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constantvariations · 1 year

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V9C4

Finally here after several hours of a dnd session zero, so this whiplash is going to be interesting

Post Ep: not as infuriating as the last episode but still missteps at pretty much every turn. At the very least we can say there’s been character “progression”

God Ruby’s voice is so damn bad I thought it was a literal child calling for a cat. Why does she sound more mature at 15 than 17?

Did we really need a close up of the cat piecing itself back together? We already know it can do wacky things with its ugly gradient body, so why the emphasis here? I doubt it’s foreshadowing for a permanent bisection

“Nothing we’ve tried has gotten us any further.” Ruby. Darling. Babe. You’ve tried walking to the tree. Nothing else. It’s not the cat’s fault you can’t think of something else besides Scooby Doo hijinks with the looping sections

What the hell is Yang now? She hasn’t been fun or quippy since Beacon but now (and that one spot in V8) she’s suddenly Joss Whedon with a dash of Hulk rage? And I can’t recall Weiss ever having these kinds of facial expressions. Judgmental commentary, sure, but this feels like she’s 3 seconds away from saying something into the camera like this is the Office

“Just because [the cat] doesn’t want to go back to the tree doesn’t mean we can’t lure them there.” That’s... a curious choice of words. Why “lure?” You lure someone into a trap or an ambush, not ask someone to be a guide. Why wouldn’t Blake use the obvious direction of “we can make a deal with the cat because they’re curious and want information we have.” You can’t really call someone a hero when their instinct is deception of a potential ally who’s already saved their asses for no real reason

Are they going to be losing the cat the whole damn episode? Is that going to be the running gag? I fucking hope not. Ruby’s voice is absolutely obnoxious this episode

She’s talking to the cat like he’s a literal toddler. And it’s acting like a toddler with an ipad. Someone put me down like Old Yeller please

Which of these idiots thought lampshading was a good idea? Like, congrats! You recognize the flaws in the story you wrote! How are you going to fix them 10 years too late? You can’t wink, wink, nudge your way out of shitty writing that you so desperately defended and clung to despite all the people giving actual constructive criticism

Why are all of them so tired of the questions? Surely, each of them have something they’d be ecstatic to talk about at length? Ruby with the progression of weapon development, Weiss with her plans to improve the SDC, Blake with other stories she’s read or how the White Fang came and fell, Yang with stories about Ruby when she was younger. There’s so many possibilities when you have a genuinely curious audience, yet they went the lazy route of “har, har, no one cares about anything” again

Was that bridge made of legos?

Okay, this is the second time the roles of acres have been mentioned. Exactly what does that mean? Do these roles serve a central purpose? The tree seems to be at the center of Wonderland, so are the acres serving the tree in some way? Is harmony throughout the different factions pivotal in keeping Wonderland in wonder instead of despair? What could this possibly mean for any themes or character arcs? It doesn’t seem like the areas thus far have resonated with any of the team, and they left behind Penny’s halo sword, the only thing that’s been even somewhat emotionally compelling, so I’m struggling to understand why Wonderland is set up like this

Love how literally nobody asks the obvious question of “are you okay?” All we get is Yang’s “Rubes?” (has she ever called Ruby that before? I can’t recall) and Blake’s logical deflection and Weiss whining yet again. You’d think for a season that cut away from the bloated cast to focus on the main characters they would, I don’t know, focus on the main character

This is the least Little has talked the entire season. Please keep the cat around more so this shithead will shut the fuck up. Also, Little deadass pointed to where the cat went and y’all don’t immediately follow? Are you trying to get lost?

Okay. Not gonna lie. The caterpillar’s design is dope as shit. The triple eyes in that gorgeous green. The pointy mouth that moves like a skeleton’s jaw. The two-toned wings. The antennae and little spikes. The collar and vest. That ~voice~ Fucking A+ The only thing I’m side-eyeing is the accessories. Hopefully I’m wrong - I’ll be the first to admit I’m not well versed in Indigenous cultures - but the coloring is very reminiscent of turquoise which was an incredibly significant mineral to Southwestern Native American tribes, most commonly associated with Navajo, and Caterpillar’s jewelry designs reflect this as well. My quick google search for this specific design mostly ends up being “hippie aesthetic” which does take inspiration from Indigenous aesthetics, so I can’t really say for certain which one crwby looked at for the design. Given the Medicine Man trope and the herbal smoking in the OP, I’m not holding out much hope

“Growgurt” sounds so damn gross please never say it again

They are really hammering this “who/what are you” thing directly into your eardrums aint they? I’m not entirely sure how this answer affects a recipe, but go off I guess Also, note how Caterpillar gets just the bit exasperated and Yang’s immediately in a fighting stance. The others are afraid, for some cocksmith of a reason - all homeboy did was grumble, what y’all scared of? Did y’all suddenly develop RSD? - but this bitch at half a foot is ready to throw down

Caterpillar is speaking philosophy 101 and these idiots are acting like he’s speaking ancient greek. I hope he poisons the lot of them

“This is how a king winds up a prince.” Does that imply that the prince was genuinely the king that played Alyx but he’s somehow reverted back to a toddler? That raises way too many questions I have no care to even ponder

This far in and we have no idea who or what Caterpillar was to Alyx. Not even a whispered expo-dump, which would be stupid easy given that most of them are tiny. Yet Blake, upon seeing the smoking, is like “we gotta dip” which so par for the course in every episode thus far. This better not be crwby’s attempt at an anti-drug message or I swear I’m gonna toss a fridge into space

Oh christ on toast the Beacon outfits don’t deserve this slander

“You could just be human or just a cat.” Once again, weird phrasing. Like, yeah, it’s clarified that it’s about trying to bring peace between humans and faunus, but why wouldn’t you phrase it in a way that sticks closer to that sentiment rather than acting like she has the Yamato and can carve out what she doesn’t like? What would it even mean to Blake to “just be a cat?” Would that mean living in Menagerie forever with no worries about humans? Would she turn into an actual cat? She just has fucking cat ears man, this is so overblown

Wow, these “I know who I am” speeches suck ass. They’re so vague and InSpIrAtIoNaL I’m wondering if this is supposed to be a mature cartoon or a reading of those posters they put up in school halls of cats in trees with the quote “hang in there!”

“I’m the granddaughter of a hero” bitch who? Who is this mysterious hero? If someone doesn’t know or watch the Remnant expo-dump series, they don’t know who you’re talking about Weiss! You can’t bring up something in the main story if the context is shoved in a spinoff! Also, “daughter of a villain.” Babe, your father was a clown at best and a business major at worst. Villain is not a title he deserves “I will not be defined by my name because I will be the one to define it.” Uhhhhh exactly where in this redefinition is compensation for the lives stolen by your family company? Have you thought of that, Miss Heiress? When your name has that big of an impact, I don’t think you get to be the sole decider. Also, you have siblings who might want a say in it too

Still pissed that the whole “Missing Summer” arc was shoved onto Ruby, who was what? 2? 3 years old when she left? Ruby talks to her gravestone, sure, but as for memories or stories, she hasn’t had a single one. This entire thing falls flat because there was 0 buildup

“You’re supposed to be helping others find their way, but you’ve lost your own.” WHAT WHAT WHAT THE FUCK. Jesus on a toaster strudel can you not villainize every single person who slightly questions uwu precious Ruby? He literally helped the other 3 cement themselves, why doesn’t that count? Sure, it was against their will and all, but these girls clearly need some goddamn help if they can’t answer a basic question like “what is a huntress?”

There are so many questions about those last 20 seconds that I don’t even know what to do with them. Let’s just sum it up with “what the fuck”

#rwde #i know who nicholas schnee is i just dont care #this one didnt actively piss me off but it did make me look up a bunch of stuff related to native culture so i wouldnt be reaching #its hard to trust the online stuff tho since so many folks wanna pretend to be native so they can sell bullshit #if anyone has any trustworthy sites please let me know! ive been meaning to learn more about the cultures #i want to be able to write indigenous characters without falling into the harmful tropes or misinformation #still not sure if im reaching on the caterpillar or not but given rts history... :/#we already had a racist romani stereotype this season #we could make a bingo board of all the racist shit these idiots pull lol #gotta say tho i do like the multi colored leaves. those are really pretty and not oversaturated #the cat keeps getting uglier the longer i look #if the caterpillar is gone do they still need to find the growth yogurt?#guess ill find out next monday lol

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1358456 · 2 years

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Dex Holder Preference List, of the End

The end is near. There will not be any more Preference Lists, ever. Scarlet and Violet shall never be ranked.

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Top Favorites

1) Platinum She may not be my top favorite character of all time. Nor is she even my favorite female character of all time. But unlike my favorite character, Platinum isn’t insane by any means, and unlike my favorite female character, Platinum doesn’t make me want to cry.

2) Y Even to the end, she failed to usurp Platinum’s position. But she’s been a very good and solid female character to the end. Thank you for your service (to Platinum) and sorry about Destiny.

3) Moon Gasp. She surpassed both Red and Blue! ... Thanks to the utilization of her overhaul team, and the new bond interactions with Diamond and Pearl!

4) Red Well, I think a part of the reason why Moon surpassed Red and Blue is because I didn’t continue with DE and DE-esque short stories, so the whole Red & Blue pairing no longer gets focused on where they’re together.

5) Blue Same as above. That said, Red and Blue are basically a single unit now, so they’re effectively at the same ranking.

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High Preferences

6) White Still up here. While I am very bored of Black & White as a pairing, White still has the other bond that’s still getting a whole ton of use, so... yay!

7) Diamond I think this is the highest he’s ever been. Oh, how far he’s climbed over the years. If I recall, in the very first Preference Lists, Diamond was ranked pretty much in the bottom. He can thank Platinum for the initial surge in preference, and then Moon for the slight boost in the end.

8) Pearl Oh how far he’s climbed as well. Though the “Platinum Buff” didn’t take place as quickly as it did for Diamond, he can still thank Platinum for the boost, and Moon again for the slight boost in the end.

9) Sword Hey, new boy is here! While I may not particularly like his seriousness and gear focused stuff... I do find his interactions rather amusing. He can actually probably get along with White in that they’re both focused on non-battling aspects of Pokemon, and they’re baffled by battle maniacs.

10) Shield And the new girl is here too! I didn’t like her at the start, but she quickly grew on me as I read the arc. Now she’s quite amusing.

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Medium Preferences

11) X So in the end, I never really got to use him in a non-doomy setting with Y. That’s a shame. I would have too, if I didn’t “die” or chose to actually return to writing.

12) Emerald Well, everyone who has a bond with him are all ranked lower, so... that kind of sucks for his chances. I don’t like him enough that he’ll pull up those other characters. And instead, they’re kind of dragging him down.

13) Sapphire She had successfully dragged Emerald down. ... When was the last time I wrote anything focused on the Hoenn characters?

14) Ruby It’s all technically his fault. This dude does whatever he wants, Sapphire kind of revolves around him, and Emerald’s pretty much being dragged along. So Ruby and Sapphire are basically a single unit that’s preventing Emerald from getting used.

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Low Preferences “Low” preference, as in, pretty close to 0, but at least it’s not negative.

15) Black If I’m bored with Black & White as a pairing, then this dude has no business being around in my stories anymore. And that sucks for him. But his ranking didn’t exactly fall, since Sword and Shield were simply promoted past him. The lower ranks are all packed with very strong indifference. There’s no room for him further down.

16) Gold How far he had fallen... I think that if I had actually gone to make the potential short story involving that mercenary job with Red that appeared in that other short story, he might’ve overtaken the Hoenn cast, and reclaimed a tiny bit of his past glory.

17) Crystal Same as above. Gold and Crystal are also basically a single unit, and... Crystal is also kind of dragging Emerald down. I think that if Crystal had kept her #1 ranking from YEARS ago when even this Tumblr didn’t exist yet, Emerald might actually have been dragged up to at least #5 at this point. But... well...

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Rock Bottom There are a LOT of people down here in the end. And ranked, this time.

18) Silver So in the end, just like how all three Hoenn Dex Holders appear consecutively, all three Johto Dex Holders appear consecutively. Even if there is a tremendous gap between Crystal and Silver. But hey, at least Silver exists and is being mentioned.

19) Rakutsu Unlike this guy, who (head)canonically does not exist, as he has no reason to exist.

20) Faitsu Same as above... unfortunately. Had she actually appeared in an arc that wasn’t as much of a disaster as my attempts at playing Blackjack in a game for completion (win 30 000 chips in Blackjack?!), she might’ve actually kept existing in some way. Now, at best, her only reference/mention is if White talks about an up-and-coming actress in a Brycenman film in Pokestar Studios. Not even “Foongus Girl”.

21) Sun ... There’s a reason why not even Moon talks about him. Though, as I said before, Moon might actually like the idea of being around him. But because I’m opposed to it, Platinum is opposed to it. And since Moon sticks around Platinum like a shadow, she can’t bring him up in a conversation.

22) Green Gasp! What?! He’s back from the void! ... Well, if I came back from the dead, why can’t he? Even if the door gets slammed on his face as he takes a step into the threshold, at least you can get a glimpse of him before the door is locked forever. Still won’t be making any kind of appearance, but at least there’s a chance that he may be mentioned.

23) Yellow ... I believe that in the very first Preference List I’ve ever made, Platinum was ranked on the top, and Yellow was ranked on the bottom. And now, almost a decade later, Platinum is still ranked on the top, and Yellow is still ranked on the bottom. Some things never change. ... Though I do believe that Yellow had a (very) brief run out in the light of the (very) Low Preferences. But outliers and anomalies exist. Now things are back to normal.

#preference

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vhs-ghost · 3 years

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DT Season 3 Episode Thoughts:

Just a short review of every Season 3 Episode because why not (no spoilers, its just long lol):

Just a short review of every Season 3 Episode because why not: 1 Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks! Pretty good. Didn’t like it as a season premiere tho, just would have preferred Quack Pack to start season 3. Happy for a Huey centered beginning tho. And set up the journal and FOWL well. 2 Quack Pack! Great episode. The designs we so good. Loved Huey breaking the 4th wall in Abed fashion. Just really enjoyable. Also side note, this is my favorite Launchpad look in the series. I love him in the pilots hat and on top of that I love the color palette. That goes for everyone else too. Love those bright 90s colors. 3 Double-O-Duck in You Only Crash Twice! If I had a nickel and every time a Disney cartoon took my favorite character (who has red hair) and gave him a weird James Bond 180 degree character change with a dumb voice and a suit, I’d have 2 nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice (the other one is Bashful from the 7D). I like it because it’s got Launchpad. A lot of Launchpad. And that’s all I’ll say. 4 The Lost Harp of Mervana! Pretty good. Love when Donald’s around. I liked that the harp moved along the secret Webby plot. A fun episode. 5 Louie's Eleven! We got Daisy in this episode, which is a major win. This DonDaisy is so so good. For the rest of the ep, I wish Huey had been part of the scheme more. I just like it when my boys are together. It was nice to see the 3 Caballeros even tho I preferred their first episode. Mark Beaks was kinda funny in this episode. Enjoyable, but I seriously missed Huey. 6 Astro B.O.Y.D.! It made me cry. I don’t think there’s anything else to say. (Seriously an amazing episode. I love Huey, Gyro, Fenton, and Boyd. So fantastic). 7 The Rumble for Ragnarok! A good episode if I recall. Huey got the animation budget in this episode. The fights were meh but I enjoyed the triplets in this one. Also enjoyed Launchpad knowing a lot about something (other than Darkwing of course). 8 The Phantom and the Sorceress! Aaaaaand here’s where I stop having a good time. A boring ep after a long hiatus. Magica annoyed me, Gladstone bored me, and I really used to like Webby but I can hardly stand Webby-centered episodes anymore. 9 They Put a Moonlander on the Earth! I don’t like Penumbra very much and Webby was annoying. I also don’t like seeing LP making a fool of himself (and putting the kiddos at risk in the process). HOWEVER, I like pretty much having confirmation that Penumbra is a lesbian. 10 The Trickening! Was a let down. Would have been more fun earlier on in the series I think. I also can’t believe LP is THAT dumb. It was painful. 11 The Forbidden Fountain of the Foreverglades! I really loved seeing Goldie. Such good scroldie content with good kisses. A fun ep with an interesting concept but I had WAY too many questions about how no one was suspicious after tons and tons of college kids go missing over like, many years. Super dark. 12 Let's Get Dangerous! Absolutely amazing. Best episode of the season by far. One of the best in the show. I just really really love Darkwing Duck and the Mallard/McQuack family brings me incredible joy. 13 Escape from the ImpossiBin! Solid ep. The ending where everyone is calling Scrooge with what was stolen SLAPPED. Also the rooftop showdown and Donald being just the fucking best. 14 The Split Sword of Swanstantine! Liked the dynamics of the children. Enjoyed Lena and The Duke and Louie and Violet. Those parts were great. I feel like I didn’t need more Dewey Webby friendship stuff like the others were so much more unpredictable. Still not my favorite episode tho. 15 New Gods on the Block! Great because it had Daisy. I just wanted DonDaisy content. 16 The First Adventure! A very cute episode. I just love seeing Donald and Della as kids. A fun episode and I really enjoyed it. 17 The Fight for Castle McDuck! Boring and a let down. Not nearly as interesting or good as the other episode that took place at Castle McDuck. 18 How Santa Stole Christmas! I did not care for this one at all. I would have preferred not actually ever knowing more of Scrooge’s hatred towards Santa. I enjoyed the mystery. If anything, I would have preferred the whole family to save Christmas like they did at the end. Also, why is Scrooge such a dick sometimes? Like you think he’s getting better and then gave everyone coal. Like come on, man. 19 Beaks in the Shell! Not my favorite, but definitely not the worst. I missed Fenton. He and Gandra were pretty cute I guess. Love that Huey content. The best scene was Louie pretending to be Huey. Needed more Gyro. Mark is hella annoying and a shit villain now. 20 The Lost Cargo of Kit Cloudkicker! Liked Kit. Disliked everything else. Weird Dewey arc. Needed Launchpad. 21 The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck! Could have been so much better. I feel no sympathy for Magica. Scrooge isn’t blameless for things tho like he was a dick for a long ass time and still has dickish tendencies. I hate Doofus why did the episode have Louie apologizing to him???? Bad! Just a weird episode. 22 The Last Adventure! TBD but I really hope it’s good. I don’t wanna get my hopes up too high tho.

#ducktales #ducktales 2017

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turtle-paced · 4 years

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GoT Re-Watch: Fine-Toothed Comb Edition

This post is also available on my wordpress.

Everyone ready for the very definitely final battle with the very definite ultimate enemy of the series? Yeah, me too!

8.03 – The Long Night

(2:00) I hope people may be able to forgive me for somewhat sparse commentary this episode. So much of it is fight scene, and so little of it is visible.

(2:44) Sam’s going on a West Wing-style walking tour of Winterfell. The main action’s in the back, and this isn’t the worst way to survey the exposition – watching Lyanna Mormont mobilise, learning that the enemy’s visible from the west wall, hearing the call for the gates to close. No story can show everything, there are points where we need the exposition, and this is more dynamic and better connected to the upcoming action than people standing around a table expositing. Or watching a flashback and expositing.

The visual handover from Sam to Tyrion here still makes me think of this as a relay race, though.

(3:49) The darkness and the tight shots are supposed to be atmospheric, but they fail in one key way – they don’t let us know what’s actually going on. You see a guy with a beard, that guy could be almost anyone, ‘cause you can only see about a quarter of his face, dimly. Shot selection tells me that this guy sure does have hands, though, so…I guess it’s not Jaime we’re looking at. (I think it was the Hound.)

(4:31) Peering through the pitch darkness of the cinematography, we can more or less make out the Unsullied getting into position for some serious Hollywood tactics.

(4:37) Looking at these teeny tiny little braziers in front of the catapults reminds me of something. Nobody’s mentioned fuel for fires this season as far as I can recall. We’ve had discussions about food for winter, but…firewood is appearing out of nowhere. Nobody’s talked about fuel as a resource, especially when it comes to fighting ice monsters. Nobody’s talked about the desirability of light for night fighting yet, or the need to keep people warm. There are all these ways the writers could have introduced real challenges for the main characters, let them show off how clever and thoughtful they are, and instead…

(5:03) This shot of Gray Worm here is the first of these shots of ranked soldiers that gives us a sense of the geography – look, you can see Winterfell and its walls in the background. Yay for giving us a visual cue of how these people are deployed, a necessary precondition of a conflict that is more than “smash the armies against each other!” Boo for stationing the Unsullied outside the freaking walls.

(5:29) First line of the episode! Thanks Edd!

(5:48) A rare sighting of the elusive direwolf.

(6:32) Wait, where are Dany and Jon watching this from? If that’s Winterfell, all lit up in the background there, then they made it a pretty good distance from the crypts to outside Winterfell’s walls in quite possibly hostile territory – ah, fuck it. Like we didn’t already know the show’s going to sacrifice worldbuilding, theme, and even character for individual “that looks cool” moments.

(6:55) Of course, the other big problem with not being able to see what’s going on is that the tension generated by fear of the unknown turns into “I’m just sitting here staring at a blank screen, aren’t I?” There’s a dark shape moving around out there, but damned if you can tell what it is. There’s nothing to look at, nothing much to hear. Hasn’t been for some minutes now.

(7:28) It turns out to be Melisandre, who’s here for some deus ex machina. Both in the sense that her presence is deus ex machina, and that she’s here to provide deus ex machina.

(7:37) Melisandre asks Jorah a simple yes or no question here. It takes Jorah three seconds to nod.

(7:43) Melisandre issues a simple instruction to Jorah here.

(7:57) Jorah follows that instruction here, fourteen seconds later. It’s too dark for us to see the expression of doubt working its way across Jorah’s face, and the directors actually pull back so his emoting is even less visible. Twenty seconds to get through this exchange. The action is just rocketing along.

Oh, and incidentally, what this shot does actually make clear is that there is no visible Dothraki leadership, just a few guys we vaguely recognise standing in the front ranks. The white guy has to take charge of their armies for them. Compare and contrast with Grey Worm, indisputably in charge of the Unsullied, but also the only Unsullied we know and recognise.

(8:19) Note that even though Jorah didn’t raise his voice, there are Dothraki several ranks back raising their arakhs. Best hearing on two continents.

(8:41) The moment when every viewer said “Praise R’hllor!” for we can finally see.

(9:17) The drama with Melisandre lighting all those swords ends here, with Jorah acknowledging Melisandre’s service and turning towards where the enemy will be approaching from.

(10:37) Melisandre and Davos exchange dialogue here. Because we wouldn’t have understood a) that Melisandre was let into Winterfell and b) Davos was unhappy about it without the full minute and a half of Melisandre riding to the castle walls and Davos hurrying down the steps to meet her.

There’s nothing extraordinary about Mel’s short little ride inside. Nothing extraordinary about Davos’ trip (and we can still barely see the emoting, because it’s too dark). Nothing that justifies ninety seconds of film here, not outside a moody character drama with these two in more important roles. Here, in a series where we’re about to start an apocalyptic scale battle (allegedly), have already been kept waiting ten minutes, and where these two are secondary characters at best, we need to keep it moving along. We have to prioritise. A shot of Mel riding towards the keep or entering, a shot of Davos’ angry face and him turning to go meet her, cut to the actual meeting. There we go.

(10:55) Melisandre stares meaningfully at Arya. Oh boy. It’s almost unbelieveable that thiswouldn’t be the worst writing of the entire series.

For context, these two last met back in season three. They shared one scene. Exchanged maybe three lines of dialogue. Melisandre has not mentioned Arya since, but focused her efforts on Stannis and Jon. Arya’s mentioned Mel a few times, mostly in the context of Gendry-related trauma. In seven and a half seasons of television, that’s one scene and half a dozen lines where these characters’ arcs have intersected in any meaningful way.

We are currently thirty seconds from what has been built up as the most important battle of the series kicking off in earnest.

You better believe I will have more to say on this later.

(11:45) Whatever you say about the tactics (because you cannot say anything good), this is much better use of light and darkness here, establishing the flaming swords as a visual representation of the army’s movement.

(13:05) And the subsequent dying of those flames as a representation of the army’s defeat, without having to show us every detail of the failure of the charge. Gee, who could have guessed a frontal charge by an inferior force into pitch darkness and snow might not have worked out so good? Certainly not our very clever main characters.

I find myself thinking of the Two Towers movie and the cavalry charges that marked the climax of the Helm’s Deep battle.

The other issue, which I’m not quite sure how to address, is the mass death of the Dothraki. Right here and now, at this point in the show, the Dothraki are the only culture not European-inspired and not played by white people. And also not covered up by armour all the time, see the book!canonically racially diverse Unsullied (and we’ll talk more about how they’re depicted by the end of the season). It’s the old ‘black guy dies first’ trope taken to horrible extremes. An entire polity and culture killed off because they served no further purpose in the plot (a plot where we’ve still got a pretty damned large cast, and yet only two people of colour with speaking roles). The only idea for “resolving” the challenges this group pose politically is to kill them off. That’s what this looks like right now.

Yet what we’re going to see over the next few episodes are the Dothraki randomly reappearing. The show got incredibly sloppy in its final season – I haven’t had a high opinion of the show since season five, and I’m finding it hard to believe how sloppy it got – but this is boggling. The writers kinda forgot they killed off the Dothraki, I guess.

So I’m not entirely sure how to critically approach this moment, beyond concluding that the writers just weren’t thinking about the role of the Dothraki in their own worldbuilding, and aren’t showing much in the way of broader sensitivities regarding killing off almost all characters of colour.

(14:13) Some survivors are galloping back, in complete and total silence. Nobody has anything to say about this, nobody’s inconveniently panicking at the state of the survivors. None of the survivors themselves are inconveniently panicking, or even trying to report any information. Every extra knows they can’t say a word in case it drowns out a main character speaking. It doesn’t feel real that every person on this battlefield would have the exact same reaction to the tension. Again I find myself thinking of Helm’s Deep, where a) the pre-battle silence didn’t last fifteen goddamn minutes and b) right in the middle of it, you had Gimli and Legolas with a moment of comic relief.

(14:30) Dany moves to act and protect the people who followed her all the way from Essos from being slaughtered by zombies. You know, I’ve just got a bad feeling about her intentions. Seems pretty suspicious to me.

(15:28) Finally! We finally see some zombies in this zombie apocalypse showdown! For a given value of the word “see”!

Mind you, if you’re here for my commentary, this might not be the best thing, because a lot of this episode is “and there was more zombie fighting, and there was more zombie fighting, so on, so forth…”

(16:10) The power of Jaime’s love for Brienne gives him enough fighting skills to assist her in combat despite missing his dominant hand. Essentially, a few training sessions with Bronn resolved Jaime’s physical difficulties arising from missing his fucking hand. Book!Jaime has trouble lacing up his clothes, rolling up letters, climbing ladders, crawling, things like that. I’m having trouble remembering similar from show!Jaime since, what, season four? And absolutely no trouble remembering the use of Jaime’s prosthetic hand as a gag mid-fight scene.

(16:17) Dragons first show up here. This is shown in closest proximity to Jaime, who had a bit of a run-in with Dany and Drogon last season. In a better structured show, this becomes a moment that shows how Jaime’s opinion of Daenerys and her use of power has changed over the course of that intervening season. Something that shows that even if the physical circumstances are very similar, the context of being in the middle of a battle with a woman spraying dragonfire on the ground has changed.

(16:47) Also in a better-written show, this moment where Sansa and Arya watch the dragons effectively barbecuing huge numbers of wights is where they realise “oh, holy shit, we really would have been fucked if Daenerys didn’t decide to help us.” Note that this is not exclusive of the realisation that Dany could do serious damage to a city or opposing army of regular human beings the exact same way.

(18:18) A wall of white fog advances over the battlefield. This is bad, as it further reduces visibility. Also something something Night King.

(19:55) Dolorous Edd is the first of the second-string cleanout to die.

(20:05) Sansa enters the crypts here, and we follow her through the darkness for fifteen seconds before getting a shot of, you know, the room she’s looking at. Sansa’s back isn’t doing much emoting. This is not like the shot of Dany’s back in 6.09, where the fighting in Meereen in the background gives context to the facial expressions we’re not seeing, generating tension for when we do actually get to see her face and the details of her reaction. This is just fifteen seconds of a woman’s back in a hallway too dark to see much at all. We don’t need to see every step Sansa takes in the hallway to understand she’s walking through the hallway. This can be, and should have been, tightened up.

I hate that I keep saying it, but it keeps fucking happening. Edit your show!

(20:41) In a similar vein, we don’t need thirty seconds of Sansa walking through the room and Tyrion walking through the room in order to establish that these characters are going to meet and exchange information. The actual ten-second unspoken exchange between Sansa, Tyrion and Missandei works well, though, and it’s something that works specifically because of the skill of the actors.

(22:55) Tactical situation – retreat into Winterfell itself. After most of the ground forces have been smashed. Flippin’ genius. Dany and Jon are flying through some icy fog and undead dragon noises.

(23:08) This aerial shot of the Unsullied protecting the retreat with their unsurpassed discipline would have been much more effective if the subject matter was visible. I am watching this in a darkened room, face inadvisably close to my computer, and I still can’t really tell what’s going on beyond movement in unison.

(23:28) Ah, you see, Jon calls out for Dany in the midst of battle, but Dany is focused on her goals. Another worrying sign. Everyone make your firebreaks!

(26:59) Tactical situation – trenches unlit. Nothing’s going to make the tactics any better here, and I don’t think the showrunners are even trying to balance the Rule of Cool with tactical plausibility, but they can string together action scenes. While those actions scenes inevitably reflect an ethos of “we’re going to make this as awesome as we possibly can” rather than “we’re going to use the rules of the setting we’ve established to make an awesome scene,” the only thing the fight scenes are suffering from are the fact that I don’t care about these characters any more. And that’s not a problem with the fight scenes.

(28:45) You know, if it was possible for a Watsonian character to be a Doylist MVP, I’m nominating Melisandre just for lighting the episode for us.

(30:02) “At least we’re already in a crypt.” I think that might have been the first joke of the episode! Seriously, though, it’s been half an hour before we had any gallows humour.

(30:37) This is actually related to my problems with Sansa this episode, and the marked contrast between her now and her back in season two. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that she’s as bad as Cersei was during the Battle of the Blackwater by any means. Nevertheless, the writers seem to think that Sansa’s grim appraisal of the situation is clear-eyed and praiseworthy. As she says, “It’s the most heroic thing we can do right now, look the truth in the face.” (At 31:05.)

What Sansa got better, even in “Blackwater” (written by GRRM), was the importance of keeping up morale. Sansa here is not a comforting or inspirational figure. It’s a bit of a slap in the face that this character, who was so good at giving small bits of comfort to others when she had nothing else to give and because there was nothing else she could do, has gone backwards.

(31:44) Missandei points out, quite rightly, that without Dany’s assistance this battle would already be lost. In spite of being right, and clearly so, this doesn’t actually provoke any re-evaluation of attitude. It’s just a one-liner. It doesn’t mean anything.

(32:51) This Theon and Bran scene, seriously. Alfie Allen has been consistently Too Good For This since season three, and here he is in a scene with a character directed to show minimal emotion. It’s not a good contrast.

Related problem: it is incredibly hard to relate to a character who is totally unaffected by sitting out as bait for the unkillable superzombie while his family are fighting and potentially dying and the world potentially ending.

(33:54) More than half an hour into this final battle, we’re at last seeing the Night’s King and the zombie dragon.

(36:09) Tactical situation – zombies are now charging the walls. Dragons intermittently swooping around but largely ineffective.

(38:55) We’re even past most of the dodgy tactics, now, and we’re seeing our characters on the losing side of the fight. The show’s doing a good job of conveying this right now. Like I said earlier, I’m finding these scenes unsatisfying because the character development earlier has resulted in me honestly not caring very much.

(39:55) I didn’t comment on the first shot, but now it’s a bit more prominent, I’m also glad that the showrunners remembered that Sandor has fire-related trauma. As in, this isn’t a matter of cowardice, this is a matter of being overwhelmed by PTSD.

(41:39) “We’re fighting Death! We can’t beat Death!” “Tell [Arya] that!” I’m going to be generous and count that as foreshadowing, or at least intentional dramatic irony. Guess what this makes this statement! That’s right! The FIRST bit of foreshadowing directly and in hindsight unambiguously related to Arya’s defeat of the Night King. (No, Melisandre’s “eyes” speech is not foreshadowing that meets that criteria. That’s a blatant retcon.) 42 minutes into the episode where she kills him.

(42:10) Lyanna Mormont is the second of our second-string cleanout to die. It’s slow, painful, and gruesome. You can hear the cracking. This show certainly is edgy.

(42:57) Hey, my favourite shots of the episode! After a lot of murky flying through icy fog, the dragon chase breaks into the clear moonlight above the clouds. It’s just nice to look at, and a good way to kick into the actual dragon fight. Reorients things effectively.

Just…try not to pay attention to how neither Dany’s nor Jon’s hair is moving much in the breeze.

(44:03) Arya starts sneaking through the wight-infested halls of Winterfell here.

(46:26) Some of Arya’s blood drips on the stone floor. The zombie hears that. Just to establish the level of senses we’re talking about.

(48:33) And four and a half minutes later, scene change. No dialogue. No idea how this affected the broader tactical situation except in Arya’s continued survival. While I understand the value of having a tense scene of a main character sneaking through the halls of their own home in fear for their life and increasingly unsure how long they can keep it up, four and a half minutes? That’s about half the amount of time as we spent watching the fight outside of Winterfell.

The cut to the crypts establishes that the fighting has reached the entrance of the crypt.

(49:50) And for contrast, that scene watching the characters in the crypt realise that the fighting had come to them took a minute and a half. Again, no dialogue, but there were more characters whose reactions we could see.

(52:11) You know, with the sheer number of wights it was established the defenders were facing, and the apparent disintegration of the defending forces, I’m kind of wondering why there are so many empty rooms about the place.

(52:30) Third to die in our second-string cleanout is Beric Dondarrion, who was stabbed a few minutes ago in a do-not-pass moment to save Arya and Sandor.

(53:36) Melisandre here retcons the eyes speech to mean that Arya will kill the Night King. 52 minutes into the episode where Arya kills the Night King. There was never any reason to think of that speech as relating to the Night King until right this second. It is a blatant retcon.

This is bullshit. Or tripe, but whatever it is, it came out of a bovine’s digestive system. More when the moment itself comes, but for the moment let’s focus on how this affects Melisandre’s characterisation.

Again, since she mete Arya in season three, her storyline has been focused on Stannis and Jon. Once Stannis failed, she brought Jon back from the dead. Last season, she showed up to Dany’s plot basically to say “hey, Jon’s important, the relationship between Dany and Jon is important, and I’ll see you all for my death scene next season!” And now it turns out, on the strength of one interaction, more than four seasons ago, Melisandre’s story was actually about Arya? Without any sort of emotional reaction from Melisandre, to boot. If you’re thinking this isn’t playing fair with character development…I think you’re right.

(54:03) “What do we say to the God of Death?” “Not today.” That is the only good thing the show does with that. The only thing. And even that, I think, is laden with a misunderstanding of the evil the Night King represents in the book – the Others of the books are slavers who force humans and animals alike to do their bidding even after death. Which is how Dany maintains a thematic connection to the primary threat of the series even when she’s not on the same continent as the action. Her work in Slaver’s Bay is prep work for the end of the series.

(54:56) The fight now arrives at the godswood.

(55:13) Here we see undead!Viserion’s fire blast through the walls of Winterfell.

(56:21) I haven’t mentioned it for a while, but it is seriously nearly impossible to see what’s going on. Vital, climactic dragon fight, and we don’t actually get to see it.

(58:04) The Night King tanks a full on blast of dragon fire. He can do this because reasons. And these reasons are “the showrunners wanted to subvert expectations.”

(59:03) Well, now that a faceful of dragonfire has failed for reasons unknown, it’s time for Jon to step in. Okay, that makes a good amount of sense. Jon’s entire storyline has dealt with the threat of the White Walkers. Hell, Jon and the Night King even had their staredown back in season five. So clearly it’s time for Jon to take on the Night King directly.

(59:46) Nope! Jon does not fight the Night King. Instead he gets surrounded by garden variety wights.

(1:00:00) This little breathing space where everyone the protagonists have managed to kill stands right back up again does work well as a darkest hour.

(1:01:31) Meanwhile, in the crypts, nobody has apparently realised that the dead bodies there might also be raised. Also nobody down there has any idea how to fight or any weapons on hand, so this was well thought through all round.

(1:04:22) Jorah Mormont out of fucking nowhere to rescue Dany.

(1:07:10) Ramin Djawadi here starts his bid for the real MVP of the episode. Though we all know that he’s the MVP of the entire season.

(1:09:01) Try to ignore how Jon’s ducking behind stone pillars to avoid Viserion’s fire, despite this exact fire blasting through those exact walls fifteen minutes ago.

(1:11:21) Alfie Allen, still too good for this.

(1:12:57) Jon comes face to face with zombie Viserion. Ah, okay! So if he’s not going to kill the Night King, he’s at least going to take out a zombie dragon, right? Well. Not happy with that as a culmination of his story, but, you know, still damned impressive.

(1:13:02) Jon ducking behind this little ridge of rubble here isn’t quite as bad as Indy hopping in that fridge…but it’s getting there.

(1:13:25) Fourth to die in the second-string cleanout is Theon.

(1:15:31) Oh. So Jon’s only going to scream at Viserion. Not fight him. Um. That’s…not at all a satisfying conclusion to Jon’s arc vis a vis the White Walkers. Not remotely.

Seven and a half seasons of buildup, and what Jon accomplishes in the fight itself is roughly equivalent to the achievements of any given surviving named character who participated in the battle. I don’t like “the main characters do everything,” but the main characters have got to do something. In particular, when a main character spends the entirety of his arc focusing on the one context, it really does feel unfair to the viewers when he doesn’t play a meaningful part in the resolution of that plot.

I will say this much: my expectations were certainly subverted. I expected the writers to play fair with storytellling conventions of setup and payoff.

(1:15:41) So. The wights could hear a drop of blood fall from across a room. The White Walkers can’t hear a girl running and screaming halfway across a forest. And this is honestly one of the least of the problems here.

(1:15:52) And so Arya kills the Night King. Arya. Who has had no meaningful story connection with the fight against the White Walkers. She was the last member of House Stark to return to Winterfell and the least involved in the preparations to fight. This comes perhaps a little bit out of left field.

The showrunners later stated that they chose Arya to kill the Night King specifically to subvert expectations. Meaning that they set up seven and a half seasons of other people being more involved with this plot and Arya not being very involved with this plot only to throw it away for a “fooled you!” While I’m sure it was satisfying to the writers, it’s not very much fun for a viewer. When we invest years in watching characters realise the extent of their problems and seek to solve them, having the writers yank the payoff away right at the very end with a “nope! Someone else solved it!’ is not a good return.

Plus, while “wow, wouldn’t have picked that!” is the end result, it’s not the “I wouldn’t have picked that!” which comes from creative use of foreshadowing and careful structural and thematic development so that everything falls into place in an unexpected yet logical way. This is the “I wouldn’t have picked that!” which resulted from there being nothing to pick at all. It’s a plot twist divorced from the plot.

(1:17:46) Fifth to die in the second-string cleanout is Jorah Mormont. Emilia Clarke doing her damnedest, as well. In a scene where everyone’s standing around like stunned mullets, Dany’s open grief is quite the contrast.

(1:18:59) I like the shot of the dawn here, which really helps to convey that yes, this is over and done.

Structurally, should it have been over and done? Almost certainly not! You could definitely do some scouring of the Shire, the post-action action which demonstrates the effects of the central conflict on our leads, but in terms of plot, this should have been it. There is no conflict greater in scale than this. The fight against the White Walkers should not have been a distraction from the fight over the Iron Throne. The fact that it was is just….did the showrunners read the books?

(1:19:45) Sixth and last to die in the second-string cleanout is Melisandre. Which closes out the episode.

Next time, the season starts to go really off the rails.

#anti got #fine toothed comb edition #season eight

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orionsangel86 · 5 years

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75 Must Watch Supernatural Episodes in preparation for Season 15

As you might recall, a while ago TV Guide posted an article about their choice of the top 75 episodes of Supernatural to watch as a catch up of the series before the final season.

I read that article, and found myself absolutely horrified at many of their choices and outraged that many of the all time best episodes (including ones extremely important to the story) were missed off.

Everyone has their own opinions of course, but when I disagree with something that much it tends to motivate me to act out of pure spite - I do love a good spite motivation - and so I have made my own list, for the fandom, of the 75 absolute must watch episodes for anyone who wants to understand the integral story of Supernatural.

I have to hand it to TV Guide, whilst I adamantly disagreed with their choices, I admit that this was EXTREMELY DIFFICULT and having to sacrifice some of my faves so that I could include others that were more important to the story HURT, but that’s how it is.

Full list under the cut. Let me know what you think of my choices and my reasons!

1. Pilot

You cannot start a series catch up anywhere else, and we have to include the pilot episode. Introducing us to Sam and Dean, and setting up the story including the back story with the family tragedy. You just can’t beat a good old fashioned female fridging for man pain. *jokes*

2. 1x06 Skin

I feel like Skin is an important episode to watch as it is our first real look at Dean’s psyche as a character, where we start to realise just how much he is hiding behind his tough macho man exterior. The speech by Shifter!Dean to a horrified and confused Sam is heartbreaking and very revealing.

3. 1x12 Faith

This is still hands down one of Supernaturals best episodes. It was also the first time Kripke started considering a bigger mytharc involving faith and Christianity. We can all thank this episode for planting the seeds that would later give us the hugely popular character Castiel, and the hugely successful mytharc plots of Seasons 4 and 5. Also, one of the best music moments from the show with the “Don’t Fear The Reaper” chase scene.

4. 1x14 Nightmare

This episode introduces us to the Special Children story line which was of paramount importance to the first two seasons. It gives us the first glimpses of Sam’s powers to come, and is also the first time we get some hints of John Winchesters abuse of Dean.

5. 1x18 Something Wicked

I chose this episode because it is the first time we get to see more of Sam and Dean’s childhood, and how horrific it was - especially for Dean. A brilliant episode that once again clearly demonstrates how John Winchester is not a man to be messed with. If at this point you aren’t itching to call child services on his ass you probably need to read up on your understanding of child abuse.

6. 1x22 Devils Trap

The Season 1 finale gives us the show down between John Winchester and the Yellow Eyed Demon Azazel, some heartbreaking moments between father and sons, and a cliffhanger that leaves Baby and Dean both broken.

7. 2x01 In My Time of Dying

I love this episode. Dean’s out of body experience at the hospital, Sam’s grief, John’s deal, Tessa’s introduction to the show. C’est magnifique!

8. 2.05 Simon Said

I just think Simon Said is a great episode that further develops the special children plot whilst being both funny and dark at its core - classic SPN.

9. 2.15 Tall Tales

Our introduction to Gabriel - well, to the trickster as he is known here. This episode is gloriously funny and a must watch!

10. 2.21 All Hell Breaks Loose: Parts One and two

Okay I’m cheating a bit and putting these two episodes together, but in my opinion they count as their own feature length episode as you can’t watch one without the other. The climax of the special children arc, the deeply emotional Sam death scene and Dean’s bedside vigil, and Dean selling his soul. This two part season finale packed a lot of punches and is a definite must watch.

11. 3.03 Bad Day at Black Rock

How can anyone forget Sam’s run of bad luck in this hilarious episode. He LOST HIS SHOE!

12. 3.10 Dream a Little Dream of Me

This is another must watch episode for the deep dive into Dean’s psyche. We also get more of a backstory to Bobby Singer, but the real brilliance happens when Dean spends part of the episode talking to his own dark mirror, revealing all sorts of subconscious fears and insecurities on his part.

13. 3.11 Mystery Spot

I couldn’t not put Mystery Spot on the list. This infamous episode of Supernatural will have you singing “Heat of the Moment” over and over again whilst sympathising with poor Sam every time Tuesday comes around. Don’t let Dean eat the funny tasting tacos!

14. 3.16 No Rest for the Wicked

In lots of ways, Season 3 was a weak season. It was drastically shortened due to the writers strike at the time, and Kripke & Co didn’t get to tell the story they initially planned for, instead they had to come up with an alternative which gave us this dark finale in which Dean is condemned to hell. That can’t have been a fun hiatus for fans watching live... Still, it was a memorable finale and that is why it is on my list.

15. 4.01 Lazarus Rising

This episode. Here begins Supernaturals “golden age”. Enter Castiel, Angel of the Lord and future fan favourite right up until 2k19. How many people out in the world saw that now famous entrance and immediately fell in love?

*holds up hand*

If you do nothing else, and you’ve never seen a single episode of Supernatural before, just watch this one, and I guarantee, I GUARANTEE, you will want to keep watching.

16. 4.07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester

The problem I have with season 4 is that I want to put basically every episode on the list. To this day it remains my favourite season of the show (and not just for the extreme DeanCas sexual tension). I kept this episode on the list simply because I love the Halloween theme, I love the frankly horrifying Samhain, and I LOVE the journey that Castiel goes through in this episode alone. Bonus points for Sam Winchester fangirling over Castiel proving he is no different from the rest of us. :P

17. 4.16 On the Head of a Pin

I say season 4 is my favourite season, and On the Head of a Pin is one of my all time favourite episodes. This is Supernatural at it’s finest and it’s not surprising as it was written by the great Ben Edlund. It is a perfect blend of horror and angst as we watch every character painfully spiral downwards. Sam hungrily drinks Ruby’s blood much to the audiences horror, Castiel faces his internal and external conflicts as all starts to unravel in the heavenly plans, and Dean plays a terrifying game of wits in an outstanding performance with the demon Alistair, his hellish torturer. It was a performance that Jensen Ackles should have won an Emmy for in my honest opinion. This episode has forever ruined the song “Cheek to Cheek” for me, but it was so worth it.

18. 4.17 It's a Terrible Life

It’s one of the classics. This AU world in which the angels flex their power over the Winchesters is another well loved fan favourite and quite frankly deserves to be here purely for the hilarious scene that many office workers all over the world would wish they could reenact as Sam quits his job in the most Sam Winchester way possible.

19. 4.20 The Rapture

I had to keep this episode here because it is so important for future story lines. As Castiel gets closer to Dean, heaven takes action and we meet Jimmy Novak, Cas’s tormented vessel, and in Castiel’s own future words “his greatest regret”. It’s a deeply emotional episode that proves even angels have their dark sides.

20. 4.22 Lucifer Rising

The Season 4 finale is still one of the most epic in my opinion. Sam and Dean’s dramatic fight in the episode before has left them both vulnerable to the angels and demons that are manipulating them for their own purposes. Ruby’s villain reveal speech is still one of the best, and as she shows her true colours to a horrified Sam, Dean makes an angel fall for him. In every way.

21. 5.03 Free to Be You and Me

This episode is another classic and many fans of Destiel would put it among their top episodes. As Sam and Dean go their separate ways, Dean grows closer to a now fallen and socially awkward Castiel.

22. 5.04 The End

Another epic from the mastermind that is Ben Edlund. The End has inspired much extremely angst ridden fanfiction over the years (and a very romantic song in a future musical episode) and is notorious for breaking fans hearts the world over. As Dean is unwillingly sent to a future apocalyptic world, he meets his harsh and brutal future self, and a drug addled hedonistic human Castiel. The most memorable and painful moment being his confrontation with a sharply dressed Lucifer wearing his brothers face. Tears flowed freely from fans the night this episode aired.

23. 5.08 Changing Channels

Changing Channels is another of those infamous episodes that even non fans of SPN are aware of for it’s sheer lunacy. Sam and Dean once again find themselves up against the trickster aka the archangel Gabriel, who puts them into a TV world where they must “play their roles” in order to survive.

Highlights include Sam’s herpes commercial and Dean’s heart eyes for Doctor Sexy MD.

24. 5.16 Dark Side of the Moon

Dark Side of the Moon is a beautiful episode. The race through heaven and through each Winchester’s memories gives us a far greater understanding of their complex and troubled relationship. The heartbreaking scenes of Dean’s heaven with his mother that Sam could not be part of were especially painful to watch. The climax reveal that God wasn’t listening and Castiel’s subsequent loss of faith only added to that heartbreak. Another must see episode.

25. 5.18 Point of No Return

As is the case with season 4, it was so difficult not to just put every season 5 episode on this list. I do think that both seasons just need to be watched in full to truly grasp how brilliant they were. Point of No Return needs to be on this list though because this episode is the breaking point, the tensions remain high throughout as each character makes desperate choices as they all spiral towards the Endtimes.

26. 5.22 Swan Song

Swan Song is often considered the number 1 top episode of Supernatural. It is always at the top of these “rank the episodes” lists in the media, and that is why it is on my list too. It is brilliant in many ways, but if I am being completely honest it doesn’t even come close to the top of my own personal list ranking SPN episodes. It is certainly emotional, and there are some extremely heartbreaking scenes. Lucifer plays his hand, Dean plays his right back with the power of love, Sam makes his swan dive. It’s heartbreaking, it needs to be watched, but the “endings are hard” meta moan by Kripke always felt slightly too pretentious for my tastes. Don’t make excuses dude, this episode didn’t need them.

27. 6.11 Appointment in Samarra

I’ll be honest, I didn’t like season 6. Whilst some of the individual episodes were good, the mytharc was weak and I think the season struggled to find it’s feet for many episodes at the start. I didn’t like soulless Sam, preferring my Sammy to be the compassionate caring sweetheart he always was before. That being said, Appointment in Samarra is a brilliant standalone episode simply because the character of Death is so very compelling. Dean’s time playing Death was fun whilst also being a deeply emotional exploration of cause and effect in the universe. It’s a must watch.

28. 6.15 The French Mistake

I couldn’t not put this episode on the list. If Season 6 did one thing right, it was this ridiculous episode.

29. 6.20 The Man Who Would Be King

The only other thing Season 6 did right. 6x20 is Ben Edlund’s masterpiece and without it, frankly, the entire mytharc plot of the season would fail miserably. This beautiful episode told from the point of view of a hugely conflicted Castiel not only birthed an entire new generation of Destiel shippers, but canonically confirmed that Castiel’s every decision was motivated by his love for Dean.

*Ouch my shipper heart*

30. 6.22 The Man Who Knew Too Much

The season 6 finale is on this list purely for two characters: Sam and Cas. Sam’s journey to put himself back together inside his own head is as enjoyable as it is emotional. Castiel’s spiralling through into utter villainy is simply soul destroying - especially for those of us who are heavily invested in this character.

31. 7.01 Meet the New Boss

I had to keep the season 7 premiere in this episode as it is the only hint we have of what could have been an AMAZING season story line! Sadly, it was not to be, and Castiel’s run as God lasts this episode only before a very misguided showrunner wrote him off the show (thankfully she saw reason and brought him back dramatically later on, even though the damage and huge drop in ratings was already done.) Worth watching purely for enjoying a power drunk Castiel wipe out a homophobic preacher - he really doesn’t like those homophobes!

32. 7.10 Death's Door

The first time I watched Death’s Door I sobbed for 20 minutes straight. Bobby Singer was the best father Sam and Dean (and Castiel at times) could have ever had, and this heartfelt goodbye to the character as he fought against his reaper and his own memories really packed a punch.

33. 7.17 The Born-Again Identity

The episode that turned it all around. The Born-Again Identity sees a desperate Dean take a chance on a mysterious healer to help a haunted Sam. That healer turns out to be everything Dean has been waiting for. Castiel’s dramatic return to the series answered both Deans, and many fans, prayers.

34. 7.20 The Girl with the Dungeons and Dragons Tattoo

The introduction of Charlie Bradbury was a must on this list. She immediately became a fan favourite with her upbeat quirkiness. Created to be an avatar for fandom in many ways, she was a breath of fresh air compared to the previous fan avatar the show introduced us too who the less we mention the better. This episode was a lighthearted fun episode in an otherwise downright depressing season.

35. 7.23 Survival of the Fittest

It’s a must watch for the dick jokes alone. In all seriousness, I like this episode, even if it is another weak finale compared to others. The dynamic between Dean, Sam, Meg, and a Castiel who isn’t quite himself, is enjoyable, even if the villain of the season isn’t all that interesting.

36. 8.02 What's Up, Tiger Mommy?

Where the season 8 premiere focused on the present day, and what Sam had been doing in the year between the season 7 finale and now, episode 2 focuses more on purgatory. Dean’s time in purgatory desperately hunting for an AWOL Castiel is definitely worth the watch, especially when their purgatory reunion was so heartbreaking. Bonus points for Sam being worthy of Mjolnir!

37. 8.07 A Little Slice of Kevin

I make no secret of the fact that Castiel is my favourite character in Supernatural, or my love of Dean and Castiel’s relationship. This episode is on my list because Castiel’s return to the real world and an emotional Dean gets my fangirl heart pounding. This episode must use every romantic trope in the book on these two heartbroken dumbasses and it will always be a favourite.

38. 8.08 Hunteri Heroici

This episode is another one of my favourite. The boys finally bring Cas along on an otherwise regular monster of the week hunt, and it is hilarious. Not to mention the hunt is extremely loony and for that reason alone, it is a must watch.

39. 8.11 LARP and the Real Girl

The reintroduction of Charlie Bradbury is a delightful episode where the boys get a taste of LARPING. This is one of those memorable episodes where we get to see the Winchesters both out of their element, and also embracing a bit of fun outside of their normal dark lives. It is a joyful episode to watch.

40. 8.12 As Time Goes By

An integral episode that ends up being a game changer for the show. Thanks to a time travel spell, the boys find out their grandfather was part of a secret organisation. This episode is a must watch for the introduction of Abaddon, the Men of Letters, and the Winchester’s new home base that will see them through to the end of the series - the Bunker.

41. 8.17 Goodbye Stranger

Goodbye Stranger is one of those episodes that will break your heart and leave you screaming. Castiel finally breaks free from heavens grasp - but what broke the connection?

42. 8.23 Sacrifice

I adore the season 8 finale. Crowley’s confession, Sam’s heartbreaking speech which kicked off a long ongoing arc over the next 6 seasons exploring the darker side of the Winchester’s codependency, Metatron’s betrayal, and Castiel’s fall to humanity. The final scene with the angels fall to Earth is beautiful and emotional and I just love everything about it.

43. 9.01 I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here

The season 9 premiere is another deeply emotional episode which explores the aftermath of Sam’s trials to close the gates of hell. Sam is once again on deaths door, but Dean has ideas to save him - and his choices drastically affect the course of both brothers, and Castiel’s, lives for the next several seasons of pain and downward spirals into darkness.

44. 9.06 Heaven Can't Wait

The first ever episode written by our angst goblin king Bobo Berens and what a first episode it was. This episode was like a twisted mix between tragedy and romantic comedy but it worked brilliantly. Fans of Dean and Cas both laughed and wept at it’s perfection. It also was the episode that birthed a thousand fanfics thanks to one well placed “fanfiction gap”.

45. 9.11 First Born

This episode is one of the highlights of Season 9, with a brilliant performance by Timothy Omundson as Cain, this episode sees Dean make the terrible mistake of signing a contract before reading the terms and conditions. Bonus side plot of Sam and Cas getting some Bunker bonding time.

46. 9.18 Meta Fiction

This Castiel focused episode from the genius mind of Robbie Thompson is another must watch. The villainous Metatron manipulates Cas into playing a role in his own scripted story. Bonus guest appearance from fan favourite Gabriel adds to the appeal of this episode. (Following the season 14 finale I can’t help but wonder if this episode had some influence on the current writing team - could we even call it foreshadowing?)

47. 9.23 Do You Believe in Miracles?

The season 9 finale was another very strong episode which must be watched if only for the huge cliffhanger ending. Dean spirals into his own darkness under the effects of the Mark of Cain, and pays for it with his life. Thankfully Crowley is there to make things “better” and take the wayward Winchester under his demonic wing.

48. 10.03 Soul Survivor

Like many others, I feel that we were robbed of a longer Demon!Dean arc. I also feel like the show could have gone far darker with the character given everything we know about poor Dean’s psyche. Whilst episodes 1 and 2 took a lighter touch the demon, Soul Survivor was as close as we got to a truly evil representation of Dean and this episode shook me with the truly brilliant yet terrifying performance Jensen gives us.

49. 10.05 Fan Fiction

Fan Fiction is one of those episodes that you will either love or hate. Created as a love letter to the shows fandom, Robbie Thompson poured his heart into this episode and I do think it is a necessary watch even if just for the beautiful rendition of Carry on Wayward Son at the end. Some may find it cringeworthy in parts - many in fandom don’t exactly like the show drawing attention to their “dirty laundry” and I don’t think anyone will forget a fangirl telling Dean Winchester directly that “you can’t spell subtext without S-E-X” nor the break-the-forth-wall look Dean gives the audience upon hearing that. Nevertheless, we can officially say that both Destiel and Sastiel have been mentioned directly by the Winchester brothers - funnily enough Sam seems totally cool with the concept of hooking up with Cas; Dean though, well, as the saying goes “the lady doth protest too much”.

50. 10.14 The Executioner's Song

Like with First Born, this episode is a must watch for Timothy Odmunson’s performance as Cain, and how brilliantly he and Jensen work together. A haunting and tense episode with a heartbreaking conclusion. It’s dark and deep and pretty damn epic.

Bonus Episode Shout Out - 10.16 Paint it Black

I am not actually including this episode in the list, as it is a generic MOTW for the most part. But I do want to give it an honorary mention for one scene in particular. If you are new to the show, and are planning on using this list to catch up, then for this episode, go to YouTube and search “Supernatural 10x16 Dean’s confession”. TRUST ME. If like me, you love analysing Dean’s character to death, his church confession in this episode is like being given the key to figuring out the meaning of life.

51. 10.22 The Prisoner

I have chosen this episode over the Season 10 finale because this episode depicts Dean’s spiral into total darkness, whereas the season 10 finale always felt like a particularly weak episode to me. Following Charlie’s horrific (and highly controversial) death, Dean lets the Mark of Cain consume him and goes on a killing spree. The ending of this episode ripped my heart to shreds as Castiel promises that he will stay with Dean forever, only for Dean to beat him to near death and only stop at the last minute thanks to that final shred of humanity left in him. If the shot of a bloodied and heartbroken Castiel staring at the angel blade that narrowly missed his head doesn’t make you cry, then I don’t even know why you watch this show.

52. 11.04 Baby

Another fan favourite told from the point of view from the Impala which at this point is definitely its own character and so much more than just a car. Baby is an extremely well put together episode which confirms that there is more than a little bit of magic in that sleek 1967 muscle car.

53. 11.11 Into the Mystic

Into the Mystic introduces us to Eileen Leahy, a character who we all immediately fell in love with, and not just because she is literally PERFECT for Sam Winchester (yes I ship it), but also because she is a badass female hunter and this show is most definitely lacking badass female hunters. It also keeps us on the edge of our seats as Lucifer disguised as Castiel infiltrates the bunker and manages to trick Dean. Epic stuff.

54. 11.17 Red Meat

A well known controversial episode, Red Meat penned by Angst Goblin Bobo Berens delves into the darker, more toxic parts of the Winchester brothers relationship, and highlights just how horrific their codependency has become. Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that it highlights that these boys have some serious issues, and this episode marks a turning point from which both brothers, but especially Dean, start to move upwards, towards a more healthy bond.

55. 11.18 Hell's Angel

The fight to save Castiel from Lucifer’s clutches would be so much easier if the depressed angel actually knew how much he was loved by his Winchester family. Unfortunately for him, Dean is a dumbass who never uses his words. Hell’s Angel is heartbreaking but a must watch if you have any doubt in how much Dean Winchester cares for his angelic guardian. Lucifer’s mockery of his desperation is a particularly nasty knife twist, but then again us fans lap this stuff up.

56. 11.20 Don't Call Me Shurley

The dramatic return of Chuck AKA God. Another must watch episode which explains in some way what the hell God has been doing all this time, whilst Sam and Dean fight to save a small town from a deathly supernatural fog. The tear-jerking song “Fare Thee Well” sung by Rob Benedict at the end not only foreshadows God’s “death” at the end of the season, but also the departure of fan favourite writer Robbie Thompson from the writing team. Emotional indeed.

57. 11.23 Alpha and Omega

The season 11 finale marks the first time in the shows history that a finale doesn’t have a single death. The uplifting ending in which the boys manage to save the world and reunite God and his sister is a one off for Supernatural, especially when it ends with another shock character resurrection - symbolising a new direction for the show and a new showrunner. This was an epic finale that I thoroughly enjoyed.

58. 12.01 Keep Calm and Carry On

The Season 12 premiere saw the return of Mary Winchester, an awkward introduction with a shocked and overjoyed Castiel, and a dramatic race to save Sam from the British Men of Letters. It sets up a far more human mytharc plot than the previous seasons world ending battles between Gods, but with Mary’s introduction, and Andrew Dabb at the wheel, the story is about to get a whole bunch more personal.

59. 12.10 Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets

One of my all time favourite episodes, Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets gives us a very small peek at Castiel’s pre-Winchester past, and his beautiful female former vessel (no matter what form Castiel resides in, he is always beautiful - a fact referenced in show almost as often as out of it!). It also confirms that no matter how much Cas and Dean may bicker with each other, no one else insults Dean Winchesters angel and gets away with it! Bonus points for long suffering third wheel Sam Winchesters epic bitch faces and eye rolls throughout.

60. 12.11 Regarding Dean

This episode is one of those rare beauties which gets the balance between humour and heartbreak just right. As Dean rapidly loses his memories under a witches spell, Sam and Rowena fight to save him. Regarding Dean explores deep themes including Dean’s loss of childhood innocence at a young age, and how a life shrouded in darkness has effected him. Pure heartbreak. Bonus points for THAT scene on the bucking bronco.

61. 12.12 Stuck in the Middle (With You)

Another all time favourite, directed by our very own Richard Speight Jr in a highly stylised homage to Reservoir Dogs and other Tarantino movies. Castiel takes the role of Mr Orange in this gruesome tale, much to the distress of Mr White AKA Dean. One absolutely devastating love confession later and there isn’t a dry eye in the house. DO NOT SKIP THIS EPISODE.

62. 12.19 The Future

The episode that shook the fandom to it’s core thanks to one tiny moment. A desperate Castiel makes some bad decisions, but not before first using Dean’s love for him against him. The knowledge that Dean at one point made a tailored mixtape of his favourite Led Zeppelin songs and gave it to Castiel as a gift BROKE ME. To this day I am still not over this information. To this day I cannot quite get Dean’s soft voice saying “it’s a gift, you keep those.” out of my head. Just remembering the scene as I write this makes my heart flutter and I STILL can’t believe that the writers took the show in this direction. It’s beautiful.

63. 12.22 Who We Are

This heartbreaking episode reveals the importance of Mary’s return to the show, as Dean goes into his mothers own head to try to save her from brainwashing. A truly epic performance from Jensen Ackles (once again) in which Dean finally admits his own burdens, explains how he was robbed of his childhood, and how he was forced into the role of parent to his younger brother when he was 4 years old. Ah that character development is truly delicious.

64. 12.23 All Along the Watchtower

The season 12 finale packs a lot of punches. The imminent birth of Lucifer’s nephilim son causes a rift in the universe, opening a doorway to another world. As the tension builds to a dramatic conclusion, Lucifer plays his hand, unwittingly trapping himself in the AU world with one beloved character, as another sacrifices himself and a third tragic death leaves Dean shattered and broken on the ground.

65. 13.01 Lost and Found

The season 13 premier was everything I have ever wanted from a Supernatural episode - namely PAAAAAIN. The last 10 minutes of this episode in particular had me ugly crying into @margarittet and @tinkdw‘s laps. In fact, every time I rewatch this episode I cry again. As we are introduced to Jack, we say goodbye to Castiel, and my god, I will never get over watching Dean Winchester wrap the body of his angel in preparation for the pyre and try so hard to keep it together. Same Dean. Same.

66. 13.05 Advanced Thanatology

Where Lost and Found broke my heart, Advanced Thanatology stamped on the shattered pieces until the final seconds in which it magically pulled me back together again. This episode was the climactic end to a 5 episode mini grief arc for Dean who just couldn’t get over Castiel’s death. In this episode, we realise just how badly that death has affected Dean, as he foolishly risks his life in his desperation for any kind of win he can get. Episode highlights include a brilliant performance from Billie who has assumed the role of Death as she knocks some sense into Dean, and the final dramatic return of Castiel, proving that “it’s never too late to start all over again”.

67. 13.06 Tombstone

Following 5 episodes of extreme angst and pain, the audience is finally given some relief in this joyful episode which sees the reunited Winchesters take their new son on a trip to cowboy country. Honestly it’s worth watching purely for Castiel’s attempt at playing cowboy to make Dean happy, and Sam Winchesters knowing looks as he pointedly calls out Dean’s dramatic 180 turn from uber depressive to ecstatic happiness following his angels return to the world of the living. Bonus points for this episode getting the hashtag #brokebacksupernatural trending on Twitter.

68. 13.10 Wayward Sisters

The episode that should have kicked off a whole new spin off were it not for the idiotic decisions of a group of suited white guys with no concept of what decent TV is nowadays. Yes I’m still bitter, Yes Mark Pedowitz can go to hell. Wayward Sisters was a brilliant episode that gave us a whole new generation of badass hunting women, and a story that I was 100% invested in seeing more of. It’s a damn tragedy this never got picked up for its own series.

69. 13.16 Scoobynatural

I can’t write a list of top episodes without adding Scoobynatural. The three Winchester boys find themselves zapped into TV land and meet the Scooby Gang. This episode was just hilarious and brilliant. Bonus points for Castiel’s bond with Shaggy and Scooby, and only a minor deduction for Dean’s over the top flirting with Daphne.

70. 13.21 Beat the Devil

In true Supernatural fashion, as the end of the season gets closer, the tension builds to extreme levels. In the apocalypse world the Winchesters try to find and save Jack and Mary, but Lucifer is on their tails. An unexpected attack leads to a highly traumatic and shocking scene in which Sam is killed and a distraught Dean is only pulled away from further danger by a terrified Castiel. The final scene of this episode in which Lucifer resurrects Sam in a truly horrific display of power over his former victim and vessel is haunting and brilliantly acted by Jared Padalecki. The fear he radiates around Lucifer being the only thing that allows me to continue to take the devil seriously at this point in the show.

71. 14.08 Byzantium

I know what you are going to say, I have skipped a BIG chunk of episodes in my list. I have to be honest here and admit that the season 13 finale was possibly one of the worst episodes in Supernatural history and I can’t in good conscience add it to this list. I also think that the writers struggled to pull themselves back up to the high standard of early season 13 after that dreadful finale, so the first half of Season 14 always felt a bit dull for me, however Byzantium does make up for it, in it’s emotional story of how Sam, Dean, and Castiel all deal with the death of their son. The highlights of this episode have to be the scenes in heaven, where Jack reunites with his mother Kelly, and Castiel finds them both in her own piece of paradise in another tear-jerking scene. Castiel’s deal with the creature from the Empty leaving Cas fans everywhere horrified and distraught, but also rather excited at what exactly may trigger the deadly deal. Hopefully this plot point will be picked up next season, as it is definitely highly anticipated.

72. 14.10 Nihilism

Another dream episode for any Dean fans who like to analyse his beautifully deep and layered psyche. Sam and Cas must dive into Dean’s mind in order to free him from the archangel Michael. What they find is worth several essay’s of analysis on this fascinating and wonderful character. Dean’s bar; surrounded by symbols and hints of his life and a very apt song put on repeat - Will Dean ever get his rainbow ending? Only one more season to go until we find out.

73. 14.14 Ouroboros

Following all the drama and separation of the Winchester family, they finally all reunite in this episode to hunt a gorgon. I always prefer the episodes where Sam, Dean, Cas, and Jack all work together, and this episode explores the group dynamic perfectly. The gorgon is a charismatic villain who taunts our heroes and has them all fighting to keep up with him. Put it simply this is just a fun episode and exactly what we want from our MOTW episodes in the new Supernatural era.

74. 14.15 Peace of Mind

Just like the previous episode, Peace of Mind is simply one of the more fun and enjoyable episodes of the season. So much so in fact that I have probably re-watched it a dozen times because I loved it so much. In a rare team up between Sam and Cas, they find themselves stuck in a Pleasantville type place. Hilarity ensues, and poor Sam gets himself stuck in a 1950s style marriage and a sweater vest. Castiel reads some raunchy erotica and enjoys it. You will find yourselves laughing at “H-E-double hockey sticks” for hours afterwards. A must watch lighthearted episode in an otherwise dark season.

75. 14.20 Moriah

The season 14 finale was certainly one of the more epic finales we have had, and a meta masterpiece penned by showrunner Andrew Dabb. As Dean’s anger and grief following Mary’s death only deepens, and the rift between him and Castiel continues, it is Sam who discovers that all this time, for their entire lives, they have all been nothing more than characters in a world created by a cruel and manipulative writer God. Chuck’s return and reveal as the villain of the entire show came as a shock to many fans who saw him as a beloved fan favourite, but to many others, myself included, this reveal harmonises this entire story and the Winchesters long and traumatic journey and blows my mind at just how perfect it all is. God Was Never On Your Side, and this has always been a show to stress the importance of free will in a Godless world.

*chef’s kiss*

Bring on Season 15.

#supernatural #top 75 episodes #spn meta #destiel #dean winchester #castiel #sam winchester #supernatural episode summaries #my opinions #seriously these are just my opinions #and I had so much fun writing this #and i am kinda proud of it #my stuff

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mysterylover123 · 4 years

Text

Mysterylover watches Bleach Episodes 110-111

mysterylover 123

1. As far as I can tell based on the Filler List guide and Wikipedia, this is where Bleach picks up with the Manga canon after about 50 episodes of filler. So let’s hope I’m not totally lost!

2. New OP. Has some kinda edgy imagery and a nice song, but not much else to say about it.

3. WOW what a set of opening shots though. Mummy in a dungeon. Shadows around rocks. Spooky! (I’m pretty sure this is a hollow)

4. We catch up with Ichi at school and Orihime, Chad and Ishida are now a cute squad of friends alongside him (where’s Tatsuki?) And weird dude confirms that the Soul Society arc happened over Summer Break.

5. THERE’S TATSUKI! and Orihime’s admirer. Who she defends her from. Tatsuki needs to be let in on this pack, dammit! She’s Ichigo’s friend too. And Ichigo’s dad and sisters are back too! The whole gang’s here

6. Huh, you know, there is some Ichigo/Tatsuki vibes going on in this scene, since they be Childhood Friends and all that. This double date thing between Ichi/Ishi and Hime/Tatsuki just gets stronger by the episode.

7. Since Tatsuki can see through the Mist or whatever is obscuring humans from seeing Soul Reaper things, does that mean she’s going to join the squad? (Pretty please? one can dream).

8. Hime and Chad come with Ichigo but sadly they just stand on the sidelines. Ichigo points out that they didn’t need to and Hime is like “LOLS I just wanted to.” She and Ichi worry a bit about Uryu apparently being out of commission now (uh-oh). Damn. Also there’s a guy with the stereotypical German haircut hanging from the sky and spying on them.

9. Karakura high school is apparently the name of the school the squad attends. And German Bowl Cut is here now. I guess this guy is gonna be important? (also Ichigo is sitting and brooding about Uryu, because ShonenRivals).

10. German Bowl Cut Instantly sits next to Ichigo and smirks at him, right after he seemed to say “I want to sit next to a cute girl”. Guess you’ll have to settle for cute guy, dude.

11. HAHA Ichi’s pocket thing goes off like an alarm when Hollows are near. Ichigo has a Bat Signal. And crap, Teddy Bear Mineta is in his body again. Dammit Teddy Bear Mineta don’t you go ruining Ichi’s rep. (he’s only 16, he don’t have a rep yet.)

12. CRAP bowlcut tries to kill Ichi while his back is turned. He has a grin a lot like Grinning Guy (Gin Ichimaru, I should probably start calling him by his real name since he is important.) And uh-oh bad hollows are targeting Ichigo’s boyfriend too. Clearly they’ve been paying attention.

13. HAHA GORILLA HOLLOW MISTAKES TEDDY BEAR MINETA IN ICHIGO’S BODY FOR THE REAL DEAL. HAHA JOKE’S ON YOU TEDDY BEAR MINETA.

14. Ooh it looks like we’re finally gonna get an explanation for Crazy SkullFace ichigo from the climax of last arc! BOUT TIME. Also Ishida needs to fight shirtless now apparently. Not that I’m complaining.

15. URYUDAD is here! I’m fully prepared to see you join the holy pantheon of BAD SHONEN DADS (trademark) dude. I seem to recall that you’re a massive prick. And also Uryu’s shirt is still unbuttoned. Because Fanservice.

16. OK UryuDad is offering to restore his son’s Powers. So what’s the catch dude? I’m sure you’re planning something. (Also Uryu Dad is drawn so he looks about 18 years old. He looks like UryuBro instead). And he’s about to turn IchiUryu into a Forbidden Love Ship by telling Uryu to ‘stay away from Soul Reapers’.)

17. Ichigo is now fighting GorillaHollow (the real Ichigo) which doesn’t seem like a really whacky fight in particular.

18. ICHIDAD IS ALSO A REAPER WHOA SINCE WHEN HOW LONG OMG YAS GO SHOW URYUDAD HOW TO BE A SHONEN ACTION DAD ICHIDAD IT’S YOUR TIME TO SHINE.

19. Also Ichigo Re-jects German Bowl Cut. (He’s taken, dude.) Who is probably not going to take rejection well. OK Bowl cut’s name is Hirako, but I think I will still refer to him as German Bowl Cut until he reveals more about himself.

20. ISHIDAD KNOWS ALL. HE’S JUST THE COOLEST. (did he already know about this, or did I miss it, or was it something that happened in the filler drought? either way, WOWSA) “ARRANCAR” is namedropped. I’ve heard that term. This must be the “arrancar” arc. Cool cool. That one seems to be popular. Seems I’m in for a good ride. (and IchiDad shows Gorilla hollow who’s boss and that Size Don’t Matter. Good show.)

#mysterylover watches bleach #ichigo kurosaki #orihime inoue #ishida uryuu #tatsuki #chad #ishidad is like one of the only shonen dads #who isn't the worst #or dead #the high school setting is back #ishiuryu is back #and also tatsuhime #and we're starting a new a rc #honestly i have no idae #what this arc is gonna #be about #aside from ishida and ichigo both having daddy issues #so bring it on

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thebiblesalesman · 5 years

Audio

All the Lore I Know About Tekhartha Zenyatta (with sources)

This probably isn’t everything the entire fandom knows- I’m sure people have worked out things that I haven’t -but this is everything I know as of June 2, 2019.

1. Zenyatta was built either after the Omnic Crisis or during its final days.

2051* - Omnic Crisis begins. 205x (2056 max)** - Omnic Crisis ends. 2056 - Zenyatta built. 2076*** - Overwatch Recall / Death of Mondatta.

*Metzen said the Omnic Crisis began 30 years ago, Chu said it began 25 years ago; Chu is the most recent source.

**Orisa’s hero profile indicates that one of her predecessor models was decommissioned 20 years ago "after the war”, putting a maximum Crisis end date of 2056.

***Metzen said in 2014 that the game takes place “60 years” in the future, but for my sanity I am advancing that date 2 years to match the release year of the game.

Zenyatta is 15 years younger than his student, Genji. Zenyatta’s “Shell” spray, seen above, was part of an Archives 2017 spray set that showed heroes as young children.

+ playoverwatch.com, Zenyatta Hero Profile + playoverwatch.com, Orisa Hero Profile + Chris Metzen, Overwatch Unveiled Panel, Blizzcon 2014 + Michael Chu, Blizzard Forums, 2016/8/17

2. Zenyatta, along with the rest of the Shambali, were already outcasts when they had their spiritual awakening.

You can figure this one out through a careful reading of Zenyatta’s hero profile:

Years ago, following the Omnic Crisis, a group of outcast omnic robots experienced what they described as a spiritual awakening. They abandoned their preprogrammed lives to establish a communal monastery deep in the Himalayas.

I’ve noticed a lot of people get this confused, and think Zenyatta was outcast from the Shambali order, but that is not the case. The Shambali were collectively unwanted before their enlightenment. Cultist Zenyatta describes his pre-monastery status as “No one of note. Just one of thousands like me.”

What does “preprogrammed” mean? There’s a good example in the Retribution mission. At the end of the mission, players encounter a host omnic at an outdoor restaurant. Regardless of the disastrous situation in Venice at the time, the host has a few dialogues about dinner reservations, menu specials, etc. The host makes discomforted noises if players attack them, but never attempts to defend themselves. They sometimes even ask “would you like to know the specials?” as they are dying. This is not because the host is unintelligent, but because they have a program in place defining their actions. The host has yet to experience a moment of clarity that allows them to move beyond their original programming.

Understanding one’s own programming does not automatically result in a Shambali either. Theirs was a spiritually-oriented path, but an omnic realizing how they are being taken advantage of can also lead to unrest, or movements like Null Sector. Overcoming original programming (with various results) is a constant theme for all omnic heroes, from Bastion to Orisa.

--[SPECULATION: Despite being built as civilian models with similar modes of operation to the waiters, clerks, and laborers we have seen in various Overwatch media, it is possible that most of the Shambali were unwanted when they finally emerged due to post-war conflict between humans and omnics. They had programming telling them to accomplish a particular task, but they could never act on it. This could explain why they appear to have had a collective epiphany about their nature and moved as a group to establish their monastery.]

--[QUESTION: Omnica Corporation and the omniums were already shut down for fraudulent production claims before the Crisis started. Who was continuing to make new omnics even during the war, and by what method? Was Zenyatta built in an omnium, or by a more traditional method like an assembly line, or hand-built like Orisa?

We also know that omnics are continuing to be made today, such as the “child” companion omnic seen on the Blizzardworld ride poster, or the OR15s.]

--[QUESTION: Where was Zenyatta built? His hero profile only indicates that the Shambali established their monastery in the Himalayas. It gives no indication on how far they traveled to reach that location.]

+ playoverwatch.com, Zenyatta Hero Profile + Junkenstein’s Revenge 2018, Cultist Interactions + Glen Brogan, Overlord Transport Poster, 2018/1/23

3. For Zenyatta, the term “brother/sister” has multiple possible contexts.

--[SPECULATION: Zenyatta uses “brother/sister” in the traditional religious context when referring to other Shambali. But from the previous point in this list we know that the Shambali were already together in a group when they had their spiritual awakening, so it’s possible that they were all built in the same place at around the same time. This would also be a form of siblinghood.

Zenyatta and the other Shambali may consider all omnics as part of their “family”/in a state of camaraderie with them, hence why Zenyatta refers to Orisa as his sister despite her not being a monk. Zenyatta only ever refers to Bastion as “my friend”, but Bastion has no gender so it may simply be the easiest non-gendered replacement for the endearment.]

+ Zenyatta, Voicelines

4. The Shambali established their sanctum in the ruins of an ancient, preexisting monastery.

+ Overwatch Visual Sourcebook, Environments: Nepal

5. Zenyatta’s name...is Zenyatta. “Tekhartha” is a title. Mondatta also had this title.

--[QUESTION: Is the “Tekhartha” title something every Shambali takes upon joining the order, or is it a rank indicative of leadership? The term is a portmanteau of “technology” and “Siddhartha”, the name of the child who would become Buddha.]

+ Michael Chu, Blizzard Forums, 2018/5/25

6. Mondatta was Zenyatta’s master/mentor...maybe.*

*This might seem like a gimme considering Mondatta is the spiritual leader of the entire Shambali religion, but Zenyatta only ever refers to him as his brother in the main game. It’s in his Cultist incarnation that he describes himself as “following in my Master’s footsteps, searching for enlightenment”.

Wisp (Tracer) also refers to Mondatta as Cultist’s master. Mondatta certainly carries himself like someone older than Zenyatta- not that age confers wisdom, but it’s part of Mondatta’s professorial aesthetic. Zenyatta’s profile unhelpfully describes him as “enigmatic”, but this just brings us back to the question of whether or not the Shambali were all built at the same time and from the same facility. So the crux of this point is whether or not you think Cultist’s story is a reference to real-world history, or if it is AU-only.

The Halloween stories have their own little worlds with their own little plot arcs (at least in my head ;)). Obviously there are some (intentional) similarities to the real world, but it’s not intended to be one to one. [Michael Chu]

+ playoverwatch.com, Zenyatta Hero Profile + Junkenstein’s Revenge 2018, Cultist Interactions + Michael Chu, Twitter Comments, 2018/10/9

7. Zenyatta’s metal orbs were hand-carved at the Shambali monastery and are used to channel omnic energy.

+ Overwatch Visual Sourcebook, Zenyatta

8. Zenyatta’s abilities as shown in the game exist for “gameplay reasons”, but he is canonically able to heal others by an unknown method.

The Mercy interaction is what explicitly confirms Zenyatta’s healing abilities, but I threw in the Moira one because it is such a wonderful display of character. Moira does not immediately see a scientific explanation for Zenyatta’s abilities, and Zenyatta reframes the question to propose that truly understanding how he functions is the same as understanding how he exists, which is not a physical phenomenon a scientist could observe and measure to resolve with a hypothesis.

Zenyatta is hardly an enemy of the scientific method. He’s just not sure how it can answer the spiritual questions he’s interested in. Upon visiting Oasis he will actually wonder aloud “Can science alone unlock the path to enlightenment?”

Check the Bonus section below for a Cultist interaction that also describes Zenyatta’s abilities as non-magical, but also non-technological.

--[SPECULATION: Zenyatta’s levitation is also a non-technological function. Everything that floats in Overwatch leaves a trace, such as jet trails or blue hover-rings. Everything except Zenyatta. The dude just cruises around on pure enlightenment, which is a trope in both Hinduism and Buddhism.

Zenyatta was originally given the ability to float to distinguish him from other heroes (see the Development section below), but as a character there is no reason for him to artificially give himself the ability to float. Remember that Zenyatta does not seek recognition for his spiritual status. It’s more like a side effect.]

+ Zenyatta and Mercy Interaction added in October 2018 + Zenyatta and Moira Interaction added in October 2018 + Junkenstein’s Revenge 2018, Cultist Interactions + Jeff Kaplan, “Blizzard’s Jeff Kaplan Answers Questions from Twitter” by Wired/Youtube [07:39], 2017/5/17

9. Zenyatta’s disagreement with the direction of the Shambali religion was not his primary reason for leaving the monastery. He left because he wanted to learn by traveling the world. He remained on good terms with Mondatta and the rest of the Shambali after his departure.

--[SPECULATION: After Mondatta’s death, Zenyatta’s relationship with the remaining Shambali may have become more strained due to his long-standing opposition to Mondatta’s approach and his long absence from the monastery. This would explain why despite his good terms with the other monks, he wonders if he would be welcome in Nepal.] --[SPECULATION: Genji and Zenyatta are shown spending Christmas in Nepal the year of the Recall. I hesitate even putting this as speculation honestly. I think Zenyatta did finally reconnect with his brothers and sisters the Christmas after Mondatta died, perhaps following Genji’s lead since the monastery is Genji’s home at this point. However since I can only find architectural similarities and not an exact location that matches the comic I guess the devs reserve the right to pop back in 2 years from now and say “actually they were in Singapore.” (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻] + Jeff Kaplan, Summarized comments via Manolo Rosenberg/Twitter.com, 2017/11/9 + Nepal Map, Zenyatta Voicelines + Nepal Map, Genji Voicelines + Comic: Reflections, 2016/12/20

10. Zenyatta and the other Shambali monks use cooking as a tool to encourage empathy between humans and omnics, even if they themselves cannot eat.

+ Overwatch: The Official Cookbook, Til Ko Laddu Sesame Sweets Recipe, ETA 2019/10/1

11. Zenyatta’s belt has the word “zen” written in Japanese on the tassel.

In earlier concept art, the word “zen” was on Zenyatta’s orbs instead, and it was written in Chinese. The word changed languages and locations later in development. “Zen” itself originates from Zen Buddhism, a Buddhist school from China that emphasizes the act of learning over the doctrine of what is learned, making it a very good fit for Zenyatta, his conflict with the Shambali, and his method of teaching through interaction rather than reciting dogma.

--[SPECULATION: Genji gave the belt to him to signify their bond, or they traveled in Japan together at some point and acquired it then.] --[SPECULATION: The tattered scrap of cream cloth under Zenyatta’s belt is also emblematic of a bond- his life with the Shambali.] + Zenyatta Reference Kit + Overwatch Visual Sourcebook, Zenyatta

Zenyatta Development Notes

If you have ever watched the “Making A Hero” panels from Blizzcon or gone through The Art of Overwatch concept book, you know that heroes tend to arise from one of three domains: 1) Narrative need - for example, Ana had a backstory long before the team figured out how to integrate her into the game, 2) Gameplay need - ex. Junkrat was created because the devs wanted an indirect damage dealer, 3) Conceptual art inspiration - Zenyatta and Zarya both originated from drawings organized around a particular theme, “cyber monk” and “physically strong female character” in their respective cases.

This led to Zenyatta’s initial development as a martial artist, with a powerful physicality. Despite a lot of iterations, the team decided his intimidating presence was too much like other heroes in the game, and they began turning him into more of an “enlightened sage” trope, skinny with the ability to levitate to further set him apart from other heroes. His original concept with many arms lives on in his Transcendence ultimate.

Originally his orbs were meant to be physically fired at enemies, but facing technical challenges such as figuring out how he would reload, the devs changed the orbs so that they would unlock and fire energy at enemies instead. This approach also lent itself to abilities like the Orbs of Harmony and Discord.

youtube

Above: Video of Baoding balls, metal balls with a distinctive chiming sound used in China for hand exercise

In terms of philosophical and religious concepts, Zenyatta is kinda all over the Eastern cultural map. He’s got two sprays referencing Korean martial arts and games, he’s got two skins referencing Chinese characters, another pair referencing the Egyptian sun god, and another pair for Arabian jinn. According to The Art of Overwatch his legendaries at launch were themed around “enlightened mythological figures”, which the devs felt suited his sage archetype.

Above: Photo of a building in Pashupatinath, a Hindu temple complex in Kathmandu, Nepal

The Shambali religion takes mostly from Buddhism, though the village below the Shambali monastery invokes Newa architecture. The Newari are a group of indigenous Nepali people who mostly practice Hinduism. It’s not unheard of for philosophies and religions to mix and expand on each other, and a multicultural background may be appropriate for Zenyatta who is a wanderer searching for knowledge, but it does make tracking down particular influences on his character a little boggling at times.

I realize I haven’t covered the mudras (ritual hand gestures) Zenyatta uses yet, but considering the length of this post and how image-intensive that would be, I will in fact let you google those on your own, or perhaps I will make a separate post about it at some point.

Bonus Section: The Cultist Conundrum

As part of Junkenstein’s Revenge 2018, Zenyatta’s Cultist character got 10+ new interactions, many of which don’t seem to reference his Cultist nature very closely. There are several that illuminate Cultist’s relationship with the Swordsman (Genji), some that indicate the Cultist is seeking to help others through their troubles just like Zenyatta, and one interaction that takes on a more ominous tone. To be honest it’s a wonderful exploration of a hero, but since it’s trapped in the Junkenstein’s Revenge AU, we have no way of knowing what’s ultimately true about it for the less cephalopodian version of Zenyatta.

All that said, I think these interactions are just really really good, so I’m going to include them in this post.

Shieldmaiden: Your master is a mysterious-looking fellow. Swordsman: I have learned much from him, but little about him.

Genji wants the lore bombs too btw.

Shieldmaiden: What do you make of the monk? Viking: I do not trust him and his strange gods.

Listening back to the audio of this, the Viking is very specifically saying gods, plural. Polytheism is a big part of Hinduism and to a lesser extent a part of Buddhism, but this is more likely a reference to Cultist’s eldritch origins, the “Great Old Ones” of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos. It’s also an echo of Torbjörn‘s opinion of the Shambali religion in the main game (“It's like a culmination of a thousand of my worst nightmares!”).

Shieldmaiden: Why did you come here? Cultist: I am following in my Master’s footsteps, searching for enlightenment, though my path has not always been a straight one.

I discussed this earlier as being one of the references to Mondatta as Zenyatta’s mentor. We know he is referring to Mondatta due to a separate conversation with Wisp:

Wisp: How can you trust the Countess after she slew your master? Cultist: Did I say I trusted her?

I recommend hopping on Youtube and giving this interaction a listen if you have never heard it before. As we know from this and other main game interactions, Tracer is extremely pissed about what happened to Mondatta, and views the outcome as her own fault. In this case she actually takes that anger out on Cultist, enraged that he could remain so calm with Countess (Widowmaker) herself at his side. For his part, Cultist is quick to differentiate cooperation from trust. Perhaps the most unfortunate part about the additions to Junkenstein’s Revenge 2018 is that the Countess has no interactions with anyone, so there is no elaboration on Cultist’s thoughts about her.

Shieldmaiden: Is it magic that you do? Cultist: It is not magic, but the power of the spirit that I channel.

Whyisn’tthisjustanormalBrigitteandZenyattainteractionFROWNYFACE. This interaction tells us that spiritual energy is not magic by Overwatch standards. That’s a close alignment with Eastern cultural views, and a clarification from Western ones where anything supernatural is by its nature a form of magic (very fitting that Brigitte is the one asking the question).

To maybe explain this a little better, let’s look at a popular TV show like Dragon Ball Z. Despite Goku having supernatural powers, no one refers to him as a witch or wizard. He instead is considered a manipulator of life energy. Did you feel bad reading this? I felt bad writing it. But I think it’s a good way to differentiate the concepts, especially for anyone who is really hung up on the “Overwatch has no magic!” preconception and then has to reconcile characters like the Shimadas or Zenyatta.

The primary issue with this interaction is its context: Cultist is said to “answer to a foreboding presence- a force beyond mortal understanding”. This is another Lovecraft reference, but it creates a background that doesn’t really match with Cultist’s spirit-oriented response. Maybe he means “the Spirit” with a capital S, but I have a suspicion that this is a regular Zenyatta answer sneaking into the Junkenstein AU.

Shieldmaiden: How is it you have barely broken a sweat? Cultist: It must be my many years of training, simple diet, and careful way of life.

BLESS YOU BRIGITTE. Reminder that the guy she’s asking this question of looks like this:

Swordsman: Watch yourself Master! I cannot mind your back at all times. Cultist: Do you think me so helpless? Swordsman: Battle is not your way.

I like this interaction more for what it tells us about Genji. He’s protective of Zenyatta, not so much because he views Zenyatta as weak, but because he knows Zenyatta would prefer not to fight at all. He wants Zenyatta to live his ideal life rather than the one reality necessitates. This is another interaction that doesn’t quite mesh with the general concept of the Cultist- an outcast who would do anything for forbidden knowledge. I suppose it’s possible that despite his frightening appearance and the broken manacles dangling off his limbs, he is actually benevolent. This concept is echoed in another of the Swordsman’s interactions with him:

Swordsman: It is strange to see you taking part in the battle, Master. Cultist: There are times even I cannot stand by.

I guess Genji already forgot about that robo-spider chilling in a cave that they both decided to beat up for some reason.

Cultist: A pause in the battle. An opportunity to recenter our minds. Swordsman: I am centered.

This interaction starts showing us the other side of the coin- that Zenyatta is trying to advise Genji as best he can on how to proceed through the fight without letting his emotions take control. Genji reacts uh...emotionally.

Cultist: Take care that you do not spend yourself before the battle is done. Swordsman: I am only just getting started!

Genji, in both these cases, is showing himself to be a little prideful.

Van Helsing: You some sorta...holy man? Cultist: Simply a traveler, in search of purpose and meaning. Van Helsing: Aren’t we all.

This goes back to that Zen Buddhism idea that what is important is the act of learning or the journey to an answer, and not the answer itself or what the act of learning causes you to become. In this case, as in the main Overwatch universe, Zenyatta is probably aware that “holy man” is a title conferring a certain deference upon him, and he has no need for that- in fact it may be detrimental. Mondatta’s adoring flocks are never something he has desired.

Cultist: Some believe that the full moon is a good omen. Van Helsing: Maybe...if you’re a werewolf.

Zenyatta, in his Cultist role or otherwise, happily soaks up surrounding cultures. Here he’s bouncing an idea off McCree that he hasn’t embraced himself (”some believe”), but he picked it up somewhere and upon noticing his environment, seeks to learn more from whoever is available to answer. When this interaction plays, it’s always the first interaction of the game- so Cultist is trying to instill confidence for the fight ahead too. McCree isn’t having any of it though.

Viking: Who were you before you entered the monastery? Cultist: No one of note. Just one of thousands like me. But one moment of clarity changed everything.

New lore: Zenyatta worked at McDonalds and then one day he saw god and god asked for some chicken mcnuggies.

Viking: I find your religion unnerving, monk. Cultist: My beliefs are simply in the fundamental ways of life and nature, nothing more.

You coming out here telling me the Cultist and not just regular old Zenyatta is the one saying this, Jeff? (To be fair, I never personally witnessed the Cultist’s response to the Viking’s comment playing in-game- it’s something that seemingly only exists in datamined content.)

Viking: Single-mindedness of Dr. Junkenstein’s creations reminds me of your own! Cultist: You wound me. Viking: Is that even possible?

Cultist confirmed to have inherited regular Zenyatta’s sass. I would also like to use this space to point out that Cultist has more interactions with Shieldmaiden, Swordsman, Viking, and Wisp than Zenyatta does with Brigitte, Genji, Torbjörn , and Tracer. If you want the Zenyatta juice, you really have to look at Cultist closely.

Cultist: You blame yourself for the dragon’s reign of terror, but it is not your fault. Viking: You weren’t there, monk. You don’t know about my failure.

Squid Zenyatta is still trying to help people out. We learn through some of the Viking’s other interactions that his home village was destroyed by a dragon. This might be interesting as a clue to Torbjörn‘s real-life history, but the dragons of Junkenstein’s Revenge don’t necessarily equate to the Omnic Crisis.

Cultist: Rarely has my path crossed a warrior as cheerful as you. Viking: When you’ve seen as much as I have, either you laugh, or you go mad.

Note that any interaction between Cultist and Viking that the Viking starts is very antagonistic/accusatory, but he actually relaxes when Cultist does not reply in turn. There’s a paternalistic vibe.

Wisp: I don’t think I’ve ever seen you sleep! Cultist: Meditation is all I require to sustain myself.

Fun fact!: a small number of Buddhist monks practiced extreme forms of asceticism where they reduced food and water intake to a stopping point, had their apprentices bury them alive in a box filled with charcoal or salt, and meditated until their deaths. This act of self-mummification was thought to allow the monk to remain in eternal spiritual contemplation.

Wisp: Would you tell me more about your religion? Cultist: Our purpose is to show everyone that in the Iris, we are all one people.

Another interaction that honestly would not seem out of place in the normal game, except that Tracer presumably knows about or even practices the Shambali religion already, given her attendance at Mondatta’s speech. At the very least she empathizes with the Shambali’s goals.

Cultist: When I gazed into the Iris, I found a great nothingness. It changed me. You must have experienced the same. Wisp: That is not what I saw!

At last, a properly creepy Cultist interaction! So through some other conversations we learn that Wisp was a traveler torn from her body by a magical catastrophe, and she now inhabits the world as a ghostly wraith. Cultist interprets this to mean she passed through the Iris, and that the nothingness there is responsible for her transformation (just as it was for his? I wonder what he looked like before).

The “nothingness” he talks about may actually be less sinister than it sounds. There is the aspect that comes from Cthulhu stories, the idea of death as an infinite void, and the madness that may result from gazing too long into an abyss. Yes, that is terrifying.

But there is a nearby word, “emptiness”, that has a great deal of meaning in the various schools of Buddhism. The basic idea is that no being or thing in the universe possesses an intrinsic nature, that nothing stands alone but rather is woven together with all other things (does this sound familiar yet?). The Sanskrit word for this concept is sunyata.

So yeah, maybe Cultist isn’t so bad. Maybe he’s just a little misunderstood.

#overwatch #zenyatta #shambali #omnic #myrestxt

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megamanxfanfics · 5 years

Text

The End of Season V

Happy Independence Day!!!! Season V is finally Finished!!!!!

As we close out this last arc, I wanted to make some final thoughts, before I say goodbye to X5 forever!

----------------------------------Ep. 13--------------------------------------------

I said just about everything I want to say about this one already. [See previous entry] The only thing I’ll say is that it was really hard to keep any of the original narrative without making X & Zero’s relationship irreparable.

----------------------------------Ep. 14------------------------------------------

This was interesting! Having a true Aftermath episode, after years of wondering what I might write next.

X needed to recover, and the world needed.. rediscovering on our part. We know that the World was heavily damaged from X5 and the X6 intro, but we never get to explore just how much, from the games.

I had some fun exploring this through some final Dynamo continuity and of course, I took advantage of this with some final Gate continuity. In Dynamo’s case, he won! This is it!! He got everything he wanted. But now he’s left with this empty feeling inside. ‘Now what...’

As for Gate, he’s just happy he’s alive and surprised at Isoc for keeping that mysterious barrier tech from Serges. [The irony of this statement is not lost on me.] There is a lot more that Isoc knows, that he isn’t letting on. Gate remembers that Isoc liked to dumpster dive for parts after a fortress would be destroyed in the past. We saw this in Xtreme 2. That is why he suspects nothing of Isoc having X-Hunter tech. Moreover, now they can continue to rebuild his reploids and take over the Research Community. By force!

I love how at this point, everyone wants to reshape the World. Not so much, Dynamo. He just wants to enjoy it. But Gate & Isoc have the Elite Reploid vision. We find out Zero’s motivations later. And X, we know wants a World where reploids and humans co-exist in peace; this would later be called Elysium.

Back at Hunter Base, while X is asleep and recovering, I had a.. tough time dealing with Alia and the Rescued Reploids. A little bit of Pre-X6 spilled in here, but the dialogue was all over the place. I had Reploids reacting very aggressively, or Alia being too bossy and I recall having to edit it down a lot. I attempted to keep the reactions as real as possible, because absolute strangers wouldn’t just automatically volunteer to be Maverick Hunters. No matter how grateful they are for being rescued, they don’t owe you anything.

When we cut back to Zero, I had a blast writing him fly through the Zero Space 1 level. There is no threat, and as far as Sigma is concerned, he is Home. So of course there would be no lasers, firing at him. But then I saw an opportunity at the boss lair that I couldn’t pass up. This gave me a new writing motif for Ep. 15.

Back to X, he’s back up! And sooner than expected!! This was the first time I had to write an item-grab episode. And honestly, it was kinda fun! This part of it woke the episode up a little bit. It was fun to write nostalgic settings like, Adler’s Lab and Dr. Glow’s Fortress. It was also neat to explore X’s new Gaea Armor in a more peaceful way. As we slowly warm up to the idea that X can traverse through spikes and bash through unbreakable blocks, like a Mech.

I had to give us some kind of stakes at the end of X’s item grab mission, in Dino-Rex’s well. X reverts to his base armor and tests out the Speedster chip, as he needs it to grab a heart-tank before lava can hit him.

That was fun. But then, when X got home it got complicated. The job well done was short-lived, before he was introduced to the new recruits BY NAME. [Yes, I spent some time looking up usable names from the X6 Rescued Reploid list.] That conversation itself, reminded X of Zero which makes him cry... Then, it got weird. Emotions were a little all over the place, so I edited it as needed, but Signas was the saving grace here. He introduced the idea that X might not need to kill Zero, but just save him. The same way he did in X2.

Either way, X is nervous, but he goes in after Zero to finish what he's started.

---------------------------------Ep. 15----------------------------------------------

This was an awesome episode, that covered more ground than I thought it would. X explores all of Zero Space Stage 1, with all the bells and whistles. Lasers and mechaniloids are flying after him left and right. X needs to use the Dark Hold and go in his base form, because the Gaea Armor is too slow. [This caused enough of problem IRL when I was doing my research playthroughs.]

But once X got to the first boss, I had fun. I took us back to 2 hours ago, while X was sleeping. This is where Zero tore up the Shadow Devil like he was nothing. And due to his clear knowledge of crammed Megaman History, he knows exactly who the Shadow Devil is, and it’s legacy to Wily Creatures.

When X learns that Zero destroyed this creature, he is instantly optimistic that he can bring Zero back, but Alia warns him not to feel that way.

Then we stay in the past with Zero for Z-Space Stage 2. [At this point all the Mavericks were spawned by Sigma and Zero cleared them all, so for X these stages were a breeze, barring the first one, where Zero wasn’t a threat to Sigma yet.] Despite Zero having to deal with Mavericks, this was not your average stage direction play through. Zero had all these game breaking powers that I could use to my advantage and keep things interesting, and I did!

I really wanted X to fight the Rangda Bangda though. So I came up with something for Zero to get through the room. Sigma just introduces himself in that room and taunts him, letting him through. “Welcome home, boy! I'm gonna enjoy working with you...”

Meanwhile, X deals with SIgma’s death trap. Only, the Gaea Armor easily lets him get through it without too much trouble at all.

From Zero’s perspective, we find out a lot of his motivations and realize that he gets more and more tired every time he uses his God-Virus powers. With a final flight to the gate, he is exhausted and all of the fighting he's done with X, the Shadow Devil and the mechaniloids up until now has finally taken it’s toll on him. As he enters an empty room, Zero is confused, but also takes this moment to rest.

Meanwhile, X catches up to him, about 2 hours later. Zero has now gotten a nap in, and the two are locked in the room together.

-----------------------------------Ep. 16-------------------------------------------------

The fated duel was upon us again!

The whole point of Battle of 2 Fates in the first place, was to skip this part. But years later, my narrative has changed, and here we were.

I decided to turn it on it’s head though. By this point, my version of Awakened Zero was really starting to come into his own. He has revealed that this is His life and he is going to do what he wants. The Old Man doesn’t control him, and neither do the Maverick Hunters. And Sigma is still his target.

2 out of 3 ain’t bad. X just has to work on that last part and maybe they can salvage this friendship. Minus the whole controlling thing.

So Zero tells X this. He has his own dreams. Zero wants to live in a World where he rules over the survivors and guides them into a new era where the word Maverick doesn’t exist.

While, not terrible, this is too impure for X. There’s still something evil lurking in there, and now his data is untraceable like Sigma. It doesn't help that Zero wants to make the Fallen Colony his home and is willing to align with whomever survives, Maverick or not.

It is not only for this reason that X decides to take him on. He does want to save Zero. Like I said, 2 out of the 3 things are there. If he can just do what he did in Season II, maybe it’ll all work out.

Well... that move never gets to happen.

I had a lot of fun making new fight choreography for this. I pulled out all the stops, this time. I even kept old fight choreography from the remainder of Battle of 2 Fates, but in all honesty, it wasn’t much. And what was kept was already shaved down into something completely different.

So with that said, I really went for it. Charged X4 & X5 weapons alike, using that Ultimate Buster chip like Alia & Douglas suggested in episode 14. It was all happening, now. And then... it was over!

11 pages too soon, too!

But fuck it. I didn't need to pad this. And I wasn’t going to cram and rush 2 Sigma fights in this chapter either.

I really enjoyed having Sigma enter the room after the battle was done. This happens in the game, but what also happens canonically is that he inexplicably LEAVES THEM when he HAS THEM. He could’ve killed them right there, while they’re both comatose on the ground. Or taken them in for re-programming. And that is what I opted for.

Since Xtreme 2, I’ve really been thinking, what would Sigma do if he actually won. And I’ve been honestly thinking that he’d keep X & Zero around, but in his own image. Maverick Minions to do his bidding. An Awakened Zero and a Maverick iX. That would be his dream team.

----------------------------------Episode 17--------------------------------------------

And here in Episode 17, I finally got to explore this!

I didn’t want to cheapen the stuff that comes later, but I really needed to show us that this plan wasn’t going to work. Despite the fact that he HAD them!!!

Sigma uses his virus specters to enter into their pores. It works with Zero, even giving him some final breaths of life, but it does not work with X. In fact, he has some mysterious barrier, protecting him from any infection.

This frustrates Sigma, who reveals that he just wants to make him iX.

From there, X wakes up and I’m not gonna write the whole episode again. lol

We get our much deserved fight, but keep in mind X has not recovered yet from his insane battle with Zero. And he’s already used one Sub-tank.

So now X is going in, half-drained and with 1 Sub-tank!? Yeah, that’s a death wish.

Still. I worked with it. It took away the Ultimate Buster Chip advantage, explaining that Sigma removed any chip enhancers he already had. Armors are internal, however. Sigma wasn’t able to get in there [clearly].

I’m really proud of the Gaea Armor fight. Specifically the “Predict this!” bit with the Giga Attack.

Using the 2nd Sub-tank during Sigma 1 was risky, but necessary. X was now fully recovered, while Sigma was down, and he easily transformed into his Force Armor to discover Sigma’s weakness - the Tri-Thunder.

Once that was in play, this fight was practically in the bag. Still, I needed a dramatic finish with the charged Tri-Thunder. A Force Armor Nova Strike was in there, too, which only makes the stakes more desperate, because those moves really kill X’s stamina.

Now in Sigma Fight 2, it was hard to keep this interesting. Dialogue, aside, X’s fight with him is a lot of back and forth, pattern memorizing, shoot the giant head nonsense.

I kept this up, however and even had fun with Sigma climbing over his shoulder, and shooting him at close range with the Spike Ball. I also enjoyed how he used the radar one last time to find out his weaknesses.

But when I had enough, and narratively, when X was angry enough, he was able to transform into his Ultimate Armor with a hard Nova Strike to the face. This does not kill him, but it definitely dwindled his energy way down for like, 5 more hits. [I didn’t count.]

And theeeeen, I finally got to add in a line I created for Zero, basically at the beginning planning stages. Zero makes a surprise Z-Buster shot, indicating that he is indeed alive, and still on X’s side, or at least.. his friend. To the very end.

“Some things... go beyond our programing...”

I’ve had that line forever and now I finally got to use it!

X needed a final cool thing, besides just a Nova Strike, so I shoe-horned in this new attack, which is basically an Uppercutting Nova Strike.

The idea was that the hadouken evolved into the shuryuken, which evolved into the Hyper Aura, which evolved into the Nova Strike. But now this was like a combination attack. A blue flamed uppercutting Nova Strike type thing. There is no name for it, because I made it up. I probably won't use it again, either. [But never say never...]

And there it is. Sigma died, and we got our endings.

I owe TheGreatClement, from YouTube a huge thank you for already putting this together in his LP years ago. I would’ve done the same thing, but his compilation made it so much easier to throw this together.

Then came inserting the bad ending.

1 Week Later, X forgets stuff. And he HATES Zero!

I had to change that. This was a challenge. I didn’t want X to get mind-wiped at all by Dr. Light. But now... I have room for gray area in X6... So I compromised with the non-canon. If X6 must indeed be a combined scenario of Good and Bad ending. And in X6 he does indeed remember Zero fondly... Then, I needed Dr. Light to mind-wipe something else. “...all the Painful Memories.” The painful memories of fighting Zero, himself. [Whether that includes Season II or not, is up in the air.]

But as Alia explains, there’s a ‘Protection’ on X’s memory data now. He can’t remember anything related to the Colony. I went a step further to say that he remembers Zero destroying it, and then fighting Sigma together with him. That’s it. And even that memory is hazy, because Zero’s legs were missing during that fight.

So now, we have a firm compromise. X can remember all the best parts of their history. He can remember palling around at the base, and their proudest feelings together on good missions. He still has his Best Friend in his heart.

The 2nd part of the bad ending doesn’t deal with this as much. It introduces the idea of Elysium, which is just the name of the idea he has already had since X1. But now he wants a Paradise. His idea is fully formed, rather than.. a hopeful philosophy, I suppose. If X gets his way, he will Do this! They have a broken world they have to rebuild, but first they need to rebuild their base.

Also, before I leave this part, I need to mention something irritating. I chose... X6 Reploid names, specifically to replace “Hunter A” and “Hunter B” in the ending. Specifically, Araki & Batsu. Those were the names. I placed them both in this scene, and it felt great. (At first.)

Then when I got to the good ending, I gave names for those 3 cooler ones that he talks to. Iso, Cody and Tekk.

I could’ve left it at that, but from here, I decided to look at the X6 sprites of Rescued Reploids, including Hunter 1 and 2 from the intro stage, and assigned more names. When I looked at what these guys actually looked like, and compared it with those I have chosen, Hanse & Hal just stuck out like a sore thumb.

The fact that there were only 2 reploids rescued from Dr. Glow’s fortress cemented this decision. They were gonna be the only true Yellow Reploids that are rescued from X5. And therefore... Araki & Batsu, the true Hunter A and Hunter B had to be replaced with Hanse & Hal, due to just being cooler and getting better designs.

It’s not the biggest thing in the World, but it’s just weird how planning works out sometimes. It’s my own hangup, I know, and it might not make sense, but there it is.

ANYWAY.

Then the good ending kicks in, 2 weeks later.

[I really wanted to put 3 weeks later, but that 1st week with the bad stuff had to happen.]

X stands with Iso, Cody and Tekk as Alia lets them know that there is a new Mechaniloid in HORIE block, or whatever.

This scene will be expanded on in X6, and this isn’t the place for it, but you can only imagine what HORIE Block is. - That’s right. The intro stage to X6.

I already alluded to 2 other Hunters being in trouble - Data and Batsu, so there ya go. [Yay, Hunter B is in there after all.]

But more to the point, we get our Good X5 Ending. With X gripping the familiar saber in hand, and feeling stronger than ever, knowing that Zero is still with him.

---------------------------------tl;dr-----------------------------------------------------

My final thoughts on X5. I really hate that game, man. X4 was so solid, and honestly... if the text-based cut scenes were anime cut scenes, that would already do a World of Difference for me. But gameplay mechanics wise, the introduction to the wire hook was interesting and the duck was necessary. But otherwise... I dunno. Some enemies were too strong, I hated the boss level up system, and the timed mission - while different, set a whole different tone for the game. Gone was the chill exploring, even though you could go wherever you wanted to. Alia would reprimand you if you were in an area that you didn’t belong in yet.

Still, the things that I like are that you are not really fighting Mavericks here, but instead visiting Reploids who could be infected, or in one way or another have a grudge with you.

And it’s those things, plus the prior Zero motivations that carried me through this Season. Zero hating on the Repliforce turned into an evil ugly monster that threatened to ruin his friendship with X.

Also, Dynamo was a class act. Not quite, Deadpool 4th wall breaking, but fun enough to really add life in places that were already tense and nerve-wracking.

Gate & Isoc’s sub-plot was pretty neat. It turns out I had a little more for Gate to do than just brood in his own trailer. I didn’t think Isoc would interact with him as much as he did, at first.

Showing a vulnerable Sigma whose dreams are falling apart before his final battle with X was risky, but one worth taking in my opinion. Despite all these games, I feel like I don’t show him enough, so it was nice to delve into his thoughts a little bit.

And lastly, of course - the 3rd Arc roll call.

Ep. 13 - An Epic Battle written in 2011, revised into something even better in 2019.

Ep. 14 - An awesome aftermath episode that explores the damage to the world and it’s effect on Dynamo, Gate, Isoc, Sigma, Zero and X, who must recover items before he takes on Zero again.

Ep. 15 - Zero Space was crazy! Zero fought way more than X, although, X did go through Stage 1 the hard way and they both fought the same amount of bosses.

Ep. 16 - An Epic Rematch! Probably even better than Ep. 13. That’d be a fun debate.

Ep. 17 - The Climactic Ending. It’s all come down to X vs. Sigma, again, but the battle brings surprises to all of them. When it’s all said and done, the Maverick Hunters are ready to move forward and rebuild.

And that’s all he wrote, folks.

There will be a Season Vi. Yes, I will be taking a break. But yes, you will be getting updates.

Until then, I hope you enjoyed Season V. Despite hating that game, I enjoyed writing more of this Season than you’d think. There’s a lot more in there that I didn’t touch upon, I’m sure. But anyway, you get the gist.

Later folks and as always. Thank you for Reading.

#Season V Diaries #The End of Season V #Thoughts on the 3rd Arc

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imjustthemechanic · 5 years

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Our Own Demons

Part 1/? - A Bolt from the Blue Part 2/? - A Different World Part 3/? - Stark At Home Part 4/? - Pot Roast Night Part 5/? - Space-Pie Continuum Part 6/? - Energy Signature Part 7/? - Miss Potts Part 8/? - Bot from Beyond Part 9/? - Even the Odds Part 10/? - Miss Potts Arrives Part 11/? - Truth Hurts Part 12/? - The Third Reality Part 13/? - Thor and Odinson Part 14/? - The Tesseract Platform Part 15/? - Prime Suspect Part 16/? - Jailbreak Part 17/? - Shenandoah

What if Tony Stark really were the villain of the Marvel universe? How would that work? Tony himself is about to find out, as he battles his inner demons (and some outer ones, too) across a multiverse of infinite possibilities.

The suit’s flight path followed the highway into Virginia, cars tiny on the road far below, as JARVIS picked up the tale where he and Tony had parted ways. When the suit recovered from the overload, the computer explained, you were still present, but you were… altered. I inquired about your appearance, but you told me all was well, and asked where we were headed. I replied that we were on our way to meet Miss Potts at the LACMA, and you said that was excellent and that I should continue on that course.

Insofar as he could, JARVIS sounded nervous… was he afraid of Tony being angry with him? “And you knew something was wrong, but you couldn’t overrule him,” Tony said. JANIS had known that Tony wasn’t her creator but she’d obeyed him anyway – she hadn’t had any choice. Neither had JARVIS.

I could tell he wasn’t you, Sir, said JARVIS apologetically. His speech patterns were all wrong, as were parts of his physiology – most notably the arc reactor still implanted within his chest. I tried to find something I could use to shut him out…

“It’s okay, JARVIS,” Tony said quickly. “Not your fault. This isn’t a security problem I remotely planned for. Show me his face.”

An image appeared in the HUD, first in wireframe and then rendered with realistic colour. It was slightly distorted, since JARVIS was reconstructing it based on sensor data from inside the helmet, rather than displaying a photograph – but the face was still recognizably Tony’s. This alternate’s hair and beard were both steel gray and cut very close to his head. A dent in his hairline on the right suggested an otherwise invisible scar, and his brow was deeply furrowed, as if from concentration or constant frowning. There was something in his eyes, Tony thought, that wasn’t very friendly – but maybe he was projecting. Maybe it was just that he knew he was looking at himself at his worst.

“Right. Close that,” said Tony, once the image had burned itself indelibly into his brain. He now knew exactly whose ass he had to kick once he got there, although he wasn’t sure just what the kicking would entail. He’d make it up as he went along. At least he could be pretty sure his enemy was likewise improvising. “What did he do once you got to LA?”

We landed at the museum, and he put the suit in the back of Miss Potts’ car while he waited for her to come outside, JARVIS replied. Tony could picture the scene as his AI narrated it: the white Audi with the little plush bunny – a miniature replica of the giant one he’d tried to give her for Christmas – hanging from the rearview mirror. And this asshole with his face sitting in the front seat, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited, the way Tony himself often did. Ms. Potts came out and greeted him, and asked if he were all right. He replied that he was fine, and told her there was an emergency. She asked if he were going into hiding, and whether that were why he’d cut his hair. He replied that there was no time to explain. He drove to a secluded location, where he forced her to enter the Mark XLIII. She tried to resist, and bloodied his nose by banging his head against the steering wheel, but he overcame her using Mr. Stane’s paralytic tone.

“What?” Tony asked. He remembered the paralytic from when Obi had stolen the arc reactor – it didn’t hurt, but it was terrifying, the way all his muscles had simply stopped right where they were and he’d found himself trapped inside his own body. The idea of anybody doing such a thing to Pepper made him so angry that for a moment his vision actually went red. This, he thought, as rage pounded inside his chest, must be what it felt like to turn into the Hulk.

I warned her this was an imposter, JARVIS went on, but before I could explain further, there was a second power surge, and she was gone. He went in after her and vanished as well.

“So where’s the suit?” Tony asked.

The LAPD impounded it shortly thereafter, said JARVIS, along with the car itself.

“No word of anything funny happening in its vicinity?” Tony asked. The last thing he needed was a killer robot terrorizing the Los Angeles Police Department. They’d doubtless blame him for that, too.

None, Sir. I will monitor news feeds.

That was potentially good news. If the other suit were still intact, after being used for three transfers there might be enough of the ionic residue in it for one more. That would be a last resort, though. Tony would much rather get a proper supply of the stuff by catching up with the truck. “How far until Winchester, JARVIS?”

Two minutes and twelve seconds, Sir. We’re almost there.

Upon arriving, Tony circled the campus of Shenandoah University once and then came in for a soft landing in the middle of the flagstone labyrinth on the west lawn. It was the middle of the afternoon now, and the school was a busy place. There were students on the path nearby, and people getting into their cars in the parking lot across Abrams Creek – and all of them stared, some taking pictures, as Iron Man came in for a landing.

Tony would normally have enjoyed the attention, but right now he had a job do to and it would be harder to do if the police realized where he was. He held up his hands. “No need to panic, I’m an Avenger,” he said, and chose the nearest group of people to approach. The suit, heavy-footed as they all were, clumped across the lawn. He really needed to figure out how to make them lighter on their feet. The group, three young men all of East Asian descent, one of them carrying a basketball, took a couple of steps.

“Don’t worry,” Tony told them. “I’m just making a quick stop. I need to find a guy named… what did you say his name was, JARVIS?”

Xanthopoulos, Sir.

“This is not my day for names. Dr. Zan-tho-poo-los,” said Tony, which was the best he could do.

The boys were silent.

“Nope?” asked Tony. “Anybody? Bueller? All right, I’ll find…”

“Wait,” said the tallest of the boys. His hair was long, and blue at the tips. “You didn’t hear, huh?”

Tony’s heart sank. Of course, he thought, he should have expected it. “Let me guess. He’s already made a hasty exit.”

“He’s dead,” said the boy.

That was worse… and yet somehow it figured. “How?” asked Tony.

“They’re not sure yet,” the boy said. “I can show you where, though.”

Tony almost left the suit behind, on his usual assumption that he was slightly harder to spot without it, but then he remembered that all he had on underneath it was his orange arrest jumpsuit. He didn’t want to be wandering around in that, so he thumped along fully armored as the boys led the way towards Wilkins Hall, where Dr. Xanthopoulos had his office. The entire building was cordoned off, surrounded by police cars. Considering that he’d only just gotten out of jail, Tony wasn’t keen on getting too close. If they spotted him, he would have to fly away in a hurry.

Another of the boys, this one wearing big plastic-rimmed Ray-Ban glasses, described the events in a hushed voice. “What I heard,” he said, “was that around ten this morning some people pulled up in a black car and went in to see him. They left about twenty minutes later, with him. The department secretary went to check his office and found it had been torn apart, so she called the cops. When they went to his house, they found that it had been ransacked, too, but his wife said nothing was taken. They found his body in an abandoned car at the Wal-Mart in Hagerstown.”

“I see.” Tony ducked back down behind the low brick wall with the letters SU on top of it, where the police couldn’t notice him and realize they’d stumbled across their highest-profile fugitive. Squatting in the suit was extremely awkward, even more so than going down stairs. “Does anybody have the faintest idea what they were looking for?” They hadn’t found it – if they had, they wouldn’t have killed him. He was sure of that.

“No,” said the third boy. This one was the shortest, and was wearing a t-shirt with the university’s coat of arms on it. “But I know who’d know – his daughter would!”

“She’s not his daughter,” said the one in the glasses. “She just kind of hangs out.”

“Still,” said the boy in the heraldic t-shirt. “She’d know.”

The three were not able to agree on the name of the girl they were looking for, let alone the exact nature of her relationship with Dr. Xanthopoulos. They did have a good idea where to find her, though – she was in the Smith Library, a round-fronted red brick building that looked more like a concert hall from the outside than it did a library. Where she was within it took a little more work.

“Hey!” a security guard shouted, as Tony headed for the door. “You’re not going to wear that into the building, are you?”

Tony paused and recalled that he was still in the armor. No, he really couldn’t do that, could he? “Sorry,” he replied, stepping out of it. “I forget about it sometimes – it’s like those contact lenses they advertise, feels like wearing nothing at all!”

The security guard had no response for that, as Tony had hoped he wouldn’t.

The three boys had someplace to go and probably didn’t want to be seen with a fugitive, so they went their own ways, leaving Tony with a description of the girl he was looking for. When he found her, he recognized her right away. She was bleach-blonde, with big stretching rings in her ears and another piercing in her septum – and even if it hadn’t been for her distinctive appearance, the fact that she was curled up under the desk in one of the study booths crying would have been a clue that she had a rather personal stake in whatever had happened that morning.

“Hello,” said Tony, squatting down to talk to her face-to-face. “Sorry, I know you had a rough morning, but I wondered if I could ask you a question or two.”

She looked at him and frowned in confusion.

“What’s your name?” Tony asked. “The guys who suggested I look for you didn’t know it.”

“Are you Tony Stark?” she sniffled.

“Yes, I am,” said Tony. “But don’t tell anybody. I’m trying to lie low. Not something I’m good at, I’ll admit.”

She scowled. “I’ve got nothing to say to you.”

“Huh?” Tony thought back over the events the boys had described. Had his other alternate been up to more than he realized? “Okay, it’s a long story, but whatever it is you think I’ve done, I didn’t do it.”

“Really?” She sat up a little and wiped her nose, then glared at him. “So your company didn’t sell the bombs that got my Dad killed in Afghanistan?”

Tony couldn’t have said what he’d expected to hear, but that wasn’t it – and the words were like a punch to the gut. Here he’d been prepared to defend himself against an accusation of something he didn’t do… and she hated him for something he did.

“Well, okay, no, they did do that,” he admitted. “But I didn’t know about it.”

“Do you really think I believe that?” she asked. “You owned the company.”

“That doesn’t mean I knew everything they did!” Tony protested. “But it does mean I should have, and for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.” Probably not worth much. It was never enough… could never be enough.

“It’s not worth anything,” she snarled. “Leave me alone. I don’t want to see anybody right now, especially not a mass murderer. If I were in charge you’d be in prison for war crimes.”

“Excuse me,” said another voice – a bearded librarian was leaning over the side of the cubicle. “If you two are going to talk, can you do it outside? This is a quiet study space.”

“He was just leaving,” said the girl.

“I was,” Tony agreed, “but I really need you to come with me. Like I said, I need your help.”

“I would literally rather jump out a window than lift a finger to help you,” the girl said.

“It’s about Dr. Xanthopoulos,” Tony tried. “I know who killed him.”

“So do I,” she said. “He told me himself that they were going to.”

“Look, this sounds like something you should both be talking to the cops about,” the librarian said, “but either way, I need you to leave the building. Now.”

That would do… although once they were outside, she might try to run. “We’re going,” Tony promised. He took the girl’s purse from the cubicle table and offered it to her.

She snatched it, and crawled out to stand.

#fanfic #iron man #tony stark

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artcanary · 6 years

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1-50

oh my god dude

im gonna put this under a cut bc this is a lot. this is a ride, have fun i guess

1. Your first OC ever?god. its got to be Super Kitty. when i was like … an incredibly small child I used to draw comic strips about this feline caped crusader, who was friends with everyone in the city, and the comics always involved him stopping an evil banana man from stealing money from the local bank. He was paid with donuts for his service to the city. i still remember how to draw him.

2. Do you have a personal favourite among your OCs?i’d get arrested if I didn’t answer this with Bronze, probably… but really, they’re very important to me

3. Have you ever adopted a character or gotten a character from someone else?man, i cant remember! i really dont think i have… P:

4. A character you rarely talk about?there’s loads of characters ive never even posted a single picture of on tumblr, i wouldnt even know where to start asdf

5. If you could make only one of your OCs popular/known, who would it be? bronze is the easy answer, but… i guess that could also go to Servant or Westrin. Servant has a comic project in the works that basically stars him, sort of a series of one-shots about the things he’s experienced, i feel like that would be a good thing to take off and run with. Westrin’s just fun as hell, i love the guy.

6. Two OCs of yours that look alike despite not being related?real talk now… there’s at least five different characters that i refer to as a whole as “bronze-tangential”, who started out as, “what would bronze be like if they were in this world?” and then becoming their own thing within said world because i just get stupid attached

its an epidemic

7. Are your OCs part of any story or stories?nearly all of them, actually. that’s the main reason i make characters, after all! too many to really go into specifics here, again P:

8. Do you RP as any of your OCs? If you do, introduce one of your RP OCs here!not often, but i think Bronze and Westrin are the most common ones. unless playing a character in dnd, or running an npc in dnd counts… then a whole lot more hahaha

9. Would you ever be willing to give any of your OCs to someone else?it depends on the circumstances. i don’t really like the idea, though.

10. Introduce an OC with a complicated design? Westrin’s old getup is a pain to draw, and there was one other design i did that I cant find anywhere… whichever way, i dont often tend to draw super complicated things often

a couple fakemon ive designed though… heheh those can get pretty finicky

11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a “sunshine”? hmmmmmmmm my immediate thought was Eric Silverdale from a comic i was working on a few years ago. hes a darling, i want him to be my friend irl

12. Name an OC that isn’t yours but who you like a lothow could you do this to me i love each and every one of all my friends ocs GOD the first one who comes to mind is @d20-official‘s Smith, whos Bronze’s friend… everyone in that DND party actually

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs? Rated on a scale from “harmless” to “honestly somewhat frightening”: -Baromet (charming and quite friendly but definitely a kleptomaniac),-Westrin (demigod of bards and travelers), -XEN09 (a nonsense hacker), -Conny (needlessly contrarian and dumb as HELL), -Enza Colie (long fucking story but hes a good-for-nothing), -Hemlocke (mad scientist, chaotic evil), -Iris (AI and hacker, VERY bad), -The Terminus (glitch-in-the-matrix demon, chaotic evil), -and Sydd (the Queen of the Faeries, hopefully the danger there needs no explaining :’D)

14. Introduce an OC with a tragic backstory Mmm… there’s a few of them, most obviously Lent (whose background I did a short comic about). Basically his entire town got eaten by ghosts and turned into zombies, he only barely survived with a sliver of his soul left.

15. Do you like to talk about your OCs with other people?yes, i often discuss storylines and such with friends

16. Which one of your OCs would be the best at biology (school subject)? Probably Bronze’s dad! I don’t talk about him much, but his name’s Devon Reed, and he was a biotech developer specialising in android design.

I often describe him as being something of a reverse Arthur Weasley - a very fatherly scientist fascinated to the moon and back with the concept of magic.

17. Any OC OTPs? having trouble thinking of a lot of them right now, but there’s Eric + Lent & Naiadine + Tailias from Emerald Sigil, Avken + Baromet from my space campaign world, Sydd + Wyvv from my unnamed campaign world, and I’ve been considering Westrin + Servant as an interesting dynamic in Servant’s story

18. Any OC crackships? My character Bismuth and @autistictimeknight‘s oc Eros. Theyre so fucking in love, I love it. Its been awhile but I do still think about them sometimes.

As I recall, Eros is an empath, she can read other people’s emotions. But Bismuth is a robot, and Eros can’t read her. Because of this Eros can let go of her fear of unintentionally manipulating the emotions of her date, which would hold her back from most other relationships.

19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why)Hey, meet Bronze! I definitely do not talk about them every five minutes, why would you say that.

Bronze was with me through two of the hardest years of my life so far, and being a DND character they grew with me, both as a fighter and as a person. They were non-binary before I started using those pronouns, they were the first character or person or anything who I fought someone about using the right pronouns for, they make a great icebreaker for if I want to see how someone reacts to non-binary pronouns …

One funny anecdote about Bronze is that when I first made them, their “gimmick” was that they would sometimes glitch out and mess up their speech, mostly because I wanted an excuse not to engage in the roleplaying (which I was very bad at). The interesting thing is that as I got better at interacting with the group, we both grew out of needing it very quickly.

I’m very proud of Bronze.

20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)?Westrin is a bard! His singing voice sounds like Bill Wurtz and these are his theme songs.

21. Your most artistic OCProbably Westrin again, he writes a lot of songs… and Hallux is a game designer?

22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how? I honestly dont know… no-one talks to me about them, haha!

people use all manner of pronouns for bronze, though.

23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like?I’m gonna go with Enza for this one. Enza Colie was originally written entirely because I wanted an antagonist for a short starring his sister, Jane Colie. But the more I fleshed out his reasonings for acting how he did and explored his character, the more I realised he’d make an even more interesting character if allowed to have a redemption arc, too.

I just want to state for the record that I was very reluctant to the idea, and he basically dragged his way out of the villain pit entirely of his own accord. I am dubiously proud of him, and also a bit scared.

24. If you could meet one OC of yours, who would it be and why?Probably either Eric (Big Man, Best Friend), Crocus (Mother figure), Reed (Father Figure), Westrin (hed just make a good friend u kno??), or Bismuth (she makes good conversation!)

25. The OC that resembles you the most (same hobby, height, shared like/dislike for something etc?)probably the homestuck fan-troll Hallux, but that’s mostly because they were based on a troll-sona I made awhile ago. They’re a hope/prospit game designer who is small and full of rage and love

oh, and there’s dave! dave’s a superhero speedster, existing in a modern-day superhero version of seattle. theyre idiot, just like me,

26. Have you ever had to change your OC’s design or something else about them against your will? this is an interesting one… i don’t think ive ever had something Bad in a design ive done called to my attention by someone, but I did create my character Servant at around the same time I was first really expanding the diversity of my casts. (since i don’t talk about him often, a little context: he’s a magic spirit creature bound to human form to serve the royal family of the land and follow their orders.)

somehow, younger-and-more-stupid me managed to have the revelation that making this “eternal slave” character literally anything other than a white man, especially as a white author, would be Pretty Not Good. im … thats really, really not something i should pat myself on the back for, but i do consider it one of the biggest bullets dodged in my artistic career so far that i realised that not all representation is good representation so quickly, before i could make that incredibly, incurably stupid mistake.

after that, trying to make sure my characters and their presentations don’t harm anyone pretty much has become a paranoia. i don’t seem to have stepped on any toes yet, but when it inevitably happens, please let me know - i didnt know, and i want to fix it!

27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song? None that I can think of, actually! I don’t really do that often.

28. Your most dangerous OC? god damn it i have no idea!!! is it the terminus? glitch in the matrix god of chaos motherfucker?is it sarle? terrifying calculating scientist with the power of the soul at her fingertips ??? is it ares??? is it athena????? is it petra?????? the gatekeeper????

… actually, the gatekeeper might be it, if “dangerous” just refers to “the amount of raw power it can wield”. the Gatekeeper is a titanic entity that exists in interdimensional multiverse space, and its implied to have the ability to create and destroy entire universe bubbles at will. for what cosmic purpose, no-one knows.

at a more personal scale, though, literally all of the aforementioned characters are pretty bad to run into too.

29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they’re going?god. Mina or Tawn. Tawn is the Indiana Jonesy type and probably dumb enough, but also competent enough not to get into too much trouble there. Mina would probably drag her friends along.

30. Which one of your OCs would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection? XEN09. No-one knows, because no-one knows xir personal identity. Xe absolutely does, though. It’s less of a secret if you know xir in person, but good luck finding out about it otherwise.

31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really)dave just reblogs memes all the time tbh. they like to keep tabs on the ridiculous superhero news going on, and they show human jokes and cat videos to their alien gf. they dont really post or add to posts, but they talk in tags a lot.

32. Which one of your OCs would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why? i want to say tawn because i literally just realised ive been imagining their voice as sounding like luigi this entire fucking time and i never realised until this exact instant

33. Your shyest OC?probably baromet. they prefer to keep to themself in their hideout, with their collection of shiny things. they don’t really enjoy trying to communicate much, mostly because they expect to get yelled at.

34. Do you have any twin characters?Yes! At least two sets;

- Crocus and Sarle. (x) (x) They don’t exactly have a very well-developed relationship, but they are both quite important to the plot of my campaign world, and they are both very interesting. Crocus is a motherly figure who just exudes friendliness, while Sarle is .. very much not that, a researcher studying very gruesome things and pushing the boundaries of reality.

- Jane and Enza Colie. I haven’t talked a whole lot about either of them here, but I’d rather leave their story to do the talking whenever I get around to it. Essentially, the both of them were intended to do the dirty work for their crime boss family, but Jane ditched to study medicine. Most of the conflict between the two of them comes out of Enza not understanding why she made the choice she did, and coming to understand how he’s been manipulated.

35. Any sibling characters? I can’t really think of any off the top of my head, I should … I should really work on that.

I can talk about Westrin, though. Westrin (a demigod of many things, but namely bards, travel, travelers, and people who are lost) often becomes close friends with mortals, sometimes practically adopting them. These people who consider him family, and people who have received his blessing, are able to use his surname, Brilanta, as their own if they choose. So I guess all of the Brilantas are siblings, at least in spirit.

Oh, and XEN09 has like, seven siblings. Xe is the second-oldest, and least remarkable.

36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends etc)? I already talked about Eros and Bismuth up there a ways in question 18, but I’ll talk about another relationship here. @autistictimeknight‘s character, Nova the Alchemist, is mentor and adopted parental figure to my character Munna. Munna … Munna isn’t a very good apprentice. She tries very hard.

37. Introduce an OC who is not quite human That’s most of them, I’m not quite sure what to say here. Bronze is an android? Bronze again? Westrin? All the aliens ??

38. Which one of your OCs would be the best dancer? man. uh. westrin or jean. or perhaps valencia.

39. Introduce any character you want ??? uhhhHHHhhHHH Lord Brillium is the reigning deity of the Cloud Kingdoms in the other campaign setting I’m working on. They represent light and the quest for knowledge, and spend most of their days in the Cathedral Observatory watching the stars.

40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Feel free to share!one time bronze flew a hover-bike through the stained glass window in a cathedral blaring all star by smash mouth on their iguana

also one time bronze rickrolled a rakshasa demon and then pulled updog on it like, two minutes later

another time bronze scared off an entire army by pretending to be an automated security system

41. Has anyone drawn fanart of your OCs? If yes, maybe show a picture or two here (remember sources & permissions!)ive got a whole little folder on here from all you blessed people !!!! right now ive got a drawing quinn did of one o fmy characters as my lockscreen

but i think the one i’ll really never ever get over is this piece of Jane, by @rabendraws / @owoltron:

(i bet you thought i forgot about this, dude. dude. think again.)

42. Which one of your OCs would be the most interested in Greek gods? this is kind of a weird question, m, I feel like Bismuth would find learning about the mythos utterly fascinating, as would Tawn.

43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It’s time to confesshaha. uh. i might.

aside from the entire “bronze-tangential characters” thing i mentioned awhile back, I tend to really like designing characters with hair color lighter than their skin color. it just looks so cool man. i love drawing freckles but dont put them on enough characters. i like really curly hair, but also really long and flowy hair. i like drawing triangular body types, and pointy/prominent noses.

44. Something you like about your OCs in generaluhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh this is a really vague question. m. m.

45. A character you no longer use?there’s old versions of characters, but a lot of my older ones have been somehow repurposed. I guess there’s Turien, my first-ever DND character, who’s just kind of sitting dead now. Haven’t really done anything with him other than a pretty recent tangential character.

46. Has anyone ever told you that you treat your OCs badly?Not that I can think of.

47. Has anyone ever (friendly) claimed any of your OCs as their child? Im certain it’s happened, but I can’t remember any specific instances.

48. OC who is a perfect cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pureSpring. spring knows nothing of th dangers of the world who is letting them into fights someon eneeds to stop this

(spring roll, hehe.)

49. Which one of your OCs would most likely enjoy memesim not sure what this question is asking since many of my ocs actively enjoy memes including but not limited to westrin, dave, bronze, xen09, iris, and doctor archersen

50. Give me the good ol’ OC talk here. Talk about anything you wanti think. i think im going to pass on this one. i gave you the good old oc talk. your damn turn, yall:

if you have any questions about any of these guys feel free to shoot one at me!

thats all from me im tired and its one am. techskylander you absolute madman

#yetanotherOCmeme #WHY #personal

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yeonchi · 3 years

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Kisekae Insights #25: The last of Hiroki’s prototypes

Originally, I wasn’t planning on making an instalment of Kisekae Insights this month because I was planning on building a new PC, but then I suddenly got depressed because of stuff and that had to be put on hold, so I decided to write a couple more instalments. At the same time, I’m planning on ending the second run of Kisekae Insights after the next instalment to make way for the Doctor Who Series 13 reviews and also to focus on the last leg of my personal project. 9 instalments in 6 months isn’t bad compared to 16 in the first run, but that’s probably because a few instalments were filler and I have a job now so I don’t have as much time to work on new content. It will take me some time to prepare content for the third run (when I eventually get around to it), but I promise that we’ll go straight into the big stuff, namely My Little Pony, Gokaiger, Decade and Soulbound. I said back in #17 that I would hopefully cover it this year, but obviously things have changed.

Most of Hiroki’s prototypes that I’ve covered up to this point are OCs of animes that have had a significant influence on my personal project; this is not necessarily the case for the remaining ones, particularly because a couple of them are totally original characters. Let’s dive right in and cover the last of Hiroki’s prototypes.

Please note that there is a content warning for family/domestic violence and suicide.

Richard Yang: The First Prototype

Remember back in #6 when I said that Kyōko Izumi is the “Genesis Prototype”? Richard is the “first prototype” because chronologically, he is the first of Hiroki’s prototypes.

Bodyguards and Assassins (十月圍城), not to be mistaken for the namesake movie, is a series I created (or rather, conceptualised because I never really wrote out the series fully) in 2010 as a late-night drama on my totally real TV network after all the simulcasts of TVB dramas were done for the evening (we’ve really come far over the years). Richard Yang wasn’t written as Hiroki’s prototype until 2013 because I didn’t have that plot point back then.

In the drama, Richard is basically an explorer who has adventures. His style name is Samlin because at one point, he became sworn siblings with several other people who either resembled or were characters from Fifi and the Flowertots or Angelina Ballerina, one of them being Ms Mimi, who is like the elder sister or something. His timeline probably got cancelled out by the time he came onto Doctor Who.

Four series of Bodyguards and Assassins were made between 2010 and 2013. The second series involved Richard meeting his old primary school friends or something, the third series involved characters from K-On and the fourth series involved Richard meeting (a reincarnated version) of Yuri Nakamura from Angel Beats, who would go on to become his girlfriend. Richard began being featured on Doctor Who in 2012 with the Kikuchi Arc in Series 4 (he doesn’t do much in it though), but his origin wouldn’t be covered until the year after for the 50th Anniversary.

Speaking of Angel Beats, the series’ main characters, Kanade Tachibana and Yuzuru Otonashi, were also the Doctor’s companions for a few episodes at the end of Series 1 and 2 and the entirety of Series 3 and 4, making numerous reappearances over the years. Aside from Yuri, other characters from Angel Beats were also featured, but not given much focus.

In 2001, Hiroki was with his parents at Madame Tussaud’s in Hong Kong (the actual one, not the other one that we usually use to refer to Melbourne). While his father was trying to take a photo of his wife and son with the wax figures of The Beatles, Hiroki was too busy playing with George Harrison’s hair (I don’t exactly know which one is which so I might be wrong, like that matters anyway), causing him to be distracted. His mother slapped him, causing him to cry and regenerate into Richard. While Hiroki’s real body materialised later, he managed to swap places with Richard so that no one would get suspicious.

Following his birth, the 4-year-old Richard ended up living at an orphanage before he fell back in time to 1998 and ended up in Nagoya with no memories of his past. He was discovered by a local orphanage, but after no one adopted him for a period of three years, he was adopted by one of the female workers.

An unexpected invasion from the Oda Army in 2004 caused Richard to be separated from his adoptive mother. He was found by the Tongmenghui, who decided to take him in, considering his situation. Taking on the name Richard Yang, he became the leader of the Tongmenghui and led children in a rebellion against their parents. This would be known as the Dinghai-Wuzi Revolution of 2007.

Following the end of the Revolution, Richard started studying Geography and Teaching at Tokyo University, eventually becoming a professor there by 2012. He also began working as a casual relief teacher at Camembert Academy and as a tutor in the Chipping Cheddar area, where he eventually decided to settle down with Yuri.

When the Superhero Project was being developed in 2017, Richard moved to Auckland and became the commander of the Superhero Project for UNIT NZ, tasked with looking after the Shinkengers and Go-Busters. After the Superhero Project was decommissioned in 2019 (Soulbound Series 3), Richard was recalled from UNIT NZ and sent to Minato-Sugaru Island to help investigate a minus energy phenomenon, going undercover as a teacher at Canterlot High School. He returned to his normal UNIT duties the year after, during which the Superhero Project was recommissioned.

Zhuge Qiao: Successor of the Guardians’ legacy

(Morina created on Chibi Maker by gen8)

Like with Richard, Zhuge Qiao is another character who was just introduced out of the blue and given an origin story later, the main difference being that Zhuge Qiao’s introduction and origin story was entirely contained within the main Doctor Who series instead of being introduced in a totally unrelated series. She did get a spinoff series though.

Shugo Chara, the series which Zhuge Qiao was created for, was featured in the project in 2012 and 2013. Aside from Zhuge Qiao, the Doctor, Parker, Hiroki and Akari received (multiple) Guardian Characters, but they were relegated to the dollhouse (or Hakushi’s mini-TARDIS) soon after their debut and written out some time after (with the exception of four who were travelling in Hakushi’s mini-TARDIS). The reason why Heart’s Eggs exist is because of a morphic field in the city that caused people to develop them in their hearts. The morphic field would later evolve to the point where visitors to the city could develop Heart’s Eggs and hatch Guardian Characters reflecting their personalities if their emotions were strong enough. However, Heart’s Eggs developed in this manner would disappear from the visitors’ hearts within days of leaving the city and even if a Guardian Character were to hatch from it, they wouldn’t last very long without the companionship of other Guardian Characters.

In 2005, Hiroki went to Honnōji in Kyoto to evade his former lovers, Kimia and Tiffany, who had joined forces and formed the Kurayami Alliance in an effort to assassinate him. He was then forced to commit suicide, resulting in him regenerating into a female prototype, who would come to be known as Zhuge Qiao. Before you ask, yes, she is named after the Three Kingdoms figure of the same name, just as Parker was named after Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Qiao was brought back to UNIT HQ, where she said a brief farewell to Hiroki before heading off to travel the world on her own, eventually going on to fight in the Parallax War as well. In the final days of the Parallax War, she was attacked by a group of X-Egg influenced humans in Handan on Popei Island and was saved by Amu Hinamori, who she became good friends with. After the Parallax War ended, she would go on to gain a Guardian Character named Morina and establish Torchwood North, an organisation for Guardians to continue their duties even after graduating from Seiyo Academy. Although her Character Change has not been shown in the stories I’ve written, Zhuge Qiao can Character Transform into Beautiful Dream, wielding the Marigold Saber Sword.

During her time in Torchwood North, Zhuge Qiao assisted the Guardians in protecting humanity, though she did slip away from Popei Island to help wherever she was needed. She also planned on making a system that would allow the Guardians to transform at will, but it was unfinished when the Daleks invaded Handan (during the events surrounding the Battle of Koshi Castle as covered in #15) and Amu and the Guardians sacrificed themselves to repel the fleet, resulting in them and their Guardian Characters being transported to the Road of Stars. Taking the remaining four Guardian Characters into consideration (because they had been travelling with Hakushi in his mini-TARDIS), Zhuge Qiao perfected her system into a belt named the Shugo Belt (similar to the Den-O Belt) and became Kamen Rider Shugo, an original Rider replacing Kamen Riders Den-O (because who needs the Den-Liner when we have the TARDIS) and Kiva (because I didn’t want to find a way around the Fangire requirement).

Sword Form – Morina (Zhuge Qiao’s Guardian Character) Analogous to Den-O Sword Form and Kiva Kiva Form, Shugo Sword Form utilises the Marigold Saber Sword (similar to the Momotarosword) as a carryover from Beautiful Dream. This form’s finisher is the Extreme Slash.

Brush Form – Miki (Amu Hinamori’s Guardian Character) Analogous to Den-O Rod Form and Kiva Garulu Form, Shugo Brush Form utilises the Canvas Brush Revolver as a giant brush to attack with brush strokes or blobs of ink (similar to Amu as Amulet Spade or Ma Dai’s moveset in Dynasty Warriors 7 and 8). This form’s finisher is the Solid Attack followed by the Open Heart Kick.

Sonic Form – Hakushi (The Doctor’s Guardian Character) Analogous to Den-O Ax Form and Kiva Dogga Form, Shugo Sonic Form utilises the Sonic Hammer (similar to the Dogga Hammer) for powerful short-range attacks. The Sonic Hammer also incorporates technology used in sonic screwdrivers to disrupt enemies at a medium range. This form’s finisher is the Dynamic Smash.

Gun Form – Mubo (Parker’s Guardian Character) Analogous to Den-O Gun Form and Kiva Basshaa Form, Shugo Gun Form utilises the Magnum Revolver (similar to the Ryuvolver) for powerful attacks at any range, however this form’s marksmanship may not be the best at times as Mubo represents Parker’s recklessness.

Climax Form Analogous to Den-O Climax Form and Kiva DoGaBaKi Form, Shugo Climax Form is activated with the K-Chara phone attached on the Shugo Belt. This final form combines the powers of all four Guardian Characters and though it is technically able to use all four aforementioned weapons, Shugo mainly uses the Marigold Saber Sword out of preference. This form’s finishers are the same as that of Den-O Climax Form, namely the Boisterous Kick/Punch/Shout/Slash.

Decade’s Final Form Ride card for Shugo summons the Guardian Sword (similar to the Evil-Crushing Hundred-Beast Sword from Gaoranger), allowing him to perform the Decade Guardian Slash together with Shugo. I had thought about using or modifying it and giving Shugo an “actual” final form stronger than Climax Form, but I decided not to.

Hayato Kisaichi: The Forgotten Prototype

There have been two special cases where one of Hiroki’s incarnations have gone on to become their own prototypes. One of them was Momoka Mizutani, Hiroki’s only female incarnation influenced by Walpurgisnacht, and the other is Hayato Kisaichi, aka the Ice King, an initially forgotten incarnation similar to the War Doctor. I should point out that due to the nature of his regeneration, this incarnation did not use up a pocket of regeneration energy; you’ll find out why soon.

Hayato’s design is modelled off a genderbent version of Elsa from Frozen. He was introduced in the opening two-parter of Series 9, which was released in August 2014, the same time as the BBC Series 8. After that, he was shelved until the 5115 Specials in November of that year.

(Genderbent Elsa art, the basis for Hayato Kisaichi/the Ice King. Art by juhaihai and Awen Ng)

After Zhuge Qiao was found and taken back to UNIT HQ, Hiroki’s next incarnation manifested naked where he fell before he stood up and metamorphosed his residual regeneration energy into ice, allowing him to become the Ice King and build Nijō Castle out of ice. He then built a machine and sent a signal for assistance, which was answered by the Nestene Consciousness, the Ice Warriors and the Weeping Angels.

Though they were not summoned by the signal, the Doctor, Hiroki and his companions from 2014 also came to 2005 in an effort to secure the foundations of Nijō Castle before it falls apart in fifteen years due to it being made out of regeneration energy. During their adventure, they joined forces with the Ice King and helped him and his army fight off the Kurayami Alliance at nearby Yamazaki, but Tiffany and Kimia manage to slip past them and head for Nijō Castle, leading to them having to head back.

Back at Nijō Castle, the Ice King ambushes the Kurayami Alliance with the Weeping Angels, who can move outside of their quantum lock due to them being under the Ice King’s control. Despite this, however, the Kurayami Alliance manage to set Nijō Castle on fire and the Ice King is killed by Kimia after a battle with Tiffany. The Ice King’s ice powers change back into regeneration energy, allowing the past Hiroki to regenerate into his next incarnation without using another regeneration in the process.

The Ice King remanifested himself as a prototype under Nijō Castle, where he laid in hibernation for the next nine years along with his army. Hiroki would begin reawakening the Ice King later during “the Day of Retribution”, but he never got to unleash him or his army. However, Hiroki did summon the Ice King and his army in Heaven when he and the Doctor confront God for rapturing millions of people. They later joined the big battle in Yokohama alongside the angels.

After the battle ended and Girl Power was defeated thanks to the intervention of Jesus Christ, the Ice King was left in the care of UNIT. He was given the name Hayato Kisaichi and offered a job in the canteen at UNIT HQ, allowing him to find a new purpose in life. Later in 2018, Hayato joined UNIT NZ and became Blue Buster. Despite no longer being the Ice King, I like to think that Hayato maintained some level of it (even if only a little). I didn’t put the Go-Busters’ weaknesses into consideration when writing Gokaiger, but I suppose that Hayato could have a tendency to overheat and go out of control, like in the Sentai.

In 2019, Hayato joined the Arima Group on invitation from its CEO, Teppei Arima, and became the development director of its subsidiary, Arima Property Development, helping develop regional towns and bringing more people to them (oh my god, he’s a developer, he works in real estate now lol). For a time, he also became the temporary host of Ultraman Dyna. The year after, he was called back to rejoin the Go-Busters.

I also like to think that Hayato befriended his teammate, Yui Ichii of the Data Processing Club, but I never showed any relationship between them because given his origin, I wanted him to stand out and be more independent instead of being reliant on intimate relationships.

(more genderbent Elsa art from an unknown artist – if anyone knows the source please feel free to contact me)

Terry Mizukoshi: The Parallel Prototype

Unlike every other prototype introduced in my personal project, Terry is unique in that he was spawned from a parallel universe counterpart of Hiroki, which was shown during his debut in 2012’s Series 4. When circumstances led him to the Doctor’s universe, he became a part of the Zhuge family like everyone else.

In a parallel universe named Destination One, Hiroki was being forcefully wed to Hideko Kimihara (a girl with Asperger syndrome that he didn’t love) thanks to the machinations of his high school friends and the Kikuchi Clan from the Doctor’s universe (Girl Power from the Doctor’s universe were pulling some strings behind the scenes as well). When the Fifth Doctor, the Eleventh Doctor (from another universe), Doctor Whooves, the Pony Doctor and their companions intervene, a battle ensues and the Kikuchi Clan lead the Doctor and his allies into Popei Castle, which is a trap that scatters everyone to different places where they confront different enemies.

While the Hiroki from Destination One doesn’t confront an enemy per se, he does see two of his crushes (one of them being Akari) with their boyfriends, causing him to regenerate as his heart breaks. Terry was the resulting prototype while the Destination One Hiroki just manifested somewhere else (namely in front of the Fifth Doctor when he came back with Hiroki and the others from 2014). After the battle ended, Terry was taken to Destination Two, where he took the place of a Hiroki who was being forcefully wed to another girl (not Hideko). The Hiroki of Destination Two would take the place of Destination One Hiroki before presumably making his way back to his own universe. As for Destination Three Hiroki, he got married to the Akari of his universe with no dramas. Gee, it’s almost as if I put in characters that ended up doing nothing at all in the story.

After a while, Terry left his wife to find his own happiness. Upon seeing the stars in his universe going out, he stole a dimension cannon (presumably from the Torchwood there) and transported to the Doctor’s universe to warn him of what was going on, but he forgot about it. Instead, he joined the Doctor in preventing the Daleks from invading Equestria, which resulted in even more chaos as the Cybermen and Sontarans were also involved. During this adventure, he met Saki Mizukoshi and her friends, who had ended up in Equestria through the use of an enchanted rock in Shimoda, Shizuoka. Following the adventure, Terry decided to stay with Saki, having found his one true love. He also decided to change his last name to Mizukoshi for “naturalisation purposes” (as if that isn’t creepy at all).

When Saki and her family moved to Hachijō-jima, Terry stayed in Tokyo to complete his schooling while occasionally visiting his girlfriend on the island. He also began working at a ramen restaurant in an effort to support both Saki and himself in the years to come. By 2019, Terry and Saki got married while the latter was studying for her doctor’s degree. In fact, at the time of writing this instalment, Saki would still be studying right now. I can’t imagine it would be easy given the coronavirus pandemic (not that medical school would be easy for anyone in the first place).

Marco Wong: The Dual-Wielding Prince

When I was writing Block 6 of the 50th Anniversary Series in 2013, I had to find a way to use up all of Hiroki’s regenerations so that I could get that out of the way (in preparation for the Next Gen Series). Marco is one of the prototypes that was created as a result. I’ll explain the circumstances behind his regeneration later.

The Doctor had visited the Magical Kingdom of Parris Island (named after the military base of the same name in South Carolina) and somehow ended up in an arranged marriage to the queen’s daughter, Pixel Maritan. After discovering the existence of Marco’s prototype, he was whisked off to Parris Island in order to take the Doctor’s place, leading him to become the prince of Parris Island. Soon after, Marco and Maritan joined the Doctor as they took part in the Battle of Koshi Castle and teamed up with the Fourth Doctor to investigate Momoka Mizutani and find Hiroki.

In the four years after that, Marco trained himself to be an elite swordsman, specialising in a dual-wielding technique that could equal the likes of the legendary Musashi Miyamoto. At the same time, he also became the commander of Parris Island’s military before stepping down and joining the Gokaigers when he was selected to become GokaiBlue. Although he spends a lot of time with the Gokaigers, I like to think he maintains contact with Maritan now and again even though I haven’t emphasised their relationship.

Yamato/Daichi/Nagi Kurosawa: The Spun-off Prototypes

I was going to put images of them in but I won’t bother because they’re so insignificant. In Block 6, I introduced Yamato, Daichi and Nagi Kurosawa with the intent of spinning them off into the anime Say I Love You, but like I said, I forgot about them because they were insignificant. I kind of regret this decision now, but that was because at the time, I had intended on ending my personal project after the 50th Anniversary Series. Some time after, I decided to commission the Next Gen Series and it all just went from there.

In Block 6 of the 50th Anniversary Series, all the Doctors, their companions and some others (including Hiroki and Parker) were gathered at Roald Dahl Plass in Cardiff to help UNIT and Torchwood investigate numerous anomalies, but they were suddenly scattered to different places. Hiroki and Akari confronted the ghosts of Hiroki’s past, future and present (in that order) before suddenly ending up at the former’s house, where his parents forcibly separate the couple, throwing Akari out the back door and locking Hiroki in a secret room that they found in his bedroom.

Hiroki regenerates into Yamato Kurosawa before he blows up the kitchen and takes his archetype self outside to be reunited with Akari. Yamato heads to Yokohama and manages to teleport himself away somewhere (probably interfering in other peoples’ stories) before ending up in Cardiff again.

Parker decides to head to the Voidstation, a building that links every universe in the Void to each other. Hiroki and Akari decide to head there as well and with the power of their Guardian Characters, they rescue Parker and bring him back to Earth. Because of the power overdrive, Hiroki regenerated three times and spawned three prototypes, namely Daichi, Nagi and Marco Wong (see above). After returning to Earth, Yamato was sent away to live with Daichi and Nagi and they were never seen again.

Well, not quite. Yamato did return in Soulbound Series 3 for a tribute to Say I Love You. Becoming the temporary host of Astra, Yamato helped Hikaru Tomokaze fight Doragory, one of Yapool’s Terrible-Monsters, while also training him on Ultraman Leo’s Space Martial Arts in an effort to help Hikaru rely less on his weapons and beams (because Ultramen didn’t have flashy, collectible-centric items and weapons back in the day). At the end of the episode, Yamato gives Astra’s Spark Doll to Hikaru before leaving (for his own universe) with his wife, Mei and son, Ken.

With this, all of Hiroki’s prototypes have been covered. While Hiroki’s prototypes act as the representatives of the different series incorporated in my personal project (before being homogenised as Power Rangers or Kamen Riders), they also have distinct characteristics of their own even though they’re essentially self-inserts and extensions to other self-inserts.

#kisekae insights #doctor who #super sentai #kamen rider #shugo chara #frozen #pixel maritan

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1358456 · 4 years

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Final Dex Holder Preference List, 1st Edition

Heh. These titles are getting long. Dex Holder Preference List, so the same thing I’ve been doing for a long while every now and then. Final because... Generation VIII started, and I can’t see myself staying around for Generation IX. The end is near. And 1st Edition because So-boy and Shi-girl are brand new, so this only has my first impressions on them. As I see more of their data, their position is bound to change. So this is the start of the final series of the list. Think of it like the “Final Battle” type chapters in the Pokemon Special arcs that end up being something like “Final (最終) Decisive (決) Battle (戰) IX” or some sh*t.

If I recall, when Y debuted, she was ranked 8. When Moon debuted, she also ranked 8. So... where would Shi-girl rank?!

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Top Favorites

Platinum (1) ... Duh. 晝夜長川, 初志一貫, as usual. I think this is the third time I used these phrases for Platinum’s ranking in the Preference Lists. Thankfully she didn’t appear in SM/USM for random ass bullsh*t, so nice dodge there!

Y (2) Also not going to change ever. Thankfully she didn’t appear in SM/USM for pointless random ass bullsh*t, so... another dodge! Now, while Y’s ranking hasn’t changed for years, the phrases I used for Platinum can’t be used here because it wasn’t consistent (一貫) from the very beginning (初).

Red (3) Same as Y. Good thing he didn’t show up in SM/USM. ... I recall saying that I was going to experiment with a more “brutal” Red. ... It’s incoming in an SC update. But the update is for the end of the year, so... have to wait.

Blue (4) ... Good thing she didn’t show up in SM/USM! If anyone in the top 4 did, they would’ve all fallen enough that they’d still be in the top 4 in this exact order. ... Wait, what? Heh. There’s that much of a gap between the 4th and 5th. And while Blue may be 4th, she’s honestly in the same ranking as Red. They’re like a single entity. Blue (女) and Red (子) livin’ together and even married in some chapters, and it’s good (好)!

Moon (5) The power of overhaul. She’s back into the Top Favorites! ... Not that her ranking has changed at all. The Spirit of Vengeance! Undying devotion to serve Platinum, and undying hatred for her enemies mixed in would be quite interesting to write about! ... If I ever get to doing it...

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High Preferences

White (6) Hey, she’s back up here. Now that I’ve been convinced that she’s not really a laughing stock in a battle, she can do some cool stuff on screen for once. And overhaul~!

Emerald (7) I have to get used to the idea that after the overhaul, Emerald is the most combat effective Dex Holder among Generation III. ... Unless I choose to overhaul Ruby and Sapphire too, but... hm. Anyways. With the “new” overhaul a long ass time ago, he should be far more fun to use in battles. ... Whenever that’ll be.

Diamond (8) My interest in Heart is plummeting. But then again, my interest in all the others are plummeting too, so... I guess that’s pretty irrelevant. I feel like I could use him a lot more now that I’ve organized the headcanon chronology. And maybe I can come up with more headcanon entries as time passes! What if Platinum teaches him etiquette?

X (9) So close to being able to use him a lot more with Y in a cute and sweet setting and whatnot. I need to come up with more headcanon stuff for X & Y. Maybe he can teach her how to swim? ... Assuming he knows too? Can’t have both drowning at the same time. Heh.

Pearl (10) I want to focus a lot more on the united Sinnoh trio, where Diamond protects Platinum from closer while Pearl protects her by taking the offense. Like Platinum’s shield and sw... sigh...

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Low Preferences

Sapphire (11) Overhaul incoming along with Ruby as a united unit? Hmm... Currently, Sapphire and Ruby serve like a... middle zone. Point of neutrality, I guess?

Ruby (12) I have to find purpose for these two. Sapphire especially, but Ruby needs to be there too since those two are basically a single unit. But at this point, I’m kind of bored of these two.

Black (13) He’s freeeeeeeeee~! Hell, it’s about time. ... But... meh. I’m kind of bored with using him in a doomy setting with White, and I’m also kind of bored with using him in a fluffy setting with White.

Sword (14) Hey, new boy. ... A mix of Diamond and Ruby, and is ranked lower than both, since I don’t like Diamond’s passive traits, and Ruby’s seriousness doesn’t really complement it. More data required, of course, since the arc just started, but my first impressions for him aren’t that good. ... Also, because of the identical set hat with Shi-girl’s coat, his head kind of... blends in in the picture. Hahaha.

Gold (15) Oh how far he had fallen. His post-Cycle personality is kind of boring. He’s just “one of the good guys” now, and there are already a lot of them. But his pre-Cycle personality is that of an ass. So... heh...

Crystal (16) Her personality is very generic among the girls. So... she doesn’t really add anything.

Shield (17) Hey, new girl. ... I really don’t like those overly “bubbly” personalities. So... very bad first impressions. Hopefully she does something cool instead of freaking out little kids. ... That... sounds weird.

Rakutsu (18) He jumped up a bit because I find him roasting Black and White to be far more amusing than it should be. To the point where I might choose to have him exist in my stories, with him constantly roasting Black and White and every time he does, someone (usually Y) just shouts “GET F*CKED!” in the back.

Faitsu (19) So far, she’s just cute and amusing to watch, but... ehhh...

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Rock Bottom

Sun (RB) Was his only character development seriously reverted at the end? What a waste.

Yellow (RB) Generic personality, no development, bullsh*t powers. Yawn.

Silver (RB) Meh.

#preference

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Mass Effect: Every Legendary Edition Squad Companion Ranked

https://ift.tt/3tH2zJa

Along with the promise that our decisions would have galaxy-wide consequences (which turned out to be…mostly true), one of Mass Effect‘s biggest selling points was the ability to command a ship and assemble a squad of companions that would join us on our journeys and help us fulfill our Star Trek dreams.

While Shepard is the star of the Mass Effect trilogy, it’s hard to deny that some of the game’s most compelling characters are the ones who serve alongside him aboard the Normandy and stand by his side during the game’s most dangerous adventures. Many Mass Effect players know their crew better than they know their family, which is both a testament to the quality of the game’s characters and a testament to the quality of awkward Thanksgiving dinner guests everywhere.

Which squad member is the best, though? As you’ve probably guessed, that’s the question that we’ll try to answer as we rank the various companions that Shepard can add to his away crew at various points in the game. While characters that couldn’t be added to your away team at some point in the game weren’t eligible for consideration (sorry Joker), we hope this list will remind you of your own Mass Effect adventures and the friends you made along the way.

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

22. Kaidan Alenko

To be fair to Kaidan, someone had to fill the “standard human dude” squad companion spot in the original Mass Effect, and Kaidan is nothing if not a seat filler.

By and large, though, there’s just not much interesting about Kaidan. He rarely rises above “serviceable” despite clear attempts at making him more interesting.

21. Jacob Taylor

Honestly, the only things that elevate Jacob above Kaidan are a few lines that may be unintentionally hilarious but at least help you remember him.

Other than that, Jacob stands as another sad example of how the Mass Effect team sometimes struggled to make human companions as exciting as their alien alternatives.

20. Nyreen Kandros

Nyreen doesn’t make her (in-game) appearance until Mass Effect 3’s Omega DLC, which means that it’s kind of hard to rank a character who appears so late in the game and only serves as a squadmate for a brief period of time.

This self-sacrificing leader of a mercenary group might have been more interesting if she hung around a little longer, but she’s just not around enough to make a lasting impression.

19. Morinth

Maybe this placement is just a tad harsh on Morinth, but because she essentially replaces someone I’d consider to be a much more interesting character, it’s hard to rank her much higher than this.

Her introduction is interesting and the results of her romance storyline are tragically hilarious, but the ways that Morinth could have been a much more well-rounded character are just never explored as often as they should have been.

18. James Vega

Vega’s “meathead” moments and pretty good (if incredibly brief) eventual romance storyline elevate him over Kaidan and Jacob, but it’s understandable if you struggled to recall who, exactly, James Vega is.

BioWare has said that Vega was meant to be something of a new player surrogate, which is kind of odd given his relatively late debut and the ways that design decision ultimately makes him come across as somewhat vacant.

17. Aria T’Loak

Aria gets a slight nod over Nyreen by virtue of her “Pirate Queen” title (which is awesome) and for being one of the best parts of Mass Effect 3’s DLC.

However, the truth of the matter is that Aria just isn’t around enough as a squadmate to comfortably rank her above some of the regulars who better define this series.

16. Zaeed Massani

As a battle-tested veteran turned mercenary who always has a story to tell and a scar to show, Zaeed really should be more interesting than he ultimately is.

Unfortunately, Zaeed rarely rises above the level of standard tough guy. He feels like he belongs as a side character in a Gears of War game, and he never really has that defining moment that elevates him above the level of serviceable archetype.

15. EDI

EDI’s highly sexualized design is sometimes a point of contention, as is this A.I.’s story arc which sometimes tried too hard to examine the philosophical implications of its eventual physical existence.

Having said all of that, the relationship between Joker and EDI is often too good to ignore. EDI may fall a bit short of being as complete a character as they could have been, but they’re often a tremendous source of comedic relief.

14. Javik

Ranking Javik is tough. As the last of the Protheans, Javik is an inherently interesting character whose bitter and combative personality is genuinely hilarious most of the time.

It’s just a shame that Javik is introduced so late in the franchise. He’s not really given the time to develop that a character like him needs, and it just feels like the writers sometimes struggled to work his character into the bigger plot points.

13. Samara

I completely understand if Samara’s quiet nature and sometimes cold vibes make her one of your least favorite characters. She’s certainly not for everyone.

However, there’s something to be said about Samara’s strict moral code and how it allows her to offer a consistent point of view whenever you’re struggling between decisions. Samara’s incredible backstory and always functioning (if sometimes strange) moral compass makes her a compelling companion.

12. Grunt

In a lot of ways, Grunt is the better version of Zaeed Masani. As a kind of “Alpha Krogan,” Grunt is practically a tank who talks. It’s often hilarious to watch him boil down complex issues into whatever solution allows him to employ the most force.

Grunt kind of gets lost in the shuffle a bit after Mass Effect 2, but his hilarious appearance in Mass Effect 3’s Citadel DLC helps ensure the character “ends” on a high note.

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11. Miranda Lawson

Miranda Lawson proves to be something of a mixed bag as far as squad companions go. At the very least, her mysterious intentions and potentially heated romance storyline make her one of Mass Effect 2’s most interesting additions.

While it feels like Mass Effect 3 could have found more room to expand Miranda’s story, she ends up being a pretty fleshed out (no pun…ah, never mind) character at the end of the day, and the events of Mass Effect 3’s Citadel DLC certainly go a long way towards offering her a more satisfying “conclusion” than she would have otherwise received.

10. Liara T’Soni

I’d argue that Liara benefits from one of the most complete and satisfying character arcs, but there are certainly some who feel that Liara’s intentionally disconnected nature and surprising (some say unlikely) plot twists make her hard to like.

In any case, the thing that really puts Liara over-the-top is her optional romance storyline and the events of Mass Effect 2‘s Shadow Broker DLC. If you take the time to get to know her, you’ll likely find that Liara is one of the most complete and fascinating companions in the Mass Effect trilogy.

9. Kasumi Goto

I’ll say right away that the biggest problem with Kasumi is that there’s just not enough of her. That’s kind of a compliment, but it’s a detriment when you consider that many Mass Effect players may decide to stick with other companions and ignore most of Goto’s relatively short arc.

With that out of the way, it must be said that Goto is an incredible character. She’s basically a rogue in the Mass Effect universe, which not only makes her a pretty cool squadmate from a storytelling perspective but grants her a unique set of combat abilities. I also have to give a shoutout to her Stolen Memory DLC appearance which is one of the best Mass Effect adventures ever.

8. Ashley Williams

Ashley Williams has to be the most divisive major companion in the Mass Effect trilogy. Not only is she initially somewhat underdeveloped, but her hostility towards multiple alien races has led some to call her xenophobic and sometimes something worse.

However, there’s something to be said for how Willaims has always come across as one of the most complete companions in the Mass Effect universe from a storytelling perspective. She feels like someone who exists even and lives a life even when Shepard isn’t interacting with her, and her appearance in Mass Effect 3 shows just how much she’s grown over the years by virtue of her (and your) adventures.

7. Legion

Legion initially comes across as a cheap nod to Star Trek: TNG’s Borg (mixed with a little Data and some other sci-fi characters), but spend a little time with this Geth, and you’ll find that they’re so much more than that.

Legion’s attempts at understanding the nature of its existence is less of a Pinnochio situation and more the result of its ability to process incredible amounts of data and turn that information into new outlooks. It’s tough to say whether Legion is more philosophical or analytical, but it’s that dynamic that makes it so compelling.

6. Thane

As an expert assassin who feels morally conflicted about almost every kill, Thane’s “samurai-like” lifestyle and complex views are more than enough to make him one of the companions that you’ll often want by your side.

Yet, it’s Thane’s disease that makes him a truly classic companion. What could have been a cheap emotional ploy instead becomes the storytelling device that strengthens Thane’s internal debates and regrets over how his actions will affect his distant son (among others). He’s just a great character.

5. Jack

I love how Jack is a fundamentally damaged person whose life is the product of one bad turn after another, but I understand if you feel that her earliest hours are trying too hard to present her as an overly edgy character.

However, Jack grows in a way that showcases just how talented the Mass Effect writers were at the top of their games. She warms up to the rest of the party as she comes to terms with the events of her life, but she never magically becomes an entirely different person. She’s also ridiculously powerful in the best way.

4. Mordin Solus

In some ways, Mordin Solus is Mass Effect’s Spock. Both are highly intelligent, both sometimes suffer from a “detached” view of others, and both are funny in a way that no other person around them quite is.

The biggest differences are that Solus is a hell of a singer who almost always has a tune in his head, and he’s partially responsible for countless deaths. It’s when you realize that Mordin’s “quirky” nature is the product of a darker mind than you could ever imagine that he becomes one of the franchise’s best characters, but Mordin is almost always entertaining no matter how much time you spend with them.

3. Tali

I could talk about Tali’s incredible backstory, great design, or even how she’s the co-star of one of Mass Effect’s best romances, but the thing about Tali that ultimately stands out is how she has one of the few stories that remain compelling across all three games in the Mass Effect trilogy.

There’s been a lot of talk about how Mass Effect 3 failed to end the series in a way that satisfyingly built on more of the player’s decisions, but Tali’s story showed that the Mass Effect team was more than capable of utilizing the trilogy’s ambitious format to weave a complex story across multiple entries.

2. Garrus

I’ve never met the Mass Effect player who doesn’t at least kind of like Garrus, and I’m not sure I ever will. He is not only Shepard’s right-hand man through much of the trilogy; he’s one of Mass Effect’s most complicated characters.

Many of the things that are so easy to love about Garrus don’t change throughout the trilogy, but as Garrus’ situations change wildly across those three games, we get to see him shine in a variety of roles as we learn more about how one of the coolest characters in the galaxy often struggles to find where he belongs if he’s not by the player’s side.

1. Urdnot Wrex

At the risk of making too many Star Trek comparisons, it has to be said that Wrex will remind many players of one of TNG’s best characters: Worf. Both are members of a seemingly violent alien race whose intelligence, warmth, and leadership immediately leave most players to realize that the assumptions they made about them may not be entirely fair.

Not only is Wrex one of the clearest early examples that the Mass Effect universe is more complicated than you maybe thought it would be, but he’s one of the few companions in the first game whose incredible backstory and various conflicts may leave you wondering if he should have been the star of this impressive show.

The post Mass Effect: Every Legendary Edition Squad Companion Ranked appeared first on Den of Geek.

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the-awesome-timelady1 · 6 years

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Because I'm bored and clearly have nothing better to do here are the 9 titan shifters and their powers

I have done research (by research I mean re-reading the manga) and collected all the information I could find about the 9 titan shifters and their powers

Also please try to ignore the names of people/places I tried my best to get the correct spelling

*manga spoilers*

There are a total of 9 titan shifters and the reason for this is because Ymir Fritz made a deal with the Devil of the earth, who was described as a mysterious figure, and obtained the power of the titans, however Eren Kruger that she gained the powers after coming into contact with the source of all living matter, this was also said to be mysterious.

Ymir possessed these powers for 13 years before she had passed away, this lead to the curse of Ymir, no titan can be more powerful than Ymir because of this no other titan shifter can live with the power for over 13 years.

After Ymir died her powers were split into 9 titan powers, the founding titan, the armoured titan, the colossal/colossus titan, the female titan, the attack titan, the jaw titan, the beast titan, the cartman titan and last but not least the war hammer titan.

The founding titan, also known as the coordinate titan is the most powerful of the 9 titans. Rod Reise compares the possesser of the founding titan to god, they become the soul creator of the world and it’s ultimate governing forces, the all knowing all powerful being. The founding titan can only be used to its full potential by members of the royal Fritz family, later renamed Ritz after they moved behind the walls, they have full control over pure titans and can make them follow any order. Carl Fritz, the first king of the walls also known as the 145th king, created the 3 walls, Maria, Rose and Sina named after the 3 daughters of Ymir, using tens of millions of colossal titans, according to willie Taybar’s speech. If the possessor of the founding titan wished that could unleash all dormant colossal titans to flatten the earth, however cannot because they inherit the memories and philosophy of King Carl Fritz. It is unknown if the founding titan can control other shifters. The founding titan also has the ability to erase or rewrite the memories of Eldians, the Ackerman clan, the Asian clan, members of the central houses, non minority blood lines and non subjects of Yimir are immune. The founding titan also allows the possesser to see memories of past possessers perfectly clear, we also Learn from Gabbie that if possessers are related the ability works better, however random glimpses cannot compare to the founding titans ability to recall on command memories of past possessers. Known possessers include Ymir Fritz, Carl Fritz, the father of Rod Riese, Yuri Reise and Grisha Jaeger who stole it from the royal family and then passed it onto Eren.

The armoured titan is a 15 meter class titan, as the name suggests the armoured titan specialises in armour and constantly has armour plates on his body, which can be removed in certain places to increase speed. The armoured titan is considered to have the strongest defence and used as a symbol for the Marlay’s unstoppable power. During the battle of fort Slava anti-titan weaponry did devastating damage to the armoured titan despite its strong armour. Armoured plates of skin can increase attacks making punches more deadly and is the only titan, so far, to be able to withstand the explosive ability of the colossal titan. The only known possesser is Reiner Braun, he gained the armoured titan power at the age of 10 years old, Reiner is currently 21 after the time jump meaning his 13 years are almost over. The next possesser is expected to be Gabbi, Reiners cousin.

The colossal or colossus titan, referred to the god of destruction stands at 60 meters, 4 times the size of the armoured titan and the 2nd tallest in the manga, Rod Reise’s titan was 120 meters and was unable to stand. The former possesser of the colossal titan was Bertholdt Hoover and is now in possession of Armin Arlert. The colossal titan is extremely powerful and can destroy the gate of the wall with 1 kick, because the colossal titan is so big it’s body burns up quicker and releases more steam than any other titan shifter, this is the only titan we have seen that uses steam for an attack and as a defence, the steam can blow away and burn skilled users or the ODM gear so it’s useless to try to attach the anchors to his flesh although Armin manages to attach the anchors to his teeth the hot steam almost kills him. The colossal titan can create massive explosions that destroy everything and everyone around, so far only the armoured titan can withstand the blast. The body of the colossal titan evaporates almost instantly, unlike any other titan shifter, making it easy for the user to quickly escape in the steam.

The female titans current, and only possesser we know of is Annie Leonhardt and also stands at 15 meters and has been described by Marley as an all purpose unit. The female titan has amazing stamina, when Annie, Marcel, Bertholdt and Reiner arrived on Paradis Island Annie and Marcel, the jaw titan at the time, we’re supposed to take turns carrying the warriors to wall Maria but after Marcel got devoured along the way Annie was left to carry Bertholdt and Reiner the whole way herself, in titan for Annie can also keep up with the horses of the survey sorps. The female titan also has hardening abilities which she uses to protect vital spots on her body, Annie can summon pure titans within hearing rang and is also the only known shifter who can encase herself in an indestructible crystal. Annie can focus regeneration into one place to speed up the process, and example of this is when she surprised the Levi squad and focused regeneration into one eye.

Next we have the attack titan, currently possessed by Eren Jaeger. The attack titan is another 15 meter class titan. The earliest possesser we know of is Eren Kruger, who when he passed the attack titan onto Grisha Jaeger he told him that no matter the age the attack titan has always moved ahead seeking freedom. The attack titan is still a mystery, Isayama could be waiting to reveal his special ability in an awesome way but it is possible that Eren has unlocked his ability during the time jump, it is also possible that the attack titans special ability is to see into the future this is because Eren Kruger, before passing the titan onto Grisha mentions Mikasa and Armin years before they were even born. Eren was able to harden his titan body after drinking armour vile this means that the hardend body doesn’t evaporate after he exits the body, he uses this ability to cover the hole in wall Maria in the return to Shiganshina arc.

The jaw titan is a 5 meter class titan, the size of this titan contributes to its swiftness. The current possesser of the jaw titan is Falco Galiard who obtained the power from Ymir, who got the power from Marcel. The Marlayan officials calls this titan an assault unit. The jaw titans powerful jaw and nails can crush almost anything, although it’s frame is smaller and weaker than most other titans it’s small size gives it an advantage in certain terrain, like in the titan forest, the trees allowed the almost chimpanzee like titan to manoeuvre through the trees faster than anyone else. The jaw titan is good at quick attacks and escaping other titans but can be easily overpowered, we see this when Yimir tries to save the 104th training cadet corps at Utguard castle.

The beast titan is a 17 meter class titan and it’s current possesser is Zeke Jaeger, Erens half brother. The beast titan is covered in ape like fur and has really long arms, the beast titan can throw massive boulders with great accuracy and force therefore the Marlayan military were impressed by its throwing ability. Like the armoured, female, attack and jaw titans the beast titan can also use a hardening ability, we see this during his battle with Levi but wasn’t fast enough to harden in time. The beast titan can speak fluently, in titan form, and create titans just by roaring, as long as the Eldian has already been injected with the spinal fluid, he also doesn’t need to be in his titan form to do this.

The cartman titan, also know as the quadruple titan, is currently possessed by Pieke and is said to be the best titan for long missions, 2 months is the longest we’ve heard, this titan walks on all 4’s which helps it to travel really fast, like the jaw titan, the cartman titan can also be equipped with armour. Like the beast, jaw and warhammer titans the cartman titan can also speak fluently.

And finally the warhammer titan. This titan is still a mystery and has what appears to be helmet resembling a midevil knights helmet. From what I’ve seen it looks like the warhammer titan can in a way manipulate the ground when it makes contact with it’s massive warhammer, it can make various sized spikes appear. Like the beast, cartman and jaw titan the warhammer titan can also speak fluently in titan form. (Although Eren couldn’t defeat the warhammer titan he could have just been testing it’s ability). The current, and only known, possesser of this titan is Willie Taybar’s sister.

I’m quite excited to learn more about the warhammer titan and all its abilities/strengths. I am going to try post more about the warhammer titan when we get more information.

*also I had to re-post this as I never finished the last one (I had it as a saved draft but forgot to save before closing the app and didn’t realise before posting)*

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