#meanwhile SUPERFLY

[thewiglesswonder]

"Missed you, Pops."

[hazeldough]

#TACHIKIRYU / #MAJIMAKO : I won’t melt, I won’t cry

[eievuimultimuse]

★ - @ baxter for raph (and sf for cleo if u want hehe)

SEND ME A ★ AND I'LL BOLD WHAT APPLIES TO YOUR MUSE.

BAXTER @ RAPH ( red text = past feelings; in baxter's case, they no longer apply )

I like you / I hate you / I dislike you / I love you / You are family / I would take a bullet for you / I would shoot you / I would lie to your face / I would say something cruel to you on purpose / I would say something cruel to you accidentally / I would physically hurt you / You annoy me / You amuse me / I’d laugh at you / I’d laugh with you / I’d manipulate you / You scare me / You confuse me / I wish I knew you better / I trust you / I don’t trust you / You inspire me / I consider you an equal / You are beneath me / You’re better than me / I would trust you with my life / I think you’re mean / I think you’re petty / I think you’re childish / I think you’re smart / I think you’re stupid / I think you’re a bad person / I think you’re a good person / I’m not sure what kind of person you are / I wish you would listen to me / I want to make you proud / I wish you would notice me / I want to impress you / I would hurt other people for you / I’m not sure how to make you happy / I’m a bad influence on you / You deserve better than me / We make a great team / I would trust you with my most treasured belonging / I would tell you my darkest secrets / You disgust me / You intimidate me / I hope I intimidate you / I’d hug you / I’d let you hug me / I’m scared of losing you / I don’t think you like me / I want to be better for you / I respect you / I don’t respect you / You’re my mentor / You’re my friend / You’re my best friend / I could easily watch you die / I’d get drunk with you / I’d party with you / I’d comfort you / I’d prank you / I’d spike your drink / I’d act behind your back / I’d abandon you / I’d hurt you to get what I want / I would choose my happiness over yours / I would choose your happiness over mine / I despise how much I care for you / I need you / I’m dependent on you / I don’t know what I’d do have done without you / I’m scared of you leaving me / I’d give my life for you / You frustrate me / I’d call for you in a time of need / I would protect you / I’d visit you in hospital / I’d carry you if you were hurt / I’d feel guilty if I hurt you / I’d let you be near me when I am vulnerable / I’d ignore a phone call from you / I’d call you at 3am / I’d break you out of jail / I’d get angry at you / I would shout at you / You’re too loud / You’re too quiet / You’re too sensitive / You can’t take a joke / You embarrass me / I feel nothing for you / You’re reckless / You’re bossy / You bore me / I would ask your advice / I would blame you for something I did / I would cry in your arms / You have the power to hurt me more than anyone else /

SUPERFLY @ CLEO

I like you / I hate you / I dislike you / I love you / You are family / I would take a bullet for you / I would shoot you / I would lie to your face / I would say something cruel to you on purpose / I would say something cruel to you accidentally / I would physically hurt you / You annoy me / You amuse me / I’d laugh at you / I’d laugh with you / I’d manipulate you / You scare me / You confuse me / I wish I knew you better / I trust you / I don’t trust you / You inspire me / I consider you an equal / You are beneath me / You’re better than me / I would trust you with my life / I think you’re mean / I think you’re petty / I think you’re childish / I think you’re smart / I think you’re stupid / I think you’re a bad person / I think you’re a good person / I’m not sure what kind of person you are / I wish you would listen to me / I want to make you proud / I wish you would notice me / I want to impress you / I would hurt other people for you / I’m not sure how to make you happy / I’m a bad influence on you / You deserve better than me / We make a great team / I would trust you with my most treasured belonging / I would tell you my darkest secrets / You disgust me / You intimidate me / I hope I intimidate you / I’d hug you / I’d let you hug me / I’m scared of losing you / I don’t think you like me / I want to be better for you / I respect you / I don’t respect you / You’re my mentor / You’re my friend / You’re my best friend / I could easily watch you die / I’d get drunk with you / I’d party with you / I’d comfort you / I’d prank you / I’d spike your drink / I’d act behind your back / I’d abandon you / I’d hurt you to get what I want / I would choose my happiness over yours / I would choose your happiness over mine / I despise how much I care for you / I need you / I’m dependent on you / I don’t know what I’d do without you / I’m scared of you leaving me / I’d give my life for you / You frustrate me / I’d call for you in a time of need / I would protect you / I’d visit you in hospital / I’d carry you if you were hurt / I’d feel guilty if I hurt you / I’d let you be near me when I am vulnerable / I’d ignore a phone call from you / I’d call you at 3am / I’d break you out of jail / I’d get angry at you / I would shout at you / You’re too loud / You’re too quiet / You’re too sensitive / You can’t take a joke / You embarrass me / I feel nothing for you / You’re reckless / You’re bossy / You bore me / I would ask your advice / I would blame you for something I did / I would cry in your arms / You have the power to hurt me more than anyone else /

[jxstacey]

Fuck it, new AU time

Fargo Au

THIS IS A TRUE STORY

The events depicted in this AU took place in New York throughout many years

At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed.

Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred.

In this anthology fanfic based on TV series Fargo, each Part follows a different iteration of the TMNT cast who get involved with the murders investigations of important characters throughout New York City that drastically change the events of the shows or comics, with characters even having different roles. Along with seemingly unrelated crimes sometimes being connected in some way.

Basically each iteration has something different about them whether being a character from an iteration that wasn’t in said iteration appearing, a new criminal group(03) or a character’s role changing

Season 1(03)- In 2003, John Bishop passes through Manhattan and influences the community, including Scientist Baxter Stockman into a path of malice and violence to protect themselves at whatever the cost. Meanwhile, Deputy April O’Neil and vigilante Casey Jones team up to solve a series of murders they believe may be linked to Stockman and Bishop.

Season 2(IDW; City At War) - Season 2(IDW; City At War) - In 2019, Mutanimal members Sally Pride and Man Ray cover up Ray’s hit and run of the son of a crime family boss based out of Hell’s Kitchen. While brothers Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo become entangled with the Hell’s Kitchen Mob, The Mutanimals and Foot Clan when the brothers are forced to investigate a triple homicide connected to the Hell’s Kitchen Mob and Foot Clan at a diner in Lower Manhattan when a Newscaster threatens to expose them to the public. Along with that, New York state trooper Lou Solverson and Richmond County officer Chris Bradford also investigates the diner murders and also find themselves getting dragged into and investigating plot involving the Foot Clan, The Turtles, Mutanimals, EPF and Baxter Stockman as it all grow into a City Wide massacre.

Season 3(2012) - After recent shortcomings and realization, Tiger Claw finds himself hunted down by the Foot Clan after quitting. Causing two members of the Foot, Fishface and Rahzar to come up with a plan to try and kill Tiger Claw with the help of couple Ray Stussy, a parole officer/foot member who was forced to join after witnessing a fight with the turtles and the Foot, and his new girlfriend Nikki Swango(Both returning characters from Fargo), an ex convict. However the plan backfires causing the deaths of a police chief and gang member, triggering a chain recent of events between the Foot, NYPD and the SoHo Yakuza. Along with that, a low ranking police officer in the NYPD, Lindsay Barker, and crime scene photographer Warren Stone try to figure everything out to prevent further bloodshed.

Season 4(Mutant Mayhem)- Mutant crook Hypno-Potamus(Formerly known as Mezmer Ron) accidentally stumbles upon a talent show set and finds himself skyrocketing into the entertainment industry. However he soons finds himself entangled in a gang war when he witnesses gang leader Superfly kill a distributor of his. Now a member of the Mutanimals against his will and also for the Liberty Mafia after being blackmailing by their boss, Ethan DeLuca, Hypno goes back and forth between the groups as he tries to find a way out, then deciding to con both sides of the war. Surely deceiving a psychopath(Superfly) and a narcissist(Ethan) can’t be too hard right?

Season 5(Rise) - In 2018, Baron Draxum kidnaps Leonardo Hamato to hopefully get him to join him. However the turtle makes it impossible, to where brainwashing him won’t work either. Draxum then tries to drag out Leo’s father Splinter, formerly known as Lou Jitsu, which fails as well. While Leo’s brothers deal with idiotic villains going after them, April hires John Bishop, a mysterious Special Agent with ties to the TBI(Texas Bureau of Investigation) and CIA and a person who escaped from Draxum’s lab years prior without trouble and temporarily dated the Battle Nexus Host, Big Mama, before she could get the chance to use him as a Battle Nexus Fighter. However, Bishop isn’t exactly who he appears to be, maybe not human at all, and he plans to rescue Leo while at the same time plotting to take Draxum out of the picture, permanently.

More on each of the seasons and changes soon

Season 1 Current Overview

The Characters of Season 1

——

Season 1 Chapter List

Ch 1: The Scientist’s Dillema https://archiveofourown.org/works/53552530/chapters/135553690

Ch 2: The Mantis King https://archiveofourown.org/works/53552530/chapters/138648616

Ch 3: A Spikey Road https://archiveofourown.org/works/53552530/chapters/140873098#workskin

[therebelinred]

I have some ideas how MM will introduce Casey and raph’s friendship. Wrestling they are on the same wrestling team or something and they bond over that. Meanwhile Mikey will find Klunk as a stray and take him home much to the annoyance of Splinter but he grows to like the cat. I am not sure what they will do with leo or Donnie with donnie maybe his intelligence is noticed by the TCRI people? So they keep an eye on him. Maybe Leo meets karai and they fight and karai reveals to be the daughter of oroku saki the shredder adopted or biological. I have a feeling Superfly is gonna make a return we saw him in Cynthia’s office at the end of the movie. So no way they would show that if he isn’t going to return.

[goosewriting]

yesterday i finally watched the new tmnt movie!! at first i wanted to do a live reaction kinda thing, except that wouldn’t work because i'd have to reblog every entry and hiding every single part under a "read more" would be not only tedious, but i'm not even sure if it's possible lol

so instead have a collection of my thoughts here! (spoiler warning, duh)

first of all: the art style. there’s something strangely nostalgic about it. it feels like that is what my mental storyboards as a kid would have looked like, had i been into animating back then. or at least that would have been close to the style i would have liked to emulate.

the explosions looking like violent scribbles is just so 😩🤌♥ chef's kiss, truly. there's something about the art in general that just moves in such a particular way and holds a certain weight and volume,, it feels like cardboard and clay and crayons and the piles upon piles of coloured pencils i used to have as a kid and how the wooden pencil drawer smelled. i'm such a fan of this style i’M obsessed o(-<

in the intro shots for the turtles, raph licking his sai blades is so extra and i love him for that lmao

for some reason i completely forgot they cast jackie chan as splinter and tbh idk how to feel about it? no hate towards him; i just don't think voice acting is his strong suit

meanwhile i'm looooving mikey's voice. also leo's beacuse, well first of all, i am a leo girlie (gender neutral) through and through so i would have loved all aspects of him no matter what. but his voice actor is gumball's i believe? and that's one of my comfort shows 🥺 i just love him sm

this little donnie is sending me, i- 🤣

superfly's theme reminds me of miguel's for some reason? 😂 and i'm here for it ahahh

the whole watermelon scene lmaoo teeangers being teenagers, finally

aaaand here comes the probably forced romance subplot 😅😅 (more on that later)

the whole fighting scene in the workshop tinted in red? ugh 10/10

ok so, april: i really like how they met. i like her design, her voice and her whole vibe. the whole puking jokes were a little too much for me; personally im not a fan of fart or puke jokes because, well, i’m not a 12yo boy (looking at you seth rogen) but all in all i really liked this rendition of april. it sucks tho that the turtles got a snazzy outfit by the end, both for school and for prom, but april’s clothes always remained the same. would have loved to see what she wore to prom!

the gen z lingo and references: …i mean, i guess it makes sense? i just don’t know how well it will age xD the references to end game and all were fun but, again, will someone in 15 years understand what they meant? will someone in 15 years know what rizz is?

changing the topic, the way eyeballs are rendered??? hello?? they’re so expressive and shiny and i lowkey wanna lick them ok

the chris pine cutout actually made me choke on my food from both surprise and laughter jhdfkjashdf

oookay so. superfly and his gang. first of all when the gecko talked i went like hey is that ant-man? lmao i love all the designs and ice cube as the villain works?? im not mad?? lol now, his plan however... sigh, my guy. killing all humans aside, have you maybe thought that if you turn every single animal and insect into a mutant, the whole ecosystem would all but collapse? there will be no planet left to belittle the humans on (:

"he'll run out of cars eventually" / *looks at parking* / “oh, c’mon!” lmaoo 😂 this joke was excellent

so, back to the forced romance thing. look i get it, they needed a reason to help out april to get the plot going. and if leo said it, then the rest would follow. i get that. but throughout the whole movie, aside from like his brothers elbowing his side knowingly, there’s no more allusion to anything? and then only at the veeeery end, he asks her out and she says yes, so i was like “oh okay so that’s the payoff then. took long enough” but then when they’re dancing she rhetorically asks if they’re just doing this as friends and 😐 maybe this is just my aroace self projecting but,, if you’re gonna use romance/romantic interest as a catalyst (lame tbh), at least be consequent about it?? if you (the writers) didn’t have the intention to explore the relationship, then leave it altogether? again, this is just my aroace opinion,, i can’t relate so i don’t understand. (which i know seems contradictory given my uh, repertoire of fics lmao) personally i would have preferred a different reason for them to helping out april, and having them all just be besties by the end, which they ended up being anyway

so, to sum it all up. it’s a story we’ve seen a hundred times, so there was really nothing new to it. the plot was okay,, the biggest thing that “bothered” me was superfly’s whole extermination thing making no sense, technically. but other than that, my eyes and ears were having an absolute feast. a very enjoyable film all in all. when we got rottmnt, i was like “oh finally an iteration of the teenage mutant ninja turtles where they’re actually teenagers” but scratch that. mutant mayhem is the most teenager one, and i loved them for that. time will tell how the jokes will age but yeah, the way they were depicted was definitely my favourite thing about the film aside from the art style.

have you guys seen it? what are your thoughts? lemme know :D feel free to comment here or send in some asks!

[vdragon-creations]

Meet Mutant Mayhem Sasha!

EDIT AUGUST 4TH: Yeah, sooooo I just finished watching the movie, so a lot of this is gunna be rewritten!

I have yet to see the new MM movie just yet (gunna go see it Friday!), but I can't help myself! (I'll edit any of this if the movie has details that would change any of what I've written.)

I finished drawing out the concepts for Sasha's Mutant Mayhem version! Yes, everyone! She now has ten versions! See my previous post's about her other versions here!

But for now I'd like to introduce MM Sasha!

Mutation!

Sasha was once a normal Cheetah Cub, but she wasn't raised like a normal cub. Sasha and her older brother Kenai where snatched up from their home in Africa by people who where in the "Exotic Pet" trade! This wound up getting to two of them brought to New York to be sold to some shady people. However, Sasha's older brother was able to get them out by attacking one of the men who let him out of his cage to show him off to a buyer.

Now being set free but lost in such an unfamiliar place, Sasha and her brother wondered the streets, doing their best to stay away from human eyes. They fed off birds, Rats, and other smaller animals that they could find. Kenai would help protect Sasha, as she was very much a shy cat and not a fighter in the slightest. And life, while hard, was okay for the most part.

One day, while looking for food, Sasha and her brother where drawn to the sewers by a strange green glow they found. They fallowed it till they saw a sewer drain flowing with a glowing green goo. Sasha accidentally got spooked by a rat running past her tail and ended up falling into it. Kenai went in after her, getting himself covered in the strange goo too! After getting out of the pool of water, Sasha and her brother started to change! Their bodies became more human like, and they became much smarter.

For years they spent their time trying to find a more decent place to stay, and eventually they found themselves setting up a home in an abandoned part of town, in a half demolished apartment building. And there they stayed for 15 years!

Meeting The Turtles!

Well, after The Turtles saved the city from Superfly, and were accepted by the humans and starting school, Mutant's started becoming more comfortable being seen. Sasha and her brother finally decided that they'd start showing the world their talents too! And maybe be the first Mutant Influencers! Kenai started posting himself singing covers of his favorite songs, and eventually got super popular when he started making his own music. Meanwhile Sasha was head deep into the world of Drawing, Anime, and Cosplay. She would handmake (or clawmake in this case) her own cosplays for both popular characters, or just based of things that inspired her! And it didn't stop there, she sewed every piece of clothing she or her brother had ever worn, and loved taking pictures of herself and her brother showing off their new threads! Sasha was a very shy girl, but it was like a switch flipped on inside her when she started cosplaying! She became more confident and open!

One day, Donnie sees Mikey jamming out to a YouTube video of what looks like two mutants singing a duet! Mikey explains that he's been binge watching this cheetah mutant dude for the last few hours, and his music was just so fucking cool! Donnie had a listen, and was about to roll his eyes, until the video moved onto Sasha's part of the duet, and he froze. She was cosplayed as Kyouka Jirou from MHA, and her voice was so damn beautiful. (This must've been how Leo felt seeing April for the first time) He asked Mikey if he knew who that was, and Mikey (knowing exactly what was happening to his brother) told him that this was the singers sister. Donnie looked for her on Instagram and Tik Tok, finding her going by the name "Citty Cat Cosplay"! He was hooked instantly, she loved posting about all the anime she was watching, sharing playlists of her favorite K-Pop and J-Pop songs, and Showing off all the cool art and outfits she was making.

This continued for a few months, when by chance, he and his brothers heard some of the other human students that two new mutants had just enrolled at the school! This was pretty exciting, as they kinda wanted some more mutant friends! But after about a week, they still hadn't seen them, and just thought the other student's were just playing a prank. That was until one day, Donnie was stopping by one of the soda machines on his way to his Computer Club meeting. After grabbing his soda, he heard the sound of someone starting to put a coin in the machine next to him. It almost spooked him, since he didn't even hear footsteps! His head whipped to see a Cheetah mutant girl reaching for a soda, but she was frozen in place. Staring right at him.

He knew exactly who she was, even without the cosplay on, her eyes where a dead give away. And Sasha stared in awe at him too, she knew that The Turtles that saved the city went to this school, but she hadn't seen any of them since enrolling. And yet, here was one right in front of her! She remembered him from the news footage when fighting Superfly, He was the one with the stick and glasses. She also noticed the JoJo hoodie he was wearing and felt some butterflies stirring around in her stomach. He was a lot cuter in person! The two of them just stared on for a few more minutes, before Sasha just stood up straight and quickly turned her back to him and sped walked away. Donnie tried to call back out to her, as she left her drink, but his words wouldn't come out.

He ended up running all over to find Mikey to tell him what just happened, but as he found his brother, he saw Mikey was talking to the brother of Sasha. Mikey introduced him to Kenai, and not so smoothly implied that Donnie was a huge fan of his sister. Kenai was actually pretty happy to hear this, as his sister really needed to try and make more friends, and offered to take him to her.

At first, things didn't go quite so well, as Sasha was so scared of them that she scurried under her workbench to hide. But after Donnie explained that he was giving her the drink she bought and was a huge fan of her content, she seemed to open up a bit more. They then started talking about anime, games, and as soon as K-Pop was brought up, the two could not shut up! Eventually, Sasha started talking to all The Turtles and April, offering them to make outfits if they ever wanted to go to Comic Con with her one day!

Her Relationship With The Turtles!

Leo~ She's not above taking jabs at him like his brothers are, but she's not nearly as cruel about it as they can be. She may be a big cat, but she's got the heart and constitution of a new born kitten. She likes his style of dress, as it's a bit like what she would wear normally herself.

Raph~ She's honestly a bit spooked by him, as he's very much the opposite of her personality wise. Loud, Outgoing, Strong, and Violent! But she is able to tell when he just needed a bit of time to himself, or needs someone to talk to. And she's always down to be that ear for him.

Mikey~ Despite his brothers not thinking he's all that funny, Sasha genuinely seems to think he's hilarious! When she's down in the dumps or needing someone to talk to, he's a pretty safe choice for her turn to with her troubles.

Donnie~ These two are like a match made in nerd heaven! They both feed into each others obsessions and could talk for hours or days about almost anything! The two share their hobbies, skills, and wishes with each other all the time. Sasha was worried that they only had a Parasocial Relationship, but after coming to terms with the fact that Don seemed to genuinely care for her and not just her content, and that she had started to catch some feelings for him too, that fear was quickly evaporated. They're the best of friends, and perhaps, more then that one day.

[coastal-stargazing]

Mayhem in Nevada - What is it?

An idea for a crossover AU between Madness Combat and TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, in which Sanford is the still-living nephew of Baxter Stockman. In other words, Superfly has an older human cousin. However, Sanford's Dad who was Stockman's brother was separated from him at birth and was unaware that he was twin.

When April finds out about TCRI's discovery of Sanford, April and the mutants rescue and re-mutate Superfly before embarking the craziest family road trip of their lives to get tp Sanford before TCRI can use them for their nefarious purposes. Meanwhile, in Nevada, Status Quo is looking into a mysterious backer of the A.A.H.W. that also worked with Nexus Labs prior to Director Phobos dissenting.

I made this for clarification, as this AU is starting to gain some traction. The recent lack of activity was due to me being busy with schoolwork from college.

[cvltclvssic]

don’t mind me, I’m just watching SuperFly (1972) meanwhile admiring the sound of heavy rain. I used to hate when it rained, but under the correct circumstances; I can find solace in it.

[mikereads]

Au: “Back in the studio”

Emma is a world refined ballerina who recently joined a new ballet school. Where Regina is her ballet teacher. Who just so happens to be the best in the country. Emma has a chance to go pro but develops feelings for her teacher. Its a big no no but she can’t help how she feels.Will she choose Regina or follow her dream? 

Au: The birds {remake}

Emma Daniels lives in Los Angeles. She is in court facing charges when Lawyer Regina Brenner notices her. The two meet later that day at a pet store. Emma is then captivated to find out more about the woman. She follows her to her small town Storybrooke to give her lovebirds as a present. She plans to stay a day but is forced to stay in town once the attack’s begin. While driving out of town the birds attack her car and she gets into an accident. Having her car collide into the towns welcome sign. Meanwhile Regina can’t ignore the significance of Emma’s last name is it a coincidence or something more? (Daniel is her ex husband in this who has passed away).

Au: Cop/drug dealer.

I don’t really have an idea in mind. It’s mainly based off their characters from Superfly and The tax collector. Maybe a mafia, enemies to lovers type deal.

[whoknowsbud]

Stand Mutation AU DiU

Again, this is FILLED with body horror and somewhat loose connections to the recent epidemic but they are there. There’s also a massive amount of angst around the Nijimuras.

See the first post & explanation here

Morioh is under a sort of quarantine. Due to not being contagious, it may be more of a research center, to keep research subjects in one place. When people start getting infected again (from the arrow, of course) there’s a pretty massive panic, from people assuming the virus must be evolving. So, aside from finding Josuke, the Speedwagon Foundation has Jotaro there to find who’s using the arrow.

Josuke is pretty much Crazy Diamond; his pompadour is basically a massive diamond helmet, with a heart-shaped front, a few thorny details from dad. Skin might be a little shiny, or sparkly.

Okuyasu begins as extremely feral and rather monstrous, but over time becomes more human. His form becomes smoother, until the infection becomes localized on his right arm. He has the common headlight eyes and his normal hair, but with the black mark covering above his eyes & reaching the tip of his nose, in addition to his scar.

Keicho is also fried, and is basically something of a human-transformer mix. Green camouflage body, bandages around his head, gun arm, helicopter blades in his back… Looks a little like something you’d expect to see if the Terminator had real flesh, with additional machine parts..

Koichi gains the common headlight eyes and starts turning green first. Following, not overnight but still fast, comes the beak, tail, and his lower legs become wheels. He does not lose any of his ability or evolve in the same way, but does change. As ‘act 2’, he regrows his legs (the wheels now his feet), his beak becomes more of a reptile snout, and he’s more armored. As ‘act 3’, he’s back to looking more human. The wheels are now just his heels (yes, heelys), and his tail is shorter.

Yukako… maybe fully made of hair? Or just the same as canon...

Tonio can just imbue his food with the sort of healing power. That or he grows the Pearl Jams on his body, which is very disturbing, so we'll probably go with the first. His power is extremely limited with this infection, which upsets him quite a bit. He can strengthen your body and all, but what can it do with stand shit? This isn't the flu.

Rohan’s arms are like heaven's door's hat; just the yellow lines outlining them. Depending on mood, desperation, & writers block, his sketchy-ness spreads more through his body.

Shigekiyo is a bunch of Harvests in a trench coat! Original Shigechi is essentially the ‘queen bee’ so to speak.

Mikitaka is an actual alien (cause fuck you, we do what we want). Planet was probably overrun by the virus, and he left to… either help other planets with it or prevent it or something… That or just. To find somewhere he can live a better life.

Tamami… probably just about the same, but creates locks on himself as well, for each victim currently affected - not because of guilt or anything, just to make sure they’re still in his control should they separate.

Hazamada is pretty much just Surface.

Akira is, basically, a toxtricity (amped, of course.) But yea, basically take RHCP, give it rocking hair and music ability, and there ya go.

Yuya basically sends his own feet, which gains a vague body to go with them.

Kanedaichi is SuperFly. A few bug decals on the tower maybe… He uses radio waves to communicate, and an unsettling doll to make himself known… Tickle me Elmo.

Terunosuke appears to be origami, with his face drawn on. Despite this, he can’t actually change his overall form.

Yoshihiro is probably the same as canon...

Kira’s mutation is much more subtle than most. His skin is pink, he has Killer Queen’s eyes, and very sharp and stiff ears. He hides most of this with makeup, contacts, and clips his own ears, to live under the illusion that he's 'just a normal guy'. When he feels stress, his face starts turning translucent, so you can see his skull - which reveals that his ears are more part of his skeleton. His hands frequently explode, and his sweat is explosive.

Stray Cat is just the same as in canon.

As mentioned earlier, the Nijimura’s story here is (I believe) even more upsetting than it is in canon. Though Angelo doesn’t happen, Josuke’s grandfather is dead.

Keicho finds the arrow, as he did in canon, but nicks himself in the process. He (somehow) hears the Speedwagon Foundation is looking for it and, realizing the arrow played a big part in the infection, panics. This makes his infection, which was already starting to mutate him, go wild. He turns feral in a different way than most; he guards the arrow, obsessing over it - like their dad over that ripped picture. Okuyasu, of course, tries to get through to his brother.

His body isn’t completely developed; the helicopter blades are half-stuck in his body and his gun doesn’t work. So, when Okuyasu tried to reach him, Bad Company only understands that someone is approaching the arrow, and attacks him… With the arrow. Fully aware of what the arrow did to his brother, Okuyasu is at peace with what’s going to happen to him. His only family is like this, and they don’t even remember him… How much worse could losing his own mind be?

The house is said to be haunted, so when Josuke and Koichi pass it, they stop to look. Koichi mentions, now that he understands a little of the infection, that he wonders if the ‘ghosts’ ‘haunting’ it are just more victims. Josuke realizes it's likely, and tells him to call Jotaro and wait outside.

Koichi calls Jotaro and does not wait outside; he goes in after Josuke, gets lost, and ends up finding the room Bad Company is in.

Meanwhile, Josuke’s struggling against Okuyasu, who may or may not be crying. Josuke realizes this guy really is a victim, and thinks he must be able to help. So, when he does take him down, he tries to fix this, only to feel terrible because this is another thing he can’t fix. But he can’t stay, because Koichi screams, so he has to run.

He finds the room, but it’s obvious that whatever attacked Koichi hasn’t left, and he’s worried this’ll go horribly wrong if he runs in, but if he doesn’t, Koichi’s probably going to die. This is when he hears the bass boost ‘bbbvvvrrrrrrrrr’ and he spins, ready to fight, but Okuyasu’s already erasing the space between them and Koichi, and now he’s in range for Josuke to heal him. Josuke’s not sure what’s happening, but it’s obvious Okuyasu isn’t going to attack. So, Josuke’s healing Koichi, and trying to figure this all out, “so do you… have a sibling here?”

He nods, looking at him with pleading eyes, begging for something. Josuke starts thinking aloud, “they must be infected, too… uh, you... want me to fix them?”

He's nodding so vigorously it looks almost painful, and this is when Koichi wakes up, and he shrieks because what the fuck is that. Josuke makes sure he's okay (Koichi's irises are turning bright yellow, but he can't worry about that right now), and has Okuyasu watch Koichi.

Okuyasu is surprised that he's being trusted like this; but Josuke's already ripping the door off the frame, holding it in front of him like both a shield and battering ram, and he's charging in.

Koichi is far, far too tired to move himself, so Okuyasu carries him away from the fight. But Okuyasu starts fidgeting, worried. He's hearing shots, explosions, and yelling, and there's a lot of smoke. Obviously Koichi's worried too, so they kinda sneak back over to get a look, and what koichi sees is... alarming, to say the least.

Uninfected, you don't see the full quality of his skin, and his helmet just looks like a weirdly solid block of hair. But now koichi's getting the whole picture, and… He's gorgeous.

His body is suddenly shining and sparkling from the armor, his skin almost glittery, and the massive diamond form encasing his head reflects light like a goddamn disco ball - it's all almost blinding

Sexuality crisis ahem so anyways

Josuke eventually gets Bad Company down, and he's trying to heal him, but the light suddenly comes on. They all know someone else is here, so Okuyasu - not wanting anything to keep his bro from getting fixed like he was - runs in to intercept the form coming fast, but Keicho's a little faster

But instead of going for the arrow, it's Okuyasu he targets.

Okuyasu and Josuke are alarmed at this; he'd shown that he only cared about the arrow, why do this? Why go after Okuyasu, before he even got the arrow back?

But Keicho's looking at him - even as this electric being's arm goes through his stomach, his eyes are focused on his brother.

"I act on my orders," he says, whereas before the only thing he ever said was "the arrow", "follow orders"... things like that.

Because Bad Company had been ordered to protect the arrow at all costs

But Keicho Nijimura did that to protect his brother

Which clearly worked against him but moving on

Okuyasu makes this cry, this wail, and Koichi can feel the hurt echoing in him and wishes he could've done something as the being takes the arrow into the light

But Josuke realizes there's a fuse box in here, and its being overloaded, and they need to get out right now, so he grabs the two survivors and jumps out the window.

He ends up being hurt pretty bad splinters of wood dig in his calves and his back, but he's gotta make sure these two are ok.

Josukes not sure if that actually helped, because he's crying so so hard now, and the three just sit there for a while

Okuyasu looks at josuke, crying, pleading... Josuke knows what he wants

"I saw it," he chokes out, "you should know.. Ididn't bring him back, I barely reached him… You did."

Jotaro spots the building when the room explodes and comes running, of course relieved to see these kids are sitting outside, safely... Well. Not dead. Josuke asks about Okuyasu.

"Yea that happened to me, he'll be fine. It's pretty common."

Then he sees Koichi's eyes are a little different and just fuckn grabs the kid and stares super close for a few minutes

Irises are yellow, but more important, the whole ball is getting kinda... segmented? Like... there are creases forming. W/e - they're slowly becoming headlights.

It's an uncomfortable minute for these children, until Jotaro lets him go and says (usual deadpan), "you've been infected."

Then jotaro sets him down and says, usual deadpan, "you've been infected." And Josuke freaks out, assuming he was the cause.

So, Jotaro has to explain that - no, the only way to become infected is if you or a (close enough) relative is injured by the stand arrow. Okuyasu jumps on the phrase, practically barking with desperation. Jotaro, having gone through a rather similar stage, figures it out pretty quickly, "you know about it… where is it?"

“Is that what that weird arrow was back there," Josuke wonders around, jumping when Jotaro focused on him, "well, uh… some electric thing took it… after killing this guy's brother."

Jotaro can't really do much with that, so he moves on, "alright, you three get to the Speedwagon building, I'm gonna do a walkthrough."

They agree, but Okuyasu's looking at the house & not moving Josuke & Koichi try to reassure him about keicho, while Jotaro just walks right in to investigate.

After a minute he comes out carrying Weird Frog Dad who's holding the ripped picture, "what is this." Okuyasu makes this "aa!" sound while the other 2 are Shook.

Okuyasu's looking at Josuke, though he's already moving, but Jotaro stops him, "this can't be fixed." Josuke's like "but i gotta try" and does, and newsflash it doesn't work, but he sees the picture and fixes that and at least that's sweet

So, nearly on the opposite side of the emotional spectrum, the next day we see Koichi skating to school. At first he's very weirded out, tries to hide it, but then he realizes "wait. The town's full of infected people, this isn't that bad." His mother and sister, of course, freak out, but Koichi knows enough to explain it all and put them a little at ease.

Also he does not end up with Yukako, they both deserve better. Like, yea she probably still has her obsession, but it gets handled after the first time. It takes a little while for her to adjust to... not.. doing any of that. But they're both way healthier for it. Not cool or healthy to date your fixation or stalker

[eievuimultimuse]

VERSE 003. BIG FLIES BREAK THE WEB. ( 2007 VERSE ).

full timeline can be found here.

➤ ‘The Fly’ came as a result of a toxic waste leak stemming from TCRI experiments, headed mainly by DR. BAXTER STOCKMAN, coming in contact with a common housefly. Stockman discovered him as a baby and — utterly fascinated by his existence — took him in. He would go on to experiment with the mutagen ‘ooze,’ creating other mutant animals in the process  ( save for the turtle brothers and Splinter, who were purely accidental not unlike ‘Fly’ himself and unbeknownst to Stockman ). While Stockman initially treated them with the impartial attitude of a scientist, he eventually grew attached to them, treating them as though they were his own children. Thus, they became something of a strange family.

➤ Stockman’s experiments would eventually gain the attention of THE SHREDDER, who wished to use such findings to meet his own goals. While Stockman worked  ( against his will )  under the Shredder, ‘Fly’ and his siblings were often employed as well, often to do grunt work, much to Stockman’s reluctance and concern.

➤ ( Important to note: During this time, ‘the Fly’ did not have an official name like most of his siblings did. He was referred to affectionately by Stockman as ‘little one’ (even as that became significantly less true as ‘Fly’ grew older) and was referred to as ‘the Fly’ mainly by the likes of Shredder )

➤ The Stockman mutants consequently encountered THE TURTLES as a result of their work and affiliation with the Shredder, but were evidently incapable of stopping them.

➤ In the ensuing incident that resulted in Shredder’s alleged death, Stockman, too, abruptly vanished. ‘Fly’ — who was unable to help him in time — was the only one to witness the last moments before he did. After a failure to locate and recover Stockman, it is firmly believed that his life had been unfortunately lost in the chaos.

➤ The Stockman mutants promptly vanished after that; no one’s seen them in the years since their father went missing. However, there’s recently been an uptick in strange hijackings. Word on the street is that there’s a crime boss with an anomalous and elusive identity who goes by the name of SUPERFLY. Rumour is that he kills anyone who sees him, thus keeping his identity a secret. One even reported seeing something with wings carrying and stealing an entire truck.

➤ ( Basically, after Stockman’s alleged death, the Stockman mutants broke all ties to any previous affiliations and fled to an abandoned shipyard. They then created a rogue criminal group of their own, with Superfly, being the oldest, acting as their leader. After losing his father, Superfly grew bitter and resentful towards those who he felt contributed to his presumed death. Revenge is the one thing he has on his mind, and he doesn’t care who he has to take down to get it. However, while he and his siblings remain a team out of solidarity, his own bitter feelings have seeped into his relationship with them, making it quite tense and uncomfortable at times. )

➤ ( Additionally: Superfly is aware of the events of 2007 to an extent — not the full story, obviously, but he's aware of the vigilantism on the street as well as the monsters and the Foot Clan's connection to them. His activity was particularly quiet while the latter events were happening; he had enough sense to recognize that the monsters would directly interfere with his work (as well as potentially endanger his family) and that encountering the Foot Clan would only cause problems. Thus, he withheld all further activity until these strange events passed. He'd resume activity shortly after. )

[ladala99]

Spyro Reignited Countdown - Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage

Like Spyro 1, I was obsessed with this game as a kid, to the point that I would grab the controller from guests to march into the Colossus “boss fight” because I found it hilarious. I specifically have a memory of that happening. Probably only happened once.

Anyway, onto the review!

Gameplay

I’m just going to go over the points as they differ from previous titles just to avoid repeating myself too much.

The basic controls are exactly the same as Spyro 1. The models have been updated, but it still essentially feels the same. I really can’t say much here.

As the game progresses, though, Spyro gains new abilities.

He first gets the power to swim underwater, which opens up an entirely different style of gameplay. Honestly, Spyro’s underwater controls are the best underwater controls I’ve had in any game. They just feel right, and the freedom of movement you get makes underwater-heavy levels my absolute favorite in the series. Like Aquaria Towers is my absolute favorite level. Ever. No contest. Just because you can swim anywhere.

Climbing lets you get higher. It doesn’t add much gameplay itself (but was used cleverly in Magma Cone), but allows there to be certain vertical surfaces you can move up without making an awkward staircase or whirlwind. Although really it doesn’t do much of anything a whirlwind doesn’t do other than block progress until you get it and the aforementioned Magma Cone. Kind of underwhelming.

And finally, Headbash. It’s a new move. That’s usable in very specific circumstances. And yet somehow has made it into every game, including The Legend of Spyro and Skylanders. It is super satisfying to Headbash into water (and use it for swimming-in-air glitches) but otherwise it’s not all that impressive.

The only real improvement is swimming, but hey, at least they gave Spyro new abilities. Not sure why you need to bribe a guy to tell you to hold onto a ladder, though.

Collectables

This game keeps the gems, gets rid of the eggs and dragons, and replaces them with orbs.

Orbs are gotten for completing challenges. They’re also scattered around a few homeworlds, but for the most part, NPCs will hand them to you once you complete challenges for them. These challenges have a star rating that shows their relative difficulty. I’d say those star ratings are fairly accurate, for the most part.

It makes it significantly different from dragons, since these challenges vary greatly, from using powerups to do various tasks, to defeating enemies within a time limit, to finding additional collectables around a level. There’s a lot of different challenges, and some are in fact a lot easier than others.

Gems have a new use as well: paying Moneybags to give you new abilities and in many cases let you progress. It’s not all that functionally different from the balloonists telling you that you need X number of whatever collectable to progress, but it does add flavor. And makes you hate that bear. Moneybags is the character Spyro fans love to hate.

Powerups

Superflame gets a huge upgrade from the previous game, becoming a giant fireball that shoots straight at whatever you aim at. You even get a helpful aiming receptacle when you have the powerup. It’s also usable underwater, unlike your regular flame breath, and it has this really cool spiraling star effect that somehow doesn’t affect your aim.

Supercharge is as great as ever, but isn’t nearly as necessary to complete a level. Now, however, almost all (maybe actually all?) of the Supercharge areas have a track you can infinitely circle if you so desire. It’s also used in Speedways in this game, a feature which I neglected to mention in my Spyro 1 review a couple of days ago.

Superjump is used a few times. Neatly animated, but it honestly doesn’t do anything a whirlwind or a ladder wouldn’t be able to do.

Superfreeze is a new powerup used in one level. You use it to freeze enemies in blocks of ice. Neat! It also has a huge range, but since the enemies unfreeze so quickly, it’s best to be right next to them, so that part’s kinda useless.

Superfly is now in a few levels, and it is super overpowered. The developers knew it, and made the timer run out really quickly when you exit the intended area. Much like swimming, though, it adds a great deal of exploration ability to the levels you can use it in. Flying freely is always satisfying.

Invincibility is used once, and it’s pretty neat - allowing you to walk on usually-dangerous terrain. Definitely feels very freeing.

And there’s a combo Superflame/Superfly powerup in one of the last few levels. It does exactly what it says it does, and it’s amazing.

There’s also rocks you can spit, for basically a ranged charge attack. This singlehandedly taught me about arcs in aiming. It wasn’t used too much, though.

And there’s some turret(?) guns in a few levels to blast some particularly strong enemies and break down walls. Again, it taught me a lot about arcs. The fact that it doesn’t show you were exactly it’ll land like most games would is both annoying and satisfying when you figure it out.

Speedways

Forgot about these last time. Speedways now have a hidden challenge involving Hunter, but otherwise they’re pretty similar to the Flights in the first game.

These levels are pretty polarizing because they’re fairly different: they’re free-flying levels where you have to destroy/go through various objects and enemies around the track under a certain time limit. I love them, because I love flying around them. I also really love Hunter’s challenges (even though the last one in this game is way too loud).

Bosses

There’s fewer bosses in this game than the last, but they’re all much improved from the last game. They definitely scale with difficulty, with Ripto being the hardest, and Ripto’s fight is by far the most impressive boss fight in the game, if not the entire series.

Crush is pretty straightforward and is somewhat similar to Spyro 1 bosses: you dodge his attacks, then flame him when you have the chance. The difference is that he attempts to attack you back and ends up harming himself.

Gulp is huge, has two attacks of his own, and also can use the weapons you gain to use against him. This is my favorite type of boss fight, and racing your opponent to the weapons is really fun.

Ripto takes Gulp up to eleven. First two phases you’re fighting him for the powered-up orbs, and then the last phase takes place in the air as you use a combination powerup orb to fly and shoot fireballs at him. No time limit. Great fight. Difficult fight, but great fight.

All in all, very effective bosses.

Levels

They’re well-designed and well-themed. They cover various cartoon locations and are varied and distinct. Unlike the first game, some do require backtracking once you gain new abilities, which is in some ways annoying, but in other ways makes the new abilities more fulfilling. When I was younger, I definitely preferred this method, since I didn’t like saying goodbye to a level forever, but nowadays I just want to get it all done with in one go. So, I’m a bit neutral towards this.

Levels now have NPCs in them that introduce the main task of the level (almost always just to get to the end) and other side-missions which give you orbs. As before, I’m neutral towards this, since I like the simplicity of the first game, but I also love the minigames in this game.

Minigames

This is the one Spyro game with minigames in which I like them all. They’re all integrated into the level, and use the game’s controls in unusual ways to provide more variety. And speaking of variety, they are all very different. From Idol Springs’ puzzle-solving to the dashing around a small cave racing Hunter to crystals in Magma Cone to Trouble With The Trolley(tm) to the trade quest in Mystic Marsh, there’s so many different things you do. You haven’t seen them all until you get to the end.

Story

Spyro wants to go on vacation from the rainy Dragon Realms (as someone also from a rainy city, I get you, Spyro). He decides to head to Dragon Shores for a vacation.

Meanwhile, the citizens of Avalar are altering a portal to hijack a dragon to solve their problems: there’s this guy called Ripto who hates dragons, and he’s decided to take over the place.

Spyro gets transported to Avalar and, at least since Ripto blasted the portal he came from, agrees to help them out. The citizens of Avalar promise to get him to Dragon Shores as soon as they’re able. Friendliest kidnapping ever.

Honestly a bit of an excuse plot just to get Spyro out and somewhere new. But the characters introduced show a lot of personality through both cutscenes and when you speak to them in gameplay.

Each level also has a mini-story mostly unrelated to the overarching story. It’s shown in cutscenes before and after the level, and of course in the level itself. Avalar has more problems than just Ripto, and it takes a fire-breathing dragon who helps the first person to talk to him to sort things out, for better or for worse. (Like seriously, you help thieves in Scorch. And help both sides of the Breeze Builder/Land Blubber war.)

The story isn’t going to make you rethink your life or write deep fanfiction, but it serves its purpose well and is entertaining. Perfect for the Spyro world, even if it gives off a very different feel from the first game.

Unique in the Series?

This game codifies the series. NPCs, powerup gates, minigames, and especially the cast all move on to other games.

The one thing I can think of that’s truly unique to this game is the Soul Particle system - where instead of giving you treasure, slain enemies power the powerup gates. Not a bad system, but definitely is forgettable.

And Elora. She’s in cutscenes in Spyro 3 and in a trading card in Spyro Orange, but this is her only full appearance in the series until the remakes. Which as someone who does not care for romance subplots, I’m fine with. She’s a neat character, but her crush on Spyro would have been her main trait if she stayed in the series, I’m sure.

Conclusion

Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage is tied with the first game as one of my favorite games of all time. It’s fun to play, and I have a huge amount of nostalgia for it. Definitely looking foward to seeing it again on my Switch, with all the graphical improvements.

[alexthegamingboy]

Toonami Weekly Recap 4/13/2019

The Promised Neverland EP#01 - 121045: In an orphanage known as "House", 38 children spend their days playing games, studying, and taking part in tests until they are eventually adopted. One night, after six-year-old Conny is taken out for adoption by the House's mother, Isabella, two of the smartest children in House, Emma and Norman, go to catch up with Conny to deliver a stuffed toy that she forgot. Passing the still-open gate, they discover Conny dead inside a truck and are forced to hide as Isabella trades Conny as "meat" for rich demons. Realising that the House is actually a farm raising humans as food for the demons, Emma and Norman rush back and become determined to escape with the other children. Meanwhile, Isabella discovers the stuffed toy Emma had left beside the truck when they fled.

Sword Art Online: Alicization EP#11 - Central Cathedral: Eugeo is certain that the knight in front of them is Alice, but she does not recognize him or Kirito and takes them into custody. Kirito and Eugeo broke out from the prison using their high object control authority and proceed to the Central Cathedral, but Alice, having predicted their move, sends another Integrity Knight to intercept them. In the real world, Asuna is introduced to the first prototype of a AI robot that is being developed at the Ocean Turtle.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable EP#31 - July 15th (Thursday), Part 1: Yoshihiro, recognising Kira in his new appearance, notices he is being followed by Hayato. Later, on July 15th, Josuke and Okuyasu come across Mikitaka, who spots a Stand user named Toyohiro Kanedachi living on an electrical pylon. When Josuke spots Yoshihiro with him, he steps inside the pylon and falls under the spell of Kanedachi's Stand, Superfly, becoming trapped inside until someone else takes his place. Josuke and Okuyasu attempt to destroy the pylon, only to discover it reflects out any damage it receives. Wanting to help, Mikitaka confronts Kanedachi, helping Josuke to escape but becoming trapped himself. Meanwhile, as something troubling happens in the Higashikata household, Rohan, who had noticed Hayato's behavior, is approached by a strange man.

My Hero Academia: Forest Training Camp Arc EP#45 - What a Twist!: Midoriya, Todoroki and Shoji have caught up with Mr. Compress, and with Aoyama's assistance, they manage to rescue Tokoyami. However, the villains retreat with Bakugo, leaving the heroes-in-training in anguish. U.A. faces serious backlash over the next couple of days, even while the police pursues a lead to find the League of Villains. Midoriya wakes up in a hospital bed, two days after the attack. Almost all of class A comes to visit him. Kirishima and Todoroki reveal that they plan to go rescue Bakugo.

Black Clover: Witches’ Forest Arc EP#65 - I'm Home: Realizing that Vanessa could never have unlocked the Red Thread of Fate without her friends, the Queen accepts defeat and heals everyone. After giving her earring to Asta, she explains that it is actually one of the Magic Stones that belonged to the Elves who were massacred by Clover Kingdom's ancestors long ago. She explains that Vetto and Fana used forbidden magic that only Elves can perform, the same type of magic that was used to summon the Great Demon defeated by the first Wizard King. She further reveals that Asta's anti-magic swords are the remnants of the swords wielded by the Elves' leader, who summoned the Great Demon. Mars returns to the Diamond Kingdom intending to use the Queen's Blood Control to control the king and restructure the Diamond Kingdom's infrastructure for the better while Fana remains with Fanzell's group, Ladros deciding to help in the coupe. The Bulls return to their headquarters and give the Stone to Yami while learning other Bulls have returned their attempts: Luck and Magna have grown far more powerful from their dungeon crawl; Gordon and Gauche have become nerds after spending too long in the King's Library; and Charmy and Grey have become infested with mushroom spores from the forests. The Bulls celebrate their victory.

Hunter x Hunter: 13th Hunter Chairman Election EP#138 - Plea × and × Favor: With the elections in a stalemate, Pariston, the current vice-president, proposes a new set of rules to his fellow Zodiacs in order to solve the impasse, but the others know that he actually plans to make use of this to secure a victory for himself. Meanwhile, Killua returns home and asks his father to let him see his younger sibling Alluka, intending to use her mysterious and frightening power to grant wishes in order to save Gon's life.

[youre-not-a-cat-youre-a-rat]

a cs 2.0 fic i’ll never write

An AU Emma pops through a portal in Hyperion Heights

She’s got JMo’s Superfly hair and she stabs car with her sword like James Marsden in Enchanted.

The normies who arrest her are like “Another one for Rogers”

She gets handcuffed to a desk at the station and is all tight lipped about who she is, and Rogers calls OG Emma to make sure it’s not her

Maybe AU Emma gets free of her cuffs and she and Rogers have a sword fight in the middle of the station, much to everyone’s annoyance

It turns out she’s sort of a vagabond in her realm. Her parents were killed and outside forces seized the throne and ran her out of the kingdom, and she just spent years as a wandering adventurer until she ended up crashing with an old hag who prophesized that she would become, like, a guardian to the Guardian - or whatever

Cuz post-Rump, Alice has become a sort of all-purpose Guardian, like OG Emma’s an all-purpose Savior (a term I’ve stolen from an Entertainment Weekly recap)

So Emma searched for a portal to fulfill her destiny cause maybe that would ease the guilt she feels for abandoning her kingdom/wrongs she’s done as a wandering adventurer, or something

So she meets Alice and they instantly hit it off, but AU Emma and Rogers are all wary of e/o at first - though Emma can’t help her knee-jerk impulse to flirt with him

AU Emma also makes friends with the Hyperion Heights crew, especially Tiana (obviously, bc the way to Emma’s heart is through her stomach) and she ends up crashing with her and helping out at the food truck

And Rogers is irritated bc he doesn’t feel like running into Emma when he’s just trying to get lunch

But then stuff happens and Rogers starts to appreciate how much Emma cares about and looks out for Alice and vice-versa, and they grow to respect e/o

Then they have some on-the-job adventure-bonding, and some late-nights-at-Roni’s-confessions, and they start to strike up a friendship

And then oh no, Rogers suddenly starts feeling super attracted to AU Emma, which is weird cuz he doesn’t feel the same way about OG Emma - but that makes sense cuz he considers them p different people - but it’s still weird yo

And then one day AU Emma runs into OG Emma and Killian for the first time, and they’re obviously married and have pre-teen Hope in tow, and she kinda freaks and flees

Rogers hears about the encounter and finds her and they go for a long walk and talk about relationships and how they’ve both always been kinda skeptical that a real romance is in their own futures

But then oh no it’s late and they’ve walked far, but they’re near Rogers’s apartment and he has an extra room so he offers it to Emma for the night

And she borrows some sweatpants and a Seattle PD sweatshirt

And they both lay in their respective beds, wide awake, for a while

And when they give up on sleeping, they run into each other in the kitchen where Rogers has started to make tea

And the kitchen’s suddenly all cramped during the tea making process

And they’re whispering bc they left the lights off and it seems like they should

And there’s hand brushing. And a tentative smooch.

And blammo, sex happens.

Emma wakes up the next day spooning Rogers and she slips out to think about things

She walks to Roni’s and she finds OG Emma having breakfast, and they introduce themselves properly and have a talk, and AU Emma comes to the decision that she wants to ask Rogers out 

She ends up eating with OG Emma and Killian and Hope (and probably Henry and Ella and Lucy)

Then she goes to find Alice to, like, ask permission to date her father, and Alice and Robin (who’s there) are overjoyed and drag Emma to a store to buy a date outfit and cook up some romantic schemes

And somehow they end up back at Tiana’s with all the Hyperion Heights women who’ve heard about what’s going down, and it turns into an impromptu date-prep party

Alice’s inter-dimensional cousin, Hope, shows up and she obviously hero-worships Alice (there’s a You’ve Got Mail moment with Hope and Jacinda where Hope’s like, I’M HER AUNT)

Anyways

Meanwhile Rogers has been kinda freaking out since he woke up alone. At some point throughout the day he realizes no one’s heard from Emma since she had breakfast with OG Captain Swan, and he starts to think she left town or something

And he spends all day looking for her to no avail

But when he comes back to his apartment that night, Emma’s standing in front of his door waiting for him

And she’s changed out of her Gilderoy-Lockhart-in-the-duel-scene, off-the-shoulder cape and boots that she’s had on throughout the whole fic

And she’s wearing a nice dress and heals that she bought with Alice, and Hope’s done her make up (cuz she learned how to eyeliner from her dad, obvi)

And she’s got a bouquet of roses cuz it seemed like a good idea at the time, shut up

And she says she came by to ask him out on a date

And Rogers feels all the panic melt away and he just beams

And they smooch

End

[placetobenation]

April 13th, 1990 from the Tokyo Dome.

A combined WWF, AJPW and NJPW supershow?! Yes indeed. Mostly. Sort of.

For reasons I can’t quite explain, this felt like a festive stocking filler of a show to review, so this my gift to you – it’s better than nothing, eh? Let’s get to it. 

First of all, some context courtesy of the Wrestling Observer (by way of Scott Keith’s great Observer Flashbacks):

On 29 November 1989, the revived Universal Wrestling Federation – headed by former New Japan Pro-Wrestling talent Akira Maeda – ran a Tokyo Dome show which broke the records for fastest sell-out and biggest ever gate in Japan. NJPW founder Antonio Inoki was humiliated by this and booked a Tokyo Dome show for the following February which was to feature four reigning world heavyweight champions – Vader/NJPW, Hulk Hogan/WWF, Ric Flair/NWA and Larry Zbyszko/AWA. They weren’t able to book Hogan, however, and the mooted Muta vs. Flair match was cancelled at the last minute, with Flair citing political pressure from Turner Broadcasting System.

Flair’s cancellation, combined with the threat posed by the UWF led to a surprising and unlikely alliance, as New Japan and rivals All Japan Pro Wrestling agreed to trade foreign talent. The deal was facilitated by the man who deposed Inoki as NJPW President, Seiji Sakaguchi, and led to the Tokyo Dome show on 10 February being co-promoted, with the card ultimately featuring the debut of former sumo wrestler Koji Kitao vs. Bam Bam Bigelow, Masa Saito beating Zbyszko for the AWA title and Vader defending his IWGP title in a brutal match against All Japan’s Stan Hansen.

Meanwhile, Vince McMahon had booked a WWF show at the Tokyo Dome for April and a few weeks later (reported 5 February 1990) held a press conference with All Japan owner, Giant Baba, to announce that it would be a joint show with both AJPW and NJPW. It was christened Wrestling Summit soon after.

The advertised card was modified in places, most significantly with regards to NJPW’s matches, two of which took place at the show, but neither of which made it to tape. This was because the show’s television broadcaster, Nippon TV, was home to All Japan and therefore unwilling to promote a rival wrestling company. (Note: there may well be fan-cam recordings of those matches, but I couldn’t find them.) Because of this, the show has since become thought of as joint WWF/AJPW venture only and the two companies have enjoyed a fruitful working relationship ever since. Wait, that’s not right. More on the fallout later.

The opening match (AJPW: Dan Kroffat, Doug Furnas & Joe Malenko defeating Samson Fuyuki, Tatsumi Kitahara & Toshiaki Kawada) wasn’t shown either, so we skip that and match No.2 (NJPW: Jushin Thunder Liger beating Akira Nogami) and go straight to…

Kenta Kobashi & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Jimmy Snuka & Tito Santana

Kobashi, in red trunks and still looked like a teenager, was already drawing a decent reaction from the crowd. He and Santana went back-and-forth for a couple of minutes, with Santana dominating, but Kobashi hit back with a springboard crossbody(!) and made the tag to Fuchi, who unloaded with right hands then scored an enzuigiri to set up Kobashi’s missile dropkick. Fuchi then delivered the same to Snuka, who was tagged moments later. Kobashi earned a two-count with a crossbody out of the corner and followed with one from the top-rope, then Fuchi was in to dump the blown-up Snuka with a backdrop. Tag made to Santana, who ran wild with dropkicks and a leaping forearm, then he scoop slammed Fuchi to tee up Snuka’s Superfly Splash for the three-count. Snuka looked rough here and messed up a couple of things in the brief time he was in the ring, but it was otherwise a fairly decent tag match. I certainly got a kick out of seeing young Kobashi’s flashy offence. **

Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. Tiger Mask II

Bret Hart vs. Mitsuharu Misawa! This should be amazing (spoiler: it is not). Tiger spent the opening minutes controlling the arm, then dropkicked Hart to the floor and fooled him with a dive fake-out. Hart charged straight into an armdrag before a crucifix earned two and it was back to Tiger controlling on the mat. Hart fought to his feet and reversed Tiger’s crossbody for two-count before cinching in a chinlock, but after a couple of minutes of that a rope-running sequence allowed Tiger to catapult Hart into the turnbuckle and it was back to the arm once more. Hart countered a second crucifix, scored a couple of elbows then applied another chinlock when it threatened to get interesting. Tiger powered up, landed a spin kick and flattened Hart on the outside with a plancha. Back in, Hart reached the ropes from a cross armbar then feigned a knee injury from a leapfrog to take control. Backbreaker from Hart for two, backslide counter by Tiger for two, then Hart threw Tiger to the floor before bringing him back in for a Russian Leg Sweep.

Tiger fought up from of a third chinlock to hit a scoop slam, but Hart delivered a nasty inverted atomic drop and suplex for a two-count. A fourth – fourth! – chinlock was applied, then abdominal stretches were traded before Hart missed the middle-rope diving elbow and Tiger connected with  a diving crossbody for a near-fall. Sternum-first turnbuckle whip and just as Tiger hit a running crossbody the bell rang to signal a 20-minute draw. I can’t recall seeing Hart dog it quite so obviously in a singles match. He was the one (very obviously) calling the match, which barely got out of second gear before being put back in a rest hold. A month later Misawa would be unmasked and in June he would beat Jumbo Tsuruta in his first Budokan main event – this was no young boy in the ring with Bret and it’s embarrassing in hindsight that he treated him as such. Bret + Misawa = 4/10 (no, seriously, it’s a two-star match).

Greg “The Hammer” Valentine vs. The Great Kabuki

Valentine’s music was “She’s Got The Look” by Roxette. I have no idea why. Anyway, Valentine – who was cosplaying as the untaped Riki Choshu – started strongly with elbow strikes until Kabuki replied with closed fists, which referee Shane McMahon decided to let go. Double-arm suplex from Valentine for two, then knife edge chops and a sort of rudimentary Jackhammer for another two-count. Kabuki managed to fling himself into the tree-of-woe, from which he was released by Shane O Mac, only for Valentine to stomp low. Kabuki blocked the figure-four, though, and applied a Boston Crab until Valentine reached the ropes. More elbows and a scoop slam from Valentine, followed by a shinbreaker and much mocking of Kabuki’s mannerism, but Kabuki had the last laugh as he small packaged Valentine for the three-count. This was fine and Valentine’s efforts to garner heat were appreciated. *1/2

Big Boss Man vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts

Despite both men being babyfaces at the time, Boss Man worked heel here, catching Roberts early on with a spinebuster then working on the back. This continued in uninspired fashion for several minutes before a chinlock was applied and Roberts tried gamely to get the crowd into it. Nope. Boss Man went to the top-rope after delivering a scoop slam, but the diving belly flop missed and allowed Roberts to make the comeback with punches and the short clothesline. Something went awry with Roberts’ knee lift, but no matter, as the DDT connected moments later to give Jake the win and Damien made a post-match cameo. Boss Man’s offence – which was the body of the match – was awful in every respect. Not good at all. 1/2*

Next up was an IWGP Tag Team title match in which the champions, Masa Saito & Shinya Hashimoto, successfully defended against the challengers, Masahiro Chono & Riki Choshu. Sounds like a good match on paper. 

Jumbo Tsuruta & King Haku vs. Mr. Perfect & Rick Martel

Perfect and Martel first dealt with Haku then went after Jumbo, who quickly turned the tide with a jumping knee to Perfect. The commentator loved that one. Haku took control with a nice shoulderbreaker, then a double-team clothesline enabled Jumbo to lock in the abdominal stretch. Martel interfered to break the hold, allowing Perfect to fire back with stomps, punches and the rolling neck snap. A big scoop slam from Jumbo brought in Haku, whose flipping senton missed the mark, bringing in Martel for the first time. A pair of scoop slams and a series of elbows set up the frankensteiner(!) for a near-fall, and after a brief flurry from Perfect, Martel was back in with a slingshot splash, but a second attempted frankensteiner resulted in him being dropped into the turnbuckle. Haku couldn’t make the tag, though, and a double-team slam allowed Martel to lock in the Boston Crab. Now it was Jumbo’s turn to interject, but all it led to was Perfect tagging in for an abdominal stretch of his own. Suplex from Martel and a knee drop for two, then an eye rake and scoop slam, but Haku got his knees up on the diving splash and he finally made the hot tag to Jumbo! Back body drops and scoop slams all round, then he and Haku whipped their opponents together, Jumbo nailed Martel with the jumping knee and the Backdrop Hold got the win! A very basic layout, with Haku imperilled for the majority of the match, but Martel and Perfect’s offence was nice and varied and the hot tag to Jumbo worked a treat. Good match. *** 

“Macho King” Randy Savage (w/ Sensational Sherri) vs. Genichiro Tenryu

Nice bird’s eye view of the ring as Savage entered the ring – they should use that again. Savage got a couple of punches in before taking a powder and posing on the turnbuckle, then Tenryu flipped out of a suplex and floored Savage with chops to a big reaction. Sherri’s distraction saw Savage briefly gain control, but Tenryu nailed a clothesline, back body dropped Savage to the floor and followed with a crossbody from the apron! Sherri got involved again, allowing Savage some respite and drawing huge heat, which was amazing to watch. Back in, Tenryu blocked Savage’s charge and scored an enzuigiri, but Savage hit back with a clothesline and punches before pushing the referee to the mat.

Another clothesline got two and one more sent Tenryu to the floor where Savage struck him with the double axe handle from the top-rope. Sherri twice gave Tenryu a smack behind the ref’s back and a second diving axe handle in the ring earned a near-fall, then Savage headed up top and the diving elbow hit the mark! One, two, no! A third axe handle was blocked, but Tenryu couldn’t get the powerbomb and Savage scored a diving crossbody. He seemed to tweak his knee off that, which gave Tenryu the opening for one more enzuigiri and this time the powerbomb connected! One, two, three! This was wrestled at a great pace and, thanks to Sherri, benefitted from plenty of heat. Savage dominated, Tenryu showed fighting spirit and it was certainly a sign of respect that he kicked out of the diving elbow drop. Really good match. ***1/2 

WWF World Heavyweight Championship 

Ultimate Warrior (c) vs. “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase

Warrior was fresh off beating Hulk Hogan for the title at Wrestlemania VI and had been world champion less than two weeks at this point. This had initially been advertised as an Intercontinental title match.

DiBiase attacked Warrior as he was playing to the crowd, but Warrior quickly brushed him off, sending him to the floor with a clothesline over the top. He proceeded to demonstrate his strength from a few tie-ups, then a criss cross led to a big shoulder block, but DiBiase avoided the attempted flying clothesline and took control. The crowd started chanting something every time he punched Warrior and he got a big reaction for clothesline and two-count. No idea what that was about. Snapmare and a fist drop and another massive reaction for a suplex. What is going on? Piledriver from DiBiase! That got two despite Warrior’s foot being under the rope, then it was time for the champ to make the comeback with a bunch of clotheslines, the flying clothesline and the big splash to retain his title in under 7 minutes. The bizarre crowd reaction made this relatively entertaining, but there wasn’t much to it otherwise. These two would have a far better match on the fourth edition of The Main Event later in 1990. *1/2

Demolition (Ax & Smash) vs. Andre the Giant & Giant Baba

Demolition were the reigning WWF tag champs at the time, having beaten Andre and Haku (aka The Colossal Connection) at Wrestlemania VI, but this is a non-title match because… well, look at the team they’re facing.

Baba began by shoulder blocking Smash and chopping him a few times before tagging in Andre. He was looking rough, bless him, but was mobile enough to stand on Smash before missing an elbow drop. Ax and Smash tagged in-and-out a few times, taking turns at clubbing Andre until he was able to roll over to the corner and bring in Baba once more. Baba trampled Ax, but Demolition quickly took control in their corner, choking him behind the ref’s back. More chops from Baba, and a spinning neckbreaker(!) saw Andre return to manhandle Ax. It all got a bit out of hand, with Baba interjecting and nailing a big boot to Smash, and Andre capitalised with an elbow drop for the (sort of) three-count. Not a good match by any means, but that was to be expected. Still, Demolition flung themselves around and the crowd enjoyed it. *

Special Dream Match

Hulk Hogan vs. Stan Hansen

This was due to be Hogan vs. Terry Gordy (despite Vince McMahon initially pushing for Hogan vs. Dusty Rhodes, according to Dave Meltzer), but that was before Hogan lost the WWF title. Supposedly, neither Baba nor Gordy were pleased with this development and so the match was changed on the day of the show, with Hansen replacing Gordy out of self-interest or selflessness, depending on who you believe. 

An even opening exchange saw Hogan demonstrating some technical prowess with double-leg and drop toehold takedowns, then they traded slaps and eye rakes until Hansen threw Hogan to the floor. Hogan fought free and managed to ram Hansen’s head into the ringpost, busting him open! Back suplex in the ring for two, then Hogan targeted the cut with punches and stomps before locking in an abdominal stretch. Knife edge chops in the corner sent Hansen to the floor again, where he was punched over the guardrail and slammed onto a table! Hogan posed in the ring, then brought Hansen back in for a two-count and delivered more chops in the corner. Finally, Hansen was able to block a charge and he bulldozed Hogan with a shoulder block.

Outside, Hansen smashed Hogan in the head with a chair and now Hogan was busted open too! Hansen drew cheers by rolling him back into the ring for a two-count and proceeded to wail on him with punches, then a brief sojourn to the floor saw Hansen use his bull rope, but back in, Hogan nailed a running elbow. The leg drop missed, but Hogan connected with a running crossbody(!) for a near-fall, then pushed Hansen off and nailed the Axe Bomber! One, two, three! What a great match. I’d go as far to say it was one of the best of Hogan’s career. Aggressive brawling, double colour and a clean finish. What more could you want? ****

The usual Hogan schtick to close and we’re out. 

The Aftermath

The UWF held what was to be their final show at the Tokyo Dome on 1 December 1990. This came after many months of issues between UWF President, Jin Shinji, and Akira Maeda over the direction of the company, as well as being a consequence of the general economic downturn in Japan. Maeda would go on to form shoot-style promotion Fighting Network RINGS, while a third iteration of the UWF – Union of Wrestling Forces International (UWFi) – would run until the end of 1996, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Only weeks after Wrestling Summit took place, Genichiro Tenryu left All Japan Pro Wrestling. Backed by well-known spectacles makers Megane Super, Tenryu would become the figurehead of a new promotion named Super World of Sports (SWS), who spent big and quickly built an impressive roster.

In October 1990, WWF representatives JJ Dillon and Akio Sato visited Japan and made a deal with SWS for a working agreement (AJPW having been given only a courtesy meeting and NJPW unwilling to meet the WWF’s terms). WWF talent began wrestling semi-regularly for SWS in December of that year and continued to do so until May 1992. A month after that, SWS held its final show in tumultuous circumstances, with talent splitting off into several new promotions. One of these was Tenryu’s WAR, with whom WWF held a joint show in September of that year. Beyond that, WWF ran four house shows across Japan in 1994 and… that was it for a long time. They didn’t return until 2002.

Tenryu’s departure from AJPW led directly to the push of Mitsuharu Misawa, which in turn would lead to the most prosperous time in the company’s history, and despite their absence from the footage, the likes of Hashimoto, Chono and Liger would bring about similar incredible success for NJPW. Coupled with the demise of the UWF and later SWS, this meant neither company was desperate enough to co-promote for the rest of the decade, and they wouldn’t run another joint show until 2011/2012, when they and Pro Wrestling NOAH organised a pair of events in response to the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. 

Final thoughts: A preposterous one-off event in the middle of an extraordinary time for Japanese professional wrestling – of course it’s a recommendation. Even at its worst, this bizarre spectacle is thoroughly entertaining. Clearly it’s not a high quality show, with the Misawa/Hart match a notable disappointed, but there are couple of very good matches here that would be worth seeing even if isolated from the occasion.