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#and a tragic defeat and hopeless battle
Seiko Kimura VS The Lizard [Danganronpa Survivor VS Spider-Man/Marvel Comics]
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Hifumi: Dr. Seiko Kimura; the Ultimate Pharmacist!
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Leona: Dr. Curtis Connors; The Lizard!
Hifumi: Part-human...Part-monster...ALL SAVAGE!
Leona: But when their backs are against the wall who's the most savage of them all!? He's Hifumi and I'm Leona!
Hifumi: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, talents and skills, to see who will win a DEATH BATTLE!
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Leona: So for our combatant in Mikan Vs Fluttershy, we talked about a medical girl who's life just fucking sucked. THIS TIME however, we're going to talk about a medical girl who's life just fucking sucked! ...Wait a second.
Hifumi: We've talked many times already about the Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History. Also known simply as the Tragedy, it's origins lied in Hope's Peak Academy; a coed, private, city center high school with boarding facilities that was approved by the government and established several decades before the events that are known to us.
Leona: Before it was known as that though, it all started as The Tragedy of Hope's Peak Academy, the chronologically first mutual killing game to occur in our world, despite it's brevity. 
Hifumi: Many have characterized the Tragedy as a remarkable instance of social unrest that swiftly descended into meaningless chaos, violence, and fatalities. What began as the "anti-talent" movement quickly spread throughout the world and became more violent by the day, with the Masterminds, Junko Enoshima and the Ultimate Despair, working to fan the flames of unrest. Soon, chaos and death became the norm in society, and the initial reasons for the protests were forgotten. Before long, the majority of people had descended into chaos and hopelessness, and a significant global phenomenon had emerged.
Leona: But when things were at their bleakest, that was when a certain organization slotted themselves in to quell the Despair and return the world to how it always has been - The FUTURE FOUNDATION! Wow...We're 10 episodes in and only now we're really going into the history of the Foundation? I mean, it's basically our job.
Hifumi: That's simply because it hasn't been COMPLETELY relevant to our other combatants backstories thus far. For this particular character, it's quite an integral part of her tale. Alumni of Hope's Peak Academy founded the Future Foundation at some point during or after The Tragedy drove the world to the verge of destruction in an effort to defeat Ultimate Despair and repair the harm their actions had caused to the world. While initially founded by Kyosuke Munakata and Kazuo Tengan, it's unclear when they started operating, but they were clearly well-established during the events of the first killing game because they were able to support the Hope's Peak Academy survivors after they defeated Junko Enoshima and Monokuma.
Leona: And one of the founding members of this organization was a very interesting individual who served as a lead medical expert and the Branch Chief of the Fourth Division...Dr. Seiko Kimura.
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Hifumi: Technically speaking, Seiko Kimura didn't OFFICIALLY get her doctorate until AFTER the events of the Tragedy and the Final Killing Game, and there's a rather tragic reason as to why. Not an awful lot is known about her backstory or her family life as a child, but what we DO know is that even as a youth, she had a terribly sick complexion and a chronic illness, hence her pale skin and grey hair. In order to stay alive, she had to submit to taking the same sample of medicine every single day of her life, otherwise, she could potentially die.
Leona: Because of her weak constitution, she didn't have many friends, except for two rather notable childhood companions in two other eventual Foundation leaders: Ruruka Ando and Sonosuke Izayoi. Though she hated being closed off, Seiko naturally learned a lot about the medication she was taking and the happenings of the medical industry. And it was thanks to this that she decided to make use of her pitiful life and do some good with it.
Hifumi: Though a younger Dr. Kimura had a tendency to undergo emotional spikes and snap at people for minor inconviniences, she was naturally quite humble and compassionate, and realized that there were many people in the world who were suffering like her, perhaps even moreso, because of sicknesses and illness beyond their control. 
Leona: So she studied hard to become a doctor, and went on to develop her own brand of special medicines with never before seen special effects, some of which she made when she was in Elementary School! 
Hifumi: This was what initially drew Ando and Izayoi to her. When Dr. Kimura was unable to save a dog from a car accident, the three of them first got together. They were surprised by how effective her medication was, and Ando warmed up to her, giving her some of her best-made candies. 
Leona: Sadly, Seiko was unable to eat them because of the harmful side effects that sugar has when combined with her medication; otherwise, she might not survive. 
Hifumi: Ando called Kimura a friend as a result, and Kimura promised to assist Ando in any other way she could to make up for this slight. She had gone to the same school as Ando and Izayoi all through elementary, middle, and high school, and eventually, all three of them got accepted into Hope's Peak Academy. Izayoi as the Ultimate Blacksmith, Ando as the Ultimate Confectioner, and Kimura as the Ultimate Pharmacist. Unfortunately, there was one other thing about Ruruka Ando that we need to mention...
Leona: She's a bitch! ~♪
Hifumi: I would not have put it so aptly but...Yeah, I suppose we can say that...
Leona: Though she kind of is so naturally, Ruruka Ando is probably the most toxic as fuck best friend you could ever hate to have, and I'm friends with Maya Canzanilla, so you know I mean that! Most of her relationships, ESPECIALLY the one she had with Seiko, was manipulative at it's core, with a "Get them to love you, and they'll do anything for you." kind of mindset. Mainly when it came to their practical exams at Hope's Peak, she made Seiko create sweet tasting drugs to put in her food to kind of...cheat-code her way through the exams.
Hifumi: And this HEAVILY came back to bite her in their second year. All thanks to the actions of one particular individual - Nagito Komaeda: the Ultimate Lucky Student of Class 77
Leona: Ugh THIS GUY again...!
Hifumi: After witnessing his classmates' depressing behavior all day due to the loss of Hiyori Sato and Natsumi Kuzuryu, Komaeda felt compelled to take action. He devised a plan after failing to get the exams postponed and went to see Dr. Kimura in her research lab. His plan was to lace laxatives in the judge's food, and should that fail, set off a bomb underneath the exam hall to disrupt the proceedings.
Leona: The fuck is wrong with this guy!? Ahem...Anyway, it's a pretty long and stupid story, but basically this led to a whole bunch of mixups, like Nagito swapping around similarly named medicines and then accidentally swapping bags with Seiko, that led to the judges ended up eating Ruruka's pastries laced with laxative, and Seiko accidentally switching on the bomb along with Ruruka.
Hifumi: Due to the mixup, Ando believed Kimura had purposefully given her the incorrect medication, which was why she failed her exams. Ruruka's comments hurt Seiko as well, and the two of them lashed out, releasing years' worth of pent-up resentment. Furthermore, the bomb incident resulted in the expulsion of all three of them, including Izayoi, whilst Komaeda, thanks to his talent, got off with a suspension. Due to these incidents, Seiko and Ruruka developed a deep dislike and mistrust for one another and thought the other was a traitor.
Leona: But to be branded a failure by Hope's Peak is to be branded a failure by ALL of Japanese Society. Seiko had NOTHING LEFT, and was implied to have been homeless and without a place to go when Munakata, Chisa Yukizome, and Juzo Sakakura stepped in to offer her help. Thus she became one of the Future Foundation's first members, and currently it's longest running.
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Hifumi: Dr. Kimura's pharmalogical skills earn her the natural envy of even the most potent medical practitioners in the Danganronpa universe, like Mikan Tsumiki and Kanata Inori. As the Ultimate Pharmacist, the medical industry took a keen interest in Dr. Kimura due to her ability to discover novel applications for pre-existing medications in addition to developing her own. Many pharmaceutical companies had approached her, vying for her talent, saying they wanted to offer her their full support, but she took only minimal assistance with her research.
Leona: Seiko can create just about any kind of medicine, even with little resources, ranging from something common like laxatives and cold medication to more ludicrous concoctions such as strength enhancers and super-healing medication. Like the Doping Corn Soup that Akane Owari uses in some her battles that we covered in her episode.
Hifumi: Or the healing fluids that Mikan Tsumiki employed in hers. The Future Foundation trusted her to provide medication to the Tragedy victims, and she delivered. And Dr. Kimura carries a supply of these medicines on her person so that she's always ready to heal herself or her companions. The healing medicine she carries is so potent, it can regenerate even broken bones in a matter of seconds.
Leona: Though she unfortunately still suffers from her own affliction, she's been able to cure, repress and counter some of the most powerful afflictions and illnesses. She repressed Nagito Komaeda's cancer and frontemporal dementia, cured Nekomaru Nidai's heart virus, and balanced out Kuripa Kurafto's CIPA's disease by creating a drug that through ingestion, speeds up his already naturally slow healing process...Though this does have some nasty side effects if a person who DOESN'T have CIPA's takes it...As seen with Kaede.
Leona: And these medicines have helped herself and her friends survive the most powerful afflictions and adversaries they've ever come across, especially when she, Ruruka and the other Foundation leaders would be swept up in the Final Killing Game, secretly hosted and created by Kazuo Tengan as a weird as fuck attempt to save the world. For real though, I don't GET ANYTHING with that plan!
Hifumi: Don't think about it then. It's not worth your stress. But this came in clutch in the Final Killing Game, even after meeting her very unfortunate demise. Instead of executions, the Final Killing Game employed NG Code Poisoning in their place. The Monokuma bangles strapped to the participants wrists recognizes when a player transgresses their NG Code or Forbidden Action and instantly injects a deadly poison into their bloodstream, which almost claimed the lives of Daisaku Bandai, Koichi Kizakura and Kyoko Kirigiri.
Leona: Emphasis on that ALMOST. You have a deadly poison! WE have a Seiko!
Hifumi: Though it was only thanks to her research and Mikan Tsumiki's equal medical knowledge, Seiko Kimura developed a COUNTER-MEDICINE to the NG poisoning. A person would go into a comatose state rather than pass away from the poison injection if they took the medication prior to the bracelet activating. Taking the drug before her NG Code activated allowed Kyoko Kirigiri to survive. Even though she looked dead to her friends, the physical effects were significantly less severe, and after Mikan Tsumiki revived her, she had no lasting side effects. And she achieved this UNDER FOUR HOURS after Daisaku Bandai was first induced with it.
Leona: That's not even mentioning that she eventually developed a CURE! Even though she confirmed Bandai's almost instant death with the NG Code Poison, she was able to resuscitate both him and Koichi Kizakura hours after everyone believed they had died. But I know what you're all wondering. "MeH, thiS is A DeAth BaTTlE, HOw's she gUnNA uSe tHIs To FIGHT, mEh!?" Which is fair, since what's the point of being so smart if she can't hit hard? Fortunately, she can, with her most powerful and notable drug...
Hifumi: Dr Kimura was developing a "Reanimator" just before she was expelled from Hope's Peak, which had the added benefit of enhancing the user's physical condition. No matter how worn out someone was, she claimed that one ingestion of the pill she was developing would revitalize them completely when it was believed to have been added to Ando's confections. A small dog that was consuming some of the reanimator during Komaeda's antics soon transformed into a GIANT, which enabled it to completely breach a wall.
Leona: In the Final Killing Game era, it takes the form of these little green pills that Seiko takes by popping a handful of them in her mouth. And taking these little babies transforms Seiko into her BEAST MODEtm!
Hifumi: Dr. Kimura specifically enters a berserk-like state, exhibiting glowing purple eyes, longer hair, claw-like fingernails, and a more muscular body. When she was attacked by Ando and Izayoi, she used this transformation, and as soon as she transformed, Izayoi threw a knife at her, which she caught in her mouth and broke with her teeth!
Leona: The transformation gave Seiko the strength and immunity to power through all of the traps that Ando and Izayoi set for her. Given that Izayoi has previously shown to be on a similar fighting level as Remnants Akane and Nekomaru, Seiko being able to wrangle with him shows just how powerful she really is.
Hifumi: And it's not just Izayoi that Kimura was able to "wrangle" with. She also took Juzo Sakakura, the Ultimate Boxer, head on, and even fought and almost beat Kanade Otonokoji, who was able to defeat Kuripa Kurafto by catching him off-guard.
Leona: Not to mention that at the time they fought, Kanade was coked up herself! On HOPE SERUM! The same drug that was developed to gift Ayumu Fujimori and Nagito Komaeda the Ultimate Hope powers that Hajime Hinata recieved through the Kamukura Project, becoming an unstoppable being who's existence is talent and power itself.
Hifumi: ...Sort of. When Kanade Otonokoji took the Hope Serum, her body was not pre-prepared for it's effects. So instead of giving her Ultimate levels of capability, it instead boosted her strength by a fair margin, but not as much as it would have done if she had the right body type for it. Even still, with how ferocious she fights, it's still impressive that Dr. Kimura was able to fight with her on an equal level. It implies the effects of her drugs have the potential to keep up with Fujimori and Komaeda if they're developed further.
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Leona: Seiko also broke down several metal doors and structures with relative ease, jumped great distances through and up into the air, and was even able to smell the scent of Ruruka while she was a great distance away, even through solid glass, giving her bloodhound-like senses. And this isn't even the full power that the form can reach!
Hifumi: The number of Reanimators that Dr. Kimura consumes at once determines how her form changes; consuming more of them lengthens the transformation and boosts her power. During her transformation into the advanced state, she bent a metal rail, sent Sakakura skidding away with a single blow, repeatedly punched through reinforced glass, leaped around a large room breaking lights along the walls, and then embedded her feet in a wall above the window of an observation booth, and tanked several missiles fired at her by Miaya Gekkogahara, causing a massive explosion.
Leona: But one interesting thing about her berserk state, is that even though her senses and bloodlust rise exponentially, it seems that her intelligence and consciousness remains...mostly intact.
Hifumi: Indeed. While she does undoubtedly go crazy in this form, she has always demonstrated that she is still capable of thinking when she uses it, as evidenced by the suggestion that she wanted to mend Aoi Asahina's injured arm or the fact that she was still capable of taunting communication during her fight with Otonokoji. And even though she is a beast, she still knows how to use her medical knowledge and equipment, like how she used her medicine to heal her arm when Izayoi damaged it.
Leona: Alas, as incredible as she is, she is far from indestructible. As a regular human without the use of the medicine enhancers, Seiko is just a normal human with normal human weaknesses.
Hifumi: And even though she poses a serious threat as a monster, her metamorphosis is only temporary and ends when the effects of the drugs wear off. And sadly, even the beastial form did not save Seiko Kimura from her demise in the Final Killing Game. In her last moments as her transformation started to wear off, she began to reflect on how all she really wanted was to be friends with Ando once more. She was also sorry that she was unable to stop her allies from dying. She fell asleep for the last time when the timer on her bracelet rang. She was brainwashed into taking her own life while she was asleep.
Leona: Until the Future Foundation's resurrections devices brought her back to life! Which by the way, she was kind of in on all THAT stuff as well!
Hifumi: Well, she didn't MAKE the machines, but she helped to study and improve them, which led to the ones who died in the first killing game, including yours truly, to be brought back to life. I really owe her a lot now that I think about it...I should show my appreciation more often...
Leona: Just get her some valentines chocolates or something.
Hifumi: I would if I didn't risk invoking Mr Komaeda's wrath. During the same time as her resurrection, the Remnant's of Despair, now reformed and back to their old selves, were beginning to work with the Future Foundation, and came initially under Dr Kimura's care; something that she personally did not like at first. Though this also had to do with her past experiences of being manipulated and not wanting to increase her social circle too much. But still, when she discovered that the prior terrorists had changed their tune, she changed hers, and went on to help them with lots of their long-standing issues and by this point in time, basically became one of them.
Leona: So you're telling me that after he got her and her friends expelled, ruined her life, became a Remnant, destroyed the world and then betrayed the Future Foundation for the sake of petty revenge, she hooked up with that weirdo? I'd judge her standards, but I'm about the same.
Hifumi: Well, Mr Komaeda became a very different person following the events of the Jabberwock Island Killing Game, and it's mainly thanks to Dr. Kimura. Though remaining an idealist, Komaeda was eternally grateful for the things that Seiko had done for him in spite of their rough history, and regretted what he had inadvertedly done to her and her friends. He committed a lot of his time to helping her out and getting whatever she needed for her, eventually falling in love with her. Genuine affection, that is.
Leona: I.e. NOT the creepy hope obsession affection that he usually displays. but yeah, Nagito's care for her allowed Seiko to keep going even when Zetsubou kidnapped her and forced her to develop their powerful Hope Serum, and boy did she style on them once she got her edge back. 
Hifumi: Seiko Kimura will always remain despite all that she has endured and witnessed, and will regretfully always be confronted with from her traumatic past. And among the many powerhouses of our universe, she will continue to be among the most astute and formidable women in history.
Leona: Ok, but seriously though, are there any medical people in our universe who's lives DIDN'T fucking suck?
Hifumi: Um...Dr. Inori?
Leona: Lost her parents in a car crash
Hifumi: Your friend Mr Ito?
Leona: Struggled with transphobia when he was a kid.
Hifumi: Mr Porosen?
Leona: Barely counts and you know full well how damaged that baby boy is.
Hifumi: Fair...
Leona and Hifumi continue their back and forth
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Leona: The strange case of Curt Connors is one of the most tragic in Spider-man's career. Over the years, he has watched helplessly as his close friend has slowly devolved from human into animal. But the road to reptilian hell was once paved with good intentions.
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Hifumi: Dr. Curtis Connors, known by his family and peers as Curt, started out life as a very good man. Born in Coral Gables, Florida, he studied a doctorate and became a gifted and talented surgeon, eventually joining the US Army as a combat medic, operating on injured soldiers in combat emergencies. He had many friends despite his introverted nature, and was a family man with a loving wife, Martha, and son, Billy.
Leona: Why does every superhero comic have a loving wife named Martha...Ahem, never mind! But then one day, tragedy struck...His arm went KABOOM!
Hifumi: While serving the force, Connors was caught in an horrific explosion that, miraculously, he survived, but his right arm was damaged beyond repair, and he had no choice but to have it amputated. Unable to serve the force anymore, Connors was discharged and went back to civilian life as a research technologist. His medical and scientific wisdom landed him a job at Oscorp, or S.H.I.E.L.D depending on the iteration.
Leona: However, coping with the loss of his arm turned out to be a NIGHTMARE for Curt, and he struggled to live with his lack of it. Using his wealth of knowledge and research, he and a few close friends set out to try and find a cure, or a way to help him regrow his lost limb. But his path towards a solution came from a rather interesting place...Herpetology! Wait...he got his solution from HERPES!?
Hifumi: NO! Ugh...Herpetology refers to the area of zoology which is dedicated to the study of reptiles and amphibians. What Connors was specifically interested in was a reptiles unique genetic "recipe," that provided creatures like axolotls or lizards their enhanced regenerative abilities of musculoskeletal tissues, 
Leona: ...Come again?
Uchui [off-screen]: They can regrow their limbs!
Leona: Ooooh! Ok, so by understanding the secret of how lizards regenerate their limbs, Connors set out to develop a potential way to simulate the regeneration of limbs in humans, helping them regrow amputated or damaged limbs. Not just for himself, bare in mind, but he figured if he could use his medication on himself, he could use it to provide revolutionary healthcare to the rest of humanity who were suffering like he was. What a SWELL GUY!
Hifumi: And it honestly wasn't that far-fetched of an idea, at least not on paper! Despite being cold-blooded reptiles, lizards essentially have the same genetic toolkit as mammals. In fact, lizards are the most closely-related animals to humans that can regenerate entire appendages. Researchers have found that in particular areas of a regenerating limb, such as the tail, they activate at least 326 genes, including those involved in wound healing, hormonal signaling response, and embryonic development.
Leona: Curt became obsessed with learning about reptilian limb regeneration. He finally developed an experimental serum derived from reptilian DNA while working from his home in the Florida Everglades with the assistance of war buddy, Ted Sallis, and in a few iterations, the one and only Peter Parker, the son of Richard Parker, an old friend of Curt's who attempted to help him before he mysteeeeeriously disappeeeaaared~
Hifumi: As it turns out, the experiment worked out pretty well at first! Connors put this serum to the test on an amputated rabbit, and it worked! To take this experiment to the next level, he discovered an even better test subject: Himself.
Leona: Despite his wife's desperate pleas, Curt used himself as a Guinee Pig and ingested his own experimental serum. Thus "Experiment-that-can-only-go-wrong No.342" occurred...Le sigh...THIS is why we LISTEN to our wives, people!
Hifumi: Once Connors took his serum, his amputated arm regrew within MINUTES, something that reptile regeneration actually doesn't do, since it takes a lot more time than that. The results of his experiment were frankly miraculous, and for a brief time, the Doctor believed he had revolutionized modern medicine...But then reptilian green scales started to spread over his body, and he spouted a long, lizard-like tail...!
Leona: Similar to a letter-day Jekyll and Hyde, Dr. Curt Connors had gone from being a mild-mannered scientist into a BLOODTHIRSTY villain...! The LIZARD! Because superhero comics...HATE DOCTORS!
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Hifumi: When Connors is the Lizard, his altruistic personality takes a backseat to the reptilian rampagers brutal behavior. He is unable to control his transformations very well, and he is constantly in a state of rage and fury. Warranting him an unmatched destructive power, as well as MULTIPLE encounters with the web-slinging hero; even the X-Men at times.
Leona: Lizard is a ruthless beast who possesses incredible strength and inhuman powers. While he may walk like a man...sometimes...and is even capable of speech...sometimes...his behavior is anything BUT civilized. And he has only one goal and desire...to WIPE HUMANITY THE FUCK OUT!
Hifumi: To put it another way, his goal is to eradicate all mammal life from the planet. To his animalistic mind, the only way to restore reptiles to their rightful place as the planet's masters is to wipe out all warm-blooded species, including humans. Despite the fact that Dr. Conners and Spider-Man have grown dependent on one another over time, the Lizard despises the webslinger for impeding his efforts to wage war on humanity. And with his own unique powers, as well as how he can handle Spider-Man multiple times and quite easily at that, it's all the more important for Spidey that he needs to be stopped.
Leona: Let's talk stats. To start with, Lizzie's leg muscles are so powerful that he can leap nearly 12 feet into the air, and cover an average distance of about 18 feet with a single bound, which more than helps him keep up with Spider-Man, even though he's not as fast AS the hero. He's also used his incredible speed to keep up with characters like Morbius and Doctor Octopus.
Hifumi: He can whip his tail at speeds of up to 70 mph, and his top running speed is close to at least 45 mph. That's comparable to a Greyhound's speed. And thanks to the Lizard's natural ability to regenerate from wounds and fatigue, his stamina is almost immeasurable. The bio-regenerative serum gave him an enhanced, hybrid physiology that allows him to fight almost endlessly without fear of fatigue. He can withstand severe bleeding and brutal wounds thanks to his healing factor, and he has lost limbs several times without so much as blinking.
Leona: So he's got speed and stamina in the bag, but what about power? Well, if the big-ass teeth, fuck-off claws and hulking beastbody don't sell it...Yeah, yeah, he's REALLY strong.
Hifumi: The Lizard has fought and matched Morbius the Living Vampire in battle, who in Spider-Man's own words, "hits like an h-bomb," and while this is obviously exaggeration, Morbius' actual attack potency is indeed above and beyond that of most Marvel heroes, much more than Spider-Man's. 
Leona: And over the years that Lizzie and Spidey have been fighting, he's just gotten more powerful every time. Kind of like if Goku was a large angry reptile and also very evil! Evidence of the Lizard's passing is "a steel door torn off its hinges like it was cardboard," and he often causes mass environmental damage. In Insomniac's Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man's fight with Lizard infamously took them across most of New York, and whatever infrastructure the two came across was basically totalled.
Hifumi: Spider-Man even claims in the comics that unlike most of his recurring foes, Lizard is one that he can't afford to pull his punches with as he usually does. Though many forget it, Spider-Man's punches are ordinarily LETHAL in potency; especially since he's able to one-shot Tombstone, who can't ordinarily feel pain, and halt the charge of the Rhino with a single kick. If he struggles to fight Connors without holding back, that's certainly saying something!
Leona: But there's MORE to it! A few times in their early fights, Spider-Man outright states that the Lizard's reptilian skin is so thick and hard that's what she said...that he almost FRACTURED HIS KNUCKLE just punching him! And this is coming from the same guy during one of their fights, punched through a three-inch thick steel door!
Hifumi: This would take about 150 tons, or 300,000 pounds of force, for a mild steel door. The force for a HARDENED steel door could increase significantly but would likely remain below 1,000 tons, particularly if the door is composed of an exotic alloy like maraging steel. Either way, to know that the Lizard's skin is somehow DENSER than that makes you wonder how Peter is even able to HURT the Lizard in the first place.
Leona: Sometimes it feels like he CAN'T! Lizard's skin HAS proven to be bulletproof and explosionproof, and even when Spider-Man goes all out, it's very hard to keep the beast down! He's also taken hits from Stregon, another reptilian villain who put his fist directly through concrete with a punch, and he's taken hits from opponents that are just as strong, if not stronger than that, including, but not limited to, Wolverine, White Tiger, Man-Thing and the Last Son of Kraven.
Hifumi: It's a little bit complicated in lore terms, but the Last Son is a Kraven clone raised on an accelerated life cycle and trained from birth, who went on to hunt and kill 86 other Kraven clones raised in the same manner. Additionally, Kraven's Last Son has the ability to punch Kraven through walls while he is wearing the black Spider-Man suit, and Connors was hit repeatedly by the Last Son even when unable to retaliate because of an adamantium inhibitor chip in the back of his neck.
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Leona: Even aside from his natural strength, durability and speed feats, the Lizard is more than just some movie monster. He's got some weird, wacky and FUCKING TERRIFYING powers under his scaly belt! Like Hifumi already said, for one, he can easily regenerate.
Hifumi: As I already said, ACTUAL reptile regeneration is not a quick process. The injured stump where the lost body part was originally located forms a "blastema" in reptiles with the ability to regenerate body parts, such as newts and salamanders. This is a mass of cells that will regenerate the damaged body part, including stem cells. The genetic program that initially formed the body part before birth or hatching will be activated by the blastema. If the creature LIVES for that long, this process could take a month or up to fifteen months.
Leona: Ok, I get it, it's slow, stop using big words!
Hifumi: But the Lizard on the other hand has a regeneration process that is just inhuman or...in-reptile I suppose; not just because it's much faster, but because it's far greater than just regenerating limbs. Not only has his tail and arms grown back, but so have his eyeballs. He has quickly healed from multiple gunshot wounds and made a full recovery from impalement. He swiftly healed his broken neck, avoided having the Man-Thing burn his head, healed after receiving a knife wound to the head and regurgitated his spinal cord after it was severed!
Leona: He ALSO adopts characteristics from other reptiles like Alligators, and by which I mean those bastards stealth skills. Though he as the power to tear down buildings at his leisure, Lizard typically relies on catching his prey by surprise, and he's damn good at it despite his large size and beastly aura. He uses his stealth skills to stalk his prey at the night, and is perfectly capable of causing distractions, like how he was able to sneak under a couple's car without them noticing. Wait, how the fuck does he fit under there!? He's like 3 times the size of me!
Hifumi: Lizard's hands and feet are also covered with tiny claws that create adhesive pads, like those of a gecko. The pads allow him to scale and slither even sheer surfaces, with naturally faster speed than a real lizard and ever greater ability than Spider-Man himself.
Leona: But among Curt's many abilities, what to me is his most interesting one is his telepathy. Yeah, among all the other insane bullshit, this guy can CONTROL MINDS! WOOOOO!
Hifumi: Well, sort of. As long as they're close by, Lizard's special ability allows him to control and manipulate the minds of all other ranges of reptiles, including snakes, crocodiles, and lizards. When it comes to Spider-Man, Lizard is more than happy to use the reptiles as his foot soldiers. This power is robust as well. He's even used it to control the mind of Man-Thing, and once, he summoned an entire swamp of creatures to attack Ben Reilly Spider-Man.
Leona: But surprise surprise, he can use this power on HUMANS too. Spider-Man explained that the telepathy is like an aura around Lizard that "makes the Id take over the Superego". What that fucking means, I don't know, but based on the dialogue I'm going to assume it means it makes everyone around him stupid. Considering it made Doc Ock act like an animal who talks like the Lizard, I'm gonna assume I'm right.
Hifumi: Sorry to hit you with more science and calculations, but the way the Lizard does this relates to the Triune Brain structure; a hypothesis put forth in the 1960s by American physician and neuroscientist Paul D. MacLean regarding the evolution of the vertebrate forebrain and behavior. One aspect of the diagram is the Reptilian Complex, or R-Complex. The word comes from the belief held by comparative neuroanatomists that these structures dominated the forebrains of birds and reptiles. According to MacLean, instinctive behaviors typical of a species such as aggression, dominance, territoriality, and ritualistic displays are caused by the reptilian complex.
Leona: So in summary, it's LITERALLY every man's inner beast. In order to employ this, Lizard's body gives off a noxious fume that can fuck with someone's mind in a DEVASTATING way if it's inhaled. He forces the animal instinct to be released, and to make human beings act mindlessly and destructively, which he's employed against and ON Spider-Man, employing the web-slingers lizard brain to induce fear in him and make him run away in terror.
Hifumi: As for any other abilities he might have, it has also been demonstrated that he has poisonous clawtips that cause excruciating pain, disorientation, and sensory impairment to those who are slashed by them. Additionally, he's resistant to heat and diseases. He was unaffected by boiling water, merely startled by a Bunsen Burner's flame, and had no trouble biting into flaming objects. 
Leona: Damn...We sure covered a lot of crazy as fuck feats. And I bet you all thought he was just some big green scaly monster. So the question is this...if the Lizard is such a terrifying foe, how is Spidey able to beat him?
Hifumi: For one thing, Lizard has a rather potent weakness to the cold. The main thing that separates reptiles from mammals is the formers cold blood, and in the case of Connors, severe cold severely impairs him and may even stop him entirely. It also drives him, on occasion, into hibernation.
Leona: Plus, as I said before, Lizard is only KIND of able to communicate and strategize beyond that of his animal instinct. The longer Curt Connors remains AS the Lizard, the more his abilities to talk and think slip away, and his hunger for violence and destruction only grows. 
Hifumi: When they first clashed, using Connors' notes, Spider-Man created an antidote to return the Lizard to his human form and mentality. The family man was back, and even though his mentality regressed over time due to the battle with the beast inside him, he went on to remain one of the webslingers most trustworthy allies, even going as far as to save May Parker's life when she was accidentally exposed to Peter's radioactive DNA.
Leona: But how long do you think THAT'S gonna last?
Hifumi: Good question. And the truth is I can't tell you for sure. It later became clear that the success of Connors' apparent cure from the Lizard persona was short-lived. A cycle began of Connors' transformation into the Lizard continually caused by stress or a chemical reaction; Spider-Man fighting him, forcing him to swallow the antidote to stop the transformation until the next time, rinse and repeat
Leona: At any time, be it due to reactions with chemicals or overexertion of stress, Dr. Curt Connors can at any point relapse into the reptilian beast. Until the day comes that someone finds a true cure for the monster, The Lizard will stay one deadly predator and one of Spider-Man strongest and deadliest rogues.
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Hifumi: Alright, the combatants are set! We've run the data through all possibilities!
Leona: IT'S TIME FOR A DEEAAATH BAAATTLLLLLLEEE!
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The scene opens to a dark, damp and grimy sewer, as Dr. Seiko Kimura, the Ultimate Pharmacist, carefully trudges through the sewage. With a worried look on her face, she sees multiple slash marks and the traces of what appear to be mutilated animal corpses lying in the grime. Her goal is to track down the perpetrator.
*hisss...!*
Seiko: ...!?
She suddenly senses a presence nearby, and barely spots a shadow as it lurks around a corner. Instinctively, she grabs a bottle of pills and equips a bag full of medicines to her side.
Seiko: Doctor Connors? If you're trying to scare me...It's working...!
Seiko suddenly breaks out into a run as the pressure gets to her. With her feet splashing along the damp pavement of the sewer, the Lizard finally crawls out from it's hiding place and scales the ceiling to catch up to her. It pounces and knocks both of them down a large drop where the sewage water falls.
Seiko cries out and very quickly shoves a handful of green pills in her mouth, as she and her reptilian adversary splash down into a pool of dirty water, with Lizard being the first to emerge by swimming through the 
Lizard: Hrrrgh...!?
To the reptilian ravagers surprise though, Seiko Kimura's hand, now more beastly and with claw-like fingernails, bursts out of the murky water. It slams on the concrete, cracking it, as she hoists herself out. The rest of her body then rises, with her hair now longer, her eyes a bright glowing purple like the Lizard's glowing green pupils, and her fangs as sharp as a staple remover. The Lizard however, is not threatened.
Lizard: You...think you can sssstop the LIZARD!?
Seiko: Whether I have to currree you orrr kill you...! One way or anotherrr...I'm taking you down!
With a growl, Seiko charges the creature that used to be Doctor Connors, but the Lizard's reflexes are quick, and he smacks her back with his powerful tail.
Seiko rebounds swiftly from the severe blow, and the Ultimate Pharmacist attempts another claw slash, but her opponent shrugs off the attack, lands a kick, then a second blow with the tail and finally a claw swipe.
Seiko: GRRAAARRRGH!
Lizard: GAAGGH!? RRAAGH!
Seiko scrapes the sewer's concrete wall, chipping away at a sizable portion of it before slamming Connors back into his obstruction. 
Lizard: HYAAAARRGGGGH!!!
Seiko: USE YOURRR WORRRRDS CONORRRS! With SYLLABLLLES!
Without any delay, she grabs the head of the reptile and violently bashes it against the sewer wall. Even though the Lizard doesn't seem to be affected much by this, the attacks are so strong that they indent and eventually shatter the wall, sending the two Devasting Doctors flying through it.
Seiko tosses her battered opponent to the ground below as they find themselves in a new, open area with rushing water behind them. The Lizard lands hard, but Connors rolls over onto all fours, his victims' blood streaming from his mouth as he snarls.
The vicious Pharmacist lunges in at full speed and runs along the ground to intensify her attack. In return, Connors roars and rushes in her direction.
Seiko: GRRAAARRRGH!
*BANG!* *BASH!*
Lizard: YOU'RE SSSSSOO PITIFFFUL!
*SHUNK!* *SMASH!* *BAM!*
Because of her agility and smaller stature, Seiko gains the upper hand and tackles Connors, hitting him twice with outright vicious punches. Connors then returns fire, cutting Seiko with his claws and hitting her again just as hard.
When the lizard tries to bite his opponent, she dodges and then tries to bite back, which gives the monster the opportunity to whip her severely with his tail.
After being knocked back, Seiko uses her claws to climb the adjacent wall and escape Connors's follow-up bite. Connors however, does the same, scaling the wall with the tiny claws on the pads of his hands.
Lizard: RRRRAAGGH!
*CHOMP!*
Seiko: GRRRAAGGGH!
*CRAASSH!*
As the two monstrous scientists grapple against the wall, the Lizard is able to bite Seiko and launch himself off, driving her into the ground in a manner akin to a German suplex, except with his mouth. Lizard keeps a tight hold of Seiko's arm, which starts bleeding profusely.
Lizard: You're ssssoo weak...! You're not even worttthh keeping alive in my empire...!
Seiko: You arrren't the scarrrriest thing I've seen...! RRRGH! Good luck getting out of these sewerrrrs ALIVE!
Lizard: HYAAUUGH!
Seiko bounces back swiftly from the hard landing, using her superpowers to deliver a vicious uppercut to the Lizard's jaw that tears it apart and frees him from her. She hurriedly digs through her medicine bag for a green syringe, sticks it in her arm, and instantly seals the wound on the her arm, quickly wiping it of blood.
Lizard: Hisss...That'ssss MY ssscchchtick!
With a growl of frustration, Lizard watches as Seiko tends to her wound before roaring and rushing back at her. In an attempt to evade the attack, Seiko leaps multiple feet into the air and bounces off the wall to get some distance. However, the Lizard simply makes an equally high jump, sending their fight into the air, at least 14 feet above the ground.
With the lack of footing, Seiko finds herself at the initial disadvantage, thanks to the Lizard's autonomous tail, but eventually she seizes an opening by grabbing the tail and jumping on the Lizard's back!
*SSSHUUNK!* *CRAACK!*
Lizard: REEEEEEEEAGGH!
Lizard cries out in pain as Seiko suddenly takes the syringe that her healing serum was in earlier and stabs him in the eye with the needle! Not only that, but while the pain shoots through his face, Seiko grabs both sides of his jaw and pries it open as they crash back down to the ground!
The Lizard's body breaks Seiko's fall, but Connors bears the full force. Even though he throws Seiko off of him by grabbing her with his tail, the Lizard breaks his jaw when he lands face-first on his pried-open mouth.
However, this does not have the long-lasting effect that Seiko aims for. Though in immense pain from the impact, the Lizard's jaw muscles and bones naturally regenerate very quickly, and within seconds, it's like the injury never happened.
Lizard: I'm not about to losssee my mouth when I sssstill have yet to feasssst on you...!
Seiko: You'rrre not eating me today, Connorrrrs...!
Lizard: Don't missssunderssstand...! Mealsssss are meant to be SSSSHAAARED!
To Seiko's horror, the scaley scientist summons several sharp-toothed reptiles to attack her, and they suddenly emerge from the sewer's dark crevices. She struggles to fend them off as they start jumping her and trying to sink their fangs into her, not helped when the Lizard makes follow up attacks with his own powerful claws.
However, Seiko is still able to fling the reptiles off of her with a powerful spin, and quickly starts pulling medicines out of her pouch. She quickly kicks Connors in the face to get him to back off, then starts combining medicines on the fly while avoiding his reptile minions.
Once she's created a concoction, Seiko bottles it up and smashes it on the floor in front of her, clouding the sewers with a pungent aroma that repels the reptiles from her, including the Lizard, to an extent.
However, something then happens that she doesn't expect. Lizard starts releasing his OWN gas from his body that overpowers hers. Not powerful enough to bring back his reptile army, but enough to allow him to push back towards Seiko, who is not taking to his fumes well.
Seiko: What...arrrre...you...doing...to...me...!?
Lizard: HRRRAASASSAAAGGGH!
Connors however, has given in to the beast, and cannot respond with words anymore. However, his scent starts to activate the R-complex in her brain, and what little sanity and stability she has left starts to slip away...!
Seiko: GGRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHH!!!
Seiko also succumbs to her feral inclinations, roaring and spilling some of the contents of her medicine pouch onto the wet floor as she drops it. With each punch, slash, chomp and smack, the two ravenous monsters continue to pour blood as they trade several lethal blows.
Seiko's technique, though now sloppier thanks to giving into her monstrous instincts, is still potent enough to overwhelm Connors quickly, and the Lizard counters by pushing her back with several powerful whips of his tail!
Before Seiko can react, Lizard suddenly wraps his tail around her neck and starts to strangle her, but Seiko is able to pry herself free. Seeing this, Connors instead opts to send her crashing into the wall, which she is cratered into. He himself, needing to take a second to catch his breath, pauses, clutching his head as he feels his human side try and retake control.
Seiko: Haaagh...Ngh...gagh...
But then, in the brief moment of silence, Seiko Kimura starts to slip into unconsciousness...The effects of her enhancing medication start to wear off, and with the R-complex in her brain still active, she feels overwhelming exhaustion in what little senses she still has left.
Lizard: CONNORSSSSS ISSSSS DEAD! AND SSSSSSO ARE YOOOOOOOUUUU!!
With his sanity only barely intact, Lizard is just able to choke out these words before the Reptile consumes all! The Lizard lunges forward, slashing his claws at the now-defenseless Seiko, then bites into her leg, tossing her around like a rag doll until her leg is severed from her body, and her corpse once again impacts the wall!
In a desperate attempt to escape despite the loss of limb, Seiko claws at the wet ground, her vision blurring and her consciousness slipping. However, the Lizard pulls her back and, in an instant, slams his big mouth down on her head and bites it off, utterly DECAPITATING her.
With his opponents dead body at his feet and an army of small reptiles surrounding him. The Lizard lets out one last roar...A roar of victory...!
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Leona: HOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLYYYYYYY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT! That was...! I think that was our most brutal death yet! That was fucking awesome and yet...yet I can't help but feel really sick that it had to be such a kind girl who suffered it!
Hifumi: Although Seiko Kimura was an undoubtedly fierce opponent, the Lizard had most things going for him in this bloody brawl of jaws and claws.
Leona: Which is not to say that this was completely one sided. In fact, there are quite a few aspects that Seiko actually outclasses the Lizard in. First of all, considering Seiko was able to keep up with the likes of Izayoi, who has contended with the likes of the supersonic Akane Owari, and Lizard has managed to tag Spider-Man several times, it's safe to say that they tie when it comes to speed. And their transformations gave them very similar abilities, like their heightened senses and incredible strength.
Hifumi: And both are potentially as athletic and acrobatic as the other. Lizard is able to fight in midair, jump over buildings, execute drop kicks, and break falls by clinging to a ledge in quick succession, and he has also been known to backflip to avoid Spider-Man's attack and slap him with his tail in the process. Additionally, Dr. Kimura has caught knives with her teeth, and jumped across a sizable room, shattering lights along the walls, before sinking her feet into a wall and remaining perched there.
Leona: But the BIG ADVANTAGE Seiko has over Doc Connors is bleedingly obvious. Her INTELLIGENCE.
Hifumi: Neither Kimura nor Connors are fighters, and they rely on their animal instinct more than anything to win their fights in their beastly forms. But as regular humans, it's pretty clear to tell who the smarter one is. Connors studied enough to the point where he was on the verge of revolutionizing medicine, but Seiko Kimura has been doing that since she was SIX! Creating extremely powerful healing medicines and concoctions with varying helpful effects and basically NO side effects! Much less turning you into a giant green scaly monster.
Leona: So, here's a question I bet some of us are wondering. We talked extensively about Seiko's knowledge with medicine, so is it at all possible that she could fashion up her own brand of the lizard antiserum, use it on Connors to repress the Lizard, and then kill him in his weakened human state? Well, the answer to that is...Yes!
Hifumi: Within the span of four hours after seeing Daisaku Bandai's "death", Seiko Kimura was easily able to create a counter medicine that saved Kyoko Kirigiri's life, and then made a structure for a cure that saved Daisaku Bandai and Koichi Kizakura. It isn't THAT hard to assume that with her genius level knowledge as a pharmacist, that she could quite quickly fashion a cure for the Lizard Serum and turn Connors back into a human.
Leona: It's helped a lot by the fact that unlike Connors, Seiko actually retains her sanity throughout her transformation. Connors mind is basically turned to mush, but Seiko is still aware enough to avoid and counter traps, administer her serum and retain her empathy and humanity. So...what's the problem?
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Hifumi: The PROBLEM is how she's going to actually ADMINISTER a potential serum. In order to properly apply the medication to Connors, she'd first have to either overpower him, or somehow incapacitate or restrain him. Neither of which was possible for her.
Leona: Curt has rather effortlessly torn through Spider-Man's webs, which have been stated to be as strong as steel. Curt has also easily broken through ACTUAL steel, and is generally shown to be much stronger and beastlier than Seiko. He'd overpower her pretty easily in a wrestling match, even if his opponent can outsmart and outmaneuver him in many ways.
Hifumi: Dr. Kimura didn't really have anything she could use to trap Connors either; no notable tools or anything that would really work. In addition to this, while she IS more aware and less of a mindless beast than Connors, the Lizard could easily reprimand this by taking hold of her R-complex, taking away what little insight she has left and turning her into a TRUE beast!
Leona: When it comes to that, Seiko's one big strength over Curt is just GONE, and she's basically at a complete disadvantage. But wait...Sonosuke Izayoi fought the likes of Akane and Nekomaru, who are SUPER strong. And Seiko was able to fight him and opponents beyond his level, like Sakakura and Otonokoji. With scaling, doesn't that mean that Seiko is technically the stronger one here?
Hifumi: That's actually not a bad assumption to make. Both Dr. Connors and Dr. Kimura have ripped through hard substances like steel like they're toilet paper, so even if the latter isn't STRONGER, she's at least on a similar, if not equal level. However, Spider-Man implied that Morbius' punch was tantamount to that of a Hydrogen Bomb. And the Lizard is just as strong as he is, so if we take this literally, his damage output is tantamount to at least 1000 Kilotons of TNT.
Leona: And we estimated in a previous video that Nekomaru Nidai's strongest attacking feats, like his superpowered shit, is tantamount to about 94 Tons. Ah, I getcha. That would realistically make the Lizard at least over 10,000 times stronger than Seiko.
Hifumi: Well, Spider-Man was obviously gravely exaggerating Morbius' power, even if the living vampires strength warranted such a comparison. But even in the case that it is, it doesn't really matter. Regardless of how strong she actually is, Dr. Kimura didn't have the attack potency to breach the Lizard's thick hide. Spider-Man is far stronger than she is, there's no doubt about that, and the web-slinging hero himself stated that punching the Lizard almost fractured his knuckles due to how hard his reptilian skin is.
Leona: So basically, if Seiko tried swiping at the Lizard with her claws, she'd chip a nail and then some. And even assuming that she somehow WAS able to get through his hide and damage him...what does it even matter? Connors can just regenerate the damage in seconds!
Hifumi: Both doctors possess healing and regenerative powers as part of their arsenal, but the difference is that the Lizard's is a NATURAL healing factor due to his reptilian genes, while Dr. Kimura's is provided to her by her medicine; a resource that is FINITE. If this were a battle of attrition, Dr. Connors would come out on top every single time.
Leona: Speaking of things that are finite, the same is true for Seiko's transformation. It only lasts a limited amount of time, and she turns back to her basic, measly strength when the effects of the medicine wear off. Meanwhile, Connors can retain his reptilian form basically indefinitely, and even if he regresses back into his human form through means like the serum, even the most minor interaction with a stressful situation or medical reaction can bring it back out in no time.
Hifumi: Lizard's regeneration factor also provided him almost unlimited stamina, so even if Dr. Kimura had enough pills to keep her transformation up, Lizard could still wear her down before she had the chance to do the same to him. Although, it's more likely he'd casually rip her to shreds before then, since her defensive capabilities are NOTHING compared to his.
Leona: Seiko has tanked missiles from the robotic Miaya Gekkogahara, but Connors has done the same thing against Gray Garrison, AKA Warrant; a bounty-hunter who first surfaced when he was hired to capture, or kill him. Lizard took a missile fired straight at him by Warrant, which knocked him back, but did not injure him even slightly. And that's without mentioning that Seiko's defense feats are wholly inconsistent. Despite the missile feat, when compelled to commit suicide, she repeatedly hit a concrete wall to embed herself in it, which ultimately killed her.
Hifumi: Seiko Kimura was relentless and vicious, but the Lizard had the strength, the skills, and the overwhelming bestiality to win brutally against her.
Leona: Such a shame that Seiko couldn't get through to him. She could have really helped Connors with his "a reptile dysfunction~"
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THE WINNER IS DR. CURT CONNORS! THE LIZARD!
Next Time...
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The masses need a savior when the world is in danger. In a society that consistently held them back, these incredible heroes began life with nothing and developed the charm, fortitude, compassion, and drive to defend the people they care about. However, which one of them will prevail when everything is on the line?
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So I ended up hyperfixating on the new post Linuj made so I translated the entire thing.
I do need to preface this by saying I don't speak Korean at all and everything I have written is based on Google Translate and vibes! Syobai is cussing a lot more than he probably should in this unofficial translation because of it.
I am also sorry if some sentences don't make too much sense, I'm trying with my limited English grammar knowledge.
Without further ado, here is the first Omake story, Queen of Despair, in a format that is probably going to be akin to that of the other Omake stories!
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I love despair.
It's good to see people suffering. Hearing yells and screams makes me unbearably happy.
To someone like me, the "Ultimate Despair" was a god-like being.
Over the past few years, the incidents connected to the Ultimate Despair have made me madly excited.
It was the first excitement and pleasure I felt in my boring life, and so I continued to savor it.
But there is no such thing as 'forever'.
In the end, Ultimate Despair was defeated by Ultimate Hope and the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in all of human history was almost over.
Humanity overcame despair and moved towards the future with newfound hope.
It was… it was despair for me.
My name is Taro Watanabe.
There are Remnants who love despair and live for it.
Despair is hard to survive these days.
Ultimate Despair was annihilated, and most of the remaining Remnants were either killed or imprisoned.
In recent years, since the world has regained hope, and the judiciary has been completely revived, not only are the Foundation guys roaming around, but also those government dogs.
For the Remnants who worship despair, the current situation could only be called 'despair-inducing'.
Taro: …It's here.
However, even in this hopeless situation, hope existed.
After much searching, I finally got to her.
To the Queen of Despair.
Taro: Three blocks northwest of the garbage dump, 15 steps in the direction of the church with a broken payphone…
Taro: !!!
No way… the information was real.
My heart started to tremble with excitement.
The person I am about to meet is so important, a mere plebian like me couldn't even dare to look her in the eye.
Rumors that have been floating around for months…
The rumors that there is a new "Symbol of Despair for the Next Generation" that erodes all hopes and calmly commits crimes that would shock even the Gods…
Taro: …Let's go inside.
A dark, dusty old staircase.
It was a ruin that ordinary people would not even pay attention to, but the atmosphere was somehow reassuring to me.
It was the energy of despair.
After passing through several stairs and corridors, I found a door that exudes unusual energy.
I took several deep breaths and knocked on the door with trembling hands.
Taro: …
???: …Come on in.
Taro: Ah…!!!
The air feels agitated.
At first glance, it sounds like a cute child's voice, but there is a terrible energy of despair hidden inside.
Just by hearing this voice, I knew that I had come to the right place.
I grab hold of my heart that is beating like crazy, without thinking about stopping…
Soon, carefully, very carefully, I opened the door.
The inside of the room was in much better condition than expected, compared to the door on the outside.
The dust of the ruins was still hanging in the air, but there was no time to worry about that in this room.
A feeling of intimidation filled the small room.
The moment that person came into my sight…
…I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.
Iroha: …are you Watanabe Taro?
On the outside, she looks like an ordinary girl.
However, from her shady face and her unusual appearance, I could tell that she was absolutely not a normal human being.
She had the composure of a veteran who had gone through all kinds of battles.
I could tell by the way the leisurely laughed.
Taro: Ah…!!!
Taro:T-That's right! This is Watanabe, the one that contacted you!
For a moment, I had forgotten that she had called my name and just blankly stared at her.
This person is the "Symbol of Despair of the Next Generation" Iroha Nijiue.
A person who, at some point, became a legend among Remnants.
"Queen of Despair" "Enoshima Junko the 3rd" and "Next Generation Despair" were all names for her.
If you were to look at her actions, she was a member of an organization that kidnapped and killed the symbols of Hope for the next generation, she killed a member of the Kisaragi Foundation and…
She even has on her record swindling and murdering the broker "H", whose identity has recently begun to emerge to the surface.
Moreover, even after committing all of these actions, the government or foundations did not catch her, and her work is still ongoing.
And even though this must be Iroha, who is actually being chased by the world, she is still facing me so boldly.
To be honest, her appearance was a little different from what I expected, but…
Thinking that the Queen of Despair, who had committed such great feats, was right in front of my eyes, I started to get goosebumps all over my body.
Iroha: Yes, I received the letter and the aid money you sent.
Iroha: I heard you have brought more gifts…?
Taro: Yes! Yes! You're right! Here…
After saying that, I took out a small box from my bag and handed it to the Queen.
Iroha: …this?
Taro: Yes, actually, there was a bit of a scuffle with the Kisaragi Foundation guys all the way here.
Taro: After a fierce chase, one of them was decapitated. I wanted to show my spirit to the Queen…
Iroha: Deca…!?
Taro: Yes, he was a young boy.
Iroha: …you-
Iroha: you idiot!! Who asked for something like this!?
Taro: Hee! I'm- I'm sorry.
Iroha: Uh- hmm, besides, there was trouble with the Kisaragi Foundation, you said…
Iroha: Are you insane? To come all the way here in that state… what would you have done, if you had been tracked down by the agency?
Taro: That's…
Taro: I'm- sorry. I didn't think that far ahead.
That was definitely true. I did not think about that.
I was busy thinking about my meeting with the Queen of Despair, I ended up almost causing her a lot of trouble…
Iroha: If you truly are sorry, shouldn't you show it sincerely?
Taro: Sincerely… you mean?
Iroha: Get three more cheques ready. In addition to the funds sent today.
Taro: Three- three checks!?
Iroha: Can't you? If you can't do that much, would you rather I turn you into my servant?
Taro: Oh no- it's possible! Consider it done!
Iroha: …we prepared a SUV in the back of the building. Get on it and move it.
Iroha: First of all, we'll take you to the hideout. A detailed explanation will be provided by the officer there.
Taro: That- that means!
Iroha: …you just have to make up for your mistakes.
Iroha: Welcome. You are now an Ultimate Despair.
…I did it.
In this bleak world where hope swallows despair, I finally met the mother of despair and became a child of despair.
The hard life of the past is now over.
It wasn't until today that I became a member of the 'Ultimate Despair'...!!!
Iroha: Mr. Hashimoto!!
Iroha: What's with that guy!? Isn't he crazy!?!?
As soon as Watanabe Taro left.
There, the "Queen of Despair" started screaming and running around.
Iroha: No, why the heck would you give a person's head as a gift!?
Iroha: Who in the world would love receiving something like that…
Syobai: Well, if he was a normal person, would he come to people like us?
Syobai: Have you never seen a person with a severed head?
Iroha: Like once or twice!! Why would I want to see something like a human neck!
Syobai Hashimoto.
A broker operating only in the shadows.
After the Utsuroshima incident, his identity was revealed to the light, and his actions shocked many people.
But.
The public thinks that he died when the bridge collapsed while escaping from the Kisaragi Foundation.
As it turns out, it was Iroha Nijiue, who was with him, that managed to escape by disguising a corpse under the bridge as her own.
That's the truth known to the public.
Somehow, people seem to believe that Iroha Nijiue killed him…
That's the only truth that was known. Until now.
Syobai: Hey, bubblehead. Shut up… what the hell were those poor conditions earlier?
Iroha: Wh- what?
Syobai: Why the fuck only three? Three. These are bastards who would risk their lives in order to enter the "New Ultimate Despair".
Syobai: Even if you were to tell them ten, those are fuckers that would make the money by selling all their organs or some other shit.
Syobai: And you only asked for three cheques…? You've forgotten everything I taught you.
Iroha: W-well, but he seemed to be having a hard time already when I told him to give me three more cheques…
Syobai: And since when did you start caring about the "fish"?
Syobai: Those guys are all fucked in the head. Getting the money out of them is all that matters.
Syobai: We are just "baiting" them.
Iroha: …
Syobai: If you understand, prepare to move. I am going to take care of that guy from earlier.
Iroha: Yeah? But, uh… the three cheques?
Syobai: Didn't you hear what he said earlier? There was a scuffle with the Foundation guys.
Syobai: If even one of the chaser comes, it's game over for us. We received the aid anyway, so the goal was achieved.
Syobai: It's just three cheques, and it's better to deal with this guy here as soon as possible.
Iroha: Well, then this hiding place…?
Syobai: We most definitely need to move.
Iroha: Uh, but… this place was pretty good out of all the ones we've had so far…
Syobai: Hey, the way that guy grimaced over all the dust when he first arrived here tells us everything we need to know.
Syobai: Hey, I'll be back soon, so stay still here.
Iroha: …
Iroha: Hey… Mr. Hashimoto…
Syobai: What?
Iroha: How long do we have to keep living like this…?
Syobai: …
Iroha: "Queen of Despair" this, "Enoshima Junko the 3rd" that…
Iroha: By promoting non-existent fantasies like the "New Generation Despair"...
Iroha: This life of extracting dirty money using this fish and bait method…
Iroha: Are you really satisfied with this, Mr. Hashimoto?
Syobai: …
Iroha: O-of course, I know that we have no choice but to do this if we want to earn a living.
Iroha: That there is no other way for us as long as the judicial system is revived and the Kisaragi Foundation's power is so strong.
Iroha: But, well… we survived!
Iroha: We survived that hellish killing game!
Iroha: So, someday, this life of escape will end, and we will be able to return to our daily lives as decent members of society…
Iroha: So? How long do we have to continue like this…?
Iroha: If it's Mr. Hashimoto, you'll end up using a more daring method…
Syobai: Hey.
Syobai: What the hell do you think I am?
Iroha: Huh?
Iroha: You are… the world's greatest villain, who even stabbed Mr. Sannoji himself in the back… is that wrong?
Syobai: …Jeez.
Syobai: Hey, you. Listen carefully.
Syobai: I don't know what kind of fantasies you have made up about the person known as "Syobai Hashimoto"...
Syobai: But this is how I've always lived.
Syobai: Do you think that trash like me has lived a wonderful life?
Syobai: Trash lives by doing trash things.
Iroha: …
Syobai: If you're sick of this, then our deal is gonna be over starting today.
Iroha: Huh!?
Syobai: I've earned enough money to now be able to comfortably live in the shadows while doing other businesses.
Syobai: You can stop playing the villain that you hate so much.
Iroha: No! That's not what I meant…
Syobai: I have no interest in working with someone that still has lingering feelings for society.
Iroha: Okay you are right! All right, but if you disappear, I…
Syobai: Why are you clinging to me like that?
Syobai: You still have your "Divine Luck".
Iroha: That, but that's…
Syobai: You saw that on the bridge at the time, right?
Syobai: Maeda Yuki is alive, somehow, thanks to Divine Luck.
Syobai: Just like you used to look for Utsuro, why don't you look for him?
Iroha: Mmm, what… how can I…?
Syobai: Jesus, do I have to sit you down and spell things out for you?
Syobai: This conversation is over. It's a waste of time.
Syobai: I'm going to take care of that guy and disappear, so now you either live or die on your own.
Iroha: Ah, Mr. Hashimoto-! Sorry!! Please don't leave me…
*Siren starts playing*
Iroha: Wait, what is this noise…?
Syobai: …Ah, fuck.
Syobai: It's that thing that the guy from earlier came with.
Syobai: Those are the Foundation guys.
Iroha: Huh!?
Syobai: Judging by how loud it is, it's already too late to go to the SUV.
Syobai: I should have left right away without making any noise… shit.
Iroha: Ooh, what should I do!? What now!?
Syobai: …
Syobai: What to do, what to do…
Syobai: No matter what you do, you have to get out.
Syobai: Go, come with me!
…A disgusting story about disgusting people.
To begin with the conclusion of this short anecdote, those two managed to escape somehow.
However, did the chase last long, or did Hashimoto prepare safety measures for this type of situation?
Did he even establish the deal with Iroha Nijiue again…?
"Queen of Despair" would continue to appear after that.
With a minion in a suit wearing a crow mask.
It seems their deal isn't over yet…
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dewitty1 · 2 years
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Fic Recs Wrap Up - July 2022
On a Clear Day by Saras_Girl
Draco Malfoy is waiting for his real life to begin, and it appears that he’s not the only one. Coffee, charity, and the wisdom of the elderly. Rec Post
On the Last Day by trishjames @thusspoketrish
Draco is still mourning the recent loss of his mother when the Wizarding World is struck with the tragic news of Harry Potter’s untimely death. It’s just his luck that Potter not only comes back as a ghost, but seems intent on haunting Draco as he’s the only one that can see him. It’s a race against time to retrace the last few days of Potter’s life in order to find his body before he’s lost to the living or spiritual realm forever. On their journey, they’ll uncover secrets, betrayals, and a horrific truth that will disrupt both the living and the dead. Rec Post
To Be Out of Your Own (and consumed by another) by Cassiara @cassiaratheslytherpuff
By now even Harry recognises the pattern; he’d be an idiot not to. He’ll have sex, and in the moment it’ll be amazing. In the moment he simply is, he feels without thinking. Good, bad, pleasure and pain, he can just let go and feel because he isn’t the one in charge. Then he wakes up the next morning feeling disgusting and worthless and swears to never do it again. Still, it helps him forget about his stress, his anxiety and his hopeless crush on his Auror partner so he keeps going back. Rec Post
Muggle Magic by Aelys_Althea @aelysalthea
When Voldemort came for Harry, Lily took a stand. This time, Voldemort was defeated. But not enough for the Potters. Leaving the Wizarding world behind them, Harry is raised a Muggle without any knowledge of the magic. Not of the real kind, anyway. But magic always finds a way, and in his final year of high school Harry is introduced to a school of unexpected and unfamiliar people. Different people. Interesting people. And one person in particular that managed to draw a little more interest than the rest. Rec Post
The Way We Wind by bluefay  @thesleepiesthufflepuff
After the war, Harry’s life falls to shambles. Each day revolves around an intense battle with his mental health, and there’s nothing that Ron or Hermione can do to help him. That is, until Hermione teaches Harry how to knit. Fast forward five years, and Harry is the proud owner of a renowned knitting shop in Diagon Alley, The Whomping Willow Woolery. Christmas season is upon him, and the shop is busier than ever. So, is it really a surprise that Draco Malfoy wanders in looking for a gift for his mother? Cue awkward meetings, fluffy knitting lessons, a truly horrible scarf, a cat named Stockinette who is readily obsessed with Draco, and falling in love with one’s worst enemy. Rec Post
Prats, Parcels, and Parseltongue by ronbinary (bisexualronaldweasley)  @ronbinary
Harry is the Muggle world’s first snake-only veterinarian. Life is good, and calm, for once. Until Draco Malfoy shows up with a snake. And then another. And then he won’t stop coming in. Rec Post
Doing the Lambeth Walk by blamebrampton @blamebrampton
There are only three traditional choices for the cashed-up hero after victory. Harry Potter is too young to settle down and provide the wizarding world with a happy ending, and has too acute a sense of humour to spiral downwards into a spectacular flame-out. That leaves a life of good works. Choosing to lead it in Muggle Brixton comes with its own set of challenges, including Malfoys in the biscuit aisle. Rec Post
Love All Lovely by shealwaysreads (onereader) @shealwaysreads
Draco comes home for Christmas, and discovers that sharing is the best way of celebrating old traditions, and new ones too. Rec Post
Here are a few more fics I've read recently that y'all might like to check out as well! (ノ^ヮ^)ノ*:・゚✧
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Tiny Home by wolfpants @wolfpants
The last two people Draco expects to find chopping wood on his property are Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter.
But there they are.
--
Harry and Ron left the Aurors years ago to travel the world and make up for lost time. When they finally decide to settle roots back in England, together, building a tiny home in the Lake District by hand seems like the perfect plan. What they don't realise is that Draco Malfoy already lives on the plot of land that they choose to build on.
A story about years of feelings, about weaving lives in and around each other, and about finding a place safe enough to call home.
Secret Love Song by Writcraft @writcraft
If there's one thing Draco's certain about, it's that Harry Potter's hiding something. When he gets to the bottom of Harry's closely guarded secret, a flippant solution brings them closer together and forces Harry to confront his past.
Back Where We Began by Cassiara @cassiaratheslytherpuff
Harry has to go back to Hogwarts to get his NEWTs, and being well into his twenties he figures the course will pass without too much trouble. Enter Snape’s old Potions book, a bonding spell, and Draco Malfoy.
Like Diamonds We Are Cut With Our Own Dust by raitala @raitala
Draco has borne the mark of the Dark Lord for over ten years. It is familiar to him, but he pays the price for it every day, and Harry has noticed.
Fearful Trill by Vukovich @vukovich
Harry should have come out and met someone when he was younger. He should have seen a doctor about the pain in his hip while youth was still on his side. Now, he's made his peace with dying young, but maybe not with dying alone.
Draco should have got the Kiss. He should have died in Azkaban decades ago. Instead, guards throw him in a Ministry lift with a dying man who could stand to live a little.
Unexpectancy (Into you) by PollyWeasley @polly-weasley
Draco supposed that starting Eighth Year in Hogwarts fucking Harry Potter was a good start. Both of them were in the closet, for a lack of better words, and both of them were having fun with each other, no bonds attached, no uncomfortable talks, no need to tell their friends whatsoever. It was good to both of them, especially when you considered that the Wizarding World was stupidly ignorant and homophobic, and Draco was already suffering enough because he looked like he was gay. It was better just to keep it a secret. But when Draco suddenly finds out he ended up pregnant of Potter’s child, there was nothing he could do except face the world and reveal his secret. Would Potter accept to reveal his, too, for the sake of this new life?
Simulacrum by slashpervert
Draco sends a gift to Potter and finds himself in a difficult but erotic position.
you look so fine by michi_thekiller
In which Draco is a Veela and Harry is his mate. Dark!Humor or Crack!Horror, you decide.
"When Draco Malfoy turned 16 years old, he thought he’d make a night of it. He went to a club, met a bloke, and then promptly took himself next door pay-by-the-hour hotel, determined to get the most bang for the Galleon, in a manner of speaking.
Not even one full Galleon into it, Draco Malfoy lost his virginity.
It all went just how he’d always imagined it, and it was, all in all, a bloody good time.
Waking up the next morning, however, next to a bloody ribcage and a man’s intestines strewn all over the bed like thick wet streamers - that was a bloody bad time."
( •ॢ◡-ॢ)-♡
I hope you enjoy these as much as I have! Thanks, as always, for being here! ( ᵕ́ૢ‧̮ᵕ̀ૢ)‧̊·*
Happy reading, y’all!
xoxo Carey  (◍•ᴗ•◍)♡ ✧*💜💙💚💛❤💗💕
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spinningbuster98 · 8 months
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Mega Man Zero 4 Part 4: Changing the World
The first of these final stages is tough as nails but goddamn I love this music! And the one for the teleportal base which is supremely underrated!
This moment between Kraft and Zero is, to me, incredible and serves not only as a great way to cap off Kraft’s character but also to give us a brief insight into how Zero views himself:
Kraft may have been swayed by Niege to turn against Weil but instead of joining the good guys he decides to take drastic measures that cause the death of countless innocent people.
This may seem stupid on the surface but it’s just that Kraft is a man driven to desperation by the world he lives in and as such only believes in extreme solutions
Weil controls the world and there doesn’t seem to be any way to stop him and all is hopeless? Better do everything he says then
Living under Weil is a fate worse than death? Well allying yourself with Zero and the gang would be pointless since it’s not like they’ve made any progress at defeating Weil up until now, and the humans of Neo Arcadia are all cowards willing to backstab each other and their own creations just to survive...except we saw earlier that even those humans can change for the better, but Kraft didn’t witness that scene so he doesn’t realise that there’s still a glimmer of hope, it’s tragic
Zero appears unusually somber at having to kill Kraft after listening to his side of things and gives us what is seemingly a rather cynical view on himself: he’s just a warrior, a war machine, someone built only to kill and destroy, someone who essentially has no past, no ideals and no real desires of his own. Thus he relies on other people he considers admirable to give him those things and he in turn grants them his strength. As he admits here: he’s doing all of this because X believed that peace between humans and reploids was possible and he trusts X’s judgement thus he’s going to fulfill his wish as well as Ciel’s. In a way he’s similar to Shadow in Sonic Battle but generally much less cynical and more optimistic and open about the people he trusts.
He’s so depressed at having had to kill Kraft (whose status as a war machine who’s confused about his place in the world and isn’t fully sure on what he should do to make it better reminds him of himself in a way) that he even compares himself to Weil in front of Neige, which is ludicrous and Neige herself doesn’t agree but it goes to show that, beneath that tough, stoic demeanor, Zero does have his moments of vulnerability and insecurities but soldiers on in spite of them. This entire sequence is my go to example to show that Zero is NOT an emotionless puppet in his own series, at least not in the second half, and is IMO Zero’s greatest showing as a character.
...well...SECOND greatest showing
We are finally approaching the end of our journey, people.
It is not always a happy thing.
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queer-ragnelle · 2 years
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An Arthurian adaptation need not resemble its source when the creator cares about thoughtful storytelling and themes. This transcends medium and genre. I’m not a snob about “accuracy” so much as a stickler for adherence to the respect of one’s audience through sustained narrative quality.
Examples forthcoming.
Camelot 3000 comic is set in the far future. Everyone is reincarnated. Tristan is reborn as a woman, and has to overcome dysphoria and questioning of sexuality in order to properly embrace their new life with Isolde, another woman. Kay explains that he was unruly all those years ago to deflect criticism off of Arthur and direct it at himself, an attempt to subtly aid his brother in maintaining a positive public image. Guinevere is a military commander whose role in the love triangle remains intact aside from the ending. The fellowship of the Round Table are battling aliens while grappling with their new identities and personal journeys. It concludes after Arthur dies, and Guinevere reveals to Lancelot she is pregnant, but doesn’t know by who. He says he will love the baby regardless. So they escape their doomed fate of the medieval source.
Monty Python and The Holy Grail movie (and musical) takes one of Arthurian Legend’s darkest and most tragic stories and retells it as a comedy. Every trope is subverted to an extreme. King Arthur’s supremacy and the conventions of his story are constantly challenged. Serfs question the Divine Right of Kings and “didn’t vote for” Arthur. The Black Knight denies his inevitable defeat, suffering “but a flesh wound,” until he’s nothing more than a torso and a head. French sentries refuse Arthur’s appeals for entry and mock him from the battlement. Meanwhile Galahad endures the Castle of Maidens only through the help of a queer-coded Lancelot (which becomes explicit in the musical when he marries a man). Not only a complete reversal of their medieval roles, but conflict from Guinevere and Elaine is entirely absent (except in the musical which includes a character named Sir Galahad’s Mom). The group then faces the Bridge of Death. Lancelot contrasts his medieval counterpart yet again by answering a simple question and succeeding, OC Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot fails an absurdly challenging one, followed by Galahad’s failure of another easy one. It ends with Arthur and Bedevere searching for Lancelot, and ultimately results in their arrest by the police.
High Noon Over Camelot is a folk album that retells the story as a dieselpunk western. The three Pendragons—sheriff Arthur, quick-draw Guinevere, and sharpshooter Lancelot—run Camelot as a polyamorous throuple. The love triangle conflict is turned on it’s head which opens the story up for exploration of side characters and their niches. Arthur’s daughter Morgause is not killed by the Ghouls (Saxons) as he thought but instead raised by them, eventually transitioning to Mordred. The Hanged Man, a robot named Merlin, gives three prophecies: Arthur’s son is alive, Gawain’s hatred of the Ghouls is unjust, and Galahad the preacher should sit in the Siege Perilous. Only Galahad heeds the prophecy. Driven mad by the power of the Siege Perilous, he has visions of the space station’s imminent danger, which can only be helped by restarting the GRAIL system on board. So the Pendragons depart with the Grail Knights, leaving behind Mordred and Gawain in charge of Camelot. Mordred tries and fails to pass a peace treaty between Ghouls and Camelot when a fight breaks out and Gawain goes berserk. A hopeless Mordred ends up abandoning his convictions and heads for the space station. He corners the Pendragons as they reach their goal, the Grail Knights having fallen to get them this far. Mordred kills Lancelot and Guinevere, wounds Arthur, then ejects him into space inside a life-pod. Lastly he crashes the station, killing everyone on board and himself.
The Knights of Breton Court is a trilogy by Maurice Broaddus that retells King Arthur’s story in a modern inner city American setting. Street hustler King attempts to reconcile a group of drug dealers, gangbangers, and well-meaning but lost street kids into a uniform front. All kinds of issues arise to comprise his vision, sometimes borne of character flaws within his crew and sometimes otherworldly forces. In some ways, this series could’ve stood to divert even further from the medieval literature that inspired it, as it suffers from the same pitfalls causing modern readers to drop antiquated literature. The meandering plot, inconsistent pacing, and multitude of characters can read nonsensically to someone unaccustomed to the style. The central thread, King [Arthur] and his goal, is sometimes lost. In trusting Broaddus, I think this criticism relates not to his ability as a writer, but can be traced and attributed Le Morte d’Arthur. Regardless, that’s neither here nor there. The point is that The Knights of Breton Court’s shortcomings are unrelated to its divergence from medieval sources. Although it’s not my favorite, it illustrates beautifully how far a novel can stray while keeping itself firmly under the retelling umbrella. The Indianapolis setting and reimagined personas for the knights is it’s greatest strength, but would be fundamentally broken if Broaddus had stripped it of its original essence. They are intrinsically linked. Also Kay is an unfriendly Rottweiler.
These examples offer thought provoking changes while utilizing the framework of existing characters and their established dynamics/traits to subvert or deepen the meaning behind them. For all the differences between the adaptations and their shared source material, it works, because the creators committed to the bit. This isn’t to say all retellings toe that line effectively.
Cursed is a novel and Netflix series written by Tom Wheeler, illustrated by Frank Miller, and produced by them both. Considering the amount of involvement these two had on both the book and series, it’s safe to assume their creative control was absolute, and each of these mediums fully realized their vision for the story. However, regarding Miller and Wheeler as storytellers with a vision implies they are creatives. It assumes a passion for the project, some semblance of personal expression through art, which is unsubstantiated by the artificial depth of significance displayed in Cursed. The series was green lit before the book even published, so that should give you an indication of the true motivations behind this retelling. It wasn’t made for the love of the source material realized through an artist’s unique perspective, but quickly drawn up and produced to capitalize on the joint products as much as possible.
I will spare everyone a long-winded review of this wretched book and show. They fulfill none of the promises made in the back cover blurb and series description. It’s an insult to the audience’s intelligence. But the point is, the Arthurian elements are not integral to the story, but rather recognizable set pieces and props artificially painted on like a brittle veneer. They exist solely to capitalize on what Miller and Wheeler hoped was an existing audience without the need to develop worthwhile story and attract an audience on their own merits. What they’ve done feels not like inspiration or transmutation, but appropriation of something they neither respect nor care to understand. That is the stipulation, for me, to garner enjoyment from a retelling, regardless of how far it strays from the sources it claims aspects from. An artist must comprehend their material, their muse, their emotional connection to the piece in order to properly manipulate and utilize it. Miller and Wheeler are not artists and their lake is a puddle.
#Arthurian legend#Arthuriana#literary criticism#literary critique#idk what else to tag this as I am ranting#I am not a proper critic I don’t even write goodreads reviews#I just hate how many people in writing groups dismiss arthuriana out of hand bc the image has been tainted#making anything worthwhile takes work and I wish nepotism in publishing and Hollywood didn’t constantly muck it up#somehow arthurian retellings as a genre is both over saturated and in dire need of a rennaissance#it would seem the public opinion at least in writing groups online is poor#and this is entirely the fault of capitalism#Disney remakes their own films and unpublished writers with money get movie deals for weaksauce stories#if you don’t understand that ‘arthuriana’ is not what you’re writing about you need to take a step back#consider arthuriana the genre as well as the subject#but that is not enough to carry a narrative what are you saying with your work what is the theme what are we exploring#I don’t relate to arthurian characters bc I recognize their names I relate bc of the human condition and struggles even when they shift#from story to story it’s okay if it’s new just COMMIT have some authenticity#nobody wants to show their ass when writing anymore it’s pathetic#put your passions into your work or fuck off#Monty Python set out to highlight the joy of comedy with King Arthur and some coconuts and we loved it#Broaddus wrote about his very personal experiences where he grew up discussed race and wealth disparity thru King Arthur as a gang leader#I’m sold on that bc they cared about making it#anyway I am done lol
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andro-dino · 2 years
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I don’t know how or where else to publish this but I wanted to share it because I did in fact just spend a large portion of time writing about about a fucking beyblade character so like, here ya go I guess. 2.1k words of Damian Hart in a very overly formal format. this is not proofread because I am too tired for that rn so apologies for any errors
The Damian Hart essay
An incomprehensible rant by Axel
Damian Hart is a character introduced in the latter half of Beyblade Metal Masters and is, in my opinion, one of the most tragic characters presented in the series.
Damian is a member and the leader of Team Starbreaker and is extremely powerful alongside his bey, Hades Kerbecs. He’s immediately set up to be a terrifyingly strong blader when he challenges Yu and Tsubasa, which hospitalizes them, putting both them and their beys in severe condition. This streak of massive destruction only continues with Damian when he battles Julien Konzern, not only defeating him, but Sophie and Wales as well, who jumped in to defend him. He effectively humiliates Julian and completely crushes his spirit, relishing in his despair at his admission that he is weak.
All of this sets Damian up to be a terrifying and dislikable character, however, further looks into his character show that this is merely scratching the surface of his character and that there is so much more to see.
For one, it’s important to establish exactly what goes on in Team Starbreaker. Team Starbreaker is managed by Dr. Ziggurat, a scientist who runs Hades Inc. and HD Academy. Each member of Starbreaker is also a member of HD Academy, a school for bladers that uses rather unconventional means of training. Rather than working to improve their skills, members of the academy undergo “arrangements,” a system which immediately draws out a blader’s hidden strength without them having to put in any work. However, this system is only compatible with a select few bladers, meaning that members of the academy are specifically sought after if they are compatible with the arrangement system. If they are not, it’s shown to cause severe damage to bladers. This system of course does not come without its drawbacks, and each member of Starbreaker shows a different way the arrangements affect people who undergo them.
Jack is somewhat of the “standard” for people who undergo arrangements, which is certainly saying a lot considering Jack is… well… Jack. HD Academy members were all completely unremarkable before joining the school, but saw extreme improvement almost immediately, and Jack is no exception to this. However, Jack does show one extreme side effect, which is that arrangements completely change a person’s personality. Jack is wild and chaotic, extremely all over the place and has a very over the top, flamboyant personality. He’s also incredibly obsessed with art, considering beyblade to be a perfect medium for him to express himself, and he credits his arrangements for his appreciation of art, and presumably also his general attitude. Jack is completely willing and happy to undergo arrangements and welcomes the changes they’ve brought him, very content with the person he’s become as a result of them.
Zeo, however, is on the complete opposite side of this spectrum. Zeo didn’t have much of a choice in joining HD Academy or not. In his time of grief and hopelessness over Toby’s illness that was quickly getting worse, Dr. Ziggurat sought him out, preying upon his desperation by promising that he would give Toby the best treatment he could get if Zeo took arrangements and showed results. While Zeo repeatedly shows that he really wants nothing to do with the academy or arrangements, he still does it because he cares for Toby more than anything else, willing to give up everything for him, even if he does suffer from it. While Jack and Damian both calmly and smoothly take their arrangements, Zeo’s are always presented as painful and uncomfortable, never fully completing one and trying to get out of taking them in any way he can. He only fully completes an arrangement when Dr. Ziggurat presents him with an ultimatum: defeat Masamune with the help of an arrangement or Toby’s treatment is terminated. Understanding that Toby will die without Ziggurat’s treatment, Zeo finally completes an arrangement, passing out immediately after the battle. Zeo, while not to the same degree, also shows a change in personality, seemingly from the arrangements and his experience at the academy. When Dr. Ziggurat found Zeo, he was already angry at Masamune for leaving and desperate because of Toby’s condition, and because of his time at the academy, these feelings only festered and bubbled over more and more, making him more resentful and chaotic in each confrontation he had with Masamune.
Now, Jack and Zeo show two different perspectives of people who joined the academy, but how does this all play into Damian? Well, Damian is a third perspective of how arrangements affect people, as he didn’t join HD Academy; he was raised in it. Immediately, Damian shows signs of what is essentially a god complex, constantly talking about how he is “the chosen one” and praises himself for being compatible with arrangements, considering them to be a great honor to undergo. This is drastically off the walls, even with what we’ve seen from how Jack treats arrangements, and it’s no coincidence. In a flashback, we see a young, bright-eyed Damian being given his first bey by Dr. Ziggurat in the academy, showing that he’s been a part of it for his entire life. Not only this, but the fact that his entire worldview has been shaped around the arrangement system and how he is shown to be genuinely confused when trying to understand other bladers and why they value actual training, it becomes very apparent that not only has he been under Dr. Ziggurat’s control his whole life, but has also undergone arrangements for the entirety of it as well. He doesn’t understand training or the value of it because he’s never had to do it before. He only knows arrangements and the system that Dr. Ziggurat brought him into.
Now, this alone presents how Damian has been manipulated his whole life, but there’s also further implications that can be read into. Now, to be fair, this is mostly my own theorizing and is never stated in canon, but I strongly believe the evidence points to the claim I’m about to make. Taking a look at both Dr. Ziggurat and Damian, the similarities between their designs— specifically their hair— are clear. Their hairstyles are very unique, being round on the top but having spikes that swoop upwards on the sides, both also being colored the same way with the highlights being on the tips of these spikes. Their hair color is also similar. While present-day Damian has light blue hair, in the flashback, his hair is much darker, and Dr. Ziggurat also happens to have dark hair. Plus, consider: Dr. Ziggurat has had Damian since he was a young child, and I could not imagine that someone else would willingly give him their child for what he does, which all together leads me to strongly believe that Damian is Dr. Ziggurat’s son. This only creates even more horrific implications with Damian’s character, especially when you look into his and Dr. Ziggurat’s interactions. Their relationship is very formal, neither seeming particularly close to the other. It’s also not a very strong relationship. While at first, Dr. Ziggurat holds Damian as his star student and the poster child for HD Academy, he is quick to toss him aside after he is defeated by both Gingka and Kyoya, saying that he’s failed and disappointed, and then Damian is never seen again. The stiffness of their relationship alongside how unsympathetic and manipulative Dr. Ziggurat has been shown to be leads me to believe that under the idea that he is Damian’s father, he only had Damian solely to see what it would be like to raise someone on arrangements, essentially making Damian nothing more than an experiment to him. Dr. Ziggurat absolutely is not above using someone for the sole purpose of his experiments, as shown with Faust, so I don’t believe that this would be an unlikely story.
Under this premise, Damian is one of the most heartbreaking characters in my eyes. A child who has been experimented on and used for the entirety of his life, made to believe he was an incredible chosen one who was so high above everyone else, with his entire worldview warped and distorted, only to realize he was nothing more than a pawn in everything; a tool that was thrown away once it stopped serving its purpose. It’s a tragic story, and that is acknowledged in the story itself too. It is specifically pointed out and said that he is a victim in all of it, and yet, despite that, he never gets an epilogue or clarity. While in the manga, Gingka saves him and he’s grateful to be freed, in the anime, he’s never seen again, leading viewers to wonder what happened to him afterwards. How exactly he went about unlearning everything he’d been taught and trying to find his place back in the real world. It’s the open endedness of his story that ultimately ties his character off on a bittersweet note. You can theorize and headcanon what might’ve happened to him afterwards, but in the end, he really doesn’t get any clarity from the narrative alone.
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Here I will now dissect his character design itself, because I appreciate the amount of symbolism there is to be found in it.
Damian, just from first glance alone, has a very strong, put-together aura to him. His design exudes confidence and strength that’s shown off very well. One aspect of this design that I appreciate is the use of colors to subvert expectations. The main colors of his palette are white, gold, and light blue, all colors that traditionally are associated with good and purity, giving him an almost ethereal look which very strongly matches his whole “chosen one” outlook, however that is very strongly subverted by… well… literally everything else about his character. He’s twisted and sadistic, hurting people several times just for the hell of it. It’s ironic that his color palette gives him an angelic look (maybe even wings too with the shape of his hair) while his entire motif is literally Hell. His bey is Hades/Hell Kerbecs and his special move literally opens the gates of Hell and drags his opponents down into it, with the bey itself being represented by Cerberus, guard dog of Hell. There’s even a variant of Hades Kerbecs that is red and black, a color palette much more commonly associated with Hell, but he specifically has the gold version, again serving to subvert expectations and preconceived notions about him.
Another aspect of his design I quite like is the silhouette his cape gives him. Damian himself is very petite, being extremely short compared to the rest of the cast and generally having a more childlike physique, however it’s hidden by his cape, which is large and bulky, making him appear much bigger than he actually is. I like how that parallels how his character is itself, him being just a manipulated child who believes he’s much bigger and stronger than he really is. Going back to his colors, his cape also plays into showing his character in a different way as well. While most of his clothing is gold and white, his bodysuit has black accents on it, a color traditionally used to represent darkness and evil, though again, this is harder to notice because of his large white cape. At first glance, he doesn’t seem all that bad, but under his exterior, there is noticeably something much more sinister and twisted going on with Damian, and I really like how his design plays into that.
Finally, what is probably my favorite part of his design is the incorporation of chains. Hades Kerbecs has chain designs on its energy ring, as well as using chains in battle in the show, as chains are used to visualize Damian’s opponents being dragged into the gates of Hades. He also has a chain that latches his cape together going across his chest. While I’m a sucker for bladers who look like their beys, this is not what is most interesting about the use of chains in his design to me. What really gets me is the chain loops on his collar, wrists, and boots. At first glance, Damian appears to just be wearing a black choker, though it quickly looks more like a collar once you realize that the metal piece in the center is a hook for a chain, and this is repeated again on his wrist guards and boots. This is interesting to me as it ties back into the idea that while Damian appears to be free, it’s clearly presented that he is very much not in control, instead being used by Dr. Ziggurat. While he believes himself to be strong and special, in the end, he’s just as much chained down as the opponents he battles are.
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en-theos · 3 years
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There was this post going around a couple of days ago about how herodotus barely describes the battle of marathon because there were likely a lot of veterans around who could give eyewitness accounts which I LOVE, herodotus offering up his place on the stage to show respect to his elders, the ones who defended greece, and i'm reading the battle of thermopylae now and that is where we DO get a detailed account, day by day, of its defense and the specifics of the battle/siege, because. Well. Barely any survivors, so his audience DID need that detailed account there, did need a reconstruction of the event there because the few survivors that did remain were from thessaly, booetia and PERHAPS lacedaemonia, and herodotus wrote in athens for athenians (and maybe magna graecia)
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ordinaryschmuck · 3 years
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Why Samurai Jack is a Fan-Frickin’-Tastic Character
Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.
And today, I’d like to introduce you to somebody:
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This is Samurai Jack, from the popular Cartoon Network series Samurai Jack. Jack is a rare case. Where most shows would have a cast of main, secondary, and recurring characters of varying sizes, Samurai Jack is a series that mostly follows its titular character on his own. Sure, occasionally, you'll see the Scottsman or Aku making an appearance once in a while. But for ninety-five percent of the series, it's entirely focused on Jack and whatever oddball bounty hunter he's forced to deal with for the next twenty-two minutes. This type of decision can be risky because without quality writing, strictly following the same character week after week could get boring real quick. Thankfully, Samurai Jack is a series that's packed to the brim with incredible writing and direction, making Jack himself a fan-frickin'-tastic character.
How is that possible? Well, let me count the ways.
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1. He’s the right type of overpowered
Jack knows almost every fighting style in the world and uses that knowledge to survive every bounty hunter, demon, and/or robot he faces every episode. On paper, this type of character could seem unbelievable given that he's just a mortal man, and even monotonous to know he always wins. But that's the thing: Even though Jack manages to almost always win every fight he's in, it's quickly explained why in the very first episode. Through a montage, we see Jack learning every fighting style from several teachers, each of them helping him prepare for the ultimate battle against Aku, an unspeakable evil. Through the simple act of showing us a few scenes of Jack learning a new skill, it's easy to understand why he's a difficult opponent to beat and easy to believe when he introduces another fighting style we haven't seen him use yet. Plus, while Jack's fighting is formidable, that doesn't make him--
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WRONG SHOW! But it's true.
Despite winning every episode, it is never an easy feat. Nearly every battle results in Jack getting beat up and torn apart (Or, his clothes do, anyway). When this happens, it makes the victory feel earned rather than easily given. Take his fight against the beetles in episode three, for example. All of his traps go off without a hitch, and he makes it out while standing upon a pile of his vanquished foes. However, during the fight, his armor got stripped away entirely, and he's now scratched up and covered in robot oil:
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That image alone proves that even though he’s winning, it doesn’t come easy for him. That remains a staple throughout most of the series, throwing in a few instances when he temporarily loses only to make his eventual victory all the sweeter. He may be overpowered, but at least it's still entertaining to watch regardless.
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2. He adapts quickly
A bit of background information to those who haven't the show (probably should have done this in the beginning, but live and learn, I guess): Jack is an ancient samurai that gets magically teleported to a future where his mortal nemesis rules the world. Now, Jack is forced into an environment vastly different from his own, and in turn, he's forced to deal with a lot of stuff he doesn't know. Most writers would take advantage of this type of predicament to make a ton of fish-out-of-water jokes as a way to poke fun at the idea of a samurai being in a futuristic "utopia" (Or, at least, in Aku's eyes, it's a utopia). Thankfully, the writers avoid that cliche. In fact, if my memory serves me right, there's only one fish-out-of-water joke in the entire series. Which I'm more than grateful for because having a character getting thrown off and confused by the world around him would have gotten old fast. But it's not just being in a future world that Jack quickly gets used to. It's also being in situations he's unfamiliar with. Whether it's learning to fit in with dance-crazed zombies or being turned into a chicken (yes, that happens), it doesn't take too long for Jack to figure out a way to get through his current crisis. It proves that even though Jack is a strong warrior in battle, he's also a strategic one who can't be so easily outsmarted.
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3. He plays off of everyone he encounters
Jack, in almost every sense of the word, is a straight man. Most of his humor comes from interacting with the bombastic temperaments of others due to his own behavior being so stoic and calm. The series accomplishes this feat by having the future world filled with colorful personalities, making almost every character the best comedic partner for Jack. Primarily through Aku and the Scottsman, who, as I mentioned before, are the only characters that make regular appearances. These are characters with personalities that clash with Jack's, what with Aku being bombastic and chaotic and the Scottsman being loud and crash. Every time Jack interacts with either of them, comedy almost always follows. A good thing too because while Jack can have his own humorous moments, it's better to pair a straight man with someone insane if you want the laughs to come frequently.
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4. He’s still a ton of fun himself!
That being said, Jack is still a riot when he gets to be. By and large, I'd say he has a dry sense of humor, often shining through when he interacts with someone carrying the chaos for the both of them. But, occasionally, there are moments when Jack lets his goofy side out, and it's always funny. They're rare, but that in itself is why they work. Because since Jack always acts so serious in this series, seeing him suddenly break that character results in a laugh because it's something we wouldn't expect from him. If he always acted like this, it wouldn't hit as hard as it would only just be his usual sense of humor. So seeing him smile like an idiot as he's waiting "for the magic to begin" causes me to bust a gut laughing each time.
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5. He lives despite tragedy
But not everything is all fun and games for our protagonist.
Jack has one goal in this series: Get back to the past and stop the future of Aku from happening. Several episodes make it clear how strenuous a task this could be, showing Jack briefly losing hope that he'll even complete it. Hell, a good chunk of the final season is him practically given up. He still fights to stop Aku's minions from wreaking havoc, but you can see that the light has left his eyes, and he is more than willing for it to end. But, despite how hard things get and how tragic his life can be, there is always a spark of hope that reminds him what he's fighting for and gives him a second wind to finish it. Even when he's at his lowest point, when everything is seemingly hopeless, Jack will always get back up to defeat Aku, no matter what timeline they're in. It is truly noble and shows just how much of a hero Jack is. In fact--
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6. He’s the definition of what a hero should be
At least, to me, he is.
What do I mean? Well, I always believe that a hero is a person who would do everything they can to do the right thing, refusing to let innocent people suffer no matter what the cost. Jack proves it in every episode, frequently the ones where he's inevitably screwed over by his own selflessness. He could easily finish his quest and finally get back to the past, but because it could mean that someone innocent would be badly affected by it, Jack always doubles back to save them. The best example is in the second episode of season two. Jack gets ahold of a fairy that he heard can grant him any wish that he wants, but it's trapped in this ball of energy and will never get out. Jack can just wish to go back to the past and stop Aku once and for all. He only needs to make one simple wish. And what does he wish for? The fairy's freedom.
Because that's who Jack is. He's not the guy who would bargain for the life of another, even if his quest is more important. You can argue all you want that if saving something as inconsequential as the fairy's life is pointless due to tragedies like it being preventable if Jack successfully goes back in time. But that doesn't matter to him. A life is a life, and Jack is not the person to trade it. He's a hero and a damn good one at that.
There are many reasons why Samurai Jack is a fantastic character, but the one above, and the others I've just listed, prove how he is a fan-frickin'-tastic character.
(Sidenote: Does it bother anyone else that, despite five full seasons, we've never known what his real name is? No? Just me? Ok.)
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itsthranduilbitch · 3 years
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“Sadness is beautiful, loneliness is tragical.” Maedhros x human girl.
A/N: It's my first time writing this kind of stories so please be gentle. Please know that English isn't my first language, so sorry for my mistakes (if there are any). Also, I am open to suggestions/feedback, it would help me to get better.
I was thinking about my feelings these past week. I am tired of the lockdown but I know it's something that we have to do. And I was feeling a little bit down and then something come to my mind "What if  Maedhros felt the same way that I do?”. We all know his story and It made me sadder to know that he felt lonely sometimes, and wished he had a friend.
Warnings: mention of depression, suicidal thoughts, sadness.
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“Loneliness is dangerous.”- She said to him.
“How do you know that? You must be fifteen and I don’t mean to offend you, but what do you know about life and loneliness?”- Maedhros turned to face her. He seemed to start feeling annoyed. A mere human trying to tell him what to do.
“I am not fifteen, I’m twenty-four but that’s not relevant. Why wouldn’t I know how it feels to be sad and lonely and angry? To you, I’m still a child, but even a child can feel sadness and hopelessness. That’s just the world we’re living in.”- She walked to his side and looked at the beautiful bright moon. Both of them barely knew each other. They met that night. There was a celebration downstairs, a strong onslaught of orcs caused men and elves to join forces to defeat the enemy. Although he did not consider it a great battle, because he was used to fight in battles that lasted days. Yet, every victory deserves a celebration. But neither of them wanted to be around people. He found her reading a book in candlelight. He was curious, and he doesn't remember how this conversation started.
He was a prisoner once. He was tortured and mistreated. He prayed that death would find him soon to stop feeling that overwhelming pain. Thanks to fate, he was rescued from that horrible place. It took some time, but he recovered. Even if he no longer had his right hand, he gained control of his left hand. He fought again. But although he claims to be fine and strong in front of his brothers and his people, he cannot help feeling tired and sad.
Sometimes his memories haunt him over the edge of a cliff, and all he'd want to do there was to jump.
“I’ve been through the same things as you, so I know what it’s like. I’ve been there. You feel alone, even if you are in a room full of people. You try your best, you try to be present and sociable and it makes you feel good but not for so long. Because it wouldn't take long for you to start feeling weird. As if the voices around you became a deafening noise. You feel annoyed, you want to run, you want to find a cave where you can hide. So you excuse yourself from people to go somewhere quiet and lonely. You search for a room where you feel like you're safe. And that's when you feel like you can finally breathe. When you are all alone, you allow your mind to wander. Maybe you get lost in the pages of a book, or you look at the moon, just like now, or even doing absolutely nothing. You stand still in the dark and you realise that being around people for so long takes all of your energy. As if they take all your will for breathing and living. It feels like a battle. Every meeting with people is a battle, every minute you spend with them causes you a wound and at the end of the battle, you need to take refuge so your wounds can heal.”- The girl was looking at his eyes now.
Maedhros didn’t know what to say. Every word she has say to him was true. Like she has been spying his thoughts all this time.
“Yes, I’ve been there. I know exactly how you feel. So let me warn you. Loneliness can turn dangerous if you stay in it for so long. Your heart would turn cold and dark and your soul would get sick.  But I’m not saying that you can’t spend time on your own. No, people like you and me need time to be alone with our thoughts. We need our space and time for ourselves otherwise we’d drive mad. But you must be careful. Loneliness can be a silent death. Loneliness can consume you and make you addicted to it. And it will no longer matter how long you spend alone, it will never be enough and your soul will feel tired and sick forever."
“How do you know all of this? How can you feel the same things as I do? Who are you?” Maedhros whisper in disbelief.
"You haven't healed properly, my lord. You might heal your body but if your mind is sick then your soul is sick as well." she dared to grab his hand.
"You say that there is a possibility for me to get rid of all these thoughts about my past that have been haunting me? How can the sorrow disappear after all the things I've been through? No, child, I am cursed and this pain will stay with me forever, and even in my death, I will not find peace.” He dropped her hand.
“You don't understand. Do you think you will control them? Your thoughts and pain? No, they will drive you mad. Let me help you.” She insisted.
“Why would you help me? What benefits would you have if you help me?” This time he raised his voice, he could hear the echoes.
“Because I've been at the edge too, and I wouldn't be here if someone did not have had pity on me. Someone saved my life,  saved me from myself and told me to do the same if I ever found a person who is struggling with the same things as I did. I won't force you to do anything. My job here was to tell you that you can be saved. But if you can't accept you need help then there's nothing I can do. I'll let you think about it, I know it's not easy. " After all these words, she left him alone, alone with his thoughts.
Until this night he thought all his thoughts and feelings were normal. He thought he was good at hiding these kind of things, but he clearly wasn't. He went through a lot of suffering in his life. Wasn't it normal to feel like losing control, suffocating in his pain? Does he need to stop his grief? Maybe he likes to feel sad, somehow the sadness makes him feel alive.
Was this human girl waiting for him in the darkness on purpose? She eventually was waiting for him, but how could she know he was searching for an empty room? Who has he, the one who saved her? If he accepts help, where he will go to find a cure to his sickness? All of these questions seem impossible to answer, at least he couldn't answer them yet. But one thing is for sure, he'd spend the rest of the night thinking about everything she said to him.
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chloefrazer · 2 years
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the magician + mickey, the chariot + poppy, the devil + lola, the tower + aubrey, the world + kestrel 🥰🥰
thank you babe!! 💖💖
🧙 I - The Magician : Making a deliberate decision, taking action, experiencing a sensation of power, deep thought.
the first thing that instantly came to mind was mickey's deliberate decision to join the anarchs. throughout the events of the game, mickey remained semi-neutral, hating the camarilla, but not officially joining the anarchs. it wasn't until she thought nines was dead that like, she felt that she owed it to herself and to him to join the cause, and it gave her a sense of home & purpose. naturally, after killing the prince & the many other threats in LA, it earned her a lot of fame among the anarchs, & she held some power through reputation, though honestly she didn't really know what to do with it!
🛹 VII - The Chariot : Asserting your will and dominance, mastering impulsivity, reining in emotion, war-like control.
poppy's anger (& by relation, survivor's guilt) had always been uncontrolled, righteous anger, that she always tried to keep buried inside her. but, when she took levels in barbarian, she finally had a away to control her anger - but channeling it into rage & using it to protect her friends in battle! that's what i thought of when i read war-like control. it's not a domineering kind of control, but more of a like, understanding? the rage is a means to and end: she can channel her anger, protect her friends in battle, and get out some much needed aggression!
👺 XV - The Devil : Entrapment, bondage, being stuck on the material plane, ignorance, hopelessness, depression, doubt, loss of hope.
one of lola's lowest points was after johnny's death. not only did she blame herself, it was just another person who she cared about that was killed because of her. she channeled a lot of those feelings of hopelessness, depression, and doubt into anger and ambition - driving the gangs out of steelport kept her mind busy. a lot of people thought she was cold and callous, brushing off and ignoring johnny's death like it was just another casualty, but it really did hit her hard, even if she refused to talk about it.
💥 XVI - The Tower : The moment in which everything changes, upheaval, crisis, falling, relinquishing control.
the moment everything changed for aubrey was, naturally, after her death & embrace! her human life met a very violent, tragic end, but being embraced into clan brujah gave her a second chance to do more good. of course, being brought into the world of kindred was (and continues to be) its own battle, & aubrey has had many doubts and crises of conviction since. she often feels like she's falling down a rabbit hole of endless darkness, violence, & hunger, but she has to remind herself that she - and kindred like her - are better than that.
🌍 XXI - The World : Integration, synthesis, accomplishment, blossoming, fulfilment and wholesomeness.
kestrel felt no other sense of accomplishment quite like when tiamat was finally banished. the battle had cost two friends (though one was revived!), and the journey to this final confrontation was also very strenuous. when tiamat was finally defeated, kestrel felt fulfilled, like she had honored her grandfather's legacy by helping defeat the most evil dragon out there. it helped that fen was still there, alive and well, so she and kestrel could get to know each other outside the chaos of battle and adventuring!
send a symbol / tarot card + one of my OC and I’ll tell you how they relate to it / an experience they had related to it!
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joachimnapoleon · 3 years
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“Aim for the heart, but spare the face”
The 4th and final part of my narrative of Murat’s last days. (Part 1: Murat’s Fateful Decision) (Part 2: The Capture of Murat) (Part 3: Prelude to a Show Trial)
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The commission chosen to enact the farcical trial of Murat convened on the 13th of October. A Sicilian named Captain Starace was to selected to serve as Murat’s advocate, and pleaded with Murat to change his mind about appearing in front of his judges to defend himself. Murat replied that the members of the court were not judges, but executioners; he ordered Starace to say nothing in his defense. Shortly after, the commission sent in a rapporteur to interrogate Murat, asking him his name, age, and homeland. Murat angrily declared: “I am Joachim, King of the Two Sicilies; get out, Monsieur!”
The trial concluded around four o’clock in the afternoon. He was unanimously found guilty, ironically on the basis of a law regarding insurrection which he had enacted himself in June of 1810. Murat received the news of his death sentence with, writes the Marquis de Sassenay, “a disdainful calm.” The sentence was to be carried out, he was told, in a quarter of an hour. He was permitted to write a final letter to his wife and children.
My dear Caroline,
My last hour has come; in a few moments I shall have ceased to exist; you will no longer have a husband, and my children will have no father. Never forget me; my life has not been tainted by any injustice. Farewell my Achille, farewell my Letitia, farewell my Lucien, farewell my Louise; show yourselves to the world worthy of me. I leave you without kingdom and without property, in the midst of my numerous enemies; be constantly united, show yourselves superior to misfortune, think of what you are and of what you have been, and God will bless you. Do not curse my memory. Know that my greatest pain, in the last moments of my life, is to die far away from my children.
Receive my paternal blessing; receive my kisses and my tears. Always have present in your memory your unfortunate father.
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[Murat writes his final letter, by Jacques Onfroy de Bréville]
Into the envelope along with the letter, he placed several locks of his hair.
Completing this final task, he was met by Canon Masdea, the septuagenarian priest to whom Murat had bequeathed some money for the San Giorgio church two years prior. The priest prevailed upon Murat to sign a written declaration stating that he was dying as a Christian. He also managed to persuade Murat to make confession, standing firm on the matter when the officer on guard attempted to object due to a lack of time.
“Let us go,” Murat declared after receiving absolution, “and God’s will be done!”
At six o’clock in the evening, he was led out to the narrow courtyard of the castle. He coldly refused both the blindfold and the stool that were offered him. Scarcely ten feet separated him from the twelve-man firing squad. In his hand he held the miniature likenesses of his wife and children, which he now pressed to his chest.
“Soldiers,” he addressed the firing squad calmly, “do your duty. Aim for the heart, but spare the face.”
He gave the order to fire himself.
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Details of the aftermath of the execution vary, with one account claiming three pistol shots were discharged into Murat’s head after he fell, which, if true, is excessive enough to appear as more an act of malice than a standard coup-de-grâce. There seems to be no doubt that he was killed instantly by the firing squad’s volley, fired at such a close range that his body was described as “mutilated.” His body was placed into a plain coffin and buried without ceremony in the yard of the church that had benefitted from his kindness two years earlier. Today a marker lies within the church, commemorating the spot where Murat’s remains are said to rest.
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[Plaque marking Murat’s final resting place in San Giorgio church in Pizzo]
Caroline Murat had received no news of her husband’s whereabouts or well-being in months. Eight days after his execution, she wrote to Catherine, wife of her brother Jerome, that “this uncertainty is becoming unbearable.” Her older sister Elisa learned that Murat had ended up being apprehended in Calabria. Both sisters expressed the hope that he would be allowed to continue his journey from there to Trieste, but Caroline remained riddled with anxiety. “Oh, my dear Elisa,” she wrote, “loss of fortune seems nothing beside the agonies which oppress me and I would be happier completely destitute if I could thereby spare my husband and myself the cruel sufferings… until the hour when he can arrive and I can know him safe.”
The same day that Caroline wrote the letter above—November 2—news of her husband’s execution was printed in the Wiener Zeitung, the newspaper she had taken to reading daily since arriving in Trieste. Her servants endeavored to hide the paper, substituting another in its place; but she insisted on receiving it. It was yielded to her with reluctance. Catherine Davies, an Englishwoman who had served the Murats since 1804, describes the ensuing scene: “Upon reading the account of her husband’s melancholy death, she was attacked with violent fits which lasted until morning. The dear children were asleep, and knew nothing of their mother’s grief, nor of their own loss, till the following day, when seeing every one looking sad around them, Prince Lucien said to my late English companion, ‘Mimie, what is the matter, that you all wear such sorrowful faces: is papa dead?’ She replied she feared he was. At this moment, they all wept bitterly, for they were tenderly attached to their father, and he equally to them.”
While the Bourbon courts in France and Naples rejoiced at the news of Murat’s death, there were many who responded with horror, grief, and anger. General Guglielmo Pépé, who had come to love and admire Murat even in spite of his political differences with his former king, fell into this latter camp. “The tragical death of Joachim,” he writes, “plunged me into the deepest grief, which I only mastered after a long lapse of time: the whole country was horror-stricken by this sad event. Even to this day, when the inhabitants of Pizzo have occasion to travel the kingdom, they carefully conceal the place of their nativity, so great is the stigma it casts upon them.” Lord Byron, who had, years earlier, written a poem about Murat, likewise lamented the legendary cavalier’s sad fate. “Poor, dear Murat, what an end! …. His white plume used to be a rallying point in battle, like Henry IV’s. He refused a confessor and a bandage; so would neither suffer his soul or body to be bandaged.”
Napoleon, arriving on Saint Helena two days after the execution of his brother-in-law, did not receive news of it until months later. Writes Barry O’Meara, who briefly served as Napoleon’s physician on the island, “Some short time after his arrival at Longwood, I communicated to the Emperor the news of Murat’s death. He heard it with calmness, and immediately inquired if he had perished on the field of battle? At first I hesitated to tell him that his brother-in-law had been executed by military law. On his repeating the question, I informed him of the manner in which Murat had been put to death, to which he listened without any change of countenance.” This sangfroid was typical of Napoleon, who disdained outward displays of emotions (except for anger) in front of his subordinates. But his valet, Marchand, who had been with Napoleon longer and knew how to read him better, remarks in his memoirs that “This news had saddened him, and I heard him talking to Dr. O’Meara, which renewed this pain as he spoke. He said nothing of the King of Naples’ wrongs toward him, adding that to go down to Calabria with fifty men was the action of a madman, but those who had ordered his death were monsters.” General Gourgaud, in his diary, describes Napoleon, later in the evening after learning of Murat’s death, as “sad, preoccupied, plays mechanically with some coins during the reading. He suffers, we see it clearly.” Murat would remain a recurring subject of the Emperor’s conversation during his time on Saint Helena. His reflections on his brother-in-law were as conflicted as his feelings towards him had been throughout their relationship, ranging from fond reminiscences of Murat’s battlefield gallantry, to bitterness over his defection in 1814, to ridicule of his outlandish attire and poor judgment. He never ceased to regret Murat’s absence at Waterloo.
It is impossible to know for certain what Murat’s true intentions were as he began taking the road towards Monteleone prior to his arrest in Pizzo. He was indecisive by nature, but also stubborn. As appalling of a prospect as he found the idea of a life in exile in Austria, his desire to be reunited with his family was genuine; his children were never far from his mind. Yet equally abhorrent to him was the idea of living the rest of his life in a state of dishonor, having relinquished, without a fight, a throne he had never abdicated. The accounts of Galvani and Franceschetti both make it clear that his mind changed throughout the journey between Corsica and Calabria, his natural optimism and faith in himself repeatedly overriding the reality of the hopelessness of his original enterprise. Perhaps he truly had resolved to go on to Trieste by the time his party encountered Trentacapilli; if so, this only renders the outcome all the more tragic.
Some historians have theorized that his voyage to Pizzo was a deliberate act of suicide. This ignores not only his repeated insistences that he intended to join his family in Trieste, but also the resistance and attempt to avoid capture he made prior to his apprehension. If Murat was seeking death, he was not seeking it in the manner of a common criminal. He had been a soldier for his entire adult life, and would have preferred to die like one. Upon his return to Naples from his final defeat at Tolentino, where, like Ney at Waterloo, he appears to have been attempting to get himself killed, Murat dolefully remarked to Caroline that he had been unable to meet death. 
“Thus,” writes his former aide-de-camp Macirone, “fortune was again adverse to courage, and the blood of a hero was permitted to be lawlessly, uselessly, and inhumanly shed, by a sovereign who had never been wronged by his victim. His death was ignominious only to his enemies. Those who had been his subjects will revere his memory. France may reproach it for the evils to which he unintentionally contributed… but when the book of truth shall be unfolded, it will appear that the errors of Murat were not errors of the heart.” It is as fitting an epitaph as that of Murat’s childhood friend Agar, the Count of Mosbourg, who devoted to him a monument listing his military exploits and achievements, closing with the declaration: “He knew how to conquer, he knew how to reign, he knew how to die.”
***
Sources:
-Atteridge, A. Hilliard. Joachim Murat: Marshal of France and King of Naples, 1911
-Bear, Joan. Caroline Murat, 1972
-Cole, Hubert. The Betrayers, 1972
-Colletta, Pietro, General. Histoire des six derniers mois de la vie de Joachim Murat, 1821
-Davies, Catherine. Eleven Years’ Residence in the Family of Murat, King of Naples, 1841
-Franceschetti, Dominique-César, General. Mémoires sur les événemens qui ont précédé la mort de Joachim Ier, Roi des Deux-Siciles, 1826
-Galvani, Mathieu. Mémoires sur les événemens qui ont précédé la mort de Joachim-Napoléon, Roi de Deux-Siciles, 1843
-Gourgaud, Gaspard, General. Sainte-Hélène - Journal Inedit de 1815 à 1818 en 2 volumes
-Macirone, Francis. Interesting Facts Relating to the Fall and Death of Joachim Murat, 1817
-Marchand, Louis-Joseph. In Napoleon's Shadow: The Memoirs of Louis-Joseph Marchand, Valet and Friend of the Emperor 1811–1821, 2018
-O’Meara, Barry Edward. Napoleon in exile, or, A voice from St. Helena, Vol 1, 1827
-Pépé, Guglielmo. Memoirs of General Pépé, Vol 2, 1846.
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daywing-moved · 4 years
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Birds of a Shadow
Rating: G
Summary: Elain comforts Azriel after Mor confesses to Azriel. 
A/N: This was originally supposed to be a poem, which then turned into prose, and then transformed into a semi-Elriel fic.
All characters belong to Sarah J Maas!
fic tag list: @thesirenwashere​ @justgiu12​ @b00kworm​ @acourtofmarauders​ @empress-ofbloodshed​ @maastrash @savemesoon8 @bryaxisthefaceofnightmares @yourtypicalbookworn @ryhsrocks @captainthefangirlofhp @iammissstark
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There is a shadow hunched over the fireplace.
His head is bowed, his wings drooped, blanketing the floor in a mass of tragic power. Darkness surrounds his presence, as it always does, but this time, it’s different. The shadows lash and flick, like a violent, rolling storm contained in a glass bottle. The black night outside draws to him like a comforting blanket, but is pushed away. Instead, rain falls outside, a silent, drizzling downpour.
The embers of the flames flicker in his hazel eyes, the only light in those swirling, sullen eyes.
A warrior in defeat, tired of fighting all his life for something he could never conquer.
A fallen angel.
Elain watches him from the doorway. She, perhaps, is the only other light in the room aside from the crackling fire. And she watches, silently, as his long lashes close, his jaw hardening. Shoulders tense, figure clad in black. 
The seer sees, and she does not see a vanquished fighter. She sees past the darkness and the shadows and the cold, cold night, to the bird finally ready to take flight inside. The bird that had been caged, as if its beauty could be cherished for longer behind age-old bars, was finally free.
Elain takes a step into the room. The shadows drift away from her. He does not want to taint her with the presence of brokenness, but she has been broken before. Had been broken by an iron ring that would not break, even as she tore herself apart for months. Would not leave, until she pieced herself together and tended to the tangled thorns of her heart.
She was not afraid to let a bird out of its cage.
Elain approaches him softly, a hand resting on the mantle of the fireplace. His eyes turn to her, and they are filled with bitterness and hopelessness. Tragically beautiful. He attempts to raise his wings, to put that mask back on for her, but she shakes her head.
“You do not have to hide yourself from me,” she whispers gently, staring into his eyes. Moments of silence pass before he acknowledges her presence.
“It is not your responsibility to heal me.” He stares into the fire, shadows barely contained.
“I will not heal you.” Elain lifts her chin, daring him to raise his gaze to her again. “You need to find that light yourself.”
His shoulders sag. “She was supposed to be my light,” he murmured, running a hand over his face and sighing. 
Elain shakes her head, replying, “You know her light was not yours to match.”
For five hundred years, he had loved the red-clad, blonde-haired female. Half a millennium of longing gazes, a lifetime of hope slaughtered. Winked out like the last of a flame.
Elain does not think that the legendary Shadowsinger had not known it would turn out this way. Perhaps his shadows did not pry where he did not want them to, but she has an inkling that they would at least know that Morrigan was never destined to find peace in a male.
She watches his chest rise and fall with every heave of a breath. “She loves you.”
His head snaps up, his eyes flashing. “Even if she did, I would not deserve it.”
Elain takes in that guilty look of his and does not falter. “Her love is of a different kind, Azriel. She may not take your heart, but she loves you as family loves each other. It is that warm, joyful love of hers.”
He looks out the window on the other side of the room, at the rainy, cloudy midnight sky. “I know. I knew.”
Elain watches that bitter smile on his resigned face. “Then why do you mourn like such?”
A flicker of pain. His shadows slash against the floor. “Because I thought loving her would be safe. I’d be able to love her and never hurt her, because she would not want me back. I knew how to feel and how to fight that battle. It was so easy because I knew that I could not win that war.” His breathing catches in sync with the stuttering of Elain’s heart. She knows he does not want her pity, so she does not give it. But this tears open old wounds of hers. Ones that she will gladly rip open to guide her friend back to the light.
Or, maybe, she did not have to guide him. He was already there, but could not see it. Had been there for some time, but was clouded by his own self-doubt.
He shakes his head, muttering, “I’m sorry, Elain, you shouldn’t have to-”
“Do not. Apologize,” she interrupted, emphasizing every word. “You do not apologize for setting the bird free.”
He finally pushes off the mantle, running a hand through his ruffled hair, and repeats, “Setting the bird free?”
“You knew Mor would say it one day. That the bird would be able to fly one day. But you kept the bird caged, like you could be startled by its beauty one more time. She is not yours to trap or to admire like such. Let the bird fly. The bird no longer wants to be trapped.”
Azriel stumbles backwards, eyes panicked. “I trapped her. Like some creature of the sky trapped underground. Cauldron, I’m just like my father-”
Elain whips her head to him. “But the bird learned in that cage, Az. Your father locked you under and forced you into the reality of those dark walls. But from you, Mor found so much more. You saved her from Autumn. If not for you…” she shakes her head. “You may have your flaws, as all people do. But stop fearing those flaws, as you stopped fearing the darkness.”
She takes a breath. The words pouring out of her—they were like talking to her past self, words that no one had ever told her until she started telling them to herself, like the little parts of a puzzle all fitting together.
“You had begged for a cure for that darkness, and took it as soon as you thought it had appeared. As soon as she had appeared. But you are a Shadowsinger. You do not need someone else to push and pull at the darkness. You control your own shadows, and they are not some poisoned part of you. Every rose has its thorns, and those thorns make them strong.” 
His mouth opens and closes. “I want to say that I was blind,” he breathes. “I want to say that I never knew about her preferences or her life or any of it. I wish I hadn’t been a shadow over her life.”
“Not being blind only shows you knew her,” Elain counters. Her honey eyes are warm but defiant. “And it is an honor to know someone as bright as Mor. You are not a shadow over her now, are you?”
He stays silent, watching her. She stares up at him with a round, understanding gaze, and he can’t help but admire how there is no pity or sympathy there—only a knowing look. He gives her a single shake of his head, even as a storm continues to brew in his eyes. A muscle in his jaw twitches. “Why? How?”
Elain stares down at her hand, at where an iron engagement ring used to be. A cage for her finger, suffocating it until it could no longer be free. A mark of possession rather than love, of cruelty rather than the promise of a better future. She had not realized it then, but she realizes it now. “There was no one who understood me the first months I came here,” she says, releasing a small sigh. “There was no one to tell me what to do or how to feel or why what I had thought was love had suddenly become betrayal and hatred and disgust.”
Azriel’s face shifts, as if realizing just how alone she had been.
“I saw birds,” she continues, the rain outside pouring harder. “I saw them and thought about how they flew in the rain. It must’ve been cold and dark for them, like how empty everything felt for me. But they sang nonetheless.”
Her eyes dare shutter for a moment. “And that was the only thing that kept me sane. How I could be a bird, trapped in a thunderstorm, but the storm would see an end. When you started talking to me, and showing me the gardens, your wings… it was like my bird could finally take flight again. I’d found a friend in you. I was just… I was just hoping I could do the same for you, even if the wings do not spread tonight.”
And the look on Az’s face is utter awe, awe at how someone could speak such beautiful words. 
A defeated warrior can still hope, can still rebuild, he remembers. He remembers now. His wings lift slightly. “Thank you, Elain.”
She knows a wounded heart cannot be fixed overnight. Elain takes a step forward, not close enough for them to touch, but close enough to see the clear reflection of the fireplace in his hazel gaze, like a light burning anew. A new dawn.
She takes his scarred hands. “There are many battles to be fought,” she says.
He takes in the sight of her gentle hands in his rough ones.
“Those battles may last the entirety of an infinite night,” Elain whispers. She smiles at him, briefly. “They are not easy. You know this.”
She squeezes his hand before letting go and watching the rain halt outside, clearing way for the watery moon. “But what makes a night worth living through is the stars. My stars are already shining. And I will be there as your friend through every battle, as you were through mine, until the stars can shine for you, too.”
He nods, and her heart lifts, lifts, lifts to the stars like a winged bird soaring. Perhaps she is when he offers, “Would you like to fly tonight?”
She nods. She would not allow the Shadowsinger to drown in his sorrows again, and she knows he finds freedom and comfort in the night sky.
So, in the aftermath of the rain, they perch on the rooftops of Velaris. Wrapped in the smell of petrichor and chilled night mists, they reveal hidden wounds and stitch them back together. 
And when Elain finally sees a peek of guilt fade from his gaze, a light where it may have looked dark before, the stars are shining gently above them, finally unhidden and twinkling.
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chaoticgearz · 3 years
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Forget-Me-Not: They aren't wrong with the smart and reliable part though, Tsuyuki just has TERRIBLE luck. Also why do I hope that Tsuna would go "Hopeless Boss Fight," on either some Mafia Members that are trying to hurt them, some of Tsubaki's Subclass or some more, trigger happy, members of the C3? Also TWST Gang, Servamp Gang, Izuku, and whatever Volleyball Members joined the Mafia versus whatever bullshit Byakuran pulls who will win?(YES I AM TRYING TO PULL UP SOME FUNNY SCRNARIOS IT HELPS ME COPE WITH HOW TRAGIC THIS AU IS!)
It would mostly depend on the person though like for example, if he were to do the hopeless battle with Tsurugi, he would just defeat him instead of actually killing him before he gives him a warning about what would happen to him if he tries to go for Tsuna's family again.
Meanwhile if you shove Nono in there, Tsuna would straight up snipe him.
Shouyou made it VERY clear if he were to join the mafia, his team and any other team he knows of are to be kept out of the fray. So far they've kept good on that promise until Ennoshita, Kinnoshita and Narita walked in on him practicing his flames and had then discovered the three had active flames as well.
Otherwise, it would be just straight up chaos when it comes to overcoming whatever bullshit Byakuran pulls them into. They're struggling but at least they ain't slipping.
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Funny Moments In Thor The Dark World
Find Thor 1 here
Find Avengers 1 here
This is the second part of me watching all three thor movies and the avengers movie and comparing the humor pre-ragnarok to the humor in the 3rd Thor movie. And, as before, I’m writing this on my computer where the I and U keys don’t work so sorry for any spelling mistakes.
Tag List: @nikkoliferous @fyrecrafted @lokijiro @miskiett @darthxerik @icyxmischief @iamanartichoke @juliabohemian @official-and-unstable-satan @melodylnoelle @just-another-human-2019 @fandomsfanfiction @mentallydatingahotcelebrity @cateyes315 @burningarbiterheart @imnotacreepijustlikeyou @usedtobegoodfriend96 @alexakeyloveloki
Official-and-unstable-satan and fandomsfanfiction weren’t tagged sry
Anyone who wants to be added/removed to the tag list please let me know! and if I missed someone please also let me know. Sorry this post is so long
~ “Hello Mother. Have I made you proud?”
~ “Please don’t make things worse” “Define worse”
~ “I really don’t see what all the fuss is about”
~ “Just like you”
~ *That smile!!!!*
~ “I’ve got this completely under control!” “Is that why everything’s on fire?”
~ *About the Scary MonsterTM: “All yours”
~ *Thor says hi to the Big Scary MonsterTM*
~ “I accept your surrender”
~ “Anyone else?” *All the people simultaneously: NOPE*
~ “Perhaps next time we should START with the big one”
~ *Odin obviously shipping Thor and Jane* (idk I got a kick out of this)
~ *Jane awkwardly avoiding her date*
~ *Date: hi*
~ *Him awkwardly talking about his ex*
~ “And the fact that she kept sleeping with other men” “NO!”
~ *Darcy being mistaken for a waitress*
~ *Darcy mouthing “Cute” to Jane about Richard*
~ *Darcy embarrassing Jane by talking about Thor*
~ “Is there a point to all of this cause there REALLY needs to be a point to all of this”
~ “That’s what I said!”
~ “That’s what I did!”
~ “He’s not interested” “I’m interested” (Am I the only one who feels like his awkwardness was actually kinda cute?)
~ “He’s my intern.” “You have an intern?”
~ *Intern is fucking adorable like Richard*
~ “I have totally mastered driving in London!” *Has not mastered it at all*
~ *Selvig running around Stonehenge naked*
~ *Darcy keeps calling Ian ‘Intern’*
~ *Darcy calls Jane cause she didn’t wanna shout*
~ God I fucking love Darcy she’s so criminally underrated
~ “I am not getting stabbed in the name of science”
~ “It’s okay, we’re Americans!” “Is that supposed to make them like us?”
~ “We’re scientists-well I am” “Thanks”
~ “That doesn’t seem right”
~ “I wanna throw something! Jane give me your shoe!”
~ *Jane ignores Darcy*
~ “Give me your shoe”
~ “Were those the car keys?”
~ *Ian’s face when he realizes he threw the car keys to another planet*
~ *If you have to bury so many people then you’re doing something wrong you hot dumb fuck* (I mean that’s basically what Heimdall said right?)
~ “Typical” *after being left behind while Jane goes to talk to her boyfriend*
~ *Jane! Love of my life and most talented and beautiful person in the world oh how I love yo-SLAP*
~ “As excuses go, its not terrible”
~ “I know” “You do?” “Do what?”
~ *Darcy interrupts the KissTM*
~ “Um I’m pretty sure we are getting arrested”
~ “How’s space?” “Space is fine”
~ “He’s my intern… My intern’s intern”
~ “Holy shit!” (after Jane went up in the Bifrost)
~ *Heimdall calmly dodges the car*
~ “We have to do that again”
~ “Hello”
~ “What’s that?”
~ “It’s a soul forge” *No I’m pretty sure that’s a quantum field generator*
~ *Jane being ready to fight Odin for comparing her to a goat*
~ “You told your dad about me?”
~ “It must be so inconvenient, them asking about me day and night”
~ “Please meet my mother” *Jane shies away from Thor*
~ Loki casually tossing the thingamajig in the air like the cute little shit he is
~ Lord, he’s so damn pretty
~ *Kurse being like: Lol I ain’t touchin’ that boy with a ten foot pole*
~ “It’s as if they resent being in prison”
~ “There’s no pleasing some creatures”
~ *Loki calmly reading a book while all Hel breaks loose*
~ “You have my word that no harm will come to yo-” nvm bitch die
~ *THAT look between Sif and Jane*
~ *Frigga immediately seeing through Odin’s bs lies*
~ *Heimdall: I have defeated the big space ship!! The bigger one behind him: Bitch you thought*
~ “WITCH!!!!” *Now I know who Loki gets his amazing aforementioned smile from*
~ *Selvig using shoes to explain complicated science*
~ *Selvig then using pencils*
~ “Any questions?” “Yeah, can I have my shoe back?”
~ “What’s SHIELD?” “It’s a secret”
~ *Darcy’s cute af face when she sees that Selvig is in the mental hospital*
~ “Are you sure you wouldn’t just rather punch your way out?”
~ *Loki shapeshifting into the guard*
~ “Mmm Brother, you look ravishing”
~ “Costumes a bit much”
~ “So tight!”
~ “I can FEEL the righteousness surging!!”
~ “HEY wanna have a rousing discussion about truth?”
~ “Honor?”
~ “Patriotism?”
~ “GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
~ “At last. A little common sens-”Bitch are you really fucking kidding me? (What do you mean that’s not what he said?)
~ “I thought you liked tricks”
~ “I’m Loki, you may have heard of-” SLAP
~ “That was for New York”
~ “I like her”
~ *Loki gazing lovingly at Jane in the background*
~ “Betray him, and I’ll kill you.” “It’s good to see you too Sif”
~ “If you even think about betraying him-” “You’ll kill me? Evidently there will be a line”
~ “I thought you said you knew how to fly this thing.” “I said how hard can it be?”
~ “Whatever your doing brother I suggest you do it faster.” “Shut up Loki
~ “You must’ve missed something.” “I didn’t, I’m pressing every button on this thing”
~ “Well don’t hit it. Just press it, gently.” “I aM pReSsInG iT gEnTlY AND ITS NOT WORKING!!!”
~ *Thor starts slamming buttons and it starts working*
~ *Volstagg: Oh fighting is much fun- OH SHIT IM FALLING!! HELP!!!*
~ “I think you missed a column.” “Shut up”
~ “Why don’t you let me take over? I’m clearly the best pilot”
~ *Bitch I’m the one who can actually fly*
~ “Oh dear. Is she dead?”
~ *Thor knocks over a column* “Not a word”
~ “Now they’re following us”
~ “Now they’re firing at us”
~ “Yes thank you for the commentary Loki, it’s not at all distracting”
~ “Well done, you just decapitated your grandfather”
~ *Seriously, whoever wrote the escape scene is a genius!!!*
~ *Loki yelling at Thor about how thIs was a bad idea you dumb fuck- wait wtf are you doing AAAAHHHHH!!!!1*
~ “You lied to me. I’m impressed”
~ *That smile again snfnejaihfeqrqrsbdsalxdjewonjfeq*
~ “For Asgard!” YEET
~ “Nothing personal boys!”
~ “If it were easy, everyone would do it”
~ “Are you mad?” “Possibly”
~ “TADAAA”
~ “Oh yeah, my father. Eric Selvig”
~ “And these” “yeah… those”
~ “How did you find me?” “You were naked on television”
~ “I don’t get paid enough. I don’t get paid at all”
~ “What’s happening? Birds? Birds are happening?”
~ “All right are you ready?” “I am”
~ *phone rings* “It’s not me”
~ “Why are there so many shoes in here?”
~ “I’ll just text her”
~ “So who’s Richard?”
~ *Thor hanging his hammer on a coat hanger*
~ “Where are your pants?” “Oh he says it helps him think”
~ “Loki is dead” “Oh thank God!”
~ “Better get my pants”
~ “Do you even know what these things do?” “No” “…Neither do I”
~ “Ooh get the guy with the sword!”
~ “Oops”
~ *Ian’s high-pitched scream*
~ *Does car insurance cover My Car Was Sucked Into Another Planet Due To A Cosmic Event That Only Occurs Once Every 5000 Years or no?*
~ *Thor and Malekith fighting between worlds and poor little Mjolnir trying to keep up*
~ *The two of them against windows*
~ *AAAHHH*
~ *Awww! Look at the cute little Jotunheim monster! He’s so adorable I wanna pet him so much!’
~ *Darcy and Ian kissing after he saved her life*
~ “Darcy?” “Jane!” “Ian?” “Selvig.”
~ “Myuh Myuh!!”
~ *Thor ends up on the subway*
~ *The girl taking 50 photos*
~ *Thor and the woman colliding into eachother*
~ “I’ve come to accept your surrender”
~ *Malekith gets crushed by his own ship. Now that’s some lovely karma right there*
~ *Darcy and Ian go back to kissing*
~ “He kinda committed treason on our way out” oops
~ Jotunheim Puppy chasing birds
Wow I’m so sorry this was so long. But guess what? It’s gonna get even longer. Sorry, again.
So one of the differences between the first and second Thor movies is that Thor 2 has humor in the climax whereas Thor 1 doesn’t. This is because of the differences with who is the villain. In Thor 1, Thor is having to fight his brother. To quote Avengers, they “played together and fought together” for several millennia. Of course there’s not going to be any humor in it cause there shouldn’t be. The climax at the end of the movie isn’t supposed to be some epic battle between the forces of Good TM and Bad TM. It’s supposed to be tragic that he’s having to fight his own brother because Loki lost his mind due to so many factors. The last joke in the film is “You’re an amazon liar brother, always have been” “It’s good to have you back”. There’s nothing else till the end credit scene. That’s because Kenneth Branagh knew that this was supposed to be viewed at as being sad a hopeless, not some awesome upbeat battle.
Thor 2 on the other hand, is exactly that. Thor has known Malekith for.. what? 2 days? Maybe 3? His relationship and dynamic with Malekith is different than with his brother. To Thor, this is just another enemy attacking Asgard. And I’m not sure whether this was intentional or not (because I remember reading somewhere how Allen Taylor had a bitch of a time in the editing process so I think the movie came out different than he intended) but the lack of any personal relationship will Malekith means the film can make really funny jokes and still have it fit with the film. If anything, I might even argue that the humor helped the film to maintain a very nice positive vibe. Idk I can’t think of the right words to explain it but the jokes actually fit the film very well.
However, then we move on to Ragnarok. With Ragnarok, Thor is fighting his sister. While (just like Malekith) he has only known her for two days, that still doesn’t take away the fact that he is having to fight his sibling. And I’m not a film director but if I had the option of approaching this situation and taking it the Thor 1 route or the the Thor 2 route, I’d go with Thor 1. Because it’s actually incredibly tragic that Hela has been driven to insanity like Loki (though ok a different level) due to Odin’s shitty parenting. She is the horrible way she is because Odin made her that way. And that could’ve been an AMAZINGLY complex story with the audience feeling so much sympathy for Hela like we did with Loki in Thor 1, but the narrative just falls flat for two reasons. 1) Taika admitted he didn’t want the film to be emotionally complex so 2) The humor in the climax completely detracts from the seriousness of the situation.
Also, some side notes: Yes, this is edited from the original. I accidentally deleted everything and then had to go back and add everything back in. So I also had to re-tag people too. And I also added a bit more explanation at the end. I meant to do so when I originally posted but it never got done till now. Sry. Also sry that it’s so long
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silveranjyil · 4 years
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The Greatest Tragedy
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Once my brain has alighted upon a subject, it often does not let it go until ever stone is unturned.  After writing about the impossible task the God of Light had placed upon Ozma, I went to bed, and immediately a new thought popped into my head.
Ozma will never die.
He can not ask or promise Salem to die with him, because she was not part of the conditions from the God of Light.  The conditions were to bring humanity together so that they could live in harmony with one another.
Ozpin/Ozma could *lie* to Salem, sending her to the Afterlife alone to wait for his return (if that is even possible).  But I think it is beyond that.  He told her everything in his first incarnation, so she KNOWS he can not die until harmony is united.
Oh...my...god...  everything makes sense.
She can never die as long as she never accepts death.  He can never die unless humanity is basically united in harmony.  She will NEVER accept death now.  She will keep the world divided and continue to be the antagonist to his efforts so that they can stay living in this world, even if it means they will forever be separated by war.
Jinn said in the Lost Fable that Salem became a being of infinite life with a desire for pure destruction, but was she really
Remember, Salem was able to live a quiet, normal life away from humanity.  She was able to love Ozma even in his new form.  She was motherly and doting upon her children.  All of this naturally.  Even now, she would send her servants away so as not to destroy them when in a fit of rage.
Ozma is her heart.  His very existence destroys her and yet keeps her from becoming truly Grimm.  She is a walking contradiction of the forces of destruction that house her and her own humanity.  A being with nothing but a desire for destruction can not, by its very nature, be motherly or loving.
However, this means she is constantly fighting herself.  She loses control a lot, she succumbs to the darkness within her a lot.  She killed her own children and Ozma in a fit of rage, for example.  She is obviously coming to wreak havoc upon the kingdom of Atlas as well.  She absolutely HATES Ozma/Ozpin to the core.
And loves him just as much.
That book Blake was reading way back in V1 wasn't about Ozma/Ozpin--it was about Salem.  Ozma never really tried to dominate his hosts, they kind of merged together over time, but Salem is the one fighting another soul within herself.
She knows that Ozma will never die unless humanity is living in harmony.  If she dies, she will be alone in the afterlife--forever, probably.  Jinn said a few times, Salem understood that the hearts of men were easily swayed.  And this was from the very beginning when the Gods were in charge.
Never has there been a love story so tragic as Ozma and Salem.  The gods royally screwed them both over, but I think Ozma got the worst of it.
The final battle won't be against Salem.  It will be against the gods.  And Salem wants them to come because it may well be the only way to break the curse upon both of them.  If the gods come and wipe out all of humanity because they continue to fight amongst themselves, Ozma will die.  He will have no way to reincarnate and will go to the afterlife.  Either Salem will also die among them, or she will be able to accept death and finally kill herself.
The only way for Salem and Ozma to finally be together is to destroy all of humanity.  Not just that, but the Gods have to be the ones to do it.  If she destroys humanity on her own, it would be useless.  Humans are like cockroaches and will return.  She does not have the power to destroy the whole world in one blow, making it impossible for any human to return.  But the Gods do.  The God of Light said it himself: the WORLD would be destroyed.  Not just humanity.  He would make sure they could never come back again.
Salem has been waiting all this time, trying to first figure out how to collect the maidens powers and manipulate events to her advantage so that she can gather the relics, get the gods to destroy the world, and finally be with Ozma in the afterlife.
That also explains why, when asked how he could destroy Salem, Jinn said he couldn't.  The conditions the gods set were ever against Ozma's ability to succeed.  As long as Ozma lives, Salem will never accept death.  It's twistedly beautiful.
While it seems like a hopeless situation, it isn't.  There are many ways around all of this.  If the only people in the world who can use magic team up together and defeat the Gods, their curses could well be lifted on both of them.  But that still means endangering all of the world to do it as well as convincing Salem to join with them.  Ozma can still lie to Salem and convince her to accept death (after the Grimm is cleansed) and send her to the afterlife.  There is no telling what a being with powers like hers can do from the afterlife and might lead to a whole new arc, but it is a possibility.
They could summon the gods and try to convince them to renegotiate the situation, but I really doubt that would work in any setting.  The gods are jerks, especially the God of Light.
A lot of people suggest sealing Salem away in one of the Vaults, or up in space.  They fail to understand that sealing any great evil away is merely putting a bandaid on the problem.  It guarantees the escape of said evil being, who will be hell-bent on revenge, and possibly more crazy than before since they lost all human contact.   Cinder is a walking example of people willing to break her out or seek her again.  Plus, while we know that the vaults can keep stuff out, we do not know how much they keep IN.  .
Sealing Salem away could work as a temporary fix, but only if it is possible to get humans to live together in harmony.  Since even the gods of Light and Dark could not accomplish this (see my previous post), the odds are looking like that is not an option.  But it would pan out the series well, using new generations in a new arc to try and get the countries to set aside their difference and such.  It would become more political and societal at that point, like Game of Thrones or something... which....well, that was not a good comparison.  Game of Thrones merely emphasizes how hopeless it is to get humans to live in harmony.
I think it would help to know what the cut-off level is for harmony and fighting amongst themselves.  If the God of Light was referring to a perfect, utopian world: Ozma is screwed.  If he meant the majority, with the minority being ignore, Ozma has a chance.
Of course, you could always kill off the majority of people, reduce them to manageable levels where there is a higher likelihood of harmony and call in the gods to take over at that point.  Ozma would never do that, not in a million years.  For him, it is an unnacceptable option, and I completely understand.  But I mention it as an option because it has been proven that large numbers of people tend to generate more conflict because of space, resources, and individuality.
He could go the State route and just military law everything into an Orwellian future with thought-police at every corner.  Yeah...that didn't turn out well for 1984, either (back of the book strongly indicates that in the future, that society no longer existed).
So...yeah... I am seriously pitying Salem and Ozma right now.  I'm going to go cry in a corner for them.
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toku-explained · 3 years
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The Knight Swordsman
Before we get into this week, it would behoove me to note the tragic passing of Kinjo Mana, the actress who played Ui in Ryusoulger. She is not the first toku actor to die much too young, but there can be no doubt it is a tragedy she is gone.
A side note for Ultraman, this week's Zero & Z has the first canonical acknowledgement of Melos and Aura, implicitly making Uchiyama Mamoru's manga, or at least the Jackal ones, canon. At the very least, it would be safe to say Fightas also canonically exists.
Z: Director Kuriyama explains the dismantling of STORAGE and replacement with 1st SAAG. When a question is asked about contingencies for D4 Yuki Mai explains about data from Ultraman that has been used to create Ultroid Zero, Yoko seems apprehensive, Yuka and Juggler are more openly against it, and we get our confirmation for what we all knew, that Celebro has possessed Director Kuriyama. Haruki is melancholic, bored with his security work, though at least he still gets to see Yoko. The stuff about Yoko is obviously leading somewhere. Yuka discovers Kaiju are showing signs of waking in response to Ultroid Zero, but Kuriyama refuses to hear her out. Ultroid Zero's test begins and immediately we get the appearance of Takkong, King Guesra and Demaaga. Haruki sneaks off so Z can deal with the aquatic Kaiju first, 1st SAAG in response deploys Ultroid Zero to deal with Demaaga, but as soon as the fighting starts Gomess (S) and Pagos arrive as well. They have done well replicating abilities, it must be said. Kuriyama is keen to use D4 again. Having defeated Z, Takkong and King Guesra also make their way to Ultroid Zero. Z returns and manages to calm the aquatic Kaiju. Kuriyama forces Yoko to use D4, while she tries very hard no to, but she relents. While the dimensional collapse has been prevented, the feedback nearly kills Yoko. Z pulls her out, only for Hebikura to appear, and finally reveal himself to Z and Haruki as Juggler.
The Absolute Conspiracy: Great and Powered contend with Sran Seijin and Hellberus, while Ribut tries to save Max, and the team of 5 Ultras manage to defeat Leucocyte, meaning it wasn't THE Leucocyte. Justice and Cosmos explain that the energy they detected wasn't Leucocyte, and also appeared in Future Earth. Absolute Tartarus introduces himself. Ribut uses the antibodies on Max, but the egg still hatches into a Gudis mutated Maga-Orochi. Max is enabled to fight when Max Galaxy appears and restores his energy, followed by Xenon, who joins his subordinate in battle. Tartarus introduces himself as an Absolution and attacks again, but is opposed by Cosmos and Justice joining as Legend, who immediately forces Tartarus to flee, before spitting back to Justice Standard Mode and Cosmos Luna Mode. Great defeats Sran Seijin, Powered defeats Hellberus, and Xenon softens Maga-Orochi for Ribut and Max. Taro assigns Ribut to the Galaxy Rescue Force, and Hikari assigns Sora to the team. 80, Yullian, Powered, Max and Great all discuss the matter of Tartarus with Zoffy. At Galaxy Rescue Force HQ Ribut and Sora meet their new comrades, War God Queen Izana, Andro Super Warrior Andro Melos, and guardian deity Gukura Shisa. And so ends part 1... On the ruins of Planet Mikarito, Tartarus, who once saved Sran Seijin, now kills him for his failure, and heads somewhere else, sensed by King.
Saber: Okay, so Kento isn't dead. They could've done more last time to make clear that he wasn't. Storious questions if the swordsman of lightning can open the last gate for them, but Kamijo claims Kurayami will serve. After everyone talks about the situation, Touma decides to try and take Kurayami, as Kamijo goes to defeat the last Goblin. Daishinji is working on two books, the one Touma got from the Man in Avalon, and what looks like a replica. Oh god damnit Kento. Kurayami is apparently doing something to Kento to destroy him. Kento shows up just in time for Caliber to kill the Goblin, unlocking the last book. The Riders continue trying to fight Caliber as the book fully unseals, to the Megiddo's general glee. Touma's resolver triggers a reaction between Brave Dragon, Rekka, the flip book and the book from Avalon, which goes to Touma and becomes Dragonic Knight, Touma and Kento both hear Luna's voice. As Dragonic Knight Touma is much stronger and able to match Jaou Dragon, and having a power to send back attacks like Caliber. Mysterious Man is cryptic. Touma manages to use the Dragon to get Kurayami away from Kamijo, and I think seals the Gateway? Then Saber does the incredible double fakeout 1st quarter whammy. What's up with Kurayami???
Kenshin Retsuden: This time we have "an episode of Espada", the back side of episode 13. While still unconscious in bed Kento is tormented by the memories of 15 years ago. He awakens to find darkness pooling around him, and recalls his defeat and then Sophia presenting him with Ikazuchi, he then asked Ogami if he had any idea about why Hayato had betrayed Sword of Logos, and we see from his recollection for the first time Kamijo defeating Caliber, and Hayato fleeing the scene, the last time anybody saw him. Kento regrets his focusing on his father over his duties, and spots the Wonder Story book, remembering Rintaro telling him about Touma becoming a swordsman, and Sophia asking about how he acquired Brave Dragon and Rekka, Rintaro reveals Lost Memories, Touma's book, contains details from 15 years ago, Kento was overjoyed to learn Touma was alive. After seeing how Touma still values promises, he swore to explain to Touma when he remembered. Mei comes in and tells Kento the others are fighting to save him, and that Rintaro wants to take a family photo with everyone. Kento recalls Rintaro's strength, and Mei joins in thinking about him. Kento asks for some water, and uses the chance to sneak out to join the others, so he can fulfill his promise to them.
Kiramager: Garza's angry, and Yodonna makes a plan with him. Since we're mentioning Numajo again, is anyone else confused that Minjo still hasn't appeared? They established there was a sister and then she never appeared. Anyway, Shiguru is poisoned, and Garza with his powered up Jamentality uses Smog Jouki to forcibly combine with Express, forming Jaaku King Express. It's a pretty hopeless situation all around, with Garza's power up allowing Jaaku King Express to stand up to even Grateful Phoenix. The eventual loss sends Yodonna into a rage, showing her own Jamentality. And Yodon...does something for once...and Juru sensed it.
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