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duhragonball · 3 years

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Battle Tendency Liveblog JJBA Ch.48-52

This is the “Joseph vs. Straizo” arc, so I’ll just lead off with one of my favorite moments from the entire JoJo franchise, when Joseph furiously declares war on Straizo with tears in his eyes. In the anime, voice actor Tomokazu Sugita delivered this with such intensity that it actually overshadowed the machine gun.

None of the dubs or translations can do it justice, including this panel from the JoJo’s Colored Adventure scanlation project. This is a faithful translation of Joseph’s line, as far as I can tell, except they always leave off the last part: “宣戦布告だぜ!!” In romanji, that’s: “Sensen fukokuda ze!!” And it means “This is war!!”

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Last time, we saw the Joestars treating their new friend Smokey Brown, to dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant. Some mafia jerk caused trouble, Joseph whooped his ass, and then a second mafia guy apologized and shared a rumor he recently heard: Robert Speedwagon was found dead in a Mexican riverbed, apparently killed by a Tibetan monk.

From there, we see that Joseph immediately realizes that this must have been Straizo, and Erina suspects that it must have something to do with the Stone Masks and the battle with Dio fifty years ago. Smokey warns Joseph to consider the source, but Joseph is pretty sure it’s credible information, since mafia guys are all about money. I’m not sure what that has to do with whether he’s telling the truth, though. Either way, Joseph slugs the guy for just blurting out such terrible news in front of Granny Erina.

Now, at this point, Joseph and Erina are making all these Phantom Blood references, and Smokey has no idea what they’re talking about. And I think seeing this panel helped me understand Smokey’s role as a viewpoint character. When the Part began, it seemed like Smokey was sort of the narrator for the thing, which works because he’s a good viewpoint character, and he seemed to be settling in as a sidekick like Speedwagon and Poco in Part 1. But shortly after this he just vanishes from Battle Tendency altogether, and then he shows up at the end like it’s no big deal. I never quite understood that, and I think this is the sort of thing that fuels the “Araki forgot” memes, but it actually makes a lot of sense.

See, Smokey’s primary function is to be the viewpoint character, specifically for the readers who missed out on Phantom Blood. BT is a direct continuation of the previous part, in a way that none of the other JoJo parts are. Most of the main BT cast was deeply affected by what happened in Part 1. A few of them lived through it, and the ones that didn’t have personal connections to it. So they constantly talk about Stone Masks and Dio without really stopping to explain any of it. Well, if you don’t know what they’re talking about, you can take heart in the fact that Smokey doesn’t know either. So as long as he can keep up with the story, so can the uninitiated readers. For now, all that matters is that he’s impressed by the Joestars’ great kindness, and he’s intrigued and disturbed by these hints of a tragic past in their family.

And eventually, Smokey learns just what happened to the Joestar Family, or at least everything that the reader needs to know to follow Part 2. But that doesn’t happen until near the end, which is why he shows up to hear the secrets revealed. But for most of the story, he steps aside, because that’s mostly about Joseph dealing with events in the here and now, so Joseph can act as his own viewpoint character.

But is Speedwagon truly dead? The story flashes back to the previous night, after Straizo killed his own disciples and clobbered Speedwagon. They’re in this temple where Speedwagon discovered more Stone Masks, like the one Dio used, but Speedwagon also discovered an immortal man petrified in a stone column. Straizo was enlisted to destroy this “Pillar Man” with his Hamon power, but instead he wants to use one of the Stone Masks to turn himself into a vampire.

Before he does this, he reads Speedy’s translations of the writing on the walls of the temple. The ancient Aztec cultists who built it said that the Pillar Man was immortal and had many powers, but he was vulnerable to the sun, just like the vampires from Part 1. But the writings warn that the Pillar Man created the Stone Masks because of this weakness, and one day, “when he befriends the sun, the world will be his.” That doesn’t seem to follow, since the only thing the Stone Masks seem to be able to do is make new vampires, who are just as vulnerable to sunlight as the Pillar Man.

Anyway, Straizo doesn’t seem to care. He just doesn’t want to die of old age, and he’s become disillusioned with the Hamon power he has, so he’s turning heel and going full goth on us. To avoid Dio’s mistakes, he plans to eliminate any witnesses, including Joseph and Erina. Then he’ll go into hiding and figure out a long term plan, with the rest of the world unaware of his existence.

You know, now that I write that out, I’m amazed by how similar that plan is to what Dio ends up doing in Part 3. In Part 1, he set about turning a whole town into zombies, and planning to unleash them on the world without any real agenda. But in Part 3 he eventually holed up in a swank mansion in Cairo and took great pains to stay hidden while he acquired more power. Parts 5 and 8 carry that same idea even further, with villains who go to great lengths to cover up their very existence.

At any rate, we only see Speedwagon pass out in this scene, so it’s unclear whether he actually dies or not. Really, using Speedwagon in this way is a pretty smart play. He’s an old man, and he was never going to survive another 50-year time-skip into the next part, so it’s safe to assume that Part 2 is his swan song. But how will he die, and when? It could be at the very start, or maybe somewhere in the middle.

Anyway, Straizo just walks up to a cafe in New York to confront Joseph, and Joseph whips out a machine gun and shoots his ass. This whole time, Straizo had assumed that the untrained grandson of Jonathan Joestar would be easy pickings, but Joseph’s a lot more skilled with Hamon than he expected, and he’s tricky too.

As Joseph fires on Straizo, he recalls how worried Erina was about all this. The story kind of glosses over it, but Joseph seems to have worked out Straizo’s entire plan. I guess that’s not much of a stretch. He and Speedwagon were together with a temple full of Stone Masks, and then Straizo turned on Speedwagon. Why else would he do that, unless he used the Stone Mask to turn into a vampire like Dio did? And once you arrive at that conclusion, it isn’t hard to figure out what Straizo’s next move would be. And that’s how Joseph was so prepared for this. After the shooting stops, Smokey freaks out about Joseph murdering a dude, but Joseph was expecting a vampire the whole time.

I also like Joseph’s line in the flashback. Erina isn’t worried for herself, but for Joseph, because it looks like he’s being pulled into this same tragic fate as the rest of the family. But Joseph resolves to face this head on. “If this is my fate, then I accept it.” Pretty sure Will Zeppeli said the same thing when he discovered that he would die saving Jonathan.

There’s similar “call-to-adventure” moments in the other parts. Jonathan has his when he accepts Zeppeli’s offer to train him to battle Dio again. Jotaro has his when he defeats and saves Kakyoin, then learns what’ll happen to his mother if he doesn’t go. Josuke has his when Angelo shows up and he has to avenge his grandfather. Giorno kind of always had a hankering to take on Passione, but I think things got serious once he had a choice between killing or sparing Bruno. There could be no turning back from that point. For Jolyne, it was the moment she had a clear path to escape the prison but decided to go back in because that was where her enemy was. For Johnny, it was that one battle where he chose to crawl towards the danger to save Gyro instead of withdrawing to safety. For Gappy... I’d have to study that a bit.

But for Joseph Joestar, it’s this moment. Erina never sent Joseph to learn the Ripple from the Hamon monastary, and she seems to have taken great pains to keep him out of trouble, but now trouble has come to them, and Joseph isn’t about to back down.

So yeah, bullets don’t actually kill vampires, but Joseph was hoping to destroy his head with some of those shots, or at least slow Straizo down long enough to finish him off. Instead Straizo reveals that he has the power to shoot high pressure fluid from his eyes, the same move Dio used to kill Jonathan at the end of Part 1. He calls this “Space Ripper Stingy Eyes” which is either stupid or brilliant depending on your mood, I guess. He used it to protect his head from the machine gun fire, and then he uses it again to shoot Joseph... except he hits Joseph’s reflection in a nearby mirror, and I guess he didn’t notice the real thing standing behind him.

What makes this fight so awesome is that these two are determined to kill each other, and they each have extremely simple moves to defeat one another, but they have all these tricks and schemes to protect themselves. Joseph manages to hit Straizo with Hamon, but it does nothing... because Straizo was a Hamon master before turning into a vampire. He can’t use the Ripple without destroying himself now, but he still knows how to defend against it. For instance, he’s got this scarf woven from dead bugs, because it conducts Hamon energy far more effectively than his own body. So it just absorbs Joseph’s attacks and disperses the energy harmlessly away.

Does it really have to be made of dead bugs? I feel like Tonpetti just told him that as a prank. “No, really (snort!) the only thing that works is dead bugs. (tee-hee!) It smells awful but you have to wear it (ha!).”

But Joseph has his own tricks, like... putting a dozen grenades on his opponent’s back when he isn’t looking! Seriously, there was zero opportunity for him to do this. One moment he steps over Straizo’s body to see if he’s still alive, and the next moment he supposedly planted all these things on his scarf. I get that he could pull a string connected to the pin without being noticed, but that’s the only part that makes sense about this. It’s still awesome, though. If Jonathan had access to explosives, Part 1 would have been a lot shorter.

I really think this was the battle that set the tone for Stand Battles in later Parts. Araki loves these off-panel tricks in combat, and they’re a lot easier to explain when all of your characters have magic super powers. If Joseph had Hermit Purple in this fight, there’d be no problem at all. He could just use Hermit Purple to snake through the ventilation shafts and hook up all the grenades. In fact, it’s tempting to suggest that Joseph was unconsciously using Hermit Purple throughout Part 2, but I don’t want to get into that right now.

Anyway, explosions don’t stop vampires any more than machine gun fire. Straizo’s body is in pieces, but the pieces just slither back together and regenerate. Wait, wouldn’t his head have been vaporized in that blast? Also, Straizo spends the rest of this battle in the nude, so we know that stupid scarf is out of the equation. Why didn’t Joseph just go back in the cafe and finish Straizo off while he was still in pieces?

Again, it’s easy to say “lol Araki forgot”, but I think it’s a lot more sensible to suggest that Joseph forgot. As clever as he is, he went in with the Ripple, a machine gun, and a dozen grenades, and Straizo had an answer to all three. He doesn’t want to press the attack because he’s out of tricks. All he’s got left is another Hamon attack, which means Straizo will see it coming. Or he’s still worried about the scarf, and hasn’t realized that it’s gone now. In any event, he’s running away, creating some distance before Straizo can make his next move.

Also, there’s a lot of bystanders gathering around, so it makes sense to take the fight elsewhere. Some guy named “Bruty” tries to stop Joseph to impress his girlfriend, but that backfires spectacularly. Was Bruty in the anime? I feel like he wasn’t, but I don’t want to check.

The one I do remember is this girl photographer. Spider-Man hadn’t been invented yet, so in those days photographers just sort of wandered around with their camera, waiting for Spidey to debut. This exploding vampire diner is the best she could do in 1938.

I just really like this lady. There’s a spark in her eye and I just assumed she would end up being Joseph’s love interest by the end of the story. Well, we’ll get to that.

Instead, she’s a hostage. Joseph and Smokey run to the Brooklyn Bridge? I guess? It’s a bridge, I’m sure of that much. Anyway, Straizo catches this lady and takes her with him to intercept them. He threatens to kill her unless Joseph faces him again. But Straizo offers to spare Joseph and never trouble him again if Joseph runs away. This is because Straizo figures that if Joseph chickens out now, then he’ll never be a threat to Straizo in the future, no matter how powerful his Hamon abilities become.

Joseph tries to call his bluff, but then Straizo rips out one of the girl’s teeth to prove he means business, and Joseph gets furious all over again. I don’t think he was ever planning to abandon this fight, but he was probably hoping to get Straizo to give up his hostage at least. Now he’s just pissed, and Straizo is impressed. Joseph tries to act cool, but he just can’t hide his passionate feelings. This is in stark contrast to Jotaro, who wagered his own soul in a poker game and bluffed his way to victory.

So Straizo tries again with the Space Ripper Stingy Eyes, but this time Joseph blocks it with two shot glasses charged with Hamon power, and then he lands the decisive blow. But before Straizo dies, Joseph demands to know why Straizo dumped Speedwagon and the others in the river. Not only does Joseph want to give him a proper burial, but he doesn’t understand why Straizo would have dumped them in the river, since that was how Joseph knew to expect him.

Wait, I thought Straizo wanted Joseph to know he was coming. Oh well.

Anyway, Straizo explains that he had to do it, because the Pillar Man was absorbing the blood from his victims. Straizo was worried that the Pillar Man might awaken, so he put them in the river instead to be safe. Nevertheless, he suspects that the Pillar Man will reawaken eventually anyway, and Straizo now realizes that it will be Joseph’s destiny to face him some day. Then Straizo just uses the Ripple one last time, and self-destructs.

It always seemed strange to me that Straizo saw the danger of the Pillar Man and just left things the way they were. Maybe he planned to deal with him later, or maybe he just didn’t know or care about it until Joseph defeated him, and he felt a moral obligation to warn someone.

I guess he could have destroyed the Pillar Man like Speedwagon wanted him to do in the first place, but it seems like Straizo didn’t realize that blood would wake him up until after he was already a vampire, and unable to use the Ripple. For that matter, it remains to be seen if Hamon will work on Pillar Men.

Anyway, what else is going on? Oh, yeah, Europe is getting closer and closer to World War II. The official start of the war is usually considered to be September 1, 1939, but Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935, and Japan invaded China in 1937, and Germany annexed Austria and conquered Czechoslovakia in 1938, the year Battle Tendency is set. So we’re in this weird time period where there’s Nazis in the story, and the British-American protagonist doesn’t care for them, but isn’t trying to kill them on sight. I’ll be coming back to this topic later on.

I think the main reason for including Nazi Germany in this story was to draw parallels between their goals and those of the fictional villains. The Nazis believed themselves to be the “Master Race”, the most “evolved” people, and this made them worthy to rule the world. Araki notes that they turned to all sorts of sci-fi/occult/fantasy stuff in their war. Similarly, you have villains like Dio and Straizo turning to mysterious Stone Masks for spooky powers, and then you have the Pillar Man himself, who apparently sought the means to “befriend the sun” and rule over the world. So the Nazis fit into this theme of trying to claim some sort of supremacy over other beings.

But what’s their role in this story? Well, the Germans have an “information base” in Mexico, run by a guy named Stroheim. He makes pretty ladies shave him with a straight razor, and if he gets a nick he makes them lick the blood off, and then he threatens to cut off their tongues. Also, he trained his dog to not eat treats until given permission. He’s a sick fuck, is my point.

Wait, no, my point was that his staff discovered the bodies that Straizo dumped in the river, including Speedwagon, who’s still alive, somehow. I guess Straizo was going to finish him off but he got in a hurry when he saw the Pillar Man absorbing the blood from the others. Not sure how Speedwagon survived that ordeal, but Stroheim’s men have been taking care of him this whole time, and he was unconscious until recently, so it might have been touch-and-go for a while.

Back in New York, Joseph doesn’t know what this is all about, but he decides to go to Mexico himself to get to the bottom of it...

#jojo's bizarre adventure #battle tendency #joseph joestar #erina joestar #smokey brown #bruty #straizo #rudol von stroheim #santana #robert e o speedwagon

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santalsaburablog · 3 years

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Adventures of Santal. Chapter 5: First Lesson

Only a well-earned lesson is beneficial.

Corellia! A temperate Core Worlds planet of rolling hills, dense forests, lush meadows and deep seas, renowned for its fast, rugged starships and talented pilots. It was there, by the decision of the Jedi Council, that Master Yoda went on a diplomatic mission. And at this time a very interesting announcement appeared in Goloseti.

Cad Bane sat quietly in a bar chair, chewing on a toothpick. The last order from the Syndicate of Rations was not so difficult. Steal a valuable thing. Of course, there were murders. So what? How many times has he done this kind of thing? Can't count it anymore. So it's a matter of everyday life. Suddenly, the datapad beeped.

- What's the matter? - asked the duros, receiving the drink.

“A new order has just arrived,” the bartender replied.

Excellent. So, it turns out that no one has tackled it yet. But he will do it!

- Give it to me. The man pulled out the datapad. From a distance everything is as it should be. Heading in big letters, everything else in small letters. Photo after the title.

As soon as Bane saw the photo, he almost choked. This is the SAME GIRL! Well, exactly. The text itself was like this:

THE GIRL IS LOST.

Name is Santal Sabura. Age 3.5 years. An orphan. Kala'uun city, planet Ryloth. Signs: cold brown hair, braided in two tails, brown eyes, honey shade. The physique is normal. Clothes: white nightdress, brown shoes. Uncle and aunt are very worried. There is a suspicion that the child was stolen. Call XXXXXXXX. Please provide any information. Need help from volunteers. HELP TO FIND A CHILD!

That's all. But Bane was wary of something. He read the ad again and noticed that there was not a word about the reward. Why Most likely, one of two things: they forgot to write or the return is free. In any case, it is necessary to clarify. Moreover, he had already seen the girl.

The call was answered five seconds later.

- Yes! I am listening to you! Speak quickly! Did you learn anything ?! - answered a middle-aged female voice and, apparently, was on the verge of hysteria.

- Hello. I am about your announcement. I would like to get down to business. Find your niece. “Cad always tried to be polite, courteous and helpful when talking to a client.

But all the same it was unpleasant for him to listen to the voice of this woman.

- Oh, thank you! Noby, did you hear? - the woman screamed with joy. She was answered in a muffled tone.

“I just wanted to clarify the amount of the reward,” the duros asked, just as politely.

- What? The woman changed her tone to suspicious. - I heard right? Did you ask about the reward? Who are you anyway?

- Yes. I'm a bounty hunter.

Bane was rudely interrupted:

- Well, you must. For some reason I didn't even doubt. How dare you ?! Scum! Demand money for the return of our only treasure! Impudent! Monster! Bandit! Don't even dare try to search! For someone like you, a place in prison! Our niece is priceless. Returns FREE! Got it ?! IS FREE! And don't you dare call anymore! Rubbish! Don't you dare touch Santal!

Cad stopped the stream of curses at him with a banal press of the call end button.

What a woman! Bane was amazed. He doesn't like his nephew. It's a pity for money. However, she may not be rich. So what? Those who value their children will get out of their skin and collect a large sum. So the Duros thought. Crazy woman. Immediately visible.

The man exhaled and left the bar, leaving the drink unfinished and the datapad on the table. Nothing. He will have many more customers and generous fees in his life. You just have to be patient.

- Santal Sabura. - Duros decided to test the name not only with his eyes and by ear, but also with his tongue.

San tal. Well, they came up with a name for the child. Couldn't it have been better? Sounds ringing somehow. And it tastes like steel and at the same time a cake. Exactly!

But here's what's strange. If before that he did not pay much attention, now he looked closely at the photo and ... This silly thing reminded him of someone. But who? Unclear. The Duros have always been famous for their eidetic memory, and Cad was no exception, but he still couldn't remember. In the end, he killed as many people as he crossed paths with. And he is already twenty-six years old.

Well, okay. What is this little fellow from Ryloth to him? For this he does not work. He shouldn't worry about her. And the Duros had no desire to get involved with this hysterical woman in the future. No wonder her niece ran away from her. So he even just did her a favor, and she should be grateful to him.

And indeed, very quickly the thoughts of the girl disappeared from my head completely.

***

Elina's nostrils almost emitted steam from rage, like an angry animal. At that moment, Nobi ran into the room.

- Honey, what happened? I heard you screaming. And what are you doing?

The Letan was about to drop her comlink on the floor and crush it, but her husband snatched it out of her hands in time.

- I am angry! That's what! Literally just now some degenerate called and asked about the reward! Well, we agreed.

- Of course, we agreed. Who was that? Not an hour a mercenary?

- Sure. Or a bounty hunter. No difference. All the same degenerates. And this is clearly a bastard. You don't have to look at him to understand this. I suppose my father is a great alcoholic. And my mother died begging on the street. Or in general it was easy behavior.

- What are you…

- And how? I was told, and I think so myself: bounty hunters are the most vile scum. Dregs of society. The lowest category.

Nobi didn't argue because he agreed. Then the couple sat down on the sofa and began to pray that everything was in order and Santal was found, returned home and never met the idiot with whom Elina had just talked.

***

- Hello, child.

Santal looked around until she found the owner of the voice. It was ... an animal. A very unusual talking animal of green color and funny ears. The tip of one was sticking up, the other - down. There are wrinkles on the forehead. In the hands of a cane. And he himself is about the same height as Santal. Or a little less.

“Hello,” Santal answered timidly. And this slight fear did not hide from the interlocutor.

- Are you afraid, I see.

- Yes. You're right. I have never met anyone like you before.

Santal was indeed a little scared. Another unusual creature, only very small this time. But even though this ... animal - although what an animal he is, he's in good clothes - and not as tall as the uncle, this does not mean that he cannot do harm.

- Haven't met, hmm? - The animal examined the girl from head to toe. - In a nightgown, I see you. - And he chuckled, stating the fact.

Santal was embarrassed, not knowing what to say. But, fortunately, green somehow felt it and helped:

- Who are you? Where are you going?

- Well, I'm in a hurry. On Ryloth, the girl replied.

- Your planet is far away. How did you get here?

- It's not my fault! - Santal exclaimed hotly and began to tell from the very beginning.

The only lie in her story was that the uncle was wearing a mask, not a hat. And she kept silent about the moment with vomiting. Sabura did not want to betray the man. Although she did not give her word to him, she did give her word to herself. And somehow it turned out illogical. She swore to him so loudly that she would not tell, and then - on you! Tells the green creature everything. Santal thought it was wrong. She's decent and honest. She must confirm her intentions in practice.

- Hmm. - The animal put its paw with three fingers to the chin. “I can help you, child. What's your name?

- I am Santal Sabura. Sorry for not introducing myself right away. - The girl even bowed slightly.

The animal nodded in understanding, and then said this, which made the daughter of the Jedi stunned:

- I feel that you are not deprived of the Power.

Santal blinked her eyes.

- What is it?

- Strength is an endless mystery. She is everywhere. Surrounds and pervades us. Ties the galaxy together. And in you she is strong enough. - Zeleny smiled.

- Enough for what?

- Enough to be able to become a Jedi.

- That is, the guardian of the world? My aunt told me.

- Yes. Master Yoda I. Pleased to meet you. - The newly made acquaintance slightly bowed his head.

- I am glad, too. - Santal repeated the movement, slowly getting rid of a slight fright.

- So you agree?

- I dont know. “The girl really didn't know what to do.

On the one hand, I really wanted to go home. Finally! On the other hand, the prospect of becoming a Jedi, like her parents, fascinated her. Santal, without knowing it, found herself at a crossroads. Left - a chance to return to family and old life. On the right - the opportunity to start from scratch, learn a lot. There is a chance to find out the truth about parents, to get a profession right now. They say that such opportunities are not given every day, and, perhaps, there is only one attempt. You will go to one side, you will not go to the other. The girl somehow understood this.

Seeing that the baby hesitated, Yoda invited her to walk with him. And Santal went. During the walk, green told the girl what the Jedi were doing: they selflessly help, keep the peace. They follow the path of spiritual and physical improvement. Jedi are the protectors of peace in the galaxy. They use their powers to guard and defend — never to attack others. The Jedi respect every life, in every form, serve others rather than dominate them for the good of the galaxy. They strive for self-improvement through knowledge and training. I spoke a little about midi-chlorians. The more there are, the more sensitive you are to the Force.

- How many of them do I have?

- We can find out.

Yoda took out some kind of device and asked for a finger. Santal reacted calmly because she was already going through it. Even in a dream.

- About fourteen to fifteen thousand you have.

- A lot of.

“More than enough to become a Jedi.

- And how much midichlorivan do you need to feel?

“Midichlorian,” Yoda corrected. - Eight to nine thousand.

- By the way, I just wanted to ask. From early childhood, I constantly feel something. For example, it seemed to me that something would happen. Or felt someone's presence. As if someone is directing me, indicating what to do. Exactly this way and nothing else. Does it work, does the Force tell me?

- Yes. Strong, it seems, is your connection with her. This is good, but it can also be dangerous as the future is in constant flux. Choose your path wisely.

- And I often have dreams. Scary and not.

- Another sign of a stronger connection with the Force.

- I.e…

“If you want to know more, you better become a Jedi.

- Then I agree! - Now Santal was able to make a decision.

- Are you sure, m? The path of a Jedi is not easy and lasts a lifetime. To become a Jedi requires a keen mind and deep commitment to the cause of the Order. Live by the Code. It means entering on this path by dedicating your life to serving the ideals that we sacredly honor.

Only the girl got rid of old doubts, so now they have been replaced by new ones. What to do?

“I agree anyway,” Santal said firmly, although inwardly she continued to worry.

- Let's go then.

The Green Jedi and his companion boarded the ship. In size, it was much smaller than the previous two, in which Santal traveled. They took off.

- Where are we flying?

- To Coruscant. To the Temple that will become your home.

Yoda, while still on Coruscant, sensed that there was some kind of Force surge on the planet Corellia. There was something there. Something powerful. And this "something" was a little girl. She looks three or four years old, but it is already felt that the Power is great in her. Such a child cannot be in bad hands. Fortunately, Santal herself is not averse to becoming a Jedi. There are simply doubts. She also said about some dreams. The Force must be trying to warn Santal about something. Most likely, these are Visions. And they cannot be ignored. But the girl finds out about it later. Now we must not frighten her, but take her to the Temple for training, put her in order, enroll in the Order.

The girl did not know what Yoda was thinking, but she was worried anyway. Not only because of ignorance, but in general. Suddenly this green one - the same as that uncle, wants to sell and lures. Moreover, the method is very interesting and effective.

At that moment it sounded. Yoda took the call. Later it turned out that the green should fly to Alderaan, which Santal mistakenly called "Aldevran". And then to Naboo. Why, she didn't know. But I decided, just in case, that there was nothing wrong with that.

During the flight, Sabura learned even more about the world around her. So she found out that she met with Yoda on the planet Corellia. I walked around the capital of Coronet, visited a place called Golden Beaches. Played in the sea and lay in the sand. And she came to this planet on a Rodian ship. That thing attached to the hunter's thigh is a blaster. And this is not a complete list of what the girl learned.

Once in the blue space, Yoda warned that he would fly now to Alderaan, then to Naboo. At the first stop, Santal thought she would stay next to the ship and wait for Yoda to do everything. The girl did not feel very well due to the fact that she did not immediately get to Coruscant. What if it's a trap, and green is another crook, like uncle, if not worse? And Santal still hasn’t decided whether she needs it or not. Maybe still go home to your aunt?

On Alderaan, the family needed help. Yoda left Santal with a woman who at first complained about why it was late, but when she saw the little girl and what state she was in, she took pity, took her to the kitchen, gave him blue milk, put three plates with a bunch of food on the table, and then sat down to eat. Sabura ate and ate everything, so some boy, probably a son, wondered how hungry the girl was.

Then Yoda returned with the boy, like two peas in a pod, similar to the first. The woman rushed to hug and kiss the child, thanked him. And the duo went to Naboo. There Santal was waiting for a small excursion to the local beauties, and that was all. No stupid adventures.

And now, when they gathered in the capital of the Republic, Yoda's room rang. Devaron has problems with bandits. And the green one agreed to help. Just because he wanted to, Santal decided.

To say that it was bad on the planet is to say nothing. Screams, panic, and some animals with fangs and claws on two legs were running around with weapons. More with tails.

It was then that Sabura first saw the Jedi in action. Yoda turned into a green spot, endlessly jumping and twirling with a strange thing with a long green, like himself, end. How clever he is, the girl was surprised. And seemingly not young.

Finally it was over. And it could have happened earlier, if the animals responded to the request to surrender. And as for Yoda, he managed to please Santal just for this proposal:

“You'd better surrender.

The animals were taken away somewhere.

“It's time for you to go home,” said the green one. Sabura nodded.

But halfway to the ship, the girl had a premonition. And indeed, when Santal decided to turn around, tired of being nervous, she realized that Yoda had overlooked one animal after all. Only the fanged one raised his weapon, Santal shouted automatically:

- No! - She stretched her arms in front of her, and the beast flew to the side.

The girl looked at her palms in horror. Everything is just like in a dream! Only the heroes are different.

“We forgot one,” Yoda chuckled.

Then they dragged this one where it was necessary. And the green one asked:

- Well, what have you decided?

“I've been thinking all the time,” Santal began. It seemed to her that there was no need to answer in one word. - At first I was afraid. Total. If I can become a Jedi, well, that is, I have what it takes. Will you succeed? What will your aunt say? What's in store for me? What if I don't succeed and I become a laughing stock? Maybe I don't belong there? But now, after what just happened ... I stopped the enemy without weapons. No anger. Do you understand, yes? And I, it turns out, used the Force?

Yoda nodded.

- If this is how I can, then it would be better for me to learn how to manage such power so as not to harm anyone. What else can I do mechanically? Mali what else could happen? So I decided. I will go to the Order and study to be a Jedi. My parents will be proud of me. I feel it. And my aunt ... I hope she understands.

“In that case, according to etiquette, call me Master. - The corners of the green lips crept upward. And he himself bowed slightly.

- Okay, Master. - Santal easily agreed. Yes, and my soul became easier.

- Time to the Temple, youngling Sabura.

When they took off, the girl seriously thought. What lessons did she learn over the entire period?

Don't walk the streets alone at night. Do not let your guard down. Sometimes you have to take something without asking. Some people don't like being spied on. Do not taste drinks that you do not know, otherwise you will vomit. Some are not moved by any pleading. To be honest, Santal wanted to be so hard herself. If you help someone just like that, without expecting gratitude, that someone will want to help in return.

The sea on the planet Corellia is the best thing in the world. And she will come back here someday. And in general, traveling is very cool! Just recently I was in such a whirlwind and now I am not against repetition. Not right now, but later.

Whatever the beast looks like, you don't take his word for it. We need to check. It is very important. She's calm about Yoda now. He will not deceive her. He's a Jedi.

And uncle? What about him? Where is he? Does he think about her? Probably not. Well, let. She's thinking about him now. Santal had clearly decided that if she was ever destined to meet him again, she would certainly teach him a lesson. Need to punish the hatter, teach him a lesson. Show that it is useless to hurt little girls. Even if everything ended well for her, but still ... it is necessary. Really needed. The main thing is not to forget about your desire.

And completely confident, Santal walked alongside Yoda, leaning on a cane, to the ship, whose final stop was Coruscant. Towards destiny.

By the way, the daughter of the Jedi made another conclusion for herself. The main conclusion. Only now did she realize that the rules must be followed. You don't love, you don't want to, you are lazy or not lazy, but you have to live by the rules. This is the law. Otherwise, you can get into such a story that you don't recognize your own. Therefore, on that day, Santal Sabura took an oath that she would always observe and honor all laws, rules, regulations, codes and so on. Until a ripe old age.

#cad bane #cad bane x oc

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gojaimas · 6 years

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Chapter 35 Comment Replies

csgt: “Oh, I forgot to mention it in the past chapter, but I definitely got the feeling that Ben having a new normal watch and Gwen replacing the charm with a normal locket means the definitive end of the ‘hero’ part of their story”

Yeah, pretty much. They’re moving on to new stages in their lives as they grow up.

csgt: “So Lucy is now developing real feelings for both Ben and Gwen? Ohhh, that complicates things… Maybe she will find someone else and get over them? Even though now I’m seeing the chances of ‘Bwenucy’ happening raise a little (maybe 5 percent now instead of 1 percent?)”

Things are a little more complicated now. People have been noticing for a while that there is a chance of the story going in the Bwency direction, so this probably made it seem more likely to everyone. You’ll just have to see how it plays out over the rest of the year.

Davidscrazy234: “If this was made into a live action show, like Arrow and The Flash which cast person would u choose for Ben, Gwen, and Lucy?”

Ooh, there’s a fun question! Let’s see…

For Ben, I’d go with David Mazouz, AKA young Bruce Wayne in Gotham. The scenes where he’s partying and pretending to be a spoiled rich kid makes me think he could totally pull off Ben, plus beating the crap out of bad guys is right up his alley.

For Gwen, I’d say Sadie Sink, AKA Max from the second season of Stranger Things. I’ll admit it’s mostly because she’s a fierce redhead, but she seems talented enough to pull off a character who’s pretty much the exact opposite of Max as well.

And then for Lucy, I’d pick Elsie Fisher, AKA the voice of Agnes in the Despicable Me movies. She did a live action film with Bo Burnham recently too. She’s such a sweet girl and just seems like a constant ray of sunshine, I think she’d be perfect for Lucy.

These actors are 15-17 years old now, so I guess it could only work as a sequel to my story at this point, but they would’ve been perfect for it if the series had started like 4 or 5 years ago.

Guest: “I have a question- is Gwen shorter than Ben in this story? Otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to lean into his chest without having her butt stick out awkwardly.”

Haha, yes, Ben is the taller one now. Gwen used to be taller than him, but he hit his growth spurt and surpassed her, which I sort of eluded to a couple times in Year 3. I remember Ben Ten Thousand being really tall, so I figured this was how they would turn out. The drawing I did of them for the story image is a little closer to what I imagine their current relative heights are now.

Guest: “I’m like the track you’re heading with. Lucy was only featured in one episode in the original and she had so much potential, I always kept an eye out for her. Her characteristics stood out. The wedding when Ben danced with Gwen and then Lucy were really sweet moments. Came for a Bwen fanfic but I’m also in love with Lucy.”

You and me both, my friend. Lucy wasn’t even in the character list for Ben 10 fanfictions until I started this story. If nothing else comes from it, I hope people start to like her a bit more.

Jagcity: “Just a little side inquiry, it seems that Frank loves his daughter (or at least checks up on her) more than Natalie does; I guess Gwen’s mom is simply the stern and frowny type.”

Gwen’s dad is a softie, sort of a typical doting father. Her mom is much more strict, but she’s definitely the one who pushes her to succeed more, which Gwen is mature enough to be thankful for. Ben still finds Natalie mean and scary, and it confuses him that Gwen doesn’t seem to see her that way at all.

Guest: “that bathroom scene was the first time we’ve seen Lucy expressing her true intentions and emotions behind her cherrful happy go lucky mask and she seems to be conflicted… she cares for others which is why she wants Ben and Gwen to be there for each other but at the same, even though I can’t say she’s human, she’s got emotions. She’s just better at hiding it like Ben.”

We have seen her “mask” slip before, which I think is a good way to put it. Back in the summer of Year 2, she broke down because Joel and Camille were missing. That was an unrelated matter, but I hope it effectively foreshadowed how Lucy might not always be the cheerful, happy go lucky girl she appears to be.

Guest: “This was a really effective chapter and it only was that way because of the events and progression leading up to it.”

THANK YOU! Yes! Now you all know why I had to write a story the length of a Harry Potter book before reaching this point. I hope the payoff was worth the wait.

Guest: “I don’t know how to root for right now, it’s like Toradora all over again.”

I’m really glad you brought up Toradora, which is hands down one of the best romance anime out there. It wasn’t one of the biggest inspirations for my story (which would probably be Oreimo in addition to Little Moments), but I can definitely see the similarities.

Guest: “Since you mentioned you’re in college, what’re your aspirations and plans for the future? You’d do great as a author, writer for animes, characters and novels judging by what I’ve seen from you. You seem to have an interest in gaming so you could have a certain paths on that or just take it as a way to kill time. Whatever you’re gonna be in the future you sure as hell are gonna be successful”

Thank you for saying so! I actually graduated about a year ago, but I started writing this story while I was still in college. I’m currently working as an engineer at a medical device company. I have no real training or experience as an author, so I’ll probably just stick with fanfiction as a hobby for now. I’m also learning to draw in the anime art style, so maybe I’ll try making a fan manga at some point as well. In the past, I’ve competed in really low level Super Smash Bros and Magic the Gathering tournaments, but I couldn’t see myself making a career out of it. In about a year or two, I plan to decide if I wanna stick with what I’m doing or go back to school for a bit to transition into something else. I have a friend who got into the game design industry after he graduated, which is something I would love to do as well. Becoming a teacher is another option since I like working with kids and I used to tutor other students in math, science, and programming, plus my aunt is a middle school math teacher. I also have a friend who got into writing for television after he graduated. I was mostly joking, but I already made him promise that if he ever somehow makes it big and gets his own cartoon, he’ll let me voice the villain since I’m “basically already the villain in his life.” I know a lot of my readers are in college, so I just wanna say to all of you that life can be pretty cool after you graduate, and I hope you all do as well as my friends and I have.

Guest: “Do you think Joel is dead in the Last of Us Part 2”

I don’t think so. Wasn’t he in the trailer? Either way, I know I’m gonna play the shit out of that game the second it comes out.

Guest: “God. Been reading from December and this story’s at the TOP of the Ben 10 fanfic section, well deserved. Gosh bless”

Is it really? Awesome! Also, I thought it was funny how you start the comment with “God” and then switch to “Gosh bless” at the end. Lucy prefers “Glob” because she’s a fan of Adventure Time.

Guest: “‘Shut up and put your hands around me’ Gwen is such a tsundere lmao”

Haha, absolutely! I love tsunderes. Totally my type.

Guest: “Since you haven’t seen Alien Force... did you by any chance check out Omniverse since some flashbacks involve the friendship Gwen, Lucy and Ben.”

I only watched a few episodes of Omniverse. I even specifically sought out the episodes that had Lucy in them because I wanted more of her. The show didn’t really appeal to me, but I enjoyed the episodes I saw and the Lucy ones were helpful for crafting her character in my story.

Guest: “We all know Ben and Gwen are gonna end up together and you also mentioned you might write epilogue one shots would it be possible to also write a optionn B) alternative ending where Ben and Lucy got together or would that not fit with the course of the story you’re taking in? Just like how they did Amigami SS, in each 5 episodes, they pair the MC with a girl in alternative ways and timelines of course to see how it would’ve played out. I feel bad for Lucy to be left out and as much as I love Bwen as she does, wish she had her chance too.”

The Bwen ending and the Bwency ending are the only ones that are really on the table right now. I will say that the ending is one of those two options, but I am willing to write an alternate ending for the other one. It’s hard to imagine a Ben/Lucy ending that wouldn’t be completely soul-crushing for Gwen, but I might consider giving it a shot.

Guest: “‘Beeeeeeeen! You...you...You're doing it wrong!’ ‘Give it a rest Dweeb, I'm doing the best I can.’ ‘Ahhhhhhh...Ouch! Wrong hole, Doofus! Do you even know what you're doing down there!?’ ‘Maybe I should've just asked Lucy for help...’”

Hey! How did you get my manuscript for Year 5?? I mean, uh...get this filth out of my Christian Minecraft server.

Guest: “Just wondering, but is this a purely Bwen fic? It seems kinda sad that I read 200K words thinking that Lucy doesn't really stand a chance. I was wondering how much of a jump it would take for all three of them to get together but it doesn't really matter anyways since you already finished writing this work. I just found this piece about 3 days ago and I gotta say I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I look forward to reading what kind of ending you have in store for these characters.”

It’s not purely a Bwen fic. It was my intention for everyone to know Ben and Gwen were going to end up together from the start, but for it to be unclear at this point if Lucy will be involved with them as well. Some of my readers are more convinced it will happen than others, but like I said earlier, I am willing to write both endings. Only one of them is written right now though.

#Comments

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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WandaVision: How Monica Rambeau Fits in the MCU

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains WandaVision spoilers.

Monica Rambeau has officially arrived in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She first appeared as a kid in 2017’s Captain Marvel and Teyonah Parris’s adult iteration of her has been in most episodes of WandaVision so far, but it wasn’t until the fourth episode, “We Interrupt this Program,” viewers finally got a chance to see adult Monica as “herself” (rather than her sitcom alter ego of “Geraldine”) and learn her backstory.

Since then, we’ve caught more glimpses into her mysterious role within the MCU. Parris’s Monica is an excellent rendition of the character, and WandaVision is littered with small details about the character that set her up as a major player moving forward with the next phase of the MCU.

Monica’s Return

WandaVision episode 4 opens with Monica reassembling five years after Thanos snapped his fingers, presumably at the same moment in Avengers: Endgame when the heroes made their triumphant return. As Monica pieces back together, snatches of memories play, mostly her mother talking about not wanting to leave her, perhaps to go out on missions. In a bit of foreshadowing, child Monica says that maybe she’ll build a spaceship and talks about wanting to be an aircraft pilot.

The last voice Monica hears before she comes to is Carol Danvers, first saying “when they were giving out kids, they gave her the toughest one,” and then calling her “Lt. Trouble,” the childhood nickname her Auntie Carol used to call her. It’s a detail that Captain Marvel pulled from Carol’s relationship to a precocious neighborhood kid in the comics and applied to Monica. It also signifies just how much Carol means to Monica, that the voices that tether her to Earth and help bring her back are hers and her mother. Hopefully, it also means that Captain Marvel had at least been coming back to Earth for the occasional visit between the ‘90s and Endgame, to help keep that connection so strong (although Monica’s reaction to the mention of Captain Marvel’s name in episode 5 may indicate otherwise…but we’ll get to that in a minute).

Monica and Captain Marvel

It’s also a reminder that Maria and Monica were on their own. Those years during Monica’s childhood when Carol disappeared, before the events of Captain Marvel, certainly hit them hard. It’s unclear what happened after Captain Marvel, but if Carol dipped out to space and Maria was busy defending Earth, Monica would have had a lonely childhood. Either way, her relationship to her mother is an important one, and seeing Monica realize she has missed the last few years of her mother’s life is heartbreaking. The entire hospital sequence is a moving scene of deeply human panic, with dozens of regular people just like Monica trying to figure out what happened to them and where their loved ones are.

The fifth episode, (the meta “On a Very Special Episode…”), might shed a bit more light on the post-Captain Marvel years and highlights a possible rift between Monica and Carol. While brainstorming with Agent Jimmy Woo and Dr. Darcy Lewis, Monica gave voice to an oft-cited fan theory that Wanda nearly took Thanos down singlehandedly, adding that nobody else came close. Agent Woo responds that Captain Marvel came close and Darcy asks about her powers originating from an infinity stone, too. Monica gives Woo a glare and icy silence, and tells Darcy, “We are not talking about her, we are talking about Wanda,” clearly eager to move on. Whatever happened between them, it wasn’t good.

Perhaps Carol spent too much time off in space? She might have also been the one calling Maria away on missions during Monica’s childhood, which we heard as memories in the opening of episode four.

What Are Monica Rambeau’s Powers?

We now know that Maria built SWORD “from the ground up” after the events of Captain Marvel. During that movie, Monica met aliens and talked about wanting to learn to fly like Carol – as in, out to space, and on her own, without a plane. Both Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau are capable of unassisted space flight in the comics. Their powers are related, in that both can command energy to a degree. In fact, at one point Carol absorbed Monica so they could combine their powers, something they both found embarrassing and decided never to speak of again.

At some point Monica will likely get a power-up that will bring about her ability to control and even become any form of energy within the electromagnetic spectrum. In the comics, she gained her powers after she was exposed to extra-dimensional energy, when she was trying to stop a powerful weapon from being created. Considering that the onscreen version of SWORD changes the name from Sentient World Observation and Response Department to Sentient Weapon Observation and Response Division, she’ll likely have plenty of chances for that, especially with Monica bristling when Director Tyler Hayward tells her SWORD is now in the weapons creation game.

In the meantime, Monica clearly went out and learned to fly like her mother, becoming a US Air Force pilot and then joining the astronaut training program that she references to Tyler when she first returns to SWORD. Until her powers manifest, that still leaves plenty of room for Monica and Carol to reunite in space or virtually anywhere else in the galaxy in Captain Marvel 2, which is slated to include Parris as Monica Rambeau.

Does Monica Have Powers Yet?

During Monica’s medical appointment in episode 5, her scans come back blank and they need to re-send her blood to the lab. The all-white scans look like they could be overexposed, a hint that Monica already has her powers, or at least a latent version of them. On the other hand, later on in the episode we hear that there are high levels of radiation present at the perimeter. Perhaps Wanda’s Hex boundary is messing with the machinery.

However, there’s another possibility WandaVision has set up, one that hews a bit closer to Monica’s comics origin. Monica could gain her powers by trying to stop Tyler Hayward from using a new super weapon against Wanda. With the drone incident in episode 5, it’s clear that Tyler escalates situations while Monica believes that Wanda isn’t intentionally harming anyone – and might even relate to her enormous grief over the loss of a loved one, as Monica remembered seeing her mother’s plaque while under Wanda’s control.

Monica mentioned photons among other specifications for a mobile fallout shelter that would be safe from Wanda’s powers and/or the Hex. Tyler has already shown a penchant for adapting observation for more violent means, so it’s not hard to imagine he’d use Monica, Darcy, and that unnamed aerospace engineer’s research to create a weapon on the side and catch Monica in the crossfire.

Photon

Maria Rambeau is appropriately memorialized in the halls of Sword HQ with a plaque bearing her call sign, “Photon,” which we learned during Captain Marvel. Comics readers will recognize that as one of her daughter’s many costumed aliases. That begs the question – when Monica eventually powers up, will she take on the name Photon as an homage to her mother, or will we learn that she has another one of her comic aliases as a call sign like Pulsar or Spectrum, letting this stand on its own as an easter egg?

Of course, Monica’s most famous alias, other than Photon, is Captain Marvel. It’s probably no mistake here that she’s reached the rank of captain so throughout episode four, people refer to her as Captain Rambeau. In the Marvel Comics timeline, Monica was actually Captain Marvel before Carol – a fact she didn’t let her friend forget, ribbing her for not calling to ask for permission first before taking up the mantle.

WandaVision has made sure to reference these various names plenty. In episode 5, Agent Woo came to greet Monica saying, “Mighty glad to have you back, Captain,” referencing the Mighty Avengers, a line-up Monica joined as Spectrum, her historic role as the first woman to take up the Captain Marvel name, and the “Mighty Captain Marvel” moniker of her surrogate aunt, Carol Danvers.

Will Monica Take Over SWORD?

Mysterious director Tyler Hayward seems pretty apologetic about the fact that he’s running SWORD, a job he seems to know he doesn’t deserve, though it doesn’t stop him from using his post to shift the organization’s trajectory toward the sinister. It’s clear that if she hadn’t been blipped, Monica would be running SWORD, but if Marvel wants to populate Phase 4 with more cool, powerful interconnected women heroes, she’s not the only candidate for the job.

The comics iteration of SWORD has recently been led by Abigail Brand, a green-haired half-alien half-mutant who also has a history of working with Captain Marvel to defend the Earth from extraterrestrial threats. She’s competent as hell and bringing Brand in to run SWORD would keep Monica at liberty for more free-wheeling adventures while bringing another interesting woman out of the pages and onto the screen.

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

Whatever happens next with Monica Rambeau on WandaVision or elsewhere, the MCU has successfully captured what has made so many readers fall in love with the character over the years and translated it to the screen. Hopefully they will continue to feature her and dig into her story.

The post WandaVision: How Monica Rambeau Fits in the MCU appeared first on Den of Geek.

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