#and i think that elemental masters are probably comforted by their element

[froginninjago]

Day 123: sketch of Kai and Wyldfyre for the soul?

(NOT A SHIP)

[sharksandjays]

This is sort of going off my recent artwork but I really wanted to take a moment to talk about Jay's adaptability. Specifically weapons. With the other ninjas, they seem to stick to one thing. Kai seems to always stick to a sword, Zane a long distance weapon, Cole an impact-based weapon, and Nya a spear-type weapon. (Lloyd still has the same sword he's had since season 11.) And while Jay does stick to chained weapons, he shows a lot of comfort with continously changing weapons in situations of need.

Personally, I think it's to make up for his element. Lightning is an incredibly powerful element that is likely very difficult to control. He probably doesn't WANT to use it much outside of his usual shocks and power outages. Unlike Lloyd, he doesnt need that much power because he's usually not fighting The Big Bad.

So he makes up for it with variety. With hand to hand combat, agility, speed, adaptability of weapons.

I mean, just look at all of them.

(And dont get me STARTED on how insane it is that he reguarly uses kusarigamas. That's RIDICULOUSLY DIFFICULT TO MASTER. I think this guy needs a ton of respect just for using chained weapons.)

But the coolest thing, to me at least, is that it looks like he specifically trained in the other ninjas weapons. (Maybe the others did too? But i dont really see it as much with them.)

This scene in crystallized is what got me.

Cole literally just threw his weapon to Jay, trusting him to know how to use it. And Jay kicks butt.

I wonder if a little 15 yo Jay trained in the training yard for hours, frustratedly hacking at something with a katana, then training with a hammer, switching to a spear, then to a bostaff, then to sai, and just keeps going and going until he's comfortable with all of them. He cant be the weak man on the team. If his power isnt going to cut it, then he needs to master weapons. Master combat. He wont be the weak link. He refuses to.

Anyways sharkanalysis is back

[remotepixel]

Hi, it is a bit angsty, but imagine yandere platonic avengers with an outcast/wanderer teen mutant reader (maybe some elemental powers like fire) who is cynical because her parents kicked her out because they discovered her powers and thought of her as a freak? Can you please write how would they react to her and what kind of thing would they do to make her trust them? Thanks a lot.

Hiii! Thank you for requesting and sorry this took me so long <3

TW: yandere themes

-Assuming the reader didn’t want to become a hero in fear of being outcasted even further, it’d probably be someone like Clint who met you first - someone who isn’t immediately spotted by the public.

-As a father (or, to be fair, just a normal empathetic person), seeing an obviously homeless/mistreated kid would be setting off a series of alarm bells and a want to help. Since he’s trained for stealth, I think he’d be able to recognize the distrust in your overall posture and gaze, so he wouldn’t push too much. He’d probably hand over some money, a simple suggestion to stay safe, and head on his way.

-Obviously, his concern starts to grow into obsession (you’ll start seeing him more, he asks a few more questions than last time), but he wouldn’t mention it to the avengers unless he felt there was a higher need to: like seeing you start a fire with just your hands.

-As you can probably guess, they’re not a big fan of hearing some kid could just burn down the entire street if they wanted to, but, since, at the end of the day, you’re just a kid using your powers to survive, they wouldn’t be trying to hunt you down or anything of the sort. In a mixture of sympathy or some member’s wariness, they would be joining Clint in his (now daily) check up on you.

-Natasha is an expert in reading body language and changing hers to get what she wants, so she could smell your distrust from a mile away. She’ll keep up a emotionless façade despite your best efforts to make her leave.

-It’d probably annoy you more at first, the fact she’s so calm when you’re having the worst time of your life, but she’s careful to not cross any boundaries she knows she won’t come back from and you start to feel bad later on, thinking of your emotional outbursts against her stoicism.

-When you’re starting to trust her more, she opens to you in return. She don’t ask about your home life or what happened, she mostly listens or sits in the quiet with you, with the hopes of becoming a safe place against everything (or anyone) else.

-Bruce would be another more comforting figure out of them all. He knows how it feels to be judged for something - destructive - out of your control, and it would offer a comfort to know you’re not alone.

-I don’t see him visiting as often as some of the others (he’s too nervous to do so - just in case he messes anything up), but normally brings something when he does; something small like a trinket or a book. He doesn’t want to come off as pitying, and he assumes you won’t be accepting of any ‘extravagant’ gifts, so he hopes you would at least accept those - a way of showing he cares and something to do for you.

-He wouldn’t push his luck, similar to Nat and Clint, but he would suggest moving into the tower or similar thanks to him being science bros with the pushiest member of the team: Tony.

-Tony would be the worst person in this scenario. Sure, he knows his way around the social scene, but normally that’s with fellow arrogant businessmen, not angsty teens.

-Despite understanding your distrust, he doesn’t have the subtle cues mastered like Nat. His first line to you is probably a question/joke about your powers, which definitely doesn’t help when that’s the reason you’re cynical in the first place. He’ll attempt to be casual, then just blurt out how the tower has extra rooms - an not-very-subtle offer you have declined too many times in the past week.

-What he makes up with badly-formed conversations, he tries to make up with gifts: blankets, shoes, way too much cash he just shoves into your hand before leaving. He doesn’t view you as a charity case, but he hopes his attentiveness to your needs/wants solidifies the fact that he’s trying to help.

-Steve’s a 50/50 I think. He’s an easy person to trust, but once his obsessive thoughts start taking over, he gives off heavy ‘i’m going to gaslight every interaction into something positive and you’re never getting rid of me’.

-Like, even if you don’t trust him (yet), he’ll be sitting next to you with a smile on his face thinking about how well this is going. It clear he’s trying though. He’s persistent in his efforts - making sure to visit everyday at a set time - with either food or maybe his drawing kit if you’re interested in that.

-He’d probably pull out the ‘:(’ face if he deems you haven’t opened up enough to him, and basically try and guilt-trip you into doing so (because he’s the epitome of goodness, right? Shouldn’t you trust him at least?)

-Thor probably doesn’t realise you don’t trust him. As long as you stick around, cowering in the corner or not, he’ll happily talk about his newest adventures or how much you would like Asgard (never mind the fact you won’t even think of the idea of following him somewhere and he’s already trying to bring you back to his home realm).

-He’d be similar to Tony in terms of being overly-interested in your powers, but his is out of such pure enthusiasm that’s it hard to completely brush him off. He doesn’t even flinch if you decide to show how dangerous your powers can be on a stray piece of trash, he’s just happy to see you using them.

-When you eventually open up about your parents, the avengers aren’t happy obviously. They knew you probably weren’t living in the streets for fun, but to hear that the people you were supposed to trust most were the reason?

-Don’t be surprised if you hear your parents have suddenly gotten fired from their jobs and moved across the state (or, at least, that’s what people think since they’ve also cut off any contacts they had).

-However, in a twisted way, there is a sense of satisfaction that your parents were fully out of the picture, no ways of them ever being able to regain your trust. It leaves an open spot for the avengers to swoop in; pick up the broken pieces and claim the number one spot in your heart.

-You can happily stay in the tower with them, far above the streets you once lived in, knowing that they’ll never let you leave go back.

[adobe-outdesign]

Kung Fu Panda 4 Rewrite Thing

Been chewing on this movie for a while now and wanted to take a shot at improving it. Some parts are a bit rough but I think this gets the general idea across.

As a rule, I'm trying to keep most of the characters and elements/plot beats in place rather than spinning things off in a completely unrelated direction. I also am aware of the restrictions placed on this movie, such as an unwillingness to rehire high-profile VAs and runtime limitations. This is just meant to be a "what if" kind of thing. That said:

We open with a stylized sequence of Po telling the story of his and the Five's latest battle. As it ends it's revealed he's at the grand opening of Mr. Ping's brand new bigger, better noodle shop location, talking to the customers.

As one of them asks where the Five are now, Po explains that they got summoned to their own individual missions, but they'll be back soon.

(Yes I am still having them be MIA, as Po needs to be alone with Zhen for part of the movie. However, they'll only gone for the first part of this rewrite and for a very specific plot-related reason.)

(The thing with Po needing to give up his title of Dragon Warrior makes no sense for multiple reasons, so let's just drop that plot point entirely. I get that it's meant to tie into the "change" moral, but I'd rather have Po imparting this lesson onto Zhen instead of learning it himself, as otherwise it undermines the character growth he had in 3.

Also, Po isn't carrying the staff around with him constantly in this rewrite, as it looks a bit silly and isn't plot relevant here.)

A messenger shows up to report that the Jade Palace is under attack. Po decides to rush over just in case Shifu needs backup... which he does, because he's being kidnapped in a small one of those magic-proofed cages from the actual film.

(Shifu being kidnapped was tossed around in the writing room originally and I want to keep it in this rewrite because it A) gives Shifu something to do, and B) I want to allow Zhen to openly be working with the Chameleon in order to help flesh out her character and avoid the lackluster plot twist, meaning she'll need new leverage against Po later on.)

The figure behind the kidnapping appears to be Master Elephant, which confuses Po as he's been missing for several months. Right as he's about to land a finishing blow, the figure shape shifts into Master Chicken, throwing Po's attack and resulting in him getting a bad head injury. He does his best to pursue the attackers, but can't keep up. Dismayed, he returns to the Jade Palace...

...And finds Zhen trying to steal something, using the commotion outside as a distraction. Po fights, but he's still badly injured and can't give it his all, resulting in Zhen being able to slip away with her prize—a dust bunny from under the furniture. Po is baffled.

(Side note: I would probably redesign Zhen so she actually looks like she matches the other characters' style, but I digress.)

Feeling dismayed, he returns to the noodle shop, where both his dads work on treating his wounds and comforting him. As Po explains what happened, Mr. Ping mentions that customers have been circulating rumors about a shapeshifting sorceress in Juniper City. Po decides that that's where he needs to go, promises his dads he'll be safe, and leaves.

(I'm cutting Mr. Ping and Li's subplot, because as much as I love them they don't really add much to the plot. It also feels like it goes against Mr. Ping's characterization in KFP 1 and 2 in particular.)

This is where we can have the scene of the Chameleon vs. the crime bosses. This can mostly stay the same except one of the bosses attempts to attack her when she shape shifts, causing her to retaliate with a magic-based attack. She also needs to straight-up kill the guy to establish her and her sorcery as a legit threat.

Po arrives at the Happy Bunny tavern to look for a ride to Juniper City. As he talks to Fish and Chip, he notices Zhen nearby doing some black market trading with Granny Boar to obtain a white feather. Po confronts her and she tries to run out with the feather, causing the boar family to pursue in a big fight scene.

Po and Zhen manage to escape, Zhen stashing the feather. Po threatens to have her sent to jail, but Zhen confirms she's working for the Chameleon and can lead Po to her so he can rescue Shifu. Po dislikes this situation, but has no choice but to agree.

(Unlike in the actual film, I would make it so her lair is hidden in some fashion; magic that keeps it camouflaged would be appropriate for a chameleon, or it could be underground or hidden behind something. Regardless, it should be impossible to locate without Zhen's assistance.)

On the boat ride over to Juniper city, Zhen says that she has to "obtain" one more item from the local history museum or she'll be in big trouble with the Chameleon. Po doesn't like this detour, but once again has no choice in the matter.

Po asks why Zhen would want to work for someone so obviously evil, and this is the point where Zhen admits she was adopted by the Chameleon and we get her backstory.

(I would establish that the Chameleon has an actual name, but only Zhen uses it. It shows that Zhen is closer to her than most, not quite seeing her as a mother but not fearing her enough to use her preferred title. Also, the Chameleon's the only KFP villain without a proper name and that bothers me.)

The backstory can be the same, but the part about her living on the streets and meeting the Chameleon for the first time should be merged into a single flashback.

Zhen says that Po couldn't understand, but Po reveals that he's also adopted, and that he probably would commit some noodle-related crime if his dad asked him to. Still, Zhen insists that people don't change, and that includes her.

They arrive at Juniper city (Po is impressed at its size but he very much is not acting like he's never seen a city before). Zhen covers up her muzzle and tucks her tail under her clothes so she won't be recognized.

Zhen is ready to break into the museum, but Po says that he's got this and goes up to the guards to tell them that he has some official Dragon Warrior business to take care of and will need to borrow some ancient artifacts.

Unlike in the actual film, everyone ready acknowledges him as the Dragon Warrior. The guards are more than happy to loan him whatever he needs... until Zhen's tail pops out and the guards recognize her, prompting them to attack.

During the scuffle, Zhen uses a chi blast to knock back one of the guards, but almost gets taken out by the other guard coming up behind her. Po defends her but gets mildly injured as a result.

After the fight, Po asks about the chi move and Zhen states that the Chameleon taught her the basics.

Zhen confirms that the Chameleon is a master of chi, and that the sorcery she uses is a specific type of chi manipulation.

(The reason I'm connecting chi to her powers is that it makes them feel a bit less out of left field, and helps 4 feel like a logical progression from 3.)

Zhen admits that she's not very good at using chi, but Po points out that it took him years to use chi in battle. He also compliments her on her kung fu, and she confirms she's self-taught.

(In this rewrite, Zhen is good at fighting but not quite at the level she is in the actual movie. This is to address the issue of who taught her if the Chameleon doesn't know kung fu.)

He takes a moment to give her a few pointers, which causes her to ask why he took that blow for her earlier, figuring there's a catch. Po just says it's the right thing to do, but Zhen is skeptical, figuring he only did it because he still needs her to lead him to Shifu.

The reminder of Shifu prompts Po to move on, and they grab the item Zhen was after, a 500 year old set of blades, then run for it.

Po and Zhen arrive at the Chameleon's lair, and Zhen shows Po how to get inside and tells him where Shifu is being held. She says that she'll take the items to the Chameleon, which will distract her while Po breaks him out. Po thanks her, and the two separate. Zhen warns him of booby traps on the way out.

There are indeed booby traps, such as those saw contraptions from the actual movie and a bunch of guards. It takes Po a few minutes, but he eventually gets through them.

Po finds Shifu being held in a dark room. Shifu is glad to see him, but warns him to be careful as the Chameleon's likely not far away. Po explains Zhen's distraction and moves to free him... only for a cage to fall down and trap him as well.

"Shifu" is then revealed to be the Chameleon in disguise, who slips through the bars via shape shifting into a mantis and thanks Zhen for her help. Zhen apologizes to Po, who's naturally upset ("I mean, I know you were evil, but I didn't think you were THAT evil").

Zhen hands over the three items she collected, and it's confirmed what they are: a dust bunny that contains a clump of Tai Lung's fur, a feather from Lord Shen, and a pair of blades once wielded by Kai.

Po mistakenly interprets this as the Chameleon being a collector of kung fu memorabilia and tries to chat about the Jade Palace's collection, much to her bafflement.

The Chameleon explains that a trace of a person's chi remains long after their death, and demonstrates by doing The Tongue Thing on Kai's blade, stripping its chi, and immediately taking his form.

(As you may have picked up on, this rewrite removes the spirit world elements entirely. While they are really interesting, I think cutting them is the best option because:

1. There is so much plot involved with bringing Po's old enemies back that you could make that an entire movie in and of itself. It's hard to do it justice when you're cramming it in around the edges of this movie.

2. It makes the Chameleon too similar to Kai in terms of abilities.

3. Having her rely on stealing other's kung fu makes her come across as weak despite being a powerful sorceress.)

Po asks her if her goal is to take over China, but she says no; she just wants to end the practice of kung fu for good, and prove that sorcery is the superior option. To prove it, she has Shifu brought in.

While having your chi stripped does not remove one's kung fu abilities in this rewrite, it is still removing part of one's life energy and thus weakening them severely for a period of time—ergo, Shifu is still unable to fight at his best. Still, he manages to hold his own.

Instead of using kung fu, the Chameleon relies on the brute animalistic strength and inherent abilities of the forms she takes, switching whenever she's loosing to keep her opponents on her toes and even transforming into Shifu himself for a period. She also uses a few chi-based attacks.

Just when it looks like Shifu is about to win the fight, she uses her tongue to strip the chi from the fur clump, taking the form of Tai Lung. Shifu is so shocked and distraught that he fails to attack, allowing the Chameleon to land a serious blow.

She returns to her original form and states that when the blood moon has risen, she will battle and take down every master in the middle of Juniper city, where everyone can learn just how useless kung fu and the people who teach it are. She leaves Po in his cage panicking over Shifu, who's unresponsive.

Zhen follows the Chameleon outside, where we get the "does the blood moon always rise so slowly" gag. Noticing that Zhen looks troubled, she asks what's wrong, and Zhen talks about how Po encouraged her to do the right thing. Even though she's been told that kung fu masters are elitist, selfish people, she couldn't see any of that in Po.

(Side note: I want to establish in this rewrite that while the Chameleon will claim up and down that Zhen is only a pawn for her to use, she does care about her to some extent, even though probably loathes the fact she does. For example, when talking to Zhen here, she might pick some rubble out of her fur or something to show there's a teeny tiny bit of actual affection hidden there.

The reason for this is that all other KFP villains have had an emotional anchor—Shifu for Tai Lung, Shen's parents for Shen, and Oogway for Kai. The Chameleon being abusive but having some real love for Zhen and Zhen struggling with her gaslighting adds a lot more depth to both of them.)

The Chameleon finally reveals her backstory, which should be told in a hyper-stylized way à la the flashbacks in KFP 2 and 3. Just like Zhen, she grew up on the streets as an orphan, broke and starving. She admired kung fu greatly and wanted to learn it, but everyone turned her away for having no money to pay for lessons.

One day, she found a shiny jade amulet on the streets that someone lost, finally giving her a much-needed break. She is able to use that money to enroll in classes.

The problem was that while the money changed her financial status, it didn't change the way people saw her. Her master still considered her a lowly gutter rat and treated her as such, verbally insulting her and beating her down during training sessions. It's very much like how Shifu treated Po in KFP 1, except worse, especially because the Chameleon is a small and fragile animal.

Finally, during one training session she became too injured to move. Her master told her to quit and started to walk away, only for her to grab his leg with her tongue to trip him up. However, at the peak of her self-loathing, she instead discovered her chi stealing abilities and transformed into him. It's not shown, but it is implied she killed him.

As the flashback ends, the Chameleon shifts into Zhen and tells her that no matter how much you change, you can't change the way other people see you. Siding with Po, she says, will only get her hurt. Zhen nods and unexpectedly hugs the Chameleon, telling her she knows, and runs off.

Cutting back to Po, we see him frantically trying to break the bars of his cage. Zhen comes forward and drops down on her hands and knees, apologizing for everything. Po says that she came back, and that's what matters.

She reveals that the "hug" was actually just a way for her to get the key off of the Chameleon, and she uses it to unlock Po's cage. Po runs over to Shifu and he and Zhen heal him with chi, and we get a callback to the "I'M NOT DYING YOU IDIOT" scene from KFP 1.

However, while Shifu's not dying, he is very badly injured and can barely walk on his own. Po asks how they can take on the Chameleon and her army with just three of them, but Zhen holds up the key and suggests they get an army of their own.

Running downstairs, Zhen reveals where the other masters are being held. To Po's shock, the Furious Five are among those captured. Tigress confirms that the summons they received were traps laid by the Chameleon, and she already has their forms.

Also down there are the other crime bosses, as it feels like they just disappear in the actual film after their scenes.

Zhen only manages to unlock the Five's cages before before the Chameleon snatches the key back with her tongue, revealing that she knew Zhen was lying to her. Behind her, her army assembles.

Tigress confirms that that the Five will take on the army, and Po faces off with the Chameleon one-on-one. She strips the feather and uses Shen's form to fly up and take the upper ground, trying to kick a cage onto him. Zhen helps deflect it, and the Chameleon tells her to stay out of the way. Po and her continue to battle.

Despite Po's best attempts at blocking it, she does finally stick him with her tongue. He grabs it and throws her a distance in her fragile base form, injuring her but still giving her some of his chi in the process.

The Chameleon takes on Po's form next, and we get a fight similar to the one in the movie, though once again with her using less kung fu and more magic and physical attacks.

She mentions how she was rejected and tries to tell him that he should be on her side, because a bit fat panda like him must have been treated just as badly as she was. Po denies this, but Shifu admits it's pretty accurate. Po says he's not helping.

Po admits that she has a point, except she forgot one thing, and we get a callback to the "I'm THE big fat panda" moment from KFP 1.

The two attack at the same time. As the dust clears, it's revealed that neither are doing great—Po has gotten a lot of little injuries and the chi stealing has weakened him. The Chameleon is struggling to shapeshift at all, with the attempt causing her pain, and instead settles for trying to blast him. Zhen steps in and manages to redirect the attack back at her.

The Chameleon takes the blow and ends up back on the floor as a parallel to her flashback. Zhen reaffirms that she disagrees with her worldview—people can change, and she's going to prove it. If the Chameleon wants get to Po, she'll need to get through her first.

The Chameleon kind of laughs this off at first before realizing she's dead serious. She states that Zhen isn't even good at fighting, but Po disagrees, giving Zhen a confidence boost. The Chameleon struggles to her feet as if readying an attack, everyone braces themselves... and she surrenders, too injured to fight and unable to bring herself to hurt Zhen.

(There are a few reasons why I think her surrendering makes for an interesting defeat here:

1. There's no spirit realm portal to yeet her into in this version;

2. There's only so many times Po's enemies can be yeeted directly into the spirit realm before it gets old;

3. It adds character depth, and;

4. It ties back nicely in to the theme of change and that it's never too late to do the right thing.)

Zhen helps the Chameleon up, Tigress does the same for Po, and Monkey does the same for Shifu. The five reveal that despite being exhausted, they still managed to wipe the floor with the Chameleon's army, which Zhen thinks is incredible. Po introduces Zhen to them formally, and Shifu asks if they can save the introductions for after they get medical treatment.

Later on, Po (carrying the staff Oogway gave him) approaches Zhen, who's sitting under the peach tree by the Jade Palace. He asks her if she's doing okay after everything that's happened. She says she's alright, but is pretty scared of what's going to happen next, given that the Chameleon's in jail and she has nowhere to go.

Po reveals that him and Shifu have been talking, and he plans to open a new school as part of the Jade Palace that will offer free kung fu lessons to anyone who's interested in learning. Zhen asks if there are any spots open, and we end similar to the actual movie, with her training alongside the five.

the credits still end with the Jack Black cover of Baby One More Time because it slaps

[elexuscal]

something I feel Temeraire fandom hasn't dug into enough is how Kaneko and Junchiro are set up as narrative foils to Laurence

Kaneko is the platonic, exemplary ideal of 19th century noble Japanese culture, just as Laurence is for British culture from the same period. He's is diligent, lawful, loyal, and after the death of his family, has made a pledge to aide any traveller in need that he meets.

... and then just like Laurence, he's put in a situation where it is impossible to reconcile these two sides of honour. He's tasked with sheltering a white foreigner with a terrible head wound; and it becomes increasingly obvious that said foreigner isn't some random unfortunate sailor, but a key member of a diplomatic party between two of Japan's enemies. Does he follow the law, or does he follow his personal code of ethics?

He ends up... Splitting the difference. He protects Laurence, even though it's explicitly against the law. Then he ends up chasing Laurence and duelling him, as the law dictates but breaking his vow in the process.

Unlike Laurence, he's never truly able to reconcile these two warring elements, and he is saved from having to make that decision...

... By Junchiro.

Junchiro hasn't made any pledges to protect travellers. He does not like Laurence, does not trust him, and thinks Kaneko should turn him over. But. He also knows and fully believes Kaneko to be a good man, and as a student in his debt, believes the morally right thing to do is protect him. So he breaks the law helping Laurence escape, to spare Lord Kaneko in this impossible choice.

In this, he ends up echoing Laurence's choice to take the dragon cure to France, albeit on a smaller scale. When given the choice of following the law or his personal code of ethics, he chooses the latter.

And this is where the parallels really strike I think. Laurence gets to France, and Napoleon is like, good sir! What you have sacrificed for the sake of others is so incredibly honourable that it's making me want you carnally! Please, will you stay with me here in France? I will keep you in comfort, and we can do good work together!

And Laurence politely declines, says I'm going back to England, to face whatever wait awaits me. And Napoleon says, that's a damn shame but I won't hold you here. Bonaparte lets him go, and that decision definitely kicks him in the ass given how instrumental Laurence is in his defeat, but never seems to regret that deicsion.

So Junchiro breaks Japanese law rescuing Laurence-- a decision which while it spares his master Kaneko, honestly probably ultimately was to Japan's benefit, because can you imagine the fallout if they had ended up imprisoning or god forbid executing the adoptive crown prince of China? but instead of anyone formally recognising he just saved their collective asses, they're like, Yeah You're Exiled, get the fuck out of here.

Exiled, just like Laurence was to Australia.

So Laurence is like. Wow this kid just saved my life; I have the utmost respect for him. He says as much to Junchiro, and does everything in his power to set Junchiro up for success within British culture (just as Napoleon would have done for him). Teaching him English and Mandarin; letting him making connection; learning the ins-and-outs of aviator culture, so perhaps he can one day earn his step and get a dragon of his own, which Junchiro does seem to want, despite being otherwise bitter and listless.

and then after like... six months? (10? idk the timeline is fuzzy) Junchiro comes to Laurence and says: thank you very much for caring for me. However, I cannot continue. While Japan may think me a traitor, I am still loyal to them, and I can't keep helping their enemies. I'm going to abdicate to France. Tell me now if you disagree so I can kill myself.

And Laurence is like. Oh god no. Of course I understand. And let's Junchiro go, just like Napoleon let him go.

And yeah, that ends up kicking him in the fucking ass! Junchiro ends up providing the intel which allows French forces to steal Ning's egg, lure both Iskierka and Temeraire away from the front lines, and bolster Napoleon's early dragon-coalition by making it look like Laurence and Temeraire support it. A master stroke!

And obviously, it hurts, when Laurence realises it. But he realises that Junchiro was perfectly plain in his intentions, and Laurence still cannot fault the man for being loyal to his country. So when they have supper together, Laurence is polite and respectful, despite the dire situation.

TLDR: Kaneko is Laurence if Laurence couldn't choose to go traitor, and Junchiro is a younger Laurence

also i wonder what happened to Junchiro in the end.

[coffee-master]

Ninjago Alternative Universe elemental change with Kai having Water and Nya having Fire powers:

Ok, so before you go hear me out.

#Sibling elemental change

I know it's hard to imagine Kai having water powers instead of fire. It probably would look as if didn't fit him. It's way easier to imagine Nya with Fire element I guess.

But I think it'd be interesting to see his character development with that power. The fact that his character wouldn't fit to his power and Especially adding to this Kai's fear of drowning and the fact that he hates water.

It'd be nice character development to see.

At the begining of the season it'd Kai who was kidnapped by skeletons.

Not because he was weaker than her or something. Kai would probably try to safe his sister and by coocidence got kidnapped instead of her. Just to make sure she was safe he prefered to sacrifice himself.

Nya would train why Master Wu and become a strong ninja of fire to rescue her brother. But also bonded with the other ninjas.

In the meantime she'd also think that Jay's flirting attempts are cute-

Later seasons would also have a big impact on Kai.

Kai was Nya's older brother. He practically raised her. So, the fact that she is a ninja fighting evil and risking her life every day would definitely made a big impact on him.

The fact that Nya is stronger than him, and he cannot protect or help her in any way, would cause frustration, anger, and above all, a sense of helplessness in him.

Kai would try to support the team in any way he could, but the helplessness would still make him feel down and be with him.

From time to time he'd act like a big brother.

He wouldn't like Jay's interest in Nya at first, but later would accept it, since she likes him so much.

There wouldn't be a phase of being a green ninja, because well he isn't a ninja.

Instead Nya would like to become one. Not because of the titel or anything, but becuase it'd mean to be better to improve. Nya wants perfection. She wants to be the best version of herself. So she works very hard to achieve that.

She wouldn't be annoying about becoming the green ninja like Kai- She would work hard to be the best.

In the meantime comes Lloyd.

Kai has way better relationship with him here compared to the cannon.

Suprisingly he isn't irritated by him, but just simply takes care with him. He plays kind of big role for young Lloyd.

Kai is patience with him and tries to teach him and be nice. Maybe it'd somehow remind him of rising his younger sister(?) Kai would spend time with him, shove comfort and some support that he needed and just act like a Big Brother towards him.

Their relationship would be pretty strong.

There would happen at slightly little drama between Kai, Nya & Lloyd. [BUT NOTHING TOO SERIOUS]

Nya would be probably a little annoyed why her brother is so nice towards him. She'd be irrited since Lloyd recently just acted like a brat. (He mostly made pranks like making Zane's costume pink and ect.-) And she doesn't understand Kai's indifference towards it.

But everything would resolve, when Nya safed Lloyd from vulcano and unlocked her true potential.

.

.

.

Bla bla.. to lazy to write next seasons.. But basically Kai would be a big support as a red Samurai, Lloyd's role model and he'd slowly come closer to the other teammates.

He wouldn't be just fire ninjas brother, but feel more like a part of the group.

Then the situation with the ghost would happen.

Sensei Wu would tell him about his Water Powers and that's were everything starts to break.

Kai has to learn how control water.

But the point is that Kai hates water.

Kai can't swim, is afraid of drowning and basicly is aquafobic-

This is the time where he has to overcome his fear to safe everyone.

This is the time when everything that he belived turned into a lie. That%'s the time when his life turned upside down and just everything is a mess.

He tries to deny it. He doesn't belive in it. He hates it.

He hates water.

But in the end he begins his training, because the life of the loved one's is WAY more important.

He starts training with master Wu. Nothing goes well, because of his character that is a completely opposite to this power.

Moreover he got a few panic attacts while being in the deep water that doesn't end well.

Kai hates this power. He doens't accept it as his. He doesn't accept it being part of him. He's basically forced to learn it because of the situation and persuading the master.

But in the end his able to overcome it.

By the talk with someone he's able to see the source of his fear. He finally sees the beauty of his power.

He takes a deep breath and immerses himself in the water, clearing his mind and he's calm.

He's part of the water and water is part of him.

Kai accepts this part of him and is able to control it.

.

.

.

Absolutely I hope that I've demonstrated the true potential of this idea, and how it could indeed turn into something really cool.

AND I HAVEN'T EVEN CAME TO THE SEABOUND PART-

But seriously I hope that someone will notice it. A nice fic could come from it.

I also really tired not to add and lavashipping ideas here, because it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it could have been here something.

I don't know if I will ever write this or not. It's really hard to tell.

But if anyone wants to write this or something simliar to it then go on. I don't see a problem. The more us the better!

First

[sokkastyles]

Came across a few posts about how Azula is the best firebender in the series, and that subject is probably more based on opinion than fact I guess, but still feels like saying that is antithetical to the themes of the story. What do you think?

I agree that it's antithetical to the themes of the story. Azula cannot be the best firebender because she is not working with a complete understanding of firebending, which is linked to the themes of the story and bending as a metaphor for how we engage with ourselves and others.

I recently saw a post that said the dragons would judge Azula worthy because firebending is about drive. And oh, boy, does that completely misunderstand the themes of that episode.

The whole point is that the Fire Nation's post-Sozin relationship with fire, the idea of "having the power and drive to achieve what you want" and valuing that above all else is exactly what caused the world to fall out of balance. It is this drive for power that we see corrupt people like Sozin, Zhao, Ozai, and yes, Azula.

When Zuko faces the dragons, the original firebending masters, he learns that fire is so much more than just a drive for power. Fire is life itself, it's passion, it's warmth, it's something to be both kept in check and nurtured to become healthy. Like a little heartbeat that can be snuffed out if you aren't careful, or can burn out of control if not tempered.

So many people like to say Azula only lost the final agni kai because of her mental state, but the truth is that 1) Azula was never in a healthy mental state, at any point that we saw her in the show, and 2) she does not have the wisdom to see anything beyond her own drive for power, and that is going to prevent her from having a true link to her element.

The elements themselves are inspired by different martial arts. This is well-known. But martial arts is a form that emphasizes discipline over raw power, especially Xiaolin, which firebending is based on. It's all about self control and finding balance within oneself. Which is a theme that is cited over and over again in the show.

Iroh tells Zuko at the beginning of the show that he cannot move on to advanced forms until he has mastered the basics. He is trying to teach him how to develop the control he needs to be a true firebending master. Zuko acts this way towards his element because this is what he learned from Ozai, and from watching Azula, who has no self control and no patience. We see her practice her forms, sure, but we also see her get incredibly angry when it's not perfect. Azula has some moves that she's perfected to cause the most damage, but she's not comfortable when stepping outside of that zone, cannot take criticism at all, and threatens anyone who says she is not the best. She cannot possibly be the best firebender with such a limited understanding of her element.

Which is also why she loses even with the power of the comet on her side. Because all the power in the world won't help if the spirit isn't in balance. People will act like Azula's mental breakdown only existed to "nerf" her in the finale but it's like, literally the whole point, and was something that was building since the beginning of the series.

[someloserinajaywig]

Dragons Rising S2P2 predictions because I can keep them to myself no longer 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️

Ok this is going to be mostly Arin/Sora centric because HOOOO BOY do I sense trouble in the air for these two

First of all, Arin is DEFINITELY going to find out about Sora helping him out with the object spinjitzu thing and I think he’s going to be really really hurt. They spent so much time this season building up his feelings of insecurity and finding this out is going to bring them back in a HUGE way.

Another thing the writers spent a long time building up was Arin’s innate goodness/kindness/naivety. Call me crazy but I think he’s going to learn shatterspin in part 2 - the one thing that literally requires destroying the goodness in your soul. I don’t think he’ll use it much but I think he will learn it and be irreversibly changed

I can envision the lead-up to it so vividly and I think finding out what Sora did is going to be the tipping point. I think the rough timeline would go something like this:

Things are going well-ish. Arin’s confidence is restored and he’s back to training with a new enthusiasm. I don’t think he’ll master object spinjitzu at this point but he’ll be seeing more success and feeling better about himself

Something will happen - my guess some sort of pivotal battle where they’re relying on Arin’s object spinjitzu to save the day and it won’t work and Sora will have to come clean.

Arin - betrayed and insecure - lashes out towards Sora, and then towards Lloyd and the others when they try to comfort/calm him down. He says he needs some time to himself and runs off somewhere

While he’s alone, he’s approached by some force of evil (maybe Ras, or Ras’ master, or someone different entirely) and they use his insecurity to convince him that the ninja are holding him back - think like his conversation with Ras in part 1 - and because he’s feeling so awful about it he’ll agree to join them

Training under this new person, they’ll encourage him to work with all this insecurity and build up a ton of anger towards the ninja - especially Sora and Lloyd - and I think they’ll get him to use that to learn shatterspin

Also pretty sure Sora will learn spinjitzu & rising dragon in p2. Thematically this makes a lot of sense as Sora has been very intertwined with dragons since her introduction (she literally NAMED herself after one), and her element is all about creating new things and pushing the limits of what she can do.

Meanwhile Arin doesn’t have an element (as far as we’re aware, and I really hope it stays that way), and a parts his design speak to oni imagery - the horns especially. I don’t think it’s far-fetched so assume that under the right circumstances he may turn to destruction

Creation and Destruction never ever show up without each other in ninjago. They are completely linked and a recurring theme in the show and I think this will become WAY more evident as dragons rising progresses

Other small things:

Someone will find Jay, probably. (Hopefully!!!!) I’m hopeful for an angsty arc but in all honesty it seems like it’ll resolve quite quickly once they do find him. Tbh im happy either way I just miss my wife

Cole/Geo won’t become explicitly canon but they will continue being delightfully queercoded

I think Wyldfyre and Nya are both going to struggle without Kai,, he’s sort of been a father figure to both of them and knowing he’s stuck somewhere he might never escape from is gonna be really hard on them (esp for Nya who’s already sort of lost one of the most important people in her life)

More Wu info??? (Hoping for this! Hes present in at least one of the new sets (dragon stone shrine, linked below) so im hopeful we’ll find out what happened that silly old guy

PIXAL return???? (I’m begging on my hands and knees)

Arin Sora and Wyldfyre will meet Fritz and Spitz idk I just think that would be cute

[natalchartnurtures]

Mars Be Down to Earth

Note: This post might not give you anything new if you're at an intermediate or advanced level of being on the astrology wildride :p

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Earth Mars, on a good day: "I've nailed the art of deliberate moves. I go through my day with a solid purpose and a sprinkle of precision. I act, grounded in Earth's wisdom—that's the secret to my 'it' life"

Why?- So, we step into the cool world of Earth Mars. The Earth element is known for its steadfastness and its mastery of making what I refer to as 'money moves'. Because Earth is their turf; that's what they know like the back of their hand. It's their arena, and we're just hanging out in it, you know? I love admiring these creatures simply existing in their habitat. I learn a lot from them because I barely have any Earth in my birth chart at all, lol.

But yeah—Earth energy is all about being practical, grounded, and reliable, kind of like standing on solid ground, really. This Mars crew has a solid drive for the material world, finding fulfillment in real, concrete accomplishments. This is because they understand the tangible world like none of the other elements can. It's their superpower. They have the potential to realize their manifesting potential if they choose to align with it. They stand to be master manifestors and can teach it to the rest of us peasants as well.

There are a couple of ways, out of the infinite ways, it could manifest.

It could show up as a patient persistence, a (extremely sexy) dedication towards whatever it is you desire to have in your life. Plus, you probably dig channeling your energy into creative and sensory experiences, wink wink because you've got standards and love being comfortable. You could be interested in the idea of lasting success over instant gratification. in which case, good for you, Taurus Mars. You're already better than most of us on days when you're feeling yourself. If you can harness this power of yours, you stand to create successes that most people can ONLY dream of achieving. Your methodical approach to most things in life allows you to map out a plan to realize any dream—honestly, any god-loving dream out there. With your step-by-step strategic approach and action, you could go places, kid.

Now, if disciplined ambition, hard work, action rooted in wisdom, and endurance got thrown into a pot, the resulting concoction would be none other than a Capricorn Mars. Honestly, it's crazy how this sign tames the flames of Mars to bring out a more mature and sophisticated version of the fiery energies of Mars. Mars here isn't as prone to being impulsive, resulting in all its energetic impulses getting funneled into pure goal-oriented action, on a good day at least. It's the marriage of bold initiation and relentless hard work. What do you think the child of this is going to turn out to be? Legendary success? If you guessed that, you'd be correct. Efficiency might as well be this Mars' middle name here, and really its all about, in wise words, getting shit done. It's reliable, driven, capable, and acutely aware of what it takes to bring a desire about. It's honestly deliciously sexy to watch y'all do your thing. Keep going, you hot ass baddies. Show us what you're made of :]

Imagine Mars playing chess. If you did, you probably caught the essence of Virgo Mars. Smart, fast-thinking, doesn't miss the details and perfection-striving, Mars here is quite a force to be reckoned with. Mars goes for nothing but precision and will achieve it no matter how long. You guys will analyze the living crap out of any of your mistakes, which allows you to learn from them in a deeper way and make some pretty efficient changes to your overall plan to get where you need to go. Y'all are adaptable like that, which is quite impressive—it's great decision-making. Another thing about Mars here is that Virgo bestows a service-oriented mindset to the natives having this Mars, which, in turn, makes y'all humble-ass badasses, which is ridiculously amazing. OMG. Also, y'all enjoy taking care of your physical bodies and well-being, and it shows! Y'all love looking the part as you're kicking ass on your good days. This energy commands respect in a quiet way, which is low-key some big-dick energy. Love it!"

So that was my take on Mars in the Earth element. hope you liked it!

[theresattrpgforthat]

Any games about cross-country racing or just racing in general? I've had this setting with this grand race for riders of fantasy creatures and its rough trying to find a game that fits it.

THEME: Racing Games.

Hello friend, so I have some good news and some bad news for you. The good news is that I found a number of racing games! The bad news is that all of the games I found are built with the expectation that you are racing machines, not creatures. I don’t think that makes these games completely non-viable, but pretty much all of them will probably need a little bit of re-wording or hacking in order to become games about racing living things.

SUPERSTARS Racing Icons, by Tristan B Willis.

The air screams around your helmet as you hurtle past the final turn and towards the finish line. Your best friend looks to make a pass that could take both of you out. Do you play it safe and risk losing, or play for glory and risk everything? 

Welcome to Superstars: Racing Icons.

Trophies are nice, but racing careers are short and you’re here to build something that lasts. Is that a rabid group of loyal fans who follow your every move? A list of sponsors willing to keep you comfortable long after your racing days? Or just one meaningful connection with a teammate, a rival, a friend, a lover? 

The designers expect you to translate this game into a setting that works for you, but plenty of the language expects elements like sponsors, a PR team, and vehicle terminology. The game is GM-less and comes with a menu of backgrounds, which define your character’s narrative role in the race.

Because Superstars is a Firebrands game, instead of freeform play the group instead moves through a series of scenes, embodied through various mini-games. This means that this game is well-built for telling some kinds of stories, but not others. Much of the game is about the tension between the riders; the races are simply methods through which you can explore that tension.

If you want a game that is focused on the spectacle of the race as much as it is on the race itself, you might want to take a look at Superstars: Racing Icons.

Speedway Showdown, by Bammax Games.

Speedway Showdown is an ultralight, GMless minigame for two players that aims to quench your need for speed! Built on Cezar Capacle's Push SRD, Speedway Showdown begs you to put the pedal to the metal and take risks to walk away with the glory. Take a single turn on the tracks and reap a lone victory, or form your own circuit with your friends and race for the top of the ranks!

This is a business card rpg, so it’s very simple and therefore probably pretty easy to hack. Instead of damage to your car, your creature might get wounded or spooked, and you can replace mechanical benefits to reasons why your creature might suddenly get a boost of speed. This is also GM-less, so everyone can throw their hat in the ring for the title!

The game is probably going to be over pretty quickly, since there’s not much to it, so this would be a good set of rules to couch within a larger game.

Ghost Kart Racers, by kumada1.

Lord Aoyama was your master. He wronged you and killed you, but in doing so he made two mistakes.

He angered your spirit.

And he left an unsecured motor-kart in his stable.

Ghost Kart Racing is a 20 page supernatural racing trpg in which you shred rubber, use power-ups, and unhinge your entire face to devour the man who wronged you.

This is a multiplayer game that relies on different sided dice to represent your Kart (or perhaps, in your case, your Steed). You take turns flicking your dice towards a finish line, with the goal of hitting it exactly, with falling short being considered just as bad as overshooting. The game also comes with extras for customizing your racers, creating custom tracks, and adding Charms that change how your vehicles work.

I think the rules for this game can definitely be separated from the story that the designer has introduced, and the idea of having different steeds with different strengths may make sense if each racer is riding a different creatures. You could re-tool the charms into abilities that different fantasy creatures might have, such as a glowing body part or the ability to jump over low obstacles. The game also has optional skills that represent your character’s abilities outside of racing, which you could change to reflect what your characters might need to be good at when they’re not out on the race track.

Dirt Eaters and Grid Beef, by e.a.

DIRT EATERS is a dice game where players compete to see who can get the best score driving their cars through dangerous tracks! Players build the tracks through dice rolls, ranking each sector on a scale from 1-5. Rolling six sided dice, players have to get a number of successes equal to the difficulty of each sector to score a point. The more dice you use, the harder you're driving, and the more damage your car takes! Replenish your dice by 'repairing' your car between stages. It's a game of resource management, strategy, and a little bit of luck!

GRID BEEF is a roleplaying game about racing. In this game, players will be racing cars against one another in a series of events across the world. In between races, they'll form friendships, clash with bitter rivals, and be submerged in the world of politics and drama that comes with racing at a world championship level. Sometimes, the biggest drama happens off the track!

Both of these games follow the same core mechanic, in which a number of d6’s are rolled and the results over a certain number are counted as successes. While DIRT EATERS focuses on damage and hazards, GRID BEEF is more about the relationships between the racers, and how you interact with people affect your performance on the track. I think the core rules can work on their own, and the outside elements are examples on what can affect the race depending on what is important to you. In both cases, there’s probably a good amount of hacking and home-brew that you’ll have to do, but the benefit of looking at both of these is that you can see examples of how the core game can be re-tooled to focus on elements that matter to you.

Love by the Quarter Mile, by Dice Monkey.

Rev your engine and prepare to fire the NOS. In Love by the Quarter-Mile, you play as a street racer trying to make it while fighting for family. This one-page tabletop RPG is quick and dirty, providing you with everything you need to use to play games in the same vein as Fast and Furious and Gone in 60 Seconds.

This is another short game that I think can be very easily hacked to turn this game into a game about racing animals, rather than racing cars. You can replace the car tags with animal tags to differentiate the creatures that you are riding. However, being fast isn’t the only asset you have here - the game is also about fighting and personal relationships. You can fight rivals or other characters, and the rules are loose enough that you could use fists, or weapons that match your setting. You can also have arguments that can tax your emotions, so if there are personal stakes in the competition, you can enjoy some hair-raising drama in between each race.

Also Check Out

Gravity RIP, by lukewestaway.

[sharksandjays]

You know that scene in Skybound when they are heading to Tiger Widow Island and the storm comes??? Yeah this is pretty much a rewrite.

I just love the thought of them being able to sense their elements. I had to implement it.

---

Their voyage was going pretty well, the waters were calm and the skies were clear. Cole stayed towards the middle of the deck, nervously looking at the water that splashed aboard every once in a while. Nya was below deck with Lloyd checking the rations for the long trip. It was quiet. Cole was almost tempted to ask Zane to play something--the man was a literal walking spotify for first master's sake! But he left the nindroid alone, sitting alongside Cole quietly (probably talking to his girlfriend in his head the lucky bastard) knowing he was about just as comfortable as he was with the surrounding of water. Hell, even Jay seemed irked by their waterlocked situation--Cole noticed him glancing to the sky longingly every so often as if thinking about making this ship fly as well. Speaking of Jay, Cole was a bit worried about him. He was sitting quietly at the stern, mindlessly flipping through a book published by Cliff Gordon--his newfound birth father. Every time Cole went over to talk to him, Jay just gave him a vague response, not looking up from his book. He had seemed so excited to flaunt Cliff's money and boat and house to them before, but his previous excitement was gone. Cole felt for him, he really did. The situation must have just dawned on him. He knew the feeling of having a deadbeat dad, but he was sure having a dead deadbeat dad must've been a whole new pill to swallow. So he gave him some space. Lloyd finally emerged with Nya from belowdeck, both of them carrying large coolers and baskets. Nya had her hair tied up in a tight bun, whereas Lloyd didn't seem to get the memo and yelped when his hair whipped around his face. After laughing at him for a moment, Cole approached him and stared at the baskets. Food? Lloyd read his expression, and gave a delighted laugh. "Yes, Cole. There's plenty of food. Whoever owned this ship must've had whole parties down here!" Cole sideyed Jay behind him, who just kept flipping through his book, and shook his head, laughing nervously. "Yeah they must've."

He eargely waited for Lloyd to sit down and open one of the baskets, almost immediatley becoming religious the second he saw the sea of sandwiches and baked goods waiting for them.

Soon enough they were all munching on a sandwich, sitting contentedly on the deck while sharing vague plans to get the Tiger Widow venom. Jay was the only exception, of course, being the only one who hadn't accepted food and still sitting at the stern silently.

Without his usual...animated exclamations, the silence was certainly felt. Eventually the group fell into a comfortable silence, Lloyd and Nya cuddled together on the floor of the deck, and Cole and Zane sitting staring at the sky, all stuffed up with more food that they had in days.

It was also more peace than we've had in days. Cole thought happily, arms tucked beneath his head as he cloudwatched. Until suddenly, as if the universe itself wanted to prove Cole wrong, Jay's head snapped up. He stuffed his book under his arm and stood, instantly gaining all of their attention. Cole saw lightning flash in his best friend's eyes and his heart sunk. Ah, he knew that look. It was the same one he got when he sensed an earthquake…when Zane sensed a blizzard…when Nya sensed rain… Jay's expression was firm, and sparks crackled along his arms, seeming to pull towards the direction he was staring at. "Storm's coming."

[elina-sakura]

Top Ten Favorite MDA Characters

Note: I am referring to both canon and fanon elements, and the ranking is not because of negative emotions but my feelings and preferences.

Major Spoilers for the entire game by the way

1. Yuma Kokohead

Of course, I love the little amnesiac ‘trainee’ full of anxiety. I just love anxious characters who have to struggle being the hero of the story in such dangerous situations. He just makes the perfect candidate for hurt/comfort stories. I love the relationships he has with the Nocturnal Detective Agency, I love how he wants to help everyone (even if he doesn’t have the best tact), and I love his angsty moments in his head (I love me some good angst). And when we learn of his true identity in the end, it really shines a light on his character more both outside and in-game. All of his flaws and the impacts to the story he made and the struggles he had. But most importantly the connections he made with others, the core part of the entire game and his character, is what makes me love him so much.

2. Yakou Furio

I don’t know why I’m so hyperfixated on this character. Maybe it’s because he’s the mentor character of the protagonist, and ended up giving me father-figure vibes to me with Yuma. Despite his flaws, he is such a good character who has been through so much, yet cares deeply for the people he loves and the city itself. And protect the detectives he took in, even with how much trouble they cause. But Chapter 4 and post-game is where I really start to appreciate him with his backstory revealed and how far he’s willing to go for the ones he love. Here’s to hoping he returns in post-game contents or hopefully sequels.

(NOTE: This is purely my preferences. I do not want to cause discourse or make people feel bad who ship Yuma and Yakou romantically; you guys do you with Yumakou and I’ll be happy with Yakou Fathero).

3. Makoto Kagutsuchi

Okay, this is where we really get to spoilers here since it happened post-game, but he became my favorite character right to the top three just because of who he is. An enigma who holds the secret of Kanai Ward, who created the mysteries in his hands, yet his motivations and heart was only filled with good intentions (despite having to make human meat buns). A young man who had to hold the secret for so long all on his own, try to fix many problems that weren’t actually his fault, finding purpose and his own identity outside of his original, and his relationship with Yuma as a whole. Complex, morally grey characters always catches my interests, especially when they are the antagonists.

4. Desuhiko Thunderbolt

I know, shocking. My favorite out of the four Master Detectives in the NDA is the perverted Superstar Detective, but when you look past the trope (and Chapter 2 and that one DLC scene as a whole) you would see there is a lot of depth to his character. He’s kind of the only one (confirmed so far) who had a pretty normal childhood and actually has relatable struggles a lot of people can probably relate to (being a shy and possibly bullied kid who wants to be a better version of themselves), who desires to be a Superstar and a detective at the same time and doesn’t want to be just one or the other, and is an all-around cool guy and loyal friend who could get along with people when he isn’t being a creep or overly obnoxious. It’s just too bad the writers seem to think the pervert trope would be a good way to add comedy when his obnoxious and goofball nature would probably be enough to get some comedy out of him. I want to hope maybe the writers would make Desuhiko less of a pervert in the future, but I’m not gonna get my hopes up. I just hope people can possibly see through the trope to see the real Superstar under the gross exterior (metaphorically-wise).

5. Kurumi Wendy

I’m honestly surprise she’s high on the list, but with how much I try to expand her character and how much fics I want to do with her, I’d say she definitely made it to the top five of the list. Kurumi is someone where I see a lot of potential in her character, but the writers ended up underutilizing her. She’s a high school informant who lost her grandfather to the overarching mystery, and her best friend a few months ago, and finds a special connection with Yuma and become one of his supporting partners alongside Shinigami. There’s a lot of potentials with her character, like seeing how the losses of important people in her life affected her, how she lives as a high school informant, and see her feelings on detectives and her relationship with Yuma, the new friend she feels a connection with and someone who gives her hope. But unfortunately, the writers end up making a bigger focus on making her the love interest of Yuma, and outside of that, make her an exposition dump. Heck, even in Chapter 5, I’m pretty sure Makoto only brought her with Yuma so she could tell him the informations needed to solve Kanai Ward’s Ultimate Secret, and discover that she and everyone else are Homunculi. It’s honestly sad because there’s so much to her character that could have made her stand out on her own, and I wish was utilized more.

6. Fubuki Clockford

Fubuki is such an adorable character and kind of relatable to me in being an airhead (though not to the extremes as she is). She’s kind and friendly to her peers, and is very imaginative as well when it comes to what she hears, like believing the sky is the ocean (if you look at it from an art perspective, it would be pretty cool). And especially her inner struggles on how she recognizes how slow-witted she is and how her time power leads her distraught when she’s not able to prevent the terrible outcomes she witnesses. Chapter 3 really shined a spotlight on her character, and one of the few spots that makes Chapter 3 worthwhile.

7. Halara Nightmare

Now this is a character I feel I have a lot in common with, specifically in real life. I tend to be rude and asocial (though only if I’m tired and overworked). I don’t like to be physically touched at all unless I give permission and told a head of times. I prefer to work alone when it comes to my work (in this case, my schoolwork). And I am definitely, sadly allergic to cats, especially since I feel connected with cats in personality at times. So I can relate to Halara in some aspects even though I sometimes am off-put by how harsh they are with Yuma in Chapter 1. I understand it’s because they want Yuma to figure things out for himself since he needs to quickly relearn things as a Detective and get to work on solving Kanai Ward’s Ultimate Secret (if anything, I commend them for putting in the effort to give some teaching to Yuma in some ways), and in hindsight they were working as an assistant to Yuma so they must have felt they shouldn’t have to do the job for Yuma (which I can’t blame). But sometimes they get a little too harsh and I just feel bad for Yuma.

8. Vivia Twilight

He is definitely an enigma of his own that interests me (though probably not as much as everyone else). A character who’s of his own agency and his own agendas and interests, and I love that kind of morally grey characters. Especially in Chapter 4 and the DLC where we got to know him more. And I enjoyed how he was a rival to Yuma for Chapter 4 who challenged the beliefs in discovering the truth, and that he was the only one who truly knew about Yuma and Shinigami. I honestly wish there were more interactions between the two after that. It really would have feel like their relationship would have been so unique and deep and interesting. And his relationship with Yakou really felt special after the DLC revealed their backstory together.

9. Shinigami

It’s usually kind of rare for me to like and be interested in mascot characters. And Shinigami surprisingly wins me over. At first, she definitely annoyed me with how she doesn’t exactly empathize with Yuma’s predicament sometimes and her callous nature with murderers sometimes (specifically in Chapter 2), but I can also understand that that’s her major flaw: lack of empathy. She’s a Death God whose natural job is to reap souls and uphold the concept of death. So of course, she’s not gonna understand whenever someone is stressed or feels empathy even with criminals. But that’s what make her character arc that leads to Chapter 4 all the more special. The previous murderers she reaped were those she barely got to know of, Yuma included, so it’s understandable to have a detachment with them, but the chapter 4 culprit was someone both she and Yuma knew, someone that really does make her understand his breakdown.

10. Pucci Lavmin

Pucci was one of my favorite Master Detectives I was looking forward to getting know. She’s a young woman (who may be close to Yuma’s age) who loves cute stuff like teddy bears, has sensitive hearing and gets snappy when too many people talk, and has a resting b!tch face. Seriously, I connect with her so much in these elements, and even thought she was going to be the female deuteragonist that we’ve seen/gotten from Danganronpa. So I was crushed when I learned she died and it was real and not a tutorial trick or something. It’s why she’s on the bottom of the list. She didn’t have as much screen time and development with her. Yes, including Kurumi, the real deuteragonist, who even though was underutilized at least had the groundwork for what kind of developments she could have had.

[suburbanbeatnik]

I did a sketch! The first time since my cat Peggy died. It's a scene from Gillian Bradshaw's Render Unto Caesar, which is one of my favorite books ever. From a review I just wrote:

Render Unto Caesar is a timeless, fast-paced and deeply felt romantic thriller set in first century Rome by historical fiction master Gillian Bradshaw. It seems to be about a man trying to get an important politician to pay his legal debts, but it's actually about a life-or-death struggle of the Roman West and the Greek East, rendered in exquisite miniature. This is also the closest to a historical romance as Bradshaw has ever written, and I find it completely delightful. I've read this book about five times over the past fifteen years, and I've enjoyed it more and more as the years go by-- there's so much to love about it. The characters are fully realized; the setting is portrayed with all the depth, detail and rigor you'd expect from a classics scholar; and there's a lot of action too. But the heart of it is a compelling romance between people of completely different backgrounds-- Hermogenes, the sober Alexandrian businessman, who is looking for justice from the Roman political elite, and Cantabra, a Celtic Cantabrian gladiatrix whom he hires as a bodyguard. The character arcs are beautiful and deeply satisfying. At the beginning, it's impossible to imagine these two getting together, but the MMC and FMC have some major growth, and their feelings and their relationship comes about in the most natural and moving way. Some tropes, if you're into that sort of thing: Fugitive Arc, Clear My Name, There Is Only One Bed, Break the Stoic, Hurt/Comfort, Hidden Depths, Bodyguard Crush, Action Girlfriend, among others. And it has an HEA! I do think this book probably didn't get the audience it deserved because it has very strong romantic elements, which is not really evident in the publicity it got when it was originally released. Anyway, if this sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend it! It's a great book that deserves to be better known. IMO, Bradshaw deserves to be better known too.

[multifandom-nerds-blog]

The first days (3)

You wanted it, you get it. Here you go. enjoy.

His head was still hurting when he woke up again. That wasn't a big surprise for him, unlike the fact that he did woke up again at this point.

Slowly, he opened his eyes again. There wasn't a lot to see, just walls and ceilings and floors and stairs out of bricks. Whatever it was that he was laying on right now. Except...

There was actually moss growing above his head. Huh. Seems like there was some natural life here after all.

"You're awake.", said a calm voice. There was some shuffling, and a dim blue light coming into his direction. For a moment Kai was thinking of the way Nyas eyes would glow sometimes when using her elemental powers, before he remembered where he was.

"Bonzle.", he managed to breathe out. But that immediately send his body into a coughing fit. He tried to sit up or roll to the side at least, but neither his legs or arms wanted to listen at the moment.

Bony hands, or rather hands out of bones, lifted him into a sitting position before gently rubbing his back.

His sister would usually be the first to comfort him when he was sick or injured, but Nya wasn't here.

She wasn't here. Again. He was without his little sister. Even though he once swore to always protect her.

Guess he did just that. This time at least. Apparently it was his time now to dissappear without a chance of getting him back. They'd probably find a way, right?

They always found a way to beat their enemies eventually.

They managed to get out of the first realm after all.

They managed to get Zane back from the never realm after all.

And after all, they managed to reverse Nya merging with the sea, right?

But non of them ever got trapped in a dimension created solely for trapping 5 dangerous entities, with a bloodmoon necessary to even open a portal.

That was a first one at least.

"I always forget that humans need to drink and eat regularly.", Bonzle said after he finally stoped coughing. "Sorry about that. But turned out we were actually close to a water source."

That explained the moss then.

"Not your fault.", Kai said quietly. His throat was begging for water at this point. "Should've probably said something."

"Hmm.", Bonzle hummed. "Come one."

She helped him stand up and walk the few steps to the body of water she found. From atop it looked barely wider than a big puddle maybe, but when looking inside it was pitch black. Who knew how deep the water was, but he definitely didn't wanna fall into it. Around the water there were actually no endless bricks, but a small area of dry, dusty and brown earth. But only for a radius of about 30 centimeters.

Who knew, he would ever be so happy to see some water and dusty earth. But after walking so long through an endless labyrinth of stone, laying his hand on something that wasn't a brick felt like heaven.

His mind told him to slow down and think. Maybe the water wasn't even safe to drink, or something could shot up from it any second and attack them. But as soon as he was close enough his hands fell into the water.

Shaking, if from his exhaustion or the sudden change of temperature, his hands moved towards his mouth with water cuped in them.

It was weird to imagine that he used to be terribly afraid of water, though it wasn't nearly as bad nowadays. Not after the whole Morro escapade and his sister being the water ninja, and later even the sea itself. Because right now he just wanted to dive his whole body into it to somehow still that unstoppable thirst. Or maybe the water would bring him to Nya. She was it's master after all.

It needed Bonzles bony hands again, to finally slow him down. He didn't even realize that his whole body was now shaking and almost hacking the water back up again.

"Slow down.", Bonzle said. "It's not gonna help if you can't keep it down. Or if you fall into the water."

Kai looked up from the water, to see into Bonzles eyes.

Blue eyes.

His body didn't seem to care that this was the first time in possibly days he had anything to drink.

Everything started shaking around him.

Or maybe it was him.

His heart was aching.

His mouth screaming.

His tears were falling onto the the dry and dusty ground.

[bonzos-number-1-fan]

TMAGP 9 Thoughts: Name Dropping

This one was a big one. I was hoping some of this would happen later if only for my own amusement. Of all the episodes thus far I think there might be have the most foundational elements to the wider narrative in it.

Spoilers for episode 9 below the cut.

We'll start at the start although I don't have much to say about this pre-incident banter. It's mostly stuff that I think is for humour rather than narrative relevance. Such as the questions have a classic 7 point scale, but instead of neutral in the middle neutral is an extreme and trauma is the other one. Dead creatures, blood transfusions, and why? are all similar there. It's fun dialogue but I don't think there is much to say beyond that.

The case itself is a really great one. Might be my favourite so far. It's a Magnus Institute statement, opens with some interesting titbits, is TTRPG related, has a fun hook, and a satisfying conclusion. Hard to fault it anywhere.

So lets get to the fun stuff. The Magnus Institute framing isn't really of interest to me right now. This isn't anything particularly unexpected and doesn't give us any new information about the Institute itself but does hint at some of their methodology. The statement is part of artefact's assessment, and preceding the statement itself the artefact is given some viability ratings. No viability as subject, low as agent, and medium as catalyst. I've seen some people interpreting this as being about the statement giver but as this is the "Statement and Research assessment for artefact CD137" I think that's a misinterpretation. Especially since this post-statement and the statement giver dies. Those terms aren't explained here but if I had to take a stab at it I think subject is probably about further research, agent is it's utility as a weapon, and catalyst is likely related to rituals or avatars. The recommendation is a referral to "referral to Catalytics for Enrichment applicability assessment. "Enrichment" here could be a euphemism for turning someone into an avatar of sorts, or be a little more literal as an actual catalyst for some sort of experiment or ritual. I think the ritual idea is maybe more on the right lines as alchemy is a large motif of this series.

There isn't much to say about the statement itself. The dice could be the same ones mentioned in Episode 4: Taking Notes. That episode wasn't written by Jonny or Alex, while this one was, but I feel that sort of detail is something they'd feel comfortable adding in. Although I think it's more likely that the old man himself was part of the direction.

"Externals Liaison" being "gofer" so far is pretty great, and Nigel Dickerson is a pretty spot on name for that sort of British TV personality. Can't wait to hear about how they eat children.

Alice still being into Sam and jelly of Celia is cute, and it's great to see more of Teddy. I'm pretty sure he's going to play a larger role in all of this than it seems so far. Going to dig through the ruins of the Magnus Institute might also mean that episode 10 will be a no-incident episode too. Those things usually happened at the start and end of seasons for TMA but it seems pretty appropriate for TMP right now.

Overall, great episode.

Bonzo!Bonzo!!Bonzo!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starting with this post I'm going to include a link to my Google sheet containing all the current cases, their CAT#'s, R#'s, DPHW's, etc. It contains about as much information on each as I think is reasonable, including who narrates it, a link to its episode, and any other relevant notes, as well as headers for incidents we didn't hear. Additionally it also contains the Klaus sheet (German and English) and links to it when a incident matches. It will be updated each episode after the episode is publicly available.

Incident/CAT#R#DPHW Master Sheet

DPHW Theory: 3354 is fairly standard for this sort of thing, I think. I expected H to be a little higher in general but not by a lot. The only very high score we've seen for H involved a lot of compulsion, and the higher scores are harder to escape from than this one seems to be.

Splitting CAT# and R# theories into two separate things now. As you may or may not have seen I wrote a fairly extensive theory on what I think R# means so it makes no real sense to group them.

CAT# Theory: CAT3 is a nice new data point. Not many CAT3's so hopefully this will help elucidate that. But as of yet I don't have a solid theory about how that could work. The other CAT3's were Transformation (Eyes) -/- Trespass, and Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic which have the obvious overlap of transformation but that doesn't have a lot of overlap with Dice (Bone) -/- Fate particularly. There is the subsection of bone here which you could say is linked to the more physical manifestations of those two incidents but the Tria Prima idea I talked about here isn't something I think holds up well. So if CAT3 is something along the lines of the physical I don't think it'll be quite like that.

R# Theory: RB isn't particularly interesting in a general sense. It supports my theory reasonably well and so isn't too surprising. Which means there is little to talk about there. However, I do think it's a really good nail in the coffin for some of my other ideas. Which is encouraging now that I'm thinking about it in very different terms.

Header talk: Dice (Bone) -/- Fate is somewhat interesting. Dice (Bone) is incredibly specific in a way that bothers me. So far sections have been reasonably broad. A violin ends up in Collection, other objects in Agglomeration, Architecture deals with seemingly all buildings, but this section is just for dice? I can't be the only one that thinks that's far more specific than what we've seen before. It's also another very strange crosslink. I'm still not entirely sure what to make of those. I may have mentioned briefly that my current framework for crosslinks is viewing them as vectors. i.e. they're the way in which the supernatural is able to manifest. That holds up with Fate but it's still a bit strange in general terms.

[teejaystumbles]

I've a hunch I might know what Rekindle my Heart is in regards to, so I'm picking that one! (If it's what I think, I loved the premise and art of it so so much!!!)

You're probably right! It's fire elemental Hob! I think I've shared some of it before and haven't had the time to write much more, but a tiny bit is new (if you haven't been in my channel on the big server)

Hob feels himself dispersing. He feels like he has lost all form, turned into smoke and gaseous substances. The eyes of the Dreamlord haunt him. Like the void between stars they felt, cold and vast, dragging his secrets from him with the pull of black holes. Hob shivers and feels it roll through his form like a gust of wind. He tries to get a grip of his essence, literally pulls himself together with quite some effort.  As frightening as Lord Morpheus has been, he has not demanded details of Hob’s imprisonment, though. He has allowed him to stay, at least for a time. That is more than Hob had hoped for. Hob sighs and curls himself around the hearth, seeking the comfort of familiar flames. He digs his fingers and toes into the coals and focuses on regaining his humanoid shape. Losing control is not an option if he wants to keep the already questionable favour of this realm’s master. While he is quite sure that size, shape or form are of no concern to any of the Dreaming’s inhabitants, him being not one of them makes it necessary to appear - harmless, manageable. Like he has one form he keeps to, something familiar, something friendly. And Hob is friendly! He doesn’t like to make trouble! But still, he is an elemental in a realm not made for him. He has to be careful. He has learned that the hard way…