#thus i had a grand total of 1 hour of sleep which was not very poggers tbh. so i tried to sleep on the train but…

[deus-ex-mona]

why can’t this week just end alreadyyyyyyy

[iveonlyeverseenliketwoanimes]

Manga Spoilers ahead :)

So when the new chapters came out I, like many others, was a little annoyed at this whole concept of Deku magically having a bunch of new quirks. I understand that it's been established from the beginning that One For All works as this whole ‘passing on of power’ - but I always understood it as more of an energy than actual individual quirks (and the content given thus far seemed to support this). That said now that is turning out to be the latter, it isn’t something that's caught me off-guard and it very much does make sense and I don’t think it’s ‘Lazy writing’ on Hori’s part, it just hasn’t been explained up until now and if we had learnt how One For All worked all in one single episode at the start of the series I think it wouldn't be as fun of a journey.

One of my main concerns with what's happening is this whole idea of Deku becoming some all-powerful God that no-one can beat, because, lets face it, as powerful as characters like Bakugou and Todoroki are, i don’t think even they would be able to compare to a guy that has a combined total of like 7 quirks, all of which have been cultivated into one massive super-quick that has been held by the former number 1 Pro Hero, so is clearly very powerful. 

So that got me thinking. Why would this happen? Why would a show, that up until now, has been very good with balancing the power levels of its quirks suddenly do a full 180 and just be like ‘Oh yes lil broccoli boi and his rabbit costume can now become God and just breathe in the general direction of his opponents in order to win’?

So, I have a couple points I’d just like to discuss. Feel free to add on anything or challenge my views, im just doing this because im bored and trying to rationalise the decisions in a show made for teenage boys.

So first of i think some people are being a lil bit dramatic about this current arc, sure it’s not perfect and I too wish that some things had played out differently, but at the end of the day it’s not my show/manga and tbh if the guy who made me fall in love with this show to begin with decides he wants to take it in a new direction then let him, he has every right to do what he wants regardless of what i, or anyone else, think and i put my trust in his hands and hope that he can pull this off. Furthermore, are we forgetting that Todoroki exists? The guy has not one, but 2, of the most powerful quirks i think i person could get. His dad is the current number 1 hero and HALF of Todorki’s power is the same as his (sure his maybe works a lil different but my statement stands). Now Ice and Fire, in my opinion, are two very powerful quirks, i mean at like 15/16 the kid took down a dozen or so villans and nearly stopped Nomu (With half his power and with no real training from UA). We compare that to what Deku has and i still think Todoroki has a fighting chance in a match against Deku because these quirks Deku is getting aint all that to be honest, some people are acting like Deku now has; super strength, super speed, telekinesis, can see into the future, mind control, laser eyes, the ability to fully heal on the spot etc. spoiler: He doesn’t. He’s getting some pretty average quirks that will still probably make him top of the class, but not unbeatable. I think some of you are a lil dramatic, and hey i get it, i said at the start i was too, so i feel ya. So, i guess my first point is that some of us need to calm down and maybe just wait until we get more details on the whole situation before we get out our pitchforks and start burning down the fandom over a couple chapters that haven't been fully explored yet. 

My second point that actually has more to do with the plot and less about fandom drama is going back to Bakugou and Todoroki, so my initial thought when everything was happening was “ Bakugou and Todoroki are the other strong members of the class and Deku is now way more powerful than them, how will they ever beat him?” but now actually thinking about it, what does that have to do with anything? Like sure the show is centred around the whole school system and the magical friendships we’re making along the way, but like, Deku’s end goal here isn't to send Todoroki and Bakugou to their graves, they’re just class rivals, and while they do fight, it’ s not to actually kill each other - its to train. Now i’m just going to make a big ol’ assumption here based on basic human nature, but when you train with someone vs when you are actually fighting a villain in a life and death scenario, i don't think you’re going to be fighting at the same effort level. Todoroki vs Deku and Bakugou vs Todoroki were great fights (or at least they were in my opinion) but you compare them to the UA kids vs Stain and you have two very different circumstances and the fights we’re very different for obvious reasons. One was to win a silly little medal and bragging rights. One was to save a friend from literally being murdered by some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle lookin’ dude with no nose. I don’t really think Deku’s new powers will affect the class stuff too much, it’s been established that both Todoroki and Bakugo are more powerful and Deku already and the three of them will never go all out vs each other anyway. So basically my point here is that Bakugou and Todoroki aren’t Deku’s endgame - they’re Deku’s rivals and they’ll be around the whole time, but they’re not Deku’s Villian. So this idea that Deku is now the Number 1 is the clas, while true, really doesn’t matter because Deku is still... Deku and he wants to save people more than he wants to kill them or prove he is the best.

Now children, who is Deku’s Villian? any guesses? Oh yeah, it’s my boy Shiggy (AKA Tomura Shigaraki, AKA Tenko Shimura, AKA Crusty, AKA Get this man some lip balm). Now then. So we have our lil Deku, a young boy of just 16 who has been blessed with 300 new magical quirks (well it's more like 6/7 but that's beside the point here). But who else do we know that probably does actually maybe, kinda, definitely, literally, but also i don't really know, but i think, DOES HAVE 300 QUIRKS?!? It’s none other than Shigaraki’s Master, Mr suit, tie and no face, All For One. Now in one of the recent episodes of the Anime, All Might questions why All For One wants/needs a successor, to which he gives a lil giggle, chats some shit and basic says he wants someone to pass on his legacy to, in the same way that All Might has with Deku. Now I couldn’ t find this exact conversation in the Manga so it might be that the Anime went a lil off script here for drama and whatnot, but when i heard this i was convinced that this meant All For One is going to somehow transfer his quirk into Shigaraki (or maybe take over Shigarakis body or some other nasty stuff - in this world anything is possible), this is also kinda supported by All For One giving a lil giggle to the concept of him being ‘ locked up for the rest of his days’ - the guy clearly thinks he is going to get out and i highly doubt that his current state will allow for him the fight Deku, i certainly do not want to see the lil green troll doll fight a crippled elderly man, but i would like to see him fight a handsome, young, slightly anti-social, gamer nerd. 

So we make it to the end of my lil tale, Deku needs to have all these quirks because his Endgame is Shigaraki and Shigaraki might also be getting a power upgrade in the future and it makes sense, as i don't think some green lightning sparks will defeat some grand-evil mastermind with the powers of all that's evil in this world.... but some black beams that can wrap around stuff might...?

Anyways, i wrote this over the span of two hours, its midnight and i did minimal research into this theory... BUt HEY ITS JUST A THEORY! A GAME ANIME THEORY! And im probably wrong about all of it and also im so sorry for all the sarcastic comments throughout this, i couldn’t contain myself. Im now going to sleep for the next 10 hours because this stressed me out :)

If you’d like to see more of my rambles then heres one on Hori’s female characters

[sebeth]

Giant-Size X-Men

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

 Extra Spoiler Warning for the Deadly Genesis miniseries and Wolverine: Origins

  Giant-Size X-Men #1, “Second Genesis, ” by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum.

Winzeldorf, Germany – Kurt Wagner flees from a mob of crazed villagers.

“Perhaps things would be simpler – safer – if I had stayed with Der Jahrmarkt but the life of a carnival freak is not for me – not for Kurt Wagner!  Let them come if they must – let them try to kill me!  At least if I die, it will be as a man!”

The villagers overwhelm Kurt.  Kurt is able to teleport so I’m not sure why he wasn’t able to escape the villagers.  Perhaps he exhausted himself from earlier teleportations? Didn’t Kurt have around a mile-range with teleportation jumps in the early days? That should have given Kurt quite the head-start in the chase. You would have to be very determined to chase – on foot - an individual that has that much of a lead.

Why was Kurt wandering the town in his circus outfit? Wouldn’t civilian clothes be more inconspicuous?

“I only came among them to learn yet all I’ve learned thus far are the ways of blind, unreasoning violence!”

Was Kurt testing humanity’s reaction to his appearance? If so, the townspeople failed.

Kurt dives into the crowd and brawls with everyone – which quickly turns against him.

The crowd freezes right before they stake Kurt.  Enter Charles Xavier: “You are a mutant, Kurt. I can help you find your true potential.”

“Can you help me be normal?”

“After tonight’s misfortune, Kurt – would you truly want to be?”

“Perhaps not.  I only want to be a whole Kurt Wagner!  If you can make me that, teacher…I will go with you.”

It’s easy for the Professor to dismiss “being normal”, it’s not so easy if you have blue skin, pointed ears, fangs, glowing yellow eyes, a tail, and three fingers per hand.  

I had “Savages” from Pocahontas and “March of the Witch-Hunters” from Wicked going through my head as I read this scene.

Quebec, Canada: Wolverine meets with Charles Xavier at a secluded military installation.  Xavier informs Wolverine that he “has a need of mutants – a desperate need!”  Wolverine jumps at the chance to “get out from under the red tape and rigmarole”.  

A military-official objects to Wolverine’s resignation: “The government has invested a great deal of time and money turning you into what you are now...you haven’t heard the last of this!”

Foreshadowing!

Nashville, Tennessee: The Professor recruits Sean Cassidy, the Banshee, to the X-Men.

Can’t a man watch the Grand Ol’ Opry in peace?

Sean comments “Twill be nice to tread the straight and narrow for a change.” A reference to Banshee’s time in Factor Three. At least I think I’m remembering the group’s name correctly.

Kenya, East Africa: Villagers entreat “Ororo, Great Goddess of the Storm, come unto us and ease our burden!”

“I am here, my children. What do you wish of me?”

The villagers offer to sacrifice goats and chickens if she ends the drought and brings rain.  Storm agrees to do “as they plead”.

Cue a rainstorm.

Xavier congratulates Ororo on her beautiful display.

“Wh – Who are you? What business have you in Ororo’s land…an…offer?  What have you to offer a goddess?”

Ororo agrees to leave with the Professor after he offers her “the world”

Ororo’s debut isn’t very flattering to her character.  The arrogance is off the charts.  Ororo knows she isn’t a goddess – she’s an orphaned street rat – but she’s referring to villagers much older than her as children and claiming the territory as “Ororo’s land”.  Why do the villagers have to approach her to end the drought – if she’s acting as a caretaker she should have produced rain before it reached drought levels – instead it appears that she’s on an egotistical power trip.   To top it off, Ororo ditches “her land” as soon as she’s offered a better deal!  No wonder Dr. Doom’s attracted to Storm!

Osaka, Japan:  The Professor recruits Sunfire to the X-Men.

Lake Baikal, Siberia: Peter Rasputin rescues his unnamed sister (Illayna) from a runaway tractor.  Xavier would like Peter to come to America.  Peter asks his parents what he should do.  Peter’s father responds:  “Do as your heart tells you, my son.  It will not betray you…Dosvidanya, Peter.  Our love goes with you… We are already proud of you.”

The Extraordinary X-Men series has a scene where Illanya reminds Peter that their father made him sleep in the barn like an animal.  It never rang true to me.  Granted, the Rasputin parents don’t have much onscreen time but it didn’t seem true to their characters.  Peter’s debut scene clearly shows the love the Rasputins have for their son – he definitely wasn’t sleeping in the barn.  Peter also transforms in front of the village and no one even batted an eye – so I’m throwing the Extraordinary X-Men scene out of canon!

Giant-Sized X-Men #1 was published in the midst of the Cold War/Red Scare – it was rather gutsy to make one of the new characters a Russian hero – and one that didn’t have to do a heel/face turn or redeem himself from his Communist leanings.

Camp Verde, Arizona: “John Proudstar does not like the reservation.  He does not like to watch the old ones, sitting slumped against their doorsteps, dreaming dreams of glory long gone.  John Proudstar is an Apache – and he is ashamed of his people.”

John chases down a bull and wrestles it to the ground:  “There, horned one – do you see?  There is still a man among the Apache!”

Yeah, take that, poor bull!

Xavier approaches John to join the X-men.  John’s not impressed: “You’ve got five seconds to vamoose, white-eyes…The white man needs me?  That’s tough! I owe him nothing but the grief he’s given my people!”

Xavier implies John’s a coward causing John to change his mind and join the team.

John Proudstar isn’t a likable character.  Unfortunately, John’s never allowed to develop past the angry young man/proud warrior stereotype.

Charles muses to himself: “But will you – will any of you X-Men be equal to the task that lies before you?  Or will you carry the world down into ruin?”

Let’s talk Deadly Genesis.  The mini-series retconned the events of Second Genesis.  We discover Professor Xavier launched a rescue operation before he assembled the members of the Giant-Sized X-Men team.  The team consisted of four foster children of Moira MacTaggert:  Vulcan, Darwin, Petra, and Sway.  

The four were total newbies whose only training consisted of psychic training by Professor Xavier. The four believed they had trained for months for this rescue mission but had only received hours of training. The four manage to rescue Cyclops, put him on the jet, and send him back to Westchester.  The four attempts to rescue the others but are annihilated. Scott witnesses the massacre from the jet.  Xavier erases the memory of the rescue attempt from Scott’s mind – along with the fact that Vulcan is his younger brother.

Some don’t like the Deadly Genesis revelations as they are not flattering to the Professor.  Let’s be honest, the Professor was never a great man. In the original run, he had creepy thoughts about Jean (his underage student) and faked his death to his students. No, having Changeling replace him during his “death” doesn’t make it better.  Not to mention all the times he bailed on his “life’s mission”.

If we include the events of Deadly Genesis, the Professor responds the massacre of newbies by composing a team that’s mainly newbies!  Clearly, Xavier’s intelligence is overrated.

Let’s check the members’ resumes:

Kurt: Performs in a circus, runs from villagers

Peter: Farms

John: Chases bulls, whines

Ororo: Lounges in a chair, accepts villager’s offerings, makes rain storms

Sunfire has very limited experience.

Banshee and Wolverine are well-trained and very experienced. I’m not sure if Xavier is aware of the depth of Logan’s experience – to be fair, neither is Logan at this point.

Wolverine and Banshee are the only logical selections to send after the captured X-Men.  The original team had more powerful members – Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Havok, Polaris – and were captured.  I don’t know how the Professor expects this team to do better.  Did it never occur to Xavier to call the Avengers or Fantastic Four and see if they could help?

Back to Giant-Sized X-Men:

Westchester, New York:

The team assembles at the school.  Peter and Ororo love their costumes.  It’s implied Professor X designed the costumes.  I wonder if Peter ever wondered why his costume didn’t have material on the sides of his chest/abdomen.  Ororo should have many questions about her costume – for starters, why am I half-naked and the rest of the men are fully clothed – or 75% clothed in Peter’s case? And why are Peter’s boots mid-thigh length?  Peter will be a brawler – I can’t imagine that would be comfortable to run in.  And what’s with the pointed shoulder pads – to stab someone in the eye?

Did John Proudstar add the feathered headband to his costume as a sign of his heritage?  Did Professor X throw it in?  Would John resent it as a stereotype or appreciate the nod to his culture?

For the record, Dave Cockrum is one of my favorite artists and few can top his character designs.  Storm’s original costume and the Imperial Guard designs are a few of my favorite Cockrum designs.

Professor Xavier introduces the group to Cyclops.  Scott recaps the events that led to the recruitment drive:  Professor Xavier detects a new mutant presence on the island of Krakoa in the South Pacific.  Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Angel, Polaris, and Havok travel to the island. It’s mentioned that Beast isn’t available for this mission – this is around the time he was working for the Brand Corporation.  The group lands on Krakoa but are ambushed.  Scott regains consciousness, realizes he’s unable to fire his optic blasts, and retreats to the mansion.  Scott’s powers return at the mansion but with increased intensity.

Did Scott retain his power up?  Or was this forgotten and never mentioned again.  Did the other imprisoned X-men receive power-ups?  If not, why was Scott the only one?

Sunfire decides he doesn’t wants to be part of the rescue mission: “I do not even like my fellow mutants! I certainly will not risk my life to help them!”

I’m sure the feelings mutual.  However, Sunfire changes his mind and rejoins the group mid-flight.

We discover in Wolverine: Origins, Logan attempted to leave the team. In fact, he had only joined under Romulus’s orders. However, Xavier performed some mind-magic and changed Logan’s mind.

Is the Professor also behind Sunfire’s mood swings? Or behind Storm’s sudden decision to leave “her land”?

While not flattering for the Professor, it would actually be better for Ororo. Otherwise, her exit from Africa reads as “screw this, I’ve found something better and shinier.” Not very Goddess-like.

The X-Men arrive at the island.  Scott splits the group into pairs: Cyclops/Thunderbird, Sunfire/Nightcrawler, Storm/Colossus, and Banshee/Wolverine.  Sunfire objects to pairing up with Nightcrawler.  Wolverine complains about Banshee’s sonic powers. Enhanced hearing has many drawbacks! Peter leaps out of the airplane causing Storm to panic: “You fool, you cannot fly!”  Peter responds “Of course not, but I can land with the best of them!”

Scott gets the brunt of Proudstar’s attitude: “Yes sir, General One-Eye Sir!  I just hope you’re not leading me into another Little Big Horn! It’d be just my luck to be the first Indian massacred by….”

Can we nominate Scott for sainthood?  He had to deal with Wolverine, Thunderbird, and Sunfire and didn’t kill any of them.

Scott and Proudstar find a temple as do Storm and Colossus.  

“John Proudstar has never much liked the jungle”.

One small line but it merits mention. Is John’s dislike of the jungle a personality quirk or does he have an actual reason? Giant-Size X-Men was published in 1975 – the same year the Vietnam War ended. Was John drafted and did he serve in Vietnam? If he did, it would have added another layer to John’s character and his bitterness with the “man” and the United States government.

Banshee and Wolverine battle giant crabs and reach the temple.  Nightcrawler and Sunfire battle golden birds and snark at each other: “I begin to think the mutant community is no more hospitable than the human…”  The duo also reach the temple.

The group find the original X-Men inside the temple.  Angel warns that it’s a trap and the new mutant is the island itself.

The group battles Krakoa, the “island that walks like a man”.  Professor X mentally joins the battle.  Storm, Polaris, Havok, and Cyclops team up to deliver the final blow. The X-Men retreat as the island breaks apart.

The issue ends with Angel asking “What are we going to do with thirteen X-Men?”

Krakoa could have used more fleshing out – is it a mutant that turned into an island or a mutated island? What exactly are its abilities? As it is, it’s relegated to a plot device – and a boring one at that.  

Poor Scott didn’t even realize his entire future could be summed up in this issue:  a lifetime of mutants questioning every command and mouthing off at every opportunity.  Poor Scott had to deal with Thunderbird, Wolverine, Sunfire, and Havok this issue.

The recruitment scenes were the best part of the issue.  You could tell Banshee and Sunfire had previously appeared in the X-Men series as their recruitment only took one to two panels.  Wolverine had made an appearance in the Hulk, also written by Len Wein, so he had a bit more panel time.  Storm, Nightcralwer, Colossus, and Thunderbird’s recruitment received more page time as they were completely new creations.  The battle with Krakoa was “meh”.  Krakoa doesn’t become fun until he joins the Jean Grey school decades later.

[aventurasdecassie]

First Post

01/16/2019

When I created this blog I meant to post nightly, so I could remember the events of the day. However, my free time and level of energy at the end of the day is slightly different than what was expected. My new hope now is to make, at minimum, one post a week. Hopefully those who read this blog will prod me with reminders. 

Since this post is being made a week and an half after I arrived in Costa Rica, I will try to include everything important that has happened each day, that I can remember.

01/05/2019

This was the day of my flight. This was the big adventure day, so it is definitely the longest section. The day prior was filled with trips to Walmart and packing. My flight was at 5:15 a.m. in Chicago, and all Google searches suggested arriving three hours prior to my international flight. Since the drive itself was four hours, my parents decided to drive over the night/morning before. The entire family (5) wanted to come, plus my boyfriend, Joe. Originally the 8-seater Suburban would have been our transport, but it had a tantrum the week prior and was out of commission. Unbeknownst to me, Dad had rented a minivan for the trip, just so everyone could still come. We left Independence at 10 p.m.  I was supposed to nap on the way, but the entire day I had butterflies in my stomach, and they weren’t about to calm down so I could sleep.

We arrived at O’Hare at 2 a.m.; right on schedule. After navigating our way to the ticket counters (where I had yet to get my boarding pass as an international traveler) we found no staff in sight and many tired-looking folks spread amongst the area surrounding the counter. I dug into the depths of Google to find when the counter was supposed to open, and finally found it, wildly tucked away; 3:30 a.m. As tired as my parents were, they agreed to stay with me until I was on my way. 

Finally, around 3 a.m., some staff members appeared and started to form the line barriers. My dearest mother kept pushing me to be assertive and weasel my way in line. I figured I would get there one way or another, and was too tired to push elbows. Somehow, even after letting people go ahead of me, I managed to find myself at the front of the line for those traveling internationally. The same thing happened a few minutes later, while waiting in line to hand off my checked bag, when the TSA agent opened the barrier in what we thought was the middle of the line. Hah, take that, Mom. It was just a fun little coincidence to start off my adventure. 

After getting my tickets and dropping off my bag, it was finally time to say goodbye. Dad got some awkward photos, Mom hugged me several times, Joe and I had a quick kiss; and then I was on my own. 

I haven’t flown very much, but the best part (well, the only good part) of flying is takeoff. When you are above the city and everything looks like it was made by tiny ants. The view is even better at night, when you can see the golden veins of the roads beneath you.

Oh, I guess there was one other good part of this flight; I had an exit row seat. My little legs could stretch to their heart’s content. The funniest thing about my row was that all six of us were women under 5′ 5″, while there were a few (salty) 6′ & up men behind us.

I had a quick layover in Fort Lauderdale, where I met several other students also heading to Costa Rica. The second leg of my trip was slightly less enjoyable, as my exit row seat didn’t have a window, and we had a delayed takeoff. Although I wasn’t able to see much of Costa Rica as we landed, I did get a quick snap of some vaguely mountainous terrain from the window behind me.

My flight was supposed to land at 12:15 p.m., which should have given me plenty of time to get through immigration and customs, and meet my program’s (ISA) pickup group at 2 p.m. However, it was not meant to be. Due to the delay, my flight landed around 1 p.m. It then took 20 minutes for people to disembark the plane, as we had landed on the tarmac and needed to take a bus to the terminal. The stairs down to the bus were difficult for even me, let alone the mass of older folks at the front of the plane. At this point I was holding my breath, praying that 40 minutes would be enough time. We got into the terminal, and saw the immigration line. At first I thought it would be pushing the 40 minutes, but then I realized I wasn’t even seeing the end of the line yet. As I started walking to the end, any hope of catching the 2 p.m. van vanished. I finally reached the endpoint, and set about contacting ISA to let them know. Luckily for me, there was a 6 p.m. ISA bus. 

Ultimately, I almost missed that too. I ended up spending a grand total of 3 hours in the immigration line. However, I did end up meeting a new friend, Julia. She was also going to study at Veritas, but was in a different program. We bonded through the line, learning to adapt to the new 80 degree heat; with no water, food, or bathroom opportunities. Finally, we made it to the front. Julia managed to pick a much faster agent, and I lost sight of her shortly after. Not to worry; we had remembered to exchange contact info. She checked back in later to make sure I had made it to my program pick-up alright as well. After the three-hour immigration line, I found my checked bag (rather easy with its bright pink color), and faced a new obstacle: customs. 

Which went really fast. Like, five minutes. The agents barely glanced at the declarations form they had us fill out on the plane, and the lady watching the x-ray machine was chatting with her friend. I had no complaints, as I left the terminal with time to spare until pick-up. 

Leaving the terminal was . . . jarring. In the arrivals area there were, like, a million different people. A ton of taxi drivers asked me if I needed a ride, which became a chorus of “No, pero, gracias” as I made my way down the sidewalk along the terminal. I was told by ISA to gather by a place called Restaurante Malinche, but I could only find a Deli Malinche. I was unsure if it was the same thing, so I wandered like a homeless child up and down the arrival line until my program got back to me that, yes, that was the spot. As I tried to find my way into the cafe, I heard someone yell “Cassandra!” I turned to see two girls, and quickly found out that one of them was my roommate, Emily. We had been SnapChatting each other in the days leading up, and while in line. We waited together for the bus and got to know each other in person. 

Finally, we arrived at the Universidad Veritas at 7 p.m. It had been an incredibly long day(s) with only 1-2 hours of sleep. There were about 20-25 of us on a tour bus, and we were told that our host families would be coming to pick us up from the university. When my and Emily’s names were called, our host parents, Letty and Juan, helped us carry our bags to what I thought would be their car. 

Nope, we walked. About two steps. Our homestay was practically part of campus. 

This has grown to be one of the best parts of this experience thus far. Juan and Letty gave us a quick run-down of house rules (in Spanish, which my half-asleep brain only half-understood), and let us settle in, and sleep.

I know I said I would put all of last week in this post, but obviously it has already become much longer than I intended, and I’m impressed you made it this far (if you didn’t just skim down the post). The first day was one of the most exciting, and was filled with a lot of new experiences. Right now it is about 11 p.m. here, and I have class in the morning. So tomorrow (fingers crossed) I will catch y’all up on the rest of the week.

[egoiistas]

Time Lost

ao3

a/n: HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY @meiosis2! Conchi, this also serves as your Christmas present bahahha! Have some angst. 

Word Count: ~4500 || Rated: T Angst/Hurt/Comfort - Royai

Eastern Amestris, 1910

As of late, Riza Hawkeye’s lips acted on their own accord without any say on her part. Surprising her in arbitrary moments throughout the day where she had been lost in thought.  Never in a way that could endanger herself or Lieutenant-Colonel Mustang, like blurting classified information, but it was equally as dangerous in her eyes.

Riza was catching herself smiling.

The danger sprung from rather intrusive thoughts. The danger was in the evenings, when the work day called for late nights and the fatigue would dismantle the professionalism and allow more than just camaraderie to slip into their conversations. The danger was jokes that brought out tears and hurt her sides from laughter. In those times, her mind would think more of meanings in his gestures, like hands brushing or silent, awkward rides home -  as if they were waiting to say something. It felt like they were toeing the line, approaching something far from innocuous, and she felt that in her chest, despite nothing ever actually happening. She was reminded of all this staring out the train window as the scenery of the late fall landscape passed them by in rapid succession.

Some days, it had been necessary to do an hourly reminder of where exactly Riza’s place was in the grand scheme of things. He was a walking reminder of what had happened in the desert - what she carried on her back and yet, there were things about him that made it easier to forget.

“You’re awfully quiet today, Lieutenant.” Riza looked over to him. He was flipping through the documents he’d pulled from her bag.

Of course he forgot his, Riza thought, wiping away a smile just in time for him to look up.

“Something on your mind?”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve visited the countryside, sir. It’s a different place, but very reminiscent of a lonely, little town out there somewhere.”

He stared out the window before dark eyes landed on her. “It’s not too far. Perhaps a quick detour wouldn’t hurt?”

The tracks in her mind switched. That’s not something she wanted. Not yet. The thought of it chilled her. “That’s not necessary, sir.”

The Lieutenant-Colonel shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He handed her the files, effectively changing topics to her relief. “Will you run by me these details again so I make sure I have them accurately?”

Their fingers briefly touched beneath the folder, and she told herself to make nothing of it. “Absolutely,” she said without faltering, but swallowed thickly as she separated the sheets of paper. Riza briefed him on the main points of their mission: “An inspection, ordered by General Grumman of East City, is required to investigate the rumors of alchemists transmuting coal and other materials into gold and other precious metals and gems in violation of Official Code of Amestris Annotated Section 16-3-1.

“Local military and policemen have been unable to capture these alchemists due to their hasty departure or diversions, such as setting buildings on fire or creating massive low-visibility dust clouds. The smaller towns are suffering from coal shortage, especially with the approaching winter. We are to investigate, but are explicitly ordered not to engage unless sufficient backup is present.” A tiny smile emerged as he scoffed, but she continued. “There’s enough evidence in this file from testimonies and forensic portraits to believe we are looking for a “Felix Scuttle”, but could be going by a different alias.

He and his crew were last heard of in Giribaz working their way down from Fisk.” She presented the mugshot of man with a deep frown in his late 30s measuring tall at 6’1” with average features including wavy brown hair and with a brown eye and a cloudy eye in the other. “He should be easy to identify. Doesn’t exactly look like the townspeople in these parts.”

The Lieutenant-Colonel inspected the photo. “Looks like someone trying to bring about economic disaster.”

She snorted from his remark, “Consider him armed and dangerous, sir, as with the rest of his crew. ” Riza spread out the rest of the photos across her lap.  

“Heard loud and clear, Lieutenant.”

She secured the files backed into the safety of the folder. Riza pulled back the sleeve of her thick jacket for the time only to be met with a watchless wrist. She asked, “Do you have the time?” as the train attendant announced the proximity to Giribaz.

“Quarter after five,” he responded and tucked the silver watch back into his pocket. “Too late to start covering ground now.”

Her legs ached to stand and move around. “We should start early. There’s a car ready for us from one of the smaller military offices.”

“And a room from the local inn is secured as well?”

“Two, actually.”

“Oh, good.” He said it in a way to end the conversation and she urged herself to not read further into his silence as he looked out the window.

They arrived with a whine and a bout of smoke from the steel giant’s whistle. They had embarked on the midmorning train and now, the sun was beginning to sink under the horizon in rich gradients of red and vibrant oranges. Without question, it’s a town significantly smaller than East City by population density and size with smaller municipalities dispersed far and wide. Giribaz had been a wonder to a younger Riza whenever she left the true countryside for supplies not available back home. Like the other areas their perpetrators have hit, it doubled as a mining township with occupations centered around the success of the mines.

The inn was around the same size as the manor she grew up in. She wondered why she had made the comparison. Riza felt both solace and annoying disappointment when they ate dinner with little conversation. She succeeded in making no show of any it. As a female officer, Riza grew aware that it was far more prudent to be scant when it came to emotions - which is why her smiling problem was a concern. It happened before she realized it. They retired to their respective rooms and Riza stared at the ceiling that night. Her mind elsewhere, she searched for the watch that she had forgotten back in East City.

The wild goose chase began at the break of dawn.

Riza set out before the Lieutenant-Colonel woke up. A layer of dark blue dampened the wood buildings and dirt roads, hanging around and waiting for the sun to chase the shadows away. Enroute to the local military branch, she saw miners beelining to the mines with the handles of pickaxes over their shoulders. Vendors set up shop, and their children, she assumed, with yawns tugging at their mouths with sleep still heavy in their eyes. It was all too nostalgic for Riza.

By the time she returned to the inn with a vehicle, he was sitting at a table enjoying a cup of warm coffee with two eggs sunny-side up and a single slice of toast. His usual. “Good morning, sir. Lieutenant Hawkeye reporting for duty.”

He waved her down. “I don’t know how anyone can get up so early,” he rubbed his eyes, “I already have enough trouble getting up at 0700.”

“Merely a habit, sir.”

He ate quickly. “I trust you’ve already procured the vehicle.”

“Yes, sir.”

A smile and she shoved away the delight. “Good. Let’s get this over with.”

Except it was not as easy as getting it over with. From the moment they set out from the inn, they questioned and interrogated the people of Giribaz. Mine workers covered in earth, mothers with babes in their arms, and the elderly on their way to a game of shoji, the reply was the same: the alchemists in question were seen for no more than a few hours within town before stealing away a good amount of coal. In spite of this, the local authorities offered them a tip that Scuttle’s crew were heading to the town of Crawley, an hour or so northeast of Giribaz, but it was vague and with no real assurance there’d be anything there should they spend the hour drive and back.

“We’re don’t really have a choice, Lieutenant.” The Lieutenant-Colonel said as he settled the suitcase in the trunk of the car and chivalrously helped her with hers.

“I just think there’s more to be investigated here if our intel says this is where they were last seen.”

He moved in closer, close enough that she held her breath, but she convinced herself he did it for discretion. “Don’t you think it’s a little suspicious that everyone had the same story to tell? Besides…” His eyes flickered between the walking townsfolk. “There’s something missing here.” She stood there, processing it, while he shut the trunk with a good shove. “Time to go, Lieutenant.”

Upon arriving, Crawley consisted of a single strip of buildings that made up the “town.” A post office, a small inn, and a tavern. The rest of it was farmland belonging to private farmers growing crops like grain and tobacco. Riza asked the people within the main part of town if they could identify the man in the photos, or any of the rest. After coming up short, they visited the small military office consisting of a total of three officers: a lieutenant  and two privates. Lieutenant Blast, or as the Lieutenant-Colonel liked to nickname him “Lieutenant Last” on account of his deliberately slow cadence and gait, showed them the scorched farmland belonging to a family acres away. Riza heard the man assure them that the investigation was exhausted and the trail had thus gone cold. Skimming through Crawley’s evidence files proved as such.

Something kept the Lieutenant-Colonel silent while he looked through the photos on Blast’s desk; probably engrossed with the manner the fire was used.

“Have you heard anything from any of the other areas? From other offices?” Riza inquired, notepad and pen in hand.

“There was…,” Blast slowly sucked in breath, “...a disturbance one ...other town.”

“Spit it out, Blast.” She heard the subtle bite in his voice.

Lieutenant Blast nodded slowly. “Three hours from here… South. Past Giribaz…”

Riza gripped her pen tighter. “Yes, and the name of this place?”

What was probably seconds felt like hours as his beady little green eyes glazed over trying to remember. “Chasteaux.”

In her peripheral, Riza saw the Lieutenant-Colonel’s head snap up as her own body failed to respond for a moment.

“Did I hear that right?” He closed folder holding the pictures and documents. “Did you say Chasteaux?” She knew the answer to that just as well as he did and that made for a painful silence in the car.

The entire way, he had this look on his face like he wanted to ask a question. Not the question when they sat in silence for seconds in front of her apartment building. It was a questions he didn’t know how to word or how to even form the words, because it might hurt or reopen wounds that were never treated properly. A festering that would rather be put out of sight than ensure it didn’t turn gangregious. The weight in her chest was heavy and it sunk further as she saw the hilly outskirts of her old hometown come into view.

Dusk was beginning to chase away the day. Chasteaux always looked like a place time forgot. The buildings were ancient, as were the houses. She was sure that had it not been for the invention of synthetic fabrics the people would look exactly the same. In her time here, the only alchemist she ever knew was her father and, by extension, his apprentice Roy.

A new building had been erected in her year of absence, she noticed, and it stuck out like a sore thumb.The inn was colored in pastels and brightly shone with lights, dwarfing the other establishments around it with the multiple storeys. It would be better, she reasoned, if they stayed at an inn than if they stayed at her abandoned house - to track their movement should the military need it. Riza told the Lieutenant-Colonel as much.

He parked the car in front of it and turned to her, hesitating. She didn’t want to look at him. Riza didn’t know if she could take that same look of pity when it mirrored the last time they were here, so she leapt out of the car before he could say anything.

There was still enough daylight to ask a few people around, but she felt securing a room was equally important. Luckily, she didn’t recognize the innkeeper. Wearily, she approached the old woman with glasses looking over a ledger until she saw Riza approach. “Hello, how can I help you, dear?”

“Two rooms please.”

Riza was given a sympathetic look. “Apologies, miss, all our rooms all but one are occupied”

Incredulous, and after 5 hours of stuck in a vehicle, she said tiredly, “What? Who can possibly be taking all the rooms?”

“The Winter festival has become a bit of a big thing for this old, forgotten town. It’s brought new life to it.”

She’d never heard of any festival in Chasteaux save for the Harvest. Even then, that was sparse event drawing a paltry number of attendees from nearby towns. Mystified, she asked, “How?”

The old woman smiled. “The people were tired of being forgotten.”

Riza felt that sentiment hit too close to home. Whether it was because of being mentally spent or not, she didn’t know. Accepting, she said, “All right, I’ll take the one room.” She could stay in her own house. It’s just one night. She clenched a fist, imperceptible to the the older woman writing in her log; maybe she was putting it off long enough.

“One bed, okay?”

It made no difference to her. “Perfect.”

Riza was given the key with a key tag labelled “6-11”. She left the brightly-colored building to find the Lieutenant-Colonel and found the car alone instead. Her hands ran through her face, feeling the fatigue all at once.

“Riza?” Every muscle suddenly became taut from her name. “Riza Hawkeye, is that you?” She turned around to see Mrs. Tilde walking towards her; a baker back when Riza was a girl now wrinkled with streaks of gray hair and gripping a cane for support.

“Mrs. Tilde,” she said courteously. “What a pleasant surprise.”

“You’re the pleasant surprise. Why, look how you’ve grown and in the military too.” She grasped at Riza’s arm and tugged gently. “Come, let’s go see who’s around.”

“Oh, my apologies Mrs. Tilde, as much as I’d love to, but I’m actually on duty right now and--”

“I thought I saw Roy running around here, is he here with you too?”

The old woman glanced at Riza’s hands. “But I don’t see no ring.” She smiled deviously. “Let me guess, shotgun wedding like your mother and father?”

Please don’t bring them up. Riza blinked several times before she got over the embarrassment, “No, he’s my superior officer.” She really needed to leave, but she knew, to them, she’d been gone for four years. The people assumed Roy had taken over the Hawkeye estate when he went into town for her first aid supplies to treat her burns. Riza tried to make a move to leave but she didn’t know how without using force and the old lady wouldn’t take a hint she had places to be.

“I see,” Mrs. Tilde’s face fell. “Well, I told this to Roy the last time he was here. We’re sorry about your father and that we all missed his funeral.”

Riza chewed on the inside of her cheek. Quietly, she said, “I didn’t know anyone would come to the funeral of a recluse.”

But it was too low for Mrs. Tilde, or she ignored it. “I’m also very sorry about your house. Beautiful architecture.” She shook her head in the way grandmothers do disapprovingly. “It burned everything before anyone could do anything about it.”

“What are you talking about?” There had been no question about what she had just heard, but her head went light.

“Aren’t you here to investigate the fires, dear? And to find the awful, awful hooligans who did it?”

“What fire?”

Mrs. Tilde’s eyes widened and the lamplight casted a shadow over them. “Did… “ She began to let go. “Did no one tell you? Write you?”

Out of breath, she shook her head slowly and said, “No. ...I’ve only just arrived, Mrs. Tilde.” Riza glanced around, breathing quickening - she wasn’t sure what she was looking for as the tears pooled in her eyes. “I’m sorry, I have to go.”

Lacking the keys to the car, she walked the route she knew back to her house on the dirt road she travelled on so many times. The fatigue pushed to the back of her mind. It always took half an hour on foot - past the tree with a split trunk, over the bridge separating her property and the town, beyond the browning open fields until she saw the rusted mailbox barely standing off the side of the road.

Morbidly, she thought it looked better burnt down than it did up. It didn’t, however, stop the suckerpunch she felt in her stomach, stealing her of breath. The dilapidated manor was reduced to charred rubble with only a few weight-bearing studs jutting from the foundation. Riza walked through the creaking metal gate. The sounds of life and night were far-off.

Walking into what was once a foyer, she thought it ironic that the house of Berthold Hawkeye, the master of fire alchemy, should be demolished by the element of his specialty. It was ironic that it was within those walls that she had his protege burn his secrets off her back.

It was ironic that she wasn’t the one to do it.

She wanted to -- fiercely. It’s why she left. It’s why she didn’t come back. She’d meant to keep her mother’s belongings at a time when she was ready and to organize the skeletons placed in her closet. To lock the proverbial door and throw away its key. She always said she’d return to burn the notes, the books, the clothes, the cold keepsakes, and the memories of cruel man who taught others alchemy and taught her pain and fear.

Right then and there she wanted to blame him for everything that happened her. The resentment. The secrets. The poverty. Riza could see the events of her life rolling like snowball, gaining size down a mountain. Left with no choice, she enlisted because there was nothing left to her name, not even enough money to bury him, no family to turn to. She envied the kids who enjoyed going home because she had a  very different definition for hers. The burden of a responsibility she wasn’t worthy enough to even look at, bestowed her father’s secrets to the one person, she thought, had showed her kindness because she was naive and young. She still was! She indebted herself to his cause out of the guilt from his betrayed trust. All a result of something she didn’t ask for. All because ...perhaps, her father held no love for her. This was the truth she was trying to avoid and the subsequent loneliness of its wake.

She held herself, covering her mouth.  She wanted to curse Berthold Hawkeye who lied in his grave ignorant to his daughter’s misfortune. For everything, everything.

But what good would that do now? Anything that mattered has been blown or washed away in her absence. It wouldn’t bring back her mother. It wouldn’t save those Ishvalans. They would remain as pictures in her head, fading with time, as with these ashes surrounding her.

The whole situation felt like a sardonic joke. A punishment was better suited for it. She was the joke as she wasn’t as quick on the draw as she liked to believe; another addition to the list of things she took too long to act on.

There was a wetness to her cheeks and suddenly the realization consumed her that she hadn’t grown up from the scared girl from before. She was still scared.  She hadn’t grown; she only succeeded in masking her with the face of a murderer.

Stepping forward, she kicked something on the floorboard. It was hard to see with the sun now settled beyond the horizon. The moon was enough to point her in the right direction. In her hands, she held the face of a watch; the bands burned at both ends, but somehow the face had been spared by the fire. The glass was cracked and the mother of pearl underneath gave off a sheen. It released from her like a river’s rush during a downpour with a sob that wracked her body, holding her mother’s watch in her gloved hand. She turned quickly to get away until she slammed into something solid.

Unmoving, Riza knew better than to be surprised. She gripped the lapels of the stiff, woolen coat, but she still wanted to be angry. She needed that ire to fuel her - to change her, but it was useless. To her father’s dismay, she wasn’t someone who would be consumed by fire; she melded with it. Worked with it. Guided it. And there’s no one else who would care coming out this far, certainly no one from town. Only the military or apprentices from Central or Flame Alchemists. But she asked anyway, “How did you find me?”

“After I found out what happened here, I realized they hadn’t left Giribaz when nothing was touched there. I called Eastern Command to dispatch so we can arrest them in the morning.” The words resonated deeply in his chest. “I went to go look for you after that.”

She wanted to laugh. Laughter would have been nice, but she made no sounds. Riza stood there, forehead to his chest. Her arms were now dead beside her and he made no move of his own. She stepped back and the wind picked up the air of burnt wood. With no place to stay the night, she said, “It’s time to go back, sir.”

He made jokes about how they should invest in infrastructure out in the rural areas instead of human weapons on the bumpy ride back. She was silent all the way to the inn and that’s when she could hear the worry in his voice.

She sat on the side of the bed, back to him and the door. He said something, but she was lost in her own thoughts until a hand rested on the shoulder of her uniform that yanked her from drowning in them. She jumped and he sounded apologetic. “Sorry, I said I was going to get food. I wanted to know if you wanted anything.”

Without looking up, Riza grabbed the hand on her shoulder. “Stay,” She worried that if she threw in the word “please” she would break.

“Lieutenant...”

She tugged the arm toward her center and looked up, hoping the tears would stay at the corner of her eyes. “Riza is asking you to stay.”

Something in his face changed. She couldn’t read what it was.

Her inexperience with people thus far had limited her social cues, but she had Rebecca to thank for normalizing her to society again. She pulled him on the seat next her without staring at him in the face and the bed gave into the weight. “I need…” She released his hand and unclasped the button, then two, of his coat. Her eyes met with his, “...someone.” Comfort.

“I don’t understand,” he said unsure. She let the fall of his coat off his shoulder communicate for her and he received the message. Roy was still for a moment and she watched the gears turn behind his eyes. He shook his head. “Riza.”

“It doesn’t have to be complicated.” She didn’t know herself anymore. The things she wanted to ask for, it wasn’t her. Her emotions were wrapped in something foreign; it became unrecognizable. She wanted to make a choice of her own for once. “I don’t want to feel. No one has to know in some forgotten town in the East”

“It’ll become too complicated. We- I’m sorry. You’re my subordinate. And..”

Riza let go of him like he burned her. The embarrassment settled right next to her sunken heart. Smiling sadly, she turned forward and wiped a tear off her cheek before he could notice something so childish. It couldn’t have been worse, she realized, than suggesting something as insolent as making advances to a superior officer. “No, I should be the one apologizing. I’m coming to terms that nothing will be as before. I should know better. That time is gone.” She spoke to the fingers on her lap. “It won’t happen again.”

If he made any semblance of a response, Riza didn’t hear it. She saw him leave her side from her peripheral, and heard the boots cross the room until the door opened and closed. She shut her eyes with it so that the tears that were pooling at the bottom of her eyelids could finally be freed. She wrapped her arms around herself, clenching teeth and eyes, as a sadness hollowed out a void in her chest. Her breath stilled in her lungs if only to deny herself the agonized cries begging to be released. Everything felt so wrong and she had no clue how to make it right. She isolated herself to a profession she had no love for. She had nothing else, but she dragged that through the mud because she couldn’t keep silly, little emotions in check. If he didn’t transfer to another unit for insubordination, she would feel the urge to resign herself were it not for the alchemy she felt responsible for.

Riza jumped when the door opened. Her arms fell like dead weights. She didn’t turn from the cowardice of staring him in the face after her folly, but she took a deep breath. This time, his footsteps were hastened as he walked past the front of the bed, and stopped in front of her. None of her muscles moved, with or without her willingness, for the few seconds he didn’t say anything.

Her eyes travelled upwards by the nudge of two fingers under her chin. He swooped in to kiss her. Her arms supported her against the plush bed as he nudged her further on to it. Her legs were lifted and she was centered on the mattress followed by his weight over her. She took the entire gesture in stride without a moment of hesitance. Her coat fell off her in the middle of it, then his shirt, then their ranks.

“No one can know,” he murmured against her lips.

She nodded. To make up for lost time.

[boothanita]

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[tepid-tea]

Hello Drama; its been a while..

I don’t think I’ve posted personal drama in a while but I feel like I need to get this off my chest. Cause this didn’t just effect me but it has pretty much torn up my little group of friends which was not the intent.

Heres some background before we start…

Emerald City Comic Con for those who have followed my little slice of tumblr knows is a yearly nerd pilgrimage my friends and I do every year. We all arrange rides and drive down from Vancouver, BC to Seattle, WA for a 4-5 day where we eat, drink and buy way too much stuff at the convention.  We’ve all gone pretty much as a group for the last… shit 4 or five years? Possibly more? Now last year I spent waaaay to much money as the Canadian Dollar was in the tank ( still is pretty much lol)  and I went a little over board. Now Hotel prices have steadily been going up  etc etc so even without the spending I was already over budget. Now early on this year I had decided that I wasn’t going to go to ECCC in 2018 due to how much hotel and such costs. The tickets themselves aren’t so bad but if you’re not a local in Seattle or don’t have a friends couch to sleep on we’re talking close to $1000 CAD for 4 nights in a hotel even with the Convention discount.  That includes parking but still…. Yikes right? I went to Disneyland (flight & Hotel) for only like $30 more than that. That’ $1000 doesn’t even include my convention pass! So needless to say I wasn’t going since my family is planning on doing like  a week plus in Disneyland next summer so that was what I was going to save up for instead. It bummed me out because ALL of my friends were going to this (except maybe one but we will get to that shortly) and it was my first time not going to be able to join them. But it was my decision and I was going to stick with it. Now fast forward too maybe a week or so ago right before the tickets went on sale everyone was excited and stuff and I was pretty much over it at this point when  my friend who hadn’t planned on going either cause he kept saying how much it sucked, (we’ll call him R) texted me and asked if I wanted to just go for the Saturday. Now a part of me was unsure because we would have to get up at the crack ass of dawn to drive the 2 and a half hours to Seattle, find expensive Downtown parking and get our passes, walk around all day only to have to drive the 3 and a half ours back. Now my friend R doesn’t drive. Doesn’t know how; takes transit or bums rides from our friends who drive all the time.  So I would have to do all of this driving.  I’m unsure but he ramps it and says he’ll split gas and parking so without really thinking it through ( probably out of desperation of wanting to go even at a small scale) I agree. Everyone I tell that we’re going for just the day say I’m fucking looney cause I’m pretty much doing all the work here.  It’s not like if I get tired I can trade off with someone to drive. 2 and a half hours isn’t really long but… I mean when you’re that tired it can feel like a super long time. Also I’d have to drive him home, which he lives like a half an hour the opposite direction of my house so that’s adding another hour onto my drive time.  But I’m like cool sure. Then we never talk about it again. Until yesterday morning. 

My friend K texts me and says she’s accidentally ordered 1 too many Vendor passes. She got her table this year in Artist alley and wanted to know if I could come with and help her and her boyfriend ( who happens to be my best friend) run her booth. Now I’ve helped run her booth for conventions off and on for the past couple years. At Local ones and for the three years at ECCC ( except 2017’s convention, she didn’t get chosen and thus didn’t come with us) so I’ve got experience in how she likes to run shit. At first I tell her no, I’m doing the one day thing and I can’t afford the hotel alone plus everything's probably all booked by now even if I could find someone.  But then she says to ask our friend J as she and like 3 of our other friends are sharing a room ( Like every year) and could possible have space for me too? 

 She said to let her know by Friday so if I don’t go she can try and e-mail the convention ppl to try and get a refund ( tickets like $125 usd) because she can’t sell it like a normal ticket. So I go to work and not really think about it again till like later in the evening. I’m having dinner with C ( K’s bf and my best friend ANNND R’s best friend)  and the ticket offer comes up during our conversation. He says to give our friend J a text about their hotel situation, prices and what not because if it’s cheap, why not? He knew I was pretty bummed about not going the full weekend and wasn’t too stoked about driving so much ( he wasn’t too happy about it on my behalf it seemed either. he’s an overprotective puppy). So I ask J and their  5th person they were going to have in their room bailed and they had space. I’d get a blow up mattress and  it would be $150 USD for  3 nights for my half of the hotel ( roughly as taxes/hotel parking etc). So thats $275.00 USD  AND they offered to drive me there and back, provide the air mattress etc.  I tell C and its like how can you say no to that? He says do it. Now first thing I worry is how R is going to take it. He gets upset easy and yeah I’m being kind of a dick on bailing on him.  The Con is in 4 months as in that time we could figure out a way for him to either get there without me driving him or help him sell the tickets. However even without committing to it 100% at the time I feel bad, I hate bailing on people like that.  

So this morning I send this huge text to R explaining the situation and apologise for the whole thing but offer to help him work out how to either sell them or figure a way there and back.  R loses his absolute shit, says I’m the worst friend ever. Says this is the worst possible thing I could ever do to him and this is basically ending our friendship.  I then ask him how could something like this be a friendship ender  ( I’ve forgiven him him for FAR worse offences on shit he’s pulled on me but THAT'S a whole other traumatizing thing that we don’t talk about anymore because it almost gives me a panic attack thinking of it) then offer again to help make other arrangements for him to either come along or sell the tickets. He then accuses me of going behind his back and plotting with our other friends to screw him over ( not true like wtf?) then proceeds to block my phone number and blocks me on all social media before we can work anything out. ( there are 6 texts in total, two from me and the rest are him freaking at me) In the end he ends up blocking 5 different friends of ours ( though he’s re-added K I later find out) and proceeds to shit talk me on FB where I can’t see and blocks anyone who tries to stick up for me ( Thus the 4 friends still blocked). I mean I understand he’s upset but we are in our mid 30’s for fuck sakes! We’re fucking adults! Why can’t we have a fucking adult conversation and work something out? I admit it was shitty to bail on him however I offered to help him find another solution to get there, to help sell them both and even offer to just straight pay for my half to compensate. However none of these offers were taken because he didn’t get his own way and would rather flip his shit. 

Needless to say my whole day was fucked.  I felt horrible but the more nasty shit he posted on FB that I got told about and shit he’s been pulling on everyone else, I started to feel less bad for the whole thing. There was no grand plot to screw him over; I simply took advantage of an opportunity only for it to fuck everything up.  I tried to keep it just between the two of us to keep damage to a minimum cause we share best friends and it's not fair to drag C into the middle of this or any of our other friends for that matter but he insisted on it. So about an hour after I started this text rant K texted and asked if she could call me; which of course I say yes.  After an hour and a half talk  I go over my side on what's happened and what we can do to fix it and keep C out of it.  K and I both love C ( in very different ways mind you LOL) and her and I are going to do our hardest to keep him out of it.  Her and I have both agreed not to talk about the situation in front of him and try to keep the others from doing so as well ( god knows what R has sent him).  C doesn’t take conflict really well (Neither does myself and K to be honest but C more so) and I told K I really don’t want C to be dragged into it…. 

Like fuck I didn’t want anyone to get dragged into it but R is a drama queen and I’m the villain.

SO YA! Fuck my life!

Anyone want to go see the New Star Wars Movie with me? Cause R is selling off my first showing ticket for that. Anyone want to see a movie with a shitty villainous person?

[dudethatserin5]

PSA: Avoid VANLINES USA!

Hey guys!

I recently completed a move from Jacksonville, FL to Sierra Vista, AZ to move with my husband who is stationed out here at Fort Huachuca. I want to put out a PSA on the movers I used because they were horrible from the start. I wanted to wait until I had my stuff safely with me before putting this out as I wanted to make sure they didn’t steal it.

So, I have been putting together this move since the end of May. My mom helped me find movers while I found a place to live and my husband worked his butt off during basic training earning money for us to be able to move to his new duty location.

We found VanLines USA and they quoted me $1287 to move me from Jacksonville, FL to Sierra Vista, AZ. It is about 23 hours or 2k miles. Other movers were quoting upwards of $2-4k to move so we accepted this offer as doing it ourselves would not only mean renting a UHUAL for 1k but paying for the gas (about another $500) and moving the stuff from our home into the UHUAL and then out of the UHUAL into my 2nd floor apartment. That is a lot of work and we were up to the task but VanLines USA ended up being a bit cheaper and they would do all of that for us. We read several of the horrible reviews: here, here, and here but in the end decided to take our chances due to the price. Boy, was that a mistake.

Let me set the scene. My move-in date for Sierra Vista Apartment Complex (not naming it) was July 15th. When we found these movers it was around June 20th, so a little more than a month before the move-in date. I had not seen the apartment complex but I read TONS of the glorious reviews and people on Facebook seemed to say good things so I was optimistic. I was taking chances everywhere.

As a note, when I say “we” throughout this, I’m referring to my mom and I. She has helped me out through so much of this process from start to finish. I love her so much!

Louis from VanLines USA calls us to set up a quote. Here is a picture of said quote with the private details removed:

This is one of the 4-5 quotes we were given. You can see the move-in date is different than what I needed (I needed Monday, 07/15/2019) and you can also see the amount we were quoted and the pick-up date which was Monday, 07/01/2019. Not bad right now.

The first thing they did was not explicitly state that there was a 2-3 week clock from the “Move Day” listed on the quote. Meaning they can deliver it starting on the “Move Day” but more than likely it will take an additional 2-3 weeks for me to get my stuff. Louis did not explain this to me, no one did until I got here and was going to move in on the 15th and I call to see where it is and that’s when I get the news.

The next thing they did was when we were quoted, we explicitly asked Louis if I had less stuff than was quoted if the quote would lower. He said “yes”. I was quoted for 10 Large boxes, that ended up being 6-7 varying in sizes from Small to Large. Which is why we explicitly asked this question. Come to find out, that is untrue and their minimum for this distance is $1300 so we were already getting a discount on that price. I didn’t find this out until July 1 when they came to pick up my stuff. I had the movers waiting outside my house while I called VanLines USA and spoke to the rudest individual on the phone. Customer Service is definitely far down on their list of what they care about, if they care about it after the sale at all.

Anyway, that made moving day stressful. Here is a list of all the stuff they moved:

Dresser

Bedframe

Queen Matress and Box Spring

End Table

65″ Samsung TV

55″ Sony TV

6-7 Boxes varying in size

Included in the quote was packing the 2 TVs. Now, they had to take the feet off the TVs to move them so they disassembled the TVs. This is important for later in the story.

As you can see, I don’t have very much stuff. The rest of my stuff (about half of it) I moved myself between my mom’s SUV and my car (Kia Forte). So, this is why we were so concerned on the quote and being able to lower it.

Moving on...When the movers were here packing the TVs one guy was newer and younger than the other. The young, new, guy was packing the 55″ Sony TV while I was watching the older guy pack the 65″ Samsung. He did a really good job and I was confident that the TV was going to be OK. He even went as far as to tell me that the screws are attached to the feet when the movers delivered my TV so I could tell them.

After he finished with the Samsung the young, new, guy had just started packing the 55″ Sony and the older guy went to check on him in the bedroom (that’s where the TV was). I heard him explain how to pack it correctly like the guy hadn’t done it before so I was scared something would happen to that TV. Spoiler: Nothing did, luckily, though I did have trouble finding the screws for the feet as it wasn’t explained to me where they were.

Everything else went smoothly. I packed the box spring and mattress in mattress bags we picked up from UHUAL. I had them taped pretty tight and I was confident that they wouldn’t get damaged.

So, moving day comes and they make me pay half up-front. Since it was $1287 total, I paid about $600 up-front and the rest I paid when they brought my stuff. I had the money in cash so everything was fine. They made me sign about 7 different papers worth of stuff and explained everything when signing but the older guy did it so fast that I barely remember everything I initialed and signed. Plus, I didn’t get a copy of everything. I only got a copy of the receipt and the list of items they are moving.

Now, I’m getting everything in order in my car and I start driving on July 10th to Sierra Vista. I head to my parent’s home in Montgomery, AL first and spend a few days there and we leave Friday, July 12th to make the ~20 hour drive. We split it up so I was able to get to Sierra Vista and see my husband on Sunday at about noon, which wasn’t bad at all.

Now we are at Monday, July 15th and I had just called to see where my stuff was and was told that it could be another 2-3 weeks before I get the stuff. I am annoyed but my parents are here so they are helping as much as possible. I get all the stuff we brought between our two cars moved in and they decide to go to big lots to buy a new queen bed set so they can stay the night in my apartment as they were going to the Grand Canyon after a day or so. We also do a wal-mart trip and I pick up a twin sized air mattress and pump and sleep on that while my parents are here. It takes about a week (my parents are home in Montgomery, AL by this point) and I get a call saying my stuff is going to arrive. This was this past Monday, July 22. He said he will be here around 3-4pm. It is sooner than I thought so I give him the benefit of the doubt and tell him to take his time and if he has to come Tuesday, that is fine, too.

Sunday night I came home from visiting my husband on base and meet my downstairs neighbor. He is a big guy (one of those guys you see on the Planet Fitness commercials that they don’t allow in) with a big 4x4 truck. He is super nice and I thank god I met him now.

Anyway, Monday rolls around and it is about 3pm when the mover knocks on my door and tells me he sees a sign that says 53ft trucks are not allowed. So, I go with him to talk to my office manager. She confirms. I then walk around trying to see if there is someone’s truck I can borrow because there is no way in hell I am going to be able to fit that stuff in my car and the guy stated that there is this surprise $250 charge to move it to a smaller truck for redelivery. I don’t have $250 because the move has been expensive already so I try to find any help I can. The mover also stated that he will move it into the person’s truck (or my car) but there is an extra charge for him to move it from there into my apartment.

Not knowing any better, no red flags go off for me there. Not that they would have helped if they did.

Anyway, I talk to my downstairs neighbor and he tells me I have balls asking and he likes that and he agreed to help me. As we are unloading everything off the truck one of Arizona’s famous “Monsoons” comes in and drenches the mattress and box spring and gets everything wet except what I could load in my car. The rainstorm lasts about 30 minutes and when it lets up we start moving everything in.

My neighbor is the most amazing person I could have ever met. He moved 90% of it in. I did most of my boxes and some of the bed frame but by the time we got to anything else I was so exhausted I couldn’t do much more. I was almost to the point of throwing up several times through this process but kept pushing through and he moved 90% of my stuff by hand. The only thing he used a dolly on was the dresser. I am so impressed and I hope I can get to this point anytime in the future.

If you are keeping count here are the things that VanLines USA screwed me over for thus far:

Misquoted the “Move Day”

Incorrect information on quote price and ability for it to be lowered

Uninforming me of $250 redelivery fee

Uninforming me of additional fee for extra work for movers (from my car to apartment)

This all doesn’t include the next HORRIBLE things they did. I finally get everything in and call my mom. She goes off on them. Come to find out I did sign a paper that explained all of this when the movers took my stuff and I agreed to everything above. There are a few problems with that though:

I didn’t understand that a 53ft truck was a semi. I just didn’t put 2 and 2 together. Plus, having never visited my apartment complex, how was I supposed to know this?

I signed and initialed so much, how was I supposed to remember these small details?

I wasn’t given a copy of this paper until Tuesday, July 23rd, when I specifically requested it. So, how was I supposed to remember?

I am a 26 year old female whom they took advantage of because they knew they could. My mattress was almost ruined because when they moved it holes ripped in the plastic all around it and it got drenched from the rain. My TVs could have been ruined from the rain.

I ended up having to put together my TVs myself. The bed frame wasn’t together in FL so I expected to have to do that myself (not a big deal) but everything should have been moved into the apartment by VanLines USA. That is what I paid $1300 for and I didn’t get what I paid for. They deliberately choose a huge semi to deliver several days worth of deliveries to get out of doing work. When they showed up here in Arizona, it was only ONE GUY in the truck. Now there could have been one in the bed that never came out but ONE GUY (and my neighbor and myself) did all of the moving from the truck, to my neighbor’s 4x4 and my car. Then my neighbor did most of the moving for me because I am a 26-YEAR OLD FEMALE. I COULDN’T POSSIBLY MOVE A DRESSER BY MYSELF. What the hell?!

I am saying all of this to warn people to AVOID VanLines USA at all costs. The managers there don’t care and neither do the drivers. Yes, they are cheap but unless you want to do 90% of the moving by yourself and are a strong MALE or have a strong male friend/family member that could help you, AVOID THEM. They will do their best to screw you over and out of more and more money every single turn.

[dudethatserin]

PSA: AVOID VANLINES USA!

Hey guys!

I recently completed a move from Jacksonville, FL to Sierra Vista, AZ to move with my husband who is stationed out here at Fort Huachuca. I want to put out a PSA on the movers I used because they were horrible from the start. I wanted to wait until I had my stuff safely with me before putting this out as I wanted to make sure they didn’t steal it.

So, I have been putting together this move since the end of May. My mom helped me find movers while I found a place to live and my husband worked his butt off during basic training earning money for us to be able to move to his new duty location.

We found VanLines USA and they quoted me $1287 to move me from Jacksonville, FL to Sierra Vista, AZ. It is about 23 hours or 2k miles. Other movers were quoting upwards of $2-4k to move so we accepted this offer as doing it ourselves would not only mean renting a UHUAL for 1k but paying for the gas (about another $500) and moving the stuff from our home into the UHUAL and then out of the UHUAL into my 2nd floor apartment. That is a lot of work and we were up to the task but VanLines USA ended up being a bit cheaper and they would do all of that for us. We read several of the horrible reviews: here, here, and here but in the end decided to take our chances due to the price. Boy, was that a mistake.

Let me set the scene. My move-in date for Sierra Vista Apartment Complex (not naming it) was July 15th. When we found these movers it was around June 20th, so a little more than a month before the move-in date. I had not seen the apartment complex but I read TONS of the glorious reviews and people on Facebook seemed to say good things so I was optimistic. I was taking chances everywhere.

As a note, when I say “we” throughout this, I’m referring to my mom and I. She has helped me out through so much of this process from start to finish. I love her so much!

Louis from VanLines USA calls us to set up a quote. Here is a picture of said quote with the private details removed:

This is one of the 4-5 quotes we were given. You can see the move-in date is different than what I needed (I needed Monday, 07/15/2019) and you can also see the amount we were quoted and the pick-up date which was Monday, 07/01/2019. Not bad right now.

The first thing they did was not explicitly state that there was a 2-3 week clock from the “Move Day” listed on the quote. Meaning they can deliver it starting on the “Move Day” but more than likely it will take an additional 2-3 weeks for me to get my stuff. Louis did not explain this to me, no one did until I got here and was going to move in on the 15th and I call to see where it is and that’s when I get the news.

The next thing they did was when we were quoted, we explicitly asked Louis if I had less stuff than was quoted if the quote would lower. He said “yes”. I was quoted for 10 Large boxes, that ended up being 6-7 varying in sizes from Small to Large. Which is why we explicitly asked this question. Come to find out, that is untrue and their minimum for this distance is $1300 so we were already getting a discount on that price. I didn’t find this out until July 1 when they came to pick up my stuff. I had the movers waiting outside my house while I called VanLines USA and spoke to the rudest individual on the phone. Customer Service is definitely far down on their list of what they care about, if they care about it after the sale at all.

Anyway, that made moving day stressful. Here is a list of all the stuff they moved:

Dresser

Bedframe

Queen Matress and Box Spring

End Table

65″ Samsung TV

55″ Sony TV

6-7 Boxes varying in size

Included in the quote was packing the 2 TVs. Now, they had to take the feet off the TVs to move them so they disassembled the TVs. This is important for later in the story.

As you can see, I don’t have very much stuff. The rest of my stuff (about half of it) I moved myself between my mom’s SUV and my car (Kia Forte). So, this is why we were so concerned on the quote and being able to lower it.

Moving on...When the movers were here packing the TVs one guy was newer and younger than the other. The young, new, guy was packing the 55″ Sony TV while I was watching the older guy pack the 65″ Samsung. He did a really good job and I was confident that the TV was going to be OK. He even went as far as to tell me that the screws are attached to the feet when the movers delivered my TV so I could tell them.

After he finished with the Samsung the young, new, guy had just started packing the 55″ Sony and the older guy went to check on him in the bedroom (that’s where the TV was). I heard him explain how to pack it correctly like the guy hadn’t done it before so I was scared something would happen to that TV. Spoiler: Nothing did, luckily, though I did have trouble finding the screws for the feet as it wasn’t explained to me where they were.

Everything else went smoothly. I packed the box spring and mattress in mattress bags we picked up from UHUAL. I had them taped pretty tight and I was confident that they wouldn’t get damaged.

So, moving day comes and they make me pay half up-front. Since it was $1287 total, I paid about $600 up-front and the rest I paid when they brought my stuff. I had the money in cash so everything was fine. They made me sign about 7 different papers worth of stuff and explained everything when signing but the older guy did it so fast that I barely remember everything I initialed and signed. Plus, I didn’t get a copy of everything. I only got a copy of the receipt and the list of items they are moving.

Now, I’m getting everything in order in my car and I start driving on July 10th to Sierra Vista. I head to my parent’s home in Montgomery, AL first and spend a few days there and we leave Friday, July 12th to make the ~20 hour drive. We split it up so I was able to get to Sierra Vista and see my husband on Sunday at about noon, which wasn’t bad at all.

Now we are at Monday, July 15th and I had just called to see where my stuff was and was told that it could be another 2-3 weeks before I get the stuff. I am annoyed but my parents are here so they are helping as much as possible. I get all the stuff we brought between our two cars moved in and they decide to go to big lots to buy a new queen bed set so they can stay the night in my apartment as they were going to the Grand Canyon after a day or so. We also do a wal-mart trip and I pick up a twin sized air mattress and pump and sleep on that while my parents are here. It takes about a week (my parents are home in Montgomery, AL by this point) and I get a call saying my stuff is going to arrive. This was this past Monday, July 22. He said he will be here around 3-4pm. It is sooner than I thought so I give him the benefit of the doubt and tell him to take his time and if he has to come Tuesday, that is fine, too.

Sunday night I came home from visiting my husband on base and meet my downstairs neighbor. He is a big guy (one of those guys you see on the Planet Fitness commercials that they don’t allow in) with a big 4x4 truck. He is super nice and I thank god I met him now.

Anyway, Monday rolls around and it is about 3pm when the mover knocks on my door and tells me he sees a sign that says 53ft trucks are not allowed. So, I go with him to talk to my office manager. She confirms. I then walk around trying to see if there is someone’s truck I can borrow because there is no way in hell I am going to be able to fit that stuff in my car and the guy stated that there is this surprise $250 charge to move it to a smaller truck for redelivery. I don’t have $250 because the move has been expensive already so I try to find any help I can. The mover also stated that he will move it into the person’s truck (or my car) but there is an extra charge for him to move it from there into my apartment.

Not knowing any better, no red flags go off for me there. Not that they would have helped if they did.

Anyway, I talk to my downstairs neighbor and he tells me I have balls asking and he likes that and he agreed to help me. As we are unloading everything off the truck one of Arizona’s famous “Monsoons” comes in and drenches the mattress and box spring and gets everything wet except what I could load in my car. The rainstorm lasts about 30 minutes and when it lets up we start moving everything in.

My neighbor is the most amazing person I could have ever met. He moved 90% of it in. I did most of my boxes and some of the bed frame but by the time we got to anything else I was so exhausted I couldn’t do much more. I was almost to the point of throwing up several times through this process but kept pushing through and he moved 90% of my stuff by hand. The only thing he used a dolly on was the dresser. I am so impressed and I hope I can get to this point anytime in the future.

If you are keeping count here are the things that VanLines USA screwed me over for thus far:

Misquoted the “Move Day”

Incorrect information on quote price and ability for it to be lowered

Uninforming me of $250 redelivery fee

Uninforming me of additional fee for extra work for movers (from my car to apartment)

This all doesn’t include the next HORRIBLE things they did. I finally get everything in and call my mom. She goes off on them. Come to find out I did sign a paper that explained all of this when the movers took my stuff and I agreed to everything above. There are a few problems with that though:

I didn’t understand that a 53ft truck was a semi. I just didn’t put 2 and 2 together. Plus, having never visited my apartment complex, how was I supposed to know this?

I signed and initialed so much, how was I supposed to remember these small details?

I wasn’t given a copy of this paper until Tuesday, July 23rd, when I specifically requested it. So, how was I supposed to remember?

I am a 26 year old female whom they took advantage of because they knew they could. My mattress was almost ruined because when they moved it holes ripped in the plastic all around it and it got drenched from the rain. My TVs could have been ruined from the rain.

I ended up having to put together my TVs myself. The bed frame wasn’t together in FL so I expected to have to do that myself (not a big deal) but everything should have been moved into the apartment by VanLines USA. That is what I paid $1300 for and I didn’t get what I paid for. They deliberately choose a huge semi to deliver several days worth of deliveries to get out of doing work. When they showed up here in Arizona, it was only ONE GUY in the truck. Now there could have been one in the bed that never came out but ONE GUY (and my neighbor and myself) did all of the moving from the truck, to my neighbor’s 4x4 and my car. Then my neighbor did most of the moving for me because I am a 26-YEAR OLD FEMALE. I COULDN’T POSSIBLY MOVE A DRESSER BY MYSELF. What the hell?!

I am saying all of this to warn people to AVOID VanLines USA at all costs. The managers there don’t care and neither do the drivers. Yes, they are cheap but unless you want to do 90% of the moving by yourself and are a strong MALE or have a strong male friend/family member that could help you, AVOID THEM. They will do their best to screw you over and out of more and more money every single turn.

[jellyfax]

Voltron: Legendary [Deeply Flawed] Defender

To be honest, I’ve never been much of a fan of Voltron. I’ve probably seen more parodies of the franchise than I have episodes of the original show or any of its adaptations and spin-offs. Not too long ago, I had regret my lack of fanaticism for the cartoon because, since its release, Netflix’s 2016 remake, Voltron: Legendary Defender (VLD), has received plenty of good press. According to numerous critics and fans, the animated series is a stellar revamp of the original 1984 production. This praise sparked my interest, so I watched seasons one and two (a grand total of 24 episodes) to see what the fuss is all about.

PREMISE

The premise of the series is simple and the 1-hour pilot episode skillfully establishes the world the characters of VLD inhabit. Five young Earthlings (Shiro, Lance, Pidge, Hunk, and Keith) unwitting stumble upon an ancient mech in the shape of a lion and they are jettisoned into a cosmic battle against the Galra Empire, an oppressive alien regime which has colonized much of the universe. After a 10,000-year slumber, two survivors of the Galra’s genocidal onslaught of the planet Altea, Princess Allura and her guardian Coran, are awakened. Now the last remaining Alteans must teach the five Earthlings how to pilot five color-coded mech lions. These lions can combine to form the most powerful weapon in the universe: the giant humanoid mech, Voltron. With Voltron, our heroes are the only ones who stand a chance against the imposing Galra threat.

Given this synopsis, my first concern is: how can Voltron be the greatest weapon in the universe? Now before I tackle this issue, I must say that I’m aware that this claim originates from the 80′s series (it’s titled Voltron: Defender of the Universe for a reason). While this proclamation is a staple in the 1984 Voltron, in the 2016 remake the assertion comes off as outdated and out of place. Let me examine. What may have been an acceptable in-universe motto in the 80′s when general audiences were likely less familiar with the mindboggling scope of space, doesn’t work for viewers nowadays. Audiences of the 21st century are more acquainted with the implications of the universe through three decades of fictional media and scientific discovery. That being said, in the universe of VLD where space is filled with scores of intelligent alien lifeforms, it’s difficult to believe that only the Alteans and Galra have the capability to wield unfathomable interstellar power. The cosmos is immense, and due to its vastness, it can be sensibly assumed that there are people who have designed weapons that are far more advanced than anything either the Alteans or the Galra have produced. After 10,000 years, it’s astonishing that even the Galra are unable to match the supremacy of Voltron. Throughout the series, aliens are represented almost exclusively as peaceful or, more accurately, as people so downtrodden they can’t hope to oppose the Galra Empire. It can be expected that millenniums of subjugation by the Galra Empire would cause many civilizations to become too hesitant to cause an uprising. However, as previously stated, the universe is beyond enormous and there would more than enough people to prevent the Galra from gaining such a tight hold on most of the universe.

Aside from “because the original plot says so,” the series gives us no real justification for why team Voltron and the Galra are the most powerful forces in the entire universe. This assault on the viewer’s suspension of disbelief and deeply contrived storytelling reflects VLD’s inability to truly revive the Voltron franchise. Voltron received a remake not only to appeal to lifelong fans, but also to introduce new viewers to the franchise. The only problem is that the writers of the new series aren’t adjusting aspects of the story’s original premise to the new world they created in VLD; it isn’t enough to add glitzy CGI fight scenes, snarky characters, and edgy redesigns, the original plotline should have been retooled a bit more too. Maybe the whole “strongest in the universe” thing made sense within the context of Voltron 1984, but in Voltron 2016 it makes very little sense in an established universe that’s populated with legions of complex alien life.  Overall, VLD doesn’t fully transform, reimagine, or contest Voltron’s status as the greatest weapon in the universe. Thus, making for a somewhat stale rebooted premise which simply copies the original premise instead of refining it.

CHARACTERIZATION

As the saying goes, a story is only as good as its villain, and if that saying is accurate then VLD is a very flawed story. Emperor Zarkon, the ruler of the Garla, serves as the main antagonist and it’s his motives that genuinely drive the plot. In season two, it’s revealed that he had collaborated with the Alteans to create Voltron and that he manned the lead lion, the Black Lion. In Zarkon’s eyes, Voltron is rightfully his and he is on a mission to reclaim his weapon. And while that may sound exciting, it all plays out as if Zarkon is a jilted lover who can’t stand rejection. Every time we’re confronted with Zarkon, he’s never terrorizing his dominion like a horrible tyrant, because he’s always fixated on acquiring his precious Voltron. He’s not spurred on by xenophobic hate, he’s not a well-intended extremist, or even a demented power-hungry dictator; he’s just motivated by a grudge and he wants revenge. How captivating. Granted, he states that he can unlock Voltron’s potential and conquer the universe, but conquering the universe never seems to be his main goal. After 10,000 years, you’d think Zarkon would move on to bigger and better weapons. Or even want to destroy Voltron more than anything to prove his might, but no he’s just a petty, pathetic, and uninteresting nincompoop. In the finale of season two, Zarkon has the opportunity to kill Princess Allura and effectively destroy Voltron’s headquarters, but he ignores this opening, attacks Voltron instead, and ultimately fails to defeat his enemies. In the end, it’s his singular interest in Voltron that spells his demise. While that might seem like cliché yet reasonable writing, his tactless actions are just an easy way to have the heroes win the battle. In short, Zarkon is yet another case of a villain who’s comedically inept, because the writers can’t be bothered to challenge the protagonists of their story.

Flimsy, out-of-focus characterization is the norm in VLD; characters are bland, one-note, and they don’t really develop over the course of the series. The writers never try to disguise the fact that each character is simply a plot device and nothing more. Although, the characters can be enjoyable at times and some are even quite likable, that’s likely due to the expressive voice acting. The voice performances of the cast are truly excellent with the valiant Allura (Kimberly Brooks) and funnyman Lance (Jeremy Shada) being among the most memorable. The actors do well with what they’re given, but even their fantastic acting can’t save the show.

PACING

The pacing of the narrative is also poor. Generally, a program with episodes that progress naturally, without interruption are fine and VLD is intended to be binge-watched, so it’s only appropriate that it flow so well. Even so, they flow to the point that episodes become indistinguishable and indistinct from another. This isn’t helped by how the writers choose to reveal information about the setting and its characters. Certain reveals overstay their welcome and when this happens the narrative is clearly stalling for time. Oftentimes, the stagnation of revelations only serves to make the protagonists seem like their sabotaging their own mission due to incompetence. For instance, it takes the first several episodes of season two for the characters to accept that Zarkon can sense their coordinates via his mental connection to the Black Lion, a connection they learned about in the finale of season one. Despite knowing this very relevant information, they denied the possibility that Zarkon could track their whereabouts for six, whole episodes! Even without filler episodes, the series still manages to somewhat derail itself.

FINAL VERDICT

It feels as if the experienced writers of VLD are just going through the motions and are simply writing the cartoon in their sleep. All that said, Voltron: Legendary Defender isn’t a bad series, but isn’t exactly good either; frankly it’s mediocre. Although it has highlights, it’s stunted premise, lackluster characterization, and pacing issues prevent it from being anything more than serviceable. Let’s hope that season three amends the follies of its predecessors.

[thomashull1993]

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[ashwinkumar1989]

Since when I have found train journeys “dreary” or “forgettable” ? Well, this one by 11044 MDU-LTT express was a notable exception. It is a weekly train with oodles of slack at quite a few points in its schedule:

5 hours 35 mins for a distance of 132 km (at an average speed of 23.64 kmph) between CGL and RU

45 mins for a distance of 28 km (at an average speed of 37.33 kmph) between GY and GTL

4 hours 10 mins for a distance of 107 km (at an average speed of 25.68 kmph) between Raichur and Wadi

I am not counting the slack right towards end of the destination; as it is present in nearly all trains. However, adding up all the slack I’ve mentioned; it comes to 10.5 hours for a paltry distance of 267 km – at a measly average speed of 25.42 kmph; something that would put even a passenger train stopping at every station to shame. Considering that the train takes 35 hours 45 mins to cover an overall distance of 1694 km (at an average speed of 47.38 kmph) between MDU and LTT, you can imagine the scope of speeding up it has – IMHO at least 4 hours can easily be shaved off the schedule; this is after taking into account the slack necessary for overcoming delays likely to be encountered in the single sections in between GR and DD (and the one between CGL and AJJ) that the train has to traverse. Besides, the train has a total of 24 stops; which is not a lot for such a huge distance.

Anyway, I am talking too much 😛 . However, you can now understand why a journey by this train would be dreary even for a hardcore railfan 😛 . Especially when it is in Sleeper Class and in the month of May. As it is, I was already tired; after the travel of the last one day or so – which involved a more than 9 hours overnight AC Semi-Sleeper bus journey from Chennai to Karaikudi, the travel between Karaikudi and Devakottai (to meet the mother of my best friend); and another bus journey (2.5 hours) from Karaikudi to Trichy. After an early dinner at a Cafe near TPJ, it was time to board 11044 on the night of 5th May – in order to reach Mumbai on the early morning of Monday 7th; so that I could then report to office at 9 am like any other day! The plinthed steam engine near the station was a sight for sore eyes on a sultry summer night.

The station building was neat and simple, with a host of vehicles at the exit.

16187 KIK-ERS “Tea Garden” express was standing on Platform 1 (the same platform on which 11044 was expected to arrive later) behind an EMD.  12605 MS-KKDI Pallavan express was expected to arrive on PF5 at 21 10, 10 mins late. At 20 10 (the scheduled time of departure for 16187), the LP sounded many intermittent blasts of the HT horn. 2 mins later, an LT horn was sounded and the train finally departed. RPM WAP7i 30482 was standing in the far right. 56830 RMM-TPJ passenger arrived behind GOC WDG3A 13283. 16231 MV-MYS express chugged hard into PF2 behind ED WDM3D 11295. Then 11044 came with KYN WDP4D 40234 on PF1. My coach S7 was of a 2013 make, with plug points in all bays, bio toilets as well as mirrors in the main bays. I soon slept after brushing my teeth; though I would wake up quite a few times during the course of the stuffy night.

I didn’t really need the bedsheet I had brought (the weather being so sultry); moreover I had to try quite a few different positions in order to sleep comfortably in my SUB – which didn’t allow my to stretch my legs fully, given my height. Lesson for me: never book Side Berth in Sleeper Class henceforth (unless it is a daytime journey)! Also, the AJJ maintenance block (https://www.irctchelp.in/2016/01/all-special-train-blocks-updates-2016.html) had affected this train too – we were diverted via VM-Tiruvannamalai-KPD-Melpakkam-AJJ bypass-RU! I could sense that we were stopped for quite a few crossings in the single line section between VM and KPD – in the middle of the night. I woke up around 07 55; to find our coach quite crowded – predictably, with many unreserved passengers. I had a tough time trying to find my sandals around all the luggage placed; ended up cursing a lot before I eventually found them in the adjacent side bay – apparently they had been placed there accidentally by the OBHS staff.

Anyway, this was an early indicator as to how the rest of the journey would pan out – more on that later! I washed my face and brushed my teeth. The sidebay had to be shared with two people instead of one (as mentioned earlier, due to the prevalence of unreserved passengers in the coach); it was just as well that I had a trackside emergency window seat – though I resisted the temptation to push the blood red bars up 😛 . It seemed our coach had a flat wheel at the front. We passed through greenery with  lot of plantains, mountains in the distant right, a lot of buildings, huts and cottages, and a highway across us; before pulling into Razampeta at 08 22, 14 mins late. So it seemed the route diversion had not affected us a great deal! Well, slack does have a few benefits after all :P. After a halt of 2 mins, we overtook 57274 TPTY-UBL passenger standing there behind GY WDM3D 11338.

Meanwhile, more repercussions were slowly coming out from the AJJ fiasco. My grandmother’s sister was to travel in 12028 MAS-SBC Shatabdi the previous day – she had reached MAS at 16 30, an hour before the train’s departure. Then she had to wait for  about 4 hours in the AC waiting room – the train ultimately being rescheduled by 5 hours; before heading into a queue which turned out to be complete chaos – as there were hundreds of people (along with her) in line to cancel their tickets (for various other trains)! To top it all, the staff rudely told my grand-aunt that only I could cancel the ticket; since I had booked it! There was also no point in going ahead with the  trip since the train would then reach SBC at a very odd hour. Thus she had called me the previous night regarding this affair; at that time I was unfortunately lying on my SUB!

Only that morning (after doing my usual routine) I saw my grand-aunt’s messages and then tried to log into the IRCTC website through my mobile data; it took a lot of time as the network was weak. I could not cancel the ticket (since the journey date had already passed), but somehow managed to file a TDR under the reason “Train late by more than 3 hours and passenger not travelled”. Coming back to the journey, we crossed a BOXN freight from which twin WDG4s (Trailing – 12145 of UBL) were detached. We then overtook a BOXN rake with VSKP WAG9H 31986 at Yerraguntla through the loopline. There was a PSR of 30 kmph for the UP loop. Then there were huge mounds of stone and granite waste, big pits and some stagnant water. We also crossed a light WAG9; and then  overtook a twin WAG5 hauled BOXN freight, as well as a WDG4 hauled freight; at MPS, at Kalamalla.

There was a factory with towering chimneys and 5 tall cooling towers (similar to that of RTPS) in the distant right. The freight action continued unabated as another BOXN rake hauled by twin WDG4s crossed. An electrified line joined us on the right. We overtook yet another BOXN freight on that line led by twin maroon brown AJJ WAG5s 23537 and 23274; as it entered Muddanaru. Then there was a small bridge followed by huts and cottages, and a highway across us under construction. There was also the usual scenery in the form of bushes and shrubs, a hill in the distant right; and Neem, Peepal and Palm trees. The huge windmills on the hill stood out amongst the otherwise drab scenery. Then there was an LC with many vehicles, and a road gave us company briefly on the right. There were a lot of buildings, huts and cottages, a church, a water tank, a temple, and a small bridge; before Mangapatnam.

From here, the region seemed to become more a bit more fertile; as seen by the rows of tiny trees, coconut trees; and a lake and a rain-fed pond in the distant right. However, this was immediately contrasted with some thorny plants as well as bushes and shrubs. There were gangmen at work on the right track, before we reached Kondapuram for our first watering halt; which lasted 11 mins. Then there was a TSR of 90 kmph, followed by 4 water tanks and an industrial unit. We crossed the bridge over the dry Chitravathi river (wonder how the water at the station is sourced, if the river is dry? :O ), followed by green watered fields and coconut and palm trees. There were more rows of small coconut trees as well as a shepherd leading a flock of cattle at Regadipalli. This was followed by another highway across us under construction and some quarrying work; with excavators and bulldozers. Also small cottages were being built.

There were small cottages, a temple and some firewood stacked up at Vanganur. We crossed an express behind a WAP4. Then there was another bridge over a dry river, followed by trees and an LC. There were big factories at Challavaripalli as well as a mall bridge. An electrified line from the factories joined at the station. There were a lot of settlements in the distant right, a church, more stone waste, a rather run-down HMP Co. Ltd unit and a highway across us; before we entered Tadipatri. There were buffaloes on a platform being constructed in the right. We accelerated through the mainline to pass the station without stopping. Then there was arid land; which was why I was surprised to see a brown deer with tall horns! :O There was yet another freight at Komali, followed by two small bridges (again!) and another road giving us company for a while. We also crossed another express before the bridge over the (not surprisingly 😛 ) dry Pennar river. We had an unscheduled halt of a minute at Juturu, where a shepherd was leading goats and sheep to graze. There was also an electrified line branching off to the right.

There was another electrified line (bypassing the station) which came from the right.

I would dearly love to know more about these lines! Meanwhile our EMD beast smoked up as we accelerated out of the station. There was a girder bridge, followed by bushes and shrubs, more stone waste, another highway across us; and (again!) mountains in the distant right. I saw the Lions Club of Rayalacheruvu, which looked impressive. After Jakkalacheruvu (where there was a track-level platform) the landscape became less arid again; with coconut groves, palm trees; and goats and lambs grazing. The approach to GY was signalled by a BPCL Plant, a Prohibited Area nearby, ballast stacked up along with a bulldozer at work on the left; and a lady shepherding buffaloes with a man in tow. We crossed twin WDG3As (trailing – 13067 of GY) before arriving at the junction ay 11 54, 11 mins late. At this point, I am sorry to stop; since it has become exhausting to write this much already! 😛 Fear not, you may not have to wait long for Part 2. Happy reading till then!

Technical Terms

EMD – Electromotive Diesel (and a modern class of diesel engines)

LP – Loco Pilot

HT – High Tone

LT – Low Tone

OBHS – Onboard Housekeeping Services

TDR – Ticket Deposit Receipt (for getting refund when ticket cannot be cancelled)

PSR – Permanent Speed Restriction

TSR – Temporary Speed Restriction

MPS – Maximum Permissible Speed

LC – Level Crossing

Station Codes

MDU – Madurai

LTT – Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (or just Kurla Terminus)

CGL – Chengalpattu

RU – Renigunta

GY – Gooty

GTL – Guntakal

GR – Gulbarga

DD – Daund

AJJ – Arakkonam

TPJ – Trichy Junction

KIK – Karaikal

ERS – Ernakulam Junction

KKDI – Karaikudi

MS – Chennai Egmore

RPM – Royapuram

RMM – Rameshwaram

GOC – Golden Rock (Ponmalai)

MV – Mayiladuthurai

MYS – Mysore

ED – Erode

KYN – Kalyan

VM – Villupuram

KPD – Katpadi

TPTY – Tirupati

UBL – Hubli

MAS – Chennai Central

SBC – Bangalore City

VSKP – Visakhapatnam

RTPS – Raichur Thermal Power Station

A long, dreary and forgettable journey – Part 1 Since when I have found train journeys "dreary" or "forgettable" ? Well, this one by 11044 MDU-LTT express…