#i'm too attached to him i want to give him plot armor

[purgetrooperfox]

nothing more simultaneously satisfying + humbling + tedious + painstaking + euphoric than making and formatting oc refsheets

[watermelinoe]

i think totk improved on botw in a lot of ways but i also still had the same issues w it that i did w botw and it had new issues as well (the inventory was a nightmare, armor upgrade reqs were ridiculous, too many collectible-based quests esp the fucking hudson signs)

but my biggest complaint was that even with a storyline that i personally found more interesting, there is just zero connection to it at all. botw and totk feel like revenge for skyward sword being so emotional, linear, and story-driven (iirc miyamoto was not happy with its direction and he and aonuma (?) were just undoing each other's work which is partly why the game suffers from repetition)

so now we get zero emotional attachment to anything that's going on except in cutscenes that aren't even required and have no visible impact on link in any way. hardly any of the sidequests feel meaningful, and the ones that could have been always seemed to fall short. the npcs seem weirdly chipper about the gloom spreading, the ground splitting open, and the earth levitating into the sky. many of them that should remember you just... don't, for some reason, like there's so little development in any of link's relationships with any of these people, zelda included, as if he hasn't even existed for the past eight years between games, like what was with the hateno village retconning

my personal favorite quests were awakening the fairy fountains (felt like classic zelda and i liked that it made a permanent impact on the world, even rewarding you with a permanent new rendition of epona's song at every stable), giving all the bubbul gems to koltin (you have to go out of your way to talk to his brother kilton to get the full kinda bittersweet ending and it's a rare touching moment imo), and the balloon thing with rhondson and hudson's daughter (i liked that it actually expanded on a questline from botw and it was also bittersweet), also i liked penn and the newspaper questline

the biggest improvement imo was the shrines, the puzzles were so much more interesting with so many possible solutions, and the temples/bosses were so much better than the divine beasts and stupid scourges

but idk i just... feel like i wanted more from it. to me the story is just as important as the gameplay and tbh in both games link feels so detached from the plot, like it's just happening around him, not to him. and you can argue that in the older games they didn't explore his emotional state or w/e but the narratives were tight enough that you felt immersed anyway, and could project your own feelings onto him. these games actively thwart your attempts to humanize the silent protagonist bc he's more emotional about fucking cooking than about being manipulated by a creepy puppet of the woman he's been with for 8+ years at this point (should've made puppet zelda a boss again smh) or seeing memories of people dying horribly

all of which is too far spaced out between, idk, grinding for lionel parts

with the world as big as it is, nothing in it is allowed to be too big and i'm concerned that this is just what zelda games are going to be like from now on. i hope the next project announced will be something completely different.

[psychewritesbs]

Sorry if this has been asked before. Been reading Hana and Angel threads and while the hate is disheartening, I can't help but agree the execution of Hana is really disappointing. That said, Megumi has had so many interactions in the Culling Games but somehow none of them really stuck. At the very least with Yuji, his relationships are well crafted and given more emotional weight but with Megumi? Why is it that the author seem to deny giving him a good and well established connection outside of his friendship with Yuji? Is he purposely being limited to just the MC's friend? I would have thought that as deuteragonist he'd at least be explored more outside of the constraints of his ties with Yuji.

The Hana situation in particular. Thank goodness that she's still alive, but the real question is, will her supposed 'connection' with Megumi play a role in his character development? Or is she just relegated to be a future plot device?

Like, I just don't get some of Gege's decisions. Why bring up the whole 'getting saved by Megumi as a kid' when he could have just went with she's a vessel for Angel and that's it? Why make a connection if he wouldn't bother expanding it (in case all that is in store for Hana is simply to be used as plot device later)? Idk, it feels demeaning to Megumi's character. Like the half-assed relationships around him is a mirror to his character or something.

I salute your passionate love for Megumi, anon 🫡.

But, to your point. I get it about the execution. I just don't think too much about it. I'm over here vibing with Gege, anon 🌊, I acknowledge but ultimately don't focus on the flaws in jjk. I like it enough to be selective about where I focus my critical thinking regarding jjk.

But I do think Gege is very guilty of steamrolling through things and characters and that's why a lot of people can't stomach jjk.

I also must admit I have zero objectivity about Megumi so I see the situation differently than you. I kind of wonder if rather than limiting his character as a friend to the MC, Gege is just writing Megumi as a quiet young man who has few friends with whom he connects deeply with. You know... like the total introvert that he is.

To me, Megumi having few relationships also speaks volumes about how Megumi holds Yuji and Tsumiki in very high regard. It could be hc, but there's something very "attachment" issues about Megumi.

I taco'more about it under the cut.

Regarding your question about Hana as a plot device...

As much as I hate to say it, I think given the treatment Tsumiki got, Hana turning into a plot device is very likely, most especially because her symbolism represents light in the sense that she brings illumination and reason (Angel).

Basically we're reading Megumi Kaisen and Gege just wants to give Megumi development no matter who gets dragged into his drama.

Ok but in all seriousness. While I maintain that having a crush on Megumi does not cheapen her character (even though I acknowledge I'm not a fan of the "girl pines for unavailable boy" trope), I can see why others don't like her back story.

The only thing I can think of is that either we don't have all of the information we need about them yet, or Gege is sort of using the backstory to show something regarding "fate/destiny" but was admittedly sloppy about it.

The thing with "fate" as a trope is that it's hard to execute. If you've read Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle/xxxHolic you've seen it. How do you make it look like fate is happening without it feeling like plot armor?

Look at it this way: what are the odds that Hana would run into Megumi ever again? Under these particular circumstances no less. She's literally host to what sounds like a major sorcerer from the past who has the power to exorcise Sukuna.

It's "fate" plot armor in action if you consider there are millions of people in Tokyo and that the Culling Game wouldn't even be happening if it weren't because Toji didn't kill Geto.

The fact that she calls him "destined" one is a bit too much, yes. And you know what? Between you and I, one of the reasons I've hated how people hate on Hana is because I can relate to her infantile and undeveloped perception of love, which is why I like the hc of a Hana that learns to see the real Megumi--the natural progression of that perception.

But back to the fate conversation, you also want to keep in mind that Megumi is literally a "blessed" child and the son of an unlucky af man who happened to break destiny. He is also the one descendant of the clan that inherited Ten Shadows.

So you have tons of "fate/destiny" type elements around Megumi's character and Hana is one of them.

Regarding his relational dynamics feeling unfulfilling to you. I mean, yeah I gotcha. If you care to come over to the dark side, the way I see it, again, he's very selective of the people he gives his heart to.

You give meaning to things according to how you see the world, so even if Gege is not going deep with the writing, come on, come to the dark side. I must admit I personally don't see how the relational dynamics being half assed says anything negative about Megumi's character. I do love the idea that these dynamics he has with others say something about him though...

Like his dynamic with Sukuna speaks to his own untapped creative potential.

Or how his dynamic with Gojo was part of what made him doubt himself since he already assumed he could never surpass him.

Or how his dynamic with Inumaki shows he's very intuitive.

Or how Hana is a mirror of Megumi's naïveté when it comes to putting certain people on a pedestal because he cares for them intensely. Idk anon, I kinda like this hc about Megumi because Hana metaphorically represents the light/mirror he needs to become aware of this pattern in himself.

In conclusion, I just want to say that I do think this would be one of those situations where, for the sake of enjoying jjk, one just files one's grievances under "don't think about it too much and focus on jjk's strengths and what you do love about it."

Hope these mindset reframes help if you care to consider them, and thanks for stopping by.

[disemboweled-fish-pastry]

I'm looking at my drafts and super seriously missing the boy

I've been away for a while, so I get a bit dulled at times, but then I see a thing and immediately be like "Oh shit. I adore this man." 😳

Honestly, I'd be playing constantly, but I get really tired of being in a game and constantly missing the Yoosung convos. I'm not always working towards a new ending or illustration, so why buy the missing ones? Each time.

Honestly, I wish there was a version of Mystic messenger, or like an add on that's just "daily conversations."

Don't care if they end up repetitive, I just want a version where I can talk to the characters every day and it not being bound by the 11 days then reset system.

I just want there to be a way where each morning, I can open a chat and Yoosung is randomly talking about making the omlette again. Or Jaehee talking about getting take away for breakfast again. Where I can just, without restrictions, each day be like "So have you guys eaten yet today?

Can't Cheritz or a fan make an app where they take parts from each route that's just the random daily conversations that happened, program them to the dedicated times of day, develop an ai like that, and just randomize them each day?

No shit, it's okay that it's repetitive, I just want to always be able to open a chat at certain times of the day where they are just having these conversations, without the timeline story aspect. Unless, it can be something that can be repeated every once in a while and not be major plot points or something.

Like, fine, let a random chat pop up about Rika still infiltrating the chat secretly, but she's just talking about the game of stacking chairs with V or something or getting Saeran that same melon ice cream pop.

I just think it would be fun for a random chat from any of the routes to pop up at their dedicated times randomly each day. And if you participated in those chats at the right times, you could still receive the attached dedicated calls or make the attached outgoing calls, texts, etc. See the related statuses pop up.

I just want my evening calls where Yoosung randomly rants to you about how he wants that boss armor, or him cursing out people who are messing up the mission, or him being proud of giving bus rides. Just like. Even if I miss it one day, if I'm there at that time the next day, one of the randomized events can still happen. Or if you weren't there, you might still get that missed call where they say "I called earlier, but you weren't there."

Do you feel me???? 😭🥺

Maybe I'm just being spoiled, I know you can always go back to the gallery when you've unl9cked things, but manually entering whatever you want whenever you want, not on the time system kills the immersion really. It's great for reference, but for the experience...?.?...

Speaking of, it could be like... the daily conversations can be linked to the gallery/archive, so you still have to unlock the options by playing the main game, but once you unlock them in the gallery, you unlock them as part of "daily conversations" too. To reduce spoilers and to keep incentive to play the main game as usual. For example, a conversation pops up that you saw in the main game, and it lets you choose what to answer, but if you haven't answered it in the main game, it's grayed out in "daily conversations", and you can't click it unless you chose it in the original game play, etc.

I'm going to make a spread sheet just for the fuck of it that has each time of day and the name of each conversation that occurs at said time. lol For my reference... cough... for science.

Make a thing called "RFA Chat" somewhere, some how. Even if I had to do it manually. I will get what I want!!!

[a-wild-rosette]

Hey saw your 'Ranboo Negative' post about how you don't think he's a good character? (i'm sure that's what you said) and i was wondering if you wanted to expand on that?

(no pressure i'm just not the biggest fan of him either and like hearing people who agree with me lmao)

Hi anon my beloved.

I don't usually write crit but I'm mad enough today so :D here we go :D

So I'll admit that his entire like, enderwalk mystery and such doesn't engage me as much because mystery isn't my most favorite genre and I just feel like there are too many questions and mysteries keep piling up on top of each other. But like, that's probably just a personal preference thing.

But like on a character development, especially emotional and the way the character interact with the world? Yeah not into that. Here's why.

1. People excuse his actions too much and there is literally no consequence on Ranboo for his actions whatsoever.

c!Ranboo is the type of person who is nice, but not kind. The kind of person that stands for nothing and therefore falls for nothing. Instead, other people suffer the consequence of his actions.

Like Ranboo gave Techno back his weapons and stood by and watched at people were tortured by Techno and Tommy. Twice, may I add, with Fundy - one of Ranboo's supposedly closest friends, and Connor - an innocent bystander. No one ever calls him out on it, and he can go on and deny what he did (or didn't do, more like) was not bad. Or like the whole ordeal with Doomsday. He basically talks a big game of being loyal and choosing people, but in Doomsday the only person he chose was himself and his own safety.

He betrayed L'Manberg. He left Tubbo and Tommy to fight for their death even though he said he was going to fight with them. He abandoned every other person who cared about him, only to go and team up with the people who destroyed the country of the FOUR PEOPLE who had always wanted to protect him (Tubbo, Tommy, Niki, Fundy). He refused to pick a side, and by that, he picked the side of the tyrant. In the face of injustice, inaction is an action in itself. But yeah, while everyone else lost everything, Ranboo has everything to gain. He has powerful allies, a home that he can fill to the brim with richness, and in the end, everyone who he has hurt? Tubbo goes out of his way to protect him against Quackity's (reasonable, albeit quite harsh) criticism. He's still friends with Tommy, you know, despite being friends with one of the dudes who blew up Tommy's country. Even Fundy and Niki still care about him in the aftermath. He didn't lose anything - everyone else in L'Manberg did.

Somehow, he never had to stop and reconsider his stance on everything and who he supports, he never had to stop and considered "hey, maybe i'm not as good of a person as I want to be". AND HE COULD DO IT because no one calls him out on his action (or inaction, more like). It's always "oh no he's a victim because he has memory issues". Cool motive, still murder :) He's still a person with autonomy, and "peer pressure" is still not a good enough excuse to hurting people. And you know for sure that, even if Ranboo hurt someone *again*, it's gonna still be "justified" by whoever he didn't hurt :) (Not naming names here but it starts with Ranboo and ends with apologists). Actually, just look at the outpost situation with Las Nevadas right now :D

You see, Ranboo can do things that are really just... frustrating at best and downright annoying at best, and the amount of people going hearteyes at him still is enough to overwhelm any meaningful criticism in character :)

2. In fact, the consequence of Ranboo's actions fall onto other people. Or like, people justify Ranboo’s actions by demonising other characters. C!Ranboo does this too. 

Not just other people blaming Ranboo's actions on him being "peer pressured", Not just like, people getting hurt because Ranboo didn’t support them. But Ranboo himself pushing the blame on other people to maintain the view that he was blameless. 

c!Ranboo wants to be a “good” person so bad that he went to a lot of length to justify himself, blaming any wrongdoings on other characters, putting himself in the victim role to explain away his actions. He wants to be a good person, a “reasonable person” who would bring “peace” to the server and resolve conflict, but he refuses to actually do the hard things, because being “good” means taking a stance, being “good” is hard and needs effort, efforts that Ranboo does not have the drive to put in. So instead, he chose the easier thing: explain his actions away. He wasn’t bad, he couldn’t control other people’s actions. He was just a victim. Oh no! 

Like when he called Fundy a coward for wanting to team up, for “choosing people, not sides” - the exact things Ranboo preached. Like when he yelled at Tommy for when his plan to kill Dream failed, even though he and Tubbo helped Tommy without ever trying to stop him or make him more well prepared. He denied any of his involvement in any plan that went wrong and pushed the blame onto the people around him. And even in the Las Nevadas dispute just now? He also subtly hinted that Tubbo was the one who made the decision, not him. He’s the reasonable one here. As if he didn’t help Tubbo. As if he didn’t antagonise Las Nevadas right along his partner. 

And I would be more lenient with this trait if it weren’t also supported by literally everyone around Ranboo. Like, take the time when Phil told Fundy he had “a lot of redeeming to do” and expressed that Tubbo also had things to make up for, and then compared Ranboo with them as the poor, manipulated victim. Deliberation or no, that comparison push a narrative between Ranboo and Tubbo and Fundy, between the “good” victim and the “evil” perpetrator. Or, like, take the times where everyone blames c!Dream for manipulating c!Ranboo, even though there is no hint about that actually happening. Ranboo’s “victim” narrative keeps being reinforced, which, again, gives him no space and no dissonance to actually reconsider his stance. 

3. There's no stake for c!Ranboo's character.

When L'Manberg was still around, Ranboo clearly showed his loyalty didn't lie with the country. He had no emotional connect to the place, and he failed to see how the country meant so much to the people who built it and fought for it and saw it rise and fall. Even his emotional connection to Tubbo and Tommy was chalked up, by himself, as "they were nice to me, so i'm nice back". Relationships, in season 2 at least, were just a tradeoff of favors and niceties to Ranboo, and whether it was the case or not, Ranboo convinced himself that was the case. This gave him a detachment from *everyone*, because at the end of the day, the emotional stake wasn't there, loyalty was not in ss2!Ranboo's vocabulary.

And right now? Ranboo is in full life, he has a whole chest of totems. The closest thing he has to a stake is Tubbo and Michael, but like, meta-wise? I don't think Tubbo is dying anytime soon, and Michael is also probably safe because no one would be cruel enough to use Michael as a plot, when cc!Ranboo and cc!Tubbo are clearly really attached. Ranboo is rich, powerful, with a powerful husband, and a whole fucking lot of plot armor. And while, yes, his attachment to Tubbo and Michael is a positive development (and the *only* positive development actually), it's also paled a bit when Ranboo is still allied with the people who destroyed Tubbo's home, not to mention he was there against Tubbo when the Syndicate threatened him. The emotional connection between him and Tubbo was still not strong enough for Ranboo to reconsider the people he supports.

I’m gonna be patient for now, but honestly the way the character is being excused over and over both in canon and by the fandom is really frustrating to watch. 

[aerynwrites]

Hey 👋

Welcome back, I'm glad the little step away was good for you 😊💛

I was wondering if I could request the first time reader buys Captain Rex a gift or has a little surprise day planned for him and he gets a bit emotional because hes not use to being treated well 😭

Thank you 💛

ahhhh okay! So I kind of just took this and...ran with it lol. I hope this is kind of what you wanted!

Surprise!

Captain Rex x Reader

Word Count: 1.4k

Warnings: none - unbeta’d

»»————-　♡　————-««

Being in a long term relationship with a clone was not something you had ever seen in your cards as a Jedi Commander for the 501st. Especially when the clone in question was Captain of said battalion. However, you wouldn’t change it for anything in the galaxy, especially since you have Anakin and Ahsoka by your side to help you and Rex fly under the radar of the Council. Anakin was in a relationship after all, so he understood what it was like.

Today, you have taken one of the rare days off you and your boys get to throw together the surprise you have had in mind for Rex for the past few weeks. None of the clones have real birthdays, but you wanted to celebrate him and managed to get him to pick a random date for his birthday. You smiled fondly at the memory as you sat a plate of cookies on the table.

“None of the clones have birthdays, cyare, you know that. We weren’t born, we were created.” The last words leave his lips with a hint of venom to them, and you can’t help your lips from tugging downward into a slight frown.

“I know that, Rex,” you say softly, adjusting from where you lay on his chest so you can look up at him slightly, “Humor me,” you tease, giving him a small smile, “Since you don’t have an actual date, just pick one!”

Rex gives you a sideways look before finally letting out a sigh at the puppy dog eyes you send him. He is never able to say no to you. After thinking for a moment, he finally settles on a date - the date he became a Captain is the one he chose. 

“See now was that so hard?” you chastise lightly before leaning up and pressing a quick kiss to his lips before settling back down into bed, his arms still wrapped securely around you.

After that, the conversation had never come up again, and Rex had assumed you forgot about the silly birthday date you made him pick out. However, you were just determined to surprise him. You recruited Anakin and Ahsoka to keep Rex busy while you prepared your private quarters for the surprise, and while Rex was none the wiser as to why he was being sent on a wild bantha chase around the base - he felt a sense of relief wash over him when he was finally released from their plot. He has already taken his helmet off as he approaches your shared quarters, eyes tired yet shoulders relaxed at the thought of spending the rest of the day with you. He was planning to just relax with you, relish in the rare day off you both have received and maybe watch one of those cheesy holofilms you loved so much. 

However, when he finally arrives at the room and the door swishes open, his eyes widen in surprise at the sight that greets him. The space is brightly lit with soft music playing in the background and a small handmade sign attached to the wall opposite the door reads: Happy Birthday Rex!  In neat handwriting. His eyes fall from the sign to take in the spread of food and deserts on the table near the kitchen, more than either of you could eat in days. He slowly sets his helmet down on the ground by the door before approaching the table. There’s a cake in the center that reads the same as the sign when he walked in, but the letters are iced delicately over the white base layer in 501st blue. 

Rex feels his chest constrict, an overwhelming sense of gratitude paired with a slight sense of confusion distract him from your entrance into the room. He ‘s only pulled from his observations when he hears a small gasp from behind him.

“Rex, you’re back!” you say happily, rushing over and wrapping your arms around him as he turns to face you. You couldn’t care less that he was still in his armor, you were just happy he was here. “You got here faster than I was anticipating! I was going to have the candles on the cake lit and everything for when you got back.”

He watches as you pull yourself from his embrace and flit around the room, grabbing a lighter and lighting the candles all while babbling away about the food you cooked and the plans you’ve made and how it took you weeks to find the special jam to put between the layers of cake. You were so consumed in your explanations, that you didn’t even notice when Rex’s eyes fell to the four neatly wrapped parcels on the end of the table. All of them had his name on them followed by the person who they were from - at least that’s what Rex assumed. 

He pulls his gloves from his hands before running his fingers gently over the colorful paper, looking up at you in confusion as he interrupts your speech. “What are these?”

Your brow furrows in confusion before realization dawns on you. Rex had never had a birthday gift before. Let alone a party all for himself. You give him a gentle smile and walk over to be at his side as you speak. “They’re presents, for your birthday,” you explain, “Anakin and Ahsoka each got you one when they heard what I was planning,” you chuckled a little, “Anakin won’t admit it, but he spent a lot of time picking out his gift. And then,” you reach out and grab the smaller box, “This is from the boys - your brothers - they all pitched in when they heard about it too.”

Rex could already feel the unfamiliar burn at the back of his eyes, but he tried to reign in his emotions as he pointed to the last one. “What-” he has to clear his throat, “What about that one?”

You grab the box from the table and turn to him, smiling the biggest smile as you hold it out for him to take. “This one’s from me! I couldn’t very well throw you a birthday bash and not get you a present now could I?”

At this revelation, Rex can no longer hold the tears back as he takes the small gift from your hands. He sees your eyes widen at his reaction and a slight panic overtakes your features.

“Oh no,” you mumble, reaching out to place your hands over his own, “Rex what’s wrong?”

He shakes his head, wiping the stray tears away before taking a deep breath, “Nothing’s wrong, cyare,” he assures you, looking around the room at all you did for him before looking back to you with a smile on his face, “I’ve just…” he trails off for a moment before continuing, “I’ve never gotten a present before. Let alone a whole celebration dedicated to me being here.”

Your heart breaks slightly at his words, despite knowing the truth behind them. Clones aren’t seen as much more than machines of war to most people - expendable and replaceable things for the war. But Rex is so much more to you, and you were determined to show him that. You smile at him and set the gift in his hands aside, as you steer him over towards the cake.

“Well,” you begin, “As long as I’m still here I’m going to make every single day a celebration about you. Because you deserve to be celebrated.”

“Well I don’t know about that,” Rex tries to argue but you shake your head and point to the lit candles on the cake.

“Oh hush,” you gently scold, “Now, all you have to do for this birthday tradition is blow out the candles and make a wish.”

“A wish?” he asks, turning to look at you incredulously, “A wish for what?”

You shrug, “Anything you want.”

He turns to face the cake again, the candles casting a slight glow onto his golden skin and you can’t help but smile when he finally leans forward and blows the candles out. Once finished he pulls back and turns towards you, a smile on his face as he reaches out to take your hands in his.

“Did you make a wish?” you ask.

He shakes his head, “No.”

Your mouth falls open and you give out a disbelieving scoff, “Rex!” you whine, “That’s the whole point of blowing out the candles. Why didn’t you wish for anything?”

“Because everything I could wish for is standing right here in front of me.”

And before you can protest, he presses his lips to yours in a gentle kiss, suddenly very thankful for birthdays and very thankful for you.

»»————-　♡　————-«« 

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[caffeine-and-melatonin]

✨Bad Batch E14 Spoilers✨

Sooooo I'm about to say a whole lot of not very polite words......

AHHHHHHHHHH HOLY SHIT Y'ALL AHHHHHHHHHH

Let's have a look at my brain melting during this episode (there's a lot oops):

- Commando armor? Slicked back hair? HOLY FUCK GREGOR OMG THE BOY!!!!! WE ACTUALLY GET TO SEE THE BOY!!!!!! (wait hold up does this mean we might see Wolffe too? Not asking for a friend I'm asking for me)

- Eek this is giving me very much "Ahsoka being hunted by Trandoshans" vibes

- Hunter doing knife tricks....that's...well....AHHHHH

- Omg Omega trying to copy the little knife spins is so cute

- REX!!! HIM!!! MY FIRST LOVE!!! HE'S BACK AGAIN!!! YAY!!! Sweetheart that poncho is fantastic!

- Is he ok? IS REX OK??? WHY IS HE RUNNING???

- Here's the thing I love Gregor but like they were a bit too quick to go after him and they still haven't talked about Cross soooooo hmmm

- Ok I have a feeling we are gonna get some Echo character development in this episode. The way Echo looked at Hunter was what got him to cave in and agree to go rescue Gregor. He knows it's the right thing to do and it's so interesting to me that Echo seems to have the strongest sense of moral obligation (aside from Omega). I have a feeling like this might clash with Hunter being the leader and honestly I wanna see how they handle that as a team.

- Nothing would bring me more joy than to absolutely DECK Rampart on behalf of Cross, Howzer, and Eleni Syndulla

- speaking of cross....CROSS!!! YOU'RE HERE!!!

- Wait hold up are they leaving Kamino?

- Also what happens to all the cadets? Like they're little kids...I'm scared

- Ok imma have to go on a whole rant/info dump about Kaminoan history and society later so y'all have that to look forward to in the morning

- Awwww Echo talking about Rex makes me want to cry. He looks up to his older brother so much and it's honestly so sweet

- Hunter using his special abilities? Hunter using his special abilities!

- Omg its just gonna be Hunter, Tech, and Echo?! TECH AND ECHO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT???

- Look at those boys go! Climbing up a whole ass mountain while I look at a flight of stairs and go "ewww why"

-Ok is it just me or does the whole bottomless pit style base with a lot of red accents gives off Empire but make it First Order Aesthetic...? Just me?

- Tech's eyes are just so ✨p r e t t y✨. That's all.

- STORMTROOPERS? ALREADY?

- OMG ECHO BRINGING UP SKAKO MINOR! AND THEN TALKING ABOUT HOW IF SOMEONE IS BEING HELD AGAINST THEIR WILL THEY HAVE TO GET THEM OUT! DID YOU SEE HUNTER'S REACTION???? EVEN WITHOUT SEEING HIS FACE YOU KNOW HE'S GOTTA BE THINKING ABOUT CROSS!!! LOOK AT HIS BODY LANGUAGE!!! AHHHHHHH

- "i'm thinkin'." whispers Wrecker mindfully.

- I don't know what it is, but i just love this shot:

- Concept: into the spiderverse but it's just clones jumping off elevators and somehow gracefully free climbing on the walls

- Commando armor is just soooooo cool!!!! Like seriously! Also the TK trooper armor is....interesting

- AHHHHHH GREGOR'S LITTLE VOICE CRACKS!!! HE'S ADORABLE!!!

- "That's CAPTAIN traitor."

- Gregor really do be out here holding up the standard that you have to be a special kind of pretty to be a Captain in the GAR

- Also can we talk about how absolutely jacked Gregor's arms are? Like sir no wonder you aren't wearing any armor on your arms! How would fit! Damn dude

- I miss 99 so much

- Boys using stun rounds. No (intentional) unalives. Good for them.

- Echo and Tech working together and having each other's backs makes me beyond happy

- SASSY TECH AND SASSY GREGOR

- Tech really does yell in all lower case doesn't he?

- NO GREGOR! DAMMIT DAVE STOP SHOOTING THE BOY!

-When I tell you I thought Tech was gonna get shot too.... my god I don't think I would be able to handle that in any capacity

- SPOILER WARNING FOR REBELS: Gregor talking about surviving getting shot hurts me. This hurts my feelings. It hurts my feelings a lot.

- Ok but Tech casually blowing up that air vent grate thing was hot. No I will not elaborate.

- also...ECHO FUCKING YEETED ALL THREE OF THEM AND THEN HIMSELF LIKE AT LEAST 10 FT IN THE AIR!

- Echo carrying Gregor through the air ducts reminds me so much of Rex carrying him on Sako Minor

- WAIT HOLY SHIT OMEGA IS FLYING THE SHIP BY HERSELF!!! LOOK AT HER GO!!! Tech has to be so proud of her. I just know he is.

- Gonky helping + increased theme music = ahhhhhhh yay!

- TECH BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH THE FUCKING SEXY FLIGHT MANEUVERS!!!!!!! My stars I love that man. I'm speechless. It's like almost 4am and I legitimately screeched

- Tech: *flying like a badass* Gregor: bitch what are you doing this is not the time nor place for this shit

- FUCK NOOOOOOO HUNTER!!!!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!!!

- GONKY!!! AHHHHH

- How tf is Hunter still alive??? Like I'm not complaining but still

- HOLY FUCKING SHIT NOOOOO THIS IS NOT OK!!!!! OMEGA'S VOICE AND SHEER PANIC BREAKS MY HEART!!! TECH'S LOOK OF HOPELESSNESS!!!! AND HUNTER SOUNDING ABSOLUTELY DEFEATED!!!! FUCK I CAN'T HANDLE THIS RIGHT NOW!!!!

- Yo on top of all that Lama Su just got straight up unalived

-hunter in a jail cell......................CROSSHAIR

- Ok but until the very last second, that was the least scrunched up face I have ever seen Cross make. Like you too have lovely eyes it's a shame you're so grouchy all the time. ANYWAY thoughts on that face because my brain is very full rn

FINAL THOUGHTS

- I just love clones more than life itself. Look at the boys go. I love them. I wanna give them all hugs (in regards to Tech…I will not kiss and tell).

- Gregor has and always will be so precious. Love that quirky boy so much.

- WTF IS GOING ON WITH REX??????? I NEED ANSWERS!!!!!!!

- Echo played such a major role in this episode and honestly I'm so glad. I still think there is so much more room to grow his character, but at least it's something.

- Gonky being that bitch this episode 👑

- Not sure if you've noticed, but my soul is no longer attached to my physical form. Tech has it. Tech owns my soul. I am more than ok with this.

- The last 5 minutes really just did that didn't it? Like jeez bro that was a lot

- Cross? Breaks? Hunter? Out? And? They? Both? Escape? After? Having? An? Emotional? Reconciling? PLEASE???????????

Overall, while I did really like the Ryloth episodes, I honestly think this might be my new favorite episode.

The episode itself was well paced

The stakes felt rather high

Fantastic action

Echo played a main part in the storyline

Contributed to not only the plot of the show but added context for how Gregor and Rex meet up

Tech flying and looking hot while doing it...that's very important to the overall ranking

It was engaging and intense with one hell of a cliffhanger at the end

So yeah I really liked this episode! I'm super excited to see what happens next (omg there's only two episodes left oh no scary)!

[fgodestinyawakenings]

Do you have any preferences on who you ship with Gudao?? If so, why? ( That is if you have time to talk about it.)

Firstly... I'm really sorry that I took this long to reply, because I swore someone asked this before. And god-knows-where it's buried under the tons of incorrect quotes. 

Lastly now that the overdue chapter for my fic is done with, I can finally had the time to answer this!

And the preferences will be all below the cut and not tag in the main tag to avoid spam. But I need to tag it in spoilers tag because this unfortunately contains major LB6 spoilers for the shipping too. As all below are mostly bias delusion on why I shipped them with Gudao

Main & Romantic Pairs I like

Romani/Gudao

This pair had a post that question on why people ships them either Gudas themselves or self-insert as mostly on the age gap. Though I have to raise eyebrows on that, if you’re going onto that topic, then you want to look at nearly all of Gudas & self-insert Master ship with every Servants have a massive insane age gap if we’re going to go by age at the each of them

And same pairing is actually the last pair that came into mind, but after reading the whole Part 1, I like them more than Romani/Da Vinci, and her bullying Romani to the point it look more like verbal abuse completely turn me off

I really like the dynamics between the two, which unfortunately if writers hadn’t spend most of the first arc praising Mary Sue Mash to join her in bullying Romani

While it seemingly more of a blink-and-miss on their first meeting, both Romani and Gudao took their friendship bonding to each other seriously

Romani while it was his duty as a doctor to care for the Master’s well-being, he’s the one who actually teaches Gudas and also treats them without possible prejudice from other Magus in the Chaldea for being the normal muggle among them. And also the other person who willingly went overtime with no sleep to ensure Gudas are safe the moment they lost contact with them

When looking back at his relationship with Lev when Da Vinci pointed out, he never grew close or trust Lev even before his betrayal because of who he really is

But with Gudas, there is subtle of him slowly opening up to them in the story. Not in a way of revealing his true identity as Solomon, but more in a way he can really be himself without the weight of the crown as a king, just like how tons of Servants easily be themselves around Gudas. Which sheds his intention of playing ‘everyone’s friend’ to not get attached, and really formed a deep bond with them

Same for Gudas, in my view, while they are being dragged around by Servants through insane interlude... They got used to it when they reply they are very detached to it. They also tried to accommodate and get along with Servants because an exceptional few recognized that if they lost trust to the Servants, their fears of being useless and abandon by them will happen as their muggle status. Hence they and Romani aren’t that far off from each other

Excluding the bullying ones, a lot of dialogue when Gudas ask example on the tune he hummed, it was also genuine interest of who he is and what he likes

His role as a mentor to Gudas hits way harder than Mash died in Part 1 aside after she got plot armor revive by Fou. Romani was the one who gives them advice to do what is best and the support they have from him. And when it comes Part 2, they never once rely on Mash, Da Vinci Lily, Holmes or even Goredolf for a major important decision. Choosing to rely on themselves to make the choices if they were to suffer the worst of all

Oberon-Vortigern and Abigail has hinted out that the one person they wanted to see yet unable to say their name is none other Romani the most

Merlin/Gudao

I’ve also gotten comments in my fic people disliking this pairing or Merlin approaching my fic version of Gudao

But I actually like because they actually have a lot of similarities as Merlin said

Gudas being dragged a lot of by Servants had made them indifference to their shenningans. And spends most of the time feeling unreal, with dissociation to the events and around them 

But unlike Merlin who feels no attachment and prefers his passive role of observer, Gudas are the opposite where he admires them on being the writer themselves to write out their own story

Their banters to each other are really amusing of a slapstick comedy, especially Merlin capable of feeling that fear and dread on realizing Gudas can sell Merlin out to Artoria Lancer for messing her in her dreams XD

Need me say more that near the end of Babylonia Singularity and also slighlty in Avalon Lostbelt, Merlin steps in because he did it to aid his admired hero than Mash that everyone lick the ground she steps on?

Yep, sue my bias ass, because if that’s not a love confession, it’s the closest emotion Gudas actually forced out from making the unfeeling Half-incubus to actually feel embarrassed at his words

Caster Gilgamesh/Gudao

Definitely since their dynamics in Babylonia story

Gudas going through the whole Singularity, halfway finally earning Caster Gilgamesh's respect after giving their efforts to care for his people

Again one of the few Servants while he's indifferent/neutral/okay with Mash, he's not affected by her Mary Sue status to actually keeps his promise to kill her for showing pity to his people

Actually does get amused and likes Gudas when they are fired up and pissed for his nonchalant attitude towards Siduri and his people kidnapped by Lahmus

Biggest moment with them was Caster Gilgamesh willingly step forward to take the shot for Gudas when Tiamat attempted to kill them

Gilgamesh is also one of the few in his interlude points out how Chaldea is so dependent on certain people like Romani and Gudas. That they barely function without them if anything happens

His Valentine Gift involves giving Gudas a date is more than enough for shipping material

Arthur/Gudao

Yeah I’m one of the few who wants an Arthur/Gudas ship but with Gudao instead

They generally do have potential as a pair due to Arthur’s unfortunate circumstance of his past Grail War experience and current duty. So he will happen to form a bond more closer to Gudas than anyone else in Chaldea

Best modern AU fic to have of Arthur and Gudas with their own adopted child Mordred when Artoria is being a shit parent

Unfortunately it’s lacking of more story for them because I’m still waiting for Beast VI to return here so that Arthur and Gudao can turn his crazy Yandere ex-master to non-existent

Oberon-Vortigern/Gudao

Basically long story short, LB6 is the reason why I like this new pair.

Aside my kink of Enemy/Hero relationship, their relationship was well-written without cockblocking Mash around

Gudas did really bond with him, yet they had doubts in the major dialogue on his involvement in certain parts of the story

Those dialogue of doubting him had lead to a special unique scene between them on confronting Oberon-Vortigern once more of his true feelings on his role and really did like Gudas in the end

While preferably not to a complete dumb level of martyr, Gudas feels like the one who would unconditionally love Oberon-Vortigern yet also not hesitating to call out of his asshole deeds like his plan with Vitch to get Albion power to mess with her

Gudas could really become the ideal Titania he looks for because they are also the one who introduced him about her

Others (not necessary romantic but good pair to see)

Edmond & Gudao

Persona/Shadow of Carl Jung, where Edmond acts more like a guardian and Shadow to Gudas.

The fact both share the same VA aside Arjuna just left a huge impression on my mind

"Remember this well, my accomplice: punishment, deserving or otherwise, is always a given. But you will never succumb to it! All you need do is call my name! Do that, and I will be at your side in a moment's notice! Hahahahahaha!"

^This quote gives me an idea that Gudas did have the potential to become just like Edmond, to be vengeful at Chaldea, Goetia and Alien God for what he went through

And deep down inside Gudas are not that different from Edmond who was an honest man before losing everything

His role as a protective guardian is a good mix of partner-in-crime for vengeance or protecting your main self from going insane

Mandricardo & Gudao

The two can be fucking damn traveler buddies especially with Merlin describing Gudao’s role to be a traveler

Definitely a platonic relationship for these two is better than romance because both share the same feeling of being medicore in their roles and their self-worth issues

One of the few Servants who actually understood and empathize with Gudas situation. And Gudas in return wanting to form a friendship with him, he protects them at the cost of his life while happily declares he’s their friend that he and Gudas really are

Definitely need more of him appearing aside recent Summer event to get more friendship bonding with Gudas

Caster Cu Chulainn & Gudao

The one pairing I’ve been asked to pair for my fic’s Gudao for romance, but the personality I have for him is unfortunately incompatible. Though I do read fics and doujins to see potential in it

For now I just prefer them as bros to each other, especially Caster Cu is the other first Servant Gudas contracted with in Fuyuki Singularity

He’s just that fun uncle/dad/bro for Gudas to hang out with when needing a break to deal with the Chaldea naggy mom. 

Hopefully he does return in future LB chapters and events so that he gets more spotlight

[absideon-ephemeral]

II - Roommates, Commanders, and Generals.

A/N: And they were roommates - I'm sorry. The next chapter will be a lot more interesting as we finally get into the plot. And just as a heads up, THERE WILL BE NO SMUT AT ALL. Idk how to write it and I don't want to make a complete fool of myself if I do so. If I ever learn I may add some.

Warnings: mild language, curse words.

METANOIA Masterlist

——————————

Who knew a ship could be so damn big.

     I had walked and walked, following the map on my datapad to my quarters, which seemed to be on the other side of the ship. It was nearly midnight and I still hadn't reached it.

     During the entire walk, I couldn't get the strange encounter with Kylo Ren out of my head. Why had he just stared at me? What was that prickling sensation? My mind was going so fast, asking so many questions, that I almost ran into a wall. I had stopped myself just short a couple of inches from slamming right into it. I stood there, recollecting myself, as a quiet, minuscule beeping came from my datapad.

     Looking down, the beeping was signifying that I had reached my destination. In front of me were my quarters and not some random wall.

"For kriffs sake, finally," I muttered.

     I shut off my pad and went to reach for the control panel next to me, but I stopped myself from hitting the door button. Are my roommates already inside? What if they're already asleep? I don't want to get on their bad side, who knows how long I'll be rooming with them.

"Hey!"

     My head whips to the side to be met with a stormtrooper.

"What are you doing here?" They asked. From the sounds of it, the stormtrooper was female.

"I asked you a question."

"I'm sorry, I'm supposed to be rooming here." My words flew out fast and uneasy.

"Whose orders?" The stormtrooper asked.

"Head technician Ademir. He said that there were no available rooms in the technicians' quarters and that this was the first available spot," I explained.

     The stormtrooper made a noise of understanding and hit the door button on the panel. It slid open with a slight whoosh and was pitch black inside. The stormtrooper went in, turning the lights on in the process. I stood there, awkwardly, almost waiting for an invitation.

"Well, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to come in?" The stormtrooper said.

"Uh, yeah right." I hurriedly walked in, the door closing behind me.

     The room was semi spacious. It had two dressers, three beds, each with its small nightstand; a refresher, and a window that outlooked the galaxy.

I made my way further in and sat on the bed that looked unoccupied. I sat rather stiffly as the stormtrooper began to take off her armor.

     Her helmet came off first, revealing dark skin, that almost seemed to have a honey glow to it, brown eyes, and a pretty face.

"So what's your name little technician?" She asked. Without the helmet on, I could hear an accent that was unfamiliar to me. I gave her my name and asked for hers.

"LN-7245." She answered as she continued to undress.

"LN-72- okay, that's a lot to call you by. Do you have a nickname or something I can use?" I asked.

She momentarily stopped her movements. "No. All we ever go by is our numbers." She then resumed, sitting down on the bed to take off her shin armor.

"Well, what about," I pondered for a second, "Leonora or Leo for short." She looked up at me.

"Leonora," she tested the name on her tongue, "I like it. Sounds nice. Where'd you come up with that?"

" Your number started with LN. I just took it from there and made something out of it that sounded pretty."

"Well, thank you for that." Leonora stood up, grabbed a case from under her bed, and began to pack away her armor for tomorrow.

When she finished, she grabbed some clothes, presumably sleep ones, out of the drawer on her nightstand. Before walking away to the refresher to change, she turned to the bed farthest away from me and smacked the person, who I honestly didn't even see, that was lying in it. They awoke with a start, cursing in Durese, a language known by space travelers.

"Why would you do that? I was sleeping so nicely!" They groaned. It was another female. This one had blond hair with brown streaks, blue eyes, and a pretty face as well.

"We have a new roommate. Be nice." Leonora smacked her again with her clothes and went to the refresher to change.

The girl grumbled something then turned to me, leaning back on her elbows, her head cocked to the side.

"So, what's your name?" She asked. I gave it to her. She peered at me curiously.

"You don't look like a stormtrooper." She pointed out.

I laughed. "What gave that away?"

She looked me up and down, "You don't have the body of a stormtrooper. And the way you seem to carry yourself, I'd assume you're a technician."

"Right you are." She laughed.

"I'm ZA-7283."

"Nice to meet you. Can I give you a nickname?" I asked.

"Nickname?" She asked. Leonora walked out of the refresher, dressed in comfy, all-black, nightclothes.

"She gave me one," Leo laid down on her cot, putting hands behind her head, "I'm Leonora, Leo for short." She had an air of pride around her.

The other girl gasped. "That sounds so cool! I want one too!"

"Okay, um, how about Zariah?" I suggested.

"Ooo, I like that. Makes me sound badass!" Zariah exclaimed. Leo and I laughed at her enthusiasm.

After we all calmed down, Zariah asked me a question.

"So why did they put a technician with two stormtroopers?"

I told her the same thing I told Leo.

"Ahhh okay. Well, at least you got two roommates who aren't sticks in the mud. That would've sucked." Zariah laid back down. I nodded in agreement.

—————————

"Shit, shit, shit, shit."

     I hoped to maker that there were no higher-up officials around, because if so, I would've most likely faced punishment. I was currently running through the halls like a mad man with my jumpsuit half on and struggling to carry my small tool bag.

     I had completely forgotten to set an alarm last night, causing me to wake up 20 minutes late, which is by no means acceptable. Leo and Zari left way before me, as troopers have to get up earlier than the techs, and they didn't even bother to wake me up.

So now I had to resort to dashing my way through the metal halls, weaving in and out of other technicians and stormtroopers. As I slid around a corner, I suddenly ran straight into something. The force I hit it with was enough to send me sprawling backward onto the cold metal floor. I groaned in slight pain and made an effort to sit up. Regaining my bearings, my sight is immediately met with black boots.

My blood ran cold.

Trailing my eyes up, all I see is black. Black pants, a black shirt, a black cloak, and a black helmet.

The prickling sensation returns. This time it's sifting through my mind, weaving in and out of the crevices.

Kylo Ren.

I scramble to my feet as quickly as possible and bring my arm into a salute. Once again, the black soulless eyes of his mask stare into the very depths of me.

"Please forgive me, Commander, sir!" The wavering words flew out. He said nothing, and I feared that he would whip out his lightsaber and end me right then and there. But he simply stared for a few more moments then briskly walked away, the prickling fading with him.

I watched as he left, not dropping my salute until he disappeared completely and I could no longer hear his boots on the metal floor.

When I had deemed it safe, I dropped my arm and breathed a sigh of relief. Gathering myself together, zipping up my uniform properly, and grabbing my bag, I made my way to my task for the day.

I was assigned to fix some damage in a meeting room, presumably caused by Kylo Ren during a meeting that had gone sour.

But when I walked through the doors metal blast doors, I couldn't help but curse.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

In front of me was one of the biggest messes I have ever seen. The poor innocent wallhad been slashed many times by a burning saber, leaving deep jagged lines. They crossed and weaved in and out of one another, forming some type of chaotic artwork. No matter the strange beauty, this was going to be a pain to fix.

Setting my bag down, I went closer to inspect the damage. The wiring underneath it had been damaged severely. Some areas are worse than others, but half of the underneath panels would need to be replaced.

Looking away from the wall, I took notice of a larger bag of tools and a welding cart set off of the side; free for me to use. I walk over to the bag, open it, and grab my first piece.

——————

Four hours and counting. That's how long I've been fixing this mess. And I haven't even gotten to re-welding the slashes yet.

For the last hour, I've been working in a tight space. Literally.

To fix some of the wires in one of the deeper slashes, I had to go inside the wall. It required me to remove the vent cover, which resided right below the slash near the floor, and crawl inside; upside down. It took me several tries and having to unzip my jumpsuit halfway, revealing my black under tank, and tie the sleeves around my waist to finally weasel in. My back was flat against the air vent as I worked and I could hardly hear anything. Honestly, it was a miracle I even fit. After removing the air duct lining, I was able to finally access the wires.

Which leads me up to now. I was in the process of attaching one of my last wires, peacefully working and oblivious to the outside world, when something unexpectedly nudged my foot.

The sensation made me jolt up, my head slamming into the roof of the duct.

"Kriff!" The word escaped as pain now radiated through my head. My foot was nudged again. "One moment please!" I shouted. I began to weasel my way back out, having slight difficulty due to not being able to see much.

Once I finally got my head and arms out, I sat on the ground, blinking my eyes to adjust to the harsh lighting, having been in a dark vent for the last hour.

"Did you hear me?"

My head whipped up, and I was met with someone you hoped to never meet; the infamous, General Hux.

I stood immediately, getting a slight head rush from the fast movement, and saluted. "General Hux, sir." I addressed him.

He looked at me with distaste; not pleased to see me without my uniform on properly. But there was no going back now. He looked me up and down, a frown forming on his face. He was just like I've heard him to be. Short, red-haired, and a not-so-pleasing face that was always screwed up in a face of displeasure.

He huffed and spoke again. "Did you hear me at all?" His voice was snobby and pitched.

"No sir, I couldn't hear anything in there." I curtly replied, taking notice of the men behind him. Other Generals and officers, I had never seen, but by the way they presented themselves, they were important.

"Well, I had asked what you are doing in here. This is a restricted area to those without permission." He sneered, obviously not liking me.

"I was tasked to fix this damage, sir. Some of the wirings needed to be replaced but I could only access it through the vent, sir." I remained still, keeping my salute.

"On whose orders?"

"Head technician Ademir, sir. I have the assignment on my data-pad if you wish to see, sir."

"That won't be necessary. Do you have any other tasks to do?" He was growing frustrated at my presence.

"No sir, I don't. This is my only one due to how much work it requires." I answered. He huffed and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the blast doors opening, and someone walking in. My view was blocked by the other men, but General Hux rolled his eyes, already knowing who had entered.

"Ah, Commander, how pleasant of you to join us."

[houseisekai]

House Miisekai Prologue: The Adventure Begins!

House Miisekai Masterlist Here

====

Our story begins in the land of Miisekaitopia! (No, I couldn't think of a better name.)

It is a world where everyone from both storylines and unholy amounts of AU's can live in peace without worrying about wars breaking out every 4 seconds.

At least it was.

The darkness came without warning, a great and terrible shadow threatening all of Miisekaitopia! An unspeakably huge dick came and stole everyone's faces! Then, to add insult to injury, put those faces onto monsters across the land!

But, we shall follow the perspective of Sara Valestein, Instructor of Class VII and the original House Isekai...

Sara casually strolled through the hills, enjoying the sunlight and wind blowing gently across her.

(Sara) "...Goddess I am so bored."

She had been kicked out of yet another bar recently for drinking too much.

Again.

Left with nothing to do, she decided to take a trip to nowhere in particular, going wherever fate took her.

Sara continued muttering to herself, mocking the established "rules" for drinking in a tavern until she noticed something flying in the air.

(Sara) "Is...that a face?"

She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things, and saw the eyes slowly float over to a nearby butterfly.

(Sara) "Uh...?"

(Sara) "GAH!"

The horrific creature began floating faster towards Sara, which prompted her to run full speed ahead towards the closest town.

As she ran out of breath, she ran towards anyone would even take a minute to listen.

(Sara) "H-Hey, there's some freaky bug thing out there with a human face!"

BE-LOP!

Tiny lines of text ran down the guide's face.

It showed too many messages at once for her to properly read it, and the person remained completely still.

(Sara) "...Hello?"

(Everyone) "..."

(Sara) "...Right."

Sara moved to the next person she saw.

...

Sara saw a platypus with a name tag 'Perry' calmly sitting on the market stall.

(Sara) "Hello, anyone here?"

The platypus stared at her, not saying a word.

(Sara) "...What in the hell is with this town?"

Next try. That would probably work.

...

(Anakin) "What did we get ourselves into this time?"

(Obi-Wan) "I'm not sure but...I do not like this a single bit."

(Anakin) "At least you're in a taller body, my head barely reaches your stomach!"

(Obi-Wan) "It's not the first time."

(Sara) "Hey, excuse me ma'aaaaaaaaaa...What in the?"

(Anakin) "Listen lady, we got our own problems right now. We're not in the mood-"

(Obi-Wan) "What my young padawan means is that we unfortunately cannot spare any help if you need it ma'am."

(Sara) "...Evidently."

Sara nervously walked away from the two grown men in a child and woman's body.

(Sonia) "Did we get transported again?"

(Gundham) "By the works of dark magic, no doubt..."

(Sonia) "Oh, looks like there's someone over there. Hello ma'am, do you know where we are?"

(Sara) "Eh?...Huh. That's a good question. Where is this?"

(Sonia) "Oh well, I'm a bit more comfortable knowing that someone I like is with me here!"

(Gundham) "I...uh...er..."

(Sara) "That's cute. Ah, to be young again..."

Sara left the two to talk amongst themselves before finding the next...person?

It was an extremely fat rabbit that was grey and white.

(Sara) "What in the hell-"

BIG BIG CHUNGUS, BIG CHUNGUS, BIG-

(Sara) "Okay, screw that."

Sara finally saw the mayor and approached him, and when he turned she almost jumped.

It was a Piranha plant. She thought so anyway, it was covered in white polka dots and bright red.

(Plant) "Ah, welcome to the town miss?"

(Sara) "Uh, Sara. Sara Valestein. Listen, there's this weird face that attached itself to a butterfly outside your place! You're gonna do something right?"

(Plant) "Did...did you say a face float down? OH NO."

(Familiar Man's voice) "OH YES."

(Sara) ?

(Anakin) "Uh, master?"

(Obi-Wan) "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

The platypus, fat rabbit, and the discord notification looked up into the skies, getting increasingly alarmed.

(Gundham) "THIS DARKNESS...IT'S...IT'S OVERWHELMING!"

(Sonia) "His voice sounds grating like Souda's..."

(Plant) "COINS PRESERVE US! IT'S..."

[Imperial Will - Final Fantasy XIV OST]

(Dark Lord Chris) "KNEEL BEFORE YOUR GOD, AND OFFER YOUR FACES UNTO ME!"

(Sara) "...Faces? You mean like services or...?"

(Anakin) "Maybe that's metaphorical?"

(Obi-Wan) "I'm not sure I want to find out-"

(Chris) "NO, YOU REALLY DON'T. ALSO NO. I MEAN IT LITERALLY!"

Several faces began to fly off the townspeople.

First was the platypus's face, quickly followed by the discord notification and Anakin's.

(Obi-Wan) "ANAKIN!"

Then it was Sonia and the fat rabbit's faces that floated next to Chris.

(Gundham) "AAAAAAAGH!"

(Plant) "OH MY GOD, THIS IS HORRIBLE!"

(Sara) "Can someone tell me what the hell is happening?!-"

(Chris) "THESE NOW BELONG TO ME! NOW, GO TELL THE OTHERS WHAT YOU'VE SEEN HERE, FOR I WILL BE COMING FOR THEM NEXT!"

Chris flew off into the skies, the faces following closely behind.

(Sara) "What an asshole!"

(Plant) "ADVENTURER, PLEASE YOU HAVE TO HELP US!"

(Sara) "Right uh..."

Sara reached for her sword and pistol, which was nowhere to be found.

(Sara) "Well, that's just great..."

Obi-Wan struggled to walk over to here, still not accustomed to his body and looked at Sara.

(Obi-Wan) "Ma'am, I'm afraid I cannot go into battle myself to assist with this matter. And we don't appear to have our weapons either..."

(Sara) "So, what do you reckon I do? Ask nicely?"

...

(Sara) "Damn it."

OUTSIDE OF TOWN...

Chris was floating away from the town when Sara finally caught up to him.

(Sara) "HEY, JACKASS!"

(Chris) "...Oh, you mean me. I-I mean, OH, IS SOMEONE TRYING TO BE THE HERO NOW?"

(Sara) "Don't play smart with me you glasses wearing freak! Give back their faces!"

(Chris) "Or what? You're going to fight me?"

Sara cracked her knuckles.

(Chris) "...Oh shit. Uh, here have it."

The face slowly floated over to a slime, which reattached itself and began hopping towards Sara.

(Anakin's voice) "OH MAN, I THOUGHT THE KID BODY WAS BAD!"

(Chris) "Uh anyways, LATER!"

Chris quickly flew away from Sara, leaving her and Anakin's face on a slime.

(Sara) "Alright, LET'S GO!"

Sara drove her fist into the slime, which quickly bounced off.

(Sara) "...Oh right. It's a slime."

The slime retaliated by knocking Sara onto her back.

(Anakin's voice) "Sorry!"

(Sara) "Damn, my weapons aren't anywhere to be found either!

"I AM THOU...THOU ART I..."

(Sara) "Oh, what is it now-HURK?!"

Sara reached for her head as the voice boomed thunderously.

"THOU ART...Okay, no we're not rhyming. I'm your guardian spirit, Sara!"

(Sara) "Really now? And where were you during Erebonia?!"

"ANYWAYS, it seems you're in a bit of trouble! Do you need some help?"

(Sara) "It's either getting help or getting killed by a damn slime of all things, so...Yeah, sure."

"Good choice! Now, I bestow upon you the awesome power of the guardian!"

(Sara) "You're gonna explain later where I got this from, right?"

"That depends, do you want the plot to get moving? Our other posts are slowed down as it is, and this has gotten too meta in just the first few lines of this."

(Sara) "Ugh, fine."

Sara's outfit shined forth and became donned in armor, wielding a new sword.

(Sara) "Hey, you cheap bastard, where's my gun?!"

"This is a fantasy RPG, why would you get a gun? Just kill the damn slime already!"

(Anakin's voice) "WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?!"

(Sara) "Hold on, I'll getcha outta there, HIYA!"

[COOL QUIRK: WEAK POINT]

Sara took one swing of her sword and smacked the slime into the floor, it quickly disappearing.

Anakin's face floated off the slime and back to the town.

"That was..."

(Sara) "Really anti-climatic."

"You should uh...probably go back to the town and check up on Anakin."

INSIDE OF TOWN...

Anakin's face slowly floated back onto the child's body, making him trip over.

(Anakin) "AGH!"

(Obi-Wan) "So, how was it?"

(Anakin) "I was just put into a slime's body, how do you think I feel?!"

(Obi-Wan) "Same as usual, got it."

Obi-Wan turned to Sara, who now looked like a proper knight.

(Obi-Wan) "You have our thanks for helping us, Miss?"

(Sara) "Name's Sara."

(Anakin) "Thanks for helping me out there. What are you gonna do? We'd join you but our bodies would just get in the way."

(Sara) "I'm going to uh...Hey, what is the plan?"

"What do you think? You're the only hero in a fantasy land."

(Obi-Wan) "Is she alright?"

(Anakin) "Yeah, she started doing this earlier, no idea what's up with it."

(Sara) "Might as well go after the others, see what happens I guess. Anyways, I'll be back once I restored this town, until then!"

Sara held onto her sheathe and ran out of the town, those still faceless watching her leave.

(Gundham) "Please hurry. Sonia is...unsettling me."

(Plant) "Miss Valestein, you're our only hope...!"

(Anakin) "Think she'll be okay? That talking thing is really concerning me."

(Obi-Wan) "Probably...?"

[Chase Me - Faky]

(Sara) "Right so...do I just go forward?"

"Where did you see him fly off to?"

(Sara) "Was a lot more focused on trying NOT to get murdered by the slimes."

"It was just a slime, you've killed enemy mechs and demonic beasts like it was nothing!"

(Sara) "That's when I had my weapons and ARCUS unit!"

"..Still. Should've had no problem. I probably didn't even have to interfere."

(Sara) "Good goddess, am I going to be stuck with you? Actually WHO even are you?"

"The narrator! In a sense anyway."

(Sara) "What-"

And so begins the tale of Sara Valestein and her quest to defeat the Dark Lord Chris!

What friends will she encounter on the way?

How much of the meta can we break more than we have?

How many more jokes will the writer run into the ground as this series goes on?

FIND OUT NEXT TIME, ON HOUSE MIISEKAI!

(Sara) "...What?!"

STARRING:

And yours truly as the antagonist for this story!

Here's to some more god-awful written meme stories like this one, everyone!

[deidaratheartboi]

Akatsuki Show Part 5

Kevin: Welcome baaaaccccckkkkk everyone today we are doing things different. We have decided to partner with Tobi Tea to host and fund these events. Now some of you may have heard of it and some of you may have not. But, either way it's gonna be a blast. Now as I said last time we are switching things up as in switching partners.

Kisame: I think the fuck not

Deidara: Tobi that weasel!

Sasori: I hate him

Hidan: Damn Tobi really do us like that.

Kakuzu: He's getting the money isn't he? Besides he said he'll give half to me.

Hidan: Oh how lucky for you

Kevin: If you guys look on the board you will see you and your new partner names.

Sasori: How did boss allow this

Deidara: I don't know

The board

Hidan is now with Kisame.

Deidara is now with Kakuzu

Sasori is now with Konan.

Pain is now with Itachi.

Hidan: Damn

Sasori: Hey what about Zetsu?

Kevin: He's Tobi's Co Host

Pain: That son of a bitch

Kakuzu: Never trust plants

Kevin: Now go and have fun guys.

Tobi: Yeah guys

Deidara: Don't talk to us Tobi

Tobi: :c

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

At the hideout with Hidan and Kisame.

Hidan: I can't believe Tobi would do this to us!

Kisame: I mean he is succeeding shouldn't we be proud?

Hidan: No we shouldn't that ass hat practically sold us!

Kisame: Well the past is past. How about some tea and donuts?

Hidan: Your even more of a stick in the mud then Kakuzu

Kisame: Am not

Hidan: Then watch Gravity Falls with me

Kisame: Fine

After binge watching the whole ass show.

Hidan: GODDAMNIT BILL WHY DID YOU LOSE I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU! YOU LOST TO TWO DAMN KIDS AND TWO CRUSTY OLD MEN.

Kisame: If Bill didn't let his pride and his want for vengeance get in the way he might have won. When he had them he could have just as easily killed them and took whatever it was he wanted from the uncles.

Hidan: I guess your right but, damnit Bill. The bad guys always lose or turn good or some plot armor shit

Kisame: I think it was an amazing show.

Hidan: Really?

Kisame: Yes the characters were all interesting even the villains and minor ones, the buildup to the end is neat, and it kinda teaches you something about life.

Hidan: But, what gets o my damn nerves is Mabel. She says Dipper is selfish when all he has done is sacrifice for her. Like damn kid give him a break your worried about friends and he's worried about life as you know it.

Kisame: Yes she is a bit annoying. Who's your favorite chracter?

Hidan: Bill duh. He seems all nice and stuff but, before you know it it's too late. Notice what all is victims have in common? Desperation? All of them were so desperate to achieve something they would do anything to get it. He takes advantage of their weaknesses and exploits them. It's amazing he's so damn smart. And ya know what else is funny? Bill being a dream demon can only go into people's minds with the consent of people. He may be evil and shit but, without those people he wouldn't have gotten far. He brings out their flaws and weaknesses therefore they can't really blame him for it. I love him because he's such a complex character. (Not me making a whole speech on this nope)

Kisame: Wow your pretty smart to notice it too

Hidan: Heh thanks

Kisame: I get what your saying about Mabel but, she is a kid and kids are more likely to make more selfish choices then adults. But, when it come to character development she hasn't developed much like Dipper or Stanley. But, it's funny because when Bill brings it up about Dipper having to constantly having to sacrifice for Mabel that seems to be the main reason fans hate her. It's almost as if Bill is manipulating the audience watching as well.

Hidan: Woah that's some fourth wall breaking. Am I right author? Making us talk about Gravity Falls?

(I'm sorry back to the real story I just wanted to rant how good this show was)

Hidan: This wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be

Kisame: Yeah this was really fun

Hidan: Perhaps we can watch another one next later?

Kisame: Yeah

Leon walks in

Hidan yeets him out.

Kisame: Thank god

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

Kevin: They seem to be doing just fine. Let's check in on Deidara and Kakuzu.

Tobi: SENNPAAAAII

Greg: Team Bill

Jorge: I don't care what anyone says Mabel hella annoying

Rianna: But, Kisame did say she was just a kid. I like the way Kisame thinks new favorite.

Sofia: Bill is amazing regardless

Jorge: But Dipper is big brain

Sofia: Not too big brain to be easily manipulated by a flying dorito. The whole damn family fell for it

Rianna: It's just human nature we are easy to manipulate.

Greg: He's a smart flying dorito

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

Deidara: ....

Kakuzu: ....

Deidara: So...

Kakuzu: What do we do? Sit here all day? And say so?

Deidara: I don't know what do you and Hidan usually do?

Kakuzu: Fight each other, argue, listen to drama.

Deidara: Your nothing like Sasori other then the argue part.

Kakuzu: I'm flattered

Deidara: You got any vide games?

Kakuzu: Yeah I have a gameboy

Deidara: Damn your a boomer

Kakuzu: -_- You wanna play or not

Several hours later

Deidara: Damn your good at this

Kakuzu: I play it when Hidan isn't bothering me it's been awhile so I'm a but rusty.

Deidara: I see

Leon struts in the room.

Leon: Hello darlings I am here to ask you some questions

Deidara: Dramatic much?

Leon: Hun you shouldn't talk

Deidara: What's that suppose to mean?

Leon ignores him.

Leon: So Kakuzu how do you like the new teammate switch?

Deidara: I exist too ya know

Leon: Oh I know I just wish you didn't

Deidara: Now your asking for it

Leon: What are you going to do? Blow me up like you did yourself?

Deidara starts to get up but, Kakuzu grabs him and pulls him back.

Kakuzu: Ignore him he's just trying trying rile you up

Deidara: Well it's working

Leon: Guess your nothing without your boy toy huh?

Deidara glares at him.

Kakuzu: Stop messing with him Leon and just ask the damn questions so you can go

Leon: Alright alright. Kakuzu what kind of relationship do you have with Hidan?

Kakuzu: We are only friends

Leon: Really because you seems to always be at each others necks

Kakuzu: Just take the answer

Leon: And I'm guessing you and Sasori are only friends too Deidara?

Deidara: Yes

Leon: Hmph of course why would I even ask he wouldn't be interested in someone like you

Deidara stiffens and looks away.

Kakuzu: Leon if you want to keep your arms attached I suggest not talking to him that way

Leon stiffens but, regains his posture.

Leon: Ok time for me to take my leave.

Leon walks away as fast as fuck.

Deidara: Thanks Kakuzu

Kakuzu: No problem kid

Deidara: Ok boomer

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

Kevin: Damn Leon is grinding and not in a god way

Tobi: How dare he talk to my senpai that way!

Zetsu: Next up we have Sasori and Konan

Tobi: Ew Sasori

Kevin: Damn Tobi

Tobi: Shut up Tom

Kevin: My name

Tobi: Tobi doesn't care

Jorge: I hate Leon

Rianna: For real

Greg: Damn even Rianna hates him.

Sofia: But, Kakuzu and Deidara are wholesome af

Greg: Mhm

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

Sasori: I hope Deidara is ok

Konan: Don't worry Kakuzu won't let hurt him or anyone else. He doesn't want to deal with you

Sasori: He better not

Konan: Stop worrying Sasori come and sit with me

Sasori sits down.

Konan: You know this a great opportunity to get to know you better.

Sasori: Yeah defiantly

Konan: So what kind of books do you like?

Sasori: Romance, Mystery, Psychological, and Thriller

Konan: Oh Sasori I never took you as the romance type. (Please don't look at this wrong she's only being nice. Like an older sister)

Sasori blushes a little.

Konan: So do you like tea?

Sasori: Who doesn't?

Konan giggles.

They talk for awhile.

Konan: So do you have a crush?

Sasori: No what is this a sleepover?

Konan: No just me being nosy

Sasori: What do you have one?

Konan: Yes

Sasori: Is it Kakuzu?

Konan: No he's too in love with money

Sasori: Deidara?

Konan: He's yours

Sasori rolls his eyes.

Sasori: Is it Itachi?

Konan: He's handsome but, he's too attached to Kisame.

Sasori: Me?

Konan: That's cute

Sasori: Ouch. Pain?

Konan nods and laughs.

Sasori: I knew it

Konan: Yeah

Sasori: So when are you gonna tell him?

Konan: When are you gonna tell Deidara?

Sasori: Touche

Leon: Hello lovebirds

They both jump.

Leon: So we talking about crushes? Wanna know my mine Konan?

Konan: Get out

Leon: Moody much

Sasori: Didn't you just interview Deidara and Kakuzu?

Leon: Yes and your bf is mad

Sasori: What did you do?

Leon: Nothing

Konan: L e a v e

Leon: Tough crowd

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

Tobi: Senpai won't see this right

Kevin: Nope

Tobi: Good because Sasori better back off Senpai is miiiinnnneee.

Kevin: Heh ok

Rianna: Sasori cute

Jorge: He's like 35

Sofia: Love is strange

Greg: Just like your taste in anime

Sofia: Stfu

Zetsu: Last but, not least we have Itachi and Pain.

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

Itachi and Pain have been sitting in silence for awhile until Leon came in.

Leon: Hello there boys care if I join you?

Pain: ...

Leon: Ok so what have you two been doing?

Itachi: Minding our own business

Leon: Feisty

Pain: What questions do you have for us?

Leon: So you two are single huh? Maybe we could I don't know go out?

Itachi: No

Pain: I'd rather go out with Hidan then you

Leon: Damn that was low

Pain: You were disrespectful to Konan

Leon: Not my fault she was being a cockblock

Itachi puts him in an genjutsu.

After dah genjutsu

Leon: Fuck you both Leon

Leon stomps off.

Pain: He was annoying

Itachi: Mhm

Itachi: Don't see how anyone could be mean to Konan

Pain: Yeah she's sweet I hope she's fine with Sasori

Itachi: Tch Sasori wouldn't hurt her

Pain: Yeah your right.

Goes back to silence.

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

Kevin: That was...interesting

Tobi: Leon can go suck a lemon

Zetsu: Amen

Jorge: Omg Konan is so wholesome

Sofia: Pain is ma boi

Rianna: I'm just glad Leon got what he deserved

Greg: Mhm

Kevin: And that's all folks

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

[shesthelastjedi]

Finding The Fire Within: The Avatar Returns

Hi!

Here is Chapter 2! I hope you enjoyed chapter one. Let me know what you guys think.

My story is posted on FF, ao3, and Tumblr. Thank you to those who took a chance to read this.

Forever and Always,

Ari.

Disclaimer: I only own my OC's and the parts of the plot you do not recognize from the Avatar The Last Airbender.

Chapter 2: The Avatar Returns

Adara spread out the old map reading the notes cursing at the terrible penmanship, "It's the Southern Water Tribe, this is the only village. From what I saw from the other maps it's nothing like the sister tribe." She gestured to the Northern Tribe, ignoring the chill that ran up her spine. "From what our other sources have written, there are no men at the village. This is an outdated source, I'm not sure how accurate it is. So, my suggestion is to read lightly." Adara watched the men, tightening Zuko's armor.

From his look of victory and malice, she knew that he wasn't going to tread lightly. Sometimes she didn't know why she even bothered. It wasn't like he was going to heed her warning. "I'm so close to the Avatar, we will be making our way back home as soon as he is in chains." Adara shifted her light armor wishing that it wasn't uncomfortable. She focused on rolling up the map, so she didn't shift her armor again. "Stay on the ship with uncle." She avoided his eyes, hating the look in them.

Adara focused on the tip of her shoe, so she didn't roll her eyes at his words. She kept quiet when the other men started packing up, waiting patiently for them to leave, so she could have some words with him. Once the door shut, she met his gaze with a heated glare. "Why couldn't you have said something before I put my armor on?" Adara readjusted her armor for the fifth time, knowing that there was no way he was going to sideline her when she already studied the map. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he needed her. "It's too late, I'm going and deep down you know that I have to go too."

Adara held his heated gaze, waiting for Zuko to relent. That was the thing about him, all she had to do was wait out his glare. "Stay out of my way then," He hissed, brushing past her, knocking her shoulder lightly.

"Your wish is my command, my prince," Adara lowered her head, smirking when she heard his scoff. Adara laughed to herself knowing her light tease affected him, she picked up his forgotten helmet, following him to the hatch. She stopped to his right, offering it to him as they waited for the door to open. Zuko sighed quietly, taking it from her, pulling it on. Sometimes she wondered where his head would be if it wasn't attached to his body. Adara eyed the guards behind her, wondering if Takumi was coming with them. She would feel loads better if he came with her. Adara tensed when the hatch lowered, hoping that there weren't any waterbenders to confront them. The last thing she wanted was to dual a Waterbender in a never-ending water supply.

Once it was opened, Adara surveyed the small village, following after Zuko slowly as he stalked forward. She saw the small ice houses packed close together and not much else. It was smaller than the other villages they had stumbled across. It was a small shock when she realized the villagers must have had to hunt to get simple things like clothing and food. It was something she never had to do and she couldn't help but slightly admire their way of life. She wasn't fond of the waterbenders, but the water nation people were enduring and strong for living in this freezing environment.

Her gaze was drawn to the snow gathered where the platform had opened, before a small skrill cry had her staring at the people wearily. The only people who were scattered around were women and small children, and from what she could see there were no warriors among the women. She skimmed over the faces of the people seeing only fear and horror at their presence. Everywhere they went, it was always the same expression on the faces of those who despised and feared the Fire Nation. The children hid behind their mothers, as they advanced towards the people. She eyed the boy who seemed around her age, proudly standing in front of his people. He had white and dark blue paint all over his face matching his clothing and clutched in his hand was a spear. From what it seemed he was the only warrior left behind to protect the small village. Adara stopped on the metal, a few steps behind Zuko already seeing that the boy wasn't much of a threat, so there wasn't a need for her to try and intervene.

Adara raised her eyebrows when a wail came from the boy, running forward as if he were going to take down Zuko. Briefly, she wondered if Zuko was going to give him a fight or kick him down with ease. Knowing the mood he was in today, she guessed the latter. She kept her face blank when Zuko hit the spear out of his hand, kicking him out of the way with ease. The boy landed in the loose snow beside her. With slight amusement she watched him kick his legs up as he tried to get out of the snow. With their small warrior taken down, the rest of the people all stepped back fearfully.

Adara stepped forward when Zuko moved towards the villagers. She knew he would be upset if she was any closer to him. The children disappeared behind their mothers' skirts when Zuko neared them. Adara frowned internally wondering how he could ignore the fear. She hated seeing it when she shopped at the vendors with Iroh. She hated being feared for being a citizen of the Fire Nation. Not all their people were hotheaded or cruel. Her thoughts trailed to the older woman who sold colorful stones in the plaza, and how she always had a smile on her face. Or the man who brought her new books from other lands. Their people were kind and warm, they didn't deserve this contempt.

"Where are you hiding him," Zuko yelled, his irritation beginning to reach the surface. Adara fought against the urge to fidget when there was no answer from the villagers. She couldn't intervene without causing a scene, so she watched helplessly as Zuko grabbed an elderly lady with hair as white as the snow. "He'd be about this age? Master of all elements?" When the villagers didn't answer, Zuko shoved the elder into the arms of a young girl. Adara closed her eyes, hoping that he wouldn't let his anger get the best of him, but he proved her wrong yet again. She kept her face carefully blank when he sent out a blast of fire over the villagers' head. She wished that Iroh had come down with them, so he could chastise him for being so mean. The villagers cowered, screaming out in fear, " I know, you're hiding him!"

Adara turned quickly when she heard the wail come from behind her. She stepped towards him ready to take him on when a warm calloused hand set itself on her arm. "Let him handle it," Takumi whispered lowly, pulling her to the side. She nodded slightly, glancing at Zuko to handle the boy.

With ease, Zuko evaded the boy, using the boy's momentum to flip him over his head. He delivered a blast of fire, growling when the boy dodged, yanking the boomerang from his back. The boy threw the weapon and Zuko was forced to step back. One of the little village boys tossed a huge spear at the warrior, "Show no fear!"

The boy smirked, catching the spear, running towards Zuko. Zuko threw his wrists up, breaking the flimsy spear piece by piece. He caught what was left of the spear, hitting the boy on the head multiple times before knocking him down. He hovered over the boy, and she could see him even more agitated than he was earlier. Adara shrugged Takumi's hand off, rushing towards Zuko when she saw a flash of silver coming towards him. Just before she reached him, the boomerang smashed into Zuko's helmet causing him to lose his footing. She steadied him, glaring down at the boy. Zuko shrugged her off with a glare and she quickly stepped to the side, eyeing the fire radiating from his clenched fists. She glanced up seeing snow flying up in the air, heading towards Zuko. Adara moved forward again, shoving Zuko out of the way trying to take the hit from the orange blur. Her pride could take the hit of being knocked down, Zuko couldn't. He grabbed her arm and when the orange force hit her, it caused them both to fly up in the air. She landed on her back gasping for air, seeing the clear blue sky. Slowly she sat up, only to see Zuko with his face stuck in the snow and his helmet on his backside. Adara winced knowing she messed up as she shuffled towards him, helping to his feet, ignoring the cheering from the children. Zuko sent her a furious look and once they were back on the ship she knew that he was going to yell at her. He held out his arms so the rest of the guards surrounded the child in orange. Adara ignored Zuko's silent command, swallowing harshly that the orange blur was a kid. A kid who was dressed in air nomad clothing. She was expecting an old man, not a child. She stood beside Zuko, trying her hardest to push the thought that he was only a kid. Adara got into her stance, hoping this wouldn't come down to a fight. She prepared herself to fight an adult, not a kid, and she wasn't sure if she could一. No. Adara stopped her thoughts, he's the enemy. He's our way home.

The boy sent snow onto her and the guards, laughing quietly to himself at his trick. She stood firm, feeling the snowmelt as it tried to press her down. Fury coursed through her melting the snow. She faltered again when she realized that he was about the same age… focus. Adara tried her best to refocus. Zuko was counting on her. "Looking for me?" Her heart pounded in her chest and the familiarity of his voice.

For the first time in a while, Adara could hear the shock weaving in Zuko's voice, "You're the Airbender? You're the Avatar?" Adara watched the younger girl who caught the elder, looked at the boy, shock covering her face. From her reaction, she could tell that they didn't know. It was one thing if they were hiding him, but it was a different story if the people didn't know. "I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training. Meditating. You're just a child!" Adara straightened her back, dropping her stance.

"Well, you're just a teenager." Adara hid her smirk at the boys counter. She took a small step back when the boy and Zuko started circling each other. She watched the young Airbender curiously as he ducked and dodged Zuko's fire. His stance was entirely defensive and something she was not expecting from the Avatar. Her stomach clenched tightly when one of Zuko's blasts of fire managed to go over the villagers' heads. They cried out in fear, causing the boy to falter in his evading. The young boy glanced at the villagers apologetically, "If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?"

Zuko straightened from his firebending stance, watching the boy, to see if it was a ruse. Once he seemed satisfied with what he saw he nodded once. The guards raced forward taking hold of the kid before he could change his mind. Zuko walked in front of the men with his head held high. Adara couldn't bring herself to walk after him, instead, she stayed planted next to Takumi. The men passed her with their ticket back home, holding onto him tightly so he couldn't disappear from their grasp.

"No, Aang! Don't do this," A girl's voice cried out as she tried to dart towards them. Adara blocked her path just in case she tried something. She watched the young blue-eyed girl being held back by the warrior and the elder.

"Lady Adara," Takumi woke her out of her trance. With one last look at the people, she turned on her heel, walking behind the guards.

She trailed behind the guards hating that she had her back turned. "Don't worry Katara, it'll be okay." Adara peered in between the guards seeing Aang's cheerful face as he tried to reassure his friend. The two men who watched him, shoved him forward, seeming not to care that he was trying to say goodbye. "Take care of Appa for me until I get back." Adara turned seeing Takumi blocking her from the villagers. Regardless, she peered over him, seeing Katara's pleading gaze. Adara glanced away, knowing there was nothing she could do even if she wanted too. Aang was their mission, and she wanted to go home. She knew Zuko wanted his life back, his status, his honor and she couldn't be caught in the way of his right.

"Adara!" Zuko's angry voice caused her to retreat from her thoughts. She climbed the walkway, clipping past the guards and the young Airbender. She took her place to his right, not daring to look at him. "Head a course to the Fire Nation. I'm going home."

She kept quiet, daring to take a glance behind her at the boy. He was surveying the ship, seemingly at ease with what he was going through. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't push away the fact that he was a child, a few years younger than herself. Adara broke away from Zuko when they reached the deck. She stood next to Iroh, feeling comforted in his presence. At least he was more rational than Zuko.

Zuko reached for the staff one of the men held, holding it proudly, "This staff will make an excellent gift for my father." He looked at the boy, his voice sounding condescending, "I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers, being raised by monks. Take the Avatar to the prison hold." Zuko shoved the staff into Iroh's hand. "Take this to my quarters." She tried to sneak away with Iroh so she didn't have to endure a screaming match with Zuko. "Adara," She froze hearing the underlying anger in his tone. "Can I have a word with you?" Without meaning too, she caught Aang's playful grey eyes and he sent her a small smile. Adara blinked at him in shock, realizing that he didn't have a fearful expression like the people back at the village. It was strange and she sent him a small unsure smile back, "Adara!"

She jerked her gaze away from Aang, staring at Zuko. She straightened her back, "Yes, Prince Zuko." She didn't dare look Aang being escorted away.

He turned on his heel, and she followed after him. He stopped in the middle of the vacant hallway, turning to face her. His face was twisted in anger, "You made me look like a fool."

"You're the one that grabbed onto me," Adara said, not allowing him to place the full blame on her. "You should've let me take the hit. I tried to shove you out of the way." Adara pushed past him, her amour was starting to dig into her. "Don't try and pin this all on me. Now, if you'll excuse me," She ignored the glare on her back as she headed to her quarters to take the amour off.

Adara reached her room, slamming the door behind her as she peeled off the amour. She tossed it on the floor changing into her regular clothes so she could meditate on the deck. Adara slowly picked up her amour, placing it on the bed neatly. She would put it up later, slowly she opened her door hoping that she wouldn't run into Zuko. She needed some time before they tried to talk again. Adara breathed in the cold air once she reached the deck. Slowly she sat down, closing her eyes letting her mind try to calm. Adara bit her lip when she couldn't focus, her mind kept drifting to the Airbender currently in the prison hold. Adara opened her eyes hearing yelling behind her. Just as she was about to turn around, a blast of air hit her back sending her forward. She caught herself on her hands, wincing at the sharp pain stemming from her wrists. "Sorry!"

Adara forced herself up, rubbing her wrists, seeing Zuko and the boy facing off in front of her. A shadow passed over her and she looked up seeing a huge flying animal carrying two people. "Aang! No!" Adara ran towards Zuko when she saw Aang in the middle of a swirling column of water. His eyes and arrows glowing bright blue.

She reached Zuko and he pushed her behind him when Aang set himself on the desk, bending the water and sending it towards them. Adara screamed out when she felt the ice-cold water shove her overboard. If it weren't for Zuko holding onto her waist she would've been sent into the water below. Adara twisted out of his hold, swinging herself below him grabbing onto the chain. He glanced down at her hesitating, "Go!"

She concentrated on pulling herself up, having no time to focus on the predicament she was in. Her hands hurt from the cold metal digging into her skin. She looked up when Zuko yelled as he fell towards the water. Adara reached out, clasping his wrist in her grip swinging him below her. She grunted through the new pain on her wrist, as she peered down at him. He nodded at her and she started pulling herself up.

"Ha! That's from the Water Tribe!" Adara glared up at the wannabe warrior, stopping her ascension to send a blast of fire towards him.

"That's from the Fire Nation," The boy yelped leaning away from the side. She glanced down at Zuko, wanting to ask him if he was alright. He stared up at her, his eyes telling her to keep going. She climbed again, grasping the ledge pulling herself up, only to see the Water Tribe girl freeze the guards before returning to the creature.

She froze, letting out a shaky breath. "Adara!" She shook herself from her fear, pulling herself so that she wasn't close to the ledge. Adara turned, hating that she had her back towards the young girl, to pull Zuko up. Warm hands nudged her to the side and she allowed Iroh to pull Zuko up. Once he was on his feet her started shouting his demands, "Shoot them down!"

Adara took a moment to settle her fear, letting Zuko and Iroh handle them. Slowly she stood up, focusing on the frozen guards. She heated up her palms, producing a small flame hovering it over the ice to defrost the men. Takumi came to stand next to her as he helped her with the non-bender. She crashed into Takumi when the ship came to a sudden stop. He settled her, a small frown overtaking his face when he looked down at her. "You don't have to-"

"I do," Adara cut him off going back to the men. She was angry that she froze at the sight of a water bender. One that didn't have any sort of training. "Get them out of this ice," Adara gritted her teeth, recreating her small flame. Her wrist was hurting her, but she needed to get them out.

"Good news for the Fire Lord. The nation's greatest threat is just a little kid," Iroh sounded joyful at the small fact. She sent the elder man a skeptical look, that kid was a huge threat and they didn't know anything about him. Her eyes trailed to the snow blocking the ship from moving and it was going to be a pain to get rid of.

"That kid, Uncle, just did this. I won't underestimate him again. Dig this ship out and follow them," Zuko yelled, finally looking at the people gathered around him. Adara frowned at him before she continued back to her work. "As soon as you're done with that," He sighed, turning back to look at the animal flying away.

Adara glanced at one of the free guards. "Get warm towels," She ordered grabbing the man when his legs gave out. Carefully, she set him down focusing on the ice that held his feet captured. "Hold on a little longer," She whispered, seeing his body shiver. "We can get you some warm tea or food so it will help warm you."

"Lady-" Adara turned quickly not caring how rude she seemed as she, yanked one of the towels out of the guards' hand, draping it around the shivering man.

"Quickly give the rest the towels to the others and tell the cook to make some warm tea and food for the men," Adara melted the rest of the ice. "Gather your strength for a moment, then go inside and change. Make sure you drink warm tea and get something to eat." The man nodded gratefully and she stood, seeing the rest of the men being taken care of. Adara eyed the snow, breathing in deeply as she walked towards it. She passed Zuko, standing in front of the snow starting to melt it slowly.

-.-

Adara swayed on her feet as she made her way to her room. Her body hurt and she had almost no energy left. She had left the rest of the work to the others, going to check on the men who Katara froze. She opened her door, seeing the armor still on her bed. The last thing she wanted was to trek it back down to the weapons room. Adara whimpered setting her armor to the side, lowering herself to the bed. Her shoulders sagged as she cradled her injured wrist. Both of her wrists were hurting, but her right one was swollen more than her left one. Adara rubbed her eyes gently, laying back on the part of her bed that she had cleared. A soft knock on the door had her sighing in displeasure. She heaved her tired body up with another sigh, walking slowly, opening the door expecting a guard. Instead, she saw Zuko standing before her with a guard next to him. "Is everything alright?"

He looked at the door expectantly and she opened it wider so he could enter. The guard walked in behind her, setting the tray of food and tea on her table. He glanced at her bed, beginning to collect her armor. Before she could stop him, Zuko shook his head. Once her armor was collected the guard left, closing the door behind him. "Uncle said to bring you something to eat. I brought some of your favorite tea." Adara smiled slightly as she sagged beside the table, hiding her wrist behind her back.

"Thank you," She said, taking the cup of berry tea he offered her. "Will you have a cup with me?" She knew he wouldn't refuse a cup of the tea he refused to admit he liked. She watched him pretend to be annoyed as he poured his own cup. She felt bad since she couldn't even pour him one.

"Thank you… for earlier," He mumbled out before she could say anything. She took a small sip, setting her tea down picking at her food. He frowned at her when she kept dropping the komodo sausage, wondering why she was using her left hand. "That was a pretty good blast you sent to the Water Tribe boy." Zuko glanced at her hand, seeing it shaking lightly.

Adara sent him a small smile as she set her chopsticks down. "You don't have to thank me." She picked up her tea again, pondering for a moment. "It was a pretty good blast of fire. One day I'll surpass you Sparky."

Zuko rolled his eyes at the nickname. "The water bender…"

"I don't think she's very experienced. What she did to the men seemed like pure luck," Adara cut him off, setting her cup down harshly. She didn't want to think about the Avatar having a water bender with him. She was going to have to face her fears of being around one, now that Zuko found the Avatar.

Adara could feel his eyes on her, and she didn't want to talk about it. "We will be docking tomorrow, the ship still needs to be repaired," Zuko announced setting his empty cup down.

She toyed with her cup, looking at her food longingly. It smelt so divine and she couldn't eat it without showing her injury. "Are we keeping the Avatar a secret?"

"Yes, we can't have every Firebender after him," Zuko stood up pacing. She watched him, pulling her sleeve over her hand when she saw the purple mark. "Why aren't you eating?"

Adara froze sitting up straighter, wondering if he would know if she was lying. "I can tell the crew if you want," Adara changed the subject, pushing down a yawn.

Zuko's P.O.V

"I'll take care of it, Dara." Zuko watched his tired friend fight against the yawn threatening to overtake her. He had given the orders to the men to take care of and she had taken it upon herself to help them. He heard the men's murmurs of gratitude when she finally left. "You didn't answer me."

She swallowed hard, picking her chopsticks with her left hand, shakily bringing food to her mouth. Zuko sat beside her, picking the pieces of rice that fell on her robes. "I'm eating," She looked away, setting the chopsticks down again.

He eyed her right hand behind her back. Reaching over her, he took it gently ignoring her protests. "What happened to your arm?"

"Nothing," She tried to pull her arm away. He held it lightly, pulling her sleeve back seeing her swollen purple wrist. "It's my wrist, not my arm," Zuko growled at her, setting her arm down. He stood up, heading towards the door throwing it open.

"You," He hissed at the man walking by. "Bring me ice and bandages." The man nodded scurrying down the hall. Zuko turned back to her, sitting beside her. "Why didn't you say anything?" She sent him a small bashful grin. He picked up the chopsticks, hold a piece of komodo sausage out to her. Adara shrugged, quirking her eyebrow at him.

"You don't have to help me eat," Adara frowned, trying to take it from him. "I can do it, it doesn't hurt."

"You helped me when I was hurt, just eat," He batted her hands away. She groaned, leaning forward to take the piece of komodo sausage. She chewed slowly, not daring to look at him. He got another piece, staring at her. "The men appreciated your help." Adara nodded, still refusing to meet his eyes. He fed her the rest quietly, knowing that she felt like a burden. "Why… Why did you help them?"

"Why wouldn't I," Adara asked softly, finally meeting his gaze. "I didn't mean for you to fall." She said suddenly as she shifted away, pulling her hair down. "I was trying to help you and I thought it would be better for me to take the hit."

Zuko sighed, wanting to be angry at her but he couldn't find it in himself to yell at her. When she tried to protect him, he tried to protect her. "I know you didn't. Just don't do it again." Adara nodded setting her wrist back on her lap. "C'mon," Zuko leaned down helping her up. Her legs gave out from underneath her and he caught her. "You shouldn't have helped. You pushed yourself too hard."

"I had to help," She chuckled, resting her head on his shoulder. "We have to get the Avatar to go home." Zuko set her down on her bed gently. "Don't worry about me, you need to rest. It's been a long eventful day, I'll wait for the guard." She patted his hand gently, sending him a reassuring smile.

"Nice try," He said, reaching to rest her wrist on one of her pillows. "I know you and your heat for cold things. You won't ice your wrist." Adara blinked up at him tiredly, shrugging her shoulders. A small knock sounded through the quiet room. "Come in." The man from earlier entered, moving noisily as he set the tray down. He glanced at Adara, sending her a small smile when she looked at him. "You're dismissed." Zuko took the tray, starting to wrap her wrist gently. The door closed and he could tell she was struggling to keep her eyes open. "Almost done," He murmured, setting her hand back on the pillow helping her lay down comfortably. He set the ice on top of the bandage, ignoring her hiss at the cold.

"Thanks, Zuko," Adara held her eyes open, sending him a smile. Another yawn escaped her mouth and he knew she would fall asleep soon.

"Don't worry about it," Zuko said, glancing around her room seeing new paintings. Her room was slightly smaller than his and she had managed to make it feel like home. From her paintings, he could tell that she missed it as much as he did. Every time he came into her room, there were always a dozen more drawings and scrolls scattered around the room. He picked up the nearest scroll, grimacing when he realized how boring it was. He couldn't understand why she cared about poisonous and non-poisonous plants and berries. He took the melted bag of ice, rolling his eyes when he realized she melted it on purpose. "You're a pain."

"Sleep well Zuko," Adara closed her eyes, a small smile on her face. Zuko reached forward to brush the loose strands of dark hair away before he stopped himself.

"You too," Zuko stood, grabbing the tray closing the door behind him. He carried it until he spotted the nearest guard, shoving the tray in his hands. He stalked to the deck, feeling the ship start to move. Once he was satisfied they were on the move, he made his way back to his room.

"Prince Zuko," His uncle stopped him before he could enter. He faced his uncle not in the mood for a lecture or his words of wisdom. "Remember tomorrow is a hard day for Adara." He frowned wondering what the relevance of tomorrow was. Zuko nodded entering his room as he thought about it more in-depth. He felt ashamed when he remembered why tomorrow was going to be a hard day for Adara.

He sat down on his bed, slowly pulling off his armor as he thought about the past. He remembered when her eldest brother left for the war, he hired a nursemaid to watch out for Adara and her little brother Shao. His mother always invited Adara to the palace, since she was the only one he managed to get along with. A day that they came to visit, there had been an attack on his father's life. Her younger brother and nursemaid were killed during the attack. Zuko knew that she carried the guilt of their death still. He shoved his armor to the floor, laying back looking at the ceiling. He needed to focus on the Avatar if he were to sway from his task, they couldn't return home and he would lose everything.

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of Marvel: Week of March 15th, 2019

Best of this Week: Daredevil #5 (Legacy #617) - Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Sunny Gho and Clayton Cowles

The “Man Without Fear” miniseries brought Matt Murdock low, but Chip Zdarsky managed to bring him even lower.

Beginning right after the end of the last issue, Matt goes after The Owl and his crime ring, hoping to put a stop to whatever big plans they have going on. Still wearing Punisher’s shirt, Daredevil takes on all comers. With expertly drawn art by Checchetto, he manages to take down a guy with Iron Man level armor using the momentum of a speeding truck and a hook, sending the truck careening into the air and letting the guns and drugs spill out. Soon after, Matt grabs one of the doors and storms through a hail of gunfire and begins tearing through Owl’s men before getting overwhelmed and being saved by the other Defenders; Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist.

He passes out and wakes up later in Danny’s apartment and breaks down, saying that he just wanted to do one last good thing as Daredevil before they take him in for accidentally killing a criminal. What I liked best about this is that they’re there for him. Jessica assures him that they’re not going to take him in and they’ve all been in the same position. Jessica’s likely killed people under Killgrave’s influence, Luke’s killed one or two of his villains and Danny’s entire Immortal Iron Fist run by Ed Brubaker and later Matt Fraction was dark. They know what it’s like to work through all of that pain and guilt.

Matt, however, struggles with the idea that they’ve all killed people and runs away from his friends because of it. One of the biggest themes of this run thus far is how Matt is coping with what he did and his religion on top of it. Murder is a cardinal sin to Catholics and Matt Murdock has more Catholic Guilt than any of them have ever had. He dresses as the devil for chrissakes and uses the mask to blind himself to the violence he commits out of his personal sense of justice.

When he returns home, he senses the presence of someone strong. Someone he says has immense power, but doesn’t know it. The best of them. Spider-Man then confronts him in his home, telling him that he can see that Daredevil’s not all there. He wouldn’t have been able to follow Daredevil home if he were and acknowledges everything that Matt’s done up to this point, calling his attack on the Owl a “suicide mission.” He tells Daredevil that he’s done and if anyone sees him out there, they will stop him.

All of this scene was a work of art. When we see Spider-Man he’s shrouded in shadow. Spidey is often considered one of the biggest beacons of light in the Marvel universe and having him stand in the dark drives home the message of how serious things are. Every close-up shot with Daredevil feels even more personal as the weight of his actions are drawn on his also heavily shadowed face. It feels personal, depressing and as he slumps back into his wheelchair - gut wrenching.

It breaks my heart to see Matt like this again. He’s tried so hard to pull himself out of the hole he’s been digging for long, but the whole time we’ve been reading, the hole’s just gotten bigger and bigger. Eventually just engulfing him in darkness as his mistakes catch up to him.

I don’t know where he goes from here. Back to the life of a lawyer? He’s been disgraced and was serving out of a broom closet the last time he tried. Another position in city office? Wilson Fisk would NEVER risk that again. Maybe a position in the church? I don’t know, but whatever the future holds, I know it’s going to be an amazing and somber one.

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

Kraven has always seen Spider-Man as his greatest opponent.

Runner Up: The Amazing Spider-Man: Hunted pt. 5 #21 (Legacy #822) - Nick Spencer, Gerardo Sandoval, Victor Nava, Erick Arciniega and Joe Caramagna

The Spider has thwarted his greatest plots and schemes and proven himself to be the stronger man half of the time. The only time that Kraven has ever felt superior was when he “proved himself better at crime fighting” than Spider-Man in Kraven's Last Hunt, killing himself soon after. He found peace in the dark only for it to be ripped away years later and surmises that the only way for him to achieve true death was for Spider-Man to kill him.

This Hunt that he set up with the animal themed villains served three purposes. To rid the world of these undeserving hunters, to kill off the more pathetic animal themed villains and to finally push Spider-Man over the edge.

Swarmed by clones of Vermin, Spider-Man monologues internally about how “this is it” and apologizes to Mary Jane, thinking that the Vermin are going to kill him only for Kraven to come to his rescue. He passes out and later wakes up, injuries healed and chained to the floor in a new Black Suit. (Not actually the Symbiote, just what Kraven considers Spider-Man's most significant costume, unknown how many he's made)

Doctor Curt Connors is also in there with him. He explains that the collar around Spider-Man's neck is rigged to explode and that his inhibitor chip won't let him rip the collar apart as it prevents him from hurting people. Kraven then shows a live feed of his son catching up to Black Cat and Billy Connors, almost certainly with a killing intent.

Dr. Connors says that the only way that he can save his son is by taking the chip off, but given that it’s attached to his spine, Spider-Man thinks it'll kill him. In a great moment, Connors says that it's a chance he's willing to take and hearkens back to Peter's power and responsibility speeches and that Spider-Man doesn't know what real responsibility is because he doesn't have kids yet.

It's a good character driven moment that brings Connors full circle. When he didn't have control of the Lizard, he actually killed Billy. After his resurrection, he wondered if his son remembered what happened, but was too fixed on just having his family back to ask. And now he has the chance to make up for his horrible actions by becoming a beast again? It's good stuff.

Peter begrudgingly agrees to help, but this is what Kraven wanted. He needed to test Spider-Man to see if he could go the extra mile, to see if he was finally ready to face the Hunter. By removing the chip, he's also removed a part of himself; the part that would have held back, the part that would have found another way, the part that wouldn't rip kraven apart.

Garardo Sandoval's art absolutely smashes this issue. It's visceral and makes everything look so much more serious while still maintaining an almost 90s look. The thick jagged lines give everything an edge, making you feel when Peter's being attacked by Vermin. Kraven showing up in his iconic clothing has weight to it as he's portrayed in ominous shadow and The Lizard looks absolutely horrifying.

This story is almost at its conclusion and I'm so excited. In story time, all of this couldn't have been more than a few hours, but it will have aged Peter considerably. As much as any story has pushed him to the brink, everytime he has to deal with Kraven at his most dangerous, he loses something major in himself. Honestly at this point, I want to almost say that Kraven is absolutely one of Spider-Man's archenemies and Hunted is the cement of that.

[nostalgicatsea]

Hi! If you're still taking prompts, stevetony + cheese wheel! (And also, I want to let you know that I enjoy reading your fics and I tried thinking of ideas from the fics you wanted to write but ugh, I'm no help there. If it helps, I actually got excited when I read the plots! I would read all of them!)

On AO3

The biggest block of cheese that Steve had ever seen in his entire life greeted him as soon as he got to his room after a long day of class. He stood in the doorway, nonplussed.

“Uh,” he managed to say intelligently, the strong stench permeating every inch of his room and apparently his brain so that he couldn’t think of anything other than “Big cheese in room. Why?”

“What are you doing? Put your bag down and let’s go. We’re late for dinner and I’m starving,” Sam complained. 

He stepped to the side to let Sam, who was trying to peek into the room from behind him, get a better view.

“Oh, that. I can’t believe it got to you in one piece,” Sam said as if this wasn’t odd at all but was rather something expected, which Steve couldn’t understand because he hadn’t ordered cheese, no one had mentioned getting cheese, and there wasn’t any note attached to it explaining where the cheese had come from.

Jan wriggled her way between them. “It came!” she squealed as soon as she made her way to the front, clapping with glee. “I wonder who delivered it. Maybe Vision? He wouldn’t care that much about trying a bite.” She eyed the wheel as if she were sorely tempted to slice off a chunk for herself.

“What’s all the—oh Cap, you’re back.” Patsy poked her head out of her room as if the cheese wheel had called to her—or maybe it was Jan’s shriek that had sounded the alarm. “Hey, could I try some? I’ve been waiting for Professor Pym to let you guys out to ask.” She pursed her lips at Sam’s snort. “Okay, the past three weeks,” she conceded as she walked over.

“What are you talking about?” Steve asked all of them, baffled. He turned to Patsy. “Three weeks?”

“Yeah…” she said slowly. “Did you forget?”

“I’m not sure how you could forget winning a wheel of one of the most expensive cheeses in the world,” Sam muttered.

“The most expensive—wait, win? Is this about the charity auction we had?”

“Yeah,” Patsy repeated, dragging out the word like she did the first time. She looked as though she were stuck between thinking he was pitifully dense and being insulted that he of all people got the prize when he clearly didn’t appreciate it the way she did.

Nothing about their conversation so far made any sense; if anything, Steve was more confused than when he had first entered his room.

“I didn’t bid for a cheese wheel,” he insisted.

“Yes, you did. Tony went up on the stage, and you shouted everyone down with an outrageous bid. No one wanted to fight you on it, remember? I thought Loki would, at least.” Jan held up three fingers, putting them down one by one as she rattled off her reasons. “I mean, he has the money, he loves antagonizing everyone, and he always raids Tony’s fridge. I’m surprised you went for it considering you don’t love cheese…that…much…” 

She trailed off and paused, staring up at him at the same time it dawned on him that he had made a fool out of himself and couldn’t back out now without looking even more stupid. Jan, Patsy, and Sam were crowded around him, blocking the only exit.

“Steve,” Jan said slowly, “what did you think you were bidding on?”

He could feel the heat of his blush creeping down his face and neck, and considering its intensity, he knew he was as red as a fire hydrant.

“Uh,” he said for the second time in minutes.

“And here’s Tony with his second offer of the night!” Jan said, introducing her best friend with a flourish. 

Tony sauntered onto the stage, basking under the bright stage lights.

“Our last item is another mystery gift. Like the ones before it, I can’t tell you what it is, but you know Tony gives the best gifts and I can personally guarantee that we saved the best for last. To most of you, it’ll be the most valuable auction of the night.” 

Jan winked and a strange, focused quiet that Steve couldn’t make any sense of rippled through the crowd, all conversation ceasing and everyone’s faces shining with anticipation as Tony stepped to the edge of the stage. 

“Jan says ‘mystery,’ but you all know what’s up for grabs,” he said with a smirk.

A few people gasped, and Steve glanced around to see several starry-eyed classmates before looking back at the stage again, taking care not to grip his paddle too hard as Tony opened his arms to the audience, inviting them to look their fill.

The bidding war had started almost immediately, the numbers jumping up second by second. Steve wasn’t going to bid, wasn’t going to do anything that made it obvious just how sweet he was on Tony like blurting out an extraordinarily high bid, but Tony had seemed taken aback by how fervent the bidding was and how many people were bidding on him—by the people who were bidding on him because some surprising bidders had come forward, and Steve…hadn’t been able to handle that.

“I didn’t know it was going to be cheese,” he said a little more defensively than he would have liked.

Sam gaped at him. “That’s all Tony’s been talking about for ages! What did you think the mystery item was?!”

“Tony was up there, and he looked uncomfortable,” he said instead of answering Sam’s question, his ears on fire. At this rate, his entire body would be as red as Tony’s armor. 

“Because Patsy and Kate were ready to murder Brian for it! And it got all weird when Otto joined!” Jan’s eyes grew as big as saucers. “Oh my God,” she said breathlessly, “did you think he was auctioning himself off?”

“Steve, America was one of the last bidders standing. America,” Sam said at the same time Patsy exclaimed, “You thought I was fighting for Tony? Why?! I’ve never shown any interest in him.” 

“We all know why. How long have we been talking about this?” Sam shook his head as though he couldn’t deal with Steve making a fool out of himself any longer. “He thinks Tony hung the moon, so of course everyone would want to fight for him. But he won’t make a move even though Tony basically broadcasted his feelings for him during his auction too.”

A denial sprung to his lips—he didn’t like Tony that way, and Tony winning his auction didn’t mean anything; he was just being nice, and he spent a lot of money on all his friends—but neither Jan nor Patsy showed any indication that they were surprised as though they had talked about this for a while, and a familiar voice came from behind him before he could speak, banishing all thought from his mind.

“Oh,” Tony said in a small voice, stunned.

He stood there, plates and utensils in hand, his mouth parted in shock. Natasha was behind him, carrying an assortment of fruit and crackers, unruffled.  

Never before had Steve wished the ground would open up and swallow him as much as he did now.

“How much did you hear?” he asked weakly, breaking a long moment of awkward silence where no one quite knew where to look.

“Everything after Patsy said she’s not interested in him,” Natasha replied. “So he knows you’re in love with him, and you know that he’s in love with you.”

“Natasha!” Jan cried, taking pity on both him and Tony. 

“What? Everyone but these two idiots knew for months, and Tony was going—”

“—to hang out with a friend, eating amazing cheese and watching Netflix—”

“Netflix and chill?” Sam replied a bit disapprovingly, as if he were disappointed on Steve’s behalf. “I thought you’d have better game than that.”

“No!” Tony held his hand up in protest before slamming it back down on the plates again, catching the knives and forks that had nearly slid off from the force of his emphatic gesture.

“Ohhhhh.” Patsy snapped her fingers. “You’re wine-and-dining him! That’s cute.”

“I—what? Fruit and crackers aren’t fancy!” Tony said, but he was flushed and his retort didn’t have much bite to it.

This was not going the way Steve had expected. He had seen Tony flustered before, but he was always able to cover it up quickly, either by appearing cool and collected or by managing to divert everyone’s attention while he tried to recover. He had never seen Tony like this.

A thought came to mind, vague and half-formed but with hooks that sank into him so that he could think of nothing else.

Surely if it meant nothing to Tony—which should be the case because he had never shown any sign of interest in Steve before and he flirted with everyone but him—he would have cracked a joke right now.

But he hadn’t and maybe that meant something. 

He couldn’t let that chance go if that were the case.

“Is it true?” he asked. “What Natasha said.”

Tony glanced at him, startled, and Steve could tell he was ready to say no, his heart already sinking, but something on his face must have changed Tony’s mind because he frowned and then bit his lip.

That settled it for him. 

“I’d like to talk to Tony alone,” Steve said to all of them firmly, his expression quelling any form of protest that might have otherwise risen.

Sam cocked his head at the others, stopping in the doorway before he left. “I’ll save you some food if I don’t see you at dinner,” he said kindly.

Steve knew Sam was offering to check up on him after, and he was grateful for it although if his hunch was right, it would be unnecessary.

“It’s fine. This’ll only take a few minutes,” he promised.

Sam nodded and Steve ushered the rest out before he closed the door and turned to face Tony. Tony hadn’t moved from his spot, and Steve was much closer to him than he had expected.

“Is it true?” he asked again, hope both emboldening him and making his words come out shakily. 

“The cat’s out of the bag.” Tony shrugged, giving Steve a rueful smile. “Why else would I have tried so hard to win your auction? I thought I showed my hand, to be honest.”

“You didn’t.” 

He remembered how nonchalantly Tony had raised his paddle and given his winning bid.

“It was the highest bid of the night, Steve.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” Tony laughed. “Did you know what I—never mind, stupid question. Of course you did. I kept blabbing about the cheese all week. And I know that was against the rules, but I felt bad about people bidding on something they didn’t know.”

“No one would have minded. Everyone knows you give the best gifts. Sometimes when we don’t ask for any and you don’t need to.” He paused. “A lot of times, actually,” he added.

It was one of the things he loved most about Tony; he was the most generous and caring person Steve knew, never hesitating to offer help in any way he could. 

“Don’t you hate my robots?” Tony asked, but Steve could tell he was joking.

He rolled his eyes, trying and failing to keep a straight face. “Don’t start this again. You know I don’t.”

“I remember a lot of arm-wrestling that says otherwise.” Tony grew serious again, nervously picking at the gold circle lining the edge of the plate as if he could peel it off. “You seemed kinda nervous about it after you won so I thought the least I could do was show you what it pairs well with when you got it. But I get it if it’s awkward so I can just go.”

“Tony, I don’t even know what that is besides that it’s obviously cheese.”

“Then why—”

“I kind of—” he blurted out too loudly and too quickly, getting ahead of himself in embarrassment. He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. “I might’ve thought you were putting yourself up for auction.”

Tony’s jaw dropped. “Wait, that’s why you’ve been acting weird lately? You paid that much money because you wanted a date with me?”

“No! I mean, yes, I do want to go out with you. I think Sam made my side of this fairly obvious, but…you looked really uncomfortable up there,” Steve said softly. 

He had hated how Tony looked, his megawatt smile flickering before turning bright again, but awkward and pasted on this time.

“Yeah, that’s because the whole idea behind the mystery items was to give people who couldn’t offer big bids a chance to win something and the bids got out of control real fast. But that was sweet of you, protecting me like that.” 

He smiled, and Steve wondered if he was teasing him or if he meant it because what Steve had done was mortifying, not sweet. He had misread the situation and had rushed into things, thinking Tony needed help when he had been perfectly fine.

“You could’ve just asked me for a date, you know,” Tony continued, completely unaware of Steve’s internal crisis. He was still smiling—but there had been a subtle undercurrent of nervousness below the surface of his words too, taut as invisible wire, making him sound less flirty than shy and making Steve recall a conversation that he had overheard some time ago.

Tony was a harmless flirt, Natasha had said. He flirted with everything that breathed because it was safe, never meaning anything by it or expecting anything to come from it. He always got flustered when it was reciprocated. 

And sometimes people flirted back because of that.

“It’s cute,” Tigra had said.

But Tony had never flirted with him even if it was supposedly safe. Not once.

For the first time, Steve wondered if it was because Tony was afraid of it meaning something, the way that it did now, when he couldn’t keep how he really felt from bleeding through.

He never could, now that Steve thought about it. Tony had always hidden behind masks and bravado when he felt that he needed to. It had taken a while for him to see past that. Once he did, though, he had been able to read Tony like a book, to see when he was joking and when he was putting on his public persona or was wary of showing that he cared too much.

Steve wondered what would happen if he pushed back. He stepped closer, placing a hand on Tony’s hip and slipping his fingers through the belt loop there, reeling him in before he could think better of it. He could hear Tony suck in a breath, surprised, and he wanted to chase it past Tony’s lips. But that would have to wait even if he did give in a little and lean over him, watching Tony intently as he spoke.

“Then this is me asking for a date,” he said seriously.

Tony’s eyes were big and bright with incredulity, as if he were struggling to believe his good fortune. 

“Yeah?” he asked, that one word so radiant with hope that he didn’t stand a chance of hiding it.

Not that Steve thought he wanted to, what with the way he was looking at Steve, entranced.

I think I know a bit of what that’s like, he thought because there was nothing else but this, his entire universe, bright and glorious and full of hope, existing just in Tony’s eyes.

“Yeah,” he replied, unable to look away.

“Okay,” Tony said, dazed, “you can have it then.” 

And Steve could see everything, all that Tony said and all that he meant.

You can have me.

“You have me too,” Steve reminded him because Tony had won his auction too and because everything Tony was offering, he wanted to give back to Tony as well.

Tony laughed. “I guess I do, don’t I?” he said, and when he reached up to kiss him, smiling against Steve’s lips, Steve thought that it had all been worth it, all the misunderstandings and all the embarrassing mistakes, because he had ended up right where he wanted to be.

[superstarpower2000]

TimeSpinner. Nintendo Switch.

All Feats Unlocked

All Orbs Achieved

All Auras Obtained

All of the Maps explored

Usually, I like to post some gameplay pics of the games beaten at 100%, make a fast quip and move on. Today, I think I'll give a small review of Timespinner.

TimeSpinner. The flight from Virginia to California is one of the longest in the US. As such, I searched for a MetroidVania to play while on the plane ride. I chose TimeSpinner. Going into this game blind, I knew I wanted two factors in a game while on this long flight. It had to have MetroidVania gameplay. As such, TimeSpinner includes what you would expect from the genre; exploration, collectibles, upgrades, appropriate music and even subsequent lore. The other factor that attracted me to this game was Time. I'm a fan of time manipulation games so a game that had a time stop mechanic definitely caught my attention.

Let's dive in. TimeSpinner is inspired by 90's game art styles. It utilizes this art style really well. I felt while I was playing this that I was playing a game from the 90's. This is evident in visuals and even the gameplay menu. TimeSpinner does a lot with what little it uses. The backgrounds are interesting and eye-catching. The orb mechanic (which we'll get too) has orbs constantly flying around your character but instead of being in the way it just helps you realize where your attacks are landing and keeps the screen interesting as orbs change color depending on the weapon equipped. The backgrounds aren't necessarily detailed either but they keep the player engaged, ranging from strange planets in the sky to horrific creatures in test tubes while exploring a lab. There are plenty of unique character models with a lot of detail put into them. Characters have unique hair colors, hair styles, armor and even gestures. I know who I'm talking to before I speak to them as the models don't repeat and each stands out. However, TimeSpinners is mixed when it comes to the enemy models. At some point, the enemies become boring with repeated models showing up halfway through the game with no new textures, just re-colored enemies. Despite this, a lot of the boss fights in this game caught me off guard due to how visually surprising they looked. One boss, lfrit, caught me off guard as it stood out from the other bosses, in a good way. lfrit is bright, takes up a good portion of the screen and genuinely seems threatening. He/It? is by far my favorite looking enemy in the game.

The gameplay mechanics are also a mixed bag for me. With a name like TimeSpinner, I was hoping for a lot of time manipulation mechanics. TimeSpinner only uses one time manipulation mechanics and that's stopping time. The time stop mechanic is underwhelming. Despite having maximum sand power I felt the time stop mechanic didn't last very long. Even if it did, there was barely any use for it. There were very few obstacles in the way that requires the player to stop time for any reason. If I tried hard enough I feel I could get through the game without stopping time at all. And when you do stop time there's almost very little point as enemies are not affected by the mechanic through damage. If you stop time and attempt to hit an enemy, the attacks won't register. However, actually attacking in TimeSpinner is fun and engaging. In TimeSpinner, there are two modes of attack. Using orbs you find throughout your playthrough and through Aura attacks. You can equip two orbs at a time, one for each hand, and they act like melee weapons you can toss in front of you that immediately come back and literally orbit your character. Orbs naturally level up through constant use, so if you like an orb (or three) , repeated use of them will make them stronger. I was a fan of the Blade Orb, using it causes a sword to spawn in front of your character. Another common orb was the fire orb, which as its name suggests, causes fire damage when thrown at an opponent. Aura's on the other hand are attacks that deal heavier damage but have a charge time and are attached to a meter bar, so overuse means you have to wait to use these powerful moves again. As a fan of anything that has the name Blade in this game I used the Blade Aura, which after it's done charging releases a huge sword to attack enemies that almost takes up half the screen. There's an abundant amount of orbs and auras to obtain in the game and other than wishing they would have more unique situal needs for them in the games environment, these moves all cause damage in different ways so gameplay doesn't feel repetitive or boring.

My final point I want to make about TimeSpinner is the story. I know this blog is all about beating a game at 100% but if there's something else I love about a good game is a good story. TimeSpinner does not have one. The story for TimeSpinner is quite literally, all over the place. You start off with a simple objective of revenge and (spoiler coming up) by the time you're done, you end up being a literal God. The transition from revenge to God is not a smooth one, it feels the game jumped straight to 11 when it comes to advancing this surprise plot. A new enemy (if you want to call him that?) appears near the final hour with little to no build up, but defeating him ascends the main character to absurd heights. In between this enormous jump in story plot there are a few plot twists that feel like they game out of left field and were only put there for a shock factor that doesn't land. I'm not invested in TimeSpinner's narrative, but I will say its one of the few games I've kept playing due to being a fun game despite a story that's not well structured.

100% completion for this game took me nearly 15 hours. I give TimeSpinner a 7/10.

[joeyvintage]

https://www.videoreligion.net/2019/01/violent-shit-2-mother-hold-my-hand-1992.html?m=1

-rev terry

I think if I were a badass, I would need a metal mask or full covering helmet of some kind. Not for the armor aspect, although head protection is always good, I'm just a fan of the look. I would wear one in my daily life now, but they are probably expensive, and people would expect me to do something cool (as I too would expect of a dude with a metal head).  All my favorite villains had one in my youth. Both Magneto and Dr. Doom from the comics commanded respect and fucked shit up while wearing some metal on their heads. They were probably my earliest examples, but honestly, that's enough to have secured my love for the style. Their helmets were both semi utilitarian but mostly just looked really awesome with their cape combo. In cartoons, GI Joe took the effects of mirrored sunglasses to the next level with Cobra Commander, as he sometimes just had a smooth piece of chrome covering his face. I can get down with that--the blank and shiny look. It’s stylish features even distracted from his shrill sounding voice. I would probably go with something a little more personalized myself, but would definitely want something metal. It just completes the whole look for me. Something about a good sturdy helmet just fits with murder and mayhem. Karl the Butcher gets it. That's why, when he died, along with his love for over-the-top murder, he passed his fancy medieval headwear down to his son, so he would be properly dressed for his own adventure in Violent Shit II (1992).

Long after the events of the first film, two makeshift drug distributing gangs meet up in an open field to engage in something nefarious with a briefcase. For whatever reason, the deal sours, and the two groups go at eliminating each other in various gusher inducing ways. The battle whittles the congregation of assorted backyard wrestles down to a one on one duel between the leaders who both happen to practice kung fu and enjoy white button-up t-shirts. After some fancy moves, one of them slays the other in combat and begins to leave the scene (sans all his dead homies, I guess) but is stopped in his tracks by the sight of a large masked man yelling at him on the horizon. Turns out Karl Butcher Jr, son of the legendary mass murderer, was out for a stroll, spotted the dealers killing each other, and, not to be left out, had rushed to join. Very quickly, Karl (Andreas Schnaas) is on top of the would-be lone brawl survivor and promptly fucks him up with a machete just before the screen goes black. Following its intro and sparse opening credits, the film takes the form of a true crime documentary in development by reporter Paul Glas. Paul believes a string of recent murders can be linked back to The Butcher massacre from twenty years before (and also, the whole thing has something to do with real-life serial killer Fritz Honka...I think?). After divulging the history of Karl senior for a bit over panning random footage of Germany, the reporter follows a tip leading to an interview with some dude in a bar who confirms his suspicions. The Deepthroat-esque “DR. X” then tells him a few stories about the original culprit’s son who, mad about a face rash or something (honestly between the bad subs and silly plot I'm still dim on some details, but it doesn't really matter), had also already done some minor rampaging of his own in the last few years . Switching formats once again, we catch up with Karl II and his (adoptive?) mother (Anke Prothmann in a lot of make-up). Turns out, Momma Butcher has been priming her young progeny to follow in her late husband's footsteps, and now that he has grown to be the spitting image of his father (complete with the heirloom medieval helmet), he is ready to do some eccentric butchery of his own. In fact, this time will be extra special, because mom is coming along too. As one could probably guess, Karl's old lady has some very peculiar parenting ideas, specifically cannibalism and incest. Also at some point, a naturally occurring body hole gets closed up with a stapler, and I think someone eats poop, so watch out for that.

The title is about as far from the old-fashioned B-movie bait and switch as you can get. Like the first film, Violent Shit is wall to wall grotesque violence, only now (in true sequel fashion), it's been turned up a few ridiculous levels. There is an increased story to it compared to the first film, that is to say, there is more than nothing tieing the insane moments of torture and dismemberment together. For the first few acts, a disjointed, random, and confusing series of events form some semblance of a point, but the film forgets about the majority of this as it moves on into plasma soaked sadism. Mostly, the additional fluff just makes room for things the series was truly missing-- like a training montage, cliche fauxumentary tropes, and Kung Fu.  Karl Jr's maternal relationship adds fucked up frosting to an already disturbing cake of sinister shit. The weird sexual thing that's going on there, combined with mom's encouraging cheers, was enough to make me glad the subtitles are wonky and that I don't speak German. At around the same runtime, it might be a little lighter on the fake entrails than the first to make room for the added story, but it wouldn't be considered lacking in most circles. The Butcher-minor is more creative than his father but also seemingly obsessed with genitals (of all genders), which is weird and takes a lot of screen time. There are a few classic machete whacks to the face for some victims. However, as the body count grows, most of the slaughter comes with long, drawn out, silly torture and bloodletting. A bare-bones opposite to the Saw-style mouse trap, instead of providing intricate setups for the deaths, the act of execution itself is long, complicated, and involves several steps. It's all sure to offend anyone who watches but is too extreme to take seriously. Even if you are of the squeamish type, by the fifteenth minute of growling testicle torture and six similar acts, the action loses any real shock and becomes either just gross or hilarious (and gross). It goes for broke, eventually just dissolving into increasing levels of carnage, capturing the essence of a drunken night between friends trying to top each other's morbid imagination. Along with its spastic rampage, the film makes several references to classic American horror films and even borrows a few plot points from the Friday the 13th series unambiguously. To its credit, it's moved forward quite a bit from the first writing-wise, although it’s not like it is casting a bigger net for an audience. It's still just random gore because that's fun sometimes, and hopefully, no one who pops in a film titled Violent Shit 2 will be worried about the level of drama involved.

Shot on tape and seemingly dumping the entirety of its finite resources into gore, Violent Shit 2 is, again, what it says on the tin. The whole thing looks like it was shot in different sections of the same public park, which it refers to as a “forest” at one point. The John Woo tribute, in the beginning, is the film’s most developed moment as far as framing and choreography go, displaying some above average movie brawling for its budget. For the film’s meat and potatoes (Karl the second, killing people), it's a lot more of the same backyard style camera work that kind of hangs around watching the action from any accessible angle. Shots seem almost placed at random, and it jumps between them with meaningless cuts. The film’s biggest draw is an overabundance of practical gore, which comes out as a step above the rest of the film quality- wise. For the lack of resources, the film utilizes some pretty gnarly effects when it comes to flesh mangling, and it doesn't skimp or pull away.  I think I counted four different consistencies of blood, and each horrible scenario is trying to top the last. Without spoiling anything, there is a range of squirtastic stabbings and stringy limb removals that, despite their amateur surrounding conditions, would give a lot of larger budget splatter flicks a run for their money.  Some of the more ambitious (for lack of a better word) moments spend a little too much time on screen and give themselves away, but all together it should more than slate any grimy blood-seekers thirst or send anyone else running. When it isn't mumbling at random volumes, the dubbing is just screaming, grunting and giggle-worthy squishing sounds with no attachment to what's on screen. Music-wise, the film is laced with an out of place, unbalanced soundtrack that sounds straight out of an RPG fantasy video game. Besides the Dungeons & Dragons mood tunes, it does have a German death metal/butt rock theme song (Violent Shit by Vice Versa) bookending it that captures the spirit nicely and almost feels critically necessary. Stick around afterward for some bonus scenes and marquee of credits that look like they are trying to sell you knock off sunglasses.

German director Andreas Schnaas has made an international name for himself with a torrent of ultra-low budget, ultra-violent gross-out splatter flicks that continues today. In 1989, he and some homies secured a tiny bit of funding to form the company Reel Gore Productions and produce their first full-length picture titled Violent Shit. Filmed over four weekends and with a rented tape recorder, the project amounted to a series of violent acts committed by a large masked man named Karl the Butcher, crafted with homemade practical effects (and little else). By the grace of the trash-gods, it saw a single midnight theater showing but received mostly negative reviews on its initial video release due to its lack of production values. However, with a little help from a to-the-point naming strategy and its unrefined grimy gusto, it found an audience worldwide over the following years in less discerning gore hounds who don't mind the homemade feel (a bunch of fucking weirdos probably). Succeeding their second feature Zombie '90: Extreme Pestilence in 1991, Andreas & Co would return to the world of Violent Shit and brewing cult following. To date, the character Karl the Butcher has appeared in six flicks, that I know of, including a reboot of sorts (Violent Shit: The Movie 2015) by Italian director Luigi Pastore, without Andreas Schnaas involvement. Schnaas himself would play the role in most outings, taking over for Karl Inger (allegedly) after the first film.

Violent Shit II: Mother Hold My Hand (aka Violent Shit 2) is a composition sketchbook of demented cartoon executions forged during an in-school suspension and realized in full-color low fidelity magnetic tape. For the right crowd, it's an awesomely inelegant, generously proportioned helping of sloppy sleaze, possibly best devoured while intoxicated. It advances from the first movie to some degree in almost every way, but it's still one for the same exclusive and fucked-up crowd. If you want tasteless acts of dismemberment, childish boundary-pushing, and obscene special effects, it's got you covered. Those seeking damn near anything outside of that, better look for their kicks elsewhere. In a way, it has the same MO as a Gallagher show, in that there are small bits of gibberish in between gags, but ultimately everyone watching is just waiting for red shit to spray, and a majority of possible viewers are not going to get the joke. I enjoy the fuck out of the unseemly mess, although I don't know what that says about me. I also really dig Karl the Butcher’s fashion sense. If only I too had been lucky enough to have inherited some cool metal headgear along with the destructive predispositions.