeat of these criminals and that you put a stop to their chaos.”

The silence between them was deafening.

“Do you accept?”

The fact the he was asked permission caught him off guard. He thought, he would deal with the consequences later.

He sighed with resignation; he knew Ladybug would chew him out for this. “Fine, I accept.”

His previous fatigue vanished and felt purple and black smoke swirl around him. When the smoke cleared, time seemed to wind up to normal.

His head was clear and he felt the surging of his Cataclysm power like never before. With a small smile, he leapt towards the thugs.

Blow after blow he endured them, dodging them with ease. Every weapon flung at him crumbled to dust in the grip of his Cataclysm. And he could summon another Cataclysm whenever he wanted again and again! He was stronger, faster, like he could face the world and turn it upside down. It was-

“Be careful, Cat Noir; you risk becoming too overconfident, and overconfidence leads to danger.”

“Wow, giving me advice? You really are different,” he quipped.

He wasn’t sure, but perhaps the presence of this new Butterfly Miraculous hero helped calm him down.

With a deep breath, he shook off the high of his newfound abilities and focused.

Even deprived of all their weapons, they were still strong and savage, working in perfect unison. It really was unnatural, unless...

The new Hawkmoth’s voice rung in his head as if in cue.

“If you think I’m responsible for this, remember that I can only akumatise one person at a time. Besides, if they really were to be superheroes - or villains, in this case, I seriously would’ve given them better fashion sense.”

Cat Noir chuckled at his ally’s commentary, and decided to finish this once and for all.

———

With the group knocked unconscious and left at the front of the police station, he got the text on his Cat Baton. Right on cue, a small swarm of glittering ladybugs flew through the streets and swept through the alley in which he’d fought the crooks, reversing the damage caused by the criminals. With a nod of satisfaction, he catapulted toward a high building where he could converse alone with this new hero.

Once at the top, he could sense it. Like a door open in his head, he could feel the presence of thoughts coming through to his consciousness.

“How did it feel, Catastrophe?”

“So that’s what you named me? Not exactly original, huh?”

“Forgive me, I’m a fan of puns, Catastrophe.”

Cat Noir chuckled at that. It seemed he had found at least one similarity to this new ally.

“So, you’re the new Hawkmoth?”

“I prefer not to be known as the previous tragedy who misused this Miraculous. Please, call me... Papillion.”

“Papillion?”

“That’s right.”

“You certainly seem... kinder than Hawkmoth.”

“I try to be. I get the feeling that Ladybug will doubt your story once you tell her.”

“Wha-How did you know I would tell her?”

On the other side of the telepathic connection, resting in his room, Vicente smiled. Cat Noir’s reaction to his train of thought being interrupted was cute... Vicente shook his head at those thoughts and resumed communication.

“She’s your partner, isn’t she? Of course you’ll tell her that there is a new hero using the Butterfly Miraculous.”

Vicente took a deep breath and considered the situation. Communicating with Cat Noir was...interesting. Underneath his mask, Vicente could feel his curiosity, his apprehension and wonder of this new person who helped him. As fun as it was to talk to a superhero he always admired, he had to keep his own budding curiosity to know more under control.

“Alas, Catastrophe, it’s time for me to return my gift.”

“What?”

“Relieve you of my akuma. After all, if you keep it, how can I help anyone else?”

Cat Noir was quite surprised at Duskwing’s earnestness.

“Alright then. I guess I’ll see you around?”

“Maybe, Cat Noir. Maybe.”

With a small smile, Vicente held out his hand and snapped his fingers.

Cat Noir shuddered at the curious feeling of the akuma leaving his ring. The purple smoke that coalesced around his ring felt like a lace drape being pulled away and an ethereal white butterfly flitted away. It hung in the air for a few seconds before fading away into thin air.

Back in his room, Vicente felt a wave of accomplishment for his first successful and cooperative akumatisation.

“Nooroo, dark wings fall!”

In a flash of light, his superhero outfit vanished and he appeared in his normal clothes again, with Nooroo flying out of the Butterfly Brooch. As the brooch camouflaged itself as a crystalline amethyst lapel pin, Nooroo spoke up again.

“Congratulations on your first akumatisation, master!”

“Thank you, Nooroo. Your energy’s depleted, isn’t it? I prepared this earlier for you, just in case!”

Vicente handed out a plate with a spoonful of honey.

“Butterflies eat nectar, don’t they?”

“I’m not a butterfly, master, but I do love honey!” Nooroo squeaked.

Vicente smiled as the little Kwami flew happily over to the plate and began feeding on the honey with contentment.

He was happy that Cat Noir was open to accepting him, but he couldn’t help but wonder if his partner, the saviour of Paris, Ladybug, would be willing to accept his help. For now, as Papillion, he would wait until Ladybug would have no choice but to listen, especially once Cat Noir had vouched for him.

......

Back at the police station, the crooks lay unconscious. If only Cat Noir had not been so hasty to converse with Papillion, had he only supervised the crooks for a few more minutes, he might’ve seen a curious mask of blue light appear over the five crooks. He might’ve seen a little opulent blue feather fly out of their leader’s watch and dissolve away into thin air.

To be continued...

[arkus-rhapsode]

My Hero Academia Chapter 226 Review

Oh lord this chapter. Wow.

So we open on a flashback, or potentially a broadcast of young Toga’s first murder. Someone who witnessed it actually got a good look at Toga’s face.

Okay, so setting the tone for this chapter. We also get more from Toga’s flashback showing that she was obsessed with blood before her first murder.

I’ll talk about this more when we get back to it as we cut forward to the present.

Kizuki is still interviewing Toga, and I swear to god you could show me some of the faces in this chapter out of context and I’d think they’d be moved to orgasm.

Toga’s not able to really stand. Getting blown up will do that to you. And Kizuki begins to monologue again. Though to be fair, unlike last week, it balanced much better with more potent dialogue and Toga’s own introspection. o its not like dominated by one person.

So we get introduced to a new concept for this world, quirk consoling. It’s not a surprise, that powers you are born with affect your personality, simulations, and interests. Toga can transform from drinking blood, so naturally she’s interested in blood. Bakugou’s got an explosive temper, could be partially detritive from his quirk. Same with Aoyama and his sparkling motif. People’s quirks reflect their quirks.

Quirk consoling is for those who’s personalities effected by their odd quirks are made to psychologically integrate them. Essentially press down their psychosis and make them normal. But a quirk is a part of you. It doesn’t just go away. Focusing on suppressing your oddity just makes you think about it more. And the more you think about the thing you’re told not to embrace in an effort to not do it, its no surprise Toga snapped.

Now to be fair. This is just Toga. We have seen people with blood based quirks like Vlad King, actually manage to live a normal life. It’s likely because his stimulation with blood manifested more acceptably. Showing that Toga’s interest could’ve been met, but rather than being forced down, she could’ve been shown to put her interests in another form.

Toga snaps at Kizuki again, and she reveals a support tool to blow her back. I’m guessing all the Liberation Army executives have a special support tool.

Kizuki brings up something I’ve been saying for awhile, that the LoV and the Liberation Army have the same objective. Thy both wanna change society for reasons that create outcasts. But again, something that makes them different it their closeness. Kizuki, doesn’t care about Toga’s suffering so she can help her, she cares so she can furthur her own agenda.

But the League cared. Gave Toga a place to go. But these guys, she’s just another drop in the bucket for their ends. If they really cared, Kizuki would’ve offered Toga a chance to join them. But no, she’s just another pawn.

Toga dashes off, and I again have to props to Horikoshi as an artist. I tend to hear Horikoshi get shit for ways he draws women at times (personally, I don’t agree with that assessment, but that’s not what this is about right now). But Hori is one of the few shounen artists willing to take this female character who many do consider cute and adorable, regardless of being a serial killer, and burn her. Burn and blood that cute face, because it horrifying, it gets the message across.

So while I get some of the complaints about how Hori draws female characters, I feel its worth mentioning that he will treat their appearances like a male’s. Give them muscle tone and give them full facial damage. It’s something I see rarely done by mainstream shounen and I appreciate it.

Granted, she doesn’t stay like that for long. As she turns into Uraraka while fleeing.

So we get another dive into Toga’s head. This time about Izuku and Uraraka. While it is good, how Toga becomes like Uraraka because of love. She wants to be like Uraraka because Izuku loves her. I also feel this chapter hasn’t brought up the source of that love.

Because as we saw in the flashback, the boy she was watching looked like Izuku, so how much of this love is genuine and how much is superficial. Its not answered and maybe it will be alter, but seeing this scene makes m want a clear answer on if Toga is projecting onto others or is this “true love.”

And here’s where we get the most controversial thing in the chapter. Which this chapter has been great so far, but this moment...

Toga can now use the powers of the people she turns into. Something that only seems to have happened because she is at death’s door. Okay, I’m going to level with you, this is an asspull. This out of nowhere enhancement is the same thing people gave to FT and OP for how they won fights. My damn intellectual honesty does tell me this is still cheating.

BUT! Unlike, say FT, this power up is backed by the story. Sure its not “built up” but the fact this new ability was dveloped thanks to a heavy psychological reason and not say “I have friends” or some shit, that reality bends entirely to their will.

It also lines up with Toga’s powers. Its not like she gained the ability to blood bend. Her evolution came from still having to transform her body from ingesting a person’s blood. And we also she, it has limitations. Like with Monoma’s copy quirk, I can accept such a strong ability as long as it has limits. And this one does. She can’t maintain the form she’s in forever.

So is it an asspull? Yes, but it a very well done asspull that allows to look over the plot convenience.

Our chapter ends pretty gruesomely, but kinda amazingly. Also, she says she’s just like Izuku. I don’t know if that means that the LoV knows the truth about One for All or if she’s just saying that because she has Izuku’s blood.

Post Chapter follow up: This chapter is great. The best part about it is finally diving into who Toga is as a person. It’s such a trip and honestly erriely similar to real life killers.

I love the worldbuilding and commentary on society in this chapter. Horikoshi really knows how to take a modern setting for a battle shounen and give it such depth.

Kizuki is also far better in this chapter. She’s still one-note, but this time she’s not dominating thee chapter and at least gives us more insight into the Liberation army.

The only fault I can find in this chapter is the powerup. But I’ve already written why I can see a reader accepting this over some Nakama crap. And even if the change does bother you there is so much good here, it still is a good read.

Final Verdict: 9/10

Gives us a great psychological look into our villain

Character development in spades

Interesting societal commentary

[thepilgrimofwar]

Finale 2 - Edited Roll20 Log

News of Ethalarian’s death spread through the ranks as they began their final assault on the inner walls of the fortress. Instead of disheartening the men, it seemed to enrage them instead. With Vissehn’s infiltration of the gatehouse, the army made their way into the courtyard under the artillery fire from Beathyn’s guns. Inside, the battle raged on as the trapped soldiers of Westheath had little choice but to fight to the death.

But as their soldiers pinned the remaining forces to the corners of the courtyard, clearing a space for our heroes to enter the Lord Arenias’ hall, Krissen Dawnhollow and a half-company of troops marched out to meet them.

Krissen Dawnhollow makes a resigned laugh. “Here’s our end men, this is it.” Whatever remnants of her forces from the siege had concentrated here. This is where they would make their last stand. “So, you’ve come to take the Old Man’s head? We’d step out of your way but I’m afraid we wouldn’t be able to live with ourselves after. Might as well die here. Defending our Lord. That ought to make him proud.”

She makes no mention of the battle that took place on their eastern flank earlier. Nor the death of Ethalarian Dawnstalker by her hand. There was no glory in killing for her, only glory in death.

Krissen Dawnhollow looks at Lirelle, recognizing her from her service in the Deathseekers. “It ought to make Sederis proud don’t you think? Not the Sederis who came back to rule. The Real Sederis. The one we knew.” A crazed look twists itself onto her features. “Sederis the Deathseeker, -The Pilgrim of War- Not this half-Lord of the Emberglades that he preoccupied himself later. The man I followed to the ends of the world to die for!”

Lirelle cocks her head at the crazed woman. “If you think that’s who Sederis was, then it’s clear you never really knew him.” She did not recognize her. She did not care.

[Initiative]

Mara Blazingdawn:"I have been bidden to bring this farce of a squabble to a quick end. Quel'Thalas will know peace once more. By the Dawn, I will Avenge those slain."

Thanidiel:"If you really had a shred of loyalty in you, you'd have accepted the whole of your leader. Not cling to a convenient image of him."

Vissehn:"I suppose yer not lookin' for a duel, yeah?" He grins as he swings his blades, having traded the rifles for the shortswords. He then immediately closes on Krissen, ready for the fight, swinging at her in a wide sweep.

Esheyn 's form ignites in Light as she steps up to join the fray, and to bring her weapon down upon her foe in a blaze of holy energy.

Thanidiel strides forth on Vissehn's heels - keeping up with the swiftness of even the former Pathfinder. Sidestepping and allow Esheyn to charge through as well as her left hand is suddenly engulfed in roiling, golden, flame. A vicious punch sailing out as she positions closer to the gate.

Mara Blazingdawn takes her longsword into both hands and leaps to action. Brilliant light blasts from the pommel of he sword as he positions herself to the flank of Krissen Dawnhallow. With purpose the brings down the blade onto her enemy to bring her down.

Krissen Dawnhollow and what remained of the defenders of the fortress tried their best to hold their ground as they were torn apart. Bolts rained down from the walls behind them onto the coalition but it did not seem to slow them. “This is your last testament!” Krissen yells, not at the heroes around her but to her men.

Lirelle pays no mind to Krissen, the darkness at her fingertips coiling and lancing itself out. If she wanted to die so badly, then she was happy to oblige.

Oosaarn charged cracked his neck before charging into the fray towards Duskhollow. Runes along his ace's blade briefly lighting up before it rose and quickly fell in an arc.

Isilos followed along Lirelle's path.They were cut from the same cloth at one time. Focusing his healing energy on Judereth he lashed out with holy light.

[Krissen Dawnhollow is defeated]

"Will those of you on the walls surrender?" Thandiel looks to the ones still remaining on the walls. “If you throw down those crossbows right now, then I won't use them to shove you off one by one."

Mara Blazingdawn felt the rasp of the assault, but she still stands. "Highdawn is right! This battle is over! No further bloodshed is required."

The crossbowmen look at each other, before scattering towards their towers.

Thanidiel stares up at the battlements as the men seem to choose... the wrong answer. Allowing the poeticisms below and aside her to pass without commentary.

Meanwhile

Fighting to the last man, Krissen stumbled forward with her sword. Though she was badly bloodied and could barely stand, she stood defiantly between the heroes and the entrance to Arenias’ hall. Relriah dashes up, with a quickness that seemed impossible to be achieved in a dress, she cuts the Deathseeker down.  

Relriah looks down at the woman at her feet, indifferent. If the woman herself did not care if she was alive or dead then neither would she. “My friends spoke true earlier. A Deathseeker was never something Sederis wanted to be. In Death he sought redemption for things that no one had blamed him for.” She knelt down next to the fallen soldier. “He never found the peace he sought as a Pilgrim of War.”

Krissen Dawnhollow looked up at her, eyes glazed over as she grew paler and paler with each passing moment. She laughed. “...Didn’t… He?”

Lirelle:"He didn't find the one that he sought because what he was looking for was a false peace. But he found his own peace, the one meant for him, at the end."

[With the troops from the inner keep defeated, they head inside.]

This was the Lord that had sparked all this of- Who led to hundreds of deaths and threw thousands of lives into disarray. Dressed in armor that was clearly meant for someone younger and more hale than the tired old man before them.

Lord Arenias Ilithia speaks as they bash down his doors. “Mereded stole my sons and sovereignty, Sederis stole my daughter, and Solendis stole my bloodline. All my life, the Emberhearts have taken from me. And when justice was so close at hand -you- had to ruin it all.” He gestures to the heroes that were now beginning to fill his halls. For all his plans and schemes, the one thing he did not account stood before him: Friends.

Friends of Sederis, friends of each other, and friends of those who answered the call. They had something that Arenias and tyrants like him could never understand: Bonds that were stronger than blood, bonds that were worth fighting -and dying- for.

Relriah raises her voice. “I was never property to be stolen, Father.” She stepped forward in front of the party. The girl was unrecognizable to Arenias. Though she still wore a dress, she was much too strong and much too willed to be the Relriah he had raised. “Was it worth it? Trying to kill your own grandson? Your own daughter!?”

Lord Arenias Ilithia sneered. “I lost you the moment you turned into an Emberheart. Stenden is no grandson of mine. He is a product of Mereded’s legacy- a constant reminder of shame that-”

Relriah laughs. “Legacy! Is that what’s so bloody important to you?! More important than your own family?” She gives him a dark look. “Let me show you exactly what I think of your ‘legacy’.”

"Justice doesn't turn the world." Thanidiel pops off like a villain. "Those who are loved do. And it seems like the Lordling is preferred over you."

Vissehn looks at the aging man and shakes his head. He has had a lifes worth of the old bleeding out the young to survive; a bloodline of it, and every generation bled dry. He will be the last, and so will his friend-- no more will those like Arenias and Dasia take their claim in kindred.

Mara Blazingdawn speaks up. "Surely we do not need further bloodshed. We are hardened defenders of Quel'Thalas, tested against the might of the Alliance. This fight is over. Throw down your weapons and you may yet live. If honor demands you hold a sword, why not save your guardsmen and join in single combat?"

Esheyn is all but ready to charge forward, weapon in hand, but... she pauses, to give Mara the chance to speak.

Thanidiel narrows her eyes at the old man. "The offer's there, Arenias. Those of the Dawnspire make no tricks."

Lord Arenias Ilithia listens to this for a moment but grips onto his sword and shield tighter. "Surrender was never an option. Everyone who still remained in my walls knew that." Though he did not say it, it began to make clear why there had been no civilians in the city when it was besieged. The old man may have been spiteful and murderous. But he was still a Lord of his people.

[Combat Starts]

Thanidiel:"It is only because you hold onto the past feebly that this door remains closed to you. You are no Child of the Blood."

Isilos:"Ah yes, diplomacy at its finest."

Lirelle:"Don't waste any more breath on him."

Vissehn:"This is a kinder fate than ye had for a lad in mourning, ye sad bastard."

Mara Blazingdawn frowns at the words. "You will not be a martyr. Your death is an act of stupidity, not gallantry."

Esheyn nods, for it is decided. She takes a moment to regard her comrades, her fel-tainted gaze fixated on each individual for a brief moment. But her attention lingers on Relriah for a beat longer than the rest, before she is once again engulfed in Light. "It is time to end this," she says simply, though her voice reverberates with the energy that radiates from within, and she launches herself forward to strike at Arenias in a single stroke.

Vissehn spares no further words and darts in with all his speed, slashing with his own.

Thanidiel 's blazing light had consumed her left arm all the while as they had marched through stone and wall - transferring to her poleaxe like fire leaping from tree boughs as she follows up on their heels yet again to bring down a strike.

Mara Blazingdawn dashed forward and unleashed a blast of blinding white hot light onto Arenias and her allies, assaulting him and healing the others. [Dawning Glory but only healing Vissehn]

Lirelle takes a step forward, silent as she usually was these days. For a moment she seems to glow in unlight, the claws that pushed themselves out of the bark of her arm seeming to unfurl before they broke off, the shards hurling themselves into Arenias with all the fury and anger at his stupid war.

Oosaarn followed the others forward and crashed into the group before them. Again those rune showed ignited. This time draining the life force off any his axe swung into.

Isilos looked over to the Death Knight again.He was undead but he was a proven alley. "Try not return to a lifeless state." A hint of a tone, perhaps he was changing his mind on the undead.... wouldn't stop him from using holy light to heal them, but it was progress.

[Arenias is defeated.]

As Arenias falls to his knees, his daughter catches him. But not with her arms, but the flat of her blade.

Relriah whispers to him. “I will make sure that not a single soul speaks your name in the glades again. That ever babe born after this time will never utter the name ‘Arenias Ilithia’ in their life. You will be forgotten, scrubbed clean, not even a footnote will be left in the history of the Glades.”

Relriah does not let him speak and slit his throat. She would not let him have the final word. He had spoken enough on her behalf for a lifetime and she made sure sure he would never speak again.

[Three Days Later]

With the death of Arenias, the Civil War finally over. Now began to more difficult task of putting the Emberglades back together. But though a victory parade was planned for the victors and arrangements were being made for various coronation ceremonies- There was one last affair that needed taking care of first. Sederis’ funeral.

Thanidiel:"If we do this one more time, does he come back?"

Invitations were sent out once more and this time, the venue was the Emberheart Mausoleum. Solendis chose an open field rather than the fortress of a family manor as a statement that they had nothing to fear any longer.

Solendis hopes not. Nothing would traumatize him more if Sederis got back up while the funeral pyre was aflame.

Solendis smiles at the guests as they gather up once again. The Steward was happy that the war was finally over and that he was finally getting much needed closure. “Thank you all for coming, again.” He addresses them all. “Now where were we?” Solendis looked amongst the crowd and sends a nod towards Lirelle.

Lirelle:"Sederis is an asshole."

Lirelle steps forward, says her piece, then steps back.

Stenden |Some of those present laughed. But slightly louder than them all, was Stenden. “But he was -our- asshole.” His newly found freedom in his words seemed to be the influence of Vissehn for better or for worse.

Lirelle:“Nope, just an absolute asshole who left us all this for us to clean up.”

Oosaarn released a grunt that wasn't exactly sounding like a disagreement with Lirelle.

Solendis clears his throat, trying to bring things back on track and re-establishing the importance of this moment for him. “When the first round of invitations were sent out, House Shadowsunder was not able to attend. As a gesture of utmost respect we were given a box.”

Thanidiel:"He could have done worse."

Solendis presents a decorative wooden box, laying it beside his brother on the pyre. “It is customary to have it burn with the deceased in Shimmervale. Once fully consumed in flame, the egg within will hatch and will begin a new life of a Phoenix.” He places his hand respectfully over the box from Vulthaien Voidsunder. “I have been informed, that this will be the first Phoenix born since the sacking of Voidheart and I can think of no better honor that can be given to Sederis.”

Solendis makes one final bow to his brother before lighting the funeral pyre. No one speaks as it burns, not until there is a burst of flames and a Phoenix chick rises from the ashes.

Stenden speaks up at last, a more sombre look in his eyes as he tracks the Phoenix. “Our family gained the right to rule by avenging the death of a Phoenix. Today, through blood, fire, and the birthing of a Phoenix. The Emberhearts have earned it once more.” He looks into the fire, at the remains of the man before him. “Thank you Uncle. For your service, for your sacrifices, and your friends.”

And so the time of Tyrants had finally come to an end. For now at least.

[Epilogue]

Judereth Swiftquiver never got used to her title or station as a Lady, always opting to speak with her subjects directly when she had the chance. With her lowborn origins, she quickly became popular amongst her new peasantry who saw her less akin to a new tyrant, but as one of them, and worthy of their trust.

Nelio Goodember continued handling the books of Shalemarch. Though Judereth kept him on a short leash, she was assured that he was at least loyal. Mostly due to the fact that she had relocated him at a cabin at the border where he could easily escape- But for one reason or another, never did. His help turned out to be invaluable in repaying the Emberglades’ debts, justifying to Solendis that Judereth’s gamble was a good one in the end.

[Westheath]

Following the Civil War, Relriah Illithia took control of Westheath and kept her promise to herself, wiping out all mention of her father from the history books. Between being the sole surviving child of Arenias and her popular support during the war, there was little opposition to this.

After having her life steered by the men and women in her life, she finally took control of her own destiny. Choosing to leave Solendis, she set up her own court upon the ruins of her father’s fortress. Ruling with the centuries of her time as a court lady to draw from.

[The Broken Bulwark]

Disowned by her father Zarannis, took on leadership of the Bulwark under the name of House Galewing, in homage to the Kestrels Lodge of her service. With the survivors of the Black Banner, she began rebuilding her holdings and though it may take many years to come before it even resembled itself prior to the wars that ravaged it- It was a start.

In memory of her time with the Hawk Tribe of her youth and receiving support from the Unwelcomed, Lady Galewing offered free passage and rights for them to settle in her lands. Repaying her many debts to the ones she who had kept her safe during the Phoenix Wars.

[The Cloudrend Glades]

As the news of the Civil War’s end, Mediea Wintergale’s health began to take a turn for the worse. It was as if the old man had finally seen fit to let go of power- now that his family was safe and none had come to punish them for what crimes he may have committed in the past. He stepped down for his daughter, and retired to a small cabin by a lakeside.

Succeeded by Illsei Wintergale, together with her sister Zarannis, they ruled their provinces well in the years that followed. And when Mediea finally breathed his last, both of them were welcome to sit by his bedside holding his hands as he passed.

With Mediea Wintergale died the last of Mereded’s generation as well as the grudges and sins that cursed it. But though it was an ending of an era for the Emberglades, it also meant the beginning of another.

[-Fin-]

[elizas-writing]

Movie Reviews: The Incredibles 2

Alright, I’m just going to throw this out there now before I get ahead of myself. Yes, this movie is not epilepsy friendly. There’s a shit ton of flashing strobe lights periodically through the whole film, and I definitely don’t recommend seeing it in theaters if your photo sensitivity is that bad. Just wait until it’s streaming.

Now, on with the review!

Of all the Pixar films which were dying for a sequel, The Incredibles was right up at the top. Director Brad Bird brought visual splendor of retrofuturism and his intense brand of maturity you almost never get to see in family animated films, making it one of Pixar’s best. With it being a superhero film (especially in a time before cinematic universes were a thing), there was a ton of potential for character growth and new villains with a sequel.

But Bird got sucked into some other projects and wanted to wait out enough time to let the creativity to flow naturally. So when they finally announced that the sequel was going to be a thing after fourteen years, people got excited. While I was definitely one of those people, I was also a little worried since it is a sequel being released fourteen years later. Would it actually live up to the hype?

Well, let’s go into the story first.

Starting right where we last left off in the first film, the Parr family (AKA the Incredibles) confront the Underminer. Despite their best efforts to keep everyone safe and stop the villain, he escapes anyway, and the family is blamed for the collateral damage. This prompts the shut down of the Superhero Relocation Program, leaving the Parrs with no resources to pick themselves up after losing their home fighting Syndrome three months before. Luckily, someone saw them in action and wants to regain public support of Supers. Winston and Evelyn Deavor of DevTech want to use their technology to publicize the superhero work civilians don’t see, ensuring that they are still saving society and provide enough reason to legalize supers once again. Helen Parr (Elastigirl) is picked as their representative, leaving Bob (Mr. Incredible) to watch the kids while she’s out fighting crime. As Helen gets a taste of adrenaline again and Bob adapts to being a homemaker, a new threat emerges which could jeopardize Supers and keep them hidden forever.

This is one of the best looking Pixar films to date with such a meticulous attention to detail. The textures in the skin, clothing, glass, and water are just amazing to look at with similar photo-realism I last saw in Coco. It ups the action scenes and emotional performances with Bird’s fluidly expressive and fast-paced animation. It also takes full advantage of what the supers, old and new, can do with their powers, especially Elastigirl. Any time I saw her use a new technique with her flexibility, I just thought, “Brilliant!” You can tell there were great, creative minds behind the fight scenes to make these powers stand out. No wonder it took so long to get a sequel out.

Most of the original voice cast is back to reprise their roles, and as expected, they’re still wonderful in keeping up with Bird’s kind of energy. Dash was the only voice to be replaced since his actor grew too old, but you can’t even tell the difference, and he’s just perfect for Dash. And, of course, the newer voices are just as amazing for this fast-paced, energetic movie.

I’ll admit I was initially worried at the premise since it just seemed like a role reversal of the first film, right down to a tech company CEO wanting Supers to make a comeback. And how many sitcoms have we seen where the dad has to stay at home, take care of the kids and is just a royal fuck up? On one hand, the plot gets a little predictable, but it thankfully provides updates where it sorely needed them. As expected, Bob is out of touch with being a father, hates not working, and-- no pun intended-- is incredibly insecure on his wife being the breadwinner and first choice for regaining public support of Supers. But it’s very careful to not make him a stereotypical incompetent dad/husband character type.

He adapts, becomes resourceful, listens to his kids, and eventually gets over himself when he realizes he’s being irrational. And given that he’s raising Super kids at such a pivotal point in their lives-- particularly with Jack Jack growing more erratic with his new powers by the day--, his stress is understandable; hell, you’d probably freak out too if your youngest child just vanished into another dimension. He’s just a wonderful dad to look up to as someone who always tries to do better for his family.

It’s also great seeing Helen in the spotlight with a noticeably different fighting style from her husband. While Bob likes to smash his way through a situation with brute force, Helen is a lot more meticulous, cunning and careful, whether in a fight or saving bystanders. I love seeing her energy and enjoying the thrill of superhero work, but not letting it go to her head and remembering why she’s there. She has fun interactions with Evelyn and some of the other Supers, and as I said before, the animation on her is super creative and so damn impressive.

Violet and Dash are still a fun sibling dynamic where they equally get on each other’s nerves but are also excellent superhero partners, whether making sure their dad is in check or fighting off bad guys themselves. It’s just a fun rapport between the two. I also really appreciate how maturely Bird treats them under their circumstances. They’re as much involved with this changing world as their parents, and need to learn how to navigate balancing a normal life and a superhero life. And their parents know better than to tap dance around the truth, so they can be prepared for the worst case scenario. And Jack-Jack is a whole brand of wild with his new powers you just have to see for yourself. He’s a laugh riot, and it’s so cute to see him mimic the adults’ behaviors.

While there are some wonderful changes to a typical sitcom plot and the mystery Helen has to solve is fascinating, I felt like the film could’ve gone the extra mile in expanding the worldbuilding and character dilemmas, especially for how much they kept building up the whole “It’s been 14 years!” in the commercials. I love these new heroes they introduce (particularly Voyd, who is a disaster lesbian, who the fuck are y’all kidding with the “functional” shit), but I wanted to know more about the world dealing with the comeback of Supers with reemerging prejudices on collateral damage, overbearing amounts of responsibility, and the possibility of over-reliance on Supers to save the day.

The commentary is there, but the plot still has to juggle what’s going on with the rest of the family while Helen is at work. And even that doesn’t seem to be balanced out either. There’s a whole section on Violet trying to maintain a relationship with a boy which produces a lot of complications with her maintaining secrecy on her Super identity. That would be a perfect opportunity to explore these prejudices and what Supers sacrifice in hiding. But they’re brief scenes with way too fast resolutions.

And with the story being so predictable, we have another plot twist villain, and this trend in Disney films is obnoxious because it’s almost never a surprise anymore. I’d be more forgiving if we took more time to dive into their motivations or if there was fascinating subtext like in Moana. And this villain has some great points to bounce off the heroes, but like I said, the worldbuilding is cut too short because of the other developing side-plots. It really sucks, because Bird handled the paranoia of the other so well in The Iron Giant, and The Incredibles is the perfect setting to explore such themes and make parallels to Civil Rights. It’s not awful or severely underdeveloped, but I think they missed an opportunity to make the story pack a punch and relied a little too much on its own hype.

Even for what it lacks, The Incredibles 2 is still a fun family superhero flick which delivers what was perfect from the first film. The animation is freaking amazing, the characters and their interactions are fun with some great growth, and the action really packs a punch. I can’t completely get behind the hype like the marketing wants me to, but for The Incredbiles, it’s too damn entertaining to miss out on.

If you enjoyed this review and what I do here, consider buying me a ko-fi to show your support!

[myaekingheart]

INCREDIBLES 2 SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Okay but listen, one of the coolest things about sitting down for The Incredibles 2 was how much female power and not only power but this balance between that and family that I felt from the entire experience? Like not just the movie but the Pixar short beforehand, too.

Bao focuses on a woman coping with her empty nest and shows her being this great mother to a little dumpling she made that is symbolic of her son. It was the first Pixar short directed by a woman and I feel like you can tell the difference between this and ones directed by men just because there’s this particular delicacy, specificity, and raw emotion to it that I think set it apart from other Pixar shorts. You can see the tender care they put into making this both universally and culturally relatable and that’s just great.

And then The Incredibles 2 is so female focused it’s great. Like at the end of the day it’s about teamwork like the first one but it’s so nice to see the women in this film really branch out and get more screen time. Helen’s arc is awesome and so relatable to all working moms, truthfully. She gets so excited about her work and you can see how happy she is but she’s also 110% ready to drop everything for the sake of her family. She’s also got this agency, though, too, and I feel like she’s a more well-rounded character in this one whereas in the first she was predominantly a wife and mother. In this one, she’s still both of those things of course but we get to see her as an actual person outside of that, as well. We learn she used to have a motorcycle and a mohawk and we really get to see even more of her intelligence as she works to figure out the Screenslaver debacle. And then there’s Violet was honestly absolute perfection in this movie. She really blossomed as a character (no pun intended) and we get to see so much personality from her now. Not that she didn’t have personality in the first one because she did but she was very closed off and trying to find herself and her confidence and whatnot. In the sequel, it’s very clear she’s found her voice and her confidence and she’s this strong-willed yet socially awkward character with a short fuse and such intelligence (especially mechanical intelligence? Like first with programming the rocket in the first one, and now in this one it’s about manually turning a large boat). Her subplot with Tony is honestly so incredible, like it’s a little heartbreaking but I love how we see Violet express this wide range of emotion and experience these things everyone who is or has been a teenage girl can relate to. Like coming downstairs invisible to grab the entire tub of ice cream and a giant spoon while crying because your boyfriend stood you up? And having your parents and siblings embarrass you in front of him? Classic teenage stuff. The way all of this tied into the superhero element, though, I think really drove her arc home for me. It connects so nicely to her arc in the first movie, and something Helen says about “Their kids, they haven’t made that choice yet” in regards to Bob encouraging Helen to go through with the superhero advocacy so their kids can have the choice to be supers legally. But in the first movie, you know, she’s this cynical, closed off, emo teenager who resents what makes her different and just wants to be normal, but through the course of the film discovers that what makes her different is her biggest strength and that that is what she’s meant to be, a superhero. In the beginning of the sequel, it starts off with her seemingly having shit together like she gets the date with the boy she likes and her and her family get a chance to fight crime but not without a price. Now she has to try and find a balance between her superhero self and her personal life all while her mother fights to make superheroism legal in the first place. It’s a really tricky situation only further complicated by the fact that Dicker erased Tony’s memory like he did Kari’s but to the point where Tony doesn’t even remember Violet at all. It’s heartbreaking seeing her approach this boy she really likes and thought she finally had won a chance with only for him to be like “Do I know you...?” And then when she finds out it’s all Dicker’s fault, and she decides that superheroes suck and she renounces them completely, trying to destroy her own supersuit. It’s only when her family is in grave trouble that she steps up, puts the supersuit back on, and says “I’m renouncing my renunciation.” And even the family aspect of Vi’s arc is great, too, because not only is she trying to deal with her boy troubles but she’s basically the second in command of the house with Helen gone. When Bob snaps, she gracefully steps in and calls Lucius for backup. She empathizes with her father and there’s this really cute scene with them where he opens up to her about how sorry he is about what happened with Tony, that he didn’t consider how she’d suffer the consequences when he told Dicker to take care of things, and how he just wants to be a good dad to his kids. Violet lets him sleep in (17 hours, mind you-- which reminds me, 17 seems to be a recurring number here since they also mentioned Jack Jack had 17 powers. I wonder what’s up with that?) and makes him breakfast and when her parents are incapacitated, so to speak, she steps up and takes charge of Dash and Jack Jack (though obviously they’ve got some agency and leadership here, too, but Violet was the main source of leadership here). It was so great seeing Violet fight, as well, because she definitely stepped up her game. She wants to fight. She wants to be a superhero and when Helen expresses at the beginning of the movie how she didn’t think that was a good idea because supers are still illegal, she’s kind of bothered by this because “I just thought it was cool fighting crime with you guys.” She’s sharp as a tack and picks up on her parents leaving the motel in their supersuits, what Helen’s new job entails, and when Bob leaves in his own supersuit for the boat at DevTech. She’s a great superhero, a great sister, and just overall a great character and I loved how things ended with her: she both gets the guy and gets to be a hero, this time legally. And then there’s Edna who quite frankly shined in this film. She is as great as she was in the first one but this time, she’s got an amazing character interaction with Jack Jack. The bond those two create in the film is honestly incredible, Jack Jack is such a sassy little nugget and Edna LOVES HIM for it, and because he is probably the most intriguing superhero case she’s even seen. I mean, the kid’s got 17 powers. He is literally a jack of all trades. Can you imagine how hard it must be to design a supersuit that withstands the effects of 17 different super powers??? Also she called herself Aunty Edna and her door is shaped like an E and I think both of those are freaking wonderful. Perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of this movie, though, is the villain. I think the idea of DevTech being behind Screenslaver was, quite frankly, a little too predictable but it was the way DevTech was behind Screenslaver that made the reveal so much better. I’m not going to lie, I went into this incredibly nervous because of speculation I had seen and read online about Screenslaver and people being highly convinced it was Winston Deavor under that mask. And to be honest, I think they wanted you to think that. The way they present Winston in the trailers and with how little information Bob Odenkirk gave on his character at the Q+A made you think it had to be him. I even saw a video where someone took a full-body image of Screenslaver and matched it up with a full-body image of Winston to try and prove that their bodies were exactly the same and therefore it had to be Winston underneath that mask. However, when Helen unmasks Screenslaver only to find it’s some random pizza delivery kid??? I was shook, to be honest. The reveal that Evelyn was behind everything on her own was truthfully mind-blowing to me. I got a strange feeling from Evelyn right from the start, right when her and Winston almost started an argument about whether their parents should’ve called on the superheros or hide in the safe room. Honestly, though, I didn’t think much of it except for assuming after that that Winston could potentially have a short fuse/violent tendencies that could allude to him being the villain. Evelyn was such a complex character, though, and I was so happy she ended up being the villain. In the midst of all the “Winston is Screenslaver” talk, in the back of my mind all I could think was “Screw you, I hope Evelyn is Screenslaver” even though my logical side knew that that probably wasn’t possible because, like in that video, Evelyn and Screenslaver did not have the same body type/shape. The thought of Evelyn being behind Screenslaver, however, and using technology and hypnosis and whatnot was incredibly interesting to me. She’s clearly a highly intelligent woman and it’s clear she holds some resentment towards her brother, as well, and even men in general which I thought was an interesting twist (since she and Helen definitely have a 100% feminist conversation at one point in the film about men overshadowing women and women getting the spotlight). I kind of liked how they matched Elastigirl with a female villain, though, because if Winston had been behind the whole thing and it was woman against man it would probably feel a little too political in today’s climate (not that the movie doesn’t have political undertones in the first place because it does, ie the legality of superheroes, gender roles [though Brad Bird said this was not an intentional social commentary, he literally just thought about Bob as a stay-at-home dad with a superpowered baby and thought “God, that’ll mess Bob up”], technology, and even body cameras). I think it was interesting to see, though, because it felt equally matched. Like a way of saying “Women are just as capable of being super heroic as they are capable of being super villainous.” Like we had these two highly intelligent women with a lot of agency and their own moral compasses (and based around family, no less) fighting against each other for what they believed was right and it was honestly great. And I liked how Evelyn kept all of this to herself, too. She played this charade and her brother had absolutely no idea. He literally jumped out of a plane because of his sister and what she had done against his cause. I went through the entire movie thinking his incredible admiration for superheroes had to be some kind of ploy, some kind of facade to cover up what he was really doing, only to find out that he really was just as innocently fanatic and naive as he came off to be. He truly loves superheroes and truly wants them to be legalized. And the new superheroes we meet are great, too. Voyd is wonderful, though I kind of wanted a little more on her and the others even if she was just a side character. I felt like she was marketed like she was going to play a bigger role in the movie but then didn’t get as much screen time as I expected her to. I still thought she was great, though, and I loved how radical she was about Elastigirl, too. It really hits the point home of how there are absolutely other superheroes out there who have been forced underground, as well, and how big Elastigirl was in the golden days to really have so much influence over Voyd, to be this role model for her in a world where people like her are not totally accepted. I don’t know, I’m rambling but damn, it was just so refreshing and exciting to see so many female characters with such a wide range of characterization and personality and agency. It was just wonderful and I loved every second of it.

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: Food Fight! Conquering Chinese Cuisine with True Cooking Master Boy

  'Tis the season to be jolly, but even when your goal is to shine a light on older series for the sake of connecting new fans to catalog titles, Santa-themed anime is hard to come by. With that in mind, “Cruising the Crunchy-Catalog” is setting aside our holiday cheer and dashing through the snow with our regularly scheduled programming.

  Since the weather is turning colder, we figured a good way to warm up is with a hot-blooded action series about ... the fine art of Chinese cuisine? Head's up, folks! True Cooking Master Boy is coming at ya!

    What's True Cooking Master Boy?

  Based on the "gourmet battle" manga by Etsushi Ogawa, True Cooking Master Boy (known as Shin Chuka Ichiban! in Japan) is a fall 2019 TV anime with direction by Itsuro Kawasaki and animation production by NAS with cooperation from Production I.G. Crunchyroll describes the story of the series as follows:

  During the 19th century China, the protagonist, Liu Maoxing, wins the title of Super Chef and is the youngest to do so in history. His master, Zhou Yu, suggests that he broaden his skills as a chef even more, so he goes on a journey around China with his friends Shirou and Meili. Mao’s mother, Bei, had wished for everyone’s happiness and fought against the Underground Cooking Society. In order to continue his mother’s wishes and protect the Legendary Cooking Utensils from the Underground Cooking Society, Mao and his friends go on a journey...

  True Cooking Master Boy is a direct sequel to the earlier Cooking Master Boy TV anime, which ran for 52 episodes from 1997-1998. But do not despair, gentle readers, because thanks to a little exposition and a few flashbacks, it's easy to dive right into the story, which picks up with Mao having his first encounters with the cooking underworld and embarking on a quest to prevent the legendary utensils from falling into the hands of evil-doers.

    Iron Chef.

  The central conceit of True Cooking Master Boy is that well-cooked food is a force for good in peoples' lives, and by extension, the protagonist, Super Chef Liu Maoxing, is a hero who spreads happiness through the power of his culinary efforts.

  True Cooking Master Boy is a “gourmet battle” story, and that means that every conflict (regardless of the stakes) is ultimately settled through the power of cooking. This means that the main characters demonstrate increasingly improbable cooking skills, secret techniques, and “fighting styles” with all of the pomp and circumstance one would expect from a story about brawling martial artists.

    No Reaction Like Overreaction.

  An essential element of the “gourmet battle” story is the pattern of action, running commentary, and over-reaction, and this pattern repeats (sometimes multiple times) in the structure of every cooking contest.

  It plays out like this: a chef engages in an unorthodox culinary technique, other characters observe the action and prime the audience with exposition (“That's a forbidden underworld cooking tool! How does he know how to use it?”) to ratchet up the tension, and then everyone reacts with world-shaking surprise at the deliciousness of the food that is produced.

  It's a simple but effective pattern that applies equally well to the actions of both heroes and villains, and it transforms something as relatively uncomplicated as cooking a meal into a dramatic struggle of epic proportions.

    Escalation and Absurdity.

  The other key element to a “gourmet battle” story is that every plot development, no matter how exaggerated and silly it appears at first blush, must be played completely straight within the context of the show, and True Cooking Master Boy is absolutely sincere in its execution.

  There is no winking at the camera or breaking the fourth wall when True Cooking Master Boy presents concepts as patently absurd as legendary cooking utensils that were forged from the heart of a meteorite or a secret, evil organization dedicated to conquering the world through food. Even the most ridiculous developments are treated with a sense of gravity, and this tension between tone and content makes True Cooking Master Boy a joy to watch.

    Order Up.

  Crunchyroll currently streams True Cooking Master Boy in 204 territories worldwide. The series is available in the original Japanese with subtitles in English, Spanish, Latin American Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Russian, and Arabic. At the time of this writing, there are no home video releases for the TV anime or English language adaptations of the original manga, although a second cour of True Cooking Master Boy is scheduled to begin broadcasting in Japan in January of 2021.

  If you're in the mood for a tasty bit of diversion that is earnest and melodramatic in equal measure, and if the series is available in your area, then please consider checking out the adventures of Mao and his fellow culinary masters in True Cooking Master Boy.

    Thanks for joining us for this week's installment of “Cruising the Crunchy-Catalog.” Please be sure to tune in next time, when we get a bit more meta-textual with Anime-Gataris, a fall 2017 TV anime ostensibly about a fledgling otaku attempting to prevent the high school anime club from being shut down.

  Is there a series in Crunchyroll's catalog that you think needs some more love and attention? Please send in your suggestions via email to cruisingcrunchy@gmail.com or post a Tweet to @gooberzilla. Your pick could inspire the next installment of “Cruising the Crunchy-Catalog!"

      Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: Paul Chapman

[supcrmight]

Ah, today’s Father’s Day.... He should really call his mom later. Today is always hard for her.

[daemon-knight]

Allen’s Ramblings XXIV: Venting... Also talking about Canon RP Blogs

Well folks, after doing that meme I stole from Aster of wearysouls I’ve honestly been thinking about going back to doing canon RP blogs again. I mean, I’ve been seriously thinking about it. I really miss a lot of my old partners in certain fandoms and I’m honestly curious about the state of some of them, but... I’ve been worried about going back. 

The main reason I strictly do OC blogs nowadays is because I was seeing so much drama and pettiness going on in the bigger fandoms I was in, specifically the Touhou and Dangan Ronpa communities. There was a lot of vague blogging, shipping drama, complaints about power levels, and so on. I just... walked out after that. It’s been a few years since then so maybe things have settled down a tad. Plus I’m 23 now and not 17, so I know when to say no, and unfollow people now, but I’m still weary. However, I’ve really been wanting to write for Sanae Kochiya, Tsubaki Yayoi, and even Orie and Nanase from Under Night again now that late[st] is coming out this year, and my hype for that game is UNREAL (BLACK THINGS). Hell, I really wanna’ try my hand at playing Cranberry from MGRP too, so.. yeah.

However, I’ve still got some worries about coming back to those fandoms, so... I just... need to vent a tad about some of the frustrations I had when doing canon RPs back then, some of the precautions I’ll be taking when I go back to RPing canon blogs in the future, as well as my own personal thoughts RPing in general. 

I was debating on if I should make this a Rambling or not since this is less of an essay and more an... actual rambling, but I think this’ll be worth archiving on the Rambles blog for future reference, so... yeah, here’s Rambling number 24. 

Also, much like when I did my off the cuff post a while back on this blog, I won’t be hiding my opinions under a read more since I’m not talking about NSFW-related things nor spoilers. If anyone wants to discuss, break down, or refute my opinions they are more than welcomed to. I’d be a coward to not allow it after publicizing my bare thoughts after all, especially my more jaded ones. Anyway, onto my... vents, I guess.

I think I’ve said this at least twice on this blog before, but if I see one more post about power levels and “respecting my character’s power” in OOC in some way, shape, or form, I’m gonna’ start blocking people. This was super prevalent in canon RP, especially in the Touhou community. It drove me nuts then, and it drives me even more nuts now that I’m starting to write my original stories. To quote myself from a few months ago:  

I, the writer, indeed respect the character you wrote. I, the writer, respect that the character you wrote may have abilities, powers, and skills that exceed my character. I, the writer, respect and know that your character may, can, and will become violent toward my character and will act accordingly if pushed to that point. I, the writer, will not make complaints if your character reacts in a way I didn’t expect because (ideally) the profile of your character will have made it very clear your character could and would react that way. However, the characters I write are usually arrogant, violent, self-entitled assholes that neither know nor care about those things. They (the character) will be outwardly snarky, rude, and violent themselves, I don’t need the warning labels for things I already know. I’m not going to throw much of a fit if something happens, but I will say big dramatic moments like that should probably be plotted out so there’s no surprises and no one assumes anything. 

Another thing that might make me block people: dash commentary. It’s either lighthearted and comedic or it’s pathetic vague blogging. Look, if you’ve got a problem with someone, how they write their character, or how they’re treating your character, just talk to them directly about it. The writer is rarely as bad as the character they’re writing, and they’re probably willing to pull the reins a little if asked, or discuss how to get your character can get out of the situation they got in. Most of us just want to write stories after all, not hurt feelings. So don’t vague about it using your character as a mouthpiece.

Less of a vent and more of an announcement, but any canon blog I make won’t have anon on it. Anons and canon blogs usually lead to a bunch of shipping drama and trash talking I don’t want to deal with, so I’m not.

Fandom Drama usually means the respective RP community is going to have drama too, and I’m not looking forward to that when it happens. I know the Naruto fandom was losing it after certain pairings weren’t fulfilled when that series ended, god only knows what’s happening in the Fairy Tail fandom, but I know the quality of that manga is debated everyday, and god forbid you tried to have a discuss about the political arrange of Gensokyo in the Touhou community without someone losing it... again, this was a few years ago, so maybe things are better, but... I’m still keeping this in mind.

My feelings on canon-divergent blogs are kind of mixed, so I don’t know how I’ll be handling those yet if I see them following me. As an OC blog, it doesn’t really matter to me since my character doesn’t follow any series’s canon by nature, but when I do Canon RP stuff again this might be an issues since I tend to have single-verse, single ship muses.

As much as I want to go back to playing Sanae, The opinions of the Touhou RP community are just... low... Again, that RP community really jaded my views of canon RP to the point of wanting a three-year break from the whole thing, but... I’m willing to give another shot, albeit at the cost of being hyper-selective.

More of a general vent, but I will lose my gosh dang mind if I see another fighting game character RP blog with a mun that refuses to do fight RPs. What’s the goddamn point of writing for a character that’s known for punching people if you refuse to punch people and be punched in return? This might be because I come from several forum RP groups that specialize in battle storytelling (if you couldn’t tell from how I write Clauds here), but still... just... why write for them? Their personality? Their character design? Their ships? Friend, just write fanfiction and do art of them in that case. I just... I mean... I just don’t get it... I just don’t..

Another thing I’m gonna’ lose my mind over: villains and villainous characters. Guys, villains do bad things. Those bad things create conflict in the plot, which makes protagonists/heroes grow into better characters and make the premise of that story interesting. That’s how you write a goddamn story and how you make interesting characters. Most people don’t write villains to have them cuddle kittens and sip tea with their first love, they write villains to push other characters and create plot. Using my OCs as an example, Claudia is a fight-happy, morally neutral character that can be villainous or heroic depending on who she’s killing/fighting and why. Amber is a goddamn street gangster that has robbed and beaten at least three defenseless characters for the sake of pushing them mentally and physically. Villains have a purpose and it’s not to look cute. Understand this or don’t RP with villainous character.

Speaking of villains, most villains will fail and lose despite their power or standing because that’s the point. They’re villains, and villains/antagonists are meant to be toppled 90% of the time to show how even great odds can be overcome and teach readers to never give up, believe in the power of friendship, all that fun stuff. Especially anime/video game villains. Half the interest of the villain is seeing how they’re knocked off their high horse. A villain without a hero may be successful, but they’re also kind of boring without an obstacle in their way to show off their villainy. Understand this or don’t write for villainous characters.

Wow, these vents have gotten real general... anyway, moving on. Character’s flaws. Your character has them, and you need to freaking deal with that. Your character isn’t perfect, they’ve got flaws, they’ve got bad alignments and twisted morals at times. They’ve got issues that people in your fandom can, have, and will write paragraphs about, calling them shit characters and saying they should be removed from the show/game. Those aren’t attacks on you personally, but they are points about the show and game and how they’re written. If you can’t handle that, then I wouldn’t suggest writing for that character. I mean, if the Sword Art Online RP community can deal with that, then... what are you scared of?

Last vent, and it’s more general complaint really, but please know that RPing requires communication. I’ve been seeing blogs that have been saying they prefer to have minimal communication because of... several reasons I don’t feel like debating, but a lack of communication between partners is just shooting yourself in the foot for when communication needs to happen. It’ll make your partners just silently drift away and you really only have yourself to blame for that.

And... that’s really it in terms of my venting and complaints about... well, RPing on tumblr in general I suppose, given how I’m ending this. I’ve got a few dummy accounts still online and activated, so I’ll just re-purpose them for a Sanae, Tsubaki, and Orie blog once I get some research done. I’ll promo those whenever I get to them. Anyway, that’s all for me, I’ll be getting to my drafts soon enough, and like I said before I’m willing to take any criticisms of the rant I just gave so... come at me I guess? Anyway, see you all next Rambling. Hopefully it’ll be something a bit more pleasant.

[supcrmight]

@ssmash​ MUST BE STOPPED

[supcrmight]

“Well I think everyone’s smart in their own ways...”

[supcrmight]

@dyingmight​ replied to your post

THANK YOU MIDORYA, MY BOY

YEAH - I mean, OF COURSE, All Might - ! I just didn’t even know it was a THING, let alone where to find it. I’ve looked in all of the major spots I usually look for for MERCH, I even went to that scammy site 100PERCENTALLMIGHTMERCH.COM - which only sells absolute cheap, FAKE replicas of some of the limited edition items, and even THEY don’t have it, I’m sure it’s gotta be out there SOMEWHERE if only I could find WHERE --

[supcrmight]

LIMITED EDITION ALL MIGHT FURBY --- WHERE!??!!