#also i finished god of war ragnarok

[tapioca-puddingg]

Broly, the Legendary Super Saiyan: A Brief Dragon Ball Z Analysis

EDITED 3/12/2023

Yo, it's me again. So I'm still on a break from my Drakengard analyses, which I haven't forgotten about! Those require a lot of research and time, so I'm keeping them on the back burner for now. But instead, I'm here with a pretty unexpected analysis. I've never talked about Dragon Ball Z on my blog before, so this'll be the first time. Today I wanted to talk about Broly from the original Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan movie. The reboot was a fantastic movie and they did a great job at making him more human. I may very well do another analysis on the new Broly one day.

I wanted to give my take on Broly's character from the original movie, since the movie itself doesn't even attempt to. Let me preface this by saying that this is just my opinion based on the character's backstory and behavior. I'm certain someone will disagree, which is fine. Do let me know your thoughts and let me know if I get something wrong. SPOILERS AHEAD: READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

The Start of Broly and Paragus

So, let's talk about it. By now, everyone and their mother has already criticized Broly's original backstory, and for good reason! It's literally the worst backstory I've ever seen, so fans are right to dislike it. Lemme explain his backstory briefly: when Broly and Goku were born, Broly had an abnormally high power level of 10,000. King Vegeta felt ashamed that his power level exceeded that of his own son, so he sought to have Broly and Paragus (Broly's father) executed. I don't know why he would try to kill him and not just make use of him later on, but okay. So Paragus and Broly are attacked and left out to die. That also happened to be the same day that Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta, and Broly managed to get them both to safety. Paragus wants revenge on Vegeta (understandably), but Broly wants revenge on Goku for disturbing him with his crying when they were newborns.

My take on this: All of that makes sense except for Broly's... strange fixation on Goku. This heavily implies that he had a high level of sentience as a newborn; to be able to acknowledge that another newborn is crying near him and remembers this newborn well into adulthood. As humans, we don't gain that level of self-awareness until age 4 or 5. We see this again when he saves himself and Paragus. Although I don't think he knows exactly what's happening, I believe he is aware that they are in danger, and he sorta goes into fight or flight mode. So by that logic, would he not remember that King Vegeta nearly stabbed him to death? He was able to recognize Goku's face and name as an adult, so would he not recognize that Vegeta looks exactly like his father? The more I think about it, the more it doesn't make sense. Anyways though, let's move on.

The Life of Broly and Paragus

It goes without saying that Broly and Paragus' lives have never been easy. Broly has always had this unfathomable amount of power inside of him that he can't control. He's a loose cannon, to put it mildly. And this overwhelms Paragus. Rather than Paragus training him to hone this power, he chooses to use a mind control device as a quick means of "calming" Broly when his temper gets out of line. What lesson does this teach Broly? It teaches him that his anger is unacceptable; that his emotions are wrong. And it also forces Broly to be completely dependent on Paragus, stunting his maturation and effectively making him a man-child. Even though Broly is the same age as Goku (mid to late 30's is my guess), he never leaves his father's side for very long and only speaks when spoken to. This is such an abusive parent-child relationship.

Even when Broly is first introduced, he appears docile and unassuming. When he speaks, his voice is devoid of any emotion, with a lack of emotional facial expressions to boot. He's been forced to suppress his emotions for years because he will be punished for doing so. No doubt that this may have caused some deep-seated resentment. But alas, his strange hatred for Goku made him snap. The device broke and there was nothing to hold back his rage. What happens when a child who has been raised by a controlling parent gains freedom? They lose control. He lost control. It is the first time in his life that he actually has autonomy. The dam had been broken, and all of his pent-up rage and emotions came flooding out, and nobody could stop it. Paragus' lack of trust and fear of his own son brought about the very fate that he had hoped to avoid. It was a disaster waiting to happen, and boy did it.

Aside from completely wrecking the shit of our main heroes, he also finds and kills Paragus as he attempts to flee; he crushes him inside the space pod and hurls it toward the nearest planet. I believe that deep down, Broly developed feelings of hatred and resentment towards Paragus for all the years of abuse he suffered. And when he snaps, it's like "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The seemingly harmless Broly is no more, but is instead replaced by a savage, ruthless and cold-hearted killer. Or in other words, evil. It's for the best that he was put down by Goku. Who knows how much more destruction he would've caused had he still been alive? Let's not forget that he decimated an entire galaxy at the very start of the movie.

Now, I sympathize with both Paragus and Broly at times. I understand that they both had incredibly difficult lives. Between being wrongfully mistreated by King Vegeta, left out to die after almost being killed, losing his entire home planet in a matter of minutes, and having to raise a son whose power level is beyond the scale of anything that he's ever dealt with, it makes sense that he would turn out this way. And then here we have Broly, a person that was raised by a toxic, controlling parent who never let him express his emotions or act independently. Their story is one of tragedy. It doesn't justify either of their actions. It's just an explanation. I could talk more about how Saiyans are raised in families devoid of love and affection, but that's another analysis for another time. But hey, that's just my two cents.

Final note: If you've made it this far, thank you so much for reading and giving this the time of day! I do hope that you enjoy my take on things and be sure to leave your comments if you enjoyed. I wanted to pop in real quick and talk about this. I've had some feelings about this for some time and wanted to get em out there. Until next time!

[6blackfilin9]

Out of the blue

He was just out of the blue

[weebaby]

Me playing God of War Ragnarok every time I have to to somewhere without Mimir:

[transheimdall]

puppet boy

[iturbide]

have you had a chance to play the new pokémon yet? bc i’d really like to hear your takes on the story

I HAVE IN FACT BEEN PLAYING IT I actually put off a side project for...a week or two because I got sucked into playing it.

I can't go into too many details on the story because I have one friend who is thinking about picking it up soon and I do not want to drop inadvertent spoilers but I think that storywise, it is up there with Gen 5 (Black/White) as one of my favorite mainline games. I loved the characters, particularly the rivals, in ways that I really haven't since Bianca. I loved their individual storylines, particularly the one with Team Star, which I went in expecting to be the one I'd slog through out of obligation -- instead it was one of my favorites, along with the Path of Legends. And the finale...I'm honestly still reeling from it. I was not expecting the way it all came together, and how poignant and heartfelt the whole thing felt in the end.

I know the game got a lot of buzz for problems (and oh there are problems, it cannot handle the lake even on a fresh load), but I've seen a not insignificant number of people point out how, if the game had been given the extra 6 to 12 months it needed for polish and fixes, it would probably be near-universally beloved. And despite some of the frustrations with my own experience, I fully ascribe to that because it is an excellent game with so much heart and love to it. It made me legitimately emotional on multiple occasions.

If you've been holding off on it, give the games a chance. They really are worth it.

[astrxealis]

i sometimes forget some stuff i’m into that i didn’t put them in my fandoms list oops ... i have a lot more i have yet to add

[lutavero]

Some other GOW: Ragnarök thoughts

I'm just... so conflicted? Sksksk no but truly

Like in 2018 too I loved the Freya quests so much! Her relationship with Kratos&Atreus, just her in general 💖 and I loved her quests in Ragnarök too! Like I'm so happy we got so much time to learn about her but after a while I just wanted my boy back to go adventures together once more 🙈

Like obv I know they didn't wanna make GOW 2018 2.0 and so it meant they have to change some things gameplay wise and I loved I got to play as Atreus! His gameplay style is just so goooood! Loved every sequence with him. But then I came here for my Dad of son simulator and now I feel both happy with what I got and kinda cheated.

Also, clown me should've known Sindri was gonna suffer after right at the start of the game we got so much time with him. 😭 So many scenes, getting so fleshed out. His relationship with Atreus???? 🥺🥺🥺💖💕💖💕💖 they were so adorable, this whole sibling/uncle-kid energy ... I loved this pair so much.

Also I saw others mentioning how Atres as companion got dumbed down and I do agree? Like why couldn't we get the first 2 or so knowledge stuff read by him or read one part of it and wait for Kratos to finish it or just truly participate in it? Or at least make him make a comment abt how Kratos finally did learn to read the runes? I do know it was done bc of the gameplay stuff, bc Atreus just wasn't with us when we ran into many of these but still it is just such a jarring change. Also, i think in 2018 most of the time they talked abt these interest/knowledge stuff when you discovered them and now Mimir just repeated the same 'what did you learn brother ' text and just why?

Also, getting back to companions getting a little dumbed down, why did Atreus and Freya by default, get clothes as only cosmetics? Why couldn't it still give me those little bonuses it did in 2018? I actually could've used those 'chance at finding more healing/rage stone' bonuses during the game many times 😅.

Anyway, I'm also incredible happy we got the possibly happiest ending?? Like I was so scared and sure someone from the main 3 would die and then we all survived?? 🥺💕💕💕💕 That final phase Odin boss fight was so epic, with that teamwork sequence and all. 💖💕💖💕🥺🥺

But then I did cry my eyes out during that goodbye tour sequence Atreus did. The moment Atreus started talking to Mimir and called him his other father I knew and the tears started 😭😭💕💖💖 and then the hug with Freya 😭😭😭😭💕💕💖💕💖💕💕 and then the Angrboda and Fenrir scene was so adorable. But then I felt a little miffed we didn't quite got a hug with Kratos there.

And then the Jötnar shrine scene... 😭💕😭💕😭💖😭💖😭💔💔💔💔😭😭 I am yet to watch that sequence without tearing up. Opening the shrines and then the goodbye... 🥺🥺😭🥺😭🥺😭🥺💕💔💕💖😝💖 i mean ofc I expected a separation bc with the very first gow:r summary talked about Kratos&Atreus dealing with letting go but it still made me bawl 😭😭🥺🥺

Gosh I just hope in the next game we will get a reunion or sth.

Anyway I loved this game so much expect the berserkers those can get fucked, I hate them ajdkdkalajkala

Time for the post-story stuff and platinum and then fighting the urge to start it again just randomly or waiting for the new game+ to be added bc this game is like 80% finished and I spent 44 hours on it 😅🙈

[sonntam]

I saw reviewers mentioning that they got 38 hours playtime WITH doing all the sidequests.

I am at hour 34 and I have just finished rescuing Freyr and now doing I am finishing up the sidequests in that region.

Send help, I am not prepared to play this game till I reach 50 hour playmark.

[drmazel]

god of war ragnarok: (major themes of growing up and letting go)

me: no <3 (new game)

[phantasieandmirare]

Sometimes life is really just a series of overwhelming and upsetting events while also knowing that if you get through it there's some kind of reward on the other side and that's okay

[lazycats-stuff]

Could you do a batfam x batbro reader? Where reader is the 2nd youngest and they all accidentally forget his birthday, and they see him all teary eyed and they all feel really guilty and go to apologize to him except plot twist, batbro also forgot that it was his birthday and was teary eyed because he saw a really emotional scene in a video game he was playing and it made him tear up

Oh no... So much chaos... And short... AHHHHH.

Summary: (Y/N) and the family forget (Y/N)'s birthday.

Warnings: (Y/N) forgets his birthday, so do the others, recipe for disaster and chaos

Today is a one special occasion for the Wayne family? Which one, I can hear you asking? Well, it's (Y/N)'s birthday today! It's a reason to be happy, right? Well, it seems that today, everyone has forgotten about (Y/N)'s birthday.

Even (Y/N) himself has forgotten about it. So everyone went on about their day, doing the things that they wanted. (Y/N) had plans to play God of War and finish up the game.

He absolutely loved the said game and Kratos kind of remined him of Bruce. Atreus kind of represented all of them and (Y/N) loved Atreus with everything in him.

This game was a gift for his last birthday and it was from Bruce too. After promising to Bruce that he would get good grades in school, Bruce hinted that he might buy the game for his son.

And what does (Y/N) do?

He studies and tries very hard in school and thankfully Bruce doesn't expect him to get straight As. He just wanted (Y/N) to do his best in school. That's something that he wants for all of his children. He doesn't want to kill any of them with with studying.

All of them are intelligent in their on their way in Bruce's eyes and he would nurture that. Which parent wouldn't, if they have the means of course.

(Y/N) was playing the game in his room, just enjoying the game. He was sad that the game was over, but hey, he didn't mind it. Be happy that it happened, right?

(Y/N) watched in silence, just crying softly at the ending. Oh he was going to buy himself Ragnarok, even if it was the last thing he has ever done. He needs to see Atreus and Kratos in another adventure. He put his controller down, crying at the end.

It touched him in the feels. Bruce and him have a similar type of relationship. There was, at first, some emotional reservations, but as the time has passed, the two have grown more closer. (Y/N) had to lay on the bed and hug his pillow to calm himself down.

As (Y/N) was crying upstairs, everyone was downstairs, just lazing around. It was silent, except from the TV where Jason was watching a TV show. It was all fine and dandy until Tim sat up out of nowhere, looking at his phone like he has seen a ghost.

" Tim? " Bruce prompted and the others looked at Tim. " What's wrong? "

" We forgot (Y/N)'s birthday! " Tim said, becoming paler and paler with every second that has passed. Oh no, oh no... Shit!

" No, it's not- " Jason stopped, looking at his phone. Oh no.

They have actually and ever so royally fucked up. Oh God.

" Oh no! " Dick said and Damian put his face into his hands. Bruce felt like shit. Oh God...

" Oh no. " Bruce said, rubbing his forehead.

" What are we going to do? " Jason asked, pushing his hair back.

" We are going to go upstairs, apologize with everything in us and then buy so many presents that it will look like Christmas. " Bruce announced, standing up from the couch.

" You are going to be first Bruce. " Jason said and Bruce just went upstairs, shaking his head.

" This is the reason why he didn't come down, he is too sad to come down. Angry at us too. " Dick said as they walked up to the door. Bruce couldn't disagree with that.

The question as to what was going to happen when they enter? (Y/N) could either explode at them or he could be too heartbroken to even talk to them. There was no in between with (Y/N).

Bruce opened the door and everyone has seen (Y/N) on the bed, crying.

" Oh (Y/N), we are so sorry. " Bruce has started, walking up to the bed and hugging his son tightly. " We didn't mean to forget. " Bruce said and (Y/N) stopped crying.

" What did you forget? " (Y/N) asked through the hiccups. What did they mean about that?

" We forgot your birthday and we are so sorry. " Dick jumped in and (Y/N) frowned, confused beyond belief.

" It's my birthday today? " (Y/N) asked, looking at his family members. What was the date today?

" Hang on. " Jason now, jumped in. " Hold up. Did you forgot your birthday? " Jason asked and (Y/N) nodded. Jason frowned and now Damian had to jump in.

" Then what are you crying about? " Damian asked, tilting his head. (Y/N) confuses him so much sometimes.

" I finished the God of War... And it hit me so hard in the feels. " (Y/N) said, breaking down into sobs once more. He buried his head into Bruce's chest and Bruce just rocked him back and forth.

The brothers looked at each in shock. Oh my God. He is the most human one in the family. No, Alfred is in the mix too. Alfred is also the most human member of the family.

" Would buying God of War Ragnarök be okay? " Jason asked, knowing that (Y/N) loves the game and Ragnarök came out a while ago. (Y/N)'s head perked up at the sound of it.

" Oh you are buying it. I don't care the fact that it's my birthday, if you don't buy it, I won't talk to any of you. " (Y/N) said, not caring that he was sounding like a spoiled brat.

Is it wrong to just want Atreus and Kratos to go through adventures? To get closer? And he wanted more of Brok. If something is to happen to him, he will die.

" Sure thing, how about we do that now? " Bruce proposed, making everyone a little confused. " We can buy it and then we can stop by to find you some cheesecakes. " Bruce said and everyone has agreed with the idea.

" Now, everyone get ready, you (Y/N) wash your face and we are going to meet in 20 minutes downstairs. " Bruce said and everyone shuffled out.

" Now, are you sure that game has bothered you? " Bruce pressed once they were alone. (Y/N) nodded, hugging his dad back.

" Yes B. I was sad about the ending, not about the birthday. " (Y/N) said, wiping the tears away. " Okay, I'm happy to hear it. Now get ready. "

[comicaurora]

What are your thoughts on guardians vol.3? (If you have watched it) I went into it, expecting it went to the garbage like the rest of the mcu, but I was pleasantly surprised by its creativity, trope subversion, and how it wrapped up the previously unresolved arks of its characters.

That's what I've heard!

The thing is, Guardians 3 could be the most transcendent work of cinema ever made, and I'd probably still feel little to no motivation to watch it at this point. It's not Guardians's fault - it's just suffering from the same problem that superhero comics have been struggling with for decades: no matter how good an individual arc or run is, absolutely nothing good lasts or matters in the long term, and the stories are shaped in such a way that "the long term" is the only thing anyone gets to build towards.

Whenever I complain about the MCU I get a handful of people loudly complaining about my complaining, with the general thesis that if I don't like it I shouldn't watch it or talk about it - if I'm not having fun, just stop engaging with it. And the thing is, I have. I am intellectually interested in why this massive franchise is fumbling the bag so hard, which is why I still check in on it sometimes, but I've long since stopped turning to the MCU for uncritical entertainment. And even the good movies or shows with a lot of interesting ideas - good character arcs, fun concepts, interesting planting for future payoff - don't draw me in anymore, because they're hooked into a massive moneymaking machine that will scrap and squander anything if they think it'll make them more in the quarter. It doesn't matter how good the writing is, because the writers are not allowed to tell a complete, finished story, and they have no control over what happens to their characters outside of their own script.

Captain America's arc was set up from literally minute one to answer one burning question at the core of his character: does a world without a war still need Captain America? After that incredibly basic tee-up at the end of First Avenger, half a dozen movies failed to come up with a reason to say "yes," and now Steve is retired for good after getting fumbled through four different storylines that couldn't even pretend that they needed him (the unused Chekhov's Phone from the end of Civil War still haunts me). The foundational arc of his entire character never happened because nobody bothered to keep track of it past a single movie.

Taika did something interesting with Thor in Ragnarok - take away Mjolnir, force him to recognize what it means to be the god of thunder, give him a very Odin-y missing eye - and the very next movie undid all of it. Just kidding, never mind, here's an eye and a new weapon and also his old weapon again, and in one more movie we're even gonna give him his hair back, probably as an apology for all the completely unironic fatphobia we're gonna slather him in for two and a half hours. I'm not even surprised Love And Thunder was such an overblown mess that barely took itself seriously - why would Taika bother trying to give Thor another arc when the powers that be will just roll it back in six months anyway?

I hear Rocket Raccoon has a fantastic arc in this movie. That's great, and demonstrates that he's being written by a writer that deeply cares about him. But he's part of the MCU, and the MCU doesn't let anything end, so if current patterns hold, Rocket is going to continue to serve as quippy plushie-bait for the next dozen movies and none of that depth is going to come through in the long term. Hell, since they're making Kang noises for the Next Big Threat and Kang's entire gimmick is rewriting timelines, literally none of this is guaranteed to matter. By next year, it might not have even happened anymore.

The MCU has successfully shaped itself into a paradigm where the bright spots of good writing are overridden and lost as soon as the writers room turns over, and that makes it really hard for me to muster up the enthusiasm to watch even a really good movie that's locked into the exact same grist mill as everything else. I'm glad people liked it, I hope it gets to stay good this time - I just have no desire to watch it.

[creatingblackcharacters]

Ice's Favorite Black Characters, #4

Angrboda, God of War: Ragnarok

Okay so technically, I'm not fully informed because I have not finished the game (we got a lot of games to play at home. No spoilers!!). BUT! There are two reasons I love Angrboda enough to include her on this list.

FIRST, the moment I saw who they cast, I knew it was about to be white supremacist hell on the Internet. "A Negress? In my good Christian Viking White Fantasy World??" Yeah. Literally when I click images after typing her name in on Google, a fully whitewashed image appears. So you can see how I was arms up and ready to go. IDC what she does, I'm gone fight about it 🤷🏾‍♀️ Because don't have Black men voice Kratos for over a decade, don't have us entertain you, and then act like we can't be on screen with you. Fuck racists 😤

Second, her first meeting with Atreus/Loki and that entire section has sat with me to this day. Angrboda chafes at the idea of being the one little bit of Atreus' story. The prophesied one to tell him how to find his way, and then... Dassit. Be seeing ya! Back to home to her lonely, magical swamp with her ox, where her parents are dead, and her heartbroken toxic grandma hates/loves her but won't speak to her. A young woman who yearns to leave and do something big, to live life, shoved into a small role that's gonna kick off somebody else's grand hero's journey. That's it, that's the one meaning to your life, and at 14, it's been accomplished. Congrats.

Yeah she had every right to be salty about it, and I was happy she acted like it! She's right!! I'd be sick as fuck if it were me lmao. So many women designated to the whims of fate and mythology in some guy's story. Boooooooo! I really liked that that was a point for her! It was really cool seeing that yeah, i might recognize that I'm not the main character but damn lmao let me do something too! I am more than what this boring ass prophecy says I'm meant for!

I also love how they like... They act like teenagers going through identity crises. Obviously teens don't make the greatest decisions, but they're figuring it out, and that's okay! Yeah I think they were cute. Alas, people hate Black girls as love interests 😭

[sepublic]

Y’know I see the villains of The Owl House and God of War Ragnarok as being surprisingly similar. Scrawny, sleazy white guys whose only real power is lying to and manipulating others. Racist colonizers who claim to be doing this for the good of others but in reality they only care about themselves and kill their own kin for not going along. They isolate one of the MCs, a teenager, from the adult looking after them as they try to convince the kid they’re just misunderstood little dudes who can’t hurt anyone; A successful manipulation leads to that teen being gaslit into thinking they’re at fault. Enormous misogynist Pick Me incel vibes, hurt a woman as part of their backstory, and said woman eventually gets her revenge in some form. Commit genocide because they think that makes them a big tough guy. Enemies to a race of powerful giants whose only surviving member is a child.

Gets ganged up on by the kid and their loved ones during the final battle, tries to appeal to that same kid in desperation about how they’re the victim here, but that kid shows exactly how they see right through it, and no longer believe this mess is their fault. The scene then asks, Well what do we do with him now? And then people that the villain doesn’t care about, whose pain and vengeance very much matters regardless or even because of this, steps in to finish him off, more than happy to take the opportunity; Interrupting the silence to deliver a one-liner refuting the villain’s last words (which summarizes their motives). The villain is a pathetic parasite with delusions of grandeur who fittingly dies as the butt of a joke. Their colonial Holier than Thou regime is destroyed.

Ragnarok was released a month after Thanks to Them aired, so I doubt the writers took inspiration; I imagine the ending had already been written beforehand, based on how long production takes, and Belos' characterization had been established before Odin's. And it’s funny because you’d think these stories would be so different, but also their main premise is about a kid going on their coming-of-age adventure with their pale badass parent who’d obliterate anyone who touches them and is super powerful. I swear single parents and their kid is like THE trend now, I’m sure cleverer people have suggested the implications this has for our generation’s baggage lol. We just love to see a domesticated badass. And we really hate our politicians.

[wildglitch]

How What if...Zombies Spidey gets to the DCU

Here's the second part of this post

This is about how Zombie!Peter (And possibly others) got to the DCU. the third part will be the HC on what he is going to be doing overther, but for now wh need to know how he got there

Also,I accidentally uploaded my original draft for this but it wasn't finished so I had to delete it so I lost all of that writing TnT

-Starting this off with more timeline explanations! Let's goooooooo

Ok so anything that happens on Earth has absolutely no effect on the rest of the universe, that means that all of the guardian movies and Thor Ragnarok happens when they originally did in the OG timeline.

"But Thor and Loki met Strange 3 days before Infinity war" SHhhhhhh, trust and listen. Since Loki really didn't want to deal with his dad, Instead of just sending him to Earth, She sends him to a different reality Earth. How? But studying the space stone of course. Not to mention he spent a good while researching and studying the aether when he was king and before they sent it to the collector. With this in mind, Loki taught himself how to access and travel to different realities (Remember this)

That means that Bruce B. gets back on Earth at the same time he did in the original, in 2018. Infinity war takes place in about a day or so and seeing as Thanos is on Earth by the end of the episode, let's say that the episode takes place over a time period of about 24-48 hours. A weekend if you will.

That, adding onto the fact I made the zombie apocalypse 7-8 months long instead of 1 month changes a few things timeline wise. Not only does it push Ant-Man & The Wasp back many months, It also means that there's a high chance Bucky's brainwashing isn't 100% gone, and that the apocalypse started around a year or so after Homecoming.

Do with that info as you please :D

-What is happening without space friends? Well...

Loki wasnt Fucking Stupid and died like and idiot here!

(Your the god of fucking mischief and yet the only thing you can think to do is a knife?!? A fucking Knife? Not even to the back as has been stated you have done in your own goddamn show, But right in the face where he can very clearly see it you short dumbass!)

N E Ways- Loki did something, yk, smart and joined up with Thanos cause like, Dude the guy was winning! Loki was gonna play a long game and work with him again to get his opening. . .Then they killed his fucking brother! Yeah this has not been a good day for him- He is sent to stalk Earth with the other dudes but he decides to stay on the ship and

Loki looking down at Earth though the ship's surveillance systems: WTF did the mortals do!?!?

Alien helper Loki asked for and somehow got: Would you like to go down there sir?

Loki getting comfortable and changing his clothes into something cozy after a very traumatic day: Norse no, Get me a bigger monitor and some food, I wanna see where this goes.

And then Loki just watches like the agent of chaos he is. (Remember this too)

What about Thor? Well Thor doesn't really die, Loki just sees the explosion of the ship and just assumes. He still teams up with half the guardians and everything still happens like the movie for him until he gets to Wakanda.

AND OH BOY LET ME TALK ABOUT WAKANDA

(The Guardians? Canon. Literally the only difference could be that maybe Peter Q. and Co. die immediately on Titan without the space roadtrip trio.)

-Wakanda? Gone

Okoye Was sent to America and everything went to hell lol.

No but Seriously, The King was gone, Okoye went to look for him, and Wakanda was left pretty defenseless. I say that the country was already compromised before she left, but it only started causing trouble after she left, so she has no clue what happened. the important thing isn't Okoye though, no the important thing is Thor. More specifically, Thor, Rocket and Groot when they get there. I can see 2 things happening.

1-they get infected immediately and all of a sudden you get a Zombified God with an axe walking around with a tree and a raccoon. All there while his brother is watching the man, he thought was dead, truly die. ( he gets the feeling that this is Karma) Or,

2- They fight the Zombies thinking they are part of Thanoses army like total badasses, not knowing what they are fighting or getting infected. All while Loki I absolutely shell shocked watching this from a 5th monster mouth agape. (Ones watching visions base with the king and witch, Twos watching the group trying to get to the base, Threes watching some old guy sitting in a park absolutely unbothered, And Forths could be the other dead people from the last post, idk, the separate continuity for the AU gets a mention lol)}

Loki in ver. 1: Absolute depression

Loki in ver. 2: Slacked jawed as he watches his brother be a complete dumbass

-So, How did they he skip dimension?

Well everything from the episode happens the same. Maybe a bit more emotional because they are closer, but every one we see die, Dies. Why? Uhh duh, angst and plot potential, why else?

and its, Everyone one we see die. Let me explain. Anyone we see get turned or killed on screen, It's death. If a character dies off screen but the situation is bad and impossible for said person to get out of, it's death. BUT, if a character is killed off screen but theoretically they could escape, they can live.

Ex For this rule: Happy is hit by a speeding car off screen that implies death= Death, Reason? He's a normal dude T'Challa is hit by a speeding car off screen that implies death= Can Live, Reason? He has the powers of the Black Panther

You Got That? cool. with that in mind, and what I can remember atm, this is the list of people who live

Peter P.- Scott L.- King T'Challa.- Bruce B.- Bucky B.- Rocket R.- Groot-Thor- Loki. Igs, if you want the guys from the more hero’s Idea to be here then you can add them ig. That's the list of survivor a

(Why aren't there more women? Idk, take it up with Disney for killing all of them)

Why these guys? Simple. Cause they all are on Earth

-Loki, being a god, takes a look at Zombie Thanos and thinks "Oh no...Oh Hellas no" And decides to do something about it.

Seriously, You expect me to believe that anything other stone then the space and reality one can send them to another reality? No, I don't think so. And who did I say studied and used these stones before? hmmm? So my proposition for you today is simple. take our god Loki with his obsession with the space stone and have him cast a spell to have every living being on the planet left, come with him to whatever other reality he's taking them to. and thus the crossover commences.

-Peter and the others are now screwed.

They all travel and end up at the same place they were in their original universe. (Omg I just realized Loki could end up at the watchtower lol)

They could be in different realities, but they all are in the same position they were before traveling

Peter: Is on plane before Dimension hopping

Peter: falling to his death after dimension hopping

Peter: Paink!

And then they get split up...hurray!

That's the end for this post. The other will be more focused on Peter But we needed This one as a way to get to the next world. Will I change some stuff? Sure, maybe later, But for now I'm pretty tired and I don't have much else to do at this point.

With that said, I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know what you think

[akumajoaurora]

Castlevania Games Do Have a Story (And Why It’s Important That It Stays Subtle)

Ok so this is basically an expanded writeup of some loose thoughts I posted to Twitter earlier today in response to the news that the God of War Ragnarok guy wants to do a Castlevania game, but this is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, so I figured it deserves to be on a long form post and not just Three Sentences Per Post Dot Com.

A big criticism of Castlevania that I hear pretty frequently is “Oh, it has no story”. However, this is untrue- Castlevania games very much do have a story, they’re just not presented in the format that most people are used to. 

A lot of story-driven video games play out somewhat like a TV show or a novel. You get to watch the story play out from start to finish, with characters talking to each other, and often moving and acting as though you were watching TV. There’s nothing wrong with this format- I enjoy it a lot myself! Everyone who knows me knows I’m a big fan of Devil May Cry, after all. But this isn’t the only way to tell a story.

With the exception of a few games (mainly Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness), Castlevania has a much different format. While there are some cutscenes, they’re generally much more limited and there aren’t very many per game; In some of the really old games, there really isn’t much dialogue at all, and instead the main plot points are given to you in scrolling text at the beginning and end of the game or in the game’s manual. This is important because it pushes you, the player, to engage with the text. The story is there, but how deep does it run? How does each game play into the overall saga of Castlevania? That’s what you have to discover for yourself, and clues can often be found in the level design, the music, and flavor text.

To give an example, let’s analyze one of my personal favorites story-wise, Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest. 

This game takes place 7 years after the original Castlevania. Our friend Simon Belmont, now 29 years old, has already killed Dracula. However, he begins to feel gravely ill, and fears he may be on his deathbed. He goes to the family cemetery to contemplate this, and a mysterious unknown woman appears to him, who tells him that he’s been cursed by Dracula. In order to save himself, he will need to collect five scattered pieces of Dracula’s corpse, use them to resurrect Dracula, and then kill him again, all within seven days or he will die. The mystery woman then disappears.

Simon travels the land in search of the Dracula relics. Along the way he, of course, fights monsters, and also talks to the ordinary people of Transylvania in search of clues; Some of them are nice or even flirtatious towards him, but a lot are openly hostile, and will lie to him or try to scam him. Every night, Simon’s curse worsens, and the famous words “What a horrible night to have a curse...” appear as more and more monsters start to come out. During this time the player is unable to go indoors. Depending on how long it takes you to complete the game, Simon either dies fighting Dracula, or survives and frees himself from the curse. He then is seen making a grave for Dracula. This is the text of the good ending:

"The encounter with Dracula is terminated. Simon Belmont has put an end to the eternal darkness in Transylvania. His blood and sweat have penetrated the earth and will induce magic and happiness for those who walk on this land."

So, what can we get out of this short, dialogue-lite game? Let’s take a look.

Even though Simon has already defeated Dracula, the fight is not over. He can’t truly escape his family legacy, and the ongoing battle between man and vampire. Simon, like many Belmonts, is trapped within a cycle of violence- Even when he does what he’s “supposed” to do. It’s manifesting in an extremely physical way that forces him to engage with the conflict- If he were to do nothing, the curse would quite literally kill him within a week.

Simon is a thoughtful and spiritual person who respects his family greatly. Rather than getting angry about his condition, giving up, or even asking a doctor, he went to his family cemetery to contemplate in the presence of his ancestors. The fact that he seemingly didn’t go to a doctor brings me to my next point...

Simon is largely disliked by his neighbors- Even though, again, he’s already killed Dracula. A common element of Castlevania games is that the Belmont family are feared and distrusted for their magic powers and their proximity to the supernatural, and this is certainly true for Simon. Still he continues to fight.

Despite this, he clearly still has someone looking out for him. Who is the mystery woman? Is she an ancestor spirit (Sypha, perhaps)? Is she a witch? An anonymous admirer? Either way, she cares enough for Simon to help him in his time of need.

Simon is, ultimately, a deeply kind and caring person. Even though Dracula caused so many people horrible suffering, including Simon himself, he still took the time to build a grave for Dracula. He showed respect even for his greatest enemy and went out of his way to provide him dignity in death.

In the end, the people finally recognized Simon’s good deeds, and he was hailed as a hero... But at what cost? It’s worth noting the specific phrasing, “his blood and sweat have penetrated the earth”. Simon had to give so much of himself, very much putting his life on the line in order to keep humanity safe. The burden of heroism is an extremely heavy one.

Simon’s Quest becomes even more poignant when put into place with the wider Castlevania timeline. Simon is one of so many Belmonts to be feared and hated by his neighbors, give everything in order to save them, and finally win their respect- But at a very high cost. Again and again this cycle plays out. It’s also worth mentioning that Simon’s Quest is the origin of the famous background music track, “Bloody Tears”. Interesting name, isn’t it? Whose tears are they? Are they Simon’s- Is the curse ravaging him so badly that he’s literally crying blood as he keeps fighting? Are they the tears of the Belmont clan, unable to escape their fate? Or maybe tears shed for, or perhaps by, the spirits of all those who have lost their lives to Dracula? Worth thinking about. 

Every Castlevania game has a story, and all of them come together to create a much wider tale of life, death, and rebirth, generational trauma, the cosmic battle between good and evil, the nature of humanity, finding light in the darkness, and why we keep fighting. Like the gothic novels it draws from, it poses many questions about the nature of life, death, suffering, and what it means to be human. The format in which this story is told is a unique one that encourages introspection and participation. If you’re someone who enjoys media analysis, I highly recommend the Castlevania series.

Ultimately, while I don’t think it’s impossible to do Castlevania in a more traditional format (after all, LoI and CoD pulled it off pretty well), I do think that the layers to the story are a big part of what makes it, well, Castlevania. I don’t think it’s at all fair to say that Castlevania doesn’t have a story- Many of the games don’t have a distinct linear dialectical narrative the way a lot of modern games do, but they very much have a story. Why not try experiencing it?

In conclusion,