#I'm not actually ready for the final part of Ash's journey to come out in english

[jtl-fics]

Getting the email reminder that part 3 of Pokemon Ultimate Journeys is now on Netflix means that I will now become a VERY different person.

[thewritingautisticat]

WIP Introduction: Phoenix

Okay I've been meaning to do this for forever and I just got tagged to do a WIP intro by @tildeathiwillwrite, so I'm finally going to actually post this!

Rules: Fill out the questions for your wip!

Blank Questions: Title, Genre, Audience, Tags, Stage of the Writing Process, Synopsis

Genre: Sci-fi, superhero, coming-of-age

Audience: Young adults/early twenties

Tags: #phoenix the novel, #phoenix, #ash, #jett, #phoenix and ash

Stage of writing process: very early first draft 😅

Synopsis:

Jett's family has been protecting this city for generations, and as the oldest child, he's quickly stepping into place as the new leader in the fight against their main nemesis, Sterling. Until Sterling turns up dead after a battle, leaving behind two traumatized child soldiers, 21-year-old Phoenix and 8-year-old Ash. Now Jett has to deal with the new threat of the very angry and very fiery Phoenix, along with trying to form a bond with Ash, whom he spontaneously adopted.

Ash isn't used to receiving affection or kindness. But Jett and the superheroes, the people he's supposed to hate, are giving him both. Could it really be that there are people who don't immediately resort to abuse at any provocation? And even if it's true, should he stay with them or try to get back to his sister Phoenix, even though she and Jett are enemies?

Phoenix has dealt with Sterling's abuse all her life, and now that she's free, she's ready to take her life into her own hands. And part of that includes taking down the heroes that she blames for not rescuing her as a child. But two things stand in her way: the fact that they've taken in her brother/not-brother Ash, and the way Jett infuriatingly continues to extend kindness to her, even though she knows it has to be some sort of trap. As she goes on a journey of self-discovery and arson, will Jett be able to break through to her before she destroys herself?

Gently tagging: @late-to-the-fandom @stargazer-luna @themswritinwords and anyone else who wants to join! Introduce your WIPs to me! 😁

[bobgoesw00t]

Top 10 Video Games of All Time: bobgoesw00t Edition (Part 08)

Quick update before I get to my revealing my Number 3 Video Game of All Time! My immediate family is coming over on Christmas Eve and we're opening our presents that night, so I'll either be posting Number 2 then and Number 1 on Christmas, OR I'll be posting 2 on Sunday and 1 on Tuesday...OK now onto the actual game.

I had a hard time picking this one and I kept alternating between it and my Number 2 pick being in the other’s spot, but in the end I had to put the Game of the Year winner at The Game Awards 2022 here. So this means if you haven't heard by now, Number 3 goes to:

That's right, the MASSIVE behemoth from the brilliant (and partially masochistic) minds at FromSoftware that some people will say stole the GotY award from Dad of Boy Ragnarok, Elden Ring.

Now I feel like I need to mention that this is the first FromSoftware/SoulsBorne/Seikiro game I've legit owned, but I DID however play a bit of Dark Souls Remastered on my Switch to help prepare for when I started this game. I didn't beat Dark Souls (didn't even get past the first main area xD) but I got enough of a feel for it that I felt ready to tackle whatever The Lands Between.

And I did a good job...at first... I made a Warrior and made the mistake of going straight for Stormveil Castle and got my ass handed to me by Margit. SO after going, "FUCK THIS", I ran around the did stuff in the Weeping Peninsula and even opened that damn teleport trap in the Dragon-Burnt Ruins, ended up in Caelid and yeeted myself out of that damn mine ASAP. I eventually managed to get past Margit and cleared Stormveil Castle and headed into the next area (and discovered the hidden side route to it a bit later)...which is when it started to go south.

After a bit of struggling, I managed to get to Rennala and was able to kill her first stage without any struggle when OH BOY, SHE FUCKED ME UP IN THE SECOND STAGE!!!!! No matter what I tried, I couldn't kill her so I tried to find the back way to the Altus Plateau (cause I knew there HAD to be one as Liurnia and Caelid both had one) only to get stuck on one of the enemies and after 24 hours, I decided to make a different character (cause I had wanted to try out the magic in the game), made an Astrologer and in the end, she's the Tarnished who has since become Elden Lord twice (once with the Age of the Stars and again with the Age of the Duskborn). Already on my third run with her and I'm debating on which ending to go with but enough about MY journey.

People will tell you that Elden Ring is "HARD" just like the other FromSoftware games of late, but I'm here to tell you the game is only as hard as you make it 95% of the time. As long as you take your time going through areas, make sure not to over aggro and get overwhelmed, you won't have much of a problem taking out regular enemies. Bosses are a bit trickier obviously, but if you know how to exploit various parts of the game (the Bleed status can be VERY fucking powerful) and use the correct Spirit Ash Summon (those are in the game for a reason idiots who insist that they "break the game"), bosses can also be somewhat easier to kill.

The Lands Between are BEAUTIFUL (the only open world game that's prettier IMO is Ghost of Tsushima and dare I say it, the last three Assassin's Creed games), MASSIVE and full of locations to check out, which is one of the games main strengths. If you get stuck on a boss, back track a bit, explore a different part of the world, and come back when you've leveled up a bit and/or have upgraded your weapons. There's a high chance that you'll be able to kill the boss then and DAMN does it feel satisfying. Hell, you might do what I did on Haruka (my Astrologer) and spend so much time exploring other areas (I FINALLY found the back way onto the Altus Plateau and spent a good chuck on time up there. I also managed to find the greatest location in the entire game IMO: Dominula, Windmill Village...if you need any proof, I present the following video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=_JthoRyAb2Y&feature=shares) that when you go back to fight said boss, you'll be a bit OVER leveled and totally fuck them up...which is what happened to Rennala...and it was perfection!!!

There's also a large amount of weapons to try out and it won't be long before you find the one piece of equipment that you'll carry for the rest of the game. I ended up with Moonveil (fully upgraded to +10), and the Meteorite Staff to abuse it's boost to Gravity Magic...quite a few bosses don't stand a chance if you spam Rock Sling while using this staff. Spam the spell until you break their poise, run in for the Critical Hit, RUN AWAAAAAAAAAY, and then repeat until the boss goes "BLEH".

Armor, while not doing much at times, is also important at times as the passive increases to the resistance stats can make a big difference if Poison, Scarlet Rot and what not stack enough to be inflicted. Not to mention some of the armor is REALLY FUCKING COOL LOOKING, with my special shout-out going to the Black Knife Set for having a cloak that makes you partially invisible.

Then there's the various usable items and good god some of them are totally fucking hysterical...I'm talking of course about the Mimic's Veil, the item that turns you into a JPEG of a random object you'll find in the world. This is what got me to the Red Wolf of Radagon my first run! I tossed a throwing knife/dagger at a foe, broke line of sight, used the Mimic's Veil to hide and when the dumb ass came over to find me they go, "HMMM, THERE'S NOTHING HERE BUT A RANDOM TREE THAT SHOULDN'T BE HERE...OH WELL! I GUESS SHE'S GONE!", proceed to slowing walk away which is when I go "BAM", stab them in the back and they die. It's even funnier if you've been turned into a Weeping Angel like what happened to me one time: https://twitter.com/bobgoesw00t/status/1500987346421956613

I want to talk about the music now before I give the summary, some additional notes and the score. The various composers NAILED the soundtrack and I actually spent a good amount of time in the Character Creator the first time simply because of the pretty music that plays on it. The Final Battle track is STUPIDLY EPIC cause it's a more layered version of the Title Screen music and once it transitions to the Elden Beast, you hear a subtle, but still GORGEOUS bit of music that has a majestic feel to it, but NOTHING, and I mean, NOTHING can top the Regal Ancestor Spirit. HOLY MOTHER FUCKING HELL does that track give you goosebumps the first time you hear it. That boss fight isn't really that hard in comparison to some of the others due to how unique it looks and the music only helps make it the more memorable. I won't post a link to the track for those who haven't played the game cause I really don't want to spoil it for them.

Lastly, I want to talk about the two of the main boss fights, both of which are optional but are insane. Gonna talk about the badass bitch in The Lands Between first...you know her, you've talked about her, you've seen people rage quit/throw their controller/uninstall the game because of her, and just two weeks ago, Animal revealed that he thirsts for her at The Game Awards. I'm talking of course about none other than Malenia Blade of Miquella. A few months ago before G4 got shut down again, X-Play had an entire stream where Froskurrin tied for almost two hours to kill this badass mofo and she couldn't do it. My take on Malenia is this: don't even bother trying to kill her on your first run of the game. I managed to get to her on my first run, tried twice, and she fucked me up so quickly that I went, "NOPE!!! NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE, FUCK THIS, I'LL TRY IN THE NEXT RUN!!!!!" Which is when I nailed the Goddess of Rot and celebrated.

The other boss is probably the most epic fight in the entire game, the demigod that fought Malenia to a standstill and turned all of Caelid into a land of Scarlet Rot, Starscourge Radahn. What makes this battle so memorable is how you aren't supposed to take him on by yourself, but instead rally the various NPC allies to draw aggro away from you (even Patches who OF COURSE, nopes out of there within ten seconds of calling him xD) while they chip away at his health. Not to mention how the second phase starts with him leaping into the stratosphere, only to come CRASHING DOWN LIKE A METEOR and take out anyone dumb enough to be in the landing zone. This is also when you can totally cheese him by standing next to the edge of the ocean and if you position yourself correctly, you can get him to drown himself when he comes screeching back down to Earth. Now I have NO idea if they've patched this out yet (like they did with the two cheese methods the Fire Giant had) as I have yet to get to that fight in my current run of the game but if it's still there...I totally intend to do it. The battle is also hysterical in the fact that THE ENTIRE TIME you and your allies are fighting him, he's being carried around by a tiny, skinny horse that he is WAAAAY TOO BIG TO BE RIDING ON (and is only able to do so because of Gravity Magic) and it flails around like a Muppet every time it moves. Don't believe me, HERE'S THE PROOF: https://youtube.com/watch?v=OxvrVbV6RkU&feature=shares&t=588

In the end, Elden Ring TOTALLY deserved it's Game of the Year win at The Game Awards for not only having a MASSIVE world to explore with a large variety of places to explore, beautiful music, the traditional SoulsBorne combat with new additions (like being able to jump xD) and fine tuning to perfection. It also has a world created with help from George RR Martin, tutorials that are much clearer and can be re-read at any given time if need, abilities that are given at a good pace and some of the most intense boss fights ever. It certainly won my personal Game of the Year and is getting 5 Critical Hits out of 5: 5/5

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Dad of Boy/God of War (2018): While I'm talking about God of War Ragnarok, I want to mention the 2018 Game of the Year winner. Dad of Boy is a MASTERPIECE of story telling (a TRILLION times more so than the likes of Uncharted and The Last of Us. The latter being a good game with a good story, but it's nowhere NEAR a MASTER CLASS IN STORY TELLING. HELL, THE ORIGINAL RESIDENT EVIL ON THE PLAYSTATION HAS A BETTER STORY EVEN WITH THE CRINGEY DIALOG, "YOU WERE ALMOST A JILL SANDWICH" being a particular highlight xD), Atreus/Loki/BOY is a pure and precious cinnamon roll for most of the game and the fact that the entire game is done in a single take is impressive.

inFamous 2:Sucker Punch took everything from the first game, perfected it, upped the stakes in terms of the plot, gave it REALLY good soundtrack, a greater variety of powers (all of which are fun to use) and two endings totally worth playing this baby twice to get.

[incarnateirony]

Without maybe putting too fine a point on it, based on your observation of the way the show is headed, do you think we're moving to an ending that separates all of TFW from each other? I know the diverging of Sam and Dean's paths is a big part of their journeys, but do you think that applies to Cas (and even Jack), too? I think of all of them, I'm least clear on what the rest of Cas's journey looks like from here (beyond the Empty-that's pretty clear).

If you watch nothing else of my videos, I suggest taking the time to watch Galactic Grudge and Destiny’s Reflection. It takes about 20 minutes total, requires headphones and 1080P and yes, I understand people with audio processing hurdles or language barriers might struggle a bit but long term it maps out a path that would take several hundred pages or more to map out in text.

That disclaimer out of the way as to why I’ve arrived at this destination:

Yes.

Not entirely, nor permanently. Death is nothing to fear. Once they stop fearing death, and especially once they break the system so people aren’t auto-sorted into cages of passivity without their People and Families -- once All of the Heavens function on grand scale like, say, Ash’s bar did -- once humanity has reclaimed the throne/garden. What IS there to fear? That’s the real question.

With the video TLDR spec minded, my hot take:

Whether before or after Cas gets yeeted to the Empty (probably after), he’s due to mirror Rowena’s unbirthing of hell for a long, long list of reasons. Which sure, is her final death. But it wasn’t her end, was it?

But it’s Castiel most definitely arranging a home in which the Winchesters can have peace.

While I see Sam being the one to throw open all the doors of heaven as Chuck did hell and lead a giant MOL resistance through it to TAKE back the throne (another reason I think Cas won’t be until after the Empty, because taking heaven back is  one thing but actually stabilizing it in all the omens of what happens if God disappears or w/e is another -- we’re talking 15.20 here) (also a note, berens wrote 12.22 as a two parter alongside Dabb for 23, and Dabb also wrote Inside Man where the Bobbies revolt), Cas is probably the one going to end up with that throne. Very loosely.

Because they can’t just throw it to their kid and put the weight of the world on his shoulders, it doesn’t break anything. And Rowena has gone from Cas foil to Cas mirror over the years, and even as far as, say, The Things We Left Behind -- much less later Funeralia when she actually MEANT IT, or anything else to follow -- it’s about regret over a child that our stupid battles pretty much condemned. Sam and Dean also have a foot in this story pond but it most centrally belongs to Cas.

So while Cas chases the path of the goddess (Mary, Rowena, Amara), and Sam subverts the allfather he was tied to this season (John, Chuck and yes, even histories of Dean himself), where is Dean? Well one, Dean’s always been tied to someone fans aren’t asking enough questions about right now: Death. Who is very, very prominent this year, and I think everyone has to go rewatch Two Minutes To Midnight right now, too. Focus on more than the pizza or even “one day I’ll reap god, too”. Just focus on it all. Hell, focus on the inversion of Death finding them inconsequential to them being important. Focus on it all.

Dean has emotionally lensed parts of Chuck’s pillar this season, but that’s not really HIS, that’s what Sam was directly tied to. Dealing with daddy issues has always been a Dean thing, and part of his residual anger and hurt are what drove him and Cas apart this year, so the Chuckmara mirroring he kinda filled that emotional slot, sure. But his mytharc positioning, I’m gonna need everybody to think about that.

Dabb has spent like, 2 years teaching people that it’s fine to let go in a mature way and process your grief. Both Sam and Jack got passed a philosopher’s stone in order from Dean to Cas to (cursed aeonchild), once in 15.09 and once in 15.13. The magenta light of death is on both Dean and Cas, but largely avoids Sam, and Jack after his rebirth, while they stand over the christchild in place of Joseph and Mary.

Be it Swan Song “I can’t keep treating you like a kid anymore; you’re a grown--well, overgrown--man”, to modern “But now... you are a grown man, and I am incredibly proud of you”; it’s recognition of the child as a man. Be it Dean’s 12.22 “I saw you. Back there. You’re ready for this.” -- be it John’s “What next?” while moving on. Be it “go, mom, be happy.” be it even when she died, and they thought of bringing her back, “I saw your mother’s heaven. And she is. Happy. She’s... with John. And there’s no hurt, there’s no pain, guilt. Just joy.”

Sam’s place is on earth. His chance to have a home. A family. Dean... Dean has a family. And sure, Sam does as part of that family. But to even be a head of a home. To HAVE a wife. And a son. To finish leaving behind his legacy. Dean... has his I’m sorry.

So let’s play a game, presuming relinquishing the angel’s hold on heaven is done. Saving Cas from the empty is done. But Cas is sitting on that heaven throne while they all look different ways on what to do. Sure, Jack could revive Sam and Dean and bring them back to earth even if Cas is stuck glued to heaven like Rowena is hell. But if Dean’s done his duty AND is proud of his brother beyond duty, if the monsters are all but taken care of short of some stragglers Sam’s legacy system with Eileen can clean up. And ultimately... someone still needs to raise Jack, yes-- what does that give us?

I saw you. You’re ready for this. Now, you’re a grown-- overgrown-- man. I can’t treat you like a kid anymore.

It’s okay, dadmom. You fought for me, raised me, loved me. That’s enough. Go. Be happy. I’ve got him.

So back to “Dabb’s Dark Side of the Moon, Ash bar, megascale”, well. I’m gonna say. They’re gonna need a good hand on deck for that dream to let people find their people, to find their heaven, hell, to decide if they haven’t found their people yet and go back and try again.

It’s not goodbye, it’s I’ll See You Later. Because there’s still parts of earth they can make better. Every day they can make it better. And once Sam has his life, full, he can and would rejoin them all, in heaven. Be that wayfarer bars or toes in the sand, a world where people, families--they’re just as real there as they are on earth, able to make their perfect worlds. Dean and yes, Cas, can go and make that world even ahead of Sam-- with John, and Mary, and whatever old friends they choose to see again. And Sam, and Jack -- and Eileen -- can live on earth. Because for years Dean has wanted Sam to have a life. And die old of something normal and have a kids and grandkids. Trial and Error (Dabb), anyone.

The issue is letting go without it either being suicidal ideation of destructive sacrifice. And I think that’s the framework we’re going to be delivered.

Could I be wrong, sure I guess, I’m human. But as of right now, that’s what I see.

Cas has always wanted to bring his People home. But who have his People become? While yes, being seated in that chair gives chance to make things right with a few remaining angels he would no doubt give a chance, humans reclaiming the garden and planet from the divine they surrendered it to (Hammer of the Gods, Dabb, if you read between the lines on the Billions of pagan gods), or reversing various sealings (Clip Show, Dabb, if you pay attention to how and why EACH WORLD WAS MADE TO BEGIN WITH and how many Falls there have been and WHY THE TABLETS EXIST TO BEGIN WITH), whatever. It wouldn’t really be about establishing authority--and in the end, I’m fairly certain the Castiel seated in that throne would be irrevocably human. Because it’s the human soul that’s immortal. Be it using his grace to establish a spell and reversing elements like in Sacrifice, or tied into the angel blood and human heart theme that’s screaming at us this year-- that’s pretty much where I see Cas ending up. 

So Dean and Cas separate off to heaven in one way, Sam and Jack another, but still fated to come back together. Sam will have Eileen waiting for him. And Jack to raise.

Because the point is that they were here at all and you got to know them. And when they’re gone, it WILL hurt. But that hurt will be a reminder of how much you love them. But learning to let go -- it’s a part of growing up.

I’ve seen you. You’re ready for this. I can’t keep treating you like a kid anymore. You’re a grown, overgrown, man, and I am incredibly proud of you.

Go, be happy.

“See you on the other side.”

If people can’t watch my vids and pull anything out of it, my second note is to go do a Dabberens rewatch. Pull up Dabb and Berens eps on superwiki, make yourself a chain. I WILL note most of 6 and 7 has been seemingly obsoleted by Dabb, which should surprise none of us with all the ball punches at season 7 he does, so if you wanna save yourself a few hours, feel free to bypass. Season 10 also seems to have been addressed in season 14, and everything after that is the onset of Dabb era, so once you get to season 11 (where Carver and Dabb were sharing) and/or 12 (where Dabb took over entirely), just do a straight run. I also won’t blame you for bypassing Bloodlines. 

But if you do truncate 6/7, and a few eps, I suggest replacing them with the finale of each season (4-14, 6 and 7 pretty much already addressed last year), because Dabb still heavily employs those whether they were his own or not. Before Carver came back Dabb was sitting in the upcoming showrunner slot even during Gamble era. Dude has been primed and paying attention for a long fucking time. Absolutely 0% of people should have been surprised at Dabb inheriting the show when he did. And he’s been telegraphing his ideas for this show for years. Notice how many eps I cited above have Dabb’s pen all over it.

It’s where my headspace already was but damn if it doesn’t put Dabb and Dabberens’ direction in scale.

So for all my talk of philosopher’s stone and Death and all of that, if you can’t bring yourself to wade through all 20 minutes of Grudge-Reflection, I ask you to at least think on symbolism here

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