#the first movie surpasses it easily

[chimaerakitten]

I think one of the big strengths of fanfiction as a medium is that it can, on average, assume the reader has a way higher degree of familiarity with canon than like…canon can. If you’re in the Star Wars AO3 tag you probably like Star Wars enough to remember more things about it than the average Star Wars-enjoying-ten-year-old. Which makes it way easier for fanwriter a to get to the juicy stuff and really engage with the worldbuilding or minor characters without having to spell out like. Who Wedge Antilles is for everyone who forgot or never noticed him in the first place. You could write a book about Wedge in the old EU because EU readers could also be assumed to be serious fans, but you can’t make a new canon Disney+ show about him. Those cost money to make and are intended for a broader audience.

And all this means that like. A good fic writer can and often will surpass canon when it comes to like. Thematic resonance and stuff, because they can really dig into something. Star Trek 2009 gave Kirk a new, more generic tragic backstory because it couldn’t expect the average moviegoer to be familiar with Kirk’s old, way more interesting tragic backstory. (Frankly, I’m not sure jj abrams knew about TOS Kirk’s backstory) whereas I have read a LOT of well-written, interesting, deeply resonant fanfic examinations of Tarsus IV, and what it means for Kirk’s character that he’s a genocide survivor. Star Trek 2009 answers the question “why did Kirk cheat on the kobayashi maru?” With “‘cause his dad crashed a spaceship when he was a baby.” A close examination of TOS canon implies the answer is “because he lived through a real-life Kobayashi that did have a win option, but which wasn’t taken.” BUT—and this is significant—even the TOS canon movies can’t really assume knowledge of the full TOS tv show, so that implication is never examined or made explicit. Instead it’s fanfic (and maybe spin off novels? Idk I’ve only read 2 trek books, if there’s one out there that covers this that would be really cool) where we get dives into that thread, where Kirk gets a commendation for original thinking because he can look a testing board in the eye and say “I’ve seen what happens when someone is entrenched in this kind of thinking, and I cannot let it happen to me. I understand the lesson, but it’s not hypothetical anymore and it never will be. I did what I had to do.” And that’s interesting! That’s meaningful! That can’t happen in a summer blockbuster. But it can happen in fic, easily, and that’s a strength of fic, I think.

[writteninlunarlight-years]

I saw your writing style and it is wonderful and cute!!❤️.. So please can you write the reaction of Obey Me’s characters to MC (girl ) who loves physical affection, holding hands, and playing with them, but she is shy and feels insecure? Because her hands are always wet from sweat ... At least Mammon Satan Solomon Barbatos

It's okay for things to escalate to bed, *wink *

Thank you soo much ❤️❤️

Mammon

Mammon loved physical touch. He was the king of being glued to whatever had his attention side. It just so happens that you have always had his attention since you showed up.

Mammon wanted to always be your special guy, so he made every effort to win your heart. From surprise hugs to pecks on the cheek, he would do anything.

The only problem is that you get anxious really easily. I mean, come on, look at Mammon. He's perfect, so why would he want to be with you?

You were always so worried that you might do something wrong or a pretty demon would steal his attention. However, that never came to be.

One day, while you two were out on a date, Mammon begged you to hold his hand. He wanted the other demons and his brothers to know you were his. You were hesitant, though.

You sweat a lot, especially when you are nervous and anxious. It's not like a bad sweat, but definitely wet, sticky hands. You didn't want to shoo the poor demon off because of this.

After hours of pestering and begging, Mammon finally found an opportunity to hold your hand. He was the Avatar of Greed, of course, so he was going to take this chance without asking first.

When he touched your hands, he was really confused. He didn't remember you going to the bathroom recently, so why were they so wet?

When you pulled your hands away, he saw the panic in your eyes—that you had messed something up. You were also rubbing your hands so aggressively on your shirt.

Slowly, Mammon grabbed your hands and placed them in his. He laughed gently and led your hands to his chest, where you could feel his rapid heartbeat.

Come to find out, Mammon was just as nervous and afraid as you for his own reasons. Look at you—you were the most perfect human to ever grace the Devildom, Earth, or Heaven.

Satan

Satan was never an affectionate person. He preferred to be away from his siblings and others in hopes of making his own name.

Being the shadow of Lucifer was tricky business, and Satan had to prove he was far superior.

Satan couldn't lie, though. Once you caught his attention and gained his trust, he was enamored by you. He almost thought he was turning into Mammon with how greedy he became for your presence.

You always asked nicely first if you could hug or kiss him, and he appreciated that. He loved how respectful and gracious you could be when he was far from that.

As you two developed your relationship, he, too, became needy for your touch. He wanted to hold you and protect you from his siblings' idiocracy.

However, you never seemed to let him get close to your hands. He could never recall a time when you held his hands, only his arm or the back of his shirt.

Had he done something to offend you? You sure seemed to shy away from that one act of intimacy for someone so touchy and excited for his presence.

Satan had invited you to a movie; he was eager to try and steal your hands in his just once. However, you were really good at evading him.

He was starting to grow suspicious that you knew his plan all along and was making him a fool by trying to touch your hands. Due to this, the Avatar of Wrath came out, and in a heated moment of anger, Satan grabbed your hands.

Odd they were so wet. He stared at you, confused as you panicked and yanked your hands back, holding them close to your chest. You proceeded to flood him with apologies, but why when he was the one who invaded your space?

As you rambled about your anxiety and nervousness, he realized you were a lot alike. Where he was always anxious and nervous about surpassing Lucifer, you were worried and nervous about someone pushing you from him.

With a gentle smile, he pulled your hands from your chest and took his handkerchief from his pocket. As he wiped your hands down, he just laughed and kissed you gently on the forehead. He never realized you could make him love you even more.

Solomon

Solomon loved physical affection as much as Mammon did. However, he was far more subtle about asking for it. Where Mammon was loud and boisterous, Solomon took a more indirect approach.

Solomon loved watching you light up when he gave you the affection you craved. Seeing you smile and bounce with joy was everything to him.

He is a cunning and genius man, however, and he quickly realized you always kept your hands away from him unless they were touching his clothes.

He asked one date to hold your hand and immediately noticed you start to panic and stumble over your words, only for you to run ahead of him and quickly change the topic.

Solomon never wanted to force you to do anything, so he knew that in time, you would either open up to him or he would put the pieces together on your own.

As you two went out to the shops in the devildom on the hunt for some more herbs for Solomons's craft, some children were messing about before you.

You always had a habit of not paying attention to all your surroundings, so as you approached the kids, it was too late for you to stop.

After tripping and falling fast to the ground, Solomon reached out and grabbed your hand, pulling you back into him. Your hand was placed in his while your other rested gently on his chest.

Though the moment was romantic and cute, your realization caught up to you, and you yanked your hands away. Not before Solomon realized why you were so afraid of holding hands.

Laughing gently, Solomon took your hands in his and began walking. You were shocked and started nagging him about why he shouldn't be doing this and how sweaty and sticky your hands were from nerves.

He just shushed you and confirmed that he loved you no matter what, sweaty hands or not and that no anxiety or nerves could take him away from you.

Barbatos

Barbatos didn't experience physical affection until Dia, and you entered his life. He was a pretty reserved man who did his bidding for others.

When Dia set you two up because 'Barbatos, you are so lonely, and I can take care of myself.' He knew this could go one of two ways since the demon prince was a fan of theatrics.

However, when you showed up, he was surprised. You were so gentle and kind. You even helped him out with cooking and sorting Dia's paperwork.

Barbatos genuinely enjoyed your presence, especially since you never asked to be in his bubble. However, as time passed and feelings grew between you two, he could see how badly you wanted to do anything with him.

On your first official date outside of the castle, Barbatos consciously put his arm out for you and led you around like the gentleman he was.

This was the beginning of your new physical relationship. The only problem was that you never allowed him to hold your hand, no matter how many dates you two went on.

Barbatos is a highly observant man and knew why you hid your hands away from the day he met you. When you are nervous or anxious, your hands sweat. He saw it when you wore gloves to cook, and there were hand prints on Dia's paperwork that day you first met.

What's funny, though, is that Barbatos wears gloves most of the time, so if you were worried about him touching your wet hands, he wouldn't know.

After months of you two dancing around each other and Barbatos waiting for you to open up, he finally confronted you about the situation.

After a long discussion and reasurance from him you finally opened up about how worried you were about not being enough or messing something up.

Barbatos just gently smiled at you and took your hand in his. He knew he couldn't cure all your worries in an instant, but he could definitely show you right now that a little sweat wasn't going to kill him and really wasn't going to make him stop loving you.

[thefandomenchantress]

A Very Long Morgie Analysis

Warning: As the title says, this is a very, very long post. You should fear that keep reading button. /j

So I watched Descendants 4 with pretty low expectations a week or so ago, since I heard a lot of people criticizing the film. I’d watched the first three Descendants and thought they were a very fun kind of over the top, and figured that this one would be similarly kinda cheesy but hopefully in a charming way.

The first time I watched the film, I liked it. While I thought the beginning of the movie’s plot dragged slightly only for a far too hasty conclusion, I figured that with a supposed part 2 coming, things could possibly wrap up nicely in the future. That was my mindset throughout almost the entire film…Until suddenly Morgie got a scene.

This is a post mainly for people who’ve seen the film, but just in case I’ll explain the scene. Morgie, son of Morgana, is assigned as look-out during the villain heist. He then makes an amusing comment about what the signal should be if he sees Merlin, and no one answers him. We leave his character for a bit before coming back when Merlin returns to his office, about to catch the villains. Morgie does his signal as planned, and when Merlin looks at him, he hides behind a branch as though that’s going to do literally anything to hide him.

By the end of his little dose of screen time, I was quite amused and wondered how I hadn’t really noticed him earlier in the film, since his character archetype seemed right up my alley. After a day or two, my curiosity peaked and I decided to watch the movie again, but this time pay lots of attention to him whenever he was in a scene. I both wanted to appreciate his character more as well as reevaluate the movie after my first viewing, wanting to decide if it really was ‘bad’ like people said it was (spoiler alert: I had fun watching it the second time as well, while it is flawed it’s a fun movie and I like it and I will die on this hill—).

On my second watch, I realized that Morgie is surprisingly pretty well-characterized for a character that doesn’t have too many speaking lines. And I really wanted to hyper-analyze his character and all that, so now I’m making a very long post about it. I really just need to ramble for a bit because for some reason I have become deeply fixated on this character and NEED to blurt out all my thoughts.

So without further ado, how about we watch this movie for a third time and point out every single little thing about Morgie and appreciate it? Let's go!

(There's also my theory about how the new and old timelines work below all the movie analysis, in case anyone just wants to see that).

YAY HE SAID HIS FIRST LINE WOOOO!!! After a whole 48 minutes, the best character has finally entered the movie /j.

Now on to actual thoughts and stuff. Morgie's first ever words in this film are, "Son of morgana", which, from an out-of-universe perspective, can be easily explained by the movie needing us to know who he is, since he's one of the two completely unheard-of characters in the villain gang.

But Uliana, notably, only has her relation to Ursula mentioned after her verse. So the "son of morgana" line didn't have to be the first thing to ever be said by him, but it is.

That could just be because it flows best from a music standpoint, but in-universe, I think it could possibly represent how Morgie got into the villain gang in the first place.

You see, while I was trying to dig up all the Morgie information available before I made this post, I found these blurbs:

(From an official Descendents book, 98% sure it's called "Descendants: The World Of Auradon: Royals And Villains").

Notably, Morgie's entry says he isn't the most well-liked in the group. But in that case...How is he still in the group??? The villain gang don't exactly seem like the types to keep someone around just to be nice. So here's what I think the reason is.

Uliana wants to be the most feared person at the school. She wants to surpass even her sister when it comes to being mean and scary. And that means that her gang has to be mean and scary. And when she hears that the literal son of Morgana--Morgana, in this universe, seems to be a very powerful sorceress who almost took over the world--is attending her school, she knows that having him on her side will definitely give her more of a powerful, evil image. Afterall, if the son of one of the most powerful villains was willing to follow her, people would think that she must be very mean and scary.

Of course, she needs people to know that Morgie is the son of Morgana, so I wouldn't be surprised if she asked him to mention it the first chance he got, and he listened to her.

This was all a very long way of saying that Morgie says this line first possibly because Uliana told him to, since having evil, scary people on her side makes her look better. And it's also interesting that the first words he ever speaks are about his relation to someone else, not his own character, unlike all the others in his group.

But we're not done with this shot yet! I also want to add that the Son of Morgana's name is Morgie, which means that Morgana has joined the long, long line of Descendents villains who basically just name their children after themselves, (probably because they view them as a sort of mini-me). I wouldn't be surprised if his name was actually Morgan, though, and Morgie's just a nickname.

Also, something I noticed is that, if you look at the book-pictures above again, Morgie's paragraph is in past tense, while Morgana's is in present tense. Morgie's being in the past tense makes sense, since we know that in the future, the villain gang in Rise of Red no longer exists, all of them being their own solo acts. But Morgana's paragraph being in present tense means that she is still alive, powerful, and presumably still wants to take over the world. So I guess that means she's technically a candidate for antagonist in the next movie. But I'll get back to speculation about that sort of thing later.

Now we can finally talk about the next moment, haha.

(Morgie is the one singing the line here)

The first time I watched this I didn't catch that he called Uliana hot but--Yeah, he did. Which means that he either thinks she's so hot he must declare it to random strangers, or Uliana specifically asked him to say that she's hot. Either way it's kind of hilarious.

I am genuinely unsure as to whether they are trying to get us to ship Morgie and Uliana because:

-On one hand, we've got Morgie not being well-liked, and him "desperately wanting Uliana to like and respect him". Which seems to imply that, at least to some extent, she does not like or respect him, or at least not as much as Morgie wants her to.

-But on the other hand, we've got Morgie calling her hot, staring at her longingly, and Uliana calling him 'honey' later in the movie. Disney what do you want from us--

Personally, after reading that Morgana is cruel person who doesn't care about innocent people and who's first priority is world domination, I guessed that Morgie probably didn't have the most loving upbringing. It could've possibly been something like Red's, where his mother could be 'kind', but only if he did what she said and helped her take over the world and all that. In this scenario, Morgie tries his best to follow her lead, but most of the time still doesn't do well enough to satisfy her and fails to get much validation or love from her. When he goes off to school, he tries to get validation and love and respect and all that from Uliana instead.

But that interpretation sort of implies he sees her as a stand-in mother figure, which makes me think that no, them being a couple doesn't feel quite right.

But it's not like that interpretation is canon or anything, it's just something I came up with. So it can't prove that he has no romantic interest in Uliana and that's why he's so desperate to please her. But I did want to share my thoughts on that matter, so here you go. :)

Aside from Morgie getting hit by Uliana's tentacle and falling over being really funny, there is something else interesting that this moment made me notice.

I read somewhere that a character being lower in frame than another, or lower from a high angle in general, can symbolize them being less powerful. And I noticed that there are a few scenes where Morgie does crouch or appear at a lower angle than the other villain gang members, which reinforces the idea that he isn't the most powerful/well-liked member and is at the bottom of the totem pole in the group.

I don't know if I'm reading into that too much, and I don't know a lot about film-making techniques so maybe that's not completely accurate, but I thought that was interesting.

There's nothing too important about this one, I just think that all the villains frowning or glaring while Morgie goes :D is really funny. He looks so head-empty in this moment.

Morgie uses 80's slang confirmed!!

Also, Uliana lets Morgie call her Uli. Considering the fact that Uliana says her full name (Uliana) is what will strike fear into people's hearts, her letting Morgie use a semi-cute nickname is fun. It proves they're at least a little close, since she didn't sock him in the face for calling her that, especially in public. She cares a lot about her image, so her not minding definitely seems to imply she cares for him at least a little bit.

I don't have much to say about this one, I just think it's amusing.

Though the fact that so much of Morgie's dialogue can go unheard/unnoticed without captions on or on a first viewing is interesting. I couldn't actually hear the 'wicked' line, I'm just trusting the captions. And both this line and the last he says while not on-screen, which seems to put the other's reactions in more of a spotlight than what he's saying.

I suppose this is part of the reason I found Morgie harder to notice and keep track of when I wasn't putting my undivided attention on him. Throughout a good chunk of the movie, he's treated as nothing more than Uliana's lackey. Him not having too much to do besides follow her is true to his character, though. His entire role is all based around doing anything to gain her affection. He cares about her more than anything, and sometimes that leads to him not being a character of his own. Which is pretty cool, if done purposefully.

Hm, I've noticed that Morgie's main ship in this fandom seems to be Hook and him, and is this one moment the reason for that? I've heard people say they have chemistry on-screen, but after watching the movie a few times, they only have a few close moments from what I can see. This and introducing Uliana are probably where their friendship is most prominent. Hook and Morgie definitely seem the most dedicated to Uliana, so they are similar in that regard. And the ship is cool, don't get me wrong. I suppose I just wonder if there's some sort of logic behind it, or if it was more of a "ah yes two conventionally attractive men it's shipping time" situation, haha.

This is an interesting frame, because Uliana is suffering as she's turned into a...uh...flamingo-squid-human hybrid? And you'd think that Morgie, since he cares so much about her, would be the most distressed. Instead, in this moment he seems to be smiling (not sure if you can tell as much in this screenshot, though). This could mean a few things:

As stated in the Descendents book, Morgie is rather dense and still hasn't realized that Uliana isn't fooling around anymore and is in genuine distress.

He is happy Uliana is in distress because that means he gets to help her, and she will feel grateful for that and like him more in result.

As shown later in the movie, he likes animals enough to even learn how to mimic the sounds they make, so he's just happy that two of his favorite things are being combined, haha.

Some sort of theory about him secretly not being super loyal to her, though there's not much of a case you could make for that other than this moment in particular, as far as I'm aware.

I'm not sure which one I believe, though I think I'm probably leaning towards the first one, even though possibility 2 would be quite interesting. After all, he looks very visibly worried when she falls into the fountain later, so him just not realizing at first probably lines up the most.

Not too much to say about these two moments, besides the fact that they once again showcase how desperate Morgie is to please Uliana. First by him being the first person to try to help her (but he fails and falls over, which he seems to do a lot). And second by him being the first to sprint out of the courtyard after her. Though it seems Hook caught up and got him to stay with the others to cut off Bridget and Ella at the other side, since we don't see him running behind Uliana anymore in the next shot, and then we see him standing beside Hades after we move to the fountain scene, implying he went the way Hades did instead.

(Side note, I think that Morgie's the one who shouts 'Uli!' but the captions just say student so maybe not, I can't tell).

Okay, so, the captions claim that Hook says this line, but not only can we see that Hook has his mouth shut as he pushes branches out of the way, not speaking, the voice also sounds way more like Morgie to me. Originally, I was going to use the nickname Uli as evidence that it was Morgie, but then I remembered Hook also calls her Uli earlier in the movie. So I guess I can't prove anything, but I'm 99% sure this was a mistake on the caption-er people's part.

To get on with the actual scene, Morgie compliments Uliana in an attempt to comfort and please her, though it doesn't seem to work like he'd hoped it would. Other than the last scene of the movie, this is probably the only scene that remotely shows that maybe she doesn't like him as much as some of the others, like the book claims. But more on that later.

I had a hard time getting a good frame of it, but I wanted to point out that Morgie kinda froggy-hops on the first two stones in this scene, before jumping across them normally. Whether he stopped because he realized the others weren't doing it or because he simply remembered that he is Not A Frog, I found it to be a fun detail and wanted to point it out.

Pfft, he's so eager to participate, his worryingly excited vocal delivery never gets old to me here. You could also argue that this is another lower-in-the-frame moment, since he sort of crouches and then rises up here.

It's noteworthy that Morgie is the only one of Uliana's gang to not come up with his own idea for a way to get revenge on Bridget. Which at first glance seems like a strange choice, since all the members getting individual lines is a chance to characterize each one a little bit more. And that's especially valuable with a character like Morgie, since most kids probably don't know a lot about Arthurian legend and therefore Morgana. And Morgie's not even actually her, he's her son. Meaning in his limited screentime, they really need to put the effort in to make his general personality clear.

But the fact that Morgie just copies someone else's answer does characterize him. Like I said earlier, at least to me, Morgie seems a lot more eager to participate in the conversation than to come up with ways to punish Bridget for what she totally definitely did. In fact, he begins to climb on top of the rock-thingy to jump off it and excitedly repeat Hades' idea before Hades even has a chance to finish his thought (he's still on "we could"), meaning Morgie was probably going to excitedly parrot whatever Hades said no matter what it was (or maybe that just happened because the actor didn't have enough time to climb up, jump, and say the line if he waited until Hades finished speaking but shhhhhh).

This would imply that Morgie doesn't really care as much about evilly getting revenge and whatnot as much as he cares about getting to be included in the conversation and following what the others are doing. This may be getting into more headcanon-y territory, but Morgie seems to crave the love and companionship of his friends, and I think this scene sort of demonstrates his want to do what they deem as good and acceptable and what will make them happy rather than come up with anything on his own.

I suppose that's one thing that makes his character morally grey to some extent. Sure, he doesn't seem to take as much direct joy/satisfaction in torturing Bridget, but he still cares far more about his friends' approval than her well-being. As long as his friends are happy and want to keep him around, Bridget and anyone else's happiness doesn't matter.

I have no idea why they put in a random shot of Morgie jumping in the middle of the song, but it's really amusing to me so I'm happy they did. I just needed to mention this really quick, I find the hard cut to Morgie dramatically jumping off something way too humorous not to.

Off-topic, but since it's sort of implied Morgie likes animals at the end of the movie, I like to think he feeds this guy sometimes, and when asked why he'll say sadly, "No one comes here besides us anymore, so he hasn't been able to eat any innocent people in a long time :(" like it's this terrible, tragic backstory. Idk I just think it'd be funny. Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Ah yes, the scene I keep mentioning. The one that made me go, "woah, he's funny and has a discernable personality :0". The one where he asks what the signal should be and all that.

This scene finally shows us what the Descendents book from earlier kept claiming, that he wasn't the most well-liked among their evil clique. When Morgie talks, Uliana rolls her eyes in exasperation and walks off, not answering his questions. And the others follow suit, ignoring him.

For most of the film, Morgie seems to be on even ground with the other members, and at first, I thought maybe that wasn't on purpose and they just wanted to shove this in at the end, like how most of the ending was rushed. But now I'm thinking that maybe the reason Morgie isn't as well-liked is being shown throughout the scene, revealing why it's only more obvious now.

You see, Morgie's easily excitable personality fits in when Uliana and the gang are all just messing around, like how they were laughing and making jokes at someone else's expense earlier in the movie. Morgie just has to cackle evilly behind Uliana and be supportive. But when they try to do more 'serious' evil things, like this heist, his attitude doesn't translate quite as well.

Uliana wants to be taken seriously as the threat, and I assume the other villain gang members do as well. They want to be evil and scary and tough and all that. But Morgie doesn't really have a more serious, threatening mode. Well, he does, like when he's trying to be threatening during his introduction. But when there's no bystanders to impress, only his friends, the real Morgie isn't the serious type. He's still energetic and excitable, even in situations such as these. And the others find this a bit grating, since they want to be real villains. They don't want all of this to be childish or a game, they want to be taken seriously as villains. They want to be real villains. And Morgie's demeanor isn't as cut out for that sort of environment. Or at least his natural demeanor isn't, and he has trouble reading when they want him to be more serious.

Side-note: I swear I love every line this character delivers, something about the way he talks makes my ears happy. So I just wanted to point that out really quick.

"Ah yes, this extremely small branch will guarantee that no one will see me! >:D" I find this very funny. I want to say this isn't very smart of him, but I mean it works and Merlin doesn't see him so you can't argue with results--

Anyways, Morgie impersonates a few animals and hides behind a small tree branch. I thought about screenshotting all the animal noises but they're pretty straight-forward and for this you just need to acknowledge that they happened, so I didn't.

Morgie is the son of Morgana, and presumably has the capacity to be an extremely powerful magic-user like her. Which means there are a lot of cool magic things he could be doing. So I think the fact that we are directly shown that shape-shifting and mimicry are the skills he focuses his energy on the most, is important. Well, I suppose it's possible he isn't using magic to mimic the animals, but I've always assumed he is. And even if he isn't, the fact that even in scenes where he's completely alone he's still mimicking something else is rather telling.

...

...Oh, wow, we finished analyzing the actual movie! Yay! Time for one last thing, then!

Apparently, there was a deleted after-credits scene where Morgie finds the sorcerer's book. Unfortunately, I couldn't locate the original post, which supposedly came from Morgie's actor. It's not that I doubt it's real, I don't know how someone could fake this photo, but I would've liked to see it and know what he said about it.

(Warning, a lot of this gets even less objective than it already was, and most of it is just me theorizing with varying degrees of evidence to back my statements).

So what implications does this photo have? Well, it confirms my suspicions that Morgie being forced to stay behind wasn't for nothing and was setting up something else. I heard there was a lot of cut content in Rise of Red, and the fact they thought the 'Morgie barks like a dog scene' was important enough to keep over other things seemed telling.

If there was a scene dedicated to him finding the book, then him finding it must somehow be important. But in that case, I'm guessing we'd have to assume that Morgie can open the book. After all, if he can't open it, what's the point of him finding it? And it sort of ruins the original timeline, too.

If Morgie can't open the book, then that means all of the villain gang couldn't open it. And in that case, how would they prank Bridgette in the original timeline? They couldn't, because none of them would be able to read the recipe and give the cupcake to Bridgette.

However, if Morgie can open the book, then things make more sense. I wasn't sure if I was going to share my whole theory here, but so far I haven't seen anyone have the exact same idea as me (though I haven't read every Morgie post out there, so it's possible), so why not share it?

What if the thing that changes the timeline isn't that the villains were able to get the book without getting caught by Merlin, it's that the villain gang knew Morgie could open the book?

Let me explain.

Let's start with the fact that I don't think we often acknowledge, at least in my experience, how random of a choice putting Morgie in this movie was. They could've chosen any classic Disney villain to be in this movie, yet they chose Morgana. A character who has never even shown up in any Disney project, besides a live-action film and Sofia the First. They could've chosen to round out the pirate trio from the second movie and added in Gaston, or chosen one of the core four's parents from the first movie, or picked literally any famous character from any Disney movie ever. And yet, they decided to go with not just Morgana, but the son of Morgana.

And personally, I think that if Morgie really was just a throwaway character, they probably wouldn't have gone through the effort of making a whole new character instead of just choosing an already established one, like with Hook, Maleficent, and Hades. There has to be a reason they did this, right? Anything Morgie did in this movie could've been accomplished by anyone, since his only large contribution to the plot was being a look-out and failing.

And there are two things I realized. One, that being the child of a villain basically gives you automatic redemption arc privileges in this franchise. The core four, the pirate trio, and Red in this movie are all proven to be good deep down in the end, and we're supposed to see them as heroes. And for some reason, they decided their new character couldn't just be Morgana, it had to be the son of Morgana.

My guess is that they want to be able to push the "Oh their parents taught them that being evil is right but deep down they're a good person" angle they did in all the other movies with the Descendents. Especially since it would parallel Red, who's basically the main character of these movies, even if Chloe is at a close second.

The second thing I noticed is that even if you read just the first paragraph of Morgana Le Fay's Wikipedia page, it says that a significant aspect of her character is her unpredictability when it comes to being good or evil. She has the potential for both, and since they seem to have decided to just make Morgana evil in this universe, I'm guessing that trait is being handed down to Morgie.

They needed a morally ambiguous villain who could open the book in order for the timeline to work properly, and choosing a villain we know is 'evil' thanks to their movie, wouldn't allow that. So obscure villain's son it is.

Alright, so if we assume my logic makes sense and isn't just incoherent rambling, Morgie can open the book. How does this tie into the way Chloe and red changed the timeline? Here's what I've come up with:

In the new timeline, Red and Chloe steal the book for the villains and the villains take it, opening it in front of them just to brag and getting frozen. Red and Chloe take the book and, assuming that Uliana and her friends can't go to the dance, leave the book behind off-screen. In the deleted scene I think they left it...Is that their room? I genuinely can't tell, but Morgie finds it. Possibly via following them after seeing them leave the building, since we know that the trip from Red's room to Merlin's office is in direct eyeline of the tree.

But even though Morgie found the book, the prank isn't enacted in this timeline. If Morgie can open the book, why is that? After all, he could just do the prank for Uliana, right? Well, here's what i think happened:

Uliana and the gang don't know that the book is enchanted so that non-good people are unable to open it. That's why they try to open it without a second thought. Which means there are two possibilities going forward:

Morgie did indeed follow Red and Chloe back to their room so he could get the book back for Uliana, and overheard their conversation about how the book proves Red is a good person and won't turn out like her Mom, etcetera. When he finds it, he's aware of what could happen when he opens it, unlike his friends.

Morgie doesn't know about the enchantment on the book when he finds it, because he didn't follow them or couldn't hear them through the door or something else.

Both options, for my theory, garner the same outcome, it's just that things take slightly longer to happen.

If we go with the second option, Morgie is unaware that opening the book with no side effects means anything and after he opens it, he decides to show Uliana and the others the book whenever Merlin gets the spell off of them and all that. But when they do meet up, Morgie asks how they got caught before he shows them anything. And Uliana's answer would be something along the lines of, "That stupid book was enchanted and froze us in place! Only some goody-two-shoes could open it without that happening" (she would know because she heard Chloe's explanation of the spell when her and Red were talking). And Morgie takes a moment to process that...Uh oh, wait, that didn't happen to him. Why didn't that happen to him? Cue Morgie having an identity crisis as he realizes that the book doesn't seem to think he's a bad person, even though that's what he's supposed to be. He's the son of Morgana. He's part of a group that knows their actions are bad and they don't care. His entire motivations are around getting his mother, Uliana, and whoever else to give him validation for being good at being a villain.

But according to this book, he's not one.

Morgie tries to play it off and decides not to show them the book. Uliana and the gang are all about being evil, and they are all he has. What if this was the last straw and they kicked him out of the group because they think he's not evil enough? He'd have no one left.

He's decided that he can't tell them about the book, but what if they figure out that he has it? As long as he has the book, it's a liability. So, he does the only thing he can think of.

Burn it to a crisp.

And with the book destroyed, the prank can't happen. The recipe that can turn Bridget into a monster is no more.

If we went back to those first two options and say Morgie knew about the spell when he opened the book, then everything is the same except the book gets destroyed sooner, the night Morgie's friends are still frozen and won't be able to catch him actively sabotaging their revenge plans.

So that's the new red-and-Chloe timeline. What about the old timeline? Well, in that timeline, let's say Uliana doesn't feel the need to show off and open the book in front of Red and Chloe, so they escape Merlin's office unharmed. That means they get to meet up with Morgie, and whenever they open it, they're around to see that oh, Morgie isn't frozen, that's weird.

And they can't know for sure why, since they don't know what the enchantment is or what its qualifications are, but they do know that Morgie can read the recipe and do the revenge plan, so Morgie is able to read the instructions and they're able to prank Bridgette.

And ta-da! That's how the timeline got changed! At least in my mind, there are probably tons of other possibilities, but this is the one that made the most sense in my head.

And with that, the post is finally finished! I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts or ideas on this! Despite this being an analysis, a lot of it is dictated, at least slightly, by my own opinions. Morgie is the centerpiece of the timeline changes for a reason, haha. With such a large fanbase compared to some other pieces of media I like, I'd love to hear what the masses have come up with and like or disagree about in this post.

Thank you so much for reading if you've made it this far! I can only imagine that if you have read all this, you're some sort of Descendents or Morgie super-fan, and for that you have my respect.

[movie-robotnik-positivity]

When you really think about it, Sonic technically never won against Knuckles throughout their fights: the first one was intervened by Tails, the second one was paused so they could talk about their backstories (and then Tails intervened again), and third and final one was interrupted by Sonic showing Knuckles that Robotnik is stealing the Master Emerald. If Knuckles was always so close to killing Sonic, then the latter easily has no chance against Shadow.

Here's a fun fact: The movie was going to end with Sonic and Knuckles having a friendly rematch to see who's stronger, but it'd cut to credits before the fight starts (a homage to Rocky III's ending). So that ambiguity was very much intentional.

Personally, I think Sonic has the most raw power and potential, but Knuckles has more experience and discipline as a fighter. Shadow might surpass them in both.

[battlekidx2]

Across the Spider Verse Thoughts

Across the spider verse was my most anticipated movie of 2023. I came in with sky high expectations and yet somehow the movie managed to surpass them.

By the end of the opening sequence across the spider verse had me sold that this was going to be one of my favorite spider-man movies and when the movie finished that belief held true. Spider-Man across the spider verse is easily one of my favorite superhero movie sequels of all time (I actually think it might be my favorite). The movie just came out and I’ve already seen it, what my brother has dubbed, “too many times” (Though I vehemently disagree with him on that point).

It’s a movie sold on its scope and love for all of spider-man and his lore and yet it never loses its heart in the spectacle. It manages to be a fantastic middle chapter to what is quickly becoming one of my favorite film series of all time.

There’s a lot I want to talk about so I’m just going to get right into it.

Miles is a great protagonist

Miles Morales is a character that I felt Into the Spider Verse really elevated. I had read all of the ultimate comics spider-man run that was his debut series and, while I liked Miles, he was never in the top tier of my favorite superheroes, but that quickly changed with Into the Spider Verse. They managed to explore his struggle and hesitance to accept the Spider-man mantle in a way that was far more compelling than his comic book counter part.

Across the Spider Verse takes the already really strong basis that Into the Spider Verse created for Miles and builds on it through a brilliant meta narrative on what it means to be spider-man and asking the question of whether or not Miles really is spider-man.

Trauma is so ingrained into the creation and growth of spider-man as a character. Ask anyone to list what the most iconic moments in spider-man comics are and you are bound to get answers that include uncle ben’s death, the death of gwen stacy, the death of Jean DeWolfe, Captain Stacy’s death, etc.

There are a lot of moments of loss within the spider-man mythos that define the character and these moments are carried over into a lot of spider-man media outside of the comics. Miles’ rejection of this narrative and the necessity of loss to make a hero in this movie is what truly makes him become spider-man.

The first movie had him accepting the mantle but this is where he truly grows into the role.

Outside of the mask Miles is a unique and three dimensional character as well.

Miles has a youthful charm and good heart that feels authentic to a high schooler that has yet to experience a lot of what life has to offer without falling into feeling like a middle schooler or a caricature of a teenager like MCU Peter Parker tends to do at certain points in his trilogy.

I think this is displayed really well in his relationship with Gwen. There’s an innocence and inexperience there that shows that this is his (an her) first attempt at a real relationship but it never feels surface level because the movie does a great job at selling their bond and how they are similar in key ways that makes it so the understanding they find in one another feels natural.

This elevates the betrayal he feels when it’s revealed that Gwen and Peter B Parker knew everything Miguel reveals to him the whole time and it makes his goodbye to Gwen all the more impactful.

Another relationship I want to shed light on is the one Miles has with his parents.

Miles’ bond with both his parents in this movie is phenomenal but the relationship that is really allowed to shine is the one between Miles and his mother, Rio.

I loved the expansion of Rio Morales’ role. In the first movie she was a memorable but underused character (understandably) and her relationship to Miles took a backseat to his relationship to his father. But here we get to see their unique bond and her attempts to understand him and learn to give him the space he needs to grow into his own person. It felt earned that she was the one he was going to reveal his identity to first before it was revealed that the Rio he told wasn’t from his universe.

As it stands Miles’ arc isn’t complete, but what is shown and the place he is left in make for a strong set up for the finale of this three part story. I have complete faith that this trilogy will stick the landing and provide satisfying conclusions to the arcs and relationships that have been set up. Miles has really become one of the best iterations of the spider-man character and one of my favorites to hold the mantle. I can’t wait to see what they do with him in the next movie.

Gwen’s increased role

One of my favorite changes from the first movie is the amount of emphasis put on Gwen and her arc.

I knew after Into the Spider Verse that if they were going to make a sequel Gwen would likely have a much bigger role considering the seeds they planted to have her connection to Miles grow and the fact that where she was on her journey as a spider-person had her in the perfect place to be a foil to him moving forward. It felt like a natural progression, but even knowing that and having read the Spider-Gwen comics, the way the movie utilized her was better than I ever could have hoped.

Across the Spider Verse took the potential for Gwen as a character and foil for Miles and ran with it by creating a duality in how their arcs compare to one another.

The opening sequence very purposefully made her a dark parallel to Miles, a cautionary tale of what could go wrong if he unmasks himself to his parents and an extreme case of the isolation he could experience throughout his journey. But also just like Miles she’s very early on in her journey as Spider-woman. She’s not even out of high school so many of her canon events haven’t happened yet and, like she learns later on in the film, her story isn’t set in stone.

She’s on that same journey of self discovery and forging your own path that Miles is and having this contrast between them elevates both their arcs.

She’s not just an amazing foil for Miles. She’s also an excellent vehicle for the movie’s themes.

Across the spider verse is centered around themes of isolation, fate, the weight of life, and making your own path and, while Miles is undoubtedly the protagonist of the feature, Gwen is the one the movie tells a complete arc with surrounding these themes.

Her loneliness was hinted at in the first movie but it’s put on full display here with the opening 20 minutes hammering home just how isolated she is in her world and how much the loss of Peter Parker and her role in his death has effected her.

Gwen lacks any sort of support system at the start of the movie. Even before the showdown with Vulture there’s a disconnect between her and her police captain father that stems from the fact that he’s leading the hunt for Spider-woman, her alter ego, because he believes she killed Peter. She struggles to open up to anyone else and make friends in her world because of her life as spider-woman and how intrinsically tied it is to her issues. And she’s lost the only people she feels could understand her with no way that she knows of to see them (particularly Miles) again.

The opening culminates with Gwen losing the last person she has left in her own world when her father tries to arrest her after she unmasks herself to him and she flees her world to join Miguel’s spider society.

This all sets up a very powerful arc dealing with her loneliness and struggles with doing the right thing in the face of her fear of rejection and loss where she finally really opens up to other people and “starts her own band” to stand against Miguel O’Hara through her connection with Miles and desire to help him as well as her reconciliation with her father.

This movie asks questions about whether or not trauma and loss are necessary to make you spider-man so it’s significant that it is instead through healing from parts of her trauma, reconnecting with her father, and making genuine connections that Gwen is able to grow as a hero. It says a lot about what this movie believes makes someone “spider-man”.

Another moment in Gwen’s arc that exemplifies what the movie believes makes a hero is actually Gwen’s reconciliation with her father where he reveals he quit the force. That moment proves that Miguel’s belief is wrong and that breaking the canon isn’t the end of the multiverse as they know it. This coupled with the fact that it’s Gwen’s speech about her desire to do what’s right and protect those she loves that gets her father to quit tells you everything this movie is trying to say about heroism. It’s not the loss and trauma that makes you spider-man but the character of the person behind the mask.

The opening also does a great job of establishing just how much Miles impacted Gwen in the first movie. He broke through this wall of isolation she put around herself and for the first time in a long while she found a genuine connection with someone who could understand and know all of her. It sells you immediately on how much this bond means to her and makes her conflict moving forward really compelling.

This relationship is a linchpin in the narrative of this film so if it didn’t work then the impact the movie’s story and themes would have been severely hampered.

If I’m being honest Gwen’s arc is where the movie hit me the hardest. I think everyone has dealt with loneliness and that feeling of isolation that can come from being different and/or grief. There’s always that underlying desire for understanding and community that many people fear they’ll never have and seeing that portrayed in Gwen hit for me.

It’s the kind of desire I know I feared I would never get, but when I left home and went out on my own I was finally able to find people who understood me and accepted my idiosyncrasies in a way no one ever had before. And I always get emotional when I see that same isolation I felt portrayed in such a raw way and when those characters I see it in finally find the connection they need.

It’s also this isolation that goes a long way to explain why so many spider-people would join Miguel’s task force and go along with his plans. There’s a sense of community where all these people who have lost so much can find other people who understand them. That understand their unique form of grief, loss, and isolation that they struggle to find anywhere else because of the path they chose to take with their life. And won’t reject the half of them they are usually forced to hide from those they care about. Without showing this through Gwen’s perspective the last act of the film could have felt forced.

Gwen is a strong character that really grew into her role as the deuteragonist of the film and the role of spider-woman and serves to strengthen the themes of the film. She’s a great character that has so much potential moving forward and I look forward to her role and eventual reunion with Miles in Beyond the Spider Verse.

The animation

It’s no secret that spider verse changed the animation industry after it came out. Before spider verse many animated movies had started to feel like they fell into a very similar style that focused on realism above all else and in many ways I felt didn’t fully capitalize on what animation could do as a medium (there were exceptions but a lot of studios were starting to lean on the Disney/Pixar animation style). But now there are shows and movies that are taking a page out of spider verse’s book and experimenting. Studios are less afraid to let their animators get creative and it’s been incredible to see.

Across the Spider Verse continues to push the envelope and goes beyond what they did with the first one to create one of the most visually stunning movies I’ve ever seen.

The way they experimented with the animation in different dimensions to bring comic book art styles to life (Gwen’s universe) and further accentuate the character and culture they are centered around (Hobie and Pavitr’s universes) really served to elevate the story, heighten the emotions of every scene, and make this truly feel like a multiversal epic.

One of my favorite visual flares in the movie is how color is used in Gwen’s universe. In the opening it really plays up the stark divide she feels between her and everyone else. She feels like she’s completely separate from the world around her through the very deliberate contrast in coloring and the way the background bleeds and morphs around her. She’s frequently portrayed in shades of blue while the world around her is full of vibrant pinks, oranges, and white.

I also love how the paint like aesthetic of her world’s backgrounds are used to heighten the emotions of scenes like the talks she has with her father. The background bleeds and the colors morph to reflect the emotions of the characters talking. When Gwen is desperately trying to reach out to her father in the beginning after she unmasks herself and at the end when she admits how powerless she feels to protect those she cares about the background starts to run and the colors bleed together and it captures how her world is falling apart and her path forward is no longer clear.

I also want to point out how the lighting is one of the major hints that Miles isn’t on earth-1610. The lighting of every scene from the moment Miles is sent to earth-42 is some shade of purple or green which immediately gives the world a different feel than Miles’. It’s not so noticeable at first that it gives away the twist but it’s enough that it gives you an uneasy feeling the first time through and it’s details like these that elevate the reveal on rewatch.

This level of care and attention to detail permeates every frame of the film. There isn’t a single second of this movie that is wasted and it really uses the medium of animation to its fullest potential.

I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us in Beyond the Spider Verse. If it’s anything like this then it will be amazing.

conclusion

Spider-man is far and away my favorite hero. I’ve read many of his comic book runs, I own all his movies and video games, I’ve seen all his shows, etc. I’m the massive fan that probably understood way too many obscure references that this movie made and I loved every second of the movie I got to see.

I had so much fun with this movie and I hope everyone who watched the movie managed to get some enjoyment out of it. I can’t wait for Beyond the Spider Verse to come out and to finally get to see the conclusion to this animated trilogy.  

side note

Spider-man is a character that is able to speak to a wide range of people because of the struggles he faces. Having a movie that understands the diversity of the people who relate to the character and reflect that on screen through the many (canonical) spider-people portrayed is amazing.

I love that so many people will get to see someone like them being the hero they admire. Stan Lee himself said that anyone can wear the spider-man mask. He wanted people to be able to see themselves in the heroes he created which was the basis of spider-man (and the x-men but that’s another story). And that’s something that I will always love about the character.

[sotwk]

Hi! :) it’s the anon that hasn’t given up on dating yet, I noticed I tend to want to rush relationships, even stressing myself out in the process, like I’m 25yo and I know I should know better lol

I wanted to ask for some advice this time, do you have any advice on taking things slow while dating someone? Or in like just trusting the process without putting pressure on myself? Because I don’t have this problem of being almost abrasive with friendships, it just happens with romantic relationships but maybe it’s because I just started dating people this year so I’m extremely rough around the edges in a romantic sense

Also this is just a quick vent, but a guy came off super strong at first and was taking things pretty fast but when I finally matched his vibe, suddenly things were going too fast for him and he wasn’t ready for a relationship and dipped even though he knew from the start that I was looking for a relationship lol

I'm so sorry it took me so long to respond; I usually try to respond to advice-seeking Asks right away, but August was a bit of a struggle for me!

I'm glad to hear that you haven't given up on dating, and I hope you never do! I'm sure you've gotten sick of hearing this, but 25 is so young! Your 20s are very much the time to figure out what you want and value most in life. I genuinely hope girls don't give in to the pressure to marry right away in their 20s, because a lifelong commitment to a human being is the last thing to be rushed.

Regarding my "advice on taking things slow while dating", my one golden dating tip sounds lame but is straightforward and irrefutable: BE YOURSELF. From everything you have told me in this Ask and in previous Asks, your goal in dating is to find a husband to start a family with. Present your genuine self as much as possible from the start, and expect the same from the guy you are dating. (Unless your intention is to casually date, then much of my advice need not apply; I've personally never been one for casual dating, but it's always sounded like the Wild West.)

It's common and understandable to worry about coming on too strong or too "abrasive" as you said, especially in the "get to know you" stages. But I don't think tamping down your genuine excitement by "playing it cool" ever really works. You're essentially lying about your feelings and important aspects of your personality. What good will that do?

If you're afraid of scaring the guy away, here's the thing: the Right Guy for you will not scare easily. I promise. The Right Guy is the one who will grow only more interested and eager the more he learns about you, which is why you should present him with only truthful things.

How fast or slowly should you share stuff about yourself? However you feel like! If you're honestly comfortable enough with a person to be vulnerable and open up to them right away, then go ahead! Whether a guy can or cannot handle your candor, your passion, or your desire to connect, is something you're better off knowing sooner than later.

Sadly, in this day and age when dating is so difficult and confusing and human connection has deteriorated, guys tend to scare more easily, and I can't say I blame them. However, I repeat: the Right Guy for you will not scare easily. He would be the one matching your pace and enthusiasm for the relationship, if not surpassing it. That experience you spoke of means that guy was just not the Right One, plain and simple. You didn't do anything wrong.

Keep doing as you do. Be Yourself and trust in what you feel when engaging with new acquaintances. I hope I've been helpful or at least encouraging in some way. I wish you lots of luck, fun, and pleasant experiences in this stage of your life. <3

Bonus: If this movie isn't too old for you and assuming you haven't seen it yet, I recommend watching "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days"! It's a fun and sweet rom-com, that doesn't take itself too seriously but definitely teaches lessons along the lines of my advice. ;)

[glapplebloom]

Just ignore anything related to the Elements of Harmony.

So I saw a Youtube Post I couldn’t find again, but it had an interesting subject. Which of these artifacts are the most powerful: The Alicorn Amulet, The Crystal Heart, the Staff of Sacanas and Grogar’s Bell. So which of these would be considered the most powerful? Let’s take a look at each of them.

The Alicorn Amulet comes from the episode Magical Duel. Despite what some posters say, the Alicorn Amulet does two specific things: give the user untold power and corrupt the user. Of course, between being vague you can make up anything for untold power. But between what we’ve seen Starlight Glimmer do and others, it's safe to assume it lives up to its name: it gives the user the same strength as an Alicorn.

The Crystal Heart is the Crystal Empire’s greatest treasure. With its power, it was able to create a powerful shield that not only keeps the Empire safe from Sombra’s dark magic, but also the weather of the North. Weather so terrible that not even two Alicorn Princesses could stop it. And they have all the attributes of Earth and Pegasi Ponies. So that should mean strength and weather controlling.

The Staff of Sacanas is the Staff used in the MLP movie. According to Tempest, it channels the Magic of the Four Alicorns and will give its user the Power of a Thousand Armies. And It also gives him the ability to move the Sun and Moon as easily as moving a Staff. 

Grogar’s Bell, also known as the Bewitching Bell, is a talisman containing much of Grogar’s magic. It also has this neat feature to not only suck the magic of its target, but grant its user the Magic of those within it. So which of these four objects are the most powerful outside of the Elements of Harmony.

Off the Bat: the Staff of Sacanas is out of this picture. It requires the Four Alicorns to be as powerful as it was in the movie. Not to mention a long ritual compared to the Bell’s simple ring and suck. So the Staff of Sacanas might as well be just a Staff unless it can find four different Alicorns. Even giving it the Storm King's power like in the Equestria Girls special isn't enough considering he needed Alicorn Power to be a threat.

The next one out of contention for me is the Alicorn Amulet. Off the bat, the fact it corrupts the user means it’s not going to be very helpful in the long run. But ignoring that, the fact it gives you the strength of an Alicorn when both the Crystal Heart and Grogar’s Bell took out a threat that is the equivalent of two Alicorns. And 1/3 of the Power granted by the Bell took out an Alicorn level threat. Which you can probably see where I’m going with this.

The Crystal Heart is in 2nd place since it was a key feature in Sombra’s first defeat. And the fact it was able to contain a Storm two Alicorns couldn’t definitely proves its strength. Granted, it needs the love from the Crystal Empire to activate but considering how easy it is to get it's not really that difficult like the Staff of Sacanas to get powered up. It's just a shame it can’t defeat Discord.

Grogar (who was Discord in disguise) sent Sombra in the middle of the Crystal Empire. Where the Heart is. And despite activating it again, Sombra was still standing there. That means Discord gave him the means to no sell the Crystal Heart. But you know what Discord couldn’t stop: the Bewitching Bell. It gave the three villains the strength to match Discord (because why would he still keep the act unless his ego prevented it) and stole his magic with ease.

The Bewitching Bell also has Grogar’s Magic within it, meaning it is already strong enough without any extra charge time. And granting its user that much magic that could match or even Surpass Discord’s definitely means this thing is the most powerful of the Artifacts outside the Elements of Harmony. 

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super manga ch.87

Ruh-roh.

So last time it looked like the good guys had finally defeated Gas.  They didn’t kill him, but everyone seems satisfied that he’s beaten.  Monaito goes to heal Granolah and it turns out he’s gotten much faster about it.  Seems that Goku and Vegeta weren’t the only ones who got stronger in all of this. 

But it turns out Gas won’t go down that easily.  He recovers from Granolah’s finisher, but he looks like a desiccated corpse now, and he doesn’t even seem to notice.  So the fight continues, and even when Goku does serious damage to his arm, it doesn’t even slow him down.  Vegeta likens it to a curse.  Gas must be the strongest in the universe because of the wish.  No matter how much damage he takes, he can’t weaken, no matter what, until he finally dies. 

This horrifies Oil and Macki, who were already concerned about the toll this was taking on Gas’ body.  But Elec still doesn’t care.  At last, Gas sees his reflection and finally realizes he’s dying.  Elec tells him to hurry up and finish the good guys off, because any minute now, he will... wait, who’s he?

It’s Frieza!  And he just got done watching Iron Man movies! 

So yeah, now we finally see what Elec was trying to do here.  When Granolah first came to him asking for Frieza’s location, and he told them how he used the Cerealian Dragon Balls to wish for supreme strength, Elec lured Goku and Vegeta to Cereal to eliminate Granolah.  While the fought, the Heeters found the Cerealian Dragon Balls and wished for Gas to become the strongest in the universe. 

At the time, it just seemed like the Heeters were just looking to bump off Granolah so that they could proceed with their plans to eliminate Frieza on their own terms, but now we see that Elec had contacted Frieza to arrange a meeting on Cereal, so that Gas could assassinate him when he arrived. 

And Elec’s plan could still work.  I mean, Gas hasn’t gotten rid of Goku, Vegeta, or Granolah yet, but he’s still alive, and he can still kill Frieza.  After all, he’s the strongest in the univer--

Oh. 

Oh my.

So yeah, Frieza just one-shotted Gas, and that makes things very awkward for Elec, who wasn’t planning past this moment.  Frieza calmly explains that he’s been aware of Elec’s scheming for decades, and he allowed him to play his intel games for the benefit of his own organization.  He also tells Elec that he’s known all along that the weakest of the four Heeters is Elec.  Then he kills Elec, which is kind of a formality at this point.

So how the hell did Frieza defeat Gas so easily?  The dragon made him the strongest in the universe, right?  Frieza explains that he just recently got out of a Hyperbolic Time Chamber that he found on one of his conquered planets.  While inside of it, he did ten years’ worth of training.  During that time, Frieza became far more powerful, and when Gas’ wish was made, Frieza wasn’t in the universe to be taken into account. 

Okay, one small problem with all of that.  Gas has only been the strongest in the universe for a fairly short time now.  I mean, most of this arc has taken place in a single day on Planet Cereal.  Maybe a few hours at most have passed since Gas got his ultimate strength.  So Frieza must have stepped out of the Time Chamber, then got in his spaceship and hauled ass to planet Cereal in that short span of time. 

I mean, it’s plausible, sure.  Maybe Frieza’s ship is really, really fast, or his Hyperbolic Time Chamber just happens to be on a planet very close to Cereal.  Or maybe he’s got the entrance to the chamber built into his ship.  That’d be pretty cool. Drink some space wine, head down to Deck Seven and step into your own private Hyperbolic Time Chamber for a decade or two.

I’m just wondering if maybe Toriyama and Toyotaro got mixed up somewhere.  It would make a lot more sense if Frieza surpassed Granolah this way, since Granolah made his wish a month or two ago.  But he took out Gas like it was nothing, so the only way that makes sense would be if Frieza was in the Time Chamber on this same day.  Or maybe Elec’s wish was worded differently.  He might have asked the Dragon to make Gas stronger than Granolah, thinking that there was no semantic difference.  Well, it’s not worth quibbling over.

Anyway, Frieza’s motives should be obvious.  He was outclassed in Resurrection F, and then again in the Tournament of Power, and then again in the Broly movie.  Frieza wanted a way to get back on top, so he used the Time Chamber to close the gap, and he developed a new form: Black Frieza.  It’s... just Golden Frieza but with a charcoal color scheme instead of gold. 

So now we’re back to basics, with Goku and Vegeta fighting Frieza again, only with new ultimate forms.  Well, this could lead to--

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!

So yeah, Frieza beat Ultra Instinct Goku and Ultra Ego Vegeta, at the same time, with one blow.  He doesn’t even bother to finish them off, which is kind of a nice touch, since he’s already demonstrated that they’re no threat to him.  When they recover, they find Granolah tending to Monaito, who was fatally wounded when Gas came back for that final round.  But then Whis shows up and heals Monaito as a special favor.  He’s come to pick up the boys because Beerus needs technical support for making instant noodles again. 

And... that’s the end of the arc.  I was kind of surprised, because I was pretty sure Granolah died at the end of this thing, but no, he and Monaito are fine.  The surviving Heeters, Oil and Macki, take jobs on Frieza’s spaceship crew.  Goku has a souvenir from his bio-dad.  Granolah and Monaito plan to use the Dragon Balls one last time to repair the damage to Planet Cereal, and then Monaito intends to deactivate the Dragon Balls for good. 

Curiously, Granolah still has his incredible power and shortened lifespan.  I would have expected that to get reversed somehow.  I mean, Vegeta’s offering him a rematch, which is pretty standard for Dragon Ball, except Granolah only has three years left to live.  I assume Toyotaro plans to use him again in a future story, but with all the timeskips we see in DBS, will Granolah still be alive by then?  Well, that’s Toyo’s problem.  I’m sure he’ll come up with something. 

Of course, the big plot dangler from this chapter is the looming threat of Black Frieza.  Sooner or later, Goku and Vegeta will meet him again, and Frieza won’t be so merciful.  None of this is mentioned in the Super Hero film, but presumably the boys were training specifically to deal with the Black Frieza threat.  That’s probably also why they brought Broly’s group to Beerus’ planet.  In the movie, they said it was so Frieza wouldn’t find them, and that makes more sense if you know about Black Frieza, since Golden Frieza was no match for Broly. 

I’m a pretty hardcore Cell fan, so I hate to give Frieza any credit, but I have to admit that this chapter might be the coolest Frieza stuff I’ve seen in a long time.  For years, I’ve maintained that bringing back Frieza in 2015 wasn’t worth it.  Resurrection F wasn’t that good, and the character hasn’t done anything since that justifies bringing him back.  But now, at least we have the promise of something that will actually live up to the hype.  Golden Frieza was basically on the same level as Super Saiyan Blue, but this new Black Frieza is in a league of his own.  Here, we finally see Frieza returned to his original status, far beyond all the other characters. 

And it seems like Frieza has finally learned from his past mistakes.  He’s not blindly charging in for revenge, or leaving things to his subordinates.  It’s the same character, but he’s changed, and not just in terms of color or power.  This isn’t the same Frieza from 2015 or 1990.  And that’s what matters here, because if you’re going to bring back a classic character, you have to do something new with him.  Like how Goku finally got to remember his parents after all this time.  Whatever happens next, he’ll never be quite the same, but you have to give him moments like that, because if he never grows or changes, then there’s no point in telling new stories about him. 

This was a very good arc.  In a way, the Moro and Granolah sagas compliment each other well, because the Granolah arc demonstrates exactly what was wrong with the Moro arc, and the Moro arc shows what the Granolah arc did right.  It’s hard to imagine these were both written by the same creative team, but there it is.  I’m definitely feeling a lot more optimistic for the future of this comic.  Of course, the next several chapters are an adaptation of the Super Hero movie, which is a bold step backwards, but hopefully after that’s over they’ll let Toyotaro cut loose. 

So that wraps up my coverage of the DBS manga.  But I’ve still got some more material for the liveblog, so stay tuned...

[inosakutema]

❀ 𝐒𝐀𝐊𝐔𝐑𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐎 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓

— March 28th is Sakura Haruno/Uchiha’s birthday! We compiled a list of 28 facts about her in celebration of her special day.

Please check the edited version. 

🌸DAY 1:

Sakura is the second oldest and tallest female of her trio and her generation after Temari. She was born on March 28th and she’s 165cm tall, the same height as Ino Yamanaka, according to her two official adult character design provided by Studio Pierrot.

🌸DAY 2:

Sakura is the kunoichi with the most outfit and hair changes of her generation in canon including The Last: Naruto the Movie.

She’s known for her sporty Chinese style of traditional qipaos or modern qipaos with a zipper in the middle and tights to complete the look. She also wears her ninja gear and Konohagakure headband is red to compliment her pink hair. Her representative color is red or scarlet, which she always in her clothes with some bits of white in the edges and pants. 

Her hair has also changed throughout the eras from long hair parted in the middle, shoulder length, slightly longer with bangs and a bop style with the hairline on her left.

(Her Naruto Gaiden and Sasuke Retsuden styles are not included in this picture)

🌸DAY 3: 

Sakura is the only kunoichi to wear her family’s crest on her clothes and the only one to wear her Konohagakure headband with all her clothes.

It’s a tradition she has stuck with since she was a child, wearing the Haruno circle on her back first and the Uchiha crest after marriage. This is also a token she shares with Team 7, with Naruto wearing the Uzumaki clan crest and Sasuke wearing the Uchiha clan crest on their clothes througout the manga.

🌸DAY 4:

Sakura is the most popular kunoichi of Naruto according to the official manga character popularity polls during serialization.

Adding all the polls together, she obtained 11.889 points, earning the first place overall among the female characters. Link to the third databook character popularity poll.

She was also voted third most popular Naruto character in Naruto Worldwide Character Popularity Poll NARUTOP99 and the most popular kunoichi with 489.619 daily votes. Link to the poll results.

🌸DAY 5:

Sakura is the only kunoichi of her generation of Konoha shinobi to be promoted to jōnin rank and the second kunoichi to achieve this besides Temari. After the Fourth Shinobi World War, Sakura and Shikamaru were promoted to jōnin, becoming the only shinobi of their generation to be promoted at the time. 

Up to Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Sakura Haruno, Temari Nara, Shikamaru Nara, Neji Hyūga and Rock Lee are the only jōnin of that generation in Konohagakure.

🌸DAY 6:

According to official sources, databooks and novels, Sakura became the best medical-ninja in Konohagakure and the world at age 17 after surpassing her mentor and Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage and God of Shinobi also noted that Sakura had also surpassed Tsunade in strength, becoming the strongest kunoichi too.

Sakura becomes one of the kunoichi to be considered “the best” at her field, medical ninjutsu and taijutsu with enhanced strength, along with being Temari hailed as the best Wind Release user in the world and Ino implied to be the best telepath of her clan.

🌸DAY 7:

In part 1 of the manga, Masashi Kishimoto ranked Sakura as the third strongest kunoichi according to the databooks with the third highest statistics. Although she was considered the weakest and she was also the only kunoichi coming from a civilian background with no special skills, she was after Temari and before Ino thanks to her intelligence and mastery of hand seals.

By part 2, Sakura easily became the strongest kunoichi of her generation, even surpassing Temari, who was the strongest. This feat continues until today.

🌸DAY 8: 

According to Boruto: Naruto Next Generations’ character trivia at the end of Volume 3, Sakura Uchiha is currently the strongest among her jōnin mates by a noticeable difference and also the third strongest ninja of Konohagakure after Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki. She's also the second smartest person of the adults behind Shikamaru like before.

Her profile also states that she has perfect taijutsu, ninjutsu and high resistance.

🌸DAY 9:

Not only is Sakura recognized as the strongest kunoichi in official material, but the Uchiha couple formed by Sakura and Sasuke Uchiha are also hailed as “the strongest married couple” in official material. Their descriptions in Sasuke Retsuden read: "The strongest couple fight at the end of the universe." "... The strongest couple running through?!" "Spouses and partners. The strongest couple's infiltration."

This is because Sasuke is the strongest shinobi alive with Naruto Uzumaki.

🌸DAY 10:

Sakura is the third most experienced kunoichi of her trio and fourth of her generation. She completed 34 missions in total by age 16, a little less than Team 10 and Temari due to Naruto and Sasuke leaving Konohagakure and Sakura being left as the only member of Team 7.

However, she's also the only kunoichi to have completed seven A-rank missions, which are normally completed by a group of experienced chūnin or jōnin mostly, while being of genin and chūnin rank. Some of these A-rank missions she completed as a genin. She also completed missions for Tsunade and escaped the village to investigate Sasuke’s whereabouts.

🌸DAY 11:

Despite only focusing on taijutsu and medical ninjutsu to fight, Sakura’s elemental affinities include Water and Earth just like Ino. She’s also very skilled in Yin techniques like genjutsu and her Yang Release allows her to perform highly complex medical ninjutsu.

One of her jutsu, the Cellular Extraction Healing Technique, manipulates Water Release to remove poison. According to Sasuke Retsuden, she’s also proficient in Fire Release. Sakura, Temari and Ino are the only kunoichi to use the elements in canon.

🌸DAY 12:

Besides her active job as a ninja of Konohagakure, Sakura has also actively contributed to the village in other fields. She has worked in Konoha Hospital from age 16 as one of the village’s top doctors, and now she’s the Medical Director of the health system of the village. She briefly joined the Cypher Corps during Pain’s Assault too.

Similarly, Ino used to help her parents at Yamanaka Flowers from time to time and now she runs the shop with her own family; while Temari was the Kazekage’s bodyguard and ambassador and now she’s the Ambassador between Konohagakure and Sunagakure.

🌸DAY 13:

Haruno Sakura (春野サクラ) means "field of cherry blossoms" and her name, Sakura (サクラ), means "cherry blossom flower". This is a symbol of her pink hair and green eyes like cherry blossoms and red clothes like the cherry fruit.

The cherry blossom is also Japan's national flower, very cherished and famous around the world because it signals the arrival of spring and flower season.

🌸DAY 14:

Sakura represents the cherry blossoms, a flower that is cherished and treasured in Japan for its beauty and short lifespan that is often associated with samurais. 

According to the Japanese language of flowers, Hanakotoba, the cherry blossom or Sakura represents kindness, gentleness and transience of life; while in China they represent feminine beauty. 

🌸DAY 15:

Sakura has been praised for her beauty by several characters in the manga and novels, and she’s the most beautiful kunoichi of Naruto and Boruto according to the author too.

Masashi Kishimoto in chapter 252 and The Last databook, Rock Lee, Naruto Uzumaki, Inari, Jiji and even Ino have praised her beauty in canon. Rock Lee and Naruto Uzumaki are also known to have been in love with Sakura while Naruto was serialized. 

🌸DAY 16:

Sakura is one of the two females of her generation to have a summoning, the other being Temari. She has a contract with the slug Katsuyu of the "Three Big Unexplored Sage Regions", the Shikkotsu Forest. 

This summon is the most special in the series because it can only be summoned if the user possesses the Strength of a Hundred Seal. Katsuyu is also known to be an offense and defense type of summon with incredible durability and the ability to change from solid to liquid. Moreover, she's capable of dividing her body into hundreds of fragments that can sense, heal and share information with each other no matter the distance.

🌸DAY 17:

Sakura is among the most skilled ninja in ninjutsu, taijutsu and a user of very advanced techniques. She is the only kunoichi of her generation to master not only one but two S-rank techniques: Creation Rebirth and the Strength of a Hundred Seal; and along with Tsunade and now her daughter, she has perfect chakra control that can’t be copied even with Sharingan or Mind Body Switch.

She can also use techniques on a superior level than others like taijutsu and medical ninjutsu.

🌸DAY 18:

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, Sakura was assigned to the Third Unit, the Intermediate-range battle unit. That group gathered specialist in both close and mid-range battle skills with taijutsu and ninjutsu with high speed and great strength including the masters Might Guy and Rock Lee with taijutsu, and Kakashi Hatake with ninjutsu. 

She was later called to join the Medical Division to help Shizune, where she healed many shinobi and defeated the White Zetsu, saving the Alliance from murders and intruders.

🌸DAY 19:

Sakura is surprisingly the shinobi with the most ties to the Hokages and she’s quite close with the Kage in general. She’s a student of the Fifth and Sixth Hokage, was praised by the First and carrying his will and regeneration jutsu, and the best friend of the Seventh Hokage. Gaara, the Kazekage, has also praised her skills in taijutsu and medical ninjutsu.

Sakura is also quite close with the current Gokage and her status as a person with the highest rank after Naruto, she has attended Kage Summits and told to keep top secrets. Moreover, she has also been acknowledged as a perfect replacement for the Hokage.

🌸DAY 20:

Out of 700 chapters of Naruto, Sakura appears in +330. Link to the manga count.

She's the female lead and heroine of the series, and the kunoichi with the most screen time of her generation.

🌸DAY 21:

Sakura is the only kunoichi to have a side story starring as the co-protagonist in several formats: novel, manga and anime.

In Sasuke Retsuden, with Sasuke and Sakura Uchiha, she infiltrates a remote country called Redaku to find a cure for Naruto's illness and becomes the heroine of the Observatory. 

🌸DAY 22:

In the Retsuden trilogy, more specifically in Naruto Retsuden, Sakura is recognized as one of the five most important people in Konoha and the only woman of the group to achieve this title. 

This is popularly known as "The Five Pillars of Konoha" and it highlights Sakura's dedication to Konoha's medical development from Naruto to Boruto. From the start, Sakura has contributed to Konoha’s health system as a top-rated doctor, later opening mental health organizations across nations and finally taking care of Konoha’s entire Medical Department.

The Pillars of Konoha is also a reference to the Japanese card game Koi-Koi (こいこい), played with the Hanafuda cards. The Hikari cards are the most valuable combination of the game (20 points) and the cards together are called the Gokō (Five lights - 五光). In that combination, Sakura represents the cherry blossom (桜, cherry blossom).

🌸DAY 23:

In her profile from the second and third databooks, Tenten desires to fight Sakura, the disciple of her idol, Tsunade, and also Temari, to whom she lost in the Chūnin Exams. Both Sakura and Temari are considered the strongest kunoichi of the generation from part 2 to the present.

Also, Ino and Sakura wish for a rematch too.

🌸DAY 24:

Sakura, Temari and Ino are the three kunoichi that "won" the battle of the preliminaries of the Chūnin Exams. Sakura and Ino tied their match, but both defeated each other and their friendship won in the end.

The only kunoichi who has truly won a battle is still Temari, who beat Tenten.

🌸DAY 25: 

According to the first fanbook, Sakura was praised by Iruka Umino, her sensei, for her great chakra control and intelligence in the Academy, and she aced all the written exams too with the highest grades.

She was also the only person to complete and answer correctly all the questions of the written test of the Chūnin Exams without cheating, something Ino took advantage of with her jutsu.

🌸DAY 26:

Sakura's first ever friend was Ino, who defended her from bullies and helped her gain confidence and self-esteem. Despite becoming healthy rivals later on, both remained the best of friends and have helped each other many times in their lives

Also, Sakura was probably Temari's first female friend. Not only was Temari’s first interaction with Sakura but they also show amity good feelings in part 2. Later Sakura would save Temari from a stab wound and together with Ino they’d become best friends.

🌸DAY 27:

In the new era, Sakura is in charge of Konoha’s Medical Department as a full-time job. She’s often seen leading other doctors as the Director of Konoha Hospital but also being a doctor herself and taking the most important cases. Being responsible for the entire health system made her the Head of the Medical Department of Konoha. She's also a teacher of medical ninjutsu for the new generation and an active jōnin too that goes on missions regularly.

🌸DAY 28:

Sakura, just like Temari, married into another clan that isn’t her own.

Originally from a small civilian family, Sakura joined one of the strongest and noble clans of Konoha, the Uchiha. She has become the matriarch and the mother of the first Uchiha born after the massacre.

Original post.

[theflatpancakes]

THE OUTSIDERS HEADCANONS CAUSE WHY NOT! 😀

(Includes sexualities and pronouns because why not)

Ponyboy:

Reads fanfic, like a concerning amount.

Gets really into a book or movie and goes to read the second one (if there is one) then loses all his interest in it half way through

Is surprisingly good at driving, but nobody trusts him to do so (even when they get older and he HAS a driver's license)

Can't cook for the life of him. Like He once tried to make instant noodles on the stove and they caught fire... 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳...

The only thing he 𝘤𝘢𝘯 make successfully is eggs. And he can only make those because Soda taught him when they were younger

Bisexual but doesn't know that it's a thing (Johnny was his bi awakening, lmao)

He/they

Sodapop:

The best at cooking out of the whole gang

Only knows stuff about cars due to Steve going on rants about them sometimes

He enjoys cooking for everyone, but Darry usually takes over for dinner due to Soda preferring to make sweet stuff and it can just get to be too much for everyone

^ As you can assume due to the last one, he's a sweets person. He LOVES sugar. His favorite combo is sweet and salty (based af)

The kind of person to dip his fries in his frosty at Wendy's (also based af)

Also Bi (Steve was 𝘩𝘪𝘴 bi awakening, lol)

He/him

Darry:

The second best at cooking.

^Taught soda when they were little and soon got surpassed in his cooking skills

Prefers savory, but sweet can be good every once in a while (By that I mean every morning with the chocolate cake)

Not a movie or book person, but if he had to choose one, it'd be books

Secretly, really close with Dally, they don't interact much compared to the rest of the gang, but when they do, they're basically inseparable.

Gets flustered/embarrassed surprisingly easily

Token cishet of the group (Heteroflexible, the only reason is he thinks that he may have had some slight feelings for Paul when they used to play football together. He/him)

Steve:

Even though he doesn't seem to care about Pony, he actually does.

Despite Soda being his best friend, Two-Bit is a close second

Him, Soda, and Two-Bit often go out together, and they both need Soda to be the mom friend if Darry isn't there

Gayass (homosexual af, mostly because of Soda)

He/him

Two-Bit:

Despite being one of the oldest of the gang, he's one of if not the most immature

He loves cooking but absolutely sucks at it

Perfectionist but is too lazy to clean and 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 that perfectionism

Played with dolls when he was younger but always hid it from people.

^ The only person who knows is Dally, and he completely uses that as blackmail against Two

Cares way too much about everyone (especially Pony)

Had feelings for Dally when he [Dal] first came to Tulsa, but they slowly faded away over a few years

He says his sexuality is, "If there's a hole, there's a goal." (Exact words)

He/him

Dally:

Somehow becomes a successful author when he gets older??

Secretly enjoys books, reading, and writing, but nobody but him knows

^ Pony made a joke that was a reference to a book at one point, and Dally was the only one that got it. He cracked up a little at it, but nobody understood why (Pony kind of figured it out at some point lol)

Most mature aside from Darry

Admires Darry and wants to be like him. He beats himself up if he messes up in a way that Darry never would

He is Johnny and Pony's father figure, Pony doesn't realize it as he seems Darry as more of his father figure

^ By that, I mean he takes care of them like a father, mostly Johnny but often Pony as well

Can just sit down and eat a whole tub of raw cookie dough by himself with no problem, but regrets it an hour later when his stomach hurts. He still does it, though, every single time

Aggressively bisexual but would fuck anyone

He/him

Johnny:

Stays introverted and close to Dally his whole life

Has no self-control when it comes to sugary things/junk food

Never really hungry, but when he 𝘪𝘴 hungry he either eats everything in sight or a single cracker

Likes reading with Pony

Darry takes him in at some point when his parents became too much

Wears his jean jacket all the time, only takes it off to shower, change, or sleep

^ Barely ever washes that thing, somehow never gets it too dirty, though?? Like only dirt/grass stains

Likes planes, a lot

Often joins Dally in eating raw cookie dough

^ Once invited Pony to a cookie dough eating session, but he declined, as he didn't want to get sick

𝓜𝓮𝓷.

^ Enjoys being with Pony... if ya catch my drift 😏 (ITS A CRUSH NOT WHAT THE EMOJI IMLPYS AHAHGDJWJSJ)

He/him (but sometimes enjoys dressing/looking fem in private)

[whumpshaped]

Epilogue – Dusk

there u go :) last chappy...

Dollhouse Masterlist

tw major character death, funeral, aftermath of trauma, paranoia, anxiety, police mention, hospital stay, murder mention, alcohol mention, implied past alcohol problems, implied past noncon, lady whump, implied eye gore, aftermath of surgery, past captivity, divorce, estranged family, again it's a lot i tried to get everything i'm sorry if i didn't

They weren’t supposed to be there that day. “It would be a small ceremony,” they’d told them, “it wouldn’t be appropriate. Or good for you.”

Dusk– no, he wasn’t Dusk anymore. He would never be called Dusk ever again. Diell wasted absolutely no time finding a way to be able to get out of the ward in time and take Ginger with him. They both agreed that just spoken accounts of the funeral wouldn’t be enough. They had to see the body be lowered into the goddamn hole and immediately deface the tombstone. 

He was fairly sure that Grace and Jonathan’s father played a role in them being able to sneak off as easily as they did. He would never thank the guy, not even in some weird, abstract way, but he was definitely pleased to know that he knew that any doll had more of a right to attend the ceremony than even family members.

They had to leave Pepper in the hospital, to all of their dismay. They were more hurt than the two of them, plus they wouldn’t have been able to see anything anyway. They asked for the most gruesomely detailed retelling of the funeral later, which both Diell and Ginger agreed to provide.

“I hope she’s cremated,” Ginger muttered on their way to the cemetery. “No, actually, I hope she’s not. I want to see that it’s her. If she was cremated, they could totally just put whatever in the urn, and no one would ever know.”

“Don’t even say that, holy shit.” The thought of Grace being alive in the world somewhere was a terrifying one. He had managed to kill her one time, and only because she was unconscious, but maybe that luck wouldn’t last a second round. “I’m sure they’ll bury the whole body. Like, intact. I bet it’ll be open-casket as well, with corpse make-up and all that shit.”

“Oh, she would never go six feet under without proper make-up. Never.”

Diell was the first to begin laughing, and Ginger followed soon after. The sounds of their joy felt wildly out of place at the enormous gates of the cemetery, but neither of them could find it in their soul to care. They saw people running around in pink instead of black, pink suits, pink dresses, pink ties to match. It was something out of an absurdist horror movie.

They ducked behind some gravestones when they caught a glimpse of the witch mother herself, their excitement suddenly giving way to fear. If Grace was that unhinged, that could only mean two things: either she had surpassed her mother in unhingedness, going on to become the supreme unhinged demon, or she’d learned everything from the even more unhinged woman who came before her. Diell held his breath, hoping with all his heart that it was the former. 

When he looked at Ginger’s face, he could tell that the same thoughts and fears were playing on her mind. Maybe this had been a bad idea, and maybe the hospital staff had been correct, and maybe it was embarrassing and weird to be hiding behind the markers of others’ final resting places. Diell glanced at the tombstone that was a couple inches away from his face, squinting to be able to read the name through all that moss. 

Sorry, Thomas and Esther Taylor. This is kind of an emergency.

“You think she even knows what we look like?” Ginger whispered.

“No idea. Maybe Grace showed her photos.”

“We should’ve planned further than two sweatshirts with hoods.”

“I’m happy that I even managed to snatch these up. Imagine if we had to come here in dresses or hospital gowns.”

Ginger shivered. “Yeah. Fuck that.”

They spent the entire ceremony huddled behind the headstones, listening to the priest go on about what a loving daughter and sister Grace was, occasionally peeking out to try and get a look at the body. Thankfully, not many people were attending, and Ginger turned to him with a triumphant smile soon enough.

“It’s her. It’s really her!”

“Fucking good. I hope the end to this whole shit isn’t some weird, Jesus-type resurrection.”

“Now you’re just being stupid,” she teased, but placed a dirty hand on top of his, her expression turning deathly serious. “If she moves a muscle, I’ll choke her right back to hell. Yeah?”

She meant it, Diell could tell. There was no condescension in her voice. She wasn’t telling him that he was too paranoid. She sounded exactly like someone who had thought about this before, in excruciating detail, and came to the conclusion that she was willing to risk her own life in exchange for the peace of mind that’d come with feeling Grace’s pulse disappear under her own hands. 

“Thank you,” he said quietly, giving her hand a squeeze.

They watched as the crowd started swarming towards the actual grave, and they followed them from a safe distance, pretending to be taking a leisurely walk or something. Diell didn’t even know what their cover story was, honestly. But no one ended up paying them any mind, instead focusing on the wailing mother. 

From what Diell could tell, there were no other people from Grace’s close family. Maybe her grandmother? It was hard to tell. It didn’t really matter. He was happy to know that her father decided to spend time with Jonathan in the hospital instead of coming to attend this pretentious display of wealth and ridiculousness. 

The casket was slowly lowered into the hole, and both Diell and Ginger were watching it like hawks. No tricks. No ghosts. No vampires, no zombies, no nothing. Grace’s body was dropped down and buried, so deep that there wasn’t a single chance that she could’ve crawled out. Her mother knelt on her grave, weeping like someone out of a tragedy, grabbing handfuls of dirt without a care in whether it’d ruin her expensive-looking, pink gloves.

Diell turned to his friend, briefly pretending he was gonna retch. Ginger had to hide a smile. 

They lingered until after everyone else had already left, only competing with Grace’s mother by that point. She had to eventually be escorted out by the police while she kicked and screamed, claiming that they were disrespecting a mother’s right to stay with her beloved, deceased daughter. Ginger rolled her eyes at the argument, finally sauntering over to the grave with Diell in tow. 

“So… that’s that,” he said. “She’s gone.”

“I really want to grab a hammer and fuck up the headstone.” Ginger looked up at him, tears shining in her eyes. “One of those big sledgehammers. I want to just… go at it. I want to fucking destroy it.”

“I know.” He carefully pulled her closer, slow enough to give her plenty of chances to push him away if she didn’t want to be touched. But instead of pushing him away, she wrapped her arms around him, sobbing into his chest.

“It’s so unfair. It’s so unfair. We were there for years, and she just gets to go out like this? And– and then she gets a fucking funeral? And some disgusting, liar priest kissing her ass? What did any of her victims get? The ones who didn’t make it? What did Belle get? Or Sunny? What did the ones I didn’t even know get? What– what the fuck is wrong with people?” 

He rubbed circles into her back as he listened, survivor’s guilt, sorrow, and the anguish of injustice eating away at him too. Ginger was right, and it was a horrible feeling to know that neither of them could do a thing to right Grace’s wrongs. They especially couldn’t force her to right them herself, now. She was out, just like that, enjoying her vacation in Barbie hell somewhere. 

Ginger took a while to calm down. When she did, Diell gently pushed her away by the shoulders, looking into her puffy, red eyes. “It’s over, Maya,” he whispered, a part of him still scared that he might’ve uttered the magic words too soon.

She couldn’t get a word out before she had to cover her mouth with both hands, attempting to muffle her whimpers. “You fucking asshole,” she choked out, and Diell was worried he might’ve genuinely messed up. “You waited ‘till I was somewhat okay, and then you spring that shit on me? Why are you even bringing up the weird shit I told you during– what’s wrong with you?” She half-heartedly punched his arm, then wiped at her face with the sleeve of her sweater. 

“I– I’m sorry, I–”

She hugged him again, with even more momentum this time, her frail body slamming into his with the power of a three-tonne truck. “I can’t believe you actually remembered something so stupid. You really– you safekept it for me… You really did…”

Diell hesitantly put his arms around her again, waiting for her to change her stance on this again. But she didn’t. The two of them just stood there, right on top of Grace’s grave, in an embrace so tight it probably cracked some ribs. 

They didn’t leave the cemetery until the next morning. They didn’t even sleep, – or at least never at the same time, – they just sat on a nearby bench, watching the pile of dirt for any anomalies or paranormal activity. Hell, they wouldn’t have been surprised if Grace’s mother showed up again with candles and chicken blood. When nothing like that happened, they crawled back to the hospital, allowing themselves to be yelled at and sent for an immediate shower and check-ups. 

-

Messed up. It was entirely messed up that it had already been a year. While Diell had been with Grace each day seemed too long, but they also just blurred together. On the day of his escape, he’d been informed that he’d spent fifteen months in that hellhole. He later counted; exactly 477 days. More than a year. He both thought it had been shorter and longer than that, and honestly, he had no idea what to feel about the actual number.

He knew he was the newest acquisition at the time. No other doll had been added to the collection after his kidnapping, which made him the… luckiest? His one year was absolutely nothing compared to what he’d heard the twins say. Eight years… More than eight, even.

Maya had a more difficult time counting, both mentally and from a memory standpoint. At first, she didn’t want to do anything with the data. Her first order of business was to make an appointment with a hairdresser and get rid of her naturally ginger hair, demanding a deep blue to forest green gradient. She’d come home that day to see Diell on the computer, obsessively counting and recounting his days spent in captivity, and she flipped her hair and told him to enjoy being out.

Later that day, Diell saw her checking the calendar app against old newspaper clippings. “I can’t remember when I was taken. Can’t remember the day. I… I even got the year wrong.” 

Diell couldn’t even imagine. She had counted and counted, eventually coming up with the final numbers: 5 years and seven months, or 67 months, or 2039 days. They had both stared at the numbers for a very long time.

“I’m so much older now,” she’d whispered. “I’m twenty-six now. I… I was celebrating my twentieth that year.”

That wasn’t the only thing she had to reconcile with. Her disappearance had turned out to be the last nail in the coffin of her parents’ crumbling marriage. After she’d been presumed dead, her mother filed for a divorce. Her childhood home had been sold, and her parents were both in another relationship now, ones she wanted nothing to do with. She didn’t even tell them she had come back, dismissing their calls and slamming the door in her mother's face when she tried to visit.

She was living with Diell instead, in an apartment the two of them had bought with the compensation money they’d been awarded. He was now sitting on the couch, bouncing his leg and trying not to think about tomorrow.

“I invited Tai,” Maya said as she entered the living room. “They said yes, like, immediately. They didn’t even give me the whole ‘Oh, I don’t know, do I wanna hang out with losers?’ talk. I think they're stressed out too.”

Pepper had thought long and hard about the name change situation. They wanted something absolutely deadly and dangerous, but also something that sounded cool. They had browsed a long list of venomous snakes for days, finally settling on Taipan. “If I’d had venom back then, aside from just… insults, then I would’ve been fine. Manifesting or whatever.”

“It's weird,” Diell muttered. “Like, the whole anniversary thing. Just weird. I don’t like it.”

Maya sat down next to him, sighing heavily. “You think the others are also this fucked up from it?”

Diell shrugged. “You think it’s fucked that I don’t even text them anymore?” he asked quietly, the ever-present guilt in his heart throbbing a little more as he said the words. This time, it was Maya who shrugged.

“I don’t either. So either we’re both fucked, or neither of us is.”

They sat there in silence, listening to the clock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Each second brought them closer to the dreaded day, increasing their anxiety tenfold. 

“Do you also have these… weird fears about it?” Maya whispered. “Like she’ll bust down the front door at midnight?”

“Yeah. Like, ‘haha, time’s up, you got to be free for a year, but now let’s get back to the–’ you know. Back to all that shit.”

Maya nodded without a word. She looked absolutely haunted, and if Diell had to guess, he probably looked similar. “It’s so stupid. I saw her be buried. It’s not like many people come back from the dead.”

“I know. I can’t logic it away either, though. So we’re just stuck with our weird paranoia.” He put his arm around her shoulders, gently pulling her closer. He’d learned early on that Maya would never ask to be comforted like that, but more often than not, she was very appreciative if someone made the decision for her. “But we have each other, right?”

“Yeah, Captain Cheesy.”

Taipan barged in with such force that both others jumped, flinching away from each other as if they’d been caught red-handed. “Stop doing that!” Diell snapped.

“Absolutely not!” They pointed in his vague direction with their cane. “How else would I prove that I’m still a menace?”

Their doll eyes were taken out almost immediately upon arriving at the hospital. Grace had done the sort of job on them that was expected of an amateur with no surgical knowledge or training, and the doctors worked tirelessly to reverse as much of the damage as possible. But before the operation even started, Taipan had been offered two routes they could go with their new prosthetics. Diell naively thought they’d jump on the opportunity to make it as natural as possible; he’d seen some absolutely amazing work on the wall of the private hospital’s ocularist.

Well… They were now rocking two pitch black orbs with realistic stars painted on them, looking like they held all the secrets of the universe behind them.

Maya laughed, jumping up to go and hug them. Diell watched the two of them with a smile, his fear-based irritation melting away. “I’m so glad you came, I need someone to back me up with the music choices.”

“I would never live with someone who refused to acknowledge that his taste is inferior and I should be the only one with party-music privileges.”

“I’m not gonna be bullied in my own home!” 

Maya stuck her tongue out at him; as did Tai, without even seeing that she was doing it too. Diell couldn’t stifle a grin. 

“Are we ordering pizza?” they asked as they walked over to the couch, plopping down right next to Diell. “There’s this new place that’s just opened, and I’m telling you, neither of you have ever seen cheese with a better pull quality. It’s glorious.”

“I mean, if they have Hawaiian–”

“You’re absolutely disgusting, Diell. I am stealing Maya away.”

Before more insults could’ve been thrown his way, Diell’s phone went off with a notification. Valerie’s name flashed on the screen, and he quickly checked the texts to see if it was something urgent. She probably wasn’t in the best headspace either.

By evening time, all four of them were sitting on the living room floor, eating pepperoni pizza off the coffee table. It was a weird little sleepover, with plenty of laughter and tears both. Sometimes they almost completely forgot about why they had even gathered together like this, and sometimes all they could talk about was Grace and their time spent in her pink little prison.

“When you can actually see, when you can actually get out and see the outside world, and know you’re not there– I imagine that’s different. I’m sure it was so different for Bora.” 

Maya was saying the words out loud, so Tai could also know what the conversation was about. Valerie had an easier time talking to them one on one; when a little group of them were together like this, it was easier to have someone translate as she signed. 

“But for me, all I had for the past years were sounds and scents. And touch. And Bora felt the same out here as he did back there. I just couldn’t stand it. He kept making me feel like I was still there.”

“Are you okay now, though? With us?” Diell asked, and Val nodded.

“Yeah.” She paused a little. “It’s different with everyone else. I don’t even understand how Bora could put aside his trauma to try and help me. It must’ve taken so much. Me leaving was the best decision for both of us, even if he was upset at the time.”

Diell glanced at Maya, wondering whether she felt the same way. Their ‘relationship’ at Grace’s place didn’t last more than maybe a couple months, and never went further than a kiss on the cheek or a peck on the lips. It wasn’t really comparable to what Val had talked about at the hospital. Still, he couldn’t help but hope he wasn’t going to lose his best friend.

“I fully get that. And you gotta put yourself first, right? That’s just how it is.” Tai felt around for another slice, and Diell quickly put one on their plate for them. “I’m sure he has plenty of people’s support from within Jonathan’s little group. And outside of that, too.”

“I’m sure as well.” Maya put a gentle hand on Val’s knee. “It’s not your responsibility to nurse others back to health when you’re still working on yourself. We’ve all been through a lot. You get out, you do the best you can– it’s all you can do.”

The conversations  fizzled out as they inched closer and closer to midnight. They were all either deathly still or fidgeting constantly, no inbetween. Diell and Maya were staring at the clock, giving quiet reminders of time’s passage. It was like the most fucked up New Year’s Eve party. 

“One minute.”

“Thirty seconds.”

“Twenty.”

“Ten.”

“Five.”

“Four.”

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

Diell held his breath, and with how quiet the room had gotten, he assumed everyone else did too. He thought about that day from exactly a year ago; stabbing Grace, the feeling of blood sticking to his hands, the sun’s blinding light outside, the sirens of the ambulance and police cars, the bumpy road leading to the hospital. The funeral. Jonathan taking in some of his friends, giving them all a second chance at life, the first of which his sister had taken away beforehand.

“Happy anniversary?” Tai tried, half-jokingly, breaking the spell.

“Well, I’m fucking happy,” Maya said confidently, and Diell knew he was the only one who saw the tears shining in her eyes as she did so. He pretended not to. 

Through the open windows, they could hear all the street noise; cars coming and going, groups of intoxicated teenagers having a fun time, dogs barking at nothing. The world didn’t end at midnight. Grace didn’t show up to take them all back. 

“Maybe we should go to sleep,” Diell suggested. “I’m– Okay, I know it’s not very popular with you two to admit to having a shit time, but I’m honestly exhausted from all that stupid anxiety.”

“Maybe we’ll start admitting to it in this new year.” Maya playfully shoved him a little. “Go to sleep, grandpa. We’ll keep it down.”

Diell smiled, then went to take a long, very hot shower after saying his good nights. It was comforting to be able to do it alone, even if he sometimes still felt Grace’s hands on his naked body, scrubbing him down without a care, like he wasn’t even human. He avoided looking in the mirror when he got out, knowing that all he would see in it this late at night were blonde strands of hair and soulless blue eyes. 

He didn’t fall asleep for a long time, still just lying there by the time Maya came to crawl into bed with him. He turned towards her, noting the distinct scent of alcohol. “Maya?”

She hummed. “What?” 

“You didn’t drink too much, did you?”

“No such thing as too much. Not on the anniversary of your kidnapper’s death.” 

He scooted a little closer, pulling her into a hug. “Yeah, there is. And I’m so happy you didn’t overshoot this time.”

A whole year had passed. Instead of Ginger, Maya was now crying in his arms. They had different problems, even if none of them felt less serious than the ones from before. She wasn’t passed out on the floor, only slurring her words a little.

It would be okay. It would all be okay, in the end.

~

taglist: @whumpsday @lonesome--hunter @reblogging-whump @panic-and-chaos @kim-poce @uwu-scraptrappy @mikaelaix @whumpinggrounds @hidden-dreamland @the-scrapegoat @whumplr-reader @dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night @whumpinthepot @devourerofcheesecake

[biomic]

Bad news, Rob. He clarified and what he meant was “take all the cool parts out”

i mean... i get it? not sure what he specifically means by "sped-up action sequences", i don't think PR's action is the thing that's holding it back and could easily be transported over to whatever reboot they wanted to do, but the other things ARE generally seen as corny in a bad way by general audiences. im certainly not happy about that but like. it's just the truth

again, japan was introduced to tokusatsu and suitmation techniques through genre-defining works like godzilla and ultraman, made by people who took the material seriously. america was introduced to it through often goofy (or just straight up racist) kaiju dubs from people who didn't get it and power rangers, which im guessing the original crew thought would be some dumb forgotten flavor of the week before it became a worldwide phenomenon. power rangers evolved as it went on and produced some great, iconic (certainly iconic to ME 😤) seasons of kid's television, but that's not what people remember. people remember the kiai noises tommy would make when he did karate, the cheesy acting, and bulk and skull falling face-first into a giant cake at the end of every episode. and to them that's all it'll ever be, unless something new comes along to pique their interest

i know people say "well, power rangers has succeeded for 30 years under this formula!" but... when was the last time it was actually relevant? i think it got a brief blip from the original cast returning for that 30th anniversary special, but before that? nickelodeon pushed samurai hard when they first acquired it but ever since then it's felt dead in the water. from anecdotes i've heard it seems like a lot of kids think power rangers is lame and something their dad used to watch, its days as must-watch kid's tv have been over for a good long while now. it's survived not by continuing to be a hit but just through sheer momentum. hasbro could work something out with toei and make Power Rangers Beast Cubers or Crystal Guardians and it could be the most incredible season we've ever had, surpassing all the greats, but i still don't think that'd be enough to get anyone who's not a longtime fan to care

power rangers has had an unbelievable run, by any metric it should not have lasted this long. but it's not possible for anything that goes on 30+ years to continue without change. super sentai's not like it was in 1975, kamen rider's not like it was in 1971, ultraman's not like it was in 1966, and power rangers can't be like it was in 1993. whether they go for another movie franchise, a teen netflix reboot, or an animated series, it's clear that the direct adaptation process is over. if it turns out to be good, we're in luck! if it sucks, well, we've got 30 years of Classic™ power rangers and TONS of tokusatsu to go back to. there's worse ways for a show to go out

[thereaderinsertlady]

The Conductor from ahit with a spouse

If you somehow manage to break this guy's walls down far enough that you both got married? Congratulations, your one lucky motherfucker. At this point in your relationship you both have surpassed a bunch of hurdles, you know each other to a T.

Baring the last name of the famous movie director is gonna lead to your name showing up in new articles right next to very biased headlines, birds calling you money hungry, fame seeking and so on. The Conductor reassures you that they are all fake, he knows first hand that you earned the title as his one and only and he won't shy away from showing it.

There aren't many out there that stick around him due to his anger issues and massive ego. Hell, even the few relatives that are still kicking are surprised at such a feat, but they're happy for him non the less.

Despite Dj Groves rivalry with the owl he can't help but be happy for him, even though there mutual adversaries he's known him the longest, ironically enough, and he's seen his highs and lows. So this is a nice change of pace, still he can't help but tease the easily riled up bird, nothing serious.

Like I said, there aren't many birds that stuck around when his rise to fame began, so he was a bit clingy and somehow distante in the beginning of your relationship. But through trial and error he learns that there's nothing to fear.

Whenever you're around he gets greatly humbled, like a switch in him flipped, he could go from yelling at one of his workers to chatting with you in a matter of minutes. It gives the other owls whiplash but they're grateful that he's not yelling anymore.

Whenever he looks at you or spots you in a crowd he can't help but smile, he's just so prideful about your relationship, not to mention protective, especially if you were to be carrying his yung.

A previously unknown instinct activates within him during and long after your pregnancy, it tells him to provide, care for and protect, this man would die for you and your unborn child.

Also, due to not only those instincts he's temporarily excusing himself from his job, he can't work due to the constant feeling that he should be somewhere else than the studio. He works from home until it's time. You're both often snuggled up on the couch, him working on his scripts while you read one of the many books from your rather large bookcase. Sometimes he asks for your input on his scripts, reenacting the scene in great detail and voicing a few lines in exaggerated voices, definitely not a ploy to get you to laugh.

(Although it probably doesn't fit his character i can't help but imagine the Conductor pointing at your stomach and going “i made that”)

Talking about stomachs, when the baby bump starts to show he gets progressively more nervous, you often find him staring out a window or towards a wall. It doesn't take much effort to coax him into telling you his worries, he's been reflecting on his life in general, wondering if he would be a good dad due to his past actions and anger issues. you tell him that just like their relationship it's gonna take time to learn the ropes around parenthood, but they're gonna learn together. He can't help himself but let out a sigh. His fears might have been soothed but his protective urges subsequently increased, he needs to restrain himself from growling at others when they come a bit too close for his liking.

He doesn't yell around you after getting the news that he's gonna be a dad (not that he was doing that much before anyway). Stress isn't good for the baby nor the mother, so he opts to just handle the more mentally straining situations elsewhere. Or deals with the problem through gritted teeth, others find this frightening, scared that they might set him off if they prod too much.

When the cramps get bad he gives you massages, makes you a warm bath, massages you in said warm baths and just in general tends to you and your needs. Like your sudden strange cravings or mood swings. When it gets later into your pregnancy and it gets hard to walk, he will legit carry you, if he could. Otherwise your bedrested in your shared “nest” which is just your bed surrounded by pillows, clothes and blankets. Conductor might be able to fight off assailants but he can't fight off his instincts.

vfndjkmlrng i was,, melting when i read all of these headcanons 🥺 they were so gooood! I wasn't 1000% percent sure if this was meant for quest tober but I put it in here anyways and made a small fic for it. Here's the link on ao3, and I hope you enjoy!

The Conductor x Reader - With Him

“...What are you doing?”

Currently, the love of your life, the apple of your eye, the center of your world… was carrying an armful of blankets. 

To many, he was known as The Conductor, a movie director and a train aficionado. However, to you, he was all of that– and your silly little husband. 

“Um.” He adjusted his hold on the blankets, giving you a light, ‘don’t worry about it’ laugh. He wasn’t in his usual attire, and hasn’t been for a while since he has been working from home. Now, he simply wore comfortable outfits. “Just… gatherin’ a few t’ings together, dear. No need ta stress!”

You watched with a fond smile as your husband maneuvered the blankets, trying not to let them spill onto the floor. Ever since you got pregnant, he has been very… over protective. Not that you minded, though.

"Alright, but what's the occasion, my conductor?" You teased, stepping closer to him. You reached out to help, letting your fingers brush against his. The connection, even after all this time, still sent a pleasant shiver down your spine. 

“Ah… it’s a surprise,” he said, heavily rolling the second r. 

“Oh?” You tilted your head. “What kind of surprise?”

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if it isn’t hidden, my lovely!”

You pouted at his use of sweet words. Sometimes it would distract you, sometimes it wouldn’t. “Uh-huh… well, can you do this surprise without tripping on a blanket?”

“Probably!” He shuffled over to the bedroom you shared with him, shutting the door and stopping you from peering inside, leaving you out in the hall. The house wasn’t the most modern place to live in, so it creaked and groaned as the door settled in the frame. 

You rolled your eyes. Your husband was… something else…

After deciding not to follow him, you chose to busy yourself with something else in the meantime, finding a nice book before settling down on the couch in the living room. As your pregnancy went along, it has become… mildly difficult to stand up for too long, so you’ve taken to sitting down more often than not. 

You turned the pages of the book, hearing faint noises in the background. Some of it was from the wind outside, and other noises were from, presumably, your husband struggling to put together your ‘surprise.’

As you read, you occasionally glanced in the direction of the bedroom, curiosity tugging at you. The anticipation of the surprise was growing, and you couldn't help but wonder what he was concocting behind those closed doors. What exactly did he have planned that involved blankets, of all things?

Time seemed to stretch in those moments, the minutes feeling longer than they actually were. Even reading didn’t seem to help– you really wanted to know what your husband was doing.

You were about to get up but scrunched up your nose instead, rubbing at your back. The weight of your stomach was really starting to get at you these past few weeks despite having sat on the couch for the past ten, twenty minutes. It was a small price to pay for the miracle growing inside you, sure, but it didn't make it any less taxing.

After a while longer, you got up from the couch with a groan, setting the book to the side and taking a moment to stretch. 

After stretching out the stiffness, you made your way to the bedroom. The creaking floorboards seemed to echo your steps, a comforting rhythm in the mostly quiet house. You paused at the closed door, a sense of anticipation building within you. Should you enter? He seemed so… interested, with what he had been doing… 

“My conductor?” You lightly knocked on the door, being polite. “Are you just about finished?”

“Uh… j-just a moment!” Came his voice.

You lowered your bottom lip. “Oh come on… you’ve already taken a long time,” you complained. “I wanna lay down– my back is starting to really hurt. Can I just come in?”

…There was a deep sigh before footsteps came up and he opened the door. He seemed embarrassed, which was rare for him. “Yer really hurtin’ right now…?”

“Well.” You gave a small smile. “Just a little bit– nothing too bad, I promise.”

Your husband stepped to the side, allowing you to enter the bedroom. It was obvious to see what he had been doing; on the bed was a ‘nest’ of blankets and pillows, likely positioned in a way to maximize comfort. 

You… laughed. “I guess you really are a bird.”

His face sparkled with a mixture of amusement and sheepishness as he tilted his head towards the cozy arrangement on the bed. "Well, issa nest fit for my love bird, isn't it?"

You couldn't help but chuckle at his playful analogy. He always had a way of making even the simplest gestures feel special and endearing, even though he could be quite… firm, with everyone else. 

As you carefully made your way to the bed, he hovered nearby, ready to assist if needed. Gently easing yourself onto the blanket nest, you let out a contented sigh. The softness and warmth enveloped you, providing instant relief for your tired body. Not to mention that it was big enough to where you wouldn’t have to curl up like a shrimp. It was so nice…

“...So, yeh like it?”

You settled in, shifting around to get comfortable. “Yeah… did you take some of these straight out of the dryer? And some of these seem new…”

His feathers bristled. “J-Just get some rest!” He barked out, embarrassed.

You giggled like some teenager, covering yourself up with one of the warmer blankets. The house never held heat well, so this felt amazing to you. 

After a moment, you patted the spot next to you. “Come lay down?”

He joined you on the bed, settling his head next to yours.

The two of you nestled together in the makeshift nest of blankets, finding comfort and warmth in each other's presence. His proximity was a balm to your tired body, and you couldn't help but feel a surge of affection for the man beside you.

His breath was soft, and you could hear the gentle rustle of the blankets as he shifted. You reached out, intertwining your fingers with his, relishing in the connection. 

“I… appreciate you doing this for me,” you told him softly, pressing a kiss to his face before smiling weakly, “Even if it is a bit unusual.”

“Yer my spouse– I should do everythin’ for yer comfort,” he said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

You hummed quietly in response, a wave of drowsiness washing over you. After a moment, you closed your eyes, slowly falling asleep whilst cuddling with him.

[crowhoonter]

The Star Wars prequels are fascinating movies, especially when looking at them from the perspective of the story they tell. They are a commentary on contemporary American politics, and show the fragility of the idea of democracy. The Republic has been primed to collapse for a while even by the first movie, being incapable of stopping the Trade Federation from blockading Naboo. You see throughout the films everyone come to realize the position the Republic is in, and everyone comes to a different conclusion on what to do.

Palpatine notices first, and arranges its downfall to fulfill his ambitions. The Jedi notice it, but would rather keep to the Status Quo than make any meaningful change. As Mace Windu says, they're keepers of the peace, they don't get involved until absolutely necessary and indeed, too late. Anakin sees it and decides that the system is broken and needs a strong authority to rule over the masses. Padme tries to enact change through the system, an endeavor doomed to fail from the beginning. Dooku decides the system can only be changed by uprooting it entirely, leading to his fall to the dark side and authoritarianism.

We see everyone become more and more accepting of these extremes as well. Ideas and concepts that would once be scarcely entertained become frighteningly close to reality, such as the Jedi suggesting that they forcibly remove Palpatine from office and set up their own provisional government effectively. Of course this culminates in the establishment of The Empire, and as Padme says, democracy dies with thunderous applause.

The best part is that by the end of the second film, the Republic and Jedi have lost. The moment the Clones are accepted as the army of the Republic and the Jedi lead them, its over. An army of faceless drones, indoctrinated from birth, built solely to betray. The Clones only know loyalty to their nation and its commander, and will follow the will of said commander even if it goes against the ideals they are supposed to represent. Good soldiers follow orders after all.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the prequels is that they are terrible. These are not good films, the dialogue is atrocious, the quality of acting is all over the place, the pacing is strange, and the CGI is hideous. Revenge of the Sith comes close many times to being a good movie, but always just misses the mark. Somehow, these movies made a captivating story of a nation's and young man's slow fall to fascism, and managed to bury it under a mediocre romantic subplot and strange storytelling choices.

All that said, I love the prequels for what they try to say and what they could have been. These could have been generation defining films, easily surpassing the originals, but ended up a joke. They have a litany of problems (not even gonna touch on the... interesting accents) but under all that, there is an incredibly compelling story that is ever more relevant as time goes on.

[ultraericthered]

Assorted Dragon Ball Dub VA Thoughts

I do not like Ian James Corlett's take on Son Goku. Disrespectful as that may sound seeing as he was the original English VA for the character, I just think he brought the wrong energy, wrong tone, wrong inflections, and just wrong portrayal to the role. He made Goku sound like a mature, macho superhero, and that had a negative effect on how Peter Kelamis and Sean Schemmel had to perform the role when they took over for Ian. Everything uncharacteristic about Goku in the early dubs can be traced back to Ian's portrayal of him.

The big three English voices for Goku to me are Sean Schemmel, Peter Kelamis, and Kirby Morrow. Schemmel is easily the most iconic and recognizable, and he really made the role his own as he improved over the years, Kelamis' portrayal of Goku in the Pioneer dubs of the first three movies is as close to a dead ringer to Masako Nozawa in English (but from a male VA) as you could ask for, and I think the late Kirby Morrow, who took over from Kelamis in the Westwood dub, was the only VA for Goku from the Ocean Group to get the character down right in the show itself, doing less of the cheesy hero shtick. All of them work really well for Adult Goku.

For Kid Goku, however? Sorry, but I can hear literally no one else but Stephanie Nadolny in that role. No one else even comes close. Her rough voice and delivery of her performance was just pitch perfect.

Bulma's best dub VA is still Tiffany Volmer, who never gave a poor, half-assed performance in the role except for her debut outing in Season 3 (which was just cringe). Monica Rial comes in as a close second but the trouble with her is that when she needs to get comically frantic and really emote, she sounds very immediately recognizable as a Monica Rial performance, whereas Volmer always sounded more unique. Three other Bulma VAs that go overlooked are Lalaina Lindjberg, Maggie Blue O'Hara, and Wendee Lee. Lalaina's Bulma is underappreciated, as it was very fitting and well acted. Maggie's Bulma sounds the most "real" out of all the Bulma voices, but in that movie dub she sort of underperformed compared to how she could've (think Lime) and she should not have been brought back in the Westwood dub. And with Wendee Lee, I just find it funny that she technically was the first to do Bulma in English for the lost Harmony Gold dub and then reprised the role many, many years later in the short lived Bang Zoom dub of Dragon Ball Super.

Gohan's a complicated case for me, since unlike Kid Goku, I was never big on how Stephanie Nadolny voiced Kid Gohan - she undersold everything during the Season 3 dub and then was too try-hard in the redub and every reprisal. I greatly preferred Saffron Henderson and Colleen Clinkenbeard's more natural takes. However, Nadolny absolutely killed it as young Teen Gohan in the Cell Saga, to the point where every other VA to perform the role during those events just will not sound right. As for older Gohan, while I love the way Kyle Hebert does him, Chris Hackney in the Bang Zoom Super dub was almost just as good. Brad Swaile in the Westwood dub and even Lex Lang in the US release of Final Bout showed potential too.

I always liked Terry Klassen's Krillin in a semi-ironic way. Like, he had a naturally fitting voice for the character but often overacted like crazy and made him hard to take seriously. Sonny Strait, like most, started off a weak replacement in Season 3, but nowadays? He IS Krillin. He breathes so much life and likability into the character and for years I'd believed Sony would never have a role that could match or surpass it...until a certain yellow octopus teacher came along. While I also like how Mike Thiessen and Brian Beacock approached the role, they fail to stand out when stacked against Sony's take. Also, major props to Laurie Steele as Kid Krillin - her voice for him sounds exactly like a kid who'd grow up into Sonny Strait's Krillin.

Scott McNeil and Chris Sabat are both hailed as the best VAs for Piccolo by many, and I'd say that's right....but Sabat himself has gone on record to say that he believes his Piccolo is utterly dwarfed by Scott's even now, so I'm sort of inclined to believe him. Solid as Sabat's Piccolo has become, there's just this gruff, gravelly, badass quality to Scott's Piccolo that just cannot be matched. Aside from them, Dan Woren and Ray Chase were fitting VA picks for Piccolo (though Woren was sadly misdirected given where he featured in), and you just gotta have a soft spot for Paul Bandey as Big Green!

Chris Sabat was, however, the best voice for Demon King Piccolo in the Dragon Ball dub, which helped make his Piccolo Jr. better.

Vegeta....is a toughie. Chris Sabat was horrid as the character in Season 3, showed improvement in Season 4, came into his own in Season 5 onward but also sounded awful in the redub and phoned it in for a lot of his subsequent outings, and then ever since dubbing Kai, he's been excellent enough to secure his place as the definitive English voice of Vegeta. Like, his Kai and post-Kai performances are objectively the best Vegeta has ever sounded in Western dubs, he just embodies the role so much. ...And yet, whenever I think back to or revisit the first two DBZ sagas, it is exceedingly difficult for me to get Brian Drummond's Vegeta out of my head. The nostalgia is a large part of that, but on its own merits, Brian's Vegeta was just so deliciously sinister sounding and oozing with underlining arrogance and spiteful fury that made Vegeta seem so intimidating. This is the guy who made "OVER NINE THOUSAAAND!" and "MY WRAAATH!" so unforgettable! He did fine, if not a touch weaker, in the Westwood dub as well, though by the Buu Saga I definitely prefer Sabat's take. The only other English VA to come close to these two would be Kaiji Tang in Bang Zoom's Super dub, but even that's mainly due to him strongly channeling Sabat into his Archer-esque vocal portrayal.

Linda Young's Freeza remains iconic for many, and I will say that I can't pass any blame on her for having been in the role and any missteps she might've committed in it, as she was cast to be a soundalike replacement for the late (and sadly miscast) Pauline Newstone. I will also say that in her first five years voicing the part, from 1999 to 2004, her Freeza sounded pretty great and she was skillful at voicing the character as it had been translated. In Season 3 she'd been the highlight and its sole shining instance of competent voice acting, giving Freeza different, fitting voices for all his forms and nailing the character's sadistic evilness in spite of the scripts feeding her some truly horrendous dialogue. However, by 2005 and the redubbing of the Namek/Freeza sagas, Linda had, for whatever reason, decided to start voicing Freeza in this "tranny granny" voice, like a high pitched, chainsmoking old diva with obnoxious line reads and screams like Rita Repulsa, and the voice directors just...let her do that. And this was especially harmful for Freeza in his final form, as the voice acting did not match the character as depicted in any way whatsoever. Her being recast for Kai was a not pre-planned thing, but I was and still am so relieved it happened. It's what had to be done and indeed what should have been done a long time back.

The late, great Christopher Ayres is bar none the best dub VA for Freeza. He redefined how the character would sound like in English, delivering a take on him faithful to Ryusei Nakao's original portrayal while also making enough distinctions to stand on its own. While Ayres is still greatly missed in general and his passing was a huge loss for the industry, it wasn't a huge loss for the role of Freeza since Daman Mills is freakishly beyond brilliant at recapturing that voice and doing similar performances to carry on that legacy, so we are so fortunate to have him. Beyond them, the only other offical dub voice for Freeza to even begin to match up would be Derek Stephen Prince doing his Vexen voice for the character in Bang Zoom's Super dub.

Cell's an interesting case where all dub VAs to do Imperfect Cell sound alike and all suit him well, but for Semi-Perfect Cell, Travis Willingham surpassed Dameon Clarke in how he performed the voice prior to Clarke's reprisals starting with Kai, where he improved the Semi-Perfect Cell voice to stack up to how Travis did it. And Perfect Cell? Dameon Clarke stands alone there, unmatched. He is perfect!

Both Josh Martin and Scott McNeil give portrayals of Mr. Buu that work for his character. The same can't be said of Corby Proctor's strange Jar Jar-Gollum hybrid voice, and Spike Spencer trying way too hard yet failing to come off as convincing.

Justin Cook's initial outing as Super Buu was...off. He just sounded way too scary and ominous for a character who's supposed to be not just demonic, but savage, brutish, and petulant. Brian Dobson in the Westwood dub actually played the part better. But in practically every reprisal, especially by Kai, Justin proved able to easily match that.

Am I the only one who has a hard time stomaching Eric Vale as Future Trunks these days? From his first shot at the role all the way to the Kai dub, he absolutely nailed the character and endeared him to so many fans with his emotional performances, but afterwards he started making the voice way too gruff and snarly and it's made Trunks harder and harder to take seriously. I don't think he's no longer capable of doing Trunks as good as he used to since other roles like Yuki Sohma suggest that he still could, so I don't know what he's going for anymore. Sean Chiplock sadly never got the chance to go into more Trunks material since Bang Zoom's Super dub lasted those first two sagas, but I think he'd sound a lot better in the role.

Master Roshi had a great VA for him for Funimation's initial dub of Dragon Ball in Michael Donovan, and it's weird that he was never brought back for DBZ. Out of the other Ocean Group VAs to voice him, I only really liked Don Brown in The World's Strongest - Ian James Corlett, Peter Kelamis, and Terry Klassen never sounded right and were never convincing. Mike McFarland IS Master Roshi in English: he did a good job crafting the character's voice and playing the part from the start, and by the second, full dub of Dragon Ball and going onward he's just nailed it, sounding more and more natural in the role the more he himself ages. He gives the character so much charm, humor, and stern seriousness when needed that it almost, almost, makes his dated old pervert shtick easy to overlook! The only other good Roshi voice is Kirk Thornton is the Bang Zoom Super dub, but even he can't quite hold a candle to McFarland's iconic take.

Chi Chi has mostly had fine VAs whose portrayls of her have worked for what the character calls for. Of particular note are Carol Anne Day, Lisa Ann Bailey, Lara Sadiq, Nicole Oliver, and Cynthia Cranz.

I only really like Dave "Squatch" Ward and Dave Petit as the Ox King. Kyle Hebert's not awful or anything, but his Ox King never sounded natural. Best you can say is that it's better than Mark Britten's take.

Likewise I only really like Elan Ross Gibson and Linda Young as Fortuneteller Baba (who had some male VAs voicing her a lot for whatever reason?), and only Brian Drummond and Mike McFarland for Yajirobe, though with a bias towards Drummond in the latter role since he got it down earlier and his delivery was more memorable. And I will remain forever insistent that Yajirobe is a Chris Sabat role he never got. Sabat's Kuwabara voice seems meant for the part!

It seems to be an unpopular opinion but I preferred Ward Perry to Dale Wilson as Kami Sama. And Dale was very good as Kami, mind you, but Ward Perry just has a natural gravitas in his voice and carries an aged god-like quality that makes his Kami voice my favorite. Third place goes to Chris Sabat, as it should be a natural choice to have Kami and Piccolo share a VA, but it took until the dub of Kai for Sabat to get it down. Beforehand, his Kami was too wheezy and like a younger man doing a weak impression of an old man.

I prefer Chris Casan to Chris Sabat as Mr. Popo, but prefer Alvin Sanders to them both. Sanders is the only VA to give that odd looking caricature any dignity, and him actually being black helped as well.

I will freely admit that Don Brown remains the definitive King Kai voice in my mind, as he most effectively balanced silly clownishness with an aged wisdom and dignity to him. Dean Galloway in the Blue Water GT dub and Michael McConnohie in the Bang Zoom Super dub are also excellent, with the latter sounding the most like the OG Japanese voice for Kai. Sean Schemmel....I've gotten used to his King Kai and he performs the part more competently nowadays when compared to how he started, but I still think the voice he goes for is just not what the character called for. It sounds too stupid, everyone has made fun of it. I mean, on literally day one of that early Captain Ginyu: Double Cross VHS release back in 1999, the friend who lent it to me had to warn me that this stupid voice was coming! That out of all the poor replacement Funimation voices, it had to be singled out as being particularly awful! So it's bizarre Sean's still kept with it.

Ward Perry and Chris Rager are the only good King Yamma voices.

Young Andrew Francis was the best and most natural voice for Young Dende, but Maxey Whitehead is definitely the next best thing. While Laura Bailey's Dende was well acted, the voice she used couldn't really disguise the fact that Dende's being voiced by a girl, unlike her Kid Trunks. The less said about Ceyli Juliann Delgadillo, the better. As for older Dende, only Justin Cook does it great.

Only Bill Jenkins got Grand Elder Guru down right. Robert O Smith's creepy Alfred Hitchcock voice didn't fit the large elderly Namekian and didn't even sound weary enough. Chris Sabat sounded more weary in Season 3 but was clearly a fake old man voice that didn't require much from him, and he sounded a lot worse in reprisals.

Chris Rager is Hercule Satan. It's the role that literally launched his career as a voice acting and he's never missed a beat in reprisals of the character. Jamieson Price in the Bang Zoom Super dub fits him very well too, even if he's naturally easily eclipsed by Rager. While I could get what Don Brown was going for with his take, I just don't like the performance - we all know the Ocean VA who should voice Mr. Satan is Trevor Devall, but that Kai dub they did was never released so we'll never know if he ended up doing it or not. And Dave Petit as Mr. Satan is such a massive letdown. You'd expect the dub VA for Master Asia to easily nail Mr. Satan, and yet he gave us THAT???

Kara Edwards is definitively Videl. She did great as her voice since she started voicing the role and has only gotten better by Kai. Monica Stori in the Westwood dub isn't bad per say, but I feel Myriam Sirois would've been the more obvious and better casting choice there. Erika Harlacher was spot on casting for the character but was sadly hampered by Super's lackluster Videl-in-name-only material.

I could never quite buy Laura Bailey's Erasa, as she sounded like a sweet Girl Next Door trying too hard to sound like a ditzy diva. Kelly Sheridan pulled off her voice more naturally in the Westwood dub, but Alexis Tipton in the Kai dub is easily the best of the bunch.

Bradford Jackson is the definitive Oolong voice, and it shouldn't even be close, yet Bryan Massey, Richard Newman, and surprisingly even Ray Chase give surprisingly close enough to match his portrayal. The only real opinion I can give is that as much as I enjoy Massey in the role, I think that after Jackson left the second time, they should've given the role to Jeremy Schwartz, who's an even closer soundalike.

Once he finally shook off the absurd Harvey Fierstein impression that Paul Dobson originated, Chris Sabat has played the best Korin. Roger Rhodes, Paul Bandey, and Theodore Lehmann also have very fitting voices for the old cat and they work in their own ways. Ted Cole is by far the most baffling to me, as he opted to play Korin like Garfield even though he was coming off of Dobson's Fierstein voice, creating a huge whiplash in what's meant to be the same character.

Speaking of Ted Cole, though, his Yamcha is still my personal favorite voice for the character. Sabat's Yamcha is fitting too, but can also grate on you after a while and it's more than a bit awkward to have Yamcha and Vegeta voiced by the same person. The other best sounding Yamcha would be Grant George in the Bang Zoom dub.

For whatever reason, Tienshinhan has barely recieved a good dub voice. John Burgmeier stands out as easily the best of the bunch, though Brendan Hunter and (yet again) Ray Chase are good as well.

Chuck Huber is the definitive Emperor Pilaf and I will accept no substitutes. Not even Don Brown, Dean Galloway, or Tom Fahn.

Kent Williams is easily the best Tao Pai Pai, but Doug McKeag in the Blue Water dub did a fittingly menacing yet campy take on him as well. Scott McNeil in the Westwood dub of DBZ is also entertaining to listen to, but giving an oriential dressed character with an oriental sounding name a Russian accent was...questionable.

While the older dub for Mystical Adventure is pretty cringe on the whole, it featured easily the most fitting vocal performance for Master Shen the Crane Hermit from the late, great Robert Axelrod. The only VA who comes even close to comparing would be Clark Robertson in the Blue Water dub. Chuck Huber comes in third place here, I never much liked his Shen, especially compared to his Pilaf.

Jason Gray Standford and Justin Cook have both given us equally perfect vocal portrayals of Raditz. Likewise, Michael Dobson and Phil Parsons are both solid as Nappa, though here I'd say the latter gets a definite edge over the former since he plays the role straight as the cruel, brutish and imposing Saiyan commando Nappa is meant to be, whereas Dobson delivered a lot of his lines in too juvenille a way.

Dodoria's voices in the Funimation dubs all work for him, but John Swasey is especially well cast as he effortlessly bridged the divide between the higher, raspy take by Paul Dobson and the deeper, throatier take by Chris Forbis into one pitch perfect voice.

J. Michael Tatum is the only VA for Zarbon who was just flawless in his approach and performances, so it sucks that he parted with the role once Mira became his main DB role to voice. Paul Dobson also did a kickass job, giving Zarbon a more masculine characterization than I think would be expected of him, though the Australian accent was certainly a choice. Chris Sabat has been all over the place here - he did a spot on Paul Dobson impression in Season 3 but then settled into a more refined, vaguely British sounding voice until suddenly he began doing his flamboyant, campy Ayame Sohma shtick for Zarbon and it sounded awful and ill-fitting. Now that he's got the role again he's notably improved once more, retaining the Ayame voice but changing up the delivery so that we buy Zarbon is actually taking shit seriously and so we're able to take him seriously.

The ideal lineup for the Ginyu Force would be Brice Armstrong as Ginyu, Vic Mignogna as Burter, Chris Sabat as Jeice, David Kaye as Recoome, and Terry Klassen as Guldo, as those were all the best fits for those characters. For Ginyu I also love Richard Newman, Richard Epcar, and R. Bruce Elliot's versions - Dale Kelly is the only one who flat out sucked, as he was horrendously misdirected and sounded like a generic big dumb goon or an evil Popeye the Sailor Man. Don Brown was a good establishing voice for Burter, and while Vic can no longer voice him for obvious reasons, I'm glad Sabat is doing better in channeling him rather than Mark Britten, who was the worst Burter. While I like Scott McNeil and Ernesto Jason Liebrecht's Jeices in their series' better than Sabat's, Sabat as Space Australia Jeice in all the video games has been the most entertaining. Obviously David Kaye's original Recoome can never quite be measured up to, but as of the Kai dub Chris Sabat finally found his footing with the role rather than doing a bad attempt at Kaye, a weird Schwarzenegger voice, or a painfully unfunny blithering retard stereotype voice like before. And while Bill Townsley did alright as Guldo, I think Greg Ayres really refined and perfected the whiney froggy voice he was going for.

Jason Douglas is the only VA to get King Cold down pat. Bradford Jackson's approach was a bit too literal-minded in sounding like a posh, faygala king and then transitioning 100% into a threatening thug when swinging the sword at Trunks. Michael Dobson just sounded like a generic evil brute. Douglas gets down the king quality, the cold quality, and the subtle menace all in a fairly deep voice that's just deep enough and aged enough to perfectly suit the character.

On the Androids...obviously Todd Haberkorn was best suited for 19 seeing as the competition was a high pitched racist stereotype voice speaking in monotone and Cathy Weseluck trying way too hard to sound like a big dumb fatso. Both Kent Williams and Brian Dobson were stellar as 20/Dr. Gero, but the former became especially suitable for the role with each reprisal of it he's done. It's no contest with 16, as even before his improvement for Kai and beyond, Jeremy Inman's voice fit better than Scott McNeil's overly done giant voice. And while Chuck Huber and Meredith McCoy are the most iconic and perfectly suited for 17 and 18, I think all the VAs to for the characters did good enough jobs, including Colleen Clinkenbeard's 18 in Kai.

Duncan Brannan did the best Babidi, it's not even remotely close.

Beerus and Whis are simply owned by Jason Douglas and Ian Sinclair, though I don't think John DeMita and Doug Erholtz in the Bang Zoom dub were awful, they just could've been directed better.

Champa, meanwhile, is a case where the short-lived Bang Zoom dub actually managed to outdo Funimation. Kirk Thornton fits Champa's appearance and personality better than Ernesto Jason Liebrecht, and it's not even close, though Caitlin Glass and Tamara Ryan do come close to each other as Vados: their voices and tone are both perfect.

James Marsters as Zamasu is just...if anything sells Zamasu as one of the all-time greats of villainy in Dragon Ball, that casting does.

I slightly prefer Don Brown as Garlic Jr. (his monologue upon gaining immortality really clinches it for me), but Chuck Huber also put in a tremendous effort to bring life to the role so that he seems a bit more than just a throwaway filler villain. Should he ever resurface, I think Bill Townsley ought to have a crack at voicing him, as his Babidi voice was closer to Huber's Garlic than to Duncan Brannan's Babidi.

Dr. Wheelo has three VAs and rather curiously falls into the exact same situation as the three VAs for Andross of Star Fox - one of them (R. Bruce Elliot) fits a big scary villain but doesn't carry much of an old scientist quality to him, while another (Douglas Rand) sounds like a mad scientist but carries virtually no menace in his acting. And then there's the one, Ward Perry, who gets it down juuuust right.

Turles is another great Ward Perry villain role, though more so in the uncut Pioneer release dub than the TV dub where he put on what sounded like a forced impression of Brian Drummond's Vegeta. Chris Patton didn't really carry the same quality to his take on Turles in the redub, but in the games to feature Turles afterwards, especially by Xenoverse 2, he's become just as definitive a Turles voice as Ward.

Jonny Yong Bosch as Broly > Vic Mignogna as Broly, come at me, but I'm right. Also, Paul Bandey was actually the significantly better (and more entertaining) fit for Paragus in the Big Green dub of Movie 8, but the more aged Dameon Clarke fit Super's Paragus far better.

This doesn't seem the common opinion, but for the GT version of Pan I think Caitlynne Medrek of the Blue Water dub > Elise Baughman of the Funimation dub. She sounds closer to the character's age and doesn't deliver most of her lines like she's half-yawning all the time. Similarly, Carol Anne Day > Amber Cotton as Valese in that show. You just can't go wrong with Carol Anne Day!

Bura, meanwhile, is a case of when the English VAs get better and better. Parisa Fakhri had a decent voice but was a notably wooden voice actress who never really committed to selling her characters. Leda Davies in the Blue Water dub had more energy and I'd argue she fit Bura better than she ever fit Bulma. Brina Palencia took over from Parisa for a cameo in Budokai Tenkaichi 2, delivering a similar voice saying more competently acted lines. Lauren Landa, who's been Bulla ever since the end of Kai, is easily the best Bura voice, as she gets down the right voice, right energy, and right line reads.

Lastly, let's talk about the Dragon himself. Don Brown, Chris Sabat, and Dave Petit are all top tier voices for Shenron, all making him sound believable as a mighty, magical wish-granting dragon diety. Sabat has become easily the most iconic out of them and he does wonderfully....but my personal favorite remains Don Brown. Partly because of that growl he has that's very Tiger Head Cave from Aladdin sounding and befitting a dragon, but also partly because it's Don Brown. Look at his resume, particularly as DB characters like many mentioned on here, and would you ever guess that was him?

[writingwhilecaffeinated]

So… I have a fic idea. Of course. I mean, I need to finish my two WIP first. But I like the idea enough I write something.

It’s inspired by the fairytale The Six Swans as well as the classic 80s movie, Lady Hawke. A Regency fantasy Au. Everything’s the same except there’s magic. Should I write it? Or just kick it down the road? No idea…

It was a calculated risk Penelope Featherington took when she threw herself in front of the Queen and her trusted warlock.

A gamble, a trick, in order to protect those she loved most without revealing the truth of her heart.

It was, of course, her fault the Bridgerton Family was cursed. But that did not mean she couldn’t prevent the worst of the spell from falling upon her favorites.

Penelope, in her writing as Lady Whistledown, was certainly witty. Yet she grew ambitious, wanting more recognition, especially from her dearest friend, Eloise, who was growing tired of Whistledown’s gossip. Eloise wanted to focus on greater equality for women, magic and non-magic alike, so that they may study at the best colleges as the men do. All persons had some innate magic, although some were more gifted than others. But while warlocks were trained and celebrated, women had been burned at the stake for wishing to rise to power, and were suppressed to be nothing more than regular hedge witches and medicine women. Eloise was one such talent, unable to do more than he taught simple herbs and remedies, and even that was frowned upon since she was of noble lineage.

Penelope’s own magic manifested in her writing, easily letting opinion sway one way or the other depending on her intent. But Penelope had never intended for the Queen to be so incensed by her words that she would seek retribution. But she had, and Penelope knew she was paying a heavy price.

The worst of it was, the Bridgertons were not even aware it was her fault.

The particular pamphlet that had stoked the Queen’s fury had been about the… failed progeny of her lineage, both in securing matches and actions. She had written a particular paragraph that the Queen quoted at them as she barged into the Bridgerton home unannounced, like vengeance itself in a gown of blood red, her tight black and gray curls piled high upon her head. A crown of onyx sat atop her head, and her loyal warlock, Grimsby, by her side. With a wave of her hand she forced the entire family on their knees in the parlor, trembling against the natural burn of her magical rage. Penelope, who had been visiting Eloise to get her opinion on the scandal sheet that day, was unaffected as she was not the target. She paled, hand quavering over her mouth as Eloise and Colin shook in confusion and terror. The rest of the family was no better, all of them, including Kate and the Duke of Hastings. Violet Bridgerton, a weeping Hyacinth bent over beside her, tried to speak.

“Your Majesty, please, my children–”

“Are apparently superior to mine in every way,” Queen Charlotte remarked dryly, snapping a finger so that Grimsby handed her a folded bit of parchment. Penelope felt her stomach turn when she recognized the printing.

“‘Gentle Reader, it must be acknowledged that not only are the King and Queen’s brood quite useless in making advantageous matches, but in doing anything of real import. While the unruly sons breed like rabbits with all the whores of the realm, the daughters simply sit and simper. It appears our monarchs are nothing but figureheads. It is a sad day when the exemplary Bridgerton family act and are treated more like royalty, with their good works and even greater looks. The Viscount’s marriage to the beatific Kathani Sharma, and the Duchess of Hastings growing home of her own already surpasses the accomplishments of the Queen’s spawn in a matter of two years. Soon, the rest of the Bridgerton children will follow, under the Dowager Viscountess’ exemplary care.’”

Queen Charlotte looked up to arch an imperious eyebrow at Violet who blushed deeply.

“My Queen,” Anthony hurried to say, sweat beading at his temples. On one side of him he had Gregory tucked under his arm, the other hand clasped Kate’s fingers. “We had nothing to do with this. We would never dare claim to be better than your most esteemed family–”

“It does not matter whether you did or not,” the Queen snapped, her eyes narrowing on Anthony’s pleading face. “The damage is done, and an example must be made!”

She waved her hand airily and Francesca began to sob alongside Hyacinth, fear gripping the entire family’s hearts. Violet and Anthony were pleading as Brimsley took a step forward. Penelope looked from the Queen, who was beginning to turn her back, as Brimsley stepped forward, the blood red cloak he chose to match his Queen stepping forward, raising an arm with the golden band around his bicep that marked his status. Penelope’s brain worked quickly, flying between options faster than a bird in flight. Queen Charlotte was from Prussia, a descendent of a family of old magic, the type of magicians who loved to make deals… Queen Charlotte could never turn down a challenge when she saw one, but it could not be too obvious. No. Careful–

Penelope made a calculated choice, but she had to make it seem as random and powerful as a lightning strike.

“No!” she screamed, purposely tripping over her feet as she chose her target. With barely a glance at Eloise and Colin, she stumbled to the astonished form of Benedict Bridgerton and shielded him from view. Turning towards the lithe artist she embraced him, his face nestling above her breasts in a way that was more intimate than any encounter she had ever had. She bent her head, her fiery red curls curtaining his face as she whispered, “Please.”

She prayed he understood. That he would play along and would not hate her. Her risk was calculated. To provoke the Queen’s challenge, she also risked infuriating her more, and Penelope was not willing to risk the Bridgertons she loved most: Eloise and Colin. Her heart ached at the mere thought of putting any of the children in harm's way, and the family needed their mother, and needed the leaders that were Anthony and Daphne. And without Kate or Simon, Anthony and Daphne would crumble.

But Benedict had no spouse, Benedict was not as dear to her as Eloise, Colin, and Violet. And Benedict was no child.

So she chose her sacrificial lamb, in hopes he would rise to the challenge. And Benedict locked his gaze on her, his ocean eyes meeting her sky blue ones. She recognized the exact moment he understood, and his face set in firm resolution. Penelope’s shoulders shook with relief, her heart twisting as she recognized the fire that blazed in his eyes. The look of a man who would willingly die for his family.

All of the Bridgertons had an uncanny knack for self-sacrifice.

Swiftly he wrapped his arms around her waist, as if he was to say goodbye to all he held dear, and said just loud enough for all to hear, “My love, no, you must not–”

Penelope cupped his cheeks between her palms and tenderly kissed his forehead in silent gratitude, thought to all around it would appear like a paramour clinging to her doomed love. She tensed when she heard Eloise start, frantic, “Pen–” But she was on the other side of Daphne on the floor, and Penelope saw from the corner of her eye the oldest sister grip her Eloise’s knee in a silent plea. Penelope dared not look at Colin.

“What is this?”

Turning her face, head bowed, toward the Queen’s rich voice, Penelope kept Benedict shielded with her body.

“Please, your majesty, I beg you to spare him! I–” Penelope closed her eyes and breathed deeply, feeling tears sting her eyes and spill down her cheeks. Colin’s face swirled in her mind as she said, “I love him.”

She heard the Queen tut in amusement, and the swish of the older woman’s skirts move across the floor. A firm grip took hold of her chin, forcing Penelope’s face up.

“Look at me, little Featherington.”

Penelope opened her eyes to see the Queen’s usually brown gaze glow a molten amber, analyzing her for falsehood. Penelope held her breath, hoping there was just enough truth to her words to pass. She had not specifically identified the “him” she had referred to.

Penelope felt the burn of Queen Charlotte’s magic flow and surge under her skin. Benedict’s grip on her waist tightened, and Penelope moved her hands to squeeze his own in response. Soon the amber dripped from the Queen’s irises, the chocolate brown returning. She smirked and Penelope shivered under her assessing stare.

“Interesting,” the Queen remarked. “I tell you what, child. Let us test your love for this man and his family.”

With an airy wave, Brimsley was by her side, his short, stout form never once hindering the fear he inspired. Brimsley and the Queen appeared to be having a silent conversation, completely possible when loyalty and magical bonds were formed between two fated people. While the Queen was bound to her husband by romantic love, the bond between the Queen and her most loyal servant was a kinship that inspired absolute awe in all who beheld them.

Suddenly Brimsley moved his short arms in a swift upward motion and both Benedict and Penelope were forced to their feet. Brimsley’s magic, similar to the Queen’s own, blazed painfully as it forced them to stand upright. Benedict was behind Penelope, towering over her, and with a grunt of exertion he gripped her hips in his hands, trying to soothe the pain with his own power, like cooling water. It was a mere trickle, but it was a small comfort.

“I shall give you one exact rotation of the earth around the sun,” the Queen said, “To break the curse that shall be placed on your family, as well as the one that shall be placed on the two of you.”

“What?” Benedict huffed, his throat tight, sweat dripping down his neck. “How is that–”

“Fair?” The Queen cackled. “Dear Mister Bridgerton, nothing about this is fair. That is not the point!” She flicked her fingers and with an almighty crack Benedict’s head whipped back as if he had been punched in the face. Penelope gasped, and Benedict’s family screamed, Violet’s cry most heartbreaking of all.

“Please, please, we shall go along. Just don’t hurt him,” Penelope pleaded, daring to look up at her. “I beg you, if you must hurt someone, hurt me.”

“No–” Benedict choked, blood trickling down his nose just as Colin and Eloise yelped, “Pen!”

The Queen and Brimsley shared a conspiratorial smile before she continued.

“As I was saying, one rotation around the sun. During that time the two of you will have to find me three items from across the British Isles: the saddle of the trusted steed of Niamh’s mortal love Oisín, proof of love yielded to an ash tree, and the beating hearts of one who has loved and one who has lost. Bring these items to the sacred site of the Coldrum Long Barrow at dusk, and your curses shall be lifted.”

The Queen chuckled as if it was a game, and she was the benevolent gamemaster. In a sense, she was. Penelope was very aware that she could have cursed them or killed them and be done with it.

“What is our curse?” Penelope asked and when the Queen raised a perfectly arched brow, Penelope went on. “I think Benedict and I need to know what our handicap will be.”

“I concede your point,” the Queen admitted. “But let's get a look at what the two of you will be fighting for first, shall we?”

With a nod, Brimsley’s irises shimmered copper before he brought his hands up and across in successive, staccato movements. Benedict and Penelope turned in horror to see the Bridgerton family’s faces contorted in silent screams of terror as their bodies bent and contorted, bones breaking and reforming as long white feathers sprouted from raw, irritated skin. Clothes ripped and Benedict screamed as his mother and siblings transformed into ten swans of various size, shape, and color. Their plumage was stained bright pink from the blood they lost as the feathers emerged, and Benedict stumbled to the swan that was once Anthony, large and stark white, honking weakly when Benedict went to rest his palm on his soft head.

Penelope stood there, frozen, and she thought she was going to be sick.

“Lady Danbury will not be happy that her beloved godson is among them,” the Queen remarked absently. “But I shall explain it is for the best. It is good the Duke and Duchesses children are with her today. Two cygnets would be quite tragic.”

When Penelope’s silent tears would not cease, and Benedict’s cries did not quiet, the Queen rolled her eyes.

“Oh stop your annoying worrying. They shall be safe in my menagerie, well fed and given shelter. I am being quite merciful, do you not agree?”

Her narrowed brows signaled to Penelope what she was required to say. Penelope gritted her teeth, before curtsying, her knees wobbling and her stomach roiling as she forced out, “Most merciful, Your Majesty. Thank you.”

Penelope straightened and walked forward, gently but firmly pulling Benedict away from his feathered family as they flapped their wings helplessly on the floor. She turned Benedict and used her small hand to push Benedict into a bow. Benedict knew what he must do, and he cursed his weakness as he said, flatly, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Now,” Queen Charlotte said, clapping her hands and that now familiar burns flooded her veins again Penelope and Benedict were forced to stand upright, like little soldiers. “My two little lovers, your curse shall be quite special. For this mission you shall always be together. You cannot go more than 10 leagues from each other without feeling intense pain. Yet, forever apart. I have a fondness for animals, you see. And Brimsley here is quite good at making them. By day one of you shall be an animal while the other remains human. As the sun sets, you shall switch places. The cycle will continue every day until you break the curse, or forever if you do not.”

She laughed, high-pitched and shrill and Penelope had to physically fight back a wince.

“I really am quite merciful, do you not agree, Brimsley?”

“The most merciful and gracious, Your Majesty,” Brimsley said heartily. “Giving these two such an opportunity.”

“What creatures are you to force us to be?” Benedict ground out, visibly shaking in barely controlled rage. His face was flushed, his face crusted with dried blood, and Penelope could feel the quickening of his pulse through his wrist under her thumb. She stroked it once, trying to calm him with just a hint of her own magic, a fluttering of wind through the nerves.

“That shall be decided by your souls,” Brimsley said, and with a mighty crack of his knuckles, copper tendrils flooded his eyes again and he began to move. White hot pain enveloped Penelope’s body and she could hear herself screaming, yet she felt so separated from her own body. It felt like knives were shoving themselves up and outward from her skin, and she felt her bones break and disintegrate before they reformed into smaller forms. Her mouth elongated and sharpened, and soon she was cawing.

Cawing–

She turned her new eyes this way and that, her vision strangely sharp as she extended black wings with a strange, fiery red sheen. She could see Benedict shaking, collapsed on the ground from the aftermath of the curse. Light shown through the windows of the parlor and the cruel giggling of the Queen echoed around the room. Benedict extended trembling fingers towards her and she hopped on her small talons to be embraced by his large palms. He held her to her to his nose and it was there in the reflection of his glassy eyes that she saw herself.

Staring back at her was a large, raven, with unnaturally light blue eyes.