#and this is where I finally reveal what she USED to be like uvu

[monstersofsilence]

Catalyst: The Hunt (Cilrus’ past 1)

The air is cold; the forest clouded in deep mist. Sounds of trampling of multiple beasts, closer to a stampede as werewolf-like creatures ran. Gun shots then rung out, echoing all across the woodland area and caused the birds, that were perched on the branches above the canopy, to flee. A troll kept pace with the beasts, having a rifle on hand and took a shot on the run when she spotted one of the beasts.

Avoiding any roots that are popping from the ground, she took aim at one, pulling the trigger and another shot rang out. The beast fell, dying instantly, slowly petrifying and crumbled into pieces. She kept up with the rest, taking them out one-by-one until there was one left. The troll stopped in a clearing, thick brush all around her as she scanned the area around her.

Hearing rustling from behind, she quickly turned to face the direction of the noise, taking aim with her rifle. She was blind-sided, the beast dashing in and knocked the rifle out of her hands until it was just her and werewolf. “You are the hunter?” The beast began speaking, its voice being audible despite the slight growl behind it. Seems to be the alpha of the pack she was hunting if it’s intelligent enough to being vocal “You?! A single fleshling took out the entire pack?!”

“Hey buddy. I’m just getting paid to kill you guys since you’re harassing a small village.” She spoke up. “Though you were once a troll yourself judging by the horns. Why terrorize people who you were once like before? Huh?

“They are poison! My previous life had nothing but misfortune! I ended up having to steal to live another day.” The beast then smiled deviously. “Then one day... I broke into a lab that was hidden under the village. A scientist was developing a serum and it turned into what I am now.”

“A scientist, huh? Well, this is a bit of a shit show.” She groaned in annoyance after learning of this information. A lab under a village with a serum that can turn trolls into monsters. Sounds like something off of a video game or movie. If it turns out to be true, then the work she did would be for nothing if said scientist continues on developing more serums. And if it then goes into testing it on living trolls, then the village would still be in danger. She’s going to need to take a visit to this scientist once she’s done here. Reaching behind her, she unsheathes a kukri blade, getting to her battle stance as the beast circled around her, growling.

“You may have killed my pack... but once you’re dead, I will rebuild. And everyone in that village will pay for what they done to me!”

“Enough with the sob story! You sound like a comic book villain who turned evil because some jackass stole their crayon as a kid.” She mocked. “Perhaps maybe you should’ve thought positively, moved to a different place. Not everyone are the same. The people there might’ve treated you poorly but perhaps people in another village or town could’ve welcomed you with open arms. Have you even thought of that?”

“Do not think you can persuade me!” The beast yelled. “I’m continuing on my path... as I leave a trail of blood from your corpse!” The werewolf quickly went for a pounce. The troll almost didn’t expect but dodged out of the way to the left, rolling onto the ground and standing back up as the beast lunged forward, swing its claws as she ducked down. She took a swing herself but they stepped back as they went for an overhead, bringing their claws down onto her as she didn’t react fast enough, getting pinned to the ground. The beast kept the troll pinned with one claw, bring the other over their head and swung down onto her, aiming for her head. The troll moved her head to the side, dodging the attack and makes a small cut on the arm that was holding her down, causing them to let go. She rolled away and stood up, lunging forward and stabbed them on their stomach. The beast merely let out a chuckle, grabbing her by the throat and began squeezing. “No blade can harm me, fleshling.” The werewolf said.

The troll gasped for air but was able to say some words. “Y-You’re... right...” She replied. “It’s... a silver blade...”

That was when the beast felt fear, forced to let go of her as she twisted the blade and steps back from them. The werewolf growled and groaned in agony, bleeding from the wound and now slowly being petrified. “You... f-f-fleshling! How dare you!” The petrification process slowly went up to its head, silencing them and then began to crumble away into pieces.

Surprisingly, the petrified head stayed intact. The girl panted, walking over and grabbed the stone-like head, putting it in her bag and carried it over her shoulder. She looked for her rifle, picking it off from the ground and headed back to the village. As she arrived, the troll in charge of the small village waited at the entrance, an older woman with a sun hat on. Spotting the monster hunter she hired, who she was afraid might’ve been sent to die, come back alive, they approached the other with concern. “Miss Xonova!” She formerly called them out. “You’re safe and sound.”

“Yup.” Cilrus replied.

“And... what of the beasts? Are they killed?”

Not bothering to answer, Cilrus reached into her own bag, pulling out the severed, petrified head of a werewolf she killed. “They are all done for. They won’t be a bother.” She smiled confidently to the village leader.

“Oh thank goodness! I will gather payment that was promised for you for a job well done, miss Xonova.”

“Not yet...” Cilrus paused them. She thought for moment, and then gets an idea. “Do you have a doctor in your village, ma’am?”

“Why... of course.” She answered. “Doctor Ovultn lives down the road.”

“Can you take me to them? And I want you to be there with me.” Cilrus asked. The village leader nodded, leading the troll straight to the doctor’s home who does their profession there. Cilrus became subtle loading up some bullets into her rifle just in case anything happens.

They both arrived, the leader knocking on the door as the doctor opened it and was surprised to seeing the bounty hunter he’s heard all about. “Oh! Cilrus Xonova, is it? What a surprise to see you here!” Doctor Ovultn says. “Did you kill off those monsters?”

“Yeah, I did.” Cilrus replied with a slight grin. “They were a bit tough to track down and the alpha leader was a bit of a pain in the ass but they’re gone now.”

“That’s great news! You have no idea how much you have helped me. Stitching up large gashes from claws is very difficult, you know?”

“Yeeeeeeah.”

“Now... why is it you’re here?”

“O-Oh!” The village leader chimed in. “She wishes to speak to you, right, miss Xonova?” She turned to her.

“Yeah. I do. May we come in?” Cilrus suggested.

“Not at all! Please! Come inside.” The doctor moved out of the way and both the leader and Cilrus stepped inside. Right away, Cilrus scanned the inside of the home, spotting anything that looks out of the ordinary from the shelves or even the multiple coffee tables that are around. “What is it you wish to speak to me about?”

“Well... I’m gonna keep it blunt here.” Cilrus began speaking but takes out the petrified, severed werewolf head and placed it on top of his counter. “This guy... he’s the alpha leader.”

“An... alpha leader?” The doctor sounded surprised, staring in awe at the stone head.

“Mmhmm. He was able to speak. Verbally. And he told me something that I now need confirmation for... This village... has an underground lab. And beneath all this dirt there’s a serum that’s being made and it turned people into those things who I just killed... That guy...” Cilrus pointed to the head, continuing to walk around the room and trying to find anything out of place. “... told me that he broke into the lab and injected himself with the serum. Possibly took more of it and created his own pack. Now...” She then turned to the doctor. “I want to know if you are not hiding something.”

The doctor was speechless, not knowing what to say but hearing these accusations was causing him to get angry. “What?! Are you accusing me? Me?!” The doctor talked back.

“Miss Xonova!” The leader spoke out. “What on Alternia is with with accusation?”

“It only makes sense for the one doctor in this village to be skilled enough to be doing these kinds of experiments. A scientist, if you will.” Cilrus simply answered. “I just need to know if it’s true.”

“O-Of course it’s not true! I’m a doctor! A healer! I have been taking care of my fellow neighbors for sweeps when I arrived here!” The doctor explained.

It was then that Cilrus looked at a wall light, seeing what seems to be scratched marks on it but curved up to the left. Almost as if it is turned slightly clockwise. She walked over to it, turning it slightly clockwise and that was when the bookshelf next to it slowly moved forward, stopped and slides to the left to reveal an elevator door. Like from a movie, she knew there was some secret door. Cilrus turned to the doctor along with the leader, looking shocked from this discovery. She aimed her gun at the doctor. “I’m gonna ask you to take me and her down there...” Cilrus demanded.

“L-Listen... I can explain-”

“Now, doc!”

Without any way of escaping around this, he submit and leads them to the elevator. The doors slides open and all three of them stepped inside, heading straight down while Cilrus puts her rifle to the side and pulls out her kukri blade on them, keeping watch on them if they make any kind of move to attack, she’ll be ready. It felt like an eternity being cooped up in a small, square space, going down deep underground to the unknown. Eventually, they made it down and as the doors opened, it revealed the lab the beast talked about. The village leader was shocked from the reveal, not wanting to believe this was all hidden behind her back all this time. The doctor was scared but was ordered by Cilrus to walk inside. A typical lab full of microscopes, beakers of colored liquid which could be god knows what. The one thing that stood out the most was large tubes that had werewolves inside. Three tubes and each of them containing the same beasts Cilrus had just hunted down. All of them seem to be asleep and floating in some kind of liquid. “Wanna explain around this, doc? Though I don’t think you can get out of this even if you try.” Cilrus says.

“You... have no idea how many sweeps of research this has gone through!” The doctor finally just lets it all out. “I was on a breakthrough to assist the Fleet on providing them with super soldiers! This! This was the answer!”

“And those... three?” The village leader spoke up. “They’re the three missing people that were reported gone six sweeps ago...?”

“I needed live subjects in order to test the serum and making sure it worked properly... I-I had no choice but to kidnap them!”

“And you became careless to leave out the serum in the middle of the open in which a troll broke into your home, discovered your lab, and injected itself, along with their buddies, to being werewolves and were killing off people in this village.” Cilrus chimed in. “And this going to stop because I could give two shits if you’re working for the Fleet. What if you can’t control them? Even then, they are a danger to everyone else and if continued, you’d be continuing with these experiments and putting others in danger... Much worse since you kidnapped people for this damn experiment of yours.”

“No! You cannot destroy my life’s work!” The doctor pleaded.

“Watch me.” Cilrus aimed her rifle, shooting all three tubes containing a beast, hitting them. The glass breaks as the liquid pours out and the dormant beasts falls to the floor and they all petrify. Holding her rifle by the barrel, she swung it around like a bat, breaking all the beakers and kicked around any science equipment until it was all broken all the while the doctor tried to stop her but it was too late. The doctor grabbed a scalpel that fell to the floor but looked up only to be looking down the barrel of Cilrus’ rifle. “You’re done...”

“Doctor Ovultn...” The village leader spoke. “You will be put on trial. The council will see to it you be put into a holding cell for this horrible crime you have committed.”

The doctor was done for. He gave up, letting go of the scalpel and just stayed on the floor in defeat. Eventually, Cilrus was about ready to head out, walking towards the entrance but was stopped by the village leader. “Miss Xonova!” She called Cilrus out.

Cilrus stopped, turning to them. “Hey! What do you need, ma’am?”

“I... cannot thank you enough for what you did today... even exposing what was hidden right beneath our feet. I... I would have never known this existed... if you hadn’t come to speak to him... I feel he would’ve continued putting our village in danger... such a horrible man.”

“Ah it’s no big deal! Crazy shit happens and this was a first for me.” Cilrus tried lightening up the mood. “What matters is that your village is safe and sound. You won’t have to worry about freaky werewolves or... whatever else!”

“And I am thankful. Here...” She handed Cilrus the payment, smiling to them. “Thank you... Thank you again!”

Cilrus nodded, began walking down into the forest towards the direction to where her home is. “Secret lab making werewolves... What a fucking day this was!”

[telesthisia]

HANDY DANDY RP PLOTTING CHEAT-SHEET FOR PRINCESS ZELDA (A Link to the Past)!

Want new-and-exciting plots for your character? Long to reach out to more of your followers, but don’t know where to start? Fear not! Fill out this form and give your RP partners both present and future all the of juicy jumping off points they need to help you get your characters acquainted.

Be sure to tag the players whose characters YOU want more cues to interact with, and repost, don’t reblog! Feel free to add or remove sections as you see fit. Template here.

mun name: Amber!!  ooc contact: My DMs are always open for mutuals and non-mutuals alike (I think at least, if not don’t be afraid to send in asks either I try my best to get to them ;v;)! I do have a personal blog but weeps.... me no longer active on there. And a twitter but weeps once again, it’s an oc twitter despite my yellings of off topic things. MY DISCORD TOO!! Though my activity is very inconsistent somedays I’ll be on others not so much! Don’t be afraid to ask for that uvu 

who the heck is my muse anyway?

HOHO!!! For those who never touched The Legend of Zelda in their lives, I’m sure it’s pretty dang confusing to see more than one design of both Zelda and Link, I’ll try my best to explain this! The series follows a very, very convoluted timeline filled with plotholes, as such the Links and Zeldas we see throughout different titles of the game are actually reincarnations who are destined to seal away whatever darkness may threaten the lands known as Hyrule.

The Zelda I play as is the princess of Hyrule during a point in the timeline known as “Downfall Era” where the Hero of Time in OOT lost against Ganondorf in the final battle; Ocarina of Time is the reason for why there’s multiple timelines with each having their unique era depending on the choices in that game. The Downfall Era is known for having games known as A Link to The Past, Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Time, Link’s Awakening, A Link Between Worlds, Triforce Heroes, The OG Legend of Zelda, Annnnd Adventure of Link! The Zelda I play as comes from A Link to The Past as well as the Oracle series and I guess Link’s Awakening despite having no appearance. The events of A Link to The Past and Oracle Series has deeply affected my Zellie in that she suffers from unspoken traumas as well depression. See, before the events of ALTTP there was a war known as the Imprisoning War, that war ended where the seven sages seal away Ganon. Peace reigned for a while until a series of plagues and droughts struck which affected the kingdom. It wasn’t until the antagonist of the game, a wizard by the name of Agahnim, would put an end to the misfortunate blighting Hyrule with his magic, gaining favor with the king. He was able to worm his way into court and from there act on his plans in breaking the seal to the sacred realm where the triforce and Ganon rest. Doing so, he must capture the seven maidens who are descendants of the seven sages and sacrifice them in order to break the seal and well, guess which princess happens to be one of those seven maidens? Suffice to say, he was successful in breaking the seal with Zelda being the final sacrifice. Here we find out that he’s actual the alter ego of Ganon (don’t question it too hard) and we also find out she’s not dead! Hooray! But she is trapped in a plane known as The Dark World, once the sacred realm corrupted by Ganon’s greed. So as all LOZ stories goes, Link saves the day. Happily ever after, right? Well... no, see unlike in the game where the ending is happy and everyone who died is alive I follow both the 90s comics and Himekawa manga where those who died in the games did not come back to life. This includes Zelda’s father, Link’s uncle and some of the maidens. It’s very bittersweet in that, the day is saved and Ganon is gone forever but at the cost of loved ones no longer coming back. 

Well... Ganon comes back! In the oracle series! Two years after ALTTP, Twinrova tries to resurrect him by using the blood and body of Princess Zelda, meaning she can actually die this time around. But Link saves the day once again. Which leads us today, the main verse of the blog which is a year after Oracles and three years after ALTTP! NOTE: That my smash verse more or less follows this timeline I have in place for this blog. 

things you should know

I sound like a broken record but. She’s a glass canon of sorts. Where she’s very powerful thanks to blood of the seven sages, the light force, and having hylia’s blood in her veins. As such, she’s very powerful and her magic super potent which is why so many people wanna sacrifice for dark rituals... BUT!! She has super power health issues that affects her magical stamina and body as such she can’t even use half her powerful magic and this upsets her greatly. It’s a small headcanon of mine because in the games and manga, she doesn’t really do much despite being a powerful magical princess. Keep in mind that ALTTP came out before the retcon that is Skyward Sword and before they decided to add more to Zelda’s abilities throughout the course of the series... so my brain went to: she’s powerful but can’t use magic too much due to poor health. It worked!! Before smash came along but I swear I’m not at all salty. To be fair, it was my fault for assuming things but imagine: glass canon Zelda. It sounded super cool at the time! 

She represses a lot if only for the sake of her nation and to appear as a good leader for her people. As such, she’s almost always calm and has a gentle smile on her face despite radio static sounds resounding in her thoughts. Give her time, she’ll open up and show you her playful side! 

She’s been surrounded by death considering before ALTTP, during ALTTP and kinda with Oracles if you count Twinrova, as well as having a connection with the spirit realm due to freaky PSI powers. So, she doesn’t really have a negative view on death and has actually gained that edgy romanticist view as the result of her life experiences. She’s very much someone who likes to live life to her fullest as the result... and well, it doesn’t help that she’s aware of her short life span thanks to her future vision. Something she won’t reveal to anyone more than likely as to not worry them. She’s more or less accepted her fate... speaking of which

She hates fate/destiny/etc but accepts whatever happens because again clairvoyance has proven that there’s no changing what’s been planned. So, she doesn’t bother fighting against it. But, what impresses her are those who manage to overcome destiny, something that Link does sometimes which is why she looks up to him. He’s that variable that the future can’t keep track of due to how ever changing he is. 

 She loves exploring creepy places, ruins, caves, and dungeons that are scattered throughout her kingdom, for both history and the spooky aesthetics of it! So if you see her outside the castle she’s more than likely getting ready to explore some spooky place. She’s almost always wearing her cloak but there are rare moments where she’s not either ;v; she’ll always go by the name Elle... worth mention she doesn’t bother hiding the mark of the triforce on her right hand.

Speaking of which, only people from the capital known as Castle Town and even some from Kakariko village as well know of the princess’ appearance. Various small towns throughout the land of Hyrule however, only remember her appearance from ALTTP where her hair was a more golden blonde rather than the platinum color that it’s taken from the various fear and stresses from her life. And also, she’s more freckly due to not wearing coverup when outside the castle. Ok well,,,,, here’s the best side by side comparison I have...

If you ask her what the light arrows are, she’ll look at you funny. She comes from a time where silver arrows are a thing :’) the few things that can defeat Ganon

Closet romantic, as in she loves love and wishes for a romance of her own but when it comes to her own feelings she’s an idiot due to repressing feelings.

what she’s been up to:

main verse: Which is during the events of Skyward Sword, as such she’s no longer in Skyloft nor does she have the full knowledge that she’s Hylia but Zelda is suspecting that there’s a connection there. She does not know how to wield her magic as it comes and goes in spurts. She’s seen throughout the Surface so she can be anywhere! Even in other timelines due to using the Gate of Time, we can just say that something screwed up causing for her to end up in another time period or even verse! LOZ series is pretty flexible in time travel.

where to find her:

Graveyard + Sanctuary: It’s a soothing place to visit and also to pay respects to the fallen in ALTTP. 

One of the three provinces (my rendition of Hyrule is a little bigger than the in game map so don’t be afraid to add places that aren’t in ALTTP but in other titles, I know I tend to do): aka anywhere in the fields, she’s a woman plagued with wanderlust and doesn’t like being confined to one place

Kakariko: the villagers who know her true identity are hella nice to pretend that it’s not the princess but Elle! Guards tend to be here after a certain time though, so to avoid them she always avoids going to the village when it’s nearly sundown

Ruins, catacombs, abandon shrines etc: again she likes creepy or historical places or both! 

Haunted Grove: Well... it’s haunted! So :’)

Castle: it’s possible to meet her here too! Whether as princess or someone sneaking either out of the castle or back into it. 

current plans:

Lead her kingdom to the Golden Age, something her father tried to do before his demise. While wishing to see Link once more. 

desired interactions:

I would love the usual adventure threads!!! 

FRIENDSHIP!! She needs friends, pls!! 

ENEMIES!! It’d be fun to write a more angry Zel who doesn’t get along with someone! 

ROMANCE!! I’m a sucker for cuteness ;v; and slow burn ;v; 

HORROR AU!! HORROR AU!!! 

Creepy gothic threads of Zelda running into a creepy cryptid in a gothic castle on a stormy night.... this is very specific but listen, cries... 

Comfort thread ;v; 

things that bother me:

People who know she’s the princess right off the bat ticks me off ngl. A-ok if you muse is unaware of her otherwise! 

PEOPLE WHO KNOW THAT SHE’S FROM A BLOODLINE OF A GODDESS AND SAGES DHSJAKJADB no one really knows that the royal family actually did descend from gods, unless your muse is an immortal and is aware of the events that goes on they shouldn’t know this fact. The only thing the public is aware of is how the royal family have mystical powers different from the population. 

uhhhh that’s about it? Mostly metagaming pft, not too much bothers me now that I think about. 

tagged by: i pirated it ;v; from myself! 

tagging: whomst ever! i recommend doing this since it’ll help a ton with those who still are unsure with your muse but feel too nervous to ask questions.

[96percentdone]

you plan to rewrite v3? do you mind talking about what you're going to change and decide to keep? you don't have to answer, i was just curious! hope you have a nice day!! uvu

I am! Got this huge document of me outlining and figuring shit out right now and everything. Because uhhh….v3 left me….disappointed and angry? Yeah. 

I can talk about it somewhat, but I don’t want to spoil a lot. Basically though I thought the build up and execution of chapter 6 was hot garbage and poorly written, and because of that, I need a new version of the game that…isn’t like that? (This got long so under the cut).

Like the ending was thematically inconsistent because we abruptly jumped to hope vs despair and reality vs fiction when the entire game up until that point was pretty clearly about truth vs lies. And then they messily tried tying it all back together in the epilogue and it doesn’t work. 

And I’ve been going through the game a lot because. special interest, and there’s not a lot of actual hints at the truth. Maybe I’m oblivious, but I’m not seeing them. They went really hard on baiting you with lies that they didn’t actually put evidence towards the truth much. Too much red herring not enough evidence if that makes sense.

And that’s not even touching on how the finale spends an exorbitant amount of time shitting on the cast and the player for getting invested and enjoying a game. It’s very meanspirited. I like meta shit. It can be done well, but….that wasn’t. 

So because chapter 6 has to go, all the shit leading up to it has to go. Whole new game man. New twists, new reveals, new murders–the whole shebang. 

And there’s just other things I wasn’t happy with. The mastermind was wasted potential because the game didn’t bother developing them until they were revealed, even though they were with us the entire time. That’s a gut punch betrayal opportunity that was sorely missed out on. Also she gets caught on pretty flimsy evidence. Solid case to exonerate Akamatsu, not solid to convict the mastermind.

Speaking of Akamatsu? Wasted like twice. She’s killed off fucking immediately, and then they don’t even stick with the cool murder protag thing they did so like there was no point! She ended up just for Saihara’s manpain and I just–no. So I’m not wasting Akamatsu. She gets to be protagonist with Saihara in my rewrite.

And Iruma and Yonaga have….bad writing. Lot of sexist shit going on there, and some racist shit for Yonaga too so….no more of that. Iruma isn’t going to be the fanservice girl for grown men to get off to. She’s 15/16. Why was there a nonstop debate where she gets off. What the fuck. And Yonaga is written to be the “scary sexy exotic girl~~~” and they gave her a cult that has blood sacrifices. and I just. Maybe it’s meant to be bad tropes because team dr wrote her that way for entertainment but…it’s bad. it’s just bad. None of that either. 

Also no incest. I gotta draw a fucking line at incest. You know what this is about. 

Basically a lot is getting changed, but a lot is staying the same. Most characters are entirely unaltered, and the ones who I’m changing aren’t going to be fundamentally different. Just. Less bad writing with them. Probably not perfect writing, because I’m by no means perfect, but…yeah. 

NDRv3 was a game of wasted potential for me. There’s so much in there that was interesting and good and they just…wasted it all. So I want to rewrite it to see that potential be used better. I’m not saying I’m a better writer than an entire staff of people. I very well might not be. I’m kinda an amateur–but I really want to see this game done differently and not wasting so many cool concepts and things so…I’ll try my hand at it myself. 

Also uh people who liked v3′s ending and the writing: I don’t care. Don’t try to sell me it, or convince me that I’m wrong– I don’t care. I really don’t. This is just how I feel, and why I’ve decided to try this. 

[mejomonster]

ok so i love how zhao yunlan is like “hey look at all these old books, all for u” and then goes “oh my grandfather can rest in peace now” ripping off the girl who sold the book to him’s lines

and shen wei just going “ah well how interesting ur grandfather is a student, also I am the one who DONATED these books to the library like a week ago, look i wrote a mark in all of them” and just staring zhao down, looking through the lies without even trying

and damn cat saying earlier, “man you really want to ‘buy’ him huh”

-

also, when shen wei really pointedly is like “do NOT go up to the northwestern mountain this week while i’m doing a professor trip up there. no matter what, do NOT” and just as soon as shen wei’s on the road, up the mountain, his car broke down, guess who should arrive? Zhao Yunlan and his whole crew, stopping to FIX his car, then Zhao just using his charisma +60 points to subtly pry information from the students, which Shen Wei is at least impressed enough about to be like “okay bro, ya got me, that was smooth, getting info from them when u knew i wouldn’t reveal a sliver” but then Zhao’s like “WELL IT SURE IS DANGEROUS, LETS GO THE REST OF THE WAY TOGETHER, I’M DRIVING YOUR CAR PROFESSOR. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR PROFESSOR SHEN, GET IN THE CAR :D”

Zhao is not actually the strongest of the two of them, regardless of how much he realizes that yet, but wow does he just shove his way closer into Shen Wei’s life by trying to hide behind excuses of chivalry.

-

bonus to the scene where they’re in the woods, and the one guys like “was that a ghost soldier?” and Zhao is clearly catching a cold or Something, but he’s still like “Shen Wei. Wear my jacket. I don’t want you to get a cold. No, really, put it on. Fine I’ll put it on you myself. There, now I’ll finally stop pushing the issue uvu.” And then like, the whole rest of the mountain trip, Shen Wei just... keeps wearing and putting on Zhao’s coat. It’s his coat now. 

It’s not like Zhao wouldn’t be the type to start ranting and re-pushing the issue if Shen Wei just tried to turn it back down later...

It’s cute as all get out when Shen Wei tries to sneak out after the trio who go to find Wang Zheng, and  Zhu Hong intercepts him trying to leave RIGHT after he yanks on Zhao’s jacket to bail out.

-

Also every scene where Zhu Hong gets clearly jealous and suspicious of Shen Wei and is like “our boss is a cold hearted player, I’VE NEVER seen him genuinely this sweet on ANYONE” and she’s like “speaking of banes of my existence,” and just GLARES at Shen Wei. And all the scenes where Da Qing and  Lin Jing and Guo all have to hear her doing this, and end up gossiping? Doesn’t feel like subtext so much as just actual text, that she likes Zhao a little, and we’re clearly supposed to assume Zhao likes Shen Wei A TON. 

i’m also... not sure why i had heard people say the side characters weren’t written or developed too well in the show...? Maybe in the novel version they get a lot more attention? (Which i assume is true for the whole story in general.) Because... I feel like so far, all the characters have been getting at least as much development as like... Angel the Series, or Xena Warrior Princess, or The X Files, ever happened to focus on side recurring character growth or moments. Like... I can definitely see that we’re learning more about these characters over time. Guo and Chu in particular we see actually changing, and Wang Zheng and Lin Jing got their own kind of episodes to get focused on a bit. And the other recurring characters at least, we’ve been learning more pieces about them each episode...

I really happen to like the pacing so far... it’s very “here’s A plot focused on the special investigation(s), here’s B plot that’s more character journey driven, and occasionally here’s bits of Main Villain/Main Arc buildup throughout.” Which is a lot like any typical case-of-the-week series that also weaves in a main plot arc (like Buffy, Angel, How to Get Away with Murder, Person of Interest, etc). Yeah... some episodes it feels like less busy things are happening, whereas like Wang Zheng’s focused episodes feel like they’re like 5 minutes when you watch them, the pacing is so much tighter in them (to me). I feel like, very similar to person of interest, the show is trying to parallel and highlight aspects of the main story/main character arcs USING the cases of the week, so even A plot revolved around characters-of-the-week/case-of-the-week don’t feel unnecessary or like they take away from other things too much. 

[zenosanalytic]

HoXPoX Liveblog: House of X #5

And Now HoX#5! Here Is The Link

On to House of X #5! The cover's a Savage Land variant with a, to me, too skinny Rogue, though as always her Gloves and Boots are On Point. Emma Frost's also there, looking bored/annoyed, sitting on the head of an Apatosaurus 

Opening X Quote Summarized: Mutants were never given a chance, unlike them(humans presumably but we'll see given the trinary organization of man/machine/mutant[the consonance compels me to use a plural noun I dislikeX|])

Mag's summation of the switch to agriculture is a bit rose-colored; in most cases it was also associated with the explosive growth of disease, slavery, war, exploitation, gender stratification, so much else. Also misleading: society has ALWAYS existed... 

...at BEST you can draw a direct line btw ag and cities, but even there it's iffy, given new archaeology suggesting some early, pre-agricultural ritual-site-settlements. Of course he's propagandizing, and Mags rarely says anything that without it serves a purpose.

The quote, as always, seems to be the theme. Mags is talking abt a new gen of mutants not defined by being hunted but by social life/"civilization"(again these arent exclusive) Im thinking this might be a bit New Mutant focused we'll see. 

(oh yeah lots of golds and greens on those pages, so Beginnings/safety again) Ok the eggs WERENT something Krakoa did: they're the product of 5 combined mutant powers! They're Quick-Clone Eggs!! Neat!!! I was hoping to see some powers-derived technology.

Puts a different spin on the opening scene of HoX#1, though; kinda lame to give Xavier visual credit for the work of other mutants, even if it was done to preserve the reveal. They're the one's being "godly" here, not him.

ah ok cool, so Xavier uses Cerebro to copy their minds, then transfers them back into their bodies! HAHA; it really is a reverse of the Machine's concept of Ascension; technology and biological quirk used to preserve&resurrect individuality, rather than subsume it in "perfection"

Philosophically I really love this, as it's in so many way the OPPOSITE of the Platonic Idealism of their enemies(The Sents, The Genetic Puritans). The Mind/Spirit to be preserved is NOT the Perfect Pure One but the Unique Individual...

...and it's not done through the working of One Great Spirit or Machine, but through the Uniqueness of individuals working in Concert. They dont even reject a place for machines given Cerebro's role&Xavier's Cybernetic contribution. Its Full Luxury Mutant Cyborg Socialist Utopia!

and THAT'S just the introduction! The scene continues after the credit-page: Storm is giving a speech and there's some cool symbolism; the sun shining through the pale lavender leaves of the tree-entrance to the resurrection chamber beneath a green sky... 

...A new beginning, knowledge/power/safety, out of death/endings, a a cycle of death broken by a new cycle of death and returned-life. 

In, again, a refashioned echo of the X3 Phalanx scene, where the elder tested Phalanx to see if their knowledge was preserved to see if they were, Storm "tests" the resurrected, asking them personal questions...

...But there the preservation was judge only the individual & faith, here the Preserved speaks for itself; is judged by public witness of their words by those who know and love them best and acclaimed alive again by all. Here is Proof not Belief. Here is Validation not Doubt.

THEYRE GONNA FUCKING RESURRECT THEM ALL HELL YES!!! I love this not only out of a love for the Mutant backlog, but also for how this works on a meta-level: this is declaring Dawn of X, the larger Marvel project, to be an Undoing of Decimation and...

...in discourse with HoX 4, critiquing both Genoa, Decimation, and the corporate impulses behind them(ie, killing lots of mutant to "rationalize" the canon and for shock value) by treating them seriously as in-world traumas.

Nightcrawler is SO SHORT! I LOVE HIM!! Also everyone's touching their naked bodies so correction: Full Luxury Mutant Cyborg Socialist POLYAMOROUS Utopia uvu uvu uvu

and some Infopages recapping how the Resurrection works just to be clear about it(and suggest some interesting possibilities)

Cut to the UN, Xavier and Emma talking about the, Successful, Vote. Frost seems to have Compelled the Russian ambassador to abstain against her government's orders. This is followed by an infopage detailing nations that have rejected Krakoan treaties; Wakanda's a Big one

I wonder if they're going to touch on that in the next few books or if that's something they left for the Dawn of X series. Storm's got a long, friendly history with Wakanda(I think?) and I've never heard of Black Panther being hostile to mutants :?

Cut back to Krakoa; Apoc and his allied mutants are arriving(Marrows with them; I thought she was an XMen? Looking it up it seems there was a vers where the Morlocks were victims of Sinister's experimentation in Apoc's name). 

Building on that, Sinister was with Apoc's group. They have a long association but he was behind the "database" for the Ressurection protocol, so I wonder why he's showing up here? Is this just the arrival of "generic mutant villains"?

Final page is a splash of Xavier and Apoc shaking hands in welcome Xavier saying "Welcome Home". The sun is in the top left corner shining down through the trees in oranges and light purples. The fuschia "eyes" of Krakoa look on from the right. Apocs smiling abt as much as he can

There's something interesting to talk about here. Apoc identifies Krakoa as mutants "finally becoming what he always intended them to be", again this suggestion, present from the start, that Krakoa involves taking on a possibly corrupting nationalism&supremacism.

The dangers of those ideologies are obvs, but the context of the comics, where mutants have mostly been wiped out by repeated atrocities non-mutant humans refuse to prevent or help in stopping, & Moira's xp, I think explains why this would seem worth risking.

I do still feel like there's a deception going on here though. It cant be missed that Moira's Sixth life is hidden in the timeline charts, and that HoXPoX ends with their Sixth issues, and there's still the question of why X3 is included if its a "failed" tl.

Three issues left! I'll try to finish this up tomorrow. So far I've been liking it though I was expecting something a bit meatier from the reactions to it online.