#but it still got me thinking about it all over again. siiiiiigh

[fefairys]

ramble about anxieties with psy that got longer than i inteded so its going under the break

my sibling pointed out that we should be careful with melody's character at the risk of falling into stereotypes of black and trans women being seen as annoying/loud/too much but like she is just such a Real Person to me that if we toned her down to try and avoid those stereotypes it would feel Wrong to me? like to me she is not a stereotype she is just a person who is having fun. and the thing is everyone adores her for it, no one except psy thinks she is annoying or Too Much, they love her. but like that is such a major concern to me that i was sure we were gonna get hate mail the second her chapter dropped (so so thankful that everyone seems to love her as much as we do and that that did not happen lol) and now that someone actually pointed it out (my fucking SIBLING no less) i am so anxious about it all over again when i had previously gotten over it and decided 'no, she's not a stereotype, she's a human with many multitudes!'

toning her down and making her "nicer" or whatever seems like. worse. it's just this loop of like. okay but we wrote her that way and we didnt have to. but shes such a real person in our heads. but shes NOT a real person shes a fictional character and we can write her however we want. idk i dont think it is an issue like i think she is good. i think you just gotta see that shes a very complex individual, as are all of the characters in psy. it would be even worse to make her Perfect and Nice and Never Does Anything Wrong to avoid making a black trans woman look bad on screen. like shes not perfect despite everyone she knows seeing her that way. and her seeing herself that way as a coping tool i have said too much

[stargazerdaisy]

Tagged by @abedsmessedupmeta and @vesperass-anuna

How many works do you have on AO3? 40

What’s your total AO3 word count? 200,109

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I Get The Feelin’ That You Wanna Fall

I Want You to Stay, You Have to Go

Except Your Touch

Couldn’t See You Coming

The Moments In Between

Wow, I didn’t realize my three highest were all Chenford.  Nice!

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I do my absolute best to reply to every comment left on my stories.  Interaction with authors was one of the things that got me more actively involved with fandom and led to me writing my own fic, so I try to pay that back.  

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

It’s a toss up.  The Fuse Is Lit, So Stand Back and Watch It Burn is one of the very few (might even be the only?) fics I’ve written that has a confirmed, definite angsty ending, because it’s basically a canon scene where I added in Ward’s inner thoughts.  And well...that didn’t end well for anyone.  But Don’t Go is probably the angstiest, despite it being an intentionally and very ambigious ending.  I think the ambiguity adds to the angst and I got a much bigger reaction from readers for it.  

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the strangest one you’ve written?

Not really.  I don’t have a lot of personal attraction to crossovers (they’re really, really hard to do well and serve all of the characters properly).  I applaud people who can do them well, I’m just not intrigued enough to try.  I’ve joked around with little headcanons and daydream ideas here and there that I discuss with friends, but nothing that I have sat down to actually write and publish.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Surprisingly no.  I actually haven’t really gotten any hate, either on fic or in anon asks.  Maybe I joined the fandoms too late or maybe I’m too boring to pick on.  Either way, works for me!

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Siiiiiigh.  This is a weird one for me.  No, I do not write smut.  I do however cheer on my co-writers to write the smut for our stories.  And I have definitely helped choreograph and beta’d smut (making sure everyone get their clothes off is harder than you think).  But writing smut myself is one of those lines that I drew for myself, whether it makes sense to anyone else or not.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I am aware of.  But it’s one of the things I’ve always been concerned about when people have asked to translate my fics (which is also incredibly flattering!).  

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Hahahahahahahahha.  Yes. I’ve done headcanon ‘verses with @vesperass-anuna and @agentramsey where we exchanged prompts and wrote stories for each other.  In those, the individual stories were each written by us, but all together, the whole collection was definitely co-written.  And then there’s @evieoh with whom I co-write a TON of stories.  Seriously, all of my best stories are the one we co-wrote.  And we really and truly co-write.  There are scenes that one or the other of us wrote, but there are parts where we literally alternated sentences or even words.  It’s a very enmeshed process.  Bless Google Docs!

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Skyeward.  Chenford is working hard to climb up there, but at the end of the day, Skyeward has my heart, my ass, and my soul.  Just the other day I was listening to random songs and having major feelings about them with Skyeward.  

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Alias AU.  It’s just too big for our brains to handle.  We have SO MUCH of it mapped out, but there’s a lot of mythology that needs to be detailed, and we’re just not gonna get there.  So we scaled it down to Blalias AU, as we nicknamed it.  Hopefully we’ll work our way through that.

What are your writing strengths?

Banter.  For sure.  I love writing dialogue.  

What are your writing weaknesses?

Action. Don’t think I can do it at all.  But then again a lot of my fics are in settings that don’t require a lot.  Also, slow burn is actually hard to write!  I just want them happy and comfortable in a relationship.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I don’t really do it, mostly because I don’t have a good reason to in the stories that I write.  As a reader, I like a little bit, like a sentence or two, where you can guess the meaning from context.  And I really love little terms of endearment (bless Darklina fic for all the Russian endearments) in other languages.  But if there are big blocks of dialogue, I just skip over them.  If there’s a translation, then it takes me out of the story, and if there isn’t, I’m not going to go look it up, so.... yeah.  As a writer, if I had a reason to use another language, 1) I would make sure I got the translation from an actual human that speaks it (i.e. not Google Translate) and 2) it would be just a line or two that wouldn’t need a separate translation to understand.  

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Very very very first, was Hanson.  Yup, that Hanson.  I even turned in a self insert fanfic as a Creative Writing assignment in high school.  I still can’t decide if my teacher knew what it was and died laughing at me or had no clue because he was an old grizzled English teacher who would rather listen to jazz than Mmmbop.  But like, as intentionally writing fic, it was actually Skyeward.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Hmmm.....that’s really really hard.  I loooove Couldn’t See You Coming (Skyeward Soulmate AU I wrote for Evie’s birthday a few years ago).  I think Finders Keepers is my best single fic.  And From My Hands, I Could Give You (Restaurant AU) might be the one I’m the very most attached to.  I haven’t updated it in 2+ years, but I still think about it and daydream plan for it on a near-daily basis.  

Tagging: @universallongings, @firstdegreefangirl, @inthemovingcastle

[f4liveblogarchives]

Fantastic Four Vol. 1 Annual 1976

Special thanks to @maxwellelvis for taking most of this one off my hands!

Mon Aug 12 2019 [09:46 PM] maxwellelvis: Okay. This is that Event I told you about. [09:46 PM] Wack'd: You tell me about a lot of Events [09:48 PM] Wack'd: Man it's weird that the Fantastic Four have a Danger Room [09:48 PM] Aleph Null: yes but you can't fuck this one [09:48 PM] Wack'd: If this were the 80s and 90s when suddenly the X-Men were the next big thing and people were bending over backwards to make the Fantastic Four fit that mold, sure [09:48 PM] Wack'd: Here in the 70s it's just weird [09:49 PM] Wack'd: God this is such a mom joke

[09:50 PM] Wack'd: A running gag that's gone unacknowledged as of late is Ben interrupting Reed before he can finish his technobabble

[09:51 PM] Wack'd: It's always hard to know spur of the moment what's worth pointing out and what isn't, until suddenly you realize that a pattern has been continuing for like six issues and you haven't said anything [09:51 PM] Umbramatic: rip [09:52 PM] Wack'd: Reed didn't you build a robot to fix things for this express purpose?

[09:52 PM] Wack'd: You did, way back in #119! [09:53 PM] Wack'd: Roy Thomas remembers 1962 better than he remembers his own damn issues

[09:54 PM] Wack'd: "Wait a minute! You guys are Nazis!"

[09:55 PM] Umbramatic: KILL THE NAZIS KILL THE NAZIS [09:55 PM] maxwellelvis: *Venture Bros music* [09:56 PM] Wack'd: I don't think you are going to be embarrassed. Not because these guys are Nazis but because beating up Nazi cosplayers is still a good thing to do

[09:57 PM] Wack'd:

Sue: Why are these men still fighting World War II more than three decades after it ended? Johnny: You might as well ask the Late Late Show the same thing, Sue.

[09:57 PM] Wack'd: Johnny confirmed for a big fan of Irish television [09:58 PM] Umbramatic: pffft [09:59 PM] maxwellelvis: I've got my 2-in-1 TPB with me so I can read this along with you. [09:59 PM] Wack'd: AND NOW THE RESOLUTION OF A PLOTHOLE THAT HAS BEEN BOTHERING PEOPLE FOR YEARS [10:00 PM] Wack'd: Yes, Doom did take his time machine back. Reed just copied the blueprints first and then made a new one [10:00 PM] Wack'd: Problem solved [10:00 PM] Umbramatic: oh my [10:01 PM] Wack'd: Anyway, Reed is started to learn that the Nazis came from 1946 London. Willing to bet this is something to do with the vibranium that fell in there [10:01 PM] maxwellelvis: You skipped over the part where, when Reed and Sue first start puzzling out how the heck these guys got here, the next page shows Ben just WAILING on one of the troops and yelling at him for making his friends all upset. [10:02 PM] Wack'd: I skip over a lot of things if they insufficiently amuse me or aren't relevant to any particular narrative [10:02 PM] maxwellelvis: "Now see whatcha gone an' done, Otto? You got my ol' buddy here upset an' I ain't even hit ya yet." [10:02 PM] maxwellelvis: I know, but I just found that amusing. [10:04 PM] Wack'd: So the Watcher shows up but is doing his damndest not to interfere after having been put on trial over in Captain Marvel [10:05 PM] Wack'd: *siiiiiigh* Okay, guess we're doin' this

[10:05 PM] Wack'd: I hate "what if the Nazis won" stories that don't account for the historical reality that these guys were kind of dipshits [10:05 PM] Wack'd: I hate them so much [10:05 PM] Wack'd: THEY DIDN'T EVEN WANT TO CONQUER THE UNITED STATES [10:06 PM] maxwellelvis: Yeah, but these are comic book Nazis, remember that. [10:06 PM] Aleph Null: not now max [10:06 PM] maxwellelvis: Shutting up [10:07 PM] Umbramatic: oh great the one way you could make Cleveland worse [10:07 PM] Wack'd: Thomas knows juuuuuuust enough history to irritate me

[10:07 PM] Aleph Null: LMAO [10:07 PM] Larena: People like to pretend the Nazis were these tactical geniuses but they really fucking weren't [10:09 PM] Wack'd: Seriously Thomas knows the Lee/Kirby lore better than he knows his own

[10:09 PM] Umbramatic: heck [10:09 PM] Wack'd: Also, all the long-range missiles in the world aren't going to change their lack of tactical proficiency, or Ally advantages, or the fact that the ground war was going poorly... [10:10 PM] Wack'd: Whatever, the longer I complain about this the longer this issue lasts [10:10 PM] Wack'd: Watcher, satisfied Reed has cracked this, vanishes, and the Four head off into the past [10:12 PM] maxwellelvis: Smack-dab in the middle of a strategy planning session being overseen by THE INVADERS in London HQ. They're planning a raid of Castle Wolfenstein--sorry, Castle Cherbelle. [10:12 PM] Umbramatic: lel [10:13 PM] Wack'd: Hey Max? I know you're enjoying having the issue on hand but if I have to wait for you to say things it's gonna drag this out and, as mentioned, I'm not super into this one [10:13 PM] maxwellelvis: Sorry [10:13 PM] Wack'd: Anyway yeah, what he said

[10:14 PM] Wack'd: ...actually...do you wanna do this issue for me? And I'll just put relevant images where needed [10:14 PM] maxwellelvis: Sure. [10:14 PM] Wack'd: Thanks! [10:14 PM] maxwellelvis: So the inevitable fight happens. [10:14 PM] maxwellelvis: Some things of note: [10:14 PM] maxwellelvis: Namor is a hotheaded dick no matter what decade it is [10:14 PM] Wack'd:

[10:15 PM] maxwellelvis: Powerless or no, I feel like Namor calling Ben a Nazi would result in him being ripped limb from limb [10:15 PM] Wack'd: Hint that Ben is Jewish #354

[10:15 PM] maxwellelvis: Johnny is rather awestruck to see the Original Human Torch and Toro, and just barely manages to parry their last volley of fireballs [10:16 PM] maxwellelvis: Bucky is useless as always [10:16 PM] maxwellelvis: and Cap almost immediately realizes that the smart thing to do is to break up this little ballroom blitz. [10:16 PM] Wack'd: THE WINTER SOLDIER EVERYONE

[10:17 PM] maxwellelvis: Reed does the same, dousing the Torches and getting everyone to cool off. [10:18 PM] maxwellelvis: So the FF explain who, what, where, when, and why, a French Resistance liaison confirms that something rotten is up in Castle Cherelle, especially that the operation there is being overseen by one Baron Heinrich Zemo. [10:19 PM] Wack'd: ...was this really their catchphrase

[10:19 PM] maxwellelvis: Probably? [10:19 PM] Wack'd: Hehehehe [10:19 PM] Wack'd: What dorks [10:19 PM] maxwellelvis: I've not read much Invaders, but it seems like they're trying to channel the spirit of the All-Winners Squadron [10:20 PM] Wack'd: Every comic book website ever uses it as a headline when there's Invaders news [10:21 PM] maxwellelvis: So, they make it as far as France in one of Namor's airships, but are ambushed by Stukas. Toro is even more hotheaded than Johnny and wants to go out and flash-fry them, but Hammond tells him to stand down, they can't afford to give away their position to Zemo before they even reach the castle. [10:21 PM] Wack'd: This is even dorky or when you consider that the Invaders are an invention of the mid-century war comics scene [10:21 PM] Wack'd: And not a team that ever actually existed in the 40s [10:21 PM] maxwellelvis: Well, the All-Winners Squadron I think was a thing, not sure if they ever all teamed up though. It might have been before the JSA. [10:22 PM] Wack'd: Oh! Yep [10:22 PM] Umbramatic: oh huh [10:22 PM] Wack'd: Line-up did have Cap, Bucky, Namor, Toro, and Human Torch back in the 40s [10:23 PM] maxwellelvis: Just before the reach the castle, we get a shot of the Watcher's face in the clouds, indicating that yeah, they're on the right path. Bucky gets creeped out by it. Ben just feels even more nervous now. [10:23 PM] Wack'd: The name "Invaders" is a flagrant retcon though, as is the absence of Whizzer, Miss America, Blond Phantom, and Angel [10:23 PM] maxwellelvis: Miss America is elsewhere now. More on that later. [10:24 PM] maxwellelvis: Anyways, they land mostly undetected, have time for a character bit or two, and split up to cover more ground [10:24 PM] Wack'd: Well hang on! [10:24 PM] Wack'd: Don't gloss over character bits! Love character bits! [10:24 PM] maxwellelvis: Ahh [10:25 PM] Wack'd: Oh this is just exposition [10:25 PM] Wack'd: Moving on [10:25 PM] maxwellelvis: Reed realizes that while they're here, he and Ben are also just now signing up and gets goosebumps, which is rare for him. [10:25 PM] maxwellelvis: Namor professes his hatred of stealth tactics, showing yet again why he will be a Good King [10:26 PM] Wack'd: (So long as I'm tracking when the sliding timescale kicks in, the fact that Reed and Ben are still WWII vets is probably worth noting) [10:26 PM] maxwellelvis: Speaking of which, Reed also gets weirded out at teaming up with a younger Namor and scolds himself for playing Jealous Husband [10:26 PM] Wack'd: And Sue is apparently still a bit hot under the collar [10:27 PM] Wack'd: viagra joke

[10:27 PM] maxwellelvis: I can't blame her here. Dude just refuses to age. How DARE he be so good looking for so many decades? [10:27 PM] Wack'd: The Face of Beauty

[10:28 PM] maxwellelvis: The Torches all team up and it's... interesting at least in black and white to see how the pencils and inks try to make three guys with the same power all look distinct. [10:28 PM] Aleph Null: sue was a star trek fan and really liked spock [10:28 PM] Aleph Null: that's what i'm going with [10:28 PM] Wack'd: Historically what happens here [10:28 PM] maxwellelvis: How does it look in color, Wack'd? [10:29 PM] Wack'd: Is that Johnny is stuck with the all-red-with-stripes look, while Jim looks like actual flames are coming off him--in accordance with how he was drawn in the 40s [10:30 PM] maxwellelvis: And Toro has that look even moreso, at least here. [10:30 PM] Wack'd: I'm going to be completely honest, in this issue, I can't tell any of the three apart [10:30 PM] maxwellelvis: So Namor and the Richards' bust up a weapons plant. [10:30 PM] Wack'd: It's all down to dialogue quirks [10:31 PM] maxwellelvis: He floods the place in his temper. [10:31 PM] maxwellelvis: Skipping over that because the NEXT part is fun. [10:31 PM] maxwellelvis: We get to revisit the events that lead up to Cap getting frozen and Bucky's "death" [10:32 PM] maxwellelvis: Johnny's turn to get the willies as he realizes who these two guys are and what's going to happen to them, things he can't try to prevent or risk more damage to spacetime [10:34 PM] maxwellelvis: So they bust up central ops, then Cap has a confrontation with Zemo. The shield shatters the tank full of Adhesive X, trapping Zemo in his hood for the rest of his days, though in this retelling, Cap actually tries to help Zemo, who refuses and says that not only can nothing get it off him, but he'd rather die than surrender, or better yet, he'll just kill Cap. [10:35 PM] maxwellelvis: Zemo escapes down a tunnel and though Johnny CAN keep up with him, he simultaneously CAN'T because he has no way of knowing if the escape tunnel is booby-trapped and so he loses Zemo in his hesitation. [10:35 PM] maxwellelvis: Meanwhile, Ben and the other Torches take out the V2 bay. [10:36 PM] Wack'd: Yeah they're really going all in on the 60s look for all the Torches here [10:36 PM] maxwellelvis: One of the missiles gets fired, with Ben on it. Jim and Toro can't keep up, but Ben manages to sabotage the missile in midair and steer it back to the castle and pull a Slim Pickens. [10:37 PM] Wack'd: Just a little scruff of hair on the top to tell them apart

[10:37 PM] maxwellelvis: Which is weird because you wouldn't suspect that from just the lineart [10:37 PM] maxwellelvis: which is what I have. [10:37 PM] Wack'd:

[10:38 PM] maxwellelvis: "I thought I died an' went ta Heaven, but then how come I'm lookin' at YOUR ugly kisser, Stretcho?" They managed to get out in time and save Ben from scattering himself all over France. [10:39 PM] maxwellelvis: And assuming that no Vibranium survived the explosion, all is well that ends well. [10:39 PM] maxwellelvis: Well... [10:39 PM] Umbramatic: something something dr strangelove [10:39 PM] maxwellelvis: except Uatu is still in the Baxter Building [10:39 PM] Wack'd:

[10:40 PM] maxwellelvis: Ben realizes that, if the Watcher is still here, that means, that not all of the Vibranium was in the castle. Uatu says nothing, but subtly smiles, leading us in to Marvel Two-In-One Annual One [10:41 PM] Bocaj: Dammit Uatu [10:41 PM] Bocaj: And also the Watchers [10:41 PM] Bocaj: Just your presence is interfering [11:01 PM] maxwellelvis: Okay so, on to part 2 of this story: [11:01 PM] maxwellelvis: MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE ANNUAL #1 [11:03 PM] maxwellelvis: I'll just get the highlights out of the way. [11:04 PM] maxwellelvis: Whizzer. U-Man. Giant flying swastika. There's a guy called The Thin Man. Whizzer. The original Patriot. Ben throws himself off a flag pole. Roy Thomas shamelessly inserts himself into the story. Whizzer. [11:05 PM] maxwellelvis: Also there's a superhero called Blue Diamond. For some reason I thought that's funny in 2019.

[itsybitsylemonsqueezy]

So I finally saw Endgame. And I’m not remotely sorry I waited this long. 

But now I do understand why when I came back to tumblr there was absolutely nothing on my dash about it. 

I saw it last night and I’ve been so angry this whole time I couldn’t sleep. What even the fuck was that?! Look, as a Thor fan, I’ve grown accustomed to having my baby written poorly. but WHAT the FUCK was THAT?!?!?!

Holy christ. Holy god. Just... just... I’m so angry. 

I thought Tony’s arc was good, but, as usual, he carried the fucking movie because Tony is the only character they can consistently write. Everyone else eventually devolved into trashfire. Well, that’s not true, Scott Lang sure got some good shit in. So, if you’re an Ant-Man or an Iron Man fan, this movie was a good time for you.

But everyone else... ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my god. 

I’m 50-50 on Steve. There were some good Steve moments, I liked that FINALLY we got a taste of the consequences of Civil War that I have BEEN WAITING FOR. It fucked me up watching Tony pull off his heart and shove it into Steve’s hand saying, “Take this and hide behind it.” I... wow. holy fucking shit. I’ve been waiting for THAT. And Steve did a good thing when Tony comes back, all fucked up about Peter, and Steve has the good grace to say “We lost him” to acknowledge Tony’s guilt and to understand, apparently for the first time, that Tony always thinks it’s his fault and he will carry this burden right into the fucking grave. Thanks for retroactively paying attention to Tony’s character arc Steve. 

So, that bit was good. But then we married him to Peggy? Really? Like, Peggy Carter is a wonderful lady but... we’ve spent the majority of Steve’s arc digging him out of this, getting him to move on. And I know every team movie has amnesia and doesn’t understand how character development works, but you have all of Steve’s relationships right here. Bucky’s alive, Sam’s alive, but no, Steve goes back in time to live out his days peacefully with some lady? Again, not that Peggy doesn’t matter, she does, but.... oh my GOD WHAT EVEN WAS THE POINT of introducing Bucky back into Steve’s life if not to force him to live in the NOW? Why bother giving Steve ANY friends??? I just... UGGGGGHHHH. And doing that ACTIVELY CREATES MORE PROBLEMS. What if they had kids??? We don’t know if the super soldier serum can get passed on. What if the descendants of Steve Roger are running around??? I just... I get that we had to put these characters at peace and they tried to give them a “happy ending” but... this seems like a backtracking. Steve could still pass on the mantle in the present without totally fucking over his character arc. 

Bruce... was fine. Thought it was a little rough how they addressed the Bruce/Natasha situation but as apparently everyone retroactively thinks that was a bad idea... I guess this is what we get. Also, I love how we nixed all of the possible ships with Valkyrie in this one. Which I guess follows what with NO ONE knowing how to pick up from Ragnarok. I mean... okay, I guess. 

But SPEAKING OF NATASHA.... fuck you. Just... fuck you. Clint easily could have died there and it would have been justified and it would have been fine. It wouldn’t have affected the plot in any way. You do sort of double-down on taking fathers away from their families by killing both Clint and Tony, but... Clint’s character has been a trashfire this whole time. The man wanted to go to atone for what he had done in his family’s absence. And I know Marvel offered us the peace offering of lining up every female Marvel character to protect Spiderman to prove how many female characters they have and it was really nice to see Pepper matter again and that great scene with Frigga and that’s all really sweet but... you still killed Nat for no reason. And definitively made her one of the two people that cannot ever come back, Incidentally, the only two people who can never come back are women, so. No matter how you sliced that, it was always going to be one-sided one way or another. 

But I really do think it was justified to sacrifice Clint to the Soul Stone. Clint had other people in his life, his family, he was functional, supposedly, before all the shit went down. Natasha has always had nothing, Clint’s always been remarkably important to her. As a sacrifice, killing Clint feels worse than killing Nat. And Nat’s been trying to die for her found family this whole time, those scattered people she was trying to hold on to, that she struggled to function for. It just would have been nice to reward all her trials by giving her her family back and letting someone else take the bullet for a change. *siiiiiigh* 

Nebula was great, I liked what was done with her. I fully gave up on our time travel making any sense when she shot her past self and then didn’t blip out of existence. I guess the argument for that is that the Nebula that exists branched out further back in the time line so killing herself from slightly further ahead does nothing, but... still, our time travel was a hot mess and y’all know it. 

I think I’ve covered all the major players now except... my baby. So, the first half was great for Thor. I love that he was the one to behead Thanos. I love that he was SUPER fucked up about his failures, his failure to protect his family, to protect his people, his failure to make good on all his promises. Absolutely accurate, Thor WOULD be wrecked by what he couldn’t do. And, sure, okay, he drank enough to give him beer gut, I... fine. I do NEED to point out that he’s a god, his metabolism is different so the quantity he would need to drink to even achieve that level of pudge is beyond reckoning. And, as a god, he should have been able to drop it too. But Okay.

And then there’s that sweet scene with Frigga. I did love that we brought back an underserved female character and let her have a moment with her son. I enjoyed that a lot. What I did not like was Everything That Came After That. I don’t like that they wrote Thor tackling his guilt as a stumble in his self-confidence. I don’t like that because Thor’s depressed now, he’s also stupid. But, y’know, no one has EVER written Thor’s intelligence well (Except you Taika, you, as always, did nothing wrong and I love you) so why the fuck should that change now. I don’t like that Thor ABSOLUTELY should have used the gauntlet the first time because then MAYBE YOU WOULDN'T FORGET TO WISH BACK ASGARD. Like that’s an actual, genuine plot hole. Half of Asgard is STILL DEAD and that’s never addressed because y’know fuck the Asgardians I guess. What they lost doesn’t really matter because that didn’t happen during the Mass Dusting so fuck your problems Thor. No no, it’s fine, it’s absolutely fine that Thor had to destroy his homeland, lost half his people, lost every meaningful relationship he had and then FUCKS OFF WITH THE GUARDIANS?!?! FUCK THIS FUCKING SHIT! 

No no ABSOLUTELY FUCK YOU. FUCK. YOU. I am SO mad. God, what a CARDINAL misreading of Thor’s character! And HOW DARE YOU use that “Be who you are, not who you’re supposed to be” BULLSHIT! How DARE YOU use Frigga’s words to negate Thor’s character development! We settled this back in THE FIRST FUCKING MOVIE but no one can EVER be bothered to write Thor right so FUCK ME I GUESS. Absolutely FUCK THIS. No yeah no, Thor who has been constructively making amends and shouldering his father’s mistakes FROM THE BEGINNING no no, he’d just fuck off, abandon the people he failed, yeah no it’s FINE That’s ABSOLUTELY FINE yeah Thor feels absolutely no loyalty to his people or desire to do right by them, fuck every last one of you sons of bitches. 

And I won’t lie that I am personally pissed about Loki but this disgusting, final betrayal of who Thor is is the Last Fucking Straw. And if the point was to retire the originals WHY DID YOU SADDLE HIM WITH THE GUARDIANS WHO OBJECTIVELY ARE NOT FINISHED?! Like, they have past Gamora now who has no relationships with any of these fucks, their shit is NOT straightened and you’re just throwing Thor into the mix??? What the fuck for?! Just let him be king of Asgard and then you NEVER HAVE TO SEE HIM AGAIN. That was his retirement! Ruling his people like a GODDAMN MONARCH. Y’KNOW. LIKE HE’S ACTUALLY GOOD AT AND HAS ALWAYS WANTED TO DO. *screaming* 

I can’t, I just... and “Asgard already has a king” exCUSE ME?! Valkyrie’s only been back with her people for FIVE YEARS after being gone GOD KNOWS HOW LONG. Literally LONGER THAN YOUR LIFESPAN THOR. And Valkyrie ISN’T a leader! She’s a soldier! What did we watch her lead??? What exactly are yoru examples of her credentials??? What proof do we have that the, I remind you, GREATLY traumatized, Asgardian people even trust her?! It heals far more damage to let the prodigal son redeem his family and make up for the mistakes. And this isn’t to shit on Valkyrie, she’d probably do fine ruling Asgard but she DOESN’T want to, there’s absolutely nothing in her character description that says ruler and this was all just a fucking excuse to let Thor go off and play Big Lebowski with the Guardians of the Galaxy and I am PISSED TO HIGH HELL about it! 

The thing that pisses me off the most is that it would not have materially changed their plot in anyway to just bring Asgard back, let Thor use the Infinity Gauntlet. Yes it would have fucked him up, but does that really matter? You weren’t using Thor for jackshit anyway. Let Hulk triple team Thanos instead, you know you want to. As you bothered to write Bruce like a person today. What would it have changed to bring back Asgard? Other than y’know providing more hands to fight Thanos’ army. Like, did anyone else notice that Wakanda is apparently the only army we know? That was some fine ass tokenism at the end there, woof. Letting Thor use the gauntlet was their last chance to let him be the person he actually is. And... instead they trashed them. Because they have never cared about Thor. They NEVER believed they could sell him, never had confidence in him as a character, never marketed him effectively, convinced themselves that the audience didn’t care for Thor... and so here we are. 

I’m so... mad. About all of that shit. That not once could these writers do right by Thor. I’m just going to go back to living in Ragnarok, fuck all of this.

[danganronpa-21]

Naegiri Week Prompt #1: Fluffy

Surprise, surprise! I’m putting out mine a day later. I almost finished last night, and then... homework happened. Siiiiiigh. Regardless, it’s here now, and I’ll try to get Prompt #2 up when I can!!

Last night feels like it was nothing more than a sweet dream.

Upon fluttering her eyes open, this was the first conscious thought Kyoko Kirigiri — or should she say, Kyoko Naegi-Kirigiri; had. It was such a simple thought, and so typical of what any bride might have had the morning after her wedding. Still she found herself laying in the soft hotel bed, reflecting on the events of the previous night as if she was left to wonder. The smiles and the laughter had not yet left her mind; nor had the sweet music that she and her new husband had swayed to as Ibuki and Hajime played. The fresh scent of the ocean breeze still felt as if it was wafting through her nose as they stood out on the sand, admiring the twinkling stars. Her body even remembered the sensation of her husband’s arm wrapping around her waist, and his voice whispering gently in her ear.

What a sweet dream it was, a dream that had once been her reality. Now, her reality had become something entirely new with the breaking of dawn. As sunlight shone through the cracks between their window and the curtain, Kyoko was made aware of the softness. The softness she was feeling against her face as she groggily glanced around their hotel room, orienting herself to wakefulness. What was this softness, she wondered, tracing her fingers along it until finally she came to her senses.

Skin. After a night of thrilling love endeavours, she had curled up with her partner and fallen asleep right there on his chest. What she was feeling against the tips of her fingers and her face was his skin, warm and soft. Just feeling it against her she had to resist the urge to press her lips against it in every place imaginable, peppering his body with kiss after kiss to wake him from his deep sleep. She could already imagine how he might squirm and giggle in a half-awake daze, murmuring her name over and over again until he got the peck on the lips that he craved. The thought of that alone made her lips curve in to a smile as she continued to trace patterns on his bare chest. How beautiful it was, she thought, to have something so precious to touch. She could only hope that he felt the same way, feeling every inch of her own body pressed up against his. The previous night had turned them in to nothing more than a mess of a tangled limbs, one with a light blanket lazily draped over it for just a bit of extra warmth. Just a tangle of loving partners, husband and wife. Makoto and Kyoko Naegi-Kirigiri.

She didn’t bother to fight the happy sigh as it escaped at the reminder of how her lover made her feel. Instead she embraced it, shutting her eyes softly for a minute and tuning in to the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. Words could barely describe all of the peace she felt in that moment as the two of them laid there together, completely unbothered by all that dwelled in the outside world. There was nothing outside of their quaint hotel room. As far as they were concerned, they might as well have been the only two beings in existence. There could be nothing without the gentleness and love that they had. It was only them, together against the big, daunting world. And Kyoko wouldn’t have had it any other way. Softly, her voice rose above the silence in a gentle whisper.

“I love you.” She cooed, her eyes still squeezed tightly as she continued to cuddle him. Even though she knew he might not even be conscious to hear her words, she had no doubts that he felt them. So she spoke, passion oozing from every pore of her skin. “With all my heart, Makoto, I love you.”

The air fell still for a moment as she waited for a response, a simple sign that something had been heard. It did not seem at first as if Makoto might stir from his slumber, but as he took a deep breath she got the feeling she could be wrong. One of his arms wrapped itself around her, and held her nice and close. He rested his hand on her back and murmured through sleepy lips: “I love you too, Kyoko. More than anything… in the world…”

She found herself offering a slight chuckle, trying not to be too amused by her new husband’s half-awake state. As cute as it was that he was so willing to declare his love for her, his words were barely coherent. They seemed to slur together a bit as he drifted in to consciousness, his eyes not even half way open yet. It was such a classic thing for Makoto to do, he was always ready to share with the world how much he adored her. It had become a staple of their relationship since he had first worked up the courage to say ‘I love you’. Even as his wife, this little quirk of his never seemed to get old. In fact every time he did it, she felt almost as if it made her love him more. Being an open book was more charming than she might have initially believed, it seemed.

“More than anything, huh?” She mumbled as she lifted her head off his chest, placing one of her ungloved hands against his jaw. She half-expected him to jolt away from her due to the coarseness of them, but much to her delight he was immovable. In fact, she might have even seen his mouth curve in to a small smile as she held her hand against him. “Amusing, isn’t it… that I was just thinking the same thing about you. I really enjoy watching you, Makoto.”

His pleased grin made itself more apparent as he peeled his eyes open just a bit more. “Watching me sleep again?” He snickered, his words a little more comprehensible this time around. “You’re so weird, Kyoko.”

“Perhaps I am,” was all she could muster, her violet eyes sparkling as she gazed down in to the face of the man that she loved. She could hardly believe that once upon a time these kinds of expressions had been so foreign to her, but now she was constantly grinning at this lovable goofball of hers. “But I imagine, that is part of my charm to you. Is it not?”

“Undoubtedly,” came Makoto’s reply as he pushed his hand through her hair, just to gain a bit of a hold on the back of her neck. Did he perhaps want a kiss, she wondered to herself. Or maybe he simply craved the comfort of her bodily heat against his hand as he stared in to her eyes. Either way, the movement made her beyond happy. “Being weird makes you interesting, and as the most boring person on planet earth… I love interesting.”

“You are not the most boring person on planet earth,” Kyoko protested, furrowing her brows slightly in frustration. As much as she loved Makoto, she absolutely detested the viewpoint he had of himself. She had always felt that he was so much more than he ever gave himself credit for, and found herself getting more and more upset with his entire lack of self-esteem. They had been working on it together to try and get it up, but even so he still needed her frequent reminders about positive self-talk. “You are incredibly exciting. There is never a dull moment when I am with you.”

The laugh Makoto produced did not make her feel any better, for it was one of doubt rather than admiration. Still, she tried not to ruin their special time together by showing her disappointment over it. “What kinds of things make me exciting?”

“Your luck, for one thing, is extremely unpredictable. That is enough to make any day enthralling. Not to mention how you are always full of ideas, and always willing to help out every person that you meet… You are undeniably sweet, and would do anything to make sure that everyone is comfortable and enjoying themselves…” She listed, batting her eyelashes at him as if to show how easily all of these came to her. “Additionally, you are the absolute best boyfr- fian- husband, as you love and cherish me the way no other man could. You put up with all of my emotional needs and traumas, and you still choose to love me anyway… Even if I do not deserve it.”

A long pause hung in the room as Makoto stared up at his wife sympathetically, noticing how quickly her composure had changed towards the end of her list. With all of the issues with Kyoko’s grandfather to be sorted out before their wedding, he could understand her hesitation at this point. They both knew that he would open his mouth soon enough, all too eager to stop it. She did not need to hear once again that she had been manipulated by her caretaker. So before he could let a word slip out, she shook it off and continued on like it was all nothing. No silence should stand for so long, she thought to herself. No misery, either. There was only room for love in this bed of theirs.

“And…” She piped up quickly. Her newfound energy and enthusiasm caught her partner by surprise as she tangled her fingers in his light brown hair. Her solemn expression had since disappeared and been replaced with a warm smile, leaving no remnants of her negative thoughts behind. “You have really exciting hair.”

“Really exciting hair?” Makoto questioned, raising one of his eyebrows at her. Though he seemed substantially confused by it, she could hear the hint of amusement in his voice as he spoke. How fortunate that he hadn’t taken offence to the statement, she thought. “What do you mean by that?”

“I just believe it to be interesting, I suppose.” She explained, running her fingers through the short tufts all the way up to where his ahoge sat. “It interests me because of its sort of manner of being, in the same way you do. It sticks out all over the place, but its still soft… and super fluffy…”

She mindlessly continued to pet Makoto’s head, earning her another fit of giggles from deep within his chest. Usually in the mornings he was so difficult to rouse from his slumber, but it seemed this time it was all too easy.

“You really are so weird Kyoko.” She heard him chuckle, the unusual compliment sending her heart soaring into the skies. If only she could bottle up the way he made her feel, she thought. That way she could experience this delight all of the time. “I wouldn’t love you any other way.”

[sailor-cresselia]

Zi-O 35: *chuckles* I’m in danger

(Using the RiderTimeFansubs version today) 

Now... it’s show Rider Zi-O Inoue time. 

(I’m out of opening jokes guys.)

-

Now that is a Black Widow if I ever saw one. Seriously, lady, you’re creeping me out. I am literally 33 seconds in.

Lady, er, sorry, Yuko, I don’t know what you were convicted of, but. Um. You’re not really giving off the impression of someone who is exactly going to be… okay if you go outside.

I will give Hora kudos for not shoving the watch into her chest, though. Good call. And apparently Another Kiva gets to summon the Real Kiva’s… support? I don’t actually know what those three Fangire are to Kiva, but. Yeah. I’mma go with either ‘support’ or ‘retainers’ for now.

Flip-cut to 2008, with… Woz… creeping on 2008 Yuko. This Is Fine.

Woz. I know you somehow make it into the Gaia Library in FOREVER. I know you don’t get much to do in FOREVER. I have not seen FOREVER yet, that’s next on the agenda.

BUT YOU DON’T GET TO SAY KEYWORD. YOU JUST DON’T.

(But still, kudos for the possible nod to the film having just gotten it’s home release, that’s clever.)

A quick note on the opening. Nothings changed in a few episodes, not since we got Trinity. But I can’t help but be uncomfortable with the fact that they still have the last scene with characters be the section with Zi-O and Geiz back to back, and then turning around and clashing.

It’s right up there with Cross-Z Charge staying in the OP for Build through the entire season, but Cross-Z Magma never making it in.

Keeping something that was relevant, but became quickly outdated. I’d say they should have swapped this segment somehow by at least the end of the Another Zi-O Arc, if not before. … Nah, end of Another Zi-O would be the best place. I was thinking that after Geiz gave Sougo his belt, and that whole shindig, but there was still an amount of animosity after that for a while.

OH NOOO MY HEART! THEY’RE ALL GETTING ALONG AND FAWNING OVER JUNICHIRO’S APPLE PIE! It’s too cute, help!

But really, all four are immediately smiling, and it’s adorable. Woz kind of seems like he’s lost all of his stoic traits from even two arcs ago, though.

…oh no, Sougo’s Space Case tendencies transferred to Woz when they started using Trinity.

That’s the only answer. Sougo’s been increasingly competent, and both him and Geiz are getting better at talking to people… and Woz has become comic relief. Oh no personality blending nooooo…

But that is exactly the right set of reactions to Sougo saying he’s been in love. A+ to Tsukuyomi pointing out that he’s ‘like a kid.’

Sougo: Of course I’ve been in love! :)

Geiz: Oh god you’re telling us about it. End me now…

...HUH. Just realized. Junichiro wouldn’t know about this, would he? Kiva – and thus our past segments – were in 2008, but Sougo came to live with his uncle in 2009. So Sougo’s parents were still alive at this point.

2008 Sougo didn’t have friends, either.

Tsukuyomi and Geiz looking on in confusion, Junichiro messing with his nephew (while also confused) and Woz… continues eating pie. I’m worried about you, dude. Character Decay’s not a good thing.

And we have a customer, interrupting story time!

OH WOW! He’s here to get a watch fixed! That’s a first from a non-Time Traveler! The only people bringing in actual time pieces have been Woz and Mondo – you know, Quiz, remember him?

(Customer thinks the shop may have become a cafe – fair, given the scene he’s just walked in on – and Uncle’s stuck in cat-pun mode. Whoops.)

(I’ve started Decade, and the apparently recurring ‘I thought this was a cafe’ joke from there with regards to the Photo Studio just popped into my head. Nice.)

Yuko is. Scary. She wants to take over the world to change the laws.

:casts a nervous glance over at the Kiva and Ryuki arcs of Decade:

Hora’s got a point – the only female Another Rider was Amane, as Another Blade, and she was selected by Hat!Woz. But… looks like Hora’s still in the ‘looking for a new King’ state. Even Heure seems to have moved past that. Last arc, he was trying to find Hibiki, not a candidate. Interesting.

Customer is a lawyer, and knows that he can’t always be the ‘gallant hero’ that Sougo seems to think lawyers are. After all, he couldn’t help ‘that pretty lady.’ But he’s forgotten something at the counter, and Sougo – good boy that he is – rushes off to follow and return it.

YUKO. STOPPED A CAR. WITH HER FOOT. IN HEELS. AND A TINY SKIRT.

:siiiiiigh: Did we really need that pan shot along her leg? Did we?

No. No we didn’t.

And we didn’t need Yuko being a CREEPER to her former lawyer – aka Customer. She’s got a… really sensitive nose. That’s really creepy, especially since she’s using it to unnerve literally everyone around her. It’s not even an Another Kiva thing – she was doing this to identify the exact wine her former boyfriend had in the cold open.

Yuko Kitajima, okay, so that’s her last name. And her doing this ‘ah, yes, it’s that aroma’ trick is what lets her lawyer know it’s her. So she’s done this for a long time.

Another Kiva has some nice touches – roses at the lapels of her cape, where the chain attaches, the stained glass aesthetic.

HOWEVER. I’m NOT here for the eyes. That bright piercing blue is both unnerving AND doesn’t go with the rest of the look! Not to mention the eyes on her shoulders! NO NO NOPE NOT HERE FOR THAT.

...When did Zi-O drop the ‘dial’ eyes, anyway? Definitely by Another Zi-O, I know that… but the Future Another Riders had them, too. Then again, the years have all been ‘2019’ for the last few arcs. Blade, Hibiki, and now Kiva definitely have said 2019. Huh. Wonder if it’s something to do with that.

Another Kiva: I’m going to be queen, and this world will be ~mine~.

Sougo: Queen? :o

SOUGO! THIS IS NOT THE TIME! DO NOT APPRECIATE THE COLORS! YOU ARE UNDER ATTACK!

Ooh, hey, she’s even got a version of Kivat-Bat on there! Nice!

Sougo, please at least put on one of your armors. Like. Any of them would do, right now. Build would be good! You can tank hits really well in that one! Decade’d be better! But just something to give you defense! This is four on one you fool you are outnumbered

AND NOW you are also outgunned, because she can turn her Summoned Fangire Replicas into their weapon forms. Delightful.

And after getting hit by the hammer, sword, and gun, Sougo’s knocked right the hell out of his transformation. Whoops.

Yuko. Yuko don’t – don’t stand over him like that, what are you doing? No, no, don’t do the chin thing, Sougo’s already a wreck, we don’t need him losing sensibility already! Don’t leave the braincell to Geiz! Nooooo-

Hora: So, a queen, huh?

Yuko: How dare a servant talk to me.

OH MY GOODNESS WOW

Hora’s not having this. Just. Teleports out of the way of Yuko trying to slap her. Good call.

YUKO. FRICKING. Kicks up a manhole cover. THROWS IT LIKE A FRISBEE at Hora.

Hora just TURNS HER HEAD to dodge. All she gets is a cut on the cheek – HORA YOU’RE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE OH MY GOD.

Hora’s gonna do a violence.

(Hey, Heure, back when we met Swartz, you told him not to treat you like a child. So… what’s with you two getting ice cream? That’s. Weird. And creepy.)

HEURE. HORA.  GET OUT OF THERE. BOTH OF YOU. YOU CAN DO SO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS.

Cut to evening in the shop.

I can believe this lady did a murder. She certain plans to do some murders now.

The day of the crime she’s ‘falsely’ accused of was April 10, 2015. Just felt like noting that.

(And noting that that fits right in with when a Roidmude could have taken someone’s identity. And noting that we haven’t seen Drive yet.)

(I know there’s like, zero chance it’s connected. Why would they link two different arcs like that? That is, aside from Fourze and Faiz, but that was different.)

(But, you know. Just saying.)

She’s almost definitely going after people who got her imprisoned, there’s no maybe about it. And, er, I can actually understand why Sougo would relate to that, what with. You know. The whole ‘demon king’ thing.

Except that he thinks she couldn’t have done it, because she was his First Love. Woz is all “suggestive raised eyebrows” while Geiz and Tsukuyomi just. They just want the inanity to end.

I fucking LOVE how everyone keeps making cat puns / noises with regards to this story. I mean. Really. She scratched you under the chin, dude. That’s weird.

(Nya.)

Weirdo guy in a coffee bar, insulting the coffee but still coming here, because the waitress is pretty. “Yay.”

Also, he’s got this fancy ring on. That’s probably significant, since P-Bandai’s releasing a ring for one of the Kiva characters. They had Amane wearing the Chalice themed necklace, too, so-

OH LOOK Weirdo’s eyes lit up gold when he was talking about ‘seeing a vision of the end of the world’! And his reflection is a blue wolf! You know! The one from Kiva! That the ring is modeled on! Okay!

Right! Legacy Characters! I somehow forgot that they’d try to bring someone from Kiva back!

Cut to Yuko being creepy at a pier, going after the Chief Prosecutor in her case, right up until Sougo and Geiz arrive.

Sougo’s got one question for you. (Just one? Sounds fake, but okay.)

Sougo: “Why do you want to be a queen?”

Yuko: “To correct the laws of this world, to enforce those correct laws.” (all said with an angry face)

Sougo: “So… it is to help people, then?” (confused)

Geiz: “Oh, for f- That’s not how you should go about it! This is just revenge!”

Geiz has the Trinity brain cell today, and he’s making good use of it!

Oh-ho-hohoho- Hora’s PISSED. She chose poorly. She’s gonna get some revenge of her own.

And now Yuko’s gonna do a violence, because all of them are ‘guilty.’

Geiz transforms, but Sougo doesn’t get that far.

No, he’s just gotten into some weird flashback to 2008.

So, a woman – possibly Yuko, I’m not sure, and ‘Tetsuya’ in one of those swan boats. And then it jumps to 2015. With a (presumably) dead female body… and Tetsuya standing over her.

Right. Sougo’s got time powers independent of the belt. He’s only ever looked into the future before now.

SOUGO! I don’t really care what sort of crisis of faith you’re having, you need to go help Geiz! He’s in a four on one, in an even less ideal location than you were! GO HELP HIM!

What’s this? Something’s going weird up in the sky. First to notice is Swartz, who looks up at the ripples of light. Then Tsukuyomi. (“The two of us aren’t so different after all.”)

And then Garulu. The one on the dock. Who I’d thought was a copy. But, um, maybe not. Maybe that’s the actual one? The real one was talking about a ‘vision of the future’ earlier, after all. But what about the other two Fangire? Are they the real ones? How is Another Kiva summoning them, anyway?

Geiz is knocked out of his transformation – and Sougo didn’t even get to activate his own. He never finished turning the belt before noticing a meteor streaking down the sky. The same one that Garulu was seeing in the coffee bar.

I don’t know WHAT that is that just hit that cliff face, but I don’t like the looks of it.

It – it’s alive? Is it an egg?

No no no NOPE it’s a space egg. It’s got a dude inside. It’s got a kitbash Rider inside. And he’s just blasted everyone down.

Everyone except the very noticeably absent Swartz.

Another Kiva tells him to stop – she is the law here.

But Ginga is from deep space. He doesn’t care about your Earth Laws. He’s going to blast you off of your cliff, too.

(I’m sorry, but I’m having a little trouble taking Ginga seriously with that UFO on his helmet.)

“Alright, let’s go!”

“WAIT NO! WAGA MAOU, STOP!”

“ASK US BEFORE YOU USE TRINITY, DAMNIT!”

Turning into a watch is not fun times.

“There is only one law. Everything dies.”

Yoooo I can take Ginga a little more seriously with those barriers. Yoooooo this guy is WAY overpowered.

Seiji Takaiwa is a god of suit acting~! Making just the little adjustments to show which loser is in control of Trinity moment to moment takes timing.

Also, the only person who can talk is the one in control? That’s. Unfortunate. For them. It’s HILARIOUS for us.

(Tsukyomi, I’m sorry, you don’t deserve to have to deal with these three.)

Nothing they throw at Ginga is working. He’s kicking everyone’s ass. Ass, singular, because bodysharing.

HOO BOY. We have our second female Another Rider… and she doesn’t get to be the main threat in her arc, either. Come on, Toei. … Let’s blame Inoue for this one. He’s here, after all.

Looks like Woz gets a Super mode in Ginga.

Well. At least he didn’t get completely shafted in the power-up regard, once his Character Decay set in.

Justice for Alain. (He! Deserved! Better! Yuujo Burst should have been IN SHOW damnit! Not relegated to the STUPID GOD AWFUL SPECTER V-CINEMA!)

(IT’S NOT EVEN HIS OWN SPECIAL! IT’S MAKOTO’S! IT COULD AT LEAST HAVE BEEN IN THE ‘LEGEND OF HERO ALAIN’ SPECIALS!)

(Yes I will always be salty about how Alain got treated.)

Well! Until next time!

[ghostmartyr]

Pokémon Black 2 Randomized Nuzlocke Run [Part 9]

All eight badges earned, so what does that leave?

Pirates.

Team for the task?

Vertex (Luxray)

Caspet (Gengar)

Stormy (Metagross)

Photon (Rayquaza)

Nessy (Milotic)

Diego (Gardevoir)

...Those who did not participate in the last Gym, raise hands or whatever you have in place of hands for grinding.

#LET ME LEAVE THE GYM WITHOUT A CONVERSATION GEN 5 CHALLENGE.

Colress, I swear, if you pull a Euicine and make me fight you for the honor of not fighting the Terrakion...

He does not. He gives us a toy and basically says to check out the cave that I need Strength to go through more thoroughly. The Giant Chasm pirates are still blocking my way, so.

Siiiiiigh.

Box crew! What have you got for me!

I will take out Bessy, the level 33 Miltank, and teach her Strength.

Bessy is Modest and somewhat vain, but that doesn’t matter because she’s just here for HMs. She’s temporarily taking Vertex’s place, since Vertex isn’t in need of more experience.

Ah. Actually, Strength just lets you get Toxic. Which is fine, but sorry Vertex, guess I threw you out of the squad for nothing.

Hey we found the boat!

Marlon lets us aboard. Thought: I should go put Bessy back in the box and grab Vertex in case something goes wrong. Except that would take time.

...I am going to go put Bessy back in the box and grab Vertex.

After shifting a boulder on Route 22. And grinding for a bit.

Okay. A few hours later, I am more comfortable entering the pirate ship. Team levels are now 56-60. That is absolutely a balanced assessment of my current team. It is in no way misleading.

Me!

...This is the greatest grunt ever. He calls Marlon Smiley Swimsuit. Yes. You have perfectly boiled down his character essentials.

Oh wait, he has a Watchdog.

Sorry pirate friend. We can’t be friends.

Russell, my actual friend, is trying to go on his roaring rampage of revenge. Only as a responsible big brother, not a Sasuke.

I used to have a Sasuke. No more.

...I should have named Russell Itachi. If there’s ever a next time...

I continue to find it delightful that after N leaves, Team Plasma ditches their knight theme for a pirate one. I don’t even know why, I just love it. I love knight aesthetic, I love pirate aesthetic. My castle was right next to my pirate ship for most of my childhood, and it rocked.

Though my pirates wouldn’t steal people’s pets. A key difference. Pirate in name only. Well. And clothing. Pirate is just a more fun word than sailor, and pirates have looser fashion.

Mook time over?

Technically this one isn’t stealing.

Just animal abuse.

The villain of this game is just a salty old man who spent so much time in a refrigerator he decided the rest of the world should spend time in a refrigerator, too. Then he found out his region has a legendary Dragon/Ice type, and the rest is history.

Only history I have to repeat.

Because the villain of a Pokemon game decided his winning strategy would be shooting bolts of ice down at the world below.

Video games are the greatest.

...Wait. How did me and Russell get down here? Did Team Plasma just throw us off?

Also, yes Cheren. They use everything for evil. They’re the bad guys.

And then Cheren asks where the people Zekrom and Reshiram recognized are and. I wonder if he misses his friend. his best friend, [last game protagonist]. How much does it suck that he spent a full game with [person], and now they’ll never see each other again because [person] is bound to a different dimension. A world Cheren can’t touch.

Canon has, what. Red who comes back? Every other protagonist kind of just. vanishes as far as future references to that world are concerned. And Red spends quite some time up on a mountain. Alone.

These games are all about people who swoop in and birth legends, then vanish.

I made myself sad.

Anyway, to the Giant Chasm!

Totally bro.

Aw crud. Do I need Strength? I think I might need Strength. Can I mayhaps avoid that?

Oh. I could just go down the giant stairs.

Wow. Talk about your parties.

ONE MORE TIME ON THE BOAT.

I hate password games. At least the ship supplies a doctor early on. I wasn’t to the point of active concern, but I was feeling a bit itchy about using up healing items. I haven’t grown out of my usual standard in these games where I just let everything in my party die to avoid spending money.

Agreed, let’s roll you.

This guy just keeps throwing Cryogonal at me.

You know, I don’t have a lot to complain about regarding these games and their choices. I whine about everything, but all in all, I find all of them very solid and enjoyable. Even if gen 4 has too many HM requirements wtf just stop.

This isn’t really a complaint, but it is a confusion. Zinzolin is fought multiple times in a relatively small window, and his team never changes. We just keep beating him. I get the sense that they wanted a villain, but as a sequel game to a gen that went all out on that, they didn’t really have anything they were willing to turn into a threat.

Really, I feel like a better path to pick would have been giving one of the Plasma grunts a different hat and having them be the captain of a very confused and angry crew. But eh, whatever.

....Oh. You.

Why is the most anime hair dude in the game so gosh darn forgettable?

For the sake of my flawed memory, he wants to bring out the full potential of pokemon, and is willing to us whatever means are necessary. The only question is which approach actually yields results.

I like you, Colress. I am never going to remember you, but I like you.

Good grief his theme sounds like it came out of Phantasy Star.

First up is a level 50 Magneton. Caspet’s an okay choice, so I’ll just Shadow Ball it. Magneton Thunder Waves Caspet, then uses Volt Switch to swap in Beheeyem (also level 50), who takes a Shadow Ball and dies instantly.

Sorry, ‘faints.’

A level 50 Metang is switched in next. Out of twitchiness over Caspet’s paralyzed state, I put Nessy in and go with Surf. Metang uses Agility from the red. Colress uses a Full Restore. Metang hits a Zen Headbutt, but Nessy has the last laugh.

Ugh. Colress is going to send in a Magnezone. Stormy’s the best answer to that, I think. Stormy knows Hammer Arm. It hits, but like everything I hate, Magnezone has Sturdy. A Bullet Punch handles that.

A level 52 Klinklang is next. His only thing over 50. Stormy is paralyzed thanks to Magnezone, but a Hammer Arm that hits should end it, and I don’t think Klinklang knows anything that’s a threat.

Even if Stormy feels like being paralyzed.

Only once, though. Hammer Arm + Bullet Punch does the job, and we only have that pesky Magneton left.

Hammer Arm and we are done.

Please don’t make me fight another one of these clowns. I don’t wanna.

Aw heck, Russell’s having his moment with Purrloin drama. And I guess I’m not fighting robe dude. It’s all ninja for now. With my four pokemon who aren’t paralyzed. Maybe I should have fixed that.

:(

For real though, our rival’s plotline here is pretty dang sad. He wants his little sister’s pokemon back, and by the time he finds it, it isn’t hers anymore. It’s had an entirely different life without them, probably committing crime. Because it’s been told to.

This is why you get the pirate Plasmas and the knight Plasmas. It’s fantastic that you, the protagonist, has a crew of pokemon perfectly happy fighting and doing whatever you want. But living things being forced to do whatever you want them to because you happened to throw a ball at them is pretty screwed up.

There’s not really a satisfactory conclusion to all of this, since critique of a game mechanic that is never going to stop being a game mechanic doesn’t get to start dramatic revolutions regarding that mechanic, but it’s all very sad and sobering.

That pretty ice tho.

BUT WHERE IS THE PROTAGONIST FROM THE LAST GAME.

No, but thank you N. I was not ready to die at the hands of Kyurem. Your assistance is much appreciated, and pretty great in your sequel. Props.

Gee, that looks bad.

Cue dramatic anime battle sequence.

Followed by anime transformation sequence.

Welp. Time to kill you. Let’s just hope I can.

...Stormy. I think I might want you to tackle this. To the front you go.

But really.

So damn cool.

It’s dead now, but so. cool.

There are too many fights going on. I think I wouldn’t mind in a normaly playthrough, but for a Nuzlocke, this is needlessly stressful and I am not a fan also I beat Ghetsis in the last game and it wasn’t fun then, either.

He has six pokemon, and he opens with a level 50 Cofagrigus. That is not Stormy’s friend. Nessy, if you would. Hydro Pump hits. Toxic hits from the other side, and I will deal with that in a moment, after the Cofagrigus is gone.

Ghetsis, naturally, uses a Full Restore.

Nessy handles it in the end, but is down to 73 health. Eelektross is coming out next. Time to switch. To... uh. I’ll give Photon a whirl. Feeling lucky, I use Outrage, and Eelektross faints.

Ah. Hydreigon is out next.

That is a nasty type combo for my team to deal with. I think. Geez, mark this where I have all the regrets, but Photon’s staying in to murder the Hydreigon with Outrage. Ganbatte.

IT’S SUPER EFFECTIVE AND A CRITICAL HIT, GOOD JOB PHOTON.

Seismitoad is next. Diego, time for you and your Magical Leaf to shine. Shine they do, and we’re on to Drapion, which I will leave to Photon. Two Air Slashes make their mark, and all that’s left is Toxicroak, so in you stay Photon.

AND WE’RE DONE HERE, SCREW YOU GHETSIS!

But where is that certain Trainer, N????

Anyway, with that, it looks like the plot portion of this Nuzlocke is over. All that’s left is heading up to challenge the Elite Four.

I think a battle like that can have its own part.

[readingraebow]

Big Little Lies Section Four

Chapters 52-84

1. What does the psychologist have to say about Ziggy? The psychologist doesn't believe that Ziggy is secretly bullying anyone. She says that Ziggy is a nice, sweet boy and very empathetic. He even noticed that she has a cold when none of the other children she's spoken to that week have noticed. She said she spoke to him about what happened on orientation day and she doesn't believe he's the one who hurt Amabella. Though she casually says unless he's a psychopath, in which case he could just be pretending to have empathy. But she believes that highly unlikely. Actually, she thinks there's a lot that Ziggy didn't share with her and she wants to see him back for another session because she thinks it's possible Ziggy himself is being bullied. She thinks it might be verbal and if she can spend more time with him, he might tell her about it.

2. What does Madeline learn about Renata from Lorraine? So it seems that Amabella being bullied isn't the only stressful thing going on in Renata's life. Her husband, Geoff, has also been having an affair with the nanny. But Renata doesn't know yet. Geoff told one of the other husbands and it worked its way down the chain to Lorraine. She tells Madeline not to tell anyone but Madeline believes that the gossip train is already chugging right along and the news is probably already spreading like wildfire. The only question is who will be the one to tell Renata. Because you can bet she's going to shoot that messenger.

3. What is Abigail’s secret project? She created a website to auction off her virginity to the highest bidder, the proceeds going to Amnesty International. Her reasoning behind it is if seven year old children can be sold into sex slavery and child marriages then no one will bat an eye if a white, privileged fourteen year old auctions off her virginity to the highest bidder, for charity and awareness. But. Abigail hasn't THOUGHT THIS THROUGH AT ALL. Because statutory rape is a thing so it might not be illegal for her to sell it but it's definitely illegal for someone to buy it. She also can't spell privilege. So. Just. Not a great way to raise money for charity. AT ALL.

4. What does Ziggy reveal to Jane at Blue Blues? Jane finally asks Ziggy the question that probably no one has thought to ask him but which also turns out to be the right question. She asks him if he knows who has been hurting Amabella. And he does but he says he promised he wouldn't tell anyone. Apparently Amabella fears that she'll "be killed dead" if anyone tells. So Jane convinces Ziggy that if he writes it down, he isn't really telling her. So he does. He writes "Macks" which Jane figures out means Max. One of Celeste's twins. "The mean twin."

5. What do Celeste and Perry discuss before the trivia night? So Josh confesses to Celeste that Max is the one who has been hurting Amabella but now he's moved on to Skye. Well while he's confessing this, Celeste's phone rings downstairs and Perry says he'll get it. A few minutes later, Perry appears upstairs. He says that Celeste's property manager called and she wants to know if she can have access to the apartment so she can check the smoke alarms. Soooo. Perry knows about the apartment now and that Celeste is planning to leave him. Lovely. They still end up going to trivia night though (without Perry hurting Celeste beforehand) and on the way, Celeste tells him what Josh told her about Max. And she finally realizes what staying has done to her children. And Perry cries and says he'll change but Celeste says he won't. And now she finally has a reason to really leave him.

6. How did Jane meet Perry? Perry is the one who ~kind of raped Jane. And he's Ziggy's father. He told her that his name was Saxon Banks but Celeste remembers that Perry used to use Saxon's name instead of his own in situations where he didn't want to get in trouble. So Jane basically outs him in front of everyone and he doesn't even look at her. Instead he tells Celeste that it meant nothing. But Celeste defends Jane. Which gets Celeste slapped in the face. Which gets Perry pushed to his death over the balcony. So. That was a wild ride.

7. What does Nathan reveal to Madeline and Ed about Bonnie? Her father abused her mother and Bonnie and her sister saw the whole thing; they lived with it for their entire childhoods. And Bonnie still doesn't really ~deal well with those memories. He says she still has nightmares. But she's working through it and she's mostly okay. And her dad died so he can't hurt her mother anymore. Though I think the story that Bonnie tells Celeste is the most powerful about when she was twenty and visited her parents and it started again so she went to hide under the bed because that's what she did as a child. And then she realized that she didn't have to hide under the bed anymore because she's an adult. So she got up and called the police.

8. What did you think of the book? I absolutely love this book!! I think it was even better the second time because you can pick up on the clues that you probably missed the first time when you didn't know how it was going to end. I also loved being able to compare it to the show. It was honestly pretty much spot on except for a few changes made at the very end. (I'll do a whole comparison post for the show and talk about this more.) But for the most part, I would say the show is a pretty great adaptation. I am so glad HBO has started adapting more books to series. They honestly do a really fantastic job. And I think I may have loved this book more with the second reading and after watching the show. So I'm glad to have reread it. And I'll will definitely be rereading it again in the future!!

  Section Four Reading Journal

So. I actually finished this section about a week ago but couldn’t post it until they hooked up my internet (which they just did! I HAVE INTERNET NOW. YAY!). They were ~supposed to hook it up on Thursday but no one showed up???? Well, anyway, better late than never.

But, of course, the wait time means that I have now forgotten everything I wanted to say here. *siiiiiigh* I will say that I deeply enjoyed this reread!! I loved this book the first time and I loved it this time as well. But this time I could compare it to the show and also see more of the foreshadowing bits that I missed the first time around because I didn’t yet know what was going to happen.

So all around this was a great reread. It definitely made me want to read more from Moriarty. I have read one of her other books which I didn’t ~love. But I just bought another one at a thrift stores that sounds REALLY good so I’m hoping to read that one soonish! But I just can’t express enough love for this book. It’s always such a good time and I love reading it. <33

[cosmosfated]

   This shop always made him so uncomfortable.  Maybe that’s because he knows the truth behind the shopkeep, even if that truth wasn’t so much scary as it was ... unnerving.  After all, the blind see much more than people think, especially when it comes to the people themselves.  He’s not going to subject himself to that if he can at all avoid it.

   Take a breath.  Walk in.

   “Shane? Do you have a moment to spare?”

   Shane is seated at his usual spot behind the counter, which looks aged but not withered, crossed with a number of signs of its durability and things that it has been through.  Both by him and by others who have been in the shop.  He’s holding a newspaper in his hands when he’s addressed, but he doesn’t move it, still taken in attention mostly by whatever he’s ‘reading’ on the paper.   “Depends on if you’ll waste said moment.”  A sentiment he punctuates with a turning of the page.

   Of course.  Doc takes a short breath and lets it out with a huff.  “I need your help with a ritual to help Fleur.”

   In an instant, the atmosphere of the shop shifts, and not in a way he can say he particularly enjoys.  The natural lighting dims as something much like curtains are drawn over the windows but invisible to the outside eye, along with the steady footsteps of someone that most certainly wasn’t there before.  A glance behind him out of nervous habit shows that a well dressed and decorated man is standing next to the door, now locked, smiling calmly back at him.  Was that a wink?  That was a wink.  That doesn’t help his nerves.  Back to Shane.

   He’s set down the newspaper, when that happened Doc isn’t quite sure because he never heard it close with its telltale shuffle, and he’s looking directly at him.  Clouded eyes, but his sight isn’t to be challenged.  Not when your existence is based solely on the whims and desires of another, if you’re doing well or if you’re not doing well, if you’re falling down again or if you’re rising.  Doc knows well his position.  That’s why he makes sure to keep his ground.

   “Are you trying to help Fleur or the kid?”

   A pause.  “Pardon?”

   Shane folds his hands in his lap, not breaking eye contact.  “I’m disinclined to help you at any moment in your day-to-day life, let alone in a ritual that you clearly need someone either extremely powerful or multiple decently powered someones to do. But seeing as you’re trying to do some good, which I can at least understand the intent of, I’ll overlook that. That said, I need to know who you’re doing the ritual for: Fleur or the kid.”

   Doc waits for a few moments.  Fleur or the kid?  He doesn’t understand the question posed to him.  Would it be wise to simply hold his ground, or to question the foundation for his request?  “Fleur is the name the kid gave himself after he clawed his way out again. Fleur is what everyone calls him and refers to him by. Are they not the same person?”  He decides on the latter.

   It seems like he made a good decision, for Shane smirks and he feels someone grinning behind him.  Or maybe that’s all in his head.  “I’m afraid not. Two separate people, with two separate futures stemming from the same past.”

   He stands from his seat and approaches the cursed crow, leaning down somewhat to be closer to eye level.  “Fleur is the cursed and fallen, bound to his chains and willing to bind himself further in order to ensure a false happiness for those around him. The kid is the ferocious and silver-veined, wielding his chains as whips against those who stand in his way and a threat to those above who keep those he loves scared and feeling powerless. They share the same origin story, but they are not the same person. So who are you helping, Garamond Aster? The mask or the mind?”

   “I...”  Something registers in his head, and his eyes widen.  “That’s why nothing I’ve done for him has stuck. Does helping... Fleur damage the other one, does that damage the kid?”

   / “There it is! Fin’ly got it! Knew ‘e could do it!” /  The man from behind him cheers, a sound accompanying it like his foot slamming against the wood with a sound that resembles the contact made with steel rather than the wood used to build this shop.  / “Catchin’ on, are ye?” /

   Shane nods and steps back, locking his hands behind him to keep his hands still.  Or something along those lines.  It’s hard to tell with people like him.  “Your goal is fine. You aim to help the one who gave you a second chance get his own second chance. That in and of itself is fine, admirable even. Your complication is to which end you’re attempting to strive towards. And with a not-so-solitary skull like yours,”  he says with a motion with one hand to tap at Doc’s forehead.  “rituals like what you’re trying to do get weaker and less connected to the good and more connected to the bad.”

   Drat, he thought he was hiding that from everyone...  Well, he couldn’t have hidden it forever.  He’s actually relieved that he doesn’t have to keep up appearances about that.  About the whispers, the echoes and hauntings, the whims he finds it hard to disregard.  “I... want to help him. He deserves more than what he was given in life, and in death. Nicer things, softer and gentler. He deserves a chance to be happy and not worry about whether or not that happiness will be taken from him unnaturally or when he has his guard down. He deserves... better.”

   “And what if this doesn’t work, Garamond?”  Shane intones, gesturing with an open palm towards the ceiling.  “What if this has the opposite effect? What makes you think I can do anything more than what I’ve already done?”

   “I have to try!”  His resolution towards this cause rings clear in his tone.  “I have to try, because what if it does work? What if it does get him to have a little more strength, a little more resilience, a little more energy to work with when everything goes to hell in a handbasket? What if I don’t do it, and it could have helped, and I didn’t even make an effort to do something for him? After all he’s done for me, for my family, for everyone around him... I can’t just stand aside and watch him fall. No matter what, I still care about him, and I want to see him have a happy life, even if it doesn’t include me in the mix. Even if I have to sacrifice everything, he deserves that chance to have something true and real and not have to concern himself with whether or not it’s going to up and disappear. And if you won’t help, then I’ll find someone who will.”

   / “Even if ye have t’ sacrifice everythin’, eh?” /

   Doc blinks.  Right, that man was there- hrk!  Now he’s resting an arm around his shoulders and leaning against him.  What’s this strange man doing?  Wait... he recognizes this one, doesn’t he?  “... Yes, everything. He gave me a chance at seeing that even someone like me could change, could be better, could have a family, could love again. He of all people deserves that chance as well.”

   / “Couldn’t’ve said it better m’self, Feathers! Don’t ya agree, Oz’?” /  A sharp toothed smile of a predator in the fog, a shark in the water, grins excitedly at the taller man.  / “Guy’s got some guts. Sprinkle in some proper plannin’, a dash a’ that lovely determination, an’ ye’ve got yerself a stalwart defense! Well, save f’r that lil’ fracture in yer mind, but that can be aided.” /

   Shane’s silent for a while, only to glance over towards a rack of necklaces as if to see for some sort of sign.  To stop?  To continue?  To ignore him outright?  He doesn’t know but it seems as if he got his answer from something he ‘saw’ in the necklaces.  “If this is the ritual I’ve been told about by the assholes up on high, then you must need me to be at my plausible best. To cover for the missing two that this timeline doesn’t have. Am I wrong?”

   “... No, you’re right. Also, I may have... informed the elves helping of your status. What you actually are. Just Alloraya and her brother. You know, so that they’d understand the gravity of the situation and everyth--”

   “Garamond, what the fuck. That’s not your business to tell!”

   “I wasn’t thinking!”

   “Clearly.”

   “At least you’re friends with them... it makes this ritual easier. I hope.”

   “I was friends with them, yes. Keyword: was. Not in this timeline though. Not here, not now. It’ll make things far tougher for everyone involved since they don't recall anything of before, or I suppose after everything is said and done.”

   “..Actually, they do. They recall many of the things involved with our home timeline. They just have a bit of that fog when it comes to you, because you’re, ah... not so involved with the world like you used to be. Your guild not existing and... all that.”

   “Hm.”

   / “Ah come on, Oz’. Feathers ‘ere means well, ‘e’ll definitely make it worth yer while! Ain’t that right, Feathers?” /

   “........ Of course. Why are you calling me “Feathers” anyway?”

   / “Yer a crow, an’ I ‘eard talk back then about the easily ruffled Arcanist being up in authority due to how right and inventive he was. Guessin’ that’s you, lad.” /

   “Right. And you seem familiar... we’ve met, right? From before? I can’t quite grasp your name... R-something...”

   / “Otto. S’ what everyone calls me. But no matter! Off we go, Oz’! We’ve a kid to ‘elp out! It’s been fore’er since I’ve ‘ad my kid back an’ we’ve a chance to grab ‘im, at least to talk again f’r a bit! Come on!” /

   SIIIIIIGH.   “So it would seem.”