#but avatar is supposed to be fun and lighthearted too

[palajae]

two eps into avatar: the last airbender on netflix and currently impressed with the sfx but not liking how dark and heavy the story already is 😭😭

[vilevexedvixen]

Water is the element of change. The people of the Water Tribes are capable of adapting to many things. They have a sense of community and love that holds them together through anything.

-Uncle Iroh

It bothers me that Korra's stubbornness and reckless impulsivity are the writers' attempts at having Korra be opposite to Aang.

Aang is many things; lighthearted, partial to the wisdom of the air nomads and while still open minded he generally values the wisdom of the monks over other philosophies, willing to be there for people and put his foot down but ONLY if no other option is available, and avoidant in that he'd sooner run away from his problems in favour of fun if he feels he can. He means well, but is understandably overwhelmed by the worldly demands of his role as the Avatar.

I like that Korra enthusiastically accepts the role and is eager to perform it even as she does so poorly or in ways not suited to the situation she's in (more focussed on combat and physical aspects of bending rather than the philosophies of each nation, spiritual connection and diplomacy). In that respect, she IS Aang's opposite.

What does bother me is that her stubbornnous and combativeness is written to be obnoxious and, frankly, stupid. Being direct isn't inherently either of those things, yet the writers managed to have Korra seeming nothing but unwise and impatient until VERY late in the show and in a shoft too sudden to be natural.

Instead, I would have liked to see Korra's headstrong nature to be on behalf of her community, her family and her friends above everything. We know she was somewhat estranged from her community as a child, being raised largely by her mentors in The order of the White Lotus and her parents, but be allowed around the southern tribe enough to take part in local festivals and feel homesick for the larger tribe and not just her commune when she moves to Republic City. Which would've been nice to tie into her difficulty not picking a side / remaining impartial as an Avatar is supposed to (in theory) during the civil war arc.

*Frankly the fact that arc is dropped halfway through season 2 in favour of adding an overexplaination of bending / avatar origins NOBODY asked for will always irritate me.*

Korra may keep going back to directly confront figures but try a different strategy or consult the wisdom of those she trusts and respects most MORE than she did in the actual show and have the wisdom of others help her adapt would've been much better than seeing her try and throw flames and rocks at each villain for the fifth time in a row.

Have it be her actually seeking out their wisdom rather than them granting her visions or happening across her while she's wondering around in a poisoned stupor.

Basically, I don't think her more brash traits were handled well and I also don't think being headstrong makes you inherently more like earth or fire moreso than water *cough* "You can't knock me down!" Katara *cough*

It's not the worst written show, but Korra is a VERY frustrating protagonist to follow because her bad decisions aren't written in a way that has her seem flawed in an endearing andcrealistic way. It instead feels written like the writers forgot that stubbornness is not stupidity and combativeness is not borne of just anger but can be borne of conviction and passion to protect people and ideas the character cares about.

[milkypompon]

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟚 | 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕌𝕟𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 Zuko x Reader

𝔼𝕩𝕥𝕣𝕒 ℍ𝕠𝕥 𝕊𝕚𝕗𝕦 ℍ𝕠𝕥𝕞𝕒𝕟

ℤ𝕦𝕜𝕠 𝕩 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣

< ℙℝ𝔼𝕍𝕀𝕆𝕌𝕊 || ℕ𝔼𝕏𝕋 >

𝕄𝔸𝕊𝕋𝔼ℝ𝕃𝕀𝕊𝕋 𝕆𝔽 𝕋ℍ𝕀𝕊 𝔹𝕆𝕆𝕂

𝕀𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕖 | Aang and Y/N are siblings who share powers, but Y/N was hidden from the Four Nation’s eyes to avoid the possibility of their separation. Then, Zuko meets the flamboyant and flirtatious Y/N for the first time at the Western Air Temple where he attempts to join the tight-knit Gaang. 

𝔸𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣'𝕤 ℕ𝕠𝕥𝕖 | Okay… So this is pretty much pl*t st*ff! I swear the next one will be more lighthearted... 

“URGH!” groaned a frustrated boy. 

Y/N jolted forward, rolling off the dusty mattress and onto the rough concrete with a soft thud. Rubbing the sleep out of their eyes, it took a few moments to recollect the events of yesterday. 

Northern Air Temple…

Probing Sokka’s ear… 

No, no, rewind just a little bit, Y/N yawned and arched their back to relieve the aching pain on their spine. 

Shit… 

Zuko

-

The supposed skilled firebender twisted and jutted out his limbs to release any sort of flickering flames. But alas, there was none, so Zuko released a sigh of defeat. He thumped his forehead onto the stone wall in an attempt to cool down his fiery system.

Aang witnessed Zuko’s unravelling state. He pitied him, he really did. Despite the weeks of the firebender’s hunt among his friends, well specifically him, there was something that nagged Aang. Something was telling him that he couldn’t let Zuko deflate.

Y/N gave him a chance, I know that I should too.

Aang traced the crumbling stone column he sat on with his finger, trying to find the right words to disperse to Zuko’s drooping figure. He could practically hear the thoughts in Zuko’s twisting mind. 

Hopping down from his seat, Aang offered, “Thanks for showing me the ropes!”

The firebender violently whipped his head back to meet Aang’s gentle eyes, “Don’t patronize me! You know what my fire is supposed to look like!” A burst of blue fire circled around Zuko, casting a grim glow over his face.

Aang’s eyes grew wide, he stumbled back to escape the flames slithering towards his feet. 

A whimper caught his ear.

“Y/N!” Aang shouted over the raging fire twisting around Zuko’s limbs who stood limp, subjugating to the uncontrollable.

A familiar sensation of warmth pricked Y/N’s forehead, traveling down to their arms and winding around their legs. Their heartbeat sounded through their ears, a gentle drum soon picking up its speed.

Drumming…

Drumming… 

Another heartbeat echoed through their head.

Beating steadily to their own.

Aang… is that you? 

The wind picked up, swirling the clouds to and fro to gather together a dreary mass of gray. The pulsating gusts thrusted stone columns and pieces of wood around the Northern Air Temple as if it was a lifeless doll. 

It encouraged Zuko’s crackling fire to size him up. He was being eaten by his own flames.

The sky above matched the state of the two Avatars and the firebender throwing his own fit wedged between them. It was a commendable horrid sight that drew the Gaang forward.

“SOKKA!” Katara’s screech ripped her throat. She led Toph (who spat out Katara's hair out of her mouth) by the arm, but the pair struggled to reach Sokka who swatted debris around himself.

“The same thing happened when Aang saw Gyatso…” Sokka mumbled to himself in realization. He was brought back from his thoughts when Toph tugged on his tunic, motioning him to lead the way.

As the three crawled on all fours towards the raging fire to avoid impact from debris, Sokka shouted to his sister. “YOU NEED TO COOL DOWN YOUR BOYFRIEND!”

Katara halted to give him a stern glare, “HE’S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!”

“HE’S TALKING ABOUT AANG!” Toph replied.

“WELL YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN YOUR Y/N!” Katara retorted, while Toph snorted.

“Y/N’S NOT MINE- UGH NEVERMIND…” Sokka grumbled, “If you need anything to be done right, you gotta do it yourself.” He slowly raised himself up to his feet, his body teetering this way and that from the strong wind. 

Sokka sprinted to the nearest column from Y/N to protect him from any unexpected outbursts that could occur. He peered at Y/N, to his surprise wasn’t there. Craning his neck up, there they were, floating at a dangerously towering height.

Y/N’s body resembled Aang’s, hovering above the ground, arms and legs spread out like a starfish. The siblings' eyes and mouth emanated a blinding blue light, similar to Zuko’s flames that continued to engulf him.

“Y/N YOU GOTTA SNAP OUTTA THIS!” Sokka pleaded, “PLEASE! YOU’RE HURTING YOURSELF!” Despite the ongoing sound of the wind, he heard footsteps treading towards the fire.

Katara dug her feet into the ground. She stood in front of Zuko, close enough to feel the heat, but far enough to not be touched. Hands raised up to either side of her, she heaved in a deep breath.

Into the nostrils… 

Through the throat…

Settling into the lungs…

AND OUT!

Katara brought her hands together with a loud clap, which the clouds matched with the sudden onslaught of rain that was brought upon them. It quieted down Zuko’s blue fire, soon dissipating into mist. He fell down to his knees with a hard thud.

“NOW!” Katara poured her heart out into her confident voice.

A rumbling erupted as rocky beams shot up from the ground, catching the falling limp bodies of Aang and Y/N.

“Gotcha!” Toph sighed in exasperation and relief.

-

Cool water leached onto Y/N, who laid sprawled out onto a makeshift table made of stone next to Aang, drawing out the overwhelming energy from the outburst of the morning’s events. It was sun down now. Orange and purple hues scratched the sky, painting the Northern Air Temple similar colors. 

Y/N moaned at the chilling sensation languidly crawling down from their head.

The beating drum slowed down to a steady thumping. 

But Y/N could still hear another beat.

AANG, IS THAT YOU?

The siblings shot forward, heaving deep for air, startling Katara, causing her to splash the water onto the ground. 

“What just happened…” Aang and Y/N mumbled.

“YOU TELL ME!” Sokka gripped his hair tightly, causing the elastic to snap. “BOTH OF YOU WENT SWOOSH, THEN ZUKO WENT BLAM-”

Y/N clamped their ears, pushing and scrunching it in an attempt to drown out the sounds. 

There was too much.

The crackling of Toph’s nervous knuckles pricked Y/N’s eardrums. Y/N’s eyes darted to Sokka’s heaving chest who continued to explain the outburst with flailing arms, then onto Katara’s lips that spoke soft words, giving the opposite effect onto them. 

There was too much.

Beads of sweat trickled steadily down Aang’s forehead. His hand clawing at the nape of his neck, his throat tightening, threatening to close. His fingers traveled to his robe, gripping, then unclenching the creased fabric furiously.

“S-Stop…” Aang whispered.

“I SAID STOP!” the Gaang was startled by the siblings' simultaneous shout.

For once, everyone quieted down, only the gentle chirping and fluttering of birds was heard.

One…

Y/N’s eyelids smoothed down over their seering eyes.

Two…

Aang breathed in heavily.

Three…

The Avatars breathed out and shot open their eyes.

𝔼𝕟𝕕𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕖 | Y’all thot this was gonna be fun and games huh??

Give me your thoughts on this chapter?

【ℝ𝔼ℚ𝕌𝔼𝕊𝕋 𝕋𝕆 𝔹𝔼 𝕆ℕ 𝔸 𝕋𝔸𝔾𝕃𝕀𝕊𝕋 𝕋ℍℝ𝕌 𝕄𝕐 𝕀ℕ𝔹𝕆𝕏】

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[deltaengineering]

What remains of Fall Anime 2020

You might have noticed that I haven’t been keeping up with my season impressions, mostly (but not exclusively) because it’s really boring to come up with new ways to say “it’s isekai, which means it’s garbage for stupids”. So here’s what I ended up finishing, in ascending order of goodinosity.

Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- Rhyme Anima

Ostentatious rap battles in an insanely stupid universe are very fun. The thing is that this doesn’t want to be a good anime, it wants to sell us on these characters, and the characters are pretty terrible on account of all of them being one-word gimmicks. So, let’s give them three rounds of introductions and have them solve lame, generic crimes for 8 episodes instead of setting up the rivalries that everyone suddenly has later, when the show gets good - because it does start delivering towards the end, and becomes really all I wanted. So I can’t even say I’m disappointed, but the first half of the show is almost entirely worthless. 4/10

Assault Lily Bouquet

I don’t want to be the guy that’s all “I’m mad at this show not catering to what I want”, but I do have to say that Salt Bucket is much better at being a goofy, lighthearted yuri comedy than it is at action (though there are a few choice cuts) and at having an engaging storyline. This is again just an ad for some game or other, so it’s no surprise it has about two dozen characters too many, but it also has quite a lot of superfluous plot - so much so that I suspect it was initially planned to be twice as long. Apart from that, it’s cool and all that some Gainax old hand got to make his own Gunbuster-like, but it’s just not very good at that and all I wanted was Kaede antics and bath scenes, of which 1 per episode is clearly too few. 5/10

The King's Avatar 2

King’s Avatar got a sequel and overall I have to say, I kinda like it more than the first season even though it looks much less ambitious and even the character designs were changed towards the bland. But I honestly don’t care much about the esports aspect of this and much of S2, especially in the back half, is more about schemes and social engineering - as close to an Eve Online anime as we’re ever going to get, I guess. It’s still very chinajank (why the hell does every episode come with a redundant chibi summary of itself, etc), and while I can’t call that “good” it does remind me of a time when I wasn’t filled with useless knowledge of anime tropes and was just enjoying the weirdness. Also, Ye God’s antics is as close to “looking for anime with OP MC” as I’m comfortable with getting. 6/10

Heaven Official's Blessing

Now how about some Chinimation that isn’t very janky? I only became aware of Heaven Official’s Blessing when it suddenly rocketed to the top of the MAL charts, so I gave it a looksie and oh boy. The first few episodes of this show are flat out gorgeous, quite funny and very very gay. So I was ready to agree with MAL for once, except it then launches into an arc that mostly consists of our dudes sitting in a dark pit telling each other stories that aren’t very interesting and seem barely related to the setup. Yeah, the back half of this just isn’t very good at all. And the subs are hot garbage. Still, the beginning is so impressive that I would recommend this show despite the middling rating it’s about to get. 6/10

Ochikobore Fruit Tart

You know the problem that these 5girls4koma stories have, where one of the characters is an annoying pervert, yeah? Well, in Fruit Tart every character is that character, and they’re rather cultured as well. Yes, it’s often of questionable taste and it has a terminal case of 4koma storytelling but dammit if I didn’t enjoy it. It certainly helps that this show’s greatest asset by far is Broko and it seems to be aware of this, because there’s a lot of Broko material. It would have probably have gotten a 6 but the last episode is just so... maximum Fruit Tart. I’m down for some trash if it’s as well made as this, and I do like my kiraralikes spicy, so thumbs up over here. YMM definitely V on this one. 7/10

Majo no Tabitabi

Speaking of things that are hard to recommend despite me liking them a lot, Elaina here challenges the very notion of what a TV show even is supposed to be. I assume most people tune in every week expecting to get something roughly similar. Not so with this one, you could get everything from slice of life antics to Higurashi-style gore, or reasonably deep character study to pervert comedy. I would say that the only unifying thread is the presence of Elaina, who is a very fun character, but there’s an episode she’s not in, so there you go. But I’m a connoisseur of the weird and I also have to say that I enjoyed every episode in its own way. Also, each episode stays remarkably consistent by itself, and in the end it wraps it all up with a sort of neat “life is like a box of chocolates” thematic bow, which isn’t earthshatteringly profound but hey, it’s there. Just don’t go in with expectations, especially not expectations based on the first episode. 7/10

Love Live! Nijigasaki

It’s Love Live. Good old reliable Love Live. Really not much to say about this one, any discussion of what makes this different from previous iterations is going to end up in minutiae only people who already watched this could possibly care about. I do have to say that while the musical numbers are as good as Sunshine’s were towards the end and there’s also a lot more of them, “looking budget deficient outside the CG” is the one thing I didn’t expect from something that’s ostensibly a Sunrise premium product. So boo on that one, apart from that it’s idols (an anagram of solid). 7/10

Garupa Pico Oomori

The chibi SD shorts based off Bang Dream are still better than the main show. Even if S3 was actually quite good, this is just the best thing you can do with 30+ characters that aren’t that deep. Garupa Pico specializes in absurd humor setpieces that at points is better at being Pop Team Epic than Pop Team Epic itself was. Take that, memelords. 7/10

Fire Force S2

Fire Force is just weird, man, and it’s sort of great. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a property of this magnitude show this much of the ol idgaf spirit. How about an episode where the A plot is the most evenhanded exploration of religion i’ve seen in anime, and the B plot is about blowing up a tryhard edgelord by exposing him to panties? How about a subplot where Batman and Thor infiltrate the vatican to kill the pope, only for that to lead into a gay rape backstory, only for that to be resolved by dank weed and dismemberment? It really is quite a thing, as they say. Now, Fire Force certainly delivers hard at points, but it’s also very scattershot, even if S2 is somewhat more consistent than S1. The weakest parts are unsurprisingly still the ones where it’s remembering its fighting shounen template, and that’s not only because I don’t like that, it’s also because it’s particularly and consistently bad at scheduling these huge, simultaneous multifight setpieces it often crescendoes with. But hey, at least these tend to look super cool. In short, Fire Force is a land of contrasts and still the only fighting shounen I give a damn about. 7/10

IDOLiSH7 Second Beat

Did you know that I think Idolshi7 is the best one of all of these huge-ass commercial idol franchises? Yeah, I think it’s better than Love Live, and as of Fall 2020 also the better looking one because Troyca still delivers where Sunrise apparently can’t. I guess still don’t like the music much, thankfully there isn’t a lot of that. It also still specializes in gigantic drama, and to its credit S2 is now much better at either getting to the point or at least making it silly and fun. You show that door who’s boss, Sou. Still fantastic Tsumugis all over the place as well, in fact I think I like all the characters now. Even Banri gets his big moment in this season! Yeah, this stuff is pretty cool. 8/10

Adachi and Shimamura

So here’s the AOTS, and it’s the lovechild of Bloom Into You and Tsuki ga Kirei. While it definitely isn’t as good as either of these two, because it lacks the “about more than just teenagers being hyperbolic about a crush” part from Bloom and the part where it has an actual ending from TgK, it carves out its own niche with its loopy, almost stoned tone that’s full of side weirdos and yuri hyperspace. It’s also uniquely focused, with a tiny core cast and even Shimamura doesn’t really matter all that much. This is all about Adachi, and thankfully Adachi is amazing. Amazingly awkward, that is. It’s very cute. So yeah, this is a bit too lacking in substance to aspire to classic status, but it’s a great time nonetheless. 8/10

[adverb-slut]

Let’s Film An Adult Video! (Fanfiction)

Aha, here is another story from me.  This is super dumb and lighthearted an features a lot of Simeon, which is yay, I think.  Anyway, again, this is a silly, cringy thing that I was bored and wrote.  Also, it is on AO3.  Sorry for posting so much, I promise I’ll tone it down soon if that bothers anyone! >.<

Title:

Let’s Film An Adult Video!

Summary:

When Simeon believes he's asked by Asmo to film an adult video, MC decides to help him, only to find out that sex is not the only thing on the Avatar of Lust's mind.

Genre:

Slice of Life/Humor

Rating:

T

Word Count:

2012

Additional Note:

All the dialogue between the MC and Simeon that are in italics means that it’s not verbally expressed, but is rather mouthed between you.  And yes, you can understand each other because you’ve magically developed the talent of impeccable lip-reading.

-

You yawn slightly as you exit your Introduction to the History of Demonology 1001 classroom and shift the straps of your backpack.  You groan at the weight of all the homework your obnoxious teacher assigned to you for the day. 

Your eyes feeling heavy—you had stayed up with Levi all night yesterday playing one of his newly-released games—you stumble forward, nearly tripping on the velvet hallway runner that lines R.A.D’s tiled corridor.

You manage to regain your footing, but again, your ungraceful stroll is impeded by something else—that something being a tall, brown-skinned angel, who leans against the wall with furrowed brows.

You brighten instantly.  “Hey, Simeon.” You notice the frown on his face.  “Is something wrong?”

Simeon shakes his head.  “I have to admit, yes, but it’s nothing for you to worry about, MC.”

You cock your head.  “Are you sure? I’d like to help.”

“Well,” Simeon replies, smiling at your earnestness.  “I don’t know if you can help.  In fact, I’m the one who got myself into this mess, so I suppose I’m the only one who can get myself out.”

You have to wonder what kind of conundrum a pious creature like Simeon could have gotten himself into, so you say, “Just tell me what happened; maybe I can offer some insight.”

He nods.  “Okay, then.  I guess there’s no harm in telling you.”  He sits down, leaning his back against a row of lockers, and motions for you to do the same.  “Ah, see. You know, up in the Celestial Realm, we don’t use D.D.Ds. We have our own type of communication devices, sure, but we’ve never really had the need to use anything as complicated as what’s used in the Devildom.”

“Yeah, I remember Solomon telling me that you and Luke were super intrigued when Diavolo gave you guys your D.D.Ds,” you reminisce, as you pull out your own device.

“Yes, they’re really quite complex.  We had trouble getting used to them at first.”  Simeon laughs cheerfully. “I especially am fond of sending stickers and such, although I have trouble typing actual messages, though.”  He pauses. “Anyway, I wanted to get better at navigating my D.D.D, so I enlisted the help of Levi earlier this week since he’s so good with technology.”

You stop him there.  “Impossible—Levi’s favorite game just got a new installment on Sunday, so he’s been playing it all week.  He’s been at it pretty much 24/7. Actually, I helped him yesterday.”

“Yes, the fact that Levi is busy this week made it so that despite our arrangement, I couldn’t rely on him.”  The angel shook his head sadly. “However, Levi did recommend that I talk to Asmodeus if I wanted help with my D.D.D considering Asmo spends a lot of time on it browsing and posting on Devilgram and DevilTube.”

You nod.  “Makes sense.”

Simeon goes on, “The thing is, Asmodeus said that if he taught me the ins-and-outs of my D.D.D, he wanted something in return; I said that that was alright.”  He looks down, and you can’t help but notice the slight blush on his face as he continues, “Today he let me know what he wants me to do.” He takes a deep breath.  “He wants me to film a video in his bedroom … a video featuring him and his … lady friends .  He said he’d do it himself, but he’d be pretty … occupied during the video.  He also said he’d have a script and everything.”

“What?”   You can feel your eyes bulge out of your head, making the connection between the Avatar of Lust and … scripted bedroom videos.  “He wants you to film a porno with him starring in it?!”

Simeon nods furiously.  “You realize it too, don’t you, MC?  I’m sure that’s what he wants, right?”

“Right.  He really must be a demon if he wants an angel to film him having sex …”  You sigh. “Maybe tell him you don’t want to do it?”

He shakes his head.   “No, I can’t do that—I can’t break a promise I made to him.”  He sighs. “I’m just going to have to buckle down and do what he asks.”

You feel as if you should’ve known that as an angel, he wouldn’t go back on his word.  You decide to alleviate him, considering he looked miserable. “If you want, I’ll help you.”

“I can’t ask you to do that, MC!” Simeon gasps.  “You’re not the one who promised this to Asmo!”

“I’m doing it,” you affirm.  “I told you I’d try to help, so I’m gonna.  With me there, we can take turns controlling the video camera, so you don’t have to see as much … stuff.”

The angel seemed to sense that there was no way that you were budging from your stance, so he groans.  “I guess there’s no stopping you, then. Let’s go to Asmo’s room and film an adult video!”

“Huh,” you comment, peering through the threshold to Asmodeus’ open bedroom.  “He’s not here.”

“Yes, he said we could come in beforehand to get all the equipment set up before he brings in his female … companions.”  Simeon blushes at the last two words. “Although, I’m not sure we’re going to need all that much recording stuff.” He pulls out his D.D.D.  “I mean, Asmo showed me how to work the video camera on this so I think we can use that to film.”

You nod.  “That sounds fine.  The video quality might not be that great, but since we don’t have anything else, I guess we can just use that.”

Before you can see anything else, you notice that Simeon has begun to wander through Asmodeus’ room.  He turns to you, clutching a small, pink, egg-shaped object. His eyes widen in suspicion. “What do you think this is, MC?  Some kind of weird sex toy?  Do you think they’ll use it in the video?  Because if so, I’d like to film that part, to see what hole it goes up in.”

It’s your turn to blush.  “I—I believe that’s called a BeautyBlender, Simeon.  It’s a sponge for makeup.”

“Ah, I see.”  He places it back on Asmo’s vanity and notices that a pale powder has rubbed off the beauty sponge and onto his fingers.  He looks curiously at you.

“Foundation,” you explain. “You can wipe it off.”

He nods and reaches toward what looks like a slick metal hand sanitizer dispenser placed on the vanity.  But, before he can press the actuator down, Asmodeus prances into his room.

“Hello, everyone!” Asmo sings.  “Oh, lovely! MC, you’re here, too!  I’ll do you after I’m done with these two.” 

He gestures at the two female demons that had followed him into the room; both are surprisingly, unconventionally beautiful, with strikingly attractive features that didn’t seem to follow any beauty standards.  He saunters toward his bed, pausing when he notices Simeon’s hand poised on the ‘hand sanitizer dispenser.’ “Ooooh, are we interrupting something?” He glances at you and then Simeon, grinning. “If we were, don’t mind us, and do go on!  I’ll join in if I notice a lull!”

You cock your head.  “… What?”

Asmodeus shrugged.  “Well, I can only assume what was about to go on, considering Simeon’s hand is poised on my lube dispenser.”

Simeon whips his hand away from the metal canister, his face bright red.  “I—I thought it was hand sanitizer!”

“No, no, that’s lube—good quality stuff, too!”  Asmo beckons toward the two other demons, and they walk further into the room.  “Lailah, Feota, come, sit on the bed, darlings.”

As the two girls quietly make their way to the bed, Simeon mouths to you from across the room (you magically have insanely good lip-reading skills and can understand him perfectly), “Holy Father, MC, he has two ‘lady friends!’  We’re gonna be filming a threesome!   How scandalous!” 

You nod furiously and point to Asmodeus, who had sauntered over to his closet and is now returning with a massive pink box that is covered with glitter.  He plops it down on his bed next to Lailah and Feota.

“I got my bag of tricks!” Asmo explains, pointing to the box. He taps his fingers gleefully.  “This is going to be so much fun!”

“Bag of tricks?” you mouth to Simeon.  You have a sneaking suspicion that in regards to the genre of this video, that could only mean one thing.

He turns to the both of you, saying, “I just need to grab a few more things for the video, so if you guys could just hold off on the filming for a few minutes, that would be fabulous.” You and Simeon watch as Asmodeus turns toward his vanity, opens the drawer, and pulls out a curling iron, which confuses you because … where did a curling iron fit into sex?

“Vibrator!” Simeon mouths, gesturing toward it, his eyebrows raising.

“Curling iron!” you mouth back to him.

Asmo yanks out an eyelash curler and puts it on the vanity.

“Nipple clamps!”

“Eyelash curler!”

Next, the fifthborn demon pulls out an assortment of pointy makeup brushes.  As you notice the number of beauty supplies accumulating on his vanity, you begin to reconsider the exact nature of the video you and Simeon are to film …

“Butt plugs!”

“Literally brushes, Simeon!”  You begin to wonder exactly how dirty the angel’s mind is.

Suddenly, Asmodeus produces a pair of fluffy red handcuffs from his drawer, before cheerfully blushing and shoving them back inside.  “Whoopsie! Heehee, those aren’t for right now!” He walks back over to his bed, grabs the pink box, and sets it onto the vanity.  

He turns toward you.  “MC, be a doll and pull that ball chair up over here toward my vanity.  I only have one seat here and both Lailah and Feota should be in front of the mirror.”

“So whoever’s not participating in the sexy times at the moment can watch!” Simeon, his eyes bugging out of his head, mouths to you, again.  

You facepalm in exasperation and not even bothering to respond to his previous statement, you mouth, “I’m not sure we’re filming porn, Simeon.”

The angel looks at you in shock.  “How can you be so sure?”

Just then, Asmo opens his ‘box of tricks,’ hauling out dozens of tubes of liquid lipstick and eyeliner, at least ninety-three different eyeshadow palettes, and several different small cases of foundation in every skin tone, as well as various other products.

You raise an eyebrow at Simeon.  “Because everything he’s gotten ready so far is a bunch of makeup products.”

“Maybe he wants to look good for the shoot!” Simeon counters.

You shake your head.  “I don’t think so.”

Finally noticing your and Simeon’s silent exchange, Asmodeus turns to you and nods.  “Ohh, I bet you guys are wondering about the script.” Before you can correct him on the fact that that is not what you two were pondering, Asmo pulls out a sheet of paper from his vanity drawer and hands it to you. “The script is just something I wrote so that you guys know which angles to film me and the girls from so that we look our best and the audience gets the most out of the video since you guys are just amateur videographers.”

Simeon meanders to your side and reads aloud from the sheet.  “‘For the most part, focus on either Lailah or Feota’s face—whoever’s makeup I’m doing at the moment.  Normally I’d tell you to put the camera mostly on me, since really, why look at anything else?—but because this is a makeup tutorial and these two are my models, I guess it’s smarter to focus on them.’”  Simeon raises an eyebrow and looks at Asmodeus.  “ … Wait, so we’re really just making a makeup tutorial video?”

The Avatar of Lust nods enthusiastically.  “Yes! For my wildly popular DevilTube channel!” He pauses.  “What else would we be filming?”

You and Simeon exchange a look and sigh.

THE END

[broken-clover]

AU-gust Day 6- Hospital

I’m here early! Mostly because I had a lot of this written earlier, so if that didn’t make it obvious enough I really liked this prompt. While it’s a hospital prompt is isn’t especially intense or gory, after yesterday I tried to make this one pretty lighthearted. Honestly I feel like the only really uncomfortable part of this is how much effort I put in trying to make a Pokemon expy. Hehe.

Sorry-not-sorry for more Sin and Bedman, it’s a bit more ‘romantic’ then last time but still pretty much platonic friendship. Enjoy!

Though it felt weird to say, Sin knew his least favorite thing about his father was his charity. Helping out people in need was a good thing, obviously, but a ridiculous amount of his childhood memories involved being dragged along to food banks, hospitals, and shelters so his dad could give corny, well-wishing speeches and lend a hand to those less fortunate, forcing him to help out alongside the other volunteers. Sin had used to wonder if it was because something about having a cute little kid around raised everyone’s morale, or whatever.

Well, considering he was now a grown-ass teenager at the age of sixteen, and Ky was still dragging him along, maybe he’d been off the mark.

At least he’d been allowed to take a break after an hour of schlepping donation boxes up to the children’s wing. Of all the places his dad went to for charity work, hospitals were by far his least favorite. The colorless, sterile atmosphere was just unnerving to be around. As soon as he could, he made a dash for the nearest sign pointing him toward the courtyard.

Sin swiped his guest ID through the maglock, which released with a cheery beep. The white walls and stench of antiseptic gave way to an array of soft colors and the smell of flowers. He took a deep whiff of the aroma and sighed with relief. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his handheld, fully charged for when he got a break and could take a minute to loaf off and relax.

Which game had he left in it this time? He popped out the cartridge and smiled. That was right. Pocket Beasts: Light version. His current favorite. He just needed a comfy place to hunker down and play.

A few stone benches were placed in between bushes and flowerbeds, all unoccupied. The place looked really empty, but it made sense. Everyone who wasn’t already busy was probably at Ky’s speech. At least it meant he’d be able to get some peace and quiet and privacy.

He spotted a pretty lavender flower poking out of the bushes and approached. The ‘flower’ moved, making him realize he’d seen wrong. Sin groaned inwardly at the sight of another person, perched on the short stone wall surrounding the flowerbeds. They didn’t glance up, if they’d even noticed him at all, appearing too absorbed in their own handheld device to care about much else.

“H-hey.” He raised a hand at them, and offered a twitchy half-smile. There were so many ways he knew this could go wrong. Sometimes people screamed at him until he fled, or immediately launched into the most boring small-talk possible. Sin just wanted to play his game, he really had no interest in causing any trouble. “Can I sit down?”

Sin braced himself for a response, but he didn’t get one. “Hey?” He tried again, waving harder. Maybe they were deaf? “Is it ok if I sit out here?”

Eyes glanced up at him, but only for a half-second before they returned to the screen. Well, it wasn’t a ‘no,’ so the best he could assume was they just didn’t care.

Hesitantly, he found a place to sit. If the hospital gown and IV hadn’t already given it away, it was pretty clear that he was a patient, not a visitor. He was scrawny and spindly to the point where it was almost disturbing, his skin was pale and sickly, and the messy bedhead was only slightly offset by the awkward purple hair dye. Why was he out here in the first place, instead of at Ky’s speech?

He knew staring was rude, but he just couldn’t stop himself. Every time he tried, there was another odd little detail that caught his attention. A peculiar little hairclip in the shape of a pink arrow. A purple charm bracelet half-hidden by his standard-issue hospital band. Glittery star stickers on the sides of his handheld, and- hey, he recognized that game!

His expression brightened. “Oh, you play Pocket Beasts too? That’s my favorite! Who’s your starter?”

The only response he got was a couple of button clicks. Sin found himself sinking back into an uncomfortable silence. Well, he supposed it was better than being yelled at. He switched his game on.

Dad said he wasn’t supposed to use the internet at the hospital because it would mess with all the fancy machines, so online matches were out of the question. Well, there was always the battle tower. Maybe he could item grind to kill time. He still needed to finish his Soup Encyclopedia and some of the rare cooking items could only be found there.

Any discomfort he had was wiped away with the familiar music and intro screen of the game. How could he worry when there were battles to be won? All he had to worry about was making the most of his free time.

His avatar flickered into existence, still in the last town he’d visited. As soon as he moved towards the nearest building, though, a little indicator popped up on the bottom of the screen. Puzzled, Sin took his stylus and tapped on the icon.

Trainer BEDMAN would like to battle!

>Accept Decline

‘Bedman?’ He looked up at the little avatar that had appeared, then glanced off to the boy at his side. The messy lavender dye-job was surprisingly close, as was the magenta arrow pinning his bangs out of his eyes. Was it just some weird coincidence? If he wanted to play, he could have just asked…

Despite his confusion, Sin clicked ‘Accept.’ PvP battles were more fun than doing the same grind he had done over and over again. Even if he did lose, it was in a totally unique way.

The usual introductory animations played out as their avatars posed and tossed their first beasts into battle. Sin had to snicker at the disparity between their choices. He always liked sending his biggest and toughest beasts out in the beginning, and pretty much anything looked tiny beside it.

But smaller meant faster, so he wasn’t all that surprised to see the other one attack first. He braced himself for a tough starting move...only to be confused at the sight of a sand cloud being thrown at him.

Enemy Used SAND TOSS!

Accuracy Lowered!

Sand toss? What a waste of a turn! Sin grinned as it switched to his turn. Karate chop, a pretty powerful start, it always hit, and he had the type advantage, what a great way to start a match- !

Attack Missed!

“What!? How did that miss!?”

“Karate chop has a standard accuracy of 100%.” A low, quiet voice spoke up next to him, making Sin practically jump back in shock. “But I lowered your accuracy with sand toss, so now there’s a 15% chance it won’t hit.”

“...Huh.” He looked back at his screen. “Never see people use sand toss out of, like, NPC fights.”

“Most players treat accuracy-modifiers as a waste of time, but if you have a Pocket Beast with a high enough defense, then the turns spent not attacking are made up for when the opponent can barely hit you later.” The strange boy had such a casual tone to his voice, as though they’d been conversing for hours already.

It was a bit jarring, but Sin tried to roll with it. “I guess that does make sense. Sorta like when a beast has the ‘Decoy’ ability and the first attack never hits?”

“Kind of. But a lot of players know which beasts can have Decoy, so they know ahead of time to focus on stat-altering moves or poisoning instead of wasting a turn when they know attacking won’t do anything. Take your turn.”

It took him a moment to process the last bit, but he noticed the battle menu had popped up again. He picked another attack. “Why’d you want to battle me? Did you just pick at random?”

“You were the only opponent available.” Another sand toss. “It’s hard to find people to play with on local, and I’m not allowed to use global matchmaking in my room because it needs an internet connection.”

Sin waited for his two-turn charge move to activate, but before it could be his turn, a swift attack managed to knock his beast out cold. “Damn it! I thought I had that…”

He spotted a triumphant little smirk out of the corner of his eye. “Pocket Beasts is all about tactics. You have to take everything into account. It’s easy to just care about how much damage a move can do, but you’re doomed from the start if you don’t have the right stats, or the best moveset to compliment them.”

He couldn’t help but grin along with him. “Wow, you’re really good at strategy!

‘Bedman’ managed a small, awkward smile. “Well, um, not like I have much else to do…”

“Really?” Sin tilted his head. “I guess it’s good you’ve got something fun to do while you’re here, all this hospital stuff skeeves me out. When do they let you go back home? I dunno how long you’ve been here, but I think I’d go nuts after a couple of days.”

“I’m not sure. I’ve been here a while, already.” A lucky hit from Sin’s beast managed to knock his first one out. “Since...last January, if I remember correctly.”

Last January? Jeez, forget a few days, he was sure he’d be past insanity after a whole year!

Sin donned a look of pity. “That sucks. What’s wrong with you?” The words came out before he could think or realize that it wasn’t an especially nice thing to say. “Uh, shit, sorry-”

“Mmm. It’s okay. At least you don’t mince your words. I have a neurological disorder that affects how my brain processes information. It’s a bit hard to describe. Let’s say a human brain is like a computer, it processes the inputs that are fed into it. Powerful, modern computers can process a lot of information all at once, but if a computer is old, or wasn’t built properly, trying to process too much information can make it overheat and crash.”

“Oh. So how do you keep it from ‘overheating?’”

“Sleep, mostly. I’m only awake for a few hours every day. When I’m awake, and I don’t have tests to do, I like to play games. My sister and I play multiplayer sometimes, but usually I have to play by myself. She has the same problem I do, so a lot of the time one of us is asleep during the times the other’s awake.”

Was it weird to get all this personal information from someone he’d just met? Sin wasn’t sure. But he did like talking to this guy. “Well, want to swap Friend Codes? If we’re registered as friends then local multiplayer should work, then you don’t have to use an internet connection!”

“Where do you live?”

“Central Illyria!” Sin beamed. “Like, half an hour at most. It should still work from there.”

The other boy gave him an odd look. “I’m sure there’s plenty of hospitals closer to you, then. Why did you come out all the way here?”

That got him to roll his eyes, making an exaggerated gagging noise. “My dad. He always drags me along on his charity stuff, carrying boxes and shit. He only let me take a break because he’s making some dumb speech up in the-”

And the regret came just as fast as he saw his companion’s expression shift. He hated the visits, obviously, but he knew it was important to a lot of people. And if someone had been stuck in a hospital for that long, maybe they’d be happy to have someone new come by. He must have come off as such a dick-

Before he could stew on it more, he heard a little laugh. “Yeah. I hate those, too.” Bedman was smiling at him. “You’re Kiske’s kid? That’s got to be awful.”

“Heh. Yeah, it really is.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Never gave you my name, did I? I’m Samson, but everyone just calls me ‘Sin.’”

“I was curious about your name, that does make a bit more logical sense.” His companion nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, Sin.”

“Same! What about you? Can’t imagine your name’s really ‘Bedman,’ is it?”

“More of a screen name, really. My name is-”

“Mattie! Dr. Baldy says you’ve gotta have your IV changed!”

They both jumped at the sudden noise, accompanied by the slam of a door. A girl with shaggy blonde hair and familiar features limped into the courtyard, setting her sights on them as soon as she was visible.

“There you are! I just knew you’d be out here.”

“Well, there’s not many other places I could be…” He said. “When did you wake up?”

“‘bout half an hour ago.” She replied. “Just in time for mom and dad to send me out to look for you.”

The girl’s expression changed when she noticed Sin. “Oh! Mattie, who’s this?”

“Sin, this is my twin sister, Delilah.” ‘Mattie’ pointed to her. “Delilah, this is my...new friend.”

“New friend?” Delilah reached out and shook Sin’s hard with a remarkable amount of strength. “Did my baby bro talk your ear off about his favorite game again?”

“You’re only older by nine minutes, Delilah!”

“He’s really good at Pocket Beasts.” Replied Sin. “It was fun playing with him!”

At that, he realized neither of them had selected anything in a while. He looked down at his screen

TIME UP

DRAW

“Aww, maaaaan…”

“Do we have enough time for another match?” Mattie asked.

“Dr. Baldy looked really serious. We probably can’t make him wait that long.” Delilah shook her head.

Sin tried to bring the mood back up. “Well, we were still gonna swap Friend Codes, right? Then we can play whenever! Either of you have something to write with?”

Delilah pulled a thick black sharpie from her sock. “I have a marker! But no paper…”

“Oh! Hold on a sec.” Sin rolled his jacket sleeve up and held out his arm. Just write it on the back!”

The two of them looked hesitant. “Is that safe?”

“It’s totally fine! It’s a little hard to wash off, but that means it won’t smear before I get home!”

Mattie took the marker and began scribbling on his forearm. “You’re really quite strange, Sin.”

“Thanks!” As soon as the wet feeling on his arm went away, he twisted around to see two series of digits.“What’s this other number?”

“Our phone number. If, um, you ever feel like calling.” Despite his attempts to hide it, Sin could see the faint blush to the other boy’s cheeks. “Do you think you could do one more thing very quickly?”

He couldn’t think of what it could have possibly been. “Yeah?”

“Can you draw something on me? I’ve never done it before. I want to see what it’s like.”

He grinned. “Hell yeah! I’ll try and draw something cool real quick!”

Delilah winced. “You know mom and dad are going to kill you, right?”

“Just say it was my idea!” Sin beamed. Mattie flinched the first time he pressed the marker to his skin, but he managed to still draw a straight line. He couldn’t think of anything in particular to draw, so he settled for a series of sharp, criss-crossing black lines circling his forearm. “How’s that?”

“...woah.” Simple as it was, Mattie looked utterly awestruck. “It’s…

“C’mon, Mattie, we’ve gotta go!” Tired of waiting, Delilah all but dragged him off the wall.

“See ya!” Sin waved as they departed. “You’d better bring your A-game next time we battle, I don’t lose easy!” He folded up his game and tucked it into his back pocket. That was probably his cue to leave, too.

As he hopped off the wall, he could make out a faint voice trailing away to the other side of the courtyard.

“Huh? What’s the deal with you, Mattie? You never look that happy!”

Sin smiled as he turned to leave. Ky was probably waiting for him.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been excited for the next visit.

[seyaryminamoto]

Seize the bright tomorrow Protect the ones you love You can become stronger Break that weak self Destroy the walls blocking you The warm beating in your chest will be your weapon Believe in your heart

COUNTDOWN: 8 days to Gladiator’s Seventh Anniversary

And now a much more lighthearted arc than the previous one, I still remember how much I laughed to myself while writing Sokka and Azula’s first encounter with the Blue Den - which then was renamed Blue Pack by Sokka’s suggestion. Because, naturally, no one can become as big and popular in the Gladiator League as Sokka is without gaining a following, whether big or small... and in Sokka’s case, the following just grows and grows as the story continues, but this is the first real glimpse we got of them! Naturally, their initial leader, Yang, stands at the front, with the rest of the members dressed in blue, one even wearing a wolf helmet, most of them brandishing boomerangs as Sokka’s symbol... and all of them with a blue wolf symbol sewed on their shirts. Well, all except a certain snobbish girl who wanted to stand out amongst her fellow fans and only got wrecked by Azula for it :’D if anyone was wondering, the girl in pink and purple is, of course, the infamous Hina.

I suppose some people may have wanted to know why I gave Yang the name he’s got, despite my constant complaints about a certain Yang in this fandom, also famed for being a writer... :’) well, it was an unhappy coincidence I only realized when the chapter introducing him was published xD I actually took inspiration for his and Haiyan’s name from chinese athletes, and it completely slipped my mind that there was a Yang in the Avatar fandom already. So, in case anyone thought I was making a spoof of the comics’ writer, I most certainly wasn’t.

Anyways, beyond that particular matter, I always have enjoyed those two. Theirs is one of many relationships Sokka and Azula can relate to, and their dynamics are really amusing to me. Being happily married to a writer sounds like something rather heroic to me, considering what we can be like :’D I’ve always had a lot of respect and sympathy for Haiyan because of that xD I really enjoyed the idea of designing a not-so-conventional couple, with Yang being absolutely no use at any physical activities while his wife is the tallest, most muscular woman in the entire story, finding jobs in construction and on her downtime fighting as a gladiator. The idea of Haiyan towering over her husband and being able to lift him over her shoulder is delightful to me and, let’s be real, Yang would love it xD writing these characters and their relationship has been a lot of fun.

Revisiting the Slate, art-wise, is no walk in the park... but even though the Arena itself is only the background for the bottom-left corner scene, I feel like it’s a thousand times better than my first depiction of it. I liked playing with the lighting in that scene, since the light is really coming from the lava below the fighting ring. It’s a challenging scene to depict for sure (and Haiyan’s samurai-inspired armor certainly wasn’t easy to design either xD), but I really was happy with the final result.

I hope you enjoyed this one too, and that you look forward to tomorrow’s new artwork! :D

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Ego

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Years ago, comic book movies were absolutely, totally afraid to be even a little weird. Raimi carried the weirdness torch for a while thanks to the success of the Spider-Man trilogy, but for some reason he was the only person unafraid to be goofy; even Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, a movie about one of the more fun and campy classical hero teams, was completely and utterly afraid to show a big man in purple armor who eats planets and so instead opted to show us an intergalactic fart cloud. The precedent set by franchises like Blade, X-Men, and Nolan’s Batman films lingered for a long time.

Then along came James Gunn.

Gunn is a man unafraid to be weird, and Guardians of the Galaxy really changed the game in 2014. There’s a gun-toting raccoon, a talking tree, a bald blue cyborg woman, and an alcoholic duck, and the movie is a smash hit critically and financially; there is now no excuse not to put the wierdest stuff from the comics faithfully into film. And for the sequel, Gunn apparently saw fit to bring in one of Marvel’s most bonkers bad guys: Ego, the Living Planet.

Ego is the perfect example of how to adapt something utterly bizarre from the comics, changing some major elements while still staying true to the nature of the character himself. Ego here is Peter Quill’s father, something that isn’t true in the comics, as well as a Celestial, something also not true in the comics… but he is still a sentient planet, and he is still completely and utterly evil.

Actor: Kurt Russell, 80s superstar and the reason Solid Snake exists, plays Ego to perfection. Ego is a character with, well, an ego; he’s selfish, self-centered, and lacking in empathy, but he also needs to come off as charming and friendly or we the audience would see through him immediately. Russell is the exact perfect man for that job; this is a guy who managed to play a character who was mildly transphobic and still have them come off as likable. Russell is also able to switch from affable and charming to scary and furious with ease, which is a big help after the reveal when Ego drops all pretense. Russell just kills it, there’s no other way to put it.

Motivation/Goals: Ego has an almost sympathetic goal, one that, from a certain point of view, makes him come off as a bit sympathetic. The guy was drifting alone in the void for eons and had to piece himself together, so is it any wonder he was horrifically lonely when he was finally able to set out to find life? Of course, that loneliness and isolation led to him developing some really nasty personality traits, and so he decided the best course of action after finding out other intelligent life was “boring” was to plant seeds on every planet, sire a child with powers just like him, and then wipe out all life and turn all the planets in the universe into extensions of himself. It is a plan truly befitting a character with the name “Ego,” and while it is true his motivation is at least a little deserving of sympathy, his goals and how he goes about trying to ameliorate his pain is what makes Ego an irredeemable monster.

Personality: Ego is perhaps one of the most aptly named characters in all of fiction, and he’s also one of the few characters one could make the honest claim that his ego is literally the size of a planet. Ego puts forth this identity of a charming, fatherly figure, happy, affable, jokey… just really sweet and charming. But much like the avatar he uses, it’s all just a mask.

Look at how he talks about what he did to Peter’s mom; he says it with such a wistful, resigned melancholy flavored with this “I did what I had to do” smugness that is a twisted reflection of how one might recall their first date, and then follows it up with a horrifically callous response of “I know that sounds bad.” Ego is such a monstrous, unrepentant sociopath with so little regard for life that is beneath his lofty stature that I just don’t think he really comprehends things like empathy. He is the ultimate psychopathic manchild, an arrogant egotist who hides behind this friendly veneer until the moment things don’t go the way he wants, at which point he starts screaming, ranting, and raving. The fact he is completely and utterly taken aback that Peter would unload multiple shots into him after being told Ego gave his mother a brain tumor is really telling of just what kind of person he really is.

Final Fate: The bomb Groot planted on Ego’s brain goes off, and Ego’s avatar crumbles to dust as the planet begins to blow up, seeing as its brain just got obliterated. The beautiful karma of this moment makes it extra delicious; after putting that tumor on Meredith Quill’s brain, is it not fitting he die after having something planted on his brain?

Best Scene: Ego just really dominates every scene he’s in, but I think the big reveal, where he shows just what a sick and depraved villain with a lack of care for life as he reveals what he did to Meredith Quill, is one of the MCU’s finest scenes.

Best Quote: It took only one single line to cement Ego as the most horrible, evil, disgusting monster in the MCU: “It broke my heart to put that tumor in her head.”

Final Thoughts & Score: Ego is fantastic on so many levels, but one level I think should not be overlooked is on a meta level. As I mentioned, for the longest time silliness and weird concepts were out the door when it came to superhero films. One needs only look at the X-Men franchise to see how dour things were, with their dull black costumes and overwhelmingly miserable and unfun atmospheres. More lighthearted or sillier fare did not go over well, as Iron Man 2 and Green Lantern can attest, and magic was totally absent for a while in the MCU probably because of fears audiences wouldn’t take it seriously. But James Gunn changed all that, and I think Ego definitely played a huge role in cementing that audiences will embrace and love in the weirdest stuff out of comics. Thanks to Ego, I think a lot of other creators became unafraid to let that freak flag fly and put things in movies they might have been too worried to put in before, with the ultimate and best example being Mister Mind joining the DCEU in the end of Shazam! It gives me hope that Tawky Tawny might show up there in a sequel.

On a character level, Ego is without a doubt the most punchable scumbag in the entire MCU, with only Mysterio coming close. The fact he casually admits to killing Peter’s mother and expects him to be okay with it… Can you really blame Peter for immediately unloading his guns into his father? I mean, when faced with a man who is utterly unrepentant in killing a loved one that they also claimed they loved and says they had to do it to further their goals, would you not also have a knee-jerk reaction like that? Yes, I am getting at this being a canon moment that shows Peter’s reaction to Thanos in Infinity War was not a stupid moment, it was a moment that was built up by what he did to Ego. And I think that just adds to Ego even more, because he helped cement a character trait of Peter’s that would lead to one of the most horrific gut punches in cinematic history.

Ego is an easy 10/10, and is one of the MCU’s greatest villains. He’s a perfect “love to hate” character, and he’s also a perfect villain for a story about family. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has family as a focal point of the story, with the arcs of every single character revolving around the idea that family doesn’t have to be blood ties, it can be with the people who love you and who you’ve bonded with the most. Yondu’s line of “He may’ve been your father, boy, but he wasn’t your daddy” is what really sells it, honestly; Ego is Peter’s biological father, yes, but Yondu raised him and even if he didn’t always do right by him, in the end he showed himself to be a better man and better dad than Ego ever could have hoped to be. I suppose that’s a bit off topic from Ego himself, but I feel like it’s important to note just how deeply thematic he is as a villain, tying into the core message of the story while also letting loose in utter sociopathic villainy.

I think there is a great irony in Ego’s ultimate plan; for all his claims of being lonely and desiring others like him, what exactly does he think would happen if the entire universe was nothing but himself? Would he truly have been satisfied? Perhaps; he was a narcissistic to the highest degree for sure. But I like that there is some ambiguity to things about Ego, I like how there are some things to think about, I like how a villain who has a plan that is not clearly thought out by them yet that they believe is the proper course of action is something of a setup for what Thanos would be.

And really, out of every other villain in the MCU, Ego is most like Thanos. The obvious part is the plan, though only Endgame Thanos really wanted to reshape the universe in his image; still, as I mentioned, their plans are both something they believe is the true and righteous course of action, though Thanos is far more sympathetic in this regard. They also both felt the need to sacrifice loved ones in pursuit of their goals, and they both have incredibly poor relationships with some of their kids. I think the main difference is that Thanos, for all his faults, does have some empathy, he does have some sympathetic traits even if they don’t redeem how much of an awful person he was. Ego has none of that. Ego squanders any sympathy he could have gained by being utterly unrepentant and casual about his misdeeds, which include slaughtering his other children and killing Peter’s mother despite claiming to have loved her dearly. At least Thanos openly wept at what he did to Gamora, at least he felt sadness,  guilt, and regret. Ego just doesn’t care. He did it because whatever he really felt for Meredith, there was only one person he could ever truly love: Himself.

In short, Yondu was right: that guy was a jackass.

[feedingthewrongwolf]

For a maizula prompt: no one ever talks about how mai, azula, and ty lee had to travel just like the gaang, so one night while ty lee is asleep in her tent, mai and azula go out into the woods to explore their surroundings and end up trapped in a cave

This took me MUCH LONGER to finish than I thought it would, I’m so sorry! But thank you so much for the prompt! I hope you enjoy it. 

Azula wanted to laugh, but even she knew better than that. She kept her amusement to herself as they pushed the rocks out of their way, sunlight peeking through for their efforts. She relished in the lengthening silence they worked in, stretching from when each of them saw the stones smashing over the entrance, up until right now. But, as usual, she just couldn’t help herself when the opportunity to give Mai a hard time was presented.

“You were scared.” Her voice held the heavy weight of mockery. She ignored the fact that she had shared that fear for a split second, fearing an earthbender had found them both cornered in the tiny cavern before she turned and saw the rocks moving on their own.

Azula was met with a scoff and the sound of more rubble coming loose to her right.

“No, I wasn’t.”

Azula savored the blatant lie with a grin. “Just admit it. I saw you jump.”

The next rock Mai worked on flew from the pile with a bit more force. Just enough for Azula to see it, and she saw, too, the soundless huff of breath Mai let out.

“So what?”

“I just hope you won’t run away from another loud noise during battle.”

Mai laughed at that, which wasn’t the reaction Azula had expected. In all these years away, had Mai finally learned to lighten up? The thought amused her, but Azula kept quiet, this time. They worked in silence for a while, making steady progress on the blockage, until Mai spoke again.

“This reminds me of the stories from back in Omashu…Sorry. New Ozai.”

“Oh?” Azula says, her voice strained for the heavy rock she pushed. She elected to ignore the mistake. “Which stories are those?”

The derisive sound out of Mai’s mouth echoed in the small enclosure, making Azula’s slight smile widen out of her control.

“Some old legend about an earthbending couple in love. It was gross.”

Azula laughed, and noticed that her face was beginning to hurt from having smiled so much as of late. She briefly thought that she hadn’t felt this lighthearted in years…And suddenly, that fact made her feel as though she’d been slapped in the face. She hadn’t thought of her mission once since they’d left camp. Here she was, wasting precious time and energy getting trapped in caves instead of bringing home Iroh and Zuko in chains, instead of taking the boy Avatar down for good.

She was grateful not to have much time to ponder on her thoughts and feelings before Mai continued.

“There was supposed to be a massive tunnel system under the city where they could meet, complete with a curse on those who don’t ‘let love lead the way’, or something like that,” she explained, and Azula looked over just in time to watch her eyes roll. “I don’t even think Tom Tom could believe something that stupid.”

Despite herself, Azula laughed again, albeit far more quietly. The rock wall was steadily clearing, but they would have to climb a bit over the mess they’d made in the meantime.

“I don’t think it’s true love getting us out of here,” Azula said, and though she’d mostly meant it as a joke, her voice was bitter. “Come on.”

She hauled herself onto the large boulder remaining in their way, and moved forward until she could stand on the smaller rocks on the other side. She watched Mai come through after her while she dusted off her clothes, noticing that her height didn’t allow for quite as much ease as Azula had met. Mai’s mouth was set small and tense with concentration as she righted herself and swung a leg over the rock she was on. Azula noticed the sweat forming under her jaw, above the neckline of her robes. Her hair was a bit messier than it had been, but Azula didn’t think she looked any worse for it. She thought it was…pretty.

She turned away and scowled when Mai was able to stand and face her normally.

“Well, that was a good time,” Mai said dryly, dusting herself off as well.

“If getting trapped in a cave and talking about love is your idea of fun, I truly worry for you.”

“It was your idea to go in there,” Mai said, incredulity seeping into her voice. Even though Azula was still frustrated with herself, she didn’t mind. “All I wanted to do was walk around.”

“This must have been your plan all along, Mai,” Azula teased, a sly grin on her face and a dramatic tone in her words. “How foolish I’ve been, to not have seen it sooner.”

Mai’s lips curled upward, too. She moved her arms and gestured lazily toward the mess of rocks and dirt at the entrance.  “Yeah. ‘I’m bored, let’s go check out the woods’ was code for sleepover talk in a cave.”

“You said it yourself, it was a good time.” Azula’s voice had sounded casually enough, though she looked away in the direction of camp, unsure of why she’d said it. She was suddenly made aware of how warm the day was going to be, and how they simply stood awkwardly beside the mess of rocks at their feet. This was all a complete waste of time. She felt her mood darken further, taking away the smile she’d had.

“I guess it was better than listening to Ty Lee snoring,” Mai responded, looking over to her. For the second time, she’d spoken up and rescued Azula from her thoughts. She looked back again and saw the same gleam in Mai’s eyes that she’d missed so much. Her eyes had only gotten sharper, more intense, since she’d seen her last…

Azula’s heartbeat quickened, and she looked away again.

“Let’s get back to camp.”

[scrawnydutchman]

Why “Justice League” is One of the Best Shows Ever Made

Let’s talk about one of the hottest topics of the week . . . the Justice League. What is perhaps the most exciting and mindblowing crossover superhero team in comic book history, the idea of DC comic legends like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash and many others coming together to fight off the baddest villains in the DC multiverse is an idea too good and too profitable to pass up. The team has seen many incarnations across many mediums over the years. Many are heartfelt and memorable, others we’d like to forget. But Today I‘m talking about my introduction to the team; Bruce Timms animated run on the JL and the rise of the larger expanded DC animated universe, also known as the “Timm-verse“. After all, what better time to talk about this show than it’s 16th anniversary?

Oh, also the JL movies out I guess. Yeah, cool.

Premiering on November 16th, 2001, the Justice League animated series was an in-canon spinoff of the previous highly praised series Batman TAS and Superman TAS, both also produced by Bruce Timm. It offered everything it’s predecessors offered and more with tighter, more concise animation with fewer errors, faster paced action, thicker plots and schemes and best of all an unforgettable dynamic between the main cast. For all these reasons, It is easily my all time favorite TV show, and it gets even better with Unlimited. I’ve been thinking a lot about just how amazing this show is and watching some episodes in retrospect, it hasn’t gotten old in the slightest. Here are just some of the reasons why Justice League and Justice League Unlimited kick so much ass.

1. A strong showcase of multiple DC characters

When writing a long format piece like a film or television show, juggling multiple main characters is no easy task. It’s a great challenge to make each character involved feel real, distinct and like there really is crucial difference between them and the rest of the cast. Without doing this, there’s no real reason for an audience member to pick their favorite outside of who is the most physically powerful (hence Power Rangers). The best way to go about it without resorting to clichés too often is to make a central theme of the show all about interaction; express each characters personality in how they react and perceive each other. This show gets it, and as a result has excellently portrayed DC icons really show their chops in a way where everyone can pick a favorite based on their personal preference. It’s hilarious to watch the stern, cynical, no-nonsense Batman work off of the lighthearted, goofball Flash, and it feels extra sweet when in spite of their comedic banter they really express that they have nothing but respect for each other. The Flash is made all the more goofy by Batman and Batman is made all the more bruiting by Flash. Then of course you also have the noble boyscout Superman, the proud but compassionate Wonder Woman, the militant authoritative marine Green Lantern, the spunky and hard hitting Hawkgirl, and finally, the stoic and softspoken Martian Manhunter. All of them become lovable for different reasons and bring their own signature charm to the show. Not only do they work well off of each other, they each get a healthy dosage of screentime to do something silly, something badass, something sad, something touching. This show perfectly balances these heroes to really make them seem like a team and it becomes a fun discussion to talk about who in the group is your favorite. Not like a lot of other DC properties where they constantly insist Batman should be your favorite because he can beat anyone, solve anything by himself and really, if not for him the rest of the characters would apparently be incompetent assholes. Here he’s WAY more interesting because he still has badass moments but he‘s allowed to need help every once in a while. It also helps that the show has SUPREME acting talent like Kevin Conroy, Phil Lamarr, Clancy Brown and George Newbern.

This element of the show only gets better in Unlimited by the way. the team expands to lesser known characters like Green Arrow, Vigilante, Vixen and so on, and each one of them gets their fair share of badass likeable moments and nobody ever feels like they ever get too much or too little exposure. Except the Question and Star Girl. the Question should have been on screen way more often because he’s the best part of Unlimited and Star Girl was the worst part of it because everytime she appeared she was a snarky condescending bitch who ended up getting her ass kicked more than anyone else. 

2. Great Action (and Animation in General)

*this show has more than a few bitchslap moments and I love it for that*

Now, I’ve mentioned before and still hold onto the opinion that Justice League is the best work of Bruce Timm’s. I know many people hold Batman TAS to that stature for it’s intense drama and theming, and I certainly agree it is groundbreaking, but JL and ESPECIALLY JLU perfected what Batman TAS established. Batman TAS was the first look into what would become the DCAU and it very clearly shows that the show writers and animators were still trying to find their voice. If you watch the Batman TAS (especially earlier episodes) with a trained eye for animation you’ll notice more than a few consistency errors, with awkward stills and elements of character designs dropping out of frame here and there. JL and JLU is consistently more crisp and the errors are MUCH farther and fewer between. Not to mention the action and pacing are just better. I LOVE Batman TAS, I never want to make the impression that I don’t, but it DID have a tendency to move a touch too slowly at times, especially for what were supposed to be intense action scenes. In justice League the fighting is dynamic, it’s snappy, it‘s crackling with energy and creativity. Every punch, every kick, every spit in the eye really feels painful due to how quickly and smoothly it happens; you feel the weight of all of it. Each and every fight has a genius setup and plays further into enhancing how badass every character is. Not to mention the stakes are always high, be it on a physical level of how many people could die in the process or what the fight represents in who is in the right and who is in the wrong. One of the best examples is the fight between Superman and Captain Marvel. The context is Superman thinks Luthor is hiding a sinister motive because he can’t find it in himself to trust him, while Captain Marvel is defending Luthor by saying he believes in the merit of giving people the benefit of the doubt. The physical fight really came down to a difference in ideology and Superman losing sight of who he was. The fights are never random; they always serve the theme of the show greatly and the outcome of them further instills the drama of the subject matter. Going along the same example, Captain Marvel delivers a chilling and biding speech at the end of the episode that gives the conflict a bitter sweet resolution. I love it.

Oh, did I mention it’s all in GLORIOUS frame by frame? Yeah, this is right up there with Avatar: The Last Airbender as some of the most glorious and high quality animation to ever hit the airwaves. The easing, the anticipation, the reaction, the timing, it’s all on point.

3. Great plots, better execution

This show has TONS of iconic episodes and plots, whether they be wholly original or inspired by a comic book plot of the same name (like “The Man Who Has Everything”, the only Alan Moore adaptation approved by the man himself). The conspiracy about Superman murdering president Luthor, the invasion of Darkseid, the dark heart, the hijacking of the annihilator armor, both fights with the android Amazo. I honestly can’t think of a single bad episode of this show. I think the reason this shows stories are so strong are largely due to the reasons I already listed above. They play largely into character interaction which usually perpetuates some sort of central theme of the episode (and in some cases we get a showcase of a one time appearing DC character like Captain Marvel or Deadman). They also showcase well choreographed, well animated action that perfectly compliments the conflict and feels very deliberate. This shows greatest tool however, is how it uses escalating stakes. when making an action oriented show or movie, in order to keep the action truly compelling, you have to make it feel like there is something being lost as a consequence of the action. The reason why so many people don’t like Superman is because they don‘t see the drama in it if they feel like he can never lose. But this show ALWAYS makes sure there is something to be lost like mass destruction, the health of our heroes, sometimes straight up death. Or sometimes the fight results in a greater lesson being learned. The point is, the fights are never inconsequential. Something changes as a result of what has transpired. This seems so blatantly obvious but You’d be surprised how much media just throws a bunch of mindless shit at the wall and thinks it’s engaging because there’s a lot of shit going on and that‘s the only thought you have to give to it. This doesn't just apply to the physical fighting either. Everything that goes on is governed by character decision making, NOT by coincidence or happenstance. It’s such an easy trap to fall into to just have shit happen to people out of nowhere and on any other given day it would have never transpired, but real compelling storytelling happens as a result of who is in control of the situation, not nobody having it. So much of new fiction has an issue of “this guy robbed a bank JUST as Spidey was swinging around one day“ or “they were in a bad trap but luckily Batman had JUST the right gadget for the occasion” and other deus ex machina shit where the only reason the day is saved is basically because the heroes got lucky, but here each and every hero involved actually influences something in this show. It also helps that they made the DCAU more balanced physical wise so that more characters are actually a presentable threat to Superman. Also, though not completely necessary, this show will often reference previous episodes as justification for characters actions which makes for great continuity.

Conclusion:

Justice League and Justice League Unlimited is fantastic for all the same reasons many shows out there are fantastic. It gracefully juggles attention between a diverse set of characters, it perfects the Bruce Timm animation style with crisp and consistent animation and it has high stakes manifested by the characters being in control of the conflict. It certainly isn’t the first to accomplish any of these things, but it IS one of the very few shows ever put out to pull it off just so darn effectively. For those reasons among many others, Justice League is EASILY my personal favorite show of all time. Bruce Timm Himself once said it’s his favorite of his productions because it’s the only one he can go back to and still wholly enjoy every time, and I wholeheartedly agree.

[therussohousehold]

S3 Sucks Big Time And I’m Tired Of It.

Hi y’all. Next chapter’s well underway! In the meantime, there’s something I need to get off my chest, and this platform seems like the perfect place to do it.

SVTFOE season 3 has been the worst possible direction that the show could have taken. Out of all possible scenarios, the only way it could possibly get any worse is if all the problems that have been created in the past dozen episodes were, from here on out, totally ignored as the show tries to backpedal its way out of this conundrum.

The season’s complete trainwreck of petty drama, plot regression, character devolvement, and tonal problems is so complex and varied that it’s almost impressive, because of all the parts that seem like mistakes, the most glaring issues seem to be deliberate choices by the writers.

This starts at the beginning of S3 with the Battle for Mewni, and continues on through the season, to the point that there isn’t an episode in which it’s not present. Let me go ahead and dive in here, and just explain some of the myriad of things that are wrong with what’s been produced thus far.

Tone - mistakes and choices.

Right from the beginning of the Battle of Mewni, all of the show’s tonal problems are thrown up into your face, over and over again.

The purpose of story tone is to help the story retain focus, both in the direction you’re heading, and in helping your viewers know what to expect from the show. It informs the actions of the characters, and helps you to understand how to feel about certain things that happen. There are a lot of great examples of how this works in modern cartoons.

Most appropriately, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Teen Titans, and Gravity Falls are all very obvious examples of this. Each series’ tone is constant and lets you know what to expect from every episode, and more relevantly, features a mix of serious, character-driven narrative progression, while also allowing room for each series to tell jokes, show off the lighthearted interactions between characters, and have those personal moments of heart and meaning that mean everything when forging a bond between yourself and the characters you’re watching.

SVTFOE has always had problems with tone, from the introduction of Toffee onwards. Toffee himself is a perfect reflection of what the problem with the show always has been. He’s a character that wants to be serious, with real meaning and consequence, but the show itself is very goofy and lighthearted, and only in his presence is there any sort of continuity for the first two seasons.

This problem is thrown into overdrive with Battle For Mewni, which creates a world-shattering conflict that the show just isn’t prepared to handle in any capacity. The conflict itself is world-ending stakes, with Toffee’s plans finally coming to fruition - not only is the kingdom of Mewni in shambles, but he’s draining all the magic from the multiverse.

Despite this, though, the show’s goofy tone and ridiculous antics sabotage this more serious, tension-filled plot, over and over again. This continues until the parts that actually have tension, like Star drowning in the magic dimension, Toffee’s return and death, Ludo’s transformation into a horrible dictator, are not only undermined, but actually feel completely out of place in the context of the show.

One minute the show is telling you how funny and ridiculous it is, like with the parts that show River trying to run the kingdom, or anything involving the dungeons or Marco’s “vigilante pranks,” and the next minute, it’s demanding you sit up and watch, because world-ending consequence is crashing down in a manner completely unprecedented.

This problem continues into the season, long after Toffee’s death, with the conflict between the goofy elements of the show, and the more serious angle of princess that Star obviously wants to become.

First, it should be noted that the writers did at this point FINALLY make a conscious choice about the tone of the season/series - they did it when Marco arrived on Mewni in “Lint Catcher.” It happens in the most jarring way possible.

The series until this point has been all about lighthearted choices and fun adventures, so you’re led to believe that when he gets there, you’re going to see an emotional reunion, a return to the status quo, and a setup for next week’s fun antics. The setup feels as though the show is saying “okay, we’re going to do what we did before, but on Mewni now.”

Instead, it’s apparent immediately that Marco’s made a huge mistake. He burns the bridges he has left on Earth. Meanwhile on Mewni, Star’s not so much excited or even happy to see him, as she immediately seems as interested as possible in making sure he isn’t around for reasons that are never actually directly stated.

This is the tone that the series sticks to for nearly the rest of the season - Star being selfish and emotionally distant while Marco acts as a third wheel - and as far as a conscious choice for tone goes...

WHY???

This is the first issue because it’s really the underlying problem behind why I don’t enjoy S3 at all. It’s not written to be enjoyable. The tone of the show is “mistakes which have no resolution,” or perhaps “actions have consequences,” but unlike, say, Adventure Time, which shares this theme BUT is drowning in interesting side-plots and settings to draw focus (since “adventure” is also a primary theme of the series), that tone is taken and crammed down your throat at every opportunity.

That’s not to say it’s consistent, though. The show attempts to break through this tone on multiple occasions, with the immediately following episodes, Trial By Squire, Princess Turdina, and Starfari attempting to show that no, this is not the way things will go.

Despite this, though, the tone is so present in Star’s more serious attitude, in her dynamic with Marco, and in his own actions (and continuing, progressively worse series of mistakes) that I’m left wondering “what the heck am I supposed to be feeling right now?” Trial By Squire, like the other Quest Buy episodes, is excellent, but in no way am I prepared to invest myself back into Marco and Star’s relationship when they themselves have turned it on its head in ways we aren’t even seeing yet. The theme of the season is “consequence” but nothing actually seems to have consequence. You just feel bad after watching, because somehow you’re more aware of what the characters should be going through than the characters themselves.

Plot - how to story.

Like with tone, SVTFOE has always struggled with plot. One minute you’re getting a lore-packed episode like St. Olga’s, or a compelling character narrative like in the episodes preceding The Battle For Mewni, and the next you’re getting completely disconnected adventures like the Quest Buy episodes, Interdimensional Field Trip, etc. etc.

Up until now, though, the show has always done a pretty good job on both ends. Some of the filler episodes are annoying (Fetch/Star on Wheels will forever remain “the block that should never have been produced”) and some of the plot-driven episodes don’t always land (Baby is great, but also the most out-of-place episode in S2, IMO) but generally speaking, things have always tied together in the end. If not that, then it’s at least fun to watch.

So then S3 starts out by killing the antagonist and central conflict before we even see them emerge, and then continues onwards as if it still has a reason to do so. Then it introduces a theme that is like nails on a chalkboard for trying to build something to be around and watch. Talk about shooting yourself in the feet!

Throughout S3 so far, we’re given a bunch of characters that are changing radically, but no reason for their change, and no motivation to get them to show that development. Star is trying to change into a more down-to-earth, serious princess, but it’s not until Starfari, nearly a third of the way into the season, that we’re even given a glimpse of a conflict which suits this mindset.

Meanwhile, Marco’s trying to come to terms with who he wants to be in life, but whether he was on Earth or on Mewni, post Sophomore Slump, the series itself would not have been affected at all. It’s like he’s totally isolated from everything that’s going on around him, and any time he tries to have an impact or take control, things blow up in his face.

Eclipsa is introduced as a full character to show off a moral grey area and try to influence Star into her “do what you want” lifestyle, but there’s no catalyst to show this change at all, and as a result she, too, could be completely cut from the season to literally no effect.

This is not how you do plot. It’s not how you do a story, and it lends itself to the theme of the show, because now in addition to “mistakes without resolution,” and “actions have consequence,” (via Star’s attitude), the entire season thus far has had a running theme of “pointlessness.” The only conflicts which you’re driven to care about at all are those between characters, but even those are so poorly managed and difficult to understand that you just want the series to tell you what it’s trying to do, already.

Killing off Toffee was, in my opinion, the biggest waste of a character that I can think of in recent memory. It’d be like if Aang defeated the fire lord at the end of book 2, or Bill Cipher showing up and being beaten halfway through Gravity Falls.

I expected the show would at least provide a reason for the defeat so we could move on - like a “now that he’s gone, we can do this other thing that we really want to show” approach, but that just hasn’t happened. These characters still have so much growth to go through, the story still has so much to tell, but we’re just missing any driving force behind the plot, and as a result, the only really interesting bits of the series (the relationships like what are shown in Lava Lake Beach and the story development like in Deep Dive and Monster Bash) fall extremely flat while you wait for a reason for their existence.

Characters - unjustifiable and unlikable

Okay, so we’re seeing a running theme: inconsistency. The show likes to jump around with plot. It likes to have a few different themes. And up until now it’s liked to jump around with characters, too.

But this season actually introduced some consistent characterization for Star and Marco, with Star being the more selfish and serious version of herself, and Marco being a walking pile of bad life choices and personality shortcomings.

So, again, we’ve got a conscious choice by the writers that makes NO SENSE.

That is to say, we’ve now got consistent characters and they’re awful.

The biggest thing that you need from a character in any show is a WHY and a HOW.

The WHY is the reasoning behind their existence and character from an out-of-show perspective. It creates a relateable backdrop/canvas for the character to act on. Zuko’s struggles with honor, family, and his own duality are is WHY. We understand who he is and WHY he acts the way he does, and as a result, despite him making some terrible choices and being full of angsty late-teen drama (”nobody understands me mom! I mean, uncle!”) we still sympathize and know where he’s coming from.

Then there’s the HOW, which is the reasoning behind their actions WITHIN the show. Zuko’s driving force is to capture the Avatar, which is HOW that out-of-show WHY backdrop manifests. All of his problems come to a head and he’s created a simple narrative solution: if he can just capture the avatar, things will get better. Despite his antagonism, we understand him and appreciate who he is, even if we don’t want him to succeed. The problem with S3 is that it creates a problem that the series never really had before. The characters were never particularly consistent or driven, and when they are (like Star in Storm the Castle) the motivation was adequate. Star wants to get her best friend back. As soon as the stakes are raised from a character perspective - as soon as Star and Marco become consistent and show signs of a progression path - the show falls apart, because we’re not given any justification for it at all. The WHY and HOW behind Star’s actions in S3 is a total enigma, because the show never actually tells us her line of reasoning. The best I can come up with is that she feels the need to be more responsible following the problems her previous actions caused, but there’s been nothing in the season that requires that attitude at all. The actual stakes behind what’s going on in the series as a whole are actually lower than they’ve ever been, so why is she now choosing to be serious? She has no WHY because we don’t know WHY she’s acting that way, and she has no HOW because we don’t know HOW that new backdrop is guiding her actions. The result is this character that’s just designed to be unlikable. Star in S3 has treated her friends like crap, has been emotionally distant, difficult to understand, selfish, and irresponsible, all of which is now superimposed on a character we don’t understand. She was most of those things when she was bubbly and goofy, too, but we understood it! She just didn’t understand responsibility, and more importantly, she learned after her mistakes. Most importantly, the show did not ever demand us analyze her actions. S1 and 2 are stuffed full of apologies, emotional connections, trials and triumphs, and problems with solutions as she comes to terms with the idea. We don’t have any of that now, though, we’ve just got all the problems with none of the solutions. Likewise with Marco. You can understand his motivations a little bit better despite them never really being said at all (the WHY is that dude’s seriously misguided on what he wants out of life), but the HOW is still totally missing. He just stumbles about, not really learning anything or trying to understand why his life’s so messed up at all, and as a result, I just feel sorry for him. By the time his surprise party blows up in his face in the holiday special, I just want to reach into the show and tell him to stop trying. He doesn’t seem to be aware of what he’s doing, most of the time, and completely ignores the consequences of his actions. We understand WHY he’s so misguided, but we don’t understand HOW he’s continuing to act that way. So here we are. We’ve got a season with unlikable characters, no central conflict, and a depressing, scattered theme. This brings me to my final point.

Bullshit Drama - conflict vs. adolescence

In the absence of the villain, we’re left with the ultimate in adolescent, petty drama, as all these characters without understandable motivations or conquests scurry about, trying to find a way to make the show compelling while also maintaining the awful tone that this season’s chosen.

So we’ve got petty drama. Character dynamics without weight. Arguments with no meaning. A bunch of relationships which are built around a poorly-constructed love-triangle which is both completely unwarranted (this coming DESPITE me being a fan of Tom, this season) and unprecedented in the series as a whole.

The writers’ apparent obsessive need to use this BS “Dramabox” mechanic in place of any real plot or direction informs the entire season. Everything is building up to further defining the completely fucked-up relationship that Star and Marco now have, to creating conflicts between characters that could be solved with some half-decent communication, to backpedaling character growth (poor Tom, he’s tried so hard) in the interest of producing something that you can gossip about in a schoolyard.

The thing is, you can do drama without resulting to this. It’s one of the reasons you have an antagonist. As the plot drives the characters together into new situations, they won’t be comfortable with it, or with themselves as they’re tested. They’ll chafe as they adjust, and ultimately, come out as better people in the end. The subtle conflicts between Dipper and Robbie, or Grunkle Stan, the disagreements between Toph and Katara, Starfire’s bubbly surface or Beast Boy’s nonsensical nature compared to Raven’s dark, down-to-earth personality... these are all examples of well written character drama. Two informed characters trying to adjust to one another as they’re pushed forward by circumstance.

But instead we’re left with pointless adolescent bullshit. The kind that gets nowhere, it’s just something to talk about. “Did you see how annoyed Star was with Marco?” or “God, look at how bad a friend X is to friend Y, they’re just awful...” It’s schoolyard gossip and it completely disgusts me.

The most frustrating thing is, Eclipsa’s still a character in this show. She is the person to tell Star to get her shit together. Like, oh, maybe instead of running away and buying your feelings for your friend, you should confront them? Maybe there should be a balance between having fun and being serious? These are both things that a real person, particularly a mentor, would say in a real conversation, especially around the circumstances of S3. But that would be too easy, and kill the only motivation that the show has left to crawl forward!

So instead we’re gonna sit here and watch Marco fight with Tom over Star, for some contrived, bullshit reason. Because there’s nothing better for them to do.

Overall, this show has just about run its course for me. It reminds me of my short stint with the Walking Dead, where over time I gradually just... stopped caring. I’ve told myself I’ll see through another few episodes, and I’m going to continue writing my story regardless, but there’s a point where I just can’t be bothered anymore, and I think it’s approaching fast.

[eden196fortnite-blog]

How to get fortnite thumbnails

Fortnite For Xbox One

Epic Match, the architects behind Fortnite, once more take case against a supposed cheater. Distinctive versions of Fortnite: Battle Royale may well give you exclusive rewards so you could possibly want to choose your platform cautiously. For instance, acquiring a Nintendo Switch Fortnite Bundle gives you 1,000 V-bucks plus exclusive outfits for your avatar correct out of the gate! Playstation 4 customers also had access to a PSN-exclusive cosmetics such as the blue leader and blue ace outfits.

For these of you who've got extra time than cash at your disposal, then there are some surprisingly effective strategies for obtaining hold of V-Bucks devoid of whipping out your credit card. There's just 1 little drawback, even though - you'll want to buy the single-player Save The World PVE element of Fortnite. At times it is readily available at a drastically lowered price tag, but it is a case of maintaining an eye on the retailer to save oneself a bit of cash.

This game is beyond exciting! There is so a lot to do and there is so a lot to discover. I initially joined in season 3, and I thought this game was a bit boring. But once I played it usually, it became additional and much more entertaining to play! I truly like how every season, there is constantly excitement everywhere. At my school, every person talks about the new season. I assume this game is extremely entertaining to play, even if you're in diverse platforms than other folks. When it became season four or five, Mobile for Fortnite came. I was so so pleased to play and was so excited to hear the news.

It looks like the two Halloween-themed outfits, the Renegade outfit, the glider and the new harvesting tool skin is all we have to see for ideal now. The day-to-day things will rotate so we'll see what's there the next few days. The Season Shop isn't open however so we'll definitely be getting a lot more techniques to devote V-bucks in there. We're hoping to see some cheaper skins in the future since not every person desires to drop $20 on a game to get a new skin.

Hi! Just so you know, you do not perform really hard for weapons. Most of the time elmm.info fortnite v bucks hack generator its just possibility if you get a Legendary AR or a Popular Pistol. Also, you can not give V-Bucks (The in-game currency) or skins to people, so it really is your fault if you fall for a Cost-free V-Bucks scam, or a thing like that. Also, there is no on the internet multiplayer (With non-mates) in Save the World. And your weapons do not save. When the round ends, poof. Your weapons are gone. So Scamming is not a lengthy term factor. Thats all I gotta say. P.S. Websites like this are not great for finding information on how fortnite and other games function. If you want real information, watch your kid play them, or google a "Lets-Play" of the game to see the game for yourself.

In February, Fortnite's developer Epic Games announced that it had clocked an astonishing three.four million players playing the game at 1 time, and the wider player base (persons who have played Fortnite Battle Royale at least as soon as) was claimed to be 45 million back in January. It's now a handful of months later, during which time the game has become readily available on iOS and Android devices, so the figure is most likely to be considerably, significantly higher now.

Fortnite Battle Royale is a 100-player game in which you play solo or as teams, and parachute onto an island to fight other players until only a single of you is left standing. To make it harder, the area in which you play is shrinking and you need to remain in that area to survive, setting traps, scavenging weapons and developing defenses. As the map shrinks, it pushes players together as time goes on, forcing confrontation.

I'd also suggest Save the World to any individual who enjoys Fortnite's lighthearted visuals and tone but who also may well be having tired of the cutthroat Battle Royale experience. If, even so, you are already content material with what Battle Royale gives and you do not really feel a strong inkling to see what Fortnite's PvE offerings are like, you're possibly better off waiting till you can play Save the Globe for totally free.

And it's not just that those actions contribute to your chances of winning the game, although playing good with teammates surely does go along way in helping claim victory. Rather, this game mode, when combined with the incentives Epic has built into Fortnite and the common positivity of the player base, creates a particular formula exactly where I found my faith in world-wide-web strangers warmly rewarded with each new encounter.

If you want to run Fortnite Battle Royale, your personal computer can do it with an Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics card. And your CPU only demands to be a Core i3 operating at 2.4 GHz. This game opens up to a whole new group of computers that normally cry when official system specifications are released. Battle Royale is a PUBG style 100-player PvP mode in Fortnite that is free of charge for absolutely everyone. Combining Fortnite's creating abilities and destructible environments with a giant map. And as generally, if you are the last 1 standing, you win.

You can commence playing Fortnite: Battle Royale for totally free right now, and if you have the solution you ought to play it on Xbox A single X (or a excellent Computer). For the best probable knowledge you will possibly want to spend for a Battle Pass too, and the cheapest (and fastest) way to get it is shelling out $ten for some in-game currency.

For everyone who doesn't own a Samsung telephone, receiving Fortnite on your telephone seemed to be its own game of patience and sheer luck as you waited for Epic Games' invite program to loop you into the fun by sending you an e mail link to the Fortnite Installer. Effectively, the wait is finally more than as now any Android user can download the installer and get in on the entertaining. You can browse on over to the Fortnite Android web site or scan the QR code in the screenshot above with Google Lens or one more QR code scanner to get began.

[ramajmedia]

10 Best Shyamalan Movies, According to IMDb | ScreenRant

It’s fascinating that M. Night Shyamalan has undergone both the highest and lowest possible career positions in Hollywood. Shyamalan was once considered the next Spielberg. He established a distinct voice with quiet, intimate thrillers, creative camerawork, and twists. But after just a handful of films, he was ultimately rejected for a decade. And at times, it didn’t seem unreasonable. His writing has been on the nose, and even campy. So it’s easy to forget that he also achieved truly clever, moving, even witty scenes. It’s fun and safe to hate on things—certainly online. But Shyamalan isn’t the outright failure many would have you believe. Let’s examine how IMDb users rated his filmography, an equal share of disappointment and iconic thrills.

10 The Happening - 5.0

The premise of abrupt, unexplained mass suicide is actually pretty intriguing. And Shyamalan conjures up some decent imagery involving the suicides themselves. The construction workers lazily falling to their deaths is neat, but scenes like the lawnmower suicide just feel shoehorned. Actually, the film doesn’t fully resort to its infamous, cheesy tone until it embraces the plant theory. But the performances are pretty lacking, despite boasting a cast that’s proven talented elsewhere. The movie just can’t straddle the line between intentional and unintentional camp. That identity crisis feels awkward in any film, let alone in horror. It’s unfortunate, because there was a lot of promise going in. Also, the cinematography is beautiful, the score is decent, and the direction effectively captures some terrifying ideas. They just needed a better vehicle.

9 Lady In The Water - 5.5

This was the first Shyamalan film to be universally panned. It’s certainly blatant self-indulgence to allow oneself a large role—as a writer whose work will save the world, no less. And of course, he brutally murders the critic. But the entire story works on a meta level. So although it’s frustrating that all of the characters are archetypes, they’re supposed to be. They slowly discover they are only pieces of a fantasy. This explains the exaggerated performances. Sure, there’s some awkward attempts at humor, and the film is thematically ham-fisted. There’s certainly one too many characters to follow, and some of the stereotypes are uncomfortable. But the score is beautiful, the Gothic atmosphere is appealing, and the Scrunt horror is compelling.

RELATED: M. Night Shyamalan's Movies, Ranked By Rotten Tomatoes Score

8 Wide Awake - 5.9

Although it may surprise you, Shyamalan’s earliest work leaned towards comedy. Few will recall that he actually adapted Stuart Little, a cute kids movie for the time. But this film is far more in line with Shyamalan’s typical themes. Wide Awake is about a kid at catholic school. The boy has recently lost his grandfather, and searches religion for consolation and comprehension. Shyamalan has always been fascinated with faith, and using a child’s perspective to explore it feels very natural. Unfortunately, the movie rarely follows suit. The lead actor is very convincing, and his character strikes just the right tone of precocious. But the story is shockingly generic, and the music unbearably likewise. Still, here and there, the movie finds some sincere poignancy, where the story truly belonged.

7 The Visit - 6.2

This middling film is often regarded as Shyamalan’s return to form, after his blockbuster failures. Avatar: The Last Airbender was a lighthearted, funny, lush fantasy-adventure—a triumph of animation. Shyamalan’s dark, brooding style doesn’t fit that world whatsoever. And After Earth was more big-budget fare that didn’t channel Shyamalan’s traditional, successful formula. The Visit, however, was a small found-footage experiment that largely works. Shyamalan gets some terrific child performances out of his leads once more. This definitely helps the comedy, which includes some of his best. The twist is pretty unexpected, and the premise is fun. Overall, the relaxed and comfortable tone of Shyamalan’s actual filming radiates from the screen.

RELATED: 5 Awesome Found Footage Horror Films (& 5 That Don't Work)

6 The Village - 6.5

The Village is a somewhat underrated film with flawless music, gorgeous cinematography, and compelling monsters. Unfortunately, it was sold as a monster movie rather than an offbeat romance, to satisfy audience expectations. Bryce Dallas Howard delivers a surprisingly charming, gifted performance, although many supporting characters do not. Adrien Brody’s character isn’t necessarily exploitative on paper, but on screen, it’s pretty iffy. The twist ending has been seen elsewhere, but it’s effective nonetheless. Also, Shyamalan’s blatant commentary about governmental manipulation by fear was unexpected and neat. As usual, Shyamalan wears his sentimentality on his sleeve, but the ruminations on grief are intriguing.

5 Glass - 6.7

This conclusion to Shyamalan’s unexpected trilogy was quite divisive. Both prior films were widely accepted, so expectations were high. Certainly after such a lengthy hiatus from David Dunn, and in this current pop culture landscape. Glass needed to live up to Shyamalan’s fanbase and audiences who are overwhelmed with constant superheroes. The lead performances are strong. The controversial, merciless ending is rather unsatisfying, but bold nonetheless. The film is confined, but the scale and themes have largely escalated out of reach. This movie swings for the fences, so it’s an equal share of letdowns and superb hits. Still, aside from some awkward close-ups, the direction finds some inventive and appealing imagery.

RELATED: Glass: 20 Wild Details Behind The Making Of The Unbreakable Movies

4 Signs - 6.7

This was one of Shyamalan’s biggest hits, focusing on an isolated mid-western family during an alien invasion. Like The Birds, a distinct influence, the supernatural threat is basically an entertaining vehicle for drama. Signs is thematically blunt, but rich. The mere concept of coincidence is innately intriguing. The protagonist’s unresolved grief, and crisis of faith, balance well with the strained family dynamic. The performances are outstanding, the humor generally works, and the suspense is very effective. The aliens remain largely obscured, and the gradually escalating encounters with them are clever and unsettling. They certainly boast a terrific design, both familiar and uniquely disturbing. Also, the score is sincerely moving and frightening as needed.

3 Unbreakable - 7.3

Shyamalan’s supernatural thrillers are unique in always presenting the strange phenomenon as an intrusion on our reality. The movie follows an unfulfilled man that doesn’t realize he is truly a superhero. It’s a fascinating, nuanced drama and love-letter to comic books all at once. However, expectations were needlessly high after Shyamalan’s breakout horror film. But it successfully subverts the genre it loves while telling a compelling origin story. The music is very unique, both haunting and exciting. Also, Shyamalan really captures the feel of a comic book by framing subjects so deliberately, and utilizing colors so creatively.

RELATED: Top 10 Pre-MCU Superhero Movies

2 Split - 7.3

The two leads deliver some great performances, but James McAvoy steals the show here. He portrays a series of various convincing personalities. Hedwig is a genuinely funny character, and yet The Beast is undeniably intimidating. It’s a shame to lose James Newton Howard for the score, but that was clearly intentional for the big reveal. The twist ending of this movie is a very clever magic trick, far unlike Shyamalan’s previous outings. Somehow, he managed to keep it under wraps that this connects to Unbreakable. The film is very much about abuse, which is presented in a sickening, very disturbing way. The claustrophobic atmosphere allows for an equally contained story, with thrilling escape attempts and extended opportunities to explore the characters.

1 The Sixth Sense - 8.1

The Sixth Sense is one of the most entertaining horror films of all time, which grounded the psychic and spiritual phenomena. Haley Joel Osment’s performance is absolutely profound, and truly iconic. Not just for a gifted child actor, but for any actor. Like everything else in the film, it is nuanced, potent, and convincing. The relationship between Cole and the protagonist is organic, and the former’s unique circumstances provide great drama and thrills. The film is very much about moving on, both in the literal and figurative sense. It’s also about purpose, something Shyamalan frequently explores. And, of course, the twist ending is undeniably the most famous scene in Shyamalan’s entire filmography. The context of marital problems is altered completely, despite all the evidence in plain sight.

NEXT: M. Night Shyamalan's 10 Most Memorable Scenes, Ranked

source https://screenrant.com/10-best-shyamalan-movies-according-imdb/

[secondhandstarchild]

People I’ve Known or Loved

Aries: 

Dear Aries, I haven’t spoken with you in almost ten years. When I think back to it you were my first love, so passionate about the things you were interested in, such an easy smile. You were the first person I ever thought about to the point of obsession because your passion was that infectious. You were the first to hold my hand, the first to pull me close and hold me and now all I crave everyday is that same kind of affection. You are the archetype of the men I’m attracted to but you didn’t know who you were then and I hope you know now.  We left on bad terms and the last thing I heard about you is that you’re married. I miss that innocent love we had.

Taurus: 

I’m mad at you, Taurus. I have no real reason to be, but I am. You made Gemini fall for you and I don’t know if I could ever forgive you of that. You’re not someone I’m in love with, or someone that I know that well, but you’re not a bad person. You’re intelligent and handsome and I think I dislike that more than I’d really like to admit. Not that you could ever think you had any bad qualities. You’re a narcissist like Gemini and maybe that’s why you two get along so well. You’re full of yourself and think you’re hilarious, and unfortunately for me you actually are very funny and charming. So, I’ll probably always be mad at you, Taurus, for taking away the affections of the person I tried not to fall in love with. 

Gemini: 

Gemini. Oh, Gemini. It isn’t surprising that sometimes your avatar has two faces. I know that’s a generalization, but how true it is here. You show one face, friendly and open and caring to all the people who don’t matter and the one I see is closed off, annoyed, and distant. I wonder often if other people know how quiet you really are. You’re smart as a whip, you’re intelligent and always have a solution for everything. You’re so fucking beautiful I can hardly look at you sometimes. I think that every time I see you; not just you’re face but your smile, your laugh, your everything. But you’re closed off, you don’t want anyone who wants you because you’re always secretly looking for something better. I have always craved closeness with you, but when I try you pull away and when I give up you try harder, it’s infuriating. I know we’ll only ever be friends, Gemini, but you and I both know you’re afraid of commitment because you’re afraid of being hurt, despite how many times your words have knowingly hurt me. You may have two faces, Gemini, but I love them both despite how you pushing me away more often than not. I think I always will.

Cancer: 

Cancer, I didn’t know you long but you were such a lighthearted person that I still think about you sometimes. We worked together but your head was always focused somewhere else. I guess with you, Cancer, I was more interested in you carnally than emotionally, not that we would have ever gotten to that point. But you were fit, you seemed to care about that kind of thing so I noticed. Boy, did I notice. But you also had a deep love inside of you, and I think that lent to your lightheartedness. I want to find someone like you, Cancer, an endgame for my love life who can make me laugh so hard I cry and who can make me want to be a better healthier, person.

Leo: 

I think Summer was my favorite season because I always fell in love during the Summer. For some people it was Spring but for me it was always Summer. Leo I count you in the top five greatest loves of my life. You are pure adrenaline, always going. You have so much boundless energy, so much reckless abandon, and an answer for everything. Its almost admirable, but I always wondered if that energy was actually you running from something. It was cute how you would sleep in my bed, no one else has ever done that. But you didn’t want me, not like that, not in any real way. You literally lived with me, Leo, but only between girlfriends and jobs. You wouldn’t even call me your best friend, that was an honor reserved for our Gemini friend. How funny, and maybe a little ironic that you’re both on this list and I keep going back to him. It amazes me how I can still miss you because that running you did so much finally took you so many states away, but I can still feel your heat in my bed on the night’s I’m lonely.

Virgo: 

Virgo, you are the only person on this list I sometimes hate. You’re so wish-washy, you flip flop on everything. You worry, you pry, you’re sarcastic and bitter and sometimes you’re so full of vinegar I wonder if your heart has pickled. I’ve always been so critical of you because I don’t know how else to judge you. You try so hard at everything, and you want so much to be the good in someone’s life, you want someone to love you so badly that you lose yourself and I’m sorry its like that. I want to fix you but I don’t know how, you’ve always thought you were broken somehow and no one has ever helped you figure out why. I want   to tell you to keep trying, keep your head on straight, stop lusting and falling in love with people you know won’t love you. I’m afraid you do that on purpose because you know the only person that will disappoint in the long run is yourself. I want to tell you that this is a bad mindset to be in, but I know you won’t believe me. 

Libra: 

You’re so sweet, my Libra friend. You were honestly the first person who made me feel like I didn’t have to keep up a performance of always being happy, always being funny, always being on. It took us a while to get there, but now we are and its helped me out so much. You’re too hard on yourself and you live in your nostalgia more than you should, the past is good to remember so it can help your future, I’ve told you that. You give so much of yourself, you should take more. That hyper-nervous energy you have is because you regret not doing more for yourself. It’s okay to be selfish sometimes, Libra. 

Scorpio: 

I’ve never officially met you, Scorpio, not yet anyway. If I can ever make my way to Britain then I’m sure we’ll hook up.  We’ve been pen pals for a number of years, we met on a dating app, isn’t that funny? I hate the thought of them now. Scorpio, I’m afraid you have an impressionable, fledgling image of me in your head, more so than I am now. You know the younger me who wanted to please everyone and you still hold me to his standard, but I’ve grown so much more as a person than who I was and I don’t know how to tell you that, you seem to like things between us sedentary. However, you’re a wanderer Scorpio; you don’t know where you’re going but you know you’re going to party and enjoy the way there. 

Sagittarius: 

I’ve been jealous before, Sagittarius, but oh not like this. I don’t like you much, which isn’t like me. I don’t normally wholly dislike someone, but you rub me the wrong way. Your vanity and egotistic ideology rivals and then outweighs Taurus and Gemini both, combined. Or maybe its the magnetic quality you seem to have that makes people who aren’t me like you in spite of your flaws. So yes, I am jealous of you, Sagittarius, of how gorgeous you are, how effortless everything is for you, and how easily you hide your real feelings.

Capricorn: 

Our relationship is probably strained, Capricorn, because I immediately caught feelings for you that you in no way, shape, form or fashion returned. But you were a good sport about it. You’re an interesting person, Capricorn, you want so badly to be innovative. You want to fit in and you want to stand out at the same time, almost like you live in two worlds. You’re a little all over the place but you have so much beauty I easily overlooked that. I want you still, you have that kind of bewitching quality Capricorn, but you’re also not meant for me. I suppose I can always just admire you when we talk and always wonder what if.

Aquarius: 

I’ll bet its some kind of fate that Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You came on my playlist as soon as I thought to write this about you, Aquarius. It isn’t true, but its a fun sentiment. I think you finally came out, and I’m proud of you for it, your denial of self was a difficult thing to watch. I’ve never been in a will they won’t they situation but for me it surely felt close to one every time I would see you at those house parties, and maybe we would have if you would have been more comfortable in your skin. You did make me feel good about myself, Aquarius, I think that’s why I liked you so much. Quick with a pat on the back and a good word and I need that like someone with a thirst needs water. You’ll succeed at anything you do, Aquarius, as long as you remember to stop hiding so much.

Pisces: 

I wonder if all Pisces are as carefree as you are, my friend? You have never worried about a single thing in the long number of years I’ve known you, even things you probably should have been worried about it. Remember when neither of us had jobs but we kept an apartment for a whole year? That was on you, you were the only reason we didn’t starve and get kicked out and I appreciate that so much. You’re clever and quick witted, Pisces, and mischievous – the shit you get into, bih. You’re also stubborn and hardheaded though, which is probably why your personality works so well. You stick to what you believe no matter what and I like that about you, even when you’re proven wrong. I miss you, and I wish I was a better friend to you every time I see a text pop up from you, but you’ve never held anything against me, and I’m glad.

[spicynbachili1]

Review: Just Dance 2019

Simply Subscribe

Simply dance.

However first, Simply Obtain the App.

Then, Why Not Simply Subscribe for a Month-to-month Price?

Okay, now you may Simply Dance.

Simply Dance (PlayStation four, Swap, Xbox 360, Xbox One [reviewed], Wii, Wii U) Developer: Ubisoft Writer: Ubisoft MSRP: $39.99 Launched: October 23, 2018

I’ve by no means performed a Simply Dance recreation earlier than. My fiancée’s coworker just lately bought final 12 months’s model on the Swap, and naturally, she was curious. We’d placed on Twitch streamers taking part in the sport to see what it was like. So when there was an opportunity to evaluation Simply Dance 2019, I jumped on the chance. There’s undoubtedly an okay dancing recreation in right here, however oh my god is it buried underneath a load of crap.

For the reason that Kinect is useless, I am compelled to make use of my telephone as a controller when taking part in on the Xbox One. It acts because the detection machine for scoring, although it is laborious to inform simply how correct it is being. Partly as a result of I am a horrible dancer but additionally as a result of I’ve nothing to check it to. The factor is, I actually hate holding my telephone in my hand whereas waving my arms round generally moderately rapidly. Controllers just like the Swap’s Pleasure-Con have the strap to make sure security…my telephone doesn’t.

Along with my worry of damaging my telephone, I would like to carry it in such a means that the telephone does not get locked because it will not register something at that time. I can also’t squeeze it too laborious as a result of I’ve a Google Pixel 2 and squeezing it prompts Google Assistant, and I am not going to alter that setting merely to play Simply Dance. One other challenge is that generally I merely cannot join my telephone to the sport, leaving it actually unplayable. After I tried to play Simply Dance 2019 this morning, I spent 10 minutes attempting to get my telephone to sync up with the Xbox. Replace the app, reboot every little thing, try to attempt once more…nothing. I suppose I am not taking part in at present.

As a small apart, the app doesn’t assist the Nintendo Swap for Simply Dance 2019. It has additionally eliminated assist for Simply Dance 2015 for all consoles. I can inform as a result of as I used to be looking to see if others had a connectivity challenge, I noticed a ton of one-star evaluations on the app mentioning the dearth of assist for different consoles and variations. 

Aside from my frustrations with the telephone controller state of affairs, it is a Simply Dance recreation. There are 40 included songs with the 2019 version, however except you are an enormous fan of the pop style, there is not sufficient right here to justify really buying the sport…except you subscribe to Simply Dance Limitless, which grants entry to a whole lot of songs from a big selection of genres.

Chris stated it in his evaluation of 2017, and I am going to restate it right here: Simply Dance has change into a supply system for Simply Dance Limitless.

I had no qualms with subscribing for the sake of this evaluation, however even that was a painstaking course of that I barely had the endurance for. On Xbox, it introduced me to the shop and compelled me to obtain the Ubisoft Membership app. Then I needed to sign up to my uPlay account. Then…I had entry to all of the Simply Dance Limitless songs. Did it cost me? I truthfully had no concept, till I discovered that there is a 30-day trial. Alright then! This whole course of has been astoundingly complicated for one thing primarily focused at youthful audiences.

The gameplay is untouched because the inception of the collection: mimic the on-screen FMV avatar as if a mirror, and get some candy factors for nailing it. The outfits, backgrounds, and even music selections are wacky and lighthearted, though having a music like “Mi Mi Mi” caught in your head might be only one step away from madness.

I’m disillusioned there isn’t any approach to apply sure components of songs. I suppose the aim was by no means to show folks these dances exterior of straightforward repetition, however identical to with most rhythm video games, there are difficult elements of songs which are solely included a few times. To must play your complete music simply to apply one portion of it’s irritating.

Enjoying earns cash that can be utilized in a gacha machine for profile customization objects and even a number of songs. Properly, they’re alternate variations of already-unlocked songs, so nothing “new” is locked behind this unusual mechanic. It does really feel bizarre to mainly must get fortunate to have the ability to play each music included within the recreation. And for readability, there isn’t any actual cash to be spent on cash, regardless of this sense very very like loot packing containers.

For a recreation referred to as Simply Dance, I usually have a tough time simply doing something. Utilizing my very costly telephone in my hand as I flail about shouldn’t be my concept of a feel-good expertise as I’m consistently conscious and being cautious. The underside line is that for those who’ve been taking part in and having fun with Simply Dance video games for years, and now you need to have the ability to dance round to such classics as “DDU-DU DDU-DU,” decide up Simply Dance 2019 I suppose, and hope the cell app really works. In the event you’re new to the collection, simply discover somebody on Twitch streaming it and dance alongside at dwelling.

[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]

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      Simply Dance 2019 reviewed by Patrick Hancock

5.5

MEDIOCRE

An train in apathy, neither strong nor liquid. Not precisely unhealthy, however not excellent both. Only a bit “meh,” actually. How we rating:  The destructoid evaluations information

        from SpicyNBAChili.com http://spicymoviechili.spicynbachili.com/review-just-dance-2019/

[ciathyzareposts]

Missed Classic: Trinity – When Soviet Time-Traveling Robot Armadillos Attack

Written by Joe Pranevich

In Trinity, we traveled to the dawn of the nuclear age and attempted to change history. We failed and became trapped in a time loop with our mischievous roadrunner friend. I suppose there are worse ways to go. In the words of one famous time traveler, “Great Scott!”

But what if the game didn’t end that way? Unlike most of the games we played, this is not just a rhetorical question. Infocom has always had a special place in the hearts of digital archeologists and a level of attention that arguably exceeds their real contribution to computer game history. This is in part thanks to Infocom’s own newsletters, but also the preservation of memos and documents from the company itself. That gives us a view on just about everything from sales performance to standings within the local softball leagues. As recently as 2019, source code was placed online for most of the classic Infocom games. This would be fun all by itself, but in Trinity’s case we are fortunate to have preserved notes on three separate versions of the game, starting from something akin to “Time Police” and ending with the version that we explored together. I had hoped to include this material with the Final Rating, but that post was long enough. Let’s close out our coverage of Trinity with a look at three versions of the game that might have been.

Mirai Sentai Timerenger!

Trinity 0.1 – The Time Police

It all started with a dead bird. A cat proudly deposited the carcass on the doorstep of her owner, a Japanese school teacher who had received enough of these little offerings to recognize something out of the ordinary. She sealed the corpse in a plastic bag and brought it to a biologist at the nearby medical school. The remains were identified as Geococcyx californianus, a species native to the southwest corner of North America. What a roadrunner was doing in the vicinity of Nagasaki’s Heiwa Koen (Peace Park) was anybody’s guess.

The first of the three pitches is undated but likely written sometime in 1985, although it may have been during or after the development of Wishbringer. It shows the game at an embryonic stage, but already elements were coming together that we immediately recognize as the core of Trinity. Nuclear blasts, in addition to all of the damage that we can see, also pierced holes in the fabric of space and time. These holes connected the sites of those blasts in an as-yet unknown way, allowing a New Mexico roadrunner to end up in Nagasaki, whirlpools of coconut-filled boiling water to appear spontaneously over Utah, and many other such events. Scientists discovered and investigated these holes, but the military saw them as being little more than a curiosity. Without military application, who cares if reality is becoming Swiss cheese? That was until a defector revealed that the Soviets had not only discovered the holes, but that they had a plan of their own to use them.

I’ll let Moriarty’s own words describe the next part:

Such were the humble beginnings of Classified Defense Project #43112. Its official code name is Termite. But the people who got it going and keep it running like to call themselves the Time Police.

You play the role of a Sentry on duty at Project Termite’s Alamogordo Station. It’s your duty to monitor the Hole created by the first atomic explosion, and to make sure nobody is in there mucking around with the original Manhattan Project. You wouldn’t want some other country to get The Bomb before we did, would you?

Grand Moff Who?

The pitch continues into a brief description of gameplay. Rather than directly interact with history, you have an “array of technological gadgets” resembling real birds and small mammals that act as your eyes and ears in the past. Your job is to ensure that history (and a very large bomb) go off without a hitch, without being spotted and potentially changing history yourself. On one fateful day, it is your responsibility to defend the United States from a two-fold attack by the Soviet Union. You have to defend both the Trinity site on the morning of the blast as well as “present day” Alamogordo Station. It sounds like a lot of fun, even if it is unclear how you would solve two sets of problems at once.

Back to Moriarty:

Meep, your trusty Electric Roadrunner, has detected an army of stainless steel armadillos closing in on the shot tower at Ground Zero. And there’s something else lurking in that pre-dawn desert; a mysterious Presence that will eventually lock you in a bizarre three-way struggle against time. The future history of the world — perhaps the fate of the universe itself — depends on your courage and resourcefulness. No matter what happens, you MUST make sure that the first atomic bomb detonates precisely on schedule! It is 5:00 AM on July 16, 1945. You have twenty-nine minutes.

I understand why this pitch didn’t get made, but boy does it sound fun. The mix of robotic avatars and having to balance two separate modes of play at once sounds a bit too much like Suspended and A Mind Forever Voyaging, but there is something perfect about the idea of the Soviets using an army of time-traveling robotic armadillos. Would the tone have been jarring against its premise? How much fun can you have in a story about nuclear armageddon? And both of those previous games struggled with balancing the multiple aspects of their gameplay; could Trinity have done better? It is also not clear how many of the “termite holes” you would explore, and Moriarty may not even have worked out those details yet. This pitch represents a great start and could have been a fun– if very different– game if it had come to fruition. I especially like the hard science fiction approach and the structure that being a part of “Time Police” could bring to the story.

You can read the full first proposal here: https://github.com/historicalsource/trinity/blob/master/tr1.txt

“Bridgeport?” Said I. “Camelot,” Said he.”

Trinity 0.5 – Magical Kingdom

The next version of the game, dated September 1985, takes us much closer to the Trinity that we know. The hard science fiction and robotic armadillos are gone, as is the “Time Police”. Instead, the game takes a hard turn into straight up fantasy. The start of the game feels quite similar to the final product: you are an American tourist in London on the day that the bombs fell. You will have to “solv[e] a lighthearted puzzle or two” to escape from London. While the pitch does not say so explicitly, it’s likely that Moriarty had already worked through much of the Kensington Garden experience. When the bomb drops however, the game takes a turn from what we would come to know:

“Inside” the duct, you discover a bizarre fantasy world where space and time are interchanged. The magical inhabitants of this twilight zone are wringing their 4-dimensional hands because our atom bomb tests are blasting big, unsightly holes in their otherwise peaceful universe. The only way to prevent the collapse of the entire kingdom is for some foolhardy adventurer to journey backwards in time to the first A-bomb test at Trinity, and prevent it from going off.

Armed only with the 3-D map of the Hole Matrix provided in the game package, the player ventures through a bewildering variety of exotic locations, solving puzzles, meeting unlikely characters and casting magic spells. But unknown forces are at work to foil your quest, and you soon find yourself caught up in a multidimensional war between two great empires who seek to control the Matrix. It all comes together during a spectacular climax in the New Mexico desert, where you must single-handedly decide the course of history in just 29 minutes of real playing time.

“My name is Peabody. I suppose you know yours.”

The game sounds much more “Zorkian” with exotic locations and magic spells; in fact, I cannot help but wonder if the bombs wouldn’t have opened the door just a smidge to the actual Great Underground Empire. This is all speculation, but Trinity’s internal development code was “Z7”. All of the previous codes (from “Z0” to “Z6”) were for the Zork and Enchanter series, plus Wishbringer, which also took place in the same universe. “Z8” and “Z9” would later be given to Beyond Zork and Zork Zero. Trinity is the only game in that series of codes to not be a Zork game. Why? Could they have been aiming for a more generic fantasy game while using the “Z” code? Absolutely. Could they have left the door open for it being an implicit Zork sequel? Also yes, especially as this version of the pitch suggests that it was to be the first game in a new fantasy trilogy. We don’t know, but it feels like there could be a truth hidden in there someplace.

The “Hole Matrix” hinted at in the description, plus the fantasy kingdom itself, feels like an alternate or early form of the “wabe” from the final game. It seems that you would explore many different areas all connected by the nuclear explosions to solve puzzles. Except for the lack of spells and explicit fantasy elements, most of the zones that we traveled to in the final game could have worked with this pitch. Only the “hub” that connected them, plus the lack of magical solutions, could be different from the game that we know.

The final open question for this version has to do with the endgame: how would a “real-time” ending sequence work? Would touch typists and faster computers automatically have an edge? This must have been a major goal because Moriarty mentions the real-time nature of the ending more than once in his summary, and yet he doesn’t appear to have found a way to make it work. This is also the only version of the pitch to not include the roadrunner; I cannot but think that somehow these two problems are related! Other than being a humorous fantasy (rather than dour magical realism), this game has all of the elements of “our” version of Trinity. The puzzles and worlds may have differed, but this is recognizably the same game.

You can read the full second version of the pitch here: https://github.com/historicalsource/trinity/blob/master/tr2.txt

“My patience is wearing thin. I’m banishing you to a time warp from which you will never return!” – Oroku Saki

Trinity 0.9 – Almost There!

The final draft summary we have is from November 1985 and it is essentially the game that we came to play in digest form. In fact, this is the shortest pitch of the three and is detailed enough that Moriarty must have been fairly far along in his development process. The beginning and middle of the game appear to be exactly as we have played it:

The door transports you to a Zorkish fantasy world, centered around an enormous sundial that casts a long, moving shadow across the landscape. This improbable universe is littered with lots of giant toadstools, each equipped with its own magic door. Whenever the dial’s shadow passes over a toadstool, the magic door opens, and you can visit a “real” historical place where somebody is about to explode an atomic bomb. Locations include an underground test site, a Siberian wilderness, a tropical atoll, a “Star Wars” orbital battlefield and a playground in Hiroshima.

The player has to explore every square inch of the fantasy world, figure out how to control the giant sundial, visit all the magic doors (in the right order) and solve a bunch of interconnected puzzles before he or she can tackle the seventh and final toadstool … the Trinity test.

So far so good. I especially like the nod to my theory that he was explicitly aiming for “Zorkian”, even if not the Great Underground Empire itself. And yet, Moriarty appears not to have cracked the final nut, how he would have run the end-game. This is not the three-way battle with robot armadillos from the earliest version, nor the real-time puzzles of the second, but something wholly different:

The player materializes in the test tower, only twenty-nine minutes before the Gadget is scheduled to detonate. The site is heavily guarded, and danger lurks behind every cactus. If you survive long enough to reach the control bunker, you’ll meet a Who’s Who of famous scientists, all intent on vaporizing your only way home. Can you stop the Bomb from going off? What will happen if you do? And what about those mysterious beings who keep making snide comments in the corners of your video screen? Are you being used?

I love the mystery being implied here, even if it is frustrating that we never got more than sniffs of it in the final version of the game that we played. Who was the mysterious voice in our ear? We never found out and it seems like perhaps Moriarty may have changed his mind about it more than once during development. Alas, we also never saw the “Who’s Who” of famous scientists as the final endgame pivoted back towards the earlier ideal of causing as few ripples in history as possible. In fact, other than listening to humans on the radio, we interacted directly with absolutely no one in the endgame as we played it. There is not one “famous scientist” in there at all!

You can read the full third version of the pitch here: https://github.com/historicalsource/trinity/blob/master/tr3.txt

“Okay, um, how do I explain this concisely? This is Tuesdays… and also July.” “And sometimes, it’s never.”

Moving On

I hope you enjoyed these brief looks at alternate versions of Trinity. I am glad that we were able to experience the final version of the game, but there are many neat ideas presented across these several drafts that would have been fun to experience in some way. Ultimately, the ending of Trinity isn’t perfect. The puzzles are too difficult and too many elements are left unexplained and unresolved. The nature of the time loop doesn’t give us a sense of finality, especially after we looted our own paradoxical corpse. It seems from these documents that while the only aspect of Trinity that did not change from draft to draft was the final confrontation in the desert, the actual mechanics of that endgame experience did not come into focus until late in his design process. I wish we had these documents for more games to give us a basis for comparison, but what we have is a fascinating, if all too brief, window into how the sausage was made.

With this last side avenue explored, I am finally ready to tackle some Leather Goddesses. You can expect a mini-review of that soon.

With the spread of Coronavirus around the world, I want to take this moment to wish for safety and health for all of our readers and their families. Stay well.

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/missed-classic-trinity-when-soviet-time-traveling-robot-armadillos-attack/