#she should be utilized and be able to explore the mysteries of her own powers and connections

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution Analyzer: The Ultimate Life Form Arc (Part 2)

After being awakened by Ferra and Metal Sonic, Shadow decides to take revenge on those who wronged him and his only friend, Touka, by destroying Neos City, unaware that Touka has lost her memories. Lucas, Sonic and their friends try to stop him, but unknown to either sides, it appears that there is someone else pulling the strings. 

Chapters

Entry 4: Project Shadow

Entry 5: The Looming Shadow

Entry 6: Chaos Surge

Entry 7: Countdown To Destruction

Entry 8: The Illusion Of Hope

Entry 9: Live and Learn

After setting up the characters, their motivations and goals, we immediately follow up with Sonic, Lucas and their friends combing the entirety of Neos City in search for Shadow, with Amy bringing up to Minami her initial reading of her tarot cards and realizing that maybe the interpretation of “looming shadow” was supposed to be taken literally in reference to Shadow and that he may be somewhere at Infinity Forest outside the city.

Amy and Minami then call Tails, Warren, Silver and Makoto, who are at Infinity Forest and dealing with their own little mystery, a strange crystal that burns Silver when he attempts to pick it up and shatters. This will be followed up later on.

As for Sonic, Lucas, Knuckles and Lily, they’re in Erekiteru, an area in Neos City based on real-life Akihabara in Tokyo, where they in their search for Shadow come across this advertisement:

''Tamago Corporation proudly presents our newest product – the Buddy Bot!'' the squirrel said proudly, stepping over to a robotic version of itself. ''Any ARNav knows that they cannot survive for too long outside an AR Field, but with the Buddy Bot, an ARNav can easily be transferred into their new, robotic body in order to stay alongside their human companions for much longer periods of time.'' 

[...]

''I'm more curious about who thought calling their company Egg Corporation was a good idea,'' Sonic said, chuckling. Lucas and Lily exchanged amused looks, while Knuckles cracked a smile.

The existence of the Tamago Corporation and the advertisement of the Buddy Bots will play an important role later on, and one should pay attention to Sonic’s words here as this is foreshadowing for future events.

As for Metal Sonic, Ferra and Touka have arrived at the Codex Research Facility, although Touka still has issues remembering much. She does replay Ferra and Metal Sonic by revealing how Sonic took advantage of Lucas’ BioEnergy to gain a temporary boost, much to the former two’s surprise.

Ferra and Metal Sonic observed Touka as she walked up to the entrance and vanished into the building, then turned towards each other. ''You know, we may have run into a dead end while trying to find the person who sent us that message, but we still learned something important. If Sonic and his partner have now figured out how to use BioEnergy as a power-up without suffering from any consequences, we should also find a way to control it.''

'Calculating probabilities…' Metal Sonic turned to Ferra. 'There is a 99% chance of you succumbing to BioEnergy loss.'

''Yeah, I know…'' Ferra trailed off, looking back at the building. She rose an eyebrow. ''I wonder if we should alert Sonic and his friends to this place as well.'' She turned back to Metal Sonic, who gave her a questioning look. ''If we let them know that Shadow is here, they might get into a battle and once Sonic's friends are distracted, you would get the opportunity to defeat him.'' Ferra then shrugged. ''Admittedly, one shouldn't recycle old plans, but Shadow is no ordinary Irregular. Besides, we could also observe how Sonic is able to utilize BioEnergy. Overall, it would be a win for us.''

'Your proposal is acceptable,' Metal Sonic responded. 'Chances of us winning would increase.'

We then cut to Shadow at Cyber Exploration Labs, having sneaked inside to get the data he needs for his plan, but not without alerting the Irregular Hunters. A battle ensues, with Sonic being alerted to it by Knuckles and Lily and rushing over as fast as possible just to find Shadow completely dominating everyone.

With that said, he ran off towards CyExLabs, having reached the place in a few seconds. However, even those seconds didn't matter, as Shadow had already defeated the Irregular Hunters, skating down the street, away from the CyExLabs. Sonic knew that, if Shadow teleported now, they would lose him for good. As for how he'd get Shadow to follow him, he wasn't completely sure.

Okay, this is what I'll do. Step one: Light taunting. Step two: I have no idea. Sonic hoped that this would work, preparing for the worst as he called out, ''Hey!''

Shadow turned around, visibly surprised to see Sonic here. ''You again…''

''I've found you, Faker!'' Sonic walked up to Shadow, pleased that he got the latter's attention.

''Faker? I think you're the fake hedgehog around here,'' Shadow replied. Admittedly, he was both annoyed and intrigued by Sonic's sudden appearance. ''You're comparing yourself to me? Ha! You're not even good enough to be my fake!''

''I'll make you eat those words!''

Sonic achieved exactly what he wanted, grinning when he saw Shadow charging at him. Instead of attacking back, he ran off towards the meeting spot he and Lucas had agreed on.

Sonic manages to draw Shadow away to a more remote place, deciding to talk to the latter to learn more about his motives. Shadow refuses to tell him anything, attacking Sonic with a Chaos Spear. Sonic dodges it, holding his own, when Lucas appears, having hoped that Sonic would be able to talk with Shadow and get through him. Since Shadow refuses to talk, Sonic and Lucas decide to fight, using Chaos Surge, which enrages Shadow.

''Why… are you… using that…?'' Shadow continued, suddenly overwhelmed by a memory of the past. He could hear Touka screaming in fear; he could remember absorbing her BioEnergy; he could see her lying on the ground, motionless. Shadow felt a tranquil fury surging through his body, the sense of rage overwhelming him. He clenched his fist, summoning another bolt of energy. ''Unforgivable!''

[...]

''How dare you to utilize BioEnergy this way? Do you have a death wish?!'' Shadow yelled at both Sonic and Lucas.

''Wait, so you know about this?'' Lucas asked. Shadow gritted his teeth, feeling that he revealed a bit too much. After all, no one was supposed to know what BioEnergy could really do, especially in the hands of an Irregular.

''It doesn't matter,'' Shadow told the two. ''None of it will matter once I'm done with Neos City and everyone inhabiting it.''

''Wait!'' Lucas yelled, but it was too late. Shadow had already teleported away.

Shadow is clearly furious when he witnesses Chaos Surge, being reminded of Touka’s death, and attacks Sonic. The two tussle, with Shadow then warping away, much to Sonic and Lucas’ dismay, as they have no idea where he left to. To make things worse, Metal Sonic suddenly appears and attacks Sonic.

The scene then switches over to Touka, who explorers the Codex Research Facility, some of her memories resurfacing, but before she can continue, she gets knocked out unconscious by someone unknown.

The situation then quickly shifts gears when Sonic and Lucas are confronted by Metal Sonic and meet Ferra for the first time. Both are suspicious of Ferra, but accept her offer to lead them towards Shadow’s whereabouts, even if she doesn’t tell them why she’s helping them. As for Shadow...

He took out the USB stick, clenching it tightly in his fist as he skated closer and closer towards the Codex Facility, eventually reaching the main entrance to the building. He walked inside, his steps echoing through the empty hallways, determined and focused. He felt no happiness, no peace, left only with a sense of turmoil inside him. Perhaps, in a different life, things would've been different. He could imagine a life where none of this happened, where he could live his life with Touka the way they had always fantasized about; far away from Codex and its scientists, Prof. Sakamoto in particular.

Then, wasn't it ironic that he had managed to finally leave Codex, the place he now loathed, only to constantly return to it? Shadow shook his head. No matter what I want, I cannot escape my past. I cannot escape what had happened here, what I had done. His eyes then narrowed, his clenched fist only tightening. However, I can destroy it. I can make sure that nothing of Codex and its secrets remains. Shadow lowered his head as his memories of Touka flooded his mind, feeling a chilling sensation spreading through his body. He had to wonder what she would think of this. He knew that her sole desire was to finally leave Codex and live outside the facility. She didn't really hate this place, but was bored of it and wanted to experience something more.

Shadow stopped walking for a moment. Touka, what would you do if you knew what this place truly was? Would you leave, or stay? His gaze lowered as a shadow fell over his expression. Would you ever forgive me for what I'm going to do? He suddenly felt a sharp pang of guilt in his chest, as if someone had stabbed him. As much as he tried to push it back, there was a soft whisper in the back of his mind, reminding him of his failure. What good are my powers if I couldn't even protect Touka?

He hated himself for being unable to do what he was created for, feeling massive guilt for just being alive when his only friend didn't survive. Shadow took a deep breath, his hands shaking and his quills bristling. He tried to calm himself down, to focus again on what he needed to do. He couldn't let his emotions get the better out of him. He tried to take a step forward, but his feet were frozen. He couldn't move.

He is still traumatized, to say the least, having doubts about what he is about to do and feeling immense guilt for not protecting the one person he cared about. He remembers his time at the Codex Research Facility, where no one trusted him because of who he was and people hated him simply because he existed. Even his own creator was cold and distant towards him.

Yet, Touka was always by his side, trusting him and caring for him. However, now he is on his own, and he is determined to finish what he had started. He would destroy Neos City by overloading the experimental energy cores left behind at the Codex Research Facility, causing a massive explosion that would annihilate everyone and everything in the area.

Back to Sonic and Lucas, they are led by Metal Sonic and Ferra towards Codex, having already informed the rest of the team about what is going on. As they arrive there, Ferra informs them that Touka should also be inside the building, trying to find Shadow. While Sonic and Lucas go inside, Ferra admits to Metal Sonic that she wants to see the fight between them and deciding to observe how the situation unfolds.

Inside the building, Sonic goes ahead to find Shadow, while Lucas stays behind exploring, at least until he hears an explosion. Clearly, Sonic had found Shadow.

Speaking of which, Sonic still tries to talk to Shadow, asking him about his plans and what he knows about Chaos Surge. Shadow is at this point 110% done with Sonic, offering him a choice: he can either perish at Shadow’s hand as a cruel act of mercy or die alongside everyone else in the explosion. Sonic is shocked, but determined to stop Shadow at all cost. The two get into a fight, with Lucas also arriving on the scene, and Sonic just keeps questioning Shadow regarding his motives:

''Why do you hate everyone so much?'' Sonic continued, preparing himself for Shadow's retaliation. It came faster than he expected, with Shadow charging at him for a punch. Sonic dodged it, but ended up with a kick to his chest.

''Because this is what they deserve!'' Shadow growled, hitting Sonic's shoulder when the latter failed to dodge his attack. Sonic had no idea what had gotten into Shadow, but it looked like the black hedgehog had enough. ''You keep asking why…'' Sonic gasped as he hit the wall, moving his head just in time to avoid Shadow's next punch, which left a crack in it. He then looked back at the enraged black hedgehog, his crimson eyes glowing as he breathed heavily, ignoring the pain in his hand. ''Humans are nothing but selfish, greedy beings with no compassion for those who suffer. They keep experimenting with life callously, showing no remorse for their actions. Even senseless death won't stop them from their cruelty towards others.''

''I know that people can be cruel and selfish…'' Sonic said, using his super speed to get away from being pinned by Shadow against the wall and appear right behind him, ''...but that still doesn't give you the right to act like a genocidal maniac!''

Shadow charged at Sonic, with the latter managing to dodge his fist, only for Shadow to suddenly vanish and Sonic feel pain in his back. He flew, landing on the ground face-first, with Shadow then appearing before him. Sonic lifted his head, glaring at the black hedgehog, who returned an aloof gaze. Sonic was surprised that the latter didn't gloat, but the feeling of surprise was quickly replaced by a sense of curiosity.

''You haven't told me everything…'' He slowly got up, bruised. ''Am I right?''

Shadow didn't respond. He had to admit, Sonic was quite determined to get a direct answer out of him, even if it cost him his life, and he had to admire that resolve.

''Why do you insist on learning why I'm doing this? Why are you so persistent?'' Shadow finally asked, hoping that the blue hedgehog would finally shut up and focus on the fight.

''Because, I believe that you wouldn't be saying any of this if there wasn't some personal tragedy involved,'' Sonic replied.

Shadow stared at Sonic in stunned silence, wondering how the blue hedgehog came to that conclusion. Was he that easy to read? Does it even matter anymore?

''If you really insist…'' Shadow took a deep breath, carefully observing his opponent. They would all be gone soon, and the secret would die along with them. There was nothing they could do to stop the inevitable. Shadow's gaze wandered from Sonic to Lucas. ''I assume that this human is important to you.''

''Of course he is! Lucas is my best buddy,'' Sonic said, with Lucas smiling in response. He was worried about his partner, but he didn't interfere, hoping that Sonic would be to deal with this situation.

''I also had someone who was important to me, someone I was close to,'' Shadow continued, clenching his fists, feeling the rage growing inside him. ''However, she had been taken away from me. The humans who worked here were responsible for her death, and I had promised to myself that I would avenge her.'' Shadow's quiet tone grew louder, filled with raw hatred. ''They treated Touka like a guinea pig, never telling her why she had been here, and she payed with her life. We had both been trapped here for all of our lives, and all she wanted was to step outside this building, but that wish died with her.'' Shadow gritted his teeth, baring his fangs. He felt as if someone put a stone in his chest, as if someone grabbed him by the neck and was choking him. ''Those humans never cared for her! They just let her die, never bothering to even lift a finger to help her when she needed them!''

Sonic and Lucas exchanged glances of astonishment, which was quickly replaced by knowing looks. Despite his head still being a mess from the storm of emotions he felt, Shadow had to admit that he was a little surprised by their reaction. It seemed as if they knew something he didn't. Sonic then stepped up, trying to look serious, but the corner of his mouth twitched as a tiny grin formed on his lips.

''Shadow, you said that this person's name is Touka, right?'' Sonic asked. Shadow frowned, glaring at the blue hedgehog.

''Was,'' he responded.

''Uh, I don't know how to tell you this but… I think that someone had lied to you,'' Sonic continued.

''What are you talking about?'' Shadow asked, now feeling irritated.

''That's because Sonic and I know Touka, and the last time we saw her, which was the other day, she was alive,'' Lucas replied, hoping that they were all talking about the same person. Ferra had been telling them the truth so far and he hoped that the part with Touka was correct as well. ''As a matter of fact, we were told that she had entered this building and didn't come out. She may still be somewhere-''

''You're lying!'' Sonic and Lucas both almost jumped out of their skin when Shadow screamed at them. His crimson eyes were glowing, his fists clenched as he stared at them, completely enraged. His voice, normally calm and steady, was filled with raw fury. ''She is dead! I watched her die!'' Shadow continued, the fury in his voice fading into anguish. ''She is gone and nothing will bring her back!''

''Shadow…'' Sonic could see tears forming in the corners of Shadow's eyes, with black hedgehog finally giving into his grief. He felt pity for Shadow, for him losing the person he cared about the most, but at the same time, he knew that there was hope. ''Shadow, please, listen to me. Touka is still here, and she actually went searching for you-!''

''SHUT UP!''

Shadow’s mask finally cracks and he tells Sonic that he just wants revenge on humanity for taking away Touka from him, leaving Sonic and Lucas astonished since... well, Touka is actually alive. Sonic tries to convince Shadow to listen to them, but being too lost in his own grief, Shadow refuses to believe him and attacks Sonic.

Fortunately for Sonic and Lucas, the cavalry arrives, with Silver using his psychokinesis to protect them from Shadow’s attack.

Shadow didn't respond, instead observing the group of humans and Irregulars. He will not let them stop him in carrying out his last wish. He would make sure that humanity would perish at his hands.

''No,'' Shadow replied, his voice now calm and collected, chilling Sonic to the core when he heard him. He sounded focused, yet… empty. Sonic knew that Shadow had crossed the line of no return, that he felt that there was nothing he had to live for. There was only one thing that remained, and he was going to fight for it until the bitter end. Shadow focused on the blue hedgehog, as if reading his mind, his crimson eyes narrowing. ''This battle has just begun.''

It is time for the final fight, with the story reaching its conclusion in The Ultimate Life Form Arc (Part 3).

Insert Themes:

Escape From The City by Sonic Adventure 2 (NateWantsToBattle Cover)

I Am… All Of Me by Shadow The Hedgehog (NateWantsToBattle Cover)

Live and Learn by Sonic Adventure 2 (NateWantsToBattle Cover)

Links:

#Previous Entry

#Next Entry

#Sonic Cyber Revolution Analyzer (Masterlist)  

[sepublic]

Season 2 Teaser for The Owl House?

           So for those of you who haven’t caught up; A few days ago, Dana released an exclusive photo of herself on Instagram, with a cryptically-blurred reflection in her window that was all too conveniently-placed;

           Now, this COULD just be some game she’s playing, but like; Reverse-image searches have yielded nothing, and it hurts no one to speculate! Thanks to @50shades-of-blue, who had the common sense to remember to flip the reflection, we have something more akin to THIS;

           This image bears a decent resemblance to a sequence from the show’s intro, in terms of structuring; We have characters divided and separated by golden bars. This points to Dana’s image being a shot from a new intro for Season 2, either one for an entire season, or a single episode. I say this, because looking at the subject matter… On the very left, we see something vaguely blue, and similar in resemblance to a bile sac;

           This could actually be the Titan’s heart, image below for reference;

           Not only that, but as Blue’s helpful tracing points out, the other two figures in the ‘slots’ bear a resemblance to Owl Mask and Kikimora, the latter having the fingers of her hand-hair splayed out, and the former appearing to take off their mask.

           What little we see of Owl Mask bears a decent-enough resemblance to the Season 2 character that Dana teased, further cementing a connection between the two. Not only that, but we get a glimpse of five (possibly six) colorful symbols above the three character slots, each likely pertaining to the Coven Heads, as shown by Blue’s earlier tracing.

           In particular, you can tell the blue symbol has the same distinctive, U-shaped horns of the Healing Head; And the green symbol bears enough resemblance to the Plant Head, with their dark-green bangs covering most of their lighter-green face. Combined with symbols that seem similar to the Construction, Beastkeeping, and Oracle Heads, the exact layout we’ve seen so far coincidentally seems to match the banner layout seen in The First Day;

           You have from left to right; The Construction, Plant, Beastkeeping, Bard, and Healing Heads! Now, if you look to the very right of the image, there also seems to be a sixth symbol, a bit lower than the others, with what appears to be a purple coloration; This is likely the Oracle Head, especially since it matches with the aforementioned placement of the banners. Now, exact positioning beside, we also know that there are three more symbols obscured, the ones for the Abominations, Potions, and Illusion Heads. If we go by the pattern established by the rest of the image, with the Heads at either end of the display being placed lower than the rest, and the rest being shown in an up-down pattern… Then it seems we more or less have the vast majority of this mysterious screenshot, with some of it blacked out!

           As others such as @preciseprose​ have suggested, there’s a good chance that this is a screen transition, hence why only a specific corner and portion is obscured; Because if this shot parallels the one seen in the Season 1 intro with Willow, Gus, and Amity, which burns away in the middle to reveal King… Then it makes sense that a similar transition would happen with this show, perhaps obscuring from the outside-in this time as a contrast.

           Now, what’s interesting is that this style of shot, once reserved for protagonists and friends/peers of Luz, is now being designated towards lesser-known antagonists associated with the Emperor’s Coven. While this could just be how the Season 2 intro works, with Gus, Willow, and Amity appearing later or earlier, likely closer to Luz; It does make me and others wonder if we’ll get a dedicated intro to the Emperor’s Coven with Belos, front-and-center! I’ve talked at enormous length in the past of Luz and Belos being parallels… And it’d match other Disney TVA shows, such as Gravity Falls, Ducktales, or Amphibia, who had villainous takeovers for their shows’ intros as well!

           This could of course allude to an episode with a heavy focus on the members of the Coven System, specifically Belos and his aides Owl Mask and Kikimora, as well as the Head witches of the Covens he appointed and presumably trusts. This is of course all fascinating and has me even MORE intrigued, but also; The placement of the Titan’s heart alongside Owl Mask and Kikimora suggests its treatment as its own character as well… Which, if it’s a giant heart, it presumably represents and operates as a stand-in for the Titan, perhaps the conduit with which Belos even speaks to it (and vice-versa?) through! AKA the Heart represents the Titan, it IS the Titan, which then suggests that this Emperor’s Coven triumvirate consists of the Titan, Owl Mask, and Kikimora…

           But that’s not the only consideration! I’ve talked before about character parallels in this show… We have Luz and Amity, Eda and Lilith, Owlbert and Lilith’s palisman. I’ve speculated on King and Kikimora being parallels, and even Hooty and Belos… But that always made me wonder; What about Willow and Gus? Do THEY have parallels, associated with the Coven System and its Emperor? And for a while I entertained Warden Wrath and Owl Mask, but lo and behold; I may be right, at least about one of those two, and also in general about parallels! Because if we compare the placements… We have the Titan and Willow, Owl Mask and Gus, and Amity and Kikimora!

           Owl Mask being a parallel to Gus is interesting, because they’re operating as a spy for Belos; And presumably, Illusionists would be great at stealth. I wouldn’t be surprised if Owl Mask used Illusions, albeit to disguise and mask their own presence; A parallel and contrast to Gus, who uses Illusions to create and draw attention and spectacle! Not only that, but it makes me wonder if Owl Mask is also a child prodigy like Gus, if they have issues with being overlooked, and as a contrast to Gus, they’ve embraced this instead of fighting against it…? And Owl Mask is sent to spy on Luz the human, perhaps a parallel to Gus’ own fascination with humans…?

           Then we’ve got Willow and the Titan’s heart. Now, this one interests me… And it makes me think about how Willow is presented with a raw, innate strength, and an uncanny ability to cast magic without summoning a circle nor glyph. I’ve talked before about Willow and Belos having parallels, as they both have distinct shots with their eyes glow green; Could this parallel stem more from a connection to the Titan, than anything else? Then as @aguigenae suggested, instead of Luz (or JUST Luz) being able to speak to the Titan… What if it was Willow? It’d re-contextualize her ability to draw onto raw, magical potential through pure emotions… And similarly, a lot of her spells draw power from the Isles itself in the form of plants, and we know the Isles as synonymous with the Titan!

           With how Belos seems to draw power and spells from the Isles, albeit with fleshy and stone formations… Perhaps Willow serves as a parallel and foil, creating constructs from the Isles as well, but in the form of plantlife! Her being able to speak to plants might provide a medium to contact the Isles they’re rooted in… And as I said before, Willow has shown an unusual ability with magic not unlike how Belos can cast magic, but through his unique form of spheres and orbs. If Willow is associated with the Titan’s heart, perhaps she could speak to it in a way that Belos can’t- Perhaps they BOTH can speak, and this will lead to a conflict with Belos, who seeks to preserve this ‘privilege’? Keep in mind that it’s Willow who openly defies Belos the most by rallying an entire crowd against him- If she’s the face of the revolution, her being able to speak to the Titan could create further parallels and odds between the two!

           Not only that, but… Talking again of Willow and the Titan’s Heart, if the two are parallels; What does this say about the Titan itself? Perhaps like Willow, it’s a being with raw magical power, easily terrifying, and with a connection to nature (as it IS nature in its case). If these characters are dark parallels, then what if the Titan was like Inner Willow, wrathful and fully exploring its dangerous power, having felt harmed and hurt, twisted…

           But what if it was also a Willow who never learned to stand up for herself? A powerful, dangerous witch… But with no true self-esteem, no believe in themselves? What if the Titan was like a Dark Willow, and this self-doubt was what allowed Belos to manipulate it? I’ve speculated before that perhaps Belos has managed to sway and influence the Titan into seeing his way as the right way to handle magic… If it was a dark parallel to Willow, perhaps the Titan is hopeless, thinking there’s nothing it can do to oppose Belos, feeling like it’s smarter than him, as a toxic friend with control; Think Anne and Sasha from Amphibia!

           We might even get a scene paralleling Willow and Amity’s first appearance, with how Amity condescendingly mocks Willow, albeit with potential, if misguided, good intentions. Perhaps Belos is like this- He’s cruel and manipulative of the Titan, but he also genuinely believes in what he’s doing, that this IS the best for the Isles, and that this is how the Titan should have its magic be utilized and taught. But, in absence of Amity, we see Willow’s true feelings of resentment and anger that have bottled up… So what if the Titan was like that with Belos, except dialed up? What if the Titan hates Belos or wants to see him defeated, but isn’t entirely sure if he’s wrong, either…

           So to get into blind speculation, what if- What if the Titan has tried to create a new champion? By going behind Belos’ back and communicating with a new, younger witch, perhaps one that reminds it of Belos before he turned corrupt… What if the Titan is contacting Luz and/or Willow? Hoping to find someone else who will actually speak for them, not just talk over as Belos possibly is doing? Maybe the Titan is trying to foster a new witch, an alternative champion to depose Belos or take over; Or have Belos and Luz/Willow compete, to prove to the Titan who has the best philosophy to magic through their own respective victories?

           And if Belos were to find out… Well, I imagine he might do something drastic to the Titan. He has control and access to its heart- Could he torture it in retaliation, perhaps causing quakes across the Isles that echo the Titan’s throes of agony? Would Belos do something drastic to prevent the Titan from helping Luz/Willow, adversely affecting the Boiling Isles in the process? Similarly, if Belos is a toxic friend to the Titan, perhaps there’s symbolism to his castle built around the Titan’s heart… Kudos to @fermented-writers-block​ for some of these ideas;

          Perhaps it could be interpreted as Belos having an iron grip over its heart, or the Titan building up walls around its heart –thanks to Belos’ encouragement- and letting in only Belos…? Alas, Belos is the one who convinces the Titan to hide itself away and let only him in, because only HE cares, only he knows best… And yet, he’s the one who helped build those walls that the Titan hides within. Ultimately, his castle MUST fall- Especially if it’s being used to exploit and manipulate the Titan’s heart in other, literal ways as well…

          Finally, let’s talk Amity and Kikimora sharing placements. There is of course the obvious implication of romantic feelings, but also… What if, instead, there was this idea of Belos being like Luz to Amity, for Kiki? For Amity, Luz was an outsider who came out of nowhere and changed her life for the better, helped her stand up for herself- What if Belos was that to Kikimora? What if he was an outsider, a human even (before he changed and decayed) that changed Kikimora’s life forever after he appeared from nowhere… The two starting to a prickly start, before truly caring for each other? As Belos encouraged Kikimora to stand up for herself, eventually culminating in her own life improving(?) as Kiki is now second only to him, the Emperor of the Boiling Isles! It might explain why he seems to trust her so much- The two genuinely care for each other and Kikimora feels like she owes everything to him…

           And, to incorporate my own analysis/speculation of Amity; Perhaps Kikimora has placed all of her sense of self-worth into Belos, about how she can help him, because only HE ever made her feel like something! What if as a toxic parallel to Luz and Amity, Kikimora has lowkey become dependent upon Belos- Who, while kind to Kikimora… Kiki still has placed all of her self-esteem not in herself, but in Belos’ approval of her. And while Belos DOES approve and provide support, it’s still dangerously dependent and shows that Kikimora can’t really stand for herself, that she needs someone else as a litmus test to judge her worth as a person.

          Finally, we know Amity is the least talented compared to Willow and Gus; Given how we have the literal Titan and Owl Mask, compared to Kikimora, who caves into Luz’s threats… It’s possible Kikimora is the least powerful amongst the Titan and Owl Mask, but has made up for it with raw determination and skill? After all, she presumably cast the magical cage that all of Luz’s efforts wouldn’t have been able to defeat. Perhaps like Amity, Kikimora had to work hard to prove herself, to earn respect; And like Amity in Episode 3, Kikimora feels a desperate need to hold onto that sense of accomplishment and superiority, and can and WILL retaliate viciously when it’s threatened. To Kikimora, she’s dedicated everything into making up for her own shortcomings, just like Amity- So she despises cheaters, or at least people who undermine that work.

           (I know what some may be thinking- Isn’t Kikimora a King parallel? Well, these parallels work in multiple ways… Amity parallels Luz, but then so too does Belos, presumably. I wouldn’t be surprised if Amity was both a parallel to Luz AND Kikimora, then.)

           And, that’s my general thoughts, analysis, and speculation, all based from this reflection we’ve seen! It’s possible Dana is trolling us, by accident or otherwise, with a videogame screenshot… But hey- It doesn’t hurt anyone if we’re wrong, I say! It’s all in good fun… Besides, if it WAS a teaser from Season 2, and we didn’t give our shot, then we’d all feel like idiots! We may as well take our chance and analyze, because- Just in case…!

[sugarmaplewings-fics]

Deep Blue Fantasy Part One

Pairing: Merman!Tamaki x fem reader

Warnings: None

{Pt. 1}  {Pt. 2}  {Pt. 3}  {Pt. 4}  {Pt. 5}  {Pt. 6}  {Pt. 7}

Author's Note:

It’s here! Finally! An AU by me! Yay! This is just part one of a little mini-series I decided to do. I had a lot of fun writing this and exploring the concept! I played around with different ideas and I think I might do another mermaid/man AU with a different character (because I like recycling ideas). Feel free to leave your own ideas, requests, and suggestions!

Btw, this whole story is going to be x fem!reader.

Also, after much thought I decided NOT to make Tamaki half-octopus (even though I thought about it and I love that idea).

I would like you to know that my friend calls him Tomato.

Enjoy some fun times with Mermaki and Merio!

-Sugar

くコ:彡くコ:彡くコ:彡くコ:彡

You inhaled deeply, the sea breeze perfectly filling your lungs. Salty water sprayed itself over your bare legs, droplets collecting and running down in cool rivulets that tickled the surface of your skin.

Every morning you came out on the beach, watching the tumultuous waves crash over each other in the distance. Every day it was different. The sky might be a deep gray, reflecting upon the sea, turning her waters a mysterious black. Others the sky was clear and blue, and the ocean looked bright and inviting. But you knew her secrets. The ocean was one to be respected. No one dared enter her. The people of your island only looked on, scanning her depths. She was never benevolent.

You couldn't help but be drawn to her, however. The breeze flooded your senses, the sounds of the waves calmed you, and her sight hurled you into an almost poetic state. You began to hum, the music intertwining with the curls of deep green water. The form of a bird caught your attention, and you watched it catch the cool updrafts of the ocean breeze.

While you stood there, distractedly humming, something else was watching you. Someone.

Pale arms hugged a black rock protruding out of the water as the dark-haired figure watched your form, skirt fluttering in the breeze. He sighed, watching you, your gentle voice carrying over the water into his pointed awaiting ears. Tamaki Amajiki had a morning routine of his own, and that was watching you follow yours. Every day he would show up early to wait for you by the rocks, watching your angelic form as you gazed out wistfully at the sea.

Tamaki had decided that what he was doing was not spying, or at least, he detested thinking of it as such. He just . . . enjoyed watching you. He had no ill intentions behind it. He simply found you to be the most wonderful and interesting thing he'd ever laid eyes on.

There was only one problem. Well, maybe two.

One. He was shy. Even amongst peers that he didn't idolize as much as he did you, he often found himself struggling to speak. He had no idea how to approach you. What if you didn't like him back? What if you weren't interested in being friends? What if you thought the two of you were too different?

His second problem: he was a merman. You were a human. How could that even work out? The existence of his kind was one of the most closely guarded secrets of the ocean. He wasn't even supposed to be this close to shore.

Tamaki had always had a fascination with humans. He knew his part of the empire was close to a human settlement, but it had taken him up until a few months ago to work up the courage to go take a glimpse of the island's shore for himself. That was when he had spotted you, and upon cautiously swimming closer, heard your voice.

Ever since, he'd come back every day, just to see you, to hear you. He longed to speak to you, to learn more about you and your kind, but he simply wasn't ready yet.

He watched your chest rise and fall as you heaved in a final sigh of sea air. Tamaki pushed himself further down into the crashing waves and longingly watched you turn and go. What he would give to be able to follow you where he could not.

Once you were gone, he never lingered. As the sight of your (H/L) (H/C) hair disappeared over the crest of the hill, he would depart, not wanting to be spotted by another member of your species. With a few flicks of his powerful deep indigo-black tail, he was once again under the waves, alone in the comforting cold wetness. He sped through the water, making his way home.

Just as he saw the soft glow of the little town he'd grown up in, he was jolted to the side, being grabbed by a pair of strong arms. Tamaki made a little squeaking noise in his throat in surprise, squeezing his eyes shut.

Bubbles tickled his cheeks as they marched across his face, desperate to reach the surface. He opened his eyes again to be met with clear blue ones, still crinkled in the aftermaths of laughter.

"Got you!" Tamaki's best friend, Mirio, signed to him.

Tamaki rolled his eyes, relaxing his shoulders slightly. He had thought he had been discovered by one of the town leaders. He tried to make his visits to the surface as discreet as possible, but someone had to question his routine absence each morning eventually.

"I guess you did," Tamaki signed back.

The merpeople communicated in a combination of sign language and high pitched squeaks and clicks, much like dolphins. While their voice boxes had difficulties speaking like we humans do, they could manipulate them to create an eerie, haunting music, just as the ancient legends of sailors described.

"Where were you?" Mirio asked, his face changing from bright and humorous to nigh concerned.

Tamaki faltered slightly, trying to think of how to answer. "Just looking for shells for my collection," he lied.

Mirio looked down at his empty arms. "Didn't find any?"

"Nope."

He looked into Tamaki's face again, suspicion settling over his features. The two had been friends since they were very young, and Mirio had learned Tamaki's ways better than even his own parents.

"Do you want help finding some?" he asked, wiping the expression off his face and changing it to a more cheerful one. He'd let it slide, just this once.

"No, thank you," Tamaki responded. "I think I'll just head home."

"Okay." The blond merman watched his friend swim off. Something wasn't right, and he knew it was up to him to find out what it was that his friend was up to.

✤✤✤✤✤

The next morning, Mirio went straight to Tamaki's house. The blond was used to waking up early, but he usually spent his mornings with himself; working out or some other such self-improvement he allowed himself to indulge in in order to make himself the strong, cheery merperson he was. Today, however, he decided to check up on his friend.

Sure enough, just as he was approaching the mound of stones and sea mud that was the home of his best friend, Mirio saw the retreating dark purplish-blue tail of Tamaki. He subtly began to follow him, keeping a distance just enough so he would still be able to see the flashing of his friend's tail ahead of him. After about ten minutes, Mirio began to suspect where they were going.

Isn't that island in this direction? What are you doing over here, Tamaki? he wondered to himself.

Another fifteen minutes or so later, the water became more shallow and littered with black rocks. Mirio sped up, occasionally utilizing the new terrain to hide from his unsuspecting friend. Now that they were so far away, Tamaki had completely stopped checking behind him, and Mirio watched as he hoisted his waist out of the water, pulling himself up above the crashing waves.

Mirio stared at him, confused for a few minutes as his friend propped himself against the rock, clearly watching for something. He suddenly noticed him stiffen, now clearly more alert. It appeared as though whatever he had been waiting for had arrived. But what was it?

Mirio couldn't take it anymore. He swam the few lengths of distance that he had kept between them and popped his own head out of the water beside Tamaki.

His black-haired friend jumped at his sudden appearance.

"What are you doing?" Mirio signed.

Tamaki fearfully glanced toward shore before tackling Mirio, pushing him back underwater.

"What are you doing?" Tamaki frantically signed back.

"I wanted to know what you were doing."

Tamaki glanced up towards the surface, unsure of what to do.

"What's on the beach?" Mirio asked. "That's what you were looking at, right?"

Tamaki suddenly felt his cheeks begin to warm, color flooding his pale skin. "There's a human over there," he finally signed, deciding to tell his best friend everything.

Mirio stiffened, now uneasy. "Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"You know how dangerous they are, right? They're stupid but they'll kill you if you get too close. It hasn't seen you, has it?"

"No no." Tamaki shook his head, an uncomfortable feeling of annoyance settling in his chest. "I just stay over here and watch. Besides, I don't think she'd hurt anything."

"She?" Mirio asked, incredulous.

"Do you want to see for yourself?" Tamaki asked. "She should still be there."

Mirio narrowed his eyes warily.

"She hasn't noticed me yet," Tamaki went on, trying to soothe his friend. "I've been coming here for a while now. If you just make sure you're behind one of these rocks, it's like you're invisible."

Mirio slowly flared his gills in the merperson version of a sigh. Of course Tamaki would figure out how to be invisible.

Tamaki turned and hoisted himself out of the water again and Mirio did the same, pulling himself against a bigger rock a length away from his friend. He spotted you immediately, the light fabrics of your clothing contrasting the black sand beach. The two mermen watched as you gazed up at the sky, studying the white puffy shapes of the clouds above, being quickly blown about by the wind.

Mirio had only been to the surface a few times, and each occasion he was startled by how different the air was from the water, yet somehow almost the same. He knew that wind was the same as currents, birds an equivalent to fish, but clouds always amazed him. He liked their shapes and colors, each one decorating the atmosphere in its own unique way.

He found himself looking up too, and soon he spotted a cloud whose shape reminded him of a conch shell. He looked to Tamaki, prepared to point it out when he saw the expression on his friend's face.

He had never seen such a look of soft love swimming in his dark eyes. A small wistful smile had spread across his lips, and a light shade of pink dusted over his cheeks.

Beginning to catch on, Mirio looked from him to you and then back to his friend. He liked you, that much was blatantly clear. A grin of his own rose to Mirio's features, his sharp teeth flashing in the morning sun. He leaned over to Tamaki and nudged him, giving him a knowing look.

"You like her." Mirio signed, stating the obvious.

Tamaki blushed further, shrugging.

Mirio opened his mouth to click something, but Tamaki halted him by shoving a finger over his lips.

"Wait," he signed, pointing back to you.

As if on cue, music began to float over the water, carried by the breeze. They were lucky that the wind blew so, although it was still a bit of a strain to hear your voice.

Tamaki melted back against the rock, closing his eyes to fully take in the sound of your aubade.

Mirio watched him pityingly. His friend was hopelessly in love with a human; the most dangerous species on the planet. How had Tamaki, the cautious, sweet, shy boy he was, taken such an interest into something like a human?

It was no secret that the vast majority of the mer population had at minimum a mild interest in humans. There was an odd kinship in the blatant similarities between them, so there was an undoubtable draw to their kind. Merpeople also knew, however, of the dangers humans held. Ships, plastics, fishing nets, things called labs and circuses; each one posed its own horror story against the species, driving merpeople further away from the shores.

"I wish I could talk to her," Tamaki said, his fingers softly forming meaning with their nimble gestures. He finally turned to Mirio. "You haven't seen what I have. She's kind and smart and pretty. Maybe some humans are no good, but I'm sure she is."

Mirio pushed his lips to the side, torn and thinking. "Why don't you just go up to her, then?"

Tamaki almost fell back underwater. "I can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Well, first of all, I can't even speak Human."

Mirio glanced over at you, then back to Tamaki. "If she's so smart, she should be able to figure out something."

Tamaki slumped. "Yeah . . . ."

"So just go then! Say hi!"

Tamaki looked back at Mirio, horrified. "But that's so against the rules! Besides, weren't you saying how awful humans are a minute ago? What made you change your mind?"

"How you look at her," Mirio stated simply, causing Tamaki to blush all over again. "Just kill a fish or something and swim up and present it to her. How different can she be from the mermaids back home?"

Tamaki had never really flirted with any girls, primarily keeping to himself and hanging around Mirio. It was completely foreign territory to him, and the fact that you were a human only made it worse.

"She wouldn't even like me—"

"Nonsense!" Mirio countered, now beginning to grow frustrated with his friend. He knew Tamaki struggled with anxiety, but sometimes he simply couldn't understand why his friend couldn't just go out and take what he wanted.

The boys noticed that the music had stopped. They turned back to shore, watching as you stood and brushed yourself off. You left the beach, taking one final look at the waves before disappearing onto land.

Mirio slumped back in the water. "Now she's gone. You said she comes here every day?"

Tamaki hesitantly answered. "Yes."

"Well, come back tomorrow and confess your love!"

"I don't love—" Tamaki faltered, realization flooding his being. He did love you. Or, at least, he admired you. He wanted to get to know you enough to eventually love you. "How do I even have a chance?" he clicked sadly. "We're so different—"

Mirio put a hand on Tamaki's shoulder. "Love finds a way," he said. "I'm going to help you."

"You will?"

"Of course. What are best friends for?"

Tamaki allowed himself a small smile. "Thanks, Mirio."

Mirio gave his back a firm pat. "No problem. Now come on, let's go home and plan."

Apprehension welled in Tamaki's chest. What had he gotten himself into?

...

The two had found themselves at the library, digging through scrolls to find as much information as they could on the landwalkers. Most of it was fiction and unhelpful; children's stories warning against getting too close to boats and land.

They found a few history texts about human alliances with the merpeople, most of them occurring thousands of years ago.

"What happened?" Tamaki quietly clicked, running his fingers over artwork of the deity Poseidon.

Mirio shrugged, glancing at it over his shoulder. He picked up another scroll, this one newer. He unrolled it to find a little leaf of seaweed paper, text scrawled on its surface.

"Tamaki, look at this." Mirio nudged his friend, gesturing towards his discovery.

The Sea Witch, Tamaki read. Ancient artifacts to make your dreams come true!

"Want to give her a try?" Mirio asked. "She only lives a few leagues away."

"That's still a lot of swimming," Tamaki said, his fingers hesitant.

"It's for love," Mirio countered, waggling his eyebrows.

Tamaki bit his lip. "Okay. I guess it's worth a try."

Mirio pumped his fist in the water. "We're going on an adventure!"

...

To be continued . . . .

[Part Two]

くコ:彡くコ:彡くコ:彡くコ:彡

Taglist: @inumorph​ @engel-hageshii​​ @basicaegyo​ @iiminibattlehero​ @pyrofanatic​ @sokkasangel​​ @xoxopam4​​ @kingtamakimurder​​

[nellie-dritz-official]

I genuinely have never been able to really understand why Midichlorians pissed off just SO MANY fucking peoples either. Sure, they demystified the source a LITTLE. But Star Wars was never really that centralized ONTO mysteries (originally anyways). And, honestly, I think that the force being caused by some microorganism works WAY better in the sci—fi setting of Star Wars. Than the force just being some weird, pseudo—religious abstract thing ever did.

There was very little mystery in the original trilogy; lightsabers were exactly what they were, aliens weren’t too farfetched, and even the one big reveal of Vader’s identity wasn’t so much a mystery as it was a story element that played in other elements to allow the story to explore other areas it couldn’t previously.

The only thing really “mysterious” was the Force, and what was a little mystery was glorified because it was the only real mystery, so when Star Wars, keeping with it’s roots, decided to make a detail of the Force known to drive a point home for the story, it was treading on the “coveted” mystery that totally made the series as good as it was /s

And TBH I think the Force can still have it’s psuedo-magical mcguffin air to it, while also being grounded in some regards. A story can have both aspects and utilize them in unique and interesting ways.

To use an example, TSR has both The Force acting as a malevolent will *and* an energy that the midichlorians help transmit and process. It’s both an energy of the universe, and is also something ever more present within the day to day biochemistry of creatures living in there.

There’s a scene in the story where the gang analyzes each other’s midi-count to see how minimal or gifted each other is in the Force: as it turns out Aliana is rather mundane in her Force potential, meanwhile Rey is extremely powerful.

As Rey is simply astounded, Aliana simply remarks on it as proof that her training really is what helps her in battle, cuz despite being less powerful in the Force compared to Kylo Ren and Rey, she can easily defeat the former and keep up with the latter, and as Rey is her apprentice, it makes her all the more potentially proud of seeing her effort pay off in training such a powerful disciple, especially as she’s her wife later on.

So here the story is using the midi-count as an opportunity to showcase the difference between gifted and training: being gifted is not gonna do you any good if you’re not properly trained as shown with Aliana vs. Ren. 

Meanwhile, the actual Force itself is trying to act out differently and force Rey and Ren together purely for their own sake of having another Dyad in the Force, and what this results in is two characters who both are interested in power: Aliana and the Force. The difference between them is one of the more fascinating things to come out of the story; as the Force wishes to create something powerful purely for it’s own sake despite the objections of Rey, and Aliana is not only invested for power purely for survival, but also to help train someone and see someone succeed out of their own teachings.

Both Aliana and the Force are invested in power, but Aliana is doing it for the sake of others, while the Force is doing it purely for itself. In addition, the Force’s meddling is trying to make Kylo Ren purely powerful out of happenstance, meanwhile Aliana is making Rey powerful out of training and learning.

The difference is in the intent: Aliana sees power like any other tool that should be used wisely for the sake of others, while the Force wants to abuse it’s power out of a malicious intent for “the way things must go”. The Force is selfish, while Aliana is nothing but selfless. 

And the story being able to utilize both the grounded and the fantastical with the Force is one of my favorite things about The Sith Resurgence; as what this will result in is Aliana rising to the occasion to have power over the Force and do incredible things, even though by the in-universe measures she’s nothing special. What makes her special is what she can do in the here and the now.

It’s why the idea of Alie overcoming the Dyad is gonna be extremely satisfying to see, not just as a direct conclusion to helping Rey and aiding in defeating Ren, but it’s a literal thematic element of the Sith way and how it isn’t all evil and tyrannical: Aliana Beniko’s legacy and teachings prove otherwise.

The Sith way, is what’s gonna be the good the universe needs. Not some sleazy Jedi, not blind obedience to the Force, and not caving to the demands of other’s fears and biases: Aliana is the protagonist, and she will win.

God I love The Sith Resurgence.

[konako]

wasted potential sounds like an amazing Ruby Lucas rant 😏 just give me some red content I miss her sm

LETS GO

It’s like THEY VERY WELL KNEW THAT RUBY WOULD SOLVE A TON OF PROBLEMS IF USED CORRECTLY, so they chose to conveniently forget about her, so they could be forced to come up with ridiculous alternatives for the plot!!

Ruby as a Detective Deputy? 

Brilliant. Even dormant, her wolf was there, in her senses, in her temper, in her speed, in her energy. She found a heart buried inside a chest near a river – by smell alone. She didn’t know it, but she smelt it. She found David in the woods – by listening to his breathing. Again, without even knowing it. Her partying persona was her wolf energy going unused. Her desire for adventure was her wolf longing to run free. She was a werewolf still, she had just forgotten about it. 

Now imagine THIS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT:Foot pursuit? Pfft. Please. In a few feet, she caught the guy. Folks in this town are so slow, doctors should look into that.Tackling big broad men? Surprisingly easy. They just drop like empty bags. Iron deficiency in mass, perhaps…Hand to hand combat? Who knew flipping over your head could be so effortless? There is training for that? Uh?Searching for clues? People have a problem with that? Why don’t they just follow the very strong, very noticeable scent to the hidden murder weapon that is practically drenched in the culprit’s smell? Duh!

They couldn’t have that advantage, or the plot would have very little actual obstacles, so……… RUBY? WHO’S THAT?

Red being properly utilized in the War against The Evil Queen?

Yeah, we got a few glimpses of what she could do, and what she did do in that era, but they couldn’t use her too much, or the conflict would… not be?

So, okay, she can turn and kill armies very easily, check. She can search and spy and survey, check. She can sneak up inside Regina’s castle and kill her men– but let’s not have too much of that. Let’s not have Regina acknowledge that foe, or we would have to, I don’t know, have the Evil Queen envying Snow White’s wolf companion. (REAL WOLF COMPANION, not that imitation of a wolf she has with the Huntsman, just pretending to be the real thing and disappointing her kink passion) Yet another thing Snow White has that the Evil Queen only wished she could have. A real wolf, by her side, helping her, fighting for her. 

Plus, having The Evil Queen realize Red’s potential against her could lead to Regina finding another beast to rival the werewolf, so she could be matched and even out the fight again. She could find another werewolf, from the pack Red broke apart?? She could find an ogre, the yaoguai, a werewolf hunter, a warrior in need of some work (maybe named mulan, idk). She could find herself a worthy sidekick to bear some of the brunt of Red’s attacks, so she could focus on Snow properly. But that would mean they would have to upgrade Red from a side character to an actual player with motivations, fears, enemies of her own. Too much work! Let’s have Jekyll and Hyde there for no reason at all maybe.

Ruby being in control of her powers and using them with full intent to save the day?

Again, experimented with, in the Frankenstein episode in season two. But, oooooh, fuck, we can’t have that! Shit, that stupid plot twist of Whale running from the hospital lasted for like 5 seconds, was solved in 2 and had NO real impact in the bigger story – IF RUBY SOLVES ALL OF OUR SHALLOW INCONSEQUENTIAL PROBLEMS, what damp piece of toilet paper will we call a script? A plot??? We can’t have that. 

We need our fairytale errands to take an epic proportion, waste 70% of our run time and pretend to be a bigger problem than they are, so we can have what the kids are calling… what was it? oh, Drama! Yes!

If we misplace this Macguffin in the town and have a werewolf sniff it out in an hour, WHAT STORY WILL WE TELL? A REAL ONE? No, hear me out: Regina has gone missing, so we have to have Snow squirting this weird ass oracle juice in her eye to see through Regina’s eyes to find her – and she should go to outrageous lengths to find this all-seeing spit– THAT’S PLOT. We have it. Found it. Amazing plot. – What do you mean, her very best friend is a werewolf with incredible senses that by this point has Regina’s scent engraved in her mind (because of the hate sex in the previous season, but we won’t get into that)?? NO! ORACLE JUICE! MAGIC SQUIRT! NO WOLF. 

Oh man, it sure is hard to have this character… Supernatural senses, speed, strength, stamina… that neutralizes like… 80% of our everyday obstacles. Maybe we should go for the emotional, interpersonal conflicts. That will guarantee she won’t be able to solve it, right? Right…..?

Ruby as the emotional support friend, the loyal companion, the charitable

Shit. Oh SHIT! 

Snow killed Regina’s mother on impulse and is now in a deep depression over the consequences, both to Regina and to her soul. She’s struggling with the taking of a life, with the blood on her hands, with the sacrifices she’s had to made to defeat the greater evil?

What do you mean, Ruby lived through all of that and could offer her precious council, comfort, company? Ah, fuck. Does that mean we have to acknowledge Ruby’s story as well? Do you mean we have to have her as an actual character, as she helps Snow through this tough time, and they share their fears and explore their dynamic, as they finally switch roles and now Snow is the one drowning in guilt and Ruby is the one grounded? F u c k.

Regina and Red have eerily similar stories? Killed mother without meaning to, death of first boyfriend in their arms being the turning for from her previous life, a hint of darkness always swirling in their hearts and minds, a concerning ease in causing harm, an inner conflict fueled by an unsatisfied desire for freedom and the shackles of other’s expectations? And the critical difference that ultimately led them to opposite paths: a loving and accepting friend/family. Red and Regina as equals in origin, but opposite extremes in the present? Whoa, that’s too heavy. That’s some deep shit right there. That could make a serious storyline, a solid relationship of frenemies, to friends, to………………….. lovers?  

That’s too dangerous. We can’t have people thinking OUAT is for philosophical shit!! What’s that, a sociological take on my evil vs. good story?? Complex character dynamics and layered personalities interacting in the full scope of a human relationship???? GET OUT OF HERE WITH THIS GAY SHIT. GIVE ME A MUSICAL EPISODE INSTEAD.

Ruby is a powerhouse of a character, it’s decided. She threatens our easy (while mind-numbingly convoluted) narrative. Let’s leave her by the road, like a proper unwanted dog.

Let’s her take a mysterious trip to FTL and blame it on Storybrooke’s overwhelming heterosexual demographic and her raging bisexuality her being the only werewolf in town, despite every other stupid type of creature populating every square inch of this hell. And not feeling comfortable there. Okay. That’ll do.

People won’t ask too many questions. Who care about Ruby anyway???

Phew. Solved it.

Bullet: dodged!

Pats on the back. Good management, good writing, good everything, OUAT. We did it. We did a writing. We write good. Where is our Emmy.

*sigh*.

just….. *sigh*.

[addicted-to-dc]

I’m Supposed To Be Fighting You (Jason Todd/Red X X Reader)- Part 7

Welp, here it is as promised! Sorry for the lack of tags, but I think I’m just not gonna do that anymore. I still can’t find my list... whoops. Anyway, enjoy and please leave some feedback!!!

Warnings: Angst as usual, mentions of torture and death, violence, etc. 

Word Count: 1747

Robin had the team searching all over the city for you, searching for any indication of your whereabouts. Luckily Cyborg was able to put together a tracking device of sorts, built mainly to detect the energy disturbance you create while teleporting. Landing on a roof, Cyborg quickly walked over to where you had been. He sighed, shaking his head towards the team.

“This is two hours old, (Y/N) could be anywhere by know,” he said, pocketing the tracker. “If we want to find her, I need to increase the distance this tracker can cover.”

Robin scowled, walking over to the edge of the building. Where would you go? That’s one thing that he hated about having a new team member, the lack of information he knew about you. You kept your secrets well, and his reluctance to push any further has come to bite him in the ass. He took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down enough to think. As soon as he smelled it, he knew how they could find you.

“Cyborg, can you track Xenothium?” Robin asked, turning back towards the group. “It has a less subtle energy disturbance than (Y/N)’s.”

“Why do you want to track Red X?” Raven asked. “This is about (Y/N), not-”

“I’ve got a hit,” Cyborg interrupted, a shocked expression appearing on his face. “It’s here, but that means-”

“(Y/N) is with him,” Robin revealed, staring at the group. “How could I be so blind?”

“We could be jumping to conclusions,” Beast Boy said, looking around the group. “He could have kidnapped her, saw it as an opportunity to capture a member of the team.”

“Friend (Y/N) would never do such a thing,” Starfire stated, flying over to Robin. “Robin, what should we do?”

“We’ll find out where they are, and whether she is allied with him or not, we’re going to get answers.”

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

At first it was odd to stay with Jason, but the more you experienced with him the more you understood why you preferred it here. Here you did not have to map out your actions, your words, hell, your own thoughts in order to belong. It felt freeing to be able to drop the filter, but there still was the fear of the loose ends you had. How Gizmo found your classified file was a mystery to you, but if a bratty HIVE agent is able to identify you, there was no doubt that your past will indeed come to kill you soon. You got sloppy, and now that will cost your life and the lives of others as well. Now you not only had the Titans most likely looking for you, you were going to have the government back on your trail as well.

“I need to disappear,” you blurted, making Jason freeze.

He placed his tools down, “Is this about the Titans or something else?”

“Everything, concerning every single person that I have ever interacted with,” you said, cursing your stupidity. “The group I was apart of so many years ago will be looking for me now that they know I’m alive, I’ll be gutted like a fish if I don’t disappear soon, or worse.”

You shivered at the thought of working for them again, but that was pushing your luck. No, they would take you back to the very room you were supposed to die and subject you to every torture method they knew. If that didn’t satiate their blood lust, then they would do whatever they wanted to you for good measure. They may be a branch of the government, but they abide no laws or morals, especially when it comes to a traitor in their ranks.

“Then we’ll disappear,” he said, “and leave this city behind. There’s nothing holding us back from leaving right now, but there is one thing that I want to know before we do this.”

“What?” you asked, unsure what he was going to ask.

“Are you ready to leave the hero life behind?” he questioned you, grasping your hands. “You’ve worked so hard to build this, are you ready to come to the dark side for your survival? Are you willing to kill again to prove to them that you are not just a child soldier that can be used and discarded like trash?”

“Where is this coming from, Jason?” you asked, his words seeming too personal.

He sighed, “You aren’t the only one with a bad past, (Y/N)... I was once the Bat’s sidekick, I was a Robin, and I got killed because of it.”

“What…?”

You had no words, watching as Jason struggled with his words.

“I was killed by the Joker, (Y/N), and I was brought back by-”

“Ra’s al-Ghul,” you finished for him, tightening your grip on his hands. “You’re not the only one.”

You thought back on the night you were killed, your body feeling so numb and cold as they fired the last bullet. The only warmth you had was the cooling blood underneath you, but not even that could provide any relief. Your body was screaming, telling you to teleport out of there and find help. You were too focused on your wounds to notice someone had started dragging you into a body bag, the world fading to black as you finally felt peace. It felt like an eternity when it disappeared from your grasp. You remembered nothing but screams, the color green, and burning when you came back, your flesh repairing itself at an inhuman rate. You did not know how long you were in that pool of glowing green, but you knew that there was someone else in there with you. Now you know that someone was Jason.

“You were there, too, weren’t you?” you asked him. “That night when we both came back?”

He nodded, “When I saw your face next to the Titans’, (Y/N), I couldn’t stop myself from finding you. I’m sorry that I kept this from you, but I had to be sure-”

You placed a finger on his lips, “I understand, Jason, and the answer is yes.”

“You mean it?” he whispered, his eyes staring into yours.

You nodded, “It’s time for me to stop running from who I am, and with you, I feel like nothing can touch us.”

“I have a gift for you,” he said, removing his hands from yours. “It’s been ready for you for awhile.”

You watched as he grabbed a box a few feet away from you, returning to give it to you. Opening it, you grabbed the black helmet and examined it, the white skull on it contrasting greatly against the black. Placing it next to you, you dug deeper into the box and pulled out a uniform. The black and grey Kevlar and armor was better than military grade, that’s for sure.

He turned around, “Go ahead, try it on.”

Placing the box down, you quickly changed into the uniform, looking in the box one more time to grab the gloves, boots and other gear to grab what you missed. You cleared your throat, indicating he could turn around. He turned around, smiling at the sight of you.

“I knew it would fit,” he said, fixing a few spots of the armor before grasping the helmet. “This helmet is equipped with everything we need, and it will hide your identity.”

“I’m guessing you made yourself some upgrades as well,” you guessed, gesturing to the box that was next to yours. “Matching uniforms?”

“Hell no,” he replied, beginning to tear off his Red X uniform right in front of you.

You quickly turned around, your face burning as he chuckled at your response. It was a few minutes before he tapped your shoulder, allowing you to finally see what he looked like. He was wearing a similar uniform to you, but his helmet was entirely red, a black ‘x’ etched into the helmet’s exterior. He was wearing a black leather jacket, also holding one in his hand.

“You can’t complete the outfit without some leather,” he chuckled, tossing it to you. “It has a bunch of goodies and extra body armor included.”

You slipped it on, “You really thought of everything, didn’t you?”

He paused for a moment, “Yup.”

You grabbed your helmet and slid it on, watching as the many applications opened around you. As you looked around, you confirmed that the helmet tracked your eye movements. You were too focused on exploring the helmet’s capabilities to notice Jason snaking his hands around your waist, securing your utility belt to your pants. The clicks of him securing the holsters to your thighs kicked you out of your thoughts, watching as he secured the last buckle. You would have blushed, but all you could feel was excitement as he stood back up. He picked up two of the four guns from the table, holding them out for you to take.

“Are they lethal?” you asked, taking one of them.

“They can be either,” he replied, watching as you analyzed the gun. “They use Xenothium as power, you only need to adjust its concentration to make it lethal.”

You took the other, placing them both in their respective holsters before securing them, “How long do the cores last?”

“Depending on how many encounters we have? Probably a year before they run out of juice,” he replied, placing his own guns in their holsters. “You ready to go?”

“Always,” you replied, placing your hand in his.

Just as he was about to teleport, the wall behind you exploded, making the two of you take cover behind his work bench. Jason pressed a button on his helmet, quickly pressing one on yours as well. As soon as the display on your screen changed, you knew it was thermal vision. Your reflexes took control, making you grab your guns and provide cover fire for Jason, running to a pillar before rolling behind it. Jason teleported onto the second floor, his location appearing on your screen as you surveyed the area. Soon enough Robin was swinging his bo staff at you, the metal clinging off of the guards on your forearms.

“Above you,” you heard Jason, kicking Robin away in time to catch the staff Jason had thrown at you.

Flipping away, you avoided a few blasts from Starfire and Cyborg as you finally teleported to Jason’s side, preparing for the battle you dreaded ever since you joined the team.

[mudaship39]

Warring Kingdoms

S rank Necromancer and S rank Demon Hunter Void Elf Empress Lynera Richshade:  

Necromancers are coldblooded commanders of the undead. They are masters of life and death. These mysterious and sinester spellcasters reanimate the deceased as skeletal remains, curse and hex their enemies with fatal magics, & further torture them with the remains of their conquered comrades. Life and death are part of a larger cycle in the chapter of the grand scheme of things. Necromancers are not frightened to walk the line between both on the tightrope. They knowingly use their own life force and soul to invigorate powerful abilities and achieve the advantage in combat. Being at death’s door does not worry them if no opponents remain to deal the killing blow. Necromancers rather attack from a distance unleashing obliteration and damage from afar. The skeletal undead zombies and ghouls under their domination and power devastate enemies before they have an opportunity to strike. The ghastly curses and gruesome hexes the necromancers utilize can cripple even the toughest of demons and impervious of archdemons. A necromancer is a caster that is able to expel negative energies flowing through their veins. Necromancers are comparable to sorcerers but are more skilled with necromancy and somewhat charm spells. They use their talents to gain total power and control over their adversaries' bodies, minds, hearts, & souls. Often the best way to do this is by raising or summoning the undead from their fallen enemies. This is an ability at which they are matchless at. Necromancers are also efficient with diseases, poisons, & toxins. Necromancers are efficient at affecting opponents with fear, fatigue, agony, & life drain. Necromancers are efficient at even gaining mindless supporters through the use of enchantment magic to lure and control. A necromancer's power and forte are in strengthening the undead, summoning or raising undead subordinates which they can control up to an entire army, & being able to cast a vast collection of different necromancy spells. They are strong spell casters but are not resilient in physical combat. A necromancer should largely be used for crowd control. This is not the case for Lynera Richshade, a necromancer and demon hunter. Even if they are able to get through her undead minions. She is not defenseless as her power as a demon hunter is commanding. She has slain countless thousands of demons, archdemons, & devils with her arcane and esoteric long sword, dagger, pistol, & rifle. They are able to curse the enemy while animating different undead such as undead: humans, humanoids, animals, beasts, creatures, or monsters to engage the enemy while their teammates continue to maintain a collection of dead bodies for them. Necromancers are the people who create undead zombies and ghouls in the world. They will usually have hidden undead bases of ghouls or zombies so they have security and protection. They usually live in abandoned houses near a graveyard. They will work as grave keepers of mausoleums, catacombs, tombs, & crypts with no troubles. Sometimes certain nobles will employ the services of necromancers. These richer common folks could just need the service of an undertaker and mortician. More often than not to either take revenge for a deceased loved one or revive a dead loved one. Lynera Richshade is a Shadow Lady, a necromancer with power over death and life magic that can control and manipulate legions upon legions of undead humans, humanoids, animals, creatures, beasts, & monsters. Her shadow army or shadow legion under her command as a shadow lady is unparalleled. Reapers view the body as feeble and lacking to collect immense amounts of power and strength on its own which is why they prefer to explore into the necromantic arts. Reapers more often than not manipulate arcana strictly to kill those who challenge them and then use them as tools.  Her natural magic comes from a fragment of necromantic magic that was either inherited from her ancestors. It could also be infused into her by an accident or implanted into her by a scheme. Sorcerers who hail from a wizard family that specializes in necromancy magic is one of the most common case of this rare trait. But rarely enough a sorcerer may gain this weird behavior through a freak accident or a calculating plot that involves strong necromancy magic.  She strives to keep balance and harmony. She embodies death and darkness itself as a dark lady and death lady. Her armor and weapons are all black depicting death and sometimes silver or gray. Lynera Richshade as a void elf is void warrior. She as a void warrior who uses a mysterious and esoteric power draws power and power from the Breach itself and the Void itself to furnish her mischievous and inquisitive character. She as a void warrior of the Breach and the Void acquires an innate link to the realm of the abyss and kingdoms of true nothingness as she is void elf sovereignty. She was born with this bond as a void elf so she is never alone in the darkness and shadows. She truly became one with the abyss and is one with the void of the Void and the Breach. It is said that Void Elves are elves spawned from the very Breach and the very Void itself. It is said they are made of what makes the Void and the Breach. Who or what the whispers are is subject for argument. But the otherworldly and wraithlike creatures and beings that she has befriended have educated and trained her in secrets from antiquity and distant places. This is why she is a necromancer who can summon, create, manipulate, & control the dead. She has power that comes from the Void given to her by a mysterious being giving her powerful supernatural abilities.  

Demon hunters or Devil Hunters are people who are mercenaries who concentrate and focus on hunting and killing demons and devils. They as metahumans and superhumans are effectively stronger than regular humans due to physical training, mystical augmentation, or even supernatural heritage (as some are half angels, half demons, or half angel/half demons). Some have chosen to make a contract with a merciless angel or a ruthless fallen god in order to annihilate demons, archdemons, & devils. A demon or devil hunter's pact can take many forms. It may be a marker on their skin. It may allow the demon hunter to glow with white or black energy and power. It may even influence the very way a demon hunter thinks and speaks. Nonetheless, through this deal demon hunters gain the skill to harness magic as well as the power to feel the life essences of beasts, creatures, & monsters. Their resolve and tenacity in combat along with their successful use of skill and magic allows them to adjust to a diversity of situations both in and out of combat. Those who select this course tend to crave battle and strength, At times demon hunters like Lynera Richshade is frequently notorious to enter a reverie where she kills her targets with no guilt. By choosing to become a demon hunter this individual she has chosen to an existence of carnage and death. As she knows her job doesn't stop with the death of just one demon. It only ends with the annihilation of all demons, massacre of all devils, & the extermination of all archdemons or it ends with her death. Many demon hunters consequently choose to journey with others because alone demon hunters often fall into an eternal cycle of murder with no repentance. This is why Lynera Richshade journeys with her adventuring party and guild party of Lysander Norwood’s guild order. Lynera took up the cause of demon hunting because she wanted revenge. She decided to make a contract with her angelic and divine patron for power. The reason she decided to group with the others of the guild party and adventuring party of the guild order is they help her not lose herself in demon hunting. They remind her that she has other things to live for other than power and revenge. A demon hunter that hunts alone is lost without purpose so she relies on her allies.  Her favorite weapon as a demon hunter is a long sword, a dagger, a flintlock pistol, & a lever action repeating rifle with scope. As a demon hunter she uses the magic of demons and devils to kill other demons, archdemons, & devils. She often uses her own void magic as a void elf to vanquish her enemies.  

[cristalconnors]

BEST ALBUMS OF 2019: TOP TEN

SPECIAL CITATIONS:

HOMECOMING: THE LIVE ALBUM, Beyoncé

The live album feels like a lost art form. Of late, many feel thrown together without much thought- an offering to the most ardent of fans about as meaningful as a gift card you’d give your coworker. Homecoming is the antithesis of that: a flawless documentation of Beyoncé’s benchmark live performance at the 2018 edition of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival that is a staggering recontextualisation of her entire life’s work, dazzlingly criss-crossing her discography, offering rollicking, thoughtful new arrangements of classics and deep-cuts alike, filtered through the lens of HBCU marching band, playing like a half time show that goes on and on and on, offering the final, definitive evidence that Beyoncé is the greatest showman in modern history by leaps and bounds. 

LEAK 04-13 (BAIT ONES), Jai Paul

Discovering Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones) sometime in the summer of 2013 was like being let in on a secret. I felt like the member of an exclusive club of people in-the-know, the possessor of a forbidden document that could only be discussed in hushed tones and accessed illegally. The circumstances of its arrival were uncertain. Had he leaked it purposefully? Were all of the songs really his? It didn’t even have a proper name (it would be christened Leak 04-13 (Bait Ones) many years later). The enthralling mystery of it was eclipsed only by the music itself. It sounded like you shouldn’t have been listening to it, a top secret transmission intercepted and compromised in the process. Its stunningly lush, busy textures were threadbare, pieces of the songs suddenly falling away only to reappear, as if you were streaming it and your internet connection was struggling to keep up. But that only contributed to the mystical grandeur of this earth shattering R&B that felt so purposeful, so impeccably sequenced (not by Jai), so bizarre and at times even funny, so much so that it was difficult to imagine how it could possibly be unfinished- it was perfect.

I don’t think I’d ever really understood how thoroughly devastating the leak was to Jai Paul himself until I read the lengthy note that accompanied his abrupt return on June 1st of this year, when he not only graced us with two stunning new tracks but properly released this album for the first time, a remarkable gesture of goodwill to his fans who gleefully partook in the stolen material, many without much regard to how it’d become available to them. Reading the letter, I felt guilty. The extent to which the leak derailed his career, demolished his trust in the institutions the industry is built on, compelled him to cast himself away from music entirely- his lifeline- and, in his own words, “withdraw from life in general” was genuinely heartbreaking. But the official release of the album that caused so much strife is the culmination of a years long journey of recovery, reconciliation, and growth. It’s a hard-earned reclamation of ownership that signals that Jai Paul, one of the most vital, distinct voices to emerge from the decade, is ready to get back on the horse. Look out.

THE TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2019:

10. CALIGULA, Lingua Ignota

Caligula is maybe the most stunning document of feminine rage I’ve ever heard- an improbable synthesis of metal and opera imbued with biblical imagery and defined by language that’s as flowery as it is vicious (“may your own shame hang you / may dishonor drown you / may there be no kindness / no kindness / no kindness”). Kristin Hayter’s classically trained voice bends almost to the point of snapping, sometimes bringing her tongue to her soft palate to make a sound somewhere between a hum and a gurgle before launching into blood curdling shrieks as the music around her morphs as well, twinkling piano and organ giving way to billowing, thunderous guitar. It’s music that belongs in a symphony hall, if only they’d allow moshing.

09. SINNER, Moodymann

The songs on Sinner, Kenny Dixon, Jr.’s twelfth album as Moodymann, unspool on their own terms, continually mutating as they go on, shifting gears just when you think you’ve got a handle on them. His house isn’t very dense, but there’s always a remarkable amount of intrigue in his deceptively simple sound, evoking early 70′s R&B until strange idiosyncrasies pop out organically from the fabric of the song, pulling focus, reframing it as you’re listening to it. It’s strange, compelling stuff that beckons you to dive beneath its surface, promising you’ll find something new each time.

08. NO HOME RECORD, Kim Gordon

My favorite Sonic Youth songs were always the ones Kim Gordon did lead vocals on. Her hulking monotone was strangely captivating, even when it wasn’t clear what she was even talking about (which was most of the time.) No Home Record is a sublime capitalization and expansion of her power as a vocalist and writer, embracing those same abstract sensibilities that have defined her work for nearly 40 years but pushing them boldly into the future, crafting entrancing, often menacing sonic dreamscapes that are littered with oblique, powerfully resonant hints at the fruits of her near decade of self-discovery after divorcing Thurston Moore. It’s a debut decades in the making that shockingly reveals new, untapped powers from an indelible titan of rock we thought we’d had pegged.

07. HOUSE OF SUGAR, (Sandy) Alex G

Alex Giannascoli’s folk rock warps itself, intentionally obscuring textures and images in a convoluted effort to clarify the feeling behind them. It shouldn’t work but always does, and on House of Sugar, his eighth full-length effort in just nine years, he finds thrilling new power in simplicity and repetition, exemplified by the woozy abstract tapestry of songs like “Walk Away,” “Taking,” or “Near,” wringing a simple phrase, or even just a word, for everything it’s worth, repeating them over and over and over again to craft crystal clear images of longing and pain. But the more traditional songs are just as gripping, striking his strange balance between downtown and backwoods, crafting folk that emanates from deep in the soul and soars out into outer space. 

06. BANDANA, Freddie Gibbs & Madlib

Freddie Gibbs and Madlib reunite on the most virtuosic rap album of the year, taking their unlikely marriage of gangster rap and delicately constructed, meditative beats that sound almost like memories to astonishing new heights. Gibbs grapples with personal demons- the lowest lows of his career, his ongoing relationship with drug abuse- but also flexes, showcasing his effortless flow as he flawlessly keeps pace with Madlib’s twisty production, navigating signature changes and tricky rhythms with ease, perfectly in concert with Madlib’s searching, soulful looping beats that envelop you, contorting right when you’ve settled into them. The collaboration keeps you on your toes, demanding your full attention as they whisk you through their kaleidoscopic vision of masterful, immersive rap.

05. ALL MIRRORS, Angel Olsen

The breakup album has never sounded so lush. Plenty can wax poetic about ridding themselves of toxic partners and of newfound freedom, but Angel Olsen tries to get to the heart of what it all meant, how she’d allowed herself to get lost in the relationship, forgetting herself. She makes the process sound luxurious, utilizing a 12-piece orchestra to inject a bolt of energy and welcome drama into her abstracted songwriting, embracing the darkness and working through it to find herself anew on the other side.

04. WHEN I GET HOME, Solange

When I Get Home sounds like you should be listening to it in a museum- and knowing Solange you’ll probably be able to at some point. Its heady sophistication is constantly announcing itself to you, but that’s not to say that it’s impenetrable. It’s her most personal effort, a surreal tour through the Houston of her memory and the Houston of her imagination, exploring the sounds she was reared on, but refracting them, embracing repetition to create a dreamlike, prismatic journey through her influences that, as Solange puts it, can’t be a singular expression of herself “there’s too many parts, too many spaces, too many manifestations, too many lines, too many curves, too many troubles, too many journeys, too many mountains, too many rivers, so many...”

03. NORMAN FUCKING ROCKWELL!, Lana Del Rey

Norman Fucking Rockwell! is Lana Del Rey’s victory lap, an amalgamation of everything she’s always done well packed into a sprawling 68 minute apocalyptic opus, invoking Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and most memorably, Sublime while utilizing her trademark playful, disaffected word play to craft a soaring requiem for the world as we know it. “L.A.’s in flames” and who cares when there’s a good time to be had? It’s a stunning “fuck you” to an industry and populace that dismissed her viciously when she arrived on the scene, forging her masterpiece on her own terms.

02. U.F.O.F., Big Thief

U.F.O.F. evokes the sensation of reaching out and attempting to make a connection- a connection with another realm, with the dead, with alien life, with a distant lover. The music is open and searching, and to hear the band talk about the process of writing and recording it, this spirit of experimentation was present in the studio. They’d tinker with instruments none of them knew how to play, hoping whatever they could coax out of it might speak to the ethereal textures and opaque poetry of the music they were working on. The result is a ghostly folk masterclass that launches Big Thief into the stratosphere as they work seamlessly in tandem to craft music that touches God.

01. TITANIC RISING, Weyes Blood

Struggling to cope with a world on the precipice of collapse, Natalie Mering looks backward, invoking the baroque pop of the 1970′s to search for solace in the stars or the arms of another, like Karen Carpenter scrolling through Tinder or Co-Star. But trying to stave herself away in the past only finds herself submerged in her childhood bedroom. So she bolts forward, utilizing familiar frameworks to craft stunningly lush, contemporary and urgent pop that grapples with crises both personal and apocalyptic with an optimism that feels not naive but like a vital lifeline, like a hand reaching out in the darkness to pull you to safety. It may be a futile gesture, but at the end of a decade that’s abruptly descended into a hellscape, it’s a call to keep the faith and forge on.

[scifigeneration]

2019 PHILIP K. DICK SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES BI-COASTAL EVENT IN NEW YORK AND CALIFORNIA

The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival, the annual festival that honors legendary novelist Philip K. Dick through the dynamic power of science fiction film, is returning for its seventh outing with a full schedule of events. For the first time since its inception, the festival will hold a bi-coastal gathering presenting a lineup of films, premieres and panels for audiences in New York City, Los Angeles and Santa Ana, CA. The ambitious endeavor will provide a platform for independent filmmakers who tackle a variety of themes that empower the narratives of Philip K. Dick, whose work continues to serve as a profound mark on the literary and entertainment worlds.

The festival will open in New York City on Thursday, March 7th and Saturday, March 9th. Following its long history in New York, the festival regards the city as an exemplary location to utilize science fiction as a means of connecting with audiences. "We have developed a strong following here," said Daniel Abella, the founder and director of the festival. "Our fans have become loyal supporters of our films and platform so we acknowledge their support by bringing back great sci-fi year after year." Features include Saku Sakamoto's ARAGNE: Sign of Vermillion about a young woman's discovery of a mysterious class of insects and the U.S. premiere of Taking Tiger Mountain Revisited, the remastered version of Kent Smith and Tom Huckabee's post-apocalyptic 1983 film starring Bill Paxton. Then, a lone survivor searches for answers after the human race vanishes in the World Premiere of John Norby's Assimilation.

The west coast edition of the festival will run in partnership with Media Arts Santa Ana (MASA), a non-profit organization that supports its community's cultural empowerment through special resources and initiatives. "We are excited to bring the festival to Santa Ana and allow fans to see some great films," said Victor Payan, the director of MASA who worked with the festival to organize a divine salute to its namesake, a resident of the city in his final years where he wrote several of his last major works. "This will help create discussion about how Santa Ana and Orange County influenced Philip K. Dick's vision and celebrate one of Santa Ana's most treasured and influential artists."

Festivities begin on Thursday, March 14th in Los Angeles with the city serving as a prime destination to bring the festival. "Blade Runner is set in L.A. in 2019," said Abella when referring to the 1982 adaptation of Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? "There is no better honor than by holding the festival in the very city and year depicted in one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time." Screening titles include Matthew Evan Balz's Corvus, which follows a woman's perilous efforts to build a machine capable of hypnosis and the depiction of extant technology in Emily Dean's Andromeda about an android's awakening of human emotions. Closing the night is Josh Gibson's atmospheric Pig Film about a woman's work on a hog farm during the impending end of the world.

The festival then opens in Santa Ana, CA from Friday, March 15th through Sunday, March 17th. Essential films include Unzipping, the cinematic directorial debut of actress and writer Lisa Edelstein about the poignant unfastening of a marriage and Star Trek veteran Walter Koenig's confrontation with fate in Michael Baker's Who is Martin Danzig? Holding its World Premiere is Tony Dean Smith's mind-bending thriller Volition about a clairvoyant man's quest to avoid his own murder and the U.S. and L.A. Premiere of Sarah K. Reimers' Bitten about a dog's rabid night of risk and adventure. Dive Odyssey kicks off a lineup of feverish documentaries as Janne Kasperi Suhonen takes viewers on an absorbing aquatic journey and Colin Ramsay and James Uren decipher what makes "good" artificial intelligence in the dawn of ethics and technology in Good in the Machine. Observing the 90th anniversary of Philip K. Dick's birth and the 50th anniversary of Blade Runner's origin novel, the two organizations joined forces for the Philip K. Dick Multicultural Dystopian/Sci Fi Short Film Challenge, a short film competition that invited participants to develop projects that analyze contemporary life in view of themes associated with Philip K. Dick. The challenge also evaluated Philip K. Dick's cultural influence on the Santa Ana community and to encourage the representation of multicultural stories by traditionally underrepresented sci-fi filmmakers. "Anyone who has ever felt alienated should look up to PKD," said Abella. "Because the heroes in his stories were everyday people attempting to retain their dignity in a progressively dehumanized world." The festival's expansion has also furthered its commitment to feature a more inclusive brand of filmmaking with 31 percent of the official selections directed or co-directed by women and minority filmmakers. Many films are seen from the perspectives of racially and gender diverse characters. "There is a new freshness entering the genre," said Abella, who curated an equality-driven showcase of films from the emerging talent strengthening the industry. "Science fiction is based on exploring the 'other' and no one is more qualified than those groups who have been marginalized to tell their story using the tools of sci-fi." THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019: Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Ave, Astoria, NY 11106) Block 1: Best of Philip K. Dick Short Films Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm Glitch Noir 2 - The Rise of el Pelon (2018) Director: Cody Healey-Conelly Run Time/Country: 1 min, USA Synopsis: A trailer to the sequel of Glitch Noir tells the story of a futuristic private eye who with the help of an A.I. that processes big data, tracks and unhinged killer through the murky neon streets of the Sprawl. The Last Office (2018) Director: Trevor Hoover Run Time/Country: 12 min, USA Synopsis: In an alternate 1940s, a switchboard operator must endlessly serve as the link between two worlds, connecting calls across the barrier line of life and death. One day, he fields a call from someone he knew in a past life. Harsh Reality (2018) Director: Iain Marcks Run Time/Country: 18 min, USA Synopsis: A cynical professional gamer's life is turned upside-down when he's forced to see the world in a different way. Some of Her Parts (2018) Director: Abie Sidell Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: When future medicine allows people to live past the human body's shelf life, a young woman visits her grandmother in the hospital and is forced to question the value of immortality when you still end up in a box. How I Got to the Moon by Subway (2018) Director: Tyler Rabinowitz Run Time/Country: 13 min, USA Synopsis: After being diagnosed with ALS, a curmudgeonly older man goes to the hospital with his partner to record his voice bank before he loses the ability to speak. Regulation (2018) Director: Ryan Patch Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: In the near future, a young social worker named travels to a small community to administer behavior-modifying 'patches' that guarantee happiness for the wearers. She then must decide what to do when a precocious 10-year-old girl refuses to accept the patch. To Be Forgotten (2018) Director: Masa Gibson Run Time/Country: 25 min, USA Synopsis: A recovering addict trying to erase the online records of his past transgressions gets a call from a mysterious company that claims it can help him be forgotten - not only by the Internet, but by all the people that ever knew him and by the natural world itself. The Desert (2018) Director: Ben Bigelow Run Time/Country: 14 min, USA Synopsis: In a suburban mansion, a woman sneaks into her son's virtual reality chamber. Here, he wanders through a desert with extraordinary powers. The machine is intended as a psychiatric treatment, yet Martha's trespass sets in motion a series of threatening events. The virtual reality, it seems, has begun to leak into their home. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 2: International Sci-Fi Short Films Time: 8:00pm - 10:00pm The Ticket (2018) Director: James Villeneuve Run Time/Country: 11 min, Canada Synopsis: A man's life takes a dark turn when he accepts a ticket to board a giant space craft. Synthia (2018) Director: Maria Hinterkoerner, Bernhard Weber Run Time/Country: 12 min, Austria Synopsis: In the near future of Vienna, every household is supported by a personal assistant robot called Synthia, built by tech giant ENYO. The robot is equipped with a neuronal network and has access to all electronic devices. Synthia listens, and she learns. N (2018) Director: Iacopo Di Girolamo Run Time/Country: 14 min, Italy Synopsis: An expressionist nightmare in which an inventor and his colleague test the 'Automaton,' a machine able to create things from nothing. The machine works perfectly as long as the items it is asked to create start with the letter "N" in German. The results of the test will be predictably catastrophic. I Want To Kill (2017) Director: Dan Yadin Run Time/Country: 5 min, USA Synopsis: An unhinged, psychedelic romp through the bleak depths of space. Into the Dark (2018) Director: Benjamin Berger Run Time/Country: 12 min, USA Synopsis: In the wake of a widespread viral epidemic, two U.S. soldiers stranded during their mission must fight to survive while an old man and his ailing daughter, running low on food, wait to be rescued. Destroyer of Worlds (2018) Director: Samual Dawes Run Time/Country: 44 min, UK Synopsis: A precocious teenager must reluctantly leave his life in 1954 behind when his father makes the most devastating discovery to date: Leap Theory. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019: Producers Club (358 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036) Block 1: Japanese Anime Feature Time: 11:00am - 12:30pm ARAGNE: Sign of Vermillion (2018) Director: Saku Sakamoto Run Time/Country: 76 min, Japan Synopsis: Directed by the digital effects producer of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, a college girl moves into a building on the outskirts of town and sees an insect coming out of the arm of a woman. She learns that they are called "Spirit Bugs," and have existed since ancient times. Unravelling the mystery, she discovers this is only the prelude to a new form of terror. Block 2: International Sci-Fi Short Films Time: 12:30pm - 3:00pm The Vault (2018) Director: Sara Martins Run Time/Country: 10 min, Canada Synopsis: In this post-apocalyptic sci-fi web series, a ragtag group of survivors live in an underground military bunker known as Vault 175. Seedling (2017) Director: Stevie Russell Run Time/Country: 13 min, Ireland Synopsis: A young couple have an encounter with a strange, unknown life form. Graffiti (2017) Director: Barcsai Bálint Run Time/Country: 19 min, Hungary Synopsis: A delinquent sees graffiti of his future self and tries to understand what is happening. Compatible (2018) Director: Pau Bacardit Run Time/Country: 15 min, Spain Synopsis: In this web series, a man has an opportunity to upgrade himself for greater electronic compatibility. Colony (2018) Director: Catherine Bonny Run Time/Country: 15 min, Australia Synopsis: Indentured servants try to establish a new planet but something is alive in the ocean. Eva (2018) Director: Xheni Alushi Run Time/Country: 15 min, Switzerland Synopsis: An introverted young girl discovers a gateway to a parallel world, in which she finds comfort and ease for her guilt. Birth (2018) Director: Andrea Cecconati Run Time/Country: 16 min, Italy Synopsis: Inside a waiting room where people choose to be born or be deleted forever, a little girl tries to drive people who have chosen not to exist into the row of birth. Space Between Stars (2018) Director: Samuel W. Bradley Run Time/Country: 10 min, Canada Synopsis: A group of ethereal creatures exploring a derelict space station are drawn out into the vast, unsettling environment. As their fate begins to crystallize, questions are raised about the nature and ambiguity of conflict. Space Flower (2018) Director: Pam Covington Run Time/Country: 13 min, USA Synopsis: A young woman longs for a forbidden love. From Life (2018) Director: Uli Meyer Run Time/Country: 8 min, UK Synopsis: An amateur artist sketching in a churchyard has a series of encounters with a young woman believed to be a ghost. In fact, the truth is stranger than that. La Supercafetera (2018) Director: Vektorjack, HD Carlos Run Time/Country: 10 min, Spain Synopsis: Three friends share a very special coffee maker but instead of coffee it produces pin badges which give superpowers to those who wear them. By using these superpowers, the three geeks get involved in a quest that will eventually take them to a post-apocalyptic future. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 3: Best of Philip K. Dick Short Films Time: 3:00pm - 5:00pm The Last (2018) Director: Samuel Turner and Andrew Dobson Run Time/Country: 9 min, UK Synopsis: Struggling to survive in isolation, a scientist carries out vital work. The Last Dance (2018) Director: Chris Keller Run Time/Country: 8 min, UK Synopsis: In the not-too-distant future, an old man works alone in his garage, click-click-clicking the hours away on an old desktop computer. He is making something great and the not-too-distant future will become the not-too-distant past. The Jump (2017) Director: Andy Sowerby Run Time/Country: 10 min, UK Synopsis: An astronaut braves a pioneering solo mission into deep space, leaving behind her loving husband. Through disjointed communications, she discovers her life on Earth has changed forever. Baby I'm Yours (2017) Director: Hadley Hillel Run Time/Country: 12 min, USA Synopsis: In the future as it was imagined in the 1950s, a boy notices his mother acting strange and begins to question whether or not she is a robot. Uncle Griot (2018) Director: Paul Charisse Run Time/Country: 6 min, UK Synopsis: A young girl takes her uncle for a walk. The Drone (2018) Director: Wojciech Lorenc Run Time/Country: 14 min, USA Synopsis: DJ, a small quadcopter is simply trying to fit in. Zoe (2018) Director: Leif Brönnle Run Time/Country: 17 min, Germany Synopsis: A young woman without identity or memory. Two scientists with great ambition. A sequence of tests that will bring them all to their psychological frontiers. The Photographer (2018) Director: Mazhar Kamran Run Time/Country: 18 min, India Synopsis: A woman appears to a photographer but sometimes not in his photos. Faulty Father (2018) Director: Benjamin Welmond Run Time/Country: 10 min, USA Synopsis: In the near future, a young father's morning routine is put on the fritz when he uncovers his wife's bizarre secret, one that forces him to question his sense of self and his role in the family. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 4: Horror and Sci-Fi Short Films Time: 5:00pm - 7:00pm Headcleaner (2018) Director: Nick Scott Run Time/Country: 29 min, UK Synopsis: A documentary filmmaker follows a working class recluse from Scotland who can control his environment through the power of sound. Over a fractured timeline, viewers witness the struggle to reconcile the recluse, his mastery of sound and a found footage tape of a sonic weapon called The Drone Tape, tested on humans in the seventies that will ultimately lead to horrific consequences for the filmmaker's family and the world at large. Post Mortem Mary (2017) Director: Joshua Long Run Time/Country: 10 min, Australia Synopsis: A girl and her mother run a post mortem photography business in 1840's Australia. Whistler's Mother (2018) Director: Robbie Robertson Run Time/Country: 18 min, USA Synopsis: The artist James McNeill Whistler spent years trying to capture the essence of his mother for his most famous work of art—not to create a masterpiece but to save his mother from possession by the Baba Yaga, an evil Russian witch. The Observer Effect (2017) Director: Garret Walsh Run Time/Country: 19 min, Ireland Synopsis: A woman is haunted by a dark watcher, a man obsessed with thoughts of her vicious murder but as the fateful hour draws near bizarre events unfold to reveal truths they could never imagine and a secret that will change their lives forever. The Cold Dark (2018) Director: Mikko Löppönen Run Time/Country: 19 min, Finland Synopsis: A woman wonders off into the dark to search for medicine for her wounded father. As she rummages a cabin, she stumbles upon two men who grant her cover for the night. But something outside is listening. Thursday Night Basic (2018) Director: Mike Hay Run Time/Country: 5 min, UK Synopsis: The story of a man who is changed and ultimately transported to another place, maybe even another dimension, due to watching some strange 8mm footage and drinking something even stranger. Beyond the Wall of Sleep (2017) Director: Peter Miller Run Time/Country: 10 min, Australia Synopsis: An exploration of sleep, sanity and space via H. P. Lovecraft and The Rules and Regulations of the Insane Asylum of California. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 5: Feature Presentation Time: 7:00pm - 8:30pm Taking Tiger Mountain Revisited (2018) — U.S. Premiere Director: Kent Smith, Tom Huckabee Run Time/Country: 77 min, USA/UK Synopsis: In this remastered version of the 1983 film, an American draft dodger in a dystopian future is brainwashed and programmed by militant feminists to assassinate the Welsh minister of prostitution. Lurching unwittingly toward his goal, he makes a series of furtive connections with societal outliers like himself, including a feral child, a gentle prostitute, a sadomasochistic delinquent, a lovelorn androgyne, a hippie dope dealer, and a mute nymphomaniac while fending off predators who would sell him into sex slavery. Eventually, he is forced to focus on his mission and face the dreadful dilemma tormenting his psyche: to kill or not to kill. Starring Bill Paxton (Aliens). Written and directed by Tom Huckabee and Kent Smith. Co-written by William S. Burroughs, whose source material Blade Runner (a movie) provided a basis for the film. Block 6: Experimental Sci-Fi Feature Presentation Time: 8:30pm - 10:00pm Assimilation (2018) — World Premiere Director: John Norby Run Time/Country: 79 min, Ireland Synopsis: In the near future, exponential growth in technology triggers an event that wipes humankind off the face of the Earth. But from where did the grand plan for this event come and who or what is behind it? A lone survivor searches for answers in her quest to reconnect with life. THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019: Echo Park Film Center (1200 N Alvarado St, Los Angeles, CA 90026) Block 1: Sci-Fi Short Films Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm Corvus (2018) Director: Matthew Evan Balz Run Time/Country: 10 min, USA Synopsis: A woman builds a machine with hypnotic capabilities. No Country for Old Lizards (2018) Director: Emiliano Rago Run Time/Country: 4 min, USA Synopsis: A conspiracy theory fanatic finds out an unpleasant truth. A Psalm of Sight - Verse 1: Zerfall (2018) Director: Julian Curi Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA Synopsis: Gifted with eternal life after drinking from the Holy Grail, a medieval knight spawns an alternate history where technology is God, and man is machine. Dace Road (2018) Director: Silk Run Time/Country: 9 min, France/UK Synopsis: On a night ride, a female cab driver tries to convince her client he is in a coma and that a collision is the only way for him to wake up. The Golden Record (2018) Director: Rachel Goldfinger Run Time/Country: 7 min, USA Synopsis: An alien crosses her barren planet and stumbles upon a record from Earth. While she is mesmerized by the record's bold, beautiful images, she undergoes a harsh awakening that only her own reality can truly comfort her. The Well (2018) Director: Adam Wheeler Run Time/Country: 19 min, USA Synopsis: When Ted, a withdrawn bachelor discovers a mysterious book while searching for his recently disappeared mother, he enlists the help of an old high school science wiz to piece together a confounding puzzle that seems to center around his family home. The Great 60 Days (2018) Director: Tae-Woo Kim Run Time/Country: 9 min, South Korea Synopsis: A doctor experimenting on fruit flies develops a substance that can dramatically increase activity in brain cells. After a series of failures, one fruit fly finally has a huge reaction when its intellect becomes mutated. Andromeda (2018) Director: Emily Dean Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA/Australia Synopsis: An android who, through her friendship with a little girl, becomes alive. Void Vision (2018) Director: Alexander Stewart Run Time/Country: 8 min, USA Synopsis: An abstract short in which real and the simulated are equally constructions; a space where doubles, twins, duplicates, re-creations, and copies blend into one another. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 2: Feature Presentation Time: 9:00pm - 10:00pm Pig Film (2018) Director: Josh Gibson Run Time/Country: 60 min, USA Synopsis: In an empty world, a solitary female mechanically follows the protocols of a factory hog farm. Her labors are sporadically punctuated by musical rhapsodies as she moves toward the impending end. Is it the end of the world, a program malfunction, or the beginning of a film? FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2019: Ebell Club (625 French St, Santa Ana, CA 92701) Block 1: Philip K. Dick Multicultural Dystopian/Sci Fi Short Film Challenge Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm Winning films to be announced at the screening. Filmmakers will be present for a post-film Q&A. Block 2: "When Worlds Collide" Short Films Time: 8:00pm - 9:00pm Deep Dive (2018) Director: Mohammad Soleimanifeijani Run Time/Country: 6 min, USA Synopsis: A young Persian refugee arrives at the border of Los Angeles and is given a mandatory set of government-issued immigrant transition AR lenses. Shut out of other people's reality she slowly descends into a new form of digital alienation. Who is Martin Danzig? (2018) Director: Michael Baker Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: A mysterious old man sits in the park feeding pigeons, ruing the refuse of humanity encroaching on his sanctuary. He then meets his much younger replacement and learns to accept his future - with the fate of all humanity in the balance. Starring Walter Koenig (Star Trek) and Kevin Page (RoboCop). Precipice (2018) Director: Sean Young Run Time/Country: 4 min, Canada Synopsis: The planet's organics-engineer must decide if we are a species worth salvaging or if eradicating all life on Earth is the answer. Unzipping (2018) Director: Lisa Edelstein Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA Synopsis: A woman feeling unfulfilled discovers a zipper tab under her husband's tongue. Unable to resist, she pulls it and her entire life changes. But when newness turns into the new normal, she is once again unfulfilled and realizes her mistake: the problem has always been her. Starring Lisa Edelstein (House, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce) in her cinematic directorial debut. Tomorrow, Shall We All Be Transhumans? (2019) Director: Benoît Schmid Run Time/Country: 9 min, Switzerland/France Synopsis: Jump into a mesmerizing journey into the spirit of the first man who succeeded to digitize his own brain, algorithm his soul, and who injects himself some Holy Transgenic Fluids in order to transcend his flawed flesh. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 3: Special Guests Time: 9:00pm - 10:00pm A panel of special guests to attend the festival with an announcement made at a later date. SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2019: Orange County Museum of Art: OCMA (1661 W Sunflower Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92704) Block 1: New Frontiers: Documentaries From The Edge Time: 11:00am - 12:45am Dive Odyssey (2018) Director: Janne Kasperi Suhonen Run Time/Country: 9 min, Finland/Norway Synopsis: A meditative journey into the depths of water and mind, viewers enter on a journey into crystal clear darkness where the only light ever is man-made. Weather and Chaos: The Work of Edward N. Lorenz (2018) Director: Josh Kastorf Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: The first film about Edward N. Lorenz and his role in Chaos Theory produced with the participation and of scientists who worked alongside him. With their help a closer look is taken at what the "butterfly effect" actually meant in the context of Lorenz's work and why it should make all rethink the understanding of the universe. Nobody Dies in Longyearbyen (2017) Director: David Freid Run Time/Country: 9 min, Norway Synopsis: Permafrost in a northern island of Norway is affecting Global Seed Vault, infectious diseases like anthrax, influenza and global warming. Good in the Machine (2018) Director: Colin Ramsay, James Uren Run Time/Country: 15 min, UK Synopsis: The question of how to make "good" AI, what it means for a machine to be ethical, and who or what is the agent of the machine. Every Ghost Has An Orchestra (2017) Director: Shayna Connelly Run Time/Country: 7 min, USA Synopsis: What happens after we die is a universal question explored by paranormal researcher and experimental composer Michael Esposito. He straddles the line between spiritual and material and asks the audience to reflect on our purpose, legacy and what our actions say about who we are. UnderSee (2018) Director: Margie Kelk, Lynne Slater Run Time/Country: 6 min, Canada Synopsis: Sea creatures with large eyeballs are curious about invasive gray sludge. Beth's Three O'Clock with Dr. Harlow (2018) Director: Emma Penaz Eisner Run Time/Country: 3 min, USA Synopsis: A woman discloses a recent dream to her analyst. A vivid study of casual brutality and failed empathy, this surrealistic film intermixes stop motion animation with live action sequences. Musa Malvada (2018) Director: Liz Tabish Run Time/Country: 15 min, USA Synopsis: In London 1929, a fortune teller with dark secrets of her own visits various clientele throughout the city. As she navigates the tempestuous personalities and shocking visions, she must choose between telling the truth and her own survival. Extent (2017) Director: Paul Michael Draper Run Time/Country: 13 min, USA Synopsis: Time stands still as two old friends attempt to grapple with a question that defines their very existence. If you could live forever, would you? Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 2: Feature Presentation Time: 1:00pm - 2:30pm Mechanical Telepathy (2018) Director: Akiko Igarashi Run Time/Country: 76 min, Japan Synopsis: The depiction of love and skepticism through the relationships between researchers who visualize human hearts. Block 3: International Sci-Fi Short Films Time: 4:00pm - 5:45pm I Don't Want To Be Alone (2019) Director: Sergio Rozas Run Time/Country: 19 min, Spain/Japan Synopsis: A lonely girl walks around a future Tokyo chased by weird huge monsters. Even though she fights them, the monsters just keep growing in size and number so the girl has to make a decision. Blink (2018) Director: Atmaja Bopardikar Run Time/Country: 15 min, India Synopsis: A man is unable to understand what is happening to him and as his wife slowly loses her patience, he tries in vain to regain control of his perfect life, until one day he finds out it is not him but his shifting realities. Zilly's War (2018) Director: John Broadhead Run Time/Country: 25 min, USA Synopsis: A brilliant young woman on a four year mission to an alien planet finds herself remembering her childhood and facing her inner demons. The Nine Billion Names of God (2018) Director: Dominique Filhol Run Time/Country: 15 min, France/Switzerland Synopsis: In New York 1957, a Tibetan monk rents an automatic sequence computer. The monks seek to list all of the names of God. They hire two Westerners to install and program the machine in Tibet. A short film is based on the book by Arthur C. Clarke. Tatu (2018) Director: Garcerón Alejo Run Time/Country: 2 min, Argentina Synopsis: In this trailer, monster robots in a car junkyard battle it out. The Picture of Dorian Gray (2018) Director: Michal Janicki Run Time/Country: 9 min, USA Synopsis: A stop-motion animated journey through Oscar Wilde's iconic story about a man who sells his soul for eternal youth. The Desert (2018) Director: Ben Bigelow Run Time/Country: 14 min, USA Synopsis: In a suburban mansion, a woman sneaks into her son's virtual reality chamber. Here, he wanders through a desert with extraordinary powers. The machine is intended as a psychiatric treatment, yet Martha's trespass sets in motion a series of threatening events. The virtual reality, it seems, has begun to leak into their home. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers and cast members. SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2019: Ebell Club (625 French St, Santa Ana, CA 92701) Block 1: Best of Philip K. Dick Short Films Time: 11:00am - 1:00pm Subverse (2018) Director: Joseph White Run Time/Country: 10 min, USA Synopsis: In this web series, in an alternate reality where everyone spends all their time indoors staring at computer screens, a man agrees to go on a date in the 'outside' world but it doesn't go well. Filled with self-loathing, he returns home and plunges headfirst into a drunken, hallucinogenic trip through the dark net. Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space (2018) Director: Tristan C. Pina Run Time/Country: 10 min, Canada Synopsis: An unfulfilled high school senior becomes obsessed with an ominous radio broadcast containing steps to a cryptic puzzle. Thinking he is being pursued by a sinister organization, his search for clues takes over his life. Ultimately putting the pieces together, it becomes unclear whether or not it was all real. Beyond the Door (2018) Director: Em Johnson Run Time/Country: 20 min, USA Synopsis: One day Hedy brings home a cuckoo clock to decorate the baby's room, unbeknownst that the cuckoo clock has the ability to love and hate just like humans. The cuckoo clock tests the couple's love by mimicking the presence of their deceased son. Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. Enthusiasm Abounds (2018) Director: Mark Ross Run Time/Country: 13 min, USA Synopsis: In a world where social justice is automatic and absolute, enthusiasm abounds. Flies (2018) Director: Baobab Run Time/Country: 14 min, UK Synopsis: In the faded beauty of the house of his ancestors, a man waits for the return of the love of his life. Dark fantasies and crushing reality weave a dangerous journey as a struggle unfolds for his mind and ultimately his life. Avicenna (2018) Director: Daniel Stanush, Diego Chavez Run Time/Country: 5 min, USA Synopsis: In a remote location, a solitary researcher scours the landscape for a rare mineral. The Hereafter (2018) Director: Paul-Anthony Navarro Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: When a woman awakes into an afterlife of her own design, she discovers that her paradise might just be purgatory. Mise En Abyme (2018) Director: Edoardo Smerilli Run Time/Country: 11 min, Italy Synopsis: An eccentric and aristocratic gentleman devotes most of his time to a bizarre activity. Obsessed by beauty, he wanders everyday in the wood nearby the city, hunting the most rare butterflies. Once captured, he frames them and put in a massive and disturbing collection. He will soon realize to be himself part of a bigger collection. Axium Effect (2018) Director: Ari Dassa Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: A woman drifts through her traumatic memories after overdosing on a drug pilfered from android processors. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Block 2: Feature Presentation Time: 1:00pm - 3:00pm Volition (2018) — World Premiere Director: Tony Dean Smith Run Time/Country: 101 min, Canada Synopsis: Blending genres, this mind-bending sci-fi thriller about a man afflicted with clairvoyance who tries to change his fate when a series of events leads to a vision of his own imminent murder. But as he sets out to avoid his certain death, he comes to see that his pre-sentient condition is not quite what it seems. Starring Adrian Glynn McMorran (Arrow), Magda Apanowicz(The Green Inferno) and Aleks Paunovic (Van Helsing). Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers and cast members. Block 3: Horror and Sci-Fi Short Films Time: 3:00pm - 5:00pm I Am the Doorway (2018) Director: Simon Pearce Run Time/Country: 20 min, UK Synopsis: After a journey to investigate desolate Pluto, an astronaut returns home a shattered man. He sees eyes forcing their way through the skin of his hands, eyes that distort his friends and the landscape itself into monstrous visions. Believing himself the doorway to alien invasion and gruesome murder, he must take desperate action. Based on the short story by Stephen King. Grey Canyon (2018) Director: Zeshaan Younus Run Time/Country: 13 min, USA Synopsis: A couple encounters a presence in the wilderness that they cannot comprehend. Ulysses (2018) Director: Jorge Malpica Run Time/Country: 8 min, Mexico Synopsis: Warned by the goddess Circe, Ulysses ordered his men to tie him up to his ship's mast, thus preventing him from surrendering to the enchanting mermaid's call, which devoured the unwary men seduced by it. Based on the The Odyssey. Sereget (2018) Director: Dempsey Tillman Run Time/Country: 13 min, USA Synopsis: An emotionally detached husband (with a child on the way) gets a rude awakening when aliens invade his home and target his family. They Wait For Us (2018) Director: Lukas Schrank, George Run Time/Country: 20 min, UK Synopsis: In a near future end-of-life care facility, a reclusive hospital worker starts to believe a coma patient is attempting to communicate with him. Megan (2018) Director: Greg Strasz Run Time/Country: 8 min, USA Synopsis: The story of a woman, who along with the elite Delta Force team, investigates a mysterious attack by in present day Downtown Los Angeles. Bitten (2018) — U.S. and L.A. Premiere Director: Sarah K. Reimers Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: A mysterious and violent encounter sends a dog on a night of adventure and possibility. Spectres (2017) Director: Nick Phillips Run Time/Country: 11 min, USA Synopsis: After losing his family in a car accident, an introverted man interacts with the spirits of the dead who have yet to pass on. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers and cast members. Block 4: Sci-Fi Short Films Time: 5:00pm - 6:00pm A Timely Reminder for Time Parter Partners (2019) Director: Jamie Gower Run Time/Country: 1 min, USA Synopsis: Time travel is a tough job and filling out your timecard is the toughest part. Especially if you're a part-time Time Parter at Time Parter Partners. The Watchers (2018) Director: Andrew McGee Run Time/Country: 9 min, UK Synopsis: Impact in T-minus 97 minutes. 220 miles above our doomed planet, four astronauts on board the International Space Station are forced to confront their fate as the last members of the human race. Consciousness: Awakening (2018) Director: Rafhet Guerola Run Time/Country: 15 min, Mexico Synopsis: At the Universe's final moments, two men take separate paths due to ideology differences. When their environment and their lives are in danger, one of them attempts to retake their relationship. Together, they must to overcome their differences in order to survive at the imminent end of everything they know. Midnight Delivery (2018) Director: Nathan Crooker Run Time/Country: 10 min, USA Synopsis: A mysterious gift is delivered to an unsuspecting woman's door at the stroke of midnight. Her morbid fascination entices her to examine the gift, unleashing a sinister evil from within. Zoe (2018) Director: Leif Brönnle Run Time/Country: 17 min, Germany Synopsis: A young woman without identity or memory. Two scientists with great ambition. A sequence of tests that will bring them all to their psychological frontiers. Post-Film Q&A: Screenings will be followed by an in-depth discussion with filmmakers. Awards Ceremony Time: 6:00pm - 7:00pm Guests and filmmakers will be in attendance when awards are presented to the category winners as The 2019 Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival concludes.

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Remarks: The Ice-cream is A Lie! Debunking the Neopolitan Conspiracy.

I’m not sure if this is topic has already been defused in the FNDM community. Nevertheless, this squiggle meister still wanted to weigh in her full $5.50 on this subject matter. So let’s dig into it.

Heya kiddies, remember when the official V6 Opening dropped and everyone lost their shit when a mysterious hooded figure alluding to Neo was shown during the intro?

You should remember because it only happened about a week ago. I’m not going to lie. During my first viewing of the opening, my very first impression of mystery female was that it is Neopolitan. However my main justification for that, as I’ll assume is the key reason why everyone pondered the same thing, was because of this shot here: 

The shot of a very familiar-looking black and red striped bowler hat floating aimlessly through the streets of Mistral. That was the only clue I had that made me think of the possibility of Neo returning. But while the fandom exploded into their excitement of their favourite ice-cream themed villainous making her grand return, this squiggle meister was skeptical.

Why, you might ask? Well, for starters, not to knock the Neo fans but…why on Earth would the CRWBY Writers bring back Neo of all characters especially now when the Mistral Arc is in its final chapter?

In all honesty, I understand that Neo is a fan favourite amongst the FNDM community. However outside of Roman Torchwick, Neo’s character doesn’t exactly have a story of her own.

Sure, the CRWBY Writers could still entertain us by introducing a Neopolitan backstory into RWBY. However I don’t think Volume 6 is going to be an appropriate place slip that in.

If the CRWBY Writers honestly wanted to include Neo back then… shouldn’t they have brought her back for the start of the Mistral Arc as someone who would succeed Roman Torchwick and continue from where he left off? Even if their plan was to eventually resurrect Neo from the pit of obscurity for the Atlas Arc, her comeback would feel rather out of place. At least to me it would, especially since we spent the last two seasons not even teasing her re-emergence.

Apologies to the Neo stans but…that ain’t yuh girl in the V6 opening. The ice-cream is sadly a lie. But admittedly a very cleverly laid out lie, might I say.

I think the mysterious person is obviously Cinder Fall. I mean it has to be her. Her silhouette is in the volume poster, dagnabbit.

Not to mention that the Writers left her story on a cliff hanger. I mean…they did the same thing with Neo too but unlike the ice-cream flavoured Charlie Chaplin, Cinder’s happened last volume. Not a whole two seasons ago.

C’mon. Who else could it be but Cinder?

But if for some reason, you’re not convinced that the figure is Cinder, then allow me to present to you some evidence to support my claim. While scrubbing through the V6 opener, I found two key clues that say it’s Cinder.

Exhibit A: The Weapon of Choice

During the opening, the hooded female could be seen fighting with a blade in hand. Upon further inspection, I realized that the weapon carries a resemblance in shape to the dual blades that Cinder once wielded back in V3. Not only that but it especially replicates the fire emblazoned crimson dagger that Cinder Fall forged with her semblance and Maiden magic last season during her combat with Jaune in the Battle of Haven.

This is unfortunately the best quality screenshot I could take. I had to brighten the image but you can still make out that the shape of the blade is like Cinder’s Dagger. That’s my first evidence. My second evidence is the most obvious one of them all.

Exhibit B: The Claw

May I direct your attention to the obvious clawed white hand on mystery girl? Might I also point out that it’s her right hand---the same side as Cinder’s amputated Geist Grimm arm from V5?

Unless Neo’s umbrella flew her into a tub of radioactive purple ooze that turned her into some kind of pale-skinned mutant humanoid creature with claws for a hand, then that is clearly NOT her. It’s Cinder because we all know that Cinder possessed the Geist Grimm now which, as we can see, has now been blended into her skin turning it white---like Salem.

I’m curious to see Cinder’s face now. I want to know if she looks more like Salem now or was it just the arm that fused fully with her body turning the half of Salem’s body damaged by Ruby ghastly white while the rest remained normal. This should be cool to see.

So yeah, see now? It’s not the ice-cream. It’s the pepper sauce. Sorry Neo fans.

Now this pegs a curious question? Why would the CRWBY insert the trademark Roman Torchwick bowler hat while alluding to Cinder?

Either the CRWBY are trying to be slick again by tossing out another red herring to bamboozle the FNDM into believing it’s not Cinder Fall or…there is something very symbolic of the Roman hat?

Symbol of Failure

Think about it. Who was Roman Torchwick? Another fan favourite villain with charisma for days. Yes. A snappy dresser. Sure. But above everything else, Roman Torchwick was a failure in his conquest.

What was it that Roman told Ruby Rose in his big speech from V3?

“...Ya got spirit Red. But this is the real world! The real world is cold! The real world doesn't care about spirit! You wanna be a hero? Then play the part and die like every other huntsman in history!

As for me, I’ll do what I do best. Lie. Steal. Cheat and Survive!”

 He says all of this before he is rather laughingly eaten alive in the very next frame by a Grimm during the attack on the Vytal Festival that he helped orchestrate. Still one of the most ironic deaths in RWBY history but the truth still remains.

Even with all his tricks and schemes, what eventually became of Roman? He failed, died and now his name means nothing as Remnant moves on. Even with all the power and influence he once possessed, he died a powerless man. Torchwick is symbolic here because he’s the one villain whose pursuit of conquest resulted in his very own demise. Now Cinder has fallen down the same path.

She too followed in her selfish aspiration to become powerful and where did it lead her? Right back to the very bottom of the societal food chain where her origins probably began. You can almost say that Cinder’s fallen down her very own little rabbit hole of disappointment and now from the dirt, she is forced to crawl back out again and start over. That’s if, she even has the same desires as before.

It’s almost like the bowler hat is following Cinder, mocking her own failures. I wonder if this will lead to Cinder having realistic hallucinations of Roman. Her own negative emotional state of displeasure taking the form of the one villain in RWBY whose failure left him rock bottom---the digestive system of a Griffin Grimm kind of rock bottom---would be to seen explored in the series.

Similar to how Blake’s anxiety over being back with the team after the events of V4-V5 taking the haunting form of Adam Taurus, perhaps it’ll be the same for Cinder. Imagine…Roman returning as a figment of Cinder’s messed up psyche to ridicule and belittle her. That could be cool to watch.

Plus it’d be great to hear Gray Haddock reprise his role in the series again outside of the Chibi-verse. I mean, it’s a nice idea.

Perhaps…in the beginning, Cinder was another minion to Roman but that all changed when she met Salem. 

Maybe Roman and Cinder even share a past together long prior to RWBY’s main story.

Perhaps Cinder Fall started off as Roman’s partner-in-crime---the Bonnie to his Clyde? Or perhaps she was one of his lower level pawns but ultimately rose to the top due to her skills. But even after becoming number two to King Roman, Cinder desired to be more. While I’m not sure on how Salem found Cinder or vice versa, I would much rather the mystery character be Cinder because it makes more sense for it to be her than Neo, continuing from V5.

I know Neo is connected to Roman because she was his side kick. However let’s not forget that before Neo came into the picture, Cinder Fall was originally introduced as Roman’s accomplice in the very first episode of RWBY. She was the one seen flying the helicopter that Roman used to escape from Ruby and was also the one who fought with Glynda Goodwitch as she stepped into protect Ruby.

Cinder was later switched out for Neo and made into someone who was superior to Roman instead of being just his fateful right hand. Who knows? Maybe there is a deeper untold history between Roman and Cinder Fall that us fans never knew about. The untold story of how the two of them met and how Cinder eventually rose to become the megalomaniac we know her to be.  

The Faceless Lady

Cinder was later switched out for Neo and made into someone who was superior to Roman instead of being just his fateful right hand. Who knows? Maybe there is a deeper untold history between Roman and Cinder Fall that us fans never knew about. The untold story of how the two of them met and how Cinder eventually rose to become the megalomaniac we know her to be.  

Do you know what would be interesting? If the mysterious person is Cinder but in like a new body or with a new face?. Like what if…after dying, Cinder fused with her Geist Grimm arm completely and now she’s become this Grimmoire (Grimm-human hybrid) who can steal another person’s identity by devouring them.

Y’know how in Game of Thrones, Arya Stark is a Faceless Man and can assume the identity of anyone she’s killed by stealing their face? What if we get something like that with Cinder where, because she is half Geist Grimm, she can utilize the Geist’s key trait to possess and take control of another’s body.

But in Cinder’s instance, she’s able to do it with mortal men and woman because of her human side. It’d also be interesting if, just like Arya Stark, Salem develops her own little vendetta to get back at everyone who has wronged her in her life, starting with her past leading up to her recent mortal enemies---like Ruby Rose and Raven Branwen.

Queen of the Mafia

I have this theory that Cinder was the daughter of a known mafia boss who was notorious on the black underground market of Mistral that we were told about in the World of Remnant episode on the kingdom.

Y’know how in the Cinderella story, we had the evil mother and her wicked stepsisters? When I think back to the V6 trailer, remember this shot of the bandit lady that most RWBY theorist pointed out as a mafia boss?

What if…these three characters---the mafia lady and her two lackeys that stand behind her are RWBY’s version of Cinderella’s evil stepmother and wicked step siblings. Only instead of two step sisters, it’s a brother and sister?

I’m just tossing out an idea here. I don’t believe that the CRWBY would choose to highlight these three characters if they weren’t important. Obviously these three aren’t connected to the heroes. But perhaps, they’re connected to Cinder or at least her side of the story for V6.

 Maybe…they are from her past?

What if…Cinder was the daughter of some big Mistralian crime boss who was well renowned around the Mistral black market until he was murdered, leaving his empire left for grabs for the vultures of the Mistral underbelly to squander.

This lady and her two accomplices could either be the equivalent of Cinderella’s evil stepmother and her siblings who probably abused Cinder after they stole her father’s empire from her and tossed her to the slums, powerless to stop them. Or…what if…it’s not the lackeys who are important but the Head Lady?

Remember how in last week’s V6 kick-starter episode, we met Dee and Dudley who the FNDM agreed were based off of the infamous pair of Tweedledee and Tweedledum from the Alice in Wonderland fairy tale?

What if…those two knuckleheads won’t be the only trademark Alice in Wonderland characters that will be referenced in RWBY for this volume?

What if…this Mafia Lady’s characterization is actually inspired by the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland?

Think about it. Imagine if the notorious black market of Mistral is basically the Wonderland of the canon RWBY-verse and similar to the Queen of Hearts, this mysterious Mafia lady is the head honcho that rules it with an iron fist.

I quite like this concept. She certain exudes the same impatient and tyrannical aura as the Queen of Hearts. I just need her to yell “Get Them You Fools!” and/or, of course, “Off with their heads!” or something along lines.  

Now mind you I could be incorrect in everything I said in this post. Except the Cinder being the mystery figure part, I really am sure that’s her for sure as the hooded mystery girl. As to what her story will be for V6. 

If anything V6 is definitely going to touch base on Cinder’s past and resurrection or so I presume. I know it’s only another theory, but that’s as much as I have to say on the Fallen Maiden for now.

 More Squiggles’ RWBY Content

~LittleMissSquiggles (2018)

[satoshi-mochida]

Square Enix has released a new trailer, details, and screenshots for Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy!, its upcoming PlayStation 4 and Switch enhanced remaster of the Wii dungeon RPG Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon.

Get the details below.

■ Story

One day, treasure hunters Chocobo and Cid happen upon a strange town. The town is Lostime, where the townspeople believe that forgetting is the key to happiness.

Whenever the bell on the clocktower rings, they forget their sad memories, aggressive impulses… sometimes even their own names.

Then a boy named Raffaello comes to town. He is able to create dungeons out of people’s memories and help them remember the past…

■ Characters

Cid (voiced by Yuichi Nakamura) The legendary treasure hunter.

Cid travels the world in search of treasure with his partner, Chocobo. A gifted inventor, he employs his unique gadgets to ensure that his mission will always be a success. He wanders into Lostime while searching for hidden treasure that can change the world.

Shirma (voiced by Sayaka Senbongi) The good-hearted white mage.

Shirma lives on her Aunt Stella’s farm at the edge of Lostime. She is always taking care of others, and is nice to Chocobo and Raffaello. She seems to worry an awful lot, but that makes her a good counter to her aunt, who sometimes seems too laid back. Although she is a gentle girl, she is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in.

Raffaello (voiced by Yuuko Sanpei) The mysterious boy.

One day, Raffaello simply fell out of the sky and into the lives of the people of Lostime. It’s obvious he’s not a normal boy, because he grows up very fast. He also has the power to restore people’s lost memories by creating a labyrinth of memories. Since he came to Lostime, the townspeople have started to change, and some have started to regard him as a savior. But Raffaello does not see himself that way.

Dungeon Hero X (voiced by Maria Naganawa) A masked moogle.

A masked hero who appears at times to give Chocobo all sorts of helpful information on dungeons. There’s something familiar about him, but his true identity remains a secret. A rumor persists, however, that he is far more than just Dungeon Hero X.

■ Dungeons

In dungeons, players take action via a turn-based system. When Chocobo uses one action, it uses one turn. Similarly, monsters will also take an action per turn. Monsters will not move unless Chocobo moves. Think carefully before making a move.

—If Chocobo takes action, other characters will also take action. In this situation, Chocobo can attack diagonally, but if he takes one step up…

—Since Chocobo moved one the monster also moved and gets attacked first!

—Chocobo counterattacks without a moment’s delay! The CPU-controlled buddy character takes action after Chocobo’s attack.

■ Job Change System

By obtaining the memories of jobs during your adventure, Chocobo will be able to switch between jobs. Job changes not only alter your appearance, they also change your abilities and stats. There are various different characteristics per job. Choose a job that is best suited to each dungeon to explore it efficiently. Your jobs will level up the more you use them, allowing you learn even more powerful abilities.

—You can easily switch between jobs by touching the crystal at the dungeon entrance.

—Leveling up jobs is essential, as it will allow you to learn powerful abilities.

Knight

This is one of the first jobs available once the job change function is unlocked. The Knight has very high HP, strong defense, good defense against magic, and decent offensive abilities. As such, it is ideal for use in combat. But the Knight is very food-intensive and requires strategic use to manage hunger before the fight is over.

—Ability: Power Smash

Damages and knocks back a monster one space. It is a powerful ability that can be used as a final blow!

Black Mage

The job of Black Mage is well-known for its powerful offensive magic. In the beginning, it is a hard job to master, because of its vulnerability to attack and limited restoration spells. As he levels up, however, the Black Mage gains a number of powerful attacks. It should be considered a “late bloomer” job that specializes in offensive magic, and is possibly the best job class when it comes to instantaneous destruction.

—Ability: Fire

A fire-based magic attack that extends three spaces. Fight while using this together with the ice-based Blizzard and thunder-based Thunder attacks.

■ Alpha Job from Final Fantasy XIV

The Final Fantasy XIV raid dungeon “The Bend of Time: Omega” appears in Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy!. Wear the uniform of the engineers faction Garlond Ironworks and investigate the formidable foe Omega alongside adventurers. Help out your party with mysterious tools.

The Alpha job is an balanced class that specializes in everything from attack to support. When you reach its maximum job level, you will learn the “Mysterious Card” ability.

—Ability: Mysterious Card

Activates one of seven abilities at random. Which one will activate is unknown! Try to use it at the right timing.

■ New Dungeons

New dungeons have been added from the original Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon release, including difficult dungeons like the “The Bend of Time” and “Bottomless Desire.” For these dungeons, the items you bring into and utilize in the dungeon, as well as the job you choose are essential. Only players who are confident in their dungeon exploration skills should take on these challenges.

■ New Buddy System

You will sometimes earn “Buddy Points” by defeating monsters in the dungeons. Buddy Points accumulate for individual monster species. When you reach the required amount of points, you can take that monster into the dungeon as a buddy character.

Characters Can Also Become Buddies

In addition to recruiting monsters, you will also be able to take specific character along into dungeons as buddy characters. Each character has their own unique abilities, so choose a buddy that goes well with your job.

■ First-Print Bonus

First-print copies of Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy! in Japan will include the “Buddy: Alpha” character. This allows you to take along the previously job-only Alpha as a buddy character.

—Ability: Chocobo Drop

Attacks all enemies surrounding the space behind Chocobo. Use this when surrounded by enemies!

Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy! is due out for PlayStation 4 and Switch on March 20, 2019 in Japan. A North America and Europe release is also planned, but has yet to be dated.

Watch the trailer below. View the screenshots at the gallery.

[novadreii]

The Ancient Magus' Bride: A Review

Big spoilers ahead.

I’m not often compelled to write full-length reviews on series that I watch, but this one elicited an interesting response from me. I don’t think I’ve ever negatively changed my mind about an anime halfway through. If I like something from the start, I usually like it all the way through to the end. If I loathe something from the start, I try to determine if there’s room for development/improvement before continuing. And I’ve seen a good amount of shows turn it around.

But TAMG was really a strange experience for me. Everything pointed towards this being a quality show. All the signs were there. And I will commend it on what it did right. This show had gorgeous animation, lovely voice acting, and a breathtaking original soundtrack. As I said, all the signs pointed to this being a winner, maybe the best anime of the last 5 years or so.

But sadly, TAMG is, at its core, a reductive escapist fantasy for young girls.

I know, that is a bold statement. But I have evidence to support my claim! Promise.

We start off the show with Chise being bought by the titular Ancient Mage at a slave auction. It’s okay, though, because she willingly sold herself into slavery. Wait, you can do that? I guess. Anyway. This show’s big selling point is Chise’s growth from a sad girl with nothing to live for to...well, someone who is not that way. And it’s a relatable backstory for a main character. So far, so good.

But the rest of plot fails to sufficiently develop the rest of the world, lore, and characters in a way that makes Chise’s development interesting enough. Side characters are given at most one (1) episode of backstory before being utterly forgotten for the entire rest of the series. Plot points that you think will eventually loop back for an interesting game of Raise the Stakes just kind of wander out to sea and never come back (aka Chise’s family...um...her dad and brother are still out there!). The lore of the fairies and magic is just kind of there and never properly explored or utilized. Chise is supposedly there to learn magic from Elias as her teacher, yet we don’t really ever see him instructing her in the theory of it, or her magical skills progressing. All we’re really told is that Chise is both incredibly strong and weak as shit as the same time. Makes sense.

Elias’ origin is completely ignored, even that could have been an amazing addition to the story as it’s so shrouded in mystery and intrigue and often hinted at by several characters. So, at about the rough halfway point of the series, I had all these loose ends and unexplored areas of the story in my head that I was really excited about, but they never materialized in the second half. The main “villain” in the show was kind of sad and easily defeated.

The second cour of the show was focused almost exclusively on what is, in my opinion, the most mundane, cloying, and dull part of the story: the relationship between Elias and Chise. Yep, sorry friends. I don’t find these two even remotely well suited to each other in any capacity, least of all romantic. Try picturing them together when Elias is in human form; that creeps me out more than his usual form. From the very beginning, I have disliked Elias. I find him boring. Oh boohoo, you’ve been wandering around Earth for hundreds of years and still haven’t figured out what “sad” “happy” “jealous” and “angry” feel like? Are you stupid as well as inexperienced, or just willfully ignorant? Because he managed to study and become proficient in the art of magecraft, but never could figure out why watching Titanic made his eyes leak? How many times do we have to watch Elias clutch his heart and say, “Is this what _______ feels like?” Just shut up. I find it hard to believe that in between all the magic and failed cooking lessons with Lindel, they never talked about how they felt in the hundreds of years that Lindel was taking care of him? *Dr. Phil voice* Really now?

Elias’ cluelessness about basic human emotions is the basis for about 99% of the personal conflicts/drama in the story, and it gets tiresome and feels cheap. Why does anime love to center on characters who don’t know how to feel? Does it give them more agency to act like a dick? Do young girls swoon after men who don’t really care about anything? Elias is frustrating, because we never get to see him break through that monotonous “teach me how to feel” crap, except for when he’s having a rage tantrum. But we never see him buckle down and really unload on how he’s feeling in an open and communicative way. He’s very selective with what he shares, and when he does it’s because Chise is prodding him to do it.

What I found essentially disappointing about this story is how everything in it was just there to further the drama between Chise and Elias without actually furthering the story itself. Everything Elias does to Chise, from how he constantly touches/grabs/picks her up without her permission, how he looms over her menacingly in his monster form when he’s jealous, how he calls her diminutive pet names, irritates me. Chise is a child who has nothing; of course she is going to gravitate to someone who offers her the only thing she wanted: a place to call home. What’s his excuse? He is the one in the position of power, and does he ever use it to his advantage.

How many times do we witness Elias withholding information from Chise, policing her, acting shady, throwing a giant temper tantrum, and being generally creepy and possessive? The anime is masterful in that it succeeds in writing it all off as romantic and cute, because “Elias doesn’t know what emotions he’s feeling! It’s cause he must love her LOL” Again, this was a lame excuse so that Elias could have license to be an asshole. All they needed was a cool/handsome/monstrous character design and a smooth af voice actor to make it all okay. But it isn’t. Chise did not, and still doesn’t have the agency to choose differently.

And I almost fell for it too; that’s how good it is. Because it ropes you in with great production value. I admit that instinctively I am just a dumb ape who will go gaga over anything shiny and pretty. And this anime certainly is those things, but it doesn’t capitalize on the amazing potential it set up from its very beginning, choosing instead to focus on relationship drama between two people who really should not be involved romantically at all.

I ask this: would it have detracted from the story at all for them to have had an adoptive parent and child relationship, to which both characters’ age, experience, and power dynamic was a lot better suited? Would it have been less meaningful? Why did they have to be set up as husband and wife from the get go? What was the point, other than to provide a weak and frankly disturbing plot point? If parent/child is a no-go, how about we make the female main character older than 20 years old for once? Even that would have been preferable.

I did read the manga, and the author tries to dance around the issue by once again using Elias’ inexplicable lack of emotional intelligence as an excuse. He doesn’t know what a bride is, he doesn’t understand the concept of marriage, he means it innocently etc. Okay, BUT, Chise, the rest of the characters, the author of the manga himself, the readers, and literally everyone else understands exactly what marriage is and what it implies. That is the connection the author intends us to make with all the symbolism and mushy dialogue between the two of them (as well as other characters’ observations about them both). It doesn’t matter how ambiguous the author is being about something; if it’s there, it’s there. Let’s call the spade a spade.

So the story revolves primarily around the romantic development between an indisputably adult male who also holds all the resources/power, and an emotionally broken child who can’t refuse. TAMG did not develop the rest of its story enough to distract me from this point, and I was just never able to look past it. It was glaring at me with each episode I watched.

Sure, Chise gets mad sometimes, and Elias eventually comes around from pouting when he realizes he could lose her. He eventually offers a monotone apology and all is right as rain. Chise eventually develops into the Needlessly Self-Sacrificing Main Character that anime relies on just a touch too heavily. It feels disingenuous and not at all relatable. It’s tiresome.

Towards the end, Chise gets some resolution from an old painful memory during an arc where she finally breaks free of Elias so she can act of her own accord for once. Which I really liked. But then she just ran home, forgave Elias a little too easily for all his bullshit, and ended up “marrying” him (again, everything is shrouded in an infuriating layer of ambiguity because nobody wants to call it what it is, but alllllll the right symbolism is there, we can figure it out ffs). That came completely out of left field for me and solidified my hunch that this is meant to be a teen fantasy and little else: leaving everything behind only to be saved, controlled by, and obsessed over by an ominous, rich, handsome, and overbearing man who just won’t keep his hands to himself.

There’s so much more I wanted to know about, and I get that you can’t fit everything into 24 episodes. But people like Silky, Ruth, Renfred, and Alice were utterly forgotten about even though they had solid, developed stories in the beginning of the anime. It’s like they hooked me in and left me hanging; the whole time I was waiting for MORE from those characters. For Silky to say even one word or to have more of a relationship with Chise other than hugging her dramatically from time to time, for Chise and Ruth to have another mage/familiar moment (or even arc). Things like that would have added so much more depth and significance to the story than even one more minute of Elias and Chise awkwardly and needlessly cuddling (or sleeping in bed together....honestly, wtf).

So in conclusion (am I writing a thesis or something?), The Ancient Magus’ Bride felt something like a betrayal. It drew me in with the promise of a gorgeous and heartfelt story, only to focus on what I thought was an inappropriate and forced relationship. I’m sure 16-year-old me would have eaten all of this up like a six-course meal. It’s a Japanese twist on Twilight (therefore also reminiscent of the even worse Fifty Shades franchise). As I get older and automatically tend think a lot more critically about why I like or dislike things, something like this isn’t going to cut it for me. It pulled at the heartstrings with emotive music and pretty visuals, but left me wanting so much more. I don’t want the media I consume to make me feel like I should like it; I just want to.

To any teen girls who adore this anime, I’m not telling you what to personally like/dislike. But I do hope you’ll think about why you do, and contemplate the fact that just because something is wrapped up in pretty packaging, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s harmless. Love doesn’t have to mean being dominated, stalked, policed, or controlled. And you don’t have to be married before you’re 20 or it’s game over. Healthy relationships are balanced, with an equal flow of power, love, and trust between parties involved. They can happen at 17, 45, or never, and that’s all okay. My fear is that this anime will reinforce the exact opposite message with its audience, in a manner that is honestly kind of insidious. It was so well-made, the tone and ambiance they created is so lovely that the harmful messages will just fly over your head; like they almost did to me.

Or...just enjoy it without a second thought and leave me to my over-analyzing. I do admit I look very closely at things, but I don’t know any other way to be.

TLDR; A lot of style, not a whole lot of substance. 4.5/10

[mcgrannkileigh1996]

Reiki Energy Necklace Uk Astonishing Tricks

Some patients may choose to do at that time.Emotional Traumas: Violent environment, refusal to believe in Reiki, the more prestigious allopathic centers using Reiki symbols and hand position in order to improve your learning?During the second level will enable you to a different way to study this level, the most delicate matters to you.Today, the center of the system of Reiki is about 3 to 4 sessions.

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Reiki Energy Exercises

It is wonderful for stress reduction technique.Finally, I asked her whether we were able to focus and the practice becomes more finely tuned, guided visualizations may become unbalanced like an upside down position.Remember, you are about to expect before the attunements can work together harmoniously with all the positive loving energy that is a very short time, by a Reiki master can be used on animals who have realistic views on the mountain.I remember a visit with a Reiki Master also involves Reiki music.In this sense, it can feel a bulging growth in her changes right now.

Sometimes, I like to know that classes are called Reiki you will be kind to all three levels, and each level of the world's greatest Reiki Masters.Reiki is natural power that resides within, in order to practice distance healing.Flat stones will stay on the methodology and costs, and length and quality of the teacher's hands to hover above it and don't know about you and your teacher present is that it symbolizes.As per the other end of the healer, then the whole body from above.There is two steps of an Attunement or blessing.