#this is so off the charts sad and evil for no reason

[diablo-that-first-spark]

Hell has frozen over: I am deviating from the lore

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my dearest cupcakes, you read that correctly. Hell is indeed an icy wasteland now and the Seven Evils need full winter gear to function. I am officially ignoring certain parts of the lore and deviating back to a previous version of them.

For those who don’t really know me, here’s why this is a big deal:

Lore is sacred.

Respect the goddamn source material.

These are the two golden rules I always follow, no matter the fanart or fanfiction I create (I’m talking about serious attempts here, not jokey sketches or memes, of course). I do not trample over established lore and rules in a world, just because I want to tell my story. I always do my best to make my story and characters work within the guidelines already set by the original creators. I don’t retcon backstories, I don’t blackwash, I especially don’t rainbow-wash, all of these are shameful practices in my eyes, and I would not be caught dead doing them.

Anyway.

With Diablo 4 out and its spin-off stories being published, I am finally forced to partially let go of the “Lore is sacred” golden rule… or at the very least, stay true to a former version of said lore. Namely, the Diablo 3 and the Sin War trilogy versions.

Now, it is obvious that Blizzard is doing its best to ignore D3 altogether in D4, outside of bringing back a few older locations like Maghda’s boss arena or the Forgotten Overlook. Returning D3 characters would rather die than mention anything from that game, while D2 characters (who should be dead 3 times over by this point) can’t shut the hell up about their former adventures.

It is also an undisputed fact that D3 is the least popular entry in the franchise among the hardcore non-fanart-creating part of the fandom. A sad fact, but a fact nonetheless.

Now, I am not saying Blizzard is a shit company, they don’t know what they are doing, I know better. No. Stories change. Things get retconned. Characters rewritten. Course-correction is necessary. That happens to almost every long-running story, it is entirely normal.

I just don’t like these changes, I think they take away from the lore overall. Attempts to erase my favorite entry from the franchise won’t make me happy, naturally, even if I wholeheartedly understand the purely logical and business reasons behind it.

So! Not to mince words, here is a list of every retcon I can think of from the top of my head, that I am going to apply to That First Spark:

1) Nephalem are weak no-name peasants who look perfectly human

Going by D3 and Sin War rules, in TFS nephalem are absolute powerhouses who survive insane shit being thrown at them, just because they are nephalem. Their power level is either off the charts or much higher than normal, both in magic and in physical strength. As a personal preference, I will also make the First Generation Nephalem (namely, Rathma) a little bit inhuman. I lllloved it when we still believed Elias would be Rathma, his design was perfect for the role. I will give Rathma a bit of a redesign for Act IV but his slight but disturbing inhuman appearance will remain so. No full-blown furry designs, that is just ridiculous, good lord.

(One day, I might write a rant about the current state of the Nephalem-era of history, because it is an absolute travesty. One day.)

2) Inarius is just a “lieutenant” of Tyrael

Yeah, nah, eff that. Rhythm brothers, till the day I die.

3) Rathma becomes the First Necromancer after he corrects a very plot-convenient mistake.

(Not going into more detail because the Rathma graphic novel is still very new.)

I’m going back to the original lore, which is far more interesting: Linarian had started a rebellion among his generation, after he realized their children were born weaker because of Inarius’ meddling. The rebellion goes horribly wrong, Inarius manages to kill most of the first generation nephalem with the aid of the Worldstone then he disappears and suffers a fate of isolation that eventually breaks his mind. On the other side, Linarian goes insane over the guilt of leading his fellow nephalem to their deaths, until the dragon Trag’Oul finds him and teaches him of the Balance, giving him the name “Rathma” (“Keeper of the Balance”).

None of this is made up by me, btw. This is how the lore was in the Sin War trilogy books.

4) Demons can be born/manufactured from the blood of angels

That is just the dumbest stuff Diablo Immortal has ever pulled, like hell I will work with that.

5) Lyndon didn’t kill Rea, instead he allows her to make his life hell

Hells, I already retconned it with the ending of Act I, without even trying. I saw into the future with this!

On a personal note: this is the most terrible story line they could have given to Lyndon, I hate everything about it, and I wish it to the deepest pits of hell. He deserves better. Grimdark is utter trash.

6) Lilith is an unkillable boss bitch that walks away from lethal crippling injuries like it’s nothing

Oh do not worry, she is going to be an absolute nightmare to take down. Quiet and co. will have to work for it hard. But originally Lilith has never been the “strahng wahmen unkillable boss bitch” modern day trope, and she won’t be that in TFS either. I have to be clever with what kind of injuries she may or may not receive.

7) Kingsport is on the south-western shore of the Western Continent

TFS works with the Diablo 3 version of the world map. If there is a location that is needed for the story, which shows up on the D4 map, but not the D3 map, I will bring that one detail in. There is nothing big behind this decision, I just grew used to the D3 map.

8) Lilith initiates the Purge of the Renegades because of Linarian's vision her son told her about

I am working with the Book of Cain version: Lilith assumes Inarius is already plotting the genocide of the children when he withdraws to meditate on the right choice. So she kills every angel and demon so that should Inarius want to destroy the children, he would remain utterly alone on a dead world. Her gambit would pay off in the end, although not before Inarius banishes her.

---

I am sure there will be a bit more retcons down the line, but for now, these are the critical nodes I see from here.

It probably doesn’t sound too bad for you, and I agree, I am probably making a mountain out of a mole-hill here. However, I have my own code to follow in creative works, and I honestly feel like this deviation from my usual methods warrants a heads-up.

So, anyway, back to the drawing board! I wish I had an ETA to give you cupcakes about the arrival of Act IV, but unfortunately I don’t. Thank you for your continuous patience!

2024.08.26.

[ca-suffit]

Maybe I'm wrong and it's just a perception,and also I'm not trying to absolve the fandom from racism, but how do you explain that Armand is totally accepted (I mean I'm happy for him) but I noticed recently that he's a big fan favorite despite having had his race changed.

I don't see him being stereotyped by the fandom because of his race.

So if the fandom is so racist why is Assad so loved ? They changed their beloved ginger and I've never seen anyone cry about it,just love.

Once again I don't wish him to receive racist treatment i have just noticed.

I even think he Overtaken Lestat (for the now in s2 because I think his fans are just asleep waiting for Lestat season)

Sorry if my ask seems like an hater i'm just trying to make some logical.I know fandom can be ugly for POC especially after racebending but if I'm not wrong Armand is a big fan favorite in the books and his show version too his ethnicity didn't change anything.I'm not saying Claudia and Louis deserve their treatment inside fandom,just sometimes i'm wondering if they had been white wouldn't it be the same ?

There's layers to what's going on with Armand. I just answered this ask ahead of this one, which says the opposite of this, but both of u are technically "correct" in what ur seeing.

Also, before I get too deep into this, just to mention that when the Armand reveal happened in S1, the racism was off the fucking CHARTS here.

Anyway, Armand *is* treated differently from book to show but it's not in the same way that the characters who are black are treated. Taken from this ask

"armand has his own history and is a brown man, but he’s a man who does have privilege in ways over louis and is shown abusing him with it too. it doesn’t mean his history is erased. but the fandom will defend (white) lestat first, then (brown) armand second, and….never really defend louis (or claudia)…..despite them being the only ones we’ve seen abused on screen so far. so it’s not rly about pitting anyone against each other as it is acknowledging who has the privilege across all these spaces and knowing why that is too."

Essentially what ur seeing is more acceptance for a non black person of color but who still isn't receiving the same treatment that the white character is getting when it comes to exploring his motivations and his backstory. Like I said in the first linked ask, ppl "accept" Armand and say "we love our evil gremlin" but Lestat is the one getting deep metas over God knows what, shit ppl just make up at this point. Armand isn't getting the same treatment for the show version.

I'm not saying Claudia and Louis deserve their treatment inside fandom,just sometimes i'm wondering if they had been white wouldn't it be the same ?

I think this is saying if Louis and Claudia were white in the show, wouldn't the fan reactions be the same? And the answer is no, not at all. They're *drastically* different and it's solely bcuz they're black now. For example, Louis' anger was never treated as "a problem" until he was black. Claudia was never called "manipulative" or "too old" until she was black. The actress who played her in the Lestat play was 19 or something too. That plot follows the series p closely for Claudia's involvement with the coven as well, but nobody ever spoke negatively about that actress or character for any reason. They were rly never judged for anything when it was all white ppl (except for Louis being sad and whiny a lot).

[rouge-fauna]

I'm a c!Tommy fan and didn't mind your aspd c!Tommy post. I don't think it was ableist. I don't exactly agree with it either though but you have a right to say it and not get talked about behind your back. I'm sorry that happened. I would probably send an ask about my interpretation in the distant future once all this has calmed down and the abundance of c!Tommy asks have stopped 😅 ❤️

I really appreciate you saying that. :) I’m glad I haven’t pissed everyone off lol, whether you agree or don’t, or like c!Tommy or don't. I mean I personally don't think it's really right to talk badly about people behind their back anyways, but it certainly does feel a little unreasonable to call me dumb, crazy and delusional without even trying to have a conversation with me. What's sad is that there are points to be made and would have been interesting to discuss like an alternative diagnosis or looking more at the diagnosing criteria. Like this is not a hill I would die on, it's not my favorite analysis or take, it's just an opinion and viewpoint I shared with reasons why, the context of which was actually countering the argument of people calling c!Dream a psychopath.

And while I'm at it, I would like to note a few things. In the essay I didn't even call c!Tommy evil or ASPD evil, and I have tried to be very clear that by no means do I believe c!Tommy deserved to be abused in Exile or any other time. And in regards to the alignment chart, I really disliked that analysis anyways. It just doesn't really work. It's a simplified tool for dnd to help people stay to character, but how do you decide what is good, lawful, and evil in a story where, as I have talked about so many times, there is no true system of laws or government, and no widely accepted bounds of morality... So just to be clear, I will reiterate - no one deserves abuse, I do not think c!Tommy is "evil" or the "Bad guy" and I do not think there is a dsmp character who is. And while it may seem like I have a vendetta or am targeting c!Tommy specifically, that's just where discussion has lead recently, mostly because of the finale, anons, and also because of noticing how often c!Tommy calls c!Dream a psychopath I thought it was interesting to look at how it might be the other way around...

Also... I guess... I don't know, aren't y'all bored of having the same old discussions and takes on c!Dream, c!Tommy, c!Wilbur, c!Punz, c!Tubbo... etc over and over? Is it not fun to look at things in a different way and say - what if this is true or - that is true and how does that change things? Is it not interesting to take the same story and lore and see if it can be seen still canonically in a different way? I mean, applying diagnosis is never going to fit perfectly, not just because I'm a 23 year old autistic engineer not a psychologist of any kind, but also mostly because we only have a set chaotic few years of them to look at with no past to base on. But beyond that, isn't it fun and interesting to see if it fits, if it provides an explanation for behavior we didn't have before? Is it so wrong of me to try and see if there are fun new ways of looking at lore instead of having detailed ships and aus?...

Anyways sorry, I may have gotten carried away there, it has been a long Monday. Regardless, it is a shame that it ruined the chance for actual exciting productive conversation and discussion to happen, because I can't say I am not curious on your interpretation. Guess we will just circle back around to it (it seems to be inevitable at his point lol) <3 <3 <3

[bloody-wonder]

top 5 villains in fiction? Or alternatively, top 5 antagonists, totally up to you.

thank youuuuu :)

lol so i'm very obnoxious about what kind of character does or does not constitute a villain/an antagonist so these are like top 5 that passed that rigorous selection process

graham reid malett aka gabriel (the lymond chronicles). so my problem with villanous characters is that i'm a contrary bitch and when authors want me to really hate someone i usually end up either not caring either way or actively rooting for them lmao. but with gabriel dunnett managed to create someone truly terrifying and compelling at the same time. he's sort of a variation on lymond himself in the sense that he's what other characters think lymond should be - he's a version of lymond that conforms. or seems to conform, to put it more accurately, but that's the horror of it all - being a good man vs. seeming like one, and who's to say what's more important in the grand scheme of things? so the depiction of how any reasonably talented sociopath can charm his way to power and none will be the wiser is very realistic and scary but also - his villain monologues? outstanding. his gaslighting game? virtuoso. the homoerotic tension with the hero? off the charts. yet to be dethroned as my favorite villain of all time.

azula (avatar: the last airbender). i just like how cool and competent and dramatic she is and tbh the gaang were able to beat her only bc she conveniently got a bad case of mommy issues at the end. the last agni kai lives in my mind rent free - truly one of the greatest moments of cinema history.

milady de winter (the three musketeers, especially the 1978 adaptation). i knoooow she's the problematic femme fatale trope or whatever but i don't care. she's the blueprint. she has that sad backstory of being used and abused by men but i don't even particularly care about that either. she's an evil spy ladyboss i connected with on a neurological level when i was 11 and i have loved seeing her winning battles and losing wars again and again ever since.

lord voldemort (harry potter). tbh just a classic nostalgic "i want dominion over everything" kind of villain who at the same time represents evil and insidious real world ideologies that we like to think we defeated once and for all until they rise again - and in a very ironic fashion too, given by whomst this particular villain has been authored. i like voldemort's iconography and origin story but i also like how at the end of the day he remains a "flat" sort of villain with none of that boohoo nonsense. like, seriously, sometimes one needs less snivelling and more "there is no good and evil, there is only power and those too weak to seek it". i like the trope of having to collect a number of macguffins and do things in a very specific way in order to defeat him - and it does feel satisfying to see the characters finally accomplish it.

shen jiu (the scum villain's self-saving system). lol unlike in the case of milady i do care about shen jiu's backstory insofar as it means he has done nothing wrong ever in his life but he's on this list bc he's the titular scum villain and the book itself is about interrogating the roles people play in each other's lives and how those can be reframed if we change the perspective of the narrative. shen jiu is the villain bc luo binghe is the protag - the book tells us so on the meta level. but then as shen yuan learns more about shen jiu - and especially when we read the extra stories from shen jiu's pov - "villain" does not apply anymore as per my very specific criteria lol. in this regard shen jiu is also notable for asking one of the realest questions: while trying to get him to reconcile with liu qingge yue qingyuan says something like "do him a kindness and he'll return it tenfold" - to which shen jiu replies "ah but that's the thing - why should i be the one to be kind first?". bc if you think about it "why should i be the one to break the cycle of violence?" is one of the fundamental villain questions.

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

Weird question for you. It's the wine talking, sorry :)

If you could make a movie of your LotR fics, which actors would you cast? I know you'll keep Brad Dourif as Grima - would you change anyone else? Still go with Viggo for Aragorn, Sean for Boromir etc?

Also, if there was flashback scenes that included Theodred, who would you use for that role? Movie guy had like, two scenes, and we barely got to see his face.

Always a hard question!

I mean, if we're talking about the actors as they are today I suppose Brad's age of 73 would actually align better with what Tolkien had in mind when he wrote Grima (described as: "a wizened figure of a man with a pale, wise face and heavy-lidded eyes"), rather than middle-aged Brad from the early 2000s ;)

For modern actors, I've no idea who I would choose for Grima. Someone suitably weird looking. Not off-puttingly vile, but just disconcerting. He'd need a proper snake-vibe. I like him having certain animal-esque/evil fey-ish qualities, but they need to be done right.

Also he can't be sexy. No Loki-isn't-traditionally-handsome-in-a-greek-statue-sort-of-way-but-he's-still-unquestionably-good-looking bullshit. None of that. He needs to be disconcerting and weird.

Oh I would keep Grima having dark eyes, as they're described in the book. Because I think it adds a nice level of spookiness to him just having eerily dark inkwells as iris'.

Grima needs to look like he's reading your mind (and possibly stripping you, but not in a sexy way) with his eyeballs.

I have issues with how Peter Jackson chose to portray Grima, because the approach doesn't really make sense for the character and the position he occupies in the King's court, but I did appreciate that he wasn't sexy and that needs to be maintained.

As for everyone else? Honestly, I'd likely redo the entire cast. Some of it is for racial diversity reasons (Aragorn, Legolas, Elrond, maybe Boromir etc.) and others is just down to my thinking other people would be a better fit (Eomer, Eowyn, Arwen, Boromir again, Gimli etc.)

I feel like Dev Patel would need to be in it. Maybe as Legolas.

-

I think it's easier to do this by people I'd keep/invent time travel and/or necromancy-that-works to have their early 2000s selves reprise the role:

Bernard Hill - Theoden

Ian Holm - Bilbo

Cate Blanchette - Galadriel

Ian McKellen - Gandalf

Christopher Lee - Saruman

I'm 50/50 on the hobbits and their actors, all of whom I like, but I feel that there are better fits for them? Also, again, we can have more diversity.

-

There absolutely would be flashbacks with Theodred and I would pick someone more appropriate age wise since he's in his 40s, like Boromir, and whoever they had in the movies was too young.

There'd be some fun scenes of Theodred being like: I don't need to marry, I'm still young, there's plenty of time for heirs and spares. Then Grima just stares into the camera like he's on the office. Holds up a chart that shows the growth of Sauron's power. Theodred is like "eh, it's fine."

In another deep flashback scene:

Grima saddles up to Eomer: Have you thought about marriage yet?

Eomer: I'm twenty-two.

Grima: You say that like it matters? Your cousin isn't being helpful and the House of Eorl doesn't make many children, on the whole, and you all drop like flies in your thirties due to being way too adrenaline addicted and prone to poor life choices. Someone. Needs. To. Make. An. Heir.

Eomer: There's plenty of time.

Cue five years later:

Grima: Theodred's dead. So sad. May Middle Earth's smallest violin play at his wake.

Eomer: I'm. hmmm. Yes. Ok, I see what you meant five years ago about us all dropping like flies in our prime.

Grima: Your father going off with too few men to fight a bunch of orcs didn't clue you in to this tendency? Literally. Your entire family's history? Just. Somehow. Didn't clue you in? But never mind, so sad, too late now though. Quick, go fight some orcs.

Eomer squints at him suspiciously.

Grima does finger guns and walks away.

-

I always end up having these things turn absurdly comedic.

anyway - not sure this was helpful! I've no idea who I would cast save that it'd be a major revamp.

thank you! <3 <3

[alyjojo]

Advice to Work on Yourself 💳 in May 2023: Taurus

2 Cups rev - Judgement - King of Pentacles

Regarding: 4 Cups

You are terrified to fall in love. I think every Gemini card has made it out here, could have that in your chart, you’re so stuck in your head over this, you don’t even know how you feel about anything. Overthinking it 💯 To the level of…you’re going to lose your chance. Miss out on something or someone. You’re being logical, everything is showing that, using your head, is this the right thing or is this stupid? You seem to be leaning towards this is stupid, and rejecting this offer or cutting this person off.

I don’t see you actually having made a decision, and the advice is making one. If you say no and reject them, disconnect entirely, it’s going to be 10 Swords. You’re going to be very sad you’ve lost this person. But you’re terrified of saying yes and loving this person and it being…10 Cups. Why, idk, but it’s something that really stresses you out. You’re to use your judgement, logic, intuition, and feeeeelings, which are majorly lacking in this situation. Who knows what they even think because you’re not voicing any of this, and your charm (an Aquarius charm, but flipped) shows you needing to be FRIENDLY. The stress shows. But they have no idea how you feel. You’ve got every air sign here, especially Gemini, and you either have those in your chart somewhere or you’re definitely disconnected from the Cups in this situation, love, emotion. There is such a thing as too logical. What’s logical about love?

I asked for further advice (cuz what is even the advice here…) and both charms went on those cards. I heard “If you love them, tell them.” It’s that simple. Stop making it more difficult. That’s the advice 😆

Animal Oracle: Chimpanzee 🐒

“Use both your intellect and your intuition to solve the problem or get answers to your question.”

When your intellect and intuition are in harmonious accord with each other, there’s no problem that you can’t resolve. The combination emerges as creative intelligence, a blend of your capacity for reasoning coupled with a deep trust in your gut feelings. In this flow, you may surprise yourself by how simple and effective the answer to your question is. In addition to your intuitive feelings, get more information on which to base your choices by doing research. Often when you walk away from a problem or question, after intensely researching or thinking about it, an unexpected insight surfaces that will help you discern the best choice. With a healthy balance between mind, intuition, and patience, you tap into the deeper wisdom of Spirit.

Artist Oracle: PIET MONDRIAN

- Logic should come from the heart.

- True simplicity takes a lot of concentration.

- Find utopia in a straight line.

Advice:

- Start Journaling

- Become Foolproof

- Learn a New Skill

Charms:

Friendly ♒️ on Queen of Cups is showing to BE loving, BE friendly, quit giving this person the evil eye like they’ve kicked over your cereal bowl or something 🤣 4 Cups is an energy of just sitting with your arms folded like HMPH, and what are you even HMPHING? You love them? How dare them. Show your heart, be vulnerable & kind, not because I’m telling you to but because you want to!

Key 🔑 on Ace of Swords, communication & clarity is everything, the key to all of this is being open and honest about how you feel for this person. Your fears, worries, emotions, crazy anxiety, why you’re hmphing, all of it.

[sadthiccness]

👺evil thoughts I’ve been having lately in the read more👹

My step sibling and I are almost exactly the same age, but they have always been way way skinnier than me. We met when we were young and I was already a Big kid, I wasn’t exactly fat or even chubby, but I was definitely one of the biggest for my age. I was tall and also I “filled out” really young, I just looked older and bigger than I wanted to. Meanwhile, my step sibling had a lot of food sensitivity issues and just didn’t care about food much in general. Eating to fullness made them feel sick, but I ate to fullness every single day because I felt soooo hungry otherwise.

It was extra humiliating because a couple of times I brought people around that I was interested in romantically. One was just a crush, the other was a sort of on-again-off-again relationship, and both these people ended up basically ignoring me in order to go hang out with my step sibling. It only happened twice, but still who leaves the person who invited them over to go hang out with one of their step siblings who they don’t even know. It felt like because they were skinnier, people liked them better right away. And because I was bigger, I had to basically pick up scraps.

When we grew up I even got fat. Not like obese, but in the middle of the “overweight zone” on a BMI chart, and I had no muscle mass so it was all flab. My step sibling started dating gym rats, so they became even more attractive. Not only were they naturally thin due to their relationship with food, but they were gaining muscle and eating protein so they looked fit AS FUCK.

It’s been a big issue in my life because we’ve been raised to see each other as siblings, and the sibling rivalry is real. After family events I would feel depressed for days, looking at the pictures of us where they look so small and delicate and beautiful and I look like… me.

Anyways, I started going to the gym too like 1.5 years ago, I haven’t gone consistently the entire time, but it’s definitely been enough to see results. I also started eating less and more responsibly, fixed my posture, and cut way back on alcohol.

I’ve lost more than 30lbs now + gained muscle, and even though I’m not nearly where I want to be, I admit that I look good. At least compared to how I used to look.

And here’s the best part 🤭 my step sibling is gaining weight now 😇 and not gaining weight like putting on more muscle. I don’t think they’re losing muscle, but their legs and arms still look twiggy af, while their belly is getting more flabby.

I’ve always been jealous of my step sibling’s flat tummy, and my own tummy has been one of my biggest insecurities. Now I’ve lost more than 30lbs of fat, mostly from my stomach, and I do light-weight ab exercises a few times a week. Not to say my stomach is a washboard right now, but I’m getting closer to having a flat belly like my sibling always did, and their belly is becoming more chunky and flabby.

It’s pretty sad and messed up that I feel this way, because the reason my sibling is putting on the weight is because they got “happy weight” from a relationship that seemed really good, but they were going to the gym during that relationship. And now that relationship is over and it ended badly, and I’m pretty sure my sibling is 1.) skipping the gym and 2.) drinking alcohol to cope. They did say they have 0 appetite a while back, due to the breakup, but this weekend we were together and I saw them snacking. But idk how much they really eat.

Anyways, all this to say, I’m looking better than I ever have in my adult life and my sibling is slowly going downhill (they’re also getting wrinkly skin + getting cosmetic surgery in our mid-20s, so they’re also losing their face card, meanwhile I started using a daily sunscreen more than a year ago, I hydrate to the extreme, and as previously mentioned I drink less alcohol on the regular. so my skin is looking young af, people actually tell me I’m looking younger. plus, ngl my face card was always more powerful than my sibling’s, it was my body holding my back. now I’m like the ultimate and they’re losing it all.)

((Like I said, these are evil thoughts, pls don’t judge if you read this. I love my sibling and my heart honestly hurts for what they’re going through right now. and I don’t want them to lose their hot body just to make me feel better, especially since it’s due to such a sad reason. tbh they’re still skinnier and leaner than me, but I’m really happy to be catching up finally. I was the ugly (chubby) one for like 15 years, I have to enjoy these times of not feeling inadequate compared to my family))

[thelediz]

Sonic Underground 08: Tangled Webs

I’m watching Sonic Underground in search of inspiration to finish a fic I’ve been writing forever. It’s a sad state of affairs. See the recap of the first three episodes here, if you're interested!

The plot (for want of a better word): Sonic’s old friend Cyrus has turned traitor, hoping to exchange the Sonic Underground to save his father from Robotnik’s evil clutches! Will the Sonic Underground escape, and can they turn Sonic’s oldest friend back to the side of good?

I mean, of course they will, but lean into the drama for me a little, will you?

The first words are “Learning to trust” and I am already bracing myself because I just KNOW this is not going to be resolved satisfactorily.

Also we just had an episode about someone who can’t trust their own inventions and father like two episodes ago, so um…

Hey! The first glimpse we get of the Sonic Underground’s underworld bars. These are surprisingly common and apparently Sonic likes hanging out in them.

ALSO. QUEEN ALEENA SIGHTING. I CANNOT GET A CLEAR SHOT DUE TO MY OLD AND COMPRESSED VIDEO BUT APPARENTLY THE QUEEN ALSO HANGS OUT IN SEEDY BARS.

Cyrus! Cyrus always has terrible animation, but that’s because he’s on this show. I love Cyrus for the same reason I love all the Sonic Underground recurring OCs: he’s such a gold mine for interpretation, and absolutely nothing in his actual canon material.

And a quick scene between Robotnik and Sleet that is one of the reasons I love Sleet as a character. You might remember from early episodes that Sleet and Dingo are self-employed mercenaries that have been forced to work for Robotnik. Left to his own devices, Sleet is remarkably crafty and probably quite effective, but he will always echo Robotnik’s orders, and that makes him sloppy. This will continually bite him. It’s such a nice detail.

Yet another example of smiles in a supposedly stressful scene, and of Sonia trying to ‘stick to the plan’ while Sonic’s being irresponsible (waylaid by Cyrus) and Manic isn’t listening. Because Sonia is the Perfect Freedom Fighter, just ask the writers.

Hedgehogs aren’t rodents, Sleet.

Seriously, the animation this episode is atrocious.

Sonia’s superstrength! Counter +1

And Sonic effortlessly destroys the factory on his own. Why do we have his siblings in this show?

…so in this episode, Sonic is supposedly learning that “there is something to this plan stuff”. He will occasionally remember this, but only if it helps Manic look bad, but mostly he will remain an improvisor. It’s… tiring, if only because—as proven BY THIS EPISODE—Sonic doesn’t need plans! He will always win with or without plans, and most plans only make things unnecessarily harder. IT’S A PLOT HOLE I LIVE IN.

TREVOR. Who is here to introduce Sanctuary, a haven for orphaned kids run by the Resistance that will never be mentioned again.

But I have to say, Sanctuary is one of the reasons I like Cyrus. Because Cyrus ONLY betrays Robotnik when he hears there are kids involved. That’s his moral line – not his old friend, not his loyalty to queen and country, not even hatred of Robotnik, it’s just orphan kids. It seems basic and a very standard moral line, but in context, that gives him some interesting layers that I like to play with.

THE SONG: The Children Light the Way. Oh wow, the ballad about kids. These were so big in the 80s and 90s. This song would have gone off in the charts, you have no idea.

…and like I said, Sonic gets out of this by not sticking to the plan. Narratively, it’s because he’s the hero, but I will absolutely make it out as a plot point, honestly.

And Cyrus loses his dad. And that’s how we end the episode.

No, I say again, we end the episode by acknowledging the loss of a parent. That was so huge at the time and it went completely unacknowledged because this show and this episode are generally such a trashfire.

I so wish this episode had better animation, because if it did this would have been a really good and important episode, showcasing all the things I like about it. Instead, it’s… kind of urexample of everything that this show is: terrible animation, interesting characters, amazing worldbuilding, horrible plotholes.

I love it dearly.

The counters:

Sonic implying less than 100% American heterosexuality: 2

Sonia's super-strength: 2

Sonia's in love with Bartleby: 1/37

Manic's Thievery Is A Problem: 1

Come back tomorrow if you want to know more!

[nulfaga]

i want to do an absolutely miserable "everyone dies and suffers the whole way down" me playthrough too. so i spent some time yesterday looking at the me2 suicide mission and carefully plotting how to leave only the bare minimum amt of squad members alive (2, fewer than that and shepard herself will also cark it). weird amount of math involved. ideally those 2 survivors would be those who can meet an even more horrible fate in me3 (jack and tali for instance. there are many more squad members who can die in me3 but they tend to be heroic/meaningful deaths). liara is basically immortal and vega doesn't show up enough to be endangered but you can take them along to the final battle and (so i understand) if your war assets are absolutely shit tiny then they'll be vaporized by a reaper beam w/ no more ceremony.

i think the funniest option of all (you know in a cosmically evil kind of way) is to have an LI you scrupulously keep alive thru me2-3 (or 1-3) and then at the culminating moment they just get zapped and that's it.

here's my sample plan (choosing garrus as the cursed immortal cause i've been told i never gave him a fair shake. what fairer shake is there than this)

this is not "meet as few characters as possible" btw this is "kill everyone" so while not recruiting them at all would yield the same results what we're after is a pipeline of recruit -> kill (in the most tragic/unsatisfying way possible, wherever possible). death and despair in the milky way etc ME1:

-leave ashley/kaidan at virmire (in practice it doesn't matter who) -don't kill wrex (for now) -kill the rachni queen (though it doesn't make a big difference; grunt won't be alive to sacrifice himself w/ the aralakh company) -don't disrupt geth communications on virmire (kirrahe dies)

ME2:

-don't recruit kasumi or zaeed (they fuck up the numbers for the suicide run. i'm sure there's a way to bring them and successfully kill them while keeping the 4 squadmates we need alive but i haven't figured it out) -destroy maelon's data -let morinth kill samara (if possible. otherwise it doesn't make a difference past the suicide run) -successfully complete loyalty missions for jack, garrus, tali & mordin -keep DISloyal: miranda & grunt -doesn't matter (as in: do the loyalty mission if you like, but they'll die regardless): jacob, samara, thane, legion -get the silaris armor upgrade, but NOT the thanix cannon or cyclonic shields -do as many missions as possible between the reaper IFF and hitting the collector base (to ensure crew death) For the suicide mission:

-silaris armor means jack survives (for now) -no shields means legion dies (don't bring him to the cargo bay fight, or someone else will die instead and throw off the numbers) -no thanix cannons means thane dies

-assign jacob as the vent specialist (he dies) -assign samara/morinth as the fireteam leader (dead) -assign a loyal jack as the biotic specialist (no one dies!) -assign a disloyal grunt as the second fireteam leader (dead) -assign a disloyal miranda to escort the crew (dead) -this should leave tali, mordin, garrus & jack (all of whom should be loyal!) -leave garrus and jack to hold the line (no one dies) -bring tali and mordin to the final fight (no one dies)

-destroy the collector base -shepard survives with 4 crew members

ME3:

-pick every renegade option and DON'T visit the virmire survivor in the hospital after the mars mission -ignore the grissom academy mission (jack gets recaptured by cerberus) -later on, fight jack as a cerberus phantom (dead) -kill the rachni queen, or leave her alive and let her betray you idk -don't warn the krogan -sabotage the genophage cure; shoot m...god forgive me. shoot mordin when he tries to fix it himself (dead. rip) -since wrex is alive, he'll know about the sabotage; he will fight you and get killed (dead) -during the coup in priority citadel 2, don't try to persuade the virmire survivor, just shoot them (dead) -kill falere at the ardat-yakshi monastery -don't do the rannoch: geth fighter squadrons mission -during priority: rannoch, let the geth upload the reaper code and don't try to persuade/warn the quarians (tali dies) -gather NO war assets. you need under 1600 EMS. -bring 2 squadmates. at this point you can choose between garrus, liara, vega and edi. and javik if he's there. -i recommend bringing garrus and liara, the last surviving LIs, your ride-or-dies from the very beginning. (they will be vaporized by a reaper beam) -you should have only one choice for the crucible: destroy. because of your low EMS, shepard dies and this choice also destroys the mass relays as well as all life on earth.

-fin-

[lochnessies]

ok here’s a dissection of a post an anon sent me the link to and bc i have the worst time management possible and i completely forgot i had it lol so sorry anon here you go ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

I am constantly thinking about how Edelgard just doesn’t seem designed to appeal to cishet men.

i hate to be the one to break this news to you op but just because a character doesn’t show skin like charlotte fire emblem doesn’t mean she isn’t designed to pander to men. she’s very much designed to pander to the (majority straight male) player base with her ‘uwu i only trust you professor omg did u see that rat? pls don’t look at my painting of you uwu’.

then there’s the whole edelgard c support in japanese where byleth makes reference to having come to her room for ‘yobi’ which is

there’s also the scene where byleth can make an unsolicited comment about edelgard’s breast size. which is… uhh… gross.

edelgard also has cipher cards that go from slightly fanserviceie to full on suggestive

and also her breast armor that my sister relentlessly mocked lol

and here’s a chart from the 3h subreddit about gender/sexually in regards to edelgard and edeleth. it’s extremely straight male. op might have just overlooked this since they probably don’t go on reddit and stay on tumblr (which unlike reddit is mostly female and has a high lgbt demographic).

Like the joke is that Bleagles is the Gay House, but everything about her feels deliberately non-hetero.

i don’t like where this is going…

She’s dressed in sharp outfits covering her upper body, with proportions that don’t seem exaggerated.

so women who cover up must be lgbt because straight women are naturally more revealing? oh y i k e s

Her poise and the way she effortlessly flourishes her axe exhibits an air of coolness. While titties out =/= character of no substance, Edelgard being dressed more modestly suggests that she wasn’t designed with male-centred fanservice in mind.

“titties don’t equal no substance but here’s my post on how she has more substance because she doesn’t show titties” ok

And she still looks absolutely stunning in her more modest attire (like seriously, I haven’t felt the need to return to cosplay in years but I want to do her academy look so bad). 

yes she does. amazing design 10/10. i have a feeling this is the only part i’m going to agree with

Edelgard is intense. She does not mince her words and she is constantly evaluating you. Though she tries, she has a difficult time understanding her peers initially. Early on, she talks about how she would sacrifice herself and others in the name of some greater good. She is terrible at communicating with her peers. She has to be seen as infallible. Her heart has been hardened for years and she assumes she has to stay that way. She also assumes everyone mourns the same way she does - which is why she (kind of insensitively) insists you move on when Jeralt dies. Because to her, grief has to be channeled towards action, or else you’ll get lost in it. This attitude is demonstrated time and time again as she presses on. It can make her come off as cold and unfeeling - but look closer, and she’s anything but.

don’t really have anything to say at this part. it is pretty on the nose though i would slightly disagree with that last sentence a bit. i wouldn’t say she’s as i feeling as hubert is but all of her talks of the war boil down to how she feels and never her victims.

Her story is ultimately about her realizing that to achieve her goals, she needs to let people in and allow herself to want things like cakes and tea parties and lazy days in peace. 

????? what ????? her goals include imperialism, ethnic and religious targeting. her story is about having a set of beliefs and mowing down anybody who stands in her way. that has nothing to do with tea, friends, and lazy days. also am i supposed to be sad that she has to get up everyday and work? i do that and i didn’t start a war and only throw a pity party for myself

The game leaves the player guessing as to how involved the Flame Emperor was in each Part I event, makes you feel hurt by her betrayal, and leaves you with a choice: do you follow the orders of the woman who tried to make you a god without your consent, or a young girl with questionable morals about to throw the world into upheaval?

this isn’t an ideal situation but i think i’m going to stick with the woman who tried to make me a god since i’m not selfish and i know it’s not only my desires and life at stake here. plus the green hair slaps ngl

Choosing her of your own volition (not for completionist reasons) requires the basic ability to sympathize with a woman’s pain. It also requires the player to read beyond her unwavering will and dubious methods to get a sense of how deep that pain goes and how the theme of humanity relates to her differently in each route.

i’m not going to touch this since @nilsh13 made a post on it that i’ll link here. i agree with everything he said so to repeat it would be redundant.

The player must be able to see a young woman’s desperate resolve to change the world so it stops exploiting people and ruining lives. They must be able to accept the fact that women can make the same morally wrong and ambivalent decisions that complicated male characters get to make all the time and still be the one to root for.

literally the same reason i love rhea lol her goddess experiments are dubious at best but her reasons are the same you mentioned. i would say that i like this quality in edelgard too if her ending, while bloody, actually ended in a good outcome for fodlan.

This is not unique to LGBT+ people, but this population is likely to understand why Edelgard feels so strongly about why she has to change the system. 

i understand wanting to change a system, i really do. like edelgard, i’m an opinionated bisexual woman (who’s also physically disabled) so yeah i get it. and change can be good but it can also be terrible. even if the church was the boogeyman edelgard treats it as she still replaces it with her own shit regime. so it’s the same circus just with a new conductor.

I don’t think “Edelgard gets undue criticism because she’s a woman” captures the full picture. An important aspect of her treatment by certain parts of the fandom is that she’s a radical woman.

or maybe she does some pretty fucked up shit and it goes unacknowledged in her own route. and yeah she’s radical but in all the worst ways.

Her hatred of the Church and the Crest system resonates way harder with people who have been hurt by institutions that are deeply engrained in our society. 

and what about people who have been hurt by systems where their ‘merit’ didn’t measure up and they were left behind? what about people from nations that experienced imperialism?

Siding with her means siding against the Church - which, while different from real world religious institutions, still invokes language about “sin” and “punishment.

yeah the ‘sins’ and ‘punishments’ are used in relation to attempted murders which i think everybody can agree is a bad thing that needs to be condemned.

Choosing Edelgard will likely hit different if homophobic and transphobic Christians used that rhetoric against you.

it has literally nothing to do with ‘sins’ and ‘punishments’ in regards to being gay or trans. that’s you projecting. especially since the church has 2 canon gay characters and two coded ones.

like i can understand why having a church condemn you can be uncomfortable but i’m begging you to please look at the context of what’s happening.

I’m willing to go out on a limb and say that the reason F/F Edeleth is the more popular iteration of that ship because most people who would choose to S-support Edelgard are LGBT+ themselves. This is not a revelation. To anyone in the community, it’s fairly obvious. 

i was talking to nilish and he said

so yeah… while there is definitely sapphic femleth shippers out there, there’s still a whole lot of weird fetishizing going on from straight men about edelgard.

Crimson Flower was my first route. I went into the game knowing absolutely nothing. I played it during the last week of 2020 and hoo boy was it cathartic. 

i can tell. this wasn’t supposed to be a dig but it came out that way and i’m not taking it out.

I felt like I was living out a gay revolution power fantasy, where I could truly change systems of oppression while fighting alongside a group of troubled students I’d shaped the lives of.

so a gay revolution power fantasy (cringe) goes hand in hand with imperialism and installing a dictatorship? also the war had nothing to do with sexuality.

Through your unwavering support, Edelgard learns that she needs to be human, that she must listen to her friends, and that she’s allowed to enjoy the world she’s creating.

edelgard gets to learn how to be human all while hunting those who don’t. and she doesn’t listen fo her friends. she doesn’t even trust them. she’s willing to talk to byleth but keep the people who’s been by her side for five years in the dark about everything. and yeah she gets to enjoy her new words since she’s on top. hate to be a commoner under her rule after she burned down my village in her war.

I love this character so much.

clearly. and i honestly don’t care if somebody likes her. i do as well even if my sometimes scathing words can make it seem otherwise.

It has been six months since I first played and I am still analyzing her,

me too. please help me escape i’m losing my mind

because there’s so much depth. Yet so many people fail to see that depth and dismiss her as evil,

i mean, she does some fucked up shit that goes beyond any of the less than desirable actions of the other main characters and does an extremely poor job in trying to make herself seem innocent. i personally don’t think she’s pure evil but i completely understand where the people who say she is are coming from.

because they never had the will to understand complicated women in the first place. 

that’s big talk from somebody who implies that a gay pope is comparable to homophobic and transphobic irl religions and that leads an oppressive regime all because she uses the vague terms of sin and punishments that you have to gay power fantasy your way out of

[sandflow]

Sugimoto and Ogata’s Rivalmance - anime vs manga comparisons

Hello there.

So I just saw the last episode from he 3rd season of the Golden Kamuy anime series and it left me a little perplexed. I’ll be talking about how the anime handled their scenes compared to the manga.

I’ll be blunt, season 1 was average while season 2 turned out kind of bad. Season 1 is alright as an introduction to the series, even though the CG bear really turned off many people from liking the show. 

Season 2 skipped a lot of arcs and while some of them turned out to be animated as an OVA, there are arcs that even at present haven’t been adapted and as of which happen pre-Abashiri. (Ogin arc, Fake ainu arc).

Season 3 was alright though. The animation quality is way better and the pacing felt really fluid and relaxing for the most part of the season.

I will only be comparing the scenes that have changed, and won’t adress the ones that haven’t been adapted in the anime.

Here we go.

Season 2 Episode 3 (chapter 81) - Sugimoto saves Ogata in Edogai’s house

The manga - After Sugimoto says the infamous tsundere line to Ogata, Ogata spits blood and then the scene shifts to something else.

The anime - After Sugimoto’s line, we can see Ogata looking disgustingly at Sugimoto while he’s leaving the room, and then he spits blood.

I guess that the anime tried to make it look like Sugimoto hurt Ogata’s ego with that line. And Ogata didn’t like it at all. 

(Chapter 83) 

The manga - Ogata tries to hunt the birds by shooting them only to be denied by Asirpa. Sugimoto is all smirky because Ogata is being lectured.

The anime - They don’t show Sugimoto’s evil smirk reaction to Asirpa lecturing Ogata.

The manga -  Sugimoto being jelly of Ogata who caught more birds than Asirpa. When Sugimoto says that Ogata tried to hunt the birds just to prove Asirpa wrong, we can see Ogata’s sad reaction to that line.

The anime -  It’s pretty much the same scene but we don’t get Ogata’s reaction.

Season 2 Episode 5 (Chapter 99)

The manga - Sugimoto calls out Shiraishi’s betrayal. Shiraishi panicks thinking that he might kill him right there, but it ends up with Sugimoto showing him that he gave fake skins to Hijikata.

The anime - it’s the same scene except for when Sugimoto calls Shiraishi out, we can see Ogata’s expression while the conflict unfolds.

And then Sugimoto says that the skin that Shiraishi gave to Hijikata was a fake.

And we see Ogata again where he closes his eyes.

The Ogata reactions never existed in the manga.

I’m thinking that they added this so as to hint at his future betrayal in Abashiri.

(Chapter 100)

The manga - they kill some deer so as to hide in them and get rid of the 7th from pursuing them, Shiraishi becomes delirious and runs away. No one goes after him.

The anime - Shiraishi runs away delirious and Asirpa goes after him and tells Sugimoto to skin deers with Ogata until she comes back. Sugimoto decides to go after her and Ogata calls him to come back.

This entire scene did not exist in the manga.

OVA 3 (Chapter 104)

The manga - Shiraishi gets bitten by a snake. Sugimoto, for some reason, gets bitten too. 

And when both of their heads get inflated, Shiraishi asks Sugimoto what happened to his face.

The anime - Ogata is the one who asks Sugimoto about his face.

All I can say is thanks Geno for this addition.

OVA 4 (Chapter 111)

The manga - Asirpa asks Ogata to help Tanigaki escape from these ainu dudes who think he violated and killed wild animals.

In the manga, after Asirpa asks Ogata for help, Ogata follows it with the reasoning that Tanigaki may have killed his comrades from the betrayer group, to which Sugimoto and also Asirpa defend Tanigaki by saying that he wasn’t the one to do it.

After that, Sugimoto sort of taunts Ogata by saying that uwu Asirpa won’t cook for you anymore~

The anime - After Asirpa asks Ogata for his help, the whole reason he wouldn’t save him is skipped, and it jumps to just Sugimoto taunting him.

All what Ogata needed was a small tease reply from Sugimoto and he was totally down on risking his life saving Tanigaki. Comrades getting killed by Tanigaki? Naaaah.

Season 3 Episode 7 - (Chapter 169)  

The manga - The group starts talking about the legend of a mountain cat (lynx) and Koito thinks that they were probably refering to Ogata. And so the bullying begins.

Sugi when first hearing of this, he smirks in a way that says “Lol wut where did that come from”.

The anime - when Sugimoto first asks “What’s Ogata gotta do with it?” we don’t see his smirking face like in the manga. 

And when he says the line of “What a pathetic joke”, his face looks a bit more..dramatic and sad in a way?

Or when he looks all determined after Koito says that they should kill a cat when spotted.

This scene felt like he really does feel sorry for Ogata being bullied compared to the manga.

Season 3 Episode 11 - (Chapter 187)

Ogata lies about Sugimoto’s death to Asirpa so as to get the code out of her.

He sees that Asirpa isn’t cooperating with his pleas of sharing the code with him. So he uses the Sugimoto card.

The manga - he starts blushing the moment he mentions Sugimoto

The anime - the blush wasn’t shown in this scene

He starts talking about the fake flashback of hearing Sugimoto’s last words.

The manga - we get this simple panel of just Ogata calling out Sugimoto’s name.

The anime - we are serviced with the same scene but from a different angle which I appreciate because it looks shippier.

Another notable thing is that while this scene is happening, you can hear Sugimoto heavily breathing. To me it felt like the breathing sounds lasted a bit longer than I imagined when reading the manga... 

Sugimoto’s voice sounds very soft and gentle while begging for Ogata to take care of his buddy’s family.

The manga - blushy lying Ogata

The anime - blushy lying Ogata but the blush seems to be drawn lighter? You gotta squint to see it.

The manga

The anime

I don’t have an argument for these panels I just like how cute he looks while blushing.

when you imagine your arch nemesis’s last soft, gentle dying words you just can’t help but feeling flustered

The manga - Ogata leans in close to Sugimoto’s face. Sugimoto is looking directly into his eyes while trying to mutter Tome’s name. And Ogata seems to look sad.

The anime - the scene is shown from a different angle, and Sugimoto is probably looking at the sky or something. We can’t see Ogata’s expression anymore.

The manga - Ogata is still running on the ice floe while pretending to care about Sugimoto’s last wishes.

look.at.his.frowny.cute.staplebrows.

The anime - Ogata and Asirpa are...standing still, looking at one another, and being all sad about their boo-boo Sugi-chan's death wishes.

The manga - The projecting is now going off the charts.

Sugimoto grabs Ogata’s hand, holds it tightly,with Ogata also tighting the grip, tells him that he wants to go back to his hometown while also tearing up, all of this happening while they look in eachother’s eyes.

This is peak soft fanfiction I SWEAR-

The anime - Geno wasted all of their money in this episode and they didn’t have any other left to animate this panel, so they just use the same frame as before.

That sky must be very fascinating to look at.

The manga - Ogata being all pouty and sad that he has to bear Sugimoto’s burdens-

The anime - He seems not as pouty but the cute eyelashes are more visible. CUTE.

The manga - a beautiful ending for a fanfic  Ogata projects even MORE because I guess that everyone on this planet loves the same fish stew as he does.

The anime - it’s basically the same but Sugimoto’s voice is so dramatique and sad that it just brings tears to my eyes how Ogata is so good at writing fanfics.

(Chapter 188)

The manga - Sugimoto heard Ogata’s fanfic and was enraged because of how ooc he turned out, so he went to him and to show what sort of fanfics he’s into, he comes from behind, grabs Ogata by the hair, pulls it, and cuts his poisoned eye out.

The anime - He comes in from the front???? catches Ogata’s head in a very gentle way, and cuts his eye out. No hairpull.

Geno. I’m looking at you.

The manga - Sugimoto making very angry eye contact, sucking Ogata off and still pulling his hair.

The anime - Geno doesn’t like gore so they just animated one single suck panel. Ogata is sort of moving his eye a little there. Hm.

We also get some new frames that weren’t in the manga.

One in which he scolds Ogata for wanting to make small children kill people.

The other still looking angrily at his bandages face.

Ok Geno you’ll get a pass on this one.

Season 3 Episode 12 (Chapter 197)

The manga - Sugimoto tries very hard to convice everyone to save Ogata.

The anime - it’s the same thing except the very heterosexual tension orange glowy eyes, and the more obvious and wider drawn devilish smirk.

This is thirst depicted in one frame.

The manga - The doctor says that Ogata will most likely die and Asirpa is sad.  Sugimoto is looking at her thinking oh nooo she’s a killer now.

The anime - Asirpa is sad but Sugimoto isn’t looking at her but towards the doctor....

The manga - Sugimoto has white danger eyes with a tint of sadness/dissappointment in his expression.

The anime - Sugimoto looks SO ANGRY HOW DARE YOU DIE LIKE THIS? PATHETIC OF YOU. *spits* 

He’s just as thirsty here too.

I didn’t understand why they coloured his eyes like that. What was is supposed to mean????? He wants blood but he also wants to continue to hunt for it I guess???

This is, I think, the first time in the anime where they colour the pupils that bright.

The manga - Sugimoto is so shocked that Ogata is alive and ran away.

The anime - they added two new frames, basically empathising how Sugimoto is slowly processing the whole event.

God the adapted manga panel looks so funny he just goes super duper wide eyes as if no one would have predicted this outcome.............

(chapter 200)

The manga - wishing for his arch nemesis to come back to him. A very normal wish.

The anime - it’s the same. But now with sparkly eyes like in the volume.

And that’s it.

I think that Geno somewhat tried to promote their relationship to a certain extent by adding new scenes while trying to stay somewhat faithful to the source.

Sadly, they cut a lot of arcs. If you’d watch this series without checking out the OVA’s, you’ll definitely miss out on scenes where their bickering bond is being shown in all of its glory. They didn’t even animate the Fake Ainu arc even as of today, which has the best sugio bickering in the series.

[tanoraqui]

tanoraqui

Still thinking about an au in which for some reason WWX and the Wens are left to just live peacefully on the creepy death mountain - some detente wherein they don’t leave the mountain ever and in exchange no one tries to visit ever. Borders patrolled by corpses and sect disciples. So A-Yuan grows up raised kind of collectively but mostly by WWX and Wen Qing (the one most likely to tell WWX that he’s doing it wrong), and learns healing-focused spiritual cultivation AND demonic cultivation, and then at some point starts sneaking out to be the terrifying force of righteous kindness he was always going to be

tanoraqui

Righteous kindness but also, like, having picked up WWX’s cavalier confidence (or at least some of the ability to fake it) and Wen Qing’s general attitude of Do No Harm But Take No Shit

Like IMAGINE

tanoraqui

In this au, despite the strict border-by-mutual-agreement that’s the only reason somehow no ones tried to attack, LWJ sneaks in like one a year so he and WWX can make eyes at one another but not actually say anything ever, and Wen Qing and LXC are both EXHAUSTED bc both their dumb little brothers (WWX is a sibling by adoption now don’t @ me) mope for like a week after EVERY SINGLE TIME THIS HAPPENS, and it’s been /over ten years/.

tanoraqui

Meanwhile Jiang YanLi and JZX are FINE, and JYL somehow keeps up some sort of correspondence with WWX - or at least, he’s faithfully managed to send a birthday present for Jin Ling every single year, and every time, JYL makes her son write a thank-you note and bribes some series of people to get it smuggled back to Yiling

tanoraqui

...which means, honestly, that Jin Ling is probably wildly curious about his uncle the evil demonic cultivator kept trapped within the terrible ghost mountain by the forces of Good and Right, and WILL sneak out one day to try to visit. Optimally, obviously, at the same time Wen Yuan is sneaking out to see the non-mountain world

tanoraqui

The optimal plot is that Wen Yuan ropes Jin Ling into helping him set up WWX and LWJ, because he, too, is exasperated at this point, and Jin Ling ropes Wen Yuan into arranging like a parent trap reunion for the Jiang siblings, and obviously there are monsters and undead to complicate it all

tanoraqui

They kind of acquire Lan Jingyi somewhere, somehow. He’s having a blast

There is a 100% chance that the first Adult(TM) to find them is Wen Ning and they just kind of rope him into whatever the hell is going on at the time

...you know what, I think this is just a good au where JGY fucking died at some point

tanoraqui

Maybe someone threw him down the stairs again and he just broke his fucking neck. WWX is still vilified but between Jiang Cheng not really wanting to attack and Jiang (Jin?) Yanli being AGGRESSIVELY against it, and dragging JZX along with her, they’re left in peace.

tanoraqui

Oh man and Jin Ling has YOUNGER SIBLINGS in this...

Hey for u: Jiang Cheng/Wen Qing can accidentally happen while the Teens are trying to get everyone else to meet

Today at 8:42 AM

@professorsparklepants

I love this it's so goddamn wacky

tanoraqui

I just want teenager-based shenanigans ft. surprisingly competent teenagers and all the adults running around like chickens with their heads chopped off

professorsparklepants

Jingyi: why are you two more calm about this than the literal adults

Wen Yuan: have you met my dad?

tanoraqui

Also to be clear it is not at all hard to convince Wen Ning to join Team: Teenage Shenanigans, bc literally ANYONE in the Burial Mountain village would probably be down if you were like, “we’re engaged in a conspiracy to make Wei Wuxian fucking admit that he’s in love with that Lan guy who visits a couple times a year”

professorsparklepants

"This is my father, and this is his sugar daddy."

tanoraqui

I kinda wanna say he goes by “Wen Yuan” more often bc he’s 100% the baby of the entire remaining Wen clan there, but his adult name or w/e it’s called IS Wen Sizhui, because WWX asked LWJ if he had any suggestions and LWJ said this while maintaining eye contact

professorsparklepants

OH MY GOOOOOOD

tanoraqui

They meet LXC and he figures out what’s going on in like 4 minutes, despite the teens’ best attempts at obfuscation, and instead of calling anyone’s parents is like, “okay, I’m in”

professorsparklepants

#1 wingman...

tanoraqui

Jin Ling and Wen Yuan are definitely both traveling under false names, too? Wen Yuan obviously can’t admit to being a Wen and Jin Ling is making a privileged but slightly helicoptered teen’s rebellious bid for freedom

professorsparklepants

His dad is panicking at home and Yanli is like "boys need their freedom :)"

I saw a post forever ago about how Yanli would be the most hands off parent & Zixuan is an only child who would panic every time his kid fell down

tanoraqui

With a side order of “my mother is the only one who’ll say nice things about the Yiling Patriarch and she always looks sad when she does so I’m going to sneak into the Burial Mountain and either drag him out to see her or force my parents to come get me”

professorsparklepants

"I'm gonna beat up the Yiling Patriarch" "why" "he made my mom sad" "okay proceed"

tanoraqui

^ actual real conversation with WenYuan

professorsparklepants

A-Yuan then repeats the same thing to Wen Qing and she has the exact same answer, verbatim

tanoraqui

Side note: Wen Yuan has never been scared of the undead in his entire life, and probably this will lead to getting into severely life-threatening situations when he doesn’t have more backup than 2 other teenagers

professorsparklepants

Oh absolutely

professorsparklepants

He's so used to tuning out the sound of sentry corpses that one jumps on him and almost punches his lungs out

tanoraqui

Also what if he took WWX’s sword, so he looks like a proper normal cultivator - honestly, what if WWX gave him the sword when he turned 12, or whenever one customarily gives a child a sword in this world. He also has a flute stashed in his robe somewhere but he does know how to use both

tanoraqui

But also, while obviously it’s very important that this is the sword he inherited from his father, it’s never OCCURRED to him to, like, strongly associate it with WWX, in terms of “this would be a recognizable weapon”? Chenqing the flute, obviously, but WWX just left the sword on a shelf all the time

professorsparklepants

He's very good at fooling people into thinking he's a normal rogue cultivator until he busts out the flute

LOL YES

tanoraqui

So the first time someone looks at him and is like, “That is WWX’s sword” he achieves, like, “Who’s Morales? [NOT THAT DUMB]” levels of blank-brained

professorsparklepants

It like, doesn't even occur to him that this stick named whatever will be recognizable to people until it actually happens

"this is the Yiling Patriarch's sword!" "... I've never heard of him"

tanoraqui

“What sword?”

professorsparklepants

KDJAKSNJS

tanoraqui

“Oh, THIS sword? I...found it. In a stream.”

tanoraqui

Also...at some point...once the teens have admitted their identities to one another...and possibly gotten into a couple other increasingly public shenanigans...they run into a bunch of concerned people searching from the Jin or even Jiang sect - JC being there would be PERFECT - and Jin Ling is like, “aaahh, no, I don’t want to be dragged home... kidnap me.”

WY: what?

JL: pull out the flute, summon a couple corpses, shout that you’re the dread son of the Yiling Patriarch, and pretend to kidnap me

WY: ...yeah okay

AND THEN THEY DO THAT

professorsparklepants

The dumbass energy...... off the CHARTS

tanoraqui

They’re 15 and neither of them has ever faced consequences but in...actually not too different ways

They’re 15 and neither of them as ever faced consequences nor most of the real world

Oh my god is Lan Jingyi the most sensible person here

They’re going to DIE

professorsparklepants

JXHAKAJAKKQHSJA

JC and Yanli immediately see through this probably

"dumbass kid just doesn't want to go home. I'll break his legs."

tanoraqui

I think Yanli does but I have minimal faith in JC’s ability to think logically at any time

He’s still angry at WWX for leaving

professorsparklepants

Stomps to Yiling to demand his nephew back & wwx's like "lol, A-Yuan left two months ago"

Okay my shift is starting later

tanoraqui

/snort

Though, bold of you to assume that WWX isn’t also running around anxiously somewhere like “oh god, oh no, my son is missing; I must find him”

professorsparklepants

Sizhui is a responsible boy, I don't think he would leave without telling at least ONE person where he was going

tanoraqui

Ok but it was Wen Qing who thinks it’s good for WWX’s health to stop brooding and go run around like a headless chicken instead, optimally if he runs into his totally-not-a-boyfriend-Hahahaha-why-would-you-say-that

Alternately it was, like, Granny, which, ditto

No one on this mountain is going to stop WWX from going out to cause trouble and hopefully get laid, is my point

tanoraqui

Also, the cultivation world has been basically at peace for 13 years and the reason is that this is an ideal AU where JGY is dead and whenever trouble starts to stir politically, NHS and JYL meet eyes across the room and mentally Rock Paper Scissors over who has to manipulate everyone into calming the fuck down

Neither of them actually wants this job; they’re just good at it and recognize both those aspects in each other

professorsparklepants

LOLOLOL

That is.... so goddamn in character

tanoraqui

concept: JYL and NHS are friends and no one else understands it, or attributes it to JYL just being that nice, bc NHS still generally acts useless

professorsparklepants

Nhs actively wants to be useless and life is conspiring to make sure he can't

tanoraqui

a little less dramatically useless, but why ruin a good thing when you're having fun and it's useful

professorsparklepants

Lol

tanoraqui

but JYL fucking identified him as Actually Competent one time when he couldn't hide it, so now sometimes they get tea together and bitch about politics and stupid people

professorsparklepants

He's the only person who can correctly identify when she's talking shit about people, because it's VERY subtle and her brothers & husband are too busy thinking she hung the moon to notice

tanoraqui

JYL striding into Nie sect HQ (whatever it's called) and tossing her coat over a chair. "You would not BELIEVE what my brothers are doing now."

NHS: *probably knows, because he's found that the minor investment of effort in maintaining a very good spy network pays major dividends in helping him avoid greater work* *immediately sits up and pours her a cup of very expensive tea* Oh, girl, dish.

professorsparklepants

Question: are they also friends with lwj...

tanoraqui

yes but he's obviously not invited to hte political gossip sessions

professorsparklepants

I'm trying to imagine lwj making eye contact with them at some meeting his brother dragged him to and both of them struggling not to break into hysterics

tanoraqui

but they both know that he sneaks into Yiling to visit WWX a few times a year, and every single time, JYL sits him down within a couple weeks and aggressively debriefs him as to her brother's condition

professorsparklepants

I'm sure she tried to get him to take treats in

tanoraqui

for sure

it's hopeless, though, bc there's no really predicting WHEN he'll go? It's basically just "every 4-6 months when LWJ's resolve breaks"

professorsparklepants

Too bad she's not a stress quilter instead of a stress baker

tanoraqui

she gets him to go at an actual arranged time, bearing pork soup, like once, for WWX's 30th birthday or something

professorsparklepants

:)

tanoraqui

omg lit brain: LWJ of course is hte WORST for getting gossip, but JYL has pieced together a reasonable amount about the people her idiot baby brother (#2) is now living with. And she's mildly despairing as to idiot baby brother #1's ongoing refusal to get married and have an heir or three. So she, if not actively connives, then certainly siezes the first available opportunity to set Jiang Cheng up with Wen Qing

tanoraqui

basically, this au is PEAK romcom

tanoraqui

...also, for max happiness, i'd like to think that WWX made some strategic raids to rescue additional Wen refugees and bring them back, so there's a properly populated village and they didn't all just die

professorsparklepants

!!!

Good... Good thoughts

Good because 1. more people die and 2. The Yiling Patriarch will attack your village and steal your people away!

tanoraqui

(romcom being exclusively adults-focussed; the teens initiate it all but Jin Ling and Wen Yuan are both so delighted to have an Additional (But Cooler) Family Member that they comfortably cousinzone each other instantly)

professorsparklepants

*nice*

tanoraqui

...i feel like i keep characterizing Jin Ling as an only child, when really he ought to have a small horde of siblings

maybe they just...couldn't conceive more. shit happens. pregnancy is hard.

professorsparklepants

That happens sometimes

[full-of-roman-angst-trash]

A Prince’s Room

Part 2

Concept by @yeet-ceit

TW: Unsympathetic Sides (Except for Roman), Perfectionism, Self-Doubt, Cursing, Arguing, Injury? (Roman gets slapped). If I missed any, pleased tell me and I will add it.

Pairings: None

Word Count: 1807

Roman wants to be perfect. No, he needs to be perfect. And part of being perfect is being a good friend. Roman loves the other sides. He loves them more than anything in the world. Even more than Disney and musical theater. His friends are the main reason why his still holding on. He doesn’t want to lose them. He can’t lose them. He won’t survive if he does.

So, to make sure he doesn’t he takes notes. He writes down ways to make sure he’s constantly improving. Any bad habits that the others point out or flaws he writes down and tries to fix. 

The lists went on and on. Hung up on the walls of his room to make sure he always remembers. And as time goes on, more and more is added to the list. Every small addition getting him one step closer to perfection.

Remember to keep your voice level normal. Don’t talk too loudly.

Stop being so dramatic, you're taking too much attention away from the others.

Don’t be too confident, it comes off as cocky and no one like someone that’s too cocky.

Don’t rant about your interest for too long it gets annoying and boring.

Don’t be selfish, no one likes a selfish person.

....................

The chart came along a few months later. 

Roman had already been taking notes on how to please his friends however he decided to reorganize his notes into a chart. Each side had their own section containing list of what they liked, disliked, what cheered them up, and what upsets them.

Logan

Likes: Crofters, astrology, coffee, books, teaching, silence, human anatomy, schedules, deadlines, Thomas being productive, debating, constellations, being listened to, law, learning, classical music, poetry, Sherlock.

Dislikes: Being ignored, unnecessary emotions, sweets, dumb people, someone being too loud, childish movies, games, being behind schedule, illogical decisions, jokes, unrealistic dreams.

What makes him happy?: Stargazing, writing, meeting deadlines, winning debates, telling random facts, rapping, his onesie, reading, being left alone, being called cool, teaching.

What upsets him?: Being treated as a joke, being teased, being reminded of his mistakes, making mistakes, being ignored or overlooked, losing a debate, feeling dumb.

Patton

Likes: Cookies, drawing, cure animals, compliments, happy songs, seeing his friends happy, t.v shows, helping others, singing, dancing, playing dress up, stuffed animals, gifts, holidays, baking, sweets.

Dislikes: Screaming, loud noises, getting stuff thrown at him, blood, weapons, violence, seeing his friends injured, sad movies and stories.

What makes him happy?: Cuddles, movie nights, being showered with affection, cookies, drawing, karaoke nights, talking about his emotions, playing games with his friends, helping others, his onesie. 

What upsets him?: Seeing an animal die, seeing people in pain, being forced to grow up, seeing his friends in hurt, not being able to help someone, disappointing someone, letting Thomas down, letting his emotions control him.

Virgil

Likes: Candles, alternative music, spiders, his hoodie, Tim Burton films, My Chemical Romance, headphones, fidget cubes, staying up late, drama shows, bats, knives, collecting pins.  

Dislikes: The ocean, sudden loud noises, cheesy pop music, people that are too optimistic (except for Patton), someone being mean to his friends,

What makes him happy?: Doing makeup, painting his nails, listening to music, Patton’s baking, playing with his pet spider, meditating, watching murder myterious, watching Disney and Tim Burton movies.

What upsets him?: Being put on the spot, being called evil, being treated like an innocent kid, being called a darkside, being called a disorder rejection, talk about serious topics such as suicide and self harm. 

Remus

Likes: Gore, blood, mud, fighting, collecting weapons, deodorant, musicals, inappropriate jokes, Fleischer Studios, pranks, dancing, mythical creatures, things that glow in the dark, random t.v shows, horror movie, slime, candy, octopus, skirts, crop tops.

Dislikes: Cheesy love songs, rules, normal food aside from fast food, birds, learning, shaving, reading, romance movies/shows, backstabbers, lying, shaving cream, showers, losing fights.

What makes him happy?: Dissecting stuff, fighting, pranking others, dancing, singing, coming up with outfit ideas, punching stuff, playing with slime, reenacting horror movies, inappropriate jokes, hanging out in his trash can, being pet, Shrek, eating deodorant, someone doing his makeup.

What upsets him?: Being abandoned or left behind, being told he isn’t good enough, being compared to me, seeing Janus upset, seeing Virgil upset, being told to shave.

Janus

Like: Snakes, philosophy, Greek mythology, sewing, horror movies, mystery books, murder documentaries, self care, sleeping, warm baths, weighted blankets, debating, law.

Dislikes: The cold, when someone takes his hat, dumb comedy movies, eagles, action movies, unnecessary violence or gore, close minded people, liars, sharing secrets, being vulnerable. 

What makes hims happy?: Massages, weighted blankets, cuddling, hanging out with Remus, acting, having debates, seeing Remus and Virgil playfully argue, watching murder mysteries, singing.

What upsets him?: Being called evil, being ignored, seeing Remus or Virgil upset, Thomas not taking care of himself, being replaced, being left behind, people not understanding him, someone making fun of his scales, taking off his gloves.

....................

“Come on pussy! Let’s just march into his room, what’s the worse that could happen?”

“Language!” Patton quickly scolds Remus.

“What if he’s in there and he screams at us for barging in?! What if he gets really mad and chooses to get physical!? What if we see something we don’t want to!? What if he’s asleep and he get mad that we woke him up!? What if-”

“Virgil,” Logan interrupts the panicking side, “Your anxiety is causing you to catastrophize. Please, take a deep breath and try to filter out your cognitive distortion.”

The anxious side nods and takes a few deep breaths to calm himself.

“Now, I would like to add that I personally believe that Remus’ plan isn’t the worst idea ever and is currently the best one we have.” The logical side states.

“Well, while I love to agree with Remus, he is wrong in this instance,” 

Remus smirks widely, “Awe! Thanks Jany~ You’re too generous~”

The deceitful side rolls his eyes, “Let’s just go.”

“Fine,” Virgil stands up, looking rather done with everything.

The rest of the sides stand up as well and begin to make their way to the prince’s room.

Once they make it to his door, Remus immediately just breaks the door down and lets himself in.

“Surprise!”

 They walk in, greeted only by silence.

“He isn’t here?” Patton mumbles to himself.

“Doesn’t look like it. Let’s not go then.”

The other sides nod and start making their way out. Well, everyone except for Logan. 

The logical side instead gets distracted by a paper stabled to the wall. He walks over to it and reads it to himself. Once he’s done reading his looks around the room and notices all the papers on the wall. As well, as the lack of theater and Disney merchandise.

“Wait, doesn't Roman’s room look,” He pauses to search for the right words, “Wrong?”

The other sides stop walking and looks around.

“Now that you mention it,” Remus mumbles, “His room has changed a lot since I last saw it...”

The other start reading through the endless papers of tips to improve himself and advice. 

Suddenly Patton stops in front of a chart titled “Duties”

He slowly goes over it and buy the time he is done he is fuming with rage.

“What the hell!? Guys come look at this!”

The others go over, slightly amused and concerned.

Each of them take turns analyzing the chart. 

Roman had spend his day at the Imagination. After the whole wedding accident, he’s been stuck in a very toxic place and well he thought a small guest might help. So, he left early in the morning and began his guest. He hadn’t meant to stay there for as long as he did but he lost track of time. 

“Kiddo, we have a lot to talk about,” Patton mumbles in a passive aggressive tone.

....................

As the tired side starts approaching his room, he notices that all the either sides are gathered outside his room. Once he’s a bit closer, Virgil is the first to notice him. To his shock though, Virgil rushes to him and slaps him

“Roman, what the fuck!?”

Roman stands there shocked for a few minutes before looking at Patton, expecting to hear him scold Virgil. Instead however, Patton just look away from him.

“ANSWER ME!”

“I-...” Roman bites his lip to hold back the tears in his eyes, “I-I don’t understand... W-what did I do....?”

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING!?”

The prince-like-side flinches and looks down.

Remus puts a hand on Virgil’s shoulder, "Let me handle this.”

For some reason, Roman thought that Remus would be on his side. He thought that if anyone understood what he was trying to do, it would be his brother. Or that his brother would at least explain what happened and let him tell his part of the story.

So, he looked up with a hopeful expression. 

“Don’t look at me like that. What the fuck is wrong with you!? If you think we were such a hassle then why did you stay friends with us!?”

Any hope that Roman had immediately leaves his body, “I-I... I never said that! Where is this coming?!”

“DON’T BULLSHIT ME, ROMAN!” Remus summons his morning star, “WE SAW THE FUCKING CHART! SO, WHAT!? WE’RE NOTHING MORE THAN “DUTIES” TO YOU!?” 

The usual confident side is now frozen in shock. They weren’t supposed to see that chart. They weren’t supposed to see his room at all. If Roman was being honest, he could understand why they took the chart the wrong way. The name of it wasn’t exactly the best but it was all he could think of while actually making it. Now though, he wished he would have pushed himself to think of a better name.

“N-No! You got it all wrong!” He is now crying, flinching away from his brother, “I was just trying to make you guys happy!”

Remus scoffs and puts his weapon away. He walks away from Roman and returns to Janus’ side.

“Whatever, Roman.”

His knees give out and he falls to the floor in defeat.

“I would greatly appreciate if you keep your distance from Patton and I from now on. If you fail to do so, I can’t exactly guarantee that I will be nice. Goodbye Roman.”

“Fucking pussy.” Remus throws out.

And just like that Logan sinks down with a crying Patton.

“And I thought I was the snake,” Janus adds, looking at him in pure disgust.

Then, they’re gone.

For a few seconds Virgil stares at the broken prince in front of him.

“You really are an idiot.”

He looks away from him and sinks down with a scoff leaving the weeping prince on the floor. 

Alone.

....................

[aion-rsa]

15 Best SNES Platformers Ever

https://ift.tt/2UzmXAm

Platformers have long been an entry point for new gamers. Video games may have greatly expanded in scope over the years and now offer so many different genres and experiences that it’s nearly impossible to keep track of them, but that’s actually a big part of the reason why it’s still so much fun to look back at these timeless games where the main objective was often to simply jump from one place to the next.

There is no console that celebrated the brilliance of the platformer better than the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The SNES may be best known for expanding the adventure and RPG genres, as well as raising a generation’s expectations for video game graphics, but few consoles have come close to rivaling the Super Nintendo’s library of classic platforming titles.

It’s hard to narrow this list down to just 15 games, but from action-based platformers to pure platforming classics, these are the best examples of this timeless genre that the SNES gifted the gaming world. 

15. Jelly Boy 

Putting you in control of a jelly baby (a candy that is popular in the U.K. and surrounding areas), Jelly Boy was only released in Europe when it debuted in 1994. The game has a colorful aesthetic and some unique platforming elements built around the main character’s ability to transform into a myriad of vehicles, tools, and other objects. Those metamorphoses will be familiar to anyone who has played a Wario Land title or Kirby’s Epic Yarn. 

Admittedly, Jelly Boy‘s mechanics can be a little clunky and the controls are deficient compared to some of the later games on this list. Still, you will be hard-pressed to find a more original platformer on the console that isn’t made by Nintendo themselves. You can even play it now via the Nintendo Switch Online service.

14. Demon’s Crest

Released by Capcom in 1994 as the third game featuring the character Firebrand (who debuted in the Ghosts ‘n Goblins series), Demon’s Crest is a forgotten gem in the SNES catalog. It adds some variety to the traditional action-platformer by giving the playable protagonist the ability to fly and shoot fireballs as well as access other upgradeable attacks and maneuvers as their quest rolls along. That feature adds a little Zelda-like adventuring to the mix, and you’ll certainly need those late-game power-ups because this platformer means business.

There are many difficult platformers on this list, but few boast the plethora of boss battles seen in this one. It’s actually similar to Mega Man in terms of its fighting style and jumping requirements, so if you are looking for an alternative to the Blue Bomber that keeps the basics of the genre intact, you’ll have a hard time doing better than Demon’s Crest.  

13. Joe & Mac

Joe & Mac is honestly a fairly basic platformer for its era. What gets it onto this list of the best games in that genre, though, is the creativity and execution of its setting.

The game sees you control two different cavemen who rely on basic prehistoric items such as fire, bats, bones, etc. The bosses are pretty cool (dinosaurs are fun for all ages) and the controls hold up well enough that you won’t ever feel like you have to force the avatar into doing something that the interface simply won’t allow for. The game spawned a sequel that was also released on SNES, but the original is unique enough to get the nod here. 

12. Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts

Despite what the title may suggest, Super Ghouls ‘n Ghosts is actually the third game in the Ghosts ‘n Goblins series. Like the previous games, this classic sees you battle various monsters and bosses that fit the setting nicely. Although the game is maybe a little too action-heavy to get the nod over the SNES’ best platformers, it uses its platforming elements to elevate the entire experience. 

The difficulty is insanely high and the sheer amount of sprites on screen at once can lead to some lag that only adds to the frustrations of this arduous journey, but the game has a way of keeping things light and humorous when the frustration sets in. How many other games see the protagonist stripped of their armor, quite literally, when he takes too many hits?

11. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble!

The third installment in the beloved Donkey Kong Country trilogy certainly isn’t hated by many, but it is usually viewed as a step down from the first two games. Whether that has to do with a change in composer for the soundtrack, the inability to play as Donkey or Diddy, or the fact it was released after the Nintendo 64 was on the market, the title’s sometimes mixed reputation often prevents it from being appreciated as a divine platforming experience. 

The environments and storytelling in this game are well-executed. If you’re observant, you may even notice that the developers were trying to say something about the sad state of ape habitats and pollution in the wild. Even if you didn’t dive too deep into that surprising bit of social commentary, you’ll likely find that the platforming in this one remains top-notch and that the overall experience remains severely underrated. 

10. DoReMi Fantasy: Milon’s DokiDoki Adventure 

As the only game on this list that wasn’t initially released outside of Japan, many gamers may not know that DoReMi Fantasy is a whimsical experience that features some of the key elements of Mario and Kirby’s best adventures in terms of gameplay and graphics. Starring a young child whose objective is to reclaim music for the forest, DoReMi utilizes some clever puzzles that may not be unusual for the platformer genre but certainly add to the fun.

The game got a Virtual Console release in North America in 2008, but that’s sadly the best chance many gamers have had in recent years to take a chance on this title. It’s a great example of how people should be more open to experiencing games that weren’t localized the first time around.

9. Donkey Kong Country

Perhaps the most famous game starring Nintendo’s lovable ape, the original Donkey Kong Country was Rare’s first big title for the SNES and practically started their decade-plus long relationship as a second-party developer with the Big N. Tasked with showing off off the console’s pre-rendered graphics system, the crew from Britain proved to be up to the task. Honestly, this game still looks halfway decent in 2021. 

While the actual platforming is not as good as the Super Mario games on the SNES, it offered a different flavor of jumping that is still very much appreciated. The “weight” of Donkey Kong and Diddy means that the platforming is less flighty than in Super Mario games, and the rideable animal buddies you encounter along the way add a little flair to the experience. 

8. ActRaiser

As a game that serves as both an action-platformer and a God simulator, this underrated and forgotten gem from Enix and developer Quintet showed off the visual and audio capabilities of the SNES in the early days of the console. You play as the “Master” who is tasked with building towns around the world and fending off the evils that threaten them. It’s hard to juggle two completely different genres like that, but ActRaiser finds a great balance. 

The game was re-released for the Wii Virtual Console in 2007 but has otherwise been paid little attention in the years since its release. That’s unfortunate because there aren’t many games from 30 years ago that provide this much depth and versatility. Both parts of the experience are extremely solid in their own right, and together add up to become something truly special. 

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7. Kirby Super Star

Even the most ardent Kirby fans would probably agree that the franchise can get a little stale at times. There are only so many ways Kirby can suck an enemy up, transform his powers to match theirs, and ultimately defeat King Dedede. That’s why Kirby Super Star is still arguably the best game that the pink cutie pie has ever starred in.

Featuring eight different games within the game, the genre-mixing in this one is really off the charts. There are racing elements, adventure tones, and shooting sequences amongst the different sections of the playthrough. The experience was so beloved that it was eventually remade for the Nintendo DS as Kirby Super Star Deluxe. There is something for everyone in this package, and it shows the best parts of Kirby’s history.

6. Mega Man X

The original run of NES Mega Man titles are arguably still more famous than all of the others, but Mega Man X just has more of what makes those games great. It retains the eight bosses and weapon upgrades that can be completed/acquired in whatever order the player chooses, and it even has that same incredible soundtrack that the Blue Bomber’s adventures are always famous for.

Mega Man X‘s graphical upgrades admittedly take some of that eight-bit nostalgia out of the experience, but the game ultimately makes up for it by offering new gameplay experiences. Jumping on walls and acquiring upgrades to defensive maneuvers gives Mega Man an even more badass skillset, and the game generally does an excellent job of emphasizing the “platforming” parts of its action-platformer mix.

5. Super Castlevania 4

Super Castlevania 4 is actually a kind of soft remake of the original game, and the developers at Konami did a great job of making that game more digestible for newcomers while keeping all of the iconic elements from the classic NES title.

The Castlevania basics are all here (you still control Simon Belmont, equipped with his famous whip and ax, and battle through the game’s 11 stages before reaching Dracula), but an ideal mix of combat and platforming makes this one of the most irreplaceable platformers in the SNES catalog. It’s still an airtight action-platformer experience in 2021. 

4. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest

The second game in the DKC trilogy took all of the best parts of the first title and refined them to create a truly unique platforming game that was a lot more than fancy graphics (a reputation the original game has had a hard time shaking). Diddy’s Kong Quest expanded upon the game design that fans loved while keeping the jungle hijinx, masterful soundtrack, and weighted platforming intact. 

That last part is what truly separates the middle installment of this franchise from the other two. Many people have said that these games were sometimes more style than substance, but after playing through the myriad of environments on display in DKC 2, it becomes clear that this title has endured over the years because its tight mechanics are executed at a high level.  

3. Super Metroid

If this list were just a ranking of 2D games or if it encapsulated the entire SNES library regardless of genre, Super Metroid would most likely take the top spot. Alas, this icon of game design settles in the third spot because it isn’t the best example of a “pure platformer.” It’s more of an action/adventure affair, though the game’s platforming elements are still as satisfying now as they were in the 1990s.

What separates this game from so many that have tried to emulate it in the nearly three decades since release is that every ability upgrade and every part of the map fits together with nearly flawless foresight and execution. It’s never a hassle to re-explore a section that you’ve already seen. The game has a masterful flow that is incredibly modern and perhaps even more popular today because of the prominence of this design style on the indie game scene. 

2. Super Mario World

With its flawless controls, colorful sprites, cheerful soundtrack, and ageless platforming, Super Mario World is the title that all other 2D games in the genre are still compared to. The extra graphical power of the SNES gave Nintendo the opportunity to expand upon Super Mario Bros. 3‘s best ideas while exploring new concepts that simply weren’t possible before.

That is why this game remains so playable. Super Mario World combines the most enjoyable elements of the NES Super Mario classics and then elevates them to fully realize the world that Miyamoto imagined when this basic concept was created. It still doesn’t make sense to have a plumber jumping on top of turtles and occasionally getting lost inside of a house full of ghosts (those damn Boo mansions still haunt me), but when you combine this much creativity into one package, you have no choice but to admit how special it all is.

1. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island

Shigeru Miyamoto and his team knew that it was futile to try and surpass Super Mario World simply by emulating it. So when developing the sequel, they made the decision to craft an entirely different type of platformer in which Mario isn’t even the main protagonist. The concept was bold, but the execution needed to be flawless if the game was ever going to be more than another disappointing follow-up. 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

It’s safe to say Yoshi’s Island exceeded all expectations. Putting Yoshi at the forefront of a platformer that included mini-games, evasion, puzzle-solving, item collection, and the most timeless color palette in gaming history was brilliance personified. Yoshi’s Island is not as famous as its older sibling, but its daring creativity and irreplaceable charm have inspired many to argue that it is the better game in retrospect. Whatever your opinion is, the fun and escapism of the green dinosaur’s finest hour (as well as the horrors of Baby Mario’s screams) will be remembered until the end of gaming.

The post 15 Best SNES Platformers Ever appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[stusbunker]

What Lingers Within: Seven

A Supernatural Fan-fiction Mini Series

Featuring: Past Dean Winchester x Female Reader

Written for: @thisismysecrethappyplace

Prompt: Amnesia

Word Count: ~4700

Beta’d by the amazing @itmighthavebeenintentional​

Aesthetic by @thoughtslikeaminefield​

A/N: Set in season 11. Flashbacks are still in italics. Blood and gore, show level violence.

Series Masterlist

^*^*^*^

    Every time Dean got the phone call, it hurt. It wasn’t just the leaving, but the wanting to go that ate at him. It was still one of his jobs, and he wasn’t ashamed of it, but leaving her to do it kept getting harder. He tried not to take it out on Bobby, but so was the curse of the messenger. Since Sam was gone, it just hadn’t been the same.

    He scribbled the details down as he listened, giving single syllable responses until Bobby was out of intel. He thanked Bobby and said he would keep him posted. She wouldn’t be back from work for another hour. He could make his plans, chart his course and drag his heels so he could say goodbye to her face. Or he could get on the road and figure it out on the way, leaving the worry-masked reassurance in her eyes for another hunt. 

When had he become such a coward?

    Dean tore a layer off the notepad by the phone, giving her the what and the where. He promised to call her when he stopped for the night. He didn’t bother to sign it. Once he was out the door, the wet spring air filled him with earthy possibility. It was good to be on the move, to go through the motions, the thrill of the hunt beckoning. Dean almost felt good about the case, just like he almost forgot he had someone waiting for him to get home.   

^*^*^

    Sam must have won because you ended up in Kansas afterall. While you crawled out of their Chevy and into a massive underground garage fitted with some of the oldest cars and motorcycles you had ever seen in person, you didn’t know what came next. Suddenly, hit with the alienness of your surroundings you held your breath, and hoped the blind trust you had in Dean and his brother was enough. That leaving with them had been the right choice.

    Sam gave you a half smile and tossed your bag over his shoulder.

    “Come on, I’ll show you around.”

    You felt Dean watching you with Sam and you couldn’t help but glance back; the furrow in his brow could have been from annoyance but it felt more like a question. A silent check in.

    “Yeah, okay, thanks,” you answered Sam before you took a deep breath through your nose and nodded, hoping you weren’t intruding.

    The bunker was unlike any place else, part boarding school and part fall out shelter. The size was overwhelming, but the design uniform enough not to be too disorienting. By the time Sam showed you the kitchen Dean was already cooking dinner. Forearms bared and towel over his shoulder he looked completely at ease. The sight of him washed over you, excitement and relief warming you from the outside in. You had no reason for the emotional shift, and yet it felt good, right.

    “That smells amazing,” you croaked out, following Sam down the short set of steps.

    Dean leaned over the pot to take a whiff. “Yeah, well, it’s just chilli. Can’t screw that up too much. Got a few before it’s done. You get a room yet?”

    “Yeah, Sam put me in number 15, I think it was?” You looked to Sam for clarification.

    “13,” Sam corrected, which earned him a side eye from Dean.

    “Alright, well, go get cleaned up. Just gotta put on the finishing touches.” Dean grabbed bowls off the shelf and you took the hint that he had something to say to Sam. Sam was clearly amused, but he just shrugged off your concern. Cautiously, you turned to climb back out of the room.

    A faint ‘really, Sam?!’ reached you down the hall.

^*^*^

    You had stuffed yourself on chilli and crackers, having forgotten how long it had been since the burgers at the seedy motel. Dinner wasn’t exactly awkward, but you felt out of place in the conversation which included searching for cases and touching base with other hunters. You tried not to ask too many questions, but if someone were to show up, you wanted to have an idea of who they were to Sam and Dean.

    You laid staring at the blank wall, desperate for a show to distract you. The sheets were an old starched cotton, but they were clean. You weren’t falling asleep. It had very little to do with the fact that less than 36 hours before you had suffocated your boss in an abandoned subway service tunnel, and very much to do with the fact that Dean Winchester had entered your life and promptly saved it. Twice.

    Once you understood what was the matter, you were suddenly knocking on Dean’s bedroom door. Which, thanks to Sam, was the one next to yours. 

    He didn’t answer.

    Just as the impulsivity drained away, leaving you alone in the cold hallway standing in your comfiest pajamas that weren’t really pajamas, the door opened.

    “Everything alright?” Dean asked, headphones tucked around his neck.

    Shit. You gaped at his bright eyes, unable to answer him and wishing the floor would open up and swallow you whole.

    “I, uh, I don’t know why I bothered you. I’ma go back to bed,” you sputtered. But then he touched you, deft and warm, his palm dragged from the ball of your shoulder to just above your elbow.

    “It’s okay. I don’t really sleep after the rough ones either,” Dean murmured, voice soft but deep. You hadn’t realized you had closed your eyes until he leaned closer, the heat of his body melting your bubble until you forgot what personal space meant. “Come on in.”

    You felt his hand fall away like a severed lifeline.

    You looked around Dean’s room as he wrapped up the impractically long audio cable and put the headphones away. It was almost regimentally clean, but the personal touches made it far more welcoming than your room. Even if most of the decorations were weapons.

    “What were you listening to?” You tried for small talk.

    “Jethro Tull.” He gave you a nearly bashful smile. Thick as a Brick was one of your favorite albums. 

    His room was definitely warmer than yours was.

    “Is it weird that that makes me happy?” You asked as you plopped into his desk chair.

    “Not at all,” Dean reassured before he sat on the edge of his bed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “You wanna talk about it?”

    He really was that kind. In your experience, guys that looked like Dean were only nice for as long as it was absolutely necessary, but he was the real deal.

    “Do you?” You countered, watching as he licked his lips and cocked his head waiting for your explanation. “What if the reason I can’t sleep isn’t guilt or paranoia or --- I don’t know--- trauma?”

    “Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason, you know. But something’s on your mind, so spill.” Dean sat up, face insistent, but not angry. Guarded and waiting. You thought about curling up in his lap and letting him play with your hair, longed to burrow your face in his neck and breathe him in. The thought froze and wedged itself inside your ribcage; terrifying because you were bold enough to attempt it. You needed only the slightest push.

    “Tell me about how we met, the first time.” Your words made you both blanch, but once they were out, they felt like the best thing you had said all day. “Please?”

    Dean looked at you like you were asking for a kidney, and he was considering doing it without anesthesia. 

    He stood up suddenly and pushed up the sleeves on his thermal. “Okay, yeah. That’s fair.”

    He walked to his dresser and dragged open the top drawer while you waited for him to continue. He pulled out a handful of old photos and sat back on the bed. He started leafing through them until he found the one he was looking for, he flicked it around in his fingers toward you like he was handing out a business card.

    “That one’s gotta be the earliest picture of us I’ve got. I ran into you after a quick salt-and-burn, Sam had ditched me for this, well, evil skank and I was feeling sorry for myself and pisssed at him and the only thing that kept me from starting a bar fight that night was the way you were eying me. Like I was some puzzle and not a loose canon. Anyway, this was taken about a month later. I weaseled my way back to town and somehow convinced you to grab a cup of coffee after your shift.”

    You looked down at the photo, the booth was covered in cut out construction paper hearts. Your hair was longer and you looked like a deer in headlights in the photo, but what made you do a double take was the way Dean was grinning. You couldn’t believe how young you both seemed.

    “Like an idiot, I had forgotten it was the weekend after Valentines, but the lady who ran the diner insisted on taking pictures of each of the couples that came in,” Dean explained.

    The flash had muddled the fluorescents, but you had known those old metal rimmed tables and maroon vinyl booths anywhere. “This looks like the inside of Ma’s Table,” you whispered.

    “Yeah, we were like the last people to show up before closing, but they took care of us.” Dean searched your face.

    “What?”

     He gave you a sad smile. “I guess I was hoping something would click and I’d get you back. Like if I hit the right memory, all of yours would suddenly resurface or something.”

    You felt a shiver run down your back. You forced yourself to swallow. He wanted you back. “Sorry.”

    “Nah, don’t worry about it. I mean, it’s my fault anyhow.” Dean cleared his throat and looked back to the stack of pictures in his hands, avoiding eye contact as you both composed yourselves.

   Then you did something very stupid. You took two crouching steps over to the bed to settle yourself beside him, and looked over his shoulder at the next photo. “You could still keep telling me about them. Can’t hurt, right?”

    Dean hummed, not in disagreement, but at your poor choice of words.

   “Sam took this one at Bobby’s. Bobby, uh, was like a second dad to us. Lived up in Sioux Falls,” 

   “Like Jody?”

   “Like Jody, yeah, uh, she’s the sheriff and he was supposedly the town drunk,” Dean chuckled. “Best person to go to for intel, one of those tough as steel, but soft on the inside type guys.”

   “Hmmm, sounds like someone else I know,” you purred, before plucking the creased photograph out of Dean’s grasp. Dean was hauling you around a junkyard on piggyback. You couldn’t remember doing that since you were a kid. By the look on your face in the photograph you were either terrified or shocked by it, Sam had snapped the shot at just the right moment. You couldn’t help but chuckle.

   “Oh my god, what were you thinking?!” You reprimanded.

   “I was giving you the tour, but you were SO TIRED from the trip up there you didn’t want to walk,” Dean sassed back.

    “Okay, that sounds like me,” you admitted.

    “Uh-huh,” Dean huffed. “You know I can’t stop thinking about before. Not just the times I have pictures of, but how much you helped me. Sam was gone, for awhile, everyone thought he was dead and, uh, you helped me pull my head out of the bottle. You were so good for me.”

     As much as his honesty dripped through your resolve like honey, it left a nasty after taste.

    “But not good enough to keep around?” You didn’t try to hold back.

    “It wasn’t like that. I, uh, I left before the thing with the demons and Cas wiping you.” Dean turned to face you, dragging one knee onto the bed that brushed your hip before he buried his stocking foot under his other leg. “We had already broken up.”

   “What happened?” You asked, surprised, without any judgement.

   “I’m the job, Y/N. I am not built for stability or a cookie cutter happily-ever-after. Sam came back from the dead wrong, long story, and I used him as an excuse. But honestly, I had already started checking out. I was using hunts like a junky uses drugs. Hiding from you because I knew there was more wrong with me and I didn’t want to bring that home to you.”

    You hugged your knees, body completely on his bed, and let that revelation settle into what you knew about Dean and the timeline of your relationship. “But then why was I still on some demons’ radar?”

    Dean sighed and rubbed his temple. “Because I kept tabs on you. I checked in, every so often, just make sure you were safe.”

    “You watched me?” You balked. “You know that sounds really fucked up, right?”

    “Yeah, well, I’m paranoid, so sue me. You do this long enough and you will be too.” Dean deflected.

     You let that hang in the air. He hunched back over the remaining pictures, hands tense and shoulders tight. You didn’t want to fight, you just wanted answers. “Kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy then? You were worried about me, so you came back, and the demons found out you did and only then they attacked.”

     Dean pursed his lips, ruefully. “Sounds about right.”

     “But you were able to stop them,” you offered.

     “Yeah, after you almost killed Sam,” Dean corrected.

     “You still saved me.” You looked down at your hands. “That’s like three times, just that I know about. I’d say I owe you.”

     “Honey, you don’t owe me shit,” Dean cupped your cheek, drawing your gaze to his. “I wasn’t kidding when I said you saved me from myself. We ain't even, but you're not the one in the red, you hear?”

      You reached up and held his hand to your face, soaking in the steady strength of his palm.

      “Is that why you’re letting me stay here?” You held your breath.

       Dean looked away and whispered, “You know why we brought you home.” Then he pulled his hand back to grip the edge of the mattress.

      “Because I’m a fugitive?” You broke the tension with ease, letting your legs fall into lotus pose. “You usually consort with wanted criminals?”

       Dean shook his head and smirked. “Kind of par for the course. All our friends are either cops or criminals, and I’m usually playing cop.”

       “Probably not the best time to make a handcuff joke, but I so want to!” You laughed.

      “Oh, I bet you do,” Dean sighed and scratched the side of his head with his free hand.  “Here, you can have these to look at, maybe something will click for you. But I’d like them back, when you’re done.”

      You gently added the pictures to the two already in your hand. “Thanks.”

      It felt like the time to go back to your room; looking over Dean’s memories without any recollection or context would possibly be harder for him to watch than it was for you to decipher.

     You unfurled yourself from Dean’s bed and made your way to the door. Dean met you halfway, showing you out. Just as you had stepped into the hall, he had more to say.

      “Look, I know when I talked about taking you to Jody’s, that wasn’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat, but I am glad you’re here.”

     You couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks for having me.”

     “See you in the morning, Y/N.” Dean sent you off with a little salute.

      Luckily, you remembered there was most of a six pack left from dinner. You quietly helped yourself to the remainders before settling into the lonely bed in the appallingly generic room once more. You rifled through the pictures, determined to find something you could recall. Something significant enough to make everything spill out of the recesses of your mind.

     But nothing changed, it was obviously you in each one, with Dean at your side in most of them. You were happy, of course you were, no one takes pictures of arguments or tears. But more so, you were happy together. 

     It was surreal seeing the span of the relationship in the half dozen pictures; understanding time’s progress by the small nuances of split lips or hair cuts or changing seasons. There was one taken in the apartment Dean had mentioned you shared, you had broken your leg and presumably Dean had taken the picture of you from the cast up. 

    Then you came to the last photo, one with Sam and Dean wedging you between them. You were laughing, but also making the most obvious goo goo eyes at Dean. You wondered who snapped the picture of you all on the trunk of the impala. You still owned the boots you had been wearing.

     Eventually, your eyes zeroed in on the shirt Dean wore beneath his jacket, the same two toned flannel that you were wearing as a pajama top. The one that you always wore when you sought comfort, the one that was so ratty you should have thrown out ages ago. The one you couldn’t bring yourself to get rid of. 

    You gulped down the rest of your beer before setting the pictures onto the desk. You might not have any memories of Dean, but something inside of you certainly had held onto feelings for him. Feelings you didn’t know how to process anymore. With a heavy sigh you let yourself try and sleep them off.

^*^*^

    Her smile turned into a snarl as it made her slam the knife into Sam’s gut, black eyes never leaving Dean’s face, drinking in his agony.

    Dean’s voice cracked, but he kept reciting the exorcism, plowing through it even though he was frozen in place by the demon’s mental strength. It laughed, ruthless and ragged, almost a bark as she started to cough it up. 

    “Oh, Dean,” it tutted. “Too little too late.” 

    Then it turned the knife on her.

    Time stopped, but Dean only hesitated for a moment, long enough for the blade to pierce right below her collar bone. Without even realizing he had been released, Dean lurched forward, final words shouted with all the fury and fear he had in him.

    She fell to the ground before he could catch her, blood soaking through her shirt. He snatched the knife from her hand to try and temper the bleeding. Dean carefully wiggled them over to Sam, and as he held both of their wounds closed, he prayed for a miracle.

    Dean knew the feel of blood as well as he knew the wear of the leather of Baby’s interior; opposite poles of familiarity. He was caked in the life that drained away from those he loved, and yet he could only see his own failure. He wouldn’t let go, he couldn’t, but he needed help and if the angel couldn’t answer him, maybe something more mundane could.

    He closed his eyes and removed his hand from her shoulder, whispering his apologies as he searched for his phone. Her name was both a plea and a reminder, the hope and the loss oozing from him as thickly as the blood filled Sam’s belly.

    Dean’s fingerprints smeared against the numbers, but then a deep voice stopped him middial.

    “Dean? What happened?” Cas materialized before Dean hit send.

^*^*^

    You slept through lunch, starting your first full day in the Wincehsters’ home groggy but steady on your feet. You told yourself that you had been reading too much into the feelings Dean’s memories had elicited. You were just empathetic and probably emotionally strung out over the whirlwind of the past couple weeks. You clearly couldn’t be in love with the man. No matter how kind, or handsome he was. He was essentially an acquaintance, no longer a stranger, but not yet a friend. 

    A savior, not the solution.

    You found both Dean and Sam in the library, feet up and heads down, like a pair of flannel clad bookends. It was quite the picture, two well built guys studiously pouring through books for their next case. It made sense, but it also was such a specific level of hot that you definitely had to swallow before you could make your presence known.

    “Hey, sorry, I guess I needed sleep more than I thought,” you offered, shrugging as you approached the massive table that had been covered with materials and laptops.

    “Don’t sweat it,” Dean replied. “You eat? There’s some leftover chili, but we just had sandwiches for lunch. If you want, I can fry you up a grilled cheese?”

    “Nah, it’s fine, I’ll make myself a sandwich. Thanks.” You brushed off Dean’s enthusiasm.

     After preparing it, you trudged back to the library, plate in one hand, and a strong cup of tea in the other. You pulled a chair up to the clearest side of their work space and set up camp.

     “What are you looking for?” You asked honestly, head tilted as you eyed the gold foiled title of the book in Sam’s hand.

      “Uh, we’re looking into an entity known as the Darkness. It was originally locked away by God before the Earth was created, but it's now loose. So, we’re looking for weaknesses or ways to trap it again,” Sam explained tentatively.

      “You’re trying to do something that God did originally?” You clarified.

      “What Sam isn’t saying is that, we let her out. So, it’s on us to put her back,” Dean broke in.

      “Her?” You felt suddenly out of your depth.

      “Yeah, she’s actually God’s sister. Kind of a light and dark thing, we think,” Sam continued. “She goes by Amara.”

      You didn’t miss the cringe that Dean tried to hide at the name, which meant that Sam definitely caught it as well.

      After a few minutes of heavy silence you couldn’t help but ask, “How would one manage to let out an ancient dark power?”

     “Very stupidly.” Dean sighed, not looking up from his book. 

     You finished your food and started to idly peruse the books stacked between you and Sam. You tried not to smile when you caught one of the brothers’ now familiar silent conversations. You didn’t have anywhere else to be, the least you could do was try and give them a little help in return. If they had a problem with it, they’d have to actually say it out loud.

     They didn’t stop you.

     A day turned into three, which became a full week of navigating their process for research, which started after Sam’s morning runs and ebbed off before Dean’s afternoon tinkering. You added yourself into their unofficial cooking rotation, not exactly acing their gas range, but managing to feel like you were close to earning your keep.

     Dean always offered to do the dishes on your cooking nights.

     You stayed back to help dry, preferring to work beside him, even in near silence, than retreat to your room early. Sam had found you an old laptop to stream on, so you had something to distract you from the barren walls and the slowly increasing nightmares. But that night the next season could wait, especially when there was Old Spice and the grounding grumble of Dean’s voice.

    “Hey now, you with me?” Dean asked, waving his sudsy hand in front of your unfocused stare.

     Your face burned, but you managed to smile through it. “Yup,” popping the ‘p’. 

     “You know you haven’t said anything about the pictures since your first night here,” Dean tried to be casual about bringing it up.

      “Yeah, I guess I was waiting to see if anything came back,” you admitted.

      “And?”

       You turned to face Dean, his hands gripping the edge of the sink, leaning down so he was at your height. He knew by the apologetic look on your face and you could see his disappointment before he could fully retreat from the vulnerability.

       “How’d I break my leg?” You took a plate from the rack, spinning it carefully in the towel as you waited for him to let you back in.

       “You know I’m not exactly sure, you never gave up the whole story,” Dean licked his lips and shook his head. “I came back from a hunt and you were hobbling around with only one crutch. Somehow managed to get yourself to the hospital and home, even though I know they don’t let you drive with a cast. I think you were trying to either hang up new curtain rods or you fell up the back steps bringing them home. Because they were left in the trash, still in the plastic. But you insisted you ditched the old curtains to let in all the natural light you could.”

       By the end of the story you were both giggling. It nearly made sense and yet it was so funny to hear how he figured it out despite your stubborn pride keeping you from admitting you had hurt yourself doing something stupid. Or presumably stupid.

      “That’s why you took the shame photo? Because you needed physical proof I am a spaz?” You teased.

      “Honey, I don’t need proof, we both know you are alive by sheer dumb luck at this point,” Dean taunted back.

       You held up your towel in mock surrender. “Touche, but also? Too soon.”

       “Oh come on, I wasn’t even talking about that!” Dean huffed in exasperation. You defiantly jutted out your chin, and snapped your hand closed like a mouth shutting. He rolled his eyes, before he suddenly splashed you with a gush of dirty dishwater. You squealed and swatted blindly at him.

        Dean caught you at your waist, tugging the towel from your hand so he could wipe your face clean. You slowly stopped struggling in his hold, relaxing against his firm chest before you opened your eyes to see him looking back at you with nothing short of adoration.

       Oh god, what were you doing?

       You stood there, in Dean’s arms, for mere moments, but they felt like a lifetime. A lifetime where you had never been stripped of your past and he had never had to choose your life over his happiness. A lifetime you wanted desperately to relive.

       “Sorry.” Dean released you. “I got the rest, you can hit the shower, don’t want you to catch cold.” He motioned to your half soaked tee and you nodded, rubbing your upper arm as if the suggestion of a drop in temperature had given you goosebumps and not the separation from his warm embrace.  

       “Backing out when you started it, real smooth,” you threw at him, walking backwards out of the kitchen. 

       Dean sighed and snipped back, “Would you watch where you’re walking, please?! I don’t want to have to drag your ass to the infirmary already.”

      You couldn’t help but smirk, with your tongue firmly planted in your cheek, as you spun expertly on the ball of your foot before heading up the steps.

      The smug high from your banter melted away with the pelting shower, the reality that you were needlessly toying with a man’s emotions sank into your every pore. You were not the woman he remembered, and you still didn’t completely know who Dean Winchester was or had become in the meantime. You needed to cool it. 

     An hour later, you restarted the same episode for the third time, because you could not focus on the new character’s introduction long enough to figure out why they were relevant. Couldn’t your mind just shut up?!

     You don’t know where it came from, but slowly you realized you were speaking aloud, not to yourself, but to the angel you had yet to officially meet. You were praying, each word ripping something inside of you the moment it left your lips.

     “Please let me remember him. Let me be who he needs me to be. Let him see me as I am and not only who he lost. Castiel, if you can’t fix my memories, then even the score, take me from his. Give me even footing or let him have a fresh start, too. Please, help me. Help us?”

^*^*^

Series tags: @tiggytaylor​ @vicmc624​ @kalesrebellion​

General SPN tags: @flamencodiva​ @dolphincliffs​ @dontshootmespence​ @thoughtslikeaminefield​  @fangirlxwritesx67 @dawnie1988​ @mrswhozeewhatsis​ @cosicas-cuquis​ @foxyjwls007​ @tumbler-tidbits @defenderrosetyler​ @ericaprice2008​ @princessofthefandomrealm​ @wingedcatninja​

^*^*^

Read on: Chapter Eight

[kpopmusiclyricsalbums]

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT....

Kenzie 

The hidden goddess of songs in SM Entertainment. 

The brilliant lyricist that is behind some of the most iconic songs in SM’s history. 

A graduate from the Berklee College of music, yes, that Berklee she has written 10 songs to hit number 1 on the gaon chart, and her B-sides are dreams.  

The thing that I love about Kenzie is that she knows how to twist a song into making it mean something while saying something else.  It’s kind of hidden meanings within a song that I don’t see all that much from writers.  It’s one of the reason I love Taylor Swift’s music is because I love learning something new every time I hear the same song over and over again.  The hidden depths and meaning more.  

3 Examples:

Obsession - EXO 

At first glance, the song could meaning the obsession with one’s fans/Idols, or being obsessed over someone and seeing the toxicity in it.  When I heard it, I thought it was a dig at sasaengs and fans that go to far.  Then the line at the end came in and it completely startled me.  

거울 속의 나를 보고 있는 나 / It’s me looking at myself in the mirror

It’s can simply change the entire meaning behind the song without even thinking about it.  It’s a double meaning that also is about ego, and self reflection.  Sometimes you get so caught up in everything, In yourself, you never realize the toxic part could also be from one’s own self-reflection.  The lines that follow are all of plea’s to get away, to disappear.  It’s the last line of substance in the song that flips it on it’s head.  A cry for help because sometimes your worst enemy, the thing that goes bump in your nightmares isn’t someone else, but you.  It turns the song into a dialogue with one person fighting with their own demons.  

Power Up - Red Velvet 

Power up is one of those Red song’s that people either hate or love.  (I personally loved it)  It’s one of those songs that is great for summer and is about having fun.  But it also is about recharging yourself and going for your dreams that seem so out there.  It’s also points out that maybe the reason we haven’t gotten our dreams yet is because we just need to have fun.  

It starts off with someone who hasn’t moved since they got up, and ends with them being recharged and ready to take on the world.  It’s about changing your mindset on things.  Yeah school is boring and sucks, but you could also think of it is school is learning and you are evolving as a human being.  It’s about changing the mindset. 

선생님은 내게 말씀하셨죠 / Teacher told me 

놀 때도 일할 때도 즐겁게 해 / To have fun whether I’m playing or working

그래 난 유달리 반짝거렸죠 /Yes, I shined even more

뜨거움도 새로움도 It’s mine / This hotness, this newness, it’s mine

It’s  a song to help those who need it be pumped and to get out of bed.  To go forth into the world and achieve their goals.  

Go go airplane 태양 위로 날아라/ Go, go, airplane, fly above the sun

Diving to the sky 완전 소름 돋았어 / Diving to the sky, I’m getting goosebumps

Let’s power up!

까맣게 다 타버릴 거예요/ We're gonna burn up

Doesn’t it make you enjoy Power up just a little bit more?

Into the New World - Girls Generation

Into the New World is certified Kpop Gold.  It’s the golden standard and a must for every new girl group to learn, and to be compared to.  The song is upbeat and high energy with just as much air needed to belt out the lyrics.  It’s a timeless song that has been turned into a rallying cry for protesters and Women empowerment.  Into the New World is what Girls’ Generation ended up doing for the Kpop industry as a whole for female groups, by going the tough route always working hard, facing the darkness that comes.  

사랑해 널 이 느낌 이대로 / I love you, just like this

그려 왔던 헤매임의 끝 / The longed end of wandering

이 세상 속에서 반복되는/ I leave behind This world’s

슬픔 이젠 안녕 / Unending sadness

수많은 알 수 없는 길 속에 / In the many unknowable paths

희미한 빛을 난 쫓아가 / I follow a dim light

언제까지라도 함께하는 거야 / It’s something we’ll do together to the end

다시 만난 나의 세계 / Into my new world

특별한 기적을 기다리지 마 / Don’t wait for a special miracle

눈앞에선 우리의 거친 길은 / There’s a rough road in front of us

알 수 없는 미래와 벽 바꾸지 않아 / With unknowable future and obstacles, I won’t change

포기할 수 없어 / I can’t give up

The lyrics in the chorus are talking about struggle and paths not yet traveled.  To a better place where even though the light is dim, we have to work towards it together, because that’s how things change.  It’s a rallying cry for hope, for endurance in tough times, and to make sure that people keep fighting for what they believe in.  That they know, they are not alone.  

To sum it all up, Kenzie is the secret hidden goddess of Kpop song writing.  If Kenzie releases a song, I know its going to be good.  So here a list of songs she has written the lyrics for and the links so you can listen and enjoy! 

BoA

DOTCH 

Garden in the Air 

I Kiss 

Lollipop 

M.E.P. (My Electronic Piano) 

Milky Way

Moto 

My Name 

On December 27th 

People Say…

Spring Rain 

Time to Begin 

EXO 

24/7 

Baby

For Life

Forever  

Monster 

Obsession 

Sing for You 

Transformer 

The First Snow  

What U Do?

Wolf 

Ya Ya Ya 

EXO-K 

Overdose 

EXO - CBX 

Playdate 

Rhythm After Summer 

EXO - Baekhyun 

Betcha 

EXO - Chen 

Love Words

Shall We?

F(x) 

Cash Me Out 

Danger 

Jet 

Lachata (Intro) & La Cha Ta 

MILK 

Mr. Boogie

Papi 

Red Light 

Signal  

Vacance 

Gain

Kiss or Kill 

Girls’ Generation 

All Night 

Diamond 

Europa 

Express 999 

FAN 

Fire Alarm 

Girlfriend 

HaHaHa

Haptic Motion 

Into the New World

Light Up the Sky 

Merry-Go-round 

Oh!

Oscar 

Way to Go!

Girls’ Generation-TTS 

OMG (Oh My God) 

Girls’ Generation - Seohyun 

Don’t Say No 

Girls’ Generation - Taeyeon 

All Night Long (& NCT Lucas) 

Close 

Four seasons 

I Got Love 

Lonely Night

Love You Like Crazy 

Spark  

Sweet Love 

Isak N Jiyeon 

The Sign 

NCT 127 

Limitless 

NCT Dream 

We Go Up 

Red Velvet 

Attaboy 

First Time 

Lady’s Room 

Lucky GIrl

Mr. E

Peek-a-Boo 

Power Up 

Psycho 

Really Bad Boy (RBB) 

Red Flavor 

Sassy Me 

Some Love 

SHINee 

All Day All Night 

Evil 

Graze

Green Rain  

Jo Jo 

Life

LOVE 

Love Sick 

Queen of New York 

Our Page 

Real

Rescue 

Savior

SHIFT  

Stranger  

Trigger 

Why So Serious?

SHINee - Key 

One of Those Nights 

SHINee - Onew 

Blue 

SHINee - Taemin 

Sexuality 

Want 

SMTOWN

Hotmail 

Red Sun 

Snowflake 

Super Junior 

첫눈이 와

A Day 

Angela 

Bittersweet 

Devil 

Good Love 

Hate U, Love U 

Lo Siento (& Leslie Grace) 

Storm 

The Girl is Mine 

Your Eyes 

Super Junior - Happy 

Sunny 

Super Junior - K.R.Y. 

Just You 

Super Junior - M 

Me 

Only U 

Super Junior - Kyuhyun 

At Gwanghwamun 

A Million Pieces 

SuperM

I Can’t Stand the Rain 

Let’s Go Everywhere 

The Grace 

한번 더, Ok?

One More Chance 

Sweet Emotion 

TVXQ 

하구달 

Humanoids

Like Now 

Oasis 

One 

Phantom 

Rainbow 

Remember

When We’ll Be Together  

Your Man 

TVXQ & Super Junior 

Show Me Your Love

Masterlist